Six hundred twenty six pigs (initially 9 lb and 13.2 d of age) were used in a 28-d growth trial to determine the effect of spraydried porcine (SDPP), spray-dried bovine (SDBP), and low-ash porcine plasma (LAPP) on growth performance in the early-weaned pig. Pigs were allotted by weight to one of 10 dietary treatments with 8 to 10 pigs per pen and 7 replicate pens per treatment. The control diet was cornsoybean meal-based and contained 14.44% dried skim milk with no plasma added. Each plasma source (2, 4, and 6%) replaced dried skim milk in the control diet. The LAPP is a similar product to SDPP with the ash component removed. Therefore, the protein content is higher, and slightly lower inclusion rates were required at 1.79, 3.59, and 5.38%. Phase I diets were formulated to contain 1.5% lysine, .42% methionine, .9% Ca, and .8% P. SBM was held constant throughout all the diets at 16.31% with 25% dried whey and 4% fish meal added. On d 14 postweaning, all pigs were switched to a common Phase II milo-SBM based diet. Phase II diets were formulated to 1.25% lysine, .35% methionine, .9% Ca, and .8% P; contained 2.5% spray-dried blood meal and 10% dried whey; and were fed in meal form. Adding any of the plasma sources to the diet from d 0 to 7 after weaning resulted in a linear improvement in average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFl). Pigs fed diets containing plasma also consumed more feed and were more efficient in feed conversion (F/G) compared to pigs fed the control diet. Adding plasma to the diet also improved ADG and ADFI from d 0 to 14 postweaning. No interactions occurred between level and source; however, pigs fed diets containing SDPP or LAPP had slightly higher ADFI than pigs fed diets containing SDBP d 0 to 14. Feeding a common Phase II diet from d 14 to 28 postweaning had no effect on growth performance. Overall, the pigs fed the plasma sources had greater ADG and ADFI than pigs fed the control diet. These data confirm that feeding spray-dried plasma protein improves growth performance from d 0 to 14 postweaning.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 17, 1994


OBJECT
Most thoracolumbar fractures have a good healing outcome with adequate treatment. However, posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis can occur in a proportion of thoracolumbar fractures after inappropriate treatment, osteoporosis, or osteonecrosis of the vertebral body. There are several surgical options to correct posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis, including anterior, posterior, and combined approaches, which are associated with varying degrees of success. The aim of this study was to assess the use of a modified closing wedge osteotomy for the treatment of posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis and to evaluate the radiographic findings and clinical outcomes of patients treated using this technique.

METHODS
Thirteen consecutive patients with symptomatic posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis were treated using a modified closing wedge osteotomy. The mean patient age was 62 years. The kyphosis apex ranged from T-10 to L-2. The sagittal alignment, kyphotic angle, neurological function, visual analog scale for back pain, and Oswestry Disability Index were evaluated before surgery and at follow-up. RESULTS The mean preoperative regional angle was 27.4°, and the mean correction angle was 29.6°. Sagittal alignment improved with a mean correction rate of 58.3%. The mean surgical time was 275 minutes, and the mean intraoperative blood loss was 1585 ml. The intraoperative complications included 2 dural tears, 1 nerve root injury, and 1 superficial wound infection. The mean visual analog scale score for back pain improved from 6. 6 to 2, and the Oswestry Disability Index score decreased from 55.4 to 22.6 at the last follow-up. All patients achieved bony anterior fusion based on the presence of trabecular bone bridging at the osteotomy site.

CONCLUTIONS
The modified posterior closing wedge osteotomy technique achieves satisfactory kyphosis correction with direct visualization of the circumferentially decompressed spinal cord, as well as good fusion with less blood loss and fewer complications. It is an alternative method for treating patients with posttraumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis.


Neural representations of odors are subject to computations that involve sequentially convergent and divergent anatomical connections across different areas of the brains in both mammals and insects. Furthermore, in both mammals and insects higher order brain areas are connected via feedback connections. In order to understand the transformations and interactions that this connectivity make possible, an ideal experiment would compare neural responses across different, sequential processing levels. Here we present results of recordings from a first order olfactory neuropile – the antennal lobe (AL) – and a higher order multimodal integration and learning center – the mushroom body (MB) – in the honey bee brain. We recorded projection neurons (PN) of the AL and extrinsic neurons (EN) of the MB, which provide the outputs from the two neuropils. Recordings at each level were made in different animals in some experiments and simultaneously in the same animal in others. We presented two odors and their mixture to compare odor response dynamics as well as classification speed and accuracy at each neural processing level. Surprisingly, the EN ensemble significantly starts separating odor stimuli rapidly and before the PN ensemble has reached significant separation. Furthermore the EN ensemble at the MB output reaches a maximum separation of odors between 84–120 ms after odor onset, which is 26 to 133 ms faster than the maximum separation at the AL output ensemble two synapses earlier in processing. It is likely that a subset of very fast PNs, which respond before the ENs, may initiate the rapid EN ensemble response. We suggest therefore that the timing of the EN ensemble activity would allow retroactive integration of its signal into the ongoing computation of the AL via centrifugal feedback.


: Passive" and "active" stabilizers give the thumb metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint the necessary palmar stability. It is possible to temporarily stabilize the joint by means of the flexor muscles in cases where there is an injury to the palmar ligaments due to hyperextension trauma. However, sudden severe or prolonged strain may lead to palmar instability and/or stress-related pain. In an experimental study, the MP joints of 40 specimen thumbs were hyperextended to varying degrees. The extent of tissue damage was evaluated during dissection. Between 1984 and 1992, in 72 cases with acute hyperextension injury of the thumb MP joint, we X-rayed the thumb under stress during primary examination. Habitual instability was excluded by comparing X-ray films under stress of the opposite uninjured thumb. The treatment of the lesion depends on the degree of instability documented by the X-ray films. Experimentally, we found only partial lesions or ruptures with only slight dislocation of the ligament ends in cases where the MP joint was hyperextended up to 30 degrees. In cases with hyperextension of 60 degrees or more, there was usually a complete rupture of the ligaments or a fracture of the sesamoid bones with dislocation of the ligament ends as well as partial rupture of the thenar muscles. This injury pattern was also observed in clinical cases during surgery. Partial lesions of the palmar ligaments of the thumb MP joint can be treated conservatively with good results. In cases of complete palmar instability due to trauma, we saw better results after surgical reconstruction of the ligaments particularly in manual workers.


Most teleoperation tasks involve controlling as well as monitoring from a remote location. This requires the eyes of the operator to be engaged in the monitoring task and the hands in the controlling task for the whole duration of the operation. Since the eyes are involved in the monitoring task anyway, inputs from their gaze can be used to aid in the controlling task to free the hands of the operator from this task. However, the challenge here lies in distinguishing between the inputs that should be used for monitoring and those that should be used for controlling. To address this challenge, this paper presents a novel means of developing a teleoperation interface through eye gaze. The interface developed in this work, which is called the TeleGaze interface for short, enables the operator to monitor as well as control a mobile robot remotely through the use of the eyes only. The TeleGaze interface is developed out of two different designs based on user satisfaction. A task oriented evaluation for the TeleGaze interface is conducted in comparison with other interaction modalities. The evaluation shows promising results towards TeleGaze as an aid in human-robot interaction


Many workers assume that tessera terrain, marked by multiple tectonic lineaments and exposed in crustal plateaus, comprises a global onionskin on Venus. Because tesserae are exposed mostly within crustal plateaus, which exhibit thickened crust, issues of tessera distribution and the mechanism of crustal plateau formation (e.g., mantle downwelling or upwelling) are intimately related. A review of Magellan data indicates that tessera terrain does not form a global onionskin on Venus, although ribbon-bearing tesserae reflect an ancient time of a globally thin lithosphere. Individual tracts of ribbon-bearing tessera terrain formed diachronously, punctuating time and space as individual deep mantle plumes imparted a distinctive rheological and structural signature on ancient thin crust across spatially discrete 1600-2500 km diameter regions above hot mantle plumes. Plume-related magmatic accretion led to crustal thickening at these locations, resulting in crustal plateaus. Crustal plateau surfaces record widespread early extension (ribbon structures) and local, minor perpendicular contraction of a thin, competent layer above a ductile substrate. Within individual evolving crustal plateaus the thickness of the competent layer increased with time, and broad, gentle folds formed along plateau margins and short, variably oriented folds formed in the interior; late complex graben cut folds. Local lava flows accompanied all stages of surface deformation. In contrast to these conclusions, Gilmore et al. ( 1998) summarized post-Magellan arguments in favor of downwelling models for crustal plateau formation. In light of this discrepancy, we reexamine the regions investigated by these workers and evaluate their arguments against upwelling models. We show that Gilmore et al. ( 1998) did not differentiate ribbons from graben and therefore their proposed temporal relations are invalid; they disregarded shear fracture ribbons, thus invalidating their criticism of ribbon models; they misunderstood previous radargrammetric work that constrains ribbon geometry; and they relied solely on geometrical relations to constrain timing, violating kinematic analysis methodology. Their stratigraphic constraints on ribbon-fold temporal relations are invalid because they (1) misinterpreted implications of map relations; (2) did not isolate radar artifacts due to local radar slope effects from proposed material units; (3) chose a region for analysis that clearly shows the effects of younger tectonism and volcanism; and (4) presented map relations that cannot be reproduced. Their attempts to discount upwelling models of crustal plateau formation fail because they combine fundamentally different pre-Magellan and post-Magellan upwelling models. These misconceptions about the upwelling model and processes responsible for global warming (Phillips and Hansen, 1998), lead to serious errors in Gilmore et al.'s (1998) criticism. Furthermore, we show that the data of Gilmore et al. ( 1998) are actually more consistent with upwelling than downwelling models, consistent with arguments that tessera terrain is not global in spatial distribution.


