Background: Understanding how autonomous students are capable of regulating their own learning process is essential to develop self-directed teaching methods. Aim: To understand how self-directed medical students approach learning in medical schools at University of Concepcion, Chile. Material and Methods: A qualitative and descriptive study, performed according to Grounded Theory guidelines, following Strauss & Corbin was performed. Twenty medical students were selected by the maximum variation sampling method. The data collection technique was carried out by a semi-structured thematic interview. Students were interviewed by researchers after an informed consent procedure. Data were analyzed by the open coding method using Atlas-ti 7.5.2 software. Results: Self-directed learners were characterized by being good planners and managing their time correctly. Students performed a diligent selection of contents to study based on reliable literature sources, theoretical relevance and type of evaluation. They also emphasized the discussion of clinical cases, where theoretical contents can be applied. This modality allows them to gain a global view of theoretical contents, to verbalize knowledge and to obtain a learning feedback. Conclusions: The learning process of autonomous students is intentional and planned.


Tunnels have become increasingly important in the development of road networks to meet rising transportation demands. Washing of road tunnels must be performed regularly to ensure traffic safety. The washing procedure generates significant amount of polluted wash water. Before discharge to a receiving water body, treatment is necessary to avoid potential degradation of the water quality. In this study, 12 in situ sedimentation experiments were conducted to evaluate treatment efficiency of sedimentation, with and without the addition of chemical flocculent. The findings showed that untreated tunnel wash water was highly polluted with total suspended solids (804-9690 mg/l), PAHs (0.4–29 μg/l) and heavy metals. Most pollutants were associated with the particulate material. Significant correlations (r2 > 0.95) were found between suspended solids and metals. Efficient removal of pollutants was possible by sedimentation with addition of flocculent. Within 20 hours of sedimentation low concentrations were reached of suspended solids (<15mg/l), PAHs (<0.1 μg/l), Cd (<0.05 μg/l), Cr (< 8 μg/l), Hg (<0.02 μg/l), Pb (<0.5 μg/l) and Zn (< 60 μg/l). The results confirm the possibility to treat tunnel wash water with sedimentation and flocculation and to discharge treated wash water to a recipient, provided particular attention is given to very sensitive water bodies.


Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks (WSANs) are gaining growing interest because of their suitability for mission-critical applications that require autonomous and intelligent interaction with the environment. Hazardous application environments make actors susceptible to physical damage. Failure of a critical (i.e. cut-vertex) actor partitions the inter-actor network into disjointed segments while leaving a coverage hole. Maintaining inter-actor connectivity and coverage is extremely crucial in most applications of WSANs where actors have to quickly plan an optimal coordinated response to detected events. This book presents a series of localized novel algorithms that pursue controlled movement of existing (internal) actors to restore the lost connectivity while minimizing the impact on coverage. The performance of proposed approaches is analyzed and validated through extensive simulations. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of proposed approaches that outperform the best contemporary schemes found in literature. This book should be useful for university students, researchers, faculty members, application designers and people from industry.


The No-Gravid IUD a new V-shaped device available in 3 sizes (.5 1 and 2 inches) which is constructed of a nylon frame on which copper wire spirals are wound was tested for performance. 629 No-Gravid insertions were carried out from 1976-1977 in this particular study. Insertions were always made postmenstruation. In a 3-year follow-up of this limited study 9 pregnancies occurred 6 were cases of complete IUD expulsion and 3 were when the IUD remained in place and no uterine perforations or tubal pregnancies were seen. 3 cases of pelvic inflammation were detected that could be attributed to the device. A table summarized clinical evaluations (all published reports) of the No-Gravid device. 4850 women used the .5 type 3420 used the 1 type and 7980 were fitted with the 2 type. Removals for bleeding/pain were 3.1-3.4 for .5 type 2.2-2.8 for 1 type and 2.4-2.7 for 2 type (at 1 and 2 years respectively). Removal for other medical reasons was 3.5-5.3 for .5 type 3.1-4.6 for 1 type and 2.9-5.1 for 2 type. Continuation rate at 3 years was 68% 76% and 87% respectively. Expulsion rate percent was 3.3-4.3 3.8-4.6 and 2.9-3.1 respectively by device type at year 1 and 2. 1 ectopic pregnancy occurred with both types .5 and 1 and 2 occurred with type 2. Advantage for the No-Gravid over other nonmedicated devices is fewer pregnancies and its advantage over other medicated IUDs is its anatomical shape.


: We evaluated six patients in whom a diagnosis of Sheehan's syndrome had been made. The plasma levels of the following hormones were measured: basal thyroxine (T4), estradiol and cortisol; and also follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), growth hormone (GH), thyrotropin (TSH), prolactin (PRL) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), basally and after acute challenge with LH releasing hormone (LHRH), GRF (1-29)NH2 or insulin hypoglycemia, TSH releasing hormone (TRH) and lysine-8-vasopressin, respectively. Two patients underwent chronic LHRH stimulation by pulsatile subcutaneous administration with infusion pump. In 4 cases, computed tomography (CT) was performed although cranial X-ray study was normal. A severe and generalized pituitary involvement was found in all patients, 3 of whom had diabetes mellitus. Probably, more insidious cases go unnoticed. The presence of asymptomatic partial empty sella (ES) in all the CTs that were carried out raises the possibility that it is another evolutive feature of SS.


Purpose This study examined the effects of vision, calling and membership on organizational commitment and performance in the Asian and European context, which according to our knowledge has not been sufficiently employed previously. Firstly, by drawing on the spiritual leadership concept, the differences between leaders' spirituality in Poland and Bhutan were examined. Secondly, the relationships between the constructs: vision, calling, membership, organizational commitment and performance of both Polish and Bhutanese managers were studied. Methods This study adopted the spiritual leadership scale proposed by Fry. The data used in this study were gathered through a survey of 194 managers. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the path coefficient were applied in the study. Results By comparing spiritual dimensions of leadership, the study demonstrated positive and significant relationships between the constructs that influence each other in various ways. The study indicates that the strength of the influence of specific dimensions depends on the perception of their significance for managers due to the cultural context. Conclusion The study contributed to the literature by examining the dimensions of spiritual leadership that are endorsed differently by the Polish and the Bhutanese managers. The findings shed light on the creation of a positive work environment by managers in which employees can feel appreciated and fulfilled.


Abstract Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) reduces the portal venous pressure of patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). To describe the patients who underwent TIPS for the treatment of HPS. A retrospective study was performed on 81 patients with HPS and gastrointestinal hemorrhage treated with TIPS. Thirty patients underwent TIPS through the main portal vein (group A), 24 through the left branch of the portal vein (group B), and 27 through the right branch of the portal vein (group C). The partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2), alveolar-to-arterial oxygen partial pressure gradient (A–aPO2), oxygen saturation (SO2), and complications were recorded and compared. The survival rate for each group was calculated. The technical success rate was 100% in the 3 groups. Preoperative portal vein pressure showed no significant differences between the 3 groups, which was decreased post-TIPS operation. In group A, PaO2 and SO2 were higher in 15 days and 3 months postoperative than preoperative (P < .05), whereas A–aPO2 was lower (P < .05). No difference occurred between 12 months post- and preoperative group. In group C, PaO2 and SO2 did not alter significantly at each time point after operation (P > .05), whereas A–aPO2 decreased at 3 months (P = .041) than preoperative. In group B, all indicators at each follow-up time point after TIPS were improved significantly as compared with the preoperative group (P < .05), which showed an excellent effect on hypoxemia treatment. Although the 1-year survival rate of 3 groups of patients was 92.85%, 90.90%, and 91.67%, respectively, the rate of hepatic encephalopathy and hepatic myelopathy was 33.33% (10/30), 16.67% (4/24), and 33.33% (9/27) after TIPS. TIPS reduced the pressure of the portal vein effectively and alleviated hypoxemia in most HPS patients successfully. Thus, the left branch of the portal vein is optimal for TIPS owing to fewer complications and efficacy in improving PaO2 as compared with the main portal vein and right branch.


Headaches are the most prevalent neurological disorders and continue to be a frequent cause of Emergency Department use, accounting for 2% of all visits. Although it is a neurological disease it must be also a clinical competence of internist for its nature and frequency. The keys to effective management of these syndromes are differential diagnosis through history, physical examination, and diagnostic studies when necessary. This monograph highlights the importance of establishing whether headache is a secondary symptom of another disease process or a primary condition. The goal of headache management is for patients and healthcare professionals to work together to minimize pain and improve quality of life.


ABSTRACT A growing literature, much of it with cross-national comparisons, employs geographic lenses to secure insights into educational studies. Most of this literature focuses on schooling, though parts address kindergartens and higher education. The present paper, by contrast, employs geographic lenses to focus on the shadow education system of private supplementary tutoring. It is called shadow education because much of its content mimics that in schooling, but the paper shows that many dynamics are significantly different from those in schooling. Insights may be gained not only from physical geography but also from political, economic, cultural and pedagogical geography – and from relationships between them. Intra-national, cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons show forces in a domain that is gathering momentum across the globe and causing significant shifts in the overall nature and role of education.


