The hydroxyl radical (HO*) is a strong oxidant that reacts with electron-rich sites of organic compounds and initiates complex chain mechanisms. In order to help understand the reaction mechanisms, a rule-based model was previously developed to predict the reaction pathways. For a kinetic model, there is a need to develop a rate constant estimator that predicts the rate constants for a variety of organic compounds. In this study, a group contribution method (GCM) is developed to predict the aqueous phase HO* rate constants for the following reaction mechanisms: (1) H-atom abstraction, (2) HO* addition to alkenes, (3) HO* addition to aromatic compounds, and (4) HO* interaction with sulfur (S)-, nitrogen (N)-, or phosphorus (P)-atom-containing compounds. The GCM hypothesizes that an observed experimental rate constant for a given organic compound is the combined rate of all elementary reactions involving HO*, which can be estimated using the Arrhenius activation energy, E(a), and temperature. Each E(a) for those elementary reactions can be comprised of two parts: (1) a base part that includes a reactive bond in each reaction mechanism and (2) contributions from its neighboring functional groups. The GCM includes 66 group rate constants and 80 group contribution factors, which characterize each HO* reaction mechanism with steric effects of the chemical structure groups and impacts of the neighboring functional groups, respectively. Literature-reported experimental HO* rate constants for 310 and 124 compounds were used for calibration and prediction, respectively. The genetic algorithms were used to determine the group rate constants and group contribution factors. The group contribution factors for H-atom abstraction and HO* addition to the aromatic compounds were found to linearly correlate with the Taft constants, sigma*, and electrophilic substituent parameters, sigma+, respectively. The best calibrations for 83% (257 rate constants) and predictions for 62% (77 rate constants) of the rate constants were within 0.5-2 times the experimental values. This accuracy may be acceptable for model predictions of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) performance, depending on how sensitive the model is to the rate constants.


A field study initiated in 2006 was designed to evaluate the effects of three wheat stubble heights on subsequent grain yields of corn and grain sorghum. Corn yields in 2014 were similar to the long-term average, while sorghum yields were greater than the long-term average. Taller cut stubble in 2014 increased biomass production of corn and yield for grain sorghum. When averaged across 2007 through 2014, corn grain yields were 9 bu/a greater when planted into either tall or strip-cut stubble than into low-cut stubble. Average grain sorghum yields were not significantly affected by wheat stubble height. Water use efficiency was greater for taller cut stubble for both corn and grain sorghum. Harvesting wheat shorter than necessary causes a yield penalty for the subsequent row crops, especially dryland corn.


ProbNetKAT is a probabilistic extension of NetKAT with a denotational semantics based on Markov kernels. The language is expressive enough to generate continuous distributions, which raises the question of how to effectively compute in the language. This paper gives an alternative characterization of ProbNetKAT's semantics using domain theory, which provides the foundations needed to build a practical implementation. The new semantics demonstrates that it is possible to analyze ProbNetKAT programs precisely using approximations of fixpoints and distributions with finite support. We develop an implementation and show how to solve a variety of practical problems including characterizing the expected performance of traffic engineering schemes based on randomized routing and reasoning probabilistically about properties such as loop freedom.


Although effective in relieving symptoms of edema in congestive heart failure (CHF), diuretic-induced natriuresis may be associated with reductions in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), which subsequently may reduce the duration of natriuresis. Moreover, recent studies have reported that the preservation of GFR is an important predictor of survival in human CHF. We hypothesized that the acute detrimental renal hemodynamic and tubular responses to furosemide in symptomatic human CHF will be attenuated by AT(1) receptor blockade with losartan. We defined the renal hemodynamic and tubular actions and aldosterone responses to furosemide (40 mg, orally) in the presence of acute AT(1) receptor antagonism (losartan, MSD, 50 mg orally) vs. placebo in 10 subjects with CHF (New York Heart Association II-III) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Furosemide with placebo increased sodium excretion and reduced ERPF and GFR (P < 0.05 vs. baseline). After 4 h, sodium excretion compared with baseline was decreased (P < 0.05). In contrast, furosemide with losartan resulted in a greater increase in sodium excretion but without reductions in ERPF and GFR (P < 0.05 vs. placebo). After 4 h, sodium excretion was greater compared with the placebo group. Importantly, plasma aldosterone tended to increase in the placebo group, whereas it was decreased (P < 0.05 vs. baseline) only in the losartan group. These studies underscore the pathophysiological role of the AT(1) receptor in mediating detrimental renal and adrenal properties of diuretics in human CHF. AT(1) receptor antagonism preserves GFR and renal blood flow and enhances sodium excretion during acute diuretic therapy in addition to inhibiting aldosterone secretion. These findings support the use of AT(1) receptor blockade for human CHF requiring acute diuretics to improve renal hemodynamic and tubular function and to suppress aldosterone.


The article discusses the impact and implication of international teacher migration and commonwealth protocol in Great Britain. According to the author, the country's organized migration and recruitment have become a recent phenomenon which depicts the shortage of teachers in industrialized states as well as provide valuable remittances in their homeland. It also cites the reasons on the increasing number of immigrant teacher which includes compensation and financial packages as well as benefits and opportunity to travel abroad.


As for a new type of joint of steel structures, cast steel joints are used for large and complicated steel structures. Combined with the analysis of Y-type cast steel joints for the New Railway Station of Guangzhou, the performance of this type cast steel is discussed. With the help of ANSYS software, the distribution of the stress, the process of plasticity spreading and the failure mechanism of Y-type cast steel joints are analyzed. In order to further investigate the stress concentration, a parametric study of Y-type cast steel joint was conducted considering the influence of factors, such as corner fillet radius of different branch members, branch member thickness, and stiffener thickness. The results show that the Y-type cast steel joint of Guangzhou New Railway Station is safe. And the corner fillet and stiffer can reduce the stress concentration of joints. But the thickness of branch members has small relation with stress concentration.


This paper investigates the impact of collaborative-filtering-based recommendation systems and consumer feedback mechanisms, two technologies commonly adopted by online retailers, on sales. With data from Amazon.com, we find evidence that more collaborative-filtering-based recommendations are associated with higher sales at Amazon.com, while sales also contributes to recommendations. On the other hand, consumer ratings do not directly correlate to sales. Instead, high ratings that are validated by a large number of reviews have a positive effect on sales. Furthermore, we find that the effects of collaborative-filtering-based recommendations on sales are stronger for books that have fewer reviews and are less popular. Because less-reviewed, and less-popular books generally have less information available and are usually less accessible to buyers when compared to well-reviewed best sellers, recommendations based on collaborative filtering technology may be a more important source of information for buyers. This finding suggests that collaborative filtering technology has the potential to make up for the inefficiency of consumer feedback mechanisms by supplementing information for consumers to make decisions. Our findings also suggest that an efficient and effective selling strategy is to promote early sales, especially to customers with a long history of book buying because sales to someone with no history provides little data for collaborative filtering. Overall, our results provide important strategic implications for vendor strategies to design and use these technologies.


A scientific problem described within a given code is mapped by a corresponding computational problem. We call (algorithmic) complexity the bit length of the shortest instruction which solves the problem. Deterministic chaos in general affects a dynamical system making the corresponding problem experimentally and computationally heavy, since one must reset the initial conditions at a rate higher than that of information loss (Kolmogorov entropy). One can control chaos by adding to the system new degrees of freedom (information swapping: information lost by chaos is replaced by that arising from the new degrees of freedom). This implies a change of code, or a new augmented model. Within a single code, changing hypotheses is equivalent to fixing different sets of control parameters, each with a different a-priori probability, to be then confirmed and transformed to an a-posteriori probability via Bayes theorem. Sequential application of Bayes rule is nothing else than the Darwinian strategy in evolutionary biology. The sequence is a steepest ascent algorithm, which stops once maximum probability has been reached. At this point the hypothesis exploration stops. By changing code (and hence the set of relevant variables) one can start again to formulate new classes of hypotheses. We call creativity the action of code changing, which is guided by hints not formalized within the previous code, whence not accessible to a computer. We call semantic complexity the number of different scientific codes, or models, that describe a situation. It is however a fuzzy concept, in so far as this number changes due to interaction of the operator with the context. These considerations are illustrated with reference to a cognitive task, starting from synchronization of neuron arrays in a perceptual area and tracing the putative path towards a model building. Since this is a report on work in progress, we skip technicalities in order to stress the gist of the question, and provide references to more detailed work.


Analog to digital converter circuits that are based on the sharing of common resources, including those which are critical to the linearity and stability of the individual channels, are described. Simplicity of circuit composition is valued over other more costly approaches. These are intended to be applied in a large-scale processing and digitizing system for use with high-energy physics detectors such as drift-chambers or phototube-scintillator arrays. Signal distribution techniques are of paramount importance in maintaining adequate signal-to-noise ratio. Noise in both amplitude and time-jitter senses is held sufficiently low so that conversions with 10-bit charge resolution and 12-bit time resolution are achieved.


A major question for the generic skills project (Graduate Skills, 2010) was how best to promote the development of these skills for students in business. This question has preoccupied educationalists for decades and a variety of strategies are currently in use. This paper reviews the literature in the area and proposes an additional approach to the development of generic skills ? the use of intensive workshops. Beginning with students and later incorporating teaching staff, a series of one- to three-day workshops were held at various universities around Australia. These were well received by both the students and academics who participated. Student feedback from the workshops showed they had improved their understanding of the four generic skills discussed ? critical thinking, teamwork, sustainability and ethical practice ? and had especially enjoyed learning in a socially interactive and challenging environment. These results suggest that the workshop model has considerable potential either in stand-alone form or as a complement to an existing strategy for generic skills development.