This paper reports a microfluidic device that integrates electrical and optical features required for field-portable water-chemistry testing by discharge spectroscopy. The device utilizes a dc-powered spark between a metal anode and a liquid cathode as the spectral source. Impurities are sputtered from the water sample into the microdischarge and characteristic atomic transitions due to them are detected optically. A blazed grating is used as the dispersion element. The device is fabricated from stacked glass layers, and is assembled and used with a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensing element to distinguish atomic spectra. Two structural variations and optical arrangements are reported. Detection of Cr and other chemicals in water samples has been successfully demonstrated with both devices. The angular resolution in terms of angular change per unit variation in wavelength (/spl part//spl theta///spl part//spl lambda/) is experimentally determined to be approximately 0.10 rad//spl mu/m, as opposed to the idealized theoretical estimate of 0.22 rad//spl mu/m. This is because the microdischarge is uncollimated and not a point source. However, this is sufficient angular resolution to allow critical spectra of metal impurities to be distinguished.


Studies of acoustic emissions (AE) of rotating machine elements is often performed under a constant speed. There are few investigations on speed and contact time dependency of acoustic emission signals, even though some investigations have reported difficulties at elevated rotational speeds. Simplified experiments are, therefore, presented in this article to increase the understanding of the time dependency of acoustic emission signals. Hertzian impacts and tensile tests are used to study contact time, the time duration of an event and offset time, the time between events and accordingly the event frequency. The results of these model experiments indicate an indirect quadratic proportionality of acoustic emission amplitudes and contact time ( u max ∝ 1 / ( t c 2 ) ), as well as a proportional relationship between the root mean square and event frequency ( RMS ∝ f event ∝ 1 / t offset ). The relationship between contact time and the root mean square of acoustic emission signals is strongly dependent on the damping of the system.


Data on the use of endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) in routine cardiological practice are scant, but anecdotal evidence suggests that its frequency varies substantially between centres. The reasons for this variation are unclear, but they almost certainly include differential access to cardiological and pathological expertise, and a lack of consensus on the risk–benefit ratio of EMB in particular clinical situations. A distinguished panel working under the auspices of the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has recently produced a scientific statement on the indications for EMB.1 Refreshingly, the document's recommendations are based, where possible, on an analysis of clinical scenarios in which EMB might be useful rather than lists of diseases that can theoretically be detected in myocardial tissue samples. The fact that the panel strongly recommended EMB in only two relatively uncommon clinical situations illustrates the urgent need for more data on the clinical utility of EMB in the diagnosis of heart muscle disease.

EMB is performed using specifically designed bioptomes and sheaths, via the internal jugular or femoral vein. In some centres, it is routine to perform left ventricular biopsy via the femoral artery, but there are no prospective data on the comparative risks or diagnostic yield of each approach. Similarly, echocardiography is used by some operators to guide placement of the bioptome, but the advantage of this over standard fluoroscopic guidance is unproven. The risks of …


AT THE meeting of the Mid-Western Society for Pediatric Research in 1962, I reported on nine patients with remarkably similar facies with a previously unrecognized syndrome of valvular pulmonary stenosis and multiple extra cardiac anomalies.1Review of the literature at that time showed that several males resembling these patients had been reported under several different headings, most commonly under the designation of, "the male Turner syndrome."2-5There were no definite reports of similarly affected female patients. In that report I spoke in terms of a "new syndrome" in order to stress that this condition could affect not only males but also females, and that it was also clinically and etiologically different from the true Turner6syndrome. Since that time, a further eight patients, five males and three females, with valvular pulmonary stenosis and similar associated lesions have been studied. An additional two patients, one of each sex,


Collective structural vibrational modes of proteins lay in the terahertz frequency range. We discuss several measurements exploring picosecond dynamics in hen egg white lysozyme suggesting that terahertz time domain spectroscopy can provide unique insight to critical protein dynamics. We find a rapid increase in terahertz absorbance and index at both a critical hydration point and separately a critical temperature. Specifically, we discuss the hydration and temperature transitions and suggest that these are possibly linked. We discuss the possibility that the terahertz response is mainly determined by relaxational response of side chains within the protein and the energy barriers for these motions are hydration dependent. Finally we show that simple normal mode calculations do not reproduce the strong hydration dependence, further suggesting that resonant vibrational response is not sufficient to describe the terahertz dielectric response.


This article examines the first appearances of the isoquant, a concept that is central to production and supply theory. It appears to have been discovered independently by Bowley, Frisch, Cobb, and Lerner, in that order. Frisch coined the term isoquant. It is possible but not likely that Frisch took the concept from Bowley, and Lerner may have taken it from R. G. D. Allen. The article also discusses why the discovery of the isoquant was not made until more than forty years after that of the indifference curve, when to a modern analyst the isoquant appears isomorphic to the indifference curve and could have been copied straight from utility theory.


OX40‐OX40L interactions and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) are important in the induction and maintenance of Th2 responses in allergic disease, whereas T regulatory cells (Treg) have been shown to suppress pro‐inflammatory Th2 responses. Both OX40L and TSLP have been implicated in the negative regulation of Treg. The effect of anti‐asthma therapies on Treg is not well known. Our aim was to assess the effects of two monoclonal antibody therapies (anti‐OX40L and anti‐TSLP) on Treg frequency using a human model of allergic asthma. We hypothesized that the anti‐inflammatory effects of these therapies would result in an increase in circulating Treg (CD4+CD25+CD127lowFoxp3+ cells) frequency. We measured Treg using flow cytometry, and our results showed that neither allergen challenge nor monoclonal antibody therapy altered circulating Treg frequency. These data highlight the need for assessment of airway Treg and for a more complete understanding of Treg biology so as to develop pharmacologics/biologics that modulate Treg for asthma therapy.


Disjunctive constraints are widely used to ensure that the time intervals over which two activities require the same resource do not overlap in time Two types of extensions of disjunctive constraints are proposed extensions allowing the representation of more complex constraints including activities that may or may not require the resource state resources to represent activities which may use resources only under speci c conditions and a mechanism to represent setup times between activities extensions of the disjunctive constraint propagation algorithm to deduce more precise time bounds These extensions are integrated in ILOG SCHEDULE a C library for constraint based scheduling


Blockchains are distributed systems that facilitate the interaction of autonomous entities with limited mutual trust. Many of them support transactional applications known as smart contracts, which access and modify the shared world state. Permissionless blockchains are completely decentralized and do not require mutual trust between interacting peers, but at the expense of having low performance and limited data confidentiality capabilities. On the other hand, permissioned blockchains solve these issues, but sacrifice complete decentralization and involve more trust assumptions. Therefore, there is no single blockchain system suitable for all use-cases. However, this becomes a serious integration challenge for enterprises that need to interact with multiple permissioned and permissionless blockchains in the same context. To facilitate this, we propose an approach that enables composing smart contract functions of various permissioned and permissionless blockchain systems by providing the ability to invoke them directly from business process models using a new task type. To keep this task blockchain-agnostic, we designed a generic technique to identify smart contract functions, as well as a generic metric to describe the degree-of-confidence in the finality of blockchain transactions. Thereby, the proposed approach extends our previous work, BlockME, which provides business modeling extensions only suitable for interacting with permissionless blockchains. To validate the practical feasibility of our approach, we provide a detailed system architecture and a prototypical implementation supporting multiple blockchains.


Objective: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a useful tool for population studies, identification of humans and forensic DNA studies. The existence of several hundreds copies of mtDNA per cell permit its extraction from minute or degraded samples. In addition, the level of polymorphism in the hypervariable (HV) region is high enough to permit its use in human identity testing. However, the presence of several heteroplasmy might lead to ambiguous results. Materials and Methods: This study was an experiental study. This study evaluated heteroplasmy in the HV region of mtDNA in blood samples of 30 Iranians who belonged to ten unrelated families from three sequential generations (grandmother, mother and daughter). Results: There were no heteroplasmic substitutions in the HV1 region, but analysis of HV2 showed heteroplasmic substitutions in two out ten families. In the first family the grandmother showed heteroplasmy (T/C) in nucleotide positions 146 and 151, however it was not detected in the mother and daughter. In second family, a triple heteroplasmy (T/C) was detected in the daughter in nucleotide positions 146, 151 and 295, but these heteroplasmic substitutions were not obvious in the grandmother and mother. Conclusion: Heteroplasmy in mtDNA is not a rare phenomenon and probably exists in everyone, but a triple heteroplasmy in one family member is a novel finding. Our results demonstrate that one or two sequence differences between samples in mtDNA do not warrant exclusion. In our study, the average nucleotide difference between unrelated persons in the HV2 region was 2.8 nucleotides, whereas there was a triple heteroplasmy in one person which was not obvious in her family.


We propose a method to construct an optical cluster-state analyzer based on cross-Kerr nonlinearity combined with linear optics elements. In the scheme, we employ two four-qubit parity gates and the controlled phase gate (CPG) from only the cross-Kerr nonlinearity and show that all the orthogonal four-qubit cluster states can be completely identified. The scheme is significant for the large-scale quantum communication and quantum information processing networks. In addition, the scheme is feasible and deterministic under current experimental conditions.


