In Spatial Data Infrastructure or Cyber Infrastructure, the description of geographic data semantics is intended to support data discovery, reuse and integration. In the vast majority of cases the producers of these data generate descriptions based on particular understandings of what uses the data are good for. This producer-oriented perspective means that the descriptions often do not help to answer the question of whether a data set is of use for a consumer who might want to apply it in a different context. In this paper, we discuss the role geographic information observatories can play in providing an infrastructure for observing the context of data use by consumers. These observations of data pragmatics lead to operational statistical methods that will support better fitness-for-use assessment. Finally, we highlight some of the challenges to building these observatories, and briefly discuss strategies to address those challenges.


BACKGROUND
Because of the low chemosensitivity of gastric cancer to conventional antitumor agents, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer is controversial. We have previously proposed the necessity to evaluate the appropriateness of particular adjuvant cancer chemotherapies in individual advanced gastric cancer patients using chemosensitivity testing. In the present study, we compared the chemosensitivity and clinical outcomes of patients with Stages III and IV gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 282 patients with advanced gastric cancer were analyzed retrospectively in terms of chemosensitivity as detected by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and survival outcome after surgery. Patients were split into groups according to Stage III or IV gastric cancer, then categorized into those that received surgery without chemotherapy (surgery-alone), and those that received adjuvant chemotherapy, for which all the evaluable cases were further divided into sensitive and resistant cases as determined by MTT assay.

RESULTS
For Stage III gastric cancer patients, the sensitive group had a more favorable survival outcome than the other two groups. For Stage IV gastric cancer patients, the sensitive groups, had a more favorable survival outcome than the other two groups, but only in the absence of peritoneal dissemination.

CONCLUSION
Chemosensitivity testing, based on the MTT assay, was useful in evaluating the appropriate cancer chemotherapy for patients with Stages III/IV gastric cancer without peritoneal dissemination.


People of different ages, skills, and interests enjoy Zentangle as a visual arts practice. It is adopted as a hobby with the intention of creating an abstract art form comprised of drawn images and using repetitive and structured patterns. Zentangle has an associative language and a method that is easy to learn. Participants of Zentangle report feelings of wellbeing when engaged in the meditative drawing activities. In the field of education, research on the potential of Zentangle to support student learning is limited; in early childhood education, the benefits are unreported in the academic literature. This research project aims to fill this gap. The project examined the educational benefits of Zentangle for young children. The project was conducted over a ten-month period in two kindergarten classrooms (with children aged 3-5 years) at a Western Australian independent community school inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. Two case study findings showed that Zentangle supported the development of children's fine motor skills and enriched their language experience through the accommodation of cultural and linguistic diversity. Zentangle also provided opportunities for children to demonstrate the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia outcomes.


Prior research suggests that software project managers do not widely use project risk management prescriptions. This study adopts the view that this situation may be because the assumptions underlying the majority of software project risk management prescriptions diverge from how project managers actually view risk and respond to it. To advance our understanding of project managers' risk response behavior, the study first applies a problematization methodology to a selection of 55 articles and identifies, articulates, and revises the assumption-ground underlying most of these studies. It then proposes a conceptual model that aims at explaining and predicting software project managers' risk response behavior and that takes into account the revised assumption-ground. This conceptual model is developed by using the reasoned action approach as a canvas to integrate behavioral decision making under uncertainty research and prior behavioral research in the software project risk management context. Finally, the paper derives several propositions from this conceptual model and provides suggestions for future research.


Written sources show that livestock were traded during the Roman period. However, there is scarce information available to characterise this trade due to its invisibility in the archaeological record. In our paper, we shed light on this issue by applying both osteometric and genetic analyses on cattle remains from the Roman trading post of Empuries (Catalonia) to determine how livestock contributed to Roman trade and, thus, to the economy of the Empire. Analysis of twenty-six cattle metacarpals from Empuries has allowed us to document the presence of different cattle morphotypes in this city during its Early Roman occupation. The morphological and genetic differences seen in Empuries cattle can be explained though trade of different cattle varieties, more appropriate for milk production and/or traction than the local stock. Once arrived at the port of Empuries, these imported cattle would have then been distributed to surrounding villas.


With an ongoing desire to improve product performance, in combination with the continuously growing complexity of engineering structures, there is a need for well-tested and reliable engineering tools that can aid the decision making and facilitate an efficient and effective product development. The technical assessment of the dynamic characteristics of mechanical systems often relies on linear analysis techniques which are well developed and generally accepted. However, sometimes the errors due to linearization are too large to be acceptable, making it necessary to take nonlinear effects into account. Many existing analysis techniques for nonlinear mechanical systems build on the assumption that the input excitation of the system is periodic and deterministic. This often results in highly inefficient analysis procedures when nonlinear mechanical systems are studied in a non-deterministic environment where the excitation of the system is stochastic. The aim of this thesis is to develop and validate new efficient analysis methods for the theoretical and experimental study of nonlinear mechanical systems under stochastic excitation, with emphasis on two specific problem areas; forced response simulation and system identification from measurement data. A fundamental concept in the presented methodology is to model the nonlinearities as external forces acting on an underlying linear system, and thereby making it possible to use much of the linear theories for simulation and identification. The developed simulation methods utilize a digital filter to achieve a stable and condensed representation of the linear subparts of the system which is then solved recursively at each time step together with the counteracting nonlinear forces. The result is computationally efficient simulation routines, which are particularly suitable for performance predictions when the input excitation consist of long segments of discrete data representing a realization of the stochastic excitation of the system. Similarly, the presented identification methods take advantage of linear Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output theories for random data by using the measured responses to create artificial inputs which can separate the linear system from the nonlinear parameters. The developed methods have been tested with extensive numerical simulations and with experimental test rigs with promising results. Furthermore, an industrial case study of a wave energy converter, with nonlinear characteristics, has been carried out and an analysis procedure capable of evaluating the performance of the system in non-deterministic ocean waves is presented.


Background: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) remain a significant nosocomial pathogen. Current guidelines of the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the use of gowns and gloves for some interactions with VRE-infected or -colonized patients to prevent nosocomial transmission of VRE. Objective: To assess the effect of disposable cover gowns on preventing nosocomial transmission of VRE. Design and Setting: Prospective study in a 16-bed medical intensive care unit of a university teaching hospital. Patients: All patients who were at risk to acquire VRE, were admitted to the intensive care unit from August 1998 to January 1999, and had at least two perirectal cultures were included in the analysis of VRE acquisition. Intervention: VRE isolation precautions were changed from gowns and gloves to gloves alone. Main Outcome Measure: VRE acquisition rates and risk factors for VRE acquisition. Results: The VRE acquisition rate was 1.80 cases per 100 days at risk in the gown and gloves period compared with 3.78 in the gloves only period (P= .04). In a proportional hazards model adjusted for length of stay, gloves only precautions with a hazard ratio of 2.5 (P = .02; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 5.3) were the only independent risk factor for VRE acquisition. Conclusion: Our data lend support to current HICPAC recommendations for the use of cover gowns to decrease nosocomial transmission of VRE.


Prior to rotary coring, a range of soft-sediment coring tools were deployed to recover the sediment-water interface and the upper few metres of strata, whose integrity was threatened by embedment of the sea riser for drilling of the ANDRILL (AND)-1A/1B holes. These coring options included (1) a sediment gravity corer deployed through the ice-shelf hole, and (2) a push corer deployed through the sea riser suspended a few metres above the seabed. Within the AND-1A hole (during an attempt at sea-riser embedment) an extended-nose corer was advanced in front of the sea riser with limited success. The hydraulic piston corer was not deployed as a consequence of the fi rmness of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) diamicton and the occurrence of outsized clasts that could damage the drill string and compromise the deeper coring options. Successive attempts at gravity and push coring recovered 12 cores up to a maximum of 1.56 metres below sea-fl oor (mbsf). The longest core was dedicated to sampling for microbial life and pore-water geochemical studies which were expected to show the greatest gradients in the upper few metres of the sediment column. All cores sampled Holocene sub-iceshelf sediments above the LGM diamicton, and displayed a similar stratigraphy to a previously obtained site survey core, 250 m to the southeast (McKay et al., in press), with an unconsolidated diamicton passing upwards into muddy sub-ice-shelf facies. The sediment cores record the retreat of the grounding line through the region about 10 000 years ago and a transition from grounding line proximal, through sub-ice-shelf to calving-line proximal environments.


