vide opioid-sparing analgesia in lumbar spine surgery, with the dorsal rami of spinal nerves as the primary target of action [1]. However the ensuing nerve blockade with fascial plane blocks may not always be dense or complete, as evidenced by inconsistent loss of cutaneous sensation to cold or pinprick testing [2]. Here we report a modified ESP block technique that may augment analgesic efficacy and potentially eliminate the need for perioperative opioids. Patient consent was obtained for this report. A healthy 51-year-old man, weighing 91 kg, with right-sided sciatica presented for laminectomy of the L4 and L5 vertebrae (without instrumentation) via a 6 cm midline incision. General anesthesia was induced with IV propofol 200 mg, succinylcholine 140 mg, and rocuronium 50 mg, and maintained with sevoflurane in an air-oxygen mixture. The patient was turned into a prone position and we performed bilateral pre-incisional ESP blocks at the level of the L4 transverse process. Fifteen ml of a 1 : 1 mixture of 0.5% ropivacaine and 1% lidocaine was injected into the fascial plane between the erector spinae muscle and transverse process tip on each side. The needle tip was then withdrawn to a position immediately superficial to the posterior investing fascia of the erector spinae muscle, where an additional 10 ml of local anesthetic was injected (Figs. 1A and 1B). IV acetaminophen 1 g, ketorolac 30 mg, and dexamethasone 10 mg were administered as co-analgesics. There was no hemodynamic response to surgical stimuli (skin incision, muscle dissection, and resection of spinous processes and laminae down to the level of the pars interarticularis) and consequently no opioids were administered intraoperatively. Surgical wound infiltration with local anesthetic was not performed. Upon emergence, the patient reported no pain at the surgical site, and required no additional analgesia during his 30-minute stay in the post-anesthetic care unit, or in the phase 2 recovery unit. Cutaneous sensory testing was unfortunately not possible due to the wound dressing. He was discharged home the same day with a prescription for ibuprofen 800 mg 6–8-hourly and oxycodone/acetaminophen 5/325 mg 6–8-hourly as needed. On telephone follow-up on postoperative days 1 and 2, he reported only mild discomfort that did not necessitate the use of any analgesic medication. In our experience, cutaneous sensory loss is not always discernable following ESP blocks, and anesthetized patients may still respond to the initial skin incision. We postulate that this is due to the variability inherent in local anesthetic spread to the different tissue planes and paraspinal compartments. The onset time of conduction blockade may be an additional contributing factor, particularly if dilute long-acting local anesthetics are used. As we have demonstrated here, the quality of analgesia provided in spine surgery may be significantly augmented by a dual-injection technique into the fascial planes superficial as well as deep to the erector spinae muscle. This blocks the nerve branches of the dorsal rami at two separate locations (proximal as well as distal) along their anatomical course (Fig. 1C), which helps ensure adequate conduction blockade. The superficial injection mimics the subcutaneous local anesthetic wound infiltration often performed by surgeons at closure, but with the advantage that this can be done prior to incision with consequent intraoperative opioid-sparing and preventive analgesic effects. Letter to the Editor


A new epidemiological study has found that incidence of testicular cancer followed changes in maternal weight before, during, and after the second world war and may therefore be linked to maternal body weight.

During the war, when energy intake and weight went down, so too did the incidence of testicular cancer, according to the results of the research in the International Journal of Cancer (2005;116:327-30).

"Our results further support the notion that testicular cancer is an example of a civilisation disease associated with a Westernised lifestyle with increase in obesity, obesity associated cancer forms, and diabetes type 2," say the authors, from the Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo University College, and Rikshospitalet University Hospital.

Since the 1950s, the incidence …


Background: Asthma is an allergic airway inflammatory disease in which B cell activation plays a pivotal role. CXCL13 is a family member of CXC chemokines involved in B cell differentiation and activation. The purpose of this research is to explore the correlation between serum CXCL13 levels and the severity of the disease.
Methods: A total of 31 patients with acute bronchial asthma, 29 patients with chronic persistent asthma, and 21 non-inflammatory disease healthy controls were enrolled. Quantification of serum CXCL13, IgE, peripheral blood Eosinophil (Eos) count, and pulmonary function were performed.
Results: Both the acute bronchial asthma and the chronic persistent groups displayed higher levels of CXCL13, and serum CXCL13 levels in acute asthma patients were higher than those suffering chronic persistent disease. Serum CXCL13 levels in acute bronchial asthma patients were positively correlated with IgE levels and the frequency of Eos, and negatively correlated with FVC%, FEV1% and FEV1/ FVC.
Conclusions: CXCL13 may be an important biomarker of acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma, which concentration might reflect the severity of the disease.


Coccyx pain (also called coccydynia, or tailbone pain) has a broad range of etiologies, including traumatic and non-traumatic causes. Iatrogenic etiologies of coccydynia are rarely reported. This is the first report of iatrogenic coccydynia due to the use of a chiropractic actuator. An actuator (also known as an activator adjusting instrument) is a spring-loaded hand-held device that delivers a sudden mechanical force to the anatomic site where it is applied. We report a patient whose neck and shoulder pain were assumed to be due to cranio-dural stress syndrome. An actuator was used to deliver forces to the coccyx region in hopes that relieving dural tension at the coccyx might improve her neck pain, which it did not. Upon receiving the actuator treatments to her coccyx, she had immediate onset of coccyx pain, which lasted for many months. The patient had no prior history of coccyx symptoms or trauma. She eventually presented for treatment at our Coccyx Pain Center, on an academic medical school campus. Actuator use at the coccyx should be added to the list of causes of tailbone pain. Patients and clinicians should be aware of this risk.


Image parsing remains difficult due to the need to combine local and contextual information when labeling a scene. We approach this problem by using the epitome as a prior over label configurations. Several properties make it suited to this task. First, it allows a condensed patch-based representation. Second, efficient E-M based learning and inference algorithms can be used. Third, non-stationarity is easily incorporated. We consider three existing priors, and show how each can be extended using the epitome. The simplest prior assumes patches of labels are drawn independently from either a mixture model or an epitome. Next we investigate a `conditional epitome' model, which substitutes an epitome for a conditional mixture model. Finally, we develop an `epitome tree' model, which combines the epitome with a tree structured belief network prior. Each model is combined with a per-pixel classifier to perform segmentation. In each case, the epitomized form of the prior provides superior segmentation performance, with the epitome tree performing best overall. We also apply the same models to denoising binary images, with similar results.


ABSTRACT: The floodwater mosquito Aedes vexans can be a massive nuisance in the flood plain areas of mainland Europe, and is the vector of Tahyna virus and a potential vector of Dirofilaria immitis. This epidemiologically important species forms three subspecies worldwide, of which Aedes vexans arabiensis has a wide distribution in Europe and Africa. We quantified the genetic and phenotypic variation in Ae. vexans arabiensis in populations from Sweden (northern Europe), Hungary, and Serbia (central Europe). A landscape genetics approach (FST, STRUCTURE, BAPS, GENELAND) revealed significant differentiation between northern and southern populations. Similar to genetic data, wing geometric morphometrics revealed two different clusters, one made by Swedish populations, while another included Hungarian and Serbian populations. Moreover, integrated genetic and morphometric data from the spatial analysis suggested groupings of populations into three clusters, one of which was from Swedish and Hungarian populations. Data on spatial analysis regarding an intermediate status of the Hungarian population was supported by observed Isolation-by-Distance patterns. Furthermore, a low proportion of interpopulation vs intrapopulation variance revealed by AMOVA and low-to-moderate FST values on a broader geographical scale indicate a continuous between-population exchange of individuals, including considerable gene flow on the regional scale, are likely to be responsible for the maintenance of the observed population similarity in Aе. vexans. We discussed data considering population structure in the light of vector control strategies of the mosquito from public health importance.


Although RAG-1 and RAG-2 have been shown to be indispensible for V(D)J recombination, their exact role in this reaction remains unclear. Co-transfecting RAG-1 and RAG-2 expression vectors into NIH3T3 fibroblasts confers V(D)J recombination activity to these otherwise recombinationally inactive cells. In this report we have found that in transient transfections of mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts with RAG-1 and RAG-2 and the appropriate recombination substrates, one RAG-1 expression vector, pRAG-1A, is capable of yielding both signal joints and coding joints, while another RAG-1 expression vector, pRAG-1B, yields only signal joints. The RAG-1 open reading frame for these two expression vectors is interchangeable, indicating that the inability to resolve coding joints is due to the 45-base pair difference found in the 5'-untranslated regions of these constructs. Differences in this region result in a 15-fold difference in gene expression when the luciferase coding region is substituted for the RAG-1 cDNA. This report provides evidence that RAG-1 may have a role in both the initiation of V(D)J recombination as well as the resolution of coding ends. The data also suggest that these RAG-1 activities may be dependent on different levels of RAG-1 expression.


The time period starting with the signing of the Armistice of Mudros brought along many complications such as the invasion of Istanbul, the arbitrary implementation of the clauses of Mudros and a complexity of authority and jurisdiction. One of the complexities derived from the fact that the Allied countries interpreted the fourth clause of Mudros, which was about the submission of war prisoners, according to their own understanding. Although the clause was clear about who would be treated within this framework, in practice there was no clear distinction about who would be subject to this specific clause. Thus, Ottoman citizens, citizens of countries that were still not officially founded, citizens of Greek origin or who claimed to be of Greek origin were set free. An arbitrary practice of releasing prisoners including the criminal ones without order and proper work, had started. The Allied Countries' representatives created committees to inspect prisons and the problems envisaged in their reports were used as excuses to release or to take away prisoners. The conditions of the prisons were an opportunity for the Allies' criticism and intervention. But most importantly, the supervision of prisons by the Allied Countries, created a chaos among the institutions of the Ottoman Empire and due to the release of prisoners at convenience, the authority of the state weakened immensely.


