With the common adoption of electronic health records and new technologies capable of producing an unprecedented scale of data, a shift must occur in how we practice medicine in order to utilize these resources. We are entering an era in which the capacity of even the most clever human doctor simply is insufficient. As such, realizing "personalized" or "precision" medicine requires new methods that can leverage the massive amounts of data now available. Machine learning techniques provide one important toolkit in this venture, as they are fundamentally designed to deal with (and, in fact, benefit from) massive datasets. The clinical applications for such machine learning systems are still in their infancy, however, and the field of medicine presents a unique set of design considerations. In this chapter, we will walk through how we selected and adjusted the "Progressive Learning framework" to account for these considerations in the case of Degenerative Cervical Myeolopathy. We additionally compare a model designed with these techniques to similar static models run in "perfect world" scenarios (free of the clinical issues address), and we use simulated clinical data acquisition scenarios to demonstrate the advantages of our machine learning approach in providing personalized diagnoses.


Plasmalogens are unique glycerophospholipids because they have an enol ether double bond at the sn-1 position of the glycerol backbone. They are found in all mammalian tissues, with ethanolamine plasmalogens 10-fold higher than choline plasmalogens except in muscles. The enol ether double bond at the sn-1 position makes plasmalogens more susceptible to oxidative stress than the corresponding ester-bonded glycerophospholipids. Plasmalogens are not only structural membrane components and a reservoir for second messengers but may also be involved in membrane fusion, ion transport, and cholesterol efflux. Plasmalogens may also act as antioxidants, thus protecting cells from oxidative stress. Receptor-mediated degradation of plasmalogens by plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 results in the generation of arachidonic acid, eicosanoids, and platelet activating factor. Low levels of these metabolites have trophic effects, but at high concentration they are cytotoxic and may be involved in allergic response, inflammation, and trauma. Levels of plasmalogens are decreased in several neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, ischemia, and spinal cord trauma. This may be due to the stimulation of plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2. A deficiency of plasmalogens in peroxisomal disorders and Niemann-Pick type C disease indicates that this deficiency may be due to the decreased activity of plasmalogen synthesizing enzymes that occur in peroxisomes.


The institutional real estate industry lost one of its leading figures in 2013, Susan Hudson-Wilson. A successful entrepreneur, respected industry leader, and influential researcher, Hudson-Wilson had a profound impact on the industry, including as a member of the editorial board of the special real estate issues of The Journal of Portfolio Management. The authors review her career and legacy.


We present the 3D Tractus: a simple and inexpensive system for interaction and exploration of three-dimensional (3D) data. The device is based on a traditional drawing board-like mechanical structure that can be easily moved up and down while its surface height is being tracked using a simple sensor. Users interact with a tablet or tablet PC that rests on the surface while simultaneously changing its height. The result is direct mapping of virtual and physical spaces allowing intuitive 3D interaction and data exploration. The 3D Tractus allows us to investigate novel 3D interaction techniques based on sketching and drawing as well as intuitive visual indicators and GUI layouts. The 3D Tractus' simple design concept can be easily adapted to other tabletop systems and the simple nature of the physical interaction allows the design of various exciting applications. We detail here the design and development of the 3D Tractus hardware and software as well as preliminary evaluation of a 3D drawing and sketching application realized using the new tabletop interface.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal low back pain (LBP) among office workers at Lahore.Study Design: Cross sectional study.Place and Duration of study: The study was carried out in Lahore for six months, from Oct 2016 to Mar 2017.Material and Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was drafted to identify the prevalence and then find out its associations with the risk factors leading to LBP. Individual characteristics and traits of work ergonomics collected and analyzed to calculate the prevalence of LBP. The sample size was calculated by using epitools sample size calculator. A convenient sampling method was used and the collected data was further analyzed by Microsoft excel 2013.Results: Out of total 900 office workers approached 669 participated in the study with a response rate of 74%. A total of 82.21% were male amongst these public sector office workers. The mean age was 32.72 years with standard deviation of ± 8.93 years, 29.45% of all who participated in the study, were suffering from LBP. Sleep disturbance was reported in 23%, and walking style was affected in 53% of individuals due to LBP and about 8% reported complete disruption of their daily activities. Significance of results was calculated by chi square test and p-value calculation for different variables. No significant relation between low back pain and age, gender, sitting time, chair type, distance between table and chair and exercise was noted (p-value>0.05).Conclusion: It is concluded that LBP has high prevalence amongst office workers but our study could not establish significant associations with type of chair used, distance between table and chair, sitting hours and exercise.


This paper is concerned with the efficient compression and feedback of channel state information (CSI) in downlink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Inspired by video coding, we propose a novel CSI compression and feedback scheme, referred to as hybrid transform coding (HTC). HTC consists of two coding types, i.e, selective time-domain coding (STDC) and differential time-domain coding (DTDC), which are adopted to exploit the correlation of CSI in both the frequency and time domains. We first develop closed-form expressions for the overhead-distortion performance of these two coding types in HTC. The parameters involved in HTC are then optimized based on the analytical results. Finally, the system-level performance of HTC is evaluated in both maximum eigenmode beamforming (MEB)-based single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) and zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF)-based multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) under Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) Release 10-based cellular networks. Simulation results show that HTC can significantly outperform the available alternative.


Evidence seems to suggest that with 14 years of unbroken economic growth, the UK's construction and building services sector is experiencing severe skills crisis of between 40 – 50 per cent retention rate and declining numbers of entrant trainees. More importantly, the level of this severity varies with sub regional and regional peculiarities. To date, most studies on this area have focused on increasing the population of the existing pools of labour rather than harnessing existing ones. Adopting the concept of multiskilling, current techniques of evaluating skills crisis were critically reviewed. While there has been some empirically beneficial application of this concept in the US, it is a rarity in the literature to find previous works on multiskilling in UK's construction and building services sector. Adopting an action research approach, a Project Steering Group of industry stakeholders served as a research 'think tank' for validating empirical results, and in line with the theory of construct validity, instruments of survey were designed and operationalized in a pilot and major surveys of supply and demand sides' target groups. Employing the relative index ranking technique, the forecast implications of UK's economic stability are 'real' and a demand led system is prescribed as a tentative 'cushion' for sustainable but immediate redress. A time series data for the period 1961 – 2004 is explored and systematised quantitative demand led models for evaluating construction output based on aggregated and disaggregated manpower v attributes are developed using principal component regression (PCR). Aggregating these models, it is deduced that multiskilling could help redress skills shortage in the long term. A new trade equilibrium framework and a multiskilled focused partnership in training programme are prescribed with response strategies and recommendations. TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II DEDICATION IV ABSTRACT V TABLE OF CONTENT VI LIST OF FIGURES ....XI LIST OF TABLES XII CHAPTER 1


A range nearest-neighbor (RNN) query retrieves the nearest neighbor (NN) for every point in a range. It is a natural generalization of point and continuous nearest-neighbor queries and has many applications. In this paper, we consider the ranges as (hyper)rectangles and propose efficient in-memory processing and secondary memory pruning techniques for RNN queries in both 2D and high-dimensional spaces. These techniques are generalized for kRNN queries, which return the k nearest neighbors for every point in the range. In addition, we devise an auxiliary solution-based index EXO-tree to speed up any type of NN query. EXO-tree is orthogonal to any existing NN processing algorithm and, thus, can be transparently integrated. An extensive empirical study was conducted to evaluate the CPU and I/O performance of these techniques, and the study showed that they are efficient and robust under various data sets, query ranges, numbers of nearest neighbors, dimensions, and cache sizes.


Much of the reigning research on non-religion and non-belief focuses on demographics and personality characteristics. While this is a necessary foundation on which future research may be built upon, such data does not necessarily produce theory. In many ways the dominant cultural milieu of religions along with the benign intent of some researchers force a person who holds no belief in a God to assume an oppositional identity in relation to religion. This oppositional identity tautologically sets researchers up to continually define its object by the absence of something. This something cannot always function as a normative point of reference in which to tell researchers what to look for. This article provides one such normative trajectory, termed "horizontal transcendence."


The Nelson River HVDC system consists of two bipoles and supplies 70% of Manitoba Hydro's total power. Manitoba Hydro appointed a Y2K Contingency Planning Working Group and two Task Forces, one for the Power Systems and Operations and the other for the business systems. The function of the Power Systems and Operations Task Force is to test all the equipment for Y2K compliance/readiness and recommend action for the noncompliant equipment. The inventory results showed that there were no critical devices affected by the Y2K problem in bipole 2 and pole 2 of bipole 1. Since 1989 new reactive power compensation equipment has been added/upgraded and the mercury arc valves have been replaced with thyristor valves. The new equipment contains one or more devices that may be affected by the Y2K problem. Most of these devices (90%) are located at Dorsey station. A brief summary of the affected devices is given. The contingency plans for dealing with this equipment are outlined.