A positive correlation between soil metal content and plant metal accumulation has been used by biogeochemists to assist mineral exploration in areas of minimal outcrop. Much-needed study of the impact of vegetation sample collection over an extended time-frame, impact of site drainage, as well as the choice of vegetation sample type are presented. Evaluation of seasonal variability, together with measurements of tree water flow-rate (affected by weather conditions) on tree crown metal uptake was also undertaken to ascertain whether this variability could mask the geochemical signatures or whether normalization to weather conditions is needed. Thirty-three elements, including Au, Ag, Ni, Co, Zn and Cu, were studied. Other factors such as tree crown, outer bark and tree appearance were also studied. Black spruce was selected due to its ubiquitous presence in the boreal forest of central Manitoba. The best agreement between the crown twig metal accumulation and tree water uptake was identified for the rare earth elements (REEs) and the essential elements (Ca, K, Mg, Fe, P, Zn), which also exhibited the highest seasonal variation. The content of pH-sensitive elements (Ag, Co, Ni, Rb, Mn, Cu) in black spruce crowns did not display any direct relationship to the tree water uptake. Elements most affected by site drainage conditions include Ag, Co, Ni, Rb, Mn and Cu. These metals were found in substantially larger quantities in crowns of trees growing on well drained sites. Gold concentrations in outer bark samples growing on well drained sites were 12 times lower than the same samples collected from poorly drained sites. Au, Pb, W, Th, Na, Al were found in substantially larger concentrations in thin (up to 4 mm in diameter) compared to thicker twigs. Ag and Ca accumulated preferentially in thick twigs. K, Mg, P, Mn, Zn, Cu, Au, Ag, Rb and W were present in substantially higher concentrations in the crown twigs compared to outer bark. Pb, B, Hf, Th, V and REEs were present in the outer bark at eight to ten times higher concentrations than in crown twigs, and Hf, Na, Sb, Sc and V five times higher. W was not detectable in the outer bark but its content in the twigs was well above the detection limit. Crown morphology, the outer bark appearance and the number of tree transpiring branches had no measurable effect on metal contents in the assessed tree organs.


Participation in child labour, in both household and non-household activities, gender effects and low educational attainment remain challenges for countries in Latin America. Through hierarchical linear modelling of data from the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this study seeks to explore the current cross-country trends in the relationship between educational attainment, child labour and gender. While non-household labour is found to have an effect, as per statistical significance and the magnitude, on educational achievement across all Latin American countries; participation in household labour is significant in only two countries (Peru and Uruguay). Girls are found to underperform compared to boys by a significant margin across Latin America. The later part of the study seeks to examine the interaction effects of gender and participation in labour activities. Results show that gender has no moderating effect, suggesting that the participation in work itself or workspace (household or non-household) does not influence or contribute to gender inequality in education outcomes. The explanatory factors for gender inequality in education outcomes is potentially rooted in a different sphere of influence which needs to be deciphered through deeper empirical investigation.


The aim of the study was to identify factors that determined the regional production of triticale in Poland. The sources for regional diversification analysis of the triticale production were statistical GUS data from 2012-2014, accessed according to the province. The calculations were based on a three-year average. In a subjective way 20 factors that were characteristic for triticale production were chosen and were statistically analysed. Applying the multivariate analysis method allowed showing the regional diversification of triticale production in Poland and determining the factors that influence it. The cluster analysis method was used to isolate five groups of provinces, which differed in triticale production. Greatness triticale production in the regions was related to the intensification of animal production, structural and organizational factors. Triticale cultivation is concentrated mainly in Wielkopolska, Kujawy and in central and eastern parts of the country. The area structure in the western and northern parts of the country is more substantial than in eastern parts. Commercial cultivation and interest in the production of triticale are related to the size of the farm. The production of triticale cultivation in regions was associated with the foodstuff production for cattle of stock pig and poultry populations. The intensity of farming and the level of agricultural practises are connected with a size of the triticale yield.


Background
Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2; herpes) exacerbates human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) by unclear mechanisms. These studies tested the impact of HSV-2 on systemic T-cells and HIV reservoirs.

Methods
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HIV-infected women on antiretroviral therapy who were HSV-2 seropositive or seronegative and HIV-uninfected controls were analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell-associated HIV DNA and RNA were quantified in the absence or presence of activating stimuli, recombinant interleukin 32γ (IL-32γ), and a RUNX1 inhibitor. RNA was assessed by nanostring.

Results
CD4, but not CD8, T-cell phenotypes differed in HIV+/HSV-2+ versus HIV+/HSV-2- (overall P = .002) with increased frequency of CCR5+, CXCR4+, PD-1+, and CD69+ and decreased frequency of CCR10+ and CCR6+ T-cells. The changes were associated with higher HIV DNA. Paradoxically, IL-32, a proinflammatory cytokine, was lower in subpopulations of CD4+ T-cells in HSV-2+ versus HSV-2- women. Recombinant IL-32γ blocked HIV reactivation in CD4+ T-cells and was associated with an increase in RUNX1 expression; the blockade was overcome by a RUNX1 inhibitor.

Conclusions
Herpes is associated with phenotypic changes in CD4+ T-cells, including a decrease in IL-32, which may contribute to increased HIV reservoirs. Blocking IL-32 may facilitate HIV reactivation to improve shock and kill strategies.


Every science has limits to its operation, including medical science concerning malignancy. Beyond a certain stage of a disease, palliation is the only recourse. The word "palliation" amounts to an acceptance of defeat by a clinician while trying to salvage his cancer patients. It means that the patient should breathe and eat without much pain till death takes pity on him. Palliative surgery in laryngeal cancer amounts to doing tracheostomies and gastrostomies and administering painkillers. Most of my cases belong to this category. I extended the accepted parameters of surgical excisions for primary lesion and metastatic nodes. These excisions include laryngectomy with cervical esophagectomy, total laryngectomy, total cervical esophagetomy, total glossectomy, and total mandibulectomy. The extended radical neck dissections include carotid artery, vagus nerve, and sympathetic trunk on one side. Removal of these so-called vital structures was not only compatible with life but proved curative in 20 per cent of these cases.


We exploit an age discontinuity in a Dutch disability insurance reform to identify the health impact of stricter eligibility criteria and reduced generosity. Our results show substantial adverse effects on life expectancy for women subject to the more stringent criteria. A €1,000 reduction in annual benefits leads to a 2.4 percentage points higher probability of death more than 10 years after the reform. This negative health effect is restricted to women with low pre-disability earnings. We find that the mortality rate of men subject to the stricter rules is reduced by 0.7 percentage points. The evidence for the existence of substantial health effects implies that policymakers considering a disability insurance reform should carefully balance the welfare gains from reduced moral hazard against losses not only from less coverage of income risks but also from deteriorated health.


The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different levels of  babassu meal inclusion (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12%) in diets with  corn and soybean meal for broilers of 21 to 42 days of age on the productive performance, carcass yield and economic evaluation. 300 Hubbard lineage broilers (both genders) were accommodate and distributed in completely randomized design with five treatments (0, 3, 6 and 9 and 12%) and five replicates of 12 animals (6 of each gender) for experimental unit. The inclusion of up to 12% of babassu meal in the diets did not decrease the performance variables (ration consumption, weight daily gain and feed conversion), neither affecting the weight at 42 days of age and the carcass yield (P>0.05). However, the gross and net incomes reflect the use of babassu meal can be advantageous in periods when corn and soybean meal prices were high, including in up to 6% in broilers' diets of the 21 to 42 days of age. KEY WORDS: Babassu, broiler, economy, production.


Frequency-dependent causal RLGC(f) models are proposed for single-ended and coupled transmission lines. Dielectric loss, dielectric dispersion, and skin-effect loss are taken into account. The dielectric substrate is described by the two-term Debye frequency dependence, and the transmission line conductors are of finite conductivity. In this paper, three frequency-dependent RLGC models are studied. One is the known frequency-dependent analytical RLGC model (RLGC-I), the second is the RLGC( f) model (RLGC-II) proposed in this paper, and the third (RLGC-III) is same as the RLGC -II, but with causality enforced by the Hilbert transform in frequency domain. The causalities of the three RLGC models are corroborated in the time domain by examining the propagation of a well-defined pulse through three different transmission lines: a single-ended stripline, a single-ended microstrip line, and an edge-coupled differential stripline pair. A clear time-domain start point is shown on each received pulse for the RLGC-II model and the RLGC-III model, where their corresponding start points overlap. This indicates that the proposed RLGC(f) model (RLGC-II) is causal. Good agreement of simulated and measured S-parameters has also been achieved in the frequency domain for the three transmission lines by using the proposed frequency-dependent RLGC(f) model.


We are teacher educators working in South Africa and the United States. Collectively we explored and extended our understanding of methodological inventiveness in self- study research through an artful process we have named "virtual polyvocal research jamming." We make explicit our extemporary, dialogic process, showing how we imagined and played with artful research practices: rich pictures, poetry, oral performance, and dance. Through collective analysis of our process and products, we share our learning about methodological inventiveness, highlighting how nding imaginative ways to express and make sense of insights can deepen and extend shared re ection, analysis, and communication in educational inquiry.