The long-term viability and sustainability of any educational technology hinges on users' continuance in using the technology, especially in a voluntary use context. Drawing upon prior empirical support, this study seeks to unravel factors which affect continuance intention towards technology with the research streams of psychological ownership and the Technology Acceptance Model. The central premise of the study is that individuals develop psychological ownership when they use a particular technology, forming a psychological connection to it which can foster continuance intention by affecting their beliefs and attitude. This notion is examined in the context of a cloud-based virtual learning environment, among practicing teachers of public schools in Malaysia. Given that teachers can exercise volition over the usage of this VLE, it is important to examine their continuance towards the VLE, as it serves as a gateway for work management, teaching and learning, and communication. A hypothesised model was developed to examine psychological ownership of a VLE with predictors of experienced control, knowledge, and investment of the self in the VLE. In turn, psychological ownership is positioned as an external variable that influence continuance intention through perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude towards using the VLE. Examination entails the direct and indirect effects between the constructs of the proposed model. Potential confounding effects from individual differences were controlled using the control variables of VLE experience, training, and teaching load. Employing a cross-sectional survey approach, data were collected using questionnaires distributed to teachers teaching in four states in northern Malaysia. The study translated established scales to measure the constructs using back-translation, and these scales were refined based on pre-tests and a pilot study. After data were cleaned, hypothetical relationships were examined with a total of 1068 responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results largely supported the model, explaining 67.7% of variance in continuance intention. Among the proposed antecedents of psychological ownership, investment of the self was the most salient predictor. Psychological ownership was also found to be a significant external variable which influenced perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, these beliefs influenced attitude towards using a VLE, and subsequently continuance intention. Interestingly, perceived usefulness was not significant to continuance intention, while attitude was found to potentially fully mediate the relationship between perceived usefulness and continuance intention. In a world of proliferating online learning environments seeking user participation, this study offers an explanation of teachers' continuance intention by relating the variables. These findings have important implications on theory, practice, and methods. In theory, the study combines the research streams of psychological ownership and the Technology Acceptance Model to validate theoretical propositions to explain teachers' sustainability behaviour towards a VLE. In practice, the study identifies salient factors pertinent to teachers' continuance intention which can benefit various stakeholders to bridge the gaps between education policy planning and implementation. In terms of methods, the study supports a cumulative practice of research by validating measures for the examination of psychological ownership in the VLE context.


Early language and reading experiences are known to predict later reading success. Interactive shared reading activities particularly benefit children's emergent literacy development. Converging research has begun to show that certain educational television programs can significantly influence early literacy skill acquisition. There is a need, however, to combine interactive shared reading with the educational television production techniques known to purposefully facilitate emergent literacy. This research begins to address that need by pilot testing a research-based animated book reading intervention developed specifically to promote the vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, print concept, and rhyme knowledge of preschoolers in child care between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Employing a quasi-experimental pre- and posttest research design, results indicate that children in the experimental group made greater gains on standardized emergent literacy measures compared with children in a control group. Early findings suggest that the animated book reading intervention may be a feasible and effective way for child care educators to teach early reading skills.


Foraging animals typically encounter opportunities that they either pursue or skip, but occasionally meet several alternatives simultaneously. Behavioural ecologists predict preferences using absolute properties of each option, while decision theorists focus on relative evaluations at the time of choice. We use European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to integrate ecological reasoning with decision models, linking and testing hypotheses for value acquisition and choice mechanism. We hypothesise that options' values depend jointly on absolute attributes, learning context, and subject's state. In simultaneous choices, preference could result either from comparing subjective values using deliberation time, or from processing each alternative independently, without relative comparisons. The combination of the value acquisition hypothesis and independent processing at choice time has been called the Sequential Choice Model. We test this model with options equated in absolute properties to exclude the possibility of preference being built at the time of choice. Starlings learned to obtain food by responding to four stimuli in two contexts. In context [AB], they encountered options A5 or B10 in random alternation; in context [CD], they met C10 or D20. Delay to food is denoted, in seconds, by the suffixes. Observed latency to respond (Li) to each option alone (our measure of value) ranked thus: LA≈LC<LB<<LD, consistently with value being sensitive to both delay and learning context. We then introduced simultaneous presentations of A5 vs. C10 and B10 vs. C10, using latencies in no-choice tests to predict sign and strength of preference in pairings. Starlings preferred A5 over C10 and C10 over B10. There was no detectable evaluation time, and preference magnitude was predictable from latency differentials. This implies that value reflects learning rather than choice context, that preferences are not constructed by relative judgements at the time of choice, and that mechanisms adapted for sequential decisions are effective to predict choice behaviour.


Purpose
Systemic innovations emerge and create value in an inter-organisational context. However, innovation studies rarely investigate the role of value creation and value capture among multiple organisations in successful innovation implementation. This paper aims to understand the role of value creation and value capture in the implementation of systemic innovations in construction which is by nature, an inter-organisational context.

Design/methodology/approach
The empirical research focused on the barriers, enablers and opportunities for value creation and value capture of the Finnish construction project parties when trying to implement mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) prefabrication, which is a systemic innovation. Data were collected through interviews, observations and action workshops.

Findings
The empirical study identified interaction patterns on how social, political, technical and economic barriers lead to uneven value capturing, lack of value-based procurement and unclear value creation between MEP design and installation. They hinder the implementation of MEP prefabrication. The results point to enablers leading to fairly shared value to all parties, procurement of value and collaborative value creation, thus increasing the usage of MEP prefabrication, a systemic innovation.

Originality/value
The study adds new knowledge by demonstrating that the identification of barriers and their interaction with enablers and opportunities for value creation and capture lay a baseline for suggestions on how to implement a systemic innovation. This study stresses the importance of enabling value creation and capture for all construction project parties when implementing a systemic innovation.


To mitigate the performance limitations caused by the constant spectral order β in the traditional spectral subtraction methods, we previously presented an adaptive β -order generalized spectral subtraction (GSS) in which the spectral order β is updated in a heuristic way [10]. In this paper, we propose a psychoacoustically-motivated adaptive β -order GSS, by considering that different frequency bands contribute different amounts to speech intelligibility (i.e., the band-importance function). Specifically, in this proposed adaptive β -order GSS, the tendency of spectral order β to change with the input local signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is quantitatively approximated by a sigmoid function, which is derived through a data-driven optimization procedure by minimizing the intelligibility-weighted distance between the desired speech spectrum and its estimate. The inherent parameters of the sigmoid function are further optimized with the data-driven optimization procedure. Experimental results indicate that the proposed psychoacoustically-motivated adaptive β -order GSS yields great improvements over the traditional spectral subtraction methods with the intelligibility-weighted measures.


The Zn0.8Co0.2O ceramics were synthesized by the solid state reaction method with the mixture of ZnO and CoO powders. The mixed powders were sintered at 1200 °C and 1300 °C for 4 hours. It was found that the X-ray diffraction patterns of Zn0.8Co0.2O ceramics were similar to that of the pure ZnO one. The crystal structure of Zn0.8Co0.2O ceramics were then determined using the Rietveld full-profile analysis method to indicate a single phase with a wurtzite-like structure. Their microstructures were examined using the scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that their grain sizes were increased with increasing both the sintering temperatures and the doping effect. Moreover, the optical absorption spectra using UV-Vis spectrometer showed that there were several extra absorption bands appearing in the Zn0.8Co0.2O samples. This confirms that Co2+ is substituted Zn2+ in the wurtzite structure.


For a family $A\subseteq\left\{ 0,\dots,k\right\} ^{n}$, define the $\delta$-shadow of $A$ to be the set obtained from $A$ by removing from any of its vectors one coordinate that equals zero. Given the size of $A$, how should we choose $A$ to minimise its $\delta$-shadow? Our aim in this paper is to show that, for any $r$, the family of all sequences with at most $r$ zeros has minimal $\delta$-shadow. We actually give the exact best $A$ for every size.


The notion of catharsis,in relation to tragedy,was introduced by Aristotle in his work Poetics. Over the centuries,Aristotle's innovative and enigmatic reference to this process has been widely commented on and given rise to intense controversy. In 1895,Freud and Breuer reconsidered this notion in their Studies on Hysteria,where they present the so-called cathartic therapeutic method. It is not,however,this aspect of psychoanalytical theory that the author of this article seeks to elucidate: drawing on a detailed study of the references to tragic catharsis in the work of Freud andLacan,the author proposes to examine their implications for psychoanalytic treatment. With specific reference to Freud's article "Psychopathic Characters on the Stage"( 1905) and Lacan's commentary on Sophocles' Antigone( 1960),the author argues that catharsis is to be understood not so much as a mechanism of discharge linked to abreaction,but rather as the actual analytic process itself during which the subject is "unveiled"and thus faced with the enigma of his own desire.


Plumbagine (2-methyl-5-oxy-1,4-naphtoquinone) did not have any essential effect on the general condition and dynamic changes in the body mass of albino rats, their blood coagulation system and fibrinolysis, the liver and renal functions and morphological structure of the internal organs. An analysis of the available data justify recommending plumbagine as a preservative of soft, when used in doses not exceeding 0.8--1.0 mg/l, i.e. 0.00008--0.0001 per cent of the finished product mass.


At the end of World War II, thousands of European Jews who had found refuge in Palestine during the war sought to return to their countries of origin through a repatriation program launched by the Middle East office of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Their repatriation was a source of conflict between the Zionist leadership in Palestine and UNRRA. The former accused the latter of encouraging Jewish return to Europe, whereas UNRRA officials accused Zionists in the Yishuv of trying to prevent repatriation and of ostracizing those opting to return. The controversy derived from conflicting ideological and political considerations regarding the role of Jewish refugees in postwar reconstruction. Yet the positions of the quarreling parties were disconnected from those of repatriation applicants, who were determined to rebuild their lives outside Palestine but conceived of postwar reconstruction mainly in material and personal rather than ideological and political terms.


