Calcium slag (CS) is a by-product generated during smelting to extract calcium metal from the ore by aluminothermic reduction method. The melting point, melting speed, viscosities, surface tensions and the refining effects of CS and normal premelted refining slag (NPRS) were measured in the laboratory. Then the plant trials were done in a 150 tons Ladle Furnace (LF) in a steelmaking plant during the refining of clean steel. The results show that the properties of CS are similar to those of NPRS, and CS is a good refining agent not only in laboratory experiment but also in industrial production. By using CS, the average final sulfur content in X70 pipeline steel reaches 25×10-6; the total oxygen content in GCr15 bearing steel is 5×10-6~8×10-6; the titanium content in GCr15 bearing steel is less than 20×10-6 and lower than the steels refined by using NPRS.


Confirming presence and distribution of a species is necessary for effective conservation. However, obtaining robust occupancy estimates and confidently identifying factors important to occupancy may be difficult for rare and elusive species. Further, in surveys to assess presence, false-positive detections bias results; however, false-positive occupancy models can resolve this bias and, thus, better support conservation. We assessed the performance of false-positive versus standard occupancy models and important factors predicting presence for a low-density bat population in the southern Appalachian Mountains. From May to August 2013–2015, we surveyed 35 sites for northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) using both mist-net and acoustic methods. We compared AICcvalues for 13 standard occupancy models and 13 corresponding false-positive occupancy models. In our model comparison, false-positive models received more support, while none of the standard occupancy models were plausible. False-positive occupancy models produced a wider range of probability of occupancy estimates (0.004–0.998) and lower mean occupancy estimate (0.62) than standard models (0.482–0.970, mean = 0.86). Weighted parameter estimates for important predictors in two plausible false-positive occupancy models indicated the probability of occupancy for northern long-eared bats was higher at less-rugged, lowerelevation sites. In contrast, there was more ambiguity regarding the most plausible standard occupancy models and important predictors of occupancy from standard models. Due to low capture rates and the uncertainty of acoustic identifications, we recommend coupling a certain method with uncertain methods when surveying rare and elusive bat species. Applying false-positive occupancy models to our data yielded less-biased site-specific occupancy estimates and informative predictors, and, hence, more reliable predictions to inform conservation management plans.


This study investigates the role of metaphor in news reporting by focusing on one US event, the historic 2012 Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike and compares its coverage in local and international English-language news. We are particularly interested in finding out how a news story, like the CTU strike, with strong localised metaphorical discourses, can be presented to readers outside the local and national cultural speech communities. In this sense, the research also contributes to understanding how the media can affect the portrayal and reception of important social events by using metaphorical language in newspaper coverage. Employing a qualitative research approach of Discourse Analysis and drawing on Critical Metaphor Analysis (Charteris-Black 2004), a particular focus is put on salient metaphor use across contexts (Goatly 2002) and on the role of reporters and news wire services in the presentation of facts. The findings indicate that both local and international news chiefly rely on two types of metaphor, journey and conflict. Notable differences were found in how the conflict metaphors were expressed in the two contexts.


The author enters into discussion with colleagues about their comments regarding Purpose in the Living World? and the theory of emergent evolution. First he discusses the alleged irrationality of emergence, the intimate connection between material and living nature, and the questionability of type-laws in the manner of Dooyeweerd. He then addresses the topic of purpose in evolution and the impasse in the evolutionary debate between Dooyeweerd and Lever, colleagues at the VU University in Amsterdam. Finally he considers whether the theory of emergence is correct in its appeal to Augustine, and whether it is in agreement with the concept of theistic evolution.


Background: Inappropriate use of antibiotics in swine feed could cause accelerated emergence of antibiotic resistance genes, and agricultural application of swine waste could spread antibiotic resistance genes to the surrounding environment. Objectives: We investigated the distribution of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes from swine feedlots and their surrounding environment. Methods: We used a culture-independent method to identify PMQR genes and estimate their levels in wastewater from seven swine feedlot operations and corresponding wastewater-irrigated farm fields. Concentrations of (fluoro)quinolones in wastewater and soil samples were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Results: The predominant PMQR genes in both the wastewater and soil samples were qnrD, qepA, and oqxB, whereas qnrS and oqxA were present only in wastewater samples. Absolute concentrations of all PMQR genes combined ranged from 1.66 × 107 to 4.06 × 108 copies/mL in wastewater and 4.06 × 106 to 9.52 × 107 copies/g in soil. Concentrations of (fluoro)quinolones ranged from 4.57 to 321 ng/mL in wastewater and below detection limit to 23.4 ng/g in soil. Significant correlations were found between the relative abundance of PMQR genes and (fluoro)quinolone concentrations (r = 0.71, p = 0.005) and the relative abundance of PMQR genes in paired wastewater and agricultural soil samples (r = 0.91, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Swine feedlot wastewater may be a source of PMQR genes that could facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the occurrence of PMQR genes in animal husbandry environments using a culture-independent method.


This paper investigates the transient response of 50-nm gate length fully and partially depleted SOI and bulk devices to pulsed laser and heavy ion microbeam irradiations. The measured transient signals on 50-nm fully depleted devices are very short, and the collected charge is small compared to older 0.25-/spl mu/m generation SOI and bulk devices. We analyze in detail the influence of the SOI architecture (fully or partially depleted) on the pulse duration and the amount of bipolar amplification. For bulk devices, the doping engineering is shown to have large effects on the duration of the transient signals and on the charge collection efficiency.


Romaine lettuce plays an important role in Yuma's economy. An estimated 10,000 acres are cropped to large number of varieties each year with planting season that spreads from September to March. The demonstration site was selected to compare new and existing varieties of romaine lettuce on growers' fields using standard farming practices. Selected growth parameters were evaluated throughout the growing season. Results indicate that varieties tested at Barkley Farms in Yuma are expected to do well if grown under similar growing conditions and planting time. Varieties tested during this planting slot did not experience any incidence of diseases. There was no significant head size and head weight difference among varieties evaluated. Number of heads per bed and number of heads left after harvest were significantly different among varieties tested.


Background The microbiota of the lower female genital tract plays an important role in women's health. Microbial profiling using the chaperonin60 (cpn60) universal target (UT) improves resolution of vaginal species associated with negative health outcomes compared to the more commonly used 16S ribosomal DNA target. However, the choice of DNA extraction and PCR product purification methods may bias sequencing-based microbial studies and should be optimized for the sample type and molecular target used. In this study, we compared two commercial DNA extraction kits and two commercial PCR product purification kits for the microbial profiling of cervicovaginal samples using the cpn60 UT. Methods DNA from cervicovaginal secretions and vaginal lavage samples as well as mock community standards were extracted using either the specialized QIAamp DNA Microbiome Kit, or the standard DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit with enzymatic pre-treatment for enhanced lysis of gram-positive bacteria. Extracts were PCR amplified using well-established cpn60 primer sets and conditions. Products were then purified using a column-based method (QIAquick PCR Purification Kit) or a gel-based PCR clean-up method using the QIAEX II Gel Extraction Kit. Purified amplicons were sequenced with the MiSeq platform using standard procedures. The overall quality of each method was evaluated by measuring DNA yield, alpha diversity, and microbial composition. Results DNA extracted from cervicovaginal samples using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue kit, pre-treated with lysozyme and mutanolysin, resulted in increased DNA yield, bacterial diversity, and species representation compared to the QIAamp DNA Microbiome kit. The column-based PCR product purification approach also resulted in greater average DNA yield and wider species representation compared to a gel-based clean-up method. In conclusion, this study presents a fast, effective sample preparation method for high resolution cpn60 based microbial profiling of cervicovaginal samples.


This paper examines the changes in the market for lawyers in the United States over several decades. Reviewing data from 1981 through 2012, we find that the quality of entrants to this market, as measured by the rate of attrition from law schools and mean scores on the Multistate Bar Exam, is highly responsive to the demand for legal services. Analyzing earnings of lawyers, we find that females earn substantially less than males, Blacks earn less than those of other ethnic backgrounds, and the disparity increases over the life cycle. There is also evidence that because of the decline of entrants to the profession, the share of older lawyers has increased, reducing the premium paid for experience. Finally, we examine the trend in inequality in lawyers' earnings, and find that it has increased substantially over the period of our data.


We prove theoretically that certain strongly correlated Kondo insulators are topological crystalline insulators with nontrivial topology protected by crystal symmetries. In particular, we find that SmB$_6$ is such a material. In addition to a nontrivial Z$_2$ topological index protected by time reversal symmetry, SmB$_6$ also has nontrival mirror Chern numbers protected by mirror symmetries. On the $(100)$ surface of SmB$_6$, the nontrivial mirror Chern numbers do not generate additional surface states beyond those predicted by the Z$_2$ topological index. However, on the $(110)$ surface, two more surface Dirac points are predicted. Remarkably, we find that for SmB$_6$ both the Z$_2$ topological index and the mirror Chern numbers are independent of microscopic details, which enables us to obtain surface state properties that are universal.


Large scale distributed computing infrastructures (e.g., data centers, grids, or clouds) are used by scientists from various domains to produce outstanding research results, such as the discovery of the Higgs Boson in High Energy Physics. These infrastructures are also studied by Computer Scientists to produce their own set of scientific results. Ideally, a virtuous circle should exist between Domain and Computer Scientists: the former raising challenges that could be addressed by the latter. Unfortunately, in many occasions, a gap exists that prevents such an ideal and fostering collaboration. This habilitation covers research works conducted in the fields of scheduling and simulation that contribute to the filling of this gap. It discusses the necessary conditions to achieve this goal and details concrete initiatives in this endeavor.


