For many years, imaging of the musculoskeletal (MSK) system has focused on subjective and qualitative analysis. However, quantitative assessment of imaging data may provide precise and reproducible image-derived metrics, and through their use there is a promise of increased value of imaging. Specifically, these metrics, or biomarkers, may be used for improved diagnosis, determination of patient prognosis, and monitoring of treatment response. This issue of Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology is dedicated to quantitative MSK imaging.

Giraudo et al provide a comprehensive overview of the quantitative methods that can be applied to assess inflammatory rheumatologic diseases, considering not only different radiologic techniques but also hybrid imaging. In addition, they describe emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and radiomics.

Burge and Jawetz discuss advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in osteoarthritis that can comprehensively evaluate joint health, providing additional information regarding both cartilage status and the state of surrounding articular tissues. Gitto and colleagues discuss the currently available state-of-the-art quantitative ultrasound imaging tools available in MSK radiology including shear-wave elastography, perfusion with contrast-enhanced ultrasound and superb microvascular imaging, and quantitative ultrasound assessment of osteosarcopenia.

Hemke et al present an overview of quantitative imaging methods to assess the distribution of lean tissue, adipose tissue, and bone in the human body, and their relationship with various pathologies. They stress the importance of body composition imaging for predicting overall health and risk profiling of patients. Jerban and colleagues summarize the quantitative MRI techniques recently developed for cortical and trabecular bone evaluation. Compared with radiograph-based techniques that focus on measuring bone mineral density, the new quantitative MRI techniques can comprehensively evaluate all the components of bone including the organic matrix, bone minerals, water, and fat. Weber et al review the role of neuromuscular imaging in the diagnosis of inherited and acquired muscle diseases. They discuss whole-body imaging as well as more advanced MRI applications including nonproton MRI and multiparametric quantitative imaging that provides deeper insights into muscle pathophysiology.

Griffith describes the role of quantitative imaging for the assessment of spine abnormalities. These quantitative techniques have led to a greater understanding of spinal development, marrow physiology, and disease pathogenesis. In their article on quantitative musculoskeletal tumor imaging, Howe and colleagues highlight the emerging role of various quantitative MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) techniques for the characterization, staging, prognosis, and follow-up of bone and soft tissue tumors. They also touch on the role of computed tomography and MRI-based virtual surgical planning and three-dimensional printing as a means to optimize surgical treatment of MSK tumors.

Yoon et al review novel approaches to pinpoint MSK pain generators with the use of PET imaging. They also discuss the added value of new radiotracers and of combining information in one hybrid PET/MRI examination. Liu presents the concepts of deep learning and demonstrates how these methods applied to quantitative MRI may accelerate image acquisition and reconstruction, improve tissue segmentation, and aid in the detection of structural knee abnormalities. Finally, Visser and colleagues discuss the trend in medicine that is moving from volume- to value-based payments, and they review the role that quantitative imaging may play. They also discuss the influence of artificial intelligence on value-based health care.

The variety of applications across all imaging modalities presented in this issue exemplifies the significant effort being made in developing and validating quantitative imaging techniques applied to the MSK system. The fact that several novel applications are still at the stage of development and optimization while other, more established, methods are already being translated into the clinical applications, demonstrates the tremendous ongoing activity in the field of quantitative MSK imaging.

We thank all the authors for their outstanding contribution to this issue. We hope the readers will be as excited as we are to apply quantitative imaging biomarkers in their clinical practice.


The purpose of this paper was to study the protective effect of paeoniflorin on acute cerebral ischemia. The animal model of cerebral infarction induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was blocked by suture method. Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into shame group, MCAO group, paeoniflorin (60, 120, 240 mg/kg, respectively) and nimodipine (NMDP) group (n = 10 per group). The rats were intragastrically administered immediately after operation. After 7 days of gavage, the brains were decapitated at 24 h. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the degree of cell damage in the cerebral cortex of rats. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect silver plating and to observe changes in nerve cells. Rats in the model group showed obvious symptoms of neurological deficits, such as the ischemic morphological changed obviously, the malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LD) content and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was significantly increased in the ischemic brain tissue, while the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was decreased. The decrease in Na+-K+-ATPase activity was significantly lower than that in the sham group. The neurological symptoms and signs of MCAO in the different doses of paeoniflorin group were improved, and the neuronal edema in the cortical area was alleviated. The activities of SOD, LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase were significantly increased, and the contents of MDA and LD were decreased. Therefore, paeoniflorin could alleviate the degree of tissue damage in rats with acute cerebral infarction, inhabit the formation of free radicals in the brain tissue after ischemia, and reduce the degree of lipid peroxidation. Thus the degree of cell damage was reduced greatly and a protective effect was showed on cerebral ischemia.


Abstract Local politicians are often expected to mobilize voters on behalf of copartisan candidates for national office. Yet this requirement is difficult to enforce because the effort of local politicians cannot be easily monitored and the promise of rewards in exchange for help is not fully credible. Using a formal model, we show that the incentives of local politicians to mobilize voters on behalf of their party depend on the proportion of copartisan officials in a district. Having many copartisan officials means that the party is more likely to capture the district, but the effort of each local politician is less likely either to be noticed by higher-level officials or to make a difference on the election outcome, thus discouraging lower-level officials from exerting effort. We validate these claims with data from federal elections in Mexico between 2000 and 2012. In line with the argument, the results show that political parties fail to draw great mobilization advantages from simultaneously controlling multiple offices.


The painful nature of lameness makes it a serious welfare issue. Early detection and management of lameness is paramount. In the present case report, a 20-months-old dairy cow was referred with a history of acute lameness (locomotion score 5, on a scale of 5-point). Infrared thermography was used as a useful addition to the diagnostic tools available to clinicians, as it can detect localised variations in temperature and have a great potential to assist diagnosis in bovine lameness. The evaluation of subtle temperature variation associated with inflammatory conditions is a very important indicator to detect inflammation associated with lameness. In this case, the use of the preclinical thermographic examination was capable of pinpointing the location in the area of the greatest inflammation to focus radiographs. Following this procedure, physical and radiographic examinations were taken of the detected area and were evaluated. A non-weight bearing lameness of the right forelimb and a swelling medial hoof that was painful upon palpation was noticed. Radiographic images showed a dislocation of the distal interphalangeal. Conservative management was performed by placing the healthy claw on a block to alleviate weight bearing on the affected claw and the half - limb cast was used for immobilization of phalangeal for 25 days. Complete joint ankylosis was evident on radiographs, one month after. Effectiveness of all treatment measures was monitored through continual locomotion scoring. Clinical outcome was excellent. The management of lameness is centred on improving the welfare of the cow.  Although the function of the ankylosed digit is reduced, it still plays a part in bearing weight; movement at pasture and on slatted floors remains satisfactory. The advantages of a conservative approach and a clinical management, if there are adequate conditions, allow to salvage the digit which a long productive life can still be expected, reduce costs for the owner and avoid complications after surgery.


Computational fluid dynamics has been widely used in the analysis of turbomachinery blades, however, its use as a design tool is far from sophisticated. The inverse method is such a design approach, which lends it self to the latter category. One application of the inverse method is the so called "pure inverse methd", which differs from common analysis solver mainly in the boundary conditions on the blade surfaces. For this application, the usual non-penetration boundary conditions on the blade surfaces are aborted, instead, some aerodynamic constraints are imposed, and the flow is allowed to transpire through the actual solid wall. A camber line generation equation is added to periodically re-generate the blade camber line and drive the normal velocities on the blade surfaces to zero. When converged, the inverse method should obtain the blade shapes which satisfy the specified aerodynamic performance.In the present paper, three transpiration boundary conditions for turbomachinery blades design are compared in terms of time cost, robustness, capability of coping separation flow etc. The first inverse boundary condition is based on the flow-tangency condition on the blade surfaces, the second relys on the propagating characteristics in the flow field, and the third is a hybrid version of the first and the second. The computation is validated for 2D Navier-Stokes equation. Two compressor cascades are taken as examples to compare the performance of the three transpiration boundary conditions. Finally some conclusions are drawn.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


BACKGROUND
 Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent condition affecting individuals of all ages. To manage the symptoms and prevent recurrences and flare-ups, physical activity in conjunction with self-management education is recommended. Tools such as diaries and questionnaires have been the gold standard for tracking physical activity in clinical studies. However, there are issues with consistency, accuracy, and recall with the use of these outcome measures. Given the growth of technology in today's society, consumer-grade activity monitors have become a common and convenient method of recording physical activity data.

 OBJECTIVE
 The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and convergent validity of a Garmin Vivofit 3 activity tracker in evaluating physical activity levels in a clinical trial of patients with LBP.

 METHODS
 We recruited 17 individuals with nonspecific LBP referred from health care professionals or self-referred through advertisements in the community. The participants entered into a 12-week physical activity and self-management program. Physical activity was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire and the Garmin activity tracker. Activity tracker data (eg, steps taken, distance walked, and intensity minutes) were extracted weekly from the Garmin Connect online platform. Outcomes of pain and activity limitation were assessed weekly using a mobile app. A linear regression was conducted to evaluate if demographic factors (ie, age, gender, pain level) affected the adherence rates to the activity monitor. We also used Pearson correlations to evaluate the convergent validity of the Garmin activity tracker with the physical activity questionnaire.

