This paper examines the short-term relationship between provident fund yields and investment in provident funds. Using Panel VAR regressions, we find that there is short-term momentum in provident fund yields and flows and investors engage in short-term yield chasing. We also find positive effect of flows on short-term yields. We reinforce these conclusions by dividing our sample to pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis estimation and confirming our main results in the sub-periods. Additional evidence seems to suggest that investor yield chasing is affected by fund risk and management fees.


The design of Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems (LSCESs) is an undertaking that requires large organizations made up of several teams of individuals, often spread over a significant geographical area. The structures of these organizations affect the design process of these engineered systems where design processes affect the products on which they are applied. Previous work has aptly demonstrated the improvements in design products where Value-Driven Design (VDD) is practiced, by capturing stakeholder preferences in value functions when using Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) frameworks to design complex systems. Organization structures, which are an essential part of Organization Design (OD), have been studied to understand the role that these structures play on resource management and utilization. This research invokes the augmentation of systems engineering by the inclusion of OD via the addition of organization structure attributes and parameters to the value function for complex engineered systems. This allows for a platform where system design involves an objective evaluation of systems where the systems are defined not only by their physics-based characteristics but also by the processes that are used to design these very systems. Further, information on coupling strengths is investigated as a means to gain insight on how coupling suspension affects system value where the value function of a system includes organization attributes and parameters as well as traditional physics-based parameters, variables and attributes. Finally, this work proposes the capturing of trust placed on information by decision makers and how that affects the overall system value given the contribution of product and process as mentioned above.


A 61-year-old female presented with 6 months of polyarthralgia associated with constitutional symptoms. These included weight loss, night sweats, lethargy and worsening mobility and activities of daily living. There was no significant medical history. On examination, she had synovitis of multiple joints. Investigations for rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody were negative. There was an acute phase response in the form of raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed pancreatic and right ovarian cystic lesions, which turned out to be clinically insignificant. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography demonstrated fluorodeoxyglucose avid lesion in the right hemi-thyroid. Ultrasound of thyroid gland showed a 13 mm hyporeflective, irregular, subcapsular nodule in the upper lobe with some microcalcification. Fine needle aspiration cytology was diagnostic of papillary carcinoma, confirmed on total thyroidectomy. Arthritis completely resolved within 8 weeks postoperatively. We report the first case of paraneoplastic carcinomatous polyarthritis in association with a papillary thyroid carcinoma as evidenced by a resolution of joint manifestations and laboratory markers of inflammation posttotal thyroidectomy.


Influenza is a significant source of morbidity and mortality both worldwide and also in the United States. In the U.S., the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates over 490,000 hospitalizations and 34,000 deaths during the 2018-2019 influenza season [2]. The objective of this research is to determine the epidemiologically important parameters of the H1N1 influenza virus such as the infection and recovery rates using mathematical modeling. Publicly available influenza incidence data from the CDC webpage was used to validate the mathematical model. The spread of the H1N1 influenza virus is modeled using the Susceptible-InfectedRecovered (SIR) compartmental model. To account for vaccination and treatment of the virus, SIVR and SITR models are considered. The models were run on the computer software MATLAB to compare the predictions of the model to the CDC data. To ensure the model's precision, the parameters were manipulated so that the model predictions could mirror the data. It was found that the 2018-2019 season H1N1 influenza infection rate is 0.2567 per day and the recovery rate is 0.1774 per day. Finally, the identifiability of the models was analyzed through Monte Carlo Simulations, which were performed on MATLAB. The results show that the average relative errors of all the model parameters remained lower than the measurement errors. Thus, these results validate the identifiability of the epidemiological models considered in this study and the reliability of the parameter estimates.


Introducton
Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder characterized by chronic accumulation of fat in the adipose tissue. Infant obesity is one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century. The prevalence has been on the rise for the past two decades in developing countries. Its complications are numerous, touching all systems in the body. Therefore, in sub-Saharan Africa, the need to provide substantial evidences about its burden as well as associated risk factors is of paramount importance.

Objectives
This study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence and associated risk factors of Early Obesity in infants aged 6 to 24 months at the Mother And Child Center-Chantal Biya Foundation (MCC-CBF), Yaounde
.
Methods
A cross sectional analytic study was conducted in which, 310 mother-infant pairs (173 males and 137 females) were consecutively sampled. These included infants within the age group 6 to 24 months from the vaccination unit of the MCC-CBF. The study ran from January to May 2018. We used a questionnaire to collect information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the infants and their mothers. The anthropometric parameters of the infant were measured and analyzed using the WHO standards to serve as baseline (Weight-for-length Z-score). The univariate and multivariate analysis were also conducted to determine the associated and independent risk factors of obesity respectively.
Results
The prevalence of obesity was 3.9% (5.2% females and 2.3 males). The risk factors associated to obesity were birth weight > 3500g, feeding with artificial milk in the first hour of life, early diversification with a combination of solid and liquid foods, and maternal weight gain during pregnancy of ≥10kg. After multivariate analysis, feeding in the first hour of life with artificial milk; early diversification with a combination of solid and liquid foods; and weight gain during pregnancy ≥10kg remained significant.

Conclusion
The prevalence of early obesity in our study was 3.9%. The risk factors found were: maternal weight gain during pregnancy ≥ 10kg, birth weight >3500kg, feeding in the first hour of life with artificial milk and early diversification with a combination of solid and liquid foods.


Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen responsible for causing late blight in potato and tomato, is a rapidly evolving and highly adaptable pathogen. Following the appearance of a new clonal genotype in Kenya (KE-1 lineage) in 2007, there was a need to document possible displacement of the US-1 genotype by the newer lineage. Samples from Kenya (260) collected on potato and from Uganda collected on potato (134) and tomato (32) were genotyped with simple sequence repeat (SSR) and mitochondrial DNA haplotype (mtDNA) markers. Results show that, four years after its discovery, the KE-1 lineage has completely displaced the US-1 lineage on potato in Kenya. The KE-1 lineage has also migrated into Uganda through the eastern part of the country that borders western Kenya. All potato samples from eastern Uganda were of the KE-1 lineage. Moreover, samples from eight fields in western Uganda were also of the KE-1 lineage, which is in agreement with an ongoing westward displacement. However, the new lineage has not displaced the old lineage on tomato, as all samples from tomato were US-1. Principal coordinate analysis (PCA) scatter plots revealed clustering that indicated separation between the lineages and also between the subpopulations of the US-1 lineage on potato and tomato.


BACKGROUND
Interstitial lung (ILD) disease and Granulomatous lung disease (GLD) are rare respiratory disorders that have been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Clinical presentation is polymorphic and aetiology is unclear.

METHODS
This was an ECCO-CONFER project. Cases of concomitant ILD or GLD and IBD or drug induced ILD/GLD were collected. The criteria for diagnosing ILD and GLD were based on definitions from the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society and on the discretion of reporting clinician.

RESULTS
We identified 31 patients with ILD, majority had ulcerative colitis (UC) (n=22). Drug related ILD was found in 64% of patients. Twenty five patients (80.6%) required hospitalization and 1 required non-invasive ventilation. Causative drug was stopped in all drug related ILD and 87% of patients received systemic steroids. At follow up 16% of patients had no respiratory symptoms, 16% had partial improvement, 55% had ongoing symptoms, no data in 13%. One patient was referred for lung transplantation and 1 death from lung fibrosis was reported. We also identified 22 GLD patients, most had Crohn's disease (CD) (n=17). Drug related GLD was found in 36% of patients. Ten patients (45.4%) required hospitalization. Causative drug was stopped in all drug related GLD and 81% of patients received systemic steroids. Remission of both conditions was achieved in almost all patients.

CONCLUSIONS
ILD and GLD although rare can cause significant morbidity. In our series over half of cases were drug related and therefore focused pharmacovigilance is needed to identify and manage these cases.


There are two innovations in the paper as compared to the previous literature on democracy and growth. First, we consider not only the level of democracy, but also changes in this level in the 1970s-1990s as measured by increments of Freedom House political rights indices. Second, the distinction is made between democracy and law and order (order based on legal rules); the latter is measured by the rule of law, investors' risk and corruption indices. We discuss two interconnected threshold hypotheses: (1) in countries where law and order is strong enough, democratization stimulates economic growth, whereas in countries with poor law and order democratization undermines growth; (2) if democratization occurs under the conditions of poor law and order (so that illiberal democracy emerges), then shadow economy expands, quality of governance worsens, and macroeconomic policy becomes less prudent. We adduce a number of stylized facts to support our hypotheses. However our econometric findings are mixed: we report results that support the hypotheses as well as regressions that contradict them.


Thiophene oligomers (OTs) and polymers (PTs) are currently attracting remarkable attention as organic materials showing semiconducting, fluorescent, nonlinear optical and liquid crystalline properties.
All these properties can be fine-tuned through minor structural modifications.
As a consequence, thiophene oligomers and polymers are among the most investigated compounds for applications in organic electronics, optoelectronics and thin film devices such as field effect transistors (FETs), light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photovoltaic devices (PVDs).
Our research aims to explore the self-assembly features and the optical, electrical and photovoltaic properties of a class of thiophene based materials so far scarcely investigated, namely that of oligo- and polythiophenes head-to-head substituted with alkyl or S-alkyl chains.
In particular, we synthesized these compounds in short reaction times, high yields, high purity and environmentally friendly procedures taking advantage of ultrasound (US) and microwave (MW) enabling technologies in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-couplings.


