The New Zealand hospitality workforce is young; most are between 18 and 24 years old and attracted by the ease with which they can get work in a bar or restaurant. The work suits them; it is dynamic and easy to find, but many have no intention of staying in the industry. Hence, staff shortages and turnover are a constant problem for employers. However, the solution is not as difficult as one might imagine.
This study identified why there are so few older workers in the New Zealand hotel industry after interviewing 44 managers and older workers in New Zealand hotels and looking at Human Resources (HR) policies, recruitment methods, and selection criteria. The hotel industry was found to be discriminatory towards older job seekers in both principle and practice, even though some companies' policies appeared to address age discrimination. Interview data from the HR managers suggested older workers had the characteristics they were looking for, yet they were not specifically recruiting them.
Recommendations arising from the study focus around changing attitudes at senior level so older workers are perceived as potential employees. Recruitment processes need to be checked to make sure they do not disadvantage older job seekers, and senior managers need to be objective and consider the skills, abilities, and attitudes of older job seekers. Either of these simple changes could be made through training or well-supported policy and would positively affect the age profile and turnover of the industry's workforce.
Practical suggestions also include using older workers to mentor younger workers to promote communication across an age diverse workforce and allowing older workers to demonstrate and share their knowledge and experience. Combining older and younger workers in work teams may also help remove barriers by allowing older workers to impart some of their values through frequent interactions and working towards a common work goal. In-house training programmes may also help educate staff at all levels about the benefits of diverse workgroups.
Data from this and prior studies show that older people are ideal employees where good work attitudes [1] and well-developed soft skills [2] are important. Interestingly, prior research also shows that policy does not prevent discrimination, as it is too easily ignored. Recruitment methods such as 'Seek', Twitter, MyJobSpace.co.nz and word-of-mouth recruitment are discriminatory because they favour young people and act as barriers against the employment of older workers.
Older recruits have much to offer, but in practice, their potential for employment is being restricted by recruiters' attitudes, as managers' views are more influential than policy. The challenge, therefore, is not so much in what needs to change, but how to make changes to reduce or eliminate discrimination in hotels against older job seekers.
More information about this study is in the original article [3], which can be obtained from the authors.
Corresponding author
Jill is an Associate Professor at the Auckland University of Technology, where she studies a wide range of ethical issues in hospitality, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, and ethical food consumption. Prior to this, she worked in hospitality management, which included two roles as a General Manager. She currently teaches leadership to postgraduate students, and supervises student research projects.
Jill Poulston can be contacted at: email@example.com
References
(1) Ng, T. W. H.; Feldman, D. C. The Relationships of Age with Job Attitudes: A Meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology 2010, 63(3), 677–718. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01184.x
(2) Sissons, P.; Jones, K. Lost in Transition?; The Work Foundation: Lancaster, U.K., 2012.
(3) Poulston, J.; Jenkins, A. Barriers to the Employment of Older Hotel Workers in New Zealand. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism 2016, 15(1), 45–68.


Background Population ageing is expected to lead to strong increases in the number of persons with one or more disabilities, which may result in substantial declines in the quality of life. To reduce the burden of disability and to prevent concomitant declines in the quality of life, one of the first steps is to establish which diseases contribute most to the burden. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the contribution of specific diseases to the prevalence of disability and to years lived with disability, and to assess whether large contributions are due to a high disease prevalence or a high disabling impact. Methodology/Principal Findings Data from the Dutch POLS-survey (Permanent Onderzoek Leefsituatie, 2001–2007) were analyzed. Using additive regression and accounting for co-morbidity, the disabling impact of selected chronic diseases was calculated, and the prevalence and years lived with ADL and mobility disabilities were partitioned into contributions of specific disease. Musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disease contributed most to the burden of disability, but chronic non-specific lung disease (males) and diabetes (females) also contributed much. Within the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disease groups, back pain, peripheral vascular disease and stroke contributed particularly by their high disabling impact. Arthritis and heart disease were less disabling but contributed substantially because of their high prevalence. The disabling impact of diseases was particularly high among persons older than 80. Conclusions/Significance To reduce the burden of disability, the extent diseases such as back pain, peripheral vascular disease and stroke lead to disability should be reduced, particularly among the oldest old. But also moderately disabling diseases with a high prevalence, such as arthritis and heart disease, should be targeted.


Evaluation framework for energy security is discussed in this paper. Today, consideration of four factors, energy security, economic efficiency, environment and safety, is required for research on future energy. With regard to energy security, evaluations tend to be qualitative since method to estimate the cost of energy security has not been established. Based on the assumption that the security risk is relaxed to an acceptable degree by the fuel stockpile, we propose the evaluation framework to estimate the cost of energy security from any energy mix. Utilizing this framework, present and future energy mix is studied. It is found that the configuration of thermal power assumed by 2030 to be almost the same configuration giving the minimum total cost when CO2 value reaches the range of $60-80/t-CO2. It is also suggested that it will be difficult for coal fired power generation to contribute to minimize the total cost including power generation, CO2 and energy security if CO2 value exceeds $160/t-CO2.


A new algorithm combines a coverage model with a combinatorial model to compute system unreliability. Its advantage is that for a class of computer systems, it is simpler than current algorithms. The method applies to combinatorial models which can generate cutsets for the system. This set of cutsets is augmented with cutsets representing the uncovered failures of the system. The resulting set is manipulated by combining standard multi-state and sum-of-disjoint products solution techniques. It is possible to compute the exact unreliability of the system using this algorithm. If the size of the system and the time required for the analysis become prohibitive, however, the solution can be truncated and bounds on the system unreliability computed. The authors' algorithm is important because it adapts standard combinatorial solution techniques to a problem that was previously thought to require a Markov solution. The ability to model a fault-tolerant computer system completely within a combinatorial model allows results to be calculated more quickly and accurately, and thus to impact system design. This new technology is easily integrated into existing design/analysis methodologies. Coverage provides a more accurate picture of system behavior, and gives more faith in reliability estimates. >


Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Tobacco smoke is the most frequent risk factor etiologically associated with LC, although exposures to other environmental factors such as arsenic, radon or asbestos are also involved. Additionally, the involvement of some viral infections such as high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs), Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus (JSRV), John Cunningham Virus (JCV), and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) has been suggested in LC, though an etiological relationship has not yet been established. EBV is a ubiquitous gamma herpesvirus causing persistent infections and some lymphoid and epithelial tumors. Since EBV is heterogeneously detected in LCs from different parts of the world, in this review we address the epidemiological and experimental evidence of a potential role of EBV. Considering this evidence, we propose mechanisms potentially involved in EBV-associated lung carcinogenesis. Additional studies are warranted to dissect the role of EBV in this very frequent malignancy.


Many complex systems change their structure over time, in these cases dynamic networks can provide a richer representation of such phenomena. As a consequence, many inference methods have been generalized to the dynamic case with the aim to model dynamic interactions. Particular interest has been devoted to extend the stochastic block model and its variant, to capture community structure as the network changes in time. While these models assume that edge formation depends only on the community memberships, recent work for static networks show the importance to include additional parameters capturing structural properties, as reciprocity for instance. Remarkably, these models are capable of generating more realistic network representations than those that only consider community membership. To this aim, we present a probabilistic generative model with hidden variables that integrates reciprocity and communities as structural information of networks that evolve in time. The model assumes a fundamental order in observing reciprocal data, that is an edge is observed, conditional on its reciprocated edge in the past. We deploy a Markovian approach to construct the network's transition matrix between time steps and parameters' inference is performed with an expectation-maximization algorithm that leads to high computational efficiency because it exploits the sparsity of the dataset. We test the performance of the model on synthetic dynamical networks, as well as on real networks of citations and email datasets. We show that our model captures the reciprocity of real networks better than standard models with only community structure, while performing well at link prediction tasks.


In 1940, the first report appeared describing a pulmonary disorder associated with occupational exposures in the cemented tungsten carbide industry. The disease, known as "hard metal disease," has subsequently been characterised in detail and comprises a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms. In this report, clinical findings in a group of 41 hard metal workers employed until recently are described. A high prevalence of respiratory symptoms was found. Thirteen workers (31%) had abnormal chest radiographs indicative of interstitial lung disease. Fifty per cent of these had been employed in hard metal manufacturing for less than 10 years. Abnormalities of pulmonary function were also frequent and included a restrictive pattern of impairment and decrease in diffusing capacity (27%). Associations were found between diffusing capacity, chest radiographic abnormalities and right ventricular ejection fraction at exercise indicating cardiopulmonary effects. The findings show the continuous need to control excessive occupational exposures to prevent hard metal disease, the history of which now enters its sixth decade.


Inverse emulsion graft copolymerization of chitosan and acrylamide monomer under microwave radiation was studied. It was shown that when the microwave radiation power was 300W, the microwave radiation time was 150S, the volume ratio of oil phase and water phase was 1:1, the weight ratio of chitosan and AM was 1:7, the initiator concentration was 0.67mmol/L, the dosage of emulsification agent was 7% of the weight of oil phase and the weight ratio of Span-80 and OP-10 was 6:4, stable inverse latex could be gained. A good dry strengthening effect had been obtained by applying the above mentioned latex in wheat straw pulp as the strengthening agent. The breaking length and tearing index of paper was respectively increased by 23.5% and 15.1% when the dosage of the graft copolymer latex was 0.6%.


