All information-seeking professionals need to sieve through large amounts of text to retrieve the information they need so that they can stay up-to-date of developments in their field. Language Technology tools can help make the analyst's work more efficient by increasing the amount of data analysed and by speeding up the process. Software tools applied to big data may additionally provide a bird's-eye view of trends and data distributions not easily visible to the human reader. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed the Europe Media Monitor (EMM) family of applications, which aims to provide solutions for the daily media monitoring needs of a large variety of users working in diverse fields. EMM gathers and analyses hundreds of thousands of news articles every day in up to seventy languages. Due to the large scale of the effort, EMM can track topics, detect trends and act as an early warning tool. In this chapter, we present the functionality and the benefits of EMM's news analysis capacity. We also aim to make the reader aware of the potential dangers of automated large-scale media monitoring. The EMM team makes available for free a number of linguistic tools and resources that can be used by information specialists to improve their own analysis of large sets of textual data.


The SEC prohibits the presentation of non‐GAAP measures before corresponding GAAP measures; however, a large proportion of non‐GAAP reporters present non‐GAAP EPS before GAAP EPS in their earnings announcements. This noncompliance raises questions about whether firms use prominence to highlight higher or lower quality non‐GAAP information. For firms reporting non‐GAAP EPS between 2003 and 2016, prominent non‐GAAP EPS is associated with higher quality non‐GAAP reporting. Further tests reveal that nonregulatory incentives, rather than regulatory costs, explain this relation. Specifically, prominence is associated with higher quality non‐GAAP reporting in settings where prominence is not regulated, investors ignore prominence when non‐GAAP reporting quality is lower, and the minority of firms using prominence to mislead exhibit characteristics associated with weaker investor monitoring. Overall, we provide evidence that regulatory noncompliance can reflect an intent to inform, and that most firms use prominence to highlight higher quality non‐GAAP information despite prohibitive regulation.


The paper deals with assessment of the determinants of default risks in microfinance institutions in Assosa zone. The problem identified was that microfinance programs perform meagerly because of delay in repayment and high default rates. Hence, it has been essential to establish if these limitations prevailed in the selected 8 MFIs in the zone schemed by determining the default rate and the grounds of the observed series. Therefore, in order to address those issues, the researchers collected primary data collected through structured questionnaire and captured secondary sources of data. The data analysis tools used were descriptive and inferential analysis. The logistic probit model was employed to estimate the determinants of credit default risk and the repayment performance. The finding shows that credit diversion is positively related to number of dependents supported by the borrower, use of financial records, credit/loan size and number of times borrowed(sig 10%) from the same source. Income from other sources than credit/loan, loan supervision made to the borrower and suitability of credit repayment period (1%) were found to be negatively related to loan diversion. The results also pointed out that credit diversion fitted value of credit/loan diversion rate (FITCDR) is significant and negatively related to credit repayment performance. The negative sign probably implies the use of diverted funds for non-income generating purposes, and it is significant at 5%. In addition gender, credit/loan size and number of dependents are all negatively related to the probability of credit repayment. Only suitability of repayment period is significant at 1% level. So, the MFIs are recommended to solve problems observed in its rationing mechanism. Moreover, the processes should be worked out to identify borrower capacity and any obligations that may interfere with repayment. Finally, they should intensify recovery of outstanding balances from defaulters through increased borrower follow-up.


The radioiodinated thymidine analogue, FIAU, is a tracer that has been developed for reporter gene, for cells that were transfected with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase, HSV-TK. FIAU is also a specific substrate of bacterial TK due to the homology between viral and bacterial TK. In this issue of AJNMMI (http://www.ajnmmi.us), Pullamb-hatla et al. reported that the accumulation of (125)I-FIAU in pulmonary infectious foci correlated with the bacterial burden in the lungs. (125)I-FIAU could be used to monitor the efficacy of anti-microbial therapy in mice. Potentially (124)I-FIAU PET could be used to discriminate microbial from sterile inflammation in patients with prosthetic implants.


In this paper we show that every $L^1$-integrable function on $\partial\Omega$ can be obtained as the trace of a function of bounded variation in $\Omega$ whenever $\Omega$ is a domain with regular boundary $\partial\Omega$ in a doubling metric measure space. In particular, the trace class of $BV(\Omega)$ is $L^1(\partial\Omega)$ provided that $\Omega$ supports a 1-Poincar\'e inequality. We also construct a bounded linear extension from a Besov class of functions on $\partial\Omega$ to $BV(\Omega)$.


BACKGROUND
Treatment strategies for deep intracranial gliomas remain limited to stereotactic biopsy in many cases due to the morbidity of aggressive surgical resection. Since no cytoreductive therapy is offered, outcomes have been demonstrably poor compared to patients who are able to undergo primary surgical resection.

OBJECTIVE
To present our practice, in an effort to reduce morbidity and still offer cytoreductive treatment, of offering the possibility of laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for the primary treatment of intracranial deep gliomas that would be otherwise unamenable for resection.

METHODS
From 2010 to 2017, 74 patients were identified from a single surgeon at a single tertiary care referral center who had been treated with LITT. We conducted an exploratory cohort study on patients (n = 6) who have undergone contemporaneous biopsy and laser ablation for the treatment of deep gliomas with a mean tumor volume of 10.9 cc (range 4.2-52 cc).

RESULTS
In our cohort, mean extent of ablation (EOA) was 98.5% on postoperative MRI; mean progression-free survival was 14.3 mo, and 5 patients (83%) remained alive at mean follow-up time of 19.7 mo without any complications. Additionally, there was a negative linear relationship between preoperative lesion size and EOA (P < .04) when analyzed with previously reported series.

CONCLUSION
Although our series is small, we suggest that LITT can be a safe alternative cytoreductive therapy for deep surgically inaccessible gliomas. Given the known benefit of near gross total resection for high-grade gliomas, we believe LITT may improve survival for these patients and complement adjuvant treatments if patients are appropriately selected.


In recent years accidents caused by falling from heights has increased. Typical risc group, operators, construction worker usually fall from machines scaffoldings and roofs.The Flex-lift concept could increase the safety during work on heights as well provide the operator a more correct work position. Given the equipment that could fulfill its purpose, the user might not take the easiest short cut, and expose themself into any danger.The concept provides the operator with a flexibility to place and adjust it for its purpose, the opportunity to add docks and the concept can work as a modular system, controlled by a remote control.


We consider the problem of discovering novel object categories in an image collection. While these images are unlabelled, we also assume prior knowledge of related but different image classes. We use such prior knowledge to reduce the ambiguity of clustering, and improve the quality of the newly discovered classes. Our contributions are twofold. The first contribution is to extend Deep Embedded Clustering to a transfer learning setting; we also improve the algorithm by introducing a representation bottleneck, temporal ensembling, and consistency. The second contribution is a method to estimate the number of classes in the unlabelled data. This also transfers knowledge from the known classes, using them as probes to diagnose different choices for the number of classes in the unlabelled subset. We thoroughly evaluate our method, substantially outperforming state-of-the-art techniques in a large number of benchmarks, including ImageNet, OmniGlot, CIFAR100, CIFAR-10, and SVHN.


Land degradation is a global environment and development issue. Up-to-date, quantitative information is needed to support policy and action for food and water security, economic development, environmental integrity and resource conservation. To meet this need, the Global Assessment of Land Degradation and Improvement (GLADA) uses remote sensing to identify degrading areas and areas where degradation has been arrested or reversed. This screening has been investigated within the parent LADA program at global scale (Bai et al., 2008a & b), and country level (Bai & Dent, 2006; Bai, 2007; Bai et al., 2007a-f, Bai & Dent, 2009, Bai et al., 2010).
Links have been established between land degradation and a decline in biomass or vegetation cover, which may be measured in terms of biomass productivity. Since the early 1980s, consistent, remotely sensed global normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data, and detailed studies of the relationship between NDVI and leaf area index and net primary productivity (Running & Nemani, 1988; Diallo et al., 1991; Carlson & Ripley, 1997) have prompted the use of NDVI trends as a proxy for land degradation (Wessels et al., 2004, 2007; Metternicht et al., 2010). The difficulty is to discount false alarms raised by other factors, notably fluctuations in rainfall, rising temperatures, atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrate precipitation, and land use change, which may not be accompanied by land degradation as commonly understood (Bai et al., 2008a).
The current report is an addendum to the "international" GLADA report (Bai et al., 2008a) summarizing the 'evolution' of the GLADA approach and progress made since then.


A plasma wave can mediate laser coupling in a plasma-based resonant backward Raman amplifier for high power amplification of short laser pulses. The resonant nature of amplification requires a long lifetime of the plasma wave. However, the plasma wave can be heavily Landau damped in warm plasma. On the other hand, Landau damping can be saturated in the presence of a strong plasma wave. We study backward Raman amplifier in the nonlinear regime of Landau damping using a simplified fluid model. We find the regime in which initially high linear Landau damping can be significantly saturated. Because of the saturation effect, higher temperatures can be tolerated in achieving efficient amplification. The plasma temperature can be as much as 50% larger compared to the case of unsaturated Landau damping.


Telehealth is designed to provide health services through the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It has quickly become an important tool to ensure continued care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic while mitigating the risk of viral exposure for patients and providers. This study compared the number of monthly telehealth visits in primary care settings at a large academic medical center from 2019 and 2020. To investigate what health conditions are suitable for telehealth visits, we report on the ten ICD-10 codes with the largest number of telehealth visits.


Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells allow the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity without CO2 emission. Finding a way to cheaply utilize the vast amount of solar energy is one of the biggest challenges for this technology. The organic photovoltaic cells (OPV) are based on solution-processed photoactive polymers and can be fabricated via roll-to-roll (R2R) processes, which allow high production throughput with low costs. CSEM Brasil is building the foundations of future high-tech industries in Brazil and one of our key technology development areas is OPV modules production using R2R coating. In this work, polymer solar cells based on P3HT: PC[60]BM were prepared by R2R coating (electron transport, active and hole transport layers – ETL, AL and HTL) and by screen printing (top silver electrode). In order to save material and give more transparency of the OPV module were compared and evaluated the performance of two different suppliers of Ag paste (A and B) in three different top contact configurations, solid, grid and honeycomb. Additionally, were compared two different screen suppliers (I and II) for screen printing process and the Ag paste drying time studied. The comparisons were made with modules with an active area of 21.6 cm2 (6 stripes serially connected). Photovoltaic performance was evaluated in terms of Ag paste and screens suppliers, Ag pattern and drying time. Finally, modules were encapsulated in a R2R laminator using a flexible barrier film and evaluated in terms of lifetime.


Social integration and independence is the ultimate goal of habilitation and social support for patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Having a partner and having children provide support for social integration of adults with or without a disability. We studied 416 participants with CP born between 1965 and 1970 (243 males, 173 females; mean age 32y 2mo [SD 2y]; age range 29–35y) and compared them with 2247 age‐matched comparison individuals. Diagnostic subtypes of the 416 participants were: 31% hemiplegia, 49% diplegia, 11% tetraplegia, and 9% other types. The level of motor impairment, estimated in childhood, with regard to walking ability was 65% able to walk without assistance, 22% with assistance, and 12% not able to walk (for 1% of the participants their walking ability was not known). We found no sign of increased social integration over the past two or three decades in Denmark. Sixty‐eight per cent lived independently, 13% lived with their parents, and 16% lived at an accommodation facility arranged by the county (institution). Twenty‐eight per cent of the participants were cohabiting and 19% had children. The presence of epilepsy and the severity of physical or cognitive impairment as assessed in childhood predicted independent living and physical and cognitive impairment predicted cohabitation, but parents'socioeconomic position and region of living did not. Fifty‐five percent of the participants, compared with 4% of the comparison group, had no competitive employment, cohabiting partner, or biological children. The remaining participants had at least one of these types of social contact, but this more optimally socially integrated half of the participants only combined all three types of social contact half as often as the comparison group. This could be due to cognitive difficulties or premature ageing.


Image Segmentation is one of the significant elements in the part of image processing. It becomes most essential demanding factor while typically dealing with medical image segmentation. In this paper, proposal of our work comprises of formation of kernel for the medical images by performing the deviation of mapped image data within the scope of each region from the piecewise constant model and based on the regularization term based on the function of indices value of the region. The functional objective minimization is carried out by two steps minimization in image segmentation using graph cut methods, and minimization with respect to region parameters using constant point computation. Nearest neighbor classifiers are introduced to the benchmarked image data segmented portions. Among the different methods in supervised statistical pattern recognition, the nearest neighbor rule results in achieving high performance without requirement of the prior assumptions about the distributions from which the training sets are taken.


The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) measures dispositional optimism (DO) – an individual difference promoting physical and psychological well-being in healthy adults (HAs) as well as in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and healthcare providers (HPs). Controversy has arisen regarding the dimensionality of the LOT-R. Whereas DO was originally defined as a one-dimensional construct, empirical evidence suggests two correlated factors in the LOT-R. This study was the first attempt to identify the best factor structure of the LOT-R in patients with CHF and HPs and to evaluate its measurement invariance among subsamples of patients with CHF, HPs, and a normative sample of HAs. Its validity was also evaluated in patients with CHF. The sample comprised 543 participants (34% HAs; 34% HPs; and 32% CHF patients). Congeneric, two correlated factor, and two orthogonal factor models for the LOT-R were compared by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Measurement invariance was evaluated by considering differential item functioning (DIF) among subsamples of HPs, patients with CHF, and HAs. In patients with CHF, validity was assessed by considering associations with anxiety and depression. The CFA demonstrated the superior fit of the two orthogonal factor model. Moreover, across patients with CHF, HPs, and HAs, the results highlighted a minimal DIF with only trivial consequences. Finally, negative but weak correlations of DO with anxiety and depression confirmed the validity of the LOT-R in patients with CHF. In summary, these findings supported the validity and suitability of the LOT-R for the assessment of DO in patients with CHF, HPs, and HAs.


The Handbook of Gerontology Research Methods offers a clear understanding of the most important research challenges and issues in the burgeoning field of the psychology of aging. As people in developed countries live longer, so a range of research methods has evolved that allows a more nuanced understanding of how we develop psychological and neurologically. Allied to this is an increasing concern with the idea of well-being, a concept which places cognitive performance and development within a more socially grounded context.

With contributions from a range of top international scholars, the book addresses both typical and atypical aging, highlighting key areas such as physical and cognitive exercise, nutrition, stress, diabetes and issues related to death, dying and bereavement. Successful ageing is emphasised throughout the text. Each chapter concludes with a series of practical tips on how to undertake successful research in this area. This unique collection is the first book to provide both a concise overview of the major themes, findings and current controversies in this growing field, as well as an understanding of the practical issues when researching older adults which may impact on research outcomes, intervention, policy and future directions.

Designed for both students and researchers interested in the psychology of aging, but also highly relevant for students or researchers in related fields such as health psychology and social care, the Handbook of Gerontology Research Methods is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand more about the psychology of aging.


Floods caused extensive damage during the 1960s while Taipei was experiencing fast urbanization. In the early 1970s, Taiwan's central government planned a new town, the Linkou New Town, to move people from Taipei's area of high risk for flooding. Numerous levees and dikes, flood pumping stations, and gates have been built in Taipei since the 1970s. However, high density development occurred along the flood-prone areas of Taipei's major rivers after the completion of major flood control facilities in the 1990s. Flash floods, along with the failure of pumping stations along the Keelung River, caused by Typhoon Nari in 2001 flooded downtown Taipei. This research finds that coordination problems between different governmental agencies have resulted in inefficiency and ineffectiveness of flood prevention policies. Additionally, a new method combining non-structural measures, land-use and environmental planning, along with retreat planning in order to reduce risk should be gradually adopted in Taipei. Land-use and environmental planning should play a proactive role in reducing Taipei's flood risk and damage.


Although low levels of stress can be motivating, high levels of stress – especially when it is sustained
– can be detrimental to mental and physical health. Mindfulness practice has been widely applied in
health care worldwide as an effective stress management approach. This study compared the
immediate effects of two types (religious: Serenity Prayer; and non-religious: Body Scan) of
mindfulness practice with a control condition (resting: sitting) in six adults. This study found no
statistically significant difference between the conditions, but data visualization showed a trend of
cardiovascular modulation (increased high frequency of heart rate variability) and cortical
modulation (increased alpha to beta ratio and theta to beta ratio of quantitative encephalogram) with
a greater level of perceived stress-relieved by both types of mindfulness practice. In addition,
religious belief may be a moderator of the effects of intervention. The results of this study offered
insight into the effect of prayer on cardiovascular and cortical modulation for promoting the wellbeing of a person.


The concentration-dependence of the inhibition of whole-cell hydrogen formation by oxygen has been measured in the trichomonads Trichomonas vaginalis and Tritrichomonas foetus, and compared with the oxygen inhibition of the in situ hydrogenase activity as measured by a tritium exchange assay. The inhibition profiles closely paralleled each other, suggesting that hydrogenase is the primary site of inhibition of anaerobic fermentative metabolism. In addition the inhibition profile for isolated hydrogenosomes was measured and shown to be similar to that for whole organisms. Ascorbate peroxidase was shown to be present in both organisms whereas catalase was confirmed to be present only in Tritr. foetus. The kinetic parameters of both enzymes were measured and their respective roles in oxygen protection discussed.


This paper studies the policy determinants of economic transition and estimates the demand for labor in the infant private sector in urban China. We show that a reform that untied access to housing in urban areas from working for the state sector accounts for more than a quarter of the overall increase in labor supply to the private sector during 1986-2005. Using the reform to instrument for private-sector labor supply, we find that private-sector labor demand is very elastic. We provide suggestive evidence that the reform equalized wages across sectors and reduced private-sector rents.


Hadoop has become the de facto platform for large-scale data analysis in commercial applications, and increasingly so in scientific applications. However, Hadoop's byte stream data model causes inefficiencies when used to process scientific data that is commonly stored in highly-structured, array-based binary file formats resulting in limited scalability of Hadoop applications in science. We introduce Sci- Hadoop, a Hadoop plugin allowing scientists to specify logical queries over array-based data models. Sci-Hadoop executes queries as map/reduce programs defined over the logical data model. We describe the implementation of a Sci-Hadoop prototype for NetCDF data sets and quantify the performance of five separate optimizations that address the following goals for several representative aggregate queries: reduce total data transfers, reduce remote reads, and reduce unnecessary reads. Two optimizations allow holistic aggregate queries to be evaluated opportunistically during the map phase; two additional optimizations intelligently partition input data to increase read locality, and one optimization avoids block scans by examining the data dependencies of an executing query to prune input partitions. Experiments involving a holistic function show run-time improvements of up to 8x, with drastic reductions of IO, both locally and over the network.


