Modern embedded systems are being modeled as Heterogeneous Reconfigurable Computing Systems (HRCS) where Reconfigurable Hardware i.e. Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and soft core processors acts as computing elements. So, an efficient task distribution methodology is essential for obtaining high performance in modern embedded systems. In this paper, we present a novel methodology for task distribution called Minimum Laxity First (MLF) algorithm that takes the advantage of runtime reconfiguration of FPGA in order to effectively utilize the available resources. The MLF algorithm is a list based dynamic scheduling algorithm that uses attributes of tasks as well computing resources as cost function to distribute the tasks of an application to HRCS. In this paper, an on chip HRCS computing platform is configured on Virtex 5 FPGA using Xilinx EDK. The real time applications JPEG, OFDM transmitters are represented as task graph and then the task are distributed, statically as well dynamically, to the platform HRCS in order to evaluate the performance of the designed task distribution model. Finally, the performance of MLF algorithm is compared with existing static scheduling algorithms. The comparison shows that the MLF algorithm outperforms in terms of efficient utilization of resources on chip and also speedup an application execution.


This report presents the initial work in the development of a theory of mobile processes in Circus, a language for describing state-based reactive systems. The mathematical basis for the work is Hoare and He's Unifying Theories of Programming (UTP), where the alphabetised relational calculus is used to provide a common framework for the semantics and refinement calculus of different programming paradigms. As our first step, we study the denotational semantics of mobile processes in UTP. Process mobility is interpreted as the assignment or communication of higher-order variables, whose values are process constants or parameterised processes, in which the target variables update their values and the source variables lose their values. We then present a set of algebraic and refinement to be used for the development of mobile systems. The correctness of these laws can be ensured by the UTP semantics of mobile processes. We illustrate our theory through a simple example that can be implemented in both a centralised and a distributed way. First, we present the π-calculus specification for both systems and demonstrate that they are observationally equivalent. Next, we show how the centralised system may be derived into the distributed one using our proposed laws. By formalising mobile processes and studying their refinement laws in the same semantic framework of Circus, they can be included in Circus' refinement calculus to enhance Circus with the ability to develop networks of mobile processes.


Analyzing next generation sequencing data always requires researchers to install many tools, prepare input data compliant to the required data format, and execute the tools in specific orders. Such tool installation and workflow execution process is tedious and error-prone, and becomes very challenging when researchers need to compare multiple alternative tool chains. To mitigate this problem, we developed a new lightweight and portable system, Biopipe, to simplify the creation and execution of bioinformatics tools and workflows, and to further enable the comparison between alternative tools or workflows. Biopipe allows users to create and edit workflows with user-friendly web interfaces, and automates tool installation as well as workflow synthesis by downloading and executing predefined Docker images. With Biopipe, biologists can easily experiment with and compare different bioinformatics tools and workflows without much computer science knowledge. There are mainly two parts in Biopipe: a web application and a standalone Java application. They are freely available at http://bench.cs.vt.edu:8282/Biopipe-Workflow-Editor-0.0.1/index.xhtml and https://code.vt.edu/saima5/Biopipe-Run-Workflow Contact email@example.com Supplementary information Supplementary data are available online.


This study explores the consumerist lifestyle as a form of behavior change among socialite women in the city of Bandung. In addition, this study also outlines the impacts caused by the consumerist lifestyle. Also discussed the purpose of the behavior of the socialite mothers is typically individual. The theory used in this study is the theory of social change and S-O-R communication theory. According to Piotr Sztompka, modern studies of social change are influenced by views on the concepts of system theory and functional, structural theory. Thinking about a new system as a change that occurs in society is formed because of differences in certain system conditions at different times. S-O-R communication theory bases the assumption that the cause of behavior change depends on the stimulus quality (stimulus) that communicates with the organism (attention, understanding, acceptance). The method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative method. This method aims to provide an overview of a particular community or group and the symptoms that occur. Primary and secondary data sources are obtained from the field, both from the results of interviews, observations, literature studies, and other documents related to this research. With a qualitative approach and descriptive method, it is known that the shopping behavior carried out by socialite women, not only to meet primary needs but they want to be recognized as someone who has a luxurious life and is in a high social class, especially in the social environment in the district. Arcamanik, Bandung City. This consumerist lifestyle struck the urban Bandung, especially reinforced by sophisticated information technology devices that increasingly clarify and accelerate fashion traffic in the world of fashion and lifestyle.


The paper analyzes two different types of inchoatives in Korean, the Iinchoative and the zero inchoative, by examining their interaction with adjunct phrases as well as their morphological differences. I argue that the two types of inchoatives are similar in that they have the same event head VINCHO. This syntactic similarity explains the compatibility of a cause phrase and the locution 'by itself' with the two inchoatives. The two inchoatives also present syntactic differences. I-inchoatives have a defective Voice head (as do passives) while zero inchoatives do not have one. This difference explains the grammaticality of instrument phrases in I-inchoatives but not in zero inchoatives. The presence of the Voice head in I-inchoatives but the absence of one in zero inchoatives also accounts for the morphological difference between the two inchoatives.


Abstract. Current mobile augmented reality devices are often equipped with range sensors. The Microsoft HoloLens for instance is equipped with a Time-of-Flight (ToF) range camera providing coarse triangle meshes that can be used in custom applications. We suggest to use these triangle meshes for the automatic generation of indoor models that can serve as basis for augmenting their physical counterpart with location-dependent information. In this paper, we present a novel voxel-based approach for automated indoor reconstruction from unstructured three-dimensional geometries like triangle meshes. After an initial voxelisation of the input data, rooms are detected in the resulting voxel grid by segmenting connected voxel components of ceiling candidates and extruding them downwards to find floor candidates. Semantic class labels like 'Wall', 'Wall Opening', 'Interior Object' and 'Empty Interior' are then assigned to the room voxels in-between ceiling and floor by a rule-based voxel sweep algorithm. Finally, the geometry of the detected walls and their openings is refined in voxel representation. The proposed approach is not restricted to Manhattan World scenarios and does not rely on room surfaces being planar.


Voltaire's Letters Concerning the English Nation (Lettres philosophiques) have left the indelible impression that the French philosophe was fundamentally marked by his exposure to English thought in the late 1720s. On the map of his epistolary correspondence, however, England is hardly to be found. What are we to make of this discrepancy? In this article, we demonstrate that the missing letters to England are unlikely to be the result of a data glitch, but rather reflect a lack of interest in contemporary English matters. The only England that Voltaire seems to have cared about lay in the past, during the reign of Charles II. Moreover, this period of English history was (in his view) intrinsically French, given the English monarch's close ties to Versailles. Voltaire's limited admiration of English thought, accordingly, formed part of his broader philosophy of history, which was centered at the court of Louis XIV.


The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between history and computer science over the last 50 years, considering the use of databases. Our focus is on the publications which have dealt on this subject, without analyzing projects that did not have a written and public demonstration. The text accompanies the technical, conceptual and semantic changes which have occurred during the period, paying special attention to the way historians have understood and used the computer. The sample has more than seven hundred texts, including books, chapters and articles published in Europe, America and other countries, in five different languages. The conclusion evaluates the interdisciplinary perspective of historians and criticizes a noticeable lack of reflection on the use of digital tools.


We show that nonlinear effects like self-phase modulation in a sample have to be considered for phase control of three-photon excitations. Furthermore, we demonstrate the control of three-photon excitation of L-Tryptophan in water using a pulse-shaping setup. Simulations of the propagation of the laser pulses in the cuvette exhibit good agreement with the experimental fluorescence scans at different laser intensities and show large discrepancies when neglecting nonlinear effects prior to the three-photon process. This can lead to improvements in selective excitation of amino acids by a near-infrared femtosecond laser source.


Postcolonial South Africa, like other postrevolutionary societies, appears to have witnessed a dramatic rise in occult economies: in the deployment, real or imagined, of magical means for material ends. These embrace a wide range of phenomena, from "ritual murder," the sale of body parts, and the putative production of zombies to pyramid schemes and other financial scams. And they have led, in many places, to violent reactions against people accused of illicit accumulation. In the struggles that have ensued, the major lines of opposition have been not race or class but generation—mediated by gender. Why is all this occurring with such intensity, right now? An answer to the question, and to the more general problem of making sense of the enchantments of modernity, is sought in the encounter of rural South Africa with the contradictory effects of millennial capitalism and the culture of neoliberalism. This encounter, goes the argument, brings "the global" and "the local"— treated here as analytic constructs rather than explanatory terms or empirical realities—into a dialectical interplay. It also has implications for the practice of anthropology, challenging us to do ethnography on an "awkward" scale, on planes that transect the here and now, then and there,


BamHI restriction fragments from Streptomyces lividans TK24 chromosome DNA have been cloned into BamHI site of promoter probe plasmid pIJ486. Transformants were selected on the medium containing 5 micrograms/ml of neomycin. Four recombinant plasmids pMG1(10.6 kb), pMG40(7.6 kb), pMG50(10.8 kb) and pMG88(7.92 kb), were found and designated respectively. The inserted fragments in pMG40 and pMG50 were reduced to 0.78kb and 2.2 kb by BglII digestion and rejoining. The different levels of neomycin and kanamycin resistance of these recombinant plasmids were determined. The results revealed that pMG50-25 showed a high level of neomycin resistance (90 micrograms/ml) and kanamycin resistance (500 micrograms/ml).


