BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition, with a relatively high prevalence and represents a burden for the healthcare budgets. Knowing the prevalence of IBS is important for scientific and practical estimation of its impact. The recent Rome IV global study has shed light on the prevalence of IBS in many countries, but reports are lacking from other countries. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IBS in Albania, a country from which we do not have relevant information.

METHOD
A prospective study was carried out in order to find out the prevalence of IBS in Albania. The target population was a sample of at least 500 Albanian adults (from a population of 2.2 million adults in this country. The questionnaires were distributed to the general population through three University centers from different areas of the country, through family doctors, chosen randomly, and by door to door by volunteer medical students. The questionnaires were self-completed by the participants and included 29 items: biographical data, IBS symptoms based on the Rome IV criteria, the symptoms that accompany IBS and the quality of life (QoL). The prevalence of IBS in the studied population, the sex ratio, the subtypes of IBS and the prevalence of different symptoms were calculated.

RESULTS
We sent out 550 questionnaires and we received answers from 502 subjects (response rate 91%, 312 females, median age: 42 years). IBS was present in 43 cases (8.6%), without gender predominance. The IBS subtypes had the following values: IBS-C 58%, IBS-D 28% and IBS-M 14%. Women had a relatively higher risk for subtype IBS predominant constipation (OR=1.13, 95%CI: 0.32-3.95, p=0.84) but men appeared to be more prone to IBS predominant diarrhea (OR=1.3, 95%CI: 0.33-5.08, p=0.7). The most affected age was over 50 years and the least affected was between 18-30 years. Bloating was present in 81.4% of IBS respondents. The pain significantly influenced the daily activity in IBS: OR=12.9:1 (95% CI: 6.18-27.31, p<0.0001). Education seems to be an important risk factor; people with only middle school education or less had an OR=4.5 (95% CI: 2-10.54, p=0.0003) of developing IBS than people with a higher education.

CONCLUSIONS
These are the first reported data on IBS in Albania. IBS in Albania is of 8.6%, more than the average data in the Rome IV global study, but in the range obtained from other studies. The most common type is IBS-C; there is no gender predominance; it is more common in less educated persons; the influence of pain on daily activity is higher in IBS.


Group Work is usually unpopular with students. High achieving students worry that their marks may be adversely affected by poor performance from other members. Conversely, they may feel that under-performing members of the group may get "a free ride" from the work of others. Employers, however, welcome "team players" who can work in groups. Group work, therefore, is often a component of assessment I order to promote work place skills in students. There are various strategies for peer assessment whereby members of the group report on each other's contributions. This form of peer assessment, however, is far removed from workplace practice, thus removing one of the reasons for group work. It also places stress on students who may be reluctant to mark down colleagues or friends. Students may also be intimidated by group members and not confident that their remarks will be treated as confidential. Distance Learning students often report that they feel a sense of isolation in their course. Group projects can foster a sense of inclusiveness, and overcome the feeling of isolation. However, the group work has to be well-designed to avoid the problems identified above. Social media, in the form of a student wiki, has been very successfully used for group work on distance learning courses, for several years. Students collaborate in producing the wiki, yet each student is assessed on their individual contribution to the wiki. Introducing the same technique to students on a traditional face-to-face course, however, met with very limited success. This paper will firstly identify the techniques for successful use of social media in group work on distance learning courses, and secondly address reasons why the same techniques were not successful in a face-to-face course.


A Personal DataSpace Management System is a platform to manage personal data with heterogeneous data types, in which keyword query is a primary query form for users who know little about the structure of the dataspace. Unlike exploratory queries in web search, a user in a personal dataspace usually has a specific search target and wants to find some known items in mind. To improve result quality in terms of query relevance in a personal dataspace, we propose the concept of compact index in this paper. We refer to the most important and representative semantics from documents as core content, and build compact index on it. We propose algorithm for selecting core content from a document based on semantic analysis, which can process English and Chinese documents uniformly. Furthermore, a software platform named Versatile is introduced for flexible personal data management, in which core content is extracted for building compact indexes and generating query-biased snippet efficiently and accurately. Finally, extensive experiments have been conducted to show the effectiveness and feasibility of compact indexes in personal dataspace management system.


We present a model for biological network formation originally introduced by Cai and Hu [Adaptation and optimization of biological transport networks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 (2013) 138701]. The modeling of fluid transportation (e.g., leaf venation and angiogenesis) and ion transportation networks (e.g., neural networks) is explained in detail and basic analytical features like the gradient flow structure of the fluid transportation network model and the impact of the model parameters on the geometry and topology of network formation are analyzed. We also present a numerical finite-element based discretization scheme and discuss sample cases of network formation simulations.


Background subtraction is a common method for detecting moving objects, but it is yet a difficult problem to distinguish moving objects from backgrounds when these backgrounds change significantly. Hence, we propose a method for detecting moving objects with a background model that covers dynamic changes in backgrounds utilizing a spatio-temporal texture named "Space-Time Patch", which describes motion and appearance, whereas conventional textures describe appearance only. Our experimental results show the proposed method outperforms one conventional method in three scenes: in an outdoor scene where leaves and branches of a tree are waving in intermittent wind, in an indoor scene where ceiling lights are turned on and off frequently, and in an escalator scene beside a window facing outdoors where some passengers are leaning over the hand-rail.


The Fermionic Neural Network (FermiNet) is a recently-developed neural network architecture that can be used as a wavefunction Ansatz for many-electron systems, and has already demonstrated high accuracy on small systems. Here we present several improvements to the FermiNet that allow us to set new records for speed and accuracy on challenging systems. We find that increasing the size of the network is sufficient to reach chemical accuracy on atoms as large as argon. Through a combination of implementing FermiNet in JAX and simplifying several parts of the network, we are able to reduce the number of GPU hours needed to train the FermiNet on large systems by an order of magnitude. This enables us to run the FermiNet on the challenging transition of bicyclobutane to butadiene and compare against the PauliNet on the automerization of cyclobutadiene, and we achieve results near the state of the art for both.


This report deals with a patient with concealed Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in whom both narrow and wide QRS tachycardias were observed. The simultaneous occurrence of various QRS morphology during supraventricular tachycardia results in a challenging diagnostic ECG problem. The cycle length during tachycardia with left bundle branch block was longer than the cycle length during narrow QRS supraventricular tachycardia and with functional right bundle-branch block. Electrophysiologic studies revealed an increased V-A conduction time during tachycardia with left bundle branch block. These studies suggested the presence of a concealed left-sided anomalous pathway. Differentiation between intra- and extranodal re-entry and therapeutic modalities are also discussed.


The present study demonstrates the relationship between conventional and quantum mechanical (QM) NMR spectroscopic analyses, shown here to assist in building a convincingly orthogonal platform for the solution and documentation of demanding structures. Kaempferol-3-O-robinoside-7-O-glucoside, a bisdesmosidic flavonol triglycoside and botanical marker for the aerial parts of Withania somnifera, served as an exemplary case. As demonstrated, QM-based 1H iterative full spin analysis (HiFSA) advances the understanding of both individual nuclear resonance spin patterns and the entire 1H NMR spectrum of a molecule and establishes structurally determinant, numerical HiFSA profiles. The combination of HiFSA with regular 1D 1H NMR spectra allows for simplified yet specific identification tests via comparison of high-quality experimental with QM-calculated spectra. HiFSA accounts for all features encountered in 1H NMR spectra: nonlinear high-order effects, complex multiplets, and their usually overlapped signals. As HiFSA replicates spectrum patterns from field-independent parameters with high accuracy, this methodology can be ported to low-field NMR instruments (40-100 MHz). With its reliance on experimental NMR evidence, the QM approach builds up confidence in structural characterization and potentially reduces identity analyses to simple 1D 1H NMR experiments. This approach may lead to efficient implementation of conclusive identification tests in pharmacopeial and regulatory analyses: from simple organics to complex natural products.


Book information: Cultural values and religious beliefs play a substantial role in adolescent development. Developmental scientists have shown increasing interest in how culture and religion are involved in the processes through which adolescents adapt to environments. This volume constitutes a timely and unique addition to the literature on human development from a cultural-contextual perspective. Editors Gisela Trommsdorff and Xinyin Chen present systematic and in-depth discussions of theoretical perspectives, landmark studies and strategies for further research in the field. The eminent contributors reflect diverse cultural perspectives, transcending the Western emphasis of many previous works. This volume will be of interest to scholars and professionals interested in basic developmental processes, adolescent social psychology and the sociological and psychological dimensions of religion.