Comics and cartoons are valued in twenty-first century popular culture and are increasingly used as 'Applied Comics' to help communicate key messages and information in society. However, there is less evidence of cartoons and comics being used to communicate with and engage library users in learning, information literacy (IL) and research support.
This paper explores case studies of how several different projects have utilised comics as a medium to deliver key messages about library services to support teaching and research at Cambridge University Libraries. The paper examines the use of comics and cartoons in a library context framed in a theory of comics and visual learning. The reception and output of the comics and cartoons with different audiences at Cambridge University Libraries is explored and the paper proposes that further research could be done to examine the potential of comics in communication and IL.


In a newborn twin with haemolytic anaemia an unstable fetal haemoglobin was found to be the cause. The anaemia improved spontaneously with the disappearance of the fetal haemoglobin. The new Hb F (alpha2gamma2) variant was shown to have a glycine at position 130 of the 146 residues of the gamma chain. This portion is inside the globin molecule and in all known normal globins it is occupied by a residue with a bulky hydrophobic side chain. Its replacement by glycine which has no side chain would be expected to cause instability. The human gamma-chains may either have a glycine or an alanine at position 136. Evidence is brought forward to suggest that in the abnormal chain position 136 is occupied by glycine.


Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) occurred in a patient with graft-vs-host reaction (GVH). Certain factors link TEN and GVH in this patient. A 22-year-old man with acute lymphocytic leukemia, treated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, developed GVH as manifested by diarrhea, hepatitis, lymphopenia, and a progressive cutaneous eruption. The initial morbilliform eruption later became intensely erythematous, and massive desquamation of large sheets of epidermis, typical of TEN, ensued. Cutaneous histopathology early in the clinical course showed changes of GVH. Later biopsies were also consistent with the diagnosis of TEN. Experimental models of TEN accompanying GVH and a discussion of pathogenesis are included. Graft-vs-host reaction should be added to Lyell's group of systemic diseases associated with TEN.


We often regulate actors as a proxy for protecting categories of information. Rather than directly protect reading records, for example, we target actors like libraries who are likely to possess them. This approach has proven increasingly untenable in the digital age, where the relevant actors are difficult to identify and constantly shifting. Unanticipated third parties now insert themselves as intermediaries or eavesdroppers in all manner of transactions, even in protected spaces like libraries. Where this happens, actor-defined regimes fail to vindicate their privacy commitments even within the institutions for which they were designed. Libraries provide a clear example of this problem. Private reading historically has been protected through a regime that restricts libraries' ability to exploit reading records. Yet this regime now fails to protect reading records even in libraries because it does not bind third parties who provide library services digitally. Illustrating the point, Amazon facilitates e-book lending for a number of public and academic libraries. Although Amazon collects detailed reading records from patrons utilizing these services, the library confidentiality regime does not restrict what it can do with the records. These patrons accordingly confront the risks to intellectual privacy the library regime was meant to counter. This Article proposes a content-defined approach whereby confidentiality obligations would attach to particular types of information regardless of which actors possessed it. Such an approach would not only save extant confidentiality regimes from obsolescence, but also provide a vehicle for extending privacy commitments to future data practices that implicated the same types of sensitive records. * Postdoctoral Associate in Law and Thomson Reuters Fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project. Yale Law School, J.D. 2010. I would like to thank Ian Ayres and Madhavi Sunder for their advice and encouragement during the early stages of this project, and Colin Agur, Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, Kiel Brennan-Marquez, Brookes Brown, Alan Hurst, Margot Kaminski, David Nimmer, Neil Richards, Christina Parajon Skinner, Andrew Tutt, and Bruce Wessel for sharing valuable insights as the project has evolved. I am also grateful to Mike DiRaimo, Max Mishkin, and their colleagues on the Yale Journal of Law and Technology for their assistance throughout the editing process. Finally, I would like to specially thank Lucas Franklin for sharing his in-depth knowledge of library ethics, privacy policies, and e-book lending. All errors are of course my own. 1 Ard: CONFIDENTIALITY AND THE PROBLEM OF THIRD PARTIES: Protecting Read Published by Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository, 2014 CONFIDENTIALITY AND THE PROBLEM OF THIRD PARTIES 2 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................3! I.! PRIVATE INQUIRY AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL ERA..............6! A.! Private Reading Advances First Amendment Values........................6! B.! Institutional Limits to Private Reading...........................................10! C.! Digital Intermediaries Threaten Private Reading ..........................12! 1.! The Incentive To Monitor..........................................................12! 2.! Extra-Institutional Third Parties ..............................................14! 3.! Intra-Institutional Third Parties ...............................................16! II.! THE LIBRARY CONFIDENTIALITY REGIME..............................................18! A.! Library Norms and Ethics in Historical Context ............................19! B.! Library Privacy Statutes .................................................................25! C.! Library Policies and Procedures ....................................................26! III.!E-BOOK LENDING ILLUSTRATES THE LIBRARY REGIME'S LIMITS .........28! A.! Amazon Uses E-Book Lending Records for Marketing ..................30! B.! Collecting Reading Records Creates Risks for Intellectual Privacy .........................................................................32! C.! Library Confidentiality Obligations Do Not Cover Amazon ..........37! 1.! Library Privacy Laws Do Not Cover Non-Library Actors .......38! 2.! Non-Library Actors Do Not Share Libraries' Ethics and Norms ......................................................................39! 3.! Library Policies and Practices Cannot Protect Data Collected by Non-Library Actors ..............................................40! D.! Libraries Cannot Provide Kindle Books Except Through Amazon .............................................................................41! 1.! Libraries Lack Bargaining Power in E-Book Licensing...........41! 2.! Amazon Locks Libraries and Readers into Its Products and Services Using Legal, Technical, and Economic Leverage ......44! IV.!THE CONTENT-DEFINED APPROACH TO CONFIDENTIALITY ...................46! A.! Building a Content-Defined Regime ...............................................47! B.! The Institution-Defined Alternative ................................................48! C.! The Limits of Adding New Actors to an Actor-Defined Regime .....50! V.! TAILORING CONFIDENTIALITY TO CONTEXT: READER PRIVACY OUTSIDE THE STACKS .....................................................................................51! A.! Establishing a Non-Disclosure Baseline.........................................52! B.! Protecting Users from Abuse of Notice and Consent .....................54! C.! Regulating Data Retention..............................................................55! CONCLUSION................................................................................................57! 2 Yale Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 16 [2014], Iss. 1, Art. 1 https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/yjolt/vol16/iss1/1 16 YALE J.L. & TECH. 1 (2013) 2013-2014


: The paper provides the results of examining about 3,000 industrial workers exposed to various xenobiotics. Various phases of immune responses were noted in 40-60% of persons with nonspecific chronic pulmonary, gastrointestinal, gynecological diseases at remission. 10-20% of the industrial workers under study were diagnosed as having secondary immunodeficiency whose criteria were the presence of one of clinical syndromes, a sharply significant reduction in immunoglobulins, normal levels of circulating immune complexes and normal values of the lymphocytic enzymes alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase. The stimulation of the immune system in clinically healthy individuals who have a service length of 3 year or more should be regarded as development of an immune response to a xenobiotic or its metabolites.


Abstract:  Senescence of microvascular endothelial cells is known to play an important role in the pathophysiology of vascular diseases related to ageing, but the accurate mechanism or related genes are not known. Moesin, a cytoskeletal protein and the most potent candidate as an ageing‐related protein, showed obvious changes in expression when compared before and after ageing. In this study, a lentivirus was used to overexpress moesin in endothelial cells. The expression of cell cycle mediators such as p16, cyclin D1 and cdk4, which can be the markers of ageing, was compared by RNA and was shown to be suppressed in moesin overexpressed endothelial cells. In conclusion, it can be said that the expression of moesin delays senescence of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells and this fundamental discovery can be used as a basis for understanding the mechanism of ageing and age‐related diseases.


Objectives To determine 1) mortality and morbidity in people with bipolar disorder, and 2) the impact of maintenance medication on relapse/reoccurrence and adverse events. Methods Objective 1: I conducted a meta-analysis of studies examining mortality in bipolar disorder populations. I then carried out a cohort study in United Kingdom primary care electronic health records to understand rates of mortality and morbidity in bipolar disorder relative to the general population. Objective 2: I completed a network meta-analysis of the efficacy of maintenance mood stabiliser medications (lithium, valproate, olanzapine and quetiapine) in preventing relapse. I then carried out a series of cohort studies in primary care electronic health records. These studies examined 1) the effectiveness and tolerability of these medications, 2) the rates of renal, endocrine, hepatic and metabolic adverse events, and 3) the rates of self-harm, accidental injury and suicide. Propensity score methods were used to address issues of confounding. Results Objective 1: All-cause and cause specific mortality was elevated in people with bipolar disorder (summary standardised mortality ratio 2.05; 95% CI 1.89 to 2.23). In a cohort of 17,341 with bipolar disorder, mortality rates increased from the mid-2000s relative to the general population (hazard ratio increased by 0.14 per year; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.19). Objective 2: Trials comparing lithium, valproate, olanzapine, quetiapine and placebo did not show superiority of one drug. In the electronic health records cohort studies individuals prescribed lithium went for longer before treatment failure (for example valproate had hazard ratio 1.20; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.32 compared with lithium), had increased mild (but not severe) renal failure (hazard ratio for valproate: 0.56; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.69 compared with lithium), hypo- and hyperthyroidism and hypercalcemia rates. However, they had lower rates of clinically significant weight gain (hazard ratio for >15% weight gain with valproate: 1.62; 95% CI 1.31 to 2.01 compared with lithium) and there was no difference in hepatotoxicity, cardiovascular events or diabetes mellitus rates. Additionally, people taking lithium had lower self-harm (hazard ratio for alternatives: 1.51; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.88 compared to lithium) and accidental injury rates. Conclusions Bipolar disorder is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, and the mortality gap with the general population has widened in recent years. Despite limited trial evidence, lithium appears to offer the best opportunity for mood stabilisation. Lithium is associated with increased renal and endocrine dysfunction, but these risks are offset by the potential of more frequent weight gain with alternative drugs. Furthermore, lithium may be associated with specific anti-suicidal effects. These risk and benefits should be considered when individual treatment decisions are made.


