A separator-trawl used for a mantis shrimp catch in Tokyo Bay has a separator panel and two codends; separator net-panel (100mm stretched mesh length) on part of the top of the first codend (62mm mesh length) which is covered with the second codend (33.6mm mesh length). The fishermen hoped mantis shrimp as a main target species would be caught in the second codend and be separated from starfishes retained in the first codend, because large amounts of starfishes cause difficulty in fishermen's hand-sorting on deck. Separation efficiencies of the trawl were obtained from the catch numbers in the two codends in a fishing experiment. Separation efficiency between species i and j is defined as γi+γj-1, where γi is the recovery ratio in the codend for i-species, that is, a proportion of the i-species catch number in the i-species codend. While the recovery ratio for starfish in the first codend was 0.96, that for mantis shrimp in the second codend was 0.66 which was not so high as expected. Thus, separation efficiency between mantis shrimp and starfish was 0.62. Although the separator net-panel has enough large mesh size for small animals, e.g. small crab Carcinoplax vestina, some species of low swimming ability failed to pass through the separator panel and were retained in the first codend. This implies that separation performance of the separator-trawl depends on the swimming ability of each species in the net as well as mesh selectivity of the separator net panel.


The incorporation of tritium into the C-8 position of purine residues in yeast tRNAPhe is shown to be markedly dependent on the conformation of the molecule. The completely unfolded molecule incorporates tritium at a rate commensurate to that expected for free purine nucleotides, but partially or completely folded forms incorporate proportionately less. The labeling of specific purine sites is determined by digesting the nucleic acid with a specific nuclease and analyzing each of the radioactive fragments produced. This analysis reveals that the amount of labeling of a purine in the folded form is strongly dependent upon its position in the sequence, whereas purine labeling in the unfolded form is indepen- dent of sequence position. The labeling pattern of the different bases in the folded form agrees fairly well with what is expected, based on existing solution and x-ray data on the conformation, i.e., residues involved in helical sections or apparently masked by tertiary interactions label more slowly than those on the "outside" of the molecule. Finally, folding and unfolding of specific regions of the macromolecule may be followed by the isotope labeling.


Your students will love this essential review book! It will familiarize them with every aspect of successful test taking, and will help to refine skills and build confidence for certification examinations. The text emphasizes learning styles, test-taking preparation and strategies, and cognitive skill development. Nursing concepts and principles that can be applied to many content areas are included, as are sample tests with answers and rationale. The authors use thought-provoking and entertaining language to involve and interest the reader, constantly reinforcing concepts with exercises and the creative use of repetition. New in the third edition: Reorganization of material on study skills; 3 new chapters on Comfort , Critical Thinking and Child Health ; and all chapters have new Reasoning Exercises and questions


The finite elements are extensively utilized to solve various problems in engineering fields with the growth of computing technologies. However, there is a lack of methodology for analyses of huge assembled structures. The mechanics on the interface of each components, for instance, contact, bolt joint and welding in assembly is a key issue for important huge structure such as nuclear power plants. On the other hand, it is well known that as finite element models become large and complex, construction of detailed mesh becomes a bottleneck in the CAE procedures. To solve these problems, the authors would like to introduce component-wise meshing approach and bonding strategy on the interface of components. In order to assemble component-wise meshes, the penalty method is introduced not only to constrain the displacements, but also to introduce classical spring connection on the joint interface, although penalty method is claimed that it is not suitable for iterative solver. In this paper, the convergence performance of an iterative solver with penalty method is investigated and the detailed component-wise distributed computation scheme is described with numerical examples.


Objectives: The aim was evaluated the preliminary results of an implementation of assessment of risk in a tertiary center hospital in Brazil. Methods: This was a prospective study of 1.555 singleton pregnancies with a live fetus at 10–14 weeks of gestation attending for routine antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in Brazil. Fetal crown–rump length (CRL) and NT thickness were measured and the risks for trisomy 21 were calculated by a combination of maternal age and fetal NT according to the software provided by The Fetal Medicine Foundation. Results: The maternal age ranged from 13 to 48 years (median, 30 years, SD +7.6) whereas 15.5% were younger than 20 years (144/931), 32.0% and 7.4% older than 35 years (506/1555) and 40 years old. The body mass index was greater than 30 kg/m2 in 10% of these pregnant women and 61% from 18.5–24.9 kg/m2. Nulliparous and primiparous were found in 48.9% and 29.8% respectively. The distribution of NT measurements revealed that 64.5% and 11.6% of the population had measurements above the 50th and 95th percentile for gestational age with no difference among the six members of the group. The estimated risk was greater than 1 : 300 and 1 : 100 in 57 patients (3.7%) and in 16 patients (1.0%) respectively. Based on the distribution of maternal age, it was expected 2.6 cases of trisomy 21 and approximately the same number of other chromosomal defects. In this population, the invasive procedure was performed in 100 pregnant women and there were three cases of autosomal trisomies, one of trisomy of sex chromosomes, one case of Turner syndrome and two cases of structural chromosomal alterations. Of this population, 85.7% (6/7) had NT > 95th percentile for gestational age and 42.8% (4/7) were younger than 35 years old. Conclusions: The discriminative capacity of nuchal translucency measurement makes it a useful tool in screening for chromosomal abnormalities.


Try to identify and eliminate the causative allergen plays an important role in the management of allergic diseases and asthma. It is particularly essential in anaphylaxis which may lead to life-threatening consequences. When evaluating a patient with history of asthma or anaphylaxis, spreading of allergens, routes of allergen exposure and allergen induced clinical symptoms should be review in detail with respect to current literature. In this paper, we report a case with periodic asthma attacks and recurrent anaphylaxis.


: The use of natural colorants in meat products can keep its coloring attractive as well as meet the demand from consumers interested in products that are healthier. Nitrite is added as a preservative to these products and it is also a precursor of the generation of a specifically desired color in meat products. However, its use has been associated with the development of certain kinds of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of reduced levels of nitrite in Brazilian sausage ( linguiça ) with natural colorants on the physicochemical and sensorial properties following frozen storage. Nine treatments were tested: 0.015 % nitrite (C150), 0.0075 % nitrite (C75) and 0 % nitrite (C0), 0.0075 % nitrite and 1.5 % microencapsulated betalain (BME75), 0 % nitrite and 1.5 % microencapsulated betalain (BME0), 0.0075 % nitrite and 0.19 % commercial betalain (BCP75), 0 % nitrite and 0.19 % commercial betalain (BCP0), 0.0075 % nitrite and 0.02 % of cochineal carmine (CC75) and 0 % nitrite and 0.02 % of cochineal carmine (CC0). Oxidative stability, residual nitrite and instrumental color were the determinant factors. Sensory analysis was directed at color, texture, taste and global acceptance. Natural colorants did not have any antioxidant effect. Sausages prepared with betalain and 0.0075 % nitrite showed the highest a* values. The addition of colorants improved both color and overall acceptance. The addition of betalain and cochineal carmine with 0.0075 % nitrite proved to be effective in achieving high acceptability in Brazilian sausage ( linguiça ).


Alcohol content is an important indicator of many products, rapid and accurate analysis is the key link of commodity inspection and productive process. Study using NIRS model to detect alcohol content of wine, adopted genetic algorithm partial least-squares (GA-PLS) method to analyze the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) characteristic wavelengths of alcohol content, the best NIR GA-PLS model is established. Experiment find GA-PLS can flexible and effective select out the characteristic wavelengths, can not only get rid of the useless information wavelengths, but also improve model's predicted precision, therefore, the predicted precision of GA-PLS model superior to PLS model established with global spectrum. The best predicted effect is obtained when 133 wavelengths with higher selected frequency join modeling, its root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) is 0.0066 and correlation coefficient of prediction (RP) is 0.9996. The results show, NIRS combined with GA-PLS method can detect alcohol content of wine rapidly and accurately, expected to achieve rapid detection of alcohol content online.


This paper presents a preliminary scoping review exploring the evidence landscape regarding academic staff experiences and perceptions of social media adoption as an educational tool in higher education. The goal of this paper is to examine 10 empirical studies of social media adoption in teaching and learning by academics in preparation for a proposal for a systematic literature review. Consequently, this scoping study assisted in the development of a review protocol which established the inclusion and exclusion criteria for conducting this systematic review at a future date. This paper will present the first stage of carrying out a systematic review: planning the review and presenting the results of the scoping study. The findings of this scoping study revealed that academics are slow in adopting social media within teaching and academics that have adopted the use of social media do so primarily for sharing relevant information and resources easily with students rather than for teaching purposes. Overall, the adoption of social media as an educational tool is faced with many challenges, such as cultural resistance, pedagogical issues, lack of institutional support and time investment. The results also indicate that teaching styles, demographic factors, privacy issues and previous experience can influence academic staff's decision to adopt social media for teaching purposes.


Background
Preferred practice pattern (PPP) is an evidence-based documents which can be used for reference to standardize medical practice by ophthalmologists.So far it has been promoted for more than 10 years in China.However, there is no report about the popularization and application of PPP in China.

Objective
This study was to investigate the cognitions of ophthalmologists to PPP from the view of clinical questions.

