Introduction Up to 10% of patients presenting with chest pain and elevated troponin levels demonstrate non-obstructive coronary arteries on angiography, posing a clinical challenge in diagnosis, prognosis and management. The final diagnosis has important implications for the patient, including prescription for treatment and fitness for permissible activities, occupation and medical insurance. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is superior to other cardiac imaging modalities in tissue characterisation. We hypothesised that CMR, when performed early using conventional and novel tissue characterisation techniques, can determine the cause of acute myocardial injury in these patients and provide a diagnosis. Methods One hundred and twenty (n = 120) patients (mean age 50 ± 17 yrs; 50% female) presenting with chest pain, positive troponin I (normal <0.04, median 3.99, range 0.07 to >60 μg/L) and non-obstructive coronaries were prospectively recruited.Early CMR at 1.5T (median 3 days, IQR 1–6 days) included cine, T2W (dark-blood STIR), T1-mapping (ShMOLLI) and LGE imaging. Findings were compared to 50 controls matched for age and gender distributions.Image analysis included: the detection of oedema comparing T2 signal intensity of myocardium to skeletal muscle (>2.0) or remote myocardium (>2 SD); myocardial T1 times (areas of injury defined as an area of ≥40 mm2 with T1 >990 ms as validated for detecting oedema); and presence of LGE. Results When CMR was performed early using only conventional techniques (cine, T2W and LGE), there was a high diagnostic yield of 95%. Oedema was detected in 79% and LGE in 61% of patients.Based on CMR findings, including the type, pattern and regional distribution of injury, the commonest diagnosis was myocarditis (37%), followed by Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (23%), myocardial infarction (18%), acute regional stunning (9%; wall motion abnormality with oedema but no LGE), dilated cardiomyopathy (4%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (3%), and missed pulmonary embolism (1%). In 11/21 (52%) of patients with MI, a patent foramen ovale (PFO) was demonstrated on echocardiography with agitated saline contrast, suggesting these patients may have suffered a paradoxical coronary embolism. The remaining 5.0% (n = 6) of patients had no findings on T2W and LGE imaging. However, T1 mapping localised areas of injury in 4 out of the remaining 6 patients, improving the detection rate to 98%. Conclusions Early CMR using conventional and novel T1-mapping techniques has a high diagnostic yield in patients presenting with acute chest pain, positive troponins but non-obstructive coronaries. T1 mapping detected additional areas of abnormality when conventional CMR was "normal", improving the detection rate to 98%. Early multiparametric CMR is able to localise areas of affected myocardium and is useful in the further management or diagnostic workup in this patient cohort.


Denial of service protection mechanisms usually require classifying malicious traffic, which can be difficult. Another approach is to price scarce resources. However, while congestion pricing has been suggested as a way to combat DoS attacks, it has not been shown quantitatively how much damage a malicious player could cause to the utility of benign participants. In this paper, we quantify the protection that congestion pricing affords against DoS attacks, even for powerful attackers that can control their packets' routes. Specifically, we model the limits on the resources available to the attackers in three different ways and, in each case, quantify the maximum amount of damage they can cause as a function of their resource bounds. In addition, we show that congestion pricing is provably superior to fair queueing in attack resilience.


This case considers the Super Regional Strategy adopted by the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) under the leadership of CEO Mike Smith from October 2007 to early 2011. The Super Regional Strategy had the goal of deriving 20 per cent of ANZ's profit from the Asian region by 2012 and between 25 and 30 per cent of profit by 2017. This strategy was a significant departure from the relative safety of the Australian banking sector and necessitated significant organizational changes. Not without risk or critics, ANZ is still in the formative stages of its strategy which will be a decade or more in the making. This article documents some of the changes to date.


In the important paper on impulsive systems [K1] several notions are introduced and several properties of these systems are shown. In particular, the function φ which describes "the time of reaching impulse points" is considered; this function has many important applications. In [K1] the continuity of this function is investigated. However, contrary to the theorem stated there, the function φ need not be continuous under the assumptions given in the theorem. Suitable examples are shown in this paper. We characterize the function φ from the point of view of its semicontinuity. Also, we show the analogous properties for impulsive systems given by semidynamical systems. In the last section we investigate the continuity properties of the escape time function in impulsive systems.


LaFond and Watts (2008) provide evidence that information asymmetry might be a determinant of accounting conservatism. One implication of their paper is that regulators trying to reduce information asymmetry by lowering the level of accounting conservatism might be wrong. However, there is a trend in moving away from conservative accounting. The typical example is IFRS adoption. Therefore, this paper studies information asymmetry and accounting conservatism under IFRS adoption. The results show that the level of accounting conservatism decreases after mandatory IFRS adoption, but the adoption of IFRS is likely to weaken the relationship between information asymmetry and accounting conservatism. Moreover, this paper investigates how the change of accounting conservatism under IFRS is related to the change in information environment. The finding shows that accounting conservatism increases information environment, supporting the idea that, by providing comparatively credible information, conservative accounting is beneficial to the information environment.


The endangered Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is currently distributed as a single wild population of 670 individuals and ∼400 captive animals globally. Although the captive lions are major hope for the species' long-term conservation through repatriation, their welfare status and management practises need research attention. To this end, we tested the efficacy of feeding, sensory and manipulable enrichment interventions on the welfare of Asiatic lions at the conservation breeding centre of Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Gujarat. We adopted a holistic approach by measuring physiological and behavioural responses of 35 captive Asiatic lions, divided into control (n=16) and test (n=19) groups. The test subjects approached feeding devices first and manipulable devices for a longer duration. Manipulable devices were used homogenously with two significant time peaks, but sensory devices were used sporadically throughout the day with no discernible peak usage. The control subjects remained unchanged in all welfare parameters compared to their pre-treatment levels. However, post-enrichment behavioural assessments showed higher behaviour diversity (95% increase from the baseline period), reduced enclosure zone bias (40.25% reduction) and aberrant repetitive behaviours (80.68%) in test samples. Similarly, faecal corticosterone measures showed lower stress levels in test samples (58% decrease), confirming significant improvement in all welfare indices than control groups. These results have universal applicability to assess welfare indices of other captive species in Indian zoos. We hope that the results will encourage zoo managers and regulatory agencies to improve animal welfare practices.


The fundamental photophysics underlying the remarkable performance of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites in optoelectronic device applications has been increasingly studied using complementary spectroscopic techniques. However, the spatially heterogeneous polycrystalline morphology of the solution-processed thin films is often overlooked in conventional ensemble measurements and therefore the reported results are averaged over hundreds or even thousands of nano- and micro-crystalline grains. Here, we apply femtosecond transient absorption microscopy to spatially and temporally probe ultrafast electronic excited-state dynamics in chloride containing mixed lead halide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3–xClx) thin films. We found that the electronic excited-state relaxation kinetics are extremely sensitive to the spatial location probed, which was manifested by position-dependent transient absorption signal amplitude and decay behaviour, along with an obvious rise component at some positions. The analysis of transient absorption kinetics acquired at several distinct spatial positions enabled us to identify Auger recombination as the dominant mechanism underlying the initial portions of the spatially dependent dynamics with variable rate constants. The different rates observed suggest occurrence of distinct local electronic structures and variable contributions from impurities/defects and phonons in this nonlinear dynamical process.


We present a mouse virtual reality (VR) system which restrains head-movements to horizontal rotations, potentially compatible with multi-photon imaging. We show that this system allows expression of the spatial navigational behaviour and neuronal firing patterns characteristic of real open arenas (R). Place and grid, but not head-direction, cell firing had broader spatial tuning in VR than R. Theta frequency increased less with running speed in VR than in R, while firing rates increased similarly in both. Place, but not grid, cell firing was more directional in VR than R. These results suggest that the scale of grid and place cell firing patterns, and the frequency of theta, reflect translational motion inferred from both virtual (visual and proprioceptive) cues and uncontrolled static (vestibular translation and extra-maze) cues, while firing rates predominantly reflect visual and proprioceptive motion. They also suggest that omni-directional place cell firing in R reflects local-cues unavailable in VR.


A low energy house situated in Sisimiut, Greenland is used as study object for analysis of dynamic thermal properties of energy efficient buildings. The building is instrumented with a number of energy meters and thermal sensors, and these thermal data are logged with fine time intervals. Statistical methods are being developed in a PhD project to derive the properties to be used in a dynamic thermal model of the whole building. Characteristic of the building is its exposure to the extreme Arctic climate, which is both very cold and where the sun in some periods may shine constantly, or not at all. The house is equipped with a weather station measuring temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and direction. The building is highly energy efficient and its performance has been followed since its inception in 2005. The energy efficiency of the building is due to good thermal insulation, large energy-efficient windows, and heat recovery. The house is divided into two symmetric apartments, of which one is inhabited by a family, and the other is used for experiments and demonstration. The situation provides unique options for measuring and analysis with large signal to noise ratios facilitating observation of thermal response to external temperatures, solar radiation, wind, user behaviour, and heating.


Codon usage bias (CUB), where certain codons are used more frequently than expected by chance, is a ubiquitous phenomenon and occurs across the tree of life. The dominant paradigm is that the proportion of preferred codons is set by weak selection. Though experimental changes in codon usage have shown large phenotypic effects, genome-wide population genetics estimates have generally been consistent with the weak selection model. Here we use site frequency spectrum and polymorphism- level data from deep Drosophila melanogaster population genomic sequencing to measure selection on synonymous sites. We find evidence that purifying selection on preferred codons varies in strength from weak to strong (Nes < −10). Our results suggest a new model where the level of CUB in a gene is determined by distribution of selection coefficients across sites. These results also indicate that the functional effect of CUB, and of synonymous sites in general, have been underestimated.


