Atomic force microscope (AFM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) are used to probe how ionic surfactant adsorbed layer structure affects redox processes at deep eutectic solvent (DES)/graphite interfaces. Unlike its behaviour in water, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in DESs only adsorbs as a complete layer of hemicylindrical hemimicelles far above its critical micelle concentration (CMC). Near the CMC it forms a tail-to-tail monolayer at OCP and positive potentials, and which desorbs at negative potentials. In contrast, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) adsorbs as hemimicelles at low concentrations, and remains adsorbed at both positive and negative potentials. The SDS horizontal monolayer has little overall effect on redox processes at the graphite interface, but hemimicelles form an effective and stable barrier. The stronger solvophobic interactions between the C16 versus C12 alkyl chains in the DES allow CTAB to self-assemble into a robust coating at low concentrations, and illustrate how the structure of the DES/electrode interface and electrochemical response can be engineered by controlling surfactant structure.


In this paper, direct lightning current measurements obtained on the Säntis Tower from June 1st, 2010 to May 31st, 2011 are used to evaluate the ability of the EUCLID lightning detection network to detect this type of lightning triggered by a tall tower in terms of detection efficiency, location accuracy and peak current estimates. The Säntis Tower is a 124-meter tall tower sitting on the top of the Säntis Mountain (2500 m) in Switzerland. The tower has been instrumented to measure waveforms of the lightning current and of its time derivative. In the considered period, 57 flashes were recorded at the Säntis Tower out of which 15 were of positive polarity. The data have been correlated to EUCLID data by comparing the time-stamps provided by the GPS time references. The flash detection efficiency for negative flashes is estimated to be 93%. The median value of the location error is 126 m. The EUCLID peak current estimates were on average significantly larger than the measured current. The measurements include four typical positive flashes, which were successfully detected by EUCLID. The location errors for the positive events ranged from 1 to 3 km, with a median of 959 m.


Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases the risk of mortality during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) episodes, and some reports have underlined the high incidence and severity of this infection in dialysis patients. Information on COVID-19 in nondialysis CKD patients is not available yet. Case Reports: Here we present 7 patients with grade 4–5 CKD who developed symptomatic COVID-19; they comprise 2.6% of our 267 advanced CKD patients. The estimated GFR was between 12 and 20 mL/min during the month prior to COVID-19. The 3 major symptoms were fever, cough, and dyspnea, and 5 patients showed bilateral pneumonia. Hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, ceftriaxone, and steroids were the most frequently prescribed drugs. Two patients needed noninvasive mechanical ventilation. All patients showed minimal to moderate kidney function deterioration during admission, with an eGFR decline below 5 mL/min in 6 cases. No patient required acute dialysis. Six patients were discharged alive and remained dialysis free athe t the time of reporting, and one 76-year-old patient died. Conclusions: COVID-19 affects grade 4–5 CKD patients, but prognosis may be acceptable if prompt supportive measures are applied. These findings should be confirmed in larger cohorts, and further observations will be needed to understand the full spectrum of clinical features and the optimal approach to COVID-19 in patients with advanced CKD.


This paper discusses the coding of Goals and Sources from a cross-linguistic perspective and proposes a formal-functional typology based on how animacy and direction affect their coding. The proposed typology comprises three types; Goal vs. Source-languages, animacy and direction-languages, and variable types. The paper shows that the coding of Goals and Sources is primarily conditioned by their semantic roles (by the direction of transfer/motion), but animacy makes an important contribution in some languages as well. Moreover, the paper will also show that animacy affects the coding of Goals more drastically than it affects the coding of Sources. Goals and Sources differ from each other also in that Goals are more often coded by cases, while Sources are usually more peripheral participants and they are thus often marked by adpositions. One of the proposed reasons for this is found in the goal-oriented nature of humans.


Introduction Growing evidence has shown that occupational physical activity increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Performing strenuous physical activities at work remains a daily reality for a significant part of workers in different sectors. There is thus a critical need to develop preventive measures against premature cardiovascular disease risk in workers with high physical demands. It is particularly important to elucidate structural preventive measures at the collective workplace level for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in this group. The psychosocial work stress environment offers opportunities to counter the harmful effects of physical work demands. Methods and result An overview will be presented of available studies addressing moderating effects of psychosocial stress measures in the relation between occupational physical activity and cardiovascular disease. A limited number of studies have shown that psychosocial resources – like social support at work and level of job control – may buffer the harmful effect on health from physical work demands. In addition, this presentation will focus on the potential mechanisms by which the psychosocial work environment might play a role in the effects of occupational physical activity on cardiovascular health outcomes. Discussion Research showing that occupational physical activity does not produce cardiovascular health benefits – like leisure time physical activity does – has rapidly expanded over the past decade. On the contrary, more and more evidence confirms that engaging in high levels of occupational physical activity generates increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One of the current challenges in this research field is to investigate how the psychosocial work environment may play a role in this relation. Empirical evidence on the buffering effect of psychosocial stress measures in the relation between occupational physical activity and cardiovascular outcomes is still quite scarce. More detailed investigations using objective measurements are needed.


The theory of non-resonant optical processes with intrinsic optical nonlinearity, such as harmonic generation, has been widely understood since the advent of the laser. In general, such effects involve multiphoton interactions that change the population of each input optical mode or modes. However, nonlinear effects can also arise through the input of an off-resonant laser beam that itself emerges unchanged. Many such effects have been largely overlooked. Using a quantum electrodynamical framework, this review provides detail on such optically nonlinear mechanisms that allow for a controlled increase or decrease in the intensity of linear absorption and fluorescence and in the efficiency of resonance energy transfer. The rate modifications responsible for these effects were achieved by the simultaneous application of an off-resonant beam with a moderate intensity, acting in a sense as an optical catalyst, conferring a new dimension of optical nonlinearity upon photoactive materials. It is shown that, in certain configurations, these mechanisms provide the basis for all-optical switching, i.e., the control of light-by-light, including an optical transistor scheme. The conclusion outlines other recently proposed all-optical switching systems.


Systemic and intracardiac hemodynamic parameters were examined in 29 patients with arterial hypertension by radionuclide ventriculography. No impairments were found in resting left ventricular pump function in the patients. Left ventricular diastolic function exhibited 24 and 34.5% reductions in left ventricular filling rate and its peak filling rate, respectively, as well as a 44.8% increase in peak filling rate time. To assess the potentialities of myocardial adaptation to a postoperative decrease in blood pressure, artificial hypotension test by using the antihypertensive agent naniprus was performed in 15 patients. This test identified a group of patients with pronounced left ventricular diastolic dysfunctions who required a goal-oriented preoperative preparation. It also defined the principles of this preparation.


Evidence on disability-related inequality has largely focused on employment and earnings and concludes that disabled people in the UK face some of the greatest employment disadvantages of any group (NEP 2010:117). From April 2012 a new subjective well-being (SWB) measure takes its place alongside the more traditional income-based ones as a measure of the nation's progress. Two things are noteworthy about the first publication of some broad SWB statistics: most people report high levels of SWB most of the time and there are typically minimal inter-group differences. This study is the first to consider inter-group differences in the new SWB indicators by disability We argue that, for this group, SWB is an important additional indicator of inequality and as a prompt to ask what is it about disability that generates a large SWB gap? Is it disability or the social gradient associated with disability (see Marmot 2010)? How much of the SWB deficit is explained by above average non-employment? For those in work, how much is explained by low pay, poor quality jobs and over-education?


Significant advances in cardiovascular care, developed over the past three decades, are now routine treatment for people with heart disease—for example, primary angioplasty for acute ST elevation myocardial infarction is available to over 70% of the UK population, resynchronisation and defibrillator pacing devices are options for those with advanced heart failure, and drug therapies such as statins for secondary prevention have made significant impacts in reducing cardiovascular mortality in the past 50 years. Today, patients with cardiovascular disease can expect a better quality of life and greater longevity than those treated previously. However, much of the improvement in cardiovascular outcome (almost half) is due to strenuous anti-smoking public health campaigns and parallel regulatory changes, resulting in a 69% and 50% reduction in smoking prevalence in men and women, respectively, between 1959 and 2009.1 Although there is much to celebrate in the world of cardiology, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with death rates expected to increase to 23.3 million annually by 2030, half of these deaths occurring prematurely in those under the age of 65.2 Despite advances and improvements in understanding the causes of disease, it is clear that neither treatments nor preventive strategies always reach their target populations: overuse of treatment is harmful and contributes to wastage, whereas underuse of preventive interventions means that cheaper more effective routes to better outcomes are missed. Doctors have a pivotal role in reversing this pattern of care.

Overuse is seen in all branches of medicine, not just cardiovascular care. The estimated cost of inappropriate care in the USA in 2011 was US$226 billion. Higher spending is linked to more frequent specialist consultations, diagnostic tests, and minor procedures, but this does not necessarily provide benefit. People living in areas of high Medicare spend have neither better health outcomes nor greater …


OBJECTIVES
We compared injection-related HIV risk behaviors of Puerto Rican current injection drug users (IDUs) living in New York City and in Puerto Rico who also had injected in the other location with those who had not.

METHODS
We recruited Puerto Rican IDUs in New York City (n = 561) and in Puerto Rico (n = 312). Of the former, 39% were "newcomers," having previously injected in Puerto Rico; of the latter, 14% were "returnees," having previously injected in New York. We compared risk behaviors within each sample between those with and without experience injecting in the other location.

RESULTS
Newcomers reported higher levels of risk behaviors than other New York IDUs. Newcomer status (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.62) and homelessness (adjusted OR = 2.52) were significant predictors of "shooting gallery" use; newcomer status also predicted paraphernalia sharing (adjusted OR = 1.67). Returnee status was not related to these variables.

