Prevailing corporate governance literature has incontrovertibly identified the agency problems in controlled companies as those between the controlling shareholders (agent) and the minority shareholders (principal) or the "controller-minority" or "horizontal" agency problem While several corporate governance strategies have been proffered to address these agency problems in the broader milieu, here we raise and discuss two specific strategies that may be potentially deployed to address the agency problems in controlled companies. These are: (i) the participative strategy, wherein shareholders (particularly the minority) are enabled and encouraged to exercise greater participation in companies in which they have invested so as to strengthen shareholder democracy; and (ii) controlling strategy, wherein the focus is on controlling or regulating the actions of the controlling shareholders rather than empowering the minority shareholders. The core argument in this chapter is that given the predominant ownership and control exercised by the controlling shareholders in controlled companies, the participative strategy is sure to be met with impediments. Any amount of additions to the powers of the minority shareholders in corporate democracy would not be meaningful if they are required to exercise it in the shadow of a controlling shareholder's dominance. Given the ineffectiveness of the participative strategy, the corporate governance efforts in controlled companies may instead be better spent on the controlling strategy. A system of greater monitoring of controlling shareholders, especially on matters where such shareholders may be interested, such as self-dealing transactions, would augur to the benefit of the minority shareholders. We explore these strategies by concentrating on one jurisdiction, i.e. Singapore. The study of Singapore is interesting because it ranks highly among Asian economies against indicators for corporate governance and investor protection. At the same time, the corporate sphere is replete with controlled companies, where dominant control is exercised either by business families or the state. Singapore thus provides an eminently suitable case study for when the participative strategy might work (if at all) and how that might be bolstered through the operation of the controlling strategy so as to protect the minority shareholders and address the agency problem relevant to controlled companies.


Environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETS) is a significant risk factor for the development of many diseases, including lung cancer, lower respiratory tract infections, asthma and eye, throat and nasal irritations. Hospitality workers form an occupational group with high exposure to ETS in their workplace. Taking into account the health consequences of ETS exposure and high prevalence of exposure in public places, including workplaces, many countries have implemented the smoking ban that prohibits or restricts smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars. The epidemiological studies have indicated a significant reduction in the exposure level after implementation of the smoking ban. Most studies have also indicated a significant reduction in respiratory and sensory symptoms. The impact of the smoking ban on the lung function measurements is still not clear.


Ring roads have been widely built in many cities, especially in the central districts with excessively heavy traffic demands and frequently generated congestion. In order to improve the operations and reduce traffic delay on urban ring roads, this paper developed a coordinated signal control system for urban ring roads under vehicle-infrastructure connected environment. The speed guidance would be provided to motorists utilizing four sub-systems including detection, communication, signal control, and expected speed calculation in the system. The signal timing parameters such as cycle length, green split, and offset, would be adjusted based on the artificial bee colony-shuffled frog leaping algorithm. The proposed signal control system had been test using VISSIM simulation model and the simulation results showed that the average delay, number of stops, and queue length were significantly improved compared with the conventional traffic control system.


in most cases, and in general complete clinical recovery O media (OM) is one of the most common pediatric infectious diseases. The burden of OM is known in many countries, but data for Korea has not been collected. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the disease burden of OM in both children and adults. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment database study was analyzed to estimate the clinical and economic burden of OM and acute OM (AOM) for 2004. OM was defined as all cases coded H65, H66, or H67 and AOM cases coded H65, H65.0, H65.1, H65.9, H66, H66.4 or H66.9. For AOM, repeated visits within 30 days were considered to be one episode. Age specific incidence, and direct and indirect costs were estimated. A survey on pediatricians and otolaryngologists who most frequently diagnosed OM was carried out. The objective was to evaluate the accuracy of the claims made for OM and to examine the diagnosis and treatments of OM. A total of 5,964,587 claims for OM and 2,924,532 AOM episodes were reported. The incidence of outpatients presenting AOM was 60.9/1,000. The incidence of AOM was highest in children aged 1 year (736.9/1,000). The overall hospitalization rate due to AOM was 2.8/10,000, with a peak of 29.4/10,000 (1 year). The total cost incurred by AOM in Korea was estimated to be around 606.3 billion Korean won (KRW; 1,000 KRW is approximately US$1.00). The total cost of admissions was approximately 22.9 billion KRW, and the average cost of admission per person was about 1,690,000 KRW in a year. The cost of outpatient visits was 583.4 billion KRW, and 199,000 KRW per person. According to a survey of pediatricians and otolaryngologists on the accuracy of the OM diagnostic code, treatment, and prescription habits, the first-line diagnosis of AOM seemed to be fairly accurate. OM, including AOM, causes a considerable clinical and economic burden in Korea.


Aims: Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent intensive care unit (ICU) acquired infection. Due to the increasing incidence of multidrug resistant organisms (MDR) in the ICU, early and correct diagnosis of VAP is an urgent challenge for optimal antibiotic treatment. The aim of the study was to detect the bacterial pathogens and to know their susceptibility pattern among clinically suspected VAP cases.
Materials and Methods:
Patients admitted to ICU fulfilling the clinical criteria for VAP were included in the study. Endotracheal aspirate (EA) was collected aseptically and processed. Gram stain smear showing > 25 pus cells/ low power field were cultured and growth of > 105cfu were considered as pathogens. The isolates were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity testing by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Isolates resistant to 3rd generation cephalosporins were screened for the production of ESBL and AmpC β lactamase. Isolates resistant to carbapenems and cefoxitin were screened for MBL and MRSA respectively.
Results:
A total of 806 patients were put on mechanical ventilator in different health care centres during Jan 2006- Dec 2010. At 48 hrs, 328 patients were weaned from ventilator support. The rate of VAP was 21%. The infection was polymicrobial in 20.29% cases. Gram negative bacilli were isolated in 351 cases (73.43%). Acinetobacter baumannii (22.17%) was the major pathogen isolated, followed by Pseudomonas aerugionsa (19.66%). Among the gram positive cocci isolated Staphylococcus aureus (11.44%) was predominant. Klebsiella pneumonia (32.18%) and Escherichia coli (66.66%) were ESBL producers. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.19%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (0.9%) were Amp C β lactamase producers.

Conclusion:
Rate of VAP in ICUs was high. MDR gram negative bacilli were the major pathogens. Judicious and timely use of appropriate antibiotic can reduce morbidity, mortality and high cost incurred because of longer ICU stay due VAP.


This article begins by tracing the figure of gender inversion from Karl Heinrich Ulrichs's mid-nineteenth-century celebration of the "woman's soul confined in a man's body" to Edward Carpenter's early twentieth-century disavowal of the effeminate "of the extreme type," whose gender nonconformity confirms the normativity of the mass of "normal" masculine homosexuals. Carpenter's disavowal voices both an orientalist distaste for the "mincing effeminacy" of British colonial subjects and an affirmation of the "somewhat masculine" women who are pursuing their rights in "civilized nations." This article argues that this freighted figure of inversion obscures the theories of embodiment found in sexological case studies themselves, which ground the experience of sex in sociality and sensation. The sexological invert provides the foundation for a trans feminine stock character that modernist novels install to represent the cultural redefinition of "woman" and "man" in the early twentieth century. Aldous Huxley's Farcical History of Richard Greenow is an orienting example of this tendency. Jean Genet's Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs, in contrast, reflects a modernist current grounded in queer and trans street culture. The novel's heroine, the queen Divine, recalls the theories of embodiment outlined in the case study narratives. Ultimately, the "New Woman" demonstrates that sexology provides the narrative template for the twentieth-century medical diagnostic for transsexuality. From the early twentieth century, novels disseminate this abstract and singular definition of transsexuality and also recover the various and complex narratives of sexed embodiment first found in the case studies.


The method to improving surface corrosion resistance of 6063 aluminum alloy was studied, and the mechanism of surface corrosion resistanc was discussed in theory. The results indicate that the adjustment of chemical composition is of advantage to corrosion resistance of the alloy, its property is better as Mg, Si mass ratio at about 1.55. The necessary homogenizing treatment of cast ingot subserves corrosion resistanc of aluminum extrusion, and the cast ingot should be cooled quickly after heat treatment. Significant effect of extrusion technology on erosive property is observed from aluminum alloy, aluminum extrusion has good corrosion resistance when outlet temperature is at about 510 degree centigrade.


Nanocomposite films containing Au nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix were prepared by vapour phase co-deposition of Au and polymers (Teflon AF and Poly(-methylstyrene)) in high vacuum. The microstructure of the composite materials as well as metal content strongly depend on the condensation coefficient of the Au atoms, the deposition rates of the components, the substrate temperature, and the type of polymer matrix. The condensation coefficient, which varies between 0.03 and 1, was determined from energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) and surface profilometry. It is shown that the microstructure of nanocomposites (size, size distribution, and interparticle separation of metal clusters), which was determined by transmission electron microscopy, can be controlled by the deposition parameters and the choice of polymer matrix. The optical absorption in the visible region due to the particle plasmon resonance has a strong dependence on the metal filling factor. The correlation between the microstructure of nanocomposites and optical properties, studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy, was also established. Further more, the electrical properties of the composites were studied as a function of the metal volume fraction. It was observed that the nanocomposite films exhibit a percolation threshold at a metal volume fraction of 0.43 and 0.20 for gold nanoclusters in Teflon AF and Poly( α -methylstyrene), respectively.


