Background In ankylosing spondylitis (AS) the chronic inflammatory process mainly affects the axial skeleton with ensuing pain and limitation of thoracic and spinal mobility. Most of the AS patients have the complaint of reduced exercise capacity. Pulmonary function impairment, chest wall restriction, weak respiratory muscle performance, peripheral muscle weakness and deconditioning have been reported as the hypotheses for reduced exercise capacity. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inspiratory muscle training on aerobic capacity, pulmonary function and functional status in patients with AS. Methods A total of 32 patients (18 female, 16 male; mean age: 37.3±10.4 years) were included in this study. The patients were randomized as two groups; Group I consisted of 16 patients, received inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in addition to conventional exercise (CE), Group II consisted of 16 patients, received only CE. All assessments were done before and after the training (8 weeks) for every patient. Standard pulmonary function tests were applied for pulmonary volumes. Maximum inspiratory pressure (PImax), maximum expiratory pressure (PEmax) were also measured as respiratory muscle strength. Six-minute walk test (6MWT) was used for the assessment of aerobic capacity. For the evaluation of functional status, the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) were used. CE training program consisted of 20 exercises: motion and flexibility exercises of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine; stretching of the hamstring muscles, erector spine muscle, and shoulder muscles. IMT training load was based on 50% of the patient's sustained maximum inspiratory pressure. The patients started by performing ten loaded inspiration with a 60 second rest period between each inspiration for three sets in each session. Four sessions of IMT was applied in a day. The exercises were performed as home program for five days per week, 40 minutes per session. Wilcoxan test was used to compare groups. Results After eight weeks follow-up, patients in Group I had a significant increase in PImax (p=0,000), PEmax (p=0,05), and 6MWT (p=0,041) compared with Group II (p=0,134, p=0,020, p=0,281, respectively). There were no significant differences of spirometric measurements. Comparison of the groups showed significantly superior results for group I in BASDAI (p=0,049). Conclusions Ankylosing spondylitis patients who performed eight weeks of inspiratory muscle training in addition to conventional exercise training, had an increased respiratory muscle strength, a better aerobic capacity, and disease activity than those who performed conventional exercise only. Inspiratory muscle training should be disseminated with these patients due to advantages. References Dragoi GR, Amaricai E, Dragoi M, Popoviciu H, Avram C. Inspiratory muscle training improves aerobic capacity and pulmonary function in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A randomized controlled study. 2015 Clinical Rehabilitation, doi: 10.1177/0269215515578292. Acknowledgements Inspiratory muscle training should be disseminated with these patients due to advantages. Disclosure of Interest None declared


To evaluate the activity of benzoylphenyl urea chitin biosynthesis inhibitor chlorfluazuron (IKI-7899) against Parasarcophaga argyrostoma, seven doses were topically applied (once) onto early third (last) instar larvae, puparia, or newly formed pupa: 150, 100, 50, 10, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 microgram/insect. After topical treatment of last instar larvae, the highest mortality was caused by both higher doses and the lowest mortality was caused by the lowest dose. The lethal activity of IKI-7899 as pronouncedly decreased as the treatment was lately carried out (at the puparial time). IKI-7899 failed to cause cumulative mortality because no pupal or adult mortalities were observed, irrespective of the time of treatment. Treated larvae suffered the action of IKI-7899 because they had decreased weight gain. Except the lowest dose, the weight gain of larvae inversely correlated with the dose-levels. IKI-7899 prolonged not only the larval duration but also the pupal duration after topical treatment of last instar larvae with doses 50-0.25 micrograms/larva. With no exception, all doses topically applied onto puparia or newly formed pupae enhanced pupae to live longer. Topical application onto last instar larvae resulted in different degrees of reduction of pupation rate, but IKI-7899 could not affect the pupal morphogenesis after larval treatment except by its highest dose which led to 8.33% pupal deformities and 7.69% larval-pupal intermediates. The dose 100 micrograms/larva topically applied onto last instar larvae detained 7.69% of what known as "permanent larvae" which suffered the action of the compound along 16 days and eventually perished without any external feature of puparium formation. A metamorphic effect of IKI-7899 pronouncedly appeared in the adult stage. Three higher doses completely arrested the adult flies. Topical application of the compound onto prepupae did not greatly reduce the pupation rate especially at the doses 50, 10 and 1.0 micrograms/puparium. The dose 50 micrograms/puparium was only the dose halting the pupal moulting program because 7.14% of permanent prepupae remained about 12 days and then died. In respect to adult emergence, the highest dose led to zero rate and the lowest dose allowed to all pupae to emerge without malformation.


BACKGROUND
Critically ill patients require transfusions because of acute blood loss and the anemia of critical illness. In critically ill burn patients, typically, no distinction is made between transfusions related to acute surgical blood loss and those related to the anemia of critical illness. We sought to identify the percentage of blood transfusions due to the anemia of critical illness and the clinical characteristics associated with these transfusions in severely burned patients.

METHODS
Sixty adult patients with ≥20% total body surface area (TBSA) burn who were transfused at least 1 unit of packed red blood cells during their hospitalization were studied. Clinical variables including age, %TBSA burn, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, number of ventilator days, inhalation injury, and number of operative events were correlated with the total number of packed red blood cell units and percentage of nonsurgical transfusions in these patients. Nonsurgical transfusions were defined as transfusions occurring after postoperative day 1 for each distinct operative event and were classified as being caused by the anemia of critical illness.

RESULTS
Patients were transfused an average of 16.6 units ± 21.2 units. Nonsurgical transfusions accounted for 52% of these transfusions. APACHE II score, %TBSA burn, number of ventilator days, and number of operative events, all correlated with total transfusions. However, nonsurgical transfusions correlated with only APACHE II score (p = 0.01) and number of ventilator days (p = 0.03). There was no correlation between nonsurgical transfusions and other clinical variables.

CONCLUSION
The anemia of critical illness is responsible for >50% of all transfusions in severely burned patients. The initial severity of critical illness (APACHE II score) and duration of the critical illness (number of ventilator days) correlated with transfusions related to anemia of critical illness. Further investigation into the specific risk factors for these transfusions may help to develop strategies to further reduce transfusion rates.


An OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) is a type of sensor network or geographic information system (GIS) that is especially well suited for environmental monitoring. However, there are few problems associated to SWE like delays similar to the Head-of-line (HOL) blocking in buffered telecommunication switches and slow response of OGC SWE during emergency tasks. In this paper, we propose a scheduling algorithm for Sensor Planning Service (SPS) which is one of the OpenGIS® Standards for reducing delay. We assign the task considering frequency usage of sensors to solve the problem. Moreover, our proposed algorithm can provide not only better response time but also immediate processing of emergency tasks as compared to the conventional SWE system. Keywords— OGC, Sensor Web Enablement, Sensor Web, Sensor Planning Service, SPS Task Scheduling


BACKGROUND
For adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), they experience many challenges in dietary decision-making. Thus, this study examined the perspective and experiences of adults with IBD in dietary decision-making.

OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore the perception and consideration of people with IBD in their daily dietary decisions through monitoring, interpretation and action during the decision-making process.

DESIGN
A qualitative study of individuals affected by IBD was conducted through semistructured interviews.

RESULTS
Twenty patients were recruited from four tertiary hospitals in Nanjing, China, and each participant completed a semistructured interview. The majority of participants reported on the process and experience of dietary decision-making. Key themes were categorised into three stages: (1) assessing needs, preferences and food cues (monitor); (2) moving from experience to expertise (interpret) and (3) balancing expectations amidst limitations (act). The majority of participants reported that their decisions were shaped by assessing current disease status and food cues. Those interviewed with IBD were willing to make tradeoffs for bowel stability, but their decisions were also influenced by past dietary experiences and traditional Chinese beliefs. The lack of awareness of dietary guidelines was a significant barrier to healthy eating decisions. Positive or negative feelings accompanied dietary decisions.

CONCLUSION
Although most people with IBD change their diet after diagnosis, the changes made are often inconsistent with existing dietary recommendations. Several factors can influence the dietary decision-making process. This study will help assess the experiences of people with IBD in dietary decision-making to encourage the formation of targeted dietary health and well-being interventions. Knowledge of nutrition and diet should be provided in education and training programmes for IBD management.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
The first three authors of this paper were the lead researchers in this study's design. These authors were mentored by patient researchers who also contributed to the manuscript, and the research process was co-lead and directed by other patient participants and consultants. The results of this paper were directly obtained from patient participants.


Long-span structure is a more common structural style in the public buildings, and its seismic response often differs from other structures because of the long-span characteristic, and thereby the multi-support earthquake excitation, such as the displacement model and acceleration model, need to be adopted in the seismic analysis. However, relative researches have proved that there exists certain problem in the displacement model. According to previous works, the error causes of displacement model are described firstly and expression is also given to estimate the magnitude of error. Then, the influencing factors on the error of displacement model are also given and analyzed. In the end, numerical studies are carried out to verify the viewpoint proposed in this paper.