In fiscal year 2011, the federal government provided $607 billion in grants to state and local governments. Those funds accounted for 17 percent of federal outlays, 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and a quarter of spending by state and local governments that year. Over the past 30 years, those "intergovernmental" grants— financial transfers from the federal government that support a wide range of state and local programs—have fluctuated as a share of federal outlays. Federal grants for health programs, primarily Medicaid, have grown rapidly, and grants for programs and initiatives not related to health—such as those associated with income security, education, and transportation—have also increased, albeit at a slower rate. In total, the federal government reported outlays in 2011 for more than 200 intergovernmental grant programs, which were administered by 30 federal departments and independent agencies.


This paper introduces ProSim, a knowledge-based simulation design tool that automatically generates simulation models from process models. Domain experts who are familiar with the various aspects of the system may be interviewed and process models can be developed based on the evidence collected using ProSim. The built-in simulation design support environment of ProSim enables building simulation models automatically from process models. A purchase order processing system example is described to demonstrate the utility of ProSim.


Use of a new microcomputer-based instrumentation system to record and analyze current waveforms produced by applying square voltage pulses of 0.5-3.5 V to the skin revealed that peak currents are considerably higher, and corresponding pre-polarization resistance values considerably lower, than previously supposed. However, in keeping with previous observations, we confirmed that the skin is an Ohm's Law conductor in its pre-polarization state and that the pre-polarization resistance of the skin is resolvable into two components, a localized resistance beneath each electrode and a non-localized (body core) resistance. In addition, a three-electrode method was devised to measure the localized resistance at any selected location (target site). Simple equivalent circuit simulations of the initial section of current waveforms are used to assess the degree of instrument-related peak current underestimation inherent even in this system. This preliminary study indicates the need for reassessment of the roles played by the various body tissues, particularly the epidermis, in determining the pre-polarization electrical character of the skin.


In the present paper, the 33 Box–Behnken design with a triplicate central point was used to optimize the conditions for the ultrasound-assisted extraction of n-alkanes (C10–C40) and isoprenoids (phytane and pristane), which are petroleum biomarkers and their derivatives, in river sediment samples. The determination was carried out using a Gas Chromatographer/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS). The factors studied in the Box–Behnken design were the proportion of n-hexane and acetone in the solvent mixture, the length of sonication time, and the volume of the solvent mixture. The optimized conditions were 10 minutes of sonication, 10 mL of the solvent mixture, and a n-hexane/acetone mixture composition of 25 : 75 (v/v). These conditions were validated by assessing the recovered percentage that was obtained in the studies for the spiked blank and the spiked sample. The linear range was from 1 to 10 mg L−1 and the Pearson correlations for all the compounds were above 0.995. The detection limit ranged from 1.97 to 19.01 dry weight and 6.57 to 63.37 ng g−1 dry weight for the quantification limit. The mean recoveries of the spiked samples ranged from 55.47 to 110.40% and 61.00 to 115.21% for the spiked blanks. Sediment samples were analyzed and the concentration of n-alkanes ranged from 25.80 to 511.00 ng g−1 based upon the dry weight.


A challenge in the design of cyber-physical systems is to integrate the scheduling of tasks of different criticality, while still providing service guarantees for the higher critical tasks in the case of resource-shortages caused by faults. While standard real-time scheduling is agnostic to the criticality of tasks, the scheduling of tasks with different criticalities is called mixed-criticality scheduling. In this paper, we present the Lazy Bailout Protocol (LBP), a mixed-criticality scheduling method where low-criticality jobs overrunning their time budget cannot threaten the timeliness of high-criticality jobs while at the same time the method tries to complete as many low-criticality jobs as possible. The key principle of LBP is instead of immediately abandoning low-criticality jobs when a high-criticality job overruns its optimistic WCET estimate, to put them in a low-priority queue for later execution. To compare mixed-criticality scheduling methods, we introduce a formal quality criterion for mixed-criticality scheduling, which, above all else, compares schedulability of high-criticality jobs and only afterwards the schedulability of low-criticality jobs. Based on this criterion, we prove that LBP behaves better than the original Bailout Protocol (BP). We show that LBP can be further improved by slack time exploitation and by gain time collection at runtime, resulting in LBPSG. We also show that these improvements of LBP perform better than the analogous improvements based on BP.


The concept of intravascular stent implantation was first described by Dotter et al in 1969 in an animal model.1 However, balloon expendable intravascular stenting was not carried out until two decades later after improvements in stent design and technology. Clinical trials were first performed in the late 1980s in adults with coronary artery obstructions.2 Soon, Mullins and other paediatric interventionalists adopted the Palmaz stent designed by Julio Palmaz for iliac, biliary, renal and intrahepatic porta-caval shunt. They used it in virtually all vascular obstructions associated with congenital heart diseases.3 In 1992, stenting was first applied in right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) conduit obstruction resistant to balloon angioplasty.4 More extensive clinical experience demonstrated that stenting effectively prolongs RVOT conduit lifespan.5 Recent advances in balloon-expendable stent technology provided through valved stents a novel therapy for both RVOT conduit obstruction and regurgitation.6

In this issue of Heart ( see page 142 ),7 Dohlen and colleagues further extend the field of stenting in paediatric cardiology through stent implantation in the intracardiac obstructive RVOT. The authors reviewed retrospectively the effectiveness of RVOT stenting in nine symptomatic infants with tetralogy of Fallot, hypoplastic pulmonary valve and arteries. Their procedure was successful in all cases. RVOT stenting significantly improved arterial oxygen saturation from 73% (range 60–85%) to 94% (90–98%) (p = 0.008) and pulmonary artery growth through augmentation of the median Z score for the right and left pulmonary artery. The Nakata index increased from 56 mm2/m2 (21–77) to 150 mm2/m2 (123–231) (p = 0.008). Six of the nine children underwent surgical repair at a median age of 142 days with no mortality. The authors conclude that RVOT stenting provides a safe and effective management strategy and should be used as a prelude to corrective surgical in severely cyanotic …


The relationship of the electronic structure of oxazole, 2-phenyloxazole, and 2-phenylthiazole to the properties of the electronic excited states and transitions is examined. Spectral properties of these compounds in the free state (no effect from external perturbations) and in complexes with the proton and aprotic acids are measured and calculated by quantum-chemical PPP/S (K-approximation) and INDO/S (sp-basis) methods. Features of the electronic excitation of the atoms and the vibronic interaction of bonds in the singlet and triplet states are examined for a change of the various structural forms of azoles, which determine their spectral fluorescence properties and reactivi~. Possible direction control of reactions and optimized syntheses of new compounds with given properties are discussed based on a study of the properties of the ground and excited states.


A number of recent studies have shown that the general equilibrium welfare effects of externality-correcting policies depend importantly on pre-existing taxes in the economy, particularly those that distort the labor market. This paper extends the prior literature by allowing for consumption goods that are deductible from labor taxes. These "goods" represent medical insurance, other less tangible fringe benefits, mortgage interest, and so on. The initial tax system effectively subsidizes tax-favored consumption relative to other consumption, in addition to distorting the labor market. The authors find that incorporating tax-favored consumption may overturn key results from earlier studies. In particular, a revenue-neutral pollution tax (or auctioned pollution permits) can produce a substantial "double dividend" by reducing both pollution and the costs of the tax system. The second dividend arises because the welfare gain from using environmental tax revenues to cut labor taxes is much larger when labor taxes also distort the choice among consumption goods. Indeed (ignoring environmental benefits) the overall costs of a revenue-neutral pollution tax are negative in their benchmark simulations, at least for pollution reductions up to 17 percent, and possibly up to 42 percent. In addition, the authors show that the presence of tax-favored consumption may dramatically increase the efficiency gain from using (revenue-neutral) emissions taxes (or auctioned emissions permits) over grandfathered emissions permits.


A case report by Silver et al. published in the journal1 discussed a strategy to avoid inappropriate biventricular implantable cardioverterdefibrillator (ICD) shocks secondary to T-wave oversensing. The authors correctly pointed out that changing VV timing changes depolarization with expected secondary change in repolarization (T-wave) and potential elimination of T-wave oversensing. However, I don't expect that this maneuver will be sufficient to avoid inappropriate ICD therapies in this specific patient for the following reasons:


In this work, the isobaric vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for binary mixtures of 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propanol (TFP) + 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoro-1- pentanol (OFP) were determined at pressures of 53.3, 66.7, and 80.0 kPa by a modified Rose type recirculation still. The thermodynamic consistency of all the VLE data was checked by Herington and Van Ness test to confirm the reliability of the experimental data. No azeotropic behavior was observed for the binary systems at different pressures. Meanwhile, the VLE data were correlated by Wilson and nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) activity coefficient models, which the calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental data. Also, the binary interaction parameters of the activity models were regressed.


