Food-derived bioactive peptides are promising compounds for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of mortality in developed countries. The aim of this work was to determine the in vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE-I) inhibitory activities of twenty-four peptides that were identified in Spanish dry-cured hams. For the first time, some peptides such as PSNPP, HCNKKYRSEM and FNMPLTIRITPGSKA showed anti-inflammatory activity expressed as platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase, autotaxin, and lipoxygenase inhibition. Peptides MDPKYR and TKYRVP were the strongest antioxidants, whereas GGVPGG, TKYRVP, and HCNKKYRSEM showed the highest ACE-I inhibitory activity. Additionally, several peptides such as KPVAAP, MDPKYR, TKYRVP, and HCNKKYRSEM exerted more than one of the assayed activities, increasing their health-enhancing potential. More studies are needed to evaluate the bioavailability of such peptides and their in vivo effect. This would contribute to consider dry-cured ham as a source of peptides beneficial for cardiovascular health.


Forensic analysis of the large filesystems commonly found on current computers requires an effective method for categorizing and prioritizing files in order to avoid overwhelming the investigator. A key technique for this purpose is whitelisting files, i.e., skipping the detailed analysis of files that match files in a well known reference collection of files. Effective use of this technique requires an efficient method to match files, detecting not only exact matches, but also near matches or approximate matches. This paper outlines the requirements for such matching, formalizes them as the bounded best match and approximate bounded near-match problems, and describes methods to solve these problems. In particular, the approximate bounded near-match problem is mapped to the problem of finding near neighbors in a high-dimensional metric space and solved using locality-sensitive hashing.


Nonlinearities are ubiquitous and often incur twofold influence, which could be a source of troubles bringing uncertainty, inaccuracy, instability or even disaster in practice, and might also be a superior and beneficial factor for system performance improvement, energy cost reduction, safety maintenance or health monitoring, etc. Therefore, analysis and design of nonlinear systems are important and inevitable issues in both theoretical study and practical applications. Several methods are available in the literature to this aim including perturbation method, averaging method and harmonic balance method, etc. Nonlinear analysis can also be conducted in the frequency domain based on the Volterra series theory. The latter is a very useful tool with some special and beneficial features to tackle nonlinear problems. It is known that there is a considerably large class of nonlinear systems which allow a Volterra series expansion. Based on the Volterra series, the generalized frequency response function (GFRF) was defined as a multi-variate Fourier transform of the Volterra kernels in the 1950s. This presents a fundamental basis and therefore initiates a totally new theory or area for nonlinear analysis and design in the frequency domain. The frequency-domain nonlinear analysis theory and methods, based on the Volterra series approach, are observed with a faster development starting from the late 1980s or the early 1990s. Recursive algorithms for computation of the GFRFs for a given parametric nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input (NARX) model or a given nonlinear differential equation (NDE) model are developed, and output frequency response of nonlinear systems and it properties are investigated accordingly. The area is becoming even more active in recent years. Much more efforts and progress can be seen in the development of applicationoriented theory and methods based on the GFRF concept. These include the concepts of nonlinear output spectrum (or output frequency response function) and nonlinear output frequency response function, parametric characteristic analysis, energy transfer properties and various applications in vibration control by exploring nonlinear benefits, fault detection, modelling and identification, data analysis and interpretation, etc.


Background: Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is spread mainly through contact with air droplets and respiratory fluid from an infected person. Drug of choice for its treatment are rifampicin and isoniazid respectively. However, in recent times, resistance to these drugs as with other antibiotics has been observed across the globe. This study was thus aimed at determining the prevalence of rifampicin resistance strain among TB patients attending two major hospitals (Braithwaite Memorial Hospital and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital) in Port Harcourt. Method: Sputum of patients was collected, tested for the presence of TB and rifampicin resistance of the isolates were determined using GeneXpert assay approach. Result: A total of 158 isolates from patients who were TB positive were tested for rifampicin resistance. 13.3% of these were resistant to rifampicin drug. 8.9% was from UPTH while 4.4% was from BMSH. 9.5% were less than age 45 while 3.8% were greater than or equal to age 45 (≥45). Males made up 8.2% of the total prevalence while females made up 5.1% of the total prevalence. Alternative drugs to rifampicin and isoniazid drug should however, be prescribed in confirmed cases of resistance outcome in our health facilities especially in the rural communities. Conclusion: Nonetheless, the use of antibiotics indiscriminately without the effective laboratory assay and physician's prescription should be discouraged at all levels and patients receiving treatment should be monitored to adhere strictly to the desired dosage as non-adhering to the gold standard option may lead to drug resistance outcome among vulnerable patients who are literally exposed to lack of health education and functional health facilities in the remote communities which are also hard to reach area due to the environmental terrine.


To adapt workflow management system to dynamically changing grid environment, Web services as well as agent technologies are incorporated to design a grid services workflow system framework based on colored Petri nets (CPN for short) in this paper. Firstly, we discusses in detail how to allocate resources intelligently through agent technologies, and then how Web services can be located and invoked is also discussed. Finally, through a simple example of airline ticket service system, this paper shows how Web services, agent technologies and colored Petri nets can be used to enhance adaptability and dynamicity of the framework from process, resource and task perspectives respectively


Trachoma and its complications, including blindness, is one of the problems that has always threated human society. This disease was known among Iranian physicians since past time in Iran and there had been signs of disease description and its treatment methods in ancient books. At the beginning of twentieth century, by discovering the cause of the disease, comprehensive actions were taken by Iranian government to eradicate this disease. These actions included public treatment in community as well as health education in schools. Also clinics and ophthalmologists have begun to treat the disease with new methods. The results of this study based on the study of documents, remaining evidence and the statistics of patients in different regions indicate that although Iranian government managed to control the disease and its complications, but it never succeeded in eradicating Trachoma.


: A scheme of the diagnosis of subarachnoidal hemorrhages in patients with closed craniocerebral injury is offered. It provides for distribution of hemorrhages according to the cause, intensity and stages. The results were investigated in 595 patients. The use of the scheme for diagnosis in public health is likely to promote the accuracy of diagnosis and more goal-oriented treatment.


The MLJ reviews books, monographs, computer software, and materials that (a) present results of research in—and methods of—foreign and second language teaching and learning; (b) are devoted to matters of general interest to members of the profession; (c) are intended primarily for use as textbooks or instructional aids in classrooms where foreign and second languages, literatures, and cultures are taught; (d) convey information from other disciplines that relates directly to foreign and second language teaching and learning. Reviews not solicited by the MLJ can neither be accepted nor returned. Books and materials that are not reviewed in the MLJ cannot be returned to the publisher. The MLJ invites written responses to the reviews published here. Responses should be typed with double spacing, signed by their authors, and submitted in duplicate with a diskette copy (IBM or MAC acceptable, WordPerfect preferred). Address responses to Sally Sieloff Magnan, Editor, The Modern Language Journal, 618 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706–1558.


Starting from well-known empirical stylized facts of financial time series, we develop dynamic portfolio protection trading strategies based on econometric methods. As a criterion for riskiness, we consider the evolution of the value-at-risk spread from a GARCH model with normal innovations relative to a GARCH model with generalized innovations. These generalized innovations may for example follow a Student t, a generalized hyperbolic, an alpha-stable or a Generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Our results indicate that the GPD distribution provides the strongest signals for avoiding tail risks. This is not surprising as the GPD distribution arises as a limit of tail behaviour in extreme value theory and therefore is especially suited to deal with tail risks. Out-of-sample backtests on 11 years of DAX futures data, indicate that the dynamic tail-risk protection strategy effectively reduces the tail risk while outperforming traditional portfolio protection strategies. The results are further validated by calculating the statistical significance of the results obtained using bootstrap methods. A number of robustness tests including application to other assets further underline the effectiveness of the strategy. Finally, by empirically testing for second-order stochastic dominance, we find that risk averse investors would be willing to pay a positive premium to move from a static buy-and-hold investment in the DAX future to the tail-risk protection strategy.


This study aimed at identifying different conditions of coffee plants after harvesting period, using data mining and spectral behavior profiles from Hyperion/EO1 sensor. The Hyperion image, with spatial resolution of 30 m, was acquired in August 28th, 2008, at the end of the coffee harvest season in the studied area. For pre-processing imaging, atmospheric and signal/noise effect corrections were carried out using Flaash and MNF (Minimum Noise Fraction Transform) algorithms, respectively. Spectral behavior profiles (38) of different coffee varieties were generated from 150 Hyperion bands. The spectral behavior profiles were analyzed by Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm considering 2; 3; 4 and 5 clusters. T-test with 5% of significance was used to verify the similarity among the wavelength cluster means. The results demonstrated that it is possible to separate five different clusters, which were comprised by different coffee crop conditions making possible to improve future intervention actions.


