Our ability to generate new distributions of light has been remarkably enhanced in recent years. At the most fundamental level, these light patterns are obtained by ingeniously combining different electromagnetic modes. Interestingly, the modal superposition occurs in the spatial, temporal as well as spatio-temporal domain. This generalized concept of structured light is being applied across the entire spectrum of optics: generating classical and quantum states of light, harnessing linear and nonlinear light-matter interactions, and advancing applications in microscopy, spectroscopy, holography, communication, and synchronization. This Roadmap highlights the common roots of these different techniques and thus establishes links between research areas that complement each other seamlessly. We provide an overview of all these areas, their backgrounds, current research, and future developments. We highlight the power of multimodal light manipulation and want to inspire new eclectic approaches in this vibrant research community.


Stimulated by MCXD measurements, the determination of orbital magnetic moments, ML, at surfaces and interfaces has become a subject of strong interest. We combine the rotationally invariant local density approximation (LDA)+U total energy functional with a relativistic self-consistent spin-polarized version of the total energy full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method in order to determine ML at surfaces and interfaces. As illustration, the method is applied to Co overlayers on Cu(001). We find an enhancement of the Co orbital magnetic moment in LDA+U calculations in comparison with local spin density functional approximation (LSDA) results. ML as a function of magnetic Co-film thickness is analyzed. The ML/MS ratio is calculated to be different for different Co layers (i.e., interface, surface, or remaining Co layers) in Co/Cu(001), and is shown to be dependent on the Co overlayer thickness. Finally, the use of LDA+U is shown to give ML/MS in better agreement with MCXD data than does LSDA.


The rapid advancement of network, communication and Internet technology resulted with always-on, always-connected, device-independent and remote online working, business, education and entertainment environment. Consequently, users are searching for solutions and technologies that enable fast and reliable wide area network connection and the typical solution is through using personal computers connected with ethernet cable to network equipment and infrastructure that supports gigabit ethernet connection. Besides the complex network infrastructure that can influence performance, the bottleneck can also be caused by insufficient hardware, operating system and software resources on clients' machines. Therefore, in this paper a networking performance evaluation of three globally most common and most used versions of Windows operating systems; namely Windows 7TM, Windows 8.1TM and Windows 10TM, on two identical computer systems, is conducted. Networking performance measurements are performed with three different benchmarks: namely iPerf, D-ITG and NetStress. Performance evaluation results showed that a newer versions of an operating system bring certain networking performance improvements but by sacrificing other performances.


Ovarian carcinomas of epithelial type comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms, each with a different underlying pathogenesis and natural behaviour. Accurate classification of ovarian carcinomas is important since each type may be associated with a different behaviour, natural history and outcome. Precise classification is also critical to determine whether alternative therapeutic strategies are appropriate for different tumour types. Previous studies have shown significant interobserver variation in the typing of ovarian carcinomas. There are several areas where there are particular difficulties; these include the distinction between high-grade serous and endometrioid adenocarcinomas and the distinction between a true clear cell carcinoma and clear cell areas within other adenocarcinomas. This review details my approach to the typing of ovarian carcinomas. Morphological assessment, which remains the mainstay in diagnosis, can be supplemented by immunohistochemistry which, for example, is useful in the distinction between serous carcinomas (WT1 positive) and other carcinomas (generally WT1 negative). In recent years, there has been emerging new information regarding the major underlying molecular events in several types of ovarian carcinoma. This has resulted in the acceptance that there are two distinct types of ovarian serous carcinoma. These are termed low-grade and high-grade serous carcinoma, but represent two distinct tumour types rather than low-grade and high-grade variants of the same neoplasm. The integration of clinical, morphological and molecular data has resulted in a more precise classification of ovarian carcinomas and has resulted in the proposal for a broad dualistic pathway of ovarian epithelial carcinogenesis with, in general, low-grade type 1 tumours evolving from benign and borderline neoplasms through a well-defined adenoma–carcinoma sequence, and high-grade type 2 neoplasms arising from an, as yet, undefined precursor lesion.


The meaning of the experimentally measured nonlinear parameters of a medium is discussed. The difference in meaning between the local nonlinearity, which is measured in the vicinity of a single defect and depends on the size of the region of averaging, and the effective volume nonlinearity of the medium containing numerous defects is emphasized. The local nonlinearity arising at the tip of a crack is calculated; this nonlinearity decreases with an increase in the region of second harmonic generation. The volume nonlinearity is calculated for a solid containing spherical cavities. The volume nonlinearity is also calculated for a medium containing infinitely thin cracks in the form of circular disks, which assume the shape of ellipsoids in the course of the crack opening.


Objectives: Trauma-related hemipelvectomy is a rare and often fatal injury that poses a number of challenges to the treating surgeon. Our objective was to identify patient and injury characteristics that have proven difficult to treat, and to describe management techniques. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Level II trauma center. Patients: Thirteen consecutive patients who underwent 14 combat-related hemipelvectomies between 2001 and 2013. Intervention: We reviewed our prospective trauma registry, along with the patients' medical records, radiographs, and clinical photographs. Main Outcome Measurements: Injury severity scores, required surgical procedures, ambulatory status, and bowel and bladder function. Results: Hemipelvectomy was indicated for insufficient soft tissue coverage, complicated by life-threatening local infection and/or a dysvascular hemipelvis. Five patients underwent resection for angioinvasive fungal infections. All patients sustained a genitourinary injury, with 7 requiring suprapubic catheters and all undergoing diverting colostomy. After a median of 2 years of follow-up, 2 patients had normal urinary continence and 3 regained fecal continence. The surviving patients required a mean of 44 operations. One patient returned to community ambulation. Conclusions: This is the largest published series of trauma-related hemipelvectomies. Our lessons learned may benefit civilian surgeons who are confronted with high-energy open injuries to the pelvic girdle. Although the decision to perform hemipelvectomy should not be taken lightly, this procedure can be lifesaving and should be performed in a timely fashion when indicated. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


The use of neuroleptic drugs to mediate the behaviour of people with dementia living in care homes can lead to them being deprived of their liberty. Whilst regulation has been successful in reducing neuroleptic prescribing in the USA, policy guidance has been unsuccessful in reducing the use of these drugs in the UK. Yet the Mental capacity act 2005 aimed to protect the liberty of people lacking capacity and provided safeguards to ensure that they are not inappropriately deprived of their liberty in institutions. This article highlights the potential for using this law to identify when neuroleptic prescribing in care homes would deprive people with dementia of their liberty and, in turn, to act as a check on prescribing levels. However, the extent to which the Act can promote and protect the right to liberty of people with dementia is constrained by a lack of access to social rights.


This research was conducted to provide a comparative analysis of China's and US's agricultural innovation in science and technology and offer some guidance on the construction of agricultural innovation system in science and technology in China. The countermeasures are proposed with a hope to shorten China's and US's gap of agricultural innovation in science and technology by analyzing agricultural innovation model features in science and technology of the United States. The advantages of United States model of agricultural innovation in science and technology include sound legal framework safeguard, complete scientific and technological innovation system, high quality and talented personnel, sufficient technical development and extension funding, and extensive applications of modern agricultural high-tech. There is a gap in agricultural innovation between China and the United States. Agriculture innovation in science and technology in China should improve in several aspects such as agricultural legislation, construction of sound agricultural innovation system in science and technology, building first-class agricultural innovation and extension teams, establishing diversified channels for investment, and improving the applications of high technology in agriculture.


Smart grid promises a reliable and secure electricity infrastructure to meet the future demand growth. However, the increase of data types and data amount from advanced smart grid introduce new privacy issues, which have to be resolved for customers. This paper presents a cooperative state estimation technique that protects the privacy of users' daily activities. By exploiting the kernel of an electric grid configuration matrix, we develop an error free state estimation technique that can hide the behavioral information of users effectively. The proposed scheme can obfuscate the privacy-prone data without compromising the performance of state estimation. We evaluate our obfuscation scheme using data from 1349 meters in 5 IEEE Electric Test Bus Systems. Our simulation results demonstrate high level of illegibility and resilience of our scheme with an affordable communication overhead.


The growing and diverse nature of recreation on federal lands has increased the challenge of balancing recreation with other land uses, and balancing different types of recreation. Motorized recreation has been particularly controversial, with issues centering on access and environmental impacts. The 109th Congress may consider legislation and conduct oversight on issues involving recreation on federal lands, including traditional recreational pursuits and newer forms of motorized recreation. Other federal land recreation issues of possible interest include recreational uses within the National Wildlife Refuge System, recreation at federal water, recreation fees, and Grand Canyon Colorado River management.


