It is often argued that rigid labour market and centralized bargaining are harmful employment and growth. This paper looks at the case of Nordic countries as a counter-example pointing to some weaknesses of this view. Rigid labour markets, while reducing the offer of low quality jobs, increase average labor productivity by favoring job relocation in high quality jobs. Moene and Wallerstein (1997) adopted a vintage-capital model to compare centralized and decentralized bargaining: they show that centralized bargaining systems yield higher labor productivity and higher structural unemployment. By introducing a frictional labor market in the vintage-capital framework , we show that the negative effects on employment characterizing centralized bargaining can be reduced by adopting active labor market policy.


Premodern human societies differ greatly in socioeconomic inequality. Despite much useful theorizing on the causes of these differences, individual-level quantitative data on wealth inequality is lacking. The papers in this special section provide the first comparable estimates of intergenerational wealth transmission and inequality in premodern societies, with data on more than 40 measures of embodied, material, and relational wealth from 21 premodern societies representing four production systems (hunter-gatherers, horticulturalists, pastoralists, and agriculturalists). Key findings include (1) the importance of material, embodied, and relational wealth differs significantly across production systems, with material wealth more important in pastoral and agricultural systems; (2) the degree of wealth transmission from parent to offspring is markedly higher for material wealth than embodied and relational wealth; (3) aggregate wealth is transmitted to a higher degree among pastoralists and agriculturalists; (4) the degree of inequality is greater for material wealth; and (5) the degree of intergenerational transmission of wealth is correlated with wealth inequality. Surprisingly, horticulturalists exhibit no greater wealth inequality or intergenerational wealth transmission than do huntergatherers, while pastoralists are very similar to agriculturalists. We discuss how these trends may have favored the emergence of institutionalized inequality, as intensified forms of production made material wealth transmission increasingly important.


This thesis introduces a novel technique for the automated analysis of compiled programs, which is focused on, but not restricted to, pointer safety properties. Our approach, which we refer to as Symbolic Object Code Analysis (SOCA), employs bounded symbolic execution, and uses an SMT solver as execution and verification engine. Analysing the object code enables us to bypass limitations of other software model checkers with respect to the accepted input language, so that analysing code sections written in inline assembly does not represent a barrier for us. Our technique is especially designed for programs employing complex heap-allocated data structures and provides full counterexample paths for each error found. In difference to other verification techniques, our approach requires only a bare minimum of manual modelling efforts. While generating counterexamples is often impossible for static analysis techniques due to precision loss in join and widening operations, traditional model checking requires the manual construction of models or the use of techniques such as predicate abstraction which do not work well in the presence of heap-allocated data structures. Hence, symbolic execution is our method of choice over static analysis and model checking.

We also present the SOCA Verifier as a prototypical implementation of our technique. We show that the SOCA Verifier performs competitively with state-of-the-art software model checkers with respect to error detection and false positive rates. Despite only employing path-sensitive and heap-aware program slicing, the SOCA Verifier is further shown to scale well in an extensive evaluation using 250 Linux device drivers. An in-depth case study on the Linux Virtual File System illustrates that the SOCA technique can be applied to verify program properties beyond pointer safety. Our evaluation testifies SOCA's suitability as an effective and efficient bug-finding tool.


Trace elements level in 30 human milk samples were determined using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) techniques to reveal what types of nutrients are passed from mothers to babies. Wide variation in concentration of different elements was found. Concentrations of K, Ca and Zn were found sufficiently high. Concentrations of K range from 727.5 to 1518.8 J.tg/g with a mean value of 1073.1±256.8 J.tg/g. Concentrations of Ca vary from 560.1 to 1172.0 J.tg/g with a mean of788.2±174.1 J.tg/g. Concentrations of Zn varies from 12.7 to 79.1 J.tg/g with a mean of39.8 ±19.9 J.tg/g. Concentrations ofFe range from 13.2 to 78.8 J.tg/g with a mean of 40.02 ±22.3 J.tg/g. Mean value of Sc was found 23.4±5.0 J.tg/g. So far the toxic elements like arsenic, lead, etc were not detected in the human milk samples analyzed. Study indicates wide variation of nutritional status of mothers of Bangladesh.


OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of catheter related thrombosis and to test the efficacy of recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in preterm infants. STUDY DESIGN From January 1995 to December 1998, echocardiography was performed in the first few days of life in 76 very low birthweight (⩽ 1500 g) infants out of a total of 147 having an umbilical catheter placed. When intracardiac thrombosis was diagnosed, rt-PA infusion was performed. RESULTS Four infants (5%) developed an intracardiac thrombosis during the first few days of life. In three of them, rt-PA at a dose of 0.4–0.5 mg/kg in a 20–30 minute bolus led to dissolution of the clot. One patient received a three hour infusion after the bolus, at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg/h, with resolution of the thrombus. No systemic effects were observed after rt-PA infusion. CONCLUSIONS Early thrombosis may occur as a complication of umbilical catheterisation in preterm infants; early echocardiographic detection of this disorder allows complete, safe, and rapid lysis with rt-PA.


P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is a membrane-transport ATPase. It uses energy from ATP hydrolysis to transport pleiotropic cytotoxic drugs from inside to outside of cells. Thus, elevated expression of Pgp in cancer cells causes multidrug resistance. It is now known that the conformational state of Pgp changes during its catalytic cycle. However, how ATP hydrolysis relates to drug binding by Pgp is yet to be determined. In this study, we used limited trypsin digestion of Pgp in isolated inside-out membrane vesicles to investigate the effects of drugs on Pgp conformation and to determine the drug-bound conformational states of Pgp in the catalytic cycle. We found that (a) binding of vinblastine or verapamil alone can cause a conformational change in Pgp, but the change induced by the drug binding is different from that induced by nucleotide binding, (b) there may be at least two binding sites for Pgp substrates, one for drugs such as vinblastine and verapamil and the other for drugs such as colchicine and adriamycin, (c) the conformation of Pgp bound by ATP and vinblastine is different from the conformation bound by either one alone, and (d) the ADP-bound Pgp does not bind vinblastine. Based on these observations and our previous studies, we propose a model for drug binding and transport in the catalytic cycle of Pgp.


The octenyl succinate starch is a stabilization-modified starch produced by esterification of native starch with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA). When modified in this way the starch tends to improve its functional characteristics, can be used to tailor starch to specific food applications. Therefore, optimization of reaction conditions of octenyl succinate starch is critical for modification. The preparation of OSA starches from potato starch in an aqueous alkaline solution was investigated. The reaction conditions, including reaction temperature, OSA concentration, concentration of starch slurry, reaction time and pH, were studied and optimized, as they influence esterification. Under the optimization conditions, the degree of substitution (DS) could reach 0.01862. The products were confirmed by the presence of the carbonxylate signal around 1558 cm-1 in the fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. By scanning electron microscope (SEM), OSA starch granules were proved to transfer to some smaller anomalistic ellipses and had slight rough on their surfaces. X-ray diffraction showed that esterification occurred primarily in the amorphous regions and the crystalline pattern of starches did not change. The thermal characteristics of the OSA starch were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). TGA revealed that the OSA starch were thermally more stable than the native starch. The OSA starch exhibited 50 % weight loss at 320°C, while the native starch underwent 50 % weight loss at 312°C. The DSC results showed that amorphous region increased after esterification.


Musculoskeletal disorders, such as low back pain, are a common and costly problem in today's workforce. Employees who work in a rural hospital's electrophysiology (EP) or catheterization lab (Cath lab) appear to be especially susceptible to injury. This increase in risk has been attributed to a shortage of physicians, less community-based resources available to hospital staff, and the forward-flexed postures EP/Cath lab professionals maintain for extended periods of time while working in the operating room. Traditionally, exercise and physical activity routines, health education, and continued management support have been promoted as low cost/low risk interventions to address low back pain. However, the extent to which hospital policy and culture enable these prevention strategies to be implemented is unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of low back pain in rural EP/Cath laboratories and the significance of exercise and physical activity routines, health education, and continued management support as low back pain prevention strategies in the rural EP/Cath lab community.


Background: Obesity is a significant problem within society and is steadily increasing. A major contributor to obesity is snacking. Internal factors associated with snacking such as stress and negative affect can influence behaviours. Motivators of behaviour change such as intention, anticipated regret (AR) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have been shown to predict health behaviours Similarly, self-affirmation manipulations have also been indicated in promoting positive health changes. Objective: Reducing snacking consumption may be a strategy for weight management. The aim of the current study is to explore whether a self-affirmation manipulation can predict the intentions AR and PBC towards reducing snack consumption. The study explored whether Negative Automatic Thoughts (NAT) could influence intention, AR and PBC towards snacking consumption and whether it moderated any effects of the self-affirmation manipulation. Method: Over a 3-week period, 12 males and 91 females completed 3 online questionnaires 1-week apart. Participants provided details about their intentions, AR and PBC toward reducing snack consumption, and a questionnaire relating to the frequency of NAT. A self-affirmation intervention was completed with participants randomly selected to 1 of 2 conditions – self affirmed (SA) or control (CC). Results: The self-affirmation manipulation significantly predicted PBC, however, it did not extend to intention or AR. NAT significantly predicted intention and AR, though did not extend to PBC. Moderating effects of NAT and the self-affirmation manipulation were found for AR, however these did not extend to Intention. Conclusions: The study contributes, in part to the research allaying to self-affirmation as a tool to aid beneficial health behaviours, and highlights the often overlooked role of NAT as a potential predictor of increased snacking.