Organic solar cells based on vertically aligned zinc oxide nanorod arrays (ZNR) in an inverted structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)∕ZNR∕poly(3-hexylthiophene): (6,6)-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester(P3HT:PCBM)∕MoO(3)∕aluminum(Al) were studied. We found that the optimum MoO(3) layer thickness condition of 20 nm, the MoO(3) can effectively decrease the probability of bimolecular recombination either at the Al interface or within the active layer itself. For this optimum condition we get a power conversion efficiency of 2.15%, a short-circuit current density of 9.02 mA∕cm(2), an open-circuit voltage of 0.55V, and a fill factor of 0.44 under 100 mW∕cm(2) irradiation. Our investigations also show that the highly crystallized ZNR can create short and continuous pathways for electron transport and increase the contact area between the ZNR and the organic materials.


In this paper, we propose a novel method to jointly solve scene layout estimation and global registration problems for accurate indoor 3D reconstruction. Given a sequence of range data, we first build a set of scene fragments using KinectFusion and register them through pose graph optimization. Afterwards, we alternate between layout estimation and layout-based global registration processes in iterative fashion to complement each other. We extract the scene layout through hierarchical agglomerative clustering and energy-based multi-model fitting in consideration of noisy measurements. Having the estimated scene layout in one hand, we register all the range data through the global iterative closest point algorithm where the positions of 3D points that belong to the layout such as walls and a ceiling are constrained to be close to the layout. We experimentally verify the proposed method with the publicly available synthetic and real-world datasets in both quantitative and qualitative ways.


Author(s): Bauman, Fred; Carter, Graham; Baughman, Anne; Arens, Edward A | Abstract: This report describes the results of a field study performed by UC Berkeley in collaboration with Bank of America Corporate Real Estate and Johnson Controls World Services. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of installing Personal Environmental Modules (PEMs) at 42 selected workstations within three Bank of America office buildings in San Francisco. The PEM is an example of a relatively new approach to space conditioning and control in which individuals are given the ability to control critical environmental conditions within their local work area (e.g., workstation). Each office worker can adjust air flow, temperature, lighting, and acoustic characteristics to maintain their own personal comfort levels. By improving employee satisfaction and well-being, it is anticipated that the installation of a PEM system could lead to increased worker productivity and effectiveness.In this study, field measurements were performed both before and after the PEM installation to evaluate the impact of the PEM system on occupant satisfaction and thermal comfort, as well as the thermal environments within the office buildings. Within each building two distinct groups, each having approximately the same number of subjects, were selected to participate in the study: (1) PEM group, consisting of workers who occupied workstations in which PEM units were to be installed; and (2) control group, defined to be a group of workers in the same building having similar work conditions to the PEM group, but who would not be receiving PEMs in their workstations. By collecting and comparing measurement data from these two groups, it was anticipated that the impact of installing the PEMs could be most meaningfully evaluated.The measurement methods used in this field study included (1) occupant surveys, (2) short-term physical measurements of environmental conditions at individual workstations, (3) long-term trend measurements of temperature, humidity, and air quality conditions, and (4) network-based monitoring of occupant use patterns of the PEM desktop controls. The first baseline field measurements were made in March 1996. The 42 PEM units were installed in the three buildings during the first two weeks of April. The follow-up field measurements were completed in July, three months after the PEM installation. During the follow-up field tests, measurements were repeated under three different room temperature setpoint conditions to investigate the occupants' ability to use the PEMs to control their local environment to satisfy their personal preferences above and below the typical ambient setpoint temperatures.


The most massive Galactic globular cluster ω Cen appears to have two, or perhaps more, distinct main sequences. Its bluest main sequence is at the centre of debate because it has been suggested to have an extremely high helium abundance of Y ∼ 0.4. The same helium abundance is claimed to explain the presence of extreme horizontal branch stars of ω Cen as well. This demands a relative helium-to-metal enrichment ofY /� Z ∼ 70; that is, more than one order of magnitude larger than the generally accepted value. Candidate solutions, namely asymptotic giant branch stars, massive stars and supernovae, have been suggested; but in this study, we show that none of them is a viable channel, in terms of reproducing the high value of � Y /� Z for the constrained age difference between the red and blue populations. Essentially no populations with an ordinary initial mass function, including those candidates, can produce such a highY /� Z because they all produce metals as well as helium. As an alternative, we investigate the possibility of the stochastic 'first star' contamination to the gas from which the younger generation of ω Cen formed. This requires the assumption that the Population III star formation episode overlaps with that of Population II. While the required condition appears extreme, very massive objects in the first star generation provide a solution that is at least as plausible as any other suggestions made before.


We consider a 24-degrees-of-freedom monkey robot that is supposed to perform brachiation locomotion, i.e. swinging from one row of a horizontal ladder to the next one using the arms. The robot hand is constructed as a planar hook so that the contact point about which the robot swings is a passive hinge. We identify the 10 most relevant degrees of freedom for this underactuated mechanical system and formulate a tractable search: (a) introduce a family of coordination patterns to be enforced on the dynamics with respect to a path coordinate; (b) formulate geometric equality constraints that are necessary for periodic locomotion; (c) generate trajectories from integrable reduced dynamics associated with the passive hinge; (d) evaluate the energetic cost of transport. Moreover, we observe that a linear approximation of the reduced dynamics can be used for trajectory generation which allows us to incorporate the gradient of the cost function into the search algorithm.


Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities have grown exponentially over the past two decades. Almost all major powers are building their ISR potential for commercial and military purposes which has provided incentive for the other emerging powers such as India to follow suit and develop its own cross-domain ISR network. This is likely to adversely impact South Asian security environment where India and Pakistan, the two nuclear armed states, remain embroiled in a military competition and have experienced several serious military crises over the past many years. Acquisition of new ISR technologies could also provide incentive to India to exploit its apparent conventional military advantage against Pakistan and venture into a limited armed conflict in pursuit of its political objectives under a nuclear overhang. Owing to a long history of distrust such an attempt could quickly escalate conflict with the possibility of an all-out war including the potential for a nuclear exchange. This paper aims to discuss India's ambitious plan to upgrade its ISR capabilities in all the four domains of warfare, i.e. space, land, sea and air; the evolving India-US cooperation in sharing of data and its implications for Pakistan.


We assess the ability of global water systems, resolved at 282 assessment subregions (ASRs), to the meet water requirements under integrated projections of socioeconomic growth and climate change. We employ a water resource system (WRS) component embedded within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) framework in a suite of simulations that consider a range of climate policies and regional hydroclimate changes out to 2050. For many developing nations, water demand increases due to population growth and economic activity have a much stronger effect on water stress than climate change. By 2050, economic growth and population change alone can lead to an additional 1.8 billion people living under at least moderate water stress, with 80% of these located in developing countries. Uncertain regional climate change can play a secondary role to either exacerbate or dampen the increase in water stress. The strongest climate impacts on water stress are observed in Africa, but strong impacts also occur over Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America. The combined effects of socioeconomic growth and uncertain climate change lead to a 1.0–1.3 billion increase of the world's 2050 projected population living with overly exploited water conditions—where total potential water requirements will consistently exceed surface water supply. This would imply that adaptive measures would be taken to meet these surface water shortfalls and include: water‐use efficiency, reduced and/or redirected consumption, recurrent periods of water emergencies or curtailments, groundwater depletion, additional interbasin transfers, and overdraw from flow intended to maintain environmental requirements.


Dynamic environment has a significant dynamic component, which means that the conditions of the real system at the time the decision is made are the results of all the past history of the system and influence its subsequent behaviour. The level of representation of dynamical aspects shows the dynamics of observable processes. The multiple objective decision making level deals with the analysis of information obtained from the static sub–model taking into account all possible measurement points revealed in dynamic sub-model of such a system. The modelled system is regarded as direct mapping of the real enterprise system, and decisions can be based on decisive facts and follow rather deterministic rules. Further actions, operations, etc. are determined throught the mechanism of cooperation of agents which are working by using the temporal information registration window. The method of applying E-net formalism to represent decision-making process is introduced. The use of E-nets to represent consecutive, recurrent, parallel processes and to model them in time allows formalization of all possible decision which may be determined by concrete conditions at real time point. Extending the set of macro transitions, introducing different levels of detailing, and using resolution location procedures, it is possible to formalize the behaviour of complex processes as well as the knowledge without making the scheme cumbersome.


The bicameral legislature is a cornerstore of the Madisonian system, a basic assumption of American constitutionalism. But a different constitutional vision is hidden in plain sight. Of the more than 90,000 local governments in the United States — many of which began as bicameral before abandoning the federal model, a history traced by this Article — each has now chosen a single chambered legislature. Efficiency and majoritarianism, not internal checks and balances, have driven the design of local legislatures. Local governments are not merely smaller units than states or the federal government; they have their own structure and their own animating principles. Theories built on bicameralism, including statutory interpretation methodologies and modes of judicial review, must be adapted for local, unicameral governments.


