Caliban is a cylindrical metallic core reactor mainly composed of uranium 235. It is operated by the Criticality and Neutron Science Research Laboratory located at the French Atomic Energy Commission research center in Valduc. As with other fast burst reactors, Caliban is used extensively for determining the responses of electronic parts or other objects and materials to neutron-induced displacements. Therefore, Caliban's irradiation characteristics, and especially its central cavity neutron spectrum, have to be very accurately evaluated. The foil activation method has been used in the past by the Criticality and Neutron Science Research Laboratory to evaluate the neutron spectrum of the different facilities it operated, and in particular to characterize the Caliban cavity spectrum. In order to strengthen and to improve our knowledge of the Caliban cavity neutron spectrum and to reduce the uncertainties associated with the available evaluations, new measurements have been performed on the reactor and interpreted by the foil activation method. A sensor set has been selected to sample adequately the studied spectrum. Experimental measured reaction rates have been compared to the results from UMG spectrum unfolding software and to values obtained with the activation code Fispact. Experimental and simulation results are overall in good agreement, although gaps exist for some sensors. UMG software has also been used to rebuild the Caliban cavity neutron spectrum from activation measurements. For this purpose, a default spectrum is needed, and one has been calculated with the Monte-Carlo transport code Tripoli 4 using the benchmarked Caliban description.


It has been proposed that the disagreement tra- ditionally reported between in vitro incubation and in situ estimates of oxygen net community production (NCP) could be explained, at least partially, by undersampling episodic pulses of net autotrophy associated with mesoscale dynam- ics. In this study we compare in vitro incubation estimates of net community production with in situ estimates, de- rived from oxygen profiles and a 1-D model, within a cy- clonic eddy investigated in the Sargasso Sea in summer 2004. The in vitro NCP rates measured at the center of the eddy showed a shift from net autotrophy (7±3 mmol O2 m 2 d 1 ) to net heterotrophy ( 25±5 mmol O2 m 2 d 1 ) from late June to early August. The model-derived NCP rates also showed a temporal decline (19±6 to 3±7 and 11±8 mmol O2 m 2 d 1 ), but they were systematically higher than the in vitro estimates and reported net autotrophy or balance for the sampling period. In this comparison episodic pulses in photosynthesis or respiration driven by mesoscale eddies can not explain the discrepancy between the in vitro and in situ estimates of NCP. This points to methodological artefacts or temporal or submesoscale variability as the mechanisms responsible for the disagreement between the techniques, at least in this dataset.


Purpose: This paper aims to provide a better understanding of accelerators' phenomenon, developing a business model framework for these organizations. The proposed framework aims to offer helpful guidance for practitioners and policymakers, together with various research opportunities for scholars. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employs a structured literature review methodology, which guarantees the repeatability of the research and the validity of the outcomes. Additionally, to further test the results of our analysis, we interviewed ten practitioners from some accelerators located in Italy and Slovenia. Findings: Findings show that the literature on accelerators is still fragmented and under-investigated. The presented framework for an accelerator business model provides insights about the activity and the role of such organizations. The study offers fruitful avenues for future research on accelerators' business models. Research limitations/implications: Given the fragmented nature and the novelty of the literature on the topic, there may be relevant papers and reports missing in our analysis. Further research should investigate the role of accelerators in the ecosystem they operate in and provide a clear and shared definition in collaboration with all stakeholders. Practical implications: The presented framework provides practitioners with useful insights for understanding an accelerator activity and valuable recommendations for managing these organizations in the future. Social implications: Since we consider society among the key stakeholders of an accelerator's business model, this study provides significant insights into the social impact of accelerators in the ecosystem they operate. Relevant implications may be useful, especially for policymakers. Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study is the extent analysis of a new topic in the entrepreneurial literature, providing a clear and broad perspective of the phenomenon. Furthermore, this study provides relevant insights into the role of accelerators in academic research as well as for practitioners and policymakers. Please cite this paper as: Bagnoli et al. (2020), Business Models for Accelerators: Subtitle: A Structured Literature Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 1-21


Cloud microphysical processes involving the ice phase in tropospheric clouds are among the major uncertainties in cloud formation, weather and General Circulation Models (GCMs). The simultaneous detection of aerosol particles, liquid droplets, and ice crystals, especially in the small cloud-particle size range below 50 µm, remains challenging in mixed phase, often unstable ice-water phase environments. The Cloud Aerosol Spectrometer with Polarisation (CASPOL) is an airborne instrument that has the ability to detect such small cloud particles and measure their effects on the backscatter polarisation state. Here we operate the versatile Cosmics-Leaving- OUtdoor-Droplets (CLOUD) chamber facility at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) to produce controlled mixed phase and other clouds by adiabatic expansions in an ultraclean environment, and use the CASPOL to discriminate between different aerosols, water and ice particles. In this paper, optical property measurements of mixed phase clouds and viscous Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) are presented. We report observations of significant liquid – viscous SOA particle polarisation transitions under dry conditions using CASPOL. Cluster analysis techniques were subsequently used to classify different types of particles according to their polarisation ratios during phase transition. A classification map is presented for water droplets, organic aerosol (e.g., SOA and oxalic acid), crystalline substances such as ammonium sulphate, and volcanic ash. Finally, we discuss the benefits and limitations of this classi- fication approach for atmospherically relevant concentration and mixtures with respect to the CLOUD 8–9 campaigns and its potential contribution to Tropical Troposphere Layer (TTL) analysis.


The application of ANNs (Artifi cial Neural Networks) has been studied by many researchers in modelling rainfall runoff processes. However, the work so far has been focused on the rainfall data from traditional raingauges. Weather radar is a modern technology which could provide high resolution rainfall in time and space. In this study, a comparison in rainfall runoff modelling between the raingauge and weather radar has been carried out. The data were collected from Brue catchment in Southwest of England, with 49 raingauges covering 136 km 2 and two C-band weather radars. This raingauge network is extremely dense (for research purposes) and does not represent the usual raingauge density in operational fl ood forecasting systems. The ANN models were set up with both lumped and spatial rainfall input. The results showed that raingauge data outperformed radar data in all the events tested, regardless of the lumped and spatial input.


Abstract Sedimentological, petrographic, and geochemical investigations of the Permo-Carboniferous Lodeve Basin, France show complete diagenetic resetting of soil-formed minerals. Carbonate cements include diagenetic end-member phreatic-zone and burial cements in nodules and veins. Cement stratigraphy reveals multiple generations, including low-Mg calcite, ferroan calcite, dolomite, barite, and silica cements that record the burial and exhumation history of the basin. Stable-isotope analysis of calcite nodules yields uncorrected δ13C values of −5.0‰ and −0.7‰, and between 0.4‰ and −3.8‰ for calcite veins; corresponding δ18O values of the calcite nodules are −3.6‰ and 0.2‰, while veins are between −3.1‰ and −11.0‰. Dolomite cements have uncorrected δ13C values of −0.2‰ to −6.7‰ and δ18O values of 2.0‰ to −6.1‰. These values represent micritic calcite as well as mimetic dolomite, dolomite rhombs, microspar calcite, sparry calcite, and ferroan calcite. Isotopic values record multiple fluids of increasing temperature that flowed through the basin from the Triassic through Cenozoic, and are affiliated with the burial of the basin as well as lithospheric thinning during Pangean breakup. Following careful screening of groundwater nodules, veins and paleosols (n = 46), no carbonate retains its primary pedogenic signal or utility for use in quantitative paleoclimate reconstructions. These data document the importance of careful petrographic and geochemical screening for diagenetic alteration of paleosol carbonates before quantitative paleoclimate proxies are applied.


Synergistic catalysis is a synthetic strategy wherein both the nucleophile and the electrophile are simultaneously activated by two separate and distinct catalysts to afford a single chemical transformation. This powerful catalysis strategy leads to several benefits, specifically synergistic catalysis can (i) introduce new, previously unattainable chemical transformations, (ii) improve the efficiency of existing transformations, and (iii) create or improve catalytic enantioselectivity where stereocontrol was previously absent or challenging. This perspective aims to highlight these benefits using many of the successful examples of synergistic catalysis found in the literature.


Although regarded as a single community of Islamists, Islamic political movements utilise vastly different means to pursue their goals. This book examines why some Islamic movements facing the same socio-political structures pursue different political paths, while their counterparts in diverse contexts make similar political choices. Based on qualitative fieldwork involving personal interviews with Islamic politicians, journalists, and ideologues – conducted both before and after the Arab Spring – this study draws close comparisons between six Islamic movements in Jordan, Morocco and Turkey. It analyses how some Islamic movements decide to form a political party to run in elections, while their counterparts in the same country reject doing so and instead engage in political activism as a social movement through informal channels. More broadly, this study demonstrates the role of internal factors, ideological priorities and organisational needs in explaining differentiation within Islamic political movements, and discusses its effects on democratisation. In Morocco, this book examines the Movement for Unity and Reform that formed the Party for Justice and Development, and the Justice and Spirituality Movement that eschewed party politics. In Turkey, it examines the National Outlook Movement that is the mother-movement to various Islamic political parties, and the Gülen Movement that has a complicated relationship with incumbent parties. In Jordan, this book examines the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing the Islamic Action Front Party, and the Quietist Salafis rejecting institutional politics.