The microcirculation maintains tissue homeostasis through local regulation of blood flow and oxygen delivery. Perturbations in microvascular function are characteristic of several diseases and may be early indicators of pathological changes in the cardiovascular system and in parenchymal tissue function. These changes are often mediated by various reactive oxygen species and linked to disruptions in pathways such as vasodilation or angiogenesis. This overview compiles recent advances relating to redox regulation of the microcirculation by adopting both cellular and functional perspectives. Findings from a variety of vascular beds and models are integrated to describe common effects of different reactive species on microvascular function. Gaps in understanding and areas for further research are outlined. © 2020 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 10:229-260, 2020.


The purpose of this essay is to create a greater understanding of how the upbringing can affect young people's clothing consumption when in charge of their own money. This essay also aims to create a greater understanding of the differences and similarities in clothing consumption between young men and women. This essay was conducted as a qualitative study in order to create a more profound understanding of the respondent's views on their consumption behavior. The interviews were conducted with four young fashion-interested individuals, consisting of two female and two male respondents. The essay is based on these interviews and previous researches that can be found in the study. The theories for this study are used from a sociological perspective and are mainly focused on socialization as well as the theory of "Doing Gender". These theories have been applied from a gender perspective in order to be able to explain how gender can affect individual's clothing consumption. The result shows that upbringing as well as individual characteristics explains differences and similarities among men and womens' clothing consumption. As researchers we claim that the further we look ahead into the future, the more we will find that clothing consumption will be more based on individual preferences rather than based on gender.


This review of literature examined the performance effects of beta-alanine supplementation in an athletic population. For the purpose of this study "athletic population" was defined as anyone who is exercising and supplementing beta-alanine, the goal was to determine if there was improvement in athletic performance within each of the three energy systems. Energy systems were defined by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as the phosphocreatine system, glycolysis system, and oxidative system. The research that was included determined how much beta-alanine was supplemented, the duration of supplementation, and whether it increased performance. A cost analysis was based on an average of three leading retailers for the supplementation of beta-alanine. In conclusion, there is evidence to indicate that beta-alanine supplementation increases performance within two of the three systems, but would encompass the entire range given for the glycolysis system and would slightly range in the lower end with the oxidative system. There was no determination regarding how much of an increase in performance was seen. With the analysis of cost compared with increased performance given the range of dosages and length of supplementation in the various studies it would cost approximately $12.16 to $25.20 a month to see an increase in performance.


For quite some time, at professional meetings and other less formal settings, Terrence Tilley has been developing the approach to the theodicy-question (or perhaps we should really say theodicy-questions) now presented in his Evils of Theodicy. This is without doubt in many ways an exemplary treatise, and our task has been made somewhat difficult by virtue of the fact that there is very little in this book that we truly disagree with. Tilley makes it clear from the outset that his is not a theodicy, a solution or resolution of the so-called problems of evil and suffering. It is, rather, an attempt to find out what it is that theodicy is about, to determine what problems are generated by the very endeavor to justify the ways of God in the face of the evils that beset our universe. Tilley states his intentions succinctly:


The Iranian construction industry is facing several problems including low productivity and immense housing scarcity. It is generally believed that industrialisation and offsite manufacturing can increase the productivity of the Iranian housing industry. Yet, one of the major issues of the Iranian construction industry is defective management during design and construction processes which has considerably increased the risks of offsite construction in Iran. BIM could theoretically address these issues thanks to its potential advantages such as improved efficiency, productivity, and quality. As one of the key stakeholders, architects have a major role in the current situation of the Iranian construction industry. A questionnaire survey was conducted in architectural SMEs to study the normal practices of architects during design and construction processes on site. Frequent design changes and defective communication between stakeholders were identified as the major issues. The results reveal that BIM in general and integrated design in particular could effectively address the aforementioned issues mitigating the risks of offsite construction in Iran.


In the early 20th century, the German sociologist Max Weber famously argued that Western modernity was "disenchanted." He meant that modernity was defined by the growth of rationalization, which evacuated the shared spiritual meanings and purposes that had characterized premodern societies oriented toward supernatural worldviews. Rather than relying on "mysterious, incalculable forces," Weber maintained that modernity relied on reason, science, and bureaucracies to manage existence. Weber's disenchantment paradigm influenced thinkers throughout the 20th century, but since the turn of the 21st century, it has been substantially revised. Critics note that traditional "enchanted" worldviews continued to thrive within modernity, and varieties of specifically modern "re-enchantments" arose as well, consistent with the rational, secular, and consumerist currents of the modern world. Critics also observe that the paradigm was too one-sided in its stress on rationalization as the guiding principle of modernity. The paradigm's binary opposition between reason and the irrational, or the dialectical transformation of the former into the latter, have been largely replaced by an emphasis on the complementary nature of reason and the imagination. (Indeed, contrary to Weber's assertion, the imagination itself is now perceived as a "mysterious, incalculable force" within modernity, appealing to the secular and the religious alike.) The new paradigm highlights the intertwined nature of the Enlightenment and Romanticism, reason and the imagination, disenchantment and enchantment. Modernity is characterized less by outright disenchantment than by "disenchanted enchantment."


Poets must read and study, but also they must learn to tilt and whisper, shout, or dance, each in his or her own way, or we might just as well copy the old books. But, no, that would never do, for always the new self swimming around in the old world feels itself uniquely verbal. And that is just the point: how the world, moist and bountiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. 'Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?' This book is my comment.--from the Foreword.


While the Philippines is a signatory to multiple international conventions that affirm women's reproductive rights, attempts to enact legislation to promote a comprehensive national framework for modern family planning and evidence-based sex education have been thwarted by Catholic bishops, lay groups, and conservative politicians for over a decade. Partially as a result of this, the Philippines' reproductive health indicators are dismal relative to its neighbors'. This paper examines the debates around the Reproductive Healthcare law, whose constitutionality is currently being challenged by conservative groups in the Philippine Supreme Court, and the bargaining processes that characterized the passage of the law. Finally, it identifies the threats and opportunities of the existing law and the dangers of a Supreme Court reversal.


An improved apparatus is developed from Ke-pendulum. This new apparatus, resonant absorption mechanical spectrometer (RAMS), can measure the internal friction of solids under a forced vibration mode and the measuring frequency can change quasi-continually from a frequency that is much lower than the resonant frequency of the pendulum system, fτ, to the one that is much higher than fτ. The internal friction measurement is able to cover the frequency range from 10^-3 Hz to kHz. The measurement method and the calculation formula of the internal friction measured by a RAMS in the full frequency range are derived. A series of resonant absorption peaks are observed in copper, alumiaium, zinc, iron samples by the RAMS. The resonant absorption characteristics of the copper sample are studied in details. The experimental results indicate that the position (frequency) of the resonant absorption peaks are independent of the resonant frequency of the pendulum system. The reality of resonant absorption mechanical spectra is discussed and an inference based on the experimental results is presented such that the RAMS is able to characterize some feature of solid materials.


Evidence from the ASTECS trial in 2005 has shown that antenatal corticosteroids reduce admissions to the neonatal unit with respiratory distress after elective caesarean section at term in singletons. Delivery at 37–38 weeks for twin pregnancies is common practice in the UK, and in 2009, we introduced a single course of antenatal corticosteroids for these women having an elective caesarean section. We performed a retrospective analysis of all twins delivered by elective caesarean section at ≥37 weeks between 2005 and 2010. We looked at 114 twin deliveries (228 babies) during this time period. One baby with a congenital abnormality was excluded. In total 76% (173) twins were not given steroids and 24% (54) twins were. In both groups, admission to the neonatal unit was 20%. Median duration of stay in days was 3 in the steroid group with a range of 0–13, compared to a median of 2 in the other group with a range of 0–7. One baby not given steroids was admitted because of respiratory distress syndrome and there were no cases of intraventricular haemorrahage, apgar <7 at 5 min, need for surfactant or necrotising enterocolitis. Delivery at ≥37 weeks for twins by elective caesarean section is associated with low morbidity overall. Corticosteroids prior to caesarean section do not appear to confer benefit but this would need to be evaluated in an adequately powered randomised controlled trial.