Aim To ascertain parents attitude, knowledge and awareness of the type of Surfactant used in the Tertiary Neonatal unit to treat Respiratory Distress Syndrome and religious limitations. Method This is a pilot project. We sent e-mail surveys through the Survey Monkey website to all the staff in a District General Hospital with a surfactant survey questionnaire that we devised seeking their opinion as a parent. We did not seek the opinion from parents in the neonatal unit as they may perceive that the clinical management of their babies would be influenced. Result We received 151 responses of which 63% are female and 37% are males. Of the respondents 70% have children. The majority of the people who responded were Christian (62%), 24% did not disclose their religion, 8% were Muslim and 6% of the respondents were Hindu. More than half of the responses were from non-medical staff (55%).Of the respondents, 23% were doctors and 22% were nursing staff. Almost 3/4th (74%) responded that the neonatal unit should stock different types of surfactant and 79% responded that there should be discussions antenatal regarding the type of surfactant utilised in premature babies after birth. Approximately 11% preferred either bovine or porcine surfactant based on religious beliefs, 36% preferred non-animal derived surfactant products and 53% had no preference. Conclusion In the current multicultural society with diversity of the UK, it is necessary to consider the religious beliefs of all patients and parents. There is always a medico legal implications in the ethical issues surrounding patient care. Paediatricians and neonatologists must respect patients' and parents' autonomy and beliefs and they must be given sufficient information in a way that is comprehensible and are able to exercise their rights to make informed decisions about the care of their babies.


The affective profiles model (i.e., four possible profiles based on the combination of people's high/low positive/ negative affect) has led to a great number of studies on individual differences during the past ten years. Nevertheless, only a handful of these studies have investigated actual behavior. Here we put forward two ways for analyzing online behavior (i.e., Facebook status updates) using data published elsewhere. We used the affective profiles model as the framework to investigate individual differences in the words people use when they write on Facebook and the semantic content of their status updates. We suggest that the use of computerized methods to quantify and analyze text need to be used in order to move the affective profiles model into the era of big text data.


* The past and present occurrence of insect disturbance on white spruce (Picea glauca) trees was evaluated at their northern range limit on the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, and its effects on tree growth and population dynamics studied. * Three sites were sampled along an altitudinal gradient. Ring-width chronologies and stem analysis were used to evaluate tree growth. The occurrence of holes in the bark, of resin pockets and blue-stain fungi, and ring-width evidence for growth releases were used to assess the impact of bark beetle. * The white spruce population was established at these sites in the 17th century. Since their establishment, the spruce trees have developed a tree growth form, except at the uppermost site, where severe growth suppression occurred in the 19th century. Bark beetle and blue-stain fungi occurred with different timing and intensity. Their highest occurrence, associated with high mortality rates, was at the lowest site in the late 20th century. In the uppermost sites, biotic disturbance has occurred since the 18th century, associated with evidence for mechanical disturbance. * The simultaneous arrival of white spruce in the area resulted in a synchronous onset of spruce beetle activity driven by tree ageing. Unfavourable climatic conditions affected tree growth severely in the most exposed sites.


AbstractThe Rapid Refresh (RAP) and High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR), both operational at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) use the Thompson et al. mixed-phase bulk cloud microphysics scheme. This scheme permits predicted surface precipitation to simultaneously consist of rain, snow, and graupel at the same location under certain conditions. Here, the explicit precipitation-type diagnostic method is described as used in conjunction with the Thompson et al. scheme in the RAP and HRRR models. The postprocessing logic combines the explicitly predicted multispecies hydrometeor data and other information from the model forecasts to produce fields of surface precipitation type that distinguish between rain and freezing rain, and to also portray areas of mixed precipitation. This explicit precipitation-type diagnostic method is used with the NOAA operational RAP and HRRR models. Verification from two winter seasons from 2013 to 2015 is provided against METAR surface observations. An...


Biomass combustion is one of the most versatile and spread heat source for residential usage in the world. Nowadays a lot of new combustion devices in developed countries are controlled automatically. The control algorithm used in these devices is crucial in attaining optimal service economy with minimal environmental impact. This contribution deals with two ways how to implement proper control algorithms to small and medium scale boilers. The first method is by applying modern methods of controller development and the second by adapting tested algorithms from full-scale boilers. The used algorithms are implemented and tested on experimental devices based on common market products.


Using Gottfredson and Hirschi's parental socialization thesis as a theoretical framework, the present study explores whether or not violent socialization processes are associated with criminal behavior, both at the micro-level and macro-level, across 32 different nations. Analyses were conducted on data from the International Dating Violence Study (Straus & Members of the International Dating Violence Research Consortium, 2004). Bivariate statistical analyses show that violent socialization tends to be more prevalent among nations with indicators of violence (e.g., laws supporting the death penalty) compared to nations without such indicators. The results of ordinary least squares regression analysis indicate that violent familial socialization processes are associated with individual criminal behavior within some nations, but not all nations. The results of multilevel modeling regression analysis reveal that criminal behavior significantly varies across the 32 different nations and violent socialization can explain a significant proportion of this variation. The findings from this exploratory study mostly supported the two main hypotheses: youth from families that use violent socialization processes tend to engage in significantly more criminal behavior, compared to youth from families that use nonviolent familial socialization processes (H1) and criminal behavior significantly varies nation to nation as part of a context of norms of violence (i.e., violent socialization processes (H2). While these findings are preliminary, this dissertation project provides a reference point for future comparative research on how norms may influence socialization processes within different nations and the ultimately the effects on criminal behavior.


The era of catheter ablation for the treatment of arrhythmias began in 1981, when Dr. Melvin Scheinman performed the first atrioventricular junction ablation using direct-current shocks in a patient with drug-refractory atrial fibrillation and an uncontrolled ventricular rate.1 Because of the barotrauma associated with intracardiac high-energy shocks, direct-current catheter ablation played only a limited role in the treatment of arrhythmias. With the advent of radiofrequency catheter ablation in the late 1980s, the range of arrhythmias amenable to catheter ablation and the number of patients who could be treated safely by catheter ablation vastly expanded. In the past decade, radiofrequency catheter ablation has become firmly established as first-line therapy for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and typical atrial flutter. Furthermore, although still in an evolutionary phase, catheter ablation to eliminate atrial fibrillation has been demonstrated in the past 5 years to be feasible and clinically useful. The intent of this article is to review the current status of catheter ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation.


A new field of research in education is emerging known as emotional intelligence. This book showcases the many contributions that emotional intelligence can make to education and to the wellbeing of schools as social communities. This book recognises the changing role of the teacher and acknowledges the new skills and ways of understanding that are required to deliver education in contemporary society and within the context of the ongoing development of the teacher. A number of approaches within the emotional intelligence field are explored in this book so as to enable readers to better understand the diverse needs of the student.


Relay network designs have been widely studied in recent years. It is known that cooperative relay network can achieve cooperative diversity with the help of relays and improve the data rate and/or the reliability of the network. On the other hand, green communication design has also attracted significant attention due to the drastic increase in energy consumption. We are going to investigate green communication designs in relay network in our work. In this thesis, we adopt a novel efficiency measure, the power-normalized received signal to noise ratio (PN-SNR) in relay network design for several scenarios and analyze the performance of the proposed designs. In single-relay network and multi-relay network with a sum relay power constraint, the PNSNR maximization problem is formulated and solved. In multi-relay network with individual power constraint on each relay, we investigate both the basic PN-SNR maximization problem and the quality of service (QoS)-constrained PN-SNR maximization problem. Performance of the proposed designs is compared with the fixed relay power scheme and the SNR-maximization scheme analytically and numerically via simulation. Our results show that with the same average relay transmit power, the PN-SNR maximizing scheme is superior to the fixed relay power scheme not only in the PN-SNR but also in the outage probability for both single and multi-relay networks. Compared with SNR-maximizing scheme, it is significantly superior in PN-SNR with moderate degradation in outage probability. Our results reveal the potential of PN-SNR as efficiency measure in relay network design.


One challenge for veterinarians, animal facilities and research scientists is the making of physiological estimates appropriate to a variety of species for which data are often either completely lacking or are incomplete. Our intent in compiling the data in this paper is to provide the best possible database of normal physiological and anatomical values primarily (though not exclusively) for four common mammalian model species: mouse, rat, dog and man. In order to make those data as accessible and applicable as possible, we have presented the results of this study in the form of body-size dependent allometric equations in which some variable (Y) is expressed as a dependent function of body mass (M) in the power-law equation, Y =aMb . By compiling these data, it is apparent that the resultant equations are quantitatively grouped (with similar slope or 'b' values). These emergent patterns provide insights into body-size dependent 'principles of design' that seem to dictate several aspects of design and function across species among all mammals. In general, the weights of most individual organs scale as a constant fraction of body mass (i.e. the body mass exponent, b ≅ 1.0). Biological rates (e.g. heart rate, respiratory rate) scale as b ≅ -1/4. Finally, volume-rates (the product of volume and rate) such as cardiac output, ventilation and oxygen uptake vary as b ≅ 3/4.