The mood-congruence memory (MCM) effect in the case of depressed mood is typically evidenced by enhanced recall of negatively valenced information and/or a corresponding reduction in the recall of positive information. However, the impact of the related affect of boredom on memory has been overlooked. A sample of undergraduate and graduate students (n = 28) were asked to either read an interesting story (Low Boredom condition) or complete a tedious vowel-counting task (High Boredom condition) after studying a list of neutral, negative, and positive words. Following the experimental manipulation, the participants were asked to recall as many words from the list as they could remember. The participants in the low boredom (LB) group reported (i.e., recalled words + misremembered words) significantly more positive words than participants in the high boredom (HB) condition. However, no differences were found between groups in terms of the total number words reported, total number of positive, neutral or negative words recalled, or the overall accuracy of recall. Boredom appears to inhibit the reporting and recall of positively valenced information, but seems to have less influence on the recall and reporting of emotionally negative information than what is typically reported in studies with depressed mood. This finding is consistent with a conception of boredom as an affect state that is more closely tied to the perceived depletion of potential positive reinforcement (e.g., novelty, enjoyment, meaningfulness) than the depletion of negative reinforcement (e.g., escape from suffering, loss, failure). Larger implications of the findings are discussed.


The study of computational agents capable of rational behaviour has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Theoretical formalizations of such agents and their implementations have proceeded in parallel with little or no connection between them. Tkis paper explores a particular type of rational agent, a BeliefDesire-Intention (BDI) agent. The primary aim of this paper is to integrate (a) the theoretical foundations of BDI agents from both a quantitative decision-theoretic perspective and a symbolic reasoning perspective; (b) the implementations of BDI agents from an ideal theoretical perspective and a more practical perspective; and (c) the building of large-scale applications based on BDI agents. In particular, an air-trafflc management application will be described from both a theoretical and an implementation perspective.


The curriculum development is the core task of the current teaching reform of higher vocational schools in China. The curriculum development for the higher vocational education is a complicated systematic project. With the software technology major in Taizhou Vocational & Technical College as its background, according to the curriculum development theory based on work process, this paper first analyzes the basic methods of curriculum development, and then researches on the curriculum development technologies for software technology major in higher vocational schools from the four aspects of work task analysis, typical work integration, curriculum system construction and curriculum teaching implementation, and designs a specific implementation process. Practice shows that the proposed method of curriculum development in this paper has strong operability and obvious implementation results, which provides curriculum reform for the software technology major in higher vocational schools in China with a significance of reference.


This study examined teaching methods used by homeschooling families. Interviews were conducted with parents from three homeschooling families who used a variety of teaching methods. Researchers collected information on children's ages, number of years of homeschooling, teaching methods, and curriculum choice. Respondents described how they chose their curricula, what other curricula they had previously used, and pros and cons of each teaching method/curriculum. Respondents' teaching methods included completely computerized curriculum done independently by each student, video curriculum in which students watched a videotaped classroom while working in books and workbooks at their seats, parent instruction from an instructor's manual while students worked in books and textbooks at their seats, and selfstudy books with independent seatwork and tests administered by parents. All three parents had tried other curricula. Curriculum decisions were often made to accommodate weaknesses in the parent teaching as to accommodate children's characteristics. All respondents had talked with other homeschooling parents prior to choosing materials and tried several. None were using the same curriculum or teaching method that they had started with. Positive comments regarding each teaching method and curriculum emphasized the fit with the instructor and the child being taught. Negative comments also emphasized instructor and child fit. (Contains 17 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 00 Homeschooling Methods 1 Running Head: HOMESCHOOLING METHODS AND CURRICULUM Variety Of Teaching Methodologies Used By Homeschoolers: Case Studies Of Three Homeschooling Families


This article investigates the differences in the public reaction to the Fukushima disaster in Taiwan and Hong Kong, focusing on the public's perception of risk. This study shows that in both places weaker groups, such as civil society opposition groups and activists, have fewer outlets to disseminate their ideas and are thus easily overpowered by dominant ideologies pushed forward by probusiness groups and governments. Nevertheless, a closer look at local specificities will bring to light significant differences between social activists' and the general public's perception of risk in relation to nuclear energy in Hong Kong and Taiwan. While there is widespread opposition to it in Taiwan, in Hong Kong there seems to be no or only muted resistance.


Repeated calls for a distinct tropical architecture are being made based on the simple reason that the weather in tropical countries, such as Malaysia, is vastly different from that of countries in Europe and North America where the majority of today's architectural innovations and movements originate. Until the advent of air conditioning, all buildings in Malaysia has been designed with particular regard to local tropical climatic conditions. With greater global awareness of the environment and a renewed perspective on contemporary Malaysian architecture, architects are once again looking for tropical solutions in building design. One of the main characteristics of vernacular houses is that they are designed with a deep understanding and respect for nature, but this design-with-nature approach is no longer found in the modern houses. This paper intends merely to focus on various ways in which the traditional Malay house can be easily adapted and improved to meet the requirements of modern living because the traditional Malay house is best reflected by the climatic design of the house itself. The traditional Malay house is an important source for the creation of a Malaysian identity in architecture because it reflects and expresses the way of life of its users and was evolved by the Malays over generations adapting to their needs, culture and environment. Conference theme: Architecture and the environment.


Background Health care systems have entered a new era focused on patient engagement. Patient portals linked to electronic health records are recognized as a promising multifaceted tool to help achieve patient engagement goals. Achieving significant growth in adoption and use requires agile evaluation methods to complement periodic formal research efforts. Objective This paper describes one of the implementation strategies that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has used to foster the adoption and sustained use of its patient portal, My HealtheVet, over the last decade: an ongoing focus on user-centered design (UCD). This strategy entails understanding the users and their tasks and goals and optimizing portal design and functionality accordingly. Using a case study approach, we present a comparison of early user demographics and preferences with more recent data and several examples to illustrate how a UCD can serve as an effective implementation strategy for a patient portal within a large integrated health care system. Methods VA has employed a customer experience analytics (CXA) survey on its patient portal since 2007 to enable ongoing direct user feedback. In a continuous cycle, a random sample of site visitors is invited to participate in the Web-based survey. CXA model questions are used to track and trend satisfaction, while custom questions collect data about users' characteristics, needs, and preferences. In this case study, we performed analyses of descriptive statistics comparing user characteristics and preferences from FY2008 (wherein "FY" means "fiscal year") to FY2017 and user trends regarding satisfaction with and utilization of specific portal functions over the last decade, as well as qualitative content analysis of user's open-ended survey comments. Results User feedback has guided the development of enhancements to core components of the My HealtheVet portal including available features, content, interface design, prospective functional design, and related policies. Ten-year data regarding user characteristics and portal utilization demonstrate trends toward greater patient engagement and satisfaction. Administration of a continuous voluntary Web-based survey is an efficient and effective way to capture veterans' voices about who they are, how they use the patient portal, needed system improvements, and desired additional services. Conclusions Leveraging "voice-of-the-customer" techniques as part of patient portal implementation can ensure that such systems meet users' needs in ways that are agile and most effective. Through this strategy, VA has fostered significant adoption and use of My HealtheVet to engage patients in managing their health.


An attempt has been made to define the key word Educational Social Responsibility (ESR) and determine its parameters. The practice of ESR by ISM, Ranchi and its role in social development has been examined. The parameters that may determine the broad spectrum activities of ESR are the job oriented skill development programme of short duration for the weaker sections of the society without any financial burden on the part of the beneficiaries, providing quality education to the students, correct response of the educational institutions to their stakeholders, community development activities, fee waiver scheme and providing educational assistance to the students belonging to less privileged sections of the society. The post employment survey of 100 craft course beneficiaries reveals that ISM Ranchi has atleast started the process of social transformation through improving the quality of life and attracted youths from the backward sections for being a part of the mainstream society and helping in social development through ESR activities.


Abstract. Accurate knowledge of snow depth distributions in mountain
catchments is critical for applications in hydrology and ecology. Recently,
a method was proposed to map snow depth at meter-scale resolution from
very-high-resolution stereo satellite imagery (e.g., Pleiades) with an
accuracy close to 0.5 m. However, the validation was limited to probe
measurements and unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry, which sampled a limited fraction of the
topographic and snow depth variability. We improve upon this evaluation
using accurate maps of the snow depth derived from Airborne Snow Observatory
laser-scanning measurements in the Tuolumne river basin, USA. We find a good
agreement between both datasets over a snow-covered area of 138 km 2 on a 3 m grid, with a positive bias for a Pleiades snow
depth of 0.08 m, a root mean square error of 0.80 m and a normalized median absolute deviation (NMAD) of 0.69 m.
Satellite data capture the relationship between snow depth and elevation at
the catchment scale and also small-scale features like snow drifts and
avalanche deposits at a typical scale of tens of meters. The random error at
the pixel level is lower in snow-free areas than in snow-covered areas, but
it is reduced by a factor of 2 (NMAD of approximately 0.40 m for snow
depth) when averaged to a 36 m grid. We conclude that satellite
photogrammetry stands out as a convenient method to estimate the spatial
distribution of snow depth in high mountain catchments.


The development of independent and self-learning strategies for Foreign Language Learning is of special interest in Higher Education. In particular, these strategies are essential in the Foreign Language Learning area (EFL), since students need to practise and strengthen their exposure to language so as to develop receptive and productive skills. The goal of this paper is to show how independent and virtual learning are developed by means of ICT. To this end, a group of tasks and activities have been designed, distributed and implemented by means of Moodle in the setting of a teaching innovation project in which different campuses and faculties of Education of the University of Castilla-La Mancha where English I is studied have taken part. Additionally, the initial results in terms of students' perceptions about their independent and virtual learning are shown. Therefore, this paper focuses on a case study at Higher Education in which valid conclusions may be drawn for other similar settings where language learning and virtual learning need to be combined. Initial results suggest the students have responded positively in terms of their perception and participation. This validates the tasks and procedures carried out in the implementation of virtual foreign language learning.