 RESULTS
 The mean daily adherence rate for activity monitors was 70% (SD 31%) over the 26 weeks of study. The mean response rate for the weekly physical activity measures using REDCap for the first 12 weeks of the study was 91% (SD 17%). None of the hypothesized variables or questionnaires were predictors of response rate.

 CONCLUSIONS
 The majority of participants were compliant with wearing the tracker, and demographic factors were not found to be predictors of adherence to wearing the device. However, there were poor correlations between the modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and the activity monitor, demonstrating problems with convergent validity.


Anomalous appearance of TL (thymus-leukemia) antigens is a characteristic feature of radiation-induced leukemias of C57bl/6 mice. We now report that thymocytes of irradiated C57BL/6 mice express TL antigens long before the development of overt leukemia. Thus, TL is a marker for preleukemic changes occurring during radiation leukemogenesis. Low levels of murine leukemia virus (MuLV)-related antigens are also detected on preleukemic thymocytes. Comparative tests on individual mice show no direct correlation between TL and MuLV antigen expression.


Background: Podocyte injury and loss, caused by a variety of insults, is a common and determining factor for the progression of glomerular diseases. Being postmitotic and highly differentiated, podocytes have no or a very limited ability to proliferate or regenerate. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that help maintain and defend podocytes is of great importance. Autophagy is a cellular process by which cytoplasmic cargos are sequestered within autophagosomes and then delivered to lysosomes for degradation and turnover. Recent research has highlighted an important role of autophagy in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis under physiological and pathological conditions. Summary: A high basal level of autophagy is a characteristic hallmark of differentiated podocytes, which may contribute critically to the structural and functional integrity of the cells. Autophagy is also essential for long-term podocyte homeostasis in aging, protecting podocytes against cellular degeneration and age-related kidney diseases. In glomerular diseases, alteration of autophagic activity may be an adaptive and protective mechanism against podocyte injury and disease progression. Recent studies have further suggested an intriguing and unique interplay between mTOR signaling and autophagy in podocytes. Key Messages: Altogether, these findings unveil an emerging role of autophagy in the physiology and pathology of podocytes. Further work should elucidate the regulatory mechanism of autophagy in podocytes, determine its pathophysiological role in various kidney diseases, and test autophagy-targeting therapies.


Analytical models have been developed in recent years for predicting the elastic properties of fiber reinforced composite laminates with undulated laminas, such as woven and filament wound composites. In these models, a representative volume element (RVE) is defined, assumptions about how strains or stresses vary throughout the RVE are made, and then the homogenized constitutive behavior of the RVE is calculated. The constitutive behavior has been modeled in the context of either two-dimensional plate behavior or three-dimensional continuum behavior. Of the latter genre, the few existing models capable of handling undulated laminas have not captured the full three-dimensional constitutive behavior, including all the out-of-plane couplings arising from the most general undulation configurations. Building on the existing models, the current investigation utilizes micromechanics to determine the three-dimensional stiffness at discrete stations along the length of an RVE containing an undulated lamina, and determines the overall RVE constitutive behavior by averaging either the stiffness or compliance along the length of the RVE, thus providing bounds on the material behavior. The new model is evaluated by comparison with existing models as well as experiments for laminates with and without undulations. Similarities and differences with previous models are discussed.


Intelligent voice assistants are internet-connected devices, which listen to their environment and react to spoken user commands in order to retrieve information from the internet, control appliances in the household, or notify the user of incoming messages, reminders, and the like. With their increasing ubiquity in smart homes, their application seems only limited by the imagination of developers, who connect these off-the-shelf devices to existing apps, online services, or appliances. However, since their inherent nature is to observe the user in their home, their ubiquity also raises concern of security and user privacy. To justify the trust placed into the devices, the devices must be secure from unauthorized access and the back-end infrastructure tasked with speech-to-text analysis, command interpretation, and connection to other services and appliances must maintain confidentiality of data. To investigate existing possible vulnerabilities, approaches to mitigate them, as well as general considerations in this emerging field, we supplement the findings of a recent study with results from a systematic literature review. We were able to compile a list of six main types of user privacy vulnerabilities, partially confirming previous findings, but also finding additional issues. We discuss these vulnerabilities, their associated attack vectors, and possible mitigations users can take to protect themselves.


Abstract. Thermal continentality plays an important role not only in the basic characterisation of the climate in particular regions but also in the phytogeographic distribution of plants and ecosystem formation. Due to ongoing climate change, questions surrounding the changes of thermal continentality are very relevant. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of thermal continentality and its temporal changes in the Slovak Republic between the years of 1961 and 2013. The study was carried out on several meteorological stations selected in respect to the geographical and geomorphological heterogeneity of Slovakia. Our results show that the continentality of Slovakia increased in the period 1961 to 2013; however, this trend is not significant. These non-significant trends are confirmed at all the stations. Nevertheless, it is necessary to be aware of this signal, especially because these changes could cause changes in ecosystem formation in future.


This article reports a study examining whether foreign language (FL) word learning can be improved with reduction in cognitive load. Cognitive load theory has received substantial supports in various fields of learning but never in FL word learning. Due to the defined poverty in exposure to the FL, hence deprived cognitive pre-requisites for natural FL development, cognitive load could be critical to FL learning success. Thus while word learning may be a simple attempt of associating word forms with their meanings for L1 children, for FL learners, the cognitive load is multiplied by the additional task of taming the often intractable phonological forms (both perceptive and productive) at the same time they are making the association. In light of cognitive burden reduction, FL learners could thus benefit from learning phonological forms first as their L1 counterparts do. The present study examined whether beginning learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) learn English novel names better if first familiarized with the phonological rimes of target names whose referents are taught only later. Chinese-speaking first graders were assigned to one of three teaching conditions: rime familiarization, which familiarized children with rimes through rhyming activities without any meanings involved; spoken vocabulary, which taught words in rhyming groups together with their referents; and semantic control, which focused on word use. As the results showed, the rime familiarization group outperformed the other two by an improvement score several times greater, suggesting the critical role of cognitive load in FL word learning success.


According to oblique projectile movement principle, assume initial speed is 25m/s, throwing height is 1.8m, under different throwing, use computer simulating javelinmovement trajectory, apply comparative analysis, it gets that under different projection angles, the ranges are also different; in case projection angle is 45°, it can get maximum range of 68m. By kinematical analysis of javelin throwersÂ' right hand throwing cross step technique and final exertion technique, it is clear that only human body upper and lower limbs, left and right side each organ coordinately exert the strength can perfect javelin throwing technique. By analyzing athletes each indicator, it gets that during javelin throwing process the cross step phase, left leg pedaling and stretching opportunity should be proper and cannot let left leg fly so high, while in final exertion whipping phase, it should master right leg pedaling and stretching opportunity, pay attention to javelin release angle and oblique angle and improve javelin throwing vertical axis exertion effects


This paper examines how voltage total harmonic distortion (VTHD) indices obtained from medium voltage sites calculated over different assessment periods vary across a year. The aim of the study is to determine how much variation is present in VTHD indices calculated using a one week assessment period and, if the variation is large, attempt to determine an assessment period which reduces the variability to an acceptable level. The study findings indicate that there is significant variation in indices calculated using the commonly used weekly assessment period. It is clear that monitoring for one random week at any given time during the year is not acceptable for compliance evaluation as the error between the minimum weekly value and the maximum weekly value across the year can be very large. Moving to a two week or four week assessment period reduces the variation, however a quarterly assessment interval is required to reduce variation to a level that may be acceptable.


Background Intra-articular fractures of the radial head in skeletally immature patients are rare. Most studies in the literature group intra-articular radial head fractures with the more common extra-articular, metaphyseal fractures of the radial neck; considered as a group, outcomes are favorable. In this study, we specifically evaluate a group of skeletally immature patients with intra-articular radial head fractures, and a rapid progression of posterior subluxation of the radial head with the development of joint arthrosis. Methods A chart review identified 7 patients who were referred for management of an intra-articular radial head fracture that had failed initial nonoperative management. All the elbows progressed to posterior radiocapitellar subluxation and joint degeneration within 4 months after initial injury. We cataloged clinical, radiographic, and intraoperative findings. Results The average age at the time of injury was 10 years and 6 months (range, 8 to 13 y). Five patients were male and 2 were female. Five patients had Salter-Harris III fractures of the radial epiphysis, while 2 had Salter-Harris IV injuries. The radiocapitellar articulation was reduced on the initial injury films, but all the elbows showed progressive radiocapitellar subluxation and arthrosis, whereas the ulnohumeral articulation remained unaffected. Motion was decreased in all patients with an average arc of extension-flexion of 38 degrees to 127 degrees and an average arc of rotation of 84 degrees. Six patients underwent salvage surgery. Conclusions Skeletally immature patients with an intra-articular radial head fracture are at risk for progressive radial head subluxation and radiocapitellar arthrosis. Level of Evidence Retrospective Case Series, Level IV.


The research introduces catalysed hydrothermal carbonization (CHTC) as a treatment method for woody biomass to produce solid hydrochar as well as value-added compounds (VACs). The hydrochar had higher heating values (HHV) of 28.3 MJ/kg and H/C and O/C ratios similar to coal, when using the liquid:biomass (L:B) ratio of 12:1 for the process. Densified CHTC hydrochar pellets were 97% durable, and hydrophobic when compared with wood pellets and torrefied wood pellets. CHTC has the potential to produce VACs such as glycolic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, levulinic acid, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and furfural, from the process liquid effluent. Recycling the process liquid at L:B of 5:1 increased the concentration of the VACs and energy yield of the hydrochar. The production yields of the VACs were dependent upon the L:B ratios, they increased parallel with L:B ratios.


