The developments in communication technologies have yielded many existing and envisioned information network architectures such as cognitive radio networks, sensor and actor networks, quantum communication networks, terrestrial next generation Internet and InterPlaNetary InterneL However, there exist many common significant challenges to be addressed for the practical realization of these current and envisioned networking paradigms such as the increased complexity with large scale networks, their dynamic nature, resource constraints, heterogeneous architectures, absence or impracticality of centralized control and infrastructure, need for survivability, and unattended resolution of potential failures. These challenges have been successfully dealt with by Nature, which, as a result of millions of years of evolution, have yielded many biological systems and processes with intrinsic appealing characteristics such as adaptivity to varying environmental conditions, inherent resiliency to failures and damages, successful and collaborative operation on the basis of a limited set of rules and with global intelligence which is larger than superposition of individuals, self-organization, survivability, and evoIvability. Inspired by these characteristics, many researchers are currently engaged in developing innovative design paradigms to address the networking challenges of existing and envisioned information systems. In this paper, the current state-of-the-art in bio-inspired networking is captured The existing bio-inspired networking and communication protocols and algorithms devised by looking at biology as a source of inspiration and by mimicking the laws and dynamics governing these systems is presented along with open research issues for the bio-inspired networking. Furthermore, the domain of bio-inspired networking is linked to the forthcoming research domain of nanonetworks, which bring a set of unique challenges. The objective of this tutorial is to provide better understanding of the potentials for bio-inspired and nano-scale networking, and to motivate research community to further explore this timely and exciting fieId.


Background: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) can present as pancreatic mass mimicking malignancy. However, it has specific histomorphology and immunohistology which in clinical context can be diagnostic. Aim: To retrospectively analyze pancreatic resections done for pancreatic head masses to identify cases of autoimmune pancreatitis. Methods: Hematoxylin and eosin stained slides of pancreatic resections (n-142) done for pancreatic masses (2004-2012) were reviewed. Immunohistochemistry for IgG4 was done in cases suggestive of AIP. As controls, 30 pancreatic carcinomas (n-30) and plasma cells rich chronic pancreatitis (n25) were stained with IgG4. Clinical records were retrieved. Results: There were 5/142 cases (3.5%) of autoimmune pancreatitis among pancreatic resections done for presumed pancreatic tumors. There were 3 females and 2 males and age range was 35-65 (mean 51). Presenting symptoms were painless jaundice (n-4), with adult onset diabetes (n-1) and feature of gastric outlet obstruction (n-1). Histomorphology of all the five masses was of Type I autoimmune pancreatitis showing lobulocentric plasma cell rich inflammation and storiform fibrosis. IgG4 positive plasma cells (>10 per high power field) in all the cases diagnosed as autoimmune pancreatitis; though few IgG4 positive plasma cells were positive in controls. Venulitis and veno-oblitrative changes, neural hyperplasia, neuritis were present in all. Serum IgG4 levels done immediately after surgeries in three patients were elevated. Conclusion: Incidence of autoimmune pancreatitis in pancreatic resections done for pancreatic masses is 3.5%. All the five cases were of Type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis with significant number of IgG4 positive plasma cells using >10 positive cells per high power field as cut off.


Today, Sensor Network Query Processors (SNQPs) are being integrated with Data Stream Management Systems (DSMSs). Due to the query capabilities of SNQPs, query processing can be extended from the DSMS into the sensor network. The problem then is to decide which operators should be allocated to the SNQP rather than being processed in the DSMS. This paper presents a first solution to this problem. Operators are classified as movable or not movable. Next, a QoS-based rating model, a two-stage neighborhood function browsing through the set of possible operator allocations, and an optimization algorithm using heuristics are introduced. Finally, it is shown how the operator allocation process fits into the Borealis optimization.


The physical processes determining the functions of an ionization system and especially the discharge stabilization by the distributed resistance of a semiconducting cathode in such a system are studied. The current - voltage (I - U) characteristics of the system with a semiconducting GaAs cathode are obtained experimentally as functions of the gap pressure P (16 - 760 Torr) and inter-electrode distance d ( to 5 mm), which are varied for the first time over very wide ranges. The experiments showed that the presence of the distributed resistance affects the passage of the discharge current so that the discharge glows uniformly throughout the cathode surface and is not divided into separate filaments. The loss of stability was primarily due to the formation of a space charge of positive ions in the discharge gap which changed the discharge from the Townsend to the glow type.


Objective To assess feasibility and acceptability of a multifaceted, culturally appropriate intervention for preventing obesity in South Asian children, and to obtain data to inform sample size for a definitive trial. Design Phase II feasibility study of a complex intervention. Setting 8 primary schools in inner city Birmingham, UK, within populations that are predominantly South Asian. Participants 1090 children aged 6–8 years took part in the intervention. 571 (85.9% from South Asian background) underwent baseline measures. 85.5% (n=488) were followed up 2 years later. Interventions The 1-year intervention consisted of school-based and family-based activities, targeting dietary and physical activity behaviours. The intervention was modified and refined throughout the period of delivery. Main outcome measures Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention and of measurements required to assess outcomes in a definitive trial. The difference in body mass index (BMI) z-score between arms was used to inform sample size calculations for a definitive trial. Results Some intervention components (increasing school physical activity opportunities, family cooking skills workshops, signposting of local leisure facilities and attending day event at a football club) were feasible and acceptable. Other components were acceptable, but not feasible. Promoting walking groups was neither acceptable nor feasible. At follow-up, children in the intervention compared with the control group were less likely to be obese (OR 0.41; 0.19 to 0.89), and had lower adjusted BMI z-score (−0.15 kg/m2; 95% CI −0.27 to −0.03). Conclusions The feasibility study informed components for an intervention programme. The favourable direction of outcome for weight status in the intervention group supports the need for a definitive trial. A cluster randomised controlled trial is now underway to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Trial registration number ISRCTN51016370.


Using a General Instrument 1600 microprocessor, a compact reactivity meter for real time monitoring of reactors has been developed. The microprocessor was programmed to solve the inverse kinetics equations using the digitized output of an ionization chamber neutron detector for the power history. Use of the simplest programming steps and emphasis of hardware for input/output operations enabled reactivity updates every 0.1 seconds. The device can be easily adapted to any reactor system with a power output signal once the kinetic parameters are known and incorporated into the processor program.


Snubbing service is a method of using characterized operation equipment moving the pipe string into or out of the well under pressure to complete workover. It can avoid to use killing fluid and eliminate producing formation pollution caused by killing operation, and it can maximum protect the hydrocarbon zone. Aimed at the existing snubbing units' low efficiency, a new snubbing unit has been proposed in this paper which can achieve fast running or pulling pipe string under pressure. By the depth analysis of the main technical parameters, we can obtain the corresponding formulas, which is providing the corresponding basis theory for the design and analysis of snubbing unit.


Abstract Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an internationally accepted form of treatment option for selected patients with Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Intraoperative extracellular microelectrode recordings (MER) are considered as the standard electrophysiological method for the precise positioning of the DBS electrode into the target brain structure. Pre-processing of MERs is a key phase in clinical analysis, with intraoperative microelectrode recordings being prone to several artifact groups (up to 25 %). The aim of this methodological article is to provide a convolutional neural network (CNN) processing pipeline for the detection of artifacts in an MER. We applied continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to generate an over-complete time–frequency representation. We demonstrated that when attempting to find artifacts in an MER, the new CNN + CWT provides a high level of accuracy (ACC = 88.1 %), identifies individual classes of artifacts (ACC = 75.3 %) and also offers artifact time onset detail, which can lead to a reduction in false positives/negatives. In summary, the presented methodology is capable of identifying and removing various artifacts in a comprehensive database of MER and represents a substantial improvement over the existing methodology. We believe that this approach will assist in the proposal of interesting clinical hypotheses and will have neurologically relevant effects.


Drilling with modulation-assisted machining (MAM) superimposes a low-frequency oscillation onto the drill feed motion. The otherwise continuous cutting in the drilling process is converted into a series of discrete cutting events. The result is a discrete chip formation process and concurrent improvement in chip ejection. The discrete chip formation and ejection in drilling with MAM were investigated via systematic experiments in OFHC Cu and Ti6Al4V using a two-flute twist drill and a single-flute gun drill. Drilling thrust force and chip morphologies for various modulation conditions are examined. The continuous cutting and discrete cutting regimes of modulation-assisted drilling are compared with conditions determined by a kinematic model. The results show that chip formation in the continuous cutting regime with MAM can influence chip breakage by random fracture at thin sections of the chip, but in this regime the resulting chip size is variable and not controlled. In contrast, when MAM conditions operate in the regime of discrete cutting, the deformed chip size can be directly controlled. The ability to control the chip size improves chip ejection and drilling process stability. A set of modulation conditions for enhanced performance of chip ejection are proposed. The study shows that modulation-assisted machining offers distinct advantages as a method for deep-hole drilling applications.


In the present study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to predict the correlation between the friction stir extrusion (FSE) parameters and the recycled wires' average grain sizes. FSE is a solid–state synthesis technique, in which machining chips are firstly loaded into the container, and then a rotating tool with a central hole is plunged into the chips at a selected rotational speed and feed rate to achieve indirect extrusion. Selecting rotational speed (RS), vertical speed (VS), and extrusion hole size (HS) as the input and average grain size as the output of the system, the 3–6–1 ANN is used to show the correlation between the input and output parameters. Checking the accuracy of the neural network, R squared value and Root– Mean–Square–Error (RMSE) of the developed model (0.94438 and 0.75794, respectively) have shown that there is a good agreement between experimental and predicted results. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted on the ANN model to determine the impact of each input parameter on the average grain size. The results showed that the rotational speed has more effect on average grain size during the FSE process in comparison to other input parameters.