The success of the current biomedical paradigm based on a "disease model" may be limited in the future because of large number of comorbidities inflicting older people. In recent years, there has been growing empirical evidence, based on animal models, suggesting that the aging process could be delayed and that this process may lead to increases in life expectancy accompanied by improvements in health at older ages. In this review, we explore past, present, and future prospects of healthy life expectancy and examine whether increases in average length of life associated with delayed aging link with additional years lived disability-free at older ages. Trends in healthy life expectancy suggest improvements among older people in the United States, although younger cohorts appear to be reaching old age with increasing levels of frailty and disability. Trends in health risk factors, such as obesity and smoking, show worrisome signs of negative impacts on adult health and mortality in the near future. However, results based on a simulation model of delayed aging in humans indicate that it has the potential to increase not only the length of life but also the fraction and number of years spent disability-free at older ages. Delayed aging would likely come with additional aggregate costs. These costs could be offset if delayed aging is widely applied and people are willing to convert their greater healthiness into more years of work.


The heat tolerance of photosystem II (PSII) may promote carbon assimilation at higher temperatures and may help explain plant responses to climate change. PSII heat tolerance could lead to 1) increases in the high temperature compensation point (Tmax); 2) increases in the thermal breadth of photosynthesis (i.e. the photosynthetic Ω parameter) to promote a thermal generalist strategy of carbon assimilation; 3) increases in the optimum rate of carbon assimilation Popt and promote faster carbon assimilation; and/or 4) increases in the optimum temperature for photosynthesis (Topt). To address these hypotheses, we tested if the Tcrit, T50 and T95 metrics of PSII heat tolerance were correlated with each carbon assimilation parameter for 21 species. Hypothesis 1 was not supported, but we observed that T50 may estimate the upper thermal limit for Tmax at the species-level, and that community mean Tcrit may be useful for approximating Tmax. The T50 and T95 heat tolerance metrics were positively correlated with Ω in support of hypothesis 2. We found no support for hypotheses 3 or 4. Our study shows that high PSII heat tolerance is unlikely to improve carbon assimilation at higher temperatures, but may characterize thermal generalists with slow resource acquisition strategies.


In this paper, we examine whether the economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index can predict the cryptocurrency returns for countries with the highest number of Bitcoin nodes, which include U.S., Germany, France, Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, and Japan. To the extent cryptocurrencies are a speculative asset, we expect that an increase in EPU drives the prices of cryptocurrencies below fundamental values due to the flight to quality and that they subsequently correct. Therefore, we hypothesize that EPU is a positive predictor of cryptocurrency returns. Furthermore, we expect that the positive predictability of EPU is stronger in the long run than the short run since mispricing takes time to correct. Using ordinary least squares, multivariate augmented regression, and quantile regression, we find that EPU positively predicts cryptocurrency returns in the short run for subsequent 1-month returns. Moreover, we find stronger predictability of EPU for the subsequent returns over a longer horizon of 6- and 12-month than 1-month, which is again consistent with our hypothesis. Thus, cryptocurrencies might not act as a hedge or safe haven against other financial assets during uncertain times.


Background: Childhood obesity is a global problem with metabolic abnormalities including NAFLD/ NASH. The gut liver axis is thought to play a major role in pathogenesis and altering it could affect the pathophysiological process. Probiotics are known to alter the gut microbiota and therefore could be a therapeutic option in the management of childhood obesity related complications. A double-blind, randomised, placebo control trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of probiotics on metabolic derangements in obese children with NAFLD/ NASH. Methods and Results: Obese children from the nutrition clinic conducted by University Paediatric Unit at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo with NAFLD/ NASH were recruited. Anthropometry, body fat, metabolic derangements and ultrasound scan (USS) of liver were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of 6 months. Transient elastography (Fibroscan®) was performed in a subsample of patients. Eighty-four patients were recruited and randomised into probiotics group (43) and placebo group (41). Mean age of the probiotic group was 11.3 years (+/-1.9 SD) and placebo group was 12.1 years (+/-1.5 SD). Baseline parameters including USS stage of the liver, body fat percentage, fasting blood sugars, lipid profile, liver functions and CRP showed no statistical difference. In the Probiotic group, statistically significant reduction of BMI was noted from baseline. However, the reduction was not significant when compared with the Placebo group. There was significant reduction in triglycerides, AST, ALT, AST/ ALT and ALP in placebo group over treatment period. Even though the USS stage of fatty liver showed improvement from stage II - III to stage I in a small number in the probiotic treated group, transient elastography performed in a subsample did not demonstrate significant improvement in either group. Conclusion: Our results indicate that there does not seem to be an advantage of probiotics over lifestyle modifications in improving obesity associated metabolic derangement in children


This letter proposes a 140 GHz high-efficiency slotted waveguide antenna with a low-loss feeding network. The feeding network provides the same-magnitude but alternating-phase excitations for the slotted parallel-plate waveguide (PPW) array. The alternating-phase excitations are used to implement virtual electric walls (VEWs) for replacing the physical metal walls. Hence, the antenna efficiency is improved significantly. To verify the proposed method, an 8 × 8 slot array with the proposed feeding network is designed and fabricated, which has a fractional bandwidth of 10.17%, i.e., from 132 to 146.15 GHz. Experimental results show that the radiation and aperture efficiency of the prototype can be as high as 93.4% and 73.2%, respectively. The measured antenna has a peak radiation gain of 24.59 dBi at 137.5 GHz and a flat in-band gain. The proposed antenna provides a promising solution to develop high-efficiency upper millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz (THz) applications.


Objectives: The objectives of the study were to identify the level of compliance to therapeutic regimen, assess the factors promoting and interfering compliance, and to find the association between level of compliance and factors influencing it in patients with hypertension in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Kochi, with a view to develop an information booklet. Methods: Nonprobability convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from 150 individuals attending outpatient departments. Data on compliance were assessed through interview using standardized Hill And Bone High Blood Pressure Compliance. Scale and factors promoting and interfering compliance were assessed using self-developed semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Only 55 (36.7%) had good compliance, while 52 (34.7%) had average and 43 (28.7%) had poor compliance to anti-hypertensive therapeutic regimen. The major factors promoting compliance were found as patient-prescriber relationship 146 (97.3%), family support 133 (88.7%), motivation 125 (83.3%), communication with healthcare providers 122 (81.3%), health literacy 104 (69.3%), and patient satisfaction 75 (50%). The factors interfering with compliance were lack of self-esteem 136 (90.7%), long-term adherence 129 (86%), misconceptions and erroneous beliefs 122 (81.3%), cost of therapy and income 100 (80%), forgetfulness 107 (71.3%), difficulty in adjustment to dietary change 82 (54.7%), and fear of side effects 70 (50%). A significant association between the level of compliance and factors promoting and interfering with compliance to therapeutic regimen (p<0.01) was noted. Level of compliance with therapeutic regimen was found to be lower in patients with associated comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus (c2=9.52, p<0.01) and coronary artery disease (c2=6.737, p<0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes the significance of developing systems to tack and ensure compliance to therapy among hypertensives with a focus on factors promoting compliance not only from the patient perspective but also from the perspective of family and society.


A year ago I wrote: "I have demonstrated to my own satisfaction that some skin affections are due to a nutritive disturbance, a defective degenerative metabolism, owing to which there ensues deficient utilization of nutritive substances conveyed to the tissues; producing a lethargic condition of the skin, an inefficient stimulation of the nerve twigs supplying the sudoriferous glands; that bacterial agencies cause septic and putrefactive changes in the alimentary canal and that inanimate toxins maintain selective affinities for the tissues, exerting their action upon the primordial protoplastic groups of cells. I am inclined more and more to think that the bond which connects the diatheses of the dermatoses with gout, rheumatism, arthritis, diabetes, and asthma, is generated by indiscretion of diet—and hic est mucro thesis meae": that thechyme passing in a hyperacid condition from the stomach, through the pylorus, into the second stomach, entails such increased labor upon the duodenum


In recent years, magicians and scientists have begun collaborating to gain insight into various psychological functions. However, one underexplored area is the use of magic tricks to enhance wellbeing. Several past and current magic programs have been used to enhance cognitive, emotional, social, and physical wellbeing. The application of these wellbeing-focused magic programs ranges from physical and psychological therapies to gang prevention, hospitals and classrooms. A few have been empirically investigated and additional studies have also explored the wellbeing value of magic. These studies are reviewed in light of a proposed hierarchical model based on how magic was applied. Overall, methodologies need improvement but distinctions between levels of the hierarchy can still be observed and are discussed. Furthermore, the positive effects on wellbeing can also be organised into interrelated physical, cognitive, social, and affective components that reflect existing theoretical frameworks on wellbeing. To conclude, possible mechanisms and theoretical frameworks based on more established psychological theories are discussed in order to help guide future research.


Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites were fabricated using ordinary and compaction setups (OS and CS, respectively) in the vacuum-assisted resin-transfer molding (VARTM) process. The mechanical properties and acoustic emission (AE) spectra of the CFRP composites were compared among fabricated samples. The CFRP plates with sequences of [+30/−30]6 were sectioned to make specimens for Mode I interlaminar fracture tests and three-point bending tests. The difference between the material properties and AE characteristics of the OS and CS specimens were statistically compared using one-way analysis of variance. The OS specimens had a thicker resin layer, a higher resin fraction, larger average fracture toughness, and AE energy corresponding to the Mode I fracture, whereas the CS specimens had more macro-scale voids and higher bending strength. AE analysis showed that frequency bands in the interlaminar fracture tests corresponding to matrix-related fracture were dominant for the OS specimens, whereas those corresponding to the mixed fracture mode of the fiber and matrix fracture were dominant for the CS specimens. In the bending tests, mixed fiber-matrix fractures were dominant for the OS specimens, and fiber-related fractures were dominant for the CS specimens. In conclusion, the compaction treatment diminished interlaminar fracture toughness, due to the enhanced formation of macro-scale voids around the fiber bundles during the resin impregnation stage. However, the bending strength improved with an increased fiber volume fraction. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:217–226, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers


This study examined the contribution of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) to Western Education and Christianity in Kaloleni District, Kilifi County. The objectives of this study were to examine the rise and development of western education and Christianity among the Giriama, the contribution African teachers and evangelists towards the same and the challenges the Church Missionary Society faced in Kaloleni District. This study was guided by Modernization theory and Cultural Lag theory. Modernization theory assisted in explaining how the introduction of Western Education in Kaloleni District by the CMS brought social advancement among the Giriama. The Cultural Lag theory assisted in explaining how the introduction of Western Education in Kaloleni by the CMS brought social conflict between modernity and the traditional Giriama education system. This project paper was written using both primary and secondary sources. Semi-structured oral interviews were used to gather more information on CMS activities in Kaloleni District. The oral interviews were recorded, transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. As demonstrated in chapter two, the CMS missionaries slowly began their work at the Kenyan Coast and gradually extended their presence to the interior where they tried to convert the Giriama to Christianity. The Bombay Africans solved some of the challenges such as language barrier that had initially hindered missionary activities at the coast. Despite various challenges, the CMS missionaries remained committed in evangelism and towards the close of the 19th century, they moved into the interior where they preached to the Giriama. In 1904, the CMS missionaries began evangelism work in Kaloleni. At Kaloleni, they faced challenges such as competition from Islam and African traditional practices, shortage of teachers and medical doctors. Nonetheless, they worked very hard to improve the social and economic status of the Giriama. This study found out that by building schools in Kaloleni, the missionaries exposed the Giriama to Western Education, which enabled them to get employment in the colonial administration. Besides education, the CMS missionaries provided medical services in Kaloleni. The missionaries therefore improved the social and economic conditions of the Giriama


The field of bloodstain analysis is undergoing considerable change. Newer technics are being used, and new legal decisions are providing specimens which are of better diagnostic use. However, the cost of the equipment, and the necessary training needed, has caused a considerable decrease in the number of individuals who are performing studies for the defense. At the same time the technics have made it possible for the courts to have better scientific evidence available to help them in their decisions. It is hoped that defense experts will keep pace with those of the prosecution, and ensure the right to fair trial for any individual.


Assortative mating is thought to play a key role in reproductive isolation. However, most experimental studies of assortative mating do not take place in multiple natural environments, and hence, they ignore its potential context dependence. We implemented an experiment in which two populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta) with different natural flow regimes were placed into semi‐natural stream channels under two different artificial flow regimes. Natural reproduction was allowed, and reproductive isolation was measured by means of parentage assignment to compare within‐population vs. between‐population male–female mating and relative offspring production. For both metrics, reproductive isolation was highly context dependent: no isolation was evident under one flow regime, but strong isolation was evident under the other flow regime. These patterns were fully driven by variance in the mating success of males from one of the two populations. Our results highlight how reproductive isolation through assortative mating can be strongly context dependent, which could have dramatic consequences for patterns of gene flow and speciation under environmental change.


Recent literature has drawn the attention to the impact of neoliberal and financialised urban policies on the enjoyment of access to housing by the urban poor, as well as on how these policies limit the spheres of action that are possible in urban margins. Yet literature tends to pay less attention on the modes of government the state actors use to manage access to housing. Examining housing exclusions and their contestations gains relevance in the current context, in which homelessness is growing and evictions are increasing in numbers. This paper examines how council housing managers negotiate access to housing with occupying families, using neoliberal and disciplinary modes of governance. The concept of informality is used as an analytical device to explore diverse interpretations on occupations as well as to shed light on the management practices of council housing estates. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork, conducted from December 2017 to April 2019 in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, in close collaboration with the Association Habita. It contends that while occupations are criminalised, the state itself also resorts to extra-legal practices in the governance of homelessness. The forms of governance employed by council housing managers are enmeshed with diverse forms of informality, producing both housing exclusions and inclusions.


Turkish teachers seek to work abroad for a variety of reasons with a mixed degree of success. This study examined the common essence of the experiences of Turkish teachers, through 25 interviews with teachers commissioned to teach Turkish and Turkish culture to Turkish students in Germany and France. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview questions and audio recordings. The analyses used an appropriate content analysis process for a qualitative phenomenological approach. Krippendorff's alpha coefficient showed high interrater reliability with a value of .83, and to ensure the credibility the codings have been submitted to internal and external checks. The direct quotations of the participants' discourses were shared in the text. The results of the study showed that there was a particular driving force that directed teachers to teach abroad. This driving force embodied itself in a sense of curiosity and pride for being chosen to work abroad.


Crc is a key global translational regulator in Pseudomonads that orchestrates the hierarchy of induction of several catabolic pathways for amino acids, sugars, hydrocarbons or aromatic compounds. In the presence of amino acids, which are preferred carbon sources, Crc inhibits translation of the Pseudomonas putida alkS and benR mRNAs, which code for transcriptional regulators of genes required to assimilate alkanes (hydrocarbons) and benzoate (an aromatic compound), respectively. Crc binds to the 5′-end of these mRNAs, but the sequence and/or structure recognized, and the way in which it inhibits translation, were unknown. We have determined the secondary structure of the alkS mRNA 5′-end through its sensitivity to several ribonucleases and chemical reagents. Footprinting and band-shift assays using variant alkS mRNAs have shown that Crc specifically binds to a short unpaired A-rich sequence located adjacent to the alkS AUG start codon. This interaction is stable enough to prevent formation of the translational initiation complex. A similar Crc-binding site was localized at benR mRNA, upstream of the Shine–Dalgarno sequence. This allowed predicting binding sites at other Crc-regulated genes, deriving a consensus sequence that will help to validate new Crc targets and to discriminate between direct and indirect effects of this regulator.


Community-based diversity analyses, such as metabarcoding, are increasingly popular in the field of metazoan zooplankton community ecology. However, some of the methodological uncertainties remain, such as the potential inflation of diversity estimates resulting from contamination by pseudogene sequences. Furthermore, primer affinity to specific taxonomic groups might skew community composition and structure during PCR. In this study, we estimated OTU (operational taxonomic unit) richness, Shannon's H', and the phylum-level community composition of samples from a coastal zooplankton community using four approaches: complement DNA (cDNA) and genomic DNA (gDNA) mitochondrial COI (Cytochrome oxidase subunit I) gene amplicon, metatranscriptome sequencing, and morphological identification. Results of mismatch distribution demonstrated that 90% is good threshold percentage to differentiate intra- and inter-species. Moderate level of correlations appeared upon comparing the species/OTU richness estimated from the different methods. Results strongly indicated that diversity inflation occurred in the samples amplified from gDNA because of mitochondrial pseudogene contamination (overall, gDNA produced two times more richness compared with cDNA amplicons). The unique community compositions observed in the PCR-based methods indicated that taxonomic amplification bias had occurred during the PCR. Therefore, it is recommended that PCR-free approaches be used whenever resolving community structure represents an essential aspect of the analysis.


6 yap TOVTUV n-anjp Xapurios a8*\<p6s t/v TOV •nanrtov TOV e/iov QovKpvrvbov KO.1 Avtraptrris TTJS */irjs Tq6rjs, Of tot 6i TOV irarpbt TOV epov (ade\<pi)v yip 6 irdiriros ovpbs eyrjfiev oi>x 6/tOfHjrp/av)The phrase Oeios . . . fpov has surely been displaced, and should stand after o/io/ij/rpfav. The parenthetic clause explains why Charisios can be at once the brother of the speaker's grandfather and of the speaker's grandmother; the former relationship suffices to make Charisios the uncle of the speaker's father. And as in the two following cases, the description of the witness should end crisply on the note of kinship.


Associations between components of Leventhal's common sense model of health behaviour (injury beliefs, coping, distress) and outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) were examined. Participants (n = 147) were recruited within three months following MTBI and assessed six months later, completing study questionnaires at both visits (Illness Perceptions Questionnaire Revised, Brief COPE, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Outcome measures included the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire and Rivermead Head Injury Follow-Up Questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses examined associations between injury beliefs, coping and distress at baseline, and later outcome. Participants endorsing stronger injury identity beliefs (p < .01), expectations of lasting severe consequences (p < .01), and distress (p < .01) at time one, had greater odds of poor outcome at time two. Coping styles were also associated with later outcome although variability in findings limited interpretability. Associations between psychological variables and outcome were examined and 76.5% of cases were correctly classified by the model. Consistent with Leventhal's model, participant beliefs about their injury and recovery had significant associations with outcome over time. Coping also appeared to have important associations with outcome but more research is required to examine these. Current reassurance-based interventions may be improved by targeting variables such as injury beliefs, coping and adjustment soon after injury.