Magmatic fabrics are common in volcanic and plutonic rocks. In the latter, these textures are often used as markers of regional deformation patterns. However, the origin of such fabrics is still not well understood. The most commonly accepted hypothesis is that such textures originate by a magmatic flow mechanism. In order to characterise this mechanism and test the possibility of generation of strong magmatic fabrics, in-situ experiments on the orientation of crystals in an already partially crystallised magma are being conducted. The experimental procedure is divided in two steps: partial crystallisation of glass cylinders in Internally Heated Pressure Vessels (IHPV), followed by the deformation of the cylinders at 0.1MPa. Experiments are conducted on the Eburru rhyolite (Kenya), a massive, bubble- and crystal-free, peralkaline obsidian with 0.2 wt % H2O, from which glass cylinders have been cored. In order to explore a wide range of crystallisation, partially crystallised cylinders are produced at different temperatures between 700°C and 900°C and 150 MPa. Kinetics of crystallisation of peralkaline magmas ensure a fast attainment of chemical equilibrium (100 to 300 hours depending on temperature). Deformation experiments are conduced in a new apparatus designed to deform cylindrical samples (L=10-15mm – O=5mm) of crystal-bearing magma. This new apparatus works on the principle of the parallel-plate viscosimeter (coaxial strain). It allows deformation to be performed at different temperatures, pressures, strain rates, shortening ratios, and viscosity to be measured as well. Calibration measurements of the apparatus on viscosity of the standard melt DGG1 and the Eburru rhyolite at 0.1 MPa have demonstrated its precision to be within ±0.2 log units. Deformation experiments are conduced at 0.1 MPa between 600°C and 850°C. Due to the short duration of experiments, neither new crystallisation nor bubble nucleation occurs. The results obtained from deformation at 0.1 MPa will be presented and discussed.


Human autonomy always depends upon human relations We must reconsider care as vital to the sustainability of human societies that have proved themselves not autonomous, but precarious and vulnerable Caring for all must take precedence over negative freedom in grappling with COVID-19


Conventional wisdom suggests that praising a child as a whole or praising his or her traits is beneficial. Two studies tested the hypothesis that both criticism and praise that conveyed person or trait judgments could send a message of contingent worth and undermine subsequent coping. In Study 1, 67 children (ages 5-6 years) role-played tasks involving a setback and received 1 of 3 forms of criticism after each task: person, outcome, or process criticism. In Study 2, 64 children role-played successful tasks and received either person, outcome, or process praise. In both studies, self-assessments, affect, and persistence were measured on a subsequent task involving a setback. Results indicated that children displayed significantly more "helpless" responses (including self-blame) on all dependent measures after person criticism or praise than after process criticism or praise. Thus person feedback, even when positive, can create vulnerability and a sense of contingent self-worth.


This book consists of 11 chapters and an appendix. There are six contributors in addition to the authors. Paul Swyer has written two chapters on intensive care of the neonate. Early sections of the treatise are concerned with the pathophysiology of disease in the critically ill child, especially cardiopulmonary. The four stages in the transport of carbon dioxide and oxygen are elucidated. Ventilation and perfusion problems of the lung are discussed in great detail. Methods of estimating venous admixture and of dead space effect are examples of the type of subjects included. Graphical representation of acid-base abnormalities are presented with references to the work of Davenport, Astrup, Siggaard-Anderson, and Engels. Disorders of electrolytes are dealt with briefly. In subsequent sections of this treatise the authors relate their approaches in the management of circulatory failure, arrhythmias of the heart, meningitis, status epilepticus, gastrointestinal diseases, renal failure, acute infections, intoxications, etc.


This book assesses how policies developed by the National Assembly for Wales are affecting gender inequalities and investigates whether they are having an impact on social justice for women in Wales. In 1999 the first elections to devolved governments took place in Scotland and Wales. In Wales this resulted in 40 per cent of Assembly Members being women. In 2003 this proportion increased to 50 per cent which makes the National Assembly for Wales 'the first legislative body with equal numbers of men and women in the world' ("The Guardian", 3/5/03). This new gender balance of political representatives is a significant change in the gendering of political institutions and this, together with the creation of a new tier of government, has the potential to create new opportunities for the development of social policies which address gender and other social inequalities. Focusing on distinct policy domains, this book explores gender politics in a devolved Wales. Each chapter investigates a particular aspect of social policy, exploring the way it has developed since devolution and the extent to which considerations of gender and social justice for women are central to this development. The empirical chapters which form the core of the book are situated theoretically and politically by the first chapter which discusses how gender and social justice can be theorised and explores devolution and its relation to gender politics in Wales.


Black-Arab political and cultural solidarity has had a long and rich history in the United States. That alliance is once again exerting a powerful influence on American society as Black American and Arab American activists and cultural workers are joining forces in formations like the Movement for Black Lives and Black for Palestine to address social justice issues. In Breaking Broken English, Hartman explores the historical and current manifestations of this relationship through language and literature, with a specific focus on Arab American literary works that use the English language creatively to put into practice many of the theories and ideas advanced by Black American thinkers. Breaking Broken English shows how language is the location where literary and poetic beauty meet the political in creative work. Hartman draws out thematic connections between Arabs/Arab Americans and Black Americans around politics and culture and also highlights the many artistic ways these links are built. She shows how political and cultural ideas of solidarity are written in creative texts and emphasizes their potential to mobilize social justice activists in the United States and abroad in the ongoing struggle for the liberation of Palestine.


The droplet formation process of a novel piezo-actuated micro-injector is studied using a computational approach. In simulations, the theoretical model is based on the time-dependent threedimensional conservation equations of mass and momentum. The surface tension effect at the gasliquid boundary is treated using the continuous surface force (CSF) scheme. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method in conjunction with the piecewise linear interface construction (PLIC) technique is exploited to describe interfacial movements. The time evolution of the droplet meniscus shape is predicted throughout the formation process and compared with Shield's micro-photographed images for the computer package validation. To explore the feasibility of proposed new micro-injector in practical applications, the droplet deformation characteristics are determined in terms of droplet topology, breakup length and time, and flight velocity for dispensing different liquids such as water, anisol, Pedot, PLED, and blood.


This investigation evaluated the role of capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons in the gastroprotective effect of alpha- and beta-amyrin, a triterpenoid mixture isolated from Protium heptaphyllum resin. Gastric mucosai damage was induced in mice by intragastric ethanol and assessed by planimetry. Mice pretreated orally with the amyrin mixture (50 and 100 mg/kg) or capsaicin (2.5 and 5 mg/kg), the pungent principle from red hot peppers, showed a significantly lower intensity of ethanol-associated gastric mucosal damage, in relation to vehicle-treated controls. At higher doses both these agents produced either a diminished protection or no significant effect. The maximal gastroprotection that was observed at the dose of 100 mg/kg amyrin mixture was almost abolished in mice with their sensory afferents chemically ablated by a neurotoxic dose of capsaicin, suggesting that the gastro-protective mechanism of alpha- and beta-amyrin mixture involves at least in part the activation of capsaicin-sensitive primary afferent neurons.


The quantities of waste generation in Nigeria have increased significantly; posing greater risk to public health owing to indecent manner of disposal. Some solid wastes had been recycled; however, studies on scrap rubber tyre have not been fully exhausted. This research therefore investigated the flexural behaviour of concrete produced using scrap rubber tyre as partial replacement of coarse aggregate. Scrap Rubber Tyres (SRT) were chopped into smaller sizes; with 19 mm maximum size and used to partially replace coarse aggregate within 0 to 12% at 3% interval. The constituents were batched by weight. 45 concrete beams of grade 20 were cast and cured for 7, 28 and 90 days. Flexural strength behaviour of the specimens was tested; and the 0% SRT concrete serves as control. Data were analysed using Analysis of Variance at 5% Significance level. The slump and compacting factor of the fresh concrete ranged from 29-100 mm and 89-99%, respectively. The flexural strength of the rubberized concrete at 28 days were 21.3, 14.0, 13.2, 12.2, and 13.3 N/mm2. Rubberized concrete at 3% partial replacement can be useful for light weight structural members. The scrap rubber tyres possess significant potentials which could advance its utilization under improve technology.


The transport of certain materials between the blood and the wall in arteries appears to be dependent on wall shear rate with shear rate–enhancing flux; however, the mechanism is unclear. If the transport is diffusional, it must involve three steps: diffusion across a boundary layer, uptake at the blood-wall interface, and transport within the wall. If the first step is rate controlling, if wall shear rate is spatially uniform, and if a diffusion boundary layer commences upstream at the junction between the vessel and an impermeable tube, then flux will be proportional to the cube root of wall shear rate divided by distance and will depend on the species diffusion coefficient. A dog's common carotid artery was perfused with serum containing 14C-4-cholesterol linked with lipoprotein; the fluid mechanics resembled those described above. In 20 experiments, there was no spatial dependence of uptake of the label, flux was lower by a factor of about a hundred than that predicted, and there was a suggestion (statistically nonsignificant) of shear dependence. The first two findings are inconsistent with transport controlled by the diffusion boundary layer. An uptake-controlled transport could be shear dependent.