Abstract:The large number of poems produced by Ottoman male elite testifies to the fact that composing and reading literary works were central to their lives. Ottoman literary production was male-centered, an aspect yet to be interrogated in historical and literary studies. This aspect points to the role of entangled nodes of gender and sexuality in Ottoman historical and literary studies. Through brief observations about scholarship on gender and sexuality, this essay provides a close reading exercise on two premodern verse-romances and identifies the function of literature in Ottoman Turkish, beyond its aesthetic dimension, as a means of expression for elite Ottoman men's dreams and fantasies.


Despite an initial problem of seasickness I thoroughly enjoyed my five weeks at sea on board HMS Roebuck. Having to make medical decisions can be somewhat daunting. However, you always have back up radio support if required. Although only at sea for a short time, my experience has given me a good insight into life at sea especially with both men and women serving on the same ship. With no experience of serving on board larger ships I can recommend that, if possible further QARNNS ratings are given the opportunity to sample life on board HMS Roebuck and that their presence on board would be appreciated by the ship's company, especially with their forthcoming East Coast Surveys. All that remains to say is to thank the Captain and the rest of the ship's company for making me feel so welcome and that the terms 'For Exercise, for exercise, for exercise and Machinery Breakdown' will be sorely missed.....not! ('fair one!' as the Buffer would say).


We have previously observed in rat soleus muscle that endurance is a function of the ratio between the concentration of Na+ channels and Na+-K+pumps [Harrison, A. P., O. B. Nielsen, and T. Clausen. Am. J. Physiol. 272 ( Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol.41): R1402-R1408, 1997]. In this study we explore this relationship further by comparing the changes in Na+ channel and Na+-K+pump concentrations induced by injections of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) with endurance. T3 induced upregulation of the concentration of Na+ channels and Na+-K+pumps, which was associated with a progressive loss of contractile endurance. The increase in Na+channels preceded that of the Na+-K+pumps and amounted to 49 and 52% (both P < 0.01) after 48 and 72 h of T3 treatment, respectively. Concomitantly, during 90-Hz stimulation, the initial rate of force decline increased by 42 and 45% after 48 and 72 h of T3 treatment, respectively (both P < 0.001). These observations are important for an understanding of the fatigue associated with hyperthyroidism and add further support to the hypothesis that muscle endurance depends on the leak-to-pump ratio for Na+.


1. A method is described for the quantitative isolation of bile acids from cellular material. Homogenates of rat liver are freeze-dried and extracted exhaustively with 95% (v/v) ethanol containing 0.1% (v/v) of aq. ammonia (sp.gr. 0.88) and purified by anion-exchange chromatography on Amberlyst A-26. 2. The extracted bile acid conjugates are subjected to either of two hydrolytic procedures, one involving chemical and the other enzymic agents. A unique feature in this study is the introduction of an enzyme, a clostridial peptide-bond hydrolase, for the rapid cleavage of bile acid conjugates, replacing the classical drastic chemical hydrolysis with strong alkali. 3. After hydrolysis, free bile acids are methylated and converted into their trifluoroacetates for final determination by gas-liquid chromatography on a triple component column, FS-1265-SE30-NGS. 4. For the purpose of identification of peaks, bile acid methyl esters are converted into their trimethylsilyl ethers by allowing the methyl esters to react with a new and potent silyl donor, bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide. 5. The technique affords us a means of studying the metabolism of bile acids at the cellular and subcellular levels in tissues.


Abstract This work presents an axially symmetric mathematical model of an I-cored coil placed over a two-layered conductive material with a cylindrical surface hole. The problem was divided into regions for which the magnetic vector potential of a filamentary coil was established applying the truncated region eigenfunction expansion method. Then the final formula was developed to calculate impedance changes for a cylindrical coil with reference to both the air and to a material with no hole. The influence of a surface flaw in the conductive material on the components of coil impedance was examined. Calculations were made in Matlab for a hole with various radii and the results thereof were verified with the finite element method in COMSOL Multiphysics package. Very good consistency was achieved in all cases.


Background The authors previously reported that ketamine and midazolam inhibited nitric oxide-mediated nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation via nitric oxide-3′,5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway modulation. The mechanisms inhibiting the NANC relaxation by ketamine and midazolam were investigated. Methods The isometric tension of circular distal esophageal muscle strips from Japanese White rabbits was examined. NANC relaxation was induced by KCl (30 mm) in the presence of atropine (3 × 10−6 m) and guanethidine (3 × 10−6 m). Nitric oxide synthase activity in the absence and presence of ketamine and midazolam was analyzed using the biochemical conversion of L-[3H]arginine to L-[3H]citrulline. Results The ketamine-induced inhibition of the NANC relaxation was partly reversed by superoxide dismutase (200, 400 U/ml) but not by catalase (100 U/ml). Ketamine concentration-dependently inhibited the relaxation induced by N-ethylethanamine:1,1-diethyl-2-hydroxy-2-nitrosohydrazine (diethylamine NONOate) and S-nitrosoglutathione. The NANC relaxation itself was not affected by superoxide dismutase. The midazolam-induced inhibition of the NANC relaxation was reversed neither by superoxide dismutase nor by catalase, and midazolam did not affect the relaxations induced by nitric oxide donors. The nitric oxide synthase activity was concentration-dependently suppressed by midazolam, but there was no marked effect of ketamine. Pyrogallol, a superoxide generator, inhibited the NANC and the diethylamine NONOate-induced relaxations. The pyrogallol-induced inhibition of the NANC relaxation was reversed by superoxide dismutase. Conclusion These findings suggest that ketamine inhibits NANC LES relaxation by the extracellular production of superoxide anion, and that midazolam inhibits it by the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase activity.


High development of urban areas, cohabitation of a large number of populations, as well as industrial enterprise development, reduce the quality of environmental factors. Air quality data in Bucharest was analyzed to establish the evolution of nitrogen oxide concentration for a period of 24 hours during the week and for a longer period of time, i.e. 2006 2007, respectively. For a healthier life, in order to increase the population health degree, in the last time we underline the mentality change as well as training for physical activities of a large number of people. Thus we can observe two main stream mass sports and also the planning of the activities for preparation in the performance sport, in correlation with environmental factor. This paper shows the effects of applying a workout plan in which the evolution of nitric oxides concentrations are taken in account during different hours of the day and different days in the week. Scheduling intensely aerobe physical activities during hours when the nitric oxides concentrations are lower has led to better results in the competition for the athletes participants to the experiment.


Message or information is the content or substance of communication activities. Communication activities that occur within the Koes Music Fans Club-Jiwa Nusantara Community, have their own uniqueness. The uniqueness are seen in the aspects of information types, sources of literacy, and communication symbols among Koes Plus Band fans. The purpose of this study is to attempt to describe aspects of the type of information, literacy sources, and communication symbols among members of the Koes Music Fans Club-Soul Nusantara community. The method used is a phenomenological method using the constructivist paradigm. The results of this study are messages or information which is exchanged among KMFC-JN Community members, basically related to the existence of Koes Plus/Koes Bersaudara, which includes music, songs, the song lyrics, personnel, history, musical instruments or instruments used, and so on. Other matters that are often discussed, aside from the Koes Plus/Koes Brothers issue, are about the existence and activities of the Community that has to do with Koes Plus. Keyword: Information, Literacy, Information, Dissemination, Media


An approach for exploratory repeated measures modeling is presented, based on adaptively selected fractional polynomial models for the expected outcome value combined with the standard compound symmetry covariance structure for representing within-subject dependence. The search strategy for identifying an appropriate model for the expected value is based on likelihood cross-validation scores together with tolerance parameters specifying how much of a change in those scores can be tolerated. These methods extend existing adaptive regression methods for uncorrelated situations to correlated outcomes settings. They also serve as a test case for development of methods to handle more general covariance structures. Example analyses are presented using longitudinal data on self-reported adherence to antiretroviral medications for HIV-positive subjects.


Due to the diminishing availability of good quality water for irrigation, it is increasingly important that irrigation and salinity management tools be able to target submaximal crop yields and support the use of marginal quality waters. In this work, we present a steady‐state irrigated systems modeling framework that accounts for reduced plant water uptake due to root zone salinity. Two explicit, closed‐form analytical solutions for the root zone solute concentration profile are obtained, corresponding to two alternative functional forms of the uptake reduction function. The solutions express a general relationship between irrigation water salinity, irrigation rate, crop salt tolerance, crop transpiration, and (using standard approximations) crop yield. Example applications are illustrated, including the calculation of irrigation requirements for obtaining targeted submaximal yields, and the generation of crop‐water production functions for varying irrigation waters, irrigation rates, and crops. Model predictions are shown to be mostly consistent with existing models and available experimental data. Yet the new solutions possess advantages over available alternatives, including: (i) the solutions were derived from a complete physical‐mathematical description of the system, rather than based on an ad hoc formulation; (ii) the analytical solutions are explicit and can be evaluated without iterative techniques; (iii) the solutions permit consideration of two common functional forms of salinity induced reductions in crop water uptake, rather than being tied to one particular representation; and (iv) the utilized modeling framework is compatible with leading transient‐state numerical models.


The aim of this article is to examine how a group of Polish male prisoners negotiate daily life in prison custody in Northern Ireland. In a jurisdiction emerging from years of armed conflict, the prison system is currently undergoing structural changes to bring it in line with other systems providing peacetime custody. Alongside that reform, another transition is evident, that of a rapidly increasing diversity of the prison population. Unlike elsewhere in the UK, the number of foreign national prisoners in Northern Ireland began increasing only in the last decade. Analysing the ways in which Polish prisoners negotiate relationships with other prisoners and staff, the article concludes that many live in a prison within prison, with a high wall of communication barriers around them, suspended before their entry into custody and the ever-looming moment of deportation. The prison system, largely unprepared to deal with more diverse populations, facilitates their existence in 'mono-cultural boxes' in the meantime.


