Introduction: Atmospheric dust is an important source of heavy metals, particularly in urban environments. Heavy metals can easily attach to dust particles and be distributed in large areas. Therefore, assessing the extent of heavy metals pollution present in nuisance dust is important for establishing pollution control strategies and evaluating the results of previous measurements. Heavy metals contamination in atmospheric dust of Kermanshah provine has not been previously investigated. The main objective of this initial study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals in atmospheric dust samples that were collected from Kermanshah province and to assess their contamination level. The results can provide a baseline for use in future environmental impact assessments and to guide pollution mitigation targets.
Materials and Methods: Dust samples were collected from 49 sites across the province, during the summer 2013. Dust sampling sites were selected in different urban (35 site) and suburban (14 site) locations in Kermanshah, Songhor, Gilangharb, Ghasre-Shirin, Sahneh, Sarpolzahab, Kangavar, Paveh and Javanrood cities. Dust collectors were installed on the roof of buildings about 3–4 m above the ground level. Each collection tray consisted of a circular plastic surface (320 mm in diameter, 120 mm depth) that was fixed on holders with 33 cm height and covered with a 2 mm PVC mesh on top to form a rough area for trapping saltant particles. The dust samples were analyzed for their Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mn and Fe concentrations using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. In the present study, geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), pollution index (PI) and integrated pollution index (IPI) were calculated to assess the heavy metal contamination level in the atmospheric dust.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that except for Fe and Mn, all heavy metal concentrations of atmospheric dust in Kermanshah provine were higher than in the background soils of world, showing that these heavy metals are likely from anthropogenic sources. The order of mean Igeo values was Ni> Zn> Cu> Cr> Mn> Fe, similar to the order of their EFs and PIs, which can also be seen as the decreasing order of their overall contamination degrees in atmospheric dust of Kermanshah province. The mean Igeo for Ni points to moderately to strongly pollution. 59% of calculated Igeo for Ni falls into class 2 (moderately polluted) and 37% into class 3 (moderately to strongly polluted), while according to the Igeo values for Mn (98%) and Fe (100%), they were practically unpolluted (class 0). The maximum EFs of Zn, Cu and Ni were higher than 10, which show that Zn, Cu and Ni in atmospheric dusts mainly originate from anthropogenic sources. It seems that EFs can also be an effective tool to differentiate the natural origins from anthropogenic sources. The mean EF (11.2) and 94% of Ni EFs were in the range of 5–20 indicating that Ni was a main contaminant in studied samples. Mn had 41% EFs less than 2 and 59% EFs in the range of 2–5, with mean EF less than 2, indicating minimal enrichment. The analytical results of heavy metals Igeo are same as the analytical results of EFs. The PIs of Zn, Cu and Ni were in the ranges of 2.1 to 11.3, 1.7 to 18.3 and 3.3 to 13.6, with an average of 3.8, 3.3 and 6.9, respectively. These data indicate that Zn, Cu and Ni may cause serious pollution in atmospheric dust of Kermanshah. The IPIs of atmospheric dust samples vary from 1.9 to 6.2 with mean value of 2.9, indicating that all studied samples were polluted by heavy metals.
Conclusion: The concentrations of heavy metals that were investigated in this study were compared with the reported data of other cities and with the background values of elements in the world soils. The concentrations of Zn, Cu, Ni and Cr in urban dust samples, and Fe and Mn in suburban dust samples were higher than their respective values in the world soils. The results indicate that atmospheric dusts in Kermanshah provin have elevated metal concentrations in general. The calculated values of Igeo and EF of heavy metals revealed the order of Igeo and EF as Ni> Zn> Cu> Cr> Mn> Fe. The high Igeo and EF for Ni, Zn and Cu in atmospheric dusts indicated that there was a considerable Ni, Zn and Cu pollution (Especially nickel), which possibly originate from traffic and industrial activities. The Igeo and EF of Mn and Fe were low. The results of PI also supported Zn, Cu and Ni serious pollution in atmospheric dust. Similarly, IPI results confirmed atmospheric dust samples pollution by heavy metals. These findings indicated that more attention should be paid to heavy metal contamination of atmospheric dusts in Kermanshah, especially in case of Ni.


In public management we can observe a continuous search for its own improvement. New arrangements and procedures, often derived from NPM ideas, but also from other PA insights, are put in place with the expectations that public administration as well as its related agencies and networks will function more efficient, effective, transparent, responsive or produce better quality afterwards. A key question, therefore, is whether and when PM reforms and innovations 'work'. Various forms of monitoring and evaluation can help to answer this question. As a matter of fact many public management reforms explicitly include assessment procedures and related feedback mechanisms. However, the PM reforms and their assessment mechanisms as such are evaluated far less frequent. This paper aims to explain why this is so and to suggest ways in which such (meta)evaluation can be realized. In doing so, two distinct 'logics' of evaluation are identified. The first logic essentially is the rationality of feedback mechanisms (systems theory) that is part of the 'repertoire' of much NPM thinking. The other logic is based on social scientific insights in the conditions for and mechanisms of utilization and impact of evaluation processes and results. 1 dr. F.B. van der Meer is associate professor of Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam. P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam. Phone: +31 10 4082137; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Biochemical analyses of caudate nucleus biopsy samples from patients with Parkinson's disease undergoing autologous adrenal transplantation were performed. Activity of the dopamine biosynthetic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, and concentrations of dopamine and its priMarchy metabolite homovanillic acid were significantly greater than anticipated on the basis of previously published postmortem values. These data suggest that postmortem changes in various biochemical parameters of dopamine function are more rapid than has been generally appreciated. Further analysis of striatal biopsy samples may reveal predictive relationships between striatal indices of dopamine function and therapeutic response to adrenal transplantation.


According to the classical Eshelby inclusion problem, we introduce a new linear relation to calculate internal stresses in γ/γ′ microstructures of superalloys via an effective stiffness method. To accomplish this, we identify regions with almost uniform deformation behavior within the microstructure. Assigning different eigenstrains to these regions results in a characteristic internal stress state. The linear relation between eigenstrains and internal stresses, as proposed by Eshelby for simpler geometries, is shown to be a valid approximation to the solution for complex microstructures. The fast Fourier transformation method is chosen as a very efficient numerical solver to determine the effective stiffness matrix. Numerical validation shows that this generalized method with the effective stiffness matrix is efficient to obtain appropriate internal stresses and that it can be used to consider the influence of internal stresses on plasticity and creep kinetics in superalloys.


PURPOSE
Young cancer survivors are at increased risk for morbidities related to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), yet their HPV vaccine initiation rates remain low. Patient-/parent-reported lack of health care provider recommendation for HPV vaccination is strongly associated with vaccine noninitiation. We aimed to identify patient-level factors associated with survivor-/parent-reported lack of provider recommendation for HPV vaccination among young cancer survivors.

METHODS
Cancer survivors ages 9-26 years and 1-5 years off therapy completed a cross-sectional survey (parent-completed for survivors 9-17 years of age). Lack of health care provider HPV vaccine recommendation was the outcome of interest in a multivariable logistic regression model that included relevant patient-level sociodemographic, clinical, and vaccine-related variables.

RESULTS
Of 955 survivors, 54% were male, 66% were non-Hispanic White, and 36% had leukemia. At survey participation, survivors were an average age (± standard deviation) of 16.3 ± 4.7 years and 32.8 ± 14.7 months off therapy. Lack of provider HPV vaccine recommendation was reported by 73% (95% CI, 70% to 75%) of survivors. For the entire cohort, patient-level factors associated with lack of reported provider recommendation included perceived lack of insurance coverage for the HPV vaccine (odds ratio [OR], 4.0; 95% CI, 2.7 to 5.9; P < .001), male sex (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.9 to 4.0; P < .001), and decreased parent-survivor communication regarding HPV vaccination (OR, 1.7 per unit decrease in score; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.2; P < .001). In the sex- and age-stratified models, perceived lack of insurance coverage (all models) and male sex (age-stratified models) were also significantly associated with lack of reported provider recommendation.

CONCLUSION
We identified factors characterizing survivors at risk for not reporting receipt of a health care provider HPV vaccine recommendation. Future research is needed to develop interventions that facilitate effective provider recommendations for HPV vaccination among all young cancer survivors.


The Arabic grammatical tradition is remarkable for having organized a large amount of descriptive material within a sophisticated formal framework. The present study seeks to elucidate the early development of this system from a theory-internal perspective; it is mainly concerned with the development of the syntactic theory as a formal object, as system of rules. This endeavor is constituted of four sub-goals: a description of early developments, their periodization, their relation to the traditional account in terms of the Basran and Kufan schools, and their relation to modern linguistic theory.


The book edited by Goetz and Budd represents a timely contribution with respect to an important and critical industrial sector for economic development and well being throughout the world. In fact, air transportation constitutes a strategic sector for ensuring the timely movement of passengers and freight in a cost-effective way for a knowledge based society where human capital represents a critical element to foster innovation and competitiveness. Air transport geography is acquiring an increasingly relevant position given the concentration of high-skilled labour and abundant human capital in cities that are the power-houses of development. In order to thrive cities, progressively attracting more and more people, need to be highly accessible also from far away and an efficient air transport system represents a strategically important instrument to compete. Even if the causality nexus is not always clearly determinable one can reasonably assume assume that, in most cases, economic growth is the ignition of a development process that once started needs to be supported by infrastructural and industrial investments as well as an appropriately developed regulatory framework guaranteeing the provision of competitive services for moving passengers and freight.


