In Parkinson's disease (PD), neuronal alpha‐synuclein aggregates are distributed throughout the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, sympathetic ganglia, submandibular gland, enteric nervous system, cardiac and pelvic plexuses, adrenal medulla, and skin. Thus, PD is a progressive multiorgan disease clinically associated with various motor and nonmotor symptoms. The earliest PD‐related lesions appear to develop in the olfactory bulb, dorsal vagal nucleus, and possibly also the peripheral autonomic nervous system. The brain is closely connected with the enteric nervous system via axons of the efferent fibers of the dorsal nucleus of vagal nerve. Anatomical connections also exist between the olfactory bulb and brainstem. Accumulating evidence from experimental studies indicates that transneuronal propagation of misfolded alpha‐synuclein is involved in the progression of PD. However, it cannot be ruled out that alpha‐synuclein pathology in PD is multicentric in origin. Based on pathological findings from studies on human materials, the present review will update the progression pattern of alpha‐synuclein pathology in PD.


Musicians have narrowed the continuous range of frequency into discrete sequences of frequencies, interpreted as pitches, of various types called scales from the earliest writings on music onwards. This study provides some answers as to scope and relationships between modes and scales in areas where, surprisingly, little systematic study has been done. The approach reveals that the Fibonacci sequence provides the key to unlocking the question of scope. Techniques from post-tonal and modal music theory provide answers to relational questions.


The objective of this study was to test the effects of sodium selenite (SS) injection on semen characteristics and testosterone plasma concentrations in male Aardi goats. Fifteen animals were assigned into three groups; control (group I, with no supplemental SS); group II; injected intramuscular with 0.1 mg/kg SS body weight; group III injected 0.05 mg/kg SS body weight. Blood samples were collected once weekly (week 0 and four weeks after treatment) in the morning (at 8 am). Semen was collected by electro-ejaculator on a weekly basis post SS supplementation. Sperm count, motility %, progressive motility characteristic; average path velocity (VAP), straight line velocity (VSL), curvilinear velocity (VCL), straightness (STR) and linearity (LIN) were analyzed. Significant differences were found between the two treated-groups and control after week four for motility and progressive motility. After five weeks, significant differences were found between groups, for motility and progressive motility. The live % showed significant differences after five weeks between treated and control groups. After five weeks, significant differences were found between the three groups, for motility and progressive motility. The live % showed significant differences after 5 weeks between different treatments. However, VAP, VSL, VCL, STR, and LIN showed non-significant differences, suggesting that bucks might already have a good motility characteristic. No significant effects of SS supplementation on testosterone plasma levels, and the reported values were 1.28; 1.35, and 1.36 ng/ml for control; group 1, and group 2; respectively. In conclusion, SS improved reproduction in goats via the enhancement of semen quality in Aardi goats.


The thesis examines the likely effects on the European Community of the prospective European Monetary Union (EMU). It examines some of the structural problems which the newly joined but less developed members encountered on joining the customs union and then the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Analogies are drawn between these events and what might happen were Turkey to join first the customs union, then the ERM and finally the EMU. The status of Turkey as an Associate Member of the EC since 1963 is compared with countries in the European Free Trade Area and Eastern Europe. The main conclusion is that a further decade of successful structural reform would enable Turkey to benefit from joining an EC which continued on the same path for a further decade, and to benefit from joining an ERM in a wide band, but joining an EMU is unlikely to be beneficial.


China's dramatic economic development and urbanisation have led to an increase in its number of internal migrants. As of 2013, this group accounted for more than 20 per cent of the country's population, and approximately 70 per cent of people in this group are working in the informal economy. This paper pays special attention to migrant-traders in the informal sector and the strategies they use in Shanghai. Migrants are doubly marginalised by the hukou () and danwei () systems in the megacity and have only limited access to social welfare. It is argued that the informal strategies of these marginalised actors develop in related patterns of social relationships and institutional constraints. Such strategies create new forms of informal institutions that are justified and gain legitimacy when countering unequal and hierarchical formal institutions and social arrangements. This paper empirically explores how informal institutions can act in parallel with or diverge from formal institutions, and how they might influence formal institutions in the long term.


There has been an abundance of education reform recommendations for teaching and teacher education as a result of national and international reviews. A major criticism in education is the lack of connection between theory and practice (or praxis), that is, how the learning at university informs practical applications for teaching in the classroom. This paper presents the Teacher Education Done Differently (TEDD) project, funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). It outlines how it has re-structured its offering of coursework in a Bachelor of Education (BEd) held at an Australian university campus to embrace praxis. Establishing partnerships was crucial to the development of this project. TEDD initially gathered a reference group of educators, which included university staff, school executives, and other key stakeholders, who formed an Advisory Group and Steering Committee. These groups formed a collective vision for TEDD and aimed to motivate others, foster team work, and create leadership roles that would benefit all stakeholders. The paper presents how university units changed to include a stronger praxis development for preservice teachers. Preservice teachers take their learning into schools within lead-up programs such as Ed Start for practicum I, III, and IV; Science in Schools, and Studies of Society and its Environment (SOSE). Findings showed that opportunities for undertaking additional real-world experiences were perceived to assist the preservice teachers' praxis development. Additional school-based experiences as lead-up days for field experiences and as avenues for exploring the teaching of specific subject areas presented as an opportunity for enhancing education for all.


RESEARCH MISCONDUCTBERLIN-- A paper claiming a spectacular remission of tumors from the use of an experimental cancer vaccine is marred by shoddy scientific practices, but investigators aren't saying whether the results are also too good to be true. Last week the University of GA¶ttingen said that its investigative committee had found evidence of sloppiness that constitutes misconduct, but not fraud, in the disputed paper. But with only a brief statement to go on, scientists following up on the work still don't know whether the data are valid.


Background Caring for a child with cerebral palsy (CP) could negatively impact the quality of life (QoL) of the mothers who are usually the primary caregivers. Studies on the impact of caring for Nigerian children with cerebral palsy on the mothers' quality of life are not common hence the quality of life of mothers of children with cerebral palsy (MCCP) and age-matched mothers of typically developing children (MTDC) were compared in this study. Methods Eighty mothers (40 MCCP and 40 MTDC) participated in this cross-sectional survey. Participants in both groups had their quality of life assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQoL-BREF). Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests with alpha level set at 0.05. Results The two groups were not significantly different in their ages (p = 0.14). The mean overall QoL score of the MCCP (62.83±17.83) was significantly lower than that of the MTDC (68.87±8.51) (U=590.0; p=0.04) just as scores for overall health perception (U=576.5; p=0.03). Religion, educational status and occupational status had no significant influence on the QoL scores of mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Conclusion Caring for a child with CP significantly impacted on the QOL and health of the mothers, irrespective of their socio-economic status. Measures to improve quality of life and health of mothers of children with cerebral palsy should be incorporated in the management of CP with emphasis on identified areas of need.


In order to be able to successfully apply interline power flow controllers (IPFCs) for power-system transient-stability improvement and for the damping of oscillations, proper control strategies should be applied to these devices. The basis for the implementation of such a strategy that is proposed in this paper is to know the energy function of a power system that includes IPFCs. Already-known energy functions that proved to be suitable for an electric-power system do not include such a device. Therefore, in this paper an energy function that considers the IPFC's action in the form of a supplement to the already-known structure-preserving energy functions was constructed. Furthermore, the strategy for implementing the newly developed IPFC energy functions in order to ensure a globally optimum control strategy in the Lyapunov sense is presented. The results of the numerical examples show that the magnitudes of the IPFC's series-injected voltages remain set to their maximum values and that only the angles of these voltages change, similar to the ldquobang-bangrdquo control strategies proposed for some other FACTS devices.


: The histochemical localization of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP) was determined in regions I to VI of the epididymis in mature intact, orchidectomized, and orchidectomized testosterone-treated bulls. The intensity of ALP activity was essentially the same in all regions; however, its localization varied depending upon the region. Although the stereocilia and luminal border of epithelial cells were strongly-positive in regions I to III, these were negative in regions IV to VI. The basement membrane and circumtubular smooth muscle cells were strongly ALP reactive in all regions. Epithelial ALP activity was abolished completely by orchidectomy; however, it was restored to normal concentration by testosterone treatment implying its dependence on circulating testosterone. The ACP activity was present in the epithelial cells of all regions with the strongest activity in the supranuclear region. Similar to ALP, ACP activity was markedly reduced in the epithelial cells by orchidectomy. However, in contrast to ALP activity, lost ACP activity was only minimally increased by testosterone treatment in all regions, except in region VI where it was restored to a normal concentration. These observations imply that although the epithelial ACP activity of region VI was mainly under the influence of circulatory testosterone, there may be other factors such as luminal androgens, testicular fluid, and sperm that may be important in regulating the ACP activity of regions I to V of the epididymis. The importance of ALP and ACP in the epididymal epithelium was discussed.


A study of the kinetic stabilities of hydrogen-bonded double, tetra-, and hexarosette assemblies, comprising 36, 72, and 108 hydrogen bonds, respectively, is described. The kinetic stabilities are measured using both chiral amplification and racemization experiments. The chiral amplification studies show that solvent polarity and temperature strongly affect the kinetic stabilities of these hydrogen-bonded assemblies. For example, the activation energy for the dissociation of a tetramelamine from a tetrarosette assembly, a process that involves the breakage of 24 hydrogen bonds, was determined at 98.7 +/- 16.6 kJ mol(-1) in chloroform and 172.8 +/- 11.3 kJ mol(-1) in benzene. Moreover, racemization studies with enantiomerically enriched assemblies reveal a strong dependence of the kinetic stability on the number and strength of the hydrogen bonds involved in assembly formation. The half-lives for double, tetra-, and hexarosette assemblies were found to be 8.4 min, 5.5 h, and 150 h in chloroform at 50 degrees C, respectively. For higher generations of these types of assemblies, the kinetic stabilities become so high that they can no longer measured in a direct manner.