Background : Vaginal hysterectomy is a well established and time tested procedure which is being done since the last 150 years and thus has been refined to a great degree, but it has been less successful due to lack of experience and enthusiasm among Gynaecologists, due to a misconception that the abdominal route is safer and easier. Objective: The present study was undertaken to compare outcomes of conventional vaginal hysterectomy and total laparoscopic hysterectomy in women with benign non prolapsed uterus. Methods: Total 50 cases of non prolapsed uterus requiring hysterectomy were systematically allocated into two groups of 25 patients in each group, (Vaginal and total laparoscopic hysterectomy group). All patients underwent pelvic ultrasound (USG). Surgical techniques, operating time, estimated blood loss and/or episodes of accidental bleeding requiring intervention intra-or post-operatively were compared. Other factors such as post operative pain, post-operative complications, conversion to laparotomy, and length of hospital stay were also recorded for each case. Results: We found that blood loss in vaginal hysterectomy was more than in total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Post-operative pain and post complications were also more in the vaginal hysterectomy group. Operation time was however more in the total laparoscopic hysterectomy group but recovery time was less. Conclusion: In the present study, we found advantages of laparoscopic hysterectomy over vaginal hysterectomy in terms of lesser blood loss, postoperative pain and postoperative complications, a larger study with emphasis on long term effects may be essential to establish superiority of total laparoscopic hysterectomy over vaginal hysterectomy.


During the last twenty years, the incidence of abnormal weather variation has increased, mainly due to El Nino. In Malaysia, the El Nino induced weather change has resulted in prolonged dry seasons, which have led to severe drought and increased temperatures. This has been further compounded by the formation of haze due to the large scale burning of forest and plantations for land preparation. These phenomena brought serious implications for farm productivity and land use patterns. This report describes, analyzes and quantifies the impact of El Nino induced climate variability on the agricultural sector and the rural economy. It also proposes measures to mitigate the damage and to stabilize agricultural production for the welfare of the rural population at large.


The effect studied was that of the feeding of shrimp by-product meal, as a source of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid, on growth performance and fatty acid composition of adipose tissue in growing pigs kept on small holdings in Central Vietnam. Shrimp by-product meal was exchanged with ruminant meal so that the diets contained either 0, 10 or 20% shrimp by-product meal in the dry matter. The diets were fed on 6 different small-holder farms. The farmers fed a base diet according to their personal choice, but were instructed as to the use of shrimp by-product and ruminant meal. The diets were fed to the pigs from 70 to 126 days of age. There were three animals per treatment group per farm. The diets without and with 20% shrimp by-product meal on average contained 0.01 and 0.14 g docosahexaenoic acid/MJ of metabolisable energy (ME). Due to the higher contents of ash and crude fiber, the shrimp by-product meal containing diets had lower energy densities than the control diets. Eicosapentaenoic acid was not detectable in adipose tissue; the content of docosahexaenoic acid was generally increased after consumption of shrimp by-product meal. In spite of the concurrent high intakes of ash and crude fiber, the feeding of shrimp by-product meal had a general stimulatory effect on growth performance of the growing pigs. The intake of docosahexaenoic acid or its content in adipose tissue was not related with average daily gain. It is suggested that shrimp by-product meal may contain an unknown growth enhancing factor.


We propose a new phrase-based translation model and decoding algorithm that enables us to evaluate and compare several, previously proposed phrase-based translation models. Within our framework, we carry out a large number of experiments to understand better and explain why phrase-based models out-perform word-based models. Our empirical results, which hold for all examined language pairs, suggest that the highest levels of performance can be obtained through relatively simple means: heuristic learning of phrase translations from word-based alignments and lexical weighting of phrase translations. Surprisingly, learning phrases longer than three words and learning phrases from high-accuracy word-level alignment models does not have a strong impact on performance. Learning only syntactically motivated phrases degrades the performance of our systems.


The paper introduces the Norwegian defence (NoD) Advanced distributed learning (ADL) Regulations published early in 2006. After many years of "lawlessness" regarding development and implementation of training, simulation and e-learning defined as ADL, NoD ADL Centre (NoDADLC) was given a task to determine and develop regulations that would release benefits such as reusability, durability, interoperability, affordability and accessibility of all national defence ADL courses. The time was long overdue to determine national standards and regulations on how to develop and implement ADL within the Norwegian Defence. Up to early 2005 NoD implemented ADL courses that only played on one system, had none or very low reusability, had no lifetime plan, are were not searchable and retrievable. The ADL regulations addresses specific issues such as the use of training need analysis (TNA), technical standards (SCORM, LMS), pedagogical standards and an implementation method. All of these standards and regulations are determined so that all NoD courses for instance can be published directly on the national defence LMS. Based on the evaluation during the spring 2006 the paper discusses how the regulations are received among the target group in the Norwegian armed forces and the practical use of the regulations. The questions is does the directive give good and long demanded regulations and guidance or does it just create disturbance which is to no benefit for the Norwegian Defence and their ADL developers and users?


Rapid population and economic growth especially in urban sectors is being experienced by most of the developing countries all over the world. As the ever-increasing population and urbanization are threatening the available water potential in many areas of the world, the treatment and disposal of wastewaters is becoming more and more crucial. Although water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) has proved to be a persistent and expensive aquatic weed problem in every part of world it has ever invaded, but at the same time, it is reported to have proved its value as a natural purifier. The objective of this study was to assess the viability of water hyacinth for treatment of industrial wastewater. The samples of industrial wastewater were treated with water hyacinth in the laboratory and it was found that water hyacinth is quite efficient in reducing the pollutional parameters such as BOD, COD, suspended solids, dissolved solids, heavy metals etc. The treated effluent is found suitable for reuse for non-potable reuses like industrial, agricultural or gardening purpose.


Reason and Democracy breaks new ground in providing a plausible philosophical basis for the communitarian view of a healthy democracy as the rational pursuit of common purposes by free and equal citizens. Thomas A. Spragens Jr. argues that the most persistent paradigms of Western political rationality originated in classical philosophy, took their modern expression in the philosophies of Kant and Mill, and terminated in Max Weber's pairing of purely technical rationality with arbitrary ends.

Drawing on recent work in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language, combined with appropriate analogies in political thought and action, Spragens maintains that it is possible to discern the outlines of a philosophically cogent and morally beneficial concept of rational practice on the part of a political community. This possibility, he contends, provides a philosophical basis for liberal democratic politics that is superior to utilitarian and deontological accounts.


With the continuous research in earthquake engineering, great advances have been made in the theoretical research of ground motion attenuation. A lot of new achievements and views [1,2,3] provide the theoretical basis for the improvement of the ground motion attenuation experience models and the parameter estimation. Additionally, it provides a good environment for deeper study on the ground motion attenuation by the increase of strong motion records and the improvement of pertinent information. In this paper, the improved two-step method is put forward, and the regressed ground motion attenuation coefficients are obtained by the improved models and analysis method. This method not only considers the correlation of magnitude and distance, but also makes the regression coefficients more stable. The results can better show the characteristics of the ground motion attenuation.


Procedural content generation (PCG) has seen relative widespread adoption in games and game development. While PCG methods are gaining traction in commercial games, there are comparatively fewer cases where PCG has been used to generate the game world, characters, and the narrative for a single game. We present our research, collaborating with a small independent game studio, on the design of a game engine designed to generate a world, characters, supporting quests and overarching narrative content for their upcoming game. We discuss our choice of game artificial intelligence algorithms, decisions made in designing our system, and our progress and implementation under the constraints and requirements given to us. We posit our system will generate a rich game world with an explainable world history for players to explore and quests to complete. We believe that our engine will meet their requirements increasing the replayability of the game, reducing the authorship burden, while providing the authors with significant control over quest and narrative structure.


: The clinical efficacy of xamoterol, alpha beta 1-adrenoceptor partial agonist, was determined in a multicentre double-blind, randomized, parallel group study of 240 patients with mild to moderate heart failure. At entry, 62% of patients were receiving diuretics (thiazides, or loop diuretics at a dose no greater than the equivalent of 80 mg of frusemide); 32% were taking nitrate formulations and 14% digoxin for control of atrial fibrillation. Assessments were carried out after a 1-week placebo run-in and after 3 months of treatment with either xamoterol or placebo. 198 patients completed the study of whom 186 had valid exercise tests. Mean exercise duration increased by 7% after placebo and by 19% after xamoterol during a progressive treadmill exercise protocol. Xamoterol significantly reduced peak exercise heart rate compared with placebo. Subjectively, there was improvement in breathlessness on the visual analogue scale after treatment with xamoterol compared with placebo, but no change in fatigue. We conclude that xamoterol produces sustained improvement in symptoms and exercise duration in mild to moderate heart failure.


This paper report from an ongoing project aimed to develop and suggest methods supporting innovative and effective collaboration between clients and construction project management regarding project objectives. An approach to the establishment of client requirements by focusing the project management processes during the briefing, design and production phase of construction projects. Workshops with construction clients form the empirical base. The overriding aim is to explore the managerial support, facilitation and implementation of client requirements and to create knowledge of the relationship between an effective achievement of clients' goals and the construction project management process. Such knowledge should make it possible to create methods for facilitating construction briefing and project management. It will also support the provision of facilities. The development of such knowledge could be of particular interest for client representatives, project managers, development managers, facilities managers and design managers in the construction sector.