The evolution of hyper‐prolific sow breeds has led to a higher number of piglets born per sow per year. This increase in litter size has enlarged the number of light weight (or growth retarded) piglets, increased pre‐weaning mortality and heterogeneity at the end of the nursery phase (ten weeks of age). These poorly performing piglets represent a challenge to the swine industry as their presence in the herd has economic and welfare implications. Reducing the heterogeneity at the end of the nursery phase is relevant, as it influences the efficiency of use of the grower and finisher facilities, and/or it reduces penalties for delivering underweight piglets to the slaughterhouse. The focus of this thesis was the end of the nursery phase, as this is the time point where piglets are transferred to the grower and finisher facilities. The aim of this thesis was to identify and describe the causes of growth retardation in the nursery phase to provide a basis to look for alternative nutrition or management solutions. The database analysis described in Chapter 2 provides a phenotypic definition of growth retardation based on the risk factor analysis approach, and describes season of birth, body weight at birth, at weaning and at six weeks of age as the main factors to predict piglet BW at the end of the nursery phase. Based on the algorithm developed to predict piglets' BW at the end of the nursery phase, our target population was defined as piglets with a birth weight above the mean ‐2 times the SD from the total population and a predicted BW at the end of the nursery phase below the mean ‐1 time the SD from the mean of the total population, considered Low Performing piglets LP). We aimed to characterize differences between LP piglets and their heavier counterpart (piglets with a predicted BW at the end of the nursery phase above the mean +1 time the SD from the mean of the total population HP). Compared to the HP, the LP piglets grew slower, ate less and were lighter but have an equal gain:feed ratio at ten weeks of age. The LP piglets tended to take more time to touch a novel object and spent more time eating. The LP and HP piglets have an equal macronutrient digestibility, with the exception of NSP. When fed a high fibre diet, both groups have a lower starch and fat apparent total tract digestibility. Yet, the LP piglets have a reduced fermentative capacity, which might place them in disadvantage. Also LP piglets are unable to engage into compensatory gain or compensatory feed intake, as efficiency of nutrient utilization and feed intake per kg BW0.75 was unaffected. In terms of skeletal muscle development, the LP piglets have a low muscularity (total fiber number and fiber cross sectional area), which might be of disadvantage for lean mass accretion in further life and for meat quality. The LP piglets exhibit insulin resistance and a lower pancreatic amylase activity, which might be related to the lower performance. Lastly, in the general discussion a comparison of the main findings with literature characterizing growth retarded piglets is presented. Also based on modelled data, the economic impact of growth retarded piglets is estimated from 10 weeks of age until slaughter weight (110 kg BW). The studies reported in this thesis describe a novel method for selecting growth retarded piglets in the nursery phase and provide insight into possible mechanism for growth retardation in the piglet phase.


We introduce a technique to achieve dirty paper coding (DPC) capacity asymptotically with minimum feedback required reported to date in literature. Our approach called interference management, is based on a new multiuser diversity scheme designed for wireless cellular networks. When there are K antennas at the base station with M mobile users in the cell, the proposed technique only requires K integer numbers related to channel state information (CSI) between mobile users and base station. The encoding and decoding complexity of this scheme is the same as that of point-topoint communications. In order to guarantee fairness, a new algorithm is proposed which incorporates interference management into existing GSM standard.


Hysteresis-less inverted ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/PCBM/Au planar hybrid solar cells with 18.1% average power conversion efficiency irrespective of the scan rate were fabricated by depositing dense pinhole-free MAPbI3 perovskite on a PEDOT:PSS/ITO substrate via a single-step spin-coating of solubility controlled MAPbI3 solution. The conductivities of PEDOT:PSS, PCBM, poly(triaryl amine) (PTAA):tert-butylpyrridne (tBP) + Li-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Li–TFSI), MAPbI3, and TiO2 were 0.014, 0.016, 0.034, 0.015, and 0.00006 mS cm−1, respectively. The average PL lifetimes (τav) of the inverted and normal cell were 1.277 and 1.94 ns, respectively. The diffusion coefficient (Dn) and charge carrier lifetime (τn) for the inverted MAPbI3 planar hybrid solar cells were increased by 1.14-fold and 1.1-fold, respectively, compared with the conventional FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/PTAA:tBP + Li–TFSI/Au planar hybrid cells. Hence, the inverted MAPbI3 planar hybrid solar cells exhibited better power conversion efficiency and stability than the conventional MAPbI3 cells because (i) the electron extraction from MAPbI3 to the electron conductor was improved because the electron conductivity of PCBM is higher than that of TiO2; (ii) the EQE value was increased by the better charge injection/separation efficiency between MAPbI3 and PCBM, and by the higher charge collection efficiency than the conventional cell; (iii) the fill factor is improved by the increased Dn and τn; and (iv) the air and humidity stability is improved by the absence of corrosive additives in the device architecture and the hydrophobicity of the PCBM top layer. The reduced current density–voltage (J–V) hysteresis with respect to the scan rate and scan direction in the inverted planar hybrid solar cells could be attributed to a more balanced electron flux (Je) and hole flux (Jh), and a reduced number of surface traps.


Conditions Acceptance of a manuscript is based on the evaluation by several reviewers (peer review). Manuscripts are received with the explicit understanding that the article has not been published, neither wholly nor in part, has not been submitted for publication anywhere else and is not under consideration by any other journal. Submission of an article for publication implies that the authors are the owners of the copyright and that the article does not infringe any existing third party rights, including copyright and intellectual property rights. It is the authors' responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce illustrations, tables, etc. from other publications. Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors grant S. Karger Publishers a license to publish and reproduce the article in either its present form or revised version for any possible use and identify themselves as the original publishers. This right extends also to associated companies. The publishing rights are worldwide rights and are not time-limited. They include the right to publish the text in printed format as well as electronic online and offline media or databases of any kind. Accepted papers, in whole or in part, may not be translated into other languages, or reproduced by any mechanical or electronic means (including photocopying, recording and microcopying), or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit the manuscript and decide on the layout.


The tenth part in the series on the manufacturing technology of ancient Egyptian footwear (phase I of the Ancient Egyptian Footwear Project) presents 15 so-called 'leather composite sandals'. These well made sandals, usually in bright colours and decorated, are known from New Kingdom contexts; they were not a common commodity. Although the focus is on the technological aspects, several other topics will be dealt with nonetheless, albeit in passing, among which the preliminary typology.


It is believed that silicon (Si) application could increase rice production, however studies related to those topics are still limited. The study determined the combination effect of Si application and water management on rice growth and productivity. This study was conducted at the experimental station of Indonesian Agricultural Environment Research Institute, Jakenan, Pati, Central Java at dry season. A split-plot in randomized complete block design with four replications was set. The main plots were different types of irrigation and subplots were Si fertilizer application. Results showed that the application of Si increased plant resistance on blast disease. This current result might be due to the increasing of Si concentration in leaves. IT water management significantly increased the yield compared to CF. IT increased root growth and gave an impact on increasing of plant growth and rice yield. Moreover, IT significantly increased Cu, Mn, and Zn concentration in rice grain. Combination of Si application with IT water management could increase rice plant productivity especially in area with water shortage.
Keywords: blast disease, lodging, rice productivity, silicon application, water management


Background and Purpose The pathophysiological mechanisms that cause cerebral MR T2 high intensities in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are unclear. We evaluated the incidence and the risk factors of T2-weighted MR brain high intensities in patients with ESRD. Methods We examined the degree of T2-weighted MR brain high intensities (high intensity score) and determined the variables that had an independent association with the occurrence of high intensities in 38 patients with ESRD before chronic dialysis treatment, 173 patients with essential hypertension, and 72 normotensive control subjects. Results The whole brain high intensity score was significantly higher in patients with ESRD than in the control subjects, but there was no significant difference in high intensity score between the ESRD and the hypertensive groups. Age, hypertension, and smoking were significant independent predictors of high intensities in a multiple logistic regression model. The distribution pattern of high intensities in ESRD pati...


Objective: Increasing prevalence of bacteremia and candidemia with significant resistance to antimicrobial agents is an increasing concern among ICU patients. The objective of this report from Swedish Registry of Intensive care (SIR) was to study the frequency and cause of culture verified sepsis in critically ill patients and to analyse mortality in sepsis caused by Candida albicans, Candida non albicans and bacteria.Methods: Setting: Starting 10 years ago an increasing number of ICU:s in Sweden reports each episode of care (EOC) to the Swedish Intensive care Registry (SIR). Mortality is followed weekly for all patients by link to the Swedish population registry. A specific routine for collection of microbial data directly from the laboratories connected individually to each EOC has been tested and implemented for laboratories covering 1/3 of the Swedish population. Participants: 47 ICU:s reported 1540 EOC:s during the period January 2005 to November 2011, with a diagnosis of sepsis (ICD10: A419, R572 or R651) and a positive blood culture within 14 days before admission until discharge. For patients with more than one EOC was only the last EOC included which reduced the number of observations included in mortality calculations to 1416.Variables: Primary outcome was 30 day mortality calculated from admission to ICU.Results: 1 416 patients met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The most common causes of sepsis were: E. coli (24 %) followed by Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (21 %), Streptococcus spp (19 %), S. aureus (14 %), Klebsiella spp (8 %) and Candida spp (6 %) [Candida albicans 4 % and Candida non albicans 2 %]. The 30-days crude mortality was 34% for patients with sepsis caused by S. aureus. Correspondingly 30 days mortality was for Candida non albicans 34%, Candida albicans 31%, Klebsiella spp 26 % , CoNS 25 %, E. coli 22 %. Distribution of species in blood cultures from the 87 patients with candidemia were: C. albicans 62, C. glabrata 11, C. krusei 1, C. tropicalis 4, C. other 4, C. non specified 9.Conclusion: The highest (>30%) crude mortality in critically ill patients with sepsis was seen in patients with S. aureus and Candida infections. Further analysis of independent risk factors for mortality in sepsis caused by different pathogens are warranted.


