Abstract. Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is an attractive technique for label-free biochemical-specific characterization of biological specimens. However, it has very low sensitivity in monitoring and imaging molecules present in extremely low concentrations or at fast speeds. To improve this sensitivity, especially for multiplex CARS, the intensity of the pump beam and broadband Stokes beam should be enhanced simultaneously. Therefore, the gold shell particle and gold surface are demonstrated to enhance the forward and backward CARS, respectively. Results show that a signal enhancement factor of ∼25,000 can be achieved for the gold surface and an even higher enhancement factor can be achieved for the gold shell particles. Thus, we can obtain an enhanced CARS signal in a broad spectral range, which will substantially improve the detection sensitivity of hyperspectral CARS spectroscopy and imaging.


This paper deals with the event of transculturation as it reflects and adapts the decadent lifestyle and poetry of fin-de-siècle, exemplified by Charles Baudelaire's momentous and avant-garde work, Flowers of Evil, into the J-Rock music scene of Visual-kei, in the album of the band Buck-Tick, named Aku no Hana (Japanese for Flowers of Evil), its lyrics, music and sensibilities of the late 90's. The decadent aesthetics of Baudelaire is distortedly mirrored not only in the lyrics and musical arrangement of the songs, but also in the stylization of the band members, their make-up, hairdo, costumes and stage props and lighting. These artists are then, dichotomically enough, both consumers and producers of capitalism, men and makers of the "arcade" culture that Walter Benjamin and his notion of Baudelairean flanerie eulogizes and fetishizes as evidence of contemporary modernity, as well as legatees of Eurocentric modernism in the wake of the 19 century. Gender-fluidity and androgyny being an integral component of the Visual-Kei scene, stemming from the pre-existing bishounen culture in Japan, as well as the Greco-Roman antiquarian or contemporary white "twink" subculture in male homosexuality; derives its derive their theoretical affirmation as an aesthetic expression from Baudelaire's own critical works.. In the course of this study, multifaceted views and implications of transculturation, involving reception theory, translation studies and adaptation theory, will be discussed. Baudelaire's 1857 book is twice mirrored in the music album Aku no Hana, where the rock band is both an audience interpreting the earlier artifact, as well as an artist, warping and moulding that influence into a different and original artform, that of Visual-Kei J-Rock.


Victorian astronomers spent countless hours laboriously charting the positions of stars in the sky. Such sky mapping, known as astrometry, went out of fashion for decades, but an about-to-be-launched European satellite called Gaia is set to revive it in grand style. Gaia will map the positions and motions of a billion stars in our galaxy with unprecedented precision. The results should give astronomers front-row seats to the bobbing dance of stars in the galaxy's spiral arm, help them trace how the galaxy has evolved under the influence of dark matter, and yield evidence that the Milky Way has grown by consuming smaller galaxies.


This paper examines and predicts the effects of climate change and climate extremes on China's land use conversion and soil carbon sequestration under two alternative climate change scenarios. It intends to investigate the following three questions. 1) How did climate factors affect land-use conversion in China from 1988 to 2000 and what was the relative importance of these factors? 2) How would the predicted future climate change pattern affect land-use choice under alternative climate change scenarios? 3) How would the predicted future climate pattern change the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon in China? The study makes two contributions to the literature. First, it integrates climate change, land use conversion, and soil carbon sequestration into a whole model, which facilitates a comprehensive, systematic analysis. Second, it employs a unique dataset, consisting of high-quality Geographic Information System (GIS) data on climate, land use, and soil properties. To the best of our knowledge, no one has used such detailed Chinese data for economic research.


Mechanical properties of stainless-clad (SC) steel plates at elevated temperatures are key parameters for fire resistant design and numerical simulation analysis of SC steel structures. Compared with pure stainless steel and pure ordinary steel, SC steel not only combines advantages of the two component metals, but may also balance the performance and cost; however, it behaves quite differently in terms of material properties. In order to quantify this performance, tension coupon tests at room as well as elevated temperatures are conducted on the SC steel plate. Based on the test results, failure modes of the tension coupons are analysed, and full-range stress-strain curves are obtained; material properties are accordingly determined and described herein, and analyses are performed on several properties including yield strength, ultimate tensile stress, elastic modulus and elongation after fracture. It is found that with an increase of the temperature, both the elastic modulus and strengths are reduced remarkably. For determining these material properties quantitatively and developing robust constitutive models of the SC steel at elevated temperatures, more test data are needed, and the incorporation of the  effects of the clad ratio on the material properties at both room and elevated temperatures is also necessary. The present research outcomes may provide valuable reference for fire design and calculations of the SC steel.


Problem Missionary Kids (MKs) have a different experience in the mission fields in terms of culture, language, and social adjustment when compared with their parents. They also face another challenge when they return to their parents' home country, for they feel out of place and often do not think of their parents' country as home. The purpose of this Masters thesis is to investigate the experience of MKs in the mission field, during re-entry, and to research the common elements or differences between Korean MKs and American MKs in their re-entry process. Method The research method used in this Masters thesis consists of the use of library resources, web resources, and a few personal interviews. The Research Questions that will guide this research are: 1. What general information is available concerning Asian and Western missionary children who live at least one year outside of their home culture? 2. What re-entry challenges do Korean and American MKs face? 3. What are the implications for Adventist mission? Results The primary research on Korean MKs and Japanese returnees indicates that their parents, society, and church want them to maintain their ethnic identity regardless of the fact that their enculturation, language acquisition, and worldview development has shaped them in very different ways. On the other hand, research on American MKs is focused on the individual rather than on the in-groups they belong to. These differences between the two groups stem from whether their home culture is collectivistic or individualistic. Similarities among Korean and American MKs include experiencing a cultural clash when returning home, difficulties in making friends, adjusting to new family dynamics, and home cultures. They may struggle with education issues due to different educational systems and increased study loads. They may also struggle with the burden of meeting the high expectations of being MKs as experienced by the sending church and its youth groups. They may consider themselves as strangers in terms of their identity. Differences found between Korean and American MKs are that Korean MKs with a Western background may struggle with returning to a monocultural home culture. They also have issues with mother tongue proficiency, college entrance exams, hierarchical relationships between seniors and juniors, with not disappointing the expectations of their parents and the sending church, and striving to resolve the issue of their ethnic identity. On the other hand, Western MKs with Asian backgrounds may encounter difficulties with Western ways and mindsets when returning to the United States, they may have issues with their accent, with plagiarism, and with American college life, in trying to figure out what they can do to resolve spiritual issues, and their desire to create their own in-group where their diversity and international mindset can be understood and appreciated. Although Korean MKs and American MKs have several things in common in terms of re-entry challenges, each of them has differences as well. Those differences mainly have to do with whether their home culture belongs to collectivism or individualism. Korean MKs encounter unique problems since Korean society requires them to conform to its monocultural norms and rules influenced by some of the Confucian values. But American MKs have issues mostly related to striving for their individual achievements and creating their own in-groups. American culture does not require a standardized way to abide by. It is thus interesting to note that various re-entry challenges of Korean and American MKs have to do with the clash between collectivism and individualism. Conclusion Based on various re-entry challenges of Korean and American MKs, implications for Adventist mission were explored. To better understand and care for Adventist MKs in general and meet the needs of Korean MKs in particular, suggestions were made that included: (1) the need for understanding MKs in the Adventist Church, (2) the need for research on Adventist MKs, (3) the need for MKs to understand TCK concepts, and (4) the need for Korean church leaders to understand MK needs.


Monensin has been shown to decrease mortality and morbidity in feedlot cattle by reducing the incidence of acute and subacute rumen acidosis (SARA). Lately, the technique of real-time observance of reticuloruminal temperature and pH, which involves placement of indwelling pH probes in the reticulum or in the rumen has gained in popularity. In this study, we aimed to determine, using real-time monitoring in fresh dairy cows, how monensin controlled release capsules affect the reticulorumen temperature and pH. We used a slow-release rumen preparation, which emitted daily monensin doses of 335 mg. Following the manufacturer's instructions, the preparation was administered through an oral balling gun. The following points indicate the method for determining the two experimental groups: (1) monensin-supplemented test group (TG) (a 32.4 g monensin controlled release capsule, MCRC, n = 20) and (2) a control group (CG) (capsule containing no monensin, n = 20). Both began a day after calving, and one month after calving the experiment was finished. A set of smaXtec boluses fabricated for animal care was used to measure the temperature and pH of the reticulorumen. After the first day of the study, a statistically significant difference between reticulorumen temperature in CG (38.67 ± 0.10 °C) and TG (39.08 ± 0.09 °C; P < 0.01) was found. The use of the monensin controlled release capsule, which emitted daily monensin doses of 335 mg, in the first 30 days after calving increased the reticulorumen pH by 1.89% (P < 0.001), and the temperature of the reticulorumen by 0.82 % (P < 0.001). We conclude that using monensin in the form of monensin controlled release capsules reduces the risk of SARA. Real time observation of temperature and pH levels in the reticulorumen in fresh dairy cows allows for evaluation of the risk of SARA and provides the opportunity to determine the prophylactic effect of those capsules.