Three experiments were conducted within a semiarid shrubland to test the role of nitrogen availability as a control mechanism in secondary succession. Secondary succession patterns were documented for seven years and effects of increased and decreased N availability levels, fumigation, and competition by early-seral species were tested. Differential responses by seral species were determined and related to successional patterns. Nitrogen availability was found to be a primary mechanism controlling the rate of succession. Relative growth rate was an important factor determining which species initially dominated and N availability became the primary control factor by the third year. As N availability increased, the rate of succession decreased. Conversely, as N availability was decreased, the rate of succession increased. The abundance of annuals was increased and abundance of perennials decreased by increased N availability. Tissue N concentration was related to lifeform and seral position, and these relationships were important in the transition from early- to mid-seral stages. Decomposer subsystem dynamics were correlated with seral community dynamics. The effect of fumigation was minimized by initially planting with late-seral species. A conceptual model of secondary succession is presented based on N availability, relative growth rate, lifeform, and decomposition dynamics.


Abstract A multi-omics-based approach targeting the plant-based natural products from Thumbai (Leucas aspera), an important yet untapped potential source of many therapeutic agents for myriads of immunological conditions and genetic disorders, was conceptualized to reconnoiter its potential biomedical application. A library of 79 compounds from this plant was created, out of which 9 compounds qualified the pharmacokinetics parameters. Reverse pharmacophore technique for target fishing of the screened compounds was executed through which renin receptor (ATP6AP2) and thymidylate kinase (DTYMK) were identified as potential targets. Network biology approaches were used to comprehend and validate the functional, biochemical and clinical relevance of the targets. The target–ligand interaction and subsequent stability parameters at molecular scale were investigated using multiple strategies including molecular modeling, pharmacophore approaches and molecular dynamics simulation. Herein, isololiolide and 4-hydroxy-2-methoxycinnamaldehyde were substantiated as the lead molecules exhibiting comparatively the best binding affinity against the two putative protein targets. These natural lead products from L. aspera and the combinatorial effects may have plausible medical applications in a wide variety of neurodegenerative, genetic and developmental disorders. The lead molecules also exhibit promising alternative in diagnostics and therapeutics through immuno-modulation targeting natural killer T-cell function in transplantation-related pathogenesis, autoimmune and other immunological disorders. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


This paper introduces SymPLFIED, a program-level framework that allows specification of arbitrary error detectors and the verification of their efficacy against hardware errors. SymPLFIED comprehensively enumerates all transient hardware errors in registers, memory, and computation (expressed as value errors) that potentially evade detection and cause program failure. The framework uses symbolic execution to abstract the state of erroneous values in the program and model checking to comprehensively find all errors that evade detection. We demonstrate the use of SymPLFIED on a widely deployed aircraft collision avoidance application, tcas. Our results show that the SymPLFIED framework can be used to uncover hard-to-detect corner cases caused by transient errors in programs that may not be exposed by random fault-injection based validation.


Abstract Two two-dimensional/one-dimensional (2-D/1-D) methods, fusion and hybrid, have been developed and reported in the literature to deal with three-dimensional (3-D) heterogeneous reactor problems and to avoid direct 3-D transport calculations. The 2-D/1-D fusion method transforms a 3-D transport problem into 2-D and 1-D transport problems that have a smaller computational burden than the original problem. The hybrid method uses an additional diffusion (or SP3) approximation in the axial direction to enhance the efficiency of the calculation. This paper presents and compares the stability and the accuracy of the two methods. To this end, a 2-D transport problem is considered by reducing one dimension in the radial direction, leading to 1-D/1-D fusion or hybrid method. Fourier stability analysis is used to study the stability and the convergence behaviors of the two methods. With respect to accuracy, the two methods are compared via numerical solutions on a typical 2-D reactor problem. The results indicate that the fusion method is stable and gives a very accurate transport solution. On the other hand, the hybrid method requires a stabilizing scheme, and the diffusion approximation in the axial calculation causes significant errors.


Far‐field radiation of a baffled rectangular piston is described using a frequency‐domain Rayleigh integral solution. The piston model is driven at a single frequency at two opposing edges, where these individual edge sources are independent of one another in both amplitude and phase. Directivity plots of the analytical solution are used to graphically observe directional effects caused by changing the phase and amplitude of these edge sources. Interesting and unexpected beamforming characteristics are shown to be produced by certain amplitude and phase combinations. [Work supported by IBM through the Shared University Research program and the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State Univ. University.]


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of sleep in Ménière's disease patients with the use of polysomnography.

STUDY DESIGN
Prospective study using polysomnography administered in patients diagnosed as "Definite Meniere's disease cases" according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

METHODS
Thirty-five patients, 17 male and 18 female, aged 31 to 71 (58 average) years with active, unilateral, cochleovestibular Ménière's disease refractory to medical management underwent polysomnography. The results were compared with 35 healthy controls matched for age and sex. All participants underwent full-night polysomnography, and a sleep medicine physician interpreted the results.

RESULTS
Total sleeping time in Ménière's disease was significantly higher than in controls. Stage 2 sleep was significantly longer and stage 3+4 shorter in Ménière's disease than controls, while there was no difference of stage 1 and REM. Arousal index was significantly higher in Ménière's disease than in controls. Five cases of severe OSAS were found in Ménière's disease and 4 cases in controls; 4 cases of PLMD were found in patients and 3 in controls.

CONCLUSIONS
Our finding of decreased deep sleep and an elevated arousal index is a striking new finding in Ménière's disease. This poor quality of sleep in Ménière's disease patients has received little attention in the past, but may cause additional stress and lead to a negative spiral of symptoms.


The method of laser inner engraving path generation and simulation for crystal glass is presented based on STL(Stereo Lithography) model. To generate the laser exposure points that are adaptive to the surface of model, the contour lines are obtained by cutting the STL model with unequal distance using a series of plans that are perpendicular to Z-axis. Then the contour lines are offset and scattered, and then the path is generated by sorting and connecting each discrete point in order. Simultaneously, simulation method of laser inner engraving for crystal glass is also proposed. The case studies show that the method can primely realize the engraving path generation and the simulation for the laser inner engraving of crystal glass, and that the system runs stably and reliably.


Recent research by the United Nations Overseas Development Institute has
underlined the criticality of 'change readiness' for a country's ability to 'manage change and
cultivate opportunity' (see 2012 Change Readiness Index), relating this closely to
governance, ethical leadership and institutional agility. My submission is about the process
of change in human systems. I share my learning from the perspective of practice as an
organisational psychologist supporting my client systems through periods of transformational
change. The practitioner doctorate reveals very intimate aspects of my own life, motivation,
identity and professional experiences adopting a psychotherapeutic orientation coupled with
a reflexive audit methodology, in order to demonstrate proficiency at a doctoral level of
reflective practice in organisational settings. The doctoral standard is defined in p 31-33,
Doctorate in Psychotherapy by Public Works Handbook 2013/14, 'Assessment and
Progression'. This work is not an academic research report using a standardized structure
for reporting scientific research findings. It is certainly not a descriptive list of career
achievements or publications. I have learned that the spirit of this doctoral programme is to
bring into awareness the true nature of my work, to demonstrate how a corporate career and
private practice can be defined and differentiated in publically meaningful, empirical ways. I
share the professional products of experiential learning, a series of reflexive case studies of
my experience and a resultant body of work on 'change agility'. Change agility can be
interpreted as the capacity for creative adjustment in individuals and in human systems, a
functional response to a high level of continuous uncertainty. This also leads to exploration
of tensions arising in organisation consulting and my integration of contrasting research
paradigms. I make reference to a wide research literature, drawing on several different
academic traditions, connecting Gestalt models to a broad base of organisational theory and
psychological research. I seek to contribute to and stimulate the inter-disciplinary science
and art of organisational change, putting this into its broader socio-economic context. I
connect the role change plays in institutional health with what Parlett calls a 'unified' and a
'global' field, using a Gestalt field perspective on human capacities (Parlett 1997, 2000).
Overall my work supports and further develops various recent Gestalt models promoting
relational practices which support healthy responses to field complexity within institutions. In
corporate settings, my work suggests these abilities can be translated into metacompetences
and capabilities commensurate with 'change agility'. Through a business
relevant model of change agile practices which I have developed, I am promoting a relational
and Gestalt oriented form of change management. My overarching mission is to put the
'human' back into the at times dystopian field of 'human resource management', particularly
where mechanistic change management efforts are concerned.


BACKGROUND
Detection of subjects with early chronic kidney disease (CKD) is important because some will progress up to stage 5 CKD, and most are at high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. While validity and precision of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations in tracking true GFR have been repeatedly investigated, their prognostic performance for mortality has not been hitherto compared. This is especially relevant in an elderly population in whom the risk of death is far more common than progression.

METHODS
We analysed data of participants in the InCHIANTI study, a community-based cohort study of older adults. Twenty-four-hour creatinine clearance (Ccr), Cockcroft-Gault (C-G) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD)-derived equations (six and four input variables) were calculated at enrolment (1998-2000), and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were prospectively ascertained by Cox regression over a 6-year follow-up.

