Background: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is the most common malignant tumor of the thyroid gland and causes local and/or distant metastases. Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is the most common form, representing more than 90% of all thyroid cancers and derives from the follicular cells of the thyroid. Choroidal metastasis from DTC is extremely rare. Only a few cases have been reported in literature.

Case Summary: We report the case of a 43-year-old man with differentiated thyroid cancer. He underwent a total thyroidectomy plus a right latero-cervical lymphoadenectomy. Histological examination revealed a 7 mm papillary thyroid cancer, pT3N1b. Firstly treated with locoregional treatment. In February 2012 computer tomography (CT) scan and WBS showed a progression of disease with bilateral lung lesions, bilateral multiple jugular carotid lymphnodes and bone metastases localized in the IV thoracic rib. After progression disease he was treated with Lenvatinib 24 mg daily. Symptomatic choroid metastases were diagnosed 4 years after initial diagnosis, and were treated with external-beam radiation. Although treatment reduced local masses, a rapid progression of multiple metastatic lesions was observed. Conclusion: In our case, progression free survival with lenvatinib was in agreement with data of SELECT trial, this is a rare case of choroidal metastases from DTC.


Heart transplantation still remains the only form of treatment for patients suffering from terminal heart failure as the result of diffuse myocardial disease. The lack of enthusiasm for this operation has no scientific or moral basis. Our own limited experience and the much wider experience of other workers in this field show that with proper patient and donor selection and careful postoperative management, the results of this operation compare very favourably with those of any transplantation of other organs and in the surgical treatment of other types of terminal diseases.


The United States Department of Justice filed a civil complaint last month against Forest Laboratories in a district court in Massachusetts, alleging that the company violated the federal False Claims Act.

The department's complaint says that the company marketed its antidepressants citalopram (marketed in the US as Celexa) and escitalopram oxalate (Lexapro) for use in children when the drugs were not approved for such use, that the company paid inducements to doctors to promote use of the drugs in children, that the company failed to disclose a study showing that Celexa was not effective in children, and that the government was defrauded of millions of dollars because federal health insurance programmes such as Medicaid paid for prescriptions for the drugs that were not covered by off-label paediatric use.

Under the statute, the justice department says, "the government can recover treble damages and $5500 [£3800; €4000] to $11 000 for each false or fraudulent claim filed. If the government is successful in resolving or litigating its claims, a proper whistleblower can receive a share of between 15% and 25% of the amount recovered." Two whistleblowers apparently helped bring the complaint.

Forest Laboratories issued a statement saying that it was currently reviewing the government's complaint and would respond …


A latex-modified concrete overlay was placed on Interstate 5 in Northern California at a Strategic Highway Research Program SPS-6 test site. The objective of the test was to evaluate a potentially lower cost latex overlay system. The cost of the overlay would be reduced by eliminating surface prewetting and the wet burlap cure. The test section was placed 300-m long across three lanes. Unusual features of the overlay were: (1) it was placed on a dry substrate, (2) latex content was 43% higher than conventional practice, (3) cure was by curing compound rather than wet burlap, and (4) it was on a plain jointed portland cement concrete pavement. Bond to the substrate was very good. Curing compound provided an adequate curing membrane when applied at the proper rate. The system was evaluated annually. To date, the only problem has been at the joints, which present a serious problem for a bonded overlay. Delaminations or spalls have occurred at most of the transverse joints. The objective was met although the system is not suitable for use on jointed pavements. A latex-modified concrete overlay can be placed on a dry substrate and bond well. It can also be cured successfully with a curing compound that conforms to Specification for Liquid Membrane-Forming Compounds for Curing Concrete (ASTM C 309), Type 2, Class B. This type of overlay is not suitable for a jointed pavement without careful attention to the joint detail.


This paper studies the performance assessment of magnetic-assistance electrochemical finishing using an effective design system and magnetic force to the electrolyte to assist the dregs discharge on zinc alloy beyond die casting by electrochemical finishing as a finish process on the freeform surface of castings. An outer shell of toy vehicle is taken for instance in the experiment. A small distance between the two magnets or large magnetic field intensity provides larger magnetic force and discharge ability. A higher current rating with magnetic-assistance can avoid the difficulty of dreg discharge, thus reducing the finish time. Pulsed direct current can slightly promote the finishing effect, but the machining time is increased. Thus the magnetic-assistance electrochemical finishing without pulsed current is recommended for the finish process. It is a great contribution that the magnetic-assistance electrochemical finishing just needs quite short to make the freeform surface of workpiece smooth and bright.


In this paper we address the task of robustly detecting multiple bioacoustic events with repetitive structures in outdoor monitoring recordings. For this, we propose to use the shiftautocorrelation (shift-ACF) that was previously successfully applied to F0 estimation in speech processing and has subsequently led to a robust technique for speech activity detection. As a first contribution, we illustrate the potentials of various shift-ACF-based time-frequency representations adapted to repeated signal components in the context of bioacoustic pattern detection. Secondly, we investigate a method for automatically detecting multiple repeated events and present an application to a concrete bioacoustic monitoring scenario. As a third contribution, we provide a systematic evaluation of the shift-ACF-based feature extraction in representing multiple overlapping repeated events.


In this paper we compare the spatial throughput of Aloha and Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) in Wireless multihop Ad-Hoc Networks. In other words we evaluate the gain offered by carrier sensing (CSMA) over the pure statiscal collision avoidance which is the basis of Aloha. We use a Signalto-Interference-and-Noise Ratio (SINR) model where a transmission is assumed to be successful when the SINR is larger than a given threshold. Regarding channel conditions, we consider both standard Rayleigh and negligible fading. For slotted and non-slotted Aloha, we use analytical models as well as simulations to study the density of successful transmissions in the network. As it is very difficult to build precise models for CSMA, we use only simulations to compute the performances of this protocol. We compare the two Aloha versions and CSMA on a fair basis, i.e. when they are optimized to maximize the density of successful transmissions. For slotted Aloha, the key optimization parameter is the medium access probability, for nonslotted Aloha we tune the mean back-off time, whereas for CSMA it is the carrier sense threshold that is adjusted. Our study shows that CSMA always outperforms slotted Aloha, which in turn outperforms its non-slotted version.


A study of intertidal gastropods using quadrat method was conducted from August 2012 to July 2013. Specifically to identify and classify taxonomically the gastropods in Asry Beach, Kingdom of Bahrain; find out significant differences in the number of identified gastropods within the taxonomic groups; and determine heterogeneity and alpha diversity of species using Shannon diversity index (H), and species richness using Magalef's (d) diversity index. A total of 2,136 individual species were identified in the sandy and rocky intertidal zones which belong to 16 families, 5 genera and 28 species of gastropods. Statistical analysis using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with multiple comparisons depicted significant difference on the number of gastropods at varying taxonomic groups. Result of Shannon (H) and Magalef's (d) diversity indices revealed diversity and species richness of the three species, Calliostoma selectum, Lirobittium attenuatum, and Homalopoma luridum. Gastropods are abundant in the sandy and rocky intertidal zone.


As the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes is increasing in microbes, we are facing the return of the pre-antibiotic era. Consecutively, the number of studies concerning antibiotic resistance and its spread in the environment is rapidly growing. Next generation sequencing technologies are widespread used in many areas of biological research and antibiotic resistance is no exception. For the rapid annotation of whole genome sequencing and metagenomic results considering antibiotic resistance, several tools and data resources were developed. These databases, however, can differ fundamentally in the number and type of genes and resistance determinants they comprise. Furthermore, the annotation structure and metadata stored in these resources can also contribute to their differences. Several previous reviews were published on the tools and databases of resistance gene annotation; however, to our knowledge, no previous review focused solely and in depth on the differences in the databases. In this review, we compare the most well-known and widely used antibiotic resistance gene databases based on their structure and content. We believe that this knowledge is fundamental for selecting the most appropriate database for a research question and for the development of new tools and resources of resistance gene annotation.


Senescence is a stress response characterized by an irreversible growth arrest and alterations in certain cell functions. It is believed that both double-strand DNA breaks (DSB) and increased ROS level are the main culprit of senescence. Excessive ROS production is also particularly important in the development of a number of cardiovascular disorders. In this context the involvement of professional ROS-producing enzymes, NADPH oxidases (NOX), was postulated. In contrary to the common knowledge, we have shown that not only increased ROS production but also diminished ROS level could be involved in the induction of senescence. Accordingly, our studies revealed that stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) induced by doxorubicin or H2O2, correlates with increased level of DSB and ROS. On the other hand, both SIPS and replicative senescence were accompanied by diminished expression of NOX4. Moreover, inhibition of NOX activity or decrease of NOX4 expression led to permanent growth arrest of VSMCs and secretion of interleukins and VEGF. Interestingly, cells undergoing senescence due to NOX4 depletion neither acquired DSB nor activated DNA damage response. Instead, transient induction of the p27, upregulation of HIF-1alpha, decreased expression of cyclin D1 and hypophosphorylated Rb was observed. Our results showed that lowering the level of ROS-producing enzyme - NOX4 oxidase below physiological level leads to cellular senescence of VSMCs which is correlated with secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the use of specific NOX4 inhibitors for pharmacotherapy of vascular diseases should be carefully considered.


