Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and axisymmetric drop shape analysis-profile (ASDA-P) were used to investigate the mechanism of self-assembly of peptides. The peptides chosen consisted of 16 alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, where the hydrophilic residues possess alternating negative and positive charges. Two types of peptides, AEAEAKAKAEAEAKAK (EAK16-II) and AEAEAEAEAKAKAKAK (EAK16-IV), were investigated in terms of nanostructure formation through self-assembly. The experimental results, which focused on the effects of the amino acid sequence and pH, show that the nanostructures formed by the peptides are dependent on the amino acid sequence and the pH of the solution. For pH conditions around neutrality, one of the peptides used in this study, EAK16-IV, forms globular assemblies and has lower surface tension at air-water interfaces than another peptide, EAK16-II, which forms fibrillar assemblies at the same pH. When the pH is lowered below 6.5 or raised above 7.5, there is a transition from globular to fibrillar structures for EAK16-IV, but EAK16-II does not show any structural transition. Surface tension measurements using ADSA-P showed different surface activities of peptides at air-water interfaces. EAK16-II does not show a significant difference in surface tension for the pH range between 4 and 9. However, EAK16-IV shows a noticeable decrease in surface tension at pH around neutrality, indicating that the formation of globular assemblies is related to the molecular hydrophobicity.


We use Monte Carlo simulations and free-energy techniques to show that binary solutions of penta- and hexavalent two-dimensional patchy particles can form thermodynamically stable quasicrystals even at very narrow patch widths, provided their patch interactions are chosen in an appropriate way. Such patchy particles can be thought of as a coarse-grained representation of DNA multi-arm 'star' motifs, which can be chosen to bond with one another very specifically by tuning the DNA sequences of the protruding arms. We explore several possible design strategies and conclude that DNA star tiles that are designed to interact with one another in a specific but not overly constrained way could potentially be used to construct soft quasicrystals in experiment. We verify that such star tiles can form stable dodecagonal motifs using oxDNA, a realistic coarse-grained model of DNA.


This letter presents a wearable haptic device for the forearm and its application in robotic teleoperation. The device is able to provide skin stretch, pressure, and vibrotactile stimuli. Two servo motors, housed in a 3D printed lightweight platform, actuate an elastic fabric belt, wrapped around the arm. When the two servo motors rotate in opposite directions, the belt is tightened (or loosened), thereby compressing (or decompressing) the arm. On the other hand, when the two motors rotate in the same direction, the belt applies a shear force to the arm skin. Moreover, the belt houses four vibrotactile motors, positioned evenly around the arm at 90 $^\circ$ from each other. The device weights 220 g for  $\text{115}\times \text{122}\times \text{50}$ mm of dimensions, making it wearable and unobtrusive. We carried out a perceptual characterization of the device as well as two human-subjects teleoperation experiments in a virtual environment, employing a total of 34 subjects. In the first experiment, participants were asked to control the motion of a robotic manipulator for grasping an object; in the second experiment, participants were asked to teleoperate the motion of a quadrotor fleet along a given path. In both scenarios, the wearable haptic device provided feedback information about the status of the slave robot(s) and of the given task. Results showed the effectiveness of the proposed device. Performance on completion time, length trajectory, and perceived effectiveness when using the wearable device improved of 19.8%, 25.1%, and 149.1% than when wearing no device, respectively. Finally, all subjects but three preferred the conditions including wearable haptics.


A fast sail assisted feeder container ship concept has been developed for the 2020 container market in the South East Asian and Caribbean regions. The design presented has met the requirements of an initial economic study, with a cargo capacity of 1270 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers, meeting the predictions of container throughput derived from historical data. In determining suitable vessel dimensions, account has also been taken for port and berthing restrictions, and considering hydrodynamic performance. The vessel has been designed for a maximum speed of 25 knots, allowing it to meet the demand for trade whilst reducing the number of ships operating on the routes considered. The design development of the fast feeder concept has involved rigorous analyses in a number of areas to improve the robustness of the final design. Model testing has been key to the development of the concept, by increasing confidence in the final result. This is due to the fact that other analysis techniques are not always appropriate or accurate. Two hull forms have been developed to meet requirements whilst utilising different propulsor combinations. This has enabled evaluation of efficiency gains resulting from different hydrodynamic phenomena for each design. This includes an evaluation of the hydrodynamic performance when utilising the sail system. This has been done using a combination of model test results and data from regression analysis. The final propulsor chosen is a contra-rotating podded drive arrangement. Wind tunnel testing has been used to maximise the performance of a Multi-wing sail system by investigating the effects of wing spacing, stagger and sail-container interactions. This has led to an increase in lift coefficient of 32% from initial predictions. The savings in power requirement due to the sail system are lower than initially predicted. However, another benefit of their installation, motion damping, has been identified. Whilst this has not been fully investigated, additional fuel savings are possible as well as improved seakeeping performance. The design is shown to be environmentally sustainable when compared to existing vessels operating on the proposed routes. This is largely due to the use of low-carbon and zero-sulphur fuel (liquefied natural gas) and improvements in efficiency regarding operation. This especially relates to cargo handling and scheduling. Green house gas emissions have been predicted to fall by 42% and 40% in the two regions should the design be adopted. These savings are also due to the use of the Multi-wing sail system, which contributes to reductions in power requirement of up to 6% when the vessel operates at its lower speed of 15 knots. It is demonstrated that the fast feeder is also economically feasible, with predicted daily cost savings of 27% and 33% in the South East Asian and Caribbean regions respectively. Thus the fast feeder container ship concept is a viable solution for the future of container transhipment.


Abstract Many studies have successfully applied near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to estimate important wood traits. Some of them have reported the effects of wood surfaces on NIR spectra information and their influence on the performance of the predictive model. However, limited information is available concerning the effect of sample preparation on the model performance to estimate chemical properties in Eucalyptus wood. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the milling procedure, particle size, and quality of the solid wood surface on the performance of the partial least squares regression to predict chemical properties of Eucalyptus urophylla wood by NIR spectroscopy. Adequate models were built to predict klason lignin content, acid-soluble lignin content, and syringyl-to-guaiacyl ratio in Eucalyptus urophylla wood. Sample preparation strongly influences the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) of these predictive models. The effect of the sample presentation (solid or milled wood) was stronger than the effect of the particle size difference between thin and thick powder. The best calibrations were developed using NIR spectra measured on wood powder (RDP values from 1.99 to 2.97), but satisfactory calibrations were developed from NIR spectra measured on solid samples (RPD values from 1.68 to 2.16).


Game jams and game hackathons are proliferating at a significant rate. It is not merely the number, but also the variety of these game creation events that have been increasing. In this paper, we examine several prominent organizing philosophies that are often cited when producing in-person versions of these events. The approaches differ in target demographics, goals, facilities and logistics. We analyze unpublished sets of statistics and user feedback data previously to further explore some of the distinct approaches.


The rapid expansion of electoral gender quotas in the past few decades has been met with considerable scholarly and public attention. Despite this, there has been little empirical work examining the global legislative consequences of gender quotas over time. Developing a unique time-series cross-sectional data set from 139 states during the peak period of quota adoption and implementation (1995–2012), we test whether and how quotas are associated with subsequent changes in government spending priorities. We find that substantial quota shocks—those associated with a large increase in women's parliamentary representation—are followed by increased government expenditures toward public health. Further, we find that increases in health spending are offset by relative decreases in military spending and other spending categories. Our findings provide strong evidence that quota policies influence government priorities in historically feminized policy areas but principally when they are complied with and have substantial numerical consequences.


Field surveys were conducted during 2005 to 2007 to assess the species diversity of stem borer parasitoids in cultivated and natural habitats in four agroecological zones in Kenya. In total, 33 parasitoid species were recovered, of which 18 parasitized six stem borer species feeding on cereal crops, while 27 parasitized 21 stem borer species feeding on 19 wild host plant species. The most common parasitoids in cultivated habitats were Cotesia flavipes Cameron, Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron), Pediobius furvus Gahan and the tachinid Siphona sp., whereas in natural habitats, Siphona sp. was the most common. The majority of parasitoids were stenophagous species; only five species –Cotesia sp., Enicospilus ruscus Gauld and Mitchell, Pristomerus nr. bullis, Sturmiopsis parasitica (Curran) and Syzeuctus ruberrimus Benoit – were monophagous. In both cultivated and natural habitats, parasitoid species diversity was highest on the most dominant stem borers Busseola spp. and Chilo spp. On cereal crops, parasitoid diversity was highest on maize and among wild host plants, it was highest on Setaria spp. The ingress‐and‐sting attack method was the most common strategy used by parasitoids in both habitats. In all agroecological zones, parasitoid species diversity was significantly higher in natural than in cultivated habitats. Furthermore, the majority of parasitoid species were common to both cultivated and natural habitats. It was concluded that natural habitats surrounding cereal crops serve as refugia for sustaining the diversity of stem borer parasitoids from adjacent cereal fields.