Abstract This paper is concerned with English noun phrases that denote generalized instances: they do not refer to actual spatio-temporal instances, but to virtual ones that are abstracted from a limited number of actual instances, e.g., a student in Three times, a student complained (Langacker, Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Volume II: Descriptive application, Stanford University Press, 1991, Dynamicity, fictivity, and scanning: The imaginative basis of logic and linguistic meaning, Cambridge University Press, 2005, forthcoming). Langacker likens generalized instances to generic ones, which constitute "global" generalizations over all actual instances of a type. On the basis of authentic data, I argue that, even though the profiled instance denoted by generic and generalized noun phrases is similar, the way the respective instances are accessed in discourse is very different. My data set consists of English noun phrases that are explicitly marked for generalized instantiation by the addition of a secondary determiner such as same in The twin brothers bought the same car or kind of in There was no way we could match that kind of offer. I compare noun phrases of four sets of secondary determiners, viz. adjectives of multiple exposure (usual), of identity (same, identical), of similarity (similar, comparable) and type noun constructions (kind of/type of/sort of). These data also allow me to refine the concept of generalized instantiation in terms of its semantic subtypes, the semantic interaction between secondary determiner and primary determiner, and the selection criteria for secondary determiners that can express it.


We present two cases of diagnostics and treatment difficulties developing after pacemaker implantation. Lead dependent infective endocarditis in the aftermath of mechanical complications was observed in both cases.


Osteoporosis is characterized by a generalized and progredient bone loss, leading to low bone mass and microarchitectural detoriation with subsequent bone fragility. The same diagnostic approach should be undertaken irrespective of the presence or absence of fractures. The aim of clinical history, physical examination, densitometry and laboratory tests are to exclude diseases that can mimic osteoporosis, to elucidate causes of osteoporosis, to assess severity of osteoporosis and to help selecting the most appropriate form of treatment.


Female reproductive success varies with social rank in many gregarious mammals, including primates, ungulates and carnivores. Social groups of spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) are structured by hierarchical dominance relationships that determine individuals' priority of access to food and other resources. The influence of female social rank on several measures of reproductive success was examined in a population of free-living Crocuta in Kenya. The study population was continuously observed for seven years, making it possible to document litter sizes, interbirth intervals, ages of cubs at weaning, intervals between weaning one litter and conceiving the next, annual rates of production of cubs, and survival of offspring to reproductive maturity. The relationship between availability of food, social rank, and female fertility was examined by monitoring abundance of prey throughout the study period. Most measures of reproductive performance were strongly influenced by social rank. High-ranking females began breeding a younger ages, were more frequently able to support pregnancy and lactation concurrently experienced shorter intervals between litters, and produced more surviving offspring than did lower-ranking females. Low-ranking females exhibited better reproductive performance when prey animals were abundant than when prey were relatively scarce. By contrast, reproductive performance among high-ranking females was always superior to that exhibited by low-ranking females, and did not vary with prey abundance. Fertility among high-ranking females thus appeared to be less vulnerable to fluctuations in the food supply than was that among low-ranking females.


This article is intended to provide an overview of the anesthetic management for bronchoscopic procedures in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). This includes the classifications of PH, diagnosis with severity, and treatment modalities as detailed knowledge of this condition is imperative for proper anesthetic management. Preoperative evaluation and optimization of the patient is discussed as well. Bronchoscopic procedures require airway manipulation and compromise ventilation for lengths of time. As hypoxemia and hypercarbia trigger decompensation in PH, this may lead to a downward spiral if control is lost. Therefore a discussion of the intraoperative anesthetic management and the critical concerns are detailed in this article, as well as treatment modalities and management for said concerns.


Objective: To compare the accuracy of clinical and ultrasonographic (USG) estimation of fetal weight in non-complicated, term pregnancies. Materials and Methods: Two hundred term pregnant women were included in the study. We used three formulae for the estimation of fetal weight at term; the Hadlock formula for the USG method, and two different formulas for clinical methods, maternal symphysis-fundal height and abdominal circumference at the level of umbilicus. Accuracy was determined by mean percentage error, mean absolute percentage error and proportion of estimates within 10% of actual birth weight (birth weight ±10%). Patients were divided into two groups according to actual birth weight, the normal birth weight group (2500-3999 g) and high birth weight group (≥4000 g). Results: All three methods statistically overestimated birth weight for the high and normal birth weight groups (p<0.001, p=1.000, p=0.233) (p=0.037, p<0.001, and p<0.001). For both groups, the mean absolute percentage errors of USG were smaller than for the other two clinical methods and the number of estimates were within 10% of actual birth weight for USG was greater than for the clinical methods; the differences were statistically significant (p<0.001). No statistically significant difference of accuracy was observed for all three methods for the high birth weight group (p=0.365, p=0.768, and p=0.540). However, USG systematically underestimated birth weight in this group. Conclusion: For estimation of fetal birth weight in term pregnancies, ultrasonography is better than clinical methods. In the suspicion of macrosomia, it must be remembered that no method is better than any other. In addition, if ultrasonography is used, careful management is recommended because ultrasonography overestimates in this group.


In the research and commentary around 'fake news', there has been growing attention to the way the phrase evidences a growing field of technology industry critique, operating as a shorthand for understanding the nature of social media companies' power over the public sphere. This article interrogates elite and popular discourses surrounding 'fake news', using the tools of critical discourse analysis to show how public commentary constitutes a discursive field that renders tech industry power intelligible by first defining the issue of fake news as a sociotechnical problem, then debating the infrastructural nature of platform companies' social power. This article concludes that, as commentary moves beyond a focus on fake news and critiques of technology industries grow more complex, strains of elite discourse reveal productive constraints on tech power, articulating the conditions under which limits on that power are understood as legitimate.


Using newly collected data from a survey distributed to all banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this article measures economic efficiency in the banking industry, namely allocative, technical, pure technical and scale efficiency. Employing a nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, the study estimates the efficiency for a cross section of the UAE banks in 2004. The results indicate that the dominant source of inefficiency in the UAE banking is stemming from allocative inefficiency rather than technical inefficiency. Furthermore, the main source of the relatively small size, technical inefficiency in the UAE banking industry is not the scale inefficiency but rather pure technical inefficiency. The results further indicate that the UAE banks are able to use their input resources more efficiently when they have more branches, and that newer banks are performing better than older banks on average. Moreover, the results also show that short experiences of employees affect efficiencies negatively and government ownership tends to reduce efficiency (as the government shares increase in the bank, the efficiency scores get lower). Finally, the most interesting results have to do with finding higher average efficiencies in banks that employ more women, more managers and less national citizens of the UAE.


This article provides an overview of the work that W3C and IETF are doing toward defining a framework, protocols, and application programming interfaces that will provide real-time interactive voice, video, and data in web browsers and other applications. The article explains how media and data will flow in a peer-to-peer style directly between two web browsers. This explains the protocols used to transport and secure the encrypted media, traverse NATs and firewalls, negotiate media capabilities, and provide identity for the media.


In 1991 a cholera epidemic occurred in Nigeria. The features of this cholera outbreak in a single hospital in Cross River, Nigeria, were examined. Microbiologic techniques included the use of thiosulphate citrate bile-salts sucrose (TCBS) medium for culture of all stool specimens. Vibrio isolates from diarrheic patients included V. cholerae-O1 (75), V. cholerae non-O1 (10) and V. parahaemolyticus (21). The illnesses were diverse, ranging from mild to severe, and in most instances requiring hospitalization, rehydration as well as antibiotic treatment. Eighty patients were hospitalized and six died mainly from hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure arising from excessive fluid loss. The low vibrio-associated mortality observed in this outbreak may have been influenced by the proximity and easy transit access to the health care facilities offered by the teaching hospital. This contrasts with the high mortality figures reported by Health Centers in the rural areas during the same period. Some features of vibrio diarrheas were comparable with those of other enteric pathogens. Poorly developed water and sewage disposal systems, contact with sea water, consumption of fishery products and leftover foods were the main risk factors identified.


Conversational semantic role labeling (CSRL) is a newly proposed task that uncovers the shallow semantic structures in a dialogue text. Unfortunately several important characteristics of the CSRL task have been overlooked by the existing works, such as the structural information integration, near-neighbor influence. In this work, we investigate the integration of a latent graph for CSRL. We propose to automatically induce a predicate-oriented latent graph (POLar) with a predicate-centered gaussian mechanism, by which the nearer and informative words to the predicate will be allocated with more attention. The POLar structure is then dynamically pruned and refined so as to best fit the task need. We additionally introduce an effective dialogue-level pre-trained language model, CoDiaBERT, for better supporting multiple utterance sentences and handling the speaker coreference issue in CSRL. Our system outperforms best-performing baselines on three benchmark CSRL datasets with big margins, especially achieving over 4% F1 score improvements on the cross-utterance argument detection. Further analyses are presented to better understand the effectiveness of our proposed methods.