: This paper is the first thorough description of inflectional tone changes in the verb stem in Hñähñu. Verbs in Hñähñu (Otomanguean > Otopamean > Otomi) can be classified into four conjugations according to the distribution of consonant stem alternations in their paradigm, and into two classes according to the distribution of tonal stem alternations. This paper describes the formation and distribution of tonal stem alternations in this language. Hñähñu is also described in the light of the most recent typologies of inflectional tone (Palancar 2016; Rolle 2018); conversely, the parameters in these typologies are assessed in the light of the data from Hñähñu.


Experienced staffs acquire their experience during many years of practice, and sometimes also through expensive mistakes. This knowledge is often lost when technicians retire, or if companies need to downsize during periods of reduced sale. When scaling up production, new staff requires training and may repeat similar mistakes. Another issue that may be costly is when monitoring systems repeatedly give false alarms, causing expensive loss of production capacity and resulting in technicians losing trust in the systems and in worst case, switch them off. If monitoring systems could learn from previous experience for both correct and false alarms, the reliability and trust in the monitoring systems would increase. Moreover, connecting alarms to either equipment taking automatic actions or recommend actions based on the current situations and previous experience would be valuable. An engineer repeating the same task a second time is often able to perform the task in 1/3 of the time it took at the first time. Most corrective and preventive actions for a particular machine type have been carried out before. This past experience holds a large potential for time savings, predictability and reduced risk if an efficient experience transfer can be accomplished. But building large complex support system is not always the ideal way. We propose instead localized intelligent agents, able to either autonomously perform the necessary actions or aid a human in the decision making process by providing the necessary information needed to make an informed and validated decision.


The results for 3D anisotropic Ising model with competing interactions (ANNNI) investigated by the Monte Carlo methods are presented. The temperature dependence of thermal parameters is calculated. The character of all possible phase transitions in the model is analyzed.


Objective To evaluate impact of gluten free diet in children with celiac disease in different age groups on clinical profile and anthropometric measurements. Design A prospective interventional study. Methods Twenty five of the 32 children diagnosed as having celiac disease on the basis of positive anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG) and duodenal biopsy were included. Patients underwent a clinical examination and anthropometry measurements at diagnosis, 3 months and 6 months of strict gluten free diet. Results There was a dramatic clinical improvement in symptomology in all cases on institution of gluten free diet at 6 months of follow up. Loose motions, abdominal pain, irritability disappeared in all patients except two children had anaemia (8%) and one child had abdominal distension (4%). Significant weight and height gain was noted in children after initiation of gluten free diet. The mean weight and height increased significantly after 3 and 6 months of gluten free diet (p < 0.0001). Also at 6 months of gluten free diet 86% of the children <5 years and 50% of the children between 5–10 years of age gained weight upto >80% of expected weight whereas none of the children >10 years of age reached that level. Similarly, all the children <5 years achieved normal height while only 33% of the other children attained normal height after 6 months of gluten free diet. Conclusion Early diagnosis and institution of strict gluten free diet is required to gain maximum growth potential in children with celiac disease.


Oxidation behaviors of ZrHx(x=0~2) in O2 at 600°C were investigated. The influences of temperature and oxidation time on mass gain of the oxide film were studied. The phase structure and morphology of the oxide film were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The result indicates that the oxidation behavior of zirconium is greatly changed after absorbing hydrogen. The oxidation rate of zirconium hydride decreased with increasing of hydrogen content. The thickness of the oxide film decreases and the uniformity of oxide film declined with increasing of x value. Some holes and creaks present in the oxide films when x value is 1.8 and 2. The similar textured oxide film on the surface of ZrHx(x=0~2) is found and the main phase of the oxide films is monoclinic ZrO2 of the baddeleyite structure. A detectable amount of tetragonal ZrO2 appeal in all the samples. A protective textured oxide film can be formed on the surface of ZrHx(x=0~2), making it ingerate and thick is important to reduce hydrogen loss.


Within western political culture an increasing emphasis has been placed on the anesthetization of life. One of the victims to this change is people with disability. People with disability now recognize a shift in political attitude. While change in "look" and "posture" earlier were tolerated as part of a human register of appearance, a shift of lifestyles and fashioned icons of beauty coupled with a logic of how citizens ought to be given status frame disability into a negative aesthetics of appearance. Since aesthetics and political discourse become more closely related and form presupposition for "aesthetic citizenship", there is a need to think in new ways of how to contribute to a liberation from this kind of political suppression. From the perspective of the need for a social repair (Arendt), my contribution will first discuss how the politics of appearance frames disability negatively. Through considering the contributions of Rancière, Merléau-Ponty, Sartre, and Kearney I show how an understanding of disability reduced to a merely `negative ontology, can be contrasted with a philosophy of the negative that takes the negative as embodied possibility. In the last part of the essay I consider how the philosophy of negativity can change how we "judge" disability.


Objective: To investigate the contribution of sonographic followup in the clinical management of incidental unilocular > 5cm and multilocular ovarian cysts < 7cm in post-menopausal women. Methods: 41 women presenting with incidental sonographic diagnosis of unilocular > 5cm and multilocular ovarian cysts (< 10 locules) were prospectively recruited. All patients were assessed by transvaginal sonography (TVS) with color power-Doppler (CD) evaluation according to the IOTA protocol. A proper counselling on ovarian cancer risk was given and an adequate informed consent was obtained. Sonographic follow-up was proposed at 3 and 9 months, than yearly. Surgery was proposed in case of changes of ovarian cyst volume (> 50%) and/or sonographic parameters. Demographic, sonographic and pathologic data were recorded. Results: Median age (IR) was 71 years (61–75). Median years after menopause (IR) were 23 (12–27). Mean BMI (±sd) was 27 kg/m2 ±5. Mean parity (±sd) was 2 ± 1.5 women reported bilateral cysts. 28 cysts were unilocular, 18 multilocular. Median cyst diameter (IR) of unilocular and multilocular ovarian cysts was 57 mm (52–61) and 37 mm (28–52), respectively. The median follow-up period was 14 months (IR). Surgery was performed in 9 cases: 5 drop-out and 4 volume changes. No malignant lesions were reported at histology. Conclusions: Sonographic follow-up might be a useful option in the clinical management of incidental unilocular > 5cm and multilocular ovarian cysts < 7cm in post-menopausal women. Larger and longer multicentres studies with strict sonographic parameters are needed to support this potentially safe conservative management.


Soybean consumption has been linked to a reduced risk for certain cancers and diseases of old age. The health benefits associated with soybean consumption have been linked to the action of isoflavonoids, the major phenolic phytochemicals found in soybean. Isoflavonoids possess numerous biological activities that may support chemoprevention through the promotion of apoptosis in diseased cells. In this study, we discuss the current state of knowledge concerning soybean isoflavonoids, their chemopreventive actions against postmenopausal health problems, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, and also biotechnology approaches toward the enrichment of soybean for isoflavonoid content.


Does the regime type of a foreign intervener influence the duration of civil wars? Existing research has shown that third-party support affects the outcome of a conflict. Moreover, studies show that the type of support offered to conflict actors can determine how a war ends. While this research has offered significant implications on conflict dynamics, extant works have overlooked the importance of characteristics of foreign supporters and how their attributes can impact conflict outcomes. Focusing on foreign troop support and quantities, this article examines the relationship between the regime type of a foreign supporter and the outcome of an armed conflict. We argue that regime type of an external troop sponsor can influence war duration based on two dynamics: selection effects and signaling effects. Specifically, troop assistance provided to warring parties by democracies decreases the length of civil wars and increases the likelihood for a one-sided victory for the supported faction. The empirical findings for all intrastate conflicts during the period 1975–2012 provide evidence for our claims that the regime type of an external intervener influences the outcome of a conflict.


As the pork production industry moves closer to adopting and using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) management systems, effective pathogen identification becomes necessary. Additionally, relationships between management strategies and prevention and/or reduction of pathogens on the farm is needed. An important component of these systems is the associated economic costs and benefits. Studies have assessed the economic costs and benefits of HACCP management systems that target specific pathogen reduction, such as Salmonella spp. in food animals (Morales, 1995; Perrin, 1993). MoralesO and PerrinOs research lacked an analysis of HACCPOs proactive approach to prevention of foodborne disease in the food chain. Existing research on economic analysis of HACCP has been limited. An application specific to the seafood and poultry industry was conducted by Martin (1993) and Curtin (1991)by Martin (1991)and for the food processing industry. Jensen and Unnevehr (1995) pointed out that Odata on the incidence of pathogens in farm animals, the adoption of farm management practices, and the cost of these practices can be used to analyze the costs of reducing pathogens at the farm.O It has been noted that HACCP plans are often made with limited knowledge of onfarm pathogen prevalence. With the recent Pathogen Reduction Act of 1996 being put into law, the meat industry faces tighter scrutiny based on bacterial counts on meat products. USDA/FSIS efforts will be targeted at determining bacterial levels, including Salmonella, on meat products. Included in this law are specific goals or targets for the reduction of Salmonella. Tighter scrutiny and an increase in microbiological testing, first at the larger slaughter/processing facilities (500+ employees), will likely lead to industry adjustments. Additionally, consumers, domestic and international, have become more health conscious and more informed about outbreaks of foodborne disease. The meat industry has a goal of increasing and maintaining consumer confidence and maintaining product integrity. These regulatory, social, and consumer changes shaping the meat and animal production industry likely will be felt throughout the industry, including at farm level. This study evaluates the cost of on-farm Salmonella testing for selected prevalence levels and group sizes. Testing cost is size dependent; per pig cost declines as group size increases. Cost per pig in a group ranged from $5.37 for a 500-head group to $.49 per head for a 10,000 head group. Costs were projected with a 5% prevalence level and a 95% confidence interval.