A heterozygous F 1 mapping population of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) was created and evaluated for resistance to frosty pod [caused by Moniliophthora roreri (Cif. and Par.) Evans et al.], and black pod [caused by Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Butl.] and for fi ve horticultural traits at CATIE in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The population consisted of 256 F 1 progeny from the cross 'Pound 7' × 'UF 273'. Progeny were used to form a linkage map using 180 markers. The linkage map contained 10 linkage groups (LGs), numbered as the LG in the cacao reference map, and was used to locate putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to the aforementioned diseases and fi ve horticultural traits. Resistance to frosty pod was measured by internal and external pod resistance. Five QTLs for frosty pod resistance were found on three LGs, 2, 7, and 8, with UF 273 appearing to be the source of resistance. These alleles are being used for scoring progeny in ongoing cooperative marker-assisted selection projects, and constitute the fi rst QTLs identifi ed for frosty pod resistance. Three QTLs for black pod resistance were found on LG 4, 8, and 10, with the most favorable alleles coming from Pound 7. One QTL was found on LG 4 for average trunk growth rate, and two QTLs for height of fi rst jorquette were identifi ed on LGs 4 and 6. One QTL each for average trunk diameter growth and pod color was found on LG 4.


By providing liquidity to depositors and credit line borrowers, banks are exposed to double-runs on assets and liabilities. For identification, we exploit the 2007 freeze of the European interbank market and the Italian Credit Register. After the shock, there are sizeable, aggregate double-runs. In the cross-section, pre-shock interbank exposure is (unconditionally) unrelated to post-shock credit line drawdowns. However, conditioning on firm observable and unobservable characteristics, higher pre-shock interbank exposure implies more post-shock drawdowns. We show that is the result of active pre-shock liquidity risk management by more exposed banks granting credit lines to firms that run less in a crisis.


High Performance Computing (HPC) Embedded Application for Target Recognition (HEATR) is a project funded by the High Performance Computing Modernization Office through the Common HPC Software Support Initiative (CHSSI). The goal of CHSSI is to produce portable, parallel, multi-purpose, freely distributable, support software to exploit emerging parallel computing technologies and enable application of scalable HPC's for various critical DoD applications. Specifically, the CHSSI goal for HEATR is to provide portable, parallel versions of several existing ATR detection and classification algorithms to the ATR-user community to achieve near real-time capability. The HEATR project will create parallel versions of existing automatic target recognition (ATR) detection and classification algorithms and generate reusable code that will support porting and software development process for ATR HPC software. The HEATR Team has selected detection/classification algorithms from both the model- based and training-based (template-based) arena in order to consider the parallelization requirements for detection/classification algorithms across ATR technology. This would allow the Team to assess the impact that parallelization would have on detection/classification performance across ATR technology. A field demo is included in this project. Finally, any parallel tools produced to support the project will be refined and returned to the ATR user community along with the parallel ATR algorithms. This paper will review: (1) HPCMP structure as it relates to HEATR, (2) Overall structure of the HEATR project, (3) Preliminary results for the first algorithm Alpha Test, (4) CHSSI requirements for HEATR, and (5) Project management issues and lessons learned.


Insulin is a key regulator of human metabolism, and its dysfunction leads to diseases such as type 2 diabetes. It remains unknown how proinsulin is targeted from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to secretory storage granules as no cargo receptor has been identified. Chromogranin proteins (CGs) are central regulators of granule biosynthesis, and it was proposed that their aggregation is critical for this process. However, the molecular mechanism by which these molecules facilitate sorting at the TGN is poorly understood. Here, we show that CGs undergo liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) at low pH independently of divalent cations, such as calcium. Liquid CG condensates, but not aggregates, recruit and sort proinsulin and other granule-destined cargo molecules towards secretory granules. Cargo selectivity is independent of sequence or structural elements but is based on the size and concentration of the client molecules at the TGN. Finally, electrostatic interactions and the N-terminal intrinsically disordered domain of chromogranin B facilitate LLPS and are critical for granule formation. We propose that phase-separated CGs act as a "cargo sponge" within the TGN lumen, gathering soluble client proteins into the condensate independently of specific sequence or structural elements, facilitating receptor-independent sorting. These findings challenge the canonical TGN sorting models and provide insights into granule biosynthesis in insulin-secreting β-cells. One sentence summary Liquid Chromogranin condensates recruit cargo molecules at the TGN for their delivery to secretory storage granules.


This report contains extended abstracts of grants and contracts for fire research sponsored by the Center for Fire Research, National Bureau of Standards, as well as descriptions of the internal programs of the Center for Fire Research.


BACKGROUND
Based upon preclinical evidence for improved antitumor activity in combination, this phase I study investigated the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), safety, activity, pharmacokinetics (PK), and biomarkers of the mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, temsirolimus, combined with sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with incurable HCC and Child Pugh score ≤B7 were treated with sorafenib plus temsirolimus by 3 + 3 design. The dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) interval was 28 days. The response was assessed every two cycles. PK of temsirolimus was measured in a cohort at MTD.

RESULTS
Twenty-five patients were enrolled. The MTD was temsirolimus 10 mg weekly plus sorafenib 200 mg twice daily. Among 18 patients at MTD, DLT included grade 3 hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) and grade 3 thrombocytopenia. Grade 3 or 4 related adverse events at MTD included hypophosphatemia (33%), infection (22%), thrombocytopenia (17%), HFSR (11%), and fatigue (11%). With sorafenib, temsirolimus clearance was more rapid (P < 0.05). Two patients (8%) had a confirmed partial response (PR); 15 (60%) had stable disease (SD). Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) declined ≥50% in 60% assessable patients.

CONCLUSION
The MTD of sorafenib plus temsirolimus in HCC was lower than in other tumor types. HCC-specific phase I studies are necessary. The observed efficacy warrants further study.


The progressive growth in the volume of digital data has become a technological challenge of great interest in the field of computer science. That comes because, with the spread of personal computers and networks worldwide, content generation is taking larger proportions and very different formats from what had been usual until then. To analyze and extract relevant knowledge from these masses of complex and large volume data is particularly interesting, but before that, it is necessary to develop techniques to encourage their resilient storage. Very often, storage systems use a replication scheme for preserving the integrity of stored data. This involves generating copies of all information that, if lost by individual hardware failures inherent in any massive storage infrastructure, do not compromise access to what was stored. However, it was realized that accommodate such copies requires a real storage space often much greater than the information would originally occupy. Because of that, there is error correction codes, or erasure codes, which has been used with a mathematical approach considerably more refined than the simple replication, generating a smaller storage overhead than their predecessors techniques. The contribution of this work is a fully decentralized storage strategy that, on average, presents performance improvements of over 80% in access latency for both replicated and encoded data, while minimizing by 55% the overhead for a terabyte-sized dataset when encoded and compared to related works of the literature.


The Federalist Society Review Volume 19 For over thirty years, federal courts have entertained lawsuits by the two major political parties and their constituents claiming a constitutional right to voting-district boundaries that allow them to translate votes into political power. From the parties' perspectives, the potential rewards of these so-called partisangerrymandering claims include the possibilities of obtaining politically favorable maps outside the legislative process and of rigging the legal framework to maximize their perceived strategic advantages. The Supreme Court has never definitively rejected these requests for judicial assistance in winning elections and controlling the government, even though they seem unsympathetic and far afield from constitutional principle. Instead, a series of fractured decisions has allowed such claims to proceed but provided no legal standard to govern them. The result has been a series of increasingly sophisticated, expensive, and at times bizarre cases rushed through the courts, seeking to persuade Justice Kennedy to codify some new social-science metric of "fairness" into the Constitution before his retirement. But the Supreme Court's 2018 Gill v. Whitford decision calls this peculiar history of constitutional litigation to a close. It marks Justice Kennedy's final vote in a partisan-gerrymandering merits case, and, more importantly, it announces that the Supreme Court has finally identified the problem with a partisan-gerrymandering claim: "It is a case about group political interests, not individual rights."1 Gill holds that to state a claim of individual rights— indeed, even to state an injury to establish Article III standing—a plaintiff's allegations must be tethered to something other than "the fortunes of political parties" and "partisan preferences."2 This ruling creates a standard too onerous for any partisangerrymandering plaintiff to satisfy. A partisan-gerrymandering claim necessarily identifies an injury to a party's statewide interests, not individual rights. The individual right to vote entails only the right to cast an equal vote for a candidate in the voter's district, a right already protected by the one-person, one-vote principle. The additional would-be right to elect the voter's preferred candidates can only be administered for groups. Moreover, because redistricting is a zero-sum game where a map favoring some interests will harm others, it can only be afforded to some groups, not all. That is so, not only as between the two major parties, but also as among the innumerable smaller interest groups that comprise those parties through the compromise necessitated by the current electoral system, under which only large, nationwide parties can hope to exert meaningful political influence. It is untenable that these groups have the constitutional right to electoral success that Democratic and Republican constituents have claimed in partisan-gerrymandering litigation. Thus, forcing partisan-gerrymandering plaintiffs to identify an individualized injury distinct from statewide partisan


The New York City Police Department (NYCPD) offers AIDS education on a continuing basis to all uniformed police personnel. The program consists of a videotape, published materials, lecture with medical experts, and individual counseling available on request. This study focuses on police officers' sources of information about AIDS, comparing the workplace program to other sources, as well as their knowledge about HIV transmission and their attitudes towards co-workers with AIDS. Two precincts were surveyed, one in an area of higher prevalence of AIDS cases and the other in an area of lower prevalence. All employees valued the workplace program as more informative than personal and professional sources, but somewhat less informative than the media and the Surgeon General's pamphlet. While officers in both precincts were knowledgeable about the spread of HIV, those more knowledgeable had more positive attitudes towards infected co-workers. Precinct differences suggest that future programs might take into account site-specific characteristics.