BALB/c mice were immunized with crude cell surface proteins of Listeria monocytogenes V7. Approximately 1,680 hybridomas were generated after two fusions, and the monoclone C11E9 was selected and used for further characterization. The monoclonal antibody (MAb) produced by C11E9 was immunoglobulin subclass G2b with kappa light chains. Dot and colony blot results indicated that MAb C11E9 was reactive to all the L. monocytogenes (34 of 34) and Listeria innocua (6 of 6) isolates without any cross-reaction to other organisms tested. Western blot (immunoblot) analysis of crude cell surface proteins in native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) indicated that MAb C11E9 reacts with a single band in each species, with a molecular mass of 174 kDa for L. monocytogenes and 182 kDa for L. innocua. The MAb reacted with one major protein band in Western blot from acid-urea PAGE for both L. monocytogenes and L. innocua. Isoelectric focusing results indicated two immunoreactive protein bands with pIs of 8.1 and 7.4 for L. monocytogenes. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE and Western blot analysis indicated several proteins with molecular masses of 76, 66, 56, and 52 kDa for L. monocytogenes and 66, 56, and 52 kDa for L. innocua. Reaction of MAb C11E9 to washed live cells indicated the possible binding of antibody to cell surface antigen. These cell surface antigens could be removed by 1 N HCl plus 9 M urea, 2% SDS-0.5% beta-mercaptoethanol, or 4 M guanidine-HCl. The epitope of MAb C11E9 binding site was shown to be protein in nature. Periodic acid-Schiff staining and glycoprotein immunoassay indicated that carbohydrate was absent in the epitope. The cellular locations of the MAb C11E9-reactive antigens were calculated to be 76 and 90% outside and 24 and 10% inside the cell membranes of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua, respectively, for 12- to 14-h cultures.


In the health care system and Internet of Things (IoT) platform, medical care robotics is becoming one of the quickest expanding areas of robot technology. The integration of robotics and human knowledge identifies human muscle rigidity from the healthcare data obtained from the wearable sensor. In an IoT platform, Electromyography is a method used for evaluating and tracking the electrical activity of muscles. The transferring of human muscle rigidity to a robot facilitates the robot to obtain resistive management initiatives in a useful and effective way while carrying out physical interaction activities in unstructured surroundings. The major challenges to overcome the unpredictability during physical interaction allow a robot to realize the individual behaviour with adaptability and versatility of muscles. Therefore, in this article, Human‐Robot Approximation Characteristics Framework (HRACF) has been proposed for developing physiological communication between humans and robots. HRACF permits robots to understand differential resistive abilities of muscles from human presentations. The pulses collected from Electromyography are used to retrieve human arm muscle rigidity during activity presentation. The characteristics of motion and rigidity are concurrently modelled using an estimation and approximation model with a logistic regression obtained by IoT devices. The analysed human arm muscle rigidity is then connected to the robot impedance regulator. HR model uses an optimized resistive approximator to measure the creative variables of the robot and continue driving to monitor the quoted pathways at the time of interaction. The relationship between motion data and rigidity data is systematically coded in the HR model. HRACF makes it possible to detect uncertainties through space and time that facilitates the robot to meet rigidity specification to 98[Nm/Rad] and error rate to 0.15% during physical interaction.


ABSTRACT The study investigates the direct influence of gender, self-esteem and health locus of control on life satisfaction among retirees in two states in the South-western part of Nigeria. Using ex-post facto research design, 592 retirees conveniently completed copies of a questionnaire that comprised demographics and measures of variables of interest. Three hypotheses were tested by t-test for independent groups. Self-esteem significantly influenced life satisfaction t(590) = 3.39, p<.05. Similarly, health locus of control significantly influenced life satisfaction t(590) = 3.87, p<.05. However, no significant influence of gender on life satisfaction t(590) = 0.08, p>.05. Living a more satisfied life in retirement is a function of having positive self-regards or being responsible for health-related behaviour. Harnessing the influencing variables may help in the provision of self-development programmes, therefore ensuring care and support for retirees to enjoy and live a fulfilled life after selfless service to their nation.


History of medicine seems to be a journey deep into the body and its diseases. This journey is not determined solely by disinterested scientific curiosity; it was and still is surrounded by a web of cultural, political, economic and religious agendas. Accordingly, the first part of the essay will map out the journey into the body and point out how the objectivity of scientific approaches that we today take for granted is a myth constructed around the eighteenth century, and how the medicalised body is never devoid of cultural baggage. With the aim to illustrate how the medical discourses depend on other discourses to perpetuate themselves as well as undermine the authority of those they depend upon, the second part of this essay will analyse Federico Andahazi's The Anatomist, which employs a wide range of Renaissance discourses to parody religious, legal, scientific and sexual 'grand narratives.'


The biological properties of pancreatic cancer stem cells (PCSCs) remain incompletely defined and the central regulators are unknown. By bioinformatic analysis of a PCSC-enriched gene signature, we identified the transcription factor HNF1A as a putative central regulator of PCSC function. Levels of HNF1A and its target genes were found to be elevated in PCSCs and tumorspheres, and depletion of HNF1A resulted in growth inhibition, apoptosis, impaired tumorsphere formation, PCSC depletion, and downregulation of OCT4 expression. Conversely, HNF1A overexpression increased PCSC numbers and tumorsphere formation in pancreatic cancer cells and drove PDA cell growth. Importantly, depletion of HNF1A in primary tumor xenografts impaired tumor growth and depleted PCSCs in vivo. Finally, we established an HNF1A-dependent gene signature in PDA cells that significantly correlated with reduced survivability in patients. These findings identify HNF1A as a central transcriptional regulator of the PCSC state and novel oncogene in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.


The absence of derivatives, often combined with the presence of noise or lack of smoothness, is a major challenge for optimization. This book explains how sampling and model techniques are used in derivative-free methods and how these methods are designed to efficiently and rigorously solve optimization problems. Although readily accessible to readers with a modest background in computational mathematics, it is also intended to be of interest to researchers in the field. Introduction to Derivative-Free Optimization is the first contemporary comprehensive treatment of optimization without derivatives. This book covers most of the relevant classes of algorithms from direct search to model-based approaches. It contains a comprehensive description of the sampling and modeling tools needed for derivative-free optimization; these tools allow the reader to better understand the convergent properties of the algorithms and identify their differences and similarities. Introduction to Derivative-Free Optimization also contains analysis of convergence for modified Nelder Mead and implicit-filtering methods, as well as for model-based methods such as wedge methods and methods based on minimum-norm Frobenius models. Audience: The book is intended for anyone interested in using optimization on problems where derivatives are difficult or impossible to obtain. Such audiences include chemical, mechanical, aeronautical, and electrical engineers, as well as economists, statisticians, operations researchers, management scientists, biological and medical researchers, and computer scientists. It is also appropriate for use in an advanced undergraduate or early graduate-level course on optimization for students having a background in calculus, linear algebra, and numerical analysis. Contents: Preface; Chapter 1: Introduction; Part I: Sampling and modeling; Chapter 2: Sampling and linear models; Chapter 3: Interpolating nonlinear models; Chapter 4: Regression nonlinear models; Chapter 5: Underdetermined interpolating models; Chapter 6: Ensuring well poisedness and suitable derivative-free models; Part II: Frameworks and algorithms; Chapter 7: Directional direct-search methods; Chapter 8: Simplicial direct-search methods; Chapter 9: Line-search methods based on simplex derivatives; Chapter 10: Trust-region methods based on derivative-free models; Chapter 11: Trust-region interpolation-based methods; Part III: Review of other topics; Chapter 12: Review of surrogate model management; Chapter 13: Review of constrained and other extensions to derivative-free optimization; Appendix: Software for derivative-free optimization; Bibliography; Index.


Abstract Fox and Pesetsky (henceforth F&P) propose an architecture for the mapping between syntax and phonology which relates a number of different constraints on movement to the way in which phrase structure is linearized. They investigate Object Shift (henceforth OS) and Quantifier Movement (henceforth QM) in Scandinavian and argue that the restrictions on these processes, namely Holmberg's Generalization (HG) effects on OS and what they call ''the inverse Holmberg effect'' on QM, reflect a requirement for preservation of the order established in the VP due to the fact that the VP is a Spell-out domain. F&P's proposal relies on Holmberg's (1999) formulation of HG which has been challenged by Anagnostopoulou (2002) on the basis of data discussed in Anagnostopoulou (2003) that directly contradict Holmberg (1999). It is my goal here to investigate how these data can be accommodated in F&P's system. I will argue that even though F&P can, in principle, account for the data in question, the attempt to unify the restrictions on OS, QM with comparable restrictions on passivization under F&P's architecture fails to express certain crosslinguistic generalizations which are straightforwardly captured in traditional locality accounts.