Realization of the future 5G systems requires the design of novel mm-wave base station antenna systems that are capable of generating multiple beams with low mutual interference, while serving multiple users simultaneously using the same frequency band. Besides, small wavelengths and high packaging densities of front-ends lead to overheating of such systems, which prevents safe and reliable operation. Since the strict cost and energy requirements of the first phase 5G systems favor the use of low complexity beamforming architectures, computationally efficient signal processing techniques and fully passive cooling strategies, it is a major challenge for the antenna community to design multibeam antenna topologies and front-ends with enhanced spatial multiplexing, limited inter-beam interference, acceptable implementation complexity, suitable processing burden and natural-only/radiative cooling. Traditionally, array design has been performed based on satisfying the given criteria solely on the radiation patterns (gain, side lobe level (SLL), beamwidth etc.). However, in addition to the electromagnetic aspects, multibeam antenna synthesis and performance evaluation in 5G systems at mm-waves must combine different disciplines, including but not limited to, signal processing, front-end circuitry design, thermal management, channel a propagation and medium access control aspects.   Considering the interdisciplinary nature of the problem, the main objective of this research is to develop, evaluate and verify innovative multibeam array techniques and solutions for 5G base station antennas, not yet used nor proposed for mobile communications. The research topics include the investigation of (i) new array topologies, compatible with IC passive cooling, including sparse, space tapered arrays and optimised subarrays, meeting key requirements of 3-D multi-user coverage with frequency re-use and power-efficient side-lobe control, (ii) adaptive multiple beam forming strategies and digital signal processing algorithms, tailored to these new topologies, and (iii) lowcost/competitive and sufficiently generic implementation of the above array topologies and multi beam generation concepts to serve multiple users with the same antenna(s) with best spectrum and power efficiencies.   This doctoral thesis consists of three parts. Part I focuses on the system-driven aspects which cover the system modeling (including the link budget and precoding), propagation in mm-wave channels and statistical assessment of the Quality of Service (QoS). Although separate comprehensive studies exist both in the field of propagation/system modeling and antennas/beamforming, the link between the two disciplines is still weak. In this part, the aim of the study is to bridge the gap between the two domains and to identify the trade-offs between the complexity of beamforming, the QoS and the computational cost of precoding in the 5G multibeam base station arrays for various use cases. Based on the system model developed, a novel quantitative relation between the antenna SLLs/pattern nulls and the statistical QoS is established in a line-of-sight (LoS) dominated mm-wave propagation scenario. Moreover, the potential of using smart (low in-sector side-lobe) array layouts (with simple beam steering) in obtaining sufficiently high and robust QoS, while achieving the optimally low processing costs is highlighted. For a possible pure non-line-of-sight (NLoS) scenario, the system advantages (in terms of the beamforming complexity and the interference level) of creating a single, directive beam towards the strongest multipath component of a user are explained via ray-tracing based propagation simulations. The insightful system observations from Part I lead to several fundamental research questions: Could we simplify the multiple beamformingarchitecture while keeping a satisfying QoS? Are there any efficient yet effective alternative interference suppression methods to further improve the QoS? How should we deal with the large heat generation at the base station? These questions, together with the research objectives, form the basis for the studies performed in the remaining parts.  Part II of the thesis focuses on the electromagnetism-driven aspects which include innovative, low-complexity subarray based multibeam architectures and new array optimization strategies for effective SLL suppression. The currently proposed multibeam 5G base stations in the literature for beamforming complexity reduction use either a hybrid array of phased subarrays, which limits the field-of-view significantly, or employ a fully-connected analog structure, which increases the hardware requirements remarkably. Therefore, in the first half of this part, the aim is to design low-complexity hybrid (or hybrid-like) multiple beamforming topologies with a wide angular coverage. For this purpose, two new subarray based multiple beamforming concepts are proposed: (i) a hybrid array of active multiport subarrays with several digitally controlled Butler Matrix beams and (ii) an array of cosecant subarrays with a fixed cosecant shaped beam in elevation and digital beam forming in azimuth. Using the active (but not phased) multiport subarrays, the angular sector coverage is widened as compared to that of a hybrid array of phased subarrays, the system complexity is decreased as compared to that of a hybrid structure with a fully-connected analog network, and the effort in digital signal processing is reduced greatly. The cosecant subarray beamforming, on the other hand, is shown to be extremely efficient in serving multiple simultaneous co-frequency users in the case of a fairness-motivated LoS communication thanks to its low complexity and power equalization capability. Another critical issue with the currently proposed 5G antennas is the large inter-user interference caused by the high average SLL of the regular, periodic arrays. Therefore, in the second half of Part II, the aim is to develop computationally and power-efficient SLL suppression techniques that are compatible with the 5G's multibeam nature in a wide angular sector. To achieve this, two novel techniques (based on iterative parameter perturbations) are proposed: (i) a phase-only control technique and (ii) a position-only control technique. The phase-only technique provides peak SLL minimization and simultaneous pattern nulling, which is more effective than the available phase tapering methods in the literature. The position-only technique, on the other hand, yields uniform-amplitude, (fully-aperiodic and quasi-modular) irregular planar phased arrays with simultaneous multibeam optimization. The latter technique combines interference-awareness (via multibeam SLL minimization in a predefined cell sector) and thermal-awareness (via uniform amplitudes and minimum element spacing constraint) for the first time in an efficient and easy-to-solve optimization algorithm.  Part III of the thesis concentrates on the thermal-driven aspects which cover the ther mal system modeling of electronics, passive cooling at the base stations and the role of antenna researchers in array cooling. The major aim here is to form a novel connection between the antenna system design and thermal management, which is not yet widely discussed in the literature. In this part, an efficient thermal system model is developed to perform the thermal simulations. To effectively address the challenge of thermal management at the base stations, fanless CPU heatsinks are exploited for the first time for fully-passive and low-cost cooling of the active integrated antennas. To reduce the size of the heatsinks and ease the thermal problem, novel planar antenna design methodologies are also proposed. In the case of having a low thermal conductivity board, using a sparse irregular antenna array with a large inter-element spacing (such as a sunflower array) is suggested. Alternatively, for the densely packed arrays, increasing the equivalent substrate conductivity by using thick ground planes and simultaneously enlarging the substrate dimensions is proven to be useful.  The performed research presents the first ever irregular/sparse and subarray based antennas with wide scan multibeam capability, low temperature, high efficiency power amplifiers and low level of side lobes. The developed antenna arrays and beam generation concepts could have also an impact over a broad range of applications where they should help overcome the capacity problem by use of multiple adaptive antennas, improve reliability and reduce interference.


Abstract Introduction: Snakes, insects, arachnids and myriapods have been linked to necrosis following envenomation. However, the pathways involved in arthropod venom-induced necrosis remain a highly controversial topic among toxinologists, clinicians and the public. On the one hand, clinicians report on alleged envenomations based on symptoms and the victims' information. On the other hand, toxinologists and zoologists argue that symptoms are incompatible with the known venom activity of target species. This review draws from the literature on arthropod envenomations, snakebite, and inflammatory processes to suggest that envenomation by a range of organisms might trigger an intense inflammatory cascade that ultimately lead to necrosis. If confirmed, these processes would have important implications for the treatment of venom-induced necrosis. Objectives: To describe two inflammatory pathways of regulated necrosis, tumour necrosis factor (necroptosis) and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETosis); to discuss existing knowledge about snake venom and arachnid-induced necrosis demonstrating the involvement of tumour necrosis factor and neutrophils in the development of tissue necrosis following envenomation and to contribute to the understanding of venom-induced necrosis by arthropods and provide clinicians with an insight into little known inflammatory processes which may occur post envenomation. Methods: ISI Web of Science databases were searched using the terms "spider bite necrosis", "arthropod envenomation necrosis", "venom necrosis", "venom immune response", "loxoscelism", "arachnidism", "necroptosis venom", "necroptosis dermatitis", "tumour necrosis factor TNF venom", "scorpionism", "scolopendrism", "centipede necrosis", "NETosis venom", "NETosis necrosis". Searches produced 1737 non-duplicate citations of which 74 were considered relevant to this manuscript. Non-peer-reviewed sources or absence of voucher material identifying the organism were excluded. What is necrosis? Necrosis is the breakdown of cell membrane integrity followed by inflowing extracellular fluid, organelle swelling and the release of proteolytic enzymes into the cytosol. Necrosis was historically considered an unregulated process; however, recent studies demonstrate that necrosis can also be a programmed event resulting from a controlled immune response (necroptosis). Tumour necrosis factor and the necroptosis pathway: Tumour necrosis factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in regulating immune response, inflammation and cell death/survival. The pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α participates in the development of necrosis after envenomation by vipers. Treatment with TNF-α-antibodies may significantly reduce the manifestation of necrosis. Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and the NETosis pathway: The process by which neutrophils discharge a mesh of DNA strands in the extracellular matrix to entangle ("trap") pathogens, preventing them from disseminating. Neutrophil Extracellular Traps have been recently described as important in venom-induced necrosis. Trapped venom accumulates at the bite site, resulting in significant localized necrosis. Arthropod venom driving necrosis: Insects, myriapods and arachnids can induce necrosis following envenomation. So far, the processes involved have only been investigated in two arachnids: Loxosceles spp. (recluse spiders) and Hemiscorpius lepturus (scorpion). Loxosceles venom contains phospholipases D which hydrolyse sphingomyelin, resulting in lysis of muscle fibers. Subsequently liberated ceramides act as intermediaries that regulate TNF-α and recruit neutrophils. Experiments show that immune-deficient mice injected with Loxosceles venom experience less venom-induced inflammatory response and survive longer than control mice. Necrosis following Hemiscorpius lepturus stings correlates with elevated concentrations of TNF-α. These observations suggest that necrosis may be indirectly triggered or worsened by pathways of regulated necrosis in addition to necrotic venom compounds. Conclusions: Envenomation often induce an intense inflammatory cascade, which under certain circumstances may produce necrotic lesions independently from direct venom activity. This could explain the inconsistent and circumstantial occurrence of necrosis following envenomation by a range of organisms. Future research should focus on identifying pathways to regulated necrosis following envenomation and determining more efficient ways to manage inflammation. We suggest that clinicians should consider the victim's immune response as an integral part of the envenomation syndrome.