CONCLUSIONS
Intervention services are needed that target mobile populations who are coming from an environment of high-risk behavior to one of low-risk behavior.


PURPOSE
The etiopathology of noncarious cervical lesions (NCCL) is multifactorial and still not fully understood. Tooth wear is defined as loss of dental hard tissue by a chemical or mechanical process that does not involve bacteria. This form of tooth surface loss includes attrition, abrasion, erosion, and abfraction. Noncarious cervical lesions represent loss of tooth structure at the cementoenamel junction. The purpose of this clinical study of NCCL was to analyze the etiology in relation to age and to identify the most important risk factors associated with cervical lesions, as well as patients and teeth more susceptible to NCCL with a focus on more effective treatment of this condition.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study group comprised 124 patients with NCCL, aged 15-75 years (mean = 44). A questionnaire was distributed addressing medical history--gastric disorders, dietary habits--consumption of acidic drinks, dental history, oral hygiene practices, and parafunctional habits. Clinical examination of tooth wear was performed on four tooth surfaces after air-drying. The distribution and severity of tooth wear was graded using the tooth wear index (TWI) calculated with a computer programme allowing for tooth characteristic to be determined for each decade of life. Depth of the cervical defect was measured with a periodontal probe. TWI was devised to reveal the extent of tooth surface wear irrespective of the cause. Raw scores were compared with the computer using predetermined threshold values which are set to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable pathological levels of tooth wear for each decade of life and each tooth surface. Dentition status, oral hygiene, periodontal status, gingival recession, number of teeth and their mobility, oral symptoms of parafunction and relationship to lateral and protrusive tooth contact schemes was assessed and analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed with the Stata Statistical Software: release 5. The risk of NCCL formation was estimated with the logistic regression model. Results were presented as odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and p probability.

RESULTS
Tooth wear on all surfaces of the tooth, including cervical, was related to age and the ranges were 25-60%. Older patients were more likely to exhibit NCCL. Frequency, localization, and depth of noncarious cervical lesions in a given group of teeth was related to age, although NCCL was more common in premolars (mean = 85.1%). Associations between oral hygiene, consumption of acidic drinks, status of periodontium, number of teeth, their mobility and etiology of wedge-shaped defects were revealed. A relationship between lateral excursive contact of teeth, bruxism, and formation of cervical lesions was established evidencing a correlation between occlusal and cervical pathology.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Cervical lesions were most common in premolars. 2. Early detection of dental erosion is important for prevention of serious irreversible damage to dentition. 3. An understanding of the multifactorial nature of tooth wear and risk factors of erosion, abrasion, and ab-fraction is important in the patient's diagnostic protocol and management strategy.


Biological measurements often contain systematic errors, also known as "batch effects", which may invalidate downstream analysis when not handled correctly. The problem of removing batch effects is of major importance in the biological community. Despite recent advances in this direction via deep learning techniques, most current methods may not fully preserve the true biological patterns the data contains. In this work we propose a deep learning approach for batch effect removal. The crux of our approach is learning a batch-free encoding of the data, representing its intrinsic biological properties, but not batch effects. In addition, we also encode the systematic factors through a decoding mechanism and require accurate reconstruction of the data. Altogether, this allows us to fully preserve the true biological patterns represented in the data. Experimental results are reported on data obtained from two high throughput technologies, mass cytometry and single-cell RNA-seq. Beyond good performance on training data, we also observe that our system performs well on test data obtained from new patients, which was not available at training time. Our method is easy to handle, a publicly available code can be found at https://github.com/ushaham/BatchEffectRemoval2018.


: Deletions in the argD, crp, cysG genes (73-74 min of the Escherichia coli genetic map) were obtained by heat induction of the phage lambda c1857 b221 rex::Tn5 integrated previously into the cysG gene by homologous recombination in the cysG::Tn5 mutant. Properties of the deletions obtained suggest the gene order: argD-crp-cysG.


AbstractThe 2-hour long United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is used by many universities in the United Kingdom as part of their selection process for undergraduate medical and dentistry degrees. We aimed to compare the performance of senior doctors in primary and secondary care and across a range of specialties, in a modified version of the medical school entrance examination—the mUKCAT. Lay people were also included in the study. Despite its widespread use, this is the first study that examines the performance of senior clinicians in the UKCAT.The study used a prospective cross-sectional design. It used mock questions from the UKCAT website to generate an mUKCAT that was anticipated to take 15 minutes to complete. In all, 167 doctors at consultant, general practitioner (GP), or specialty trainee grade and 26 lay people took part.The overall mean mUKCAT score of all participants was 2486 (69.1%). Of the total cohort, 126 (65.3%) scored above our designated threshold of 2368 and were deemed to have passed the mUKCAT. Excluding lay people, 113 (67.7%) of the 167 doctors scored above that threshold. Medical specialty was associated with overall score (P = 0.003), with anesthetists/intensive care physicians scoring highest (n = 20, mean score 2660) and GPs scoring lowest (n = 38, mean score 2302). Academics outperformed nonacademics (mean score of academics, n = 44 vs nonacademics, n = 123: 2750 vs 2406; P < 0.001). Those clinicians in senior management positions scored lower than those in "standard" roles (mean score of senior management, n = 31 vs standard roles, n = 136: 2332 vs 2534, mean difference 202, 95% confidence interval 67–337, P = 0.004).In the situational judgement section, there was no evidence that specialty was associated with score (P = 0.15). Academics exhibited greater situational judgement than their nonacademic colleagues (academics vs nonacademics: 69.8 vs 63.6%; P = 0.01).The majority of senior clinicians passed our mUKCAT. Academics and anesthetists were found to be the best performers, with GPs and those in senior management positions performing the worst.


In this study we investigated the role of ethylene in the formation of lateral and adventitious roots in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) using mutants isolated for altered ethylene signaling and fruit ripening. Mutations that block ethylene responses and delay ripening -Nr (Never ripe), gr (green ripe), nor (non ripening), and rin (ripening inhibitor) - have enhanced lateral root formation. In contrast, the epi (epinastic) mutant, which has elevated ethylene and constitutive ethylene signaling in some tissues, or treatment with the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC), reduces lateral root formation. Treatment with ACC inhibits the initiation and elongation of lateral roots, except in the Nr genotype. Root basipetal and acropetal indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) transport increase with ACC treatments or in the epi mutant, while in the Nr mutant there is less auxin transport than in the wild type and transport is insensitive to ACC. In contrast, the process of adventitious root formation shows the opposite response to ethylene, with ACC treatment and the epi mutation increasing adventitious root formation and the Nr mutation reducing the number of adventitious roots. In hypocotyls, ACC treatment negatively regulated IAA transport while the Nr mutant showed increased IAA transport in hypocotyls. Ethylene significantly reduces free IAA content in roots, but only subtly changes free IAA content in tomato hypocotyls. These results indicate a negative role for ethylene in lateral root formation and a positive role in adventitious root formation with modulation of auxin transport as a central point of ethylene-auxin crosstalk.


Laser oscillation was demonstrated using a 1 at.% Nd3+-doped Lu2O3 (Nd3+:Lu2O3) transparent ceramic produced by spark plasma sintering. Nd2O3, Lu2O3, and LiF commercial powders were mixed by ball milling and were sintered at 1723 K using a two-step sintering profile. After the transparent Nd3+:Lu2O3 ceramic was annealed in air, its transmittance at 1076 nm reached 81.8%, which was close to the theoretical value for Lu2O3 (82.2%). The absorption cross-section at 806 nm was 1.29 × 10−20 cm2, and the fluorescence decay time at 1076 nm was 229 μs. The laser oscillation of Nd3+:Lu2O3 ceramic for the transition from 4F3/2 to 4I11/2—specifically, at 1076.7 and 1080.8 nm—was simultaneously obtained, with a laser output of 0.21 W and slope efficiency of 14%.