On needs of students with migration experience from the perspective of Polish language teacherThe article On needs of students with migration experience from the perspective of Polish language teacher focuses on lack of proper background of Polish teachers in working with immigrants' and re-emigrants' children. The author emphasises that existing governmental regulations, which offer language support for those children, do not solve appearing problems. She argues that before a child is admitted to a school, s/he should undergo a thorough Polish language course, and teachers of the school to which the student is to be admitted, should get informed on the culture and everyday life of the given student's country. Only then will the language feedback provided by the school be effective and the student will receive a proper emotional support in difficult situation of being in new environment. The author also points to the fact that a student with migration experience can be a child who can perfectly speak Polish language and who lives in Poland but whose one of the parents is not Polish; this also concerns children of Polish parents who came back to Poland after years of emigration. For those children very often the language support is either not necessary, or needed to a small extent in comparison to children who cannot speak Polish language. However, concern and emotional support from the surrounding may prove very important. The author emphasises the need of setting up an online learning platform dedicated to all the students with migration experiences. Such platform would be a means of showing concern to the child of immigrants and re-emigrants, as well as it would provide care and attention for their needs. This learning platform could also support developing the knowledge of student's first language or serve as a help in learning the language of child's ancestors via a Polish student, whose one of the parents is a foreigner.


"Summary translation" is a form of translation that is much more common in the federal government than in commercial environments, and so is rarely studied and generally ill understood. While it involves many of the processes that emerge in the nor-mal full translation task (verbatim translation in government parlance), because the final result of this cross-language task is a summary as well as a translation, the summary translator must effectively integrate the component cognitive processes of both summari-zation and translation. The extreme transactional influence of the request for information that initiates a summary translation produces at least four significant areas of difference between summary and full translation, which involve: the extent of semantic reduction and linguistic compression/expansion, the extent of source-text/target text correspondence, and the differential weighting of semantic content. Each of these areas of difference has implications for some of the gross cognitive processes underlying translation: text com-prehension (from reading or listening), hierarchical discourse processing, mental model construction, task-based decision-making/problem-solving, and text production.


Capacities of quantum channels and decoherence times both quantify the extent to which quantum information can withstand degradation by interactions with its environment. However, calculating capacities directly is known to be intractable in general. Much recent work has focused on upper bounding certain capacities in terms of more tractable quantities such as specific norms from operator theory. In the meantime, there has also been substantial recent progress on estimating decoherence times with techniques from analysis and geometry, even though many hard questions remain open. In this article, we introduce a class of continuous-time quantum channels that we called transferred channels, which are built through representation theory from a classical Markov kernel defined on a compact group. In particular, we study two subclasses of such kernels: Hörmander systems on compact Lie-groups and Markov chains on finite groups. Examples of transferred channels include the depolarizing channel, the dephasing channel, and collective decoherence channels acting on $d$ qubits. Some of the estimates presented are new, such as those for channels that randomly swap subsystems. We then extend tools developed in earlier work by Gao, Junge and LaRacuente to transfer estimates of the classical Markov kernel to the transferred channels and study in this way different non-commutative functional inequalities. The main contribution of this article is the application of this transference principle to the estimation of decoherence time, of private and quantum capacities, of entanglement-assisted classical capacities as well as estimation of entanglement breaking times, defined as the first time for which the channel becomes entanglement breaking. Moreover, our estimates hold for non-ergodic channels such as the collective decoherence channels, an important scenario that has been overlooked so far because of a lack of techniques.


Objective
The aim of this study was to investigate decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and serum sclerostin levels in early ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to determine their possible correlation with a panel of disease activity parameters, functional impairment, bone turnover markers and syndesmophyte formation.
 Methods
A total of 37 male patients having early AS with a disease duration of less than 10 years were included into the study and divided into two groups (group I, <5 years and group II, 5-10 years). The study also included 30 apparently healthy controls. The assessment included demographic data, clinical examination and measurement of the C-reactive protein (CRP)-based Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS), BMD measurement of lumbar spine and hip using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and determination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), CRP levels, creatinine levels, bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP) levels, serum levels of C-telopeptides of type I collagen (sCTX) and sclerostin levels.
 Results
Osteopaenia and osteoporosis of the lumbar spine were observed in 47 and 23.53% and in 35 and 15% of patients in group I and II, respectively. In the proximal femur, osteopaenia and osteoporosis were detected in 35.3 and 17.65% and in 45 and 25% of individuals in group I and II, respectively. ESR, CRP and sCTX levels were significantly higher in patients than in controls, with an insignificant difference between the patient groups. BALP levels showed an insignificant difference between the three groups. Serum sclerostin levels were significantly lower in AS patients compared with controls and in group II patients compared with those of group I. A low BMD correlated negatively with parameters of disease activity (ESR, CRP and ASDAS), BASFI scores and sCTX levels. No correlation was demonstrated between low BMDs and mSASSS and between BALP and sclerostin levels. Sclerostin showed a negative correlation with disease activity parameters (ESR, CRP and ASDAS), BASFI scores, sCTX levels, and mSASSS.
 Conclusion
A low BMD is common in early AS patients; the role of inflammation seems to be pivotal in its pathogenesis. The monitoring of bone turnover markers and disease activity indices may help to predict patients at risk. Sclerostin expression is impaired in early disease and was linked to disease activity, bone turnover markers and increased structural damage, emphasizing the role of sclerostin in the pathogenesis of AS.


In 1406 Sir Henry (later Lord) Fitzhugh, trusted servant of King Henry IV, visited Vadstena, the Bridgettine monastery for men and women in Sweden. Vadstena was the mother-house of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour and had been founded by the controversial continental mystic St Bridget of Sweden, who had died in 1373 and had been canonized in 1391. Fitzhugh was so impressed by what he saw that he gave one of his manors near Cambridge as the future site for an English Bridgettine foundation. It was not until 1415 that Henry V, son of Henry IV, laid the foundation-stone of Syon Abbey at Twickenham in Middlesex and Fitzhugh's dream became a reality. But Fitzhugh's generous gesture is an indication of the degree of pious and aristocratic interest in the Swedish visionary and prophet in early fifteenth-century England.


Gastric cancer (GC) remains a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. GATA4 has been previously reported to exhibit functions in GC. In this study, we aimed to investigate effect of GATA4 gene methylation on GC progression. Methylation-Sensitive High-Resolution Melting was used to detect the methylation of GATA4 promoter region in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues, GC cell lines and GES-1 cells. The relationship between GATA4 methylation level and clinical characteristics of GC patients was analyzed. GATA4 levels in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues, GC cell lines and GES-1 cell lines were detected, and gain-of function was performed to investigate the role of GATA4 in GC. Si-GATA4 was transfected into GES-1 cells to observe the changes of various indicators. RNA-seq detected the differentially expressed genes in SGC-7901 cells overexpressing GATA4, and western blot analysis verified their expression. GATA4 methylation rate was increased in GC tissues, and GATA4 promoter was abnormally methylated in GC cells. GATA4 methylation rate in GC tissues was related to lymph node metastasis, differentiation degree and clinical stage of GC patients. Lower expressed GATA4 was observed in GC tissues and cells. Cell proliferation rate decreased and cell apoptosis rate increased in SGC-7901 cells overexpressing GATA4. Transfecting si-GATA4 into GES-1 cells led to increased proliferation, inhibited apoptosis, and restoration of GATA4 led to decreased APC and GSK3β levels. In conclusion, restoration of GATA4 caused by 5-Aza treatment can inhibit the proliferation and promote apoptosis of GC cells possibly via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. This study may offer new sight for GC treatment.


Reelin is an extracellular matrix neuroprotein which plays important roles during development and maturation of cerebellum. In the postnatal cerebellum, Reelin is synthesized by cerebellar granule cells and secreted to extracellular matrix. This secreted protein modulates adult synaptic function, neurotransmitter release and regulates plasticity. Exercise has beneficial effects on central nervous system. This study investigated the effects of short and long-term training program on Reelin protein levels in the cerebellum. Forty male rats divided into four main groups; test 1 (15 days exercise-trained rats) and test 2 (60 days exercise-trained rats), and control 1 (rats were kept alive for 15 days) and control 2 (rats were kept alive for 60 days). At the end of the training period, Reelin levels in the cerebellum were measured by ELISA assay. Results showed that short and long-term regular exercise had no effect on Reelin protein levels in the cerebellum. Present study showed that regular exercise could not change Reelin protein concentration which mediated plasticity, dendritogenesis and synaptogenesis in the cerebellar neurons. Results of this study could correlate with unaffected plasticity, dendritogenesis and synaptogenesis in the cerebellum under exercise conditions as reported in previous studies.


During the last century, there have been many international theatrical exchanges which provided theatre practitioners with a wide range of opportunities to adapt and borrow elements or techniques from one theatre culture to apply to another. However, the question remains, whether this process is a collaboration in which "foreign" elements equally exist with the original tradition, creating a new form or are they assimilated into the tradition and absorbed by it? Do "foreign" elements remain foreign, used within familiar structures? In this thesis I map out a conceptual framework for analysing a number of related practices in adapting and borrowing techniques from various theatre forms to integrate into one's own form. I define this process as a concept of theatre internationalisation. This study of theatre internationalisation explores the experiences and practices of theatricals from Vietnam, together with a wide variety of other theatre cultures, in order to develop my own approach to practising the concept of internationalisation in theatre. Through analysing theatre works of international and Vietnamese directors and theoreticians I search for my own creative practice as a Vietnamese theatre director. It is hoped that this study will not only provide Vietnamese theatre practitioners, particularly the younger generation, with a key to finding the potential to strengthen their own theatre culture, but will also serve to foreground the diversity of theatrical practice in contemporary cultures.