Current regulators are a critical part of active power filters (APFs). The design of current regulators capable of compensating high-frequency harmonics created by nonlinear loads is a challenging task. Selective harmonic current compensation using harmonic regulators is a viable method to achieve this goal. However, their design and tuning is not an easy task. The performance-and even the stability-of harmonic current regulators strongly depends on implementation issues, with the tuning of the controller gains being critical. Furthermore, the presence of multiple current regulators working in parallel can create unwanted couplings with the fundamental current regulator, which can result in a deterioration of APF current control, i.e., oscillations and settling times larger than expected. This paper addresses the design and tuning of selective harmonic compensators, with a focus on their stability analysis and transient behavior.


Abstract Cytochrome-c oxidase is the copper-dependent terminal respiratory complex (complex IV) of the mitochondrial electron transport chain whose activity in a variety of tissues is lowered by copper deficiency. Because inhibition of respiratory complexes increases the production of reactive oxygen species by mitochondria, it is possible that copper deficiency increases oxidative stress in mitochondria as a consequence of suppressed cytochrome-c oxidase activity. In this study, the activities of respiratory complex I + III, assayed as NADH:cytochrome-c reductase, complex II + III, assayed as succinate:cytochrome-c reductase, complex IV, assayed as cytochrome-c oxidase, and fumarase were measured in mitochondria from HL-60 cells that were grown for seven passages in serum-free medium that was either unsupplemented or supplemented with 50 nM CuSO4. Fumarase activity was not affected by copper supplementation, but the complex I + III:fumarase and complex IV:fumarase ratios were reduced 30% and 50%, respectively, in mitochondria from cells grown in the absence of supplemental copper. This indicates that copper deprivation suppressed the electron transfer activity of copper-independent complex I + III as well as copper-dependent complex IV. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) content was also increased 49% overall in the cells grown in the absence of supplemental copper. Furthermore, protein carbonyl groups, indicative of oxidative modification, were present in 100-kDa and 90-kDa proteins of mitochondria from copper-deprived cells. These findings indicate that in cells grown under conditions of copper deprivation that suppress cytochrome-c oxidase activity, oxidative stress in mitochondria is increased sufficiently to induce MnSOD, potentiate protein oxidation, and possibly cause the oxidative inactivation of complex I.


Land surface models describe the exchange of heat, moisture and momentum between the land surface and the atmosphere. These models can be solved regionally using remote sensing measurements as input. Input variables which can be derived from remote sensing measurements are surface albedo, surface temperature and vegetation cover. A land surface model using those land surface characteristics is presented i.e. the Surface Energy Balance Index (SEBI) model. This model uses the observed temperature difference between the land surface and atmosphere as an indicator for evapotranspiration. Spatially distributed land surface model results can be used as a boundary condition for numerical weather predicton models. The results should therefore be aggregated from the remote sensing pixel scale to the atmospheric model scale. However aggregated values will differ when derived from remote sensing data with different resolutions. This difference, the error due to aggregation is caused by two different aspects: land surface heterogeneity and non-linearity of the land surface model. Two approaches are presented to quantify the error due to aggregation: the linearization approach, where the land surface model is approximated by a Taylor expansion and a geometrical approach where the range of valid results for the land surface model is derived using a convex hull. To measure the heterogeneity of land surfaces, the concept of length scale is introduced. The wavelet transform is being used to derive the length scale of the land surface characteristics. The wavelet variance derived from the Fast Wavelet Transform using the Haar wavelet is a good indicator for the variability of land surface characteristics at different spatial scales. For three different data sets the length scale of land surface characteristics have been derived: Barrax, Spain, the Jornada Experimental Range, USA and the Central Part of the Netherlands. The two approaches for quantifying the error due to aggregation have been verified using the three data sets. The results obtained by the linearization show that aggregation error can indeed be estimated. For the three test sites the large scale error did not exceed 10 %. However the results based on the convex hull analysis show that the large scale error due to aggregation can be much larger than observed for the three test cases. Therefore low resolution remote sensing data cannot be used a priori as input for land surface models.


Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a systematic disease that affects several aspects of patients' well-being, including physical, mental, social, and sexual quality of life. In recent years, there has been a growing body of literature focusing on HCV patients' sexual health, providing evidence of clinically significant and enduring disturbances that disrupt everyday living, but commonly evade clinicians' attention. Relevant studies are characterized by considerable methodological heterogeneity and their findings should be interpreted using a systematic and integrative approach. In this context, we performed a systematic literature review on the topic of HCV patients' sexual functioning aiming at identifying high-quality investigations reporting scientifically sound and clinically useful data. We performed a thorough search of PudMed, ScienceDirect, and GoogleScholar according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Twenty-five articles were included to the review, reporting data from over 5300 chronic HCV patients. Sexual dysfunction, predominantly in the domains of sexual desire, drive, and satisfaction, is commonly reported by HCV patients at rates ranging between 19 and 88%. The current review yielded three distinct patterns of sexual impairment, namely, precirrhotic sexual impairment, cirrhosis-induced sexual decline, and interferon-associated sexual difficulties. Our search yielded significant findings on the prevalence, the characteristics, and the determinants of HCV-associated sexual dysfunction. In addition, we detected several areas of scientific controversy and inadequate information, thus highlighting novel directions for future research.


Acute liver failure (ALF) due to a variety of causes has been well established clinically for a number of decades (1). An intense research focus has recently been generated in the realm of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), especially in light of the high number of cirrhotic patients that eventually present to the clinic (2). The pathology and clinical history of ACLF is poorly understood and due to its nebulous clinical nature, there are no current mainline treatments.


The report deals with evaluation of the literature and our own data on 65 endotracheobronchial operations for tumor-related obstruction of the main bronchi using high-frequency injection flow ventilation (n = 33; 50.8%) or a combined-frequency one (n = 32; 49.2%). The latter method was significantly more efficient (p < or = 0.05%) due to more effective blood oxygenization (pO2--111.8 +/-13.8 vs. 130.6 +/-26.4 mmHg) and carbon dioxide elimination (pO2--36.1 +/-1.2 vs. 54.3 +/-6.7 mmHg). It also involved lower risk of surgical fire as oxygen concentration in inhaled air mix was monitored. Also, endoscopic examination took less time because it was continuous, while the risk of barotrauma was reduced to minimum owing to adequate selection of ventilation ratings.


Alberto Campo Baeza, one of contemporary architectures most distinguished voices, is renowned for a body of work that exudes the power of radical simplicity. The clarity of architectural ideas expressed in his buildings have ranged in scale from such small but beautiful residential structures as the Turegano, Gaspar and De Blas houses, to cultural facilities such as Andalucias Museum of Memory in Granada, an addition to his earlier achievement, the Caja General Bank Headquarters. All share an uncompromising dedication to simple composition, and demonstrate the ways in which he so brilliantly deploys disciplined restraint to achieve architectural silence in the face of the clamour of the modern city.


In the search for understanding the initial conditions of the universe, it is crucial describe with high precision the evolution of the matter density in the universe on large scales as a function of time. The Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure (EFT of LSS) provides exactly this: it is a consistent perturbation theory of the evolution of the density on large scales, that parametrizes analytically unknown short scale behavior such as galaxy formation. In this thesis we discuss the inclusion of particular initial conditions – primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) – in the EFT of LSS. It turns out that the evolution equations have to be modified slightly to capture the fact that for statistically non-Gaussian initial conditions, short scale physics in one place can be related to large scale physics in some other place. This forces us to introduce new, fluid-like parameters in the theory on top of the standard speed of sound, viscosity, and related parameters. We show how the EFT of LSS outperforms Standard Perturbation Theory (SPT), which does not properly take into account the backreaction from short scales, in allowing us to extract information about PNG, and forecast the constraints near-future galaxy surveys could put on PNG. We also comment on the relevance and subtleties involved in properly accounting for inevitable theoretical errors in forecasts. Finally we investigate the reach of any standard perturbative treatment to the evolution of the matter density field. We do this by means of a study in one spatial dimension, for which some exact results are known. We show that perturbation theory converges for a range of Fourier space observables, but find that it is asymptotic for at least some real space observables such as the two point correlation function. We argue that this asymptotic behavior is related to the theory's inability to describe the evolution of statistically rare events in which the density field is very large even on large scales. This suggests that there might be a floor to how well any perturbative treatment can perform. We provide a tentative estimate of the size of this floor as a function of scale.


A significant reduction of the global environmental consequences of European consumption and production activities are the main objective of the policy simulations carried out in this paper. For this purpose three different modelling approaches have been chosen. Two macroeconomic models following the philosophy of consistent stock-flow accounting for the main institutional sectors (households, firms, banks, central bank and government) are used for quantifying the impact of several different policies. These policies comprise classical tax reforms (pricing of resources and emissions) as well as policies aiming at behavioural change in private and public consumption and at technological change (energy and resource efficiency and renewable sources). A Dynamic New Keynesian (DYNK) model is used for a comparison between classical green tax reform and taxing direct and indirect (footprint) energy and resource use of consumers. An important leading principle of the modelling work is the simultaneous treatment of economic (GDP, employment), social (income distribution, unemployment) and environmental issues. The paper shortly describes the different modelling approaches and highlights the most important features for the evaluation of the impacts of different policies. Then the different policy scenarios that are carried out with each model are described. The policy scenarios are not directly comparable between the different models, but show some similarities. The simulation results of the different policy scenarios are then analyzed and discussed. Two important conclusions can be drawn from the simulation results: (i) important trade-offs and synergies exist between the different economic, social and environmental goals (ii) simple policy scenarios mainly putting all the effort in one simple instrument (e.g. tax reform) are not likely to achieve an optimal result. A combination of instruments is most likely to achieve results satisfying the different economic, social and environmental goals.