Methods
A questionnaire-based study was conducted.Questionnaires were dispensed during September 17 to 21, 2014 to inquiry into the cognitions of ophthalmologists to PPP in the 19th Congress of Chinese Ophthalmological Society.A self-administered questionnaire was designed and discussed according to the article published in the past by our research group.It included personal basic information and cognitions to PPP, and the latter consisted of self-assessment and cognition scoring.The constituent ratios of aware, quite aware, unaware and fully unaware ophthalmologists were counted.The cognitions were divided into low level (0-4 scores), moderate level (5-8 scores) and high level (9-12 scores) based on the effective answer sheets.The questionnaires were filled out anonymously and incomplete questionnaires were excluded.

Results
Among the 300 distributed questionnaires, 282 were retrieved and 209 were valid, with the effective rate 74.1%.The ophthalmologists of awareness to PPP were 46.4% (97/209), and 53.6% (112/209) of respondents did not know PPP very well.A positive correlation was found between the awareness to PPP and the cognition scores to clinical issues (rs=0.143, P<0.05). The cognition scores to clinical issues were significantly different among different educational backgrounds (F=12.26, P<0.05), and cognition scores were significantly reduced in the ophthalmologists with lower master degree in comparison with the ophthalmologists with doctoral degree (all at P<0.05). The coincide ratio between cognitions of ophthalmologists to different clinical issues and suggestions in PPP were evidently different in the ophthalmologists, with the highest coincide ratio 83% and the lowest coincide ratio 1%.

Conclusions
The awareness to PPP is not adequate in Chinese eye doctors, which reduces the cognition level to clinical issues.There is a poor coincide ratio between cognitions of Chinese ophthalmologists to clinical issues and suggestions in PPP.This study emphasizes the need for effective awareness programs towards clinical issues based on PPP.

Key words:
Questionnaire, ophthalmology; Preferred practice pattern, ophthalmology; Awareness; Cognition; Clinical questions; Eye doctors, Chinese


Brain metastases cause significant morbidity and mortality in patients with metastatic melanoma. Although adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) can achieve complete and durable remission of advanced cutaneous melanoma, the efficacy of this therapy for brain metastases is unclear. Records of patients with M1c melanoma treated with ACT using TIL, including patients with treated and untreated brain metastases, were analyzed. Treatment consisted of preparative chemotherapy, autologous TIL infusion, and high-dose interleukin-2. Treatment outcomes, sites of initial tumor progression, and overall survival were analyzed. Among 144 total patients, 15 patients with treated and 18 patients with untreated brain metastases were identified. Intracranial objective responses (OR) occurred in 28% patients with untreated brain metastases. The systemic OR rates for patients with M1c disease without identified brain disease, treated brain disease, and untreated brain disease, and were 49%, 33% and 33%, respectively, of which 59%, 20% and 16% were durable at last follow-up. The site of untreated brain disease was the most likely site of initial tumor progression (61%) in patients with untreated brain metastases. Overall, we found that ACT with TIL can eliminate small melanoma brain metastases. However, following TIL therapy these patients frequently progress in the brain at a site of untreated brain disease. Patients with treated or untreated brain disease are less likely to achieve durable systemic ORs following TIL therapy compared with M1c disease and no history of brain disease. Melanoma brain metastases likely require local therapy despite the systemic effect of ACT.


Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Dongguan People's Hospital, Southern Medical University of Dongguan, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common lethal malignant tumor worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to affect the development of human cancers, including HCC. In this project, we aim to clarify the functional effect of circular CDR1as (circ_CDR1as) on HCC progression. Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blot is implemented to detect the expression of circ_CDR1as, microRNA (miR)-1287 and Raf-1 proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (Raf1). Cell proliferation is assessed via colony formation and 3-(4, 5)-dimethylthiazole-2-y1)-2, 5-biphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Cell migration and invasion are measured by Transwell assay. The target relationship between miR-1287 and circ_CDR1as or Raf1 is validated through dual-luciferase reporter assay. The levels of epithelia–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and the MEK/ERK signal pathway-related proteins are examined by Western blot. Model in nude mice is constructed to determine the role of circ_CDR1as in vivo. Results: Expression of circ_CDR1as and Raf1 is elevated, while miR-1287 expression is decreased in HCC. Depletion of circ_CDR1as or Raf1 could inhibit proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. Besides, circ_CDR1as regulates Raf1 expression by targeting miR-1287. MiR-1287 upregulation or Raf1 depletion could partially counterbalance circ_CDR1as depletion-mediated inhibitory effects on HCC cell behaviors. Moreover, circ_CDR1as depletion represses HCC progression through inactivating MEK/ERK pathway. In addition, circ_CDR1as depletion suppresses tumor growth in vivo via regulating miR1287/Raf1 pathway. Conclusion: Circ_CDR1as depletion inhibits HCC cell proliferation and metastasis by miR1287/Raf1 and MEK/ERK pathways, highlighting a promising molecular target for HCC treatment.


Biological control with arthropod natural enemies and microbial control agents has been applied since the year 1895 in Latin America and the Caribbean and is currently used on a very large scale. Sources about the history and current situation of biocontrol in this region were not easy to trace and are, therefore, presented in this chapter. Next, organizations working on biocontrol in this region are listed. This is followed by a description of natural, conservation, classical and augmentative biocontrol with some regional examples. Then, an approach to find, evaluate and use biocontrol agents is sketched, as guidance for research projects. Often, tens to a hundred biocontrol candidates are found in association with a pest. A well organized research approach using evaluation criteria allows for quick exclusion of unsuitable or problematic candidate species. Biocontrol research has limited funding and early elimination of poor candidates results in spending more money on promising candidates. Regulations concerning import and release of agents that have been implemented during the past 30 years are summarized. Effects of these regulations are that prospecting for exotic natural enemies is now very difficult and that fewer new biocontrol agents have become available. Finally, the structure of the book is explained.


In order to analyze the effect of proceeding on the mechanical and tribological properties of DLC films. Three DLC films samples on single silicon wafers were prepared by CVD method. The changed bias voltages were 300V, 350V, 450V separately. The structure and topography of prepared films were studied by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The hardness and elastic modulus together with friction coefficient of DLC films were measured by Tribolab system. According to the Raman spectra, the G and D peak shift to left with the increasing of bias voltage. Nano indent showed that the hardness (H) of the DLC films decreases from 19.63GPa to 18.12GPa with the increasing of bias voltages, and the value of elastic modulus (E) is also behaving the same trend as H from 157.95GPa to 146.95GPa. Friction coefficients of the three samples were measured by nano-scratch method under the constant normal load of 1000uN and the slide velocity of 3 um/sec, the corresponding friction coefficient is 0.0804 for DLC300, 0.0508for DLC350 and 0.0594 for DLC450 separately, which indicates that high hardness materials may not necessarily the perfect frictional material, but compound properties of hardness and elastic modulus


Shallow-marine ostracode assemblages from upper Pliocene sediments of the upper part of the Sagavanirktok Formation and lower part of the Gubik Formation record the last warm period that occurred before the onset of significant cooling of the Arctic Ocean and the initiation of Northern Hemisphere continental glaciation. The informally named Colvillian and Bigbendian transgressions represent the oldest deposits of the Gubik Formation and are dated, based on various lines of evidence, between 2.48 and 3 Ma. Ostracode faunas from the lower part of the Gubik Formation indicate a cold-temperate to subfrigid marine climate with summer bottom temperatures 1-4 C warmer than today. Deposits of the upper part of the Sagavanirktok Formation at Manning Point and Barter Island are older than Colvillian sediments but are believed to be late Pliocene in age and contain an ostracode fauna that has many species in common with the lower part of the Gubik Formation. The Sagavanirktok ostracode faunas indicate a cold-temperature to subfrigid marine climate, similar to that inferred for the lower part of the Gubik Formation, with summer bottom temperatures 1-3 C warmer than today. The opening of Bering Strait at about 3 Ma altered Arctic Ocean assemblage composition as Pacific species migrated into the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. The admixture of evolutionarily distinct faunas from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans identifies Colvillian (and younger) faunas and provides a convenient reference horizon in the Alaskan fossil record. The marine climatic deterioration that followed the Bigbendian appears to have been abrupt and is documented by biotic turnover, with large numbers of species extinctions and first appearances of new species. The change in species composition can be attributed to the cooling of the Arctic Ocean during the late Pliocene. Key words: Pliocene, ostracode, Sagavanirktok Formation, Nuwok Member, Gubik Formation, Alaska, North Slope, shallow marine


In November 1982 146 persons became ill within a few days with trichinosis in Bitburg (GFR). Prompt epidemiological and immunodiagnostic investigations demonstrated the high likelihood of infection by ingestion of raw sausage produced at a butcher's near Bitburg. The diagnosis of trichinosis could be ascertained still in the acute phase of disease by demonstration of the Trichinella larvae in peripheral blood. Retrospective analysis of earlier disease from the same area showed that the same infection source had led to a smaller epidemic already in August/September of 1982. This investigation confirms that epidemic trichinosis may occur in the GFR despite law-enforced assessment of meat for Trichinella. However, by combination of epidemiological and immunodiagnostic methods the mode and source of infection can be established promptly and reliably.


In this paper the model of a double wishbone independent suspension was established by using ADAMS\view as an analysis platform and the kinematics simulation was performed by way of parametric modeling. By analyzing the dimension parameters of suspension, i.e. the method of DOE (Design of Experiments) supplied by the software, the parameters which were the most important influence of the sideways displacement of wheel had been ascertained: Kingpin length, kingpin Inclination and caster angle. Ultimately the key parameters were optimized with the optimal object of minimizing the absolute value of sideways displacement, and the final test results met design requirements.


