Bispecific murine monoclonal antibodies that target tumor and Fc gamma RIII (CD16) can promote relevant tumor lysis by large granular lymphocytes. For these antibodies to be clinically useful, their properties should be maintained in vivo, where competing human immunoglobulin, shed target antigen, and shed CD16 may be encountered. At a minimum, bispecific antibody antitumor effects should be preserved in whole blood. Furthermore, potentiation of tumor lysis should be reflected by demonstrating the ability of bispecific antibody-retargeted effector cells to infiltrate and mediate lysis of organized tumor. If these characteristics are demonstrated, and there is evidence of in vivo efficacy of bispecific antibody-based therapy in a relevant animal model, further clinical development of such antibodies would be warranted. In this report the ability of CL158 bispecific antibody supernatants to mediate lysis of SW948 tumor growing in monolayer is shown to be preserved in the presence of interleukin 2-activated whole blood. When SW948 cells were grown in vitro as multicellular human tumor spheroids, incubation with interleukin 2-activated lymphocytes (LAK cells) and CL158 led to structural and widespread necrosis. This was dependent on CL158 and resistant to competition by pooled human immunoglobulin or interleukin 2-exposed whole blood. These effects were not promoted by the monospecific antibodies produced by the parent clones of CL158 and were not observed when the IgG2a variant of CA19-9 antibody, which mediates conventional antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, was used instead of its bispecific derivative. To examine the efficacy of bispecific antibody-based treatments on in vivo tumor, scid mice bearing early s.c. SW948 xenografts were treated with interleukin 2 for 5 consecutive days, supplemented by three i.v. injections of 10(7) human LAK cells and various antibodies. Treatment of mice bearing SW948 tumors with LAK cells did not retard tumor growth, but when CL158 was added, significant delays in tumor growth were observed. Tumor growth delay required treatment with both LAK cells and the bispecific antibody. Treatment with the IgG2a variant of CA19-9 antibody, alone or with LAK cells, had no effects on tumor growth. Although the mechanisms of these antitumor effects require further study, it is clear that human LAK cell treatment of animals bearing early, established s.c. tumors is enhanced by the addition of bispecific antibodies with relevant binding characteristics. When compared with the IgG2a isotype variant of CA19-9 monoclonal antibody, this bispecific antibody offers the advantages of preservation of activity in physiological conditions, infiltration and disruption of organized tumor in vitro, and antitumor effects in a relevant xenograft model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


This study provides a better understanding of a product-service system and discusses its intended contribution to the shift towards more sustainable patterns of consumption. It shows that the idea of function provision originates from existing business examples of service extension to customers, the major driver of which is business opportunity. The concept of PSS takes one step further and pursues the idea of "more quality of life with less material intensity" by decoupling economic and consumption growth from environmental impact. In order to realise this, this study analyses the role of authorities, consumers, and producers in minimising environmental impacts of consumption. It suggests patterns of consumer involvement, and analyses policies and instruments that can serve as a starting point for introducing PSSs. Several examples of Nordic companies that are moving towards more service-oriented offers are provided. Discussion is held on the possible consequences for society, businesses and private consumers of the PSS concept's introduction and dissemination.


Books, articles, videos, and much more about the 2013-2014 community book : The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler.


There is abundant evidence suggesting that attention and interpretation biases are powerful precursors of aggression. However, little is known how these biases may interact with one another in the development and maintenance of aggression. Using cognitive bias modification of interpretation (CBM-I), the present study examined whether training more pro-social or hostile intent attributions would affect attention bias, interpretation bias of facial expressions, aggression and mood. University students (17–48 years) were assigned to either a positive training (n = 40), negative training (n = 40), or control training (n = 40). Results showed that the positive training successfully changed measures of intent attributions in a pro-social direction compared to the control training. The negative training changed measures of intent attributions in a hostile direction but not more so than the control training. We found no generalization of the training effects to relevant other outcomes. Possible explanations underlying these findings are discussed.


Cinema is a popular medium in Thailand. When you speak of cinema, most people think foremost of entertainment; but in fact, cinema plays many other positive roles, including education, informing, persuasion, and building new concepts or values. However, no matter how many other valuable roles cinema may play in society, those roles are usually overshadowed or completely overpowered by cinema's entertainment role. As a result of that, many educators have tried for decades to provide tools namely media (or cine) literacy to enable people to analyze, evaluate and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms.
The "Cine - Literacy for Health" project was created to allow the general cinema
audience to view movies that have informative content about physical, emotional and spiritual health. Adapted from the concept of media literacy and cultural studies, the project has undertaken an experiment on constructive movie watching. The experimental activities cover steps for preparation before watching the movie, during watching the movie and after watching the movie. Each step incorporates a "treatment" to promote cinema literacy. Following the completion of the experiment, the project researchers developed a program for building cinema literacy aimed at turning an ordinary audience into a "smart audience." Towards the end, the project has also continued efforts to build on this knowledge of cinema literacy so that it can be practically applied at other educational institutions.


Motivation is the set of processes that moves a person towards a goal. Since motivation
influences productivity supervisors or employers need to understand what motivates
employees to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee
motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their
organizations practices. Thus, motivated behaviours are voluntary choices controlled by the
individual employee. The supervisor/employer (motivator) wants to influence the factors
that motivate employees to higher levels of productivity. Lack of motivation is expressed
mainly in departure to pursue other careers more motivating, and low output in the
enterprises concern. From the reviewed literatures, though motivation and job satisfaction
of teachers in Kenya has widely been studied and proposals made, a gap still exists as
regards factors affecting motivation of non-teaching (support) staff who play pivotal role in
making schools achieve their objectives.
A majority of employees emphasize more on economic or financial rewards to compensate
their employees whilst making little effort in the non-financial compensation rewards
preferred by many managers. The implication of this has reduced motivation among
workers at work and general apathy. The study examined the factors that affect motivation
of non-teaching (support) staff in secondary schools in Laikipia District.
The study was a descriptive survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to
analyze and present the data using a computer based statistical package for the social
sciences (SPSS). The data was presented in the form of tables.
Results were aimed at showing the major factors, which affect motivation of employees in
secondary schools. Results would also reveal whether non-teaching staff had any significant compensation preferences that formed the basis for the goals they sought to
satisfy in the employment set up. Therefore a system of individuals' incentives on rewards
should be considered and this should be expanded to not only financial rewards but also to
other non-financial items that equally lead to greater motivation. There will be need to analyze the total employment situation for any conflicting
expectancies between the workers, and the organization rewards with a view to ensuring
equity, fair pay basing employee reward on performance and merit emphasized in the
Porter and Lawler model.
However, the study noted that the sample size drawn was too small to generalize these
findings across the entire Board of Governors (B.O.G.) employees in Kenya public schools.


We realized the fabrication of a red semiconductor laser array with high optical power and reliability using an AlGaInP-based compound semiconductor. To obtain a high optical output, the semiconductor laser requires high-quality quantum wells. In this work, we improved quantum well layer abruptness by applying high-temperature growth condition to quantum wells. We obtained a very high optical power of 20.1 W with a wavelength of 644 nm under this growth condition using magnesium as a dopant for a p-type layer. As a results, we achieved a high characteristic temperature of 68 K and a high electrical-to-optical (E–O) conversion efficiency 37% at 15 W optical output. When the laser lifetime at a temperature of 35 °C and an optical output power of 6.6 W for operation is defined as the time when the output power decreases to 50%, which is usually used for defining the lifetime of ultra high-pressure (UHP) lamps in projection display, we can estimate the lifetime of this laser to be longer than 10000 h or more.


In this paper we focus on a particular class of nonlinear affine control systems of the form ẋ = f(x) + Bu, where the drift f is a multi-affine vector field (i.e., affine in each state component), the control distribution B is constant, and the control u is constrained to a convex set. For such a system, we first derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a multi-affine feedback control law keeping the system in a rectangular invariant. We then derive sufficient conditions for driving all initial states in a rectangle through a desired facet in finite time. If the control constraints are polyhedral, we show that all these conditions translate to checking the feasibility of systems of linear inequalities to be satisfied by the control at the vertices of the state rectangle. This work is motivated by the need to construct discrete abstractions for continuous and hybrid systems, in which analysis and control tasks specified in terms of reachability of sets of states can be reduced to searches on finite graphs. We show the application of our results to the problem of controlling the angular velocity of an aircraft with gas jet actuators.


Background: Early detection is important for reducing mortality by colorectal cancer. Workplaces have access to a large number of people, approximately half of the Korean population. For cancer prevention, it is necessary to approach cancer screening through the workplace. Objective: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to identify colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) stages and to predict factors that affect the respective stages. Methods: Data were collected from 314 manual workers at 32 medium-sized and small workplaces located in Korea. The dependent variable was the stage of CRCS, and independent variables were intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational levels. Results: At the intrapersonal level, workers who increased work hours per week or who felt stress were less likely to be in the acting/maintenance stage than in the decided to act stage of CRCS. At the organizational level, workers in medium-sized workplaces, those whose administrators secured health checkup and cancer screening budget for their workplace, and those considering health checkup and cancer screening were more likely to be in the acting/maintenance stage, compared with the decided to act stage. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the respective stages are affected by different intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational factors. Implication for Practice: The workplace environment and organizational predictors before the implementation of CRCS promotion programs may produce better results.


