Prolonged fluid restriction in rats is accompanied by functional modifications of the terminal part of the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) revealed by a sustained increase in arginine vasopressin (AVP)-independent transepithelial osmotic water permeability (PTE) in vitro. The cellular basis of this adaptation was explored in isolated and perfused terminal IMCDs of Sprague-Dawley rats using video and fluorescence microscopy. Basolateral membrane osmotic water permeability (Posm), transcellular Posm, and PTE were measured in quick sequence in every tubule. They were expressed per unit area of basolateral membrane corrected for infoldings, based on previous stereological studies and assuming no major change in membrane surface area between hydrated and dehydrated animals. Compared with IMCDs of rats with a high water intake, IMCDs of rats deprived of fluid for 36 h displayed a significantly higher basal PTE (24.9 +/- 5.1 vs. 6.1 +/- 0.6 microns/s), a similar basolateral Posm, and a higher transcellular Posm, implying a higher permeability of the apical membrane, despite the absence of exogenous AVP. However, when IMCDs of thirsted rats were exposed to AVP in vitro, their transcellular Posm (36.0 +/- 2.4 microns/s) was significantly smaller than their PTE determined simultaneously (51.8 +/- 7.1 microns/s), suggesting that part of the water flow may follow a paracellular route. A change in paracellular pathways was supported by higher apparent permeabilities to [14C]sucrose (0.85 +/- 0.27 vs. 0.28 +/- 0.04 x 10(-5) cm/s) and to [methoxy-3H]inulin (0.25 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.03 x 10(-5) cm/s) in IMCDs of thirsted rats. The nonelectrolyte permeabilities were affected neither by AVP nor by urea-rich bathing solutions. We conclude that in vivo factors related to dehydration produce a conditioning effect on terminal IMCD, which includes stabilization of the apical membrane in a state of high Posm and opening up of paracellular pathways revealed by a higher permeability to water and nonelectrolytes. The role of these adaptive phenomena remains unclear but may pertain to the sudden transitions between antidiuresis and diuresis.


The aim of the present study was to investigate genotype dependent growth rate in young cod. The material of 0-group cod was collected from pond produced cod in western and northern Norway, and analysed for genotype distribution of haemoglobins and several tissue enzymes. The mean growth rate (measured as size at sampling) of the different genotypes were compared by analyses of variance. Associations between growth rate and haemoglobin type were found in one sample, and likewise LDH genotype dependent growth rate was indicated in one sample. The results are discussed in relation to the biological significance of biochemical genetic variation.


Book synopsis: On the occasion of "The European Year of People with Disabilities 2003", the OECD and the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research organised an international conference at the UNOV in Vienna on "Transforming Disability into Ability". The purpose of this event was to discuss disability policies for the working-age population. The conference addressed key challenges in disability policy, and discussed policy recommendations as outlined in the recent OECD report. The main policy conclusions from the report formed the basis for the thematic sessions. The conference was organised around five themes:
What do we mean by "being disabled"?
What rights and responsibilities for society and for persons with disabilities?
Who needs activation, how, and when?
How should disability benefits be structured?
What should and what can employers do?

More than 40 invited speakers discussed proposals for more effective disability policies and the improvement of existing institutions and measures in light of best practices in international comparison. Particular emphasis was placed on the implementation of the report´s policy conclusions. One session of the conference was devoted to the discussion of "Barriers to Participation" from the perspective of disabled people; it was organized by an international association of organisations representing disabled people.

This book is a follow-up of the OECD report on "Transforming Disability into Ability" (2003) as well as a twin publication to the recent Ashgate volume on "European Disability Pension Policies" (Prinz Ed. 2003) and to the companion booklet on "Facts and Figures on Disability Welfare. A Pictographic Portrait of an OECD Report" (Marin / Prinz 2003). It brings together contributions from inter-governmental institutions such as the OECD, the European Centre, the WHO, the World Bank, from several former and acting government representatives, ministries concerned with disability issues, the business community, the European Disability Forum and from experts from national, regional and local NGOs, as well as authors from universities and research centres.


