This is a commentary on a Cochrane review, published in this issue of EBCH, published as: Lee C, Gong Y, Brok J, Boxall EH, Gluud C. Hepatitis B immunisation for newborn infants of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive mothers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD004790. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004790.pub2; and as a shorterned version as: Lee C, Gong Y, Brok J, Boxall EH, Gluud C. Effect of hepatitis B immunisation in newborn infants of mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2006 Feb 11; 332: 328–36. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.38719.435833.7C.

Further information for this Cochrane review is available in this issue of EBCH in the accompanying EBCH Summary and Commentary articles. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


An unknown, Gram-positive, ovoid-shaped bacterium isolated from the nose of a mouse was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that the unknown organism was a member of the family Micrococcaceae and possessed a specific phylogenetic association with Rothia dentocariosa and Stomatococcus mucilaginosus. Phenotypically, the bacterium closely resembled R. dentocariosa and S. mucilaginosus but could be distinguished from these species by biochemical tests and electrophoretic analysis of whole-cell proteins. Based on both phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, it is proposed that the unknown bacterium be classified in the genus Rothia, as Rothia nasimurium sp. nov. In addition, it is proposed that S. mucilaginosus be reclassified in the genus Rothia, as Rothia mucilaginosa comb. nov.


The present study investigates the effect of scour hole/scour protection to the wave loads on wind turbine foundations. The investigations are carried out numerically partly using WAMIT and partly through fully non-linear 3D CFD computations with DHI's 'NS3' code. WAMIT is a first order potential flow theory code and NS3 has a surface description based on the VOF technique (Volume of Fluid) that allows for de-scribing breaking waves as well as slamming forces. The influence of a scour hole/scour protection is investigated for regular waves. The influence of depth, wave height and wave period is addressed. One case with breaking waves is presented as well. Further, the kinematics in-side a scour hole is examined. It is found that the horizontal force increases for a wind turbine foundation with a scour hole, and decreases for a case with scour protection. The effect on overturning moment is the opposite, i.e. smaller for a scour hole case, and larger in case of scour protection


Background: Triceps tendon ruptures are rare orthopaedic injuries that almost always require surgical repair. This study tests the biomechanical properties of an original anchorless double-row triceps repair against a previously reported knotless double-row repair. Hypothesis: The anchorless double-row triceps repair technique will yield similar biomechanical properties when compared with the knotless double-row repair technique. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Eighteen cadaver arms were randomized into 2 groups. One group received the anchorless repair and the other received the knotless anchor repair. A materials testing system (MTS) machine was used to cycle the repaired arms from 0° to 90° with a 2.5-pound weight for 1500 cycles at 0.25 Hz. Real-time displacement of the tendon was measured during cycling using a probe. Load to failure was performed after completion of cyclic loading. Results: The mean displacement with the anchorless technique was 0.77 mm (SD, 0.25 mm) at 0° (full elbow extension) and 0.76 mm (SD, 0.38 mm) at 90° (elbow flexion). The mean displacement with the anchored technique was 0.83 mm (SD, 0.57 mm) at 0° and 1.01 mm (SD, 0.62 mm) at 90°. There was no statistically significant difference for tendon displacement at 0º (P = .75) or 90º (P = .31). The mean load to failure with the anchorless technique was 618.9 N (SD, 185.6 N), while it was 560.5 N (SD, 154.1 N) with the anchored technique, again with no statistically significant difference (P = .28). Conclusion: Our anchorless double-row triceps repair technique yields comparable biomechanical properties to previously described double-row triceps tendon repair techniques, with the added benefit of avoiding the cost of suture anchors. Clinical Relevance: This anchorless double-row triceps tendon repair can be considered as an acceptable alternative to a knotless anchor repair for triceps tendon ruptures.


In our article we consider insurance as a means of allocating terrorism risk. Terrorism poses a significant challenge for insurers worldwide. In terms of possible losses it fits into the same category as earthquakes and hurricanes. Yet as a result of the uncertainty surrounding these risks private markets face significant difficulties in providing insurance for it. In the insurance industry costly risk bearing can explain the supply of capacity risks. Corporate risk management theory provides reasons why transaction costs can motivate firms to purchase insurance. In the context of these tightly connected theories we derive models for both the supply of terrorism reinsurance and the demand for terrorism insurance. Using two datasets from the German terrorism insurer we estimate models on how corporations in Germany employ government sponsored insurance to manage their terrorism risk and on the factors that determine the supply for private market terrorism reinsurance.


Aims. The goal of this work is to investigate Jupiter's growth by focusing on the amount of heavy elements accreted by the planet, and to compare this with recent structure models of Jupiter.
Methods. Our model assumes an initial core growth dominated by pebble accretion, and a second growth phase that is characterised by a moderate accretion of both planetesimals and gas. The third phase is dominated by runaway gas accretion during which the planet becomes detached from the disc. The second and third phases were computed in detail, considering two different prescriptions for the planetesimal accretion and fits from hydrodynamical studies to compute the gas accretion in the detached phase.
Results. In order for Jupiter to consist of ~20–40 M⊕ of heavy elements as suggested by structure models, we find that Jupiter's formation location is preferably at an orbital distance of 1 ≲ a ≲ 10 au once the accretion of planetesimals dominates. We find that Jupiter could accrete between ~1 and ~15 M⊕ of heavy elements during runaway gas accretion, depending on the assumed initial surface density of planetesimals and the prescription used to estimate the heavy-element accretion during the final stage of the planetary formation. This would yield an envelope metallicity of ~0.5 to ~3 times solar. By computing the solid (heavy-element) accretion during the detached phase, we infer a planetary mass-metallicity (MP–MZ) relation of MZ ~ MP2/5, when a gap in the planetesimal disc is created, and of MZ ~ MP1/6 without a planetesimal gap.
Conclusions. Our hybrid pebble-planetesimal model can account for Jupiter's bulk and atmospheric enrichment. The high bulk metallicity inferred for many giant exoplanets is difficult to explain from standard formation models. This might suggest a migration history for such highly enriched giant exoplanets and/or giant impacts after the disc's dispersal.


ABSTRACT Port State Control (PSC) is an effective measure to verify and ensure that the condition and equipment of foreign ships visiting national ports are in compliance with the requirements of international safety and antipollution standards. Ships that are found to be in serious violation of standards are detained in port until their deficiencies have been rectified. The objective of PSC is to detect substandard ships and eliminate the threat that they pose to life, property and the marine environment. In order to ensure the effectiveness of PSC, regional port state control organizations are established and agreements on port state control – "Memoranda of Understanding" or MOUs – have been signed covering all of the world's oceans. For Asia and Pacific region, "Tokyo MOU" is signed by 18 authorities. One of the effective methods that authorities adhere to the MOUs is to develop a common targeting system that determines which ships in port should be inspected. There are a number of targeting systems proposed and introduced into PSC, however, most of the systems are based on experiential measures or simple comparison of a few attributes of the ships. In this research we introduce discriminant analysis as a risk assessment method, in order to promote the efficiency of PSC by developing a more accurate and flexible targeting system for ships-in-port classification. Discriminant analysis generates classification functions for a sample of observations from pre-determined categories. A large number of variables can be adapted to the functions. We applied Linear Discriminant Function to historical inspection data. Sixteen attributes recorded in Tokyo MOU database, e.g. ship type, ship age, flag state, and previous inspection results, are utilized as the variables of the function. Coefficients of variables are produced by 32,121 inspection data set collected through the years 2002 and 2003. The developed discriminant function estimates the possibility of detention for each arriving ship. However general solution of the Linear Discriminant Function maximizes the percentage of correct classification, adjustment of constant term enables us to calculate an overall detention rate for a given inspection ability. Among the attributes, flag state, classification society, and the number of detentions during last 4 inspections are the three major factors that influence the estimation. By extending the function, we also developed a function that estimates the required inspection rate to achieve a given rate of detention. Authorities can adopt it as a management measure because it helps to determine the number of inspection officers or other resources for their ports. The functions we proposed can be updated to adjust to the newly obtained data in MOU inspection database. Finally, this paper shows the comparison between the proposed targeting system and the 2003 revised targeting system developed by Tokyo MOU. The comparison result shows that the former provides better capture rates in the range of 10-60% inspection rates.


The western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions on Earth, leading inter alia to glacier retreat, increasing glacial discharge and ice-scouring. While glacier retreat lays bare new settling ground, glacial discharge and ice-scouring are known factors modifying the structure of coastal benthic communities. However, effects on benthic biogeochemical processes like benthic carbon cycling remain largely unknown. To assess this question, diver-operated in situ measurements and sampling were performed at Potter Cove (King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula) at three sites, which differ in intensity of glacial discharge, frequency of ice-scouring and time since the Fourcade glacier retreated. Total and diffusive oxygen uptake (TOU and DOU), inorganic nitrogen fluxes and phosphate fluxes were determined and sediment characteristics and abundances of the dominant bivalve Laternula elliptica analysed. At the glacier front (recently glacier-free, high glacial discharge, high ice-scouring frequency) TOU, inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fluxes were lowest, while the highest fluxes were determined at the oldest glacier-free site (intermediate glacial discharge, intermediate ice-scouring frequency). In contrast, DOU revealed the opposite trend. At all sites TOU exceeded DOU at least five-fold, indicating that biogeochemical fluxes in Potter Cove were primarily mediated by macrofauna. This was partly supported by the trend of abundances of Laternula elliptica. Furthermore, sediment characteristics changed from silt-dominated at the glacier front to sand-dominated at the other sites. Our results reveal that high glacial discharge and high ice-scouring frequency influences benthic community structure, resulting in suppressed mineralization rates at glacier fronts. In contrast, intermediate disturbance seem to structure benthic communities in a way that causes higher mineralization rates compared to sites with low disturbances. In conclusion, ongoing warming will cause increasing remineralization rates in Antarctic coastal waters due to warming related increasing disturbance by glacial discharge and ice-scouring and their modifying effect on benthic community structures.