Mathematical model for skeleton stress-strain curve under dynamic loading (SSSC) is one important issue to study the dynamic behavior of soft soil. Based on mechanism of developing process, primary mathematical behavior that SSSC model should meet is analyzed. Mathematical investigation on two conventional SSSC models, namely hyperbolic model and exponential model, is conducted. Dynamic stress index is proposed and employed to signalize the shortcomings of two conventional models. A composite tangent-exponent model for SSSC with three parameters is established, which is a monotone increasing and up limited function. The new model can overcome conventional shortcomings. Finally, good agreement between investigated and new model fitted data has been found out.


This review focuses on Ebola, a deadly virus of the family Filoviridae that damages the immune system. Since the initial discovery of Zaire and Sudan ebola virus in 1976, the Ebola viruses have been responsible for severe hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Africa with case fatality rates between 40-90% and Zaire strain showing maximum fatality rate. Most people are infected by giving care to infected people either directly or by cleaning the infected person's body fluids. Further the review also addresses the signs and symptoms of the disease which is characterized by symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, rash and so on during the early stages of the disease. This disease could be diagnosed through laboratory findings by several detection tests like IgM Elisa, Immunosorbent Assay technique, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Immunohistochemistry testing, isolation of viruses and so on. New drug therapies are evaluated but no FDA approved drug is available, only some supportive care like providing fluids, replacing blood, treating some infections developed is provided to patients suffering from Ebola. Currently ZMapp is being tried which is a combination of three monoclonal antibodies.


This article argues that lessons from the social psychology field of cognitive dissonance theory can be applied to create a successful police integrity training and mentoring program, one that matches rookie officers with cadets still in training at the police academy as a way to perpetuate honesty as an intrinsic police value and prevent good cops from turning bad.Cognitive dissonance is the tension that arises when one holds two conflicting beliefs or believes one way and then acts another. Dissonance is strongest when it involves a cognition about the self and behavior that violates that self-concept. Self-concept theory rests on the assumption that humans strive to maintain consistency between their own high concept of themselves, including their moral self-concept, and their behavior.If a person considers herself to be a moral person and commits an immoral act, she will experience dissonance. Reducing this dissonance will require her to rethink or justify her actions to make them more consistent with her self-concept by changing attitudes or behavior. Because it directly challenges a person's image of herself, dissonance-based persuasion is a powerful behavior-altering force. Dissonance persuasion has been used successfully to change attitudes and behavior about energy conservation, condom use for AIDS prevention, weight reduction, and adolescent smoking.McClurg articulates a framework for police integrity programs based on the sponsorship model used effectively in 12-step recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous — which unwittingly capitalize on the power of cognitive dissonance theory — that would provide an effective foundation for keeping police officers, most of whom begin their careers as honest and idealistic, from straying from their moral compasses.


The main objective of this study was to determine the motives underlying the selection of foods between husbands and wives in an urban community. Thiscross-sectional study was carried out in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia among 150 married couples aged 20 and above, who voluntarily agreed to participate and were not on any special diet. Data were collected using the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) which measured the health-related and non health related factor that influence people's food choices. It consisted of 36 items designed to assess the reported importance of nine factors: health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, weight control, familiarity, and ethical concern. In this study, the FCQ was adapted and a new factor, religion (religious guidelines), was included. Demographic characteristics including age, occupation, education, household income and household size were also collected. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. Results showed that 40.7% of husbands (mean age= 43.33 + 11.16 years) and 55.3% of wives (mean age= 41.28 + 10.93 years) perceived themselves as the main food shopper while 12.0% of the husbands and 85.3% of the wives perceived themselves as the main meal planner. Husbands rated religion as the most prominent factor in food choice motives with a mean average rating of 4.56 + 0.59 on a 5-point rating scale, followed by health and convenience factor. Meanwhile, the wives rated health as the most essential factor with mean average rating of 4.49 + 0.58, followed by religion and convenience factor. Sensory appeal, ethical concerns and familiarity were rated as the bottom three factors of food choice motives among these two groups. Price of foods was not considered as an important factor in making food choices for the subjects in this study. In conclusion, the husbands and wives of this urban community rated religion, health and convenience as the three most important food choice motives in food selection.


We present a final description of the data-processing pipeline for thePlanckLow Frequency Instrument (LFI), implemented for the 2018 data release. Several improvements have been made with respect to the previous release, especially in the calibration process and in the correction of instrumental features such as the effects of nonlinearity in the response of the analogue-to-digital converters. We provide a brief pedagogical introduction to the complete pipeline, as well as a detailed description of the important changes implemented. Self-consistency of the pipeline is demonstrated using dedicated simulations and null tests. We present the final version of the LFI full sky maps at 30, 44, and 70 GHz, both in temperature and polarization, together with a refined estimate of the solar dipole and a final assessment of the main LFI instrumental parameters.


The congenital convex pes valgus deformity has been presented in reference to its etiology, pathologic anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment. It is imperative that this deformity be diagnosed immediately and treatment instituted rapidly to achieve a functional plantigrade and asymptomatic foot.


Retinoic acid receptor-β (RAR-β) mRNA is not expressed by retinoid-resistant renal cancer cell lines but is present in retinoid-sensitive SK-RC-06 renal cancer cells and increases following incubation with retinoic acid (RA), suggesting that the antitumor action of RA is mediated through RAR-β (A. D. Hoffman et al. , Clin. Cancer Res., 2: 1077–1082, 2996). To determine whether RAR-β expression correlates in vivo with major clinical response to patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who were treated with retinoid-based therapy, we used in situ hybridization to analyze RAR-β expression in tumor specimens obtained from patients who were treated on a clinical trial with 13- cis -RA and IFN-α. Thirty-three tissue specimens were analyzed (23 pretreatment and 10 on-treatment). mRNA expression was based on staining intensity, with scores within tumor cells ranging from 0 to 2, where a score of 0 indicated absence of staining, a score of 1 indicated weak staining, and a score of 2 indicated strong staining. RAR-β expression was present in 22 of 23 (96%) pretreatment and 9 of 10 (90%) on-treatment specimens. Pretreatment levels of expression did not associate with the site of biopsy and did not predict for major clinical response to RA plus IFN-α therapy (two-sided Fisher's exact test, P = 0.826). However, an increase in the intensity of RAR-β mRNA expression was detected in four of five (80%) patients who achieved a major response but in none of the five patients with progressive disease in whom sequential biopsies were available (two-sided Fisher's exact test, P = 0.048). These data show that RAR-β transcripts increase in tumor cells of RCC patients who clinically respond to retinoid-based therapy. Retinoids that potently induce RAR-β expression should be evaluated in the treatment of advanced RCC.


A significant fraction of the proteins encoded by the human and other genomes appears to be significantly unfolded in vitro. This will undoubtedly hamper attempts to characterize their structure by classical crystallographic or solution NMR methods. Here we show that encapsulation of a metastable protein within the restricted volume a reverse micelle can be used to force fold the protein and allow its characterization by modern methods of NMR spectroscopy. This may have significant utility in the context of structural proteomics. In addition, variation of the inner volume of the reverse micelle can be used to probe the character of the manifold of unfolded states.


We describe two systems for semantic relation classification with which we participated in the SemEval 2018 Task 7, subtask 1 on semantic relation classification: an SVM model and a CNN model. Both models combine dense pretrained word2vec features and hancrafted sparse features. For training the models, we combine the two datasets provided for the subtasks in order to balance the under-represented classes. The SVM model performed better than CNN, achieving a F1-macro score of 69.98% on subtask 1.1 and 75.69% on subtask 1.2. The system ranked 7th on among 28 submissions on subtask 1.1 and 7th among 20 submissions on subtask 1.2.


The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) operational special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) marked its ten-year anniversary on the launch date of the first SSM/I (F-8), June 19, 1987. After F-8, the DMSP has launched five more SSM/I's, F-10 (December 1990), F-11 (November 1991), F-12 (August 1994), F-13 (March 1995), and F-14 (April 1997), leaving the last SSM/I for a candidate launch in 1999. Built by Hughes Aircraft Co., these instruments have proven to be the most reliable and well-calibrated, space-based, passive microwave imaging radiometers to date, allowing the data to be used quantitatively for both operational and climatological applications. The remarkable stability of the SSM/I sensors also provides the opportunity to quantify the incremental brightness temperature differences to which the SSM/Is can be intercalibrated, thus establishing the "noise floor" for intercomparisons. This paper summarizes the prelaunch and postlaunch performances of each new sensor determined during calibration and validation (cal/val), starting with the formal, multiyear cal/val effort conducted by both government and public institutions under the direction of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and sponsored by the joint Air Force/Navy DMSP. Sensor-specific components, orbital configuration, and systematic relative errors are examined that contribute to the total system calibration. In particular, a large (1-3 K) but correctable left-right scan asymmetry of SSM/I brightness temperatures was observed in the data and traced to an antenna field-of-view (FOV) intrusion by the spacecraft (start of scan) and a glare suppression sensor (end of scan). These effects were found to be correctable to first order using a pixel-dependent spillover correction. Empirical statistical distribution functions for rain-free ocean pixels were constructed for the entire set of SSM/Is and formed the basis for assessing intersensor calibration. Manufacturer-derived sensor-specific antenna pattern correction (APC) coefficients were found to be the source of large intersensor differences for several channels, e.g., 1-2 K for the 22-V channel.