Trafficking as an international legal concept is a twentieth century phenomenon linked to the greater movement of people across borders. The basic elements of trafficking require that there be movement of a person from one location to another for the purpose of slavery slavery like practices or exploitation. Earlier conventions were not concerned with the means by which trafficking was conducted but recent legislation focuses on the means when it comes to women and requires such elements as force coercion or abuse of vulnerability. With regard to children there is international consensus that the means and consent are irrelevant. The mere taking of children across borders for the purpose of slavery slavery like practices or exploitation is an international crime. In the case of children the prosecution has merely to show the transport of the child and the exploitative nature of his predicament. This approach implies zero tolerance of child trafficking and an international consensus that no justification or excuse will be acceptable for the trafficking of children. (excerpt)


The increasing of location aware mobile devices such as vehicle navigation equipment and smart phones has enabled the collection of massive trajectories data. Movement trajectory compression has become an urgent necessity to store these data. Traditional algorithms for trajectory compression are based on the location distribution of sampling points, and often lead to intolerable error with a high compression rate. In urban road network, the movements of vehicles are usually bounded by road network. An initial thought of how to make use of semantics in trajectory compression is to represent the compressed trajectory in road segments with the entry time and the leaving time information attached. However, the movement of moving object during the road is completely abandoned. This paper has proposed an algorithm named enhanced semantic trajectory compression (EHSTC) that compress trajectories based on road semantics as well as motion feature. During chunking sampling points in a road segment, those points with great motion feature changes will be detected and stored in the feature point list of underlying road segment. The experimental result on real trajectories demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solution.


evidence-based practices (EBPs) when implementing and evaluating programs, especially in communities of color and in communities living in poverty. While EBPs can play a role in program development and practice, they lack cultural relevance and devalue other forms of knowledge, which perpetuates structural inequities. We must develop new standards of program implementation and evaluation that are both data driven and community informed. When we recognize lived experience as evidence and account for community and cultural context, we can elevate programs that work in the communities they serve, dismantling structural inequities. Redefining Evidence-Based Practices: Expanding our View of Evidence


It is believed that Gradient Descent (GD) induces an implicit bias towards good generalization in training machine learning models. This paper provides a fine-grained analysis of the dynamics of GD for the matrix sensing problem, whose goal is to recover a low-rank ground-truth matrix from near-isotropic linear measurements. It is shown that GD with small initialization behaves similarly to the greedy low-rank learning heuristics (Li et al., 2020) and follows an incremental learning procedure (Gissin et al., 2019): GD sequentially learns solutions with increasing ranks until it recovers the ground truth matrix. Compared to existing works which only analyze the first learning phase for rank-1 solutions, our result provides characterizations for the whole learning process. Moreover, besides the over-parameterized regime that many prior works focused on, our analysis of the incremental learning procedure also applies to the under-parameterized regime. Finally, we conduct numerical experiments to confirm our theoretical findings.


Partial transmit sequence (PTS) is one of the most well-known peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction techniques proposed for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The main drawbacks of the conventional PTS(C-PTS) are high computational complexity and transmission of several side information bits. A new PTS with simple detector is proposed in this paper to deal with these drawbacks of C-PTS. The candidates can be generated through cyclically shifting each subblock sequence in time domain and combining them in a recursive manner. At the receiver, by utilizing the natural diversity of phase constellation for different candidates, the detector can successfully recover the original signal without side information. Numerical simulation shows that the proposed scheme performs very well interms of PAPR. The probability of detection failure of the side information demonstrates that the detector could work without any side information with high reliability. The proposed scheme achieves almost the same bit error rate (BER) performance as the C-PTS with perfect side information, under both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and Rayleigh fading channel.


The Last Planner System is a process-based system developed to enable production planning and control under a lean construction paradigm. The Percent Plan Complete (PPC) is a metric that reflects the effectiveness of production planning and the reliability of workflow from one trade to another. Process improvement initiatives are identified when 100% PPC is not achieved. In contrast to this system, conventional construction management derives its production process improvement initiatives from productivity improvement studies that use metrics of non-utilization such as non-productive time or Labor Utilization Factors (LUF) as the metric of superior production performance. This paper investigates the differences, if any, in process improvement initiatives predicated on PPC compared to those predicated on LUFs. This was accomplished by conducting a study in a Manufactured Housing plant where workers' utilization at 10 production stations were measured using productivity ratings while also measuring PPC at the same stations. The average LUF for the 10 stations was 52% and the average PPC for the same was 78%. Attempts to improve PPC through constraint analysis techniques revealed more fundamental problems than those revealed by trying to improve LUF. In addition, the PPC metric exposed the 'hidden-factory' despite that the production goals were being met. The study confirms that PPC is a global measure of production system planning efficiency while LUF is a measure of local production activation. A linear regression analysis was also performed revealing that PPC and LUF are not strongly correlated (r = 0.4, p-value = 0.3) in non-lean production systems. Thus, the only viable way to increase workflow reliability in production systems is to increase PPC.


Current UK health policy guidance locates primary care at the frontiers of health care modernization. New organizational structures have resulted in general practitioner (GP) practices being brought together in Primary Care Groups (PCGs) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) each serving a much larger population group than the traditional GP practice. These changes have been accompanied with a need to explore new ways of working and thinking. This paper draws upon the experiences of nurses and GPs participating in an evaluation of workforce planning issues in primary health care. It explores how practitioners working in PCGs across one geographical area were able to gain a better understanding of what these changes, to both the structure and process of practice, might involve. During this developmental process the respondents used 'the family' metaphor, as a form of 'shorthand' to orientate themselves to the new responsibilities, challenges and opportunities presented by these changes to primary health care. It was in the use of terms and constructs that were familiar to their 'everyday life' experiences that made taking the first tentative steps in the change process easier. This paper suggests that using metaphors may be a powerful tool for policy makers, practitioners,managers and for researchers as they seek to communicate a plan for change and in understanding what these changes might mean.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to test a version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for predicting safe sex behavior in a sample of 228 HIV-negative heterosexual methamphetamine users. We hypothesized that, in addition to TPB constructs, participants' amount of methamphetamine use and desire to stop unsafe sex behaviors would predict intentions to engage in safer sex behaviors. In turn, we predicted that safer sex intentions would be positively correlated with participants' percentage of protected sex. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that 48% of the total variance in safer sex intentions was predicted by our model, with less negative attitudes toward safer sex, greater normative beliefs, greater control beliefs, less methamphetamine use, less intent to have sex, and greater desire to stop unsafe sex emerging as significant predictors of greater safer sex intentions. Safer sex intentions were positively associated with future percent protected sex (p<0.05). These findings suggest that, among heterosexual methamphetamine users, the TPB is an excellent model for predicting safer sex practices in this population, as are some additional factors (e.g., methamphetamine use). Effective interventions for increasing safer sex practices in methamphetamine user will likely include constructs from this model with augmentations to help reduce methamphetamine use.


Justice Harry A. Blackmun died on March 4, 1999 at the age of 90. The public funeral was held on March 9, at the huge and impressive Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, on Nebraska Avenue in Washington, D.C. Among the many speakers at this "Service of Death and Resurrection" was the Rev. Dr. William A. Holmes, senior pastor at the Church, speaking on "The Churchmanship of Harry Blackmun." Dr. Holmes talked movingly of a man who was intimately involved in the affairs of his church. Among the Justice's many contributions, Holmes noted a sermon that Blackmun had once preached on the Book of Ruth. Dr. Holmes concluded his eulogy by remarking that Justice Blackmun's theory of Constitutional interpretation was the same as his theory of Biblical interpretation: a theory grounded in compassion. On March 4, 2004 the Justice's papers became available to the public through the Library of Congress. In addition to the sermon on the Book of Ruth, preached in 1992, there was a second sermon, preached in 1987 on the bicentennial of the Constitution. In this essay I will describe how these sermons connect to and illuminate the Justice's jurisprudence. First, I will describe Blackmun's religious upbringing and interests. Next, I will summarize the two sermons. Then I will show how the sermons relate to each other, and to one of the Justice's most famous opinions: his dissent in DeShaney v. Winnebago County D.S.S. One might ask why the sermons of a sitting Justice would be thought to shed any light at all on his jurisprudence, especially in a Justice who, like Blackmun, was careful of the boundaries between church and state. As I show below, recent scholarship has focused on the parallels and similarities between Constitutional and Biblical interpretation. In this essay, I take seriously Dr. Holmes's closing comment and I ask: How similar was Blackmun's interpretive approach to the Constitution and to the Bible?


In the past year and a half, American women have publicly discussed experiences of sexual assault, harassment, and—notably—grey-area misconduct in an unprecedented manner. The rhetoric of the #MeToo movement is rife with references to "shining a light" on a set of unexplored issues hitherto obscured in cultural darkness, to following women's experiences into the grey. What is new about #MeToo, and what likely will be the through line that defines its historical importance, has been its sensitivity to nuance. The grey range of #MeToo misconduct is not a new problem. It is emphatically new, however, as a subject of public discourse. As such, and given the unsettled expectations that noncriminal #MeToo accusations have generated, it invites a new legal solution. This Note proposes that solution in the form of a restorative justice response to greyarea #MeToo misconduct, based on indigenous jurisprudential models.