Security researchers have, for a long time, devised mechanisms to prevent adversaries from conducting automated network attacks, such as denial-of-service, which lead to significant wastage of resources. On the other hand, several attempts have been made to automatically recognize generic images, make them semantically searchable by content, annotate them, and associate them with linguistic indexes. In the course of these attempts, the limitations of state-of-the-art algorithms in mimicking human vision have become exposed. In this paper, we explore the exploitation of this limitation for potentially preventing automated network attacks. While undistorted natural images have been shown to be algorithmically recognizable and searchable by content to moderate levels, controlled distortions of specific types and strengths can potentially make machine recognition harder without affecting human recognition. This difference in recognizability makes it a promising candidate for automated Turing tests [completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart (CAPTCHAs)] which can differentiate humans from machines. We empirically study the application of controlled distortions of varying nature and strength, and their effect on human and machine recognizability. While human recognizability is measured on the basis of an extensive user study, machine recognizability is based on memory-based content-based image retrieval (CBIR) and matching algorithms. We give a detailed description of our experimental image CAPTCHA system, IMAGINATION, that uses systematic distortions at its core. A significant research topic within signal analysis, CBIR is actually conceived here as a tool for an adversary, so as to help us design more foolproof image CAPTCHAs.


—Introduction of mobile relays into networks based on IEEE 802.16 standard brings new challenges. The paper proposes signaling mechanism for acquisition of channel state information for mobile relays and provides detail analysis of the amount of signaling overhead caused by their introduction. In addition, the investigation whether the connection of the mobile users through the mobile relays enhances the system performance is carried out. The obtained simulation results indicate that by means of mobile relays, the overall throughput can be increased and signaling overhead reduced.


Futures markets have two main goals: price discovery and risk management. Because management decisions often have to be made on a time horizon longer than the time until expiration of the nearby futures contract, it is important to determine how well distant-delivery futures contracts are able to assist in price discovery. We focus on soybean and live cattle distant-delivery futures contracts and test for the informational value added to nearby contracts. Two tests for information value provide partially conflicting results due to the different information measures employed. If being able to predict the price trend is sufficient, then we find some information value in distantdelivery futures contracts, while if accurate point estimates of future spot prices are desired the results are negative. Surprisingly, we do not find the expected dichotomy between the storable (soybeans) and non-storable (cattle) commodities.


ABSTRACT The 1,700 m.y. Ortega Group in northern New Mexico is a sequence of quartz arenites and subordinate mudstones in excess of 1,000 m. Sedimentation took place in diverse shallow-shelf environments under the influence of tidal, wave, and storm processes. Time-velocity asymmetry of tidal flow on the inner shelf produced large-scale trough cross beds and tabular-planar cross beds with multiple reactivation surfaces. In contrast, tabular cosets structured internally by small-scale trough cross beds and herringbone cross beds resulted from symmetrical tidal flow on the inner shelf. Fair-weather waves reworked the upper surface of tidal sand bodies on the inner shelf during quiet periods within the tidal rhythm. During storms, sand was entrained into the water column on the proximal inner she f leaving winnowed pebble lags at the top of tidal sand bodies. Sand transported by storm-induced gradient currents was deposited on the outer shelf as discrete lobes. Progradation of sand lobes produced 1-11-m-thick genetic packages which display an upward thickening of sandstone beds and are capped by cosets of tabular, planar-laminated sandstones. Storm sands were reworked by wave processes on the proximal outer shelf, whereas storm-deposited sands on the distal outer shelf remained unmodified. No evidence of tidal processes exists on the outer shelf. Distribution of facies and paleocurrent patterns indicates that the shelf sloped to the south and experienced an overall transgression which culminated in the drowning of the outer shelf with onlap of black, basinal muds. Absence of shallow-water turbidites below storm wave base reflects low gradients on the shelf. Vertical transition from tide- to storm-dominated sedimentation in the Ortega Group does not represent a change in depositional style with time on the shelf. Rather, all facies coexisted across the shelf, with tidal processes prevailing on the shallow inner shelf and storm processes on the outer shelf. The German Bight in the North Sea and parts of the Bering Sea off Alaska are Holocene counterparts for the depositional framework envisaged for the Ortega Group; in both, pro imal, tide-dominated environments pass distally into deeper-water, storm-dominated environments.


A posterior segment approach for cell transplantation or injection into the subretinal space of the dog has been developed. Controlled penetration to the subretinal space was achieved using a 29-gauge injection cannula, either blunted or with a 30° sharpened bevel, and partially ensheathed with moveable plastic tubing. Depending on the injection volume used, the retina detached, and the fluid was reabsorbed within 1 – 3 weeks, although for smaller volumes the retina reattached within a matter of days. The optimal injection volume used was between 100 and 150 μl, or two injections of 55 μl each. By ophthalmoscopy following the surgery, it was possible to serially monitor the injection site and retinal bleb through fundus photography. Light microscopy demonstrates the distribution of stable, viable RPE cells in the subretinal space up to 6 months. The transplantation technique developed for the dog is atraumatic and free from any major surgical or clinical complications. It can be readily used to deliver cells or fluids to localized regions of the subretinal space.


Dogs with indwelling polyethylene arterial and venous catheters ran on a treadmill (slope 15 per cent, speed 100 m./min.). Diabetes was produced by alloxan or by a combination of alloxan and streptozotocin. Glucose turnover was measured according to the primed constant-rate infusion technics with 2-3H-glucose as tracer. In resting diabetic dogs plasma glucose varied between 200 and 650 mg./100 ml. There was a direct linear correlation between the hepatic glucose output (Ra) and the plasma glucose level. Exercise increased both Ra and the clearance rate (CR) of glucose; however, Ra could not match the rate of disappearance (=renal loss plus glucose uptake of the muscle), causing the plasma glucose to decline more rapidly than in the running control dogs. Two to three daysʹ treatment with methylprednisolone (MP, 3-3.2 mg./kg./day) caused a higher resting glucose level and a higher Ra. Exercise greatly increased the plasma glucose concentration, partly because MP enhanced the hepatic response but mainly because it essentially prevented the rise of CR. It is concluded that (a) in chemically induced diabetes, the variable glucose level is the result of a variable rate of hepatic glucose output; (b) the increase of Ra by MP treatment does not increase the plasma glucose in the normal dog but significantly aggravates the alloxan diabetes, (c) diabetes reduces the effect of exercise on the glucose uptake of the muscle, and this effect is potentiated by the inhibitory action of the glucocorticoid. This latter becomes unmasked only when the insulin secretion is impaired.


Prospective evaluation of youths with early psychotic‐like experiences can enrich our knowledge of clinical, biobehavioral and environmental risk and protective factors associated with the development of psychotic disorders. We aimed to investigate the predictors of persistence or worsening of psychosis spectrum features among US youth through the first large systematic study to evaluate subclinical symptoms in the community. Based on Time 1 screen of 9,498 youth (age 8‐21) from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a subsample of participants was enrolled based on the presence (N=249) or absence (N=254) of baseline psychosis spectrum symptoms, prior participation in neuroimaging, and current neuroimaging eligibility. They were invited to participate in a Time 2 assessment two years on average following Time 1. Participants were administered the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes, conducted blind to initial screen status, along with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and other clinical measures, computerized neurocognitive testing, and neuroimaging. Clinical and demographic predictors of symptom persistence were examined using logistic regression. At Time 2, psychosis spectrum features persisted or worsened in 51.4% of youths. Symptom persistence was predicted by higher severity of subclinical psychosis, lower global functioning, and prior psychiatric medication at baseline. Youths classified as having psychosis spectrum symptoms at baseline but not at follow‐up nonetheless exhibited comparatively higher symptom levels and lower functioning at both baseline and follow‐up than typically developing youths. In addition, psychosis spectrum features emerged in a small number of young people who previously had not reported significant symptoms but who had exhibited early clinical warning signs. Together, our findings indicate that varying courses of psychosis spectrum symptoms are evident early in US youth, supporting the importance of investigating psychosis risk as a dynamic developmental process. Neurocognition, brain structure and function, and genomics may be integrated with clinical data to provide early indices of symptom persistence and worsening in youths at risk for psychosis.


This paper introduces an interframe prediction technique that combines two motion vectors (MVs) derived respectively from template and block matching for overlapped block motion compensation (OBMC). It has a salient feature of not having to signal the template MV, while achieving a prediction performance close to that of bi-prediction. We begin by studying template matching prediction (TMP) from a theoretical perspective. Based on two signal models, the template MV is shown to approximate the pixel true motion around the template centroid, through which we explain why TMP generally outperforms SKIP prediction but is inferior to block-based motion compensation in terms of prediction performance. We then approach the problem of finding another MV to best complement the template MV from both deterministic and statistical viewpoints, the latter leading to the search of its optimal sampling location in the motion field. The result is a search criterion with OBMC window functions forming a geometry-like motion partitioning when the template area is straddled on the top and to the left of a target block. Generalizations to adaptive template design, multihypothesis prediction and motion merging are made to explore the complexity and performance trade-offs. Extensive experiments based on the HM-6.0 software show that the best of them, in terms of compression performance, achieves 1.7-2.0% BD-rate reductions at a cost of 26% and 39% increases in encoding and decoding times, respectively.