Following the success in opening the economy and attracting inward foreign direct investment, China has rapidly become an important source of outward foreign direct investment (ODI) and portfolio investments in recent years. Since China adopted a Going Global strategy, the stock of Chinese ODI has tripled. China's outward investments are quite small compared with the inward flows. The change of ODI forms, structure and destinations has made China more and more similar to developed countries. Chinese ODI has accumulated in the service sector and high-tech manufacturing. More recently, China's financial institutions are starting to play a more substantial role in the foreign financial sector. With the concentration of Chinese ODI in foreign advanced sectors, a lot of China's funds flow into resource sectors in the developing countries. This double-track approach to outward foreign investment is probably beneficial for China's economic development and is favourable to the process of catching-up with the developed countries.


Research on the effect of emotional tears on perceived competence has yielded an inconsistent pattern of findings, with some studies showing that tearful individuals may be perceived as less competent, while others report no such effect. These mixed results point to the likely existence of third variables influencing the link between tears and perceived competence and suggest that crying may affect competence only in specific circumstances. In the current project, we reexamine this link using a large, openly available dataset of responses to tearful faces collected across 41 countries and 7,007 participants (Zickfeld et al., 2021). Our results show that tears have no general effect on perceptions of competence but do reduce competence when crying is regarded as inappropriate (e.g., there is no clear reason for shedding tears) or when the target is perceived as helpless. Moreover, shedding tears increases competence when the target is perceived as honest. As emotional tears have been found to signal both helplessness and honesty, the interplay of these effects might result in no overall effect of tears on perceptions of competence. The present findings suggest that the link between emotional tears and perceived competence is highly context dependent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Mobile networked creativity is an emergent practice that arises from the ongoing relationships among people and people with technologies—or networked resources. In this article, we propose a concept of creativity as emerging from networked connections, (im)mobility, and situations of hardship. We, thus, make a connection between mobility and space as networked elements of creativity as opposed to individual agent models. We focus on how unplanned or emergent uses of digital technologies reveal how creative practices emerge, particularly in the context of mobile technology use where people are physically mobile and yet connected via the Internet. We define the concept of creativity as a constant process of becoming, a "recursive organization" that can be seen in groups such as migrants, or people living in disenfranchised communities that survive in make-shift locations such refugee camps or slums. Contrary to the affluent and capitalistic-embedded traditional ideas of creativity, mobile networked creativity is a practice that is found mostly in situations of economic hardship, power imbalances, and (im)mobilities.


The purpose of this paper is to perform a systematic review on radiation dose reduction in coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography that is done using different generations of multidetector CT (MDCT) scanners ranging from four‐slice to 320‐slice CTs, and have different dose‐saving techniques. The method followed was to search for references on coronary CT angiography (CTA) that had been published in English between 1998 and February 2011. The effective radiation dose reported in each study based on different generations of MDCT scanners was analysed and compared between the types of scanners, gender, exposure factors and scanning protocols. Sixty‐six studies were eligible for inclusion in this analysis. The mean effective dose (ED) for MDCT angiography with retrospective electrocardiogram (ECG) gating without use of any dose‐saving protocol was 6.0 ± 2.8, 10.4 ± 4.90 and 11.8 ± 5.9 mSv for four‐slice, 16‐slice and 64‐slice CTs, respectively. More dose‐saving strategies were applied in recent CT generations including prospective ECG‐gating protocols, application of lower tube voltage and tube current modulation to achieve a noteworthy dose reduction. Prospective ECG‐gating protocol was increasingly used in 64, 125, 256 and 320 slices with corresponding ED of 4.1 ± 1.7, 3.6 ± 0.4, 3.0 ± 1.9 and 7.6 ± 1.6 mSv, respectively. Lower tube voltage and tube current modulation were widely applied in 64‐slice CT and resulted in significant dose reduction (P < 0.05). This analysis has shown that dose‐saving strategies can substantially reduce the radiation dose in CT coronary angiography. The fact that more and more clinicians are opting for dose‐saving strategies in CT coronary angiography indicates an increased awareness of risks associated with high radiation doses among them.


The proliferation of health promotion apps along with smartphone's array of features supporting health behaviour change, offers a new and innovative approach to childhood weight management. However, research on the content of current industry led apps reveals they lack a basis in behaviour change theory and evidence. Equally important remains the issue of how to maximise users' engagement with mHealth. Therefore the thesis aimed to address these gaps and design and develop an evidence and theory based, user-centred healthy eating app targeting parents for childhood weight management.

The Behaviour Change Wheel framework (BCW), a theoretically-based approach for health behaviour change intervention development, along with a user-centred design philosophy and collaboration with industry, guided the development process. This involved a review of the evidence and conducting a series of nine focus groups (Study one and two), a usability workshop and a 'Think Aloud' study (study three) (N=70) comprised of Change4Life advisors, parents with overweight and healthy weight children aged 5-11 years, university students and staff and consultation with experts to inform the app development. Thematic analysis of focus groups helped to extract information related to relevant theoretical (using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour Model (COM-B) and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)), user-centred and technological components to underpin the design and development of the app.

Inputs from parents, case workers and experts working in the area of childhood weight management helped to identify the main target behaviour: to support parents' provision of age appropriate food portion sizes. To achieve this target behaviour, the behavioural analysis revealed the need for eliciting change in parents' Capability, Motivation and Opportunity and twelve associated TDF domains. Therefore, the thesis provides a more comprehensive analysis of the problem compared to previous theoretical accounts, demonstrating that parents' internal processes such as their emotional responses, habits and beliefs, along with social influences such as partners and grandparents and the environmental influences relating to aspects such as schools, the media, and household objects, all interact and impact on their portion behaviours. Theoretical domains were subsequently mapped to five intervention functions and twenty-three behaviour change techniques (BCTs) to bring about change in this target behaviour. BCTs were then translated into engaging app features drawing on parental preferences for healthy eating app features including ease of use, minimal data input, visual aids of food and gamification. Overall parents viewed the prototype app positively. The 'Think Aloud' study highlighted key areas to improve usability in such as navigability.

Application of the BCW to the issue of childhood weight management yielded a novel conceptualisation of potential approaches to supporting parents' portion behaviours in the home environment. This thesis is also the first to fully explicate the systematic approach applied in developing a family-oriented mHealth app grounded in the BCW framework and evidence, and balanced with users' preferences to help maximise its potential engagement with the target population. Challenges and adaptations relating to the implementation of the BCW are discussed and suggestions for future research in mHealth development and childhood weight management are provided, along with the implications for public health practice.


This article considers batch scheduling with centralized and decentralized decisions. The context of our study is concurrent open shop scheduling where the jobs are to be processed on a set of independent dedicated machines, which process designated operations of the jobs in batches. The batching policy across the machines can be centralized or decentralized. We study such scheduling problems with the objectives of minimizing the maximum lateness, weighted number of tardy jobs, and total weighted completion time, when the job sequence is determined in advance. We present polynomial time dynamic programming algorithms for some cases of these problems and pseudo‐polynomial time algorithms for some problems that are NP‐hard in the ordinary sense. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 58: 17–27, 2011


A thorough evaluation of patients with neurological diseases undergoing surgery can reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality, especially stroke. Various neurological disorders and neurosurgical procedures may influence the nature and extent of preoperative evaluation, selection and conduct of anesthesia, and perioperative management and care. Although anesthesiologists primarily perform a preoperative evaluation of neurological patients, neurologists can contribute further valuable information about the neurological condition and perioperative management of various neurological diseases to obtain the best possible outcome. This article outlines the basic elements of preoperative evaluation and highlights specific considerations for neurological patients undergoing surgery.


In this work, we propose a fast tool to compute the variation (σ/μ) of delay for any logic path in a synthesized design for any given process corner. The proposed method does not require deep understanding of device physics, prior knowledge of the design, or extensive Monte Carlo simulation, and it provides good accuracy with less than 11% error. We also demonstrate the importance of using variation estimation methods to identify critical paths in sub-threshold designs, as the logic path with longest nominal delay may not have the greatest stochastic delay (μ+xσ).


Background: This study examined whether psychological distress might be a predictor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Method: The relation between psychological distress at baseline, measured by the general health questionnaire (GHQ), and chronic bronchitis three years later, as measured by the Medical Research Council (MRC) bronchitis questionnaire and forced expiratory flow in one second (FEV1), was examined in 1682 men and 2203 women from the Renfrew and Paisley (MIDSPAN) study. The analyses were run on men and women separately and adjustments were made for age, socioeconomic position, and lung function at baseline (FEV1). People with chronic diseases at baseline were then excluded to give a "healthy" baseline cohort. The effect of psychological distress on individual components of the MRC bronchitis questionnaire and FEV1 was also assessed. Results: In multivariate analyses of the whole cohort baseline psychological distress in women was associated with reduced FEV1 at follow up (OR 1.31 95% CI 1.0 to 1.73) after adjustment. In women, in the healthy cohort, psychological distress was associated with chronic bronchitis (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.46), symptoms of bronchial infection (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.44 to 3.19), symptoms of breathlessness (OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.99 to 4.59), and reduced FEV1 (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.32). In men psychological distress predicted symptoms of bronchial infection (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.28 to 3.42). Conclusion: This study supports research suggesting that psychological distress is associated with COPD and shows that psychological distress predicts COPD in women. The robustness of the association and the exact mechanism requires further investigation.