Upper Cretaceous to Tertiary igneous rocks outcrop in the Hekimhan-Hasancelebi area, about 80 km to the north-west of Malatya, Central-Eastern Anatolia. These igneous rocks consist of Maastrichtian Bahcedam volcanics, the Palaeocene(?) Hasancelebi pluton and the Neogene Yamadaǧ volcanics. These latter rocks are subdivided into, from bottom to top, the Karadaǧ volcanics, Leylekdaǧ volcanics and Kocasar volcanics. The Hasancelebi pluton consists mainly of syenite, quartz syenite, monzonite and quartz monzonite. According to chemical criteria, the Hasancelebi pluton is classified as an alkaline oversaturated subtype of the cafemic association with a felsic I-type character. Some trace element data indicate an apparent within-plate origin. The Bahcedam volcanics are made up of tephrite basanite, basalts, trachybasalt and basaltic trachyandesite with an alkaline character. Other trace element criteria indicate both an arc and within-plate origin. Mid-ocean ridge basalt normalized distribution patterns of some incompatible elements indicate some conspicuous enrichment in the concentrations of K, Rb, Ba, Th and Nb; a slight enrichment in Zr; and some depletion in Sr, P and Ti. The Karadaǧ volcanics are composed mainly of alkaline trachyandesites. The Leylekdaǧ and Kocasar volcanics consist essentially of calc-alkaline andesitic rocks. Some trace element discrimination diagrams reveal a possible arc origin for both sets of volcanics. The Hasancelebi pluton is assumed to be part of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene Central-Eastern Anatolian alkaline province. The Leylekdaǧ and Kocasar volcanics can be considered to be collision-related igneous rocks by taking into account the regional tectonic regime in Central-Eastern Anatolia. However, their trace element discrimination patterns indicate an arc origin. It is suggested that a study of the absolute age dates, rare earth element determinations and isotope geochemistry would lead to a better understanding of the tectonomagmatic evolution of this area.


Purpose
This paper aims to build and analyse the validity and reliability of a measurement scale that establishes the relationship between conditions of knowledge management, innovation capability and firm performance in Colombian New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs).

Design/methodology/approach
An instrumental study was carried out because of the design and revision of the psychometric properties of a scale. The techniques used for the statistical analysis were carried out in three sequences, namely, the first consists in collecting validity evidence based on test content; the second in an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to gather validity evidence based on internal structure; and third, estimate the test reliability of internal consistency through omega coefficient.

Findings
The results obtained show that the proposed measurement scale complies with the psychometrics properties required for a measurement instrument in social sciences.

Originality/value
The model of measurement scale, including three important constructs for firms, namely, conditions of knowledge management, innovation capability and firm performance, were not tested before for NTBFs. In this way, the present study contributes to the business sector. Finally, this scale can be useful to measure the variables studied in NTBFs of other countries, considering strategic purpose, flexible structure, information and communications technology and internal environment as internal conditions, and, as an external condition, the competitive environment, as conditions of knowledge management; exploration, exploitation and organizational ambidexterity as elements of innovation capability; and the non-economic performance and economic performance as one-dimensional structures.


In obtaining wood polymer composites (WPCs), a weak interfacial bonding can cause problems during the processing and affect the mechanical properties of the resulting composites. A coupling agent (CA) is commonly used to solving this limitation. To improve the interfacial bonding between bamboo fiber (BF) and a polypropylene matrix, the effect of three organic acids on the mechanical properties and interfacial morphology were investigated. The BF/PP composites were prepared in five families: the first without CA, the second using a maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene coupling agent, and the third, fourth, and fifth families with the addition of organic acids (OA) tricarboxylic acid (TRIA), hexadecanoic acid (HEXA), and dodecanoic acid (DODA), respectively. The use of OA in BF/PP improved the interfacial adhesion with the PP matrix, and it results in better mechanical performance than composites without CA. Composites coupled with MAPP, TRIA, DODA, and HEXA showed an increase in Young's modulus of about 26%, 23%, 15%, and 16% respectively compared to the composite without CA incorporation. In tensile strength, the increase in composites with CA was about 190%, while in the flexural modulus, the coupled composites showed higher values, and the increase was more in composites with TRIA: about 46%. The improvement caused by tricarboxylic acid was similar to that promoted by the addition of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP).


The study is contextualized through evaluating the implementation of Local Agenda Action Plan (LAAP). The goal was to address environmental challenges facing a city under the framework of sustainable development and planning. The evaluation of this conceptual framework was tested at a selected municipality of Athens (Greece), that has used a LAAP. The research was based on a structured questionnaire survey of a sample of 300 respondents selected from municipal employees (100 persons) and citizens of the selected municipality (200 persons). Analysis and interpretation of data through descriptive and factor analysis statistics establish that both municipality employees and citizens are primarily concerned with issues of environmental management. They firmly believe that sustainability initiatives at municipality might best be implemented through a collaborative approach at the local community level, involving local citizens working in partnership with local government. Furthermore, the study established the importance of education, aware-ness and training as a response to environmental issues currently facing the municipality. The awareness and training activities should be developed and should involve the members of the community in the needed environmental manage-ment processes. In view of the Decade Education for Sustainable Development (UNESCO 2005-2015), this should en-able the Council to create opportunities for income generation, while simultaneously promoting citizens' environmental responsible behaviors and improving service delivery by municipality employees.


Obstacle detection is a main key of autonomous vehicles. When communicating with huge robots in unstructured background, resilient obstacle detection is required. Few of the existing methods are mainly suited for the backgrounds in which the ground is comparatively flat and with roughly the same color throughout the terrain. A novel procedure proposed in the work presented here uses a monocular camera, for real-time performance. We compute the homography between two successive frames by computing the fundamental matrix between the two frames. Estimation of fundamental matrix is followed by triangulation so as to estimate the distance of the object from the camera. An obstacle detection and distance estimation system based on visual particular attribute and stereo vision is hence discussed in the presented work.


Treatment of A and V patterns through surgery on the overacting oblique muscles was evaluated. A retrospective analysis of 330 operated cases with A and V patterns was performed. Surgery on the overacting oblique muscles proved to be successful in treating the vertical incomitance in these patterns, especially after the introduction of maximal recession of the inferior oblique muscle in cases with marked V patterns that used to show undercorrections with the usual 8-mm recession. Little was found in the literature about the binocular vision in these patterns. We therefore evaluated cases with special regard to the functional point of view. We found that about one-third of the patients had had simultaneous perception preoperatively and that more than two-thirds did so postoperatively.


In the South African context, education has emerged from missionary, colonial and
Afrikaner ideology (Euro-centric education) (Gelderblom, 2003) to outcomes-based
education without tapping into the rich knowledge base of the African population. An
African philosophy of education has not yet been embraced and it is deemed
necessary in an effort to understand the African way of life (Mkabela & Luthuli,
1997). The aim of the study was to document and analyze indigenous Zulu games for
possible curriculum enrichment of physical education in schools and the promotion
of cross-cultural interaction between learners. This necessitated the identification
and description of indigenous Zulu games in order to assess their potential in
obtaining overt educational outcomes related to the cognitive, affective, psychomotor
and social development of school learners. Quantitative (questionnaires) and
qualitative data (focus group discussions, interviews, video and audio tape
recordings) were triangulated to constitute context and gather data from isiZuluspeaking
participants (N=274). A sample of 217 grade seven learners (10-17 years
old) and 57 adults (40 years and older) participated in the research. The majority of
the most prominent clans from six communities, three urban and four rural schools in
selected areas in KwaZulu-Natal (Northern, Southern and Western areas) were
represented in the sample. The dissemination and presentation of indigenous Zulu
games as means for reaching educational outcomes hold significant potential and
value for curriculum enrichment and social inclusion in the South African school
context. Indigenous Zulu games, a symbolic representation of the Zulu cultural
expression, hold potential to be utilized and to meaningfully contribute to the
physical, cognitive, affective, social and cultural developmental needs of learners. Keywords : Indigenous games; Zulu culture; Curriculum. SAJRSPER Vol. 30 (1) 2008 pp. 89-103


The experiment system of a three-floor reinforced concrete frame-shear wall eccentric structure has been built based on Matlab/Simulink software environment and hardware/software resources of dSPACE. And then a shaking table test for the hosting structure with and without magnetorheological (MR) dampers is implemented subjected to three different ground motions. The FBG strain sensors were used in this experiment for strains measurement of the columns and monitoring of the appearing and developing of cracks under different stages. The experimental results show that the control strategies of MR dampers have significant effect on axial force of the column.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between the perception of cancer risk and likelihood of having undergone cancer screening.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We used data from the Korean Health Panel Survey from December 2011 onward. Of 3,390 patients who visited a hospital during the previous year, we included data from 2,466 individuals; 924 samples were excluded due to missing data. Logistic regression analysis and the chi square test were used to investigate the association between perceived cancer risk and the likelihood of having undergone cancer screening.

RESULTS
For patients who perceived their risk of developing cancer during the next 10 years to be 30-40%, the odds ratio was increased 1.65 fold (95%CI: 1.223, 2.234) compared with those who perceived their risk to be almost zero. Although the difference was not statistically significant, perceiving cancer risk as either extremely low or extremely high appears to be associated with a reduced likelihood of having undergone cancer screening, resulting in an inverted U-shaped relationship.

CONCLUSIONS
Physicians and researchers should be aware of the importance of the affective component of risk perception. Policies addressing the influence of cancer risk perception should be implemented in South Korea and worldwide.


The Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (hereinafter SZ) effect is a promising tool to derive the gas temperature of galaxy clusters. Approximation of a spherically symmetric gas distribution is usually used to determine the temperature structure of galaxy clusters, but this approximation cannot properly describe merging galaxy clusters. The methods used so far, which do not assume the spherically symmetric distribution, permit us to derive 2D temperature maps of merging galaxy clusters. In this paper, we propose a method to derive the standard temperature deviation and temperature variance along the line of sight, which permits us to analyse the 3D temperature structure of galaxy clusters by means of the thermal SZ effect. We also propose a method to reveal merger shock waves in galaxy clusters by analysing the presence of temperature inhomogeneities along the line of sight.