A high-power efficient ceramic Yb:YAG laser was demonstrated at a room temperature of 20°C with an Yb concentration of 9.8 at.%, a gain medium of 1 mm, a pumping power of 13.8 W, an output coupler of T = 10%, and a cavity length of 20 mm. A 6.8 W cw output power was obtained with a slope efficiency of 72%. The ceramic Yb:YAG laser exhibited a continuous tunability in the spectral range of 63.5 nm from 1020.1 to 1083.6 nm for T = 1% at a maximum output power of 1.6 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the tunability of ceramic Yb:YAG lasers, except crystal Yb:YAG studies.


Solar dryers are used to preserve very perishable foods like fish for long period of time by lowering the moisture content in high temperature areas and contribute to fish postharvest loss reduction. Therefore this study was conducted to evaluate dryers on moisture loss, moisture contents, drying and sensory properties of salted tilapia fillets. The experiment consisted of a factorial design, two factors with two levels of treatment processes, that is dryers (raised rack tent, solar tent and family tent) and salting methods (dry salted and brined). Open air dryer was used as control. Results show that there was no significant (p˃0.05) difference in minimum temperature record between raised rack and solar tents but significantly (p˂0.05) different in maximum temperature values among dryers. The highest temperature record was observed in raised rack tent (50°C) while lowest was in open air (26°C). Dryers and salting methods had significant (p<0.05) effect on moisture loss, moisture content (oven dried) and sensory properties. Brined fish fillets dried in open air showed highest moisture loss (79.54%) followed by raised rack tent (79.39%). Significant lowest moisture content values were observed in the products dried in raised rack tent (10.17%) using dry salted method than other dryers. Sensory evaluation revealed that the most acceptable product was obtained from brining method dried in raised rack tent. The color, flavor, texture, taste and overall acceptability scores of this product were 4.60, 4.20, 4.37, 4.40 and 4.47 (5-point hedonic scale), respectively. Therefore, raised rack tent fish dryer technology was found to produce acceptable sensory dried products and need to be demonstrated and popularized in high temperature areas.

 Key words: Dryers, moisture content, moisture loss, salting method and sensory properties.


The response of weaner rabbits to two dietary treatments, sole forage and mixed concentrate-forage was evaluated in a completely randomized design (CRD) for a trial period of 10 weeks. The concentrate used was poultry growers mash while the forage was Tridax procumbens. Thirty two (32) New Zealand White (NZW)-Chinchilla crossbred weaner rabbits were used for the study, with 16 rabbits of mixed sexes randomly assigned to each treatment with four rabbits per replicate. Treatment 1 was first fed concentrates in the morning (800hrs – 1100hrs) daily and thereafter, the forage, while forage only was given every morning to animals solely on forage (Treatment 2). Feed intake was recorded daily, while body weight gain was taken at weekly intervals throughout the period of the trial. Results showed significant (P 0.05) difference in average intake of forage between the two treatment groups. Economically, Treatment 1 proves to be better for the enhancement of body weight in growing rabbits than Treatment 2. Key words: Weaner rabbits,Poultry grower mesh, Tridax procumbens, Feed intake,Body weight gain


ObjectiveTo describe epidemiological characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits related to suicidal ideation (SI) or suicidal attempt (SA) using syndromic surveillance data.IntroductionSuicide is a growing public health problem in the United States.1 From 2001 to 2016, ED visit rates for nonfatal self-harm, a common risk factor for suicide, increased 42%.2–4 To improve public health surveillance of suicide-related problems, including SI and SA, the Data and Surveillance Task Force within the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention recommended the use of real-time data from hospital ED visits.5 The collection and use of real-time ED visit data on SI and SA could support a more targeted and timely public health response to prevent suicide.5 Therefore, this investigation aimed to monitor ED visits for SI or SA and to identify temporal, demographic, and geographic patterns using data from CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP).MethodsCDC's NSSP data were used to monitor ED visits related to SI or SA among individuals aged 10 years and older from January 1, 2016 through July 31, 2018. A syndrome definition for SI or SA, developed by the International Society for Disease Surveillance's syndrome definition committee in collaboration with CDC, was used to assess SI or SA-related ED visits. The syndrome definition was based on querying the chief complaint history, discharge diagnosis, and admission reason code and description fields for a combination of symptoms and Boolean operators (for example, hang, laceration, or overdose), as well as ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, and SNOMED diagnostic codes associated with SI or SA. The definition was also developed to include common misspellings of self-harm-related terms and to exclude ED visits in which a patient "denied SI or SA."The percentage of ED visits involving SI or SA were analyzed by month and stratified by sex, age group, and U.S. region. This was calculated by dividing the number of SI or SA-related ED visits by the total number of ED visits in each month. The average monthly percentage change of SI or SA overall and for each U.S. region was also calculated using the Joinpoint regression software (Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute).6ResultsAmong approximately 259 million ED visits assessed in NSSP from January 2016 to July 2018, a total of 2,301,215 SI or SA-related visits were identified. Over this period, males accounted for 51.2% of ED visits related to SI or SA, and approximately 42.1% of SI or SA-related visits were comprised of patients who were 20-39 years, followed by 40-59 years (29.7%), 10-19 years (20.5%), and ≥60 years (7.7%).During this period, the average monthly percentage of ED visits involving SI or SA significantly increased 1.1%. As shown in Figure 1, all U.S. regions, except for the Southwest region, experienced significant increases in SI or SA ED visits from January 2016 to July 2018. The average monthly increase of SI or SA-related ED visits was 1.9% for the Midwest, 1.5% for the West (1.5%), 1.1% for the Northeast, 0.9% for the Southeast, and 0.5% for the Southwest.ConclusionsED visits for SI or SA increased from January 2016 to June 2018 and varied by U.S. region. In contrast to previous findings reporting data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance Program – All-Injury Program, we observed different trends in SI or SA by sex, where more ED visits were comprised of patients who were male in our investigation.2 Syndromic surveillance data can fill an existing gap in the national surveillance of suicide-related problems by providing close to real-time information on SI or SA-related ED visits.5 However, our investigation is subject to some limitations. NSSP data is not nationally representative and therefore, these findings are not generalizable to areas not participating in NSSP. The syndrome definition may under-or over-estimate SI or SA based on coding differences and differences in chief complaint or discharge diagnosis data between jurisdictions. Finally, hospital participation in NSSP can vary across months, which could potentially contribute to trends observed in NSSP data. Despite these limitations, states and communities could use this type of surveillance data to detect abnormal patterns at more detailed geographic levels and facilitate rapid response efforts. States and communities can also use resources such as CDC's Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices to guide prevention decision-making and implement comprehensive suicide prevention approaches based on the best available evidence.7References1. Stone DM, Simon TR, Fowler KA, et al. Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates — United States, 1999–2016 and Circumstances Contributing to Suicide — 27 States, 2015. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(22):617-624.2. CDCs National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html. Published 2018. Accessed September 1, 2018.3. Mercado M, Holland K, Leemis R, Stone D, Wang J. Trends in emergency department visits for nonfatal self-inflicted injuries among youth aged 10 to 24 years in the United States, 2005-2015. J Am Med Assoc. 2017;318(19):1931-1933. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.133174. Olfson M, Blanco C, Wall M, et al. National Trends in Suicide Attempts Among Adults in the United States. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;10032(11):1095-1103. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.25825. Ikeda R, Hedegaard H, Bossarte R, et al. Improving national data systems for surveillance of suicide-related events. Am J Prev Med. 2014;47(3 SUPPL. 2):S122-S129. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.0266. National Cancer Institute. Joinpoint Regression Software. https://surveillance.cancer.gov/joinpoint/. Published 2018. Accessed September 1, 2018.7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices.