An open question in the measurement of X-ray optics for telescopes in space is what the point spread function (PSF) looks like in orbit and what is the focal length for an infinite source distance. In order to measure such a PSF, a parallel X-ray beam with a diameter of several centimeters to meters is needed. For this purpose it is studied of how to collimate the X-rays using a zone plate. Furthermore, a configuration study is presented to characterize X-ray optics with such a collimated beam at the PANTER X-ray test facility. In particular, estimations for segmented optics for future X-ray missions such as ATHENA+ with a focal length of 10m to 20m are presented.


A 15-month-old boy with a 2-month history of watery diarrhoea presented with cachexia, hypokalaemia, hypochloraemia and metabolic acidosis. During a 2-week investigation period infection, celiac disease and cystic fibrosis were excluded and trial therapy with antibiotics, probiotics and dietary measures proved unsuccessful. This led to the suspected diagnosis of a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-secreting tumour with watery diarrhoea, hypokalaemia, achlorhydria (WDHA)-syndrome. MRI showed an infrarenal mass infiltrating the neuroforamen, which on pathological examination was consistent with a VIP-secreting neuroganglioblastoma. Serum VIP and urinary catecholamine levels were elevated. Treatment consisted of 2 courses of chemotherapy and a partial resection of the tumour, following which the diarrhoea disappeared. Refractory watery diarrhoea that persists during fasting in a young child should alert to the diagnosis of WDHA, and prompt investigations to diagnose a VIP-secreting tumour, one of the most common causes of secretory diarrhoea in the developed world. Timely diagnosis could avoid morbidity due to unnecessary investigations and protracted diarrhoea. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc1009w


Guard cells are electrically isolated from other plant cells and therefore offer the unique possibility to conduct current- and voltage-clamp recordings on single cells in an intact plant. Guard cells in their natural environment were impaled with double-barreled electrodes and found to exhibit three physiological states. A minority of cells were classified as far-depolarized cells. These cells exhibited positive membrane potentials and were dominated by the activity of voltage-dependent anion channels. All other cells displayed both outward and inward rectifying K+-channel activity. These cells were either depolarized or hyperpolarized, with average membrane potentials of -41 mV (SD 16) and -112 mV (SD 19), respectively. Depolarized guard cells extrude K+ through outward rectifying channels, while K+ is taken up via inward rectifying channels in hyperpolarized cells. Upon a light/dark transition, guard cells that were hyperpolarized in the light switched to the depolarized state. The depolarization was accompanied by a 35 pA decrease in pump current and an increase in the conductance of inward rectifying channels. Both an increase in pump current and a decrease in the conductance of the inward rectifier were triggered by blue light, while red light was ineffective. From these studies we conclude that light modulates plasma membrane transport through large membrane potential changes, reversing the K+-efflux via outward rectifying channels to a K+-influx via inward rectifying channels.


Anticoagulant-induced haemorrhage in the upper airway is rare, but it can be life threatening if airway obstruction develops. Treatment is mainly conservative. Urgent control of airway and coagulopathy are the essential of management. Vitamin K1 or combination of fresh frozen plasma and vitamin K1 should be used for reversal of the coagulopathy. In this report, two elderly patients were reported to have oral anticoagulant (warfarin)-induced haemorrhage in the sublingual and supraglottic areas.


Wavelet packet division multiplexing (WPDM) is a high-capacity, flexible and robust orthogonal multiplexing technique in which wavelet packet basis functions are chosen as the coding waveforms. Branch-hopped WPDM (BH-WPDM) is an extension of WPDM which incorporates hopping strategies analogous to those of frequency-hopped schemes. It is based on an efficient modular switched transmultiplexer structure which provides the advantages of hopping whilst retaining many of the desirable features of WPDM. In previous work we have identified classes of slow and fast BH-WPDM schemes and have evaluated a number of switching strategies. In the present paper we provide a method for re-designing the filters within the transmultiplexer modules to provide further robustness to narrow frequency-selective fading channels under a given switching strategy.


This thesis examines the various ways in which a group of contemporary writers from African and Indian cultures address spiritual affairs within their fictions. The neutral terminology "supra-human" indicates that the analysis treats each worldview as an equally valid explanation of the "reality" of phenomena beyond that which is materially verifiable and, at the same time, highlights the pantheistic nature of the human and numinous relationships which underpins these texts. The investigation shows that the cultural symbols employed both structurally and semantically by R. K Narayan, Nuruddin Farah, Bessie Head, Ben Okri and Salman Rushdie in their narratives describe the tensions that arise between a culture's sense of continuity and the historical and political pressures for change generated by their respective postcolonial conditions. Thus, the narratives are concerned with the maintenance of personal and societal identity, the restoration of a holistic form of meaning and the healing of psychological disjunctures caused by colonial and, in some instances, postcolonial fragmentation. All processes are found to involve, in one way or another, a perceived intervention of supra-human powers. Narayan's The Guide and Farah's Close Sesame survey the lives of two distinct "holy" men whose deaths (or transitions into an after-life) prove to be beneficial for their respective communities. The use of dreams or altered states of consciousness as healing mechanisms frame Head and Okri's narratives. The trauma of Head's life experience, as portrayed in A Question of Power, resembles a shamanic initiation ritual while Okri's answer to the malaise of Nigerian politics in his abiku novels lies in people's efforts to acquire shamanic perceptual and thus healing powers. In Midnight's Children, a clowning Rushdie treads a tenuous path between an acceptance of and a resistance to all possibilities that involve supra-human explanations. He advocates a new sense of spirituality forged by art's mediation of secular and sacred ideas but he cannot finally divest himself of his clownish fear of absurdity. In spite of their diverse means and backgrounds, the writers demonstrate that the human impulse to explain the workings of the universe is invariably countered by a need to maintain the potential of mystery within human understanding. Finally, the thesis contends that supra-human ideas continue to exert a powerful influence on the human imagination.


A key issue in the management of zebra mussel populations is early, rapid, and accurate detection of the planktonic forms of the mussel veligers. In this study, an alternative technology to microscopic enumeration of zebra mussel veligers has been developed based on a species specific genetic probe targeting the 18S rRNA molecule. Probe specificity and sensitivity were determined empirically in the laboratory. The probe did not hybridize to any other bivalve representative tested, including a close relative of the zebra mussel, Mytilopsis leucophaeta. A single veliger could be detected by 18S rRNA targeted probes. The probe was tested in three different field settings including the Hudson River, NY, Lake Champlain, NY/VT, and Lake George, NY and compared to standard methods. Results were generally consistent with microscopy methods. A long term goal of this work is the application of genetic probe technology to the development of a field device for the routine detection and quantification of zebra mussel veligers.


The study was done to examine some aspects of the reproductive biology of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Tekeze Reservoir a newly man made hydropower reservoir. A total number of 1826 specimens of Nile Tilapia (O. niloticus) were collected from the reservoir from July 2015 to June 2016. Size at first maturity, sex ratio, gonado-somatic index (GSI), breeding season and fecundity were studied. The overall sex-ratio female: Male (F: M) was 1.6:1 which is deviated from the expected 1:1 sex ratio (χ2 = 10.13; p<0.05). Length at first maturity was 14 and 15 cm for females and males respectively. The breeding period of females extended from January to September. Two annual breeding seasons were noticed. A minor breeding season which extended from January to March and a major breeding season from July to September and monthly Condition Factor (CF) (mean ± SD) value of O. niloticus in the reservoir ranged from 1.73±0.03 in July to 2.05±0.02 in November for males and 1.61±0.02 in July to 1.99±0.05 in April for females. Fecundity ranged between 399 to 2129 g. Fecundity correlated well with total weight (r = 0.086), total length (r = 0.77) and ovary weight (r = 0.72) than with gonadal weight (r = 0.86). Nile tilapia at Tekeze Reservoir showed isometric growth pattern (b=2.92), indicating that the reservoir was favorable for the fish growth. For proper management of the fish species in the reservoir, it is better for the fishermen not to capture the fish during the breeding season of the year in the reservoir.

 Key words: Reproductive biology, Oreochromis niloticus, Gonado-somatic index, fecundity.


Thirty-seven bacterial clones producing human recombinant monoclonal antibody Fab fragments (rFabs) reactive to herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigens were selected from a human combinatorial antibody library constructed in a phage-display vector by a panning procedure against an HSV lysate. Thirty-four of the HSV-specific rFabs were able to specifically recognize HSV-infected cells in indirect immunofluorescence (IF) assays; of these, 25 recognized cells infected by either HSV type 1 (HSV-1) or HSV-2, while 9 recognized only HSV-1-infected cells. One HSV type-common rFab (rFab H37) and one HSV-1-specific rFab (rFab H85) were further evaluated as reagents for viral detection and typing by IF staining in 134 HSV-positive (72 HSV-1 and 62 HSV-2) viral cultures from clinical specimens. The results obtained with these two rFabs were fully consistent with those obtained with a commercial preparation of fluorescein-labeled anti-HSV type-specific murine monoclonal antibodies. The detection sensitivity with the type-common rFab in indirect IF assays was higher overall than that provided by the type-specific murine monoclonal antibodies. Preparations of rFabs suitable for IF staining can be easily and inexpensively obtained in a clinical microbiology laboratory from Escherichia coli cultures. Similar HSV-specific rFabs, therefore, could be advantageous for in vitro diagnostic purposes.