With the emergence of General Purpose computation on GPU (GPGPU) and corresponding programming frameworks (OpenCL, CUDA), more applications are being ported to use GPUs as a co-processor to achieve performance that could not be accomplished using just the traditional processors. However, programming the GPUs is not a trivial task and depends on the experience and knowledge of the individual programmer. The main problem is identifying which task or job should be allocated to a particular device. The problem is further complicated due to the dissimilar computational power of the CPU and the GPU. Therefore, there is a genuine need to optimize the workload balance. This thesis presents the work done toward the author's post graduate study and describes the optimization of the Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time (HEFT) algorithm in the CPU-GPU heterogeneous environment. In the initial chapters, different scheduling principles available are described and an in depth analysis of three state of the art algorithms for the chosen heterogeneous environment is presented. A comparison of fine-grained with coarse-grained scheduling paradigms is also studied. Using state of the art StarPU scheduling framework and exhaustive benchmarks, it is shown that the fine grained approach in much more efficient for the CPU-GPU environment. A novel optimization of the HEFT algorithm that takes advantage of dissimilar execution times of the processors is proposed. By balancing the locally optimal result with the globally optimal result, it is shown that performance can be improved significantly without any change in the complexity of the algorithm (as compared to HEFT). HEFT-NC (No-Cross) is compared with HEFT both in terms of speedup and schedule length. It is shown that the HEFT-NC outperforms HEFT algorithm and is consistent across different graph shapes and task sizes.


. The two major approaches to sparse recovery are L 1 -minimization and greedy methods. Recently, Needell and Vershynin developed Regularized Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (ROMP) that has bridged the gap between these two approaches. ROMP is the first stable greedy algorithm providing uniform guarantees. Even more recently, Needell and Tropp developed the stable greedy algorithm Compressive Sampling Matching Pursuit (CoSaMP). CoSaMP provides uniform guarantees and improves upon the stability bounds and RIC requirements of ROMP. CoSaMP offers rigorous bounds on computational cost and storage. In many cases, the running time is just O ( N log N ), where N is the ambient dimension of the signal. This review summarizes these major advances.


"Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing, or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training, and deploying against us? "Does the US need to fashion a broad, integrated plan to stop the next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions.... Is our current situation such that 'the harder we work, the behinder we get'?" (1) --Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Such are the big-picture questions for the War on Terror, the kind that should have shaped Pentagon strategy from the start. Unfortunately, they apparently weren't asked by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld until 16 October 2003, in a private memo that he issued to his top staff. While the media focused on his admission of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq, contrary to the rosy predictions made earlier, the true surprise was that Secretary Rumsfeld questioned even whether we are "winning or losing the Global War on Terror." He described how his office had yet to enact a "bold," measurable, or even systematic plan to win the War on Terror, despite being two years and two ground wars into the fight. In short, what Rumsfeld's memo admitted was a shocking absence of strategic thinking. One hopes that the "12-step" programs are right, and that admitting one's errors is the first step to solving them. Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States has expended an immense amount of blood and treasure in the pursuit of security for its citizens and punishment upon those who would do them harm. Yet while the US military has successfully overturned vile regimes in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Secretary Rumsfeld's internal memo disclosed his frank assessment that we appear little closer to resolving the actual challenge that drives us, eradicating the group that carried out the 9/11 attacks and preventing any repeats. While the United States and its allies have seized a portion of al Qaeda lieutenants and assets, the organization remains vibrant, its senior leadership largely intact, its popularity greater than ever, its ability to recruit unbroken, and its ideology and funds spreading across a global network present in places ranging from Algeria and Belgium to Indonesia and Iraq. Of greatest concern, its potential to strike at American citizens and interests both at home and abroad continues. After the Madrid bombings, some worry that its capabilities may even be growing. (2) At a broader level, the United States and the wider Islamic world stand at a point of historic and dangerous crisis. (3) Perhaps most illustrative of the problem is that what America describes as the "war on terrorism" has now become broadly interpreted as a "war on Islam" by much of the world's Muslim community. Relations between the world's dominant state power and the world's community of over 1.4 billion Muslim believers stand at question, with potential terrible consequences. More than some lost popularity contest, the deepening divide between the United States and the world's Muslim states and communities is a critical impediment to success on a breadth of vital issues, ranging from running down terrorist groups, their leaders, and supporters, to the expansion of human development and freedom, whose absence steers the next generation of recruits to radicalism. In sum, our concern is not just with the Iraqi militants or al Qaeda terrorism of today, but also a long-term issue of grand strategy. The United States may well stand on the brink of an emerging fault line, or "Clash of Civilizations" as Samuel Huntington warned, that could shape global politics for decades to come. (4) Many strategic thinkers liken the situation to a long-term conflict, akin to the Cold War, much of it taking part in the realm of ideas, but still with a decided security threat. …


The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) onboard Envisat is designed to provide very accurate measurements of sea surface temperature (SST). Using colocated in situ drifting buoys, a dynamical matchup database (MDB) is used to assess the AATSR-derived SST products more precisely. SST biases are then computed. Currently, Medspiration AATSR SST biases are discrete values and can introduce artificial discontinuities in AATSR level-2 SST fields. The new AATSR SST biases presented in this letter are continuous. They are computed, for nighttime and best proximity confidence data, by linear regression with different MDB covariables (wind speed, latitude, aerosol optical depth, etc.). As found, the difference between dual-view and nadir-only SST products explains most of the variability (26%).


The P.K. Morgan Mark II Ventilometer comprises a turbine transducer and a control/readout unit, which contains either a VENTX5A or VENTX6A programme. This equipment is used to measure minute ventilation during oxygen consumption tests. The precision and accuracy of six of these devices (a VENTX5A with two turbines, and two VENTX6As each with two different turbines) were examined during continuous and pulsatile flows; accuracy was affected by the syringe rate during the calibration procedure. The reference standard was a 350 l Collins chain-compensated gasometer. At continuous flows, the two VENTX5A devices showed accuracies of 99.5-100.5% over the range 60-160 l.min-1 whereas those for the four VENTX6As were 99.3-102.1% over the range 60-200 l.min-1. The mean accuracies of sinusoidal flows for the VENTX5A ranged between 96.1-101.3% for minute volumes spanning 15-200 l.min-1; comparable data for the VENTX6As were 95.9-98.9%. These mean accuracies improved to 98.1-101.3% for the VENTX5A at measured minute volumes > 80 l.min-1. Omission of the two lowest tidal volumes (1 and 1.5 l) for the VENTX6As narrowed the range of accuracy to 96.9-98.5%. The coefficients of variation for five trials at each minute ventilation were 0-0.2%. We conclude that, while the P.K. Morgan Mark II Ventilometer has excellent precision, its accuracy is dependent on the calibration syringe rate, minute ventilation and program.


Many wording choices in English sentences cannot be accounted for on semantic or syntactic grounds. They can only be expressed in terms of co-occurrence relations. Co-occurrence knowledge has been traditionally overlooked in the past, but should be included in lexicons as it is an inherent part of the language. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of co-occurrence knowledge for language generation and we show how to include it in computational dictionaries. Using co-occurrence knowledge in the dictionary provides the generator with the information necessary for handling many lexical decisions that were previously ignored. We focus here on the process of building the dictionary. and we show how co-occurrence knowledge can be systematically entered in lexicons. Lexical relations are first identified by a cooccurrence compiler, EXTRACT. Then. domain specific semantic information is used as a criterion for classifying them. We exemplify our approach in the banking domain and we explain how it can be used by a natural language generator . •


Dy/Dy* is the measured value of Dy, a representative middle rare earth element (REE), compared with the value interpolated between La and Yb on a REE plot. It is essentially a measure of the 'concavity' of a REE pattern. The use of Dy/Dy* as a proxy for REE pattern shape allows us to compare large amounts of REE data, which can be difficult using standard REE patterns. When Dy/Dy* is combined with Dy/Yb (the slope of the middle-to-heavy REE pattern) REE patterns can effectively be classified by shape. We present a new set of high-quality REE (and other trace element) data for young volcanic rocks from six arcs. When plotted on the Dy/Dy*^Dy/Yb diagram they define a broad negative correlation from LREE-depleted (Tonga^Kermadec) to LREE-enriched (Philippines and Indonesia). This trend corresponds to decreasing Dy/Dy*, reflecting REE patterns varying from concave-down to concave-up respectively. When cogenetic suites from single volcanoes are plotted they define clear trends of decreasing Dy/Yb and Dy/Dy* with differentiation, roughly orthogonal to the general depletion^enrichment trend. The trends for single arc volcanoes are interpreted as most probably reflecting an amphibole control, consistent with the concomitant decreases in Ti/Ti* and increasing SiO2. Available distribution coefficients are, however, also permissive of cpx control on arc REE patterns. Estimated compositions of the continental crust fall along these same trends. In contrast, ocean island basalt (OIB) data all fall to high Dy/Yb, suggesting a significant control by garnet. A global consideration of the data suggests that (1) arc magmas are derived from variably depleted asthenospheric (mid-ocean ridge basalt) mantle sources, (2) arc magma (and continental crust) differentiation is controlled by a mineral phase (or phases) that preferentially partitions MREE and (3) OIB genesis appears to always involve garnet control. We propose that Dy/Dy* is potentially a powerful tool for representing the shapes of REE patterns, especially for large datasets. We also note the importance of using cogenetic rock suites to identify petrogenetic processes rather than regional suites.


Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein possessing both DNA repair and redox regulatory activities. It has been shown that blocking redox function leads to genotoxic, antiangiogenic, cytostatic, and proapoptotic effects in cells. Therefore, the selective inhibitors against APE1's redox function can be served as potential pharmaceutical candidates in cancer therapeutics. In the present study, we identified the biological specificity of the Chinese herbal compound tanshinone IIA (T2A) in blocking the redox function of APE1. Using dual polarization interferometry, the direct interaction between APE1 and T2A was observed with a KD value at subnanomolar level. In addition, we showed that T2A significantly compromised the growth of human cervical cancer and colon cancer cells. Furthermore, the growth-inhibitory or proapoptotic effect of T2A was diminished in APE1 knockdown or redox-deficient cells, suggesting that the cytostatic effect of T2A might be specifically through inhibiting the redox function of APE1. Finally, T2A pretreatment enhanced the cytotoxicity of ionizing radiation or other chemotherapeutic agents in human cervical cancer and colon cancer cell lines. The data presented herein suggest T2A as a promising bioactive inhibitor of APE1 redox activity.