Electron beam therapy dose calculation has become a great challenge in modern radiation treatment. Differences of tissues composition in human lead to unexpected dose perturbation and often neglected by dose calculation systems. On the other hand, metal amalgam causes a prominence streak artifact in computed tomography (CT) image thus contributed uncertainties in dose calculation. This thesis focuses on perturbation effect on electron dose calculation and provides a strategy in reducing dose errors in patient with amalgam fillings undergoing electron beam treatment. Effects of inhomogeneity and metal streaking artifact on Pencil Beam (PB) calculation were first studied. Comparisons between PB calculations with measurement data were conducted using 9 MeV electron beam. As a result, the PB calculation is suggested to be limited for regions where dose perturbations and streak artifact were trivial. In head and neck cases metal amalgam often creates streak artifacts that cause error in dose calculation. Therefore, the dose error was quantified in this thesis using Monte Carlo (MC) calculation. A metal artifact reduction (MAR) technique was applied to correct the images and as for consequences a better quality of images were observed. Total dose errors cause by streak amalgam fillings were observed as high as 44% by the comparison of pre and post corrected images. The improvement method included the reductions of streaks and correction of amalgam density in the images. The amount of dose perturbations caused by dental and dental amalgam samples was also quantified. MC calculation was utilised to provide a data on central axis depth dose and horizontal dose profiles. Obviously dose distributions were changed significantly due to interactions between electrons particles with inhomogeneous medium. Results showed that the scattered interaction predominate electron interactions in dental samples subsequently causing reduction of absorbed dose in dental. Whereas dental amalgam sample, demonstrated high dose absorptions via interactions between electron particles with amalgam. The need of MAR technique in dose calculation algorithm was further investigated. With the corrected image data, radiotherapy objectives can be achieved successfully. Considering this factor, this thesis suggests a precaution step to avoid calculation errors due to amalgam fillings streak artifact. With the number of vital and radiosensitive organs in head and neck regions, MAR technique was compulsory in this case. In conclusion, this thesis has explored the possibility of errors in dose calculation when high density objects present in the treatment field. Errors in dose calculation can be minimized if every uncertainty arises are handled carefully as suggested in this thesis.


Antibiotic resistance and the presence of resistance genes (ARGs) were investigated in the bacteria isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from different trout farms located in Turkey. The most frequent types of antibiotic resistance were towards β-lactams (cephalothin [70% of bacterial isolates], amoxicillin [63%], ampicillin [62%], ticarcillin [56%], aztreonam [51%]), macrolide [erythromycin, 68%] and sulphonamide [sulphamethoxazole, 51%]. Of bacterial isolates, 51% were multiple drug resistant (MDR), while 35% of the isolates were extensively drug resistant (XDR). None of isolates were pandrug resistant (PDR). The most common ARGs were ampC (36%) and sul1 (24%). The class 1 integron gene cassette was detected in 51% of the bacteria. There was a strong positive correlation between the antibiotic resistance rate and the presence of ARGs (r2 = .932). Gene encodes blaCTX-M1, one of the extended spectrum beta-lactamase enzymes, was first described in Aeromonas caviae, Photobacterium damselae, Pseudomonas luteola and Burkholderia cepacia. It was determined that 35% of the bacteria harboured at least one plasmid. Plasmid-mediated ARGs were identified to be tetracyclines (tetA, tetB, tetC, tetD), sulphonamides (sul1, sul3) and β lactams (ampC, blapse). Thus, results suggest that ARG contamination situation deliberates resistance to tetracycline, aminoglycoside, chloramphenicol and sulphonamide. Therefore, the presence and activity of ARGs in fish and in environmental bacteria may play an important role in the spread of resistance genes among bacteria by transposition or integron gene cassettes.


A general catalyzed direct C-H functionalization of s-tetrazines is reported. Under mild reaction conditions, N-directed ortho-C-H activation of tetrazines allows the introduction of various functional groups, thus forming carbon-heteroatom bonds: C-X (X=I, Br, Cl) and C-O. Based on this methodology, we developed electrophilic mono- and poly-ortho-fluorination of tetrazines. Microwave irradiation was optimized to afford fluorinated s-aryltetrazines, with satisfactory selectivity, within only ten minutes. This work provides an efficient and practical entry for further accessing highly substituted tetrazine derivatives (iodo, bromo, chloro, fluoro, and acetate precursors). It gives access to ortho-functionalized aryltetrazines which are difficult to obtain by classical Pinner-like syntheses.


Abstract We aimed to evaluate whether blood conservation strategies including intraoperative autologous donation (IAD) could reduce perioperative blood transfusion for patients undergoing cardiac valve replacement including mitral valve replacement, aortic valve replacement (AVR), and double valve replacement (DVR). A total of 726 patients were studied over a 3-year period (2011–2013) after the implementation of IAD and were compared with 919 patients during the previous 36-month period (January 2008–December 2010). The method of small-volume retrograde autologous priming, strict blood transfusion standard together with IAD constituted a progressive blood-saving strategy. Baseline characteristics and preoperative information showed no statistically significant difference between IAD group and non-IAD group. Most of the postoperative morbidities are statistically the same in the 2 groups. Chest tube output (415.2 vs 1029.8 mL, P < 0.001) and postoperative respiratory failure (5.9% vs 8.6%, P = 0.039) favored the IAD group, whereas hematocrit levels were more favorable in the non-IAD group (30.3% vs 33.0% at the end of the operation, P < 0.001; 30.4% vs 31.5% at the time of discharge). The use of blood product transfusion was higher in the non-IAD group (22.6% vs 43.3%, P < 0.001). Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high age, non-IAD, DVR surgery, and absent smoking history are associated with a higher risk of intra-/postoperative blood transfusion. Blood conservation is effective and safe in cardiac valve replacement surgeries. The use of intraoperative autologous donation can lead to improved outcomes including a significantly lower rate of intra-/postoperative blood transfusion and postoperative complications.


Estrogens are the major hormones supporting the growth of human breast cancer. Aromatization of androgen precursors in peripheral tissues, including the breast cancer itself, is the major source of estrogens in postmenopausal women. Therefore, inhibition of the aromatase enzyme offers an effective means of inducing regression of hormone‐responsive breast cancer. Aminoglutethimide, the first and most widely tested aromatase inhibitor, suppresses estrogen production to the level of adrenalectomy and exerts an anti‐tumor action comparable to other standard endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen. However, conventional doses of the drug (1000 mg daily) cause moderate toxicity and inhibit other critical cytochrome P‐450 steroidogenic enzymes, thus requiring concomitant glucocorticoid administration. New non‐steroidal, competitive aromatase inhibitors with greater selectivity and less toxicity are being developed. The second generation compound, fadrazole (CGS 16949), lowers estrogen production to a degree similar to aminoglutethimide (50–80%), but at much lower doses (∼2 mg daily) and is associated with minimal toxicity. Although not totally specific, this drug is sufficiently selective not to require simultaneous cortisol replacement. CGS 16949 has been shown to possess significant anti‐tumor action in pilot studies and is currently being tested in Phase III trials. Recently, a third generation inhibitor, CGS 20267, has been found to have virtually complete selectivity for the aromatase enzyme. Furthermore, this drug suppresses estrogen biosynthesis to a greater extent (∼90%) than previously observed with other aromatase inhibitors. Such enhanced activity may lead to a superior anti‐tumor action, and may extend the use of this drug to a variety of other conditions where optimal suppression of estrogen biosynthesis is desired.


Nigeria has the potential to become Sub-Saharan Africa's largest economy and a major player in the global economy by virtue of its human and natural resource endowment. These potentials have remained untapped, and if current trends continue, Nigeria runs the risk of not meeting the internationally agreed millennium development goals (MDGs) by 2015. This paper is an attempt to assess the economic performance in Nigeria with a view of identifying what went wrong and drawing lessons from Malaysia for its vision 2020. The two countries have the vision of becoming advanced economies by the year 2020. Nigeria's economic landscape especially since the oil boom of the mid 1970's has become the textbook example of Africa's economic growth and tragedy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $43 billion in 2001, the economy has shrunk to a third of its size in 1981, per capita income has shrunk from $1150 in 1991 to a barely $300 in 2001. As at 2001, Nigeria had received appropriately $300 billion from oil exports since the mid 1970's but per capita income was 20% less than the 1975 level. The economic structures remain highly undiversified, with oil accounting for than more 95% of exports and manufacturing sector accounting for less than one per cent of exports. In 1999 the country returned to the path of civil democratic governance, economic growth has risen substantially, with an annual average of 7.4% in the last decade. But the growth has not been inclusive, broad-based and transformational. The implication of the trend is that economic growth in Nigeria has not resulted in the desired structural changes that would make manufacturing the engine of growth, create employment, promote technological development and induce poverty alleviation. The one lesson for Nigeria is that for it to attend its Vision 2020 it must promote an all inclusive growth in all sectors.