A shift towards a more Circular Economy is crucial to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive built environment that meets future demands. Circular Economy is a promising concept for industry and society. If implemented well, Circular Economy can deliver environmental benefits and economic advantages for which innovation is essential. To achieve a resource-efficient built environment the Circular Economy should be developed and implemented systemically and on a large scale, going beyond cities. To realise this, local authorities, citizens, and other stakeholders need a collaborative and science-informed decision environment that allows for developing different waste and resource management options, and assessing their impacts on the environment, resilience, spatial quality and quality of life. The articles in this special issue all discuss different aspects of research to deliver solutions and strategies for a circular economy in urban planning throughout Europe, focusing on peri-urban locations. The first rticle introduces Living Labs as a methodology to co-create circular solutions and strategies with local stakeholders. The second article focuses on governance for the shift towards a Circular Economy, unravelling hindrances and revealing objectives, whereas the third article develops a means to transfer circular strategies and solutions from one location to another. The fourth article presents an open-source tool based on the geodesign approach which links the co-creation of design proposals to impact simulations informed by geographic contexts, systems thinking, and digital technology—the Geodesign Decision Support Environment. Finally, the fifth article presents the first results of incorporating the concept of Circular Economy in an integrative manner in urban design and planning courses.


Purpose: Phase II trials in locally advanced rectal cancer have shown that cetuximab-based neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy is feasible but without an improvement in complete pathologic response rates. Our goal was to identify patients who would benefit from cetuximab-based neoadjuvant chemoradiation measuring gene expression levels of proteins involved in tumor growth [endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR)], angiogenesis [VEGF, VEGF receptors 1 and 2 (VEGFR1, VEGFR2)], DNA repair [excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1)], and drug metabolism [thymidylate synthetase (TS)]. We also determined mutation status of KRAS and BRAF. Experimental Design: This study was carried out on 130 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were enrolled in 4 different phase II clinical trials, using cetuximab-based chemoradiation. Tumor tissues were obtained before neoadjuvant and at surgical therapy. After microdissection, intratumoral gene expression levels and KRAS/BRAF mutation status were analyzed. Results: A significant decrease of TS, VEGFR1, and VEGFR2 gene expression was seen following neoadjuvant therapy (P < 0.03). High pretreatment VEGF gene expression levels were associated with nonresponse (P = 0.070). KRAS mutations were found in 42% and mutant KRAS (KRAS mt) was significantly associated with pathologic nonresponse (P = 0.037). In patients with wild-type KRAS (KRAS wt), low EGFR was significantly associated with higher nonresponse and VEGF mRNA expressions were associated with complete pathologic response (P = 0.012; P = 0.06). KRAS transversion (KRAS tv) was associated with tumor regression: nonresponse was more common in patients with KRAS tv than with KRAS wt (P = 0.007). BRAF V600E mutations were not detected in any of the patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that pretreatment intratumoral EGFR and VEGF mRNA expression levels as well as KRAS mutation status are predictive markers of pathologic response to neoadjuvant cetuximab-based chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 17(10); 3469–77. ©2011 AACR.


Recently, e-government has become an important issue for citizens. Government services are provided using electronic media. The security of applications and infrastructures is a critical factor for e-government success. However, analysis of the various possible external threats and internal vulnerability in order to evaluate and develop solutions resolves them is needed. A huge number of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques have been proposed for this purpose; fuzzy is considered as the dominant approach in this area. This paper describes the security challenges in the context of e-government. Additionally, it reviews and discusses the comparison between variant fuzzybased techniques. This paper has concluded that; Fuzzy set theory is very useful for evaluation of e-government security.


Abstract : Tacit knowledge is defined as knowledge grounded in experience, intimately related to action, and not well supported by formal training and doctrine. Tacit knowledge of leadership used by Army officers at three different levels of command have been identified, assessed, and developed into assessment questionnaires for each level. The questionnaires have been construct validated and proven to predict certain leadership effectiveness ratings at each level and to do so better than measures of verbal reasoning ability, tacit knowledge for business managers, or experience. This product contains the leadership tacit knowledge questionnaire for battalion commanders. Instructions are given for administering and scoring the questionnaire and recommended applications are described. The document begins with a brief summary of the development and validation of the questionnaire.


Background Child disruptive behavioural problems are a large and costly public health problem. The Incredible Years® (IY) parenting programme has been disseminated across the UK to prevent this problem and shown to be effective in several trials. It is vital for policy to know for which families IY is most effective, to be sure that it helps reduce, rather than widen, socioeconomic inequalities. Individual trials lack power and generalisability to examine differential effects; conventional meta-analysis lacks information about within-trial variability in effects. Objectives To overcome these limitations by pooling individual-level data from the IY parenting trials in Europe to examine to what extent it benefits socially disadvantaged families. Secondary objectives examine (1) additional moderators of effects on child behaviour, (2) wider health benefits and potential harms and (3) costs, cost-effectiveness and potential long-term savings. Design Individual participant data meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials of the IY parenting intervention. Settings UK (eight trials), the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal. Participants Data were from 1799 families, with children aged 2–10 years (mean 5.1 years; 63% boys). Interventions IY Basic parenting programme. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was disruptive child behaviour, determined by the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Intensity scale (ECBI-I). Secondary outcomes included self-reported parenting practices, parenting stress, mental health, children's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and emotional symptoms. Results There were no differential effects of IY on disruptive behaviour in families with different levels of social/socioeconomic disadvantage or differential effects for ethnic minority families, families with different parenting styles, or for children with comorbid ADHD or emotional problems or of different ages. Some moderators were found: intervention effects were strongest in children with more severe baseline disruptive behaviour, in boys, and in children with parents who were more depressed. Wider health benefits included reduced child ADHD symptoms, greater parental use of praise, and reduced harsh and inconsistent discipline. The intervention did not improve parental depression, stress, self-efficacy or children's emotional problems. Economic data were available for five UK and Ireland trials (maximum n = 608). The average cost per person of the IY intervention was £2414. The probability that the IY intervention is considered cost-effective is 99% at a willingness to pay of £145 per 1-point improvement on the ECBI-I. Estimated longer-term savings over 20 years range from £1000 to £8400 per child, probably offsetting the cost of the intervention. Limitations Limitations include a focus on one parenting programme; the need to make assumptions in harmonising data; and the fact that data addressed equalities in the effectiveness of, not access to, the intervention. Conclusions There is no evidence that the benefits of the IY parenting intervention are reduced in disadvantaged or minority families; benefits are greater in the most distressed families, including parents who are depressed. Thus, the intervention is unlikely to widen socioeconomic inequalities in disruptive behaviour and may have effects in narrowing inequalities due to parent depression. It was as likely to be effective for older as for younger children. It has wider benefits for ADHD and parenting and is likely to be considered to be cost-effective. Researchers/funders should encourage data sharing to test equity and other moderator questions for other interventions; further research is needed on enhancing equality of access to interventions.


Data-driven machinery fault diagnosis is important for smart industrial systems to guarantee safety and reliability. However, the conventional data-driven fault diagnosis methods rely on the expert-designed features, which greatly affect the diagnosis performances. Inspired by the sparse representation-based classification (SRC) methods which can learn discriminative sparse features adaptively, we propose a novel discriminative dictionary learning based sparse classification (DDL-SC) framework for data-driven machinery fault diagnosis. The DDL-SC framework can jointly learn a discriminative dictionary for sparse representation and an optimal linear classifier for pattern recognition, which bridges the gaps between two separate processes, dictionary learning and classifier training in traditional SRC methods. In the learning stage, to enhance the discriminability of dictionary learning, we introduce the discriminative sparse code error along with the reconstruction error and classification error into the optimization objective. In the recognition stage, we employ sparse codes of testing signals with respect to the learned discriminative dictionary as inputs of the learned classifier, and promote the recognition performance by connecting a binary hard thresholding operator with the classifier predictions. The effectiveness of DDL-SC is evaluated on the planetary bearing fault dataset and gearbox fault dataset, indicating that DDL-SC yields the recognition accuracies of 99.73% and 99.41%, respectively. Besides, the comparative studies prove the superiority of DDL-SC over several state-of-the-art methods for data-driven machinery fault diagnosis.


Background: Whilst care service capacities and investments in health for the elderly increase, several social groups are threatened to be excluded from adequate access and quality of care in East-Styria and Western Hungary, with about 1,5 Mio. habitants. Those vulnerable are the more disabled, who suffer from disease or illness earlier in life, have accumulated health problems and neither the health literacy nor the economic resources to attain proper care arrangements at home, compared the average. In both countries, the existing public services have significant problems to deliver integrated long term care. Informal carers cover more than 80% of the care spent, often without professional help and social security, and they are at health risk themselves. In Hungary, care structures are not covering the health care needs of the elderly quantitatively. From Hungary, there is also a significant lack of professional care givers, who tended to work outside public health services, and often abroad – in Austria. Case and Care Management Model: Chance B, offering 27 different services to enable persons to live an independent and self-determined life who´s services manly focus on services for people with disabilities in Styria Austria all through a lifetime, has prepared a well-designed Interreg-project in Austria and Hungary, named "Age-friendly Region". In both countries, despite of having completely different health systems and ongoing health reforms, a bilateral case management model for the elderly has been systematically developed. The model is based on a comprehensive and inclusive notion of health with strong emphasis on social resources of clients. It is based on the bio-psycho-social model, as well as the system theoretical approach. It provides tools like interdisciplinary case-conferences, multidisciplinary health assessments, concerted and participative networking with service providers including primary health care and strategical communication with local and regional authorities. Intervention: The intervention consists of offering 6 case managers in the project regions and developing a case and care management model with regional and local stakeholders.  The project "Age-friendly Region" offers elderly and caregivers a fully cost-free case management service, delivered through home visits and counselling. Project activities for care management aim at strengthening organisational integration of care by defining processes at the interfaces of services in the health, social and care sector. Of utmost importance, activities aim to actively promote professional integration of care from nurses, social workers and several medical professions. Furthermore the project is guided by a selective media and TV-campaign. First results: In Austria, the implementation not only has to deal with a complex political environment, it also has been creating a communication platform in the first year of the implementation, that is reliable and brought policies into action. At the same time  the case management services are highly frequented. In Hungary, the service providers and municipalities of three regions are implementing the Case management model, with a high probability of sustainable organisational development within the provider organisations. Assessment instruments were introduced and play a key role in the development of the bilateral model for case and care management.