To improve performance and reliability of integrated circuits, accurate knowledge of thermal transport properties must be possessed. In particular, reduced dimensions increase boundary scattering and the significance of thermal contact resistance. A thermoreflectance measurement can be used with a valid heat transport model to experimentally quantify the contact thermal resistance of thin film interconnects. In the current work, a quasi-steady state thermoreflectance measurement is used to determine the temperature distribution of a thin film gold interconnect (100 nm) undergoing Joule heating. By comparing the data to a heat transport model accounting for thermal diffusion, dissipation, and Joule heating, a measure of the thermal dissipation or overall thermal resistance of unit area is obtained. The gold film to substrate overall thermal resistance of unit area beneath the wide lead (10 μm) and narrow line (1 μm) of the interconnect are 1.64 × 10−6 m2 K/W and 5.94 × 10−6 m2 K/W, respectively. The thermal resistance of unit area measurements is comparable with published results based on a pump-probe thermoreflectance measurement.


Odour impacts and concerns are an impediment to the growth of the Australian chicken meat industry. To manage these, the industry has to be able to demonstrate the efficacy of its odour reduction strategies scientifically and defensibly; however, it currently lacks reliable, cost effective and objective tools to do so. This report describes the development of an artificial olfaction system (AOS) to measure meat chicken farm odour. This report describes the market research undertaken to determine the demand for such a tool, the development and evaluation of three AOS prototypes, data analysis and odour prediction modelling, and the development of two complementary odour measurement tools, namely, a volatile organic compound (VOC) pre-concentrator and a field olfactometer.
This report is aimed at investors in poultry odour research and those charged with, or interested in, assessment of odour on chicken farms, including farm managers, integrators, their consultants, regulators and researchers. The findings will influence the focus of future environmental odour measurement research.


The safety and efficacy of chemotherapeutics can vary as a function of the time of their delivery during the day. This study aimed to improve the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), the most common brain cancer, by testing whether the efficacy of the DNA alkylator temozolomide (TMZ) varies with the time of its administration. We found cell-intrinsic, daily rhythms in both human and mouse GBM cells. Circadian time of treatment affected TMZ sensitivity of murine GBM tumor cells in vitro. The maximum TMZ-induced DNA damage response, activation of apoptosis, and growth inhibition occurred near the daily peak in expression of the core clock gene Bmal1. Deletion of Bmal1 (Arntl) abolished circadian rhythms in gene expression and TMZ-induced activation of apoptosis and growth inhibition. These data indicate that tumor cell-intrinsic circadian rhythms are common to GBM tumors and can regulate TMZ cytotoxicity. Optimization of GBM treatment by timing TMZ administration to daily rhythms should be evaluated in prospective clinical trials.


At this stage, China's economy has shifted from a high-speed growth stage to a high-quality development stage. We must adhere to quality first, promote quality changes in economic development, accelerate the construction of a manufacturing power, and promote the construction of a trade power. Under this background, improving the quality of export products, cultivating new advantages in export competition, and realizing the conversion of export products from low-price competition to quality competition have become a problem that must be considered at present.Based on the perspective of supply-side structural reforms, this paper takes the deepening of the value-added tax(VAT)reform as the starting point, systematically analyzes the internal relationship between the VAT reform and export product quality. Then, using the quasi-natural experiment of China's 2004 VAT reform in the northeast area and the data of China's annual survey of industrial firms and customs import and export trade from 2000 to 2007, this paper investigates the impact of the VAT reform on export product quality through the method of difference-in-differences based on a comprehensive description of the evolution characteristics of China's export product quality. The results show that, first, the VAT reform has a significant positive effect on export product quality and is conducive to the quality upgrade of export products. After considering a series of robustness tests, the conclusion is still valid. Second, the mechanism analyses and tests show that the innovation performance of firms and the quality of imported intermediate products are the main channels through which the VAT reform affects export product quality. Finally, the heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of the VAT reform on export product quality varies depending on R&D intensity, factor intensity and the form of ownership. Specifically, the effect is more obvious in low-R&D-intensive firms, labor-intensive firms and non-state-owned firms.Based on the above findings, the main enlightenments of this paper could be concluded as follows: First, the tax reduction policy has a positive effect on the improvement of export product quality, and the appropriate expansion of the coverage of preferential tax policies is optional. Second, the government should make full use of the tax reduction policy's guidance and motivation to stimulate firms' investment and speed up technological upgrading, and take the improvement of innovation performance and quality of imported intermediate products as important paths for improving firms' export product quality. Furthermore, the formulation of tax policies should be more targeted and structured, and firms with weak R&D foundations, low technological levels and more constraints should be focused on.


Ubiquitous systems are characterized by using devices and objects of everyday life. The software infrastructure of such systems appears dynamically populated by functionalities of those devices. Because environment's nature is highly variable, even the corresponding software infrastructure, ubiquitous systems have to handle those variations. It implies that a designer cannot predict a priori the environment in which its application will be executed. So, the approaches used should not only address specific cases of context. AOP provides a mean to encapsulate adaptations into aspects. Such an encapsulation improves the reusability of adaptation mechanisms. In this context our previous works called Aspect of Assembly (AA) was based on AOP to propose mechanisms for self-adaptation of ubiquitous applications as an assembly of components. But they present few limitations in terms of reusability and to manage the dynamic variability of the environment. The paper presents Cascaded Aspects of Assembly as an extended model of AA to address these limitations. They consist in chaining AA's weaving as cascades.


A novel technique for continuous chirp control of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based on a double-hole cantilever beam (DHCB) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The specifically designed DHCB provides a pressure-position-dependent strain-gradient along an originally uniform FBG and allows a tunable linear and Gaussian chirp modulation over the grating spectrum. Bandwidth and wavelength-independent tuning, under center-applied-pressure effect, is achieved by linear chirp modulation with a symmetrical broadening profile and a temperature-controlled wavelength shift. And intensity-referenced temperature-immune pressure measurement, under side-applied-pressure effect, is accomplished by Gaussian chirp modulation with a single-side-broadening profile and a linear-increasing reflection optical power.


Legal history is having a methodological moment. So is law (and, as it turns out, history as well). And not just in one country or legal system but across the common law/civil law divide. In this essay I try to capture some aspects of this methodological moment — or moments — and then to add some reflections of my own that locate legal history within the enterprise of legal scholarship. More specifically, I will outline an approach to legal history that regards historical analysis as one mode of critical analysis of law, along with other modes of "interdisciplinary" analysis (economical, philosophical, sociological, literary, etc.) and "doctrinal" analysis. In this way, legal history plays a key role in the general effort to move beyond the long-standing and rhetorically useful, but ultimately unproductive, distinction between "modern" and "traditional" legal scholarship, and that between "common law" and "civil law" scholarship besides. According to this view of legal history, it is a mode of jurisprudence (in fact, we might call it New Historical Jurisprudence) rather than a sub-specialty of law or a form of applied history.


Cryoinjuries are almost inevitable during the freezing of embryos. The present study examines the possibility of using high hydrostatic pressure to reduce substantially the freezing point of the embryo-holding solution, in order to preserve embryos at subzero temperatures, thus avoiding all the disadvantages of freezing. The pressure of 210 MPa lowers the phase transition temperature of water to -21 degrees C. According to the results of this study, embryos can survive in high hydrostatic pressure environment at room temperature; the time embryos spend under pressure without significant loss in their survival could be lengthened by gradual decompression. Pressurisation at 0 degrees C significantly reduced the survival capacity of the embryos; gradual decompression had no beneficial effect on survival at that stage. Based on the findings, the use of the phenomena is not applicable in this form, since pressure and low temperature together proved to be lethal to the embryos in these experiments. The application of hydrostatic pressure in embryo cryopreservation requires more detailed research, although the experience gained in this study can be applied usefully in different circumstances.


Parametric modelling and optimisation play an important role in choosing the best or optimal cutting conditions and parameters during machining to achieve the desirable results. However, analysis of optimisation of minimum quantity lubrication–assisted milling process has not been addressed in detail. Minimum quantity lubrication method is very effective for cost reduction and promotes green machining. Hence, this article focuses on minimum quantity lubrication–assisted milling machining parameters on AISI 1045 material surface roughness and power consumption. A novel low-cost power measurement system is developed to measure the power consumption. A predictive mathematical model is developed for surface roughness and power consumption. The effects of minimum quantity lubrication and machining parameters are examined to determine the optimum conditions with minimum surface roughness and minimum power consumption. Empirical models are developed to predict surface roughness and power of machine tool effectively and accurately using response surface methodology and multi-objective optimisation genetic algorithm. Comparison of results obtained from response surface methodology and multi-objective optimisation genetic algorithm depict that both measured and predicted values have a close agreement. This model could be helpful to select the best combination of end-milling machining parameters to save power consumption and time, consequently, increasing both productivity and profitability.