More and more cities are turning to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a way of cost-effectively expanding public transit services to help relieve traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions, and increase mobility options for the poor. Because of the inherent flexibility advantages of rubber-tire buses – e.g., unlike rail systems, the same vehicle that functions as a line-haul carrier can also morph into a neighborhood feeder -- BRT is especially suited for many lower density and non- CBD settings. Some of the most advanced and widely heralded BRT services today are found in Latin America, such as Curitiba and Sao Paulo, Brazil, Bogota and Cali, Columbia, Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru. The success of BRT in these cities stems, to a large degree, from the presence of dedicated lanes, which offer significant speed advantages relative to more traditional mixed-traffic services. One of the few cities outside of Latin America that has joined the ranks of world-class BRT serviceproviders is Seoul, Korea. As in cities like Curitiba and Bogota, Seoul operates dedicated median-lane BRT services which are supplemented by one of the most extensive networks of curbside BRT lanes anywhere. Seoul began implementing curbside bus lanes in 1986 however because of conflicts with traffic entering the main traffic stream these lanes failed to provide significant speed advantages. It was only after the addition of exclusive median lanes in 2004 that buses began to offer significant travel-time savings and win over former motorists. All else being equal, significant gains in bus speeds should be followed by significant land-use changes, like densification and property value increases, especially in congested mega-cities like Seoul. Land markets can be expected to place a high premium on parcels close to transit corridors that enjoy significant travel-time savings since, after all, such settings have scarcity value – i.e., there is a finite, limited supply of settings with superior transit offerings. This paper probes this hypothesis by studying land-use changes and property-value increases induced by Seoul's introduction of exclusive, median-lane BRT services. First, the empirical literature on bus transit and land-use impacts is reviewed. This is followed by background discussions on Seoul's transportation conditions and BRT system. Next, we describe our research methodology and supporting data sources. We then present multilevel models that gauge the influences of upgrading BRT services on land-use changes and land values. The paper concludes by reflecting on the policy implications of the key research findings.


In this study, we analyse the sharp rise in poverty among working-age singles and single parents in Sweden. In a dual-earner society like Sweden, we show that the return of mass unemployment in combination with the retreat of a generous and inclusive welfare state have substantially increased the poverty risks of single-adult households, who cannot rely on the income buffering effect of the family. Whereas cutbacks to unemployment benefits have been detrimental for the relative income position of single-adult households, the poverty risks of couples with and without children are much less affected. Individual-level characteristics of the poor persons themselves provide little explanatory leverage for why trends in poverty diverge by family form. Our results raise a number of issues of relevance for the wider academic debate about the capacity of the welfare state to adequately respond to both old and new social risk groups.


This paper deals with linear and integer programming problems in which the constraint matrix is a binet matrix. Binet matrices are pivoted versions of the node-edge incidence matrices of bidirected graphs. It is shown that efficient methods are available to solve such optimization problems. Linear programs can be solved with the generalized network simplex method, while integer programs are converted to a matching problem. It is also proved that an integral binet matrix has strong Chvátal rank 1. An example of binet matrices, namely matrices with at most three non-zeros per row, is given.


The marketing manager of the Central Air Conditioning division of Scott-Air must develop a marketing plan for 1972, including deciding whether or not to spend more money, and if so, which products to promote, how to promote them, and at what level in the marketing chain the dollars should be spent. This case affords students an opportunity to develop a complete marketing plan. First, each element of the marketing mix--product, place, price, and promotion--must be decided based on customer segmentation and product-positioning decisions. Second, the strategic role of each element of the mix, including the sales force, must be determined. Third, tactical decisions must be specified for each element. The development of a complete marketing plan will improve student understanding of the role of the sales force within a firm's marketing mix.


A total of 21 children with fascioliasis (8 males and 13 females) with mean age of 10.4 years, 8 children with schistosomiasis mansoni (6 males and 2 females) with mean age of 11.37 years were treated with Myrrh (Mirazid) which is an oleo-gum resin from the stem of Commiphora molmol tree (Family Burseraceae). Also, ten healthly cross matched children were utilized as controls. Diagnosis was based on the detection of Fasciola hepatica or Schistosoma mansoni eggs in stool by Kato-Katz technique. Mirazid was given as 10 mg/kg/d an hour before breakfast for 3 consecutive days in schistosomiasis and for 6 days in fascioliasis. Clinical evaluation and stool analysis were done initially and at 2, 4 and 12 weeks post treatment to evaluate cure. Rectal snip was done for responding schistosomiasis cases to confirm recovery. Automated complete blood count with manual assessment of eosinophils, serum total IgE (enzyme immunoassay) and in vitro cytokines assay (IL-1 beta, IL-4, IL-5) by ELISA were performed for all subjects before treatment and repeated 12 weeks only for patients after therapy. Parasitologic cure was 90.9% in fascioliasis and 100% in schistosomiasis at 4 weeks post treatment. After a second dose Fasciola patients who remained positive were cured. Total IgE was significantly higher in Fasciola and Schistosoma patients before treatment compared to control (p < 0.001; 0.005 respectively) and decreased significantly with therapy (p = 0.001; 0.036). IL-1beta was higher in both patient groups than control (p < 0.001; 0.003) and decreased significantly 12 weeks after therapy to control level (p < 0.001; 0.017). IL-5 was high before treatment in both groups (p = 0.041; 0.027) and decreased significantly after 12 weeks after therapy (p = 0.005; 0.012). IL-4 did not differ from control before therapy (p = 0.58; 0.79) but increased significantly after treatment in both patient groups (p = 0.04; 0.02). It is concluded that Mirazid is an effective fasciolicidal and schistosomicidal drug. IL-1beta and IL5 were high in fascioliasis and schistosomiasis, but decreased with therapy denoting immunopathogenesis. The depressed IL-4 production may be a parasite immune evasion or host regulatory mechanism and cytokines levels may be criteria of cure.


There are scarce data on the efficacy of ertapenem in the treatment of bacteremia due to extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. We evaluated the association between treatment with ertapenem or meropenem and clinical cure in KT recipients with nonsevere bacteremic urinary tract infections (B-UTI) caused by ESBL-E. ABSTRACT There are scarce data on the efficacy of ertapenem in the treatment of bacteremia due to extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. We evaluated the association between treatment with ertapenem or meropenem and clinical cure in KT recipients with nonsevere bacteremic urinary tract infections (B-UTI) caused by ESBL-E. We performed a registered, retrospective, international (29 centers in 14 countries) cohort study (INCREMENT-SOT, NCT02852902). The association between targeted therapy with ertapenem versus meropenem and clinical cure at day 14 (the principal outcome) was studied by logistic regression. Propensity score matching and desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) analyses were also performed. A total of 201 patients were included; only 1 patient (treated with meropenem) in the cohort died. Clinical cure at day 14 was reached in 45/100 (45%) and 51/101 (50.5%) of patients treated with ertapenem and meropenem, respectively (adjusted OR 1.29; 95% CI 0.51 to 3.22; P = 0.76); the propensity score-matched cohort included 55 pairs (adjusted OR for clinical cure at day 14, 1.18; 95% CI 0.43 to 3.29; P = 0.74). In this cohort, the proportion of cases treated with ertapenem with better DOOR than with meropenem was 49.7% (95% CI, 40.4 to 59.1%) when hospital stay was considered. It ranged from 59 to 67% in different scenarios of a modified (weights-based) DOOR sensitivity analysis when potential ecological advantage or cost was considered in addition to outcome. In conclusion, targeted therapy with ertapenem appears as effective as meropenem to treat nonsevere B-UTI due to ESBL-E in KT recipients and may have some advantages.


We report optical measurements demonstrating that the low-energy relaxation rate (1/τ) of the conduction electrons in Sr(2)RuO(4) obeys scaling relations for its frequency (ω) and temperature (T) dependence in accordance with Fermi-liquid theory. In the thermal relaxation regime, 1/τ ∝ (ħω)(2)+(pπk(B)T)(2) with p = 2, and ω/T scaling applies. Many-body electronic structure calculations using dynamical mean-field theory confirm the low-energy Fermi-liquid scaling and provide quantitative understanding of the deviations from Fermi-liquid behavior at higher energy and temperature. The excess optical spectral weight in this regime provides evidence for strongly dispersing "resilient" quasiparticle excitations above the Fermi energy.


This article analyses the scientific production of publications on altmetrics as an emergent discipline for research evaluation. The research objective was to identify the investigative tendencies that characterize the subject. The analysis studied documents indexed by Web of Science and Scopus databases. About 253 documents were retrieved, showing a growth in articles 2005–2015. We discovered that the most productive authors, journals, institutions, and countries were from Europe and North America. The collaboration networks between authors and institutions reveal a homogenous community formed by the most prolific contributors. The most explored subjects deal with (1) social media and networking, (2) internet, (3) scholarly and scientific communication and publication, (4) open access and public libraries, (5) citation analysis, (6) impact factor measurements, (7) metric disciplines, (8) information analysis, retrieval, and processing, (9) search engines and data bases, and (10) evaluative bibliometrics. We discovered a nucleus of contributors who have attempted to solidify the knowledge area, with emerging principles of high theoretical consistency.


In order to support diverse application requirements, a new standard called IEEE 802.11e is being proposed to improve quality of service in wireless LAN networks. There are, however, a few remaining challenges that need to be addressed in order to enable comprehensive QoS support using 802.11e. In this article we provide an overview of a few of these challenges, describe their possible impact on QoS, and provide a survey of techniques that potentially could be used to address the identified challenges. Specifically, we focus on three challenges: handling time-varying network conditions, adapting to varying application profiles, and managing link layer resources. Additionally, we present several potential future directions toward improved QoS in wireless networks.