Introduction: Pediatric health care workers (HCW) often perform, promote, and advocate use of public funds for animal research (AR). We aim to determine whether HCW consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of AR convincing. Design: After development and validation, an e-mail survey was sent to all pediatricians and pediatric intensive care unit nurses and respiratory therapists (RTs) affiliated with a Canadian University. We presented questions about demographics, support for AR, and common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses are reported using standard tabulations. Responses of pediatricians and nurses/RTs were compared using Chi-square, with P < .05 considered significant. Results: Response rate was 53/115(46%) (pediatricians), and 73/120(61%) (nurses/RTs). Pediatricians and nurses/RTs are supportive of AR. Most considered ' benefits arguments ' sufficient to justify AR; however, most acknowledged that counterarguments suggesting alternative research methods may be available, or that it is unclear why the same ' benefits arguments ' do not apply to using humans in research, significantly weakened ' benefits arguments ' . Almost all were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ' characteristics of non-human-animals arguments ' , including that non-human-animals may not be sentient, or are simply property. Most were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ' human exceptionalism ' arguments, including that humans have more advanced mental abilities, are of a special ' kind ' , can enter into social contracts, or face a ' lifeboat situation ' . Counterarguments explained much of this, including that not all humans have these more advanced abilities [the argument from species overlap], and that the notion of ' kind ' is arbitrary [e.g., why are we not of the kind ' sentient animal ' or ' subject-of-a-life ' ]. Pediatrician and nurse/RT responses were similar. Conclusions: Most respondents the moral permissibility of AR when given common arguments and counterarguments from the literature. HCW should seriously consider arguments on both sides of the AR debate.


The reproducible regulation of release of a macromolecule (bovine serum albumin) from biocompatible polymer systems has been demonstrated. Small magnetic spheres or cylindrical magnets were embedded within the polymer matrix which was then subjected to an oscillating magnetic field. In this fashion baseline release rates could be increased 5- to 10-fold with 5-10% standard error. Parameters critical to the regulation of this release included the position, orientation, and magnetic strength of the embedded objects and the amplitude and frequency of the applied magnetic field. Scanning electronmicrographs of the polymer matrix surface reveal that a gap, approximately 100/microns wide, is formed between the embedded object and adjacent polymer material after repeated exposure to an oscillating magnetic field.


The aim of this study was to demonstrate the role of advanced fabrication technology across a broad spectrum of head and neck surgical procedures, including applications in endoscopic sinus surgery, skull base surgery, and maxillofacial reconstruction. The initial case studies demonstrated three applications of rapid prototyping technology are in head and neck surgery: i) a mono-material paranasal sinus phantom for endoscopy training ii) a multi-material skull base simulator and iii) 3D patient-specific mandible templates. Digital processing of these phantoms is based on real patient or cadaveric 3D images such as CT or MRI data. Three endoscopic sinus surgeons examined the realism of the endoscopist training phantom. One experienced endoscopic skull base surgeon conducted advanced sinus procedures on the high-fidelity multi-material skull base simulator. Ten patients participated in a prospective clinical study examining patient-specific modeling for mandibular reconstructive surgery. Qualitative feedback to assess the realism of the endoscopy training phantom and high-fidelity multi-material phantom was acquired. Conformance comparisons using assessments from the blinded reconstructive surgeons measured the geometric performance between intra-operative and pre-operative reconstruction mandible plates. Both the endoscopy training phantom and the high-fidelity multi-material phantom received positive feedback on the realistic structure of the phantom models. Results suggested further improvement on the soft tissue structure of the phantom models is necessary. In the patient-specific mandible template study, the pre-operative plates were judged by two blinded surgeons as providing optimal conformance in 7 out of 10 cases. No statistical differences were found in plate fabrication time and conformance, with pre-operative plating providing the advantage of reducing time spent in the operation room. The applicability of common model design and fabrication techniques across a variety of otolaryngological sub-specialties suggests an emerging role for rapid prototyping technology in surgical education, procedure simulation, and clinical practice.


The Omineca Crystalline Belt and Coast Plutonic Complex are the two major regional tectonic welts in the Canadian Cordillera in which were concentrated intense deformation, regional metamorphism, granitic magmatism, uplift, and erosion. The welts, which formerly were thought to result from subduction of Pacific Ocean lithosphere beneath the western edge of North America, can now be viewed partly as the result of tectonic overlap and/or compressional thickening of crustal rocks during collisions between North America and two large, composite, allochthonous terranes that were accreted to its ancient western margin. The inner composite terrane, Terrane I, includes four smaller terranes that apparently were together by the end of Triassic time. The outer composite terrane, Terrane II, comprises two terranes, amalgamated by Late Jurassic time. The Omineca Crystalline Belt formed mainly from mid-Jurassic time onward, during and following the collision of Terrane I with North America. This belt straddles the zone of overlap of autochthonous and allochthonous terranes, and its characteristic metamorphism and structure are superimposed on both. The Coast Plutonic Complex formed mainly in Cretaceous to early Tertiary time during and following the attachment of Terrane II to the new, Jurassic, continental margin. It lies along the boundary of Terrane I and Terrane II and involves elements of both terranes. The collisions took place within the overall setting of the North American plate moving relatively westward into various Pacific plates from Jurassic time onward and in conjunction with subduction of Pacific Ocean lithosphere.


The vascular response to local skin cooling is dependent in part on a cold-induced translocation of α2C-receptors and an increased α-adrenoreceptor function. To discover whether β-adrenergic function might contribute, we examined whether β-receptor sensitivity to the β-agonist isoproterenol was affected by local skin temperature. In seven healthy volunteers, skin blood flow was measured from the forearm by laser-Doppler flowmetry and blood pressure was measured by finger photoplethysmography. Data were expressed as cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC; laser-Doppler flux/mean arterial blood pressure). Pharmacological agents were administered via intradermal microdialysis. We prepared four skin sites: one site was maintained at a thermoneutral temperature of 34°C (32 ± 10%CVCmax) one site was heated to 39°C (38 ± 11%CVCmax); and two sites were cooled, one to 29°C (22 ± 7%CVCmax) and the other 24°C (16 ± 4%CVCmax). After 20 min at these temperatures to allow stabilization of skin blood flow, isoproterenol was perfused in concentrations of 10, 30, 100, and 300 μM. Each concentration was perfused for 15 min. Relative to the CVC responses to isoproterenol at the thermoneutral skin temperature (34°C) (+21 ± 10%max), low skin temperatures reduced (at 29°C) (+17 ± 6%max) or abolished (at 24°C) (+1 ± 5%max) the vasodilator response, and warm (39°C) skin temperatures enhanced the vasodilator response (+40 ± 9%max) to isoproterenol. These data indicate that β-adrenergic function was influenced by local skin temperature. This finding raises the possibility that a part of the vasoconstrictor response to direct skin cooling could include reduced background β-receptor mediated vasodilation.


Studies of commons management make it clear that collective action for resource management is a highly complex process in which the impact of different conditions often will vary according to physical and socio-economic contexts. This paper attempts to contribute to the understanding of this process by exploring the causal mechanism of collective action through an examination of the intervening variables that connect contextual and policy factors with resource management outcomes in an indirect way. Using four hypothetical causal variables – a) degree of resource dependence; b) predictability of benefit flows; c) possibility of sanctions application; and d) possibility of trust building – and relying on the institutionalist framework, a comparative institutional analysis is applied to the community-managed rural water supply systems of two Senegalese villages. The analysis demonstrates that collective action is possible even when some of the facilitating conditions normally associated with successful commons management – such as resource scarcity and small/homogeneous user groups – are missing. It thus confirms that intervening variables are important for understanding the broader process of institutional change for sustainable resource management, and consequently to the crafting of more suitable policy interventions.


For more than 50 years, the resonant column test has been used to measure the shear modulus and damping of soils for shear strains ranging from 10−5 % to 0.5 %. For most soils, the test is non-destructive, and tests may be performed on the same specimen at multiple confining stresses simulating in situ conditions from near surface to great depths. This paper makes use of the transfer function approach for resonant column theory to obtain simple solutions for the test and applies it for two types of resonant column apparatus: the conventional fixed-base free top (including spring top) now referred to as device type 1, and for a new type of resonant column device, device type 2, where a torque transducer is mounted in the bottom platen of the device. Device type 2 uses the torque measured at the base of the specimen and the rotation measured at the top of the specimen to determine the shear modulus and damping. The advantage for taking torque measurements at the base of the specimen is because the torque that is measured is that transmitted by the specimen alone. Calibrations of top platen inertia, stiffness, damping, and torque input are not needed for device type 2. Solution of these equations with complex variables can be done with any number of programming languages. For example, simple, single page, Excel spreadsheets for each device type are provided. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues that need to be addressed before procedures involving non-resonant frequencies can be introduced into ASTM D4015 [ASTM D4015: Standard Test Method for Modulus and Damping of Soils by Fixed-Base Resonant-Column Method, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2007].


Facial Paralysis is a condition causing decreased movement on one side of the face. A quantitative, objective and reliable assessment system would be an invaluable tool for clinicians treating patients with this condition. This paper presents an approach based on the automatic analysis of patient video data. Facial feature localization and facial movement detection methods are discussed. An algorithm is presented to process the optical flow data to obtain the motion features in the relevant facial regions. Three classification methods are applied to provide quantitative evaluations of regional facial nerve function and the overall facial nerve function based on the House-Brackmann Scale. Experiments show the Radial Basis Function (RBF) Neural Network to have superior performance.