These agents may be used safely in most patients. Topical tretinoin has minimal systemic absorption and has not been shown to be teratogenic. (SOR: C, extrapolated from a cohort study of adolescents and adults.) Oral tetracycline (but not doxycycline) is associated with a 0.5% incidence of hepatotoxicity. (SOR: C, extrapolated from a mixed-age case-control trial.) Also, tetracycline-class agents cause permanent staining of developing teeth and are contraindicated in pregnant adolescents. (SOR: C, based on case reports and expert opinion.) Evidence summary


Objective: To verify circulating tumor cell (CTC) prognostic utility in stage IV resected melanoma patients in a prospective international phase III clinical trial. Background: Our studies of melanoma patients in phase II clinical trials demonstrated prognostic significance for CTCs in patients with AJCC stage IV melanoma. CTCs were assessed to determine prognostic utility in follow-up of disease-free stage IV patients pre- and during treatment. Methods: After complete metastasectomy, patients were prospectively enrolled in a randomized trial of adjuvant therapy with a whole-cell melanoma vaccine, Canvaxin, plus Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) versus placebo plus BCG. Blood specimens obtained pretreatment (n = 244) and during treatment (n = 214) were evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for expression of MART-1, MAGE-A3, and PAX3 mRNA biomarkers. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses examined CTC biomarker expression with respect to clinicopathological variables. Results: CTC biomarker(s) (≥1) was detected in 54% of patients pretreatment and in 86% of patients over the first 3 months. With a median follow-up of 21.9 months, 71% of patients recurred and 48% expired. CTC levels were not associated with known prognostic factors or treatment arm. In multivariate analysis, pretreatment CTC (> 0 vs. 0 biomarker) status was significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS; HR 1.64, P = 0.002) and overall survival (OS; HR 1.53, P = 0.028). Serial CTC (>0 vs. 0 biomarker) status was also significantly associated with DFS (HR 1.91, P = 0.02) and OS (HR 2.57, P = 0.012). Conclusion: CTC assessment can provide prognostic discrimination before and during adjuvant treatment for resected stage IV melanoma patients. Study registration ID# NCT00052156.


The main contribution of this technical note is to establish a link between the exponential stability of an unforced system and the input-to-state stability (ISS) via the Liapunov-Krasovskii methodology. It is proved that a system which is (globally, locally) exponentially stable in the unforced case is (globally, locally) input-to-state stable when it is forced by a measurable and locally essentially bounded input, provided that the functional describing the dynamics in the unforced case is (globally, on bounded sets) Lipschitz and the functional describing the dynamics in the forced case satisfies a Lipschitz-like hypothesis with respect to the input. Moreover, a new feedback control law is provided for delay-free linearizable and stabilizable time-delay systems, whose dynamics is described by locally Lipschitz functionals, by which the closed-loop system is ISS with respect to disturbances adding to the control law, a typical problem due to actuator errors.


For multivariate continuous data, the contaminated Gaussian distribution — having two parameters indicating the proportion of outliers and the degree of contamination — represents a convenient and natural way to model and detect outliers. In this paper, we introduce a mixture model whereby each mixture component is itself a contaminated Gaussian distribution. To introduce parsimony, a family of fourteen mixtures of contaminated Gaussian distributions is developed by applying constraints to eigen-decomposed component covariance matrices. This approach is, amongst other things, an effective alternative to trimmed clustering. Although these models could be used for model-based clustering, classification, and discriminant analysis, we focus on the more general model-based classification framework. An expectation-conditional maximization algorithm is used to find maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters and thereby give classifications for the observations. A simulation study is performed to evaluate the behaviour of the Bayesian information criterion and the integrated completed likelihood in model selection. This novel family of models is applied to artificial and real data in order to illustrate some of its advantages. Amongst them, and in contrast to the trimmed clustering approach, we have: 1) each observation has a posterior probability of belonging to a particular group and, inside each group, of being an outlier or not, 2) the models do not require pre-specification of quantities such as the proportion of observations to trim, 3) the approach can be easily used in high dimensions, and 4) model-based classification is permitted in addition to clustering.


The essential oils of peppermint, Mentha piperita and lavender, Lavandula angustifolia were tested for their larvicidal and pupicidal activities against the house fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae). The effects of the two lethal concentrations LC50 and LC75 on the larval duration, pupation percent, pupal duration and adult emergence were also determined. In addition, the induced malformation at larval and pupal stages were recorded and photographed. The results about M. piperita showed higher toxicity against M. domestica larvae than L. angustifolia. The LC50 and LC75 values were 2.5% (225 ppm) and 3% (270 ppm), respectively, for M. piperita and 3% (264 ppm) and 4% (352 ppm) respectively, for L. angustifolia.  Moreover, a significant prolongation in both larval and pupal duration, reduction in pupation and adult emergency percent in addition to various morphological abnormalities of larvae and pupae were detected post treatment of the third larval instar with LC50 and LC75 of  M. piperita  and L. angustifolia. The present results revealed that the essential oils of peppermint and lavender have a control potential against M. domestica and should be further explored as a component of integrated vector management programs.

 Key words: Musca domestica, Mentha piperita, Lavandula angustifolia, larvicidal pupicidal.


The research discussed in this exegesis outlines the development of a visual language to evoke the experience of the sacred space as expressed through the nineteenth century poet Emily Dickinson, particularly her poem number one hundred and twenty four, Safe in their Alabaster Chambers1. I propose that this poem refers to a fluid space where the imaginings of the soul and the body co-exist and is an expression of Dickinson's ambivalence towards religion and its framing of mortality (L. Freedman 2011, p. 1). I suggest that Dickinson used poetry to grapple with the space between the material and the spiritual worlds. In order to make visual my concerns I propose a re-reading of the poem and re-working of the poet's modus operandi, through my print practice. Rather than illustrating Dickinson's poem in a literal way, my work seeks to evoke the conflicted feelings aroused by Dickinson as she seeks to express her relationship with religion and negotiate the expectations of her gender (Freedman 2011, p. 3). My perspective employs a feminine lens through which I contribute to the work of other women artists who have grappled with the idea of spirituality and pushed against the confines of religious belief. I work with the concept of the sacred space, particularly absent for women in religious iconography, making a further contribution to the challenge of how to make the 'invisible' visible.
Printmaking, with its traditional links to religious texts and imagery, is a particularly appropriate medium to explore the sacred. The two print techniques I have employed are stone lithography and mono printing. Stone lithography allowed me to facilitate a unique series of prints through drawing directly onto the stone where deletions and over printing meant each print has a unique state. Mono printing has been especially appropriate, as it has allowed for the layering of inks, stencils and textures to create a series of prints to invoke the two stanzas of the poem. Layering techniques have been used with subtle tones and textures to suggest the invisibility of the sacred space. The issues pertaining to the poem and my visual explorations are the subjects of the following chapters.
This exegesis is set out in three chapters. In Chapter One I discuss my concerns with religious belief as expressed through the words of Julia Kristeva, 'This incredible need to believe' (2009, pp. 3 -12). Kristeva's words are complicit with my intentions to re-fold back to the nineteenth century to engage with the poet and the poem as a foil for my concerns. This is manifest in the re-folding of roles between Dickinson and myself as the poet expresses her concerns related to mortality and religion through her poetry and I re-imagine these through my visual language. To develop this, I delve into how the poetry reflects her ideas, both in language and structure. Dickinson used syntactic devices, such as dashes between words and phrases to denote the 'inexplicable' problem of mortality and the soul. She structured her poem into stanzas, the first of which can be seen to evoke the material world while the second is suggestive of the infinite realm of the spirit, whilst maintaining fluidity between the two realms. Gilles Deleuze's concept of the Fold is introduced as a way of conceptualizing this relationship between the two realms. I argue that there is a connection between the structure of the poem and Deleuze's idea of the two levels of the Baroque House, where one level is for the body and one for the soul, with movement between the two levels (G. Deleuze 1993, pp. 4, 5 & 100 -107).
In Chapter Two the idea of the sacred space, and mortality is developed and contextualized through a number of artists. As I have proposed to view the sacred space through a feminine lens, I have researched women artists who have either employed Dickinson's poetry in their practice or who have found new ways of visualizing the invisible realm of the 'sacred'. Three contemporary artists who have taken Dickinson and her poetry to focus on spirituality and language are Kiki Smith (1954 -) who has recently collected and illustrated a limited edition book of Dickinson's poems, called Sampler (Arion Press), employing the skills of embroidery artisans; Lesley Dill (1955 -) who has referenced Dickinson through her dramatic and large-scale installations and Roni Horn (1955 -) a contemporary American artist who has found an affinity with Dickinson through 'place' and the syntactic devices she employed in the poems. Horn became especially pertinent to this investigation as she took Dickinson's poetic structure and sought to express this through spatial configurations of the components of her work. Twentieth century artists whose works have been referenced for their explorations of the intangible world of spirituality are Mira Schendel's transparent mono prints, and Agnes Martin's translucent pastel hued paintings as an expression of 'nothingness'. This chapter concludes with a discussion of Tacita Dean's installation in the church tower, now art gallery, St Agnes in Berlin. How these artists have influenced the methodologies of my art practice is discussed in detail throughout Chapter Two.
All the artists I discuss are women except for Fra Angelico from the mid fourteenth century. The art critic Georges Didi-Huberman's interpretation of Fra Angelico's fresco, with specific focus on the four panels under the main fresco, has been influential in bringing new understanding to the disruptions in my work. The magnificent fresco Madonna of the Shadows (1450) will be discussed in the final chapter.
The methodologies employed throughout the investigation and subsequent influences are the subject of the third chapter, Modus operandi. An engagement with New Materialism has been central to making sense of the methodologies I employed for the investigation, especially Karen Barad's theory of 'hauntologies'. Barad's proposals have been integral to framing the processes I employed and combined with serendipitous events, interacted to bring about new possibilities in understanding and making. There have been fortuitous discoveries that have led me to bring a sense of Dickinson's manner of working – discoveries where there was a need to let go of the materials and the medium to allow the intra-action of events to bring new understanding between the maker and her materials and the poet and her poem. This has led to the exploration of how to image the text as an absence and has encouraged new insights and questioning of my own practice.