In this chapter, we present a finite element method (FEM)-based numerical device simulation of low-voltage DNTT-based organic thin film transistor (OTFT) by considering field-dependent mobility model and double-peak Gaussian density of states model. Device simulation model is able to reproduce output characteristics in linear and saturation region and transfer characteristics below and above threshold region. We also demonstrate an approach for compact modeling and compact model parameter extraction of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using universal organic TFT (UOTFT) model by comparing the compact modeling results with the experimental results. Results obtained from technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation and compact modeling are compared and contrasted with experimental results. Further we present simulations of voltage transfer characteristic (VTC) plot of polymer P-channel thin film transistor (PTFT)-based inverter to assess the compact model against simple logic circuit simulation using SmartSpice and Gateway.


OBJECTIVE
GH deficiency (GHD) in adults is characterized by elevated body mass index (BMI), increased waist girth (WG) and increased fat mass (FM). Information about how these indicators of obesity affect the lipid profile and quality of life (QoL) of GHD subjects is scarce. It is also unclear how changes in these indicators brought about by GH replacement influence lipids and QoL.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Adult GHD subjects from the Pfizer International Metabolic Database were grouped according to BMI (n=291 with BMI <25 kg/m(2), n=372 with BMI 25-30 kg/m(2), n=279 with BMI >30 kg/m(2)), WG (n=508 with normal WG, n=434 with increased WG) and FM (n=357) and according to changes in these variables after 1 year of GH replacement. Serum IGF-I concentrations, lipid concentrations and QoL using the QoL Assessment of GHD in Adults questionnaire were assessed at baseline and after 1 year of treatment.

RESULTS
At baseline, total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were similarly elevated in the BMI and WG groups, but high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol decreased and triglycerides increased with increasing BMI and WG. QoL was progressively poorer with increasing BMI and WG. After 1 year of GH replacement, total and LDL cholesterol and QoL improved in all BMI, WG and FM groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Variables of obesity adversely affect the already unfavourable lipid profile in GHD subjects by decreasing HDL cholesterol, but do not counteract the positive effect of GH replacement on LDL cholesterol. Similarly, QoL is influenced by obesity, but responds equally well to GH treatment independent of BMI, WG and FM.


Sample care plans, titled by medical diagnosis and organized primarily by body system, use the nursing process throughout. Each plan includes NANDA-approved nursing diagnoses with emphasis on patient goals, and provides medical diagnoses, etiology, assessment criteria, physical examination criteria, diagnostic studies and potential complications, nursing diagnoses with goals, signs and symptoms, interventions with rationales, outcome criteria, and nursing actions for various patient-care settings. Additional care plans cover chronic pain, cancer, and more.


Visceral adipose tissue (AT) inflammation is linked to the complications of obesity, including insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes. Recent data from our lab showed that germline deficiency in STAT4 reduces inflammation and improves IR in obese mice. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of selective STAT4 deficiency in subsets of hematopoietic cells to IR and AT inflammation. To determine the contribution of hematopoietic lineage, we sublethally irradiated Stat4−/−C57Bl6 mice and reconstituted them with bone marrow cells (BMC) from Stat4+/+C57Bl6 congenic donors. We also established the contribution of selective STAT4 deficiency in CD4+ or CD8+ T cells using adoptive transfer in Rag1−/− mice. All mice received a HFD for 15 weeks (n = 7–12 mice/group). BMC that expressed STAT4 induced increases in glucose intolerance and IR compared to STAT4-deficient cells. Also, AT inflammation was increased and the numbers of CD8+ cells infiltrating AT were higher in mice with STAT4 expressing BMC. Studies in Rag1−/− mice further confirmed the prominent role of CD8+ cells expressing STAT4 in insulin resistance and AT and islet inflammation. Collectively our results show specific and dominant contribution of STAT4 in the hematopoietic compartment to metabolic health and inflammation in diet-induced obesity.


Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a tremendous impact upon commercial activities, socio-economic activities, as well as technological progress. However, there is lack of clarity about the appropriate mechanics of AI regulation. A variety of proposals have been floated, but with little agreement concerning their implementation and interaction. This paper builds a framework to address these concerns. It first identifies the scope of AI for regulatory purposes by establishing the defining characteristic of this technology. In the second part, it identifies four different interpretations of the question, 'why regulate AI?', each with a bearing on the purpose of AI regulation. It treats each one of these as an 'imperative of regulation'. The scope of each imperative is delineated. The last part situates the proposed mechanics of AI regulation within the imperative driven framework. Four broad categories of the mechanics of AI regulation are first described in detail in order to understand their features and are subsequently tested on the touchstone of the four imperatives, thereby ascertaining which of the imperatives drive the mechanics and which are irrelevant. The findings provide theoretical clarity to the AI regulation proposals being mulled over across the globe. The paper concludes with an argument for proactive regulation of AI.


Bamboo agroforestry is currently being promoted in Ghana as a viable land use option to reduce dependence on natural forest for wood fuels. To align the design and introduction of bamboo agroforestry to the needs of farmers, information on the determinants of bamboo acceptability and adoption is necessary. It is, therefore, the aim of this study to determine how socioeconomic factors, local farming practices and local knowledge on bamboo may influence its acceptability and adoption as a component of local farming systems. Data were collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana using semi-structured questionnaire interviews. The results show that farmers' traditional knowledge on bamboo including its use for charcoal production and leaves for fodder are influential determinants of bamboo adoption. Among the demographic characteristics of farmers, age and gender are the most significant predictors. It is also evident that the regular practice of leaving trees on farmlands and type of cropping system may influence bamboo integration into traditional farming systems.


Abstract. In period 1988 - 1998, the work party of the CEO, presented a set of projects of investigation to several institutions. In many of these projects they participated the director of the CEO: Miguel Aigneren A., the coordinators Soc. Jaime Ruiz R.; Soc. Alonso Tobon, Soc. Alba Lucia Serna A. and the researchers Yolima Bedoya G., Soc. Santiago Morals M. Soc. Gloria Nunez Or. Soc. Bibiana Jaramillo P. Soc., Mercy Restrepo and Soc. Wilson Chica. This set of Projects shows a tendency the investigation applied in problems of public opinion. Resumen. En periodo 1988 - 1998, el equipo de trabajo del CEO, presento un conjunto de proyectos de investigacion a varias instituciones. En muchos de estos proyectos participaron el director del CEO: Miguel Aigneren A., los profesores Jaime Ruiz R. Alba Lucia Serna A., Alonso Tobon y los inmvestigadores la Soc. Yolima Bedoya G., Soc. Santiago Morales M. Soc. Gloria Nunez O. Soc. Bibiana Jaramillo P. Soc., Piedad Restrepo y Soc. Wilson Chica


This paper presents an extension of the one-dimensional (1-D) lattice (reflection coefficient) technique of linear prediction parameter estimation, first popularized by Burg, to the two-dimensional (2-D) case. The resulting fast recursive 2-D algorithm is a significant computational simplification over and an estimation improvement on previous attempts to extend the 1-D Burg linear prediction algorithm to 2-D by exploiting some newly discovered matrix structures. The technique presented here is useful for high resolution 2-D spectral analysis applications and the creation of high-resolution spotlight-mode synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, as is illustrated.


Many patients with the terminal condition motor neurone disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS) do not access social service homecare, which may have implications for the location of end-of-life care. We aimed to identify factors related to uptake of such care in MND/ALS. A case note review of patients at a UK MND/ALS clinic (N = 97) provided data concerning disease onset and severity, demographic variables and care received. Narrative interviews with people with MND/ALS (N = 24) and family carers (N = 18) explored their perspectives on social services homecare. Quantitative analyses highlighted the role of increasing disease severity and age for social services homecare uptake. However, qualitative findings revealed a number of barriers delaying the uptake of such care. 'Internal' issues focused on retaining control and normality within the home. 'External' issues arose from limited understanding of the disease amongst service providers and lack of awareness of service entitlement amongst patients and carers. Multiple factors are implicated in the uptake of social services homecare. Uncertainties surrounding service entitlement must be addressed, including the simplification of bureaucratic procedures and clarification of the roles of health and social care professionals. Service providers need a greater awareness of the nature of the disease and their role in its management.