The neuroendocrine system of the hypothalamus is involved with the regulation of pituitary hormone secretion and with feeding, sexual behavior, stress response, and circadian rhythm. The neuronal networks for the regulation of feeding, sexual behavior, and stress responses communicate with and influence each other in a complex manner. This paper presents an overview of the interaction of these neuroendocrine systems, particularly from of the point of view of the mechanism of the onset of puberty.


Intimate partner violence (IPV) has received increasing attention over recent years, both in the media and in research (Randle & Graham, 2011). IPV can be an attempt to have power and control over a partner in an intimate relationship (Bowen, 2009), and its effects are far reaching (Cho & Wilke, 2010). The majority of research has investigated male perpetrators with the literature on female perpetrators being somewhat limited (Carney, Buttell & Dutton, 2007). Criminal justice agencies have largely been educated about male perpetrators of IPV (Henning & Feder, 2004), and as a result it is unclear whether treatment options for female perpetrators are effective. This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of the current treatment options for female perpetrators of IPV and the characteristics of this specialist population. This review revealed that there is not enough research on female perpetrators of IPV. The results indicate the effectiveness of treatment programs for female offenders of IPV is varied at best. It was also revealed that female perpetrators tend to have some similarities to their male counterparts, but there were also differences. Implications for future research and the development of treatment programs for partner aggressive women are discussed.


The growth of multilingual web content in low-resource languages is becoming an emerging challenge to detect misinformation. One particular hindrance to research on this problem is the non-availability of resources and tools. Majority of the earlier works in misinformation detection are based on English content which confines the applicability of the research to a specific language only. Increasing presence of multimedia content on the web has promoted misinformation in which real multimedia content (images, videos) are used in different but related contexts with manipulated texts to mislead the readers. Detecting this category of misleading information is almost impossible without any prior knowledge. Studies say that emotion-invoking and highly novel content accelerates the dissemination of false information. To counter this problem, here in this paper, we first introduce a novel multilingual multimodal misinformation dataset that includes background knowledge (from authentic sources) of the misleading articles. Second, we propose an effective neural model leveraging novelty detection and emotion recognition to detect fabricated information. We perform extensive experiments to justify that our proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art (SOTA) on the concerned task 1 .


Plants often experience challenging hypoxic conditions imposed by soil waterlogging or complete flooding. In rice, Sub1A, a flooding-induced ethylene responsive factor (ERF) plays a crucial role in submergence tolerance. In this study, we examined two Arabidopsis Hypoxia Responsive ERF genes (HRE1 and HRE2), belonging to the same ERF group as Sub1A. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants, which over-expressed HRE1, showed an improved tolerance of anoxia, whereas a double-knockout mutant hre1hre2 was more susceptible than the wild type. HRE1 over-expressing plants showed an increased activity in the fermentative enzymes pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase together with increased ethanol production under hypoxia, but not in normoxia. Whole-genome microarray analyses suggested that an over-expression of HRE1, but not HRE2, increased the induction of most anaerobic genes under hypoxia. Real-time quantitative (q)PCR analyses confirmed a positive effect of HRE1 over-expression on several anaerobic genes, whereas the double-knockout mutant hre1hre2 showed a decreased expression in the same genes after 4 h of hypoxia. Single-knockout mutants did not show significant differences from the wild type. We found that the regulation of HRE1 and HRE2 by low oxygen relies on different mechanisms, since HRE1 requires protein synthesis to be induced while HRE2 does not. HRE2 is likely to be regulated post-transcriptionally by mRNA stabilization. We propose that HRE1 and HRE2 play a partially redundant role in low oxygen signalling in Arabidopsis thaliana, thus improving the tolerance of the plant to the stress by enhancing anaerobic gene expression and ethanolic fermentation.


Many modern rice varieties have been intensively selected for high-yielding performance under irrigated conditions, reducing their genetic diversity and potentially increasing their susceptibility to abiotic stresses such as drought. In this study, we tested benefits for stress tolerance of introducing DNA segments from wild ancestor Oryza to the modern cultivar cv Curinga ) by applying a gradi-ent of osmotic stress to both parents and seven introgressed lines. Shoot growth of O. rufipogon had a high tolerance to osmotic stress, and the number of total root tips increased under mild osmotic stress. One introgression line showed greater shoot growth, root growth, and higher number of total root tips than the parent line CUR under osmotic stress. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key hormone mediating plant responses to abiotic stresses. Both root and shoot growth of O. rufipogon were much more sensitive to ABA than CUR . Introgression lines varied in the extent to which the sensitivity of their growth responses to ABA and some lines correlated with their sensitivity to osmotic stress. Our results suggest that rice responses to ABA and osmotic stress are genotype dependent, and growth responses of rice to ABA are not a consistent indicator of resilience to abiotic stress in introgression lines. and accumulation under in the introgression lines. The difference in root architecture in response to between and also analyzed and compared with difference in their to


BACKGROUND
People with intellectual disability experience higher rates of mental health disorders than the rest of the population, and expert opinion holds that multiple barriers prevent people with intellectual disability from accessing appropriate services.

METHODS
A qualitative study was designed to explore the lived experience of barriers and enablers to access to mental health services among people with intellectual disability. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with people with intellectual disability, carers and service providers.

RESULTS
Barriers and enablers were identified across four key dimensions of access: utilization of services; service availability; relevance, effectiveness and access; and equity and access. These factors operated at both systemic and personal levels.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings from this study provide empirical evidence of anecdotal experiences of access to mental health services and provide insight into the ways users, carers and service providers navigate an often hostile system and indicate further directions for research.


This work comprises a study into the historic process of implementation of psychiatric reforms in Rio Grande do Norte state, highlighting the agents involved, their careers, achievements and progress and this movement's current prospectsfor realizing the ideal of reintegrating mental health patients in society. It is necessary to comprehend the process that took place within the Municipal Health Department starting in 1992, since this experience was the driving force for reflections upon psychiatric reform across the state. This is followed by a documental analysis of reports, legislation and dossiers, as well as the collection of depositions by people involved in the process with a view to building up the identity of the social agents and analyzing their perceptions of the facts, highlighting congruencies and incongruencies concerning the history of the local psychiatric reform.


ABSTRACT
In this thesis I focus attention on the Baha'i Process of community-building within its periodic context. Towards this aim, I answer the question of how Baha'is translate the word of God into practice to construct their social reality. This project takes a constructionist approach and applies Peter Berger's conceptual framework to interpret Baha'i scriptures. This study also takes an ethnographic methodology that includes semi-structured interviews as well as observations to study the lived experience of the Baha'is in Sheffield. I demonstrate that the stability of the Baha'i community-building efforts was maintained from 1934 up until 1996. Nonetheless, since 1996, radical shifts have happened in the Baha'i community, regarding the aims and the means of the community building. In this research I have identified the shifting period of the community-building among the Baha'is as deconstruction. The study verifies the changes in community-building have been radical enough to change the nature of the community from an international, institutionalized community into various, similar, local communities spread all around the world. Accordingly, an institutional community aiming to establish a New World Order through the institutes of the Baha'i Administrative Order is turning into an individual-centred community aiming for the betterment of the world through starting from the neighbourhoods. The study adds to Berger's conceptual framework for the social construction of reality by introducing the notion of "deconstruction". Through this research, I will also enrich the literature of the sociology of religion regarding studying Baha'is constructing their desired community based on their interpretations of their holy writings.
Keywords: Constructionism, Baha'i Faith, Community-building, Deconstruction


A new root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus hippeastri n. sp. is described from amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.) in Florida. The new species is characterised by a combination of the following morphological features of females: slender body, flat, plain and smooth face, head with two lip annuli, an incomplete third annulus, and with second lip annulus thicker than first, ellipsoidal stylet knobs, rectangular empty spermatheca with large round cavity, and conoid tail with bluntly pointed terminus usually showing a ventral constriction, or subhemispherical and smooth. The ranges of morphometric characters of P. hippeastri n. sp. overlap with those of P. scribneri and P. hexincisus. These three species also share some morphological and biological features such as two lip annuli, an empty spermatheca and similar lateral fields, but differ in the morphology of head patterns (smooth face in P. hippeastri n. sp. vs divided face in the others) and tail termini (hemispherical and subhemispherical in P. scribneri and subdigitate in P. hexincisus vs bluntly pointed in P. hippeastri n. sp.). A reference population of P. scribneri from Ohio and one of P. hexincisus from Tennessee were obtained during the course of unsuccessful attempts to recover P. scribneri at the type locale in Tennessee. The D3 rDNA sequences of the reference populations matched GenBank sequences for these two species. Small morphological differences between the P. scribneri population from Ohio and the P. scribneri lectotype occurred in the shape of stylet knobs (ellipsoidal vs round) and spermatheca (round with a central cavity vs oblong) and also in the length of the pharyngeal overlap (longer in the reference population). These morphological differences cast doubt about the identity of the lectotype, which may be P. hexincisus. New morphological details were obtained for P. hexincisus from Tennessee, which included a divided face, an almost rectangular empty spermatheca with a central cavity and subdigitate tail termini. Based on our phylogenetic inferences from DNA sequences P. hippeastri n. sp. is more closely related to P. zeae and a Florida population of P. loosi than to P. scribneri or P. hexincisus.


