The influence of a catalyst's surface acidity on the catalytic activity and deactivation in the dehydration of methanol to DME was investigated. Different materials including propylsulfonic acid functionalized silica with different Bronsted acidities, silica–alumina, and propyl and phenylsulfonic acid functionalized silica–alumina catalysts were prepared. All the samples were characterized by XRD, TGA, XPS, N2-sorption, ICP-OES and SEM analysis. It was found that the Bronsted and Lewis acidity of the SiO2/Al2O3-PhSO3H catalyst played a critical role in the performance of methanol to DME transformation. The grafting of sulfonic acid groups on silica–alumina enhanced the surface Bronsted acidity and also the reaction activity and selectivity for the dehydration of methanol to DME. In addition, the phenylsulfonic acid functionalized silica–alumina catalyst exhibited the highest activity and stability for the dehydration reaction at relatively low temperatures at which the γ-Al2O3 catalyst, commercial reference, displayed low dehydration activity. The effect of water was also investigated because in the indirect process to produce DME using acidic γ-alumina, it had the most important effect on catalyst deactivation. As a result, water had a positive effect on methanol dehydration over the SiO2/Al2O3-PhSO3H catalyst in contrast to γ-Al2O3 which was rapidly deactivated. Thus, Bronsted and Lewis acid sites with suitable strength may be responsible for the effective conversion of methanol to DME with high stability and selectivity.


Ontology evolution is a complex problem. In our work, we focus on issues related to change management, particularly consistency maintenance and we present in this paper, an overview of Change Management Patterns (CMP) that we have defined to model the three dimensions change, inconsistency and resolution alternative. Modelling these patterns and the links between them, helps to propose an automated process guiding and controlling change application while maintaining consistency of the evolved ontology. Change management depends closely on the ontology representation model, we focus on OWL language and we consider change impact on logical consistency as specified in OWL DL layer.


AIMS
The interplay between physical activity (PA) volume and intensity is poorly understood in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study aimed to investigate the role of PA intensity, over and above volume, in relation to incident CVD.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Data were from 88,412 UK Biobank middle-aged adults (58% women) without prevalent CVD who wore accelerometers on their dominant wrist for 7 days, from which we estimated total physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) using population-specific validation. Cox proportional hazards regressions modelled associations between PAEE (kJ/kg/day)] and PA intensity [%MVPA; the fraction of PAEE accumulated from moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA] with incident CVD (ischaemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease), adjusted for potential confounders. There were 4,068 CVD events during 584,568 person-years of follow-up (median 6.8 years). Higher PAEE and higher %MVPA (adjusted for PAEE) were associated with lower rates of incident CVD. In interaction analyses, CVD rates were 14% (95%CI: 5-23%) lower when MVPA accounted for 20% rather than 10% of 15 kJ/kg/d PAEE; equivalent to converting a 14-min stroll into a brisk 7-min walk. CVD rates did not differ significantly between values of PAEE when the %MVPA was fixed at 10%. However, the lowest CVD rates were observed for combinations of both higher PAEE and %MVPA.

CONCLUSION
Reductions in CVD risk may be achievable through higher PA volume and intensity, with the role of moderately intense PA appearing particularly important. This supports multiple approaches or strategies to PA participation, some of which may be more practical or appealing to different individuals.


To protect the privacy of RFID data after an authorized system captures it, this policy-based approach constrains the data users can access to system events that occurred when and where they were physically present. RFID security is a vibrant research area, with many protection mechanisms against unauthorized RFID cloning and reading attacks emerging. However, little work has yet addressed the complementary issue of protecting the privacy of RFID data after an authorized system has captured and stored it. We've investigated peer-to-peer privacy for personal RFID data through an access-control policy called Physical Access Control. PAC protects privacy by constraining the data a user can obtain from the system to those events that occurred when and where that user was physically present. While strictly limiting information disclosure, PAC also affords a database view that augments users' memory of places, objects, and people. PAC is appropriate as a default level of access control because it models the physical boundaries in everyday life. Here, we focus on the privacy, utility, and security issues raised by its implementation in the RFID Ecosystem.


Abstract : Desert Storm was the first war in which space systems were integrated into the operational and tactical order of battle on the ground and were largely responsible for the successful outcome. Since that time, the U.S. military has placed considerable emphasis on further integration of space into all operational areas. This growing commitment to space systems and the support they provide in the planning, preparation, and execution of major operations and campaigns could seriously threaten the effectiveness of the U.S. military if an adversary were to degrade or deny access to those systems. The increasing level of dependence on space systems creates both a critical strength and vulnerability. Space should not be viewed as the panacea of future wars because there are existing and emerging threats that could eliminate the support they provide. The United States was fortunate that conditions in the Persian Gulf were ideal for space systems and had the residual capability to optimally position its assets. The Defense Support Program, for example, also exposed a shortfall in space systems capability against the modem theater ballistic missile which exploits a short bum time. This paper will analyze the past, present, and future dependence on space systems and identify existing and future threats to space systems. It will also focus on space system support during recent operations and on plans for the acquisition of new space supported weaponry. The time is now for operational commanders to seriously look at what platforms (aerial and ground) are entirely dependent on space and what alternative systems are available. Of critical importance is the lack of a rapid space force reconstitution capability, the need for protection of critical space assets, and an offensive capability in space to neutralize enemy space systems.


Abstract Lymphatic filariasis is an infection transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes with filarial nematodes of the species Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi und B. timori. It is prevalent in tropical countries throughout the world, with more than 60 million people infected and more than 1 billion living in areas with the risk of transmission. Worm larvae with a length of less than 1 mm are transmitted by mosquitoes, develop in human lymphatic tissue to adult worms with a length of 7–10 cm, live in the human body for up to 10 years and produce millions of microfilariae, which can be transmitted further by mosquitoes. The adult worms can be easily observed by ultrasonography because of their size and fast movements (the so-called "filarial dance sign"), which can be differentiated from other movements (e. g., blood in venous vessels) by their characteristic movement profile in pulsed-wave Doppler mode. Therapeutic options include (combinations of) ivermectin, albendazole, diethylcarbamazine and doxycycline. The latter depletes endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria from the worms and thus sterilizes and later kills the adult worms (macrofilaricidal or adulticidal effect).


Aim. To estimate mineral bone tissue density (MBTD) and risk factors for osteoporosis in patients with bronchial asthma (BA).
Material and Methods. A cross-sectional study included 119 patients (48 males and 71 females) aged 18 to 49 years who had no diseases or states that can induce MBTD, except BA. The patients were divided into 3 groups: 1) those untreated with glucocorticoids (GC); 2) those who received inhaled GC; and 3) those who permanently took oral and inhaled GC. The patients underwent questionnaire survey, double-power X-ray absorption of the lumbar vertebral column and proximal femur, and X-ray study; forced expiratory volume per sec and peak expiratory function were measured. Results. In Group J patients, there was a high incidence of osteopenia that Increased with the severity of BA. About 2.5-year therapy with inhaled GC in large and small doses had no impact on MBTD. The prolonged use of systemic GC caused a marked reduction in MBTD and led to the development of osteoporetic fractures. Changes were detected in both the lumbar spine and proximal femur. In males and females, MBTD decreases were equal. MBTD correlated with the duration of GC therapy and with age at its initiation, but not with the daily dose of GC. In 15.4% of the patients, MBTD remained in the normal range despite the prolonged use of GC in large doses. Osteoporetic fractures were observed at the values of MBTD, which had not reached the stage of osteoporosis according to the WHO criteria, which was indicative of qualitative GC-induced bone tissue changes.
Conclusion. GC is an important, but not alone, risk factor for osteoporosis in asthmatic patients. The high rate of low MBTD among the patients receiving no GC suggests that it is necessary to make an early diagnosis and to perform rational treatments.


Researchers and managers stress the importance of long-term technology strategies to develop technological capabilities for global competitive advantage. This paper explores the relationship between technology decision-making and strategy in technology transfer (TT) in developing countries, with special reference to South Africa. Earlier research by the authors considered technology and operations integration in developing countries and identified factors that were important to managers in the management of technology. The paper proposes five decision-making levels as the basis of a framework for TT, and investigates the strategic issues pertaining to TT at these levels. Four South African cases studies are used to propose a framework that combines important items in technology transfer and levels of decision-making. The research suggests that technology plays a limited role in strategic decisions in developing countries, and that expectations from new technology are largely operational. Broader implications for managers are identified.


Recent studies indicate that cellular lipid peroxidation by free radical is an underlying mechanism of acute renal failure induced by gentamicin (GM). Tinospora cordifolia (Tc) extract has been reported to have antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities that is why it is used in present study with the expectation to interrupt the toxic free radical chain reaction of lipid peroxidation in the course of gentamicin administration. For this purpose, sixty rats were divided into six equal groups. Gentamicin (80mg/kg/day, 7 days) was administered to produce nephrotoxicity and structural alterations were evidenced from histopathology of renal tissues which indicates the renal injury and dysfunction in rats. The ethanol extract of Tinospora (200mg/kg/day) was administered with gentamicin simultaneously and also sequentially to observe preventive and curative effects respectively. Both the groups recovered from the gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity, evidenced from improvement of histopathological features, though accurate mechanism and safety profile is not confirmed by this study.