 Key words: Economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), vision 2020, Nigeria, Malaysia.


Sprouty and Spred {Sprouty-related EVH1 [Ena/VASP (vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein) homology 1] domain} proteins have been identified as antagonists of growth factor signalling pathways. We show here that Spred-1 and Spred-2 appear to have distinct mechanisms whereby they induce their effects, as the Sprouty domain of Spred-1 is not required to block MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) activation, while that of Spred-2 is required. Similarly, deletion of the C-terminal Sprouty domain of Spred-1 does not affect cell-cycle progression of G(0)-synchronized cells through to S-phase following growth factor stimulation, while the Sprouty domain is required for Spred-2 function. We also demonstrate that the inhibitory function of Spred proteins is restricted to the Ras/MAPK pathway, that tyrosine phosphorylation is not required for this function, and that the Sprouty domain mediates heterodimer formation of Spred proteins. Growth-factor-mediated activation of the small GTPases, Ras and Rap1, was able to be regulated by Spred-1 and Spred-2, without affecting receptor activation. Taken together, these results highlight the potential for different functional roles of the Sprouty domain within the Spred family of proteins, suggesting that Spred proteins may use different mechanisms to induce inhibition of the MAPK pathway.


Solid-state lithium-metal batteries have great potential to simultaneously achieve high safety and high energy density for energy storage. However, the low ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte and large electrode/electrolyte interfacial impedance are bottlenecks. A composite solid electrolyte (CSE) that integrates electrospun Li0.33La0.557TiO3 (LLTO) nanofibers, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) is fabricated in this work. The effects of the LLTO filler fraction and morphology (spherical vs fibrous) on CSE conductivity are examined. Additionally, a fluorine-rich interlayer based on succinonitrile, fluoroethylene carbonate, and LiTFSI, denoted as succinonitrile interlayer (SNI), is developed to reduce the large interfacial impedance. The use of SNI rather than a conventional ester-based interlayer (EBI) effectively decreases the Li//CSE interfacial resistance and suppresses unfavorable interfacial side reactions. The LiF- and CFx-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), derived from SNI, on the Li metal electrode, mitigates the accumulation of dead Li and excessive SEI. Importantly, dehydrofluorination reactions of PVDF-HFP are significantly reduced by the introduction of SNI. A symmetric Li//CSE//Li cell with SNI exhibits a much longer cycle life than that of an EBI counterpart. A Li//CSE@SNI//LiFePO4 cell shows specific capacities of 150 and 112 mAh g-1 at 0.1 and 2 C (based on LiFePO4), respectively. After 100 charge-discharge cycles, 98% of the initial capacity is retained.


A modelled tertiary structure for the dimeric HLH domain of the E47 protein is presented. Structural information was obtained from the aligned sequences of > 40 members of the HLH family. The information was used to model each monomer as an alpha-helical hairpin, with knobs-into-holes packing of side-chains as found in antiparallel coiled-coil. The dimer forms a four-helix bundle with additional knobs-into-holes packing at the dimer interface. The size and electrostatic properties of core-forming residues are all accounted for in the model. The model does not violate any known properties of protein structure. The monomers are related by two-fold rotational symmetry, in agreement with the observed DNA-binding sites which are imperfect inverted repeats. The N-terminal basic region, in which DNA binding and base specificity reside, forms the first part of helix 1. A prediction based on the model structure is that the HLH domains do not bind to DNA in its B form but require a partially unwound conformation in order to enter the major groove.


Abstract. Imagery geometry models (IGMs) of the high-resolution satellite images (HRSIs) are always of great interest in the photogrammetry and remote sensing community for the raising new kinds of sensors and imaging systems. Especially the generalized sensor models (GSMs) have been widely used for positioning of satellite images, and the accuracy are already validated. Since Back propagation (BP) neural network is a better choice for the two key reasons of the replacement of physical sensor models by generalized sensor models, numerous mathematical estimations for every specialized sensor, and secret equations of the IGMs. Experiments are carried out to test the approximation accuracy of the new generalized sensor model. And the experimental results show that, the BP neural network is of extremely high accuracy for satellite imagery photogrammetric restitution.


In times of rapid technological change, enthusiasts of the new often subscribe to the theory of "supersession," the idea that newer technologies supersede or vanquish older ones. But as scholar of information Paul Duguid has observed, reality is mare interesting and complicated than that. In the 1950s, for instance, when television was becoming popular, there were widespread predictions of radio's imminent demise. Yet here it is 2015 and radio is not only very much a live but has thrown off vibrant digital doppelgangers of itself, in the form of internet radio stations and podcasts. So it goes for all of human culture: There is really no predicting where it will go next. As the articles in this collection make clear, this is especially true of writing in our time, when old and new, on-line and off-line, are mixing, mashing up and recombining so prolifically, no single theory could ever explain it all, let alone foretell its evolution. So it's fitting that what we have in this volume is not a collection of definitive, supersession-like answers, but a multiplicity of fascinating questions explored in depth. Are microblogs a new literary genre? What happens when Japanese haiku leap across cultures? Is writing inherently an act of individuality, as we tend to believe, or is that idea just "a fruit of modernity"? Such questions will swirl around us for decades to come, and to make our way forward we will need intellectual roadmaps with the wide-ranging curiosity, et al.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the trend of heterosis observed in monthly hen day rate of production and egg weight in F1 crosses between the local and exotic layer type chicken. The heterosis observed for hen day rate of production were substantial and declined with age of lay in most of the crossbred groups. The heterosis observed for egg weight traits were mostly negative and non significant. The implication was that dominance variation decreased remarkably with age for egg production traits.


A recently published article by a widely diffused Italian newspaper ( Il Corriere della Sera ), claims that the "rate of curability of cancer, in the next 10-15 years will be astonishingly increased". That exploit could mainly be attributed (no doubt on that!) to the claims made by new generation molecular drugs designed to single out and then to 'block' one or more genes involved in cancer "causation".


Critical Design has emerged as an important concept in HCI research and practice. Yet researchers have noted that its uptake has been limited by certain lacks of intellectual infrastructure theories, methodologies, canons and exemplars, and a community of practice. We argue that one way to create this infrastructure is to cultivate a community adept at reading that is, critically interpreting and making reasoned judgments about critical designs. We propose an approach to developing close readings of critical designs, which are both evidence-based and carefully reasoned. The approach highlights analytical units of analysis, the relevance of design languages and social norms, and the analytical contemplation of critical aspects of a design. It is intended to be relatively easy to learn, to try out, and to teach, in the hopes of inviting more members of the HCI community to engage in this practice. We exemplify the approach with readings of two critical designs and reflect on different ways that a design might serve a critical purpose or offer a critical argument about design, society, and the future.


Permeability is a critical property of fractured sorbing rocks, such as shale and coal, as it controls the gas transport. However, two distinctive features are commonly not simultaneously included in existing permeability models. One is the stratified feature which has been evidenced by an appreciable number of laboratory investigations. The second one is matrix-fracture non-equilibrium induced matrix-fracture interactions during permeability measurement or field operations. The goal of this research is to uncover how the combined effects of the two features influence permeability evolution.
 This study is extended from our previous research (Zeng et al. 2020a) based on the poroelasticity theory. The interbedding layers can be either perpendicular or parallel to the flow direction. Within each layer, the permeability evolution with multiple stages would occur due to the matrix-fracture non-equilibrium and effective stress variation. Therefore, the overall permeability behavior of layered rocks becomes more complex. To investigate the influence of laminae on shale and coal permeability evolution, an equivalent permeability model for multilayer rocks is established by means of weighted-average and weighted-harmonic-average methods. As for matrix-fracture equilibrium hysteresis, the pressure-dependent gas invaded volume ratio concept (Zeng et al. 2020a) is used to describe equilibrium-hysteresis-induced nonuniform matrix swelling.
 The reliability of this model is checked by comparing with the published model which has been verified against three sets of gas injection experimental data collected from constant effective stress, constant confining pressure, and constant average pore pressure conditions. Our results indicate that the gas flow direction affects the permeability measurement significantly. If the gas flow direction is parallel to the layers, the overall permeability magnitude is close to that of the highest-permeability layer. However, the overall permeability evolution law can be different from that of the highest-permeability layer. When the gas flow is normal to the bedding, both the permeability evolution law and permeability magnitude are similar to those of the lowest-permeability layer.


Mortgage-backed securities, with their relative structural simplicity and their lack of recovery rate uncertainty if default occurs, are particularly suitable for developing and testing risky debt valuation models. In this paper, we develop a two-factor structural mortgage pricing model in which rational mortgage-holders endogenously choose when to prepay and default subject to i. explicit frictions (transaction costs) payable when terminating their mortgages, ii. exogenous background terminations, and iii. a credit related impact of the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) on prepayment. We estimate the model using pool-level mortgage termination data for Freddie Mac Participation Certificates, and find that the effect of the house price factor on the results is both statistically and economically significant. Out-of-sample estimates of MBS prices produce option adjusted spreads of between 5 and 25 basis points, well within quoted values for these securities.