Modeling of photovoltaic (PV) systems is essential for the designers of solar generation plants to do a yield analysis that accurately predicts the expected power output under changing environmental conditions. This paper presents a comparative analysis of PV module modeling methods based on the single-diode model with series and shunt resistances. Parameter estimation techniques within a modeling method are used to estimate the five unknown parameters in the single diode model. Two sets of estimated parameters were used to plot the I-V characteristics of two PV modules, i.e., SQ80 and KC200GT, for the different sets of modeling equations, which are classified into models 1 to 5 in this study. Each model is based on the different combinations of diode saturation current and photogenerated current plotted under varying irradiance and temperature. Modeling was done using MATLAB/Simulink software, and the results from each model were first verified for correctness against the results produced by their respective authors. Then, a comparison was made among the different models (models 1 to 5) with respect to experimentally measured and datasheet I-V curves. The resultant plots were used to draw conclusions on which combination of parameter estimation technique and modeling method best emulates the manufacturer specified characteristics.


This paper examines the matrix data re-order requirements of a variety of polynomial transform 2D convolution methods which can be employed to efficiently accommodate large field problems. The results indicate that several power-of-2 length polynomial transform methods developed by Nussbaumer allow one to totally avoid the row-column data corner-turn commonly encountered in Fourier Transform 2D convolution methods, while also providing significantly reduced computational complexity. Execution time comparison with an FFT reference base is made assuming the use of general register and array processor units and use of recently developed matrix-transpose methods by Eklundh and Ari to support 2D Fourier Transform corner-turn requirements. These results demonstrate a 2-4 times throughput performance improvement for use of the polynomial transform method in place of the 2D Fourier Transform approach to circularly convolve large 2D fields in the range 1024×1024 to 8192×8192.


Bulk nanocrystalline 304 stainless steel (nanocrystalline 304ss) discs had been successfully prepared by the commercial microcrystalline 304 stainless steel (microcrystalline 304ss) plate using severe rolling technique. Micro-hardness was measured to reveal the different mechanical behavior after the severe plastic deformation. The electrochemical corrosion resistance and ion release behavior after immersion of the samples were investigated in Hank's solution for its potential use as implant and orthodontic appliance in body. Furthermore, murine fibroblast cells were indirectly employed to detect cytotoxicity by co-incubation with the extraction from the given materials. Haemocompatibility, consisting of hemolysis test and adhesion of the platelets, was also measured with fresh human whole blood and platelet-rich plasma respectively. Polarization resistance trials indicate that nanocrystalline 304ss is more corrosion resistant in the Hank's solution, with lower current density and superficial corrosion morphologies. The release values of the biotoxic ions after immersion do not exceed the set limit and turn to be well below the critical value necessary to induce allergy and below daily dietary intake level. Cellular interaction is observed via the proliferated feature of the cell line. Hemolysis and platelet adhesion results elucidates that nanocrystalline 304ss is biological and hematologic compatible.


This study aims to analyse the undergraduates' writing of information reports. The ability of tertiary undergraduates to acquire academic writing skills in fulfilment of assignment requirement is a great concern among lecturers and undergraduates. Production of quality academic writings requires understanding of the communicative functions of those writings. A case study was conducted to find out whether
UNIMAS undergraduates, majoring in different disciplines over the university, were able to produce quality academic writings – information report, which comprise of appropriate use of schematic structures and language features as required by the
assignment questions after undergoing an intensive writing training in an English generic course, English for Academic Reading and Writing (ARW). Selection of the sample texts was done where 100 written assignments of information report genre
were collected from all undergraduates who attended ARW in the 1st semester of Year 2008/2009. Genre analysis based on the theoretical framework of an information report developed by Derewianka (1992) was used for analysis and evaluation of the undergraduates' written works. The findings showed that some
undergraduates were not competent in writing a good and correct information report. They were weak in differentiating information report genre from the other genres. Even though the writings produced were discovered to have the basic structures that seemed to look like an information report, they mixed the formal features of information report with the formal features of explanation, discussion and descriptive genres. However, it was discovered that the targeted undergraduates who were able to write in correct generic structure were competent in utilising the language features of information report genre although there were some minor grammatical errors in terms
of choice of tenses used such as past and present tenses as well as the singular and plural forms of present tense. The research findings contribute to the syllabus design and development of academic writing courses to tackle the undergraduates' specific needs and emphasise on the importance of genre analysis in revealing aspects of efficient academic writing skills.


This work proposes an advancement in analytical modelling of landslide tsunamis propagating along a plane beach. It is divided into two parts. In the first one, the analytical two-horizontal-dimension model of Sammarco and Renzi (2008) for tsunamis generated by a Gaussian-shaped landslide on a plane beach is revised and extended to realistic landslide shapes. The influence of finiteness and shape of the slide on the propagating waves is investigated and discussed. In the second part, a new model of landslide tsunamis propagating along a semi-plane beach is devised to analyse the role of the continental platform in attenuating the wave amplitude along the shoreline. With these parameters taken into account, the fit with available experimental data is enhanced and the model completed.


The food selectivity of millipedes (Diplopoda) was studied in different variants of mine spoils and chernozem fillings applied as topsoil. It was found that the ordinary chernozem fillings determines the formation of food priorities increasingly in comparison with the mine spoil. There are shown statistically significant differences between millipeds food priorities depending on the proposed feed: litter leaves of trees ( Acer platanoides, Robinia pseudoacacia, Juniperus virginiana ) used in forest revegetation of mining lands.


Membrane fouling properties and different physical cleaning methods for forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) lab-scale filtration systems were investigated. The membrane fouling, with respect to flux reduction, was lower in FO than in RO when testing an activated sludge effluent. Cross-flow velocity, air-scouring, osmotic backwashing and effect of a spacer were compared to determine the most effective cleaning method for FO. After a long period of fouling with activated sludge, the flux was fully recovered in a short period of osmotic backwashing compared with cleaning by changing cross-flow velocity and air-scouring. In this study, the osmotic backwashing was found to be the most efficient way to clean the FO membrane. The amount of RNA recovered from FO membranes was about twice that for RO membranes; biofouling could be more significant in FO than in RO. However, the membrane fouling in FO was lower than that in RO. The spacer increased the flux in FO with activated sludge liquor suspended solids of 2,500 mg/L, and there were effects of spacer on performance of FO–MBR membrane fouling. However, further studies are required to determine how the spacer geometry influences on the performance of the FO membrane.


The aim of the present research was to reach conclusions on whether the educational software "Phenomena and models of the physical world" can help students develop representations of the structure of matter in the microscopic level in order to better understand and explain electrification phenomena.

A teaching intervention has been organized with the use of the educational software "Phenomena and models of the physical world" to teach electrostatic phenomena to secondary students, by taking into account their conceptions and learning difficulties. In the research participated 50 secondary students (13--14 years old). The students answered an initial questionnaire, and a final one a week after the teaching intervention. Two classes participated in the research, the experimental class (26 students) and a control class (24 students). Data analysis showed that teaching with the use of the software really helped the students of the experimental class to develop proper microscopic representations of the structure of matter and to explain the electrification phenomenon more sufficiently than the students of the control-class.


Objective: This article describes the methodology used for the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference. Design: Consensus conference of international experts in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome using the Research ANd Development/University of California, Los Angeles appropriateness method and an expert recommendations process developed by the French-speaking intensive care society. Topics related to pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome were divided into nine subgroups with a review of the literature. Setting: A group of 27 experts met three times over the course of 2 years and collaborated in their respective subgroups to define pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome and to make recommendations regarding treatment and future research priorities. Main Results: The consensus conference resulted in summary of recommendations published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, the present Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference methodology article, articles on the nine pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome subtopics, and a review of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome pathophysiology published in this supplement of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Conclusions: The methodology described involved experts from around the world and the use of modern information technology. This resulted in recommendations for pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome management, the identification of current research gaps, and future priorities.


Any development issue has mainly two dimensions — 'interest of few and interest of many', so is 'science-communication' as well, which leads to unwarranted but unavoidable uncertainties. Unless the former learn to sacrifice their 'illegitimate interests', the very objective of a development issue will continue to suffer, putting the latter at a risk of sacrificing their 'legitimate interests'. The role of 'science-communication' is vital in today's world, especially where complex issues of conflicting interests of science, industry, business, politics, and mass media are increasingly coming to the fore, and public and policy makers need to understand the 'true science'; the role of 'communicating science-communication' has much larger value and impact in analyzing, understanding, and shaping the way how 'public and political understanding of science' can be improved with new models, methodologies, and practices. Science has a bearing on the way one thinks, behaves and conducts in the society. Thinking scientific is establishing harmony with nature. It could best be promoted by communicating science in a scientific way, which has therefore come up to be an evolved technique to channel ourselves to scientifically evolved societies, because distortions if any here have greater ramifications. A sciencecommunication journal is dedicated to scientific and technological development as the entire science and technology establishment is. The present piece while deliberating on current scenario of science-communication journals vis-à-vis science-communication profession, describes many challenges poised, and looks at the future prospects and possible solutions, based on first hand observations


The Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD)/UV‐visible (UVIS) spectrometer on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter provided observations of ozone (O3) and water vapor in the global dust storm of 2018. Here we show in detail, using advanced data filtering and chemical modeling, how Martian O3 in the middle atmosphere was destroyed during the dust storm. In data taken exactly 1 year later when no dust storm occurred, the normal situation had been reestablished. The model simulates how water vapor is transported to high altitudes and latitudes in the storm, where it photolyzes to form odd hydrogen species that catalyze O3. O3 destruction is simulated at all latitudes and up to 100 km, except near the surface where it increases. The simulations also predict a strong increase in the photochemical production of atomic hydrogen in the middle atmosphere, consistent with the enhanced hydrogen escape observed in the upper atmosphere during global dust storms.