Almost one third of women worldwide report some form of physical or sexual violence by a partner in their lifetime, yet little is known about the mental health and well-being effects for either victims or their children. We study the costs associated with domestic violence (DV) in the context of Norway, where we can link offenders to victims and their children over time. Our difference-in-differences framework uses those who will be victimized in the future as controls. We find that a DV report involving the police is associated with large changes in the home environment, including marital dissolution and a corresponding decline in financial resources. A DV report increases mental health visits by 35%for victims and by 19% for their children in the year of the event, effects which taper off over time for the victim, but not for children. Victims also experience more doctor visits, lower employment, reduced earnings and a higher use of disability insurance while their children are more likely to receive child protective services and commit a crime. Using a complementary RD design, we find that a DV report results in declines both in children's test scores and completion of the first year of high school.


The present study investigated the expression profile and the function of RP11-169D4.1 and explored its potential mechanisms in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The biological function of RP11-169D4.1 was examined using the MTT assay, flow cytometric analysis, wound healing and Transwell assays. The relationship between RP11-169D4.1 and miR-205-5p was discovered by Argonaute 2 protein immunoprecipitation. The target gene of RP11-169D4.1 was CDH1 which was assessed by Pearson's correlation analysis, RT-PCR and western blot assay. We demonstrated that RP11-169D4.1 expression was markedly decreased in LSCC tissues and cell lines. The overexpression of RP11-169D4.1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of LSCC cell lines as well as promoted apoptosis. We further verified that miR-205-5p had binding sites with RP11-169D4.1 and that RP11-169D4.1 could regulate the expression of CDH1. Ectopic transfection of RP11-169D4.1 led to a significant reduction in the downstream signaling molecule AKT in LSCC cells. The long non-coding RNA RP11-169D4.1 may serve as a tumor suppressor and a promising therapeutic target in laryngeal cancer, which could inhibit the process of EMT by regulating CDH1.


The vicious circle of poverty in a country could stop if the government was able to solve the problem of unemployment. One way to reduce unemployment is to boost investment. In addition, in the era of the industrial revolution the role of technological development also needs to be considered as a means of reducing unemployment. This study is aiming to analyze the effect of physical investment, educational investment, and technological changes on unemployment in Indonesia. The data used in this study are obtained from Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The technological development is proxied by Index of Technology and Communication. The regression method is used to reach the aim of the study. The result of the analysis indicates that the physical investment and technological development have a negative and significant effect on unemployment. Moreover, the findings suggest that the reduction in unemployment in Indonesia is caused by many people who become online motorcycle taxi drivers in the informal sector.


The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ice decline creates favorable circumstances for the development of merchant shipping, but is accompanied by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry is of utmost important to prevent the destruction of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. This paper focuses on the core content of the Paris Agreement and suggests that the International Maritime Organization could guide the shipping industry to reach a fair agreement with states that includes market-based measures, capacity building, and voluntary actions of shipping companies as non-state actors. Citation: Bai J Y, Ma Y. The post-Paris approach to mitigating Arctic warming—perspectives from shipping emissions reduction. Adv Polar Sci, 2018, 29 (1): 40-50, doi:10.13679/j.advps.2018.1.00040


Alcohol consumption is an important public health concern and college students represent the population with the largest proportion of problem drinkers (Barry et al. 2012). Similar to alcohol consumption, eating disorders have become a significant issue on college campuses (Burke, 2010). According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Diseases, 91% of college women surveyed had attempted to control their weight through dieting in some manner (ANAD, 2012). The coupling of alcohol use and disordered eating practices is a risky cocktail. Drunkorexia is a term coined by the popular media to describe compensatory eating and exercising behaviors either following or preceding an alcohol consumption episode (Rahal et al. 2012). Both alcohol consumption and eating disorder behaviors vary across gender (ANAD, 2012; NCASA, 2007). The objective of this research is to extend the literature and examine the relationship between college students' drinking behaviors and their Drunkorexia behaviors across gender. A total 254 students participated from a mid-sized Midwestern University. They were recruited using the snowball techniques. They took the online survey and reported a mean age of 20.36 (SD=3.31). A majority of the participants reported being Caucasian (90%) and female (69.7%). A t-test was used to examine the drunkorexia behaviors based on gender. It was significant, t (148) = 2.05, p = .04, with males express more drunkorexia behaviors than females. In addition, replicating the literature there were gender differences across all quantity and frequency measures of alcohol consumption.  However, there was no correlation between the number of drunkorexia symptoms and the alcohol quantity and frequency measures. These findings are crucial for implications for interventions. Males seem to display more symptoms of drunkorexia and alcohol consumption.  Given the non-significant correlation between drunkorexia and alcohol consumption future studies exploring this finding are warranted.


This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the perception of the employees of the banks in Gaza, Palestine and the impact of such a perception on their commitment to these banks. Precisely, this study wanted to examine the impact of perceived job satisfaction, perceived job characteristics, perceived organizational characteristics, and role perception on three dimensions of organizational commitment namely: "affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment". This study was a quantitative study where 200 questionnaires were distributed and only 127 were obtained and used for further analysis. The descriptive analysis results showed that in terms of employee commitment, the employees of the banks in Gaza were quite committed especially in the affective and continuous dimensions of commitment. They showed less commitment in the normative dimension. As for the employee perception, the employees of the banks in Gaza were quite satisfied especially in terms of their satisfaction towards the job. However, they were less satisfied in terms of the job characteristics. Moreover, the regression analysis results showed that perceived job satisfaction, perceived job characteristics, and perceived organizational characteristics were found to be positively and significantly correlated with affective commitment. Role perception was not found significantly correlated to affective commitment. The results also showed that only perceived job satisfaction was found to be significantly and positively correlated with continuous commitment. Other dimensions namely (perceived job characteristics, perceived organizational characteristics, and role perception) were not found significantly correlated with continuous commitment. Finally, only role perception and perceived organizational characteristics were found to have a significant positive correlation with normative commitment.


PURPOSE
To systematically characterize the effects of NaIO3 on retinal morphology and function.

METHODS
NaIO3 at 10, 20, or 30 mg/kg was administered by retro-orbital injection into adult C57BL/6J mice. Phenotypic and functional changes of the retina were assessed at 1, 3, 5, and 8 days postinjection by fundus imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), ERG, and histology. Direct NaIO3 cytotoxicity on ARPE-19 and 661W cells was quantified using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) apoptosis assay. Effect of NaIO3 on RPE and photoreceptor gene expression was assessed in vitro and in vivo by quantitative PCR.

RESULTS
While little to no change was observed in the 10 mg/kg NaIO3-injected group, significant retinal anomalies, such as RPE atrophy and retinal thinning, were observed in both 20 and 30 mg/kg NaIO3-injected groups. Gene expression analysis showed rapid downregulation of RPE-specific genes, increase in heme oxygenase 1 expression, and induction of the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2. Electroretinographic response loss and photoreceptor gene repression preceded gross morphological changes. High NaIO3 toxicity on 661W cells was observed in vitro along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction. NaIO3 treatment also disrupted oxidative stress, phototransduction, and apoptosis gene expression in 661W cells. Exposure of ARPE-19 cells to NaIO3 increased expression of neurotrophins and protected photoreceptors from direct NaIO3 cytotoxicity.

CONCLUSIONS
Systematic characterization of changes associated with NaIO3 injection revealed a large variability in the severity of toxicity induced. Treatment with >20 mg/kg NaIO3 induced visual dysfunction associated with rapid suppression of phototransduction genes and induced oxidative stress in photoreceptors. These results suggest that NaIO3 can directly alter photoreceptor function and survival.


Background: It is unknown whether family members or friends ('supporters') tailor their assistance to the unique needs of patients with diabetes and low HL. Methods: Surveys were conducted among 239 VA healthcare system patients with type 2 diabetes who were 30-70 years old, had A1c>8% or high blood pressure, did not have dementia or need help with basic activities of daily living, and had an unpaid supporter who was involved in their care. Patients reported the frequency of supporter involvement with diabetes management roles (e.g., help filling medications). HL was assessed using two items from the well-validated Chew scale: 1) How often do you have problems learning about medical conditions because of difficulty understanding written information (0=none of the time, 4=all of the time), and 2) How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself (0=extremely, 4=not at all). Those responding '3' (somewhat) or greater were designated as low health literacy. Logistic regression models were used to identify the independent association between patient HL and types of supporter assistance. Findings: Patients with low HL were significantly more likely than patients with adequate HL to have a supporter with low HL (32% vs. 18% of supporters, p=0.02). Low patient HL was significantly associated with higher odds of supporters helping with: deciding when to call doctor (AOR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.10-4.42); remembering medical appointments (AOR=2.48, 95% CI: 1.24-4.98); navigating the health system (AOR=2.67, 95% CI: 1.34-5.32); and attending medical appointments with patient (AOR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.11-3.96). Patient HL was not associated with whether supporters helped with filling or taking medications, or managing diet and exercise. Conclusion: Supporters of patients with low HL were more likely to have low HL themselves, and to help patients with care coordination and equally likely to help with carrying out diabetes medication and lifestyle behaviors compared to patients with adequate HL. Disclosure B. Fields: None. A.A. Lee: None. J. Piette: None. R.B. Trivedi: None. D. Obrosky: None. M.K. Mor: Stock/Shareholder; Spouse/Partner; AbbVie Inc. M. Heisler: None. A. Rosland: None. Funding U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (IIR 14–074-1); Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research (NIDDK5P60-DK09292); Michigan Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (NIA AG-024824)


Purpose
Open innovation (OI) involves the alignment of the organisation's strategy and resources. Notably, companies will not adopt this emerging paradigm without a guarantee of better results. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify which combination of entrepreneurial managerial approaches makes it possible for companies to improve performance.