Aims To establish current physical activity (PA) behaviours in childhood cancer survivors attending a tertiary hospital "late effects" clinic. To highlight their perceived barriers to increasing physical activity levels. To identify their preferred interventions to support physical activity participation. To establish whether medical teams are providing physical activity advice as perceived by the patient. Methods Questionnaires were administered through a tertiary hospital 'Late Effects Clinic' for childhood cancer survivors. Questions were devised after review of previous publications relating to PA measurement and interventions.1 Results 32 responses; 17 males and 15 females between 17–45 years (median: 28 years). 56% of respondents stated becoming more physically active was a priority for them. 26% failed to meet government guidelines for PA.2 41% cited barriers to PA were 'competing priorities' (work, study or family/friends); 29.3% cited 'physical barriers' (pain, concerns about injury or medication side-effects); 19% cited 'social barriers' (pressure from family/friends, don't feel confident, lack of encouragement) and 10.3% cited 'other factors' (financial or lack of facilities/equipment). 59% stated a preference to exercise 'on their own' rather than through 'group' exercise programs which is reflected in the responses given for preferred resources to help increase PA levels; paper 33%, interactive DVD 30%, mobile phone app/online website/online website with video each 11%, podcast 4%.2 Conclusions PA is a high priority for this population and barriers broadly reflect those cited by other populations.3 Technological resources as aids to help improve PA levels need to be considered by clinicians as an important tool and should become a fundamental component of the patient pathway. Greater collaboration between SEM and other medical specialties could help identify and address the needs of specific patient groups in increasing PA levels.


Green energy technology adoption has been a major problem in urban poor (slums dwellers) in developing countries.  The government and other major stakeholders in the energy sector often fail to address these issues due to poor policy and high cost of technology. The presence of NGO's whose programmes of equipping the slum dwellers especially Kibera slum in Nairobi Kenya have done very little in addressing the problem. The use of green energy technology has grown tremendously in semi-arid areas. However little is known about the adoption, awareness and use of such household scale technologies by slums dwellers in Kenya. The general objective of the study was to analyze the green energy adoption in Kenya, case of Kibera slum which is the largest of its kind in Africa. Recent empirical evidence showed that renewable energy adoption is growing in the world's emerging economies nearly twice as fast than in industrialized nations. Not only are renewable energy technologies now cost competitive with fossil fuels in many developing nations, but they are often more reliable, safer, and at times cheaper than conventional grid power. This study examined the cost of green energy, size of family income, energy sector reforms. The researcher used descriptive analysis to assess the awareness and adoptions of green energy technology. In particular the study used logit and probit models to examine the variables of green energy adoption and intensity use of green energy technology on household scale respectively. The study used data collected via personal interview using pretested questionnaires in all the 17 villages of Kibera slums. This area was selected because of its relevance to the study. It used probability proportion to size sampling technique to collect information from 449 respondents. The study finds high awareness (76 percent) of green energy technology among the Kibera slums dwellers. However, this has not translated into high adoption. Only 10 percent of the respondents have adopted green energy technology. Results indicate high usage in the villages supplied with the technology by the NGOs than the rest of the study areas. Results of the regression analysis indicates that family income, the cost of green energy technology, lack extension officers,  and distance to the green energy enterprises /dealers affects the adoption of green energy technology. Intense of adoption of green energy technology on the other hand is affected by membership to youth or women group, distance to the nearest enterprises with physical and financial assets. Lastly, a finding of this study also implies that adoption of green energy technology can spur good physical well-being and productivity of household members, improve welfare of such households and reduces deaths caused by pollution related disease. Therefore there is need to formulate and implement Energy sector reforms to encourage access to clean and affordable energy services by slums dwellers. Key Words: Green Energy Adoption, Household Development, Kibera Slums in Kenya.


In this paper, an analysis of interlinking between 100 major European universities is given. Since websites contain links to webpages for other organizations, they may reveal the strongest relationships established between two organizations. This analysis of web links allowed us to determine the different behaviours among the universities with regard to incoming or outgoing web links; some universities had significantly greater incoming than outgoing activity. In general, there was a low level of interaction between the universities studied. Also, we observed the existence of geographic–linguistic patterns in establishing links. Five primary nuclei or blocks of universities can be identified: the group composed almost exclusively of universities from the UK; the group composed in large part of German universities, along with some from Switzerland and Austria; the cluster of universities from Mediterranean countries, including various French universities; the group of Belgian and Dutch universities, along with some from French-speaking Switzerland; and finally, the group made up of universities from the Nordic countries. Although there are some universities that overlap with several groups or clusters, the overall design is rather clear. On the other hand, the whole picture seems to agree with the results of other studies based on bibliographic co-authorship production.


The second dielectric virial coefficient for HCl has been computed over a range of temperatures using several model potentials, and a number of approximations have been tested. Several approximations made in earlier work are shown to lead to substantial errors in the computed dielectric virial coefficient. The dielectric virial coefficient is a sensitive test of model potentials, but the calculations
 need to be carried out accurately. Values are predicted for water, carbon monoxide, HF, HCN and FCH3.


Background: This paper reviews the physiological correlates of arousal to develop a comprehensive and collective understanding of the physiological correlates of arousal that occurs at different levels, such as emotion, sexual, sleep, mood, cognitive dissonance, and temperament.
Objective: Main objective of this review was to have a clear understanding of the various physiological correlates that are associated with arousal.
Method: Research articles and books were searched on journals using the keywords 'physiological correlates of emotional arousal', 'physiological correlates of arousal-sleep', 'physiological correlates of sexual arousal'.
Results and Conclusion: Results from the review indicated that there are numerous correlates of physiological arousal which are based on changes in bodily mechanisms, such as variations in breathing rate, cardiovascular systems, and changes in functioning in certain brain areas.


From 1992 to 2015 China investigated Chinese public scientific literacy and attitudes to S&T nine times. Originally, the framework of investigation of indicators was almost similar to investigations in Science Indicators initiated by Jon Miller in the 1970s. However, from 2005 to 2015 with more and more Chinese characteristics of related investigations, we find that the scientific literacy level of the Chinese public increased almost two times every five years. And the aim of the 13th five-year National Planning of Chinese public scientific literacy level has been set at 10% in 2020, which means the data will be double again in another five years in the future. According to the eighth investigation in 2010, 3.27% Chinese people have scientific literacy, which shows 14.67% people master scientific knowledge, 9.75% master scientific methods, and 64.94% worship the scientific spirit. How do we understand the last number which is so conflicted with the common sense of science sociology? Which side is lying: public, science, or investigation? This paper will talk about the problems in these investigations which are really unreasonable and even could be a big scandal if we compare with other countries' similar investigations and make an objective analysis of those data and results.


This paper has documented the impact of shelterbelt on agricultural returns by collecting primary data from 80 farmers each in shelterbelt and non-shelterbelt areas. To decompose the total change in net returns, separate production functions have been estimated for shelterbelt and non-shelterbelt farms. The study has revealed an increase of 430.8 per cent in net returns due to shelterbelt plantation, in which shelterbelt technology has contributed 399.4 per cent and increase in use of complementary inputs, 31.4 per cent. In the change of 399.4 per cent, shelterbelt has accounted for 305.6 per cent, i.e. shifting from non- shelterbelt to shelterbelt and remaining 93.8 per cent has been due to inputs used by non-shelterbelt, which might be due to improvement in soil health.


This article provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of the "CoVa" cognitive skills training program. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the known reoffending behavior of 2,229 CoVa participants with that of two control groups of offenders: (1) one formed using the inclusion criteria of the program, and (2) one formed using propensity score matching (PSM). Outcome measures included the prevalence, frequency, and impact of new, adjudicated crimes, with the impact defined as the combined severity of the offenses. Results indicated that the participants in the CoVa group were reconvicted less frequently than those in Control Group 1. Moreover, the impact of their recidivism was lower than the impact of those of Control Group 2. However, the effect sizes were very small, and no significant differences were found regarding reconviction prevalence. Explanations for the absence of (large) effects are discussed.


This work arises from a premise that the practice of ordained ministry within the Church of Scotland is in a state of 'crisis' and it suggests that this analysis is appropriate. The nature of this crisis is discussed together with institutional reactions thereto. Following a presentation of the concepts of role, identity and the self, consideration is given to the role of the parish minister in Scotland up to the contemporary period. Consideration is given to the changing role of the minister in contemporary Scotland, the issue of professionalisation and the affects of role conflict and uncertainty on the conditions of stress and burnout in ministry. Thereafter analysis of the main aspects of ministerial practice is achieved through means of a postal questionnaire and structured interview technique. Vocational issues of initial vocation, training, priority, worship and theology are examined and discussed, followed by more relational aspects of practice, including, pastoral care, family and spouse relationships, women in ministry, congregation and collegial relationship and most particularly the minister's self- understanding and self care. In each of these areas it is suggested that the contemporary practice of ministry is evidencing dis-ease and distress and that such a practice vitiates a resolution of the perceived 'crisis' of identity and role. Nevertheless it remains clear that for the majority of parish ministers the functions of worship leadership, particularly preaching and pastoral care remain dominant within their self-conception of their role and identity. A relational, social trinitarian theology of ministry is advanced together with the model of minister as human friend. Both emphasise and concentrate on the relational dynamics of ministry. It is argued that there needs to be an examination of the relationship between function and being in ministry, together with a re-conceptualisation of the nature of ordination, the role of the sacraments in ordained ministry and the relationship between the ordained and the whole people of God. Recommendations are offered for both institutional and theological change to encourage the development of a ministerial practice and theology which concentrates and affirms the relational dimension of parish ministry.