By natural or man-made disasters, the evacuation of a whole region or city may become necessary. Apart from private traffic, the evacuation from collection points to secure shelters outside the endangered region will be realized by a bus fleet made available by emergency relief. The arising Bus Evacuation Problem (BEP) is a vehicle scheduling problem, in which a given number of evacuees needs to be transported from a set of collection points to a set of capacitated shelters, minimizing the total evacuation time, i.e., the time needed until the last person is brought to safety. In this paper we consider an extended version of the BEP, the Robust Bus Evacuation Problem (RBEP), in which the exact numbers of evacuees are not known, but may stem from a set of probable scenarios. However, after a given reckoning time, this uncertainty is eliminated and planners are given exact figures. The problem is to decide for each bus, if it is better to send it right away – using uncertain numbers of evacuees – or to wait until the numbers become known. We present a mixed-integer linear programming formulation for the RBEP and discuss solution approaches; in particular, we present a tabu search framework for finding heuristic solutions of acceptable quality within short computation time. In computational experiments using both randomly generated instances and the real-world scenario of evacuating the city of Kaiserslautern, we compare our solution approaches.


The energy consumption of trains is highly efficient due to the low friction between steel wheels and rails, although the efficiency is also influenced largely by the driving strategy applied and the scheduled running times in the timetable. Optimal energy-efficient driving strategies can reduce operating costs significantly and contribute to a further increase of the sustainability of railway transportation. The railway sector hence shows an increasing interest in efficient algorithms for energy-efficient train control, which could be used in real-time Driver Advisory Systems (DAS) or Automatic Train Operation (ATO) systems. This paper gives an extensive literature review on energy-efficient train control (EETC) and the related topic of energy-efficient train timetabling (EETT), from the first simple models from the 1960s of a train running on a level track to the advanced models and algorithms of the last decade dealing with varying gradients and speed limits, and including regenerative braking. Pontryagin's Maximum Principle (PMP) has been applied intensively to derive optimal driving regimes that make up the optimal energy-efficient driving strategy of a train under different conditions. Still, the optimal sequence and switching points of the optimal driving regimes are not trivial in general, which led to a wide range of optimization models and algorithms to compute the optimal train trajectories and more recently to use them to optimize timetables with a trade-off between energy efficiency and travel times.


Accreditation standards for graduate medical education require the internal evaluation of programs. In this paper, the authors describe a system of peer review instituted to meet these requirements and report on the supporting administrative structure and outcome of the peer review process. Although time-consuming and in some cases causing apprehension among staff members and residents, the experience of a peer review process was useful for staff members, residents, and administrators. Peer review was found to be effective in identifying program strengths and weaknesses and in increasing communication among staff members and between administrators and staff members about the teaching programs.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objectives: Children presenting at audiology services with caregiver-reported listening difficulties often have normal audiograms. The appropriate approach for the further assessment and clinical management of these children is currently unclear. In this Sensitive Indicators of Childhood Listening Difficulties (SICLiD) study, we assessed listening ability using a reliable and validated caregiver questionnaire (the Evaluation of Children's Listening and Processing Skills [ECLiPS]) in a large (n = 146) and heterogeneous sample of 6- to 13-year-old children with normal audiograms. Scores on the ECLiPS were related to a multifaceted laboratory assessment of the children's audiological, psycho- and physiological-acoustic, and cognitive abilities. This report is an overview of the SICLiD study and focuses on the children's behavioral performance. The overall goals of SICLiD were to understand the auditory and other neural mechanisms underlying childhood listening difficulties and translate that understanding into clinical assessment and, ultimately, intervention. Design: Cross-sectional behavioral assessment of children with "listening difficulties" and an age-matched "typically developing" control group. Caregivers completed the ECLiPS, and the resulting total standardized composite score formed the basis of further descriptive statistics, univariate, and multivariate modeling of experimental data. Results: All scores of the ECLiPS, the SCAN-3:C, a standardized clinical test suite for auditory processing, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cognition Toolbox were significantly lower for children with listening difficulties than for their typically developing peers using group comparisons via t-tests and Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests. A similar effect was observed on the Listening in Spatialized Noise—Sentences (LiSN-S) test for speech sentence-in-noise intelligibility but only reached significance for the Low Cue and High Cue conditions and the Talker Advantage derived score. Stepwise regression to examine the factors contributing to the ECLiPS Total scaled score (pooled across groups) yielded a model that explained 42% of its variance based on the SCAN-3:C composite, LiSN-S Talker Advantage, and the NIH Toolbox Picture Vocabulary, and Dimensional Change Card Sorting scores (F[4, 95] = 17.35, p < 0.001). High correlations were observed between many test scores including the ECLiPS, SCAN-3:C, and NIH Toolbox composite measures. LiSN-S Advantage measures generally correlated weakly and nonsignificantly with non-LiSN-S measures. However, a significant interaction was found between extended high-frequency threshold and LiSN-S Talker Advantage. Conclusions: Children with listening difficulties but normal audiograms have problems with the cognitive processing of auditory and nonauditory stimuli that include both fluid and crystallized reasoning. Analysis of poor performance on the LiSN-S Talker Advantage measure identified subclinical hearing loss as a minor contributing factor to talker segregation. Beyond auditory tests, evaluations of children with complaints of listening difficulties should include standardized caregiver observations and consideration of broad cognitive abilities.


Small businesses play a significant role in the Australian economy, yet an increasing number of them are home based and relatively small operations. These home based businesses, (HBBs) actually account for some 67% of the small business sector in Australia. Due to their large number, they are a politically and economically important grouping, thus attracting policy attention from various levels of government. Previous studies of home based businesses reveal that HBBs do face significant problems and could benefit from government support. Local government is the obvious first contact point with HBBs. However, HBBs contacting local government is not common, as these businesses prefer to remain anonymous as much as possible. These firms are often wary of government contact due to a belief that it will lead to some restraint on the business and because these HBBs are not readily identifiable, it is a difficult task for local government to engage with them. This paper reports on a study of the role local governments play in facilitating and supporting the home based businesses in the State of Victoria, Australia. It involved telephone interviews with representatives of all of the local government jurisdictions in the State together with a survey of their websites. In-depth interviews were subsequently undertaken with 20 selected councils running local support programs. This study reports on the various forms of assistance provided to home based businesses. The findings indicate that the levels of assistance provided are related to the perceived level of need for employment-generating business activity in the local municipality. The paper analyses the various forms of assistance and identifies specific forms of assistance that are more likely to be associated with supporting the development and employment generating capacity of home based businesses.


BACKGROUND
Signs and symptoms of infectious endocarditis are protean. They result from destruction of cardiac endothelium, metastatic embolization, hematogenous seeding, and immune complex deposition. Embolic manifestations of infectious endocarditis can mimic several other pathologic conditions and make the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis difficult.

METHODS
We describe a case of cutaneous vasculitis leading to the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis. A review of the literature highlights the variable clinical presentations and key diagnostic strategies in the evaluation of infectious endocarditis.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
Infective endocarditis has protean clinical symptoms and signs and can be a challenging diagnosis. Being alert to the condition is crucial, and where a high clinical probability exists despite a negative transthoracic echocardiogram, diagnostic evaluation with transesophageal echocardiograph is required.


Today we are surrounded by glossy publications and TV shows demonstrating the latest interiors. We take notions of style, comfort and atmosphere completely for granted, even designing our own rooms to achieve the right mood. Yet this language, seemingly so current, emerged in the 19th century, when a combination of economic, social and artistic factors first allowed architects, designers and clients to think about home interiors in a completely new way. Their challenge was to create atmosphere and character in ordinary living rooms in short, to aspire to the new ideal of the poetic home. This book examines the Western domestic interior from the 1800s to the mid-1890s, but rather than concentrate on individual types of furnishing or on familiar historical styles, it proceeds in a radically different way: it considers the design of the interior as a whole, making use of original 19th century texts and images to reveal what the designers, producers, shops and clients actually thought about the business of conjuring up romanticized interiors.


The article reports on flexible hard nanocomposite coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering. It is shown that the flexible hard nanocomposite coatings (i) represent a new class of coatings which are simultaneously hard, tough and resistant to cracking, (ii) exhibit high values of the hardness H and effective Young's modulus E* ratio H/E* ≥ 0.1, elastic recovery We ≥ 60%, compressive macrostress σ < 0 and dense, void-free microstructures, and (iii) are formed in the zone T of the Thornton's Structural Zone Model (SZM); here E* = E/(1 − ν2), E is the Young's modulus and ν is the Poisson's ratio. The magnetron sputtering, which is a very powerful process used in the preparation of nanocomposite coatings, is described in detail. The basic principles of the formation of the flexible hard coatings are also described in detail. It is shown that the key parameters which determine the formation of these coatings are (1) the energy Ep = Eca + Ebi delivered to the growing coating by condensing atoms (Eca) and bombarding ions (Ebi) (the non-equilibrium heating), (2) the substrate heating controlled by the substrate temperature Ts (the equilibrium heating) and (3) the melting temperature Tm of the coating material. The flexible hard coatings have a huge application potential. Four examples of flexible coatings are given: (1) flexible protective coatings, (2) flexible functional coatings, (3) flexible over-layer preventing cracking of brittle coating and (4) flexible multilayer coating. Also, the principle of low-temperature sputtering of flexible nanocomposite coatings is described in detail. Finally, trends for future development of these nanocomposite coatings with unique properties are given.