Plant products that are rich in antioxidant properties include grape, one of the world's largest fruit crops and most commonly consumed fruits in the world. Grape extract comprises several bio-active compounds, mostly represented by polyphenols and phenolic acids. It could be an excellent alternative to toxic chemo drugs, with minimal side effects and economical. Grape extract exerts high antioxidant and anticancer activities against cell lines. It could be used to treat a number of cancers, including lung, colon, cervical, bladder and prostate cancers. In this paper, the antioxidant and anticancer activity of pulsed electric field (PEF) treated grape extract is investigated. HeLa cell line (cervical cancer) was used for this purpose. The results indicate more cell death due to PEF-treated extract compared to untreated one, indicating the potency of PEF-treated extract. This shows the potential of using PEF-treated grape extract as a possible anti-cancer drug.


BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcome of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included all cases of enterococcal bacteremia in neutropenic cancer patients documented between January 1986 and December 1995 in a 1,000-bed university hospital, where a prospective surveillance of all cases of bacteremia is regularly done. Molecular typing was performed on all vancomycin-resistant strains with the analysis of chromosomic DNA by macrorestriction. RESULTS: Seventeen cases of enterococcal bacteremia were documented. Seven (41%) were caused by vancomycin-resistant strains (E. faecium 3 and E. gallinarum 4), six of which occurred in the last 5 years of the study period. The average age of patients was 43 years (18-69) and most of them had acute leukemia. Eighty percent of these patients had received vancomycin and/or cephalosporins within 2 weeks prior to bacteremia. Previous administration of antibiotics was more frequent in patients with bacteremia caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci than in those with bacteremia caused by susceptible strains (86% vs 30%; p < 0.05). The mean number of previous antibiotics (2.4 vs 0.8; p < 0.05) as well as days of treatment (13.6 vs 4.3; p = 0.05) were also higher among patients with resistant enterococcal bacteremia. The overall mortality was 57%. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the emergence of sporadic cases of bacteremia caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci in neutropenic cancer patients in our area. This fact seems to be related with the previous administration of antibiotics and advice that a rational use of these agents is needed.


Multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) radar system performance benefits from the capability to simultaneously transmit and receive multiple orthogonal waveforms. For pulse radars fitting orthogonal waveforms have been developed. These waveforms are however not necessarily suitable for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar. The major benefit of the FMCW radar principle is that the bandwidth of the beat signal is generally much smaller than the signal bandwidth, relaxing sampling requirements. Preferably, this benefit should be preserved when applying orthogonal waveforms in an FMCW MIMO radar configuration. In this paper, orthogonal waveforms compatible with the FMCW radar principle will be discussed and tested by experiment or simulation.


ABSTRACT The three main sources of sediment in the Straits of Florida are, (i) the Florida Current contributing a low-magnesian calcitic biogenic ooze; (ii) the Bahama Banks, where the highly aragonitic sediments arise; and (iii) the "relict" sediments which are the source for the detrital silicates and phosphates. A possible fourth source is the Miami Terrace Reef which has a relatively large high-magnesian calcite content. Off-shore currents carry the detritals southward along the coast of Florida until they are blocked by the Florida Current. Aragonitic sediments move westerly from the Bahama Banks, but to the west the Florida Current strongly curtails their cross channel movement. The mineral suite of the Straits of Florida sediments is composed principally of biogenic carbonates except to file northwest where quartz comprises more than half of the sediment, and reflects the strong faunal control of sediment mineralogy. Trace elements found in the carbonate fraction of the sediments of the Straits of Florida are divided into three groups. The first group, strontium and chromium, has a positive correlation with aragonite and similar quadratic trend surfaces east of the axis of the Florida Current. West of the axis chromium behaves differently than does strontium and correlates with the insolubles to the northwest. Statistical evidence indicates that strontium is not significantly enriched in the carbonate sediments after deposition. Manganese and cobalt, the second group, vary directly with each other and statistical analysis shows that they are present in the same phase. From the trend surfaces and linear statistical treatment of manganese and cobalt with respect to the carbonate minerals and insolub es, these two elements occur in low magnesium calcite. Therefore, the Florida Current is a principal source for the distribution of manganese and cobalt in the Straits of Florida. The third group of elements, iron, zinc and chromium, are correlated with the "relict" sediments to the northwest where their most probable source is the carbonate-fluorapatite.


According to the practical situation (loaded by the second time), nine pieces of prestressed concrete hollow slabs which had been reinforced with CFRP were experimented on. And symmetric load was putted on the three-point of the hollow slabs. In this paper, the effects of different pasting methods and quantity of CFRP on mechanical performance and reinforcement effect of prestressed concrete hollow slabs which were damaged in varying degrees were studied. And the ultimate bearing capacity, failure mode, types of cracks and load-deformation curves of test specimen after being reinforced was analyzed systematically. After contrasting and analyzing the trial value of prestressed concrete hollow slabs, a simple, economic and reasonable reinforcing program was obtained.


This study aimed to evaluate the effect of lime and gypsum application on the growth and nutrition of two leguminous trees. Treatments consisted of five rates of limestone, gypsum and a control treatment, with five replicates. Angico species (Anadanthera colubrina) and canafistula (Senna multijuga) were tested in a greenhouse experiment. Height and diameter were evaluated for a period of seven months. We evaluated the plants biomass, chemical composition, and number and dry weight of nodules on the roots. Lime increased pH, Ca2+ and Mg2+ content in soils, besides the neutralization of the Al3+. For Angico, basis saturation promoted the highest growth for canafistula it was 20%. Foliar nutritional content in the species, both, followed the order N> Ca> Mg> K> P. There were no correlations between plant growth and leaf content of nutrients.


Introduction: [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Tuna-2 (previously published as [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-S01-GCG) has shown high-affinity specific binding to the glucagon receptor (GCGR) in vitro and in vivo in rats and non-human primates in our previous studies, confirming the suitability of the tracer for drug development applications in humans. The manufacturing process of [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Tuna-2 was automated for clinical use to meet the radiation safety and good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements. Methods: The automated synthesis platform (Modular-Lab PharmTrace, Eckert & Ziegler, Eurotope, Germany), disposable cassettes for 68Ga-labeling, and pharmaceutical-grade 68Ge/68Ga generator (GalliaPharm®) used in the study were purchased from Eckert & Ziegler. The parameters such as time, temperature, precursor concentration, radical scavenger, buffer concentration, and pH, as well as product purification step, were investigated and optimized. Process optimization was conducted with regard to product quality and quantity, as well as process reproducibility. The active pharmaceutical ingredient starting material DO3A-VS-Cys40-Tuna-2 (GMP-grade) was provided by Sanofi Aventis. Results: The reproducible and GMP-compliant automated production of [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Tuna-2 with on-line documentation was developed. The non-decay-corrected radiochemical yield was 45.2 ± 2.5% (n = 3, process validation) at the end of the synthesis with a labeling synthesis duration of 38 min and a quality controlincluding release procedure of 20 min. The radiochemical purity of the product was 98.9 ± 0.6% (n = 17) with the total amount of the peptide in the preparation of 48 ± 2 µg (n = 3, process validation). Radionuclidic purity, sterility, endotoxin content, residual solvent content, and sterile filter integrity tests met the acceptance criteria. The product was stable at ambient temperature for at least 2 h. Conclusion: The fully automated GMP-compliant manufacturing process was developed and thoroughly validated. The resulting [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Tuna-2 was used in a clinical study for accurate quantification of GCGR occupancy by a dual anti-diabetic drug in vivo in humans.


The view based on epidemiological and laboratory data that blood group A subjects (=A) have clinically significant higher thrombotic potential than blood group 0 subjects (=O), is supported by the present finding of a significantly higher platelet retention in A than 0. The completely normal AB0 distribution found among 71 cases of proven latent CHD, and the disproportionate excess of 0 vs. A in a consecutive series of 191 coronary artery bypass candidates apparently conflict with epidemiological data indicating a higher risk of achieving CHD in A than 0. The conflict may be solved by suggesting a) that the "thrombotic proneness" in A compared with 0 causes a poorer prognosis in CHD among the former, leaving a disproportionate excess of 0 among longterm CHD survivors, and b) that AB0-related factors have had an insignificant, independent impact on the evolution of preclinical coronary artery disease in our 71 men with latent CHD.


On-chip optical light sources are key components in photonic integrated circuits and optical communication. In this paper, we use a novel integration technique called template-assisted selective epitaxy (TASE) to monolithically integrate InP microdisk lasers on silicon. TASE offers several advantages for new device concepts such as lateral doping, dense co-integration of different III–V materials, and in-plane integration with silicon electronics and passive components. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature lasing from InP hexagonal microdisks integrated via TASE. In order to assess and evaluate the viability of TASE, a second InP hexagonal microdisk sample is prepared for comparison using the highly developed and mature direct wafer bonding technique. The lasing performance of the TASE monolithic devices and the bonded microdisk devices is investigated under pulsed optical pumping as a function of temperature and compared. The lasing threshold as well as the light-in light-out curves of our TASE structures compare favorably with the bonded InP hexagonal microdisks. This demonstrates that our TASE approach is a promising technique for the monolithic integration of optical devices on Si.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the experience of the process of Tai Chi exercise.