Embodied perception refers to the ability of an autonomous agent to perceive its environment so that it can (re)act. The responsiveness of the agent is largely governed by latency of its processing pipeline. While past work has studied the algorithmic trade-off between latency and accuracy, there has not been a clear metric to compare different methods along the Pareto optimal latency-accuracy curve. We point out a discrepancy between standard offline evaluation and real-time applications: by the time an algorithm finishes processing a particular image frame, the surrounding world has changed. To these ends, we present an approach that coherently integrates latency and accuracy into a single metric for real-time online perception, which we refer to as "streaming accuracy". The key insight behind this metric is to jointly evaluate the output of the entire perception stack at every time instant, forcing the stack to consider the amount of streaming data that should be ignored while computation is occurring. More broadly, building upon this metric, we introduce a meta-benchmark that systematically converts any image understanding task into a streaming image understanding task. We focus on the illustrative tasks of object detection and instance segmentation in urban video streams, and contribute a novel dataset with high-quality and temporally-dense annotations. Our proposed solutions and their empirical analysis demonstrate a number of surprising conclusions: (1) there exists an optimal "sweet spot" that maximizes streaming accuracy along the Pareto optimal latency-accuracy curve, (2) asynchronous tracking and future forecasting naturally emerge as internal representations that enable streaming image understanding, and (3) dynamic scheduling can be used to overcome temporal aliasing, yielding the paradoxical result that latency is sometimes minimized by sitting idle and "doing nothing".


Decision making has proposed multiple methods to help the decision maker in his analysis, by suggesting ways of formalization of the preferences as well as the assessment of the uncertainties. Although these techniques are established and proven to be mathematically sound, experience has shown that in certain situations we tend to avoid the formal approach by acting intuitively. Especially, when the decision involves a large number of attributes and outcomes, and where we need to use pragmatic and heuristic simplifications such as considering only the most important attributes and omitting the others. In this paper, we provide a model for decision making in situations subject to a large predictive uncertainty with a small learning sample. The high predictive uncertainty is concretized by a countably infinite number of prospects, making the preferences assessment more difficult. Our main result is an extension of the Maximum Entropy utility (MEU) principle into an asymptotic maximum entropy utility principle for preferences elicitation. This will allow us to overcome the limits of the existing MEU method to the extend that we focus on utility assessment when the set of the available discrete prospects is countably infinite. Furthermore, our proposed model can be used to analyze situations of highcognitive load as well as to understand how humans handle these problems under Ceteris Paribus assumption.


Intense anthropogenic disturbance threatens temporary pond ecosystems and their associated fauna across the Palearctic. Since fairy shrimps (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) are endemic to temporary ponds, populations are declining due to habitat loss and it is important to define adequate units for conservation. Phylogeographic reconstructions, based on genetic variation, provide valuable information for defining evolutionary and conservation units, especially for organisms with high levels of cryptic diversity like many fairy shrimps. We studied a total of 152 individuals of the fairy shrimp Branchipus schaefferi from 79 populations across the Palearctic and used mitochondrial (CO1) and nuclear (ITS1) DNA data to reconstruct the phylogeography of the species. Our results show that B. schaefferi comprises four highly diverged (10.3–16.5%) evolutionary clades. The present‐day haplotypes within each of the clades probably diverged from lineages that were maintained in separate refugia during the Pleistocene ice ages. While two clades represent distinct geographic regions, the two remaining clades have more wide and overlapping ranges. In addition, the limited number of shared haplotypes among populations from geographically distant regions within three of the clades suggest recent long‐distance dispersal events. Overall, the studied B. schaefferi dataset comprises high levels of genetic differentiation, without a clear morphological signal. Phylogenetic searches and pairwise genetic distances suggest that the studied lineages belong to a complex of four morphologically cryptic species. Since these four evolutionary old clades persist (±2 million years), despite overlapping geographic ranges and since they span a variety of ecological conditions, they should be considered as separate evolutionary significant units for conservation.


In 1901 von Yzeren1noticed the development of gastric ulcers in the stomachs of rabbits which had been submitted to vagotomy. Auer2in 1909 made a similar observation during the course of some experiments on gastric motility, almost casually mentioning the likelihood of gastric ulcers developing in vagotomized rabbits. After these reports many workers confirmed this observation, and in 1936 Beazell and Ivy3postulated the cause of gastric ulceration following complete vagotomy to be the stasis of acid and the mechanical trauma of rough food upon the gastric mucosa. They suggested an "unknown factor" responsible for the continued high acid production under these conditions. In the early 1940's many clinical trials of vagotomy were started for the treatment of gastric4,5and duodenal ulcer disease. It took only a few years of this type of treatment to prove that it was ineffective for the control of gastric


Study Design. A retrospective matched-cohort comparative study. Objective. The aim of this study was to compare the surgical results after the use of duet screw based satellite rods and bilateral satellite rods (S-RC) versus a standard two-rod construct (2-RC) across osteotomy sites in a matched cohort with Scheuermann kyphosis (SK). Summary of Background Data. Multiple Ponte osteotomies are frequently employed to correct SK via a posterior-only approach, with a 2-RC across the osteotomy sites. Whereas, correction rate and junction problems remain as the major concerns. Methods. This study reviewed a consecutive series of patients with SK who had undergone posterior-only correction with multilevel Ponte osteotomy between 2009 and 2014 and had been followed over 24 months. Twenty-two patients receiving placement with an S-RC with the use of duet screws were identified and closely matched with 22 patients with a 2-RC in terms of age, apex, and magnitude of kyphosis. Comparisons were made with regards to deformity magnitude, correction results, complications, and clinical outcomes between the two groups. Results. No significant difference was found between groups in preoperative patient's factors (age, gender, apex, magnitude of kyphosis, and SRS-22 scores) and surgical factors (blood loss, operation time, osteotomy levels, and fused levels). Compared with the 2-RC group, the S-RC group had higher correction rate (55.4% ± 7.5% vs. 46.2% ± 5.1%, P < 0.001), less correction loss (1.0 ± 0.8° vs. 2.4 ± 1.4°, P < 0.001) during the follow-up, and higher improvement of back pain as well (P < 0.05). None were detected with pseudarthrosis or implant failure in either group, but proximal junctional kyphosis was less frequently seen in S-RC group (1 of 22) than 2-RC group (7 of 22) (P < 0.05). Conclusion. As a safe method, use of S-RC is effective in providing increased kyphotic correction across multiple Ponte osteotomy levels, and improving patient-reported outcomes of management satisfaction and back pain. The biomechanical benefits of stress dispersion, coupled with increased stability and weight bearing ability, make it a powerful technique preventing correction loss and proximal junctional kyphosis. Level of Evidence: 3


Cotton production in Arizona has been faced with major challenges in insect control during the past decade. These challenges have been met through IPM programs of research, implementation, and education. The decade began (1990) with an outbreak of our key lepidopteran pest, the pink bollworm. Growers sprayed for all pests more than 11 times at a cost of over $113 / A that year. The following years (1991–1995) saw the introduction of and devastation by a serious, qualityreducing insect, the sweetpotato or silverleaf whitefly. Growers sprayed up to 6.6 times (1995) at a cost of over $145 / A to combat this single insect pest. The cotton IPM program at the University of Arizona along with industry, grower, and USDA partners readied farmers for the introduction (1996) of two strategic sets of pest control technology, 'Bt' transgenic cotton and insect growth regulators (IGR). Through an aggressive educational campaign, growers learned about the safe, effective, and sustainable use of these technologies. As a result, cotton growers saw their average spray requirement plummet from 12.5 sprays at $217 / A (1995) to an historic low of 1.91 sprays at $37 / A (1999). Now new threats from an old pest, Lygus bugs, pose serious challenges to these staggering advances in cotton IPM. This paper highlights the key advances made in research, implementation, and education during this volatile decade. Furthermore, we conclude with one example how systematic, large-scale, and long-term research can provide insight into the role that new technology and the knowledge to use it properly have on cotton grower and industry success.


An immunohistochemical study of keratin was performed in forty-five cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland, the results were as follows: keratin was distributed in the duct system of normal salivary gland, but the acini were negative. The distribution of keratin were varied in different patterns of adenoid cystic carcinoma. The amount of synthesis of keratin was many in tubular type of high differentiated carcinoma, but, in basaloid solid type of low differentiated carcinoma, the synthesis of keratin was less; the content of keratin in cribriform and trabecular type was between the tubular type and basaloid solid type, and the former had more keratin than the latter.


In the summer of 2005, ARKeX Ltd. in conjunction with JEBCO Seismic Canada began acquiring an airborne geophysical survey over Muskwa-Kechika (MK) covering 3,000 km2 of the Rocky Mountain Foothills, British Columbia. The survey was completed in 2006 and the data acquired provides the explorationist with previously unattainable high resolution airborne gravity gradiometry, magnetic gradiometry, and LIDAR data. This combined dataset reveals new and detailed information of geologic structures over this expansive area. Through qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the dataset, shallow and deep structural targets are readily imaged, even beneath 1.5 km of terrain. This project represents state-of-the-art deployment for Airborne Gravity Gradiometry (Air-GG). The way in which the data was acquired, processed and interpreted represents a significant deviation from existing methodology. In this paper, we demonstrate the advantages of the dataset by focusing on the exploration history of a well drilled in 1993. The target, a deep Mississippian carbonate play in the Debolt Formation, 4 km beneath the surface. Using qualitative and quantitative interpretation techniques, we demonstrate, with hindsight, that the addition of Air-GG to the 'then' exploration data-pool would have significantly increased the probability of technical success. We therefore discuss how we can use this example as an analogue to help explore in other areas of MK while avoiding costly mistakes.


Abstract In recent years, physician-industry relationships and ethical problems within these relationships have been one of the most discussed topics both in medical society and in the general public in our country. Unethical, and sometimes illegal, relations between the physician and the industry destroy patient rights and security as well as the health care sector and health care institutions as a whole. Although written documents on legislative procedures about promotion ethics are available, these cannot be observed in practice. To what extent is the impact of the promotional activities targeting the physicians have an impact on the criteria considered by the physicians when diagnosing and providing therapy? How can the medical doctors make rational decisions when they are surrounded by the industry? Does the situation (details will be discussed in this manuscript), which exist in our country leave the physicians to make a choice between their conscience and wallet? In this manuscript it is aimed to find answers to these questions. Also the topic will be evaluated from the perspectives of physician-industry relations, education of the physician, factors influencing prescribing, promotion ethics, and ethical-legal procedures.