This paper uses a recently derived reduction procedure to study the contact interactions of an industrial blade undergoing large displacements. The reduction technique consists in projecting the dynamical problem onto a reduction basis composed of Craig-Bampton modes and a selection of their modal derivatives. The internal nonlinear forces due to large displacements are evaluated with the stiffness evaluation procedure and contact is numerically handled using Lagrange multipliers. The numerical strategy is applied on an open industrial compressor blade model based on the NASA rotor 37 blade in order to promote reproducibility of results. Two contact scenarios are investigated: one with direct contact between the blade and the casing and one with an abradable material deposited on the casing. The influence of geometric nonlinearities is assessed in both cases. In particular, contact interaction maps and abradable coating wear pattern maps are used to identify the main interactions that can be detrimental for the engine integrity.


We formulate respectively the outsourcing service competition models with simultaneous and sequential decision order and analyze the suppliers' contest equilibrium in outsourcing service competition by applying dynamic game theory and contest theory. Then we explore the effect of sequential decision order on competition equilibrium. It is showed that the sequential decision order not only influences the equilibrium service level of the suppliers, but also has an effect on both total equilibrium service level of the supplier and the average equilibrium service level acquired by the purchaser.


One way in which fish can move around efficiently is to learn and remember a spatial map of their environment. This can be a relatively simple process where, for example, sequences of landmarks are learned. However, more complex spatial representations can be generated by integrating multiple pieces of information. In this review, we consider what types of information fish use to generate a spatial map; for instance, beacons (single landmarks) that signal a specific location, or learned geometric relationships between multiple landmarks that allow fish to guide their movements. Owing to the diversity of fish species and the broad range of environments that they inhabit, there is considerable diversity in the maps that they develop and the sensory systems that they use to detect spatial information. This chapter uses a series of examples to investigate the types of spatial information that fish encode, for instance, how they map three-dimensional space, how they make use of different sensory modalities, and where this information might be processed. We also highlight the versatility of short-range orientation in fish, and discuss a number of similarities between the mapping mechanisms used by fish and terrestrial vertebrates.


In this article, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) "Israeli High Risk Study," which extended over two decades and compared the relative effects of kibbutz and city environments on the diathesis of schizophrenia, is critically examined. Comparison data on personality and cognitive functions of groups of 11- to 16-year-olds and adults are reviewed in the light of previously published material. The apparent shifts in level of adjustment of kibbutz and city subjects, as well as the allegedly greater incidence of pathology in the kibbutz index group, are questioned on methodological grounds.


The integration of wind power generation (WPG) have many different impacts on the current power transmission and distribution systems. Most of them are related to their effect on the dynamic behaviour and frequency deviation during system frequency disturbances affecting the system inertia response. Different approaches have been presented to show the dynamic behaviour diminution, and several metrics have been proposed to quantify the impact of the inertia reduction. This scientific paper looks at the background system inertia problem, presenting some of the most significant contributions in observation of power system dynamic under high penetrations of WPG and presents two dynamic measurements. First one measures the damping ratio of the power lines quantifying it in an online fashion. The second one measures the frequency of an electrical power signal. The dynamic measurements are tested in a hypothetical active power signal with the inclusion of wind energy showing the affectivity of the dynamic measurements presented and the impact of wind farms in power systems. Finally, future work and conclusions are given.


Former parasympathetic innervations of organs are now claimed sympathetic Our body organs are well integrated into a control framework that is represented by coordinated neural and hormonal signals. The key component of this system is the circuitry of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates bodily functions that are not consciously directed. Historically, this system is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic subdivisions—a yin and yang control mechanism for stress responses (fight or flight) and homeostasis (rest and digest), respectively. On page 893 of this issue, Espinosa-Medina et al. (1) clearly demonstrate that, contrary to current dogma, certain autonomic neural circuitry does not belong in the parasympathetic subdivision. This finding provokes a serious shift in textbook knowledge, and, as with any fundamental discovery, it brings important practical implications for neuroanatomists, evolutionary-developmental specialists, and possibly a new era of health care based on "electroceuticals."


Immune defenses are organized along both 24-h and yearly time scales. Two circadian systems have been isolated in man, which can be desynchronized: (1) the circulation of T, B, or NK lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and (2) the density of epitope molecules (CD3, CD4, ...) at their surface, which may relate to cell reactivity to antigen exposure. The in vitro response of murine splenocytes to interleukin 2, interferon (IFN), or cyclosporin A strongly depended upon circadian time of exposure. Temporally optimized delivery of biologic response modifiers (BRM) may be guided by immunologic marker rhythms. An alternative yet complementary strategy was sought with IFN: since high doses were shown as more effective than low doses against several malignancies, this drug was given at the presumed less toxic time, so that its dose could be increased. Continuous drug delivery was circadian modulated in 8 cancer patients. Dose intensities twice to fourfold higher than those usually recommended were safely infused to ambulatory patients. Chronotherapy with BRM may represent a necessary step for optimizing the immunologic control of malignancies.


The project "Obstacle Detection and Avoidance by a Mobile Robot" deals with detection and avoidance of the various obstacles found in an environment. We divided the task of creating the robot into five phases namely LED and LDR component designing, comparator, microcontroller, motor driver and the motor. While designing and construction of the hardware for the robot, we started with the circuit construction of the LEDs and the LDRs, then designed the comparator which does the task of converting the input voltage to a digital output that is fed to the microcontroller. The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) logic in done in this phase, the AI logic is fed to the microcontroller. The robot gathers facts about the scenario through the sensors. It then compares this information to the data stored and decides what the information signifies. The robot runs through the various possible actions and then based on the collected information, predicts which action will be most successful. The motor driver then implements the decided action and the motor helps run the robot. The robot designed was found to successfully run on an obstacle free course after being able to detect obstacles and take appropriate actions. The accuracy of the robot was 86.62% which was determined by testing the robot against various obstacles and calculating the observations. This project describes the basic ground work which when developed further can create more advanced robots which has a wide range of application such as in unmanned vehicle driving which can be useful for space projects, for industrial purposes, in households, etc. The building of such robots will require the developers to tackle problems such as finding efficient, effective design of circuit components keeping in mind a simple and a light-weight model that allows for smooth movement of the robot. The accuracy of the robot is dependent on the accuracy of the sensors


The study examines the role of inner speech measured by verbal representation scale in assessment of category judgments and in transfer from the category example to the whole category. We used the conventionality effect of the category label, meaning that people perceive judgments containing commonly used category labels as more convincing even when the category itself is new, and its label is artificial [11]. We proposed that this effect can be enhanced if to use a metaphorical label for the category that emphasizes its feature. We also tested whether the metaphorical label could enhance the transfer of the feature from the category example to the whole category. We hypothesized that the conventionality effect and transfer of the trait will be different in participants depending on their level of verbal representation. In the first part of the study, we adapted the Internal Representation Questionnaire [16] and used verbal representation scale from it to divide participants into groups by their level of inner speech. The results show that participants with higher level of verbal representation were less influenced by the conventionality effect of the label. We also found that participants with lower level of verbal representation were more prone to transfer information of the metaphorical labels. Otherwise, participants with higher level of verbal representation were more inclined to transfer category information of non-metaphorical labels. The findings indicate the relationship between individual differences in verbal representation level and evaluation of category judgments.


Abstract: Landesberg and Sideman's four state model of the cardiac cross‐bridge (XB) hypothesizes a feedback of force development to Ca2+ binding by troponin C (TnC). We have further modeled this behavior and observed that the force (F)‐Ca2+ relationship as well as the F‐sarcomere length (SL) relationship and the time course of F and Ca2+ transients in cardiac muscle can be reproduced faithfully by a single effect of F on deformation of the TnC‐Ca complex and, thereby, on the dissociation rate of Ca2+. Furthermore, this feedback predicts that rapid decline of F in the activated sarcomere causes release of Ca2+ from TnC‐Ca2+, which is sufficient to initiate arrhythmogenic Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). This work investigated the initiation of Ca2+ waves underlying triggered propagated contractions (TPCs) in rat cardiac trabeculae under conditions that simulate functional nonuniformity caused by mechanical or ischemic local damage of the myocardium. A mechanical discontinuity along the trabeculae was created by exposing the preparation to a small constant flow jet of solution that reduces excitation‐contraction coupling in myocytes within that segment. Force was measured, and SL as well as [Ca2+]i were measured regionally. When the jet contained caffeine, 2,3‐butanedione monoxime or low‐[Ca2+], muscle‐twitch F decreased and the sarcomeres in the exposed segment were stretched by shortening the normal regions outside the jet. During relaxation, the sarcomeres in the exposed segment shortened rapidly. Short trains of stimulation at 2.5 Hz reproducibly caused Ca2+ waves to rise from the borders exposed to the jet. Ca2+ waves started during F relaxation of the last stimulated twitch and propagated into segments both inside and outside of the jet. Arrhythmias, in the form of nondriven rhythmic activity, were triggered when the amplitude of the Ca2+ wave increased by raising [Ca2+]o. The arrhythmias disappeared when the muscle uniformity was restored by turning the jet off. These results show that nonuniform contraction can cause Ca2+ waves underlying TPCs, and suggest that Ca2+ dissociated from myofilaments plays an important role in the initiation of arrhythmogenic Ca2+ waves.