This paper examines South African President Thabo Mbeki's notion of the African Renaissance. Representations of Africa have been challenged in the past by movements such as negritude and pan-Africanism. Thabo Mbeki's proclamation of the African Renaissance can be seen as another attempt to fight and challenge prevailing representations of Africa. An African Renaissance that does not degenerate into essentialism (particularlism) has the potential to transform the lives of the many Africans who have been ravaged by the continuing legacy of colonialism. The author argues that if the call for an African Renaissance is to have any lasting impact on the African condition, it must be careful to avoid taking the essentialist positions advocated by earlier ideological movements such as negritude. The essay contends that the call for an African Renaissance is an important effort which needs to be adopted by Africans beyond the borders of South Africa.


The paper presents MedioGRID platform as a general-purpose solution for satellite image processing on grid architecture, and exemplifies by the Greenland application the computation of vegetation indices based on MODIS satellite images. The application provides efficient and simple user interactivity through the graphical user interface. The user selects the satellite images by time and geographical area, and specifies the particular processing operations. The performance of the grid application architecture is evaluated considering a few variables such as number of jobs, number of workers and dimension of satellite images


A common prediction of macroeconomic models of credit market frictions is that the tightness of financial constraints is countercyclical. Theory suggests a negative collateralizability premium; that is, capital that can be used as collateral to relax financial constraints insures against aggregate shocks and commands a lower risk compensation compared with noncollateralizable assets. We show that a long-short portfolio constructed using a novel measure of asset collateralizability generates an average excess return of around 8% per year. We develop a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms and financial constraints to quantitatively account for the collateralizability premium.


AC losses in superconducting wires and tapes are usually studied for applied sinusoidal currents and/or magnetic fields. However, currents in electric power systems contain a variety of harmonics. We solved analytically and numerically, in the infinitely thin approximation, the transport current and magnetization problems for coated conductors under non-sinusoidal conditions. The analytical expressions for eddy current and hysteresis losses have been obtained in the framework of the critical state model neglecting the response of the normal-metal substrate and stabilization layers. The contribution of higher harmonics to losses per cycle is determined by both their phase shift relative to the main harmonic and their amplitude. It has been shown that the 5% third current harmonic (for the phase shift π) increases eddy losses in the normal-metal parts by up to 90% at a transport current close to the critical value. Numerically, for the power law current–voltage characteristic of a superconductor, the contribution of higher harmonics to the total losses in a coated conductor was investigated in a wide range of the power index. It has been shown that even at a low power index (n = 4) this contribution can achieve 44% of losses caused by the main harmonic only. For high external magnetic fields an approximate analytical solution has also been derived and compared to the numerical solution.


"The Poisson integral involved in the determination of the change in velocity distribution resulting from a change in airfoil profile in parallel incompressible flow is solved. First, three well-developed numerical methods of evaluating this integral, all based on the division of the range of integration into small equal intervals, and the difficulties involved in each method, are discussed. Then a new method, based on the use of unequal intervals, is developed, and compared with the other methods by means of several examples" (p. 1).


Compensation for pinhole-SPECT calibration pa- rameters has been previously shown to be important for achieving good resolution. It has also been shown that angular-dependent (AD) compensations for the variation of radius of rotation can reduce reconstruction artifacts. In this study, we evaluate the effect of AD compensation of axial mechanical shifts (AMS) on the axial resolution of reconstructions. Measuring the AD AMS was accomplished using point-source scans. The centroids of the scans were fitted to their expected values in the transverse and axial directions. The differences in the axial direction between the data and fit were used to calculate the AD AMS under the assumption that the differences were due only to this shift. The effect on reconstruction was evaluated using a cold-disk phantom with 1.6 mm thick disks. Triple-head acquisitions using circular and helical paths were performed. The data were reconstructed with and without the calculated correction. The results show that the amplitude of the axial shift is approximately 0.5-1.0 mm for our system. The angular dependence of the heads is similar and suggests that the paths of the heads are distorted by gravitational effects. The circular and helical reconstructions show substantial improvement with compensation. In conclusion, AD compensation for AMS has a large impact on reconstruction quality. It is likely that the further development of other AD compensations may also have a large impact on resolution.


The presence of Chlamydia psittaci in captive psittacines may have a subclinical presentation, despite its importance in immunosuppressed birds and humans because of its zoonotic potential. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of C. psittaci in macaws (Ara spp.). Birds were kept in captivity in three zoos in the department of Lima. In total, 34 adult birds (11 Ara macao, 15 Ara ararauna, 5 Ara chloropterus, and 7 Ara severus) were studied. A total of 0.5 mL of blood was obtained from the right jugular vein and placed into a coagulant-free tube. Blood serum was analyzed using an ELISA (Immunocomb Avian Chlamidopophila psittaci kit) in order to determine IgG antibody titers. The presence of antibodies to C. psittaci in macaws are reported for the first time in Peru, with a seroprevalence of 44.74 ± 15.84% (17/38). No significant differences between the origin of birds and the presence of the antibodies were found.  Keywords:  captive; macaw; psittacines; psittacosis.


Despite advances in audio- and motion-based human activity recognition (HAR) systems, a practical, power-efficient, and privacy-sensitive activity recognition system has remained elusive. State-of-the-art activity recognition systems often require power-hungry and privacy-invasive audio data. This is especially challenging for resource-constrained wearables, such as smartwatches. To counter the need for an always-on audio-based activity classification system, we first make use of power and compute-optimized IMUs sampled at 50 Hz to act as a trigger for detecting activity events. Once detected, we use a multimodal deep learning model that augments the motion data with audio data captured on a smartwatch. We subsample this audio to rates ≤ 1 kHz, rendering spoken content unintelligible, while also reducing power consumption on mobile devices. Our multimodal deep learning model achieves a recognition accuracy of 92.2% across 26 daily activities in four indoor environments. Our findings show that subsampling audio from 16 kHz down to 1 kHz, in concert with motion data, does not result in a significant drop in inference accuracy. We also analyze the speech content intelligibility and power requirements of audio sampled at less than 1 kHz and demonstrate that our proposed approach can improve the practicality of human activity recognition systems.


Korpi and Palme's (1998) classic "The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality" claims that universal social policy better reduces poverty than social policies targeted at the poor. This article revisits Korpi and Palme's classic, and in the process, explores and informs a set of enduring questions about social policy, politics, and social equality. Specifically, we investigate the relationships between three dimensions of welfare transfers—transfer share (the average share of household income from welfare transfers), low-income targeting, and universalism—and poverty and preferences for redistribution. We analyze rich democracies like Korpi and Palme, but we also generalize to a broader sample of developed and developing countries. Consistent with Korpi and Palme, we show (1) poverty is negatively associated with transfer share and universalism; (2) redistribution preferences are negatively associated with low-income targeting; and (3) universalism is positively associated with transfer share. Contrary to Korpi and Palme, redistribution preferences are not related to transfer share or universalism; and low-income targeting is neither positively associated with poverty nor negatively associated with transfer share. Therefore, instead of the "paradox of redistribution" we propose two new paradoxes of social policy: non-complementarity and undermining. The non-complementarity paradox entails a mismatch between the dimensions that matter to poverty and the dimension that matters to redistribution preferences. The undermining paradox emphasizes that the dimension (transfer share) that most reduces poverty tends to increase with the one dimension (low-income targeting) that reduces support for redistribution.


Introduction: Due to the implied health benefits for mother and baby, breastfeeding has become a key public health issue. Literature reviewed highlighted the 'medical' and 'natural' mother discourse which surrounds motherhood and impacts on women's decisions to breastfeed. Whilst the emotional and physical strains of a difficult experience have been explored, it is unclear how these experiences impact on women's identities as mothers and in what ways women are able to narrate and share their embodied experiences.
Methods: Seven first time mothers who described themselves as having had a difficult breastfeeding experience were interviewed to gather data pertaining to how mothers construct narratives of breastfeeding and the impact of these narratives on their identity as mothers. An interest in both socio-political discourse and embodiment theory derived from the literature review led to the use of visual methods in eliciting narratives and the employment of a critical narrative analysis in exploring the data gathered.
Findings: The participants' narratives drew from 'medical' and 'natural' mother discourses and were found to constrain subjective experience and leave participants with feelings of guilt, frustration and loss. A prevailing assumption that unruly, excessive bodies must be controlled by a rational 'mind' led to the body becoming a site for control and resistance for participants as they attempted to conform to norms of motherhood and breastfeeding.
Discussion: Results identified the ways in which women as mothers can see their subjective experiences diminished and their voices silenced due to a lack of available discourse and entrenched ideologies surrounding the 'good' mother. It is suggested that adopting a social justice agenda within therapeutic practice might prevent the internalisation of oppressive discourse which can lead to mothers' psychological distress. Moreover, it is suggested that exploring the body in therapy might resist a mind/body dualism and lead to increasingly compassionate and accepting relationships with our bodies; in turn increasing awareness of subjective experience.


Diverse contents are generated from a wide variety of sources online as new media platforms give people the capacity to create, reconfigure, and spread information in unprecedented amounts. To help users overcome this information overload, online platforms take user preferences and attitudes into account and use this information to program algorithms that mediate and facilitate content promotion (Cinelli et al., 2020). YouTube can also determine what people watch with its recommendation algorithm that is based on user responses and settings such as geography. In this sense, considering the differences in user reaction and recommendations in four different countries during the coronavirus pandemic is the main contribution that this research makes in researching YouTube. Specifically, this study questions how YouTube videos are connected by content type, and how the connection affects user responses in different countries. With the use of a mixed method approach that combines network and content analysis, this study describes the spread of coronavirus information on YouTube in the United States, Mexico, Korea and India, focusing on how differing interactions can reconfigure the architecture of the YouTube network in different countries.


