Named entity recognition (NER) is an important task that aims to resolve universal categories of named entities, e.g., persons, locations, organizations, and times. Despite its common and viable use in many use cases, NER is barely applicable in domains where general categories are suboptimal, such as engineering or medicine. To facilitate NER of domain-specific types, we propose ANEA, an automated (named) entity annotator to assist human annotators in creating domain-specific NER corpora for German text collections when given a set of domain-specific texts. In our evaluation, we find that ANEA automatically identifies terms that best represent the texts' content, identifies groups of coherent terms, and extracts and assigns descriptive labels to these groups, i.e., annotates text datasets into the domain (named) entities.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have been proposed to have chemopreventative effects on colorectal cancer (CRC), although data are needed from population-based studies. We performed a nationwide cohort study to investigate the association between use of PDE5 inhibitors and risk of CRC in men with benign colorectal neoplasms.

METHODS
We identified men who received a diagnosis of benign colorectal neoplasm from July 2005 through March 2015 that were listed in the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register. We linked data with those from other national Swedish registers to obtain information about prescription of PDE5 inhibitors and CRC diagnoses. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs.

RESULTS
A total of 4823 patients were prescribed with PDE5 inhibitors during the study period; the incidence rate of CRC was 2.64 per 1000 person-years for men prescribed PDE5 inhibitors compared to 4.46 per 1000 person-years for men without a prescription. We found a significant negative association between PDE5 inhibitor use and risk of CRC (adjusted HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.49-0.85); the decreased risk of CRC was associated with an increased cumulative dose of PDE5 inhibitors (P=.003). PDE5 prescription was associated with greater reduction in risk for advanced-stage CRC (adjusted HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37-1.00) than early-stage CRC (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98), but the difference was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS
In a nationwide population-based study of men with a diagnosis of benign colorectal neoplasm in Sweden, we found evidence that use of PDE5 inhibitors associates with a reduced risk of CRC. Further studies are needed to confirm the observed association.


Understanding the fundamental mechanism behind the success of deep neural networks is one of the key challenges in the modern machine learning literature. Despite numerous attempts, a solid theoretical analysis is yet to be developed. In this paper, we develop a novel unified framework to reveal a hidden regularization mechanism through the lens of convex optimization. We first show that the training of multiple three-layer ReLU sub-networks with weight decay regularization can be equivalently cast as a convex optimization problem in a higher dimensional space, where sparsity is enforced via a group $\ell_1$-norm regularization. Consequently, ReLU networks can be interpreted as high dimensional feature selection methods. More importantly, we then prove that the equivalent convex problem can be globally optimized by a standard convex optimization solver with a polynomial-time complexity with respect to the number of samples and data dimension when the width of the network is fixed. Finally, we numerically validate our theoretical results via experiments involving both synthetic and real datasets.


The aim of this study was to assess risk factors for low back injury requiring medical advice or treatment among Iowa farmers. Although farmers are at risk for low back injury, few studies have addressed risk factors for farm work-related low back injury. We screened 6999 participants in the Iowa portion of the Agricultural Health Study to identify 49 male farmers who reported farm work-related low back injury requiring medical advice or treatment in the previous year. We compared them with 465 uninjured male farmer controls. Multivariable modeling identified four risk factors significantly associated with low back injury: age less than 45 years (OR = 3.32; 95% CI 1.75–6.20), doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR = 4.26; 95% CI 1.49–12.10), education beyond high school (OR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.13–3.90), and difficulty hearing normal conversation (even with a hearing aid, in the case of those using one) (OR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.02–3.80). Although hearing difficulty may be a general risk factor for occupational injury, asthma may be a more specific risk factor for low back injury. Future research to assess the risk factors, asthma and difficulty hearing, may be particularly important, since farmers are at increased risk for hearing loss, and farmers come into contact with many inhaled agents that can cause asthma.


Management of the patient's airway during sedation preferably includes not only a dependable passageway for gas exchange, but also a reliable way to deliver oxygen and measure expired carbon dioxide. The Connell airway is a newly described modification of the nasopharyngeal airway that provides a conduit for gas exchange and 2 additional channels: 1 for the administration of oxygen and the second for monitoring of expired gases. We studied 10 sedated patients who had a Connell airway placed orally to support their airway during their procedure. Although minor difficulties were noted with early use of the device, subsequent experience demonstrated good performance of the device for airway support and oxygen delivery, easy observation of the end-tidal carbon dioxide waveform, and few minor complications. We believe that the Connell airway is a feasible airway design that could have use in the management of a patient's airway during sedation and that it warrants further investigation.


We examine the consequences on older workers activity of the 2010 French pension reform that increased the legal age of retirement from 60 to 62 years. Globally, the activity rate of workers affected by the reform is by 19 to 22 percentage points higher than that of workers of the same age but belonging to generations not affected by the reform. This result is consistent with an ex-ante evaluation using the microsimulation model Destinie managed by the Insee. Moreover, microsimulation allows to first quantify and then sweep out possible interactions between the reform on ages and the other ongoing reforms: the increase in the qualifying period for full pension on the one hand and the so-called long careers reform on the other hand, which allows people with sufficient years of service to retire earlier than the legal age with full pension. The declining number of pensioners at ages affected by the reform results in a higher employment rate for older workers, but also raises unemployment and, to a lesser extent, inactivity (other than retirement).


Basic theories on doctor-patient communication as taught in the course on human behaviour to third-year medical students at the University of Cape Town are outlined, and it is shown how these are understood and used by medical students early in their clinical training. It is on these foundations that the later training in psychiatric interviewing and therapeutic intervention is based. The goal is to train the doctors of tomorrow to care for patients with physical and psychological distress equally effectively.


This guide covers all areas of philosophy including biographies of philosophers and their areas of interest: logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and social and political philosophy.


The purpose of this study is reviewing the relationship between manufacturer product strategies with supply chain inventory a Iran Company. For this purpose the relationship between manufacturer product strategies with hierarchical structure and flexibility manufacturing strategies with supply chain inventory were investigated. This study is of applied and survey type. The statistical society used in this research include, marketing managers, production and financial managers and industry engineers that work in Company. The number of mangers mentioned above is 25 that were chosen as our statistical society. The capacity of sample statistic is equal of 20 that, is selected by class accidental sampling. The method of gathering of information in this research is questionnaire. Also designed on the basis of 5 selections Likert scale. The Alpha was equal  =0.855 and it has enough credit. In this research the relationship between manufacturer product strategies and supply chain inventory collection from among the scholars in different parts of the industry who are working in production management, financial management, industrial management and marketing departments of different firms and the case sample comprised warehouse suppliers' chain of the firms. The hypotheses of this research are analysed by Chi-square test and variance analysis (ANOVA) of statistic exam. The results of research show that there is no relationship between the manufacturer product strategies and hierarchical structure but there is a relationship between supply chain inventory and hierarchical structure. Similarly, there is a relationship between flexible manufacturing strategies and supply chain inventory.


BACKGROUND
Although pain is a common complaint among patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs), there is a dearth of nursing literature about barriers to pain management.

PURPOSE
The study aimed to uncover and understand barriers to pain management in the ED from the registered nurse (RN) perspective.

METHODS
Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 ED nurses in a Jordanian hospital. Data were collected throughout August 2016.

RESULTS
Two broad categories with subcategories emerged. The first category describes the idea of types of patient, which included three particular groups. These were patients who are violent, patients with relatives who are, and patients with expectations of care that nurses view as unrealistic. The second category describes the taxing ED environment, with two subcategories of staff shortages and physician dominance of pain management. Nurses reported feeling as if they are the victims of external factors and perceived that barriers affected teamwork and led to distress which impairs pain management.

CONCLUSIONS
The role of ED nurses in pain management is multifaceted. Therefore, implementing policies to overcome barriers such as violence among ED attenders and the perceived hostility of the ED environment through mandatory security systems, and continuing nursing education including for violence prevention may be beneficial.


A major concern when incorporating large sets of diverse n-gram features for sentiment classification is the presence of noisy, irrelevant, and redundant attributes. These concerns can often make it difficult to harness the augmented discriminatory potential of extended feature sets. We propose a rule-based multivariate text feature selection method called Feature Relation Network (FRN) that considers semantic information and also leverages the syntactic relationships between n-gram features. FRN is intended to efficiently enable the inclusion of extended sets of heterogeneous n-gram features for enhanced sentiment classification. Experiments were conducted on three online review testbeds in comparison with methods used in prior sentiment classification research. FRN outperformed the comparison univariate, multivariate, and hybrid feature selection methods; it was able to select attributes resulting in significantly better classification accuracy irrespective of the feature subset sizes. Furthermore, by incorporating syntactic information about n-gram relations, FRN is able to select features in a more computationally efficient manner than many multivariate and hybrid techniques.


As intelligent agents become autonomous over longer periods of time, they may eventually become lifelong counterparts to specific people. If so, it may be common for a user to want the agent to master a task temporarily but later on to forget the task due to privacy concerns. However enabling an agent to \emph{forget privately} what the user specified without degrading the rest of the learned knowledge is a challenging problem. With the aim of addressing this challenge, this paper formalizes this continual learning and private unlearning (CLPU) problem. The paper further introduces a straightforward but exactly private solution, CLPU-DER++, as the first step towards solving the CLPU problem, along with a set of carefully designed benchmark problems to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The code is available at https://github.com/Cranial-XIX/Continual-Learning-Private-Unlearning.


