Paradoxical self-esteem is defined as contrasting levels of self-liking and self-competence. Consideration of the social and motivational implications of this uncommon form of self-esteem suggests that heightened selectivity in the processing of social information may be behind its persistence. Two experiments were conducted to confirm the prediction of heightened selectivity in paradoxicals. As expected, those paradoxically low in self-liking were more negatively biased in their memory for personality feedback (Study 1) and interpretation of valuatively ambiguous phrases (Study 2) than were their counterparts who shared the same low self-liking but were also low in self-competence. Symmetrical with this result, those paradoxically high in self-liking exhibited a heightened positive bias relative to those who were high in both self-liking and self-competence. The findings are discussed in relation to attitudes and motivation.


We consider the structure of directed acyclic Boolean (DAB) networks as a tool for exploring biological pathways. In a DAB network, the basic objects are binary elements and their Boolean duals. A DAB is characterized by two kinds of pairwise relations: similarity and prerequisite. The latter is a partial order relation, namely, the on-status of one element is necessary for the on-status of another element. A DAB network is uniquely determined by the state space of its elements. We arrange samples from the state space of a DAB network in a binary array and introduce a random mechanism of measurement error. Our inference strategy consists of two stages. First, we consider each pair of elements and try to identify their most likely relation. In the meantime, we assign a score, s-p-score, to this relation. Second, we rank the s-p-scores obtained from the first stage. We expect that relations with smaller s-p-scores are more likely to be true, and those with larger s-p-scores are more likely to be false. The key idea is the definition of s-scores (referring to similarity), p-scores (referring to prerequisite), and s-p-scores. As with classical statistical tests, control of false negatives and false positives are our primary concerns. We illustrate the method by a simulated example, the classical arginine biosynthetic pathway, and show some exploratory results on a published microarray expression dataset of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae obtained from experiments with activation and genetic perturbation of the pheromone response MAPK pathway.


A large variety of simulation tools for calculating scattered fields have been published in literature. Basically, there are two main approaches, the so-called numerically exact or full-wave solutions, e.g. using Method of Moments (MoM), and the high-frequency or asymptotic solutions, e.g. using rays for modeling propagation paths. However, most of these simulation tools are limited to perfectly conducting surfaces or homogeneous dielectric bodies. The present paper studies the enhancement of a ray tracing code based on the well-known Shooting-and-Bouncing-Rays (SBR) technique for calculating scattered fields of arbitrary objects, whose surfaces are coated with a dielectric multi-layer structure.


The largest extinction in Earth history, in the latest Permian, was followed throughout most of the Early Triassic by a prolonged period of ecologic recovery. What factors delayed biotic recovery are still under debate and partly revolve around impacts of global warming on primary marine productivity. We examined N isotope records from the Festningen section on Spitsbergen, Arctic Norway, to examine changes in nutrient availability through the Early to Middle Triassic along the northern margin of Pangea. Our results show progressive decline in N availability throughout the Griesbachian, leading to severe nutrient limitations through the remainder of the Early Triassic, until returning to a highly productive continental margin in Middle Triassic time. These results are consistent with other studies from northern and western Pangea and thus show regional nutrient limitations occurred in what should have been the main zone of marine primary productivity. Such nutrient limitation likely stressed primary production and consequently contributed to prolonged marine recovery. We suggest this was driven by high ocean temperatures depressing the marine nutricline.


BACKGROUND -- During the last 10 years hundreds of different defect prediction models have been published. The performance of the classifiers used in these models is reported to be similar with models rarely performing above the predictive performance ceiling of about 80% recall. OBJECTIVE -- We investigate the individual defects that four classifiers predict and analyse the level of prediction uncertainty produced by these classifiers. METHOD -- We perform a sensitivity analysis to compare the performance of Random Forest, Naïve Bayes, RPart and SVM classifiers when predicting defects in 12 NASA data sets. The defect predictions that each classifier makes is captured in a confusion matrix and the prediction uncertainty is compared against different classifiers. RESULTS -- Despite similar predictive performance values for these four classifiers, each detects different sets of defects. Some classifiers are more consistent in predicting defects than others. CONCLUSIONS -- Our results confirm that a unique sub-set of defects can be detected by specific classifiers. However, while some classifiers are consistent in the predictions they make, other classifiers vary in their predictions. Classifier ensembles with decision making strategies not based on majority voting are likely to perform best.


The purpose of this paper was to scope the views of care staff working in an aged care setting in an effort to understand the issues these staff face in the delivery of care to the elderly with depression. Seventeen care staff working in metropolitan, regional and rural areas of Queensland participated in one-on-one interviews in order to elicit their views on the identification of depression in the elderly and the care processes staff employed to manage depression. Interview notes were taken, reviewed, transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Discussion with participants revealed five themes regarding the management of depression in both community and residential aged care settings. These included: the extent to which depression is an issue for clients and residents; staff understanding of depression and the ability to recognize when a client or resident is depressed; discussing depression with general practitioner's and other healthcare professionals; processes and procedures for treating and addressing depression; and education and training on depression for staff. The findings revealed that care staff need greater education and training about depression and targeted strategies for its identification and management.


Three cases of later onset metachromatic leukodystrophy in one family were reported. The brother is 32 years old, younger sister is 35 years old and the elder sister is 39 years old, who were normal as child without any family history of neurological disease. The three cases began their illness at about the age of 30 years old with dysarthria, progressive dementia, motor disturbance and numbness in the extremities. CT scan showed low density in the white matter of frontal, parietal lobes and around the ventricle. The written reports of CT scan were lacunar infarction in brother, multiple lacunar infarction in younger sister and Binswanger's disease in elder sister. Nerve biopsy showed myelinated fibers were decreased in number. Metachromatical materials were seen in and around the Schwann cell cytoplasm. Metachromatical materials were lamillar inclusions in granular matrix by electromicroscopic examination. So nerve biopsy is easy, safe and effective method to diagnose the uncertain pathogenic leukoence-phalopathy.


Summary Influence of Growth Factors on the Respiratory Burst of Human Neutrophils in Patients Following Liver Transplantation in vitro Early post-operative infections remain the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). Since polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are one of the major determinants of antimicrobial defence, the alteration of their functions may influence the outcome of infection in these patients. Ciclosporin predominantly used as immunosuppressive drug following organ transplantation inhibits superoxide anion production during respiratory burst (RB) of PMNs. Growth factors have been shown to modulate the RB of PMNs in healthy volunteers. It has been examined whether PMNs from patients under immunosuppression following OLTx can be primed by in vitro administration of interleukin-3 (IL-3), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). For flow-cytometric evaluation, leukocytes were obtained as supernatant following sedimentation and were incubated with IL-3 (500 U ml−1), IL-3 and GM-CSF (500 U ml−1), or IL-3 and G-CSF (500 U ml−1). The RB was measured by intracellular oxidation of non-fluorescent dihydrorhodamine to green fluorescent rhodamine after induction of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or a combination of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP). Following stimulation with PMA, the RB of patients following OLTx could be increased significantly after priming with the combination of IL-3/G-CSF (p < 0.03); following stimulation with TNF-α/FMLP the RB could be increased significantly by IL-3 (p < 0.01), IL-3/G-CSF (p < 0.002), and IL-3/GM-CSF (p < 0.002). Regarding the clinical administration of IL-3, GM-CSF and G-CSF following OLTx, the role of these cytokines for prophylaxis or treatment of early postoperative infections should be further investigated.


As part of the European LIFE project GEAMCOS, this paper presents the simulation evaluation of lead-free electronic assemblies submitted to harsh environments encountered in aeronautical and military communication applications. It addresses the following questions: (1) the determination of an optimal accelerated test condition in the temperature range of -40degC/100degC for assemblies with SnAgCu alloy, (2) the evaluation of the life-time of five assemblies with SnAgCu and SnPb, (3) a sensitivity analysis on design and serigraphy parameter variations, (4) the determination of a test protocol in vibration environments. All the results give relevant life-time predictions. The CSP and PQFP components should have longer time-to- failure with SnAgCu solder joints than with SnPb joints. The contrary is expected for 1st and 2nd level interconnects of large BGA packages. In any case, the factor is found to remain less than about 2. The PCB thermal expansion coefficient has the highest impact, followed by the solder joint height. The first level interconnect reliability is not impacted by any of the parameter changes. Simulation work in GEAMCOS project shall go on in 2007-2008 with an experimental validation of the thermo- mechanical simulations. This will require to identify a new constitutive material model for SnAgCu and to calibrate the simulations with experimental test results.


How might the time that children spend in structured versus unstructured activities predict their executive function (EF), the set of control processes that govern thoughts and actions? Although extant research suggests that activities requiring self-directed practice improve child EF, no studies have examined how differences in everyday behaviors relate to EF. The present study considers how differences in executive functions in 6 and 7 year olds correlate with child time spent in structured and unstructured activities. Typical child activities were assessed using a weekly activity survey given to parents. Results indicate that the percentage of time children spent in unstructured activities predicted performance on the Verbal Fluency task, a measure of endogenous control, but not the AX-CPT, a measure of proactive control. These findings provide initial support for the hypothesis that the time children spend in unstructured activities may be associated with the development of self-directed behavior and contribute to developing endogenous control. This study has implications on future work on the development of executive functions and the importance of specific activities in childhood.