Aggression between rabbit does can lead to severe injuries and impedes the application of group-housing on commercial farms. We studied the effect of environmental enrichment and territory on aggression in group-housed rabbit does. The group housing system consisted of four adjacent individual cages that were transformed into one group-housing system for four multiparous lactating hybrid does by taking away three side walls at d 18 of lactation. Until d 18 of lactation, does were housed individually in the cages of the group pen (territory (T)) or in other individual cages (no territory (NT)). Does were housed in groups until weaning of the kits at 35d of lactation. Within T and NT the following enrichments were provided (split-plot design): hiding places (HP), straw (S), hiding places and straw (HP+S) or no enrichment (NE)). Sixteen group pens were used for five subsequent rounds (n=10/treatment). Behavioural observations were performed and skin injuries and technical performance were registered. Treatments did not differ in frequency of agonistic interactions at 1 and 3 days after placement in the groups (average number of agonistic interactions for all treatments, day 1 148±24; day 3 51±27). Overall 52.2% of the animals had injuries (range 13 - 39%). Treatments with hiding places did have the lowest percentages of wounds and injuries numerically (% does with wounds: HP 13%; HP+S 27%; NE 31%; S 39%; average T 24%, NT 31%) but no significant treatment effects were found. There was a tendency for less does culled in HP and HP+S (0.25 and 0.3) compared with NE (0.8) and S (0.65) (P


Undoped stochiometric PZT samples, Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3, with different Zr/Ti ratios in a composition range from x = 0.60 to x = 0.45 across the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were prepared by the conventional mixed-oxide route from PbO, ZrO2 and TiO2 powders. A fundamental study of the local domain structure and orientation was carried out. The observed domain configurations were compared to the one theoretically predicted by Sapriel [1], Fousek and Janovec [2]. The domain structure of the range of samples investigated is strongly composition dependent. Compositions belonging to the tetragonal (45/55) and rhombohedral (60/40) phase field, not close to the MPB, show the appearance of a bimodal domain configuration with alternating latitudes. Around the morphotropic phase boundary a decrease in bimodal distribution is observed, accompanied by an increase in domain width and nanodomain formation within the large microdomains. In-situ hot-stage TEM experiments revealed domain wall motions and the appearance of domains at nanoscale during recooling. ESEM examinations have been undertaken as a complementary method to confirm the TEM experiments. The electronmicroscopical results were compared to high-resolution synchrotron X-Ray powder diffraction data measured at different temperatures in transmission geometry. In order to directly visualize the theoretically described domain switching process [3], additional in-situ electric-field TEM experiments are in preparation. This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 595 ''Elektrische Ermüdung von Funktionswerkstoffen''.


SUMMARY Endoscopic orbital surgery has become a highly evolving multidisciplinary surgical field thanks to development in technical skills of ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists. These advances expanded the clinical application of orbital decompression, with a growing body of literature describing the multidisciplinary management of thyroid eye disease and compressive optic neuropathy, since 1990. Although techniques have improved considerably, only few Randomized Control Trials (RCT) provide evidence to support recommendations in clinical practice. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of orbital decompression to clarify which is the most standardized therapeutic strategy. In the literature, we observed several approaches with contradicting results and the comparison of different surgical techniques was biased by inclusion of patients at different stage of disease (active or inactive), different surgical indications (dysthyroid neuropathy or disfiguring proptosis) and measures of outcomes (such as different system for ocular motility evaluation). The timing of surgical decompression is one of the debated issues. One RCT focusing on Graves' orbitopathy showed how intravenous corticosteroids achieve better visual recovery than surgical orbital decompression; but in case of absent or poor response to medical therapy the patient should undergo surgery within two weeks. There is slight evidence that the removal of the medial and lateral wall (so-called balanced decompression) with or without fat removal could be the most effective surgical technique, with low complication rate, but an increasing number of authors are promoting, for selected cases, a pure endoscopic surgical approach (with removal of medial and infero-medial orbital wall), less invasive than the balanced one; the latter indicated to more severe proptosis or diplopia after endoscopic procedure. Three-wall decompression is chosen for high degrees of proptosis, but complications are more frequent. Timing of surgical orbital decompression, in particular when a concomitant optic neuropathy is present, is still to be determined. Additional ophthalmological procedures are needed to restore normal eye function and cosmesis. Strabismus surgery to address diplopia and lowering the position of the upper eyelid represent some of the additional steps for the final rehabilitation of Graves' orbitopathy. The main clinical outcomes including visual acuity, proptosis, and new-onset diplopia are changing. Recent studies focused on the development of imaging measurements in order to objectively evaluate the surgical results and QOL questionnaires are gaining increasing importance.


ABSTRACT This article theorises and contextualises the stigmatisation of janda (widows and divorcees) in Indonesia. It firstly reviews the social science literature on stigma in society, showing a shift towards the study of stigmatisation as an exercise of power by a dominant group in society. It argues that the content of that stigmatisation works best when it is culturally relevant, useful to the dominant and hurtful to the stigmatised minority. Secondly, it surveys the social and cultural context in which widows and particularly divorcees are stigmatised in Indonesia. It argues that the apparent acceptability of divorce in the 1950s and 1960s shifted through the period of the New Order (1966–98), and divorce became much less common and more stigmatised. An education revolution contributed to more elaborate courtship patterns, later age of marriage and a trend to marriage by choice rather than parental arrangement; the patriarchal gender system and nuclear family ideology of the New Order state, and its reconstruction of marriage and divorce, along with other features of its development agenda, contributed to social transformations that include the stigmatisation of divorce for women. Finally, the article suggests other promising areas for future research on the stigmatisation of janda in Indonesia – among them are representations of janda in popular culture, a study of the 'broken home' phenomenon, and the class dimensions of janda stigmatisation.


From the time that a patient leaves the care of the anaesthetist after an operation until he wakes in the ward his physiological state should be continuously and expertly supervised. Postoperative nurses are provided only when the operating theatre has a recovery room. A survey among consultants and nurses in one region showed that many surgical units did not have recovery rooms and that inexperienced ward nurses were often sent to collect patients. The survey showed that most nurses were competent to care for unconscious patients so long as an emergency did not arise. In many hospitals the facilities for the safe nursing of postoperative patients were totally inadequate. The very least that is needed is good communications with the anaesthetist, adequate lighting, and a source of oxygen and suction. Because of the shortage of nurses likely to have to care for postanaesthetic patients early on and to train them accordingly. Nevertheless, recovery nurses, whose sole responsibility is to care for a patient until be has recovered from anaesthesia, should be appointed for all busy surgical units.


Ox Ouzi, E., K. M ElfOu, M. Gal Ea and E. PaPanaGiOtOu, 2012. Economic performance and crop farm efficiency in mountainous and other less favored areas in Greece. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 18: 846-853 The upcoming changes in the EU concerning the socio - economic criteria that were used since mid-70's to determine less favored areas and the introduction of «intermediate» regions, which will now be based on physical handicaps, are going to affect the level of support given to these areas throughout Europe. This in turn may have repercussions on profitability and ef ficiency of farming in less favored areas, a subject of great importance for many rural areas in Greece. This study estimates the degree of technical efficiency of crop farms in mountainous and other less favored areas of the prefecture of Thessalonica in Greece, first in a competitive environment without subsidies, and, following the granting of compensatory allowances. In addition, it carries out a comparative analysis of farm economic performance to investigate the relative contribution of subsidies to farm incomes and profitability. To accomplish the research objectives, primary data were collected with personal interviews from a sample of 78 farms. Data Envelopment Analysis was used for the estimation of pure technical, overall technical and scale efficiency. Research results show that the average overall efficiency of crop farms is around 49 %, while average technical efficiency is estimated at 65% and average scale efficiency is 76.9%. The farms in other less favored areas, despite higher production costs, achieve better economic performance than those in mountainous areas, due to the production of higher value crops. Compensatory allowances have a critical role for farm profitability in both mountainous and other less favored areas. However, a way forward for LFAs, in view of diminishing financial support, is the production of better quality and goods that are more competitive.


The character of the 21st century classroom is undergoing a significant change. Today's classrooms call for teachers who can adapt to new conditions and new technologies of the future. Teachers of tomorrow need to be skilled not only in the use of new technical means and technologies, but also be able to provide quality learning by using modern digital technologies in education. Learning paradigm based on constructivism sees not only the pupil's disposition for learning, but it also highlights the importance of interaction and individual contact with the environment. The paper suggests a practical way of how to integrate new digital technologies into the instructions of different subjects and strengthen the bonds between computer science, informatics-based subjects, and other subjects at primary schools, through developing educational games and applications in the microworld of small languages. Those small "virtual laboratories" allow discoveries through testing and experimentation thereby support the learning by doing, as well as the active learning. Draft concept of the methodology of teaching and preparing future teachers (without programming skills) for developing own educational applications and games in Imagine Logo microworld environment has been studied, verified and exerted in the framework of qualitative research strategy: Design-Based Research. We focused mainly on the design, content and structure of teaching in the first five weeks of semester, when participants should acquire basic knowledge and skills in the use of construction elements of Imagine Logo environment. Into the content of five teaching units are allocated the following elements: motivation, exposition, fixing and diagnostics, which are dealt with during the activities aimed at different phases of teaching. The subject is proposed as an introduction into the study programme (curriculum) of teacher training for primary education.


ABSTRACT Aim: Carotid artery ligation carries a potential risk of ischemic complications even in patients with good collaterals and adequate cross-circulation. Preoperative assessment through balloon test occlusion (BTO) is technically challenging and not feasible in all patients. We analyze our experience with universal bypass without performing detailed cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) studies in 23 patients before carotid artery ligation. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the case records of 23 patients who underwent cervical carotid artery ligation for various indications since January 2009. Results: The study included 21 patients with cavernous carotid aneurysms, one patient with a large fusiform petrous carotid aneurysm, and one patient with recurrent glomus jugulare encasing the cervical internal carotid artery. The initial 12 patients underwent preoperative BTO with hypotensive challenge. All patients underwent a bypass procedure followed by carotid artery ligation irrespective of the BTO findings. Patients who successfully completed a BTO underwent a low-flow superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery bypass. A high-flow extracranial–intracranial bypass using a saphenous vein graft from external carotid artery to middle cerebral artery was done in all patients who either failed the BTO or did not undergo BTO. We had two operative mortalities and one poor outcome. All the other patients had a good recovery with a Glasgow outcome score of 5 at the last follow-up. Graft patency rates were 81.1% in both the low-flow and high-flow groups. Conclusion: Universal high-flow bypass is safe, effective, and should be preferred in all patients before carotid artery ligation. It obviates the need for detailed CVR assessment, especially in centers with limited resources.