Experiments were carried out to determine the digestibility (Experiment 1) and the effect of the inclusion of cassava leaf meal (CLM) with and without the addition of multi-enzyme complexes (MEC) in male broiler diets (Experiment 2) of the Hubbard strain. The MECs used were made up of Energex (b-glucanase, pectinase, hemicellulose) and Bio-Feed Alpha (b-glucanase, amylase). In Experiment 1, birds with 21 days of age were used, with the level of inclusion of 0 - 41.67% of CLM to determine the digestibility coefficient of the gross energy and crude fiber (DCGE/DCCF) and to determine the values of apparent and corrected metabolizable energy (AME/nAME). In Experiment 2, birds from 1 to 21 days of age, fed diets with levels of inclusion of 0 - 10.34% of CLM were used to evaluate the average feed intake (DAI), average weight gain (AWG) and average feed: gain (AF: G). In Experiment 1, there was difference for the values of DCGE, DCCF, AME and nAME, occurring a decrease on the digestibility as the CLM inclusion levels increased on the basal diet. With the addition of the MECs, an improvement in the analyzed traits was evidenced. The determination of the values of AME and nAME were of 1.697 and 1.694 kcal/Kg/DM CLM, respectively. In Experiment 2, the level of highest inclusion of CLM was the one which presented the poorest result for the traits RAI, AWG and AFC while the level of 5.17% of CLM did not impair the animals performance. The addition of the MEC did not improve the nutritive value of CLM.


Oil and gas development is occurring in urban, densely populated neighborhoods; however, the impacts of these operations on neighborhood air quality are not well characterized. In this research, we leveraged ambient air monitoring adjacent to an oil and gas production site in Los Angeles, California during active and idle periods. This study analyzed continuous methane (CH4) and non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) measurements, together with triggered grab samples and 24 hour integrated canister samples collected by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Ambient air pollutant levels and trends were evaluated during active and idle well operations to assess changes in neighborhood air quality after the suspension of oil and gas production. We find that mean concentrations of methane, NMHC, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, styrene, n-hexane, n-pentane, ethane, and propane decreased following the stop in production activities. Using a source apportionment approach, we observed that the "natural gas" drilling source contributed 23.7% to the total VOCs measured during the active phase, and only 0.6% to the total measured VOCs in the idle phase. Near urban oil and gas production sites, residents may face poorer air quality due to the oil and gas activities which may pose adverse health and environmental risks among proximate communities.


"Climate change will have profound deleterious effects on many trees in urban environments; however, as in any biological system undergoing change, there will be benefits. On 7 February 2009, the Australian city of Melbourne experienced its hottest day on record (46.4 °C [115.5 °F]) after a heat wave. In the days that followed, the foliage of native Australian mistletoes, Amyema miquelii and A. pendula, growing on Eucalyptus camaldulensis were observed to lose their green color and turn gray. In large numbers, the mistletoes can cause significant stress, leading to tree death. In the aftermath of the record hot day, large numbers of mistletoes died, and 5 years later the level of mistletoe infestation remained low. On the afternoon of 7 February 2009, tens of thousands of elm leaf beetles, which heavily graze the mature elms of Melbourne (Ulmus procera and U. × hollandica), were found dead under the canopies of street trees, and numbers remained low for at least 5 years thereafter. Similarly, psyllids, Mycopsylla fici, and infestations of Ficus macrophylla, which can seriously defoliate trees, fell from high to undetectable levels in the month following the heat wave. The effects of heat waves and very high temperature days have significant implications for those managing pests in urban forests. Pest control programs were unnecessary in the immediate aftermath of the heat wave and hot days and for up to 5 subsequent years. This has positive implications for tight tree management budgets, but could also lead to a discontinuation of pest monitoring and control programs. Such an approach could see a return to high levels of infestation.


Clinical Machine Learning (ML) is a rapidly-growing field due to the digitization of hospital records, recent advances in ML techniques, and the ability to leverage increasing computational power for large and complex models. The high stakes and often unintuitive nature of clinical data make effective collaboration between clinicians and ML researchers one of the most important aspects of working in this interdisciplinary space. However, there are few resources codifying best practices for collaboration on Clinical ML projects. In this paper, we interviewed 18 experts in the Clinical ML field and distilled their advice and experiences into a list of questions (a Clinical Collabsheet) ML scientists and clinicians can use to promote effective discussion when working on a new project. We intend this for a broad audience as checklist of discussion points to hit at a kickoff meeting. This resource will enable more successful partnerships in Clinical ML with improved interdisciplinary communication and organization.


I build a small open economy version of the Calvo-type staggered price-setting model with limited asset market participation, and I show that the inverted aggregate demand logic is less likely to apply to small open economies. The equilibrium dynamics of the model are reduced to a representation in the output gap and domestic inflation, and depend on the degree of asset market participation in a non-linear way. If asset market participation decreases above a certain threshold, the relationship between the real interest rate and aggregate output strengthens. Below this threshold, the link between the real interest rate and aggregate demand inverts: aggregate domestic output contracts in response to a decrease in the real interest rate. Policy rules have to satisfy an inverted Taylor Principle to ensure a unique equilibrium in this type of economy. When an economy is open, the 'standard' Taylor Principle is strictly more likely to apply. The Taylor Principle is restored regardless of the level of asset market participation when the redistributive dividend tax rate, or the share of domestic firms under foreign ownership, exceeds a certain threshold.


13 months old boy presented with constipation and straining during micturition with poor urinary stream and voiding of urine per rectum. Perineal examination revealed posterior perineal fistula. Voiding cysto-urethrogram showed bilateral vesicoureteral reflux with bladder diverticuli, normal dorsal urethra and dye going from urethra to rectum suggestive of Y type urethral duplication. Under stoma cover, he underwent excision of posterior perineal fistula with accessory ventral urethra and anorectoplasty was done. At present patient is passing urine in good stream without straining. The uniqueness of our case is the presence of Y type of urethral duplication with normal calibre dorsal urethra and presence of posterior perineal fistula. Therefore, we consider our case to be an unusual variant of Y type of urethral duplication that has not been described before.


Algorithmic game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual's success depends on the choices of others. Research in this area tends to focus on one of the following challenges: (1) Price of Anarchy: Characterize the inefficiency of equilibria vs the global optimum. (2) Computational Complexity of Equilibria (3) Algorithmic Mechanism Design : Design games with desirable properties that are efficiently implementable.
Many strategic interactions are in their nature recurrent (e.g. financial markets) with the agents participating in them repeatedly. These agents learn over time to adapt to their environment as is defined by the game and the dynamic behavior of the other agents[96]. We show that incorporating the assumption of adaptive agents can lead to exciting new insights to long standing questions in all areas of algorithmic game theory.
A Learning Theoretic Refinement of the Price of Anarchy: It is well understood that competitive environments can result in losses to social welfare due to the lack of a central coordinator who could enforce the global optimum solution. Defined as the ratio of the cost of the worst possible (Nash) equilibrium over the cost of the optimum, price of anarchy (and its variants) are commonly used metrics for these inefficiencies. However, such worst case analysis can be rather misleading as worst case equilibria may never arise in practice. Can natural learning algorithms beat the price of anarchy?
We show that in the class of atomic congestion games natural learning algorithms can indeed learn to navigate away from such worst case equilibria. In some cases the implied performance bounds are exponentially better than the previously known worst case guarantees. Furthermore, such positive performance results are shown to be robust even when we impose restrictions on availability of accurate up-to-date information on which agents can base their decisions.
Learning Inspired Equilibria and Computation: The plausibility of the Nash equilibrium, as a universal solution concept has been under attack, due to recent negative complexity results (e.g. for normal form games with constant number of players[27, 24]). To make matters worse, there exist games of constant overall size, for which Nash equilibria are unstable for most reasonable dynamics[88].
In this section we will look into learning inspired solution concepts such as strong CURB (Closed Under Rational Behavior) and CUBR (Closed Under weakly Better Replies) sets. A strong CURB (CUBR) set is a cartesian product of pure strategy sets such that each player's component contains all best (weakly better) responses to itself given any joint probability distributions of its opponents over the set. A strong CURB (CUBR) set is said to be minimal if it does not contain any proper subset that is also a strong CURB (CUBR) set. Such minimal sets exist in all finite games and are asymptotically stable for a great number of natural learning dynamics. Furthermore, we prove that we can also compute all minimal strong CURB (as well as CUBR) sets for any normal form game with a constant number of players in polynomial time.
Mechanism Evolution: The goal of mechanism design is to design games that are uniquely solvable by reasonably self-interested players and which lead to socially optimal outcomes. Such guarantees are of critical importance in the case of economic interactions which are key revenue producers, such as ad-auctions. However, in many cases of social and economic interactions, centralized design is impractical and sometimes even undesirable (i.e. internet). Nevertheless, such mechanisms seem to be working fairly well in practise. How is that possible?
Most mechanisms that we participate in are not the product of "intelligent design". Instead mechanisms evolve. All games (mechanisms) that we participate in are in essence social contracts. The rules of these interactions change over time as the result of actions of the same individuals who participate in them. These changes are not random. On the contrary the involved agents are trying to bring on changes to the structure of the game, so as to improve their experience from participating in the game.
We formalize these intuitions and we analyze their implications in the context of oligopolistic markets. Specifically, we allow players one extra dimension in the pursuit of their strategic goals, the possibility of forming coalitions with other agents. We focus on the class of linear and symmetric Cournot games and we study the nature of stable coalition structures. We show than even the worst stable coalition can lead to a significant increase in market prices and profits for the firms.


When modern aircrafts above water flying over sea in a very low height, the flight height is limited by the sea state. Bad sea state can not only cause the attitude overturning and dropping into the water. In this paper, a impacting water flight mode of Over-sea aircraft is proposed. Based on the analysis on the water-impact force of the aircraft impacting water, how to choose proper configuration parameters and water-entry attitude angles of the wave protection slide in order to limit the water-impact overload to be acceptable and realize the over-sea flight in bad sea state, is researched.