The main oil-bearing horizon of vasuganskaya formation – U1 – nowadays seems to be the main support for oil production during decline of production from Cretaceous sandbeds in Western Siberia. The main geological features of the horizon are high vertical and lateral heterogeneity, facies changeability and abnormal oil and water distribution. There are some extra features in the west part of vasuganskaya formation sread zone, which are results of regional vasuganskaya (mostly sand and silt) formation change for abalakskaya clay formation. One of them is undersaturation. New version of 3D geological modeling methodology is offered. It is based on simultaneous accounting of sedimentologic (facies) model, seismic facies and inversion results, petrophysical analysis of pore distribution (for different lithotypes and facies) and oil saturation from pore and structural elements relation. The keystone of the methodology is facies maps and vertiacal proportion curves convolution, complicated with seismic validity data. The result of the methodology is 3D stochastic model which can be used for detail reserves estimation (including uncertainty analysis and dividing reserves for different facies and lithotypes ), upscaling and dynamic modeling and well trajectory planning.


Introduction The amount of insoluble matter present in drinking water is an essential quality indicator. Silt, sand, bacteria, spores, and chemical precipitates all contribute to the cloudiness or turbidity of water. Drinking water (DW) which is highly turbid can be unpalatable and unsafe. Consumption of even low concentrations of certain bacteria and other microorganisms can cause serious health effects. Consequently, an accurate and sensitive measurement of turbidity is vital for ensuring that drinking water is free of these contaminants. Public health and safety organizations throughout the world have recognized the importance of measuring drinking water quality through turbidity. The US EPA requires turbidity monitoring for all produced drinking waters 1 . The EU Drinking Water Directive identifies turbidity as one of several fixed monitoring parameters which must be measured for all water intended for human consumption 2 . The WHO recommends monitoring turbidity frequently and at multiple points throughout the treatment process 3 . While regulatory limits vary across national borders, there is widespread agreement that reliable turbidity monitoring is an essential component of drinking water production.


Elastic storage modulus and loss of relaxor lead magnesium niobate ceramics, Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3, have been measured with dynamic mechanical analyzer in single cantilever mode in the temperature range from 170 K to 320 K and at frequencies from 0.1 Hz to 50 Hz. The dependence of the elastic susceptibility (inverse modulus) on temperature and frequency of the driving force has characteristics of typical relaxor behavior that can be well described with the Vogel-Fulcher law. The parameters of the Vogel-Fulcher relation exhibit similar values for the dielectric and anelastic relaxations. Similarities and differences between anelastic and dielectric relaxor behaviors are identified.


Abstract We argue that existing methods for the treatment of missing observations in time-varying parameter observation-driven models lead to inconsistent inference. We provide a formal proof of this inconsistency for a Gaussian model with time-varying mean. A Monte Carlo simulation study supports this theoretical result and illustrates how the inconsistency problem extends to score-driven and, more generally, to observation-driven models, which include well-known models for conditional volatility. To overcome the problem of inconsistent inference, we propose a novel estimation procedure based on indirect inference. This easy-to-implement method delivers consistent inference. The asymptotic properties of the new method are formally derived. Our proposed estimation procedure shows a promising performance in a Monte Carlo simulation exercise as well as in an empirical study concerning the measurement of conditional volatility from financial returns data.


This article discusses managed care, recent case law developments, and the legal basis of confidentiality in the patient-therapist relationship. It discusses how managed care intrudes into the confidential treatment relationship with prospective and retrospective utilization reviews. Some of the areas adversely impacted include public policy, the patient-therapist relationship, and informed consent. In order to be a program in the interest of patients and not simply cost containment, managed care must accommodate patients' reasonable expectations of confidentiality. Suggestions are delineated for the protection of confidentiality by managed care, including expanding the duty of confidentiality to managed care, obligating managed care to secure patients' informational privacy, obtaining informed consent to disclose as little information as necessary, and involving the patient in the cost containment and quality assurance process.


Organic biomarkers in marine sedimentary rocks hold important clues about the early history of Earth's surface environment. The chemical relicts of carotenoids from anoxygenic sulfur bacteria are of particular interest to geoscientists because of their potential to signal episodes of marine photic‐zone euxinia such as those proposed for extended periods in the Proterozoic as well as brief intervals during the Phanerozoic. It is therefore critical to constrain the environmental and physiological factors that influence carotenoid production and preservation in modern environments. Here, we present the results of coupled pigment and nucleic acid clone library analyses from planktonic and benthic samples collected from a microbially dominated meromictic lake, Fayetteville Green Lake (New York). Purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) are abundant and diverse both in the water column at the chemocline and in benthic mats below oxygenated shallow waters, with different PSB species inhabiting the two environments. Okenone (from PSB) is an abundant carotenoid in both the chemocline waters and in benthic mats. Green sulfur bacteria and their primary pigment Bchl e are also represented in and below the chemocline. However, the water column and sediments are devoid of the green sulfur bacteria carotenoid isorenieratene. The unexpected absence of isorenieratene and apparent benthic production of okenone provide strong rationale for continued exploration of the microbial ecology of biomarker production in modern euxinic environments.


Introduction: Effective July 1, 2018, the smoking of recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada, and Provincial legislation will soon follow. The objective of this paper is to determine how Canadian universities are responding to this new reality via provision of web-based education and awareness materials through campus health centres.  The paper explores what framework might exist or be created to partner academic health sciences librarians with student health services in the provision of best practice research for students and clinicians.
Method: A scan of English Canadian university websites was undertaken to determine whether information on cannabis or marijuana directed at students was available, and whether identifiable resources in the area of health science librarians or subject guides were available.
Results: Results of a website scan indicated that only 10.4% of universities have material available on cannabis whereas some 62% have qualified professional librarians associated with health sciences who could provide guidance on such material.
Discussion: Academic librarians and libraries already play a pivotal role in the retention and support of student academic goals through liaison, reference and instruction.  There is precedent as well in some institutions for library partnerships with student services areas such as career services, accessibility and common book programs.  This paper suggest that the complex factors related to cannabis education and health literacy in general present a unique opportunity for academic health science librarians to engage and partner with university health services and clinicians and grow the presence and influence of librarian support on university campuses.


Age‐related regression of myelinated fibers in peripheral nerves of the lower limbs is strongly influenced by capillaries and results in balance dysfunction and falls. However, the temporal relationships between alteration patterns of myelinated fibers and capillaries have not yet been clarified. This study aimed to investigate age‐related morphological and histological changes of both myelinated fibers and capillaries in peripheral nerves to clarify whether myelinated fibers or capillaries change earlier. Seven male Wistar rats each were randomly selected at 20 weeks (young group), 70 weeks (middle group), and 97 weeks (old group) for histological evaluations. The left and right tibial nerves were removed morphologically and histologically to examine myelinated fibers and capillaries. Axon diameter and myelin thickness were almost unaltered in the middle group compared with the young group but were significantly reduced in the old group when compared with the other two groups. However, the capillary diameter and number of microvascular branch points were substantially reduced in the middle group. The current study demonstrates that myelinated fibers of peripheral nerves show signs of regression in elderly rats, whereas capillaries start to reduce in middle‐aged animals. In normal aging of the tibial nerve, capillaries may regress before myelinated fibers.


Multi-label classification aims to classify instances with discrete non-exclusive labels. Most approaches on multi-label classification focus on effective adaptation or transformation of existing binary and multi-class learning approaches but fail in modelling the joint probability of labels or do not preserve generalization abilities for unseen label combinations. To address these issues we propose a new multi-label classification scheme, LNEMLC - Label Network Embedding for Multi-Label Classification, that embeds the label network and uses it to extend input space in learning and inference of any base multi-label classifier. The approach allows capturing of labels' joint probability at low computational complexity providing results comparable to the best methods reported in the literature. We demonstrate how the method reveals statistically significant improvements over the simple kNN baseline classifier. We also provide hints for selecting the robust configuration that works satisfactorily across data domains.


Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging is being widely used to reconstruct brain white matter fiber tracts. To characterize structural properties of the tracts, reconstructed fibers are often grouped into bundles that correspond to coherent anatomic structures. For further group analysis of fiber bundles, it is desirable that corresponding bundles from different studies are coregistered. To address these needs simultaneously, a unified fiber bundling and registration (UFIBRE) framework is proposed in this work. The framework is based on maximizing a posteriori Bayesian probabilities using an expectation maximization algorithm. Given a set of segmented template bundles and a whole-brain target fiber set, the UFIBRE algorithm optimally bundles the target fibers and registers them with the template. The bundling component in the UFIBRE algorithm simplifies fiber-based registration into bundle-to-bundle registration, and the registration component in turn guides the bundling process to find bundles consistent with the template. Experiments with in vivo data demonstrate that the estimated bundles have an ~ 80% consistency with ground truth and the root mean square error between their bundle medial axes is less than one voxel. The proposed algorithm is highly efficient, offering potential routine use for group analysis of white matter fibers.


Simple procedures for extraction and chromatographic determination of dimethachlon residues in fresh tobacco leaves and cut-tobacco are described. The determination was carried out by capillary gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection (ECD) and confirmed by GC-MS. The mean recoveries and relative standard deviation (RSD) were 93.2%∼112.9% and 3.5%∼6.7%, respectively at levels ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 mg/kg. The limit of determination was 0.001 mg/kg. Tobacco samples in routine check were successfully analyzed using the proposed method.


Railway wheels are secured onto the axle by means of an interference fit. The wheel is press fitted onto a pre-lubricated axle, and the resulting interference fit induces a contact pressure at the interface. Occasionally railway wheels fail by fatigue, with the initiation point for the failure frequently traced to the interference fit. The aim of this work is to use ultrasonic reflection to non-destructively determine contact conditions in the interference fit.

The rough surface contact at the interference fit interface behaves like a spring. If the contact pressure is high the interface is conformal with few air gaps, the stiffness is then high and the transmission of an ultrasonic wave is permitted. However, when pressure is low more air gaps exist, interfacial stiffness is then reduced and more of the ultrasound is reflected.