The necrotrophic fungal plant pathogenBotrytis cinerea is able to infect over 200 host plants and cause severe damage to crops, both pre- and post-harvest. B. cinerea often penetrates host leaf tissue at the anticlinal cell wall and subsequently grows into and through the middle lamella, which consists mostly of low-methylesterified pectin. Effective pectin degradation thus is important for virulence of B. cinerea. Chapter 1 describes the chemical structures of plant cell wall polysaccharides, the cell wall-associated mechanisms that confer resistance against pathogens, and the microbial enzymes involved in cell wall decomposition. It then discusses the plant cell wall degrading enzymes of pathogenic fungi and illustrates with case studies the process of pectin decomposition by B. cinerea. Chapter 2 describes the molecular identification and functional characterization of a novel MAMP receptor RBPG1, a Leucine-Rich Repeat Receptor-Like Protein (LRR-RLP), that recognizes fungal endo-polygalacturonases (endo-PGs), in particular the B. cinerea protein BcPG3. Infiltration of the BcPG3 protein into Arabidopsis thaliana accession Col-0 induced a necrotic response. Heat-inactivated protein and a catalytically inactive mutant protein retained the ability to induce necrosis. An 11-amino acid peptide stretch was identified that is conserved among many fungal but not plant endo-PGs. A synthetic peptide comprising this sequence was unable to induce necrosis. A map-based cloning strategy, combined with comparative and functional genomics, led to the identification of the RBPG1 gene, which is required for responsiveness of A. thaliana to the BcPG3 protein. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that RBPG1 and BcPG3 form a complex inNicotiana benthamiana, which also involves the A. thaliana LRR-RLK SOBIR1. The sobir1 mutant plants no longer respond to BcPG3. Furthermore, overexpression of RBPG1 in the BcPG3-non-responsive accession Br-0 did not enhance resistance to a number of microbial pathogens. Chapter 3 describes the functional, biochemical and genetic characterization of the D-galacturonic acid catabolic pathway in B. cinerea. The B. cinerea genome contains two non-homologous galacturonate reductase genes (Bcgar1 and Bcgar2), a galactonate dehydratase gene (Bclgd1), and a 2-keto-3-deoxy-L-galactonate aldolase gene (Bclga1). Targeted gene replacement of all four genes in B. cinerea, either separately or in combinations, yielded mutants that were affected in growth on D-galacturonic acid, pectate, or pectin as the sole carbon source. The extent of growth reduction of the mutants on pectic substrates was positively correlated to the proportion of D-galacturonic acid present in the pectic substrate. The virulence of these mutants on different host plants is discussed in Chapter 4 . These mutants showed reduced virulence on N. benthamiana and A. thaliana leaves, but not on tomato leaves. The cell walls of N. benthamiana and A. thaliana leaves have a higher D-galacturonic acid content as compared to tomato. Additional in vitro growth assays with the knockout mutants suggested that the reduced virulence of D-galacturonic acid catabolism-deficient mutants on N. benthamiana and A. thaliana is not only due to the inability of the mutants to utilize an abundant carbon source as nutrient, but also due to the growth inhibition by catabolic intermediates. In Chapter 5 , the functional characterization of two putative D-galacturonic acid transporters is presented. Bchxt15 is highly and specifically induced by D-galacturonic acid, whereas Bchxt13 is highly expressed in the presence of all carbon sources tested except for glucose. Subcellular localization of BcHXT13-GFP and BcHXT15-GFP fusion proteins expressed under their native promoter suggests that the fusion proteins are localized in plasma membranes and intracellular vesicles. Knockout mutants in the Bchxt13 and Bchxt15 genes, respectively, were neither affected in their growth on D-galacturonic acid as the sole carbon source, nor in their virulence on tomato and N. benthamiana leaves. Chapter 6 describes the genome-wide transcriptome analysis in B. cinerea grown in media containing glucose and pectate as sole carbon sources. Genes were identified that are significantly altered in their expression during growth on these two carbon sources. Conserved sequence motifs were identified in the promoters of genes involved in pectate decomposition and D-galacturonic acid utilization. The role of these motifs in regulating D-galacturonic acid-induced expression was functionally analysed in thepromoter of the Bclga1 gene, which encodes one of the key enzymes in the D-galacturonic acid catabolic pathway. The regulation by D-galacturonic acid required the presence of sequences encompassing the GAE1 motif and a binding motif for the pH-dependent transcriptional regulator PacC. Chapter 7 provides a general discussion of the results presented in this thesis. A model of the concerted action of pectin degradation and subsequent monosaccharide consumption and co-regulation of gene expression is proposed.


The subject of the present article is a new procedure forecasting credit risk of companies in Polish economic environment. What favors the suggested approach is the fact that in Poland, unlike in western countries, DEA method has not yet been implemented in order to assess credit risk that companies face. The research described in the article has been conducted on the basis of comparison of suggested DEA method with currently used procedures, namely point method, discriminative analysis and linear regression. In order to verify and compare the efficiency of various methods of company credit risk estimation the efficiency of classification of companies has also been examined. The study has involved an analyzed sample (a teaching sample) as well as a test sample which was not taken in model building. Considering the research, it can be concluded that DEA method facilitates forecasting financial problems, including bankruptcy of companies in Polish economic conditions, and its efficiency is comparable or even greater than approaches implemented so far. The DEA methodology was found to be successful within the credit evaluation process, however it might not be used as a stand alone tool for this purpose, but it can offer valuable insight to the loan officer or the analyst facing the credit approval decision.


Realistic estimates of the earthquake induced natural period of reinforced concrete buildings lead to enhanced reliability in design. Several national building codes and researchers have suggested various empirical formulas and approximations to predict the fundamental natural period of buildings with or without infill walls. In this paper, the effect of infill walls on the natural vibration period of framed reinforced concrete buildings is investigated. Reinforced concrete framed buildings of various storey heights and different infill wall ratios are modeled to examine the effect of the infill walls on the general behavior of the structures. Linear solutions for the structures are performed and their basic vibration periods are determined. As a result of there analyses, a new relationship for the changes in the building periods according to the infill wall ratio is developed for reinforced concrete framed buildings. The predictions of the proposed relation and other correlations found in the codes of various countries are compared.


Previous studies of various sign languages have identified several classes of verbs which differ from each other on the basis of which agreement affixes can be attached to them. This paper focuses on one group of verbs, which inflect for person and number (i.e. agreement verbs, using Padden's 1990 terminology). The paper is concerned with the question of whether the agreement affixes that attach to agreement verbs correspond to the syntactic notions of subject and object, or to the thematic notions of source and goal. It is suggested that this question can be answered only by focusing on a subset of agreement verbs, namely backwards verbs. By comparing backwards verbs to regular agreement verbs, from the points of view of their morphological, syntactic and thematic behavior, the precise nature of the agreement system is revealed: agreement verbs are morphologically marked for both syntactic and thematic agreement. This is achieved by utilizing two different phonological elements available in the language: the direction of the path movement, and the facing (as distinct from orientation) of the hands. This analysis differs from previous treatments, which have disregarded facing as an independent marking device, and have therefore failed to account fully for the facts. It is argued that only an analysis which draws a distinction between these two mechanisms is descriptively adequate and explanatory.


Consumer and Shear Force Evaluation of Steaks from the M. Serratus ventralis. (December 2006) Jason Lee Bagley, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jeffrey W. Savell An in-home evaluation of steaks from the M. Serratus ventralis was conducted to determine consumer acceptance. Steaks were also evaluated by Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) evaluations. Steaks from the M. Serratus ventralis were either blade tenderized, injected with a salt, phosphate, and papain solution, or served as a control. Consumers (n = 136) were not given a specific method of cookery, but were asked to document cooking method and degree of doneness, overall-like, tenderness desirability, tenderness of cut, juiciness desirability, juiciness of cut, flavor desirability, and flavor intensity. When cooked on the grill, in the oven, or in a skillet, injected steaks received the highest (P < 0.05) ratings for tenderness. Furthermore, consumers rated injected and blade tenderized steaks higher (P<0.05) for overall like when they were cooked on the grill to a higher degree of doneness. Oven cooked steaks that were injected, rated higher (P<0.05) than blade tenderized steaks for juiciness. When cooked on the grill, juiciness ratings were also higher (P<0.05) for injected steaks compared to control steaks. Moreover, injected steaks had significantly lower (P<0.05) WBS values when compared to blade tenderized and control steaks. Overall, ratings for all steaks were adequate, confirming the M. Serratus ventralis as a potential high quality steak for use in the retail market.


Studies of foreign aid have followed work in international political economy that explore and test the microfoundations of common political economy models. Nevertheless, they remain focused on determinants of aid in the "traditional" donors: members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Non-DAC donors and potential donors (that is, the states that do not give aid) are frequently ignored. I argue that a Stolper-Samuelson model of relative endowments of skilled and unskilled labor determine preferences for aid, just as they do for trade. Aid can alter factor endowments and their productivity in the recipient country. These changes, in turn, affect the returns to factors in potential donor countries and thus influence preferences among citizens. I test this approach using the 1995 World Values Survey. I contribute to the literature on individual preferences for aid by testing this argument without respect to a country's donor status: both DAC, non-DAC, and non-donor countries are included in this sample. I then discuss "next steps" to connect individual level aid research to macro-level data.


From 1970 to 2000, many types of total knee arthroplasties were introduced, including mobile bearing knees. In order to mechanically evaluate the designs, tests were developed for factors such as strength, laxity and constraint, kinematics, and wear. A number of the testing methods became ASTM or ISO standards, which are generally required for market introduction. In the year 2000, attention was given to testing methods specifically for mobile bearing knees, because of their mechanical differences from the more widely used fixed-bearing designs. The process began with the identification of potential problems unique to the mobile bearings themselves. These problems included bearing dislocation and deformation of the bearings due to stops and pivots. Wear testing methodology was also seen as important because of the original claim that mobile bearings would have reduced wear compared with fixed bearings due to the lower contact stresses. In this paper, the theoretical framework for defining the tests was specified. Specific tests were then defined for the following potential failure modes: dislocation ('spin-out'), dynamic dissociation ('spit-out'), deformation (due to stops, etc.), and endurance and deformation (due to overhang). Existing tests for total knee arthroplasty, in general, were also cited: cyclic fatigue of tibial trays, constraint (upper bearing surface), and wear (with a recommendation for differentiating upper and lower bearing wear). In the future, it is recommended that laboratories and manufacturers use these new tests to gain experience in their use and evaluate the safety of future mobile bearing designs.


OBJECT
In this study, the authors describe their experience with a low-dose head CT protocol for a preselected neurosurgical population at a dedicated pediatric hospital (Seattle Children's Hospital), the largest number of patients with this protocol reported to date.

METHODS
All low-dose head CT scans between October 2011 and November 2012 were reviewed. Two different low-dose radiation dosages were used, at one-half or one-quarter the dose of a standard head CT scan, based on patient characteristics agreed upon by the neurosurgery and radiology departments. Patient information was also recorded, including diagnosis and indication for CT scan.

RESULTS
Six hundred twenty-four low-dose head CT procedures were performed within the 12-month study period. Although indications for the CT scans varied, the most common reason was to evaluate the ventricles and catheter placement in hydrocephalic patients with shunts (70%), followed by postoperative craniosynostosis imaging (12%). These scans provided adequate diagnostic imaging, and no patient required a follow-up full-dose CT scan as a result of poor image quality on a low-dose CT scan. Overall physician comfort and satisfaction with interpretation of the images was high. An additional 2150 full-dose head CT scans were performed during the same 12-month time period, making the total number of CT scans 2774. This value compares to 3730 full-dose head CT scans obtained during the year prior to the study when low-dose CT and rapid-sequence MRI was not a reliable option at Seattle Children's Hospital. Thus, over a 1-year period, 22% of the total CT scans were able to be converted to low-dose scans, and full-dose CT scans were able to be reduced by 42%.