An improved optical self-heterodyne method utilizing a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tunable laser and an optical fiber ring interferometer is presented in this paper. The interference efficiency can be increased by 7 dB compared with the scheme using the conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The unsteady process that the beating frequency experiences in each tuning period is investigated. According to the measurement results, the wavelength and optical power of the tunable laser will be steady when the square-wave frequency is lower than 300 kHz. It has been shown that when a square-wave voltage is applied to the phase section of the tunable laser, the laser linewidths vary in a wide range, and are much larger than that under dc voltage tuning. The errors caused by the variations in the linewidth of the beat signal and optical power can be eliminated using the proposed calibration procedures, and the measurement accuracy can, therefore, be significantly improved. Experiments show that the frequency responses obtained using our method agree well with the data provided by the manufacturer, and the improved optical self-heterodyne method is as accurate as the intensity noise technique.


Context In Brazil, poverty and inequality go hand in hand with violence. Although Brazil is a middle-income country, over one in five Brazilians live in poverty and accidents and violence are the principal cause of death among children, with some of the highest rates in Brazil's poorest states. Over the last two decades, Brazil has made great strides in its legislation and policy-making to protect children from abuse and neglect. Aims This study aimed to investigate the thoughts and perceptions of professionals concerning the safeguarding systems in Bahia, barriers to recognition, reporting and management of cases of child abuse and neglect, and suggestions for improvements. Methods Focus groups were complemented with semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The study was based in Barra de São Francisco in Bahia, northeast Brazil. Professionals working with children and with Bahia's safeguarding systems were recruited. Sessions were led by a trained moderator and digitally recorded. The recordings were transcribed and analysed using a constant comparative framework to identify common emergent themes. Results Ten focus groups and eight semi-structured interviews were conducted. 55 questionnaires were completed. Findings were consistent across all professional groups and methods of data collection. Participants identified numerous barriers to effective safeguarding, including a strong fear of violent reprisals for reporting cases (despite anonymous reporting systems) and a lack of training and multidisciplinary working. There was a perception that the newly-established Child Protection Agency is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of cases and that prosecutions are too slow, reducing motivation to report abuse. They felt that better training and stronger communications between professional groups working together to support the Child Protection Agency, would substantially improve the situation. Conclusions Using focus groups complemented by semi-structured interviews and questionnaires was a highly effective means of promoting open discussion of the sensitive and complex topic of safeguarding, while ensuring that all views were heard. Although a lack of human and physical resources inevitably hinders safeguarding efforts in Barra, Bahia, participants identified several obstacles which may be addressed using available resources, to help make Brazil's children's new Constitutional rights a reality.


Background: The dermatological condition accounts for an important public health problem of the global load of disease in low and middle-income countries and places significant pressure on primary healthcare centers. There is heterogeneity in the frequency of diverse skin conditions between different areas (1). Most of the knowledge presently available about various aspects of skin diseases is based on observations made and data collected from secondary and tertiary level hospitals (2). Information on community-based prevalence and pattern of skin diseases would be a better measure of burden due to skin diseases in general population in order to assist in the planning of possible intervention strategies (3). Aims & Objectives: To find out the prevalence, distribution, and determinants of various dermatological manifestations at the community level in Doiwala block of district Dehradun. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 12 months, the study subjects comprised of individuals of all age groups. A sample size of 834 (416 males & 418 females) was calculated by using current prevalence of skin diseases (43.7% in males & 44.7% in females) in Uttarakhand (1). Results: Nearly half of the studied population (45.8%) had some type of dermatological manifestations. It was slightly higher in females (47.1%) than males (44.5%). Out of 382 symptomatic respondents, 247 (64.7) had infective dermatoses followed by 124 (32.5%) non-infective, 6 (1.5%) others and 5 (1.3%) nutritional deficiency dermatoses. The gender-wise distribution of various types of dermatoses was found to be statistically significant (?2-15.225, df-3, p-0.002). Conclusions: The prevalence of dermatological conditions in district Dehradun is fairly high with increased prevalence in the younger age group that might be an indicator to the fact that the burden of skin diseases may go to rise in the future.


Mass spectrometry is an emerging format for label-free high-throughput screening. The main limitation of mass spectrometry is throughput, due to the requirement to purify samples prior to ionization. Here the authors compare an automated high-throughput mass spectrometry (HTMS) system (RapidFire™) with the scintillation proximity assay (SPA). The cancer therapy target AKT1/PKBα was screened against a focused library of kinase inhibitors and IC50 values determined for all compounds that exhibit > 50% inhibition. A selection of additional compounds that exhibited ≤ 50% inhibition in the primary screen was chosen as controls to confirm inactives. The selection of compounds is expected to identify common actives, common inactives, false positives, and false negatives. Agreement is found between HTMS and SPA in terms of primary hit identification and hit confirmation. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2007:473-480)


Residues from biogas production contain essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) but also organic matter, and should be recycled in crop production. For efficient re-use as fertilizers, the availability of nutrients for crops and the effect of the residues on soil fertility need to be evaluated. Focusing on the element P, we compared effects of codigested slurry with dairy slurry, highly soluble mineral NPK fertilizer, and a control without any P supply (NK). Codigested slurry used in this experiment was based on anaerobic digestion of dairy slurry, maize silage, and wheat grain. The fertilizing effects were tested in an 8-week pot experiment on a sandy and a loamy soil using two crop species (Zea mays L., Amaranthus cruentus L.). The plant P uptake was up to 64% greater in the slurry treatments than in the treatment without P. The effect of codigested slurry on P uptake was comparable to that of dairy slurry and mineral P. Plant N uptake from codigested slurry was lower than that from mineral N (NK, NPK), but tended to be higher than from dairy slurry. The water-soluble and double lactate–soluble P content of the soil was lower in the slurry treatments than in the mineral-P treatments and accompanied by higher contents of microbial-bound P. Differences between both organic fertilizers were detected for dehydrogenase activity which was up to 32% lower in soils fertilized with codigested slurry than it was in soils fertilized with dairy slurry. Our results indicate that codigestion of slurries in biogas plants does not substantially alter their fertilizer value as P and N sources for crops.


Drs. Prolla and Kirsner have produced a valuable "how to" monograph on gastrointestinal exfoliative cytology. The work is based mostly on the experience of the gastrointestinal cytology laboratory at the University of Chicago between April 1955 and December 1968. They do not present the data from the first five years of the existence of this laboratory, even though the earlier results were better than those they describe. Included is a comprehensive review of the world literature on gastrointestinal cytology and an adequate, but somewhat selected bibliography (307 references), which should enable those interested in the subject to pursue it further. A wide range of data on the gastrointestinal tract is discussed, from the esophagus to the anus. The cell collection techniques that have been used are mentioned and are also cited in the bibliography. There are some misquotations or misinterpretations. An example of an incorrect statement occurs on page 12:


In a perfect world, managers' authority and engagement would reflect their positions in the organizational hierarchy, rising as people climbed up the ranks. When the researchers mapped the responses that more than 3,000 managers gave to a battery of questions about their sense of responsibility and their actual authority, they saw a world filled with underengaged and surprisingly powerless managers. Worse, they identified unexpected hot spots - and dangerous vacuums - of power.


The purpose of this exploratory study was to measure the music preferences of South African, junior secondary students and to find out what variables had an influence on their music preference decisions. LeBlanc's (1982) Model of the Sources of Variation in Music Preference was used as the theoretical background and guide to the choice of variables for this study. After a pilot test, 10 generic styles made up of Popular and Classical music excerpts were chosen for the listening test. Through purposive sampling, a total of 548 students were chosen from schools in three urban settings in South Africa. The sample was made up of African, Coloured, Indian and White students of both genders. Only a small percentage of musically trained students were part of this sample. From LeBlanc's model, The Listener set of variables included musical ability, musical training, sex (gender), ethnic group (race and home language), socio-economic status and age were investigated through both the quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Similarly, The Music set of variables included the physical properties of stimulus, the complexity of stimulus and the referential meaning of stimulus were also used The Environment variables that were used were, the media, the family, peers, educators and authority figures. The quantitative data was obtained through the listening test where students indicated their music preference on a 5-point rating scale. The qualitative data was acquired through in-depth interviews and behavioural observation of students during the listening test. Data from this behavioural observation procedure was abandoned due to insufficient detail of results. From the answers to four of the main research questions it was found that Reggae was the most preferred generic style of music while Western Pop, Gospel, S A Pop, Jazz, Rock, Traditional African, Western Choral, Western Classical and Indian Classical were rated in descending order. An overwhelming preference for Pop music over Classical music was indicated and this was seen as typical of the music preference of adolescents in countries abroad In a test-retest design, only three styles out of ten showed a difference in students' preference ratings over a short-term period Significant relationships were found to exist between students' preference decisions and race, home language and age. Musical training and sex were Significantly related to the preference decisions of only 3 and 4 generic styles of music, respectively. Lyrics and rhythm were indicated as most influential in students' liking of music, and fast tempo, slow tempo, instruments, melody and harmony had a decreasing influence over students music liking. Media had the most influence on students' preference ratings and peers, the second most influence. Family and educators showed lower influences over student's music preference ratings. A prescriptive discussion on how to use these results within South African education was pres~nted and a recommendation for future researchers concluded this study of generic style musIc preferences of urban South African students. Title: Generic Style Music Preferences of Urban South African Students


The aim of this article is to show that scholars assess the Infancy Gospel of Thomas disparagingly as "illogical", "un-Christian" and "banal". A more positive judgment is  that it is either "Gnostic" or "purified of Gnosticism", or merely one of many ancient tales in the form of a historical allegory about Jesus as a child.  The article argues that the author of the Greek version of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas in Codex Sinaiticus (Gr 453) describes the miracles of Jesus in a positive and negative light as if he were an adult.  This phenomenon should be understood against the background that this second-century gospel is presented not so much in the genre of a Gnostic redeemer myth, but rather as a god-child myth that has neither an Orthodox nor a Gnostic orientation. Its context is rather early Ebionite Christianity.


