There is huge demand for robots to work alongside humans in heterogeneous teams. To achieve a high degree of fluidity, robots must be able to (1) recognize their human co-worker's intent, and (2) adapt to this intent accordingly, providing useful aid as a teammate. The literature to date has made great progress in these two areas -- recognition and adaptation -- but largely as separate research activities. In this work, we present a unified approach to these two problems, in which recognition and adaptation occur concurrently and holistically within the same framework. We introduce Pike, an executive for human-robot teams, that allows the robot to continuously and concurrently reason about what a human is doing as execution proceeds, as well as adapt appropriately. The result is a mixed-initiative execution where humans and robots interact fluidly to complete task goals.Key to our approach is our task model: a contingent, temporally-flexible team-plan with explicit choices for both the human and robot. This allows a single set of algorithms to find implicit constraints between sets of choices for the human and robot (as determined via causal link analysis and temporal reasoning), narrowing the possible decisions a rational human would take (hence achieving intent recognition) as well as the possible actions a robot could consistently take (hence achieving adaptation). Pike makes choices based on the preconditions of actions in the plan, temporal constraints, unanticipated disturbances, and choices made previously (by either agent).Innovations of this work include (1) a framework for concurrent intent recognition and adaptation for contingent, temporally-flexible plans, (2) the generalization of causal links for contingent, temporally-flexible plans along with related extraction algorithms, and (3) extensions to a state-of-the-art dynamic execution system to utilize these causal links for decision making.


BACKGROUND
The role of dietary and sociodemographic factors in the healing of duodenal ulcer following H. pylori eradication remains undefined.

AIM
To assess the role of diet, sociodemography and body mass index in the healing of duodenal ulcer and eradication of H. pylori.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study consisting of 67 consecutive duodenal ulcer patients was undertaken. Sociodemographic factors studied included age, sex, occupation, educational status, religion, type of family, number of family members, per capita income and residence (urban vs. rural). Personal habits studied included alcohol consumption and smoking. Regular dietary intake over a two-month period was assessed using the food frequency questionnaire. All patients had documented H. pylori infection at the time of inclusion and received standard triple eradication therapy. Follow-up endoscopy and testing for H. pylori were done 4 weeks after completion of eradication therapy.

RESULTS
The mean age of the 67 patients (60 male, 7 female) was 39.9+/-13.6 years. Healing of duodenal ulcer was documented in 51 patients. H. pylori infection was successfully eradicated in 31 patients but not in the other 36. There was no difference between the groups (Group A1: H. pylori eradicated, Group B1: H. pylori not eradicated) with regard to dietary and socio-demographic variables, except for BMI, which was significantly higher in patients in whom H. pylori had been eradicated. Per capita income was significantly higher in Group A2 (healed duodenal ulcer) as compared to Group B2 (duodenal ulcer not healed) while there was no difference in dietary and socio-demographic variables in these two groups.

CONCLUSION
We found that higher body mass index and higher per capita income were associated with successful H. pylori eradication and duodenal ulcer healing, respectively, and that diet had no role to play in either. Further epidemiological studies from different parts of India and studies that control for Helicobacter pylori are required to establish predictive factors.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex immune-mediated disease resulting largely from an autoimmune attack against components of central nervous system myelin, including several proteins and lipids. Knowledge about the details of this anomalous immune response has come mostly from studies in the animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In this model, it has been possible to prevent and effectively treat established disease through several antigen-specific therapeutic strategies, which have included administration of whole myelin or myelin proteins by various routes, random copolymers consisting of the main major histocompatability complex (MHC) and T-cell receptor (TCR) contact amino acid residues, altered peptide ligands of dominant myelin epitopes in which one or more residues are selectively substituted, and lately DNA vaccination encoding self-myelin antigens. However, there have been difficulties in making successful transitions from animal models to human clinical trials, due either to lack of efficacy or unforeseen complications. Despite these problems, antigen-specific therapies have retained their attraction for clinicians and scientists alike, and hopefully the upcoming generation of agents—including altered peptide ligands and DNA vaccines—will benefit from the increasing knowledge about this disease and surmount existing difficulties to make an impact in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.


Summary
The treatment of a suspension of living HeLa cells, JJH strain, with anti-polio receptor serum resulted in the specific inhibition of these receptors. Inhibition was maintained for at least 48 h at 37 °C provided the cells remained in suspension. Allowing treated cells to adhere to a glass surface resulted in the rapid disappearance of this inhibition. No inhibition of receptors was observed when similar experiments were performed at 37 °C with HeLa (S 3) cells, a strain routinely cultured in suspension. Inhibition was demonstrated only when these cells were treated and tested at 15 °C, and was rapidly lost when the cells were incubated at 37 °C. These results suggest that the state of the cell influences the persistence of antibody on the cell surface.


Low-Mg calcite (LMC) and high-Mg calcite (HMC) have been identified confidently as original biominerals in different rugose corals. Devonian Tabulophyllum had a LMC skeleton, whereas Pennsylvanian Lophophyllidium had a HMC skeleton. Zigzag microstructure, a diagenetic microstructure in rugose corals, may be related to early migration of Mg2+ ions during transformation of HMC into LMC. Therefore, zigzag microstructure may indicate that the original mineral was HMC even in specimens that subsequently converted to LMC. Stratigraphically, corals with zigzag microstructure are confined to the late Paleozoic, which is coincident with the "aragonite sea" of P.A. Sandberg. Hence, fluctuating Mg/Ca ratios may have directly controlled oscillations in marine carbonate chemistry and the mineral composition of rugose corals so that HMC skeletons (as indicated by zigzag microstructure) formed during intervals with "aragonite seas" and LMC skeletons (e.g., Tabulophyllum ) formed during intervals with "calcite seas."


Abstract Geophysical and geochemical observations point to the presence of a light element in the lunar core, but the exact abundance and type of light element are poorly constrained. Accurate constraints on lunar core composition are vital for models of lunar core dynamo onset and demise, core formation conditions (e.g., depth of the lunar magma ocean or LMO) and therefore formation conditions, as well as the volatile inventory of the Moon. A wide range of previous studies considered S as the dominant light element in the lunar core. Here, we present new constraints on the composition of the lunar core, using mass-balance calculations, combined with previously published models that predict the metal–silicate partitioning behavior of C, S, Ni, and recently proposed new bulk silicate Moon (BSM) abundances of S and C. We also use the bulk Moon abundance of C and S to assess the extent of their devolatilization. We observe that the Ni content of the lunar core becomes unrealistically high if shallow (<3 GPa) LMO scenarios are assumed, and therefore only deeper (>3 GPa) LMO scenarios are considered for S and C. The moderately siderophile metal–silicate partitioning behavior of S during lunar core formation, combined with the low BSM abundance of S, yields only <0.16 wt% S in the core, virtually independent of the pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions during core formation. Instead, our analysis suggests that C is the dominant light element in the lunar core. The siderophile behavior of C during lunar core formation results in a core C content of ~0.6–4.8 wt%, with the exact amount depending on the core formation conditions. A C-rich lunar core could explain (1) the existence of a present-day molten outer core, (2) the estimated density of the lunar outer core, and (3) the existence of an early lunar core dynamo driven by compositional buoyancy due to core crystallization. Finally, our calculations suggest the C content of the bulk Moon is close to its estimated abundance in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE), suggesting more limited volatile loss during the Moon-forming event than previously thought.


Short-term collateralized debt, private money, is ef!cient if agents are willing to lend without producing costly information about the collateral backing the debt. When the economy relies on such informationally insensitive debt, !rms with low quality collateral can borrow, generating a credit boom and an increase in output. Financial fragility is endogenous; it builds up over time as information about counterparties decays. A crisis occurs when a ( possibly small) shock causes agents to suddenly have incentives to produce information, leading to a decline in output. A social planner would produce more information than private agents but would not always want to eliminate fragility. (JEL D83, E23, E32, E44, G01)


The placebo effect remains an interesting topic for research. Recently, a systematic review estimated the percentage of responders after various placebo interventions in studies assessing prophylactic treatment for migraine. The authors report that after oral, pharmacologic placebos, 22% of patients reported an attack frequency reduction of > 50% and that after sham acupuncture, this percentage was 38%. In this commentary the methodological issues of the paper are discussed, and the conclusion is that in research into placebo effects the wish might be father to the thought.


OBJECTIVE
In Norway "Transmyocardial laser revascularization" as a routine method was prohibited by the Ministry of Health in 1995 due to lacking evidence of treatment effect and concerns about procedural morbidity and mortality. In 1999 Norwegian health authorities asked for a re-evaluation of the method based on a systematic review of literature.

METHODS
Medline and Embase were searched and a total of 267 articles were identified. Publications were classified by an expert panel according to type of study and importance for the project.