The constraints of operation in space have largely precluded the use of conventional solid-state laser systems for applications including remote sensing, communication relays and active laser radars. A new technology, fiber lasers, may offer all of the needed features at an affordable price. An appealing aspect of the fiber laser is that it does not need a rigid optical bench. Only the output end of the fiber need be held in rigid reference to the optical tracking system. Design, fabrication and testing of the laser resonator is generally the most expensive and longest lead part of the effort for conventional solid-state lasers. Advances in fiber optic technology and devices mean that the "fiber laser" need not be a simple device but may be a complex system employing sophisticated technology such as wavelength selective Bragg reflectors and nonlinear optical frequency shifters. Three companies have recently obtained single-mode outputs of 35-40 watts at 1.03-1.1 microns.


This thesis is an ethnographic study which investigates the production and consumption practices of online journalism in Taiwan. Two key questions are asked: how is online journalism practised in the domain of production and consumption and how is online news culture shaped or constituted through these practices? Distinct from existing studies of online news, I argue that online journalism should be studied as an emerging cultural form, rather than a subordinate of any existing forms of news media. My ethnographic study focuses on the practice aspect of online news consumption and production. It includes observation of, and interviews with, both professional news-workers in the online newsroom and online news consumers in private spaces. The analysis of this data reveals that online journalism has formed a 'convergence news culture'. This convergence culture in online journalism does not only involve an integration of different media formats and organizations, but also involves a convergence of different practices conducted by dispersed participants relating to online news media. In showing how the convergence culture of online journalism is constituted and shaped, I frame the analysis of online journalism through three interrelated aspects: online news production, consumption and online participatory journalism. My key finding suggests that online media, influenced by the convergence of different practices, shapes and expands the producer/consumer relationship. This relationship, therefore, cannot be captured by the conventional dichotomy of information provider - recipient. Both professional news-workers, and consumers/citizens who are involved with the practices of grassroots/citizen journalism, contribute to the circulation of online news information via their various practices of online news media. A significant influence of convergence news culture and the changing relationship is that consumers' or citizens' online news practices have challenged the traditional mainstream definition of what journalism is, as well as provided different 'public knowledge' and perspectives to facilitate public discussions in a new, emergent online public sphere.


In literature, there is a lake of information about free space optic (FSO) systems' performance in arid and semi-arid areas that are prone to frequent dust storms. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate the performance of FSO links under dust storm conditions. We aim to determine the limits and capabilities of such systems in this harsh environment. To achieve this goal, we use some performance metrics including signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, bit error rate (BER), and channel capacity. The results show that dust is a rough impairment that causes link drop under low visibility range. Moreover, we found that the system performance can be improved by using short segments or multi-hop system. Furthermore, the results show negligible improvement in system performance under dense dust. The comparison of fog and dust impairments show that dust introduces much higher attenuation than fog. Therefore, dust can be considered as the ultimate impairment for FSO links.


This raised beach, with its curious old sea-cliff brought to light again in the modern cliffs at Kemp Town, was first made known by the late Dr. Mantell*. Mr. Dixon† afterwards showed that beds of the same age extended to Shoreham and Broadwater, near Worthing ; whilst Mr. Godwin-Austen‡ has more recently described, on the coast between Bognor and Bracklesham, two thin marine beds of Newer Tertiary age, the uppermost of which he considers synchronous with the raised beach of Brighton §. The exact range westward and inland of this old beach, or of the sea-deposits of the same age, has not, however, yet been determined. With a view to assist this inquiry, I beg to lay before the Society the facts having reference to it which I have collected during the last few years, whilst examining the Older Tertiary strata and the drift-beds of this district,—the result, however, more particularly of two excursions made with the special view of tracing, if possible, the line of old cliff along the southern base of the South Downs between Brighton and Portsmouth. On the present occasion I do not propose to touch upon the question of the drift ‖, beyond describing such portions of it as are exhibited in conjunction with the older sea-bed. I may merely observe that the drift which has passed over this district has so swamped and hidden even its later geological features, that in a distance of thirty-seven miles I could not find a single place where


The material in this overview is drawn from selected abstracts that appear in the Center for Nonproliferation Studies' nuclear and missile databases. Transactions of nuclear and missile technologies, parts, and materials are listed according o the recipient country. Other developments are listed according to the country where the event or development took place.


Metabolic syndrome is a disorder which encompasses obesity, high blood glucose, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Moreover, metabolic syndrome is considered as the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is the leading cause of mortality in the world for both men and women. Several chemical drugs are available to treat metabolic risk factors, but because of the safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability and lesser side effects, nowadays herbal therapy has a critical role in the treatment of these CVD risk factors. Crocus sativus L. (saffron) is a perennial herb that belongs to the Iridaceae family. Saffron is an extensively used food additive for its colour and taste and has been widely used in traditional as well as modern medicine to treat several illnesses including cardiovascular diseases. Most of the unique properties of this plant are attributed to the presence of three major components, including crocin, safranal and crocetin. It has been proved that saffron has an important role in the management of metabolic syndrome because of its marvelous activities including anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, hypotensive and hypolipidaemic properties. In this review article, we discuss the beneficial properties of saffron and its active components to treat different components of metabolic syndrome and most relevant animal and human studies regarding the use of this plant in cardiovascular disease, with focus on the metabolic risk factors. This review also suggests that after randomised clinical trials, saffron may be implicated as a preventive or therapeutic agent against metabolic syndrome. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.


Examination of the morphology of osteocytes within the bone supporting endosteal dental implants was performed using conventional transmission and high-voltage transmission electron microscopy (HVEM). The in vivo dog model used 72 implants inserted into the premolar region of 18 experimental animals. Forty-eight implants in 12 dogs were used as anterior abutments for fixed bridges for periods up to 12 months. The mineralized matrix of the supporting bone was either directly apposed to the implant surface or was separated from the implant by a narrow region of unmineralized matrix. Osteocytes were routinely observed to be closely associated with the bone-implant interface, as well as at a distance from the implant. Osteocytes were found to extend cellular processes directly to the implant surface through canaliculi. The osteocyte processes contained microfilaments. The three-dimensional capabilities of HVEM elucidated the nature of these cell processes at the point of exit from the osteocyte, as the processes extended through the mineralized matrix, and as the processes terminated at the implant interface. This report suggests that avenues of communication may exist between the implant and the osseous cells, providing intriguing hypotheses regarding biomechanical forces and osteogenesis at the implant interface. Furthermore, an electron-dense deposit was observed upon the inner confines of the canalicular wall, upon the outer aspects of the osteocyte lacuna, and upon the outer aspect of the bone interfacing the implant.


The paper investigates how speakers understand constructions with deverbal nominals, i.e. nominals such as destruction that are morphologically related to verbs. Specifically, given the expression the enemy's destruction, how do the speakers decide whether the possessive argument is the entity that initiates the action (agent) or the entity that is causally affected by the event (patient)? The results of an experimental study show that this choice is dependent on the lexical semantics of the nominal. The theoretical implication is that deverbal nominals are similar to verbs in that they have argument structure. By studying comprehension of deverbal nominals the current study extends the scope of previous experimental work on lexical semantics that has been primarily concerned with verbs.


Background Clinical scores can be of aid to predict early mortality after admission to a medical admission unit. A developed scoring system needs to be externally validated to minimise the risk of the discriminatory power and calibration to be falsely elevated. We performed the present study with the objective of validating the Simple Clinical Score (SCS) and the HOTEL score, two existing risk stratification systems that predict mortality for medical patients based solely on clinical information, but not only vital signs. Methods Pre-planned prospective observational cohort study. Setting Danish 460-bed regional teaching hospital. Findings We included 3046 consecutive patients from 2 October 2008 until 19 February 2009. 26 (0.9%) died within one calendar day and 196 (6.4%) died within 30 days. We calculated SCS for 1080 patients. We found an AUROC of 0.960 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.932 to 0.988) for 24-hours mortality and 0.826 (95% CI, 0.774–0.879) for 30-day mortality, and goodness-of-fit test, χ2 = 2.68 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.998 and χ2 = 4.00, P = 0.947, respectively. We included 1470 patients when calculating the HOTEL score. Discriminatory power (AUROC) was 0.931 (95% CI, 0.901–0.962) for 24-hours mortality and goodness-of-fit test, χ2 = 5.56 (10 degrees of freedom), P = 0.234. Conclusion We find that both the SCS and HOTEL scores showed an excellent to outstanding ability in identifying patients at high risk of dying with good or acceptable precision.


Summary form only given. New emergent distributed multimedia applications require end-to-end quality of service (QoS) guarantees and have stringent constraints on delay, jitter, cost, etc. Taking into account such needs in IP networks stands of utmost necessity. MPLS and traffic engineering provide indeed an adequate mean to establish constrained routes which satisfy application requirements especially in terms of bandwidth and delay. These routes are computed by running a QoS algorithm on the traffic engineering database maintained by an extended IGP routing protocol. In this paper, we first study and analyze three known QoS algorithms, namely SPF-TE, WSPF and DORA. This study is done through very detailed simulations using ONS, a simulator of the OSPF protocol, recently developed and integrated into the well known NS simulator. We show that while all these algorithms outperform clearly SPF, the algorithm usually used within OSPF, DORA algorithm stands slightly better than the two others. Then, we propose three different potential improvements of DORA and propose a new QoS algorithm termed WDORA that incorporates one these improvements. We show that WDORA outperforms DORA for different performance metrics.


Iron (Fe) is considered as one group of metals that can be used as degradable metal implants (Schinhammer et al. 2010). Previous implantation studies have used porous Fe which purposes to increase the rate of degradation (Daud and Hermawan 2013). Changes in the condition of metal implants due to degradation and peri-implant muscle tissue reactions in the body can be observed using radiographic modality (Noviana et al. 2013). The aim of this study was to assess the radiographic density of implants, peri-implants and peri-implants-muscle as a response to Fe porous implants on the femur of the rats.