Equitable efficiency in multiple criteria optimization was introduced mathematically in the middle of nineteen-nineties. The concept tends to strengthen the notion of Pareto efficiency by imposing additional conditions on the preference structure defining the Pareto preference. It is especially designed to solve multiple criteria problems having commensurate criteria where different criteria values can be compared directly. In this dissertation we study some theoretical and practical aspects of equitably efficient solutions. The literature on equitable efficiency is not very extensive and provides very limited number of ways of generating such solutions. After introducing some relevant notations, we develop some scalarization based methods of generating equitably efficient solutions. The scalarizations developed do not assume any special structure of the problem. We prove an existence result for linear multiple criteria problems. Next, we show how equitably efficient solutions arise in the context of a particular type of linear complementarity problem and matrix games. The set of equitably efficient solutions, in general, is a subset of efficient solutions. The multiple criteria alternative of the linear complementarity problem dealt in our dissertation has identical efficient and equitably efficient solution sets. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of equitable efficiency by applying it to the problem of regression analysis and asset allocation.


Performance of a micro-scale heat sink with slip boundary condition at walls is evaluated using entropy generation minimization (EGM) approach. Optimum geometrical parameters and working conditions are obtained by applying two different constraints of fixed microchannel height and constant maximum pressure drop. It has been observed that with fixed channel height constraint, the optimum aspect ratio and Reynolds number are 2.5 and 700, respectively. Slip boundary condition has negligible effect on optimum working parameters while it enhances the thermal performance of the heat sink by almost 4% at fixed height constraint. At maximum pressure drop constraint, the optimum working parameters are aspect ratio of 2.25 and Reynolds number of 850. Slip on the microchannel walls reduces pressure drop and enhances the thermal performance of the heat sink by 11%.


We model the 1990 giant X-ray flare of the quiescent galaxy NGC 5905 as the tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole. From the observed rapid decline of the luminosity, over a timescale of a few years, we argue that the flare was powered by the fallback of debris rather than subsequent accretion via a thin disk. The fallback model allows constraints to be set on the black hole mass and the mass of debris. The latter must be very much less than a solar mass to explain the very low luminosity of the flare. The observations can be explained either as the partial stripping of the outer layers of a low-mass main-sequence star or as the disruption of a brown dwarf or a giant planet. We find that the X-ray emission in the flare must have originated within a small patch rather than over the entire torus of circularized material surrounding the black hole. We suggest that the patch corresponds to the "bright spot" where the stream of returning debris impacts the torus. Interestingly, although the peak luminosity of the flare was highly sub-Eddington, the peak flux from the bright spot was close to the Eddington limit. We speculate on the implications of this result for observations of other flare events.


Peptides capable of mediating fusion between lipid membranes are widely observed in nature, and have attracted considerable attention in the liposome drug delivery field. However, studies that are proving the benefit of small synthetic fusion peptides as components in drug delivery systems remain sporadic and there is a strong need to characterize and increase our understanding of the membrane fusion properties of these peptides. Many fusion studies have focused on the ability of free peptides in solution that mediate fusion between liposomes. For drug delivery purposes it is a necessity to attach the peptides to the surface of the liposome drug delivery carrier, without impairing the peptide functionality. Here we present the synthesis and characterization of a new diacylated derivative of the previously described fusion peptide GALA. Two myristoyl chains were attached to the GALA peptide through the 1,2-diamino propanoic acid (Dap) moiety, yielding the lipopeptide dimyristoyl-Dap-GALA (DMDGALA). We have investigated DMDGALA as a component in large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) and demonstrate pH-triggered fusion of peptide containing LUVs with stable target giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), which were used as simple mimics of cell membranes. The number of fusion events was large at pH 5.0, which is a physiologically relevant pH-range for a drug delivery system.


The current research aimed to explore the rhetorical moves in abstracts of English and Persian Mining Engineering research articles. For this purpose, 60 abstracts written by native speakers of English and Persian were analyzed based on Hyland's (2000) model of five rhetorical moves to explore the pattern of moves in abstract sections. Findings suggested that there were four conventional moves in abstracts in the English corpus (PMPrC), while there were five conventional moves in abstracts in the Persian corpus (IPMPrC). Results of statistical analyses show that there was a statistically significant difference in Purpose move in the two dataset. However, there were not any significance differences in the use of other moves such as product, method, and conclusion moves in the corpora.
Keyword: Abstract, Genre, Move pattern, Mining Engineering


The major component for a new generation line circuit was designed and fabricated in a 1,2 μ CMOS technology. The circuit includes digital signal processing of receive and transit signals as well as the analog front end of four subscriber lines to a PCM digital exchange. The four channel DSP + analog front end is fabricated on a 40 mm2 1,2 μ CMOS die area. The DSP functions, the RX and TX filters, the decimator, the interpolator and the A/μ law transcoder are included as independent data paths, one for the TX and RX filters, one for the decimator and another for the interpolator, the digtal sigma delta modulator and the transcoder. The on chip analog front end contains a Notch filter to cancel the 12/16 kHz payphone signal, a switched capacitor PDM A/D and D/A convertor and smoothing filters. On the first measured samples the signal to distortion is measured to be 33 dB at -45 dbmo for -7 db gain setting.


Due to the internationalization of business and frequent fluctuations in exchange rates, information about the impact of changes in exchange rates on individual companies' and multinational groups' financial position and profitability has become increasingly important. Data on the translation effects of both foreign currency transactions and foreign subsidiaries' financial statements, a company's exposure to different types of foreign exchange risks and taken currency hedging measures enable many users of accounting contents to obtain a better picture of an entity's financial position and its profitability. The key issues relate to the choice of the exchange rate to be used in accounting data translation and the financial reporting presentation of translation effects. While the effects of the foreign subsidiaries' financial statements translation can be shown in the balance sheet and the income statement, the effects of foreign currency transactions translation are incorporated in the income statement. This paper discusses the accounting aspects of the foreign currency transactions translation, an enterprise's transactional exposure to a currency risk, and the use of financial derivative instruments to hedge against foreign exchange risk.


Hypercholesterolemia is a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase gene (Hmgcr) coding for the rate-limiting enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway is a crucial regulator of plasma cholesterol levels. However, the posttranscriptional regulation of Hmgcr remains poorly understood. The main objective of this study was to explore the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of Hmgcr expression. Systematic in silico predictions and experimental analyses reveal that miRNA 27a (miR-27a) specifically interacts with the Hmgcr 3′ untranslated region in murine and human hepatocytes. ABSTRACT Hypercholesterolemia is a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase gene (Hmgcr) coding for the rate-limiting enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway is a crucial regulator of plasma cholesterol levels. However, the posttranscriptional regulation of Hmgcr remains poorly understood. The main objective of this study was to explore the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of Hmgcr expression. Systematic in silico predictions and experimental analyses reveal that miRNA 27a (miR-27a) specifically interacts with the Hmgcr 3′ untranslated region in murine and human hepatocytes. Moreover, our data show that Hmgcr expression is inversely correlated with miR-27a levels in various cultured cell lines and in human and rodent tissues. Actinomycin D chase assays and relevant experiments demonstrate that miR-27a regulates Hmgcr by translational attenuation followed by mRNA degradation. Early growth response 1 (Egr1) regulates miR-27a expression under basal and cholesterol-modulated conditions. miR-27a augmentation via tail vein injection of miR-27a mimic in high-cholesterol-diet-fed Apoe−/− mice shows downregulation of hepatic Hmgcr and plasma cholesterol levels. Pathway and gene expression analyses show that miR-27a also targets several other genes (apart from Hmgcr) in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Taken together, miR-27a emerges as a key regulator of cholesterol biosynthesis and has therapeutic potential for the clinical management of hypercholesterolemia.


In the present days' deaths because of some critical disease has become a significant issue in the medical field. Data mining is one of the significant territories of research that is famous in wellbeing associations. Data mining has a functioning job for finding new patterns and examples in the healthcare association which is valuable for every one of the gatherings related to this field. The medical dataset has heterogeneous data as numbers, content, and pictures that can be mined to convey an assortment of helpful data for the physicians. The examples picked up from the medical data can be helpful for the physicians to find diseases, foresee the survivability of the patients after disease, the seriousness of diseases and so forth. The focal point of this paper is to break down the utilization of data mining in medical space and a portion of the systems utilized in critical disease prediction. We have completely reviewed many research papers of data mining identified with some critical disease prediction.


The nonlinear barotropic vorticity equation (BVE) describing the vortex dynamics of viscous incompressible and forced fluid on a rotating sphere is considered. The asymptotic behavior of solutions of nonstationary BVE as t → ∞ is studied. Particular forms of the external vorticity source are given that guarantee the existence of a bounded attractive set in the phase space of solutions. The asymptotic behavior of the BVE solutions is shown to depend on both the structure and the smoothness of external forcing. Three types of sufficient conditions for global asymptotic stability of smooth and weak BVE solutions are also given. Simple attractive sets of a viscous incompressible fluid on a sphere under quasi-periodic polynomial forcing are considered. Each attractive set represents a BVE quasi-periodic solution of the complex (2 n + 1)-dimensional subspace H n of homogeneous spherical polynomials of degree n . The Hausdorff dimension of its trajectory, being an open spiral densely wound around a 2 n -dimensional torus in H n , equals to 2 n . As the generalized Grashof number G becomes small enough then the basin of attraction of such spiral solution is expanded from H n to the entire BVE phase space. It is shown that for a given G , there exists an integer n G such that each spiral solution generated by a forcing of H n with n ≥ n G is globally asymptotically stable. Thus we demonstrate the difference in the asymptotic behavior of solutions in the cases, then Grashof number G is fixed and bounded, but the forcing is stationary or non-stationary. Whereas the dimension of the fluid attractor under a stationary forcing is limited above by G , the dimension of the spiral attractive solution (equal to 2 n ) may become arbitrarily large as the degree n of the quasi-periodic polynomial forcing grows. Since the small-scale quasi-periodic functions, unlike the stationary ones, more adequately depict the forcing in the barotropic atmosphere, this result is of meteorological interest and shows that the dimension of attractive sets depends not only on the forcing amplitude, but also on its spatial and temporal structure. This example also shows that the search of a finite-dimensional global attractor in the barotropic atmosphere is not well justified.