THE occasion of this volume is the centenary of the Central Criminal Court, and it sets out to deal with the history of that famous institution. The historical chapters are most interesting, but the author does not stick too closely to the central theme of his work, and the result is a book which will interest the general reader no less than the antiquary. As a matter of fact the writer is at his best when he lets himself loose on such subjects as the methods adopted by those gentlemen who like to draw money from a bank without the troublesome formality of opening an account, or the modern technique of safe-opening. New light is thrown on the exploits of Jack Sheppard, Charles Peace, Jack the Ripper, and many others. The most notable occupants of the dock at the Old Bailey all have their place in the book, but the author describes their exploits prior to entering the Old Bailey more fully than the features of their several trials. This is possibly all to the good, but it does have the effect of making the old court play second fiddle to those who entered it. May we look forward to a similar volume on the occasion of the Old Bailey's bi-centenary ?


Isometric surfaces share the same geometric structure, also known as the "first fundamental form." For example, all possible bendings of a given surface that includes all length preserving deformations without tearing or stretching the surface are considered to be isometric. We present a method to construct a bending invariant signature for such surfaces. This invariant representation is an embedding of the geometric structure of the surface in a small dimensional Euclidean space in which geodesic distances are approximated by Euclidean ones. The bending invariant representation is constructed by first measuring the intergeodesic distances between uniformly distributed points on the surface. Next, a multidimensional scaling technique is applied to extract coordinates in a finite dimensional Euclidean space in which geodesic distances are replaced by Euclidean ones. Applying this transform to various surfaces with similar geodesic structures (first fundamental form) maps them into similar signature surfaces. We thereby translate the problem of matching nonrigid objects in various postures into a simpler problem of matching rigid objects. As an example, we show a simple surface classification method that uses our bending invariant signatures.


For the majority of the learning-based segmentation methods, a large quantity of highquality training data is required. In this paper, we present a novel learning-based segmentation model that could be trained semior unsupervised. Specifically, in the unsupervised setting, we parameterize the Active contour without edges (ACWE) framework via a convolutional neural network (ConvNet), and optimize the parameters of the ConvNet using a self-supervised method. In another setting (semi-supervised), the auxiliary segmentation ground truth is used during training. We show that the method provides fast and high-quality bone segmentation in the context of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) image. The source code of this work is available online at https://github.com/junyuchen245/Unsuprevised Seg via CNN/


The new generation of imaging spectrometers onboard planetary missions usually produce hundreds to thousands of images a year, each made up of a thousand to a million spectra with typically several hundred wavelengths. Such huge datasets must be analyzed by efficient yet accurate algorithms. A supervised automatic classification method (hereafter called "wavanglet") is proposed to identify spectral features and classify images in spectrally homogeneous units. It uses four steps: (1) selection of a library composed of reference spectra; (2) application of a Daubechies wavelet transform to referenced spectra and determination of the wavelet subspace that best separates all referenced spectra; and (3) in this selected subspace, determination of the best threshold on the spectral angle to produce detection masks. This application is focused on the Martian polar regions that present three main types of terrains: H2O ice, CO2 ice, and dust. The wavanglet method is implemented to detect these major compounds on near-infrared hyperspectral images acquired by the OMEGA instrument onboard the Mars Express spacecraft. With an overall accuracy of 89%, wavanglet outperforms two generic methods: band ratio (57% accuracy) and spectral feature fitting (83% accuracy). The quantitative detection limits of wavanglet are also evaluated in terms of abundance for H2O and CO2 ices in order to improve the interpretation of the masks


PURPOSE
In recent years, many approaches have been investigated on the development of full-field digital mammography detectors and implemented in practical clinical systems. Some of the most promising techniques are based on flat panel detectors, which, depending on the mechanism involved in the x-ray detection, can be grouped into direct and indirect flat panels. Direct detectors display a better spatial resolution due to the direct conversion of x rays into electron-hole pairs, which do not need an intermediate production of visible light. In these detectors the readout is usually achieved through arrays of thin film transistors (TFTs). However, TFT readout tends to display noise characteristics worse than those from indirect detectors. To address this problem, a novel clinical system for digital mammography has been recently marketed based on direct-conversion detector and optical readout. This unit, named AMULET and manufactured by FUJIFILM, is based on a dual layer of amorphous selenium that acts both as a converter of x rays (first layer) and as an optical switch for the readout of signals (second layer) powered by a line light source. The optical readout is expected to improve the noise characteristics of the detector. The aim is to obtain images with high resolution and low noise, thanks to the combination of optical switching technology and direct conversion with amorphous selenium. In this article, the authors present a characterization of an AMULET system.

METHODS
The characterization was achieved in terms of physical figures as modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectra (NPS), detective quantum efficiency (DQE), and contrast-detail analysis. The clinical unit was tested by exposing it to two different beams: 28 kV Mo/Mo (namely, RQA-M2) and 28 kV W/Rh (namely, W/Rh).

RESULTS
MTF values of the system are slightly worse than those recorded from other direct-conversion flat panels but still within the range of those from indirect flat panels: The MTF values of the AMULET system are about 45% and 15% at 5 and 8 lp/mm, respectively. On the other hand, however, AMULET NNPS results are consistently better than those from direct-conversion flat panels (up to two to three times lower) and flat panels based on scintillation phosphors. DQE results lie around 70% when RQA-M2 beams are used and approaches 80% in the case of W/Rh beams. Contrast-detail analysis, when performed by human observers on the AMULET system, results in values better than those published for other full-field digital mammography systems.

CONCLUSIONS
The novel clinical unit based on direct-conversion detector and optical reading presents great results in terms of both physical and psychophysical characterizations. The good spatial resolution, combined with excellent noise properties, allows the achievement of very good DQE, better than those published for clinical FFDM systems. The psychophysical analysis confirms the excellent behavior of the AMULET unit.


Under the doctrine of hospital corporate liability, the hospital governing board bears the responsibility for detecting the incompetence of its staff physicians. Since hospital governing boards are generally composed of lay community members, they lack the expertise to evaluate the clinical competence of their staff. Therefore, they must delegate their screening responsibilities to medical staff review committees. After analyzing the development of hospital corporate liability doctrine, this Note examines the respective policing capabilities of review committees and the governing board. The Note contends that the board should not be held liable for aspects of the policing process which it is incapable of controlling. The Note concludes that, given their superior ability to evaluate clinical competency, staff review committees should shoulder the responsibility for the clinical aspects of staff evaluation, leaving remaining aspects to the hospital governing board. The Note proposes that courts should recognize a cause of action for negligence against medical staff review committee members in order to upgrade the effective policing of the medical profession.


Development of a Well Intervention Toolkit to Analyze Initial Wellbore Conditions and Evaluate Injection Pressures, Flow Path, Well Kill, and Plugging Procedures. (August 2009) Amir Saman Paknejad, B.S., Petroleum University of Technology, Iran; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jerome Schubert Every year, many wells are subject to well intervention operations for a variety of different reasons, such as Plug and Abandon (P&A) operations or well control situations. Wells that are not properly plugged, in addition becoming an inherent blowout threat, can act as a preferential pathway for surface contaminants to reach and impair ground water quality, and could cause injury to livestock, wildlife, or humans. Hence, federal code (or state code if in state waters) states that the wells must be plugged according to regulations. If attempts with a surface intervention operation fail, a relief type subsurface intervention project is deemed appropriate. A relief well type of intersection into each target wellbore will create a hydraulic flow path suitable for plugging operations. The plugging operation will require the placement of permanent plugging fluids into the Target Well (TW) to meet Mineral Management Services (MMS), or other regulatory iv agency, approved plugging criteria. Evidently, there is a need to design a method to insure that the scenarios are accurately defined, analyzed and the results can be effectively implemented to complete the plug and abandonment operations. A software package, coupled with the skill of a hydraulic modeling specialist, could provide final resolution to and better understanding of the problem. However, considering uncertainties in some input information, there is a need to develop a multipurpose package which enables the user to manipulate dynamically a wide range of input data in order to obtain the best fit. Therefore, the decision was made to develop a software package specifically built and designed to address the common problems encountered during well intervention projects. The well intervention toolkit will be used to investigate the plugging and abandonment scenarios. The well intervention toolkit not only provides the critical input parameters to other commercial software but would also be a means to analyze and simulate the well intervention hydraulics.


What is the central question of this study? Is there a beneficial effect and what are the mechanisms of acute and multiple hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO2) exposures on the outcome of cerebral tissue injury induced by a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion model in diabetic female rats? Are 20‐hydroxyeicosatetreanoic acid and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids involved? What is the main finding and its importance? Equal reduction of cortical and total infarct size in rats treated with HBO2 and HET0016 (20‐hydroxyeicosatetreanoic acid production inhibitor) and significant mRNA upregulation of epoxyeicosatrienoic acid‐producing enzymes (Cyp2J3 and Cyp2C11) in treated groups suggest that HBO2 and HET0016 are highly effective stroke treatments and that cytochrome P450 metabolites are involved in this therapeutic effect.