The Reionization Cluster Survey (RELICS) imaged 41 galaxy clusters with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), in order to detect lensed and high-redshift galaxies. Each cluster was imaged to about 26.5 AB mag in three optical and four near-infrared bands, taken in two distinct visits separated by varying time intervals. We make use of the multiple near-infrared epochs to search for transient sources in the cluster fields, with the primary motivation of building statistics for bright caustic crossing events in gravitational arcs. Over the whole sample, we do not find any significant (≳ 5σ) caustic crossing events, in line with expectations from semi-analytic calculations but in contrast to what may be naively expected from previous detections of some bright events, or from deeper transient surveys that do find high rates of such events. Nevertheless, we find six prominent supernova (SN) candidates over the 41 fields: three of them were previously reported and three are new ones reported here for the first time. Out of the six candidates, four are likely core-collapse (CC) SNe – three in cluster galaxies, and among which only one was known before, and one slightly behind the cluster at z ∼ 0.6 − 0.7. The other two are likely Ia – both of them previously known, one probably in a cluster galaxy, and one behind it at z ≃ 2. Our study supplies empirical bounds for the rate of caustic crossing events in galaxy cluster fields to typical HST magnitudes, and lays the groundwork for a future SN rate study.


The application of quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) to understand and mitigate risks associated with norovirus is increasingly common as there is a high frequency of outbreaks worldwide. A key component of QMRA is the dose–response analysis, which is the mathematical characterization of the association between dose and outcome. For Norovirus, multiple dose–response models are available that assume either a disaggregated or an aggregated intake dose. This work reviewed the dose–response models currently used in QMRA, and compared predicted risks from waterborne exposures (recreational and drinking) using all available dose–response models. The results found that the majority of published QMRAs of norovirus use the 1F1 hypergeometric dose–response model with α = 0.04, β = 0.055. This dose–response model predicted relatively high risk estimates compared to other dose–response models for doses in the range of 1–1,000 genomic equivalent copies. The difference in predicted risk among dose–response models was largest for small doses, which has implications for drinking water QMRAs where the concentration of norovirus is low. Based on the review, a set of best practices was proposed to encourage the careful consideration and reporting of important assumptions in the selection and use of dose–response models in QMRA of norovirus. Finally, in the absence of one best norovirus dose–response model, multiple models should be used to provide a range of predicted outcomes for probability of infection.


Adaptive modulation with the goal of minimizing the average transmit power is investigated. This is the dual problem of the well-known problem of maximizing the average spectral efficiency. This is desirable in power limited systems such as mobile and sensor networks. Two main cases are considered: adapting only transmit power and adapting only rate. Appropriate expressions for rate or power control policies are derived for different cases. For rate adaptation, we consider both continuous and discrete rate policies. Then, we will apply these methods to a special case of M-QAM modulation over Rayleigh fading channel. We will show that by using rate or power adaptation schemes, between 7 dB and 18 dB power gain can be saved over nonadaptive methods for typical values of spectral efficiency


This document describes HMAC, a mechanism for message authentication using cryptographic hash functions. HMAC can be used with any iterative cryptographic hash function, e.g., MD5, SHA-1, in combination with a secret shared key. The cryptographic strength of HMAC depends on the properties of the underlying hash function.


It is widely accepted and clinically anticipated that the patient implanted with a mechanical circulatory assist device (MCAD) will develop a state of chronic anemia that will last throughout the duration of MCAD support. Large-scale hemolysis mediated by the high sheer stress transmitted to the erythrocytes (RBCs) from the mechanical action of most MCAD systems is the accustomed mechanism responsible for this anemic status. MCAD patients exhibiting chronic anemia require frequent blood transfusions placing the patients at a high infectious risk to maintain an acceptable hematocrit. It is also acknowledged that the biomaterial interaction of the MCAD with the immune system precipitates a chronic inflammatory state in this patient population. Taken together, we hypothesize that inflammatory mediation of the erythropoiesis pathway at multiple sites-limiting the replacement of lysed RBCs-dictates the extent of chronic anemia in MCAD patients more than mechanical trauma to the blood. Hematological parameters were retrospectively analyzed for 78 patients implanted with a mechanical circulatory assist device for greater than 30 days at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center between the years 1996 to 2002. Analysis demonstrates that the rate of hemolysis slows after MCAD implantation, marked by a progressively decreasing plasma hemoglobin concentration. In addition, the absolute reticulocyte count, a marker of juvenile RBC production, increases and remains above maximum normal values after MCAD implantation. Furthermore, the mean cell hemoglobin concentration indicates sufficient substrate for RBC development and maturation. However, hematocrit, a conventional marker of anemia, drops and remains below minimum normal value throughout the measured time period. A state of anemia in the MCAD supported patient results initially from the effect of hemolysis associated with the mechanical action of the MCAD, then chronically persists as the result of another undetermined mechanism. Given the state of chronic inflammation in the patient population, immunological activation most likely limits the full production of RBCs to their mature state.


Azo dyes are one of the most widely used chemical class of dyes and colorants of textile industry used to color natural and synthetic fibers. Structurally molecules of azo dyes contain two adjacent nitrogen atoms between carbon atoms. About 60-70% of dyes used in the food and textile industry are of azo dyes as they provide strong and variety of colours. Apart from holding a key position in textile industry, azo dyes create several problems as pollutants to living beings and environment. Their presence in textile effluent is a major problem due to their adverse effects. Several of the degradation products of the azo dyes have been found to be mutagenic and carcinogenic. There are number of proposed remedial measures for the treatment of waste water effluents containing azo dyes generated by various industries. Bioremediation is however, proved to be very effective which includes the use of living organisms, mostly microorganisms and plants, to degrade and reduce or detoxify waste products and pollutants. In addition, bioremediation is also effective in keeping living beings and the environment safe. Use of autochthonous bacterial communities in bioremediation of azo dyes has been initiated recently in which bacteria of indigenous origin are screened and utilized. The present review article summaries about azo dyes, their harmful effects on living beings and environment and bioremediation by autochthonous bacterial communities.


This thesis examines how best Kuwait might reform its arbitration legislation to meet modern needs. Yet, the particular focus of the study is the relationship between the Kuwaiti national courts and commercial (voluntary) arbitration, with particular emphasis on how national courts can serve arbitration, and when the court should intervene in arbitration. On the one hand, the court provides valuable assistance and support to the arbitration by staying court proceedings, appointing arbitrators when required, and generally providing assistance in the conduct of the reference. Such support and assistance is very important to guarantee both the effectiveness and efficiency of the arbitral agreement, the arbitral process and the ultimate award. On the other hand, the court must have jurisdiction to intervene in the arbitral process and to scrutinise the award in order to ensure the fairness, integrity, legality and neutrality of the arbitral process. It is argued that court supervision of arbitration is the price that has to be paid for the support and assistance of the court to arbitration. This study is divided into two parts, the support given by the court to arbitration, and the control exercised by the court over arbitration. The arbitration agreement should also be closely examined in order to understand the relationship between the court and arbitration, as the arbitration agreement is the foundation stone of arbitration. These parts are divided into five chapters. Chapter one is an introductory chapter. It highlights generally the role of arbitration, the value of arbitration for foreign investors, the link between arbitration and trade and the importance of the relationship between the court and arbitration. It also introduces the arbitral system in Kuwait, the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the English Arbitration Act 1996. Chapter two is devoted to examining the most important aspects of the arbitration agreement. It is divided into four sections, namely, the definition and nature of arbitration and the arbitration agreement, the autonomous nature of the arbitration agreement, arbitrability and formality. Chapter three addresses the modes of assistance and support given by the court to arbitration. It is split into six sections as follow; the general principles of an Arbitration Act, enforcing an arbitration agreement, extending contractual time- bars, the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the conduct of the arbitral proceedings and the enforcement of the arbitral award. Chapter four considers the judicial supervision of arbitration. It deals with judicial supervision over the arbitration agreement, the conduct of the arbitral tribunal and the arbitral award, while chapter five contains the conclusion of this thesis.


This researching is based on the design and implementation of a force multiplier exoskeleton for upper limb with two degrees of freedom. This study focuses on a type of current exoskeleton that improves the motor functions of the human body by increasing the strength, speed and physical resistance of the user. The exoskeleton is based on the anthropometry of the Ecuadorian population and human biomechanics for the modeling of the exoskeleton that was based on the mathematical model of its kinematics; in addition, the design was validated with CAE software in which mechanical simulations and analysis were performed of finite element stresses to determine the safety of the system. In the same way, when using inverse kinematic analysis, the non-linear relationship between the position and orientation of the end of the exoskeleton with respect to a reference coordinate system is determined. These parameters were applied in the design of the control system which uses sensors to determine their position and orientation to execute the required movements by means of a joystick. The intention of the exoskeletal device is to be implemented in an industrial work environment, since it can lift and transport loads of up to 120 Newton. 