Design/methodology/approach
This study involves a survey questionnaire, 147 enterprises and regression analysis on the survey data to identify to what extent strategic and management orientations affect innovation performance (IP), as well as an analysis focusing on the results of two sectors (i.e. tourism and agri-food industries).

Findings
The main findings show a direct effect amongst the level of innovation, external openness and open innovation management (OIM), and IP. However, although there are no differences in the perception and orientation of OIM and the results across the two sectors, the influence of the variable firm size has been supported. Finally, the collective effort required by companies to ensure the successful implementation of OI processes and achieve high IP is outstanding.

Practical implications
This paper discusses the significance of these findings, highlighting the main practical implications for researchers and companies – especially the need to assimilate the organisational change involved in the challenge of OI.

Originality/value
This study combines the sectors industry and services, emphasises OIM and reinforces the literature in the field of IP.


The main goal of this paper is to compare the results of an agent-based and Monte Carlo simulation experiments in business process negotiation between sellers and customers of a simple trading commodity. The motivation of the presented research is to find suitable method for predicting key performance indicators of a business company. The intention is to develop a software module in the future which might help the management of business companies to support their decisions. Microeconomic demand functions were used as a core element in the negotiation. Specifically, Marshallian demand function and Cobb-Douglas utility functions is introduced. The paper firstly presents some of the principles of agent-based and Monte Carlo simulation techniques, and demand function theory. Secondly, we present a conceptual model of a business company in terms of a simulation framework. Thirdly, a formalization of demand functions and their implementation in a seller-to-customer negotiation is introduced. Lastly, we discuss some of the simulation results in one year of selling commodities. The results obtained show that agent-based method is more suitable than Monte Carlo in the presented domain, and the demand functions could be used to predict the trading results of a company in some metrics.


We present a detailed study of the flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 7793, part of the Sculptor group. By analyzing the resolved stellar populations of the galaxy, located at a distance of ∼3.7 Mpc, we infer for the first time its radial star formation history (SFH) from Hubble Space Telescope photometry, thanks to both archival and new data from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. We determine an average star formation rate (SFR) for the galaxy portion covered by our F555W and F814W data of 0.23 ± 0.02 M⊙ yr−1 over the whole Hubble time, corresponding to a total stellar mass of (3.09 ± 0.33) × 109 M⊙, in agreement with previous determinations. Thanks to the new data extending to the F336W band, we are able to analyze the youngest stellar populations with a higher time resolution. Most importantly, we recover the resolved SFH in different radial regions of the galaxy; this shows an indication of a growing trend of the present-to-past SFR ratio, increasing from internal to more external regions, supporting previous findings of the inside-out growth of the galaxy.


Whenever users engage in gathering and organizing new information, searching and browsing activities emerge at the core of the exploration process. As the process unfolds and new knowledge is acquired, interest drifts occur inevitably and need to be accounted for. Despite the advances in retrieval and recommender algorithms, real-world interfaces have remained largely unchanged: results are delivered in a relevance-ranked list. However, it quickly becomes cumbersome to reorganize resources along new interests, as any new search brings new results. We introduce an interactive user-driven tool that aims at supporting users in understanding, refining, and reorganizing documents on the fly as information needs evolve. Decisions regarding visual and interactive design aspects are tightly grounded on a conceptual model for exploratory search. In other words, the different views in the user interface address stages of awareness, exploration, and explanation unfolding along the discovery process, supported by a set of text-mining methods. A formal evaluation showed that gathering items relevant to a particular topic of interest with our tool incurs in a lower cognitive load compared to a traditional ranked list. A second study reports on usage patterns and usability of the various interaction techniques within a free, unsupervised setting.


Lymphadenopathy with splenomegaly and abnormal leukocytes are present in both leukemia and infectious mononucleosis. To the author's knowledge, the hyperuricemia that often accompanies the leukemic states has not been documented in infectious mononucleosis. Uricacid levels from 13 male and eight female patients were obtained during the acute stages of the disease. The mean serum-uric-acid levels of both male and female patients were found to be significantly elevated. The elevations were found to be maximal within the first two weeks of the disease and tended to parallel the presence of abnormal lymphocytosis. Recent studies indicating an increased nucleic-acid synthesis by the abnormal mononuclear leukocytes in infectious mononucleosis suggest a possible mechanism for the hyperuricemia recorded in this report.


Fifty patients with suspected intra-abdominal abscess were investigated prospectively with ultrasound and with 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene-amine oxime (HMPAO) isotope labelled mixed leucocytes, using 111-In tropolonate granulocyte scanning as the reference standard. Twenty five patients had inflammatory bowel disease (three were postoperative): 21 of these had Crohn's disease and four had ulcerative colitis. The remainder comprised nine with postoperative fever and 16 with fever and abdominal pain. An abscess was diagnosed when focal activity on serial 111-In tropolonate and 99m-Tc-HMPOA images at one, three, and 24 hours resulted in activity at least equal to liver activity at 24 hours. Thirteen abscesses were diagnosed using each type of white cell scanning, resulting in 100% sensitivity for 99m-Tc-HMPAO compared with 111-In tropolonate. Bowel inflammation was easily distinguished from abscess on serial images. Eight of these 13 abscesses were detected by ultrasound. Altogether 17 abscesses were found. Ultrasound detected 12, including four liver abscesses which were not purulent and had not been detected by white cell scanning. Ultrasound had a sensitivity of 71% (12 of 17) and a specificity of 87% (33 of 38) using all confirmed abscesses as the reference standard. White cell scanning showed a sensitivity of 76% (13 of 17: as a result of the four non-purulent liver abscesses) and a specificity of 100%. 99m-Tc-HMPAO scanning is as accurate as 111-In tropolonate scanning, and has several advantages including simplicity, availability, superior image quality, and reduced radiation dose. Both methods are more sensitive and specific than ultrasound for intra-abdominal abscess detection but ultrasound is advisable if a neutrophil infiltrate is not suspected.


The initial amplification stage is a critical element of a neural signal acquisition system, and the design of low-noise, low-power amplifiers has received a great deal of attention in recent publications. In this paper we discuss practical considerations for the design of amplifiers intended for neural interfaces. Noise is a major issue due to the low amplitude of neural signals. Practical system deployments also require adequate rejection of common-mode interference, such as that due to line power noise or muscle artifacts, and supply noise. This paper attempts to provide some guideance for system and circuit designers and point out opportunities for potential future exploration.


A multi-objective optimization problem involves a number of objective functions to be maximized or minimized, and no single solution exists for the problem because there is no solution that simultaneously satisfies all of the objective functions. Therefore, a set of Pareto-optimal solutions, which are non-dominated solutions for the problem, is defined for the multi-objective optimization problem. In the present paper, we propose an optimization algorithm based on flower pollination algorithm (FPA) for the multi- objective knapsack problem. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm obtains a better set of Pareto solutions than the existing algorithm.


The attentional blink (AB) is thought to help the visual system parse and categorize rapidly changing information by segmenting it into temporal chunks, and is elicited using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. It is reflected in a decrease in accuracy at detecting the second of two targets presented within 200-500 ms of the first, and its development appears to be protracted on tasks that require set-shifting. Here, younger (M = 8.5 years) and older (M = 12.8 years) children and adults (M = 19.13 years) completed a simple AB task with no set-shift requirement in which participants detected two letters in a stream of numbers presented at a rate of 135 ms/item. In addition to assessing the developmental course of the AB on this simple task, we also assessed temporal order errors, or swaps. The AB and its associated characteristics are present in both groups but developmental differences were noted in the depth of the AB, and the presence or absence of lag-1 sparing. These developmental changes were explained by changes in a single parameter, inhibition, using the eTST model, which suggests that the AB is an adaptive function of the visual system.


Communication-optimal algorithms are known for square matrix multiplication. Here, we obtain the first communication-optimal algorithm for all dimensions of rectangular matrices. Combining the dimension-splitting technique of Frigo, Leiserson, Prokop and Ramachandran (1999) with the recursive BFS/DFS approach of Ballard, Demmel, Holtz, Lipshitz and Schwartz (2012) allows for a communication-optimal as well as cache and network-oblivious algorithm. Moreover, the implementation is simple: approximately 50 lines of code for the shared-memory version. Since the new algorithm minimizes communication across the network, between NUMA domains, and between levels of cache, it performs well in practice on both shared and distributed-memory machines. We show significant speedups over existing parallel linear algebra libraries both on a 32-core shared-memory machine and on a distributed-memory supercomputer.


Abstract. In the paper dynamics of large flexible structures imposed on earthquakes and high amplitude vibrations is regarded. Precise dynamic equations of flexible systems are the basis for reliable motion simulation and analysis of loading of the design scheme elements. Generalized Newton–Euler dynamic equations for rigid and flexible bodies are applied. The basement compulsory motion realized because of earthquake or wave propagation is presented in the dynamic equations as reonomic constraints. The dynamic equations, algebraic equations and reonomic constraints compile a system of differential algebraic equations which are transformed to a system of ordinary differential equations with respect to the generalized coordinates and the reactions due to the reonomic constraints. Examples of large flexible structures and wind power generator dynamic analysis are presented.


Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an exceptionally aggressive disease with poor prognosis. A major drawback in diagnosis and treatment of OSCC is the lack of knowledge relating to how genetic instability in oral cancer genomes affects oral tumorigenesis. This current study aimed to determine the copy number alterations (CNAs) in OSCC using array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) and to determine the expression of candidate genes. Putative candidate gene was identified and further elucidated to explore its potential role(s) in oral tumorigenesis. Materials and Methods: Genome-wide profiling was performed on 75 OSCCs using array CGH. The copy number alterations (CNAs) associated genes that mapped to the amplified and deleted regions were subjected to pathway and network functional analysis using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. The selected putative amplified genes involved in oncogenic networks were further subjected to gene expression analysis using qPCR. The protein expression of the selected putative amplified genes was determined using immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique in the non-cancer oral mucosa, oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and OSCC samples. Knockdown of the putative amplified gene was performed using small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology in OSCC cell lines and the roles of the gene in cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were evaluated. In this study, the frequent CNAs were observed on multiple genomic regions, including amplifications on chromosome 1p, 3q, 5p, 7p, 8q, 9q, 10p, 11q, and deletions on 3p and 8p. Apart from that, this study also demonstrated the significant association between amplification of chromosome 8q, 11q, 7p and 9p and deletion of 8p with clinico-pathological parameters such as tumour size, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and tumour staging. This study also identified novel candidate genes namely matrix metallopeptidase 13 (MMP13) and interferon stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) that linked between cell death and survival, cellular movement and cellular development oncogenic network. Furthermore, this study also demonstrated over-expression of MMP13 (chromosome 11q22.2) and ISG15 (chromosome 1p36.33) as prognostic markers in OSCC. Silencing of ISG15 in OSCC cell lines decreased the tumour cell proliferation, migration, invasion, induced apoptosis and increased the cisplatin sensitivity in oral tumourigenesis. Conclusion: This current study has identified multiple CNAs including amplifications on chromosome 1p, 3q, 5p, 7p, 8q, 9q, 10p, 11q and deletions on 3p and 8p. This study also showed that amplification of the chromosome 7p, 8q, 9p, 11q and genetic signature (+7p8q9p11q) as well as deletion of chromosome 8p was associated with clinico-pathological parameters and poor survival. Apart from that, through the network analysis, the putative amplified genes namely ISG15 and MMP13 were found to be associated with the top oncogenic network namely cell death and survival, cellular movement, cellular development network signalling. This study also has demonstrated the over-expression of MMP13 and ISG15 were associated with lymph node metastasis, tumour staging and poor prognosis. Through the siRNA knockdown of the ISG15 expression inhibited the tumour cell proliferation, migration, invasion and induced cell death in oral tumorigenesis.


This thesis is divided into three distinct parts. Part 1, the Literature Review, will firstly cover the
definition of extended school non-attendance (ESNA), the prevalence and onset of ESNA and
research that has aimed to measure the impact of ESNA on the child who has experienced it. Secondly
it focuses specifically on the current evidence-base regarding the factors involved in non-attendance,
specifically the systems that have an impact on children's non-attendance. Attention is then paid to
research highlighting the impact of parents' previous experience of school and involvement with
professionals that has an impact in their involvement and engagement in their children's education. In
the latter part of the literature review, the two issues of the factors affecting children's non-attendance
and the constructs of parents' involvement and engagement are brought together. Finally, research
that has aimed to explore parental views regarding their children's ESNA will be presented, discussed
and critiqued.
An argument for the need to extend the evidence-base regarding parental involvement during
extended non-attendance will be made and the impact the findings might have for educational
psychology practice will be discussed. Finally, research questions are presented aiming to explore
parents' views of their involvement during ESNA. The literature review is not exhaustive, but aims to
give a clear overview of contextual factors, including changes in legislation and policy, as well as a
rationale to the research by guiding the reader through a narrative towards the current research area
and questions.
Part 2 of the thesis is the Empirical Study. It provides an overview of the current literature, the
epistemology underpinning the research and the methodology used. A results section will include an
overview and interpretation of the findings. A discussion section will include a discussion of the
results in relation to previous research, relating to how the results support, oppose and enhance the
existing evidence base. Limitations of the current study will also be explored along with the
possibilities for future research. Furthermore, attention is paid to the implications of the research
outcomes for the role and professional practice of educational psychologists.
Part 3 of the thesis, the Reflective Account, discusses the contribution to knowledge the current
findings have provided. Furthermore, a review of the researcher's choices will be presented, critically
analysing decision making throughout the process of the research. Discussion will focus on how the
implications of the results for educational psychology practice. Finally, potential areas for further
research will be explored


Poverty and means of survival has contributed in no small measure to the level of crimes being committed in Nigeria. In our contemporary time, the rate at which crimes are being perpetrated in Nigeria is unparalleled. The nation's problem is not unconnected with weakness in its administrative system; where a few powerful cliques hijacked the administrative apparatus to serve their interests to the detriments of the citizenry. Accordingly, widespread impunity became prevalence among the government actors, corruption thrives, and disease germinates, poverty blossoms, crime breeds, and permeated the nooks and crannies of the nation. The nation's Managers responded to the problem by cosmeticizing the nation's image with the slogan – "Nigerians, good people great nation" a negation or aberration of the popular saying – "a hungry man is an angry man"; instead of giving good governance to the citizenry. It is on this note that the study examined the nexus between poverty and crimes in Nigeria. The study relied heavily on secondary sources of data. The findings of the study revealed that there was correlation between unemployment and criminal practices; many of the youths engaged in crime, to keep their bodies and souls together. The findings also revealed that lack of good governance, vis-a-vis committed; competent; and visionary leadership has contributed to the situation in which Nigerian's youths find themselves; which had earned them names such as – bunkers, hooligans, kidnappers or hostages' taker, internet fraudsters, drug peddlers, and prostitutes. These nefarious activities have led many of them into Prison. The implications of crimes and criminal activities on Nigeria and Nigerians included – psychological trauma on victims, victims' relations, and people within the areas of crimes. Some victims suffer loss of vital organs or parts of their bodies; permanent disability; or even premature death, which consequently, turning members of the society into orphans, widows and widowers. Crimes and criminal activities also brought about, lower quality of life; loss of incomes; properties; relocation or closure of businesses and markets; increase in security budget; and damage in the image of the country. The study concluded that, since Nigeria's leaders appear incapable of providing appropriate solution to the menace, expatriate could as well be hired as it has being done to other business activities of Nigeria.


Abstract. A multidisciplinary approach is followed for analysis of the effect of changes in land use patterns on the hydrologic response of the Vergara watershed (4340 km2) located in central Chile. Probable future land use scenarios were generated using heuristic rules and logistic regression models, in order to identify and represent the main pressure on the watershed, namely forestation of extensive areas used for agriculture with rapid growing exotic species. The hydrologic response of the watershed was computed with a physically based distributed precipitation-runoff model, which was calibrated and validated for the current period. Results show that mean annual discharge increase with agricultural land use and diminish with introduced forest coverage. Thus, forestation of areas with introduced species like Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus might be regulated in order to protect the water resources of the watershed.


Abstract Rheological inheritance occurs when older metamorphic and deformational fabrics impact the mechanics of younger tectonic provinces, such as occurs in extensional provinces developed on sites of previous orogenesis. The Funeral and Black Mountains from the Death Valley region of the US Basin and Range provide the opportunity to study such rheological inheritance. The Funeral Mountains expose shear zones containing high-grade metamorphic fabrics and evidence for synkinematic, decompression-driven melt of Late Cretaceous, orogenic origin. Quartz - and [a]-axes patterns from the shear zones correlate with high-temperature slip systems. The quartz microstructures were formed via grain-boundary migration, and these are overprinted by high-strain layers of mixed-phase aggregates that underwent grain boundary sliding. Reaction textures from the Funeral Mountains illustrate that much of the fabric development post-dates melting, but locally involved melt–rock reactions. In contrast with the Funeral Mountains, the basement complex in the Black Mountains preserves few peak-metamorphic textures, largely owing to the overprinting by Cenozoic magmatism and deformation. However, local relicts of high-grade deformational fabrics yielding Late Cretaceous-through-Eocene magmatic zircon ages are overprinted by greenschist grade fabrics. Using outcrop and microstructural (including electron backscatter diffraction) observations, and thermodynamic modelling, we detail how segregation of melt products during orogenic partial melting resulted in chemically isolated compositional domains, favouring localization via the formation of fine-grained retrograde fabrics. We propose a conceptual model that builds on our results wherein the heterogeneous distribution of peak, orogenic metamorphic phases and melt products governs lower crustal strength and fabric evolution during extension. The Wilson Cycle may be sensitive to rheological inheritance as the width of continental margins formed during rifting will be sensitive to the fabrics and compositions formed during collision.