While the incidence of cancer of the stomach is undoubtedly decreasing, it remains the third commonest cause of death from malignant disease in Britain, exceeded only by tumours of the lung and of the large bowel. Usually the disease is diagnosed only at a relatively advanced stage, and the prognosis is often gloomy. Brookes et al,l for example, in a survey of 5441 cases in the Birmingham Regional Cancer Registry, found a total five-year survival of just under 500. A quarter of the patients had had radical "curative" surgery, and their five-year survival was 15.6%. For the 16% of patients submitted to palliative operations the five-year survival fell to 1 4%; and survival dwindled to near zero for the remaining patients-over half the total-who were subjected to laparotomy only or to no surgical procedure whatsoever. Hawley et al,2 in a study of 205 resections for cancer of the stomach, found a crude five-year survival of 19-4°/0; this fell to 11% in those patients with lymph node invasion, and no patient with resection for linitis plastica survived for more than two years after gastrectomy. Naturally the surgeon rejoices in the occasional patients who are saved by radical surgery from an untimely and unpleasant death, but he realises that most of his patients will be incurable when he first sees them or will develop recurrences after his attempt at curative surgery. The present surgical philosophy is that the best palliation is obtained if the primary growth can be removed, even though infiltrated lymph nodes or more distant metastases are left behind. Inberg et a13 have recently reviewed over 2500 cases of gastric carcinoma treated in Finland over 27 years. This form of cancer is particularly prevalent in Finland, ranking with Japan, Chile, and Iceland for an unenviable record. During the period of their study there was a trend towards attempting palliative resection wherever possible, and they found a 12.6% three-year survival figure after palliative subtotal gastrectomy. It is a common surgical experience that gastrojejunostomy often provides relatively poor palliation for an advanced obstructing growth at the pyloric end of the stomach: if resection is at all possible it gives a superior quality of life in addition to a better chance of longer survival. An unresectable growth at the cardia may be bypassed, but this requires an extensive thoracoabdominal operation, and in these circumstances most surgeons rely on intubation. Prognosis is poor, with an average expectation of life of only three or four months and a maximum of less than a year.4 When the patient returns with further symptoms after radical resection of a gastric tumour the prognosis may seem very gloomy indeed, but this is not invariably so. Ellis and Jayasekara5 recently reviewed a carefully selected group of 23 patients at Westminster Hospital with suspected recurrent disease after attempted curative resection for gastric carcinoma who were submitted to a "second look" laparotomy. Three were found to have hopeless dissemination. Ten had palliative procedures performed which relieved their dysphagia, vomiting, or jaundice. Four had recurrences resected, and one had a second primary of the gastric stump excised. No fewer than six were found to have altogether benign lesions: two strictures, a stomal ulcer, an afferent loop syndrome, malfunction of the pylorus after an upper partial gastrectomy, and finally a chronic sterile abscess in the abdominal wall together with small bowel adhesions producing a subacute obstruction. Of this benign group, two remained well two and four years after surgery, one had been lost to follow-up, and the remaining three developed frank recurrent disease and died eight months, one year, and four years after their second operation. Only one of the patients who underwent resection ofrecurrent disease achieved a reasonable survival, remaining well at three years, though other surgeons have from time to time reported encouraging long-term survival after resection of recurrent, metastatic, or metachronous cancers in cases of this sort. In such a common condition as gastric cancer, so filled with gloom, the surgeon should be on his guard not to overlook the occasional case where some benign lesion mimics recurrent cancer or where recurrent disease is itself amenable to further worthwhile surgery. Radiotherapy is not often of value for the surgically hopeless patient with gastric cancer. The role of cytotoxic drugs then has been fully reviewed by Comis and Carter.6 Among the standard anticancer agents only a few have been adequately evalauted, and just three (5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, and bis-chloronitrosourea) seem to be of clinical value in disseminated gastric cancer; the combination of 5-fluorouracil and bis-chloronitrosourea appears to be promising. Hard information is, however, lacking; further studies designed specifically for gastric cancer are needed, not only with new drugs but with the numerous agents already available and known to be active against other solid tumours.


This study applies generalised gravity models to analyse
 Pakistan's bilateral trade flows at commodity level using both panel as
 well as cross-sectional data estimation techniques. The empirical
 findings indicate that distance and size of the economy are the major
 determinants of commodity trade flows. For many commodities, real
 exchange rate, trade preferences, being landlocked, technological
 differences and market size are vital factors, which boost bilateral
 trade flows. Remarkably, there is an inverse relationship between
 bilateral trade flows and a common border. As far as regional trading
 blocs are concerned, the results show that ASEAN is a potentially
 significant destination for Pakistan's commodity trade. The findings
 illustrate that in the case of SAARC trading partners, the potential of
 trade has not materialised. For the purpose of robustness of our
 results, we have also used agricultural and non-agriculture related
 trade costs. Estimates indicate that trade costs between Pakistan and
 its trading partners are highly significant and negatively related to
 commodity trade flows, while other empirical findings confirm the
 robustness of the results. Keywords: Gravity Model, Commodity, Regional
 Integration, ASEAN, ECO, OIC, SAA


Multiblock polyesters were prepared from dimethyl 1,4-cyclo-haxanedicarboxylate (DMCD) (or dimethyl terephthalate, DMT ) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) with dodecanedioic acid (DA). Polymers were prepared by two-stage technique namely transesterification and polycondensation from the melt. The multiblock polyesters obtained were characterized by viscosity measurements, differential scanning calorimetry and tensile test. Polymers were exposed, in vitro, to Rhisopus delemar lipase solution. The enzymatic degradation was monitored by changes in molecular weight (from gel permeation chromatography) and estimated by the weight loss of the polyester films in a buffer solution with the enzyme at 37°C. Performed studies have shown that the enzyme Rhisopus delemar is able to alter the structure of the alicyclic/aliphatic polymer (PCD-DA) to a greater extent than the structure of aromatic/aliphatic copolyester (PBT-DA).


The detection of raw silk defects is important in the quality inspection of raw silk. Electronic inspection is a popular method now for the reasons of high speed and objectivity. However, the traditional seriplane testing method is also applied in many countries for its advantages that the electronic inspection method haven't. Due to the different evaluation standards, different results will be derived when the same raw silk defect is detected by the two different methods. In this study, various raw silk defects were detected according to the two different methods or standards. The cause of different results derived by different detection method was analyzed through observing the actual shape of the raw silk defects under the microscope. This is favorable to the development of electronic inspection method and standards for the raw silk defects.


In 1993-1998 the lichen flora of Stora Karlso and Lilla Karlso was surveyed. These two nearby islands are situated outside the west coast of Gotland, Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. In all, 355 species were found, including three lichenicolous fungi. Two species are new to Sweden, viz. Lepraria flavescens and Placynthium lismorense. Both were found on limestone. The number of species according to habitat was: limestone 105, gravel alvar 84, grass alvar 17, siliceous rocks 88, sea-shore rocks 20, bark (mostly deciduous trees) 121 and wood 52. During the last hundred years the management and thereby plant succession have differed between the islands. Sheep has continuously grazed Lilla Karlso, while the sheep were removed in 1887 from Stora Karlso. Floristic differences of the lichen flora between the islands are discussed from this aspect. The succession of deciduous forest on Stora Karlso is important for the species composition of the epiphyte flora. Some phytogeographical aspects are also discussed. Several common lichen species in southern Sweden are rare or not found on Stora Karlso and Lilla Karlso, e.g. the sorediate species Buellia griseovirens, Pertusaria amara and Phlyctis argena. In contrast, the otherwise rare calcicolous Gyalecta subclausa is common on the islands. With the aim of studying the lichen flora of gravel alvar in detail, this habitat was surveyed in sample-plots. The overall species richness of the gravel alvar is higher on Stora Karlso, mainly due to the larger area of this habitat. The mean species richness in the sample-plots is however similar on both islands, with on average 15 species/dm2. The most species-rich dm2 sample-plot with 23 species was encountered on Stora Karlso. The species composition of the gravel alvar differs between the islands; e.g. on Stora Karlso Collema tenax, Fulgensia fulgens, Psora decipiens and Squamarina cartilaginea are more abundant. This may be caused by different management regimes. However, it is hard to distinguish the effects of differences in habitat area, habitat quality and sheep grazing. The most obvious effect of grazing on the terricolous lichens is the change of growth form of the Cladonia species. This was seen both by a comparison of the lichen individuals of the two islands and by following the macrolichens in an area where sheep were re-introduced on Stora Karlso in 1995. Cladonia arbuscula, C. portentosa and C. rangiferina grow in dense cushions in areas without sheep, while they grow scattered in areas with sheep. This is probably caused by the mechanical action of sheep trampling.


This study aims to understand current patterns of transformation in communication practices owing to the ever-increasing incorporation of Internet in people's everyday lives. By surveying a group of mostly experienced and intensive Internet users in a setting of intermediate Internet diffusion such as Catalonia, our study focuses on the processes of integration of habitual Internet operation into daily individual practices, and particularly on its impact on media usage and consumption. Considering Internet a powerful multimodal means of communication, the study probes it as a constitutive technology and no longer a novelty for the younger generations. In this sense, we test to what extent and in which manner the young, through the personalized and specialized use of the Internet, and above all within their home settings, are conducive of socio-cultural change through the introduction and gradual adjustment of their ever-renewing practices with their elders' established communication habits.