This paper presents a complete method for pedestrian detection applied to infrared images. First, we study an image descriptor based on histograms of oriented gradients (HOG), associated with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier and evaluate its efficiency. After having tuned the HOG descriptor and the classifier, we include this method in a complete system, which deals with stereo infrared images. This approach gives good results for window classification, and a preliminary test applied on a video sequence proves that this approach is very promising


We are interested in the design of generative adversarial networks. The training of these mathematical structures requires the definition of proper min-max optimization problems. We propose a simple methodology for constructing such problems assuring, at the same time, that they provide the correct answer. We give characteristic examples developed by our method, some of which can be recognized from other applications and some introduced for the first time. We compare various possibilities by applying them to well known datasets using neural networks of different configurations and sizes.


The assumption underlying this paper is that online environments and, in particular, e-learning ones trigger changes in the learning patterns and behaviors of adults. Inherently, that challenges the principles, methods and techniques currently employed in adult teaching and learning in traditional settings.
Hence, the aims of the article are three-fold. First, it will focus on delineating the basic concepts that is will use: traditional learning, e-learning, learning behavior, e-learning behavior, andragogy, andragogic principles. Second, it will focus on the basic andragogic principles employed in traditional learning contexts and on their relationship with adult learning behavior. Upon their identification a brief discussion will be undertaken in relation with the way adult learning and teaching occurs in Romania nowadays. The analysis will take into account the extent to which the aforementioned principles are observed, as well as their observable impact on adult learning behaviors. Third, the article will analyze the patterns of adult learning behavior that are likely to occur in e-learning contexts and the extent to which these require a review of the andragogic principles for e-learning contexts. Thus, the method to be employed in the second part of the article will be based on comparison and contrast between traditional environments and methods of teaching and learning on one hand and online environments for learning.
The reasons underlying this research endeavor are as follows. Learning defined in very simple terms refers to the permanent change that occurs in a person's behavior. What complicates the discussion is actually defining a learning behavior and relating this to adults and the way they learn and the environments that facilitate this. Consequently, the novelty of this article consist in inter-relating the concepts of learning behavior, andragogic principles and e-learning. Thus, based on its interdisciplinary approach and findings this article will make a contribution to the fields of andragogy, social sciences and information and communication technology.


The actor programming model offers a promising model for developing reliable parallel and distributed code. Actors provide flexibility and scalability: local execution may be interleaved, and distributed nodes may operate asynchronously. The resulting nondeterminism is captured by nondeterministic processing of messages. To automate testing, researchers have developed several tools tailored to specific actor systems. As actor languages and libraries continue to evolve, such tools have to be reimplemented. Because many actor systems are compiled to Java bytecode, we have developed Basset, a general framework for testing actor systems compiled to Java bytecode. We illustrate Basset by instantiating it for the Scala programming language and for the ActorFoundry library for Java. Our implementation builds on Java PathFinder, a widely used model checker for Java. Experiments show that Basset can effectively explore executions of actor programs; e.g., it discovered a previously unknown bug in a Scala application.


To date little data exists on diabetes management during fasting periods on the general ward. The aim of the analysis was to assess standardized diabetes management using GlucoTab ® - a digital algorithm driven basal-bolus insulin therapy - in hospitalized patients with T2D in the fasting period. Data from two clinical trials were pooled. Patients were included in the analysis if they had at least one fasting period during hospital stay at the general ward. Periods of fasting were compared with periods of regular food intake. Out of 191 T2D patients 91 (48%, 5 on surgical and 86 patients on internal medicine wards, 32 female, age 68 ± 12 years, HbA1c 67 ± 19 mmol/mol, BMI 30 ± 15 kg/m 2 , diabetes duration 15 ± 11 years, creatinine 1.8 ± 1.4 mg/dl, length of hospital stay 10 ± 6 days) were included comprising overall 131 fasting periods. Mean blood glucose was lower during fasting periods as compared to periods with regular food intake (153 ± 38 vs. 158 ± 24 mg/dl, p = 0.033). Hypoglycemia ( Insulin doses during fasting vs. non-fasting were as follows: bolus insulin 18.0 ± 12.7 vs. 26.0 ± 17.1 U; basal insulin 20.7 ± 13.2 vs. 22.3 ± 15.2 U. Fasting is common among patients on a general ward. Our data demonstrate that standardized diabetes management by GlucoTab ® using a basal-bolus insulin algorithm is safe and effective in fasting state. Disclosure R. Rainer: None. H. Elsayed: None. F. Aberer: None. P. Beck: Employee; Self; decide Clinical Software GmbH. T.R. Pieber: Consultant; Self; Arecor, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi. Employee; Self; CBmed. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S, AstraZeneca. K. Donsa: Stock/Shareholder; Self; decide Clinical Software GmbH. J. Plank: None. J.K. Mader: Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Roche Diabetes Care Health and Digital Solutions, Novo Nordisk A/S. Advisory Panel; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Becton, Dickinson and Company. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; ConvaTec Inc., Menarini Group. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Medtronic. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi.


Rock Climbing: The Ultimate Guide covers the history of rock climbing in the United States from its origins to the present day, documenting the importance and vitality of the popular sport. The chapters address topics such as the technicalities of the equipment and clothing, training methods, key places and events where the sport takes place, the different types of rock that climbers challenge themselves on, past and present rock climbing heroes who inspire today's climbers, and the evolution of the sport over the years—for example, in terms of climbers' sporting achievements and its growing global appeal.
 The book also covers the sport from an unprecedented perspective that only the author—an experienced climber and social scientist—could provide, discussing the meaning of extreme sports in our culture, issues of gender, why climbing can serve an individual focused on personal achievement and satisfy those seeking to be part of a community, and how climbers come to terms with the inherent risks of the sport.


Imaging approaches that enable visualization of electromagnetic fields over length scales ranging from micrometers to nanometers are increasingly important as optical technologies and scientific studies continue to push to smaller lengths scales to reveal new light–matter interactions. In this Perspective, we review work on the use of azobenzene moieties that are covalently attached to a polymeric backbone and function as optically driven nanomotors. The light-induced molecular movement has proven to be a very valuable approach for a wide range of opportunities in subwavelength imaging and nano- to microscale control of mass transport. This approach is distinguished from other types of optical exposure processes for imaging through vectorial transport. This feature opens new avenues for truly understanding the governing processes of field formation and dynamic evolution in three dimensions in the condensed phase. A review of modeling results is also provided in order to understand the mass-transport proce...


Choosing the Jesus Way uncovers the history and religious experiences of the first American Indian converts to Pentecostalism. Focusing on the Assemblies of God denomination, the story begins in 1918, when white missionaries fanned out from the South and Midwest to convert Native Americans in the West and other parts of the country. Drawing on new approaches to the global history of Pentecostalism, Angela Tarango shows how converted indigenous leaders eventually transformed a standard Pentecostal theology of missions in ways that reflected their own religious struggles and advanced their sovereignty within the denomination. Key to the story is the Pentecostal "indigenous principle", which encourages missionaries to train local leadership in hopes of creating an indigenous church rooted in the culture of the missionized. In Tarango's analysis, the indigenous principle itself was appropriated by the first generation of Native American Pentecostals, who transformed it to critique aspects of the missionary project and to argue for greater religious autonomy. More broadly, Tarango scrutinizes simplistic views of religious imperialism and demonstrates how religious forms and practices are often mutually influenced in the American experience.


Repeated blood sampling (0.2 ml) in the conscious rat during the course of 10 cardiac index measurements using the Fick procedure did not alter the cardiac index as measured initially (285 ml x min-1 x kg-1). However, oxygen consumption and hematocrit were reduced 7-19% and 4-14%, respectively. Replacement of blood removed during sampling with donor blood prevented these responses, but also led to reduced cardiac index and arterial oxygen content, 22-28% and 10-21%, respectively. In additional studies in anesthetized rats, hemorrhage (25 ml/kg) increased plasma K+ by 29% and reduced plasma Na+ by 3%, suggesting that compensatory fluid replacement originated in cells as well as interstitium. This fluid replacement after blood loss helps sustain normal systemic hemodynamics, but blood loss can produce metabolic alterations that should be taken into account in any biochemical study. Although metabolic alterations can be prevented by replacing lost blood with donor blood, cardiopulmonary function may be adversely affected.


ABSTRACT This paper aims to develop a robust multi-item EPQ formulation considering rework process and imperfect items. The mathematical model consists of two objective functions targeting minimization of total inventory costs and the total required warehouse space, respectively. Since, in real-world applications, parameters of the mathematical formulation are due to uncertainty, in this paper, Basic Chance Constraint Programming and Robust Fuzzy Chance Constraint Programming models are developed to handle uncertainties in both objective function and constraints. By solving examples, the superiority of the RFCCP over the BCCP model is showed and its ability to provide risk-averse solutions is ensured. Due to the nonlinearity of the RFCCP model and to provide the decision maker with the Pareto front, two algorithms, namely, Multi-Objective Grey Wolf Optimizer and Multi-Objective Water Cycle Algorithm, are used to optimize the decision variables. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated within different large-size test problems, using diversity, Spacing, number of non-dominated solutions and CPU-time. In the end, to investigate significant differences and to determine the best algorithm ANOVA test is implemented. In the end, we also offer new research directions, e.g. in terms of further ways of uncertainty modelling and risk management.