Normalised contact pressure was determined from this stiffness. Maps of the interface have been produced which show the contact pressure to peak at the edges of the fit, and to experience a continuous variation about a mean value elsewhere.


Housing policies in many countries emphasise that households should have the possibility to own their own homes. In order to achieve this goal, it is important that the financial threshold for purchasing a dwelling is kept at a low level. The Scandinavian housing cooperatives provide an interesting devise in this respect. Those living in housing cooperatives can be regarded as the legal owners of the housing unit they occupy, similar to what is the case for those living in non-cooperative dwellings. Moreover, prices of both types of dwellings are market determined. The two types of homeownership are, however, different in two important respects. First, they differ in how the housing units are financed. Second, they differ in how decisions affecting all units in a housing cooperative are taken. In the present paper we provide an analysis of how financial structure and organizational form affect the prices of housing units. We are not aware of previous analysis of how organizational forms like the Scandinavian housing cooperatives affect prices. Our analysis of the impact of financial structure is related to the literature on creative financing, but we contribute by using a very different type of data. For dwellings in housing cooperatives, the price paid by the buyer consists of two elements: First, there is an equity price, determined through a normal competitive bidding process. Second, each dwelling in a housing cooperative carries a share of the mutual debt held by the cooperative. This share of the cooperativeis debt is paid down by the owner through monthly instalments. The amount of money an entrant to a housing cooperative has to raise himself, either by drawing on his saving account, or by obtaining a bank loan, corresponds to the equity price. If the mutual debt is small, the equity price will be high. A large share of the households may then be constrained in their access to credit, and may thus be barred from entering the housing cooperative. If the mutual debt is large, however, the entrance barrier for first-time home-buyers will be low. This is inter alia due to the fact that the responsibility for the mutual debt is shared between all the members of a housing cooperative. Let us define the equity ratio as the equity price divided by the sum of the equity price and the share of the mutual debt resting on the dwelling. In the data used in the present paper, the equity ratio for cooperative housing units may vary between 0.15 and 1.00. In addition, the sample includes non-cooperative (freeholder) dwellings, where the equity ratio is 1.0. Hence, the data provide good opportunities for identifying how financial structure affects the market price of dwellings. Moreover, we are able to identify the impact of organizational form. We identify these effects through the estimation of hedonic price equations. Housing cooperatives usually obtain loans on more favourable conditions than single households. This reflects that the risk premium included in the interest rate on the debt of housing cooperatives is smaller than for a freeholder. Presumably, this advantage is capitalized in the market price, resulting in a higher total price (equity price plus share of mutual debt carried by the housing unit) for dwellings in housing cooperatives than for a corresponding freeholderis dwelling. Moreover, this effect is expected to be stronger the smaller is the equity ratio. The results indicated above have important policy implications. First, they suggest that financial arrangements can be used to increase the rate of homeownership, even in the absence of government subsidies. In particular, the results show how entry barriers for first-time home-buyers can be lowered. Equally important, these benefits come at the cost of a higher market price. We estimate the extent of this price increase. To our knowledge, this type of analysis has not previously been carried out. The price effect discussed above rests on the estimated hedonic price equations. In addition, a model explaining the rationale for the price effects will be developed, partly building on the existing theories on borrowing constraints, credit rationing and homeownership financing. To explain the effects of the financing system of the Norwegian housing cooperatives, we will however have to develop new theory elements of how the housing market is affected by this financing system. To conclude, our main hypothesis is that the financing systems of the Norwegian housing cooperatives affect market prices, resulting in higher prices for cooperative dwellings with low equity ratio. Nevertheless, through reducing the extent of credit rationing, this may lead to a higher ratio of homeownership.


The need for mental health services for the elderly continues to grow while access to those services is critically limited. Gaps in service delivery become even more pronounced as elderly services increasingly shift from acute care and long-term care to the home. Home care aides could serve pivotal roles in providing support for clients experiencing mental health problems, as evidenced by the following results of implementing a training and demonstration grant for preparing psychiatric home care aides.


Exposure of cells to ionizing radiation (IR) determines cellular lesions, such as DNA and membrane damage, which involve a coordinate network of signal transduction pathways responsible for resistance to or delay of apoptosis, depending on cell type and administered dose. Since, after IR exposure, the apoptotic profile appeared different in the two chosen cell lines K562 and Jurkat along with caspase-3 activation, we paid attention to the influence exerted by Protein kinase C delta on transcription factor NF-kappaB activation. Interestingly, K562 resist to IR carrying out a survival strategy which includes PKC delta/NF-kappaB pathway activation, probably mediated by novel IKKs and a role for PI-3-kinase in activating PKC delta at Thr 505 by PDK-1 phosphorylation is suggested. In addition, since caspase-3 is not activated in these cells upon ionizing radiation exposure, it could be supposed that NF-kappaB antagonizes apoptosis induction interfering with pathways which lead to caspase activation, may be by inducing expression of IAP, caspases 3, 7, 9, inhibitor. Thus NF-kappaB activation explains the resistance displayed by K562 to IR and drug potential interference directed to this protein could overcome apoptosis resistance in clinical settings.


Non-specific low back pain (LBP) is a symptom of unknown cause affecting one third of the UK adult population, accounting for more than 15 million lost work days and an estimated annual cost of £12.3 billion. Pilates based exercise is becoming increasingly incorporated in to spinal rehabilitation, yet there is limited evidence on the efficacy of the technique. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 6-week Pilates based exercise programme on perceived functional disability, pain, local muscular endurance and lumbar range of motion in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain. Participants (n=13) with chronic non-specific LBP (>12-weeks) were recruited to a pre-post intervention trial. All participants were assigned to a 6-week control period. Subsequently, participants undertook one hour of a Pilates based exercise intervention twice per week for 6-weeks. Perceived functional disability and pain were assessed using the Oswestry functional disability questionnaire (ODQ) and visual analogue scale (VAS) respectively. Local muscular endurance (CE) and lumbar range of motion (LF) were assessed using the core endurance test and the fingertip to floor distance (FFD) respectively. Functional disability (ODQ), pain (VAS), local muscular endurance and lumbar flexion (FFD) improved after the intervention period (P<0.05). Improvements in perceived functional disability (ODQ) were
associated with an increase in LF (P 0.05). The results of this pre-post intervention trial suggest that Pilates based exercise can be administered safely and is well tolerated by the majority of patients with non-specific chronic LBP.


Abstract The interpretation of the several variables that contribute to defining milk quality is difficult due to the high degree of correlation among them. In this case, one of the best methods of statistical processing is factor analysis, which belongs to the multivariate groups; for our study this particular statistical approach was employed. A total of 1485 individual goat milk samples from 117 Girgentana goats, were collected fortnightly from January to July, and analysed for physical and chemical composition, and clotting properties. Milk pH and tritable acidity were within the normal range for fresh goat milk. Morning milk yield resulted 704 ± 323 g with 3.93 ± 1.23% and 3.48±0.38% for fat and protein percentages, respectively. The milk urea content was 43.70 ± 8.28 mg/dl. The clotting ability of Girgentana milk was quite good, with a renneting time equal to 16.96 ± 3.08 minutes, a rate of curd formation of 2.01 ± 1.63 minutes and a curd firmness of 25.08 ± 7.67 millimetres. Factor analysis was performed by applying axis orthogonal rotation (rotation type VARIMAX); the analysis grouped the milk components into three latent or common factors. The first, which explained 51.2% of the total covariance, was defined as "slow milks", because it was linked to r and pH. The second latent factor, which explained 36.2% of the total covariance, was defined as "milk yield", because it is positively correlated to the morning milk yield and to the urea content, whilst negatively correlated to the fat percentage. The third latent factor, which explained 12.6% of the total covariance, was defined as "curd firmness," because it is linked to protein percentage, a30 and titatrable acidity. With the aim of evaluating the influence of environmental effects (stage of kidding, parity and type of kidding), factor scores were analysed with the mixed linear model. Results showed significant effects of the season of kidding and parity on common factors, while no differences were found between goats with one or more kids. The multivariate factor analysis technique was effective in describing the quality of Girgentana milk with a low number of new latent variables. These new variables have been useful in the study of the effect of some technical factors such as parity and season of kidding on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of milk production in this goat breed.


Oral mucositis, characterized by ulcerative lesions in the oral mucosa of patients undergoing chemotherapy, is currently considered to be the most severe complication of anti-cancer therapy which is affecting 40-80% of those patients. Ankaferd hemostat, (ABS) is the first topical hemostatic agent regarding the red blood cell (RBC)-fibrinogen interactions tested in the clinical trials. ABS also has pleiotropic effects particularly in the tissue healing and has anti-infective properties. The aim of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of ABS in the management of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis in adult patients with hematological malignancies. ABS was topically applied to the patients with grade 3-4 mucositis according to the WHO classification. Patients were said to mouthwash and swallow the five milliliters of ABS . Twenty patients with oral mucositis were evaluated. Eleven patients with acute myeloid leukemia, four acute lymphoblastic leukemia, three non-hodgkin lymphoma, one hemophagocytosis with acute myleoid leukemia and one hemophagocytosis were included in study. Median extract amount was calculated as 74.50 ml (30-100 ml) and median healing time was 6.6 days (3-10). Consequently, ABS is an effective agent in the treatment of chemotherapy related severe oral mucositis in patients with hematological malignancies. Further experimental and clinical trials about ABS shall focus on the interrelationships between proteomic content, fibrinogen gamma, and vital erythroid aggregation due to ABS.