Free electrons in the earth's ionosphere cause a frequency-dependent group delay in the bands used for the spreadspectrum GPS ranging signals. This delay constitutes a potential source of error in timing measurements. The ionospheric delay can be removed by dual-frequency ranging using the Ll and L2 signals. Two-frequency time receivers are currently expensive, and are not very reliable when tracking low elevation satellites when AntiSpoofing is enabled, unless decryption can be used. Single-frequency, Ll, receivers can correct for the delay using a detailed model of the ionosphere scaled by data contained in the 'navigation message' broadcast by the satellites. However, because of unpredictable variations of the ionosphere, this so-called single-frequency correction is only expected to absorb 50% of the effect. The uncorrected ionospheric delay can cause significant errors in LI timing systems such as disciplined oscillators. This unpredictable source of error is of increasing importance with the approach of the solar activity maximum. Estimates of the ionospheric delay, calculated from two-frequency geodesic measurements, are now available from several sources, but these are not easy to apply in real time. In the future, WAAS and other system real-time ionosphere estimates for some geographical areas will be available with suitable receivers via geostationary satellites. We report attempts to model the zenith ionosphere correction from observations of the Ll code and cam'er phase GPS observables made with a multi-channel receiver module. Code and carrier phases are affected by dispersion with opposite signs, but carrier phase always contains an ambiguity. It will be shown that by measuring derivatives of the observables, the ionospheric delay can be estimated approximately by post-processing the output of a single-frequency receiver. The use of a single frequency avoids inaccuracy due to group delay differences in the receiver for LI and L2 signals. Real-time estimation could be performed if the batch processing procedure were replaced by a suitable filter. Preliminary results will be presented, and compared with post-processed IGS estimates.


Statement of the Problem: The disease burden of breast cancer remains strong as the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Despite this, the rate of women receiving a mammogram has shown little improvement since 2000. As health insurance will provide expanded coverage for mammography through the Affordable Care Act, it is essential to identify and describe women who have a lower probability of receiving the recommended breast cancer screening. Objective: To describe trends in receipt of biennial mammography in women in the United States, and to further identify independent sociodemographic and clinical predictors of women not receiving a mammography as recommended by national guidelines. Methods: Using data from the 2008-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), I conducted a cross-sectional study and selected women forty years of age or older who had identified the time since their last mammogram as asked in the Preventive Care supplement. Within the final sample of 20,796 women, I assessed trends in mammography use in the previous two years, and differences in sociodemographic, clinical and type of usual source of care (creating 2 groups: no mammography, yes mammography). For analytic purposes, this study was analyzed as a case control study comparing women without a mammogram to women who had received a mammogram in the past 2 years. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of missed mammography and the data were weighted using SUDAAN software to account for the complex survey design and the nationally representative sampling scheme. Results: Overall, in the weighted sample of 210,485,707 women, 26.9% (n=56,532,799) did not receive a mammogram in the previous 2 years. Women in the case group (absence of recommended mammography) were of similar age and race/ethnicity as women in the control group (presence of recommended mammography). Overall, the study population consisted mostly of women aged 40-59 comprised by 60.1% of the cases and 57.9% of the controls. In multivariable modeling, the strongest predictor of missing a recommended mammogram was not having a usual source of care (OR=2.86; 95% CI, 2.52-3.25) and women without insurance during the study period (OR=2.34; 95% CI, 2.07-2.65). Conclusions: More than 1 in 4 women, or approximately 57 million women, did not receive the recommended biennial mammogram screening. Women without a usual source of care were less likely to receive the recommended screening, but variation across type of usual source of care was not apparent in my study. Age, race/ethnicity and other demographic and clinical characteristics were related to lack of receipt of mammography. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, targeted interventions to reach the population subgroups less likely to receive the recommended mammography screening are essential.


Stroke is a major public health concern in China and worldwide due to its
significant mortality and long-term morbidity. Following an acute stroke both older
people and their family carers often have to make major life decisions in a
relatively short period of time. This study explores the nature of the decisionmaking process between people with stroke, their family carers and professionals in
an acute care context in China.
Using a constructivist grounded theory approach data were collected through a
combination of methods including semi-structured interviews, participant
observation, and documentary analysis. This comprised interview data from 19
people with stroke, 28 family carers and 25 professionals together with 55 periods
of observation to ensure 24 hour coverage and an analysis of key policy and
practice documents. Constant comparative analysis of the data led to the emergence
of two core categories, and their associated social processes, these were 'Keeping
the Peace' and 'Making Decisions'.
The core category 'Keeping the Peace' was the most important goal for all three
groups of people. This involved both keeping peace of mind for the person with the
stroke and keeping peace in relationships between different parties (i.e. interprofessional relationships, inter-familial relationships, patient-carer-professional
relationships, and relationships between patient/carer from different families). The
core category of 'Making decisions' comprised three major social processes of
hiding (permanent hiding, temporary hiding, and tailoring to hide), seeking
(searching, watching/comparing, and checking) and sharing (informing, advising,
exchanging, and tailoring to explain).
There was a close and dynamic relationship between 'Making Decisions and
'Keeping the Peace' and both were heavily influenced by Chinese culture,
especially the traditional Chinese ideal of maintaining harmony. In addition a broad
range of other factors also played a part in the overall decision-making process,
including: the people who were involved; the types of decisions to be were made;
the types of knowledge that was used; environmental factors; medical/treatment
related factors; patient-, carer- and professional-related factors.
The grounded theory emerging from this study enhances our understanding of
decision-making experiences among older patients with stroke, family carers and


Virtual Reality Retailing (VRR) has proved to be an emerging retailing channel with an ongoing economic activity in recent years. There are plenty of virtual worlds where businesses develop, some of which have developed a self-governing economy retaining its own currency. While there has been considerable amount of research as far as store atmosphere is concerned in brick-and-mortar and web retailing, research in the new retailing channel is generally deficient. The growing virtual retailing environment (VRE) resembles but also differs in terms of store atmosphere characteristics both with the traditional and Web environment. The present paper reviews current business practice in virtual worlds and sets the research agenda as far as virtual store atmosphere studies is concerned. To that end, it is attempted to justify the need for adopting interdisciplinary research initiatives when studying store atmosphere effects on consumer behavior in the context of VRR. Specifically, the paper calls for employing established knowledge derived through the Information Systems and Marketing disciplines.


This thesis offers an examination of the works of French artist Louise Bourgeois through the lenses of gender, queer and performance. One of the most well-known female artists of the 20th century, Bourgeois is known with detailed her explanations on her works. This research considers the works of the artist, her actions and her discourse alongside the works, as an entire performative act, and examines her performance in relation with feminist thinker Judith Butler's performative notions in gender theory. The works shown in this thesis feature an idea of gender ambiguity and an almost-queer identity. Among the works examined are a portrait of the artist by Robert Mapplethorpe, a photo-text titled Child Abuse, an installation titled Destruction of the Father, sculptures titled Janus Fleuri, Nature Study and Maman, and two documentaries on the artist. This thesis shows that Bourgeois' work and her artistic persona provides a way to think about a different and a more liberal idea of gender and identity.


Abundance, biomass, vertical distribution, species composition and mixotrophy of planktonic ciliates were investigated during March 1997 in the oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean. Six depth layers were sampled in the euphotic zone (0 to 100 m) at 7 stations in the North and 4 in the South Aegean Sea, resulting in a total of 66 samples and 82 ciliate species. Abundance was in general very low (0 to 780 cells l -1 ) except from specific stations in the North Aegean stations (20 to 2040 cells l -1 ), influenced by the Black Sea Water. Aloricate species dominated the depth-integrated abundance and biomass in both the North and the South. South Aegean stations presented more diverse ciliate fauna, uniform distribution down to 100 m and higher values of integrated abundance and biomass than the North Aegean stations. Among North stations, those subjected to the influence of the Black Sea presented very pronounced stratification, with mixotrophs and heterotrophs decreasing sharply below 20 m; at these stations, mixotrophic species of 18 to 30 μm dominated the ciliate community at the surface whereas at the South as well as at the rest of the North stations, nanociliates were the major mixotrophic size class. Mixotrophs (20% of abundance in the South, 38% in the North) and nanociliates (28% of abundance in the South, 44 % in the North) were found to be very important components of the community, which indicates that these organisms play also an important role in oligotrophic systems.


This paper puts focus on the application of Near Field Communication technology (NFC) to mobile payments. Uncertainties about global policies open for a variety of local business policies. Taking into account different representations of actor interaction as described by different eco-systems by different policy forums the main research question to be discussed in the paper is: Can policies or standards describing actor roles and responsibilities for technical innovations like mobile payments remove obstacles for introduction of the innovation? Different types of industry forums are not only involved in strictly technical matters but also discuss and describe visions about how a new technique might be applied in business life. They suggest different business architectures, (not only a technical architecture), where roles of different type of actors and relations between actors are outlined based on ideas about so called eco-systems. Against this background the paper first discusses how NFC enabled mobile payments currently attracts a lot of attention and identifies four possible development paths making it happen. The paper discusses and compares how global policy networks describe the technical and business architectures for mobile payments. The paper uses a business practice analytical framework and an industrial network framework to identify major problems in connecting global and local policies. Some comments on further research finalize the paper.


OBJECTIVES
To find the habits of farm-workers when they apply these products, to detect dangerous practices, to find the most important defects in farm-workers' protection and to analyse the personal variables associated with the level of self-protection.

DESIGN
Descriptive cross-sectional study.

SETTING
Primary Care. Rural Health Centre.

PARTICIPANTS
Farm-workers and spouses in our Health Area who underwent a health examination.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
A questionnaire was designed specifically for the study and filled out by the doctor or nurse at the centre where the person interviewed was registered. 72.8% of the farm-workers had inadequate protection. 79.3% said they had suffered on some occasion symptoms related to pesticide use.