Many natural language expressions are ambiguous and need to draw on other sources of information to be interpreted. Interpretation of the word ????? to be considered as a noun or a verb depends on the presence of contextual cues. This study proposes a hybrid method of based- rules and a machine learning method for tagging Arabic words. So this method is based firstly on rules (that considered the post-position, ending of a word and patterns) and then the anomaly is corrected by adopting a memory-based learning method (MBL). The memory based learning is an efficient method to integrate various sources of information and handling exceptional data in natural language processing tasks. Secondly checking the exceptional cases of rules and more information is made available to the learner for treating those exceptional cases. To evaluate the proposed method a number of experiments has been run and in order, to improve the importance of the various information in learning.


This paper describes a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based parenting programme combining the use of both affective (related to feelings) and behavioural strategies. In this paper we describe the intervention, its evaluation and a summary of the quantitative information gathered. The three pre-eminent ways in which parents appeared to have benefited from this particular programme included (1) the support they received in their parenting role from other parents, including a mirroring of problems, (2) the regaining of a sense of control in the parental role, in part through an increase in their capacity to think about matters calmly, and also through the provision of new tools with which to do the job of parenting, and (3) an increased ability to empathize and identify with their children, and a better understanding of the factors which motivate children to behave in particular ways. The capacity to think about matters calmly and the ability to empathize and identify with children appeared to be important factors in the reduction of inappropriate and unhelpful parenting practices such as shouting and smacking. It is suggested that empathy in particular is central to effective parenting, and that these results support the suggestion that there is an important added benefit for parents from programmes which combine behavioural and affective strategies focusing on feelings, relationships within the family, and the parents' own experience of being parented. The limitations of the data are discussed with reference to its reliability and validity, and the need for further research using grounded theory with other groups of parents.


A fifty-six-year old verbal male with moderate mental retardation (IQ range of 35-40 to 50-55) residing in a state-run facility developed psychosis following the addition and titration of pramipexole for Parkinson's disease. No evidence of psychosis was noted at the time of admission or prior to the addition and titration of pramipexole with good response. When titrated to 0.375 mg three times daily, psychosis presented and escalated. Pramipexole was tapered to extinction and behavior rates returned to baseline. This increase may represent a separation of risk-benefits where a partial positive response is achieved and no adverse effects are noted.


This paper makes two empirical contributions to the literature, based on predictions generated by a lobby group model. First, we investigate how environmental lobby groups affect the determination of environmental policy in rich and developing countries. Second, we explore the interaction between democratic participation and political (electoral) competition. The empirical findings suggest that environmental lobby groups tend to positively affect the stringency of environmental policy. Moreover, political competition tends to raise policy stringency, in particular where citizens' participation in the democratic process is widespread.


The death of Leonard Cockayne, C.M.G., Ph.D., Hon. D.Sc., F. R. S., is a very severe loss to the science of botany, not only in the Dominion of New Zealand, which he had made his home, but throughout the world. Leonard Cockayne was born at Thorpe House, Norton Lees, Derbyshire —a village some miles five S.E. of Sheffield—on April 7, 1855, and was the youngest son of Mr. William Cockayne, Merchant. His natural history tastes were apparently inborn and in his early days, as I learn from one of his nieces, he pressed flowers. As his brothers and his sister were also keen gardeners, his home surroundings were obviously in accord with his scientific turn of mind, and he must have lived in an atmosphere in which his taste for natural history was encouraged and stimulated. From school he went to Wesley College, Sheffield, and then to Owens College, Manchester, during the session 1872-74, with the original intention of becoming a doctor. There he studied chemistry, botany, plant physiology, zoology, and animal physiology, as an occasional student, but he did not proceed to take a degree nor did he further pursue his medical studies.


Abstract White cast iron with about 12.7 wt.-% chromium was alloyed with Ni, W and Mo for heat treatment applications. Heat treatments were performed at a range of 850-1050 °C for 1 h in order to distribute M7C3 carbides homogeneously in an environment of high wear resistance. The contents of the C, Cr, Ni, Mo, Mn and Si elements selected for the alloys were similar, though a 6 wt.-% nickel concentration was chosen. Microstructural changes in the specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy (OM). Macro-hardness, average carbide size and volume fraction were analyzed. Wear tests were carried out under different loads of 10, 20 and 30 N. It was seen that heat treatment changed the carbide size and homogeneous distribution of the carbides. Moreover, the addition of nickel to HCrWCI increased fracture toughness and reduced the wear rate.


Paraoxonase can hydrolyse organophosphate esters and paraxon is its most important substrate in laboratory studies. This enzyme circulates in blood with HDL. It seems that reduced paraoxonase activity in human may increase risk of coronary artery disease. Genetic variations in two autosomal genes may reduce its activity. These variations produce three phenotypes: A, AB and B. B phenotype activity is higher than A and AB. With regard to high prevalence of CAD in Iranian people and paraoxonase effect in process of CAD, paraoxonase activity, phenotypes and lipid parameters were determined. In this study serum paraoxonase phenotypes in Iranian subjects were determined and the association between paraoxonase activity and its phenotypes with coronary artery disease risk factors were estimated. Patients with more than 50% angiographically confirmed stenosis were studied and compared with healthy subjects at Tehran Rajaii Heart Center. Serum paraoxonase activity with and without NaCl, and arylesterase activity were estimated. Paraoxonase/ Arylesterase activity ratio was used for phenotype determination. In patients, paraoxonase activities with and without NaCl were much lower than healthy subjects (P=0.01 and P=0.00 respectively), but arylesterase activity was not significantly different. Paraoxonase/ arylesterase activity ratio was also reduced in patients (P=0.02). Frequency distributions of three paraoxonase phenotypes in patients and healthy groups were not significantly different. Triglyceride and VLDL-C in patients were higher than healthy subjects (P=0.00), but HDL-C and apo AI were lower in patients (P=0.01 and P=0.00 respectively). No significant variations in total cholesterol, LDL-C and apo B was found in patients compared with healthy group. Due to significant fall in paraoxonase acitivity and no significant difference in frequency distributions of the enzyme phenotypes, it seems that paraoxonase activity measurement in serum is a better marker than determination of the enzyme phenotypes to discriminate patients from healthy subjects.


The Shell function method is presented as a new technique to evaluate the acoustic pressure field, produced by a practical source of finite area, in a medium having an arbitrary spatially varying sound speed. The Shell function method considers the acoustic wave received at the observation point, for a specified travel time, and the associated vibrating source area. In terms of ray representation, this approach is accomplished by interchanging the position of the observation point with that of the elemental area of the source. Both the convergent state of a sound beam issuing from the observation point, and the element area of the source responsible to this convergent state, are taken into account simultaneously. As a consequence, the sound pressure at, and in the vicinity of, caustics can be given an appropriate value directly. The Shell function method was evaluated by the computation of the acoustic field in a depth‐dependent sound‐speed profile containing caustics, for a linear source with a specified...


Product Platform Planning is an emerging philosophy that calls for the planned development and deployment of families of related products. It is markedly different from the traditional product development process, which focuses on optimized designs for individual products. This is a relatively new development in engineering design, which is not typically a part of an engineer's education. Furthermore, it is different from traditional engineering topics in that it requires an integration of principles from both management and engineering design. All this makes for a new and different topic for which educational material needs to be developed. This paper presents and describes an online learning tool that includes a tutorial, cases, and a glossary in a multimedia format hosted on the Internet. The tutorial presents the basic concepts as well as current research on planning and architecting families of products. The case study section has three cases based on a family of popular power tools. The cases, of increasing complexity, present information in the form of function diagrams, assembly diagrams, individual component pictures, usage information and market segmentation data. Links are provided to helpful sites, as well as to relevant sections in the tutorial. Learning and practice activities are also presented. This paper and associated web-based materials are intended for educators interested in incorporating Product Platform Planning in the design curriculum as well as practicing design engineers and product planners in industry interested in improving their knowledge and skills in this strategic approach to product development.


Along with social economy development, the total water consumption increased year by year. The conflicts between water supply and water consumption is growing. Water resources optimization dispatch, which is used to allocate water resources to meet the demand of water user on both time scale and spatial scale, plays an important role in water resources management. Aiming at improving the spatial allocation ability of traditional optimization algorithms, a uniform spatial allocation strategy is proposed accordingly. The proposed method is used to improve the performance of optimization algorithm to obtain solutions which can uniform the water supply in spatial scale. Simulation results show that the maximum ratio of water deficiency gained by the proposed method is smaller than that obtained by the original algorithm. The proposed method is effective to balance the demand of water users in spatial scale. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018).


The paper presents the numerical method for computing the load distribution coefficients in bridge decks analysis. The grillage approach for representation of bridge decks is adopted for determination of general behaviour under traffic loads. The principles of Maxwell's reciprocal theorem are developed in computing distribution coefficients and their influence lines. The presented method uses the approach developed in traditional methods of transversal load distribution but bridge decks are modelled more realistically using well-established grillage analogy. Any numerical program for grillage analysis can be used and no special software is needed. While computing the distribution coefficients for a bridge deck the rest of the analysis can be performed with ordinary procedures of structural mechanics.


When speaking to HR leaders, one often hears them say, "My middle management is not stepping up, I need them to be ready for bigger roles, but how?" On the other hand, a closer look at the middle manager reveals a different story—they are already feeling stretched and overwhelmed. As responsibility is delegated downwards, middle leaders are taking on tasks that used to be done by people far more senior. At the same time, they are being asked to play an increasingly important role in shaping and developing the organization's talent and strategic positioning.