Deep Learning-based Text Understanding (DLTU) is the backbone technique behind various applications, including question answering, machine translation, and text classification. Despite its tremendous popularity, the security vulnerabilities of DLTU are still largely unknown, which is highly concerning given its increasing use in security-sensitive applications such as sentiment analysis and toxic content detection. In this paper, we show that DLTU is inherently vulnerable to adversarial text attacks, in which maliciously crafted texts trigger target DLTU systems and services to misbehave. Specifically, we present TextBugger, a general attack framework for generating adversarial texts. In contrast to prior works, TextBugger differs in significant ways: (i) effective -- it outperforms state-of-the-art attacks in terms of attack success rate; (ii) evasive -- it preserves the utility of benign text, with 94.9\% of the adversarial text correctly recognized by human readers; and (iii) efficient -- it generates adversarial text with computational complexity sub-linear to the text length. We empirically evaluate TextBugger on a set of real-world DLTU systems and services used for sentiment analysis and toxic content detection, demonstrating its effectiveness, evasiveness, and efficiency. For instance, TextBugger achieves 100\% success rate on the IMDB dataset based on Amazon AWS Comprehend within 4.61 seconds and preserves 97\% semantic similarity. We further discuss possible defense mechanisms to mitigate such attack and the adversary's potential countermeasures, which leads to promising directions for further research.


This paper reports on a stated choice experiment examining the determinants of travelers' need and willingness to pay for advanced public transport information services. Specific attention is given to the role of making transfers in the decision to acquire specific types of information. Intercity train travelers are asked to choose among information services that varied in type of information provided by the services, precision of provided dynamic travel time estimates, whether or not the system can provide information unasked for and price. Respondents made these choices conditional on a specified transfer context, denoting whether or not transfers had to be made during the trip, and whether these were transfers to high or low frequency train services. Modeling results indicate that as hypothesized, transferring during the trip, especially towards low frequency connections, induces a larger need for travel information, a higher preference for services that can provide advice relative to other information and a higher willingness to pay for information in general. However, the choice for information services is highly price sensitive, which suggest a low overall willingness to pay.


Accuracy of diagnosis, both anatomical and pathological, and disability scoring would add to the quality of certification data, and would help in comparing reports on strokes as well as with data regarding referral history and therapeutic trials. Considerable information could be made available by the use of new types of certification. The problems of existing definition and classification are discussed and a new classification for stroke is described.


Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are dual specificity lipid and protein kinases. While the lipid-dependent PI3K downstream signaling is well characterized, little is known about PI3K protein kinase signaling and structural determinants of lipid substrate specificity across the various PI3K classes. Here we show that sequences C-terminal to the PI3K ATP-binding site determine the lipid substrate specificity of the class IA PI3Kα (p85/p110α). Transfer of such activation loop sequences from class II PI3Ks, class III PI3Ks, and a related mammalian target of rapamycin (FRAP) into p110α turns the lipid substrate specificity of the resulting hybrid protein into that of the donor protein, while leaving the protein kinase activity unaffected. All resulting hybrids lacked the ability to produce phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate in intact cells. Amino acid substitutions and structure modeling showed that two conserved positively charged (Lys and Arg) residues in the activation loop are crucial for the functionality of class I PI3Ks as phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate kinases. By transient transfecion of 293 cells, we show that p110α hybrids, although unable to support lipid-dependent PI3K signaling, such as activation of protein kinase B/Akt and p70S6k, retain the capability to associate with and phosphorylate insulin receptor substrate-1, with the same specificity and higher efficacy than wild type PI3Kα. Our data lay the basis for the understanding of the class I PI3K substrate selectivity and for the use of PI3Kα hybrids to dissect PI3Kα function as lipid and protein kinase.


Young Polish migrants to the UK are often portrayed as being highly educated and mobile: willing nomads who are privileged to be able to take advantage of new opportunities for travel and work abroad offered by European Union membership. However, there are also less well-educated young people who adopt migration as a livelihood strategy in contemporary Poland. For many, the desire to experience life abroad combines with a sense of being 'forced' to leave localities where the transition to a market economy has resulted in a contraction of employment opportunities and where parents are unable to finance their children's higher education. My article explores why young people try to migrate to Britain, arguing that unemployment and low wages are important push factors. It is true that migration is also a response to new opportunities, particularly access to social networks. However, not everyone enjoys access to these. In addition, young migrants are to some extent constrained by the migration culture in their local areas, for example, regarding gender roles, although they can also help to shape that culture. The article is based on 115 interviews with women in England and Poland in 2006–2009, as well as a survey of public opinion in Poland's highest migration region.


With The Vocal Chorder, a large interactive instrument to create accompaniment, opera singers can get more power over the performance. The device allows performers to interactively accompany themselves through pushing, leaning on and bending steel wires. The design was guided by the unique needs of the solo-singer, explored through autobiographical design and material explorations, some on stage, and later tested by other singers. We discuss how designing for opera and for the stage requires extraordinary durability and how opera performances can change with a bodily-oriented instrument such as The Vocal Chorder. Through a designerly exploration, we arrived at a device that offered (1) a tool for singers to take control over the rhythmical pace and overall artistic and aesthetic outcome of their performances, (2) an enriched sense of embodiment between their voice and the overall performance; and (3) a means to empower opera singers on stage.


Objective: Now there are more and more evidences that Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays an important role in angiogenesis of endometriosis (EMs). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has a potent angiogenic activity. However, it is worth studying about the regulating mechanism of COX-2/COX-1 and VEGF in the development of hu- man endometriosis in vitro. The current study was designed to investigate the effect of 4 cytokines on COX-2/COX-1 expression and the effect of IL-1β on VEGF release in human endometriosis stromal cells (ESC), and to explore the related signaling pathways involved in vitro. Methods: Isolation, culture and identification of ESC. Cells were treated with 4 cytokines, and the inhibitor mitogen-activated protein-Erk (MEK) and the inhibitor p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) prior to adding cytokine IL-1β. COX-2 protein expression was measured by western blot and VEGF secretion was determined by ELISA. Results: Among four kinds of cytokines, IL-1β treatment increased COX-2 protein expression and VEGF release in three ESC, and TNF-α had the same effect on COX-2 protein level as IL-1β only in ectopic and eutopic ESC, and MCSF had only slight effect on ectopic ESC. In contrast, cytokines had no effect on COX-1 expression. We also demonstrated that MAPK reduced the synthesis of COX-2 by IL-1β induced. COX-2 inhibitor reduced VEGF release by IL-1β induced. Conclusions: i) In human ESC in vitro, IL-1β up-regulated the COX-2 expression through the activation of p38 MAPK pathway, and not to COX-1. ii) Up-regulation of VEGF level by IL-1β treatment was found in human endometriosis stromal cell and COX-2 inhibitor was involved in this process.


Summary: Gladiolic acid is produced when Penicillium gladioli is grown on a wide range of culture media. The main factor influencing its production and accumulation is the pH drift of the medium, high yields being associated with a characteristic pH drift, consisting of an initial fall to about pH 4·0 followed by a steady but not too rapid rise. Continued low pH is unfavourable; too rapid a rise of pH is also unfavourable since gladiolic acid tends to disappear from the medium when pH 6·0 is reached, the disappearance being very rapid at pH 7·0 or above. The effects of variation of the initial pH of the medium, of glucose concentration, of variation of nitrogen source and of additions of certain organic acids are all explicable in terms of their effect on pH drift. The antibiotic is best extracted from culture filtrates by treatment with activated charcoal after adjustment to pH 4·0, elution of the charcoal with ether, and re-crystallization from water after evaporation of the ether. Yields of the order of 300 mg./l. are obtained. Gladiolic acid is highly fungistatic if tested at low pH; the toxic effect is due to the undissociated molecules only and at pH 7·0, when dissociation is virtually complete, gladiolic acid is almost inactive. At pH 3·5, the least concentration inhibiting germination of fungus spores varies from 0·9μg./ml. for Fusarium graminearum to 250 μg./ml. for Trichoderma viride. It is not highly antibacterial in broth, many organisms growing freely in the presence of 500μg./ml. This low activity is thought to be due in part to the dissociation of gladiolic acid at pH 7·0 and in part to inactivation by certain broth constituents. This view is supported by the observation that bacterial cells suspended in gladiolic acid solutions (100μg./ml.) in buffer at pH 4·0 are rapidly killed. This bactericidal effect occurs with both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Gladiolic acid in solution is relatively stable in the range pH 3·0--8·0. In the presence of ammonium salts or certain amino-acids, notably p-aminobenzoic acid, it is rapidly inactivated, coloured complexes being formed. The reaction with ammonium salts is dependent on pH, not proceeding at pH 3·5 but proceeding rapidly at pH 7·0. The rapid disappearance of gladiolic acid in culture when the pH rises above 6·0 is possibly associated with this type of reaction.