Nutlin-3, a small-molecule inhibitor of p53-Mdm2 interaction, is known to be
effective against cancers expressing wild-type (wt) p53. p53 mutations are rare in
nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and hence targeting the disruption of p53-Mdm2
interaction to reactivate p53 may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for NPC. This
study hypothesized that reactivation of p53 in NPC cells may suppress NPC cell
proliferation, and in addition, Nutlin-3 combined with cisplatin may further suppress the
cancer cell proliferation more effectively. To investigate these possibilities, the effects
of Nutlin-3 alone or in combination with cisplatin were tested on C666-1, an Epstein
Barr virus (EBV)-positive NPC cell line bearing wt p53, in parallel with normal
nasopharyngeal epithelial (NPE) NP69 and NP460 cells. Single drug treatment resulted
in a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the cancer cell proliferation. Cisplatin
was more cytotoxic to the NPE cells compared to the NPC cells, while Nutlin-3 was
more effective and selective in inhibiting NPC cells. Cisplatin combined with Nutlin-3
showed stronger anti-proliferative effect against NPC cells and markedly suppressed its
anchorage-independent growth on soft agar, suggesting that combined treatment was
more effective than single drug therapy. Prior verification showed that C666-1, NP69
and NP460 cells retained the wt p53. Treatrnent with Nutlin-3 showed significant
accumulation of p53, p2lWafl/Cipl and Mdm2 proteins in cells expressing wt p53 in
comparison to p53-mutated cells. The effect of Nutlin-3 on the restoration of p53,
p2lWafl/Cip1 and Mdm2 expression was impaired following p53-knocked down in
NPC cells, and likewise the cells with p53 knockdown showed less sensitivity to Nutlin
3. These findings suggest that Nutlin-3 activates the p53 pathway and exerts its
cytotoxicity on NPC cells in a pS3-dependent manner. The accumulation of Annexin
V/Pl-stained cells showed treatment of NPC cells with cisplatin resulted in apoptosis
and Nutlin-3-treated cells showed less percentage of apoptotic cells compared to the
lll
cisplatin-treated cells. Apoptosis, however, increased significantly in the cells teated
with cisplatin and Nutlin-3. Similarly, Nutlin-3 positively upregulated BAX and PUMA
protein expressions in NPC cells. The expression levels of these proteins also increased
significantly in cells treated with cisplatin and Nutlin-3, concomitant with the detection
of cleaved PARP level. Taken together, these findings suggest that Nutlin-3 sensitises
NPC cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis by modulating pro-apoptotic targets via the
p53 pathway. In addition, an extended treatment period of NPC cells with Nutlin-3 did
not result in the emergence of p53-mutated cells, albeit reduced sensitivity to Nutlin-3
was observed. This stresses on the importance of treabnent duration and clinical doses
optimization to improve the efficacy of Nutlin-3 significantly. Therefore, the overall
findings revealed supportive evidence of the effectiveness of combining cisplatin with
Nutlin-3 as potential therapy against NPC.


Despite the rapid progress of the techniques for image classification, video annotation has remained a challenging task. Automated video annotation would be a breakthrough technology, enabling users to search within the videos. Recently, Google introduced the Cloud Video Intelligence API for video analysis. As per the website, the system can be used to "separate signal from noise, by retrieving relevant information at the video, shot or per frame" level. A demonstration website has been also launched, which allows anyone to select a video for annotation. The API then detects the video labels (objects within the video) as well as shot labels (description of the video events over time).,,,,,,In this paper, we examine the usability of the Google's Cloud Video Intelligence API in adversarial environments. In particular, we investigate whether an adversary can subtly manipulate a video in such a way that the API will return only the adversary-desired labels. For this, we select an image, which is different from the video content, and insert it, periodically and at a very low rate, into the video. We found that if we insert one image every two seconds, the API is deceived into annotating the video as if it only contained the inserted image. Note that the modification to the video is hardly noticeable as, for instance, for a typical frame rate of 25, we insert only one image per 50 video frames. We also found that, by inserting one image per second, all the shot labels returned by the API are related to the inserted image. We perform the experiments on the sample videos provided by the API demonstration website and show that our attack is successful with different videos and images.


Increasing evidence indicates that individuals with type 2 diabetes (diabetes) are at elevated risk for several common human malignancies, including cancers of the colon, breast, endometrium, pancreas, and liver. In particular, the consistent positive results reported by prospective investigations make it unlikely that methodologic issues, occult tumors, or chance results could explain the findings. Since diabetes and impaired fasting glucose together affect >25% of Americans above age 50, even a moderate etiologic association (e.g., relative risk = 1.5) would explain >10% of involved malignancies. Laboratory studies have suggested biologically plausible mechanisms. Insulin, for example, is typically at high levels during the development and early stages of diabetes. Activation of the insulin receptor by its ligand, or cross-activation of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor, has been shown to be mitogenic and promote tumorigenesis in various model systems. A "unifying concept," in fact, holds that hyperinsulinemia may underlie the cancer associations of several additional risk factors, including high waist circumference, visceral fat, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index, sedentary lifestyle, and energy intake. In this review, we assess current evidence regarding the relation of type 2 diabetes with cancer, and evaluate the findings in terms of well-accepted criteria for establishing causality.


The detector signals from a total integrated scatter (TIS) instrument, which uses a focusing Coblentz sphere, have been evaluated. Models for the calculation of correct reflectance and transmittance values for both scattering and nonscattering samples are presented. In particular, the correction for multiple reflections between sample and detector, the detector efficiency versus angle of incidence, and the symmetry properties of the Coblentz sphere have been investigated. Experimental results are compared with results obtained with an integrating sphere using a model for the correction of sphere asymmetry. The results show that the transmittance and reflectance values obtained with the TIS instrument and the integrating sphere agree only when the presented correction factors are properly taken into account.


We report the fabrication of a highly flexible indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode that is completely transparent to light in the visible spectrum. The electrode was fabricated via the formation of a novel ITO nanoarray structure, consisting of discrete globular ITO nanoparticles superimposed on an agglomerated ITO layer, on a heat-sensitive polymer substrate. The ITO nanoarray spontaneously assembled on the surface of the polymer substrate by a simple sputter coating at room temperature, without nanolithographic or solution-based assembly processes being required. The ITO nanoarray exhibited a resistivity of approximately 2.3 × 10(-3) Ω cm and a specular transmission of about 99% at 550 nm, surpassing all previously reported values of these parameters in the case of transparent porous ITO electrodes synthesized via solution-based processes at elevated temperatures. This novel nanoarray structure and its fabrication methodology can be used for coating large-area transparent electrodes on heat-sensitive polymer substrates, a goal unrealizable through currently available solution-based fabrication methods.


This thesis examines the links between who I am, the art I make, and my personal art teaching philosophy. In using personal narrative inquiry as my research method, I have constructed an account of my lived experience as a person of ethnicity. The narrative is the result of the compilation of memory fragments. The fragments were edited and sequenced in such a way that allowed each to retain its own meaning while contributing to a larger story that emerges from the whole. This phenomenological research, grounded in a post3nodern approach, uses as its data, my constructed personal narrative. In the second and third parts of the thesis, this data is grounded in theory, and then is further interpreted, ultimately becoming the foundation for my pluralistic, community-oriented, needs assessment approach to art education. This thesis not only illustrates the value of researching personal lived experience, but it also demonstrates the importance for art educators to explore how their lived experience informs their teaching practice.


A total of 273 basal cell carcinomas involving the eyelids, treated surgically and confirmed pathologically, were reviewed. This is a disease of the Caucasian race, with no sex predilection. It occurs most frequently in the sixth decade and predominantly involves the lower lids. The clinical diagnosis was correct in 60% of these cases. The surgical procedure in 80% of the cases was simple excision. Exenteration was required in eight patients. Follow-up information was obtained on 209 patients. Complications, excluding recurrences, were noted in 18%. The recurrence rate was 12%. One half of those patients requiring exenteration developed subsequent recurrence. There was a tumor death rate of 2%.


HIV-positive patients may present lungs with multiple infections, which may hinder differential diagnoses and the choice of treatment in the course of COVID-19, especially in countries with limited access to high-standard healthcare. Here, we aim to investigate the association between radiological changes and poor COVID-19 outcomes among HIV-positive patients from Central and Eastern Europe. Between November 2020 and May 2021, the Euroguidelines in Central and Eastern Europe Network Group started collecting observational data on HIV and COVID-19 co-infections. In total, 16 countries from Central and Eastern European submitted data (eCRF) on 557 HIV-positive patients. The current analyses included patients who had a radiological examination performed. Logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with death, ICU admission, and partial recovery (poor COVID-19 outcomes). Factors that were significant in the univariate models (p < 0.1) were included in the multivariate model. Radiological data were available for 224 (40.2%) patients, 108 (48.2%) had computed tomography, and 116 (51.8%) had a chest X-ray. Of these, 211 (94.2%) were diagnosed using RT-PCR tests, 212 (94.6%) were symptomatic, 123 (55.6%) were hospitalized, 37 (16.6%) required oxygen therapy, and 28 (13.1%) either died, were admitted to ICU, or only partially recovered. From the radiologist's description, 138 (61.6%) patients had typical radiological changes, 18 (8.0%) atypical changes, and 68 (30.4%) no changes. In the univariate models, CD4 count (OR = 0.86 [95% CI: 0.76–0.98]), having a comorbidity (2.33 [1.43–3.80]), HCV and/or HBV co-infection (3.17 [1.32–7.60]), being currently employed (0.31 [0.13–0.70]), being on antiretroviral therapy (0.22 [0.08–0.63]), and having typical (3.90 [1.12–13.65]) or atypical (10.8 [2.23–52.5]) radiological changes were all significantly associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes. In the multivariate model, being on antiretroviral therapy (OR = 0.20 [95% CI:0.05–0.80]) decreased the odds of poor COVID-19 outcomes, while having a comorbidity (2.12 [1.20–3.72]) or either typical (4.23 [1.05–17.0]) or atypical (6.39 [1.03–39.7]) radiological changes (vs. no changes) increased the odds of poor COVID-19 outcomes. Among HIV patients diagnosed with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, the presence of either typical or atypical radiological COVID-19 changes independently predicted poorer outcomes.