METHODS
The study was conducted in a local park in Beijing of China where varying numbers of community members gathered to practice Tai Chi every day. Volunteers meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited after signed an informed consent form. In-depth interview and the participatory observation were used to know of the real feeling of practicing Tai Chi. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews were analyzed by using Colaizzi seven-step method to find the subjects.

RESULTS
Six volunteers having a long-time Tai Chi exercise were recruited in this qualitative study, and their real experience was summarized in the physiological level, psychological level, social level and cultural level. In the physiological level, Tai Chi improves the health and exercise of Tai Chi assists the elderly to develop good living habits. In the psychological level, Tai Chi practice guides the person to inner peace, relieves tension, improves depressive mood state, and makes the elderly regain self worth. In the social level Tai Chi is a good form of community practice. In the cultural level, Tai Chi roots in yin and yang culture and integrates internal and external exercises.

CONCLUSION
Tai Chi is good for body and mind health and the community of practice is very important for practitioners. Tai Chi gains popularity for its benefits to health and psychological adjustments, and its cultural connotation.


ABS TRACT Tuberculosis is a major health problem worldwide. Vaccination is a main strategy in reducing the transmission rate. Adverse reactions associated with BCG vaccination have been well documented, but events due to accidental overdose and/or improper vaccination are scarce in the literature. We herein report three pediatric cases who were vaccinated improperly with an over dose BCG, developed cold abscesses at the injection sites and were treated with isoniazid only or combined with rifampicin for six months. Physicians and other vaccine providers/administrators should be encouraged to report events of overdose and/or improper administration to constitute a guideline about treatment since there is no consensus regarding treatment of such complications.


Clouds which continue to garner interest from practitioners in industry and academia require effective energy aware resource managers to leverage processing power of underlying resources while minimizing energy consumption in global data centers. This thesis proposes several energy aware resource management techniques that can effectively perform matchmaking and scheduling of MapReduce jobs each of which is characterized by a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that includes a client specified earliest start time, execution time and a deadline with the objective of minimizing energy consumption. Techniques are proposed for both batch workloads and open systems subject to continuous job arrivals. Simulation based experimental results presented in this thesis demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed energy aware resource management techniques compared to alternative resource management techniques that do not consider energy consumption in task allocation and scheduling decisions.


In this letter, we investigate the relay and power allocation problem for OFDM-based cognitive radio (CR) systems with single antennae. We propose a method where the capacity of CR user employing relays is maximized while total transmission power is kept within a budget and the interference introduced to the primary user (PU) band is kept within a prescribed threshold. The optimization problem is a mixed-integer problem, which is NP-hard. Hence in this letter, we have proposed three sub-optimal schemes. The presented numerical results show that the performance of proposed suboptimal schemes is close to the optimal solution.


The minimal model semantics is a natural interpretation of defaults yet it often yields a behavior that is too weak. This weakness has been traced to the inability of minimal models to reflect certain implicit preferences among defaults, in particular, preferences for defaults grounded on more 'specific' information and preferences arising in causal domains. Recently, 'specificity' preferences have been explained in terms of conditionals. Here we aim to explain causal preferences. We draw mainly from ideas known in Bayesian Networks to formulate and formalize two principles that explain the basic preferences that arise in causal default reasoning. We then define a semantics based on those principles and show how variations of the algorithms used for inheritance reasoning and temporal projection can be used to compute in the resulting formalism.


An enlarged pneumatized middle turbinate, called a concha bullosa, may be the site of inflammatory disease ranging from simple mucosal thickening to a mucocele. Four patients with inflammatory disease involving a concha bullosa were studied with MR and/or CT. Both imaging techniques detected the presence of mucosal inflammation and a mucocele within the concha bullosa, but CT better demonstrated the thin bony wall of the mucocele, allowing differentiation from other soft-tissue nasal masses.


The Irish poet Yeats tells the story that as he was walking one day in the Ballisodare countryside, he heard a woman singing some remnants of a very old song that moved him. The poem that he then wrote is, he assures us: "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballisodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself" (Yeats 1889, 90). Weaving together reverie and thought in "Down by the Salley Gardens", this poem of Yeats that became, in its turn a song again, I have tried to approach this land where poetry and music are still reaching out for each other, animated by an ever present longing for a common root: that of a time where words and sounds were not yet divided.


STATISTICAL studies undertaken in many communities of this country show rather marked variation as to the percentage of children suffering from significant handicaps in communication. However, none of those making such surveys would feel it an exaggeration if one ventured to state that the instance of handicapping impairments of hearing range somewhere between 1 and 2% in the preschool and early school age children. The number of crippling hearing problems apparently is growing. This growth paradoxically seems to be proportional to the improvement in the obstetrician's and pediatrician's ability to save children, particularly children born after severe trauma, and premature children.
 The national picture of the hearing handicapped child is changing. Thirty years ago our deaf schools were filled with children whose hearing impairments were caused by sequelae of meningococcic meningitis or of other infections that involved the ears. This no longer pertains, and we are faced today with a population of children whose hearing handicaps include lesions not localized to the middle or inner ear on even to the auditory nerve. Very few of these children arc completely deaf. They suffer either distorted hearing as the result of damage to the end-organ, or, due to some central damage they are unable to understand speech because they cannot properly comprehend on synthesize speech patterns without special training. Often such youngsters suffer from multiple neurologic handicaps.
 Many children have an amazing ability to learn communication both from an auditory and a speech point of view, provided that their problem is detected early and carefully evaluated, and that they are placed in a well-designed training program. After the age of 6 on 7 years, children with such injuries can rarely be trained with as good results as are obtained in the preschool group. Early detection therefore is of the utmost importance.


The scope of power that the executive branch has to act independently of the other government branches in the national security arena is one of the most difficult questions to answer in constitutional law. Congress has passed a number of statutes empowering the President to take actions necessary to protect our national security, but on relatively few occasions has Congress authorized the President to use force through declarations of war. As Counsel to the President, my job was to work with Attorney General John Ashcroft and other senior lawyers in the Bush Administration to advise the President on the limits of his power to protect America. When I became Attorney General in 2005, I assumed the primary role for that responsibility. In this article, I will explain how I approached this question then from an insider's perspective, based on a straightforward framework of necessity balanced against accountability.


Abstract This paper aims to demonstrate the implications of health mobility on language practices in the medical tourism industry in India and on the ways, language workers become entrepreneurs. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork that traces the trajectories of three former students of Russian, we highlight their future aspirations as language learners and entrepreneurs and show, how they attempt to capitalize on language skills and respond to changing conditions and patient movements within the structures, constraints and uncertainties of the linguistic market. Here, it is our aim to illustrate what it takes to become an enterprising and successful language worker and at the same time highlight their current positioning as emblematic yet subordinate figures within a fast-growing service industry in an emerging economy. We further demonstrate, how language skills not only become commodities to serve existing or future markets, but instead are recast as tools that can be strategically employed to secure recognition and access to prestigious and lucrative professional networks. In doing so, this paper illustrates how linguistic value is produced in a service industry that to date only received little attention in sociolinguistic research.


Aiming at preparing the high performance concrete with metakaolin (MK) replacing silica fume (SF), comparison of fluidity between MK concrete and SF concrete was investigated in this paper. Slump, spread, and slump loss with time of fresh concrete under the condition of superplasticizer adding were tested, which containing with 5 to 15 wt. % replacement of MK, SF, combination of MK and ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS), or combination of SF and GGBS, respectively. The mechanism for exploring fluidity difference of MK concrete and SF concrete were researched by measuring ζ potential and superplasticizer adsorption. The results indicate that concretes containing with 5 to 15 % MK were provided with better workability than concretes with SF. Fluidity of MK concretes incorporating with 5 to 15 % GGBS was better than that of SF concretes. Incorporating with 5 to 15% replacement, MK-cement-superplasticizer system present higher ζ potential, and lower superplasticizer adsorption than SF-cement-superplasticizer, which is an answer to why MK concrete has better fluidity than SF concrete. Physical filling effect of mineral additives is also is helpful to concrete fluidity.


The microstructure, phase composition, Mössbauer spectra, grain boundary segregation and magnetic properties of binary Fe–C alloys with carbon concentration of 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.25, 0.45, 0.60, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 wt. % were studied in the as-cast state, after a long annealing at 725°C and after high-pressure torsion (HPT) at the ambient temperature and 5 GPa with 5 anvil rotations (shear strain about 6). The grain size after HPT was in the nanometer range. Only Fe3C (cementite) and -Fe remain in the alloys after HPT. It was also shown that the less stable Hägg carbide (Fe5C2) and retained austenite disappear, and phase composition closely approaches the equilibrium corresponding to the HPT temperature and pressure. Measurements of saturation magnetization and Mössbauer effect reveal that the amount of cementite decreases after HPT. The reason for partial cementite dissolution is the formation of the carbon-rich segregation layers in the ferrite grain boundaries.


t When it comes to engaging with health information in their daily lives, people face different challenges. In the context of COVID-19, the aim of this study is to determine whether health information literacy can assist people in making informed health-related decisions. An empirical study was conducted to investigate such an effect. Building on a dataset composed of 155 respondents, the research model was examined through structural equation modelling. The results showed that health information literacy – as an individual ability – not only influences health decision making but also has a direct impact on the awareness of the challenges imposed by the current pandemic situation. In addition, the results show that too much information leads to information fatigue, and consequently negatively impacts decision making. The findings of this paper show that the concept of health information literacy should be understood and developed separately from the health literacy concept. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.