[1] The paper Ballatore [2002] (the paper commented) shows that the statistical significance of the correlations between the interplanetary parameters and the geomagnetic indices (Kp or Dst) is generally less significant during the fastest solar wind. On the other hand, at these fast solar wind periods, the significance of the Kp versus Dst correlation is equal to or higher than during slower solar wind. These results, together with further observations related to substorm periods and with previously published findings, are interpreted in terms of a difference in the interplanetary-magnetospheric coupling for solar wind faster or slower than a certain threshold (identified between about 500 and 600 km/s). Specifically, it is suggested that a possible linear approximation of the geomagnetic-interplanetary coupling is more appropriate during solar wind speed (Vsw) slower than this threshold, being nonlinear processes more dominant during the fastest speeds. This reply highlights that the correlation coefficients shown by Wang and Chao [2003] are in agreement with these findings. In addition, Wang and Chao show that the statistical significance of the difference between the correlation coefficients for Vsw 550 km/s and those for Vsw < 550 km/s would indicate that the interplanetarygeomagnetic correlations during the fastest speeds are not significantly different from those at slower Vsw ranges. Here we give evidence of the fact that according to the common definition of this parameter, the calculation of the significance of the difference between two correlation coefficients made by Wang and Chao is wrong. Moreover, Wang and Chao recalculate the correlations between the interplanetary parameters and the Dst instead of Dst; in fact they note that the time derivative of this index (not the index itself) is driven by the interplanetary medium. Here we note that on the contrary, they show that the correlation coefficients between interplanetary parameters and Dst are larger than those obtained using Dst and we suggest a possible interpretation in terms of nonlinearity.


This study aims to investigate the sources of offensive nicknames used by Jordanians in the Horan district from a sociolinguistic perspective. The sample consists of 150 nickname-users who live in the Horan district. A questionnaire was used for data collection. For data analysis, offensive nicknames were classified into many categories and then descriptively analyzed according to their sources. The study shows that these nicknames are associated with the nicknamees' body features, unpleasant psychological traits, or sensitive events in the nicknamees' lifetimes. The results of the study signify nicknames as a powerful tool by the hands of nickname users to show dominance over the nickname bearers. Nicknames in the rural regions in Jordan are extremely offensive and would negatively affect the nicknamees' self-esteem. It is hoped that the results of the current study will open the door for other researchers to go deeper into examining this sociolinguistic phenomenon.


Effects of niobium content and cooling rate on ferrite and bainite start temperatures (Ar3, Bs) and microstructural features have been studied in niobium bearing ultralow carbon microalloyed steels. The Ar3 and Bs temperatures decrease as niobium content or cooling rate is increased. The dependence of Ar3 on cooling rate is greater than that of Bs in all niobium contents. The bainitic ferrite laths become longer and narrower with increasing niobium content and cooling rate, and niobium also shows a tendency to decrease polygonal ferrite grain size.


Menstruation has many faces. This Essay will discuss competing narratives relating to menstruation as portrayed in Jewish law and culture, and assess the implications of such narratives for modern legal systems. These narratives depict menstruation in all its contradictions — as taboo and power, as health and imperfection, and as reflecting biological difference but not inequality. Each narrative will be discussed from a textual, legal, communal and, occasionally, personal perspective, conveying different meanings that have different cultural impacts, modern applications and reflect different aspects of the quest for equality.
Together, these narratives provide a holistic vision of womanhood that resists simplification. Acknowledging that not only women menstruate, in this Essay I refer to women as those who menstruate because this is the category associated with menstruation used in Jewish law and it is the complexity of womanhood revealed by Jewish law and culture that I address. These four faces of menstruation are not characterized as positive or negative in and of themselves; rather, I analyze them each on their own terms, discussing how they may impact women in both negative and positive ways. The variability of these narratives demonstrates the need for women to shape their own narratives around their bodies in order to empower themselves within their communities. Moreover, the multiplicity of faces that menstruation involves, and the different ways that femininity can therefore impact womanhood, counsels promoting menstrual justice in a variety of ways, and from a variety of perspectives, creatively empowering women by recognizing their individual complexity. In Jewish law, menstruation engenders impurity, authority, fertility, and biological difference, and each of these faces of womanhood will be discussed in turn.


The study of 86 human embryos and fetuses beginning from 23rdday of development up to 18th week after fecundation has detected 23 cases of pathologic development which correspond to the modern definition of spina bifida (SB). It is shown that the cause of various forms of the anomaly is the disturbance or temporary delay of a movement of caudal neurulation wave forming the spinal cord. The anomaly size and type are determined by the time and duration of a pathogenic action on neurulation. Postnatal or the 1st type of SB develops in neurulation wave disturbance not longer than 4-6 hours. Anomaly consequence may be compensated surgically. The 2nd or fetal type of SB arises when neurulation delay is from 6 to 20 hours. If the delay occurs on the 22-24th day of development, embryos die by the neurulation end. If the delay takes place on the 26-28th day embryos may survive till the late fetal period. In embryonal or type III of SB embryos die by the end of the 8th week and do not enter the medical statistics. Their death is associated with delayed movement of the caudal neurulation wave for 24 hours and longer. This results in a spontaneous abortion.


Background. The extent to which excessive engagement in non-substance-related behaviors may constitute addictions has been debated. The recent classification of gambling disorder together with substance-use disorders in DSM-5 was based on similarities between the disorders and lends additional credence to the concept of non-substance or behavioral addictions.

Methods. Data will be presented from studies into the biological underpinnings of substance-use and non-substance-use disorders involving excessive patterns of gambling, eating, Internet use, sex and other behaviors. Data from randomized clinical trials will be presented.

Results. Gambling disorder is arguably the best studied of the behavioral addictions to date. Data indicate multiple similarities, as well as differences, between gambling disorder and substance-use disorders. Considerable debate exists as to whether obesity of other eating-related disorders might be best considered within an addiction framework, with data suggesting particular similarities between gambling, substance-use and binge-eating disorders. Although less data exist for excessive engagement in other behaviors (Internet use, sex), emerging data suggest similarities with substance-use disorders. Given biological similarities, a question arises as to whether behavioral and pharmacological treatments efficacious in the treatment of substance addictions might prove helpful in the treatment of behavioral addictions, with data providing support for cognitive-behavioral therapies and opioidergic and glutamatergic agents.

Conclusions. An improved understanding of the biological factors underlying behavioral addictions is developing, and this understanding should lead to the greater availability of validated therapies.


Rings is one of six disciplines in Men's Artistic Gymnastics. Judging criteria
stipulate that a routine must incorporate two swinging elements completed in a motionless
handstand. Performing backward and forward longswings in a routine fulfils this
requirement. During both types of longswing, gymnasts typically use large angle changes
at their hip and shoulder joints and move their arms laterally. Previous studies have
ignored these three-dimensional arm movements, possibly neglecting a crucial aspect of
technique. Using a computer simulation model this study investigated the contributions
of hip and shoulder elevation angle changes and lateral arm movements to the
performance of backward and forward longswings.
A three-dimensional video and cable tension analysis of several backward and
forward longswings performed by two elite gymnasts was conducted. The data provided
accurate three-dimensional descriptions of backward and forward longswing techniques
and the forces experienced by the gymnasts. In addition, data describing deformations of
the rings frame and the extension of the gymnast were determined. A simulation model representing the three-dimensional movements of the rings
cables and arms of a gymnast was developed. The model represented the right side of the
gymnast and rings apparatus and comprised five segments: rings cable, arm, torso with
head, thigh, and shank with foot. Damped linear springs represented the elasticity of the
apparatus and gymnast. The model was evaluated against actual backward and forward
longswing performances of two elite gymnasts. Actual joint angle time histories
describing the gymnasts' techniques, together with subject specific inertia parameters,
were used for this procedure. The RMS differences between values estimated by the
model and actual values for the orientation of the gymnast and rings cable, the cable
tension and the body extension were 4.3°, 2.1°,161N and 0.1 m respectively. The evaluated model was used to determine the contributions of each aspect of
technique to the performance of longswings. Hip and shoulder elevation angle changes
are important in producing the required rotation of the gymnast in both types of
longswing. Without these components of technique the gymnast generated up to 113° less
rotation. Lateral arm movements performed during backward longswings resulted in 40%
less shoulder elevation torque required to complete the element and a 0.8 bodyweights
decrease in peak force experienced at the shoulder joints. When lateral arm movements
were omitted during forward longswings the gymnast produced 49° less rotation, and
failed to reach the final handstand. This study shows that lateral arm movements make an
important contribution to the performance of longswings on rings.


The dependence of global green tea metabolome on plucking positions was investigated through (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis coupled with multivariate statistical data set. Pattern recognition methods, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection on latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were employed for a finding metabolic discrimination among fresh green tea leaves plucked at different positions from young to old leaves. In addition to clear metabolic discrimination among green tea leaves, elevations in theanine, caffeine, and gallic acid levels but reductions in catechins, such as epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), glucose, and sucrose levels were observed, as the green tea plant grows up. On the other hand, the younger the green tea leaf is, the more theanine, caffeine, and gallic acid but the lesser catechins accumlated in the green tea leaf, revealing a reverse assocation between theanine and catechins levels due to incorporaton of theanine into catechins with growing up green tea plant. Moreover, as compared to the tea leaf, the observation of marked high levels of theanine and low levels of catechins in green tea stems exhibited a distinct tea plant metabolism between the tea leaf and the stem. This metabolomic approach highlights taking insight to global metabolic dependence of green tea leaf on plucking position, thereby providing distinct information on green tea production with specific tea quality.