Kindler syndrome (KS) is a rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis. We report two cases of KS with classical clinical presentations involving skin and mucus membranes. Clinically, both patients had four major features of KS in the form of acral skin blistering, photosensitivity, progressive poikiloderma, and diffuse cutaneous atrophy. Case 1 had associated features in the form of urethral stenosis, skin fragility and palmoplantar keratoderma with extension of the scaling onto the flexor aspect of the wrist and loss of palmar creases. Case 2 had associated features in form of anal stenosis, oesophageal stenosis, skin fragility and palmoplantar keratoderma with loss of palmar creases. An Interesting finding in our report is that both cases have prominent telengectasia involving face and neck regions. (Iran J Dermatol 2009;12 (Suppl): S1-


Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a process used for computer processing that tries to mimic the behavior of a human expert in making decisions regarding a subject and learn from the experience of past cases. CBR has demonstrated to be appropriate for working with unstructured domains data or difficult knowledge acquisition situations, such as medical diagnosis, where it is possible to identify diseases such as: cancer diagnosis, epilepsy prediction and appendicitis diagnosis. Some of the trends that may be developed for CBR in the health science are oriented to reduce the number of features in highly dimensional data. An important contribution may be the estimation of probabilities of belonging to each class for new cases. In this paper, in order to adequately represent the database and to avoid the inconveniences caused by the high dimensionality, noise and redundancy, a number of algorithms are used in the preprocessing stage for performing both variable selection and dimension reduction procedures. Also, a comparison of the performance of some representative multi-class classifiers is carried out to identify the most effective one to include within a CBR scheme. Particularly, four classification techniques and two reduction techniques are employed to make a comparative study of multiclass classifiers on CBR


In this paper, a novel sensorless position control for a surface permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (SPMLSM) is presented. The position and speed of the SPMLSM drive is obtained through a closed loop observer by only measuring phase voltages and currents. Estimation of speed is done using difference between estimates of the current derivatives in the dq frame, which calculated two different ways: first using a high-gain observer, and then using the motor model. Estimation of the mover position is done through integrating the estimation of speed. The proposed scheme works in a closed loop fashion. It enhances the allowable initial position error; can be used without any physical modification; does not rely on motor saliency and requires no knowledge of the load. Results from numerical simulations and practical implementation are presented to validate the proposed schemes.


Background/Objectives Inflammatory biomarkers have been associated with stroke and mortality, but inflammation may also have detrimental effects beyond acute events. We hypothesized that serum concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL6) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (LpPLA2) were inversely associated with long-term functional decline independently of vascular risk factors, stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) occurring during follow-up. Design Prospective population based cohort study Setting The Northern Manhattan Study Participants (including the sample size) Race/ethnically diverse stroke-free individuals in northern Manhattan aged ≥40 years (n = 3298). Intervention None Measurements Annual functional assessments with the Barthel index (BI), for a median of 13 years. BI was analyzed as a continuous variable (range 0–100). Baseline demographics, risk factors, and laboratory studies were collected, including IL6 (n = 1679), LpPLA2 mass (n = 1912) and activity (n = 1937). Separate mixed models estimated standardized associations between each biomarker and baseline functional status and change over time, adjusting for demographics, vascular risk factors, social variables, cognition, and depression measured at baseline, and stroke and MI occurring during follow-up. Results Mean age was 69 (SD 10) years, 35% were male, 53% Hispanic, 74% hypertensive, and 16–24% diabetic. LogIL6 was associated with decline in BI over time (-0.13 points per year, 95% CI -0.24, -0.02) and marginally with baseline BI (-0.20, 95% CI -0.40, 0.01). LpPLA2 activity levels were associated with baseline BI (-0.36, 95% CI -0.68, -0.04) but not change over time, and LpPLA2 mass levels were not associated with either. Conclusion In this large population-based study, higher serum inflammatory biomarker levels were associated with disability, even when adjusting for baseline covariates and stroke and MI occurring during follow-up.


Our system of research self-regulation, designed to provide internal checks and balances for those who participate in research involving human subjects, is under considerable stress. Much of this crisis has been caused by what we call mission creep, in which the workload of IRBs has expanded beyond their ability to handle effectively. Mission creep is caused by rewarding wrong behaviors, such as focusing more on procedures and documentation than difficult ethical questions; unclear definitions, which lead to unclear responsibilities; efforts to comply with unwieldy federal requirements even when research is not federally funded; exaggerated precautions to protect against program shutdowns; and efforts to protect against lawsuits. We recommend collecting data. We also call for refinements to our regulatory system that will provide a set of regulations designed for non-biomedical research. This will enable IRBs to direct attention to the areas of greatest risk while intentionally scaling back oversight in areas of lesser risk. We recommend removing some kinds of activity from IRB review altogether. Our system, if not broken, is seriously straining at the seams. It is imperative that we have a respected and effective system in place to protect human research subjects, so that much-needed research into the causes and prevention of disease and other research expanding the boundaries of knowledge can proceed. We hope that this White Paper will further the discussion about what reasonable procedures can be instituted to help get IRBs back on track and do what they were originally meant to do—protect the rights and welfare of human subjects while allowing the research enterprise to progress and its benefits to society to accrue.


The recent legal changes pertaining to the institution of the Constitutional Tribunal arouse many controversies. This paper presents a sociological and legal study conducted to collect and examine the opinions regarding the above held by Polish lawyers who because of their profession and experience are in a position to confront directly the legal practice with the changing legal system that is directly responsible for the level of protection of individual rights and the exercise of individual fundamental rights. From the point of view of rationality and functionality of the operations of the Constitutional Tribunal an opinion formulated by jurists who due to their background have greater legal awareness seemed invaluable. After all it will be their opinion which will decide about the future of the judiciary in Poland. The results of the current transformations being implemented in constitutional judiciary as well as at the level of common courts have consequences for all the citizens. The aim of the questions asked in the survey was to fi nd how lawyers in Poland saw the situation with the Constitutional Tribunal today as well as what the though it its regime and functioning could be like in the future. Questions also concerned the current and actual legal status of the Tribunal and the lawyers' reactions to the changes being implemented or about to me made, and if possible the possible ways of ending the current Constitutional Tribunal crisis.


Despite recent successes in Reinforcement Learning, value-based methods often suffer from high variance hindering performance. In this paper, we illustrate this in a continuous control setting where state of the art methods perform poorly whenever sensor noise is introduced. To overcome this issue, we introduce Recurrent Value Functions (RVFs) as an alternative to estimate the value function of a state. We propose to estimate the value function of the current state using the value function of past states visited along the trajectory. Due to the nature of their formulation, RVFs have a natural way of learning an emphasis function that selectively emphasizes important states. First, we establish RVF's asymptotic convergence properties in tabular settings. We then demonstrate their robustness on a partially observable domain and continuous control tasks. Finally, we provide a qualitative interpretation of the learned emphasis function.


Microencapsulation of natural biocompounds is a growing field leading to its incorporation into food formulations. The use of vegetable oils as alternative solvents to extract biocompounds is considered a green process. Although avocado leaves are underexploited they are still rich in naturally-occuring biocompounds. Therefore, we propose the use of edible vegetable oils as green solvents to extract biocompounds from avocado leaves and preserve them by means of spray-drying microencapsulation. Spray drying allowed an encapsulation efficiency of 50% of the avocado leaves pigments extracted with edible oils. The emulsions prepared were heterogeneous and with low cohesiveness which was observed through de polidispersity index (0.52 - 0.87) and the Z-potential (-35.9 to -38.0) respectively. Microcapsules Haussner ratio values (1.49 – 1.61) showed the cohesiveness of the powders, this was confirmed by microscopy techniques, obtaining high particles area values (177.4 – 4460.5 µm2). Corn oil extracts showed higher carotenoids (>10%), chlorophyll a (approximately 5%) and chlorophyll b (>40%) content as compared with safflower oil extracts. However, the higher hygroscopicity values of the corn oil microcapsules (15.70 – 18.34 g water/ 100 g dry capsules) caused changes in their appearance turning its color from white to pale yellow.


The performance of silicon based microelectronic circuits reaches the end of the roadmap. New material systems are required for further improvements in speed and power consumption. Germanium is a possible candidate to substitute silicon for microelectronic devices. Its hole mobility is the highest of all semiconductor materials. Together with its lower band gap it could be an ideal material for energy-saving devices. This thesis is dedicated to first principles studies of the Ge/GeO2 interface through hybrid density functional theory. The substoichiometric region of the interface is of special interest. A wide substoichiometric region is supported by total energy calculations of a set of crystalline model systems. An unexpected structure organization was found through molecular dynamics simulations of substoichiometric GeO. We found that a majority of germanium and oxygen atoms are threefold coordinated, forming valence alternation pairs (VAPs). A detailed energetic analysis located the VAPs in the low-oxygen region of the interface. VAPs show interesting properties : They are prone to charge trapping. The electron trapping level might explain the bad performance of n-type doped devices. Furthermore, VAPs might be at the origin of the difficulties of H passivation at the Ge/GeO2 interface. Since threefold Ge atoms are negatively charged and threefold O atoms are positively charged, VAPs give rise to dipoles. These dipoles may reduce the interface dipole created by the electronegativity difference in the Ge-3O bond. With this mechanism, we can explain the wide range of experimental valence band offsets (VBOs) with the occurrence of different density levels of VAPs at the Ge/GeO2 interface. This suggestion is further confirmed by the determination of the VBO and Ge 3d core-level shift for an atomistic model structure of the Ge/GeO2 interface. Both values are systematically lower than typical experimental values for the Ge/GeO2 interface. Taking the extra dipole into account, our calculated VBOs and XPS shifts are in excellent agreement with experimental values. These results confirm that the structural properties of the Ge/GeO2 interface deviate significantly from its Si counterpart.