Pollution of Lake Victoria is caused by a number of factors. Pollution increase, industrial and agricultural developments and general municipal and domestic wastes from the catchment areas of the lake are the major contributing factors. This study was carried out to assess and compare the levels of pollution in the lake sediments and suspended solids at Napoleon Gulf (N.G.), Jinja municipality; Murchison Bay (M.B.), near Kampala city and Sango Bay (S.B.) in Rakai district. The analysis were carried out for total Nitrogen and total Phosphorus, organic Carbon and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cd). Physical properties like pH of the sediment slurries, dry weights (%), organic weights (%) and sediment particle size distribution were also analyzed. The results obtained for pH showed that Napoleon Gulf is not statistically different from Murchison Bay (ANVA, p=0.963), but are both statistically different from Sango Bay (p=0.009 and 0.007 respectively). The respective pH ranges were 5.9 – 6.1, 6.2 – 6.4 and 6.7-6.8. The pH ranges in the Bays considered together revealed a highly significant difference (ANOVA, p=0.009). The percentage dry weights in the sediments reflected the water retention capacities of the sediments and showed the trend N.G. <M.B. <S.B., the respective mean values being 5.42 ±0.43, 6.27 ± 0.16, 41.42 ± 2.19%. The mean organic weights (%) at the three Bays showed that S.B. is significantly less than M.B. and N.G. The latter two are not significantly different from each other. The respective mean value were 3.13 ± 0.50, 30.09 ± 0.66, and 30.48 ± 0.93%. The extent of pollution in terms of total Nitrogen showed the same trend as the mean organic weight with the respective mean values for total phosphorus showed the trend S.B. <M.B. <N.G. and were respectively 2.3 ± 0.1, 4.8 ± 0.7 and 10.7 ± 1.4 (g/kg), revealing that the Bays were significantly different (ANOVA, p=).007). The concentrations of heavy metals at the three Bays varied considerably. The mean concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cd showed the trend S.B. <M.B. <N.G. The respective mean values were 9.44 ± 3.8, 24.54 ± 4.2, 105.2 ± 20.1 (ppm) for Copper; 16.31 ± 2.23, 22.76 ± 1.56, 31.42 ± 2.19 (ppm) for Pb and 0.83 ± 0.30, 1.61 ± 0.17, 2.03 ± 0.15 (ppm) for Cd. The concentrations of Zn and Ni in the three Bays showed no significant differences. The respective mean values were 63.66 ± 6.75, 68.17 ± 2.67, 94.73 ± 21.4 (ppm) for Zn and 28.67 + 2.28, 29.41 ± 2.24, 37.98 ± 12.7 (ppm) for Ni. However, using the Dutch system of pollution classification the sediments of M.B. and S.B. are not yet polluted by Cu, while that of N.G. is moderately polluted. The sediments of all the three Bays are not yet polluted by Pb, Zn and Ni. In terms of Cd, N.G. is not yet polluted, while M.B. and S.B. are significantly polluted. N.G. and M.B. sediments were generally fine in texture and black in colour while that of S.B. were brown and sandy. Fine particles are known to hold more pollutants than coarse particles (Twenhogen, 1950). This van be ascertained from the tables for total N, total P and C concentrations in Appendices 2. The practical size distribution pattern at N.G. and M.B. were similar as a result of the similarity in the texture of the sediments in the two Bays. S.B. sediments were sandy and coarse in texture and therefore had a slightly different particle size distribution pattern.


In the 2015 PHM Data Challenge Competition, the goal of the competition problem was to diagnose failure of industrial plant systems using incomplete data. The available data consisted of sensor measurements, control reference signals, and fault logs. A detailed description of the plant system of interest was not revealed, and partial fault logs were eliminated from the dataset. This paper presents a fault log recovery method using a machine-learning-based fault classification approach for failure diagnosis. For optimal performance, it was critical to be able to utilize a set of incomplete data and to select relevant features. First, physical interpretation of the given data was performed to select proper features for a fault classifier. Second, Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) was employed to minimize the effect of outliers in the incomplete data sets. Finally, the type of the missing fault logs and the duration of the corresponding faults were recovered. The proposed approach, based on the use of an incomplete-data-trained FDA classifier, led to the second-highest score in the 2015 PHM Data Challenge Competition.


The compulsator stator armature winding includes multiple conductor layers. Each conductor layer is made of insulation wraps and transposed aluminum litz wire bundles with epoxy potting compound between the wires and the wire bundles. For a typical pulse-duty application, based on a room-temperature electrical loss calculation, the temperature rise in the aluminum winding is approximately 30/spl deg/C per shot. Adequate active cooling must be provided such that the stator insulation can survive thermally under a certain pulse repetition rate. As a result of the low equivalent thermal conductivities of the stator winding in the transverse direction, without compromising the overall structural integrity of the winding, the coolant passages have to be allocated as close as possible to the heat sources. For a given electric gun firing mission, four different cooling configurations have been investigated and analyzed by using water ethylene glycol mixture as an active liquid coolant. In this paper, thermal analysis cooling parameters, transient stator winding temperature distributions, and hot-spot temperature histories are presented, discussed, and compared.


As an advanced technology in coastal and offshore engineering, wind-driven generator, the suction bucket foundation is one new offshore foundation. It is not only subjected to the long-term action of vertical load(V) induced by all weights of platform and equipment, but also is imposed by both horizontal load(H), moment(M) and torsion(T) caused by wind and wave as well as current. The judgment standard of bearing capacity behavior and practical performance of suction bucket foundation under many freedom loads have been established, which was one key of problems to appraise the stability of foundation. According to the existing results, the features of ultimate bearing capacity and failure envelopes of bucket foundation under combined loads was evaluated in the framework of the general-purpose FEM software package ABAQUS. Results indicated that the failure envelopes of bucket foundation in different loading spaces were plotted, which could be used to evaluate the stability of bucket foundation.


Background: Critically ill patients are frequently suffering from vitamin C deficiency. Previous studies showed that high doses of vitamin C administration had conflicting results on clinical outcomes in patients with severe sepsis, burns and trauma. Because of high incidence and morbidity/mortality with severe pneumonia, we aimed to investigate the effect of administration of high dose vitamin C in critically ill patients with severe pneumonia.Methods: Eighty critically ill patients with pneumonia were enrolled in this randomized double blinded clinical trial. Patients with CURB-65 score >3, one major criteria, or ≥3 minor criteria were considered as severe pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned to intervention or placebo groups receiving standard treatment plus 60 mg/kg/day vitamin C as continuous infusion or normal saline in the same volume correspondingly for 96 hours. Serum levels of vitamin C were noted at baseline and 48 hours after vitamin C administration. Duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay, PaO2/FiO2 and mortality rate were noted for all patients till the 28th day. Any complications related to vitamin C administration were recorded. (IRCT registration number: IRCT20190312043030N1, Registration date: 2019-08-26, seied hadi saghaleini).Results: Duration of mechanical ventilation and vasopressor use were significantly lower in intervention group (p: <0.001 and 0.003, respectively). Baseline levels of vitamin C in both groups did not have significant difference but its levels increased in intervention group and decreased in control group during the study period. Mortality rate insignificantly decreased in intervention group (p: 0.17). Three patients showed hypotension and tachycardia during the administration of vitamin C which was self-limited with decreasing the dose of vitamin C. Conclusion: Our results showed that the intravenous administration of a relatively high dose of vitamin C to critically ill patients with severe pneumonia was safe and could decrease the inflammation, mechanical ventilation duration and vasopressor use without any significant effect on mortality.


Tardive dyskinesia is a serious and common motor side-effect of treatment with especially traditional neuroleptics with an unknown pathophysiological basis. The essential features of neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) are abnormal, involuntary movements of the tongue, jaw, trunk or extremities that emerges in a patient predisposed to antipsychotic medication. Although the exact pathogenesis of TD is unclear, there is some evidence that dopamine supersensitivity in the nigro-striatal pathway due to the antipsychotics could contribute to these dyskinetic movements. New generation antipsychotics have less risk in terms of tardive dyskinesia compared to traditional neuroleptics however there is still probability of late adverse effects. Although it has been suggested that olanzapine can improve tardive dyskinesia in some patients, few reported cases have shown that the prolonged use of olanzapine can instead be associated with tardive dyskinesia/dystonia. Here we report a case who experienced tardive dyskinesia after 12 years of treatment with olanzapine and its treatment with clozapine.


The rise of mobile phone technology and the internet (TCP/
IP) which still computer increase hope to integrate them. The internet
is part of worldwide telecommunication system and mobile phone is
symbol of high mobility. The integration between mobile phone and
the internet will provide everyone with much easier
telecommunication. Developing internet application in the mobile
phone will be an interesting area of information technology.
Fortunately, Java has developed new platform Java 2 Micro Edition
which especially use for developing for limited device configuration
such mobile phone and PDA..
Applying internet protocol in the mobile phone would be
very challenging as the protocol was designed for computer. Compare
to computer, mobile phone has a lot of limitations such as less
memory space, smaller user interface, smaller input device and
unreliable cellular network. These limitations occur because mobile
phone is small device. Hardware quality and unreliable connection
will create limited quality software development above. Obviously,
mobile phone firmware will have a lot of limitation, especially to
implements internet protocol.
The objective of this research is to evaluate the quality of
internet protocol used in the Java based mobile phone. FTP Client
developed using Java 2 Micro Edition is used for the evaluation
process. Evaluation was conducted by comparing the quality network
connection when the application was running in the 3 different environments. First, the application was run in an emulator which
used in Windows XP Operating System in a computer wired
network. Second, the application was run in an emulator used in
Windows XP Operating System in an GPRS cellular network.
Third, the application was run in the mobile phone using GPRS
cellular network. The experiment results show that there is no
difference between computers wired network and GPRS cellular
network. However, the comparison between second and third
experiment result show some differences. In the third experiment, it
was found that there are some errors when the application is closing
the connection to the FTP Server. This error shows that the internet
protocol in the firmware is different from the computer using
Windows XP Operating System. Closing connection standard in
the internet protocol is not fully implemented by the mobile phone
firmware.


Jonathan Swift is one of the most celebrated satirist writers in literature. His well-known "Gulliver's Travels", apart from being a serious human being criticism, contains many interesting ana unrecognized comments about medical and other scientific facts. Swift made what seems to be the first account of a dementing illness in the elderly; his description fits well with what we now know as Alzheimer's disease. He also described a condition now called synaesthesia, a very interesting phenomenon that may contribute to creativity. In this paper, we review aspects of his life and reveal these amazing descriptions as samples of Swift's extraordinary power of observation.