Climate change poses an increasing risk to the agricultural sector and the dynamics that underpin food security. It is one of the main driving forces of the current food insecurity problem in Ethiopia and in Amaro ward in particular. The objectives of this study were to: Examine the current household food security situation in Amaro ward of Ethiopia; identify the adaptation mechanisms deployed by residents of the ward in response to the negative effects of climate change; and ascertain the coping strategies of the households in the study area with respect to food insecurity. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study area and 100 sample respondents. Data was collected using structured interview and focus group discussions. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to examine the food security situation. Weighted Average Score (WAS) was used to analyze the adaptation mechanisms to climate change and the coping strategies to food insecurity. The results showed that majority (80%) of the households were food insecure. Majority (93%) of the respondents also utilized adaptation strategies contentedly. However, majority of households (71%) had great difficulty coping with food insecurity while 29% coped with relative ease. Hence, adaptation to climate change and coping with food insecurity are important factors that determine the welfare of households in Amaro ward. Therefore, common indigenous strategies adopted by farmers like replanting, annual crop rotation, regular weeding, change of meal preferences and reduction of the frequency of feeding in the area should be augmented with modern adaptation and coping practices to minimize food insecurity.

 Key words:  Climate change, food insecurity, adaptation mechanisms, Amaro ward, Ethiopia.


Financial institutions are clearly heavily dependent on transmission and storage of data and are likely to become even more so in the future. This article considers some of the issues faced by financial institutions with regard to its treatment. For reasons of practicality I have limited my analysis to providing only an overview of what is a vast and complex subject matter.


For the first time, a rectangular waveguide (RWG) isolator realized through inkjet printing on a ferrite substrate is presented. Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) substrate is used for the realization of the ferrite-filled isolator. Contrary to the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) approach, all four walls of the waveguide have been inkjet printed on the YIG substrate demonstrating the utility of inkjet printing process for realizing non-planar microwave components. The isolation is achieved by applying an anti-symmetrical DC magnetic bias to the ferrite-filled waveguide which then exhibits a unidirectional mode of operation. The isolator is fed by a microstrip to RWG transition and demonstrates an isolation figure-of-merit (IFM) of more than 51 dB in the operating band from 9.95 GHz to 11.73 GHz with a very high peak IFM of 69 dB. The minimum insertion loss in the operating band is 2.73 dB (including losses from the transitions). The isolator measures 33 mm × 8 mm × 0.4 mm. This work introduces an inkjet printed non-planar microwave device which is easy to fabricate showing the ability of inkjet printing for fabricating complex microwave systems.


Abstract Since 2012, Beninese magistrates have gone on multiple strikes. Most of them complain about their substantial workload, low pay, and poor working conditions. They also highlight the discrepancies between magistrates' social status and what their families expect from them. However, judges and prosecutors also insist on the importance of their work and on the ethics that goes together with it. This paper analyses the discourses and representations of the social and professional status of Beninese judges, showing that they are contingent upon gender, political and economic contexts. It delves into the magistrate's changing relationship to the state, as well as into their professional identities and daily practices.


The article deals with the concepts and preventive value of the forensic characteristics of the personality of the offender. It is proved that the establishment in the process of investigation of the causes and conditions for the commission of criminal offenses is one of the most important areas for their prevention.

The author claims that from a criminalistics point of view, the causes and conditions for committing crimes are divided into: a) circumstances related to the identity of the offender. Their attribution to the circumstances that contributed to the commission of the crime is due to the properties of the person guilty of the crime (unfavorable conditions for the formation of the person, the situation in the family, in the work collective, etc.) b) circumstances that exist independently of the person who committed the crime. Their attribution to the circumstances that contributed to the commission of the crime is inseparably connected with the establishment of the circumstances of the crime (flaws in the protection of property, proper accounting of inventory, etc.) If the second group of circumstances is objectively existing, then the first is closely related to the personality of the offender.

Given the above, the article notes the importance for solving the tasks of forensic prevention of investigating the identity of the offender within the forensic characteristics of a particular criminal offense.

The personality structure of the criminal in the article is considered as a system of relatively independent substructures of a social and psychological nature.

The social substructure consists of the following elements: a person's place in the system of social relations, his social roles, and areas of activity. It embraces its properties that reveal relationships in various areas of public life.

The psychological properties in the structure of the suspect's personality include: the orientation of the personality (its selective attitude to reality), which includes various mental properties, needs, interests, motives, feelings, likes and dislikes, ideals and worldview; human abilities, his mental capabilities; the dynamics of mental processes – temperament, character, style of behavior, in which the content and form of a person's spiritual life is manifested, that is, a system of intellectual and emotional qualities; self-identity of the person exercising selfregulation; mental processes and conditions.

The disclosure of precisely these elements in the structure of the criminal's personality, in the opinion of the actor, allows us to solve the following problems: 1) the possible tactical impact on the suspect (accused), including with the aim of preventing him from committing crimes in the future 2) accumulation and analysis of forensic information on the circumstances that contributed to the commission of the crime.


A description of the foraging habitat of a cetacean species is critical for conservation and effective management. We used a fine-scale microhabitat approach to examine patterns in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) foraging distribution in relation to dissolved oxygen, turbidity,
salinity, water depth, water temperature, and distance from shore measurements in a highly turbid estuary on the northern Gulf of Mexico. In general, environmental variation in the Barataria Basin marine environment
comprises three primary axes of variability (i.e., factors: temperature and dissolved oxygen, salinity and turbidity, and distance and depth) that represent seasonal, spatial-seasonal, and spatial scales, respectively. Foraging sites were differentiated from nonforaging sites by significant
differences among group size, temperature, turbidity, and season. Habitat selection analysis on individual variables indicated that foraging was more frequently observed in waters 4–6 m deep, 200–500 m from shore, and at salinity values of around 20 psu. This fine-scale and multivariate
approach represents a useful method of exploring the complexity, gradation, and detail of the relationships
between environmental variables and the foraging distribution patterns of bottlenose dolphin.


During the summer of 2015, a garbage management crisis emerged in Beirut after Lebanon's main landfill was shut down without finding an alternative, and piles of trash grew bigger on the streets, triggering a wave of contentious politics. An activist movement emerged early during the ongoing crisis: called "You Stink," the movement is led by seasoned activists who display the usual social media savvy and artful protest tactics that echo activism in the Arab Uprisings. Based on a preliminary reading of the movement's actions and demands, and of the state's response, this article provides an exploratory analysis of the symbolic world of "You Stink," focusing on affect and the body, and proffers some initial observations on the extent to which "You Stink" may contribute insights into research on social movements.


rature, with most of the focus being on what makes a successful entrepreneur; or what separates entrepreneurs from the general population. Examing the difference between the intention to start and the outcome of getting started is important because within the last three decades, research has indicated that intentions are the most effective predictor of actual behavior (Ajzen, 2011; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Krueger & Carsrud, 1993). As for what causes entrepreneurial intentions, the evidence is mixed. One theory is that personailty traits are predict entrepreneurial intentions and therefore behaviour (Brandstatter, 2011). Traits are usually based on descriptions of how people think, feel, and act in a variety of situations, but these reports are conceived of as indicators of real internal causes. Suggesting that traits, like actions, are outcomes not causes (Brandstatter, 2011). Relying on five measures by which all of human diversity can be measured and graded feels deceptively simple. There might be a greater value instead in examining nascent entrepreneurs at the level of cognition. Little is known about the ways in which cognitive styles facilitate or inhibit an individual's entrepreneurial ability (Kickul, Gundry, Barbosa, & Whitcanack, 2009). Research in the entrepreneurial 2 4th ICDC cognition domain has demonstrated that entrepreneurs tend to draw from similar sets of heuristics (Corbett & Hmieleski, 2007). The emerging view of entrepreneurial cognition suggests that an understanding of the mental processes of entrepreneurs will enable researchers to build a well-grounded foundation toward systematically explaining the individual's role within the process of entrepreneurship (Mitchell et al., 2002). Depending on the readers personal philosophical standpoint you might be willing to accept that the reality an individual lives in is largely one that is mentally constructed. That while there are physical elements that are concrete and solid, how we perceive them and the meaning we attach to them are mostly personal. In accepting this philosophical standpoint, we can then conceive that entrepreneurs who pursue their business ideas might reside in a perceived reality that is somewhat different from those who do not get started. They may perceive starting as easier, more achievable, less of a risk – many of which are equally explained by measures of personality traits. If we accept this constructivistic point of view, it becomes critical to try understand the deep knowledge structures of entrepreneurs (Krueger, 2007). Deeply held beliefs are learned and relearned over time, but are typically anchored on some initial belief that makes them difficult to change (Krueger Jr, Kickul, Gundry, Verma, & Wilson, 2009). Prior
knowledge, assumptions, and beliefs may profoundly impact behaviour. Therefore, the first task is metacognitive, to surface these beliefs. Being fully aware of certain of deep beliefs makes it much easier to question and modify them (Krueger, 2007). Examining such differing perspectives should form the basis of future research to establish whether such differences are supported by data. We suggest this might open a rich field of insights that will have meaning for training future entrepreneurs, and for helping those who have become stuck long the way to
overcome the issues they have encountered. This is based on the assumption that such mindsets can in fact be changed, and are mallable over the course of a lifetime.