Ultrasound imaging technique involves the use of sound waves and their echoes to produce a picture of internal organs or masses. An ultrasound transducer emits sound waves and picks up the echoes as they bounce off from the body tissue interfaces. These echoes are converted into images to display on the monitor. This imaging modality is completely non-invasive, helps in real time monitoring, it is a cost-effective, portable and versatile instrument with a wide range of clinical utility including characterizing lesions in the liver, urogenital tract, various soft tissues etc. With the introduction of micro-bubbles intravascular structures are examined based on their vascularity. In the context of cancer imaging, ultrasound is used for numerous routine screening examinations; it assists x-ray mammography, it has the ability to characterize liver lesions, with respect to urogenital tract, it helps to detect non-symptomatic cancer in prostate, uterus, ovaries, bladder and kidney. Apart from these, it helps to characterize lymph nodes by its architectural changes and shape, also helps to diagnose and staging of thyroid and neck cancers. This review gives an overview of the history and the current scenario of targeted ultrasound imaging of cancers of different tissues.


We investigated physiological parameters (elemental and biochemical composition, metabolic rates, feeding activity and growth) of adult Antarctic krill in the Lazarev Sea in late spring (December), mid autumn (April) and mid winter (July and August) to evaluate proposed hypotheses of overwintering mech- anisms. Our major observations are: (1) respiration rates were reduced by 30 to 50% in autumn and win- ter, compared to values in late spring; (2) feeding activ- ity was reduced by 80 to 86% in autumn and winter, compared to late spring, at similar food concentrations; (3) feeding was omnivorous during winter; (4) with each moult, krill grew by 0.5 to 3.8% in length; (5) body lipids and, to a small extent, body proteins were consumed during winter. Adult Euphausia superba thus adopt metabolic slowdown and omnivorous feed- ing activity at low rates to survive the winter season in the Lazarev Sea. By mid autumn, metabolic activity is reduced, most likely being influenced by the Antarctic light regime, which is accompanied by a reduction in feeding activity and growth. Although at a low level, the feeding activity during winter seems to provide an important energy input.


A novel periodic leaky-wave antenna for broadside radiation with horizontally polarized omnidirectional pattern is proposed, designed and demonstrated experimentally. The objective is to achieve a horizontally polarized omnidirectional antenna array with highly directive beam. The proposed structure is based on combining the rotating electric field method and a leaky-wave antenna design. By properly designing a unit cell with a pair of crossed dipoles spaced at a distance approximately equal to λg/4 at the center frequency, not only omnidirectional radiation pattern with horizontal polarization is obtained by crossed dipoles fed in phase quadrature, but also the open-stopband effect exhibited at broadside scan is significantly reduced. The analysis and design of this structure are performed on the basis of a simple equivalent network model. A finite structure formed by 16-unit cell (32-element) for broadside beam is developed at the 2.4 GHz band, which offers a horizontally polarized omnidirectional radiation pattern with enhanced gain of 9.9-10.6 dBi and measured radiation efficiency of 90% for the covering bands.


We consider the alternating proximal gradient method (APGM) proposed to solve a convex minimization model with linear constraints and separable objective function which is the sum of two functions without coupled variables. Inspired by Peaceman-Rachford splitting method (PRSM), a nature idea is to extend APGM to the symmetric alternating proximal gradient method (SAPGM), which can be viewed as an extension of APGM by performing an additional intermediate multiplier updating step at each iteration. This note shows that SAPGM possesses an ergodic convergence rate of O(t−1) established under the analytic framework of contraction type methods. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified by solving the stable principal component pursuit problem.


Learning Objectives: To evaluate the subscale severity scores in each of the four DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters in the outpatient clinic of an urban, level one trauma center. A further understanding of subtypes of PTSD may assist in improved treatment that can target specific symptom clusters. Methods: This prospective pilot study consisted of consecutive patients seen in the outpatient clinic from July 2015 to January 2016. We evaluated the frequency of meeting diagnostic criteria for each of the four DSM-5 PTSD symptoms with the PCL-5 survey. The 20 item self-report questionnaire is further subdivided into four symptoms clusters: intrusions (cluster B), avoidance (C), negative alterations in cognitions and mood (D), and alterations in arousal and reactivity (E). To be considered provisionally diagnosed with PTSD, a severity score of at least 2 ("moderate") for 1 B item (questions 1–5), 1 C item (questions 6–7), 2 D items (questions 8–14) and 2 E items (questions 15–20) is required. Results: We evaluated 100 consecutive subjects in the outpatient trauma clinic. 33 (33%) met the cluster B diagnostic criteria for PTSD, 23 (23%) met the cluster C diagnostic criteria, 19 (19%) in cluster D, and 26 (26%) in cluster E. The clusters were evaluated independently regardless of patient provisional PTSD diagnosis. Conclusions: Patients in our outpatient trauma clinic endorsed more symptoms from cluster B (intrusions) and cluster E (alterations in arousal and reactivity) than clusters C (avoidance) and D (negative alterations in cognitions and mood). Evaluating subscale scores may help identify areas that can be targeted, improving intervention and enhancing prevention for patients at high risk for PTSD.


The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus among adults has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014, increasing the number of adults with diabetes mellitus to a staggering 422 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. For comparison, this number is larger than the total population of the United States. Diabetes mellitus not only reduces quality of life and life expectancy, but is also a major cause of several microvascular complications and macrovascular complications that lead to blindness, renal failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, and the necessity to amputate limbs. The burden of diabetes mellitus–associated complications worldwide is therefore a major healthcare problem that we urgently need to find solutions to. In this context, a large body of research has been devoted to identifying risk factors of vascular complications of diabetes mellitus with the goal of improving prevention of these complications. Such research has revealed that vascular complications of diabetes mellitus are associated with multiple risk factors—including dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, age, metabolic control, and systemic inflammation—and that the relative contribution of these risk factors is likely to vary depending on the type of diabetes mellitus and what risk factors are present in a given subject. Other research is aimed at finding novel and reliable biomarkers for vascular complications of diabetes mellitus and novel targets for treatment. In this review, we highlight manuscripts published in ATVB within the past 2 years, focusing on novel pathways that might contribute to vascular complications of diabetes mellitus. This work ranges from experiments on isolated cells to animal models of diabetes mellitus to studies in humans.


BACKGROUND
 Although the COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative effect on China's economy in the short term, it also represents a major opportunity for internet-based medical treatment in the medium and long term. Compared with normal times, internet-based medical platforms including the Haodf website were visited by 1.11 billion people, the number of new registered users of all platforms increased by 10, and the number of new users' daily consultations increased by 9 during the pandemic. The continuous participation of physicians is a major factor in the success of the platform, and economic return is an important reason for physicians to provide internet-based services. However, no study has provided the effectiveness of interactive tools in online health care communities to influence physicians' returns.

 OBJECTIVE
 The effect of internet-based effort on the benefits and effectiveness of interactive effort tools in internet-based health care areas remains unclear. Thus, the goals of this study are to examine the effect of doctors' internet-based service quality on their economic returns during COVID-19 social restrictions, to examine the effect of mutual help groups on doctors' economic returns during COVID-19 social restrictions, and to explore the moderating effect of disease privacy on doctors' efforts and economic returns during COVID-19 social restrictions.

 METHODS
 On the basis of the social exchange theory, this study establishes an internet-based effort exchange model for doctors. We used a crawler to download information automatically from Haodf website. From March 5 to 7, 2020, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, cross-sectional information of 2530 doctors were collected.

 RESULTS
 Hierarchical linear regression showed that disease privacy (β=.481; P<.001), reputation (β=.584; P<.001), and service quality (β=.560; P<.001) had a significant positive effect on the economic returns of the physicians. The influence of mutual help groups on earnings increases with an increase in the degree of disease privacy (β=.189; P<.001), indicating that mutual help groups have a stronger effect on earnings when patients ask questions about diseases regarding which they desire privacy.

 CONCLUSIONS
 For platform operators, the results of this study can help the platform understand how to improve doctors' economic returns, especially regarding helping a specific doctor group improve its income to retain good doctors. For physicians on the platform, this study will help doctors spend their limited energy and time on tools that can improve internet-based consultation incomes. Patients who receive internet-based health care services extract information about a doctor based on the doctor's internet-based efforts to understand the doctor's level of professionalism and personality to choose the doctor they like the most. The data used in this study may be biased or not representative of all medical platforms, as they were collected from a single website.


The thermodynamic consistency of almost 90 VLE data series, including isothermal and isobaric conditions for systems of both total and partial miscibility in the liquid phase, has been examined by means of the area and point-to-point tests. In addition, the Gibbs energy of mixing function calculated from these experimental data has been inspected, with some rather surprising results: certain data sets exhibiting high dispersion or leading to Gibbs energy of mixing curves inconsistent with the total or partial miscibility of the liquid phase, surprisingly, pass the tests. Several possible inconsistencies in the tests themselves or in their application are discussed. Related to this is a very interesting and ambitious initiative that arose within the NIST organization: the development of an algorithm to assess the quality of experimental VLE data. The present paper questions the applicability of two of the five tests that are combined in the algorithm. It further shows that the deviation of the experimental...