Firms are increasingly using collaborative systems to enhance supply-chain visibility. A key emphasis of these interorganizational systems (IOS) is to improve the coordination between buyers and suppliers through electronic integration. While such IOS integration is purportedly good, because it tightens linkages in the supply chain, it is not clear whether it is the best configuration under all conditions. A review of literature on adoption and use of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems (a type of IOS) shows that this issue has been examined from multiple theoretic perspectives. Researchers have examined how contingencies related to technology, organization, and environment shape EDI use. Limited attention has been directed toward understanding how conditions under which transactions are conducted impact the use of IOS. We argue that transactional characteristics are important antecedents to IOS integration and propose that demand uncertainty, complexity, market fragmentation, and market volatility capture key characteristics. These factors coupled with an open information-sharing environment are hypothesized to influence IOS integration. Data collected from the electronics industry is used to examine the research model. Results show that firms tend to deploy integrated IOS when complexity of the component is high, market fragmentation is low, and an open information-sharing environment exists. Thus, from a managerial perspective, IOS integration is the appropriate configuration under conditions of high product complexity and open information-sharing environment, but it precludes the firm from participating in the open market and gaining brokerage benefits.


Artifacts and images associated with Northwest Coast Natives have intrigued visitors to this coastal region for centuries. Who has not been awed by the spectacle of Thunderbird, magnificent wings outstretched, atop a totem pole, or felt the power of the image of Sisiutl, the two-headed supernatural serpent? Until now, no resource guide has existed to inform visitors, as well as those who live in western Washington, about the rich heritage of Native arts, traditional and contemporary, that is a major feature of the area. Northwest Coast Native and Native-Style Art is designed to meet the need for such information. The guidebook covers sites from the Oregon line to the Canadian border and from the western slope of the Cascades to the Pacific coast. It embraces an art tradition that displays significant cultural continuity from the mouth of the Columbia River to Yakutat Bay and features art by Native and non-Native artists alike. The authors' goal was to include every publicly accessible art object located within western Washington, whether the cultural tradition it represents originates in western Washington, British Columbia, or southeastern Alaska-the region customarily defined as the Northwest Coast. In separate chapters based on five geographic zones, each accompanied by a map showing the sites to be discussed, the authors locate objects in public places; describe museum collections and tribal displays; identify retail outlets-both private galleries and museum shops-that sell Northwest Coast Native and Native-style art; provide information about recognized artists who are at work in western Washington, British Columbia, and southeastern Alaska; locate educational courses and programs designed to enhance understanding of regional arts; and list opportunities to see the art in use, for example, at powwows and in museum programs. This informative, illustrated, and easy-to-use guide will be a valuable resource for those interested in the arts and cultures of the region-from students at all levels of expertise to collectors and artists. It is a book that is long overdue and that will be a welcome addition to the library of anyone who loves the arts of the Native peoples of the Northwest Coast.


The work presented in this thesis represents my 'adventures' in the field of cancer pharmacology and drug development. The work has been segregated into six major themes that represent my interests over a career spanning 30 years. These themes are; (i) the preclinical and clinical development of EO9 (Apaziquone) as a loco-regional therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (ii) the microenvironment of cancer, cancer metabolism and the pharmacological evaluation of enzyme activated bioreductive drugs (iii) individualising chemotherapy and personalized medicine (iv) the pharmacological evaluation of synthetic organic compounds and natural products (v) the pharmacological evaluation of inorganic complexes and (vi) drug delivery and in silico modelling studies. A total of 109 peer reviewed research publications are presented together with 12 review articles, the majority of which have also been peer reviewed. Also included is an impact case study report for the Research Excellence Framework 2014 submission which highlights one area of my research that has had direct impact upon the health and well-being of cancer patients, namely the development of Apaziquone (EO9) as an intravesical therapy for superficial bladder cancer. Working in the field of anti-cancer drug development is inherently multidisciplinary and I hereby wish to acknowledge and thank the contributions of colleagues and students without whom, this thesis would not have been possible.


Resistive crossbar based accelerators for Machine Learning (ML) have attracted great interest as they offer the prospect of high density on-chip storage as well as efficient in-memory matrix-vector multiplication (MVM) operations. Despite their promises, they present several design challenges, such as high write costs, overhead of analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters and other peripheral circuits, and accuracy degradation due to the the analog nature of in-memory computing coupled with device and circuit level non-idealities. The unique characteristics of crossbar-based accelerators pose unique challenges for design automation. We outline a design flow for crossbar-based accelerators, and elaborate on some key tools involved in such a flow. Specifically, we discuss architectural estimation of metrics such as power, performance and area, and functional simulation to evaluate algorithmic accuracy considering the impact of non-idealities.


The proteolytic breakdown of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by secretases is a complex cellular process that results in the formation of neurotoxic Aβ peptides, causative of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Processing involves monomeric and dimeric forms of APP that are transported through distinct cellular compartments where the various secretases reside. Amyloidogenic processing is also influenced by modifiers such as sorting receptor-related protein (SORLA), an inhibitor of APP breakdown and a major AD risk factor. This paper analyzed the temporal behavior of a mathematical model describing APP processing under the influence of SORLA, by performing a stability analysis of the mathematical model. We found one biochemically meaningful equilibrium point ξ. By means of linearization, Hartman-Grobman theorem, and Routh-Hurwitz test, it was shown that ξ is a locally asymptotically stable equilibrium point. The region of attraction of ξ was approximated by using the fluctuation lemma. An immediate consequence of the stability analysis of the reduced system to the temporal behavior of the solutions of the original system was also obtained. The biological implications of these results for the dynamic behavior of the activity of APP and secretases under SORLA's influence were established.


In an asynchronous distributed system, a number of processes communicate with each other via message passing that has a finite but arbitrary long delay. There is no global clock in that system. Predicates, denoting the states of processes and their relations, are often used to specify the information of interest in such a system. Due to the lack of a global clock, the temporal relations between the states at different processes cannot be uniquely determined, but have multiple possible circumstances. Existing works of predicate detection are based on the definitely modality or the possibly modality, denoting that a predicate holds in all of the possible circumstances or in one of them, respectively. No information is provided about the probability that a predicate will hold, which hinders the taking of countermeasures for different situations. Moreover, the detection is based on single occurrence of a predicate, so the results are heavily affected by environmental noise and detection errors. In this paper, we propose a new approach to predicate detection to address these two issues. We generalize the definitely and possibly modalities to an occurrence probability to provide more detailed information, and further investigate how to detect multiple occurrences of a predicate. We propose a unified algorithm framework for detecting various types of predicates and demonstrate the use of it for three typical types of predicates, including simple predicates, simple sequences, and interval-constrained sequences. Theoretical proofs and simulation results show that our approach is effective and outperforms existing approaches.


Islamic attitudes are of increasing concern to the Western world and environmental issues claim much attention as well. Perhaps, though, few non-Muslims realise that there is a distinctive Islamic contribution to the environmental debate; consequently, it provides a much needed Islamic input into the world-wide process of consultation on the future of the planet. Born from the 1992 Earth Summit, this book is a major account of Islam's contribution to the environmental debate. Dr Izzi Dien views the topic from historical, theological, philosophical, legal and ethical perspectives, examining such aspects as the Quranic doctrine of Creation, human responsibility and the actions of governments. His conclusions will not only be an invaluable submission to ecological groups but enlighten the general public, both inside and outside the Islamic community, about Muslim teaching on this area. The Environmental Dimensions of Islam is an important book, touching on issues of community, empowerment and culture. It will challenge those of all faiths and none to reconsider their attitudes towards both the Islamic and the natural world.


High-performance permanent magnets are indispensable in the production of high-efficiency motors and generators and ultimately for sustaining the green earth. The central issue of modern permanent magnetism is to realize high coercivity near and above room temperature on marginally hard magnetic materials without relying upon the critical elements such as heavy rare earths by means of nanostructure engineering. Recent investigations based on advanced nanostructure analysis and large-scale first principles calculations have led to significant paradigm shifts in the understandings of coercivity mechanism in Nd – Fe – B permanent magnets, which includes the discovery of the ferromagnetism of the thin (2 nm) intergranular phase surrounding the Nd 2 Fe 14 B grains, the occurrence of negative (in-plane) magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Nd ions and some Fe atoms at the interface which degrades coercivity, and visualization of the stochastic behaviors of magnetization in the magnetization reversal process at high temperatures. A major change may occur also in the motor topologies, which is currently overwhelmed by the magnetic flux weakening interior permanent magnet motor type, to other types with variable flux permanent magnet type in some applications to open up a niche for new permanent magnet materials.


To improve the MixAlco process and biomass pretreatment, five studies were conducted. Three studies related to fermentation, whereas the other two investigated the effectiveness of shock tube pretreatment (STP) coupled with oxidative lime pretreatment (OLP).

In the first study, the constant-selectivity assumption used in the continuum particle distribution model (CPDM) was determined to be invalid. During a 32-day batch fermentation, selectivity increased from 0.10 to 0.40 g acid/g non-acid volatile solid (NAVS) digested. Future revisions to CPDM should incorporate a non-constant selectivity term.

In the second study, a revised procedure was developed to provide a more accurate determination of moisture content. Conventional drying at 105 degrees C allowed product acids to vaporize with water, which introduced errors. Using the revised procedure, calcium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide was added to samples at a concentration of 0.01 g base/g sample, which retained acids in the sample. The mass of additional retained material closely matched that of the additional retained acid.