General Stewart-Gough manipulator robot is a six degree of freedom, parallel manipulator, which consists of a base platform, a mobile platform and six limbs connected at six distinct points on the base platform and the mobile platform respectively. The direct position analysis problem of General Stewart-Gough manipulator relates to the determination of the mobile platform pose for a given set of the lengths of the limbs. In this paper, we present a concise algebraic method for solving the direct position analysis problem for the fully parallel manipulator with general geometry, often referred to as General Stewart-Gough manipulator. Based on the presented algebraic method, we derive a 40th degree univariate polynomial from a determinant of 20×20 Sylvester's matrix, which is relatively small in size. We also obtain a complete set of 40 solutions to the most general Stewart platform. The proposed method is comparatively concise and reduces the computational burden. Finally the method is demonstrated by a numerical example.


A fundamental bid-based stochastic model is presented to predict electricity hourly prices and average price in a given period. The model captures both the economic and physical aspects of the pricing process, considering two sources of uncertainty: availability of the units and demand. This work is based on three oligopoly models-Bertrand, Cournot, and supply function equilibrium (SFE) due to Rudkevich, Duckworth, and Rosen-and obtains closed form expressions for expected value and variance of electricity hourly prices and average price. Sensitivity analysis is performed on the number of firms, anticipated peak demand, and price elasticity of demand. The results show that as the number of firms in the market decreases, the expected values of prices increase by a significant amount. Variances for the Cournot model also increase, but the variances for the SFE model decrease, taking even smaller values than Bertrand's. Thus, if the Rudkevich model is an accurate representation of the electricity market, the results show that an introduction of competition may decrease the expected value of prices but the variances may actually increase. Finally, using a refinement of the model, it has been demonstrated that an accurate temperature forecast can reduce significantly the prediction error of the electricity prices.


Objectives: The objective of this research is to assess and compare the degree of correlation and agreement between the three study instruments utilized in evaluation of community pharmacies and services provided based on consumer's perception. Methods: A cross sectional observational study on a convenient random sample of 100 respondents from Sungai Petain, Kedah, Malaysia was conducted by using pretested and validated questionnaires to evaluate the community pharmacies and the services provided by them based on consumers' perception. The data retrieved from the three set of questionnaires were coded based upon various variables into Microsoft Excel 2010 and were then exported to the IBM SPSS Version 22.0 to be analyzed. The Chi-square test and Kappa concordant test were used to test the statistical significance and the degree of agreement between the three domains utilized respectively. Results: Totally 41 males and 59 females participated in this study. The result analyses clearly showed that despite the similarities, there did not exist any degree of agreement between the three instruments (by Spearman's correlational test, Kappa concordant test). Fortifying this observation was the score grades assessment, wherein all the three sets, especially the PSQ-3 and PSQ-18 gave extremely varied scores and corresponding score grades. Conclusion: The principal investigator thus concluded (based on the study parameters set) that though the three instruments measure and analyze the same concept, each of them are distinctive by themselves. This conclusion implies that for future research involving patients' satisfaction with community pharmacy services, the aspiring researcher must exercise extreme caution while combining these three questionnaires to create an adapted version of a new questionnaire to assess the same. Key words: Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire, Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire, Community Pharmacy, Community Pharmacist, Consumer's Perception, Kappa Concordant value.


The uniquely low temperature sensitivity of the apatite (U-Th)/He system makes it an invaluable tool for studying shallow crustal processes which are not accessible through other techniques. Major advancements in both the theoretical and practical aspects of the technique have taken place over the past decade or so, however the routine application of the process is often held back by the perceived problem of single grain age 'over dispersion', particularly when applied to old, slowly cooled geological settings. There persists a misconception that age dispersion is indicative of a problem with the apatite (U-Th)/He system.
A significant component of single grain age dispersion is inherent to the natural system, and therefore beneficial to reconstructing robust thermal histories. Variations in crystal grain size, accumulated amounts of radiation damage and changes to the helium concentration gradient within a grain due to fragmentation all contribute positively to age dispersion. Other, imposed factors such as crystal zoning and 4He implantation (which are undesirable) can also contribute to dispersion, however in the vast majority of cases their effects are negligible and only contribute noise to the inherent natural dispersion signal.
The Ballachulish Igneous complex (BIC) in western Scotland has been used as a case study to demonstrate the range of age dispersion which should be expected when analysing large numbers of single grain aliquots per sample. Where 20+ grains are analysed, total dispersion will often be well in excess of 100% for old, slowly cooled samples, indeed dispersion in excess of 200% is possible. Such dispersion will often be as a consequence of outlying or apparently anomalous ages, however such ages should not be discounted unless there is sound analytical justification to do so. Apparent anomalous ages will often be 'swallowed up' by the data if more, or even different sized/shaped grains are analysed. Due to the competing effects of the three main causes of inherent natural dispersion, it should not be expected that large, well dispersed data sets will show any significant correlation between single grain age and either grain size or eU concentration. However a lack of correlation does not indicate poor quality data.
Brown, Beucher and co-workers (Brown et al., 2013; Beucher et al., 2013) proposed a new modelling approach to account for the common occurrence of broken crystals in apatite separates, demonstrating that the additional inherent natural age dispersion arising from analysing fragments can be exploited when reconstructing thermal histories. A new inversion technique – HelFRAG was developed, based on a finite length cylinder diffusion model. The model is computationally demanding, therefore sampling based inversion methods requiring many forward model simulations become less practical. Consequently, an approximation of the finite cylinder diffusion model has been incorporated into the modelling software QTQt (Gallagher, 2012). Here, the approximation – QFrag has been demonstrated capable of returning comparable results to the full HelFRAG inversion technique when given the same synthetic data set, enabling the more routine application of the fragment model.
Both QFrag and HelFRAG modelling techniques have been used to model the new BIC AHe dataset. The purpose is twofold: to demonstrate the importance of the fragment model with a real dataset, and to provide a new thermochronological interpretation for the BIC. When using this dataset, modelling samples individually shows only subtle differences (if any) between modelling broken grains correctly as fragments, verses modelling them incorrectly as whole grains. A far greater difference in the model output is seen when only modelling 3-6 grains compared to 20+, irrespective of whether fragments are treated correctly or not. When multiple samples are modelled together in a vertical profile, the fragment effect becomes much more important. A very different thermal history interpretation arises when any broken grains are modelled incorrectly as whole grains compared to when modelled as fragments.
The new thermal history interpretation for the BIC involves a four stage cooling history from the time of intrusion (c. 424Ma). Very rapid cooling and uplift occurred immediately after intrusion over the first c. 20Myrs of the history (Phase 1). This brought the complex from c. 10km depths to within 2-3km of the surface. There followed much slower continued uplift between c. 404Ma and c. 300Ma, resulting in up to 1km of denudation (Phase 2). Over the next c. 150Myrs only a small volume of uplift occurred, however the geothermal gradient increased towards the end of this time period, suggesting crustal thinning (Phase 3). A final, rapid period of cooling and uplift occurred at c. 140Ma, bringing the top of the profile very near to the surface (Phase 4). No significant denudation has occurred since the end of this rapid uplift phase (10's to 100's of meters at most). The first two phases of cooling are interpreted as the final stages of the Caledonian orogeny, with erosion driven isostatic uplift causing continued denudation after the cessation of collisional tectonics. The end of phase three and the subsequent rapid uplift (Phase 4) are interpreted as the beginnings of crustal thinning and continental rifting which ultimately led to the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean.


This paper suggests that the practical operation of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) provides important lessons for authorities in developing countries struggling to implement sustainable exchange rate regimes to support economic convergence. These lessons are beginning to spread beyond the European continent, reaching in particular Argentina and Brazil. The difficulty in adapting a code of conduct like that of the ERM in Latin America is certain to be greater given the absence of financial reputation in either one of the two main members of Mercosul and the novelty of peer pressure among them. The "Eurocentric" tale this paper tells about Argentinian and Brazilian risk posits that the decoupling visible since 2001 could be sustained by enhanced regional surveillance in the Mercosul if financial reputation in its two main members were sufficient. While this tale is for the long term, it provides an anchor for the difficult choices Argentina and Brazil face in trying to earn credibility abroad.


In the mainstream international development discourse, one often finds a general dualistic outlook in classifying the concept of (urban) informality, seen to be strikingly different from the formal, regulated economic arrangements. Earlier definitions explaining informality in context of market arrangements across the Global south often failed to present a cohesive, inclusive framework vital for analysing (urban) informal, socioeconomic arrangements as an integral part of rapidly urbanizing developing economies. This essay seeks to examine the extent of this epistemological conflict while reviewing some of the classical studies on urban informality. We argue how an inclusive framework to urban policy planning is needed to avoid a broader generalization of the subject. Since the developing countries of South and South East Asia constitute a large share of workers being employed in the informal market arrangements; an inclusive perspective in understanding informality is warranted and emphasised upon in this essay.


The authors report a case study of a 60 year-old-male admitted to the Coronary Care Unit with severe chest pain, hypertension and ST depression on the anterior and lateral leads of the electrocardiogram. A diastolic murmur was heard in the aortic area. The chest X-ray showed an enlarged superior mediastinum. The transthoracic echocardiogram revealed an image that indicated an intimal flap above the aortic plane with severe aortic regurgitation. An aortography was performed and confirmed the diagnosis of acute type A aortic dissection with partial obstruction of the left main coronary artery, probably due to compression by the hematoma. The patient underwent emergency surgical repair with replacement of the aortic valve and ascending aorta. The patient survived without complications post surgery and was discharged ten days after onset of symptoms. Twenty months later, the patient was asymptomatic and the transesophageal echocardiogram showed a dissection of the descending thoracic aorta, mild aortic regurgitation and good left ventricular systolic function.