Aspen exhibits a variety of ecological roles. In southern Colorado, the 1880 landscape mosaic contained a range of stand ages, of which half were >70 years old and half were younger. Pure aspen stands in southern Colorado are widespread and may result from previous short fire intervals that eliminated local conifer seed sources. Aspen regeneration in northern Yellowstone Park is controlled by ungulate browsing pressure and fire, so it has been limited since 1920. However, an episode of aspen seedling establishment occurred after the 1988 fires. We urgently need additional detailed, local case studies of aspen ecology to inform management decisions.


We study the strategic interaction between the media and Senate candidates during elections. While the media is instrumental for candidates to communicate with voters, candidates and media outlets have conflicting preferences over the contents of the reporting. In competitive electoral environments such as most US Senate races, this can lead to a strategic environment resembling a matching pennies game. Based on this observation, we develop a model of bipartisan races where media outlets report about candidates, and candidates make decisions on the type of constituencies to target with their statements along the campaign trail. We develop a methodology to classify news content as suggestive of the target audience of candidate speech, and show how data on media reports and poll results, together with the behavioral implications of the model, can be used to estimate its parameters. We implement this methodology on US Senatorial races for the period 1980-2012, and find that Democratic candidates have stronger incentives to target their messages towards turning out their core supporters than Republicans. We also find that the cost in swing-voter support from targeting core supporters is larger for Democrats than for Republicans. These effects balance each other, making media outlets willing to cover candidates from both parties at similar rates.


Significance tests for the introduction of one new function or two orthogonal new functions to represent a series of measures have previously been derived as approximate formulae. The exact formulae have now been reduced to single integrals involving only the number of observations and one function of the measured values, and their evaluation has been carried out. The approximate formulae are as accurate as we need when the number of observations exceeds the number of unknowns by about 6, but the extended calculation also gives the results when the difference is smaller. An approximate treatment is given for the case where the normal equations for two harmonics are not orthogonal in the coefficients and the weights unequal. This is the usual practical case. The solution for the symmetrical case, which has been done accurately, can be adapted to the general one by including two extra factors, of which one is calculated and the other can easily be found in any given problem.


We consider the efficient acquisition, parameter estimation, and recovery of signal ensembles that lie on a low-dimensional manifold in a high-dimensional ambient signal space. Our particular focus is on randomized, compressive acquisition of signals from the manifold generated by the transformation of a base signal by operators from a Lie group. Such manifolds factor prominently in a number of applications, including radar and sonar array processing, camera arrays, and video processing. Leveraging the fact that Lie group manifolds admit a convenient analytical characterization, we develop new theory and algorithms for: (1) estimating the Lie operator parameters from compressive measurements, and (2) recovering the base signal from compressive measurements. We validate our approach with several of numerical simulations, including the reconstruction of an affine-transformed video sequence from compressive measurements.


One of the agricultural products that the United States exports to England in large quantities is raisins. Raisin exports from the United States to England increased dramatically by 84% from 2007-2008 (USDA 2009). This study was sought to discover the cause of this large increase of raisin exports from 2007-2008, as well as to assess the current international raisin market. To determine the cause of the increase in raisin exports to England, the top four raisin exporting countries in the world were analyzed to determine if their export quantities had a factor in the United States raisin exports to England. These four countries were Turkey, Iran, Chile, and the United States. Yearly trend analysis was performed on each country's exports from 1987-2008 to determine the overall trend of their exports for the past 21 years. Projections were made for 2009-2012 based off each countries average growth. Substitute (prunes) and Complementary product exports (pecan) from the United States to England from 1992-2008 were also analyzed to determine if they played a role in the large increase in raisin exports. The same trend analysis equations were performed on these exports and future projections were made for 2009-2012 based on average growth. The results of this study showed an average increase in raisins exports from Chile, Iran, Turkey, and the United States of 9.75% over the past 21 years. Currently the United States is the second largest raisin producer in the world; however, according to the projections both Chile and Iran will surpass the United States in the next few years. Substitute and complementary product exports to England have also increased over the past 18 years, and it iv was concluded they did not have a significant effect on raisin exports. The research concludes that international agricultural trade will continue to increase as long as these products remain affordable to consumers.


Mucosal surfaces are habitats for the physiological microflora and are closely related to the mucosal immune compartment (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, MALT). Recently, considerable evidence has accumulated showing that various members of the physiological microflora liberate low molecular weight substances which, apparently, are essential for the adequate immune response of the host. Antibiotic decontamination (e.g. of the BALB/c mouse gastrointestinal tract) results in a lack of generation of immunopriming microbial substances leading to immunosuppression. Biochemical analysis of the microbial substances revealed reproducible chromatographic fractions which selectively influence maturation, proliferation and activation of mononuclear immune cells.


Abstract Background: The Hart-am-LimiT (HaLT) project is a brief intervention program for adolescents hospitalized due to alcohol intoxication in Germany. Objective: To test whether a booster session has an impact on participants' drinking behavior compared with the standard HaLT program. Methods: On the morning after their admission due to alcohol intoxication, 411 adolescents in the Federal State of Bavaria were interviewed between October 2008 and January 2010 and socio-demographic data and information on previous drinking behavior were recorded (t1). Eleven to 25 months (M = 16.4) after their hospital treatment, 106 adolescents completed an online questionnaire (t2). Results: Subgroup analysis (ANOVA with repeated measurements) indicated that adolescents who took part in the booster session did not increase episodic heavy drinking (EHD; t1: M = 1.68 EHD d; t2: 1.59 EHD d) in contrast to the non-participating group (t1: M = 1.08 d EHD; t2: 2.66 d EHD; F = 4.383, p = 0.039). Conclusion: Considering the study's limitations (e.g. no randomization, low response rate, etc.), the results indicate a positive effect of a booster session following a brief intervention for adolescents who have been treated in hospital due to alcohol intoxication. Adolescents should therefore be motivated and encouraged to participate in booster sessions.


The daughter-guarding hypothesis posits that "parents possess adaptations with design features that function to defend their daughter's sexual reputation, preserve her mate value, and protect her from sexual victimization" (Perilloux, Fleischman, & Buss, 2008, p. 219). One way that parents may attempt to guard their daughters' sexualities is by conveying to them certain messages about sex. To explore this possibility we administered an online questionnaire that tested 8 sex-linked predictions derived from the daughter-guarding hypothesis about the content of parent– child communications about sex. Participants were undergraduates from a Northeastern U.S. Jesuit Catholic university (n 226) and young adults recruited through Facebook (n 391). As predicted, daughters were more likely than sons to recall receiving messages from their parents that (a) emphasized being discriminating in allocating sexual access; (b) emphasized abstinence; (c) encouraged them to deter, inhibit, and defend against their partners' sexual advances; (d) encouraged them to not emulate depictions of sexual activity; (e) stipulated when they were old enough to date; and (f) curtailed contact with the opposite sex. Results supported several hypothesized design features of the daughter-guarding hypothesis. Parents may be socializing children in ways that fostered ancestral reproductive success through sex-linked birds-and-the-bees talks and messages.


We describe the stratigraphy and chronology of Kudjal Yolgah Cave in south‐western Australia, a late Quaternary deposit pre‐ and post‐dating regional human arrival and preserving fossils of extinct and extant fauna. Single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating shows that seven superposed units were deposited over the past 80 ka. Remains of 16 mammal species have been found at the site, all of them represented in Unit 7, for which seven OSL ages indicate accumulation between 80 and 41 ka. Single‐grain OSL equivalent dose distribution patterns show no evidence of reworking of older or younger sediments into Unit 7, but late Holocene charcoal has been washed into the top of it from adjacent Unit 2, deposited 1.2 ka ago. Six species that failed to survive the Pleistocene are recorded in Unit 7, but only the south‐western wombat Vombatus hacketti is recorded in younger units. Two species, the large extinct kangaroos Protemnodon sp. cf. P. roechus and Procoptodon browneorum, are represented by articulated specimens near the top of Unit 7, immediately adjacent to an OSL sediment sample dated to 41 ± 2 ka. These are the youngest reliably dated records of these genera from mainland Australia, and among the youngest megafaunal remains from the continent. All species currently known from the middle Pleistocene of the south‐west persisted into the late Pleistocene, which removes a key pillar supporting the argument against a driving role for human impacts in the extinctions.


When my very old friend and erstwhile executive assistant, Hugh Schwarz, came to me over a year ago and invited me to make this talk, I was at first flattered and, after I had committed, I was subsequently more than a little uneasy and subdued.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME


Endoscopic methods such as endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) have been increasingly used for the treatment of gastric adenoma and early gastric cancer. Especially, ESD is very useful since it allows en bloc resection of large lesions. Bleeding and perforation are well known as common complications after ESD. However, there is no report of acute myocardial infarction associated with ESD. We report a case of acute myocardial infarction which was detected immediately after ESD. (Korean J Gastroenterol 2010; 56:249-254)


Abstract

Environmental influences during fetal life and early infancy have been suggested to influence body composition throughout the life-course. Especially poor fetal nutrition and fetal growth restriction have been designated important risk factors for gaining high fat mass or low bone mass during later life. As body composition tends to track from childhood into adulthood, the fight against widespread overweight and osteoporosis should focus on prevention from early life onwards. This thesis aimed to assess the impact of maternal diet, more specific fish and milk consumption during pregnancy on fetal growth; define the strongest early maternal, paternal, fetal and infant risk factors of preschool overweight, study the influence of maternal smoking on childhood body composition and explore the associations of maternal diet as well as fetal and infant growth patterns with childhood bone mass. To address these aims the studies included in this thesis were conducted within the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life onwards.