"Support to Incapacity Benefits Claimants Through Pathways to Work ("HC 21")" reports on the Pathways to Work programme's aims to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and help them into work. The reports suggests that it has had a limited impact and has turned out to provide poor value for money. Key findings: the volume of claimants has remained in excess of 2.5 million for over a decade; the contribution of the programme to a recent reduction of 125,000 in the number of people claiming incapacity benefits is not clear; the reduction is likely to be due to the earlier medical assessment to determine benefit entitlement; and other elements of Pathways employment support - at an estimated cost of GBP 94 million in 2008-09 - appear to have had no impact on claimants with new claimants just as likely to move into employment without Pathways support as they are with it. Pathways is led by Jobcentre Plus in some areas but is contracted out to third sector and private organisations in over 60 per cent of the country. Conclusion: There is no evidence that the programme is performing better or costing significantly less in contracted out areas than in those run by Jobcentre Plus. Contractors have universally underperformed against targets set by the Department and with a third of contracts making a financial loss, the programme's contracted out delivery does not appear to be sustainable. Looking forward, the Employment and Support Allowance looks likely to be a key instrument in reducing the number of incapacity benefit claimants.


This study experimentally investigates the interaction between rising bubbles and swirling water flow imposed around the central (vertical) axis of a bubble plume in a cylindrical water tank. Small air bubbles are successively released from the bottom of the tank to generate a bubble plume, and a stirring disc at the bottom of the tank is rotated to impose a swirling water flow around the central axis of the bubble plume. The bubbles disperse further with the increasing rotational speed of the stirring disc. Some bubbles shift toward the central axis of the swirling flow when is high. The nondimensional swirling velocity of water reduces with increasing bubble flow rate when is lower than a certain value. However, it is less affected by the bubbles when is higher. The precessional amplitude for the upper end of the vortex core increases due to the presence of the bubbles. With increasing , the nondimensional precessional velocity decreases, and the bubble effect also reduces.


An outbreak of peste des petits ruminant (PPR) among unvaccinated Sahel goats was investigated in a farm in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The morbidity rate of 63% and mortality rate of 17% was recorded on the farm, giving a case fatality rate of 27%. The infected animals manifested serous to mucopurulent oculonasal discharges, coughing, crust on the lips, erosive and necrotic lesions on the gums, dyspnoea, diarrhea, congestion and hepatization of the lungs, congestion in the large intestine and death. PPR virus antigen was detected in swabs and tissues of infected animals using agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID) and virus was isolated from same samples. PPR virus neutralizing antibodies was also detected in 75% of goats and 60% of incontact sheep. This report represents the first confirmed PPR outbreak among Sahel goats in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria.


This article reports on an innovative project which grew out of the desire to facilitate access to information using the Quick Response (QR) Code. Easily read by mobile phones with cameras, the QR Code provides a simple but effective means for library patrons to access library resources. The article explores the need to use the QR Code in the Brand van Zyl Law Library, University of Cape Town (UCT), for accessing academic library services. Although relatively new in South Africa, QR Codes have been used successfully by some local educational institutions. Against this background, the article reports on a needs analysis which was conducted at the Brand Van Zyl Law Library and recommends the accelerating use of QR Codes in the academic environment.


We examined production of ADP-ribosyltransferase C3 in 11 strains of Clostridium botulinum type C and D and their nontoxigenic derivatives. Antisera to C3 proteins of type C organisms divided C3 proteins roughly into at least two groups, bearing no relation to their bacterial types. The C3 gene of type D strain South African was isolated from a toxigenic phage library, and the complete sequence of the C3 gene was determined. The C3 protein of type D strain South African had 98% homology to the C3 protein of type C strain 003-9 and 66% homology to that of type D strain 1873. These results indicate that there are two types of C3 protein in type D organisms, as there are in type C organisms.


Individuals repeatedly exposed to HIV, but who remain uninfected, form a population enriched for persons likely to have either natural or acquired resistance to the virus. We have studied four such exposed uninfected cohorts, representing 60 individuals, for evidence of protective immunity. This population included participants exposed to HIV through anal or vaginal receptive intercourse on multiple occasions over many years. We observed CD8(+)-cell noncytotoxic inhibition of HIV replication in acutely infected CD4(+) cells in the vast majority of individuals most recently exposed to the virus (within 1 year). The levels of this CD8(+)-cell response were sufficient to inhibit the in vitro infection of the exposed subjects' peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We found no evidence of a significant role for CCR5 Delta32 mutation in this population, nor did CD4(+) cell susceptibility to infection or HIV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes correlate with resistance to infection in the individuals tested. Therefore, the observed strong noncytotoxic CD8(+)-cell anti-HIV responses may be an antiviral immune activity contributing to the apparent protection from infection in these exposed uninfected individuals.


OBJECTIVES
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that is clinically characterized by progressive weakness leading to death by respiratory insufficiency, usually within three years. Although the patient's intellect and personality usually remain unimpaired, as the disease progresses, the patient becomes immobile, develops wasting, and speech becomes impaired, often resulting in social isolation and a high degree of psychological suffering. Mindfulness meditation has proven to be effective technique for reducing distress in many chronic diseases. However, to date, no study has investigated the effect of mindfulness meditation on patients with ALS.

DESIGN
A mindfulness meditation training program for ALS patients needs to consider the particularities of ALS symptoms, including the loss of muscular functions and difficulties in respiration, together with the subsequent emotional impairments. With these caveats in mind, a modified protocol, based on original mindfulness meditation interventions, has been created specifically for the ALS population. This article describes the protocol and preliminary results.


In recent decades natural, technological and other disasters have been increasing in frequency and magnitude, and the involvement of international organizations and professionals from different disciplines has been growing in parallel. By definition major emergencies call for outside aid and often international assistance. The many agencies and individual helpers from different countries, different languages and different specialties converge on the stricken site with the sole object of helping the victims, who are themselves of a different background and language. Communication among these people and a certain understanding of the varying terminology of the many professions and activities therefore become paramount if the difficulties of the disaster situation are not to be compounded with difficulties of communication. A common ground for understanding between doctors, engineers, meteorologists, nurses, nutritionists, planners, government officials, transport personnel and the many other workers involved in disaster preparedness, relief and rehabilitation is therefore indispensable. It is to this end that this multilingual, multidisciplinary Dictionary serves as an invaluable tool for the disaster manager, whatever his background and wherever he may be called upon to work. A precursor in Disaster Medicine, Dr. William Gunn has conducted numerous emergency missions for the United Nations and other agencies, and this Dictionary has been tested in the field and in training courses over many years.


Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, is a serious disease problem on durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum ) in the USA. To date, the resistance to FHB available in hexaploid wheat (T. aestivum L.) sources has not been transferred successfully to tetraploid durum. In the 1980s, USDA geneticist L.R. Joppa produced a set of disomic lines [LDN(DIC)] derived from wild emmer (T. turgidum L. var. dicoccoides). Each line had a different pair of chromosomes from T. dicoccoides substituted for the corresponding 'Langdon' durum chromosomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if any of the LDN(DIC) lines showed useful levels of resistance to FHB. We tested these lines for FHB response by inoculation with F. graminearum in the greenhouse. Inoculation was accomplished via the single spikelet method, in which a droplet of conidiospore suspension is placed into one spikelet per spike followed by mist-high humidity for 3 d to establish infection. After 21 d, spikes were scored for extent of FHB symptoms and the average disease severity of the lines compared. A low disease severity score in this test indicated the presence of resistance to FHB in that line. Each test was replicated and the tests were done five times. In each test, some lines differed significantly. One line, LDN(DIC-3A), was consistently less susceptible and another line, LDN(DIC-2A), was consistently more susceptible than the parent Langdon durum, which itself showed an intermediate FHB reaction. Several other LDN(DIC) lines showed a trend either for increased or reduced susceptibility to FHB. Since each line differs by a single chromosome pair, the results suggest that genes affecting FHB resistance are present on several different T. dicoccoides or Langdon durum chromosomes.


Despite decades of research, the identity of the scrapie agent has remained elusive. Recent studies have discovered much about the influence of the host genome upon scrapie infection, yet relatively little is known about the causative agent itself. The predominant hypothesis in the scrapie field (the prion hypothesis) argues that the disease is the result of an infectious protein and that nucleic acid is not required for infection. Biological studies of the scrapie agent, however, suggest that a nucleic acid may be involved in the disease. Sensitive molecular biology techniques have yet to identify this putative nucleic acid.


Thermoelectric (TE) materials can convert any kind of heat into electricity through the Seebeck effect. Harvesting body heat and generating electricity by TE wearable devices can provide a convenient charge service for electrical equipment, even in the case of emergency or disaster. As a high-temperature excellent TE material, silicon also exhibits promising room temperature (RT) potential for wearable TE devices due to its safe and mature production line for the semiconductor industry. Aiming to search for solutions for reducing thermal conductivity ( κ ), this review summarizes the low-dimensional strategies for reducing κ based on nanostructural classification, thus enhancing zT at RT, and it also looks into the prospect of wearable application. Following in the footsteps of nanostack (NS), nanowire (NW), nanoporous (NP) and nanocomposite (NC) Si-based TE materials research, we found that the thermal conductivity has been well controlled and that harmonious regulation of the power factor (PF) with κ will be the future direction.