CONCLUSIONS
The implementation of a low-dose head CT protocol substantially reduced the amount of ionizing radiation exposure in a preselected population of pediatric neurosurgical patients. Image quality and diagnostic utility were not significantly compromised.


This essay considers a postmodern interpretation of the concept of authenticity and a criticism of that interpretation advanced from an ethnographic perspective. The author shows how these theoretical issues arise at American Civil War re-enactments by describing the ways by which the re-enactment community establishes authentic appearances at Civil War performances. The essay then considers the commercial activity conducted at Civil War events, and concludes by speaking to the question, posed by the postmodernists, as to whether it is possible to represent the past authentically.


A Thaw in Political Relations with the West In 1986, Ronald Reagan, citing instances of terrorist activity, called Libya's de facto dictator Muammar Qaddafi "the mad dog of the Middle East." In 1999, Alastair King-Smith, charge d'affaires at the recently reopened British embassy in Libya, said that Qaddafi's government wants "to see Libya as an African gateway to Europe--a major center for tourism, a sort of international route for trade and investment." This optimism has grown out of a number of recent compromises in which Libya has capitulated to Western demands about past support of terrorist activity. These cases have convinced observers like King-Smith that the economic hardships in Libya engendered by Western sanctions have forced Qaddafi to soften his hard-line policies. Libya's recent willingness to compromise gives hope for an improved relationship between the West and Libya, but progress will only be made, as it has in recent cases, if the two sides manage to avoid threatening each other's political interests. The strained relationship between Libya and the West began in 1969, when Qaddafi seized power in a coup d'etat. In the following years, Libya supported revolutionary movements across the world, escalating its own terrorist activity against the West during the 1980s. Several smaller attacks in 1984 and 1986 preceded two airline bombings linked to Libya, one over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and one over Niger the next year, which together killed 440 people. The United Kingdom severed diplomatic relations with Libya shortly before the United States did so in 1986. In 1992, after a UN tribunal named the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing, the United Nations imposed its own sanctions against Libya, including a travel embargo. Recently, there have been signs of a detente. Following the July 1999 conviction in absentia of six Libyans, including Qaddafi's brother-in-law, for the airline bombing over Niger, the Libyan government paid US$33 million in compensation to comply with the court ruling. French President Jacques Chirac subsequently announced that Libyan cooperation "allows us to turn a dark page." The United Kingdom also re-opened diplomatic ties with Tripoli in July 1999, after Libya accepted responsibility and paid compensation for the 1984 murder of a policewoman outside the Libyan embassy in London. Another major breakthrough came in 1999, when Libya handed over the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing to stand trial in the Netherlands before Scottish judges. Following this compromise, the United Nations voted to suspend its sanctions. Libya has strong economic motivations for making conciliatory gestures toward the rest of the world. The country has lost over US$40 million in oil revenues, crippling government spending and the economy as a whole. Unemployment is at 30 percent, inflation at 25 percent, and the bloated state sector employs 700,000 of the country's five million citizens. Sanctions have also prevented Libya from procuring new oiling equipment, causing oil refineries to fall into disrepair and produce far below their potential output. Libya is hoping to raise living standards by opening its economy. The government envisions its Mediterranean beaches and the historic sites of ancient Carthage as major travel destinations. Through a tourism campaign run by the national government, Libya is making an effort to change Western perceptions of its government. …


To the Editor. —Olfactory hallucinations, most commonly recognized as aura in complex partial seizures, have been described as potential aura in migraine in a single adult. 1 We have cared for a child and her mother in whom olfactory hallucinations were strikingly similar and were but one component in their migraine phenomenon. Report of a Case. —An 8-year-old girl had had unilateral biweekly throbbing headaches for two years. The headaches were commonly preceded by a smell of gas, burning cookies, or wood chips. The aura was so prominent that the family's home was investigated for natural gas leaks several times. The headaches were most common over the right temporal region, and would begin at any time of the day or night, and were usually associated with nausea and/or vomiting. As an infant, this girl had been subject to unexplained recurrent bouts of vomiting and dizziness. Two years prior to neurologic


Order dispatching and driver repositioning (also known as fleet management) in the face of spatially and temporally varying supply and demand are central to a ride-sharing platform marketplace. Hand-crafting heuristic solutions that account for the dynamics in these resource allocation problems is difficult, and may be better handled by an end-to-end machine learning method. Previous works have explored machine learning methods to the problem from a high-level perspective, where the learning method is responsible for either repositioning the drivers or dispatching orders, and as a further simplification, the drivers are considered independent agents maximizing their own reward functions. In this paper we present a deep reinforcement learning approach for tackling the full fleet management and dispatching problems. In addition to treating the drivers as individual agents, we consider the problem from a system-centric perspective, where a central fleet management agent is responsible for decision-making for all drivers.


Perceptual decisions vary in the speed at which we make them. Evidence suggests that translating sensory information into behavioral decisions relies on distributed interacting neural populations, with decision speed hinging on power modulations of neural oscillations. Yet, the dependence of perceptual decisions on the large-scale network organization of coupled neural oscillations has remained elusive. We measured magnetoencephalography signals in human listeners who judged acoustic stimuli made of carefully titrated clouds of tone sweeps. These stimuli were used under two task contexts where the participants judged the overall pitch or direction of the tone sweeps. We traced the large-scale network dynamics of source-projected neural oscillations on a trial-by-trial basis using power envelope correlations and graph-theoretical network discovery. Under both tasks, faster decisions were predicted by higher segregation and lower integration of coupled beta-band (~16-28 Hz) oscillations. We also uncovered brain network states that promoted faster decisions and emerged from lower-order auditory and higher-order control brain areas. Specifically, decision speed in judging tone-sweep direction critically relied on nodal network configurations of anterior temporal, cingulate and middle frontal cortices. Our findings suggest that global network communication during perceptual decision-making is implemented in the human brain by large-scale couplings between beta-band neural oscillations. Author Summary The speed at which we make perceptual decisions varies. This translation of sensory information into behavioral decisions hinges on dynamic changes in neural oscillatory activity. However, the large-scale neural network embodiment supporting perceptual decision-making is unclear. Alavash et al. address this question by experimenting two auditory perceptual decision-making situations. Using graph-theoretical network discovery, they trace the large-scale network dynamics of coupled neural oscillations to uncover brain network states supporting the speed of auditory perceptual decisions. They find that higher network segregation of coupled beta-band oscillations supports faster auditory perceptual decisions over trials. Moreover, when auditory perceptual decisions are relatively difficult, the decision speed benefits from higher segregation of frontal cortical areas, but lower segregation and integration of auditory cortical areas.


After the rapid development of new classes of antineoplastic drugs, research activities have focused their efforts to the identification of predictive markers of drug activity and tolerability. Irinotecan (CPT-11) may induce severe toxicities (diarrhea, neutropenia) that limit its clinical use, but the increasing knowledge of its pharmacokinetics offered a potential approach to treatment optimization. Pharmacokinetics, the first area of investigation, has identified markers such as biliary index, the relative extent of conversion and the glucuronidation ratio, which are capable to define the risk for severe adverse effects. Because of the existence of some issues concerning the adoption of pharmacokinetic strategies to optimize CPT-11 dose and schedule, analyses of genetic polymorphisms seemed to offer a more reliable and safer approach for the identification of patients at risk than pharmacokinetics. In this view, the uridine diphosphate glucuronosil transferase isoform 1A1 (UGT1A1) was associated with significant changes in disposition of CPT-11 and its metabolites, and consequently with treatment-induced toxicities. However, the complex pharmacokinetics of irinotecan and the involvement of several enzymes other than UGT (i.e., carboxyl estherases, CYP450 isoforms), and transmembrane transporters (ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCG2, SLCO1B1) make difficult the identification of patients with an optimal sensitivity and specificity, and a large part of variability among patients still remains unexplained. Furthermore, prospective clinical studies that should demonstrate the reliability of those pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic markers are still lacking. In the present review, pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic markers will be discussed.


Internet traffic is continuously growing fast due to the rapid spread of the internet and the speed-up of the internet connection. Also, the applications provided on the internet have become more diversified. To support the QoS requirements for these internet applications, it would be better to measure the traffic volume according to the applications. Therefore, we are engaged in the application classification method, which is an offline technique for identifying the applications in units of flow. In some application classification methods, the applications of the target flows are analyzed according to their statistics on traffic metric, or features. We focus on these feature based classification methods, since the methods have the advantage that the port number and the packet payload need not be checked for classification. In the field of the machine learning, the classification methods that consist of multiple classifiers have been discussed. This is why the classification methods are improved in performance. However, the conventional feature based classification methods consists of single classifier. Also, the design of multiple classifiers has hardly been discussed. The design includes the way of combining some classifiers. Here, we introduce the fusion of multiple classifiers and propose applying the score level fusion using feature vectors to concatenate each classifier score to classify the flow into applications.


Local transformations are used in several synthesis approaches. During application of such transformations attention has to be paid to many important properties, e.g. area, speech, power consumption, and testability. In this paper we study relations between local transformations and delay fault testability. In delay testing it is not necessary to test every path in a circuit to ascertain correct timing behavior. For example, a set of robust dependent path delay faults need not be considered for testing if all paths that are not robust dependent are tested. We present sufficient conditions for local transformations which ensure that a test set for all non-robust-dependent paths in the original circuit is also a test set for all non-robust-dependent paths in the transformed circuit. These conditions are applied to some local transformations which are often used in logic synthesis and it is shown that they preserve testability. The impact of local transformations on robust dependent testability is demonstrated by experimental results performed on benchmark circuits.