RESULTS
Based on the literature review the panel concluded that heart laser treatment does not have a life-saving effect, nor does it improve myocardial function. However, the method has a considerable short-term symptomatic effect, the mechanism of which is not understood. Neoangiogenesis, denervation and placebo may play a role. Based on the report the Norwegian health authorities recommended use of this method be restricted to scientific trials only.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on a systematic literature review it was concluded that the only documented effect of heart laser treatment is symptom relief, the mechanism for which is unclear. It could partly or totally be a placebo effect. A conflict of interest may arise when new technologies are to be implemented in health care. The communication between professionals evaluating scientific results and decision makers is challenging. Quality assurance of this process may be obtained by use of expert panels working under the auspices of an official institution.


Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are zoonotic pathogens that constantly circulate in a wide variety of species, including birds, pigs and humans. In humans, IAVs cause seasonal epidemics and occasional influenza pandemics. Annual epidemics caused by seasonal IAVs usually lead to millions of human infections, posing great threats to public health and cause large economic burdens. Influenza pandemic occurs when animal viruses managed to cross the host species barrier and became transmissible among humans. IAV pandemics have occurred four times in the 100 years, causing millions of deaths and global devastating effects. IAVs are enveloped, segmented negative-strand RNA viruses belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family. There are two main important glycoproteins in the IAV virus membrane, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), both of which recognize sialic acids (SIAs). The HA protein is responsible for virus-cell attachment via binding to sialylated receptors at the cell surface. The NA protein is the receptor-destroying enzyme and responsible for removing SIA from host glycoproteins as well as glycolipids, thereby allowing release of progeny virions from cells and decoy receptors and preventing virus self-aggregation. A functional balance between the HA and NA proteins is of importance for maintaining optimal virus replication as well as transmission across different host species ADDIN RW.CITE{{36 Xu,R. 2012; 37 Yen,H.L. 2011; 38 de Wit,E. 2010}}. While HA receptor-binding avidity and specificity have been studied in detail, much less is known about the molecular determinants that mediate (changes in) the specificity and activity of IAV NA proteins. The overall aim of this thesis was to unravel to what extent and how IAVs modulate the activity of their NA proteins during virus evolution. To this end, NA functionality, mainly enzymatic activity has been extensively investigated by using an optimized recombinant soluble protein approach. By doing so, we not only identified an optimal recombinant soluble NA expression approach, but also identified residues that affected NA folding and/or enzymatic activity. With the established recombinant soluble approach, we further found an important role of the 2nd SIA-binding site in NA enzymatic activity. Mutation of the 2nd SIA binding site provides viruses with an additional mechanism to manipulate the enzymatic activity of their NA proteins without having to mutate their active site residues directly. The studies presented in this thesis also highlight some complexities of HA/NA balance during virus evolution. Different NA phenotypic properties of H1N1pdm09 virus were found to be intertwined, with several NA substitutions affecting more than one phenotypic characteristic. The phenotypic changes of NA are probably also linked to the properties of the HA protein and corresponding HA/NA balance, which makes evolution of HA and NA more difficult to understand.


The online archive, 'Rosemary Butcher: The Archive', represents the realisation of the final major research target of my AHRC Fellowship. In research terms, the archive looks not simply at questions of memory, formative experience, and the development of artistic signature, but equally at how these may be realised online, while allowing other viewers to explore more than three decades of creative practice. It takes up currently urgent issues of archiving performance practices (see for example AHDS on issues of documentation), and focuses on how, after the event, 'creative process' and decision-making might be recalled. The online archive looks at and realises my sense of the most effective means to provide a wider audience with a timeline, producing a (reassembled) history of creative activity over a 'professional lifetime'. It suggests how that creative practice resonates with 'performance histories' of contemporary dance from the 1970s onwards. The digital medium allowed me to work constructively with digital design (Why Not Design), to provide a photographic gallery framed by visuals from my most recent works (e.g. Hidden Voices), plus performance details, reviews, and 5 DVDs exploring different thematic clusters - e.g. 'body as site' - which emerged at key historical moments. The research enquiry into how memory can be unfolded took me to a number of key artistic sites and museum-holdings in the US and UK, visiting accounts of the work of Bill Viola, Yvonne Rainer amongst others, with which my own creative practices resonate. It suggests that creative practice can be triggered by exposure to 'new work' by other practitioners, and it suggests that the specifics of 'signature' emerge from ways of seeing and doing that are singular (Massumi) but also coherent with that other work in contextual terms.


In patients with bladder cancer, ureterosigmoidostomy has been used as a form of urinary diversion, and urinary lithiasis has been reported as a complication. A patient with a large bilateral kidney stone and ureterosigmoidostomy diversion is described. In 2012, a 61-year-old man had a cystectomy due to bladder cancer. He was lost to follow-up after presenting to the emergency department in 2016 with right flank pain and fever. Computed tomography (CT) scan reveals bilateral staghorn calculus. A bilateral percutaneous nephrostomy was performed. The patient was planned for bilateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). He declined, therefore we proposed External Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). The right kidney stone was removed, but the left kidney stone did not alter after 7 ESWL sessions, thus PCNL was scheduled. The middle calyx was punctured under fluoroscopic guidance through the nephrostomy in Valdivia's modified position. Two 0.035" hydrophilic guide wires were passed down the renal pelvis and ureter until it ureterosigmoidostomy union was reached. Dilation was carried out with Nephromax. An Amplatz 30 Ch was placed. The holed stone was then fragmented with Laser Holmium. PCNL tubeless was performed. He was discharged two days after surgery. PCNL tubeless was performed. The hospital stay was two days. CT control two months later: Lower pole 5 cm hematoma, the residual stone of 4 mm in the upper calyx. After resolving the renal hematoma, the residual stone will be dealt with ESWL.


Recently, we have witnessed the great progress of salient object detection (SOD), which benefits from the effectiveness of various feature aggregation strategies. However, existing methods usually aggregate the low-level features containing details and the high-level features containing semantics over a large span, which introduces noise into the aggregated features and generate inaccurate saliency map. To address this issue, we propose pyramidal feature shrinking network (PFSNet), which aims to aggregate adjacent feature nodes in pairs with layer-by-layer shrinkage, so that the aggregated features fuse effective details and semantics together and discard interference information. Specifically, pyramidal shrinking decoder (PSD) is proposed to aggregate adjacent features hierarchically in an asymptotic manner. Unlike other methods that aggregate features with significantly different information, this method only focuses on adjacent feature nodes in each layer and shrinks them to a final unique feature node. Besides, we propose adjacent fusion module (AFM) to perform mutual spatial enhancement between the adjacent features so as to dynamically weight the features and adaptively fuse the appropriate information. In addition, scale-aware enrichment module (SEM) based on the features extracted from backbone is utilized to obtain rich scale information and generate diverse initial features with dilated convolutions. Extensive quantitative and qualitative experiments demonstrate that the proposed intuitive framework outperforms 14 state-of-the-art approaches on 5 public datasets.


Due to the advance in network technologies, the number of network users is growing rapidly, which leads to the generation of large network traffic data. This large network traffic data is prone to attacks and intrusions. Therefore, the network needs to be secured and protected by detecting anomalies as well as to prevent intrusions into networks. Network security has gained attention from researchers and network laboratories. In this paper, a comprehensive survey was completed to give a broad perspective of what recently has been done in the area of anomaly detection. Newly published studies in the last five years have been investigated to explore modern techniques with future opportunities. In this regard, the related literature on anomaly detection systems in network traffic has been discussed, with a variety of typical applications such as WSNs, IoT, high-performance computing, industrial control systems (ICS), and software-defined network (SDN) environments. Finally, we underlined diverse open issues to improve the detection of anomaly systems.


Introduction Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is one of the major modifiable contributors to antimicrobial resistance. There is currently no validated survey tool available to assess knowledge and confidence of medical students in infectious diseases (ID) compared to other diseases states, and little is known about this topic. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students attending universities around Australia was conducted between August and September, 2015. A survey unique from other published studies was developed to survey satisfaction in education, confidence and knowledge in ID, and how this compared to these factors in cardiovascular diseases. Results Reliability and validity was demonstrated in the survey tool used. Students were more likely to rate university education as sufficient for cardiovascular diseases (91.3%) compared to ID (72.5%), and were more confident in their knowledge of cardiovascular diseases compared to ID (74.38% vs. 53.76%). Students tended to answer more cardiovascular disease related clinical questions correctly (mean score 78%), compared to questions on antimicrobial use (mean score 45%). Conclusions Poor knowledge and confidence amongst final year medical students in Australia were observed in ID. Antimicrobial stewardship agenda should include the provision of additional training in antimicrobial prescribing to the future medical workforce.


Water usage is governed through a variety of mechanisms, including government administration and market tools. In 2006-2008 Barcelona's region, a water scarce area, suffered a drought comparable to the one faced today by the US West. This article surveys a variety of techniques which were or could have been used to address these scarcity challenges. Spanish water regulations established water markets in 1999 but neither the design, nor its implementation were optimal. In addition to the design and implementation flaws, the response to the 2006-2008 drought crisis shows how emergency measures highjack water markets as a viable solution to water scarcity. Emergency responses bail out urban voters while no structural solutions to make water use in the agricultural sector more efficient are adopted. Neither the urban suppliers nor the agricultural sector has, thus, incentives to participate in a water market and droughts are to be managed using ad hoc solutions. Lessons for the US West can be drawn because that crisis' responses are no different than the ones that could be undertaken by states west of the 100th meridian to tackle the current drought.