Vegetables play a very important role in rural and urban communities as both food and a business opportunity. They are fast-growing species, with high nutritional values and able to generate income in a relatively short period compared to other crops. A characterization of market gardening systems was carried out with 368 producers from major market gardening sites in South-Kivu, in Easten of the RD Congo.The aim pursued was to assess existing systems and perspectives to enable steady transition to integrated, sustainable and resilient crop systems. The results showed that very few producers in the region practice plant integration. The typology carried out made it possible to identify three classes of market gardening farms based on adopted agronomic practices, production factors and possible outcomes derived from different systems. Most of the surveyed farms practice crop rotation and are market-oriented. However, they majorly differ in terms of farm size, practices of intercropping, permanent agriculture, mulching, production constraints and producer's perception on the level of production. For instance, producers who are much more into intercropping also cultivate small areas (less than 0.25 ha). Results also showed that variables such as type of labour, cropping system, type of fertilizer used, mulching practice, adoption of permanent agriculture, producer's perception of the level of soil fertility, and the water source used affect producer's appreciation of the level of production obtained (p < 0.05). These variables can be mobilized for improvement of the market gardening system towards more sustainable, diversified and resilient systems.


Energy conversion and storage applications require highly stable and efficient electrocatalysts/electrodes to facilitate electrochemical reactions, but these materials commonly suffer from serious atom wastes and lower performances than the theoretical levels, which cannot meet the increasing demands of the green atomic economy, thereby limiting their practical applications. Recently, metal single atoms (SAs) have attracted tremendous attention owing to their merits of full atom utilization, unique electronic structures, tunable surface characteristics, and low costs. However, metal SAs usually have relatively low physical/chemical stabilities due to their high surface energy, which results in severe degradation of electrochemical performances. Novel synthetic strategies are developed for metal SAs with better stability and performance. In this review, these strategies will be introduced in the context of electrocatalysis and batteries. Specifically, the design concepts, synthesis approach properties, and applications of metal SAs will be discussed. Finally, the critical challenges and future perspectives of metal SAs are presented. This review aims to provide new insights for future work as well as the real‐world applications of metal SAs.


Similar to many other developing countries Bangladesh, which is the country of my concern, has been pursuing an active exchange rate policy basically to maintain a viable external account position, and competitiveness of its products in world market. The purpose of the study is, therefore, to estimate the impact of real devaluation on country's trade balance. The study constructs nominal and real effective exchange rates which are not readily available for the country. Using multivariate cointegration tests for non-stationary data, the error correction model, and impulse response functions the paper examines the impact of exchange rate policy in both short-and long-run. The estimated results demonstrate that real exchange rate has a significant positive impact on trade balance in the long-run. Thus, currency devaluation has been a significant stimulus for country's exports growth and improvement in current account position. However, the J-curve hypothesis can be explained as the appropriate phenomenon to improve its trade balance in response to exchange rate devaluation.


The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has brought major changes to the US health insurance system: In January 2014, Medicaid was expanded to nearly all adults with family incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and enrollment under the new health insurance Marketplaces officially began in all states and the District of Columbia. We use the June 2014 Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) to examine changes in health insurance coverage since the beginning of the previous year for nonelderly adults. The HRMS was designed to provide early feedback on ACA implementation to complement the more robust assessments that will be possible when the federal surveys release their estimates of changes in health insurance coverage later in 2014 and in 2015.


The management of childhood acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is controversial, with recent guidelines highlighting the lack of suitable evidence upon which to base management decisions. Three European centers have used an expectant policy and results over the past decade demonstrate that this is safe and convenient for the majority of children. Adequate parental education about the condition from an experienced specialist is essential, together with open access for children should they develop any problems. A clinical stratification of such patients must be incorporated into any future trials, together with quality of life assessment to discover the impact of restrictions on lifestyle, particularly in adolescents with chronic ITP who may need a different approach.


The Mars Surveyor '98 program recently sent two spacecraft to Mars, consisting of an Orbiter and Lander launched separately on Boeing Delta 7425 launch vehicles. The Mars '98 mission was to have added to the knowledge gained by the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Pathfinder missions. Unfortunately, both vehicles were unable to complete their missions upon reaching Mars. This paper describes the requirements, design and operational cruise performance of the Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) and the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) Electrical Power Systems, including detailed discussions on each of its key components. A technical risk assessment of implementing a single battery EPS design is included, along with a detailed comparison of this architecture to a block redundant EPS architecture incorporating redundant batteries. The paper concludes with a discussion of additional present and future spacecraft mission applications utilizing this EPS architecture and the associated benefits to these missions. It should be noted that the single battery Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS) approach in no way contributed to the loss of either of these spacecraft.


Tougher issuance conditions related to the surge in government borrowing needs are the reasons why issuance arrangements have not always been working as efficiently as before the crisis. This prompted debt management offices (DMOs) in the OECD area to review existing issuance policies and procedures. The crisis also had an impact on the use of indicators or guidelines relating to the key risks of the maturity structure of issuance or outstanding debt. Although OECD issuance procedures are likely to differ considerably at the level of technical standards and detailed institutional arrangements, increased integration of global financial markets has encouraged the standardisation of financial instruments and convergence of general issuance procedures. As a result, OECD issuance policies and procedures are broadly similar with a high degree of transparency and predictability. However, in response to tougher issuance conditions, DMOs have implemented changes in existing issuance procedures and policies that may have led to a somewhat greater diversity of primary market arrangements and procedures. The paper also reviews strategies and indicators for the management of the debt portfolio. Although issuance procedures and targets for portfolio management may have become somewhat more opportunistic in some jurisdictions, debt managers continue to emphasise the importance of transparency and predictability.


A radiological study and clinical characteristics in Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD) was undertaken on the appendicular skeleton in 213 patients with KBD in Tibet , in 134 healthy subjects living in an endemic area and in 61 healthy subjects living in a non-endemic area. Eight clinical symptoms and radiological signs of different joints in patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) were studied in all cases. Arthritic pain in ankles and knee joints was the most common symptom in the early and advanced KBD children groups (1.6%,18.9%) and was significantly higher than in the in the other groups (P<0.05). Morning stiffness was observed in the all groups. Abnormal radiological changes of the finger phalanges were present in a high percentage of patients (72.9%, 86.7%) in the KBD group but that this did not occur in the healthy group. It is suggested that finger phalanges of X-rays and some clinical symptoms might be a specific criterion for diagnosing KBD.


Significant technological advances in the design and production of electronic assemblies have sizably increased their reliability and durability while greatly reducing their physical size. New manufacturing technologies have been developed which markedly increase the speed and accuracy of production. Such advances in production greatly complicate the inspection of these devices by humans. Essentially, the techniques used 10 years ago are still used for inspection in production lines. Much of the inspection is done by humans whose performance–not surprisingly–is generally inadequate and variable. The human visual system is adapted to perform in a world of variety and change; the inspection process, on the other hand, requires observing the same type of image repeatedly to detect anomalies. This requirement can often be met successfully by automation.


Recent advances in Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have led to active development of specialized DNN accelerators, many of which feature a large number of processing elements laid out spatially, together with a multi-level memory hierarchy and flexible interconnect. While DNN accelerators can take advantage of data reuse and achieve high peak throughput, they also expose a large number of runtime parameters to the programmers who need to explicitly manage how computation is scheduled both spatially and temporally. In fact, different scheduling choices can lead to wide variations in performance and efficiency, motivating the need for a fast and efficient search strategy to navigate the vast scheduling space.To address this challenge, we present CoSA, a constrained-optimization-based approach for scheduling DNN accelerators. As opposed to existing approaches that either rely on designers' heuristics or iterative methods to navigate the search space, CoSA expresses scheduling decisions as a constrained-optimization problem that can be deterministically solved using mathematical optimization techniques. Specifically, CoSA leverages the regularities in DNN operators and hardware to formulate the DNN scheduling space into a mixed-integer programming (MIP) problem with algorithmic and architectural constraints, which can be solved to automatically generate a highly efficient schedule in one shot. We demonstrate that CoSA-generated schedules significantly outperform state-of-the-art approaches by a geometric mean of up to 2.5× across a wide range of DNN networks while improving the time-to-solution by 90×.


This article aims to analyse consumers' preferences for Integrated Pest Management (IPM), in comparison to conventional and organic food products. It analyses the case of tomatoes, based on experimental data of 189 French consumers. We find that consumers are more interested in information on the production system than on the characteristics of the final product in terms of pesticide residue levels, and more in IPM than organic. While information on IPM production increases consumers' willingness to buy IPM products, extra information on the residue levels in IPM tomatoes has not significant impact. We find that the reduction of the shelf space for conventional tomatoes benefits equally to organic and IPM, whatever the prices. However, in a scenario of prohibition of conventional crop protection methods, the winning market segment between organic and IPM depends on the price difference between these products. These results contribute to the understanding of consumers' reaction to the transition towards IPM as the standard in European farming. It provides interesting results on the nature of information that should be communicated to consumers to increase understanding of IPM.


This experiment was carried out on 200 White Koluda geese, 1 day old, randomly divided into 2 groups with 50 males and 50 females in each group. From the first day until week 13, birds from the control groups were fed basic feeds; in the experimental groups, feed was supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg of selenium and 100 mg/kg of vitamin E. Later on, all birds were fed for 1 week with 160 g of oat grain and 250 g of ground cereals per day, then with oat grain ad libitum. The body weight of each bird was measured individually on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 35, 49, 63, 77, 91, and 112, and growth rates were calculated. On the last day of the experiment, live zoometrical measurements were taken. On days 7, 14, 21, 35, and 63, the live body weights of geese from the experimental groups were significantly higher compared to those of the control groups (P < 0.05). Feed supplementation positively affected the length of the body and width of the chest (P < 0.05). The thickness of skin with subcutaneous fat was significantly lower in the experimental groups (P < 0.05). Regardless of the feeding group, significant sex-based differences were observed in the majority of the evaluated live body measurements (P < 0.05).