The present thesis addressed two important aspects of Computational Hydrodynamics: solution methods for following evolving interfaces, and stabilisation techniques for finite element method sin the context of convection-dominated, or pure convective flows.There basically exist two main types of solution methods for following sharp evolving interfaces in fluid flow problems: interface tracking and interface capturing methods. While the techniques belonging to the former type are usually more accurate and efficient, those belonging to the latter type are more robust and can handle more complicated physical situations. One method of each type was used in the present thesis: the height function method and the level set method, respectively. The former is implemented using an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework for the bulk flow equations, and surface-fitted mesh. The interface problem is solved on a mesh containing one spatial dimension less then the mesh used for solving bulk flow problems. This latter mesh is regenerated at every time step using a linear blending technique. It is shown how an algebraic constraint can be imposed on the linear system of equations obtained in order to enforce numerical mass conservation. When it comes to the level set method, an Eulerian framework is used for the computation of the flow. The level set problem is solved on a mesh having the same spatial dimension as the one used for the bulk flow problem. No re-meshing is done. A reinitialisation step is implemented in order to prevent break-down of the algorithm.Galerkin finite element methods are well-known for their lack of stability when solving convection-dominated flow problems. The easiest and most direct way of counteracting this misbehaviour is to sufficiently refine the computational mesh. This technique can, however, easily lead to problems that become so large that they are unrealisable on today's computers. Many methods have therefore been devised for enhancing stability properties of finite element methods. In the present thesis, the finite calculus method is used for both spatial and temporal stabilisation. It is shown to be an efficient spatial stabilisation method. It is, in addition, shown that used in combination with the forward Euler scheme, the finite calculus method leads to an explicit scheme that can be used for Courant numbers larger than one.


CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) was originally defined as a T-lymphocyte antigen and was used as a target in cancer immunotherapy. Unfortunately, the existence of CTLA-4 in cells other than T-lymphocytes is often overlooked. The goal of the present study was to analyze the distribution pattern of CTLA-4 in the human tonsils using a panel of anti–CTLA-4 antibodies of different clones. We found that CTLA-4 was expressed in T-lymphocyte cells of various geneses, including hematopoietic cells and their derivatives (monocytes, macrophages, dendritic, plasma cells, mast cells, and neutrophils), as well as stromal cells of mesodermal (mesenchymal) origin and reticular epithelial cells of ectodermal origin. The expression of CTLA-4 in cells of different origins supports the proposition that CTLA-4 is not restricted to the lymphoid cell lineage and can provide broader effects of CTLA-4 on immune regulation.


Background Vasculogenesis plays an important role under both physiological and pathological conditions. Factors controlling vasculogenesis is still far to be fully elucidated. Cellular repressor of E1A activating gene (CREG) has been reported to be highly expressed in endothelium and prevent injured endothelial cells from apoptosis, suggesting its potential role in regulating vasculogenesis. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the role and mechanism of CREG in regulating vasculogenesis of embryonic (ES) stem cells. Methods CREG over-expression (wtCREG) and knock-down (shCREG) ES cell lines were established by transfection of wild type ES cell R1 (wtR1) with pCXN2-Flag-CREG-IRES-EGFP and mouse CREG shRNA vectors respectively, using ES cells expressing EGFP as a control (ctlR1). We first detected CREG expression during wtR1 and ctlR1 differentiation by Western Blot. Then embryoid bodies (EB) derived from 4 groups of ES cells were plated on fibronectin coated cover slips and cultured for 10 days to make an in vitro vasculogenesis model. Endothelial network formation was detected by CD31 immunofluorescence. Transcription of CD31, VEGFR2 and VEGF were measured by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Protein involved in several signalling pathways, including JNK, ERK1/2, PI3K/Akt and VEGFR2, VEGF were detected by Western Blot. PI3K/Akt inhibitor and VEGF neutralising antibody were used for blocking study in wtCREG group. VEGF were supplemented for rescue study in shCREG group. Results Expression of CREG increased with differentiation of ES cells in control group (wtR1 and ctlR1). wtCREG had significantly higher density of endothelial network formation identified by CD31 immunofluorescence in contrast to shCREG, which barely had endothelial network formation. RT-PCR also showed that transcription level of CD31, VEGFR2 and VEGF are up-regulated in wtCREG and down-regulated in shCREG. Western blot showed no difference in JNK, ERK1/2, but significant change of PI3K/Akt, VEGFR2, VEGF parallel to CREG expression in 4 groups. Blocking assay showed that PI3K/Akt inhibitor wortmannin and VEGF neutralising antibody could effectively eliminate the CREG induced vasculogenesis, and VEGF could successfully rescue failed vasculogenesis due to CREG gene silence. Conclusions CREG promotes vasculogenesis of ES cells by activating PI3K/Akt/VEGF pathway.


In recent times, the transportation industry has generated a number of developments involving new technology in signalling. Important developments have involved the production of light by means of light-emitting diode (LED). Unfortunately, the maximum light output, dominant wavelength, reliability and the lifetime of LEDs are all closely related to the junction temperature. Accordingly, LED performance largely depends on the ambient temperature of its operating environment. Consequently, adequate heat-sinking is required to maintain a long lifetime and compliance. Today again, designing an LED railway signal that is able to meet compliance over wide range of temperatures is problematic. In particular, for yellow aspects compliance is difficult to achieve at extreme ambient temperature because the shift in the colour of yellow LEDs over the specified temperature range can be greater than the magnitude of colour specification. Use of phase change materials (PCMs) can provide practical solution of these problems. PCMs can store and release thermal energy during the process of melting and freezing (changing from one phase to another). When such a material freezes, it releases large amounts of energy in the form of latent heat of fusion or energy of crystallization. Conversely, when the material is melted, an equal amount of energy is absorbed from the environment as it changes from solid to liquid. This paper presents studies that enable the design of railway signals to meet, in a rigorous way, colorimetric compliances on a large range of temperature change. Furthermore, the proposed system is applicable, in a simple way and without operational changes, to the existing systems. It is sufficient to insert inside of the signals a suitable amount of a specific PCM.


Introduction: We report about a large retinal capillary hemangioma (RCH) with exudative retinal detachment and a macular fold, treated with Ruthenium-106 brachytherapy (Ru-106 BT) and scleral buckling surgery, followed by pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), for the removal of macular tractions. Case description: A 17-year-old boy was referred to our Ocular Oncology Unit for a large RCH in the left eye. BCVA was hand motion. The RCH measured 4.9 × 6.85 mm in basal diameters and 4.0 mm in thickness and was located in the mid-peripheral temporal retina. It was surrounded by extensive subretinal exudation, forming an exudative retinal detachment, with a retinal fold that extended from the lesion to the optic disc. We performed Ru-106 BT and at the moment of the plaque removal we placed a radial buckle with the aim to unbend the retinal fold. At 3-months follow-up the exudation decreased, we achieved the opening of the peripheral side of the retinal fold, but the macula was still detached. We decided to perform a lens sparing PPV, macular peeling and air tamponade, to remove the vitreoretinal tractions ab interno and to try to complete the opening of the macular fold. After 1-month BCVA was counting fingers, the retina appeared attached, also in the macular area, but the retinal fold remained partially close in the macular side. After 6 months the tumor was inactivated, the macula remained attached, unfortunately, the macular fold remained partially close. Conclusion: Ru-106 BT and scleral buckling concurrent approach can be an effective treatment modality in selected cases of large RCHs, followed by PPV to remove eventual vitreo-retinal tractions.


Background : Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease, characterized by polyarthritis and extraarticular manifestations. The cardiopulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis were studied retrospectively in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods : This was a retrospective study of all cases of rheumatoid arthritis seen during the period of January 2011 to December 2013. Case notes of patients that fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology Criteria for rheumatoid arthritis were retrieved. Data was retrieved from the case notes and analyzed. The case records of patients with pulmonary and cardiac manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis were further studied. Results : Four hundred and seventy two rheumatology cases were seen; twenty one fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology Criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Out of the twenty one cases of rheumatoid arthritis identified, eight cases developed cardiopulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, predominantly serositis. The onset of cardio-pulmonary features was independent of the disease stage. Among patients with cardio-pulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, three people died of heart disease while one died of pulmonary complication, representing 50% mortality. Conclusion : Pulmonary manifestation as represented by pleural effusion was the leading cardio-pulmonary manifestation among the patients studied. Cardiac disease was however the leading cause of mortality. We therefore conclude that cardio-pulmonary manifestation is associated with increased mortality among rheumatoid arthritis patients. Key words: Cardiopulmonary, Involvement, Hospital, Rheumatoid disease


: The efficacy of combined treatment of 176 children of different age has been analyzed. All the children suffered from Hodgkin's disease which was treated according to protocols COPP, MOPP, DVPP, +radiotherapy, maintenance chemotherapy. The response to the treatment got worse at the age of prepuberty and puberty, e. g. younger children had recurrences in 19.2% of the cases, adolescents had in 33.3%. The latter more frequently died of the malignancy progression. It is concluded that children older than 13 years are at greater risk of bad Hodgkin's disease outcomes and need more intensive treatment programs.


[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the functional differences between total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients who were treated with supervised physiotherapy or a standardized home program and perform a cost analysis. [Subjects and Methods] Patients who received total knee arthroplasty between January 2009 and June 2011 were enrolled in this study; those with mean ages of 64.25±3.86 (60–68) years (n=18) and 68.08±6.25 (61–79) years (n=16) were placed in the supervised physiotherapy and standardized home program groups, respectively. All patients were evaluated by the same researcher before and after surgery, and the therapy programs were applied by another physiotherapist. All patients were evaluated for joint range of motion (ROM), pain, functional status (WOMAC), overall quality of life (SF-36), and depressive symptoms (BECK Depression Scale). [Results] A significant clinical improvement was observed in postoperative assessments. A statistically significant difference could not be found between ROM and functional levels of the patients in both groups. [Conclusion] No difference was found between the patients performing supervised or standardized home program with respect to the effects on functional status. A home exercise program can be used in the rehabilitation of patients with TKA, and implementation of home exercise programs can also reduce health-care spending.