: The authors present daily experience report of a health staff, based in some aspects of microsociology in which the human being manifests all of its "theatrical behavior". Daily life is revealed in a closer look by the health field professionals. Daily life is the "stage" where the plot of life takes place in all of its complexity, the joy, the dreams, the conflicts and the suffering of each day, of each human being. This report analysis some aspects of the "underground centralization of actions", which determines human existence. It has been observed that the power category represented by the "game" had outstanding relevance in the work social relations of the staff. The "theatrical behavior" was the other element found in the analysis made.


Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the next step (fourth generation) mobile radio communication technology that succeeds the HSPA.3GPP standardization body. LTE is expected to be the most competitive radio technology in the future to provide high-data-rate transmission, low latency, improved service and reduced costs. This paper focuses on one of the basic steps in the LTE network planning, by employing LTE dimensioning process, such as link budget and planning, for uplink and downlink coverage, as well as categorization of simulated received signal strengths. Also, a comparison of different propagation models, used by ATDI software (free-space, Okumura / Hata / David, Stanford University Interim (SUI), COST-231 Hata and ITU -R 525/526 Deygout). The Okumura / Hata / David's model showed the highest received power sensitivity (-61 dBm, at 3 km separation distance), while COST-231 Hata model shows the lowest sensitivity at same distance (-96 dBm). In this paper, ATDI planning LTE radio planning software platform has been used for estimating the coverage of UTM, which is a dense urban environment.


The paper considers the paleohydrogeochemistry of the Upper Jurassic sediments of the Arctic regions of Western Siberia. On the territory under investigation during the late Jurassic marine sedimentation was predominate, the sea depths reached 400 m in the Volga time. Under these conditions, syngenetic sodium thalassogenic chloride waters were buried, in some places with a high content of magnesium, the salinity of which reached 35-40 g/dm3. A comparative analysis of the buried syngenetic waters of the Oxford basin and data on the modern hydrogeochemistry of groundwater of the Upper Jurassic aquiferous complex revealed very significant differences. The analysis of distribution value the total mineralization allowed to establish areas of positive and negative anomalies. In the first case, most of the anomalies are associated with the processes of vertical discharge of groundwater of the Lower Middle Jurassic and Paleozoic aquifers in the zones of tectonic disturbances. Negative anomalies regularly trace the clay boundary of the Oxford regional reservoir, expanding significantly in the north-east direction. Their nature is associated with the development of processes of elision water exchange and thermal dehydration of clay minerals.


Specific gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) binding sites in cortical membranes of selectively bred alcohol-preferring sP and alcohol-non preferring sNP rats were compared using [2,3(-3)H]GHB ligand. The sP rat line showed an increased affinity (approximately 40% lower Kd) of both the high- and low-affinity sites in comparison with the sNP line. No significant difference in GHB receptor density (Bmax) was detected between the two rat lines. The results raise the possibility that differences in GHB binding sites may play a role in the genetic predisposition to ethanol preference in our rat line.


This dissertation explores the theories and methods of satellite remote sensing image acquisition planning within a spatial temporal context. For many time sensitive applications, such as disaster emergency response, timely acquisition of critical information is the key to intelligent and effective decision making. Remote sensing plays an important role in information collection for these time sensitive applications. Imagery collected from hundreds of remote sensing satellite sensors offer accurate, frequent and almost instantaneous data covering the Earth in a relatively short time. However, determining which satellite sensors can provide an appropriated kind of imageries during a restricted collection window for the analysis is problematic. Satellite image acquisition planning is developed to solve the problem. This research explores the design and implementation of s spatial decision support system (SDSS) for satellite image acquisition planning. A SDSS framework is proposed, and several novel models and algorithms are developed to derive optimized satellite image acquisition solutions. Chapter 2 describes the components of the framework; Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 present several models including composite satellite image collection opportunities modeling, collection opportunities evaluation model, and a spatial optimization model. Based on the framework, models, and algorithm, Chapter 5 presents an application of satellite image acquisition planning for tidally influenced salt marshes for vegetation mapping. Collectively, this research provides a foundation for research and development towards the satellite image acquisition planning.


This chapter discusses logistical packaging and its role in food marketing systems. Logistical packaging is called by a number of different names, such as distribution packaging, transit packaging, industrial packaging, intermediate packaging and shipping containers. The term logistical packaging is used throughout this chapter as it stresses the importance of integrating packaging with all of the activities in a supply chain. Supply chains range from hand delivery of a neighbour's garden vegetables to the importation of exotic and rare processed foods, using specialised trans-global distribution systems. Farm markets, conventional grocery stores, restaurants, fast food take-outs, food service institutions and direct marketing systems are supplied by a myriad of operational variations. They are also supplied by a wide range of package types, sizes and formats. Logistical activities in a typical processed food supply chain begin at the farm. Commodities are transported to factories in bulk, or semi-bulk, packages, where the food is processed and packaged to add value. Unit loads are transported to wholesalers or retail distribution centres (RDC) where orders are picked into mixed loads, delivered to retail stores and broken down for retail display. There, consumers buy an assortment of packages and transport them home, where all of the packages are emptied, discarded and either shipped to a recycling facility or collected and transported to a landfill. This process is shown in Fig. 4.1. Packaging affects the cost of every logistical activity in a supply chain, and has a significant impact on productivity. Transport and storage costs are directly related to the size and density of packages. Handling cost depends on unit loads. Inventory control depends on the accuracy of identification systems. Customer service depends on how well the packages protect products and how easy the package is to open, display and sell. The environmental impact depends on the materials, method of manufacture, reuse and disposal of the packaging. The first section of this chapter discusses the functional requirements for logistical packaging to protect, add value and communicate. The second section discusses how packaging is related to the physical activities in factory operations, in transit, in warehouses and in retail stores. The third section discusses testing and evaluating packages for shock, vibration and compression performance. The final section describes the most common logistical packaging forms: corrugated fibreboard boxes, shrink-film bundles, plastic totes, stretch wrapping and pallets.


Abstract: In this article, I offer a proposal to clarify what I believe is the proper relation between value maximization and stakeholder theory, which I call enlightened value maximization. Enlightened value maximization utilizes much of the structure of stakeholder theory but accepts maximization of the long-run value of the firm as the criterion for making the requisite tradeoffs among its stakeholders, and specifies long-term value maximization or value seeking as the firm's objective. This proposal therefore solves the problems that arise from the multiple objectives that accompany traditional stakeholder theory. I also discuss the Balanced Scorecard, which is the managerial equivalent of stakeholder theory, explaining how this theory is flawed because it presents managers with a scorecard that gives no score—that is, no single-valued measure of how they have performed. Thus managers evaluated with such a system (which can easily have two dozen measures and provides no information on the tradeoffs between them) have no way to make principled or purposeful decisions. The solution is to define a true (single dimensional) score for measuring performance for the organization or division (and it must be consistent with the organization's strategy), and as long as their score is defined properly, (and for lower levels in the organization it will generally not be value) this will enhance their contribution to the firm.


Fine-grain non-strict data structures such as I-structures provide high level abstraction to easily write programs with potentially high parallelism due to the eager evaluation of non-strict functions and non-strict structured-data. Non-strict data structures require frequent dynamic scheduling at a fine-grain level, which offsets the gain of latency hiding and asynchronous accesses to structured-data using non-strict data structures. These cause heavy overhead on commodity machines. In order to solve these problems for fine-grain non-strict structured-data, we employ a method to analyze dependencies between the structured-data and to schedule their producers and consumers. The performance evaluation results indicate that the scheduling technique is effective to improve the performance of fine-grain non-strict programs on commodity machines.


Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a pervasive public health problem with deleterious consequences for individuals, families, and society. Furthermore, SUD intervention is complicated by the continuous possibility of relapse. Despite decades of research, SUD relapse rates remain high, underscoring the need for more effective treatments. Scientific findings indicate that SUDs are driven by dysregulation of neural processes underlying reward learning and executive functioning. Emerging evidence suggests that mindfulness training can target these neurocognitive mechanisms to produce significant therapeutic effects on SUDs and prevent relapse. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the cognitive, affective, and neural mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on SUDs. We discuss the etiology of addiction and neurocognitive processes related to the development and maintenance of SUDs. We then explore evidence supporting use of MBIs for intervening in SUDs and preventing relapse. Finally, we provide clinical recommendations about how these therapeutic mechanisms might be applied to intervening in SUDs and preventing relapse.


Previous Work In 1890 Penrose,[2][1] as a result of his trip down the Rio Grande with Dumble in 1889, described a deposit of limestone containing pebbles and cobbles, under the name "Reynosa limestone," from the town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Hidalgo, Texas. At Reynosa the rocks unconformably overlie what was then called the Fayette sands, now known to include strata of upper Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene age. Penrose found Recent shells embedded in the surface of the exposure and, thinking the formation was Recent, included it in his "post-Tertiary formations."