Precursor parameters have been identified to enable development of a prognostic approach for insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). The IGBT were subjected to thermal overstress tests using a transistor test board until device latch-up. The collector-emitter current, transistor case temperature, transient and steady state gate voltages, and transient and steady state collector-emitter voltages were monitored in-situ during the test. Pre- and post-aging characterization tests were performed on the IGBT. The aged parts were observed to have shifts in capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements as a result of trapped charge in the gate oxide. The collector-emitter ON voltage VCE(ON) showed a reduction with aging. The reduction in the VCE(ON) was found to be correlated to die attach degradation, as observed by scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) analysis. The collector-emitter voltage, and transistor turn-off time were observed to be precursor parameters to latch-up. The monitoring of these precursor parameters will enable the development of a prognostic methodology for IGBT failure. The prognostic methodology will involve trending precursor data, and using physics of failure models for prediction of the remaining useful life of these devices.


In this paper, an appearance-based environment modeling technique is presented. Based on this approach, the probabilistic Bayesian inference can work together with a symbolic topological map to relocalize a mobile robot. One prominent advantage offered by this algorithm is that it can be applied to a cross-country environment where no features or landmarks are available. Further more, the loop-closing can be detected independently of estimated map and vehicle location. High dimensional laser measurements are projected into a low dimensional space (mapspace) which describes the appearance of the environment. Since laser scans from the same region share a similar appearance, after the projection, they are expected to form a distinct cluster in the low dimensional space. This small cluster essentially encodes appearance information of the specific region in the environment, and it can be approximated by a Gaussian distribution. This Gaussian model can serve as the "joint" between the topological map structure and the probabilistic Bayesian inference. By employing such "joints", the Bayesian inference in the metric level can be conveniently implemented on a topological level. Based on appearance, the proposed inference process is thus completely independent of local metric features. Extensive experiments were conducted using a tracked vehicle traveling in an open jungle environment. Results from live runs verified the feasibility of using the proposed methods to detect loop-closing. The performances are also given and thoroughly analyzed.


The French romance is a short and simple strophic song for solo voice and a single accompanying instrument (namely the piano or guitar). Musically, the accompaniment presents unadorned figurations and the vocal style should have a limited virtuosity (including little ornamentation and vibrato and a narrow vocal range, for instance). Thematically, the text should be related to love and romance. It is primarily performed within a domestic environment, which particularly suits its intimate and naive features. Its quintessential French character is widely noted by a number of nineteenth-century commentators and theorists. It is therefore noteworthy that, despite the initial wariness demonstrated by some French writers, many Italian composers significantly contributed to this French genre. This is the first study to place the romance within the context of its Italian influences. In addition, it provides an extensive database of the French romances composed by Italian musicians during the nineteenth century. An analysis of the repertory sheds light upon some significant romances, and these are used as prominent case studies throughout the thesis. The thesis also explores nineteenth-century discussions of the romance, and investigates the careers of notable Italian romanciers. This study highlights two issues. First, an exploration of the important treatises reveals the main characteristics that are integral to the quintessential romance style. And second, analysis of the romances by Italian composers, conversely, exposes the wide and varying styles present (this includes aspects pertaining to form, accompaniment styles, and the vocal melody). Indeed, this is supported by the discovery that, as the nineteenth century progressed, there was a gradual acceptance of Italian composers contributing to this genre. In the late eighteenth century, Italian influences were considered a threat to the romance's simplicity, and in the 1840s, composers were actively praised for incorporating both Italian and French styles into their romances. Chapter 1, 'History of the Romance' provides an overview of the romance's early definition and development. Chapter 2, 'Romance as a French Genre', places the nineteenth-century romance in the context of its reception, and studies its conventions as laid out in the treatises. Chapter 3, 'Italians in Paris', traces the progression from wariness to admiration of the Italian romanciers and investigates the careers of some important Italian figures. The final chapter, 'Music of the "Italian" French Romances' explores the music of the Italian composers, and demonstrates the wide ranging and varying styles prevalent in their romances.


In this paper the problem of tracking asymptotically a given angular velocity reference is formulated for a synchronous motor, when the angular velocity is supposed to be not available for measuring, and the rotor resistance varies during the operation. An output feedback dynamic controller which solves the problem is hence determined and tested by simulations.


Information about urban land use is important for urban planning and sustainable development. The emergence of geospatial big data (GBD), increased the availability of remotely sensed (RS) data and the development of new methods for data integration to provide new opportunities for mapping types of urban land use. However, the modes of RS and GBD integration are diverse due to the differences in data, study areas, classifiers, etc. In this context, this study aims to summarize the main methods of data integration and evaluate them via a case study of urban land use mapping in Hangzhou, China. We first categorized the RS and GBD integration methods into decision-level integration (DI) and feature-level integration (FI) and analyzed their main differences by reviewing the existing literature. The two methods were then applied for mapping urban land use types in Hangzhou city, based on urban parcels derived from the OpenStreetMap (OSM) road network, 10 m Sentinel-2A images, and points of interest (POI). The corresponding classification results were validated quantitatively and qualitatively using the same testing dataset. Finally, we illustrated the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches via bibliographic evidence and quantitative analysis. The results showed that: (1) The visual comparison indicates a generally better performance of DI-based classification than FI-based classification; (2) DI-based urban land use mapping is easy to implement, while FI-based land use mapping enables the mixture of features; (3) DI-based and FI-based methods can be used together to improve urban land use mapping, as they have different performances when classifying different types of land use. This study provides an improved understanding of urban land use mapping in terms of the RS and GBD integration strategy.


DEEP-vein thrombosis is an unusual entity in teenage boys, and pulmonary embolism is rarer still. We report a case of a young athlete in whom both occurred and discuss a possible association with the precompetition weight loss that is commonly practiced in wrestling. Report of a Case A 16-year-old high school wrestler weighing 49.5 kg had a flu-like syndrome that included fever, nausea, weakness, and myalgias two days before a match. He lost 3.5 kg to "make weight" for the match and was defeated by an opponent he had handily beaten before. He was dyspneic for 30 minutes after his fall. Four days later he competed again, this time losing 2.5 kg by sweating and restricting fluid intake. He became exhausted in the second period and was pinned; cyanosis was noted, and oxygen was administered. The next day his physician heard a heart murmur, and the patient was transferred to


The construction technical management occupies an important place for ensuring the construction quality in the project construction activities. Its tasks cover: correctly carry out the State's technical policies, supervision procedures, technical specifications and standards; rationally arrange the construction work procedures in conformity with scientific laws; properly develop the technical programs for construction work; provide complete basis and execution evidence for technical work and ensure that the construction quality is in compliance with the requirements of design documents, applicable standards and the contract. So we must normalize the construction quality management work of project and guarantee the construction quality of the project.


Continuous domains are domains where cases are generated from a continuous data stream. In these domains, a lot of cases are continuously solved and learned by a CBR system. This means that many cases could be stored in the case library. Thus the efficiency of the CBR system both in size and time could be deeply worsened. In this research work a dynamic adaptive case library (DACL) is proposed. It is able to adapt itself to dynamic environments by means of a set of dynamic clusters of cases and a discriminant tree associated to each cluster. The prototype of a cluster is called a Meta-Case. The aim is to get an optimal and competent case library that works efficiently in a continuous domain. In this paper, the improvement of time efficiency in the retrieval step has been evaluated by means of testing several data bases. The result shows a good improvement using the proposed DACL approach.


AIM: Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) of the liver is a rare benign lesion, the etiology of which remains obscure.It is not associated with any particular diseases apart from phlebitis and Crohn's disease.METHODS: A middle-aged male with hepatic IPT and peripheral eosinophilia associated with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) was selected for this study and review of literature.RESULTS: A 59-year-old male was admitted with obstructive jaundice, marked eosinophilia (1 343/mm3)and hypergammaglobulinemia (4 145 mg/dL). Imaging techniques revealed dilatation of the intrahepatic bile duct,stenosis of the common bile duct with diffuse wall thickening, gallbladder wall thickening, irregular narrowing of the pancreatic duct, and swelling of the pancreatic parenchyma. Multiple liver masses were also demonstrated and diagnosed as IPT by biopsy specimens. Six months later, the abnormal features of the biliary tree remarkably improved by the oral administration of prednisolone, and the liver masses disappeared. The swelling of the pancreatic head also improved. The peripheral eosinophil count normalized. IPT associated with AIP, as we know,has not been reported in the literature. The clinical features of the present case mimicked those of pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis. This case deserves to be documented to prevent misdiagnosis of similar cases.


Performance evaluation is one of the most important issues in the analysis and design of parallel manipulators. The internal forces and torques in parallel manipulators contribute to manipulating the end-effectors and resisting the external loads. In this work, we propose a transmission index to evaluate the force and torque transmission quality of parallel manipulators. The index is normalized and used to analyze the exactly constrained parallel manipulators, based on the transmission matrix spanned by transmission wrench screws (TWSs). Furthermore, the index is applied to parallel manipulators with different degrees of freedom (DOF) in order to illustrate and validate the proposed approach and index. Finally, a typical parallel manipulator is selected to address the comparison analysis between different indices, which demonstrates that the proposed index, possessing respective merits, could be complementary to other existing indices.