In the conduct of the socialization of sharia banking, BNI Sariah holds the collocation of letters carried out in BNI KLN IPB Dramaga. With the Collocation Program of BNI Sariah, we can see the effectiveness of socialization of sharia banking. The objectives of research are to analyze and to measure the impact of Brand awareness of BNI Sariah toward the effectiveness of BNI Sariah collocation program in BNI KLN IPB dramaga, to identify the dominant variable in determining the effectiveness of socializing of sharia banking, and to analyze the influence of Responsiveness of service officer of collocation program in BNI KLN IPB Dramaga. This research used quantitative analysis using the survey analyst to customers of BNI Sariah in BNI KLN IPB Dramaga and BNI Sariah Bogor and the analysis structural equation modelling (SEM). Based on the results of the analysis using the structural equation modelling (SEM), a conclusion can be taken from the study: collocation program is considered to have a positive and effective impact to increase the effectiveness of socialization of sharia banking that was carried out by BNI Sariah. Responsiveness is the dominant variable that supports the success of an effective socialization of BNI Sariah. Brand awareness also supports the socialization program, where BNI Sariah Brand is also well known among the public especially those who live in Dramaga. Keywords: effectiveness, socialization, sharia banking, responsiveness, brand awareness, SEM


The GEANT4 Monte Carlo radiation transport toolkit, developed by the RD44 and GEANT4 Collaborations, aims to become a tool of generalized application in high energy physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and medical physics research. Due to its object-oriented design, GEANT4 is a distinct new approach for the development of flexible simulation applications. A wide energy range coverage for both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes is offered. GEANT4 provides also an optical physics process category, allowing the production and propagation of scintillation and Cherenkov emitted light to be described. Such capabilities are well tailored for the requirements of the new generation of astrophysics experiments to be installed on the International Space Station, like EUSO and AMS. In this paper, the system architecture of a GEANT4 based simulation framework and its application to EUSO/ULTRA and AMS/RICH performance studies are presented.


This study, conducted in Karea village (DaskalgramKarea II) under Bolpur sub-division of Birbhum district, aimed to assess how mobile telephony is impacting delivery and availability of healthcare services. Given that the village has previously had issues with healthcare support system, it emerged as ideal ground for this study. Employing survey, focus group discussion and interviews of varied stakeholders, this study found high mobile phone ownership in the village. Smartphone use is also not uncommon. People are using mobiles for healthcare purposes, but a large number is not doing so. They are using their phones for other purposes, but not really for healthcare. This underlines opportunity for healthcare workers and officials to encourage more villagers to use mobile phones for calling health support. Notwithstanding this, phones are being used by villagers to call for ambulances and doctors and get patients admitted into hospitals. Workers and officials are also using phones to spread awareness about health issues and health-related programmes. More awareness-building initiatives about use of mobiles for availing healthcare services, need to be undertaken which can make beneficial impact on ground.


A delay-insensitivity verification method is proposed for bit-level pipelined systolic dual-rail threshold logic adders, which achieve speed-up through early and input-incomplete carry output generation and which employ bit-wise completion at pipeline registers. The proposed method simplifies the verification task significantly, regardless of the operand length of the adder, such that analysis of three adjacent systoles for the eight possible early/late carry output generation scenarios is sufficient for detecting the input combinations which violate delay insensitivity. Using this method, structural modifications for re-establishing delay-insensitivity could be devised without sacrificing the speed-up advantages due to early carry generation. The method could also be applied to other pipelined data processing applications in dual-rail threshold logic.


The assumption that vector abundance differences might drive spatial and temporal heterogeneities in vector-borne disease transmission is common, though data supporting it is scarce. Here, we present data from two common mosquito species Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Culex quinquefasciatus Say, biweekly sampled as adults, from March 2016 through December 2017, with BG-sentinel traps in two neighboring districts of Kaohsiung City (KC), Taiwan. One district has historically been a dengue transmission hotspot (Sanmin), and the other a coldspot (Nanzih). We collected a total 41,027 mosquitoes, and we found that average mosquito abundance (mean ± S.D.) was higher in Sanmin (Ae. aegypti: 9.03 ± 1.46; Cx. quinquefasciatus: 142.57 ± 14.38) than Nanzih (Ae. aegypti: 6.21 ± 0.47; Cx. quinquefasciatus: 63.37 ± 8.71) during the study period. In both districts, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus population dynamics were sensitive to changes in temperature, the most platykurtic environmental variable at KC during the study period, a pattern predicted by Schmalhausen's law, which states that organisms are more sensitive to small changes in environmental variables whose average value is more uncertain than its extremes. Our results also suggest that differences in Ae. aegypti abundance might be responsible for spatial differences in dengue transmission at KC. Our comparative approach, where we also observed a significant increment in the abundance of Cx. quinquefasciatus in the dengue transmission hotspot, suggests this area might be more likely to experience outbreaks of other vector borne diseases and should become a primary focus for vector surveillance and control.


Biodiesel is an alternative to fossil fuels. It is produced by transesterification of triglycerides with short-chain alcohols in the presence of a catalyst. Sources of triglycerides include vegetable oils and animal fats. Among alkali metal oxide catalysts, calcium oxide (CaO) is widely used in the transesterification reaction. CaO is strongly alkaline and is cheap and environmentally friendly. It has low solubility in methanol. CaO can be sourced from natural limestone deposits. In this study, a solid CaO catalyst was obtained from Lintau Buo limestone and calcined at 900°C for 5 h. The results showed that this catalyst had a significant effect on biodiesel production.


IntroductionData Bytes are bite-sized pieces of data from the longitudinal project, Experiences of Alberta Children and Youth Over Time, 2005-06 to 2010-11. To promote public engagement, the Data Byte series is designed to highlight a finding from a full report to give readers a quick data morsel to chew on.
Objectives and ApproachFetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a complex disorder caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. To understand how young people with FASD in Alberta are performing in schools, individually linked administrative data were used from 2005/06 to 2010/11. An individual was considered to have FASD if, at any point in the 6 years, they received a diagnostic code for fetal alcohol syndrome, or for being newborn affected by maternal use of alcohol (ICD 10-CA Q86.0 or P04.3) from a health service (emergency department or ambulatory care visit, or a hospitalization), or from a child disability service program.
ResultsOf young Albertans with FASD, almost 40% were meeting or exceeding educational expectations compared to 80% of young Albertans without a diagnosis of FASD. Expectations for educational achievement were computed by Alberta Education using age, grade, school type, special education codes, provincial achievement test scores, home education status, number of high school credits earned, number of higher level courses taken, average grade in higher level courses, possession of an Alberta Education certificate or diploma, and Alexander Rutherford scholarship eligibility.
Conclusion/ImplicationsData Bytes are designed to encourage stakeholders to explore:

Is the definition of "meeting educational expectations" used for the general population appropriate for a population with complex needs?
What other outcomes might be used to determine whether services are improving the quality of life for young Albertans with FASD?


This study examined the hypothesis that composition of chelonian eggs, i.e. masses of shell, yolk and albumen, would be influenced by the structure of the eggshell. In particular, because albumen is a store of water in an egg, it was predicted that rigid-shelled eggs would have more albumen than pliable-shelled eggs because they have less scope for absorbing water from the incubation environment. Data were collected from the published literature for 23 chelonian species that exhibited either pliable or rigid-shelled eggs (11 and 12 species in each category, respectively). Linear regression analysis was used to describe relationships between mass of the egg and the three different components. For any given egg mass a rigid shell was heavier than a pliable shell and the exponent for rigid-shelled eggs was significantly higher than that for pliable-shelled eggs. By contrast, there were no significant effects of shell type on the masses of yolk or albumen. The ability of turtle eggs to absorb water during incubation was not, therefore, reflected in the mass of the albumen. Differences in shell structure in chelonians must have evolved for another reason that has yet to be investigated.


In this paper, we present an architecture to create a multi-domain spoken dialog system with minimum effort by com-posing heterogeneous pre-existent spoken dialog systems into a new system able to perform richer interactions. A Task Manager acts as a proxy for the different sub-domains and activates one of the systems each turn. The different sub-systems are not aware that they are used in a multi-domain scenario and believe that they are speaking directly to the user. This allows us to add new domains leaving most of the underlying models unmodified and reducing the amount of time and money needed to deploy the application.Theproposed architecture has been applied to create a multi-domain system combining three heterogeneous spoken dialog systems (sport facilities booking, weather service and personal calendar) in Spanish. The evaluation with naive real users shows that this is an appropriate approach to develop multi-domain spoken dialog systems.


Objectives Although there is a large and growing body of evidence concerning the impact of contracting economies on suicide mortality risk, far less is known about the role alcohol consumption plays in the complex relationship between economic conditions and suicide. The aims were to compare the postmortem alcohol intoxication rates among male and female suicide decedents before (2005–2007), during (2008–2009) and after (2010–2011) the economic contraction in the USA. Methods Data from the restricted National Violent Death Reporting System (2005–2011) for male and female suicide decedents aged 20 years and older were analysed by Poisson regression analysis to test whether there was significant change in the fractions of suicide decedents who were acutely intoxicated at the time of death (defined as blood alcohol content ≥0.08 g/dL) prior, during and after the downturn. Results The fraction of all suicide decedents with alcohol intoxication increased by 7% after the onset of the recession from 22.2% in 2005–2007 to 23.9% in 2008–2011. Compared with the years prior to the recession, male suicide decedents showed a 1.09-fold increased risk of alcohol intoxication within the first 2 years of the recession. Surprisingly, there was evidence of a lag effect among female suicide decedents, who had a 1.14-fold (95% CI 1.02 to 1.27) increased risk of intoxication in 2010–2011 compared with 2005–2007. Conclusions These findings suggest that acute alcohol intoxication in suicide interacts with economic conditions, becoming more prevalent during contractions.


Abstract Spatial boundary value problems of statics of couple-stress elasticity for anisotropic homogeneous media (with contact on a part of the boundary) with an open crack are studied supposing that one medium has a smooth boundary and the other one has an open crack. Using the method of the potential theory and the theory of pseudodifferential equations on manifolds with boundary, the existence and uniqueness theorems are proved in Besov and Bessel-potential spaces. The smoothness and a complete asymptotics of solutions near the contact boundaries and near crack edge are studied. Properties of exponents of the first terms of the asymptotic expansion of solutions are established. Classes of isotropic, transversally-isotropic and anisotropic bodies are found, where oscillation vanishes.