Background and objectives:Ornithogalum procerum Stapf. (Family: Liliaceae) is an Iranian medicinal plant found mainly in the east Azarbaiijan province of Iran. As part of our ongoing phytochemical and bioactivity studies on medicinal plants from Iranian flora, various extracts and essential oils of this plant were analysed by GC-MS. Methods: The hydrodistillation of the ground aerial parts of O. procerum, Soxhletextraction of the dried and ground bulbs, and the hydrolysis of the methanol extract of the bulbs yielded, the essential oils, n-hexane extrcat and the hydrolysed methanolic extract respectively, which were analysed by the GC-MS. Results:A total of 23 compounds were identified from the essential oils of the the aerial parts. The identified compounds represented 70.27% of the total essential oils. The main components of the aerial parts were phenylacetaldehyde (7.57%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (8.13%), docosan (5.52%) and 5-methyl octadecane (4.63%). From the n-hexan extract of the bulbs, seven hydrocarbons representing 99.39% of the total extract, were identified. Finally, from the hydrolyzed methanolic extract of the bulbs, four polysteroltype compounds accounting for 59.81% of the extract, were detected. Conclusion: The GC-MS analyses reavealed that the essential oils are mainly composed of oxygenated hydrocarbons, the n-hexane extract contains predominatly hydrocarbons, and the hydrolyzed methanolic extract comprises polysterol-type compounds.


Background: concomitant use of herbal products with commonly prescribed conventional medications has been associated with higher risks of adverse effects. Allium sativum L. (garlic) has long been used both for flavoring and for medicinal purposes in many cultures but many serious concerns over surgery or contraindications with anticlotting medications such as warfarin are expressed in the medical arena. Objectives: to evaluate the antihaemostatic effect resulting from the combination of Allium sativum and warfarin in Wistar rats. Methods: 22.5 % A. sativum ethanol extract was obtained from fresh A. sativum cloves and the phytochemical screening was done. Twelve Wistar rats were divided into four groups, one control and three experimental. A single oral warfarin dose (3 mg/kg) was administered to one experimental group. The other two groups received orally A. sativum ethanol extract (10 mg/kg) once daily for 11 days, and a single dose of warfarin (3 mg/kg) was added to one of them the last day of the study. The clotting time and clot retraction were determined to assess the hemostatic functions on the study groups. The mean differences were calculated and P value less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: fats and oils, terpenoids, reducing sugars, and tannins were present in the A. sativum ethanol extract. The clotting time was significantly delayed in the experimental groups which received A. sativum and the combination of A. sativum and warfarin. The clot retraction was poor in the group treated with the combination of the drugs studied. Conclusions: a. sativum oils may be responsible for the antihaemostatic effects found which can be potentiated by its additive interaction with warfarin increasing the risk of bleeding complications when both drugs are used concomitantly.


Machine learning, including neural network techniques, have been applied to virtually every domain in natural language processing. One problem that has been somewhat resistant to effective machine learning solutions is text normalization for speech applications such as text-to-speech synthesis (TTS). In this application, one must decide, for example, that 123 is verbalized as one hundred twenty three in 123 pages but as one twenty three in 123 King Ave. For this task, state-of-the-art industrial systems depend heavily on hand-written language-specific grammars.We propose neural network models that treat text normalization for TTS as a sequence-to-sequence problem, in which the input is a text token in context, and the output is the verbalization of that token. We find that the most effective model, in accuracy and efficiency, is one where the sentential context is computed once and the results of that computation are combined with the computation of each token in sequence to compute the verbalization. This model allows for a great deal of flexibility in terms of representing the context, and also allows us to integrate tagging and segmentation into the process.These models perform very well overall, but occasionally they will predict wildly inappropriate verbalizations, such as reading 3 cm as three kilometers. Although rare, such verbalizations are a major issue for TTS applications. We thus use finite-state covering grammars to guide the neural models, either during training and decoding, or just during decoding, away from such "unrecoverable" errors. Such grammars can largely be learned from data.


Brassica oleracea and Arabidopsis thaliana belong to the Brassicaceae(Cruciferae) family and diverged 16 to 19 million years ago. Although the genome size of B. oleracea (∼600 million base pairs) is more than four times that of A. thaliana (∼130 million base pairs), their gene content is believed to be very similar with more than 85% sequence identity in the coding region. Therefore, this important difference in genome size is likely to reflect a different rate of non-coding DNA accumulation. Transposable elements (TEs) constitute a major fraction of non-coding DNA in plant species. A different rate in TE accumulation between two closely related species can result in significant genome size variations in a short evolutionary period. Short interspersed elements (SINEs) are non-autonomous retroposons that have invaded the genome of most eukaryote species. Several SINE families are present in B. oleracea and A. thaliana and we found that two of them (called RathE1 and RathE2) are present in both species. In this study, the tempo of evolution of RathE1 and RathE2 SINE families in both species was compared. We observed that most B. oleracea RathE2 SINEs are "young" (close to the consensus sequence) and abundant while elements from this family are more degenerated and much less abundant in A. thaliana. However, the situation is different for the RathE1 SINE family for which the youngest elements are found in A. thaliana. Surprisingly, no SINE was found to occupy the same (orthologous) genomic locus in both species suggesting that either these SINE families were not amplified at a significant rate in the common ancestor of the two species or that older elements were lost and only the recent (lineage-specific) insertions remain. To test this latter hypothesis, loci containing a recently inserted SINE in the A. thaliana col-0 ecotype were selected and characterized in several other A. thaliana ecotypes. In addition to the expected SINE containing allele and the pre-integrative allele (i.e. the "empty" allele), we observed in the different ecotypes, alleles with truncated portions of the SINE (up to the complete loss of the element) and of the immediate genomic flanking sequences. The absence of SINEs in orthologous positions between B. oleracea and A. thaliana and the presence in recently diverged A. thaliana ecotypes of alleles containing severely truncated SINEs suggest a very high rate of SINE loss in these species.


Abstract Ramor 500 steel plates are used as a ballistic material due to their greater hardness and strength properties. This steel can be produced with a 2-30 mm thickness sheet which may attain 505-590 HV hardness. In the present work, Ramor 500 steel pairs are joined using a submerged arc welding (SAW) process and taking various parameters into consideration. An austenitic additional wire is used for the welding process which contains Cr, Ni, and Mn. The source model prototype was developed using ANSYS software and considering a time-dependent three dimensional thermal model with source cooling. The highest tensile stress voltage value was determined in the sample applying a constant current of 250 A, 25 V and 30 cm × min-1welding speed. It was observed that the welding seam width increases as welding tension grows and that welding height and depth increase and decrease more or less in tandem. A ANSYS thermal cooling analysis revealed that welding tension grows with heat transfer which increases 15 mm from the main center of the welding area.


Hate speech is commonly defined as any communication that disparages a target group of people based on some characteristic such as race, colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic. Due to the massive rise of user-generated web content on social media, the amount of hate speech is also steadily increasing. Over the past years, interest in online hate speech detection and, particularly, the automation of this task has continuously grown, along with the societal impact of the phenomenon. This paper describes a hate speech dataset composed of thousands of sentences manually labelled as containing hate speech or not. The sentences have been extracted from Stormfront, a white supremacist forum. A custom annotation tool has been developed to carry out the manual labelling task which, among other things, allows the annotators to choose whether to read the context of a sentence before labelling it. The paper also provides a thoughtful qualitative and quantitative study of the resulting dataset and several baseline experiments with different classification models. The dataset is publicly available.


In order to continue building a common body of knowledge, landscape architecture researchers and practitioners must refer to the same fundamental concepts – particularly in those instances where different words are used to describe them. This paper puts the focus on 'landscape', probably the most important and, at the same time, most ambiguous of landscape architecture's concepts. The emergence and implementation of the European Landscape Convention, ELC, has given rise to new discourses on 'landscape'. Customarily, such discussions employ only one word, landscape, thus assuming a predominantly 'Western View'. But there exist, even within Europe, several different connotations of 'landscape' and also different words to express these. How great the variety of such connotations might possibly be, and how many words are in use, world-wide, to describe 'landscape concepts' we have only just begun to grasp. This paper aspires to remind landscape architects of the richness that exists in the many different cultural concepts that relate to what we simply call 'landscape', suggesting that there is much work to be done for landscape architects to learn from each other and to 'come to terms' about their terms. In doing so, this paper suggests for landscape architecture to go beyond approaches that emphasise the physical and especially those that reduces landscape to measurable things. Landscape is also part of political, economic, social, cultural concepts, and it would be important to make use of their notions of landscape. Such notions help placing the emphasis on what people perceive and give value to in their surroundings, and how such perception might relate to common interest, to collective identity, and other concepts. By including the public's views into the landscape discourse, there might be richness much greater even than is assumed by scholarly wisdom. The suggestion is to introduce this wealth into international communication, first within the field of landscape architecture, but also in the wider fields of landscape study and policy, including those considering preparations for an 'International Landscape Convention'.


Objective
To compare the effects of femtosecond laser-assisted phacoemusification and microincision phacoemusification on ocular surface.