This paper examines the relative performance of additive and multiplicative clause weighting schemes for propositional satisfiability testing. Starting with one of the most recently developed multiplicative algorithms (SAPS), an experimental study was constructed to isolate the effects of multiplicative in comparison to additive weighting, while controlling other key features of the two approaches, namely the use of random versus flat moves, deterministic versus probabilistic weight smoothing and multiple versus single inclusion of literals in the local search neighborhood.

As a result of this investigation we developed a pure additive weighting scheme (PAWS) which can outperform multiplicative weighting on a range of difficult problems, whtle requiring considerably less effort in terms of parameter turning. We conclude that additive weighting shows better scaling properties because it makes less distinction between costs and so considers a larger domain of possible moves.


Systemic insulin passes the blood-brain barrier and insulin receptors have been detected in various brain regions. Yet, the biological significance of insulin acting on the brain remains rather unclear. Reports of different awareness of hypoglycemic symptoms during hypoglycemia induced by human insulin (HI) and porcine insulin (PI) suggest a modulatory influence of insulin on sensory processing. In a double-blind, within-subject, crossover comparison, we recorded visual-evoked potentials (VEP) in 30 healthy men during euglycemia and after 20 or 50 min of constant hypoglycemia of 2.66 mM (47.9 mg/dl) induced by HI and PI. Blood glucose and serum insulin levels were identical in both sessions. Hypoglycemia reduced amplitudes of the VEP components P1 and N2 and increased latencies of N1, P1, and N2. However, hypoglycemia-induced changes in VEP amplitudes and latencies were significantly stronger during PI and HI infusion: P1-N2 difference amplitude decreased from (mean ± SE) 11.9 ± 0.9 to 10.7 ± 0.8 μV during HI and from 12.4 ± 0.9 to 8.7 ± 0.7 μV during PI infusion (P < 0.002). P1 latency increased from 112.0 ± 3.2 to 118.8 ± 3.2 ms during HI and from 114.0 ± 3.3 to 126.3 ± 4.6 ms during PI infusion (P < 0.05). Differences between the effects of the insulins were consistently apparent after 20 min of hypoglycemia, which indicates a short-term action of the hormone. The results add to those of a foregoing study demonstrating differential effects of HI- and PI-induced hypoglycemia on auditory evoked potentials. The changes in sensory processing during hypoglycemia, depending on the type of insulin, suggest a direct modulation of these brain functions by insulin.


RESUMEN This paper presents a critical approach to the New Rurality and the Rural Territorial Development (RTD) perspectives, which nowadays are hegemonic for governmental organizations and Latin American academies. RTD's core requirements, which are functional for neoliberal policies resulting in the loss of food sovereignty, the globalization of agribusinesses, and migration as a consequence of peasant agricultural weakening, were critically reviewed on the basis of the principal challenges faced by Latin American rural areas. In light of the above consequences, it is thought that changes in such areas are based on neoliberal rurality rather than on the purported New Rurality. By stressing the need for a global historical view that reintroduces the Latin American critical thinking tradition, the urgency for public policies that stop neoliberal prescriptions and seek to strengthen peasant and indigenous agriculture in order to encourage rural development based on food sovereignty, democracy, equity and sustainability were established.


In this paper, the TiNi fiber reinforced / PC composite material was developed, and then control of the fatigue crack growth due to the shape memory effect was studied. Enhancement of mechanical properties and resistance of deformation of the TiNi fiber reinforced / PC composite were investigated by fatigue experiments. The fatigue behavior and crack propagation were in-situ observed with a SEM servo-pulser (fatigue testing instrument with scanning electron microscope) while increasing temperature. As the results, the fatigue life was improved, and the effectiveness of fatigue resistance was confirmed. The shape memory effect and expansion behavior of the matrix caused by temperature increasing examined the effect of the fatigue crack propagation control. It was verified that the control of fatigue crack growth is attributed to the compressive stress field in the matrix due to shrinkage of the TiNi fibers above austenitic finishing temperature (Af).


The thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) and/or TDH-related hemolysin (TRH) genes are carried by most virulent Vibrio parahaemolyticus serovars. In Norway, trh+ V. parahaemolyticus constitute 4.4 and 4.5% of the total number of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and water, respectively. The trh gene is located in a region close to the gene cluster for urease production (ure). This region was characterized in V. parahaemolyticus strain TH3996 and it was found that a nickel transport operon (nik) was located between the first gene (ureR) and the rest of the ure cluster genes. The organization of the trh-ureR-nik-ure gene cluster in the Norwegian trh+ isolates was unknown. In this study, we explore the gene organization within the trh-ureR-nik-ure cluster for these isolates. PCR analyses revealed that the genes within the trh-ureR-nik-ure gene cluster of Norwegian trh+ isolates were organized in a similar fashion as reported previously for TH33996. Additionally, the phylogenetic relationship among these trh+ isolates was investigated using Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). Analysis by MLST or ureR-trh sequences generated two different phylogenetic trees for the same strains analyzed, suggesting that ureR-trh genes have been acquired at different times in Norwegian V. parahaemolyticus isolates. MLST results revealed that some pathogenic and non-pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus isolates in Norway appear to be highly genetically related.


The two major components of the metanephros, the urinary collecting system (UCS) and nephron, have different developmental courses. Nephron numbers vary widely between species and individuals and are determined during fetal development. Furthermore, the development of nascent nephrons may contribute to the expansion of the proximal part of the UCS. This study investigated the distribution of nascent nephrons and their interrelationship with UCS branches during human embryogenesis. We obtained samples from 31 human embryos between Carnegie stages (CSs) 19 and 23 from the Kyoto Collection at the Congenital Anomaly Research Center of Kyoto University in Japan. Serial histological sections of the metanephros with the UCS were digitalized and computationally reconstructed for morphological and quantitative analyses. The three‐dimensional (3D) coordinates for the positions of all UCS branch points, end points, attachment points to nascent nephrons (APs), and renal corpuscles (RCs) were recorded and related to the developmental phase. Phases were categorized from phase 1 to phase 5 according to the histological analysis. The UCS branching continued until RCs first appeared (at CS19). End branches with attached nascent nephrons (EB‐AP[+]) were observed after CS19 during the fifth generation or higher during the embryonic period. The range of end branch and EB‐AP(+) generation numbers was broad, and the number of RCs increased with the embryonic stage, reaching 273.8 ± 104.2 at CS23. The number of RCs connected to the UCS exceeded the number not connected to the UCS by CS23. The 3D reconstructions revealed RCs to be distributed around end branches, close to the surface of the metanephros. The RCs connected to the UCS were located away from the surface. The APs remained near the end point, whereas connecting ducts that become renal tubules were found to elongate with maturation of the RCs. Nascent nephrons in RC phases 3‐5 were preferentially attached to the end branches at CS22 and CS23. The mean generation number of EB‐AP(−) was higher than that of EB‐AP(+) in 19 of 22 metanephros and was statistically significant for eight metanephros at CS22 and CS23. The ratio of the deviated branching pattern was almost constant (29%). The ratio of the even branching pattern with EB‐AP(+) and EB‐AP(+) to the total even branching pattern increased with CS (9.2% at CS21, 19.2% at CS22, and 45.4% at CS23). Our data suggest the following: EB‐AP(+) may not branch further at the tip (i.e., by tip splitting), but branching beneath the AP (lateral branching) continues throughout the embryonic stages. Our study provides valuable data that can further the understanding of the interactions between the UCS and nascent nephrons during human embryogenesis.


PURPOSE
To define prognostic factors for response and long-term outcome for a wide spectrum of osteosarcomas, extending well beyond those of the typical young patient with seemingly localized extremity disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 1,702 consecutive newly diagnosed patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of the trunk or limbs registered into the neoadjuvant studies of the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group before July 1998 were entered into an analysis of demographic, tumor-related, and treatment-related variables, response, and survival. The intended therapeutic strategy included preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy with multiple agents as well as surgery of all operable lesions.

RESULTS
Axial tumor site, male sex, and a long history of symptoms were associated with poor response to chemotherapy in univariate and multivariate analysis. Actuarial 10-year overall and event-free survival rates were 59.8% and 48.9%. Among the variables assessable at diagnosis, patient age (actuarial 10-year survival > or = 40, 41.6%; < 40, 60.2%; P =.012), tumor site (axial, 29.2%; limb, 61.7%; P <.0001), and primary metastases (yes, 26.7%; no, 64.4%; P <.0001), and for extremity osteosarcomas, also size (> or = one third, 52.5%; < one third, 66.7%; P <.0001) and location within the limb (proximal, 49.3%; other, 63.9%; P <.0001), had significant influence on outcome. Two additional important prognostic factors were treatment related: response to chemotherapy (poor, 47.2%; good, 73.4%; P <.0001) and the extent of surgery (incomplete, 14.6%; macroscopically complete, 64.8%; P <.0001). All factors except age maintained their significance in multivariate testing, with surgical remission and histologic response emerging as the key prognostic factors.