The findings of this thesis indicate maternal fish consumption is not associated with fetal growth characteristics. Maternal shell fish consumption even showed a negative association with birth weight. Contrary, maternal milk consumption was associated with increased fetal growth leading to a higher weight and head circumference at birth. Drinking more than one glass of milk daily increased fetal growth from the third trimester of pregnancy onwards. The protein fraction from milk, rather than the fat or carbohydrate fraction seemed to drive the association. These findings suggest that maternal milk consumption during pregnancy influences fetal growth patterns, whereas fish consumption may play a lesser role. Furthermore, results of this thesis show that parental anthropometrics, household income, fetal and infant growth, and infant diet were most strongly predicted preschool overweight. Also, 6-year-old girls, but not boys, born from mothers who continued smoking throughout pregnancy were found to have higher BMI, total fat mass, android/gynoid fat ratios, subcutaneous abdominal fat mass, and preperitoneal abdominal fat mass than girls of mothers who did not smoke. Remarkably, paternal smoking showed a similar association.

Hence, these findings indicate that fetal and infant nutrition, as well as subsequent growth patterns may play an important role in the risk of developing overweight. The increased adiposity and adverse fat mass distribution found in girls exposed to smoking during pregnancy is more likely explained by familial factors related to smoking behavior than by intrauterine mechanisms. Both fetal growth and infant growth were found to independently contribute to childhood bone mass. Growth in the first year of life appeared to have the largest impact on bone mineral accrual. After the first year, the impact of height and weight growth slowly decreased every year. Furthermore, if present, catch-up growth in the first two postnatal years compensated for the consequences fetal growth restriction had on childhood bone mass. Also, maternal nutrient intakes during pregnancy are associated with childhood bone measures. Maternal phosphorus intake and homocysteine concentrations most-strongly predicted absolute bone mineral accrual in childhood, whereas maternal protein intake and vitamin B-12 concentrations were the strongest predictors of actual bone mineral density. Maternal smoking appeared to be positively associated with childhood bone measures. However, this association was fully explained by increased body weight. Paternal and household smoking were not associated with childhood bone health. Taken together, these results show maternal diet during pregnancy as well as fetal and infant growth patterns may influence childhood bone health. Yet, maternal smoking does not seem to a play a role.

In conclusion, the findings of this thesis suggest maternal dietary factors during pregnancy influence fetal growth, while maternal diet and nutritional status, as well as subsequent fetal and infant growth patterns may influence childhood adiposity and bone mass. Shared familial factors related to maternal smoking, rather than maternal smoking itself, seemed to adversely affect childhood adiposity. Prevention of future overweight and osteoporosis should therefore start from early pregnancy onwards.


We compared four classical nonlinear growth curves (Gompertz, Logistic, Richards, and von Bertalanffy) in modeling observed skull condylobasal length and zygomatic width as a function of age in wild arctic wolves ( Canis lupus arctos ). We analyzed gender-specific growth patterns and the ontogeny of sexual size dimorphism in this species as revealed by the best model from these alternatives. For both genders and skull size measurements, the size-at-age data provided the best support for the von Bertalanffy model because of higher fitting degrees, lower root mean squared standard deviation of data points about the fitted growth curve, Akaike weight of 37.4% or higher, and fewer parameters derived directly from metabolic laws. Male asymptotic condylobasal length was 3.2% longer, and zygomatic width 4.1% wider, than in females. Sexual size dimorphism in this species develops in part because males grow faster, which might benefit them in terms of reproductive success and the capture and killing of large ungulate prey.


Background: Transfer of a vascularized fibular graft is the method of first choice for reconstruction of defects of long bones. In particular, the vascularized fibula head graft is preferred for patients with bone defects of the upper limb involving the distal radius or the proximal humerus. The aim of the present study was to analyze the operative results, complications, and postoperative function after vascularized fibula head graft transfer and the indications for this procedure. Methods: From 1998 through 2008, vascularized fibula head graft transfer was performed in eight patients to reconstruct bone defects following resection of tumors of the upper limb. The primary site of the tumor was the proximal humerus in four patients and the distal radius in four patients. The postoperative course of the transferred bone was examined, and functional results were evaluated. Results: All vascularized fibula head grafts were transferred successfully. During the follow-up period, absorption of the transferred fibula head was not observed. The mean overall functional rating of the reconstructed shoulder joint was 70 percent. The range of motion of the reconstructed wrist joint showed no specific patterns, and instability of the wrist joint was observed in only one case. Conclusions: The authors believe that the vascularized fibula head graft transfer is a safe and reliable method for reconstructing the upper limb, especially for patients with a defect of the distal radius or the proximal humerus. This procedure is also useful for pediatric patients, in whom bone growth is expected after transplantation, and for salvage procedures after reconstructive materials of an artificial joint have failed.


Title of dissertation: MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD GOES UPSCALE: REDEVELOPMENT AS NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANSING A Study of Courtyard Housing in the Pittsburgh Neighborhood of Squirrel Hill and GentrificationInduced Displacement Ruth O. Bergman, Doctor of Philosophy, 2011 Dissertation directed by: Professor Mary Corbin Sies Department of American Studies University of Maryland Despite an abundance of literature on gentrification that has been published over the past several decades, little attention has been focused on the fate of displacees once they have migrated away from their neighborhoods of origin. This study covers new ground by tracking displacees to their new sites of habitation and applying ethnographic methodologies to collect displacement narratives spanning a decade— from forced relocation to resettlement and beyond. I argue that, notwithstanding the "trauma" of eviction, outmovers were able to tap into their own personal as well as their collective sense of place-identity in order to better negotiate the relocation process, proving to be far more resilient than might otherwise have been anticipated. Furthermore I suggest that the informants, all former residents of a cluster of courtyard enclaves in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, were empowered in their displacement journeys by the everyday practices of collaborative living that they experienced as participants in a highly articulated socio-spatial system that I have called "court-ordered living." Finally, this dissertation argues that the discourses surrounding gentrification-induced displacement be reflected upon from the vantage point of hindsight, providing new insights into the intersection of historic preservation, property rights, neoliberal governance, affordable housing, and what constitutes "a beautiful neighborhood" from the perspective of competing stakeholders across time and place. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Goes Upscale: Redevelopment as Neighborhood Cleansing A Study of Courtyard Housing in the Pittsburgh Neighborhood of Squirrel Hill and Gentrification-Induced Displacement


In recent years, technological advances related with the so-called intelligent materials have been exploited for problem solving in many engineering fields. In this regard, shape memory alloys (SMA) seem suitable for medical and engineering applications and many others. These alloys have the ability to return to the original form after an apparently plastic deformation by applying heat and the also ability to perform phase changes with voltage variations under a specific temperature. These properties allow the development of a hysteretic loop with energy dissipation, which can be used as  a damping element in a vibratory system. In this paper, a MATLAB algorithm was developed to create an interface with the Ansys® APDLTM software that simulate the dynamic behavior of a SMA. The software is capable to obtain the cyclical behavior of a vibratory mechanical system based on the energy dissipation properties of the SMA. The results show that the free vibration of a mass-damper (alloy) system presents the energy dissipation related in magnitude with the area of the hysteresis loop until the deformation caused by the motion which does not correspond to a voltage required to initiate the (direct) phase transformation of the material, thus reducing the displacement to a constant level.
Keywords: SMA, ANSYS APDLTM, Matlab


Despite common incidence of GB virus C/Hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) and Torque Teno Virus (TTV) co-infections in subjects with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, pathogenic role of these co-infections in HCV infected subjects has not been clear since studies have mostly been based on liver enzyme profile yielding variable results. Pro-inflammatory cytokines that participate in host immune response against viruses are generated as a consequence of triggering of related genes by Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB) that is a member of transcription family. Study of three pro-inflammatory cytokines e.g. interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) in a group of multi-transfused thalassemic subjects in relation to positivity for HCV, HGV and TTV infections showed elevated levels of these cytokines in serum as well as in supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) cultures in HCV-GBV-C/HGV co-infected subgroup compared to HCV mono-infected subgroup (p <0.05 for comparison of all three cytokines) while HCV-TTV co-infected subgroup showed lowering of these levels compared to HCV mono-infected subgroup (p <0.05 for comparison of all three cytokines). Levels of p65 component of NF-kB i.e.NF-kB p65 in nuclear extracts of lipopolysaccharide stimulated PBMCs correlated positively with the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum as well as that in supernatants of PBMC cultures in both HCV- GBV-C/HGV co-infected and HCV-TTV co-infected subgroups (p values ranging from <0.001 to 0.004). Levels of NF-kB p65 in nuclear extracts and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum as well as in supernatants of PBMC culture did not show any alteration compared to thalassemic subjects with HGV or TTV infections alone and healthy non-transfused subjects. Based on the inhibitory role of TTV on activation of NF-kB in TTV-HCV co-infected cases observed in the present study and the reported contribution of NF-kB towards development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to establishment of chronicity, it may be worth evaluating if TTV or any component of TTV can be utilized as therapeutic vaccine against development of HCC in HCV infected subjects.


Studies have evaluated the quality of life (QOL) of many groups; however, such studies in relation to Reference Centers for the Elderly are scarce. This research identified factors associated with a good QOL of people using a Reference Center in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Transversal study of 257 elderly people who used a Reference Center for the Elderly. The short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to evaluate the QOL of the elderly people. The analysis was rationalized by defining two groups in relation to perceptions of QOL and satisfaction regarding health. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the direction and magnitude of the association of each variable with QOL. The results showed that the majority (63.4%) of the elderly people considered that they had a good QOL and that they were satisfied with their health. The environmental domain received the lowest scores (average = 14.4). The factors of advanced age, being from the interior of the state of Minas Gerais, physical activity, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases, hypertension and depression remained independently associated with QOL and satisfaction with health after the model was adjusted. The data that was obtained can be used to direct care strategies for the most vulnerable elderly people, with particular attention to issues that affect the environment.