As a macroscopic stain for gross brain sections to be embedded in plastic, tannic acid-iron alum is superior to the generally recommended LeMasurier's variation of the Berlin blue technique because of its greater permanency in plastic. However, as originally adopted for use with brain tissue by Mulligan, the intense black staining of gray matter is too dark for plastic embedded specimens. A modification of this method designed to overmme this difficulty is described. Staining procedure: Wash formalin-fixed brain slices overnight in running water. Wash in distilled water, 2 changes, 30 minutes each. Place slices individually in Mulligan's solution at a temperature of 60-65 C for 4 minutes. Rinse in ice water for 10 seconds. Mordant in 0.4% tannic acid in distilled water for 1 minute. Wash in running tap water for 1 minute. Develop in 0.08% ferric ammonium sulfate in distilled water until gray matter is light gray, about 10-15 seconds. Wash in lukewarm running water for 1 hour, then gently hand-rub whitish ...


This document represents a final report in respect of research conducted by Bryan Clark and Gerry Keegan of the University for Newcastle University, Law School into 'Parenting Apart' services offered by Member Services affiliated to Relationships Scotland. The primary purpose of this study is to seek evidence on the effectiveness of Parenting Apart as an intervention for parents involved in legal separation or divorce. One particular aspect of the research is to analyse to what extent parents' participation in Parenting Apart provides benefits for their subsequent or concurrent involvement in family mediation and to contribute more generally to the existing evidence on the potential utility of Parenting Apart. The project was funded by a small grant from Relationships Scotland and additional funding from the University of Newcastle and work was undertaken by the team broadly between the months of May and October 2019.

The research team would provide an independent analysis of existing survey data collected over a period of four years by Member Services affiliated to Relationships Scotland on their participants' experiences with Parenting Apart. The survey instrument gauged information on parents' views on a range of issues prior to engagement with, and participation in, the Parenting Apart course, with follow up responses sought some three to six months later to help gauge the lasting impact of the service. The survey also tracked the views of participants on their experiences within Parenting Apart immediately after their attendance at Parenting Apart sessions.

Furthermore, a new short survey was administered via Member Services to parents involved in separation or divorce who had participated in both Parenting Apart and family mediation to gauge, amongst other things, the extent to which they perceived involvement in the former held a benefit for their experiences in the latter. Semi-structured, telephone interviews were undertaken with some of those surveyed to explore their experiences in more depth and provide a richer insight into the potential benefits and limitations of Parenting Apart participation and parents' experiences within it.

Finally, focus groups were undertaken with Parenting Apart facilitators to examine participants' experiences of the process, and to explore their views on the potential value such may hold for others similarly involved in separation and divorce; as well as ascertaining how Parenting Apart impacts on consequent or concurrent family mediation that they as parents are involved in.

Key findings include:

• parents generally reported extremely positive experiences in Parenting Apart and there seems some evidence of positive follow-on impacts for consequent engagement in mediation.

• the survey research suggested some evidence of longer-term impacts in terms of improved parental attitudes and circumstances after 3-6 months. These findings were also reflected in many of the reported experiences of parents interviewed.

• Facilitators interviewed in the focus groups were very positive about Parenting Apart and viewed the process as a very useful precursor to mediation. There is significant correlation between their views as to the benefits of Parenting Apart and evidence gleaned from parents via the survey and interview data.

• The evidence suggests there may be some learning points for Relationships Scotland and Member Services around such issues as integrating Parenting Apart with the mediation process across the network, ensuring the value of legal intervention in some cases is emphasised consistently, the use of mediators who had also served as Parenting Apart facilitators if they have met with one parent and not the other, encouraging both parents to engage with support where appropriate whilst emphasising the voluntary nature of participation, and better disseminating the message about Parenting Apart to potential users.

• Further research could provide fuller insights into the longer-term impacts of Parenting Apart and its relationship with further interventions such as mediation.


In the grinding process, in order to exert the hot-roll on-line grinding (HOG) better, the on-line profile measure (OPM) is required to work steadily and reliably. Nevertheless, owing to the bad environment in the hot-roll grinding, the high distinguish ability and the high security for the OPM technology are the most difficult problems at all the time.The research on this project fits for the development of on-line profile measure for hot stripe rolling grinding. Based on the thought of the operation principle and mathematical model and characteristic analysis, associated with the HOG system, the measurement can work numerically, high efficiently and accurately. The detecting system can inspect and diagnose the potential fault of the equipment, consequently the whole system can be assured to run in the best state.


Experimentation with new voting technologies (NVT) typically starts with a pilot scheme on a lower level of government where not much harm can be done in case of failure. In this overview article across some of the most well-known federations, we are looking at practice and the legal bases for such pilots. The way NVTs are regulated is far from being harmonised and can be founded on an explicit legal basis or just as well on the lack thereof. The phase of the electoral cycle for which NVT are most common relates to electronic means of counting votes, whereas remote voting with the use of the Internet is still very much an exotic undertaking. A more recent dynamic can be observed for e-collecting schemes attached to e-petition systems. More centralised legislation does not seem necessary at this stage and will appear once a threshold of practice has been reached.


The spectrum of changes that enterprises need to deal with varies from simple continuous adjustments of the product portfolio in response to evolving customer preferences, to complete overhauls of the business and operating model in response to disruptive trends. Many research fields and practitioner disciplines have produced analysis and engineering approaches that can help enterprises to assess and prepare for the impact of changes from this spectrum. However, they have partial scopes and consequently limited integration. By selecting, slightly extending and integrating existing approaches, this paper introduces a 'simple enough' integrated solution model and a 'simple enough' integrated analysis and engineering method that covers the full spectrum of changes. Our focus is the large, complex enterprise that operates in a specific industry and performs information processing at scale. The research is intended to provide methodical support to practitioners with a responsibility for shaping solutions. Our proposal is the result of initial experiences in practice that instilled the research theme, application in a large-scale industry project, focused collaborative research that joined researchers and academia, and ongoing applications and experiences in practice. The solution model and the analysis and engineering method that we propose support three types of adaptability: a) foundational adaptability produces full new business model and operating model parts, b) transitional adaptability extends the current business model and operating model and adds additional configurability, and c) routine adaptability is managed within the configurability of individual operating model components that need to be designed with sufficient bandwidth. A business configuration center is proposed as a key constituent that manages the differences in underlying technology, and that allows to perform integrated, technology agnostic administration of an industry solution.


The present note consists, the effects of thermal diffusion and chemical reaction on MHD flow of dusty viscous incom-pressible, electrically conducting fluid between two vertical heated, porous, parallel plates with heat source/sink. The plate temperature is raised linearly with time and concentration level near the plate to Cw. The variable temperature and uniform mass diffusion taking into account the chemical reaction of first order. The series solution method is used to solve the mathematical equations. Effects of various parameters like chemical reaction (K), thermal diffusion (ST) and magnetic field (M) etc. on velocity profile, skin friction, concentration profile and temperature field are displayed graphically and discussed numerically for different physical parameters. The analysis developed here for thermal diffusion, bears good agreement with real life problems.


Author(s): Nelson, Elena Margaret | Advisor(s): Timberlake, Alan | Abstract: The focus of this dissertation is the highly specialized and stylized liturgical language of Russian Church Slavonic (RCS). Historically, RCS has been strictly controlled by authorities and has conformed to established norms, but innovations have nevertheless arisen in response to various conditions. One major wave of innovations was a long, deliberate process, spanning the 16th-18th centuries, which led to the codification of RCS grammar and the renovation of liturgical texts. Another wave of innovations in RCS was incidental and took place following a sudden upheaval, namely the Bolshevik Revolution and the subsequent repression of religion in the Soviet Union. A diaspora situation was created in which hymnographers were cut off from traditional institutional structures, and the ultimate result was freedom for the hymnographer to innovate. The hymns of Valeria Hoecke, an autodidact who composed in Serbia and East Germany, show what can happen in diaspora. This work discusses both phases: the reforms of the 16th-18th centuries as seen in canonical hymns used now, and the example of hymns written in the diaspora, as seen in the work of this one writer. Two aspects of hymnography are analyzed: use of person and perspective, and use of verbs and participles to comprise the global hymn structure. Two major sets of texts are analyzed. The first includes various texts that were edited in the 16th-18th centuries, at the time of reforms in the past tense system. Among other things, these reforms resulted in the codification of a rule for the use of past tense forms, according to which only the perfect form is used with the 2nd-person singular subject. Reformed texts discussed here include the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete and the Menaion. The Great Canon is a text in which a repentant sinner engages his own soul in dialogue. The nature of the identities of the speaker and the addressee are analyzed, as well as that of other persons mentioned in this text. The Menaion is a collection of hymns addressed to saints for each day of the liturgical year. It too is analyzed in terms of person and viewpoint. Here, however, the bulk of the discussion of the Menaion relates to the operation of verbs and participles within the reformed past tense system. The second set of texts includes twenty-seven liturgical pieces composed by the 20th century hymnographer Valeria Hoecke; these are compared and contrasted with the older texts. In addition, Hoecke's biography is presented, including new information gained from archival work in Belgrade. This work finds a correlation among tense, person, and genre in RCS. RCS narrative is either exocentric or endocentric, and primarily features the first and third persons. The realm of the second person is in the genre of discourse. In RCS, discourse is the genre of possibilities and options, whereas narrative is the genre of constativity, specificity, and the pinning down of events within time. It is argued here that the discourse-specific niche for the second person may have led to the formal (reformed), past tense based differentiation in the context of the RCS liturgical language. The 16th-18th century language reforms stipulated, among other things, an automatic correlation of past tense verbal form and grammatical person. This work finds that there is also a difference in temporal semantics between events expressed by 2nd- and non-2nd person verb forms. Second-person events (those that are addressed to saints and that describe a saint's actions) tend to be related causally, and conjunct participles play a key role in causal sequencing. Non-second-person events, however, behave differently: some pair with sequencing conjunct participles, whereas others do not. It is argued that the past tense reforms actually led to the evolution of a semantic distinction among the possible depictions of the events a certain subject can engage in. Many of the 20th century hymns by Valeria Hoecke are canonical both in terms of person and viewpoint structure, and in verb and participle use. This shows that she understands how earlier hymns are constructed and that she continues this tradition. But her work also shows marked innovations from the tradition in that the focus is on the speaker as a self-conscious individual. The reader becomes a speaker, a participant in the text, when he maps Hoecke's textual "I" onto himself. Innovations in Hoecke's hymns also include her use of long strings of attributive participles, long strings of dative participles in dative absolute constructions, and strings of conjunct participles unmatched with corresponding finite verbs. Hoecke's frequent use of the present tense to express doxology, description, liturgical time, rhetoricality and modality represents a marked innovation from the earlier tradition.