In this work, we studied the fabrication of 12-nm-size nanodot pattern by self-assembly technique using high-etching-selectivity poly (styrene)-poly (dimethyl-siloxane) (PS-PDMS) block copolymers. The necessary etching duration for removing the very thin top PDMS layer is unexpectedly longer when the used molecular weight of PS-PDMS is 13.5-4.0 kg/mol (17.5 kg/mol total molecular weight) than that of 30.0-7.5 kg/mol (37.5 kg/mol total molecular weight). From this experimental result, it was clear that PS-PDMS with lower molecular weight forms thicker PDMS layer on the air/polymer interface of PS-PDMS film after microphase separation process. The 22-nm pitch of nanodot pattern by self-assembly holds the promise for the low-cost and high-throughput fabrication of 1.3 Tbit/inch2 storage device. Nanodot size of 12 nm also further enhances the quantum-dot effect in quantum-dot solar cell.


The civil war in Syria has culminated into major refugee crises in its neighboring countries. By the end of 2013 more than half a million people were seeking shelter in cities and refugee camps in Turkey. We analyze how the Syrian refugee influx in Turkey has affected food and housing prices, employment rates and internal migration patterns in regions of Turkey where refugees are being accommodated. Refugee camps are geographically concentrated near the Syrian border, which enables us to employ the rest of regional Turkey as control group with a difference-in-difference approach to analyze the impact on local economies. Our findings suggest that housing and to a lesser degree food prices increased, but employment rates of natives in various skill groups are largely unaffected. Incumbent natives appear to be staying put considering the limited migration out of the region, but there is a significant decline in internal migration into regions hosting refugees. Nevertheless, the decline in internal in-migration is less than a tenth of the refugee influx, implying that there is little evidence of refugees crowding out natives in local labor markets.


MR fingerprinting is a technique in which pseudorandomized acquisition parameters are used to simultaneously quantify multiple tissue properties, including T1 and T2 relaxation times. The authors evaluated the ability of MR fingerprinting–derived T1 and T2 relaxometry to differentiate the 3 common types of intra-axial brain tumors (17 glioblastomas, 6 lower grade gliomas, and 8 metastases). Using these parameters, they explored the T1 and T2 properties of peritumoral white matter in various tumor types. Mean T2 values could differentiate solid tumor regions of lowergrade gliomas from metastases and the mean T1 of peritumoral white matter surrounding lowergrade gliomas differed from peritumoral white matter around glioblastomas. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MR fingerprinting allows rapid simultaneous quantification of T1 and T2 relaxation times. This study assessed the utility of MR fingerprinting in differentiating common types of adult intra-axial brain tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR fingerprinting acquisition was performed in 31 patients with untreated intra-axial brain tumors: 17 glioblastomas, 6 World Health Organization grade II lower grade gliomas, and 8 metastases. T1, T2 of the solid tumor, immediate peritumoral white matter, and contralateral white matter were summarized within each ROI. Statistical comparisons on mean, SD, skewness, and kurtosis were performed by using the univariate Wilcoxon rank sum test across various tumor types. Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple-comparison testing. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed for discrimination between glioblastomas and metastases, and area under the receiver operator curve was calculated. RESULTS: Mean T2 values could differentiate solid tumor regions of lower grade gliomas from metastases (mean, 172 ± 53 ms, and 105 ± 27 ms, respectively; P = .004, significant after Bonferroni correction). The mean T1 of peritumoral white matter surrounding lower grade gliomas differed from peritumoral white matter around glioblastomas (mean, 1066 ± 218 ms, and 1578 ± 331 ms, respectively; P = .004, significant after Bonferroni correction). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the mean T2 of solid tumor offered the best separation between glioblastomas and metastases with an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.69–1.00; P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: MR fingerprinting allows rapid simultaneous T1 and T2 measurement in brain tumors and surrounding tissues. MR fingerprinting–based relaxometry can identify quantitative differences between solid tumor regions of lower grade gliomas and metastases and between peritumoral regions of glioblastomas and lower grade gliomas.


In this paper we survey three approaches to computing the homology of a finite dimensional compact smooth closed manifold using a Morse-Bott function and discuss relationships among the three approaches. The first approach is to perturb the function to a Morse function, the second approach is to use moduli spaces of cascades, and the third approach is to use the Morse-Bott multicomplex.
With respect to an explicit perturbation (which can be used to derived the Morse-Bott inequalities), the first two approaches yield the same chain complex up to sign. The third approach is fundamentally different. It combines singular cubical chains and Morse chains in the same multicomplex, which provides a way of interpolating between the singular cubical chain complex and the Morse-Smale-Witten chain complex.


Risk is often perceived by farmers as being more formidable in new technologies emanating from agricultural research than in more traditional practices. Consequently risk may tend to act as an impediment to adoption of improved practices as well as a general friction on efficient use of resources. Research and extension workers in agriculture may thus wish to identify technologies that are not only "improved" (more productive and profitable on the average) but are also less risky in that they would be preferred by "risk-averse" farmers. The extent to which this identification can proceed in the absence of knowledge of farmers' individual attitudes to risk is explored here through application of the concepts of stochastic dominance.


Intercellular signaling controls all steps of odontogenesis. The purpose of this work was to immunolocalize in the developing mouse molar four molecules that play major roles during odontogenesis: BMP-2, −4, FGF-4, and WNT10b. BMP-2 and BMP-4 were detected in the epithelium and mesenchyme at the bud stage. Staining for BMP-2 markedly increased at the cap stage. The relative amount of BMP-4 strongly increased from E14 to E15. At E15, BMP-4 was detected in the internal part of the enamel knot where apoptosis was intense. In contrast to TGFβ1, BMP-2 and −4 did not show accumulation at the epithelial-mesenchymal junction where the odontoblast started differentiation. When odontoblasts became functional, BMP-2 and BMP-4 were detected at the apical and basal poles of preameloblasts. BMP-2, which induces ameloblast differentiation in vitro, may also be involved physiologically. The decrease in FGF-4 from E14 to E15 supports a possible role for the growth factor in the control of mesenchymal cell proliferation. The relative amount of FGF-4 was maximal at E17. The subsequent decrease at E19 showed correlation with the withdrawal of odontoblasts and ameloblasts from the cell cycle. WNT10b might also stimulate cell proliferation. At E14-15, WNT10b was present in the mesenchyme and epithelium except for the enamel knot, where the mitotic activity was very low. At E19 there was a decreasing gradient of staining from the cervical loop where cells divide to the tip of the cusp in the inner dental epithelium where cells become postmitotic. The target cells for FGF-4 and WNT10b appeared different.


Blue-green roofs are vegetated roofs used for stormwater management purposes. With the roof serving several different purposes at the same time, the risk that any of its functions could be compromised needs to be addressed. Risks related to roof defects may present a threat to the long-term operation of a building, and could lead to waste by making defective products. This article presents an investigation to explore how the Norwegian building sector handles and manages this risk. Tender documents for green roof construction projects in the Norway are examined. Technical documents are studied to chart how the projects manage risks related to the integrity of the roofs in the tender phase. Findings suggest that risk in relation to building physics is not systematically analysed and managed in design and procurement phase of the project. Contractors are given significant control of design elements in certain common contract strategies. Risk is effectively not being managed in the early phase, with much of the risk management given to the contractors. The project owner will yield little control over decisions whose outcomes will only manifest long after the warranty period expires.


The authors discuss the modeling of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) under uncertainty and evaluate a rule base for online scheduling. To represent uncertain events in an FMS, such as failure of machine tools, repair time, and processing time, they develop continuous-time and discrete-time stochastic Petri nets with hierarchical structures for constructing the FMS model. For obtaining an efficient schedule for the FMS with an online real-time basis, they construct a rule base and evaluate its performance using the FMS simulation system proposed. >


Significant advances in imaging technology have changed the management of pancreatic cancer. In computed tomography (CT), this has included development of multidetector row, rapid, thin-section imaging that has also facilitated the advent of advanced reconstructions, which in turn has offered new perspectives from which to evaluate this disease. In magnetic resonance imaging, advances including higher field strengths, thin-section volumetric acquisitions, diffusion weighted imaging, and liver specific contrast agents have also resulted in new tools for diagnosis and staging. Endoscopic ultrasound has resulted in the ability to provide high-resolution imaging rivaling intraoperative ultrasound, along with the ability to biopsy via real time imaging suspected pancreatic lesions. Positron emission tomography with CT, while still evolving in its role, provides whole body staging as well as the unique imaging characteristic of metabolic activity to aid disease management. This article will review these modalities in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer.