FWM is a non-linear process where two or more wave propagating throughout a fibre result in a production of frequencies different to that of the input waves. Space division multiplexing and in particular mode division multiplexing (MDM) have shown promises in overcoming the capacity limit of single-mode fibres for optical telecommunications. Over long distances MDM systems would result in processes like inter modal FWM (IM-FWM). If such systems are to be used commercially, they will require methods of switching data signals between wavelengths and spatial modes. An attractive solution is provided by four-wave mixing (FWM) where two strong pump fields convert the signal into an idler field at another wavelength. However, applications of intermodal FWM (IM-FWM) for telecommunications in multimode fibres are relatively new. Recently, two potentially interesting IM-FWM processes have been identified: phase conjugation (PC) and Bragg scattering (BS) [Essiambre et al., IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 25, 539 (2013)]. Here we investigate conversion efficiencies and spectral bandwidths of PC and BS in a two-mode optical fibre as potential mode/wavelength conversion systems using two numerical models and compare with experimental results. The first model uses the coupled amplitude equations for FWM [Agrawal, Nonlinear fiber optics, Academic Press (2013)] which take into account self and cross phase modulation and FWM between the four wavelength channels involved. This model was found to agree with experimental results of the PC idler. However discrepancies are found for BS, which we attribute to simultaneous and/or cascaded FWM processes within the same fibre. Thus we use a second, more sophisticated model, the multimode nonlinear Schrodinger equation [Poletti & Horak, JOSAB 25, 1645 (2008)] which, contrary to the first model, includes all third order nonlinear processes simultaneously and is additionally able to predict cascaded FWM processes that occur throughout the spectrum. We compare the differences between the two models, analyse the contributions to the BS and PC idlers from multiple FWM processes within the spectrum, and finally present comparisons to experimental results.


Recruiting racially and ethnically underrepresented participants into genetics research studies has been challenging. While many institutions have taken steps to address the inequity in genetics research, genetic counseling training programs have the chance to inspire students to engage with underrepresented communities through utilizing different research methodologies. These methodologies can help students focus on research projects that increase access to genetics services and improve clinical care. Community-engaged research (CER) presents a pedagogical approach to enhance service-learning opportunities for students. Furthermore, it allows students to develop practical research skills for doing research with the community, rather than on the community. CER is a collaborative community-academic partnership that leads to mutual benefit and outcomes such as inclusion and engagement of the community in research, building trust and relationships, and increasing cultural awareness and exposure. In addition, CER can be used to address research and healthcare inequities by providing opportunities for genetics professionals and trainees to work closely with underrepresented populations. We aim to highlight the opportunities CER provides to students, mentors, and faculty within the context of graduate research in genetic counseling training from the experiences of a student and an educator. In addition, we hope to emphasize the necessity for projects like these to address the gaps in participation of underrepresented patient populations in research and identify areas that are mutually beneficial to improve health outcomes, patient care experiences, access, and service delivery. This reflective essay illustrates the completion of a CER project that was developed in collaboration with community members to address gaps in clinical genetics services in Indigenous healthcare.


Complexities of applications implemented on embedded and programmable systems grow with the advances in capacities and capabilities of these systems. Mapping applications onto them manually is becoming a very tedious task. This draws attention to using high-level synthesis within design flows. Meanwhile, it is essential to provide a flexible formulation of optimization objectives as well as to perform efficient planning for various design objectives early on in the design flow. In this work, we address these issues in the context of data flow graph (DFG) scheduling, which is an essential element within the high-level synthesis flow. We present an algorithm that schedules a chain of operations with data dependencies among consecutive operations at a single step. This local problem is repeated to generate the schedule for the whole DFG. The local problem is formulated as a maximum weight noncrossing bipartite matching. We use a technique from the computational geometry domain to solve the matching problem. This technique provides a theoretical guarantee on the solution quality for scheduling a single chain of operations. Although still being local, this provides a relatively wider perspective on the global scheduling objectives. In our experiments we compared the latencies obtained using our algorithm with the optimal latencies given by the exact solution to the integer linear programming (ILP) formulation of the problem. In 9 out of 14 DFGs tested, our algorithm found the optimal solution, while generating latencies comparable to the optimal solution in the remaining five benchmarks. The formulation of the objective function in our algorithm provides flexibility to incorporate different optimization goals. We present examples of how to exploit the versatility of our algorithm with specific examples of objective functions and experimental results on the ability of our algorithm to capture these objectives efficiently in the final schedules.


Sensory feedback from touch is critical for many tasks carried out by robots and humans, such as grasping objects or identifying materials. Electronic skin (e-skin) is a crucial technology for these purposes. Artificial tactile skin that can play the roles of human skin remains a distant possibility because of hard issues in resilience, manufacturing, mechanics, sensorics, electronics, energetics, information processing, and transport. Taken together, these issues make it difficult to bestow robots, or prosthetic devices, with effective tactile skins. Nonetheless, progress over the past few years in relation with the above issues has been encouraging, and we have achieved close to providing some of the abilities of biological skin with the advent of deformable sensors and flexible electronics. The naive imitation of skin morphology and sensing an impoverished set of mechanical and thermal quantities are not sufficient. There is a need to find more efficient ways to extract tactile information from mechanical contact than those previously available. Renewed interest in neuromorphic tactile skin is expected to bring some fresh ideas in this field. This article reviews these new developments, particularly related to the handling of tactile data, energy autonomy, and large-area manufacturing. The challenges in relation with these advances for tactile sensing and haptics in robotics and prosthetics are discussed along with potential solutions.


Current theories for coherent receiver performance as affected by phase noise are compared, the main prediction of these theories are highlighted, and the reasons why many coherent system experiments have failed to approach the level of performance which is theoretically possible are considered. Different theoretical predictions are compared under idealized receiver conditions concerning the appropriate IF bandwidth, the penalty in receiver sensitivity resulting from laser phase noise, and other system properties. In general, good agreement is found. It is shown how these results differ for realistic receiver parameters, and optimized front-end design using tuning of parasitics is suggested. >


This study reports the effect of hypoxia, of lowering blood pressure by bleeding, and of rapid infusion upon adrenal secretion in anesthetized dogs. Adrenal norepinephrine-like substances (NEL) were measured in adrenal venous blood by means of a bio-assay method, using the rabbit aortic strip. In 10 of 11 dogs breathing 7.1 per cent O2 in N2, the left adrenal NEL output was augmented 1.5 to 6.6 times control levels. The increased adrenal medullary secretion during hypoxia was not dependent upon a fall in systemic arterial blood pressure and was not associated with an increase of 17-hydroxycorticosteroid output. In five dogs bled to a blood pressure of 80 to 90 mm. Hg, left adrenal NEL output was augmented 2.9 to 7.4 times control levels. In 11 animals in which the blood pressure was lowered to 40 to 50 mm. Hg by bleeding, left adrenal NEL output was augmented 1.8 to 17 times control levels. Seven dogs were made anemic and hypervolemic by rapid infusion of 1,125 to 1,900 ml. normal saline or Krebs' solution. Cardiac outputs were increased more than 200 per cent in six, and considerable dilution anemia was produced. However, left adrenal NEL outputs fell to values ranging from 14 to 50 per cent of control. During rapid infusions, output of adrenal 17-OHCS increased 18.5 to 92 per cent. It is concluded that increased adrenal medullary secretion did not participate in the increase of cardiac output observed in these seven animals.


Abstract The Canadian government recently sanctioned a supervised consumption site (SCS) that is currently in Vancouver, British Columbia. The government is open to sanctioning more sites across the country; however, by law the federal health minister must consider whether such facilities are supported by local governments representing the cities where the sites are proposed to be located. Until 2016, the government of Canada's largest city, Toronto, did not support SCSs. Drawing on Lenton cannabis policy research, this study analyses government documents, policy papers, scientific reports, and newspaper articles and secondary literature to identify some of the significant barriers that minimised the likelihood that Toronto's council would support SCSs between 2003 and 2016. The report compares conditions in Toronto to those of Vancouver where SCSs have enjoyed council support since 2001. This study find that three conditions play an important role in explaining why SCSs were supported in Vancouver 14 years before they were endorsed in Toronto: (1) Strong public support; (2) Favourable electoral conditions; and (3) Law enforcement support. Changes in Toronto surrounding these conditions help explain why its council endorsed SCSs in 2016. This study concludes that Lenton's research holds utility as a socio-legal theory of municipal drug policy change.


Background Coronary microvascular dysfunction has been reported along with myocardial viral infection. Whether intramural coronary vessels infection plays a role in patients with cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is unknown. Methods Thirteen consecutive patients (four men, nine women, mean age 51±10.5 years) with drug-resistant CSX underwent left ventricular endomyocardial biopsy. Myocardial tissue was examined for histology, immunohistochemistry and for the presence of cardiotropic viruses by PCR analysis. In the presence of a viral infection on the whole tissue, laser microdissection was performed to analyse the viral genome selectively in intramural vessels and cardiomyocytes. Controls were surgical cardiac biopsies from patients with chronic stable angina and from patients with mitral stenosis and normal cardiac function (normal controls). Results Histology showed hypertrophy and degeneration of cardiomyocytes with interstitial and replacement fibrosis in all CSX, while focal lymphocytic myocarditis was additionally recognised in three patients. No vasculitis was observed. Viral genomes were detected in nine of 13 CSX (Epstein–Barr virus in four, adenovirus in three, human herpes virus (HHV) 6 in one, Epstein–Barr adenovirus co-infection in one). Laser microdissection showed that Epstein–Barr and adenovirus localised both in cardiomyocytes and intramural vessels, while HHV-6 infection was confined to the vessel wall. Conclusions Viral genomes can be detected in intramural vessels of up to 69% of drug-resistant CSX. Coronary small vessels infection represents an alternative pathophysiological mechanism of this syndrome and can explain the poor response to anti-ischaemic drugs.