Reactive extraction of citric acid was investigated at atmospheric and supercritical conditions. The most suitable diluent and amine from among the tertiary amines and eight different diluents were determined at atmospheric conditions. The distribution coefficient values obtained with Hostarex A 327 were higher than those of Alamine 336. The selected amine (Hostarex A327) and the diluent (Oleyl alcohol) were used for reactive extraction of citric acid at supercritical conditions. Separation yields of citric acid were obtained in the temperature ranges of 308 to 328 K and in the pressure ranges of 80 to 180 bars in a supercritical extraction system which is continuous in terms of CO2. It was found that separation yield decreased with increasing extraction pressure at all investigated temperatures. The highest separation yield (28%) was obtained at near the critical pressure. It was observed that the separation yield did not change with increasing temperature in the pressure range of 80 to 180 bars.


According to electrophoresis and erythrocyte size the genotypes of 756 waterfrogs, collected during 1986—1988 in 54 localities in The Netherlands, were classified as belonging to 5 different genotypes: 331 diploid R. lessonae (LL), 5 triploid R. lessonae (LLL), 250 diploid R. kl. esculenta (LR), 133 triploid R. kl. esculenta (LLR), and 37 diploid R. ridibunda (RR). The occurrence of triploid R. kl. esculenta in The Netherlands is reported for the first time and triploid R. lessonae has not yet been reported previously. There are indications that LL gametes could be produced by LLR triploids and LL diploids. R. kl. esculenta in R. kl. esculenta and R. ridibunda — R. kl. esculenta populations of the western regions seems to be exclusively triploid, whereas the percentage of triploid R. kl. esculenta in R. lessonae — R. kl. esculenta populations of the eastern regions is about 1%. Biometrical differences were neither found between R. kl. esculenta triploid and diploid, nor between R. lessonae triploid and diploid.


This study explored whether students benefited from an immersive panoramic display while studying subject matter that is visually complex and information-rich. Specifically, middle-school students learned about ancient Egyptian art and society using an educational learning game, Gates of Horus, which is based on a simplified three dimensional computer model of an Egyptian temple. First, we demonstrated that the game is an effective learning tool by comparing written post-test results from students who played the game and students in a no-treatment control group. Next, we compared the learning results of two groups of students who used the same mechanical controls to navigate through the computer model of the temple and to interact with its features. One of the groups saw the temple on a standard computer desktop monitor while the other-saw it in a visually immersive display (a partial dome) The major difference in the test results between the two groups appeared when the students gave a verbal show-and-tell presentation about the Temple and the facts and concepts related to it. During that exercise, the students had no cognitive scaffolding other than the Virtual Egyptian Temple which was projected on a wall. The student navigated through the temple and described its major features. Students who had used the visually immersive display volunteered notably more than those who had used a computer monitor. The other major tests were questionnaires, which by their nature provide a great deal of scaffolding for the task of recalling the required information. For these tests we believe that this scaffolding aided students' recall to the point where it overwhelmed the differences produced by any difference in the display. We conclude that the immersive display provides better supports for the student's learning activities for this material. To our knowledge, this is the first formal study to show concrete evidence that visual immersion can improve learning for a non-science topic.


1. During the Spring of 1928, 29 patients with acute rheumatic fever were subjected to blood cultures, of whom 9, or 31 per cent, yielded a streptococcus. During the Spring of 1929, 31 patients with acute rheumatic fever were studied by blood cultures, of whom 26, or 83.9 per cent, yielded a streptococcus. The higher percentage of positive cultures in the 1929 series appears to have been due to improved cultural methods. 2. Of the 35 strains of streptococci recovered from blood cultures, 33 have been classified as alpha streptococci (Str. viridans); one as a beta streptococcus (Str. hemolyticus); and one a gamma streptococcus (Str. anhemolyticus). Some of the viridans strains produced very little green on blood media. 3. Agglutination and absorption tests indicate that the strains of streptococcus viridans recovered from the blood of patients with rheumatic fever show a tendency to fall into specific biological groups. 4. In 7 patients with rheumatic fever who were subjected to cultures from affected joints, 5, or 71.4 per cent, yielded a streptococcus viridans. In 3 patients in whom green streptococci were recovered from both the blood and joint, agglutination and absorption tests proved the identity of the strains isolated from the two sources. 5. These findings corroborate those of previous investigators and make it difficult to escape the conclusion that rheumatic fever is a streptococcal infection usually of the alpha or viridans type. 6. The pathogenesis of rheumatic fever in respect to the joint lesions appears to be analogous to that of infectious arthritis and gonococcal arthritis. Bacterial allergy probably influences the clinical picture in all three conditions, but in each instance the joint manifestations are primarily dependent upon localization of bacteria in the joint, with subsequent infection.


For the last two decades, the development of conducting polymers (CP) as artificial muscles, by materials researchers and chemists, has made establishing a reliable and repeatable synthesis of such materials possible. CP-based milli-robots were mostly unknown in soft robotics, however, today, they play a vital role in robotics and smart materials forums. Indeed, this subclass of soft robots has reached a crucial moment in their history, a moment where they can display rather interesting features, based on established foundations in terms of modeling, control, sensing, and planning in various applications. The purpose of this paper is to present the potential of conductive polymer-based soft milli-robots as high-performance devices for vacuum applications. To that end, a trilayer polypyrrole-based actuator was first used inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM), characterized for different applied voltages, over a relatively long period. Additionally, the tip positioning of the cantilever was also controlled using a closed-loop control. Furthermore, as a proof of concept for more complex soft milli-robots, an S-shaped soft milli-robot was modeled, using a hybrid model comprised of two models; a multi-physics model and a kinematic model. It was then fabricated using laser machining and finally characterized using its tip displacement. polypyrrole-based soft milli-robots proved to have tremendous potential as high-performance soft robots at the microscale for a wide range of applications, including SEM micro-manipulation as well as biomedical applications.


Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a capillary malformation arising in the central nervous system. CCM may occur sporadically or cluster in families with autosomal dominant transmission, incomplete penetrance, and variable expressivity. Three genes are associated with CCM KRIT1, CCM2, and PDCD10. This work is a retrospective single‐center molecular study on samples from multiple Italian clinical providers. From a pool of 317 CCM index patients, we found germline variants in either of the three genes in 80 (25.2%) probands, for a total of 55 different variants. In available families, extended molecular analysis found segregation in 60 additional subjects, for a total of 140 mutated individuals. From the 55 variants, 39 occurred in KRIT1 (20 novel), 8 in CCM2 (4 novel), and 8 in PDCD10 (4 novel). Effects of the three novel KRIT1 missense variants were characterized in silico. We also investigated a novel PDCD10 deletion spanning exon 4–10, on patient's fibroblasts, which showed significant reduction of interactions between KRIT1 and CCM2 encoded proteins and impaired autophagy process. This is the largest study in Italian CCM patients and expands the known mutational spectrum of KRIT1, CCM2, and PDCD10. Our approach highlights the relevance of seeking supporting information to pathogenicity of new variants for the improvement of management of CCM.


This paper addresses the synthesis problem of non-isothermal interplant water networks by using a mathematical programming approach based on superstructure optimisation. A recently proposed compact superstructure (Ibric et al., 2015) was used and the mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model modified in order to identify the existence of process water using units, wastewater treatment units, and hot/cold streams within different plants, as well as optimal water flow and heat transfer between the plants. The superstructure includes direct and indirect heat exchange opportunities, with a manageable number of hot and cold streams enabling the control of heat exchanger network (HEN) complexity. In addition, a compact superstructure reduction strategy is employed in order to reduce the model size. By using those parameters having values of 1 or 0, the existence of superstructure elements of the different plants can be addressed simply, without introducing additional variables. The proposed model is solved by using a two‒step iterative solution strategy (Ibric et al., 2015). The first step in the proposed strategy provides initialisation and rigorous bounds on water and utilities consumption. In the second step, an MINLP model is solved, simultaneously minimising the total annual cost of the network. Different case scenarios were considered, analysing water and heat integration within and between the plants. The solutions obtained show that the model can be successfully used for the synthesis of interplant non-isothermal water networks, thus minimising the total annual cost of the overall network. The results show that additional saving in total annual costs can be achieved by enabling direct water and heat integration between plants.


Background and Purpose: Foodborne illness associated expenditures cost the health care system an estimate of $100 million per year (1). Although the best approach in handling foodborne illnesses is through prevention, it becomes a challenge when it involves choosing between food associated risk or food quality. Take out pho (traditional Vietnamese noodle soup) poses a significant food safety concern when the raw beef and broth are packaged separately. The decreasing temperature of the broth presents a questionable critical control step. If the raw beef is not properly cooked, potential pathogens like E.coli can survive and cause foodborne illness. The following study examines the risk of foodborne illnesses associated with takeout pho and determines whether the broth can achieve an adequate temperature of 70°C to completely pasteurize the raw beef after twenty minutes. Methods: Thirty samples of takeout pho were collected from thirty Vietnamese restaurants within Vancouver and Burnaby, BC. Statistical analysis was performed using a Z-test to compare the median mixed temperature with the cooking standard of 70°C using a Z-test after twenty minutes. Results: Based on the results, the median pho temperature was 62.25°C with a standard deviation of 6.69°C. The range was 30.3°C with the minimum temperature of 42.7°C and the maximum temperature of 73°C. The mode was 62.5°C. The results generated a p-value of <0.0001. Conclusions: The median temperature of the thirty samples did not achieve the cooking standard temperature of 70°C. Thus, the temperature of the broth cannot be considered a critical control step after twenty minutes from the time of pick up. Improper food handling and time-temperature abuse can introduce and support the growth of pathogens on raw beef which naturally has E.coli. Therefore, this can increase the possibility of consuming pathogens from undercooked beef causing an increased risk of foodborne illnesses. Pasteurization using time and temperature combination can potentially remove the risk however, there is not enough food handling instructions provided for the consumer to properly cook the raw beef to a safe temperature. Implications for policy development designed for Environmental Health Officers to educate and raise awareness in respect to takeout pho should be considered.