RESULTS
Of the 1270 participants, 942 (mean age 75 years) had complete data for this study. The mean renal function ranged from 77 ml/min/1.73 m(2) by Ccr to 64 ml/min/1.73 m(2) by C-G. Comparisons among equations using K/DOQI staging highlight relevant mismatches, with a prevalence of CKD ranging from 22% (MDRD-4) to 40% (C-G). Reduced renal function was a strong independent predictor of death. In a Cox model--adjusted for demographics, physical activity, comorbidities, proteinuria and inflammatory parameters-participants with Ccr 60-90 ml/min/1.73 m(2) and Ccr <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were, respectively, 1.70 (95% CI: 1.02-2.83) and 1.91 (95% CI: 1.11-3.29) times more likely to die over the follow-up compared to those with Ccr >90 ml/min/1.73 m(2). For the C-G, the group with values <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) had a significant higher all-cause mortality compared to those with values >90 ml/min/1.73 m(2) (HR 2.59, 95% CI: 1.13-5.91). The classification based on the MDRD formulae did not provide any significant prognostic information. The adjusted risk of all-cause mortality followed a similar pattern when Ccr and estimating equations were introduced as continuous variables or dichotomized as higher or lower than 60 ml/min. C-G was the best prognostic indicator of cardiovascular mortality. Possibly, Ccr and C-G are better prognostic indicators than MDRD-derived equations because they incorporate a stronger effect of age.

CONCLUSIONS
In a South-European elderly population, the prevalence of CKD is high and varies widely according to the method adopted to estimate GFR. Researchers and clinicians who want to capture the prognostic information on mortality related to kidney function should use the Ccr or C-G formula and not MDRD equations. These results highlight the importance of strategies for early detection and clinical management of CKD in elderly subjects.


Objective. Investigate the hypothesis that telemedicine, in the form of real-time audiovisual transmission, would permit accurate assessment of illness severity and allow improved triage for transport. Methods. A prospective study comparing assessments of patients examined conventionally (in person) and remotely by a telemedicine link. Fifteen patients (3 months to 14 years of age) admitted to our emergency department were evaluated as if for transport. Patients were evaluated simultaneously by a physically present pediatric emergency room physician and by a pediatric critical care physician linked to the examining room by a broadband audiovisual link. Each physician completed a patient assessment questionnaire independently. The sensitivity and specificity of the patient assessment by the audiovisually linked physician were calculated. Results. Sensitivity, ie, the ability of the remote, audiovisually connected telemedicine physician to detect abnormal findings, is 87.5%. Specificity, the ability of the remote physician to detect normal findings, is 93%. It is likely that sensitivity would be markedly improved with addition of an electronic stethoscope. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that pediatric patients may be assessed accurately with a broadcast-quality real-time audiovisual system. Such a system may have dramatic implications for providing pediatric specialty and subspecialty care in underserved areas.


Resistance nodulation cell division (RND)‐type efflux transporters play the main role in intrinsic resistance to various antimicrobial agents in many gram‐negative bacteria. Here, we estimated 12 RND‐type efflux transporter genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Because VmeAB has already been characterized, we cloned the other 11 RND‐type efflux transporter genes and characterized them in Escherichia coli KAM33 cells, a drug hypersusceptible strain. KAM33 expressing either VmeCD, VmeEF, or VmeYZ showed increased minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for several antimicrobial agents. Additional four RND‐type transporters were functional as efflux pumps only when co‐expressed with VpoC, an outer membrane component in V. parahaemolyticus. Furthermore, VmeCD, VmeEF, and VmeYZ co‐expressed with VpoC exhibited a broader substrate specificity and conferred higher resistance than that with TolC of E. coli. Deletion mutants of these transporter genes were constructed in V. parahaemolyticus. TM32 (ΔvmeAB and ΔvmeCD) had significantly decreased MICs for many antimicrobial agents and the number of viable cells after exposure to deoxycholate were markedly reduced. Strains in which 12 operons were all disrupted had very low MICs and much lower fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops. These results indicate that resistance nodulation cell division‐type efflux transporters contribute not only to intrinsic resistance but also to exerting the virulence of V. parahaemolyticus.


Dialogue Systems are becoming ubiquitous in various forms and shapes - virtual assistants(Siri, Alexa, etc.), chat-bots, customer sup-port, chit-chat systems just to name a few.The advances in language models and their publication have democratised advanced NLP.However, data remains a crucial bottleneck.Our contribution to this essential pillar isMATILDA, to the best of our knowledge the first multi-annotator, multi-language dialogue annotation tool. MATILDA allows the creation of corpora, the management of users, the annotation of dialogues, the quick adaptation of the user interface to any language and the resolution of inter-annotator disagreement. We evaluate the tool on ease of use, annotation speed and interannotation resolution for both experts and novices and conclude that this tool not only supports the full pipeline for dialogue annotation, but also allows non-technical people to easily use it. We are completely open-sourcing the tool at https://github.com/wluper/matilda and provide a tutorial video1.


Objective: To determine the efficacy of cooling gel patch in various clinical indications and comparison of cooling gel patch with water spray and cold sponging in fever and heat exhaustion.
Study Design: Comparative cross sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Garrison Medical Centre Okara Cantt, from Sep to Dec 2018.
Methodology: A total of 48 male patients, age ranges from 20-40 years were assessed with different clinical indications of cooling gel patch. Patients with fever, heat exhaustion, headache, muscle cramps and toothache were included in this study and patients with acute illness other than fever were excluded. A control group of 20individuals was also analyzed against fever and heat exhaustion in which water spray and cold sponging wasused. Frequency and percentages of each indication were calculated and chi square test was applied.
Results: Total of 48 individuals living in plain terrain with various clinical indications of cooling gel patch wereassessed. Cooling Gel Patch was tested on 16 sportsmen with heat exhaustion out of which 2 (12.5%) individualhad minimal effect whereas control group of 10 showed good response in 8 (80%) sportsmen with water sprayand cold sponging with p-value .000578. Six patients with headache and 4 individuals with toothache reportedno reduction in symptoms. Two out of 6 patients with muscle cramps reported mild relief in symptoms. Sixteenpatients reported with high grade fever and out of these, 12 (75%) individuals showed no reduction in temperature after 4 hours of application......


In Romania the development of public sector accounting was initiated in 2002, and enlarged for all public sector entities in 2005, but the transition is a static process although there are many issues that should be changed. Based on Hepworth's (2003) preconditions of success in adoption accrual accounting for public sector, this paper aims to analyse through a qualitative research whether accruals implementation in Romanian public sector was fulfilling its purposes or not. Financial information disclosed through public sector entities' financial statements make the connection between citizens and state over the last one's capacity to respond to community's goals.


Radioiodinated, native and denatured bovine serum albumin (albumin) beta-lactoglobulin and cytochrome c were introduced into hepatoma tissue culture cells by erythrocyte-ghost-mediated microinjection, and their rates of degradation were compared. Denatured albumin was degraded at 20% of the rate of undenatured albumin, denatured beta-lactoglobulin was degraded three times faster than undenatured beta-lactoglobulin, while denatured and undenatured cytochrome c were degraded at the same rate. Thus, denaturation does not affect the rates of intracellular breakdown of microinjected proteins in a simple predictable way. Exhaustive methylation did not inhibit the degradation of denatured beta-lactoglobulin or albumin, indicating that, like their undenatured counterparts, they are not degraded via the ubiquitin pathway. In reticulocyte lysates, in the presence of ATP, denatured albumin and beta-lactoglobulin were broken down at slightly slower rates than the parent proteins. Exhaustive methylation of both denatured and undenatured proteins completely abolished their ATP-dependent breakdown. This inhibition is consistent with the hypothesis that free -NH2 groups are required for the attachment of ubiquitin prior to degradation in this system. Removal of an ammonium sulfate fraction from reticulocyte lysates produces a proteolytic system markedly different from the whole lysate [Speiser, S. & Etlinger, J. D. (1983) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 80, 3577-3580]. In this system both denatured and undenatured albumin and beta-lactoglobulin were degraded essentially independently of ATP. Methylation only slightly decreased the breakdown of denatured proteins, suggesting that they are not degraded via the ubiquitin pathway. A possible explanation of these results is that removal of the ammonium sulfate fraction unmasks an ATP-independent proteolytic system unrelated to the ubiquitin pathway.


This article focuses on the status of VLSI in Japan. It is written from a "Pacific" (as opposed to the generally prevailing "Atlantic" viewpoint) to provide a perspective unfamiliar to many in Europe and America. Japan clearly has the lead in worldwide VLSI development, but the status of VLSI in Japan is usually confusing to foreigners because of the rapid changes taking place. Japanese applications for IC patents have grown steadily, while foreign patent applications in Japan have stagnated, dropping from 10 percent to seven percent of the total. Until recently, most new technologies developed in Japan were in assembly processes and manufacturing; however, the share of new technologies stemming from the invention of new devices is increasing steadily at a considerable rate. Today the leading electronic products of Japanese industry are original, home-grown products of Japanese technology. In conclusion, the outlook for the Japanese semiconductor and IC industry (including production materials and equipment), together with the microelectronics sector, is as bright as it could be. Despite an extremely fastgrowing domestic market, prospects are good that the Japanese electronics industry will remain a net exporter in the future, substantially increasing its position in the world marketplace.