In 1891 Hill[3][2] described patchy remnants of a formation that consisted of gravel cemented by a calcareous matrix, and that occupied terraces 400 to 1,000 feet above the Rio Grande, in Uvalde and adjacent counties in Texas, and called it the "Uvalde formation," for the town of Uvalde, in Uvalde County, and in 1898 Hill . . .

 [1]: #fn-2
 [2]: #fn-3


Technological barriers that relate to limited capability of magnesium extrusion technology still exist, especially for the higher alloyed grades. Part of this is associated with the unfavorable crystallographic structure of the magnesium, which is Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP). This work suggests an innovative and novel technology for reducing the production cycle from cast to finished product. A unique Semi-Solid casting system was designed and constructed in order to enable casting of large scale commercial billets having thixotropic properties. These have been further hot extruded via conventional direct extrusion press. It is shown that all essential parameters have improved significantly. These include extrusion temperature reduction (up to 1500C), press pressure reduction, increase of extrusion rate (up to four times), and, enhancement of surface quality. In addition good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance were achieved.


Surface atoms are activated as result of replacement collisional sequences in solids by incident ions. In dependence on theirs threshold (displacement) energy and angular distribution they may be sputtered (removed) or laterally relocated on the surface. The relocation length distribution depends on the energy and angular distributions of activated atoms and interaction atom-solid potential. The process of lateral relocation of surface atoms is considered as a sequence of stochastic removal and adsorption processes. The rate equations describing processes of sputtering, relocation and thermal diffusion are built and steady state solutions are presented for multielemental solids. The mechanisms of stochastic mixing of atoms and roughening of surface is discussed.


The speed with which restoration will, or can, be accomplished depends on the initial state and location of the sites. However, many factors can undermine the process of choosing sites that are deemed the best ecological choice for restoration. Little attention has been paid to whether site selection follows ecological criteria and how this may affect restoration success. We used habitat inventory data to investigate whether ecological criteria for site selection and restoration have been followed, focusing on restoration for the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos B.) in Sweden. In our study region, which is situated in an intensively managed forest landscape with dense and young stands dominated by two coniferous species, purely ecological criteria would entail that sites that are targeted for restoration would (1) initially be composed of older and more deciduous trees than the surrounding landscape, and (2) be at a scale relevant for the species. Furthermore, restoration should lead to sites becoming less dense and less dominated by coniferous trees after restoration, which we investigated as an assessment of restoration progress. To contextualize the results, we interviewed people involved in the restoration efforts on site. We show that although the first criterion for ecological site selection was largely met, the second was not. More research is needed to assess the motivations of actors taking part in restoration efforts, as well as how they interlink with public efforts. This would allow us to identify possible synergies that can benefit restoration efforts.


(1) College of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266510, China; (2) State Key Laboratory of Computer Science, Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China


The primary objective of this study is to better understand the time-series and cross-sectional variation in the structure of executive compensation for non-U.S. firms. That is, has the globalization of labor markets for senior management led non-U.S. firms to design compensation contracts similar to those of U.S. firms or, are there country-specific factors that may cause compensation structures to differ? Using data from 36 non-U.S. countries over 1996-2004, we document significant cross-country differences in compensation structure (i.e., relative use of equity-based and cash-based compensation). The primary determinants of this cross-sectional variation are institutional factors related to the legal environment in each country. Specifically, firms use more equity-based compensation in countries that provide stronger protection of shareholder's rights or have English common-law legal origins. Similarly, firms in countries providing strict enforcement of the rule of law use more equity-based compensation. In addition to these institutional determinants, we find some evidence that the relative use of equity-based compensation is also affected by the firm's agency costs of debt and equity. The data indicate that non-U.S. firms with higher growth opportunities (and the resultant larger agency costs of equity) use relatively more equity-based compensation. We also find that larger firms and firms with lower free cash flow use more equity-based compensation. These findings are consistent with those documented by Yermack (1995) and Bryan et al. (2000) for U.S. firms. However, unlike in the U.S., our data indicate that the agency problems of debt have only a limited effect on compensation structure. Therefore, while the agency theory tested with U.S. compensation data is broadly portable to other markets, the explanatory power is not as significant when applied to non-U.S. firms. We also track compensation structures throughout the time period and seek to identify and explain relative differences between compensation polices of U.S. and non-U.S. firms. The data allow us to test whether compensation structure has converged (as would be suggested by the globalization of financial markets). Alternatively, cross-country institutional differences would suggest a continued divergence in compensation policies across nations. The data provide no evidence of international convergence of compensation structures. Our empirical analysis attributes these pervasive differences to institutional factors. That is, despite the substantial changes in capital market conditions throughout the sample period, institutional factors remain as significant determinants of compensation structure and appear to contribute to consistent cross-country differences in compensation structure.


Mapping functions of various ellipses are gained by complex function theory. Applying stress function with complex variables, a mechanical model of the stress field and the stress components near the hole is presented. The influences of three different geometric parameters of elliptic hole on stress around hole are discussed subject to bending moment. The results show that the length of long axis and short axis is more uniform, the peak stress around hole edge is greater. The work above will provide theory references on choosing hole shape in practical engineering.


Introduction Clinical decision support tools capable of predicting which patients are at highest risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) can assist in guiding surveillance and prophylaxis decisions. The Trauma Embolic Scoring System (TESS) has been shown to model VTE risk in civilian trauma patients. No such support tools have yet been described in combat casualties, who have a high incidence of VTE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of TESS in predicting VTE in military trauma patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study of 549 combat casualties from October 2010 to November 2012 admitted to a military treatment facility in the USA was performed. TESS scores were calculated through data obtained from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry and chart reviews. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to evaluate risk factors for VTE. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of TESS in military trauma patients was also performed. Results The incidence of VTE was 21.7% (119/549). The median TESS for patients without VTE was 8 (IQR 4–9), and the median TESS for those with VTE was 10 (IQR 9–11). On multivariate analysis, Injury Severity Score (ISS) (OR 1.03, p=0.007), ventilator days (OR 1.05, p=0.02), and administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) (OR 1.89, p=0.03) were found to be independent risk factors for development of VTE. On ROC analysis, an optimal high-risk cut-off value for TESS was ≥7 with a sensitivity of 0.92 and a specificity of 0.53 (area under the curve 0.76, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.80, p<0.0001). Conclusions When used to predict VTE in military trauma, TESS shows moderate discrimination and is well calibrated. An optimal high-risk cut-off value of ≥7 demonstrates high sensitivity in predicting VTE. In addition to ISS and ventilator days, TXA administration is an independent risk factor for VTE development. Level of evidence Level III.


As one of the key steps in protein synthesis, translation initiation is subjected to multi-level regulation which is achieved via diverse mechanisms. The cell adjusts protein synthesis accordingly to its status and environment. The degree of contribution of the processes involved in the regulation of translation initiation is still poorly understood. The first part of this study focuses on identifying mechanisms of regulation in a translationally deficient yeast system, impaired by the loss of one or the other of the TIF1/2 duplicate genes, which together code for the eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A). A major finding of this research is related to the functional competences associated with the two duplicate members of the gene pair. Although the genetic profile associated with TIF1 highlights a connection with transcriptional process, the majority of transcription-translation inter-talk is allocated with TIF2, along with a dense network of genetic interactions surrounding the SAGA complex. TIF2 is also the only paralog devoted to interactions with a substantial group of functionally related genes involved in early meiotic gene expression. Protein degradation in the global control of protein synthesis represents a fundamental process and accounts for diverse points of control, in particular through ubiquitination/deubiquitination. This research concludes that functional turnover of proteins and the translation/transcription inter-talk emerges as the most significant contributors to the sophistically regulated translational regulation, The second part of this study aims to determine the extent of similarity and divergence between the TIF1 and TIF2 paralogs. Growth of their individual deletion strains was challenged under different chemical and environmental conditions with the intent to explore the relative contributions of each duplicate in response to an extend range of perturbations. The pair of duplicates appeared convincingly robust in coping with these adversities under disparate cellular contexts, thus suggesting a highly conserved and backed-up genetic network. One of the primary treatments made use of lithium, a condition which was hoped to help, along with furthering our understanding of the TIF1 and TIF2 networks, in formulating an explanation on how augmented translation initiation overcomes lithium toxicity. Although this approach did not return results that could be used to address this unresolved topic, evaluation of genetic inhibition and suppression was highly instructive regarding the mechanisms of response triggered upon lithium/galactose stress. Regulation and synchronization of basic cellular processes were affected: emphasis brought on aspects of cell communication highlighted mechanisms articulated by kinase enzymes and the importance of repression of cell cycle progression in control of protein synthesis. Data from the screen also indicated the stress that combined lithium/galactose treatment places on central metabolic pathways, for instance those between the Leloir, gluconeogenesis, and trehalose pathways.