Cloud Computing is an emerging area in the field of information technology (IT). Load balancing is one of the main challenges in cloud computing. It is a technique which is required to distribute the dynamic workload across multiple nodes to ensure that no single node is overloaded. Load balancing techniques help in optimal utilization of resources and hence in enhancing the performance of the system. The goal of load balancing is to minimize the resource consumption which will further reduce energy consumption and carbon emission rate that is the dire need of cloud computing. This determines the need of new metrics, energy consumption and carbon emission for energy-efficient load balancing in cloud computing. This paper mainly focused on the concept of load balancing technique in cloud computing, the existing load balancing techniques and also discusses the different qualitative metrics or parameters like performance, scalability, associated overhead etc.


Recent efforts to improve teacher preparation practices have called universities to place focus on enhancing clinical experiences of preservice teachers. Efforts to meet this call have resulted in little data furthering understanding of enhanced clinical experiences on self-efficacy belief development. In this case study, the researcher analyzed a new elementary preparation program employing an immersive, yearlong clinical experience. The researcher sought to understand if socialization into communities of practice during the experience influenced development of preservice teacher self-efficacy beliefs. The researcher analyzed the level of participant socialization and its influence on efficacy source experiences specifically. Additionally, the researcher analyzed if socialization facet variances across intern responses may have affected socialization. Findings indicated efficacy source experiences are linked to individuals' level of socialization. Efficacy source experiences changed as participant socialization levels changed. Less socialized participants perceived experiences differently and experienced a lack of feedback from mentors.


ABSTRACT The aim of this paper work is to study the model of the process of sulphuric-acid alkylation of isobutane using a mathematical model. The model of the object was developed considering the physicochemical regularities of the process. The paper analyzes the main processes occurring at the installation and performs the results of model verification. In addition, the technological scheme of one of the sulphuric-acid alkylation existing installations were considered. The developed program is able to calculate the composition of the obtained alkylate, to determine the yield of target products and by-products, to select optimal technological process conditions for a given raw material composition. It was noted, that the consumption of sulfuric acid increases as a result of the accumulation of high-molecular organic compounds in it, as well as its dilution with water, which enters the reactor along with the raw material and forms during the side reactions of the process.


Women earn less than men, and that is especially true of mothers relative to fathers. Much of the widening occurs after family formation when mothers reduce their hours of work. But what happens when the kids grow up? To answer that question, we estimate three earning gaps: the "motherhood penalty," the "price of being female," and the "fatherhood premium." When added together these three produce the "parental gender gap," defined as the difference in income between mothers and fathers. We estimate earnings gaps for two education groups (college graduates and high school graduates who did not complete college) using longitudinal data from the NLSY79 that tracks respondents from their twenties to their fifties. As the children grow up and as women work more hours, the motherhood penalty is greatly reduced, especially for the less-educated group. But fathers manage to expand their relative gains, particularly among college graduates. The parental gender gap in earnings remains substantial for both education groups.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the heterogeneity of real estate assets with regard to investment risk measurement, with Paris' apartment market as a case study.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantile regression is used to handle the fact that willingness to pay for housing attributes may vary greatly over both space and asset value categories. The method is alternately applied on central and peripheral districts of Paris, or "arrondissements", with hedonic indices built for nine deciles over a 17-year period (1990-2006). Portfolio allocation is subsequently analysed with deciles being the assets.

Findings

The findings suggest that during the slump, peripheral districts show better resilience and define the efficient frontier while also exhibiting a lower volatility. In addition, higher returns are observed for lower-priced apartments, both central and peripheral. During the recovery and boom stages of the cycle, the highest returns are experienced for the cheapest apartments in central locations, whereas upper-priced, centrally located units yield the lowest returns.

Originality/value

The originality of this research resides in the application of quantile regression in a real estate investment and risk management context. The methodology may raise individual investors' and practitioners' attention, especially index providers'.


The Orsini Colonna castle of Avezzano represents one of the most important historic buildings in the internal area of Abruzzo. Founded at the end of the fifteenth century, on the rests of an older structure, with continuing modification till the sixteenth century, the building had several damages with the earthquake of January thirteenth 1915, which destroyed the entire city Avezzano and the neighborhood, causing more than 30000 victims. After the quake event, the efforts and the works for the preservation didn't have the time to start, because of the beginning of the world wars; in particular, the castle suffered more damages with the three different bombardments on the city in 1943 and 1944. The first works of recovering and restoration were achieved in 1964 by the Genio Civile of Avezzano, the corps of engineers, with the direction of Tommaso Orlandi; in this intervention, the building had been interested by the recovering of the structures, with the reconstruction of the perimeter walls, also with the purpose of avoiding deterioration and the complete abandonment. The second works were conducted by the architect Alessandro Del Bufalo, who designed the restoration of the entire building, inserting an internal concert hall in the courtyard with a new structure in steel and glass, recovering the castle basement under the towers, and creating a modern art gallery museum in the second level. The works finished in 1994. This paper aims to redefine the historical development of the building, focusing in particular on the restoration interventions of the last century, and their different methods in the efforts of preservation, which approached to the preservation and reconstruction of the building in different ways.


Produced water (PW), which is water extracted along with oil, is the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry. With the proper treatment, this wastewater can be used in agricultural irrigation. This study evaluated the effects the application of PW treated by electroflocculation (EF) and combined electroflocculationreverse osmosis (EF-RO) on soil salinity and sodification parameters. Excessive sodium levels in PW treated by EF may affect soil structural stability and plant growth, and tends to accumulate in upper layers, displacing the nutrient K to deeper layers of the soil profile. PW treated by EF-RO did not promote salinization and soil sodification, indicating that this combined technique may be a viable alternative for oily water treatment aiming at irrigation use in semiarid regions.


Dear Editor We read the case report article entitled "High Dose Ofloxacin-induced Bimodal Hallucinations in a 4 Years Old Child" by Bhattacharya et al. published in Clinical Psychopharmacology Neuroscience. We would like to inform you that, we are deeply concerned by some of the facts presented thereof. We would like to address some serious issues with the article here. Authors have given a case report of a four year old girl child; who was admitted and treated with intravenous as well as oral ofloxacin as a first line treatment for acute gastroenteritis. We raise a concern about the use of ofloxacin as a first line antibiotic therapy in a pediatric case. Ofloxacin is contraindicated in children and growing adolescents due to possible effect of damage to growthplate cartilage as per the summary of product characteristics. We disagree to the introductory statement of the article; 'Ofloxacin is a popular fluoroquinolone medication used in adults as well as children'. The use of fluoroquinolones in children is strictly restricted for the infections such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aereginosa, Salmonella, Shigella and/or multi-drug resistant organisms. Currently, fluoroquinolones (FQ) that are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration are being used in children for serious infections only. Ciprofloxacin is the only FQ approved by the European Medicines Agency for use serious pediatric conditions. Ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin are available as oral suspensions in many countries. An oral suspension of ciprofloxacin is available in the US, Canada, and 15 European countries, but systemic FQ use is not approved in Korea for any indication in children younger than 18 years. Another concern in the case report is use of an unstandardized and unsupervised oral dosage of ofloxacin in the child patient. The patient was prescribed oral ofloxacin 400 mg, 1/4 tablet twice daily and asked to follow-up after two days. Here, we want to point out to the negligence part on the prescribing physicians. The dosage used was 400 mg tablet; an adult dosage form and was prescribed as 1/4 of a tablet. The concern here is, if the prescribing physician wanted to use dosage of 100 mg twice daily, they should have chosen the 100 mg tablet of ofloxacin. If the 100 mg tablet was unavailable, then the administration should have been supervised. This would have minimized the possibility of medication error and the adverse effects due to it. In the context of reported adverse effect of delirium in the given case where an unapproved drug was used, more careful treatment selection and therapeutic monitoring could have avoided the 'serious' side effect especially when safety profile of the drug have not been evaluated in the pediatric population.


All-planar dual-mode inductive asymmetric filters utilizing new planar microstrip to dielectric-loaded rectangular waveguide transitions at Ka-band were presented and built in this work. The conventional, three-dimensional metallic rectangular waveguide dual-mode filters can be implemented into mature PCB technology with a much easier and lower-cost fabrication process on the basis of the all-planar feature of the transition. This work demonstrates two Ka-band filter examples with center frequency at 31 GHz and bandwidth at 1 GHz and 2 GHz. The measured minimum insertion loss of each case was, respectively, 2.68 and 1.12 dB, with greater than 10 dB return loss in the passband. Moreover, the measured side-band attenuation (near passband) is larger than 30 dB due to the transmission zeros at each side of the passband.


The ability of pigmented retina epithelial cells (PRE) to spread upon a number of different cellular substrata was examined and quantitated. PRE cells could not spread out upon sheets of cell-types which showed reduced amounts of lamellar cytoplasm, such as epithelial cells (PRE and BSC-1) and transformed fibroblasts (L-929 and CHO-Kl). PRE cells could adhere to the upper surfaces of these cell sheets only in small numbers. PRE cells did appear to be able to spread and move when seeded upon the fibroblast sheets (choroid, BHK 21/C13 and heart) although the fibroblasts themselves were unable to do so. Both classes of cells adhered equally effectively to the fibroblast sheets as measured by the monolayer collection assay. Scanning electron microscope studies showed that the PRE cells appeared to spread upon the fibroblast cells themselves and not the culture substratum. PRE cells which attached to fibroblast sheets exhibited many filopodia whereas those on epithelium did not and possessed many blebs. Transmission electron microscope studies confirmed that the PRE cells were using the fibroblast sheet as a substratum for spreading and not extensive extracellular matrix such as collagen or the plastic culture vessel. Examination of long-term (4 hours) experiments revealed that the PRE cells were able to 'invade' the multilayered choroid sheets they had spread upon, although no contact with the tissue culture substratum was ever noted. Head-on collisions between choroid fibroblasts resulted in classical contact inhibition of movement by one or both of the cells. However, PRE cells were not contact inhibited on collision with the choroid fibroblasts although they induced a contact inhibitory response in the latter. It is suggested that the ability of PRE cell to spread upon and later invade sheets of choroid fibroblasts may be related to their inability to be contact inhibited by the latter. The results are discussed in relation to morphogenesis wound healing and carcinomatous invasion in vivo.