This paper highlights the primary methods employed in the C-ORAL-BRASIL compiling process, i.e, recording, transcribing and segmenting oral texts. The C-ORAL-BRASIL is a Brazilian Portuguese corpus of spontaneous speech, designed for the study of informational structure. It is representative of the diaphasic variation, seeking to cover as many different comunicative situations as possible. This paper presents and exemplifies the processes of transcription and segmentation of speech into prosodic units as employed in our on-going research. It concludes with illustrations of some questions that the corpus will enable us to answer.


Some difficulties and complexities in atomic actions occur only when the concept of atomic actions is extended to allow concurrency within atomic actions and to allow a single atomic action to execute at a number of different sites. Also, providing facilities for both forward and backward recovery presents problems not found in the more usual case of allowing only backward recovery. The author presents an analysis of these problems and proposes a general structure for a solution. A syntax which might be used to specify this structure is also given and illustrated with examples. The practicality of the scheme is justified by sketching one possible implementation.


Bound Together: Slavery and Democracy in Antebellum Northwestern Virginia, 1815-1865 Adam Zucconi Since West Virginia's founding in 1863, historians have attempted to understand the forces that shaped the state's creation. Most historians have argued that the Mountain State's admission into the Union represented a grassroots rebellion among democratically-minded mountaineers who had long resisted the rule of eastern slaveholding aristocrats. The tumultuous events triggered by secession and civil war provided the opportunity for westerners to inaugurate their long desired wishes to free themselves from their allegedly tyrannical brethren and abolish the institution that many residents blamed for their woes: chattel slavery. West Virginia's founding proved more contingent and complex than previously argued. During the early antebellum era, western Virginians displayed their loyalty to the state and to slavery through public processions, meetings, and editorials. Residents insisted, however, that their eastern brethren assist in reforming and democratizing the state's constitution. The Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 failed to include all of western Virginians' desires but the changes included in the new constitution broadened the franchise and reflected powerful market forces fundamentally politics in the Old Dominion. The 1830 Constitution helped foster, however, a new understanding of the symbiotic relationship between slavery and democracy. Importantly, western Virginians embraced this interpretation. During the 1840s and 1850s, as national events concerning slavery became more frequent, western Virginians continued to profess their support for the peculiar institution and to the state. Such assertions contributed to the ratification of a new constitution in 1851, as western Virginians' desire for a democratized constitution finally came to fruition. The new constitution deepened residents' attachment to chattel slavery and the state, a critical development as abolitionists appeared more menacing and Republicans cultivated a presence in the Northwest. Few northwesterners supported either party because the destruction of slavery threatened the foundation of their political rights, another important development wrought by the new constitution. Rather than drifting farther apart from their eastern brethren in sentiment and principle, northwesterners drew closer and became fierce proslavery advocates. The national crisis that began to unfold in 1860 threatened to disrupt the harmony between western and eastern Virginians. Western Virginians maintained that remaining within the Union and under the protection of the constitution would ensure democratic rights while protecting slavery, too. Though eastern Virginians voted to take the Commonwealth out of the Union, westerners differed on the path ahead. Rather than forging ahead in demolishing slavery and the state, residents debated the merits of creating a new state and how to resolve the issue of slavery. After multiple and intense debates and recognizing that the war would not end quickly, northwesterners voted to create a new slave state. West Virginia entered the Union in 1863 but its founding reflected the state's history of slavery, not the democratic revolution posited by historians. Proponents of West Virginia's founding insisted that the state's establishment would perpetuate, not undermine, racial hierarchy. While West Virginia's founders ratified a proposal to gradually emancipate slaves, emancipation would unfold over decades and shifting political and racial norms threatened to sabotage that process in the future. West Virginia's future remained firmly wedded to Virginia's slaveholding past.


Between 1978 and 1983, more than 600 microsurgical tubal operations were performed. Only 270 women with the same extent of distal tubal lesions on both sides or with unilateral tubal occlusion after heterolateral salpingectomy were considered in this study. The authors propose a classification of distal tubal lesions in order to analyze the results of microsurgery. After fimbrioplasty, salpingolysis and salpingostomy for distal occlusion without ampullary dilatation, the term pregnancies rate is more than 50%. The pregnancy rate after salpingostomy for hydrosalpinx is 25%. The prognosis after microsurgery for distal tubal lesions is related to ciliated cells percentage. The prognosis of microsurgical salpingostomy for thick-walled hydrosalpinx is poor. In these cases, in vitro fertilization should be the treatment of preference. In conclusion, the ampullary diameter and the fimbrial ciliated cells percentage are prognostic factors of distal tubal microsurgery.


This project revolves around creating a home automation system prototype with the main focus being the ability to lock/unlock a door through the internet. The system consists of a central device, a server and an Android application.The central device is a microprocessor, in this case, a Raspberry Pi that connects to the Internet and receives an order to control a motor which in turn turns the lock with the help of gears. The ability to rotate the motor in both directions is achieved by the use of an H-bridge. The server manages users and devices, and handles the communication between the application and the central device. Users and devices are stored in a database on the server. The application is a frontend which presents the user with a list of devices to interact with.The main prototype where the Raspberry Pi acted as a central device was abandoned due to time and resource constraints. It was instead used to control the motor directly. This brought up some problems concerning powering the device using batteries. The software of the prototype is mostly working but due to the same time limitations not all planned features could be implemented.


This book examines the role of scepticism in initiating the idea of the sublime in early modern British literature. James Noggle draws on philosophy, intellectual history, and critical theory to illuminate the aesthetic ideology of Pope, Swift, Dryden, and Rochester among other important writers of the period. The Skeptical Sublime compares the view of sublimity presented by these authors with that of the dominant, liberal tradition of eighteenth-century criticism to offer a new understanding of how these writers helped construct proto-aesthetic categories that stabilized British culture after years of civil war and revolution, while at the same time their scepticism allowed them to express ambivalence about the emerging social order.


This article aimed to describe the politeness and its violations in the Adit dan Sopo Jarwo program. The data for this research were collected by recording and taking notes. The data that have been taken were analyzed by using the theory of politeness by Leech (2014). The result of the analysis is presented informally, by verbally describing the findings. Related to the types of the politeness, the result of the analysis shows that there are three types of politeness maxim exemplified in the animation; tact, approbation, and generosity. Politeness violations occur with the tact, agreement, and generosity maxims. The utterances that show politeness are uttered by the characters Jarwis, Ujang, Denis, and Mr. Habibie whereas the utterances that show politeness violations are uttered by Ujang, Denis, Devi, and Jarwo.


The scalar transport in a swirling jet in a crossflow has been investigated in water tunnel experiments. The jet to freestream velocity ratio was varied from 4.9 to 11.1, and the jet swirl numbers ranged from 0 to 0.17. The jet exit Reynolds number was kept at 1.3 x 10 4 during the experiments. Planar laser-induced fluorescence was utilized to measure planar cross sections of the mean concentration field of the jet up to 68 jet diameters downstream of the exit. The jet penetration depth, half-value radius, and maximum concentration were determined from these concentration fields. For jets without swirl, measured cross-sectional mean concentration distributions have symmetric double-lobed kidney shapes that are consistent with the counter-rotating vortex pair that is known to exist in the far field of the jet. The addition of swirl causes the far-field distributions to become nonsymmetric, with one of the lobes increasing in size and the other decreasing, resulting in a comma shape. Swirl is also observed to decrease jet penetration but not to significantly affect the decay of maximum mean concentration for the range of swirl numbers investigated.


BACKGROUND
Air pollution may be associated with elevated dementia risk. Prior research has limitations that may affect reliability, and no studies have evaluated this question in a population-based cohort of men and women in the United States.

OBJECTIVES
We evaluated the association between time-varying, 10-y average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and hazard of all-cause dementia. An additional goal was to understand how to adequately control for age and calendar-time-related confounding through choice of the time axis and covariate adjustment.

METHODS
Using the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) population-based prospective cohort study in Seattle, we linked spatiotemporal model-based PM2.5 exposures to participant addresses from 1978 to 2018. Dementia diagnoses were made using high-quality, standardized, consensus-based protocols at biennial follow-ups. We conducted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to evaluate the association between time-varying, 10-y average PM2.5 exposure and time to event in a model with age as the time axis, stratified by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and adjusted for sex, education, race, neighborhood median household income, and calendar time. Alternative models used calendar time as the time axis.

RESULTS
We report 1,136 cases of incident dementia among 4,166 individuals with nonmissing APOE status. Mean [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] 10-y average PM2.5 was 10.1 (±2.9) μg/m3. Each 1-μg/m3 increase in the moving average of 10-y PM2.5 was associated with a 16% greater hazard of all-cause dementia [1.16 (95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.31)]. Results using calendar time as the time axis were similar.

DISCUSSION
In this prospective cohort study with extensive exposure data and consensus-based outcome ascertainment, elevated long-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with increased hazard of all-cause dementia. We found that optimal control of age and time confounding could be achieved through use of either age or calendar time as the time axis in our study. Our results strengthen evidence on the neurodegenerative effects of PM2.5. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9018.