Abstract:Research has not yet investigated the frequency of sexting outside of a primary relationship. Research consistently shows that most sexting occurs within the context of a relationship, but few studies have taken relationship status into account. Additionally, limited research has investigated if sexting is considered infidelity. This study aims to fill those gaps by examining sexting outside of the primary relationship. University students and community members were asked about their sexting activities outside of their primary relationship using an online questionnaire. Results indicate that 23% of participants have sexted outside of their relationship. Those who cohabitate with their primary partner or are in a non-monogamous relationship are more likely to sext with a secondary partner. The majority of people who sext outside of their relationship do so with five or less partners and do so less than once a month, indicating that sexting outside of the primary relationship is infrequent. Seventy-five percent of those that sexted secondary partners considered this act cheating. Lastly, 36% also engaged in face-to-face sexual activity with the secondary partners they sexted. The importance of considering relationship status variables in understanding sexting and infidelity is discussed.


Answer selection is a core component in any question-answering systems. It aims to select correct answer sentences for a given question from a pool of candidate sentences. In recent years, many deep learning methods have been proposed and shown excellent results for this task. However, these methods typically require extensive parameter (and hyper-parameter) tuning, which give rise to efficiency issues for large-scale datasets, and potentially make them less portable across new datasets and domains (as re-tuning is usually required). In this paper, we propose an extremely efficient hybrid model (FastHybrid) that tackles the problem from both an accuracy and scalability point of view. FastHybrid is a light-weight model that requires little tuning and adaptation across different domains. It combines a fast deep model (which will be introduced in the method section) with an initial information retrieval model to effectively and efficiently handle answer selection. We introduce a new efficient attention mechanism in the hybrid model and demonstrate its effectiveness on several QA datasets. Experimental results show that although the hybrid uses no training data, its accuracy is often on-par with supervised deep learning techniques, while significantly reducing training and tuning costs across different domains.


Cloud object stores are versatile storage services that support a wide range of use cases. They simplify the management of large blocks of data at scale and are becoming the de facto storage choice for Big Data analytics platforms. To build these services cost-effectively, cloud vendors use hard disk drives (HDDs) in their object store deployments. However, the lower performance of HDDs affect tenants who have strict performance requirements for their Big Data applications. The use of faster storage devices such as solid state drives (SSDs) is thus desirable by the tenants, but incurs significant maintenance costs to the provider. The tiered object store detailed here is designed for the cloud, taking into account both fast and slow storage devices. The resulting hybrid store exposes the tiering to tenants with a dynamic pricing model based on the tenants' usage and the provider's desire to maximize profits. The tenants leverage knowledge of their workloads and current pricing information to select a data placement strategy that would meet the application requirements at the lowest cost. This approach allows both a service provider and its tenants to engage in a pricing game, which yields a win-win situation.


In recent, ferritic stainless steels are widely used in high temperature structure because of their high resistance in thermal fatigue and low prices. Tensile and low cycle fatigue(LCF) tests on 429EM stainless steel were performed at several temperatures from room temperature to 600°C. Elastic modulus, yield stress and ultimate tensile strength(UTS) decreased with increasing temperature. Considerable cyclic hardening occurred at 200°C and 400°C. 475°C embrittlement observed could not explain this phenomenon but dynamic strain aging(DSA) observed from 200°C to 500°C could explain the hardening mechanism at 200°C and 400°C. And it was observed that plastic strain energy density(PSED) was useful to predict fatigue life when large cyclic hardening occurred. Fatigue life using PSED over elastic modulus could be well predicted within 2X scatter band at various temperatures.


This paper primarily explores the manner in which China's reality talent shows have rearticulated dream narratives surrounding the Chinese Dream political discourse. This has occurred in response to common perceptions of such shows as vulgar or culturally inappropriate, which themselves were a consequence of the post-2005 boom in popularity of Super Girl Voice. My analysis is contextualised within the ideological connotations of the Chinese Dream, and falls into three main sections. The first section investigates the discursive strategy of the Chinese Dream, which can be said to integrate Confucianism and nationalism into the framework of a neoliberal market so as to emphasise the consistency between national and individual dreams, as well as the important and positive aspects of market values in the socialist agenda of public affairs. The second and third parts examine a public interest talent show called Chinese Dream Show. Through a discourse analysis of this talent show, I argue that the show is neoliberal theatre with Chinese characteristics, wherein a discursive formula I call 'public interest' employs two intertwined discursive systems – neoliberal rationality and sentimentality – to narrate dream-realising stories that satisfy the needs of both political correctness and market interests.


While individual immunoprophylaxis requires an effective vaccine, disease control requires an effective strategy for the application of the vaccine. In India, the oral polio vaccine (OPV) is given to children from 3 months to 2 years of age, in a 3-dose schedule. This strategy has not resulted in a fall in disease incidence in any community. It is suggested that two factors are responsible for the poor performance of OPV. First is a geographic variation in the response of infants to OPV, which result in only 80 per cent effective immunisation after 3 doses. The second factor is related to the age at which immunisation will achieve maximum benefit. Since the rate of natural poliovirus infection is highest during 6-18 months of age, immunisation should be completed by 6 months of age for disease control. If this is not feasible, an alternate strategy is necessary. It is suggested that pulse immunization in geographic units of population is a suitable method to control poliomyelitis.


Recent discussions of healthy and sustainable diets encourage increased consumption of plants and decreased consumption of animal-source foods (ASFs) for both human and environmental health. Seafood is often peripheral in these discussions. This paper examines the relative environmental costs of sourcing key nutrients from different kinds of seafood, other ASFs, and a range of plant-based foods. We linked a nutrient richness index for different foods to life cycle assessments of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the production of these foods to evaluate nutritional benefits relative to this key indicator of environmental impacts. The lowest GHG emissions to meet average nutrient requirement values were found in grains, tubers, roots, seeds, wild-caught small pelagic fish, farmed carp and bivalve shellfish. The highest GHG emissions per nutrient supply are in beef, lamb, wild-caught prawns, farmed crustaceans, and pork. Among ASFs, some fish and shellfish have GHG emissions at least as low as plants and merit inclusion in food systems policymaking for their potential to support a healthy, sustainable diet. However, other aquatic species and production methods deliver nutrition to diets at environmental costs at least as high as land-based meat production. It is important to disaggregate seafood by species and production method in 'planetary health diet' advice.


ABSTRACT Network governance, which involves an informal and self-regulated set of public and private actors, who together address various political and social problems, has substantially altered the institutional landscape concerning the formation and implementation of public policy. A common view is that this has made it possible to enhance pluralism and disperse political power by transferring power from the sovereign state to a wider set of private actors and stakeholders. I argue in this article that we need to analyze network governance in reference to the concept of domination and the theoretical tradition of neo-republicanism. For this purpose, I develop a theoretical framework that specifies five dimensions in which domination may arise and, conversely, be mitigated. An alternative image of network governance emerges which reveals that this type of governance may in fact generate a form of institutional domination that encompasses both citizens and civil society actors due to the arbitrary influence that certain network participants come to exercise upon the life choices of nonparticipants.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of side effects from short-term glucocorticoid therapy prescribed for treatment of optic neuritis in the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial.

DESIGN
Randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.

SETTING
Fifteen university- or hospital-based centers throughout the United States.

PATIENTS
A total of 457 patients between the ages of 18 and 46 years with acute demyelinative optic neuritis were studied.

INTERVENTIONS
(1) Intravenous methylprednisolone (250 mg every 6 hours) for 3 days while hospitalized followed by oral prednisone (1 mg/kg per day) for 11 days; (2) oral prednisone (1 mg/kg per day) for 14 days; and (3) oral placebo for 14 days. Each regimen was followed by a short taper.

RESULTS
Only two patients experienced major side effects, psychotic depression in one and acute pancreatitis in the other. Both of these patients were from the intravenous methylprednisolone group and both of the side effects resolved without sequelae. Patients in both groups receiving active drugs more often reported sleep disturbances, mood change, stomach upset, and facial flushing and gained more weight during the treatment period than patients in the placebo group (P < .001 for each comparison).

CONCLUSIONS
Although minor side effects are common, short-term glucocorticoid therapy in young, healthy adults is relatively safe. Because of the infrequency of serious side effects, outpatient administration of high-dose intravenous glucocorticoids may be feasible.


This article addresses the ambivalent role of violence in liberation struggles by staging a mutually enriching dialogue between Hannah Arendt and Frantz Fanon. It challenges the binary distinction between justifiable resistance that allows for only short-term, instrumental use of violence, and unwarranted resistance where violence is intrinsically justified as a creative, organic life-force of the oppressed. Instead, it discusses the constitutive role of violence as a condition of possibility of politics – highlighting the impossibility of separating the bloody moments of revolution from the constitution of the political community as a space of public freedom. The reconstructed debate on the relation between violence and freedom presents a fresh perspective on the justifiability and costs of violent resistance in circumstances of radical inequality and the extent to which liberation may remain an ongoing project to sustain the fragile achievement of freedom.