Being overweight is a risk factor for many chronic diseases including oral diseases. Our aim was to study the associations between oral health behavior, lifestyle factors and being overweight among young European adults, 2011–2012. The subjects constituted a representative sample of adult population aged 18–35 years from eight European countries participating in the Escarcel study. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits, oral health behavior, smoking, exercise, height, and weight. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 using the World Health Organization criteria. Mean BMI was 23.2 (SD 3.48) and 24.3% of the study population were overweight. Those who were overweight drank more soft drinks (p = 0.005) and energy drinks (p = 0.006) compared with those who were non-overweight. Brushing once a day (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0), emergency treatment as the reason for last dental visit (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3–1.9) and having seven or more eating or drinking occasions daily (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1–1.7) were statistically significantly associated with overweight. Associations were found between oral health behavior, lifestyle and overweight. A greater awareness of the detrimental lifestyle factors including inadequate oral health habits among overweight young adults is important for all healthcare providers, including oral health care professionals.


To think about curriculum and pedagogy is to ask the perennial questions, what (really, what!) should we teach, and how (really,how!) we should teach it. To think about these questions in the "borderlands" is to consider teaching settings in which students try to preserve their home culture in the process of journeying into the culture of the traditional American classroom. This article charts one teacher's journey from a monocultural to a multicultural curriculum and from the front to the back of the classroom. She uses the metaphor of curriculum as a mirror in which to see self and a window from which to see others, both in deeper and more complex ways. She describes the pedagogical uses of the theatrical devices of stage and mask, on and behind which students can learn to play with ideas and act in the "as if" mode so essential to real education.


Social scientists often study the flow of material and social support as generalized exchange systems. These systems are associated with an array of benefits to groups and communities, but their existence is problematic, because individuals may be motivated to take from the system without giving back to it. Researchers have identified two broad processes governing prosociality in generalized exchange systems: generalized reciprocity (a person who receives help from someone pays it forward by helping a third person) and indirect reciprocity (a person who helps another establishes a prosocial reputation and, as a consequence, later receives help from a third person). Although generalized exchange systems can be based on either process, generalized and indirect reciprocity are based on different mechanisms and, with few exceptions, have been investigated independently. Here we present an integrated approach to generalized exchange that (1) specifies when each process is most likely to promote prosocial behavior, (2) details the implications for resource inequalities in generalized exchange systems, and (3) describes how generalized and indirect reciprocity jointly influence prosocial behavior. Results from four new experiments strongly support the theoretical arguments.


Several sci-fi dystopian novels depict communities of the future in which people spend most of their time fighting each other in mortal combats. Such competitions take sometimes the form of violent sports, like in Rollerball (1975) by Norman Jewison, or of cruel manhunts, like in La decima vittima (1965) by Elio Petri and Hunger Games (2012) by Gary Ross. Sponsored and encouraged by governments themselves, generally totalitarian and dictatorial in their organization, these challenges play an important role both as an outlet for the most violent instincts of individuals and as means of approval, in the wake of the tradition of fights among gladiators. Moreover, these combats do not necessarily need the presence of an audience to take place, like for instance in Battle Royale (2000) by Kinji Fukasaku, but most of the times they are shaped as shows recorded by multiple cameras, in accordance with the practice of reality shows, like in The Running Man (1987) by Paul Michael Glaser. This essay aims to survey the topic of the dystopian killing game in films and novels, starting from the short story The Seventh Victim (1953) by Robert Sheckley, that can be considered a prototype of this kind of fictional theme, till the Hunger Games saga, where the mortal combat motif melts with a satire on contemporary reality TV


Early onset of disabling backache in acromegaly is infrequent. A case is presented of a young acromegalic with acute sacroiliac strain caused by improper occupational lifting, precipitated by the instability of joints due to hypersomatotropism and concomitant with lumbosacral facet tropism. The newly observed radiological feature of the acromegalic, hyperostosis of the spinous processes is believed to contribute to the aching in the low back. The patient resumed working after ten adjustments to the sacroiliac joint, supplemented with cryotherapy, sacral brace and postural education. It is postulated that backache in acromegalics is primarily related to acute accidental, or to chronic repeated, occupational or recreational microtraumas to the low back or to the hyperostosis of the lumbar spinous processes.


The citadel of Turin, built in the sixteenth century by the duke Emanuele Filiberto, became an expensive and obsolete object that hampered the enlargements during the nineteenth century. The Enlargement Plan for the capital designed by Carlo Promis (1851-1852) progressively reduced the military constraints facing the citadel. In 1856 the City Council decreed the demolition of the defensive structure. During the demolition one section of the building was spared: the donjon. In 1864 it became the urban background of the statue erected in honor of Pietro Micca, the "soldier mineworker" hero of the siege in 1706. Therefore, this project became an opportunity for the Municipality and the Ministry of War to discuss two central issues. On one hand, the need to set up a "decorous backdrop" to the Piedmontese hero, and on the other hand keeping the costs of the restoration project to a minimum. A well-known architect from Turin named Carlo Ceppi presented an accurate report about the choices of the "restoration" works. Finally, in 1892 the responsibility of the work was given to the engineer Riccardo Brayda, who was an expert in medieval and modern architecture.


On the basis of expounding connotation of "auspicious four seasons", the paper introduces related situations of spring peach blossom village, summer pomegranate blossom village, autumn osmanthus blossom village and winter plum blossom village, as well as major project and profit of "auspicious four seasons" new village tourism in Wuhan city. Development situations of "auspicious four seasons" new village tourism in Wuhan city are analyzed by using SWOT analysis. Among them, the strengths are analyzed from four aspects of geographical strengths, transportation superiority, rich natural resources and attached great importance by government, the weaknessses are illustrated from the five aspects of backward infrastructure construction, unsound governmental functions, needing improvement of service consciousness and service quality of villagers, shortage of publicity, insufficient input competence of tourism, the opportunities are analyzed from the two aspects of policy guarantee and tourism demand, the threats are analyzed from the two aspects of serious homogenization of tourism products and increasingly improved expected value of tourism products. Based on the analysis above, tourism marketing strategies of the new village—"auspicious four seasons" in Wuhan are put forward: First, strengthening publicity, it includes using network marketing strategies, enhancing traditional marketing publicity, strengthening festival tourism publicity and intensifying celebrity charm; Second, launching various new village tourism projects, it includes vigorously extending picking and exhibition tourism of fruits and vegetables, launching rural education tourism, launching flowers and plants cultural tourism and wedding celebration tourism, launching leisure tourism for old people and building learning base of new village construction; Third, exerting resource superiority of Han River water area, developing aquatic tourism projects, it mainly includes developing pleasure-boat of different types and grades, strengthening construction of waterfront accessible space and enhancing connection and cooperation with travel agencies.


The eastern North China craton contains the largest association of gold deposits in China. Hundreds of gold deposits of different scales, commonly in groups or belts, constitute seven subclusters. In contrast, there are no industrial gold deposits in the neighboring areas of the UHP Sulu region and the northern Yangtze craton. The host rocks of the gold deposits are chiefly Precambrian high-grade metamorphic rocks and granites (anatectic melts derived from Precambrian metamorphic rocks). Traditionally the gold deposits were considered to be of the Archean greenstone type. However, recent geochronology of granitoid bodies and veins related to gold mineralization and gold-bearing minerals in ore lodes reveals that the main metallogenic episode was 110-130 Ma in all seven subclusters. Geochemical data also indicate that the metallogenic materials mainly came from the Precambrian basement of the North China craton and its underlying mantle. Sr-Nb-Pb and S-O-H isotopic data of the ore lodes show crust-mantle mixing characteristics, corresponding to the metamorphic host rocks and basic-alkaline dikes. The main structures controlling the mineralization are Mesozoic faults that trend roughly NE-ENE and NW. Therefore, Precambrian rocks and Mesozoic magma-tectonic events provide fundamental controls on the mineralization. Problematic relationships between the Mesozoic tectonic events (Yanshanian movements) and large-scale metallogenic activity have attracted substantial attention from Chinese and foreign geologists. Mesozoic tectonic inversion in eastern China mainly involved a thick lithosphere that thinned at depth and a reconstructed basin-and-range structure at the surface, which resulted from a catastrophic lithosphere-asthenosphere event. This tectonic event led to a large-scale mantle upwelling, which induced disturbance and adjustment of thermal, density, and chemical phenomena, resulting in large-scale crustal remelting (especially the lower crust), material exchange and mixing between mantle and crust, movement and circulation of fluids, and finally a new magma-fluid-mineralization system.