Nowadays remote sensing is an important technique for observing Earth surface applied to different areas such as, land use, urban planning, remote monitoring, real time deformation of the soil that can be associated with earthquakes or landslides, the variations in thickness of the glaciers, the measurement of volume changes in the case of volcanic eruptions, deforestation, etc. To follow the evolution of these phenomena and to predict their future states, many approaches have been proposed. However, these approaches do not respond completely to the specialists who process yet more commonly the data extracted from the images in their studies to predict the future. In this paper, we propose an innovative methodology based on hidden Markov models (HMM). Our approach exploits temporal series of satellite images in order to predict spatio-temporal phenomena. It uses HMM for representing and making prediction concerning any objects in a satellite image. The first step builds a set of feature vectors gathering the available information. The next step uses a Baum-Welch learning algorithm on these vectors for detecting state changes. Finally, the system interprets these changes to make predictions. The performance of our approach is evaluated by tests of space-time interpretation of events conducted over two study sites, using different time series of SPOT images and application to the change in vegetation with LANDSAT images.


Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus is a reef fish that settles in off-reef nursery habitats before emigrating to coral reefs. Because little is known of its habitat use and population dynamics before moving onto reefs, we conducted monthly visual censuses from May to December (3 to 10 mo post-settlement) to quantify spatio-temporal variability in density, microhabitat use, and size-struc- ture in a cohort of early juvenile Nassau grouper residing in an off-reef nursery system in the central Bahamas. Juvenile Nassau grouper density decreased significantly from August to September, but this decrease was small compared to a decrease of over 90% during the first 3 to 4 mo post-settle- ment, a pattern consistent with Type III survivorship. Throughout the study, Nassau grouper had a disproportionately high association with the macroalgae Laurencia sp., while other microhabitats (e.g. seagrass, corals) were usually used in proportion to their availability. Percent cover of Laurencia sp. significantly influenced spatial variability in fish density during May and June (4 to 5 mo post-set- tlement), but not later in the year. Spatial differences in juvenile Nassau grouper density later in the year were correlated with spatial variability in the size distribution of fish. Sites harboring dispropor- tionately high numbers of large juveniles also had greater juvenile densities. Thus, microhabitat characteristics were determined to influence the spatial distribution of Nassau grouper up to 5 mo post-settlement, but the population appears to be influenced by size-dependent processes (e.g. pre- dation or ontogenetic habitat shifts) after that time. Microhabitat characteristics, as well as spatially variable growth rates or size-dependent mortality may cause nursery areas to vary in their contribu- tion to the local population at subsequent life history stages.


Aseries of coordination polymers of the general formula {[M(DPP)(MIMZ)X (H2O)].xH2O}n, (M=Mn(II),Co(II),Cu(II),Cd(II) and Pb(II),DPP = 1,3-di (4- pyridyl)propane andMIMZ = 1-methylimidazole, X= chloride or nitrate, has been prepared and characterized. The structure of the coordination polymers has been assigned based on elemental analysis, FT-IR and electronic spectral studies, thermal analysis, scanning electronmicroscope (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was also used to follow up the possible thermal decomposition steps and to calculate the thermodynamic parameters of the nano-sized metal complexes. The kinetic parameters have been calculated making use of the Coats-Redfern and Horowitz-Metzger equations. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized compounds was tested against six fungal and five bacterial species.


The border is an area where the rule of law has often found difficulty taking root, existing as law-free zones characterized by largely unbounded legal and administrative discretion. In his important new book, The Rule of Law in the Real World, Paul Gowder deftly combines historical examples, formal models, legal analysis, and philosophical theory to provide a novel and compelling account of the rule of law. In this paper I consider whether the account Gowder offers can provide the tools needed to bring the border under the rule of law. I argue that on Gowder's account, there are two ways in which we might try to extend the rule of law to the border.The first is to look at concrete connections that current citizens or members of the political community have with non-citizens. Just as the interests of current citizens give them strong reasons to coordinate to establish the rule of law in their own community, so may the interests of current members in connections with nonmembers give them reason to work to extend the rule of law to the border. These interests can include family ties, other forms of personal relationships, offers of employment, intellectual connections, and others. Some of these connections already serve to give greater legal protections, including protections from arbitrary decision-making, to some non-citizens, and the general trend, I argue, can and should be further strengthened The second method for extending the rule of law to the border involves appealing to certain universal norms so as to build a sense of community that stretches beyond borders. While these norms are not as robust or well established as domestic law, and therefore are unlikely to extend all of the protections of the rule of law to all people at the border, they can, I argues, be a basis for working against the worst arbitrary actions by border officials. I conclude by considering the vexed dispute about providing "amnesty" for unauthorized immigrants in the United States and other countries. I argues that Gowder's account of the amnesty provided to supporters of the oligarchic coups in ancient Athens provides a model for thinking about when and how amnesties for unauthorized migrants can be done without offending the rule of law, thereby making them more palatable to current citizens.


This book divides into two basic parts. In Chapters 1 and 2 I discuss historical examples of "rumor" discourse and suggest why many blacks have - for good reason - channeled beliefs about race relations into familiar formulae, ones developed as early as the time of the first contact between sub-Saharan Africans and European white. Then in Chapters 3-7 it explores the continuation of these issues in late-twentieth-century African-American rumors and contemporary legends, using examples collected in the field. Because Turner was able to monitor these contemporary legends as they unfolded and played themselves out, rigorous analysis was possible. What follows, then, is an examination of the themes common to these contemporary items and related historical ones, and an explanation for their persistence. Concerns about conspiracy, contamination, cannibalism, and castration - perceived threats to individual black bodies, which are then translated into animosity toward the race as a whole - run through nearly four hundred years of black contemporary legend material and prove remarkable tenacious.


Thinning trials were conducted in the apple orchards of Klein Altendorf experimental station near Bonn, Germany, using 7 year old CV, \'Cox orange\' in the year 2001 and 8 year old \'Elstar\' apple trees in 2002. The objective was to reduce the
number of fruits per tree, yield, improve fruit quality, overcome alternate bearing and to investigate how photosynthesis and transpiration are affected by one of the chemical thinners (i.e. Azolon). At a dose of 10 mg a.i/Li Ethrel (Flordimex) thinned better than at 5 mg a.i /Li in 2001 while at 3 m g a.i/Li in 2002 it achieved the required fruitset by thinning before June drop 62% and 15% after June drop compared to 49% of the unsprayed control and had 71% of the fruits in the class 1 fruit diameter size range of 75 to 90 mm while yield per tree was reduced by 31% by Ethrel at 10 mg a.i /Li but not Ethrel at 5 mg a.i/Li which had no effect on yield. Mean fruit weight was unaffected by the treatments. The foliar urea based fertilizer Azolon fluid at 75 mg a.i/Li applied at full bloom, resulted in 61% fruitset before and 17% after June drop in 2002, slight leaf yellowing, scorching and epinasty 7 days after treatment application which disappeared 14 days later but probably started earlier and a slight reduction in leaf photosynthesis and transpiration rates. However, Azolon fluid (i.e. methylene urea, or urea formaldehyde) yielded smaller fruit than Ethrel (Flordimex), but larger fruit than the untreated control trees, without affecting fruit yield. The partial and gradual defoliation of selected primary spur leaves reduced
fruitset to 50% before and to 14% after June drop. These results provide evidence that reductions in photosynthetic rate or photosynthetic leaf area during the period of flowering is sufficient and can successfully induce thinning with a commensurate efficacy to chemical thinners. Keywords : Thinning, growth regulators, growth hormone regulators, defoliators, orchards, apple, azolon, foliar fertilizer, Elstar, Cox Orange fruit set, fructification, fruit drop, defoliation, flowering Discovery and Innovation Vol. 19 (4) 2007: pp. 280-284


The emerging compressed sensing (CS) theory can significantly reduce the number of sampling points that directly corresponds to the volume of data collected, which means that part of the redundant data is never acquired. It makes it possible to create standalone and net-centric applications with fewer resources required in Internet of Things (IoT). CS-based signal and information acquisition/compression paradigm combines the nonlinear reconstruction algorithm and random sampling on a sparse basis that provides a promising approach to compress signal and data in information systems. This paper investigates how CS can provide new insights into data sampling and acquisition in wireless sensor networks and IoT. First, we briefly introduce the CS theory with respect to the sampling and transmission coordination during the network lifetime through providing a compressed sampling process with low computation costs. Then, a CS-based framework is proposed for IoT, in which the end nodes measure, transmit, and store the sampled data in the framework. Then, an efficient cluster-sparse reconstruction algorithm is proposed for in-network compression aiming at more accurate data reconstruction and lower energy efficiency. Performance is evaluated with respect to network size using datasets acquired by a real-life deployment.