OBJECTIVE To assess the impact and costs of coverage for tobacco dependence treatment benefits with no patient cost sharing for smokers with employer sponsored coverage in two large independent practice association (IPA) model health maintenance organisations (HMOs) in California, USA. METHODS A randomised experimental design was used. 1204 eligible smokers were randomly assigned either to the control group, which received a self-help kit (video and pamphlet), or to the treatment group, which received the self-help kit and fully covered benefits for over the counter (OTC) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gum and patch, and participation in a group behavioural cessation programme with no patient cost sharing. RESULTS The quit rates after one year of follow up were 18% in the treatment group and 13% in the control group (adjusted odd ratio (OR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 2.4), controlling for health plan, sociodemographics, baseline smoking characteristics, and use of bupropion. Rates of quit attempts (adjusted OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.8) and use of nicotine gum or patch (adjusted OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.6 to 3.2) were also higher in the treatment group. The annual cost of the benefit per user who quit ranged from $1495 to $965 or from $0.73 to $0.47 per HMO member per month. CONCLUSIONS Full coverage of a tobacco dependence treatment benefit implemented in two IPA model HMOs in California has been shown to be an effective and relatively low cost strategy for significantly increasing quit rates, quit attempts, and use of nicotine gum and patch in adult smokers.


This study is performed to determine the characteristics of fabric sounds and the mechanical properties to predict their auditory comfort. In order to obtain quantitative information about emotional changes evoked by fabric sounds, physiological signals are acquired and analyzed when each fabric sound is presented to participants. Physiological parameters employed in this study are electroencephalogram and autonomic nervous system activities, including photoplethysmogram (PPG), skin conductance level (SCL), and the ratio of low frequency to high frequency (LF/HF) from the power spectrum of heart rate variability. As sound parameters, the pressure level of total sound (LPT), loudness(z), and sharpness(z) are calculated. Mechanical properties of the fabrics are measured with the KES-FB system. Bending hysteresis and weight. reflect negative sensations, influencing slow alpha, LF/HF, and SCL. Among sound parameters, LPT, loudness(z), and sharpness(z) influence negative sensations, causing the increment of SCL and LF/HF with the decrement of slow alpha and PPG.


Corn (Zea mays L.) growth has been shown to be affected by planting date and amount of residue on the soil surface. The objective of this study was to determine if the adverse effects of cool soil temperatures on early seedling growth often associated with surface residues can be overcome by planting at later dates. Corn was planted at several planting dates (late April through early June) into soil that had residue applied at rates of 0, 33, 66, and 100% of that produced by the previous crop. In general, spring-applied residue rates had little effect on measured plant responses. Planting corn before or after the optimum date resulted in reduced leaf area index, leaf area duration, total dry matter production, and grain yield. Maximum yield was achieved by planting corn about 10 May (near Lincoln, NE), regardless of the amount of residue applied in the spring. Yield declined with earlier or later planting dates : yield declined more rapidly when planting was delayed than when planting was advanced. Results indicate that, with spring residue application, planting date recommendations can be made independent of residue conditions.


Abstract:This paper draws on theatrical expression, somatic experience, and historical analysis, to show that the art of taijiquan is a form of enlightenment theater and tells the story of Zhang Sanfeng's canonization. This ritual incorporates inner alchemy as deity visualization, and presents violence as a transgressive path to becoming a Daoist immortal.Practitioners of taijiquan have been contesting the origins of the art since the early 20th century. One side argues that it is exclusively a functional combat art. The other side contends that it has Daoist origins and was invented by the Immortal Zhang Sanfeng. Both assign great importance to its mythology as a justification for the ways they practice and both agree that it is an internal martial art. However, there is serious disagreement about what exactly internal means.I propose to settle the debate by showing that taijiquan has its origins in theatrical rituals that incorporate martial skills and alchemy. Doing so, I also hope to contribute to the ongoing discussions about Daoism in popular culture. Somatic language often requires direct experience to fully comprehend. To address this problem, my analysis incorporates the paradigms of performance and expert mastery to reveal historic and cultural insights which might otherwise be invisible to readers.


The three-dimensional solution structure of toxin FS2, a 60-residue polypeptide isolated from the venom of black mamba snake (Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis), has been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using 600 NOE constraints and 55 dihedral angle constraints, a set of 20 structures obtained from distance-geometry calculations was further refined by molecular dynamics calculations using a combined simulated annealing-restrained MD protocol. The resulting 20 conformers, taken to represent the solution structure, give an average rmsd of 1.2 A for their backbone atoms, relative to the average structure. The overall resulting three-fingered structure is similar to those already observed in several postsynaptic neurotoxins, cardiotoxins, and fasciculins, which all share with toxin FS2 the same network of four disulfide bridges. The overall concavity of the molecule, considered as a flat bottomed dish, is oriented toward the C-terminal loop of the molecule. This orientation is similar to that of fasciculins and cardiotoxins but opposite to that of neurotoxins. On the basis of the local rms displacements between the 20 conformers, the structure of the first loop appears to be less well defined in FS2 than in the previously reported neurotoxin structures, but fasciculin 1 shows a similar trend with particularly high temperature factors for this part of the X-ray structure. The concave side which presents most of the positively charged residues is quite similar in FS2 and fasciculin 1. The main difference is shown by the convex side of the third loop, mostly hydrophobic in FS2, in contrast to the pair of negatively charged aspartates in fasciculin 1. This difference could be one of the factors leading to the distinct pharmacological properties-L-type calcium channel blocker for FS2 and cholinesterase inhibitor for fasciculin--observed for these two subgroups of the "angusticeps-type" toxins.


The thoracic cavity is the number one site for extrapelvic endometriosis, with catamenial pneumothorax as the most common presenting symptom. Its treatment algorithm is similar to the one for pelvic endometriosis, with the goal of inducing a hypoestrogenic state. However, if medical treatment fails, lung resection may be the only option. We present a case of a 44-year-old female with cystic fibrosis and known pelvic endometriosis, who was diagnosed with thoracic endometriosis after presenting with catamenial hemoptysis. After having a recurrence more than four years after a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, she was started on aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy to avoid lung resection. Such therapy with an AI successfully treated recurrent thoracic endometriosis in a patient with cystic fibrosis, i.e. not an ideal candidate for lung resection.


Subepithelial lesions (SEL) of the GI tract represent a mix of benign and potentially malignant entities including tumors, cysts, or extraluminal structures causing extrinsic compression of the gastrointestinal wall. SEL can occur anywhere along the GI tract and are frequently incidental findings encountered during endoscopy or cross-sectional imaging. This clinical guideline of the American College ofGastroenterologywas developedusing theGrading ofRecommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation process and is intended to suggest preferable approaches to a typical patient with a SEL based on the currently available published literature. Among the recommendations, we suggest endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)with tissueacquisition to improvediagnostic accuracy in the identificationof solidnonlipomatousSELandEUS fineneedle biopsy alone or EUS fine-needle aspiration with rapid on-site evaluation sampling of solid SEL. There is insufficient evidence to recommend surveillance vs resection of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) <2 cm in size. Owing to their malignant potential, we suggest resection of gastric GIST >2 cm and all nongastric GIST. When exercising clinical judgment, particularly when statements are conditional suggestions and/or treatments pose significant risks, health-care providers should incorporate this guideline with patient-specific preferences, medical comorbidities, and overall health status to arrive at a patient-centered approach.


Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are the current state-of-the-art models in learning node representations for many predictive tasks on graphs. Typically, GNNs reuses the same set of model parameters across all nodes in the graph to improve the training efficiency and exploit the translationally-invariant properties in many datasets. However, the parameter sharing scheme prevents GNNs from dis-tinguishing two nodes having the same local structure and that the translation invari-ance property may not exhibit in real-world graphs. In this paper, we present Graph Adaptive Mixtures (GraphAdaMix), a novel approach for learning node representations in a graph by introducing multiple independent GNN models and a trainable mixture distribution for each node. GraphAdaMix can adapt to tasks with different settings. Specifically, for semi-supervised tasks, we optimize GraphAdaMix using the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm, while in unsupervised settings, GraphAdaMix is trained following the paradigm of contrastive learning. We evaluate GraphAdaMix on ten benchmark datasets with extensive experiments. GraphAdaMix is demonstrated to consistently boost state-of-the-art GNN variants in semi-supervised and unsupervised node classification tasks. The code of GraphAdaMix is available online 1 .


This article considers the potential of participatory artistic practice that debates borders through dance. It also asks why so many dance artists choose this form to debate borders, and what practices are typical of participatory dance investigations of borders. I discuss the range
 of border debates in works investigating dance and borders, and I begin to consider how privilege is dealt with by the work. I examine how dance works with participation and, alongside, look at the choreographic embodied invitation concerned. Particularly, I examine these questions through
 the dance work Rope Piece and consider how this dance practice as research generates a collective and participatory process in relation to borders and privilege.