ABSTRACT Purpose To compare the incidence of lower eyelid malposition following repair of isolated orbital floor fractures with that of complex orbitofacial fractures (defined as multi-wall fractures or prior orbital fracture repairs requiring revision) by oculofacial plastic surgeons via a transconjunctival or swinging eyelid approach. Methods Retrospective review of 175 patients who underwent surgical repair of orbital fractures at our institution. The primary outcomes were the occurrence of lower eyelid malposition (ectropion, entropion, and eyelid retraction) and the need for subsequent surgical correction. Results Of 95 patients with isolated orbital floor fractures, 4 developed eyelid malposition (4.2%), 1 of which required surgical repair (1.1%). Of 80 patients with complex orbitofacial fractures (48 multi-wall fractures, 32 secondary revisions), 10 had pre-operative eyelid malposition and were excluded from further analysis. Fourteen of the remaining 70 patients developed postoperative eyelid malposition (20%), 3 of which required surgical repair (4.3%). The difference in the occurrence of eyelid malposition between groups was statistically significant (p = .001), but the difference in rates of those requiring subsequent repair was not (p = .182). There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of eyelid malposition when considering other surgical factors including lateral canthotomy, conjunctival closure, implant material, or anterior rim screws. Conclusions The incidence of lower eyelid malposition following orbital fracture repair via a fornix-based approach was significantly higher for the repair of complex orbitofacial fractures than for isolated floor fractures. However, very few patients in either group required surgical repair for eyelid malposition. Surgical factors including implant material did not affect outcomes.


IPNs are unique "alloys" of cross-linked polymers in which at least one network is synthesized and/or cross-linked in the presence of the other. IPNs are also known as entanglements of polymer networks that are ideally held together only by permanent topological interactions. The objectives of this study are to evaluate novel chitosan-based functional drug delivery systems that can be successfully incorporated into "dual action bioactive tooth restorative materials". These materials should be capable of inducing an improved wound healing prototype. The novel hydrogels will be investigated with respect to the antioxidant capacity of conventional antioxidants, such as resveratrol, β-carotene and propolis, as a designer drug delivery system, with the use of SEM imaging for the characterization of the surfaces, bio-adhesive property, antioxidant capacity, free radical defence, antioxidant, active ingredient stability and reactive features of novel materials. The additional benefit of the site-specific "functional restorative material" for use in dressings to deliver antibiotics to wound sites can provide tissue compatibility and reduced interference with wound healing. The materials were tested using an effective in vitro free radical generation model as functional additive prototypes for further development of "dual function restorative wound healing materials". We quantified the effects of functional designer biomaterials on the dentin bond strength of a composite and evaluated the bio-adhesive capacity of the materials in the two separate "in vitro" systems. The added benefits of the chitosan/vitamin C/cyclodextrin (CD) host:guest complex-treated hydrogels involved a positive influence on the tetracycline release, increased dentin bond strength, as well as a demonstrated in vitro "built-in" free radical defence mechanism and, therefore, acting as a "proof of concept" for functional multi-dimensional restorative wound healing materials with a built-in free radical defence mechanism. Based on our results, we can conclude that the CD:chitosan-antioxidant-containing hydrogels are a suitable carrier for tetracycline to be slow-released. Within the limitations of the study design, chitosan-based hydrogels are suitable materials for functional restorative and wound healing applications in vitro. Cytotoxicity data are currently being evaluated in our laboratory.


The paper deals with the low pressure sewer networks which are used for the systematic drainage of wastewater in locations where it is not technically possible, respectively economically advantageous to build a gravity sewer network. With regard to the size of the urban area, town or drainage site these systems can be very large, involving tens or hundreds of independently working pumps that are connected to the common pipeline system. The right one, or rather the optimal topology design of such a system and performance parameters of its elements is therefore a great challenge. The subsequent operation of the low pressure sewer network system also requires a considerable know-how, particularly with regard to the fact that these are technically complex systems with many components which exhibit a variety of typical operating defects. The removal of these disorders requires a deep understanding of the issues, experience, and availability of adequate industrial solutions. One of the possible failures of the low pressure sewer network is clogging of the pipelines with sediment from wastewater. The following text describes the technical way to prevent the clogging of the pipeline of a low pressure sewer network. This paper presents an intelligent flushing system which is developed within the research project reg. No. TA04010023 at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology.


Negotiations for the completion of the first review of the third bailout programme for Greece are approaching a critical stage, with the Greek government resisting some pension and tax changes, while creditors insist on credible and rigorous implementation. Lorenzo Codogno writes that differences are bridgeable within a couple of months, and a positive outcome would open the door for debt relief. However, there are risks related to the evolving political situation, the lack of ownership by the Syriza government, the still-large fiscal gap to be delivered, potential additional social unrest, the expected impact of fiscal measures on the economy and the outlook for potential growth over the medium term.


Viral diseases are extremely widespread infections caused by viruses, a type of microorganism. There are many types of viruses that cause a wide variety of viral diseases. The most common type of viral disease is the common cold, which is caused by a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat). Other common viral diseases include:Viral diseases result in a wide variety of symptoms that vary in character and severity depending on the type of viral infection and other factors, including the person's age and overall health. Common symptoms of viral diseases include flu-like symptoms and malaise.


Nursing shortage is now becoming a global phenomenon (Walker, 2010), with a projected need of 1.09 million nurses by 2024 in the US and a current shortage of 42,000 nurses in UK (Campbell, 2017). According to DoH (2017), UAE will require 16,158 nurses by 2025. With the aim of developing a more sustainable solution for nursing shortage, the researcher developed a pediatric learning module to upskill adulttrained nurses and conducted this study to determine its effectiveness. The researcher utilized Solomon 4-Group Design to determine who will be assigned to receive the pretest, module and posttest. Data was collected using a test questionnaire and competency assessment checklists. Results were subjected to descriptive statistics and factorial analysis of covariance to assess if the demographic variables affect their level of knowledge and competency. Results revealed that the module was successfully developed using the five stages of ADDIE Model namely: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Majority of the respondents are married Asian females in their early adulthood, holding bachelor's degree in nursing, with less than 5 years of experience. Factorial analysis revealed that demographic variables did not influence their level of knowledge and competency (p>0.5). The study also showed that the mean knowledge and competency levels of adult-trained nurses who received the module are significantly higher compared to those who did not undergo the module. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a significant difference on the knowledge and competency levels between adult-trained nurses who used and did not use the pediatric module


This study explores the intergenerational patterns of language use and family language policies (FLPs), language attitudes towards Arabic and multilingualism, and identity practices of Lebanese families in London. It also investigates whether heritage language maintenance (HLM) or language shift (LS) is taking place, and whether assimilation or integration into the host society is occurring. My motivation for focussing on Lebanese immigrant families is that this ethnic group is relatively under-researched, despite being arguably one of the more heterogeneous Arabic-speaking communities ethnically, socio-historically and religiously. The participants in this study are first-generation Lebanese parents who were born in Lebanon, and their second-generation Lebanese-British children born in the UK. The study uses a mixed-method approach and data is collected by means of questionnaires, distributed to children and parents, semi-structured interviews with children and Arabic schoolteachers, focus group discussions with parents, and ethnolinguistic observations of families. The findings show that Lebanese parents are engaged in family language practices and FLPs to maintain the use of Lebanese Arabic (LA) at home. Children respond by speaking mostly LA with their parents and grandparents, and mostly English with their siblings and peers. However, the domain of FLP is dynamic and multi-directional. Children exercise their own agency in various ways to (re)negotiate FLPs and socialise their parents into their own language practices and behaviours. They use code-switching (CS), with both adults and peers, as a practical bilingual practice to fulfil various communicative needs and index different identities. With regards to Arabic literacy, the data indicates that children have 'average' literacy skills in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), but these skills are comparatively lower than those in English, despite the input from various socialisation sources such as dense networks of Lebanese and Arabic-speakers, Arabic mass media and Arabic complementary schools in London. The data also shows that parents and children prefer English for most literacy purposes. With regards to language attitudes, Lebanese parents and children hold positive attitudes towards both varieties of Arabic. The communicative need for LA, its emotional and symbolic value, its important role in guaranteeing strong familial and cultural connections, and participants' oral proficiency support favourable attitudes towards LA. On the other hand, the educational, economic and religious value ascribed to MSA shape participants' positive attitudes. However, the learning of MSA is perceived as more challenging than LA and as requiring more efforts and motivation to attain competence. As for identity practices, Lebanese parents and children have successfully managed to integrate into British society, whilst equally retaining their ethnocultural identity. This study contributes to the literature on FLPs, HLM and LS, and identity practices within ethnic minorities in the UK. It also highlights the diversity within the micro-level of Lebanese families in particular, and Arabic-speaking communities in general, and the dynamics of HL learning and language practices.


The world's fish stocks are suffering from over-utilization. The earth's oceans are subject to exploitation by all nation states and very little preservation. Because of the nature of the international legal regime of the Law of the Sea, enforcement of what conservation and management measures exist is challenging. Boundaries, ephemeral on land, are even more so on water, making rights allocation and management particularly difficult. Nevertheless, as fish stocks continue to decrease and it becomes clearer that oceans require more effective management, coastal states have begun to undertake more significant enforcement procedures corresponding to their rights in their exclusive economic zones established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In particular, Australia has recently implemented a series of measures aimed at improving the enforcement of fisheries regulations in its exclusive economic zone. Although the motive behind these measures is to attain more effective conservation and management of its living marine resources, Australia is pushing the boundaries of international law and must endeavor to ensure it acts in conformity with international law. In 1999, Australia amended its Fisheries Management Act to provide for the automatic forfeiture of any foreign vessel caught fishing illegally in its exclusive economic zone. Australia can and should interpret this provision to conform to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.