Capture and emission of carbon dioxide of three species ( Buddleia cordata , Senecio praecox and Echeveria gibbiflora ) in the Reserva Ecologica del Pedregal de San Angel (Ecological Reserve of the Pedregal de San Angel), were estimated. CO 2 sampling was carried out in 2010 during the dry (February, March, April and November) and rainy seasons (July to October). On the dry season B. cordata and S. praecox captured 16.14 and 3.25 kg CO 2 , respectively, whereas E. gibbiflora emitted 45.76 kg CO 2 . In the rainy season the exchange of CO 2 was different for the three species. In the dry season, the photosynthetic rate was 22 pmol CO 2 m –2 s –1  for B. cordata, 27 pmolCO 2 m –2 s –1 for S. praecox and 29 pmolCO 2 m –2 s –1 for E. gibbiflora. In the rainy season they were 6, 5.25 and 3 pmol CO 2 m –2 s –1 , respectively. In addition, MODIS data were used to estimate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), indicating that the intensity of greenery at the site increased during the rainy months. This paper explains the contribution of studied plants to the carbon cycle of an ecosystem located within an urban area, and the relationship of environmental variables such as temperature, density photosynthetic photon flux and relative humidity in the capture or emission of CO 2 . This work provides valuable information about the carbon cycle dynamics on urban ecosystems, which can be useful in future studies for climate change mitigation.


Deletions of chromosome 1q42-q44 have been reported in a varietyofdevelopmentalabnormalitiesofthebrain,including microcephaly (MIC) and agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). Here, we describe detailed mapping studies of patients with unbalanced structural rearrangements of distal 1q4. These define a 3.5-Mb critical region extending from RP11-80B9 to RP11-241M7 that we hypothesize contains one or more genes that lead to MIC and ACC when present in only one functional copy. Next, mapping of a balanced reciprocal t(1;13)(q44;q32) translocation in a patient with postnatal MIC and ACC demonstrated a breakpoint within this region that is situated 20 kb upstream of AKT3, a serine-threonine kinase. The murine orthologue Akt3 is required for the developmental regulation of normal brain size and callosal development. Whereas sequencing of AKT3 in a panel of 45 patients with ACC did not demonstrate any pathogenic variations, whole-mount in situ hybridization confirmed expression of Akt3 in the developing central nervous system during mouse embryogenesis. AKT3 represents an excellent candidate for developmental human MIC and ACC, and we suggest that haploinsufficiency causes both postnatal MIC and ACC.


Background
With an increasing number of proton centers capable of delivering pencil beam scanning (PBS), understanding the dosimetric differences in PBS compared to passively scattered proton therapy (PSPT) for pancreatic cancer is of interest.

Methods
Optimized PBS plans were retrospectively generated for 11 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer previously treated with PSPT to 59.4 Gy on a prospective trial. The primary tumor was targeted without elective nodal coverage. The same treatment couch, target coverage and normal tissue dose objectives were used for all plans. A Wilcoxon t-test was performed to compare various dosimetric points between the two plans for each patient.

Results
All target volume coverage goals were met in all PBS and passive scattering (PS) plans, except for the planning target volume (PTV) coverage goal (V100% >95%) which was not met in one PS plan (range, 81.8-98.9%). PBS was associated with a lower median relative dose (102.4% vs. 103.8%) to 10% of the PTV (P=0.001). PBS plans had a lower median duodenal V59.4 Gy (37.4% vs. 40.4%; P=0.014), lower small bowel median V59.4 Gy (0.11% vs. 0.37%; P=0.012), lower stomach median V59.4 Gy (0.01% vs. 0.1%; P=0.023), and lower median dose to 0.1 cc of the spinal cord {35.0 vs. 38.7 Gy [relative biological effectiveness (RBE)]; P=0.001}. Liver dose was higher in PBS plans for median V5 Gy (24.1% vs. 20.2%; P=0.032), V20 Gy (3.2% vs. 2.8%; P=0.010), and V25 Gy (2.6% vs. 2.2%; P=0.019). There was no difference in kidney dose between PBS and PS plans.

Conclusions
Proton therapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer using PBS was not clearly associated with clinically meaningful reductions in normal tissue dose compared to PS. Some statistically significant improvements in PTV coverage were achieved using PBS. PBS may offer improved conformality for the treatment of irregular targets, and further evaluation of PBS and PS incorporating elective nodal irradiation should be considered.


Multiple-step loading (ML) on a single specimen can be used to determine the peak compressive strengths at different confining pressures (σ′hS) of cement-mixed gravel (CMG) very similar to those obtained by single-step loading (SL) drained triaxial compression (TC) tests. However, only the unload/reload stress–strain relations at different σ′hS (except for the primary loading one at the first step) can be obtained from a ML test and the reloading relations become softer with an increase in the negative irreversible axial strain increment that has taken place during respective immediately preceding unloading regimes. This effect gradually decreased during reloading while it totally disappeared once large-scale yielding started. An empirical equation was developed to derive undamaged reloading stress–strain curves (URCs) by removing the damage effects from ML TC test measured reloading curves (MRCs). A new simple method was developed in the framework of proportional rule to simulate primary loading curves (PLCs) at different σ′hS from the MRCs from a given ML TC test using a correlation factor. A practical procedure for simulation of PLCs in a ML test were established and applied to generate PLCs in a ML test increasing σ′h and a ML test decreasing σ′h. The method was validated by comparing the PLCs simulated from the results of a pair of ML tests increasing and decreasing σ′h with those measured in a set of SL TC tests at different σ′hS.


Aim. To investigate the changes of serum nerve growth factor (NGF) level in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and obesity in dependence on the degree of psycho-emotional stress and physical activity. Materials and methods. We examined 76 male patients with stage I and II AH with mean age 46.75±0.56 years (36 patients with and 40 without obesity). Control group consisted of 26 individuals without AH, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. All patients underwent ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring. Serum concentrations of NGF β-subunit and cortisol were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. For assessment of levels of psycho-emotional stress, reactive and personal anxiety, and physical activity we used Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-25), the Spielberger-Khanin questionnaire, and brief International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), respectively. Results. Level of NGF in patients with AH and obesity (0.94±0.28 pg/ml) was higher than in non-obese patients with AH (0.21±0.06 pg/ml; p=0.018) with highest figures in patients with insufficient physical activity and high level of psycho-emotional stress. In all groups of patients there was unidirectional reverse correlation between serum NGF and cortisol levels. According to ambulatory BP monitoring, NGF level was inversely proportional to systolic and diastolic BP variability in patients with AH and obesity and in the control group. Reduced serum concentration of NGF was associated with increased levels of reactive and personal anxiety. Conclusion. Obtained data suggests that NGF plays an important role in complex multifactorial interactions between neuropsychic, cardiovascular and metabolic processes.


Based on recent data collected by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics and the OECD in the context of their joint World Education Indicators project, labour market outcomes of education can be reassessed for selected non-OECD countries (Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Thailand and Uruguay) integrating particularly interesting characteristics of developing country labour markets such as high underemployment and informal sector employment. These specific data, available by level of educational attainment, gender and age, have not yet been published and are presented for the first time within this report. Based on the new information available, some light can be shed on ongoing discussions about perceived differences between OECD and non-OECD countries with respect to labour market outcomes of education. In fact, once the important characteristics of underemployment and informal sector employment are taken into account, the link between education and labour market prospects no longer differs significantly between the two country groups. In both groups, employment prospects, earnings and labour market participation tend to be positively related to the level of educational attainment. Across all levels of education, young people and women tend to be in the most unfavourable situation. However, gender discrepancies with respect to employment prospects appear to be more important in non-OECD than in OECD countries, and no structural trend can be observed that would indicate an improvement of the situation over time.


CHEMISTRY
Copper is a common choice for constructing pipes that carry drinking water because of its relatively strong resistance to corrosion, but over time oxidative chemistry can introduce metal ions into the streams emerging from the faucet. A complex series of factors contributes to the ion concentration, ranging from the water's pH to the precipitation equilibria of various hydroxide, oxide, and carbonate salts, as well as biochemical processes that accompany the formation of bacterial biofilms on the pipes' inner surfaces. In general though, a simplifying assumption has been that the aqueous copper ion concentration is limited by diffusion during stagnant periods between flow, when water rests in the pipe. Calle et al. have now found that the influence of flow dynamics cannot in general be neglected. Through a series of measurements on a pipe system connecting a well to a household in Chile, they uncovered concentration patterns suggesting that a significant quantity of ions is dislodged from surface biofilms by virtue of interfacial forces arising during flow. Thus, the interplay of hydrodynamics with sorption equilibria in these systems merits further study. — JSY

Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 10.1021/es071079b (2007).