Rebinding kinetics of molecular ligands plays a critical role in biomachinery, from regulatory networks to protein transcription, and is also a key factor for designing drugs and high-precision biosensors. In this study, we investigate initial release and rebinding of ligands to their binding sites grafted on a planar surface, a situation commonly observed in single molecule experiments and which occurs during exocytosis in vivo. Via scaling arguments and molecular dynamic simulations, we analyze the dependence of non-equilibrium rebinding kinetics on two intrinsic length scales: average separation distance between the binding sites and dimensions of diffusion volume (e.g., height of the experimental reservoir in which diffusion takes place or average distance between receptor-bearing surfaces). We obtain time-dependent scaling laws for on rates and for the cumulative number of rebinding events (the time integral of on rates) for various regimes. Our analyses reveal that, for diffusion-limited cases, the on rate decreases via multiple power law regimes prior to the terminal steady-state regime, in which the on rate becomes constant. At intermediate times, at which particle density has not yet become uniform throughout the reservoir, the number of rebindings exhibits a distinct plateau regime due to the three dimensional escape process of ligands from their binding sites. The duration of this regime depends on the average separation distance between binding sites. Following the three-dimensional diffusive escape process, a one-dimensional diffusive regime describes on rates. In the reaction-limited scenario, ligands with higher affinity to their binding sites (e.g., longer residence times) delay the power laws. Our results can be useful for extracting hidden time scales in experiments where kinetic rates for ligand-receptor interactions are measured in microchannels, as well as for cell signaling via diffusing molecules.


L-Proline catalysts have been immobilised in the hydrophobic domain of a polymersome via a copper(I)-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Utilisation of these nanoreactors in the asymmetric aldol reaction of cyclohexanone with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde afforded the corresponding β-hydroxyketones in quantitative yields and with excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities. The polymersomes were recycled up to five times without any loss in activity or selectivity.


Using an assay for alpha-lactalbumin in which galactosyltransferase activity was stabilized and a tissue phosphatase inhibitor was present, no evidence was found for alpha-lactalbumin-like activity in rat epididymal tissue, epididymal fluids or medium from cultured epididymal epithelial cells with either glucose or N-acetylglucosamine as acceptor. However, when assay conditions were suboptimal, apparent transfer of radioactivity to both acceptors could be demonstrated in the epididymis and other tissues. In these assays the amount of alpha-lactalbumin registered was linearly correlated to the extent of stimulation of alpha-lactalbumin added exogenously to tissue extracts as internal standards. When rete testis fluid from rats was used as source of galactosyltransferase under suboptimal conditions, no transfer to glucose was demonstrable in epididymal fluid and an apparent decreased transfer to N-acetylglucosamine could be explained by increases in (pyro)phosphatase activity. Putative alpha-lactalbumin activity in the epididymis may be an artefact of unoptimized assays.


The star forming process in the Milky Way is non-uniform in time and space. The scale of star forming regions ranges from groups within a few pc to large segments of spiral arms with linear dimension of order kpc. When many stars form in a relatively small volume over a short duration, a localized starburst ensues. The energetic impact of such a burst of star formation can severely affect the dynamic structure of the gaseous disk. Stellar winds and supernova explosions drive an expanding superbubble, whose size eventually exceeds the scale height of the disk and thus drives a disk-wind blowing metal enriched gas into the halo. We discuss the basic scenario of superbubble evolution, emphasizing the associated gamma-ray line signatures. In particular, we discuss nuclear line emission from 26Al and 60Fe in the Cygnus region.


Comprehensive emission inventories for 2001 and 2004 for Kuwait's main power stations located at Al-Doha and Al-Subyia have been prepared. These inventories are inserted, in conjunction with meteorological data, into the Source Complex model for Short Term Dispersion (ISCST4.5) to predict ambient ground level concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at selected receptors for years 2001 and 2004. The comparison of the results obtained for these two years show the influence of increase in emission rates due to urban and industrial growth. For model validation, computed results are compared with the measured daily average values of SO2 and NOx collected at a fixed Kuwait Environment Protection Agency air quality monitoring station located at the roof of polyclinic in Rabia. Individual contributions of each power station to the highest predicted values are assessed. The five highest hourly, daily and annual ground level concentration values under prevailing meteorological conditions are compared for 2001 and 2004. It is found that the hourly mean concentrations are strongly influenced by the prevailing meteorological conditions. The effect of meteorological conditions has not been that dominant for the daily and annual mean values and the predicted values for 2004 are higher than 2001, simply corresponding to a high emission rates, especially in summer months. Top fifty daily average values show a slope of 0.806 for 2001 which means that the model predictions are 20% less than the observed levels. However, the predicted slope for 2004 is 0.96 and the model predictions are in very close agreement with the observed data.


Abstract Aircraft design is a complex multi-disciplinary task and teaching can easily tend to be too theoretical, not providing the students the tools they need to successfully participate in industrial projects. The approach chosen at Linköping University is intended to create the right balance between theory and practice, and to place the student in the centre of the problem, in order to achieve an overall perspective of the aircraft design process. This article presents in brief layout of the courses, and in more detail, the aircraft design project course given in the last year of the aeronautical masters program, where flying hardware is designed and build, in response to a design challenge.


Introduction Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant cause of death and severe neurological disability. The only postreturn of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) therapy shown to increase survival is mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH). The relationship between body temperature post OHCA and outcome is still poorly defined. Methods Prospective observational study of all OHCA patients admitted to a single centre for a 14-month period. Oesophageal temperature was measured in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Select patients had prehospital temperature monitoring. Results 164 OHCA patients were included in the study. 105 (64.0%) were pronounced dead in the Emergency Department. 59 (36.0%) were admitted to ICU for cooling; 40 (24.4%) died in ICU and 19 (11.6%) survived to hospital discharge. Patients who achieved ROSC and had oesophageal temperature measured prehospital (n=29) had a mean prehospital temperature of 33.9°C (95% CI 33.2 to 34.5). All patients arriving in the ED post OHCA had a relatively low oesophageal temperature (34.3°C, 95% CI 34.1 to 34.6). Patients surviving to hospital discharge were warmer on admission to ICU than patients who died in hospital (35.7°C vs 34.3°C, p<0.05). Patients surviving to hospital discharge also took longer to reach target MTH temperature than non-survivors (2 h 48 min vs 1 h 32 min, p<0.05). There was no difference in mean arterial blood pressure on arrival in the ED between survivors and non-survivors. Conclusions Following OHCA all patients have oesophageal temperatures below normal in the prehospital phase and on arrival in the Emergency Department. This questions the need for prehospital cooling post-OHCA patients. Patients who achieve ROSC following OHCA and survive to hospital discharge are warmer on arrival in ICU and take longer to reach target MTH temperatures compared to patients who die in hospital. The mechanisms of action underlying oesophageal temperature and survival from OHCA remain unclear and further research is warranted to clarify this relationship.


By using boundary shape optimization on the end part of a semi‐infinite waveguide for acoustic waves, we design transmission‐efficient interfacial devices without imposing an upper bound on the mouth diameter. The boundary element method solves the Helmholtz equation modeling the exterior wave propagation problem. A gradient‐based optimization algorithm solves the resulting least‐squares problem and the adjoint method provides the necessary gradients. The results demonstrate that there appears to be a natural limit on the optimal mouth diameter. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Screening of a human breast epithelial cell cDNA library with the tyrosine-phosphorylated C terminus of the epidermal growth factor receptor identified a novel member of the GRB7 gene family, designated GRB14. In addition to a pleckstrin homology domain-containing central region homologous to the Caenorhabditis elegans protein F10E9.6/mig 10 and a C-terminal Src homology 2 (SH2) domain, a conserved N-terminal motif, P(S/A)IPNPFPEL, can now be included as a hallmark of this family. GRB14 mRNA was expressed at high levels in the liver, kidney, pancreas, testis, ovary, heart, and skeletal muscle. Anti-Grb14 antibodies recognized a protein of approximately 58 kDa in a restricted range of human cell lines. Among those of breast cancer origin, GRB14 expression strongly correlated with estrogen receptor positivity, and differential expression was also observed among human prostate cancer cell lines. A GST-Grb14 SH2 domain fusion protein exhibited strong binding to activated platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors (PDGFRs) in vitro, but association between Grb14 and β-PDGFRs could not be detected in vivo. In serum-starved cells, Grb14 was phosphorylated on serine residues, which increased with PDGF, but not EGF, treatment. Grb14 is therefore a target for a PDGF-regulated serine kinase, an interaction that does not require PDGFR-Grb14 association.