SUMMARY The production and testing of 10 rat monoclonal antibodies specific for strains of potato virus X (PVX) are described. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with a variety of specificities were selected. At one extreme, MAb MAC 58 reacted with all 33 PVX isolates tested ; in contrast, MAb MAC 67 reacted strongly with only two of 33 isolates, one of which was the resistance-breaking PVX-HB against which it was raised. The reactions of the PVX isolates with the MAbs were compared with the classification of PVX strains based on their effects in plants carrying different resistance genes; a preliminary serological classification is suggested. It is possible to distinguish PVX-HB from all other isolates tested using two MAbs (MAC 67 and MAC 59), and these, together with MAC 58, were produced in large quantities in ascitic fluids. Together they provide a valuable set of reagents for use in routine testing.


The authors examines the changes of human muscle function when the arm's simple antagonist tricep-bicep muscle pair is aided by a mechanical assistive device. The assistive aid changes how the muscles are used, and this shift in muscle activity is determined objectively by using discriminant analysis. Surface EMG signals from the biceps and triceps provide the electric signals. Four types of primitive arm movements are used in the detection of the muscle changes.<<ETX>>


We recently found extended CO(2-1) emission from cold molecular gas embedded in the network of H? filaments surrounding the galaxy NGC 1275 (Salome et al. 2006). We now present CO(2-1) interferometer maps of the eastern filaments, at high spatial and spectral resolutions. The cold molecular gas is detected by the Plateau de Bure Interferometer along the eastern filaments over an extent of 15'', or with a projected length of 5 kpc. In our 2.5'' beam, the main CO filament is mostly unresolved along its minor axis. The multiple peaks along the CO filaments and the low values of the observed CO brightness temperatures imply further unresolved structures that may be giant molecular clouds. These clouds have very narrow line-width emission lines (~30 km s-1). The CO emission is optically thick. It very likely traces cold clouds bound under their own self-gravity that may be falling back in the gravitational potential well of the galaxy. Such a picture would agree with current models of ?positive feedback? in which some of the hot gas around NGC 1275 (a) is trapped by buoyantly rising bubbles inflated by the energy input of the 3C 84 AGN, (b) subsequently cools efficiently at a larger radius around the edges of the hot bubbles, and (c) then falls back in self-gravitating clouds of molecular gas toward the center of the galaxy.


Introduction In light of North America's persisting drug toxicity crisis, alternative drug policy approaches such as decriminalization, legalization, regulation, and safer supply have increasingly come to the forefront of drug policy discourse. The views of people who use drugs toward drug policy and drug law reform in the Canadian context are essential, yet largely missing from the conversation. The aim of this study was to capture the opinions, ideas, and attitudes of people who use drugs toward Canadian drug laws and potential future alternatives. Methods This paper was developed as part of the Canadian Drug Laws Project, a cross-jurisdictional qualitative study conducted in British Columbia, Canada between July and September 2020. The qualitative data are from 24 semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of people who use illegal drugs. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically by the research team. Results Two main themes and corresponding sub-themes are presented: (1) The experience of stigma as a consequence of criminalization; (2) The perceived benefits of drug law reform. Participants spoke in-depth about their experiences living within a criminalized drug policy context and offered suggestions for new pathways forward. Their perspectives illuminate how Canada's drug laws may shape public attitudes toward people who use drugs and the consequent manifestations of structural, social, and self-stigma experienced by people who use drugs. Conclusion Participants openly and profoundly believed that current drug laws produced and propagated the public attitudes and structural inequities experienced by people who use drugs in Canada. This matters, not only because our findings highlight the fact that people who use drugs experience stigma in tangible and clearly impactful ways, but it also suggests that the criminlilization of drugs shapes the experience of structural, social, and self stigma. Finally, participants believed that efforts to destigmatize people who use drugs would be ineffectual without the enactment of more robust forms of drug law reform such as the decriminalization of illegal drugs.


Abstract Let us begin with an obituary. Obituaries are interesting texts, for they often reveal a great deal more about the writer and about the readers designate, than about the subject of the text itself, the individual who has died . English obituaries are a distinctive genre, they are often highly personal, frequently ironic, at times even critical. They rarely eulogize, they seek to contextualize the life of the deceased and they offer far more than biographical information. One such obituary appeared in The Guardian on 16 June 1993, written by Frank Keating about James Hunt, the English racing driver who had died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 45. Entitled ' Dashing to the flag', the text plays on the double meaning of those words: 'dashing' signifies both moving at speed and, as an adjective refers to exhuberance, charm and liveliness. Hunt had spent his life dashing, i.e. moving quickly, but had also been a dashing personality, flamboyant and spirited . and a finer thing than being born heir apparent to the great house of the Stairway, and, indeed, the highest rank that a man can reach upon this earth


As the roles of historical trials and real-world evidence in drug development have substantially increased, several approaches have been proposed to leverage external data and improve the design of clinical trials. While most of these approaches focus on methodology development for borrowing information during the analysis stage, there is a risk of inadequate or absent enrollment of concurrent control due to misspecification of heterogeneity from external data, which can result in unreliable estimates of treatment effect. In this study, we introduce a Bayesian hybrid design with flexible sample size adaptation (BEATS) that allows for adaptive borrowing of external data based on the level of heterogeneity to augment the control arm during both the design and interim analysis stages. Moreover, BEATS extends the Bayesian semiparametric meta-analytic predictive prior (BaSe-MAP) to incorporate time-to-event endpoints, enabling optimal borrowing performance. Initially, BEATS calibrates the expected sample size and initial randomization ratio based on heterogeneity among the external data. During the interim analysis, flexible sample size adaptation is performed to address conflicts between the concurrent and historical control, while also conducting futility analysis. At the final analysis, estimation is provided by incorporating the calibrated amount of external data. Therefore, our proposed design allows for an approximation of an ideal randomized controlled trial with an equal randomization ratio while controlling the size of the concurrent control to benefit patients and accelerate drug development. BEATS also offers optimal power and robust estimation through flexible sample size adaptation when conflicts arise between the concurrent control and external data.


We have Fourier-analyzed 941 K2 light curves (LCs) of likely members of Praesepe, measuring periods for 86% and increasing the number of rotation periods (P) by nearly a factor of four. The distribution of P versus , a mass proxy, has three different regimes: < 1.3, where the rotation rate rapidly slows as mass decreases; 1.3 < < 4.5, where the rotation rate slows more gradually as mass decreases; and > 4.5, where the rotation rate rapidly increases as mass decreases. In this last regime, there is a bimodal distribution of periods, with few between ∼2 and ∼10 days. We interpret this to mean that once M stars start to slow down, they do so rapidly. The K2 period–color distribution in Praesepe (∼790 Myr) is much different than that in the Pleiades (∼125 Myr) for late F, G, K, and early-M stars; the overall distribution moves to longer periods and is better described by two line segments. For mid-M stars, the relationship has a similarly broad scatter and is steeper in Praesepe. The diversity of LCs and of periodogram types is similar in the two clusters; about a quarter of the periodic stars in both clusters have multiple significant periods. Multi-periodic stars dominate among the higher masses, starting at a bluer color in Praesepe ( ∼ 1.5) than in the Pleiades ( ∼ 2.6). In Praesepe, there are relatively more LCs that have two widely separated periods, . Some of these could be examples of M star binaries where one star has spun down but the other has not.


We present Tableau Machine, a non-human social actor for the home. The machine senses, interprets and reports abstract qualities of human activity through the language of visual art. The goal of the machine is to serve as a strange mirror of everyday life, open unusual viewpoints and generate engaging and long lasting conversations and reflections. We introduce new models for sensing, interpreting, and reporting human activity and we describe results of our formative evaluation which suggest reflection and social engagement among participants.


BACKGROUND
Because previous studies on adolescent COVID-19 attitudes focused on intent to get vaccinated, this study examined attitudinal factors and racial/ethnic differences associated with vaccine uptake.

METHODS
In a cross-sectional survey of a metropolitan high school district, students were asked about their COVID-19 attitudes, information sources, and whether they had been vaccinated. Logistic regression predicted vaccination status and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) controlled for race/ethnicity.

RESULTS
Being unvaccinated was associated with themes of distrust with concerns about vaccine newness (aOR: 0.10; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.06-0.15), side effects (aOR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.15-0.33), efficacy (aOR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.17-0.38), distrust of vaccines (aOR: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.09-0.27), government oversight (aOR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.13-0.30), and politicization (aOR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.41-0.88). Vaccine uptake was influenced by official information sources, school closures, and vaccine availability. The majority of vaccinated and unvaccinated students trusted primary care professionals as a source for COVID-19 information, but their influence varied across race/ethnic groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Trust and distrust were the main themes of vaccinated and unvaccinated students, respectively. Incorporating trusted information sources (primary care professionals) in information dissemination efforts may improve vaccine uptake.


We consider a variety of vintage capital models of a firm?s choice of technology under uncertainty in the presence of adjustment costs and technology-specific learning. Similar models have been studied in a deterministic setting. Part of our objective is to examine the robustness of the implications of the certainty models to uncertainty. We find that the answer crucially depends on the specification of the costs of adoption of a new vintage of technology. In particular, if the cost comes only in terms of accumulated technology-specific expertise (cf. Parente (1994)), we demonstrate that the implications are robust for a variety of specifications of the firm?s production function. However, once we develop a model in which each adoption requires a capital expenditure, predictions become increasingly di?erent as uncertainty increases. The model implies that in booms, the firm accelerates adoptions of new technologies, delaying them in recessions. Adverse e?ects of a recession on the investment decisions are alleviated in part by the firm?s expertise (or human capital). Compared to the deterministic benchmark, the firm increases the pace of adoptions, making a smaller technological advance each time it upgrades its technology. Overall, uncertainty negatively impacts growth and the firm value.