CONCLUSIONS
In the rural health areas where there is intensive agriculture, exposure to pesticides is a major health problem, as these substances are hazardous and people applying them wear inadequate protection. Action strategies in this field involve integrating health at work services into health centres. Health education tasks have to be coordinated with the agricultural organisations in the area, such as associations for the defense of plants, cooperatives, etc.


Experiments on rabbits were made to study variation in the frequency of the self-stimulation reaction from the lateral hypothalamus under the effect of the corticotropin fragment ACTH5-10. Intraperitoneal administration of the peptide in a dose of 50 micrograms/kg that causes the improved training in different behavioral models produces no significant effect on the mechanism of intracranial positive reinforcement. Intraventricular injection of 5 microliters of 0.9% NaCl leads to a short-term suppression of the self-stimulation reaction. Administration of 50 pcM/kg ACTH5-10 in the same volume of physiological saline completely abolishes the inhibitory action of the intraventricular injection itself.


This paper presents a systematic overview of the evidence of violence against women in the Central America, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, and Dominican Republic region and examines its impact on the well-being of women and their children. Population-based surveys show that violence against women remains a widespread issue in the region. The proportion of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime varies between 13% and 53%; Panama has the lowest rate while Mexico and El Salvador have the highest. The percentage of women who have experienced violence within private spheres ranges between 17% and 24%. Also, homicidal violence targeting women remains a major problem in the region. Using a novel propensity score reweighting technique, we assess the impact of violence on a series of outcome variables related to a womans health and socioeconomic condition. We find evidence that violence against women negatively affects victims reproductive and physical health as well as their fertility preferences. We also find evidence that violence against mothers has an adverse effect on childrens advancement in school and overall health.


Abstract The Cambrian Nongpoh granitoids, intrusive into the Precambrian gneissic complex and metasediments of the Shillong Group, represent a major phase of granitic magmatism in the Shillong Plateau. The Nongpoh granitoids comprise diorite, granodiorite, porphyritic and grey granites. Porphyritic granite is the dominant lithology exposed in the Nongpoh granitoids, and contains three types of enclaves, viz. xenoliths of gneissic rocks, dark grey porphyry and biotite-rich microgranular enclaves. The mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs) of various dimensions and shapes, including rounded, ellipsoidal, rectangular, angular to subangular, and stretched bodies, were produced by evolving nature and contrasting kinematics of interacting felsic and mafic magmas. The biotite-rich enclaves are due to the injection of syn-magmatic mafic dykes in felsic magma. The various textural assemblages and sub-linear variations between silica and major oxides, chemical mixing and element diffusion suggest that multistage magma hybridization was the key process during the evolution of the Nongpoh granitoids. The 501 Ma age obtained by chemical (U–Th–Pb) dating of monazite in MME ascertained the age of the magma hybridization event in the Nongpoh granitoids, which is equivalent to the igneous activity at 500 Ma during the amalgamation of Eastern Gondwana.


Rhesus and vervet monkeys respond differently to treatment with 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine hydrochloride neurotoxin (MPTP). Both species develop akinesia. rigidity, and severe postural instability. However, rhesus monkeys only develop infrequent, short episodes of high‐frequency tremor, whereas vervet monkeys have many prolonged episodes of low‐frequency tremor. After MPTP treatment, the spiking activity of many pallidal neurons became oscillatory and highly correlated. Oscillatory autocorrelation functions were dominated by lower frequencies, cross‐correlograms by higher frequencies. The phase shift distribution of the oscillatory cross‐correlograms of pallidal cells in MPTP‐treated vervet monkey were clustered around 0 phase shift, unlike the oscillatory correlograms in the MPTP‐treated rhesus monkey, which were widely distributed between 0° and 180°. Analysis of the instantaneous phase differences between tremors of two limbs in the MPTP monkeys and human parkinsonian patients showed short periods of tremor synchronization. We thus concluded that the rhesus and the vervet models of MPTP‐induced parkinsonism may represent the tremulous and nontremulous variants of human parkinsonism. We suggest that the tremor phenomena of Parkinson's disease (PD) are related to the emergence of synchronous neuronal oscillations in the basal ganglia. Finally, the oscillating neuronal assemblies in the pallidum of tremulous parkinsonian primates are more stable (in time and in space) than those of parkinsonian primates without overt tremor.


Abstract In this study, gene expression programming (GEP), one of the Evolution Programming methods, is used for the control of the let-off system in a weaving loom. For this control, the function of warp tension occurring in a complete rotation of the main shaft of weaving loom is determined by the method of GEP. The control of let-off system is implemented using this function. Particularly, during the shed opening and beat-up processes to make warp tension constant, warp beam is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise. The values of warp tension obtained by GEP are compared with the values of conventional controlled methods. As a conclusion, the obtained warp tension values are 11.2% less than values of classical approach. At the same time it is also provided that break rate of warp tension is decreased by 20%. It has shown that GEP is an effective tool for the decreasing of warp break rate.


Although ice sheets are valuable paleo-climate archives, they can loose their integrity by ice flow (Faria et al. 2010). Consequently, understanding the dynamic processes that control the flow of ice is essential when investigating the past and future climate. While recent research successfully modelled the microdynamics of pure ice (e.g. Montagnat et al., 2014; Llorens et al., 2015), work taking into account second phases is scarce. Only a few studies also show the microstructural influence of air inclusions (Azuma et al., 2012, Roessiger et al., 2014). Therefore, modelling was performed focussing on the implications of the presence of bubbles on the microdynamical mechanisms and microstructure evolution.
The full-field theory crystal plasticity code (FFT) of Lebensohn (2001), was coupled to the 2D multi-process modelling platform Elle (Bons et al., 2008), following the approach by Griera et al. (2013). FFT calculates the viscoplastic response of polycrystalline materials deforming by dislocation glide, taking into account mechanical anisotropy. The models further incorporate surface- and stored strain energy driven grain boundary migration (GBM) and intracrystalline recovery simulating annihilation and rearrangement of dislocations by reduction of internal misorientations. GBM was refined for polyphase materials following Becker et al. (2008) and Roessiger et al. (2014). Additionally, the formation of new high angle grain boundaries by nucleation and polygonisation based on critical internal misorientations has been implemented. Successively running the codes for different processes in very short numerical timesteps effectively enables multi-process modelling of deformation and concurrent
recrystallisation.
Results show how air inclusions control and increase strain localisation, leading to locally enhanced dynamic recrystallisation. This is in compliance with Faria et al. (2014), who theoretically predicted these localizations based on firn data from EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) ice core. We propose that strain localisation has a strong control on the dominating recrystallisation mechanisms and can account for microstructural observations from alpine and polar ice cores. Our results confirm dynamic recrystallisation occurring in the uppermost levels of ice sheets as observed by Kipfstuhl et al. (2009) and Weikusat et al. (2009) in EDML core.

Azuma, N., et al. (2012) Journal of Structural Geology, 42, 184-193
Becker, J.K., et al. (2008) Computers & Geosciences, 34, 201-212
Bons, P.D., et al. (2008) Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 106
Faria, S.H., et al. (2010) Quaternary Science Reviews, 29, 338-351
Faria, S.H., et al. (2014) Journal of Structural Geology, 61, 21-49
Griera, A., et al. (2013) Tectonophysics, 587, 4-29
Kipfstuhl, S., et al. (2009) Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, B05204
Lebensohn, R.A. (2001) Acta Materialia, 49, 2723-2737
Llorens, M.G., et al. (2015) Journal of Glaciology, in press, doi:10.1017/jog.2016.28
Montagnat, M., et al. (2014) Journal of Structural Geology, 61, 78-108
Roessiger, J., et al. (2014) Journal of Structural Geology, 61, 123-132
Weikusat, I., et al. (2009) Journal of Glaciology, 55, 461-472


The classical two-sample t-test assumes that observations are independent. A violation of this assumption could lead to inaccurate results and incorrectly analyzing data leads to erroneous statistical inferences. However, in real life applications, data are often recorded over time and serial correlation is unavoidable. In this study, two new autocorrelation corrected standard errors are proposed for independent and correlated samples. These standard errors are replaced by the classical standard error in the presence of serially correlated samples in two samples t-test. Results based upon the simulation show that the proposed standard errors gives higher empirical power than other approaches.


The evaluations of the systematic effects of agitation and ionic strength and its impact on tablet compression force on the drug release from a gel forming matrix were the objectives of this study. To achieve this, two model drugs namely, theophylline and diltiazem HCl were formulated with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose into matrix tablets and the drug release in a range of pHs 1.2-7.5 was evaluated using the automated USP type III Bio-Dis Varian. The effects of agitation were investigated at 10, 20 and in an ascending and descending order in the vials. Agitation had a profound effect on the drug release from the K100LV tablet matrices. Ionic strength was investigated using NaCl as the ionic strength regulator. A range of 0-0.4 M ionic strengths were studied. It was noticed that an increase in the compression of the tablet matrices for the K100LV theophylline and diltiazem HCl tablet matrices resulted in a significant difference in their drug release profiles both in the agitation sequence and with the influence of ionic concentration strength. The K100M tablet matrices for the theophylline and diltiazem HCl on the other hand were generally unaffected. This investigation also highlights the importance of controlling drug release in the desired dissolution medium as agitation could significantly influence the drug release resulting in a possible toxicity or making drug not available at the required site.