The culture of policing oftentimes equates police competency with masculinity, valorizing physicality and bravery, but at the expense of other characteristics included in policework such as service and protection. The introduction of more female officers into police services leads the question as to how their increased representation (de)constructs traditional masculinist attitudes and affects gender inclusive policy and actions of a police service, encompassing police response to cases of domestic and sexual violence. This study investigates whether higher gender equity in a police service increases gender inclusive policy and actions by the police and whether this factor, in turn, increases public perceptions of legitimacy of the police. Legitimacy is measured through frequency of citizen participation with the police, perceptions of police neutrality (e.g. fairness), feelings of respect, and levels of trust in the police. This study employs a comparative approach to measure these variables in democratic countries with similar political cultures, using the United Kingdom and Canada as case studies. Findings from this study demonstrate a complex relationship between these variables, but evidence suggests a correlation between increases in gender equity, gender inclusive policy and actions, and public perceptions of legitimacy. Within the United Kingdom, gender equity of the police increased in both entrylevel and leadership positions. Gender inclusive policy and actions also increased as rates of reporting of sexual and domestic violence increased over time, and more specialized resources were allocated for these cases. Interestingly, the United Kingdom also has a significantly less militarized police service. Canada lagged in both variables: gender equity has stagnated in recent years and there has been little noticeable improvement in gender inclusive policy and actions. However, both countries continue to face a problem of attrition, where cases of sexual violence are dropped before reaching court. Additionally, women in both Canada and the United Kingdom reported to have higher perceptions that the police 'did a good job' compared to men. Future research should investigate the relationship between victims of violence and perceptions of the police, to determine whether male victims of gendered crimes are less likely to believe that the police did an effective job at handling their case. Key recommendations to increase these factors in police services include standardizing accountability and recording measures across police departments to more effectively monitor progress. Police services can also coordinate with national police advocacy groups for women to ensure they have proper resources to reduce rates of sexual harassment as well as rates of leave for female officers.


The first clinical successes with liver transplantation by Starzl in 1967 were based on studies showing that in man, organ allografts could induce self-tolerance with the aid of immunosuppression. Overall survival figures were poor until 1983, when cyclosporine was introduced into immunosuppressive regimes, and with the introduction of tacrolimus, results improved even further. With figures for 1-year survival now up to 90%, more attention is being directed to quality of life and the side effects of immunosuppression. Nephrotoxicity along with hypertension and diabetes are of major concern, and a significant number of long-term liver transplant patients are now facing end-stage renal failure. In the majority of conditions transplanted there is also a significant chance of disease recurrence in the graft. Owing to the shortage of cadaver organs, split liver and domino techniques are increasingly utilised. Living donor liver transplantation has also come to the fore, and to minimise potential harm to the donor, new techniques are being developed which will allow greater use of left lobe grafts. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2005;34:689-97


: Certain complex traumatic elbow lesions challenge the orthopaedic and trauma surgeon. If they are not treated correctly, they cause a high rate of disability, arising from elbow instablility and stiffness, either by fibrosis or joint incongruity. Injuries such as complex fractures of the proximal third of the ulna, coronoid fractures associated with radial head fractures (the "terrible triad"), are even worse if they are accompanied by soft tissue lesions. Hinged external fixators, complemented by other surgical procedures, are, for many, a recommended alternative when dealing with irreparable lesions. The AO tubular external fixator, by virtue of its versatility, is a very important tool in orthopaedics and trauma, but there is not the possibility of using it as a hinged fixator. The authors describe a prototype of a hinged joint that can be applied easily to the AO tubular external fixator, converting it into a hinged one. This hinged joint, in conjunction with the AO tubular external fixator, has been applied in 5 patients; 2 "terrible triads", one posterior elbow fracture-dislocation with radial head fracture, one Monteggia fracture-dislocation and an anterior elbow dislocation that developed a forearm compartment syndrome. The patients' age range was between 20 and 72 years (median 45,6); 4 were male and 1 female. In 3 patients, either a type III coronoid fracture or a radial head fracture, could not be repaired. One radial head was totally removed and another one partially removed. The remaining indications were because of severe soft tissue lesions. Results were evaluated using the Mayo Elbow Score Scale and the Broberg and Morrey radiographic evaluation scale. The median follow up was 18 months(range 6 to 48 months). All 5 patients got a maximum score of 100 points in the Mayo's Elbow Score Scale, indicating excellent results. No patient suffered elbow pain, or any type of elbow instability. The median range of motion in flexion was of 127.5 degrees (max. 140 degrees and min. 120 degrees ) and the median extension loss was 20 degrees (max. 25 degrees and min. 15 degrees ). One patient had pronation limited to 70 degrees and one had supination limited to 70 degrees . Every patient was able to resume a normal daily life activity and returned to normal work. In 3 patients the radiographic evaluation was Grade 0 and in the other 2, Grade I. Two complications occurred, one was a distal ulnar Schanz screw loosening with osteolysis and the other was a superficial infection of one Schanz screw. It can be concluded that good results can be obtained in injuries with severe elbow instability and soft tissue lesions, using this hinged external fixator. With this new clamp, the AO tubular external fixator is transformed into a hinged one and a new use is added to this already very versatile system. This clamp is very easy to apply.


INTRODUCTION
Women who smoke have a higher rate of fatal breast cancer than nonsmoking women. An association between smoking and pulmonary metastases from breast cancer has been suggested by epidemiologic studies.

STUDY OBJECTIVES
To examine the relationship between exposure to cigarette smoke and pulmonary metastasis in a murine model of metastatic mammary cancer.

STUDY DESIGN
Prospective, randomized study.

SETTING
Animal research laboratory.

EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS
Female sexually mature BALB/cAnN mice.

INTERVENTIONS
Mice were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental animals were exposed to cigarette smoke in specialized exposure chambers, at concentrations chosen to approximate active cigarette smoking. Control animals were exposed to filtered air. One week after the initiation of exposures, mouse mammary tumor cells (tumor cell line 4526) were injected into the tail veins of experimental animals at one of three concentrations (50,000, 100,000, or 150,000 cells per 100 micro L). Three weeks later, the mice were killed, and pulmonary metastases were counted and measured.

RESULTS
The mean metastatic burden in the lungs was consistently greater for smoke-exposed animals at each concentration of cells injected (at 50,000 cells per 100 micro L, 9.8 vs 4.8 micro m(3), respectively [p < 0.01]; at 100,000 cells per 100 micro L, 34.5 vs 17.4 micro m(3), respectively [p < 0.10]; and at 150,000 cells per 100 micro L, 54.0 vs 31.5 micro m(3), respectively [p < 0.05]). This was largely attributable to a significant increase in the number of metastatic nodules per animal (at 50,000 cells per 100 micro L, 8.7 vs 4.8, respectively [p < 0.001]; at 100,000 cells per 100 micro L, 24.3 vs 14.0, respectively [p > 0.10]; and at 150,000 cells per 100 micro L, 42.0 vs 20.1, respectively [p < 0.02]) rather than to a change in nodule size.

CONCLUSIONS
Cigarette smoke exposure is associated with an increase in the total pulmonary metastatic burden in this murine model of metastatic mammary cell cancer. This study provides experimental support for an adverse effect of smoking on the metastatic process and suggests a possible mechanism for smokers' increased breast cancer mortality.


In this letter, the limited feedback scheme in MIMO-Relay systems is considered. We propose a new strategy that optimizes the allocation of feedback bits between channel direction information (CDI) and phase information (PI) for multi-relay systems under the total number of feedback bits constraint. The proposed scheme eventually trades off some CDI bits for PI feedback to diminish the phase ambiguity. Simulation results show that compared to the conventional and the 1-bit PI feedback methods, the proposed scheme remarkably improves the system performance without increasing the feedback overhead.


The present article describes an uncommon case of acute subdural hematoma following Spinal anesthesia after cesarean delivery, a 24 year-old female primigravida with 37 weeks of gestation whose pregnancy was terminated due to high blood pressure and received treatment for preeclampsia. About 48 hours after cesarean delivery, she developed a severe headache and her brain CT scan revealed a small size subdural hematoma in occipital area and she managed conservatively.


It has been established positive correlation of the degree of stenosis and intima-media thickness of carotid arteries with the following biochemical parameters: total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, Apo-B, Lp(a), triglycerides, hs-C-reactive protein(CRP), interleukines (IL-1beta and IL-6), fibrinogen, D-dimers. Negative correlation was stated with respect to HDL cholesterol, Apo-A-1, protein C. Relation between the parameters of the blood lipid spectre, proteins and mediators of inflammation as well as those of hemostasis enables us to approach pathophysiological mechanisms of carotid atherosclerosis, define the processes of inflammation and atherosclerosis.


This article intervenes into the connections between Philippine cinema's construction of transnational imaginaries and the post-Marcos era when neoliberal policies such as the export of feminized labor to developed countries by so-called "third world" countries like the Philippines have produced not only cultural values that are attuned to the culture of diasporic labor but also economic value in the form of spectatorship constantly mined by capital for its continued stability. To illustrate these connections, this study focuses on the discourses of narrative imperialism, national fantasy, and infantilized citizenship as ideological tropes that resolve the film's representation of prescribed feminine virtue, anxiety, melancholy, and maternal sacrifice. These discourses are constitutive of an invaginated visual economy that derives its conditions of possibility from the feminization of migrant labor in global capitalism. The invaginated visual economy inserts itself in the womb of the global economy through the production of transnational imaginaries, which in turn contradict not only the actual experience of warm-body export but also the worldwide solidarity movement among overseas Filipino workers who, beyond cinematic mediation, are beginning to fight back.


This memo describes an implementation of A+P in a provider's IPv6-
only network. It provides details of the implementation, network
elements, configurations and test results as well. Besides traditional
port range A+P, a scattered port sets flavour of A+P is also
implemented and verified for the sake of distributing incoming ports
among customers in a more discrete way. The test results consist of
the application compatibility test, UPnP extension for A+P, port usage
and BitTorrent behaviour with A+P. This memo focuses on the IPv6
flavor of A+P.