This paper discusses growth-promoting supervisory practices from the perspectives of women of color psychology trainees. Based on three personal narratives, we discuss the unique ways that supervisors invite the multiple salient identities of trainees into the supervisory relationship and engage in a mentorship approach tailored to each trainee. We discuss key themes that emerged across the three narratives: the importance of a supervisor pivoting between the role of the expert and the role of a learner, the value of embracing an attitude of shared responsibility toward promoting trainee growth, and the role of cultural humility in the supervisory relationship. We draw from various theories in framing our work, including Paulo Freire's theory of conscientização and Atkinson, Morten, and Sue's (1998) Five-Stage Model of Cultural/Racial Identity Development. We close with situating these impactful supervisory practices within the context of the American Psychological Association's (2015) "Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology." Public Significance Statement This article illustrates growth-promoting supervisory practices from the perspective of women of color psychology trainees. Through personal narratives from the authors, the importance of supervisor-shared responsibility and cultural humility are illustrated. These supervisory practices are situated within seminal theoretical frameworks as well as the American Psychological Association's (2015) "Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology."


The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor pVHL is lost in the majority of clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (RCC). Activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is also common in RCC, with PTEN loss occurring in approximately 30% of the cases, but other mechanisms responsible for activating AKT at a wider level in this setting are undefined. Plant homeodomain protein Jade-1 (PHF17) is a candidate renal tumor suppressor stabilized by pVHL. Here, using kinase arrays, we identified phospho-AKT1 as an important target of Jade-1. Overexpressing or silencing Jade-1 in RCC cells increased or decreased levels of endogenous phospho-AKT/AKT1. Furthermore, reintroducing pVHL into RCC cells increased endogenous Jade-1 and suppressed endogenous levels of phospho-AKT, which colocalized with and bound to Jade-1. The N-terminus of Jade-1 bound both the catalytic domain and the C-terminal regulatory tail of AKT, suggesting a mechanism through which Jade-1 inhibited AKT kinase activity. Intriguingly, RCC precursor cells where Jade-1 was silenced exhibited an increased capacity for AKT-dependent anchorage-independent growth, in support of a tumor suppressor function for Jade-1 in RCC. In support of this concept, an in silico expression analysis suggested that reduced Jade-1 expression is a poor prognostic factor in clear-cell RCC that is associated with activation of an AKT1 target gene signature. Taken together, our results identify 2 mechanisms for Jade-1 fine control of AKT/AKT1 in RCC, through loss of pVHL, which decreases Jade-1 protein, or through attenuation in Jade-1 expression. These findings help explain the pathologic cooperativity in clear-cell RCC between PTEN inactivation and pVHL loss, which leads to decreased Jade-1 levels that superactivate AKT. In addition, they prompt further investigation of Jade-1 as a candidate biomarker and tumor suppressor in clear-cell RCC.


Abstract In a classic paper [14], W.G. Spohn established the to-date sharpest estimates from below for the simultaneous Diophantine approximation constants for three and more real numbers. As a by-result of his method which used Blichfeldt's Theorem and the calculus of variations, he derived a bound for the critical determinant of the star body |x1|(|x1|3 + |x2|3 + |x3|3 ≤ 1. In this little note, after a brief exposition of the basics of the geometry of numbers and its significance for Diophantine approximation, this latter result is improved and extended to the star body |x1|(|x1|3 + |x22 + x32)3/2≤ 1.


Background Six individual members comprise the GATA family of Zn finger-containing transcription factors that play major roles in the hematopoietic system and many mesoderm and endoderm derived tissues. The adult heart expresses both GATA4 and GATA6. Here, we examined the overlapping and diverging functional roles of GATA4 and GATA6 in the adult heart, both at baseline and under stress. Results Pressure overload by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) caused a blunted hypertrophic response when GATA4 was deleted from the adult heart, with severe heart failure ensuing after 4 weeks. Similarly, deletion of GATA6 from the mouse heart showed a blunted hypertrophic response and heart failure. Next, we deleted 1 allele of GATA4 and 1 allele of GATA6 from the adult heart, also resulting in blunted hypertrophy and cardiac dysfunction. Deletion of all four alleles of GATA4 and 6 resulted in spontaneous heart failure and death by 3 months of age. These results suggested functional overlap or synergistic activation. To address this concept more directly we deleted GATA6 from the adult heart and overexpressed either GATA4 or GATA6 in a cardiac-specific manner. As expected, we were able to completely revert the phenotype to wild type when GATA6 was overexpressed in mice that had GATA6 genetically deleted. Surprisingly, overexpression of GATA4 was unable to rescue the absence of GATA6 and actually worsened cardiac function in response to pressure overload. Possible explanations for this functional divergence were suggested by an observed rarefaction in capillaries of the heart in absence of GATA4, but enhanced angiogenesis in absence of GATA6. Moreover, when we induced cardiac hypertrophy through MAPK activation, we observed a critical necessity for GATA4, while GATA6 was dispensable. Conclusion Although GATA4 and 6 may be functionally complementary for cardiac gene expression and hypertrophy, they evolved some specific roles in the heart, such as angiogenesis and stress activation. We are currently unraveling how GATA4 and 6 may differentially regulate genes.


This article highlights the role of social inequalities in the development of ecological thought. It argues that with the entry into the Anthropocene, it is no longer possible to separate ecological issues from questions of justice, and that it is necessary to distinguish local environmental inequality from global ecological inequality. JEL Codes: D6, Q3, Q5.


It is shown that, in a delay line using Rayleigh waves, the amplitude and the delay as functions of frequency can be controlled independently of each other. The frequency/delay characteristic is controlled by the spacing of the fingers along the comb transducer; the amplitude response is controlled by varying the length of the fingers. This principle is illustrated with an example of a dispersive line where both the spacing and the length are varied to reduce the sidelobes to a level 28 dB below the main peak.


Video surveillance is a rapidly growing area that has been fuelled by an increase in the concerns of security and safety in both public and private areas. With heighten security concerns, the utilization of video surveillance systems spread over a large area is becoming the norm. Surveillance of a large area requires a number of cameras to be deployed, which presents problems for human operators. In the surveillance of a large area, the need to monitor numerous screens makes an operator less effective in monitoring, observing or tracking groups or targets of interest. In such situations, the application of computer systems can prove highly effective in assisting human operators.

The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate different methods for tracking a target across an array of cameras. This required a set of parameters to be identified that could be passed between cameras as the target moved in and out of the fields of view. Initial investigations focussed on identifying the most effective colour space to use. A normalized cross correlation method was used initially with a reference image to track the target of interest. A second method investigated the use of histogram similarity in tracking targets. In this instance a reference target's histogram or pixel distribution was used as a means for tracking. Finally a method was investigated that used the relationship between colour regions that make up a whole target. An experimental method was developed that used the information between colour regions such as the vector and colour difference as a means for
tracking a target. This method was tested on a single camera configuration and multiple camera configuration and shown to be effective.

In addition to the experimental tracking method investigated, additional data can be extracted to estimate a spatial map of a target as the target of interest is tracked across an array of cameras.

For each method investigated the experimental results are presented in this thesis and it has been demonstrated that minimal data exchange can be used in order to track a target across an array of cameras. In addition to tracking a target, the spatial position of the target of interest could be estimated as it moves across the array.


This chapter presents experiences and reflections from using the EKD Enterprise Modeling method in a number of European organizations. The EKD modeling method is presented. The chapter then focuses on the EKD application in practice taking six cases as an example. The authors´ observations and lessons learned are reported concerning general aspects of Enterprise Modeling projects, the EKD modeling language, the participative modeling process, tool support, and issues of Enterprise Model quality. They also discuss a number of current and emerging trends for development of Enterprise Modeling approaches in general and for EKD in particular.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate both video modeling and observational learning to teach age-appropriate recreation and leisure skills to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Results were evaluated via a multiple probe design across participants for video modeling and across participants and behaviors for observational learning. Participants included 4 children with autism, ages 8 to 11, who were served in self-contained special education classrooms. Results indicated video modeling was effective for teaching chained tasks, across students; observational learning occurred for at least some steps across students. Results and future implications are discussed.


The link between drug use and crime is well established in academic, policy and treatment, particularly the idea that drug use causes crime, despite the nature of the drug-crime relationship varying between sub-groups of drug using offenders and not existing at all for the majority of drug using non-offenders1. Research suggests the amount of crime attributable to drug use has been over exaggerated. There is a dearth of research examining the drug-crime relationship between non-treatment and non-offender samples, particularly in the UK. There is also less research examining the notion that both drug use and crime are caused by other (third) factors compared to the research examining the idea that drug use causes crime. Thus this research aims to compare a group of drug using offenders (n=149) with a group of drug using non-offenders (n=111) on a number of childhood risk factors (perceived parenting, negative life-events and impulsivity), school and peer variables, as well as their coping to strategies. The aim is to ascertain if criminality among drug users is attributable to these other (third) factors, instead of their drug use causing the crime to facilitate a more in depth understanding of the relationship between drug use and offending. Group comparisons followed by regression analyses were employed to examine whether any variables predicted group membership (drug using offender or a drug using non-offender), while age, job and drug use severity were controlled for. A high number of negative life events experienced before age 18, earlier age of onset for drug use, always being in trouble with the police with friends, receiving no qualifications from school, being expelled from school and behavioural avoidant coping predicted being a drug using offender, while the reasons for initiating drug use (out of curiosity and to socialise with friends) predicted being a drug using non-offender. The results show significant differences exist between drug users that go on to become offenders and drug users who do not, and these differences are attributable to offending/non-offending status rather than drug use. The implications for treatment and policy are considered.