There are phenolic compounds in sarcotesta of papaya seed which can act either as inhibitor or as antioxidant.  The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of sarcotesta and seed moisture content on total phenolic content and seed longevity of papaya seed.  The experiment was conducted in November 2004 - May 2005, at Bogor Agicultural University, by using papaya seed (IPB-1) harvested from Center for Tropical Fruit Studies orchard in Bogor. In this study, seeds were dried in the absence and presence of sarcotesta until 11-12% and 6-7% moisture content (mc).  After drying, seeds were packed in sealed plastic bag and stored in ambient room until 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 weeks. Seed viability and total phenolic compound were evaluated every 3 weeks.  Total phenolic content of seed with sarcotesta was higher ( > 327mg/100g dry weight) than the seed without sarcotesta ( 165mg/100g dry weight). Total phenolic content of seed with sarcotesta decreased during storage. In the absence of sarcotesta, seed viability of 11-12% mc seed was similar to the 6-7% mc seed.  The presence of sarcotesta and its phenolic content did not improve seed longevity. Moreover, the deterioration of seed with sarcotesta was faster than that without sarcotesta. Key words : Carica papaya L., sarcotesta, seed moisture content, phenolic content, seed longevity


microRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of regulatory factors controlling gene expressions at post-transcriptional level. Studies on interactions between different miRNAs and their target genes are of utmost importance to understand the role of miRNAs in the control of biological processes. This paper contributes to these studies by proposing a method for the extraction of co-clusters of miRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Different from several already available co-clustering algorithms, our approach efficiently extracts a set of possibly overlapping, exhaustive and hierarchically organized co-clusters. The algorithm is well-suited for the task at hand since: i) mRNAs and miRNAs can be involved in different regulatory networks that may or may not be co-active under some conditions, ii) exhaustive co-clusters guarantee that possible co-regulations are not lost, iii) hierarchical browsing of co-clusters facilitates biologists in the interpretation of results. Results on synthetic and on real human miRNA:mRNA data show the effectiveness of the approach.


We study an array of graphene nano sheets that form a two-dimensional S = 1/2 Kagome spin lattice used for quantum computation. The edge states of the graphene nano sheets are used to form quantum dots to confine electrons and perform the computation. We propose two schemes of bang-bang control to combat decoherence and realize gate operations on this array of quantum dots. It is shown that both schemes contain a great amount of information for quantum computation. The corresponding gate operations are also proposed.


The Hou–Xue–Zhang q-factor model says that the expected return of an asset in excess of the risk-free rate is described by its sensitivities to the market factor, a size factor, an investment factor, and a return on equity (ROE) factor. Empirically, the q-factor model shows strong explanatory power and largely summarizes the cross-section of average stock returns. Most important, it fully subsumes the Fama–French 6-factor model in head-to-head spanning tests.
 The q-factor model is an empirical implementation of the investment-based capital asset pricing model (the Investment CAPM). The basic philosophy is to price risky assets from the perspective of their suppliers (firms), as opposed to their buyers (investors). Mathematically, the investment CAPM is a restatement of the net present value (NPV) rule in corporate finance. Intuitively, high investment relative to low expected profitability must imply low costs of capital, and low investment relative to high expected profitability must imply high costs of capital. In a multiperiod framework, if investment is high next period, the present value of cash flows from next period onward must be high. Consisting mostly of this next period present value, the benefits to investment this period must also be high. As such, high investment next period relative to current investment (high expected investment growth) must imply high costs of capital (to keep current investment low).
 As a disruptive innovation, the investment CAPM has broad-ranging implications for academic finance and asset management practice. First, the consumption CAPM, of which the classic Sharpe–Lintner CAPM is a special case, is conceptually incomplete. The crux is that it blindly focuses on the demand of risky assets, while abstracting from the supply altogether. Alas, anomalies are primarily relations between firm characteristics and expected returns. By focusing on the supply, the investment CAPM is the missing piece of equilibrium asset pricing. Second, the investment CAPM retains efficient markets, with cross-sectionally varying expected returns, depending on firms' investment, profitability, and expected growth. As such, capital markets follow standard economic principles, in sharp contrast to the teachings of behavioral finance. Finally, the investment CAPM validates Graham and Dodd's security analysis on equilibrium grounds, within efficient markets.


Historically, midwifery has been an oral culture, where the generation of knowledge occurs through narrative or 'storytelling' rather than through scientific data. In recent years, however, the prevalence of scientific knowledge has dominated midwifery. The gold standard of scientific research is the randomised controlled trial, which is arguably a poor fit for normal midwifery practice because, in its purest form, midwifery is about supporting and enabling physiology with minimal intervention. A number of practices in midwifery have seen widespread adoption before there were published scientific data to support them. These include non-suturing of perineal tears in the 1990s, the use of water and, more recently, the use of hypnosis techniques for labour and birth. It seems possible that the narrative tradition of knowledge-sharing in midwifery may have contributed to these phenomena. Midwives should be encouraged to value this 'way of knowing' more highly, and research in the context of UK midwifery pract...


An alternative control scheme including a directional genetic algorithm controller (DGAC) and a supervisory controller is developed to control the position of an electrical servo drive in this study. In the DGAC design, the spirit of gradient descent training is embedded in genetic algorithm (GA) to construct a main controller to search optimum control effort under possible occurrence of uncertainties. In order to ensure the system states around a defined bound region, a supervisory controller, which is derived in the sense of Lyapunov stability theorem, is added to adjust the control effort. Compared with enunciated GA control methods, the proposed control scheme possesses some salient advantages of simple framework, fewer executing time and good self-organizing properties even for nonlinear dynamical system. The effectiveness is demonstrated by simulation results, and its advantages are indicated in comparison with other GA control schemes for a field-oriented control induction motor drive.


Abstract In the present note we deduce a class of bounds for the difference between the stop-loss transforms of two compound distributions with the same severity distribution. The class contains bounds of any degree of accuracy in the sense that the bounds can be chosen as close to the exact value as desired; the time required to compute the bounds increases with the accuracy.


This article assesses the strength of son preference in Bangladesh, as reflected in fertility behavior. Although the fertility rate for Bangladesh declined from 6.3 children per woman of reproductive age in the year 1975 to 2.3 children in 2014, empirical results show that son preference has still a strong influence on fertility behavior. Keeping cognizant of this fact, this study examines levels and differentials in fertility and also investigates the effects of son preference on fertility in Bangladesh. In addition, the study inspects the underlying factors responsible for son preference. Levels of fertility indicate that the proportion of higher education of a couple is inversely related to fertility, whereas rural and Muslim couples in Bangladesh have more children. The bivariate analysis shows that almost all the independent variables selected for this study have a significant association with parity progression. Findings from multivariate analyses suggest that women with at least one son are less likely to continue childbearing than women without sons at parities 2-3. At most or all parities, continued childbearing is negatively associated with education, access to mass media, and family wealth. A significant source of motivation for parity progression in couples is the desire to have a son.


In this paper, positive and negative impacts of renewable energy sources are presented. Impacts of solar power, biomass power, fuel cells, hydro power, wind power and geothermal power are described. Ecological, social and political impacts of different renewable energy sources are described. Impacts of power plants using different renewable energy sources on the power grid are also described


An FPGA switch box is said to be universal (hyper-universal) if it can detailed route all possible surrounding 2-pin (multi-pin) net topologies satisfying the global routing density constraints. A switch box is optimum if it is hyper-universal and the switches inside are minimum. It has been shown that if the net topology is restricted to 2-pin nets, then a 2-D (4-way) switch box can be built to be universal with only 6W switches, where W is the global routing channel density. As the routing resource is relatively expensive in FPGA chips, study of the optimum switch box designs is clearly a topic with theoretical and commercial value of reducing silicon cost. A previous work has constructed a formal mathematical model of this optimum design problem for switch boxes with arbitrary dimensions, and gave a scheme to produce hyper-universal designs with less than 6.7W switches for 4-way FPGA switch boxes. In this paper, we will further investigate this most common 4-way switch box case, and will give new theoretical results followed by extensive experimental justification, The results seem to be quite attractive. We show that such an optimum switch box can be built with a very low number of additional switches beyond 6 W for today's practical range of low W's (e.g. just 6W plus 1 or 2 additional switches for W's up to 7). Even for arbitrary large W's, the bound can be shown to be under 6.34W. To make experimental comparison, we run today's published best FPGA router VPR on large benchmarks for the popular disjoint structure and our proposed designs. The results are quite encouraging.


The present paper offers an overview of our investigations concerning the intonation of Spanish yes-no questions by Hungarian learners of Spanish. We now focus on linguistic aspects of intonation: which melodic patterns are used by Hungarian learners of Spanish in three subcategories of yes-no interrogatives: neutral yes-no questions, incredulous echo yes-no questions and yes-no questions followed by a vocative. We analyse these subtypes as their intonation in Spanish and in Hungarian is radically different. The Spanish intonation is characterised by final rises in all these three areas, whereas in Hungarian, we can rather detect the presence of a rising-falling melody. Rise-falls are not excluded from the inventory of Spanish interrogative patterns, but their presence is relatively low, and they usually accompany marked yes-no questions. Our aim is to find out on which areas should a language teacher lay more emphasis as far as the correct intonation is concerned.