Destinations in the Arctic has been trying to position themselves in the areas of niche and small-scale tourism often claiming that this type of tourism is more sustainable and thereby also could be labelled and promoted as eco-tourism. This study focuses on Kiruna, Sweden, as an example of a destination with a unique profile that is used to attract a specific group of tourists. There are several factors attributing to the type of image that has been created and actively promoted for the tourists searching for both traditional and rather special tourism, such as polar light, midnight sun, indigenous Sami culture, nature tourism, film and music festivals, one of the deepest ongoing underground iron ore mines and space tourism. The latest developments show the signs of the destination specifically targeting more affluent visitors. The focus of this paper is to analyse the marketing strategies of the main actors at the destination and gain knowledge on how small and medium size enterprises actively choose their target groups and how they relate to the marketing of the destination of Kiruna. What are the consequences of these strategies for the businesses and for the destination as a whole? The study utilises qualitative interviews as well as secondary data available from different published and electronic sources.


Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: In a study on 48 renal biopsies of IgA nephropathy, we found, the association of T1 and T2 as the morphologic variables of Oxford classification with CD147 intensity staining on tubules was significant. Please cite this paper as: Amiri M, Mardani S, Rad M, Nasri H. Association of CD147 renal expression with morphologic lesions of Oxford classification in IgA nephropathy patients. J Renal Inj Prev. 2018;7(3):107-111. doi: 10.15171/jrip.2018.25. Introduction: Nephropathy of immunoglobulin A (IgA), is the most frequent glomerulonephritis worldwide. Nephropathy of IgA, has a highly variable course, either clinically or pathologically. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess CD147 expression with four morphological lesions of Oxford classification in IgA nephropathy patients. Patients and Methods: The characterization of IgA nephropathy necessitated the existence of diffuse and global mesangial IgA deposition with weak C1q deposition. The kidney biopsies with the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy were included in the study. After the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy, four pathologic variables, of the Oxford classification of IgA nephropathy were assessed. For immunohistochemical staining, 4-μm-thick sections were stained with anti-human CD147 antibody. The intensity of CD147 staining on tubules, Bowman's capsules, vessels and tuft of glomeruli was expressed as percentage of involvement. Results: In this study, 48 consecutive renal biopsies documented for IgA nephropathy were selected. Mean age of patients was 38.4±12.6 years. The average of proteinuria and serum creatinine were 1620.33± 720 mg/d and 1.33±0.54 mg/dL, respectively. We found vessels had the least and tubules had the highest mean of intensity of CD147 staining. This study showed that the intensity of CD147 staining in glomeruli was much higher among women than men. In addition, the association of T1 and T2 as the morphologic variables of Oxford classification with CD147 intensity staining on tubules was significant (P = 0.032). Conclusion: IgA nephropathy is common in various parts of the world. Beyond the Oxford classification, further work is still needed, to find other parameters having prognostic implication. Our study revealed some correlations of CD147; however, larger investigations are needed on this aspect of IgA nephropathy. A R T I C L E I N F O


OBJECTIVES
This study investigates the role of gender, functional limitations, and social interaction in the association between instrumental support from adult children and parental depression. We apply self-determination theory to hypothesize about the role of physical needs and social resources on parental depression in a European context.

METHOD
A sample of 6,268 parents older than 65 who have nonresident children from the first wave of Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004) is analyzed. We estimate logistic regression models to test for the association between instrumental support and depression. Physical needs, gender, and social interaction are used as moderators.

RESULTS
Net of core factors that contribute to depression, including previous history of depression, there is a U-shaped pattern between receiving instrumental support and depression that persists across country regimes. For respondents with medium physical limitations, too little or too frequent support from children is associated with higher depression. For respondents with severe limitations, receiving at least some support is better than receiving none at all. The receipt of too frequent support from children increases the level of depression more for women than men. All interaction effects are comparable across country regimes.

DISCUSSION
Heterogeneity in physical needs and resources of older individuals must be taken into account when assessing the effects of instrumental support on mental health.


Mechanical properties of 100% polyester and polyester-viscose (P/V) blended yarns produced from polyester fibres which vary in denier and cross-sectional shape have been analyzed. It is observed that fibre fineness and cross-sectional shape play a significant role in the translation of fibre properties to the respective yarn properties. As the fibre linear density decreases, fibre strength translation efficiency increases. In the case of trilobal fibre, translation efficiency is observed to be lower, but yarn breaking elongation is higher in comparison to the corresponding circular fibre. Scalloped oval fibre contributes more towards yarn strength and elongation versus the equivalent circular and tetraskelion fibres. In the P/V blended form, a decrease in yarn tenacity does not affect fibre fineness, but is substantially influenced by changes in the fibre profile. Contribution of broken viscose fibres (comparatively weaker component) at the point of actual breaking of yarn, i.e. Z-value, is altered depending on the polyester fibre profile, which is higher in trilobal and scalloped oval fibres in comparison to the corresponding circular ones, but the role of fibre linear density in this regard is rendered insignificant.


Recently, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is becoming an important research topic. One goal of ITS is to exchange information among vehicles in a timely and efficient manner. In the ITS research community, inter-vehicle communications (IVC) is considered a way that may be able to achieve this goal. An information network built on the top of vehicles using IVC can be viewed as a type of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). In the past, several unicast routing protocols for MANET have been proposed. However, most of them are designed for general MANETs rather than for IVC networks. In this paper, we first used more realistic vehicle mobility traces generated by a microscopic traffic simulator (VISSIM) to understand the characteristics of routing paths in an IVC network. Based on the insights gained from the derived path characteristics, we designed and implemented an intelligent flooding-based routing protocol for small-scale IVC networks. Via several field trials conducted on highways, we compared the performance of ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) and our protocol. Our experimental results show that (1) our protocol outperforms AODV greatly in IVC networks and (2) our protocol can provide text, image, audio, and video services for small-scale IVC networks (e.g., a platoon) quite well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Proteins and peptides can aggregate and misfold into long twisted fibrils called amyloids. This phenomenon leads to toxicity and cell degeneration and contributes to a range of human diseases, including type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This thesis is focused on understanding the relationship between amyloidosis and immunogenicity, as well as the role of nanoparticle inhibitors in mitigating protein fibrillation, toxicity and dysregulation that are associated with amyloid diseases, in vitro, in silico and in vivo. This research sheds new light on the mechanisms of amyloidosis and facilitates the development of nanomedicines against debilitating amyloid diseases.


Commercial phenol–formaldehyde (PF) adhesive was gradually substituted by increasing amount of the phenol-rich fraction (PRF) of crude bio-oil up to 40 wt%. The effect of substitution level of the PRF on the chemical, curing, morphological scanning electronic microscope (SEM), and bonding characteristics of the PF adhesive was determined. The tensile-shear strength of single lap-joint wood specimens bonded with the modified PF adhesives was investigated under indoor and outdoor exposure conditions. The chemical composition of the PRF was investigated using some chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Further structural analysis of PRF-modified PF adhesives was determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The PRF resol had a similar molecular structure to commercial pure phenol resol adhesive. The PRF could be partially substitute for the petroleum-based phenol in commercial PF adhesives with inexpensive phenols derived from lignocellulosic wastes.


We apply surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy to monitor the denaturation process of a surface-bound protein A monolayer. Our proposed platform relies on a plasmonic metasurface comprising different spatial subregions ("pixels") that are engineered to exhibit different resonances covering the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum that is matched to the vibrational modes of the Amide groups. Specifically, we are able to determine changes in the Amide I and Amide II vibration coupled modes, by comparing the SEIRA reflectance spectra pertaining to the native state and a denatured state induced by a pH variation. In particular, we observe some evident red-shifts in the principal Amide I mode and the Amide II vibration coupled modes (attributable to the breaking of hydrogen bonds), which result in insurmountable barriers for refolding. Thanks to the strong field localization, and consequent enhancement of the light-matter interactions, our proposed sensing platform can operate with extremely small amounts of an analyte, with an estimated detection limit of about 3 femtomoles of molecules.


A functional model of the neural network was proposed, which reproduces the signal of a ganglion cell during the formation of receptive fields with the antagonistic center and the periphery.


Overview: Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) is an accepted surgical procedure for parathyroid adenomas. In the patients with parathyroid adenoma localized by dual phase 99mTc-Sestamibi scan, a focused approach utilizing the gamma probe intra-operatively helps in ensuring complete resection and avoiding exploration of the other parathyroid glands. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of radio-guided MIP for parathyroid adenomas detected by dual phase 99mTc-MIBI preoperatively, without intra-operative parathyroid hormone (ioPTH) monitoring for patients who had evidence of single-gland disease. Patients and Methods: A retrospective dataset of 30 patients diagnosed with solitary parathyroid adenoma operated between 2009 and 2014 were reviewed. All of the patients underwent radio-guided MIP and were followed up for at least 6 months post-operatively. The biochemical parameters (serum calcium and serum parathyroid hormone levels), imaging parameters (ultrasonography and 99mTc-MIBI), and operative times were analyzed. Results: Our study consisted of 30 patients with 50% females, with a mean age of 42.5 + 12 years. The mean surgical duration was 20 + 12 min. All of the patients achieved biochemical cure (normalization of serum calcium) and remained eucalcemic at follow-up. No major surgical complications were noted. Conclusions: Focused parathyroidectomy using the gamma probe localization could be a potential alternative for ioPTH assay in ensuring the completeness of surgical resection of parathyroid adenoma. It is also likely to shorten operative time.