Abstract Background: Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) is a best practice for treating individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), and primary care-based MOUD management can reduce treatment barriers among OUD patients. Individuals with OUD experience disproportionately high rates of trauma and violence, highlighting the importance of addressing trauma, mental health, and substance use concurrently. However, clear guidelines for trauma-informed treatment in a primary care setting remain poorly established. Methods: A qualitative approach was engaged to explore primary care providers' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to assessing and treating trauma among MOUD patients. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted in 2021 with Baltimore-based MOUD prescribers, including primary care physicians and nurse practitioners. Interview questions assessed experiences with identifying and treating trauma among MOUD patients, including challenges and opportunities. Results: Providers reported extensive histories of trauma experienced by MOUD patients. Barriers to addressing trauma include a lack of standardized protocols/procedures for identifying trauma, insufficient training/time to assess and treat trauma, and the limited availability of external mental health providers and specialty services. Opportunities included building strong, mutually respectful patient-provider relationships, providing individualized, person-centered care, and establishing connections to coordinated multidisciplinary treatment networks. Conclusions: MOUD treatment within primary care is an important way to increase OUD treatment access, but clearer standards are needed for the treatment of trauma within this patient population. These findings demonstrate opportunities to improve standards and systems such that primary care providers are better equipped to assess and treat the complex histories of trauma experienced by individuals with OUD.


Purpose: We aim to assess the impact of the exposure to deep versus light sedation by a critical care transport agency during prehospital and interhospital transport on hospital sedation levels, medication exposure, and outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients. Materials and Methods: Retrospective cohort review of mechanically ventilated adult critical care transport patients from January 1, 2019, to March 11, 2020, who arrived at an academic medical center. The primary outcome was the correlation of deep sedation during transport with deep sedation within the first 48 h of hospitalization (defined as Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale [RASS] -3 to -5). The secondary outcomes were duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, inpatient mortality, delirium within 48 h, and coma within 48 h. Results: One hundred and ninety-eight patients were included, of whom 183 (92.4%) were deeply sedated during transport which persisted through the first 48 h of hospital care. Deep sedation during transport was not correlated with deep sedation in the hospital within the first 48 h (OR 2.41; 95% CI, 0.48-12.02). There was no correlation with hospital length of stay, ICU length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, or hospital mortality. Deep sedation during transport was not correlated with delirium or coma within the first 48 h of hospitalization. There was a negligible correlation between final transport RASS and initial hospital RASS which did not differ based on the lapsed time from handoff (<1 h corr. coeff. 0.23; ≥1 h corr. coeff. 0.25). Conclusions: Deep sedation was observed during critical care transport in this cohort and was not correlated with deep sedation during the first 48 h of hospitalization. The transition of care between the transport team and the hospital team may be an opportunity to disrupt therapeutic momentum and re-evaluate sedation decisions.


Background HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120 causes cellular activation resulting in anergy, apoptosis, proinflammatory cytokine production, and through an unknown mechanism, enhanced HIV replication. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe that the signals which promote apoptosis are also responsible for the enhanced HIV replication. Specifically, we demonstrate that the caspase 8 cleavage fragment Caspase8p43, activates p50/p65 Nuclear Factor κB (NF-κB), in a manner which is inhibited by dominant negative IκBα. This caspase 8 dependent NF-κB activation occurs following stimulation with gp120, TNF, or CD3/CD28 crosslinking, but these treatments do not activate NF-κB in cells deficient in caspase 8. The Casp8p43 cleavage fragment also transactivates the HIV LTR through NF-κB, and the absence of caspase 8 following HIV infection greatly inhibits HIV replication. Conclusion/Significance Gp120 induced caspase 8 dependent NF-κB activation is a novel pathway of HIV replication which increases understanding of the biology of T-cell death, as well as having implications for understanding treatment and prevention of HIV infection.


SUMMARY: Some factors affecting induction and repression of steroid-transforming enzymes were studied in single and mixed cultures of Arthrobacter simplex, Nocardia restrictus and Streptomyces roseochromogenes. In single or mixed cultures induction and repression of 1-dehydrogenase, 16α-hydroxylase, and 20-ketoreductase were found to be dependent on the type of steroid substrate and the composition of the medium. In mixed cultures patterns of growth as well as enzyme induction and repression were altered by culture interaction. An observation having practical significance was that 16α-hydroxylation and 1-dehydrogenation of 9α-fluorohydrocortisone to triamcinolone could be done, in a single fermentation operation, by a mixed culture of A. simplex and S. roseochromogenes. The practicality of this transformation derives from the fact that 20-ketoreductase, an enzyme responsible for the production of undesirable by-products in cultures of A. simplex, was completely repressed in the mixed culture system. Although growth of A. simplex was suppressed by metabolites of S. roseochromogenes, conversion of steroids with this mixed culture was reproducible and controllable within a wide range of ratios of organisms in the starting mixtures.


SummaryScala in Depth is a unique new book designed to help you integrate Scala effectively into your development process. By presenting the emerging best practices and designs from the Scala community, it guides you through dozens of powerful techniques example by example. About the BookScala is a powerful JVM language that blends the functional and OO programming models. You'll have no trouble getting introductions to Scala in books or online, but it's hard to find great examples and insights from experienced practitioners. You'll find them in Scala in Depth.There's little heavy-handed theory herejust dozens of crisp, practical techniques for coding in Scala. Written for readers who know Java, Scala, or another OO language. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book. What's InsideConcise, expressive, and readable code style How to integrate Scala into your existing Java projects Scala's 2.8.0 collections API How to use actors for concurrent programming Mastering the Scala type system Scala's OO featurestype member inheritance, multiple inheritance, and composition Functional concepts and patternsimmutability, applicative functors, and monads================================================== Table of ContentsScalaa blended language The core rules Modicum of stylecoding conventions Utilizing object orientation Using implicits to write expressive code The type system Using implicits and types together Using the right collection Actors Integrating Scala with Java Patterns in functional programming


The study examines the treatment and protection provided to deserters under human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law in international armed conflicts. These questions are discussed in view of the legal duties of soldiers and their criminal responsibility under international law.


In this paper we focus on the problem of using a genetic algorithm for model selection within a Bayesian framework. We propose to reduce the model selection problem to a search problem solved using evolutionary computation to explore a posterior distribution over the model space. As a case study, we introduce ELeaRNT (Evolutionary Learning of Rich Neural Network Topologies), a genetic algorithm which evolves a particular class of models, namely, Rich Neural Networks (RNN), in order to find an optimal domain-specific non-linear function approximator with a good generalization capability. In order to evolve this kind of neural networks, ELeaRNT uses a Bayesian fitness function. The experimental results prove that ELeaRNT using a Bayesian fitness function finds, in a completely automated way, networks well-matched to the analysed problem, with acceptable complexity.


Windows 98 is upon us like the plague. Consumers are poking at their Web browsers to download copies of Microsoft's cash cow as Intel and Microsoft rake in the profits from hardware and software upgrades. It is techno-treadmill time once again. In the excitement we forget one small detail: these may be damaged goods. Microsoft has quietly downplayed its damaged goods. The author discusses some examples of damaged software goods.


Background: The high prevalence of hypertension and concomitant increase in the risk of its related disease makes it an important health concern all over the world. Hypertension is one of the 5 global leading causes of mortality in the world. Little is known about the current prevalence of hypertension in Iran, however. This systematic review aimed to investigate the current prevalence of hypertension in Iran. Methods: A systematic review of hypertension was conducted using international databases, including Medline (PubMed) and Science Direct (Scopus), and Persian scientific databases. The searched keywords were "hypertension", "raised blood pressure", "prevalence", and "Iran". All original articles in English published from 1980 to 2012 were included. After data extraction, heterogeneity between studies and publication bias was assessed and effect size was pooled by the random effect model. Results: Forty-two studies with 402 282 subjects were included. The estimated prevalence of hypertension varied all around Iran (I2 = 99%). The overall pooled prevalence of hypertension was 22% (95%CI: 20.2 - 23.8). The prevalence of hypertension was 23.6% (95%CI: 21.1 - 26.1) in men and 23.5% (95%CI: 20.2 - 23.8) in women. In urban areas, the prevalence of hypertension was 22.1% (95%CI: 19.4 - 24.7). Ten studies investigated the prevalence of hypertension in rural areas and according to the random effect model, the prevalence of hypertension in rural areas was 18.6% (95%CI: 13.6 - 23.6). Nonsignificant publication bias was found in this review (p value = 0.18). In our meta-regression analysis, only mean age and study quality were associated with significant variability. Conclusion: According to this study, hypertension is one of the most common health problems in Iran. Around one-quarter of the adult population is hypertensive and its prevalence increases by aging. Timely and appropriate public health strategies are essential for the improvement of the screening, treatment, and control of hypertension.


Modeling traffic generated by Internet based multiplayer computer games has attracted a great deal of attention in the past few years. In part this has been driven by a need to simulate the network impact of highly interactive online games such as the first person shooter (FPS). Packet size distributions and autocorrelation models are important elements in the creation of realistic traffic generators for network simulators. In this paper we present a simple technique for constructing Markov chains that model autocorrelated packet length for N-player FPS games based on traffic traces of of 2- player games. This enables us to synthesize the time sequence of the length of server to client traffic as well as its probability distribution. We illustrate the likely generality of our approach using data from seven FPS games that have been popular over the past nine years: half-life, half-life counterstrike, half-life 2, half-life 2 counterstrike, quake III arena, quake 4 and Wolfenstein enemy territory.