Background: Immunotherapy using checkpoint blockade has demonstrated impressive, durable responses in select patients with solid malignancies. This is especially true for the blockade of programmed death 1 (PD1). Currently, efforts are focused on understanding non-response. One hypothesis is that multiple inhibitory receptors (IRs) are upregulated on hypofunctional tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and necessitates blocking multiple IRs to increase the response rate. We describe data from a unique xenograft model of human lung cancer where tumor-reactive human T cells become hypofunctional and upregulate multiple IRs including PD1 and TIM3 (T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3). Combining a single IV dose of tumor-reactive T cells with blockade of both PD1 and TIM3 led to greater control of tumor growth than combining it with blockade of either alone. Materials/Methods: The A549 human lung cancer cell line was transduced to stably express the cancer-testis antigen, NYESO1, expressed in the contact of HLA-A2 (A549-A2-ESO). 5x106 A549-A2-ESO cells were injected subcutaneously into the flanks NSG mice. Activated T cells from healthy donors were lentivirally transduced with a TCR targeting NYESO1 (Ly95). After two weeks when tumors were established and measured ~150mm3, the mice were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: 1) untreated, 2) non-transduced (NTD) T cells plus anti-PD1 and anti-TIM3 Ab, 3) Ly95 T cells, 4) Ly95 T cells + anti-PD1 Ab, 5) Ly95 T cells + anti-TIM3 Ab, 6) Ly95 T cells + anti-PD1 and anti-TIM3 Ab. T cells were injected IV at a single dose of 10x106/mouse. Abs were injected intraperitonealy (IP) at 10mg/kg every 5 days from the time of T cell injection. Tumor volumes were measured serially. At the end, the mice were sacrificed and the tumors were harvested, digested, and processed into single cell suspension. Flow cytometry was performed to look at degree of TIL infiltration and expression of surface markers. Ficoll gradient was used to isolate the T cells to conduct functional analyses. Results/Conclusion: By twenty days post T cell injection, the tumors in the Ly95 T cell group (3) were ~30% smaller than that of the untreated (1) and the NTD T cell + Ab group (2). Anti-PD1 Ab augmented Ly95 T cell control of tumor (4) (further decrease in size by ~30%) (4). Anti-TIM3 Ab had no effect on Ly95 T cell tumor control (5). Anti-PD1 plus anti-TIM3 Abs had the greatest augmentation on Ly95 T cell control of tumor size (6) (greater than 50% reduction in tumor size compared Ly95 T cells alone) The greatest TIL infiltration and ex-vivo TIL function were seen in tumors that received Ly95 T cell + anti-PD1 and anti-TIM3 Abs. Flow cytometry analysis revealed dynamic, adaptive upregulation of one IR when another IR was blocked. This explained why augmentation of Ly95 T cell control of tumor was greatest with combinatorial Ab blockade. Citation Format: Edmund Moon, Soyeon Kim, Shaun O9Brien, Naomi Saint Jean, Raluca Verona, Linda Snyder, Yangbing Zhao, Steven Albelda. Dual antibody blockade of TIM3 and PD1 on NYESO1 redirected human T cells leads to augmented control of lung cancer tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1641. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1641


In the wake of globalization, an increasing amount of firms must consider internationalization strategies to remain competitive. The strategic decision of where to expand is complex by nature. This is particularly true for retailers, and despite this being generally accepted, relatively little is in fact known about retailers ́ choice of foreign markets. Hence, this study investigates international market selection (IMS) strategies of Swedish retailers with global operations. The purpose of this study is twofold; first, to explore which criteria Swedish retailers use upon making international market selection decisions and investigate the relative importance among these criteria. Second, to assess the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers, which can be use as guidance for marketing practitioners. The research questions which will be answered are: How do Swedish international retailers select foreign markets? What are the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers? The study embraces a qualitative strategy with an exploratory research approach and a multiple case study design. Through extensive literature review, a conceptual framework is constructed, and subsequently developed, post gaining insight in practitioners' reasoning. The empirical data was gathered through interviews with managers of Swedish retailers with international presence, as well as strategy consultants who routinely work with strategy conformation for Swedish retailers. Our findings show that criteria which influence IMS decisions among Swedish retailers are quite similar among firms and can be arranged under three main categories; market attractiveness, psychic distance and internal factors. Moreover, as a result of the empirical findings, we suggest previous IMS research lack one important factor which influences the IMS decisions, namely "gut-feeling"/coincidence. The relative importance among factors proved to vary among firms. Consequently, four concepts aiming at explaining the variations were developed. The four concepts include firm size, firm objective, industry of the firm, and ownership structure. Finally, with support from respondents, we arrived at a conclusion suggesting that construction of a weighted IMS model for all types of retailers is unfeasible. However, if the scope is limited to only include firms of similar characteristics as proposed by the four concepts, such model could potentially yield solid validity.


Hysteroscopic surgery with the use of a resectoscope are currently going through major developments. They are often aimed at healthy women who consider having relatively minor surgery. Many complications can affect endometrial resection. Some metabolic complications due to the irrigating liquid have been identified recently in gynaecological surgery, and can be defined as the whole group of clinical symptoms linked to the passage of the irrigation liquid into systemic circulation. Neurological and cardiovascular disorders are due to an acute dilutional hyponatremia and to the very toxicity of glycol and/or of its metabolites. The way the irrigating liquid is resorbed has an effect on the order in which these accidents happen. The duration of the resection, its depth, as well as the intrauterine pressure are the three factors which make it easier for a clinical syndrome to appear. Whatever the mechanism responsible, the clinical and biological consequences are the same and can be more or less serious, depending on how much liquid has been resorbed: they are non-existent up to one liter, and appear between 1.5 and 2 liters. Recent studies have shown that natremia and glycinemia are closely and inversely related. By taking a number of precautions, accidents--which are relatively rare but can be very serious--could be prevented.


In our electron paramagnetic resonance studies of the effects of ionizing radiation on a range of proteins, we have drawn the important general conclusion that ejected electrons can migrate over large distances, and are trapped selectively at electron-affinic sites, whereas the electron-loss centres, or hole centres, are rapidly trapped within the polypeptide backbone of the protein by proton loss from amide nitrogen. This view seemed to be supported in particular by work on various froms of myoglobin and haemoglobin. In these studies, radiation converted FeIII centres to FeII centres, and FeO2 centres into FeO–2 centres in high yields, showing the efficiency of electron migration and specific capture. However, working with somewhat different systems, one of us clearly observed the production of FeIII centres on irradiation and hence interpreted the results in terms of long-range hole migration.Our present aim was to work together to see if we could discover some fault in one or other system that would either disprove or support the theory of rapid hole mobility.The results confirm that, for pure isolated haemoglobin, only electrons are free to migrate, and the holes are rapidly trapped by proton loss. However the conflicting results are also correct in the proper context: irradiation of red blood cells does generate FeIII centres efficiently. The results are discussed in terms of the possible presence of the FeIV state in these systems, or of some [FeIII—FeIII] dimer species which is EPR silent, but which forms [FeII—FeIII] units on electron capture, thereby giving detectable FeIII signals.


It is well documented that large manufacturing companies often draw on external knowledge and technology for process innovation. Yet, the management of knowledge and technology transfer at different stages of the innovation lifecycle has received very little scholarly attention. Previous studies in this domain only focus on buyer-supplier interaction for technology development. As a result, theory on open process innovation remains significantly underdeveloped regarding external contributions to aspects of process innovation other than technological change and by different types of external partners. This also entails a lack of discussion on openness (search breadth and depth) and the deployment of absorptive capabilities at the lifecycle stage level. The present thesis addresses these gaps through an exploratory, multiple case-study of five large manufacturing companies operating in different industries in Germany. The study develops a conceptual framework to identify key categories of inquiry and uses cross-case analysis to enable the development of four theoretical constructs that capture central mechanisms of open process innovation. Specifically, the study identifies different forms of external contributions to technological change involving different configurations of openness. The findings suggest that the motivation for interaction, the relevance of knowledge protection, and the availability of external information at any given stage determine a company's openness and therefore which contribution it obtains at that stage. In this context the study identifies different patterns for the development of enabling and core processes. Furthermore, the thesis uncovers mechanisms of indirect external contributions to organizational change and systemic impact management, which are particularly relevant when external partners lack sufficient organizational insight or internal acceptance to provide direct contributions. By investigating a broader range of external partners than previous studies the thesis also emphasizes the importance of methodological guidance by management consultants during early stages of projects with a broad scope. Linking the findings to the literature on absorptive capacity the thesis argues that it is a central managerial task to dynamically adjust the practices underlying absorptive capabilities from conceptual process planning to practical adaptation and integration efforts in order to obtain external contributions to process development and implementation. By accounting for various determinants of process innovation and open innovation, as well as the deployment of absorptive capabilities at different lifecycle stages the constructs presented in this thesis enable a more granular perspective on open process innovation than previous literature has offered and lead to several recommendations for managerial practice.


This thesis is an attempt to examine the way in which the author of the Fourth Gospel uses the books of Genesis and Exodus. After a general introduction to the way in which he uses the OT generally, Genesis is examined, and it is suggested that Jesus is seen as working a new creation and as undoing the effects of the Fall. An examination of the use made by the Evangelist of the characters of the Patriarchs follows, and a brief summary concludes the first part of the thesis. The second part deals with Exodus, and the idea that the Evangelist bases the structure of his Gospel on that of Exodus is discussed. The relationship between Jesus and Moses is examined, and then a survey is made of the way in which pieces of one-off typology are used to portray Christ. The somewhat ambivalent relationship between Jesus and Moses is explored further in an examination of the Evangelist's use of the concepts of "Wisdom" and "the Law". Such themes as "revelation", "seeing", "knowing", and "believing", which are important to both Exodus and the Fourth Gospel are discussed. Again there is a short summary, including, as previously, some attempt to explain the reasons for those parts of the books of which John appears to make no use. In a concluding chapter the point is made that the Evangelist seems to use the OT most often to portray the character and work of Jesus. His Christology appears to be based on many characters and incidents from the OT, and a brief examination is made of his Christological technique, including some suggestions for possible areas of further study.


Abstract
This study aims to explain death wish in the characterization of the main character. This research uses a descriptive analysis method with the psychology literature approach. The sources of data used were the novel Jisatsu Yotei Bi by Akiyoshi Rikako (2016) and the Indonesian translation of the novel, Scheduled Suicide Day (2017). The object of this research is a quotation in the form of narrative. The results of this study are the main character has a desire to die and it is shown by her always thinking about death and finding out in one website about ways to die that she thinks are comfortable and appropriate.

Keywords: Personality Dynamics, Death Wish, Characterization, Psychology Literature.