In conventional model-based coding schemes, predefined static models are generally used. These models cannot adapt to new situations and hence they have to be very specific and cannot be generated from a single generic model even though they are very similar. In this paper, we present a model generation technique that can gradually build a model and dynamically modify it according to new video frames scanned. The proposed technique is robust to the object's orientation in the view and can be efficiently implemented with parallel processing technique. As a result, the proposed technique is more attractive to the practical use of model-based coding techniques in real applications.


The tradition of Turco-Persian wrestling, including its programme of physical education based at dedicated gyms known as zurkhāneh (literally "houses of strength"), contains elements that would appear to merge Turkish, Iranian, Central-Asian, and Indian influences within a mystical (Sufi) Islamic framework potentially affected to a certain degree by Buddhism. The chapter discusses the relations and interaction between the Turco-Persian athletic tradition and the one existing in India on the basis of a parallel reading of four key textual sources, two from each tradition. On the Indian side we will draw on the analysis of the Mallapurāṇa and of the Mānasollāsa, while the Persian documents that inform our discussion are the Tumār-e afsāneh-ye Puryā-ye Vali and the Gol-e koshti of Mir-Nejāt Qomi known as Esfahāni. The chapter will first survey the evolution of the tradition of Turco-Persian wrestling from the middle of the 13th through to the end of the 16th century, and then make a comparative analysis of the connections between Turco-Persian wrestling and the Indian tradition of the jyeṣṭhī-mallas of Gujarat. Based on these observations it will then proceed to ask how one might explain the commonalities between the two traditions. Attention will be brought to the consideration that certain physical practices gain recognition thanks to being performed at royal courts, and, in India, also at temples, due to the intellectualisation, and hence legitimisation, of these borrowed practices by learned representatives of the dominant schools of thought present at the seats of political and/or spiritual power.


The clothing area factor (f cl ) is defined as the ratio of the clothing surface area to the body surface area. It may play an important role in analyses of heat exchange between the clothed body and the surrounding environment. For practical purposes it has commonly been estimated from a function of clothing insulation although clothing fit is a determining factor in estimating clothing surface area. The significance of clothing fit on f cl was demonstrated by Kakitsuba et al. (1987). In this study, fcl was derived by a photographic method using a 180° OP fish-eye lens camera as used in the previous study. Clothing microenvironment volumes (Vm) were measured by two different methods, i.e., a method of measuring the thickness of the clothing microenvironment, and a silhouette method. Subjects wore everyday clothing ensembles: one was relatively tight-fitting and the other was loose-fitting. The fcl values and Vm were measured with the subjects standing, sitting on a chair, and sitting on the floor. In addition, the subjects' body volumes (V b ) were estimated from anthropological measurements. The results showed that the fcl values varied between 1.05 and 1.31 and were not in accordance with clothing insulation, for which values were consistent (the mean� 0.52 clo), and that the fcl value can be defined as a function of Vm/Vb.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the possible role of the plasminogen activator (PA)/plasmin system in gouty arthritis.

METHODS
We compared the antigenic values of urokinase-type PA (uPA), soluble uPA receptor (suPAR), and PA inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) and the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 in 63 synovial fluid (SF) samples from knee joints of 38 patients with gouty arthritis and 20 SF samples from knee joints of 20 patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

RESULTS
The increases of uPA, suPAR, and PAI-1 antigenic values in SF were associated with increased levels of latent MMP-9 (pro-MMP-9) (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively) in gouty arthritis, whereas a correlation was not observed between uPA, suPAR, and PAI-1 antigenic values and MMP-2 levels. Increased uPA, suPAR, and PAI-1 antigenic values in gouty arthritis SF were also correlated to each other (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). In gouty arthritis SF, no significant relations were observed between uPA and suPAR antigenic values and leukocyte, neutrophil, or monocyte counts, while increased values of PAI-1 corresponded closely with increased leukocyte and neutrophil counts (p = 0.005, p = 0.004). Significantly higher values of the uPA, suPAR, and PAI-1 (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.012) appeared in SF of gouty arthritis than in SF from patients with OA.

CONCLUSION
These results show a correlation of the PA/plasmin system and MMP-9 in SF from patients with gouty arthritis, resulting in increased PA catalytic activity and contributing to inflammation in gouty arthritis.


: There is increasing evidence that the liver microsomal drug metabolizing system is affected by various vitamins such as ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and alpha-tocopherol. In regard to ascorbic acid deficiency there is a decrease in the quantity of hepatic microsomal electron transport components such as cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, as well as decreases in a variety of drug enzyme reactions such as N-demethylation, O-demethylation, and steroid hydroxylation. In addition, young animals given high supplements of vitamin C have increased quantities of electron transport components and overall drug metabolism activities. Kinetic studies indicate no change in the apparent Km of N-demethylase, O-demethylase or hydroxylase for drug substrates in animals depleted or given high amounts of the vitamin. However, there are qualitative changes in both type I and II substrate-cytochrome P-450 binding. Ascorbic acid is not involved in microsomal lipid peroxidation or in any qualitative or quantitative change in phosphatidylcholine. Replenishing vitamin C-deficient animals with ascorbic acid required 3 to 7 days for the electron transport components and drug metabolism activities to return to normal levels. Induction with phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene is not impaired in the deficient animal since drug metabolism activities are induced to the same extent as normal controls; however, the administration of delta-aminolevulinic acid, a precursor of heme synthesis, to deficient animals caused an increase in the quantity of cytochrome P-450. The effects of riboflavin deficiency on electron transport components and drug metabolism activities have been noted only in adult animals after prolonged periods of deficiency. Decreases in drug metabolism activities occur with both type I (aminopyrine and ethylmorphine) and type II (aniline) substrates. As was found with ascorbic acid deficiency, drug enzyme induction occurred to the same extent with phenobarbital in deficient and normal animals. In addition, it required from 10 to 15 days for the drug metabolism activities to return to normal levels when deficient animals were replenished with riboflavin. The effect of vitamin E on drug metabolism is specific in N-demethylase activities decrease while O-demethylase activities are not affected in the deficient state. This vitamin differs from ascorbic acid and riboflavin in that several laboratories have reported no quantitative decrease in cytochrome P-450, although there are some reports that it and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase are lowered quantity of cytochrome in E-deficient animals. The effect of vitamin E, if any, on the P-450 is unresolved; an important question that requires further clarification. As with ascorbic acid there is no difference in the apparent Km of N-demethylase enzymes for varous substrates and the protective effect of vitamin E does not appear to be one of an antioxidant inhibiting microsomal lipid peroxidation.


The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the challenges associated with developing innovative technology-based services based on big data. The paper presents and analyzes a case study of GO:SMART, a project with the aim to develop an innovative service for promoting sustainable transportation in urban areas. The challenges identified relate to epistemological and methodological directives that affect the process and outcome of big data-based new service development projects.


ABSTRACT
 The recent literature on intermediaries in urban sustainability transitions has studied their role as a translator between innovative niches and incumbent regimes. In urban sustainability transitions, intermediaries from both civil society and public institutions seek to bridge diverging world views and communicate innovative lessons learned back to the incumbent regime. How these intermediaries are embedded in local governance contexts and how the political dynamics inherent to urban sustainability transitions play out remains a research gap. As these transitions require political consensus-building, we explore the interaction between Transition Town Initiatives (TTIs) as niche intermediaries seeking to transform society from below, and regime-based transition intermediaries operating from above. In a comparative study of four German cities, we analyse why and how niche and regime intermediaries build partnerships for urban transitions towards sustainability. While Transition Town Hannover and Bluepingu in Nuremberg have successfully established partnerships with the municipalities, Transition Town Göttingen and Transition Town Kassel have struggled in their efforts to do so. These differences can be explained by the interactions between structural conditions, political priorities and institution-building, as well as the proficiency of transition intermediaries.


One the factors that influence the succes of family planning is husband support. Based on BKKBN data until the end of December 2015, the quantity of PUS (Couple Age Fertile) amounted to 13,46%. This figur is lower than the achievement in 2014 which amounted to 16,51%. While for acceptor of KB injection equal to 49,93%, pill 26,36%, IUD 6,81%, implant equal to 9,63%, other method 2,1% (BKKBN, 2016). This study aims to determine the relationship of husband support with long-term family participation in BPM Sri Hastuti S.ST Surabaya. The type of this research is the observasional design of the population in this study is the family planning acceptors  which amounted to 45 people, the sample in this study is the family planning acceptors in July 2017 which amounted to 40 people. The data of this research was done in July 2017 by using questionnaire and presented in diagram. Family planning acceptors who have husband support in the selection of long-term contraceptives is 5 people (12%) who didn't participate some 35 people (88%). The quantity of family planning acceptors taking long-term contraceptive methods was 19 (47%) while those who did not participated in 21 people (53%). Based on statistical test using chi square, it is found that p value 0,012 count value 3,841, in other words, Ho is rejected and Hi is accepted so it can be concluded that there is relationship of husband support with long-term family participation. This is in accordance with the theory that a wife in decision making to use contraception requires approval from the husband because the husband is seen  as the head of the family.