This paper describes a multidisciplinary computational study undertaken to compute the free-flight aerodynamics including the dynamics derivatives of projectiles. Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and rigid body dynamics (RBD) capabilities have been successfully fully coupled on high performance computing (HPC) platforms for "Virtual Fly-Outs" of munitions. Time-accurate Navier-Stokes computations have been performed to compute the unsteady aerodynamics associated with the free flight of projectiles using an advanced scalable unstructured flow solver on a highly parallel Linux Cluster. Some results relating to the portability and the performance of the flow solver on the Linux clusters are also addressed. Time-accurate numerical techniques include both the "virtual fly-out" and "virtual wind tunnel" techniques. All aerodynamic force and moment coefficients including the dynamic damping derivatives have been extracted from coupled CFD/RBD numerical solutions. Time-accurate CFD has been used separately to compute the dynamic pitch-damping derivatives using the virtual wind tunnel technique. Computed dynamic pitch-damping derivatives using this virtual wind tunnel method have been compared with those obtained from the fully coupled virtual fly-out approach and flight tests.


Video surveillance will greatly increase in the era of the Internet of Things, raising severe concerns about people's privacy. Since video surveillance systems are invasive, it is very challenging to balance between privacy and system's functionalities. Traditional algorithms for protection of visual privacy usually encrypt and decrypt the whole video, without considering video objects. However this approach has several drawbacks including lack of scalability of access and security. In this paper a digitized human encryption scheme is proposed which overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings. In particular initially a fast face detection algorithm is adopted which provides initial information to the proposed body detection module. Afterwards a chaotic encryption scheme is designed to provide security and fast scrambling of the extracted digitized humans. Experimental results on real world videos exhibit the promising performance of the proposed scheme. Key-Words: chaos, encryption, digitized human, face and body detection, surveillance, Internet of Things


Flower production is an income source for farming families. However, their productivity has been limited due to the lack of information on technical managements of crop species. In Mexico, 21,129 hectares are planted every year, with an annual production of 83,000 tons of flowers for decoration, and a total production value of 6,097 million Mexican pesos. In order to design agronomic management practices for sunflower production in the state of Campeche, three factors were evaluated: 1) sunflower hybrids, 2) time of irrigation and 3) fertilization doses, with four (hybrids: "Sunbright", "Prado Red Shade", "Full Sun" and "GH-382"), three (soil moisture tension at the start of irrigation of -10, -35 and -60 kPa), and two (Fertilization formulas: 60-50-0, and 30-25-0) levels, respectively using a sub split plot arrangement nested in a complete random block design with three replicates. Response variables evaluated were: plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), leaf width (LW), leaf length (LL), distance between nodes (DN), number of inflorescences (NF), inner diameter (IDF), external diameter (EDF) and capitulum weight (CW). Irrigation affected PH, SD, LL, IDF, EDF, and CW. In all these variables, the highest values were found when irrigation was conducted at the lowest moisture tension (-10 kPa). Likewise, in all those variables significant effect of hybrids were found, which confirms that the morphology of flowers is defined by genetic factors. Specifically, hybrid "Full Sun" had significantly higher PH, SD, and DN compared to the rest of the hybrids. "Full Sun" and "Sunbright" had the highest values for PH and LL. "Full Sun" and "GH 382" had significantly higher IDF and EDF. "Prado Red Shade" had significantly lower PH, SD, LL, CW and higher NF. Fertilization only had significant effects on LW, DN and CW. In conclusion, irrigation improves morphological characteristics of sunflower plants. If the farmer's objective is to produce larger flowers, then hybrids "Fun Sun" and "GH 382" are recommended. However, if the objective is to produce small flowers, hybrids "Sunbright" and "Prado Red Shade" are recommended. The latter is also suitable to produce a larger number of capitula.


This article examines the development of computer aids within manufacturing industry and proposes an alternative approach to the way we design and the designer's role within manufacturing. A feature-based generative design-by-constraints approach is applied, which requires the designer to specify solutions in terms of manufacturing data, which is captured by means of an interactive simulation of machining processes, in which the constraints of equipment, materials and tools are displayed to the designer. The effect of this approach on the integration of all areas within a manufacturing environment is explored, as is the simultaneous design nature of this approach.


On the day of my interview for a senior house officer rotation in general medicine, a more senior colleague gave me some unusual advice.

"When they ask you about your long term career ambitions, Jackie, you'd better not tell them the truth."

Obediently, I dodged the question when it came, mentioning a (genuine) interest in neurology and failing to contradict the panel's assumption that I wished to become a neurologist. Having been given the job, I spent the next two years evading further inquiries, much to the exasperation of my consultants. Nearing the end of the rotation, with the ink barely dry on my membership certificate, I announced that I was joining the pharmaceutical industry as a medical adviser.

My news received a mixed reception, from those colleagues who said that they wished that they could do the same thing, to those who accused me, at best, of wasting my talents and, at worst, of betraying my profession. Many assumed that I would be working as a sales representative, this role embodying their sole experience of the industry. Eventually, I gave up trying to correct them.

Pharmaceutical medicine was never mentioned as a …


The region of the toe in the cosmic-ray spectrum, located at about 45 EeV by the Pierre Auger Collaboration, is of primary interest in the search for the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The suppression of the flux with increasing energy can be explained by the interaction of UHECRs with intergalactic photons, resulting in a shrinking of the observable universe, and/or by cut-offs in acceleration potential at the astrophysical sources, yielding a high-rigidity sample of single (or few) UHECR species around the toe. The predominance of foreground sources combined with reduced deflections could thus offer a path towards localizing ultra-high energy accelerators, through the study of UHECR arrival directions. In this contribution, we present the results of blind and astrophysically-motivated searches for anisotropies with data collected above 32 EeV during the first phase of the Pierre Auger Observatory, i.e. prior to the AugerPrime upgrade, for an exposure of over 120,000 km 2 yr sr. We have conducted model-independent searches for overdensities at small and intermediate angular scales, correlation studies with several astrophysical structures, and cross-correlation analyses with catalogs of candidate extragalactic sources. These analyses provide the most important evidence to date for anisotropy in UHECR arrival directions around the toe as measured from a single observatory.


The opposition between written and spoken language is particularly conspicuous in French. The issue can be approached from various angles and at various levels. This paper discusses the problems of (standard) usage as well as the representation of the spoken language with a special emphasis on the age of romanticism and realism (Balazac, Monnier, Zola, Maupassant, Courteline). 20th-century poets and artists will also be considered (Barbusse, Celine and Raymond Queneau). The paper highlights the use of certain tenses (imparfait du subjonctif, passe simple) in French because of their practical and literary importance.


Actinic keratosis (AK) is a common skin disease seen in daily practice. It is associated with a risk of progression to invasive squamous cell carcinoma and can be regarded as a marker of increased risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer. The use of a field-directed treatment approach reflects the need to initiate early treatment over an affected area to prevent tumour development and local recurrence. Candidate field-directed treatments require a mechanism of action compatible with an effect on field cancerisation, immediate and long-term efficacy against visible lesions and efficacy against subclinical AK. Applicability to large treatment areas, tolerability compatible with long-term use, utility in organ transplant patients and, ideally, evidence of extended long-term activity may also be desirable. We review the evidence of a role for topical diclofenac sodium 3% administered in a 2.5% hyaluronic acid gel (diclofenac/HA) as field-directed treatment. Diclofenac/HA directly targets AK pathophysiology through multiple mechanisms, including induction of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis and reduced inflammation. Clearance of visible field cancerisation is safely and rapidly achieved with a 90-day treatment course in patients with affected areas of up to 50 cm2 and is associated with a ≥75% reduction in target lesion number score in 85% and 91% of patients, respectively, at 30 days and 1 year post-treatment. Following treatment of AK in high-risk transplant patients, 45% remained free of lesions in the treatment area at 2 years post-treatment. We conclude that diclofenac/HA fulfils most criteria necessary to be considered an appropriate candidate for a field-directed treatment in AK.


The aim of this article is to study the relationship between the type of industry and the rate of adoption of product innovation, process innovation and organizational innovation. In the traditional approach, being innovative is only effective in the short run because competition will begin to imitate that innovation. In an alternative approach, there is a distinction between innovative and non-innovative firms. We tried to capture this process by making two groups of industries: low-tech industries and high-tech industries. If they seek to be competitive in the long run, innovative firms are strategically proposing to adopt new technologies and to innovate in product, process or internally in the organization. A study is being conducted using the data provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) database for Romania in the year 2012. At industry level, companies' innovative behavior is unclear, but after grouping them into low-tech and high-tech industries, results have become more robust, respectively, in high-tech industries, there is an average of more product or process innovations. An interesting observation is that the percentage of adopting organizational innovations remains constant for both low-tech and high-tech industries. An interpretation related to the long term competitive innovative behavior is that by product and process innovation, the firm has a strategic vision and will have a constant process of structural organization.