As millimeter-wave (mm-wave) 5G technology adoption expands, it faces growing technical challenges. Among these are the extension of the 28GHz band, to 24.25 to 29.5GHz (n257, n258 and n261 5G NR bands) and the demand for 5G base stations to cover large distances by using a larger number of antenna elements. While mm-wave 5G phased arrays supporting up to 256 elements have been reported [1,5-8], they suffer from two key challenges: (1) their created beams are narrow, requiring thousands of beams to cover all angles within the scan range, yet their beam tables typically support <300 beams [1], [2]; and (2) their increased power consumption may lead to severe thermal challenges, especially in situations where air-cooling cannot be used.


Introduction: The frequency of clinical prostatic adenocarcinoma and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) in a certain population could be similar to the prevalent model of latent adenocarcinoma as well as to the frequency and extent of HGPIN. The aim of this prospective postmortem study is to determine the prevalence of occult adenocarcinoma and HGPIN and contrasting same with the existing clinical model in the same environment. Subjects and Methods: Adult individuals who died from ailments unrelated to diseases of the prostate glands were the target population using a calculated minimum sample size of 72 cases. The partial sampling method was employed. Sections were assessed for prostatic adenocarcinoma and HGPIN. The biodata and clinical diagnosis were obtained from stored records. Results: Seven patients had occult adenocarcinoma representing 8.1% of the study population of 86 cases. Their median age was 60 years. It had a peak incidence in the sixth decade, with a prevalence of 42.85% in the subset of the study population who had the disease. Gleason's grade 3 and score 6 were the most frequent grades and scores encountered in this study. Those with occult adenocarcinoma were graded International Society of Urological Pathologist (ISUP) 1 using the ISUP grade group system. There were five cases of HGPIN in this study. Their median age was 54 years. It had a peaked incidence in the eighth decade. Conclusion: There exists a subset of the population with occult prostatic adenocarcinoma and HGPIN. These subclinical prostatic lesions may become clinically apparent if these patients had lived long enough, and hence, the prostate should be considered as a possible primary site of metastatic carcinoma because of this concept "occult adenocarcinoma."


The bimetallic complexes [[Fe(III)(phen)(CN)4]2Cu(II)(H2O)2].4H2O (1), [[Fe(III)(phen)(CN)4]2Cu(II)].H2O (2) and [[Fe(III)(bipy)(CN)4]2Cu(II)].2H2O (3) and [[Fe(III)(bipy)(CN)4]2Cu(II)(H2O)2].4H2O (4) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline and bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) have been prepared and the structures of 1-3 determined by X-ray diffraction. The structure of 1 is made up of neutral cyanide-bridged Fe(III)-Cu(II) zigzag chains of formula [[Fe(III)(phen)(CN)4]2Cu(II)(H2O)2] and uncoordinated water molecules with the [Fe(phen)(CN)4]- entity acting as a bis-monodentate bridging ligand toward two trans-diaquacopper(II) units through two of its four cyanide groups in cis positions. The structure of 2 can be viewed as the condensation of two chains of 1 connected through single cyanide-bridged Fe(III)-Cu(II) pairs after removal of the two axially coordinated water molecules of the copper atom. The structure of 3 is like that of 2, the main differences being the occurrence of bipy (phen in 2) and two (one in 2) crystallization water molecules. The crystals of 4 diffract poorly but the analysis of the limited set of diffraction data shows a chain structure like that of 1 the most important difference being the fact that elongation axis at the copper atom is defined by the two trans coordinated water molecules. 1 behaves as a ferromagnetic Fe(III)2Cu(II) trinuclear system. A metamagnetic-like behavior is observed for 2 and 3, the value of the critical field (Hc) being ca. 1100 (2) and 900 Oe (3). For H > Hc the ferromagnetic Fe(III)2Cu(II) chains exhibit frequency dependence of the out-of-phase ac susceptibility signal at T < 4.0 K. The magnetic behavior of 4 corresponds to that of a ferromagnetically coupled chain of low spin iron(III) and copper(II) ions with frequency dependence of the out-of-phase susceptibility at T < 3.0 K. Theoretical calculations using methods based on density functional theory (DFT) have been employed to analyze and substantiate the exchange pathways in this family of complexes.


Background: It is well established that more research into the cause and prevention of breast cancer is needed. While many studies are done in cell lines and laboratory animals, translation of findings to women often falters due to perceived difficulty in recruiting women for research. The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's (DSLRF) Love/Avon Army of Women (AOW) program has existed for four years. This on-line resource was designed to facilitate the recruitment of women to participate in research aimed at identifying the cause of breast cancer. Funded by a grant from the Avon Foundation, the AOW seeks to partner one million women with the research community in an effort to accelerate breast cancer research. Methods: Researchers submit a proposal to the AOW Scientific Advisory Committee. If a study is accepted, a mass e-mail describing the study procedures and inclusion/exclusion criteria is sent to the entire AOW database. Women sign up at www.armyofwomen.org to join and receive AOW e-mails about breast cancer research studies. Women self-select based on interest and study criteria, and undergo a secondary on-line screening before contact information is passed on to the researcher for the enrollment process. Results: Over 369,000 women have signed up, including survivors and women without a history of breast cancer, ranging from ages 18 to 100, representing all 50 US states and 49 countries. To date, the AOW has recruited for 66 studies, both regional and national, that vary from biomarker and circadian rhythm research to psycho-social and quality of life studies. With over 78,000 AOW members having participated in the research process, this method of recruitment has been found to be effective and efficient. The diversity of the AOW members has proved beneficial for many studies, such as those needing to enroll racial/ethnic minorities, women of varying sexual orientations, or young survivors. A secondary goal of the AOW is to assist researchers new to research with human subjects. The AOW has successfully helped researchers cross the chasm, coaching them on what it takes to transition their research from animal models to human subjects. The AOW will guide researchers through IRB submission, patient recruitment, and sample collection. Conclusions: The AOW has proved to be a successful resource for scientists to accelerate accrual, expand the number and diversity of their subject population and to obtain exactly the type of specimens they need when they need it. This partnership between women and scientists has revolutionized research and accelerated efforts to eradicate breast cancer. The public is ready and willing to partner with the research community to find the answer to urgent clinical problems. The DSLRF recently launched a new initiative to harness the public's desire to be active research participants: The Health of Women (HOW) Study, an online longitudinal cohort study that will reduce participant burden with multiple short modules at regular intervals. Preliminary data from HOW will be available later this year. Citation Format: Leah Wilcox Eshraghi. An efficient resource to accelerate research into the cause and prevention of breast cancer: The Love/Avon Army of Women. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr FO03-03.


Periodic moment method (PMM) is a useful tool to solve electromagnetic (EM) scattering problems for periodic structures. Double integrals over the cross section of the reference element are performed in the spectral domain formulation. Cross section of reference element of two-dimensional periodic structures; such as wedge absorber, is divided into different shape of cells to obtain scattering behavior. Cells are divided right-angled triangles and rectangles for PMM impedance matrix calculation. Integrating over multiple regions and summing results is needed more CPU time. In this paper, a square region based calculation technique instead of multiple regions technique is introduced for efficiently interpolating of two-dimensional PMM impedance matrices. Using this technique, arbitrary-shaped cells are transformed square cells, which have same area and centroid with existing cells. Thus, calculation of double integrals over cells are obtained easily. Contribution of the study is obtaining integration values by using a new and simple technique.


Cigarette smoke (CS) is a main risk factor in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but only 20% of smokers develop COPD, suggesting genetic predisposition. Animal studies have shown that C57BL/6J mice are sensitive to CS and develop emphysema, whereas Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice are not. To investigate the potential factors responsible for the different susceptibility of ICR and C57BL/6J mice to CS, we evaluated in alveolar macrophages (AMs) isolated from these strains of mice the possible mechanisms involved in the inflammatory and oxidative responses induced by CS. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release revealed that C57BL/6J AMs were more susceptible to CS extract (CSE) toxicity than ICR. Differences were observed in inflammatory and oxidative response after CSE exposure. Proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were increased in C57BL/6J but not ICR AMs. Control C57BL/6J AMs showed a higher baseline production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and H(2)O(2) with lower baseline levels of GSH, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX2). This was associated with reduced histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2) expression, activation of NF-κB, and higher basal levels of TNF-α and IL-6. CSE induced a decrease in HDAC2 protein levels in both C57BL/6J and ICR AMs; however, the level of HDAC2 was significantly lower in C57BL/6 than in ICR AMs. Furthermore, CSE enhanced NF-κB-dependent cytokine release only in C57BL/6J AMs. We suggest that an imbalance in oxidative stress decreases HDAC2 levels and facilitates NF-κB binding, resulting in a proinflammatory response in C57BL/6J but not in ICR AMs. These results could contribute in understanding the different susceptibility to CS of these strains of mice.


A limited study has shown that the diameter of the pupil of the eye is not related directly to the sensation of discomfort which results from a bright light source in the field of view. Other factors, especially the illumination received at the eye, govern the pupil diameter. The more concentrated the source producing the illumination at the eye, the greater the contraction of the pupil. When the eye is subjected to intolerable glare, the pupil not only contracts, but varies in diameter, dilating and contracting irregularly every few seconds.The study indicates that the pupil diameter by itself cannot be used as an objective indicator of the degree of glare discomfort.