Methods
A nonrandomized comparative cohort study was designed.The study recruited 116 eyes of 116 patients with age-related cataract in Hankou Aier Eye Hospital from January to March 2018.Consecutive patients were divided into femtosecond laser-assisted phacoemulsification group (femtosecond laser group for short) (55 eyes) and microincision phacoemulsification group (microincision group for short) (61 eyes). The ocular surface disease index(OSDI), break-up time of tear film (BUT), corneal flurescein staining, Schirmer Ⅰ test (SⅠt) and goblet cell density were sequentially evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 week and 1 month.This study followed the Declaration of Helsinki.Written informed consent was obtained from each subject prior to entering study cohort.This study protocol was approved by Ethic Committee of Hankou Aier Eye Hospital (No.2017IRB01).

Results
At 1 day after surgery, the best corrected distance visual acuity (BCDVA) (LogMAR visual acuity) was 0.14(0.10, 0.24) and 0.20 (0.17, 0.27), respectively in the femtosecond laser group and the microincision group.BCDVA in the femtosecond laser group was better than that in the microincision group, with a significant difference between them(U=-3.140, P=0.002). Compared with the microincision group, the operation time was longer, the phaco time was shorter, the cumulative dissipated energy was lower, and the balanced salt solution perfusion volume was less in the femtosecond laser group, with significant differences between them (all at P<0.001). Compared with the pre-operation, the mean OSDI socres, BUT and goblet cell density were significantly decreased, and the fluorescein staining scores were significantly increased at 7 days and 30 days after surgery in the femtosecond laser group and the microincision group, with significant differences between them (all at P<0.05). The SⅠt value fluctuations in the two groups were small at different time points before and after operation, and the overall comparative differences between the two groups and different time points had no statistical significances (Fgroup=0.510, P=0.477; Ftime=0.741, P=0.479).

Conclusions
Compared with microincision phacoemusification, patients who had femtosecond laser-assisted phacoemusification have more severe ocular surface staining, shorter tear film time and more reduction of goblet cell count at the early stage.

Key words:
Cataract/surgery; Femtosecond laser/therapy use; Dry eye; Tear film; Microscopy, confocal; Goblet cells; Prospective study


AbstractThe object of this study has been to analyze how companies within the music industry can successfully market their artists, this due to the complexity of today's marketing environment, where technology has rapidly changed the way of communicating, and therefore contributed to a highly competitive market. The vast change of technology has resulted in several possibilities as well as difficulties breaking through, what could be seen as, a media sorl. Our purpose has been to outdo how companies market, as well as which factors that are vital, for a successful promotion of their artists. To be able to carry out our aim, we have created one key question; How can companies within the music industry market their artist to make them reach success?We have used a qualitative research approach for this study, this to be able to generate more depth concerning the chosen topic. To generate more knowledge from several perspectives, we chose to interview six different actors within the music industry that all have an experience of marketing artists. The final chapter is a result of the analysis, and in this chapter we present our conclusions concerning the chosen topic. The conclusions consist of certain marketing strategies and aspects, that seem to be of greater importance when it comes to successfully market an artist. Our understanding of the topic is that positioning can only be done through a product (the song). Further it's important to create a need for this product, and this can be done if companies aim their product towards smaller groups, such as opinion leaders and core listeners. The next step is to create unique relations with these actors, because they have the ability to influence the audience, which in turn can lead to mass consumption and therefore success. To carry this out, there's a lot that indicates, that an artist's image is of great importance. This image needs to be created by the artist itself, this because the image has to be realistic and reflect the personality of the artist. To gain a successful outcome, this image should preferably be communicated cohesively and with a personal touch towards every actor.Keywords: Image, Positioning, Relations, Competition, Communication, The Music Industry, The media sorl, Listeners.


The present study deals with the roles and skills of the teacher within the context of a virtual classroom, of an activity carried out in the virtual field. The specificity of such a classroom implies a reconsideration of the well-known roles. The theoretical approach is sustained by an empirical research of ascertaining type carried out on a sample of 124 subjects, students - future teachers who follow the Program of studies which certify the skills for teaching.
The objectives of the research carried out pursued the following things: the investigation of the students' opinion on the specificity of the virtual classroom, its necessity and the possibility of its existence; its advantages and disadvantages on the psycho-pedagogical and teaching - training aspects; the inventory of the roles and skills which a teacher must have in a virtual classroom; the laying down of certain proposals on the possibility of practicing these roles and of the shaping the necessary skills to carry out activities in a virtual field.
The research methods used have been the survey based on a questionnaire and the focus - group, which have been accompanied by proper tools (a questionnaire of opinion, a focus - group interview).
The results obtained allowed the formulation of certain conclusions regarding the role of the teacher in a new context, as well as the shaping of an improving proposal on the curricula for the Program of studies aiming to create the possibility of practicing these roles and skills by the students who train to become teachers.


The genus Phytophthora encompasses a range of fungal pathogens infecting and killing ornamental plant species. P. ramorum is known to be the causal agent of "Sudden Oak Death" (SOD), a disease that currently plagues Oak forests of coastal California and Oregon. Able to spread through water and trade of poorly monitored ornamental plants, the various strains of Phytophthora can spread rapidly unnoticed. Currently no known treatments efficiently terminate the spread of SOD in forests. Other Phytophthora species such as P. cf fallax, P. syringae, and P. tentaculata, have been observed recently in nurseries causing symptoms which mimic P. ramorum. To better understand the facets that govern the spread of Phytophthora , researchers at the National Ornamentals Research Site at Dominican University (NORS-DUC) analyzed and developed various techniques to control the proliferation and spread of this pathogen. Results from past experiments have demonstrated that P. ramorum can be neutralized through the use of high-temperature soil steaming. In this battery of experiments, we tested the effects of both wet and dry heat at a temperature of 50°C for 30, 60, and 120 minutes on isolate strains P. cf fallax, P. syringae, and P. tentaculata in the lab. Post-steamed samples were plated on selective media to test for survival rates. In addition, a steaming experiment was performed at the NORS-DUC nursery. The inoculum was placed at soil depths of 5cm, 15cm, and 30cm, and steamed for neutralization. Analysis of the Phytophthora phylogeny would contribute to molecular species identification and understanding of the genetic traits leading to symptom development. Phylogenetic relationships of the nursery pathogens were studied using sequence information of ITS, β-tubulin, elongation factor 1 α, and cytochrome oxidase I and II. The markers were evaluated through PCR and sequence analyses, followed by phylogenetic tree construction using the distance based neighbor-joining method with BLAST2 and ClustalW programs. With this research, we hope to identify and develop a safe, simplistic, and more efficient way of protecting native plants against P. ramorum and other plant pathogens.


In vitro estimation of aortic QO2 in normal rabbits revealed the thoracic portion to be lower than that of the arch and abdominal segments. These latter were not significantly different. Renal hypertension, cortisone administration and their combination with or without cholesterol feeding resulted in significant elevations of the oxygen consumption of all segments. The thoracic portion under these conditions was lowest and that of the arch was greater than that observed in the abdominal aorta. A depression of QO2 was observed in the aortas from normotensive rabbits subjected to cholesterol feeding with or without cortisone treatment. Although these findings indicate that hypertension and cortisone may profoundly alter the metabolic activity of the aorta, they could not be correlated with the degrees of cholesterol atherosclerosis observed in the various experimental situations explored.


As the aerospace industry continues on its quest for ever-increased efficiency, so goes the quest for ever-more composite content on aircraft. And with it, more opportunities to repair it. Typical composite panel fiber reinforcements are carbon, aramid, and fiberglass. The machining techniques for these typical composite materials are similar, but minor differences exist, such as the style of cutting tool or drill bit. Automated drilling methods that may be used during original manufacture are rarely used in typical composite repair situations.


Management of secondary school students is a complex issue in Kenya. More often, students riot and cause property destruction. This, according to the author of this book, leads to poor examination results and increased costs on parents and guardians. The author argues that no matter how qualified teachers are, or how much money is allocated to secondary schools in Kenya; examination performance will always be low unless a consultative and systematic way of solving students' problems is practiced. This book provides valuable information that point to the importance of adequate formal preparation of head teachers in regard to solving secondary school student problems in Kenya and elsewhere in the world. The book is recommended to education policy makers and implementers, education scholars in universities and Teacher Training Colleges.