The species composition in the soil seed bank of degraded hillslopes in southern Wello, Ethiopia, was assessed using the seedling emergence method and compared with that of the standing vegetation. Surface soils were sampled at 0‐to 5‐cm depth from 49 plots of four physiognomic vegetation classes (hereafter vegetation classes): forests, shrublands, grasslands, and degraded sites. Soils were spread on sterile sand in a glasshouse and watered. Emerging seedlings were recorded for five months until no new seedlings emerged. A total of 3969 seedlings belonging to 71 species and 30 families germinated. The species composition of the seed bank was dominated by 53 herb species (75%) compared to 2 tree species which accounted for only 3 percent of the total number of species. Seedling density differed significantly among vegetation classes and ranged from 391 to 7807 seeds/m2. Mean species richness also differed significantly among the vegetation classes. Forty‐two species were found to be common to the seed banks and the standing vegetation; however, correspondence between species numbers and composition of the seed banks and the standing vegetation was poor. Although most of the species that germinated in the seed banks were herbs and grasses, they can develop a vegetative cover and contribute to reduction of soil erosion. Regeneration of the tree species (some of which have seed viability up to four years) however, requires both time and the presence of mature individuals. Together with hillside closure and soil conservation measures (e.g., terracing), planting of native woody seedlings might help to expedite rehabilitation of degraded hillslopes devoid of trees and shrubs.


Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase activity is frequently elevated in the presence of acute tissue damage 5,6 and has been found to be elevated in acute rheumatic fever. 4 Determination of this enzyme might, therefore, be helpful in the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever and in the evaluation of the presence and severity of rheumatic carditis. In order to define more clearly the value of such determinations, patients with rheumatic fever have been studied during their acute and convalescent periods by relating serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) activity to the results of certain other laboratory tests and to the clinical status of the patient. Elevation of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase has also been found during the course of salicylate administration. 7 In this study, specific attention has been given to the relationship of salicylate and cortisone therapy to the serological studies and clinical status of the patient. Methods Eighteen patients selected


In this work, CdS nano particles were synthesized using aqueous precipitation method; This method is simple, fast and can be carried out at room temperature. Various techniques like X-ray powder diffraction and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy are used for the structural characterization like electron density distribution and estimation of inter atomic distances between the atoms of the nano particles. The optical band gap of this material has been determined in order to establish a relationship between energy gap of bulk and nano materials.


The ability of microbally produced poly(gamma,d-glutamic acid) to form stable polyelectrolyte-opposite charged surfactant complexes was investigated. A sonicated sample of polyacid with a molecular weight about 10(5) Da and a content of d enantiomer higher than 90% was used in this study. Nearly stoichiometric complexes of poly(gamma,d-glutamate) anions and alkyltrimethylammonium cations bearing linear alkyl chains with even numbers of carbon atoms from 12 up to 22 were "synthesized" by precipitation from equimolar mixtures of aqueous solutions of the two components. All complexes were found to adopt stratified supramolecular structures made of alternating layers of poly(gamma,d-glutamate) and surfactant with a periodicity increasing from 3.2 up to 4.3 nm according to the length of the alkyl side chain. No definite evidence indicative of the conformation adopted by the main chain in these complexes could be afforded. In all cases, the alkyl chains are in an extended conformation and oriented normal or nearly normal to the layer planes. Polymethylene chains with more than 16 carbon atoms were partially crystallized in the complexes in a separated paraffinic phase, whereas no crystallinity was detected for shorter lengths. The crystallized paraffinic phases were found to melt reversibly at temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees C. This process was found to happen with a concomitant expansion-contraction that amounts between 2 and 8% of the long period of the structure but without significant alteration of the layered arrangement.


Pig production efficiency and its regional differences in China have strategic importance to the transformation of pig production mode and optimization of pig production layout in China. In this paper, Malmquist-DEA model is adopted to analyze the statistical data; TFP and its decomposition indicators of different pig breeding scale among the top ten pig producing provinces are calculated; both horizontal and longitudinal comparisons are made. Results show that among different pig breeding scales, free-range breeding scale is dominant in Hunan, small breeding scale is dominant in Sichuan, medium breeding scale is dominant in Sichuan and Hunan, and large breeding scale is dominant in Sichuan, Shandong and Jiangsu; among the provinces, pig production efficiency varies with breeding scale, and small-scale pig breeding in Sichuan, Guangdong and Hebei, free-range and medium-scale pig breeding in Hunan, medium-scale pig breeding in Henan and Yunnan, large-scale pig breeding in the rest of the provinces, have significant efficiency advantage.


We investigate the projective properties of the feature consisting of two concentric circles. We demonstrate there exist geometric and algebraic constraints on its projection. We show how these constraints greatly simplify the recoveries of the affine and Euclidean structures of a 3D plane. As an application, we assess the performances of two camera calibration algorithms.


: The actual problems of health-keeping in children and adolescents living in high latitudes are analyzed. The data on morbidity and spreading of risk factors of chronic non-infectious diseases in adolescents aged 14-17 living in the Far North are presented.


Complete atrioventricular block of a permanent or intermittent type is a relatively uncommon alteration of conduction. It may develop in the course of acute rheumatic fever and diphtheria. It is most commonly found in elderly persons in association with serious forms of chronic heart disease, usually of a coronary arteriosclerotic type, with or without aortic valvular heart disease. The arrhythmia may also occur in association with congenital heart disease, syphilitic heart disease, and neoplasm. Rarely it appears as a complication of digitalis therapy. A reflex vagal mechanism as is present in the hyperactive carotid sinus syndrome may account for complete heart block, and this variety is ordinarily evanescent. In episodes of supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation, exhaustion of the conduction system presumably occurs, often resulting in complete atrioventricular dissociation. When atherosclerosis is the cause of complete block it is usually the right coronary artery which is involved, since


This paper presents some techniques for fault diagnosis in aerospace and automotive systems. A diagnosis technique is an algorithm to detect and isolate fault components in a dynamic process, such as sensor biases, actuator malfunctions, leaks and equipment deterioration. Fault diagnosis is the first step to achieve fault tolerance, but the redundancy has to be included in the system. This redundancy can be either by hardware or software. In situations in which it is not possible to use hardware redundancy only the analytical redundancy approach can be used to design fault diagnosis systems. Methods based on analytical redundancy need no extra hardware, since they are based on mathematical models of the system.


This study aims to discuss why there is a problem of ethical obligation toward the environment in the developing countries. The main argument is how the contemporary environmental ethics paradigm is not adequate to provide an active ethical relationship between humans and their environment in developing nations. Many aspects are to support this claim. The first aspect analyzes that developing countries have their own specificity that cannot be reduced to general environmental ethics. The second aspect illustrates the necessity to analyze environmental politics within the paradigm of environmental ethics. The third aspect focuses on the obstacles of normative ethics that formulate contemporary environmental ethics. Descriptive ethics paradigm is a suggested alternative ethical paradigm that can provide hybrid environmental ethics account for developing countries. In the final section of the study, an application of this suggested ethical paradigm. This application analyzes water ethics in Egypt to show the overlapping relationship between environmental politics and general ethical system. The conclusion of this study formulates a paradigm where ethical relationship toward the environment is more reachable.


This article outlines the capabilities of a scientific visualization toolkit called Data Viewer and compares it to analogous software. DataViewer was originally designed for the construction of the visualization part of certain computational steering packages, and consequently it is particularly straightforward to closely couple DataViewer with numerical calculations. Rendering is performed through a highlevel scene graph which facilitates the easy construction of complex visualizations. Data Viewer differs from other such libraries by allowing complex geometrical objects, which efficiently encapsulate large amounts of data, to be used as. nodes in the scene graph. Graphics hardware access is through the OpenGL API.


The authors review judgment research in the area of neuropsychological assessment. Topics include the reliability and validity of judgments, the appropriateness of confidence ratings, the value of training and experience, the cognitive processes of neuropsychologists, and the use of decision aids, including automated assessment programs and statistical prediction rules. Most of the research is on reliability and validity. The results indicate that neuropsychologists frequently make reliable and moderately valid judgments. However, for several tasks, experimenters have not studied the reliability and validity of judgments.


This booklet is intended for anyone considering providing Family Carer training, or already doing so. It seeks to inspire, support and guide. It should prove useful in the planning, implementation and evaluation stages of an organisation's Family Carer training. It may also be of interest to those who have a general interest in the area of Family Carers and/or training.


Abstract. In recent decades, there has been a downward trend in length of productive life (LPL) in Holstein cows across industrial dairy herds. This study examined the factors that might influence LPL and estimated the genetic parameters of LPL in Holstein dairy herds in Isfahan province, Iran. LPL is defined as the number of days between the first calving and the end of recording. Data consisted of 35 137 records of productive life from registered cows that started first calving between 1991 and 2012. Cows that remained alive at the end of the study were considered right-censored. The average lifetime for culled and censored cows was 938 and 1003 days, respectively. A survival analysis was applied using a proportional risk model with a Weibull distribution. Milk production was divided into five groups, where the culling risk of cows with a milk yield of less than 1.5 standard deviations (SD) of the mean was 3.5 times greater than the culling risk of high-producing cows producing more than 1.5 SD above the mean. Results showed that culling risk increased almost linearly beyond the milk production groups. Furthermore, somatic cell count and age at first calving significantly increased the culling risk across the herds. The results for the combined effect of parity  ×  stage of lactation showed a decrease in culling risk during the first calving, and an increase during the further parities. Moreover, a higher age at first calving was observed, reflecting a lower risk of culling. Estimated heritability were 0.074 and 0.18 based on a logarithmic scale and original scale, respectively. According to the results, use of Weibull models showed that the proportional culling risk was higher in low-production cows, but a higher risk ratio was revealed in high-milk-production cows. However, there were some fluctuations in genetic trends, but an overall increase was observed in LPL which will lead to a longer LPL of Holstein cows in Isfahan province.