Resveratrol has generated interest in cats due to reported health benefits. Cats have low activity of β-glucuronidase, and we hypothesized they could not form two common resveratrol metabolites, resveratrol-3-O-glucuronide and resveratrol-4'-O-glucuronide. Resveratrol, 3 mg/cat/day, was given orally to intact male (n = 5) and female cats (n = 5) for 4 weeks. A control group (8 intact males) was used for comparison. Plasma and urine were collected weekly and analysed using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate, but no glucuronide metabolites, were detected in plasma and urine. Median (range 10-90th percentile) plasma resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.46 ng/ml (0.02-1.74 ng/ml) and 0.96 ng/ml (0.65-3.21 ng/ml). Median (range) plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 6.32 ng/ml (2.55-10.29 ng/ml) and 11.45 ng/ml (1.47-53.29 ng/ml). Plasma resveratrol differed from control in week 4, while plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate was different in all weeks (p < 0.05). Median (range) urine resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.28 ng/ml (0.05-1.59 ng/ml) and 19.98 ng/ml (8.44-87.54 ng/ml). Median (range) urine resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 26.71 ng/ml (10.50-75.58 ng/ml) and 108.69 ng/ml (11.83-231.05 ng/ml). All time points for urine resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate were significantly different from control (p < 0.05), except for weeks 1, 3 and 4 for resveratrol. The results support our hypothesis that cats are unlikely able to glucuronidate resveratrol, most likely due to a reduction in the activity of β-glucuronidase.


A group of 79 patients with histologically proven malignant melanoma was compared with an agesex matched, cancer-free, control group for certain phenotypic characteristics, environmental influence (outdoor exposure) and genetic cancerproneness. Statistical analysis of the data shows that there is a tendency for patients with malignant melanoma to have light complexions, light eyes, blond or red hair, and to spend a greater amount of time outdoors, when compared with the control group. There is close correlation of findings in these respects with our previously reported study of patients with basal-cell epithelioma.


ABSTRACT. This paper presents a novel approach to build an intelligent decision system (IDS) inspired by the evolutionary paradigm in order to solve the automatic liver fibrosis stadialization by optimizing the decision-making process.  The evolutionary paradigm was used to answer the basic question: how to distinguish between machine learning algorithms facing a medical decision issue, and how to integrate the most effective of them into IDS, able to provide an optimum decision? In the proposed IDS, a set of well-known neural networks are regarded as the initial population of solutions, and an appropriate hierarchy of algorithms is established fitness-proportionally based on a statistically built fitness measure. Then, the IDS framework is built using the best algorithms and the paradigm of a weighted voting system. In a concrete application, the degrees of liver fibrosis, ranging from F0 (no fibrosis) to F4 (cirrhosis), have been automatically identified in 722 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection using 25 main medical attributes. The decision performance proved significantly superior to the classical approach using standalone algorithms. This approach showed a way to directly and easy optimize the medical decision-making by using the evolutionary paradigm.


In this article, we describe screening, a new Stata command for data management that can be used to examine the content of complex narrative-text variables to identify one or more user-defined keywords. The command is useful when dealing with string data contaminated with abbreviations, typos, or mistakes. A rich set of options allows a direct translation from the original narrative string to a user-defined standard coding scheme. Moreover, screening is flexible enough to facilitate the merging of information from different sources and to extract or reorganize the content of string variables.


This lecture will focus on developing systematic logical reasoning principles for sequential programs. Writing programs with correctness specifications is one thing. But proving them to be correct is a different matter. Both are exceedingly useful, because the clear expression of our expectations on a program often already make it more correct as it will more likely occur to us if our expectations and the program's realization are out of sync. But, of course, we might still fail to notice that a program does not meet its correctness specification if all we do is look at them. The fact that we unambiguously rendered program contracts in logic now plays to our advantage. Not only did this make it clear what a precondition and postcondition of a program really means. But logic also provides ways of reasoning logically (go figure) about the programs by systematically transforming one logical formula into a simpler logical formula to find out whether it is true. This will lead us to discover a very systematic logical way of reasoning about the correctness of sequential programs. More information on the topic of axioms for reasoning about the behavior of programs in dynamic logic can also be found in the literature [Pla17b].


Emerging from more than two decades of research in the field and in the archives, the essays collected here explore the multifaceted topic of the Fijian firewalking ceremony, the vilavilairevo. The collection examines the intersection of the intertwined topics of cultural property, reproduction of tradition, and change with issues of (post)colonial representation, authenticity, and ethnic identity. The essays advance new insights on the tourist gaze and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and pose serious questions regarding the role of digital and social media as tools for preserving cultural legacies and extending traditional cultural worlds into new domains. Focusing on the response of the Sawau tribe of the island of Beqa to the commodification of the vilavilairevo as their iconic practice, this essay collection ultimately illuminates how the Christian cultural dynamics and unprecedented dogmatic schism surrounding the vilavilairevo spectacle are reshaping local notions of heritage, social sentiment, and social capital.


— This paper explored the use of Importance- Performance Analysis in assessing the competitiveness of China's Macao Special Administrative Region as a city for international conventions. Determinants of destination choice for convention tourists are grouped under three factors, namely the convention factor, the city factor and the tourism factor. Attributes of these three factors were studied through a survey with the convention participants and exhibitors of Macao SAR. Results indicate that the city boasts of strong traditional tourist attractions and infrastructure, but is deficient in specialized convention experts and promotion mechanisms. A reflection on the findings suggests that an urban city such as the Macao SAR can co-develop its the convention and the traditional tourism for a synergistic effect. With proper planning and co-ordination, both areas of the city's tourism industry will grow as they feed off each other.


– Healthy woman, 35 years old, Gravida2 para1, (Cesarean section four years ago performed by fetal malpresentation). In this recent pregnancy, the delivery occurred at 40 weeks of gestation by Vacuum and Forceps. The neonate was born with 4015g, I.A. 7/9. The succenturiata placenta was expelled late but spontaneously. The bleeding after was heavily and the woman was submitted a curettage of uterine cavity. This procedure was difficult (because a supposed myoma nodule) and no products were obtained. Meanwhile the anemia was present and needed 2U more 2U packed red cells transfusion. – Twenty hours after delivery, sonography was requested because the hemorrhage not stopped. – The examination was performed with GE Voluson 730. The images obtained strongly suggested Incomplete Uterine Inversion. – The woman was submitted a laparotomy and was confirmed the sonographic diagnosis of incomplete uterine inversion and yet a little rupture of the uterus (right1/3 of the scar of previous histerorraphy). – The reposition of the inverted uterus was very difficult (because the existence of a strong constriction ring) but possible. Next, it was performed the hysterorraphy and tubal sterilization.


This afterword to the Urban Vulnerabilities: Infrastructure, Health and Stigma special issue highlights two cross-cutting themes that are addressed by all the articles in the issue, and that have the potential to make a significant contribution to debates within urban studies. First, I reflect on how the articles reveal the inseparable connections between infrastructure and stigma, demonstrating both as political and material processes that are inter-dependent and mutually constitutive. Consequently, it is urgent to bridge disciplinary siloes in bringing these scholarly debates into deeper conversation in ways that recognise the materiality of stigma and the politicisation of infrastructure (and vice versa). Second, to a greater and lesser extent, the articles all reveal the centrality of citizenship to the capacity of both urban dwellers and the state to negotiate and/or restrict access to infrastructure, and to perpetuate and/or challenge the impacts of stigma. While the connections between infrastructure and citizenship are explored in my recent work on infrastructural citizenship, the articles in this collection demonstrate the importance of temporality and scale in understanding how citizens negotiate their material and political rights.


A new promising strategy for the PSO (Particle swarm optimization) algorithm is proposed and described in this paper. This new strategy presents alternative way of assigning new velocity to each individual in particle swarm (population). This new multiple choice particle swarm optimization (MC-PSO) algorithm is tested on two different shifted test functions to show the performance on problems that are not constant in time. The promising results of this alternative strategy are compared with the not modified PSO version.


This paper examines the role of patents in the development and use of two platform technologies for plant biotechnology - plant transformation techniques and structural genomics. We find that patents were important in inducing private firms to develop these platform technologies. There development led to the commercialization of more GM varieties, more rapidly than would have been the case otherwise. We did identify a number of examples of GM varieties that were slowed down by the patents on tools. However, our preliminary assessment of the evidence suggests that the benefits from patents on tools outweigh the costs.


A condition precipitated by acute sun exposure, occurring primarily in women, and having all the characteristics of erythema multiforme is reported.


Intellectual disability services are under constant change with Transforming Care being the latest UK policy aimed to improve services. The STOMP agenda forms part of this, as a call to action against the overmedication of people with intellectual disabilities. Recent service policy has come about following exposes of scandals where support workers have been found to be abusing the people they are paid to support. Despite these findings and the intimate role support workers have with people with intellectual disability, there is a paucity of research to understand this unique role. In response, this study aimed to develop a model that could conceptualise the role of support workers in caring for people with intellectual disability that take psychotropic medication. Constructivist grounded theory from a pragmatist position, which complements the research aim and questions of this study was carried out. The "negotiating dis/ability" model was constructed using interview data from support workers who had experience of working with people with intellectual disability who take psychotropic medication. "Disablement" and "ablement" were dominant processes for support workers negotiating a (medication) role in their relationships with others in the system. Support worker's "dis/ablement" was constructed of a broader ableism that permeates throughout intellectual disability services. This study demonstrated how current interventions "disable" others through individualising problems within the support worker as well as the person with intellectual disability; taking a radical systemic approach may help to counter these narratives and lead to better outcomes, including more successful medication reductions.