Introduction
The aim of this study was to investigate the oncology nurse's use of a family framework in the provision of family support. Family is the main source of support when an adult is diagnosed with cancer, although family members are often left out of the patient assessment process. The oncology nurse is the key point of contact for the patient and the family but may not have the time or expertise to conduct family assessments to inform adequate and appropriate support and guidance for family members.
Method
A descriptive study was used to examine oncology nurses practices in relation to family assessment. Focus groups [N=20] were conducted with the different levels of oncology nurses [N=50] across the three Queensland metropolitan hospitals. The focus group size depended on the constraints of the clinical areas. A thematic analysis was undertaken to identify common themes in the data.
Results
Family assessment was completed informally across the treatment period, often occurring when family rapport was established. Experience and time required to complete family assessment were highlighted as issues which influenced nurses' ability to engage the family in the assessment process. Nurses felt their responsibility was to identify concerns and refer to allied health practitioners for follow-up.
Conclusion
Whilst family are included in discussions and general assessment by oncology nurses, this is often completed informally with little structure and documentation. The development of opening phrases and a structure for assessment could assist oncology nurses in the promotion of appropriate family support.


Modern concepts about the importance of subclinical inflammation in various age-associated pathology are described in the review. The term "inflammaging" (inflammation due to aging) refers to the special role of inflammation in the aging processes. This type of inflammation is low-grade, controlled, asymptomatic, chronic and systemic. Inflammaging determines the rate of aging and life expectancy. The balance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines plays a significant role in aging processes. The increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the elderly are associated with different diseases, disability and mortality. Interleukin-6 is a multifunctional cytokine involved in the regulation of acute phase response and other immunological reactions, in the hematopoiesis and in chronic inflammation. This cytokine is important in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammation diseases, as well as different oncological disorders. Interleukin-6 is often called the "cytokine of gerontologists", since it is one of the main signaling pathways associated with aging and age-related diseases. This cytokine also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure and increases the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and overall mortality. Interleukin-6 is a key proinflammatory cytokine responsible for the "metabolic inflammation", obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus. This cytokine has a significant impact on the development of sarcopenia and frailty. The serum levels of interleukin-6 negatively correlate with muscle mass and skeletal muscle function in the elderly, so it is considered as a biomarker of sarcopenia and functional decline. Interleukin-6 may contribute to the development of osteoporosis by stimulating osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. The modern data indicate the diverse effects of interleukin-6 and confirm the significant role of this cytokine in aging and in different age-associated pathology.


We contribute to the theoretical understanding of evolutionary algorithms and carry out a parameterized analysis of evolutionary algorithms for the Euclidean traveling salesperson problem (Euclidean TSP). We exploit structural properties related to the optimization process of evolutionary algorithms for this problem and use them to bound the runtime of evolutionary algorithms. Our analysis studies the runtime in dependence of the number of inner points $k$ and shows that simple evolutionary algorithms solve the Euclidean TSP in expected time O(nk(2k-1)!).  Moreover, we show that, under reasonable geometric constraints, a locally optimal 2-opt tour can be found by randomized local search in expected time $O(n2kk!).


Model based design is particularly appealing in software based control systems (e.g., embedded software) design, since in such a case system level specifications are much easier to define than the control software behavior itself. In turn, model based design of embedded systems requires modeling both continuous subsystems (typically, the plant) as well as discrete subsystems (the controller). This is typically done using hybrid systems. Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) based abstraction techniques have been successfully applied to automatically synthesize correct-by-construction control software for discrete time linear hybrid systems, where plant dynamics is modeled as a linear predicate over state, input, and next state variables. Unfortunately, MILP solvers require such linear predicates to be conjunctions of linear constraints, which is not a natural way of modeling hybrid systems. In this paper we show that, under the hypothesis that each variable ranges over a bounded interval, any linear predicate built upon conjunction and disjunction of linear constraints can be automatically translated into an equivalent conjunctive predicate. Since variable bounds play a key role in this translation, our algorithm includes a procedure to compute all implicit variable bounds of the given linear predicate. Furthermore, we show that a particular form of linear predicates, namely guarded predicates, are a natural and powerful language to succinctly model discrete time linear hybrid systems dynamics. Finally, we experimentally show the feasibility of our approach on an important and challenging case study taken from the literature, namely the multi-input Buck DC-DC Converter. As an example, the guarded predicate that models (with 57 constraints) a 6-inputs Buck DC-DC Converter is translated in a conjunctive predicate (with 102 linear constraints) in about 40 minutes. Keywords-Model-based software design; Linear predicates; Hybrid systems


PurposeThis study aims to study how first-tier suppliers (FTs) operate as boundary-spanners between the focal firm and second-tier suppliers (STs) in extending sustainability-oriented supplier development (SSD) initiatives up the supply chain.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory multi-case study approach in the apparel industry is adopted, comprised of four cases focused on occupational health and safety issues. The paper uses primary semi-structured interviews and observation data and secondary documents, and it is informed by the boundary-spanning and social capital theory.FindingsThe influence of downstream social capital on the upstream boundary-spanning actions of FTs is highlighted. More specifically, it is found that the cognitive and relational capital that exists in the downstream relationship between an FT and the focal firm affects whether the FT adopts compliance- or improvement-oriented boundary-spanning actions in their upstream relationships with STs. Particularly important aspects of cognitive and relational capital are highlighted while the phenomenon of FTs adding their own personal interpretation to sustainability requirements when fulfilling their boundary-spanning role is identified.Research limitations/implicationsA distinction is made between compliance- and improvement-oriented boundary-spanning actions. A deeper insight into the boundary-spanning role of FTs in extending SSD initiatives up the supply chain to STs is provided along with a deeper understanding of how this role is impacted by social capital.Practical implicationsFocal firms should seek to build adequate cognitive and relational capital with their FTs before deploying SSD initiatives to extend their reach further upstream in the supply chain. In doing so, it is also important to be cognisant of the social capital that exists between FTs and STs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the SSD literature by going beyond the buyer–FT dyad to examine the FT's boundary-spanning role in the wider buyer–FT–ST chain relationship. The study theoretically and empirically draws out the importance of relation-specific assets through the social capital lens.


Neuromyelitis optica or Devic's syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder which is characterized by inflammatory demyelination of the optic nerves and the spinal cord. Clinically, it causes visual loss in one or both eyes, and numbness or paralysis of the arms and legs. Although tonic spasm is the most frequent movement disorder occuring in MS, it has not been definetely described clinical entity for Devic's syndrome. We hereby describe a case of Devic's syndrome with tonic spasms treated with levetiracetam as a new approach and discussed the results of the treatment. A 52-year-old woman with Devic's syndrome with the complaint of painful tonic spasms primarily affecting the abdomen was given levetiracetam therapy. Levetiracetam therapy resulted in a good response in our patient. Levetiracetam can be a new choice for the treatment of painful tonic spasm with Devic's syndrome. However, more detailed studies are necessary to investigate efficacy of levetiracetam.


This work proposes a low-profile, printed antenna that offers pattern and frequency reconfiguration functionalities printed on FR-4 substrate with a size of 46 × 32 × 1.6 mm3. The proposed antenna can operate in five different frequency bands, each one identified as a Mode, wherein there are possibilities of pattern reconfiguration. The frequency and pattern reconfigurability are made possible through 12 p-i-n diode switches (S1 to S12). The former is enabled through the switches S1 to S4 within the radiating patch, hence effectively controlling the resonant bands of the antenna; the latter is made possible through main lobe beam steering, enabled by the rest of the eight switches (S5 to S12), loaded in split parasitic elements designed on both sides of the radiator. The proposed antenna operates in the 5 GHz (4.52–5.39 GHz) band when all switches are OFF. When S1 is ON, the operating band shifts to 3.5 GHz (2.96–4.17 GHz); it changes to a 2.6 GHz (2.36–2.95 GHz) band when S1 and S2 are ON. When S3 is also turned ON, the antenna shifts to the 2.1 GHz Band (1.95–2.30 GHz). When S1–S4 are ON, the operating band shifts to a 1.8GHz (1.67–1.90 GHz) band. In all these bands, the return loss remains less than −10 dB while maintaining good impedance matching. At each operating band, the ON/OFF states of the eight p-i-n diode switches (S5 through S12) enable beam steering. The proposed antenna can direct the main beam in five distinct directions at 3.5GHz, 2.6 GHz, and 2.1 GHz bands, and three different directions at 5 GHz and 1.8 GHz bands. Different 5G bands (2.1, 2.6, 3.5, and 5) GHz, which fall in the sub 6GHz range, are supported by the proposed antenna. In addition, GSM (1.8 GHz), UMTS (2.1 GHz), 4G-LTE (2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz), WiMAX (2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz) and WLAN (5 GHz) applications are also supported by the proposed antenna, which is a candidate for handheld 5G/4G/3G devices.


An increase over time in the proportion of young people obtaining a degree is likely to impact on the relative ability compositions (i) of graduates and non-graduates and (ii) across graduates with different classes of degree award. In a signalling framework, we examine the implications of this on biases across cohorts in estimates of educational returns. In an empirical analysis, we exploit administrative data on whole populations of UK university students for ten graduate cohorts to investigate the extent to which early labour market outcomes vary with class of degree awarded. Consistent with our theoretical model, we find that returns by degree class increased across cohorts during a period of substantial graduate expansion. We also corroborate the empirical findings with evidence from complementary data on graduate sample surveys.