Numerous studies have quantified total cotinine (the sum of cotinine and cotinine-N-glucuronide) and total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol [NNAL; the sum of NNAL and its O- and N-glucuronides (NNAL-Glucs)] in the urine and blood of smokers, smokeless tobacco users, and nonsmokers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Analysis of hair and nails has several advantages over blood and urine testing, such as accumulation of xenobiotics during long-term exposure, ease of collection, and indefinite stability of samples. We developed sensitive methods for quantitation of nicotine, cotinine, and NNAL in human toenails. Nicotine and cotinine were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring. NNAL was assayed using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry-selected reaction monitoring. The detection limits of the methods were 0.01 ng/mg toenail for nicotine, 0.012 ng/mg toenail for cotinine, and 0.02 pg/mg toenail for NNAL. In 35 smokers, the mean nicotine level was 5.9 ± 5.6 ng/mg toenail, mean cotinine was 1.6 ± 1.3 ng/mg toenail, and mean NNAL was 0.41 ± 0.67 pg/mg toenail. Samples collected from six nonsmokers were negative for NNAL. In smokers, NNAL correlated with cotinine (r = 0.77; P < 0.0001). The results of this study for the first time show the presence of cotinine and NNAL in human toenails. These sensitive and quantitative methods should be useful in epidemiologic studies of the role of chronic tobacco smoke exposure, including environmental tobacco smoke exposure, in human cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(12):2378–83)


Objective: To examine the clinical outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention where the procedure was complicated by vessel perforation. Setting: Tertiary referral centre. Methods: The procedural records of 6245 patients undergoing coronary intervention were reviewed. In 52 patients (0.8%) the procedure was complicated by vessel perforation, ranging from wire exit to free flow of contrast into the pericardial space. The majority of lesions treated were complex (37% type B, 59% type C) and 9 of 52 (17%) were chronic occlusions. Ten patients (19%) received abciximab. Four underwent rotational atherectomy (8%). Results: In 28 of 52 patients (54%) the perforation was benign and managed conservatively without the development of haemodynamically significant sequelae. In 24 of 52 (46%) a significant pericardial effusion ensued requiring drainage. Of these 24 procedures 6 had involved the treatment of a chronic occlusion (25%). Eight of the 24 patients were referred for emergency bypass surgery (33%), 3 of whom died. Of the remaining 16 not referred for surgery, 3 died. Of the 10 procedures complicated by vessel perforation where abciximab had been administered, 9 (90%) led to pericardial tamponade. Latterly 2 vessel perforations were successfully treated by the deployment of a covered stent. Conclusions: Coronary artery perforation with sequelae during intervention is rare—26 of 6245 (0.4%). This complication was seen in the treatment of chronic occlusions, which are therefore not risk-free procedures. The development of pericardial tamponade carries a high mortality. While prompt surgical intervention may be life saving, expertise in the use of covered stents may provide a valuable rescue option for this serious complication. Caution should be exercised where coronary perforation occurs and abciximab has been used.


A hallmark of clinical service management in particular, and contemporary health care in general, is the team approach. Yet, many managers do not have appropriate background and skills for group leadership. This article reviews some essential characteristics of groups and suggests strategies for facilitating group decision making.


This article explores union attempts to control pension fund investment for the debate on financial restructuring in the United States. It puts popular control of finance into comparative and historical perspective and argues that laws and politics help explain why the flow of finance is corporate controlled. First, changes in the legal regime—the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974—put constraints on labor's ability to influence investment decisions. This is evident when comparing single- and multi-employer plans, where the laws had different consequences. Second, attempts to reform these laws failed. Had they been successful, Carter's proposed economic revitalization plan in the run-up to his failed reelection in 1980 would have created new ways for unions to control and redirect retirement investment for social purposes. The reform failure is treated as a "suppressed historical alternative" through a comparison with a successful reform in Quebec, Canada, which gave unions broad controls over the Solidarity Fund in 1983. The findings suggest, somewhat counter-intuitively, that legal restrictions need to be loosened for democratic control of finance to be possible. For pension funds, more regulations led to more corporate control, not less.


We present an approach for extracting extremal feature lines of scalar indicators on surface meshes, based on discrete Morse Theory. By computing initial Morse‐Smale complexes of the scalar indicators of the mesh, we obtain a candidate set of extremal feature lines of the surface. A hierarchy of Morse‐Smale complexes is computed by prioritizing feature lines according to a novel criterion and applying a cancellation procedure that allows us to select the most significant lines. Given the scalar indicators on the vertices of the mesh, the presented feature line extraction scheme is interpolation free and needs no derivative estimates. The technique is insensitive to noise and depends only on one parameter: the feature significance. We use the technique to extract surface features yielding impressive, non photorealistic images.


Background Research on historical understanding has sometimes depicted adolescents and adults as either appropriating or resisting particular narrative accounts, and resistance seems to be especially common when school-based narratives differ from those encountered outside school. In Northern Ireland, however, school history does not present an alternative narrative to community-based histories, but takes a different approach altogether; school history represents an evidence-based, analytic subject that emphasizes multiple perspectives and avoids connections to contemporary identifications or political positions. Purpose In this study, we sought to understand both how young people in Northern Ireland approached historical information in school and how they made sense of conflicting perspectives on the past. Research Design and Participants Using qualitative, task-based interviews, we interviewed 253 secondary students, approximately equal numbers of whom had completed each of the 3 required years of historical study; these interviews included students of both genders and from differing school types in a variety of regions within Northern Ireland. Findings We found that these students had experienced history in more complicated ways than has been evident in most previous research. They had learned about the past in a variety of formal and informal settings, and they navigated among these multiple sources in a conscious attempt to refine and extend their historical understanding as they followed up on interests initiated in one setting by seeking out information elsewhere. Although some students simply assimilated this information into dominant community narratives, most were aware that such narratives can be used for contemporary political purposes, and they appreciated that school history encouraged a more complete and balanced historical perspective, particularly by exposing them to the motivations and experiences of the other community. Even as they sought expanded historical viewpoints, however, they were unwilling to abandon the political commitments of their communities, and they sought greater contemporary relevance for history than they were likely to encounter in school. Conclusions These students thus were not simply appropriating or resisting particular historical narratives; they were engaged in a more complex process that involved developing internally persuasive discourse as they drew from multiple historical discourses in an attempt to form their own point of view on the region's troubled past. Implications This research suggests that students in Northern Ireland and elsewhere might benefit from a curriculum that attends more directly to their active construction of historical meaning and supports them in constructing critical perspectives on the contemporary relevance of the past.


Abstract. Recent studies have challenged the interpretation of
plant water isotopes obtained through cryogenic vacuum distillation (CVD)
based on observations of a large 2H fractionation. These studies have hypothesized the existence of an H-atom exchange between water and organic tissue during CVD extraction with the magnitude of H exchange related to relative water content of the sample; however, clear evidence is lacking. Here, we systematically tested the uncertainties in the isotopic composition of CVD-extracted water by conducting a series of incubation and rehydration experiments using isotopically depleted water, water at natural isotope abundance, woody materials with exchangeable H, and organic materials without exchangeable H (cellulose triacetate and caffeine). We show that the offsets between hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios and expected reference values (Δ2H and Δ18O) have inversely proportional relationships with the absolute amount of water being extracted, i.e. the lower the water amount, the higher the Δ2H and Δ18O. However, neither Δ2H nor Δ18O values, were related to sample relative water content. The Δ2H pattern was more pronounced for materials with exchangeable H atoms than with non-exchangeable H atoms. This is caused by the combined effect of H exchange during the incubation of materials in water and isotopic enrichments during evaporation and sublimation that depend on absolute water amount. The H exchange during CVD extraction itself was negligible. Despite these technical issues, we observed that the water amount-dependent patterns were much less pronounced for samples at natural isotope abundance and particularly low when sufficiently high amounts of water were extracted (>600 µL). Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms causing isotope fractionation during CVD extraction of water. The methodological uncertainties can be controlled if large samples of natural isotope abundance are used in ecohydrological studies.


Summary
Previous research has shown that customer-related social stressors (CSS) have negative effects on service providers' long-term well-being. Little is known, however, about short-term and mid-term affective stress reactions and reciprocal effects between service providers' affect and CSS. The aim of this study was to expand extant research (i) by analyzing service providers' short-term (across a day) and mid-term (across 2 weeks) affective reactions to perceived CSS; (ii) by analyzing intraindividual as well as interindividual effects; and (iii) by investigating reciprocal effects of affective reactions and CSS that may eventually lead to psychosocial cycles. Our study employed a diary design with three measurement occasions per day over five consecutive days and a two-week panel design using a sample of employees from public service organizations (N = 106). Results showed that CSS elicit changes in service providers' short-term and mid-term negative affects. We also found support for reversed effects of service providers' affective reactions on experienced CSS indicating psychosocial cycles between customers and service providers. To prevent escalation, we discuss potential resources. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


: In Africa, the endemic areas of dracunculiasis are concerning two climatic zones: the sudano-sahelian zone which is characterized by the alternation of a short rainy season and a long dry season, and the libero-nigerian zone which is characterized by two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. The pluviometry in each zone determines a specific cyclic evolution of the cyclops (the vectors of the disease) in the ponds which are the most important places of the transmission. The climatic cycle having an annual rhythm as the cycle of dracunculiasis (12-14 months), the result is for each zone a constant period during which the epidemiological conditions of the transmission are the more satisfied and during which the disease rages to the utmost: beginning of the rainy season (May-June) in the sudano-sahelian zone and right in the dry season (December-February) in the libero-nigerian zone. During the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, it is important that the strategies of control as the national programs of control take into account these epidemiologic features of dracunculiasis.


The Mre11 complex (Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1) is involved in a diverse array of DNA metabolic processes including the response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). The structure of Rad50 plays a key role in the DNA-binding and end-bridging activity of the complex. An interesting feature within the central portion of the Rad50 protein is the Rad50 hook region that is defined by the highly conserved CXXC motif. The structure of the Pyrococcus furiosus Rad50 hook region revealed an intermolecular dimerization of Rad50 through the coordination of a zinc ion by the four cysteines. Biochemical and genetic analysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown that mutations in the conserved cysteines impact all functions of the Mre11 complex including interaction with Mre11, increased sensitivity to DSB inducing agents, telomere maintenance and intrachromosomal association. Mutations in the yeast hook domain can lead to increased chromosome fragmentation, suggesting that the hook domain of Rad50 is essential for the tethering of chromosome ends. In this study, we have examined the effects of mutating the key cysteine residues in the hook domain of human Rad50 (hRad50), focusing on the interactions Rad50 has with itself, Mre11 and DNA. Our results reveal that mutation of the conserved cysteine residues abrogates dimerization at the hook domain in hRad50; however, disrupting dimerization at this domain does not appear to impair the interaction of full-length hRad50 with itself and hMre11 or affect DNA-binding activity of the hMre11-Rad50 complex.