CONCLUSION
Tumor site and size, primary metastases, response to chemotherapy, and surgical remission are of independent prognostic value in osteosarcoma.


While often showing associative memory deficits, there may be instances when older adults selectively remember important associative information. We presented younger and older adults with children they would be hypothetically babysitting, and each child had three preferences: a food they like, a food they dislike, and a food they are allergic to and must avoid. In Experiment 1, all foods associated with each child were simultaneously presented while in Experiments 2 and 3, participants self-regulated their study of the different preferences for each child. We were interested in whether people, particularly older adults who often display associative memory impairments, can prioritize the most important information with consequences for forgetting (i.e., allergies), especially with increased task experience. Overall, compared with younger adults, older adults were better at selectively studying and recalling the children's allergies relative to the other preferences, and these patterns increased with task experience. Together, the present results suggest that both younger and older adults can employ strategies that enhance the recall of important information, illustrating responsible remembering. Specifically, both younger and older adults can learn to self-assess and prioritize the information that they need to remember, and despite memory deficits, older adults can learn to employ strategies that enhance the recall of important information, using metacognition and goal-directed remembering to engage in responsible remembering.


All vascular plant species were listed on eight sites near Sydney, Australia. Four sites were on infertile and four on fertile soil. Each of the 355 species was classified according to seed mass (measured as fresh mass of embryo plus endosperm), morphological adaptations for dispersal by different vectors, and growth form. The infertile—soil sites had more species and more cover adapted for dispersal by ants, and the fertile—soil sites had more species and more cover with fleshy fruits adapted for dispersal by vertebrates. We tested the hypothesis that this difference could be interpreted as a secondary correlate of seed size or of growth form. Species with smaller seed mass of growing to <2 m tall were significantly more likely to be adapted for dispersal by ants relative to vertebrates. An indirect association via growth form was capable of accounting for up to 84% of the relationship between soil type and dispersal mode, and indirect association via seed mass for up to 23% of the relationship; the two together could account for a maximum of 85%. The indirect association association via seed mass relatively weaker because seed masses proved not to be very different between these soil types. There remained a significant residual tendency for species in any given seed size class and growth form to be more likely to be dispersed by vertebrates relative to ants on fertile soils than on infertile soils.


Composites between hydroxyapatite (HA) and collagen (Col) may be used to make bioresorbable scaffolds for bone reconstruction. A suspension of micro-particles (average diameter ≅ 30 µm) of HA annealed at 1100°C in Col solution (80:20 HA to Col weight ratio) was manufactured in films by casting, and then some films were cross-linked by glutaraldehyde vapours. Cross-linked sponges were obtained by treating the suspension with transglutaminase, and by lyophilizing the so obtained gel. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy, water sorption test, Col release in water, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry shows that the cross-linking enhances the stability of the composite. Conversely, neither the interactions between HA and Col, detected by spotlight FT-IR, nor the degradation by collagenase, which is a requirement for the bioresorbibility, are affected by the cross-linking.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the determinants of the retail space rent in Shanghai. Design/methodology/approach: Hedonic model and spatial regression models are used in the paper. The problem of spatial autocorrelation is tested by Moran's I statistics, and the root mean square error (RMSE) test is performed to find out the best model. Findings: The significant explaining variables are the age, the area of retail space, the distance to the Jing An CBD centre, the type of the retail and the district of the property. A new classification of district in retail research context is suggested in this paper, and it is proved to be better than the districts set up by government to explain the retail rent variation. Originality/value: This paper presents the first empirical study about the retail rental market in Shanghai. The research helps retail property investors and retail tenants deepen their understanding of the retail market in Shanghai. Spatial econometrics techniques are first introduced into the empirical retail rent research to produce a more precise estimation.


This is a historical-social study. Objective: to describe the process of selection of the first class of officers nurses of the Assistant Health Framework in Military Police of the Rio de Janeiro`s State, in 1994. Historical sources: written documents and interviews with officers nurses belonging to the first class of the Assistant Health Framework. The findings were organized, classified and contextualized in accordance with the historical method. The analysis of the data had the theoretical reference of Pierre Bourdieu`s Theory of the Social World. Results: The rigor of the selective process has led to the inclusion of candidates suitable for the incorporation of a habitus military that, in the last instance, represented the possibility of learning a habitus appropriate future social position.


The aim of this study is to present and evaluate Wilfred Cantwell Smith's concept of faith, and to examine the way in which he uses it to approach and understand material from the traditions of Islam and Christianity. Chapter one consists a brief introduction and a biography of Wilfred Cantwell Smith. The second chapter analyses Smith's concept of faith, relating it to cumulative tradition, belief, truth and his vision of a world community. Chapter three examines Smith's treatment of various material from the Islamic tradition: the meaning of Islām, the shahādah, truth, the Qur'ān, and some studies of faith. Chapter four examines material from the Christian tradition: faith in the New Testament, faith in the baptismal rites of St Cyril of Jerusalem, and religious pluralism. These items illustrate his concept of faith and the way in which it is used in his approach and understanding of Islām and Christianity. Chapter five provides an evaluation of Smith's concept of faith and of his approach to Islam and Christianity. It is argued that although the concept of faith helps the student of religion in general and Islam and Christianity in particular to keep his eyes open to the personal existential aspects of human religious life. Smith's approach has some serious deficiencies. In particular faith itself is difficult to study other than in a selective, subjective way. His approach undervalues the corporate, institutionalized aspects of religious life, and the symbolic function played by the externals of religion. Furthermore, his understanding of faith is ill-equipped to handle the conflicting truth-claims found amongst the various traditions.


Four hundred thirty varsity college athletes representing eight sports from six randomly selected universities were surveyed about nutrition knowledge, practice and information sources. The survey was administered on a voluntary basis by each school's strength and conditioning coordinator. Results indicated that athletes derive most of their nutrition information from popular magazines. Consequently, much of their information stems from media hype and exaggerated advertisements largely unsupported by scientific research. In rank order, nutrition information was distributed by popular magazines, trainers, friends, college courses, strength and conditioning coordinators, sport coaches, parents and high school courses. Of these, only trainers and college courses have been found to be accurate sources of nutrition information. Low scores on nutrition questionnaires, by athletes as well as coaches, merit additional nutrition education for all athletes. Because strength coaches are in close contact with athletes and a convenient source of information about increasing athletic performance, it was recommended that prospective strength coaches have documented proof of nutrition education as a certification requirement.


To handle medical garbage is a urgent problem in Russia, which has been poorly solved so far. This kind of garbage is epidemiologically hazardous and may contain radioactive substances. The published sanitary rules have approved five hazard classes for medical garbage. Little attention is paid to technologies of their elimination.


The behavior and treatment of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors have been the subject of much discussion. Size, location, and histologic invasiveness have been shown to correlate with regional and remote metastasis in previous series. We reviewed 81 patients with gastrointestinal carcinoids seen at the Medical University of South Carolina Teaching Hospitals since 1950. An unusual case of a 0.5 cm primary ileal carcinoid with widespread intra-abdominal and hepatic metastases is documented. In this series carcinoids were found (in order of decreasing frequency) in the ileum, appendix, rectum, right colon, duodenum, jejunum, stomach, ampulla of Vater, sigmoid colon, and pancreas. Metastases were found in 17% of the overall group. Two carcinoids presented with intussusception, while one was found within a Meckel's diverticulum. In addition to the small metastatic ileal carcinoid, one patient with a rectal carcinoid measuring 0.4 cm was found to have metastases after low anterior resection. Because all extra-appendiceal gastrointestinal carcinoids are potentially metastatic, it is stressed that regional lymphadenectomy en bloc with primary excision is the treatment of choice wherever feasible. If the lesion is small or has not invaded deeply, local excision with close follow-up may be an acceptable alternative.


Mono-dispersed free-standing Co3O4 single crystals were synthesized by hydrothermally treating Co(NO3)2·6H2O aqueous solutions with addition of NaNO3 and tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TENOH). For comparison, samples were prepared using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) instead of TENOH. The obtained phases were greatly dependent on the types of alkalis and their concentrations. TEM images of TENOH-derived samples showed that the formation of free standing spinel Co3O4 nanocubes with sizes of 40-60 nm dominate over all the observation ranges for the samples with lower TENOH concentrations. While brucite-like Co(OH)2, Co3O4 and rod-like CoOOH appeared in the NaOH-derived sample, TENOH favoured the formation of Co3O4 nanocubes compared with NaOH.


Despite disproportionately high rates of intimate partner violence among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women and associations between adolescent dating violence and partner violence in adulthood, little to no research has focused on dating and relationships among AI/AN adolescents. Using exploratory thematic analysis with focus group data (N = 16), we explore this topic among a sample of young AI/AN women (ages 15–17). Results suggest that dating may enhance or inhibit connections to culture or tribal identity. Moreover, responsibility for sustaining cultural knowledge, practices, and lineage may influence choices of reproductive partners for Native women living within colonial structures of governance. The greatest threat in relationships were similar to those from settler colonialism—loss of culture and consequently, self. Promoting healthy relationships among this population should include cultural safety, identity, and involvement, as well as a focus on broader systems, including enrollment policies, that may influence these relationships. Supportive networks and mentorship related to identity and cultural involvement should be available for young AI/AN women. In response to this Special Issue's call for work that offers creative approaches to conveying knowledge and disruptions to what are considered acceptable narrative approaches we offer illustrations as well as text.