The behavior and toxicity of silver engineered nanoparticles (Ag-ENs) to the mixotrophic freshwater alga Ochromonas danica were examined in the present study to determine whether any other mechanisms are involved in their algal toxicity besides Ag+ liberation outside the cells. Despite their good dispersability, the Ag-ENs were found to continuously aggregate and dissolve rapidly. When the initial nanoparticle concentration was lower than 10 µM, the total dissolved Ag+ concentration ([Ag+]T) in the suspending media reached its maximum after 1 d and then decreased suggesting that Ag+ release might be limited by the nanoparticle surface area under these conditions. Furthermore, Ag-EN dissolution extent remarkably increased in the presence of glutathione. In the Ag-EN toxicity experiment, glutathione was also used to eliminate the indirect effects of Ag+ that was released. However, remarkable toxicity was still observed although the free Ag+ concentration in the media was orders of magnitude lower than the non-observed effect concentration of Ag+ itself. Such inhibitive effects were mitigated when more glutathione was added, but could never be completely eliminated. Most importantly, we demonstrate, for the first time, that Ag-ENs can be taken in and accumulated inside the algal cells, where they exerted their toxic effects. Therefore, nanoparticle internalization may be an alternative pathway through which algal growth can be influenced.


The main object was to investigate the effect of donors, thermal donors and defects on the lifetime on n-type Czochralsky (Cz) silicon. Cz is a technique for making monocrystals by dipping a monocrystalline seed into the melt, and pulling the ingot up as the melt solidifies. Samples were prepared by sawing, grinding and polishing. Copper decoration and preferential etching was done to reveal the defects. Resistivity measurements were performed to investigate the donor distribution. The lifetime and oxygen concentration was measured. The lifetime may be influenced by donors and traps. Traps may be metallic or non-metallic. Dopants and metal contaminants are usually Scheil distributed, which typically involves a relatively stable distribution in most part of the ingot, and a rapid increase in concentration close to the bottom. Metal contaminants may be introduced from the feedstock, and dopants (either n or p dopants) are added to the melt. Oxygen is dissolved from the crucible. The oxygen concentration typically decreases with increasing length, and is controlled by the rotation speed. This was confirmed by the interstitial oxygen measurements. The oxygen concentration showed no change after heat treatment, but the presence of oxygen in itself may contribute to produce lifetime reducing agents, such as precipitates and thermal donors. Thermal donors were found in the first 18cm of the ingot. Both the resistivity and lifetime measurements was used to calculate estimated lifetimes and donor concentrations, respectively. This estimated values were compared with the measured ones, revealing that the lifetime in the ingot was SRH dominated. Thermal donors were found to have less influence on the lifetime than the trapping. Oxygen precipitations may explain the low lifetime found in the center of the ingot up to about 30cm from the crown. Such precipitations are often gathered in defect bands in the sample. CDI of a Cu decorated sample revealed a pattern of different defect densities, which also showed up at the surface of the sample after preferential etching. An H- or L- band was believed to be situated here, which both consist of small oxygen precipitates. Defects arize as a funktion of the pulling parameters, and a low growth rate was connected to the low lifetime here. Indications of the presence of non-metallic traps were found throughout the ingot. However, oxygen precipitates could not explain the non-metallic traps that was found on the outside of the ingot, and the cause of these is therefore unknown. It is however likely that these traps may be connected to the pullrate/temperature gradient-ratio. Most likely metallic traps were also present. It is uncertain whether the non-metallic or metallic traps were the most important to the lifetime of this ingot, as the relative distribution of the two cannot be decided with certainty from the results in this thesis. Contrasts in CDI and steep curves using PCD measurements vs length plots were believed to be due to the lifetime degrading agent that changes the fastest. Metallic traps and the phosphorous dopant are known to be Scheil distributed, hence they appear transparent for the lifetime measurements in areas where the distribution is stable. Thermal donors and non-metallic traps are thus more likely to create contrast in the top parts of an ingot. However, it is not necessarily the phenomenon that causes the contrast that is the major lifetime degradation contributor.


The Asian Crisis was a bout of intense turbulence that swept East Asian emerging markets, starting in mid-1997 and running through most of 1998. During this episode, a group of previously rapidly industrializing economies that had compiled an impressive record of sustained growth, been lauded for generally good economic policy and performance, and been highly attractive to foreign capital, suddenly suffered massive capital outflows, steep declines in domestic asset values, at times extreme exchange rate volatility, and deep declines in economic activity. Several required massive financial assistance from the international financial institutions, led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to restore stable financial conditions. What undermined East Asia's success story? The "conventional wisdom" on the Asian Crisis is that the crisis was largely due to a combination of two factors: a build-up of financial fragility in the region during the preceding boom and inherent volatility in capital markets. This set the stage for a twin banking/balance of payments crisis that only awaited a trigger, such as an economic slowdown or weakening of exports, or indeed contagion from other economies, to be set in motion. Once underway, various factors that contribute to market volatility, such as herd behaviour of investors, are adduced to explain the actual course of the crisis, including the overshooting in financial markets. The vicious circle of financial crisis feeding real-side crisis, amplifying the financial crisis, and so forth, explains the depth of the crisis. This paper explores various troublesome features about this story. This review suggests that giving rein to scepticism about the accepted explanation may prove rewarding. And that indeed proves to be the case: the closer one looks at the conventional explanation for the Asian Crisis, the less compelling it becomes.


Importance
Laparoscopic and robotic techniques have both been well adopted as safe options in selected patients undergoing hepatectomy. However, it is unknown whether either approach is superior, especially for major hepatectomy such as right hepatectomy or extended right hepatectomy (RH/ERH).

Objective
To compare the outcomes of robotic vs laparoscopic RH/ERH.

Design, Setting, and Participants
In this case-control study, propensity score matching analysis was performed to minimize selection bias. Patients undergoing robotic or laparoscopic RH/EHR at 29 international centers from 2008 to 2020 were included.

Interventions
Robotic vs laparoscopic RH/ERH.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Data on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and short-term perioperative outcomes were collected and analyzed.

Results
Of 989 individuals who met study criteria, 220 underwent robotic and 769 underwent laparoscopic surgery. The median (IQR) age in the robotic RH/ERH group was 61.00 (51.86-69.00) years and in the laparoscopic RH/ERH group was 62.00 (52.03-70.00) years. Propensity score matching resulted in 220 matched pairs for further analysis. Patients' demographics and tumor characteristics were comparable in the matched cohorts. Robotic RH/ERH was associated with a lower open conversion rate (19 of 220 [8.6%] vs 39 of 220 [17.1%]; P = .01) and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (median [IQR], 7.0 [5.0-10.0] days; mean [SD], 9.11 [7.52] days vs median [IQR], 7.0 [5.75-10.0] days; mean [SD], 9.94 [8.99] days; P = .048). On subset analysis of cases performed between 2015 and 2020 after a center's learning curve (50 cases), robotic RH/ERH was associated with a shorter postoperative hospital stay (median [IQR], 6.0 [5.0-9.0] days vs 7.0 [6.0-9.75] days; P = .04) with a similar conversion rate (12 of 220 [7.6%] vs 17 of 220 [10.8%]; P = .46).

Conclusion and Relevance
Robotic RH/ERH was associated with a lower open conversion rate and shorter postoperative hospital stay compared with laparoscopic RH/ERH. The difference in open conversion rate was associated with a significant decrease for laparoscopic but not robotic RH/ERH after a center had mounted the learning curve. Use of robotic platform may help to overcome the initial challenges of minimally invasive RH/ERH.


"A comprehensive solution to the requirements challenges faced by every development team. Full of insight and ideas all developers can learn from." --Ivar Jacobson "Many projects fail for the simple reason that the developers fail to build the right thing: They either deliver a system that does not meet the expectations of its intended users, or they deliver a system that focuses on secondary functions at the expense of its primary use. Drawing on their extensive experience, Dean and Don demonstrate how to employ an industrial-strength requirements process, one that helps ensure you will build the right thing. Developers of any kind of application should read this book." --Grady BoochDespite the wealth of development knowledge, experience, and tools generally available today, a substantial percentage of software projects continue to fail, often because requirements are not correctly determined and defined at the outset, or are not managed correctly as the project unfolds. Clients do not always know or express their needs precisely, and too often designers and developers do not ask the right questions at the right times. As a result, projects often spin out of control as "feature bloat" and shifting priorities cause budgets and schedules to exceed expectations. Managing Software Requirements focuses on this critical cause of failure and offers a practical, proven approach to building systems that meet customers' needs--on time and within budget.The authors are skilled practitioners who have spent their careers in the trenches building high-quality applications, including safety-critical, real-time systems. Using an informal, approachable style, their own war stories, and a comprehensive case study they show how designers and developers can effectively identify requirements by employing the power of use cases and more traditional forms of requirements expression. The book illustrates proven techniques for determining, implementing, verifying, and validating requirements. It describes six vital Team Skills for managing requirements throughout the lifecycle of a project: Analyzing the Problem, Understanding User Needs, Defining the System, Managing Scope, Refining the System Definition, and Building the Right System. Managing Software Requirements specifically addresses the ongoing challenge of managing change and describes a process for assuring that project scope is successfully defined and agreed upon by all stakeholders.Topics covered include: The five steps in problem analysis Business modeling and system engineering Techniques for eliciting requirements from clients, users, developers, and other stakeholders Applying and refining use cases Prototyping Organizing and managing requirements information Establishing project scope and managing customers Using both informal and technical methods for specifying requirements How to measure and improve the quality of your product's requirements Moving from requirements to implementation Verifying and validating the system Managing changeThe book concludes with a step-by-step guide to incorporating these powerful techniques into future projects.0201615932B04062001