Mobile lipids detected using 1H-NMR in stimulated lymphocytes were correlated with cell cycle phase, expression of the interleukin-2 receptor alpha and proliferation to assess the activation status of the lymphocytes. Mobile lipid levels, IL-2R alpha expression and proliferation increased after treatment with PMA and ionomycin. PMA or ionomycin stimulation alone induced increased IL-2R alpha expression but not proliferation. PMA- but not ionomycin-stimulation generated mobile lipid. Treatment with anti-CD3 antibody did not increase IL-2R alpha expression or proliferation but did generate increased amounts of mobile lipid. The cell cycle status of thymocytes treated with anti-CD3, PMA or ionomycin alone indicated an accumulation of the cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The generation of mobile lipid was abrogated in anti-CD3 antibody-stimulated thymic lymphocytes but not in splenic lymphocytes, using a phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) inhibitor which blocked cells in the G1/S phase of the cell cycle. This suggests that the 1H-NMR-detectable mobile lipid may be generated in anti-CD3 antibody-stimulated thymic lymphocytes by the action of PC-PLC activity via the catabolism of PC, in the absence of classical signs of activation.


Trends of environmental change are influencing the behavior of many species across the world, while highly mobile species are disproportionately impacted by climate change and human modification. Here, we investigate the mechanisms behind climate change effects on the reproductive traits of highly mobile, West Australian bird taxa, the forest red‐tailed black cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii naso (FRTBC). Using a dataset of annual breeding frequency spanning 19 yr, in combination with hydrological, climatological, and remotely sensed data, we modeled the effects of environmental variation on the annual breeding frequency of FRTBCs. We found several significant relationships between annual breeding frequency of FRTBCs and environmental variation. While the model, which included a proxy for the availability of the cockatoo's primary food source and the previous season's rain, explained 49% of annual breeding frequency, there were also direct and indirect effects of heatwaves and forest productivity. Forest red‐tailed black cockatoo breeding appears to be linked to the spatiotemporal availability of its primary food sources, the fruit from the tree species, marri Corymbia calophylla and jarrah Eucalyptus marginata. However, Western Australia is experiencing significant climate change, with increases in temperature and declines in rainfall altering the phenologies of these species, while declining rainfall is affecting the vegetation structure of the region. As drought events and temperatures are anticipated to increase over the region, it is expected that the food resources during the breeding season for cockatoos will become increasingly limited in time and space, thus threatening the persistence of this iconic species. This scenario is likely to be representative of many other situations where wide‐ranging species rely on patchy food resources in a changing environment. As global biodiversity is increasingly threatened, this study presents timely evidence illustrating how climate change is affecting the persistence of a threatened, mobile species, and what the implications are for mobile species around the world.


Data warehouses of large corporations are increasing in size. Many companies have adopted a distributed data warehouse system, which may store data on many machines. Every day, millions of ETL jobs send data to those warehouses, but some jobs fail due to lack of resources and need to be restarted. Predicting ETL resource demands in distributed data warehouse systems is crucial for efficient use of resources and improved ETL pipeline tasks execution performance. The subject of resource-demand predictions for the ETL data pipeline has not yet been discussed in the literature. This paper discusses a method of predicting resource demands based on history. The linear regression function y = k x +b is used to predict memory, as well as disk usage, thus enabling improvement of accuracy of resource usage and the performance of ETL pipeline tasks execution.


We describe a policy allowing paramedics and emergency physicians to honor orders from nursing home records not to perform resuscitation or endotracheal intubation. The policy was adopted by the regional body coordinating emergency medical care and endorsed by the county medical society. The policy establishes community-wide definitions for "do not resuscitate" and "do not intubate" orders. It requires physicians to write such directives in patient's medical records and to update them every two years. It urges long-term care facilities to adopt policies to help ensure good decision-making practices in the formulation of these directives. The policy intends to partially address the unnecessary loss of patient autonomy that occurs when emergency care is administered according to routine orders.


One of the most important Central European philosophers of this century, Jan Patocka (1907-77) was a student and heir of Masaryk, Husserl, and Heidegger as well as a philosopher and historian of ideas in his own right. Patocka, who was forced to retire prematurely from Charles University in Prague for his political convictions, died of a brain hemorrhage while under Czech police interrogation for having signed the human rights manifesto Charta 77. Although many of his works are available in French and German, in this volume Erazim Kohak has translated Patocka's central philosophical texts into English for the first time. As a student and personal friend of Husserl, Patocka was keenly aware of the focal role of reason in the constitution of experienced reality. Simultaneously, as a student of Heidegger, he was no less aware of the irreducible autonomy of that reality. This double recognition led Patocka on a lifelong philosophical quest for a synthesis that would bridge modernity's split between the freedom of humans and the givenness of the world and, more broadly, between the Enlightenment and romanticism. For the philosophical reader, Patocka's perceptive writings provide the most helpful key to understanding the basic modern dialogue acted out by Husserl and Heidegger. Yet Patocka, widely respected for his writings on culture and the arts as well as for his studies of J. A. Comenius and the history of science, offers much more: a comprehensive attempt to come to terms with our intellectual heritage and our divided present. Kohak, as well as translating the writings, provides a comprehensive introduction, covering the full scope of Patocka's thought, and a complete bibliography of his writings. The result is an intellectually rich volume equally well suited as an introduction to Patocka, an advanced study in phenomenology, and a historical insight into philosophy behind the Iron Curtain since 1938."


Background Simulation and technology-enhanced tools provide students with different ways to learn, whilst improving engagement and accessibility of learning resources.1,2 The development of a Simulation Suite and installation of an Anatomage Table®3 within the Faculty of Life Sciences has provided our Pharmacy students with the opportunity to use "virtual dissection" within their new curriculum. The Anatomage Table® was used to supplement existing resources, and provide an avenue for anatomical teaching as there is no access to cadaveric dissection for Pharmacy students.4 The Anatomage Table® is a virtual dissection table housed in the Simulation Lecture Theatre, within the new Integrated Learning Centre in the Faculty of Life Sciences. The Table® allows students to study a human body in 3-dimensions and great detail, whether investigating a system or an individual organ, in healthy physiology or the pathology of disease. The use of the Anatomage Table® allows us to provide an interactive learning experience for their anatomical and physiological knowledge, Integrated with the themes of the new Pharmacy curriculum. Description This talk focuses on the integration of this new technology into the new Pharmacy curriculum, specifically: Mapping of the anatomy teaching onto the curriculum; Design, development and implementation of the new teaching resources/sessions; Student and staff feedback. Outcomes Sessions designed and implemented to reinforce "traditional" teaching; Small-group teaching for effective interactivity; New resources designed for self-directed learning; Further ideas for implementing more directed simulation, and for use of the Integrated Learning Centre. Take home messages Simulation is an ideal method of providing students with a safe, interactive environment, where they can apply and build on their anatomical knowledge through experiential learning. Care should be taken when designing the resources, ensuring that they are implemented in line with the existing curriculum themes, and that they add value for the students in terms of their learning experience. References Issenberg SB, McGaghie WC, Petrusa ER, Gordon DL, Scalese RJ. Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review. Med Teach. 2005;27(1):10–28 Cook DA, Hatala R, Brydges R, Zendejas B, Szostek JH, Wang AT, Erwin PJ, Hamstra S. Technology-enhanced simulation for health professions education: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2011;306(9):978–988 Anatomage. http://medical.anatomage.com/ McLachlan JC, Bligh J, Bradley PJ, Searle J. Teaching anatomy without cadavers. Med Educ. 2004;38:418–424


A split preorder is a preordering relation on the disjoint union of two sets, which function as source and target when one composes split pre-orders. The paper presents by generators and equations the category SplPre, whose arrows are the split preorders on the disjoint union of two finite ordinals. The same is done for the subcategory Gen of SplPre, whose arrows are equivalence relations, and for the category Rel, whose arrows are the binary relations between finite ordinals, and which has an isomor-phic image within SplPre by a map that preserves composition, but not identity arrows. It was shown previously that SplPre and Gen have an isomorphic representation in Rel in the style of Brauer. The syntactical presentation of Gen and Rel in this paper exhibits the particular Frobenius algebra structure of Gen and the particular bialge-braic structure of Rel, the latter structure being built upon the former structure in SplPre. This points towards algebraic modelling of various categories motivated by logic, and related categories, for which one can establish coherence with respect Rel and Gen. It also sheds light on the relationship between the notions of Frobenius algebra and bialgebra. The completeness of the syntactical presentations is proved via normal forms, with the normal form for SplPre and Gen being in some sense orthogonal to the composition-free, i.e. cut-free, normal form for Rel. The paper ends by showing that the assumptions for the algebraic structures of SplPre, Gen and Rel cannot be extended with new equations without falling into triviality.