We propose a new adaptive filtering framework for local image registration, which compensates for the effect of local distortions/displacements without explicitly estimating a distortion/displacement field. To this effect, we formulate local image registration as a two-dimensional (2-D) system identification problem with spatially varying system parameters. We utilize a 2-D adaptive filtering framework to identify the locally varying system parameters, where a new block adaptive filtering scheme is introduced. We discuss the conditions under which the adaptive filter coefficients conform to a local displacement vector at each pixel. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed 2-D adaptive filtering framework is very successful in modeling and compensation of both local distortions, such as Stirmark attacks, and local motion, such as in the presence of a parallax field. In particular, we show that the proposed method can provide image registration to: a) enable reliable detection of watermarks following a Stirmark attack in nonblind detection scenarios, b) compensate for lens distortions, and c) align multiview images with nonparametric local motion


During the last decades, the use of bioacoustics as a non-invasive and cost-effective sampling method has greatly increased worldwide. For bats, acoustic surveys have long been known to complement traditional mist-netting, however, appropriate protocol guidelines are still lacking for tropical regions. Establishing the minimum sampling effort needed to detect ecological changes in bat assemblages (e.g., activity, composition and richness) is crucial in view of workload and project cost constraints, and because detecting such changes must be reliable enough to support effective conservation management. Using one of the most comprehensive tropical bat acoustic datasets, collected in the Amazon, we assessed the minimum survey effort required to accurately assess (1) the completeness of assemblage inventories and (2) habitat selection in fragmented forest landscapes for aerial insectivorous bats. We evaluated a combination of 20 different temporal sampling schemes, which differed regarding: (i) number of hours per night, (ii) number of nights per site and (iii) sampling only during the wet or dry season, or both. This was assessed under two different landscape scenarios: (a) in primary forest fragments embedded in a matrix of secondary forest, and (b) in the same forest fragments, but after they had been re-isolated through clearing of the secondary forest. We found that the sampling effort required to achieve 90% inventory completeness varied considerably depending on the research aim and the landscape scenario evaluated, averaging ~80 and 10 nights before and after fragment re-isolation, respectively. Recording for more than four hours per night did not result in a substantial reduction in the required number of sampling nights. Regarding the effects of habitat selection, except for assemblage composition, bat responses in terms of richness, diversity, and activity were similar across all sampling schemes after fragment re-isolation. However, before re-isolation, a minimum of four to six sampling hours per night after dusk and three to five nights of sampling per site were needed to detect significant effects that could otherwise go unnoticed. Based on our results, we propose guidelines that will aid to optimize sampling protocols for bat acoustic surveys in the Neotropics.


Trade policy change concomitant with aggressive outward orientation was a major bedrock of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) adopted by Nigeria in 1986. Trade reform has clear implications for the overall economic performance, in terms of either employment creation or destruction as well as labour reallocation. Against this backdrop, this study examined the empirical relationship between trade liberalisation and sectoral employment in Nigeria using time-series macroeconomic data from 1986 to 2008. Three key sectors of the economy covered by the study are manufacturing, agriculture and services. The study employed Ordinary Least Squares to measure the impacts of trade liberalisation on sectoral employment. The result revealed that the trade liberalisation impact on employment differed across sectors; and that trade reforms have no significant effect on sectoral employment during the period covered. The study recommended that trade liberalisation should be embedded in a coherent set of macroeconomic, structural and social policies in order to be successful in terms of employment generation. Also, active labour market policies should be put in place and underscored to facilitate adjustment to changes in production structure brought about by trade and trade reforms. Keywords : Trade liberalisation, Sectoral employment, Ordinary least squares, Serial correlation. JEL Classification: F16, J21, J23.


Introduction: Stenting of the ductus arteriosus is necessary for maintain duct dependent circulation. The ductal morphology predicts not only the technical difficulty in stenting but also the risks of restenosis necessitating reintervention.

Aim & Objectives: To retrospectively review the outcomes of ductal stenting in children via different routes, present a technique of ductal stenting via axillary artery and compare it with femoral access.
Nineteen patients with duct?dependent pulmonary circulations through a vertical ductus arteriosus were treated with stent implantation. Those patients were retrospectively included in the study. In the first nine of these cases, stent delivery was done trans venously. In the latter ten cases, we favoured the axillary artery access to the transvenous approach for stenting the vertical ductus arteriosus. Wire?target technique was used to attain access to axillary artery.
Materials & Methods: Twenty-three patients with duct dependent circulation were treated with stent implantation. These patients were included in the study retrospectively. In 19 (82%) of these patients, duct stenting was done through the femoral venous route. In 4 (18%) of the cases the axillary artery was favoured to transvenous approach for ductal stenting.
To retrospectively review the outcome of stent placement in neonates with a vertical ductus, present a technique of ductal stenting via the axillary artery and compare it to ductal stenting via the femoral venous access. The Congenital Catheterization Research Collaborative (CCRC) reviewed multicentre data from infants who underwent PDA stenting via the CA or AA approach from 2008 to 2017, and compared outcomes to those of infants undergoing PDA stenting via the femoral artery (FA) approach. Post-procedure ultrasound (US) imaging was reviewed.
Results: PDA stenting was done four cases in which axillary approach was used. All the 4 cases received prostaglandin infusion. The median age at procedure time was 12 days (range: 4- 18 days) with a median weight of 2.9 kg (range: 2.7-3.3kg). All the babies were term. 1 had pulmonary atresia intact septum, 1- complete AV canal defect with PA and unbalanced ventricles and 2 had TOF with PA. The median ductal diameter was 2.4 mm (range: 2.2-3.4mm) with median ductal length of 15 mm (range: 10-22 mm). The median procedure time was 78 minutes (range: 70- 118minutes) with median fluoroscopic time of 32 minutes (range: 26-42 minutes). Fluoroscopic time was significantly shorter in those with axillary approach.
Forty-nine infants underwent PDA stenting from the CA (n = 43) or AA (n = 6) approach, compared with 55 infants who underwent PDA stenting from the FA approach. The PDA was the sole pulmonary blood flow (PBF) source in 61% of infants in the CA/AA cohort, compared with 33% of the FA cohort (p < .01). Ductal tortuosity for CA/AA cohort was Type I (straight) in 10 (20%), Type II (one turn) in 17 (35%), and Type III (multiple turns) in 22 (45%) infants and reflected a greater degree of tortuosity when compared to the FA cohort (p < .01). In 17 infants with CA/AA approach, the "flip technique" was used, and was associated with shorter procedure times for highly tortuous PDA (Type III) patients. Rates of procedural complications were similar across access sites. Most common complications were access site injury (thrombus or bleeding) and stent malposition. No complications were specifically related to the "flip technique.
Conclusion: The axillary arterial access is an effective approach to stent the arterial duct in new-borns with duct-dependent circulation. Compared with anterograde approach via the femoral vein, positioning the wire into the vertical duct via the axillary artery is much more feasible. This increases success rates as well as shortens the duration of procedure and reduces complications. Use of CA and AA approach for PDA stenting was found to be more commonly employed in sole source PBF and highly tortuous PDAs. Procedural modifications such as the "flip technique" may lead to shorter procedure times. CA and AA approaches are associated with a similar burden of procedural or late complications. Post-procedural surveillance of the CA and AA is suggested, given the incidence of vascular findings on US.


To understand the clinical characteristics of and analyze viral genes in patients with severe pneumonia due to [H1N1]pdm09 influenza virus in Guangzhou, 2019. The clinical data of 120 inpatients with laboratory‐confirmed influenza A [H1N1]pdm09 virus from January to March 2019 were collected and analyzed. The subjects were diagnosed according to the criteria of the "Diagnosis and Treatment Program of Influenza A H1N1 (third Edition 2009)" issued by the Ministry of Health and were divided into severe and nonsevere groups. Serum samples during fever were collected for cytokine analysis, and the viral genes were analyzed after the virus cultured in MDCK cells. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software, and the results of gene sequencing were analyzed by MEGA 6 software. Among the 120 inpatients, 36 (30%) were severe and 84 (70%) were nonsevere patients. The average age of severe patients was 53.11 ± 19.94 years, the average age of nonsevere patients, at 44.03 ± 24.47 years. There was no significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the rates of moist rales and dyspnea in critically ill patients (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the white blood cell count (WBC), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), serum creatinine (sCr), procalcitonin (PCT) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) in severe patients with type A H1N1. Chest radiologic findings in severe patients showed ground glass shadows or pulmonary solid changes, and the difference was statistically significant for pulmonary fibrosis. Chronic lung disease (52.8%) and cardiovascular disease (27.8%) were independent risk factors for severe disease (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in secondary infections by Staphylococcus aureus (11.1%), pulmonary Aspergillus (22%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (16.7%) in critically ill patients (p < 0.05). Serum IL‐8 in critically ill patients was significantly higher than those in nonsevere patients and healthy controls. The origin of virus strains in severe and nonsevere patients was the same, and there was no obvious mutation in the amino acid region of the antigenic site of the HA protein, but compared with the results of gene sequencing in previous years, the mutation sites showed a trend of annual accumulation. In conclusion, there was a high risk of severe pneumonia caused by H1N1 influenza A virus in Guangzhou in spring 2019. Long‐term continuous surveillance, prevention and control of the virus should be carried out to predict its epidemiology and distribution.


Experimentally were demonstrated the difficulties overcome and the possibilities of producing a Staphylococcus-enterotoxin D antiserum of a 1:80 titer. The product was shown to be suitable for work as well as for further studies. Given are the schemes of immunizing a rabbit serving as a serum producer and those for purifying the antiserum (eliminating heterologous antibodies), its titration with a microimmunodiffusion test, etc. In this connection some problems are referred to concerning the production of the amounts necessary of enterotoxin D, its purification and toxicity for test animals, etc., that are successfully solved by the authors.