Introduction: Present study is focused to develop micro emulsion based nasal formulation of poorly water soluble antipsychotic/anti-schizophrenic drug Aripiprazole. Materials and Methods: Different surfactants and co surfactants are screened by implementing pseudo ternary phase diagram. Effect of concentrations of four independent variables- oil (X1), Surfactant (X2), co-surfactant (X3) and water (X4) on two dependent variablesparticle size (Y1) and drug content (Y2) is studied from surface response plots obtained by application of Box Behnken Design Experiment. QTPP and CQA mediated risk assessment applied to ensure desirable quality, safety and efficacy of developed microemulsion. Developed microemulsion evaluated for appearance, particle size, viscosity, drug content, pH, conductivity, drug release, zeta potential, polydispersity index, nasal toxicity and stability. Results: DoE based QBD approach lead development of suitable optimized batch of Aripiprazole micro emulsion with particle size 95.2 nm, viscosity 120 cp, pH 6.0, 90%, drug content and about 87.33% nasal permeability release within 4 hr. Risk assessment helped in identifying identification robust design parameters for rapid development of stable aripiprazole micro emulsion. The critical quality attributes (CQAs) like solubility and compatibility with excipients, dosage form, particle size, turbidity, drug content and drug release have greater impact on the stability and therapeutic performance of micro emulsion of aripiprazole. Conclusion: Aripiprazole containing intranasal micro emulsion is successfully developed by quality by design approach for understanding the critical quality attributes and microemulsion is better alternative over conventional delivery systems.


This paper reevaluates the effect of a tenancy reform, popularly known as Operation Barga, on agricultural productivity in West Bengal, India. We employ a transparent empirical strategy based on synthetic control. We focus on the varying intensity of Operation Barga across West Bengal districts by comparing the districts' agricultural productivity with that of counterfactual districts using the synthetic control approach. Concerns over agro-climatic diversity and the recorded history of land reforms were also addressed while creating counterfactual districts. We find robust empirical evidence of a negligible effect on agricultural productivity growth. Next, we consider a theoretical framework to estimate the potential gains from Operation Barga in light of several types of sharecroppers. Consistent with the empirical findings, we conclude that the capacity of Operation Barga to enhance agricultural productivity is heavily constrained by the heterogeneity of sharecroppers in terms of wealth and livelihood structure.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of subgingivally delivered Minocycline microspheres and 25% Metronidazole gel when used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Materials and Methods: A randomized, controlled, single center study was conducted involving 60 sites in 20 patients suffering from moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis. Each patient contributed three sites which were randomized to three treatment groups: SRP + insertion of Minocycline microspheres at day 1 (Group A), SRP + insertion of Metronidazole gel at day 1 and at day 7 (Group B), and SRP alone (Group C). Gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at day 1, 1 month, and 3 months post therapy. Results: All treatments showed significant reductions in PPD and CAL at 1 and 3 months when compared to baseline values (P < 0.001). At 3 months, sites treated with minocycline showed an additional reduction in PPD of 0.85 ± 0.03 mm, significantly greater than SRP alone. Differences in mean PPD reduction between Group B and Group C and between Group A and Group B were not significant. At 3 months, difference in CAL gain between Group A and C was 0.50 ± 0.45, which was statistically significant and between Group B and C was 0.35 ± 0.11, which was not found to be statistically significant (P = 0.20). Differences in relative CAL between Group A and Group B were also not found to be statistically significant (P = 0.53). Conclusion: The results concluded that treatment with Minocycline microspheres and Metronidazole gel improve PPD and CAL in patients with periodontitis compared to SRP alone.


HarvestPlus Technical Monographs are designed to provide a forum for HarvestPlus research outputs. Technical Monographs can be of two kinds: • state-of-the-art reviews that help to establish and define HarvestPlus research questions or • " gold standard " procedures to be followed in HarvestPlus research. HarvestPlus technical monographs are written by recognized experts in the field and are externally peer reviewed prior to publication.


In this article, we introduce the xtivdfreg command, which implements a general instrumental-variables (IV) approach for fitting panel-data models with many time-series observations, T, and unobserved common factors or interactive effects, as developed by Norkute et al. (2021, Journal of Econometrics 220: 416–446) and Cui et al. (2020a, ISER Discussion Paper 1101). The underlying idea of this approach is to project out the common factors from exogenous covariates using principal-components analysis and to run IV regression in both of two stages, using defactored covariates as instruments. The resulting two-stage IV estimator is valid for models with homogeneous or heterogeneous slope coefficients and has several advantages relative to existing popular approaches. In addition, the xtivdfreg command extends the two-stage IV approach in two major ways. First, the algorithm accommodates estimation of unbalanced panels. Second, the algorithm permits a flexible specification of instruments. We show that when one imposes zero factors, the xtivdfreg command can replicate the results of the popular Stata ivregress command. Notably, unlike ivregress, xtivdfreg permits estimation of the two-way error-components paneldata model with heterogeneous slope coefficients.


Kosev, V. & Georgieva, N. (2021). Comparative assessment of broad bean (Vicia faba L.) accessions regarding some main traits and parameters. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 27 (6), 1136–1142 With an aim to be conducted a comparative assessment of 17 broad bean accessions regarding main traits and parameters, a field trial was carried out at the Institute of Forage Crops (Pleven, Bulgaria) during the period 2016-2018. The randomized block method was used. The results showed that, the factor of genotype had the strongest impact on the phenotypic performance of main quantitative traits (plant height, 1st pod height, number and weight of seeds per plant, 100 seeds mass, pod length and pod width) in the accessions studied. In pod formation, the interaction genotype-environment had the largest influence. Based on values of the coefficient of early-ripeness, the accessions can be divided into the following groups: ultra early-ripening accessions – BGE 029055 (1.00); early-ripening ones – Fb 2481, BGE 041470, BGE 043776, BGE 046721 (1.24), FbH 15 (1.33); mid-ripening ones – BGP (1.34); Fb 1896, Fb 1903, Fb 1929, BGE 032012 (1.43), Fb 2486 (1.62); late-ripening ones – FbH 14, FbH 16 (1.76), Fb 3270 (1.81), FbH 13 (1.95), BGE 002106 (2.00). The variability regarding main quantitative traits was low (2.83-7.26%) and within the following limits: plant height – 64-79 cm, 1st pod height – 22-35 cm, pods number per plant – 8-15, seeds number – 22-41 and 100 seeds mass – 10.29-34.93 g. FbH 14 (7.36 t ha-1), Fb 2486 (6.50 t ha-1) and BGE 041470 (6.82 t ha-1) were distinguished by the highest seed yields. For an additional characteristic of the accessions, the index of individual seed productivity, seed index and index of attraction were used. BGE 041470 had high values in the three indices. The studied accessions represent valuable germplasm and can be used as parental forms in the broad bean breeding.


Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a recently developed technology capable of micron-scale imaging. Its high resolution (10-20 microm) makes intravascular OCT imaging the most interesting method for assessing atherosclerotic plaque microstructure in patients suffering from coronary artery disease. OCT allowed measurement of the thickness of the plaque fibrous cap, as well as identification of intima, media, and external elastic membrane in patients with normal coronary arteries. However, significant limitations still exist, including poor penetration in non-transparent tissue. The aim of this review is to give an update on OCT on the basis of the existing literature, with an overview of the strong and weak features of this technique.


Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a mature B-cell lymphoma characterized by expression of CD5, overexpression of Cyclin D1 as a result of chromosomal translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32), and poor prognosis. Cases of MCL lacking CD5 expression as well as cases with coexpression of CD5 and CD10 have also been reported. Here we describe an uncommon case of de novo MCL with expression of CD10, but not CD5, mimicking lymphoma of germinal center-derived B cells. The lymphoma cells in this case demonstrated a diffuse pattern of proliferation, and were strongly positive for Cyclin D1 by immunohistochemical stain. Fluorescence in situ hybridization studies demonstrated the presence of t(11;14)(q13;q32) involving BCL1, but not chromosomal translocations involving C-MYC or BCL2, confirming the diagnosis of MCL. This case further highlights the importance of comprehensive immunophenotypic and genetic characterization in the diagnosis and classification of B-cell lymphomas.


ABSTRACT Moran eigenvector spatial filtering (MESF) furnishes an alternative method to account for spatial autocorrelation in linear regression specifications describing georeferenced data, although spatial auto-models also are widely used. The utility of this MESF methodology is even more impressive for the non-Gaussian models because its flexible structure enables it to be easily applied to generalized linear models, which include Poisson, binomial, and negative binomial regression. However, the implementation of MESF can be computationally challenging, especially when the number of geographic units, n, is large, or massive, such as with a remotely sensed image. This intensive computation aspect has been a drawback to the use of MESF, particularly for analyzing a remotely sensed image, which can easily contain millions of pixels. Motivated by Curry, this paper proposes an approximation approach to constructing eigenvector spatial filters (ESFs) for a large spatial tessellation. This approximation is based on a divide-and-conquer approach. That is, it constructs ESFs separately for each sub-region, and then combines the resulting ESFs across an entire remotely sensed image. This paper, employing selected specimen remotely sensed images, demonstrates that the proposed technique provides a computationally efficient and successful approach to implement MESF for large or massive spatial tessellations.