The landscape seen by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity at Meridiani Planum is dominated by eolian (wind-blown) ripples with concentrated surface lags of hematitic spherules and fragments. These ripples exhibit profound spatial grain size sorting, with well-sorted coarse-grained crests and poorly sorted, generally finer-grained troughs. These ripples were the most common bed form encountered by Opportunity in its traverse from Eagle Crater to Endurance Crater. Field measurements from White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, show that such coarse-grained ripples form by the different transport modes of coarse- and fine-grain fractions. On the basis of our field study, and simple theoretical and experimental considerations, we show how surface deposits of coarse-grained ripples can be used to place tight constraints on formative wind conditions on planetary surfaces. Activation of Meridiani Planum coarse-grained ripples requires a wind velocity of 70 m/s (at a reference elevation of 1 m above the bed). From images by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) of reversing dust streaks, we estimate that modern surface winds reach a velocity of at least 40 m/s and hence may occasionally activate these ripples. The presence of hematite at Meridiani Planum is ultimately related to formation of concretions during aqueous diagenesis in groundwater environments; however, the eolian concentration of these durable particles may have led to the recognition from orbit of this environmentally significant landing site.


This is Volume II of the first comprehensive anthology of English-language Scottish Literature, one which covers all literary genres except the novel, and all periods. This volume includes 188 Scottish writers from about 1775 through Robert Louis Stevenson. Among its over 700 works are the complete texts of such verse classics as The Siller Gun, The Har'st Rig, The Sabbath, The Pleasures of Hope, and The City of Dreadful Night, major prose fiction like The Golden Key and The Library Window, and the novelettes The Penance of John Logan, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Intended for both the general reader and the student of literature, it contains introductions, notes and marginal glosses.


In this paper, we provide a deep dive into the deployment of inference accelerators at Facebook. Many of our ML workloads have unique characteristics, such as sparse memory accesses, large model sizes, as well as high compute, memory and network bandwidth requirements. We co-designed a high-performance, energy-efficient inference accelerator platform based on these requirements. We describe the inference accelerator platform ecosystem we developed and deployed at Facebook: both hardware, through Open Compute Platform (OCP), and software framework and tooling, through Pytorch/Caffe2/Glow. A characteristic of this ecosystem from the start is its openness to enable a variety of AI accelerators from different vendors. This platform, with six low-power accelerator cards alongside a single-socket host CPU, allows us to serve models of high complexity that cannot be easily or efficiently run on CPUs. We describe various performance optimizations, at both platform and accelerator level, which enables this platform to serve production traffic at Facebook. We also share deployment challenges, lessons learned during performance optimization, as well as provide guidance for future inference hardware co-design.


The potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) of concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines have aroused high attention in the world for the severe side effects when two types of drugs are co-administered. However, there is much unknown in the DDI between these two kinds of drugs. The objective of this project is to find out the mechanism underlying the DDIs between opioids and benzodiazepines. There are two basic factors can contribute to the interactions, pharmacokinetic (PK) interaction and pharmacodynamic (PD) interaction. PK interaction is one of the most common reasons that lead to DDI. This kind of interaction may occur when two drugs are metabolized by the same Cytochrome P450 enzymes. In this work, we quantitatively predicted the DDI between oxycodone and diazepam through empirical PK modeling, minimal physiologically-based PK (PBPK) modeling and full PBPK modeling. Another possibility causing the DDI is PD interaction. In PD study, we used molecular modeling techniques including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations and MM/PBSA calculations to predict the pharmacodynamic interaction between opioids and benzodiazepines. The results of PK interaction study indicated that benzodiazepines have limited inhibitory effect on opioids and the extent of inhibition slightly increased with the overdose of benzodiazepines. Usually PK interactions might only be observed when highly increasing the dosage of benzodiazepines. The results of PD interaction study indicated that benzodiazepines may act as agonists or antagonists of the µ- and k-opioid receptors. We concluded that PD interaction is likely to play a more important role in DDIs between opioids and benzodiazepines.


Significance When water deficits coincide with flowering in maize they result in severe developmental consequences such as leaf wilting, tassel browning, and sterility, a condition known as "tassel blasting." Due to global warming, tassel blasting is becoming a major problem that can greatly reduce yields. Necrotic upper tips1 (nut1) is a transcription factor that mimics tassel blasting when mutated. We show that NUT1 protein localizes to the developing protoxylem where it activates genes necessary for reinforcing the secondary cell wall, and thus enables these cells to withstand the high negative pressures required for long-distance water movement. Thus, nut1 or its targets may be promising breeding targets to help maize resist the effects of rising temperatures in the future. Maintaining sufficient water transport during flowering is essential for proper organ growth, fertilization, and yield. Water deficits that coincide with flowering result in leaf wilting, necrosis, tassel browning, and sterility, a stress condition known as "tassel blasting." We identified a mutant, necrotic upper tips1 (nut1), that mimics tassel blasting and drought stress and reveals the genetic mechanisms underlying these processes. The nut1 phenotype is evident only after the floral transition, and the mutants have difficulty moving water as shown by dye uptake and movement assays. These defects are correlated with reduced protoxylem vessel thickness that indirectly affects metaxylem cell wall integrity and function in the mutant. nut1 is caused by an Ac transposon insertion into the coding region of a unique NAC transcription factor within the VND clade of Arabidopsis. NUT1 localizes to the developing protoxylem of root, stem, and leaf sheath, but not metaxylem, and its expression is induced by flowering. NUT1 downstream target genes function in cell wall biosynthesis, apoptosis, and maintenance of xylem cell wall thickness and strength. These results show that maintaining protoxylem vessel integrity during periods of high water movement requires the expression of specialized, dynamically regulated transcription factors within the vasculature.


Recognition of human activity from sensor data is a research field of great potential. Giving autonomous systems the ability to identify what a human subject is doing at a given time is highly useful in many industries, particularly in health care and security monitoring. Our results, using a public domain dataset, show that the state- of-the-art decision tree ensemble algorithm XGBoost gives an accuracy of 94.6% validated on an independent test set. Previously published results using support vector machines (SVM) gave an accuracy of 90.2%. As far as we know, our result is the new state of the art for this data set. Recognition of human activity carries potential privacy concerns, which to some degree constrain the choice of sensor technology. Therefore, systems such as ours which can identify activities from simple inertial sensors, e.g. accelerators and gyroscopes are of particular interest. Data from such inertial sensors are difficult to interpret using mechanistic models; hence the field of Machine Learning is particularly interesting for this application.


This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th EuroSPI conference, held in Vienna, Austria, in June 2012. The 29 revised papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected. They are organized in topical sections on SPI and business factors; SPI lifecycle and models; SPI assessment and quality; SPI processes and standards; SPI in SMEs; SPI and implementation; creating environments supporting innovation and improvement; standards and experiences with the implementation of functional safety; business process management; SPI in SMEs - a project management perspective.


The apical divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and the iron exporter ferroportin 1 (FPN1) are responsible for the absorption of iron and other divalent metals (manganese, lead, and cadmium). Thus, an iron-deficient diet can lead to excess absorption of manganese, lead, and cadmium, and high blood concentrations of these metals. Relative to males, females of childbearing age have higher blood concentrations of manganese because of their lower blood concentrations of ferritin. Moreover, relative to premenopausal women, menopausal women have lower blood manganese levels because their higher concentrations of ferritin. There is also a significant increase in the whole blood manganese level throughout pregnancy due to the upregulation of iron absorption at this time. Several previous studies reported a temporal relationship between iron deficiency and increased blood lead concentrations in children. However, this association does not occur in postmenarcheal or postmenopausal women because estrogen promotes bone mineralization and redistributes blood lead into the bone, overshadowing the effect of ferritin on blood lead level. Although blood cadmium concentrations are higher in females of childbearing age because of their lower ferritin concentrations, there is no association of blood cadmium and iron levels in infants and postmenopausal women.


Software Defined Network (SDN) is a programmable network which separates the control logic-plane and hardware data-plane. The SDN centrally manages different Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart devices like, actuators and sensors connected in the networks. Smart city infrastructure is an application of IoT network which purpose is to manage the city network without human interventions. To collect the real time data, such smart devices generate large amount of data and increasing the traffic in network. To maintain the quality of services (QoS) of smart city IoT networks, the SDN needs to deploy the multi-controllers. But the communication performance reduces due to unbalance load distribution on controllers. To balance the traffic load of controller an intelligent cluster based Grey Wolf Optimization Affinity Propagation (GWOAP) Algorithm is proposed when deploying the multiple controllers in SDN-IoT enabled smart city networks. The proposed algorithm is simulated and the experimental results able to calculates the minimum overall communication cost in comparison with Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Affinity Propagation (AP). The proposed GWOAP better balance the IoT enabled smart switches among clusters and node equalization is balanced for each controller in deployed topology. By using the proposed methodology, the traffic load of IoT enabled devices in smart city networks intelligently better balance among controllers.


Silicon photonics is a rapidly developing platform for integrated optics. Combining the low-loss passive silicon photonic circuitry with III–V based active optical functionality, we can combine the best of both worlds. We investigate a new optical platform based on the heterogeneous integration of InP-based active 2D Photonic Crystals (PCs) on SOI waveguides.