Background Match and training demands differ between seven and fifteen-a-side rugby. The association between training load and injury risk has not been examined in elite Rugby Sevens. Objective To explore the association between training load measures and injury risk in elite Rugby Sevens players. Design Two-season (2014/15 and 2015/16) prospective cohort study. Setting The England men's Rugby Sevens squad. Participants 42 players (31 players followed over one-season, 11 players over two-seasons). Assessment of Risk Factors Training loads were recorded for all sessions using the session-Rating of Perceived Exertion method. A generalised linear mixed effects model examined the association between training load measures and injury risk in the subsequent week. The acute:chronic workload variable (one-week load divided by four-week average load) was parsed into tertiles: low=<1.15; medium=1.15–1.45; high=>1.45. Main Outcome Measurements Injury and the relative risk (RR) associated with increases in training load measures. Results 152 training and 30 match injuries were recorded. The incidence rate was 91/1000 player-match-hours (90% CI: 68–123) and 14/1000 player-training-hours (90% CI: 12–16). Mean severity (day's absence) of injuries was 31 days during matches and 21 days during training. There was a substantial interaction between four-week cumulative load and acute:chronic workloads, such that typically high versus typically low four-week cumulative loads (i.e., a 7140 AU difference) coupled with high acute:chronic workloads were clearly associated with injury risk (RR: 2.08, 90% CI 1.17–3.68). This effect was unclear in the low (RR: 1.02, 90% CI: 0.62–1.68) and medium (RR: 1.44, 90% CI: 0.81–2.55) acute:chronic workload ranges. Conclusions The injury incidence rate in elite Rugby Sevens training is substantially higher than in the 15-a-side game. The coupling of high cumulative loads with high acute:chronic workloads was associated with an increased injury risk, therefore practitioners should avoid high acute:chronic workloads during periods of high cumulative load.


BACKGROUND Reconstruction of cutaneous nasal tip and supratip defects presents a common challenge in which esthetic outcomes are dependent on appropriate flap or graft selection and execution. OBSERVATION We describe the fusiform elliptical Burow's graft, a modified full-thickness skin graft, for repair of moderately sized nasal tip and supratip defects. It has the advantage of being a one-stage procedure with incisions and undermining similar to a primary closure. This technique allows the defect to become smaller in size and shallower in depth while taking the shape of a fusiform ellipse confined to a single cosmetic subunit. The color and texture match of the adjacent Burow's skin graft combined with its fusiform elliptical shape allow it to blend in more naturally with the nasal tip contour compared with the traditional circular-shaped Burow's graft, which is typically used on the nose. CONCLUSION The fusiform elliptical Burow's graft is a simple, reliable, easily reproducible, and esthetically pleasing technique for repair of defects on the nasal tip and supratip.


This chapter from Peter W. Morgan & Glenn H. Reynolds, "The Appearance of Impropriety: How The Ethics Wars Have Undermined American Government, Business, and Society" describes how the combination of politically inspired prosecutions and indeterminate criminal offenses has served to undermine fairness and faith in government.

Excerpt: "In the old days, we would refrain from ringing up the cops until after there was fairly clear evidence of a crime, such as Professor Plum lying in a pool of blood in the conservatory. Off everyone would go looking for clues, with the concrete fact of Professor Plum's corpse to focus their energies. Today, though, we frequently summon our sophisticated investigative technicians before there is evidence of a crime. We run to the phone as soon as someone suggests Colonel Mustard might have committed some impropriety. We then try to solve the mystery of whether this or some other past indiscretion of Colonel Mustard just might constitute a crime. Nowadays, it is more remarkable when the ethics crime laboratory cannot come up with a viable theory of criminality than when it can."

Particular attention is paid to the False Statements Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001.


Eye gaze is compelling for interaction with situated displays as we naturally use our eyes to engage with them. In this work we present SideWays, a novel person-independent eye gaze interface that supports spontaneous interaction with displays: users can just walk up to a display and immediately interact using their eyes, without any prior user calibration or training. Requiring only a single off-the-shelf camera and lightweight image processing, SideWays robustly detects whether users attend to the centre of the display or cast glances to the left or right. The system supports an interaction model in which attention to the central display is the default state, while "sidelong glances" trigger input or actions. The robustness of the system and usability of the interaction model are validated in a study with 14 participants. Analysis of the participants' strategies in performing different tasks provides insights on gaze control strategies for design of SideWays applications.


Global law firm Baker & McKenzie : Johannesburg, which has been in South Africa for three years, offered a different kind of graduate recruitment programme earlier this year. The firm hosted over 30 university students in its annual vacation programme where participants gained first hand experience by way of a job shadow opportunity. Students were involved in current matters and were assigned tasks relevant to the mentors daily activities and deliverables, providing essential hands-on experience.
The boot camp and vacation programme aims to connect minds, share ideas and impart knowledge. In its entirety, the programme runs for over two weeks and while the comprehensive agenda incorporates all facets of corporate law, it also allows for a lot of fun - the work life balance that the firm is well known for.


Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended in the management of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but referral to this service is low. Aims: To identify barriers to, and facilitators for, referral to PR programmes from the perspective of Australian general practitioners. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with general practitioners involved in the care of people with COPD. Interview questions were informed by a validated behavioural framework and asked about participants' experience of referring people with COPD for PR, and barriers to, or facilitators of, this behaviour. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using content analysis. Results: Twelve general practitioners participated in this study, 10 of whom had never referred a patient to a PR programme. Four major categories relating to barriers to referral were identified: low knowledge of PR for COPD; low knowledge of how to refer; actual or anticipated access difficulties for patients; and questioning the need to do more to promote exercise behaviour change. Awareness of benefit was the only current facilitator. Three major categories of potential facilitators were identified: making PR part of standard COPD care through financial incentive; improving information flow with regard to referrals and services; and informing patients and public. Conclusions: Significant barriers to referral exist, but opportunities to change the organisation of practice and information management were identified. Behaviour change strategies which directly target these barriers and incorporate facilitators should make up the key components of interventions to improve referral to PR by general practitioners who care for people with COPD.


The speed-ability trade-off becomes a measurement problem if there is between-subject variation in the speed-ability compromise, as this may affect the comparability of ability estimates. To control individual speed differences, the response-signal (RS) paradigm was applied requiring an immediate response as soon as an acoustic signal is presented. A figural discrimination task and a word recognition task were completed both in an untimed condition allowing individual differences in time spent on task and in several timed conditions where the time available for item completion was limited using the RS paradigm. Thus, speed was manipulated by varying the available time between stimulus-onset and RS. A total of N = 205 high school students participated in the study. Results showed that across timed conditions with decreasing time on task, the ability level and ability variance decreased substantially. Ability correlations between timed conditions were high, whereas correlations between untimed and timed conditions were low. This finding suggested that ability differences being inconsistent to those found in the timed condition are due to individual differences in time on task in the untimed condition. To eliminate these differences, two ways were considered. First, untimed responses were recoded using two-tailed posterior time limits. As expected, correlations between timed and untimed conditions were increased. Second, the log-transformed item response times were included in the item response model, which led to even higher correlations between timed and untimed conditions. Validity and generalizability of the proposed testing procedure are discussed.


The injury-induced intense stimulation of spinal cord neurons causes lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) biosynthesis. LPA(1) receptor activation causes demyelination and sprouting of dorsal root fibers, leading to an induction of synaptic reorganization underlying allodynia, in which innocuous (tactile) stimuli cause intense pain. The LPA(1) signal also initiates the up-regulation of Ca(v)α2δ1 in dorsal root ganglion and PKCγ in the dorsal horn, underlying mechanisms for characteristic neuropathic hyperalgesia in myelinated sensory (A-type) fibers. On the other hand, the LPA(3) receptor mediates microglia activation at the early stage after nerve injury and LPA-induced LPA biosynthesis. Thus, both the LPA(1) and LPA(3) receptors play key roles in the initiation step using a feed-forward system for neuropathic pain.


This paper describes the synthesis of allylic amines by aryl azides (ArN3) catalysed by [Ru(TPP)CO] (TPP = dianion of tetraphenylporphyrin). The employment of aryl azides renders the methodology sustainable as the formation of molecular nitrogen is the only stoichiometric byproduct. The isolation of catalytic intermediates and spectroscopic and kinetic studies revealed interesting information about the reaction mechanism, which could improve its catalytic efficiency in future research. An important result is the X-ray characterisation of [Ru(TPP)(ArN)2] [Ar = 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3], which is active in both stoichiometric and catalytic nitrene transfer reactions. The proposed involvement of carbonyl-monoimido-ruthenium porphyrin complexes in the catalytic cycle is also derived from our kinetic and experimental results. All the data indicate the coexistence of two mechanisms, where the electronic nature of the engaged aryl azide and olefin concentration determine one mechanism or the other.


With the introduction of consumer light field cameras, light field imaging has recently become widespread. However, there is an inherent trade-off between the angular and spatial resolution, and thus, these cameras often sparsely sample in either spatial or angular domain. In this paper, we use machine learning to mitigate this trade-off. Specifically, we propose a novel learning-based approach to synthesize new views from a sparse set of input views. We build upon existing view synthesis techniques and break down the process into disparity and color estimation components. We use two sequential convolutional neural networks to model these two components and train both networks simultaneously by minimizing the error between the synthesized and ground truth images. We show the performance of our approach using only four corner sub-aperture views from the light fields captured by the Lytro Illum camera. Experimental results show that our approach synthesizes high-quality images that are superior to the state-of-the-art techniques on a variety of challenging real-world scenes. We believe our method could potentially decrease the required angular resolution of consumer light field cameras, which allows their spatial resolution to increase.