This study aimed to find out the lead tolerance of sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria) seedling based on growth performance, tolerance index, and ecretion and accumulation of organic acids content. Seedlings were exposed to lead (Pb) with the concentration of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 5, and 10 mM in liquid nutrient culture for 4 days in order to investigate secretion and accumulation  of  oxalic, malic, and citric content, and for 15 days to examine growth performance and olerance index. The result showed that tolerance index and growth performance of engon seedling were insignificant (p > 0.05) to the rising of Pb concentration up to 1.5 mM with tolerance index at least 95%, and even caused an increase of fresh weight.  However, the tolerance index and growth of sengon  decreased significantly due to Pb exposure of 5 and 10 mM.  Among the three organic acids, citrate was most dominant as compared to malate and oxalate. Secretion of citrate increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the rising concentration of Pb 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM,  reaching to 0.464, 0.540, and 0.587 µg ml-1, respectively, or rising according linear line (r = 0.9, p < 0.5).  Citrate accumulation showed inconsistent pattern with the rising Pb exposure.  The result suggested that sengon seedling have a slightly tolerance to lead by secretion of organic acid especially citric acid.


BACKGROUND
Communication training for parents of young children with neurodisability is often delivered in groups and includes video coaching. Group teaching is problematic when there is wide variation in the characteristics and needs amongst participants.

AIMS
To assess the potential feasibility and acceptability of delivering one-to-one parent training supported by remote coaching using smartphone apps and of conducting further trials of the intervention.

METHODS & PROCEDURES
We aimed to recruit eight children aged 12-48 months with motor disorders and communication difficulties and to provide families with individual parent training in six weekly home visits supplemented by remote coaching via smartphone apps. For outcome measurement, parents recorded their interaction with their child thrice weekly during baseline (3 weeks), intervention, post-intervention (3 weeks) and follow-up (1 week). Measures comprised parent responsiveness and counts of children's communication and vocalization. Research design feasibility was measured through rates of recruitment, attrition, outcome measure completion and agreement between raters on outcome measurement. Intervention feasibility was assessed through the proportion of therapy sessions received, the number of videos and text messages shared using the apps in remote coaching, and message content. Parents were interviewed about the acceptability of the intervention and trial design. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS
Nine children were recruited over 16 weeks. All fitted the inclusion criteria. Four families withdrew from the study. Five families completed the intervention. No family submitted the target number of video recordings for outcome measurement. Interrater agreement was moderate for child communication (K = 0.46) and vocalization (K = 0.60) and high for The Responsive Augmentative and Alternative Communication Style scale (RAACS) (rs = 0.96). Parents who completed the intervention reported positive experiences of the programme and remote coaching via the apps. Therapist messages via the app contained comments on parent and child behaviour and requests for parental reflection/action; parental messages contained reflections on children's communication.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS
The intervention and study design demanded high levels of parental involvement and was not suitable for all families. Recording shorter periods of interaction via mobile phones or using alternative methods of data collection may increase feasibility of outcome measurement.


Increasing clinical data on sex-related differences in drug efficacy and toxicity has highlighted the importance of understanding the impact of sex on drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Intrinsic differences between males and females, such as different CYP enzyme activity, drug transporter expression or levels of sex hormones can all contribute to different responses to medications. However, most studies do not include sex-specific investigations, leading to lack of sex-disaggregated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data. Based available literature, the potential influence of sex on exposure-response relationship has not been fully explored for many drugs used in clinical practice, though population-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling is well-placed to explore this effect. The aim of this review is to highlight existing knowledge gaps regarding the effect of sex on clinical outcomes, thereby proposing future research direction for the drugs with significant sex differences. Based on evaluated drugs encompassing all therapeutic areas, 25 drugs demonstrated a clinically meaningful sex differences in drug exposure (characterised by ≥ 50% change in drug exposure) and this altered PK was correlated with differential response.


This article is based on an amicus brief filed in METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC., et al., v. GROKSTER, LTD., a case before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing indirect copyright liability for distribution of software that facilitates file sharing on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. This case turns on whether the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984), effectively immunizes the software distributors in this case from contributory or vicarious liability on the grounds that such software is capable of substantial non-infringing use. The article re-examines Sony's jurisprudential foundation. In that case, the Court transplanted an express categorical limitation on indirect liability from the Patent Act into the Copyright Act, notwithstanding that Congress had only recently reformed the Copyright Act without including any such limitation on liability among the many express exemptions, limitations, and immunities contained in the statute. Furthermore, Congress reaffirmed the continued applicability and evolution of infringement standards through case-by-case adjudication. The Sony decision failed to examine the important differences between patent and copyright protection. Whereas patent law seeks to promote technological innovation and evolved a staple article of commerce doctrine primarily out of concern for unduly expanding patent scope, copyright law seeks to promote cultural and social progress, manifesting a more cautious stance toward technological dissemination, particularly where a technology threatens widespread piracy of expressive works. Products that encourage patent infringement do not threaten harm beyond a single patent or cluster of patents, whereas the technology at issue in the Grokster case threatens systemic harm to the copyright system by promoting rampant unauthorized distribution of all manner of works of authorship. Therefore, the uncritical transplantation of Patent Act's immunity for dual-use technologies into the Copyright Act poses grave dangers that were beyond the Supreme Court's view when it decided the Sony case in 1984, before the digital revolution took hold. Furthermore, amendments to the Copyright Act since the Sony decision demonstrate that Congress does not believe that dual-use technology - i.e., technology that is capable of both infringing and substantial non-infringing uses - should be treated as inviolate under copyright law. Rather, Congress has shown that it sees a need to balance the efficacy of the copyright system for promoting creative expression against social interests in technological innovation and consumer autonomy.


The real interest rate plays a central role in many important financial and macroeconomic models, including the consumption-based asset pricing model, neoclassical growth model, and models of the monetary transmission mechanism. We selectively survey the empirical literature that examines the time-series properties of real interest rates. A key stylized fact is that postwar real interest rates exhibit substantial persistence, shown by extended periods of time where the real interest rate is substantially above or below the sample mean. The finding of persistence in real interest rates is pervasive, appearing in a variety of guises in the literature. We discuss the implications of persistence for theoretical models, illustrate existing findings with updated data, and highlight areas for future research.


OBJECTIVE
To validate the western Tennessee River limits of the originally described rheumatoid arthritis (RA) catchment area and to assess the possibility that absence of tuberculosis allowed the original development of RA. The hypothesis that RA was related to tuberculosis was once a driving force in treatment approach. RA initially was very limited in geographic distribution, in contrast to tuberculosis. Classical tubercular lesions were not observed in the rheumatoid catchment area in ancient times. Similarities between clinical and radiologic manifestations of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) and adjuvant arthritis raised the possibility of a potential conditioning role for occurrence of nonrheumatoid erosive arthritis.

METHODS
Skeletal samples from ancient RA catchment and non-catchment areas were compared for frequency of tubercular-relatable pathologies.

RESULTS
Tubercular-relatable osseous pathologies were found only outside the rheumatoid catchment area (p < 0.0001). The original RA catchment area was confirmed not to extend beyond the western portion of the Tennessee River.

CONCLUSION
There is an inverse relationship between occurrence of tuberculosis and RA in the Archaic and Early Woodland periods of North America. The virtually universal presence of tuberculosis in contiguous Amerindian populations contrasts dramatically with its absence in the ancient catchment area for RA. Conversely, SpA and tuberculosis do occur in the same populations. Tuberculosis may represent a conditioning agent for development of SpA, but at least potentially provides protection against development of RA.


Abstract Phylodynamic models generally aim at jointly inferring phylogenetic relationships, model parameters, and more recently, the number of lineages through time, based on molecular sequence data. In the fields of epidemiology and macroevolution, these models can be used to estimate, respectively, the past number of infected individuals (prevalence) or the past number of species (paleodiversity) through time. Recent years have seen the development of "total-evidence" analyses, which combine molecular and morphological data from extant and past sampled individuals in a unified Bayesian inference framework. Even sampled individuals characterized only by their sampling time, that is, lacking morphological and molecular data, which we call occurrences, provide invaluable information to estimate the past number of lineages. Here, we present new methodological developments around the fossilized birth–death process enabling us to (i) incorporate occurrence data in the likelihood function; (ii) consider piecewise-constant birth, death, and sampling rates; and (iii) estimate the past number of lineages, with or without knowledge of the underlying tree. We implement our method in the RevBayes software environment, enabling its use along with a large set of models of molecular and morphological evolution, and validate the inference workflow using simulations under a wide range of conditions. We finally illustrate our new implementation using two empirical data sets stemming from the fields of epidemiology and macroevolution. In epidemiology, we infer the prevalence of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak on the Diamond Princess ship, by taking into account jointly the case count record (occurrences) along with viral sequences for a fraction of infected individuals. In macroevolution, we infer the diversity trajectory of cetaceans using molecular and morphological data from extant taxa, morphological data from fossils, as well as numerous fossil occurrences. The joint modeling of occurrences and trees holds the promise to further bridge the gap between traditional epidemiology and pathogen genomics, as well as paleontology and molecular phylogenetics. [Birth–death model; epidemiology; fossils; macroevolution; occurrences; phylogenetics; skyline.]