Based on an in-depth case study, this paper examines how framing contests between proponents and opponents of the Diesel particulate filter (DPF) in Germany evolve over time to affect institution creation. Our results suggest that the emergence of institution passes through three cumulative phases: necessary opening, organizing-mobilizing, instrumentalization of channels. This development is characterized by specific framing contests where the precedent phase is a necessary condition for the next to occur, a process which we conceptualize as cumulation. Our data indicate that framing contests were resolved when collective action frames which have a motivational task were crafted by the social movement with the effect of mobilizing customers, thereby creating a de facto standard i.e. the Diesel particulate filter. We argue that the motivational frame resonated because it features negative individualized evidence-based consequences and because it built on the framing contests of previous phases. Finally, we observed that framing contests tend to polarize over time, thereby reflecting the intensity of the conflict.


Monitoring of tool condition is one of the most important techniques to be developed in the automatic cutting processes as it can help to prevent damages of machine tools and work pieces. Power monitoring technique is an effective method for identifying tool states. However, it is difficult to distinguish sources which led to the power signal drop. In order to solve the problem, wavelet transform algorithm was adopted to define inflexion of power signal, and wavelet threshold denoise technique was used to separate the characteristic inflexion of power signal. The simulation results show that the method is capable of detecting the cutting condition effectively.


Simple Summary Iodine represents an important micronutrient and plays a fundamental role in animal biology. This trace element is currently supplied to animal diet to investigate its potential effects on productive and reproductive performances. However, little is known about its role in the regulation of gene expression in ruminants. In this study, the dietary iodine supplementation in dairy cows showed effective modification of the expression of several molecular targets, with an improvement of the pathways involved in immune response and oxidative stress and undoubted positive repercussions on animal health. Abstract The effects of iodine supplementation on the whole-transcriptome of dairy cow using RNA sequencing has been investigated in this study. Iodine did not influence the milk composition, while an improvement was observed in the immune response as well as in the quality of dairy product. Indeed, the iodine intake specifically influenced the expression of 525 genes and the pathway analysis demonstrated that the most affected among them were related to immune response and oxidative stress. As a consequence, we indirectly showed a better response to bacterial infection because of the reduction of somatic cell counts; furthermore, an improvement of dairy product quality was observed since lipid oxidation reduced in fresh cheese. Such findings, together with the higher milk iodine content, clearly demonstrated that iodine supplementation in dairy cow could represent a beneficial practice to preserve animal health and to improve the nutraceutical properties of milk and its derived products.


the 'cities and local Government Devolution bill' proposes to alter the structures of political control in england and Wales. the bill allows for the appointment of mayors with additional powers and responsibilities over combined authorities and thus empowers local leaders to control their expenditure in a way that aligns with local objectives. However, fears exist that a lack of community engagement and social sector involvement in this process could entrench existing inequalities. therefore, it is imperative that new governance structures actively accommodate the voices of citizens and the social economy; yet, it is only through looking at lessons from history and around the world that we can ensure devolution is seen as a positive contributor in centuries to come.


The Salvation Army is a large international religious/charitable organisation with a high profile in Australia. In recent years, the profile of its financial reports has grown, particularly in the context of corporate fundraising. This is one manifestation of the importance for the Army, over its history, of a sound financial reputation. It has always relied heavily on external funds to continue its operations, and its financial statements are, and have been, a useful means by which its image has been enhanced, and it has established a legitimate claim for these funds. The Salvation Army's founding and early years, in the second half of the 19th century in England, provide evidence of this early legitimising role of its financial statements. This is consistent with institutional theory, which emphasises the importance of such legitimacy, but challenges the notion, prevalent in academic literature on accounting in religious organisations, that there is a resistance to the use of accounting as a "secular" activity in an organisation with a "sacred" mission. While techniques and presentation have changed, the need for a resource-dependent organisation like The Salvation Army to create an acceptable financial image in the eyes of the public, has not changed.


An eco-compatible catalytic protocol for H2O2 induced hydroxylation of phenol (PH) to catechol (CT) and hydroquinone (HQ) in aqueous medium, using a polyoxovanadate (POV) complex as the catalyst, is described. The synthesis of the POV catalyst, with a new type of three dimensional framework, Na6(H2O)22(V10O28)·2H2O (1) was accomplished by establishing a non-hydrothermal one-step methodology under mild conditions. The catalyst was characterized by elemental analysis, spectral studies, single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and TGA analysis. Under optimum conditions of reaction, conducted at ambient temperature, the phenol conversion reached up to 55.4% providing a TON of 138. The catalyst could be recovered easily and recycled at least up to three cycles without significant change in activity. The developed methodology is operationally simple and free from halogenated solvents or any other hazardous additives.


A radioimmunoassay (RIA) for progesterone plasma of various animal species had been applied and validated in our laboratory. The method used antisera against 11 alpha hydroxy progesterone raised in goats (donated by Dr. L.E Edqvist, Sweden) in a 1:2000 dilution. A sensitivity of 10 pg/ml was obtained based on the readings for this concentration which was statistically different from a zeroconcentration (p<0.05). The intra-assay precision expressed as the coefficient of variation (CV) was 0.57%, 2.41% and 2.03% for the range of concentration 100-200, 200-300 and 300-400 pg/ml respectively. The between assay CV's measured from standard curves from different assays were 2.82%, 3.23%, 3.39%, 2.93%, 3.87%, 6.19%, 8.36%, 5.74% for the concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 250 dan 500 pg/ml. A ecovery experinment was conducted to measure the accuracy of the system by using male plasma added to the sample containing known amounts of progesterone. A recovery of 86.56 +- 5.12% was obtained. Using this method, values for the normal cycling female swamp buffalo was obtained. They were 423 +- 60.3 pg/ml during the luteal phase and 84-253 pg/ml during the follicular phase. The concentration of progesterone obtained from Priangan ewes was 2.08 +- 0.5 pg/ml during the follicullar phase.


This paper involves the estimation of a model of railway road and equipment capital stocks and the changes in their levels that have occurred since 1983. The model is based on balancing the level of investment and the level of degradation of the capital stocks to create a data series for roadway capital and for equipment capital. A two-stage least squares errors in variables model is applied. This is appropriate as degradation and exact constant dollar investment are not directly observable. Results obtained from the model indicate that Class I railroads have increased their absolute capital stock levels over the period examined. This holds for both roadway and equipment capital although roadway capital has increased at a somewhat faster rate.


The Data Market Austria (DMA) is an ecosystem of federated data and service infrastructures. It aims at making data from various data providers accessible and interoperable by allowing the submission, storage, management and dissemination of static datasets or streaming data services. By creating a metadata vocabulary, standardizing the ingest of data and ensuring the quality and completeness of metadata, it lays the ground to enable participants to share or consume datasets residing in different infrastructures. This demo focuses on the mapping services used in the DMA to standardize data from different sources using a modified version of the DCAT metadata schema. We present tools that enable inter organizational integration of datasets, in a manner that is both user-friendly and powerful enough to handle vast amounts of data.


Analysis of the linear electro-optic effect in crystals of classes containing a threefold rotation axis is carried out. It is shown that such crystals display a dual transverse electro-optic effect in which the magnitude of an electric field transverse to the light direction controls the electro-optic retardation and the direction of the field controls the orientation of the fast and slow polarization axes. The most desirable crystals for utilization of this effect are those of cubic class
4¯3m since they are optically isotropic in zero field and are not optically active. Using a crystal of this type, for example, zinc sulfide, analysis shows it is possible to modulate a light beam simultaneously with two independent signals in the form of mutually perpendicular fields both transverse to the light beam. The signals are recoverable at the receiver by photodetectors responding to appropriate polarization components of the beam. If the fields applied to the crystal consist of appropriate combinations of the modulating signals, the latter appear as upper or lower sidebands of the optical carrier. Differences of the polarization states of sidebands and carrier make it easily possible to achieve single-sideband suppressed-carrier transmission. Receiver design for superheterodyne detection of such signals is described. Results of experiments are given demonstrating the modulation and reception techniques described.


We present an approach to combine model-driven and component-based software engineering of distributed embedded systems. Specifically, we describe how deployment modelling is performed in two steps, and present an incremental synthesis of runnable representations of model entities on various abstraction levels. Our approach allows for flexible reuse opportunities, in that entities at different levels of granularity and abstraction can be reused. It also permits detailed analysis, e.g., with respect to timing, of units smaller than a whole physical node. We present a concept, virtual nodes, which preserves real-time properties across reuse and integration in different contexts.


It has been well recognized that population ageing could generate structural changes centered around the dwindling labor force, on one hand, and the expanding dependency on the generosity of the welfare state, on the other hand. Ageing-related welfare state policy entails both fiscal issues and migration issues. The paper employs a general-equilibrium model with a policy-making focus, to help understand the mechanism governing the provision of social benefits, labor income taxation, capital income taxation, migration curbs on low skilled and high skilled, driven by the ageing of the population. Greater generosity of the welfare state comes together with policy of a more liberal migration policy — incentive compatible with the interests of the majority voters.


In "Roe's Ragged Fringe," the consequences of one odd choice made in Roe v. Wade are explored. In Roe, the majority chose viability as the threshold at which the state's interest in the fetus became significant enough to allow abortion to be barred. However, it chose a different threshold, birth, as the point at which the unborn child itself gained any rights. This article assails the illogic of choosing two points in time to describe the same essential event. At the very least, personhood rights should attach to the unborn child at viability, as at that point the pregnancy can be terminated without an abortion -- through a live birth. The essential trade-off changes from being between freedom of the mother versus the life of the child, to the cost of the premature birth versus the life of the child; a very different calculus. This article urges that this oddity be corrected, and viability be seen as a crucial threshold not only for the interests of the state, but the interests of the child.