Understanding the true nature of an individual, be it a child or an adult, a male or a female, is almost an impossible task. The vast abyss like behaviour of a human mind is virtually unfathomable. Yet, with the advent of neurosciences, it can be said that we, as the medical fraternity, have been in a position to decipher a considerable part of the human mind. This review accepts the fact that religion and theology have extreme reverence and respect. Yet, when it comes to extraordinary beliefs, phenomena, unimaginable feats and emotional deviations of the human mind, especially those which involve deep faiths and beliefs, comprehensive neuroscientific explanations from the emerging data, with the aid of elaborate neuroimaging, have proved to be extremely rational and logical. This review did make an attempt to untangle some facets of spirituality and to make rational explanations of the same. It was an attempt to understand the function of the mind (as an abstract) and the brain, on the spiritual experiences and sudden enlightments, the experience of togetherness with the universe, and to understand the phenomena of trance and an altered state of consciousness, which is better referred as the emerging science of neurotheology.


Mountain glaciation involves the erosion of cirques and troughs, which increase steep slopes but also produce gentle slopes in cirque floors and trough floors. This is expected to increase the variability of slope gradients at related altitudes. Taking a whole mountain range, its distributions of altitude and slope can be analysed to establish a signal of glacial modification. Frequency distributions of altitude (hypsometry) and gradient (clinometry) alone do not seem adequate. Taking these two variables together – hypsoclinometry, plotting slope gradient against altitude – is more promising. Frequency distributions of slope gradient at different altitudes are exemplified here for mountain ranges in British Columbia and Romania, together with altitudinal variations of steep or gentle slopes. Cirque headwalls give the clearest morphometric signature of glaciation. Steep (especially the steepest) slopes are concentrated at cirque altitudes, increasing mean, median, standard deviation (SD) and inter-quartile range (IQR) of gradients, especially above cirque floors. There is only a small increase in SD and IQR at cirque floor altitudes. Hypsometric maxima and increased proportions of gentle slopes at cirque floor altitudes are clear only in mountain ranges densely occupied by cirques. This relates to the small proportion of each cirque (about 28%) occupied by the floor. Concentrations of steep slope aspects in directions favoured by local glaciers provide further evidence of glacial modification. The most general morphometric effect of glaciation, however, is the increase in steep slopes at cirque headwall altitudes. Thus it is possible to rank mountain ranges by degree of glacial modification.


The hour at hand calls for rapid innovation and drastic introduction of new technology to minimize problems in Oil and Gas Industry and to meet the growing need for Petroleum in all parts of the world. "Oil Well Logging" or the practice of making a detailed record (a well log) of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole is an important practice in the Oil and Gas industry. Although a lot of research has been undertaken in this field, some basic limitations still exist. One of the main arenas or venues where plethora of problems arises is in logistically challenged areas. Accessibility and availability of efficient manpower, resources and technology is very time consuming, restricted and often costly in these areas. So, in this regard, the main challenge is to decrease the Non Productive Time (NPT) and Huge Mechanical Requirements involved in the conventional logging process. The thought for the solution to this problem has given rise to a revolutionary concept called the "Robotic Logging Technology". Robotic logging technology promises the advent of successful logging in all kinds of wells and trajectories. It consists of a wireless logging tool controlled from the surface. This eliminates the need for the logging truck to be summoned which in turn saves precious rig time and in turn also reduces Bulk Mechanical Requirements by introduction of Robotics and Automation in the Oil Well Logging Technology. The robotic logging tool here, is designed such that it can move inside the well by different proposed mechanisms and models listed in the full paper as TYPE A, TYPE B and TYPE C. These types are classified on the basis of their operational technology, movement and conditions/wells in which the tool is to be used. Thus, depending on subsurface conditions, energy sources available and convenience the TYPE of Robotic model will be selected.


In this paper we derive a joint continuous/censored demand system suitable for the analysis of commodity demand relationships using panel data. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for using a correlated random effects specification and a Generalized Method of Moments framework used to estimate the model in two stages. In the first stage reduced form parameters are obtained through either ordinary least squares or heteroscedastic Tobit estimation, followed by the identification of structural parameters and imposition of cross-equation restrictions using minimum distance techniques. The procedure, which is demonstrated on data from Romania, yields elasticity estimates that lie within an intuitively pleasing range and reveals strong cross-substitution patterns between many commodity groups.


INTRODUCTION Studies of African American education in the 19th century have focused primarily on developments after the Civil War, concentrating on the creation of segregated schools in the South (Bond, 1934; Frazier, 1949; Woodson, 1968, 1918/1969; Woodson & Wesley, 1922/1966). Prior to the antebellum era, documentation was sketchy and few schools existed in either the North or the South. The education of northern Blacks was decidedly different from that of southern Blacks. Much of what is known of African American education in the South during this period is based upon events that transpired in rural areas, primarily on southern plantations, where arrangements were most often made clandestinely and on pain of prosecution. The education of enslaved Blacks was forbidden by law in many southern states. In the North, if schools for African Americans did exist, they were generally housed in crowded, inferior buildings staffed by less-than-qualified teachers of either race, and restricted in their curricula offerings. Being freedmen and freedwomen rather than slaves, the educational demands of northern African Americans were for public education that would include them in common school reform efforts despite their small numbers and "colored skin" (Woodson & Wesley, 1922/1966, p. 256). They also banded together to make private arrangements for schooling and hired their own teachers. Frazier (1949) contends that northern Blacks in the antebellum period tended to locate in urban areas where skilled labor was sought; however, not all settled in urban areas. Despite the rapid industrialization that occurred during the 19th century and the increasing urbanization of the North, much of that region consisted of small, rural communities. Among these were communities in which African Americans settled and lived together with White Americans with no indication of racial intolerance. One such rural northern community was Calvin Township, located in Cass County in southwestern Michigan. Many of Calvin Township's African American citizens arrived a decade or more before the Civil War. Located at the junction of the Underground Railroad's(1) "Quaker Line" out of Kentucky and its "Illinois Line" to Canada, this community became a haven for African American fugitives from slavery in the mid-19th century (Dancy, 1940). Given this rural northern setting and a substantial population of African Americans, the present study sought answers to the following questions: What provisions were made for the schooling of the African Americans who settled in Calvin Township? Did they attend separate schools? Who among them attended school? Were there differences in the school attendance patterns between the township's Black and White children? What personal and family factors contributed to the former's school attendance? How did these change over time? This study addresses these questions by analyzing federal Census records, annual school district reports, and area maps to describe the school attendance of African Americans in Calvin Township in the 30 years from 1850 through 1880, before and after the Civil War. The findings of the study are presented in terms of characterizing the schooling experience of African Americans in a rural northern setting in the 19th century. CASS COUNTY Calvin Township in Cass County, Michigan, is an excellent focus for such an investigation for several reasons. First, during the years in question it was a rural northern farming community with a sizeable African American population established before the Civil War (Cass County Historical Commission, 1981; Claspy, 1967; Rogers, 1875; Schoelzow, 1935). By 1850, African Americans made up 3.6% of the population of Cass County, a percentage that, in the territory of Michigan, was surpassed only by Wayne County, which included the city of Detroit. Together with nearby Porter Township, Calvin Township accounted for two-thirds of the entire African American population in the county before the Civil War (Glover, 1906). …


In this paper we discuss the properties of the reduced density matrix of quantum many body systems with permutational symmetry and present basic quantification of the entanglement in terms of the von Neumann (VNE), Renyi and Tsallis entropies. In particular, we show, on the specific example of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg model, how the RDM acquires a block diagonal form with respect to the quantum number k fixing the polarization in the subsystem conservation of Sz and with respect to the irreducible representations of the Sn group. Analytical expression for the RDM elements and for the RDM spectrum are derived for states of arbitrary permutational symmetry and for arbitrary polarizations. The temperature dependence and scaling of the VNE across a finite temperature phase transition is discussed and the RDM moments and the Renyi and Tsallis entropies calculated both for symmetric ground states of the Heisenberg chain and for maximally mixed states.


PURPOSE
To assess the variability in treatment planning of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of lung lesions, a multi-institutional planning comparison study was performed.

METHODS
A total of 150 patients receiving lung SBRT treatments in five different institutions were reviewed. Treatment plans were generated using Varian/Eclipse™ (82), CMS/Xio™ (53) and Cyberknife/Multiplan™ (15) systems. Most tumors were located peripherally (126/150) and in right lung (82/150). Various dose fractionations were used: 3x18Gy (5 cases), 3x20Gy (13), 4x12Gy (18), 4x12.5Gy (9), 5x10Gy (65), 5x12Gy (38), and 5x8or9Gy (2). The following planning criteria derived from RTOG trials and literature were used to evaluate the 4 or 5 fraction SBRT plans (133 cases): PTV-V100>=95°/o, PTVV95>=99%, conformality index (CI-100%) <1.2, CI-50% isodose <4 for PTV>50cc or <5 for PTV<50cc, total lung-ITV: V20Gy<10%, V12.5Gy<15%, V5Gy<37%, contralateral lung V5Gy<26%, cord: maximum<25 Gy, D0.25cc<22.5Gy, esophagus: max<30Gy, D5cc<27.5Gy, trachea/bronchus maximum<40Gy, heart & great vessels maximum<45Gy. The mean, standard deviation (±) and dosimetric criteria pass rates (PR) were reported.