Background: The paradigm of individualized drug therapy based on an individual9s unique genetic make-up is especially desirable in the field of hematology/oncology. If clinicians could better predict which individuals are likely to respond to chemotherapy and who is at the greatest risk of suffering chemotherapy-related toxicities, this could greatly improve the overall care of cancer patients. Evidence suggests that germline genetic differences between individuals explain a significant portion of observed treatment susceptibility heterogeneity. We chose two widely-used chemotherapy drugs in which to further investigate these genetic factors. Capecitabine is an ideal agent in which to investigate germline susceptibility loci since it has been previously shown that 26-65% of the cytotoxic effects of capecitabine9s metabolite, 5-FU, are genetically heritable (1), and because candidate genes (such as DPYD) have been previously identified as potentially important factors in 5-FU-related toxicity. Perhaps more importantly, capecitabine is often used as monotherapy which allows clear attribution of any toxicities and response to the drug– an important feature of pharmacogenetic inquiry. As the second drug, we chose cisplatin because the pharmacogenetics of the platinum agents has been an area of particular scientific activity since discovery of the role of the ERCC1 gene. Additionally, susceptibility to the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin is a heritable trait, with up to 47% of cisplatin toxicity susceptibility being under appreciable genetic influence (2). Yet, despite the active investigation into the pharmacogenetics of both of these agents, there has been limited clinical applicability of the findings, and the proposed candidate genes have been found to have relatively modest, if any, effect sizes. We believe that part of this limitation is likely due to the fact that rarely do single genes entirely explain an individual9s chemotherapeutic susceptibility risk, because chemotherapy sensitivity is most likely a multi-genic trait. To account for this, we developed an experimental model which permits elucidation of genetic determinants of chemotherapy susceptibility via a genome-wide approach. This approach allows simultaneous pre-clinical discovery of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genes involved in drug susceptibility with no bias towards well-studied genes. After identification of these novel candidates, clinical replication of their importance is essential, and this project describes our bench-to-bedside translational model for validation of these pharmacogenomic findings in relevant cancer care clinical settings. Hypothesis: Germline genetic polymorphisms are critical determinants of chemotherapy-related toxicity, and possibly also efficacy. Methods: For both chosen chemotherapy agents, we employed an experimental model using EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from healthy individuals of different ethnic backgrounds to identify genetic determinants of chemotherapy-related susceptibility via an unbiased genome-wide approach. The LCLs are from the International HapMap collection, in which, for all individuals, rich genotypic information is already known. LCLs from these HapMap cell lines are treated in vitro with each chemotherapeutic agent, and individual cytotoxicity "susceptibility" phenotypes are identified which are then included in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with the known genotypes. This powerful statistical analysis allows identification of a small list of potential SNPs which represent a "genetic signature" that may govern sensitivity to the given chemotherapeutic agent. These pre-clinical LCL GWAS studies have now been performed for both capecitabine and cisplatin. However, clinical replication of these findings was needed. To accomplish this, we designed two clinical trials– one for patients receiving cisplatin, and one for patients receiving capecitabine– to test these novel genetic variants (along with previously-identified candidate-gene SNPs) in carefully-selected clinical settings with well-described and important clinical phenotypes as the relevant endpoints. Results: For each drug, the pre-clinical LCL models produced a workable set of SNPs (approximately 25 unique SNP candidates per drug) and their related genes (approximately the same number) as outputs of various GWAS analyses. Where possible, SNPs were then replicated in independent HapMap populations which were separate from the discovery sets. The SNP candidates for each drug were also shown to have far more predictive power for the cytotoxicity phenotypes when they were incorporated as haplotype-like sets, referred to as "susceptibility signatures." For each drug, these genome-wide-derived SNP candidates were then combined with literature-reported lists of other SNPs that had been previously identified as potentially important in candidate gene studies. The composite list of candidate gene-derived SNPs and our novel genome-wide SNPs were then taken forward for testing in a carefully-designed clinical trial for each drug. For capecitabine, a 250 patient, eight institution multi-center trial of patients with breast cancer was designed. This setting was chosen because capecitabine has particular appeal for breast cancer patients with advanced stages of disease because, besides having considerable anti-tumor efficacy, it can be administered as an outpatient and avoids the frequent hospital visits required for administration of other chemotherapies. These quality of life considerations are particular advantages of capecitabine. However, capecitabine is associated with several potentially severe side-effects which counter the palliative goals of the medication and are confounders of effectiveness. The trial allows any adult woman breast cancer patient who is about to be treated with single-agent capecitabine to be eligible. Patients are carefully monitored for three toxicities of interest: diarrhea, hand-foot syndrome, and neutropenia. Toxicity data capture is being studied via traditional means (clinic visit questionnaires) and via a novel patient phone-in toxicity reporting system that captures toxicity during the between-clinic visits. The primary endpoint of the study examines whether the chosen SNPs correlate with development of any or all of the three capecitabine-related toxicities of interest. Secondary endpoints include analysis of whether the genetic determinants of capecitabine toxicity differ for patients who develop "early" toxicity (during cycle 1) versus "late" toxicity (during cycles 2-4). Trial accrual is now ongoing. For cisplatin, a 60 patient, single-institution clinical trial was designed in urothelial cancer of the bladder. Given the importance of the role of cisplatin in urothelial cancer and the controversy surrounding the utility of neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy in this disease, we chose the neoadjuvant bladder cancer setting as one in which pharmacogenomic information might be particularly useful for guiding treatment decisions. All bladder cancer patients who are eligible for standard cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy are eligible for this trial. Patients will receive standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy and then will proceed to cystectomy. The rate of achievement of pT0 in the cystectomy specimens will be the primary endpoint. Patients with a "cisplatin susceptible" pharmacogenomic signature will be assessed for their rate of pT0 as compared to patients who are predicted to be cisplatin resistant by the pharmacogenomic signature. Accrual to this trial is also ongoing. Conclusion: Prediction of which patients will respond to chemotherapy, and which will experience severe side-effects, is currently often not possible. Our pre-clinical model has allowed the identification of a novel list of SNPs and related genes that, for the first time, offer unbiased variants for clinical testing alongside candidate gene-SNPs as one comprehensive pharmacogenomic signature. We report here the successful implementation of this translational model into current patient testing for two important chemotherapy drugs, capecitabine and cisplatin. Ultimately, validation of pharmacogenetic endpoints in these two clinical trials would provide novel variants which could then be tested in subsequent prospective fashion (e.g., patient dose-targeting by genotype). This will enable the cancer field to move one step closer to the goal of "personalized" medical care, which has the potential to significantly improve the way that cancer patients are treated by minimizing toxicity and maximizing response. References 1. Watters JW, Kraja A, Meucci MA, Province MA, McLeod HL. Genome-wide discovery of loci influencing chemotherapy cytotoxicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004;101(32):11809-14. 2. Dolan ME, Newbold KG, Nagasubramanian R, Wu X, Ratain MJ, Cook EH Jr, Badner JA. Heritability and linkage analysis of sensitivity to cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity. Cancer Res. 2004;64(12):4353-6. Citation Format: Peter O9Donnell. Discovery and validation of genome-wide genetic signatures of chemotherapy susceptibility: A translational model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SSY01-04


Hydrogen can have a pronounced effect on the mechanical properties of titanium (Ti) and Ti alloys, such as deformation, fracture, and fatigue life. The delayed fracture of medical Ti alloy devices is commonly caused by hydrogen embrittlement. Experimentally, we confirmed that the degradation in the performance of Ni-Ti superelastic alloy is caused by the hydrogen absorption related with specific factors in vivo; i.e., hydrogen embrittlement is related to such factors as sustained stress, in vivo environment (pH and potential), and surface chemistry. In our research a thermal desorption gas spectrometer (TDS) was used to measure the hydrogen content in the alloys without fusion. The measured hydrogen concentration showed clearly that the hydrogen concentration affects considerably the degradation of the mechanical properties. It is unclear how the alloy can naturally absorb hydrogen under biological circumstances. However, it is suspected that the hydrogen absorption is related to galvanic currents, fretting corrosion, hydrogen ions in a biological fluid, and changes in pH under biostructures, biofilms, and tumors. It may lead to the degradation of their mechanical properties by hydrogen absorption in vivo. Also the processes of medical Ti alloy devices, such as pickling, are associated with their hydrogen content. Thus, the estimation of the hydrogen absorption in vivo in relation to surface features is required to evaluate its effect on such properties as fatigue and the service life of the Ni-Ti alloys used as medical devices.


A new tunable optical filter has been developed which rejects a narrow wavelength interval (<7.5 nm) in the near-UV, visible, or near-IR spectral region and allows adjacent wavelengths to pass (T > 90%). This filter will be useful in optics, in spectroscopy, and for laser applications. The active element of the filter is a crystalline colloidal array of polystyrene spheres. The rejected wavelengths are Bragg diffracted from this ordered array. For a particular sphere concentration and scattering from a particular set of lattice planes, tunability can be achieved by the altering of the angle between the filter and incident light beam. Bragg diffraction and light rejection of these filters are monitored by transmission measurements. The utility of this filter for spectroscopic measurements is demonstrated for Raman spectroscopy. Raman measurements are shown for polypropylene, a highly scattering material with numerous low-frequency modes. The filter selectively attenuates the elastically scattered light and allows the low frequency peaks to be observed. Use of this wavelength rejection filter to reject the Rayleigh scattered light simplifies the instrumentation, decreases the cost, and increases the sensitivity of Raman spectral measurements. This filter also has the potential to replace dispersive elements such as gratings and prisms in a variety of spectroscopic and optical applications.