Three related studies involving biomass pretreatment were performed. In the first, recommended parameters for pretreating sugarcane bagasse with OLP and STP were determined. Recommended OLP parameters were 130 degrees C, 6.9-bar O2, and 2-h duration. The effects of solids concentration, liquid fill volume, particle size, type of shotgun shell, number of shocks, and pretreatment order were investigated. Liquid fill volume, particle size, type of shotgun shell, and pretreatment order were significant variables, whereas solids concentration and number of shocks were not.

Recommended OLP parameters were used as a basis for an additional experiment. To simulate industrial-scale pile fermentation, fixed-bed batch fermentation of OLP + STP sugarcane bagasse was performed in 1-L PVC fermentors. Rubber mulch was used as a structural support material to prevent filter plugging, which had been reported in previous work. After 42 d, acid concentration reached 8 g/L with yield approximately 0.1 g acid/g NAVS fed. Poor fermentation performance was caused by short solid-liquid contact time and poor pH control.

A third biomass pretreatment experiment investigated the potential of pretreated corn stover as a potential ruminant feed. Five samples (raw, OLP, STP, OLP + STP, and STP + OLP) were analyzed for composition and in vitro digestibility. STP followed by OLP increased neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility from 49.3 to 79.0 g NDF digested/100 g NDF fed. On an organic matter basis, STP + OLP corn stover plus water-soluble extractives had a total digestible nutrients (TDN) of 74.9, nearly reaching corn grain at 88.1.


This study used the theory of human values to explore parents' involvement with their children. The relationships between maternal and paternal value priorities and various forms of involvement in childcare were examined in a sample of 209 couples with one child between 6 and 36 months of age. As predicted, giving high priority to openness-to-change values (e.g., self-direction, stimulation) and low priority to conservation values (e.g., tradition, conformity, security) is associated with more father involvement and less mother involvement. Moreover, and as predicted, the priority given by a spouse to achievement values is negatively related to this spouse's involvement in childcare, and positively related to the other spouse's involvement. Parents' sociodemographic characteristics partly mediate the associations between value priorities and involvement. The findings also indicate the importance of distinguishing different forms of involvement in childcare.


Summary: Numerous functional neuroimaging techniques have progressively been added to the presurgical evaluation of refractory partial epilepsies. These investigations can help confirm the origin of seizure onset previously suggested by MR imaging and electro-clinical data, provide independent prognostic information, and provide critical diagnostic value when MR imaging results are strictly normal or show multifocal abnormalities. Of the various functional neuroimaging modalities, [11C]methionine positron emission tomography for methionine uptake into seizure foci is still in the preliminary stages of investigation. A single case of medically intractable epilepsy with focal cortical dysplasia documented by [11C]methionine positron emission tomography and possible hypotheses to explain the methionine uptake into the seizure focus are described below.


Claims for medical negligence have been increasingly frequent during the last decade or so. In many cases this has been an appropriate development; but inevitably there is an aspect of some of the actions which has resulted in neither the legal nor the medical profession emerging with distinction. In such a course of events 'grey' areas are bound to appear so that a carefully researched text such as this one becomes very useful to those engaged in these fields. Major topics discussed are the basis of liability, general principles of the standard of care with a detailed treatment of specific instances. A chapter on 'causation' also helpfully includes a section on remoteness of damage which deals with negligence as a contributory factor. Consent of treatment essentially provides information on the important area of battery and additional chapters dealing with defective products and the important subject of damages follow on. Finally a whole section on procedural issues completes the substance of the book. Each paragraph of each chapter is individually numbered which on first impression makes the format somewhat intimidating, but taken in conjunction with the detailed list of contents it complements the index in a practical way. There are meticulous footnotes on each page and extensive references to cases. There is a great wealth of information and instruction contained in this volume about medico-legal matters of increasing importance and complexity. The author should be congratulated on making the text concise and yet comprehensive, informative and yet readable. G.C. JENKINS


Well interference in unconventional CBM reservoirs is often desired. It reduces reservoir pressure; significantly increasing gas production through desorption. However, identifying interference between wells and extracting quantitative reservoir information using production data analysis is a challenge. The primary objectives of this study are to identify production characteristics of interfering CBM wells, evaluate reservoir parameters, demonstrate the application of interference data using field examples to predict well performance and develop guidelines to optimize geospatial well-pattern.
 A field wide interference study has been undertaken to track changes in gas rate, water rate, wellhead pressure and fluid level in each well. An 'event-based' filter is applied to the dataset to correlate production behaviour of a well with any unplanned 'event' in its offset well. Planned well tests are then conducted to ascertain these evidences of interference. Using production data analysis of interfering wells, a set of semi-analytical correlations have been developed based on the transient drainage radius model to determine production-governing permeability of coal formation, and also quantify the flow contribution of natural fractures and reservoir matrix.
 Preliminary analysis of the study demonstrates several forms of interference. Well specific field examples have been presented for each case. Interference between producing wells having long production history show a trend reversal in gas flow rate due to additional dewatering support by its offset well. Similar behaviour is observed in the production characteristics of an old producer when a new well is drilled in a nearby location. However, effects of interference are more dominant when a well stimulation activity (fracturing or re-fracturing) is carried out in an offset well. During stimulation activity, offset wells show an abnormal decline in gas rate and wellhead pressure due to fracking fluid (water) load up in the reservoir. Conversely, a significant positive impact is seen in gas rate of both wells after the well is put back on production due to improved water production rate in the stimulated well. Permeability calculations show that natural and artificial fractures dominate production behaviour of CBM wells. The study also presents results of various simulated geo-spatial well patterns. Furthermore, it is shown that planned interference at an early time with an economically designed well spacing can maximize the production NPV of an asset for an operator.
 The optimal well spacing to maintain and/or increase gas production with the right amount of resources is critical for maximised returns. This result of this study can be used as foundation to help operators optimize multi-well pad and future infill well development program based on the assessment of short-term and long-term recovery targets.


As hospitals attempt to position themselves as competitive economic units with selected physicians, economic credentialing of hospital medical staff will accelerate. What recourse do physicians on staff have when a hospital enters into an exclusive contract with another group? Do the due process provisions in the medical staff bylaws apply? Is there a right to due process and to a hearing even when no quality issues are involved? This article discusses recent court decisions on this topic, focusing on Texas statutes and case law.


Decoding random linear codes is a fundamental problem in complexity theory and lies at the heart of almost all code-based cryptography. The best attacks on the most prominent code-based cryptosystems such as McEliece directly use decoding algorithms for linear codes. The asymptotically best decoding algorithm for random linear codes of length n was for a long time Stern's variant of information-set decoding running in time O 20.05563n . Recently, Bernstein, Lange and Peters proposed a new technique called Ball-collision decoding which offers a speed-up over Stern's algorithm by improving the running time to O 20.05558n . In this paper, we present a new algorithm for decoding linear codes that is inspired by a representation technique due to Howgrave-Graham and Joux in the context of subset sum algorithms. Our decoding algorithm offers a rigorous complexity analysis for random linear codes and brings the time complexity down to O 20.05363n .


Due to scarcity of bacilli, an accurate diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis is always being a challenge. Though conventional methods lack sensitivity and are time consuming, molecular diagnostic modalities are very effective for early diagnosis with high sensitivity and specificity. Timely diagnosis even in latent period will improve the efficacy of the treatment of osteoarticular tuberculosis. Under some stress conditions like hypoxia, nitric oxide stress, long term viability of M. tuberculosis is favoured by alpha crystallin protein (acr), which is a dominant protein of latent phase. In this article we focuses on protein that shows significant expression in the latent phase of M. tuberculosis. It may be further used as a prognostic biomarker for differentiating latent and active tuberculosis.


— From August 1993 to August 1994, bats were surveyed on Montserrat, Lesser Antilles. Four years after this small volcanic island was struck by Hurricane Hugo (1989), there remains a 20-fold decrease in bat populations as compared to levels before Hugo. After the hurricane, composition of the community shifted from smaller frugivorous species to one of more omnivorous and larger frugivorous species. With the addition of a new record for Sturnira thomasi, voucher specimens from Montserrat exist for ten species of Chiroptera: Noctilio leporinus, Monophyllus plethodon, Sturnira tkomasi, Chiroderma improvisum, Artibeus jamaicensis, Ardops nichollsi, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Natalus stramineus, Tadarida brasiliensis, and Molos-


The rapid technological advancement is now disrupting the global economy and creating new business and development models, offering countries opportunities to leapfrog over traditional paths for economic growth. Over the past years, digital technologies have been spreading throughout the world at a faster pace than previous waves of technological innovation, re-shaping consumer behavior, social interaction, businesses and governments. The digital economy (DE), which encompasses a wide range of new applications of information technology in business models and products, can spur economic growth, productivity and employment and, with appropriate policies to mitigate inherent risks, has a potential to support inclusive outcomes. In this global context, digital transformation of the economy has become a major objective for the government of Senegal (GoS). This report provides a snapshot of the state of DE in Senegal and uses several World Bank tools and international best practices to provide actionable recommendations to the GoS.


An ac bias operated multivibrator for dc to polyphase conversion is presented. The multivibrator introduced here is of multicore construction, having the number of saturable cores equal to the number of phases. It has several common windings wound through all the cores and two or more separate windings wound on each of the cores. A multivibrator is constructed with the common windings and two transistors. Of the separate windings, one, acting as a bias winding, is connected to one of the common windings to receive ac bias mmf, and the others are used as output windings. By keeping the proper distribution of mmf's among the bias windings, the proper sequence is kept among the induced emf's in the output windings, and hence the polyphase voltages are produced. The same principle can be applied to a polyphase multivibrator with a multiaperture core.