Commercial processors have support for simultaneous multithreading (SMT), yet little work has been done to provide representative simulation results for SMT. Given a workload, current simulation techniques typically run one combination of those programs from a specific starting offset, or just run one combination of samples across the benchmarks. We have found that the architecture behavior and overall throughput seen can vary drastically based upon the starting points of the different benchmarks. Therefore, to completely evaluate the effect of an SMT architecture optimization on a workload, one would need to simulate many or all of the program combinations from different starting offsets. But exhaustively running all program combinations from many starting offsets is infeasible - even running single programs to completion is often infeasible with modern benchmarks. In this paper we propose an SMT simulation methodology that estimates the average performance over all possible starting points when running multiple programs concurrently on an SMT processor. This is based on our prior co-phase matrix phase analysis and simulation infrastructure. This approach samples all of the unique phase combinations for a set of benchmarks to be run together. Once these phase combinations are sampled, our approach uses these samples, along with a trace of the phase behavior for each program, to provide a CPI estimate of all starting points. This all starting point CPI estimate is precisely calculated in just minutes.


We have used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to examine 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), both with and without modulation by IFN-alpha2a (IFNalpha), in HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Although 24-h treatment with either 10 microM 5FU or 500 units/ml IFNalpha did not result in significant DNA fragmentation, the combination of 5FU + IFNalpha resulted in a significant increase in DNA DSBs versus either drug alone (P < 0.05). The pattern of fragmentation induced by treatment with 5FU + IFNalpha was compared to that induced by gamma-radiation, which generates lesions at random sites, digestion with NotI restriction endonuclease, which cleaves at the specific sequence 5' ellipsis GCGGCCGCellipsis 3', and HhaI restriction endonuclease, which cleaves at the specific sequence 5'ellipsis GCGCellipsis 3'. 5FU + IFNalpha resulted in a specific pattern characterized by the accumulation of fragments of <3 Mb in the absence of fragments of >3 Mb, which differed from that of gamma-radiation and restriction endonuclease digestion. Because neither morphological nor DNA fragmentation characteristic of apoptosis was observed after 5FU + IFNalpha treatment, the nonrandom pattern of DSBs that was observed did not appear to be the result of the initiation of programmed cell death within these cells.


In the present study the list of alien marine macrophytes already recorded on Greek coasts has been revised in the light of recent studies and new observations. In comparison  to 2008, the total number consists of 32 taxa, and the classification as established, casual and debatable species has been modified, with a total of 14, 5 and 13 species respectively. An interesting increase in established species from 9 taxa in 2008 to 14 taxa in 2009 is noted. With 23 taxa listed, Rhodobionta is the best represented group, followed by Chlorobionta (4 taxa) and Chromobionta (4 taxa), while seagrasses (Streptobionta) are represented by only one species. Several new records, one new entry and two putative additions are considered here, while two other taxa previously assumed introduced are excluded from the list of aliens.


We investigate higher-loop integrability for a q-deformation of the -sector of SYM theory. First we construct a generalization of the long-range spin chain, which for the lowest orders describes the non-deformed dilatation operator. This generalized model is built up from Temperley–Lieb algebra generators and describes the deformed theory to at least two loops. When constructing the model we have demanded the existence of one commuting charge, which puts strong constraints on the parameters to three-loop orders. We also write the five first charges for this model at two-loops order. Our main goal is to obtain an explicit expression for an infinite number of commuting charges, all commuting with the dilatation operator. This would imply integrability. As a step towards this goal we present in this paper an expression for a generic local charge of the one-loop dilatation operator, which happens to be a generator of the Temperley–Lieb algebra.


Purpose: Four‐dimensional (4D) CT‐based pulmonary ventilation imaging is a new technique and has advantages in speed, resolution, cost and availability. However, the physiological accuracy has not been validated, especially for regional ventilation. The purpose of this study was to validate 4D‐CT‐based ventilation imaging by comparison with distribution and progression of emphysema. Method and Materials: The 4D‐CT images were acquired for radiotherapytreatment planning purposes using the GE multislice PET/CT scanner with the Varian RPM system. Ventilation was evaluated for five patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lungcancer by calculating peak‐inhale to peak‐exhale displacement vector fields (DVFs), and then ventilation based on the Jacobian determinant of deformation. To derive DVFs, we used two fundamentally different deformable image registration (DIR) algorithms: surface‐based registration (DIR s ) and volume‐based registration (DIR v ), of which the geometric accuracy has been validated. The peak‐inhale 4D‐CT images were used for emphysema quantification. Emphysematous lungs were detected by the density masking technique. The 15th percentile point was used as a measure of emphysema progression. Results: There were large discrepancies between distributions of emphysema and ventilation, and between ventilation calculated by two different algorithms. The mean relative volumes of emphysema outside poor‐ventilated lungs were 0.665 (range, 0.520–0.901) and 0.709 (range, 0.464–0.933) for DIR v and DIR v , respectively. There were very weak (−0.013) to strong (−0.763) negative correlations between emphysema progression and the mean ventilation. The use of an algorithm parameter with more or less elasticity for DIR v led to improved coverage of emphysema as well as correlations. Conclusion: This work represents the first physiological validation of 4D‐CT‐based ventilation imaging. Our results demonstrated large discrepancies between ventilation and emphysema. However, a trend toward negative correlation and effects of algorithm parameters indicated promise for this technique. Conflict of Interest: SK, JB, TK, TB and CL are employees of Philips Research Europe.


Background. Physicians' perceptions regarding intensive care unit (ICU) resource allocation and the problem of inappropriate admissions are unknown. Methods. We carried out an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey to assess the perceptions and attitudes of ICU physicians at all 20 ICUs in Milan, Italy, regarding inappropriate admissions and resource allocation. Results. Eighty-seven percent (225/259) of physicians responded. Inappropriate admissions were acknowledged by 86% of respondents. The reasons given were clinical doubt (33%); limited decision time (32%); assessment error (25%); pressure from superiors (13%), referring clinician (11%) or family (5%); threat of legal action (5%); and an economically advantageous 'Diagnosis Related Group' (1%). Respondents reported being pressurized to make more 'productive' use of ICU beds by Unit heads (frequently 16%), hospital management (frequently 10%) and colleagues (frequently 4%). Five percent reported refusing appropriate admissions following 'indications' not to admit financially disadvantageous cases. Admissions after elective surgery prioritized patients from profitable surgical departments: frequently for 6% of respondents and occasionally for 15%. Sixty-seven percent said they frequently received requests for appropriate admissions when no beds were available. This was considered sufficient reason to withdraw treatment from patients with lower survival probability (sometimes 21%) or for whom nothing more could be done (sometimes 51%, frequently 11%). Conclusions. Inappropriate ICU admissions were perceived as a common event but were mainly attributed to difficulties in assessing suitability. Physicians were aware that their decisions were often influenced by factors other than medical necessity. Economic influences were perceived as limited but not negligible. Decisions to forgo treatment could be influenced by the need to admit other patients.


With the implementation of the Muluki Aain 2074, there will definitely be changes how a clinician will practice medicine. The pathologists are no longer exempted from medical negligence and hence will have to change our ways of practicing too. The pathologists too have to maintain a good standard of practice, ensure that laboratory staff follow appropriate guidelines and protocols, have good communication with clinicians, ensure clear documentation of procedures and results, maintain records and subscribe to appropriate, recognized quality assurance programs. No test is perfect, so incorrect diagnoses are part and parcel of practice in pathology. But how often this matters? Different studies have shown major errors ranging from 1.5% to 5.7% globally. Error rates vary according to different variables including anatomical site to cultures, countries, legal systems and reimbursement schemes. Error in cancer diagnosis may range from 1.8% to 9.4% and 4.9% to 11.8% of all gynecological and non gynecological cases, respectively.


In Korean, there are constructions in which the accusative particle ul/lul occurs on more than one NP within a single sentence. Among many types of the so-called 'Double Accusative Constructions' (DAC), an External Possession (EP) Type DAC (Payne & Barshi, 1999) is the main concern of this paper. It has been questionable whether DACs are genuine double object constructions. We have argued that DACs can be regarded as structures in which there is only one real object, but two Acc-marked NPs, based on some object diagnostics. We have examined the constraints acting upon Korean EP type DACs while arguing that Korean DACs cannot be fully explained solely based on syntax or semantics without considering some pragmatic and cognitive factors. We have shown that 'contiguity' and 'affectedness' are the two most important factors in determining constraints on felicitous EP type DACs. The notion of 'contiguity' and 'affectedness' is more appropriate than any other factors such as the distinction between alienable and inalienable possession to characterise more accurately the relationship between the possessor and the possessee in Korean EP type DACs. It is also noted that 'contiguity' and 'affectedness' cannot be thematic roles or semantic roles because what counts as 'contiguous' and 'affected' is context-dependent and cognitively/pragmatically interpreted. The degree of acceptability and interpretation of DACs depend on pragmatics and extra-linguistic knowledge.


This paper describes VServ, a prototype architecture for a virtual private network (VPN) service, which builds and manages VPNs on demand. It allows each VPN to have guaranteed resources and customized control, and supports a highly dynamic VPN service where creation and modification operations can take place on fast timescales. These features are contingent on the automated establishment and maintenance of VPNs. A design process is described that attempts to satisfy the goals of both customer and VPN service provider (VSP). A pruned topology graph and tailored search algorithm are derived from the characteristics of the desired VPN. Although the searching procedure is theoretically intractable, it is shown that the complexity can be mitigated by a multitude of factors, VServ is built over the Tempest, a network control framework that partitions network resources into VPNs. An IP implementation of the Tempest is presented. Resource revocation is a mechanism that the VSP can use to react to violations of service level agreements-a protocol is described to enable graceful adaptation in the control plane to resource revocation events.