This report presents two reference architectures that can be used as architectural blueprints for applications of two different system classes. The first system class comprises applications in the field of energy management and the second one contains applications in the domain of desktop grid computing. Because applications in the scope of energy management are safety-critical and desktop grid computing applications have to cope with a variety of self-interested participants, applications of these domains have in common that they can increase their robustness and efficiency by considering the trustworthiness of participants. Therefore, the reference architectures given here are based on a middleware that provides functionality for the utilization of trust: experiences with participants can be stored and evaluated so that trust can be derived and incorporated into the applications.


Fluctuations in the input of organic matter into a deep-sea environment can be deciphered from ichnofabrics if the continuous processes of hemipelagic sedimentation and bioturbation are episodically interrupted by turbidite deposition. Below turbidites, the bioturbated zone may be preserved almost intact; the benthic food content in such frozen tiers can be interpreted from the ethology, size, penetration depth, and density of trace fossils. Especially high benthic food content is characterized by (1) dark sediment color, (2) complete bioturbation, (3) high density of burrows produced near-surface in several levels, (4) rarity or absence of graphoglyptids, and (5) deep tiers completely bioturbated by feeding burrows having an open connection to the surface. Oxygen-deficiency can be eliminated as a reason for the black color of the sediment; the size, diversity, and penetration depth of the trace fossils are similar to that of modern and fossil counterparts formed under well-oxygenated settings that are not restricted in benthic food. An increase in sedimentation rate enhances the burial of benthic food and is indicated by the downward extension of the bioturbated zone and by increasing burrow density. Our analysis suggests that several other black shale occurrences may result from increased organic matter input rather than from water-column anoxia due to sluggish circulation. Our model is supported by similarities with other deposits that contain many frozen tiers.


The Polo kinase is an essential regulator of cell division. Its ability to regulate multiple events at distinct subcellular locations and times during mitosis is remarkable. In the last few years, a much clearer mechanistic understanding of the functions and regulation of Polo in cell division has emerged. In this regard, the importance of coupling changes in activity with changes in localization is striking, both for Polo itself and for its upstream regulators. This review brings together several new pieces of the puzzle that are gradually revealing how Polo is regulated, in space and time, to enable its functions in the early stages of mitosis in animal cells. As a result, a unified view of how mitotic entry is spatio-temporally regulated is emerging.


This study was done to describe the association between source of drinking water and other potential risk factors with dental fluorosis. Prevalence of dental fluorosis among 518 14-year-old students in the south of Sri Lanka was 43.2%. The drinking water sources of the students were described and fluoride samples were taken. There was a strong association between water fluoride level and prevalence of fluorosis. Tea drinking before 7 years of age was also an independent risk factor in a multivariate analysis. Having been fed with formula bottle milk as an infant seemed to increase the risk although the effect was not statistically significant. No clear effects could be found for using fluoridated toothpaste, occupation of the father, and socio-economic status. Drinking water obtained from surface water sources had lower fluoride levels (median 0.22 mg l−1) than water from deep tube wells (median 0.80 mg l−1). Most families used shallow dug wells and these had a median fluoride value of 0.48 mg l−1 but with a wide range from 0.09 to 5.90 mg l−1. Shallow wells located close to irrigation canals or other surface water had lower fluoride values than wells located further away. Fluoride levels have to be taken into account when planning drinking water projects. From the point of view of prevention of dental fluorosis, drinking water from surface sources or from shallow wells located close to surface water would be preferable.


Objective The cannabinoids affect gastrointestinal function and are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We hypothesized that genetic variants of the cannabinoid receptor 1 gene (CNR1) might be associated with IBS. Methods One hundred sixty-two IBS patients, who met the Rome II criteria, and 423 healthy controls were subjected to genotyping of polymorphic triplet AAT repeats located in the 3-flanking region of the CNR1 gene. Results Allele frequencies of AAT triplet repeats in the CNR1 gene differed markedly between the controls and IBS patients (P<0.01). Controls had a lower frequency of distribution of 10 alleles or more. We divided the alleles into 2 groups (⩽10 and >10), and 3 genotypes ⩽10/⩽10, heterozygote, and >10/>10. The CNR1 having>10/>10 AAT triplet repeats occurred with greater frequency in IBS patients than in the controls (P<0.01). A strong genotype association was observed between the CNR1 >10/>10 genotype and all IBS subtypes compared with controls (P<0.01 for each). The allele frequencies and the CNR1 genotypes did not differ between the 3 IBS subtypes. Symptom scores for abdominal discomfort or pain were higher in patients with the CNR1 >10/>10 genotype than in patients with the other genotypes (P<0.05). Conclusions We found a different distribution of allelic frequency of AAT repeats in the CNR1 gene in healthy controls and IBS patients, and a significant association between the CNR1 >10/>10 genotype and IBS. These results suggest that the CNR1 gene is a potential candidate gene involved in IBS in Korea.


Studying social impact games can result in many outcomes, such as awareness or action around a social issue. Research can help inform best practices for the design process, strategies for reaching players, game mechanics for aligning with social impact outcomes, and methods for identifying the impact of the game on players and the wider community. One such research project is Survivance (http://www.survivance.org)—a social impact game that addresses healing from intergenerational historical trauma experienced by Indigenous communities. Survivance was designed collaboratively with Indigenous game designer/researcher Elizabeth LaPensee and the non-profit organization Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. This paper seeks to contextualize the area of social impact games within the Games for Change movement, compare perspectives on social impact games, and create connections and comparisons with Survivance.


Receiver function (RF) imaging is an important tool in the investigation of the crust (e.g., Burdick and Langston, 1977; Langston, 1979; Owens et al. , 1984; Owens and Crosson, 1988; Zhang and Langston, 1995) and upper mantle (Vinnik, 1977; Gurrola et al. , 1994). The P ‐to‐ S conversion ( Ps ) from the Moho is typically one of the most prominent phases on P ‐wave RFs. Estimates of the depth and thickness of the Moho (e.g., Grad and Tiira, 2012) and V P / V S ratio of the crust are important goals of many RF investigations (Zhu and Kanamori, 2000). In addition, S ‐to‐ P conversions ( Sp ) on S ‐wave RFs have been used to image the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (e.g., Rychert et al. , 2005, 2007; Abt et al. , 2010; Kumar et al. , 2012). Although 2D and 3D imaging of the upper mantle and crust using common conversion point (CCP) stacking of RFs produced from data recorded by dense seismic arrays (e.g., Dueker and Sheehan, 1997; Simmons and Gurrola, 2000; Hansen et al. , 2013) are more powerful tools than 1D imaging, few areas exist with dense enough arrays for such processing. Single‐station RF interpretation is, therefore, still very important in most regions to image the crustal and upper‐mantle discontinuities. Array processing of both single‐ and three‐component seismic data is known to improve the quality of RFs (Langston and Hammer, 2001). Here, we present the results of using array processing applied to a small, mixed network of vertical and horizontal single‐component seismic stations with a relatively short deployment to produce a single RF. We will refer to an array of mixed vertical and horizontal …


Selecting an appropriate LOD threshold is of great interest in QTL mapping studies. Many approaches can be consid- ered to calculate the critical value throughout a genome, such as simulation-based method, analytical approximation, and empiri- cal method based on permutation test. Many tests are conducted in QTL mapping, which are not mutually independent because the linkage relationship of adjacent markers on chromosomes. In order to declare a significant QTL at a genome-wide significance level, it is necessary to understand the behavior of test statistic under null hypothesis in QTL mapping and to deal with the de- pendent multiple-test problem arising in the genome-wide test. Our objectives in this study were (1) to investigate the properties of LRT (likelihood ratio test) statistic of one-point scanning under null hypothesis in QTL mapping, (2) to determine the factors affecting the cumulative distribution of maximum LOD score, and (3) to identify the relationship between the effective number of independent tests and the length of chromosome by simulation method. Results indicated that the LRT test statistic in one-dimensional scanning of additive-dominant QTL and two-dimensional scanning of epistatic QTL followed chi-square distri- butions, and the degree of freedom (df) was equal to the number of genetic parameters to be estimated. For example, degree of freedom in recombinant inbred lines (RIL) population was equal to 1 in one dimensional or two dimensional scanning. Degree of freedom in F2 populations was equal to 2 in one-dimensional scanning and 4 in two-dimensional scanning. Number of chromo- some, population size and phenotyping error variance did not have any effect on the distribution of LRT under null hypothesis, and therefore will not affect the selection of LOD threshold. On the contrary, population type, genome size and marker density had significant impacts. For BC1, RIL, and F2 populations, the threshold was the smallest in BC1 population and the highest in F2 population. Higher marker density and longer chromosome resulted in higher LOD threshold. It was identified that the effective


Study showed that El-Tor strains of V. cholerae isolated from different sources produce lipase for hemolysis after cultivation during 24 h on meat-peptone broth independently from their toxigenic and hemolytic abilities. Study of 3- and 4-hours broth cultures of vibrios revealed possibility to differentiate between hemolytic nontoxigenic strains and toxigenic nonhemolytic ones. Using antilipaze diagnostic kit it was possible to differentiate El-Tor vibrios from vibrios of classic biovar basing on lipase production 24 h after cultivation on meat-peptone broth that was evident in El-Tor vibrios but not in classic biovar strains.


The ever-increasing test data volume for core-based system-on-chip (SOC) integrated circuits is resulting in high test times and excessive tester memory requirements. To reduce both test time and test data volume, we propose a technique for test-architecture optimization and test scheduling that is based on core-level expansion of compressed test patterns. For each wrapped embedded core and its decompressor, we show that the test time does not decrease monotonically with the width of test access mechanism (TAM) at the decompressor input. We optimize the wrapper and decompressor designs for each core, as well as the TAM architecture and the test schedule at the SOC level. Experimental results for SOCs crafted from several industrial cores demonstrate that the proposed method leads to significant reduction in test data volume and test time, especially when compared to a method that does not rely on core-level decompression of patterns.