The effect of garlic extract at different concentrations for reaching early break dormancy in buds of "Anna" apple (Malus sylvestris, Mill) trees and their effects on metabolic changes in the content of shoots from (water content %, total carbohydrates, total sugars, reducing sugars, anthocyanine, total free amino acids, free proline, total indoles and free phenoles) during their release from dormancy were investigated. The trees were grown in loamy sand soil, and sprayed with five treatments; 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% garlic extract. Generally, it was found that all studied flowering parameters; date of flower buds break, percentage of bud's break, fruit set, total number of fruits/tree, yield/tree (kg) and seasonal changes in some chemical constituents of shoots; water content %, total carbohydrates, total sugars, reducing sugars, anthocyanine, total free amino acids, free proline and total indoles were increased with the application of different treatments. The best results were obtained from the treatments of garlic extract at 15 % flowed by 20 %. On the contrary, the same treatments decreased free phenols in shoots as compared to the control. It could be recommended to use garlic extract at the rate of 15 % for improving bud break, growth, yield and chemical constituents of apple shoots.


Blanton, Buunk, Gibbons, and Kuyper (1999) and Huguet, Dumas, Monteil, and Genestoux (2001) found that children nominated a social comparison target who slightly outperformed them in class with a beneficial effect on course grades - an assimilation effect, but with no effects on self-evaluation. However, big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) research has shown that attending a high-ability school has a negative effect on academic self-concept--a contrast effect. To resolve this apparent conflict, the present investigation (1) tested the BFLPE in the Netherlands and France, using nationally representative samples (Study 1) and (2) further analysed (using more sophisticated analyses) the Dutch (Blanton et al.) study (Study 2) and the French (Huguet et al.) study including new French data (Study 3), to examine whether the BFLPE coexisted with, or was moderated by, the beneficial impact of upward comparisons. In support of the BFLPE, all studies found the negative effects of school- or class-average ability on self-evaluation, demonstrating that these assimilation and contrast effects can coexist.


The authors compared linear and nonlinear relations between affective and continuance commitment and 3 commonly studied work outcomes (turnover cognitions, absenteeism, and job performance), observed in 3 separate research settings. Using a linear model, they replicated the common observation in the literature that affective commitment is more strongly related to work outcomes than continuance commitment. Introducing a higher order continuance commitment term into the same equations, however, they found that the linear model seriously understated the magnitude of continuance commitment's effect on all 3 criterion measures. These findings are consistent with recent developments that identify different motivational mindsets associated with affective and continuance commitment (J. P. Meyer, T. E. Becker, & C. Vandenberghe, 2004).


Purpose – As innovation is one of the key factors of competitive advantage and of performance, tourism firms have to be creative and innovative. The purpose of this study is to (1) present statistical data from the tourism area of both countries, (2) present the dimensions influencing innovativeness (entrepreneurial orientation, networking, technological development and external business environment), (3) develop measures and carry out a survey on the sample of tourism companies and (3) perform a preliminary comparative analysis between two neighbouring countries, i.e. Slovenia and Croatia. Methodology – To achieve our research objectives, we firstly carried out a literature review, aiming to develop a conceptual model, including dimensions that influence innovativeness. To obtain the information from the tourism companies, a questionnaire was designed. The measures were prepared according to existing studies. After testing it in a pilot group, the questionnaire was translated and then administered to a sample of Slovenian and Croatian tourism companies. The collected data was analysed and the results were discussed. Findings – The paper presents a preliminary comparative study between two neighbouring countries, Slovenia and Croatia. The findings tell of the levels and characteristics of the dimensions (and of the related variables) influencing innovation. The results are presented at both descriptive and univariate level. Contribution – This paper fulfills an identified gap in the literature, namely the lack of comparative studies in the tourism industry in addition to lack of research in the area of innovation in tourism.


Variations in the temporal and spatial distribution of solar radiation caused by changes in Earth9s orbit provide a partial explanation for observed long-term fluctuations in African lake levels. The understanding of causal links between insolation changes and lake- level fluctuations is essential for the design of models predicting future changes in the hydrological budgets and water supply in Africa. Here we present a record of climate change in East Africa between 175 and 60 ka. This time span includes the last interglacial (the Eemian, 130–117 ka), which may provide the closest analogue to the present interglacial. Assessments of the nature and timing of East African climate changes are based on lake-level fluctuations of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) inferred from sediment characteristics, diatom assemblages, and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating. Our results show dramatic alternation between deep, freshwater and shallow, highly alkaline lake conditions. The Lake Naivasha record demonstrates that periods of increased humidity in East Africa mainly follow precessional insolation forcing in spring, causing more intense April–May rains every 23 k.y.


We tested the view that few generalizations are possible about the structure of subtidal algae assemblages and that the situation worsens or does not change as more sites are examined. We quantified the percentage cover of 4 morphological groups of benthic algae (encrusting and articu- lated coralline algae, and foliose and turfing algae) under canopies of kelp Ecklonia radiata and in areas without kelp (macroalgae >4 cm high). This was repeated over 4 spatial scales ranging from quadrats (separated by 10s of m), sites (separated by km), locations (separated by 100s of km) to regions (separated by 1000s of km) across the southern coastline of Australia: Western Australia (WA), Southern Australia (SA) and Eastern Australia (EA). The key result was that while comparison among sites revealed substantial and often inconsistent variation in abundance of benthic algae between habitats (kelp vs open), clear patterns emerged when locations and regions were compared. In EA, where grazers are effective in maintaining extensive areas of encrusting corallines, patterns of algal cover between habitats (kelp vs open) were generally reversed to WA and SA, where grazers are sub- stantially less effective. These results indicate a large distinction in the ecology of these regions (WA = SA ≠ EA) and how lack of understanding of this pattern at the regional scale tends to suggest overwhelming variation when single studies are compared among regions. These differences also highlight that comparisons of studies done at small scales, even if done at several sites in a locality, provide a difficult basis to understand the generality of pattern in algal assemblage structure due to large variation at this scale. While we acknowledge that these broad patterns were not possible to validate at the scale of sites, it was possible to increase the scale of observation to encompass broader patterns that might be organized around a relatively simple set of ecological predictions.


Pulmonary functional imaging may be defined as the regional quantification of lung function by using primarily CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine techniques. The distribution of pulmonary physiologic parameters, including ventilation, perfusion, gas exchange, and biomechanics, can be noninvasively mapped and measured throughout the lungs. This information is not accessible by using conventional pulmonary function tests, which measure total lung function without viewing the regional distribution. The latter is important because of the heterogeneous distribution of virtually all lung disorders. Moreover, techniques such as hyperpolarized xenon 129 and helium 3 MRI can probe lung physiologic structure and microstructure at the level of the alveolar-air and alveolar-red blood cell interface, which is well beyond the spatial resolution of other clinical methods. The opportunities, challenges, and current stage of clinical deployment of pulmonary functional imaging are reviewed, including applications to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary embolism, and pulmonary hypertension. Among the challenges to the deployment of pulmonary functional imaging in routine clinical practice are the need for further validation, establishment of normal values, standardization of imaging acquisition and analysis, and evidence of patient outcomes benefit. When these challenges are addressed, it is anticipated that pulmonary functional imaging will have an expanding role in the evaluation and management of patients with lung disease.


This paper considers the European countries' output of eminent economists, i.e. the 160 most often cited academics in the period 1993-96. The influence of the size of the population and GNP is analyzed, and a ranking of the top-20 scholars is provided. The United Kingdom outperforms: it is leading with respect to the absolute number, per capita, and GNP per capita. More surprisingly, most small countries do very well if size is accounted for. The four large Continental countries only do well according to the absolute number of eminent economists. But weighted by population and GNP they chop back dramatically.


The synthesis of poly(fluoroacrylate)s with tunable wettability and improved adhesion for potential application as functional coatings was achieved via radical copolymerization of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl α-fluoroacrylate (FATRIFE) with 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylic acid (MAF), an adhesion-promoting monomer. These copolymerizations, initiated by tert-butyl peroxypivalate at varying comonomer feed ([FATRIFE]0/[MAF]0) ratios led to a series of poly(FATRIFE-co-MAF) copolymers with different molar compositions in fair to good conversions (32–87%) depending on the MAF feed content. The microstructures of the synthesized poly(FATRIFE-co-MAF) copolymers were determined by 19F NMR spectroscopy. Even at MAF feed contents higher than 50%, MAF incorporation into the copolymers was lower than 50%, since MAF does not undergo any homopolymerization under radical polymerization conditions. The reactivity ratios of the (FATRIFE; MAF) monomer pair were also determined (rFATRIFE = 1.65 ± 0.07 and rMAF = 0 at 56 °C) evidencing the formation of statistical copolymers. Initiation involving a highly branched perfluorinated radical that released a ˙CF3 radical enabled the demonstration of the regioselective attack of the latter radical onto the CH2 of FATRIFE. The resulting poly(FATRIFE-co-MAF) copolymers exhibited various glass transition temperatures (Tgs) depending on their compositions. Tg values increased with increasing MAF contents in the copolymer. In addition, their thermal stability (the temperature for 10% weight loss in air, Td10%) increased with increasing FATRIFE content in the copolymer and reached 348 °C (for that containing 93 mol% FATRIFE). Finally, a high copolymer MAF content led to both a good adhesion onto metal substrates and to improved hydrophilicity, as revealed by the decrease of the water contact angle from 107° (for a reference PFATRIFE homopolymer) to 81° (for a copolymer containing 42 mol% MAF).