As an artist who refuses categorically to shy away from both the "history of slavery" and the "contemporary grievances" arising from a white-dominated British art world, Lubaina Himid created a curatorial tour de force with her Thin Black Line(s) exhibition, on display at Tate Britain in 2011–2012. She adopted an array of signifying practices designed to riff off, reclaim, and revise the ideological biases and racialized blind spots of the Tate as a national institution. Himid's long history of exhibiting Black British women's work reflects her determination to fight against their "collective invisibility in the art world" as they "engaged with the social, cultural, political and aesthetic issues of the time" by undertaking a "conceptual reframing of the image of black and Asian women themselves." Working with the spatial constraints of just one room in which to exhibit a decades-long history of Black British women artists and art making, Himid also had to rely upon numerous strategies to confront the obstacles presented by the Tate's decision to mount Thin Black Line(s) not as a full-scale exhibition but as an "in-focus display." This meant that it was not given as extensive a budget or as large an exhibition space as the Tate exhibitions appearing as part of their regular programming, and also not accorded the same levels of marketing, advertising, and scholarly attention. Himid set about solving these problems by engaging in diverse extra-curatorial practices and also by contesting and critiquing these limitations within the space itself. Himid's self-reflexive strategies became a form of "guerrilla curating" as she engaged in a multitude of methods designed to critique, interrogate, and displace—if not outright reject—the challenges presented by the ideologically confining and tokenizing framing of the Tate as an exhibition space.


An interactive system is described which allows for the graphic construction, simulation, and simultaneous animation of an arbitrary network of guesses. A method is proposed and implemented for representing the events of a discrete simulation by a continuous animation on a graphics terminal. Techniques are presented for the display of parallel animation "sequences", and a non-trivial mapping of simulation time into animation time is described which preserves the relation order and time relationships between events. The program implemented combines this animation facility with other simulation monitoring and control features. An interactive dialogue which makes use of the lightpen and a menu of commands is implemented for the construction and modification of the queuing network. Certain relevent aspects of man-machine interaction are discussed. The usefulness of this type of approach is discussed with respect to computer-aided design applications, educational tools, and research tools.


The ever growing size of the public sector has been a contention in theory and practice. In parallel, the public sector use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), otherwise known as Electronic Government has had a transformative potential. Inspired by these competing interests, this paper set out to study the relationship between investments in e-Government and the size of public sector. Informed by Banks-Weingast model of bureaucratic discretion drawn upon political science, the research estimated the linkage. Using a balanced panel data of Kenya's key ministries for a 10 year period (2004-2014), e-Government expenditure, consumer price indices (CPI) and gross domestic product (GDP), the study found that 1 per cent increase in the intensity of investment in e-Government infrastructure leads to 0.295 per cent reduction in the size of the public sector, and this forms the main contribution in the paper. In theory, the study presents a robust model that enables the viewing of the interrelationship from a newer vantage point using a perspective foreign to information systems discipline. In practice, the integrative thinking reveals that while investments in e-Government may control government's recurrent costs, it does counter bureaucrats' self-interestedness, an ideology which appears to thrive in a world of information asymmetry. Thus, the paper demonstrates that eGovernment is a technological determinant of the size of a bureaucracy and may act as an alternative consideration to achieve a leaner public sector.


Green and red luminescent quantum dot-thermoresponsive nanogel composite dispersions has been prepared by hydrogen bonding the thiol capping on the quantum dots to the amide groups of thermoresponsive nanogel particles. The photoluminescence intensities of the green and red luminescent composites have been matched by optimizing the concentrations of the quantum dots within the nanogel particles. The green and red luminescent composites were crystallized individually and mixed them in 1∶1 ratio. For the first time the crystalline order in the composite mixture has been imaged in real space in two channel fluorescence mode of a confocal laser scanning microscope using single wavelength excitation. Implications of the present results in regard to investigating the binary colloidal crystal structure in real space and as markers for biological detection are discussed.


A trade-off between the sensory modalities of vision and hearing is likely to have occurred in echolocating bats as the sophisticated mechanism of laryngeal echolocation requires considerable neural processing and has reduced the reliance of echolocating bats on vision for perceiving the environment. If such a trade-off exists, it is reasonable to hypothesize that some genes involved in visual function may have undergone relaxed selection or even functional loss in echolocating bats. The Gap junction protein, alpha 10 (Gja10, encoded by Gja10 gene) is expressed abundantly in mammal retinal horizontal cells and plays an important role in horizontal cell coupling. The interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (Irbp, encoded by the Rbp3 gene) is mainly expressed in interphotoreceptor matrix and is known to be critical for normal functioning of the visual cycle. We sequenced Gja10 and Rbp3 genes in a taxonomically wide range of bats with divergent auditory characteristics (35 and 18 species for Gja10 and Rbp3, respectively). Both genes have became pseudogenes in species from the families Hipposideridae and Rhinolophidae that emit constant frequency echolocation calls with Doppler shift compensation at high-duty-cycles (the most sophisticated form of biosonar known), and in some bat species that emit echolocation calls at low-duty-cycles. Our study thus provides further evidence for the hypothesis that a trade-off occurs at the genetic level between vision and echolocation in bats.


Conventional database design techniques rely heavily on the designer's skill and experience, which are neither efficient nor effective for large, realistic design problems. A computer design aid can help by storing many design parameters and performing simple preprocessing before design decisions are made. In this paper, we report on the development of such a system.


The objective of this paper is to make a contribution to a debated issue in industrial organization that of the relationship between market structure and innovation. We place this topic within a theoretical framework and in the context of the agricultural biotechnology research market. Our theoretical model addresses how firm R&D decisions are affected by upstream and downstream market structures, farmer adoption decisions, and patent strength.


The proliferation of mobile computing devices including laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wearable computers has created an enormous demand for wireless personal area networks (WPANs). WPANs originally enabled convenient interconnection of devices around an individual person or computer. From this starting point, a broad variety of new wireless appliances has been developed, allowing proximal devices to share information and resources. Major fields of application are industrial, scientific and medical (ISM), but also consumer electronics and smart home appliances. However, for this short-range wireless connectivity, some additional challenges must be resolved. They are: (i) topology issues, i.e. self-organising, ad hoc and mesh networking; (ii) device issues, i.e. efficient, modular, low-cost and power-saving implementation; and (iii) security issues. The paper gives an overview of the challenges and suggests different solutions, especially in the field of security. In addition, it reports on working experience with two protocols: Bluetooth and IEEE802.15.4.


High-throughput multiplex protein biomarker assays continue to gain significance in the fields of biomarker discovery and drug development, due to their economical use of not only the precious clinical biological samples but also expensive reagents. Among these platforms, homogeneous multiplex systems have potential for short assay run times and cost-effective reagent consumptions. However, these systems must overcome challenges of signal cross talk and biochemical cross-reactivity. Despite these obstacles, several homogeneous multiplex immunoassays have been demonstrated. These include fluorescent polarization, fluorescent resonance energy transfer with quantum dots or graphene, luminescent oxygen-channeling immunoassay coupled with aqueous two-phase systems and DNA proximity assays. The balance between speed/simplicity and high multiplexing and robustness of these homogeneous multiplex immunoassays are discussed in this review.


Background: There is significant variation in clinical outcome between patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (CaP). Although useful, statistical nomograms and risk stratification tools alone do not always accurately predict an individual's need for and response to treatment. As a result there remains a need to identify and validate biomarkers for predicting prostate cancer outcomes using robust and routinely available pathology techniques to recognize men at most risk of premature death due to prostate cancer.

The day-to-day treatment options available to clinicians are continually evolving, with newer technologies and a greater understanding of the tumour biology prompting innovative approaches. However, despite this, all techniques have considerable associated side effects and there is a great deal of disagreement regarding which patients need radical treatment and which can be safely monitored, therefore avoiding unnecessary morbidity.

If more accurate risk stratification can be achieved using newly developed biomarkers (probably in addition to conventional staging techniques) then the aim is to reduce unnecessary treatment and assist timely and appropriate surgical and oncological intervention.

Aims and Objectives: We aimed to develop biomarkers predictive of outcome in prostate cancer, in particular ones that could be used in a mainstream NHS laboratory to help clinicians and patients make informed decisions regarding the management of their disease. We also intended to investigate whether bioinfomatic techniques such as artificial neural network analysis (ANN) could play a role in prostate cancer biomarker identification. We also felt it was important to validate our clinical data set and associated tissue micro array (TMA) by comparing its performance against previously identified biomarkers shown to have predictive utility in prostate cancer.

Methods: A tissue microarray (TMA) was constructed from transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) and transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) prostate biopsy samples that werehistologically proven to demonstrate prostate cancer. Patients had undergone these procedures either to deal with troublesome urinary symptoms or had presented with an elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. A comprehensive clinical data set of parameters conventionally used to decide upon treatment and monitor clinical response was collected. ANN analysis was used to identify candidate markers conferring increased risk of death and metastasis interrogating a public cDNA array, alongside a conventional literature review identifying previously published biomarkers that could be used to validate the TMA and clinical dataset. Immunohistochemical analysis of the TMA was carried out and univariate and multivariate tests performed to explore the association of tumour protein levels of identified biomarkers with various clinical endpoints, particularly time to death and metastasis.