Dopaminergic dysfunction is central to movement disorders and mental diseases. The dopamine transporter (DAT) is essential for the regulation of extracellular dopamine but the genetic and mechanistic link between DAT function and dopamine-related pathologies remains elusive. Particularly, the pathophysiological significance of monoallelic missense mutations in DAT is unknown. Here we identify a novel coding DAT variant, DAT-K619N, in a patient with early-onset parkinsonism and comorbid neuropsychiatric disease and in 22 individuals from exome-sequenced samples of neuropsychiatric patients. The variant localizes to the critical C-terminal PDZ-binding motif of DAT and causes reduced uptake capacity, decreased surface expression, and accelerated turnover of DAT in vitro. In vivo, we demonstrate that expression of DAT-K619N in mice and dropsophila imposes impairments in dopamine transmission with accompanying changes in dopamine-directed behaviors. Importantly, both cellular studies and viral overexpression of DAT-K619N in mice show that DAT-K619N has a dominant-negative effect which collectively implies that a single dominant-negative genetic DAT variant can confer risk for neuropsychiatric disease and neurodegenerative early-onset parkinsonism.


Pancreatic islets are heavily vascularized in vivo with fenestrated endothelial cells (ECs) to facilitate blood glucose-sensing and endocrine hormone secretion. The close proximity of insulin secreting beta cells and ECs also plays a critical role in modulating the proliferation and survival of both cell types with the mechanisms governing this interaction poorly understood. Isolated islets lose EC morphology and mass over a period of days in culture prohibiting study of this interaction in vitro. The loss of ECs also limits the efficacy of islet transplant revascularization in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. We previously showed that microfluidically driven flow positively affects beta-cell function and EC survival in culture due to enhanced transport of media into the tissue. However, holding islets stationary in media flow using a dam-wall design also resulted in reduced glucose-stimulated metabolic and Ca(2+) responses at the periphery of the tissue consistent with shear-induced damage. We have now created a device that traps islets into sequential cup-shaped nozzles. This hydrodynamic trap design limits flow velocity around the perimeter of the islet while enhancing media flow through the tissue. We demonstrate the feasibility of this device to dynamically treat and collect effluent from islets. We further show that treating islets in this device enhances EC morphology without reducing glucose-stimulate Ca(2+) responses. These data reveal a microfluidic device to study EC and endocrine cell interaction that can be further leveraged to prime islets prior to transplantation.


Tensor voting is a computational framework that addresses the problem of perceptual organisation. It was designed to convey human perception principles into a unified framework that can be adapted to extract visually salient elements from possibly noisy or corrupted images. The original formulation featured some concerns that made it difficult or impractical to be applied directly. Therefore, several partial or total theoretical reformulations or augmentations have been proposed. These almost parallel publication were presented in different directions, with different priorities and even in a different notation. Thus, the authors observed the need for a coherent description and comparison of the different proposals. This work, after describing the original approach of tensor voting, reviews and explains a number of high impact theoretical modifications in a self-contained manner and including possible future directions of work. The authors have selected and organised a number of formulations and unified the way the problem is addressed across the different proposals. The aim of this study is to contribute with a modern comprehensive source of information on the theoretical aspects of tensor voting.


The epidemic of pellagra in the first half of this century at its peak produced at least 250,000 cases and caused 7,000 deaths a year for several decades in 15 southern states. It also filled hospital wards in other states, which had a similar incidence but refused to report their cases. Political influences interfered, not only with surveillance of the disease, but also in its study, recognition of its cause, and the institution of preventive measures when they became known. Politicians and the general public felt that it was more acceptable for pellagra to be infectious than for it to be a form of malnutrition, a result of poverty and thus an embarrassing social problem. Retrospectively, a change in the method of milling cornmeal, degermination, which began shortly after 1900, probably accounted for the appearance of the epidemic; such a process was suggested at the time, but the suggestion was ignored.


Highly mucoid, cream, pink and yellow-brown gliding organisms having deoxyribonucleic acid guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 62 to 70.1 mol% have been isolated by several workers, but since these organisms have never been observed to produce typical myxobacterial fruiting bodies, their taxonomy has been problematical. Forty-six isolates were studied in detail, among them Ensign and Wolfe's organism AL-1 and Cook's isolate 495, both of which produce important proteases, as well as Cook's culture 3C, which elaborates the potent, wide-spectrum antibiotic myxin. A new genus, Lysobacter, has been established for these organisms, and four new species and one new subspecies have been named and described: L. antibioticus (type strain, ATCC 29479), L. brunescens (type strain, ATCC 29482), L. enzymogenes (type strain, ATCC 29487), L. enzymogenes subspecies cookii Christensen (type strain, ATCC 29488), and L. gummosus (type strain, ATCC 29489). The dimensions of the thin, gliding, flexing cells of Lysobacter are 0.3 to 0.5 by 1.0 to 15.0 (sometimes up to 70) μm. These soil and water organisms all degrade chitin, two degrade alginate, three degrade pectate, three degrade carboxymethylcellulose, and one degrades starch, but none decomposes filter paper or agar. They are strongly proteolytic and characteristically lyse a variety of microorganisms such as gram-negative, gram-positive (including actinomycetes), and blue-green bacteria, fungi, and green algae, as well as nematodes. The genus has been placed in a new family, Lysobacteraceae, within a new order, Lysobacterales.


Reovirus infection induces dramatic changes in host mRNA expression. We utilized oligonucleotide microarrays to measure cellular mRNA decay rates in mock- or reovirus-infected murine L929 cells to determine if changes in host mRNA expression are a consequence of reovirus-induced alterations in cellular mRNA stability. Our analysis detected a subset of cellular transcripts that were coordinately induced and stabilized following infection with the reovirus isolates c87 and c8, strains that led to an inhibition of cellular translation, but not following infection with Dearing, a reovirus isolate that did not negatively impact cellular translation. The induced and stabilized transcripts encode multiple regulators of TGF- β signaling, including components of the Smad signaling network and apoptosis/survival pathways. The coordinate induction, through mRNA stabilization, of multiple genes that encode components of TGF-β signaling pathways represents a novel mechanism by which the host cell responds to reovirus infection.


There are three components which contain tritium in the air, i.e. water vapor, molecular hydrogen and methane. However, there is no tritium monitor, which is able to measure the concentration separately. In the light of it, we are developing a new monitor, which will be enable us to measure the tritium concentrations in two of these species, i.e. molecular hydrogen and methane. The specific activities of tritium in molecular hydrogen and in methane are very high. Then if we can collect the hydrogen and the methane, we will easily measure the tritium concentrations. We have conceptually designed a new tritium monitor and carried out several basic experiments. Based on the results of these experiments, we have estimated the performance of the monitor. For an hour counting, the monitor will be able to measure the tritium concentrations of molecular hydrogen and methane using about 4m3 air. Since the total performance of the monitor mainly depends on the capability of the proportional counter, we are developing an appropriate counter.


error. For example, the valve at the rear may not completely seal off the reservoir when it is closed, and, during deflation, movement of mercury around the valve may be observed, resulting in air being trapped below the valve possibly because of pressure from the bladder. As in standard sphygmomanometers, the mercury does not always return to zero when the bladder is deflated; this is obvious to users of the standard sphygmomanometer but is hidden with the Hawksley device. We now have the mark II version, which is presumably more accurate than its predecessor. Might the manufacturers tell us the reasoning that motivated any technical modifications? It has been pointed out that underestimation by the Hawksley sphygmomanometer was much greater in our study than in others. We have performed regression analysis on our data,2 which shows that the error increases with rising blood pressure, this being significant for both systolic (p-0 022) and diastolic pressures (p=0 044). This led us to examine the blood pressures of the subjects in the studies tabulated by D Churchill and colleagues.3 We found that the mean blood pressure of our patients (150/90 mm Hg) was higher than that in other studies (134/82 mmHg,4 116/80 mmHg,5 117/72 mmHg,6 and 117/ 75 mm Hg7). This therefore at least partly accounts for the discrepancy in the magnitude of error between studies. Hans Werner Hense, who finds our call for debate a "remarkable irritation," has none the less aired an interesting view-namely, that the Hawksley sphygmomanometer, by virtue of its design, "is expected to produce lower systolic and diastolic pressures than the standard mercury sphygmomanometer." This may well be so, but it does not diminish the argument that we cannot have one measurement for research and another for clinical practice unless a correction factor can be applied to adjust one for the other. John Garrow and Carolyn Summerbell were unable to demonstrate the inaccuracy we and others have shown when a video camera was substituted for the human observer.' This is interesting, but before commenting we would need more data. John A Dinning admonishes us for having extolled the Hawksley sphygmomanometer in 1981.' We admit having accepted the Hawksley instrument uncritically, and we stand accountable along with many others for doing so. This raises the broader issue of who should be responsible for determining the accuracy of a device-the user or the manufacturer? However much the scientific community may quibble over the magnitude of error, there is now a substantial body of evidence showing that the Hawksley sphygmomanometer not only underestimates blood pressure4 78 but may influence the pressures recorded in unpredictable ways.8 It is now mandatory that the Hawksley mark II instrument be submitted to independent validation (as we urged nearly two years go) before it is marketed for use in research into hypertension.


The head-on collision of two equal and two un- equal steep solitary waves is investigated numerically. The former case is equivalent to the reflection of one solitary wave by a vertical wall when viscosity is neglected. We have performed a series of numerical simulations based on a Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIEM) on finite depth to investigate during the collision the maximum runup, phase shift, wall residence time and acceleration field for arbitrary values of the non-linearity parameter a/h, where a is the amplitude of initial solitary waves and h the constant water depth. The initial solitary waves are calculated numerically from the fully nonlinear equations. The present work extends previous results on the runup and wall residence time calcu- lation to the collision of very steep counter propagating soli- tary waves. Furthermore, a new phenomenon corresponding to the occurrence of a residual jet is found for wave ampli- tudes larger than a threshold value.