In what ways can creativity be used to discover what young people with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties think of the multi-agency services they receive?

The research investigates the effectiveness of using creativity as a catalyst for successful consultation with young people with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. The aims of the research were to explore what the sample group thought of the integrated workings of the multi-agency services they received. The sample group consisted of eight young people from CYCES and the research encompassed the following areas: boundaries and clarity of purpose; confidentiality and organizational limitations; and informed consent. CYCES is a service delivered and maintained by The Together Trust and is for eight to 16 year olds with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The Together Trust is a charitable organization (established in 1870) that schools and homes young people in the care service. Each pupil received a pack of toy soldiers. One soldier represented the pupil and the rest represented the professional adults involved in their lives, both past and present. They were asked to choose which soldiers they felt were on their side and which were not. They were then asked to discuss their choices. Film was used as my method of recording and presenting data and involved recording the sessions with the young people and analysing the information obtained.

The research discovered several important findings:
• Having a physical representation of services allowed pupils to make and challenge connections in a way conversation alone would not.
• There is a need for appropriate youth activities and recreational services for young people.

The integration of home and school services at CYCES is successful. Giving young people responsibility for other young people promotes greater understanding and betterment of children's services. In times of change, children need services the most.


The Oman ophiolite is the largest and best preserved ophiolite in the world and records a switch from mid-ocean ridge (MOR) to supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting. This study investigates the geochemical variability of chrome-spinel in the mantle sequence of the poorly known United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) part of the northern Oman-U.A.E. ophiolite. Extensive field work was carried out and 260 samples collected for petrogenetic studies and geochemical mapping of the U.A.E. mantle. Chrome-spinel geochemistry provides valuable information on bom the residual mantle and on the nature and extent of melt-rock reaction. In particular, it is used to fingerprint the compositions of the magmas that interacted with the mantle lithosphere. This study also develops a new method to analyse gallium in chrome-spinel by Laser Ablation-ICP-MS, and successfully uses it to improve the tectonic discrimination of chrome-spinel. The results show that the U.A.E. mantle lithosphere formed at a MOR-type setting and was modified by melt-rock reaction with MORB-type and SSZ-type melts. This history of melt infiltration strongly resembles the magmatic history of the crustal sequence in each of the Aswad and Khawr Fakkan Blocks. Geochemical mapping illustrates a strong spatial control on the pattern of melt infiltration in the mantle and constrains the proximity of each mantle domain with respect to the subduction zone. The Khawr Fakkan mantle extensively interacted with boninitic melts during subduction initiation. Thus, it was closer to the subduction zone than the Aswad mantle which predominantly interacted with island-arc tholeiite melts. Importantly, this work demonstrates for the first time that the Dibba Zone peridotites originate from pre-existing 'true' MOR mantle lithosphere between the trench and the main body of the ophiolite. A further important conclusion is that the mantle lithosphere of the northern Oman-U.A.E. ophiolite was not the source region for the SSZ magmatism. Previous workers proposed that the plane of detachment and the subduction zone were the same, which implies that the mantle of the ophiolite was the source of the SSZ magmatism. Instead, this study proposes that detachment of the ophiolite took place at a shallower level than the plane of the subduction zone and thus provides strong evidence for a subduction zone at a still deeper level. During detachment, the ophiolite incorporated slices of ultramafic rock near the trench (i.e. the Dibba Zone peridotites) as it bulldozed its way over the underlying plate and onto the continental margin of Arabia.


High entropy alloys are multicomponent alloys, which consist of five or more elements in equiatomic or nearly equiatomic concentrations. These materials are hypothesized to show significantly decreased self-diffusivities. For the first time, diffusion of all constituent elements in equiatomic CoCrFeNi and CoCrFeMnNi single crystals and additionally solute diffusion of Mn in the quaternary alloy is investigated using the radiotracer technique, thereby the tracer diffusion coefficients of ^57Co, ^51Cr, ^59Fe, ^54Mn, and ^63Ni are determined at a temperature of 1373 K. The components are characterized by significantly different diffusion rates, with Mn being the fastest element and Ni and Co being the slowest ones. Furthermore, solute diffusion of Cu in the CoCrFeNi single crystal is investigated in the temperature range of 973–1173 K using the ^64Cu isotope. In the quaternary alloy, Cu is found to be a fast diffuser at the moderate temperatures below 1273 K and its diffusion rate follows the Arrhenius law with an activation enthalpy of about 149 kJ/mol.


The mechanics of Athenian society in many ways empowered citizen women as essential components of their community. This reality, being at odds with Athens' pervasive patriarchal ideology, was obscured by men anxious to affirm the status quo, but also by women who sought to represent themselves as 'ideal' examples of their sex. Using the votive offerings dedicated by women to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis in the Archaic and Classical periods as a basis, this thesis explores such tensions between the implicit value of Athenian women, which prompted them to engage meaningfully with their wider community, and the ideological edict for their invisibility. This discussion is based primarily on two points: firstly, that the naming of a male family member in votive inscriptions denotes female citizen status, thus articulating citizen women's independent value and prestige within the polis; and secondly that the ubiquity of working women among the dedicators, and value of the offerings themselves, reveals women as controlling financial resources to a more significant extent than other sources would have us believe. In both cases, the actual value and authority of the female dedicators is concealed as the women aimed for a perception of conspicuous invisibility to legitimise their engagement with the public sphere.


Protection against Escherichia coli inoculated intraperitoneally into mice was enhanced by intraperitoneal, intravenous, or subcutaneous administration of a water-soluble, high-molecular-weight fraction extracted from a dialyzed hot-water extract from a strain of Chlorella vulgaris (CVE-A). The enhancing effect was detected with doses over 2.0 mg/kg and when doses were administered 1, 4, or 7 days before the infection. The elimination of bacteria from the spleen of CVE-A-treated mice was increased, and this enhanced elimination may have been related to the acceleration of superoxide generation and chemokinesis in polymorphonuclear leucocytes by CVE-A treatment. A cyclophosphamide-induced decrease in protection against E. coli could be prevented by subcutaneous administration of CVE-A.


This paper offers a fresh insight into the performance and reform opportunities of the formal health system of Papua New Guinea. A central tenant of this paper is that the historically imposed and continuing top-down nature of the formal health system in PNG is not capitalizing on potentially positive incentives and motivations inherent in the broad range of non-formal institutions that frame the PNG health system. The paper suggests that an enhanced understanding of these non-formal institutions may provide clues for how the formal system could be reconfigured to better align with the non-formal. The opportunity offered by this approach is to leverage the energy, motivation and legitimacy inherent in non-formal institutions to better buttress or infuse the formal health system. The paper draws on an emerging body of development thinking that recognizes that development depends on institutions that are stable, fair, legitimate and flexible enough to reflect political pressures; and that in turn, these kinds of institutions are the product of the interplay of formal and informal institutions. In particular, this theory argues it is when informal institutions are 'complementary' to formal institutions that institutions are likely to be most effective. In these situations informal institutions support the formal institution through 'filling in gaps' either by addressing contingencies not dealt with in the formal rules and/or by facilitating or creating incentives for individuals to pursue the goals of formal institutions. The paper analyses the PNG health system through the lens of this non-formal institutional framework. This analysis, based on secondary data, suggests: Historically, the formal PNG health system was introduced as part of the broader process of colonial administration which, in combination with a number of contemporary ideological forces, allowed little or no space for indigenous negotiation, contestation, or engagement on the form of the PNG health system, or the nature of care within that system. This legacy of top-down planning and delivery in the formal health services of PNG continues, in a modified form, to the present. There is a rich, vibrant matrix of local, intersecting non-formal institutions of relevance to health in PNG – non-formal institutions that are characterized by strong and deep engagement and contestation around health and illness issues. The formal health system is not optimally leveraging the motivation, energy and legitimacy inherent in these non-formal institutions. Some elements of the non-formal institutions in PNG that, prima facie would appear to be potentially complementary to health service development include: Local leadership keen to capitalize on the perceived 'modernizing' political benefits of western health services; communities seeking to locate health workers, and health facilities more broadly, within local social relationships – relationships that coincide with understood social obligations; space for local negotiation around appropriate level/form of user fees – with a considerable degree of intra-family subsidization, group based risk sharing, and exemptions for the poor a high degree of patient autonomy – with health seeking behavior influenced by a social understanding of the cause and appropriate treatment of illness; a very strong tendency to locate ill-health in ruptured social relations - which require a range of collective actions to remedy; the potential for the associational value of provider associations to provide a source of constraint on health worker behavior that is not evident from government; a vibrant (if diverse) range of traditional health systems that remain common and valued healing resorts for many Papua New Guineans, and which have shown a relative degree of openness to western healing; a rich tapestry of community and clan based organizations that are actively engaged in solving local collective action problems, including health improvement activities. The paper argues there is no blueprint for how an awareness of non-formal institutions could be incorporated into possible institutional re-design/reform of the PNG health system. However it does conclude with a number of general pointers to guide possible action. These include: The critical importance of looking beyond the facade of the formal organizational and institutional arrangements of the health sector to make visible the non-formal institutions that surround and shape the formal. The need for deeper and more meaningful structures of engagement/ involvement of the PNG populace in the form, financing, delivery and performance of the PNG health system. The need to understand better the scale, motivation and practices of local, village based private health resources. The opportunity to build more dispersed mechanisms of sector regulation – including community monitoring of services, and competition between providers based on reputation and accreditation. A more concentrated focus on how traditional and formal health services can co-exist and, over time, integrate to create new or 'hybrid' institutions. A possible larger role for provider associations as organizational actors in the planning, development, management and regulation of PNG health services than is currently the case.