The present comment reviews practices revolving around tests of statistical significance. First, the logic of statistical significance testing is presented in an accessible manner; many people who use statistical tests might not place such a premium on the tests if these individuals understood what the tests really do, and what the tests do not do. Second, the etiology of decades of misuse of statistical tests is briefly explored; we must understand the bad implicit logic of persons who misuse statistical tests if we are to have any hope of persuading them to alter their practices. Third, three revised editorial policies that would improve conventional practice are highlighted.


Glucoregulation and insulin action were examined in adult female progeny of dams fed an 8% protein diet during gestation and lactation. Progeny were provided with standard (20% protein) diet at weaning (24 days), at which time body weight was reduced by 21%. Basal (postabsorptive) endogenous glucose production (Ra) and glucose utilization by oxidative muscles was decreased in offspring that had experienced early growth retardation. The glucose disappearance rate after intravenous glucose and the glucose infusion rate required to maintain euglycemia during insulin infusion were both increased (by 35 and 24%, respectively) by early growth retardation. Insulin secretion was unimpaired. During euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, Ra was suppressed further, and there was a twofold greater increment in the stimulation of whole body glucose clearance rate in the offspring that experienced early growth retardation. Insulin-stimulated glucose utilization by peripheral tissues was unaffected.


The proposition that investors are overconfident about their valuation and trading skills can explain high observed trading volume. With biased self-attribution, the level of investor overconfidence and thus trading volume varies with past returns. We test the trading volume predictions of formal overconfidence models and find that share turnover is positively related to lagged returns for many months. The relationship holds for both market-wide and individual security turnover, which we interpret as evidence of investor overconfidence and the disposition effect, respectively. Security volume is more responsive to market return shocks than to security return shocks, and both relationships are more pronounced in small-cap stocks and in earlier periods where individual investors hold a greater proportion of shares. (JEL G11, G12) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.


In this paper, we investigate the effects of fracture scale length and aperture on seismic wave
propagation through seismic physical modelling. The physical models are constructed from a
solid background of epoxy resin with inclusions of silicon rubber chips which come with
different radius and thickness to simulate fractures with different scale length and aperture.
The chips embedded in each model are of the same radius and thickness, and the fracture
density is kept constant for all models in order to understand the effects of the scale length and
aperture. P and S waves that propagate parallel and perpendicular to the fractures are then
recorded using a pulse transmission method. The experimental results show that given the
same fracture density the changing of radius has an only minor effect on the P-wave velocity
and amplitude, and there are also little effects on the shear-wave amplitudes. The main
observable effect is an increase of the slow shear-wave velocity with radius, leading to a
decrease in shear-wave splitting with radius. The changing of fracture thickness has also little
effects on the shear-wave amplitude except an obvious decrease in the slow shear-wave
velocity, leading to an increase of shear-wave splitting with thickness. However, the increasing
in fracture thickness induced a strong attenuation in the P-wave, in particularly for P-wave
propagating perpendicular to the fracture. These findings may be useful for differentiating the
effects of thin microcracks and large open fractures.


Dear Editor,

Recently, we diagnosed a 50-year-old woman as having reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (RLH) of the uvea, and herein we report that this is the first diagnosis of this condition in a Korean patient. The patient was referred to the ophthalmology clinic with blurry vision due to choroidal mass-like lesions of the right eye for 1 month. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) of the right eye was 0.2, and best-corrected visual acuity of the right eye was 0.9 (+sph 2.25, -cyl 0.75, axis 90). Slit lamp examination showed no remarkable findings in the anterior segment including the vitreous. Fundus examination via indirect ophthalmoscopy showed multiple yellow-orange colored choroidal mass-like lesions at the posterior pole in the right eye (Fig. 1A). Fluorescence angiography showed stippled hyperfluorescence (Fig. 1B) with late phase staining (Fig. 1C). On indocyanine green angiography, retinochoroidal folds radiating from the optic nerve head were seen as hypofluorescence lines upon examination (Fig. 1D and 1E). Spectral domain optical coherence tomography showed subretinal fluid in the fovea, with undulating retina due to choroidal mass both horizontally (Fig. 1F) and vertically (Fig. 1G). Ultrasound sonography showed homogenous intraocular elevation which was acoustically empty (Fig. 1H), and lesion size was base 11.93 mm with a height of 2.71 mm. On magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and orbit, the subretinal mass showed hyperintensity on T1 (Fig. 1I) and hypointensity on T2 images (Fig. 1J). Systemic evaluation including positron emission tomography revealed no primary malignancy, and ocular management was recommended by the oncologist. RLH of the uvea was suspected, and systemic steroid treatment was started with prednisolone 50 mg per day for the first week, and then 40 mg per day for the following week. After 2 weeks, UCVA of the right eye improved to 0.8, and choroidal elevation was also improved (Fig. 1K). On ultrasonography, the size of the choroidal mass was base 8.80 mm with a height of 1.87 mm (Fig. 1L). Systemic steroid administration was continued at 30 mg per day for one week, followed by 25 mg per day for an additional week. UCVA of the right eye after one month of steroid treatment was 0.6, and the choroidal mass lesion was stable, and steroid administration was further tapered off.

Fig. 1

Fundus photography of the 50-year-old patient with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of the uvea in the right eye (A). Fluorescence angiography showed stippled hyperfluorescence (B) with late phase staining (C). On indocyanine green angiography, retinochoroidal ...

RLH of the uvea is a rare disease, and it is a diagnosis of exclusion. RLH usually affects middle-aged patients, with a mean age of 55 years [1]. RLH is generally unilateral, and has no apparent racial or sexual predilection [2]. Patients suffer from recurrent episodes of blurred vision and metamorphopsia secondary to serous fluid serous detachment of the macula [1,2,3,4,5]. Multifocal yellow-orange lesions by choroidal infiltration are a typical feature of RLH of the uvea, and sometimes pink, smooth-surfaced subconjunctival extensions are reported [1,2,3,4,5]. Ultrasonographic findings are especially helpful in the diagnosis of RLH in that they reveal diffuse choroidal infiltration with low internal reflectivity, a lack of choroidal/scleral excavation, and the presence of extrascleral peripapillary nodules [4,5]. RLH usually responds to steroid therapy promptly [4,5]. Before the diagnosis of RLH, several diseases should be considered including diffuse choroidal melanoma, metastatic carcinoma, inflammatory diseases such as multifocal choroiditis, uveal effusion, and malignant lymphoma [3]. Although it is rare, we experienced a Korean patient who was compatible with RLH, and this patient was successfully treated with systemic steroid treatment. Therefore, when diagnosing choroidal mass in the Korean population, RLH should be also considered.


Our knowledge and understanding to the heterogeneous structure and processes occurring in the Earth's subsurface is limited and uncertain. The above is true even for the upper 100m of the subsurface, yet many processes occur within it (e.g. migration of solutes, landslides, crop water uptake, etc.) are important to human activities. Geophysical methods such as electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) greatly improve our ability to observe the subsurface due to their higher sampling frequency (especially with autonomous time-lapse systems), larger spatial coverage and less invasive operation, in addition to being more cost-effective than traditional point-based sampling. However, the process of using geophysical data for inference is prone to uncertainty. There is a need to better understand the uncertainties embedded in geophysical data and how they translate themselves when they are subsequently used, for example, for hydrological or site management interpretations and decisions. This understanding is critical to maximize the extraction of information in geophysical data. To this end, in this thesis, I examine various aspects of uncertainty in ERT and develop new methods to better use geophysical data quantitatively. The core of the thesis is based on two literature reviews and three papers. In the first review, I provide a comprehensive overview of the use of geophysical data for nuclear site characterization, especially in the context of site clean-up and leak detection. In the second review, I survey the various sources of uncertainties in ERT studies and the existing work to better quantify or reduce them. I propose that the various steps in the general workflow of an ERT study can be viewed as a pipeline for information and uncertainty propagation and suggested some areas have been understudied. One of these areas is measurement errors. In paper 1, I compare various methods to estimate and model ERT measurement errors using two long-term ERT monitoring datasets. I also develop a new error model that considers the fact that each electrode is used to make multiple measurements. In paper 2, I discuss the development and implementation of a new method for geoelectrical leak detection. While existing methods rely on obtaining resistivity images through inversion of ERT data first, the approach described here estimates leak parameters directly from raw ERT data. This is achieved by constructing hydrological models from prior site information and couple it with an ERT forward model, and then update the leak (and other hydrological) parameters through data assimilation. The approach shows promising results and is applied to data from a controlled injection experiment in Yorkshire, UK. The approach complements ERT imaging and provides a new way to utilize ERT data to inform site characterisation. In addition to leak detection, ERT is also commonly used for monitoring soil moisture in the vadose zone, and increasingly so in a quantitative manner. Though both the petrophysical relationships (i.e., choices of appropriate model and parameterization) and the derived moisture content are known to be subject to uncertainty, they are commonly treated as exact and error‐free. In paper 3, I examine the impact of uncertain petrophysical relationships on the moisture content estimates derived from electrical geophysics. Data from a collection of core samples show that the variability in such relationships can be large, and they in turn can lead to high uncertainty in moisture content estimates, and they appear to be the dominating source of uncertainty in many cases. In the closing chapters, I discuss and synthesize the findings in the thesis within the larger context of enhancing the information content of geophysical data, and provide an outlook on further research in this topic.