India is the land of agriculture. Agriculture and gardening is not only done at a
huge level but also at small piece of land, it is a backbone of Indian economy. Small gardens are maintained
within the boundary of home. Water consumption in agriculture and gardening is at high level.
But due to irregular monsoon and decreased ground water level it is hard to irrigate the farm and gardens.
We have referred 03 patents which motivated us to revolutionize the agriculture sector.

Initial stages our scope is limited to home garden and we have proposed a GUI with which
end user can get many things such as pH of the soil, conductivity and TDS of the water, temperature
and humidity relationship, effect of temperature and humidity on the moisture, soil analysis, moisture
holding capacity of the soil etc. Irrigation plays important role in yielding of any plant. In this proposed
system, we have proposed a priority driven based irrigation model that supplies optimum and good
quality water to the crops with the help of Wireless Sensor Network.

This proposed model is based on sensing the soil moisture, temperature, humidity and other
factor which affect the irrigation and supplies the water according to the priority of the requirement to
the plant. It is crop independent system, which can be implemented for basic crops, commercials crops,
garden and orchards, as basis for this proposed system is important to immediately irrigate the plant
wherever soil moisture level will be less. Smart irrigation is the new trend and we can say thirst now a
days and it is the major requirement due to many critical factors such as irregularity of monsoon, less
availability of water etc. Even though sufficient water is available still we have to make sure whether it
is good to use for better yielding of crops. At the same time temperature, humidity, air flow, soil moisture
will play important roles in better crop yielding. Wireless sensor network in which 'n' no. of issues
need to be discussed for the smooth execution of various tasks. Some challenges have been pointed out
through this work and important issues which must be considered.

final testing shows how this approach is beneficial to the society. In agriculture and gardening
now onwards water consumption will be at low level. At the same time this proposed system
shows additional advantages to the end user i.e. quality of water utilization in terms of TDS, Conductivity
and pH of the water. Similarly, w.r.t. soil, if due to excess utilization of fertilizers and pesticides pH
is changing then also same thing will be noticed by avoiding future losses.


This article provides an overview of how Local Economic Development (LED) is promoted through partnership in Europe. Endorsed by European Union Structural Funds as well as other agencies and support structures, partnership is viewed as an important vehicle for addressing unemployment and social exclusion, promoting social innovation and improving governance. Within this context, emphasis is placed upon the integration of LED within regional and national partnership strategies, which are illustrated by the different multi-level arrangements in place in Austria, Ireland, Germany and Sweden. Although diverse in nature, several common issues can be identified across these models that enhance LED: active engagement of local stakeholders, use of an intermediary to assist relationship-building, balancing accountability with flexibility and review and exchange of learning from the experience of working collaboratively.


-The paper begins with a brief review of the literature and how business students choose their major in the U.S. and we list the most popular majors in the U.S. Universities. We also talk about the factors that influenced student's choice. In our next research project, we will not only use a larger sample size but also the sample will come from a few universities to reduce the sampling bias. In this paper, we also talk about changing trends in international students. We talk about the large group of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic students, and we show that with literature and graphical support. In the next section, we analyze one of the up and coming new business majors ―Business Analytics‖ We finish the paper with a discussion of growth of international students both at graduate and undergraduate level, and how we will address the shortcomings of this paper with our next project.


|| Abstract || Background: Approximately one-third of people aged 65 years and over who are not living in institutions fall at least once a year, with higher rates among those living in institutions. One half of older adults who are hospitalized as a result of a fall survive one year later.The importance of fall prevention in older adults is well researched, with many established community based programs in the United States focusing on exercise and fundamental education for fall reduction. However, new options for prevention are being explored. Executive function and gait, both related to falls, may be improved by methylphenidate, providing a promising option for fall prevention in older adults. Methods: An exhaustive literature search using MEDLINE-PubMed, Web of Science, and Clinical Key was conducted. The following search terms were used: "methylphenidate falls prevention," "methylphenidate older adults," and "falls prevention methylphenidate." Eligibility criteria were used to screen studies. These studies included the use of single dose methylphenidate versus placebo to measure efficacy in falls prevention. GRADE was used to assess quality of the resulting studies. Results: Two studies were included in this systematic review, meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. One study was a double-blind RCT in 30 healthy older adults testing improvement of executive, motor and balance function. Another study in 26 older adults without dementia but with subjective complaints of memory problems tested the modification of markers for fall risk. These studies have medium quality of evidence based on GRADE guidelines. Conclusion: These studies found that methylphenidate improved gait and executive function in older adults, and should be considered by clinicians as a method of fall prevention in this population. These results warrant further investigation of methylphenidate use in fall prevention with large-scale studies.


ABSTRACT Laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease is based on the serological detection of antibodies against the etiologic agent Borrelia burgdorferi. Current diagnostics are insensitive at detecting early infection, when treatment is most effective. This deficiency results from the limited number of B. burgdorferi antigens expressed in early infection and the use of an insensitive two-tier paradigm, put in place to deal with insufficient specificity associated with the use of whole-protein antigens and/or bacterial lysates as serodiagnostic targets. Whole-protein antigens contain epitopes that are unique to B. burgdorferi as well as cross-reactive epitopes found in other bacteria. One method for overcoming the limitations imposed by cross-reactive epitopes is the use of short peptides containing epitopes unique to B. burgdorferi as antigen targets. This eliminates nonspecific epitopes. Using overlapping peptide libraries, we performed epitope mapping of linear epitopes in oligopeptide permease A2 (OppA2), a member of the oligopeptide permease (Opp) family of peptide transporters, expressed during early B. burgdorferi infection. We identified 9 epitopes, synthesized peptides containing these epitopes, and screened those using panels of blood from patients with early Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or syphilis or from healthy individuals. Two of the peptides, OppA2 (191-225) (amino acids comprising the peptide are shown in parentheses) and OppA2 (381-400), are highly conserved among the three major pathogenic Borrelia species responsible for most Lyme disease cases in North America and Europe. They detected antibodies in Lyme disease patient sera with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to indicate that they could have value in a serological assay for Lyme disease.


Malaria is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally. Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change have been found to affect the transmission of malaria in other regions, but no study has examined such relationships in Nepal. Therefore, this study has three aims: first, to analyze the spatial and temporal trend of Malaria Incidence Rate (MIR) between 1999 and 2015, second to assess LULC change between 2000 and 2010, and finally to understand the relationship between LULC and malaria in Nepal. The land cover types examined are forest, water bodies, agriculture, grassland, shrubland, barren areas, built-up areas, and rice paddies. The temporal trend of MIR and the relationship between MIR and LULC were evaluated using Poisson and negative binomial regression. Forest, water bodies, and built-up area increased in Nepal by 0.8%, 8.2%, and 28.4% respectively, while other LULC variables decreased between 2000 and 2010. MIR decreased significantly in 21 districts; however, four districts, namely Pyuthan, Kaski, Rupandehi, and Siraha, had a significantly increasing MIR trend between 1999 and 2015. MIR was positively related to water bodies and rice paddies during 2001, 2002, and 2003 but negatively related to grassland during 2010. However, there was no relationship between LULC and MIR during 2000, 2011, 2012 and 2013. This information will be helpful for public health officials to increase control efforts in those districts and in areas near water bodies and rice paddies to aid in their effort to eliminate malaria from Nepal.


Methotrexate and azathioprine had been administered to the patients with RA and MCTD, respectively. All 6 patients were histologically diagnosed as diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Because of the use of immunosuppressive drugs, 2 patients with RA and MCTD were classified as "other iatrogenic immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorders" according to WHO classification (2008). The Ann Arbor clinical stages were II AE for 3 non-AD patients, and IV AE for 3 patients with ADs. According to the International Prognostic Index, all patients with ADs were classified as high risk. All patients received R-CHOP-like chemotherapy along with central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis. Except for one patient who is receiving chemotherapy, all the patients achieved complete remission after the first chemotherapy regimen. Relapse was observed in two patients including one patient who experienced relapse in the CNS and the skin. Three patients have maintained complete remission at present, including one patient who is in the second complete remission for more than 8 years after salvage therapy for relapse. In cases with ADs, immunosuppressant was discontinued. There was no symptomatic worsening of ADs after chemotherapy.


Bupropion is a unique, non-nicotinic smoking cessation agent despite its effective antidepression effect. It is a NE and DA reuptake inhibitor and as well as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist. Beside its smoking cessation effects it can reduces some symptoms of nicotinic withdrawal signs. DA neurons such as VTA neurons play essential roles in depression and drug dependence. This study was tested the short-term effect of intra VTA injection of bupropion on naloxone precipitated withdrawal syndrome escape attendance and chewing signs.

 Materials & Methods : The sham group received saline as drug vehicle but treated groups received 0.25, 1.25 and 2.5 mg/μl/min of bupropion in VTA stereotaxically, and control group had surgery but had no any injection in VTA. Morphine dependence was carried out under standard protocol (i.p., 4 days, 3 time in each day with incremental doses 15, 20, 25, and 30 mg/kg). Withdrawal signs were precipitated by naloxone (1.2 mg/Kg, s.c.), observed continuously and registered on-line each minute. The behaviors captured by 3 digital cameras indifferent view (30 min) for offline analysis.

 Results : Signs were counted and analyzed within and between groups by one-way ANOVA. The analysis of data showed that bupropion can decrease escape attendance behavior in a dose dependent approach but it can increase the chewing in dose dependent manure. The differences were significant between sham and treated groups.