I have used novel whole transcriptome sequence data generated from massively parallel high-throughput next generation sequencing technologies, namely 454 pyrosequencing and Illumina sequencing, to perform comparative transcriptome analyses of C. elegans populations in specific biological conditions and developmental stages. Firstly, I have conducted transcriptome profiling of C. elegans in its first larval (L1) stage using data generated from the Roche 454 sequencing platform. I have used this data to refine gene structures, identify putative novel transcripts, and characterize the L1 specific transcriptome. Secondly, I have taken Illumina paired-end sequencing transcriptome data generated from starved and fed populations of C. elegans in the L1 stage and investigated metabolic and developmental gene expression changes that are specific to this developmental stage. Additionally I have taken advantage of this paired-end data to perform de novo assembly of the short tag sequences to identify novel transcript structures with confirmed splice sites, providing greater confidence in novel gene structure discovery. Lastly, I have investigated global transcriptional responses to oxidative stress in aging defective aak-2 mutants. This analysis has led to the identification of potential downstream targets of the AMP-activated protein kinase, AAK-2, which is known to be involved in stress resistance and lifespan control in C. elegans. This study demonstrates the impact of new high-throughput sequencing technologies on genomic analysis, providing valuable insight into transcriptome complexity as a result of developmental, metabolic, and mutational effects in C. elegans. The approaches I have described here can be applied to transcriptome analyses of more complex organisms ultimately leading to investigation of transcriptional changes in human diseases.


Workshop/Performance, consists of singing a new version of the National Anthem, "God Save the Queen", using the original scores, but singing it in the Polish language, guided by a choir director and an interpreter.

The work, which Godoy calls "hacking the national anthem through an act of translation", is part of his continuous research into the voice and its inherent physical aspects. He believes that what emerges in a choir's performance can have a transformative capacity for participants and audiences, a counter-power to the way nations and religions have used the human voice throughout history as part of their systems of legitimisation. Godoy's works attempt to deconstruct current political affairs as a scenography, a 'theatre of the present' in which we participate. Rituals of validation through which authority is legitimized are exposed through the use of displacement and camouflage.

The event forms part of (Un)Commoning Voices & (Non)Communal Bodies, a series of workshops, performances, and an exhibition, interrogating the relationship between artistic practices and protest movements via the performative scores of collective bodies and voices. The interdisciplinary program was inspired by the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp which was active from 1981 to 2000. It was established by women to protest nuclear weapons being sited near Reading at RAF Greenham Common.


Large population spikes in Indonesia, thus requiring long-term use of contraception, but Indonesians still use short-term contraceptives especially injecting KB. KB injection has advantages and disadvantages for its users. This study aims to determine the relationship between the use of injecting contraceptive type with the change of menstrual pattern on KB acceptor. The design used is correlational study (correlational study) with cross sectional approach. Independent variable is the Use of Injectable Contraception Type. Dependent Variables are Menstrual Cycle Changes. The population of all injecting contraceptives in October - November in 2017 in Pelem Village, Pare District Kediri, Simple random sampling technique and the number of samples of 137 respondents. Research Instrument using Questionnaire. The research was conducted in December 2017. The data analysis was done univariat and bivariate with shi square test. Research ethics include informed consent, Anonymity, Confidentiality. The result of the research showed that almost all respondents of DMCP injection acceptor experienced changes of abnormal pattern of menstruation (85,7%), and acceptor of KB Cyclofem injection most of the respondents did not experience the change of menstrual pattern 25 (64,1%). The statistical test with chi square with α: 5% indicated that there was a significant correlation between the use of injectable contraception type with the change of menstrual pattern with ρ: 0,00 and had close relation with r: 0,446.


Divertor stabilization is considered as an alternative MHD stability concept for mirror-based plasma confinement systems. The discussed concept is based on thermodynamics and self-organization of magnetized plasmas, contrary to the conventional MHD stabilization, based on the presence of averaged "magnetic well". We show that self-organized plasma maintenance near a relaxed marginally-stable state with decreasing pressure profile can be realized in essentially non-paraxial longitudinally linked mirror cells restricted by a joint divertorlike magnetic separatrix with one or several magnetic field nulls at the plasma edge. Brief history, basic principles, and main advantages of the divertor stabilization concept are discussed.


This doctoral consortium presents an overview of my anticipated PhD dissertation which focuses on employing quantum Bayesian networks for social learning. The project, mainly, aims to expand the use of current quantum probabilistic models in human decision-making from two agents to multi-agent systems. First, I cultivate the classical Bayesian networks which are used to understand information diffusion through human interaction on online social networks (OSNs) by taking into account the relevance of multitude of social, psychological, behavioral and cognitive factors influencing the process of information transmission. Since quantum like models require quantum probability amplitudes, the complexity will be exponentially increased with increasing uncertainty in the complex system. Therefore, the research will be followed by a study on optimization of heuristics. Here, I suggest to use an belief entropy based heuristic approach. This research is an interdisciplinary research which is related with the branches of complex systems, quantum physics, network science, information theory, cognitive science and mathematics. Therefore, findings can contribute significantly to the areas related mainly with social learning behavior of people, and also to the aforementioned branches of complex systems. In addition, understanding the interactions in complex systems might be more viable via the findings of this research since probabilistic approaches are not only used for predictive purposes but also for explanatory aims.


Abstract. Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) have an important impact on the atmosphere and biosphere through controls on oxidant concentrations and the formation of nitric acid (e.g. acid rain). Anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel combustion, land use change, and agriculture have altered the global nitrogen cycle since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution but contributions from specific sources are difficult to quantify, hindering understanding of changes to the natural environment and design of effective mitigation strategies. Ice core records reveal changes in the nitrogen cycle over time in connection to climate, atmospheric chemistry, and the biosphere. Here we use a seasonally resolved ice core record of the nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrate (δ15N–NO3−), together with a broad suite of highly resolved (> 22 samples y−1) elemental and chemical tracers, to investigate sources of nitrate deposited in central Greenland from 1760 CE to present. A marked negative trend in δ15N–NO3− since ~ 1940 CE paralleled a nearly three-fold increase in nitrate concentration. Based on correlated increases in tracer concentrations, independent emission estimates of oil burning, and an isotope mixing model, North American oil combustion likely was the primary driver of recent changes in the nitrogen cycle recorded in Greenland.


The self-assembled supramolecular complex [Ga(4)L(6)](12-) (1; L = 1,5-bis[2,3-dihydroxybenzamido]naphthalene) can act as a molecular host in aqueous solution and bind cationic guest molecules to its highly charged exterior surface or within its hydrophobic interior cavity. The distinct internal cavity of host 1 modifies the physical properties and reactivity of bound guest molecules and can be used to catalyze a variety of chemical transformations. Noncovalent host-guest interactions in large part control guest binding, molecular recognition and the chemical reactivity of bound guests. Herein we examine equilibrium isotope effects (EIEs) on both exterior and interior guest binding to host 1 and use these effects to probe the details of noncovalent host-guest interactions. For both interior and exterior binding of a benzylphosphonium guest in aqueous solution, protiated guests are found to bind more strongly to host 1 (K(H)/K(D) > 1) and the preferred association of protiated guests is driven by enthalpy and opposed by entropy. Deuteration of guest methyl and benzyl C-H bonds results in a larger EIE than deuteration of guest aromatic C-H bonds. The observed EIEs can be well explained by considering changes in guest vibrational force constants and zero-point energies. DFT calculations further confirm the origins of these EIEs and suggest that changes in low-frequency guest C-H/D vibrational motions (bends, wags, etc.) are primarily responsible for the observed EIEs.


The overall goal of this project is to learn how sensory evaluation may be applied in the artisanal fisheries industry in Dominica. This was done through the development and application of a sensory evaluation method to evaluate fish freshness, the Quality Index Method (QIM), in a full scale shelf life study. In this study a QIM scheme was developed for salmon (Salmo salar) fillets and evaluated in a shelf life study. Further, the application of a QIM scheme for whole salmon (Salmo salar) was evaluated. Salmon fillets were stored up to 15 days, but whole salmon for up to 21 days in a cooling chamber at -1.6°C and evaluated with sensory evaluation (QIM for salmon fillets and Generic descriptive analysis for cooked salmon (GDA)) by a trained sensory panel, and at the same time the total viable counts (TVC) and H2S producing bacteria counts were measured. Similar results were observed for the QI of the whole salmon and the QI score of the salmon fillets. The QI showed only slight increase with storage time even though the correlation was high. Sensory evaluation of cooked samples from fillets and whole fish showed no detection of spoilage characteristics hence, a point of rejection was not reached at the end of the experiment. Temperature during the storage of fillets and whole fish was very low and seemed to be a key factor in the long shelf life of the whole salmon and the salmon fillets. Microbial counts (TVC) were 5.6x10 and 1.1x10 cfu/g in flesh of fillets and whole fish respectively, but H2S producing bacteria 2.4x10 and 7x10 cfu/g respectively. A QIM scheme for salmon fillets has been developed but it is recommended that the scheme should be evaluated at slightly higher temperatures.