A method has been developed to predict the performance of small multirotor vehicles. Using the vehicle geometry, rotor geometry and flight conditions as inputs, the aerodynamic performance is found through an interpolation method using tabulated rotor performance data. The model is able to predict performance in hover and forward flight, and can produce results quickly and easily, making the prediction model a powerful tool. The vehicle performance prediction model also includes a wake interference model that captures the effect of rotors and their shed wakes on others rotors in the vicinity. When compared to flight test data, the method shows good agreement when predicting the angle of attack, rotational velocity and power requirements of the vehicle. The effect of the vehicle orientation on the performance of the vehicle was investigated showing that during fast forward flight, the vehicle requires about 5%
less power in a diamond configuration than in a square configuration.


During the past 20 years, scientists have focused their efforts in the quest of real solutions in which the neural signals produced inside the human brain could be connected with computers or artificial prostheses that in a near future could be used to restore the mobility and communication abilities of patients with some damage in the central nervous system. In this paper, the procedure to control an artificial device with the thought is explained; the techniques used to extract the neural activity from the brain are classified and compared to establish their advantages, drawbacks, and future development. In addition, the main breakthroughs so far in brain-machine interfaces are described.


Due to the world-wide increasing demand for energy and the simultaneous need in reduction of CO2 emissions in order to meet global climate goals, the development of clean and low emission energy conversion systems becomes an essential and challenging task within the future clean energy map. In this paper the design process of a highly efficient large scale USC steam turbine is presented. Thereby, automated design space exploration based on an optimization algorithm is applied to support the identification of optimal flow path parameters within the preliminary and the detailed design phases. The optimization algorithm is first integrated with a 1D-mean line design code to automatically identify the optimal major turbine layout in terms of number of stages, reaction degrees, flow path geometry and basic airfoil parameters. Based on a progressive multi-section optimization coupled with a parametric airfoil generator and a CFD code, the profile shapes of each airfoil row are adapted to local flow conditions and systematically optimized to minimize aerodynamic losses in each turbine stage. A final 3D flow simulation of one representative optimized stage confirms the achievement of a highly efficient steam turbine design that fulfills both climatic and economic requirements.


Village irrigation is an alternative irrigation technology to complement the technical limitations of irrigation.  The purpose of village irrigation development is to increase the availability of water which can support the growth of rice plants so that the factors of production are efficiently used.  This study aimed to determine the factors that influence production, productivity levels, and farm income in irrigated rice village.  The study was done in Tanjung Kesuma village, Purbolinggo District, East Lampung regency by a survey method.  The number of 40 farmers of this research samples was drawn randomly.  The research was conducted in irrigated farm village, at the season of gadu that was occured in April until September 2012.  The factors that affected the production were analized by Cob-Douglas function.  Farming analysis was used to determine the level of farm productivity and farm income.  The results showed that the affecting factors of paddy production were land, seeds, urea, organic fertilizer, and labor.  The paddy farming in irrigated fields paddy villages during gadu growing season in 2012 was profitable.  The average productivity and farm income were 1.9 tons/ha and Rp3,387,325.89 with the R/C ratio of 2.17. Keywords : farming, income, productivity, rice, irrigated farm


: The duration of embryogenesis was determined in 12 mono- and polycyclic types of Aedes mosquitos in the mid-Russia and eastern Siberia at laboratory temperatures of 24-25 degrees C. It was ascertained that larval formation in the egg occurred in Aedes communis within 5-8 days, in Ae. cantans within 5-7 days, in Ae.dorsalis within 3-6 days, and in Ae.vexans within 4-6 days.


Although the association constant and the number of binding sites of prazosin to α1A-adrenoceptor were determined by high performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) in our previous work, the thermodynamic behaviors and the binding mechanism of the drug to immobilized α1A-adrenoceptor remained unclear. This work intended to address the issue by HPAC and molecular docking. The investigations involved the determination of association constants by frontal analysis at different temperatures, the calculation of enthalpy, entropy and free energy changes, the examination of mobile phase composition on the binding parameters and the site-directed molecular docking. The changes of enthalpy, entropy and free energy during the interaction were −20.79 kJ mol−1, −59.28 J mol−1 K−1 and −2.4 kJ mol−1, respectively. The binding of prazosin to α1A-adrenoceptor was an endothermic process with an increase in entropy. This reaction was mainly driven by hydrogen bonds. The ionic strength of the mobile phase provided a positive response to the values of association constants, while the power of hydrogen and the concentration of isopropyl in the mobile phase showed a negative trend. Ser203 and Ser192 in the fifth transmembrane segment of the receptor were the positions for the formation of hydrogen bonds. It is possible to utilize the immobilized receptor to determine the mechanism of drug–receptor interactions.


Synchronization as a measure of quantification of similarities in dynamic systems is an important concept in many scientific fields such as neuroscience. A new measure of synchronization, fuzzy SL, was used to investigate overall cortical functional connectivity during a cognitive task compared to resting conditions. High-resolution electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded during eyes-open resting (EO1), continuous performance test (CPT), and eyes-open resting again (EO2) in 16 healthy children. Global fuzzy SL for delta and beta bands was calculated per condition. The opposite pattern was observed within conditions; delta increased but beta decreased from the EO1 to CPT condition. From the CPT to EO2, changes in the synchronization were also opposite. The findings might be interpreted as condition-specific modulation of functional connectivity of brain neuronal networks.


Voluntary stream segregation was investigated in cochlear implant (CI) users and normal-hearing (NH) listeners using a segregation-promoting objective approach which evaluated the role of spectral and amplitude-modulation (AM) rate separations on stream segregation and its build-up. Sequences of 9 or 3 pairs of A and B narrowband noise (NBN) bursts were presented which differed in either center frequency of the noise band, the AM-rate, or both. In some sequences (delayed sequences), the last B burst was delayed by 35 ms from their otherwise-steady temporal position. In the other sequences (no-delay sequences), the last B bursts were temporally advanced from 0 to 10 ms. A single interval yes/no procedure was utilized to measure participants' sensitivity ( d ′ ) in identifying delayed vs. no-delay sequences. A higher d ′ value showed the higher ability to segregate the A and B subsequences. For NH listeners, performance improved with each spectral separation. However, for CI users, performance was only significantly better for the condition with the largest spectral separation. Additionally, performance was significantly poorer for the largest AM-rate separation than for the condition with no AM-rate separation for both groups. The significant effect of sequence duration in both groups indicated that listeners made more improvement with lengthening the duration of stimulus sequences, supporting the build-up effect. The results of this study suggest that CI users are less able than NH listeners to segregate NBN bursts into different auditory streams when they are moderately separated in the spectral domain. Contrary to our hypothesis, our results indicate that AM-rate separation may interfere with the segregation of streams of NBN. Additionally, our results add evidence to the literature that CI users build up stream segregation at a rate comparable to NH listeners, when the inter-stream spectral separations are adequately large.


The purpose of this study was to ascertain the identity of presumed noradrenergic or serotonergic neurons recorded by single cell techniques in the mammalian brain. A double labeling method was developed in which intracellular injections of a red fluorescing dye (ethidium bromide) could be co-localized with the formaldehyde-induced green fluorescence of norepinephrine or yellow fluorescence of serotonin. By this method, neurons of the rat locus coeruleus that display a characteristic activation-inhibition response to noxious stimuli were confirmed to be noradrenergic; the slow, rhythmically firing neurons of the dorsal raphe nucleus were confirmed to be serotonergic.


The behaviour that we exhibit contributes to the message that is communicated to those that we are interacting with and can have an impact on how the message is conveyed and interpreted. Nonverbal behaviour is just as important to be aware of as well as what is being said, as the subtleties of behaviour can impact the outcome of interactions. Advancements in research technologies have allowed us the chance to investigate natural human behaviour is a variety of settings outside of the laboratory, however, some gaps in the understanding of behaviour exist. The aim of this thesis is to investigate communication and social interactions in a variety of settings, paying particular attention to the methods of data collection, specifically the use of wearable sensors, to investigate phenomenon from social psychology. The thesis aims to address three specific research questions; 1) if can we predict stress using a combination of nonverbal behavioural cues along with physiological measurements, 2) understand the factors affecting happiness and productivity in the workplace from features of communication taken from wearable sensors and 3) determine the stressors that can be characterised from communication patterns assessed through Call Detail Records and smartphone sensors. The studies presented here focus on the nonverbal aspects of communication that can be measured through wearable and sensing devices. In the three types of scenarios that are detailed in the different chapters, the interactions considered are face to face meetings in a one on one interaction, co-location within a defined space in an organisation and the communications of a widely dispersed community. The interactions are recorded by wearable devices such as the Affectiva Q sensor, the Sociometric Badge, and smartphones equipped with sensing capabilities in the form of the funf and P-OWL platforms for data recording, among other forms of data collection. Each of the studies included aspects of self reported assessments that were used as a ground truth measurement of affect: these were annotations of stress, self reports of fear of negative evaluation, self perception, positive and negative affect and stress, among others. The goal was to examine how to use digital traces of behavioural expressions to have a greater understanding of these interactions and how the way in which we interact with others has an impact on the individual. The work from this thesis adds to the existing literature on these various issues by addressing the research questions from a novel perspective. The studies found support for each of the research questions and by using a mixed methods approach and digital traces from wearable sensors gained insights into how communication impacted the individual, revealing the important aspects of communication and their effect on stress, productivity and well-being.