The concentration of molecules can be changed by chemical reactions and thereby offer a continuous readout. Yet computer architecture is cast in textbooks in terms of binary valued, Boolean variables. To enable reactive chemical systems to compute we show how, using the Cox interpretation of probability theory, one can transcribe the equations of chemical kinetics as a sequence of coupled logic gates operating on continuous variables. It is discussed how the distinct chemical identity of a molecule allows us to create a common language for chemical kinetics and Boolean logic. Specifically, the logic AND operation is shown to be equivalent to a bimolecular process. The logic XOR operation represents chemical processes that take place concurrently. The values of the rate constants enter the logic scheme as inputs. By designing a reaction scheme with a feedback we endow the logic gates with a built in memory because their output then depends on the input and also on the present state of the system. Technically such a logic machine is an automaton. We report an experimental realization of three such coupled automata using a DNAzyme multilayer signaling cascade. A simple model verifies analytically that our experimental scheme provides an integrator generating a power series that is third order in time. The model identifies two parameters that govern the kinetics and shows how the initial concentrations of the substrates are the coefficients in the power series.


The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne viral infection of humans that, although rarely fatal, can cause fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and occasionally a rash. System dynamics modeling is a highly applicable approach that develops a perspective and a set of conceptual tools to understand the structure and dynamics of complex systems such as the spread of CHIKV. Using a rigorous, iterative modeling method, both structure and dynamics are translated into a formal computer simulation that models the complex behavior of the system. This simulation captures the system's key variables and their interactions and allows for the design and evaluation of policies associated with combatting the spread of CHIKV. In order to most accurately model the spread of CHIKV, a variety of applicable real world data is initially analyzed and calibrated to determine key model parameters and variable relationships. These parameters and relationships are then formally incorporated into the system dynamics model and can be continually refined as new data or additional information is learned about the spread of CHIKV.


The global fmancial crisis (GFC) of 2008 has I:aised many issues in regard to the operations of business, particularly financial institutions. The most important issue is the loss of trust in the way financial institutions work. Some authors have called the economic crisis a crisis of trust (Eichengreen, 2009). Emst and Young (2011) have conducted a global survey of banking industry in the aftermath of GFC. They found that the banking industry in mature markets such as USA, UK, Germany, France and Italy has experienced a shift in customer confidence and trust whereas banking industry in emerging markets such as India, China and Thailand have experienced lesser impact of Global financial crisis. Consequently banks in emerging markets have huge opportunity to expand internationally. Ernst and Young (2011) have observed that trust in banks in countries such as USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy has decreased considerably after the Global financial Crisis ranging from a fall of 51% for banks in Belgium to 61% in UK. They have not observed any change in customers' confidence in the banks in China whereas they have observed an increase in customer confidence in banks in India. Among the reasons cited by customers for reduction in trust levels in banks in mature markets are under capitalisation of banks, over leveraging practiced by some banks and remuneration policies of banks. Two important issues have emerged from the above discussion. One Global Financial Crisis have raised and highlighted the issue of trust in business, particularly in banks as an important issue. The other issue is about agency problem in banks made significant through the remuneration policies pursued by some banks in the lead up to Global Financial Crisis.


Sir: The article by Dr Clarke (Psychiatric Bulletin 1993, 17, 469-470) made interesting reading. The possibilities of adverse drug reactions in psychiatric patients are very real and can be overlooked. One factor not mentioned was the possibility of deliberate patient deception and, although infrequent, we feel it bears mention. Recently we encountered two patients with atypi cal symptoms related to this area whose behav iour proved hazardous to themselves and the treatment process. One 30-year-old woman presented with ataxia and sedation while receiving treatment with antidepressants, and subsequently responded well to treatment as an in-patient. She later admitted using her child's methylphenidate and carbamazepine along with over-the-counter prepar ations. A second woman presented with bizarre neurological complaints during treatment with a tricyclic agent; the symptoms of meningism and headache persisted after the tricyclic was stop ped. Later, she revealed that she was receiving oral retinoid therapy for acne but did not mention this lest the treatment was discontinued. Her subsequent response to treatment was good. Patients may therefore wilfully mislead their psychiatrists on occasion especially regarding medication. The quality of the information we receive depends on a number of factors, and the use of over-the-counter preparations, herbal remedies and medications prescribed for others may jeopardise the patient and the treatment process. The fault may lie with the patient rather than the specialist who adheres too rigidly to his or her own area. The information may simply not be forthcoming despite exhaustive enquiry.


"This book examines the construction of national, regional, and group identities in the football journalism of five European countries: England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Notions of the respective national stereotypes are explored in each of the countries studied: for instance, is the stereotype of the French as a nation producing stylish, elegant football teams reflected in all European countries? Are there differences in the reconstruction of the traditional image of the Germans being efficient and technically competent? Similarly, the perpetuation of diverse regional identities within the nations in question is also explored: how is the existence of regional movements in Spain, for example, portrayed by football writing in that country? Finally, group identities such as those of black players (in England) or women (in France) are analysed with a view to understanding how football writing reconstructs traditional images of such groups. The book is based on detailed studies of the language used in football match reports and related articles appearing in a representative sample of quality daily newspapers including "The Times", "Le Monde", "Suddeutsche Zeitung" and "El Pais".


Innovation is not only fruitful, it can also be harmful and might even cause serious damage within the organization or within its environment. Based on a systems thinking perspective it is therefore the main objective within this paper to have a look at the often overlooked – and at first glance negative - side effects, and their interaction with the fruitful effects of an innovation-orientated organization. Or to put it differently, the objective is to provide a holistic perspective of innovation from a systems thinking point of view. The origin and underlying mechanisms are of core interest. Further, inappropriate application of the analogy-based generation of innovation and potential counteractions is discussed. Similar to Fritjof Capra's thoughts on a dynamic balance between Yin and Yang, various different effects on innovation and creativity have to be taken into account. The second part of this paper discusses a specific example of a potential fruitful outcome along with a simultaneously potential harmful outcome and,the application of analogy-based learning for technical and socio-economic development with special regard to Darwin's concept of natural evolution.


The insertion sites of elements Tn9 and Tn601 which determine chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance have been detected restriction analysis. The functioning of transposons i.e. their stability or instability, has been found to influence the specificity of their insertions into the genome of lambda att80 bacteriophage. During transposition from stable integration sites both transposons are inserted into the regions of the lambda att80 bacteriophage genome, definite for each transposon. However, during transposition from the site of unstable integration both determinants of drug resistance are inserted into different regions of the phage genome.


BackgroundSedation for surgical procedures performed with regional or local anesthesia has usually been achieved with intravenous medications, whereas the use of volatile anesthetics has been limited. The use of sevoflurane for sedation has been suggested because of its characteristics of nonpungency, rapid induction, and quick elimination. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the quality, recovery, and side effects of sevoflurane sedation compared with midazolam. MethodsOne hundred seventy-three patients undergoing surgery with local or regional anesthesia were enrolled in a multicenter, open-label, randomized investigation comparing sedation with sevoflurane versus midazolam. Sedation level was titrated to an Observer's Assessment of Alertness–Sedation score of 3 (responds slowly to voice). Recovery was assessed objectively by Observer's Assessment of Alertness–Sedation, Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), and memory scores, and subjectively by visual analog scales. ResultsSignificantly more patients in the sevoflurane group had to be converted to general anesthesia because of excessive movement (18 sevoflurane and 2 midazolam;P = 0.043). Of remaining patients, 141 were assessable for efficacy and recovery data (93 sevoflurane and 48 midazolam). Sevoflurane and midazolam produced dose-related sedation. Sevoflurane patients had higher DSST and memory scores during recovery. Seventy-six percent (sevoflurane) compared with 35% (midazolam) returned to baseline DSST at 30 min postoperatively (P < 0.05). More frequent excitement–disinhibition was observed with sevoflurane (15 [16%]vs. midazolam;P = 0.008). ConclusionsSevoflurane for sedation produces faster recovery of cognitive function as measured by DSST and memory scores compared with midazolam. However, sevoflurane for sedation is complicated by a high incidence of intraoperative excitement.


AIM To compare the effect of altitudinal asymmetric glaucomatous damage on retinal microcirculation in patients with normal pressure glaucoma (NPG). METHODS In a prospective cross sectional study patients with NPG (washed out for antiglaucomatous therapy) and altitudinal asymmetric perimetric findings between the superior and inferior hemisphere (Humphrey 24–2) (n=18) were included and compared with 20 NPG patients with symmetrical field defects and 18 healthy subjects. Fluorescein angiograms were performed using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Using digital image analysis, arteriovenous passage time (AVP) and vessel diameters were assessed for comparison of corresponding affected and less affected temporal arcades. RESULTS Both affected and less affected hemispheres showed significantly prolonged AVP times (p<0.001) when compared with healthy subject data. In hemispheres with more severe glaucomatous field loss the AVP times were significantly (p=0.04) prolonged compared with the less affected hemisphere (AVP affected 3.1 (SD 7) seconds v AVP less affected 2.61 (1.4) seconds). There was no asymmetry effect on arterial and venous diameter measurements. CONCLUSION Altitudinal visual field defects are linked together with circulatory deficits of the retinal tissue. The attenuated circulation seems to be a considerable factor in the natural course of glaucomatous optic neuropathy.