Under normal conditions, plants contain numerous carbonylated proteins, which are thought to be indicative of oxidative stress damage. Conditions that promote formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) enhance protein carbonylation, and protein degradation is required to reverse the damage. However, it is not clear how the degradation of carbonylated proteins is controlled in planta. In this report, we show that detached Arabidopsis leaves rapidly and selectively degrade carbonylated proteins when kept in the dark. The loss of carbonylated proteins corresponded to a loss of soluble protein and accumulation of free amino acids. Degradation of carbonylated proteins and the loss of soluble protein was blocked by MG132 but not 3-methyladenine, suggesting that the 26S proteasome pathway rather than the autophagic pathway was involved. Consistent with this, rpn10 and rpn12 mutants, which are defective in proteasome function, had increased (rather than decreased) levels of carbonylated proteins when detached in the dark. Feeding metabolites (amino acids and sucrose) to detached leaves of wild-type Arabidopsis in the dark had little or no effect on the loss of carbonylated proteins, whereas providing soybean xylem sap via the transpiration stream effectively prevented degradation. The effect of xylem sap was mimicked by feeding 10 muM kinetin. We postulate that disruption of cytokinin flux to detached leaves triggers the selective degradation of carbonylated proteins via the proteasome pathway. The results may have implications for the control of protein mobilization in response to changes in N availability.


Native pollinators are increasingly needed on conventional farms yet rarely fostered via management. One solution is habitat restoration in marginal areas, but colonization may be constrained if resident pollinator richness is low or if restored areas fail to provide sufficient floral or nesting resources. We quantified restoration outcomes for native bees, and associated resources, on three conventional farms with forb‐grass prairie plantings on marginal areas of varying sizes, in a heavily farmed region of central North America. We tested bee abundance and richness in restored prairie versus the dominant habitats of the region—crops, forest remnants, and edges of fields and roads. Restored prairie supported 2× more species (95 of 119 total species) and 3× more bees (72% of captured individuals) compared to the other cover types. All richness and abundance differences among habitat types were associated with higher floral resources in restored prairie. Thirty percent of the bee species were unique to prairie, consistent with long‐distance dispersal but begging the question of origin given the absence of prairie regionally. Our results suggest that road and field edges may be the source, as these areas had more floral and nesting resources than forest or crop fields combined and supported 55% of all species despite covering only approximately 5% of the sampled farms. Habitat scarcity is not the only constraint on native bees in agricultural landscapes, with increasing concern over disease and chemicals. However, we observed that restored areas on marginal lands of conventional farms can support abundant and species‐rich populations of native bees.


For low bit-rate compression applications, segmentation-based coding methods provide, in general, high compression ratios when compared with traditional (e.g., 'transform and subband) coding approaches. In this paper, we present a new segmentation-based image coding method that divides the desired image using binary space partitioning (BSP). The BSP approach partitions the desired image recursively by arbitrarily oriented lines in a hierarchical manner. This recursive partitioning generates a binary tree, which is referred to as the BSP-tree representation of the desired image. The most critical aspect of the BSP-tree method is the criterion used to select the partitioning lines of the BSP tree representation. In previous works, we developed novel methods for selecting the BSP-tree lines, and showed that the BSP approach provides efficient segmentation of images. In this paper, we describe a hierarchical approach for coding the partitioning lines of the BSP-tree representation. We also show that the image signal within the different regions (resulting from the recursive partitioning) can be represented using low-order polynomials. Furthermore, we employ an optimum pruning algorithm to minimize the bit rate of the BSP tree representation (for a 'given budget constraint) while minimizing distortion. Simulation results and comparisons with other compression methods are also presented.


Experienced researchers often have established ways of engaging with their research activities, which work for them. However, rapid technological advances are ubiquitous in the 21st century, and offer overwhelming amounts of information and novel ways of synthesising it. This can create technological overload distracting from the research itself; but it is not a factor researchers can ignore.

Various collaborative efforts such as the Seven Pillars of Information Literacy - Research Lens (contributions from Society of College, National and University Libraries, Researcher Development Framework, and Research Information Network) are there to prepare researchers for the technology era. It focuses on various stages of dealing with information. But how does this translate in practice? How are these skills development and support systems implemented for researchers?


s presented at specialist societies' meetings From 2002, the Editorial Board has decided to publish abstracts of free papers ⁄ posters that have been presented to national specialist anaesthetic societies based in the UK and Ireland. Authors should follow the above Instructions for Authors; in general, the following sections should be indicated as appropriate using bold type: Title, Authors, Institution, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References (maximum vi 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 3). Text should be in a fully justified column 8 cm wide and no more than 23 cm high, Times New Roman, size 8 pt. A single Figure or Table (B&W) is allowable but must fit into the allotted space. Abstracts can only be submitted via the appropriate specialist society – do not submit direct to the journal. For further details including a Word template for abstracts please contact email@example.com. Material Storage Policy Please note that unless specifically requested, Blackwell Publishing will dispose of all hardcopy or electronic material submitted two months after publication. If you require the return of any material submitted, please inform the editorial office or production editor as soon as possible if you have not yet done so.


Simplicity in the dynamics model of a serial robot manipulator greatly enhances the speed of its control and the associated hardware implementation. Since the motion of one link influences the torque or force required at the other joints, the control becomes difficult. This is referred as dynamic coupling. In this paper, it is proposed to simplify the robot's dynamic coupling by suitably choosing the manipulator's kinematic and dynamic parameters. The intention is to make the Generalized Inertia Matrix (GIM) of the serial manipulator associated with its dynamic equations of motion diagonal and/or constant. Such choice automatically ensures the associated convective inertia terms vanish. Such simplifications are carried out by investigating the expression of each element of the GIM. The concepts of the twist propagation matrices and the joint- motion propagation vectors are used to obtain the analytical expressions of the GIM elements that allow one to investigate the elements for simplifications. The methodology is illustrated with a 3-link spatial manipulator arm.


Even though the argument runs counter to much of the detailed scholarship on the subject, Britain's decision in 1921 to terminate its alliance with Japan is sometimes held in general historical surveys to be a major blunder that helped to pave the way to the Pacific War. The lingering sympathy for the combination with Japan is largely due to an historical myth which has presented the alliance as a particularly close partnership. The roots of the myth lie in the inter-war period when, in order to attack the trend towards internationalism, the political right in Britain manipulated memory of the alliance so that it became an exemplar of 'old diplomacy'. It was then reinforced after 1945 by post-war memoirs and the 'declinist' literature of the 1960s and 1970s. By analysing the origins of this benevolent interpretation of the alliance, this article reveals how quickly and pervasively political discourse can turn history into myth and how the development of myths tells us much about the time in which they were created.


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Osteoarthritis of the thumb's basal joint is a frequent and, in some cases, very painful condition that usually affects middle-aged and elderly women. Several surgical procedures have been proposed for severe carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis; of these, joint replacement has proved to be an effective approach to its treatment. The aim of this study is to present the outcomes of the total non-cemented trapeziometacarpal implant Maďa in the treatment of more advanced stages of this disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Thirty-six total trapeziometacarpal joint replacements in 34 patients treated in 2008 for advanced CMC arthritis (Eaton and Littler stages III and IV) were evaluated. Indications for surgery after failure of conservative treatment included: pain, reduced grip and pinch strength and restricted range of thumb motion, all of them interfering with daily activities. The average follow-up time was 42 months, with a minimum of 37 months.

RESULTS
At the final follow-up, thumb opposition to the base of the little finger was present in all patients. The average grip strength of the hand increased from 15.8 kg pre-operatively to 26.8 kg post-operatively. The average key pinch strength increased from 2.7 kg to 5.7 kg and the average tip pinch strength from 2.3 kg to 4.9 kg. All patients reported substantial pain relief. The average VAS values were 8.4 points before surgery and 0.4 points at 3 years after surgery. Pre- and post-operative DASH scores were 71.7 and 22.5, respectively. One patient had aseptic cup loosening that required revision surgery. No signs of implant loosening in any other patient were shown by radiographic studies at the final follow-up. One patient sustained a traumatic implant dislocation that was treated by open reduction.

DISCUSSION
Total replacement of the CMC joint is a method with functional outcomes comparable with or better than other surgical procedures. Rapid post-surgery recovery is its clear advantage. The implant provides good stability and no prolonged immobilisation is needed.

CONCLUSIONS
In our group, total arthroplasty of the thumb CMC joint provided pain relief, improved thumb motion and pinch strength. At present, CMC joint arthroplasty is recommended to elderly patients with symptoms of advanced arthritis (stage III or early stage IV) refractory to conservative treatment or to well-informed younger persons accepting reduced demands on the treated hand's activities.