: The distribution of atomic density in the elastase and subtilysin globulas was modeled on the basis of their x-ray atomic coordinates and was consequently investigated through comparison with the normal Poisson distribution, using the chi2-test. The results from the above procedure are discussed in connection with the concept of kinetic constraints on the globula folding process as well as with the enzyme-machine hypothesis. It is shown that the minimum average dimensions of atomic irregularities in the protein globula are about 200 A3.


Using infrared oculography, we recorded the eye movements in a group of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with or without the AIDS dementia complex (ADC). Our aim was to determine whether the severity of dementia could be correlated with abnormalities of eye movement and whether eye movement abnormalities could be detected prior to the onset of clinical dementia. Abnormalities of eye movement were present in seven of seven patients with mild, moderate, or severe ADC and in six of seven AIDS or asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients without clinical dementia, but at risk for ADC. The eye movement abnormalities detected included disturbances of both saccadic and smooth-pursuit function, and their severity correlated strongly with the severity of dementia. The abnormalities were qualitatively similar to those that occur in Alzheimer's disease but quantitatively less severe. Recording of eye movements may be a valuable, noninvasive technique for the early detection of neurologic dysfunction in asymptomatic patients who are seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus or in patients with AIDS, even prior to other clinical evidence of ADC. In particular, it may be of use in selecting high-risk patients requiring antiviral therapy and in monitoring the neurologic response to such treatment.


Density estimation is a building block for many other statistical methods, such as classification, nonparametric testing, and data compression. In this paper, we focus on a nonparametric approach to multivariate density estimation, and study its asymptotic properties under both frequentist and Bayesian settings. The estimated density function is obtained by considering a sequence of approximating spaces to the space of densities. These spaces consist of piecewise constant density functions supported by binary partitions with increasing complexity. To obtain an estimate, the partition is learned by maximizing either the likelihood of the corresponding histogram on that partition, or the marginal posterior probability of the partition under a suitable prior. We analyze the convergence rate of the maximum likelihood estimator and the posterior concentration rate of the Bayesian estimator, and conclude that for a relatively rich class of density functions the rate does not directly depend on the dimension. We also show that the Bayesian method can adapt to the unknown smoothness of the density function. The method is applied to several specific function classes and explicit rates are obtained. These include spatially sparse functions, functions of bounded variation, and Hölder continuous functions. We also introduce an ensemble approach, obtained by aggregating multiple density estimates fit under carefully designed perturbations, and show that for density functions lying in a Hölder space (H , 0 < β ≤ 1), the ensemble method can achieve minimax convergence rate up to a logarithmic term, while the corresponding rate of the density estimator based on a single partition is suboptimal for this function class.


Efforts to improve economic development and economic growth of Muaro Jambi Regency is a must. Efforts to increase economic development and economic growth can occur, if local governments are able to determine or identify priority sectors or become a base sector. Given the importance of determining and defining the right and correct strategy in the development of leading economic sectors/bases, it is necessary to conduct further study related to the development of leading sector policy in Muaro Jambi Regency. Analysis tools that are used are LQ (Location Quotient) and SWOT analysis. The results of the analysis found that of there are three sectors that are the main sector or base in Muaro Jambi Regency, namely agriculture, livestock, plantation, fishery and forestry sector, mining and quarrying sector and manufacturing industry sector. Strategies that can be done in order to maintain and develop the sector and sub-sectors/recommended base there are several alternative strategies that combine internal environmental conditions and external environment Muaro Jambi Regency is S - O (power against opportunities), S - T (power against threats) W - O (weakness to opportunity) and W - T (weakness to threat).
Keywords: Location Quotient, SWOT Analysis, Base Sector


In this original and scrupulously researched book, G. Glen Wickens offers a new reading of a work which is often ignored by critics and students of Victorian literature, Thomas Hardy's The Dynasts. Wickens explores the monistic viewpoint of The Dynasts through reference to 19th and early 20th philosophical writings which have never before been applied to Hardy's philosophy. Using insights derived from the critical theory of Mikhail Bakhtin - in particular his concept of carnival - Wickens also counters the usual view of The Dynasts as failed epic or tragedy, and instead situates the work as a novel within the serio-comical genres. In doing so, he brings out new, violent implications to Bakhtin's theory of laughter and carnival. Thomas Hardy, Monism, and the Carnival Tradition is the first book-length study of Thomas Hardy's The Dynasts since 1977. It will be of interest to Hardy scholars, critics of Bakhtin, and to readers interested in monist philosophy or nineteenth century history.


A gain-switched laser operating at a 20-GHz repetition rate exhibited chaos and period-doubling depending on the bias condition, which was the first observation for 1.55-/spl mu/m strain-compensated InGaAlAs-InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well (MQW) lasers. Unlike the case previously reported for bulk lasers, the irregular behavior was set over wide bias current conditions for the MQW laser. We show that the instability is attributable to a small gain compression factor of the MQW laser and a high-repetition frequency of the gain-switching operation. Further, we report that the irregular behavior can be successfully suppressed by seeding the laser with external coherent-light injection. The numerical simulations of a set of rate equations using parameters extracted from small-signal modulation characteristics were carried out in order to clarify the conditions for the stabilization of the gain-switching operation. The scenario behind the inhibition of irregular behavior was due to the enhanced damping phenomena of a nonlinear oscillator induced by the injection seeding light. The influence of the /spl alpha/ parameter on the optical pulse distortion under the external seeding and the parametric dependence for a single-period operation were investigated based on numerical simulation.


Author(s): Hartl, Christopher | Advisor(s): Geschwind, Daniel H | Abstract: Neuropsychiatric disorders are behavioral conditions marked by intellectual, social, or emotional deficits that can be linked to diseases of the nervous system. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BP), major depressive disorder (MDD), and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are common, heritable diseases each with a prevalence exceeding 1% of the population, none of which can be characterized by discernable anatomical or neurological pathologies. Genetic association studies have identified mutations in hundreds of genes that contribute to risk for at least one of these disorders, and have shown that a substantial fraction of the genetic liability is shared between many of these neuropsychiatric diseases. It has long been hoped that with enough genetic evidence we will identify the biological pathways, developmental time points, and brain regions that, when disrupted, give rise to neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the cellular and functional complexity of the human brain, as well as the genetic complexity of neuropsychiatric disease, make it difficult to search for such convergence. In this thesis, I investigate global and local transcriptional regulation within and across 12 regions of the human brain in order to investigate the regional specificity of neuropsychiatric disorders. I develop novel bioinformatics methods – ranging from data processing to network construction – to identify whether the transcriptional regulation of a set of genes is shared or specific. I hypothesize that local, region-specific transcriptional regulation corresponds directly to cell types and processes that are specific to, or far more prevalent in, a given region; that cross-regional transcriptional regulation corresponds to cell types that show little heterogeneity across brain regions; and that genetic disruption of region-specific transcriptional programs results in regional susceptibility. I use a systems-biology approach to summarize transcriptional regulation into reproducibly co-expressed gene sets ("co-expression modules"), which can be analyzed statistically to identify common functions, pathways, and cell types. I then integrate data from genetic association studies to ascertain gene sets conferring outsized risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, thereby implicating the corresponding pathways for further investigation in disease etiology. Finally, I use the network structure itself to investigate the genetic architecture of ASD and SCZ in terms of omnigenics and network polygenics. Chapter 1 presents the biological background for the studies and summarizes some of the major studies of neuropsychiatric disorders along with their principal methods and conclusions. In chapter 2, utilizing my multi-regional co-expression approach, I identify 12 brain-wide, 114 region-specific, and 50 cross-regional co-expression modules. Nearly 40% of expressed genes fall into brain-wide modules and correspond to major cell classes and conserved biological processes, while region-specific modules comprise 25% of expressed genes and correspond to region-specific cell types. The detailed study in chapter 3 demonstrates that neuropsychiatric risk concentrates in both brain wide and multi-regional modules, implicating major core cell types in disease etiology but not region-specific susceptibility. Chapter 4 presents a new and more general framework for defining genetic networks. Using this framework, I show that the network pattern of ASD-associated rare loss-of-function mutations, as well as the large number of significant targets for trans master regulators in BP and SCZ, support a classical polygenic architecture with thousands of directly causal genes. These results suggest that a nontrivial component of risk for neuropsychiatric disease comes from the global polygenic disruption of neuronal function and neuronal maturation.


Some corporations spend millions of dollars on so-called "crisis communication plans." Others offer lip service, avoiding the subject like the plague. They simply hope for the best, praying that they never face a crisis. Either way, as Steve Adubato says, "Wishful thinking is no substitute for a strategic plan."Nationally recognized communication coach and four-time Emmy Awarduwinning broadcaster Steve Adubato has been teaching, writing, and thinking about comm unication, leadership, and crisis communication for nearly two decades. In What Were They Thinking? Adubato examines twenty-two controversial and complex public relations and media mishaps, many of which were played out in public. Among cases and people discussed are: The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol scare: Perhaps the best crisis management ever Don Imus: Sometimes saying "sorry" is too little too late Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: Authority does not put you above questioning Bill O'Reilly: Know when to stop defending yourself and save face Former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman: Proof that your written words can come back to haunt you Hurricane Katrina: A natural disaster that led to a larger governmental disaster The Catholic Church's pedophilia scandal: Denial won't get rid of the skeletons in your closetArranged in short chapters detailing each case individually, the book provides a brief history of the topics and answers the questions: Who got it right? Who got it wrong? What can the rest of us learn from them?"