Background Disabled children are at least four times more likely to be abused than their non-disabled peers. This abuse is likely to be of longer duration and be more severe. Despite this heightened risk, the abuse of disabled children often goes undetected and underreported. This qualitative study investigated the specific issues faced by practitioners in Scotland in supporting disabled children at risk of significant harm. Methods The aim of this study, commissioned by the Scottish Government, was to assess how public services (including social work, health care, education, police and other related services) identify and support disabled children at risk of significant harm, whether neglect or abuse. This study focused on children and young people with a wide range of impairments, including physical, sensory, cognitive and communication impairments and those with mental distress, all of whom are disabled by external barriers. The study involved four concurrent components: telephone interviews, focus groups with Child Protection Committees (CPCs), practice case studies and the development of systems and response models. Interviews were held with participants from six local authority areas and across five different services. We also held five focus groups with Child Protection Committees (61 participants in total). Inductive analysis following framework design was undertaken. Results There were positive messages about putting the child at the very heart of child protection assessment and intervention, regardless of any impairment a child may have. However, there was also concern that practice was at times parent-centred. Some participants appeared to be 'muddling through' in practice and many practitioners lacked confidence when working with disabled children. Data from this study suggests that thresholds for disabled children may be higher than for non-disabled children. Participants reported high levels of interagency working and saw this as inherently positive, although they recognised some failings and tensions. Conclusions There is widespread commitment across the child protection system to putting the child at the centre. However, getting it right for every child does not mean treating every child the same.


Acetabular osteolysis can be difficult to diagnose because patients often have no clinical symptoms even when there is substantial bone loss. Ideally, early detection would lead to early interventions. Imaging continues to be the frontline modality for the early detection of acetabular osteolysis. Although plain radiography is the current imaging modality most commonly used in routine follow-up examinations, its low sensitivity limits its usefulness. CT and MRI have proven to be better imaging modalities for the early detection of osteolysis; however, their use is limited by cost, radiation exposure, and time. Biomarkers hold promise for the early detection of osteolysis; however, their efficacy requires more rigorous research for validation. Early diagnosis and treatment of osteolysis may lead to better outcomes for patients.


OBJECTIVE:The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) coexist in many patients. We conducted complementary studies of the prevalence of FS in IBS patients and matched controls, and of IBS in FS patients and the implications of concomitant IBS and FS on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).METHODS:A study of 79 IBS patients with 72 matched controls (IBS study), and a study of 100 FS patients (FS study). All participants underwent tests of tender point sites and threshold of tenderness and answered questionnaires including personal and medical history, GI symptoms, and indices of HRQOL.RESULTS:In the IBS study, 25 of the 79 IBS patients (31.6%) and 3 of the 72 controls (4.2%) had FS (p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were found among the study groups in terms of global well-being (p < 0.001), sleep disturbance (p < 0.001), physician visits (p= 0.003), pain (p < 0.001), anxiety (p < 0.001), and global severity index (SCL-90-R) (p < 0.001), with patients with IBS and FS having the worst results. IBS patients had significantly more tender points than controls (p < 0.001). In the FS study, 32 of the 100 FS patients (32%) had IBS. Patients with both disorders had significantly worse scores for physical functioning (p= 0.030) and for all but one of a 16-item quality of life questionnaire.CONCLUSIONS:FS and IBS coexist in many patients. Patients with both disorders have worse scores on HRQOL indices than patients with either disorder alone, or controls. Physicians treating these patients should be aware of the overlap, which can affect the presentation of symptoms, health care utilization, and treatment strategies.


Glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow were increased in dogs by infusion of 2% glycine and hypertonic NaCl at rates of 8 ml/min. This procedure resulted both in an increased rate of sodium reabsorption and in increased oxygen consumption. Approximately six equivalents of sodium were transported per equivalent oxygen consumed, a ratio similar to that obtained by others when glomerular filtration rate had been reduced. These observations strongly suggest that a large part of renal oxygen consumption is related to the transport of sodium. When the rate of sodium reabsorption was reduced during mannitol diuresis, arteriovenous oxygen difference decreased, but renal oxygen consumption remained unchanged. It is suggested that the active sodium transport in the proximal tubules continues at an unchanged rate during mannitol diuresis but that net reabsorption is reduced owing to increased passive influx into the tubular lumen when the transtubular concentration gradient increases. Other interpretations are discussed.


The purpose of the current research work was to prepare a nanosuspension of the model drug lansoprazole (LSP) and investigate the effect of various stabilizers on the stability of the nanosuspension prepared using the high shear homogenization technique. In this study, polymeric stabilizers like polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30, polyvinylpyrrolidone K-90, polyvinyl alcohol, sodium alginate, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E15 and surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate and Tween 80 were explored. The prepared nanosuspensions were evaluated for particle size distribution (PSD), polydispersity index (PI), zeta potential, and drug loading. Saturation solubility and in-vitro dissolution studies of optimized nanosuspension and coarse LSP powder were also carried out to determine the extent of solubility enhancement. PSD and zeta potential revealed that all the stabilizers when used alone could not significantly reduce the particle size and stabilize the colloidal dispersion. However, a combination of polymeric stabilizer and surfactant showed significant particle size reduction with an average particle size of 428.5 nm, PI 0.363, and a stable zeta potential value of −25.8 mV. Therefore, it can be concluded that LSP nanosuspension prepared by the high shear homogenization technique can be effectively stabilized by a combination of stabilizers.


Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas and it can also
generate nitric oxide, which depletes ozone in the stratosphere. It is a
common target species of ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) near-infrared (TCCON) and
mid-infrared (NDACC) measurements. Both TCCON and NDACC networks provide a
long-term global distribution of atmospheric N2O mole fraction. In this
study, the dry-air column-averaged mole fractions of N2O (XN2O) from
the TCCON and NDACC measurements are compared against each other at seven
sites around the world (Ny-Ålesund, Sodankylä, Bremen, Izaña,
Réunion, Wollongong, Lauder) in the time period of 2007–2017. The mean
differences in XN2O between TCCON and NDACC (NDACC–TCCON) at these
sites are between −3.32 and 1.37 ppb (−1.1 %–0.5 %) with standard
deviations between 1.69 and 5.01 ppb (0.5 %–1.6 %), which are within the
uncertainties of the two datasets. The NDACC N2O retrieval has good
sensitivity throughout the troposphere and stratosphere, while the TCCON
retrieval underestimates a deviation from the a priori in the troposphere and
overestimates it in the stratosphere. As a result, the TCCON XN2O
measurement is strongly affected by its a priori profile. Trends and seasonal cycles of XN2O are derived from the TCCON and NDACC
measurements and the nearby surface flask sample measurements and compared
with the results from GEOS-Chem model a priori and a posteriori simulations.
The trends and seasonal cycles from FTIR measurement at Ny-Ålesund and
Sodankylä are strongly affected by the polar winter and the polar vortex.
The a posteriori N2O fluxes in the model are optimized based on surface
N2O measurements with a 4D-Var inversion method. The XN2O trends
from the GEOS-Chem a posteriori simulation (0.97±0.02 (1σ) ppb yr−1) are close to those from the NDACC (0.93±0.04 ppb yr−1) and
the surface flask sample measurements (0.93±0.02 ppb yr−1). The
XN2O trend from the TCCON measurements is slightly lower (0.81±0.04 ppb yr−1) due to the underestimation of the trend in TCCON a priori simulation. The
XN2O trends from the GEOS-Chem a priori simulation are about 1.25 ppb yr−1, and our study confirms that the
N2O fluxes from the a priori
inventories are overestimated. The seasonal cycles of XN2O from the
FTIR measurements and the model simulations are close to each other in the
Northern Hemisphere with a maximum in August–October and a minimum in
February–April. However, in the Southern Hemisphere, the modeled XN2O
values show a minimum in February–April while the FTIR XN2O retrievals show
different patterns. By comparing the partial column-averaged N2O from the
model and NDACC for three vertical ranges (surface–8, 8–17, 17–50 km), we
find that the discrepancy in the XN2O seasonal cycle between the model
simulations and the FTIR measurements in the Southern Hemisphere is mainly
due to their stratospheric differences.