BACKGROUND:Transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) has emerged as a safe and effective regional anesthesia technique for providing postoperative lower abdominal analgesia. Complications associated with TAPB are rare and pose a lower overall risk to the patient receiving a TAPB versus a caudal block, which is considered the gold standard for pediatric lower abdominal regional anesthesia. Our study hypothesis was that TAPB would initially be equivalent to caudal block in providing postoperative pain control but would also show improved pain relief beyond the anticipated caudal duration. METHODS:This study was a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Forty-five children between the ages of 1 and 9 undergoing bilateral ureteral reimplantation surgery through a low transverse incision were enrolled. Narcotic requirement, pain scores (FLACC/Wong-Baker FACES), episodes of emesis, and antispasmodic requirement were recorded in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and at 6-hour intervals for 24 hours from the time of block placement. Our protocol used a multimodal approach toward pain management in all children, including randomized regional technique, scheduled ketorolac, morphine as needed, and the antispasmodic, oxybutynin, as needed. RESULTS:Morphine requirement showed no statistical difference during the initial 12 hours (all P ≥ 0.68 at PACU, 6 and 12 hours). However, at 24 hours those patients randomized to receive the TAPB required less cumulative morphine than the caudal group (0.05 mg/kg ± 0.06 vs 0.09 mg/kg ± 0.07, P = 0.03). There was a trend toward fewer episodes of emesis in the TAPB group which reached statistical significance at 18 and 24 hours (6 vs 1 episodes, P = 0.03; and 9 vs 2 episodes, P = 0.02). Pain scores (0–10) were higher in the TAPB group in the PACU (3.46 ± 2.69 vs 1.71 ± 2.1, P = 0.02), but there were no significant differences at all subsequent time points (all P ≥ 0.10). The TAPB group also had a higher requirement for the bladder antispasmodic oxybutynin at 24 hours (0.49 ± 0.58 vs 0.28 ± 0.17, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS:TAPB provided superior analgesia compared with the caudal block at 6 to 24 hours after block placement, as demonstrated by a statistically significant decrease in cumulative opioid requirement, which was the primary end point. The lower incidence of emesis in the TAPB group likely reflected the decreased opioid consumption. Although TAPB appears to be less effective than the caudal block in preventing viscerally mediated bladder spasms, as evidenced by the higher PACU pain scores and increased oxybutynin requirement at 24 hours, this effect may be counteracted in future clinical practice by scheduled administration of the antispasmodic medications. Considering the overall safety advantages of the TAPB over the caudal block, this should be considered a preferred regional technique for lower abdominal surgeries.


Abstract The present work considers the utilization of a moving bed temperature swing adsorption (MBTSA) process for CO2 capture as alternative to the commercial absorption-based technologies, in the context of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants. A detailed mathematical model consisting of energy, mass and momentum balances was implemented in gPROMS software, in order to investigate the system behavior under different operating conditions and design parameters. Results show that under the simulated process conditions, the system is suitable for capturing CO2 at high purity and high capture rate. Promising results are obtained also in terms of process energy duty, by performing a preliminary analysis that takes into account the heat required for sorbent regeneration. Furthermore, the effect of implementing the MBTSA process on plant performance was studied, by integrating the capture system with a process model of the reference power plant. A detailed analysis of the energy use associated with the capture process auxiliaries was performed. Finally, the power plant model was used to simulate the same NGCC system coupled with a state-of-the-art absorption process, for a direct comparison between the two capture technologies.


Created out of the need to integrate France with its former colonies, the CFA Franc was launched in 1945 and pegged to the French Franc until the arrival of the euro when the peg was changed to 655.957 CFA per euro. While a fixed-exchange-rate, a priori, helps mitigate exchange rate risks and thus, promotes trade and investment, economic growth in the region remains sluggish and uneven, at least partly due to a lack of autonomous, country-specific monetary policy confronting the asynchronous business cycles among the member nations. Also, currency devaluation is not a policy option that could help correct the chronic trade deficits in the zone. Moreover, not only the EU's share in the region's total trade has declined, there is a potential currency misalignment where the real exchange rate based on the current peg deviates from where it would be, based on a country's economic fundamentals, the Equilibrium Exchange Rate. Whether such misalignment might have contributed to the trade deficits in the CFA zone is an empirical question that this panel study investigates using two different trade balance equations, one using the real effective exchange rate (REER) and the other using the equilibrium real effective exchange rate (EREER) on annual data over 1985-2015. We find that REER does not carry the theoretically postulated sign in the estimated trade balance equation but the equilibrium one (EREER) does. Moreover, when the EREER is used, trade balance seems to be more elastic, especially during the post devaluation era (1995-2015), when we are able to recover the expected sign for REER. Considering the misalignment between REER and EREER, it appears that being anchored to a foreign currency, CFA franc likely has not helped the CFA countries improve their trade competitiveness. Having their own currency, and control over monetary and exchange rate policy, would enable them to deal better with country specific shocks and boost trade competitiveness. However, this would have to be preceded by the strengthening of the political institutions, enforcement of stricter fiscal discipline and independent monetary policy. JEL classification: F14; F44; O24; O55


&NA; Bayesian analysis of macroevolutionary mixtures (BAMM) is a statistical framework that uses reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo to infer complex macroevolutionary dynamics of diversification and phenotypic evolution on phylogenetic trees. A recent article by Moore et al. (MEA) reported a number of theoretical and practical concerns with BAMM. Major claims from MEA are that (i) BAMM's likelihood function is incorrect, because it does not account for unobserved rate shifts; (ii) the posterior distribution on the number of rate shifts is overly sensitive to the prior; and (iii) diversification rate estimates from BAMM are unreliable. Here, we show that these and other conclusions from MEA are generally incorrect or unjustified. We first demonstrate that MEA's numerical assessment of the BAMM likelihood is compromised by their use of an invalid likelihood function. We then show that "unobserved rate shifts" appear to be irrelevant for biologically plausible parameterizations of the diversification process. We find that the purportedly extreme prior sensitivity reported by MEA cannot be replicated with standard usage of BAMM v2.5, or with any other version when conventional Bayesian model selection is performed. Finally, we demonstrate that BAMM performs very well at estimating diversification rate variation across the ∼20% of simulated trees in MEA's data set for which it is theoretically possible to infer rate shifts with confidence. Due to ascertainment bias, the remaining 80% of their purportedly variable‐rate phylogenies are statistically indistinguishable from those produced by a constant‐rate birth‐death process and were thus poorly suited for the summary statistics used in their performance assessment. We demonstrate that inferences about diversification rates have been accurate and consistent across all major previous releases of the BAMM software. We recognize an acute need to address the theoretical foundations of rate‐shift models for phylogenetic trees, and we expect BAMM and other modeling frameworks to improve in response to mathematical and computational innovations. However, we remain optimistic that that the imperfect tools currently available to comparative biologists have provided and will continue to provide important insights into the diversification of life on Earth.


High-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) systems yield finely detailed images of sea bottom environments. SAS image texture models must be capable of representing a wide variety of sea bottom environments including sand ripples, coral or rock formations, and flat hardpack. In this paper, a parameterized model for SAS image textures is derived from the autocorrelation functions (ACFs) of the SAS imaging point spread function (PSF) and the ACF of the seabed texture sonar cross section (SCS). The proposed texture mixture model is analytically tractable and parameterized by component mixing parameters, mixture component correlation lengths, the single-point intensity image statistical shape parameter, and the rotation of the ACF mixture components in the 2-D imaging plane. An iterative parameter estimation algorithm based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for truncated data is presented and tested against various synthetic and real SAS image textures. The performance of the algorithm is compared and discussed for synthetically generated data across various image sizes and texture characteristics. The model fit is also compared against a small set of real SAS survey images and is shown to accurately fit the imaging PSF and seabed SCS ACF for these textures of interest.


Background/Objective Despite potential benefits granted by genetically modified (GM) fruit trees, their release and commercialization raises concerns about their potential environmental impact, and the transfer via pollen of transgenes to cross-compatible cultivars is deemed to be the greatest source for environmental exposure. Information compiled from field trials on GM trees is essential to propose measures to minimize the transgene dispersal. We have conducted a field trial of seven consecutive years to investigate the maximum frequency of pollen-mediated crop-to-crop transgene flow in a citrus orchard, and its relation to the genetic, phenological and environmental factors involved. Methodology/Principal Findings Three different citrus genotypes carrying the uidA (GUS) tracer marker gene (pollen donors) and a non-GM self-incompatible contiguous citrus genotype (recipient) were used in conditions allowing natural entomophilous pollination to occur. The examination of 603 to 2990 seeds per year showed unexpectedly low frequencies (0.17–2.86%) of transgene flow. Paternity analyses of the progeny of subsets of recipient plants using 10 microsatellite (SSR) loci demonstrated a higher mating competence of trees from another non-GM pollen source population that greatly limited the mating chance of the contiguous cross-compatible and flowering-synchronized transgenic pollen source. This mating superiority could be explained by a much higher pollen competition capacity of the non-GM genotypes, as was confirmed through mixed-hand pollinations. Conclusions/Significance Pollen competition strongly contributed to transgene confinement. Based on this finding, suitable isolation measures are proposed for the first time to prevent transgene outflow between contiguous plantings of citrus types that may be extendible to other entomophilous transgenic fruit tree species.


On the Boston Common stands one of the great Civil War memorials, a magnificent bronze sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It depicts the black soldiers of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry marching alongside their young white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. When the philosopher William James dedicated the memorial in May 1897, he stirred the assembled crowd with these words: "There they march, warm-blooded champions of a better day for man. There on horseback among them, in the very habit as he lived, sits the blue-eyed child of fortune."In this book Shaw speaks for himself with equal eloquence through nearly two hundred letters he wrote to his family and friends during the Civil War. The portrait that emerges is of a man more divided and complex--though no less heroic--than the Shaw depicted in the celebrated film "Glory." The pampered son of wealthy Boston abolitionists, Shaw was no abolitionist himself, but he was among the first patriots to respond to Lincoln's call for troops after the attack on Fort Sumter. After Cedar Mountain and Antietam, Shaw knew the carnage of war firsthand. Describing nightfall on the Antietam battlefield, he wrote, "the crickets chirped, and the frogs croaked, just as if nothing unusual had happened all day long, and presently the stars came out bright, and we lay down among the dead, and slept soundly until daylight. There were twenty dead bodies within a rod of me."When Federal war aims shifted from an emphasis on restoring the Union to the higher goal of emancipation for four million slaves, Shaw's mother pressured her son into accepting the command of the North's vanguard black regiment, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. A paternalist who never fully reconciled his own prejudices about black inferiority, Shaw assumed the command with great reluctance. Yet, as he trained his recruits in Readville, Massachusetts, during the early months of 1963, he came to respect their pluck and dedication. "There is not the least doubt," he wrote his mother, "that we shall leave the state, with as good a regiment, as any that has marched."Despite such expressions of confidence, Shaw in fact continued to worry about how well his troops would perform under fire. The ultimate test came in South Carolina in July 1863, when the Fifty-fourth led a brave but ill-fated charge on Fort Wagner, at the approach to Charleston Harbor. As Shaw waved his sword and urged his men forward, an enemy bullet felled him on the fort's parapet. A few hours later the Confederates dumped his body into a mass grave with the bodies of twenty of his men. Although the assault was a failure from a military standpoint, it proved the proposition to which Shaw had reluctantly dedicated himself when he took command of the Fifty-fourth: that black soldiers could indeed be fighting men. By year's end, sixty new black regiments were being organized.A previous selection of Shaw's correspondence was privately published by his family in 1864. For this volume, Russell Duncan has restored many passages omitted from the earlier edition and has provided detailed explanatory notes to the letters. In addition he has written a lengthy biographical essay that places the young colonel and his regiment in historical context.