Daisy is an open source content management framework, and consists of a stand-alone repository server and several client applications, the most notable being the Daisy Wiki application. Daisy has a strict two-tier separation between repository server and clients, which communicate using an HTTP- and XML-based interface.This whitepaper highlights some of Daisy's innovative concepts, and explains where Daisy is different from the multitude of other CMS applications out there. These distinct Daisy concepts make Daisy an ideal candidate for managing diverse sets of information, for both website content management, software documentation and for intranet knowledge sharing.


Improving the technology for determining the investment attractiveness of urban land requires the development and implementation of an integrated assessment method. In this context, the formation of a system of indicators used for the integral assessment is very important. Based on the two-level system of factors proposed in the article, which influence the formation of investment attractiveness of urban land and using a hierarchical classification method, an appropriate system of indicators is constructed. The transition from factors to indicators is ensured by the established causal dependence, which characterizes the causal relationships between factors and functional-planning, territorial indicators, indicators of engineering and territory improvement, indicators of ecology, historical and cultural significance. In article it is proposed to consider the information support as a set of functional-planning, territorial, engineering support and improvement of the territory, environment, ecology, historical and cultural indicators, which are formed on the basis of normative legal acts, systematization of theoretical and methodological provisions, considering technological features and factors, which affect the investment attractiveness of land. Considering the existing directions for the implementation of technology for assessing the investment attractiveness of urban land, the economic, spatial, complex, multifactorial, rating approaches and approach based on the tools and results of mathematical modelling, considering technical, environmental, social and economic factors, which influence the investment attractiveness of urban land have been proposed.


Abstract Question: Can satellite time series be used to identify tree and grass green-up dates in a semi-arid savanna system, and are there predictable environmental cues for green-up for each life form? Location: Acacia nigrescens/Combretum apiculatum savanna, Kruger National Park, South Africa (25° S, 31° E). Methods: Remotely-sensed data from the MODIS sensor were used to provide a five year record of greenness (NDVI) between 2000 and 2005. The seasonal and inter-annual patterns of leaf display of trees and grasses were described, using additional ecological information to separate the greening signal of each life form from the satellite time series. Linking this data to daily meteorological and soil moisture data allowed the cues responsible for leaf flush in trees and grasses to be identified and a predictive model of savanna leaf-out was developed. This was tested on a 22-year NDVI dataset from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. A day length cue for tree green-up predicted 86% of the green-ups with an accuracy better than one month. A soil moisture and day length cue for grass green-up predicted 73% of the green-ups with an accuracy better than a month, and 82% within 45 days. This accuracy could be improved if the temporal resolution of the satellite data was shortened from the current two weeks. Conclusions: The data show that at a landscape scale savanna trees have a less variable phenological cycle (within and between years) than grasses. Realistic biophysical models of savanna systems need to take this into account. Using climatic data to predict these dynamics is a feasible approach.


Tropical cyclones (TCs) represent the most significant natural hazard for the economy and population of Madagascar. Planning for the impacts of future cyclone strikes requires a detailed understanding of the frequency of destructive storms in the past. In this paper, we utilise historical documentary materials to construct an initial framework of TCs making landfall on Madagascar during the latter half of the 19th century. The study focuses on 1862–1900 as this is the period of most extensive documentary records. Accounts of storm damage contained within historical sources are used to reconstruct TC tracks over land, with details of wind damage converted into Fujita (F) Scale classes to classify TC intensity. A total of 20 TCs are identified, of which only 17 are included within the IBTrACS dataset for the southwest Indian Ocean. The TCs of 13–14 March 1872 and 28 January–1 February 1893 were the most destructive of the late 19th century, with F3+ levels of wind damage identified from historical accounts. We compare our results with data for TCs within the IBTrACS dataset that made landfall on Madagascar during the period 1970–2012. This comparison suggests that (1) fewer TCs made landfall during the 19th century compared with the post‐satellite era, but that of these (2) a greater proportion appear to have crossed the northeast of the island. There is no significant correlation between numbers of landfalling TCs and either mean annual SOI or DMI. We conclude with a consideration of additional archival collections that may be used in future investigations to enhance our chronology.


A dynamic coating using polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers was used to change the direction and magnitude of electroosmotic flow. The influence of PAMAM on electroosmotic mobility was studied in the concentration range from 0.005 to 0.100% (w/v) and at different electrolyte pH values from 2.5 to 8.5. PAMAM dendrimers, as an additive to the background electrolyte, were able to reverse the electroosmotic flow at a low concentration level (0.01% w/v). The presented dynamic coating was then applied to the enantioseparation of selected amines such as R,S- and S,R-tapentadol, R- and S-isoproterenol and R,S- and S,R-ephedrine with the use of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as the chiral selector.


Recent research in marketing has focused on cross-category variation in the market share of private label products, while recent work in the economics and industrial organization literature has focused on the determinants of firm price setting behavior. In this paper, the authors develop a framework for estimating market share and price reaction equations simultaneously in an attempt to understand the nature of competitive interaction in the market for private label and branded grocery products. Empirical findings support the author's premise that consumer response to price and promotion decisions (demand) and the factors influencing firm pricing behavior (supply) jointly determine observed market prices and market shares. More specifically, the authors find a positive relationship between share and price on the supply side reflecting market power influences and a traditional negative relationship between share and price on the demand side. Finally, when Oligopolistic interdependence is measured by specifying brand share, brand Herfindahl, and local retail market structure measures, results indicate the branded price is higher in markets dominated be national brands. Key Words: private labels, pricing, competitive strategy, promotion


Learning is considered as a subfield of Artificial Intelligence and it is concerned with the development of techniques and methods which enable the computer to learn. Hence, the goal of learning was to output a hypothesis that performed the correct classification of the training data and early learning algorithms were designed to find such an accurate fit to the data. Since then SVMs have been successfully applied to real-world data analysis problems, often providing improved results compared with other techniques. It gives the clear idea for the advantage of the support vector approach is that sparse solutions to classification and regression problems in misclassified data. This fact facilitates the application of SVMs to problems that involve a large amount of data.


Background—Data regarding the relationships of diabetes, insulin resistance, and subclinical hyperinsulinemia/hyperglycemia with cardiac structure and function are conflicting. We sought to apply volumetric cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in a free-living cohort to potentially clarify these associations. Methods and Results—A total of 1603 Framingham Heart Study Offspring participants (age, 64±9 years; 55% women) underwent CMR to determine left ventricular mass (LVM), LVM to end-diastolic volume ratio (LVM/LVEDV), relative wall thickness (RWT), ejection fraction, cardiac output, and left atrial size. Data regarding insulin resistance (homeostasis model, HOMA-IR) and glycemia categories (normal, impaired insulinemia or glycemia, prediabetes, and diabetes) were determined. In a subgroup (253 men, 290 women) that underwent oral glucose tolerance testing, we related 2-hour insulin and glucose with CMR measures. In both men and women, all age-adjusted CMR measures increased across HOMA-IR quartiles, but multivariable-adjusted trends were significant only for LVM/ht2.7 and LVM/LVEDV. LVM/LVEDV and RWT were higher in participants with prediabetes and diabetes (in both sexes) in age-adjusted models, but these associations remained significant after multivariable adjustment only in men. LVM/LVEDV was significantly associated with 2-hour insulin in men only, and RWT was significantly associated with 2-hour glucose in women only. In multivariable stepwise selection analyses, the inclusion of body mass index led to a loss in statistical significance. Conclusions—Although insulin and glucose indices are associated with abnormalities in cardiac structure, insulin resistance and worsening glycemia are consistently and independently associated with LVM/LVEDV. These data implicate hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in concentric LV remodeling.


a randomized clinical trial. Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of including Ivermectin (single dose on day 1 of 400 μg/kg PO) in the standard of care in hospitalized adults with severe COVID-19. Methods: Double-blinded, parallel, placebo-controlled, single-center, randomized clinical trial. Seventy-five patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive stan - dard of care plus ivermectin or placebo and were followed up for 21 days. Primary outcome measure was admission to ICU and secondary outcomes were the requirement of intensive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and in-hospital death. Intention-to-treat analyses, estimated risk differences (RD), and Hazard ratios (HR) with Cox regression were performed. Results: Enrollment stopped due to the lack of eligible patients. Thirty-seven patients were assigned to intervention and 38 to placebo. Patients in the ivermectin group were 54.5 years on average, 62.2% were male. Comorbidities were more prevalent in the control group (78.9% vs. 56.8%). There was no difference in the 21-day risk of admission to the ICU between ivermectin (21.6%) and placebo (15.8%) (RD= 5.8%; 95%CI: -11.8%-23.5%); neither in the risk of requirement of IMV (18.9% vs 13.2%), mortality (5.4% vs 10.5%) or in adverse events (32.4% vs. 28.9%). Discussion: Ivermectin showed no significant benefit in reducing the requirement of ICU, IMV, or mortality for severe COVID-19 patients.


CASE REPORT
We report the case of a patient who was surgically treated in his right eye because of an uncontrollable glaucoma and a retinal detachment without retinal break. Ultrasound and computed tomography showed diffuse choroidal thickening. During 6 years of follow-up, he developed a major ocular and orbitary invasion and bone marrow infiltration. He was treated by enucleation and chemotherapy with apparent total remission.