Owing to multiple antibiotic resistance, Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes the most intractable infections to human beings world-wide, thus exploring novel drugs to defend against this bacterium remains of great importance. In this study, we purified a novel cochlioquinone B derivative (CoB1) from Salvia miltiorrhiza endophytic Bipolaris sorokiniana and reveal its role in host defense against P. aeruginosa infection by activating cytoprotective autophagy in alveolar macrophages (AMs) both in vivo and in vitro. Using a P. aeruginosa infection model, we observed that CoB1-treated mice manifest weakened lung injury, reduced bacterial systemic dissemination, decreased mortality, and dampened inflammatory responses, compared with the wild type littermates. We demonstrate that CoB1-induced autophagy in mouse AMs is associated with decreased PAK1 expression via the ubiquitination-mediated degradation pathway. The inhibition of PAK1 decreases the phosphorylation level of Akt, blocks the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and promotes the release of ULK1/2–Atg13–FIP200 complex from mTOR to initiate autophagosome formation, resulting in increased bacterial clearance capacity. Together, our results provide a molecular basis for the use of CoB1 to regulate host immune responses against P. aeruginosa infection and indicate that CoB1 is a potential option for the treatment of infection diseases. The Journal of Immunology , 2020, 205: 1293–1305.


We investigate the oxidation of silver cyanide AgI(CN)2- in water by the OH radical in order to compare this complex with the free cation Ag+ and to measure the influence of the ligands. High-level ab initio calculations of the model species AgII(CN)2· enable the calibration of molecular simulations and the prediction of the oxidized species: AgII(CN)2(H2O)2· and its absorption spectrum, with an intense band at 292 nm and a weaker one at 390 nm. Pulse radiolysis measurements of the oxidation of AgI(CN)2- by the OH radical in water yields a transient species with a broad, intense band at 290 nm and a weaker band at 410 nm at short times after the pulse and a blue shift of the spectrum at longer times. The prediction of the simulations, that the oxidized complex AgII(CN)2(H2O)2· is formed, is confirmed by thermochemistry. Our calculations also suggest that the formation of the OH-adduct is possible only in very basic solution and that the blue shift observed at long times after the pulse is due to disproportionation of the oxidized complex. We also perform molecular simulations of the oxidation of free Ag+ cations by the OH radical. The results are compared to that of the literature and to the results obtained with the AgI(CN)2- complex.


In today's world Lean and Green are becoming essential components of the supply chain. The thesis tries to contribute to a further understanding of the supply chain management, lean, green and their integration. The basic concepts and the research contributions of various authors are briefed in the theoretical framework made for a better understanding to the readers. Having gained the relevant theoretical knowledge, the interview questions are framed and case companies are analyzed for their lean and green activities in their supply chain. The empirical data collected from the case companies through interviews and surveys are projected. With the empirical results and the relevant theoretical results, an analysis & discussion is made which explicitly gives the implications of lean and green over the supply chain and their associated practical scenarios. The outcome and the findings are used to construct a model which depicts the relationship between lean, green and their influence over the supply chain. Influence on the supply chain by lean and green are projected independently in the lean supply chain model and green supply chain. The Integrated lean and green model illustrates the relationship and influence between lean, green and supply chain factors. This model also serves as a prototype for the industries to make their own indigenous integrated model. Further, outcome that how lean and green improves the supply chain and the lean and green integrated model are summarized in the conclusion. In a bird's eye view, this research thesis work is a contribution to lean, green and their integration which explicitly shows the ways that lean, green improves the supply chain performance and provides a framework / prototype model for lean and green integration for the industries.


Imbuing robots with personality has been shown to be an effective design approach in HRI, promoting user trust and acceptance. We explore personality design in a non-anthropomorphic voice-assisted home robot. Our design approach developed three distinct robot personas: Butler, Buddy, and Sidekick, intended to differ in proactivity and emotional impact. Persona differences were signaled to users by a combination of humanoid (speech, intonation), and indirect cues (colors and movement). We use Big Five personality theory to evaluate perceived differences between personas in an exploratory Wizard of Oz study. Participants were largely able to recognize underlying personality traits expressed through these cue combinations in ways that were consistent with our design goals. The proactive Buddy persona was judged as more Extravert than the more passive Sidekick persona, and the Butler persona was perceived as more Conscientious and less Neurotic than either Buddy or Butler personas. Users also had clear preferences between different personas; they wanted robots that mimicked but accentuated their own personality. Results suggest that future designs might exploit abstract cues to signal personality traits.


Habitat utilisation and foraging behaviour by the common striped possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) was investigated by means of spotlighting and radio-tracking at Shiptons Flat, far north Queensland. Vine forest was the primary habitat of D. trivirgata; however, animals were also observed in open eucalypt woodland. Information collected on foraging behaviour suggests that D. trivirgata are generalist insectivores consuming some fruit and other foodstuffs, such as honey. Radio-tracking data were used to calculate the home-range areas of two subadult males. The home range of the smaller male (body weight 290 g) was 5.2 ha [by the 95% harmonic mean (HM) method] or 6.5 ha [by the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method], and that of the larger male (body weight 415 g) was 21.2 ha (95% HM) or 21.3 ha (MCP). Large trees with hollows, which are utilised for denning, appear to be an important feature of the habitat for this species. D, trivirgata, as do some other members of the Petauridae, appears to exhibit a pronounced degree of sociality and may breed seasonally. Observations suggest that amethystine pythons (Morelia amethistina) may be major predators of D. trivirgata at Shiptons Flat.


BACKGROUND
Previous studies have different viewpoints about the clinical impact of methicillin resistance on mortality of hospital-acquired bloodstream infection (BSI) patients with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The objective of this study was to investigate the mortality of hospital-acquired BSI with S. aureus in a military hospital and analyze the risk factors for the hospital mortality.

METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was performed in patients admitted to the biggest military tertiary teaching hospital in China between January 2006 and May 2011. All included patients had clinically significant nosocomial BSI with S. aureus. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for hospital mortality of patients with S. aureus BSI.

RESULTS
One hundred and eighteen patients of more than one year old were identified as clinically and microbiologically confirmed nosocomial bacteraemia due to S. aureus, and 75 out of 118 patients were infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The overall mortality of nosocomial S. aureus BSI was 28.0%. Methicillin resistance in S. aureus bacteremia was associated with significant increase in the length of hospitalization and high proportion of inappropriate empirical antibiotic treatment. After Logistic regression analysis, the severity of clinical manifestations (APACHE II score) (odds ratio (OR) 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12 - 1.34) and inadequacy of empirical antimicrobial therapy (OR 0.25, 95%CI 0.09 - 0.69) remained as risk factors for hospital mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Nosocomial S. aureus BSI was associated with high in-hospital mortality. Methicillin resistance in S. aureus has no significant impact on the outcome of patients with staphylococcal bacteremia. Proper empirical antimicrobial therapy is very important to the prognosis.


OBJECTIVE To assess the relation between adolescents' favourite movie stars, the portrayal of tobacco use by those stars in contemporary motion pictures, and adolescent smoking. DESIGN AND SETTING 632 students (sixth to 12th grade, ages 10–19 years) from five rural New England public schools completed a voluntary, self administered survey in October 1996. The survey assessed tobacco use, other variables associated with adolescent smoking, and favourite movie star. In addition, tobacco use by 43 selected movie stars was measured in films between 1994 and 1996. OUTCOME MEASURES Students were categorised into an ordinal five point index (tobacco status) based on their smoking behaviour and their smoking susceptibility: non-susceptible never smokers, susceptible never smokers, non-current experimenters, current experimenters, and smokers. We determined the adjusted cumulative odds of having advanced smoking status based on the amount of on-screen tobacco use by their favourite film star. RESULTS Of the 43 stars, 65% used tobacco at least once, and 42% portrayed smoking as an essential character trait in one or more films. Stars who smoked more than twice in a film were considered smokers. For adolescents whose favourite stars smoked in only one film, the odds of being higher on the smoking index was 0.78 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 1.15). For adolescents whose favourite stars smoked in two films, the odds of being higher on the smoking index was 1.5 (95% CI 1.01 to 2.32). For adolescents whose favourite stars smoked in three or more films (Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, John Travolta), the odds of being higher on the smoking index was 3.1 (95% CI 1.34 to 7.12). Among never smokers (n = 281), those who chose stars who were smokers in three or more films were much more likely to have favourable attitudes toward smoking (adjusted odds ratio 16.2, 95% CI 2.3 to 112). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents who choose movie stars who use tobacco on-screen are significantly more likely to have an advanced smoking status and more favourable attitudes toward smoking than adolescents who choose non-smoking stars. This finding supports the proposition that the portrayal of tobacco use in contemporary motion pictures, particularly by stars who are admired by adolescents, contributes to adolescent smoking.


Environmental compatibility requires low emission burners for both gas turbine power plants and jet engines. In the past, significant progress has been made in the development of low NOx and CO burners by introducing lean premixed techniques. Unfortunately these burners often have a more pronounced tendency than conventional burner designs to produce combustion driven oscillations. The oscillations may be excited to such an extent that strong pulsation may occur, and this is associated with a risk of engine failure.In order to describe the acoustical behaviour of the complete burner system, it is crucial to determine the unit function response of the flame itself. Using a new method which was presented in 1996 by Bohn et al. [1] the dynamic flame behaviour can be predicted by means of a full Navier-Stokes-simulation of the complex combustion process for both the steady-state and transient case.The authors have successfully used this method to obtain the frequency response of turbulent diffusion flames which are mainly controlled by the mixing process. Chemical kinetics become dominant for premixed flames. Therefore, the combustion process of a premixed methane-air mixture is modelled using a systematically reduced 6-step reaction mechanism which takes account of a set of 25 elementary reactions. This reduced mechanism was implemented in the 3D-Navier-Stokes solver in order to perform a combined flow and combustion computation.The dynamic combustion process of a laminar premixed methane flame in a matrix burner configuration has been investigated. At first, the steady-state combustion process was simulated using the code described above. The results are compared with experimental data. Very good agreement over a wide range of equivalence ratios has been found for quantities such as laminar burning velocity or adiabatic flame temperature. The steady state results are then used as an operating point from which the transient flame behaviour after a sudden jump in the mass flow at the burner inlet has been obtained. Finally, these data lead to the unit function response which can be transferred into frequency space by a Laplace transformation.The frequency response of the premixed methane flame obtained by a Navier-Stokes simulation has been compared with both experimental as well as analytical solutions. It must be stressed that a pure delay time element which is often used as an analytical formulation is not suitable to describe the dynamic flame behaviour in detail. The frequency response shows the characteristics of a higher order delay time element with several important details.Parametric studies on the influence of equivalence ratio and the flow pattern of the internal burner fluid flow which are of interest for gas turbine applications, show the importance of the detailed knowledge of the dynamic flame behaviour for the stability analysis of a gas turbine combustor.Copyright © 1997 by ASME


Cellular Neural Networks (CNNs) with space-varying interconnections are considered here to implement associative memories. A fast learning method is presented to compute the interconnection weights. The algorithm was carefully tested and compared to other methods. Storage capacity, noise immunity, and spurious state avoidance capability of the proposed system are discussed.