There is a growing interest in the speech community in developing Recurrent Neural Network Transducer (RNN-T) models for automatic speech recognition (ASR) applications. RNN-T is trained with a loss function that does not enforce temporal alignment of the training transcripts and audio. As a result, RNN-T models built with uni-directional long short term memory (LSTM) encoders tend to wait for longer spans of input audio, before streaming already decoded ASR tokens. In this work, we propose a modification to the RNN-T loss function and develop Alignment Restricted RNN-T (Ar-RNN-T) models, which utilize audio-text alignment in-formation to guide the loss computation. We compare the proposed method with existing works, such as monotonic RNN-T, on LibriSpeech and in-house datasets. We show that the Ar-RNN-T loss provides a refined control to navigate the trade-offs between the token emission delays and the Word Error Rate (WER). The Ar-RNN-T models also improve downstream applications such as the ASR End-pointing by guaranteeing token emissions within any given range of latency. Moreover, the Ar-RNN-T loss allows for bigger batch sizes and 4 times higher throughput for our LSTM model architecture, enabling faster training and convergence on GPUs.


The purpose of the company is to make a profit. Therefore, the company must be able to manage both the financial performance and the company. And the company should also be able to welfare shareholders through the distribution of dividends every year. The dividend policy is the company's decision to determine how much funds are distributed to shareholders as dividends and how much funds will be held by the company. With the growth of the company and good stock performance is expected to increase corporate profits and can shareholder welfare.
               The purpose of this research is to know the company's business, company's profitability as measured by profitability ratio, asset management as measured by liquidity ratio and activity ratio, funding policy as measured by solvency ratio, and to know the implication of dividend policy toward company growth and stock performance. With the period of 2012-2016 (the period of 5 years).
            The evaluation result of this research suggests that PT. Selamat, Tbk should continue to monitor the performance of the company and the performance of these shares. In order for the company to balance the benefits of the company so that it can prosper the company for the growth of the company and shareholders for the dividend payout


Self-assembling biological systems hold great potential for the synthetic construction of new active soft nanomaterials. Here we demonstrate the hierarchical bottom-up assembly of bacteriophage P22 virus-like particles (VLPs) that encapsulate the thermostable CelB glycosidase creating catalytically active nanoreactors. The in vivo assembly and encapsulation produces P22 VLPs with a high packaging density of the tetrameric CelB, but without loss of enzyme activity or the ability of the P22 VLP to undergo unique morphological transitions that modify the VLPs internal volume and shell porosity. The P22 VLPs encapsulating CelB are also shown to retain a high percentage of the enzyme activity upon being embedded and immobilized in a polymeric matrix.


Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning.

 Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach.

 The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes.

 A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.


The evaluation on environmental corrosion damage of steel domes is carried out in this study through an integration of knowledge in material science and structural analysis. The refined exponential model for estimating corrosion of steel materials is presented based on long-term experimental data available. The formula for relating structural natural frequency sensitivity to structural member thickness is then derived to assess the sensitivity of natural frequency to variation of member thickness due to corrosion. The nonlinear static analysis is conducted to evaluate effects of atmospheric corrosion on the stress of structural members and the safety of steel space structures. A real steel dome built in China is taken as the case study to examine the feasibility of the proposed approach and to assess the potential corrosion damage to the structure..


In this paper the main problems and the available solutions are addressed for the generation of 3D models from terrestrial images. Close range photogrammetry has dealt for many years with manual or automatic image measurements for precise 3D modelling. Nowadays 3D scanners are also becoming a standard source for input data in many application areas, but image-based modelling still remains the most complete, economical, portable, flexible and widely used approach. In this paper the full pipeline is presented for 3D modelling from terrestrial image data, considering the different approaches and analysing all the steps involved.


The molecular distance geometry problem can be formulated as the problem of finding an immersion in R3 of a given undirected, nonnegatively weighted graph G. In this paper, we discuss a set of graphs G for which the problem may also be formulated as a combinatorial search in discrete space. This is theoretically interesting as an example of "combinatorialization" of a continuous nonlinear problem. It is also algorithmically interesting because the natural combinatorial solution algorithm performs much better than a global optimization approach on the continuous formulation. We present a Branch and Prune algorithm which can be used for obtaining a set of positions of the atoms of protein conformations when only some of the distances between the atoms are known.


In 2014, K. Barry Sharpless and coworkers at Scripps Research Institute California developed sulfur fluoride exchange (SuFEx), a simple and rapid click chemistry reaction that uses sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) to make carbon-sulfate links. They used the technique to synthesize disulfates, polysulfate polymers, and other linear products. Suhua Li, Sharpless, and coworkers have now devised a variation that kicks SuFEx click chemistry into another dimension. Using thionyl tetrafluoride (SOF4) instead of SO2F2 as a SuFEx reagent enables them to make up to three tetrahedrally oriented connections to each sulfur hub molecule instead of two linear linkages (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201611048). Thionyl tetrafluoride reacts initially with a primary amino group, forming a tetrahedral iminosulfur product with two fluoride "handles." One fluoride or both can then react with aryl alcohols or alkyl amines to create products that are doubly or triply substituted along the sulfur hub's tetrahedral axes....


The members of the genus begomovirus are transmitted by Bemisia tabaci and cause severe losses in cucurbitaceae. The objectives of the study were: i) to investigate the etiology of the disease caused by the pumpkin leaf curly virus; ii) know the population dynamics of the vector, compare the effectiveness of yellow sticky traps against yellow trays and determine the effect of the location of the traps, in monitoring B. tabaci during the crop development cycle; and iii) study the spatio-temporal distribution and severity of pumpkin virosis. The study was carried out in the experimental station of the Superior Agricultural College of the State of Guerrero, located in the Cocula Valley, Guerrero, Mexico. DNA was extracted from pumpkin leaves (Cucurbita pepo) var. Gray Zucchini with symptoms of virosis. The PCR was carried out in five samples with the generic oligonucleotides for begomoviruses, two PCR products were sequenced and a phylogenetic tree was generated. Pumpkin virus transmission test was performed, under controlled conditions. The population dynamics of B. tabaci was determined using sticky yellow traps and yellow trays. From the symptomatology, the severity percentage and the area under the disease progress curve (ABCPE) were obtained. PCR analysis, sequencing and phylogeny, confirmed the presence of the SLCV virus (KX620945.1-DAAV-1) in pumpkin. It was found that B. tabaci transmits to SLCV that significantly reduces plant growth. The sticky trap and sampling date influence the population fluctuation of B. tabaci. The incidence of B. tabaci and severity of SLCV were manifested in all the phenological stages of the crop and related to the temperature level.


Highly solved crystal structures and a wealth of biochemical data are now available for an increasing number of membrane proteins. However, the question of how lipid molecules interact with integral membrane proteins and regulate their structure and function in biological membranes remains unsatisfactorily addressed. This book discusses the functional mechanisms of membrane proteins in general and the effect of the surrounding lipidic environment, in the context of recent developments in the field. Recent experimental investigations on the proton gradient-driven multidrug transporter LmrP are also discussed. Using this membrane protein as a model, we demonstrated that the protein structure and function was depending on the phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) headgroup. We then showed that a negatively charged residue, Asp68, could participate in the interaction with PE and that such interaction is required for proper activity and structure of the protein. Because Asp-68 belongs to a highly conserved motif of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) , this interaction might be a general feature of these transporters that is involved in proton gradient sensing and lipid dependence.


Signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) is an important factor in various cellular processes. The cancer stem cell (CSC) is considered as a tumor-initiating cell that drives the inner hierarchy in many cancers including epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Here, we explored for the first time the regulation of STAT1 on stemness properties in chemoresistant EOC cells. The paclitaxel (PTX)-resistant EOC cell line (OV3R-PTX) was derived from PTX-sensitive OVCAR-3 cells treated by the PTX regimen. A single cell clone OV3R-PTX-B4 was selected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. PTX-resistant cells grew slowly in conventional 2D and 3D cultures, but tumor xenograft with PTX-resistant cells grew fast in nude mice. Interestingly, OV3R-PTX-B4 cells shared the characteristics of CSCs and stemness properties were found to be increased in the non-adherent spheroid culture system. The PTX-resistant cells had a high expression of CSC-related markers and low expression of STAT1 that had a high methylation level of CpG in its promoter region. Overexpressed STAT1 suppressed stemness properties, cell proliferation, and colony formation and favored the overall survival of patients with EOC. In summary, these data indicate a regulatory mechanism of STAT1 underlying drug resistance and provide a potential therapeutic application for EOC patients with PTX resistance.


Using data on 135 countries, this paper studies the determinants of process innovation introduction, focusing on the impacts of economic and political uncertainties. Greater uncertainty, on the one hand, can lower potential benefits from innovation introductions, while on the other hand, the introduction of innovations might enable firms to hedge against uncertainty. The empirical literature has mostly considered uncertainty-investment nexus, and this study uniquely considers uncertainty-innovation introductions. Employing two different measures of economic and political uncertainty across different time lags, results are consistent with the hedging story - greater economic and political uncertainties induce firms to introduce process innovations to the market. With regard to firms' attributes, sole proprietorships and R&D-performing firms were more likely to introduce innovations, while firms located in island nations were less likely to do so. Firms' size and vintage did not have an appreciable influence on the incentives to introduce innovations. Some policy implications of these findings are discussed.