DISCUSSION
Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of the uvea consists of a lymphocytic proliferation that primarily involves the uveal tract. This process is regarded as a low malignant condition, but this case of late diagnosis showed a tendency to orbital and systemic extension.


The planning for Knowledge Cities faces significant challenges due to the lack of effective information tools. These challenges are magnified while planning healthy communities. The Australian Health Information Council (AHIC) concluded in its last report that health information needs to be shared more effectively (AHIC, 2008). Some research justifies the use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) as an E-planning tool, particularly in the context of healthy communities. However, very limited research has been conducted in this area to date, especially in terms of evaluating the impact of these tools on decision-makers within the health planning practice. The paper presents the methodological instruments which were developed to measure the impact of the E-planning tool (i.e., Health Decision Support System [HDSS])) on a group of health planners, namely, the Logan Beaudesert Health Coalition (LBHC). The paper is focused on the culture in which decisions were made before and after the intervention of the HDSS. Subsequently, the paper presents the observed impact of the HDSS tool, to facilitate a knowledge-based decision-making approach. This study is an attempt to make some contribution to the Knowledge Cities literature in the context of planning healthy communities by adopting E-planning tools.


The coding of sound level by ensembles of neurons improves the accuracy with which listeners identify how loud a sound is. In the auditory system, the rate at which neurons fire in response to changes in sound level is shaped by local networks. Voltage-gated conductances alter local output by regulating neuronal firing, but their role in modulating responses to sound level is unclear. We tested the effects of L-type calcium channels (CaL: CaV1.1-1.4) on sound-level coding in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) in the auditory midbrain. We characterized the contribution of CaL to the total calcium current in brain slices and then examined its effects on rate-level functions (RLFs) in vivo using single-unit recordings in awake mice. CaL is a high-threshold current and comprises ∼50% of the total calcium current in ICC neurons. In vivo, CaL activates at sound levels that evoke high firing rates. In RLFs that increase monotonically with sound level, CaL boosts spike rates at high sound levels and increases the maximum firing rate achieved. In different populations of RLFs that change nonmonotonically with sound level, CaL either suppresses or enhances firing at sound levels that evoke maximum firing. CaL multiplies the gain of monotonic RLFs with dynamic range and divides the gain of nonmonotonic RLFs with the width of the RLF. These results suggest that a single broad class of calcium channels activates enhancing and suppressing local circuits to regulate the sensitivity of neuronal populations to sound level.


Orofacial clefts are one of the most common congenital malformations. The prevalence of cleft lip and palate (CLP) has been reported to be 0.48/1000 (Baumler M et al, 2011). The genetic risk of malformations is more elevated when the clefts of palate and lip are associated than with cleft lip is alone (BergE SJ et al, 2001). Prenatal ultrasound tecniques are used to display both the normal and the pathological fetal lip and palate (Platt L et al, 2006). It's very important to verify the accuracy of ultrasound tecnique in predicting clefting of the fetal lip and hard palate and other congenital anomalies. In the current study we present a case report of a woman with prenatal diagnosis of cleft lip and palate: we compared the prenatal ultrasound predictions with postnatal clinical findings on examination of the newborn's palate. A 33-year-old woman, with a family history of cleft lip and palate, was referred for routine ultrasonic examination during her second trimester of pregnancy. Ultrasonography (USG) showed a single live foetus of a gestational age of 20+4 weeks; biparietal diameter and head circumference were adequate for the week of gestation. In frontal view it was possible to identify a bilateral cleft of the upper lip. In median sagittal view was depicted also a cleft of hard palate. After genetic counseling, the patient decided for an elective termination of the pregnancy. A stillborn female fetus was delivered with a weight of 350 g. Infantogram and gross autopsy confirmed the lip and palate cleft, but the autopsy revealed also an hidden form of spina bifida. A detailed scan of fetal anatomy between 20 and 32 gestational weeks detect majority of cleft lip and palate, but a few of congenital abnormalities are still difficult to diagnose antenatally. It's therefore necessary to improve the accuracy of ultrasonic examination in order to provide the correct informations for a possible termination of pregnancy. However, this last must be preceded by genetic counseling and diagnosis for recurrence risk.


The "Submédio do Vale do São Francisco" (S.V.S.F.), located in the Brazilian Northeast, is an emerging winemaking region in South America. Touriga Nacional (T.N.) grapes originated in Portugal, thrive under the climatic conditions found in the S.V.S.F. The effects of extended maceration on different parameters of red wine must produced with T.N. grapes from two harvest years from S.V.S.F. were studied. Increased maceration time (16 to 20 days) resulted in greater total phenolic contents (40 to 85%) compared to eight days of maceration, along with higher antiradical activity (15 to 36%). Regardless of the harvest year, the antiradical activity was mostly related to the contents of resveratrol, (+)-catechin, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucosidase, and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate. In contrast, color intensity was not affected. The increase in the maceration period induced a positive effect on the phenolic composition, which was reflected in the higher antiradical activity of T.N. red wine.


This research examines the history of E-Democracy initiatives, instantiations, and findings via extant literature with the aim of leveraging this knowledge in the planning, design, development, and evaluation of a lawsourcing platform (Orozco 2016). The research purpose is to enable U.S. citizens to: (1) directly propose new bills for consideration by the U.S. Congress, either individually or collectively, and (2) give detailed and immediate feedback on pending and existing legislation by recommending unlimited additions, subtractions, or substitutions in text and by up or down voting entire initiatives. Related works show correlations between well-implemented government E-Services and improvement of internal relations of public administrations, relationships between administrations and citizens, and relationships between administration and the private sector (Alcaide-Muñoz et al. 2015; Tassabehji et al. 2007). Concurrently, U.S. citizens are seeing radical and expedient advances in private-sector information and communication technology (ICT) while the public sector remains technologically reactive, perceived as highly unfavorable by U.S. citizens, and less responsive to public sentiment in recent decades (Orozco 2016). Through a structured literature review, we attempt to define the relevant concepts, explore applicable theories, and discuss them in terms of design science research (DSR) frameworks (Hevner et al. 2004; Peffers et al. 2008). Initial findings from this research-in-progress will be presented for this TREO talk and encourage discussion concerning E-Government and related theories, past and existing E-Democracy initiatives, and DSR methodology.


The different interactions of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1), a simple biophenol (BP) found in olives and their food products, and its substitute analogues, benzoic (2), anisic (3), and toluic (4) acids, with a model membrane represented by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) multilamellar vesicles (MLV) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The influence of their different lipophilic character on transfer and absorption processes through an aqueous medium into a lipid bilayer was also investigated. DSC experiments allowed monitoring of the interaction of BP with biomembranes by considering the effects exerted on the thermotropic behavior of DMPC multilamellar and unilamellar vesicles at different pHs (4 and 7.4). The examined compounds affect the transition temperature (T(m)) of phospholipid vesicles, causing a shift toward lower values, which is modulated by the molecular fraction entering into the lipid bilayer, as well as by their molecular interaction with the lipids. Kinetic calorimetric measurements were performed on suspensions of blank liposomes immediately after being added to fixed weighed amounts of powdered compounds and after increasing incubation periods at 37 degrees C. T(m) shifts, due to molecular dissolution and transfer of the compounds into the membrane surface occurring during the incubation time, were compared with those determined by a fixed molar fraction of free compounds directly dispersed in the membrane. The results show that the kinetic process, involved in molecular release, transfer through aqueous medium, and uptake by the model membrane surface, is influenced by lipophilicity as well as by pH, acting on the acid solubility and membrane disorder, allowing us to gather useful information on the BP intake process of olive derived foodstuffs.


Screening is an important tool in staging esophageal cancer as only patients without suspicion of metastases are considered for surgery-based treatment. Nevertheless unexpected metastatic disease is still found in some patients during surgery. In these cases should esophagectomy be aborted, or is there a place for palliative resection?

 Between 2002 and 2015, 681 patients with locally advanced potentially resectable esophageal cancer were scheduled for neoadjuvant therapy and subsequent esophagectomy. In 552 patients potentially curative esophagectomy was performed. In twelve patients, unexpected disease was discovered during surgery but esophagectomy was performed with synchronous resection of the metastases. Ten of them were oligometastatic (≤ 4 single organ metastases). In 117 patients esophagectomy was not performed with among them 50 patients because of disease progression. Fourteen of these patients were also single organ oligometastatic and ten of them received systemic treatment. 10 single organ oligometastatic patients that underwent esophageal resection (group1) were compared to 10 non-resected—but treated—counterparts (group2) and to 228 patients that underwent a potentially curative esophagectomy with persistent pathological lymph nodes (group3). Clinicopathological data were retrospectively reviewed and survival of the three groups was compared from date of pathological diagnosis.

 In the oligometastatic esophagectomy patients, 5 had lung metastases, 1 peritoneal, 2 adrenal, 1 pleural, and 1 pancreatic. In the oligometastatic non-resected patients, 2 had lung metastases, 5 liver and 3 brain metastases. Median overall survival was 21.4, 12.1 and 20.2 months in the respective groups. (group1 vs group2: P = 0.042; group2 vs group3: P = 0.002; group1 vs group3: P = 0.88).

 Survival is prolonged in patients undergoing palliative esophagectomy in case of unexpected single organ oligometastatic disease during surgery and is comparable to survival of patients with persistent pathological lymph nodes. Palliative resection in unexpected oligometastatic disease seems to be justified.

 All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.