We review recently published papers that have contributed to our understanding of how the preverbal infant represents number, area and time. We review evidence that infants rely on two distinct systems to represent number nonverbally and highlight the similarities in the ratio-dependent discrimination of number, time and area. Contrary to earlier assertions that continuous dimensions are more salient (and thus more discriminable) to the infant than numerosity, we argue that the opposite conclusion is better supported by the data. The preverbal infant may be better able to extract numerosity than continuous variables from arrays of discrete items.


Background Deficits in neurocognitive functions can hinder the functional recovery and the quality of life of psychiatric patients, especially those with bipolar disorder. Numerous reports consistently demonstrated cognitive deficits in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder; however, their relation to the clinical profile remains unclear. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the range of neuropsychological deficits in euthymic patients with bipolar II disorder and to correlate these neuropsychological deficits with their illness characteristics. Patients and methods Thirty bipolar affective disorder type II patients in their euthymic state were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Young Mania Rating Scale, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Memory Scale, the Continuous Performance Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Patients' cognitive functions were compared with a matched control group. Results The performance on most domains of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale was associated with the total number of episodes, the number of depressive episodes, the age of onset, and the average duration of an episode in months. The performance on the Wechsler Memory Scale was significantly associated across most domains with the total number of episodes, the number of depressive episodes, the age in years, the average duration of an episode in months, and the average duration of illness in years. The performance deficits on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test were significantly associated with the total number of episodes, the number of depressive episodes, family history, and the average duration of illness in years. Conclusion Bipolar II euthymic patients showed persistent cognitive deficits in some aspects of general intellectual capacity, executive and memory functions, and the ability for sustained attention, which are correlated with some clinical variables. Bipolar II patients should be routinely assessed for deficits in cognitive functions to enable early intervention and rehabilitation.


Under the epidemic situation, materials are in short supply, but traditional procurement cannot meet the needs of emergency speed This article compares and analyses the regular Chinese procurement methods with the US and EU emergency procurement methods, so as to obtain the methods suitable for China's emergency situation, and calls for emergency procurement legislation At the same time, this article discusses the scope and principles of emergency procurement, emphasising that emergency procurement should not be abused and still follow the principle of value for money Keywords: COVID-19, emergency public procurement, procurement methods, value for money, US public procurement, EU public procurement, China public procurement


Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is synthesized by liver and is present at relatively high concentration in the plasma of vertebrates. We have previously described the association of a HRG-like molecule to purified rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase (AMPD). We also provided the first evidence for the presence of a HRG-like protein in human skeletal muscle where a positive correlation between HRG content and total determined AMPD activity has been shown. In the present paper we investigate the origin of skeletal muscle HRG. The screening of a human skeletal muscle cDNA expression library using an anti-HRG antibody failed to reveal any positive clone. The RT-PCR analysis, performed on human skeletal muscle RNA as well as on RNA from the rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line, failed to show any mRNA specific for the plasma HRG or for the putative muscle variant. When the RD cells were incubated with human plasma HRG, a time-dependent increase of the HRG immunoreactivity was detected both at the plasma membrane level and intracellularly. The internalisation of HRG was inhibited by the addition of heparin. The above data strongly suggest that skeletal muscle cells do not synthesize the muscle variant of HRG but instead can actively internalise it from plasma.


SIR,-Mr Grant Williams's letter (12 September, p 671) protesting about gender reassignment surgery requires a reply. He is unaware of studies done in our department, the results ofwhich were presented at a conference in December 1986 at this hospital. Wepresentedthe results ofa retrospective study of 150 patients and a second, randomised controlled study of 40 patients.' 2 We studied 150 male transsexuals at different stages of treatment: assessment stage (n= 50); waiting list stage (n= 50); and postoperative stage (n=50). The results indicated a significant; reduction in neurotic symptoms andimproved social state in transsexuals postoperatively compared with patients at the waiting list stage, who fulfilled the criteria for surgery but were awaiting operation, and assignment to an assessment group. The second study compared two groups of male transsexuals who had been assessed and carefully selected for surgery. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups; the experimental group had their waiting time for surgery brought forward so that they were operated on within three months of fulfilling the criteria, and the control group had to wait for the routine two years before undergoing surgery. All the patients were equally matched for age, social class, number of years of clinic attendance, and several other variables that might affect outcome. The results suggested that after two years of follow up there were significant differences between the two groups on a number of psychiatric and social, variables, showing a significant advantage for the experimental group over the controls. Ofthe many male transsexuals operated on since 1984, not a single patient has requested shortening of the distal limbs. The most common surgical request, other than gender reassignment, is for thyroid cartilage reduction, and a minority request breast augmentation, a procedure which we discourage patients from pursuing. Three major independent reviews have suggested that treatment produces unsatisfactory results or failure in only 10-15% of cases and that most patients who have gender reassignment surgery have a satisfactory outcome.3 5 A study by Robin et al suggested that 85% ofmale transsexuals who had undergone operation reported improvement in their condition, and none of the patients regretted the operation, including the 15% of patients who had surgical complications that were later corrected.6 In the early stages of assessment it is not uncommon to be presented with various patients with gender identity problems, including transvestites and effeminate homosexuals. The assessment of new patients includes screening for hormone concentrations and tests for evidence of infection with hepatitis B and the human immunodeficiency virus. Not surprisingly, a very small percentage ofsuch patients show evidence of past infection with hepatitis B. Since 1984 no carriers of hepatitis B have received gender reassignment surgery. Many of the patients who are referred are not classified as transsexuals. Those that are diagnosed as transsexuals have to fulfil strict criteria before being referred for gender reassignment surgery. We see 175-200 new patients a year and refer 30-40 a year for surgery, some years much fewer.. Transsexualism and severe gender dysphoria have all the characteristics of severe psychological disturbance associated with a great deal of suffering, which we have found to be much relieved by gender reassignment surgery in carefully selected patients. The opportunity to study and treat severe gender dysphoria and severe gender identity disorders is a recent development. Such studies may lead to a better understanding of other disorders of gender identity and other types of pathological sexual behaviour, many of which cause great concern anddistress insociety today. Those who fail adequately to integrate the contra-gender aspect of themselves into their total personality and suffer from severe gender dysphoria or gender identity strain deserve our concern, help, and scientific interest.


Medical imaging technologies allow the collection of remarkable, three-dimensional pictures of the inside of the body, and have led to noninvasive means of disease diagnosis and treatment planning. However, the proliferation of this technology has resulted in the production of a huge number of medical images, increasing the demand on the radiology work force to a critical level. There is therefore an important need to provide a means of transforming medical image data into information that increases the accuracy and efficiency of radiologists' work. This dissertation focuses on the problem of transforming medical image data in order to provide high-level information about the shapes of anatomical structures. Such information is useful to medical researchers addressing hypotheses relating anatomical shape and pathology, and is also useful to the development of computer-aided diagnosis systems based on shape. This dissertation describes two studies relating shape to pathology of musculoskeletal structures in the shoulder, and uses these studies to motivate research into further interesting questions in shape analysis. Techniques from computational intelligence, such as machine learning, graph matching, feature selection, manifold learning, optimization, and pattern recognition, are used in novel approaches to the steps of a shape analysis pipeline supporting medical research. We describe a machine learning-based approach to eliciting expert knowledge about feature saliency, for use in establishing shape correspondence. We propose a novel approach to medial shape description that localizes shape deformations, and demonstrate a manifold learning-based approach to computing the basic building blocks of it and other medial shape descriptions. Finally, we propose a groupwise paradigm for the computation of a pruning order for the components of medial shape representations, in order to remove unwanted components arising from noise. These contributions to the shape analysis pipeline enable more accurate and intuitively-understood results, enabling medical researchers to gain further understanding into pathological processes in the body.


We have developed a mathematical model of arterial vasomotion in which irregular rhythmic activity is generated by the nonlinear interaction of intracellular and membrane oscillators that depend on cyclic release of Ca2+ from internal stores and cyclic influx of extracellular Ca2+, respectively. Four key control variables were selected on the basis of the pharmacological characteristics of histamine-induced vasomotion in rabbit ear arteries: Ca2+ concentration in the cytosol, Ca2+ concentration in ryanodine-sensitive stores, cell membrane potential, and the open state probability of Ca2+-activated K+ channels. Although not represented by independent dynamic variables, the model also incorporates Na+/Ca2+exchange, the Na+-K+-ATPase, Cl- fluxes, and Ca2+ efflux via the extrusion ATPase. Simulations reproduce a wide spectrum of experimental observations, including 1) the effects of interventions that modulate the functionality of Ca2+ stores and membrane ion channels, 2) paradoxes such as the apparently unpredictable dual action of Ca2+ antagonists and low extracellular Na+ concentration, which can abolish vasomotion or promote the appearance of large-amplitude oscillations, and 3) period-doubling, quasiperiodic, and intermittent routes to chaos. Nonlinearity is essential to explain these diverse patterns of experimental vascular response.