The optimist may be secretly envied, but he is publicly despised. His pronouncements are regarded as expressions of simple-minded blindness or as cynical propaganda. Optimism is not regarded as intellectually respectable. It was not always so: there have been times when optimism was not merely considered worthy of rational argument, but was widely accepted by thinking men. Now, however, we react with a growing embarrassment to passages such as these: The time will therefore come when the sun will shine only on free men who know no other master but their reason;… All the causes that contribute to the perfection of the human race, all the means that ensure it must by their very nature exercise a perpetual influence and always increase their sphere of action … the perfectibility of man is indefinite.


This thesis primarily describes analysis related to studying the Moon shadow with cosmic rays, an analysis using upward-going muons trigger data, and other work done as part of MSc thesis work conducted at Fermi National Laboratory. While at Fermilab I made hardware and software contributions to two experiments NOvA and Mu2e. NOvA is a neutrino experiment with the primary goal of measuring parameters related to neutrino oscillation. This is a running experiment, so it's possible to provide analysis of real beam and cosmic data. Most of this work was related to the Data-Driven Trigger (DDT) system of NOvA. The results of the Upward-Going muon analysis was presented at ICHEP in August 2016. The analysis demonstrates the proof of principle for a low-mass dark matter search. Mu2e is an experiment currently being built at Fermilab. Its primary goal is to detect the hypothetical neutrinoless conversion from a muon into an electron. I contributed to the production and tests of Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) which are required for testing the Cosmic Ray Veto (CRV) system for the experiment. This contribution is described in the last chapter along with a short description of the technical work provided for the DDT system of the NOvA experiment. All of the work described in this thesis will be extended by the next generation of UVA graduate students and postdocs as new data is collected by the experiment. I hope my efforts of have helped lay the foundation for many years of beautiful results from Mu2e and NOvA.


North American Weather Consultants performed a feasibility study of a cloud seeding program, on behalf of the California Department of Water Resources, for portions of the Feather River drainage in the northern Sierra Nevada. The primary objectives of the study were: 1) determine areas that would present the greatest opportunity for runoff enhancement; 2) determine the seeding agent and delivery system that will maximize enhancement with minimal adverse social and environmental effects; 3) estimate the increase in runoff to Lake Oroville that enhancement would have produced during years when unused storage in the reservoir would have been available; and 4) determine the feasibility of proceeding to design study and an Environmental Impact Report. Apparent results from other cloud seeding projects in the Sierra Nevada were used to simulate the effects of cloud seeding upon precipitation in the proposed Feather River target area. The modeled increased precipitation was then used as input for the WRENSS hydrology model to estimate the runoff increases due to the seeding. Benefit cost ratios were formulated to assess whether or not a cloud seeding project would be economically feasible. The study demonstrated that there is a technological basis for the successful performance of an operational weather modification program. A preliminary project design was prepared with a cautionary note that a full design should be completed with more detailed investigations in areas that were beyond the scope of this feasibility study; e.g., suspension criteria, evaluation procedures, equipment needs and siting, to name only a few.


This article examines representations of colonial subjects within two forms of 'empire films' of the 1930s: popular 'entertainment' empire films widely consumed by audiences in Britain and the colonies, and documentary films about empire produced by the Empire Marketing Board (EMB) and the General Post Office (GPO) film units. These two types of film at first glance seem markedly different, with the one featuring the sensational colonial villain, and the other emphasising a docile and peaceful workforce in the colonies. Yet if we consider these two types of film within a large media landscape intent on courting the 'human interest' of audiences between the wars, the particularly racialised boundaries of this term comes into focus. This article examines the seemingly divergent portrayals of colonial subjects across these films and in conjunction with responses of audiences in both England and the colonies, and early discussions at the EMB about the appeal of empire narratives. The appeal and endurance of the figure of the colonial villain in entertainment films and the perspective of documentary producer John Grierson on film, human interest, and empire asks us to consider the state's role in refashioning empire in this period. This article asks whether the state was truly invested in refashioning a modern empire in the interwar period, as some historians have argued, or if it was content to affirm the limited portrayal of colonial subjects on screen.


Take a look at Americans in their natural habitat: men shopping for barbecue grills, doing that special walk men do when in the presence of hardware; super-efficient football mums who chair school auctions, organise the PTAs, and weigh less than their kids; and suburban chain restaurants, the Hard Rock Outback Cantina etc. Are they, or we, as the western world gradually becomes more and more similar, as shallow we look? Many around the world see America as the great bimbo. Naturally, they work hard and are energetic, but is that because they are money-hungry and don't know how to relax? David Brooks probes deeper, and explains that they behave the way they do because they live under the spell of paradise. Aren't we all? The inheritors of a sense of limitless possibilities, raised to think in the future tense and to strive toward the happiness we naturally accept, the fulfilment of our dreams.


Spruce wood chips were chemically pre-treated with sodium hydroxide to open up the compact structure of wood. The wood was then treated with enzymes (xylanase, gamanase and mannanase) and subjected to extraction with a mixture of methanol and alkali to efficiently isolate lignin and hemicelluloses. Chemical pre-treatment improved enzyme efficiency which consequently enhanced the extraction of lignocelluloses with higher average molar mass than the references.


What is a multicultural Society? A question, which is asked very often, an answer for it is sometimes very hard to define.Multicultural society is a society in which there is inclusion of many diverse people. It is a society in which freedom of religion, language, dress, food, religion, customs, can be expressed without the trepidation of persecution. Whilst expressing ones culture they are also learning the main dominant language of the country in addition to abiding by the rules and regulations of the country.It is a society in which one can observe the different sub cultures, which are differentiated through language, religion, norms and values, pastimes, and culture.A multicultural society would be composed of people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures living and working together. In society when people from different backgrounds intertwine with each other's culture shows the acceptance of each other's culture and background.It is a society that works well; the people have roles and responsibilities they must fulfil. They have the rights to education, healthcare, protection from crime and rights to be helped if in poverty.Immigration/migration is the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. Migration is the movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions.In Britain multiculturalism has been around for thousands of years. Diversity of different cultures mainly started coming from European countries. At the beginning the first people who came and brought their culture to Britain were the Celts and formed their first communities in the British Isles.
We can see multicultural societies all around world. It's because everyday people migrating from one country to another. All the people have their own culture, religion, language and beliefs also. But this world prove that multi-cultural people can live together in same society without any problem.Most of the metropolitan cities in the world, we can see more than 45% of people from outside. They came there for work or living or other purpose. Suddenly they can't change their own style that they followed. But gradually they changing day by day to new style.Why they need to change to new life style? That because if our culture sometimes make someone irritated or something. So we need to analyses our culture and make some small changes.


The presence of a Salmonella serotype Enteritidis repeat element (SERE) located within the upstream regulatory region of the sefABCD operon encoding fimbrial proteins is reported. DNA dot-blot hybridisation analyses and computerised searches of genetic databases indicate that SERE is well conserved and widely distributed throughout the bacterial and archaeal kingdoms. A SERE-based polymerase chain reaction (SERE-PCR) assay was developed to fingerprint 54 isolates of Enteritidis representing nine distinct phage types and 54 isolates of other Salmonella serotypes. SERE-PCR identified five distinct fingerprint profiles among the 54 Enteritidis isolates; no correlation between phage types and SERE-PCR fingerprint patterns was noticed. SERE-PCR was reproducible, rapid and easy to perform. The results of this investigation suggest that the limited heterogeneity of SERE-PCR fingerprint patterns can be utilised to develop serotype- and serogroup-specific fingerprint patterns for isolates of Enteritidis.


This report presents the results of test made to determine the rolling friction of airplane wheels and tires under various conditions of wheel loading, tire inflation pressure, and ground surface. The effect of wheel-bearing type was also investigated. Six pairs of wheels and tires were tested including two sizes of each of the types designated as standard (high pressure), low pressure, and extra low pressure. The results of calculations intended to show the effect of variations in rolling friction on take-off are also presented.


Several extracts of tobacco leaf and tobacco smoke components were tested for their ability to stimulate and react with antibodies. Two experimental animal models, mice producing reaginic antibody and rabbits producing precipitating antibody, were used in this study. Results indicate that tobacco smoke extracts can stimulate immune responses to tobacco leaf antigens in rabbits and mice. The immunogen is apparently not a product of incineration because air passed through unlit cigarettes clearly extracted the antigenic component.