Previous studies have assessed the importance of physical characteristics to soccer playing ability by comparing performance-based outcomes between starters and non-starters. Starters are often considered the most skilled players on the team. These players get more playing time than non-starters and have been shown to achieve higher performance outcomes on intermittent fitness tests. However, it remains unclear whether starters can achieve higher performance outcomes on a countermovement vertical jump. PURPOSE : The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of countermovement vertical jump height and peak power to discriminate between starters and non-starters in collegiate female soccer. METHODS : Twenty-seven collegiate female soccer players (age = 19.56 ± 1.28 years; height = 164.26 ± 5.74 cm; body mass = 66.65 ± 8.43 kg) were recruited to participate in the present study. All testing was completed during the 2021 preseason training period. The players were classified as starters ( n = 12) or non-starters ( n = 15) according to their average number of minutes played per game during the subsequent exhibition season. Each participant reported to the laboratory for a single visit where they performed three countermovement vertical jump tests on a jump mat. For each jump, participants stood on the mat with feet shoulder width apart and hands positioned on the hips. Participants were not allowed to take any steps prior to performing the vertical jump and a quick descending quarter-squat countermovement was allowed before the ascending takeoff phase. The participants were instructed to jump as explosively as possible with both feet at the same time and land on the jump mat in the starting position. Vertical jump height (cm) was estimated from the flight time recorded by the jump mat. Peak power output was estimated using a previously validated regression equation: peak power (W) = 51.9 × vertical jump height (cm) + 48.9 × body mass (kg) - 2007. Independent samples t -tests were used to compare vertical jump height and peak power between the starting and non-starting groups. RESULTS : Vertical jump height was significantly greater ( P = 0.039) for the starters (38.60 ± 6.11 cm) compared to the non-starters (34.43 ± 3.75 cm). There was no significant difference ( P = 0.448) between the starters (3076.72 ± 331.98 W) and non-starters (3182.23 ± 369.67 W) for peak power. CONCLUSION : These findings suggest that vertical jump height is an effective measure for discriminating between starters and non-starters in collegiate female soccer. Vertical jump characteristics are critical to a player's performance on the field. Because the starters in this study were able to jump higher than the non-starters, vertical jump height may be an important parameter for identifying players with a high degree of soccer playing ability.


In 2007 the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) published eight recommendations related to body weight, physical activity and dietary behaviors aimed at reducing cancer incidence worldwide. These were based on a comprehensive review of the literature on these topics in relation to each of the common cancers. An expert panel operationalized seven of those recommendations (maintaining normal body weight, participating in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day, avoiding energy-dense foods, eating 5 or more servings of non-starchy fruits and vegetables per day, limiting consumption of red meat to no more than 18 oz per week, limiting alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, and limiting sodium consumption to 2400 mg per day), and we examined their association with breast cancer incidence over eight years of follow-up in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Study cohort. Participants included 24,916 women aged 50–76 years at baseline in 2000–2002 who had no history of cancer and who had complete data for the recommendations evaluated. Incident cancers (n = 694) were tracked through the Western Washington Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The median number of recommendations followed was 3 (0–7). After adjusting for age, education, race/ethnicity, mammogram in previous two years, history of breast cancer in a first-degree relative, years of combined estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy use, age at menarche, age at first birth, and age at menopause, the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals associated with meeting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6–7 recommendations compared with meeting none of the recommendations were: 0.57 (0.35, 0.95), 0.63 (0.39, 1.02), 0.55 (0.34, 0.88), 0.46 (0.28, 0.74), 0.44 (0.26, 0.75), and 0.31 (0.15, 0.65). These results suggest that meeting the WCRF/AICR recommendations could substantially decrease breast cancer risk.

This abstract is one of the 20 highest scoring abstracts of those submitted for presentation at the 36th Annual ASPO meeting held March 4–6, 2012, in Washington, DC.


This paper discusses the design and implementation of a Python-based toolset to aid in assessing the response of the UK's Advanced Gas Reactor nuclear power stations to earthquakes. The seismic analyses themselves are carried out with a commercial Finite Element solver, but understanding the raw model output this produces requires customised post-processing and visualisation tools. Extending the existing tools had become increasingly difficult and a decision was made to develop a new, Python-based toolset. This comprises of a post-processing framework (aftershock) which includes an embedded Python interpreter, and a plotting package (afterplot) based on numpy and matplotlib. The new toolset had to be significantly more flexible and easier to maintain than the existing code-base, while allowing the majority of development to be carried out by engineers with little training in software development. The resulting architecture will be described with a focus on exploring how the design drivers were met and the successes and challenges arising from the choices made.


Meigs syndrome is a rare disease defined by the coexistence of benign ovarian neoplasm, ascites and hydrothorax, which mainly affects women over the age of 30. This clinical condition refers only to cases in which the ovarian neoformation is a fibroid, a thecoma, a granulosa cell tumor or a Brenner tumor with disappearance of symptoms and effusions after removal of the neoplasm. Meigs syndrome is most frequently characterized by the presence of an ovarian fibroid, which in childhood is very rare and not commonly associated with the disease. In this article we report the case of an 11- year-old girl who came to our observation for a high fever for five days accompanied by cough and abdominal pain; imaging methods revealed bilateral hydrothorax, ascites, and a voluminous expansive right ovarian formation. On histological examination, the mass showed a cellular fibroid and the diagnosis of Meigs syndrome was made. Furthermore, we present a review of the literature aimed at detecting the state of knowledge on this disease in pediatric age, giving particular emphasis to the condition for which, in the presence of pleural effusion and ascites, an ovarian neoformation is not necessarily malignant. KEY WORDS: CT, Meigs syndrome, Pediatric, Pelvic mass, Ultrasounds.


TWO SPECIES OF LONEURA, ONE FROM NICARAGUA AND THE OTHER FROM VENEZUELA, ARE DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. THEY CONSTITUTE A PAIR OF SISTER SPECIES, BASED ON CHARACTERS OF THE COMPOUND EYES, FOREWING PTEROSTIGMA AND PATTERN OF PIGMENTATION, AND STRUCTURE OF MALE PHALLOSOME AND HYPANDRIUM. ALSO, THEY CONSTITUTE A UNIQUE SPECIES GROUP IN LONEURA. LONEURA.


INTRODUCTION
Gastrojejunostomy (GJ) tubes are an option for durable enteral access for critically ill infants with congenital cardiac disease who struggle with obtaining adequate nutrition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Infants weighing less than 10 kg with cardiac disease who received placement of a laparoscopic GJ tube from November 2011 to January 2015 were reviewed. The operative technique used an umbilical port for the camera and a single stab incision for the gastric access site. After insufflation to 5-8 mm Hg, the stomach was suspended to the abdominal wall, after which a dilator was maneuvered into a postpyloric position using laparoscopic visualization and fluoroscopy, and a glidewire was passed into the duodenum. The GJ tube was then fluoroscopically threaded over the glidewire; final position was confirmed by contrast injection.

RESULTS
There were 32 laparoscopic GJ tube placement operations performed; 7 (21.9%) of these tubes were standard single-unit GJ tubes, and 25 (78.1%) were low-profile gastrostomy tubes modified with a nasojejunal feeding tube threaded through the feeding port. Median patient age was 3.5 months (range, 0.75-11 months), with a median weight of 4.2 kg (range, 2.4-7.4 kg). Congenital defects were varied, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome and pulmonary vein stenosis. Median operative time was 62 minutes for isolated GJ placement (range, 35-114 minutes). There were three postoperative complications, resulting in a 30-day complication rate of 9.4%. Thirty-day mortality was 9.4% with no mortality related to the operation.

CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic GJ tube placement may be performed safely in infants with cardiac disease and allows these patients to receive adequate nutrition despite intolerance of gastric feeding.


A new approach to electric load forecasting which combines the powers of neural network and fuzzy logic techniques is proposed. Expert knowledge represented by fuzzy rules is used for preprocessing input data fed to a neural network. For training the neural network for one-day ahead load forecasting, fuzzy if-then rules such as 'If x/sub 1/ is high and x/sub 2/ is low, then y is positive small' are used, in addition to historical load and weather data that are usually employed in conventional supervised learning methods. The fuzzy front-end processor maps both fuzzy and numerical input data to a fuzzy output. The input vector to the neural network consists of these membership values to linguistic properties. To deal with the linguistic values such as high, low, and medium, an architecture of neural network that can handle fuzzy input vectors is propounded. The proposed method effectively deals with trends and special events that occur annually. The fuzzy-neural network is trained on real data from a power system and evaluated for forecasting next-day load profiles based on forecast weather data and other parameters. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance and applicability of this approach. A comparison of results with other commonly used forecasting techniques establishes its superiority.