"Now Quite Out of Society": Archaeology and Frontier Illinois. By Robert Mazrim. (Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation, 2002. Pp. Xiii, 297. Illus., maps, tables, notes, bib. Paper, $25.00). Anyone interested in Illinois's frontier era will agree that publication of these archaeological reports is welcome and overdue. As a general rule, archaeological reports-particularly those originating from salvage studies such as undertaken in preparation of new construction, are seldom published. Even historians and other scholars in neighboring disciplines find it difficult to access archaeological findings. This book too will be difficult for many readers to access given that it is a special publication, but worthy of the effort. It is organized well, makes superb use of federal land maps, and amply illustrated. Among the volume's greatest strengths are the two superb opening essays on the early Illinois frontier and settlement patterns. In addition to providing a succinct and solid orientation to the archaeological reports that follow, both essays address topics often overlooked or misunderstood in the historical literature. The archaeological reports do not encompass all of Illinois, but rather concentrate in the central and southern regions where Anglo-American settlement first commences. Although selective in the coverage, the sites are by all appearances representative of a much larger region. In general, the analysis is balanced and provides solid detail, with a style of presentation that is lucid and accessible. This reviewer is a historian who has worked a few archaeological digs from the colonial era. As a result, I appreciate firsthand how much the fields of history and archaeology have to contribute to each other. Yet, from the cross-disciplinary perspective, I confess to a bit of disappointment. The reports practically ignored parallel studies by historians. Some reports cried out for the synergistic benefit of a more interdisciplinary approach. For example, I expected a fuller understanding of tea consumption, especially given the potential significance of teaware in the Illinois excavations. Likewise, the integration of probate inventories with archaeological data is a welcome advance, yet probate inventories involve some unusual properties. The archaeological analysis might have benefited from a sizeable body of methodological literature produced by early American historians in recent years. The same is true concerning commercialization or what historians term the "capitalist transformation." The historical works cited in interpreting the archaeological data tend to be limited to the most well known. …


We have used a commercially available high precision Lucy phantom to perform comprehensive quality assurance for stereotactic radiosurgery treatments. The quantitative evaluation of system uncertainties included imaging, planning and treatment delivery systems. The quality assurance tests showed that the well-defined targets were identified to within +/-1 mm in all the imaging modalities. The pre-known target volumes were reproduced within 2 cm3 in both MR and CT. The planned target was delivered within 2% of the prescribed dose and to within 2 mm accuracy. The inaccuracy in the isocentre position at the Linac was less than 1.2 mm. The maximum error observed in the depth helmet was 0.5 mm and the overall uncertainty was within 0.23 mm. We have also established a quality assurance program based on the study and proposed the tolerance and the frequency of the tests required to be carried out. The tests were carried out using a Radionics planning system and delivered on a Varian Clinac 2100 linear accelerator machine. These tests also established a base line for future comparisons.


We consider the problem of optimally allocating a given total storage budget in a distributed storage system. A source has a data object which it can code and store over a set of storage nodes; it is allowed to store any amount of coded data in each node, as long as the total amount of storage used does not exceed the given budget. A data collector subsequently attempts to recover the original data object by accessing each of the nodes independently with some constant probability. By using an appropriate code, successful recovery occurs when the total amount of data in the accessed nodes is at least the size of the original data object. The goal is to find an optimal storage allocation that maximizes the probability of successful recovery. This optimization problem is challenging because of its discrete nature and nonconvexity, despite its simple formulation. Symmetric allocations (in which all nonempty nodes store the same amount of data), though intuitive, may be suboptimal; the problem is nontrivial even if we optimize over only symmetric allocations. Our main result shows that the symmetric allocation that spreads the budget maximally over all nodes is asymptotically optimal in a regime of interest. Specifically, we derive an upper bound for the suboptimality of this allocation and show that the performance gap vanishes asymptotically in the specified regime. Further, we explicitly find the optimal symmetric allocation for a variety of cases. Our results can be applied to distributed storage systems and other problems dealing with reliability under uncertainty, including delay tolerant networks (DTNs) and content delivery networks (CDNs).


Varicose veins are a common problem, and yet there is divergent opinion as to whether surgery or sclerotherapy is the preferred method of treatment. After establishing a reliable injection technique, the method was compared with standard surgical procedures in a random trial. The results showed that after one year 82% of unselected patients were cured by injection, but after six years the cure rate was only 7%. The surgical result was not as good at one year, but much better than injection after six years. When the results were considered for three distinct clinical groups, the analysis showed that the best primary treatment for dilated superficial veins and for incompetent perforating veins in the lower part of the legs was injection-compression. However, surgery was much more successful and long-lasting when there was involvement of the saphenous systems with proximal incompetence.


The 'route from the Varangians to the Greeks' is widely known and often mentioned in research, popular science and educational literature. Much less often is it mentioned that the existence of the trade route is seriously doubted and needs additional evidence. The discussion about the actuality of a 'route from the Varangians to the Greeks' has intensified in the recent decade; it mostly involves historians who draw on chronicles, archive materials and literary sources. Although relevant geographical studies focus on small territories and have a limited scope, only they can give a definitive answer to the question of whether it was possible to sail the rivers of the East European Plain between the Baltic and Black Seas in the 8th-11th centuries AD. Of particular importance are studies on the watersheds marking the principal legs of the route. If the watersheds were traversable, the 'route from the Varangians to the Greeks' was navigable, and the impassability of watersheds would preclude navigation along the route. Methodologically, the study employs methods and approaches used in physiographical field studies, which have not been applied earlier to the watershed sections of the 'route from the Varangians to the Greeks'. The central result of the research is the reconstruction of the hydrological features and hydrographic situation of the watershed between the basins of the Neva (River Lovat) and the Western Dvina (River Usvyacha) during the existence of the 'route from the Varangians to the Greeks'. This reconstruction and the study of the watershed territories, the system of land communication routes and toponymic features of this territory conclusively demonstrate that the 'way from the Varangians to the Greeks', or the Baltic-Black Sea waterway, could actually exist.


The Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District in suburban Oak Park, Illinois is home to a truly remarkable collection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century residential architecture. Within this seventy-eight block district lies the world's greatest concentration of residences designed by Prairie School architects. It includes twenty-six Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, as well as more than sixty buildings designed by members of the Prairie School, all of which are documented in this new Guide. Internationally famous as the birthplace of the Prairie style, Oak Park is less well-known for other historically significant types of well-preserved architecture, ranging from the simple farm houses of its early settlers to the grand estates of Chicago's industrial giants. In addition to their architectural merit, these structures provide an important context for understanding and appreciating the work of the Prairie School. The district as a whole encapsulates the major trends in residential American architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District includes five walking tours of this architecturally fascinating area. It features one hundred eighteen structures, an illustrated guide to architectural styles, architects' biographies, and detailed maps. With well over a hundred splendid black and white photographs, this elegantly produced guide is an indispensable reference for tourists, students, and aficionados world-wide. "A Guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District" was produced by the Oak Park Historic Preservation Committee."


Personal counseling by a well trained professional has been available to employees and their families in the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in parts of the State of Iowa for five years. The service has been available on a voluntary basis at no charge at the work location. The program has been very successful when measured by the acceptance of the service by the empolyees and by the results of the counseling experience as evaluated by the counselor. The service has not been abused. The range of clinical problems presented fills the entire spectrum of case work. It is interesting that few of the problems are directly due to the work situation. There have been very few appointment cancellations, and most of the cases are closed as "improved". The program was started without a model and has developed slowly. The wide geographic dispersion of our employee work locations has added to the complexity of the program's management. We hope to extend this program of personal counseling to employees in other states in our company. We have demonstrated in Iowa that there is a need for this kind of service at the work location. We have shown that a counselor can be of service with credibility away from a medical department if organizational lines to the company medical department are clearly defined. Our humanity directs us to help our fellow man when he is troubled. Good management philosophy respects the need for physical and emotional health in the employee. A personal counseling program is in harmony with both of the philosophic principles.


A 10-year-old boy was diagnosed as having the axonal form of Guillain-Barresyndrome (GBS). The patient noticed progressive weakness of the lower legs on the 1st day of illness. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy was immediately started on the 2nd day of illness. Despite the favorable recovery of muscle weakness, he complained of severe needle-like pain in the thighs and buttocks and also painful numbness over the gastrocnemius regions. Acetaminophen and hydroxyzine therapy was ineffective for the pain control. Oral prednisolone therapy (0.7 mg/kg/day) led to drastic pain-relief with favorable improvement of the weakness. Corticosteroid therapy is not typically used in the management of GBS patients. Although GBS-associated pain frequently occurs in children, only a few reports have indicated the analgesic utility of steroids in the treatment of pediatric GBS. This observation may suggest the alternative of this therapy as for the as the limited, but potentially rapid, control of GBS-associated acute radicular pain in pediatric patients.