Ethiopia is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates, obstructed labor and its complications being the leading causes of maternal deaths in the country. This study was aimed at assessing feto-maternal outcomes in obstructed labor in Suhul General Hospital, North Ethiopia. Institution based cross-sectional study was carried out from May 1 to August 31, 2014 in Suhul General Hospital. All mothers who had given birth in the hospital during the study period were included in the study.  Data were collected by using a pre tested structured questionnaire and checklists, entered into Epi Info version 22.214.171.124 and finally transported in to SPSS version 20 software package for analysis. A total of 660 mothers had given birth in the hospital during the study period out of which 44(6.7%) were diagnosed as obstructed labor cases.  More than 89% of the mothers with obstructed labor and about 93% of the babies born to them had developed at least one complication. Eighteen (40.9%) of the babies were stillbirths or had died immediately after delivery. Postpartum hemorrhaged and puerperal sepsis 25(56.8%) each and uterine rupture 11(25%) were the main maternal complications among the mothers with obstructed labor. Cesarean birth (68%), hysterectomy (20%), destructive delivery (7%) and repair of the ruptured uterus with bilateral tubal ligation in 5% were interventions done for the mothers with obstructed labor. Inaccessibility of vehicle road and time the women stayed at health centers before they were referred to the hospital have shown association with poor maternal outcomes in Fisher's Exact test. Prevalence of obstructed labor in Suhul general hospital is high with high rate of maternal and fetal complications. Improving vehicle road accessibility and giving training for health centers delivery case teams on when to refer laboring mother to the hospitals is needed in order to decease proportion of Obstructed labor  and it sequels.

 Key words: Obstructed labor, Ethiopia, low income country, maternal mortality.


The use of complex networks for time series analysis has recently shown to be useful as a tool for detecting dynamic state changes for a wide variety of applications. In this work, we implement the commonly used ordinal partition network to transform a time series into a network for detecting these state changes for the simple magnetic pendulum. The time series that we used are obtained experimentally from a base-excited magnetic pendulum apparatus, and numerically from the corresponding governing equations. The magnetic pendulum provides a relatively simple, non-linear example demonstrating transitions from periodic to chaotic motion with the variation of system parameters. For our method, we implement persistent homology, a shape measuring tool from Topological Data Analysis (TDA), to summarize the shape of the resulting ordinal partition networks as a tool for detecting state changes. We show that this network analysis tool provides a clear distinction between periodic and chaotic time series. Another contribution of this work is the successful application of the networks-TDA pipeline, for the first time, to signals from non-autonomous nonlinear systems. This opens the door for our approach to be used as an automatic design tool for studying the effect of design parameters on the resulting system response. Other uses of this approach include fault detection from sensor signals in a wide variety of engineering operations.


BACKGROUND
Dimensional models of personality are under consideration for integration into the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), but the clinical utility of such models is unclear.

OBJECTIVE
To test the ability of clinical researchers who specialize in personality disorders to diagnose personality disorders using dimensional assessments and to compare those researchers' ratings of clinical utility for a dimensional system versus for the DSM-IV.

METHOD
A sample of 73 researchers who had each published at least 3 (median = 15) articles on personality disorders participated between December 2008 and January 2009. The Five-Factor Model (FFM), one of the most-studied dimensional models to date, was compared to the DSM-IV. Participants provided diagnoses for case profiles in DSM-IV and FFM formats and then rated the DSM-IV and FFM on 6 aspects of clinical utility.

RESULTS
Overall, participants had difficulty identifying correct diagnoses from FFM profiles (t₇₂ = 12.36, P < .01), and the same held true for a subset reporting equal familiarity with the DSM-IV and FFM (t₂₃ = 6.96, P < .01). Participants rated the FFM as less clinically useful than the DSM for making prognoses, devising treatment plans, and communicating with professionals (all t₆₉ > 2.19, all P < .05), but more useful for communicating with patients (t₆₉ = 3.03, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that personality disorder expertise and familiarity with the FFM are insufficient to correctly diagnose personality disorders using FFM profiles. Because of ambiguity inherent in FFM profile descriptors, this insufficiency may prove unlikely to be attenuated with increased clinical familiarity with the FFM.


: A study was made of the effect of hereditary loading with schizophrenia on the clinical characteristics of epilepsy. In the population sample of epileptic patients (n = 3489), hereditary loading with schizophrenia was revealed in 4.7% of the patients, among whom loading with both schizophrenia and epilepsy was recorded in 0.6% of the cases. The clinical manifestations of epilepsy were compared in 143 patients loaded with schizophrenia and in 158 patients without hereditary loading with mental diseases. It has been established that in epileptic patients, the factor of hereditary loading with schizophrenia exerts a modifying effect on the premorbid characteristics, increasing the rate of schizoepileptoid, schizoid, and astheno-neurotic++ personality traits, and contributes to a favorable course of the disease. The data obtained standpoint of the previously advanced ++clinico-genetic concept of combined psychoses.


All-units discounts in retail contracts refer to discounts that lower a retailer's wholesale price on every unit purchased when the retailer's purchases equal or exceed some quantity threshold. These discounts pose a challenge to economic theory because it is difficult to understand why a manufacturer ever would charge less for a larger order if its intentions were benign. In this paper, we show that all-units discounts may profitably arise absent any exclusionary motive. All-units discounts eliminate double marginalization in a complete information setting, and they extract more profit than would a menu of two-part tariffs in the standard incomplete information setting with two types of buyers. All-units discounts may improve or may reduce welfare (relative to menus of two-part tariffs) depending on demand parameters.


A novel technique for radar‐imaging inversions is proposed which leverages ideas from the emerging field of compressed sensing. This new method takes advantage of the transform sparsity inherent in natural images. Theoretical recovery results are promising and are borne out by simulations in which this technique outperforms Capon's method and the Maximum Entropy method. Preliminary results using data collected at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory are also presented.


This study examines more than 2,700 companies founded by alumni of Stanford University or having licensed a technology from this university. Stanford University is with MIT one of the most entrepreneurial university in the world, and surprisingly not much data is available on its spin-offs and start-ups. Some important features are described such as the use of venture capital, the dynamics of growth and exits through acquisition or initial public offering. Some characteristics of the founders are also considered such as the time lag between their academic activity and the start-up creation as well as the characteristics of serial entrepreneurs.


The 2004 EC procurement directives made it mandatory for Member States to support EC policy against serious crime by excluding from public contracts suppliers who had been convicted of serious criminal offences. This article examines the UK's approach to the implementation of these exclusions and provides a critical assessment of the provisions. The provisions are significant because they establish a principle for the use of public procurement to achieve EC objectives in a manner that is no longer optional for Member States. However, in implementing the provisions, it will be seen that the UK has adopted a 'copycat' approach to implementing the exclusions and has not clarified the lacunae in the EC procurement directives. The lack of clarity may affect the effectiveness of the provisions and lead to problems in the practical application of the exclusions. It is suggested that it may be appropriate for the EC to provide guidance to Member States on these issues. Finally, it remains to be seen whether if the mandatory exclusion prove successful, the EC will rely on a similar mechanism in the future to achieve other EC objectives.


Gender violence is established as one of the biggest social problems and public health in recent years. The scientific literature suggests that this is due to a perceived loss of power by men over women (Kimmel, 2008): this situation does nothing but increase the number of women who are victims of violence and worse are killed by their partners or former partners. Now, what are the perceptions of men about gender violence? Are there mechanisms for naturalization and justification of gender violence in a relationship by men? How the construction of masculinity characterized these men? This paper addresses these questions from quantitative study in three of the counties with the highest number of complaints of gender violence in the region of Araucania: Puerto Saavedra, Chol-chol and Lumaco, in 2015. The results indicate that men justify violence by drug use, as well perceptions, beliefs and stereotypes associated present a model of hegemonic masculinity (Kimmel, 2000; Connell 2005) and a traditional model relationships (Gomez, 2004).


Realistic models of particle physics include many scalar fields. These fields generically have nonminimal couplings to the Ricci curvature scalar, either as part of a generalized Einstein theory or as necessary counterterms for renormalization in curved background spacetimes. We develop a gauge-invariant formalism for calculating primordial perturbations in models with multiple nonminimally coupled fields. We work in the Jordan frame (in which the nonminimal couplings remain explicit) and identify two distinct sources of entropy perturbations for such models. One set of entropy perturbations arises from interactions among the multiple fields. The second set arises from the presence of nonminimal couplings. Neither of these varieties of entropy perturbations will necessarily be suppressed in the long-wavelength limit, and hence they can amplify the curvature perturbation zeta, even for modes that have crossed outside the Hubble radius. Models that overproduce long-wavelength entropy perturbations endanger the close fit between predicted inflationary spectra and empirical observations.