In this paper, we demonstrate how an integrative approach to personality—one that combines within–person and between–person differences—can be achieved by drawing on the principles of dynamic systems theory. The dynamic systems perspective has the potential to reconcile both the stable and dynamic aspect of personality, it allows including different levels of analysis (i.e. traits and states), and it can account for regulatory mechanisms, as well as dynamic interactions between the elements of the system, and changes over time. While all of these features are obviously appealing, implementing a dynamic systems approach to personality is challenging. It requires new conceptual models, specific longitudinal research designs, and complex data analytical methods. In response to these issues, the first part of our paper discusses the Personality Dynamics model, a model that integrates the dynamic systems principles in a relatively straightforward way. Second, we review associated methodological and statistical tools that allow empirically testing the PersDyn model. Finally, the model and associated methodological and statistical tools are illustrated using an experience sampling methodology data set measuring Big Five personality states in 59 participants (N = 1916 repeated measurements). © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology


Least-squares error (LSE) or mean-squared error (MSE) optimization criteria lead to adaptive filters that are highly sensitive to impulsive noise. The sensitivity to noise bursts increases with the convergence speed of the adaptation algorithm and limits the performance of signal processing algorithms, especially when fast convergence is required, as for example, in adaptive beamforming for speech and audio signal acquisition or acoustic echo cancellation. In these applications, noise bursts are frequently due to undetected double-talk. In this paper, we present impulsive noise robust multichannel frequency-domain adaptive filters (MC-FDAFs) based on outlier-robust M-estimation using a Newton algorithm and a discrete Newton algorithm, which are especially designed for frequency bin-wise adaptation control. Bin-wise adaptation and control in the frequency-domain enables the application of the outlier-robust MC-FDAFs to a generalized sidelobe canceler (GSC) using an adaptive blocking matrix for speech and audio signal acquisition. It is shown that the improved robustness leads to faster convergence and to higher interference suppression relative to nonrobust adaptation algorithms, especially during periods of strong interference


In this study, the authors discuss the effective usage of technology to solve the problem of deciding on journey start times for recurrent traffic conditions. The developed algorithm guides the vehicles to travel on more reliable routes that are not easily prone to congestion or travel delays, ensures that the start time is as late as possible to avoid the traveller waiting too long at their destination and attempts to minimise the travel time. Experiments show that in order to be more certain of reaching their destination on time, a traveller has to leave early and correspondingly arrive early, resulting in a large waiting time. The application developed here asks the user to set this certainty factor as per the task in hand, and computes the best start time and route.


Surface-micromachined, batch-fabricated structures that combine plated-nickel films with polysilicon mechanical flexures to produce individually addressable, magnetically activated devices have been fabricated and tested. Individual microactuator control has been achieved in two ways: (1) by actuating devices using the magnetic field generated by coils integrated around each device and (2) by using electrostatic forces to clamp selected devices to an insulated ground plane while unclamped devices are freely moved through large out-of-plane excursions by an off-chip magnetic field. The present application for these structures is as micromirrors for microphotonic systems where they can be used either for selection from an array of mirrors or else individually for switching among fiber paths.


A large share of the growing demand for care is met informally by relatives. Many family caregivers also work, and the empirical evidence suggests that burden of caregiving inter-feres with employment. Although it is understood that caregiving ultimately results in lower labor force attachment, the dynamic employment trajectories around the start of a caregiving spell are not well understood. We use retrospective caregiving reports from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) linked to administrative records to create a high-frequency panel dataset and estimate the dynamic relationship between work and caregiving for new caregivers. We find that the probability of employment declines by approximately 2 percentage points immediately following the start of caregiving and this decline is sustained for at least two years. The decrease in employment is accompanied by a drop in (unconditional) earnings, and is driven largely by exit from the labor force, rather than by transitions into unemployment. We find evidence that female caregivers return to the labor force approximately two years after the start of a caregiving spell, and this return is characterized by lower hours and higher likelihood of self-employment. Labor force exit among male caregivers appears to be permanent. Finally, we find increases in Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) claiming among all caregivers following the start of a caregiving spell.


Accurate characterization of the saturation level of the ACS/WFC CCD is crucial for proper flagging of affected pixels, which users and calibration routines require knowledge of. In this work, we present a new analysis of the saturation level that offers significant improvements and advantages over previously used methods. Unlike previous work, we measure the onset of saturation directly by identifying the precise charge level at which the brightest pixel of point sources begins to spill charge into neighboring pixels. This results in a sharp decrease in the fraction of charge contained in the central pixel, coupled with a sharp increase in the fraction of charge contained in neighboring pixels. Through this analysis, we find that the saturation level has a strong spatial dependence over the detector area and exhibits significant (± ∼ 6% about the mean) variations, in agreement with previous work. Despite this qualitative agreement, we find that the saturation level currently used in the CALACS calibration pipeline to flag affected pixels is much too high, causing it to routinely miss many clearly saturated pixels. When using our new saturation map to perform the flagging, we find visually superior results and as many as ∼ 15% more pixels being flagged as saturated in any given frame. We announce plans to implement our new saturation map into CALACS, and discuss extensions of this work. Copyright c ©2020 The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Meat-eating among non-human primates has been well documented but its prevalence among Afromontane baboons is understudied. In this study we report the predatory and meat-eating behaviours of a habituated group of gray-footed chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) living in an Afromontane environment in South Africa. We calculated a vertebrate-eating rate of 1 every 78.5 hours, increasing to 58.1 hours when unsuccessful predation attempts were included. A key food source was young antelopes, particularly bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), which were consumed once every 115 observation hours. Similar to other baboon research sites, predations seemed mostly opportunistic, adult males regularly scrounged and monopolised prey, there was no evidence they used an active kill bite, and active sharing was absent. This is the first baboon study to report predation of rock python (Python sebae) eggs and likely scavenging of a leopard (Panthera pardus) kill (bushbuck) cached in a tree. We also describe several scramble kleptoparasitism events, tolerating active defence from antelope parents, and the baboons inhibiting public information about predations. In the latter case, baboons with meat often hid beyond the periphery of the group, reducing the likelihood of scrounging by competitors. This often led to prey carcasses being discarded without being fully exploited and potentially providing resources to scavengers. We also highlight the absence of encounters with numerous species, suggesting the baboons are a key component of several species' landscapes of fear. Given these findings it seems likely that their ecological role in the Soutpansberg has been undervalued, and such conclusions may also hold for other baboon populations.


This study examined an on-going case study of communities that have been involved in the Nuclear Waste Management Organization"s nuclear facility siting process. Interviews were conducted to examine whether communities no longer participating had higher perceptions of risk relative to communities that are still participating. In addition, this study examined the influence of other factors on communities to stay in the process or stop participating. Moreover, this study evaluated whether the siting process is consistent with the siting principles of a cooperative model. Results showed that eliminated communities had slightly higher risk perceptions compared to communities that are still participating. On the other hand, opted out communities had lower risk perceptions. It also showed that perceived potential benefits are the main factor controlling the communities" decisions at this stage. In addition, the siting process is not perfectly consistent with, but similar to a collaborative planning model at this stage.


– This paper aims to explore a case of customer and user participation in an agile software development project, which produced a tailor‐made information system for workplace support as a step towards a theory of participatory design in agile software development., – Based on an integrated framework for user participation derived from the participatory design literature the research was performed as a case study and semi‐structured, open‐ended interviews were conducted with about a third of the development team and with a representative sample of key players and future users in the customer organization. The interview data were supplemented with company and project documents., – The paper found genuine customer and user participation carried out by onsite customers and by other operational staff in the form of direct and indirect participation and with functional and democratic empowerment. The onsite customers played informative, consultative and participative roles. The analysis revealed that planning games, user stories and story cards, working software and acceptance tests structured the customer and user participation. This form of user participation supported a balance between flexibility and project progress and resulted in a project and a product which were considered a success by the customer and the development organization. The analysis showed that the integrative framework for user participation can also fruitfully be used in a new context to understand what participatory design is and how, when and where it can be performed as an instance of a design process in agile development. As such the paper contributes to an analytical and a design theory of participatory design in agile development. Furthermore the paper explicates why participatory design contributes to the successful completion of the investigated project. By drawing on innovation theory it was found that participatory design in agile development bears the characteristics of a successful organizational innovation. Grounding further explanations in complex adaptive systems theory the paper provides an additional argument why participatory design despite some identified challenges fosters project staff to successfully carry out the agile development project., – The paper presents an exploratory, empirical study of an understudied phenomenon and contributes to theory building.


In this thesis, various methods for locating and scoring the binding affinity of water molecules and molecular fragments in protein binding sites are described. The primary aim of this work is to understand how different methodologies compare to one another and how, by carefully choosing the correct method, they can be used to extract information on how small molecules interact with proteins. Three different methods are used to predict the location and affinity of water molecules; Just Add Water Molecules (JAWS), Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and double-decoupling. By applying the methods to the N9-Neuraminidase system, it can be shown that all of the methods predict the same binding free energy of the water molecules to within error. The JAWS method was shown to be advantageous for the rapid prediction of the binding free energy of water molecules, whilst GCMC was preferred for the prediction of hydration sites. The combination of the methods were used on a variety of novel test cases, including hydrophobic cavities and protein kinases. These test cases highlight how the methods can be used to accurately predict hydration patterns as a function of the binding free energy in GCMC simulations, and how these patterns can be used to dictate ligand design in a drug discovery context. The approaches described are likely to be of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. A JAWS based fragment based drug discovery methodology is also described, which takes into account key features commonly neglected by existing computational approaches such as fragment-solvent competition and fragment desolvation. This method is used upon the Kinesin Spindle Protein and factor Xa, and demonstrates that the method is able to accurately locate the position of molecular fragments and water molecules compared to crystallographic ligands.