The need for a novel automated mosquito perception and classification method is becoming increasingly essential in recent years, with steeply increasing number of mosquito-borne diseases and associated casualties. There exist remote sensing and GIS-based methods for mapping potential mosquito inhabitants and locations that are prone to mosquito-borne diseases, but these methods generally do not account for species-wise identification of mosquitoes in closed-perimeter regions. Traditional methods for mosquito classification involve highly manual processes requiring tedious sample collection and supervised laboratory analysis. In this research work, we present the design and experimental validation of an automated vision-based mosquito classification module that can deploy in closed-perimeter mosquito inhabitants. The module is capable of identifying mosquitoes from other bugs such as bees and flies by extracting the morphological features, followed by support vector machine-based classification. In addition, this paper presents the results of three variants of support vector machine classifier in the context of mosquito classification problem. This vision-based approach to the mosquito classification problem presents an efficient alternative to the conventional methods for mosquito surveillance, mapping and sample image collection. Experimental results involving classification between mosquitoes and a predefined set of other bugs using multiple classification strategies demonstrate the efficacy and validity of the proposed approach with a maximum recall of 98%.


A correction to the definition of the atmospheric coherence diameter is suggested here, based on the existence of a practical instrumentation-based aerosol modulation transfer function (MTF), which is often the dominant ingredient of the atmospheric MTF. As defined classically by Fried about 25 yr ago, atmospheric MTF and coherence diameter were related to turbulence MTF only. Lutomirski considered diftractive aerosols, too, but did not consider effects of instrumentation on scattering angles actually recorded in the image. These are limited in the real world by instrumentation to milliradians, rather than by the broad angular spread of diffraction to radians. In the case of a Gaussian approximation of the practical aerosol MTF, an analytical expression is derived for the practical aerosol-derived coherence diameter. This parameter is related to the practical aerosol MTF's cutoff frequency, and to its asymptotic value at high spatial frequencies. Thus, a more general concept of atmospheric coherence diameter is proposed here, which is relevant to actual real-world imaging systems, whether they are passive or active. Quantitative validation of the theory is presented, based on both simulations and actually measured atmospheric MTFs in both the visible and thermal infrared spectral ranges. Overall atmospheric coherence diameter is determined generally by the smaller of the turbulence and practical aerosol coherence diameters, depending on optical depth. The results here appear applicable particularly to cost-effective thermal imaging system design, although applications are considered, too, for the visible and near infrared. For example, blur deriving from aerosol scatter should have much less effect in coherent detection laser radar (LIDAR) than in direct detection imaging.


This research focuses on the relative importance of fingerpad skin stretch on the perception of friction. It is hypothesized that the perceived magnitude of friction rendered by traditional force feedback can be increased through the addition of fingertip skin stretch. Perceptual data are presented from two separate tests performed on nine male subjects. The first experiment determines the perceptual thresholds for friction based on a modified Karnopp friction model where friction is rendered as purely a kinesthetic resistance via a PHANToM force feedback device. JNDs of 0.056-50.150 corresponding to static coefficients for friction of mus = 0.2-0.8 were established. The second experiment evaluates possible changes in the perceived friction magnitude due to imposing small amounts of tangential skin stretch (0.25-0.75 mm) to the fingerpad in combination with force feedback (kinesthetic resistance). Our results show that even these small amounts of skin stretch lead to a statistically significant increase in perceived friction (p < 0.01). This significant finding will enable the hapticians to more realistically and accurately render friction via a combination of kinesthetic resistance and tactile feedback.


Introduction: While cochlear implantation may have a positive effect on tinnitus, it is not effective in reducing tinnitus in all patients. This may be due to different patients requiring different strategies of electrical stimulation in order to obtain a positive effect on tinnitus. It is, therefore, important to identify the most effective stimulation strategies to reduce tinnitus. The simplest possible strategy is stimulation by only one electrode. In this study, we investigated tinnitus suppression by electrical stimulation via a single electrode of the cochlear implant. Methods: We performed a listening experiment in 19 adult participants, who had received a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) because of severe bilateral hearing loss. All of these patients had indicated that they suffered from tinnitus. During a 300-s interval, patients listened to blocks of single-electrode stimulation and rated the loudness of the stimulus and any effects on their tinnitus. The 300-s interval included a block of single-electrode stimulation (duration 120 s). In consecutive intervals, the stimulus differed in its cochlear location (basal or apical), its pulse rate (720 or 725 Hz, 1,200 Hz, and 2,400 or 2,320 Hz), and amplitude (just above threshold or equivalent to moderate loudness). Thus, 2 × 3 × 2 = 12 stimulus conditions were tested in each participant, and each condition was presented only once. During the experiment, the participants promptly rated the loudness of the stimuli and the loudness of their tinnitus on a Visual Analogue Scale (10-point VAS). Results: Significantly more tinnitus reduction was observed with stimuli at a moderate intensity level (30%) compared to stimuli at near-threshold level (18%) (χ2 [1, N = 222] = 14.115, p < 0.01). No significant differences in tinnitus levels resulted from the different pulse rates and stimulation sites. Eight participants reported an increase of tinnitus loudness under at least one stimulus condition. Changes in tinnitus loudness were generally minor, and never exceeded 3 points on the VAS. The overall effect of cochlear implantation on tinnitus, that is, the effect with full-array stimulation, was not correlated with the effectiveness of the single-electrode stimulation on tinnitus. Conclusion: In conclusion, the effect of single-electrode stimulation on tinnitus is relatively insignificant in comparison to the effect of full-array stimulation. However, in some individual cases, sustained single-electrode stimulation may be beneficial for tinnitus management.


Pollen is commonly used to study palaeoclimate variations at a high-resolution scale. However, coastal-deltaic sedimentary successions are still underexplored because of several stratigraphic features unfavourable for palynological studies. However, these potentially weak-points are an opportunity to investigate the interactions among environment, vegetation and climate in areas strongly affected by glacio-eustatic variations. This Thesis focuses on these weak-points to understand climatic-environmental dynamics in Mediterranean coastal systems by studying two cores retrieved in the subsurface of the Po (core EM2, 40 m-long) and Arno (core PA1, 31.5 m-long) delta plains.
In the Po delta plain, a facies characterization was performed on the Holocene freshwater paludal succession. The distinction of different types of swamps via water-table oscillations allowed the identification of the landward equivalents of flooding surfaces and of the maximum flooding surface. It was also possible to identify some Holocene cooling events by peaks of montane taxa. This vegetation-climate variability recalls the cyclicity of Bond events. Moreover, for the first time, pollen from a continental succession of the Adriatic area outlined the effects of the 8.2 ka cooling event on both vegetation and depositional dynamics.
In the Arno delta plain, within the 31.5 m-thick succession, two transgressive-regressive cycles were identified and related to the glacial-interglacial fluctuations of the MIS5e-MIS1 interval, with interglacials dominated by mesophilous-Medierranean taxa and glacial dominated by Conifers-upland herbs. The former correspond to lagoon-deltaic deposits, whereas the latter to a pedogenised alluvial succession. For the first time a lagoon assigned to MIS5e was palynologically detected, shedding new light on the stratigraphy of the area. The almost synchronous response of coastal environments to late Quaternary climate forcing was documented at a sub-Milankovitch timescale, as an increase in montane broadleaves occurs at the top of the Holocene lagoon, peaking within the sandy body that records its final infilling.


IMPORTANCE
People with mental disorders usually have emotional, behavioral, and physical health problems, such as decreased enjoyment of life and lack of interest. It is important to have an assessment to measure these problems because interest is a powerful psychological state that makes people fully engaged and focused. Measuring people's level of interest provides an understanding of their needs, behaviors, thoughts, and personalities.

OBJECTIVE
To develop and culturally adapt the Arabic translation of the Modified Interest Checklist for Arabic-speaking clients with psychiatric disorders.

DESIGN
A multistage process involving cognitive debriefing and back translation.

SETTING
Two inpatient mental health hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

PARTICIPANTS
Eighty-eight English- and Arabic-speaking adult clients with psychiatric disorders.

RESULTS
Significant moderate agreement was found between the scores obtained from the two versions (p < .000). The κ measurement of agreement was 0.59 (95% confidence interval [0.42, 0.76]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The Arabic translation of the Modified Interest Checklist was generated for potential use in research and clinical practice with Arabic-speaking clients with psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions. Further validation of the developed Arabic version is imperative. What This Article Adds: This brief report provides a culturally adapted Arabic translation of the Modified Interest Checklist that could be useful to rehabilitation professionals who would like to use this checklist for Arabic-speaking clients with psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions.


Nature often inspires advances in science and technology and a promising example of this is mimicking locomotion of underwater animals. The main ways in which manmade aquatic vehicles propel themselves are water jets and propellers, which are inconsistent with how underwater animals swim. The cownose ray displays very efficient thrust with low frequency strokes by using a combination of oscillations and undulations with its pectoral fins. The goal of this paper is to mechanically replicate the actual fin motion of the cownose ray in order to capture these attractive features. The design will account for both the oscillations by designing a cabling mechanism that simulates muscle and the undulations by using a flexible shaft to control the twist present in the fin. Integrating these two mechanisms will achieve an accurate model of the true motion.