The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of three methods of deep tillage of compacted reclaimed mine soil on corn (Zea mays L.). Moldboard plowing (0.5-m depth), slip-plowing (0.7-and 1.0-m depths), and subsoiling (0.7− and 1.0-m depths) on test plots were compared with a no-deep-tillage check treatment. During the 1982 growing season, no significant differences in corn yield among the tillage treatments were observed. Instead, corn yields were strongly associated with the microtopography of harvest plots. Yields were reduced in concave positions where standing water had collected during critical periods of the growing season. The spatial variability of corn yields at the experimental site was characterized by geostatistical techniques. The weak expression of tillage-induced drift in the semivariograms that were constructed for different parts of the research area confirmed that tillage treatment effects on corn yield were insignificant. The semivariograms also revealed that spatial variability patterns of yield greatly varied for different regions of the site. An isarithmie corn yield map produced by kriging graphically illustrated the effect of microtopography on yield.


Abstract Work at Barāqish/Yathill in 2005–06 has produced sequences encompassing the Sabaean (13th-6th centuries BC) and Minaean/Arab (c. 550 BC-AD 1) occupations. Abundant animal remains were retrieved and contexts of use and discard were obtained. Camels and donkeys are studied together as pack animals, the camel being the domestic dromedary. Their zooarchaeological and contextual study at Yathill is justified from this city's location on the famous frankincense caravan route of the 1st millennium BC. An extramural stratigraphic sequence documenting the relationships between the city and the adjoining plain from c. 820 BC to the Islamic era was investigated to the northwest of the Minaean wall. Domestic camels were present by 800 BC, the earliest well-documented occurrence in Yemen; wild dromedary herds were still in the area during the 7th century and perhaps later. The study of the archaeological context links these Sabaean-age camels to campsites possibly formed by non-residents. This pattern greatly developed during the Minaean period, with trade-jar handling posts outside the walled city and frequent stationing of camels and donkeys on the upper talus. Such data directly support the role of Yathill in the overland caravan trade and suggest that the extramural area was functionally important in this respect.


Diagenesis of the Monterey Formation includes the opal-A opal-CT microcrystalline-quartz transformation, dolomitization, and in some places the formation of brittle, vitreous cherts. These diagenetic transformations produce a more brittle rock. Diagenesis is thus considered a major control on the fracture potential of Monterey rocks. Once formed, fractures become excellent fluid migration paths. Fluid migration along fractures creates vuggy porosity adjacent to the fracture and may promote the generation of secondary matrix porosity, primarily in carbonate-rich lithologies. The Monterey is characterized by high matrix porosity but very low matrix permeability. The vast quantities of hydrocarbons produced from this formation require production from matrix porosity in addition to production from fracture porosity. A model is suggested in which matrix-bound hydrocarbons migrate into fractures that intersect high porosity-low permeability beds. These fractures either intersect high porosity-low permeability beds. These fractures either intersect other fractures, the borehole, or stratigraphic breccias; any or all of these conditions should enhance productivity. This model diminishes the problems associated with fluids migrating long distances through a low-permeability matrix. Implications of the model include the following: (1) fracturing carbonate-rich rocks with matrix porosity should yield the best production; (2) chert-rich lithologies with no matrix porosity will produce primarily frommore » fractures; (3) high-porosity shales with few fractures are candidates for hydrofracture treatments to enhance productivity.« less


We provide an example from our integrated math and science curriculum where students explore the mathematical relationships underlying various science phenomena. We present the tasks we designed for exploring the covariation relationships that underlie the concept of gravity and discuss the generalizations students made as they interacted with those tasks.


Aimed at the process of laser rapid prototyping with inner coaxial powder feeding, the finite element model on the transient temperature field of the molten pool is built and the transient temperature field of the molten pool under the laser with variable duty ratio is simulated numerically. The results show that the duty ratio of the laser affects the shape, dimension and power distribution of the molten pool. With the processing parameters: laser power (P)=3000W, outer diameter(d2)=4mm, scanning speed(V=5mm/s), the ideal value of ratio duty(K) is from 0.35 to 0.6. The shape of the molten pool is saddle shape or crescent. The position of the molten pool falls behind the center of the laser beam with the deviation to the both sides. Through shooting the molten pool with the high speed CCD camera, we find the experiments show that the images are close to the numerical simulation nephograms and then demonstrate that the numerical simulations are right.


This thesis examines the cultural and social significance of women's rugby. It attempts to make sense of the experience of the everyday women rugby player at a grass roots level and is an area that has received limited attention in sociology. The purpose of this thesis was to document, explore and reflect upon personal stories and experiences of women rugby players by using qualitative research methods. The participants in the research were 12 women rugby players from different rugby clubs. They were arranged in small focus groups that ran over a period of four weeks where personal stories and experiences were shared and critical reflection of the narratives took place. Common themes identified throughout the research process included the current structure and organisation of women's rugby that still results in women's rugby being less valued on and off the field. The stories and experiences revealed the fine line that woman rugby players tread as they try to manage the tension of playing to the ideal image of a rugby player on the field and maintaining their femininity after the game. The findings suggest that the pleasures of rugby found in physicality, roughness, drinking, and associated with masculine culture, are equally pleasurable for these women rugby players. These findings provided insights into the lived experiences of the everyday women's rugby player at a grass root level. They also suggest that the various experiences of women rugby players, both positive and negative, need to be recognised so that women can be better valued as rugby players rather than as women who just play rugby.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of preparedness and resources needed in Minnesota for the implementation of newborn screening for critical congenital heart diseases (CCHDs). METHODS: A cross sectional survey of all birth centers in Minnesota was performed to assess the capacity to deliver care essential for the CCHD screening program. Compliance with the screening algorithm, nursing workload, and cost were assessed by using a pilot program implemented in 6 normal newborn nurseries. RESULTS: Ninety-one of 99 eligible centers participated in the survey and 90 reported the ability to screen newborns in accordance with recommendations. Only 22 centers, with 63% of births, had access to echocardiography and routinely stocked prostaglandins for neonatal use. Our pilot study screened 7549 newborns with 6 failed screens and 1 CCHD diagnosis. Two of the failed screens were due to misinterpretation of the algorithm, 1 failed screen was not reported, and 4 failed screens were not recognized. Repeated screens were required for 115 newborns, with 29% of retesting due to misinterpretation of the algorithm. The mean nursing time required was 5.5 minutes, and the cost was $5.10 per screen. CONCLUSIONS: In Minnesota, two-thirds of newborns are born in centers with resources for initial diagnosis and management of CCHD. Implementation of a pilot screening program demonstrated minimal increase in nursing workload, but identified problems with interpretation of the algorithm and data reporting. This pilot project suggests the need for simplification of the algorithm, additional training of health care providers, and development of a centralized reporting mechanism.


In recent years Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA), used as a powerful technique in time series analysis, has been developed and applied to many practical problems. The aim of this research is to develop theoretical and methodological aspects of the SSA technique and to demonstrate that SSA can be considered as a powerful method of time series analysis and forecasting, particulary for economic time series. For practical aspect and empirical results, various economic and financial time series are used. First, the SSA technique is applied as a noise reduction method. The performance of SSA is examined in noise reduction of several important financial series. The daily closing prices of several stock market indices are examined to analyse whether noise reduction matters in measuring dependencies of the financial series. The effect of noise reduction is considered on the linear and nonlinear measures of dependence between two series. The results are compared with those obtained with the linear and nonlinear methods for filtering time series. The results show that the performance of SSA is much better than of the competitive methods. Second, we consider the performance of SSA in forecasting various time series. For consistency with the forecasting results obtained with other current forecasting methods, the performance of the SSA technique is examined by applying it to a well-known time series data set, namely, monthly accidental deaths in the USA. The results are com pared with those obtained using Box-Jenkins SARIMA models, the ARAR algorithm and the Holt-Winter algorithm. The results show that the SSA technique gives a much more accurate forecast than the other methods indicated above. As another example, the performance of the SSA technique is assessed by applying it to 24 series measuring the monthly seasonally unadjusted industrial production for important sectors of the German, French and UK economies. The results confirm that at longer horizons, SSA significantly outperforms ARIMA and Holt-Winter methods. Moreover, the application of SSA to the analysis and forecasting of Iranian national accounts data, which are rather short, are considered to examine capability of SSA in forecasting short time series. The results confirm that SSA works very well for short time series as well as for long time series. The univariate and multivariate SSA are also employed in predicting the value and the changes in direction of inflation series for the United States. The consumer price indices, and real-time chain-weighted GDP price index series are used in these prediction exercises. Moreover, our out-of-sample 1-step-ahead moving prediction results are compared with the prediction results based on methods such as activity-based NAIRU Philips curve, AR(p), and random walk models with the latter as a naive forecasting method. A short-run (quarterly) and long-run (one to six years) time windows are utilized for predictions. The results clearly confirm that prediction of inflation rate in the United States during the period of "Great Moderation" is less challenging compared to more volatile inflationary period of 1970-1985 also. Furthermore, the univariate and multivariate SSA is used for predicting the value and the direction of changes in the daily pound/dollar exchange rate. Empirical results show that the forecast based on the multivariate SSA compares favorably to the forecast of the random walk model both for predicting the value and the direction of changes in the daily pound/dollar exchange rate. The SSA forecasting results are also compared to prediction results based on an error correction model (VEC) in the context of a restricted vector autoregressive model. The results show that the VEC results are inferior. For theoretical development of the technique, two new versions of SSA are introduced the SSA technique based on the minimum variance estimator and based on the perturbation theory. The new versions are examined in reconstructing and forecasting time series. The results are compared with the current version of SSA and indicate that the new versions improve the quality of reconstruction step as well as forecasting results. We also consider the concept of casual relationship between two time series based on the SSA technique. We introduce several criteria which characterize this causality. The criteria are based on the forecasting accuracy and predictability of the direction of change. The performance of the proposed test is examined using different real time series.


Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induces hyperlipidemia in rodents by increasing hepatic triglyceride production. We now explore the mechanism of this increase. TNF does not increase phosphatidate phosphohydrolase, glycerolphosphate acyltransferase, or diacylglycerol acyltransferase, which are enzymes of triglyceride synthesis. Rather, TNF increases triglyceride production by providing increased fatty acids (FA) as substrate. In chow-fed rats, TNF increases plasma free fatty acids (FFA). The antilipolytic drug, phenylisopropyl adenosine (PIA), prevents the TNF-induced increase in plasma FFA and, most importantly, inhibits the TNF-induced increase in plasma triglycerides. Thus increased lipolysis with delivery of FA to liver contributes to TNF-induced hyperlipidemia in chow-fed animals. In contrast, in rats fed a high-sucrose diet, TNF causes hyperlipidemia without increasing plasma FFA, and PIA has no effect on TNF-induced increases in plasma triglycerides. However, in sucrose-fed rats, TNF markedly stimulates hepatic de novo FA synthesis, which provides FA. This diet determines the mechanism by which TNF stimulates hepatic triglyceride production. The use of multiple mechanisms to increase plasma triglycerides suggests that this TNF action plays an important role in the response to infection or inflammation.


Mangrove forests have adapted to sea level rise (SLR) increases by maintaining their forest floor elevation via belowground root growth and surface sediment deposits. Researchers use surface elevation tables (SETs) to monitor surface elevation change (SEC) in mangrove forests, after which this information is used to assess SLR resiliency or to dictate active forest management for vulnerable systems. This method requires significant investments in terms of time and human resources and is limited in the number of points it can measure per plot. We use a low‐cost, portable terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) system to assess SEC for three mangrove forests on Pohnpei Island (Federated States of Micronesia). Cloth simulation filtering was used for ground detection, after which results were refined by filtering points using angular orientation. Digital elevation models then were generated via kriging interpolation for data collected in 2017 and 2019, after which the heights of corresponding points were compared across years. Extreme elevation changes, due to disturbances such as footprints or fallen logs, were removed using interquartile range analysis. The TLS‐obtained average SEC ranged between −6.92 and +6.01 mm, which exhibited an average consistency of 72% when compared to simultaneously collected SET data (root mean square error = 1.36 mm). We contend that this approach represents an improvement over the manual method, where very few points typically are used, that is, ≅ 36 points vs. ≅ 30,000 points in the case of TLS, and could contribute to improved monitoring and management of these rapidly changing forest environments.


When I.F. Stone died in June 1989 the Daily Telegraph described him as "the most notable radical publicist of his time" the Guardian called I.F. Stone's Weekly "essential reading for two generations of opinion makers" the Independent eulogized "the most famous crusading journalist in the United States." Stone's death made the front page of the New York Times and the Washington Post. It was also on all three U.S. network news broadcasts. Yet today I.F. Stone is practically a forgotten figure, a relic of the 1960s like sit-ins or manual typewriters. Even those who do remember Stone's enormous influence in the Washington Post's words "felt, though not welcomed, at the highest levels of government" know him only through the Weekly, his one-man newspaper whose 70,000 subscribers included Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Marilyn Monroe, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Invention of I.F. Stone is partly, then, a work of historical recovery. But it is also a study in post-Cold War history, and in the historiography of the American Left. By restricting myself to the period before the Weekly my aim is to show the personal, cultural, and historical roots of Stone's achievement. Like Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, or Lincoln Steffens, I.F. Stone was a muckraker who wrote to change the world. Drawing on the work of scholars such as Michael Denning, Maurice Isserman, and Ellen Schrecker as well as my own extensive research on Stone's writings (published and unpublished), and over a hundred interviews with family members, colleagues, friends and opponents, plus the over 6000 pages released to me by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Freedom of Information Act I will show that just as Walter Lippmann came to personify the American establishment, so I.F. Stone became not just a symbol but an embodiment of dissent.


The melting pressure and the specific volume of human blood was measured up to pressures of 1000 bar or more. The melting pressure curve has a slope of -138 bar K-1. The compressibility of blood is nearly twice the value of blood serum. After application of high pressure the blood exhibits some haemolysis most probably due to the effect of the steel surface of the autoclave.


We theoretically investigate the dust charging in electronegative silane (SiH4) plasmas, taking into account the effects of UV photodetachment. It is found that UV photodetachment could significantly lower the dust negative charge and even makes dust grains be positively charged under some special conditions. In addition, the other parameters, involving the negative ion and dust number densities, electron temperature and dust radius, have great effects upon the dust charging.


Stratifying healthy and malignant phenotypes and identifying their biological states using high-throughput molecular data has been the focus of many computational approaches during the last decade. Using multivariate changes in expression of genes within biological pathways, as fingerprints of complex phenotypes, we developed a new methodology for Similarity Identification in Gene expressioN (SIGN). In this approach, we use centroid classifier to identify phenotype of each biological sample. To obtain similarity of a given biological sample with classes of phenotypes, we defined a new distance measure, transcriptional similarity coefficient (TSC) which captures similarity of gene expression patterns between a biological pathway in two samples or populations. We showed that TSC, as an interpretable and stable distance measure in SIGN, captures all oncogenic hallmarks for breast cancer even with low sample size, by comparing healthy and patient tumor samples in the largest breast cancer dataset. In this study, we demonstrate that SIGN is a flexible, yet robust approach for classification based on transcriptomics data. Comparing early and late relapses within each molecular subtypes of breast cancer, our method enabled subtype-specific stratification of breast cancer patients into groups with significantly different survival. Moreover, we used SIGN to classify with more than 99% specificity the site of extraction of healthy and tumor samples from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. We showed that SIGN also enables robust identification of hematopoietic stem cell and progenitors within the hematopoietic hierarchy. We further explored chemical perturbation data in the Connectivity Map (CMAP) database and showed that SIGN was able to classify seven classes of drugs based on their mechanism of action. In conclusion, we showed that SIGN can be used to achieve interpretable and robust transcriptomic-based classification of healthy and malignant samples, as well as drugs based on their known mechanism of action, supporting the generalizability and relevance of the method for the analysis of gene expression profiles.


Previous research indicated that the size of the ovulatory follicle at the time of insemination significantly influenced pregnancy rates and embryonic/fetal mortality after fixed-timed AI in postpartum cows, but no effect on pregnancy rates was detected when cows ovulated spontaneously. Our objective was to evaluate relationships of fertility and embryonic/fetal mortality with preovulatory follicle size and circulating concentrations of estradiol after induced or spontaneous ovulation in beef heifers. Heifers were inseminated in 1 of 2 breeding groups: (1) timed insemination after an estrous synchronization and induced ovulation protocol (TAI n = 98); or (2) AI approximately 12 h after detection in standing estrus by electronic mount detectors during a 23-d breeding season (spontaneous ovulation; n = 110). Ovulatory follicle size at time of AI and pregnancy status 27, 41, 55, and 68 d after timed AI (d 0) were determined by transrectal ultrasonography. Only 6 heifers experienced late embryonic or early fetal mortality. Interactions between breeding groups and follicle size did not affect pregnancy rate (P = 0.13). Pooled across breeding groups, logistic regression of pregnancy rate on follicle size was curvilinear (P < 0.01) and indicated a predicted maximum pregnancy rate of 68.0 +/- 4.9% at a follicle size of 12.8 mm. Ovulation of follicles < 10.7 mm or > 15.7 mm was less likely (P < 0.05) to support pregnancy than follicles that were 12.8 mm. Ovulatory follicles < 10.7 mm were more prevalent (28% of heifers) than ovulatory follicles > 15.7 mm (4%). Heifers exhibiting standing estrus within 24 h of timed AI had greater (P < 0.01) follicle diameter (12.2 +/- 0.2 mm vs. 11.1 +/- 0.3 mm) and concentrations of estradiol (9.9 +/- 0.6 vs. 6.6 +/- 0.7) and pregnancy rates (63% vs. 20%) than contemporaries that did not exhibit behavioral estrus. However, when differences in ovulatory follicle size were accounted for, pregnancy rates were independent of expression of behavioral estrus or circulating concentration of estradiol. Therefore, the effects of serum concentrations of estradiol and behavioral estrus on pregnancy rate appear to be mediated through ovulatory follicle size, and management practices that optimize ovulatory follicle size may improve fertility.


In this study, we deal with systems that can be represented by single fractional order pole models and propose an integer order proportional–integral/proportional–integral–derivative controller design methodology for this class. The basic principle or backbone of the design methodology of the proposed controller relies on using the inverse of the fractional model and then approximating this fractional controller transfer function by a low integer order model using Oustaloup filter. The emerging integer order controller reveals itself either in pre-filtered proportional–integral or proportional–integral–derivative form by emphasizing on the dominancy concept of pole-zero configuration. Parameters of the proposed controllers depend on the parameters of the single fractional order pole model and the only free design parameter left is the overall controller gain. This free design parameter is determined via some approximating functions relying on an optimization procedure. Simulation results show that the proposed controller exhibits either satisfactory or better results with respect to some performance indices and time domain criteria when they are compared to classical integer order proportional–integral–derivative and fractional order proportional–integral–derivative controllers. Moreover, the proposed controller is applied to real-time liquid level control system. The application results show that the proposed controller outperforms the other controllers.