The Walker circulation (WC) is essential for the formation and diversity of El Niño events. However, the nonlinear WC feedback during extreme Central and Eastern El Niño episodes (C and E episodes, respectively) has received little attention. This study used observational datasets and the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) and historical simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Eight out of 21 historical models that simulate the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) nonlinearity also simulate the nonlinear Bjerknes feedback in C and E episodes. The opposite does not necessarily occur. However, the underestimation of E might limit the empirical determination. Moreover, few historical models simulate the shallow conditional instability of the second kind (CISK) mechanism. Positive C episodes feature an eastward shift in the ascending branch of the Pacific Walker cell (PWC), while shallow convection prevails over the far‐eastern Pacific (FEP). Positive E events feature two anomalous ascending branches located over the central‐western Pacific (170°W) and FEP (80°W). Positive anomalies in sea surface temperature over the FEP induce the second ascending branch. The positive stratification anomaly in the central Pacific Ocean, which is associated with overestimated Ekman feedback, limits the eastward displacement of the first ascending branch of the PWC. The net surface heat flux determines the duration of growth of the two ascending branches of the PWC during C and E events. Because of their coarse resolution, the historical models underestimate the positive stratification anomaly in the FEP, causing the quick demise of the second ascending branch.


Specialized on-chip accelerators are widely used to improve the energy efficiency of computing systems. Recent advances in memory technology have enabled near-data accelerators (NDAs), which reside off-chip close to main memory and can yield further benefits than on-chip accelerators. However, enforcing coherence with the rest of the system, which is already a major challenge for accelerators, becomes more difficult for NDAs. This is because (1) the cost of communication between NDAs and CPUs is high, and (2) NDA applications generate a lot of off-chip data movement. As a result, as we show in this work, existing coherence mechanisms eliminate most of the benefits of NDAs. We extensively analyze these mechanisms, and observe that (1) the majority of off-chip coherence traffic is unnecessary, and (2) much of the off-chip traffic can be eliminated if a coherence mechanism has insight into the memory accesses performed by the NDA. Based on our observations, we propose CoNDA, a coherence mechanism that lets an NDA optimistically execute an NDA kernel, under the assumption that the NDA has all necessary coherence permissions. This optimistic execution allows CoNDA to gather information on the memory accesses performed by the NDA and by the rest of the system. CoNDA exploits this information to avoid performing unnecessary coherence requests, and thus, significantly reduces data movement for coherence. We evaluate CoNDA using state-of-the-art graph processing and hybrid in-memory database workloads. Averaged across all of our workloads operating on modest data set sizes, CoNDA improves performance by 19.6% over the highest-performance prior coherence mechanism (66.0%/51.7% over a CPU-only/NDA-only system) and reduces memory system energy consumption by 18.0% over the most energy-efficient prior coherence mechanism (43.7% over CPU- only). CoNDA comes within 10.4% and 4.4% of the performance and energy of an ideal mechanism with no cost for coherence. The benefits of CoNDA increase with large data sets, as CoNDA improves performance over the highest-performance prior coherence mechanism by 38.3% (8.4x/7.7x over CPU-only/NDA-only), and comes within 10.2% of an ideal no-cost coherence mechanism.


OBJECTIVE
Prescription-drug diversion is a topic about which comparatively little is known, and systematic information garnered from prescription-drug abusers and dealers on the specific mechanisms of diversion is extremely limited.

DESIGN
A pilot ultrarapid assessment was carried out in Wilmington, Delaware, during December 2006 to better understand the scope and dynamics of prescription-drug abuse and diversion. This involved focus groups with prescription-drug abusers and key informant interviews with police, regulatory officials, prescription-drug dealers, and pill brokers.

SETTING AND PATIENTS
The research team recruited focus group participants from the two residential substance abuse treatment programs in Wilmington reporting the highest proportions of prescription drug abusing clients. A total of six focus groups were conducted with 32 patients in these two programs. Dealers were recruited from the same treatment facilities, and three in-depth interviews were completed. In-depth interviews were also conducted with two prescription pill brokers recruited through the authors' existing contacts in the drug abusing community. Six in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives from a number of Delaware agencies-the Attorney General's Office, the Department of Professional Regulation, the State Police; the Wilmington Police Department, and the Newark Police Department.

MEASURES
In-depth interview and focus group guides were developed for each of the target populations. The in-depth interviews with police and regulatory officials focused on the extent of prescription drug abuse and diversion in the community, the types of drugs most commonly diverted, and mechanisms being used to channel the drugs to the illicit market. The focus group areas of inquiry with prescription drug abusers included general perceptions of the prescription drug problem in Delaware, sources and mechanisms of access to prescription drugs, popularity and prices of prescription medications on the street, as well as the initiation and progression of prescription and illicit drug abuse.

RESULTS
The primary sources of prescription drugs on the street were the elderly, patients with pain, and doctor shoppers, as well as pill brokers and dealers who work with all of the former. The popularity of prescription drugs in the street market was rooted in the abusers' perceptions of these drugs as 1) less stigmatizing; 2) less dangerous; and, 3) less subject to legal consequences than illicit drugs. For many, the abuse of prescription opioids also appeared to serve as a gateway to heroin use.

CONCLUSION
The diversion of prescription opioids might be reduced through physician education focusing on 1) recognizing that a patient is misusing and/or diverting prescribed medications; 2) considering a patient's risk for opioid misuse before initiating opioid therapy; and 3) understanding the variation in the abuse potential of different opioid medications currently on the market. Patient education also appears appropriate in the areas of safeguarding medications, disposal of unused medications, and understanding the consequences of manipulating physicians and selling their medications.


The Will to Believe examines Woodrow Wilson's national security strategy from the beginning of the First World War in 1914 to the end of his presidency, contrasting his ideas with alternative policies offered by his political rivals. Despite contradictions and weaknesses in Wilson's argument, Kennedy argues, the president's formulation proved more attractive to Americans during his presidency than those offered by others, and after a hiatus in the 1920s and 1930s, returned to dominate American foreign policy down to the present.


Dynamic load balance is the critical pivotal role of network parallel and distributed computing. In order to solve the drawbacks of BP neural network, RBF neural network(RBFNN) is applied to dynamic load balance of network. And genetic algorithm is introduced and tried in optimizing the parameters of RBF neural network, the method is well suited for searching global optimal values. In the paper, genetic algorithm and RBF neural network (GA-RBFNN) is adopted to dynamic load balance of network. The cases are applied to study the ability of dynamic load balance. The experimental results indicate that GA- RBF neural network is better dynamic load balance method than BP neural network.


Cultural Competency for Health Administraion and Public Health is serves as an introductory text addressing comprehensive coverage specific to the fields of health services administration and public health. While cultural competency has become a popular topic in these fields, the general population, health service administration and public health students, health service administrators and public health practitioners are in need of a greater key information relevant to the topic and how to apply this knowledge in their area of study/work. This book provides readers with a clear and concise overview of the subject matter and the necessary tools to apply cultural competency processes in various healthcare settings, offering a systematic and disciplined approach to the process of achieving cultural competence.


P rogramming with Objects: A Comparative Presentation of Object-Oriented Programming with C++ and Java, Avinash C. Kak. The author compares and contrasts two of today's most popular programming languages, from basic constructs to their use in application-level programming for domains such as graphics, networks, and databases. Given that both C++ and Java descend from C, learning these languages together offers several distinct advantages: It saves time and facilitates the mastery of each; learning by contrast and comparison can be more efficient and enjoyable; and writing a program in one language that corresponds to a given program in the other lets students tackle more difficult projects in either language. The first half of the text covers basic language issues, while the second half details more advanced topics, including GUI programming, multithreading, and network and database programming. Wiley-Interscience; www.wiley.com; 0-471-26852-6; 1,144 pp.; $79.95.


The felling of the oak trees used to build the Karschau ship took place in or around the AD 1140s. The tree‐ring curves from the oak planks from the Karschau Ship match best with site‐means from Odense, a medieval town on the island of Funen, Denmark. New research being carried out by the author is allowing the determination of the provenance of ancient oak to a more local level. Through this dendrochronological research, it is now possible to differentiate between small regions of timber sources for shipbuilding, allowing a more nuanced interpretation. © 2006 The Author


ABSTRACT Liang, X. and Ji, H., 2020. Research on friction and impact load response of ship shafting. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 514–517. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. With the increase of rotating speed, the vibration speed of impact load increases. The slower, the slower and the faster, the vibration maintenance time is also different. This shows that when the rotation speed of the shaft changes, the oil-film lubrication characteristics of the bearing change, and the oil-film stiffness and oil-film damping of the bearing change, thus showing the support of the sliding bearing. Different from the fixed elastic damping bearing, which is not affected by rotating speed, the oil film dynamically changes its support stiffness and variable damping characteristics. Therefore, when the rotating speed is in the self-excited vibration region of the sliding bearing, the impact time is long, and the amplitude attenuation is slow. When the rotating speed is not in the self-excited vibration region of the bearing, it is in good agreement with the theoretical calculation results.