PART I. INTRODUCTION Of Studies from The Essays (Francis Bacon) Reading from Walden (Henry David Thoreau) From The Souls of Black Folk (W.E.B. DuBois) PART II. MOTIVATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCE Introduction: All That is Solid Melts into Air From The Journal of Christopher Columbus (Christopher Columbus/Clements Markhan/Paolo Pazzo Toscanelli) A History of Ancient Mexico (Fray Bernardino de Sahagun) From The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Bernal Diaz Del Castillo) From Two Treatises of Civil Government (John Locke) 1879 Speech to Congress (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt "Chief Joseph") From Faust (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) Economy from Walden (Henry David Thoreau) The World is Too Much With Us (William Wordsworth) PART III. FOUNDATIONS OF A COMMERCIAL SOCIETY Introduction: Don't Know Much About History From The Republic (Plato) From The Politics (Aristotle) Laissez-Faire Policy from The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School (Chen Huan-Chang) From An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith) I, Pencil (Leonard E. Read) From The Fable of the Bees (Bernard Mandeville) Wealth from Essays and Journals (Ralph Waldo Emerson) The Veins of Wealth from Unto this Last and Other Essays on Art and Political Economy (John Ruskin) From Acres of Diamonds (Russell H. Conwell) From Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) Capitalist Production from Das Kapital (Karl Marx) The Social Organism from Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (R.H. Tawney) From The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Max Weber) From The Acquisitive Society (R.H. Tawney) From The Gospel of Wealth (Andrew Carnegie) Vignette: Teaching Business to Children from Safe Methods in Business (J.L. Nichols) From The Personal Relation in Industry (John D. Rockefeller, Jr.) The Social Responsibility of Business Is To Increase Its Profits (Milton Friedman) The Shuchu Kiyaku (Seika Fujiwara) PART IV. MARKETING Introduction: You Are Who You Think You Are So Be Careful About Who You Think You Are From The Art of War (Sun Tzu) From De Officiis (Cicero) Of Cheating, Which is Committed in Buying and Selling from The Summa Theologica (Thomas Aquinas) Natural Selection from The Origin of Species (Charles Darwin) From The Financier (Theodore Dreiser) Pecuniary Emulation and Conspicuous Consumption from Theory of the Leisure Class (Thorstein Veblen) From The Middleman (Albert W. Atwood) Control of Prices and People from The New Industrial State (John Kenneth Galbraith) PART V. ACCOUNTING Introduction: When You Add You Subtract The Antecedents of Double-Entry Bookkeeping from Accounting Review (A.C. Littleton) Particulars of Reckonings and Their Recording from Ancient Double Entry Bookkeeping: Luca Pacioli's Treatise (Luca Pacioli) The Eternal Storehouse of Japan (Ihara Saikaku) From The Compleat English Tradesman (Daniel Defoe) PART VI. FINANCE Introduction: Putting It All Together, Bit by Bit A Discourse of Coyned Money (Dudley North) From The Travels of Marco Polo (Marco Polo) Book VIII: The Book of Civil Laws from The Code of Maimonides (Moses ben Maimonides) Of the Sin of Usury from The Summa Theologica (Thomas Acquinas) Of Riches and Of Usury from The Essays (Francis Bacon) Of Profits from The Principle of Political Economy (John Stuart Mill) From The Works of Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin Franklin) The Tulipomania from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Charles Mackey) Confusion de Confusiones (Joseph de la Vega) The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (John Maynard Keynes) PART VII. MANAGEMENT Introduction: The Art of Getting Things Done Through People Letter to Horace Greeley (Abraham Lincoln) Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith from The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli) From The Republic (Plato) The Analects (K'ung Fu-tzu "Confucius") An Employer's View of the Labor Question from The Gospel of Wealth (Andrew Carnegie) From Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son (George Lorimer) From Lady Chatterley's Lover (D.H. Lawrence) The Human Side of Enterprise (Douglas M. McGregor) The Condition of Efficiency from The Acquisitive Society (R.H. Tawney) Functions of Organizations from The Functions of the Executive (Chester I. Barnard) PART VIII. PRODUCTION Introduction: Take This Job and Love It From The Travels of Marco Polo (Marco Polo) Manufacturers from The Works of Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton) From Manufacturers (Thomas Jefferson) That Aristocracy May Be Engendered by Manufactures from Democracy in America (Alexis de Tocqueville) Alienated Labor (Karl Marx) The Principles of Scientific Management (Frederick Taylor) From My Life and Work (Henry Ford) From The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton) Economic Foothold from Women and the Trades (Elizabeth Beardsley Butler) Man and Machine from All Men Are Brothers (Mohandas Gandhi)


Many practitioners working with clients from a strengths perspective largely rely on ad hoc interventions and employ a simplistic 'identify and use' approach. In this article, we suggest that clients can extract greater benefits when practitioners adopt more sophisticated approaches to strengths intervention. We introduce an alternative approach that we call 'strengths development'. This approach is distinguished by the view that strengths are not fixed traits across settings and time (the dominant, contemporary approach to personality). Instead, we adopt dynamic, within-person approaches from personality science to research, assessment, and interventions on strengths. Specifically, strengths are highly contextual phenomena that emerge in distinctive patterns alongside particular goals, interests, values, and situational factors. Strengths are potentials for excellence that can be cultivated through enhanced awareness, accessibility, and effort. Finally, we outline potential psychological risks associated with the strengths perspective that are worthy of explicit discussion with clients.


The presented work aims at generating a systematically annotated corpus that can support the enhancement of sentiment analysis tasks in Telugu using word-level sentiment annotations. From OntoSenseNet, we extracted 11,000 adjectives, 253 adverbs, 8483 verbs and sentiment annotation is being done by language experts. We discuss the methodology followed for the polarity annotations and validate the developed resource. This work aims at developing a benchmark corpus, as an extension to SentiWordNet, and baseline accuracy for a model where lexeme annotations are applied for sentiment predictions. The fundamental aim of this paper is to validate and study the possibility of utilizing machine learning algorithms, word-level sentiment annotations in the task of automated sentiment identification. Furthermore, accuracy is improved by annotating the bi-grams extracted from the target corpus.


In a seminal paper, Humblet decomposed the angular momentum of a classical electromagnetic field as a sum of three terms: the orbital angular momentum (OAM), the spin, and the more unfamiliar surface angular momentum. In this paper, we present the result of such decomposition for various metallic waveguides. We investigate two hollow metal waveguides with circular and rectangular cross sections, respectively. The waveguides are excited with two TE eigenmodes driven in phase quadrature. As references, two better known modes are also analyzed: a plane, a circularly polarized wave (a TEM mode), and a TE-Bessel beam, both of infinite transverse extent and with no metallic boundaries. Our analysis shows that modes carrying OAM and spin can also propagate in the metallic waveguides, even when the cross section of the waveguide is distinctly non-circular. However, the mode density of orthogonal modes carrying OAM is at most equal to that of the waveguides' eigenmodes.


The socioeconomic characteristics of construction and operating work forces at energy related facilities in the Northern Great Plains were analyzed. A primary interest was to explain differences in local hire rates and settlement patterns on the basis of characteristics of the project and site area. In general, it was found that local hire rates for operating workers can be expected to be substantially greater than for construction workers when differences in project and site characteristics are taken into account. Nonlocal construction workers were found to live in larger communities and to commute substantially greater distances to the project site than nonlocal operating workers.


Sirenomelia is a very rare lethal congenital malformation of unknown etiology. The incidence varies from 0.1 to 0.47/10.000 live births, with a male to female ratio of 3 : 1. To date only 13 cases diagnosed in the first trimester have been reported in the literature. We report the prenatal diagnosis of sirenomelia in a 27 year old woman, gravida 1, who was referred in the 12th week of gestation because of an intraabdominal cystic structure seen on ultrasound in her local clinic. The mother's family history was noncontributory; she had been treated with levonorgestrel 80 hours after sexual intercourse and with sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim 14 days after conception because of urinary tract infection. First-trimester scan at 12+4 weeks gestation revealed a malformed fetus with apus (one femur, one small tibia and no feet), intraabdominal unilocular cystic structure measuring 10.8 × 7.3 mm, two-vessel umbilical cord with allantoic cyst measuring 10 mm in diameter. Nuchal translucency measured 1.78 mm, nasal bone was present. Amniotic fluid volume was normal. Prior to termination we performed the chorionic villi vacu-sampling (normal karyotype 46,XY). Transcervical fetoscopy confirmed the ultrasound diagnosis. 3D/4D ultrasound imaging can be advantageous in the process of parental counselling. We suppose that the anomaly could have been associated with the trimethoprim exposure, because of its blocking effect on folic acid.


The purpose of this study was to examine the variation of enzyme activities between cell lines which were either adult, foetal or Simian Virus 40 (SV40) transformed and possessing a similar genetic and epigenetic background. Utilizing Kupffer cells from the Chinese hamster (Cricetulus griseus), it was possible to isolate cell lines which expressed Kupffer cell functions and survived at least 70 population doublings in culture. A large number of cell lines, each originating from a single Kupffer cell, could be isolated from a single animal. Three adult siblings provided material for the isolation of 130 primary adult Kupffer cell lines and one mid-term foetus was used to initiate 24 primary foetal Kupffer cell lines. At various stages in culture the Kupffer cell lines were assayed for the following enzyme activities: catalase, arginase, microsomal haem oxygenase, beta-glucuronidase, peroxidase, alcohol dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The following points emerged from a study of the primary Kupffer cell lines. (a) Enzyme activities rapidly declined when Kupffer cells were cultured. (b) After 26 population doublings for primary foetal and 40 population doublings for primary adult cell lines, all enzyme activities were stable until at least the stage of 70 population doublings. The enzyme activities were less in the primary foetal cell lines. (c) Each enzyme activity demonstrated highly significant variation between the cell lines. The variation was greatest between the primary adult cell lines. Both primary adult and primary foetal Kupffer cell lines were transformed by SV40 and assayed for the above enzyme activities. Transformation of 65 primary adult Kupffer cell lines by SV40 resulted in the loss of Kupffer cell functions and all enzyme activities, with the exception of beta-glucuronidase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were rapidly reduced to a fraction of those observed in primary adult Kupffer cell lines. The method of transformation resulted in the emergence of the transformed phenotype within a few cell divisions after infection with SV40. All enzyme activities in SV40-transformed Kupffer cell lines were stable for at least 90 population doublings after transformation. Accompanying the change in enzyme activities after transformation by SV40 was an increase in variation between cell lines which, prior to transformation were isolated from material with a genetically identical origin. Four SV40-transformed foetal cell lines were indistinguishable from the SV40-transformed adult cell lines. A study of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme patterns in primar adult, primary foetal and SV40-transformed Kupffer cell lines revealed that complexities may underlie a total enzyme activity. While culturing of primary adult or primary foetal Kupffer cells resulted in a decline in total LDH activity, the relative proportions of LDH A and LDH B gene products changed Primary cell lines demonstrated a decreased proportion of LDH B gene product when compared with freshly isolated Kupffer cells. After transformation of adult or foetal Kupffer cells by SV40 the polypeptide coded by the LDH B was not detected. The variation in enzyme activities between primary Kupffer cell lines of similar or identical origin is interpreted to be an example of epigenetic variation arising as a result of each Kupffer cell's individual response to the culture environment. The increase in enzyme activity variation between cell lines after transformation by SV40 is suggested to be the result of a change in the differentiated state. The phenotypes of primary adult, primary foetal and SV40-transformed Kupffer cell lines are discussed in terms of the differentiated state and in the light of the theory of foetalism in neoplasia. The heterogeneity in enzyme activities was not paralleled by karyo-typic variation. Although there was a gradual transition towards heteroploidy, all cell lines, whether primary or transformed, possessed a diploid karyotype during the stages when variation in enzyme activities was apparent The normal karyotype possessed by cells which demonstrated properties of transformation suggests that transformation by SV40 is not the result of karyotypic change. Analysis of the data revealed quantitative correlations between severa enzyme activities. Primary adult, primary foetal and SV40-transformed cell lines demonstrated differences in the pattern of the quantitative correlations. The correlations provide evidence for the existence of a mechanism which regulates the activity of two or more unrelated enzymes. Possible metabolic and regulatory bases for the enzyme activity correlations are considered.