The purpose of this thesis was to explore different Intra-domain Quality of Service (QoS) routing techniques. QoS routing algorithms can be divided into Deterministic and Statistic / Stochastic. One goal of the study was to dig into different techniques being used for both types of solutions. The Delay Constrained Least Cost (DCLC) problem was examined for this purpose. Another objective was to investigate if a deterministic solution for DCLC can be transformed into a stochastic solution. After giving a complete picture of the related research, two algorithms were selected for simulation. These algorithms provide deterministic solutions but suggestions are included to use them for stochastic purpose. The algorithms were tested on a simulator developed by Ernst Nordstrom at Dalarna University, Sweden.


This paper shows that in a two-sector labor market, union choice between short and longterm nominal-wage contracts involves a trade-off between expected levels of inflation and unemployment and their variability. On the one hand, if the union sets long-term contracts, it can affect (future) competitive-sector wage contracts through its impact on inflationary expectations, and as a result it can achieve lower expected levels of inflation and unemployment. On the other hand, because long-term contracts introduce uncertainty regarding future productivity shocks, this alternative may lead to variability in inflation and unemployment from the union's perspective. This framework also evaluates the effect of union density on union choice. The analysis indicates that lower union density may lead to long-term contracts at low degree of central bank conservatism, and to short-term contracts at high degree of central bank conservatism.


The stress fields of dislocations predicted by classical elasticity are known to be unrealistically large approaching the dislocation core, due to the singular nature of the theory. While in many cases this is remedied with the approximation of an effective core radius, inside which ad hoc regularizations are implemented, such approximations lead to a compromise in the accuracy of the calculations. In this work, an anisotropic non-singular elastic representation of dislocation fields is developed to accurately represent the near-core stresses of dislocations in $\alpha$-iron. The regularized stress field is enabled through the use of a non-singular Green's tensor function of Helmholtz-type gradient anisotropic elasticity, which requires only a single characteristic length parameter in addition to the material's elastic constants. Using a novel magnetic bond-order potential to model atomic interactions in iron, molecular statics calculations are performed, and an optimization procedure is developed to extract the required length parameter. Results show the method can accurately replicate the magnitude and decay of the near-core dislocation stresses even for atoms belonging to the core itself. Comparisons with the singular isotropic and anisotropic theories show the non-singular anisotropic theory leads to a substantially more accurate representation of the stresses of both screw and edge dislocations near the core, in some cases showing improvements in accuracy of up to an order of magnitude. The spatial extent of the region in which the singular and non-singular stress differ substantially is also discussed. The general procedure we describe may in principle be applied to accurately model the near-core dislocation stresses of any arbitrarily shaped dislocation in anisotropic cubic media.


Members of the large family of Hox transcription factors are encoded by genes whose tightly regulated expression in development and in space within different embryonic tissues confer positional identity from the neck to the tips of the limbs. Many structures of the face, head and heart develop from cell populations expressing few or no Hox genes. Hoxb1 is the member of its chromosomal cluster expressed in the most rostral domain during vertebrate development, but never by the multipotent neural crest cell population anterior to the cerebellum. We have developed a novel floxed transgenic mouse line, CAG-Hoxb1,-EGFP (CAG-Hoxb1), which upon recombination by Cre recombinase conditionally induces robust Hoxb1 and eGFP over-expression. When induced within the neural crest lineage, pups die at birth. A variable phenotype develops from E11.5 on, associating frontonasal hypoplasia/aplasia, micrognathia/agnathia, major ocular and forebrain anomalies, and cardiovascular malformations. Neural crest derivatives in the body appear unaffected. Transcription of effectors of developmental signaling pathways (Bmp, Shh, Vegfa) and transcription factors (Pax3, Sox9) is altered in mutants. These outcomes emphasize that repression of Hoxb1, along with other paralog group 1 and 2 Hox genes, is strictly necessary in anterior cephalic NC for craniofacial, visual, auditory and cardiovascular development.


Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) are commonly used in the offshore industry. Strength and fatigue performance of SCRs due to waves, currents and vessel motions is typically calculated using time domain dynamic analysis. Strength analysis may involve a large number of load cases for different environments, riser conditions and vessel configurations. Fatigue analysis may involve computation of riser response for hundreds of fatigue sea-states. It is very important for project schedule and cost that the analysis software used is both accurate and computer efficient. This paper presents RodDyn as an alternative time domain analysis tool for SCR strength and fatigue analysis.RodDyn is a finite element program for dynamic analysis of single-pipe risers. Several publications on this program are available in the literature. The results of dynamic analysis of an SCR for strength and fatigue from RodDyn are compared against the results from ABAQUS. ABAQUS is a general finite element program that has been widely used in the offshore exploration and production industry and has been considered one of the standard finite element programs. Riser dynamic analysis uses time series of vessel motions due to metocean environments at an oblique angle to the plane of the SCR. Von Mises stress per API RP 2RD, strength checks per API STD 2RD and fatigue damage along the riser are presented for both RodDyn and ABAQUS. Time series of effective tension and bending moments at selected locations on the riser are also compared.The main advantage of using RodDyn for riser analysis is the speed of computation. This paper shows that RodDyn can deliver significant gains in computational speed compared to standard riser analysis software programs without sacrificing accuracy of the computed results.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Sjogren's syndrome (SS), usually described as a chronic inflammation which results in xerostomia (dry mouth) and xerophthalmia (dry eyes). According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, body fluid impairment causes the dryness, inducing water secretion deficiency. Discovery of a family of water-specific membrane channel proteins, the aquaporins, provides an interesting molecular mechanism of water permeability and transportation which were found abnormal in tissues of SS patients. Thus, this dryness may lead to the dysfunction in organs as various systematic manifestations. We established an autoallergic mouse model in vivo, and human salivary gland cell line A-253 in vitro. Polysaccharides of Dendrobium officinale (DP) were administrated as treatment, which was described to nourish yin and promote the body fluid. Results showed that immunization with SG autoantigen induced decrease of body weight and increased water intake, decreased AQP5 expression in a series of organs related to body fluid. Sera from model mice induced apoptosis of A-253 cells with activation of caspase-3. Administration of DP could reverse these pathological changes in both the animal and cell model. Thus, DP may be a promising candidate for the treatment of SS by up-regulating the expression of AQP-5 and protecting cells from apoptosis.


Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare condition, accounting for 1% of cases of hyperparathyroidism. Other causes of hyperparathyroidism main group are single adenoma and parathyroid hyperplasia. The clinics presented by the patients are typical of hyperparathyroidism (fatigue, weakness, weight loss, and anorexia), bone impairment, pain, and fractures, in addition to affecting the renal system The diagnosis of parathyroid carcinoma is most often done postoperatively by means of a histological study. The case report is a 49-year-old male patient who came to the emergency room of Mackenzie Evangelical University Hospital complaining of progressive "muscle weakness" and "joint" that started about 2 months ago. To raise the suspicion of parathyroid carcinoma, it is essential to perform the correlation of the clinical picture, biochemical values, and imaging exams, but to obtain the definitive diagnosis, intraoperative recognition of the tumor and the result of the histopathological examination of the resected tumor are necessary.


Abstract
This volume is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the importance of context in the development and application of leadership theory, advancing our knowledge of when, how, and under what conditions context matters most. Leadership is fundamentally a contextual phenomenon, constantly evolving, changing, and being applied in a specific environment. In this introductory chapter, I highlight key themes and aspects of dynamic and often paradoxical leadership across a wide domain of industries and contexts. First, I examine the importance of context across the chapters of the volume, including different domains, to different degrees, and from different theoretical angles. In some of the domains, context shapes the style or type of leadership that is needed, while in others, the context highlights to an extreme degree the aspects of leadership that may be invisible or less salient in different settings, but nevertheless characterize most leadership situations. I subsequently provide an overview of each of the chapters of the volume, examining leadership in the context of sports and competition, extreme "life or death" contexts, creative industries, and values-based and caring organizations. The four parts of the volume highlight leadership themes and connections across contexts and settings, including adaptability, dealing with paradox, and relational leader–follower and team dynamics.


Background: Birth of a premature neonate is associated with hospital admission and separation from the family. Admission of the neonates intervenes on infant-mother attachment and so adversely affects on the quality of care given by the mother, and subsequently increases the risk of delayed behavioral problems in the children. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of mother empowerment program on the premature infant-mother attachment. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 70 mothers of premature infants, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Omolbanin hospital of Mashhad in 2014, were divided into of intervention and control groups. The Empowerment program was a multi-step treatment program, in which information about the premature infants was provided to mothers through an illustrated booklet with a workbook and audio file in each step. Mothers in the control group received information and routine care according to the hospital guideline. The mother-infant attachment was measured after the intervention using the maternal and neonatal behaviors Avant tool. Data analysis was performed using chi-square and t-student tests by SPSS software version 11.5. Results:The mean scores of maternal attachment behaviors after the intervention in the empowerment and control groups were (56.62±8.06) and (39.51±7.77), respectively; the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings revealed that implementation of mother empowerment program increases the mother-premature-infant attachment. Therefore, it is recommended that the empowerment program be routinely utilized to promote the maternal attachment to the premature neonates hospitalized in NICUs.