Results: We successfully demonstrated associations between various biomarkers, and in particular validated our TMA and clinical dataset against the previously published marker Ki67, showing that Ki67 is predictive of CaP-specific survival and development of future metastases. In addition we were able to identify an entirely novel prostate cancer marker, DLX2, using artificial neural network analysis and demonstrate it has a statistically significant association with the development of prostate cancer metastases.
Conclusion: The Nottingham TMA has been shown to have utility in the investigation of candidate biomarkers in prostate cancer. We have also demonstrated that bioinfomatic techniques such as artificial neural network analysis can be employed to isolate candidate markers. During this work we have identified two cancer cell proliferation markers, Ki67 and DLX2, that may be able to inform clinical decision making when identifying patients for suitable for prompt active treatment versus active surveillance.


The nucleus of statehood is situated at the local level: in the village, the neighborhood, the city district. This is where a community, beyond the level of the family, first develops collective rules that are intended to ensure its continued existence. But usually this is not the only level of governance at play. Above it, there are supralocal formations of power, varying in scope from regional networks to empires, which supplement the local orders or compete with them. The premise of the research unit is that local forms of self-governance are especially heterogeneous and prominent, wherever supralocal statehood exists in the mode of weak permeation. The central question of our approach is how local forms of self-governance work in this context. We will examine the relations to the state level as well as to other local groups as they develop over time; the scope and spatial contingency of forms of self-governance; their legitimization and the interdependency with the organization and collective identity of those groups which carry them out; finally, we will turn our attention to the significance of self-governance for the configuration of weak statehood. The empirical focus will be at the local level, which has so far been largely neglected in the research on governance beyond the state. In order to achieve this, we will work with case studies that are structured by categories and situated in geographical areas and time periods that lie outside of modern Europe with its particular development of statehood since the Late Middle Ages: in Antiquity and in the Global South of the present. By incorporating these different time frames, we hope to contribute to overcoming the dichotomy between the modern and pre-modern era, which is often given canonical status. Our goal is a comparative analysis of different configurations of order as well as the development of a typology of patterns of local governance. The structure of the empirical comparison itself promises methodological insights, since it will entail recognizing, dealing with, and overcoming disciplinary limitations. Starting with the identification of typical patterns and processes, we hope to get a better grasp of the mechanisms by which local configurations of order succeed, while at the same time advancing the theoretical debate. This will allow us to make an interdisciplinary contribution to the understanding of fundamental elements of statehood and local governance that are of central importance, especially in the context of weak statehood. The insights we hope to gain by adopting this historical perspective will contribute to understanding a present that is not based exclusively on its own, apparently completely new preconditions, and will thus significantly sharpen the political analysis of various forms of governance.


Previously, we showed that chitin synthase 2 (Chs2) is required for septum formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas chitin synthase 1 (Chs1) does not appear to be an essential enzyme. However, in strains carrying a disrupted CHS1 gene, frequent lysis of buds is observed. Lysis occurs after nuclear separation and appears to result from damage to the cell wall, as indicated by osmotic stabilization and by a approximately 50-nm orifice at the center of the birth scar. Lysis occurs at a low pH and is prevented by buffering the medium above pH 5. A likely candidate for the lytic system is a previously described chitinase that is probably involved in cell separation. The chitinase has a very acidic pH optimum and a location in the periplasmic space that exposes it to external pH. Accordingly, allosamidin, a specific chitinase inhibitor, substantially reduced the number of lysed cells. Because the presence of Chs1 in the cell abolishes lysis, it is concluded that damage to the cell wall is caused by excessive chitinase activity at acidic pH, which can normally be repaired through chitin synthesis by Chs1. The latter emerges as an auxiliary or emergency enzyme. Other experiments suggest that both Chs1 and Chs2 collaborate in the repair synthesis of chitin, whereas Chs1 cannot substitute for Chs2 in septum formation.


This article seeks to explain both who participates in military intervention decisions and how they participate. The article argues that participation is strongly conditioned by the primary characteristics of the intervention, along with the organization and institutions of U.S. government bureaucracy. These organizational and institutional influences exist within a larger framework of structured contingency, which also conditions participation, and contributes to an impression of capriciousness and unpredictability in the military intervention decision-making processes. Drawing on the decisions for four U.S. military interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean since WWII as examples, findings indicate that two primary characteristics (crisis vs. premeditated, secret vs. public knowledge) condition the character and level of participation at all levels of the bureaucracy. The existing institutional structure of the U.S. government, the important role played by the personal proclivities'of the president, and the often unexpected impact of personalism at the lower levels of the bureaucracy create numerous contingencies (or seeming contingencies) in the decisional process.


Abstract : A correlation study of the complete oil breakdown rate analyzer, version II (COBRA II) was undertaken to determine the approximate repeatability and reproducibility of data from these oil analysis instruments. Simple root mean square (RMS) equations were used to calculate these parameters. The COBRA II monitors the level of thermal degradation in synthetic, ester-based turbine engine oils. The 95% confidence levels for repeatability and reproducibility were less than 5% and 12% RMS, respectively. The performance of the COBRA II was found to be acceptable and very similar to the repeatability and reproducibility of data from typical Joint Oil Analysis Program (JOAP) atomic emission spectrometers. Additionally, a summary of the field performance to date of the COBRA II is included. The COBRA II has helped to save at least 13 US Air Force turbine engines from oil system (bearing) failure, amounting to savings of about $39M and a 17,000% return on investment. COBRA II appears to be a very good analytical tool for use in turbine engine maintenance programs where significant oil thermal degradation problems may exist.


This Special Issue contains several efforts aimed at constructing efficient, yet valid measures of the home environment that can be used for a wide variety of families. This commentary reflects on those efforts with a view that devolves from the nature of what is being measured and a view of children as members of diverse and dynamic family systems. Attention is given to the critical distinction between "cause" and "effect" indicators and its implications for constructing and evaluating measures of the home environment. Attention is also given to the importance of establishing functional relations between indicators used in home environment measures and measures of child well-being. In addition, there is a focus on the importance of having sufficient indicators of environmental constructs so that there is adequate coverage of the diverse ways that different cultures might accomplish the same goals for children. Particular attention is given to the challenge of selecting and organizing indicators of key environmental constructs for dynamic systems, with specific focus on the implications of several systems principles for environmental measurement. Finally, recommendations are made regarding how to accommodate the competing needs of feasibility and validity when devising a strategy to measure environments in large-scale studies: the strategy of "targeted complement."


The possibility of increasing the performance of thermionic cooling devices by relaxing lateral momentum conservation is examined. Upper limits for the ballistic emission current are established. It is then shown that for most cases, nonconserved lateral momentum model produces a current that exceeds this upper limit. For the case of heterojunctions with a much heavier effective mass in the barrier and with a low barrier height, however, relaxing lateral momentum may increase the current. These results can be simply understood from the general principle that the current is limited by the location, well or barrier, with the smallest number of conducting channels. They also show that within a thermionic emission framework, relaxing lateral momentum conservation does not increase the upper limit performance in most cases, and when it does, the increase is modest. More generally, however, especially when the connection to the carrier reservoir is poor and performance is well below the upper limit, relaxing la...


BACKGROUND
Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is performed with a dedicated 22- or 21-gauge needle while suction is applied. Fine-needle sampling without suction (capillary sampling) has been studied for endoscopic ultrasound and for biopsies at various body sites and has resulted in similar diagnostic yield and fewer traumatic samples. However, the role of EBUS-guided transbronchial needle capillary sampling (EBUS-TBNCS) is still to be determined.

METHODS
Adults with suspicious hilar or mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs) were included in a single-blinded, prospective, randomized trial comparing EBUS-TBNA and EBUS-TBNCS. The primary end point was the concordance rate between the two techniques in terms of adequacy and diagnosis of cytologic samples. The secondary end point was the concordance rate between the two techniques in terms of quality of samples.

RESULTS
A total of 115 patients and 192 LNs were studied. Concordance between EBUS-TBNA and EBUS-TBNCS was high, with no significant difference in adequacy (88% vs 88%, respectively [P ± .858]; concordance rate, 83.9% [95% CI, 77.9-88.8]); diagnosis (36% vs 34%, respectively [P ± .289]; concordance rate, 95.8% [95% CI, 92-92.8]); diagnosis of malignancy (28% vs 26%, respectively [P ± .125]; concordance rate, 97.9% [95% CI, 94.8-99.4]); or sample quality (concordance rate, 83.3% [95% CI, 73.3-88.3]). Concordance between EBUS-TBNA and EBUS-TBNCS was high irrespective of LN size (≤ 1 cm vs > 1 cm).

CONCLUSIONS
Regardless of LN size, no differences in adequacy, diagnosis, or quality were found between samples obtained using EBUS-TBNA and those obtained using EBUS-TBNCS. There is no evidence of any benefit derived from the practice of applying suction to EBUS-guided biopsies.