Abstract Objective To study the salt and sugars content of breakfast cereals sold in the UK between 1992 and 2015. Design Cross-sectional surveys on salt and sugars content collected from the nutrition information panel of breakfast cereals in 1992, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015. Setting All major UK retailers operating at that moment in time (approximately ten). Subjects The salt and sugars content was collected from product packaging and the nutrition information panels. Results Cereals consistently surveyed across all five years (n22) showed a significant reduction in salt content of 47 % (P<0·001). Sugars content of breakfast cereals (n 15), however, did not show a significant change; 25·65 g/100 g in 1992 and 22·45 g/100 g in 2015 (P=0·170). There was a large variation in salt and sugars content between different categories and within the same type of category. Conclusions The study shows the progressive reduction in salt content of breakfast cereals in the UK since 2004 as a result of the successful salt reduction programme, particularly the setting of incremental salt targets. Further reductions in salt content need to be made as cereals remain a major contributor to salt intake. Sugars content, however, has been consistently high due to the lack of a sugar reduction strategy. The research demonstrates that the sugars content of breakfast cereals in the UK is of concern, particularly in children's breakfast cereals, with a typical serving (30 g) containing a third of a 4–6-year-old's maximum daily recommendation (19 g/d) for free sugars intake in the UK. More can and should be done to reformulate, with an urgent need to set incremental sugar reduction targets.


Benford's law has been promoted as providing the auditor with a tool that is simple and effective for the detection of fraud. The purpose of this paper is to assist auditors in the most effective use of digital analysis based on Benford's law. The law is based on a peculiar observation that certain digits appear more frequently than others in data sets. For example, in certain data sets, it has been observed that more than 30% of numbers begin with the digit one. After discussing the background of the law and development of its use in auditing, we show where digital analysis based on Benford's law can most effectively be used and where auditors should exercise caution. Specifically, we identify data sets which can be expected to follow Benford's distribution, discuss the power of statistical tests, types of frauds that would be detected and not be detected by such analysis, the potential problems that arise when an account contains too few observations, as well as issues related to base rate of fraud. An actual example is provided demonstrating where Benford's law proved successful in identifying fraud in a population of accounting data.


New automatic arc welding process has been developed for welding ship's shell plates upwards from the ground. In this process, the axis of the leading welding gun corresponds to that of a weld bead, therefore it is called 'Horizontal Coaxial Arc Welding' (HCAW). In order to keep the welding process under control, the simplified numerical model expressing the static balance of forces on the leading molten pool has been designed. The model enables to estimate the weld bead height and the bead formation rate. As a result of analysis by the model, the wire extension length will reach its equilibrium state spontaneously in the case of using a constant voltage characteristic power source, and controlling of the wire feeding speed is effective to reduce the change of the wire extension length during welding in various root opening.


In this paper, we propose an ensemble learning algorithm named bagged k-distance for mode-based clustering (BDMBC ) by putting forward a new measurement called the probability of localized level sets (PLLS ), which enables us to find all clusters for varying densities with a global threshold. On the theoretical side, we show that with a properly chosen number of nearest neighbors kD in the bagged k-distance, the sub-sample size s, the bagging rounds B, and the number of nearest neighbors kL for the localized level sets, BDMBC can achieve optimal convergence rates for mode estimation. It turns out that with a relatively small B, the sub-sample size s can be much smaller than the number of training data n at each bagging round, and the number of nearest neighbors kD can be reduced simultaneously. Moreover, we establish optimal convergence results for the level set estimation of the PLLS in terms of Hausdorff distance, which reveals that BDMBC can find localized level sets for varying densities and thus enjoys local adaptivity. On the practical side, we conduct numerical experiments to empirically verify the effectiveness of BDMBC for mode estimation and level set estimation, which demonstrates the promising accuracy and efficiency of our proposed algorithm.


Background: Interest in the self-perception of patients with mental illness is increasing because of the gap between the physician and patient perceptions of symptoms and drug side effects. Schizophrenia is one of the mental illnesses that cause the greatest difficulty in understanding the various physical and psychological impacts related to both symptoms and drug treatment. Thus, several patient-reported outcomes (PRO) have been developed to get a clearer understanding of patients' experience with their own illness and the treatment that they receive. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify all PRO questionnaires used in the evaluation of patients with schizophrenia, and to assess the quality of these questionnaires based on psychometric evidence. Methods: All PRO questionnaires used in the evaluation of patients with schizophrenia were identified using a search strategy in Pubmed, Medline, and the ISPOR website. PRO psychometric properties were extracted, and their level of validation was assessed. Results: The literature search resulted in the identification of 70 generic, mental health-specific or schizophrenia-specific instruments. These questionnaires were categorized according to measured domains. Six major domains were identified: health related quality of life (HRQoL), insight, depression/ feelings, treatment related, illness symptoms, and caregiver/family. Questionnaires measuring other dimensions were classified as other (related to personality measurement, communication between patients and clinicians and services satisfaction). The review shows that the HRQoL questionnaires demonstrate the best psychometric properties. Conclusion: The assessments of these questionnaires, based on their psychometric evidence level, will allow researchers to choose the most appropriate PRO instruments, based on the instruments' ability to respond to the objectives of the study and on the rigor of their psychometric qualities. As schizophrenia is a multidimensional mental illness, we argue that a single PRO questionnaire is insufficient to obtain a clear understanding of the condition and treatment effects in patients with schizophrenia. Thus, we think that new PRO instruments in schizophrenia should be developed.


Today's nurses, the largest group of health care practitioners, assume primary responsibility for most of the care given most of the people in this country, yet they have a secondary role in determining American health and hospital policy. According to the author, it is no historical accident that nurses are considered semi-professionals within the hospital family. Organized medicine has traditionally viewed nurses as housekeepers for the sick a view that is now bei ng challenged by a new generation of nurses who consider nursing a unique and autonomous profession that cou Id, with public support, rehumanize patient care. In her book, Ashley examines how deeply-rooted attitudes of medical sexism evolved since the early 1900s and tells of the farreaching effects they have had on the crisis facing the nation's hospitals today. Beginning with a brief look at how hospitals developed from charities to businesses, the author documents her view that physicians and hospital officials sought to economize by apprenticing the labor of young women (through the establishment of the now discredited hospital school of nursing) and constricted nursing's function into a narrow mold determined more by an exploitive and condescending attitude toward women than by a concern for what the nurse could do for the patient "The needs of the hospital as opposed to the needs of those whom it serves," Ashley states, "have preoccupied the minds of powerful leaders in the health care field." Because the medical profession has peroetuated its paternalis-


The first year undergraduate drawing and multimedia courses at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University, challenge a current understanding of drawing as image production through the use of a single dominant medium, portraying mirror-likes of future buildings that fix the ending of the design process. This arguably reduces drawing to a final representation, processing prematurely finished images of architecture. Conversely, transmediality places attention in changes of media that create gaps to foster the construction of ideas. Living in a culture of dead-lines, finished images, and limited budgets, the imagination of drawing and building in time are fast eliding. These considerations on transmediality propose that an imagination of endings is replaced by an imagination of beginnings, revealing the inherently unfinished character of architectural representation.


Translocation to the nucleus of diacylglycerol kinase (DGK)– ζ is dependent on a sequence homologous to the effector domain of Myristoylated Alanine Rich C-Kinase Substrate (MARCKS). These data would suggest that MARCKS could also localize to the nucleus. A single report demonstrated immunofluorescence staining of MARCKS in the nucleus; however, further experimental evidence confirming the specific domain responsible for this localization has not been reported. Here, we report that MARCKS is present in the nucleus in GBM cell lines. We then over-expressed wild-type MARCKS (WT) and MARCKS with the effector domain deleted (ΔED), both tagged with V5-epitope in a GBM cell line with low endogenous MARCKS expression (U87). We found that MARCKS-WT localized to the nucleus, while the MARCKS construct without the effector domain remained in the cytoplasm. We also found that over-expression of MARCKS-WT resulted in a significant increase in total cellular phosphatidyl-inositol (4,5) bisphosphate (PIP2) levels, consistent with prior evidence that MARCKS can regulate PIP2 levels. We also found increased staining for PIP2 in the nucleus with MARCKS-WT over-expression compared to MARCKS ΔED by immunofluorescence. Interestingly, we observed MARCKS and PIP2 co-localization in the nucleus. Lastly, we found changes in gene expression when MARCKS was not present in the nucleus (MARCKS ΔED). These data indicate that the MARCKS effector domain can function as a nuclear localization signal and that this sequence is critical for the ability of MARCKS to regulate PIP2 levels, nuclear localization, and gene expression. These data suggests a novel role for MARCKS in regulating nuclear functions such as gene expression.