Arctium lappa (A. lappa), Compositae, is considered a potential source of nutrition and is used as a traditional medicine in East Asian countries for centuries. Although several studies have shown its biological activities as an anti-inflammatory agent, there have been no reports on A. lappa with regard to regulatory role in inflammasome activation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of A. lappa extract (ALE) on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and explore the underlying mechanisms. We found that ALE inhibited IL-1β secretion from NLRP3 inflammasome activated bone marrow derived macrophages but not that secreted by NLRC4 and AIM2 inflammasomes activation. Mechanistic studies revealed that ALE suppressed the ATPase activity of purified NLRP3 and reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) generated during NLRP3 activation. Therefore, the inhibitory effect of ALE on NLRP3 inflammasome might be attributed to its ability to inhibit the NLRP3 ATPase function and attenuated the mROS during inflammasome activation. In addition, ALE significantly reduced the LPS-induced increase of plasma IL-1β in mouse peritonitis model. These results provide evidence of novel anti-inflammatory mechanisms of A. lappa, which might be used for therapeutic applications in the treatment of NLRP3 inflammasome-associated inflammatory disorders.


Author(s): Rodriguez, Lori | Advisor(s): Benner, Patricia | Abstract: AbstractAs a part of the 2007 Carnegie Foundation National Nursing Education Study, this study describes the lived experiences of nursing students and faculty members with errors and practice breakdowns. Questions on errors and practice breakdowns were included in focus group and individual interview questions during site visits and phone interviews to the nine nursing schools in the study. Using interpretive ethnography this study takes into account the culture, context and situational aspects of the experiences. In three separate articles, presented here as chapters two, three and four the study explores errors and breakdowns within student learning communities where students are developing habits, practices, skills and ethical comportment suited for the practice of nursing. It addresses the question asked by the Institute of Medicine Report (2001): How do nursing students learn about errors in practice? It demonstrates that although not always labeled as "promoting patient safety" concern about patient safety is central in nursing education. Students see themselves as being the patient's last line of defense for preventing errors in a health system that is fraught with potential hazards (Benner, Hooper-Kyriakidis, Stannard, 1999). Chapter two identifies different ways that students may experience errors or practice breakdowns. The theme of being pulled up short in learning was described by Gadamer (1975) and explicated by Kerdeman (2004). Chapter three reveals that there are a number of practices, skills, habits, formal and informal structures and processes in nursing school that are designed or in place to help nursing students avoid making errors. The chapter also discusses how once an error is made or a breakdown in practice occurs, nursing faculty members use the experience to teach students ethical responses and responsibilities in relation to keeping patients safe, and preventing practice breakdown.In the fourth chapter a pedagogy common to all nine nursing schools is disclosed Instructors use first person experience-near stories of breakdowns to teach students about patient safety. The faculty stories of their own errors and breakdowns further illustrate that the experience of being pulled up short is a powerful transformative experience as these cautionary tales extend to new generations of nurses.


Effective feedback, as an integral part of formative assessment, has been identified as a powerful tool that enhances learning. However, "Effectiveness" has been perceived differently by students due to at least four factors: 1. Quantity, 2. Quality, 3. Timing, and 4. Language used in feedback provided. Much research has been conducted on the first three factors, but language needs to be thoroughly investigated. This research in the sector of Education attempts to rectify certain important omissions in the literature of formative assessment in the area of language by using "register theory" in Systemic Functional Linguistics. With 'register' simply defined as field, tenor, and mode of discourse (e.g. Halliday, McIntosh, & Strevens, 1964), the not adequately captured relationship between language structure and language function, is to be revisited (Halliday, 1985) in connection with educative feedback. In this study, field expressed through ideational meanings, tenor expressed through interpersonal meanings, and mode expressed through textual meanings are investigated in connection to how linguistic style affects the perceived effectiveness of written feedback provided to students. A small sample of graduate students from a Faculty of Education is examined. The systemic coder (O'Donnell, 2002) is employed on collected assignments from participants. Results show that the linguistic style of a professor is found to affect the perceived effectiveness of written feedback provided to students on their assignments. The use of the ideational meanings of material process, non-human participants, passive voice, and nominalization; the interpersonal meanings of declarative statements, interrogative statements, and modality; in addition to the textual meanings of lexical density, cohesion, textual adjuncts, and emphasis are all found to help students perceive feedback as effective. Therefore; professors are requested to increase the use of these language aspects LANGUAGE REGISTER IN WRITTEN FEEDBACK TO GRADUATE STUDENTS iii when providing feedback because of the hidden positive meanings these aspects can add to the feedback provided. However, the use of the ideational meanings of behavioral process, relational process, and active voice; the interpersonal meanings of imperative statements, personal pronouns, and evaluative words; and the textual meanings of grammatical intricacy are found to result in students perceiving feedback as ineffective. As a result, professors are requested to decrease the use of these language aspects when providing feedback because of the hidden negative and unwanted meanings these aspects can add to the feedback provided. Results also illustrate that students perceive feedback as effective when this feedback leads to at least one of the following scenarios: improving student grades, protecting student self-esteem, having a good relation with feedback provider, and/or enhancing student learning. Ineffective feedback is found to have negative consequences on students. Decision-makers are requested to reduce the number of students as well as the tasks required in each class. They are also advised to professionally develop professors with training workshops on how to provide feedback. LANGUAGE REGISTER IN WRITTEN FEEDBACK TO GRADUATE STUDENTS iv


There are currently few computer programs written by optometrists for optometrists to be utilized as methods of treatment for those patients with deficits in the areas of developmental vision and perception. This paper reviews educational and commercially available programs that with certain modifications may meet the therapeutic needs of our patients.


In the thesis the effects of macroscopic field inhomogeneities in MR imaging are analyzed and manipulation. Field inhomogeneities disturb the signal phase and invoke image distortions. Phase images are shown to serve as an effective means to generate and manipulate image contrast. In chapter 2 the phase derivative is shown to provide positive contrast and allows paramagnetic and diamagnetic field perturbing structures to be discriminated. Phase derivative magnitude images provide positive contrast surrounding field perturbing objects, but are also sensitive to field gradients. In chapter 3, the specificity is shown to be increased by calculating the Laplacian of the signal phase, since it is zero in regions of constant or linearly varying susceptibility and nonzero at abrupt changes in susceptibility, for instance, at a single point, a ridge, an interface, an edge or a boundary. In chapter 4, the discriminative property of the signal phase is shown to allow detection of micro-calcifications in ex vivo breast specimens. In chapter 5, the phase derivative is shown to not only provide contrast, but also to be applicable to reduce signal loss due to signal dephasing induced by macroscopic field inhomogeneities. This macroscopic signal loss induces R2 signal decay, but does not reflect a tissue property. In chapter 5 it is shown that this unwanted effect of a field distortion on the signal can be reduced by dividing the acquired signal by an estimate of the signal dephasing, which is obtained by integrating the phase derivative over a voxel. The second part of the thesis focuses on image distortions induced by field inhomogeneities. In previous work the center-out Radial Sampling in Off-Resonance (co-RASOR) technique was shown to accurately localize a field perturbing object. Co-RASOR applies a global frequency offset to center-out acquired data to focus signal pile-up onto the exact geometrical center of a field perturbing object. In chapter 6, the required frequency offset is shown to be more efficiently applied during reconstruction than during signal acquisition. Reconstruction co-RASOR is furthermore demonstrated to be more flexible than acquisition co-RASOR and to allow the center of an object to be located automatically. In chapter 7, the acquisition duration of the 3D co-RASOR is addressed. It is shown that - under certain conditions - two 2D co-RASOR acquisitions, instead of one 3D acquisition, allow the acquisition time to be reduced from several minutes for the 3D acquisition to less than 4 seconds for the dual-plane technique, while maintaining the 3D accuracy. By applying the dual plane co-RASOR acquisition a HDR brachytherapy source could be tracked with 1 mm accuracy with a frame rate of approximately 0.25 Hz. In chapter 8, the pros and cons of single point imaging (SPI) as a solution for MR imaging artifacts in the presence of field inhomogeneities are discussed. SPI is attractive in that it applies phase encoding in all three dimensions whereby it becomes insensitive to image distortions induced by field inhomogeneities. Data acquired with SPI is compared to data encoded by applying frequency encoding along one encoding direction. In addition, the potential of SPI data is illustrated by phantom experiments. Furthermore, promising methods to decrease the acquisition duration are outlined.


Mendel proposed first that paired unit factors of heredity were transmitted faithfully from generation to generation by the dissociation and reassociation of paired factors during gametogenesis and fertilization, respectively. After he crossed peas with contrasting traits and found that the recessive trait resurfaced in the F2 generation, Mendel deduced that hereditary factors must be inherited as discrete units. This finding contradicted the belief at that time that parental traits were blended in the offspring.


This research describes learning activities and techniques that improve deep and critical thinking among students. Critical thinking is considered an ultimate goal in MIS education; and learners who reach critical thinking level can achieve the highest learning goals and outcomes. Critical thinking and English communication are considered the two most essential competencies in the 21st century. Therefore, universities have invested significantly in understanding, promoting, and delivering critical thinking in education. Moreover, the learning and education research has invested extensively in critical thinking. In this research, we present and discuss seven learning activities and techniques that initiate deep thinking and promote critical thinking in teaching and learning in order to achieve high level of quality learning. The main focus of this work is in the higher education setting at the level of colleges and universities. We discuss and explain seven learning activities, with examples and tools that will help increase the level of thinking and improve higher order thinking and critical analysis. The presented techniques and examples can be easily applied and adapted into any discipline to help increase and improve higher order thinking among the learners. The preliminary evaluation results are very encouraging.


This qualitative research paper has presented the theoretical underpinning of heart intelligence from the Quranic and scientific perspectives. Epistemological reductionism is the methodology used in this research which is an integrated approach for a thorough understanding of mechanisms that generates and maintains the connections between heart intelligence, self, society, nature, and God from the interdisciplinary perspectives. This research has explained three elements of the heart intelligence named, emotional, rational and spiritual according to their functions. These elements of the heart intelligence are explained from the verses of the Quran and scientific evidence is also provided. Realignment of the individual thoughts patterns with the heart intelligence is fundamental to peace, harmony and wellbeing at the individual, societal and global level. Through this Divine inner guiding system, individuals can understand the challenges of life and acquire true wisdom.  This research affirms that the socialization of heart intelligence will bring new more creative ways of thinking about the nature of reality and create the possibility for self-empowered existence where individuals in the society have enormous influence over their lives with an optimistic approach.