TRIAL REGISTRY
ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00886847; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov


Only relatively rare fault rocks record paleoseismicity (e.g., pseudotachy-lyte), though most fault slip probably accumulates during earthquakes. We describe two fault-rock assemblages, made of common fault-rock types, and argue that fault-rock assemblages can provide criteria for inferring seismogenic slip on exhumed faults that are more common than individual fault-rock types. Such assemblages allow direct study of fault-slip products formed under various crustal conditions that are not accessible on active faults. One assemblage, of layered cataclasites, is preserved several meters below the detachment. It is rare in the rock record and is best interpreted as recording parts of multiple seismic cycles. A second assemblage is the two-part detachment fault core: inner fault-core ultracataclasite layers separated by principal slip surfaces and outer fault-core cataclasites. We hypothesize that this common assemblage forms mainly during seismogenic slip. We interpret a third assemblage of clay gouge and breccia as recording slip and alteration above the seismogenic zone. Detailed structural analysis of the layered cataclasites shows that they formed and were deformed episodically, most consistent with multiple seismic cycles that probably were defined by West Salton detachment fault (WSDF) main shocks. Cataclasite layers formed sequentially at the expense of overlying quartz diorite, while older, deeper layers were abandoned, folded, and faulted. Upward growth of the stack of layers probably reflects both strain weakening of the overlying rocks and strain hardening of the layered cataclasites. Each layer formed in two stages: (1) Lithologically heterogeneous and/or cataclastically foliated, fault-bounded precursor slivers above the top layer record grain-size reduction by cataclasis and cataclastic foliation development and probably record inter-seismic shear. (2) One or more slip event(s), interpreted as seismogenic, transformed precursor slivers into layers of homogeneous, random-fabric cataclasite. Many layers are overprinted by weakly developed foliation, probably of postseismic origin. The detachment fault core formed at ≥ 2.3–4 km depth, in the upper seismogenic zone. Pseudotachylyte along the detachment nearby also records multiple seismogenic WSDF slip events. Similarities between the cataclastic layers and detachment fault-core rocks support the interpretation of both as products of seismogenic slip. In contrast, clay-rich gouge and upper-plate breccias formed at depth ≤ 2–3 km. The footwall fault core is clay poor and thus apparently passed through the uppermost crust with little overprint. The layered cataclasites and detachment fault core display only minor chemical alteration, and the layers record limited shear strain relative to fault-core rocks. Thus, the layered cataclasites may be good natural analogs for experimentally formed fault rocks. Both assemblages formed from intermediate plutonic protoliths, similar to "average" mid-crustal rocks, and from the same lithologies as cut by the active San Jacinto and Elsinore faults. Thus, these two assemblages provide accessible, paleoseismically formed analogs to fault rocks presumably present at seismogenic depth along active faults.


Caridean shrimp have considerable effects on ecosystem processes and, thus, understanding their use of key habitats is important for determining their potential ecological effect. The present study examined the meso-habitat use of Macrobrachium spinipes, a large-bodied and important amphidromous species, in the Daly River, northern Australia. We examined shrimp abundance at four common meso-habitat types; sand bank, rock bars, undercut and structurally complex banks and mid-channel areas at five sites on three occasions during the dry season (May to October). We found that habitat use changed considerably first, with ontogeny, and, second, with the colonisation of habitats with algae and macrophytes as the dry season progressed. As juveniles, their habitat use was strongly associated with well structured bank environments early in the dry season. By the mid-dry season, juveniles were more abundant within sand habitats recently colonised with macrophytes and filamentous algae. Females showed little change in habitat use, whereas large-bodied dominant males generally favoured rock bars and heavily structured bank environments. The present study has provided significant insights into the changes in use of key riverine habitats throughout the dry season by an ecologically important species. This information will be of considerable value to the determination of environmental flow requirements and food-web investigations.


Innate nonself recognition must rely on common structures of invading microbes. In a differential display screen for up-regulated immune genes in the moth Trichoplusia ni we have found mechanisms for recognition of bacterial cell wall fragments. One bacteria-induced gene encodes a protein that, after expression in the baculovirus system, was shown to be a peptidoglycan recognition protein (PGRP). It binds strongly to Gram-positive bacteria. We have also cloned the corresponding cDNA from mouse and human and shown this gene to be expressed in a variety of organs, notably organs of the immune system-i.e., bone marrow and spleen. In addition, purified recombinant murine PGRP was shown to possess peptidoglycan affinity. From our results and the sequence homology, we conclude that PGRP is a ubiquitous protein involved in innate immunity, conserved from insects to humans.


It has been previously shown by the authors [JAES 34, 221 (April 1990); J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 91, 2326 (A) (1992)] that the main beamwidth of a loudspeaker array can be held constant over an octave by the superposition of two arrays by using suitable filter functions. The beam patterns are identical at the end (design) frequencies, however, deviations occur at frequencies between the extremes. The deviations are representative of unwanted acoustic energy if the deviation is positive when referenced to the desired pattern. While the array has some error at these design frequencies (for example, undesired side and backlobes), the total error energy integrated over the octave may be greater than that of other arrays that use element weights that allow more error at the design frequencies. Presented is an algorithm to minimize the deviations between design frequencies while minimizing the error energies, which is based on a Wiener adaptation. The results are compared to hand‐generated guesses. The impact of lin...


The eld of Grammatical Inference provides a good theoretical framework for investigating a learning process. Formal results in this eld can be relevant to the question of rst language acquisition. However, Grammatical Inference studies have been focused mainly on mathematical aspects, and have not exploited the linguistic relevance of their results. With this paper, we try to enrich Grammatical Inference studies with ideas from Linguistics. We propose a non-classical mechanism that has relevant linguistic and computational properties, and we study its learnability from positive data.


OBJECTIVE
Establishment of determination method of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA) in urine with HPLC.

METHODS
A volume of 0.5 ml hydrochloric acid (2 mol/L) and 0.5 ml pure water was added into 1 ml urine, and then extracted by 4 ml of diethyl ether by shaking for 2 min. Remove the water phase in a tube with plug and extract again, mix the two extraction diethyl ether together, take 4 ml by adding 2 ml borax-monopotassium phosphate buffer and shaking for 2 min to extract, then take the water phase to detect. A C(18) column and UV detector were used for separating and detecting. The wavelength was 273 nm, the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, and the injection volume was 20 µl.

RESULTS
TTCA has a good linearity (r = 0.9995) over the concentration of1 1 ∼ 10 µg and the minimum detectable concentration of TTCA in urine was 0.1 µg/ml. The within-day precision (RSD) were 8.4%, 3.0% and 1.7%, the between-day precision (RSD) were 11%, 3.8%, 1.9%, respectively. The extraction recovery were between 80% ∼ 102%.

CONCLUSION
The method was accurate and sensitive to detect TTCA in urine.


This study examined the relationship of lesbian identity development and internalized homophobia and the impact on career decision self-efficacy. One hundred and twenty-four women participated. Although the sample was highly integrated, participants reported different experiences in their career development. Implications for counseling lesbian clients are discussed. ********** Career decision making and occupational choice are viewed as lifelong experiences, occurring in stages and contributing to an individual's values and beliefs. Engels (1994) postulated that the career development process addresses an individual's needs and goals that are associated with different stages of life; the focus and importance of career decision making and occupational choice may change over the years. In addition to environmental influences that affect both heterosexual women and lesbians, lesbians have the additional variable of sexual orientation, which makes it imperative to consider the impact of being lesbian and the prejudice against lesbian and gay individuals when making choices in work and career (Croteau & Hedstrom, 1993; Hetherington & Orzek, 1989; Orzek, 1992). Past research has suggested that sexual orientation does affect career choice and career development; however, little research exists regarding the actual career development process of women who identify as lesbian (Shallenberger, 1998). Boatwright, Gilbert, Forrest, and Kretzenberger (1996) found that lesbians had often (a) reexperienced a second adolescence as they developed their lesbian identity, (b) experienced delays and disruptions in the career development process, and (c) experienced some career benefits from associating with other lesbians. Each of these factors has affected career development and occupational choice for lesbians. Coming out has been discussed as a process with distinct stages of self-acceptance and awareness. It is an ongoing, lifelong process rather than a onetime event (Morrow, 1996), in which the transition to a lesbian identity has depended not only on internal forces (positive self-image and self-efficacy) but also on external forces, such as supportive family and/or friends. For many individuals, developmental tasks must wait to be successfully completed until they are in an environment that is both socially and emotionally safe. As a result, painful experiences have often led to self-hatred, self-devaluation, isolation, and self-destructive behaviors, all having an impact on career development, career self-efficacy, and career choice. To better understand the components of the life span career development process for lesbians, I review lesbian identity development, internalized homophobia, and career decision self-efficacy. LESBIAN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Lesbian identity is a unique journey for each individual. It is not linear, nor can it be compartmentalized into succinct steps. The following are two lesbian identity models put forth by researchers who have attempted to capture the complexities of this process. The Cass (1979) Model Cass (1984) emphasized the necessity of offering a clear definition of what identity is, the structural components of identity, how it develops over time, and the external and internal influences on it. Cass's (1979) model considered this process. The Cass (1979) model, which has laid the groundwork for subsequent theories addressing the developmental issues unique to the gay male and lesbian population and is based on the framework of interpersonal congruency theory, has six stages of homosexual identity formation. The stages are differentiated on the basis of the individual's personal perception of self. The six stages of the model are (a) identity confusion, which is characterized by the first conscious awareness of homosexuality within oneself; (b) identity comparison, which is the tentative commitment to homosexual identity; (c) identity tolerance, which signifies a heightened awareness of social alienation; (d) identity acceptance, which is distinguished by increased contact with other sexual minorities; (e) identity pride, which is the near completion of self-acceptance of one's homosexual self; and (f) identity synthesis, which is the complete integration of the person's homosexual self and other important aspects of his or her identity. …


In this paper, we present a multi precision (MP) reconfigurable multiplier that incorporates variable precision, parallel processing (PP), razor-based dynamic voltage scaling (DVS), and dedicated MP operands scheduling to provide optimum performance for a variety of operating conditions. All of the building blocks of the proposed reconfigurable multiplier can either work as independent smaller precision multipliers or work in parallel to perform higher-precision multiplications. Given the user's requirements (e.g., throughput), a dynamic voltage/frequency scaling management unit configures the multiplier to operate at the proper precision and frequency. Adapting to the run-time workload of the targeted application, razor flip-flops together with a dithering voltage unit then configure the multiplier to achieve the lowest power consumption. The single switch dithering voltage unit and razor flip-flops help to reduce the voltage safety margins and overhead typically associated to DVS to the lowest level. The large silicon area and power overhead typically associated to re configurability features are removed. Finally, the proposed novel MP multiplier can further benefit from an operands scheduler that rearranges the input data, hence to determine the optimum voltage and frequency operating conditions for minimum power consumption.