RESULTS
The median PTV volume was 27.0cc (range:3.8/188.9cc). The mean PTV-V100 was 96.0% (±3.6, PR:87.1%). The mean PTV-V95 was 99.4% (±2.1, PR:90.2%) and the mean CI-100% was 1.16 (±0.18, PR:74.0%). The mean CI-50% was 4.14 (±0.67, PR:46.4%) for PTV>50cc (28 cases) and 7.36 (±3.36, PR:29.4%) for PTV<50cc (102 cases). The planning criteria were met for all the critical structure such as lung, heart, cord, esophagus, and trachea for at least 90% of the patients. The mean of all OAR criteria PR was 97.7% for peripheral and 88.6% for central lesions.

CONCLUSION
Five fraction regimens were the most common lung SBRT fractionation (70%). Among the various parameters that were used to evaluate the SBRT plans, the CI-100% and CI-50% were the most challenging criteria to meet. Although the OAR PRs were higher among all cases, their proximity to the PTV was a significant factor.


This review provides an overview of health issues facing the Indigenous offender population, including some of the social and historical factors relevant to Indigenous health and incarceration. In doing so, it is important to first understand how Indigenous people conceptualise health. Health as it is understood in western society is a fairly discrete category, which differs from the traditional Indigenous perspective of health as holistic [1]. This is made explicit in the 1989 National Aboriginal health strategy that states 'health to Aboriginal peoples is a matter of determining all aspects of their life, including control over their physical environment, of dignity, of community self-esteem, and of justice' ([1] p.ix). For this reason, considering health in a justice context is of particular relevance to Indigenous people, as the restrictions imposed upon offenders represent a threat to individual and community health. Some of the sources referred to in this review originally used only the term Aboriginal, even though it is evident that in many, if not most, cases the reporting did not differentiate between Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander people. Population figures reveal that substantial numbers of Torres Strait Islanders or people of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent live in all jurisdictions, except the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Therefore, the term Indigenous has been used throughout this review to refer to both the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander populations. This review is largely structured under key topic headings, such as chronic disease or the social determinants of health. Much of the general information about offenders refers to both men and women, and, in some instances, to some juveniles, but specific sections are also devoted to women and juveniles.


From Spermatic Animalcules to Sperm Cells: The Reconceptualization of Generation in the 19th Century. At the end of the 18th and still at the beginning of the 19th century most naturalists considered spermatic animalcules to be parasites of the seminal fluid that played no role in procreation. This view was progressively questioned by 19th century physiologists. They gradually redefined the spermatic animals as (cellular) products of the male organism, as agents of fertilization and bearers of the male heredity material. This article discusses this change from two different perspectives: on a microhistorical level, it analyzes the experimental research of the naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) and of the physiologist Albert Kolliker (1817–1905) in order to show how spermatozoa were turned into a new epistemic object of biology – the sperm cell. Further, it asks how the role of the reconceptualization of spermatic animalcules affected the long-term transformations that gave rise of our modern understanding of heredity, generation and the sexed body. By combining these two perspectives, the article aims to connect historiographies that are often kept separate: the macrohistorical narratives about gender and the body in the modern age and the microhistorical studies of biomedical practices and objects.


PURPOSE
The aim of this phase II trial was to assess the efficacy of fludarabine monophosphate in untreated and pretreated mantle-cell lymphomas (MCL).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Fifteen patients with MCL were included in the study. In two cases, fludarabine was the first-line therapy, the second in four cases, the third in five cases, and the fourth in four cases. The diagnosis of MCL was based on the criteria of the European Lymphoma Task Force (ELTF), with morphologic, immunologic, and cytogenetic data. Patients were treated with intravenous fludarabine 25 mg/m2/d for 5 days every 4 weeks.

RESULTS
Toxicity of fludarabine was mild: World Health Organization (WHO) grade 3 and 4 granulocytopenia occurred in 15 of 56 assessable cycles (cy) (27%), there was no grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia, one grade 3 bacterial lung infection, and no treatment-related death. There were five partial responses (33%) but no complete response. The duration of these responses was short and ranged from 4 to 8 months.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that fludarabine can be moderately effective in the treatment of MCL. Fludarabine appears to be far less effective than in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Therefore, fludarabine should be evaluated in association with other chemotherapeutic agents in MCL.


Rb-Sr and oxygen isotope studies, in addition to K-Ar isotopic determinations published previously, are reported on diagenetic and hydrothermal fundamental particles (particle thickness of 0.03 to 0.05 nm and particle ab size of 0.02–0.05 µm) of the East-Slovak Basin. The combined data set allows us to ascertain the crystallization conditions of the illite material from two bentonite units collected at two basinal sites located ~20 km apart, and characterized by prolonged diagenetic conditions induced by progressive burial. A bentonite rock characterized by a short hydrothermal event from the Zempleni mountains to the SW of the East-Slovak basin is also studied.For the two first sites, the δ18O values increase in one case and decrease in the other, when the size of the diagenetic fundamental particles from bentonite samples increases. These variations suggest that temperature increased in one and decreased in the second of the two samples collected in the basin, while the particles were growing. In the case of the hydrothermal bentonite, the δ18O values of the different size-fractions consisting of fundamental particles remain about constant, suggesting constant temperature and fluid chemistry.The Rb-Sr dates of the fundamental particles of the three bentonite rocks were systematically higher than the corresponding K-Ar ages. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios, which are initially involved in the particle nucleation, appeared higher than that of contemporaneous sea-water. In all cases, the initial 87Sr/ 86Sr ratio decreases when particle size increases, which implies supply of external Sr into the bentonite units. This external Sr seems to have had an 87Sr/86Sr ratio close or identical to that of the contemporaneous sea water. This means that Sr, probably of sea-water origin, progressively diffused from host shales into the bentonite units, during burial diagenesis. In turn it favors the suggestion made previously about diffusion of K from shales into the bentonite layers during illitization of the smectite from these units.


The study of the relationship between plants and phytopathogenic fungi is one of the most rapidly moving fields in the plant sciences, the findings of which have contributed to the development of new strategies and technologies to protect crops. Plants employ sophisticated mechanisms to perceive and appropriately defend themselves against pathogens. A good example of plant and pathogen evolution is the gene-for-gene interaction between the fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans, the causal agent of blackleg disease, and Brassica crops. This interaction has been studied at the genetic and physiological level due to its agro-economic importance. The newly available genome sequence for Brassica spp. and L. maculans will provide the resources to study the co-evolution of this plant and pathogen. Particularly, an understanding of the co-evolution of genes responsible for virulence and resistance will lead to improved plant protection strategies for Brassica canola and provide a model to understand plant-pathogen interactions in other major crops. This review summarises the research-to-date in the study of the Brassica-L. maculans gene-for-gene interaction, with a focus on the genetics of resistance in Brassica and the wealth of information to be gained from genome sequencing efforts.


In most buildings' seismic design codes design basis peak ground acceleration (PGADBE) is provided by employing a uniform-hazard approach. However, a new trend in updating seismic codes is to adopt a risk-informed method to estimate the PGADBE so-called risk-adjusted design basis peak ground acceleration (PGARDBE). An attempt is made here to examine the adequacy of the PGARDBE to fulfill the assumptions made in seismic codes for converting the maximum considered earthquake's (MCE) intensity to PGADBE. To this end, the performance of regular intermediate steel moment frames (IMF) is assessed in terms of collapse margin (CMR) and residual drift ratios in the event of MCE and design basis earthquake (DBE), respectively. The PGARDBEs are computed for Karaj County, Iran. A set of 96 index archetypes of regular IMF are designed considering four design parameters, which include the number of stories (2, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15), span lengths (4 and 8 meters), occupancies (residential and commercial), and seismic demands (0.15, 0.25, 0.35 and 0.45g). The PGADBE prescribed by Standard No. 2800 for Karaj neither meets the assumed acceptance criteria nor stands on the safe side. Meanwhile, PGARDBE fulfills the acceptance criteria but does not necessarily satisfy the implicit assumption made in codes that the code-conforming buildings have at least a CMR of 1.5 if the MCE occurs. This emphasizes that the PGARDBE should not be used without examining the CMR fulfillment. The results recommend that a lower limit need to be set on PGARDBEs, which is found to be 0.35g for Karaj. Outcomes also reveal that the code-conforming buildings designed with the proposed PGARDBE can fulfill both repairability and life safety performances at the DBE and MCE, respectively. These buildings also have a high chance to be even considered as repairable ones at the seismic demand of MCE. Furthermore, regardless of the employed method for estimating PGADBE, various relationships between design parameters with different performance indicators such as CMR, residual drift ratio, ductility demand, imposed drift ratio, and building's normalized weight are presented. These relationships can be used to evaluate the buildings' safety factor against collapse and repairability, justification of using IMF in regions with high seismicity, level of structural and nonstructural damage as well as the economic consequence of changes in PGADBE. The presented relationships provide a multi-criteria decision-making tool to decide on the optimum PGADBE leading to an affordable alternative and tolerable damage.