Immigrants increasingly engage in homeland-oriented transnational institutional and non-institutional collective political action. Immigrant transnational political action, in turn, is largely conceptualised as being determined by either contexts of reception in receiving societies or diaspora policies emanating from immigrant origin countries. Thus, existing literature largely views immigrants' transnational political action as a product of one particular political context or policy, which neglects to account for the ways in which their transnational politics are simultaneously embedded in and shaped by multiple political contexts. In this paper, we develop a nuanced account of the distinctive ways in which multiple political contexts shape the cross-border electoral, organisational and non-institutional collective action of immigrants and diaspora communities. By doing so, we transcend analytical emphases on receiving-society effects which largely view homeland-oriented politics through the lens of immigrant incorporation. We propose a triadic political opportunity approach to conceptualise how varied receiving-country, origin-country, and transnational political contexts shape immigrant transnational political action. We illustrate the utility of this approach by drawing on original research and secondary sources to demonstrate how receiving, origin and transnational political opportunity structures can facilitate and/or constrain immigrant transnational political action. We conclude with a discussion of potential applications of our approach for future research.


The pictograph is the core of ancient Chinese characters. In recent years, Chinese characters, especially the ancient oracle-bone inscriptions and seal characters, are often adopted in logo design in China. This article analyzes the concise thought adopted in ancient character-creating, such as "highlighting characteristics", "simplifying", and "less for more", and probes into the application of such ancient thought with modern design cases, in an attempt to establish evaluation standards for the integration of culture and art.


The characteristics of water-evaporation from a glassy carbon (GC) plate with nano-structure surface were investigated. The nano-scale structures on the carbon plate are made by Oxygen ion beam process. In changing the exposure time in the Ion beam process, it can be changed as for the pitch and diameter of nano-structure with conical structures. The experiment measured the temperature of GC plate and weight of a water-droplet while the droplet evaporates on the heating carbon plate. Consequently, special evaporation appeared when the pitch of nano-structure with the conical structures was larger than 80 nm.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


Introduction and Aims: Hair fall is a common problem faced by many younger people, which has variety of risk factors. Vitamin D3has emerged as a molecule with key role to play in various disorders. This study was done to assess its role in diffuse hair fall among student population. Materials and Methods: This was a case–control study including young adults presenting with complaints of hair fall (>100 a day) as cases, with age-matched healthy controls. Vitamin D3levels were measured in all the patients. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11.5 software and significance was tested using Chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis. Results: Atotal of 44 participants were enrolled; 22 in each arm. The mean age of the study population was 20.89 years (standard deviation: 1.49). The median value of Vitamin D was 6.80 (interquartile range - 5.350–16.63) for the study population. Overall, 81.8% cases had Vitamin D deficiency compared to 45.5% of controls and this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.007). Furthermore, females had a statistically significant difference in Vitamin D levels between cases and controls. Higher level of full sleeve cloth usage, sunscreen lotion application, and lesser sun exposures were seen among cases although these differences were not statistically significant. The levels of Vitamin D3were not significantly different among Indians, nonresident Indians, and foreigners. None of the cases had normal Vitamin D values whereas 4.5% controls fell in the normal category. Conclusions: Female patients with diffuse hair fall were found to have significantly low Vitamin D3levels among student population.


This paper investigates the effects of individual and environmental determinants on physical and cognitive impairment of Europeans aged 50 and older using data drawn from the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The aim is to understand the different paths that need-related determinants of long-term care might take across individuals. As dependent variables, we consider several measures of physical and cognitive disability which are regressed on a list of covariates which includes biological, health, behavioural, socio-demographic and early-life conditions of individuals. We adopt a methodology that combines the structure of random effects models for longitudinal data with the flexibility of a tree regression method. We show the existence of clusters in the main determinants of functional decline (physical and cognitive). Our findings are in line with the existing literature, but, at the same time, we further characterize previous evidence: 1) cognitive impairment, measured by the results of a memory test, strongly depends on educational attainments, age and respondents' country of residence; 2) physical impairment, measured through the loss of handgrip strength, basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs, IADLs) and mobility, strongly depends on health and behavioural factors.


We used P fractionation techniques to study the accumulation, mobilization, and availability of soil P in six watersheds of the eastern United States and Europe, two of which included paired long-term acidifi cation experiments. Although total soil P concentrations varied widely among these watersheds, the proportions of P fractions were relatively uniform. Th e mean for the P fraction operationally defi ned as being associated with Al in the reference watersheds was 71% of total extractable P (SE ≤ 1%). Experimental whole-watershed acidifi cation resulted in signifi cant depletion of Al-P concentrations from the upper mineral soil in treated watersheds due to the dissolution of Al hydroxide by acidic solutions traveling along shallow fl ow paths. Acidic soil solutions mobilize both Al and P, leading to P depletion from the Al-P fraction in the mineral soils. Across this suite of watersheds, lower pH appears to decrease Al/P ratios in the Al-P fraction of these mineral soils through changes in Al solubility. Biocycling in these forests can play a critical role in linking subsurface mineral soil P to surface O horizon available P. In this study, sites with the lowest mineral subsoil Al/P ratios generally had the lowest mineral soil pH values and the highest O horizon available P concentrations. Th e net eff ect was to leave subsoil P more bioavailable at the lower pH values because of a lower Al/P ratio in the mineral subsoil at the pH range of 3.1 to 4.6 found in this study. Th ese results suggest that changes in soil acidity due to management, air pollutants, or pedogenesis could shift P availability by altering acidity and the Al/P balance.


The question of free will has long been considered one of the most important philosophical questions. It can be said that different and even conflicting opinions have been expressed on this issue. Allamah Jafari and John Searle are two thinkers who, in their intellectual framework, have made a significant contribution to clarifying the "free will" debate. The two thinkers agree on various issues such as the role of the 'I' in creating free will, the non-randomness of action, the existence of a gap before activity, and so forth. They also differ on issues such as "the meaning of free will or freedom," "the scope of freedom or free will," and the "Divinity of 'I' or non-divinity of 'I'." Allamah Jafari, besides the rational and reasoning method, pays attention to the scientific context. Searle also has a scientific and reasoning view of the question of free will. Jafari proves free will by introducing the metaphysical self. Moreover, consciousness has a unique role in his theory. Searle, On the other hand, with the concepts of "consciousness" and dependence on the "non-empirical self," seeks to create a hole for proving free will. Jafari's view about freedom is that we have free will. Therefore, his approach in this regard is liberal. But Searle plays a role in explaining the issue of "free will" by proposing two hypotheses. Both philosophers believe that the substantial evidence for the existence of free will is that we always think before we act. This thinking causes a gap between the period before the action and the time of the action. According to Jafari, a gap appears in the time "before the action" and "the time of the action." But in Searle's view, this gap appears between "reasons for the decision," "the decision" and "the decision and the action," and between "the action and the continuation of that action." A careful examination of the views of these two philosophers can open a new way for the question of "free will" and "freedom." This is because both thinkers have also dealt with scientific issues and have considered various aspects of the phenomenon of "will" and its freedom or lack of freedom have been considered. This article, in addition to describing and clarifying the opinion of the two philosophers, is responsible for analytical, comparative, and critical points. The comparative and critical analysis of this article reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the views of these two philosophers. The idea of Jafari and John Searle is a new view on the issue of free will. Finally, it can be said that the scientific and philosophical attitude of these two philosophers can be a new way to develop other influential theories in this field. We can summarize the contents in such a way that this article includes the views of two philosophers along with analytical, critical, and comparative evaluation. The purpose of this study is to provide a new solution and further clarify the issue of free will with a descriptive-analytical method.


Silica and water are the major constituents in the earth. Hence silica was used as adsorbent for determine the pollution tendency between soil and ground water. This was analyzed by adopting two step processes of adsorption and desorption. The silica was characterized with FT-IR, BET surface area and active site analysis. The experimental conditions for adsorption step like contact time, concentration of dye solution, temperature, pH and dosage of silica were studied. The maximum uptake was observed at 6 hrs contact time and pH 5 to 7. The concentration effect had been studied between 50 to 300 ppm and observed that adsorption decreases with increase the concentration, but adsorption increases with increase of silica dosage from 50 to 450mg. The temperature effect had been evaluated between 30 to 900C and observed that the adsorption increases upto 800C and decreases above the temperature. Then the desorption step of malachite green from silica surface had been studied by using solvents like water, ethanol, methanol and oxalic acid(0.1%) and found that desorption increases in the order of water


The Passivhaus (or Passive House) Standard is one of the world's most widely known voluntary energy performance standards. For a dwelling to achieve the Standard and be granted Certification, the building fabric requires careful design and detailing, high levels of thermal insulation, building airtightness, close site supervision and careful workmanship. However, achieving Passivhaus Certification is not a guarantee that the thermal performance of the building fabric as designed will actually be achieved in situ. This paper presents the results obtained from measuring the in situ whole building heat loss coefficient (HLC) of a small number of Certified Passivhaus case study dwellings. They are located on different sites and constructed using different technologies in the UK. Despite the small and non-random nature of the dwelling sample, the results obtained from the in situ measurements revealed that the thermal performance of the building fabric, for all of the dwellings, performed very close to the design predictions. This suggests that in terms of the thermal performance of the building fabric, Passivhaus does exactly what it says on the tin.