AbstractFuzzy sets have a great progress in every scientific research area. It found many application areas in both theoretical and practical studies from engineering area to arts and humanities, from computer science to health sciences, and from life sciences to physical sciences. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review on the fuzzy set theory is realized. In the recent years, ordinary fuzzy sets have been extended to new types and these extensions have been used in many areas such as energy, medicine, material, economics and pharmacology sciences. This literature review also analyzes the chronological development of these extensions. In the last section of the paper, we present our interpretations on the future of fuzzy sets.


The purpose of this study was to validate the principle of our mitochondrial delivery system based on membrane fusion. We first screened for liposomes that efficiently fuse with isolated rat liver mitochondria. This was achieved by varying the lipid composition of a panel of liposomes and monitoring membrane fusion by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis. Two highly fusogenic lipid compositions were identified and they form the basis of the MITO-Porter. Green fluorescence protein (GFP) was used as a model macromolecule, which permitted us to check its delivery to mitochondria by confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis. In addition, membrane fusion between the MITO-Porter and mitochondria in living cells was evaluated by FRET analysis using a spectral imaging fluorescent microscopy system.


Abstract This article explores ISIS's concept of education and teaching. More precisely, we examine how religious elements were integrated into textbooks written and published by the group. We then present the results of codifying religious elements found in textbooks. We conducted a precise, targeted study of religion-integrated teachings through a didactic and critical lens. The textbooks analyzed in this article were published by ISIS. Printed copies were found and recovered by our team in a number of schools around Kirkuk after its liberation. The dogmatism of these teaching methods is apparent because it meant not to develop students' critical thinking.


Author(s): Sato, Shinji; Hasegawa, Atsushi; Kumagai, Yuri; Kamiyoshi, Uichi | Abstract: In this article, we seek to reconceptualize content-based instruction (CBI) curricula and practices from a critical perspective. Further, we propose developing criticality as an essential component of CBI, advocating for an approach we call critical content-based instruction (CCBI). While the importance of CBI has long been recognized, previous discussions predominantly focused on its effectiveness for language learning (and content learning to a lesser degree), and overlooked its fundamental linkage and relevance to broader educational missions. In order to fully maximize the potential of CBI and envision language education as integral to the advancement of society, we argue that a critical approach to CBI should be considered. First, we lay out how CBI came to be and how it has been treated in language pedagogy. We believe CBI is indeed a suitable forum for introducing and implementing a critical perspective because of its original contribution of broadening language education to meet societal needs. Second, we provide an overview of recent discourse surrounding world language education. Based on these reviews, we lastly and most importantly delineate directions for CCBI by presenting examples and possible challenges.


This study utilizes three approaches to investigate the extent to which firms with an innovation focused strategy engage in earnings management through the use of income smoothing, real activities, and the use of discretionary accruals. Several results are reported. First, firms with an innovative strategy report a greater percentage of earnings in the fourth quarter indicating greater earnings management. Second, innovative firms use real activities to a greater extent than non-innovative firms to manage earnings when income approaches certain earnings benchmarks. Lastly, innovative strategy firms engage in the use of discretionary accruals to a greater degree than other firms. DOI: 10.15458/85451.36


In the determination of the performance of an air-cooled turbine, the cooling-air-flow characteristics between the root and the tip of the blades must be evaluated. The methods, which must be verified and the unknown functions evaluated, that are expected to permit the determination of pressure, temperature, and velocity through the blade cooling-air passages from specific investigation are presented.


Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are widely used to prevent global warming and reduce energy costs. Both high efficiency of the elements and good coordination of the systems are considered as the points to solve. A microturbine CHP with a latent heat storage system was demonstrated at Sapporo City University. The heat exchanger of the CHP and an economizer were located in parallel downstream a bypass-dumper of the exhaust gas. The latent heat storage tank was located downstream the economizer. The bypass-dumper released exhaust gas when the boiler water in the heat exchanger exceeded 90°C. It is very important to use the heat supply of hot water as much as possible. At Sapporo City University, the winter term heat demand from 6pm to 7pm was somewhat smaller than that from 8am to 6pm. We tested a partial load from 6pm to 7pm to observe how it would respond to the heat demand. The heat supply from the microturbine CHP from 6pm to 7pm was shown to be controllable with heat storage. The heat supply from the microturbine CHP at the lowest power was larger than the heat demand so without the heat storage it was uncontrollable.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


This Article first examines the Carter case in detail, including the opinions of the state courts and the briefs and oral argument in the United States Supreme Court, before turning to the Court's decision. The Article highlights the importance of Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion and explains the "hidden holding" of the case, raising the question of whether lowercourts will apply the correct rule from the case. The Article argues that the Court's denial of the defendants' claim of a reasonable expectation of privacy, combined with its failure to provide guidance as to when non-overnight visitors in homes will have the ability to challenge a search of that home, increases the danger that lower courts will impose a presumption against short-term guests having an expectation of privacy in their host's home.The Article emphasizes that although a narrow interpretation of the rights of non-overnight visitors is the path favored by several Justices, it does not command a majority, and urges lower courts to take care to apply the correct rule from Carter, one that broadly interprets the rights of short term visitors and avoids drawing a line at overnight guests. The Article then briefly examines the United States Supreme Court's "standing" jurisprudence prior to Carter, providing background for the analysis of the decision. The Article argues that the majority's ruling, that the defendants had no reasonable expectation of privacy, undervalues expectations of interpersonal privacy of citizens in a free society, unfairly diminishes legitimate expectations of privacy in a wide variety of relationships the Court labels as "business" or "commercial," and overextends the reach of the "legitimately on the premises" category of visitors to deny protection for certain relationships that deserve better. The Article asserts the Minnesota Supreme Court was better able to put aside the illegal nature of the conduct involved and avoid deciding important privacy issues based on labels. The Minnesota court's decision provided a workable rule that was consistent with United States Supreme Court precedent and recognized and protected the "everyday expectations of privacy that we all share."'


In decision theory projects are usually evaluated in terms of their riskiness, and often decision under risk is intended as the one-shot-type binary choice of accepting or not accepting the risk. This paper elaborates on the concept of risk acceptance, and aims at developing a theoretical framework based on networks theory. In doing this, the interconnections between the random quantities involved in the decision are taken into account. The conditions to be satisfied in order for the risk-acceptance criterion to be consistent with the axiomatization of standard expected utility theory are also explored. In accordance with existing literature, we obtain that a risk evaluation problem can be meaningful even if it is not consistent with the standard axiomatization of expected utility. Some illustrative examples are also provided.


The British Thoracic Society guideline on the investigation and management of pulmonary nodules is based on a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on pulmonary nodules. Recent evidence has suggested that significant changes to existing guidelines are necessary. The use of 2 malignancy prediction calculators to better characterize the risk of malignancy was firmly supported by evidence, as were the recommendations for a higher nodule size threshold for follow‑up (≥5 mm or ≥80 mm3) and a reduction of the follow‑up period to 1 year for solid pulmonary nodules. Although caution is required where there is a history of cancer, both of these recommendations will reduce the number of follow‑up computed tomographies, thereby improving cost‑effectiveness and pressure on imaging services. Recent evidence has also confirmed the superiority of volumetry as the preferred measurement method and clarified the management of nodules with extended volume‑doubling times. Acknowledging the good prognosis of subsolid nodules, there are recommendations for less aggressive options in their management. The guidelines recommend ordinal scale reporting for positron emission tomography-computed tomography to facilitate incorporation into risk models. There are recommendations on when biopsy is most helpful, the threshold for treatment without histological confirmation, and surgical and nonsurgical treatment. The guideline also provides evidence‑based recommendations about the information that people need and that should be provided for them. The complexity of managing pulmonary nodules is made more accessible by 4 management algorithms. In the real world, it is surprising how easy these are to follow and how they seem to follow an intuitive approach.