Abstract The European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS) transects Variscan basement, Permo-Carboniferous troughs and Late Permian to Mesozoic series, deposited in thermal sag basins, which are exposed on rift-related arches. We have analysed processes governing the transformation of the orogenically destabilized Variscan lithosphere into end-Cretaceous stabilized cratonic lithosphere, prior to its renewed Cenozoic rift-related destabilization. In the ECRIS area, crustal and lithospheric thicknesses at present are in the range of 24-35 km and 60-120 km, respectively. The Variscan orogen was characterized at the time of its end-Westphalian consolidation by 45-60 km deep crustal roots, marking major sutures. During the Stephanian-Early Permian wrench-induced collapse of the Variscan orogen, subducted lithospheric slabs were detached, causing upwelling of the asthenosphere, thermal thinning and/or partial delamina-tion of the lithospheric mantle, and regional uplift. By mid-Permian times, the crust was thinned to 28-35 km owing to its regional erosional unroofing, localized mechanical stretching and the interaction of mantle-derived melts with its basal parts. By mid-Permian times, when the temperature of the asthenosphere returned to ambient levels, thermal subsidence of the lithosphere commenced, controlling development of a system of Late Permian and Mesozoic intracratonic basins. These experienced repeated minor subsidence accelerations, related to the build-up of far-field stresses, which did not involve renewed lithospheric destabilization. Modelling of observed subsidence curves indicates that during the mid-Permian lithospheric thicknesses ranged in the ECRIS area between 40 and 80 km, but had increased by the end of the Cretaceous to 100-120 km. Cenozoic rifting and mantle-plume activity caused renewed lithospheric thinning.


Self-cleaning fabrics decorated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) have garnered worldwide attention due to their outstanding ultraviolet (UV) light-shielding, anti-bacterial properties and other characteristics. Numerous techniques to construct super-antiwetting surfaces have been investigated for both fundamental research and practical application. A facile and eco-friendly way by a combination of UV irradiation and ultrasonic bath method has been developed to prepare a novel self-cleaning hybrid polyamine 6/nano TiO2 (PA6/nano TiO2) fabric with superhydrophobic and durable photocatalytic properties. To evaluate the fabric's reusability, hybrid PA6/nano TiO2 fabrics were subjected to five consecutive cycles of the photocatalytic degradation of the methyl orange (MO) dye. The results indicated that TiO2 NPs were firmly fixed on the fiber surface. The UV-blocking and anti-microbial properties of these hybrid fabrics were also tested. For PA6 immobilized by commercial nano TiO2-P25 (P25-PA6) and PA6 immobilized by prepared visible-light photocatalyst PVAD-TiO2(PVAD-PA6) fabrics, the UV protection factors (UPFs) of the samples were 56 and 1123, respectively. The anti-microbial efficacies of the two samples were both 99%. The water contact angles were 151.7 and 154.6 , respectively, indicating surface superhydrophobicity. These results showed that this novel fabric has great potential for indoor environmental purification and outdoor protection applications.


Web services and applications are an increasingly pervasive fixture of modern life and business. This paper reports on a Web-based crowdsourced subjective assessment campaign in which we studied the effects of network performance and design aspects of manipulated Web sites on the perceived performance, perceived ease-of-use, visual appeal, as well as on the overall Quality of Experience of users browsing a given Web site. We consider the simultaneous impact of multiple factors on different dimensions of QoE, as well as their interplay, with a focus on the interactions between page/element loading times and Web site visual appeal and ease-of-use. Key results have shown the following: page loading times and visual appeal have a significant effect on overall user QoE; both higher perceived aesthetics and higher perceived ease-of-use result in an increased user tolerance to delay; and overall QoE is strongly correlated with perceived aesthetics, perceived ease-of-use, and perceived network performance.


The tensile properties and fracture mechanisms of fully lamellar TiAl based alloy was studied by room and high temperature (400°C) tensile test. The results indicated that: the crack initiated between weak lamellar interfaces.With tension increased, the cracks extended along lamellar direction. Crack propagation resistance was enhanced at colony boundary. Ligaments broke while load increased, and then the main crack and microcrack linked. The fracture process was that the main crack occurred firstly, microcrack appeared and then propagated, the main crack and microcrack were linked,and the alloy fractured finally; The ductility of the alloy at 400°C was superior to that at room temperature; The fracture mechanism of the fully lamellar TiAl based alloy is brittle cleavage fracture.


Background Despite concerns that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) contribute to acute kidney injury (AKI), up to 75% of ultramarathon runners ingest these during competition. The effect of NSAID on AKI incidence in ultramarathon runners is unclear. Methods Multisite randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial in the Gobi, Atacama, Ecuador and Sri Lankan deserts to determine whether ibuprofen (400 mg every 4 hours) would be non-inferior to placebo during a 50-mile (80 km) foot race. The primary outcome was incidence of AKI defined as severity categories of 'risk' of injury of 1.5× baseline creatinine (Cr) or 'injury' as 2× Cr, combined to calculate total incidence at the finish line. Non-inferiority margin for difference in AKI rates was defined as 15%. Results Eighty-nine participants (47% ibuprofen and 53% placebo) were enrolled with similar demographics between groups. The overall incidence of AKI was 44%. Intent-to-treat analysis found 22 (52%) ibuprofen versus 16 (34%) placebo users developed AKI (18% difference, 95% CI –4% to 41%; OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.9 to 5.1) with a number needed to harm of 5.5. Greater severity of AKI was seen with ibuprofen compared with placebo (risk=38% vs 26%; 95% CI –9% to 34%; injury=14% vs 9%; 95% CI –10% to 21%). Slower finishers were less likely to encounter AKI (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.98) and greater weight loss (−1.3%) increased AKI (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.63). Conclusion There were increased rates of AKI in those who took ibuprofen, and although not statistically inferior to placebo by a small margin, there was a number needed to harm of 5.5 people to cause 1 case of AKI. Consideration should therefore be taken before ingesting NSAID during endurance running as it could exacerbate renal injury. Trial registration number NCT02272725.


In Homogeneous permutations , Peter Cameron [Electronic Journal of Combinatorics 2002] classified the homogeneous permutations (homogeneous structures with 2 linear orders), and posed the problem of classifying the homogeneous $n$-dimensional permutation structures (homogeneous structures with $n$ linear orders) for all finite $n$. We prove here that the lattice of $\emptyset$-definable equivalence relations in such a structure can be any finite distributive lattice, providing many new imprimitive examples of homogeneous finite dimensional permutation structures. We conjecture that the distributivity of the lattice of $\emptyset$-definable equivalence relations is necessary, and prove this under the assumption that the reduct of the structure to the language of $\emptyset$-definable equivalence relations is homogeneous. Finally, we conjecture a classification of the primitive examples, and confirm this in the special case where all minimal forbidden structures have order 2.


Spermine oxidase (Smox) is a member of the polyamine oxidases and has been demonstrated to be involved in ischemic brain damage. In this study, we found that Smox expression was increased in a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model and in cultured primary neurons after oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R). Smox downregulation by the adeno-associated virus RNA interference system significantly reduced the MCAO-induced brain infarct volume and neurological deficits and decreased neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory reactions. In addition, significant microglial activation and increased IL-6 and TNF-α expression were observed in microglia treated with supernatant from neurons after OGD/R. However, a significant reduction in microglial activation as well as IL-6 and TNF-α expression was observed in microglia treated with supernatant from Smox downregulated neurons after OGD/R. Therefore, the results indicated that Smox is an important mediator of cerebral ischemia injury and may be a therapeutic target for cerebral ischemia patients.


Background: The prevalence of asthma is usually estimated on the basis of the results of questionnaires. A comparison with prevalence according to medical records has not been reported before. Adherence to medical advice and prescriptions are generally poor in chronic diseases like asthma. There is a lack of intervention studies to improve adherence. Aims: 1: To perform an epidemiological analysis of the asthma prevalence and the use of the healthcare system in a Swedish region. 2: To compare the parental assessment of children's asthma according to a questionnaire with physicians' diagnosed asthma. 3: To perform an intervention with additional information and support to parents of preschool children with newly diagnosed asthma in order to improve adherence. 4: To evaluate the effects on quality of life and separately analyse the answers of the mothers and the fathers. 5: To analyse any remaining intervention effects after 6 years. Methods: Firstly, all outpatient clinics had computerised patient records and thus these visits could be studied as well as admissions to hospital for asthma. In 1999 a questionnaire was answered by 75% of the parents of 6 295 children 1-6 years of age. Secondly, a controlled, prospective intervention study where the parents of 60 children were randomised to either a control group (CG) or to an intervention group (IG) which had group meetings in close connection to the diagnosis. Outcome was measured by questionnaires and by classification of the children according to clinical examination, blood tests, symptoms and medication. Adherence rate was calculated with the help of diaries and weighing the inhalers used. Fathers and mothers answered separately the Paediatric Caregiver's Quality of Life Questionnaire. Children were followed up after 6 years and objective measurements of lung function were added to the other parameters. Results: The burden of asthma was mainly handled by the outpatient clinics. According to the parental questionnaire 5.9 % had asthma in 1999, according to the medical records 4.9%. With register diagnosis as gold standard the sensitivity of the questionnaire was 77%. The questionnaire identified half of the children with a medical record of asthma. Forty percent of the children claimed by their parents to be asthmatic had no medical record of asthma. One third of the children with newly diagnosed asthma had risk of developing persistent asthma. The intervention resulted in an improvement of the parents' view on adherence issues and on adherence per se. The children in the IG had less exacerbation days despite having lower inhaled steroid doses. There were no major gender differences in indices of quality of life, but according to individual questions mothers were more affected by their children's asthma. After 6 months the mothers in the IG showed improvements in all indices. At the 6 year follow-up 71% still had asthma. The IG had fewer contacts with nurses than the CG and they had lower inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) doses. The IG parents still had a more positive view on adherence questions and their quality of life was better. The children who were older than 2 years of age at inclusion had a higher risk of developing persistent asthma. Intermittent ICS was used by 81%. The lung function was preserved. The burden on the health care system was low. Hospital admittances due to asthma in the region are the lowest in the country. Conclusions: A parentally completed questionnaire provided an acceptable estimation of the prevalence of asthma in children 2-6 years of age compared to asthma registered in medical records although in half of the cases the individual child was not identified. Straightforward and timely information to parents of children with asthma has long-term positive effects which can be mediated through equalization of the parent's roles in handling their child's asthma. The hospital admissions due to asthma are very few, possibly as a result of the intervention and improved medical care in the paediatric outpatient clinics. Asthma diagnosed before age 2 has a better prognosis. Most children with a high risk of persistent asthma can be successfully treated with intermittent ICS.