The paper studies the impact of trade liberalization on competition and productivity. Competition is the main channel through which trade liberalization affects economic performance. Competition fosters innovation and technology adoption which leads to increases in competitiveness and growth that will have large consequences for poverty and inequality. To realize these expected effects, it is important that firms change their behavior and adjust to the new market environment. The success of reforms depends to a great extent on the capacity of firms to exploit the new competitive conditions in the market and on their ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them. Firms, however, will not venture into the unknown and uncertain. They will only take advantage of the new market opportunities if the government program for implementing policy reforms is a credible one. Policy reversals, delays in timetable, and inconsistent decision-making may undermine the success of liberalization. Hence, the overall environment for market transactions is also an essential ingredient. Therefore, the strength of competition is a function not only of the behavior of firms but also of the external environment within which they compete. This includes the state of transport and communications, framework of laws and regulations, effectiveness of the financial system in matching investment resources with entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as information available to consumers. The experience of the Philippine manufacturing sector shows that which despite liberalization, competition and productivity growth have remained weak due to inadequate physical and institutional infrastructure.


Afghanistan's lack of a state monopoly of violence reflects on its foreign policy in a number of ways. First, various non-state organizations developing their own relations with foreign countries. Second, enforcing coherent policy making within the institutions of the Afghan state itself has been sometimes problematic as officials could rely on the patronage of organizations external to the state to delay the implementation of official policies. This article discusses the cases of Afghan foreign policy towards Pakistan, India, China and Iran.


The major pathophysiological characteristic of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis is the loss of control of vascular tone and endothelial barrier dysfunction. These changes are attributed to pro-inflammatory mediators. It has been proposed that in patients and rats without infection, cell components from damaged tissue are the primary instigators of vascular damage. Mitochondria share several characteristics with bacteria, and when fragments of mitochondria are released into the circulation after injury, they are recognized by the innate immune system. N-Formyl peptides are common molecular signatures of bacteria and mitochondria and are known to play a role in the initiation of inflammation by activating the formyl peptide receptor (FPR). We have demonstrated that infusion of mitochondrial N-formyl peptides (F-MIT) leads to sepsis-like symptoms, including vascular leakage. We have also observed that F-MIT, via FPR activation, elicits changes in cytoskeleton-regulating proteins in endothelial cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that these FPR-mediated changes in cytoskeleton can cause endothelial cell contraction and, consequently vascular leakage. Here, we propose that endothelial FPR is a key contributor to impaired barrier function in SIRS and sepsis patients following trauma.


This dissertation contributes to the recent resurgence of scholarship devoted to the American presidency by arguing that the role of the presidential body works as a singularly significant crucial point for notions of citizenship and national identity. Addressing presidential bodies as texts shows that the singularity of the presidential body positions it as a dense site of affect and identification that allows for leadership and the organization of politics to work through the management of emotions. In particular, the emergence of television allows presidents to embody sovereign power in ways that both sentimentalize it and separate the performance of singular, model citizenship from populations more or less abandoned as not-quite-national subjects. By exploring how media imagine the chief executive and how presidents represent themselves on television, in speeches, and in campaign documentaries, I identify national scripts that constitute executive citizenship, a concept I develop and see as crucial to the management of public and private life. By highlighting the fundamental role executive performances play in constructing an image of national citizenship and shaping feelings of belonging, I challenge traditional narratives that figure citizenship in the U.S. as natural rather than deliberately constructed through rhetoric and language.


In the Software Product Lines (SPL) context, where products are derived from a common platform, the reference architecture can be considered the main asset. In order to maintain its correctness and reliability after modifications, a regression testing approach based on architecture specification and code was developed. It aims to reduce the testing effort, by reusing test cases, execution results, as well as, selecting and prioritizing an effective set of test cases. Taking advantage of SPL architectures similarities, this approach can be applied among product architectures and between the reference and product architecture. This study also presents an evaluation performed in order to calibrate and improve the proposed approach.


The guidelines of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) state that the municipal authorities are responsible for the vaccination of the population. The present study examined the types of immunobiologicals, amounts and reasons for their destruction and disposal by the Municipal Health Secretariat in the city of Bauru, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, between 2008 and 2009. This study comprises a descriptive, exploratory and retrospective work that employed search of bibliographic data, collection of secondary data from forms of immunobiologicals disposal and interview of the agent responsible for the disposal of these products in the municipality. It was observed that the total numbers of unused vaccines in 2008 and 2009 were similar (4523 and 4395, respectively), being the most discarded: the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine in 2008 and DTP, BCG and influenza in 2009. It was found that the amount of discarded vaccines could be reduced since the reasons for that were predictable. Moreover, the current study emphasized that although there is a municipal regulation for the disposal of immunobiologicals, the city still requires a better structure to handle such problem.


Tension has long existed in the United State between the equality claims of LGBT individuals, on the one hand, and free exercise claims by those who hold that compelling equal treatment violates their convictions, on the other. This tension increased, however, after the United States Supreme Court extended marriage equality to same-sex couples nationwide. Equality advocates hold that antidiscrimination laws simply allow LGBT individuals to enjoy the same rights as others. Many religious advocates, however, believe that they are being prohibited from living out the implications of their conscientious beliefs. Neutrality between these conflicting claims cannot be achieved, as policies that appear neutral to one group appear non-neutral to the other.
 Private voluntary organizations are one site of conflict. Although private organizations should not typically be forced to reflect the values of the larger society, not all organizations are similarly situated within it. Groups such as the Boy Scouts should be able to exclude at will. Public authority does not itself always support the values of free and equal citizenship, and organizations may evolve over time as the Scouts itself has done. Organizations that exist within larger entities, however, fall into a different category. The Supreme Court was correct to uphold Hastings Law School in forcing the Christian Legal Society as a registered student organization to admit all comers. These groups also represent the values of a public entity and can continue to operate as independent entities if they so choose.
 The provision of services in connection with same-sex weddings and commitment ceremonies has been another site of conflict. In Craig v. Masterpiece Cakeshop (2015), the Supreme Court found narrowly that bakery owner Phillips could refuse to create cakes for same-sex wedding celebrations, as the state of Colorado had displayed animus toward Phillips's religious beliefs. Commercial establishments, however, are public accommodations and generally should not be allowed to discriminate against customers on the basis of their identities. Discrimination against the activity or conduct of formal commitment is also discrimination against the identity or status of a same-sex couple. These kinds of cases do not admit of neutral solutions. Some suggest that those with religious reservations could advertise that they do not serve same-sex couples, but this is reminiscent of Jim Crow in the post–Civil War South.
 Jurisdictional pluralists suggest that the government designate a sphere of noninterference as a jurisdictional boundary that it will not cross. Thus individuals and associations with religious commitments would be free to pursue these interests with minimal interference. However, a prior authoritative structure must exist to define the nature and scope of this jurisdiction, just as the Constitution defines the relationships between the national government and the states. Applications for religious exemptions should not be treated more generously when they conflict with LGBT equality concerns than with equality claims based on race or gender. Although religious individuals and groups should be able to exercise their religious convictions within their areas of competence, in a liberal society and state they cannot define the limits of these areas.


Navigation using GPS generally requires that the user track four satellites to resolve his 3-D spatial position and time bias. There are several reasons why it is desirable to navigate while tracking only three satellites:

—The proposed 18 satellite GPS constellation will exhibit substantial periods of poor four satellite geometry over large geographic areas several times a day.

—Failure of a GPS satellite in orbit will result in periods of only three-satellite availability over large geographic areas.

—During establishment of the operational GPS constellation, there will be long periods of three-satellite GPS coverage.

Three-satellite GPS navigation can be accomplished by equipping the user with a precise clock. The required stability of the clock is a function of the maximum allowable PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision) and the time interval between updates of the clock. Clock updates can be accomplished by tracking four GPS satellites, tracking one GPS satellite from a known location, or conventional time transfer methods.

This paper presents a formula for computing PDOP and its components, HDOP (Horizontal DOP) and VDOP (Vertical DOP), as a function of three-satellite geometry and clock stability. This formula is used to plot HDOP and VDOP versus time for representative high quality quartz crystal and low-cost rubidium clocks for two scenarios of satellite geometry. The stability and environmental sensitivity of high quality quartz crystal and low-cost rubidium clocks are discussed.


The Monte Carlo method was used to optimize a polarized photon source for the X-ray fluorescence analysis of platinum and other heavy metals in vivo. The source consisted of a 140 kVp, 25 mA X-ray tube with the photons plane-polarized by 90 degrees scattering. The use of plane-polarized photons results in a significant reduction in background when the fluorescent radiation is measured along the direction of polarization. A Monte Carlo computer programme was written to simulate the production and interaction of polarized photons in order to determine the optimal polarizing material and dimensions, together with beam width and geometrical arrangement of source, polarizer and beam collimators. Calculated photon energy distributions are compared with experimental data to test the validity of the model. The best configuration of the polarization system for the in vivo analysis of platinum consisted of a 20 mm Cu polarizing block with a secondary collimator subtending a 0.1 radian angle at the polarizer.