Petrographic and geochemical evaluation of pegmatite bodies occurring as discontinuous dykes have been studied in Komu area of southwestern Nigeria, with a view to determine the compositional characteristics that may be related to Ta-Nb mineralization potentials. They are found intruding semi discordantly, the older assemblages of granite gneiss, amphibolites and semi pelitic schist. These Precambrian pegmatites bodies are usually coarse grained in texture. Thin section study reveals that they contain mainly quartz, muscovite mica, plagioclase (albite), microcline as the main minerals while tourmaline and beryl occur in subordinate amounts. Opaque minerals, mainly ilmenite, magnetite and tantalite are of accessory constituents. A total of thirty samples comprising whole rock pegmatites and mineral extract of muscovite mica were analyzed for major, trace and rare earth elements using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) geochemical method which show the pegmatite samples to be generally highly siliceous with Sio2 values ranging from (46.14-76.71%) with an average of 62.47% in the whole rock samples, and it also ranges from (45.28-57.50%) with an average of 48.34% in the muscovite extract samples. while Al2 O3 content could be as high as 30.72% in the muscovite extract samples and 21.06% in the whole rock samples depicting the complexity of the pegmatite rock. However, Fe2O3, TiO2, and P2O5 contents are generally low (less than 5%). The samples are fairly enriched in Rb, Ba, Sr, Zr and the rare metals Ta, Li, and Nb. Albitization is indicated by Na/K ratio which are greater than (1.0) in most of the samples and Ti-Sn-Nb-Ta discriminate plot. Variation plots of K/Rb versus Rb, Ta versus Rb, Ta versus Nb, Ta versus K/Cs, Ta versus Cs+Rb and Ta versus Cs discriminant plot indicate the potentials of rare metal mineralization. On most of these diagrams, the samples plot close to those of Tanco deposits which are known to contain appreciable levels of Ta-mineralizaton, it also compares favourably with the pegmatite samples of Noumas, Central claims, Silver leaf and Odd west deposits which are known to contain fairly low level of Ta mineralization endowments.


Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Screening prevents not only mortality but also the occurrence of CRC. Our group reaches out to and educates members of our predominantly low-income Hispanic and African American community about cancer treatment, research, and prevention by establishing partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and training community health workers (CHWs). In 2010, we learned that relatively few CBO clients had been screened or intended to be screened for CRC, and that the CHWs also were not well informed about CRC.

Methods: We developed an enhanced training program about CRC for CHWs and their clients. We renewed two of our CBO partnerships, added one more, retrained some previously trained CHWs, and recruited and trained CHWs from the new CBO. We developed a new pre- and post-training 10-question instrument to evaluate what the CHWs already knew and what they learned from our training. We compared the CHWs' average scores (proportions of correct answers) before and after the training. Further training was conducted to reinforce CHWs' knowledge. Using focus groups and community-based participatory research methods with the CHWs, we then developed two educational interventions that the CHWs will implement in the coming months.

Results: Fifteen CHWs were trained or retrained. Most of the participating CHWs had previously received our training. All of them answered at least 6 of the 10 questions correctly both before and after the training, but average scores improved from 75% correct before the training to 82% correct afterwards.

Next steps: Each CHW will educate 20 clients (n=300) aged 50+ years about CRC screening and attempt to schedule them for screening. In the two intervention groups, we will compare proportions of clients who receive CRC screening. Results will be disseminated to the community in our quarterly community newsletter, a report to the CBOs, and a press release to the local media.

Citation Format: Martha Sanchez, Maxine Ashby-Thompson, Judith S. Jacobson, Patricia Hepburn, Victor E. Grann. Promoting colorectal cancer screening in urban, minority populations with community health workers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A16.


The professional communicators inside the Swedish Government Offices are today 140 (compared to a single one 40 years ago and just twenty 15 years ago), giving support to the idea that the media now has a major impact on everyday business inside the Government. This article shows that this partly true, as the media mainly have an effect on the politicians, the partisan ministerial staff and the communicators. But the relationship between the Government Offices and the media could also be turned around. The Government have resources for external communication no lesser than an international news agency's, and does on a daily basis deliver an impressive amount of press releases and conferences – and information leaks – that the media has to handle. This article examines and analyses how the Swedish Government Offices, trough new posts, units and strategies, has institutionalised and centralised its' media contacts during the last 40 years, as well as the reasons and the internal consequences of this development.


C1-bridged and Me2Si-bridged 2,5-dimethylcylcopentadienyl ansa-zirconocene complexes, [Me(H)C(C5H4)(2,5-Me2C5H2)]ZrCl2 (6), [(CH3CH2CH2)(H)C(C5H4)(2,5-Me2C5H2)]ZrCl2 (9), [(Me)(H)C(2,5-Me2C5H2)2]ZrCl2 (13), and [Me2Si(2,5-Me2C5H2)2]ZrCl2 (15), are prepared by using 2-bromo-3-methoxy-2,5-dimethylcyclopentene (7) as a starting material. Solid structures of 6 and 13 were determined by X-ray crystallography. The C1-bridged zirconocene complexes 6, 9, and 13 are highly active for ethylene/norbornene copolymerization with high incorporation of norbornene, while the Me2Si-bridged complex 15 shows relatively low activity. Complex 9 shows the highest activity and the highest incorporation of norbornene among the complexes, but the molecular weight of the obtained polymer is relatively low.


IgE is produced by B lymphocytes that have undergone a deletional rearrangement of their Ig H chain gene locus, a rearrangement that joins the switch region of the mu gene, S mu, with the corresponding region of the epsilon gene, S epsilon. To examine the resulting composite S mu-S epsilon junctions of human lymphoid cells, we have used a polymerase chain reaction strategy to clone the switch regions of the human myeloma U266 and of two IgE-producing human cell lines generated by treatment of lymphocytes with EBV plus IL-4. The switch junction of one of the EBV lines is a complex rearrangement in which a fragment of S gamma is interposed between S mu and S epsilon. This finding suggested that the switch to epsilon in this human lymphoid cell was preceded by a S mu-S gamma recombination. To determine whether this sequential switch rearrangement represented a unique event or occurred with some regularity in human B cells switching to IgE production, DNA samples from bulk cultures of lymphocytes treated with IL-4 were subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification of their S mu-S epsilon junctions. When the resulting fragments were examined by Southern blotting, a substantial fraction hybridized to an S gamma probe. This finding suggests that sequential recombination involving S gamma is not rare in the switch to epsilon production in humans. Our polymerase chain reaction strategy should be useful in studying isotype switching at the DNA level.


Determination of the relationship between individuals' cognitive styles and cognitive structure outcomes was the main aim of this study. Sixty-six participants were enrolled in the study and their cognitive styles were determined by using the Hidden Figure Test (for their field dependent/independent dimension of cognitive style) and the Convergent/Divergent Test (for their convergence/divergence dimension of cognitive style). An open-ended questionnaire was formed in order to determine participants' cognitive structure outcomes. The study topic was chosen as chemical kinetics since it is one of the most difficult topics in chemistry according to many students and also there is limited study in the literature on this topic. Key concepts about chemical kinetics were selected and given to the participants and they were asked to write a text by using the given concepts. A flow map technique was used to reveal participants' cognitive structure outcomes. According to the findings of this study, it can be said that field independent participants tended to be divergent thinkers while field dependents tended to be convergent thinkers. Also, strong positive relationships between participants' field dependency/independency and some cognitive structure outcomes (extent and richness) were found. That is, field independents tended to have more extended and richer cognitive structure outcomes. However, the convergence/divergence dimension of cognitive style did not show any correlation with cognitive structure outcomes.


The Present Serviceability Rating (PSR) is one of the major criteria in selecting road for rehabilitation. In this paper, statistically realistic models for are developed PSR and free speed correlation on uninterrupted flow facilities. Then, the previously developed relations between free speed and capacity are used to determine the effect of pavement condition on flow capacity. Two nearly identical cars were used and ten raters were selected to evaluate 23 test sections on two major separated roads and an expressway with similar geometric characteristics with a wide range of pavement conditions. Using SAS, it was shown that linear negative exponeatial models were the best regression models that fit the data according to –R2 and T-test.


The value of a firm is equal to the present value of its expected cash flows, discounted by investors' required rate of return. Both present values of expected cash flows and required rates of return could be affected by a number o f factors among them the outcome of the Constitution Referendum vote either positively or negatively. Indeed, the outcome of the referendum votes could lead to changes in the cash flows of Kenyan firms through the uncertainty associated with it. This paper studies the impact of political risk on stock prices at NSE by examining the two constitution referendum events in Kenya. The uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of the votes presented some form of political uncertainty. This study uses the theory of Efficient Market Hypothesis to forge a link between political risk and stock performance in the Nairobi Stock exchange. This study analyses the performance of Nairobi stock exchange during the two constitution referendum events. Kenya has had two constitution referendum events .one on 21s' November 2005 and the other one on 4(h August 2010.The 2005 vote was defeated while the second one was successful hence giving Kenyans a new constitution. The objective of the study was to confirm whether these events had any effect on the stock prices of listed companies. This was done by obtaining daily stock prices data for the period of the study and then obtaining benchmark normal return and Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns. The study results as indicated by the Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns confirm that the stock prices were affected by both the events. However the greatest effect was felt in the 2005 constitution referendum vote where high number of companies experienced negative cumulative Average Abnormal returns as compared to the 2010 event. This may be explained by the fact that the passing of a new constitution was expected to pave the way for fundamental reforms in governance and also bring about increased operational efficiency of a devolved Government including, a dispersion of increased business opportunities, which will considerably and favorably induce Kenya's economic multiplier. The preliminary results of this study are inconsistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis which asserts that financial markets are " informational efficient", or that prices on traded assets (e.g stocks, bonds or property) contends the view that current stock prices fully reflect available information about the value of the firm, and there is no way to earn excess profits, (more than the market overall), by using this information.


In 20 patients with morbid obesity a laparoscopic silicon gastric banding was installed using a LAP-BAND. All patients were examined postoperatively with water-soluble oral contrast material according to the usual protocol. 8 weeks after the operation a second control with thickened barium sulfate was added to measure and adjust the width of the silicon band. There were no early postoperative complications. But in the follow-up three patients presented with a pathologic gastric pouch-dilatation. This severe complication, which can have different etiologies, requires early detection and specific therapy.