The primary objective of the current study was to determine the effect of moderate normobaric hypoxia exposure during constant load cycling on post-exercise energy metabolism recorded in normoxia. Indirect calorimetry was used to examine whole body substrate oxidation before, during, 40–60 min post, and 22 h after performing 60 min of cycling exercise at two different fractions of inspired oxygen (FIO2): (i) FIO2 = 0.2091 (normoxia) and (ii) FIO2 = 0.15 (hypoxia). Seven active healthy male participants (26 ± 4 years of age) completed both experimental trials in randomized order with a 7-day washout period to avoid carryover effects between conditions. Resting energy expenditure was initially elevated following cycling exercise in normoxia and hypoxia (Δ 0.14 ± 0.05, kcal min−1, p = 0.037; Δ 0.19 ± 0.03 kcal min−1, p < 0.001, respectively), but returned to baseline levels the next morning in both conditions. Although, the same absolute workload was used in both environmental conditions (157 ± 10 W), a shift in resting substrate oxidation occurred after exercise performed in hypoxia while post-exercise measurements were similar to baseline after cycling exercise in normoxia. The additional metabolic stress of hypoxia exposure was sufficient to increase the rate of lipid oxidation (Δ 42 ± 11 mg min−1, p = 0.019) and tended to suppress carbohydrate oxidation (Δ −55 ± 26 mg min−1, p = 0.076) 40–60 min post-exercise. This shift in substrate oxidation persisted the next morning, where lipid oxidation remained elevated (Δ 9 ± 3 mg min−1, p = 0.0357) and carbohydrate oxidation was suppressed (Δ −22 ± 6 mg min−1, p = 0.019). In conclusion, prior exercise performed under moderate normobaric hypoxia alters post-exercise energy metabolism. This is an important consideration when evaluating the metabolic consequences of hypoxia exposure during prolonged exercise, and future studies should evaluate its role in the beneficial effects of intermittent hypoxia training observed in persons with obesity and insulin resistance.


Muslim ethics is cautiously engaging developments in neuroscience. In their encounters with developments in neuroscience such as brain death and func-tional magnetic resonance imaging procedures, Muslim ethicists might be on the cusp of spirited debates. Science and religion perform different kinds of work and ought not to be conflated. Cultural translation is central to negotiating the complex life worlds of religious communities, Muslims included. Cultural translation involves lived encounters with modernity and its byproduct, modern science. Serious ethical debate requires more than just a mere instrumental encounter with science. A robust Muslim approach to neuroethics might require an emulsion of religion and neuroscience, thought and body, and body and soul. Yet one must anticipate that Muslim debates in neuroethics will be inflected with Muslim values, symbols and the discrete faith perspectives of this tradition with meanings that are specific to people who share this worldview and their concerns.


The intensive production of swine in Iowa (28.4 % of the U.S.A production) inevitably results in high amounts of piggery waste including animal carcasses. Composting is an environmentally sound and relatively inexpensive method to dispose swine mortalities especially when the carcasses are diseased. Measurement of VOC emissions is an alternative to test progress and completion of the process. In this study, diseased swine mortalities are composted in summer conditions of Central Iowa. Corn silage, oat straw and corn stalks are used as envelope materials. Once a week, air samples are collected from the center of test units and sampled with 85 µm Carboxen/ polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) - mass spectrometry (MS). The objective of the study is to investigate the potential usage of VOCs as indicators of swine mortality degradation. It is found that nitrogen and sulfur containing compounds can be used as indicators of the composting process. Sulfur-containing compounds are detected from all test units. Nitrogen-containing compounds are detected from only corn silage test units. It is concluded that carcass degradation is incomplete in all of the test units. Carcass degradation in corn stalks and oat straw test units is better than corn silage test units. These results are supported with respiration rate results. Respiration rates of the remaining swine carcasses are found to be between 5-7 mg CO2-C g VS-1d-1 and swine carcasses are categorized as moderately unstable composts.


Radiative transfer modelling of high resolution infrared (or microwave) spectra still represents a major challenge for the processing of atmospheric remote sensing data despite significant advances in the numerical techniques utilized in line-by-line modelling by, e.g., optimized Voigt function algorithms or multigrid approaches. Special purpose computing hardware such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can be used to cope with the dramatic increase of data quality and quantity. Utilizing a highly optimized implementation of an uniform rational function approximation of the Voigt function, the molecular absorption cross section computation-representing the most compute intensive part of radiative transfer codes-has been realized on FPGA. Design and implementation of the FPGA coprocessor is presented along with first performance tests and an outlook for the ongoing further development.


Action recognition is one of the most active research fields in computer vision. In this paper, we propose a novel method for classifying human actions in a series of image sequences containing certain actions. Human action in image sequences can be recognized by a time-varying contour of human body. We first extract shape context of each contour to form the feature space. Then the dominant sets approach is used for feature clustering and classification to obtain the labeled sequences. Finally, we use a smoothing algorithm upon the labeled sequences to recognize human actions. The proposed dominant sets-based approach has been tested in comparison to three classical methods: K-means, mean shift, and fuzzy-C-mean. Experimental results demonstrate that the dominant sets-based approach achieves the best recognition performance. Moreover, our method is robust to non-rigid deformations, significant scale changes, high action irregularities, and low quality video.


A large portion of the software side of our information technology infrastructure, including web search, email, social media, transportation information, and much more, is provided "free" to the end users, although the corporations that provide this are often enormously profitable. The business model involves customized advertising and behavior manipulation, powered by intensive gathering and cross-correlation of personal information. Significant other parts of our IT infrastructure use fees-for-service but still involve intensive information gathering and behavior manipulation. There are significant indirect costs of these business models, including loss of privacy, supporting surveillance by both corporations and the state, automated manipulations of behavior, undermining the democratic process, and consumerism with its attendant environmental costs. In a recent book, Shoshana Zuboff terms this "surveillance capitalism." Our primary focus in this essay is how we could develop new models for providing these services. We describe some intermediate steps toward those models: education, regulation, and resistance. Following that, we discuss a partial solution, involving for-profit corporations that provide these services without tracking personal information. Finally, we describe desired characteristics for more comprehensive solutions, and outline a range of such solutions for different portions of the IT infrastructure that more truly return control to the end users. A common feature of several is the use of highly decentralized storage of information (either on the end user's own personal devices or on small servers), a modular architecture and interface to allow for customization of what information is to be shared, and a distributed ledger mechanism for authentication.


First Memory (1980) will be re-mounted in its original medium of slide-tape with two screens.

'Slide-tape' examines an overlooked art practice in a time-based media that was used largely by women artists during the 1980s. The main outcome of the project will be group exhibition to launch in Birmingham and tour to London, with discussion events programmed in Birmingham and London and supported by a substantial publication. Through this project, we aim to place the radical work of the 1980s at the centre of recent British art history, rather than at its margins.

Curated and researched by Mary White with participating artists Black Audio Film Collective, Nina Danino, Cordelia Swann, (and 3 others to be confirmed)

The show will re-mount invited original works in their original medium.

There will also be a programme of screened films by Lis Rhodes, Annabel Nicholson, Peter Gidal and others to be confirmed.


WeCurate is a multiuser museum interactive system that allows users to collaboratively create a virtual exhibition from a cultural image archive. WeCurate provides a synchronised image browser across multiple devices to enable a group of users to work together to curate a collection of images, through negotiation and collective decision making. This paper reports on the findings of a five day trial of WeCurate when it was installed at a major London museum. This paper focuses exclusively on the scope and characteristics of the social experience afforded through the collaborative use of the system.


A first approach to the palaeoenvironmental significance of the Valsalada (Central Ebro basin) alluvial
record, Upper Pleistocene-Holocene in age, is presented starting from geomorhological, sedimentological
and radiocarbon data. This morphosedimentary sequence is made up by three evolutionary phases: 1)
lacustrine stage (37,050±50 BP) under cool and humid conditions, 2) alluvial stage (from 10,550±80 BP
to 3,225±50 BP) related to cold and wet climate and 3) colluvial fans stage (1,640±50 BP) during arid
climate with human action influence. The Valsalada alluvial system shows a singular morphosedimentary
evolution strongly influenced by climatic changes bearing variations in water dischar ges and hydrological
availability in surrounding saline wetlands.


This paper discusses section 8 of the South African Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill, a section which deals with the crime of cyberfraud. It argues that there are certain fraudulent acts which have been presented incorrectly as examples of cyberfraud when they are classified better as ordinary offline fraud. The mere presence of an internet element in the commission of a fraud crime is not enough to elevate the crime to cyberfraud status. Therefore, for an act to be called a cyberfraud crime, it must meet the minimum requirement of being a computer-dependent crime rather than being merely a computer-enabled crime.


The authors present the analysis of their twelve-year experience in staged treatment of patients with combined pathology using coronary balloon angioplasty (CBA). CBA was performed in 83 patients (mean age 61.7 +/- 9.0 years) prior to heart valve replacement. Mean functional class according to New York Heart Association (NYHA) was 3.3 +/- 0.5. Thirty-one (37.3%) patients displayed signs of circulatory decompensation. Nine (10.8%) patients had had myocardial infarction. Thirteen (15.6%) patients had been operated on for valvular heart disease. The authors present their own method of staged treatment of combined pathology, describe and substantiate a regimen of therapy with desaggregants, the timing of the second stage of treatment, and post-operative therapy with desaggregants. In-hospital lethality was 8.4%, which was lower than the lethality of combined surgery (14.5%). Actual three-year survival rate was totally comparable to that of patients who had undergone a combined surgery (87.8% and 88%, respectively). The method of two-staged treatment of patients with combined (valvular plus coronary) pathology allows for a significant improvement in their surgical treatment, and deserves further study and clinical application.