Using ground-based UBVRIHα CCD pho-tometry we have been carrying out a search for young massive star clusters (YMCs) in a sample consisting of 21 nearby spiral galaxies. We find a large variety concerning the richness of the cluster systems, with some galaxies containing no YMCs at all and others hosting very large numbers of YMCs. Examples of galaxies with poor cluster systems are NGC 300 and NGC 4395, while the richest cluster systems are found in the galaxies NGC 5236 (M83), NGC 2997 and NGC 1313. The age distributions of clusters in these galaxies show no obvious peaks, indicating that massive clusters are formed as an ongoing process rather than in bursts. This is in contrast to what is observed in starbursts and merger galaxies. The radial distributions of clusters follow the Hα surface brightnesses. For the galaxies in our sample there is no correlation between the morphological type and the presence of YMCs.


OBJECTIVE
There is no consensus on the use of decompressive craniectomy (DC) to manage severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). We evaluated the profile of pediatric patients admitted with sTBI and assessed functional outcomes, 6 months posttrauma, in patients who had a DC and in those who had not, and the functional outcomes of early versus late DCs.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This case-control observational study evaluated pediatric patients admitted for sTBI in Puerto Rico (June 2016-October 2018); we included patients admitted within 24 hours of injury and had a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 8 or lower. 6-month post trauma outcomes were measured with the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended Pediatric (GOS-E Peds).

RESULTS
20 patients were included; 15 underwent a DC and 5 comprised the control group. We found no differences in terms of sex, age, GCS score, Pediatric Risk of Mortality score, or Pediatric Trauma Score. However, in the DC group, a higher percentage of patients presented significant cerebral herniation in the initial computed tomography scan (CT) (DC: 73%; control: 0%; P = .005). No differences were found regarding intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure, mean arterial pressure, PaCO2, or temperature. Patients in the DC group had longer hospital stay (DC: 41; control: 17 days; P = .0005). All patients with DC survived, with an early procedure being associated with favorable outcomes.

CONCLUSION
As determined 6 months post-trauma, this study showed that early DC increased survival and improved functionality.


Introduction: Nasalance values vary across languages. Therefore, establishing separate normative values of nasalance for each language and studying their influence on each other becomes important for the assessment and management of persons with resonance disorders. So the present study aimed at comparing the nasalance values of vowels, unvoiced syllables, and voiced syllables between native Kannada speakers and native Malayalam speakers. The present study also compared the nasalance values of meaningful words, oral sentences, and nasal sentences (for both English and Kannada languages) between native Kannada speakers and native Malayalam speakers. Materials and Methods: Twelve native Kannada speakers and 12 native Malayalam speakers (age range – 18–23 years) served as participants. The test stimuli included a standardized set of meaningful words, oral sentences, and nasal sentences in both English and Kannada, vowels, unvoiced syllables, and voiced syllables. The data were recorded and the values were obtained from the Nasometer. Results: The results revealed a higher nasalance value for Malayalam speakers (/a/-29,i/-45.41,u/-19.50, unvoiced syllables-16.96, voiced syllables-21.63, words-22.71, oral sentences-21.40, and nasal sentences-60.15) than for Kannada speakers (/a/-14.90,i/-32.60,u/-10.50, unvoiced syllables-11.59, voiced syllables-16.99, words-15.83, oral sentences-13.62, and nasal sentences-56.18) across all the stimuli considered. However, a statistically significant difference was found only on vowels. Conclusions: The present study indicated that in bilingual or trilingual speakers, there is an effect of native language on the Nasalance Values of second and/or third language.


It is well known that decision support systems (DSSs) usually only solve models that simplify and approximate the real problem. The planners might therefore be more interested in a set of diverse high quality solutions to choose from, than in only the optimal (or near-optimal) solution to the model as is usually produced by a DSS. In ship routing and scheduling plans are generated following a rolling horizon principle, where schedules are updated when new relevant information appears. However, the planners have often already made commitments to the customers for the next few voyages, for instance regarding arrival times and which ships that are assigned to service given cargoes. Therefore, the planners are interested in a set of high quality schedules that are close to the current (baseline) schedule in the near future, and diverse from each other in more distant time. We suggest a multi-start heuristic, including a persistence penalty function and distance measures, to produce such schedules. The method has been tested on a set of real-life problems and it provides valuable decision support flexibility for planners in shipping companies.


In his original work on summer diarrhea in London, Morgan 1 described a bacillus isolated from the intestinal contents in twenty-eight of fifty-eight cases, which was gram-negative, motile, a producer of acid and slight gas in dextrose, levulose and galactose broths, not reacting with the other sugars, and forming indol in peptone beef broth. The bacillus was demonstrated to be pathogenic when fed to rats and rabbits. Bacilli giving the same cultural reactions have since been reported by several others as associated with or causing enteritis. The agglutination reactions 2 have proved to be of little if any value in their identification, presumably due to the occurrence of different strains. The conclusion of Dick, Dick and Williams, 3 that the epidemic of enteritis associated with mastoiditis which they observed in infants was primarily an intestinal infection due to Morgan's dysentery bacillus, has prompted the report of the following case: REPORT


Walker, Donald F. & Hathaway, William L. (2013). Spiritual interventions in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Hardcover, xi + 282 pp. $59.95. ISBN. 978-1-4338-1218-7. Donald F. Walker, Ph.D., directs the Child Trauma Institute, an interdisciplinary research center devoted to understanding the role of religious faith in recovery from childhood abuse, treating survivors of abuse, and training professionals in addressing spiritual issues in treatment. Dr. Walker also teaches in the Psy.D. program in clinical psychology at Regent University. William L. Hathaway, Ph.D., currently serves as a dean and professor in the School of Psychology & Counseling at Regent University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in clinical child psychology with Russell Barkley at University of Massachusetts Medical Center and has worked with both military and civilian child specialty clinics. Spiritual Interventions in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy is an edited volume published by the American Psychological Association with the intent to provide clinicians with guidelines for integrating spiritual interventions in psychotherapy with children and their families. While research regarding religion and spirituality continues to be explored and applied within psychotherapy, research on psychotherapy with children and adolescents is flourishing in evidence-based practices. The editors, Donald F. Walker and William L. Hathaway, successfully provide a review of the theoretical foundations of spirituality in psychotherapy, as this is related to children and interventions. The objective--to blend these two fields of research--resulted in a well written, helpful, and valuable resource for clinicians working with children and their families. Case studies throughout the volume allow for readers to think through spiritual interventions and ethical issues. Interventions from a variety of modalities speak to the applicability of spirituality across diverse settings, presenting problems, and cultural contexts. Though spirituality generally can include a variety of religious beliefs and constructs, Walker and Hathaway's book is from an Evangelical Christian perspective, with brief references to other major theological religions. In order to provide the reader with a foundation and context for the use of spiritually oriented interventions with children and adolescents, the book reviews ethical issues with religion and spirituality, assessment of religious issues in child psychology, parental spirituality (as both a hindrance and an aid to therapeutic goals), and developmental contexts of spirituality. Ethically, the APA ethics code indicates that psychologists are to treat clients' diverse aspects with respect, competence, and care; this volume makes a strong argument for doing so with clients' religious identifications and interactions. With instruction for assessing religious issues, the reader can increase understanding of how relevant a religious identification is to a presenting problem, specific to the client. Given that the work described is with children and adolescents, recognizing the role of parents' own spiritual and religious identifications and interactions proves helpful to the reader when intervening. Finally, the first section of this volume concludes with a comprehensive review of developmental stages and the role of religiosity within these stages, assisting the reader in better conceptualization of the client and their religious development. The second section of the book details an assemblage from various modalities such as Object Relations, Child-Centered Play Therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Attachment-Based Psychodynamic Therapy. …


Gastrectomy has been widely used for the treatment of gastric cancer, and the severity of physiological and microbial disorders has greatly harmed the health of patients. In the present study, a probiotic combination containing Bifidobacterium infantis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus was used to reduce the physiological disorders induced by gastrectomy via monitoring the blood index and microbial diversity using high-throughput sequencing. Our results indicated that the probiotic combination had significantly reduced the inflammation indexes (leukocyte) (p<0.05), while it markedly enhanced the immunity indexes (lymphocyte) and nutrition indexes (albumin and total protein) (p<0.05). In addition, gastric cancer had a strong influence on the microbial diversity of the stomach via enhancing the number of pathogens of Streptococcus, Peptostreptococcus and Prevotella, and reducing the percentage of the probiotic Bifidobacterium. Although partial gastrectomy markedly changed intestinal microbial diversity, the taking of the probiotic combination greatly reduced the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes compared with patients taking no probiotics at the phylum level. At the genus level, the probiotic combination significantly enhanced the numbers of the probiotic bacteria Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium and Akkermansia and lowered the richness of Streptococcus. Therefore, we concluded that the taking of the probiotic combination significantly enhances the immune response of patients and reduces the severity of inflammation through modification of gut microbiota.