One hundred sixty-five disturbed epileptics of ages from 3 to 69 years have been treated at Craig Colony with chlorpromazine for periods varying from 2 to 12 months, the majority of whom are female. This series includes a group of 78 patients on whom a preliminary report1was submitted about a year ago and a supplemental group of 87 patients. The length of treatment is shown in Table 1. Selection for therapy was based on behavior and emotional disturbances, episodic and chronic, clinically manifested by irritability, excitement states, temper outbursts, furor states, restlessness, overactivity, resistiveness, destructiveness, assaultiveness, nakedness, aggression (such as biting, scratching, and pulling hair of self and others), self-mutilation, noisiness, profanity, night wandering, filthy habits, and active psychotic trends. Many frequently required large doses of sedation or some form of restraint or seclusion. The overwhelming majority of patients are mentally defective, with 21 idiots, 47 imbeciles, 46


Collegiate recreation has the opportunity to impact student growth beyond physical activity. Serving as one of the university's largest employers, collegiate recreation provides students with opportunities to achieve desired university learning outcomes. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine what on-the-job activities and experiences impact the five learning domains: career development, civic and community engagement, leadership, ethics and values, and responsible independence. BGSU undergraduate students who have been employed with BGSU Recreation and Wellness for a minimum of one semester were recruited to participate in this study. Respondents who agreed to participate in the study competed a self-administered questionnaire by rating the frequency of their experiences in 13 on-the-job activities and experiences and questions about the five learning domains. The result of analysis indicated there are statistically significant relationships between many on-the-job experiences and the five learning domains. Collaboration, problem solving, task repetition and informal interactions with supervisors were found to be on-the-job activities relating strongest to the five learning domains. AN ANALYSIS OF COLLEGIATE RECREATION'S IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING 3


On August 15th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies hosted its monthly roundtable focusing on "Water Security as an Emergent Opportunity for Canada". The presentation was delivered by Dr. Zafar Adeel, a serving member on the editorial boards of Sustainability Science (Springer) and New Water Policy and Practice Journal (PSO). Dr. Adeel highlighted various emerging and continuing water security threats in British Columbia, emphasizing their similarities to other global issues. He directed his talk to addressing the impacts of climate change on water insecurity and its ability to create new threats to Canada's coastal cities. The following roundtable discussion centered around a dialogue on the persistent insecurity in Canada's indigenous communities as a security concern describing the matter as a play off between policy and security affairs. Audience members then brought into question the suitability of using the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine to intervene where a nation's water security is at risk and addressed the complexities of the 'react' pillar in intervening militarily.


Feasibility of laboratory-synthesized zerovalent iron was investigated to remove arsenic from leachates of tailings taken from an Au-Ag abandoned mine. The tailings were seriously contaminated with arsenic, and its potential adverse effect on the ecosystems around the mine seems to be significantly high. Long-term column experiments were conducted for about 3.5 months to evaluate the effectiveness of the synthesized zerovalent iron for removal of arsenic. Over than 95% removal efficiency of As was observed in the zerovalent iron mediated tests. In addition, the XRD data suggest that the corrosion products of ZVI were identified magnetite, maghemite, goethite, and lepidocrocite, all of which support Fe(II) oxidation as an intermediate step in the zerovalent iron corrosion process. The results indicate that arsenic can be removed from the tailing-leachate by the mechanism of coprecipitation and/or adsorption onto those iron oxides formed from ZVI corrosion.


The views and interpretations expressed in this report are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Agency for International Development.


POWELL, C.C. 1984. Success in coordinating disease control depends on finding common elements. Am. Nurseryman 159(2): 75-77. To coordinate programs for turf and ornamental disease control, we must first find the common denominators of the diseases that affect these two plant types. Few, if any, turf diseases, however, also affect trees and shrubs. Thus what are some common denominators? There are three parts of plant health management. First, there are cultivar, or plant selection, decisions that lead to good health. Next are considerations of stresses in the environment and how to best manage them as the plant grows. Finally, there are decisions regarding the kind of pesticides to use and how and when to apply them. With ornamentals, the plant material may be more diverse than turf, but the variations in the timing patterns are fewer. There are four patterns or scenarios concerning the application of fungicides to ornamentals: the bud break sprays or the very early spring sprays; the post-bloom sprays or the later spring, early summer group; the wet-weather sprays; and the sprays during cool weather, especially cool nights followed by warmer days. Nurserymen should try to fit information on ornamental diseases into a scheme to clarify their thinking and programming abilities.


The thesis focuses on two problems in Data Mining, namely clustering, an exploratory technique to group observations in similar groups, and classification, a technique used to assign new observations to one of the known groups. A thorough study of the two problems, which are also known in the Machine Learning literature as unsupervised and supervised classification respectively, is central to decision making in different fields - the thesis seeks to contribute towards that end.

In the first part of the thesis we consider whether robust methods can be applied to clustering - in particular, we perform clustering on fuzzy data using two methods
originally developed for outlier-detection. The fuzzy data clusters are characterised by two intersecting lines such that points belonging to the same cluster lie close to
the same line. This part of the thesis also investigates a new application of finite mixture of normals to the fuzzy data problem.

The second part of the thesis addresses issues relating to classification - in particular, classification trees and boosting. The boosting algorithm is a relative newcomer
to the classification portfolio that seeks to enhance the performance of classifiers by iteratively re-weighting the data according to their previous classification status.
We explore the performance of "boosted" trees (mainly stumps) based on 3 different models all characterised by a sine-wave boundary. We also carry out a thorough study of the factors that affect the boosting algorithm.

Other results include a new look at the concept of randomness in the classification context, particularly because the form of randomness in both training and testing
data has directly affects the accuracy and reliability of domain- partitioning rules. Further, we provide statistical interpretations of some of the classification-related
concepts, originally used in Computer Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. This is important since there exists a need for a unified interpretation of
some of the "landmark" concepts in various disciplines, as a step forward towards seeking the principles that can guide and strengthen practical applications.


The image recognizing process requires the identification of every logical object that compose every image, which first implies to recognize it as an object (segmentation) and then identify which object is, or at least which is the most likely one from the universe of objects that can be recognized (recognition). During the segmentation process, the aim is to identify as many objects that compose the images as possible. This process must be adapted to the universe of all objects that are looked for, which can vary from printed or manuscript characters to fruits or animals, or even fingerprints. Once all objects have been obtained, the system must carry on to the next step, which is the identification of the objects based on the called universe. In other words, if the system is looking for fruits, it must identify univocally fruits from apples and oranges; if they are characters, it m ust identify the character "a" from the rest of the alphabet, and so on. In this document, the character recognition step has been studied. More specifically, which methods to obtain characteristics exist (advantages and disadvantages, implementations, costs). There is also an overview about the feature vector, in which all features are stored and analyzed in order to perform the character recognition itself.


The Channeled Scabland, Washington State, United States, is only partly the result of erosion by the catastrophic drainage of Glacial Lake Missoula: there were other sources of meltwater. Recent sedimentary investigations of some sites in the Missoula basin, and in the Channeled Scabland, support a single large late Wisconsin flood, as opposed to multiple floods proposed for this time period. Sediment in the Glacial Lake Missoula basin records rapid infill by jokulhlaups draining into Lake Missoula from upstream, punctuating a long period of normal varve sedimentation. This was independent of sedimentation in the main Scabland tract, where proximal and distal rhythmic beds are explained as resulting from multiple pulses, or surges, within a single flood. Geomorphic and sedimentary evidence supports the conclusion that drainage from the Cordilleran trunk valleys was important, and pulses were probably related to the drainage of these valleys.


We revisit the classical dynamic inventory management problem of Scarf (1959b) from the perspective of a decision-maker who has n historical selling seasons of data and must make sensible ordering decisions for the upcoming season. We first prescribe a nonparametric estimation procedure for the (s; S) policy that is asymptotically optimal. We then characterize the finite-sample performance of the estimated (s; S) levels by deriving their asymptotic confidence intervals using the Central Limit Theorem. We further consider having at least some of the past selling seasons of data censored from the absence of backlogging. We show that the intuitive and widely-used procedure of correcting for censoring in the demand data directly yields an inconsistent estimate. We then show how to correctly use the censored data to obtain consistent decisions and derive asymptotic confidence intervals for this policy using Stein's method to handle the serial correlation that arises due to the correctioning. Surprisingly, censored data can be beneficial under some conditions; that is, estimated decisions with censored data may have smaller variance and mean squared error (MSE) than those with fully uncensored data. We thus arrive at the remarkable result that a decision maker with fully uncensored data can add artificial censored data to optimally estimate the (s; S) policy. We provide a prescription for the optimal level and amount of artificial demand data to add. Our results also apply to the repeated newsvendor problem and the base-stock policy problem by appropriate parameter choices.


The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for presence and severity of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Korean children and adolescents. A retrospective chart review of children and adolescents newly diagnosed with T1DM was conducted in seven secondary and tertiary centers in Korea. Eligible subjects were < 20 years of age and had records on the presence or absence of DKA at the time of T1DM diagnosis. DKA severity was categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Data were collected on age, height, body weight, pubertal status, family history of diabetes, delayed diagnosis, preceding infections, health insurance status, and parental education level. A total of 361 patients (male 46.3%) with T1DM were included. Overall, 177 (49.0%) patients presented with DKA at T1DM diagnosis. Risk factors predicting DKA at T1DM diagnosis were age ≥ 12 years, lower serum C-peptide levels, presence of a preceding infection, and delayed diagnosis. Low parental education level and preceding infection increased the severity of DKA. These results suggest that alertness of the physician and public awareness of diabetes symptoms are needed to decrease the incidence and severity of DKA at T1DM diagnosis.


Background Rapid HIV testing is not permitted in Australia at the point of care. The authors evaluate the expected net effect of rapid HIV testing compared with standard serology diagnostic tests in terms of onward HIV transmission. Methods The authors used data for 174 men who had sex with men testing HIV-positive at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Australia, in an agent-based mathematical model. Time of diagnosis is simulated according to conventional enzyme immunoassays or rapid HIV tests, with different window periods. The authors calculated the expected number of additional/averted transmissions due to missed or earlier diagnoses. Results Fourth generation rapid tests were simulated to miss ∼2–3% of diagnoses compared with conventional fourth generation enzyme immunoassay tests. However, in the remaining 97–98% of cases the rapid test would result in earlier detection of HIV. Overall, the rapid test would reduce time to patients receiving results by a median of ∼12 days. Assuming no changes in testing rates, the introduction of rapid testing diagnostic technologies would prevent one in every 2000–5000 HIV transmissions compared with the conventional diagnostic test. Conclusions Rapid tests would have a marginal benefit in reducing HIV transmission between men compared with conventional tests under assumptions of no changes in testing frequencies.