The automatic generation of flow path is the key and most difficult task in Hydraulic Manifold Blocks (HMB) design. This paper divides the HMB layout space into grids, and sets the HMB boundaries and existing flow paths to obstacles, and the paths generated using maze algorithm are regarded as the initial population of genetic algorithm. The optimal path with the shortest path and least turnings can be obtained using genetic algorithm. The ports of flow path can be connected after the generation of technical holes based on the blind holes. The design parameters of holes, such as starting point coordinates, orientations and depths, can be obtained through a series of algorithms, and then drive the secondary development system HMBDesigner based on SolidWorks to generate three-dimensional solid model. This paper also discusses the generation method of multi-port flow path and multiple flow paths.


This Guide is designed to provide a general orientation/introduction to research in Anthropology, especially for undergraduate students at UCSD who are new to Anthropology research.


The efficacy and safety of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have been established, yet widespread negative public attitudes towards the procedure remain. Little research has been carried out into the attitudes towards and knowledge of ECT among mental health staff of different disciplines. Method: Two hundred and sixty-eight staff from four mental health disciplines (psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and social workers) were sent the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT (QuAKE) and asked about demographic details. Attitudes and knowledge were compared by discipline and the results analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The response rate was 74% ( n =198). The questionnaire revealed significant differences in attitudes to and knowledge of the therapy between the four disciplines, with psychiatrists being most favourably disposed and most knowledgeable, followed by nurses, social workers and psychologists. The attitudes scale was shown to have good internal consistency and split-half reliability. Conclusion: Discipline is an accurate predictor of attitudes towards ECT. There is a need for awareness of differences of opinion towards the treatment in multidisciplinary teams, as well as for better education about ECT for all members of the clinical team.


Abstract We developed an index of biotic integrity (IBI) based on crayfish, fish, and amphibian assemblages to assess vernal ponds and palustrine wetland habitats of less than 5 ha along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. We found that the modified IBI based on three crayfish, twelve fish, and seven amphibian species collected during our surveys provided a more complete assessment than one based on any single taxonomic group. The new scoring criteria included the number of amphibian and fish species, number of benthic species, percent of individuals as pioneer species, percent of individuals as exotic species and percent of individuals with complex reproductive modes for metrics developed for larger palustrine wetlands. Low-end scoring procedures were not required; however, species composition metrics that did not possess the specified attribute received a '0' score rather than a '1'. Correlation coefficients suggest that the reference conditions developed during this study of IBI metrics are able to differentiate high-quality biological assemblages from disturbance gradients that lowered biological integrity in small palustrine wetlands and vernal ponds. We found that the distribution of the index scores for Miller Woods was skewed to the low end of biological integrity with increased distance from Lake Michigan and proximity to edges.


It is well known that hard coatings can extend the lifetime of production tools in many industrial applications significantly [1]. Higher cutting speeds, dry cutting or a better quality of machined surface can present the typical benefits of the protective surfaces so hard coatings receive a great interest from industrial and research organizations. Among the most important parameters of the coatings belong properties such as resistance to oxidation, thermal and abrasion, and good adhesion and tribological properties. The hard coatings based on (Tix,Al1-x)N prevails with unique properties belong to the most used coatings today. These coatings are deposited by PVD technology using either arc technologies or magnetron sputtering systems. New nanocomposite coatings (Ti,Al)N and (Ti0.4,Al0.6)N were tested in dry and wet cooling conditions and this paper deals with material analyses of the coating, testing of the cutting performance for a grooving technology in hardened low-alloyed steel.


This model proposes a minimally constructed replicating protocell that exploits only a positive, a negative and a neutral amino acid to build membranes, genes and ion channels. This transition from chemical to biological evolution would result from a charged peptide that can function as a template to fuse peptide fragments, and act as a membrane gate. The nucleic genetic code may have originated as a single base codon that recognized three types of amino acid residue. A two base codon with three base types could code for nine types of residue. An increase to four base types would produce 16 residue possibilities. The modern code now utilizes a three base codon and four base types to yield 20 types of amino acid. tRNA synthetases and the genetic code appear to be linked together by mutual evolution. The evolving transition to a nucleic code would support a greater variety of amino acids and proteins, and thus complete the creation of life.


Substantial experimental datasets defining the subcellular location of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) proteins have been reported in the literature in the form of organelle proteomes built from mass spectrometry data (approximately 2,500 proteins). Subcellular location for specific proteins has also been published based on imaging of chimeric fluorescent fusion proteins in intact cells (approximately 900 proteins). Further, the more diverse history of biochemical determination of subcellular location is stored in the entries of the Swiss-Prot database for the products of many Arabidopsis genes (approximately 1,800 proteins). Combined with the range of bioinformatic targeting prediction tools and comparative genomic analysis, these experimental datasets provide a powerful basis for defining the final location of proteins within the wide variety of subcellular structures present inside Arabidopsis cells. We have analyzed these published experimental and prediction data to answer a range of substantial questions facing researchers about the veracity of these approaches to determining protein location and their interrelatedness. We have merged these data to form the subcellular location database for Arabidopsis proteins (SUBA), providing an integrated understanding of protein location, encompassing the plastid, mitochondrion, peroxisome, nucleus, plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, vacuole, Golgi, cytoskeleton structures, and cytosol (www.suba.bcs.uwa.edu.au). This includes data on more than 4,400 nonredundant Arabidopsis protein sequences. We also provide researchers with an online resource that may be used to query protein sets or protein families and determine whether predicted or experimental location data exist; to analyze the nature of contamination between published proteome sets; and/or for building theoretical subcellular proteomes in Arabidopsis using the latest experimental data.


Abstract Introduction. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the most common pediatric urologic abnormality and since it can predispose to urinary tract infection and resultant kidney scar it is an important issue in pediatric nephrourology. Methods. A retrospective chart review and follow-up of 958 patients with primary VUR was performed in the Children's Medical Center, Tehran, Iran. Children with primary vesicoureteral reflux were included in the study and these parameters were studied: age, sex, clinical presentation, VUR grade, sonographic findings, DMSA changes, treatment modality (medical, surgical or endoscopic) and response to treatment, hypertension (presence/absence), urinary tract infection recurrence and development of new kidney scars in patients under medical treatment. Results. VUR was more prevalent in girls. Sonography was unable to detect VUR in many cases. Presence of renal scars was strongly associated with degree of reflux. Medical management was effective in a substantial percentage of patients and they experienced full resolution of reflux. This was especially true for lower degrees of VUR. 17.6% of patients developed new kidney scars on followup which was associated with higher degrees of VUR. Hypertension and breakthrough urinary tract infection was an uncommon finding in our patients. Conclusion. Medical management, which means using prophylactic antibiotics for prevention of urinary tract infection, is effective in many cases of VUR especially in cases with lower degrees of VUR. Surgical and endoscopic procedures must be reserved for patients with higher degrees of VUR unresponsive to conservative management or in whom new scars may develop.


Ten patients (5 males and 5 females) with gastroschisis were treated in Alor Setar Hospital from January 1989 to December 1993. Two patients had associated congenital anomalies. Primary closure was possible in 9 patient while the other patient had stage closure. All patients received prophylactic antibiotics, 9 patients were ventilated electively in the post-operative period and 7 patients received parenteral nutrition. There were 9 survivors. Complications especially wound infection and breakdown were seen in 7 patients. The average hospital stay was 36 days.


OBJECTIVE
To review the mechanisms of anti-cancer activity of nelfinavir and other protein inhibitors (PIs) based on evidences reported in the published literature.

METHODS
We extensively reviewed the literature concerning nelfinavir (NFV) as an off target anti-cancer drug and other PIs. A classification of PIs based on anti-cancer mode of action was proposed. Controversies regarding nelfinavir mode of action were also addressed.

CONCLUSIONS
The two main mechanisms involved in anti-cancer activity are endoplasmic reticulum stress-unfolded protein response pathway and Akt inhibition. However there are many other effects, partially dependent and independent of those mentioned, that may be useful in cancer treatment, including MMP-9 and MMP-2 inhibition, down-regulation of CDK-2, VEGF, bFGF, NF-kB, STAT-3, HIF-1 alfa, IGF, EGFR, survivin, BCRP, androgen receptor, proteasome, fatty acid synthase (FAS), decrease in cellular ATP concentration and upregulation of TRAIL receptor DR5, Bax, increased radiosensitivity, and autophagy. The end result of all these effects is slower growth, decreased angiogenesis, decreased invasion and increased apoptosis, which means reduced proliferation and increased cancer cells death. PIs may be classified according to their anticancer activity at clinically achievable doses, in AKT inhibitors, ER stressors and Akt inhibitors/ER stressors. Beyond the phase I trials that have been recently completed, adequately powered and well-designed clinical trials are needed in the various cancer type settings, and specific trials where NFV is tested in association with other known anti-cancer pharmaceuticals should be sought, in order to find an appropriate place for NFV in cancer treatment. The analysis of controversies on the molecular mechanisms of NFV hints to the possibility that NFV works in a different way in tumor cells and in hepatocytes and adipocytes.


The alkali amphiboles glaucophane and crossite have been identified in metabasic lenses within quartzitic and calcareous schists and calcite marble (Pieske limestone) in the uppermost part of the Seve Nappes (Upper Allochthon), southern Norrbotten, Sweden. During regional prograde metamorphism, these metabasites transforrned from epidote amphibolite (M1) to quartz-zoisite eclogite (M2a); metamorphic conditions of eclogite forrnation are estimated to be T= 610±90°C and P m;n = 14.9 ± 1.5kb, i.e. similar to the conditions reported for eclogites in the Eastern Seve Belt in the Vasterbotten Caledonides further south. Retrogression of the eclogites occurred in two stages along a steep P-T trajectory and under hydrous conditions. An early stage (M2b), preceded by deformation of the eclogite assemblage, is characterized by the growth of sodic-calcic amphibole (barroisite) porphyroblasts; the glaucophane and crossite are also inferred to have grown during this stage. Subsequent retrogression (M3) is characterized by the onset of greenschist facies conditions. The occurrence of glaucophane and crossite confirms the presence of high-pressure metamorphism under conditions of a low geotherrnal gradient in the rocks forming the outermost part of the Baltoscandian miogeocline.