Study Design. An in vitro mechanical study on porcine motion segments. Objectives. To test the validity of in vitro studies of the flow-related mechanics of the intervertebral disc and, in particular, to investigate whether fluid flows back into the disc during unloading after a loading cycle. Summary of Background Data. In vivo studies show both the inflow and outflow of fluid in the intervertebral disc. The resistance to flow out of the disc is higher than to inflow. The fluid flow is regulated via unbalance between the external load and the osmotic pressure of the nucleus pulposus. Materials. There were 8 porcine lumbar motion segments (without posterior elements) and 8 isolated discs tested in a physiologic saline bath (39°C). The specimens were preloaded at 0.025 MPa for 15 minutes. Three 15-minute loading periods at 2.0 MPa were applied, each followed by an unloading period of 30 minutes. Loads, axial displacements, and nucleus pressure were recorded online. Results. Over the 3 loading and unloading periods, all specimens showed a net loss of height and mass. The time series of specimen height during the 3 unloading periods showed virtually identical responses. The pressure in the nucleus decreased in the subsequent loading periods and showed no increase during unloading. Conclusion. The data show the limitations of an in vitro model for studying fluid flow-related intervertebral disc mechanics. During loading, outflow of fluid occurred, but inflow appears to be virtually absent during unloading. Poro-elastic behavior cannot be reproduced in an in vitro model.


Introduction Despite demonstrated clinical efficacy, little research has focused on implementing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programs to prevent HIV among persons who inject drugs (PWID). We sought to determine the proportion of PWID meeting PrEP eligibility criteria and their attitudes towards PrEP as a first step in this process. Methods Participants were English-speaking PWID age ≥18 years recruited from a syringe exchange program in Northeastern United States. They self-obtained specimens for gonorrhoea and chlamydia screening and completed a survey assessing factors hypothesised to impact PrEP eligibility and uptake. Eligibility was calculated based on CDC clinical guidelines and included injection drug use plus any affirmative response to: sharing syringes, recent or current STI, sex exchange, having a sex partner of HIV positive or unknown status, inconsistent condom use with a high number of sex partners and opioid replacement therapy all within 6 months. Results Of 138 participants, 47% were women, 80% white with median age of 31. Eligibility was high (90.3%). Compared to men, women were more likely to report engaging in: vaginal sex, sex with a person of HIV positive or unknown status; sex exchange, greater numbers of sex partners, and screen positive for STI. Willingness to take PrEP was high (88.9% vs 71.0% among women and men, p<0.02). However, potential barriers to uptake were common and included: embarrassment (45%), anxiety (51.6%), not wanting to disclose PrEP use to a romantic partner (51.4%), being uninsured (30.1%), and not accessing providers where PrEP is routinely offered (52.9%). Conclusion Despite being recruited from a SEP, 9:10 participants were eligible for PrEP. While participants found PrEP acceptable, they reported multiple barriers to uptake including lack of access to clinical care and insurance. To optimise and scale PrEP programs for this population additional research is needed. However, data suggest uptake will remain sub-optimal unless tailored interventions are developed.


: Purpose: This paper presents the methodology of the system of assessment and selection of suppliers on the example of a selected service enterprise. A basic review of literature on multi-criteria methods is presented and phases of the supplier assessment and selection process necessary to develop a model of supplier selection in service industry enterprises are defined. Design/Methodology/Approach: In order to realize the intended conception, a detailed assessment of suppliers was made according to the selected methods. The first verification method to support the company's supplier selection and assessment process is the local analysis, which includes the arithmetic average method, the weighted average method, and the percentage method. Another scoring-based supplier assessment and selection method is the matching matrix. Graphical verification is another example of multi-criteria verification based on local analysis which is an extension of it. Another example of supplier verification is the method of qualitative variables. The last method used to assess and select suppliers is the AHP analytical hierarchical process. Supplier selection based on this model requires the enterprise to determine the most important criteria that will be used to assess suppliers. Findings: Of all the verification methods analysed, the analytical hierarchy process model proved to be the most effective and it is on this basis that enterprises should make their supplier selection. Practical Implications: A thorough analysis of the enterprise's relations with suppliers carried out in the practical part allowed to identify the problem of the company's high dependence on suppliers. Despite constant supervision of cooperation and a restrictive selection process, there are still shortages of supplies and errors in orders resulting from suppliers' inattention. Originality value: Formulating the right rules of conduct in the process of selecting and assessing a supplier and applying the most optimal method will make it possible to solve many existing problems in the company's procurement logistics. Integrated


SuperSQL is an extension of SQL that allows formatting and publishing of database contents into various kinds of application data directly as a result of a query. Possible application data output formats include, but are not limited to, HTML, PDF, XML, XLS, and Ajax-driven pages. Originally, the SuperSQL query is directly converted into a single SQL query. In some query cases, this procedure returns a large intermediate table, which typically require a long execution time and consume a lot of memory. To minimize the execution time and memory consumption, query decomposition, the process of dividing a query into sub queries whose result sets' union is equivalent to the result set of the original query, was applied to SuperSQL query processing. Experiments show that for several query cases, there is significant reduction in SuperSQL query execution time and memory consumption. Keywordsdatabase applications; database publishing; query processing; query optimization.


A water surface slope limiting scheme is tested and compared with the water depth slope limiter for the solution of one dimensional shallow water equations with bottom slope source term. Numerical schemes based on the total variation diminishing RungeKutta discontinuous Galerkin finite element method with slope limiter schemes based on water surface slope and water depth are used to solve one-dimensional shallow water equations. For each slope limiter, three different Riemann solvers based on HLL, LF, and Roe flux functions are used. The proposed water surface based slope limiter scheme is easy to implement and shows better conservation property compared to the slope limiter based on water depth. Of the three flux functions, the Roe approximation provides the best results while the LF function proves to be least suitable when used with either slope limiter scheme. Keywords—Discontinuous finite element, TVD Runge-Kutta scheme, slope limiters, Riemann solvers, shallow water flow.


Abstract Female subjects have been widely excluded from past neuroscience work because of a number of biases, including the notion that cycling sex hormones increase variability. However, it is necessary to conduct behavioral research in mice that includes both sexes as mice are typically used for developing and evaluating future therapeutics. Understanding sex differences in learning is fundamental for the development of targeted therapies for numerous neurologic and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, which is more prevalent in females than males. This study set out to confirm the role of sex and necessity of circulating ovarian hormones in the acquisition of the temporal associative memory task trace eyeblink conditioning (tEBC) in C57BL/6J mice. We present evidence that sex and ovarian hormones are important factors in learning. Specifically, intact female mice learn significantly faster than both male and ovariectomized (ovx) female mice. Data from pseudoconditioned control mice indicate that sex differences are because of differences in learned associations, not sensitization or spontaneous blink rate. This study strengthens the idea that ovarian hormones such as estrogen and progesterone significantly influence learning and memory and that further research is needed to determine the underlying mechanisms behind their effects. Overall, our findings emphasize the necessity of including both sexes in future behavioral studies.


African-American women have a higher risk for developing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Lacking the expression of receptors for estrogen and progesterone, and without human epidermal growth factor 2 receptor gene amplification, TNBC is a very aggressive type of breast cancer with a high likelihood of metastasis and recurrence. Specific therapeutic targets for this aggressive disease remain to be identified. Phosphorylation, a post-translational modification that adds one or more phosphate groups to a protein, plays a key role in the activation and deactivation of a protein9s cellular function. Here we report the first systematic phosphoproteomic analysis of a benign breast tissue, a primary breast cancer tissue, and a metastatic breast cancer tissue from the same African-American woman. Differential phosphoprotein levels were measured with a reversed-phase nano-liquid chromatograph coupled to a hybrid linear quadrupole ion trap/Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (LC-LTQ/FT-ICR MS). Five proteins are found to be highly phosphorylated in the metastasis site of a triple negative breast cancer patient, e.g. hepatoma-derived growth factor and Isoform HMG-Y of high mobility group protein HMG-I/HMG-Y. Six proteins are found to be highly phosphorylated in the primary cancer site of a triple negative breast cancer patient, e.g. isoform 2 of transcription intermediary factor 1-beta and isoform 1 of clathrin heavy chain 1. Identified phosphoproteins are known to be involved in breast cancer signal transduction pathways. For example, the decrease in sumoylation by doxorubicin of isoform 2 of transcription intermediary factor 1-beta (TRIM28) protein was reported to be essential to induce p21 expression, and thus cell growth inhibition in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. In patients with invasive breast cancers, the co-expression of heat-shock protein (HSP) 90 alpha with an overexpressed kinase, or along with the loss of a phosphatase and tensin homologue deletion on chromosome 10, is a putative molecular prognostic marker to predict early relapse. Moreover, HSP90-alpha, which is expressed extracellularly from breast cancer cells, interacts with matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2). This interaction promotes MMP2 activation, which is crucial for tumor invasiveness. HSP90-alpha is also involved in several signal pathways related to breast cancer. These results may identify new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for TNBC. (This work was supported by grant BCTR0504465 from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, grants from the Florida Breast Cancer Coalition Research Foundation, and the Florida State University to Prof. Q.-X. Sang and by NSF Division of Materials Research through DMR-0654118 and the State of Florida to Prof. Alan G. Marshall. We also acknowledge the Cooperative Human Tissue Network Southern Division, University of Alabama at Birmingham, from which we obtained the tissues for this project.) Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):A57.