Release of pro-inflammatory cytokines from both resident and invading leukocytes within the pancreatic islets impacts the development of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Synthesis and secretion of the chemokine CCL2 from pancreatic β-cells in response to pro-inflammatory signaling pathways influences immune cell recruitment into the pancreatic islets. Therefore, we investigated the positive and negative regulatory components controlling expression of the CCL2 gene using isolated rat islets and INS-1-derived β-cell lines. We discovered that activation of the CCL2 gene by IL-1β required the p65 subunit of NF-κB and was dependent on genomic response elements located in the −3.6 kb region of the proximal gene promoter. CCL2 gene transcription in response to IL-1β was blocked by pharmacological inhibition of the IKKβ and p38 MAPK pathways. The IL-1β-mediated increase in CCL2 secretion was also impaired by p38 MAPK inhibition and by glucocorticoids. Moreover, multiple synthetic glucocorticoids inhibited the IL-1β-stimulated induction of the CCL2 gene. Induction of the MAP Kinase Phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) gene by glucocorticoids or by adenoviral-mediated overexpression decreased p38 MAPK phosphorylation, which diminished CCL2 gene expression, promoter activity, and release of CCL2 protein. We conclude that glucocorticoid-mediated repression of IL-1β-induced CCL2 gene transcription and protein secretion occurs in part through the upregulation of the MKP-1 gene and subsequent deactivation of the p38 MAPK. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory actions observed with MKP-1 overexpression were obtained without suppressing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Thus, MKP-1 is a possible target for anti-inflammatory therapeutic intervention with preservation of β-cell function.


In contrast to traditional design studios, Community Design studios are opportunities to engage the contingencies that confront real-world design issues.   These types of studios engage community/university partnership approaches with a range of community groups and non-profit organizations.   Students and architectural curriculum benefit because they build the capacity within an architecture program to define problems with an interdisciplinary lens, encompassing a broad spectrum of design challenges.   They rely on a beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.  These learning opportunities are essential for the beginning design student.   Unfortunately, many Community Design opportunities are not available to all students and even then, rarely until late in a students' design education.


Background: Fifth metacarpal neck fractures, also known as Boxer's fractures, commonly occur as a result of axial impact on a clenched fist. There is no agreement over the optimum management of undisplaced boxers fracture. We present the results of treatment by a Bouquet technique, described by Foucher in 143 consecutive cases of displaced fifth metacarpal neck fractures.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our records for 143 consecutive cases of fifth metacarpal neck fractures treated with Bouquet technique. Clinical and radiological evaluation was done at 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months. Total active motion of the fifth digit, radiography and complications if any were noted.Results: Of 143 cases, there were 113 cases with closed reduction and 30 with open reduction. Radiological union was achieved in 140 cases. Remaining 3 were lost to follow up. Good to excellent result was achieved in 95% cases. Seven cases developed bursitis at the K-wire entry site which required k-wire removal.Conclusion: The technique of flexible antegrade intramedulary nailing of fifth metacarpal neck fractures is simple, safe, soft tissue sparing, minimally invasive technique giving excellent functional and cosmetic results with minimal complications.


This study aimed to account for metadiscourse variations in the discussion sections of articles written in Persian and English and published in Iranian as well as international scholarly journals in English Language Teaching and Psychiatry. For this purpose, 90 research article discussions were selected, and then hedges and boosters were identified based on the taxonomies of metadiscourse markers. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed significant differences in frequency, type, and functions of these devices in the texts. These differences might be attributed to lack of awareness of the conventional rules of English rhetoric, limited and fragile knowledge of academic English by Persian writers, and lack of explicit instruction and exposure to pragmatic and sociolinguistic rules of English by Persian researchers. Further research in other disciplines will help to make more accurate generalizations about the role of metadiscourse markers in research articles.


The common phage type 193 of Salmonella typhimurium was analyzed with respect to molecular markers of chromosomal genotype. Three profiles of the 16S rRNA genes and seven profiles of the DNA insertion element IS200 were found among ten representative strains of DT193. The IS200 profiles found within this single phage type were highly diverse, confirming that DT193 is a composite phage type containing several distinct clones and hybrid lines. IS200 profiling is thus appropriate both for primary strain discrimination, and for subdivision within certain phage types of S. typhimurium, such as DT193. This rapid molecular definition of clonality will be useful for the epidemiological investigation of food poisoning outbreaks.


Over 30 years have passed since activity-based travel demand models (ABMs) emerged to overcome the limitations of the preceding models which have dominated the field for over 50 years. Activity-based models are valuable tools for transportation planning and analysis, detailing the tour and mode-restricted nature of the household and individual travel choices. Nevertheless, no single approach has emerged as a dominant method, and research continues to improve ABM features to make them more accurate, robust, and practical. This paper describes the state of art and practice, including the ongoing ABM research covering both demand and supply considerations. Despite the substantial developments, ABM's abilities in reflecting behavioral realism are still limited. Possible solutions to address this issue include increasing the inaccuracy of the primary data, improved integrity of ABMs across days of the week, and tackling the uncertainty via integrating demand and supply. Opportunities exist to test, the feasibility of spatial transferability of ABMs to new geographical contexts along with expanding the applicability of ABMs in transportation policy-making.


The chemotaxis towards sucrose and yeast extract of nine strains of Xanthomonas campestris representing pathovars campestris, armoraciae, translucens, vesicatoria, and pelargonii was analyzed by using swarm plates. Unexpectedly, each of these strains formed small or reduced swarms typical of nonmotile or nonchemotactic bacteria. With time, however, chemotactic cells appeared on the swarm plates as blebs of bacteria. These cells were strongly chemotactic and were concomitantly deficient in exopolysaccharide production. The switch from the wild type (exopolysaccharide producing and nonchemotactic) to the swarmer type (exopolysaccharide deficient and chemotactic) appeared irreversible ex planta in bacteriological medium. However, in radish leaves swarmer-type strains of X. campestris pv. campestris were able to revert to the wild type. Swarmer-type derivatives of two X. campestris pv. campestris wild-type isolates showed reduced virulence and growth in the host plants cauliflower and radish. However, exocellular complementation of X. campestris pv. campestris Hrp (nonpathogenic) mutant was achieved by coinoculation with a swarmer-type strain.


This article analyzes the art of digression in Abe Kazushige's 1994 debut novel Amerika no yoru arguing that it is an expression of écriture, meaning borderless writing that pushes the boundaries of form. International research has tended to limit the impact of Abe Kazushige's 1990s fiction to his 1997 bestseller Individual Projection, which was heavily featured in the 1998 J-Bungaku marketing campaign. In contrast, this article spotlights novels and short stories that appeared before the presumed beginning of J-Bungaku. Abe's earliest pieces are characterized by a complication of linear storytelling, which had a more lasting effect on defining the author's originality in Heisei literature than later texts. It is precisely his early writing that made Abe one of Japanese contemporary literature's distinctive writers, and had a profound effect on power relationships within the 1990s literary scene. The analysis shows that before Abe had adapted to a more accessible style in Individual Projection, his works consciously performed a radically non-mimetic, nonlinear mode of writing, barely recognizable as literature. In order to assess Abe's true role in the formation of Heisei literature, it may be deemed indispensable to look at his earliest fiction and their formal distinction. This running in circles may extend to areas that have nothing whatsoever to do with Tadao's story. – Abe Kazushige, Amerika no yoru (Day by Night), 1994.


This paper presents a robust, lightweight, low-cost, pressure-resistant ocean current power generation system. This sophisticated power generation system consists of an unique horizontal axis turbine responsive to low marine current, a magnetic coupler, a permanent magnet generator, a controlled DC-DC converter and batteries for energy storage. A sophisticated CFD model of the proposed turbine has been developed and simulated using Flow3D. The energy conversion system has been built and tested in a wave tank. Both the simulation and tested results demonstrate that the proposed system can harness significant amount of energy from the sea current during low flow speed. A sensorless adaptive nonlinear backstepping control methodology has been proposed to extract maximum power from the turbine. The proposed controller is simulated in Matlab/Simulink and also tested in a laboratory energy conversion system. Both the simulation and experimental results are presented and fully analysed in this paper.


Alkylation of d- or l-phenylalanine or valine alkyl esters was carried out using methyl or phenyl Grignard reagents. Subsequent condensation with salicylaldehyde, 3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylaldehyde, or 5-fluorosalicylaldehyde formed tridentate, X2L type, Schiff base ligands. Chiral shift NMR confirmed retention of stereochemistry during synthesis. X-ray crystal structures of four of the ligands show either inter- or intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. The ligands coordinate to the titanium reagents Ti(NMe2)4 or TiCl(NMe2)3 by protonolysis and displacement of two equivalents of HNMe2. The crystal structure of one example of Ti(X2L)Cl(NMe2) was determined and the complex has a distorted square pyramidal geometry with an axial NMe2 ligand. The bis-dimethylamide complexes are active catalysts for the ring closing hydroamination of di- and trisubstituted aminoallenes. The reaction of hepta-4,5-dienylamine at 135 °C with 5 mol% catalyst gives a mixture of 6-ethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine (40-72%) and both Z- and E-2-propenyl-pyrrolidine (25-52%). The ring closing reaction of 6-methyl-hepta-4,5-dienylamine at 135 °C with 5 mol% catalyst gives exclusively 2-(2-methyl-propenyl)-pyrrolidine. The pyrrolidine products are obtained with enantiomeric excesses up to 17%.


This study examines the structure of Urhobo Wood Sculptures and it's healing properties. With certain illnesses on the rise and still no known cures to some of them, this form of therapy offers a new dimension to global medicine. The solutions lie not only in numerous herbal and psychological attributes but also in the structure of these art works. Certain traditional codes as well as iconographic formations which are engraved on these works, speak volumes on some healing processes. An acceptance of this form of treatment may raise the hopes of numerous persons at globalized levels.