The rapid technological advances of positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) have introduced many new possibilities and questions as to how best to utilize and perform 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) PET-CT for maximum clinical benefit. The focus of this discussion is the tailoring of PET-CT protocols, emphasizing the incorporation of optimized (diagnostic) CT techniques, for adult thoracic oncologic indications. Many of the protocol strategies described, particularly those involving breath-hold and contrast-enhanced CT, are based on the author's experience in a busy private practice PET-CT center, prior to a recent transition to an academic practice.


We investigate the propagation, growth, and decay of fast magnetosonic waves in the Earth's magnetosphere which are believed to contribute to proton heating up to energies of a few hundred eV near the magnetic equator. We construct a model of the proton and electron distribution functions from spacecraft data and use the HOTRAY code to calculate the path-integrated growth and decay of the waves over a range of L shells from L = 2 to L = 7. Instability calculations show that the waves are excited at very large angles of propagation with respect to the magnetic field, ψ ≈ 89°, at the harmonics of the proton gyrofrequency ΩH+ up to the lower hybrid resonance frequency ωLHR by a proton ring distribution at energies of the order of 10 keV. As a "rule of thumb", we find that growth is possible for ω > 30ΩH+ when the ring velocity exceeds the Alfven speed vR > vA, and for ω 2vA. For propagation in the meridian plane, waves generated just outside the plasmapause grow with large amplification as they propagate away from the Earth but eventually lose energy to plasma sheet electrons at energies of a few keV by Landau damping. The waves grow to large amplification at frequencies just below ωLHR. For inward propagation we find that waves generated just outside the plasmapause can propagate to L ≈ 2 with very little attenuation, suggesting that waves observed well inside the plasmasphere could originate from a source region just outside the plasmapause. Strong wave growth only occurs for large angles of propagation, and thus the waves are confined to within a few degrees of the magnetic equator. Waves generated near geostationary orbit and which propagate toward the Earth are absorbed by Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance when they propagate into a region where vR < vA. Cyclotron resonant absorption causes pitch angle scattering and heating transverse to the ambient magnetic field. The amount of absorption, and hence transverse proton heating, increases significantly as the thermal proton temperature is increased up to 100 eV, suggesting a feedback process. Ray tracing shows that transverse heating of the thermal proton distribution is most likely to occur just outside the plasmapause where vA is large. Since proton ring distributions are formed during magnetic storms at ring current energies, we suggest that fast magnetosonic waves provide an additional energy loss process for ring current decay.


Introduction Endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke has evolved greatly in recent years and its benefits have been analyzed in several recent publications. The advancement of technology has allowed the development of new large bore thrombectomy catheters that provide safe intracranial navigation and efficient aspiration. We report an initial experience with the ACE and ACE64 aspiration thrombectomy catheters using the direct aspiration first pass technique in large proximal arterial occlusions. Material and methods We conducted a retrospective case series analysis of patients with acute ischemic stroke treated endovascularly with the ACE/ACE64 reperfusion catheter. We reviewed all patients treated in our institution with this catheter by first intention since the catheter has been available. Baseline and procedural characteristics were collected and analyzed. Results From 1st April 2014 when the 5ACE catheter became available until now, we have treated 55 strokes endovascularly with the ACE/ACE64 reperfusion catheters. 59% of patients received IV rtPA prior to endovascular treatment, while the remaining 41% did not due to IV therapy contraindication. Of these patients 36 (65.4%) were treated with aspiration only, 17 (31%) with aspiration and stent retriever and 2 (3.6%) with aspiration associated with angioplasty and stent; the latter two cases involved a patient with a carotid artery tandem lesion and another patient with a basilar artery thrombosis. There were no technical complications, but two asymptomatic perforations occurred. Recanalization of the artery (TICI 2b / 3) was achieved in 96.4% of the cases, which was not possible in 2 patients (3.6%). The median time from symptom onset to recanalization was 5 hrs 26 min and the mean time from puncture to recanalization was 57 min. To date, there are 3-month reviews available for 39 patients, of whom 64% present good functional outcome of mRS ≤2. Conclusion In our initial experience, the ACE/ACE64 reperfusion catheters provide a safe and effective tool for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke using direct aspiration, in which we were able to recanalize (TICI 2B/3) 96.4% of cases, achieving good clinical results. Disclosures P. Navia: None. J. Masso: None. J. Larrea: None. E. Pardo: None.


Soda-based glass samples were fabricated in a laboratory scale using quartz sands that was a by-product of feldspar floatation in Tak Province, northern Thailand, and 25-wt% commercial-grade Na2CO3 as the main compositions. Fe2O3 of 0.1 to 10.0 wt% concentrations was doped into the glass mixture. Well-mixed and dried powders were melted in a ceramic crucible for 6 h at 1250°C using an electric furnace. Transparent and bubble-free glass samples were obtained as results. It was found that Fe2O3 dopant turned the otherwise colorless glass to dark brown. Dielectric property and physical properties, such as, color, specific gravity, and refractive index of the glass samples were studied. The samples' dielectric constant, specific gravity, and refractive index increased with increasing Fe2O3 doping concentration. UV-VIS-NIR and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectra were measured and discussed.


Abstract Low, but non‐freezing, temperatures have negative effects on plant growth and development. Despite some molecular signalling pathways being known, the mechanisms causing different responses among genotypes are still poorly understood. Photosynthesis is one of the processes that are affected by low temperatures. Using an automated phenotyping platform for chlorophyll fluorescence imaging the steady state quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) electron transport (ΦPSII) was measured and used to quantify the effect of moderately low temperature on a population of Arabidopsis thaliana natural accessions. Observations were made over the course of several weeks in standard and low temperature conditions and a strong decrease in ΦPSII upon the cold treatment was found. A genome wide association study identified several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that are associated with changes in ΦPSII in low temperature. One candidate for a cold specific QTL was validated with a mutant analysis to be one of the genes that is likely involved in the PSII response to the cold treatment. The gene encodes the PSII associated protein PSB27 which has already been implicated in the adaptation to fluctuating light.


Auxin response factors (ARFs) have long been a research focus and represent a class of key regulators of plant growth and development. Previous studies focusing genes from limited number of species were unable to uncover the evolutionary trajectory of this family. Here, more than 3,500 ARFs collected from plant genomes and transcriptomes covering major streptophyte lineages were used to reconstruct the broad-scale family phylogeny, where the early origin and diversification of ARF in charophytes was delineated. Based on the family phylogeny, we proposed a unified six-group classification system for angiosperm ARFs. Phylogenomic synteny network analyses revealed the deeply conserved genomic syntenies within each of the six ARF groups and the interlocking syntenic relationships connecting distinct groups. Recurrent duplication events, such as those that occurred in seed plant, angiosperms, core eudicots and grasses contributed the expansion of ARF genes which facilitated functional diversification. Ancestral transposition activities in important plant families, including crucifers, legumes and grasses, were unveiled by synteny network analyses. Ancestral gene duplications along with transpositions have profound evolutionary significance which may have accelerated the functional diversification process of paralogues. Our study provides insights into the evolution of ARFs which will enhance our current understandings for this important transcription factor family.


Radiomics is a new frontier of medicine based on the extraction of quantitative data from radiological images which can not be seen by radiologist's naked eye and on the use of these data for the creation of clinical decision support systems. The long-term goal of radiomics is to improve the non-invasive diagnosis of focal and diffuse diseases of different organs by understanding links between extracted quantitative imaging data and the underlying molecular and pathological characteristics of lesions. In the last decade, several studies have highlighted the enormous potential of radiomics in both tumoral and non-tumoral diseases of many organs and systems including brain, lung, breast, gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. The enormous potential of radiomics needs to be pursued with the methodological rigor of scientific research and by integrating radiological data with other medical disciplines, in order to improve personalized patient management.


We explore solution generalizability, bloat, and effective length as examples of software quality issues and measurements that are useful in the analysis of genetic programming (GP) solution programs. The total program size of GP solution programs can be partitioned into effective program size and several types of excess code for which, following Angeline, we use the term "bloat" (P.J. Angeline, 1998). We define several types of bloat: local, global, and representational. We use a cultural algorithm tool called the Metrics Apprentice to explore the relationships between the generalizability of the programmed solution, program size, and the effect of three GP processes purported to reduce bloat.


In Nebraska, a large number (>200) of shallow sand‐point and cased wells completed in coarse alluvial sediments along rivers and lakes still are used to obtain drinking water for human consumption, even though construction of sand‐point wells for consumptive uses has been banned since 1987. The quality of water from shallow domestic wells potentially vulnerable to seepage from septic systems was evaluated by analyzing for the presence of tracers and multiple isotopes. Samples were collected from 26 sand‐point and perforated, cased domestic wells and were analyzed for bacteria, coliphages, nitrogen species, nitrogen and boron isotopes, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), prescription and nonprescription drugs, or organic waste water contaminants. At least 13 of the 26 domestic well samples showed some evidence of septic system effects based on the results of several tracers including DOC, coliphages, NH4+, NO3−, N2, δ15N[NO3−] and boron isotopes, and antibiotics and other drugs. Sand‐point wells within 30 m of a septic system and <14 m deep in a shallow, thin aquifer had the most tracers detected and the highest values, indicating the greatest vulnerability to contamination from septic waste.