An adaptive distributed system-level diagnosis algorithm, called Adaptive DSD, suitable for local area networks, is presented. Adaptive DSD assumes a distributed network in which nodes perform tests of other nodes and determine them to be faulty or fault-free. Test results conform to the PMC model of system-level diagnosis. Tests are issued from each node adaptively and depend on the fault situation of the network. Adaptive DSD is proved correct in that each fault-free node reaches an accurate independent diagnosis of the fault conditions of the remaining nodes. Furthermore, no restriction is placed on the number of faulty nodes. The algorithm can diagnose any fault situation with any number of faulty nodes. Adaptive DSD is shown to be a considerable improvement over previous efforts including being optimal in terms of the total number of tests and messages required. The use of the algorithm in an actual distributed network environment and the experimentation within that environment are described.<<ETX>>


This paper proposes a new and efficient methodology for clustering of html documents. The topic wise categorization of documents into different clusters makes searching easier and efficient. This technique can be utilized by search engines to provide relevant results to the user according to query and also utilized by online journal domains that are maintaining large set of documents. This paper suggests a good word matching and naming of automatic generated clusters , so, the time consume for finding the appropriate cluster for a document will be reduced. This paper shows the use of an efficient technique for finding the similarity between the documents and assigns them a proper cluster. The proper clustering of documents will be further utilized by multidocument summarization system, which produces a summary for the documents related to each other.


The Minoan ossuary at Hagios Charalambos is located in the upland plain of Lasithi in Central Crete. This article discusses eight items with Egyptian connections discovered in the excavations of the site in 2002 and 2003. Two pendants carved from hippopotamus ivory in the form of apes belong to classes already known from Minoan Crete. Six clay examples of the sistrum add to our knowledge of this musical instrument on Crete as only a single MM IA sistrum was known previously from this island. The artifacts increase the very small corpus of "Egyptianizing" objects known from MM IA Crete, a period that is contemporary with the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. They point to a complex trade network reaching Cretan ports on both the south and the north coasts that was already present. These objects help document the distribution of exotic items with overseas connections to the interior of the Minoan island, well away from any coastal seaport or important population center. They also underscore the ambiguous nature of the connections between Minoan Crete and the East Mediterranean at this period when one cannot be sure if the overseas connections are direct or indirect. Within Crete, however, the distribution of hippopotamus ivory and objects made from it suggests that this trade from overseas is with South Cretan ports rather than North Cretan ports, because the distribution is densest in the Mesara and gradually diminishes away from this region. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v03i2_betancourt


Cost estimation is a complex and critical process, particularly during pre-investment phases of large undersea tunnel projects, where major decisions must be made under a high level of uncertainty. The high level of uncertainty regarding geological and construction performance aspects, as well as the occurrence of undesirable risk events may certainly affect the actual execution cost, making cost estimation a difficult task to be performed during the early phases. This work presents a cost estimation model based on uncertainty and risk analysis that may help project organisations to obtain more realistic cost estimates. The specific model was designed for Drill and Blast excavation method, and it is focused on the cost estimation of the tunnelling activities. Through standard project management tools, this model estimates the total tunnelling cost (CTT) as a random function of the normal (CNT) and extraordinary tunnelling cost (CET). The model assumes that normal cost is controlled by geological and construction aspects, while the extraordinary tunnelling cost may be derived for the occurrence of undesirable events. Both are modelled as random processes and integrated in @Risk, which allows performing Monte Carlo Simulations (MCS) and obtain the final cost distributions (PDF). The model was tested in a specific case study, and the results demonstrate the suitability of the model for determine the total tunnelling cost. Even though the model has demonstrated to be valid, the model robustness and accuracy may be improved by more advanced research in areas related to rock support and water inflow control. Finally, the results have confirmed that the integration of stochastic and driver-based and risk management tools may provide a powerful tool to improve the pre investment decision process of undersea tunnel projects


In 1958, Joseph Wolpe published Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition , and in it he presented three specific procedures for the treatment of three types of neuroses: (1) desensitization for phobias; (2) assertive training for problems involving self-assertion; and (3) sexual training for sexual inhibitions. 1 In addition to these clinical procedures, the book contained some reports from the animal laboratory plus a good deal of Wolpe's own theory regarding the etiology and treatment of neuroses in terms of a concept he still refers to as "reciprocal inhibition," amounting to something of a cross between the neurophysiological principles described by Sherrington and the psychological theory proposed by Hull. In 1966, he published a second book in collaboration with Lazarus, in which they spared the reader much of Wolpe's theorizing and confined themselves more to the clinical applications of his techniques. 2 They also added a brief two-page section on aversion therapy.


The effect of Bacillus intermedius RNAse on the reproduction of Candida tropicalis and synthesis of the main biopolymers in the yeast cells. It has been found that stimulating action of the enzyme appears at the concentration of 10(-5)-10(-6) mg/ml and does not depend on the physiological state of the sowing culture. The connection between the increase of the ionic penetration and stimulation of the RNA and proteins synthesis in the yeast cells subjected to the RNAse action is shown. The mechanism of chromatine-associated RNA-polymerase activation is suggested to include the alteration of the ionic penetration of cells under the RNAse action.


The government of Canada, in cooperation with the provinces, the housing industry, and public interest groups, is focusing on the national and international plight of the homeless. Through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canada is supporting many and diverse projects alleviating the most pressing shelter needs of the homeless in more than forty countries in the world (Statistics Canada, 1990). Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Canada's National Housing Agency, on the other hand, are supporting a wide range of initiatives to identify and research the best means of improving the living conditions of the homeless in Canada (McLaughlin, 1987). The analysis of homelessness in Canada indicates that while it is a pervasive phenomenon, particularly visible in the major metropolitan cities, it is subject public policy resolution and substantive improvement through public and private resources (Oberlander, 1987). The practical solutions for such a problem should focussing on the needs of the homeless that include shelter as well as social and economic support services. This will provide the basis for effective return and participation of individuals and families in the Canadian society who have been made homeless by economic, health, and social circumstances. This study is an analytical survey on the nature and the causes of homelessness in Canada, and on selected successful solutions and projects in three cities, which are: Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto. The examples that will be present are successful innovative solutions of a cooperation process and joint enterprise of public and private initiatives.


Background: Eosinophils are important cells in host immunity to infections by parasitic worms. Tissue-invasive helminthic parasites have been known to induce apoptosis of immune cells for their successful establishment in vivo. We have previously found that high doses of excretory-secreted products (ESP) secreted by lung fluke Paragonimus westermani newly excysted metacercariae (PwNEM), which cause pulmonary or extrapulmonary paragonimiasis in human beings, accelerate eosinophil cell death. However, little is known about the mechanism of eosinophil apoptosis induced by the Paragonimus-derived products. Objective: We examined involvement of caspase 3 activation in eosinophil cell death induced by ESP produced by PwNEM. Methods: Eosinophils were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy donors by CD16-negative immunomagnetic selection. We examined the inhibitory effect of pan-caspase inhibitor on ESP-triggered phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization on the outer surface of eosinophils and intracellular activation of caspase 3 in cell lysates treated with the ESP. Results: When ESP secreted by PwNEM were incubated for up to 3 h with eosinophils, they increased surface exposure of PS on eosinophils in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This proapoptotic effect of the ESP on eosinophils was significantly inhibited by pretreatment of cells with pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk, and was completely abolished by heat inactivation of ESP at 56°C. The activated forms of caspase 3 were also clearly detected in eosinophils incubated with ESP. Moreover, ESP potently inhibited prolonged survival of eosinophils induced by cytokines such as IL-5, IL-3, and GM-CSF. Conclusion: These results suggest that ESP secreted by PwNEM contain biological active factors causing caspase-3-mediated apoptosis of human eosinophils, thereby enabling the larvae to evade and to subvert the tackle by eosinophils during the early phase of the infection.


Less restrictive product market policies are crucial in promoting convergence to higher levels of GDP per capita. This paper benchmarks product market policies in Bulgaria to those of OECD countries by estimating OECD indicators of Product Market Regulation (PMR). The PMR indicators allow a comprehensive mapping of policies affecting competition in product markets. Comparison with OECD countries reveals that Bulgaria has made substantial progress towards less restrictive product market policies but also emphasizes a number of areas where further reform is needed. These include adoption of a regulatory process based on incentive-based rather than command-and-control approach, reduction of state interference in the decision of state-owned enterprises, further streamlining of business licensing procedures, and improvement in the communication of rules and procedures to affected parties.