ABSTRACT Maspin is a unique serpin with the ability to suppress certain types of malignant tumors. It is one of the few p53-targeted genes involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. With this in mind, we attempted to study the molecular mechanism behind this tumor suppression. Maspin-expressing mammary tumors are more susceptible to apoptosis in both implanted mammary tumors in vivo, a three-dimensional spheroid culture system, as well as in monolayer cell culture under lowered growth factors. Subcellular fractionation shows that a fraction of maspin (in both TM40D-Mp and mutant maspinΔN cells) translocates to the mitochondria. This translocation of maspin to the mitochondria is linked to the opening of the permeability transition pore, which in turn causes the loss of transmembrane potential, thus initiating apoptotic degradation. This translocation is absent in the other mutant, maspinΔRSL. It fails to cause any loss of membrane potential and also shows decreased caspase 3 levels, proving that translocation to the mitochondria is a key event for this increase in apoptosis by maspin. Suppression of maspin overexpression by RNA interference desensitizes cells to apoptosis. Our data indicate that maspin inhibits tumor progression through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. These findings will be useful for maspin-based therapeutic interventions against breast cancer.


Many systemic changes, including those in the circulating levels of female sex hormones, affect the response of the periodontium to plaque in periodontal disease. Gingival inflammation is greater during pregnancy than postpartum and its onset is correlated with an increase in circulaiting levels of estrogen and progesterone. A relationship between female sex hormone levels and periodontal changes during puberty and menopause has been postulated. A relationship has been observed between gingival inflammation and oral contraceptives; women taking the pill show an increase in gingival exudate. An interrelationship between cortisol and female sex hormones has been established. Exogenous administration of estrogen alone or combined with progesterone have been associated with increased plasma cortisol levels. Further research is necessary to determine the manner in which female hormones influence the periodontium.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate whether a range of beta-lactam antibiotics conjugate to and hence reduce the activity of IFN-gamma, as has been shown for penicillin G. A selection of penicillins, cephalosporins, a monobactam (aztreonam), a beta-lactamase inhibitor (clavulanic acid), a carbapenem (meropenem) and the non-beta-lactam penicillin derivative d-penicillamine were tested for their effect on IFN-gamma activity.

METHODS
Following exposure to a range of concentrations of these compounds, for varying lengths of time, IFN-gamma activity was assayed by induction of CD54 on the surface of the lung epithelial cell line A549, utilizing an ELISA.

RESULTS
Clavulanic acid, cefoxitin and cefaloridine were the most potent inhibitors of IFN-gamma activity, followed by cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and phenoxymethylpenicillin. Ampicillin was less inhibitory than penicillin G, whilst meropenem and aztreonam had the least effect and d-penicillamine had no effect. The modulatory effect of these compounds was not due to a direct effect on CD54 induction. Unlike freshly prepared drugs, aged preparations of penicillin G and clavulanic acid had no significant effect on IFN-gamma activity.

CONCLUSIONS
beta-Lactams differ in their capacity to modulate human IFN-gamma activity. This finding may have implications for the immunomodulatory effects of beta-lactams and for the design both of beta-lactams that do not affect the immune system and those which may be used therapeutically to target cytokine action.


OBJECTIVE
To reveal the reliability of radiological measurements of the ethmoid arteries.

METHOD
Five fresh frozen cadaveric heads underwent computed tomography and endoscopic sinus surgery. The lateromedial length of the anterior ethmoidal artery (AEA) and its distance to the axilla of the middle turbinate (MTA), the sphenoethmoidal recess (SR) and the posterior ethmoidal artery were measured. The posterior ethmoidal artery (PEA) was referenced to the SR. These anatomical parameters were measured both radiologically and endoscopically, and the compatibility of the two was examined.

RESULTS
Ten nasal cavities were dissected. We found that the distance of MTA to the AEA was 16±8 mm in dissection, 21±4 mm radiologically in the sagittal section, the distance of SR to the AEA was 14±3 mm in dissection, 19±4 mm radiologically in the sagittal section, and the distance of the AEA to the PEA was 10±3 mm in dissection, 12±3 mm radiologically in the axial section. The distance of the PEA to SR was 6±3 mm in dissection, 8±2 mm radiologically in the sagittal section.

CONCLUSIONS
The distance of the AEA to the MTA, the distance of the AEA to the PEA and the distance of the PEA to the SR were compatible with each other in the dissection and in the radiologically evaluation, whereas the distance of the AEA to the SR was not compatible.


Engineering students use spatial thinking when examining diagrams or models to study structure design. It is expected that most engineering students have solidified spatial thinking skills during K-12 schooling. However, according to what we know about geometry learning and teaching, spatial thinking probably needs to be explicitly taught within the confines of engineering-specific contexts in college. The van Hiele theory of geometry learning explains geometry understanding as a series of more and more sophisticated ways to reason geometrically. The theory is known for its use in guiding K-12 geometry instruction. This paper describes the theory and explains how one engineering mechanics professor used it to re-conceptualize and restructure his approach to teaching an engineering mechanics class. In particular, we describe his use of the van Hiele theory to move students toward success with freebody-diagrams, diagrams requiring complex spatial thinking and often a ?point of departure? for most undergraduate engineering students.


Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within microRNA binding sites can affect the binding of microRNA to mRNA and regulate gene expression, thereby contributing to the prognosis of cancer. We performed this study to explore the association between SNPs within microRNA binding sites and the prognosis of breast cancer.Methods: We carried out a two-stage study including 2647 breast cancer patients. In stage I, we genotyped 192 SNPs within microRNA binding sites using the Illumina Goldengate platform. In stage II, we validated SNPs significantly associated with breast cancer prognosis in another dataset using the TaqMan platform. Survival times was calculated, and Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression model were used to analyze survival of breast cancer patients with different genotypes.Results: We identified 8 SNPs significantly associated with breast cancer prognosis in stage I (P<0.05), and only rs10878441 was statistically significant in stage II (AA vs CC: adjusted HR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.11-4.42, P=0.024). We combined the data from stage I and stage II, and found that, compared with rs10878441 AA genotype, CC genotype was significantly associated with poor survival of breast cancer (HR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.18-2.42, P=0.004; adjusted HR=2.19, 95% CI: 1.30-3.70, P=0.003). Stratified analyses demonstrated that rs10878441 was related to breast cancer prognosis in grade II patients and lymph node-negative patients (P<0.05).Conclusions: The LRKK2 rs10878441 CC genotype is associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer in a Chinese population, and it could be used as a potential prognostic biomarker for breast cancer. Further studies are warranted.