Model-based design methodologies are gaining attention in the industrial community because of the possibility of early and efficient functional validation and formal verification of properties at high levels of abstraction. The advantages of validating the design using high-level models can be lost entirely if errors and modifications that are not back-annotated to the higher abstraction levels are introduced when refining the design to lower levels of abstraction. To overcome this problem and to reduce design time, automatic synthesis has been used for the refinement process from Register Transfer Languages (RTLs) to logic gates for digital circuit design. This approach guarantees (assuming that the synthesis algorithms are correctly implemented) that the semantic of the RTL description is semantically equivalent to the semantic of the logic circuit. Automatic code generation is similar in intent and applicability. However, the software implementation of the abstract model must make efficient use of the platform resources that may not reflect all the assumptions of the code generation algorithms. The implementation of communication in a synchronous reactive model requires buffering and access procedures at the kernel level. In previous work, we obtained tight bounds on the size of communication buffers to maintain semantic equivalence. In realtime systems, however, because of the longer execution times of access procedures, an implementation with minimum buffer size may lead to the violation of deadlines. To solve this problem, we propose a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP)-based optimization approach that provides the minimum memory implementation of a set of communication channels while guaranteeing that the task deadline constraints are met. The analysis is validated by an OSEK/VDX-compliant implementation that provides an estimate of actual runtime overheads. The approach is applied to a set of task graphs and an automotive case study.


Standard optical fiber has potential capacity of multiple Tbit/s. Efficient utilization of the already installed fiber infrastructure is of outmost importance. Starting with passive wavelength division multiplexing (pWDM) this paper discusses the potential solutions for a managed optical lambda or a complete optical transmission layer independent of the transceivers themselves. The problems from the operational point of view are tackled as well.


During the acquisition of a mammogram the breast is compressed between the compression paddle and the support table. When compression is applied, the upper plate is tilted which results in variation in breast thickness from the chest wall to the breast margin. Variation in breast thickness influences the grey-level values of the image and hampers image analysis, such as volumetric breast density estimation. In this paper, we present and compare two methods that estimate and correct image tilt. The first method estimates tilt from fatty tissue regions. The second method is based on the entropy of the grey-level distribution of the image. Both methods use a classifier that distinguishes fatty areas from dense tissue based on texture features independent of tilt. The tilt correction methods are evaluated by assessing their accuracies in estimating artificial tilts that are added to images that are known to have only a small tilt. On average, both methods are able to estimate the artificial tilt. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that presents and validates tilt correction methods on individual mammograms.


1. The Background to Anti-money Laundering Law and Regulation Introduction Money laundering defined The process of money laundering The rise of global anti-money laundering measures The role of the Financial Action Task Force The origins of the money laundering offences in international law Terrorist financing Anti-money laundering law and regulation in the UK Offences of money laundering: the mental element Implementation of the new money laundering law and regulation Conclusion 2. The Key Concepts in Money Laundering Law Introduction Criminal Property Criminal Conduct The Mental Element: Knowledge, Belief and Suspicion 3. The Money Laundering Offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Introduction Overview of Offences The Concealing etc. Offence (section 327) The Arrangements Offence (section 328) Acquisition, Use and Possession Offence (section 329) Conspiracy to Money Launder Sentencing 4. The Money Laundering Offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 Introduction International Legal Provisions UK Terrorist Money Laundering Provisions under Part III of the Terrorism Act 2000 Key concepts under the Terrorism Act 2000 Definition of " in Regulation 2 Money laundering Regulations 2007 Section 15 Raising funds for the purposes of terrorism Section 16 Use and possession of money or other property for the purposes of terrorism Section 17 Funding arrangements for the purposes of terrorism (s 17) Section 18 Money Laundering by Concealing, removing from a jurisdiction, or transferring terrorist property (s 18) Section 23 Forfeiture Section 62 Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 The Al Qaida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2006/2952 The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2009/1747 The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006/2657 Section 22 Penalties 5. Disclosure and the SARs Regime Introduction Disclosures and 'SARs' The two different disclosure regimes under POCA: Required and Authorised disclosures The SARs regime: structure and purpose The SARs regime in practice The consent regime The role of the nominated officer Conclusion 6. Disclosure and the Disclosure Offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Introduction Disclosure and offences of failure to disclose Authorised disclosures and appropriate consent Ancillary provisions 7. Disclosure and the Disclosure Offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 Introduction The disclosure provisions: overview Required disclosures: business outside the regulated sector Required disclosures: the regulated sector Other required disclosures Disclosure by constables Disclosure and/or consent as a defence Protected disclosures 8. Unlawful Disclosure and Tipping Off Introduction Background Unlawful disclosures under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Unlawful disclosures under the Terrorism Act 2000 Conclusion 9. Regulation: The Regulated Sector and its Obligations Introduction The regulated sector - "relevant persons" Customer due diligence: the main provisions Customer due diligence: simplified due diligence, enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring Customer due diligence: ancillary provisions The requirements under Part 3 of the Regulations 10. Regulation: Supervision, Registration and Enforcement Introduction Supervision Registration Enforcement: introduction Enforcement: investigative powers Enforcement: civil penalties Enforcement: criminal penalties 11. Cash Declaration, Seizure, and Forfeiture Cash Declarations Recovery of Cash in Summary Proceedings Forfeiture of terrorist cash 12. The Law in Practice


Objective: to analyze the public health characteristics of students from a private University in Manizales. Materials and method: descriptive study with probabilistic sampling with a 95% reliability level and a 4.5% error margin, random selection and proportional distribution. Sample size: 465 students. Univariate and multivariate analysis was applied. Results: 22% of the students smoke cigarettes despite their gender. The conglomerate analysis showed two well differentiated groups. The first group was characterized because its members were men, they had their first sexual intercourse at 14 with a friend after having dated for some weeks, they were in risk of alcoholism, they were consuming psychoactive drugs different from cigarettes, and they practiced physical activity in their free time and tried to gain weight. The second group was made up of women and it was characterized because the had their first sexual intercourse when they were 19 and 22 years old with their boyfriend, after some years of relationship, they were not in risk of alcoholism, they did not consume psychoactive drugs different from cigarettes, they did not practice any sport in their free time and tried to lose weight. Conclusions: the frequency of condom use is high and it is used with the double purpose of preventing STDs and pregnancy. The use of illicit psychoactive substances is statistically low, and, because of their effects on health, it is a priority to prevent abuse. Cigarette and alcohol consumption is still the first place among the risk factors for health. Even though they have much free time, only half of the students use this time to practice a physical activity.


Through thirty turbulent years, the United States has been deeply enmeshed in Israel's destiny. Seldom in the history of international relations has such a world power been involved so intensely for so long with such a small power. How this phenomenon came to pass and how it will affect the future are explained in this compelling history of Israel and its relations with the United States from the 1947 United Nations resolution through Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy to Carter's peace campaign.To form the backdrop for this extraordinary relationship, Nadav Safran paints a detailed portrait of the historical forces that combined to create the Jewish state. He unfolds panel after panel of Israeli life its physical environment, people, economy, politics, and religion. He examines Israel's responses to the many security crises it has faced since becoming a nation, and presents a clear and thorough exposition of its defense strategy and descriptions of all its wars.Safran then presents his brilliant analysis of Israel and America in international politics. Cutting through the tangle of the Arab Israeli conflict, the East West struggle, the disagreement among Western powers, the conflicts within and among the Arab states, and the impact of special interest groups in the United States on its foreign policy, Safran deftly pursues fluctuations in the American Israeli relationship as it moved from simple friendship to an alliance of friends. A concluding chapter recapitulates the highlights of that evolution and projects its relevance for the future of the Middle East and American Israeli relations."


A seven-step anger management program was developed by a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS) to facilitate more appropriate expression of anger in children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The process followed the assessment, treatment plan, intervention, and evaluation model set by the Standards of Practice for Therapeutic Recreation. Thirty-eight children were enrolled in a 13 week pharmacological trial at a major research institution. The children and their parents independently completed the Pediatric Anger Expression Scale III (PAES III) before and after the anger management intervention and paired t-tests were conducted to ascertain differences. Children perceived no difference in their expression of anger before and after the intervention. Parents reported a reduction in externalization of anger and an increase in the anger control of their children following the intervention.


Dopamine (DA) has a physiological role in the control of GH release from the pituitary. Studies have been carried out using DA agonist or antagonist, since in normal subjects DA does not cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). In contrast, the BBB is altered in type I diabetics, who respond to DA with a significant increase of GH release. In these patients Metoclopramide (MCP), an antidopaminergic drug, is also capable of stimulating GH release. In a previous paper, we suggested that this effect could be related to enhanced blood concentrations of DA, due to a reduced peripheral DA catabolism determined by MCP. However, since MCP crosses the BBB, an effect of this drug on other hypothalamic neurotransmitters could not be excluded. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Domperidone (DOM) a drug which does not cross the BBB, but as well as MCP is thought to increase blood levels of DA, is also capable of inducing GH release in diabetics. Sixteen type I male diabetics were injected intravenously with MCP (6) or DOM (10) and a week later with normal saline. Ten normal subjects participated as controls to all three tests. MCP and DOM did not produce any effects in the normal controls; as expected, MCP induced a marked increase in serum levels of GH in the diabetics, while in contrast DOM did not stimulate GH secretion in diabetics. These data suggest that the effect of MCP is not due to the dopaminergic pathway previously described, but rather to a modulation of some other neurotransmitter at hypothalamic level, or to a direct effect on the pituitary in diabetics.