We investigate the problem of named entity recognition in the user-generated text such as social media posts. This task is rendered particularly difficult by the restricted length and limited grammatical coherence of this data type. Current state-of-the-art approaches rely on external sources such as gazetteers to alleviate some of these restrictions. We present a neural model able to outperform state of the art on this task without recurring to gazetteers or similar external sources of information. Our approach relies on word-, character-, and sentence-level information for NER in short-text. Social media posts like tweets often have associated images that may provide auxiliary context relevant to understand these texts. Hence, we also incorporate visual information and introduce an attention component which computes attention weight probabilities over textual and text-relevant visual contexts separately. Our model outperforms the current state of the art on various NER datasets. On WNUT 2016 and 2017, our model achieved 53.48\% and 50.52\% F1 score, respectively. With Multimodal model, our system also outperforms the current SOTA with an F1 score of 74\% on the multimodal dataset. Our evaluation further suggests that our model also goes beyond the current state-of-the-art on newswire data, hence corroborating its suitability for various NER tasks.


This study simulated the Scoring process and the Can opening process of Easy Open End by finite element method. A FEM model was developed to predict the limitation of the scoring depth and the opening force at the End of steel Can using ABAQUS. In spite of a complex 3D structure, the shape of the Can End was simplified 2D axisymmetric model and analyses were focused on the change of materials and score shapes. Adaptive meshing was applied to the region of the score in the scoring process in order to suppress large deformation of elements. The critical depth of the scoring was observed because necking occurred at the panel during the scoring process. Necking could be restrained by changing the shape of the score punch. For the opening simulation, the shear failure model was utilized. The opening force was predicted with various materials, residual thickness, panel thickness (thickness ratio) and score shapes. The influence of these factors changed with the thickness ratio. Synthetically, the score condition of the steel Can End that the opening force is similar to the aluminum End was proposed.


Real-world visual search systems involve deployments on multiple platforms with different computing and storage resources. Deploying a unified model that suits the minimal-constrain platforms leads to limited accuracy. It is expected to deploy models with different capacities adapting to the resource constraints, which requires features extracted by these models to be aligned in the metric space. The method to achieve feature alignments is called "compatible learning". Existing research mainly focuses on the one-to-one compatible paradigm, which is limited in learning compatibility among multiple models. We propose a Switchable representation learning Framework with Self-Compatibility (SFSC). SFSC generates a series of compatible sub-models with different capacities through one training process. The optimization of sub-models faces gradients conflict, and we mitigate this problem from the perspective of the magnitude and direction. We adjust the priorities of sub-models dynamically through uncertainty estimation to co-optimize sub-models properly. Besides, the gradients with conflicting directions are projected to avoid mutual interference. SFSC achieves state-of-the-art performance on the evaluated datasets.


1. The liver intracellular distribution of (75)Se, (75)Se(2-) and (75)SeO(3) (2-) formed from orally administered Na(2) (75)SeO(3) was studied in rats given four different dietary treatments. 2. Subcellular fractionation was done by using sucrose density gradients in a B XIV zonal centrifuge rotor, and conditions were established so that separation of lysosomal, mitochondrial, smooth- and rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum, and soluble fractions was achieved. 3. Marker enzymes acid phosphatase, succinate-2 - p - iodophenyl - 3 - p -nitrophenyl - 5 - phenyltetrazolium reductase and glucose 6-phosphatase were used, together with electron microscopy, to establish the identity of the fractions. 4. The dietary treatments investigated were: (a) vitamin E-deficient diet for 3 months, re-fed with vitamin E during the terminal 5 days; (b) vitamin E-deficient diet; (c) adequate diet; (d) vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diet, re-fed with vitamin E during the terminal 5 days. 5. In adequately fed rats, selenide was particularly associated with the mitochondrial fractions; in vitamin E-deficient rats, little selenide was found and the buoyant density of the mitochondria was increased, whereas re-feeding with vitamin E showed a restoration of the normal pattern. In vitamin E- and selenium-deficient rats, re-fed with vitamin E, there was no tendency for selenide to be localized in the mitochondria. 6. In the microsomal regions of the gradients, adequately fed rats showed a concentration of selenide, particularly in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum fractions, and to a lesser extent in the rough endoplasmic reticulum fractions. This was not observed in vitamin E-deficient rats, and the normal pattern was restored on re-feeding with vitamin E, both in rats given the vitamin E-deficient diet and the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diet. 7. Some selenide was also found in the soluble fractions, when vitamin E was present, and a substantial proportion of this selenide was found to pass through a dialysis membrane. 8. These results are taken to support our hypothesis that the active form of selenium may be selenide located in non-haem iron-containing proteins, and that the function of vitamin E may be to protect the selenide from oxidation.


At our institution, tobramycin serum drug assays are reasonably expensive. In an effort to reduce institutional expenses and further rationalize the cost benefits of clinical pharmacy services, we assessed the accuracy of the clinical pharmacist in predicting tobramycin serum levels. Subsequently, physician acceptability of the pharmacist's recommendations for dosage regimen modification was assessed.


Vast hectarages of potentially valuable pasture land in Colorado and Wyoming are dominated by saltgrass (Distichlis stricta (Torr.) Rydb.), an undesirable pasture component. Saltgrass meadows could possibly be revegetated with a more valuable forage species such as tall wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum (Host) (Beauv.). A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the A, B, and C horizons of a solonetz soil on herbage yield of tall wheatgrass; the effect of N application was also investigated. Yields of plants grown in soils from the A horizon were highest, those from the B horizon where somewhat lower, and those from the C horizon were very low. Mixtures of A and B horizons usually produced higher yields than the A or B alone. Plants grown in any soil mixture which included the C horizon showed reduced yields. The deleterious effect of the C horizon was attributed to its high Na-salt content. Nitrogen, applied at rates equivalent to 56 to 448 kg N/ha, significantly increased herbage yield. Compared to no N application, the highest rate resulted in a three-fold increase in yield. The highest N efficiences in terms of total biomass produced per unit of N applied were obtained from rates of 112 and 224 kg N/ha which produced 39 and 37 kg of additional biomass per kg of N applied, respectively.


Turning unemployment into self-employment has become an increasingly important part of active labor market policies (ALMP) in many OECD countries. Germany is a good example where the spending on start-up subsidies for the unemployed accounted for nearly 17% of the total spending on ALMP in 2004. In contrast to other programs—like vocational training, job creation schemes, or wage subsidies—the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such schemes is still scarce; especially regarding long-term effects and effect heterogeneity. This paper aims to close this gap. We use administrative and survey data from a large sample of participants in two distinct start-up programs and a control group of unemployed individuals. We find that over 80% of participants are integrated in the labor market and have relatively high labor income five years after start-up. Additionally, participants are much more satisfied with their current occupational situation compared to previous jobs. Based on propensity score matching methods we estimate the long-term effects of the programs against non-participation and take great care in assessing the sensitivity of our results with respect to deviations from the identifying assumption. Our results turn out to be robust and show that both programs are effective with respect to income and employment outcomes in the long-run, i.e., five years after start-up. Moreover, we consider effect heterogeneity with respect to several dimensions and show that start-up subsidies for the unemployed tend to be most effective for disadvantaged groups in the labor market.


Voltage- and Ca2+-sensitive K+ (MaxiK) channels play key roles in controlling neuronal excitability and vascular tone. We cloned and analyzed human and rodent genes for the modulatory beta subunit, KCNMB1. The human and mouse beta-subunit genes are approximately 11 and approximately 9 kb in length, respectively, and have a four exon-three intron structure. Primer extension assay localized the transcription initiation site at 442 (human) or 440 (mouse) bp upstream of the translation initiation codon, agreeing with the transcript size in Northern blots. Both genes have a TATA-less putative promoter region, with a transcription initiator-like region, and motifs characteristic of regulated promoters, including muscle-specific enhancing factors-1 and -2. Consistent with a tissue-specific expression of KCNMB1, regulated at the transcriptional level, beta-subunit transcripts are abundant in smooth muscle and heart, but scarce in lymphatic tissues, brain, and liver. Expressed rat and mouse beta subunits increase the apparent Ca2+ sensitivity of the human MaxiK channel alpha subunit.


A study carried out by the Basic Health Area (ABS) in the neighborhood known as Nord Raval in Barcelona focused on the detection of household risk factors on patients cared for by this health center. This project received a grant from the Health Investigation Fund (FIS) in 1996, file number 96/0820. This project has three parts spread out over a three-year period. This first part, which has now been finished, consisted of a survey of neighborhood residents over 65 years old to determine if accident risk factors exist in their homes. This survey provided proof that potential accident risk factors do indeed exist in neighborhood homes and furthermore, many of these may have a simple solution such as removing rugs or other objects which obstruct passageways or moving heaters a few centimeters back from inflammable materials. Housecalls by nurses are a fundamental element in reducing these accident risk factors.