The rapid growth in infrastructure and industrial plants creating environmental issues like climate change, malfunctioning and pollution has greatly influenced for the need of an efficient, cheap, operationally adaptable and smart monitoring systems. In this context smart sensor networks are an emerging field of research which combines many challenges of computer science, wireless communication and electronics. In this paper a solution for monitoring the noise and air pollution levels in industrial environment or particular area of interest using wireless embedded computing system is proposed. The solution includes the technology Internet of Things (IoT) which is outcome of merged field of computer science and electronics. Here the sensing devices are connected to the embedded computing system to monitor the fluctuation of parameters like noise and air pollution levels from their normal levels. This model is adaptable and distributive for any infrastructural environment that needs continuous monitoring, controlling and behavior analysis. The working performance of the proposed model is evaluated using prototype implementation, consisting of Arduino UNO board, sensor devices and MATLAB with Arduino hardware support package. The implementation is tested for two or three parameters like noise, CO and radiation levels with respect to the normal behavior levels or given specifications which provide a control over the pollution monitoring to make the environment smart.


Perhaps we can claim that current era is the period at which human is standing on the bilateral edge of industry and tradition. The basic characteristics of the complex industrial society in the future confirm that most of the human management and communication mechanisms will not change during human life. Therefore, moving towards the electronic world is a predictable phenomenon. In recent years electronic human resource management (E-HRM) is being used in most of the big companies and institutions and is among the leading organizational systems in human resource management (HRM) which its applications are considered to be very effective and cost-effective. Doubtless in nowadays chaotic world, implementation and development of the E-HRM systems as one of the basic features and elements in capacitating globalization paradigm play a significant role in companies and countries. Globalization paradigm is a set of multidimensional and complex processes which comprises several fields including economics, ideology, politics, culture and natural environments and leads to more dependency among different countries. In this paper we try to propose an implicit model to identify the nature, objectives, policies and strategies, applications and E-HRM system outputs in order to clarify the role of this system as one of the most affective and affected basic elements in capacitating globalization paradigm by relying on its dimensions, and point out the importance and necessity of the phenomena of organizational globalization in modern societies via E-HRM system. In following sections we will try to fill in the existing gap regarding the lack of sufficient attention to the present resistance in implementing E-HRM in the era of globalization by identifying challenges, opportunities and proposing suggestions to fulfill the implementation and development of the E-HRM system.


Mediterranean temporary ponds on Donana's aeolian sands form an extensive system of small dynamic water bodies, dependent on precipitation and groundwater, of considerable importance for biodiversity conservation. Different areas of the aeolian sands have received different levels of environmental protection since 1969, and this has influenced the degree of conservation and the flooding dynamic of these temporary surface waters. We use the Landsat series of satellite images from 1985 to 2014 to study the temporal dynamic of small temporary water bodies on the aeolian sands in relation to the protection level and to distance to water abstraction pressures from agriculture and residential areas. The results show that even with small and ephemeral water bodies optical remote sensing time-series are an effective way to study their flooding temporal dynamics. The protected areas of the aeolian sands hold a better preserved system of temporary ponds, with a flooding dynamic that fluctuates with precipitation. The unprotected area shows an increase in mean hydroperiod duration, and surface flooded, and a decline in hydroperiod variability. This seems to be due to the creation of irrigation ponds and the artificialization of the flooding regime of the natural temporary ponds, that either receive excess irrigation water or dry-up due to the lowering of the groundwater table level. Although a decline in hydroperiod duration of temporary ponds is seen as negative to the system, an increase in hydroperiod of surface waters due to artificialization, or a decline in variability cannot be considered as positive compensatory effects.


Electronic communication is becoming an integral part of the communication structure
within organisations, but the costs and benefits are not being assessed. Communication
by email is usually assumed to be an efficient and effective means of sending
messages. However, on analysis the process is seen to be much more complex and
much less efficient than is normally assumed. Communication is carried out in many
different forms, but the common underlying motive of communication is to improve
working practices and to increase productivity. As communication pervades nearly
everything we do, even small improvements in the effectiveness and cost of our
communication processes can have significant benefits. The aim of this research was to
analyse the cost effectiveness of using email and to suggest ways in which the cost
effectiveness can be improved.
A number of studies have been conducted into the cost effectiveness of email within
organisations. The studies were carried out mainly at the Danwood Group, the
company sponsoring the author's PhD research. The Danwood Group has just over 500
employees at 19 sites around the UK and its head office is based in Lincoln, where all
of the email case studies in this thesis where undertaken. The Danwood Group retails
office equipment, predominately photocopiers.
Email behaviour was monitored by the use of software at the Danwood Group. This
raised a number of questions on the ethical issues of electronic monitoring. This thesis
explores these issues and proposes a set of guidelines to allow electronic monitoring
within strict professional and ethical guidelines.
The Danwood Group studies examined how and when email was used. It was found
that, when the company first started using email, over two thirds of messages were
non-business-related, though this dropped to less than half in a few months. It was also found that many messages could be delivered in one line of text. A one-line message
service was introduced and this was found to save employee time for both senders and
receivers of the messages.
A costing formula was developed measuring the human cost of operating email
messaging. The final study was to determine how long it took employees to recover
and return to normal work after an email interruption and this was compared with
published data for telephone interrupts. From these results a set of guidelines were
developed to enable companies to make the most efficient use of email.
The thesis concludes by identifying further areas of research into email usage that
would help give a better understanding of methods to enable email to become even
more cost effective.


OBJECTIVES
We aimed to compare the functional and stability outcomes of the patients with acute anterior shoulder dislocation, who were stabilized at external versus internal rotation.

METHODS
A total of 33 patients (31 males and 2 females) with the diagnosis of acute primary traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation were immobilized at internal (n=17) or external rotation (n=16). The mean follow-up period was 20.85 months (range 6-41 months). Patients received rehabilitation program immediately after splinting. We assessed functionality by Constant-Murlay score and stability by Rowe scoring system in 6th month. Control examinations were performed in 12th and 24th months.

RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences between internal rotation and external rotation groups in terms of Constant-Murlay and Rowe scores. Recurrent dislocation rate was 6.3% (1/16) in external rotation group and 29.4% (5/17) in internal rotation group (p>0.05). In the subgroup of patients aged between 21-30 years, while no recurrent dislocation was seen in external rotation group, 5 patients developed recurrent dislocation in internal rotation group(p=0.035).

CONCLUSION
Immobilization of the shoulder in external rotation is an effective technique for prevention of recurrent dislocations in acute anterior shoulder dislocation and should be preferred to traditional splinting in internal rotation in clinical practice.


INTRODUCTION
Financial conflicts of interest (COIs) represent a common and complex issue in hematology and oncology. However, little is known about the timing of when COIs begin to develop during a career trajectory. We evaluated self-reported COIs for junior faculty members at top cancer centers to determine how these financial relationships correlated with measures of academic career productivity.

METHODS
We analyzed data from 230 assistant professors at 10 academic cancer centers. Financial COIs were identified from the CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act dollars) database. Self-reported COIs were obtained from American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and American Society of Hematology (ASH) disclosures, and from disclosures in recent publications. Number of publications and h-index (defined as the largest number of publications [h] such that h publications each have at least h citations) were used as measures of academic productivity. Scatter plots and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between COIs or Sunshine Act dollars with number of publications and h-index. Linear regression modeling was used to analyze the relationships between COIs or Sunshine Act dollars with number of publications and h-index, adjusting for years of experience since completing fellowship (YSF).

RESULTS
A total of 46% of junior faculty had at least 1 COI. Number of COIs reported to ASCO/ASH was positively correlated with total Sunshine Act dollars (Spearman correlation, 0.53; P <.01). The number of COIs and the number of Sunshine Act dollars increased with years in practice (Spearman correlation, 0.38 and 0.25, respectively; P <.01 for both). COIs and Sunshine Act dollars correlated with h-index (Spearman correlation, 0.41 and 0.37, respectively; both P <.01). After adjusting for YSF, linear regression demonstrated that log-transformed h-index and number of publications were associated with Sunshine Act dollars (both P <.01) and COIs (ASCO/ASH) (both P = .01).

CONCLUSIONS
Financial COIs increased with number of YSF. Measures of academic productivity were positively correlated with COIs (ASCO/ASH) and Sunshine Act dollars. These data suggest that the cultivation of industry relationships is associated with the early academic productivity of junior faculty.


Up to 70% of SARS-CoV-2 infections in working- and school-age people are asymptomatic (Poletti et al., 2020), creating anxiety over reopening workplaces and schools around the world. In the absence of effective treatments or a vaccine, peace of mind will come only with community-based SARS-CoV-2 screening, where many people are tested on a regular basis. However, recent models show that short sample-to-answer turnaround time will be a critical property of effective screening strategies (Larremore et al., 2020). Here, we describe an RT-LAMP test for SARS-CoV-2 in raw saliva that takes about 45 minutes from sample to answer and requires only simple equipment (pipettes and a heating source). The assay has a limit of detection of 100 virions per microliter, and targets two separate regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. By combining rapid sample-to-answer turnaround time with the use of saliva, our RT-LAMP assay provides a low-complexity, portable, and robust system for real-time community screening.