BACKGROUND
A burn injury increases the body's metabolic demands, and therefore nutritional requirements. Provision of an adequate supply of nutrients is believed to lower the incidence of metabolic abnormalities, thus reducing septic morbidity, improving survival rates, and decreasing hospital length of stay. Enteral nutrition support is the best feeding method for patients who are unable to achieve an adequate oral intake to maintain gastrointestinal functioning, however, its timing (i.e. early versus late) needs to be established.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effectiveness and safety of early versus late enteral nutrition support in adults with burn injury.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, issue 1, 2006), the Cochrane Injuries Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1966 to May week 1, 2006), EMBASE (1980 to week 17, 2005) and CINAHL (1982 to May week 1, 2006).

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included all randomised controlled trials comparing early enteral nutrition support (within 24 hours of injury) versus delayed enteral support (greater than 24 hours).

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two authors used standardised forms to independently extract the data. Each trial was assessed for internal validity with differences resolved by discussion.

MAIN RESULTS
A total of three randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion in this review. Results of the studies indicate that evidence about the benefit of early enteral nutritional support on standardised clinical outcomes such as length of hospital stay and mortality, remains inconclusive. Similarly, the question of whether early enteral feeding influenced or decreased metabolic rate as documented in part by our included studies, remains uncertain.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review has not found sufficient evidence to support or refute the effectiveness of early versus late enteral nutrition support in adults with burn injury. The trials showed some promising results that would suggest early enteral nutrition support may blunt the hypermetabolic response to thermal injury, but this is insufficient to provide clear guidelines for practice. Further research incorporating larger sample sizes and rigorous methodology that utilises valid and reliable outcome measures, is essential.


There is currently a growing theoretical discussion about the foundations that underlie the development of environmental awareness and nature care in early childhood. The aim of this study is to analyze how the environmental concerns of young children emerge and evolve during early childhood and whether these concerns are connected to an understanding of the biological notion of the living being. This study is designed to address methodological limitations of previous studies through a longitudinal axis and an extensive age sample. A sample of 178 children between the ages of four and nine participated at two different testing times for a period of one year. The methodology includes the categorization of various images of living beings and inert entities in order to analyze their understanding of living organisms. Dilemmas involving environmental, moral and socio-conventional situations are presented to examine and compare how young children view transgressions against plant life. The results reveal that young children's judgments about environmental behaviors may arise before the development of an understanding of the concept of the living being. It is therefore proposed that this type of understanding does not support environmental awareness. Previous research indicates that complex biological concepts may be successfully introduced at the preschool age, provided that suitable educational interventions are designed for the initial stages of education. In this regard, there is evidence that a basic understanding of the issue of the ecological interactions among organisms may be achieved in the preschool years.


The gene responsible for Huntington Disease has been mapped at the end of the short arm of chromosome 4. Different polymorphic probes from the immediate vicinity of the gene are available and provide accurate tools for the identification of carriers of the gene. The presymptomatic testing of adults or the prenatal testing (exclusion testing) of the unborn child must be considered with great caution, it requires a multidisciplinary approach and will benefit from intensive collaboration with the lay organizations. Presymptomatic testing will presumably find a much wider application when it can be coupled to an effective preventive treatment.


The categorization of motion verbs in THINKING-FOR-SPEAKING (TfS) research paradigm entails some theoretical problems that need to be addressed. This conclusion is motivated by the examination of motion verb types listed in Berman &Slobin (1994, p. 198) for Spanish and English narrators of 'the frog story' (Mayer, 1969). These lists show a range of semantically different verb types including verbs describing MANNER VIA MOTION (e.g., climb), CAUSE VIA MOTION (e.g., push), PATH VIA MOTION (e.g., come), SOUND-EMISSION (e.g., buzz), and ACTION (e.g., knock). We argue that in the absence of any clear theoretical framework for why, how and whether these verbs should be categorized as motion verbs, TfS research runs the risk of slipping into inconsistency. To this end, interdisciplinary insights about the behavior of motion verbs in English suggest that SEMANTIC COERCION – the process whereby non-motion verbs are coerced into the expression of motion meanings – merits more attention in TfS research than it currently receives. The notion of MOTIONIZATIONis offered as a first step in this direction.


Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth; Northland Advanced Transportation Systems Research Laboratories, University of Minnesota Duluth


Social media is forming an increasingly central part of how companies communicate their marketing strategies to their customers. This study aims to provide an empirical analysis of the impact social media communication has on brand equity and purchase intention using linear regression. Before conducting the analysis, a systematic literature review has been carried out in order to understand how the dimensions of social media create word of mouth i.e. electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on social media platforms and how this e-WOM further influences brand equity and customers' purchase intention of domestic brands in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 300 data sets were collected through a standardized online survey and analyzed in SPSS with the conclusion that all the constructs identified in this research have a significantly high correlation and impact on a customer's decision to buy a domestic product The results of the empirical study showed that both firmcreated and user-generated social media communication influence brand equity which creates of a fully mediated effect between e-WOM and the purchase intention.


Rational choice theory (RCT) models decision makers as utility maximizers and is often defended via an as-if argument. According to this argument, although real individuals do not consciously maximize their utility function, their choices can be explained as if they were generated by utility maximization. An alternative model is random-choice, which assumes that decision makers pick up an element from a given set according to a uniform distribution on the set. In this paper we examine a series of experiments that compare RCT and the random-choice model as alternative explanations of consumer demand, and investigate how these experiments contribute to clarifying the actual scope of RCT and the shortcomings of the standard as-if defense of it.


One of the most important functions of the banking sector is to fulfill financial intermediation by establishing important connections between savings and investments. Banking activities have an accelerating effect on economic growth. For this reason, the relationship between financial activities in the banking sector and economic growth has been subject to many empirical studies. In this study, the relationship between banking activities and economic growth, which is one of the important discussion topics in economics literature, is being tried to be determined for Turkey. In order to determine the relationship between bank creditsdeposits and GDP, three-monthly data for the period 2002:1-2015:4 have been used in this study. Time series model estimation, cointegration test and causality test were used in the econometric analysis. According to findings, there is a bidirectional causality relationship between bank credits and GDP in the long-term, but no causal relationship between deposits and GDP.


Objective To identify challenges for implementing Netball Australia's 'Knee injury prevention for Netballers and Enhance performance and Extend play' (KNEE) program for 17/U & 19/U State (i.e. regional/provincial representative) teams. Design Concept mapping, a mixed-methods approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses. Setting Pre-elite netball. Participants Thirty-nine netball coaches, strength & conditioning coaches and physiotherapists working with State 17/U & 19/U teams. Methods Participants brainstormed challenges to implementing the KNEE program, sorted the challenges into groups based on similar meaning and rated the importance and difficulty of overcoming each challenge on a scale from 0 (least important/easiest to overcome) to 5 (most important/hardest to overcome). Results Forty-six statements (i.e. challenges) were identified and organised into the following eight clusters (mean importance rating out of 5, mean difficulty rating out of 5): 'athlete engagement' (3.31, 2.48); 'supervision and correction of technique' (3.03, 2.67); 'time constraints' (2.79, 2.59); 'athlete technique' (2.70, 2.64); 'education' (2.56, 2.16); 'support staff resourcing' (2.51, 2.67); 'program flexibility and adaptability' (2.02, 1.85); and 'coach and support staff prioritisation' (1.95, 1.81). Nineteen statements/challenges had above average ratings for importance (2.63) and difficulty (2.41). Conclusions This study identified 'athlete engagement', 'supervision and correction of technique', 'time constraints', 'athlete technique', 'education' and 'support staff resourcing' as the most important and difficult challenges to implementing the KNEE program in pre-elite netball. These multi-factorial challenges are the main barriers to implementing the KNEE program. They can be addressed using the implementation driver's framework.