A new process, melts dispersion technique, was developed to fabricate the solder powder in oil surroundings by forming molten metal's droplets. The main parameters of the technique on shape and size of powders were investigated in the present paper. It is shown that a cooling rate of the melts and viscosity of oil for isolation of droplets affect the shape and the size. The cooling rate is a very important parameter, and there is a critical cooling rate at given conditions. Although the melts were dispersed perfectly in oil, fine droplets were merged and coalesced during solidification without rapid cooling. The shape of powder has an influence mainly on oil viscosity and was altered into a sphere from an irregular shape with increasing oil viscosity.


Wireless devices in the unlicensed instruments, scientific, and measurements (ISM) bands cause mutual interference in indoor environments. This interference degrades the system performance and compromises security. Transforming existing building walls to a band stop frequency selective surface (FSS) can be an efficient solution for such problems. This work is proposed to design FSS for interference mitigation and network security within the buildings in the unlicensed 2.4‐GHz ISM band and to provide maximum transparency at broadcast frequencies. A 2.4‐GHz ISM band is a relatively narrow band which cannot be met by a conventional FSS for a wide range of incidence angle. Whereas wireless signals in indoor environment have a wide range of incidence angle. To obtain the desired narrow band response, a new FSSs element geometry is introduced which has a stable frequency response for TE polarization when the angle of incident wave is varied from 0° to 70°. HFSS software is used for simulation and design purposes. The obtained simulation and measurement results show that desired frequency response is achieved for TE polarization successfully. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2986–2990, 2013


Two water-soluble phenyl b-aminobisulfonate ligands were synthesised and characterised by spectroscopic techniques including UV-visible absorption, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and H NMR spectroscopy. The acid–base and complexometric binding properties were studied in water and methanol, respectively. Single crystal X-ray crystallography was used to elucidate the solid-state properties. The pKas of the phenyl b-aminobisulfonate 1 and methoxyphenyl b-aminobisulfonate 2 were evaluated to be 3.1 and 4.4, respectively. UV-visible, EPR and NMR spectroscopy provide direct evidence for complexation of 2 with Cu in methanol due to coordination with the pendant methoxy moiety. The EPR and NMR data of 1 show evidence for some interaction, although no such conclusion could be derived from the UV-visible absorption spectra. The results highlight the potential of phenyl b-aminobisulfonates as building blocks for developing water-soluble pH and cation chemosensors.


Harvey Karman was an abortionist, inventor, and activist for safe abortion [3] techniques in the US during the twentieth century. Karman developed the Karman cannula, a flexible soft tube used for vacuum aspiration abortions. Karman traveled extensively throughout the US to educate healthcare providers on how to administer safe abortions. He also traveled to Bangladesh, India, China, and other developing nations to promote safe and simple abortion [3] techniques that anyone could perform without previous medical training. As of 2017, Karman's abortion [3] technique and cannula continue to be widely used throughout the world for terminating early pregnancies. Karman challenged laws prohibiting abortion [3] in the US prior to 1973 and worked to create methods for abortion [3] that were safer, less expensive, and easier to administer than previous abortion [3] techniques.


This paper regards a study aiming to investigate junior high school pupils' attitudes and self-efficacy of using mobile devices. A 25-item questionnaire was administered to 260 pupils aged 12-15 years old, in Greece. Pupils' attitudes were positive, and four factors were extracted, "perceived usefulness", "affection", "perceived control" and "behaviour". Regarding pupils' self-efficacy, one factor was revealed and this was significantly correlated with all attitude factors. Most of the pupils (over 87%) expressed high self-efficacy in using mobile devices. Higher self-efficacy was linked to positive perspectives and feelings, to greater willingness to use mobile devices, and to favorable perceptions towards their independent control. It is suggested to describe pupils' attitudes of using mobile devices with respect to discrete dimensions. Gender or age differences in attitudes were very small. The mobile devices attitudes and self-efficacy questionnaire is suggested to be used with other adolescent populations of different countries, in order to reveal possible similarities and differences.


Going from our motivational background as internal intervener, we highlight the problem of performance indicators adapted in the pharmaceutical industry to measure the performance of Medical Representatives (Med Reps). We review the Balanced Scorecard and the management control performance logic. In our research, we use the socio-economic intervention to help us get rid of traditional performance measures. Our intervention research cracks the code of the prescription drug cycle in the aim of providing a better understanding of the performance measures that should be adopted to deliver a holistic view of performance. We detect dysfunctions in the cycle of transformation called Prescription Drug Cycle PDC and we come up with baskets of solutions. We conduct socio-economic projects to reduce dysfunctions in the PDC and simultaneously add value to the performance measurement system and performance indicators locally and globally. The indicators entail the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, the short-and long-term results, the behavior and the outcomes of performance at the local and global levels of the organization.


Protein kinase C (PKC), a class of serine/threonine kinases activated by Ca2+ and/or phospholipids, is involved in a variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and secretion. Nine members of the PKC gene family are known; these are differentially expressed in eukaryotic cells and can be divided into two sub-groups: the Ca(2+)-dependent (classical) PKC isoenzymes alpha, beta I, beta II and gamma, and the Ca(2+)-independent neoPKC isoenzymes delta, epsilon, zeta, eta and theta. A detailed biochemical characterisation of these PKC isoenzymes is one prerequisite for the elucidation of their distinct roles within cellular signal transduction. In this study, we report the cloning of a human PKC-zeta cDNA, its expression in recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells and the partial purification of the PKC-zeta isoenzyme. In comparison to highly purified human PKC alpha, a representative of the classical PKC subgroup, purified PKC zeta was characterised with respect to activator requirement, substrate specificity, proteolytic activation and sensitivity towards PKC inhibitors. In contrast to PKC alpha, PKC zeta exhibits a constitutive kinase activity which is independent of Ca2+, phosphatidylserine and diacylglycerol. Arachidonic acid alone or a combination of gamma-linolenic acid and phosphatidylserine slightly enhance PKC zeta activity. In the presence of the classical PKC activators phosphatidylserine/diacylglycerol, PKC alpha phosphorylates a PKC-alpha pseudosubstrate-derived peptide, an epidermal-growth-factor-receptor-derived peptide, histone III-S and myelin basic protein to an equal extent, whilst PKC zeta phosphorylates only the PKC-alpha-derived peptide. However, arachidonic acid greatly diminishes PKC-alpha activity towards the epidermal-growth-factor-receptor-derived peptide, histone III-S and myelin basic protein, but enhances PKC-zeta activity towards the PKC-alpha-derived peptide. These results indicate a possible modulation of substrate specificity of these two PKC isoenzymes by (the binding of) different activators (to their regulatory domains). In the case of PKC zeta, this finding is strengthened by the fact that the epidermal growth factor receptor-derived peptide, which is not a substrate for the holoenzyme, is significantly phosphorylated by a protein fragment generated by limited proteolysis and comprising only the kinase domain. Furthermore, PKC zeta, in contrast to PKC alpha, is insensitive to PKC inhibitors known to interfere either with the regulatory or the catalytic domain and cannot be activated by phorbol ester treatment of NIH 3T3 cells or insect cells, overexpressing the respective PKC isoenzyme. The potential implications of these findings on the mechanism(s) of activation and the substrate specificity of PKC zeta are discussed.


There has been a documented increase in incidence and prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, in particular cancer, in low- and middle-income countries. With a lack of healthcare facilities and trained health care providers to support this new patient population, relatives and close friends provide the majority of care. The majority of research examining the emotional and physical impact of providing care to a loved one with cancer has been conducted in developed nations; however, there is a paucity of research examining the experience of providing care to a loved one with cancer in low- and middle-income countries, specifically in Tanzania. The overall goal of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of cancer caregivers in Tanzania. This study utilized a qualitative, cross-sectional design. Family caregivers of cancer patients were administered face-to-face interviews that lasted for approximately two hours. The participants were queried regarding sociodemographic information as well as overall well being, difficulties and positive aspects of providing care, access to information and resources, family and friends, and health care provider communication. These interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used to identify the emergent themes. Ten themes emerged from the participant interviews. The themes that were relevant to the specific aims of this study were accessibility of information, social support, providing care, and end of life. Other themes that emerged from the interviews and are important to highlight are: access to medication, time to diagnosis, no hope/no cure, access to hospital, symptom management, and formal healthcare. The results of the analysis suggest that caregivers have several unmet needs throughout the care situation and experience increased feelings of emotional and financial burden. With the rising incidence of cancer in Africa and the lack of institutional facilities and specialists to support this new patient population, family and friends become the primary caregiver. If caregivers' emotional and physical health is not preserved, the quality of care they deliver may suffer and more demands placed on the health care system by both the patient and caregiver.