Objectives : This systematic review summarizes the existing evidence on anti-tumor herbal acupuncture in South Korea. Methods : Literature searches were conducted in four databases. All studies of anti-tumor herbal acupuncture which has been published in South Korea until May, 2006 were included. Data were extracted according to pre-defined criteria by two independent reviewers. Results : We found 73 papers related to anti-tumor herbal acupuncture in South Korea. Seventy of seventy-three papers are trial research and only three papers are clinical research. Herb materials which were used in those papers are Bee-venom, Wild-ginseng, Ginseng, Houttuynia cordata Thunb, Lonicerae Flos, Carthami Tinctorii Juglans sinensis, Euphorbiae Radix, Ecliptae Herba, Crotonis Semen, Juglans sinensis, Armeniaceae Amarum, so on. From those papers, Anti-tumor herbal acupunctures are effective to tumor cell line and tumor in vivo. Clinical research papers reported that Anti-tumor herbal acupunctures are useful to improve cancer related symptoms and quality of life(QOL) of cancer patients. Conclusions : From the above results, we make sure of that anti-tumor herbal acupuncture is useful therapeutics for cancer patients. If we conceive complex-herb materials and carry out more advanced research, Anti-tumor Herbal Acupuncture is one of those major therapeutics to improve clinical symptoms and quality of life(QOL) of cancer patients.


Summary. Multiple linear regression analysis of fifteen factors showed that bearing surface design was the most significant predictor of high taper material loss in retrieved metal-on-metal hip replacements.
Introduction. Joint registries have reported high revision rates for large diameter metal-on-metal total hip replacements (MOM-THR). It has been speculated that additional cobalt-chrome debris may be released from head-stem taper junction, and that this may be implicated in clinical failure. However, the mechanisms and clinical significance of taper material loss remain largely unclear. The purpose of this study was to measure the volume of taper material loss in a large series of MOM-THR retrievals, and then by using multiple linear regression analysis identify any significant predictors of high taper material loss.
Methods. This was a retrospective study of 125 consecutively collected large diameter (> 38mm) MOM retrieval cases, and included six contemporary bearing designs and eight femoral stem designs. We recorded patient demographic data and all commonly reported clinical and design variables, including fifteen variables identified through review of the literature that had been indicated as factors likely to affect the mechanical or electrochemical properties of the head-stem taper junction (Table 1). Post-operatively we measured the volume of material lost from all 280 components. Material loss of the bearing surfaces was measured using a coordinate measuring machine and of the taper surfaces using a roundness measuring machine. We then performed univariable and multiple linear regression analyses to determine the variables significantly associated with high volumes of material loss at the taper junction.
Results. The median volume of material loss from the taper junction was 2.16mm3 (range: 0.13 - 25.19), significantly (p < 0.001) less than the median volume of material lost from the bearing surface, which was 5.79mm3 (range: 0.59 - 309.17). Full results of all univariable regression analyses are given in Table 1. Univariable analysis identified two significant predictors of high taper material loss: (1) bearing surface design (p = 0.015) and (2) edge loading of the bearing surfaces (p = 0.017). The same two variables were confirmed as the only two significant predictors in the final multiple linear regression model (Table 2), and both were independent predictors, with tests for interaction proving non-significant (p = 0.510).
Discussion/Conclusion. It has been speculated that material loss at the head-stem taper junction is implicated in the high revision rates reported for MOM-THR. However, there is little published data to support this and both the clinical significance and mechanism of material loss remains poorly understood. Using multivariable statistical analysis to analyze a large series of retrieval data, we have shown that bearing surface design and edge loading of the bearing surfaces are significant predictors for high taper material loss. This study contributes significantly to our understanding of the mechanisms of MOM hip failure, and suggests important factors that predispose patients to increased metal ion exposure.


Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-system auto-immune disease common in females of child-bearing age. The effect of pregnancy on SLE and vice versa have not been well characterised in Africans. The aim of this study is to describe the pregnancy outcomes of patients with SLE presenting to the maternity department of Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. Methods This study was designed as a retrospective review of records of pregnant women known with SLE and followed-up at the maternity section of Groote Schuur Hospital. The duration of survey was from the 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2013. Results There were 61 pregnancies reviewed in 49 patients; 80.3% of the pregnancies were in patients of mixed ancestry and the rest (19.7%) in black African patients. The mean age at presentation of the current pregnancy was 27.2±5.0 years. Mean gestational age at presentation and delivery was 13.0 ± 6.0 weeks and 28.9 ± 9.8 weeks respectively and 47.5% of the pregnancies were in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). Thirty nine (63.9%) pregnancies reached the third trimester and 11.5% of all pregnancies ended in the first trimester. There was a lower number of live births to mothers of African ancestry than to those of mixed ancestry (p=0.001). In 55.7% of the pregnancies, no flare was reported while a renal flare was reported in 23%. Pregnancies in patients with LN had higher frequencies of flares (58.6% vs 31.3%; p=0.032), pre-eclampsia (34.5% vs 12.5%; p=0.041), longer stay in hospital (12.0 ± 9.1 days vs 6.1 ± 5.1 days; p=0.004) and low birth weight babies (1.94 ± 1.02 kg vs 2.55±0.95 kg; p=0.046) than in patients without LN. Only 36 (59%) of the neonates were discharged home alive and of these 2 (5.6%) were to mothers of black African ancestry (p=0.001). Conclusion Increased lupus activity in pregnant SLE patients may account for the increased deaths of neonates born to SLE mothers. Patients of black African descent and those with LN tend to have a poorer outcome. A multi-disciplinary approach to the management of SLE patients (of child-bearing age or pregnant) needs to be further assessed for better outcomes.


In work and private life we have to make decisions every day - knowingly or unknowingly. But in some cases the process of decision making can be very complicated and difficult. For that reason, consulting more than one decider has proved useful in practice. But, are decisions made by several deciders better than decisions made by a single decider in general? In this thesis we investigate six types of selection problems with two or more experts. In each of these selection problems the basic task of the experts is to select k out of n given items with maximal values or deleting n-k out of n items with minimmal values. These experts are not perfect, but the quality of their selected items is better than those of randomly selected items. Because of not allowing any exchange of information between the acting experts, they are totally independent and observe their own preference orders only. Considering two experts A and B with equal noise levels selecting k out of n items, we focus on the question, whether the items selected by A and B are better then the items selected by A only. It shows that each double-expert-scenario with at least one action of expert B is better than letting A select all k items. Moreover, we observed interesting structures within the rankings of all these double-expert-scenarios. Considering experts with different noise levels, we are interested in the best and worst selection orders. For alternately acting experts we achieve the best results if the worst expert selects the first item, the second worst expert the second item, ..., and the best expert the k-th item. To get the worst results, the experts should act in reverse order.


The native vegetation of the mixed prairie of west-central Kansas was subjected to the worst drought on record during the period 1933 to 1939 inclusive. Data secured from the United States Weather Bureau reveal the fact that precipitation during this period of drought was far below normal . The rainfall deficit as reported by Albertson and Weaver (1942) was nearly 35 inches for this 7-year period. Other climatic factors such as wind movement, relative humidity, and temperature were equally abnormal. The extreme drought period greatly modified the vegetation of the mixed prairie and the short-grass disclimax. The basal cover in these t-wo types of vegetation before the drought ranged between 65 and 95 per cent. During the 7 years of deficient rainfall, however, this cover was reduced to nearly zero in many places and an average cover of 1 to 20 per cent was common (Weaver and Albertson, 1940). The direct causes of loss in vegetation were deficient soil moisture, overgrazing and dust carried by wind from cultivated fields and deposited upon the prairie vegetation. The reduction of plant cover resulted in large denuded areas that became extremely susceptible to wind erosion. As range depletion became more extensive the need for a sound conservation program in relation to soil erosion, range management and revegetation became evident. The present research is concerned with determining the yield of seed in pounds per acre , and the number of seedlings produced in relation to basal cover, habitat and climatic conditions .


The out-of-hours music programme provides free instrumental music lessons to primary school aged children and has a long-standing history in New Zealand, dating back to 1929. While this government-funded programme has been part of the primary school sector for more than fifty years, there is little to no research about its teaching or how it functions. Out of hours music centres are unique to New Zealand and while being attached to the primary school sector are run independently outside school hours. Many of these centres offer violin lessons and generally, their teachers also work as private violin teachers. Are violin teacher's pedagogical practices different depending on whether they teach in a centre, or in their own studios? This sociocultural study presents a critical analysis into beginner violin pedagogies and the similarities and differences between the out-of-hours music context and the private studio.


800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The notion of motivation in language learning comprises a discourse including terms such as 'goals', 'expectations', 'achievement' and 'success'. In most studies on motivation s uch concepts have been interpreted from a Western perspective. Similarly, underpinning motivation is the concept of values, which are also open to cultural interpretations. In an exploration into the motivation of female students at a federal university in the United Arab Emirates it was felt that such terms and notions needed to be explored and discussed before examining specific motivations for studying at higher education. This article reports on a small investigation into cultural interpretations of these terms, and how these interpretations influence motivation for learning at tertiary level. The results indicate that in a collectivist culture in transition such as that examined in this study, the values of tradition and achievement influence an extrinsic motivation to study at tertiary level.


Air-coupled ultrasound is a non-contact technique and has obvious advantages over water-coupled experimentation. Especially, wood materials are very sensitive to water and inspection without any coupling medium of a liquid is really needed to wood materials due to the permeation of coupling medium such as water. In this work, it is desirable to perform contact-less nondestructive evaluation to assess wood material homogeneity. A wood material was nondestructively characterized with non-contact and contact modes to measure ultrasonic velocity using automated data acquisition software. We have utilized a proposed peak-delay measurement method. Also through transmission mode was performed because of the main limitation for aircoupled transducers, which is the acoustic impedance mismatch between most materials and air. The variation of ultrasonic velocity was found to be consistent to some degree with those in infiltrated area for air-coupled and conventional scan images. Through-transmission scans for aircoupled and conventional UT were used based on both amplitude and time-of-flight images. Finally, results using a peak-delay measurement method well somewhat corresponded to ultrasonic velocities of the pulse overlap method.