Purpose of review To review recent advances in achalasia diagnostics and therapeutics. Recent findings The cardinal feature of achalasia, impaired lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation, can occur in association with varied patterns of esophageal contractility. The Chicago Classification distinguishes among these as follows: without contractility (type I), with panesophageal pressurization (type II), with premature (spastic) distal esophageal contractions (type III), or even with preserved peristalsis [esophagogastric junction (EGJ) outlet obstruction]. Physiological testing also reveals achalasia-like syndromes that also benefit from achalasia therapies. Coincident with this has been the development of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), an endoscopic technique for performing an esophageal myotomy. Hence, the option now exists to either selectively ablate the LES (pneumatic dilation, laparoscopic Heller myotomy, or POEM) or to ablate the sphincter and create a myotomy along some or the entire adjacent smooth muscle esophagus (POEM). Each achalasia syndrome has unique treatment considerations; type II achalasia responds well to all therapies, whereas type III responds best to POEM. Summary Emerging data support the concept that optimal management of achalasia is phenotype-specific, guided by high-resolution manometry, and, in some instance, functional luminal imaging probe studies. This opinion article reviews the varied characteristic and treatment considerations of achalasia syndromes as currently understood.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate antibiotics for treatment of cattle with leptospirosis caused by Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar hardjo.

DESIGN
Randomized controlled trial.

ANIMALS
42 healthy mixed-breed cattle.

PROCEDURE
Cattle were inoculated via conjunctival instillation with L. borgpetersenii serovar hardjo. After infection and urinary shedding of L. borgpetersenii were confirmed, cattle were treated with various antibiotics. To determine effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, urinary shedding of L. borgpetersenii was monitored for 4 to 6 weeks after administration of antibiotics, using darkfield microscopic examination, microbial culture, immunofluorescence testing, and a polymerase chain reaction assay.

RESULTS
All inoculated cattle developed leptospirosis and shed leptospires in their urine. The following antibiotic treatments resulted in elimination of urinary shedding of leptospires: a single injection of oxytetracycline (20 mg/kg 19 mg/lb] of body weight, IM), tilmicosin (10 mg/kg [4.5 mg/lb], SC), or a combination product that contained dihydrostreptomycin-penicillin G (25 mg/kg [11.4 mg/lb], IM) or multiple injections of ceftiofur sodium (2.2 or 5 mg/kg [1 or 2.3 mg/lb], IM, once daily for 5 days, or 20 mg/kg, IM, once daily for 3 days).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Successful resolution of leptospirosis in cattle by administration of dihydrostreptomycin-penicillin G confirms results obtained by other investigators. Three other antibiotics (oxytetracycline, tilmicosin, and ceftiofur) also were effective for resolving leptospirosis and may be useful substitutes for dihydrostreptomycin, an antibiotic that is no longer available for use in food-producing animals in the United States. Cost, safety, and withdrawal times of these various treatment options need to be considered.


Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) system for the domestic needs in Daugha Village Development Committee (VDC), after its installation in 1996, has become a "unique water culture" with altogether 1,238 water harvesting jars and storage tanks of varied sizes at present in 663 households. The paper presents the sustainability of the RWH implemented 18 years back at the household level of Daugha VDC, Gulmi District. Various participatory tools like household interviews, key informant's interviews and field observation along with water quality test of the stored water were carried out. The sustainability of the rainwater harvesting system was assessed based on the four key sustainability dimensions- Technical, Socio-environmental, Institutional and Cost recovery. The core factors and sub-factors were given weightage following the Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) method. Daugha community has accepted RWH as an appropriate and effective alternative to meet the domestic water demand making the systems life savior, where water drudgery was at the peak and mostly women and children shared the responsibility of water management. On an average, 6.35 hours per family per day is saved because of installed RWH system in their homestead which is being utilized in some economic, social and child-care activities by the women. However, the best utilization of saved time for economic growth through various Income Generating Activities (IGAs) and mobilization of local funds to improve income level of the people seems lacking. Similarly, capacity and skills of local people to upgrade and improve their RWH systems have been observed as a gap. RWH systems have imparted very positive effect on sanitation and hygiene front. Significant progress was seen in terms of construction and use of toilets, increased knowledge about the importance of sanitation and hygiene issues, and changes in sanitation and hygiene behavior in the communities. This has resulted in decrease of water borne and water washed diseases recorded in the local sub-health post. These indicators portray the strong technical and socio-environmental acceptance of the system. In contrast to this, the study revealed that institutional and cost-recovery dimensions of sustainability are weaker, which pulls overall sustainability of RWH system under "sustained but at risk" when compared to sustainability ranking practiced by WaterAid.


handling problems. Stockpiles can be used to decrease the moisture content of coal by means of gravity drainage and evaporation. This paper is focused on the evaporation of moisture from a coal stockpile surface with the aim of investigating the effect of particle size on the rate of evaporation as well as the depth to which evaporation extends. It was observed that moisture initially evaporates at a higher rate from a stockpile consisting of fine particles (-6.7 mm) than from coarser particles (-13.2 mm +6.7 mm). This high rate of evaporation is restricted to the outer shell of the fine coal stockpile. However, for coarse coal, the porous nature increases the depth at which evaporation occurs. Evaporation of moisture was observed up to the fourth day of each experi- mental run, after which steady state was obtained. It was shown the water can evaporate from the surface into the body of the stockpile, depending on the coal particle size and void spacing. An experimental reclaim depth of 0.4 m was achieved after 4 days.


Along with the Reform and opening-up and the establishment of Market Economy, the economy and living standards of our citizen are improving, nonetheless the gap between rich and poor is widening in the society, so the social groups is gradually getting differentiation. Especially the perspective of residential segregation with live position and live quality for represent. At the same time, the construction of the public rental housing which become the current social hot point usually neglect the social influence resulted by residential segregation. Taking the public rental housing in metropolitan area of Chongqing as an example, the paper tallies up the successful strategy of the construction of public rental housing from address and construct mode, land and funds cost, guarantee object and facilities kit in order to guide the construction of the public rental housing from residential segregation to residential introjection.


As the momentum behind health care reform continues to build, hospitals should take specific steps to prepare for each likely scenario. The authors speculate about what form health care reform will take, discuss the strategic implications of each scenario and suggest steps hospitals should take, including an analysis of hospital/physician integration, marketing, services and efficiency.


Despite the fact that metabolic studies played a prominent role in the early history of developmental biology research, the field of developmental metabolism was largely ignored following the advent of modern molecular biology. Metabolism, however, has recently re-emerged as a focal point of biomedical studies and, as a result, developmental biologists are once again exploring the chemical and energetic forces that shape growth, development and maturation. In May 2017, a diverse group of scientists assembled at the EMBO/EMBL Symposium 'Metabolism in Time and Space' to discuss how metabolism influences cellular and developmental processes. The speakers not only described how metabolic flux adapts to the energetic needs of a developing organism, but also emphasized that metabolism can directly regulate developmental progression. Overall, and as we review here, this interdisciplinary meeting provided a valuable forum to explore the interface between developmental biology and metabolism. Summary: This Meeting Review of the 2017 EMBO/EMBL Symposium 'Metabolism in Time and Space' summarizes recent findings that emphasize how metabolism and developmental biology are inseparably linked in animals and plants.


Athermal models of disordered fibrous networks are highly useful for studying the mechanics of elastic networks composed of stiff biopolymers. The underlying network architecture is a key aspect that can affect the elastic properties of these systems, which include rich linear and nonlinear elasticity. Existing computational approaches have focused on both lattice-based and off-lattice networks obtained from the random placement of rods. It is not obvious, a priori, whether the two architectures have fundamentally similar or different mechanics. If they are different, it is not clear which of these represents a better model for biological networks. Here, we show that both approaches are essentially equivalent for the same network connectivity, provided the networks are subisostatic with respect to central force interactions. Moreover, for a given subisostatic connectivity, we even find that lattice-based networks in both two and three dimensions exhibit nearly identical nonlinear elastic response. We provide a description of the linear mechanics for both architectures in terms of a scaling function. We also show that the nonlinear regime is dominated by fiber bending and that stiffening originates from the stabilization of subisostatic networks by stress. We propose a generalized relation for this regime in terms of the self-generated normal stresses that develop under deformation. Different network architectures have different susceptibilities to the normal stress but essentially exhibit the same nonlinear mechanics. Such a stiffening mechanism has been shown to successfully capture the nonlinear mechanics of collagen networks.


The effect of holding time variation and sintering temperature on the mechanical properties and sinterability of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia doped with 1 wt. % MnO2 was investigated. Samples were sintered at 1150-1500 °C with holding times varying from 12 and 120 minutes. Comparing to the MnO2-doped Y-TZP, longer holding time resulted in enhanced densification of the undoped Y-TZP samples. In the case of MnO2-doped Y-TZP however, Bulk density, Young's modulus, Vickers hardness and fracture toughness results show the beneficial effect of MnO2 in enhancing the densification of Y-TZP ceramics.


Cloud computing has become an attractive and easy-to-use solution for users who want to externalize the run of their applications. However, data centers hosting cloud systems consume enormous amounts of energy. Reducing this consumption becomes an urgent challenge with the rapid growth of cloud utilization. In this paper, we explore a way for energy-aware HPC cloud users to reduce their footprint on cloud infrastructures by reducing the size of the virtual resources they are asking for. We study the influence of green users on the system energy consumption and compare it with the consumption of more aggressive users in terms of resource utilization. We found that larger resources are more energy demanding even if they are faster in executing the applications. But, reducing too much the resources' size is also not beneficial for the energy consumption. A tradeoff lies in between these two options.