Clubmoss (Selaginella densa Rydb.), a low growing, vascular cryptogam forms carpet-like mats that cover up to 80% of the ground in the Northern Mixed Prairie. Many range managers believe clubmoss competes with grasses for water or intercepts precipitation and negatively affects plant water relations and productivity. The objective of these studies was to test the hypothesis that precipitation has greater effects on leaf xylem water potentials (Leafxwp) and plant productivity than clubmoss. Studies examined the effects of clubmoss on Leafxwp of Junegrass (Koeleria cristata Pers.) and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis [HBK.] Lag.), and productivity of forbs and graminoids by: 1) irrigating or reducing precipitation relative to natural precipitation; 2) removing clubmoss relative to clubmoss present, and; 3) irrigating with 0.0 to 25 mm of water when clubmoss was present or removed. Leafxwp of Junegrass and blue grama were unaffected by clubmoss through the growing season (P = 0.33), but Leafxwp were lowest (P < or = 0.05) when precipitation was reduced relative to the control and when irrigating. Standing crop of forbs was similar in the control and clubmoss removal treatment (P = 0.22) and among precipitation treatments (P = 0.13), averaging 28 g m-2 (SE = 2.2). Graminoid standing crop was unaffected by clubmoss (P = 0.35) and was greatest (P = 0.02) when irrigated (74 g m-2), intermediate in the control (53 g m-2), and least (36 g m-2) with reduced precipitation (SE = 8.7). Clubmoss did not affect (P = 0.70) total standing crop; total standing crop declined from 102 g m-2 when irrigated to 76 g m-2 in the control, and 69 g m-2 (SE = 9.0) with reduced precipitation. Clubmoss had no influence (P = 0.06) on Leafxwp when irrigated with 0 to 25 mm of water. The decline in Leafxwp from 1 to 7 days after irrigation was the product of the interacting effects of the amount of water applied and days after irrigation (P = 0.03). More than 10 mm of irrigation water were required to impart a significant increase (P < or =0.05) in Leafxwp. The hypothesis that clubmoss reduces productivity of associated plants in the Northern Mixed Prairie by increasing water stress is rejected. Similarly clubmoss does not reduce plant water stress or increase production. Precipitation amounts overshadow any effects clubmoss has on Leafxwp and plant production. Range managers in the Northern Mixed Prairie may want to consider maximizing the effectiveness of precipitation in this water-limited environment instead of focusing on reducing or attempting to eliminate clubmoss. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v56i5_colberg


Machine learning techniques can be useful in applications such as credit approval and college admission. However, to be classified more favorably in such contexts, an agent may decide to strategically withhold some of her features, such as bad test scores. This is a missing data problem with a twist: which data is missing depends on the chosen classifier, because the specific classifier is what may create the incentive to withhold certain feature values. We address the problem of training classifiers that are robust to this behavior.

We design three classification methods: MINCUT, Hill-Climbing (HC) and Incentive-Compatible Logistic Regression (IC-LR). We show that MINCUT is optimal when the true distribution of data is fully known. However, it can produce complex decision boundaries, and hence be prone to overfitting in some cases. Based on a characterization of truthful classifiers (i.e., those that give no incentive to strategically hide features), we devise a simpler alternative called HC which consists of a hierarchical ensemble of out-of-the-box classifiers, trained using a specialized hill-climbing procedure which we show to be convergent. For several reasons, MINCUT and HC are not effective in utilizing a large number of complementarily informative features. To this end, we present IC-LR, a modification of Logistic Regression that removes the incentive to strategically drop features. We also show that our algorithms perform well in experiments on real-world data sets, and present insights into their relative performance in different settings.


Linear systems are a widely used model for the control tasks of modern cyber physical systems around their stationary state(s), e.g., smart grids, remote health applications, and autonomous driving systems. Specifically, each sensor first compresses its own measurement and then sends it to the con troller. Due to the inevitable random communication delay, the controller needs to decide how to fuse the received information to compute the desired control action. Suppose a fusion center has received several measurements over time. One common belief is that the control decision should be made solely based on the latest measurement of each sensor while ignoring the older/stale measurements from the same sensor. This work shows that while such a strategy is optimal in a single-sensor environment, it can be strictly suboptimal for a multi-sensor system. Namely, if one properly fuses both the latest and outdated measurements from each of the sensors, one can strictly improve the underlying control system performance. The numerical evaluation shows that even at a very low communication rate of 8 bits per measurement per sensor, the proposed scheme achieves a state variance of only 5% away from the best possible achievable L2 norm. It is 15% better than the MMSE fusion scheme using exclusively the freshest measurements (while discarding outdated ones).


The article provides a functionalist account of the 'institutional uses' of (human) dignity in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It looks at how the legal concept of dignity is invoked and used in the adjudication processes in the European Union, what is its role, and what are its practical effects. The aim is to arrive at a better understanding of the dignity's functional roles in the EU, but also of the functional similarities and differences in comparison with other European jurisdictions. This will further show in what aspects dignity is independent of or dependent on institutional contexts in which it operates, especially regarding the judicial practices and mutual relationships between different courts.


In this study, we established a nomogram for the prognostic prediction of patients with early-onset cervical cancer (EOCC) for both overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify 10,079 patients diagnosed with EOCC between 2004 and 2015; these cases were then randomly divided into training and validation sets. The independent prognostic factors were identified in a retrospective study of 7,055 patients from the training set. A prognostic nomogram was developed using R software according to the results of multivariable Cox regression analysis. Furthermore, the model was externally validated using the data from the remaining 3,024 patients diagnosed at different times and enrolled in the SEER database. For the training set, the C-indexes for OS and CSS prediction were determined to be 0.831 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.815–0.847) and 0.855 (95 % CI: 0.839–0.871), respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis has revealed that the nomograms were a superior predictor compared with TNM stage and SEER stage. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram for OS and CSS prediction in the ROC analysis were 0.855 (95 % CI: 0.847–0.864) and 0.782 (95 % CI: 0.760–0.804), respectively. In addition, calibration curves indicated a perfect agreement between the nomogram-predicted and the actual 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS and CSS rates in the validation cohort. Thus, in this study, we established and validated a prognostic nomogram that provides an accurate prediction for 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS and CSS of EOCC patients. This will be useful for clinicians in guiding counseling and clinical trial design for cervical cancer patients.


Herein we report the cloning of cDNAs and incompletely processed hnRNAs from endothelia and heart that encode the alpha10 subunit forming part of the novel collagen type II-binding integrin alpha10beta1 of chondrocytes. Analysis of hnRNA clones and reported expressed sequence tags revealed the positions of 17 putative intron-exon splice junctions shared with those of the p150,95 (ITGAX) gene. Human alpha10 transcripts of 5.4 and 1.8 kb were not restricted to chondrocytes but, instead, were widely expressed in a panel of 24 tissue types, where the highest expression was found in muscle and heart. The human alpha10 subunit gene (ITGA10) was localized to band q21 of chromosome 1.


This article describes an attempt to bring together the tourism information technology research literature and provides an initial critical analysis. Literature sources were restricted to refereed/reviewed research work in this domain and from which significant themes, trends, and issues were derived. Within the identified contextual boundaries, definitions, and resource constraints, some preliminary analyses and interpretation are offered. The findings illustrate that in the 6 years of 1994-1999 inclusive there has been a sustained level of research activity with the principal sources being the UK, Germany, Austria, and the US. Significant efforts have been focused on tourism information systems, electronic distribution and commerce, and diverse Web-based developments. The implications of the mismatch between actual areas of research activity identified in the findings and those forecast by earlier studies are considered.


In 9 α1-antitrypsin-deficient (PiZZ) persons 40 to 53 years of age, the relationships between the concentration of elastolytic protease of polymorphonuclear leukocyte granules and cigarette smoking, and the degree of abnormality in detailed pulmonary function tests were explored. Regardless of the statistical analytic approach used, elastase concentration was related more frequently and significantly than smoking history to the degree of abnormality observed in tests of pulmonary function. The data suggest that the severity of pulmonary dysfunction in PiZZ persons may be determined by variables other than age and cigarette smoking, including the concentration of elastolytic protease in leukocyte lysosomes.


: The study aimed to measure the effect of Crowdfunding financing on entrepreneurship aspirations in Arabic region. Population consists of members in (15) Crowdfunding Arabic platforms which are working with all models and online at (2018). Descriptive approach and a questionnaire used as a tool for this research. The results showed that Crowdfunding financing effect positively on entrepreneurship aspirations, Crowdfunding used mostly to finance small business or microfinance and charity. Add to that, Crowdfunding leads to financial efficiency and costs reduction, more flexible payments methods and more opportunities for entrepreneurs. The study recommended the importance of entrepreneurship culture and its role in promoting entrepreneurs, the effect off Fintech and various e-banking and e-payments methods, and the need of more interest in innovation and creativity.


Scleromyxedema is a rare, generalized form of lichen myxedematosus, which may be associated with systemic involvement and can be fatal. The therapeutic options available provide partial or inconsistent response and are associated with significant adverse effects. We report a case of scleromyxedema with cardiac involvement, treated with low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin, with almost complete clearing of the skin lesions. The patient died after three cycles of treatment, possibly due to myocardial infarction.