Background and Aim: Discourse-based interventions were studied less in speech therapy. This study aimed to investigate the effects of discourse-based intervention on language disabilities in school-aged children with borderline intelligence quotient (IQ). Methods: In an experimental study, 33 students at the age of 6-13 years with borderline intelligence quotient (17 students for intervention and 16 students for control group) were selected with available sampling. The intervention lasted 14 sessions (every session: 45 minutes) that focused on the structure and content of discourse. Personal narrative was elicited with explanation of the same topic (go to a trip) for pre- and post-test. Results: Mean scores of intelligence quotient, age and education had no difference between the two groups. The intervention caused the increase of compound sentences (p=0.038), types of cohesive conjunctions (p=0.003), and related information (p=0.008) and decrease of ungrammatical sentences (p=0.031). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that participation in the intervention program has a clinically significant effect on the participants' abilities to produce personal narrative.


Ageing can be modulated by genetic as well as nutritional interventions. In female Drosophila melanogaster, lifespan is maximized at intermediate concentrations of sucrose as the carbohydrate source, and yeast as the protein source. Dampening the signal through the insulin/IGF signalling (IIS) pathway, by genetic ablation of median neurosecretory cells (mNSCs) that produce insulin-like peptides, extends lifespan and counteracts the detrimental effects of excess yeast. However, how IIS reduction impacts health on a high-sugar diet remains unclear. We find that, while the ablation of the mNSCs can extend lifespan and delay the age-related decline in the health of the neuromuscular system irrespective of the amount of dietary sugar, it cannot rescue the lifespan-shortening effects of excess sugar. On the other hand, ablation of mNSCs can prevent adult obesity resulting from excess sugar, and this effect appears independent from the canonical effector of IIS, dfoxo. Our study indicates that while treatments that reduce IIS have anti-ageing effects irrespective of dietary sugar, additional interventions may be required to achieve full benefits in humans, where excessive sugar consumption is a growing problem. At the same time, pathways regulated by IIS may be suitable targets for treatment of obesity.


A rich variety of two-phase microstructures have been shown to form in the directionally solidified Pb-30wt.%Bi alloy. The selection of microstructure is shown to be depended upon the value of G/V (temperature gradient in the liquid divided by growth rate). The microstructure evolution is also discussed based on the competitive growth of different phase at various G/V ratios in directional solidification. Experimental results indicate that the primary a phase is the leading phase and grows with a dendritic/cellular microstructure while the peritectic b phase grows with cellular/planar microstructure in interdendritic/intercellular region at low G/V value. In contrast, competitive structures but not the discrete banded structure is present at high G/V ratio which makes the primary and secondary phase to grow with planar/cellular interface.


This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between conventional and digital radiographic methods in the measurement of periapical lesions in primary molars and compares the time used to obtain the radiographic images between both methods. Material and methods: This crossover study included children between 4 to 8-year-old with periapical lesion in primary mandibular molars. Fifteen molars were randomly assigned firstly to receive conventional or digital periapical radiograph during the steps of endodontic treatment. The time to obtain the radiographic image was evaluated in seconds and compared by the Mann-Whitney test. The periapical lesions measurement (mm2) were performed by the Image J software and the degree of correlation of measurement between both techniques was evaluated by the Spearman correlation test. Data was analyzed using the GraphPad Prism software (α = 0.05). Results: A strong positive correlation between the measurement of lesions occurred on conventional methods in comparison with the measurement on digital methods (r2=0.778; p<0.0006); however, the><0.006) ); however, the time to obtain the radiographic images was shorter in the digital method (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The digital method had a shorter amount of time to obtain the images and strong correlation for the lesions measurement in comparison to the conventional method. Therefore, the digital radiograph method is preferable for use in children.


Background
People with multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunologic disorders (herein referred to as patients) are increasingly treated with infusible monoclonal antibodies. This rise in demand has placed increased loads on current infusion services and mandates careful strategic planning. This study examined patient preferences for the timing and location of infusions and their association with demographic and disease variables to facilitate patient-focused strategic planning.

Methods
Ninety-one patients receiving an infusible therapy at an infusion service during March 2019 were asked to complete a questionnaire exploring eight domains, including preferences for time of infusions and location of infusion centers. Potential access to home-based treatment was included as an option. Unstructured (free-text) feedback on current service was also obtained.

Results
Eighty-three patients completed the survey (mean age, 42 years; 75% women). Infusions were predominantly natalizumab (66%) and ocrelizumab (25%). Of these patients, 71% were engaged in some form of work or study, and 83% of this group had to arrange time off from work or study to attend treatment. Seventy percent of patients would prefer their infusion before noon, and 60% would consider home-based infusions. Most used a car as their transport to the infusion service.

Conclusions
These results suggest that patients are more likely to prefer infusible treatment in the morning and are open to home-based infusions. This study provides information for health services to target service delivery at peak preference times and consider alternate ways of delivering infusible treatments.


Olfactory perception is influenced by behavioral states, presumably via efferent regulation. Using the whole cell version of patch-clamp recording technique, we discovered that acetylcholine, which is released from efferent fibers in the olfactory mucosa, can directly affect the signal encoding in newt olfactory receptor cells (ORCs). Under current-clamp conditions, application of carbachol, an acetylcholine receptor agonist, increased the spike frequency of ORCs and lowered their spike threshold. When a 3-pA current to induce near-threshold depolarization was injected into ORCs, 0.0 spikes/s were generated in control solution and 0.5 spikes/s in the presence of carbachol. By strong stimuli of injection of a 13-pA current into ORCs, 9.1 and 11.0 spikes/s were generated in control and carbachol solutions, respectively. A similar result was observed by bath application of 50 μM acetylcholine. Under voltage-clamp conditions, carbachol increased the peak amplitude of a voltage-gated sodium current by 32% and T-type calcium current by 39%. Atropine, the specific muscarinic receptor antagonist, blocked the enhancement by carbachol of the voltage-gated sodium current and T-type calcium current, suggesting that carbachol increases those currents via the muscarinic receptor rather than via the nicotinic receptor. In contrast, carbachol did not significantly change the amplitude of the L-type calcium current or the delayed rectifier potassium current in the ORCs. Because T-type calcium current is known to lower the threshold in ORCs, we suggest that acetylcholine enhance excitability by lowering the threshold of spike generation in ORCs via the muscarinic receptor.


The air transportation industry contributes with 2% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, and there is a demand from global aviation regulators for reducing this percentage. Hybrid-electric propulsion systems (HEPS) for aircraft is an area of increasing interest for achieving these goals. It is a multidisciplinary research that involves internal combustion engines (ICE), electric motors (EM), power electronic converters, energy storage devices, propeller design, monitoring and control systems, management, etc. The Electromechanical Energy Conversion Group (GCEME) in Brazil developed a complete HEPS test bench and Laboratory. The facility will be able to test three different topologies: Series, full-electric and turbo-electric. The present work employs a detailed model for the test bench, and given a mission prole and the energy consumption as optimization function, it applies Dierential Evolution (DE) techniques in the energy management code. The results highlight the nonlinear nature of the HEPS model, and the worth of this methodology in looking for an optimal solution to reduce the computing processing time.


We employ the first two years of data from the near-infrared, high-resolution SDSS-III/APOGEE spectroscopic survey to investigate the distribution of metallicity and α-element abundances of stars over a large part of the Milky Way disk. Using a sample of ≈10, 000 kinematically unbiased red-clump stars with ∼5% distance accuracy as tracers, the [α/Fe] versus [Fe/H] distribution of this sample exhibits a bimodality in [α/Fe] at intermediate metallicities, −0.9 < [Fe/H] <−0.2, but at higher metallicities ([Fe/H] ∼+0.2) the two sequences smoothly merge. We investigate the effects of the APOGEE selection function and volume filling fraction and find that these have little qualitative impact on the α-element abundance patterns. The described abundance pattern is found throughout the range 5 < R < 11 kpc and 0 < |Z| < 2 kpc across the Galaxy. The [α/Fe] trend of the high-α sequence is surprisingly constant throughout the Galaxy, with little variation from region to region (∼10%). Using simple galactic chemical evolution models, we derive an average star-formation efficiency (SFE) in the high-α sequence of ∼4.5 × 10−10 yr−1, which is quite close to the nearly constant value found in molecular-gas-dominated regions of nearby spirals. This result suggests that the early evolution of the Milky Way disk was characterized by stars that shared a similar star-formation history and were formed in a well-mixed, turbulent, and molecular-dominated ISM with a gas consumption timescale (SFE−1) of ∼2 Gyr. Finally, while the two α-element sequences in the inner Galaxy can be explained by a single chemical evolutionary track, this cannot hold in the outer Galaxy, requiring, instead, a mix of two or more populations with distinct enrichment histories.