A photosensitizer with high phototoxicity, low dark toxicity, and good water solubility is crucial for effective photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this study, a novel class of porphyrin-based water-soluble derivative and its isomers, named photohexer-1 (P-1) and photohexer-2 (P-2), were synthesized and investigated for anticancer activity. Both of the isomers, P-1 and P-2, could be utilized as potential sensitizers for PDT not only owing to their definite constituents but predominantly due to their good absorption in the phototherapeutic window and high generation of intracellular ROS. Therein, P-2 exhibited stronger phototoxicity against breast cancer cells with weaker dark toxicity than P-1; however, both P-1 and P-2 were highly phototoxic as compared to their homologous compound, hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME). These findings were consistent with the antitumor efficacy in vivo. Moreover, P-1 and P-2 could both effectively localize in multiple subcellular organelles, triggering increased cellular apoptosis or necrosis under laser irradiation as compared to HMME. In conclusion, the findings of the study suggest that the two highly water-soluble porphyrin derivatives may serve as promising putative photosensitizers for improving the therapeutic efficiency of PDT.


Intensive development of hybrid electric vehicles in recent years is conditioned by ecological requirements reflecting in the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and by the limitation of the use of fossil fuel. Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) become unavoidable component serving as an energy storage element in transportation industry as well as in solar and wind energy systems. The problems related to battery state monitoring in hybrid electric vehicles refer to the estimation of immeasurable degradation parameters. Concerning existing literature, the measurements indirectly correlated to the deterioration process are used for the calculation of degradation parameters. Special attention is given to LIB parameters related to battery aging such as capacity fade and internal resistance increase. Existing approaches to these parameters estimation/calculation concern no direct measurement of degradation parameters. Indirect relations can be established assuming suitable assumptions. The contribution addresses the main issues related to LIB parameters monitoring as well as to the adopted control strategy providing high energy efficiency while maintaining as less as possible rate of component degradation.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


This guide is designed to help students with library research as they complete assignments for Professor Brunk at the Osceola Campus.


We present the Multi-Core layer of the larger Coconut project to support high-performance, high-assurance scientific computation. Programs are represented by nested code graphs, using domain specific languages. At the Multi-Core level, the language is very restricted, in order to restrict control flow to nonbranching, synchronising control flow, which allows us to treat multi-core parallelism in essentially the same way as instruction-level parallelism for pipelined multi-issue processors. The resulting schedule is then presented as a "locally sequential program", which, like high-quality conventional assembly code in the single-core case, is arranged for hiding latencies at execution time so that peak performance can be reached, and can also be understood by programmers. We present an efficient, incremental algorithm capable of verifying the soundness of the communication aspects of such programs.


Abstract:  The species composition of thrips and abundance of three pestiferous thrips species, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), Thrips tabaci Lindeman and Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom) (Thysan., Thripidae) on weed species during winter and spring time were studied in vegetable production and polycultured areas in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey in years 2002 and 2003. Of a total of 61 543 thrips extracted from 8933 samples collected, 77% were adults. F. occidentalis was collected from all of 49 weed species sampled and F. intonsa was detected on 18 plant species between May and June. T. tabaci was collected from 42 of a total of 49 weed species. Immature thrips were extracted from 42 of a total of 49 weed species. Four weed species of a total 35 weed species sampled between April and May in the sampling areas hosted 63% of larvae and approximately 50% of F. occidentalis collected. A total of 23 thrips species was recorded from weeds sampled in this study. F. occidentalis accounted for 83% of a total 47 640 adult thrips collected and followed by low rates of T. tabaci and F. intonsa (9 and 1%, respectively). Melanthrips spp. accounted for 3.54% of total numbers of adult thrips. Flower‐inhabiting thrips species and T. tabaci were most abundant on weeds between April and May when the number of weed species in bloom was greatest, then decreased to low levels after May. Most pestiferous thrips on weeds species were collected from vegetable production areas. F. occidentalis was the predominant thrips comprising over 80% in most months in the vegetable grown area. In polycultured area, the composition of adult thrips shifted monthly. While Melanthrips was the more prevailing thrips by rates 53% in February and 81% in March, F. occidentalis was the predominant thrips with 60 to 62% in spring, respectively.


Official Development Assistance amounted USD 146.6 billions in 2017 but do we know how much of this aid contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? And to what SDG in particular? This paper present a new methodology using machine learning designed to link project-based flows to the Sustainable Development Goals. It provide first estimates of DAC and non-DAC donors' aid contribution for the goal and show that similar analysis can be done at the recipient level and for other type of textual database such as private sector reports; opening wide array for policy analysis.
The methodology presented in this working paper uses semantic analysis of the text description of each project present in the Creditor Reporting System (CRS).


This paper reports on the results of two studies involving the development and construct validation of a short-form measure of the Career Orientations Inventory. The Career Orientations Inventory is a questionnaire designed to assess an individual's career interests, career values, and career motivators. The measure evaluates nine career orientations: technical, managerial, autonomy, job security, geographic security, service, pure challenge, life-style, and entrepreneurship. A short form of this questionnaire was derived and tested in two separate field studies of IS employees. Extensive evidence of the reliability and validity of the measure was demonstrated in both studies (the development, Study 1, and the validation, Study 2). The relationships between career orientations and various individual difference and satisfaction measures were also tested and provided additional evidence of the construct validity of the short-form measure. Researchers and practitioners who need to measure the career orientations of IS personnel should find this a useful questionnaire.


There is limited information on mental health of psychologists and social workers despite their rendering mental health services, so their subjective perception of mental disorder was explored via a self-evaluation survey in which they self-diagnosed the presence of DSM-IV disorders within themselves. The sample of 128 professionals included 63 psychologists and 65 social workers. The presence of Axis I traits was reported by 81.2%, the three most frequent traits being mood, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorder. Axis II traits were reported by 73.4% of subjects, the three most frequent conditions being narcissistic, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality traits. While a high percentage of subjects reported the presence of either an Axis I or Axis II disorder, the average severity reported was low. More psychologists reported on mood, social phobia, and eating problems than social workers, while the latter reported more on psychotic problems. Psychologists reported more Axis II traits, especially paranoid, narcissistic, and avoidant subtypes. More women than men reported eating problems, while more men reported schizoid and avoidant personality traits. In conclusion, manifestations of subthreshold psychiatric conditions were prominently reported. These findings suggest encouraging mental health care professionals to explore treatment for problems if present.


Photocopy of a letter from D. Jack Davis and R. William McCarter to Davena Heath about their implementation grant proposal. They are requesting a meeting prior to finalizing the decision on the North Texas Regional Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts.


The study examined the effect of environmental quality on rental values of residential accommodation at the peripheral neighbourhoods of Minna, Nigeria. Cluster sampling method was employed in the selection of sampled areas and, six neighbourhoods were randomly selected. Sample size of 600 was drawn out of the total 18,387 households in the sampled neighbourhoods using Adams et al. (2007) simplified formula. Estimation rate of 50% and precision range of ±4 were adopted in determining the sample size. Various houses and infrastructure attributes were used in assessing environmental quality, while current rent passing in the year of study was adopted. Pearson moment correlation coefficient was employed in assessing the relationships between environmental quality and rents using environmental indices and mean rents. Results revealed a moderate linear relationship between environmental quality and rents in the 2 neighbourhoods (r= 0.48, N= 591, p= 0.000). The coefficient of determination (r 2 = 0.23), implied that only about 23% variation in rents in the selected peri-urban neighbourhoods can be attributed to environmental quality factors; other variations in rents are explainable by other factors relating to physical, legal and locational attributes of individual building. The implication is that, developers invested in location that promised them optimum returns over a period of time without much consideration to the quality of the environment. The study recommends routine housing maintenance, infrastructure provision and refurbishment for the achievement of qualitative and sustainable environment. Keywords : environmental quality, rental value, peri-urban neighbourhood.


Background: Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy is now accepted as being safe for acute cholecystitis. However, it has not become routine, because the exact timing and approach to the surgical management remains ill define. Careful selection of patients, the knowledge of typical procedure-related complications, and their best treatment are the key points for a safe Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Objective: To compare the early and delayed Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in the acute phase in terms of frequency of conversion to open cholecystectomy. Study Design: Randomized clinical trial. Settings: Department of Surgery, Divisional Headquarter Hospital, Faisalabad. Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad Pakistan. Duration: Study was carried out over a period of six months from June 2018 to May 2019. Methodology: A total of 152 cases (76 cases in each group) were included in this study. All patients were randomly allocated to either group i.e., group -A early Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and group-B delayed Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Results: Mean age was 39.09 + 8.8 and 37.05+ 8.5 years in group- A and B, respectively. In group-A, male patients were 48 (63.2%) and female patients were 28 (36.8%). Similarly, in group-B, male patients were 41 (53.9%) and female patients were 35 (46.1%). Conversion to open cholecystectomy was required in 6 patients (7.9%) of group-A and 16 patients (21.0%) of group – B. Significant difference between two groups was observed (P= 0.021). Conclusion: Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis is safe and feasible in terms of less frequency of conversion to open cholecystectomy.