Studies of amplification and/or overexpression of c-myc, HER-2/neu, and H-ras in breast cancer have shown that each is associated with a poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility that there is a preferred sequence of amplification of these oncogenes in breast cancer. The frequencies of amplification and patterns of co-amplification of c-myc, HER-2/neu, and H-ras were studied in a group of 84 breast cancers. The data suggested a preferred sequence of amplification that consisted of c-myc amplification-HER-2/neu amplification-H-ras amplification. This model was supported by loglinear analysis. In addition, the levels of amplification of JC-A, a DNA fragment newly isolated from a patient with advanced breast cancer, were studied in 61 of these cases. The data suggested that JC-A amplification occurred early. Loglinear analysis supported a model in which JC-A amplification occurred either before or after c-myc amplification but was unrelated to Her-2/neu or ras amplification.


Background Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) take several medicines and frequently manage their medicines inappropriately. In our hospital, a postdischarge pharmacist educational interventions program (PEIP) has been introduced as a part of a multidisciplinary CHF disease management program. Purpose To describe CHF patient profiles, adherence, treatment knowledge and detection of drug-related problems (DRP) through the PEIP. To analyse the relation between DRPs detected and CHF patient characteristics. Materials and methods Prospective observational study including all CHF patients attending the PEIP from May 2010 to August 2011. Data: demographics; New York Heart Association (NYHA) class; mean ejection fraction (EF); cardiovascular risk factors (CRF); self-administration of medicine (SA); self-reported adherence to diet (AD) and medicine (AM) and motivation (M) (Modified Morisky Scale); knowledge of CHF medicines: %dose (D), frequency (F) and indication (I); contraindicated drugs (CID) and DRP (DRP1: did not use a needed medicine; DRP2: used a medicine not needed; DRP3: ineffective treatment; DRP4: infradose; DRP5: overdose; DRP6: adverse reaction) and cases of acute decompensation. Statistical test: χ2 and Fischer exact test for dichotomous variables and t-test for continuous variables. Results Patients: 75. Patient profile: 54 (72%) male; age: 71.8±1.3; patients/NYHA class: I: 2 (2.7%); II: 58 (77.3%); III: 14 (18.7%); IV: 1 (1.3%), EF< 45%: 42(56%); smokers: 20(26.7%); alcohol consumption: 17(22.7%). Adherence and knowledge: SA: 41(54.7%); AD: 56(74.7%); AM: 75(100%); M: 61(81.3%); Mean knowledge of CHF medicine: DFI: 29.7%± 32.0; DF: 47.8%± 41.5; patients who were aware of CID: 12(16%). DRP: 17 patients (22.7%); DRP1: 9 (12%); DRP2: 2(2.7%); DRP3: 6 (8%); DRP4: 3 (4%); DRP5: 2 (2.7%); DRP6: 4(5.3%). Patients with decompensation: 11(14.7%). Comparison between patients with and without DRP: decompensated: 5/17(29.4%) versus 6/58(10.3%)(p=0.05); SA: 12/17(70.6%) versus 29/58(50%)(p=0.134). No other significant differences were observed between the two groups. Conclusions The PEIP evaluated the adherence and knowledge of the treatment in CHF patients and allowed us to detect DRPs in about 23% of the patients. The presence of any DRP was only correlated with acute decompensation and self-administration of drugs, suggesting the importance of an appropriate CHF treatment self-management.


Objective: Aims of this study are to compare the alexithymia scores of patients with unipolar depression (UD), bipolar affective disorder depressive episode (BAD-D) and healthy controls, to explore the effects of alexithymia scores on both severity of depression symptoms and quality of life. Methods: Case group of the study is consisted of one hundred and eighteen UD diagnosed, forty eight BAD-depression diagnosed patients, based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. Control group of the study is consisted of ninety six people who had no history of psychiatric disease. Overall, 262 people had involved in the study. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale are used for acquiring information of the patients. Results: Mean of age, gender, marital status, place for living, level of income of UD, BAD-D and control groups were similar. Statistically significant differences were observed in between UD, BAD-D and control groups, in terms of HRDS, TAS-20 and SF-36 scores. Mean group scores of UD and BAD-D group were higher than controls, in terms of all scales. However, mean points of UD and BAD-D groups were similar in terms of four scales. Patients with UD and BAD-D had positive relationship with TAS-20, BRDS and BDI; negative relationship between SF-36, significantly. In conclusion, it is found that alexithymia scores of UD and BAD-D groups were higher; quality of life scores were lower than controls. It is also observed that patients with higher alexithymia scores have more severe depressive symptoms and having a less sense of quality of life. Although our findings indicate that presence of alexithymia is important in depressive disorders, however no difference were found between alexithymia scores in patients with UD and BAD-D. Discussion: Alexithymia scores of all groups had positively related with depression, negatively related with quality of life. Our findings showed that, alexithymia is an important factor to the diagnosis of depressive disorders, however alexithymia is not a marker to make differential diagnosis of BAD-D and UD.


This paper deals with the efficiency level of cereal-dairy sheep production systems in the Mediterranean Basin. It studies them in the Protected Designation of Origin "Manchego Cheese", located in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). Previous studies have alerted to the low productivity levels in these farms, suggesting conducting an efficiency analysis. This work evaluates technological levels by means of synthetic indexes. Two different groups were defined. Technical efficiency was estimated using Data Envelopment Analysis with metafrontier models. The higher the technological level, the higher the efficiency level. Low technology farms could increase their production at least around 23% using the technologies of the high-technology group. Thus, it could be wise to apply new technologies, as new feeding techniques, and the use of troughs of cement, dungheaps, flushing and selective breeding. Increase farm size is a way to implement these technologies. Special attention to managerial functions, mainly organisation and planning, is also advisable. The government must improve the agricultural policies. These actions could increase efficiency, resiliency and sustainability of the farms. Keywords: dairy sheep production systems, data envelopment


The traditional paper chart is an expensive and inefficient method of managing the mountains of information gathered about each patient admitted to the hospital. Greater efficiency can be obtained through the use of computerized systems of documentation that facilitate the rapid processing of information and make that information immediately available to care providers. A systematic analysis of the medical record at the Medical Center at Princeton provided valuable information to determine the outcome potential of a computerized documentation system.


Recent empirical studies show that innovative firms heavily rely on debt financing. Debt overhang implies that debt hampers innovation by incumbents. A second effect of debt is that it stimulates innovation by entrants. Using a Schumpeterian growth model with endogenous R&D and financing choices, we demonstrate that this second effect always dominates, so that debt fosters innovation and growth at the aggregate level. Our analysis suggests that the relation between debt and investment is more complex than previously acknowledged and highlights potential limitations of empirical work that focuses solely on incumbents when measuring the effects of debt on investment.


Background: The social impact of leprosy is said to exacerbate existing gender inequalities, but what is the evidence for this? What are the differences and similarities in leprosy-related stigma experiences between men and women? Methods: A systematic search was done in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases, using the web-based version of Mendeley and following PRISMA guidelines. Search terms used in the search syntaxes involved synonyms for leprosy, stigma, and sex or gender. Criteria for eligibility were articles providing data on leprosy-related stigma separate for men and/or women, Dutch or English language, access to full-text copy, information based on primary data (excluding reviews), and a sample group of leprosy-affected subjects above 15 years old, living in leprosy-endemic areas. Case reports were excluded. Findings: 18 articles met the criteria and were reviewed. They demonstrated a female gender disadvantage, in the social, health and/or psychological domain. This was evidenced by a higher percentage of women experiencing stigma, a lower quality of life score for women, and a higher mental burden among women compared to controls. Only one article indicated higher perceived stigma in men compared to women, in society and in social institutions. Overall, it was found that women's inferior position results in more rejection at family and community level, more difficulties in their marital position, more social avoidance, more concealment and treatment delay, and more self-stigmatisation. All these factors and the lower female social status mutually reinforce each other. It is argued that this gender inequality is the case in other neglected tropical diseases and stigmatising conditions as well. Conclusion: The consensus that female leprosy patients are more severely affected by leprosy-related stigma than male patients is supported by 12 of the 18 reviewed articles, and by other literature. These findings highlight a need for gender sensitivity in leprosy interventions to reduce leprosy-related stigma and its impact, especially among women and girls.


Assessment, which entails the systematic evaluation of student learning, is an integral part of any educational process. Computer-based assessment (CBA) techniques provide a valuable resource to students seeking to evaluate their academic progress through instantaneous, personalized feedback. CBA reduces examination, grading and reviewing workloads and facilitates training. This paper describes a six step approach for developing CBA in higher education and evaluates student perceptions of computer-based summative assessment at the College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University. A set of questionnaires were distributed to 341 third year medical students (161 female and 180 male) immediately after examinations in order to assess the adequacy of the system for the exam program. The respondents expressed high satisfaction with the first Saudi experience of CBA for final examinations. However, about 50% of them preferred the use of a pilot CBA before its formal application; hence, many did not recommend its use for future examinations. Both male and female respondents reported that the range of advantages offered by CBA outweighed any disadvantages. Further studies are required to monitor the extended employment of CBA technology for larger classes and for a variety of subjects at universities.