Coral reefs face an uncertain future and may not recover naturally from anthropogenic climate change. Coral restoration is needed to rehabilitate degraded reefs and sustain biodiversity. There is a need for baseline data on global reef distribution, composition and condition to provide targets for conservation and restoration. Remote sensing can address this issue and is currently underutilized in reef research and restoration. This synthesis integrates current capabilities of remote sensing with key reef restoration criteria to facilitate coral restoration success. Development of a spectral database for corals, linking habitat type and extent with predator abundance, and identification of species-specific acoustic signatures are needed to drive forward the use of remote sensing in reef restoration design and monitoring. Reciprocally, reef restoration efforts should innovate at ecosystem, regional and global levels using remote sensing, to preserve as much of the coral reef biome as possible with continued ocean-climate change.


This annual series presents basic research on the theory and practice of management and administration. Volume 10 includes both invited contributions and revised versions of papers presented at the 2004 International Conference on Advances in Management, held at Orlando, Florida. This volume exemplifies ICAM's comparative orientation, in its broad scope of management perspectives, in the diverse locations of its research as well as its application, and in its comparisons of findings, methodologies, and operational definitions. The chapters in Part 1, "Knowledge Management, Learning, and Effectiveness," discuss the Effective Knowledge Organization; new frontiers to actionable knowledge; and re-framing and engaging with organizational learning constraints. In Part 2, "Organization Change, Innovation, and Learning," chapters examine the new sciences and Organization Studies, and Exploratory Research on the Effect of Autonomous Learners to Team Learning within Healthcare Systems. In Part 3, "Performance, Social Capital, and Ethics," chapters elaborate on corporate performance cycles; the Marginal Temp Syndrome; the liabilities of social capital with respect to career development, third-party relationships, creativity generation, change, organizational and societal fragmentation, and collective wrongdoings; and ethics and the 2003 Mutual Fund Scandal. In Part 4, "International and Cross-cultural Management," chapters discuss selecting employees for global assignments; rethinking citizenship in public administration, and styles of handling interdepartmental conflict and effectiveness. This volume will be of particular interest to corporate libraries, doctoral students in management and administration, economists, and labor studies specialists.


Broadly described, the social economy refers to a series of initiatives with common values representing explicit social objectives. The roots of social economy organizations predate the neoliberal economy and are integral to the human condition of coming together in mutual support to address challenges that benefit from collective efforts. Drawing on a complexity science approach, this paper analyzes four case studies situated in Northwestern Ontario—blueberry foraging, Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op, Willow Springs Creative Centre and Bearskin Lake First Nations—to demonstrate key features of social economy of food systems. Their unifying feature is a strong focus on local food as a means to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for communities. Their distinct approaches demonstrate the importance of context in the emergence of the social economy of food initiatives. In the discussion section, we explore how these case study initiatives re-spatialize and re-socialize conventional food system approaches.


Based on researches on conventional analytical method of the Rayleigh wave testing data, the wavelet theory is introduced to analyze the data and we find that wavelet components of the Rayleigh wave testing data on the scale of 2-1and 2-2 are high frequency interference, so we omit them. Afterwards, the coherent analysis, phase-different analysis and power spectrum analysis of the smoothing signal on the scale of 2-2 are made to obtain the frequency dispersion curve, which is smoother and more reasonable than that obtained without using wavelet denoising. Besides, the testing data of shear wave is closer to the calculated value. The results indicate that applying wavelet analysis to the disposal of the Rayleigh wave testing data works efficiently.


The positional isomerization of C–C double bonds is a powerful strategy for the interconversion of alkene regioisomers. However, existing methods provide access to thermodynamically more stable isomers from less stable starting materials. Here we report the discovery of a dual catalyst system that promotes contra-thermodynamic positional alkene isomerization under photochemical irradiation, providing access to terminal alkene isomers directly from conjugated, internal alkene starting materials. The utility of the method is demonstrated in the deconjugation of diverse electron rich/poor alkenes and through strategic application to natural product synthesis. Mechanistic studies are consistent with a regiospecific bimolecular homolytic substitution (SH2') mechanism proceeding through an allyl-cobaloxime intermediate.


Aimed at people interested in management and Human Resources in China, this book is a collection of original and researched case studies on a variety of HR issues occurring in Chinese organisations, both privately-owned and part of multi-national enterprises, and how these issues are resolved by management. The impacts of the solutions in the organisations are also discussed. Preceded by a brief review of the Chinese and Western literature on this problem, the case is then presented and concluded by an analysis of the situations and solutions implemented.

 Based on original research, conducted in-the-field

 Provides actual case-studies based on actual organisations

 Integrates a theoretical perspective and analysis of the cases to assist in a broad understanding of the issues discussed


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of aluminum hydroxide/magnesium hydroxide antacid and bismuth subsalicylate on gastric pH in clinically normal horses and to develop guidelines on the use of these agents for treatment of peptic ulcer disease in horses.

DESIGN
Prospective, randomized, controlled trial.

ANIMALS
5 clinically normal adult horses with chronically implanted gastric cannulas.

PROCEDURE
Each horse received all 5 treatments (30 g of aluminum hydroxide/15 g of magnesium hydroxide, 12 g of aluminum hydroxide/6 g of magnesium hydroxide, 10.5 g of bismuth subsalicylate, 26.25 g of bismuth subsalicylate, and 5% methylcellulose control) with only 1 experiment performed each day. Gastric pH was measured via a glass electrode inserted through the gastric cannula for 1 hour before treatment and continued for 2 hours after treatment. Food or water was not given to the horses during the experiment. Measurements of gastric pH obtained during posttreatment hours were compared with pretreatment gastric pH values.

RESULTS
Only a dose of 30 g of aluminum hydroxide/ 15 g of magnesium hydroxide resulted in a significant increase in gastric pH over baseline or control values. Mean pH was 5.2 +/- 0.62 and 4.59 +/- 0.48 for posttreatment hours 1 and 2, respectively.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Oral administration of 30 g of aluminum hydroxide/15 g of magnesium hydroxide to adult horses should result in a mean hourly gastric pH > or = 4.0 for at least 2 hours.


I wished to review the pharmacology and current clinical experience with the combination of methotrexate and sulfasalazine as a management for rheumatoid arthritis. To date, no double blind randomized placebo controlled studies have been reported, though such studies are under way. Published experience is in excess of 100 patients and for as long as 8 years of followup. To date, the combination would appear to be well tolerated, with comparable toxicities to the individual agents taken as monotherapy. Withdrawal flare reports support a positive clinical effect of this combination. The results of ongoing controlled trials are awaited with interest.


An increase of steroid hormones in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) procedures is reducing the success rate in assisted reproductive technology (ART), and this includes the pregnancy rate and/or implantation rate. Research has found that the decrease in the success rate occurred due to the decreased expression of the protein that is needed to prepare the endometrium so that the embryo could attach. The aim of the study was to analyse the changes in E-chaderin expression due to COH and its relations with increased level of steroid hormones as one of the proteins in the endometrium. There were 13 samples of stored biological tissue from Macaca nemestrina endometrial tissue; came from one group of natural cycles as the control group (n = 4) and three groups of stimulated cycles. The first stimulated cycle group was injected by a 30 IU dose of rFSH (n = 2). The second stimulated cycle group was injected by a 50 IU dose of rFSH (n = 4). The third stimulated cycle group was injected by a 70 IU dose of rFSH (n = 3). The expression of E-cadherin was measured by the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique. Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) levels were assessed using ELISA and have already been done. The IHC staining expression of E-cadherin was found in the cytoplasm of glandular epithelium. Immunostaining measurement used the H_SCORE. We found that the expression of E-cadherin within the group was not significantly different (p value: 0.178). Similarly, both the correlation between the estradiol level with E-cadherin and the correlation between the progesterone level with E-cadherin were not significantly different (p value: 0.872 and p value: 0.836). The conclusion is that the level of E-Cadherin expression in the endometrium that were taken in themiddle secretion phase not affected by the dose regimen that given. In addition, the level of expression is not influenced by the increase of serum E2 and P4 levels.


Abstract This pilot study evaluated the effect sizes associated with prerecorded hypnotic interventions provided during the perisurgical period for reducing risk factors associated with chronic postsurgical pain, including acute postsurgical pain, anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing. A total of 25 participants (N = –25) were randomly assigned to receive a hypnotic intervention (n = 8), minimal-effect treatment (n = 8), or treatment as usual (n = 9) during their hospital stay for total knee replacement (TKR). Participants were followed for 6 months after hospital discharge. Results indicate that prerecorded hypnotic intervention exerted medium effects for reducing acute postsurgical pain and large effects for reducing perisurgical anxiety and pain catastrophizing. The findings indicate that a fully powered clinical trial to evaluate the beneficial effects of prerecorded hypnosis to manage pain and psychological distress in patients undergoing TKR is warranted.


IMPORTANCE
Short-term impacts of breakfast consumption on diet quality and cognitive functioning have been reported, but more evidence is needed to draw causal inferences about long-term impacts of school breakfast on indicators of school engagement and academic achievement.

OBJECTIVE
To estimate the impact of a Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) program on School Breakfast Program participation, school attendance, and academic achievement.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This quasi-experimental study included a sample of 446 public elementary schools from a large, urban US school district that served predominantly low-income, racial/ethnic minority students.