ABSTRACT Ward explores the diverse ways in which memories, understandings and misunderstandings of the 1960s were mobilized during the 2008 election cycle. At the time, Barack Obama's campaign and triumph were hailed by many as marking a series of a decisive breaks with the past, notably with the culture wars and fiercely ideological political partisanship unleashed in the late 1960s. Others suggested that Obama represented a new kind of candidate who somehow transcended, or might even heal, the racial divisions in the United States, in a fanciful vogue for 'post-racialism' that Ward argues was also connected to popular conceptions of the 1960s and, in particular, to a misreading of the social philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr and his 'I Have a Dream' speech. While some commentators stressed rupture and discontinuity with the past in interpreting Obama's victory, others—friend and foe alike—were keen to stress continuities with the past, often explicitly with a 1960s routinely, if simplistically, parsed into 'good' early and 'bad' later periods. ThusWard considers Obama's connections to the civil rights and black power movements, as well as to other 1960s organizing traditions, charismatic leaders and conceptions of federal government, arguing that the decade continues to offer an important, if ambiguous touchstone in contemporary American politics and social memory.


Background: Dementia is a brain disorder affecting memory, mood, personality and behaviour. An estimated 5 million people in the United States (US) have dementia and the vast majority of elders in residential care are cognitively impaired. Direct care workers, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNAs) and Care Assistants (CAs), provide most of the hands-on assistance for these residents. However, little is known about their views on providing care and ways to improve it.
Aims: This study examined the knowledge base, care practices and recommendations for quality improvement of direct care workers regarding residents with dementia in residential long-term care facilities.
Sample: The population consisted of 69 CNAs and 22 CAs, comprising 15 focus groups, from 32 facilities in Georgia in the Southeastern United States (US).
Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with direct care workers. Experts in elder care, including physicians, nurses, and CNAs, provided input on the script. Trained facilitators guided sessions. Extensive content analysis was used to identify themes related to dementia care.
Results: Dementia affected the majority of residents carried for by CNAs and nearly all of those of CAs. Half of all workers reported that they were not formally notified by their facility when a resident had dementia. Most staff identified cognitively impaired residents based on observation. They used a range of indicators, including changes in mood and facial impressions with speech being the most common sign. All were consistent with physician diagnostic criteria for dementia. The main challenges in providing care were: general issues related to memory loss, such as facility orientation; difficulties completing activities of daily living (ADLs); becoming frustrated with patients, and safety issues, including physical threats to staff and other residents from cognitively impaired residents. The additional time required to monitor and care for these residents was stressed. Groups had a wideranging recommendation to improve care with the most common being staff monitoring their own behaviour. Training was viewed as valuable, but needed to be realistic, with one focus being medication.
Conclusion: The findings here show that direct care workers have a wealth of information on how to provide quality care and identify targets ripe for QI. Those designing training and QI programs would benefit from incorporating their input.


Abstract Semantic labelling of LiDAR point cloud is critical for effective utilization of 3D points in numerous applications. 3D segmentation, incorporation of ancillary data, feature extraction and classification are the key stages in object-based point cloud labelling. The choice of algorithms and tuning parameters adopted in these stages has substantial impact on the quality of results from object-based point cloud labelling. This paper critically evaluates the performance of object-based point cloud labelling as a function of different 3D segmentation approaches, incorporation of spectral data and computational complexity of the point cloud. The designed experiments are implemented on the datasets provided by the ISPRS and the results are independently validated by the ISPRS. Results indicate that aggregation of dense point cloud into higher-level object analogue (e.g. supervoxels) before 3D segmentation stage offers superior labelling results and best computational performance compared to the popular surface growing-based approaches.


Introduction/Purpose Basilar occlusion is typically a devastating condition. The interventional treatment of only a handful of cases of sub-acute basilar thrombosis has been described in the literature. This report describes a case of basilar occlusion treated with delayed endovascular revascularisation studied with both high resolution MRI and surgical pathology evaluation. Materials and Methods Case report and literature review. Historical, angiographic, high resolution MRI, and surgical pathological data will be presented. Results A 73 year old male with rheumatic heart disease presented with blood pressure dependent dizziness, dysarthria, and right sided weakness. Workup revealed basilar occlusion above the left AICA with minimal leptomeningeal flow to the superior basilar segment, posterior cerebral and superior cerebellar arteries. The patient improved with, and thus was maintained on, IV vasopressor medications but could not be weaned from these medications after 8 days. High resolution MRI of the basilar segment was obtained. Endovascular revascularisation with mechanical thrombectomy (stent retriever) followed by stenting of the basilar artery was performed. The patient was neurologically stable after recanalisation despite return of blood pressure to baseline. Pathological evaluation of the removed thrombus was obtained. Conclusion Endovascular recanalisation of a subacute basilar occlusion may be safely performed in a selected population. High resolution MRI may be a beneficial part of the pre-procedural evaluation of these case and other cases of subacute occlusion in patients with a low NIH stroke scale. Abstract E-058 Figure 1 Disclosures R. Burgess: None. E. Cheng Ching: None. M. Hussain: None. G. Toth: None. M. Bain: None.


The stratigraphy and structure of the Glen App coastal area, northwestern Southern Uplands, are characterized by structural repetition of both chaotic and coherent units of the Middle Ordovician (Caradocian) Tappins Group. The chaotic unit, the Currarie Formation, comprises blocks, including basalt, chert and terrigenous sedimentary rocks, set in folded and in places sheared red to grey siliceous mudstone. The coherent unit is turbiditic, and is divided into the Dalreoch Formation in the north and the Corsewall Formation in the south. The former is characterized by inclined, isoclinal folds and thrusts, whereas the latter shows a homoclinal dip, although both are largely overturned northwards. Small-scale duplexes are observed within the coherent turbidites of the Dalreoch Formation and chaotic units. Larger duplexes, identified on the basis of mapping, are oriented at an oblique angle to the general trend of regional structures. The chemistry of basalt blocks within the Currarie Formation shows a within-plate type, suggesting an origin as seamounts. The tectono-stratigraphy of the area is interpreted as the result of accretion of a substantial seamount at a subduction zone during Mid-Ordovician time. Thrust interleaving of chaotic and coherent units is inferred to have taken place in and above the décollement zone, while thick turbidite beds without strong folding were probably preserved below the décollement and emplaced below a large-scale nappe. Interpretation of the Glen App area as part of an accretionary complex confirms that an ocean basin remained open in part of the Iapetus system, at least until Caradocian times.


In the cutting of Ti-6Al-4V alloy, the cutting speed is limited as a high cutting temperature leads to severe tool wear and short tool life, resulting in poor production efficiency. However, some recent literature has reported that various beneficial effects can be provided by forming micro-textures on the tool surface in the metal cutting process. In this study, in order to achieve high-performance machining of Ti-6Al-4V, we first investigated the mechanism of the tool failure process for a cemented carbide cutting tool in high-speed turning of Ti-6Al-4V. Based on the results, cutting tools with micro textured surfaces were developed under the consideration of a cutting fluid action. A series of experiments showed that the textured rake face significantly suppresses both crater wear and flank wear. In addition, optimum texture structures and the mechanism of the texture effects in high-speed machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were discussed.


An agency that fails to adequately consider the costs and benefits of its proposed regulatory changes increasingly places its rules at risk upon judicial review.

Over the last couple of decades, courts have begun to expect agencies to use regulatory analysis techniques like cost-benefit analysis to justify their regulatory choices. This poses acute risks for the independent regulatory agencies, whose draft regulations are not reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House experts on cost-benefit analysis. Independent regulatory agencies have not fully opted in to OIRA's regulatory review, likely because they expect that OIRA review portends the end of their ability to make independent decisions.

But what if it didn't? This article draws upon the author's 10+ years at OIRA to offer a new way forward: bespoke regulatory review. That is, bilateral negotiations resulting in agreements between independent regulatory agencies and OIRA, custom fit to each agency's unique features.


Introduction Perhaps the most acceptable definition of Forensic Dentistry, or Forensic Odontology as it is termed in some countries, is " The application of. dental knowledge to the elucidation of legal problems" taken in the widest sense. As a science it is still in its infancy, but considerable advances have taken place in recent years and today it is true to say that it is rapidly becoming a small but important part of forensic medicine.


ABSTRACT Long-standing fears surrounding synthetic biology have recently been rekindled by the discovery of the gene-editing technique Crispr. As with previous advances in biology, Crispr is sometimes characterized as a blueprint for bioweapons development or bioterrorism, and it has elicited calls for increased control and regulation of science. But while it is important to examine the potential dangers of emerging technologies, reaching a balanced assessment of risks and benefits requires that technologies' potential to improve human life be appreciated as well. Synthetic biology and Crispr offer a potentially enormous package of benefits, spanning from medicine to energy to agriculture and beyond. Discussions about the security and safety of synthetic biology and Crispr should not obscure these technologies' potential to address a wide variety of complex and pressing problems.


A novel and exceptionally structured Janus nanoribbon array film, was proposed, designed and fabricated for the first time. The flexible array film composed of ordered Janus nanoribbons was constructed by electrospinning using a purpose made co-axis//single-axis spinneret and an aluminum drum collection device, and simultaneously possesses anisotropically electrical conduction, superparamagnetism and fluorescence. Each one-dimensional (1D) Janus nanoribbon is composed of a fluorescent–superparamagnetic bifunctional [Fe3O4/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)]@[Eu(BA)3phen/PMMA] coaxial nanoribbon and conducting polyaniline (PANI)/PMMA nanoribbon. Moreover, all of the Janus nanoribbons are aligned in the same aspect to generate a two-dimensional (2D) array film. The conductance along the length aspect is much stronger than the conductance in the width aspect (two perpendicular aspects). Therefore, the array film has excellent anisotropic electrical conduction. The conduction ratio reaches 108 times between the length and width aspect of the Janus nanoribbons array film, which presents the highest internationally reported conduction ratio between the two perpendicular aspects for nanoribbons materials. Furthermore, we can modulate the degree of the electrically conducting anisotropism of the samples by varying the amount of PANI. In addition, the Janus nanoribbons array film is concurrently endowed by superior and adjustable superparamagnetism and fluorescence. More importantly, the innovative philosophy and manufacturing technique of the new Janus nanoribbons array film provide an easy method of preparing multifunctional nano-films.