In a wireless system that supports multimedia services, each traffic requires different quality of service (QoS) at both communication on radio links and connection admission. We initially derive the uplink capacity satisfying the QoS constraint on radio links in a multiclass multicode code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system. Based on the derived capacity, the number of channel elements, which is one of the system resources, is determined. Then, we define the QoS parameters associated with connection processes. To guarantee the defined QoS at the connection level, under given channel elements, we propose a channel-assignment scheme with dynamic priority adjustment (DPA). The proposed scheme gives multipriority to different traffic classes. Real-time classes can preempt non-real-time classes with restricted preemptive priority. Such restriction is regulated by preemption-free code channels and a buffer threshold for non-real-time classes. Among real-time classes, different priorities are assigned to each traffic class by code reservation parameters. These multipriority parameters are dynamically adjusted in order to guarantee different QoS requirements. We analyze the DPA scheme by the matrix-geometric method, and evaluate the performance of each traffic class. The results show that the proposed scheme flexibly guarantees QoS depending on traffic loading condition and achieves high channel utilization.


Context— Transferring out of pediatrics is a vulnerable time for transplant recipients. Use of a transition coordinator before and after transfer improves outcomes, although it is unclear whether placing a transition coordinator in pediatrics alone is beneficial. Objective— To determine if incorporating a transition coordinator in pediatrics only is associated with stable outcomes for kidney transplant recipients. Design— A retrospective chart review was conducted on outcomes for kidney transplant recipients who shifted service location between 2008 and 2012. Setting— A pediatric and adult transplant unit. Patients— Twenty-two patients transferred during the study period. Intervention— Twelve patients received more intensified preparation from the team's social worker, whose role was aligned with a transition coordinator position; 10 patients received standard care. Main Outcome Measures— The primary outcome was medication adherence, using a validated measure, standard deviations of tacrolimus blood levels. A standard deviation greater than 2.5 has been established as a threshold associated with poor outcomes such as rejection. Standard deviation of tacrolimus levels was compared for 1 year before and 1 year after transfer. Results— Medication adherence worsened from 1 year before (2.03 [SD, 0.75]) to 1 year after transfer (2.95 [SD, 1.38]; t = −3.07, P = .007). A repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that this pattern was the same for patients who did and patients who did not receive intensified services in pediatrics (F1,16 = 1.07, P = .32).


The problem of balancing work and family, career and parenting is currently receiving a great deal of attention in the national press. Cover stories in the New York Times and Business Week have focused on changing patterns in child bearing and the "traditional" family and on what many have called the "glass ceiling" vs. women's choices to abandon the climb to the top. The dilemma that now seems to be facing career families is the regrets held by many at the over 40 age that their choice was to break the glass ceiling at the expense of having children. In 2003, approximately 200 undergraduates were surveyed to understand their perceptions of this dilemma. Do they perceive a conflict between their career aspirations and a family? Have they been smart enough to figure out the balance that has somehow escaped the 1980's workforce? Or is history going to repeat itself?The results of this data indicated that this generation believes they can have it all. They believe that organizations will accommodate family into the workplace and that while there is some discrimination in an organization, career distinctions between men and women do not exist. The regrets that are haunting the baby boomers appear to be resolved for this generation. Yet the question remains, our the graduates of today facing a new world which will make these life "choices" no longer exist or are they being naive.An identical survey was administered to random sample of alumni graduating in 1970-1975, 1980-1985, and 1990-1995. The responses to these questions will be able to assess the reality of the workforce of 2004. Have the previous generations created a brave new world or will they be faced in 20 years with similar choices and potential regrets.


Blended Learning Concept designates a form of mixed education, that combines traditional teaching methods with tools of communication technology.

In the pre-university educational system in Romania the traditional process of teaching and learning is more often used; thus, the student is studying in a certain classroom in an educational unit, being supervised by a teacher.

The fast pace of e-learning development determines the emergence and use in the Romanian educational space of a new context for learning, the Blended Learning method, a new learning space, student centred.

The group of Web 2.0 technologies (blog, wiki page, podcast, RSS feeds) have changed the way interpersonal communication takes place, this new perspective being associated with a rich repertoire of services and applications, creating a new context for viewing, accessing and producing information. Blended learning method thus becomes a viable alternative to traditional education methods.

The main change registered in accessing the method of mixed learning is the reconfiguration of the role of the teacher and student - teacher relationship; it is recommended to adopt certain roles of the users, both in terms of their pedagogical function as well as accessing/configuring online rights. Therefore, the new environment which is constantly evolving, its development plans will be analysed.

The research employed a mixed method of analysis, triangulating the data from 10 interviews realised with teachers from urban school community. Whenever data is available, the paper uses a comparative perspective with other EU countries (Finland, France, Germany), particularly regarding the BL methodology in educational process.


UNSTRUCTURED
 The University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht piloted a hospital-wide innovation data analytics program over the past 4 years. The goal was, based on available data and innovative data analytics methodologies, to answer clinical questions to improve patient care. In this viewpoint, we aimed to support and inspire others pursuing similar efforts by sharing the three principles of the program: the data analytics value chain (data, insight, action, value), the innovation funnel (structured innovation approach with phases and gates), and the multidisciplinary team (patients, clinicians, and data scientists). We also discussed our most important lessons learned: the importance of a clinical question, collaboration challenges between health care professionals and different types of data scientists, the win-win result of our collaboration with external partners, the prerequisite of available meaningful data, the (legal) complexity of implementation, organizational power, and the embedding of collaborative efforts in the health care system as a whole.


This compelling collection advocates for an alternative view of deaf people s literacy, one that emphasizes recent shifts in Deaf cultural identity rather than a student s past educational context as determined by the dominant hearing society. Divided into two parts, the book opens with four chapters by leading scholars Tom Humphries, Claire Ramsey, Susan Burch, and volume editor Brenda Jo Brueggemann. These scholars use diverse disciplines to reveal how schools where deaf children are taught are the product of ideologies about teaching, about how deaf children learn, and about the relationship of ASL and English. Part Two features works by Elizabeth Engen and Trygg Engen; Tane Akamatsu and Ester Cole; Lillian Buffalo Tompkins; Sherman Wilcox and BoMee Corwin; and Kathleen M. Wood. The five chapters contributed by these noteworthy researchers offer various views on multicultural and bilingual literacy instruction for deaf students. Subjects range from a study of literacy in Norway, where Norwegian Sign Language recently became the first language of instruction for deaf pupils, to the difficulties faced by deaf immigrant and refugee children who confront institutional and cultural clashes. Other topics include the experiences of deaf adults who became bilingual in ASL and English, and the interaction of the pathological versus the cultural view of deafness. The final study examines literacy among Deaf college undergraduates as a way of determining how the current social institution of literacy translates for Deaf adults and how literacy can be extended to deaf people beyond the age of 20."


Existing literature on locally grown food systems is extensive and spread. Navigating it can be tedious. This study uses an exploratory research approach to identify common findings and recommendations, and propose priorities, key variables, and relationships for future studies. Findings show that local food marketing through farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture and the benefits of local food systems to local economies (found to be an on-going debate) dominate the literature heavily. Prior studies commonly reported enthusiasm for locally grown fresh produce, but present diverging results about significant consumer characteristics. Studies regarding marketing decisions among food growers/marketers, local foods supply chains, online markets for local food products, and the use of marketing mix tool are relatively limited. This study is helpful to researchers by directing their activities towards addressing major gaps. In addition, this study facilitates growers/marketers—especially those who are interested in implementing research-based recommendations—by providing a complied one-stop point of information. Likewise, stakeholders including community-based organizations and policy makers will find this study beneficial to their involvement in the industry.


In the current work, the activated carbon has been prepared from a resource which is considered as the waste and ecofriendly. In addition to above, the used raw material also does not contain the polluting element such as Sulphur or any others. The activated carbon prepared from dried ridge gourd (scrubbing sponge-luffa) by chemical activation methods mitigates the above stated requirements. For the characterization of prepared activated carbon and also determination of the efficiency of the activated carbon as an adsorbents, various types of characterization methods such as BET surface area analysis, morphology verification by SEM, EDX and FT-IR, and Methylene Blue separation experimentation are performed, respectively. The BET SSA is found to be 1221.57 m 2 g -1 , which is comparable with the values reported in literature. The characterization clearly reveals the structure is very similar to honey comb pattern and identified micro pore volume is 0.407 cm 3 g -1 . The removal efficiency of Methylene Blue (MB) by activated carbon (adsorbent) ensures its suitability for the separations and it seems that the experimental data are concurred with Langmuir isotherm of monolayer adsorption. The whole adsorption process is divided into three different regimes on the basis of their controlling parameters, which makes easy to select the appropriate operating zone for a process.


3D modelling of archaeological and historical structures is the new frontier in the field of conservation science. Similarly, the identification of buried finds, which enhances their multimedia diffusion and restoration, has gained relevance. As such sites often have a high level of structural complexity and complicated territorial geometries, accuracy in the creation of 3D models and the use of sophisticated algorithms for georadar data analysis are crucial. This research is the first step in a larger project aimed at reclaiming the ancient villages located in the Greek area of southern Italy. The present study focuses on the restoration of the village of Africo (RC), a village hit by past flooding. The survey began with a laser scan of the church of St. Nicholas, using both the Faro Focus3D and the Riegl LMS-Z420i laser scanner. At the same time, georadar analyses were carried out in order to pinpoint any buried objects. In the processing phase, our own MATLAB algorithms were used for both laser scanner and georadar datasets and the results compared with those obtained from the scanners' respective proprietary software. We are working to develop a tourism app in both augmented and virtual reality environments, in order to disseminate and improve access to cultural heritage. The app allows users to see the 3D model and simultaneously access information on the site integrated from a variety of repositories. The aim is to create an immersive visit, in this case, to the church of St. Nicholas.