Bottom scatter measurements were conducted in several littoral and deep‐water regions using explosive charges (processes from 100 to 2000 Hz) and low‐frequency (processed from 175 to 325 Hz) coherent sources. The measurements provide an opportunity to compare bottom scatter data using coherent and incoherent sources. The bottom scatter collected by coherent and incoherent sources appears to be identical within measurement uncertainties. This important result implies that survey measurement techniques (which use incoherent sources) may be employed for developing databases that support coherent systems. A variety of seafloor mechanisms controlled the scattering depending upon frequency, grazing angle, azimuth, and environment. However, modeling results indicate that the dominant scattering mechanisms arise from sub‐bottom features and not the water‐sediment interface. One important scattering mechanism appears to be a sub‐bottom horizon. This kind of mechanism is generally not treated in current scattering models. A modeling approach is presented that captures the angular and frequency dependence of the sub‐bottom horizon scattering. [Work supported by SPAWAR and ONR.]


Client expectations and preferences about therapy represent an important area of investigation as research shows they are linked to engagement in therapy and therapy outcomes. Studies examining young people's expectations and preferences of therapy remain a neglected area of research. The present study explored what expectations and preferences young people seeking professional help held regarding: their role as a client, their therapist's role, their therapeutic outcomes, and the processes of therapy. Gender and age differences were also examined. Participants included 188 young people aged 12-25 who completed a survey while attending their initial session at a youth mental health service. Data were analysed using quantitative methods. Results found the young people held significantly more pessimistic expectations around therapy when compared to what they had wanted therapy to be like. Few age and gender differences were found. Results highlight the importance of a collaborative therapy approach when working with young people. Keywords—Client expectations, mental health services, preferences, young people


Kirkbride Road is a busy urban road crossing State Highway 20A, the main route between Auckland City and Auckland International Airport. The existing crossing is a signalised at-grade intersection which contributes to local congestion and has a high accident rate, both of which were expected to worsen as traffic volumes increase. The MHX Alliance was commissioned in 2010 to develop options for a new grade separated interchange. Three significant alternatives were considered; a 550m long viaduct carrying SH20A over Kirkbride Road, a similar arrangement with a shortened bridge and earth embankments, and a trench to take SH20A under Kirkbride Road. The latter was selected because it achieves traffic flow and safety objectives with least impact on the local community, maintains local road and cycleway levels and access, maintains visual connectivity in this region of schools, parks and residential properties, and limits adverse effects on local businesses by relatively low land take. Lowering SH20A also has the least visual and noise impact during construction. Preliminary design and budget development of the trench option commenced in 2014 and additional design requirements were added – provision for a 1.6m diameter watermain across the trench at Kirkbride Road and widening the trench to allow future construction of two light rail tracks within the trench. The final arrangement is a 455m long, 29.25m wide open trench with current provision for 6 traffic lanes and future provision for 4 traffic lanes and 8m wide two-track rail corridor. Kirkbride Road Bridge is 29.2m wide with 6 traffic lanes and two 3.5m wide shared footpaths. Design was complicated by the presence of deep peat and silty soils with potential for seismically induced liquefaction, a high water table, acidic soil, large stormwater retention volume and use of low axial stiffness steel screw piles to restrain the base slab against buoyancy. This paper covers the design issues that stem from these complications and the innovations in design and construction that resulted.


This essay examines embodied listening behaviors—gestural listening—in the context of online video tutoring in university writing centers. Drawing on interviews and observations with writing center practitioners, as well as theoretical frameworks in sound and gesture studies, this essay examines the central role of listening in writing tutoring, and furthermore, how listening behaviors adapt to the virtual boundaries of video conferencing. The author argues that video tutoring highlights the expressivity of listening in the way that aspects of common video tutoring apparatuses (including the hardware of personal computers and software such as Skype or WCOnline) fragment and compromise the sensorium. In the face of this fragmentation, listening's expressive qualities serve to overcome and cohere the disjunctures brought about by video tutoring technologies. Furthermore, cultivating the expressive aspects of gestural listening helps video tutoring succeed. The essay touches on eye contact, posture, and nonverbal backchanneling, among other embodied listening behaviors.


Experimental studies have documented that myocardial dysfunction is precipitated between 3 and 6 hr after endotoxin or E. coli. This finding has now been confirmed in human septic shock. A "Hinshaw-modified" isolated working left ventricle preparation has been used to document and assess the degree of failure. It was found that the failure is often severe and reversible only temporarily by adrenergic agents but reversible by digoxin or insulin. The cause of the failure has not been identified, but evidence is presented against a myocardial depressant factor (MDF) being the causative factor. Hearts subjected to a 2-4 hr period of hypotension on the threshold of failure show no signs of failure when subjected to blood circulating from an animal in splanchnic arterial occlusion shock. Hearts from pancreatectomized animals subjected to endotoxin shock with their source of MDF removed demonstrate the typical failure in 4-6 hr. Other factors are suggested that contribute to myocardial dysfunction: hypotension or nonuniform perfusion of subendocardial regions of the heart, depressed responsiveness to inotropic and chronotropic stimuli, intracardiac ionic and fluid disturbances, and increases in heart chamber and muscle stiffness. Since steroid/antibiotic therapy increases the probability (p less than 0.05) that an animal will survive lethal sepsis, investigating the effect of this therapy on myocardial function may aid in determining whether or not this degree of heart failure contributes in the animal to irreversible shock and death.


In an attempt to overcome existing limited studies about the residual flexural properties of solid particle eroded particle reinforced thermoplastic composites, this study is aimed to determine particularly titanium dioxide (TiO2) particle concentrations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt %) effects on the flexural and solid particle erosive wear properties of TiO2 particle reinforced polyphenylenesulphide (PPS) composites. In addition, thermal and viscoelastic properties of PPS composites were also studied by using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) methods. TiO2 reinforced PPS composite samples were prepared by using a twin screw extruder and injection molding machines. Subsequently, composite samples were eroded under various impingement angles in specially designed erosion test rig by using silica particles and then flexural tests were performed. It was found that increase of particle concentrations in PPS improves composite's stiffness. Besides, maximum flexural and residual flexural strength were obtained at 10 wt % particle concentrations for both uneroded and eroded composites. The erosion rate of composite was increased with augmentation in TiO2 concentration. Moreover, TGA analysis indicated that remarkable results on thermal stability were obtained. The effects of TiO2 reinforcement on the results of DMA were also discussed. POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000– 000, 2013. V C 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


Electricity demand in India is increasing at a rapid pace because of growth in Economy, urbanization, infrastructure development and the living standard of people. According to the United Nation's world population prospects (2017), India's population is 1.34 billion which will go grow further and surpass China by 2025[1]. According to the IMF, the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.5% in FY19-20 and 7.7% in FY20-21[2]. Increased population and growth in GDP are associated with increased energy demand. India's primary energy consumption was 754 Mtoe in 2017 and expected to reach 1928 Mtoe in 2040[3]. Major energy demand is from the Industrial sector which was 51% of total primary energy consumption in 2017 and expected to reach 990 Mtoe, by 2040 [3]. Rising energy demand and dependence on coal-based energy generation capacity, leading to the emission of Green House Gases (GHG). Most of India's Greenhouse gas emissions are from energy sector having 68.7% contribution in overall greenhouse gas emission. Agriculture, Industrial process land-use change and forestry (LUCF), and waste, contributed 6.0%, 3.8% and 1.9% respectively in overall GHG emission in 2014. [4]. Reducing the GHG emission in India is a major challenge in front of the Government as the Government has to maintain sustainable growth with the contribution in mitigating the effect of climate change. Govt. has pledged to Paris Agreement for the reduction in emission intensity of GDP by 33-35% by 2030 below 2005 level [5]. In the reduction of GHG emission, energy efficiency's contribution is estimated at approx. 51% [6]. The industrial sector can contribute most in reducing GHG emission and contributes to nationally determined contribution. Industry consumes 40%-45% of total energy consumption and motor-driven system consumes 70% [7] of total Industrial energy. Most of the energy in Industries are consumed to run the motor for various purposes and consumes a major chunk of energy which can be reduced to a significant level by replacing the standard motor with energy efficient motor. 90% of the motor in Indian industries are IE1 or below IE1 standard [8] and required replacement. By installing the energy efficient motor, the industry can save huge energy, cost and reduce CO2 emission. Observing the opportunity for energy saving by energy efficient motor, this paper aims to analyze how energy efficient motor is capable of reducing energy consumption, and how it can contribute to energy conservation. Methodology adopted in this paper is secondary research, that answers to questions like; why Industry need energy efficient motor, how energy efficient motor can save energy and increases efficiency, cost-benefit analysis of installing energy efficient motor, barriers to the installation of energy efficient motor and solution to those barriers in migration from the standard motor to energy efficient motor in India.


A novel beamspace radial basis function neural network for the estimation of the angle-of-arrival (AOA) of a mobile unit in cellular communications is proposed. By training the network with the data emitted from different sub-cells in the field of interest, and then collected by a set of antenna array beamformers optimum weights which lead to the best approximation of the desired response in least-square sense can be obtained. In principle, the network performs mapping from the complex input data into the desired angle response. Computer simulations demonstrate that the proposed scheme is effective in combating multipath interference.