Compound U-76,253A (R-3746), the active metabolite sodium salt of the prodrug ester U-76,252 (CS-807), was demonstrated to be active against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae with 82 and 85% of strains inhibited by less than or equal to 2.0 and less than or equal to 4.0 micrograms/ml, respectively. In addition, U-76,253A inhibited all strains of Branhamella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, pathogenic Neisseria spp., oxacillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, beta-hemolytic streptococci, and pneumococci at less than or equal to 4.0 micrograms/ml. Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter spp., enterococci, and oxacillin-resistant staphylococci were resistant to U-76,253A. This U-76,253A antimicrobial activity and spectrum was generally superior to that of comparison orally administered cephems (cefaclor, cefuroxime, and cefixime) and the amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination. Tests with beta-lactamase-producing isolates indicated that U-76,253A was bactericidal and that its MICs were only influenced by high inoculum concentrations (10(7) CFU/ml) against type Ia and IVc enzyme-producing strains. Preliminary disk diffusion interpretive zone criteria were calculated for 10- and 30-micrograms U-76,253A disks and several possible susceptible MIC breakpoints. The absolute interpretive agreement between MICs and zone diameters ranged from 87.8 to 95.6%. Final selection of interpretive criteria awaits further U-76,252 pharmacokinetic information.


AIM
To analyze the frozen section (FS) diagnostic accuracy in correlation with the final diagnosis of brain tumors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
This retrospective study comprised all brain tumor cases with FS diagnosis and permanent section diagnosis in Jordan University Hospital from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2017. Data were obtained by reviewing slides and reports from the histopathology archives. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software v20 was used for analysis.

RESULTS
A total of 179 cases with frozen section and permanent section diagnoses were analyzed. Eighty-four (47%) patients were males and 95 (53%) females.The ages ranged from 1 to 85 years. Diagnostic accuracy of FS was 88.8%. Discrepancy was noted in 20 cases. Of the discrepancies, misclassification of tumor type was the most common category (12 cases, 60%), followed by grading mismatch (7 cases, 35%) and misdiagnosis of tumor versus non-tumor conditions (1 case, 5%). Patient age and gender were not significantly associated with the discrepancy between FS and final diagnosis.

CONCLUSION
Our results were comparable to international reports. However, more emphasis on diagnostic cytology in intraoperative consultation is required as an effective adjunct to frozen section to overcome limitations.


The inherited neuropathies are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of disorders encompassing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN) and hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN). Mutations in over 45 genes have been implicated in causing the inherited neuropathies, and many more remain unknown. In order to determine the proportion of patients with inherited neuropathy attending our clinic who obtained a genetic diagnosis, we screened all known genes that cause CMT, HMN and HSAN. Of 871 patients attending a specialist neuropathy clinic over a 5-year period, 613 had an inherited neuropathy of whom 409 had CMT. A genetic diagnosis was reached in 59% of patients with CMT; 54% accounted for by chromosome 17 rearrangements or mutations in the commonly available genes PMP22, GJB1, MPZ and MFN2. A genetic diagnosis was achieved in 79% of patients with CMT1 and 35% of CMT2. The chromosome 17 duplication only accounted for 38% of CMT, less than reported in other populations; this reflects a bias in our clinic towards patients with rarer forms of CMT. We give details of the individual contributions the rarer genes made to our cohort. These results suggest that the majority of patients with CMT1 should obtain a genetic diagnosis. Mutations in the rarer known genes account for a small proportion of patients with CMT, and many genes for CMT2 remain unknown. We suggest an algorithm for genetic testing in patients with CMT in the UK.


Data collected by volunteers are an important source of information used in species management decisions, yet concerns are often raised over the quality of such data. Two major forms of error exist in occupancy datasets; failing to observe a species when present (imperfect detection—also known as false negatives), and falsely reporting a species as present (false‐positive errors). Estimating these rates allows us to quantify volunteer data quality, and may prevent the inference of erroneous trends. We use a new parameterization of a dynamic occupancy model to estimate and adjust for false‐negative and false‐positive errors, producing accurate estimates of occupancy. We validated this model using simulations and applied it to 12 species datasets collected from a 15‐year, large‐scale volunteer amphibian monitoring program. False‐positive rates were low for most, but not all, species, and accounting for these errors led to quantitative differences in occupancy, although trends remained consistent even when these effects were ignored. We present a model that represents an intuitive way of quantifying the quality of volunteer monitoring datasets, and which can produce unbiased estimates of occupancy despite the presence of multiple types of observation error. Importantly, this allows the quality of volunteer monitoring data to be assessed without relying on comparisons with expert data.


Summary Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation of the arterial wall continuously drive the development of atherosclerosis. Details regarding the sequential involvement of different monocyte subsets in the pathology of this disease have recently emerged. This review concentrates on major monocyte subpopulations in mouse and men and specifically addresses their phenotype, function and recruitment during primary atherosclerosis as well as their contribution to angiogenesis and tissue regeneration secondary to plaque rupture.


One conjecture in both deep learning and classical connectionist viewpoint is that the biological brain implements certain kinds of deep networks as its backend. However, to our knowledge, a detailed correspondence has not yet been set up, which is important if we want to bridge between neuroscience and machine learning. Recent researches emphasized the biological plausibility of LinearNonlinear-Poisson (LNP) neuron model. We show that with neurally plausible choices of parameters, the whole neural network is capable of representing any Boltzmann machine and performing a semi-stochastic Bayesian inference algorithm lying between Gibbs sampling and variational inference.


Differentiated Services (DiffServ) architecture has been proposed as a scheme to provide scalable end-to-end QoS by employing a simple classification based on the DSCP in IP header. One of the major reasons that hinder ISPs to provide DiffServ is that the service level cannot be guaranteed when a specific traffic flow traverses a number of DS and non-DS domains. The issue of the impact of non-DS domains or non-DS routers in a hybrid multi-domain DiffServ network on the performance of Premium Services and Assured Services has been largely ignored by the research community. In this paper, we first present a preliminary queueing analysis of the hybrid multidomain DiffServ network based on a tandem queue model. Then we propose a performance metric called SPI (Service Provision Index) to measure the service level degradation of preferred services in a hybrid multi-domain DiffServ network with respect to an All-DS network. Network simulations and emulations are conducted on a variety of scenarios with different parameter settings to explore the performance of a hybrid multi-domain DiffServ network. Based on the quantitative analysis, the simulation and emulation results, we make some observations on the underlying problem, which could help ISPs or researchers determine the major factors of service degradation, as well as possible directions to improve the services.


Kenya has unexploited potential for creating monetary value from original and unique honey. High quality and unique honeys can be labeled with Geographical Indication (GI). The study was a preliminary survey that aimed at; (i) assessing; honeys with a potential for GI labeling, perceptions on their reputation and quality; (ii) understanding the initiatives that add value to the local honey sector in Kenya. 20 honey consumers at the national level where different kinds of honeys are supplied were interviewed. Also, 40 honey consumers and 40 honey producers at the local level where honey is produced were interviewed. Results showed that honey quality is linked with the area where it is produced.


Summary: We present a case of a ruptured giant serpentine aneurysm (GSA) of the superior cerebellar artery in a patient with a Chiari II malformation. The fusiform aneurysm was successfully treated with endovascular parent artery occlusion of the GSA by using detachable coils.


This research seeks to extend research on SMEs and ambidexterity by investigating contingency factors that influence the relationship between contextual ambidexterity and SME performance. Acknowledging the importance of internal knowledge flows in leveraging ambidexterity, it offers unique insights into how internal and external rivalry conditions influence the performance outcomes related to an ambidextrous posture. Using a sample of Canadian-based SMEs, the study shows that the contextual ambidexterity– performance relationship is suppressed at higher levels of internal rivalry and amplified at higher levels of external rivalry. The findings suggest that developing an ambidextrous posture should not be an end by itself, and point to the need for SMEs to understand how features of their internal and external environments impact the performance consequences of such posture.


Synaptic basal lamina is interposed between the pre‐ and postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). This position permits deposition of basal lamina‐bound NMJ components of both neuronal and muscle fibre origin. One such molecule is acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The origin of NMJ AChE has been investigated previously as the answer would elucidate the relative contributions of muscle fibers and motor neurons to NMJ formation. However, in the experimental models used in prior investigations either the neuronal or muscular components of the NMJs were removed, or the NMJs were poorly differentiated. Therefore, the question of AChE origin in the intact and functional NMJ remains open. Here, we have approached this question using an in vitro model in which motor neurons, growing from embryonic rat spinal cord explants, form well differentiated NMJs with cultured human myotubes. By immunocytochemical staining with species‐specific anti‐AChE antibodies, we are able to differentiate between human (muscular) and rat (neuronal) AChE at the NMJ. We observed strong signal at the NMJ after staining with human AChE antibodies, which suggests a significant muscular AChE contribution. However, a weaker, but still clearly recognizable signal is observed after staining with rat AChE antibodies, suggesting a smaller fraction of AChE was derived from motor neurons. This is the first report demonstrating that both motor neuron and myotube contribute synaptic AChE under conditions where they interact with each other in the formation of an intact and functional NMJ.


Orthostatic intolerance is the most serious symptom of cardiovascular deconditioning induced by microgravity exposure. In fact the neural control mechanisms of the cardiovascular system are significantly affected by this condition. Non-invasive measurement of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) have been used as a valuable tool to characterize the ability of neuroendocrine regulatory systems to modulate the cardiovascular function by analyzing the spontaneous fluctuations of arterial pressure and heart period on a beat-to-beat basis. Concerning this, conflicting results have been reported on the heart rate and blood pressure variability responses during exposure to microgravity. These differences seem to be due to different experimental designs used. Moreover, the different behavior of normal subjects in response to orthostatic stress after HD, i.e. Symptomatic (S) or Non Symptomatic (NS), could play some roles in producing these discrepancies. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine BP and HR variability before and after 4 hours of HD in two groups of normal subjects with and without symptoms of orthostatic intolerance to orthostatic stress.


Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects have additional technical, financial and regulatory requirements that are not fully addressed by classic project management approaches. Research has been done on individual novel concepts of the CDM, like additionality, but little has been achieved to address an overall CDM project management approach. CDM and project management literature were reviewed and the South African CDM Industry Association was used as a case study to gain insight into an appropriate CDM specific project management strategy. A stage-gate model was subsequently derived to align classic project management approaches with the additional requirements of CDM projects. Further research will, in time, determine the completeness and practicability of the proposed model.


In this instructional case, Quality Markets of America (QMA), a large and successful company, is being audited by the New York State Department of Revenue over its calculation of the state's franchise tax. QMA has historically borrowed a substantial amount of money from its subsidiaries. The state tax regulations indicate that undercapitalized firms must treat debt from affiliated parties, such as subsidiaries, similar to equity for the purposes of franchise tax calculations. QMA does not consider itself to be undercapitalized, while the state does – thus leading to differing interpretations on how the firm should compute its franchise tax obligations. This case explores a wide variety of issues around the franchise tax, capital adequacy, and the state's ability to influence firms' capital structures through the tax code and regulations.


The potential of reflectance spectroscopy to estimate the concentration of biochemical compounds related to tea (Camellia sinensis (L.)) quality (total tea polyphenols and free amino acids) is demonstrated. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was performed to establish the relationship between reflectance and biochemicals for leaf powders as well as fresh leaves. Highest accuracy was found for tea powders with a cross-validated r2 of 0.97 for tea polyphenols and 0.99 for free amino acids, and the root mean square error of cross validations (RMSECVS) are 8.36 mg g-1 and 1.01 mg g-1 for the two chemicals. The accuracy achieved at leaf level was slightly lower, with results yielding cross-validated r2 of 0.91 and 0.93 with RMSECVS of 13.74 mg g-1 and 2.32 mg g-1 for tea polyphenols and free amino acids, respectively. Important wavelengths for prediction of the two biochemicals from powder and leaf spectra were identified using the PLSR bcoefficients as indicators. Wavelengths of 1,131 nm, 1,654 nm, 1,666 nm, 1,738 nm and 1,752 nm were identified as bands related to absorption by total tea polyphenols, while 1,492 nm represented the absorption feature of free amino acids. The results obtained using fresh leaves indicate that hyperspectral remote sensing may be useful for routine monitoring of tea chemistry at landscape scale.


ABSTRACT Psychopathy is an essential construct in forensic mental health. While male psychopathy and aggression has been thoroughly studied, less is known about this relationship with female psychopathy. In this article, the relationship between female psychopathy (Psychopathy Checklist-Revised [PCL-R] total, factor, and facet scores) and the Rorschach Aggression indices (Aggressive Movement [AG], Aggressive Content [AgC], Aggressive Past [AgPast], Aggressive Potential [AgPot], Sadomasochistic Aggression [SM]) were examined. Rorschach Aggression indices between female psychopathic (PCL-R total score ≥ 30; N = 84) and non-psychopathic female offenders (PCL-R total score ≤ 24; N = 39) were also compared. PCL-R total score was significantly correlated (p <.05) with AgC, AgPast, AgPot, and SM and there were also significant correlations between the Aggression scores and PCL-R Factor/facet scores. The female psychopaths produced more AgC, AgPast, and AgPot responses than the non-psychopathic females. Rorschach aggression indices supported theory and suggested that the violence in psychopathic women stems from their identification with aggression and pervasive feelings of entitlement. Psychopathic women evidenced higher levels of these variables than the non-psychopathic offenders. The results add to the link between aggression and psychopathy as well as a better understanding of aggression in female offenders.


Within the last several years, the field of terahertz science and technology has changed dramatically. Many new advances in the technology for generation, manipulation, and detection of terahertz radiation have revolutionized the field. Much of this interest has been inspired by the promise of valuable new applications for terahertz imaging and sensing. Among a long list of proposed uses, one finds compelling needs such as security screening and quality control, as well as whimsical notions such as counting the almonds in a bar of chocolate. This list has grown in parallel with the development of new technologies and new paradigms for imaging and sensing. Many of these proposed applications exploit the unique capabilities of terahertz radiation to penetrate common packaging materials and provide spectroscopic information about the materials within. Several of the techniques used for terahertz imaging have been borrowed from other, more well established fields such as x-ray computed tomography and synthetic aperture radar. Others have been developed exclusively for the terahertz field, and have no analogies in other portions of the spectrum. This review provides a comprehensive description of the various techniques which have been employed for terahertz image formation, as well as discussing numerous examples which illustrate the many exciting potential uses for these emerging technologies.


The post-capture movements made by loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in the southeastern Pacific Ocean were monitored from 2003 to 2007. Fourteen loggerhead turtles were fit- ted with satellite transmitters and released off the coast of Peru. All turtles were juveniles (curved carapace length range: 40.5 to 68.5 cm) incidentally captured by small-scale longline fishing vessels from southern or central Peru. Track durations were highly variable (mean ± SD: 143 ± 90 d; range: 8 to 297 d) with no clear signs of immediate post-release mortality. Upon release, all turtles moved off- shore beyond the continental shelf. Eight of 11 turtles tracked for >60 d had final displacements of <750 km, suggesting that loggerhead turtles often maintain extended residency in these waters and that this area is an important foraging zone for loggerhead turtles of southwest Pacific origin. Satellite tracks also showed a substantial overlap of areas used by turtles with known Peruvian longline fish- ing effort. Turtles spent 75% of their time within the area fished by this fleet (based upon observed sets). This suggests that turtles are vulnerable to fishery interactions and that bycatch mitigation mea- sures should be employed to minimize fishery impacts on loggerhead turtles. The loggerhead turtles tracked during this study spent ca. 51% of their time in Peruvian waters, 39% in international waters and 9% in Chilean waters, which emphasizes the need for a multinational approach to sea turtle con- servation and fisheries management in the region.


Two thousand questionnaires were sent to doctors receiving a certificate of prescribed or equivalent experience from the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice over a two-year period. More than 1,400 forms were returned.Seventeen per cent of respondents from 1982 experienced unemployment on completion of their vocational training and this figure had almost doubled by 1983. Some groups of people experienced more problems than others in finding employment but most respondents eventually found a post in which they were happy. Likewise, approval periods and parity varied considerably, and the majority of respondents appeared satisfied with what they achieved.


How are decision practices fostered in organizations and how are they linked to decision outcomes? This study addresses these questions by examining one financial institution's efforts to standardize and control decision making across geographically separated organizational units. We argue that decision-maker behavior is situated and is not simply a function of individual choice. Rather, in organizational settings decision-makers are subject to a hierarchy of influences that affect the decision processes they use and their resulting decision choices. To test our ideas, we examined 900 borrower "risk rating" decisions and found general support for our hypotheses. Decision makers were more likely to use the prescribed practice when decisions were important, when the decision target was known, and when the decision maker was located in a larger subunit. Decision makers altered their decision practices in the short term, but in the long term they appeared to partially revert to their earlier practices. Reliance on prescribed practice fostered stability in decisions, but surprisingly appeared to negatively affect future judgments. The findings indicate that organizations can change the more microaspects of decision making, but these changes may be transitory. Moreover the results suggest that decision makers may become complacent when they rely on prescribed decision practices, a tendency that can have untoward consequences for the organizations in which they are embedded.


The present paper aims to present the way of assessing the opinions of the pupils in the terminal classes, which regarding the choosing the educational or professional route and substantiating the support measures in the analysis of the alternatives available to them. The method used in this research is the investigation based on the questionnaire. This is a qualitative approach in order to identify the students' school and professional orientation. The educational assessment that is supposed to be done in this study seeks to counsel and guide these students in order to make appropriate choices in choosing of the educational/professional paths by the investigated students. In this research, an opinion poll has been applied to the pupils in the terminal classes, which allows an overview of the school and professional orientation of these pupils. The evaluation and interpretation of the answers lead to highlighting of the school options that certify the personal interests of each student in relation with the choice of the educational/professional path. The study provides an opportunity for the school units to obtain information about the training and interests of the students. Depending on the analysis of the results obtained in terms of the opinion questionnaire, the school units must ensure the stimulation and valorization of the cognitive, aptitude and creativity potential necessary for the increase of the pupils' school performances. This study highlights the real need for a better correlation of the educational offer in the vocational and technical education with the students' aspirations and the labor market requirements.


This thesis aims at implementing a tool to calculate semantic coverage and select
test suites. With this tool called SeCo, a set of tests can be selected based on
the specification of a system according to the theory in Laura Brand´an Briones'
PhD thesis. Coverage measures are important, because they measure the quality
of a test suite. We use semantic coverage measures, because these measures
assign the same coverage to behaviorally equivalent systems. The specifications
and tests that can be processed by SeCo are labeled transition systems in the
Aldebaran format. SeCo is implemented in Java and able to process algorithms
like:
• merging tests into a test suite
• calculating coverage for supplied test suites and specifications
• selecting tests according to coverage measures
A small part of the tool is implemented in Maple. This part uses matrix calculations,
which are hard to implement in Java.