Motivation: Based on a gene classification into hierarchical categories ('BINs'), MapMan was originally developed to display Arabidopsis thaliana gene expression in a functional context. We have created a bioinformatics system to extendMapMan to any organism by using a new BIN structure based on the KEGG database. Gene sequences are assigned to this ontology by homology relationships in four reference databases: KEGG, COG, Swiss-Prot and Gene Ontology. We applied this system to tailor MapMan to the GeneChips of two model legumes,Glycine max andMedicago truncatula. We also developed a module to identify the most relevant pathways involved. Availability: All mapping files, pathway pictures and the analysis method are available at http://bioinfoserver.rsbs.anu.edu.au/ Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


Graphical Abstract Clonal iPS cell lines and embryoid bodies (EB) of defined size are obtained by cell cluster sorting in an automated platform. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) represent a particularly versatile stem cell type for a large array of applications in biology and medicine. Taking full advantage of iPS cell technology requires high throughput and automated iPS cell culture and differentiation. We present an automated platform for efficient and robust iPS cell culture and differentiation into blood cells. We implemented cell cluster sorting for analysis and sorting of iPS cell clusters in order to establish clonal iPS cell lines with high reproducibility and efficacy. Patient-specific iPS cells were induced to differentiate towards hematopoietic cells via embryoid body (EB) formation. EB size impacts on iPS cell differentiation and we applied cell cluster sorting to obtain EB of defined size for efficient blood cell differentiation. In summary, implementing cell cluster sorting into the workflow of iPS cell cloning, growth and differentiation represent a valuable add-on for standard and automated iPS cell handling.


Problem: The Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) workforce pipeline is dependent on clinical training opportunities. Clinician providers are encouraged to precept students but rarely are offered support tools to ensure a successful process. Lack of adequate support can result in a suboptimal outcome for the APC students. Context: Clinician preceptors in a large healthcare organization looking to build a robust APC pipeline to support future patient populations. Interventions: Preceptor materials were developed and delivered to clinical preceptors to help them successfully precept advanced practice clinician students during their clinical rotations. This material consisted of 20 microlearning modules to help clinicians improve their precepting skillset. Measures: Project outcomes examined the precepting experience through preceptor feedback on the usefulness of the microlearning modules and was obtained through surveys offered at the end of each microlearning video as well as a general preceptor pilot survey. Results: 14 preceptors from the pilot group responded with a greater than 60% favorable rating of the microlearning video modules. The student response improved after the pilot group preceptors were provided education through comments stated by the students that 100% would apply for positions with the organization. Conclusion: Clinician engagement with the videos microlearning modules was minimal, but the feedback on the videos themselves was favorable to the microlearning platform and quality. APC student experience improved with the implementation of preceptor support systems. Future programs should look for better ways to reach out to clinicians for a more robust engagement process. ADVANCED PRACTICE CLINICIAN PRECEPTOR 6


Images frames have always been used as information source for the Flight Test Campaigns (FTC). During the flight tests, the images displayed on the Head-Up Display (HUD) could be stored for later analysis. HUD images presents aircraft data provided by its avionics system. For a simplified Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI), where data accuracy is not a big issue, HUD images could become the primary information source. However in this case data analysis is executed manually, frame by frame for information extraction (e.g. Aircraft position parameters: Latitude; Longitude and Altitude). In approximately one hour of flight test about 36,000 frames are generated using standard-definition television format, therefore data extraction becomes complex, time consuming and prone to failures. To improve efficiency and effectiveness for this FTC, the Instituto de Pesquisas e Ensaios em Voo (IPEV Flight Test and Research Institute) with Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica (ITA Aeronautical Technology Institute) developed an image processing application with pattern recognition using the correlation process to extract information from different positions on the images of the HUD. Preliminary test and evaluation carried out by 2012 using HUD images of the jet fighter EMBRAER A1. The test results demonstrate satisfactory performance for this tool.


Iron oxide bearing wastes (IOBS) are produced at every part of processing stage of sinter, molten iron and steel production. They are hard to handle and in many cases are stockpiled only to be a source of environmental pollution. However, they can be balled into pellets. Pellets characterized by good ballability values are transportable and recyclable as they can withstand stress without disintegrating back to dust. Yet, ballability is affected by certain factors like the grain sizes of the materials, the moisture and binder contents of the ball mix, wettability of the balled materials and the processing perimeters of the granulator. The objective of this research work is to investigate the factors affecting ballability of mixture of iron ore concentrates and iron oxide bearing wastes in metallurgical processing. The parameters under consideration were: grain size of materials, the moisture contents, speed of balling disc, IOBS and bentonite (binder) contents of the balled mix. The investigation was carried out by balling different volume fractions of mix containing iron oxide concentrate and IOBS using a balling disc and testing the resulting balls for green compressive strength using an universal testing machine. It was found that the ballability of the mixture of iron ore concentrate and IOBS increases as grain sizes of the materials reduce but increases as the moisture contents and IOBS content increase up to an optimum value of moisture content in the mix before it starts to reduce. The ballability also increases along with the speed of the granulator (balling disc) within the limit of this work. An increase in ballability with a slight raise in bentonite content in the mix was observed as well.


In the Mexican economy four policies forced the State to redefine its strategy of development. They were: 1) the considerable purchase by the government of firms that were not strategic or of national priority; 2) the preservation of a structure of high industrial protection; 3) an excessive reliance of the economy on oil, and 4) the perception of the increase in the price of oil as a permanent and not a temporary phenomenon. By the seventies the first two phenomena restricted the possibilities of economic growth which translated into inflation. In the eighties the high dependency on oil and the weakness of its monetary value deepened those trends. The external debt became the single most significant constraint of development. The government was forced to reduce drastically substantive public expenditure. Health was one of the areas more severely affected.


In worldwide situation, the prime inquiry in each woman mind is about her safety and the badgering issues. Women everywhere throughout the world are confronting much deceptive physical provocation. The main idea frequenting each woman is the point at which they will have the capability to move frankly in the city even in odd hours without stressing over their security. Our task is a dare to determine this issue. This paper describes about a smart intelligent security system for women. This venture concentrates on a security for women so they will never feel vulnerable. The system comprises of different modules such as GPS receiver, shock circuit, buzzer, spray mechanism, Webcam, pulse rate sensor, Raspberry pi-3 module. Today there are many cases which are going on about women all over in the world. It was high time where women required a change. This task depends on women security where women feel ensured. This venture portrays about safety electronic system for women, worked out in the open transport vehicles such as, car, buses and auto-rickshaws as these days women are being at molested, kidnapped and badgering by the drivers. In each field there is an uncommon effect of women like games, dance, training, business, in legislative issues moreover. Women are driving in each field. The question arises that, Are the women in India are extremely secured? Always get the solution No. Henceforth executed Internet of Things based women tracking and security with auto-defender system which is interfaced with Raspberry pi 3 board that will track the location of the women also will auto defend in bad situation.


Introduction: Leptospirosis remains a significant health problem in tropical regions including Latin America, where its presentation is 100 times higher than that observed in other regions of the world. Mortality reaches 10% in severe cases. Its diagnosis is challenging because clinical manifestations during the initial phase are non-specific and because of limited availability of diagnostic tests. Objective: To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics and the outcomes in hospitalized patients with leptospirosis. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included patients treated at four institutions in Medellin between January, 2009, and December, 2013, with a compatible clinical picture and a positive IgM for Leptospira spp. Results: We included 119 patients, 80% male, and 58% of rural origin. The mean duration of symptoms was 9.6 days (SD=9.6). Eighty nine per cent of patients had fever; 62%, jaundice; 74%, myalgia; 46%, diarrhea; 41%, hepatomegaly; 13%, splenomegaly, and 13%, conjunctival injection. Fifty four per cent of patients had impaired renal function; 32%, pulmonary compromise, and 13%, liver failure. Sixteen per cent required admission to the ICU; 12%, mechanical ventilation, and 11%, vasopressor therapy. Weil's syndrome occurred in 38.6% and 5% died. The average hospital stay was 11 days (SD=9.6). Conclusions: In this population, the clinical manifestations and complications of leptospirosis were similar to those reported in the literature. We observed a relatively low overall mortality in relation to global statistics.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of uterine synechiae in patients with recurrent miscarriages and to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal ultrasound and of hysterosonography.

METHODS
Sixty non-pregnant patients with a history of at least three previous consecutive miscarriages were evaluated by transvaginal ultrasound, hysterosonography and hysteroscopy to detect uterine synechiae. Hysteroscopy was considered the gold standard. Agreement of findings disclosed by transvaginal ultrasound and by the hysterosonography were evaluated according to the Kappa coefficient and their significance was tested. Significance was established at < 0. 05 (Alpha error = 5%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were determined for each method.

RESULTS
Uterine synechiae were identified in 16 patients (26.7%). The accuracy of the transvaginal ultrasound and of the hysterosonography was 78.9% and 92.7%, respectively. When compared to the transvaginal ultrasound, hysterosonography had a much greater sensitivity (78. % vs. 20.0%) and a higher degree of agreement with hysteroscopy (Kappa = 80% vs. Kappa = 27%).

CONCLUSION
For diagnosis of uterine synechiae, hysterosonography had a higher level of agreement with hysteroscopy than the transvaginal ultrasound. In patients with recurrent miscarriages transvaginal ultrasound is not recommended for the investigation of uterine synechiae because of its low sensitivity. Hysterosonography, on the other hand, seems to offer an important contribution especially because it is a simple, low-cost and accurate method for diagnosis of uterine synechiae.