Software validation through testing will continue to be a very important tool for ensuring correctness of large scale software systems. Automation of testing tools can greatly enhance their power and reduce testing cost. In this paper, techniques for automated test data generation are discussed. Given a program graph, a set of paths are identified to satisfy some given testing criteria. When a path or a program segment is specified, symbolic execution is used for generating input constraints which define a set of inputs for executing this path or segment. Problems encountered in symbolic execution are discussed. A new approach for resolving array reference ambiguities and a procedure for generating test inputs satisfying input constraints are proposed. References to arrays are recorded in a table. during symbolic execution and ambiguities are resolved when test data are generated to evaluate the subscript expressions. The implementation of a test data generator for Fortran programs incorporating these techniques is also described.


"The research question driving this paper is: What opportunities and limitations exist within the policy process to defend and foster public interest media? The paper is divided into two major sections. Chapter One examines the theories of critical political economy and policy networks and argues that these two approaches offer useful analyses of power that reveal opportunities for progressive interventions. Chapter Two examines the CRTC's 1998 radio review, paying particular attention to the attempts of various actors, representing both economic and noneconomic interests, to influence the CRTC's policy on radio ownership. Using critical political economy and policy networks theory, a detailed and contextualized picture of how power is exercised in the policy process is provided. In conclusion, it is argued that institutionally based policy intervention is an important tool for the left, but not adequate in and of itself, in efforts to defend and foster a rich and diverse public interest media"--From the Introduction page 4.


In the past few decades, an extensive family of structurally intriguing and biologically active pyrrolic natural products were recognised. Many of these compounds were isolated from marine organisms and show potent biological activity, and as such have been the focus of much synthetic effort. The synthetic approaches involve the synthesis of substituted pyrroles, as well as using the reactive parent pyrrole as a flexible building block for construction. Herein, by using pyrrole as the core of the construction, the syntheses developed will be reported in two parts: (1) Regioselective synthesis towards aryl pyrroles. (2) The reduction of pyrroles via catalytic hydrogenation, dissolving metals reduction, and by borohydrides.
Part I - Regioselective synthesis towards aryl pyrroles
Pyrrole is a unique aromatic molecule as it can readily undergo substitution at all five positions. However, obtaining the desired regioisomer can be difficult to control. If the regioselectivity of the substitution reactions at any given position could be controlled, then pyrrole would be useful as a template for the synthesis of substituted pyrroles. The controlled substitution of the pyrrole nucleus and the elaboration of these products into selectively substituted pyrrole containing natural products can now be reported. The key to regioselective introduction of substituents is the selective halogenation of the ring. Chloride acts as a blocking group at the most nucleophilic site while iodide can be introduced at less active sites. Selective substitutions of the iodide through the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, followed by removal of the chloride, allow the preparation of C3-, C4- and CS-aryl derivatives. We have applied this methodology to the synthesis of lamellarin Q dimethyl ether (22), an intermediate in the synthesis of lukinol A (5) and other diaryl-substituted pyrroles.
Part II - Reduction of Pyrroles
Methodologies for reduction of pyrroles have been reported previously, but have not been applied widely in synthesis. Pyrrole is a potential building block for the synthesis of pyrrolidine alkaloids and structural analogues. For example, if pyrrole can be reduced to a pyrroline via catalytic hydrogenation. This exploits regioselective pyrrole synthesis, followed by catalytic hydrogenation to form the saturated praline derivatives. Partial reduction of these relatively electron rich pyrroles is not possible via typical Birch reductions. We now report a method for reduction of pyrroles to pyrrolines for the generation of a small compound library of pyrrolidine and praline analogues. Further N-sulfonyl derivatives can be chemoselectively reduced under mildly acidic conditions with hydride reagents to generate pyrroline building blocks. From these substrates, structural analogues of anisomycin (99) with two and three carbons between the pyrrolidine and an aromatic ring can be generated in good yields over a few short steps. These methods can also be applied towards natural products of codonoposinine (100) and preussin (101)


In many developing countries the rural poor often depend on patrons to act as brokers in order to get public provision from the government. The broker facilitates provision in return for securing peasants' votes for politicians. Yet, low bargaining power of peasants allows patrons to appropriate public resources for themselves. I propose increasing peasants' bargaining power by connecting them to markets outside their village. Making use of a natural experiment found in the construction of a motorway in Pakistan, I find public provision to be significantly higher in connected villages when compared to those which are isolated. Moreover, I find that the beneficial impact of connectivity is felt most strongly by the lower classes, who are most vulnerable to exploitation when isolated


Autosomal dominant familial Parkinson's disease (PD) due to the alpha-synuclein (G209A) mutation shares similar clinical characteristics with sporadic PD. Pathological studies however indicate more widespread neuronal degeneration in the familial form. We performed (123)I-FP-CIT SPET (DaTSCAN) study in nine patients with familial PD carrying the alpha-synuclein (G209A) mutation and fifteen matched patients with sporadic disease. Both groups had equal radioligand reduction uptake in the striatum but the alpha-synuclein patients showed less asymmetry and increased putamen to caudate ratio. Our findings indicate that there are minor differences in DAT SPET parameters between alpha-synuclein and sporadic PD patients insufficient to provide differential diagnosis.


A characteristic feature of the parvopyramidal layer of the presubiculum of 6 individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD) was the presence of large, evenly distributed amyloid-)β (Aβ) deposits, which in the end stage of the disease occupy 80.9 ±2.2 % of the parvopyramidal layer. The strong reaction of Ap deposits with antibodies 4G8 (17-24 amino acids, aa), 6E10 (1-17 aa), and R165 (32-42 aa), and their weak reaction with antibody R162 (32-40 aa) indicate that potentially highly fibrillogenic Aβi-42 is a major constituent of presubicular amyloid. However, AP deposits in the presubiculum are thioflavin-S- and Congo red-negative—and thus, nonflbrillar—even after 11 to 19 years of AD. The unique properties of presubicular amyloid appear to be related to their origin; amyloid-associated proteins such as apolipoproteins E, and AI, α,- antichymotrypsin, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which are promoters of fibrillization or stabilizers of Aβ in neuritic plaques, are absent; activated astrocytes, which are the source of these proteins, are also absent. The unchanged number and distribution and the resting appearance of microglial cells revealed with RCA-I histochemistry suggest that they do not respond to diffuse Aβ deposits. The source of nonfibrillar presubicular Aβ is probably local neurons or neuronal projections to the parvocellular layer of the presubiculum. Neuronal, lake-like Aβ deposition appears to be characteristic of AD pathology. The presubiculum is most likely the model brain structure for the study of amyloid of exclusively neuronal origin. The parvopyramidal layer of the presubiculum reveals only a small population of the neurons (2.5 ±%) affected by neurofibrillary pathology.


When developing a game it is always valuable to use feedback from players in each iteration, in order to plan the design of the next iteration. However, it can be challenging to devise a simple approach to acquiring information about a player's engagement while playing. In this paper we will thus use an evaluation method which focuses on assessing the desire to continue playing as an indicator of player engagement. This feedback can then be applied to detect and prevent any design decisions that would jeopardise a game's level of player engagement. The process is exemplified by a case study concerning a crowd game which is controlled by smartphones and is intended to be played by audiences in cinemas and at venues with large screens. The case study demonstrates how the approach can be used to help improve the desire to continue when developing a game.


Early-onset type 1 diabetes may affect the developing brain during a critical window of rapid brain maturation. Structural MRI was performed on 141 children with diabetes (4–10 years of age at study entry) and 69 age-matched control subjects at two time points spaced 18 months apart. For the children with diabetes, the mean (±SD) HbA1c level was 7.9 ± 0.9% (63 ± 9.8 mmol/mol) at both time points. Relative to control subjects, children with diabetes had significantly less growth of cortical gray matter volume and cortical surface area and significantly less growth of white matter volume throughout the cortex and cerebellum. For the population with diabetes, the change in the blood glucose level at the time of scan across longitudinal time points was negatively correlated with the change in gray and white matter volumes, suggesting that fluctuating glucose levels in children with diabetes may be associated with corresponding fluctuations in brain volume. In addition, measures of hyperglycemia and glycemic variation were significantly negatively correlated with the development of surface curvature. These results demonstrate that early-onset type 1 diabetes has widespread effects on the growth of gray and white matter in children whose blood glucose levels are well within the current treatment guidelines for the management of diabetes.


A library guide to help students enrolled in the Urban & Regional Planning Department and/or Urban & Regional Planning classes.


It appears that pregnancy itself is not adversely affected by HIV infection, but the course of HIV infection in the mother may be accelerated by pregnancy. The results of the 076 trial have changed our approach to AIDS in pregnancy. Heretofore AZT was only given for maternal indications such as severe immunodeficiency (CD4 count less than 200). We now recommend that AZT be given to all women with HIV infection and to infants postpartum. As to mode of delivery, Cesarean section may be beneficial, but we await further studies. We strongly encourage all pregnant women to have HIV testing regardless of risk factors. The HIV epidemic is here, in North Carolina. It is our responsibility as doctors to help pregnant women as best we can with their disease.