The importance of early and efficient treatment of patients with scoliosis, arises from the extreme uncertainty of their future progress. It is known that in some patients the condition may become spontaneously arrested in an early stage; in other cases, the disease may increase, and may not only produce extreme deformity but seriously impair the general health. The aim of treatment should be to prevent the progress of the deformity, to correct, if possible, the existing deformity and to maintain the correction until all danger of relapse is past. This usually means until maturity is reached. The correction of spinal curvature requires much attention to detail, and individual adaption of the various procedures, varying largely with the location and degree and, to a lesser extent, with the etiology of the deformity. For this reason it was thought desirable to study a series of cases to determine, as accurately as possible,


Communities, and the critical infrastructure that they rely upon, are becoming ever increasingly integrated into cyberspace. At the same time, communities are experiencing increasing activity and sophistication from a variety of threat agents. The effect of cyber attacks on communities has been observed, and the frequency and devastation of these attacks can only increase in the foreseeable future. Early detection of these attacks is critical for a fast and effective response. We propose detecting community cyber incidents by comparing indicators from community members across space and time. Performing spatiotemporal differentiation on these indicators requires that community members, such as private and governmental organizations, share information about these indicators. However, community members are, for good reasons, reluctant to share sensitive security related information. Additionally, sharing large amounts of information with a trusted, centralized location introduces scalability and reliability problems. In this paper we define the information sharing requirements necessary for fast, effective community cyber incident detection and response, while addressing both privacy and scalability concerns. Furthermore, we introduce a framework to meet these requirements, and analyze a proof of concept implementation.


The present pilot study investigated the effects of yoga training, as compared to physical skill training, on motor and executive function, physical self-concept, and anxiety-related behavior in junior primary school-aged children. Twenty-four participants with a mean age of 8.4 (±1.4) years completed either yoga or physical skill training twice a week for 6 weeks outside of regular school class time. Both forms of training were delivered in an individualized and child-oriented manner. The type of training did not result in any significant differences in movement and executive function outcomes. In terms of physical self-concept, significant group differences were revealed only for perceived movement speed such that yoga training resulted in perceptions of being slower while physical skill training resulted in perceptions of moving faster. Analysis of anxiety related outcomes revealed significant group effects only for avoidance behavior and coping strategies. Avoidance behavior increased following yoga training, but decreased following physical skill training. In addition, following yoga training, children showed an increased use of divergent coping strategies when facing problematic situations while after physical skill training children demonstrated a decrease in use of divergent coping strategies. Changes in overall physical self-concept scores were not significantly correlated with changes in avoidance behavior following yoga training. In contrast, following physical skill training increased physical self-concept was significantly correlated with decreases in avoidance behavior. In sum, exposure to yoga or physical skill training appears to result in distinct effects for specific domains of physical self-concept and anxiety-related behavior. Further studies with larger samples and more rigorous methodologies are required to further investigate the effects reported here. With respect to future studies, we address potential research questions and specific features associated with the investigation of the effects of yoga in a sample of school-aged children.


An analysis of the performance of a synchronous digital communications system in which the clock rate of each station is established as the average of the clock rates of all incoming signals to each station is presented. Using both-end control, the system frequency is the average of the free-running frequencies of the phase locked oscillators, weighted by the number of inputs to each station. In single-end control, the frequency is a similar average plus a term, which is a function of changes in transmission path delay. Rules are derived defining how a transmision path delay change will be reflected in changes of total phase difference at each transmission path terminal. These phase changes reflect requirements for elastic storage of data at each transmission path termination. The dynamic stability of a simple two station network is analyzed mathematically. A subsequent technical paper [7] will report on the extensive analysis of the dynamic behavior of various system configurations using a computer simulation of the time history response to various perturbations.


Abstract This essay compares the unorthodox literary economic theories espoused by Ezra Pound and Georges Bataille in the 1930s and 1940s, and explores the connections that these politically and stylistically divergent writers made between monetary and sexual circulation, wealth and natural growth. Interrogating their respective primitivist approaches to pre-capitalist cultural systems (Pound's to a medieval arcadia before usury and Bataille's to ancient Aztec and North American tribal societies), it draws attention to unexpected convergences between the writers' political and economic ideas. The author demonstrates that Pound – a supporter of Mussolini's fascist state – was, by the use-value basis of his economics, in many ways closer to Marx than the expressly Marxist Bataille. Although Pound shared Bataille's preference for pagan and Catholic 'splendour' over Protestant thrift, as well as his belief that sexual repression and puritanical fear were contributors to a blockage in the system, his economic approach ultimately abhorred the Nietzschean 'squander' celebrated in Bataille's The Accursed Share. The essay ends by using the two writers to shed light on the literary-philosophical conditions that incubated fascism, as well as the perversely depoliticising and dangerous effects of interpreting the economy according to metaphysical 'truths'. In so doing it warns against such tempting conflations in the present day.


Maxillectomy for malignant tumor often results in a maxillary defect and serious oral dysfunction. A prosthesis is usually provided for postoperative oral rehabilitation of such patients with maxillary defects. However, the further the resected region extends, the less stable the prosthesis becomes, due to insufficient bone and tooth support. Therefore, in many cases, conventional resection dentures may not be adequate to restore the oral function. Effective utilization of dental and zygomatic implants may help to restore oral function in patients with severe maxillary defects. This clinical report describes the management of three patients with severe maxillary defects following cancer ablative surgery who were rehabilitated using maxillary prostheses with magnetic attachments supported by dental and zygomatic implants. Occlusal reconstruction was performed with removable prostheses supported with two or four implants and magnetic attachment. The oral function was evaluated before and after prosthodontic treatment with implants using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and functional chewing score. Results indicated improvement in all cases. These findings show that quality of life (QOL) and oral function were improved.


Indium Hydroxy Sulphide has demonstrated abundance in resources, low prices, nontoxic characteristics, radiation resistance, high temperature resistance, and chemical stability, and therefore it has become an extremely important photoelectric, photovoltaic, and light sensing thin film material. Some treatment on this material include thermal annealing which is a process used for intrinsic stress liberation, structural improving, and surface roughness to control its electro-optical properties. In a qualitative way, annealing modifies surface morphology, intrinsic parameters, and electron mobility with temperature and time. In this work, an explanation on the surface modification of In(OH) x S y thin films when subjected to an annealing process is discussed. Both electrical and optical effects caused by annealing were carried out and characterizations were performed at different annealing temperatures in nitrogen in the temperature range 373–573 K. Using optical measurements data and simulated data, Scout software was employed and the results showed that increasing annealing temperature causes a slight decrease in transmittance with a consequence of modifying the energy band gaps values between 2.79–3.32 eV. It was concluded that annealing influence optical transmittance and resistance of the film make the thin films potential for photovoltaic, and light sensing applications.


The aim of the study is to characterize engagement in cooperation with the entities in the area within pro-environmental initiatives, as declared by entrepreneurs from valuable natural areas of the Lublin province, and to present assessments of the activity of local authorities in this regard, as formulated by the entrepreneurs. The results showed little activity of the entrepreneurs themselves and above-average activity assessments for local authorities in the study area. What is more, natural environment preciousness was not associated with increased activity of enterprises in the area of cooperation with entities of the area and the increased activity, as perceived by the entrepreneurs, of local authorities in taking up pro-environmental initiatives. The study was developed within the framework of the research project No. 2011/01/D/HS4/03927 entitled "Environmental Conditions and Factors of Economic Functions Development in Valuable Natural Areas of the Lublin Province" funded by the National Science Centre.


Free-space optical (FSO) communication suffers from several challenges in practical deployment; the major of them is fading or scintillation. To overcome such limitations, spatial diversity based on MIMO techniques has been proposed for FSO systems. User cooperation diversity is a new form of spatial diversity which is introduced to overcome some limitations of MIMO structures. Although the promising effects of cooperative transmission in RF communications have greatly been considered so far, there have been a few notable research on cooperative diversity in FSO. In this paper, we first consider a 3-way FSO communication setup, in which the cooperative protocol can be applied to achieve the spatial diversity without much increase in hardware, compared to their regular transmission. Then, we introduce different cooperative strategies and investigate their bit error rate (BER) performance in the presence of shot noise, using the photon-count method. We compare the results with those of the direct path link (non-cooperative scheme) and the two transmitters case, which are the upper and lower bounds on the BER of the cooperative scheme, respectively. The results illustrate the advantages of cooperation under a number of different scenarios for realistic SNRs.


Medical imaging is crucial for medical diagnosis, and the sensitive nature of medical images necessitates rigorous security and privacy solutions to be in place. In a cloud-based medical system for Healthcare Industry 4.0, medical images should be encrypted prior to being outsourced. However, processing queries over encrypted data without first executing the decryption operation is challenging and impractical at present. In this paper, we propose a secure and efficient scheme to find the exact nearest neighbor over encrypted medical images. Instead of calculating the Euclidean distance, we reject candidates by computing the lower bound of the Euclidean distance that is related to the mean and standard deviation of data. Unlike most existing schemes, our scheme can obtain the exact nearest neighbor rather than an approximate result. We, then, evaluate our proposed approach to demonstrate its utility.