The application of nanotechnology to medicine has enabled the development of functionalised nanoparticles that, acting as carriers, can be loaded with drugs or genetic material to be released with a controlled mechanism in specific districts of the organism. Even though nanomedicine is a relative new branch of science, many type of nanocarriers for drug delivery have been developed over the past 30 years, such as liposomes, dendrimers, quantum dots, solid lipid nanoparticles, viruses and virus-like nanoparticles as well as a wide var iety of polymeric nanoparticles. Among these last, in our opinion, nanogels deserve a special attention. Nanogels are nanoscalar polymer networks, with a tendency to imbibe water when placed in an aqueous environment. Their affinity to aqueous solutions, superior colloidal stability, inertness in the blood stream and the internal aqueous environment, suitable for bulky drugs incorporation, make them ideal candidates for uptake and delivery of proteins, peptides, and other biological compounds. We have synthesised different variants of poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone)-based nanogels and demonstrated the absence of cell toxicity, which encourage further development of these materials as smart delivery systems. In particular, in this work we demonstrate the capability of these nanogels to bypass the cell plasma membrane by following their localization in cell cultures as function of the time. We have analyzed this process by both confocal microscopy and a spectrofluorimetric approach. Results show nanoparticles preferential localization on cell surface, inside the cell and again back in the cell culture medium at different times. Ongoing experimentation is now aimed to the loading of nanocarries with biomolecules involved in a specific substrate recognition function. This approach, if proved successful, may have a real impact in nanomedicine.


With the future aim of using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to characterize the transformation products of ozonated herbicides: metolachlor, acetochlor and alachlor, an interpretation of their electron ionization mass spectra is presented. Fragmentation mechanisms are proposed on the basis of isotopic labelling and multiple-stage mass spectrometry experiments carried out on an ion trap mass spectrometer. We also give examples in order to demonstrate how the elucidation of such fragmentation mechanisms for herbicides may simplify the characterization of their ozonation products.


Canada has not been alone in making substantial progress towards price stability. Average inflation in the industrialized countries fell markedly in the first half of the 1990s, the third such episode of broad-based disinflation in the last 20 years. By the latter part of 1994, inflation in many countries had fallen to rates that had not been sustained since the early 1960s, generally converging to within a range of 1 to 3 per cent. Despite the decline in inflation to similar low levels, there were a number of interesting developments across the industrialized countries. For example, the pace of disinflation slowed noticeably after 1992 despite continued weak demand conditions. Inflation in countries that experienced a sharp depreciation in their exchange rates in the first half of the 1990s was, on average, no higher than elsewhere. The author identifies various factors affecting inflation outcomes in the industrialized countries. These include special factors, such as changes to indirect taxes, as well as more fundamental determinants of inflation, including the degree of economic slack. The presence of these factors, and perhaps the way in which inflation responded to them, varied across countries. One common element, however, was an increased commitment by monetary authorities across the industrialized economies to the goal of achieving and maintaining price stability.


The study investigated the practice of ethnic federal system along with ethnic rights to self-determination and associated conflicts in the context of Southern Regional state of Ethiopia.  This study is a qualitative research that employed both primary and secondary sources. The federal system is based on the constitutional conviction that ethnic groups in Ethiopia have the right to self-determination up to secession. By using ethnicity as an instrument to establish the constituent units, ethnic entitlement and political representations, the federal system has uniquely formalized politics of ethnicity in Ethiopia. Practically, the federal system in Ethiopia faces anomalous asymmetries both within the four ethno-parties that formed the Ruling party and constituent units. Despite rhetorically committing to multi–party politics and democracy, the political regime in power is markedly intolerant of political pluralism. The 'making and remaking' of the regions and local ethnic political parties in Southern Ethiopia has led to conglomeration of 56 ethnic groups into a single region. Instead of ethnic right to self-determination in accordance with the constitutional principles, the ruling party has gradually put efforts into administrative integration of diverse ethnic groups. This is one of the underlying causes for ethnic autonomy conflicts in the region.  It is time for the ruling party to accept the consequences of the constitutional choices, to protect the constitutionally declared principle of federalism, to respect ethnic right to self–governance in Ethiopia beyond ideological and political motives.

 Key words: Ethnic federal system, the right to self-determination, making and remaking, ethnic autonomy conflicts, southern regional state and party politics.


Chemotherapy induced febrile neutropenia predisposes patients to life threatening infections. We aimed to determine the causative microorganisms, infection focus and antibiotic treatment success in febrile neutropenic children with leukemia. A total of 136 febrile neutropenic episodes in 48 leukemic children were reviewed retrospectively from records. Among 136 febrile neutropenic episodes, 68 (50%) episodes were microbiologically documented. Methicillin sensitive coagulase (-) Staphylococcus aureus were the most common isolates from hemoculture (20.5%). The most frequently documented infection focus was mucositis (31.9%). Ceftazidime plus amikacin was the most commonly used antimicrobial treatment for the empirical therapy (52.9%). The overall response rates were 70.5%, 86.9%, and 66.6% of first line, second line and third line therapies, respectively. The spectrum of isolates among febrile neutropenic children in our hematology clinic appears to be gram positive pathogens which are the most common agents. Therefore the, documentation of the flora in each unit could help to decide appropriate empirical therapy which is life saving.


The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase FTO is overexpressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and promotes leukemogenesis. We previously developed tricyclic benzoic acid FB23 as a highly potent FTO inhibitor in vitro. However, it showed a moderate antiproliferative effect on AML cells. In this work, we performed a structure-activity relationship study of tricyclic benzoic acids as FTO inhibitors. The analog 13a exhibited excellent inhibitory effects on FTO similar to that of FB23 in vitro. In contrast to FB23, 13a exerted a strong antiproliferative effect on AML cells. Like FTO knock down, 13a upregulated ASB2 and RARA expression and increased the protein abundance while it downregulated MYC expression and decreased MYC protein abundance. These genes are key FTO targets in AML cells. Finally, 13a treatment improved the survival rate of MONOMAC6-transplanted NSG mice. Collectively, our data suggest that targeting FTO with tricyclic benzoic acid inhibitors may be a potential strategy for treating AML.


Alterations in autonomic function are evident during spaceflight. These conditions are also simulated by ground-based experimental models of a microgravity environment such as 6 degrees head-down bed rest (BR). They include a reduction in baroreflex function, a decrease in vagal tone and a loss of circulatory blood volume during weightlessness. However, it is not clear whether vasomotor sympathetic outflow, which controls peripheral vascular tone neurally, and plasma norepinephrine concentration will change or not during weightlessness. The purpose of the present study is to examine changes in vasomotor sympathetic nerve activity during six days of 6 degrees head-down BR. Vasomotor sympathetic nervous activity was evaluated by the direct recording of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) by a use of microneurographic technique. MSNA on the sixth day during BR was the same as that in a horizontally supine position before BR (before BR; 15.4 +/- 1.6 bursts/min, during BR; 16.7 +/- 3.5 bursts/min), though plasma norepinephrine concentrations during BR were reduced by 25% compared with those before BR (before BR; 263 +/- 33 pg/ml, during BR; 193 +/- 79 pg/ml, p < 0.05). This dissociation cannot be determined precisely, but it suggests the possibility of peripheral changes in terminal sympathetic nerve endings, etc.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the mid-term efficacy and complications of uterine artery embolisation in women with symptomatic fibroids. To assess reduction in uterine and dominant fibroid volumes using ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Design Prospective observational single-centre study. Setting A district general hospital in Surrey and a private hospital in London. Methods Four hundred consecutive women were treated between December 1996 and February 2001. Indications for treatment were menorrhagia, menstrual pain, abdominal swelling or bloating and other pressure effects. Uterine artery embolisation was performed using polyvinyl alcohol particles and platinum coils. Main outcome measures Imaging was performed before embolisation and at regular intervals thereafter. Clinical evaluation was made at regular intervals after embolisation to assess patient outcome. Results Bilateral uterine artery embolisation was achieved in 395 women, while 5 women had a unilateral procedure. With a mean clinical follow up of 16.7 months, menstrual bleeding was improved in 84% of women and menstrual pain was improved in 79%. Using ultrasound, the median uterine and dominant fibroid volumes before embolisation were 608 and 112 cc, respectively, and after embolisation 255 and 19 cc, respectively ( P = .0001). Three (1%) infective complications requiring emergency hysterectomy occurred. Twenty-three (6%) patients had clinical failure or recurrence. Of these, nine (2%) had a hysterectomy. Twenty-six (7%) women had permanent amenorrhoea after embolisation including four patients under the age of 45 (2%). Of these, amenorrhea started between 4 and 18 months after embolisation, and only three had elevated follicle stimulating hormone levels when amenorrhea developed. Thirteen (4%) women had chronic vaginal discharge considered as a major irritant. Thirteen pregnancies occurred in 12 patients. Ninety-seven percent of women were pleased with the outcome and would recommend this treatment to others. Conclusions Uterine artery embolisation is associated with a high clinical success rate and good fibroid volume reduction. Infective complications requiring hysterectomy, amenorrhoea under the age of 45 and chronic vaginal discharge may complicate the procedure.


Foreign direct investment is one of the mechanisms used to provide capital inflows and to stimulate a country's economic growth. Besides being a driver for stimulating economic growth, FDI is believed to inter alia, increase employment, enhance managerial skills amongst local workforces in the host country, and promote technology spillovers and technical knowhow. Sierra Leone has reformed some of its FDI policy initiatives in an attempt to attract foreign investors. This paper investigates the effects of FDI on economic growth with reference to the economy of Sierra Leone's post-conflict environment.
This paper begins by reviewing FDI in Sierra Leone and also examining the current FDI regime adopted by the government. There is also a review of the literature on foreign direct investment and economic growth. The results from my research show that even though FDI in flow can bring about positive impacts on the economy, it does not necessarily bring about sustainable economic growth.