: Protein-losing enteropathy is a reported complication of several cardiac diseases. Recently we encountered a patient with protein-losing enteropathy acquired as a late surgical complication of the Mustard procedure. An obstructed superior vena caval conduit was repaired surgically and the enteropathy was resolved.


This dissertation examines the relationship between poor, informally housed communities and the state in Havana, Cuba, from 1930 to 1965, before and after the first socialist revolution in the Western Hemisphere. It challenges the notion of a "great divide" between Republic and Revolution by tracing contentious interactions between technocrats, politicians, and financial elites on one hand, and mobilized, mostly-Afro-descended tenants and shantytown residents on the other hand. The dynamics of housing inequality in Havana not only reflected existing socio-racial hierarchies but also produced and reconfigured them in ways that have not been systematically researched. As the urban poor resisted evictions, they utilized the legal and political systems to draw their neighborhoods into contact with the welfare state. Not merely co-opted by politicians, tenants and shantytown residents claimed housing as a citizenship right and played a decisive role in centralizing and expanding state institutions before and after the 1959 Revolution.

Far from giving the urban poor free rein over their destinies, however, their tight relationships with the Cuban state impelled officials to implement new policies drawn from abroad. Public debates over slum clearance reinforced the social-scientific discourse of a "culture of poverty" in ways that ultimately blended with the incipient socialist system. This discourse was embedded in the most beneficial interventions of the revolutionary welfare state but in ways that perpetuated racism and social exclusion. By the early 1960s, then, slum policy in Havana represented a dynamic interaction between residents, social scientists, and state bureaucrats. The urban poor shaped the Revolution, even as the Revolution sought to manage them.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of thromboembolic event (TEE) on the prognosis and survival of women diagnosed with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIB cervical cancer undergoing treatment at the National Cancer Institute (Instituto Nacional de Câncer [INCA], Ministério da Saúde), Brazil. Methods: A total of 1020 women with FIGO stage IIIB cervical cancer (International Classification of Diseases, C53.9), who had received treatment at this institute between 2000 and 2004, were identified. Data were obtained from the hospital cancer registry at INCA. Patients were followed up from the date of their diagnosis of cervical cancer at INCA until their death or last follow-up visit. The date of TEE diagnosis was defined as the date of one of the following tests diagnosing this condition: Doppler ultrasound scan, computed tomography scan, or in 1 single case echocardiography. The Kaplan-Meyer method was used to perform long-term survival analysis. Conclusions: The presence of TEE in patients with FIGO stage IIIB cervical cancer seems to be indicative of the severity of the disease and poorer prognosis. The most important finding is that in the patients who developed TEE, this complication occurred around the time of diagnosis of progression of the disease. Disease progression may have been the triggering factor for the development of TEE.


This study investigated the contribution of small scale poultry farming to poverty reduction in Oyun and Offa local
government of Kwara State. 194 Small scale poultry farmers were selected using a two-stage random technique. Descriptive statistical technique and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the majority (62.4%) of the respondents were married, more than half (59.3%) were male with the mean age of 35.5years. The average period of poultry keeping experience was 7 years. The effect of income on poverty reduction revealed that it has highly contributed to the purchase of food stuff for the family, payment of their children's school fees, and payment of house rent of 79.4%, 27.8%, and 42.8% of the respondents respectively. Product Moment Correlation revealed that only the level of education (r= 0.182*, p= 0.011) of the farmers showed a significant relationship with the extent to which egg and meat contributed to respondents' income. The result showed a significant relationship between the income and selected effect of income made (purchase of foodstuff for the family (r=0.149*, p=0.038) the payment of children school fees (r= 0.204**, p= 0.004), payment of rents (r= 0.159*, p= 0.027) and purchase of furniture (r= 0.161*, p= 0.025) in reducing the farmers' poverty. The study thus concludes that savings made from small scale poultry farming were not enough to meet the needs of farmers, the effect of income on their poverty reduction, the purchase of food stuff for the family, the payment of their children's school fees and payment of house rent. The study recommends among others, the need for farmers to increase their flock sizes to obtain income and Government should help to subsidize and make readily available the vaccines, drugs, feeds and poultry equipment to reduce cost of production.


Small-scale fisheries along the Swedish west coast are often operated by using small vessels, targeting multiple species by means of pots and gillnets. Fisheries using pots targeting shellfish such as European lobster (Homarus gammarus), and edible crab (Cancer pagurus) along the Swedish west coast have a relatively high economic value. However, gillnet fisheries targeting demersal fish are currently diminishing primarily due to depleted fish stocks and increased seal depredation. Small-scale fisheries are considered sustainable fisheries due to the use of selective gears and low energy consumption. To be able to retain and promote a sustainable small-scale fishery, there is a need to develop an economically viable fishery, where selective, seal-safe and sustainable gear is utilized. One potential way forward could be to develop a pot to be used for multiple target species traditionally caught in pots and gillnets. Since both shellfish and cod (Gadus morhua) can be caught in pots, the objective of this work was to develop a multispecies pot targeting lobster, edible crab and cod. Seven multi-species pots were developed and tested off the west coast of Sweden between 2015 and 2017. The catch rate, defined as catch per pot per day (CPUE) of lobster, edible crab and cod, was evaluated taking into regard fisheries-related variables such as pot type, bait, soak time, seal damage and abundance of species in the pot. The relative CPUE of lobster and cod was highest in larger pots with two chambers and three open entrances. The highest CPUE for lobster was 0.24 individuals per pot and the highest CPUE for cod was 0.17 individuals per pot. Pots with entrances equipped with funnels, preventing cod from escaping, also had a high cod CPUE (0.23 individuals per). The CPUE of crabs was not affected by pot type. For cod, lobster and crab, the CPUE significantly decreased with increasing soak time. Seal damage only occurred when cod were trapped in the pots and the CPUE of cod was higher in pots subjected to seal damage, indicating that seals raid pots specifically when cods are trapped inside.


Skilled reading involves two main components: word reading and text comprehension. In this article, I focus on three skills that have been shown to support the latter: integration and inference, comprehension monitoring, and knowledge and use of story structure. Research has shown that children with unexpectedly poor reading comprehension have difficulties with each of these text processing skills and that each skill contributes to development in reading comprehension during middle childhood. I conclude with some reflections on the possible wider consequences of poor reading comprehension and implications for teaching.


Small and medium-sized enterprises are affected by changing development, production and selling paradigms in globalized industries, where innovation is a driver for sustainable competitiveness. However, innovating is highly challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises, as human resources are very limited and know-how are often highly specialized. It is often unclear which fields and factors provide the capability to innovate and which measures or methods can be applied to promote innovation based on existing competencies.For this reason, the aim of this paper is to present a framework to support the innovation capability of SMEs by identifying promising fields for innovation and providing suitable innovation methods. A particular focus in this paper is a methodology for the description and identification of fields to foster the innovation capability in SMEs as a part of the introduced framework.


Inductive knowledge graph completion has been considered as the task of predicting missing triplets between new entities that are not observed during training. While most inductive knowledge graph completion methods assume that all entities can be new, they do not allow new relations to appear at inference time. This restriction prohibits the existing methods from appropriately handling real-world knowledge graphs where new entities accompany new relations. In this paper, we propose an INductive knowledge GRAph eMbedding method, InGram, that can generate embeddings of new relations as well as new entities at inference time. Given a knowledge graph, we define a relation graph as a weighted graph consisting of relations and the affinity weights between them. Based on the relation graph and the original knowledge graph, InGram learns how to aggregate neighboring embeddings to generate relation and entity embeddings using an attention mechanism. Experimental results show that InGram outperforms 14 different state-of-the-art methods on varied inductive learning scenarios.


Abstract Traction between a football shoe and the playing surface influences a players' ability to perform football-specific movements. Too little traction means a player might slip. Too much traction is thought to increase the risk of injury due to foot fixation on the turf. Rotational traction is linked to increased injury risk in football. Elite football is increasingly played on hybrid reinforced natural grass playing surfaces. Our aim is to assess the magnitude of rotational traction of one new hybrid turf system and compare that to a natural grass (control) surface. Nine different Football shoes from three outsole groups (artificial grass, firm ground, soft ground) were loaded onto a portable shoe-surface traction machine to collect rotational traction data on two different playing surfaces (1. Natural Rye grass, 2. A hybrid reinforced turf system) at a single testing session. Peak rotational traction was significantly different across different shoe models (F = 379.8, df = 8, p < 0.0001) and shoe outsole groups (F = 387.4, df = 2, p < .0001). No significant difference was found between the natural grass surface and the hybrid reinforced turf system after considering the minimal detectable change (MDC) of the traction device. Wide-ranging differences in peak rotational traction were found across different individual soccer shoes and outsole groups. The Adidas Nemesis (AG) showed the lowest traction and the Nike Vision (SG) shoe had the highest traction (MD 28.7 N.m; 95% CIs 26.4–30.9; p < 0.0001). The artificial grass (AG) group showed the lowest traction values while the soft ground (SG) group the highest. This objective shoe-surface traction data can help with more informed footwear choices for football played on this type of hybrid playing surface to minimize the risk of lower extremity injury.