In a continuing effort to develop safe and efficacious vaccine and immunotherapeutic vectors, we constructed recombinant vaccinia virus (rVV) vaccines lacking either the B13R (SPI-2) or the B22R (SPI-1) immune-modulating gene and coexpressing IFN-gamma. B13R and B22R are nonessential VV immune-modulating genes that have antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory properties with sequence homology to serine protease inhibitors (serpins). IFN-gamma is a cytokine with potent immunoregulatory, antineoplastic, and antiviral properties. We observed that these rVVs with a deletion in a serpin gene and expressing IFN-gamma replicated to high titers in tissue culture yet were avirulent in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent mice with no detectable viral replication in these animals. A single immunization elicited potent humoral, T helper, and cytotoxic T cell immune responses in mice despite the absence of any detectable virus replication in vivo. IFN-gamma coexpression and the inactivation of one or more VV immune-modulating genes provide an optimized method for increasing the safety while maintaining the efficacy of rVV vaccines. This strategy provides a method for developing highly safe and efficacious vaccines for smallpox and other diseases and immunotherapeutic vectors.


: Scholars of modernity have taken a particular interest in processes of urbanization and—thinking of Simmel, Benjamin, Mumford and Weber—the character of different varieties of city. From a different angle, notions of urban imaginary have gained greater purchase in the field of contemporary urban studies in comparative analysis of varieties of city. This essay begins with notes on both classical accounts of the city in social theory and current concepts of urban imaginaries. The notes revolve around the essay's main topic: the institution of cities of New World, specifically those of the United States and Canada. Paralleling Castoriadis' conception of the imaginary institution, the present author argues for a more exact notion of metropolitan imaginaries, differentiated from the broader subject of urban imaginaries. 'Metropolitan imaginaries' denotes processes of urbanization at the heart of networks of migration, transport, and flows of capital and culture. As part of larger imaginaries, metropolises generate immigrant cities. The specific kind of creation in question produces creativity also by concentrating intellectual and creative schools of design in architecture and visual culture. In sum, metropolises are not merely part of networks of connection and creation; they produce networks and act as the hubs of interaction and creativity within larger social imaginaries. The essay explores this argument in the contexts of US and Canadian modernity and state formation, with specific foci on New York, Chicago, and Toronto. The conclusion notes two limitations to the case presented here and sketches planned directions for future research.


In this special issue we consider various perspectives and ideas underlying the current ever-changing political and digital environments. There have been a substantial number of theories, coupled by empirical research over the past few years, on the nature of political behavior with respect to the increased use of the Internet. The main aim of this edition is to explore a few aspects of 'digital politics' and what they may mean for contemporary democratic culture. This paper synthesizes and reflects upon concepts presented in the following articles and discusses some recent developments and debates related to the dynamics of the online world.


A wide range of aquatic plants have been proven to release allelochemicals, of them phenolics and tannin are considered rather widely distributed. Tannins, however, have been demonstrated to have genotoxic capacity. In our study genotoxic potential of Lythrum salicaria L. (Purple Loosestrife, family Lythraceae) was assessed by the mussel micronucleus test, using Unio pictorum. In parallel, total and hydrolysable tannin contents were determined. Results clearly show that the extract had a high hydrolysable tannin content and significant mutagenic effect. As L. salicaria has been long used in traditional medicine for chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhoea and blood-spitting, genotoxic potential of the plant should be evaluated not only with regard to potential effects in the aquatic ecosystem, but also assessing its safe use as a medicinal herb.


Due to nature of their profession, seafarers visit many ports in different parts of the world and are thus exposed to various infectious diseases. And yet, chronic non-communicable diseases, malignant illnesses and accidents have lately become an important cause of death among the seafarers. Although before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak the communicable disease outbreaks were becoming less common, their share in seafarer morbidity remains significant. The aim of this research is to determine the most common infectious risks/contagious diseases on ships.
The Medline and Scopus databases have been searched using the following key words: seafarers, infectious diseases, morbidity, mortality. The information sources include relevant literature, as well as national and international regulations on preventive measures against infectious diseases.
At the global level no national or international surveillance systems exist on infectious disease occurrences on ships. There are only a few exceptions. However, based on some available individual and group research, conclusions may be drawn concerning the most important diseases in seafarer pathology. Of communicable/infectious diseases on ships, the most important ones are the acute respiratory illnesses, including the COVID-19 disease, followed by food poisoning/acute gastroenteritis, vector-borne diseases and HIV as the most common sexually transmitted disease in the past 20 years.
Estimating the threat from infectious diseases in seafarers depends on the type and trade of vessels. For COVID 19 and other respiratory infections, as well as food poisoning, risks are higher on cruise ships and passenger ships than on cargo ships. For better understanding of the issue, we need internationally co-ordinated studies and well organised surveillance systems.


In Godard's Le Mépris [Contempt, 1963], Fritz Lang, playing a fictional version of himself, evokes the complex relationship between cinema's future and the end of cinema by citing a famous verse from the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, according to which what counts in respect of poetry is henceforth no longer the secret persistence of the gods, nor their covert proximity, but their enduring absence. This paper explores the implications of that insight as they come to affect first Godard's film, then the three films based on Hölderlin's works directed by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub between 1986 and 1992: Der Tod des Empedokles [The Death of Empedocles]; Schwarze Sünde [Black Sin]; and Die Antigone des Sophokles nach der Hölderlinschen Übertragung für die Bühne bearbeitet von Brecht (Suhrkamp Verlag, 1948) [Sophocles' Antigone Based on Hölderlin's Translation, as Adapted for the Stage by Brecht (published by Suhrkamp, 1948)]. At issue in all those films, and similarly in Straub and Huillet's 1974 film of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, is the tension between the project or dream of sacrifice as a form of fusional politico-religious redemption and its very impossibility as such, attributable (among others) to the necessary subordination of film to spatio-temporal differentiation and, by that token, to what is irreducible to the visible and the invisible alike. Through careful analysis of Huillet and Straub's filmmaking strategy, the paper examines both the aesthetic and political consequences of their interruption of the logic of sacrifice, and seeks to show how the future of cinema is not reducible to the aesthetics of the spectacular but is inseparable from the promise of that which, before or beyond spectacle, has not yet ever been seen before.


Herein, a new nanohybrid catalyst was synthesized via covalently linking a tetraacetate porphyrin cobalt(II) complex to a TiO2/BiVO4 nanocomposite, and its photocatalytic efficiency towards alcohol oxidation under visible light irradiation was monitored by GC. This nanohybrid material was implemented as a photocatalyst and characterized by the following physicochemical techniques: FE-SEM imaging, EDS, XRD, DRS, BET analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy. Additionally, its role as a photocatalyst was evaluated using a mechanistic approach under aerobic conditions by changing several parameters such as solvent, substrate, oxidant, amount of catalyst, reaction temperature, and ratio of oxidant to substrate. The photocatalytic activity of this nanohybrid catalyst, with an average size of 24 nm, increased almost twice as compared to that of the TiO2/BiVO4 nanocomposite from 35% to 85% conversion, whereas the selectivity was 99%. A plausible mechanism was proposed. In fact, the cobalt porphyrin complex as a light sensitizer improves the photocatalytic activity through impregnation onto the TiO2 surface. The photocatalyst was reused several times without significant loss of its activity. Thus, this nanohybrid robust catalyst has excellent advantages such as facile synthesis, high activity and selectivity, and use of O2 and other environmentally friendly oxidants under mild conditions towards aldehyde production.


The literature on economic growth and development has focused considerable attention on questions of risk management and the possibility of multiple equilibria associated with poverty traps. We use herd history data collected among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia to study stochastic wealth dynamics among a very poor population. These data yield several novel findings. Although covariate rainfall shocks plainly matter, household-specific factors, including own herd size, account for most observed variability in wealth dynamics. Despite longstanding conventional wisdom about common property grazing lands, we find no statistical support for the tragedy of the commons hypothesis. It appears that past studies may have conflated costly self-insurance with stocking rate externalities. Such self-insurance is important in this setting because weak livestock markets and meager social insurance cause wealth to fluctuate largely in response to biophysical shocks. These shocks move households between multiple dynamic wealth equilibria toward which households converge following nonconvex path dynamics. The lowest equilibrium is consistent with the notion of a poverty trap. These findings have broad implications for the design of development and relief strategies among a poor population extraordinarily vulnerable to climatic shocks.


Michigan local governments engage in a wide range of cooperative activities. Little is known, however, about what factors motivate local governments to engage in intergovernmental cooperation and how local government officials choose among various forms of collaboration. We develop and test a theory of intergovernmental cooperation that explains differences in the factors that lead local governments to engage in horizontal cooperation with other local units versus vertical cooperation with county or state governments. Our primary focus is on fiscal capacity: we hypothesize that limited fiscal capacity leads many local governments, especially townships, to work collaboratively with state or county actors to provide government services. Local governments with greater fiscal capacity, especially cities, are stronger potential partners and so are more likely to collaborate with other local governments using horizontal arrangements. We expect other factors, such as population characteristics, local and regional economic factors, federal or state mandates, and the existence of collaborative partners, to matter as well. We test these hypotheses with survey data collected in 2005 by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan on the mode of service provision employed by 460 Michigan local governments across 115 service categories. We find strong support for our propositions about the linkage between local fiscal capacity and intergovernmental cooperation on public services.