During the last years new technologies occurred - some will help agriculture a lot. Main tasks to make them profitable for sustainable resource management is technology assessment based on detailed know how of a country's situation and needs, further technology integration concepts including an ICT infrastructure that integrates next to Ministries or public bodies also large private entities within agriculture and forestry. Ortho-images or networks of weather-stations are part of the concept and must be access-able by WMS (Web Map Services) from all parties, if wished against an access fee. Beside technology and the ICT backbone one has to understand all stakeholders and correlations of the information flow within the agro-(forest-, environment- natural-risk-) -processes with all tasks. Business-models have to be set up integrating different stakeholders allowing IT-supported cooperation. Benefits must be identified and valuated to know financial commitment(s), guidance is recommended by local and international experts of all sectors.


Students' academic literacies in higher education form a topic of current interest in education policy and research in The Netherlands, as in many other countries. It is therefore remarkable that in the last decades hardly any studies have been published on this topic in Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing, even more so since the (sub)discipline Taalbeheersing (Discourse Studies) was founded around fifty years ago in response to concerns about writing skills of students entering higher education. At present, such concerns have resurfaced on the higher education policy agenda in the Netherlands and Flanders, and the call for a sound scientific foundation of academic literacy teaching and learning practices is stronger than ever. Academic literacies can be studied as a process and as a result, as a condition and as an outcome, and from a social as well as from an individual perspective. The four articles in this special issue of Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing address students' academic literacies from a variety of perspectives, and focus on issues pertaining to the competencies of students entering and leaving institutions of higher education.


The purpose of this study was to compare coronary collateral structure and function in pigs with those in dogs and to analyze the distribution of collateral blood flow across the lateral and transmural border zones in the pig. After acute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in 26 anesthetized open-chest pigs, minimal collateral blood flow was indicated by retrograde flow (0.2 +/- 0.1 ml/min) and microsphere-myocardial blood flow (0.005 +/- 0.001 ml X min-1g-1). Postmortem injection of the distal LAD followed by clearance of the heart demonstrated few tiny collateral structures and negligible collateral filling of other arteries. In contrast to dogs, pigs showed no measurable gradient of collateral blood flow across the transmural border zone, and pigs showed no change in collateral blood flow or its transmural distribution during retrograde drainage of collateral blood flow or elevated left ventricular filling pressures. Pigs showed higher myocardial blood flow in the lateral border than in the center of the ischemic zone. As in the dog, however, this gradient of blood flow across the lateral border zone was accounted for by overlap between occluded LAD branches and unoccluded coronary arterial branches rather than by preferential collateral perfusion of the lateral border of the ischemic zone. We conclude that the pig has a homogeneous distribution of collateral blood flow across the transmural and lateral border zones after acute coronary occlusion but that the minimal collateral circulation limits the usefulness of the pig as a model of ischemic heart disease.


Relationships between abilities and performance in visual search were investigated for young and old adults. Ss received extensive practice on category search task. A consistent version allowed development of an automatic attention response; a varied version allowed general performance improvements. Transfer conditions assessed learning. General ability, induction, semantic knowledge, working memory, perceptual speed, semantic memory access, and psychomotor speed were assessed. LISREL models revealed that general ability and semantic memory access predicted initial performance for both ages. Improvements on both the consistent and varied tasks were predicted by perceptual speed. Ability-performance relationships indexed performance changes but were not predictive of learning (i.e., automatic process vs. general efficiency). Qualitative differences in the ability-transfer models suggest age differences in learning.


Abstract An improved version of a combustion-desulfurization model for fluidized bed combustors burning high ash and sulfur content low quality lignite in its own ash with the addition of limestone is presented. The desulfurization model considers sulfur retention by both limestone and ash and is based on first order catalyst deactivation where the kinetics of desulfurization is described by two rate constants; one for the initial surface reaction, the other for the rate of pore plugging or deactivation. The accuracy of the complete model with experimentally determined deactivation rate constants was tested by applying it to a 0.3 MWt AFBC test rig and comparing its predictions with measurements. Comparisons show that (he model produces reasonably accurate predictions of sulfur retention provided that the rate constants are determined experimentally under the fluidized bed combustor operating conditions.


This paper investigates the suitability of an ART-based neural network for unsupervised segmentation of multi-echo MR images. The ART2A network was used to segment standard dual-echo MR images. Two problems were identified with the basic ART2A: one, the network was hardly convergent; and two, the categorization depended on the order of presentation of the patterns. In order to solve these two problems, a dynamic learning parameter and a random pattern presentation method were introduced. Results using a number of actual dual-echo MR images with the modified ART2A network show that ART-based networks can be used for segmentation of multi-echo MR images.


Recent economic research documents a range of adverse welfare consequences from extreme heat stress, including health, labor productivity, and direct consumption disutility impacts. Without rapid adaptation, climate change will increase the burden of heat stress experienced by much of the world's population in the coming decades. What will the distributional consequences of this added heat stress be, and how might this affect optimal climate policy? Using detailed survey data of household wealth in 690,745 households across 52 countries, this paper finds evidence suggesting that the welfare impacts of added heat stress caused by climate change may be regressive. Specifically, the analysis finds that poorer households tend to be located in hotter locations across and within countries, and poorer individuals are more likely to work in occupations with greater exposure to the elements not only across but also within countries. These findings—combined with the fact that current social cost of carbon estimates do not include climate damages arising from the productivity impacts of heat stress—suggest that optimal climate policy, especially when allowing for declining marginal utility of consumption, involves more stringent abatement than currently suggested, and that redistributive adaptation policies may be required to reduce the mechanical inequities in welfare impacts arising from climate change.


Silver doped ZnO films have been grown on sapphire (0001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Hall measurements indicate that p-type conductivity is realized for the films deposited at 500 °C and 750 °C. Transmission electron microscopy images show more obvious and higher density of stacking faults (SFs) present in the p-type ZnO films as compared to the n-type films. Top view and cross sectional photoluminescence of the n- and p-type samples revealed free excitonic emission from both films. A peak at 3.314 eV, attributed to SF emission, has been observed only for the n-type sample, while a weak neutral acceptor peak observed at 3.359 eV in the p-type film. The SF emission in the n-type sample suggests localization of acceptor impurities nearby the SFs, while lack of SF emission for the p-type sample indicates the activation of the Ag acceptors in ZnO.


Mobile robots operating in agricultural environments have been a significant subject for researchers. The rapid advancement in communication, sensors and computing technologies has provided important progress in the field of agricultural autonomous robot guidance systems. Automated agricultural robots save labour costs, prevent people from performing risky operations, and provide the farmer with up-to-date and precise information to assist management decisions. The research on mobile robot navigation systems in agricultural environments consists of designing suitable systems for sensing, mapping, localisation, path planning, and obstacle avoidance. The navigation algorithm must use sensory information to determine a suitable trajectory, make a decision, and move correctly within its environment without collision. In this paper, an overview of navigation systems for autonomous agricultural vehicles is presented and discussed. The key elements are navigational sensors, computational techniques, and navigation control strategies. The selection, coordination, and combination of the optimal sensors to provide the basic information for mobile robot navigation are critical processes. Powerful algorithms are used for feature extraction, data processing and fusion. For autonomous navigation, steering controllers provide an appropriate steering action to automatically drive vehicles. Navigation of mobile robots in outdoor environments such as agricultural applications is still an open problem. The design of efficient and robust sensing and control systems for agricultural mobile robots is required to overcome the difficulties due to the weather conditions, dynamic environments, unexpected obstacles, terrain nature variations and vegetation.


The impact of four amounts of olive mill wastewaters (OMW) ranged from 50 to 150m3/ha used as fertilizer on an alkaline soil qualitywas compared to water treatment based on measurement of soil pH, electrical conductivity and polyphenol content, using coriander as an indicator plant. The results revealed that soil pH and electrical conductivity changed slightly under all treatmentswith a maximal values under 150 m3/ha ofOMWwhich caused a decrease of soil pH by 0.3 points and increased soil electrical conductivity by 50 µS/cm during the first week of its application. However, soil polyphenols content increased widely under different treatments. Its initial value of 0.175 mg/g doubled under the treatment 100 m3/ha to reach three fold value under 150 m3/ha. The physiological parameters of the coriander improved under the treatments 50, 75 and 100 m3/ha and showed a certain stress under 150 m3/ha. Up to these results, OMWmay be used as fertilizer up to 100m3/ha without adversely affecting the alkaline soil quality in the arable layer. Beyond this amount, a particular attention should be paid, to soil polyphenols as far as their phytotoxicity is concerned, since a high concentration of polyphenols may exert an allelechemical effect.