Background Planning a pregnancy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) meets several issues, mostly concerning potential drug toxicity and disease flares Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate pregnancy planning, RA activity during pregnancy and postpartum, pregnancy and fetal outcomes in a Romanian cohort of female patients diagnosed with RA. Methods This is an observational, ambispective study, including 58 RA Caucasian females with obstetric history after the onset of RA (20 females - prospective, 38 - retrospective). The cases were obtained from several Clinics of Rheumatology from Romania Results The mean age at inclusion was 37.1 years, age at RA diagnosis 3.9 years and mean age at conception 32.2 years. We recorded a total number of 96 pregnancies: 48 deliveries at term, 4 premature births, 15 elective abortions, 24 spontaneous abortions, and 5 ongoing. 34/96 (35.4%) had at least one unplanned pregnancy, while being on treatment. Concerning the exposure to synthetic DMARDs during the pregnancy: 6 patients received Leflunomide and 4 received Methotrexate during the first trimester, the pregnancy outcomes being: 3 spontaneous and 3 elective abortions, 3 normal birth (1- Cholestiramine wash-out), 1 premature twin pregnancy. Regarding biologic DMARDs: 5 were exposed to Etanercept - 3 less than 3 weeks, (2 normal births and one elective abortion- due to Methotrexate use), 2 treated in second trimester: 1 only in the 15th and 16th weeks due to relapse - normal birth, and the other one until week 20, pregnancy still ongoing. One patient was treated with Certolizumab until week 12, the pregnancy is ongoing, and one with Adalimumab until week 4, the fetus had intrauterine growth restriction, premature birth. 6 patients treated with Rituximab were included, last infusions were: 4 weeks before conception (1- spontaneous abortion and 1 normal birth), 48 weeks (2 normal births and 1 premature), and one at 4 weeks after conception - normal birth. In 4 cases the patients stopped the biological DMARD before conception: Etanercept 6 months and 2 years, Adalimu-mab,6 months with normal outcome, and for Tocilizumab 9 months (growth restriction) 81.25% of our patients were in Remission or Low Disease Activity (by DAS28CRP) at conception and generally this status was maintained, excepting several situations. The average pregnancy length was 36.36 weeks and the mean birthweight was 2878.90 grams.2 growth restriction was identified and several atopic dermatitis, no teratogenic effect. 13 patients never had a new flare postpartum and in the others the mean time of postpartum flare was 12.1 weeks Conclusions Patients with RA can have successful pregnancies. More than 60% of pregnancies have been planned. Pregnancy decreases disease activity, but many deliveries are followed by RA flares. No fetal abnormalities were diagnosed. References Østensen M, et all. State of the art: Reproduction and pregnancy in rheumatic diseases: Autoimmun Rev. 2015 May;14(5):376–86. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2014.12.011. Epub 2014 Dec 30. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The gills, adjacent buccopharyngeal epithelium, and skin of the swamp eel Synbranchus marmoratus (Bloch) function for both aerial and aquatic respiration. Aquatic cutaneous O2 uptake occurs continuously at rates that, while dependent upon aquatic 2 tension (PwOO2), are in direct proportion to body surface area. Branchial aquatic O2 uptake takes place during intermittent ventilation which occurs in proportion to body mass. Because of reductions in the body surface area to volume ratio that occur with growth, cutaneous oxygen uptake comprises a larger percentage of the total oxygen uptake of small fish and, to compensate, large fish ventilate more. The mass exponent for total rate of oxygen uptake (Voo2) (0.894 ± 0.145) is within the range predicted from the contributions of cutaneous Voo2 (mass exponent 0.651 ± 0.167) and the number of minutes each hour that branchial ventilation occurs (0.378 ± 0.105). Hyperoxia increases cutaneous VOO2 and reduces branchial ventilation. Total Voo2 was also reduced in hyperoxia and calculations relating this to the reduction in ventilation time yield ventilatory cost estimates that increase with body size and that are high compared to those of other fish when the large component of cutaneous respiration in this species is considered. Large ventilatory costs reflect gill and branchial apparatus specialization for aerial respiration. Accessory cutaneous respiration and intermittent aquatic ventilation reduce these costs, and intermittent gill use in aquatic breathing, which is the exact analogue of the pattern for branchial respiratory use during air breathing, seems to optimize aquatic O2 uptake with minimal ventilatory cost.


This paper presents a brief review of the state of technical education in Rwanda based on a study conducted in 2007, with pertinent recommendations. The background of technical education in the country is appreciated first, and then followed up with a situational analysis. Thereafter, a 5-year implementation project plan proposal, to address the identified shortcomings, needs, and expectations of government is advanced. The need to raise access to post tronc commun (post O-Level) technical training is addressed within this proposal with a specific interest to increase the capacity and range of programmes running in the existing ETOs, and the introduction of new ETOs where deemed necessary. The establishment and sustenance of a good quality technical education system is also given consideration in this proposal for effective and efficient rehabilitation of existing physical facilities and the purchase of new and appropriate training equipment. Simultaneously, considerations for increasing the number of technical teachers in the system to a determined optimum level while setting minimum acceptable qualifications for technical teachers are advanced. Implementation of this proposal is expected to contribute greatly to the continuous development of a labour pool with skills that are relevant to and adequate for the needs of the economy.


We extend the disformal transformation to models with two scalar fields and look at its singular limit. Solving the eigentensor equation for the Jacobian of the transformation of the metrics we find the two-field extension of the mimetic scenario in the singular conformal limit. At the background level the setup mimics the roles of dark matter cosmology. We decompose the perturbations into the adiabatic and entropy modes in which the adiabatic perturbation is tangential to the classical trajectory while the entropy mode is perpendicular to it. We show that the adiabatic mode is frozen while the entropy mode propagates with the sound speed equal to unity with no instabilities.


This paper examines the effect of the demand and supply shocks driving the global crude oil market on aggregate U.S. bond index real returns. A positive oil market-specific demand shock is associated with significant decreases in aggregate bond index real returns for 8 months following the shock. A positive innovation in aggregate demand has a negative effect on real bond return that is statistically significant and becomes more adverse over 24 months. Structural shocks driving the global oil market jointly account for 27.1% of the variation in real bond returns at 24 month horizon. A spillover index from rolling SVAR models is used to identify the interdependence between the oil market and bond returns. The mean for this spillover index is 0.381 over 2001:01-2011:12 and 0.476 over September through December 2008 during the height of the global financial crisis.


Nowcasting UK GDP during the Depression reviews the performance of several statistical techniques in nowcasting preliminary estimates of UK GDP, particularly during the recent depression. Traditional bridging equations, MIDAS regressions and factor models are all considered. While there are various theoretical differences and perceived advantages for each technique, replicated real-time out-ofsample testing shows that, in practice, there is in fact little to choose between methods in terms of end-of-period nowcasting accuracy. The analysis also reveals that none of the aforementioned statistical models can consistently beat a consensus of professional economists in nowcasting preliminary GDP estimates. This inability of statistical models to beat the consensus may reflect several factors, one of which is the revisions and re-appraisal of trends inherent in UK GDP statistics. The suggestion is that these changes impact on observed relationships between GDP and indicator variables such as business surveys, which impairs nowcasting performance. Indeed, using a synthetic series based purely on observed preliminary GDP estimates, which introduces stability to the target variable series, the nowcasting accuracy of regressions including closely-watched PMI data is improved by 25-40 percentage points relative to a naive benchmark. JEL Classification: C22, C32


Industry 4.0 is causing a lot of changes related to the way people work, bringing a demand for a new worker profile, mainly for engineers, that need to have not only technical skills but also methodological, social and personal skills. So, there is a need to study and identify how the university prepares engineering students for Industry 4.0 jobs. To achieve this objective a literature review was made, twenty-nine skills of Industry 4.0 jobs were identified, and eight active learning methodologies were selected like paths that universities can use to develop skills for the Industry 4.0. To analyze how a university can use active learning methodologies to develop Industry 4.0 skills in engineering students, a questionnaire was applied in four engineering classes of the University of Brasilia, where the professors answered about the active learning methodology used and what skills were developed in the students, and the students answer the questionnaire with what skills they developed. A correlation analysis was applied to detect the different points of view between professors and students. Then, a decision tree was used to identify what skills were most developed by the active learning methodology used by the professor. The results show that are some divergences between the two points of view, and the questionnaire needs to be adaptable to measure with more reliability the skills that the professor wants to develop in each engineering class.


The aim of this thesis was to study maternal and infant effects of delayed cord clamping (≥180 seconds, DCC) compared to early (≤10 seconds, ECC) in a randomised controlled trial. Practice and guidelines regarding when to clamp the cord vary globally, and different meta-analyses have shown contradictory conclusions on benefits and disadvantages of DCC and ECC.The study population consisted of 382 term infants born after normal pregnancies and randomised to DCC or ECC after birth. The primary objective was iron stores and iron deficiency at 4 months of age, but the thesis was designed to investigate a wide range of suggested effects associated with cord clamping.Paper I showed that DCC was associated with improved iron stores at 4 months (45% higher ferritin) and that the incidence of iron deficiency was reduced from 5.7% to 0.6%. Neonatal anaemia at 2-3 days was less frequent in the DCC group, 1.2% vs. 6.3%. There were no differences between the groups in respiratory symptoms, polycythaemia, or hyperbilirubinaemia.In paper II we demonstrated that DCC versus ECC was not associated with higher risk for maternal post partum haemorrhage and rendered a comparable ratio of valid umbilical artery blood gas samples.In paper III, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire was used to assess neurodevelopment at 4 months. The total scores did not differ, but the DCC group had a higher score in the problem-solving domain and a lower score in the personal-social domain. Immunoglobulin G level was 0.7 g/L higher in the DCC group at 2–3 days, but did not differ at 4 months. Symptoms of infection up to 4 months were comparable between groups.Finally, in paper IV, iron stores and neurodevelopment were similar between groups at 12 months. Gender specific outcome on neurodevelopment at 12 months was discovered, implying positive effects from DCC on boys and negative on girls.We conclude that delaying umbilical cord clamping for 180 seconds is safe and associated with a significantly reduced risk for iron deficiency at 4 months, which may have neurodevelopmental effects at a later age.


Governments' policies and actions often precipitate public blame firestorms and mediated scandals targeted at individual or collective policy makers. In the face of losing credibility and resources, officeholders are tempted to apply strategies of blame avoidance which permeate administrative structures, operations, and language use. Linguistic aspects of blame avoidance are yet to be studied by discourse analysts in great detail. It is necessary to develop a more sophisticated, context-sensitive understanding of how blame avoidance affects public communication practices of governments, because certain defensive ways of communicating may curb democratic deliberation in society. In this thesis, I propose a systematic approach to identifying and interpreting defensive discursive strategies adopted by government communicators in the circumstances of blame risk. I do this by engaging with a set of recent empirical data (samples of text, talk, and images produced by the British government at critical moments in the aftermath of the financial crisis of the late 2000s; field data from the backstage of British government communication), and integrating political science literature on the politics of blame avoidance with the linguistically rooted discourse-historical approach to the study of social problems. I show how reactive and anticipative blame avoidance in government communication involves the use of particular strategies of arguing, framing, denying, representing social actors and actions, legitimating, and discursive manipulation. I argue that officeholders' discursive practices of blame avoidance should be interpreted in relation to various conceptualisations of 'government communication', understood within the frames of a discursively constructed 'blame game', and analysed as multimodal defensive performances. This is a multidisciplinary exploratory study that I hope will open up new avenues for future research into government blame games, and, more broadly, into blame phenomena in political and organisational life.