Melanoma is a pigmented type of skin cancer, which has the highest mortality of all skin cancers. Because of the low clinical diagnostic accuracy for melanoma, an objective tool is needed to assist clinical assessment of skin lesions that are suspected of (early) melanoma. The aim of this study was to identify spectral differences in the CH region of HWVN (high-wavenumber) Raman spectra between melanoma and benign melanocytic lesions clinically suspected of melanoma. We used these spectral differences to explore preliminary classification models to distinguish melanoma from benign melanocytic lesions. Data from 82 freshly excised melanocytic lesions clinically suspected of melanoma were measured using an in-house built Raman spectrometer, which has been optimized for measurements on pigmented skin lesions (excitation wavelength 976 nm and a wavelength range of the Raman signal 1340-1540 nm). Clear spectral differences were observed between melanoma and benign melanocytic lesions. These differences can be assigned mainly to the symmetric CH2 stretching vibrations of lipids. Our results show that the Raman bands between 2840 and 2930 cm(-1) have increased intensity for melanoma when compared to benign melanocytic lesions, suggesting an increase in lipid content in melanoma. These results demonstrate that spectroscopic information in the CH-stretching region of HWVN Raman spectra can discriminate melanoma from benign melanocytic lesions that are often clinically misdiagnosed as melanoma and that Raman spectroscopy has the potential to provide an objective clinical tool to improve the clinical diagnostic accuracy of skin lesions suspected of melanoma.


Introduction There is a rising incidence of anal cancer and pre-cancer among people living with HIV (PLWH), largely thought to be driven by sexual transmission of the Human Papilloma virus. However, a wide difference in screening methods exists. BHIVA guidelines state centres should incorporate a pathway of managing suspected peri-anal and anal cancers and pre-cancers. Methods Our aim was to collate data on current screening and referral methods for peri-anal and anal lesions within our region to guide establishing a regional management pathway. An online survey was sent to specialists involved in managing PLWH. This included trainees and Consultants in Infectious Disease and Genito-urinary medicine. They were asked the methods used, if any, in routine clinics for identifying PLWH with anal and peri-anal cancers and pre-cancers, and whether there was a local established management pathway. Results 33% of respondents stated that they regularly screened PLWH for peri-anal and anal lesions; the majority by enquiring about symptoms or carrying out proctoscopy examination, largely in men who have sex with men and PLWH with known anogenital warts. Only one Infectious Diseases specialist felt comfortable in using a proctoscope, and 67% of clinicians did not feel that they could be involved in the annual surveillance of peri-anal and anal intra-epithelial neoplasia. Discussion The results have supported the need for the implementation of a peri-anal and anal cancer and pre-cancer management pathway within our HIV regional network, alongside further education and streamlining of screening within the region.


What is the impact of mixing two proton-conducting heterocycles on proton conductivity? Herein we answer this question through our investigations on two linear rod-like compounds 2-(4-(dodecyloxy)phenyl)-1H-imidazole (4) and 5-(4-(dodecyloxy)phenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (10). We have found that mixtures of molecules 4 and 10 at certain compositions show enhanced proton conductivity compared to their pure components. We attribute the increased conductivity in these materials to the increased charge density due to facile co-ionization and increased mobility due to the incorporation of long alkyl chains, which prevent crystallization of protogenic groups while maintaining the required hydrogen bonded network. Our results suggest a new strategy for enhancing intrinsic proton conductivity in heterocyclic systems.


Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can be identified by a "side population" (SP) phenotype. Previous studies have implicated the ATP binding cassette transporter genes Mdr1a/1b and/or Bcrp1 in the SP phenotype. To define the relative role of these transporters, we generated Bcrp1 null mice and evaluated HSCs both functionally and phenotypically. Loss of Bcrp1 gene expression, but not Mdr1a/1b, led to a significant reduction in the number of SP cells in the bone marrow and in skeletal muscle. In the bone marrow, there was a nearly absolute loss of lineage negative, c-Kit-positive, Sca-1-positive SP cells, and the residual SP cells were depleted of repopulating cells in a transplant assay, demonstrating that Bcrp1 expression is necessary for the SP phenotype in HSCs. Furthermore, Bcrp1 null hematopoietic cells were significantly more sensitive to mitoxantrone in drug-treated transplanted mice. These results show that Bcrp1 gene expression alone defines the SP stem cell phenotype, and suggest that the physiological function of Bcrp1 expression in HSCs is to provide protection from cytotoxic substrates.


This paper aims to study the effects of rare earth Cerium addition on mobility, solidification shrinkage, casting microstructure and hot tearing tendency of Al-4.5Cu alloy. Results show that by adding appropriate rare earth Cerium into the Al-4.5Cu alloy, the viscosity of liquid metals can be reduced, the mobility of alloy can be increased, and the shrinkage during the solidification of liquid metal can be reduced. Further more, as the tendency of alloy dendrite is inhibited and the microstructure of the casting alloy is improved, the alloy can be purified, its thermal conductivity can be enhanced, and the hot tearing tendency of it can be decreased remarkably. It proves that when rare earth Ceriumaddition in Al-4.5Cu alloy is 4w%, the mobility of Al-4.5Cu alloy will be the maximum, and its volume shrinkage will be the least. Meanwhile, the grains of alloy are refined and round. The alloy also shows the lowest hot tearing tendency.


Maxwellian ratchets are autonomous, finite-state thermodynamic engines that implement input-output informational transformations. Previous studies of these "demons" focused on how they exploit environmental resources to generate work: They randomize ordered inputs, leveraging increased Shannon entropy to transfer energy from a thermal reservoir to a work reservoir while respecting both Liouvillian state-space dynamics and the Second Law. However, to date, correctly determining such functional thermodynamic operating regimes was restricted to a very few engines for which correlations among their information-bearing degrees of freedom could be calculated exactly and in closed form---a highly restricted set. Additionally, a key second dimension of ratchet behavior was largely ignored---ratchets do not merely change the randomness of environmental inputs, their operation constructs and deconstructs patterns. To address both dimensions, we adapt recent results from dynamical-systems and ergodic theories that efficiently and accurately calculate the entropy rates and the rate of statistical complexity divergence of general hidden Markov processes. In concert with the Information Processing Second Law, these methods accurately determine thermodynamic operating regimes for finite-state Maxwellian demons with arbitrary numbers of states and transitions. In addition, they facilitate analyzing structure versus randomness trade-offs that a given engine makes. The result is a greatly enhanced perspective on the information processing capabilities of information engines. As an application, we give a thorough-going analysis of the Mandal-Jarzynski ratchet, demonstrating that it has an uncountably-infinite effective state space.


The role of packaging has changed with the move to self-service retail formats. Marketers have transformed packaging to become one of the major promoting tools of products, which in turn gets the attention of potential customers and communicate the brand value to the target market. Thus, there is a necessity to explore packaging and its elements in more detail, in order to understand which of these elements are the most important factors influencing the consumer's purchase decision. This study seeks to reveal the influence of visual and verbal packaging elements on international students buying decision of convenience goods specifically fruit juice which is popular among students. A quantitative, non-probability research approach was employed and convenience sampling was used to identify and select study participants constituting 397 students. In the study the visual and verbal elements are both found to influence consumer buying behaviour. The visual elements that influence consumer buying behaviour are colour, graphics and packaging technology. The verbal elements that have an influence on consumer buying behaviour for convenience goods are label information and brand name. The factor analysis shows that the most important factors during buying decisions are label information, brand name, graphics, colour and technology. The regression analysis reveal a significant relationship between consumer buying behaviour and seven predictor variables; colour, graphics, packaging technology, label information, brand name, level of involvement and time-pressure. The results also reveal that when consumers are under time-pressure, they consider visual elements when they make their purchase decisions. On the other hand, the consumers consider verbal elements when they are not under time-pressure. The results also show that consumers regard convenience goods as low involvement products. Thus it is the duty of marketers to utilise packaging as a marketing tool and weapon against competitors. This study recommends that marketers must consider all packaging elements when designing a package because all packaging elements are significant in drawing interest and attention of consumers. If these elements are properly combined the package will be more attractive and attention-grabbing.