Sabkha soil is a rich soil with salt deposited which result from evaporation of water, it is one of the many types of collapsible soils and in turn is one of the many types of problematic soils. This soil totally has good engineering properties when dry ,i.e ,moderately bearing capacity with low settlement. But once is wetted it loses its entire structure (collapse) and undergoes very large instantaneous settlement. A laboratory model test consists of a cylindrical steel container of 270mm diameter and 300mm height, the soil is brought from Al-Khalis discrete. The density of soil is controlled by placing the required weight inside the container of known volume, to the required height. A square footing 40mmx40mm makes from steel is used. The stress is applied from a fixed loading system designed especially for model tests. In this study two types of improvement are used , the first improvement consists of fine geomesh under footing at different depth (0.5B,B,2B),the second improvement is the addition of polycoat with different concentration to surface of soil .The first method do not give good results of improvement but the second method gives good improvement which reduces the collapsibility to 62% at stress level of 50kPa.


Class-agnostic object tracking is particularly difficult in cluttered environments as target specific discriminative models cannot be learned a priori. Inspired by how the human visual cortex employs spatial attention and separate "where" and "what" processing pathways to actively suppress irrelevant visual features, this work develops a hierarchical attentive recurrent model for single object tracking in videos. The first layer of attention discards the majority of background by selecting a region containing the object of interest, while the subsequent layers tune in on visual features particular to the tracked object. This framework is fully differentiable and can be trained in a purely data driven fashion by gradient methods. To improve training convergence, we augment the loss function with terms for a number of auxiliary tasks relevant for tracking. Evaluation of the proposed model is performed on two datasets: pedestrian tracking on the KTH activity recognition dataset and the more difficult KITTI object tracking dataset.


A fully integrated 2.4GHz CMOS transceiver in 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS and its associated baseband processor in 0.15 /spl mu/m CMOS are described. The RF transceiver IC occupies 16mm/sup 2/. The total power consumption is 350mW in RX and 1.25W in TX with +20dBm output power. The chipset complies with the IEEE 802.11 b and achieves an RX sensitivity of -87dBm at 11Mb/s.


Background: Transition to adulthood is recognised to be a difficult period for young people with intellectual disabilities, and there is evidence to suggest that outcomes across vocational and social domains may be worse for this population compared to the typically developing population. It is possible that the turbulence of the organisational transition to adulthood, including leaving school and entering adult services, combined with the social aspects of becoming an 'adult' may conspire to result in negative health outcomes during transition. Despite significant concern being attached to the transition period in both the scientific literature and governmental policy, there is little evidence on health outcomes during this period in the population with intellectual disabilities.
Aims: (1) To investigate whether transition to adulthood affects health and wellbeing in young people with intellectual disabilities, and in what particular ways; (2) to investigate whether the impact of transition on health and wellbeing is similar or different for young people with intellectual disabilities compared to those without intellectual disabilities; (3) to investigate whether the impact of transition on health and wellbeing is similar or different for young people with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities, compared with those with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities; (4) to identify what supports are helpful for families undergoing transition.
Method: A systematic review of the literature on health and wellbeing during transition to adulthood for young people with intellectual disabilities, and a mixed methods project, utilising both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Secondary analysis of Scotland's Census (2011) was conducted in order to compare health outcomes between the populations with and without intellectual disabilities undergoing transition. The Census data was then further analysed to compare health in young people with intellectual disabilities who were still in school (aged 13-18 years) with that of those who had transitioned from school (aged 19-24 years). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people with intellectual disabilities (n = 17) aged 16-27 years, and with parents of young people with intellectual disabilities (n = 23) aged 16-26 years, in order to uncover insights into the experience of transition from multiple perspectives. Additionally, an ethnographic study of a service for young adults with intellectual disabilities undergoing transition was completed. Interview transcripts and the ethnographic field diary were analysed using thematic analysis, deploying both emic and etic coding categories.
Results: Across all of the health outcomes investigated through the Census (2011) analysis, those with intellectual disabilities fared worse compared to those without intellectual disabilities. Mental health was significantly worse in the population with intellectual disabilities who had left school compared to those who were still in school. The qualitative studies revealed transition to be an anxious time for young people with intellectual disabilities, with many experiencing significantly increased anxiety during the period prior to and following school exit. This phenomenon was attributed to a lack of post-school meaningful activity; inadequate organised support during the transition to adulthood; and complex issues associated with 'growing up' with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, parents raised concerns regarding their children's post-school weight gain, which was also attributed to a lack of post-school daytime activity, contributing to a more sedentary lifestyle.
Conclusions: Health in the population with intellectual disabilities undergoing transition to adulthood is poor, and significantly worse than in the typically developing population. Mental health especially may be negatively affected by the experience of transitioning to adulthood, and changes in lifestyle following school exit may result in weight gain leading to obesity and secondary health conditions. Improving support during transition to adulthood, as well as increasing the availability of post-school opportunities for meaningful activity, may help to combat these negative health and wellbeing phenomena. Future research should include a longitudinal study following a representative sample of young people with intellectual disabilities throughout the course of transition to adulthood in order to clarify the ways in which this important life period affects health and wellbeing.


The presence of dust can strongly affect the chemical composition of the interstellar medium. We model the chemistry in photodissociation regions (PDRs) using both gas-phase and dust-phase chemical reactions. Our aim is to determine the chemical compositions of the interstellar medium (gas/dust/ice) in regions with distinct (molecular) gas densities that are exposed to radiation fields with different intensities. We have significantly improved the Meijerink PDR code by including 3050 new gas-phase chemical reactions and also by implementing surface chemistry. In particular, we have included 117 chemical reactions occurring on grain surfaces covering different processes, such as adsorption, thermal desorption, chemical desorption, two-body reactions, photo processes, and cosmic-ray processes on dust grains. We obtain abundances for different gas and solid species as a function of visual extinction, depending on the density and radiation field. We also analyse the rates of the formation of CO2 and H2O ices in different environments. In addition, we study how chemistry is affected by the presence/absence of ice mantles (bare dust or icy dust) and the impact of considering different desorption probabilities. The type of substrate (bare dust or icy dust) and the probability of desorption can significantly alter the chemistry occurring on grain surfaces, leading to differences of several orders of magnitude in the abundances of gas-phase species, such as CO, H2CO, and CH3OH. The type of substrate, together with the density and intensity of the radiation field, also determine the threshold extinction to form ices of CO2 and H2O. We also conclude that H2CO and CH3OH are mainly released into the gas phase of low, far-ultraviolet illuminated PDRs through chemical desorption upon two-body surface reactions, rather than through photodesorption.


Molecular imaging technologies, which enable the visualization of the behaviors or functions of biomolecules in living systems, have received considerable attention from life scientists. Novel imaging technologies that overcome the limitations of current imaging techniques are desired. In this review, two independent technologies that were recently developed by the authors are described. The first technology is for smart (19)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes that were developed for in vivo applications. These probes were developed by exploiting paramagnetic relaxation enhancement in order to detect hydrolase activity. With respect to cellular applications, gene expression in cells was visualized using one of the (19)F MRI probes. It was confirmed that this probe design principle is effective for various hydrolases, and broad applications are expected. The second technology is for practical protein labeling. This labeling method is based on a mutant β-lactamase and its specific labeling probes. Since the probe is fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based, this labeling method achieves both specific and fluorogenic labeling of target proteins. In addition, derivatization of the probe enabled the labeling of intracellular proteins and the modification of various functional molecules.


Using the 16S rRNA and mcrA genes, we investigated the composition, abundance and activity of sediment archaeal communities within 18 high-mountain lakes under contrasted metal levels from different origins (bedrock erosion, past-mining activities and atmospheric depositions). Bathyarchaeota, Euryarchaeota and Woesearchaeota were the major phyla found at the meta-community scale, representing 48%, 18.3% and 15.2% of the archaeal community respectively. Metals were equally important as physicochemical variables in explaining the assemblage of archaeal communities and their abundance. Methanogenesis appeared as a process of central importance in the carbon cycle within sediments of alpine lakes as indicated by the absolute abundance of methanogen 16S rRNA and mcrA gene transcripts (105 to 109 copies g-1 ). We showed that methanogen abundance and activity were significantly reduced with increasing concentrations of Pb and Cd, two indicators of airborne metal contaminations. Considering the ecological importance of methanogenesis in sediment habitats, these metal contaminations may have system wide implications even in remote area such as alpine lakes. Overall, this work was pioneer in integrating the effect of long-range atmospheric depositions on archaeal communities and indicated that metal contamination might significantly compromise the contribution of Archaea to the carbon cycling of the mountain lake sediments.


The suppression of multiples is a crucial task when processing seismic reflection data. Using the curvelet transform for surface-related multiple prediction is investigated. From a geophysical point of view, a curvelet can be seen as the representation of a local plane wave and is particularly well suited for seismic data decomposition. For the prediction of multiples in the curvelet domain, first it is proposed to decompose the input data into curvelet coefficients. These coefficients are then convolved together to predict the coefficients associated with multiples, and the final result is obtained by applying the inverse curvelet transform. The curvelet transform offers two advantages. The directional characteristic of curvelets allows for exploitation of Snell's law at the sea surface. Moreover, the possible aliasing in the predicted multiple is better managed by using the curvelet multiscale property to weight the prediction according to the low-frequency part of the data. 2D synthetic and field data examples show that some artifacts and aliasing effects are indeed reduced in the multiple prediction with the use of curvelets, thus allowing for an improved multiple subtraction result.