This paper presents the concept of integrated auxiliary commutation circuits applied to multi-stage power conversion systems. This concept has two main objectives, which are: to reduce the number of additional elements to obtain the soft-switching and to reutilize the reactive energy of one commutation to assist another one, so that the efficiency improves without penalizing the cost. A symbolic representation is proposed to make the understanding and analysis of the integration concept easier. A new integrated ZVT (iZVT) auxiliary commutation circuit composed of only one additional active switch is applied to a double-conversion UPS to demonstrate the functionality of this new concept and its symbolic representation. By using this new integrated circuit, the main switches operate under soft-switching of ZVT type, and auxiliary switch under ZCS type for all operating modes of the converters that composes the UPS, namely they are: preregulator (boost), battery charger (buck), backup converter (boost) and inverter (full-bridge). Experimental results of a 1.2 kW@100 kHz prototype ensure the feasibility of the proposed iZVT


Recognizing a driver's braking intensity plays a pivotal role in the development of modern driver assistance and energy management systems; and therefore, it is especially important to autonomous and electric vehicles. This paper aims at developing a system for recognizing a driver's braking intensity based on the pressure produced in the brake master cylinder. In this regard, a model-based, synthetic data generation concept is used to generate the training dataset. This technique involves two closed-loop controlled models: an upper-level longitudinal vehicle dynamics model, and a lower-level brake hydraulic, dynamic model. The adaptive particularly tunable fuzzy particle swarm optimization algorithm is recruited to solve the optimal K-means clustering problem and to determine the best number of clusters and centroids into which the brake pressure data are to be divided. The obtained results reveal that the brake pressure data for a vehicle traveling the new European driving cycle can be best partitioned into two clusters. A driver's braking intensity may, therefore, be clustered as moderate or intensive. With the ability to automatically recognize a driver's pedal feel, the system developed in this research could be implemented in intelligent driver assistance systems as well as in electric vehicles equipped with intelligent, electromechanical brake boosters.


Sarcoidosis is a rare cause of renal failure and it has been associated with a wide spectrum of renal manifestations, including granulomatous interstitial nephritis. We present the case of a 48-year old male patient with rapidly progressive renal insufficiency due to sarcoid normocalcemic granulomatous interstitial nephritis who lacked the pulmonary signs of sarcoidosis. Prednisone therapy yielded a favorable outcome with fall in serum creatinine level and resolution of abnormalities of the urinary sediment.


Dumbing down media content undermines democracy. News media need to unleash the full power of investigative journalism. Every investigative story that goes in-depth and behind the scenes will actually strengthen democracy and the free press. The hope was that information technology would level the playing field and bridge the digital divide existing globally and within our countries. But, this commentary argues, technology alone is never the answer. Information technology is not value-free either and is not, by itself, going to provide answers to deep-seated structural problems of governance, social justice and equity.


The intra-uterine milieu programs the health of an individual throughout life. This effect has been called fetal origin of adult disease. The altered maternal metabolism is associated with a diabetogenic effect in the adult offspring. The pancreatic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and peripheral response to insulin are central in glucose homeostasis in fetal circulation and the modulation of these processes during the fetal development may have a serious complications long-lasting. This study was aimed to delineate the prenatal (at gestational day 17) effects of different maternal health challenges on the fetal glucose sensing mechanisms including GLUT2, glucokinase, mitochondrial transcription factor A (mTFA), uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), phospho-insulin receptor (Phosho-IR) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). We used hyperglycemic, obese and malnourished beside normal female rats to establish pregnancy that was terminated at GD 17. The fetal pancreas, liver, muscle and adipose tissues were obtained for determination of the studied parameters. The results indicated up-regulation of GLUT2, glucokinase, mtTFA and UCP2 expression in fetal pancreas and liver of hyperglycemic mothers fetuses while maternal obesity mildly up-regulate expression of GLUT2, glucokinase and UCP2 in fetal pancreas, liver and adipose tissues, while malnutrition causes down-regulation of UCP2 in pancreas, it up-regulates GLUT2 and glucokinase in liver. In muscle and adipose tissues the level of phosho-IR was increased under maternal hyperglycemia and malnutrition while GLUT4 level increased under maternal diabetes only.
We can conclude that the fetal adverse environments can prenatally affect the expression of genes that linked to the development of type 2 diabetes including genes controlling glucose sensing and metabolism.


The reliability of the majority of electrical and electromechanical systems depends on their ability to dissipate heat generated by their internal components. Application of parallel plates for cooling electronic equipment is one of the most common methods of heat dissipation through convection and radiation. Others have investigated the optimum spacing between vertical plates for the case of maximum natural convection heat transfer. The goal of this study was to determine the optimum spacing for the maximum radiation heat transfer.Analytic calculations were carried out to determine the optimum spacing. A mathematical interpolation was used to simplify the view factor correlations and from this an exact correlation was obtained to determine the optimum spacing for radiation heat transfer. It was concluded that for a known plate surface area, the optimum spacing for the maximum radiation decreases when the ratio of height over length of the plates increases. For fixed geometric parameters, the optimum spacing for radiation will display a skewed parabolic distribution when the surface emissivity of the plates was increased.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


The existences of street children are usually found in large cities of Indonesia. Street is not a good enough place for children to growing, it is likely they will be affected by the street could be the case. Environment outside (street) will influence the development and also their behavior. Here is the behavior of their moral, in the process of establishing the existence of moral parents
is needed, but what if parents and families that are also needed as advisors rarely have beside them, so that friends of the people around and also likely to be examples in all forms of behavior they do. Behaviors of street children sometimes make people feel restless, as behavior that was
done by street children who strike the vehicle driver on the road. The research aims to provide (1) views, (2) behaviors, and (3) moral education street children.
This research is a qualitative research. Data is based on information given to the subject of research on the life of they do, added with some of the research informants and data reduction is done in order to separate data in accordance with the objectives of the research. Data analysis technique that is used is to develop descriptive data from the observations and interviews followed by building theoretical description based on the proportion that is reflected in the research questions. From the results of the research carried out showed that street children, (1) has a moral view, the behavior that helped shape and for those children who did not want to help, including the behavior that is not good, in addition to also help each other understand and respect each other
street children (2) moral behavior, even though the street children to know the behavior is not good, street children still do, but there are also subject not do so. Sometimes also when they were come together, discuss their attitudes about sex. (3) Forms a lot of this behavior they get from the environment and from friends in the street, this is their cause by intensity on the road more than when they were at home, and parents / families to give less attention and advice on them. Street children also have a moral, which is helpful, if viewed from the motive or purpose it is better, but if viewed from this action will be less than good, because they help with the fight way.


Two approximate methods based on mechanism analysis suitable for seismic assessment/design of structural concrete are reviewed. The methods involve use of equal energy concept or equal displacement concept along with appropriate patterns of inelastic deformations to relate structure`s maximum lateral displacement to member and plastic deformations. One of these methods (Clough`s method), defined here as a ductility-based approach, is examined in detail and a modification for its improvement is suggested. The modification is based on estimation of maximum inelastic displacement using inelastic design response spectra (IDRS) as an alternative to using equal energy concept. The IDRS for demand displacement ductilities are developed for a single degree of freedom model subjected to several accelerograms as functions of response modification factor (R), damping ratios, and strain hardening. The suggested revised methodology involves estimation of R as the ratio of elastic strength demand to code level demand, and determination of design base shear using and maximum displacement, determination of plastic displacement using IDRS and subsequent local plastic deformations. The methodology is demonstrated for the case of a 10-story precast wall panel building.


Urban areas and living settlements are frequently nowadays at the center of modern conflicts or crisis. They all face somehow their own unique set of challenges of "post-conflict/crisis" nature - including situations like wars, pandemics, environmental crisis, social unrest, political instability, economic collapse, demographic decay, etc. Aliaj, Toto & Perna conclude that such crisis situation needs to face the "new normal", that becomes soon the "new normal" that pushes for transformative shifts of society, and changes in ideologies or systems. This is a call to think beyond the "stable state" and the "stable normal" (Schon, Donald).


The Exclusion Problem and Counterfactual Theories of Causation by SZE Yee Hang Master of Philosophy Jaegwon Kim famously challenged non-reductive materialism/physicalism (NRM), a popular stance in the philosophy of mind, with the so-called exclusion argument. The argument is alleged to show that if NRM is true, then mental properties cannot be causes. In recent years, there have been many reactions to the exclusion problem based on counterfactual accounts of causation. In particular, List and Menzies gave an interesting response based on a Lewis-style counterfactual theory of causation, with some modifications made to Lewis's semantics of counterfactuals. In this thesis, I first argue that their central thesis regarding the issue of exclusion can actually be established with Lewis's original semantics, without modifications. I then clarify the real consequence of List and Menzies' modification by showing that List and Menzies' modified counterfactual theory, but not Lewis's original theory, can satisfy Zhong (2014)'s requirement of causal autonomy. My analysis reveals that, despite Zhong (2014)'s employment of an interventionist theory of causation, it is not any peculiarity with the interventionism that is essential for establishing the possibility of causal autonomy. On the contrary, I argue that the existing semantics for interventionist counterfactuals do not seem to serve Zhong's purpose particularly well. These considerations suggest that once one decides to use a dependence notion of causation to counter the exclusion argument, a Lewis-style theory of causation is good enough. DECLARATION I declare that this is an original work based primarily on my own research, and I warrant that all citations of previous research, published or unpublished, have been duly acknowledged. (Sze Yee Hang) Date: CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL OF THESIS THE EXCLUSION PROBLEM AND COUNTERFACTUAL THEORIES OF CAUSATION by SZE Yee Hang Master of Philosophy


Heteroatom-doped ZnO nanoparticles (Zn1-xNixO NPs) have been synthesized by a simple solvothermal approach. The photocatalytic activity of the products has been evaluated by a photoassisted degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. All the heteroatom-doped semiconductors exhibit better photocatalytic activities than pure ZnO, with the 1 mol% Ni-doped ZnO showing the best photocatalytic activity. From the transient photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic experiments it is observed that the photogenerated charges of the Ni-doped ZnO show longer lifetime and higher separation than that of pure ZnO, leading to its superior visible light photoactivity. The active species tests indicate that the hydroxyl radical and active holes were primarily responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Rhodamine B, and the superoxide radical takes part partially in the oxidation process. A possible photocatalytic mechanism is proposed. Good photostability and reusability of the product show that the studied nanoparticles have potential application in dye wastewater treatment.