 Conclusions : It concluded that bupropion can alter the opioid withdrawal signs in different directions and it can alter the pattern of withdrawal outcomes.


Sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus and gramnegative organisms, such as E. coli, Salmonella, Sh. sonnei and Pr. morganii to penicillin, streptomycin, levomycetin and chlortetracycline, as well as their combinations with dodecylguanidine acetate, a surface active substance from the group of guanidine alkyl derivatives was studied. The activity of the penicillin combination with dodecylguanidine acetate was 16-64 times higher than that of penicillin alone against staphylococci and gramnegative bacteria respectively. Sensitivity of the gramnegative organisms to dodecylguanidine acetate combinations with levomycetin or chlortetracycline was 2-260 or 2-250 times higher respectively than that to the antibiotics alone. Sensitivity of the grampositive and gramnegative organisms to the combination of streptomycin with dodecylguanidine acetate was the same as that to streptomycin alone. Increased sensitivity of the microbes to penicillin, levomycetin and chlortetracycline in the presence of the subbacteriostatic concentrations of dodecylguanidine acetate must be associated with an increase in the antibiotic penetration into the microbes under the effect of the surface active substance.


Every day, human beings make decisions with social consequences. These social consequences matter most when they impact those closest to us. Recent research has shown that humans exhibit reliable preferences when deciding between conflicting outcomes involving close others – for example, prioritizing the interests of one's family member over one's friend. However, virtually nothing is known about the mechanisms that drive these preferences. We conducted a pre-registered study in a large (maximum N=375) sample to quantify the computational and motivational mechanisms of human social decision-making preferences involving close others. By pairing assessment techniques from behavioral economics and psychological science with computational modeling and random coefficient regression, we show that value-based cognitive computations (e.g., risk and loss aversion) drive social decision-making preferences involving financial outcomes, whereas socioemotional motivations (e.g., relationship quality) underlie preferences involving social outcomes. These results imply mechanistic heterogeneity, underscoring a need for greater attention to contextual specificity in social decision-making.


Abstract In the main, work has focused on defining and conceptualising the term misinformation, why and how people share misinformation, as well as the consequences for individual behaviour and policy making. Misinformation is an especially live issue in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and the communication that people use to inform their interpretations of risks, and claims about what is needed to reduce exposure and spread of the virus. However, we know very little about what the public take the concept of misinformation to mean. Therefore, here and for other matters of public interest, it is worth understanding what informs the way people report what misinformation means to them. To address this, we present findings from a large scale representative survey (N = 4,407) from four countries (Russia, Turkey, UK, USA) to investigate the various ways in which people understand the concept of misinformation. Intentionality appears to matter, where most agreement was for the general description of misinformation as 'Information that is intentionally designed to mislead' (69.00%). Relative to other sources (e.g. media, other people), experts (48.38%) and scientific evidence (60.20%) were the most common sources by which to determine that something is misinformation. Finally, looking at specific features of information, misinformation was most associated with information that exaggerated conclusions from facts (49.24%), didn't provide a complete picture (48.83%), and was presented as fact rather than opinion or rumour (43.07%). In general, country and demographic factors (age, gender, education, marital status, employment status) did not appear to distinguish these patterns of responses. This work helps to reveal what people report they take the concept of misinformation to mean, which may inform ways of targeting it.


During visual search, attention is guided by specific features, including shape. Our understanding of shape guidance is limited to specific attributes (closures and line terminations) that do not fully explain the richness of preattentive shape processing. We used a novel genetic algorithm method to explore shape space and to stimulate hypotheses about shape guidance. Initially, observers searched for targets among 12 random distractors defined, in radial frequency space, by the amplitude and phase of 10 radial frequencies. Reaction time (RT) was the measure of "fitness." To evolve toward an easier search task, distractors with faster RTs survived to the next generation, "mated," and produced offspring (new distractors for the next generation of search). To evolve a harder search, surviving distractors were those yielding longer RTs. Within eight generations of evolution, the method succeeds in producing visual searches either harder or easier than the starting search. In radial frequency space, easy distractors evolve amplitude × frequency spectra that are dissimilar to the target, whereas hard distractors evolve spectra that are more similar to the target. This method also works with naturally shaped targets (e.g., rabbit silhouettes). Interestingly, the most inefficient distractors featured a combination of a body and ear distractors that did not resemble the rabbit (visually or in spectrum). Adding extra ears to these distractors did not impact the search spectrally and instead made it easier to confirm a rabbit, once it was found. In general, these experiments show that shapes that are clearly distinct when attended are similar to each other preattentively.


Volume I:In the last several decades, composers of classical music have been looking forinspiration from music of non-Western cultures. This dissertation explores the music of six different composers who have been influenced by African music and incorporated their studies and recordings into new works. Four of these composers have Western backgrounds: John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti, Steve Reich, and David Fanshawe; while the other two composers, Joshua Uzoigwe and Kevin Volans, were born and grew up in Africa. This study examines how these six composers use African musical elements in their own compositions, and why they chose the specific elements they did. This dissertation can be used as a reference for other composers and musicians who wish to understand this type of cross-cultural synthesis and inspiration, and create it themselves.Volume II:Sankofa is a piece of music that was inspired by my studies and practice of West-Africandrumming and song. In the first movement, the wind ensemble embodies the three basic sounds (low, medium, and high tones) that can be produced on hand drums. The sparse texture in the first half is gradually filled in piece by piece, until a whole idea is formed from a patchwork of components from the individual instrumental sections, much in the way a West-African drum pattern is made of the polyphony from several individual parts. The second movement was inspired by the idea of Pygmy singing in Central Africa. These polyphonic Pygmy songs are comprised of many simultaneous vocal lines, seemingly unrelated by time, producing a blend of pitches and pulse. The music of the second movement explores this timeless effect by metrically modulating from section to section. The third movement consists of two forces, a drum ensemble and a wind ensemble, which at first oppose each other, but gradually each finds a way to live within the other force, leading to an overlap of the two forces at the end. The entire work is approximately twenty minutes long. The instrumentation is for standard wind ensemble, including auxiliary instruments, piano, harp, and djembe drums.


A risk analysis framework was used to examine the implementation barriers that may hamper the successful implementation of interorganizational clinical information systems (ICIS). In terms of study design, an extensive literature review was first performed in order to elaborate a comprehensive model of project risk factors. To test the applicability of the model, we next conducted a longitudinal multiple-case study of two large-scale ICIS demonstration projects carried out in Quebec, Canada. Variations in the levels of several risk dimensions measured throughout the duration of the projects were analyzed to determine their impact on successful implementation. The analysis shows that the proposed framework, composed of five risk dimensions, was very robust, and suitable for conducting a thorough risk analysis. The results also show that there are links between the quality of the risk management and the level of project outcomes. To be successful, it is important that the implementation efforts be distributed proportionally according to the importance of each of the risk factors. Furthermore, because the risks evolve dynamically, there is a need for high responsiveness to emerging implementation problems. Thus, implementation success lies in the ability of the project management team to be aware of and to manage several risk threats simultaneously and coherently since they evolve dynamically through time and interact with one another.


Graves' disease (GD) is the commonest cause of hyperthyroidism followed by toxic nodular goitre. Patients presenting as goitre with clinical features of hyperthyroidism are to be carefully evaluated with biochemically with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (fT4) and radionuclide scan (Technitium-99/Iodine-123). Those with GD also have raised thyroid receptor stimulating antibody levels. Patients are simultaneously evaluated for eye disease and managed accordingly. Initial treatment is rendering patient euthyroid using anti thyroid drugs (ATD) and if remission does not occur either continue medical therapy or proceed for definitive therapy by radioactive iodine ablation (RAI) or surgery. In last decades there is ample literature preferring surgery as preferred definitive therapy. Surgery in thyroid disease has become safer with development of many intra-operative adjuncts but it should be performed by high volume thyroid surgeon. The procedure of choice is near total or total thyroidectomy as it avoids recurrences. Patients who are not eligible or willing for surgery can be managed with RAI.


In February 2016, the Minister of Health decided to increase the use of research findings in improving the quality of the national health policy and planning. The Ministry of Health has instructed the National Institute of Health Research and Development or NIHRD to play a stronger role of monitoring and evaluating all health programs, because "their opinion and research findings should be the basis for changes in national health policies and planning". Compared to the past, the Ministry of Health has increased the research budget for evidence-based research  tremendously. However, there is a gap between the information needs of program and policy-makers and the information offered by researchers. A close dialogue is needed between the users (program managers, policy makers and planners) and the suppliers (researchers and evaluators) to ensure that the evidence-based supplied by research is useful for  programs, planning and health policy.


Background The adverse event report of medical devices is one of the postmarket surveillance tools used by regulators to monitor device performance, detect potential device-related safety issues, and contribute to benefit-risk assessments of these products. However, with the development of the related technologies and market, the number of adverse events has also been on the rise, which in turn results in the need to develop efficient tools that help to analyze adverse events monitoring data and to identify risk signals. Objective This study aimed to establish a hazard classification framework of medical devices and to apply it over practical adverse event data on infusion pumps. Subsequently, it aimed to analyze the risks of infusion pumps and to provide a reference for the risk management of this type of device. Methods The authors define a general hierarchical classification of medical device hazards. This classification is combined with the Trace Intersecting Theory to form a human-machine-environment interaction model. Such a model was applied to the dataset of 2001 to 2017 class I infusion pump recalls extracted from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. This dataset does not include cases involving illegal factors. Results The proposed model was used for conducting hazard analysis on 70 cases of class I infusion pump recalls by the FDA. According to the analytical results, an important source of product technical risk was that the infusion pumps did not infuse accurate dosage (ie, over- or underdelivery of fluid). In addition, energy hazard and product component failure were identified as the major hazard form associated with infusion pump use and as the main direct cause for adverse events in the studied cases, respectively. Conclusions The proposed human-machine-environment interaction model, when applied to adverse event data, can help to identify the hazard forms and direct causes of adverse events associated with medical device use.