An incisive recognition of the intimate link between our present wicked global problems and consciousness, in particular the self induced nature of such, pervades the backdrop of this inquiry. However consciousness growth is far from a defined linear process and I set out to inquire in this study, into what I consider to be a potential high leverage nodal point, within a level/line framing of the issue. I explore the unfolding of the spiritual line of development within Integral Theory's AQAL matrix, beyond its presently perceived, in many respects seeming arrested nature in contemporary culture. I track and trace the spiritual line through empirically based structure-stages and state-stages of development and its potential occlusions in shadow, to set the foundation for a further empirical dimension of the research. Here I set out to measure through an integral lens interpretation of a rigorously designed and validated Spiritual Intelligence SQ21 assessment tool, an integral psycho-spiritual developmental profile, or the IPSD configurations of 20 research participants, with a view to creating a meaningful container for further inquiry into IPSD.


Cell-penetrating peptoids are an important class of peptidomimetics, which can replace highly biodegradable cell penetrating peptides for enhanced drug delivery. Typically, they contain positively charged amino side chains which are synthesized via their protected analogues. To avoid the use of amine protecting groups a Click-chemistry based modular synthesis of novel hydrophilic as well as amphiphilic cell penetrating peptoids was developed to generate novel structures for drug delivery in cells.


FlexiTP is a novel TDMA protocol that offers a synchronized and loose slot structure. Nodes in the network can build, modify, or extend their scheduled number of slots during execution, based on their local information. Nodes wake up for their scheduled slots; otherwise, they switch into power-saving sleep mode. This flexible schedule allows FlexiTP to be strongly fault tolerant and highly energy efficient. FlexiTP is scalable for a large number of nodes because its depth-first-search schedule minimizes buffering, and it allows communication slots to be reused by nodes outside each other's interference range. Hence, the overall scheme of FlexiTP provides end-to-end guarantees on data delivery (throughput, fair access, and robust self-healing) while also respecting the severe energy and memory constraints of wireless sensor networks. Simulations in ns-2 show that FlexiTP ensures energy efficiency and is robust to network dynamics (faults such as dropped packets and nodes joining or leaving the network) under various network configurations (network topology and network density), providing an efficient solution for data-gathering applications. Furthermore, under high contention, FlexiTP outperforms 2-MAC in terms of energy efficiency and network performance.


AbstractThe removal of arsenic was investigated by four types of thin-film polyamide nanofiltration (NF) (NF270, NF90) and reverse osmosis (RO) (XLE, BW30) membranes in a flat-sheet module. The influence of membrane types, pressure, pH, and pre-oxidation step on the removal of arsenic (As(III)) was investigated. Initial As(III) concentration was 100 μg/l for all of the experiments. Flux was determined over a pressure range of 3.5–10 bar for both NF and RO membranes. Experiments were conducted at pH 3.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 to evaluate the effect of pH on As(III) removal. The impact of pre-oxidation and oxidant concentrations on As(III) removal were also evaluated. It was found that the percentage of As(III) removal of RO membranes were in the range of 97–99 for all transmembrane pressure applied. In the range of operating conditions, As(III) and As(V) rejection were found almost equally good by RO membranes. RO permeate met the WHO and Turkish standard for arsenic. Pre-oxidation step improved the rejection per...


Ellen Notbohm is a household name in the autism community. Her book "Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew" (9781932565300) has been a top-selling title in the field for almost four years, and the first edition of this book has been a close runner-up. Veronica Zysk, editor of the award-winning magazine "Autism Asperger's Digest", is also a name that is known and trusted. Now, this expanded, revised, and redesigned version of a great seller is sure to make a big splash in bookstores! Winner of a Teachers' Choice Award, the first edition of this book has already become a bestseller throughout the autism community. Now, in this expanded edition, authors Ellen Notbohm and Veronica Zysk have added over 400 new ideas, which are complimented by a new layout specially designed to enhance the readers' experience. With this book, parents and professionals can bypass countless hours spent seeking answers to the day-to-day challenges of autism.


This proceedings presents 107 state-of-the-art reports and results of studies by investigators who have analyzed and evaluated the effects of natural and technological hazards on lifelines. New research has been conducted on the seismic performance of lifelines, new standards and codes have been developed, and major lifeline projects have been rehabilitated, designed, and constructed. The lifeline performance of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline during the November 3, 2002, Denali Fault earthquake demonstrates how lifelines properly designed and constructed for severe earthquake ground motions can perform well. The Sixth U.S. Conference and Workshop on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE 2003) was held in Long Beach, California, on the 10th anniversary year of the 1993 Long Beach earthquake. The theme for TCLEE 2003: Advancing Mitigation Technologies and Disaster Response highlighted the need to focus all efforts on natural and technological hazards. Topics covered include: Lifeline Management and Policy Issues; Transportation System Preparedness, Response, and Recovery; Retrofit and Policy Issues with the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System; Post-Earthquake Investigations and Lifeline Performance During Earthquakes; Lifeline Guides and Codes; Performance of Ports and Wharves; Water and Waste Water Systems and Components; The Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake; Electric Power Guidelines and Performance of Equipment; Design, Mitigation, and Performance of Underground Pipelines; Seismic Hazard and Risk Issues; Seismic Risk Analysis of Highway Systems; Geotechnical Lifeline Issues; and Innovative Mitigation of Bridges.


AIM
To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of optic capture in pediatric cataract surgery.

METHODS
Searches of peer-reviewed literature were conducted in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library. The search terms were "optic capture" and "cataract". The retrieval period ended in December 2014. Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs), case-control studies and cohort studies were included. Meta-analyses were performed. Pooled weighted mean differences and risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

RESULTS
Ten studies involving 282 eyes were included, 5 of which were RCTs involving 194 eyes. The application of optic capture significantly reduced both opacification of the visual axis (RR: 0.12; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.85; P=0.03) and occurrence of geometric decentration (RR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.46; P=0.004). But it did not significantly affect best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (WMD: -0.01; 95%CI: -0.07 to 0.05; P=0.75) and influence the occurrence of posterior synechia (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 0.84 to 2.77; P=0.17). Deposits in the anterior intraocular lens were significantly increased in the optic capture group early after surgery (RR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.86; P=0.02) and at the last follow-up (RR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.08 to 4.92; P=0.03). The quality of the evidence was assessed as high.

CONCLUSION
The application of optic capture significantly reduces opacification of visual axis and occurrence of geometric decentration but do not significantly improve BCVA with notable safety.


Reservation wages and expected wages constitute different categories, both conceptually and empirically. The aim of this article is the construction of a method for inferring the adequacy of both kinds of wage expectations among persons who are not employed. This method is used to verify the hypothesis about the adequacy of reservation wages and expected wages among the unemployed in Poland. The key element of the analysis in this study is to what extent the reservation wages and wage expectations of the unemployed are in alignment with market conditions. We exploit a unique source of data on expected wages (National Bank of Poland survey) as well as data on reservation wages (Labour Force Survey) and develop a series of parametric and non-parametric counterfactual distributions for the registered unemployed. Our results indicate that expected wages are higher than reservation wages and continue to be positively correlated with wage pressure. We find that reservation wages in Poland from 2011 to 2014 were not excessive. This is important because if the wage expectations of the unemployed are in excess of market evaluation, unemployment and wage pressures prevail.


Perfectly matched layers (PMLs), which are employed for mesh truncation in the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) or in finite element methods (FEMs), can be realized by artificial anisotropic materials with properly chosen permittivity and permeability tensors. The tensor constitutive parameters must satisfy the Kramers-Kronig relationships, so that the law of causality holds. These relations are used to relate the real and imaginary parts of the constitutive parameters of the PML media to deduce the asymptotic behaviors of these parameters at low and high frequencies.


When a rubber tube with free ends is inflated under volume control, the pressure will first reach a maximum and then decrease monotonically to approach a constant asymptote. The pressure maximum corresponds to the initiation of a localized bulge and is predicted by a bifurcation condition, whereas the asymptote is the Maxwell pressure corresponding to a 'two-phase' propagation state. By contrast, when the tube is first pre-stretched and then has its ends fixed during subsequent inflation, the pressure as a function of the bulge amplitude has both a maximum and a minimum, and the behaviour on the right ascending branch has previously not been fully understood. We show that for all values of the pre-stretch and tube length, the ascending branches all converge to a single curve that is dependent only on the ratio of the tube thickness to the outer radius. This curve represents the Maxwell state to be approached in each case (if Euler buckling or axisymmetric wrinkling does not occur first), but this state is pressure-dependent, in contrast to the free-ends case. We also demonstrate experimentally that localized bulging cannot occur when the pre-stretch is sufficiently large and investigate what strain-energy functions can predict this observed phenomenon. This article is part of the theme issue 'The Ogden model of rubber mechanics: Fifty years of impact on nonlinear elasticity'.


Slow-switching effect in PZT ferroelectric memory under low-voltage and high-speed operation is observed. The slow-switching effect becomes worse at lower operation voltage and elevated temperature. This effect significantly reduces the sensing margin and causes severe reliability issue for advanced ferroelectric memory, particularly for low-voltage and high-speed applications. This slow-switching effect is believed to be attributed to slowing down of polarization switching caused by band bending from Schottky built-in potential at the electrode/ferroelectric interface. The proposed mechanism is supported by the polarity dependence in an asymmetric LNO/PZT/Pt sample.