One of the classic ways to measure the success of a scientific facility is the publication return, which is defined as the refereed papers produced per unit of allocated resources (for example, telescope time or proposals). The recent studies by Sterzik et al. (2015, 2016) have shown that 30-50 % of the programmes allocated time at ESO do not produce a refereed publication. While this may be inherent to the scientific process, this finding prompted further investigation. For this purpose, ESO conducted a Survey of Non-Publishing Programmes (SNPP) within the activities of the Time Allocation Working Group, a, similar to the monitoring campaign that was recently implemented at ALMA (Stoehr et al. 2016). The SNPP targeted 1278 programmes scheduled between ESO Periods 78 and 90 (October 2006 to March 2013) that had not published a refereed paper as of April 2016. The poll was launched on 6 May 2016, remained open for four weeks, and returned 965 valid responses. This article summarises and discusses the results of this survey, the first of its kind at ESO.


Single-walled carbon nanotubes are strongly correlated systems with large Coulomb repulsion between two electrons occupying the same pz orbital. Within a molecular Hamiltonian appropriate for correlated π-electron systems, we show that optical excitations polarized parallel to the nanotube axes in the so-called metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes are excitons. Our calculated absolute exciton energies in twelve different metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes, with diameters in the range 0.8–1.4 nm, are in nearly quantitative agreement with experimental results. We have also calculated the absorption spectrum for the (21, 21) single-walled carbon nanotube in the E22 region. Our calculated spectrum gives an excellent fit to the experimental absorption spectrum. In all cases our calculated exciton binding energies are only slightly smaller than those of semiconducting nanotubes with comparable diameters, in contradiction to results obtained within the ab initio approach, which predicts much smaller binding energies. We ascribe this difference to the difficulty of determining the behavior of systems with strong on-site Coulomb interactions within theories based on the density functional approach. As in the semiconducting nanotubes we predict in the metallic nanotubes a two-photon exciton above the lowest longitudinally polarized exciton that can be detected by ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. We also predict a subgap absorption polarized perpendicular to the nanotube axes below the lowest longitudinal exciton, blueshifted from the exact midgap by electron–electron interactions.


An examination was made of the effect of different periods of experimental diabetes on the activity of the pentose phosphate pathway in rat kidney. A rapid increase in kidney weight, expressed both in absolute terms and in terms of body weight, occurred shortly after the induction of diabetes. The activity of the enzymes of the oxidative segment of the pentose phosphate pathway and the flux of glucose through the pathway were both increased during the first 7 days after induction of diabetes. Thereafter, enzyme activity returned toward control levels, but the increased functional activity of the pathway, as measured using specifically labeled glucose, persisted. In contrast, transketolase was significantly depressed at the time of most rapid kidney growth. A positive correlation was found between the rate of kidney growth and the change in activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and a negative correlation with changes in transketolase activity. The possible roles of the oxidative and nonoxidative segments of the pentose phosphate pathway in the kidney in early diabetes-induced renal hypertrophy are discussed.


Abstract Background A proposal has recently been advanced to change the traditional definition of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), to reflect the cluster of metabolic abnormalities that may be more closely associated with cardiovascular risk. Long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a smoldering inflammatory condition, characterized by several symptom clusters. This study aims to determine the prevalence of MAFLD in patients with postacute COVID syndrome (PACS) and its association with other PACS-cluster phenotypes. Methods We included 235 patients observed at a single university outpatient clinic. The diagnosis of PACS was based on ≥1 cluster of symptoms: respiratory, neurocognitive, musculoskeletal, psychological, sensory, and dermatological. The outcome was prevalence of MAFLD detected by transient elastography during the first postdischarge follow-up outpatient visit. The prevalence of MAFLD at the time of hospital admission was calculated retrospectively using the hepatic steatosis index. Results Of 235 patients, 162 (69%) were men (median age 61). The prevalence of MAFLD was 55.3% at follow-up and 37.3% on admission (P < .001). Insulin resistance (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14–1.96), body mass index (OR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.04–1.24), and the metabolic syndrome (OR = 2.54; 95% CI, 1.13–5.68) were independent predictors of MAFLD. The number of PACS clusters was inversely associated with MAFLD (OR = 0.86; 95% CI, .76–0.97). Thirty-one patients (13.2%) had MAFLD with no other associated PACS clusters. All correlations between MAFLD and other PACS clusters were weak. Conclusions Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease was highly prevalent after hospital discharge and may represent a specific PACS-cluster phenotype, with potential long-term metabolic and cardiovascular health implications.


"A costly edifice ought not to be left to rest upon a single pillar." – The Yale Report of 1828 The complete absence of any liberal-arts style education makes New Zealand tertiary education sector unique in the English speaking world. A liberal arts education aims at an intersection of science with literature and knowledge with persuasion. It is a solid, balanced education at a bachelor's level. The benefits of a well-rounded education are well known, and written about extensively. The architectural problem is "If a liberal arts college were to exist in New Zealand, how can its campus best be designed to encourage this well-rounded education?" Developing a strong sense of community, both within and outside the college, lies at the heart of the liberal arts philosophy. With a strong, diverse community, differing perspectives can be synthesized into a common understanding, based on unchanging, fundamental principles. The design of the campus is instrumental in developing this sense of community. This happens on many scales: the urban design of the campus, the relationships between the building's functions, sizes, movements and sight lines and the planning and form of the buildings themselves (materiality, size, orientation, detailing). This had been realized using fundamental design principles as laid down by Raymond Unwin, Cliff Moughtin and The tutors at Oxford Brookes School of Architecture in their book Responsive Environments.


The random neural network (RNN) is a mathematical model for an "integrate and fire" spiking network that closely resembles the stochastic behavior of neurons in mammalian brains. Since its proposal in 1989, there have been numerous investigations into the RNN's applications and learning algorithms. Deep learning (DL) has achieved great success in machine learning. Recently, the properties of the RNN for DL have been investigated, in order to combine their power. Recent results demonstrate that the gap between RNNs and DL can be bridged and the DL tools based on the RNN are faster and can potentially be used with less energy expenditure than existing methods.


. The 2016 US Presidential election highlighted certain negative manifestations of Web 3.0 that points to sustained efforts at disruption as a political tool and a new kind of arbitrary interference aimed at undermining the prevailing culture and traditions of modern democratic nation-states. The growing importance of social media and the weaponization of big data and fake news signal that new forms of domination will be a significant challenge to democratic practices going forward. This paper explores these developments through the lens of republicanism and asks if this approach can offer an attractive way to address these threats. In particular, I argue that republicanism's focus on minimizing domination through its alternative conception of liberty contains a certain resilient form of antipower that serves to counter some of the arbitrary interferences that have emerged in the shift from Web 2.0 to 3.0.


This text presents rather succinctly a broad coverage of more common otolaryngology problems in children. It departs from the usual textbook format by presenting the various topics as problems and symptoms and develops the differential diagnoses and rational and contemporary approaches to therapy from this tangible base. Fundamentals are stressed, and although new advances in diagnosis and therapy are presented, the authors have, for the most part, avoided controversial and highly speculative concepts and techniques. To this end, the text is a particularly valuable and reliable guide for the general practitioners of otolaryngology and pediatrics and also for medical students and residents in their formative years of training. This text fulfills a distinct need in both the pediatric and otolaryngologic literature for greater attention to the special details of diagnosis and treatment of otolaryngologic problems in children. Advances in both fields have outdated many of the old traditional concepts relating


Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive integrated model which helps in explaining the impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dimensions (complaint resolution, customer knowledge, customer empowerment and customer orientation) on customer loyalty and competitive advantage of a bank. The study also explores the mediating role of customer loyalty in the relationship between CRM and competitive advantage in retail banking.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is based on a theoretical model which consists of four CRM dimensions and two exogenous variables. These have been used for establishing the hypotheses to analyze relationships between the variables constituting the CRM model. The data have been collected from 278 customers of a private bank. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The scale was developed and purified through factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis). SEM was then used to examine the causal relationships and "model fit" of the proposed model.

Findings

– The results provide evidence that the four CRM dimensions have a positive effect on customer loyalty and competitive advantage of the bank. Among the CRM dimensions, customer knowledge is most influential of all the dimensions. Furthermore, customer loyalty acts as the mediator in the CRM model between CRM and competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

– Since, the study involved a single bank and therefore the results should be generalized cautiously. Only four CRM variables were included in the study; additional variables can be introduced in further studies involving different contexts.

Practical implications

– The study highlights and supports the need for mangers to devote additional resources toward developing a better CRM system. Therefore, mangers need to think beyond the technological aspects and should focus on these four dimensions, especially customer knowledge, to enhance the loyalty and competitiveness.

Originality/value

– The paper investigated hitherto unexplored relationships between customer-centric CRM dimensions instrumental in providing competitive advantage to a bank through mediational analysis. Thus, it contributes to the information on the implementation of CRM practices valuable for banking sector.