70 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp70) are essential chaperones of the protein quality control network; vital for cellular fitness and longevity. The four cytosolic Hsp70's in yeast, Ssa1-4, are thought to be functionally redundant but the absence of Ssa1 and Ssa2 causes a severe reduction in cellular reproduction and accelerates replicative aging. In our efforts to identify which Hsp70 activities are most important for longevity assurance, we systematically investigated the capacity of Ssa4 to carry out the different activities performed by Ssa1/2 by overproducing Ssa4 in cells lacking these Hsp70 chaperones. We found that Ssa4, when overproduced in cells lacking Ssa1/2, rescued growth, mitigated aggregate formation, restored spatial deposition of aggregates into protein inclusions, and promoted protein degradation. In contrast, Ssa4 overproduction in the Hsp70 deficient cells failed to restore the recruitment of the disaggregase Hsp104 to misfolded/aggregated proteins, to fully restore clearance of protein aggregates, and to bring back the formation of the nucleolus-associated aggregation compartment. Exchanging the nucleotide-binding domain of Ssa4 with that of Ssa1 suppressed this 'defect' of Ssa4. Interestingly, Ssa4 overproduction extended the short lifespan of ssa1Δ ssa2Δ mutant cells to a lifespan comparable to, or even longer than, wild type cells, demonstrating that Hsp104-dependent aggregate clearance is not a prerequisite for longevity assurance in yeast. AUTHOR SUMMARY All organisms have proteins that network together to stabilize and protect the cell throughout its lifetime. One of these types of proteins are the Hsp70s (heat shock protein 70). Hsp70 proteins take part in folding other proteins to their functional form, untangling proteins from aggregates, organize aggregates inside the cell and ensure that damaged proteins are destroyed. In this study, we investigated three closely related Hsp70 proteins in yeast; Ssa1, 2 and 4, in an effort to describe the functional difference of Ssa4 compared to Ssa1 and 2 and to answer the question: What types of cellular stress protection are necessary to reach a normal lifespan? We show that Ssa4 can perform many of the same tasks as Ssa1 and 2, but Ssa4 doesn't interact in the same manner as Ssa1 and 2 with other types of proteins. This leads to a delay in removing protein aggregates created after heat stress. Ssa4 also cannot ensure that misfolded proteins aggregate correctly inside the nucleus of the cell. However, this turns out not to be necessary for yeast cells to achieve a full lifespan, which shows us that as long as cells can prevent aggregates from forming in the first place, they can reach a full lifespan.


Abstract Local governments in Europe are facing difficulties in meeting citizens' demands for welfare provision. This opens new opportunities for profit as well as non-profit providers of social welfare. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are one type of non-governmental organizations addressed by governments to complement or replace parts of public welfare provision. This article gives some examples of FBOs in action as providers of welfare in a European context, with a particular focus on Sweden. Following the introduction, the second part locates the phenomenon of FBOs within the scholarly debate about secularism/post-secularism as related to multi-level governance. The third part gives an overview of potential roles of FBOs in welfare provision combating poverty and social exclusion, illustrated by a few examples from European contexts. Focus in the fourth part is upon the role of FBO engagement in Sweden as developing after World War II. It is concluded that no system is all encompassing in catering to those who suffer from poverty and social exclusion. There will always be a need for the competence and avant-garde role potentially provided by FBOs. However, due to historical circumstances FBOs in Sweden have been, and still are, complementary rather than an outright alternative to public welfare provision.


The numerical model for opposite-side simple-support-free rectangular plate is established based on the theory of engineering vibration. The basic differential equation of transverse vibration of thin plate and the method of development of trigonometric function series are being used to analyze the behaviors of rectangular plate under moving area-loads in constant speed. The analytical solution of dynamic response for plate was obtained. This model can be used to simulate the dynamic response for thin plate under moving shock load and to assess the yield state of thin plate under shock loads. The Mises' yield criteria was used to judge the dynamic yield case of plate under shock loads. The distribution of stress and strain of dynamic response in parent plate under shock loads was solved according to the free-simple harmonic oscillation equation of plate. The calculation results can be used to analyze the plastic area and visco -plastic area of stress distribution in the plate. It is of some guiding significance for the installation structure of parent plate in explosive welding.


Myocardial fibrosis is a common endpoint in a variety of cardiac diseases and a major independent predictor of adverse cardiac outcomes. Short of histopathologic analysis, which is limited by sampling bias, most diagnostic modalities are limited in their depiction of myocardial fibrosis. Cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has the advantage of providing detailed soft-tissue characterization, and a variety of novel quantification methods have further improved its usefulness. Contrast material-enhanced cardiac MR imaging depends on differences in signal intensity between regions of scarring and adjacent normal myocardium. Diffuse myocardial fibrosis lacks these differences in signal intensity. Measurement of myocardial T1 times (T1 mapping) with gadolinium-enhanced inversion recovery-prepared sequences may depict diffuse myocardial fibrosis and has good correlation with ex vivo fibrosis content. T1 mapping calculates myocardial T1 relaxation times with image-based signal intensities and may be performed with standard cardiac MR imagers and radiologic workstations. Myocardium with diffuse fibrosis has greater retention of contrast material, resulting in T1 times that are shorter than those in normal myocardium. Early studies have suggested that diffuse myocardial fibrosis may be distinguished from normal myocardium with T1 mapping. Large multicenter studies are needed to define the role of T1 mapping in developing prognoses and therapeutic assessments. However, given its strengths as a noninvasive method for direct quantification of myocardial fibrosis, T1 mapping may eventually play an important role in the management of cardiac disease.


A major challenge in mobile wireless devices for opportunistic networks is to minimize the energy consumption. The minimization however should not come at a cost of reduced application throughput (i.e. goodput). This work evaluates the potential performance gains for mobile nodes that adopt a duty-cycling scheme in an opportunistic context. We present an analytical framework for evaluating the energy consumption of nodes based on a probabilistic estimation of effective contact durations, and we validate this framework on a mobility scenario. We further perform extensive trace-driven simulations and demonstrate that a duty-cycling scheme considerably improves the performance of opportunistic content distribution systems by decreasing the energy consumption without significantly affecting the goodput.


In an earlier number of the Tulane Studies in Geology (vol. 1, no. 2, 1963), the writer presented a catalogue of the described Recent and Tertiary species of Acesta, based upon references collected while preparing the description of Lima (Acesta) bullisi H. E. Vokes. At that time it was noted that since the catalogue was the result of a canvass of the literature it was "quite possible" that some species had been overlooked. This latter statement subsequently has proved to be correct and it is now possible to supplement the previous listing and thus to make it more complete. The writer is greatly indebted to Professor R. L. Merklin of the Paleontological Institute, Akademy Nauk, U.S.S.R., for calling his attention to the eastern Siberian occurrences of Acesta and furnishing a photocopy of an important reference.


Abstract Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) - type neural network algorithm is the heuristic self-organizing algorithm to model the sophisticated systems. In this study, we propose a new algorithm assembling different classifiers based on GMDH algorithm for binary classification. A Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to compare diverse classifier ensemble based on GMDH (dce-GMDH) algorithm to the other well-known classifiers and to give recommendations for applied researchers on the selection of appropriate classifier under the different conditions. The simulation study illustrates the proposed approach is more successful than the other classifiers in classification in most scenarios generated under the different conditions. Our proposed method is compared to the other classifiers on Cleveland heart disease data. An implementation of the proposed approach is demonstrated on urine data. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is released under R package GMDH2 under the name of "dceGMDH" for implementation.


Missing covariate data is a common problem in nonlinear mixed effects modelling of clinical data. The aim of this study was to implement and compare methods for handling missing covariate data in nonlinear mixed effects modelling under different missing data mechanisms. Simulations generated data for 200 individuals with a 50% difference in clearance between males and females. Three different types of missing data mechanisms were simulated and information about sex was missing for 50% of the individuals. Six methods for handling the missing covariate were compared in a stochastic simulations and estimations study where 200 data sets were simulated. The methods were compared according to bias and precision of parameter estimates. Multiple imputation based on weight and response, full maximum likelihood modelling using information on weight and full maximum likelihood modelling where the proportion of males among the individuals lacking information about sex was estimated (EST) gave precise and unbiased estimates in the presence of missing data when data were missing completely at random or missing at random. When data were missing not at random, the only method resulting in low bias and high parameter precision was EST.


Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity remains a pervasive influence in critical studies on men and masculinities (CSMM). However as Connell and Messerschmidt note, one of the key drawbacks of the approach is that it lacks an adequate theory of 'social embodiment'. Subsequent authors have explored how masculinities entail bodily control and regulation but this often reproduces the Cartesian divide between mind and body that CSMM is highly critical of. On the other hand, poststructuralist critiques often see the body as entirely constructed through discourse, undermining the problem of gendered, embodied experience. This article suggests that literature on affect is a means of moving between these two approaches in order to see masculinities as corporeally experienced through power relations, but ultimately not entirely reducible to them. Drawing on 6 life history case studies from a larger research project, the article demonstrates how 'learning to be affected' by music is an embodied process which relies fundamentally on learning physiological experience through social interaction. This highlights the potential for both re-producing and transforming gendered performances and offers a new theoretical framework for conceptualising masculinities in the field of CSMM.


Background Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious public health concern because it continues devastating communities. This survey was conducted in the sub-district 2 of the Tshwane health district, South Africa. It aimed at determining the influence of patients' living conditions on TB treatment outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, food security and exposure to cigarette smoke were considered as living conditions; and cure, death, default, failure and relapse were considered TB treatment outcomes. Methods Record review using the Aitahealth database, clinic registers as well as a piloted, structured and administered questionnaire. Results Convenience sampling applied; 180 respondents were obtained. Tuberculosis respondents with negative HIV status had a cure rate of 67.3% whilst those with positive HIV status had 37%. Tuberculosis respondents with good food security had 45.9% of cure rate. Tuberculosis respondents exposed to cigarette smoke had a death rate of 65.2%, while respondents not exposed to cigarette smoke showed 75% of cure rate. Conclusion HIV status, food security and exposure to cigarette smoke, as components of living conditions, showed an association with TB treatment outcomes in the selected sample; in the sense HIV infection reduced the cure rate, increased the death and default rates of TB patients in the same sample. Good food security increased the cure rate of TB patients, but exposure to cigarette smoke decreased the cure rate and increased the death rate amongst respondents having TB treatment in the current survey.