We describe the spontaneous incorporation of amphiphilic gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) into the walls of surfactant vesicles. Au NPs were functionalized with mixed monolayers of hydrophilic (deprotonated mercaptoundecanoic acid, MUA) and hydrophobic (octadecanethiol, ODT) ligands, which are known to redistribute dynamically on the NP surface in response to changes in the local environment. When Au NPs are mixed with preformed surfactant vesicles, the hydrophobic ODT ligands on the NP surface interact favorably with the hydrophobic core of the bilayer structure and guide the incorporation of NPs into the vesicle walls. Unlike previous strategies based on small hydrophobic NPs, the present approach allows for the incorporation of water-soluble particles even when the size of the particles greatly exceeds the bilayer thickness. The strategy described here based on inorganic NPs functionalized with two labile ligands should in principle be applicable to other nanoparticle materials and bilayer structures.


Flaxseed is considered an indispensable generally recognized as safe (GRAS) source of polyphenolic lignans, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), fibers as well as minerals and vitamins. The metabolite content of flaxseed reflects its nutritional and medicinal value. Therefore, the selection of flaxseed variety for food industry is dependent on its metabolome. A metabolomics approach based on liquid or gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has been applied to discriminate different flaxseed cultivars that are commercially available in Egypt. The available Sakha cultivars were subjected to a comprehensive metabolomics and lipidomics approach for investigation of their metabolomes. Our results showed that among the screened cultivars, Sakha 6, with its yellow-colored testa, showed marked metabolic discrimination. This yellow cultivar showed high accumulation of essential amino acids. Additionally, the oil of this cultivar accumulated the highest content of the two essential PUFA: alpha-linolenic acid (an ω-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an ω-6 fatty acid). Interestingly, the content of the main antinutritional cyanogenic glycosides such as linustatin and neolinustatin was lower, while, the content of medicinally-important secondary metabolites was higher in Sakha 6 cultivar. These results support the use of this cultivar for human consumption owing to its high nutritional and medicinal value.


In this Article, I offer a provocative perspective on the future of affirmative action in higher education. I take issue with both sides in the current debate. End or defend? Neither side is facing reality. So how do I propose to satisfy both legal demands under the U.S. Constitution while responding honestly to rampant, systemic racism in this country? I argue that affirmative action has lost its way and must return to its true meaning and purpose; indeed, affirmative action is the only hope we have of returning to a path that is both acceptable by law and supportable by a vast majority of Americans. The way back is the way forward: allow every applicant who otherwise would not be admitted by the numbers to apply for special consideration in the admissions process based on a proven commitment to complete a clinical curriculum in law and integration studies. By extending the opportunity of exceptional educational training to every applicant ready and willing to advance progressive public policy negotiation and broad-based, community problem solving, affirmative action returns to its original purpose of healing America of racist wounds. In Part II of this Article, I describe the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on my own search for emergence as an American. This is my post-Brown narrative: I am racialized. I am Chicano. I was born the same year that Brown ended legal segregation. I was raised trying to survive drugs, gangs, and gunfire in a tough Los Angeles ghetto. I had no hope that my story would be any different from millions of other impoverished children of immigrants. But my life story changed dramatically and gained American texture through higher education at Yale University, legal training at the University of California, Berkeley, and a career as a law professor - all thanks to affirmative action. In Part III, I examine the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in Grutter and Parents Involved. Finally, in Part IV, I pose the question: What, then, will become of America's post-Brown narrative? I tie the two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and my life story to my clinical development of an alternative construction of affirmative action. I argue that cultural diversity must be understood as too limited a goal. Rather than develop my arguments in the abstract for moving beyond substance-driven goals to process-driven affirmative action, I report below on a clinical law school case study on the ecology of cultural justice. This example, which examines the connection between K-12 education and the juvenile justice system, illuminates stages and principles of integrationist studies and practice that inform and guide the ecology of cultural justice. Students of all ages, especially children, deserve the best education we can give toward improving race relations in America. Are we proceeding with all deliberate speed?


Researchers do not understand what causes ovarian cancer. Some studies find galactose to be toxic to oocytes which renders ovaries susceptible to cancer. 1 hypothesis is that high levels of lactose consumption and retained ability to digest lactose (lactase persistence) lead to high levels of galactose exposure which increases the ovarian cancer risk. Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland have the highest risk of ovarian cancer in the world. They also have the highest levels of lactase persistence and among the highest levels of milk supply for the population. Conversely, Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, and Singapore have low ovarian cancer risk, low consumption of milk, and low levels of lactase persistence. yet other researchers using the same data did not find per capita availability of milk to be significant independent of nondairy animal fat. Lactase persistence did have an independent association, however, but data was not standardized across populations. In a case control study, researchers took the dietary history of 11 dairy products to measure lactose consumption. A significant increase in ovarian cancer risk only existed with frequent intake of yogurt and cottage cheese. Researchers hypothesized that the prehydrolyzed lactose in both foods was the main contributor. Using the case control data, others found an increased risk for total lactose intake in women who never used oral contraceptives (OCs). The strongest predictor to date is the lactose/transferase ratio, yet those who found this association did not define this index based on an earlier study or examination. 1 problem with these studies is that dietary fat confounds the association. 2 studies showed that low fat milk was associated with decreased risk, even though both milks have the same lactose content. Another problem is that the subsets of exposure or subgroups of the population are unpredictable. Further research in nutritional epidemiology of ovarian cancer is needed.


Abstract This paper provides a method to infer the presence of treatment spillovers within markets where a fraction of agents is treated. We model individual outcomes as functions of the assigned treatment status and the distribution of assigned treatments in a market. We develop a two-step identification and estimation method, focusing first on the treatment distribution among individuals within markets and then on the treatment distribution across markets. We apply our approach to training programs for unemployed individuals in France using rich administrative data. Our results provide evidence of interactions within local labor markets as potential individual outcomes vary with the proportion of treated individuals.


We present a case of acute cholestatic liver injury associated with the combination of whey protein and creatine supplements. The difficulty of diagnosing drug-induced liver injury is emphasized. The patient is a healthy, 27-year-old man who presented with painless jaundice. He had no occupational exposures to solvents, was not taking prescription medications, and did not use recreational drugs or alcohol. He was an enthusiastic weight-lifter and had been taking creatine for 8 to 9 months and whey protein supplements for 4 weeks prior to the development of symptoms. Laboratory tests revealed elevated total bilirubin (54.7 mg/dL) and alkaline phosphatase (436 U/L), minimally elevated transaminases, and a creatinine of 3.1 mg/dL. Serologic work-up was negative for viral hepatitis and autoimmune liver disease, and Wilson's disease was ruled out. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatogram was unremarkable, but a liver biopsy showed marked cholestasis with ductular proliferation. He had dramatic clinical improvement with intravenous fluids and discontinuation of the nutritional supplements. In patients with acute liver injury, clinicians should inquire about dietary supplement usage and consider immediate discontinuation of all unnecessary products. We describe a case of profound jaundice related to a commonly used and reportedly safe combination of such supplements.


Abstract A Diewert-flexible (dual) cost function was used to derive a system of conditional factor demand equations for Louisiana rice producers. Generalized Leontief cost and factor share equations were fitted for the 1955-87 period using Zellner's SURE system estimation procedure. The Aitken parameter estimates reveal that: (1) the optimal input mix of rice farmers varies with production scale, (2) the factor-augmenting technical change is labor and chemical saving but seed using, (3) pairwise input substitutions are limited, and (4) factor demands are own-price inelastic. An implication is that Louisiana rice farmers will not appreciably alter their factor utilizations when relative input prices change.


In 1997, the ACT increased the number of free score reports it provided to students from three to four, maintaining a $6 marginal cost for each additional report. In response to this $6 cost change, ACT-takers sent many more score reports and applications relative to SAT-takers. They widened the range of colleges they sent scores to, and low-income ACT-takers attended more-selective colleges. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the policy substantially increased low-income students' expected earnings. This sizable behavioral change in response to such a small cost change suggests that in this setting, small policy perturbations can have large effects on welfare.


Background : Complex partial seizure is an epileptic seizure which results in impairment of responsiveness or awareness such as altered level of consciousness. Complex partial seizures are often preceded by an aura such as depersonalization, feelings of de javu, jamais vu and fear. The ictal phase of complex partial seizure is often associated with complex activities where an individual may still be able to perform routine task such as walking, though such movements are not planned and are often purposeless. Witnesses' around may not recognize anything wrong. Method : This is a case of a 43 year old commercial motor cycle driver, who was accused of first degree murder in the year 2000. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Prior to commission of crime, he was diagnosed with complex partial seizure with secondary generalization in 1990 at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Results : During his 15 years stay on death row at a maximum security prison in Nigeria, he had several episodes of seizure and subsequently developed a depressive disorder. He was placed on medication which includes anticonvulsants and antidepressants by the Forensic Psychiatry team. With regular follow-ups and available medication, he became stable. He was pardoned by the state Governor in 2015 following a recommendation by the Forensic Psychiatry team. Conclusion : Complex partial seizure comes with altered consciousness and  disruptive behaviour, which could result in  commission of a crime. Therefore, the strict adherence to the M'Naghten rule by the Nigerian legal system results in strict reliance by judges and not considering these rules in most cases bothering on  insanity. This is without taking into cognizance the peculiarity of each case. Keywords : complex partial seizure, death row, murder, pardon.