Despite diverse critical appreciations and interpretations of Pynchon's work, Pynchon scholars have not addressed sufficiently the relation between Thomas Pynchon and Michel Foucault. Critics have explored the mythological, Freudian and scientific elements of Pynchon's corpus to map the terrain of postmodernist affinities with and differences from modernism. Similarly, critics have investigated Pynchon's affinities with many poststructuralist writers (like Derrida and Lacan), but so far have not placed Pynchon's and Foucault's texts in a dialogic relation to explore the construction of postmodernism. This silence is inexplicable, since Pynchon and Foucault occupy definitive roles in a diversity of writings widely acknowledged to constitute a postmodernist sensibility. In addition, the two writers have explicit affinities in their choice and treatment of subject matter: both explore the composition of power and its relation to the formation and understanding of subjectivity, and both attempt to posit some means of redressing the course of history that results from the instrumentalization of human beings through the exercise of power.


Texture information can be used to segment images. One method to extract the texture information is to use certain links between the local Fourier transform of the image and fractal dimension information. When working with biological processes, the resulting images might not be truly fractal in which case classical methods might not give very robust estimates. To provide a more robust method for the extraction of the fractal information from certain images an integration is performed in the Fourier domain. The described method is applied to a few example images.


Rat meat is not halal for Muslims, so that the presence of rat meat in any food is a crucial issue. The aim of this study was to design specific primer from Mitochondrial Cty b Rattus argentiventer that can be used for determining rat meat contamination or rat meat adulteration in meatball formulation using, Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The specificity of primers was confirmed in fresh tissue from pigs, cows, chickens, goats, rabbits and white mice. The designed primers were then used to analyze rat meat DNA in meatball formulation made from rat meat and beef mixture at 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100% incorporation of rat meat. The repeatability test was performed by measuring the amplification from fresh rat tissue and rat meat in meatball. Primers were also subjected to sensitivity test of 6 dilution series (50000, 5000, 500, 50, 5 and 0.5 pg μLG) of rat tissue. From two primers designed, primers cytb 42 (forward: 5'-TAA CCA CTC CTT CAT CGA CCT T-3'; reverse: 5'-CCC CGT TGG CGT GTA AAT A-3') were more specific to evaluate the presence of rat meat in fresh tissue and in meatball formulation at optimum annealing temperature of 61.4°C. The primers can be used for DNA identification by RT-PCR with sensitivity expressed by limit of detection of 5 pg or in meatball formulation at concentration of 1% rat meat.


RCM is a maintenance method, which comes from the airline industry, in the late 1970's. The method is used to control the maintenance, prevent possible failures and make the maintenance done in an appropriate frequency. To achieve the RCM analysis a RCM team must be created. When implement the RCM method in other customer operational conditions, the method must be the same for fulfil the SAE maintenance standard. Instead must the implementation process be modificated. This thesis work has been performed at Metso Paper, Service Inc., in Sundsvall. Metso Paper is interested in the RCM process and how it could be used in other customer operational conditions. The purpose with this thesis report was to define what the RCM method is, try to find suggestions of how to implement the RCM method into other customer operational conditions. There was also pilot project done on a twin wire press, to really se how the RCM analysis was performed. The pilot project were limited to five sub-systems of the twin wire press. These subsystem have been gone through a total RCM analysis, to the front of the audit process. To successfully implement the RCM method into other customer operational conditions and in their maintenance organizations, must a very good understanding about their culture be made. Also must the implementation process be planned clearly, so that the best result will be reached.


The research presented in this document aims to measure the geographical concentration for the period 1980–2010 of industrial activities in Ecuador and establish a possible relationship between the localization of industrial sectors and the urbanization levels of cities. The analysis of the geographical concentration of the 26 manufacturing sectors will be conducted by calculating the spatial concentration indices of industrial activity for each of the sectors. Four indicators are mainly used, the relative concentration, the Hirschman-Herfindahl index, the Gini locational coefficient and the Ellison and Glaeser concentration index. To analyse the relationship between urban agglomerations and industrial location, we use the methodology proposed by Holmes and Stevens. The results indicate the existence of geographical concentration as there is an average employment concentration above 70% in most sectors. The Tobacco Product Manufacturing industry is the most concentrated along with Other Chemical Manufacturing. On the other hand, a relationship is established between the industrial location and the degree of urbanization of the cities; there is no sector that operates in contexts of low concentration and urbanization. The results generated allow to conclude the coexistence of diversified and specialized areas within the same urban systems.


This study investigates the evolution of fluoroquinolone resistance in Burkholderia cepacia and assesses fitness of clinical isolates of the B. cepacia complex. B. cepacia was chosen as a clinically relevant model of antibiotic resistance because these bacteria cause chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients, are highly resistant to killing by many antimicrobials and consequently require long term antibiotic treatment. Fluoroquinolones are a widely used class of antimicrobials, increasingly used in medical and veterinary practice. A method was optimised and used to determine the rate of mutation occurring in topoisomerase genes that confer resistance to fluoroquinolones. The fitness cost associated with fluoroquinolone resistance mutations was assessed as a measure of the stability of resistance in the bacterial population. Clinical isolates were assessed for hypermutability using mutation to fluoroquinolone resistance as a selective tool. In Gram-negative bacteria resistance to fluoroquinolones occurs via three major mechanisms drug efflux, reduced permeability and target alteration. The spectrum of fluoroquinolone resistance mutations occurring in vitro, the rate at which they arise, and the fitness costs of characterised topoisomerase mutations was investigated, using models relevant to transmission of the Burkholderia cepacia complex. Previous studies have shown that single point mutations in DNA gyrase, conferring resistance, have no or low cost. Only double mutations in gyrA and parC conferred a fitness cost. Second step mutations occur at a faster rate than first step mutations. Mutation in gyrA, therefore, may predispose the genome to mutation in topoisomerase genes.


The usage of social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook has expanded drastically. Today almost every organization has a Facebook page and a Twitter account that complements their webpage and their physical stores. However, why and how are they using these social medias? This research focuses on why and how organizations are using Facebook and Twitter in their business strategy. More specifically, what methods and organizational strategies are used. The requirement for our research was that the organization had to had some success on these social medias but due to time and budget limitations, the research is restricted to three local organizations that have a national presence. Conducting primary data with three face-to-face semi-structured interviews and obtaining secondary data such as books, theses and academic journals we had the data to make an analysis about how Facebook and Twitter could make these three organizations gain competitive advantage. By correctly utilizing the tools that social networking sites (SNS) provide; organizations can make way for a differentiation path that provides competitive advantage, build brand awareness, and provide statistical tools for evaluating customer behavior. One of the benefits of SNS is that they are virtually free to implement, both from a capital and human resource investment point of view. This research shows that organizations utilizing SNS in order to gain competitive advantage need to focus on creating a committed and engaged user base. By keeping in mind the drivers of differentiation: timing, location, linkages and scale, organizations transform their competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage.


Today's game players expect increasingly realistic interaction within games. "Introduction to Game AI" teaches readers who are new to game AI the skills they need through hands-on projects based on small, understandable games. While there are many books that take a more advanced approach to this topic, this is one of the only books that focuses specifically on beginners. Every project in the book can be completed using tolls that are available for free online, and new skills are taught using easy to follow instructions and examples.


Despite most African countries having immense natural and human resources potential, the continent has mostly been lagging on matters of economic development. This scenario could primarily be attributed to weak intra-regional and inter-country trade given the poor connectivity, quality, and diversity in transportation services and infrastructure. In this regard, the governments of the greater East African Region representing Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya, therefore, mooted a coordinated vision to develop interlinked regional infrastructure in road and rail transport to allow smooth movement of goods and services.  This paper aimed to critically review the impact of the SGR development on Kenya in the context of regional planning and development. The methodology of the study was a critical review of existing literature and secondary data. Study findings indicated that the development of the (Standard Gauge Railway) SGR is in tandem with the development strategies of other East African Countries. Its development is incorporated in national spatial plans with the rail route targeting regions with viable populations and sustainable economic activities. Criticisms, however, revolve around the ballooning debt to finance infrastructural development and lack of prioritization f mega projects. In conclusion, despite the financial constraints, the SGR is viewed to significantly influence the socio-economic spheres while presenting challenges in the management of landscapes where it traverses in Kenya and the Region.


Although `Green Revolution' technology is the major technological breakthrough in agricultural history, which is adopted by nations worldwide, including Bangladesh, to boost their foodgrain production, it is increasingly felt that productivity from this new agricultural technology is declining and is a threat to sustainability of economic development. The present study attempted to evaluate the role of technological change in augmenting aggregate crop growth and sustaining food production for the future in Bangladesh. The overall hypothesis is that, though modem technology diffusion has contributed to crop production increase, it has not spread uniformly across regions and the long-run crop production is reaching a saturation level, thereby, threatening food production sustainability. Database of the study consists of time-series data for 47 years (1948 - 1994) and regionwise (19 region) data for 29 years (1961 - 1992). Results revealed that technological change played a significant role in augmenting aggregate crop productivity. `Constant return to scale' prevails in the crop sector when only traditional inputs are used while incorporation of technological and infrastructural factors revealed `increasing returns to scale'. But, declining productivity of modem rice, the major vehicle of technological change, is raising doubts on sustaining food production. The current increase in food production is largely due to switching from local to modem rice varieties and may not be sustainable in the long run. Trend analyses of 47 years of foodgrain production revealed that productivity is reaching a saturation value of 2,200 kg/ha, raising further doubts on food production sustainability to meet the growing demand. A policy of crop diversification incorporating non-foodgrain crops (potatoes, vegetables, spices, and cotton) as a strategy to sustain agricultural growth is suggested. Also, effective price policy, crop insurance policies, transportation, marketing, storage, extension and rural infrastructure development is suggested.