Background Growth abnormalities have been suggested as a precursor to schizophrenia, but previous studies have not assessed growth patterns using repeated measures. Aims To assess the association between early life/later childhood growth patterns and risk of schizophrenia. Methods Using prospectively collected data from a birth cohort (born 1959–1967), measurements of height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were analysed to compare growth patterns during early life and later childhood between 70 individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD) and 7710 without. Results For women, growth in the SSD group was approximately 1 cm/year slower during early life (P<0.01); no association was observed for men. Later childhood growth was not associated with SSD. Weight patterns were not associated with SSD, whereas slower change in BMI was observed among the SSD group during later childhood. Conclusions The association between slower growth in early life and schizophrenia in women suggests that factors responsible for regulating growth might be important in the pathogenesis of the disorder.


Currently, there is an extensive literature examining heat impacts on labor productivity and health, as well as a recent surge in research around COVID-19. However, to our knowledge, no research to date examines the dual burden of COVID-19 and extreme heat on labor productivity and laborers' health and livelihoods. To close this research gap and shed light on a critical health and livelihood issue affecting a vulnerable population, we urge researchers to study the two topics in tandem. Because farmworkers have a high incidence of COVID-19 infections and a low rate of inoculation, they will be among those who suffer most from this dual burden. In this article, we discuss impacts from extreme heat and COVID-19 on farm laborers. We provide examples from the literature and a conceptual framework showing the bi-directional nature of heat impacts on COVID-19 and vice versa. We conclude with questions for further research and with specific policy recommendations to alleviate this dual burden. If implemented, these policies would enhance the wellbeing of farmworkers through improved unemployment benefits, updated regulations, and consistent implementation of outdoor labor regulations. Additionally, policies for farmworker-related health needs and cultural aspects of policy implementation and farmworker outreach are needed. These and related policies could potentially reduce the dual burden of COVID-19 and extreme heat impacts while future research explores their relative cost-effectiveness.


Ensembling is a simple and popular technique for boosting evaluation performance by training multiple models (e.g., with different initializations) and aggregating their predictions. This approach is commonly reserved for the largest models, as it is commonly held that increasing the model size provides a more substantial reduction in error than ensembling smaller models. However, we show results from experiments on CIFAR-10 and ImageNet that ensembles can outperform single models with both higher accuracy and requiring fewer total FLOPs to compute, even when those individual models' weights and hyperparameters are highly optimized. Furthermore, this gap in improvement widens as models become large. This presents an interesting observation that output diversity in ensembling can often be more efficient than training larger models, especially when the models approach the size of what their dataset can foster. Instead of using the common practice of tuning a single large model, one can use ensembles as a more flexible trade-off between a model's inference speed and accuracy. This also potentially eases hardware design, e.g., an easier way to parallelize the model across multiple workers for real-time or distributed inference.


I INTRODUCTION: THE LACK OF BANKRUPTCY PROTECTIONS FOR SOVEREIGNS The recent global financial crisis vividly displayed the legal protections available in nonsovereign insolvencies. To use a prominent example in the United States, the massive Chrysler Corporation--whose $49 billion in revenue in 2007 was greater than the GDP of more than half the world's nations (1)--was able to leverage the threat of declaring bankruptcy to extract economic concessions from its commercial lenders, bondholders, employees, and other creditors (with significant financial and political support from the U.S. Administration). (2) Once Chrysler negotiated the terms of a sale with the majority of its creditors, it entered bankruptcy with a prepackaged petition, and, shortly thereafter, a new Chrysler entity emerged from the process as a going concern, no longer burdened by billions of dollars of debt. (3) Although a minority of creditors challenged the Chrysler sale as a draconian invalidation of their contract rights, those efforts failed under the debtor-friendly rules of Chapter 11. (4) As the Chrysler case illustrates--as would other recent examples, such as GM, Nortel, and the like--the safe harbor of insolvency law is a potent tool for private debtors who cannot afford to pay their creditors. Even before formally declaring bankruptcy, sophisticated parties can exploit creditor fears of judicial contract reformation to obtain voluntary liability reduction. Once a private company or individual enters bankruptcy, debt service and litigation against the debtor is automatically stayed pending the completion of a mandatory restructuring plan. (5) Bankruptcy rules also allow for a post-insolvency market for "superpriority" (debtor-in-possession) financing, which the debtor can access to jumpstart its reorganization. In contrast to distressed private debtors, it is axiomatic that there are no bankruptcy protections for financially impaired sovereign states, though such a system has been advocated for since at least the time of Adam Smith. (6) When a state cannot pay its debts, its only recourse is to enter voluntary negotiations with its creditors, which today are a miscellany of private and public entities with disparate agendas. (7) Unlike the bankruptcy process for private debtors, participation in a sovereign debt workout is optional, and creditors may choose to opt out by bringing lawsuits on the face value of defaulted debt in order to obtain judgments, and try to execute on them. Although distressed sovereign debtors cannot use the shield of bankruptcy law to prevent creditor litigation, rules concerning foreign sovereign immunity have emerged as a rough, sometimes inadequate, proxy for insolvency laws. There are two categories of sovereign-immunity protections for foreign states: (1) immunity from suit and (2) immunity from execution. Protections concerning immunity from suit derive from the international principle that a sovereign should not be made to suffer the indignity of being haled into court against its will. (8) Immunity from execution provisions stem from long-standing concerns about the disruptions and political ramifications that can result from the seizure of a foreign state's property. (9) Under the modern, "restrictive" theory of sovereign immunity--codified in some jurisdictions by national laws, such as the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) in the United States--a foreign state's immunity is subject to various exceptions, the extent of which are often at the heart of sovereign-litigation disputes. (10) In a manner somewhat analogous to the way bankruptcy law provides the backdrop to negotiations between an insolvent private debtor and its creditors, the case law that has developed interpreting the scope of foreign sovereign immunity provides the background set of rules that inform the parties to a sovereign debt restructuring. This article examines the progression of sovereign debt case law as displayed by the succession of litigation strategies employed by professional suers of defaulted sovereign states. …


Black churches in America have long been recognized as the most independent, stable, and dominant institutions in black communities. In The Black Church in the African American Experience, based on a ten-year study, is the largest nongovernmental study of urban and rural churches ever undertaken and the first major field study on the subject since the 1930s.

Drawing on interviews with more than 1,800 black clergy in both urban and rural settings, combined with a comprehensive historical overview of seven mainline black denominations, C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya present an analysis of the Black Church as it relates to the history of African Americans and to contemporary black culture. In examining both the internal structure of the Church and the reactions of the Church to external, societal changes, the authors provide important insights into the Church's relationship to politics, economics, women, youth, and music.

Among other topics, Lincoln and Mamiya discuss the attitude of the clergy toward women pastors, the reaction of the Church to the civil rights movement, the attempts of the Church to involve young people, the impact of the black consciousness movement and Black Liberation Theology and clergy, and trends that will define the Black Church well into the next century.

This study is complete with a comprehensive bibliography of literature on the black experience in religion. Funding for the ten-year survey was made possible by the Lilly Endowment and the Ford Foundation.


Objective This study aimed to assess the risk of pancreatic cancer after acute pancreatitis using a nationwide population-based data set in Taiwan. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 747 patients hospitalized between 2000 and 2003 with a principal diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (the study cohort) and 5976 comparison patients. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression adjusted for monthly income, urbanization, and geographic location of residence was used to calculate the 5-year hazard ratio (HR) of pancreatic cancer for the study versus comparison cohort. Results Of the total sample, 21 patients (0.31%) developed pancreatic cancer in the 5 years after index hospitalization: 11 (1.47%) of the study group patients and 10 (0.17%) of the comparison group patients. After adjusting for confounders, acute pancreatitis patients were 9 times as likely as the comparison group to develop pancreatic cancer in the following 5 years (HR = 9.10; 95% confidence interval, 3.81–21.76). Among patients with acute pancreatitis, the adjusted HR of pancreatic cancer was 40.03 and 3.72 times greater, respectively, for those with chronic pancreatitis and for those without than comparison patients. Conclusions Patients with acute pancreatitis have more than 9 times the risk of comparison patients to develop pancreatic cancer in the subsequent 5 years among the Hun Chinese ethnic population in Taiwan.