A parameter-free electronic structure approach is applied to the study of stability and chemical order in substitutional bcc-based Mo-Ta, Ta-W, and Mo-W alloys. The method is based on a Green's function description of the electronic structure of random alloys. Configurational order is treated within the generalized perturbation method, and temperature effects are accounted for by a generalized mean-field approach. The practical application of this study to phase stability in Mo-Ta-W alloys is tested by converting the ab initio output thermodynamics of the three binary subsystems to a format amenable to a CALPHAD treatment. The results of this conversion are then used to predict isothermal sections of the ternary phase diagram of the Mo-Ta-W system that are compared with the results obtained directly from the ab initio approach with the cluster variation method. It is concluded that the proposed CALPHAD conversion of the ab initio results is a viable scheme to capture the alloy properties predicted from first-principles electronic structure calculations.


We provide sufficient conditions for the feasibility of robust Pareto-improving (RPI) fiscal policies in the class of incomplete markets models of Bewley-Huggett-Aiyagari and when the interest rate on government debt is below the growth rate (r < g). We allow for arbitrary heterogeneity in preferences and income risk and a potential wedge between the return to capital and to government bonds. An RPI improves risk sharing and can induce a more efficient level of capital. We show that the elasticities of aggregate savings to changes in interest rates are the crucial ingredients that determine the feasibility of RPIs. We establish that government debt and capital investment associated with an RPI may be complements along the transition, rather than the traditional substitutes. Our analysis shifts the focus of fiscal policy in incomplete markets from explicitly redistributive policies to using government bonds and simple subsidies to robustly improve welfare of all agents at all points in time.


We revisit the design choices in Transformers, and propose methods to address their weaknesses in handling long sequences. First, we propose a simple layer named gated attention unit, which allows the use of a weaker single-head attention with minimal quality loss. We then propose a linear approximation method complementary to this new layer, which is accelerator-friendly and highly competitive in quality. The resulting model, named FLASH, matches the perplexity of improved Transformers over both short (512) and long (8K) context lengths, achieving training speedups of up to 4.9$\times$ on Wiki-40B and 12.1$\times$ on PG-19 for auto-regressive language modeling, and 4.8$\times$ on C4 for masked language modeling.


In January 2000, the Healthy People 2010 initiative was introduced by the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which set the nation's health goals for the coming decade. In 1990, a previous DHHS administration had released the Healthy People 2000 initiative, which set goals to be met by the year 2000. In 1979, the first set of health goals for the nation was released, titled Healthy People. Thus, Healthy People 2010 is the third iteration of such goals. This effort has achieved momentum and indeed is paying off handsomely. The framework of the Healthy People initiatives, however, is just one gauge of US public health care status; it and a myriad of other programs and studies in recent decades reflect the gains and shortcomings of our complex health care system. In several areas, minority health disparities continue to be the weakness in our capacity building to achieve the nation's health goals.


This is a paper-synthesis where the author summarizes his theory of development and underdevelopment. Some basic ideas are here presented: the economic theory of development must start wiht the study of history; underdevelopment is a specific historical and economical phenomenon, that cannot be thought in terms of linear stages of history; this historical phenomenon must be studied in structural terms, relating the historic and the economic aspects; the basic characteristic of underdevelopment is the dependency relation, expressed in the center-periphery system; in the study of development the basic concept to start with is the concept of social surplus, its forms of appropriation and utilization. The paper ends with an analysis of the frustrations of a reformist. Protectionism, that was justifiable in a first phase of industrialization, was maintained too long in Latin America; in a second phase, an active economic policy for exports was necessary. On the other hand the populist risk was always present, while the real social problems related to a high level of income concentration were not solved.


The objective of this paper is to develop a toll station layout optimization methodology based on toll plaza circulation safety analysis. The paper proposes a mathematical model assessing the expected level of traffic safety associated with the toll station layout, actual or planned, due to a given configuration for toll gate types and positions. The model has been conceived in order to let the planner be able to decide the proper sequence of gate types which minimizes the risk of accidents. The decision variables are mainly related to the assignment of a gate type (a manual gate with operator, an ETC gate, or a semi-automatic or short stop gate) to each gate position in the station. The resulting multi-toll-type assignment model, or MTTA, takes into account the probability of interaction between pairs of traffic streams originated from the different lanes of the highway and directed to specific gate types; different severity and risk indices are associated both with vehicle types and with destination gate types. The computational tests have been performed on observed data collected during several hours of video-camera images recorded in five different motorway multi-type toll plazas located in Tuscany (Italy). Our results support the evidence that gates associated to higher risk traffic flows, e.g. traffic directed to ETC gates which approaches the toll station at speeds significantly above the average, should be locate in a central position with respect to other gate types. Moreover, the experimental results disagree with the general operations practice of many Italian motorway Agencies, which usually place ETC gates on the far side of the toll plaza.


Adequate control of hydration plays an important role in the treatment of dialysis patients. Well known that chronic fluid overload causes hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy, however dehydration can be associated with intradialysis complications. Hyperhydration and dehydration associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients on dialysis. The exact definition of the state of hydration in dialysis patients remains a challenge, and is based on clinical criteria and unavailability of accurate measuring instruments. Bioimpedance spectroscopy method determines the state of hydration and body composition, which reliability had been confirmed by isotopic dilution and other reference methods for the determination of body composition.


This chapter presents a novel data-based proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller tuning method that can be applied to stable, integrating, and unstable plants. The tuning method is developed under the virtual reference feedback tuning (VRFT) design framework, where the reference model of VRFT is coordinately optimized with the controller on the basis of the model-reference (MR) criterion to ensure the validity of the VRFT approach. In the proposed MR-VRFT method, a set of closed-loop plant data are directly exploited without resorting to a process model. Because of its closed-loop tuning capability, the MR-VRFT method can be applied online to improve (retune) existing underperforming controllers. Moreover, the tuning method includes a robustness specification based on the maximum sensitivity that enables the designer to explicitly address the trade-off between performance and robustness. Simulation studies, including the application to an unstable biochemical reactor, are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of MR-VRFT method.


This paper proposes a new way to construct uncertainty sets for robust optimization. Our approach uses the available historical data for the uncertain parameters and is based on goodness-of-fit statistics. It guarantees that the probability that the uncertain constraint holds is at least the prescribed value. Compared to existing safe approximation methods for chance constraints, our approach directly uses the historical-data information and leads to tighter uncertainty sets and therefore to better objective values. This improvement is significant especially when the number of uncertain parameters is low. Other advantages of our approach are that it can handle joint chance constraints easily, it can deal with uncertain parameters that are dependent, and it can be extended to nonlinear inequalities. Several numerical examples illustrate the validity of our approach.


Abstract: Secure admittance to trouble-free and inexpensive credit and other monetary services by the vulnerable groups in deprived regions is acknowledged as a prerequisite for accelerating growth and reducing poverty. Well accessed financial system, provides identical prospects, allow backward and socially debarred populace to incorporate into the economy and enthusiastically contribute towards their own development and also towards the development of the economy. Despite the extensive international agreement and implementing various policies concerning the importance of financial inclusion, it is projected that across globe over two billion people are presently excluded from right of access to basic financial services. In developing nations, globally as well as in India a hefty section of society, specifically the lower-income people, has petite admittance to financial services, both formal and semi-formal. They still don't believe in well accessed financial services and severely lack knowledge of easily available financial services. As a consequence, majority of them get excluded from the formal financial services and some of them depends on some informal sources at an irrationally high cost. The condition is even more worst in least developed countries (LDCs), where majority of the populace almost 90 percent is debarred from accessing the basic financial services or assistance. This research is an attempt to understand the financial inclusion globally and in our country, current status of penetration of financial inclusion and impact of literacy and poverty in promoting financial inclusion. Keywords: Financial services, financial system, literacy.


This paper provides an evaluation of the performance of a sample of PGI bean producers in Greece, by means of technical and scale efficiency and a comparison between them on the basis of average efficiency, aggregate efficiency and the performance of the average production unit. Data were collected from 104 farms in 2012-2013, using a structured questionnaire, with face-to-face interviews, within the designated area of protected geographical indication. Results revealed that technical rather than scale inefficiency is the main source of productive inefficiency, with corresponding efficiency estimates of 0.837 and 0.949 respectively. Most farms (87%) operate in a sub-optimal scale and are less technically and scale efficient than farms working in a supra-optimal scale (6%).They are 14 technically efficient farms in the sample (13%) of which almost half are both technically and scale efficient. The systematic comparison of the performance of PGI bean farms provided four dominating farms appearing more often as peer-units, information that is valuable for performance improvement targets.