Mountainous regions are globally important, in part because they support large populations and are biodiverse. They are also characterized by enhanced vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures and sensitivity to climate change. This importance necessitates the development of a global reference network of long-term environmental and socioeconomic monitoring—mountain observatories. At present, monitoring is limited and unevenly distributed across mountain regions globally. Existing thematic networks do not fully support the generation of multidisciplinary knowledge required to inform decisions, enact drivers of sustainable development, and safeguard against losses. In this paper, the Mountain Observatories Working Group, established by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) Science Leadership Council, identifies geographical and thematic gaps as well as recent advances in monitoring of relevant biophysical and socioeconomic variables in the mountains. We propose principles and ways of connecting existing initiatives, supporting emerging areas, and developing new mountain observatory networks regionally and, eventually, globally. Particularly in the data-poor regions, we aspire to build a community of researchers and practitioners in collaboration with the Global Network on Observations and Information in Mountain Environments, Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Mountains, a GEO Work Programme Initiative.


Growing evidence suggests that social capital has wide-ranging benefits for families and communities. In particular, some studies indicate that social capital is linked to school success. These studies reveal that communities with high levels of social capital, as evidenced by strong social networks, feelings of trust and safety and community participation, afford children access to supports, information, resources, and role models that can contribute to positive academic outcomes. Related to social capital, sense of community has also been associated with success at school. This paper reports on selected findings from child data collected during the first phase of a 3-year longitudinal study of several communities in Queensland with recently established early childhood and family hubs. 388 children (aged 4-8 years) in five localities in Queensland were recruited from early childhood services including schools and kindergartens. The children participated in research conversations relating to social capital, sense of community, and their health and wellbeing. Significant differences were found between the children in the communities on all dimensions of social capital and sense of community. Differences for wellbeing were also revealed. Positive correlations were confirmed between children's social capital, sense of community and self-reported wellbeing.


Knowledge-intensive organizations are challenged by the digitization of business models and the need for IT knowledge throughout entire organizations. This changes the role of CIOs from a central IT leader towards a digitization ambassador for the whole organization. In this research, we develop and validate a multidimensional IT leadership roles construct, theoretically grounded on Mintzberg's managerial roles. We empirically evolve the construct based on a quantitative survey among 228 CIOs in the U.S., where we assess the management roles of prior information systems research. Based on the empirical analysis, we add a new role definition. The result is an updated, comprehensive, and modernized IT leadership construct, taking the role of the CIO not only as IT leader, but as central agency for developing a digital mindset in the top management team but also throughout the whole organization. Thus, we contribute to 25 years of information systems research in that field.


Abstract Nickerson, BS, Esco, MR, Bishop, PA, Fedewa, MV, Snarr, RL, Kliszczewicz, BM, and Park, K-S. Validity of BMI-based body fat equations in men and women: a 4-compartment model comparison. J Strength Cond Res 32(1): 121–129, 2018—The purpose of this study was to compare body mass index (BMI)–based body fat percentage (BF%) equations and skinfolds with a 4-compartment (4C) model in men and women. One hundred thirty adults (63 women and 67 men) volunteered to participate (age = 23 ± 5 years). BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height squared (m2). BF% was predicted with the BMI-based equations of Jackson et al. (BMIJA), Deurenberg et al. (BMIDE), Gallagher et al. (BMIGA), Zanovec et al. (BMIZA), Womersley and Durnin (BMIWO), and from 7-site skinfolds using the generalized skinfold equation of Jackson et al. (SF7JP). The 4C model BF% was the criterion and derived from underwater weighing for body volume, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for bone mineral content, and bioimpedance spectroscopy for total body water. The constant error (CE) was not significantly different for BMIZA compared with the 4C model (p = 0.74, CE = −0.2%). However, BMIJA, BMIDE, BMIGA, and BMIWO produced significantly higher mean values than the 4C model (all p < 0.001, CEs = 1.8–3.2%), whereas SF7JP was significantly lower (p < 0.001, CE = −4.8%). The standard error of estimate ranged from 3.4 (SF7JP) to 6.4% (BMIJA) while the total error varied from 6.0 (SF7JP) to 7.3% (BMIJA). The 95% limits of agreement were the smallest for SF7JP (±7.2%) and widest for BMIJA (±13.5%). Although the BMI-based equations produced similar group mean values as the 4C model, SF7JP produced the smallest individual errors. Therefore, SF7JP is recommended over the BMI-based equations, but practitioners should consider the associated CE.


Quantitative Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) determination of oxygen incorporation in epitaxial AlGaAs/GaAs layers is strongly affected by the presence of oxygen adsorbed on the surface. By flooding the sample with oxygen isotope O18 during the analysis, one can account and correct for the influence of the adsorbed oxygen O16 species. After the background subtraction, the oxygen content can be determined from the measured ratio of AlO to Al or O to Al signals, knowing the relative sensitivity factors between these quantities as obtained from measurement of an O16 implanted standard.


Currently, Internet auction portals are an integral part of business activities on the Internet. Anyone can easily participate in online auctions, either as a seller or a buyer (bidder), and the total turnover on Internet auction portals represents billions of dollars. However, the amount of fraud in these Internet auctions is related to their popularity. To prevent discovery, fraudsters exhibit normal trading behaviors and disguise themselves as honest members. It is therefore not easy to detect fraud in online auctions. There are some papers and approaches dealing with this problem with varying results. Most of them concentrate on the selection of the attributes available within online auction portals and on computational methods for their processing. This study proposes extended the fraud detection approach by using certain contextual information whose origin is outside online auctions portals. The suggested model integrates information from auctions and relevant contextual information with the aim to evaluate the behavior of certain sellers in an online auction and determine whether it is legal or not. Experimental results show that this approach based on the use of contextual information from other Internet sources provides good results and enhances significantly the accuracy of detection of certain types of fraud in online auctions.


Introduction: Currently there is no consensus on the diagnostic criteria, treatment and follow-up in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis (SP). The purpose of the study was to identify a valid process for the diagnosis of SP. Method: Clinical,radiological and FOB data were collected retrospectively in 31 patients (18 F, mean age 57.3) with SP during five years.All patients performed spirometry with plethysmography and DLCO,SpO2, 6MWT and HR chest CT scans, evaluated by two radiologists with high experience in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.All patients underwent FOB with BALF (n = 31), TBB(n= 13) and TBNA(n = 4). In the ill-defined cases, the lymph node biopsy (n = 3) or pulmonary VATS (n = 2), have allowed definitive diagnosis. Results: The cytohistological diagnosis was made in 58% using FOB. In patients who did not undergo node biopsy or VATS, the diagnosis was made by association of BALF, HRCT scan and the exclusion of other diseases. The cut-off value of CD4/CD8 ratio for sarcoidosis was determined at 2.16 and shows a 92.4% sensitivity (95% CI, 61.5 to 98.6%) and specificity of 86.2% (96% CI, 72.1 to 92.5%). The severity of interstitial damage at CT scan and the GGO are correlated with the decline in DLCO and PaO2 / FiO2. Conclusion: Our data show that a) the clinical-radiological approach is crucial to address the diagnostic process,b) the use of appropriate endoscopic techniques are still essential for a diagnostic confirmation c) the multidisciplinary approach, the background and clinical experience, are the key for the identification of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis when there is suspicion of a granulomatous disease. Meyer KC at al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2012;185:1004-14.


In a recent article (2021) we introduced and studied conical energies. We used them to prove three results: a characterization of rectifiable measures, a characterization of sets with big pieces of Lipschitz graphs, and a sufficient condition for boundedness of nice singular integral operators. In this note we give two examples related to sharpness of these results. One of them is due to Joyce and Mörters (2000), the other is new and could be of independent interest as an example of a relatively ugly set containing big pieces of Lipschitz graphs.


This paper introduces a process management and development system for MEMS design. This system allows the specification of processes for specific applications and the tracking of the development procedures. Unlike in microelectronics the process configuration for MEMS is strongly coupled to the intended application. Process engineers on the one side and designers defining the structure on the other side are therefore target user for the system. Configured process flow can be checked with regard to internal consistency. Means to convert the process sequence to a 3-dim layer structure and vice versa are provided as well as assessment tools to compare process variations. The system is based on a dedicated database environment that is able to store and manage all process related design constraints and development related data linked to the fabrication process data itself. The interdependencies between application specific processes and all stages of the design flow will be discussed and a software system will be introduced meeting the requirements of this new approach.


The human zoonotic pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 is defined by its extensive prophage repertoire including those that encode Shiga toxin, the factor responsible for inducing life-threatening pathology in humans. As well as introducing genes that can contribute to the virulence of a strain, prophage can enable the generation of large-chromosomal rearrangements (LCRs) by homologous recombination. This work examines the types and frequencies of LCRs across the major lineages of the O157:H7 serotype. We demonstrate that LCRs are a major source of genomic variation across all lineages of E. coli O157:H7 and by using both optical mapping and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing prove that LCRs are generated in laboratory cultures started from a single colony and that these variants can be recovered from colonized cattle. LCRs are biased towards the terminus region of the genome and are bounded by specific prophages that share large regions of sequence homology associated with the recombinational activity. RNA transcriptional profiling and phenotyping of specific structural variants indicated that important virulence phenotypes such as Shiga-toxin production, type-3 secretion and motility can be affected by LCRs. In summary, E. coli O157:H7 has acquired multiple prophage regions over time that act to continually produce structural variants of the genome. These findings raise important questions about the significance of this prophage-mediated genome contingency to enhance adaptability between environments.