Over the past decade or so, the concept of capitalism has exploded within the domains of popular culture and mainstream political discourse in the United States, a phenomenon driven forward by the visibility of anticapitalist movements like Occupy Wall Street, the appearance of bestselling books like Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century and blockbuster movies like The Big Short, and the meteoric rise of nationally prominent democratic socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Such circumstances spurred the development of what has quickly become one of the most vibrant subfields in the US historical profession—the so-called "new history of capitalism." Following the publication in 2013 of a front-page New York Times article covering this new subfield, historians identifying with the project contributed to a range of field-defining essays and exchanges explaining its origins and inspirations, its innovations, and its importance. The essay to follow introduces the thematic dossier by building upon a number of recent critiques of the conceptual flaws and historical blind spots revealed by the exchanges that have laid down the groundwork of the "new history of capitalism." It argues that this subfield needs to move towards a more meaningful engagement with the social and the cultural, and to incorporate the contributions of recent work on racial capitalism, neoliberalism, the environment, the carceral state, and gender and sexuality in the twentieth-century United States.


signaling pathway. Purpose: The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has a central role in regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, motility and survival. This pathway has recently generated great interest because its elements are, potentially, novel targets for the treatment of various malignancies, including breast cancer. Methods: Using tissue microarray sections of breast carcinoma, we performed immunohistochemical studies using antibodies against the phosphorylated forms of Akt (p-Akt) and mTOR (p-mTOR) in 530 invasive breast carcinomas and 30 ductal carcinomas in situ (DCIS). We investigated possible associations between expression of these proteins and clinicopathologic characteristics and disease outcomes. Results: In 530 invasive carcinomas, weak and strong expression of p-Akt was observed in 180 (34.0%) and 288 (54.3%) cases, respectively. The expression of p-Akt was associated with expression of estrogen receptors (ER) (p=0.045), progesterone receptors (PR) (p=0.003), lymph node metastasis (p<0.001) and cancer stage (p=0.027). Weak and strong expression of p-mTOR was found in 136 (25.7%) and 207 (39.1%) cases, respectively. The mTOR pathway was more frequently activated in DCIS than in invasive breast carcinoma (p=0.001). p-mTOR expression was associated with expression of ER (p=0.040), PR (p=0.009), tumor size (p<0.001), and stage (p=0.002). In a univariate analysis, strong expression of p-Akt was associated with longer disease-free survival (DFS). In a multivariate analysis, neither p-Akt nor p-mTOR was associated with DFS. Conclusion: The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is active in DCIS as well as in invasive carcinoma of the breast. Our study also suggests that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is influenced by ER rather than erbB-2, and that this pathway may contribute more to cancer pathogenesis in ER-positive tumors.


Rain in the atmosphere and impacts on the ocean surface lead to erroneous observations of the K/sub u/-band normalized radar cross section (NRCS) for the ocean surface, which is collected by orbiting Scatterometers. Rain can cause large errors in satellite-based estimates of the sea surface wind speed and direction derived from the affected data, depending on the surface wind speed and the rainrate. Rain within the radar beam results in attenuation and additive volume backscatter to the satellite. In order to correct each NRCS using a physically based electromagnetic model, the 3-D rain reflectivity must be measured throughout the satellite's K/sub u/-band beam with high resolution, and be nearly simultaneous with the satellite. Using satellite observations within the range of the NWS NEXRAD radars, these S-band data provide 2 km horizontal resolution and comparable vertical resolution, within 4 minutes of the satellite overpass. The correction technique also includes removal of the augmented surface roughness due to rain impacts. The surface wind vectors are then recalculated using the corrected NRCS, with the same wind-retrieval algorithm as that is used to produce the SeaWinds data product. Case studies will be presented that show the improved wind vector estimates over a significant area in several coastal regions, (the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico), when comparing the corrected winds with the NCEP winds and buoy measurements.


Empirical studies of information retrieval methods show that good retrieval performance is closely related to the use of various retrieval heuristics, such as TF-IDF weighting. One basic research question is thus what exactly are these "necessary" heuristics that seem to cause good retrieval performance. In this paper, we present a formal study of retrieval heuristics. We formally define a set of basic desirable constraints that any reasonable retrieval function should satisfy, and check these constraints on a variety of representative retrieval functions. We find that none of these retrieval functions satisfies all the constraints unconditionally. Empirical results show that when a constraint is not satisfied, it often indicates non-optimality of the method, and when a constraint is satisfied only for a certain range of parameter values, its performance tends to be poor when the parameter is out of the range. In general, we find that the empirical performance of a retrieval formula is tightly related to how well it satisfies these constraints. Thus the proposed constraints provide a good explanation of many empirical observations and make it possible to evaluate any existing or new retrieval formula analytically.


In the Greenlandic Inuit population a common nonsense TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter variant in muscle is found with an allele frequency of 17%. Homozygous carriers of this variant have impaired glucose tolerance, and a 10-fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Here we investigate whether the TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter affects regulation of skeletal muscle glucose uptake during exercise and during insulin stimulation in the post exercise period. Inuits carrying zero (n=8) or two (n=8) alleles of TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter were recruited from population surveys in Greenland. Glucose tolerance was measured during a 6 hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Skeletal muscle glucose uptake was measured by applying arterial-venous balance technique across the legs during one-legged exercise and during subsequent euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Glucose uptake was measured in both the rested and the exercised leg. During the OGTT blood glucose was similar at fasting but markedly elevated (by 4.4 mM) in TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter carriers compared to matched controls at 2 hours, and variants became hypoglycemic at 4 hours (3.3 vs. 4.7 mM) and similar to controls at 6 hours. During exercise, TBC1D4 variant carriers and controls displayed similar glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. During insulin clamp, glucose uptake in the previously rested leg was lower (~50%) in TBC1D4 variant carriers compared to controls. In the prior exercised leg, glucose uptake during the insulin clamp was higher in both groups compared to the rested leg. However, glucose uptake in the previously exercised leg from TBC1D4 variant carriers was comparable to the previously rested leg in controls and thus still markedly lower than controls. In conclusion: TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter carriers have impaired insulin stimulated but normal exercise stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. A single bout of exercise improves muscle glucose uptake in carriers to levels seen in non-exercise muscle of controls. Disclosure J. M. Kristensen: None. T. Hansen: None. M. E. Jorgensen: Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Sanofi-Aventis, Stock/Shareholder; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. J. F. P. Wojtaszewski: None. T. L. J. Larsen: None. C. S. Carl: None. A. Thorup: None. J. Hingst: None. J. Onslev: None. J. S. Olesen: None. M. L. Pedersen: None. E. A. Richter: None. Funding Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF14OC0013057, NNF17OC0028136); Independent Research Fund Denmark (FSS802000288B5855628)


Mitochondrial ribosomal 12S subunit gene (MTRNR1) is a hot spot for hearing loss mutations. Mutations such as m.1555A>G, m.1494C>T and m.1095C>T, cause sensitivity to aminoglycosides. Aminoglycoside treatment induces permanent hearing loss or deafness in the carriers and should therefore be avoided. The prevalence of these sensitivity mutations varies in different countries and populations. Over 90% of preterm children need aminoglycoside treatment during their first weeks of life. Infants who carry a mitochondrial sensitivity mutation can develop a life-long sensorineural hearing impairment as a side-effect of aminoglycoside treatment. Total of 813 Finnish preterm (born G, m.1494T>C and m.1095C>T mutations. The population prevalence of m.1555A>G was determined to be 0.12% in Finland. M.1494C>T and m.1095C>T mutations were absent. Out of the 813 infants, a term-born infant was found to harbor m.1555A>G at 81% heteroplasmy, while his mother's heteroplasmy was 68%. Both had normal hearing and had not received aminoglycosides. Mothers with a family history of hearing loss who are at risk of preterm labor would benefit from antenatal genotyping of m.1555A>G mutation. The prevalence of m.1555A>G in Finns was close to other European countries. M.1494C>T and m.1095C>T mutations either do not occur in the Finnish population or they are very rare. This study highlights the importance of population-specific genotyping of MTRNR1 aminoglycoside sensitivity mutations, especially in countries with liberal aminoglycoside use.