The Ministry of Education Malaysia dynamically and drastically made the subject of History mandatory to be in force in 2013. This is in recognition of the nation's heritage and treasures in maintaining true facts and information for future generations of the State. History reveals the civilization of a nation and the fact of national cultural heritage. Civilization needs to be preserved as a legacy of sovereign heritage. Today's generation is the catalyst for future heirs who will support the principle and direction of the country. In line with the National Education Philosophy that aims to shape the potential development of individuals holistically and uniquely in order to produce a balanced and harmonious student in terms of intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical. Hence, understanding the importance of studying the history subject as a pillar of identity and the history of nationhood is to be a priority in the pursuit of knowledge and empowering the spirit of statehood that is nurtured through continuous learning at school. Judging from the aspect of teacher leadership role in integrating history in a combined way based on Teacher Education Philosophy. It empowers the teaching profession towards the teacher to support noble character. It also supports progressive and scientific views. Teachers are willing to uphold the State's aspirations and celebrate the country's cultural heritage. They guarantee individual development and maintain a united, democratic, progressive and disciplined society. Teacher's role as a change and leadership agent in education begins in the classroom through formal or informal educational processes. This situation is expanded in schools, communities and countries. The focus of this paper is on the role of teacher leadership influencing the effectiveness of teaching and learning history in the classroom environment. Leadership guides to teachers' perceptions on the role of teacher leadership, teaching leadership, and the teacher leadership role and effective teacher leadership role. Discussions give emphasis on aspects of factors affecting the classroom environment, forming the classroom agenda, effective classroom implementation methods, suitable climate for historical learning and teacher challenges in implicating the effectiveness of teaching and learning processes. Keywords—Teacher leadership, leadership lessons, effective classroom, effective teacher.


The uptake and binding of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in solid tumors after a bolus i.v. injection are described using a compartmental pharmacokinetic model. The model assumes that MAb permeates into tumor unidirectionally from plasma across capillaries and clears from tumor by interstitial fluid flow and that interstitial antibody-antigen interactions are characterized by the Langmuir isotherm for reversible, saturable binding. Typical values for plasma clearance and tumor capillary permeability of a MAb and for interstitial fluid flow and interstitial volume fraction of a solid tumor were used to simulate the uptake of MAbs at various values of the binding affinity or antigen density for a range of MAb doses. The model indicates that at low doses, an increase in binding affinity may lead to an increase in MAb uptake. On the other hand, at doses approaching saturation of antigen or when uptake is permeation limited, an increase in the binding affinity from moderate to high affinity will have only a small effect on increasing MAb uptake. The model also predicts that an increase in antigen density will greatly increase MAb uptake when uptake is not permeation limited. Our experiments on MAb uptake in melanoma tumors in athymic mice after injection of 20 micrograms MAb (initial plasma concentration, about 120 nM) are consistent with these model-based conclusions. Two MAbs differing in affinity by more than 2 orders of magnitude (3.8 x 10(8) M-1 and 5 x 10(10) M-1) but with similar in vivo antigen densities in M21 melanoma attained similar concentrations in the tumor. Two MAbs of similar affinity but having a 3-fold difference in in vivo antigen density in SK-MEL-2 melanoma showed that the MAb targeted to the more highly expressed antigen attained a higher MAb concentration. We also discuss the model predictions in relation to other experiments reported in the literature. The theoretical and experimental findings suggest that, for high dose applications, efforts to increase MAb uptake in a tumor should emphasize the identification of an abundantly expressed antigen on tumor cells more than the selection of a very high affinity MAb.


The aim of this research was to study the possibility of using automatic concentrate feeding stations in fattening of lambs. Ten Romanov × Dorper weaned male lambs (initial live weight 21.0 ± 0.86 kg) for fattening were used. Lambs were kept indoors in separate pen and research was carried out in production conditions. Concentrate was distributed for animals individually in automatic feeding station. Adaption period were not applied, eight lambs had the concentrate intake in the automatic feeding station from first research day, one started eat concentrate from third research day and one – from eleventh day of research. The frequency of visits to automatic feeding station and daily concentrate intake was recorded and analyzed. Lamb's were weighted before research and every fourteen days, live weight changes were analyzed. During all the research average number of daily visits to automatic feeding station of one lamb were 13 visits, average daily concentrate intake per animal was: 84 % of the average ration (1642 g) in all research period. Results shows, that average daily live weight gain was 246 ± 26.3 g, during last quarter daily live weight gain (89 ± 27.7 g) was significantly (p < 0.05) lover than in other quarters. For 1 kg lamb live weight gain 5.39 kg concentrate was used. Keywords: sheep, live weight gain, feeding, pellets Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.062


Currently, tube hydroforming and metal micro-forming technique have emerged as the attractive and important developing tendencies in industry. Hence, in this study, the finite element simulation technique was employed to investigate the micro-hydroforming for making the micro-square tube with non-equal section and dendritic shape from square tube. Results of the current study show that the deformation of micro-square tube can be effectively analyzed by finite element simulation. The bulging and wall thinning of the tube are severely influenced not only by the internal hydraulic pressure but also by the punch axial feeding speed.


3‐D Hydraulic tomography (3‐D HT) is a method for aquifer characterization whereby the 3‐D spatial distribution of aquifer flow parameters (primarily hydraulic conductivity, K) is estimated by joint inversion of head change data from multiple partially penetrating pumping tests. While performance of 3‐D HT has been studied extensively in numerical experiments, few field studies have demonstrated the real‐world performance of 3‐D HT. Here we report on a 3‐D transient hydraulic tomography (3‐D THT) field experiment at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site which is different from prior approaches in that it represents a "baseline" analysis of 3‐D THT performance using only a single arrangement of a central pumping well and five observation wells with nearly complete pumping and observation coverage at 1 m intervals. We jointly analyze all pumping tests using a geostatistical approach based on the quasi‐linear estimator of Kitanidis (1995). We reanalyze the system after progressively removing pumping and/or observation intervals; significant progressive loss of information about heterogeneity is quantified as reduced variance of the K field overall, reduced correlation with slug test K estimates at wells, and reduced ability to accurately predict independent pumping tests. We verify that imaging accuracy is strongly improved by pumping and observational densities comparable to the aquifer heterogeneity geostatistical correlation lengths. Discrepancies between K profiles at wells, as obtained from HT and slug tests, are greatest at the tops and bottoms of wells where HT observation coverage was lacking.


An experimental programme was carried out to investigate the flexural strength and ductility.of reinforced concrete columns under simulated earthquake loading. The main variable examined was the quantity of transverse reinforcement for concrete confinement. The experimental results were described and compared with theoretical studies. It was found that to achieve adequate ductility in columns, the current New Zealand concrete design code NZS3101:1982 equations for concrete confinement need to be refined. Using design charts for ductility, which were previously derived from a theory for cyclic moment-curvature behaviour, a refined design equation to replace the current code equations is proposed. The inelastic dynamic response of frames of limited ductility was examined, and compared with the response of ductile frames. The analysis indicated that non-capacity designed frames, designed for seismic forces corresponding to a limited ductility demand, performed reasonably well. Although some plastic hinges did develop in the columns, the ductility demand was acceptable and can be achieved by appropriate detailing. As a result, some suggestions for the seismic design requirements of frames ~f limited ductility are presented.


Frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are spatial filters widely employed in high-perfor- mance applications like hybrid radomes for radars and antennas. While planar geometries are widely studied, less attention has been devoted to conformal ones, where we must consider the influence of both the lattice geometry and the shape and size of the individual elements. In the planar case, periodicity first impacts on the general reflecting properties of the surface, while the shape and the size of the individual element affect its detailed both spatial and frequency filtering behaviour. In particular, the frequency response is dictated mainly by the scattering by the individual element and attains its maximum at resonance conditions. We mean to numerically investigate whether the same also occurs for non-planar surfaces and curved elements, for both cylindrical and conical surfaces. We compare the results of the general frequency behaviour of FSS both made of strips in free space and slots cut in a perfectly conducting material. The effect of the lattice geometrical parameters is also appreciated. The main conclusions are that also for curved elements a frequency selective behaviour can be appreciated and the interaction with the single elements plays an important role, when mutual coupling is not strong.


A programme is outlined for the assembly of a comprehensive dielectronic recombination database within the generalized collisional-radiative (GCR) framework. It is valid for modelling ions of elements in dynamic finite-density plasmas such as occur in transient astrophysical plasmas such as solar flares and in the divertors and high transport regions of magnetic fusion devices. The resolution and precision of the data are tuned to spectral analysis and so are sufficient for prediction of the dielectronic recombination contributions to individual spectral line emissivities. The fundamental data are structured according to the format prescriptions of the Atomic Data and Analysis Structure (ADAS) and the production of relevant GCR derived data for application is described and implemented following ADAS. The requirements on the dielectronic recombination database are reviewed and the new data are placed in context and evaluated with respect to older and more approximate treatments. Illustrative results validate the new high-resolution zero-density dielectronic recombination data in comparison with measurements made in heavy-ion storage rings utilizing an electron cooler. We also exemplify the role of the dielectronic data on GCR coefficient behaviour for some representative light and medium weight elements.


The invention relates to a novel composition with antimicrobial activity. It is in the food industry a well-known method to use the product L-arginine, Na-lauroyl-ethylester monohydrochloride (LAE). This product is well tolerated and suitable for use in the preservation of all perishable food products. The action of LAE can be further improved by combining the product with a second component selected from the group consisting of potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate and sorbic acid. The weight ratio of LAE to the second component is preferably in the range of 1:50 to 50:1. The combination of the two products leads to a synergistic combined activity against such microorganisms as Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus megaterium, Citrobacter intermedium, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Penicillium camemberti and Cladosporium cladosporioides.