This paper presents a discretized enthalpy analysis of a FAME-MLL, NH3 plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHX) with single and two-phase flow. The paper outlines the methodology used to model the PFHX and presents a MATLAB simulation model, which uses the NIST REFPROP database for thermo-physical property evaluation. The paper presents analysis for a staged single-phase, two-phase PFHX architecture. Plots of the heat transfer coefficients, overall heat transfer coefficient, specific enthalpy and heat flux variation over the length of the PFHX are provided. The mass, volume, area, effectiveness-number of transfer units rating for each PFHX are given.


Pupil responses have been used to track cognitive processes during decision-making. Studies have shown that in these cases the pupil reflects the joint activation of many cortical and subcortical brain regions, also those traditionally implicated in value-based learning. However, how the pupil tracks value-based decisions and reinforcement learning is unknown. We combined a reinforcement learning task with a computational model to study pupil responses during value-based decisions, and decision evaluations. We found that the pupil closely tracks reinforcement learning both across trials and participants. Prior to choice, the pupil dilated as a function of trial-by-trial fluctuations in value beliefs. After feedback, early dilation scaled with value uncertainty, whereas later constriction scaled with reward prediction errors. Our computational approach systematically implicates the pupil in value-based decisions, and the subsequent processing of violated value beliefs, ttese dissociable influences provide an exciting possibility to non-invasively study ongoing reinforcement learning in the pupil.


[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Since E-learning in Course Management System (CMS) is a growing form for learning and teaching in higher education, it is key for us to identify and describe student behavior and patterns of activity in CMS. Understanding student behaviors and patterns of activities may lead to better approaches for supporting online learning. These approaches in turn can support more effective teaching and improve learning outcomes. Data mining (including web mining) is a recognized approach for building knowledge and value in business and commercial information systems. Multiple data mining techniques have potential for application in a comprehensive course management system. Three main web mining methods (Classification, Association Rule and Clustering) have been used on the data from a CMS (WebCT).The primary finding of this research was to suggest that web mining can be an approach that educational researchers can use, and when combined with other forms of data collection, has potential for adding to the way we build knowledge about e-learning. A second contribution of the current study was to draw implications for how to improve the process of web mining e-learning data sets.


Malnutrition and inflammation are common in hemodialysis patients, and are usually closely associated. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations have been found to be significantly elevated in hemodialysis patients and reflects chronic inflammation, and as an acute-phase reactant, is a sensitive and independent marker of malnutrition. To investigate the association of serum CRP level with some nutritional variables in diabetic and non diabetic end-stage renal failure patients undergoing regular hemodialysis, we designed a study of 36 maintenance hemodialysis patients (f = 15 m = 21), consisting of 25 non-diabetic HD patients and 11 diabetic HD patients. In this study we found a near significant difference of CRP between diabetic and non-diabetics of total patients with more values of CRP in diabetics, a significant difference of CRP between diabetic and non-diabetic of female HD patients with more values in diabetics and a significant difference of CRP between males and female of non-diabetic population with more values of CRP in males. An inverse correlation of serum CRP with serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and a near significant positive correlations of CRP with serum ALP and with serum iPTH were found. An inverse correlation of serum CRP with dialysis efficacy was seen too. No significant association between serum CRP and serum albumin was seen. Compatible with some studies and in contrast to some other studies, the association of serum albumin with serum CRP levels in this study was insignificant. The positive correlation of high serum PTH with inflammation implies further need to control of hyperphosphatemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism in HD patients, also inverse correlation of serum CRP with cholesterol and triglyceride further support the malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome (MICS) which frequently seen in HD patients.