The mechanisms controlling rupture propagation between fault segments during a large earthquake are key to the hazard posed by fault systems. Rupture initiation on a smaller fault sometimes transfers to a larger fault, resulting in a significant event (e.g., 2002 M 7.9 Denali USA and 2010 M 7.1 Darfield New Zealand earthquakes). In other cases rupture is constrained to the initial fault and does not transfer to nearby faults, resulting in events of more moderate magnitude. This was the case of the 1989 M 6.9 Loma Prieta and 2010 M 7.0 Haiti earthquakes which initiated on reverse faults abutting against a major strike-slip plate boundary fault but did not propagate onto it. Here we investigate the rupture dynamics of the Haiti earthquake, seeking to understand why rupture propagated across two segments of the Léogâne fault but did not propagate to the adjacent Enriquillo Plantain Garden Fault, the major 200 km long plate boundary fault cutting through southern Haiti. We use a finite element model to simulate propagation of rupture on the Léogâne fault, varying friction and background stress to determine the parameter set that best explains the observed earthquake sequence, in particular, the ground displacement. The two slip patches inferred from finite fault inversions are explained by the successive rupture of two fault segments oriented favorably with respect to the rupture propagation, while the geometry of the Enriquillo fault did not allow shear stress to reach failure.


AGGRESSIVE behaviour by dogs is the most frequent behaviour problem reported to veterinary behaviour clinics (Bamberger and Houpt 2006, Fatjo and others 2007). The behaviour is a serious problem for the victims (Weiss and others 1998) and for the animals themselves, since it often reflects a negative underlying emotional state, especially if associated with pain (Bamberger and Houpt 2006, Hsu and Sun 2010). Pain may lower the dog's general threshold for aggressive behaviour, while also encouraging specific aggressive displays as part of a protective/defensive response (Rutherford 2002, Muir and others 2004, Landsberg and others 2013). Beaver (1983) has suggested that more than a quarter (28.2 per cent) of dogs exhibiting aggression do so because of a medical condition, including pain, but pain-related aggression has been considered to account for only a small per cent of the total caseload in behaviour clinics, that is, 2–3.3 per cent (Beaver 1983, Borchelt 1983). However, when pain is identified, the data from Beaver (1983) suggest the prognosis is excellent, with all cases in her case review reported to have a successful treatment outcome. A recent small case series of aggressive dogs with a pain focus indicated that musculoskeletal pain from hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis of the elbow was the main cause of pain, occurring in 75 per cent (nine of 12 cases) of these cases (Camps and others 2012).

There is a lack of specific or detailed description of the presentation of pain-related behaviour problems in companion animals, despite the value that this information would have in evaluating differential diagnoses and further assessment priorities, especially for veterinarians in general practice if referral to a non-veterinary behaviourist is being considered. Qualitative research can help to answer broad questions that might inform clinical judgement, such as 'are there recurring themes …


During the recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the nutritional metabolic role of the "trace" mineral elements. Part of this interest is due to improved case in the quantitative analyses of these elements by the introduction of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. However, it has been the studies on zinc, in particular, that have fueled much of this interest when it was discovered that naturally-occurring zinc-deficiency could happen in man. It was reported that a syndrome consisting of dwarfism, iron-deficiency, anemia hepato-splenomegaly occurs in poor viIlages in Egypt and Iran. This syndrome was accompanied by low plasma and hair zinc levels, and decreased urinary excretion of zinc. Prior to this report, it has been tacitly assumed that since many of the "trace" elements occur in fairly abundant quantities in food, and because they are present in very small quantities in the tissues of man, dietary deficiency of the trace minerals was unlikely to occur in man. It has become obvious that difficulty in absorption or poor availability of the trace elements from the diet may prove to be an important etiologic mechanism in the causation of deficiencies of these elements. In the case of zinc, a study in the United States reported cases of children with low hair zinc concentration and with low taste acuity (hypogeusia). The condition responded to treatment with zinc supplementation. It was also reported that zinc-deficiency is secondary to intestinal malabsorption. The possibility that zinc-deficiency might accompany protein-calorie malnutritions had been suggested by some investigators who found low plasma zinc levels in children with kwashiorkor. Since protein-calorie malnutrition is a world-wide problem and is particularly common in developing countries, it appears important that in the nutrition research programs of such countries.

In this study made on apparently normal adults, the zinc levels in serum and hair were examined. Current studies made on pregnant women will be the subject of a subsequent report.


We outline how modern likelihood theory, which provides essentially exact inferences in a variety of parametric statistical problems, may routinely be applied in practice. Although the likelihood procedures are based on analytical asymptotic approximations, the focus of this paper is not on theory but on implementation and applications. Numerical illustrations are given for logistic regression, nonlinear models, and linear non-normal models, and we describe a sampling approach for the third of these classes. In the case of logistic regression, we argue that approximations are often more appropriate than 'exact' procedures, even when these exist.


As the banking sectors attempts to transfer banking services online, the way they deal with customers merits closer inspection. Failings have become more apparent and well publicised and some online technological failures could indicate that most banks do not fully understand Internet technology or appear to have failed to see that Electronic Commerce transfers power to the customer. Recent literature and press coverage of online banking in the UK is examined along with strategies for online delivery of banking services. The rise in online bank usage is also reported with considerations of what the perceived future of banking online could be. An Internet Survey has been undertaken which investigates online Banking Services and the availability of financial products online in the UK and US. The results are reported and discussed and comparisons are made between UK and US online banking sector.


A case of acute myelogenic leukaemia developing after 7 months treatment with alkylating agents for multiple myeloma is reported. The patients was also given irradiation for an expansive process in the thoracic column. By immunofluorescence staining of the bone marrow cells there was no evidence for production of pathological globulins in the blast cells, while the plasma cells contained IgA, kappa.


Five German leading parties and their coalitions are evaluated from the viewpoint of direct democracy. For this purpose, the positions of the parties on over 30 topical issues are compared with the results of polls of public opinion. The outcomes are summarized in the indices of popularity and universality of the parties and of the DGB (German Confederation of Trade Unions). The selection of policy issues and the information on the party positions are given as in the Wahl-O-Mat(2010) for the last Bundestag (German parliamentary) elections 2009. It is shown that the Bundestag election winner 2009 - the conservative party CDU/CSU with 33.8% votes - has a quite low representative capacity (fourth among the five leading parties), whereas the most representative is the left party Linke which received only 11.9% votes. As for possible coalitions, the most representative would consist of the Linke and the ecologists Grunen, who received together 22.6% votes and could not make a government. It is noteworthy that the DGB is also top evaluated as a good representative of majority opinions. The analysis of Bundestag elections 2009 shows that the voters are little consistent with their own political profiles, disregard party manifestos, and are likely driven by political traditions, even if outdated, or by personal images of politicians. Taking into account the results of the study, some modifications to the election procedure are proposed to bridge approaches of representative and direct democracy.


This article explores how anti-discrimination law has been applied in relation to employment discrimination faced by people with intellectual disabilities. Although disability discrimination laws are now found in many states, there has been relatively little litigation by those with intellectual disabilities as regards employment discrimination. This article examines experience in the USA in order to identify the potential of anti-discrimination law, as well as its limitations in practice. It considers litigation brought by individual plaintiffs, as well as enforcement actions by public bodies. This concerns employment in the open labour market, but also sheltered employment schemes. The article concludes by reflecting on what lessons may be derived from US experience.


Abstract This study presents the calculated reference interval for the disc-to-macula distance to disc diameter ratio (DM:DD) based on a large population of healthy Japanese adults. A total of 308 consecutive, healthy Japanese adults were examined in this prospective observational study. Eighteen subjects were also excluded because of poor quality of the fundus photograph of one or both eyes; 290 (161 men and 129 women) were included in this study. For each subject, a color fundus photograph of one eye, either the right or left, was randomly selected and used for analysis. On the photograph, the distances between the fovea and the nearest temporal margin of the optic disc (Dft), and the two kinds of disc diameters (D1 and D2), which bisected at right angles and one of which was directed to the fovea (D1), were measured. DM:DD was estimated using the formula: (2Dft + D1)/(D1 + D2). The mean ± standard deviation of DM:DD was 2.91 ± 0.49 for men and 2.96 ± 0.54 for women; there was no sex difference (P = .78, Mann–Whitney U test). Also, almost no relationship was found between DM:DD and age (&rgr; = −.12, P = .04, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient). The data did not fit a normal distribution (P < .001, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test). The estimated reference interval for DM:DD corresponding to the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles was 2.12 to 4.18. Using a nonparametric approach, the reference interval for DM:DD of a large population of healthy Japanese adults was calculated to be 2.12 to 4.18, regardless of age or sex.


The task of machine reading comprehension (MRC) is a useful benchmark to evaluate the natural language understanding of machines. It has gained popularity in the natural language processing (NLP) field mainly due to the large number of datasets released for many languages. However, the research in MRC has been understudied in several domains, including religious texts. The goal of the Qur'an QA 2022 shared task is to fill this gap by producing state-of-the-art question answering and reading comprehension research on Qur'an. This paper describes the DTW entry to the Quran QA 2022 shared task. Our methodology uses transfer learning to take advantage of available Arabic MRC data. We further improve the results using various ensemble learning strategies. Our approach provided a partial Reciprocal Rank (pRR) score of 0.49 on the test set, proving its strong performance on the task.


Nuclear transport factor 2 (NTF2) facilitates protein transport into the nucleus and interacts with both the small Ras-like GTPase Ran and nucleoporin p62. We have determined the structure of bacterially expressed rat NTF2 at 1.6 angstroms resolution using X-ray crystallography. The NTF2 polypeptide chain forms an alpha + beta barrel that opens at one end to form a distinctive hydrophobic cavity and its fold is homologous to that of scytalone dehydratase. The NTF2 hydrophobic cavity is a candidate for a potential binding site for other proteins involved in nuclear import such as Ran and nucleoporin p62. In addition, the hydrophobic cavity contains a putative catalytic Asp-His pair, which raises the possibility of an unanticipated enzymatic activity of the molecule that may have implications for the molecular mechanism of nuclear protein import.