Aim. The clinimetric aspects of Eysenck's two big personality factors (neuroticism and extraversion) were originally identified by principal component analysis but have been insufficiently analysed with item response theory models. Their relationship to states of melancholia and anxiety was subsequently analysed. Method. Patients with chronic idiopathic pain disorder were included in the study. The nonparametric item response model (Mokken) was compared to the coefficient alpha to validate the anxiety and depression subscales within the neuroticism scale and the extraversion and introversion subscales within the extraversion scale. When measuring states of depression and anxiety, the Melancholia Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale were used. Results. We identified acceptable subscales of anxiety and depression in the Eysenck factor of neuroticism and extraversion versus introversion subscales within the Eysenck factor of extraversion. Focusing on the item of "Does your mood often go up and down?" we showed a statistically significant association with melancholia and anxiety for patients with a positive score on this item. Conclusion. Within the Eysenck factor of neuroticism it is important to differentiate between the anxiety and depression subscales. The clinimetric analysis of the Eysenck factor of extraversion identified valid subscales.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk of carcinogenic tryptophan pyrolysis products to human health. During the last decade, new series of heterocyclic amines has been isolated as potent mutagens and later shown to be potent carcinogens in experimental animals. Among them, 3-amino-1, 4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4, 3-b] indole (Trp-P-1) and 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido [4, 3-b] indole (Trp-P-2), carcinogenic tryptophan pyrolysis products, have been investigated from various points of view and useful pieces of information about them have been collected. These carcinogens are widely distributed in the environment such as airborne particles, rain water, cigarette smoke and cooked foods, and they possess various pharmaco-toxicological activities such as covulsant activities and potent inhibitory effects on platelet function and dopamine metabolism. Recent investigations revealed that these compounds are present in human samples such as plasma, urine and bile, indicating that humans are actually exposed to these compound. It is a matter of urgency to establish a suitable method for monitoring the exposure levels of these compounds to humans.


An efficient heterogeneous catalytic system for hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes is highly desirable for both academy and industry. In this study, an IL-in-oil Pickering emulsion system was employed for heterogeneous hydroformylation of 1-dodecene with Rh-sulfoxantphos as the catalyst and surface modified dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres (DMSN) as the stabilizer. The IL-in-oil Pickering emulsion system outperformed IL-oil biphase, water-in-oil Pickering emulsion and IL-oil micelle system under similar reaction conditions to afford n/b ratio of 98 : 2, chemoselectivity of 94% and TOF of 413 h−1, among the highest ever reported for IL-oil biphase hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes. The high efficiency of IL-in-oil Pickering emulsion was primarily attributed to the increased interface area and unique properties of ILs. Studies also revealed that solid stabilizers with large and open pore channels could greatly increase the reaction rate of Pickering emulsion systems by accelerating the diffusion rate. The recyclable IL-in-oil Pickering emulsion is promising not only for hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes but also for catalytic reactions with immiscible liquids.


The feasible, reliable and selective multi-template molecularly imprinted polymers (MT-MIPs) based on SBA-15 (SBA-15@MT-MIPs) for the selective separation and determination of the trace level of ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) and notoginsenoside R1 (R1) simultaneously from biological samples were developed. The polymers were constructed by SBA-15 as support, Rb1, Rg1, R1 as multi-template, acrylamide (AM) as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross-linker. The new synthetic SBA-15@MT-MIPs were satisfactorily applied to solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the separation and determination of trace Rb1, Rg1 and R1 in plasma samples. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) of the proposed method for Rb1, Rg1 and R1 were in the range of 0.63–0.75 ng·mL−1 and 2.1–2.5 ng·mL−1, respectively. The recoveries of R1, Rb1 and Rg1 were obtained between 93.4% and 104.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the range of 3.3–4.2%. All results show that the obtained SBA-15@MT-MIPs could be a promising prospect for the practical application in the selective separation and enrichment of trace Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) in the biological samples.


Objective: Some hormonal alterations after ovarian diathermy have been proposed in previous studies. Based on this data, we aimed to analyze some hormone profile changes following oocyte pick-up in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Study Designs: A total of 50 women with polycystic ovarian syndrome underwent ovarian stimulation for IVF cycle with an indication of anovulatory infertility. Some hormone profiles with the insulin resistance were assessed before and after oocyte pick-up to (early in the morning before starting stimulation and repeated 1 month later from oocyte pick-up day) assess whether high number of needle entries into the ovarian cortex and stroma result in similar effect with the diathermy. Results: Comparison of some variables revealed significantly decreased HOMA-IR and serum total testosterone concentrations after intervention. Correlation analyses showed significant correlations between number of needle entries, change in HOMA-IR, baseline total testosterone level and change in AMH level. Conclusion: Our data showed significant metabolic and hormonal alterations following oocyte pick up consistent with the effect of ovarian diathermy in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.


In this work, we present a circuit model of diffusive spintronic devices capable of capturing the effects of both electric and magnetic fields. Starting from a modified version of the well-established drift-diffusion equations, we derive general equivalent circuit models of semiconducting/metallic nonmagnets and metallic ferromagnets. In contrast to other models that are based on steady-state transport equations which might also neglect certain effects such as thermal fluctuations, spin dissipation in the ferromagnets, and spin precession under magnetic fields, our model incorporates most of the important physics and is based on a time-dependent formulation. An application of our model is shown through simulations of a nonlocal spin-valve under the presence of a magnetic field, where we reproduce experimental results of electrical measurements that demonstrate the phenomena of spin precession and dephasing ("Hanle effect").


Abstract. Spectroscopic methods have proven to be reliable and of high selectivity by utilizing the characteristic spectral absorption signature of trace gases such as NO2. However, they typically lack the spatiotemporal resolution required for real-time imaging measurements of NO2 emissions. We propose imaging measurements of NO2 in the visible spectral range using a novel instrument, an NO2 camera based on the principle of gas correlation spectroscopy (GCS). For this purpose two gas cells (cuvettes) are placed in front of two camera modules. One gas cell is empty, while the other is filled with a high concentration of the target gas. The filled gas cell operates as a non-dispersive spectral filter to the incoming light, maintaining the two-dimensional imaging capability of the sensor arrays. NO2 images are generated on the basis of the signal ratio between the two images in the spectral window between 430 and 445 nm, where the NO2 absorption cross section is strongly structured. The capabilities and limits of the instrument are investigated in a numerical forward model. The predictions of this model are verified in a proof-of-concept measurement, in which the column densities in specially prepared reference cells were measured with the NO2 camera and a conventional differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instrument. Finally, results from measurements at a large power plant, the Großkraftwerk Mannheim (GKM), are presented. NO2 column densities of the plume emitted from a GKM chimney are quantified at a spatiotemporal resolution of 1/12 frames per second (FPS) and 0.9 m×0.9 m. A detection limit of 2⋅1016 molec. cm−2 was reached. An NO2 mass flux of Fm=(7.4±4.2) kg h−1 was estimated on the basis of wind speeds obtained from consecutive images. The instrument prototype is highly portable for building costs of below EUR 2000.


Background:
 Moyamoya disease develops mostly in Asian countries including Japan, Korea, mainland China and Taiwan. However, there was few detailed demographic and clinical data about Chinese patients with moyamoya disease. Here we describe the clinical features, surgical treatment, and long-term outcome of adults with moyamoya disease treated at a single institution in China.

 Methods:
 Our cohort included 470 adult patients with moyamoya disease. The demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained by retrospective chart review and long-term outcome was evaluated using the stroke status. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine risk factors for postoperative morbidity and functional outcome. Risk of subsequent stroke was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression was used to determine risk factors for postoperative or subsequent strokes.

 Results:
 The median (range) age for the onset of symptoms was 36.8 (18 to 59) years. The ratio of female to male patients was 1:1(231/239). Familial occurrence of moyamoya disease was 2.3%. The most common initial symptom was a cerebral ischemic event. The incidence of postoperative ischemic events or hemorrhage was 5.9% (9.8% of patients). Older age of symptom onset, PCA involvement and present of TIA were identified as predictors of adverse postoperative events. The Kaplan-Meier estimate stroke risk was 10.1% in the first 2 years, and the 5-year-Kaplan-Meier risk of stroke was 13% after surgery for all patients treated with surgical revascularization. Older age of symptom onset, PCA involvement, and present of TIA were identified as predictors of postoperative or subsequent strokes. Overall, 73.2% of patients had an independent life with no significant disability and the strongest predictor being the preoperative mRS score.

 Conclusion:
 Clinical characteristics of adult moyamoya disease in China are different from that in other Asian countries. EDAS in adult patients with moyamoya disease carries a low risk, is effective at preventing future ischemic events, and improves quality of life.


This study was set out to investigate on the adaptation strategies used by small holder farmers to climate change impact. This has been done through evaluating the extent through which climate change has impacted on the livelihoods of the small holder farmers in Binga, identifying measures taken by small holder farmers in Binga towards climate change adaptation and revealing the opportunities and challenges encountered by small holder farmers in climate change adaptation. This research was conducted in Binga, a rural area in Zimbabwe which is faced with high temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, high poverty levels coupled with infertile and unsuitable land for farming. The research was both qualitative and quantitative but more qualitative as it required discovering the perceptions and experiences of small holder farmers with regards to climate change as which would have been difficult to uncover through only qualitative research. With regards to adapting to climate change small holder farmers in Binga plant small grains such as sorghum and millet, practice dry planting , zero tillage, early ploughing and use of fertilizers which are more suitable adaptation options. In response to the impact of climate change many farmers sought to sell their livestock so as to buy maize. Agriculture, Technical and Extensions Services (AGRITEX) and NGOs were noted to be the key actors in climate risk management. Increasing environmental concerns along with changes in climate create challenges in the performance of small scale farming because small scale farmers are mostly unable to account and adjust to the environmental threats due to insufficient human, social, financial capitals and information.