The study aimed to assess the efficacy of three different drugs against nematodiasis in goat. Twenty goats were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each. Group 'D' served as the control, whereas groups A, B, and C were treated with ivermectin, fenbendazole and albendazole respectively. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated through determination of eggs per gram (EPG) count, haematological findings and body weight gain or loss. Faecal and blood samples were collected before treatment on day 0, and on post-treatment days 7, 14, 21 and 28 of study. Pre and post-treatment EPG values were recorded and efficacies compared. The results showed that the efficacy about albendazole 87%, ivermectin 85% and fenbendazole 92%. The haematological parameters, TLC, Hb and PCV values were lower on day 0 but turned to increase (p<0.01) on day 28 of the study. On the other hand, ESR and TEC were higher before treatment (day 0) but decreased significantly (p<0.01) on day 28. The body weight of the treated animals were faintly increased which were significant (p<0.01). It was concluded that the farm management practices along with results of the present study revealed the efficacy of multiple anthelmintics against nematodiasis in goats.


The influence of pH value on the antibacterial action of subtilin A has been demonstrated by survivor counts, inhibition of respiration, and pH gradient plates. Staphylococcus aureus is more sensitive to subtilin as the pH value increases; Escherichia coli is more sensitive as the pH value decreases. The results are analogous to those obtained by other investigators working with cationic detergents, and are consistent with the hypothesis that the basic surface-active antibiotics kill bacteria by the same general mechanism as do the quaternary ammonium germicides. A survey of the growth inhibition of other organisms on pH gradient plates indicates that Bacillus cereus behaves like S. aureus, while B. megaterium, Corynebacterium poinsettiae, and Streptococcus faecalis behave like E. coli. A pH/mobility curve for subtilin A, obtained by paper electrophoretic studies, indicates no striking changes in the charge of the molecule over the pH range 4–9, although the presence of at least one free α-amino group is indicated by inflexion points in the range of pH 6–7. The isoelectric point of subtilin A at ionic strength 0·1 is approximately 6·7. The use of sectored, square-shaped Petri dishes for pH-gradient plate studies with germicides is described.


Motivation: The Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (SSA) has largely diffused in the field of systems biology. This approach needs many realizations for establishing statistical results on the system under study. It is very computationnally demanding, and with the advent of large models this burden is increasing. Hence parallel implementation of SSA are needed to address these needs. At the very heart of the SSA is the selection of the next reaction to occur at each time step, and to the best of our knowledge all implementations are based on an inverse transformation method. However, this method involves a random number of steps to select this next reaction and is poorly amenable to a parallel implementation. Results: Here, we introduce a parallel acceptance-rejection algorithm to select the K next reactions to occur. This algorithm uses a deterministic number of steps, a property well suited to a parallel implementation. It is simple and small, accurate and scalable. We propose a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) implementation and validate our algorithm with simulated propensity distributions and the propensity distribution of a large model of yeast iron metabolism. We show that our algorithm can handle thousands of selections of next reaction to occur in parallel on the GPU, paving the way to massive SSA. Availability: We present our GPU-AR algorithm that focuses on the very heart of the SSA. We do not embed our algorithm within a full implementation in order to stay pedagogical and allows its rapid implementation in existing software. We hope that it will enable stochastic modelers to implement our algorithm with the benefits of their own optimizations. Contact: email@example.com


The flexible MIPS soft processor architecture borrows selected technologies from highperformance computing to deliver a modular, highly customizable CPU targeted towards FPGA implementations for embedded systems; the objective is to provide a more flexible architectural alternative to coprocessor-based solutions. The processor performs out-of-order execution on parallel functional units, it delivers in-order instruction commit and it is compatible with the MIPS-1 Instruction Set Architecture. Amongst many available options, the user can introduce custom instructions and matching functional units; modify existing units; change the pipelining depth within functional units to any fixed or variable value; customize instruction definitions in terms of operands, control signals and register file interaction; insert multiple redundant functional units for improved performance. The flexibility provided by the architecture allows the user to expand the processor functionality to implement instructions of coprocessor-level complexity through additional functional units. The processor design was implemented and simulated on two FPGA platforms, tested on multiple applications, and compared to three commercially available soft processor solutions in terms of features, area, clock frequency and benchmark performance.


Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs are being incorporated into healthcare systems worldwide. To cultivate present-moment, non-judgmental awareness, MBSR is taught using meditation instructions couched in particular forms of language. Yet the scholarly literature, while replete with empirical validation studies, has little to say about MBSR discourse. Further, although the program may be seen as a cultural hybrid, drawing as it does upon traditional mindfulness practices and concepts, MBSR research paradoxically employs methods which presuppose Western notions of self. In contrast, we identify conceptual similarities between the Buddhist notion of anatta, or non-self, and Dialogical Self Theory's (DST) treatment of self as an ongoing process of changing positions in dialogue with each other. DST is ideally suited to studying discourse aimed at diminishing self-reification. Interviews with MBSR practitioners (N = 20) yielded self-narratives which were subjected to a DST analysis, guided by the research question, "How do MBSR practitioners portray themselves when discussing their mindfulness practice?" Our intention was to delineate how practitioners take up the unique "MBSR voice" in their self-portrayals. Our findings could be laid out along a developmental continuum: portrayals were seen to range from unreflective voicing of a reified self, to more developed self-narratives in which mindful awareness (a meta- position) was portrayed in dialogue: bringing an inquisitive, present-focused, and compassionate awareness to habitual reactions. The telos of development, as seen from both theoretical perspectives, entails de-positioning: describing simple awareness of being. Our analyses display how the MBSR voice de-reifies self, and how that voice may be taken up by practitioners, to varying extents. Concurrently, DST is demonstrated to be theoretically and methodologically applicable to studying MBSR discourse.


: When thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) occurs in pregnancy, survival of either the mother or fetus is exceedingly rare. A patient is reported who developed this disease in the 17th week of pregnancy and recovered after treatment with antiplatelet drugs (aspirin, dipyridamole) and corticosteroids. The rationale and potential hazards of antiplatelet therapy in TTP are discussed.


Sarcopenia is defined as an age-related loss in skeletal lean muscle mass and strength and is as a leading contributor to the development of frailty. Stroke survivors have muscle atrophy in paretic (P) vs. nonparetic (P) legs that could contribute to whole body sarcopenia. The purpose of this study was to determine the sarcopenic index in a large population of chronic stroke survivors and compare this group to age, gender, and BMI-matched non-stroke controls. Chronic stroke survivors aged 40 to 84 yrs (n=180, 61% female, 59% African American, BMI: 29±1 kg/m2, X±SEM) with mild to moderate gait deficits underwent whole body DXA scans to assess sarcopenic index (appendicular lean mass/ht2). The cutoffs for sarcopenia, by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia, were used and defined as a skeletal muscle index of <7.23 kg/m2 in men and <5.67 kg/m2 in women. In the entire group, the prevalence of sarcopenia in stroke survivors (13%) did not differ significantly from that of populations reported previously in the literature. In 61-70 year olds, 87% (n=63) had normal muscle mass and 13% (n=9) were sarcopenic. In 71-80 year olds, 79% (n=30) had normal skeletal muscle index and 21% (n=8) were sarcopenic. Stroke survivors (n=39) were matched with 39 controls on the basis of race, gender, age ±4 years and BMI±2.5 units. After matched pair analysis, 5.1% of the controls had sarcopenia while 12.8% of the control group were sarcopenic (P<0.0001). Sarcopenic index was related to six-minute walking speed (r=0.28, P<0.01). In conclusion, stroke survivors may be at an elevated risk for sarcopenia when considering age, gender, and race to non-stroke individuals which is related to functional mobility in this population.


Nonprofits use social media to pursue a broad range of mission-related outcomes. Given the centrality of user connections and social networks on these sites, attaining these outcomes is contingent on first generating a stock of online social capital through investing in online relationships. Yet, little is known empirically about this process. To better understand the return on social media, this study develops empirical measures of four key dimensions of social media–based social capital centering on the nature of nonprofits' network positions and stakeholder ties. The study then tests a series of hypotheses relating the increase in social capital to different types of stakeholder engagement tactics. Using Twitter data on 198 community foundations, the study finds that content with multiple communication cues and intersectoral stakeholder targeting predict higher levels of social capital; communicative and stakeholder diversity, thus, appear to play a key role in the successful organizational use of social media.


The aim of the present study was to determine changes induced by pregnancy in the hepatic handling of nutrients during the fasting-refeeding transition. Net hepatic and gut substrate fluxes were determined by the Fick principle in conscious pregnant (day 30) and nonpregnant rabbits in the 2 h after consumption of a mixed meal. Hepatic glucose production was suppressed by approximately 50% in both groups from 15 to 90 min. Pregnant rabbits returned to control levels at 120 min. Pregnant females displayed a larger gut glucose output and a greater arterial hyperglycemia. The hepatic and gut balance of lactate as well as the arterial level was almost unchanged. In pregnant females the hepatic uptake and arterial concentration of free fatty acids (FFA) remained almost unchanged, whereas these measures decreased in nonpregnant females by approximately 55 and approximately 80%, respectively, at 120 min. The decline in hepatic output of beta-hydroxybutyrate was similar in both groups. In pregnant rabbits arterial levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate did not parallel changes in the hepatic release as in nonpregnant females. Pregnant females displayed a greater hyperinsulinemia both in the portal vein and the artery over the first hour. It is concluded that, in pregnant rabbits fed a mixed meal, the ability of the liver to handle glucose is impaired because of insulin resistance. The latter brings about a greater and prolonged arterial hyperglycemia, which is reinforced by peripheral insulin resistance. Furthermore, the higher level of FFA may also contribute to the hyperglycemia. As a result, a greater amount of glucose is diverted to other sites, presumably the uterus.