The doctrine of locus standi, or standing, determines the competence of a plaintiff to assert the matter of their complaint before the court. Since an individual lacking locus standi is an incompetent plaintiff, it follows that, in public law, government can exceed or abuse its powers with impunity provided no such "qualified" litigant seeks the intervention of the court. This appears directly in conflict with the constitutional requirement of legality. Public law is about imposing legal controls on governmental powers. The standing principle, which is probably feudal in origin, poses important questions about the meaning of the rule of law since the courts appear untroubled by excess or abuse of legal powers unless invited to intervene by an individual having a cognisable interest in the matter.


Motivated by the construction of a gravity theory independently of the metric structure of spacetime and on the stability of a quantum gravity theory many authors have developed schemes that allow a gauge theory to generate an effective metric, see for instance [1–9]. The models are constructed based on a gauge group G that possesses the Lorentz group SO(1, 3) as a stable subgroup. A symmetry breaking mechanism is imposed in order to G collapse to SO(1, 3). Mostly of these techniques are based on the de Sitter group and its variations. However, other groups are also considered such as the general linear and affine groups, see for instance [10–14], and also unitary groups [15]. The main motivation in the construction of a gauge theory of gravity that is metric independent is that the base space can be regarded as a flat one, and thus the standard quantization of gauge theories can be employed [16]. In fact, some of the cited works are in fact quantizable, at least perturbatively.


We provide new evidence on consumer demand for ethical products from experiments conducted in a U.S. grocery store chain. We find that sales of the two most popular coffees rose by almost 10% when they carried a Fair Trade label as compared to a generic placebo label. Demand for the higher priced coffee remained steady when its price was raised by 8%, but demand for the lower priced coffee was elastic: a 9% price increase led to a 30% decline in sales. While consumers attach value to ethical sourcing, there is significant heterogeneity in willingness to pay for it.


The painted surfaces of a building are generally vertical walls and flat roofs or arched roofs. The detection of these objects must be prepared according to the reason why the metric operation is designed; metric control of the whole performance practice is crucial for the result to matches the predetermined needs. It's now clear that the acquisition of metric data, as the whole process of detection, can certainly not be left to an unidentified automation. The mere representation of point clouds transformed in mesh and processed into 'maps' can cover only a few limited requirements. Conservation and restoration also require the transformation of "discrete" three-dimensional data into two-dimensional representations, resulting in geometric transformations that require a new mindset, especially considering hardware and software potential. We want to propose a new type of projection end analysis as base for the development of representation systems that will transform three-dimensional models in two-dimensional projections for the conservation and restoration.


The effects of energy supplementation on Leu utilization in growing steers were evaluated in 2 experiments by using 6 ruminally cannulated Holstein steers. In Exp. 1, steers (initial BW = 150 +/- 7 kg) were limit-fed (2.3 kg of DM/d) a diet based on soybean hulls and received a basal ruminal infusion of 100 g of acetate/d, 75 g of propionate/d, and 75 g of butyrate/d, as well as abomasal infusions of 200 g of glucose/d and a mixture (215 g/d) containing all essential AA except Leu. Treatments were arranged as a 3 x 2 factorial, with 3 amounts of Leu infused abomasally (0, 4, and 8 g/d) and supplementation of diets with 2 amounts of energy (0 and 1.9 Mcal/d of GE). Supplemental energy was supplied by ruminal infusion of 100 g of acetate/ d, 75 g of propionate/d, and 75 g of butyrate/d, as well as abomasal infusion of 200 g of glucose/d to provide energy to the animal without affecting the microbial protein supply. When no supplemental energy was provided, Leu supplementation increased N balance, with no difference between 4 and 8 g/d of Leu (24.5, 27.0, and 27.3 g/d for 0, 4, and 8 g/d of Leu), but when additional energy was supplied, N retention increased linearly in response to Leu (25.6, 28.5, and 31.6 g/d for 0, 4, and 8 g/d of Leu; Leu x energy interaction, P = 0.06). The changes in N balance were the result of changes in urinary N excretion. The greater Leu retentions in response to energy supplementation when Leu was the most limiting nutrient indicate that energy supplementation improved the true efficiency of Leu utilization. In addition, supplemental energy increased the gross efficiency of Leu utilization when the Leu supply was not limiting by increasing the maximal rates of protein deposition. Experiment 2 was similar to Exp. 1, but steers had an initial BW of 275 +/- 12 kg and were limit-fed at 3.6 kg of DM/d. Retention of N was not affected (P = 0.22) by Leu supplementation, indicating that Leu did not limit protein deposition. Energy supply increased N retention (P < 0.01) independently of Leu supplementation (33.0 vs. 27.8 g/d). Overall, energy supplementation improved Leu utilization by modestly increasing N retention when Leu was limiting and by increasing the ability of steers to respond to the greatest amount of supplemental Leu. We conclude from these results that the assumption of a constant efficiency of AA utilization is unlikely to be appropriate for growing steers.


patients at three consecutive outpatient clinics recently: a woman of 88 (case 1) complaining of weakness and giddiness, poor sleep, and hallucinations-"very confused"; a man of 80 (case 2) suffering from falls and giddiness; a man of 72 (case 3) who had recurrent blackouts in the street, "peripheral vascular disease" (diagnosed by a chiropodist), and longstanding angina on exertion. They had been receiving, respectively, propranolol 40 mg thrice daily; Slow Trasicor (oxprenolol) one tablet daily and diazepam 2 mg thrice daily; propranolol 80 mg thrice daily and, recently, inositol nicotinate 500 mg daily (for peripheral cyanosis). Beta-blocker therapy had been begun ?20, 11, and 13 years previously for hypertension (case 1) and angina (cases 2 and 3). On examination their blood pressures were: 170/100 mm Hg; 220/100 mm Hg lying and 180/75 mm Hg standing; 140/70 mm Hg lying. Pulse rates were 60, 42, and 42 beats/min respectively. All had peripheral cyanosis. The first two patients (cases 1 and 2) were in heart failure. Since treatment has been reduced and stopped, the first patient has been "perfectly well, doing everything for myself-I feel different altogether." In case 2 giddiness and heart failure vanished without further treatment. In case 3 there have been no further blackouts and no increase in angina (which occurs only on extreme exertion), and this patient has had a successful hernia operation under spinal anaesthetic; his peripheral vascular "disease" has disappeared.


Synthesis of silicon carbide nanowires (SiC NWs) from an alumina doped silica-graphite rod is reported. The rod was gradually heated up to a growth temperature by passing current through it under constant flowing argon at atmospheric pressure. The as-grown layers, deposited on the rod surface were separated from the inner core and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. A non-uniform layer thickness of alumina coating on SiC NWs was clearly observed when the doping was increased from 1 to 2 and 3 wt.%.


Abstract Squamous metaplasia though is commonly associated with ovarian endometrioid neoplasm, mixed mullerian tumor and Brenner tumors; it has not been described in an ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Unusual presence of squamous islands, either in the form of morules or keratin plaques, may create diagnostic difficulty in a clear cell carcinoma of ovary, and thus the other common associations should be ruled out. Here, we describe a case of clear cell carcinoma of the ovary, with both gross and microscopically identifiable squamous metaplasia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on this rare association and should be documented for wider awareness.


This paper develops a new separated mini-environment to provide a constant temperature chamber for the placement of Micro/Nano-metrology instrument. In this paper, the rule of temperature change with time under natural convection and coercive convection is presented. The measurement and control system is composed of TEC, programmable power source and precise temperature measurement system. The mathematic model of the constant temperature chamber is identified making use of system identification theory and system identification toolkit of MATLAB. The temperature stability is improved by applying auto-adaptive PID method. Experiments show that the temperature fluctuation of a single-point is less than 0.02°C and the whole field is within 0.05°C. The goal of high-precision temperature control is achieved.


It is well established that interviewers learn behaviors both during training and on the job. How this learning occurs has received surprisingly little empirical attention: Is it driven by the interviewer herself or by the respondents she interviews? There are two competing hypotheses about what happens during field data collection: (1) interviewers learn behaviors from their previous interviews, and thus change their behavior in reaction to the behaviors previously encountered; and (2) interviewers encounter different types of and, especially, less cooperative respondents (i.e., nonresponse propensity affecting the measurement error situation), leading to changes in interview behaviors over the course of the field period. We refer to these hypotheses as the experience and response propensity hypotheses, respectively. This paper examines the relationship between proxy indicators for the experience and response propensity hypotheses on interview length using data and paradata from two telephone surveys. Our results indicate that both interviewer-driven experience and respondent-driven response propensity are associated with the length of interview. While general interviewing experience is nonsignificant, withinstudy experience decreases interview length significantly, even when accounting for changes in sample composition. Interviewers with higher cooperation rates have significantly shorter interviews in study one; however, this effect is mediated by the number of words spoken by the interviewer. We find that older respondents and male respondents have longer interviews Kirchner & Olson JSSM 2017 EXAMINING CHANGES 2 despite controlling for the number of words spoken, as do respondents who complete the survey at first contact. Not surprisingly, interviews are significantly longer the more words interviewers and respondents speak.