A knowledge of the distribution of income in different professions has a variety of policy implications and uses. Important applications include being able to make competitive salary offers for potential employees as well as helping to retain values employees through appropriate financial incentives. In some professions, salary data are readily available, and in others, data are limited. In academics the amount of salary data available is very diverse. In one study, Oklahoma State University publishes the highest, lowest and mean salaries by rank and discipline for different Carnegie Research Classifications. This paper outlines and approach, using order statistics and a Burr distribution, to utilize the information available from the Oklahoma State Survey to estimate underlying probability density functions for salary distributions. Given the estimated distribution, deciles can be estimated which facilitate an analysis of salary structure. The methodology is applied to estimate the salary distribution of statistics professors.


Small-sized and low loss surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters are required in current handy phones. In particular, such a small filter for a first IF stage is urgently required, because its current size is much larger than that of a RF SAW filter. The size of a conventional SAW resonator filter is large, because it requires reflectors consisting of a lot of electrode fingers on both sides of interdigital transducers (IDTs). A shear horizontal (SH) component of Bleustein-Gulyaev-Shimizu (BGS) wave or SH type SAW has a characteristic of complete reflection at free edges of a substrate with a large dielectric constant. The author attempted to realize small low-loss resonator filters without electrode reflectors by utilizing the above-mentioned edge reflection of BGS or SH waves. Very small and low-loss transversely coupled and longitudinally coupled resonator filters could be realized using the BGS wave on piezoelectric ceramic substrates or the SH wave on single crystal substrates. For examples, insertion losses of 52 MHz IF filter for a spread spectrum (SS) cordless telephone system, 40 MHz for an electronic toll collection system (ETC), and 49.2 MHz clock filter for digital audio broadcasting (DAB) using the BGS wave are 4.5, 4.4, and 2.7 dB, respectively. In spite of wire-bonded type of packages, sizes of the 52 MHz and 40 MHz filters are small; 4.5/spl times/5.2/spl times/1.75 and 3.8/spl times/3.8/spl times/1.5 mm, respectively. Losses of 135 MHz filter for a global positioning system (GPS) and 190 MHz for a wide-band CDMA (Rx) using the SH wave on LiTaO/sub 3/ are 3.3, and 3.8/spl sim/5.0 dB, respectively. The package sizes are also small: 3.8/spl times/3.8/spl times/1.5 and 3/spl times/3/spl times/1.15 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the author attempted to develop global system for mobile communications (GSM) IF filters in 200/spl sim/400 MHz having a small size (3/spl times/3/spl times/1.15 mm), a low loss (3.5 dB), and good temperature characteristics by using SH wave on quartz. In spite of wire-bonding type of IF filters, the filter size (3/spl times/3/spl times/1.15 mm) is the same as that of RF SAW filters.


This article examines how and why business schools might be complicit in a growing disconnect between leaders, people supposed to follow them, and the institutions they are meant to serve. We contend that business schools sustain this disconnect through a dehumanization of leadership that is manifested in the reduction of leadership to a set of skills and its elevation to a personal virtue. The dehumanization of leadership, we suggest, serves as a valuable defense against, but as poor preparation for, the ambiguity and precariousness of leadership in contemporary workplaces. This article proposes ways to humanize leadership by putting questions about the meaning of leadership — about its nature, function, and development — at the center of scholarly and pedagogical efforts. Reflecting on our attempts to do so, we argue that it involves revisiting not just theories and teaching methods but also our identities as scholars and instructors.


Projection onto convex sets has recently been suggested as an approach to time-varying image compression. In this paper, an image coding technique based on such an approach is developed. In particular, pixel and frequency domain information is combined in order to improve image quality over standard transform coding at given bit rates. The use of nonintersecting convex sets is shown to be optimum for two sets and a given error measure. Convex sets and projections are discussed in general and then in the context of image compression. Simulation results are presented for single frame images as well as for image sequences.


We synthesized new amphiphilic brush liquid crystalline block copolymers (brush-chol-BCP) comprised of polymethacrylates bearing polyethylene oxide (PEO) in one block and polymethacrylates bearing a cholesterol mesogen with a hemitelechelic thiol end group. Polymethacrylate bearing PEO (PMA-g-PEO) was first synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) and used as a macro-chain transfer agent to prepare block copolymer (PMA-g-PEO)-b-PC5MA-thioester (brush-chol-BCP-thioester). Brush-chol-BCP-thiol was obtained by the reduction of a thioester to thiol in the presence of butylamine. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared in situ with the brush-chol-BCP-thiol template via the reduction of gold ions and were stabilized by directly anchoring to the brush-chol-BCP-thiol chains through the coordination bonds with the thiol groups in the copolymer. The hydrophobic anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was successfully encapsulated into AuNP-templated brush-chol-BCP-thiol via physical entrapment to form dual-encapsulated NPs with a high drug loading of 21.4% (w/w) and a high encapsulation efficiency of 85.6%. The dual-encapsulated NPs had an average size of 157 nm, spherical shape, excellent stability, and a sustained drug release pattern. More importantly, the dual-encapsulated NPs could be effectively internalized by human cervical cancer cells (Hela) and showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity, while the blank nanoparticles were non-cytotoxic at the tested concentrations. The results indicate that the brush-chol-BCP-thiol and their nanoparticles are promising carriers for dual encapsulation and delivery of an anticancer drug and metal nanoparticles.


In order to improve the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil, the airfoil shape and the angle of attack (AOA) are optimized at the same time by the Multi-island Genetic Algorithm in this paper. The goal of the optimization is to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio which is calculated by computational fluid dynamics method. The airfoil is parameterized by the Bézier curve. The thickness and the camber of airfoil are no longer restricted to ensure a wide range of airfoil generation. The airfoil is optimized under different Reynolds numbers. The optimized airfoils obtained by the unconstrained AOA method are compared with several standard airfoils. The results show that the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the optimized airfoil is much greater than the compared airfoils, and the optimized airfoils have good aerodynamic characteristics in a wide range of angle of attack. By comparing with the optimized airfoils obtained by the constrained AOA method, it shows that the constrained AOA method can't guarantee that the pre-constrained angle of attack is the optimal angle of attack of the airfoil, nor can obtain the maximum lift-to-drag ratio airfoil of all angles of attack and all airfoils. However, by using the angle of attack as one of the optimization variables, these problems can be solved well.


Parapedocotylinae, a new subfamily, is proposed to accommodate the gen. n. et sp. n. Parapedocotyle prolatili (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae), a gill parasite of the Pacific sandperch, Prolatilus jugularis (Valenciennes) (Pinguipedidae) from northern Chile (30 degrees 56'S; 71 degrees 20'W). Among the Diclidophoridae Cerfontaine, 1895, the species of the Pedocotylinae Yamaguti, 1963 are unique by bearing the first pair of clamps (most posteriorly) in a haptoral projection. Pedocotyle MacCallum, 1913, the only genus in the Pedocotylinae, is characterised by the first pair of clamps non-pedunculate, modified and non-functional, without accessory suckers, and clamps of pairs 2-4 being pedunculate and functional. In contrast, the first pair of clamps in Parapedocotyle is well developed and functional at the terminal end of a long haptoral appendix and having clamp pairs 2-4 pedunculated, modified and apparently not functional. Seminal receptacle is preovarian in Parapedocotyle in opposition to its postovarian position in Pedocotyle. These differences justified the erection of the new subfamily Parapedocotylinae. The new subfamily is also supported by genetic analyses (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and cox1 sequences) demonstrating that the Pedocotylinae and Parapedocotylinae belong to different clades in the Diclidophoridae.


We evaluated the efficiency of MR spectroscopy compared with conventional MR imaging in 14 patients with clinical and/or electrophysiologic signs of spinal cord compression. Cervical spinal cord was evaluated for the presence of abnormal signal intensity on T1 and T2 weighted images. MR spectroscopy was performed at the level of spinal cord compression seen on conventional MR images. Clinical and/or electrophysiological studies were also obtained to confirm the presence of a suspected spinal cord compression for these areas. MR spectroscopy was also performed at a normal site of spinal cord without any clinical and/or electrophysiological finding of compression and without any sign of compression on conventional MR images. MR spectroscopy findings of suspected areas were compared with the normal areas for each patient. Twenty levels of cervical spinal cord with both clinical and/or electrophysiological and conventional MR signs of compression were evaluated with MR spectroscopy. MR spectroscopy was also performed at the normal areas of the cervical spinal cord selected adjacent to the level of compression as vascularity and metabolism of cervical spinal cord significantly change between different levels. All patients except one had a decrease in N-acetylaspartate level at the suspected areas compared to the normal areas without any sign or suspicion of compression. Creatine levels were increased in 14 suspected area but decreased in six. Choline levels were decreased in 12 and increased in eight levels. Lactate levels were increased at eight levels and decreased in 12 levels. MR spectroscopy of the spinal cord can yield results supporting both clinical and electrophysiological evaluation. MR spectroscopy of the spinal cord at the level of compression observed on conventional MR images can support neuronal loss and disruption of axonal integrity.


A four-parameter family of multivariable big q-Jacobi polynomials and a threeparameter family of multivariable little q-Jacobi polynomials are introduced. For both families, full orthogonality is proved with the help of a second-order q-difference operator which is diagonalized by the multivariable polynomials. A link is made between the orthogonality measures and R. Askey's q-extensions of Selberg's multidimensional beta-integrals.