INTRODUCTION: Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) affects joint cartilage causing pain, musculoskeletal and proprioceptive disorder that may favor the occurrence of postural balance disorders during activities of daily living. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical variables, the balance profile and the functional mobility of subjects with KOA with and without a history of falls. METHODS: Sixty-four women, 50 to 75 years of age, were separated into three different groups: KOAF group (18 subjects with KOA and previous history of falls); KOANF (24 subjects with KOA and no previous history of falls) and control group CG (22 healthy subjects). The Womac questionnaire was used to analyze functional disability. For the functional evaluation of the balance, two instruments were used, the Berg's Balance Scale (BBS) and the Timed Up and Go test (TUG). For static balance evaluation, was used the stabilization diffusion analysis method (SDA) and analysis of the balance stabilizer of center of pressure (COP). RESULTS: It was evidenced that the BBS and WOMAC scores were significantly lower for the KOA group. The functional evaluation of the balance showed that the TUG test time and BBS score were significantly lower in subjects with KOA than in CG. The KOA groups (KOAF and KOANF) presented a greater displacement of the COP, anterior-posterior (AP) direction, and ellipse area than CG, in the closed-eyes condition. The KOAF group showed higher average speed of COP than CG. In the analysis of stabilogram diffusion, for both visual conditions, the KOA groups presented higher values in the short-term interval, long-term interval and critical point position than CG in the AP direction. CONCLUSION: The results imply that subjects with KOA, regardless of the previous history of falls, show a deficit of balance, increasing the risk of falls in this population.


Impression making for completely edentulous patients is one of the critical factors in determining the success or failure of complete denture therapy. Precise reproduction of an edentulous foundation is essential for removable prosthesis retention, stability, and support. Evidence indicates that materials and methods differ in the way impressions are produced for complete dentures. An online survey involving 100 individuals by random sampling method which included Prosthodontics Postgraduates, Undergraduates, and General Practitioners from different locations in India after getting proper consent from the participants about various impression techniques performed for completely edentulous patients. The results were collected and then analyzed through SPSS software. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out and the chi-square test was used and the p-value was calculated. This survey analysis has provided a clear view about the impression techniques and practices followed by Dental Practitioners in the process of taking an impression for completely edentulous patients which included theory followed during impression making, primary impression-tray, border molding material, primary and final impression material, border molding material, correction material, use of the custom tray, tissue stop, spacer, posterior palatal seal, flabby tissue and neutral zone for the taking of better impressions for completely edentulous patients. The present study about the knowledge and practice of impression techniques followed by Indian Dental Practitioners has provided a clear view about the current procedures undertaken by them and also provides a better view to improving certain procedures and techniques for the betterment of patients in future


The life of Yang Luchan, patriarch of the Yang lineage and founder of taijiquan's most popular style, is a biographical blank slate upon which conservative, progressive, orientalist, and just plain rice bowl interests have inscribed wildly divergent narratives. Conservative scholar-disciples sought to link him with the invented Wudang-Daoist lineage, while progressives emphasized his humble origins and health benefits of the practice. His life (c.1799-1872) straddled the height of the Manchu empire and decline into semi-colonial spheres of foreign influence, while successive generations of Yang descendants propagated his 'intangible cultural heritage' through Republican, Communist, 'open' and global eras. Practiced world-wide by hundreds of millions, taijiquan's name recognition made it ripe for media appropriation, and Yang Luchan has been remythologized in countless novels, cartoons, television series, and full-length feature films. The case of Yang Luchan offers an unusual opportunity to witness an ongoing process of mythopoesis against a background of historical antecedents and to compare these narratives with traditional Chinese warrior heroes and Western models of mythology and heroology. If the lack of facts has not constrained the fabrication of invented biographies, neither should it discourage the quest for historical context as we sift and winnow truth from trope in examining the patterns of motivated reasoning that characterize the many reconstructions of Yang's biography.


Model counting is the problem of computing the number of models that satisfy a given propositional theory. It has recently been applied to solving inference tasks in probabilistic logic programming, where the goal is to compute the probability of given queries being true provided a set of mutually independent random variables, a model (a logic program) and some evidence. The core of solving this inference task involves translating the logic program to a propositional theory and using a model counter. In this paper, we show that for some problems that involve inductive definitions like reachability in a graph, the translation of logic programs to SAT can be expensive for the purpose of solving inference tasks. For such problems, direct implementation of stable model semantics allows for more efficient solving. We present two implementation techniques, based on unfounded set detection, that extend a propositional model counter to a stable model counter. Our experiments show that for particular problems, our approach can outperform a state-of-the-art probabilistic logic programming solver by several orders of magnitude in terms of running time and space requirements, and can solve instances of significantly larger sizes on which the current solver runs out of time or memory.