Emerging evidence suggests that suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a clinically approved HDAC inhibitor for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, shows promising clinical benefits in neuroblastoma, the most common extra cranial solid neoplasm with limited choice of therapeutic intervention. However, the molecular mechanism under which the compound exerts its antitumor effect remains elusive. Here we report a quantitative proteomics study that determines changes of protein expression, histone lysine acetylation, and butyrylation in response to SAHA treatment. We detected and quantified 28 histone lysine acetylation and 18 histone lysine butyrylation marks, most of which are dramatically induced by SAHA. Importantly, we identified 11 histone Kbu sites as novel histone marks in human cells. Furthermore, quantitative proteomic analysis identified 5426 proteins, among which 510 proteins were up-regulated and 508 proteins were down-regulated (significant p value <0.05). The subsequent bioinformatics analysis identified distinct SAHA-response gene ontology (GO) categories and signaling pathways, including cellular metabolism and DNA-dependent pathways. Our study therefore reveals new histone epigenetic marks and offers key insights into the molecular mechanism by which SAHA regulates proteomic changes in neuroblastoma cells and identifies biomarker candidates for SAHA.


A range of culturally embedded interpretations and appropriations have left pharaonic Egypt at the centre of competing visions of its past. Despite the well-documented nature of Egypt's broad perennial appeal, there is little analysis of the revival and reconstruction of pharaonic religion, which remains unrecognised by Egyptology, or conflated with 'mystic' 'revisionist' approaches. This doctoral research is undertaken in order to address critically this gap in Egyptological understanding of contemporary reception of pharaonic religion, challenge current conceptions of academic boundary marking, and interrogate notions of heritage and legacy that are framed within Western discourse on the ancient world. Employing a multi-sited ethnographic study, reflective of the medium of its participants, this work contributes an original database of over 40 actors (including key figures, such as temple founders and authors) located within the 'Kemetic continuum' of reconstructionist and revivalist practices. It critically examines responses, framing them within the contours of current Egyptological understanding, whilst remaining mindful of institutionalised positivist norms, and the hegemonic, reductionist exercise of applying theory 'over' findings. The project problematises current polarisations between 'orthodox' and 'alternative' approaches to Egyptian material, which were instead found to represent a continuum of responses from conservative attempts at 'authenticity' at one end, to less exclusive and more selective eclectic readings at the other. Curiously, when antagonising accusations of Egyptology's own positivism, the discipline was found to be less defined, and less 'conservative' in its approaches to Egyptian religious material than currently conceived by 'outsiders' and the academy alike. Whilst it was noted that conceptions of Egyptology as a 'hard' positivist science are increasing, and likely inevitable, the valuable contributions from the phenomenological experiences of Kemetic practitioners are identified, where they nuance our understanding of key issues such as taboo, identity and piety through first-hand experience of agency.


Mewburn is a significant name in silversmithing, yet almost nothing has been written about those of them involved in the craft or their history. That leaves the question: who exactly were the silversmithing Mewburns and what were their origins and the ultimate fate of their line? Genealogical techniques have been used to fill the structural gaps and flesh out an understanding of the three generations in which there were members of the Goldsmiths' Company, and to trace their fortunes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the eventual end of the line in the early twentieth century. The article also shows how records from the Goldsmiths' Company can provide insights into the lives of nineteenth-century craftsmen – individuals and their families. London birth, marriage and death records and wills have enabled a sound family tree to be developed, while property and tax records have provided locational data. Migrations have been traced and Australian records used to document the final decline of the silversmiths. Some speculation on the earlier origins of the line is offered.


Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) is a well established technique for stress analysis. Recent studies have revealed that the technique can be used to detect sub-surface defect effectively. In this study, the technique has been used to examine the thermoelastic response to sub-surface damage in simple bar specimens. The non-adiabatic thermoelastic response from areas close to the damage has been studied. The study shows that the phase of the response along with the thermal diffusion can provide a parameter that will help reveal subsurface stresses.


Trajectory optimization of an advanced launch vehicle is addressed. The optimal control problem is converted into a parameter optimization problem. Then, simulated annealing based single and multiobjective optimization algorithms are used. The single objective optimization problem is formulated to minimize the total flight time, while the multiobjective formulation tries to maximize payload mass and orbit insertion velocity. The problem is also solved using our novel multiple cooling multiobjective simulated annealing algorithm. It is shown that the algorithm is capable of finding the Pareto front of such nonlinear, multimodal problems.


Coculture of cord blood mononuclear cells (CB MNCs) and alginate-chitosan-alginate (ACA) microcapsules containing rabbit bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was carried out in a rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor for 7 days to construct a novel dynamic coculture system. The medium was supplemented with conventional doses of purified recombinant human cytokines (SCF 50 ng;/ mL-1, FL 50 ng·mL-1, TPO 50 ng·mL-1 and IL-3 25 ng·mL-1) without any serum. The total nucleated cell density, pH and osmolality of the culture medium in the bioreactor were measured every 24 hours. Flow cytometric assay for CD34+ cells and methylcellulose colony assays (colony-forming units in culture, CFU-Cs) were carried out at 0h, 72 h and 168 h, respectively. Results show that the pH of the medium in the bioreactor maintains between 7.2~7.4 and the osmolality is between 280~310 mmOsmol·kg-1, both of which are in the proper ranges for ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and progenitors during the dynamic coculture. And at the end of 168 h culture, the total nucleated cell number is multipled by 107.05±6.08 fold, CD34+ cells 26.52±1.5fold, and CFU-Cs 19.2±3.18 fold. This novel dynamic microencapsulated coculture system supports the large-scale ex vivo expansion of HSCs and progenitors. In this system, the stromal cells inhibit the HSCs differentiation, the microcapsules protect cells from immunreaction and the RWV provides a better suspension culture environment with low shear force for cells and microcapsules.


We study a category of robust speech recognition problem in which mismatches exist between training and testing conditions, and no accurate knowledge of the mismatch mechanism is available. The only available information is the test data along with a set of pretrained Gaussian mixture continuous density hidden Markov models (CDHMMs). We investigate the problem from the viewpoint of Bayesian prediction. A simple prior distribution, namely constrained uniform distribution, is adopted to characterize the uncertainty of the mean vectors of the CDHMMs. Two methods, namely a model compensation technique based on Bayesian predictive density and a robust decision strategy called Viterbi Bayesian predictive classification are studied. The proposed methods are compared with the conventional Viterbi decoding algorithm in speaker-independent recognition experiments on isolated digits and TI connected digit strings (TIDTGITS), where the mismatches between training and testing conditions are caused by: (1) additive Gaussian white noise, (2) each of 25 types of actual additive ambient noises, and (3) gender difference. The experimental results show that the adopted prior distribution and the proposed techniques help to improve the performance robustness under the examined mismatch conditions.


In this thesis we develop a framework to study the circuit diameters of polyhedra. The circuit diameter is a generalization of the combinatorial (edge) diameter, where walks are permitted to enter the interior of the polyhedron as long as steps are parallel to its circuit directions. Because the circuit diameter is dependent on the specific realization of the polyhedron, many of the techniques used in the edge case do not transfer easily. We reformulate circuit analogues of the Hirsch conjecture, the d-step conjecture, and the non-revisiting conjecture, and recover some of the edge case relationships in the circuit case. To do this we adapt the notion of simplicity to work with circuit diameter, and so we define C-simplicity and wedge-simplicity. Then, we prove the circuit 4-step conjecture, including for unbounded polyhedra, by showing that the original counterexample U4 to the combinatorial analogue satisfies the Hirsch bound in the circuit case, independent of its realization. This was the first known counterexample to Hirsch, and several families of counterexamples are constructed from U4. In particular, the unbounded Hirsch conjecture could still hold in the circuit case. We also use computational methods to study Q4, the bounded counterpart to U4, and give two realizations with different circuit diameters. It remains open whether Q4 is circuit Hirsch-sharp; however, we are able to lower the distance bound for at least one direction between the two far vertices of Q4. Finally, we present some auxiliary results involving representations of polyhedra and circuit calculations.


Objective To estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from international population-based studies and investigate the influence of prevalence definition, data sources, classification criteria, and geographical area on RA prevalence. Methods A search of ProQuest, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EMBASE was undertaken to identify population-based studies investigating RA prevalence between 1980 and 2019. Studies were reviewed using the Joanna Briggs Institute approach for the systematic review and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Results Sixty studies met the inclusion criteria. There was a wide range of point prevalence reported (0.00–2.70%) with a mean of 0.56% (SD 0.51) between 1986 and 2014, and a mean period prevalence of 0.51% (SD 0.35) between 1955 and 2015. RA point and period prevalence was higher in urban settings (0.69% vs 0.48%) than in rural settings (0.54% vs 0.25%). An RA diagnosis validated by rheumatologists yielded the highest period prevalence of RA and was observed in linked databases (0.80%, SD 0.1). Conclusion The literature reports a wide range of point and period prevalence based on population and method of data collection, but average point and period prevalence of RA were 51 in 10,000 and 56 in 10,000, respectively. Higher urban vs rural prevalence may be biased due to poor case findings in areas with less healthcare or differences in risk environment. The population database studies were more consistent than sampling studies, and linked databases in different continents appeared to provide a consistent estimate of RA period prevalence, confirming the high value of rheumatologist diagnosis as classification criteria.