Over the past years road traffic has increased at the Port of Durban. Due to the lack of maintenance, this has resulted in road deterioration. Roads are considered as the most important transport mode at the Port of Durban. It is an important mean for facilitating economic growth of local, regional and national industries. For the Port to maintain global competitiveness with the current trend of globalization, it has to be ensured that the roads are well maintained. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of road condition within and outside the Port. Verification and assessment of the condition of the existing eight major roads was conducted. Comparisons between the condition of the eight major roads within and outside the Port were highlighted.  Conclusions and recommendations were also drawn based on the findings.


BACKGROUND
We aimed to systematically review and analyze the association between depression and mortality risk in adults with kidney failure treated by long-term dialysis.

STUDY DESIGN
A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

SETTING & POPULATION
Patients receiving long-term dialysis.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES
Searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, we identified studies examining the relationship between depression, measured as depressive symptoms or clinical diagnosis, and mortality.

PREDICTOR
Depression status as determined by physician diagnosis or self-reported scales.

OUTCOMES
Pooled adjusted HR and OR of depression for all-cause mortality.

RESULTS
15 of 31 included studies showed a significant association between depression and mortality, including 5 of 6 studies with more than 6,000 participants. A significant link was established between the presence of depressive symptoms and mortality (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.35-1.69; I(2)=40%) based on 12 studies reporting depressive symptoms using depression scales (N=21,055; mean age, 57.6 years). After adjusting for potential publication bias, the presence of depressive symptoms remained a significant predictor of mortality (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.27-1.65). In addition, combining across 6 studies reporting per-unit change in depression score (n=7,857) resulted in a significant effect (HR per unit change in score, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06; I(2)=74%).

LIMITATIONS
Depression or depressive symptoms were documented only from medical charts or a single self-report assessment. Included studies were heterogeneous because of variations in measurement methods, design, and analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
There is considerable between-study heterogeneity in reports of depressive symptoms in dialysis patients, likely caused by high variability in the way depressive symptoms are measured. However, the overall significant independent effect of depressive symptoms on survival of dialysis patients warrants studying the underlying mechanisms of this relationship and the potential benefits of interventions to improve depression on the outcomes.


Demand for selected nursery plants sold in North Carolina (i.e., begonia, dianthus, geranium, impatiens, marigold, petunia, and vinca) was found to be affected more by prices than by income, demographic, and other variables. By using cross-sectional data, a modified AIDS model, incorporating demographic variables and quadratic income response, was estimated. Inverse Mills's ratios were also included in the model to correct for selectivity bias, resulting from zero purchases. Significant own-price elasticities ranged from − 0.71 to − 1.65, and income elasticities ranged from − 0.78 to 0.41.


This paper explores the attitudes of Asian American women toward the women's liberation movement in an attempt to understand their gender role ideologies. Qualitative data collected in a middle size city suggest that Asian American women compartmentalize their sex-role orientations into those appropriate for their family lives and working lives. While accepting the princivle of equal opportunity in the workplace, they adhere to traditional sex role orientations within the home. Such inconsistencies can be explained in the context of the immigrant adaptation process through which Asian women selec tively accept new elements from the host society while retaining their cultural traditions. Cross-cultural comparisons with the sex-role orientations of American women are alluded to when possible.


AbstractOne of the most common business models for agriculture is according to Lantbrukarnas Riksforbund (2010) that two or more agricultural companies merge and form a company together. To create strong owners and to be competitive there is a recognized need to create relationships between small firms according to Mazzarol , Mamouni Limnios and Reboud (2013). Oerleman and Assouline (2004) argues that it is possible to achieve success in agriculture by following certain strategic priorities.This paper examines why farmers choose to venture into collaboration and whether cooperation are linked to the strategies of the company. The paper also discusses the pros and cons of partnerships in agriculture. A qualitative comparative research design has been used to answer to the topics and we have interviewed respondents from four different agriculture companies, which have been active in some form of cooperation or collaboration. This type of research design is used to investigate and compare two or more cases in order to find correlations and differences.The material from the interviews were processed and compared with the theoretical literature.The study has concluded that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages in terms of collaborations between agriculture businesses. A partnership can be a help in creating cost advantages. The basis of the collaboration is rare in corporate strategy, but the strategy serves as a living document in the company and can be a good help to achieve the goal if there is more work added to the design of the strategy.


Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by the following symptoms: obesity, AH, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance. Pathophysiologically, MS is underlain by disorders of many biochemical and physiological processes, such as elevated levels of low density lipoproteins, hyperstimulation of pancreatic b-cells, increased insulin secretion, substitution of lipid metabolism for carbohydrate one, overgrowth of adipose tissue, excess production of adiponectin, leptin and other signal molecules and a rise in their local intravascular concentration, weight gain. Endogenous and exogenous melatonin inhibits these pathophysiological mechanisms, normalizes metabolism, equilibrates insulin secretion, prevents pancreatic hyperfunction, phosphorylates insulin receptors, inactivates active oxygen and nitrogen species including those produced in LDLP metabolism. Melatonin has specific MT1 and MT2 receptors localized in all body cells. Due to this, it exerts combined preventive action in patients with MS. Recently, melatonin has been reported to have therapeutic effect in MS; it may be recommended to treat this condition.


This article presents a maturity model that can be applied to support organizations in identifying their current state and guiding their further development with regard to lean, simulation and optimization. The paper identifies and describes different maturity levels and offers guidelines that explain how organizations can grow from lower to higher levels of maturity. In addition, it attempts to provide the starting point for organizations that have applied lean or are willing to implement it and which may also be considering taking decisions in a more efficient way via simulation and optimization.


: Author reviews relations between streptococcal infections and rheumatic fever, particularly biological characteristics of streptococo, genetic and pathogenic factors. Special emphasis is placed on diagnostic criteria to avoid overdiagnosis. Finally, the basis for a program directed to eradicate the disease: screening of susceptible, individuals selection of rheumatogenic serotypes and vaccine preparation against this antigenic strains are reviewed.


Bacillus sp. SB-007 was isolated from pea leaves harvested from the southwestern parts of South Korea through screening on a minimal medium containing 0.2% purified cutin for its ability to induce the cutinase production. However, no cutinase was produced when it was grown in a minimal medium containing 0.2% glucose. A proteomic approach was applied to separate and characterize these differentially secreted proteins. The expression level of 83 extracellular proteins of the cutinase-producing Bacillus sp. strain SB-007 incubated in a cutinase-induced medium increased significantly as compared with that cultured in a non cutinase-induced medium containing glucose. The extracellular proteome of Bacillus sp. SB-007 includes proteins from different functional classes, such as enzymes for the degradation of various macromolecules, proteins involved in energy metabolism, sporulation, transport/binding proteins and lipoproteins, stress inducible proteins, several cellular molecule biosynthetic pathways and catabolism, and some proteins with an as yet unknown function. In addition, the two protein spots showed little similarities with the known lipolytic enzymes in the database. These secreted proteome analysis results are expected to be useful in improving the Bacillus strains for the production of industrial cutinases.


Knowledge of the directional characteristics of fluid flow in hydrocarbon reservoirs is important for developing refined reservoir models. These characteristics are influenced strongly by the shapes of individual pores (i.e. the pore geometry) and by the statistical alignment of pore long and short axes within the sediment (i.e. pore fabric). In reservoir characterization, one of the most important pore fabric parameters is the direction of preferred orientation of pore long axes, which is likely to exert a strong control on the direction of maximum permeability. Quantitative information on reservoir pore fabric characteristics is notoriously difficult to acquire. In the past, information has been obtained from 2D sections, limited 3D views of small numbers of pores using scanning electron microscopy, or by examining resin casts of pore structure, after dissolving the rock. However, these methods are time-consuming and expensive, and do not readily lend themselves to providing usable quantitative information on the 3D pore fabric. Furthermore, it is rarely possible to analyse sufficient numbers of samples or volume of rock to provide a meaningful statistical representation of key pore fabric characteristics.


The pharmacokinetic profile of UK-49,858 (fluconazole), a novel triazole antifungal agent which is being developed for oral and intravenous use, was determined in mice, rats, dogs, and humans. Comparative data following oral and intravenous administration showed that bioavailability was essentially complete in all four species. Peak concentrations in plasma of drug normalized to a 1-mg/kg dose level following oral administration, were relatively high: 0.7, 0.6, 1.1, and 1.4 micrograms/ml in mice, rats, dogs, and humans, respectively. The volumes of distribution ranged between 1.1 liter/kg in mice and 0.7 liter/kg in humans, which are approximate to the values for total body water. Whole body autoradiography studies in mice following intravenous administration of [14C]UK-49,858 demonstrated that the drug was evenly distributed throughout the tissues, including the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. Plasma protein binding was low (11 to 12%) in all species. Marked species differences were observed in elimination half-lives, with mean values of 4.8, 4.0, 14, and 22 h in mice, rats, dogs, and humans, respectively. The major route of elimination of the drug was renal clearance, with about 70% of the dose being excreted unchanged in the urine in each species. Studies with [14C]UK-49,858 on metabolism and excretion (intravenous and oral) in mice and dogs showed that about 90% of the dose was recovered as unchanged drug in urine and feces, confirming the metabolic stability of the drug. This pharmacokinetic profile is markedly different from that of imidazole antifungal drugs and undoubtedly contributes to the excellent efficacy of UK-49,858 in vivo.