Background and Purpose The Expanded Cutting Alignment Scoring Tool (E-CAST) is a two-dimensional qualitative scoring system that has demonstrated moderate inter-rater and good intra-rater reliability for the assessment of trunk and lower extremity alignment during a 45-degree sidestep cut. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the quantitative version of the E-CAST among physical therapists and to compare the reliability of the quantitative E-CAST to the original qualitative E-CAST. The hypothesis was that the quantitative version of the E-CAST would demonstrate greater inter-rater and intra-rater reliability compared to the qualitative E-CAST. Study Design Observational cohort, repeated measures reliability study Methods Twenty-five healthy female athletes (age 13.8±1.4 years) performed three sidestep cuts with two-dimensional video capturing frontal and sagittal views. Two physical therapist raters independently scored a single trial using both views on two separate occasions. Based on the E-CAST criteria, select kinematic measurements were extracted using a motion analysis phone application. Intraclass correlation coefficients and 95% confident intervals were calculated for the total score, and kappa coefficients were calculated per kinematic variable. Correlations were converted to z-scores and compared to the six original criteria for significance (α<0.05). Results Cumulative intra- and inter-rater reliability were both good (ICC=0.821, 95% CI 0.687-0.898 and ICC=0.752, 95% CI 0.565-0.859). Cumulative intra-rater kappa coefficients ranged from moderate to almost perfect, and cumulative inter-rater kappa coefficients ranged from slight to good. No significant differences were observed between the quantitative and qualitative criteria for either inter- or intra-rater reliability (Zobs(intra)= -0.38, p=0.352 and Zobs(inter)= -0.30, p=0.382). Conclusion The quantitative E-CAST is a reliable tool to assess trunk and lower extremity alignment during a 45-degree sidestep cut. No significant differences were observed in reliability of the quantitative versus qualitative assessment. Level of evidence 3b


In this paper a prefiltering method is considered where an all pass filter is employed at the receiver before equalization to create a minimum phase overall impulse response. In the presence of ISI, the all pass filter concentrates the maximum symbol energy in the correct sampling instances and subsequently cancel the non causal precursor ISI by replacing the samples and channel by their minimum phase equivalent. The system performance attainable with the proposed equalization is determined for transmission with channel coding. The use of all pass filtering is beneficial to the performance of a communication receiver that operates in a dispersive multipath propagation environment and thereby improves capacity. Simulation results are given, which demonstrate that the proposed approach outperform the conventional decision feedback equalizer.


Photomontage is a pervasive method of representation in landscape architecture used frequently in both educational and professional settings. Despite the proliferation of and widespread technical proficiency for creating photomontage, there has been relatively little discussion about the important nuances that distinguish photo-realistic simulations from conceptual collage compositions. By examining the breadth of contemporary work and its theoretical and historical basis, the authors delve deeply into an analysis of the most abstract and conceptual type of photomontage, which they term eidetic photomontage. As a means of addressing criticisms of eidetic photomontage they draw examples from landscape architecture professionals and students to identify common compositional strategies and communicative strengths. The article concludes with a discussion of how eidetic photomontage is valuable to landscape architects for enriching creative process, inviting dialogue, and exploring highly speculative proposals.


A logistic equation was used to relate forage yield to applied N for bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] and bahiagrass [Paspalum notatum Flugge]. It was shown that the equation could be factored into a triple product-one term each for water availability, harvest interval and applied N. The equation provides high correlation (R ≥ 0.98) between yield and applied N for all levels of water availability and harvest interval. Appropriate statistical procedures for nonlinear regression were utilized in the analysis. These results are useful for estimating effects of management factors on forage production


OBJECTIVES
The home is both older Americans' largest asset and their largest consumption good. This article employs new data on the consumption and assets of older Americans to investigate what role the home plays in the economic lives of older adults.

METHODS
We used 20 years of data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey to examine the asset and consumption trends of four cohorts of older Americans. We compared the data with other survey results.

RESULTS
Older Americans' homeownership rates were stable until age 80. The homes were increasingly mortgage free; home equity increased with age, and relatively few older adults took out home equity loans or reverse annuity mortgages. Housing consumption flows increased with age; nonhousing consumption flows declined after age 60 at a rate of approximately 1.4% per year.

DISCUSSION
The results suggest that the consumption of cohorts of older Americans does not decrease dramatically over a 20-year period and that they are also not converting their housing assets into other types of income or consumption, at least up to age 80. A number of reasons, including the bequest motive and the life cycle hypothesis, might explain this behavior.


In this paper, a 3-D NAND Flash memory array having multiple single-crystal Si nanowires is investigated. Device structure and fabrication process are described including the electrical isolation of stacked nanowires. Numerical simulation results focused on NAND Flash memory operation are delivered. Devices and array with stacked bit lines are fabricated, and memory characteristics such as program/erase select gate operation are measured. Array scheme is also discussed for the high-density bit-cost scalable 3-D stacked bit-line NAND Flash memory application.


Hepatic steatosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the advanced stages are closely related to cardiovascular diseases. Despite the potential connection between early CKD (G1-G3a) and hepatic steatosis on cardiometabolic risks, few studies have revealed their causal link to ischemic heart disease (IHD). We prospectively investigated the combined effect of CKD in earlier stages and hepatic steatosis on incident IHD risk in large-scale, non-diabetic Koreans. Data were assessed from 16,531 participants without diabetes from the Health Risk Assessment Study (HERAS) and Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) data. We divided the study population into four groups according to the existence of early CKD and hepatic steatosis: controls, early CKD only, hepatic steatosis only, and both early CKD and hepatic steatosis. We prospectively assessed hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for IHD using multivariate Cox proportional-hazard regression models over a 50-month period. During the follow-up period, 326 (2.0%) patients developed IHD. HRs of IHD in the four groups were 1.00 (controls), 1.26 (95% CI 0.72–2.19), 1.19 (95% CI 0.90–1.57) and 1.76 (95% CI 1.04–2.97), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Even less than stage 3A, CKD could precede and predict IHD in patients with hepatic steatosis.


We investigate the impact on the classical dynamics of dark matter particles and dark energy of a non-minimal coupling in the dark sector, assuming that the mass of the dark matter particles is coupled to a dark energy scalar field. We show that standard results can only be recovered if the space-time variation of the dark energy scalar field is sufficiently smooth on the characteristic length scale of the dark matter particles, and we determine the associated constraint dependent on both the mass and radius of the dark matter particles and the coupling to the dark energy scalar field. We further show, using field theory numerical simulations, that a violation of such constraint results in a microscopic feedback effect strongly affecting the dynamics of dark matter particles, with a potential impact on structure formation and on the space-time evolution of the dark energy equation of state.


: Elementary concepts in fracture mechanics, stress analysis, and impact are discussed as they pertain to fracture of lenses in drop ball testing. Quasi-static estimates for stress distributions during impact are obtained. These profiles show a sharp peak in the tensile stress under the impact point. Identical groups of lenses were impact tested in two different modes: 1) 25 impacts at a single spot on the lens, 2) 1 impact at each of 25 different spots. Much more breakage was observed in the latter group. Both the experimental and analytical considerations lend support to the "search" theory of drop ball testing--fracture occurs when the ball strikes a weak spot (where there exists a sufficiently severe flaw) on the lens. Lenses which pass an impact test may well have dangerous flaws away from the impact point.


Despite its low incidence, the mortality related to it remains high. Seat belt syndrome describes a spectrum of injuries related to the seat-belt use in occupants involved in motor vehicle collusions. These include blunt abdominal aortic injury, intra-abdominal and possibly spinal injuries. Though the eventual consequences may be catastrophic, the initial clinical presentation is frequently subtle. Therefore, prompt diagnostic workup and immediate management should be triggered whenever there is a clinical suspicion for such injuries. Owning to the substantial successful outcomes of endovascular treatment, we believe that it should be accessible to almost all hemodynamically stable patients in the appropriate sitting. We report a case of seat-belt syndrome with abdominal aortic intimal tear and dissection which was successfully managed with endovascular treatment.


This study investigated the photodynamic therapy (PDT) and anticancer activity of mixed ligand Ru(ii) terpyridyl complexes (Ru1-Ru3). The photophysical and photochemical properties, hydrophobic properties, DNA binding and DNA transcription inhibition abilities, cell uptake efficiency, cellular localization and photo-cytotoxicity were investigated. Ru1-Ru3 exhibited red luminescence between 670-710 nm and functioned as photo-sensitizers (PSs) by generating both singlet oxygen and radical ions. Without light activation, Ru1-Ru3 were located at the cytoplasm and were nontoxic to cells. However, upon light activation, Ru1-Ru3 exhibited significant photocytotoxicity. After PDT treatment, mitochondria alteration and nuclear membrane disruption occurred, which resulted in relocalization of the complexes from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Moreover, high cellular oxidative stress caused cell necrocytosis after PDT treatment.


Studies of several office markets indicate the importance of building and location attributes in relation to office user preferences. It is common practice to use hedonic pricing models to describe the relationship between rental levels and building and location attributes. However, office buildings that have been vacant for a long period of time in a market with few transactions are hard to assess, and another approach to value these buildings is needed: instead of considering the buildingis current use, the future possibilities and use value of the buildings should be considered. This study examines the opportunities for investors and owners of vacant office space in a market where few transactions took place, aiming to reveal whether adaptation of obsolete office buildings can contribute to an increased future value of these buildings. Additionally, this paper examines whether this approach can contribute to an improved local office market. Subsequently, this paper answers the following questions: Which opportunities do owners and investors have for dealing with obsolete office buildings? What influence will their actions have on the (local) office market? The office market studied in this paper is Amsterdam with a focus on the submarket Amsterdam South east which holds a substantial part of the Amsterdam office stock (1 million square metres, 15% of the Amsterdam office stock). The vacancy level of this submarket is near 30% and among the highest in Europe. The data used to answer the questions above were delivered by the research department of Cushman & Wakefield Amsterdam. The building and location characteristics of 104 office buildings were studied, which amounts to two third of the offices in Amsterdam Southeast.