The later Romantics were the first generation of British poets - perhaps the first generation of poets anywhere - to find their poems while contemplating remnants of the ancient world. This interest in the past, in the pastness of the past, infused the Romantic sublime, for there is nothing more useful in contemplating mortality than a vine-covered ruin. If you wanted your own ruin and had the means, your masons could build what was called a folly, the counterfeit remains of abbey or castle (Byron might have indulged himself, had he not been Byron - in any case, his ancestral home had been built next to the ruins of an ancient abbey). If you were without means, however, if you could not afford the Grand Tour, you had to take your inspiration from books, as Keats did in "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer." Or you had to visit museums. England was not always the warehouse of empire. When it opened in 1759, the British Museum contained few antiquities amid thousands of books, stuffed animals, and dried plants. It wasn't until die 1780s diat the museum began to acquire Brobdingnagian fragments like the colossal sandaled foot found near Naples and purchased from William Hamilton. Among the wrack of vanished civilizations were sky-scraping heroic statues, often preserved in mutilated form. These statues were a particular curiosity to the British, who could offer, as massive fragments of antique civilization, not much more than an earthen dike or two, some lengths of Roman wall, and Stonehenge. Articles about these statues and other objects from the Near East filled the reviews of the day and drove the public to the museum, sometimes in eager anticipation of the objects to come. The older Romantics, however much they loved books (we owe our deepest knowledge of Coleridge's imagination to his marginal scrawls - if he returned a book he had borrowed, it was defaced with his genius), depended on the close observation of nature. Wordsworth hated the city and couldn't wait to escape it - in his devious sonnet "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," he looked upon London as if it were another landscape. When he hiked above Tintern Abbey, he was more interested in the hills and cataracts than in the abbey's vanished majesties - the roofless stones famously make no direct appearance in the poem. This is not to say that Wordsworth and Coleridge failed to hold ruins in due Romantic reverence - fallen walls litter their work, but they are largely local. The second generation of Romantics, who in the main preferred city life, were drawn to ruins far-flung - perhaps their fascination was derived partly from the discoveries made during the Napoleonic wars. (Byron's use of Greek ruins in the early cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage [1812] may have been crucial for thinking of ruins in political terms.) These later Romantics were not counterfeiting antique poetry, like Chatterton or Macpherson, nor like the Elizabethans dramatizing twice-told tales of Caesar, or Sejanus, or Tamburlaine. The monumental past was newly available in journal and book and museum, as well as by travel - and poets were quick to make use of it. We think of the Romantics as the embodiment of imagination, not fancy; of the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," as Wordsworth had it, not cautious artifice; of "incidents and situations from common life," not gossip of dead kings. Yet in some ways the Romantics were just as much in love with artifice as the Augustans before them. Inspiration cannot derive mystically from nature if it can be had on demand, from a tap; but some of the Romantics, as a kind of parlor trick, loved to write when inspiration was forced. Think of that gloomy evening on Lake Geneva during the summer of 1816 - the notorious Year Without a Summer. The company having diverted itself with a book of supernatural tales, Byron (for he was the host) proposed that each write a ghost story. They pottered about in prose - John William Polidori writing about a "skull-headed lady" - but eventually gave up the task. …


1H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry was exploited to investigate the dynamics of solid proteins. The relaxation experiments were performed at 37 °C over a broad frequency range, from approximately 10 kHz to 40 MHz. Two relaxation contributions to the overall 1H spin–lattice relaxation were revealed; they were associated with 1H–1H and 1H–14N magnetic dipole–dipole interactions, respectively. The 1H–1H relaxation contribution was interpreted in terms of three dynamical processes occurring on timescales of 10−6 s, 10−7 s, and 10−8 s, respectively. The 1H–14N relaxation contribution shows quadrupole relaxation enhancement effects. A thorough analysis of the data was performed revealing similarities in the protein dynamics, despite their different structures. Among several parameters characterizing the protein dynamics and structure (e.g., electric field gradient tensor at the position of 14N nuclei), the orientation of the 1H–14N dipole–dipole axis, with respect to the principal axis system of the electric field gradient, was determined, showing that, for lysozyme, it was considerably different than for the other proteins. Moreover, the validity range of a closed form expression describing the 1H–14N relaxation contribution was determined by a comparison with a general approach based on the stochastic Liouville equation.


Flexure and fracturing of the seafloor on the outer trench wall of subduction zones reflect bending of the lithosphere beyond its elastic limit. To investigate these inelastic processes, we have developed a full nonlinear inversion approach for estimating the bending moment, curvature and outer trench wall fracturing using shipboard bathymetry and satellite altimetry-derived gravity data as constraints. Bending moments and downward forces are imposed along curved trench axes and an iterative method is used to calculate the nonlinear response for 26 sites in the circum-Pacific region having seafloor age ranging from 15 to 148 Ma. We use standard thermal and yield strength envelope models to develop the nonlinear moment versus curvature relationship. Two coefficients of friction of 0.6 and 0.3 are considered and we find that the lower value provides a better overall fit to the data. The main result is that the lithosphere is nearly moment saturated at the trench axis. The effective elastic thickness of the plate on the outer trench slope is at least three times smaller than the elastic thickness of the plate before bending at the outer rise in agreement with previous studies. The average seafloor depth of the unbent plate in these 26 sites matches the Parsons & Sclater depth versus age model beyond 120 Ma. We also use the model to predict the offsets of normal faults on the outer trench walls and compare this with the horst and graben structures observed by multibeam surveys. The model with the lower coefficient of friction fits the fault offset data close to the trench axis. However, the model predicts significant fracturing of the lithosphere between 75 and 150 km away from the trench axis where no fracturing is observed. To reconcile these observations, we impose a thermoelastic pre-stress in the lithosphere prior to subduction. This pre-stress delays the onset of fracturing in better agreement with the data.


This presentation includes the following panelists: Phillip R. Berke Thomas A. Birkland and Emily Young. Moderated by John T. Cooper. Dr. Cooper introduced the panel discussion by pointing out that Hurricane Floyd was the first disaster that focused the nation's attention on the problems faced by disadvantaged communities during natural disasters. The research project at MDC began in 2005 just before Hurricane Katrina hit and now more attention has been focused on preparing disadvantaged communities.


In Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the Supreme Court held that the presumption against extraterritoriality applies "in all cases." But the Court also changed the presumption by shifting its focus from the location of the conduct to the location of the effects. This symposium contribution argues this shift is consistent with the presumption's underlying rationale and with the Court's prior case law. It also applies Morrison's effects test to RICO.


Pedagogical content knowledge was first introduced by Shulman (1986). This concept is in relation to the ability of teachers to transform the content knowledge they possess into a pedagogical form, adapted to suit the needs and abilities of the children. This study examined the ways in which primary trainees following two different routes into qualified teacher status developed confidence in mathematical pedagogical content knowledge. A case study approach was adopted focusing on trainees from a Primary SCITT (School-centred initial teacher training) and EBITT (Employment based initial teacher training) Partnership. This process explored key aspects of the training year and the perceived overall impact on the development of trainees' confidence levels in the pedagogical content knowledge aspect of mathematics. Lines of enquiry were identified related to research on the ways in which trainees learn. This included an examination of the impact of the practical experience of teaching; feedback from observations; observations of good practice; discussions with mentors and other professionals; centre-based training; discussions with peers, and previous experiences of mathematics. The trainees' perceptions of the impact of these aspects were gained through a mixed method approach and included: hard copy questionnaires, group interviews, observations of training sessions, and scrutiny of written lesson observation reports. Additional perspectives were also gained through the surveying of mentors working with the trainees and also an interview with the mathematics core tutor. Findings highlighted the importance of: reflective practice; the development of an understanding of progression in children's learning; centre-based training; the support structure within the school environment, and the teaching' experience within a second school setting. The relationship between theoretical and practical learning has been examined in detail and this highlighted the symbiotic relationship which exists between the two - concluding that both play an important role in advancing trainee teachers' confidence in mathematical pedagogical understanding.


: Based on recent international consensus conferences and a literature search, a brief summary is given of current knowledge about epilepsy in pregnancy. We suggest new Norwegian guidelines based on international recommendations for handling pregnant women with epilepsy. There is a slightly increased risk for malformations in children born of women with epilepsy. The main reason is probably teratogenic effects of antiepileptic drugs. Nevertheless, the overall chance of giving birth to a healthy child is 92-96%, compared to about 98% in the general population. Counselling all fertile women with epilepsy is important in order to reduce the risk of malformations. Before a planned pregnancy, medication should be re-evaluated, and the lowest dose of the drug most likely to give satisfactory seizure control is preferable. The women should have regular neurological follow-up throughout the pregnancy, and they should be given extra vitamin D, K, and folate. Women using carbamazepine, valproate or the new generation of antiepileptic drugs should be offered amniocentesis and comprehensive ultrasound examination in the 14th and 17th week, respectively. The newly approved drugs should be prescribed only if they provide a considerable better seizure control and/or fewer side effects than the traditional antiepileptic drugs.


The Internet of Things (IoT) idea is having a significant impact on our daily lives these days. As the number of IoT devices is growing fast, many researchers have declared that the usage of IoT and the impact of IoT will make people always use IoT devices whatever they do or wherever they are. At the same time, IoT devices at home are receiving a lot of attention because they contribute to a comfortable home environment. Thus, IoT devices at home are increasing and diversifying. In addition, it is obvious that people will use various home services using various IoT devices. In this situation, it can be extremely difficult for both users and service providers to solve a problem if there is a fault in the smart home environment. To find the position of a fault easily, we define four social relationships between IoTs: IoT-IoT, IoT-Network, Foodservice and IoT-Physical space relationship. The relationships can be used discover IoT devices, services and resources because it provides a distributed solution that is effective, efficient and reduces the burden on people. In addition, the idea of social relationships guarantees the network navigability of searching. To prevent needless burdens on users, we propose that the four relationships are generated automatically by an SDN-based home cloud. We simulated the automatic generation mechanism with 307 switches and 2007 device nodes. The results confirmed that the relationships are generated properly with high accuracy. The created relationships are stored as a RDF/XML format. The RDF/XML format could be used semantically for such tasks as answering a semantic query or smart home service recommendation. We anticipate that the proposed mechanism will bring huge benefits not only to users but also to home service providers in the purpose of smart home management.