The collection efficiency (CE) of the Fenwall CS3000 continuous flow blood cell separator in the apheresis of peripheral blood stem cells during haemopoietic recovery following myelosuppressive chemotherapy was analysed. Ninety‐three aphereses were performed in 19 patients using procedure 3 on the Fenwal CS3000. The overall CE was calculated from the pre‐apheresis cell counts and the stated blood volume processed. Instantaneous CE was calculated from cell counts in the inlet and return lines. The overall mononuclear cell and granulocyte‐macrophage colony forming unit CE were 64.0% and 55.8%, respectively, significantly lower than the instantaneous CEs of 94.5% and 95.4%, respectively (P = 0.0001, t test, for both comparisons). Three factors unrelated to machine performance contributed to the lower overall CE despite a high instantaneous CE: (I) A fall in the patient's mononuclear cell counts during apheresis leading to an overestimation of the cells available for collection, (2) dilution of blood by anti‐coagulant, and (3) the operational dead space of the Fenwal CS3000. The overall CE corrected for these 3 factors approximated the instantaneous CE closely. Thus there is little room for further enhancement of machine performance because the Fenwal CS3000 is already operating with a very high instantaneous CE. To achieve major improvement in the yield of peripheral blood stem cell harvests, more effective mobilization protocols and better timing of apheresis are required. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This book attempts to give a unified synopsis of the current state of turtle conservation. This is an ambitious objective, given the taxonomic variety (almost 300 different species) and ecological range (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems) of turtles in general. Furthermore, different turtles are found the world over, making turtle conservation a diverse and international field, and a major difficulty in writing such a broadly scoped book is finding a way to satisfy everyone. Conservation is a myriad of different disciplines, including (but not restricted to): biology, economics, sociology, geography, education, and politics. Any attempt to cover all of the topics of "conservation" will either be several volumes long or will make sacrifices to keep the book compact and accessible to a general readership. Turtle Conservation has taken a generalist approach, giving broad overviews to several subjects related to the conservation of chelonian species. The book is targeted to an audience with biological background, and would be useful as an undergraduate level teaching/research resource.


Ordinal regression is a classification task where classes have an order and prediction error increases the further the predicted class is from the true class. The standard approach for modeling ordinal data involves fitting parallel separating hyperplanes that optimize a certain loss function. This assumption offers sample efficient learning via inductive bias, but is often too restrictive in real-world datasets where features may have varying effects across different categories. Allowing class-specific hyperplane slopes creates generalized logistic ordinal regression, increasing the flexibility of the model at a cost to sample efficiency. We explore an extension of the generalized model to the all-thresholds logistic loss and propose a regularization approach that interpolates between these two extremes. Our method, which we term continuously generalized ordinal logistic, significantly outperforms the standard ordinal logistic model over a thorough set of ordinal regression benchmark datasets. We further extend this method to deep learning and show that it achieves competitive or lower prediction error compared to previous models over a range of datasets and modalities. Furthermore, two primary alternative models for deep learning ordinal regression are shown to be special cases of our framework.


BACKGROUND
. Evidence-based clinical preventive services are underutilized. We explored the major factors associated with delivery of these services in a large physician-owned community-based group practice that provided care for both fee-for-service (FFS) and health maintenance organization (HMO) patient populations.

METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional audit of the computerized billing data of all adult outpatients seen at least once by any primary care provider in 1995 (N = 75,621). Delivery of preventive services was stratified by age, sex, visit frequency, insurance status (FFS or HMO), and visit type (acute care only or scheduled preventive visit).

RESULTS
Insurance status and visit type were the strongest predictors of clinical preventive service delivery. Patients with FFS coverage received 6% to 13% (absolute difference) fewer of these services than HMO patients. Acute-care-only patients received 9% to 45% fewer services than patients who scheduled preventive visits. The combination of these factors was associated with profound differences.

CONCLUSIONS
Having insurance to pay for preventive services is an important factor in the delivery of such care. Encouraging all patients to schedule preventive visits has been suggested as a strategy for increasing delivery, but that is not practical in this setting. Assessing the need for preventive services and offering them during acute care visits has equal potential for increasing delivery.


In the present article authors discuss questions of fair justice in Russian Federation and questions of judicial authority functioning in Russian Federation. Authors present statistics of judicial authority functioning in Russian Federation and present opinions of jurists and scientists. Authors analyze organizational and legal bases for the judicial authority work in Russian Federation and it's place in the modern civil society of Russian Federation. Based on the above information authors provide personal scientifically and practice based opinion. In conclusion authors explain the need of the judge's work load count, need for special ethical oriented books preparation, need for changes in current laws, regulation judicial authority work and judicial activity in modern Russian Federation. Furthermore authors emphasize that it is absolutely necessary no lessen the load of cases on courts by implementing appropriate instruments such as mandatory mediation pretrial procedures, reinforcement of societies of the rights of consumers protection with broad legal competences and many other instruments.


The effectiveness of the "Berlin Letters for Seniors" (LFS) will be tested by a longitudinal study. Two Measurement Points (MP) are scheduled: 1976 and 1978. The total sample (N = 3000) comprehends two subsamples of receivers and non-receivers. Data were/will be collected by a questionnaire. A preliminary analysis of the MP I data shows that the two subsamples are comparable as to demographic variables and relevant attitudes; so they may serve as experimental versus control group. An examination of what the readers' concept of the LFS was like, proved that though reservation was recognizable approval prevails.


Women remain disadvantaged in access to management positions around the world. We conduct a field experiment with 24 large garment factories in Bangladesh to test for inefficient representation of women among line supervisors. We identify the marginal female and male candidates for supervisory positions and randomly assign them to manage production lines. Three sets of results emerge: (i) extensive diagnostic testing at baseline reveal few skill differences between marginal female and male supervisor candidates; (ii) initially, marginal female candidates have lower productivity and evaluations from sub-ordinate workers, though after four to six months, these gaps disappear; and (iii) the share of the female candidates retained as line supervisor after the trial is significantly higher than the share of female supervisors in the factories at baseline. This suggests that factories previously promoted fewer women than would have been optimal. Additional surveys and a lab-in-the-field experiment suggest that the initially worse performance stems from negative beliefs of workers about the abilities of female supervisors.r.


The introduction of Intel(R) Xeon Phi(TM) coprocessors opened up new possibilities in development of highly parallel applications. The familiarity and flexibility of the architecture together with compiler support integrated into the Intel C++ Composer XE allows the developers to use familiar programming paradigms and techniques, which are usually not suitable for other accelerated systems. It is now easy to use complex C++ template-heavy codes on the coprocessor, including for example the Intel Threading Building Blocks (TBB) parallelization library. These techniques are not only possible, but usually efficient as well, since host and coprocessor are of the same architectural family, making optimization techniques designed for the Xeon CPU also beneficial on Xeon Phi. As a result, highly optimized Xeon codes (like the TBB library) work well on both.
In this paper we present a new parallel library construct, which makes it easy to apply a function to every member of an array in parallel, dynamically distributing the work between the host CPUs and one or more coprocessor cards. We describe the associated runtime support and use a physical simulation example to demonstrate that our library construct can be used to quickly create a C++ application that will significantly benefit from hybrid execution, simultaneously exploiting CPU cores and coprocessor cores. Experimental results show that one optimized source code is sufficient to make the host and the coprocessors run efficiently.


Ascending price auctions typically involve a single price path with buyers paying their final bid price. Using this traditional definition, no ascending price auction can achieve the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) outcome for general private valuations in the combinatorial auction setting. We relax this definition by allowing discounts to buyers from the final price of the auction (or alternatively, calculating the discounts dynamically during the auction) while still maintaining a single price path. Using a notion called universal competitive equilibrium prices, shown to be necessary and sufficient to achieve the VCG outcome using ascending price auctions, we define a broad class of ascending price combinatorial auctions in which truthful bidding by buyers is an ex post Nash equilibrium. Any auction in this class achieves the VCG outcome and ex post efficiency for general valuations. We define two specific auctions in this class by generalizing two known auctions in the literature [11, 24].


Though advocated as useful for patients, there is little in the literature regarding the use and effectiveness of bariatric support groups. This study investigated characteristics and experiences of bariatric patients who did and did not attend offered groups. Seventy-eight postoperative laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding patients from a private bariatric clinic completed mailed self-report questionnaires. Almost 60% reported having attended the clinic groups, with most wanting to meet other patients and obtain information rather than access psychological assistance. Participants reported generally positive experiences of attending. Nonattendance was often attributed to practical barriers. Satisfaction with support from others was not related to past or predicted future attendance, but higher psychological distress was related to and predictive of greater intention to attend future groups. Likely future attenders also held more positive beliefs about the groups than those who were unlikely to attend. Further research is required into potential positive and negative consequences of attendance, and characteristics of those who are likely to benefit or be harmed by attending. Interventions addressing stereotypes about support groups may help patients make informed decisions about whether to attend a bariatric support group.