Since the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced the "open door" policy, the Chinese
economy has experienced rapid economic growth for over 30 years. It has now surpassed
Japan as the world"s second largest economy. (Bloomberg, 2010) Mainland China has fast
developed into one of the world"s largest consumer market. It had already proved its worth by
becoming the second biggest luxury goods market, and is expected to become the largest in
next five to seven years. (Boston Consulting Group, 2009) Further encouraged by Chinese
central government"s policy to stimulate domestic consumption, that is to shift from an export
oriented economy into a more balanced development model, China presents a tremendous
opportunity to both Chinese and foreign companies.
This study is to investigate the impact of Country of Origin (COO) and Consumer
Ethnocentrism (CE) on Urban Adult Chinese Consumers" (UACC) product preference and
willingness to buy. To put it in plain terms, it will seek to clarify whether UACC prefer
foreign products or Chinese products and investigate the rationale for such decisions


We have assessed the role of glucagon and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity on glucose and palmitate kinetics and oxidation in the conscious dog infused with live Escherichia coli bacteria by means of the simultaneous primed constant infusion of [1,2-13C]palmitate and [U-14C]-glucose. The basal rate of glucose production in septic dogs and controls was similar. However, when the glucagon concentration was selectively decreased in the septic animals by the appropriate infusion of somatostatin (S), insulin (I), and glucagon (G), the rate of glucose production decreased significantly, whereas in control animals S + I + G infusion had no effect on glucose kinetics. When alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade was added to the infusion, the rate of glucose production decreased further and hypoglycemia developed in the septic dogs, whereas in the controls both glucose production and concentration increased. The basal rate of appearance of palmitate was increased in the septic dogs (P less than 0.01). S + I + G had no effect on palmitate appearance in either group, and sympathetic blockade caused a significant decrease in palmitate appearance in both groups of dogs. The rates of oxidation of both glucose and palmitate was related directly to their availability in plasma. Thus, in sepsis, glucagon and SNS activity play important roles in the mobilization of glucose and palmitate into the plasma and therefore in the overall state of energy metabolism.


Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have a long record of generally promising results in hydrology. The earlier applications were mainly based on the back propagation feedforward method, which often used a lengthy trial-and-error method to determine the final network parameters. An attempt to overcome this shortcoming of the traditional applications is the minimal resource allocation network (MRAN). MRAN is online adaptive method which automatically configures the number of hidden nodes based on the input-output patterns presented to the network. Although MRAN demonstrated superior accuracy and more compact network, when compared with the traditional back propagation method, some additional questions need to be addressed. While the number of hidden nodes is estimated automatically, other user-defined parameters are selected arbitrarily, and adjusted through simulations. This research addresses determining the user-defined parameters prior to the model run. The research also compares MRAN results from two applications, and discusses a pathway towards designing a fully automated MRAN.


: Thermodynamics is the science of the interactions between energy and matter. It was formalized in the late 19th century and remains an essential piece in solving many technological challenges that society faces today. Yet, it is often considered complex and challenging, perhaps because it is often taught within a rigid mathematical framework, without highlighting the extensive range of applications and the tools that it offers for understanding and elaborating a sustainable future. The authors of this paper have performed an industrial survey (Kontogeorgis et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. , 2021, 60, 13, 4987-5013), which pointed out that thermodynamics is indeed a cornerstone of many processes in a large range of industries, but that as of today, many questions and needs remain unanswered. Some missing answers are caused by a lack of knowledge of the existing tools (educational issue), some by the unavailability of models, parameters or by the lack of transferability of the concepts from one system to another. In other cases, simply, no generally accepted approach exists, and fundamental research is required for understanding the phenomena. In all cases, data are needed, either to understand, develop, or validate the models. Specific recent examples of applied thermodynamics research relevant to industrial practice are discussed. This manuscript aims not only at promoting research but also at encouraging highly trained professionals to engage in education, laboratory work, fundamental developments, and/or model validation. Such professionals should find positions both in academia and in industry, as well as with software vendors. Collaboration between academia, industry, and software vendors is essential in order to foster new developments and serve the goals of sustainable development and circular economy.


The mineralocorticoid aldosterone, secreted by the adrenal zona glomerulosa (ZG), is critical for life, maintaining ion homeostasis and blood pressure. Therapeutic inhibition of protein phosphatase 3 (calcineurin, Cn) results in inappropriately low plasma aldosterone levels despite concomitant hyperkalemia and hyperreninemia. We tested the hypothesis that Cn participates in the signal transduction pathway regulating aldosterone synthesis. Inhibition of Cn with tacrolimus abolished the potassium-stimulated (K+-stimulated) expression of aldosterone synthase, encoded by CYP11B2, in the NCI-H295R human adrenocortical cell line as well as ex vivo in mouse and human adrenal tissue. ZG-specific deletion of the regulatory Cn subunit CnB1 diminished Cyp11b2 expression in vivo and disrupted K+-mediated aldosterone synthesis. Phosphoproteomics analysis identified nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic 4 (NFATC4), as a target for Cn-mediated dephosphorylation. Deletion of NFATC4 impaired K+-dependent stimulation of CYP11B2 expression and aldosterone production while expression of a constitutively active form of NFATC4 increased expression of CYP11B2 in NCI-H295R cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed NFATC4 directly regulated CYP11B2 expression. Thus, Cn controls aldosterone production via the Cn/NFATC4 pathway. Inhibition of Cn/NFATC4 signaling may explain low plasma aldosterone levels and hyperkalemia in patients treated with tacrolimus, and the Cn/NFATC4 pathway may provide novel molecular targets to treat primary aldosteronism.


This article describes the emergence, during 2011, of a community of best practice for the GMP manufacture of cellular therapies in the UK. The community originated in response to the anticipated demand for manufacturing capability as the UK increases its throughput of successful cell therapies. The community will catalyze the development of robust manufacturing processes essential to establishing the cell therapy industry in the UK. The Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) Manufacturing Community (amc) was formed in September 2010 as a community of best practice for cell therapy manufacturing in the UK. During 2011, the amc held three technical meetings, established an online presence via a website, Twitter and LinkedIn and now has 191 members. The amc aims to share nonconfidential information, develop best practice, inform and influence. The amc is also well placed to showcase UK GMP cell therapy manufacturing capability, which is currently well distributed and mostly focused on small-scale manufac...


Background/Aim: Radiology residency was initiated nearly 30 years ago in the West African subregion, but accompanying formal subspecialty training has been developed within the 30 year time span. In contrast, subspecialization has evolved over the past 25 years in developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine residents′ perspective about radiology subspecialization training in West Africa. Materials and Methods: Semi-structured, self-administered electronic questionnaires were sent to residents at different levels of training via E-mail and during update courses. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 15.0 (IBM) package. Quantitative variables were expressed using summary statistics including means and medians. Descriptive analysis was performed for the qualitative variables using frequencies, proportions, and charts. Statistical significance was set at the 5% level using two tailed P values. Results: There were 117 respondents 85 (72.6%) males and 32 (27.4%) females. A total of 110 (94%) were aware of the various subspecialties in radiology with neuroradiology being identified by all as separate subspecialty. Interventional radiology topped the choice of subspecialty with 61 (52.1%) respondents, and 67 (57.3%) would prefer that subspecialties be introduced in phases. Ultrasound, basic X-ray, mamography equipment, and computed tomography scanners are available in many of the training centers. 116 (99.1%) of the residents believed that there is a need for subspecialization in the subregion. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the need for subspecialization in West Africa. To achieve this goal, collaboration and support from well-established radiology residency and fellowship training programs based in developed countries is necessary.


Based on the Grammian and Pfaffian derivative formulae, Grammian and Pfaffian solutions are obtained for a (3+1)-dimensional generalized shallow water equation in the Hirota bilinear form. Moreover, a Pfaffian extension is made for the equation by means of the Pfaffianization procedure, the Wronski-type and Gramm-type Pfaffian solutions of the resulting coupled system are presented.


There is an increasing population rate especially in metropolitan areas and the majority of people living in such areas have to spend some part of their time commuting to their destinations. So, one of the serious concerns for network design is defining an efficient and appropriate network being able to shift passenger's mode from private to public transportation properly. The public transport can have an effective role in deriving passenger satisfaction and reducing the operating cost by means of designing a well-integrated public transit system along with improving the cost-effectiveness network. The main goal of this study is to present an improved model for feeder bus network design problem by minimizing total cost. In this study, Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle swarm optimization (PSO) were employed to optimize feeder bus services. The case study and input data which have been applied through the current study were already used by Kuha & Perl (1989). Finally, obtained numerical results of the proposed model, including optimal solution, statistical optimization results, and the convergence rate as well as comparisons were discussed.


This paper investigates the impact of commodity price shocks on financial sector fragility. Using a large sample of 71 commodity exporters among emerging and developing economies, it shows that negative shocks to commodity prices tend to weaken the financial sector, with larger shocks having more pronounced impacts. More specifically, negative commodity price shocks are associated with higher non-performing loans, bank costs and banking crises, while they reduce bank profits, liquidity, and provisions to nonperforming loans. These adverse effects tend to occur in countries with poor quality of governance, weak fiscal space, as well as those that do not have a sovereign wealth fund, do not implement macro-prudential policies and do not have a diversified export base. These findings are robust to a battery of robustness checks.


Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), to present his specific structural modifications. Method We have studied the microscopical modifications of 68 placentas obtained after delivery for two equal groups representing mothers with PIH and normotensive. The samples obtained by sections were specifically prepared for the study using three types of histological stains. We used optical microscopy for observing mainly the lumen of spiral arteriole and changes in its intimate and medial tunica. Results We registered the following specific structural modifications in the pregnancies with PIH : fibrosis in the middle of the villosity, fibrinoid necrosis, condensation of stromal connective tissue, syncytial layer agglutinations of the villous or intervillous spaces (nodes, buds, or bridges), thrombosis and/or infarction of the spiral vessels and villous capillary endothelial atheromatosis. Conclusions Our study was done to find a better understanding of the histo-logical changes of the preeclamptic feto-maternal interface concerning his role in PIH. The morphological modifications of the feto-placental interface in the PIH represent a marker of the fetal and postnatal hypoxia/ischemia with an immediate and late impact upon their cerebral development.