While most work on evaluating machine learning (ML) models focuses on computing accuracy on batches of data, tracking accuracy alone in a streaming setting (i.e., unbounded, timestamp-ordered datasets) fails to appropriately identify when models are performing unexpectedly. In this position paper, we discuss how the nature of streaming ML problems introduces new real-world challenges (e.g., delayed arrival of labels) and recommend additional metrics to assess streaming ML performance.


A controller design methodology to develop a robust compliant motion for robot manipulators is described. The achievement of the target dynamics (the target impedance is introduced in Part I) and preservation of stability robustness in the presence of bounded model uncertainties are the key issues in the design method. State-feedback and force-feedforward gains are chosen to guarantee the achievement of the target dynamics, while preserving stability in the presence of the model uncertainties. In general, the closed-loop behavior of a system cannot be shaped arbitrarily over an arbitrarily wide frequency range. It is proved that a special class of impedances that represent our set of performance specifications are mathematically achievable asymptotically through state-feedback and interaction-force feedforward as actuator bandwidths become large, and we offer a geometrical design method for achieving them in the presence of model uncertainties. The design method reveals a classical trade-off between a system's performance over a bounded frequency range and its stability relative to model uncertainties via multivariable Nyquits criteria. Two classes of such uncertainties are dealt with. While the first class of model uncertainties is formed from the uncertainties in the parameters of the modeled dynamics, the high-frequency unmodeled dynamics form the second class of model uncertainties. The multivariable Nyquist criterion is used to examine trade-offs in stability robustness against approximation of desired target impedances over bounded frequency ranges.


Ferrous ammonium phosphate (FAP) is an iron salt that has been developed for the fortification of food matrices sensitive to color and flavor changes. The objective of the study was to measure iron absorption from FAP in young children and compare it to a previous evaluation of FAP in young women. A double-blind randomized crossover study with two parallel arms was used to evaluate the iron absorption from FAP added to reconstituted milk powder in comparison to that from ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) and ferric pyrophosphate (FePP). Iron absorption was measured in 39 children aged 3- to 6-years-old using erythrocyte incorporation of stable Fe isotopes (57Fe, 58Fe). The geometric mean iron absorption in iron replete children from FAP, FeSO4 and FePP from milk was 8.3%, 7.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Iron absorption from FAP and FeSO4 fortified milk was not significantly different (p = 0.199); however, it was significantly higher than from FePP fortified milk (p < 0.001). Iron bioavailability from FAP and FePP relative to FeSO4 (relative bioavailability (RBV)) was 110% and 33%, respectively. The RBV of FAP (110%) in iron replete children was higher than previously reported RBV (71%) in mainly iron deficient women. The difference in iron status between the children and women in the respective studies may explain the different RBV values and is discussed.


Sensing neural activity within mechanically active tissues poses particular hurdles because most electrodes are much stiffer than biological tissues. As the tissue deforms, the rigid electrodes may damage the surrounding tissue. The problem is exacerbated when sensing neural activity in experimental models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is caused by the rapid and large deformation of brain tissue. We have developed a stretchable microelectrode array (SMEA) that can withstand large elastic deformations (> 5% biaxial strain) while continuing to function. The SMEA were fabricated from thin metal conductors patterned on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and encapsulated with a photo-patternable silicone. SMEA were used to record spontaneous activity from brain slice cultures, as well as evoked activity after stimulating through SMEA electrodes. Slices of brain tissue were grown on SMEA in long-term culture and then mechanically injured with our well-characterized in vitro injury model by stretching the SMEA and the adherent culture, which was confirmed by image analysis. Because brain tissue was grown on the substrate-integrated SMEA, post-injury changes in electrophysiological function were normalized to pre-injury function since the SMEA deformed with the tissue and remained in place during mechanical stimulation. The combination of our injury model and SMEA could help elucidate mechanisms responsible for post-traumatic neuronal dysfunction in the quest for TBI therapies. The SMEA may have additional sensing applications in other mechanically active tissues such as peripheral nerve and heart.


This paper presents the designing of the main dimensions and the selection of the magnetic and electric loading for different rating of squirrel cage induction motors to reduce the overall losses and to improve the power factor. A software development strategy for the design of main dimensions and the effects of various factors are studies to select the best parameters for the particular ratings of the machines. The redesign time can be reduced with the help of this software during the course of learning and manufacturing of the inductions motors. The idea of designing the main dimensions of three phase squirrel cage induction motor by MAT LAB GUI is simple fast and friendly nature.


To investigate the effect of intravenous glucose infusion on nitrogen (N) retention, two experiments were conducted in 2 phases . The first phase (Exp 1) was to establish the time required for a stable glucose entry and the second phase (Exp 2) was designed to study the effect of different levels of glucose infusion on N retention . In Exp l, four wethers were used, each prepared with catheters in the left and right jugular veins, continuously fed luceme chaff at calculated maintenance energy level . The animals were infused continuously with saline for 2 days and thereafter with glucose solution at the rate of 21 .8 mmole/h for 6 days and again with saline on the seventh day. Glucose entry rate (GER) were measured using constant infusion of D-[6-'H] glucose, on the second day of saline infusion (Day 0) and at the same period each day for the next seven days. Infusion of glucose reduced endogenous glucose entry by 30% on Day 1 and 2, by 13% on Day 3, but by Day 4 onwards endogenous glucose entry had returned to normal levels. Plasma insulin, reached its peak value on the first day of glucose infusion and subsequently declined . Plasma urea concentration declined with ensuing days of glucose infusion . It was concluded that for sheep fed maintenance energy level infused with glucose, it takes approximately 4 days for glucose metabolism to reach equilibrium. In Exp 2, four wethers were used, each prepared with catheters and fed luceme pellets at calculated maintenance energy level . The sheep were infused continuously for five days with glucose at a rate of either 0 (saline), 10, 20 and 30 mmole/h in a Latin Square design (4 infusion rate x 4 periods) . A large increase in endogenous glucose entry was found with the highest level of infusion . Glucose entry rates were 28 .8, 48.3, 54 .7 and 86.1 mmole/h for glucose infusion of 0, 10, 20 and 30 mmole/h respectively . No significant changes in both plasma glucose and urea concentration with infusion rate of glucose. N retention increased with increasing level of glucose infused (P<0.05) and was mainly due to the reduction of urinary N. This experiment suggests the important of glucose in protein deposition Keywords : Glucose infusion, glucose entry rate, N retention


Purpose: Because of emergence of resistance to osimertinib, a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), no targeted treatments are available for patients with lung cancer who lose sensitivity due to new mutations or bypass mechanisms. We examined in animals and in vitro an alternative therapeutic approach making use of antibodies. Experimental Design: An osimertinib-sensitive animal model of lung cancer, which rapidly develops drug resistance, has been employed. To overcome compensatory hyperactivation of ERK, which we previously reported, an anti-EGFR antibody (cetuximab) was combined with other antibodies, as well as with a subtherapeutic dose of osimertinib, and cancer cell apoptosis was assayed. Results: Our animal studies identified a combination of three clinically approved drugs, cetuximab, trastuzumab (an anti-HER2 mAb), and osimertinib (low dose), as an effective and long-lasting treatment that is able to prevent onset of resistance to osimertinib. A continuous schedule of concurrent treatment was sufficient for effective tumor inhibition and for prevention of relapses. Studies employing cultured cells and analyses of tumor extracts indicated that the combination of two mAbs and a subtherapeutic TKI dose sorted EGFR and HER2 for degradation; cooperatively enhanced apoptosis; inhibited activation of ERK; and reduced abundance of several bypass proteins, namely MET, AXL, and HER3. Conclusions: Our in vitro assays and animal studies identified an effective combination of clinically approved drugs that might overcome resistance to irreversible TKIs in clinical settings. The results we present attribute the long-lasting effect of the drug combination to simultaneous blockade of several well-characterized mechanisms of drug resistance. Clin Cancer Res; 24(22); 5610–21. ©2018 AACR. See related commentary by Fan and Yu, p. 5499


True success of any organization largely depends upon the human resource which is the most potential asset of any organization. Organizations are putting efforts to attract and enhance the level of engagement among their employees. More dedicated the employees are at workplace, more strongly they will be able to contribute towards their organization effectively, thereby leading to high engagement. Recent research has illustrated personality as the suggestive cause of engagement (Simmons, 2010). The paper attempts to explore about personality as predictor of dedication which is one of the significant component of work engagement. To attain the objective, the study made use of two standardized questionnaires. Measurement of personality was done using the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire which was devised by Cattell in 1949 and the measurement of dedication was done using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003). Analysis and interpretations of the study have been obtained using statistical technique of Multiple Stepwise Regression. For running Multiple Stepwise Regression Analysis the study included dedication as the single dependent variable and five second order personality factors namely extraversion, anxiety, tough poise, independence and superego/ control as the independent variables. The study results depicted that model consisting of superego/ control, independence and tough poise provides the best combination of personality factors as predictor of dedication among the IT sector employees. The paper not only adds to the existing body of research in the area of engagement and personality but also puts an emphasis on the creation of model consisting of personality and dedication which can be utilized by the organizations to well tune and make their hiring and selection process more effective.