Evolutionary theories of human cognition should refer to specific times in the primate or hominid past. Though alternative accounts of tool manufacture from Wynn's are possible (e.g., frontal lobe function), Wynn demonstrates the power of archaeology to guide cognitive theories. Many cognitive abilities evolved not in the "Pleistocene hunter-gatherer" context, but earlier, in the context of other patterns of social organization and foraging.


The LUXE experiment aims at studying high-field QED in electron-laser and photon-laser interactions, with the 16.5 GeV electron beam of the European XFEL and a laser beam with power of up to 350 TW. The experiment will measure the spectra of electrons and photons in non-linear Compton scattering where production rates in excess of 109 are expected per 1 Hz bunch crossing. At the same time positrons from pair creation in either the two-step trident process or the BreitWheeler process will be measured, where the expected rates range from 10−3 to 103 per bunch crossing, depending on the laser power and focus. These measurements have to be performed in the presence of low-energy high radiation-background. To meet these challenges, for high-rate electron and photon fluxes, the experiment will use Cherenkov radiation detectors, scintillator screens, sapphire sensors as well as lead-glass monitors for backscattering off the beam-dump. A four-layer silicon-pixel tracker and a compact electromagnetic tungsten calorimeter with GaAs sensors will be used to measure the positron spectra. The layout of the experiment and the expected performance under the harsh radiation conditions will be presented.


The central theme of this paper is, as the title itself shows, the econometric modelling of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), based on the concept Euromoney' s country risk rating. This article contains three sections, the fi rst part or the introduction is an approach of investment risk and, in particular, introduces a new element in modelling investment, namely country risk rating. Thus, a bridge is created towards the second section, which essentially deals with the econometric modelling of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Romania, after 1996, based on Euromoney' s data (ECR). The originality of this paper is underlined by the presence of a fi nal model which includes, as an exogenous variable, country risk rating in assessing the FDI share of GDP as an endogenous variable. A fi nal remark comments, from an economic perspective, the results of the econometric modelling.


We have developed a conceptual model to assist integration between physical geographical sciences, institutional frameworks and management in the context of coastal wetlands. Wetlands are key interconnected systems that will respond early to climate change and especially to associated sea-level changes. A major constraint on management of wetlands is the lack of congruence between the ecosystems and the institutional frameworks that govern their management: connectivity in coastal systems is overlain by institutional fragmentation. We introduce a model that facilitates integration of physical geographical (biophysical) information into the legislative, planning, policy and management process. It consists of interconnected parallel subprojects in science and in planning with strong cross-links with stakeholders at all levels, founded on long-term and trusting relationships. We also show progress that has been made in applying the model, with an Australian example. It is concluded that the approach has potential to move towards the goal of sustainable management but that it urgently needs to evolve, so as to meet the challenges of climate and associated changes.


but the radiological appearance of her cervical spine will remain the same. I would encourage doctors first to examine the function of the cervical spine, and to follow this up by the examination of the whole upper limb to seek (a) evidence of nerve-root damage (or its absence), and (b) an alternative cause of pain in the arm. Many people feel that the term " cervical spondylosis " should not be used as a clinical diagnosis. I therefore hope that Dr. Nichols will give us further details, as trials of this kind are so valuable, but only if the terms of reference are clear.-I am, etc.,


According to Efficient Market Hypothesis, investors cannot gain abnormal returns. But various anomalies such as day or intra-day effect which are frequently observed at the stock markets provide some abnormal returns to investors. In the literature, many studies have found various anomalies for different national and international stock markets. But most of the applied studies used aggregate data in their econometric analysis. The question is whether the same anomalies exist in sub-indexes such as communication, technology, sports and services, etc. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are the same anomalies such as intra-day effect and day of the week effect for an aggregated index and 23 sub-indexes of Borsa Istanbul. The data which used in this study is daily and covers the period of 2005-2015 for Turkey. Findings show that there is evidence for intra-day effect in all 24 indexes and day of the week effect in 2 sub-indexes.


The present study was initiated to investigate the Cadmium Concentrations in whole Blood( BCdC)
of Northern Sardinian, non-occupationally exposed adult subjects. Two hundred and fortythree
adults were selected from subjects who were undergoing blood collection for laboratory
analysis and subjected to an interview. Dietary intakes were assessed through food
frequency obtained from the EPIC questionnaire.
We studied offals, crustaceans, root, vegetables, rice, eggs, fish, citrus fruit, other fruits, milk, olive oil, sweet, yogurt, bread, wine) and nutrients (calcium, zinc, iron, vitamin C and Vitamin D).
Whole blood was analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer.
The mean value BCdC, expressed as Geometric Mean, was 0.32 μg/l significantly ranging from
0.27 μg/l in non-smokers to 0.34 μg/l in ex-smokers up to 0.47 μg/ in smokers (p<0.0001) and it is
lower than levels found in many other regions..
There is a negative correlation between Cadmium and Calcium, Zinc and Vitamin D, while for Iron the negative correlation was not significant.
Mean concentration of BCdC in the selected diet food groups, between no smokers and smokers
subjects is significant only for offals (p=0.02).
These low values may be explained by environmental factors considering that the study was
conducted in an area at low risk from industrial cadmium fall-out but in view of the
peculiar characteristics of the Sardinian population, other factors may influence BCd levels,
like dietary and genetic factors.


Background. Liver involvement in mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders (MRCD) frequently ends in liver failure and death. Because of the high risk of extrahepatic, particularly neuromuscular, manifestations of the disease, the indication of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in these patients remains controversial. We report on 5 such children in whom OLT was carried out, in an attempt to help clarify the matter. Patients. Patients 1 and 2 presented with fulminant liver failure at ages 7 and 6 months respectively. Emergency liver transplantation was performed before etiological investigations were completed. Retrospective examination of the explanted livers showed defects in complexes I, III and IV. In patient 1, severe neurological deterioration occurred 2 months after OLT with fatal outcome 9 months later. Patient 2 is alive 22 months after OLT with moderate motor impairment. Patients 3, 4 and 5 presented with progressive liver failure before 6 months of age. Surgical liver biopsies displayed a 50% defect in complex IV (patient 3), a defect in complexes I, IV (patient 4) and in complexes I, III, IV (patient 5). Because there was no clinical extrahepatic involvement on investigations, OLT was carried out in these patients. Patient 3 died of multiple organ failure soon after OLT, patients 4 and 5 are alive respectively 21 months and 12 months after OLT with normal neurological examination. Conclusion. OLT may be a valid therapeutic option in infants with delayed liver cell failure due to MRCD, only after performing in emergency a thorough investigation to exclude clinically significant extrahepatic, especially neuromuscular, involvement.


From the Publisher:
With an emphasis on the Workplace 2000, the third edition of THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS showcases the dramatic changes occurring in the business environment and helps readers understand business trends, anticipate future business conditions, and prepare for successful careers. The three themes of the text include: 1. "Business in the 21st Century" covers current business principles and practices as they occur in today's world; 2. "Capitalizing on Trends in Business" explores new business trends and how they are reshaping today's business landscape and altering tomorrow's competitive environment; and 3. "Applying This Chapter's Topics" speaks directly to the student and present practical suggestions for preparing for the business environment of tomorrow. In addition, new skills development features respond to the growing interest in the SCANS initiative (development of workplace competencies) and requests for a more applied approach to the course.


The impact of experimentally intensified summer drought and precipitation on N2O and NO turnover and fluxes was investigated in a minerotrophic fen over a 2‐year period. On three treatment plots, drought was induced for 6 and 10 weeks by means of roofs and drainage and decreased water table levels by 0.1–0.3 m compared with three nonmanipulated control plots. When averaged over the three treatment plots, both N2O and NO emission showed only little response to the drought. On the single plot scale, however, a clear impact of the treatment on N2O and NO fluxes could be identified. On the plot with the weakest water table reduction hardly any response could be observed, while on the plot with the greatest drainage effect, N2O and NO fluxes increased by 530% and 270%, respectively. Rewetting reduced NO emissions to background levels (0.05–0.15 μmol m−2 h−1), but heavily enhanced N2O emission (18–36 μmol m−2 h−1) for several days in the plots with largest water table reduction. These peaks contributed up to 40% to the cumulative N2O fluxes and were caused by rapid N2O production according to isotope abundance data. According to N2O concentrations and isotope abundance analysis N2O was mostly produced at depths between 0.3 and 0.5 m. During water table reduction net N2O production in 0.1 m depth steadily increased in the most effectively dried plot from 2 up to 44 pmol cm−3 day−1. Rewetting immediately increased net N2O production in the topsoil of the drought plots, showing rates of 18–174 pmol cm−3 day−1. This study demonstrates that drought and rewetting can temporarily increase N2O emission to levels that have to date only been reported from nutrient rich and degraded fens that have been drained for agricultural purposes.


This work describes an evolutionary system to control the growth of a constructive neural network for autonomous navigation. A classifier system generates Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy rules and controls the architecture of a constructive neural network. The performance of the mobile robot guides the evolutionary learning mechanism. Experiments show the efficiency of the classifier fuzzy system for analyzing if it is worth inserting a new neuron into the architecture.