In this study we examined the effects of striatal dopamine depletion on cortical and subcortical blood flow changes during two tasks known to involve frontostriatal circuitry. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured in six patients with moderate Parkinson's disease and in six age-matched control subjects while they performed easy and difficult versions of a modified Tower of London planning task and a mnemonic variant of this task that required short-term retention and reproduction of problem solutions, as well as a control condition that involved identical visual stimuli and motor responses. Relative to control conditions, the planning task was associated with an increase in cerebral blood flow centred on the internal segment of the right globus pallidus in the age-matched control subjects, and a decrease in the same region in the patients with Parkinson's disease. A similar inverse relationship between the task-specific blood flow change observed in the control group and that observed in the Parkinson's disease patients was not found in any other subcortical or cortical area examined, including regions of the dorsolateral frontal cortex known to be involved in this task. When blood flow in the spatial working memory task was examined, a similarly specific dissociation between the two groups of subjects was observed at similar coordinates in the right pallidum. We conclude that striatal dopamine depletion disrupts the normal pattern of basal ganglia outflow in Parkinson's disease and consequently, affects the expression of frontal-lobe functions by interrupting normal transmission of information through frontostriatal circuitry.


Background The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the trauma population has been reported to have a mortality benefit in patients with severe refractory hypoxic respiratory failure. This study compares the early initiation of ECMO for the management of severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) versus a historical control immediately preceding the use of ECMO for trauma patients. Methods A retrospective study was conducted at a single verified Level I trauma center. The study population was limited to trauma patients diagnosed with severe ARDS using the Berlin definition (PaO2/FIO2 ratio < 100). Patients managed with ECMO versus conventional ventilation (CONV) were compared. The primary outcome of interest was mortality; secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay, intensive care unit–free days, and ventilator-free days. Results Fifteen ECMO patients managed from March 2013 to November 2014 were identified, as were 14 CONV patients managed from March 2012 to February 2013 who met the Berlin definition of severe ARDS. Data related to age, Injury Severity Scores (ISSs), admission lactic acid levels, base deficit, the number of transfused red blood cell units within the first 24 hours, and presence of severe traumatic brain injury were collected and were not statistically different between the groups. Likewise, Murray Lung Injury (MLI), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores determined at the onset of severe ARDS were not statistically different between the groups. Median hospital stay (CONV, 28.0 days [14.0–47.0]; ECMO, 43.5 days [30.0–93.0]; p = 0.15), intensive care unit–free days (CONV, 0.0 days [0.0–5.0]; ECMO, 5.0 days [0.0–7.0]; p = 0.26), and ventilator-free days (CONV, 0.0 days [0.0–10.0]; ECMO, 8.0 days [0.0–19.0]; p = 0.13) were not statistically different between the groups. Mortality in the ECMO group was significantly reduced compared with the CONV group (ECMO, 13.3%; CONV, 64%; p = 0.01). Timing from the onset of severe ARDS to ECMO intervention occurred at a mean 1.9 ± 1.4 days. Conclusion Patients who were treated with ECMO for severe ARDS had an improved mortality compared with historical controls. ECMO should be considered at the early onset of severe ARDS to improve survival. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level IV.


This paper uses multi-feature fusion method to research and analysis the Chinese dependency syntax tree. A similarity computing model for dependency syntactic tree is proposed. Based on the dependency syntactic tree structure, the node words, parts of speech, and the dependencies between words are considered. The similarity calculation method between two dependency syntactic trees is proposed through comprehensive analysis of feature weights of dependency relation. The experimental results show that this method achieved a high accuracy rate


The aim of the paper is using of modelling within development of safety–related communication systems presented in the areas where guaranty of safety integrity level is required. In the paper basic principles used in the process of safety evaluation in closed transmission systems are summarised. Dangerous states of system are mainly caused by random failures of HW within non-trusted transmission system, by electromagnetic interference caused with noise or interferences and by systematic failures within specification of system. Main part of paper describes the simulation of disturbing effects within communication channel via programme Matlab, relations for determination of probability of undetected errors of code words with using block codes and results of residual error rate for Hamming code.


1922 Analysis of bacterial genomes using the DECIPHER® database, a proprietary natural product database containing biosynthetic cluster gene sequence information linked to compound chemical structure, physicochemical properties and biological activities, allows for the efficient identification of New Chemical Entities (NCEs) of interest. Complex, custom-tailored, bioinformatics systems enable prediction of chemical structures based on gene sequence information. Use of this knowledge guides selection of microorganisms and fermentation conditions as well as purification and structure confirmation of the compounds produced. Among various natural products discovered using this platform, two compounds, ECO-3396 and ECO-7942, were predicted to have antitumor activity based on prediction and comparison of their structure with those of known bioactive compounds. ECO-3396 is produced by Micromonospora echinospora and is a highly oxygenated angular polycyclic ketide with an unusual peptide linkage to an aliphatic tripeptide. ECO-7942 is produced by a Streptomyces sp. and is a cyclic hexadepsipeptide composed of unusual amino acid units and bearing a C14 side chain. ECO-3396 and ECO-7942 exhibited potent antimicrobial activities against a broad panel of Gram+ pathogenic bacteria. Advanced profiling performed on these compounds revealed moderate in vitro cytotoxic activity for compound ECO-3396, with GI 50 values in the low micromolar range, and potent cytotoxic activity for compound ECO-7942, with GI 50 values in the low nanomolar range against several human tumor cell lines. In vivo toxicity of these compounds using various routes of administration was evaluated and maximum tolerated doses defined in a mouse system. ECO-3396 showed acceptable levels of toxicity whereas ECO-7942 displayed lower tolerability with MTD ≥ 2.5 mg/kg when dosed i.v. and MTD ≥ 5 mg/kg when dosed i.p. In vivo antitumor activity of these compounds was assessed in mouse xenograft human carcinoma models. ECO-3396 was tested in PC-3 human prostate carcinoma and in MX-1 human breast carcinoma mouse models. In both models, ECO-3396 displayed a modest antitumor activity when administered i.p. compared to vehicle control groups. ECO-7942 displayed significant antitumor potential in the mouse xenograft MX-1 model, when compared to control groups. This compound is currently under preclinical profiling to further define its biological activities and pharmacological properties.Genome scanning analysis performed on microorganisms and data evaluation using the DECIPHER® database is a powerful tool that can be applied to the discovery of natural product compounds with antitumor activity.


Sulige (Shanxi province, 750 km southwest of Beijing) is the largest onshore gas field in China (proven gas reserves of 1.1 trillion m3 in the last evaluation). Sandstone and mudstone in the main reservoir formation (He-8) were deposited in a deltaic plain of lower Permian age. Braided stream channels moved laterally and overlapped frequently, resulting in a very heterogeneous vertical stack of sand bodies. He-8 Formation has a thickness of 25–30 m but the sand layers with sufficient porosity and permeability are often less than 10 m. There is no correlation between the height of the reservoir and the total thickness of the formation, making conventional characterization based upon poststack data unreliable. This was the motivation for looking at prestack data to improve reservoir prediction.


Management standards serve as an effective knowledge diffusion channel, considering that they offer comprehensive scientific and practical knowledge for many different stakeholders. This research aims to study the potential of management standards to diffuse knowledge, especially within the scientific community. Therefore, it analyzes the relationship between management standards and the academic literature. It focuses on international management standards, namely ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 and their 'European counterparts' EMAS and the EFQM Excellence model. We tested whether scientific publications, which address these international and European management standards, are more likely to lead to follow-up research than comparable scientific publications measured by the impact on average forward citations. Hence, we applied a negative binominal regression model on bibliometric data. Findings show that publications addressing ISO 14001 alone or in combination with other standards lead to higher average forward citations than the comparison group. In conclusion, international management standards foster the academic research progress of the topics addressed by the respective standard. Our research implies the importance of monitoring standards for the scientific community and suggests Standard Setting Organizations to foster actively the research progress.


Based on archival material, this article documents the debate within the U.S. Military Government (OMGUS) in post-WWII Germany about what institutional setup would ensure "free" German broadcast media. This discussion was tied to debates in the United States and reflected changing domestic and international conditions. From May 1945 until late 1947, U.S. media policies in Germany were in flux. Issues of media ownership, control, and advertising provoked considerable debate, and reasoning shifted regarding what constituted "free" media and, more broadly, democracy. This article's main concern, therefore, is not whether German broadcast media were truly free, but how OMGUS defined the concept of "free" and justified policy decisions accordingly.


Companies need to rethink the way they create value and grow their business to thrive in tomorrow's volatile and uncertain business environment. Companies in virtually every industry are being impacted by new disruptive and complex societal trends, such as climate change, energy transition and social inequality. At the same time, companies are increasingly evaluated on their non-financial performance and they ever more compete on speed and sustainability.

Still, only a few companies have begun to invent new strategic directions, pioneering strategies focused on creating long-term value, not just for shareholders but for all stakeholders. A playbook on how to create long-term value is currently lacking, making it difficult for companies to capture the opportunities and mitigate the risks created by these societal trends.

This paper develops a model of long-term value creation that supports companies in creating long-term value and setting their strategies accordingly. Financial institutions can draw on the model to assess how future proof their investment and/or lending portfolios are.