Medical equipment is important in the budget of hospitals and in general practice. Purchasing decisions are made infrequently, and affect practice for many years. It is therefore important to make good choices. The DHSS publishes bulletins on 'Health Equipment Information' which provides detailed comparative information on electromedical equipment costing more than a few hundred pounds. Each year several such bulletins assess different types of equipment. The bulletins, published since 1979, have dealt with ECG monitors and recorders, ultrasonic scanners, diathermy units, defibrillators, infusion pumps, and transcutaneous oxygen monitors. Eventually the reports will cover a wide range of equipment and hopefully will include assessment of smaller pieces of apparatus such as humidifiers, ophthalmoscopes, electrical thermometers etc.


Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are ligand-gated ion channels mediating signal transduction at chemical synapses. Since the early patch-clamp electrophysiology studies, the details of the ion permeation mechanism have remained elusive. Here, we combine molecular dynamics simulations of a zebrafish GlyR-α1 model devoid of the intracellular domain with mutagenesis and single-channel electrophysiology of the full-length human GlyR-α1. We show that lateral fenestrations between subunits in the extracellular domain provide the main translocation pathway for chloride ions to enter/exit a central water-filled vestibule at the entrance of the transmembrane channel. In addition, we provide evidence that these fenestrations are at the origin of current rectification in known anomalous mutants and design de novo two inward-rectifying channels by introducing mutations within them. These results demonstrate the central role of lateral fenestrations on synaptic neurotransmission.


As the need for machine learning (ML) increases rapidly across all industry sectors, there is a significant interest among commercial database providers to support "Query 2.0", which integrates model inference into SQL queries. Debugging Query 2.0 is very challenging since an unexpected query result may be caused by the bugs in training data (e.g., wrong labels, corrupted features). In response, we propose Rain, a complaint-driven training data debugging system. Rain allows users to specify complaints over the query's intermediate or final output, and aims to return a minimum set of training examples so that if they were removed, the complaints would be resolved. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study this problem. A naive solution requires retraining an exponential number of ML models. We propose two novel heuristic approaches based on influence functions which both require linear retraining steps. We provide an in-depth analytical and empirical analysis of the two approaches and conduct extensive experiments to evaluate their effectiveness using four real-world datasets. Results show that Rain achieves the highest recall@k among all the baselines while still returns results interactively.


Objective The Northland (New Zealand) Rugby Union developed an innovative concussion recognition and management programme (Blue Card) as part of its player welfare responsibilities for club (community) players. The referee is empowered to issue a Blue Card (BC) to any player they suspect of being concussed, thus removing them from the game. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the referees' perspectives on having this added responsibility, and whether this detracted from their enjoyment of refereeing. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Northland Rugby Union headquarters Participants Twenty-one amateur male referees who officiated in club-level rugby matches covered by the Northland Rugby Union Blue (NRUBC) programme during the 2014 season volunteered to participate. Outcome measures Custom-designed survey instrument using both open and closed questions. Main results The referees had between 2 and 35 (mean=12.1) seasons of refereeing experience with 81% (17/21) claiming a good or average knowledge of concussion. The majority (20/21) reported that they had sufficient training for their expanded role. Two thirds (14/21) of the respondents did not think that the additional responsibility impacted on their refereeing satisfaction. Over the season nine (9) BCs were issued by 7 of the participating referees, with 5 indicating that they were "very confident" in their decision. Conclusions The referees indicated that they were well prepared to handle the added responsibility as on-field concussion gatekeepers, and this role did not detract from their enjoyment of refereeing the game. Additional insight into how the NRUBC programme is received by players, teammates and their families, needs investigation. Competing interests S.J Sullivan, A Gray and P Handcock: None. K Collins was involved in the development of the Northland Blue Card Programme but was not involved in the data analysis. None.


Abstract Spoken and written language are two modes of language. When learners aim at higher skill levels, the expected outcome of successful second language learning is usually to become a fluent speaker and writer who can produce accurate and complex language in the target language. There is an axiomatic difference between speech and writing, but together they form the essential parts of learners' L2 skills. The two modes have their own characteristics, and there are differences between native and nonnative language use. For instance, hesitations and pauses are not visible in the end result of the writing process, but they are characteristic of nonnative spoken language use. The present study is based on the analysis of L2 English spoken and written productions of 18 L1 Finnish learners with focus on syntactic complexity. As earlier spoken language segmentation units mostly come from fluency studies, we conducted an experiment with a new unit, the U-unit, and examined how using this unit as the basis of spoken language segmentation affects the results. According to the analysis, written language was more complex than spoken language. However, the difference in the level of complexity was greatest when the traditional units, T-units and AS-units, were used in segmenting the data. Using the U-unit revealed that spoken language may, in fact, be closer to written language in its syntactic complexity than earlier studies had suggested. Therefore, further research is needed to discover whether the differences in spoken and written learner language are primarily due to the nature of these modes or, rather, to the units and measures used in the analysis.


In the young and active population results after knee replacement are less satisfactory with higher rates of revision due to mechanical, aseptic loosening. Therefore, in case of persisting, painful, conservative treatment-resistant knee osteoarthritis at relative young age, alternative, joint preserving, treatments strategies are a necessity. In this population the surgical treatment should focus on reversing the mechanical factors associated with the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis. An option in this respect is (temporarily) unloading the knee joint. Depending on the severity of the osteoarthritis (unicompartmental or bicompartmental) and malalignment, unloading of the knee joint is possible by performing an osteotomy (partial unloading) or by knee joint distraction (temporarily unloading). In this way a better understanding of what the optimal treatment will be in relatively young patients withconservative treatment-resistant knee osteoarthritis may be found. This thesis has given new insights in the use of distal femoral osteotomies and knee joint distraction. We have shown that a distal lateral closed-wedge valgus osteotomy of the femur for the treatment of varus deformity of the knee is a valuable procedure when the deformity is localized in the femur and using a biplane technique shortens bone healing time. In the cadaveric study we found that the periosteal vascularization of medial and lateral aspect of the distal femur is highly constant, safely can be cauterized, and can serve as a landmark for orthopaedic surgeons in determining the height of the osteotomy cuts in distal femoral osteotomies. In the field of knee joint distraction (KJD) we demonstrated that KJD results in prolonged clinical relevant benefit, even five years after distraction, with a high survival rate of 83%. Starting with KJD (when compared with total knee arthroplasty) is cost-effective, specifically in the younger age categories (45-54 years), a shorter distraction period (six instead of eight weeks) does not influence short-term outcome but with six weeks seeming the minimal duration, and higher Kellgren & Lawrence grade and male gender were predictive for radiographic determined cartilaginous thickness one year after distraction treatment. Furthermore, in case of unicompartmental osteoarthritis KJD was non-inferior to high tibial osteotomy one year after treatment, and thus KJD can be considered as alternative treatment option. Even more impressive, in end-stage knee osteoarthritis, treatment with KJD resulted in comparable clinical benefit after one year when compared with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Combined with the high five-year survival rate and the established cost-effectiveness in the younger age categories, it can be concluded that KJD is a promising joint-preserving surgical treatment, which can effectively postpone a TKA and revision TKA burden in young patients with conservative treatment-resistant end-stage knee osteoarthritis.


We study experimentally three-wave interactions between hydroelastic waves propagating on the surface of a fluid covered by an elastic sheet (where both tension and bending are important). We observe the generation of a resonant daughter wave by nonlinear interaction among two mother waves of almost perpendicular directions. By using local and spatiotemporal wave-height measurements, the frequency and wave vector of the daughter wave are found to satisfy the resonance conditions within the measurement accuracy. Its amplitude is also found to be reasonably well described by the resonant wave interaction theory. Finally, a phase-locking among interacting waves is also observed, as expected theoretically.


Preparing for the future during ongoing activities is an essential skill. Yet it is currently unclear to what extent we can prepare for the future in parallel with another task. In two experiments, we investigated how characteristics of a present task influenced whether and when participants prepared for the future, as well as its usefulness. We focused on the influence of concurrent working memory load, assuming that working memory would interfere most strongly with preparation. In both experiments, participants performed a novel sequential dual-task paradigm, in which they could voluntarily prepare for a second task while performing a first task. We identified task preparation by means of eye tracking, by detecting when participants switched their gaze to information about the second task while performing the first task. The results showed that participants prepared, but also that there were large individual differences in how often they did so. When participants prepared, it was productive, as evidenced by faster RTs on the second task and only a small cost to the present task. The probability of preparation and its productiveness decreased with increases in the difficulty of the first task. In particular, we found that working memory load from the first task interfered with preparation. We conclude from our study that people can productively prepare for the future while performing an ongoing task, and that it is possible to track this preparation process empirically. In addition, we conclude that working memory resources play an important role in task preparation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


A single case of incomplete duplication of the esophagus is presented, which was fortuitously diagnosed in an asymptomatic older male. The endoscopic findings are described, and the various features of these esophageal anomalies discussed.


o-Phenylenediamine (1) was condensed with lactic acid (2) under Philips conditions to obtain the previously known 2-(α-hydroxyethyl)benzimidazole (3). Oxidation of 3 with K2Cr2O7 in dil. H2SO4 using the literature method gave the previously reported 2-acetylbenzimidazole (4). Several methods have been tried using various oxidising agents / dehydrogenating agents to optimise the preparation of 4 from 3.