INTERVENTIONS
A total of 257 schools (57.6%) implemented a BIC program during the 2012-2013 academic year, whereas 189 (42.4%) did not.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
School- and grade-level data from 2012-2013 and grade-level achievement data from the prior year were collected from school district records across the elementary schools. Hypotheses that a BIC program would improve school breakfast participation at the school level, school attendance at the grade level (kindergarten through sixth grade), and academic achievement at the grade level (second through sixth grades) were tested using propensity score weights to adjust for demographic differences between the BIC and non-BIC schools.

RESULTS
The BIC program was linked with increased breakfast participation during the academic year (F10,414=136.90, P<.001), with mean participation rates of 73.7% in the BIC group vs 42.9% in the non-BIC group. The BIC program was also linked with greater overall school attendance rates (95.5% vs 95.3% in the non-BIC group; F1,2772=8.40, P = .004). When performing attendance analyses in the subset of grade levels for which achievement data were available, results were mostly consistent, although there was a group × time interaction (F10,1891=1.94, P=.04) such that differences between least squares means in the BIC vs non-BIC groups did not reach statistical significance at every month. There were no group differences in standardized test performance in math (57.9% in the BIC group vs 57.4% in the non-BIC group; F1,1890=0.41, P=.52) or reading (44.9% in the BIC group vs 44.7% in the non-BIC group; F1,1890=0.15, P=.70).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Findings add to the evidence that BIC can increase school breakfast participation substantially and suggest that it has the potential to improve overall school attendance rates. Additional research is needed to explore the generalizability of these findings and the potential impacts on achievement for longer periods and on additional outcomes, such as weight status.


Introduction Prior to this project, anaesthetists rarely received systematic feedback on the experience of patients in recovery. This could help to improve perioperative practice. Preliminary audits demonstrated variations in patient temperature, pain and nausea measures. Mapping the perioperative workflow revealed that delays in patient transfer from the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU) was stretching resources and threatening patient experience. We hypothesised that implementing sustained monitoring and feedback of data from perioperative quality indicators using an industrial process control approach would stimulate improvement on key outcomes at individual and system levels. Methods A continuous monitoring and feedback initiative was launched drawing upon improvement science theory and quality improvement methods such as process mapping, iterative development and Statistical Process Control (SPC). Data on core temperature, patient reported pain, nausea and quality of recovery was collected for all elective surgical patients passing through the main surgical suite of a large academic teaching hospital by trained PACU nurses. Monthly reports on ward-transfer times and quality of recovery data were posted in the recovery unit and sent to ward managers to make variations in workflow visible across the care pathway. Personalised monthly reports were developed and distributed to individual consultant anaesthetists to provide detailed longitudinal and normative feedback on performance and details of special cases as an aid to improving use of analgesics and antiemetics, perioperative normothermia and to facilitate personal professional development. A comprehensive parallel evaluation and multiprofessional engagement workstream was undertaken to ensure ownership and acceptability of the initiative. The evaluation used a comprehensive mixed method quasi-experimental design, with a longitudinal qualitative component to capture the experience of users, evaluative surveys at multiple time-points and quantitative analysis using SPC and interrupted time series models to determine impact upon perioperative process and outcome indicators. Results Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the experience of anaesthetists using the feedback demonstrated high perceived value and acceptability of the initiative. A range of critical enablers for this type of intervention were identified from regression analysis, including the local relevance and credibility of the data. Analysis of SPC charts revealed large variation in transfer times between different surgical wards attributable to variations in bed management and staffing practices. Nausea and Pain scores had remained relatively stable at the department level with sub-group analysis revealing variation across individuals, due to case load. Interrupted time series analysis showed a significant increase in the mean temperature of patients arriving in recovery associated with introduction of feedback of temperature data. Discussion This study contributes important learning for both the intervention context and improvement science methods. For clinicians, data feedback that is timely, relevant, credible and acceptable to end users can be used to monitor variations in patient care and support improvement at both the personal and system levels. Findings suggest that the type of data which is often used in hospital governance is too high level for quality improvement purposes and can mask useful information concerning local variation. This project demonstrates the importance of using mixed methods and multiple outcome designs in evaluation of complex improvement interventions, in order to account for context and describe the implementation process alongside intervention outcomes. Declaration of competing interests None.


Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) often suffer from orthostatic hypotension (marked reduction in blood pressure upon assuming an upright posture) and exercise may assist with its treatment by improving cardiovascular health and autonomic regulation. Hybrid exercise (concurrent movement of the arms and legs) promotes enhancements in venous return, ventricular filling, and cardiorespiratory function. However, limited research has evaluated the effects of hybrid exercise on orthostatic tolerance. Accordingly, this study evaluated the effects of arm and hybrid exercise on orthostatic response and on cardiorespiratory function during peak exercise. Additionally, the effects of spinal cord lesion level were examined. Asymptomatic persons with SCI (C4-T6) and ageand gendermatched able-bodied controls participated in four testing days. The first two testing days examined participants' orthostatic tolerance following rest followed by a peak arm cycle or hybrid exercise test (in random order). The final two testing days assessed the acute effects of steady state arm and hybrid exercise on orthostatic response (in random order). There was no significant decrease (p=O.07) in middle cerebral artery blood velocity upon assuming the upright position following a bout of hybrid steady state exercise in participants with SCI (67.2 ± 18.8 to 61.8 ± 14.8 cm s', respectively). Hybrid exercise resulted in significantly (p<O.05) greater cardiorespiratory requirements throughout incremental exercise in comparison to arm ergometry in all groups. The average peak oxygen uptake (across all groups) was 21 ± 9 vs. 19 ± 7 mLkgmin1,for hybrid exercise vs. arm ergometry, respectively. The average peak oxygen uptake (across all modes of exercise) was 24.9 ± 7.9 vs. 15.7 ± 4.2 mLkgmin1,for able-bodied participants vs. participants with SCI, respectively. Furthermore, persons with paraplegia had significantly (p<O.05) higher oxygen uptake than persons with tetraplegia and the average peak oxygen uptake (across all modes of exercise) was 18.5 ± 3.7 vs. 12.9 ± 2.4 mLkg•min1for these groups, respectively. Hybrid exercise improved cardiovascular response to an orthostatic challenge and promoted greater cardiorespiratory response in comparison to arm exercise in persons with Sd. Furthermore, lesion level of SCI affects responses to an orthostatic challenge and peak exercise. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii DEDICATION viii


The aim of this study was to develop a novel injectable hydroxyapatite for bone repair materials. This study was based on the in situ setting properties of calcium phosphate cement (CPC), which properties were improved. The solid phase consisted of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) and dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA). The liquid phase was the weak acidic solution of chitosan. The CPC powder was mixed with the chitosan solution to form a paste that could conform to the bone cavity even for irregularly shaped cavities. All the by-production disappeared by neutralization reaction. The CPC paste could then set in situ to form hydroxyapatite (HA) as the final product. The chemical process of CPC hydration was studied. The process was controlled by dissolution and precipitation chemical reaction. The kinetic model of hydration reaction was established. The effects of preparing conditions, such as powder to liquid ratio and particle size, on setting time and compressive strength were investigated systematically. The optimal condition was that the liquid phase contained 3% chitosan, 5% citric acid and 15% glucose (wt%), powder to liquid ratio was 0.8 g/ml, and powders were respectively ground for 40 hours.


EU electricity liberalisation remains an essential energy reform programme, in scale in any other major region of the world. While other regions of the world have seen major pauses to their energy market reforms (most notably in the United States), the EU in the form of the European Commission, continues to press ahead.  Electricity market power in Albania is in a difficult situation as a consequence of the lack of the adequate home-brew electricity resources and the great dependency from the hydro resources, inadequacy of the interconnections capacity with the neighbouring networks of electricity power, the considerable technical and economic barriers, and the difficult financials. In countries where no "official" power pool has been set up, different kinds of privates' entities, e.g. generators, distributors, traders, large consumers, stock exchanges, system operator etc. or a combination of them, have promoted the creation of PX-s. The idea is that because electricity is a homogeneous product, standardized contracts can be traded on organized marketplaces. Since such an initiative was not forbidden by any law or by the European Directives many project have emerged in response to different motivations. This process in Europe, known as the liberalization process, has had a wide impact on the European electricity industry. Electricity market liberalisation is the opening of the market to competition; the extension of vertical unbundling of transmission and distribution from the generation and retailing; and the introduction of an independent regulator. The focus of this project is an analysis of the role of electricity PX-s in the recently liberalized electricity markets of Europe. In the context of creating "a" competitive electricity market at a European level, the key questions considered are the functioning of these PX-s with respect to electricity characteristics, market design and regulatory framework.  Keywords: Energy,'Placing on the market", 'Eco design'," Power exchange (PX)"


The paper examined the historical underpinnings of the under-development ofrepresentative institutions in Africa. The author noted that notwithstanding its worldwideprevalence, the legislature had been involved in struggles for political power and relevance across political systems. Specifically, he viewed the African parliaments as products of specific historical experiences, notably of colonialism and militarism, that not only stultified their growth and development but also left legacies that continued to constrain their capacity to serve as effective checks on the ever-growing powers of the executive arms of post-independence governments. Accordingly, the legislatures of Africa had not been placed in vantage positions akin to those of their counterparts in the advanced democracies, and their capacities as effective agents of limited government were seriously constrained. In the circumstances, the workings and challenges of representative institutions in Africa had to be understood within the context of the historical forces that shaped and continued to shape their emergence and contemporary relevance. It identifiedpeople-centred constitutional re-engineering, more proactive posture on the part of legislators themselves and capacity-building supports as the irreducible minimum for strengthening the legislatures and creating responsive and citizens-friendly environments for sustainable democracy and good governance in Africa.

 Key words: Legislature, colonialism, military rule, African politics.