Fusarium culmorum is a principal causal agent of root, crown, and foot rot disease in the wheat-growing areas of Turkey. The effects of different fertilization practices, fungicide sprays, and cultivar reactions of 12 wheat varieties were investigated for disease development in greenhouse conditions in 2006-2007. The fertilizers used in the experiments significantly reduced disease by 27.5%-54.7% compared to the nonfertilized control. The plants fertilized with calcium ammonium nitrate (26% N) or composite NPK (15%, 15%, 15%) showed fewer disease symptoms than those fertilized with NPK (20%, 20%, 0%) in the presowing applications. On the other hand, foot rot severity was lower with ammonium nitrate (33% N) than urea (46% N) when applied as a supplement in the 25th and 45th growth stages of the Zadoks scale. Furthermore, fungicide sprays and seed dressing treatments also decreased foot rot symptoms. Seed treatment with tebuconazole lowered disease severity in the subcrown internode compared to the control and it was overall the most effective fungicide with 47.8% efficacy. When plants were sprayed with fluquinconazole, tebuconazole, or epoxyconazole + carbendazim (two times at Zadoks growth stages 31 and 45), disease severity decreased by 96.3%, 93.9%, and 91.0%, respectively. In the cultivar reaction tests, no stable or considerable tolerance was observed in the 12 wheat varieties against foot rot. It may be concluded from this study that fertilizer forms and fungicide preference can play an important role where Fusarium foot rot is the main problem in wheat-growing areas.


Summary: The inter-relationship between the intracellular concentration of potassium ions and the rate of oxidation of glutamate was investigated in washed Escherichia coli. The time-curve of glutamate oxidation by the potassium-depleted coli showed a marked lag phase and the rate of oxygen uptake increased concurrently with the accumulation of potassium ions. After a constant intracellular potassium concentration was reached, the rate of oxidation remained constant. Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (m-C1-CCP) and methylene blue inhibited the respiration when added to the reaction mixture during the initial phase of K+ accumulation. The extent of inhibition induced by these compounds was inversely related to the rate of oxidation prevailing at the time of their addition. No inhibition resulted when the substances were added after the K+ accumulation and respiratory rate had reached the steady state values. Pre-incubation with glucose and KC1 abolished the initial lag of glutamate oxidation as well as the inhibitory action of m-C1-CCP. It is concluded that the intracellular concentration rather than the flux of potassium ion governs the control of respiration in E. coli. The possible relation of the mode of respiratory inhibition induced by m-C1-CCP and methylene blue to the known ability of these compounds to uncouple oxidative phosphorylation, is discussed in terms of the presumed energy requirements of the system mediating the K+ transport.


French Wine Business raises specific questions on organizational forms. Indeed, the pervasiveness of specific organizational forms such as family-controlled firms and cooperatives and the diversity of vertical integration strategies stress the question of agency costs and their effects on performance. In this paper, we use the Ang, Cole and Lin (2000) methodology to measure agency costs according to governance structure and vertical integration on a sample of 180 wine firms. The econometric analysis displays highly significant results which let think that (i) family-controlled firms may be subject to agency problems partly solved by the "outside equity" discipline, (ii) agency costs are not significantly higher for cooperative firms than for family-controlled firms, (iii) operating expenses increase with vertical integration for non-cooperative firms. One striking result is that contrary to non-cooperative firms, performance does not increase with vertical integration for cooperatives while agency costs remain low albeit vertical integration. One explanation is that agency costs may be seen as necessary expenses for success of vertical integration and cooperatives may not fill this requirement.


Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of lurasidone compared with olanzapine and risperidone in the first-line treatment of patients with schizophrenia from a Chinese healthcare system perspective. Methods A Markov model with 6-week cycle was constructed to reflect the disease progression of schizophrenia patients in the acute and maintenance phase. Probabilities of treatment discontinuation and adverse events in the acute phase were derived from the 6-week lurasidone clinical trial and a published network meta-analysis; long-term risks of relapse and discontinuation were estimated based on the 12-month lurasidone clinical trial and other treatment comparison studies. Cost inputs were derived from published literature and Chinese official documents, supplemented by expert opinions when necessary. Utility values were taken from published literature. Costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were assessed over 15 years with a discount rate of 5% per year. Results Over a 15-year time horizon, lurasidone yielded an improvement of 0.197 QALYs with a cost saving of CN¥12,093 (US$1,753) vs. olanzapine and an improvement of 0.116 QALYs with a cost saving of CN¥6,781 (US$983) vs. aripiprazole. One-way sensitivity analyses demonstrated robust base-case results since all analyses yielded net monetary benefits >0 at a willingness-to-pay threshold of CN¥72,447.00 (US$10,499.57)/QALY. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses suggested that lurasidone had 99.7, 99.9, and 100% probability of being cost-effective vs. olanzapine and risperidone at the conventional decision thresholds of 1, 2, and 3 times the Chinese per capita gross domestic product [namely CN¥72,447.00 (US$10,499.57)/QALY, CN¥1,44,894.00 (US$20,999.13)/QALY, and CN¥2,17,341.00 (US$31,498.70)/QALY in 2020], respectively. Conclusion Treatment with lurasidone was predicted to improve health outcomes and be a dominant strategy for patients with schizophrenia, compared with olanzapine and risperidone, in China.


This article presents a WhatsApp dialogue between student writers and their teacher discussing the poetry and commentary they wrote during an online course the year before. The students are refugees living in the containment of an UNHCR camp in Dadaab, Kenya. Throughout the dialogue, the longing for a lost home and the cultural relevance and permanence of poetry in their lives as Somalis, are evident.


The Laser Communicetions Laboratory (LCL) of the Wright Laboratory Avionics Directorate is heavily involved in designing optical cominunications systems covering the full optical spectrum to meet our current and future military communications requirements. This paper summarizes the in-house designed and built solar blind ultraviolet communications systern used in the LCL to investigate nonline-of-sight data and voice links. It also summarizes some of the previous DOD work accomplished to exploit free space communications via ul':raviolet radiation. In addition, safety factors peculiar to ultraviolet radiation in a closed cockpit environment are addressed. An evaluation of the current electrodeless ultraviolet communications system and a synopsis of planned fLiture projects to improve the system are included in the paper.


Author(s): Apolloni, Alexandra Marie | Advisor(s): Levitz, Tamara J. M. | Abstract: This dissertation explores performances by British girl singers from the 1960s to the present. I argue that vocal performances by singers such as Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, and Marianne Faithfull helped construct emerging models of white femininity in the 1960s that continue to resonate in pop vocal performances today. I show that, through vocal performance, these singers envoice liminal spaces at the boundaries of social categories such as race, gender, and class. My first two chapters explore aspirational performances of femininity by Shaw, Black, and Springfield, from 1963-1969. I show how Shaw and Black positioned themselves as solo singers, and argue that their vocal styles reflected an emerging liberal model of feminine independence that was at turns freeing and regressive. The following chapter argues that Springfield drew on collaborations with African-American women, such as Martha Reeves, to vocalize a different kind of feminine identity for herself, one grounded in a sense of alterity, and to create a space for racial justice that was ultimately limited by structural inequalities. The second pair of chapters look back at the 1960s through contemporary performances. I consider the current work of Lulu and Faithfull as aging singers, and argue that they must contend not only with cultural memories of their 1960s girlhood, but also with discourses of decline, and with the physical impact of aging on the voice. I close with a chapter about Candie Payne, Duffy, and Shelby Lynne, contemporary singers whose nostalgic use of 1960s vocal techniques re-imagines mid-century ideals of femininity in the present. My analyses are rooted in feminist theories of intersectionality and performance, and methods from Voice Studies. I draw on a range of archival sources, including fashion and music magazines, newspapers, memoirs, and television footage.


With the development of recent technology, English became compulsory language we must mastered. English grammar which is different from Indonesia grammar are being one of the obstacles in doing communication using English. Moreover, English learning system that used today still fixated on printed books and learning activity in schools or other education institutions causing people easily bored and tired. From the existing problem, GRAMER as English edugame with river preservation theme are created. Methods used in this research are Waterfall method, in this method, every research steps performed sequentially, start from Analytical Needs, System Design, Implementation and Unit Testing, Integration and System Test and Operation and Maintenance. System planning using Use Case UML Model. System development using Adobe Flash CS6 and using ActionScript3 programming language. System are tested by testing every application functions on 3 Android devices, with JellyBean, KitKat and Lolipop Operating System. This system are tested with result 80,4% of user satisfaction level. Keywords: English, Environmental Conservation, Flash, Game, Grammar


The paper provides a new paradigm to use Bayesian-net model to build a new multi-agent system (MAS). We use influenced diagrams as a modeling representation of agents, which is used to interact with them to predict their behavior. We provide a framework that an agent can use to learn the model of other agents in a MAS system based on their observed behavior. Since the correct model Is usually unknown with certainty, our agents maintain a number of possible models and assign the probability of being correct Our modification refines the parameters of the influenced diagram used to model the other agent's capabilities, preferences, or beliefs. The modified model is then allowed to compete with the other models and the probability assigned to it being correct can be reached based on how well It predicts the observed behaviors of the other agent.