OBJECTIVE
Osteoporosis and osteopenia among postmenopausal Saudi Arabian women are common to the extent of over 60%. Pregnancy, multiparity and prolonged lactation are suggested as factors modifying negatively in the development of osteoporosis. Earlier reports from the institution indicated a beneficial role of multiparity in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). We conducted this study to measure the effect of parity on bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of lumbar spine and the upper femur.

METHODS
We conducted this prospective study at King Fahd Hospital of the University, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, between January 2002 and June 2003. This study analyzed 256 patients who attended orthopedic clinics. The data gathered was age, duration of menopause, number of children borne, height and weight for body mass index (BMI) calculation. We excluded women with secondary osteoporosis from the study. We entered the patients orthopedic complaints in the database. We carried out the BMD measurements using Hologic total body DEXA machine. We analyzed the data using SPSS package with significance at p<0.05 and confidence interval of 95%. For final analysis, we took into consideration an average of results of the lumbar spine and hip region.

RESULTS
We analyzed the available data of 256 patients. We divided the patients into 2 groups; group A with >6 children and group B with women of <5 children. In group A, there were 116 women and 140 in group B. The mean age of patients in group A was 56.81 (50-65) years SD +/- 5.19 and in group B the mean age was 58.86 years (48-76) SD +/- 7.68. The average BMI in group A was 31.95 kg/m2 and in group B it was 29.14 kg/m2. The BMD of the lumbar spine of group A was 0.850 g/cm2 (SD+/-0.112) compared to group B of 0.699 g/cm2 (SD+/-0.141), p<0.005. The BMD of the hip region of group A was 0.836 g/cm2 and that of group B patients was 0.716g/cm2 (p<0.01). In women with <5 children, 25.5 had normal BMD as compared to 47 in women with >6 children, 25.4% were osteoporotic in group A and in group B 48%. As per the World Health Organization classification 56% in group A had an increased risk of fracture as compared to 77.5% in group B women.

CONCLUSION
Our results indicate that women who had borne >6 children were less osteoporotic and of low fracture risk as compared to those women who had <5 children. The BMD of the women with >6 children was statistically higher than their counterparts, and they sustain this after prolonged lactation. We believe that increased parity protects women from osteoporosis and the severity of the disease, and it is our suggestion that women with <5 children and those nulliparous, who are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis should be investigated and treated accordingly.


Text extraction is an important problem in image processing with applications from optical character recognition to autonomous driving. Most of the traditional text segmentation algorithms consider separating text from a simple background (which usually has a different color from texts). In this work we consider separating texts from a textured background, that has similar color to texts. We look at this problem from a signal decomposition perspective, and consider a more realistic scenario where signal components are overlaid on top of each other (instead of adding together). When the signals are overlaid, to separate signal components, we need to find a binary mask which shows the support of each component. Because directly solving the binary mask is intractable, we relax this problem to the approximated continuous problem, and solve it by alternating optimization method. We show that the proposed algorithm achieves significantly better results than other recent works on several challenging images.


In the century or so that syllogisms have received the attention of psychologists, their interpretation both as and within particular types of discourse has been largely downplayed. A significant element in the guidance of interpretation is information structure as expressed in prosody. This thesis explores the role of intonation in syllogistic discourse and its effect on reasoning. A theoretical analysis of the information structures of syllogisms is presented which produces two classes of intonation patterns, the 'contextually concordant' (CC) and the 'contextually neutral' (CN), putatively corresponding to two discourse types. These are then investigated in a series of experiments. The initial observational study aims at confirming the use and significance of CC and CN patterns in a syllogism solving task. The remaining two experiments employ a purpose-built voice synthesiser to investigate the effects of imposing CC and CN contours on premises, first in a syllogism solving task and then in a syllogism evaluation task. The results show that both CC and CN intonation patterns are indeed used by participants and bear a systematic relationship to both the number and accuracy of conclusions they draw. When used in the presentation of syllogisms, however, these patterns do not influence the production of conclusions, only the evaluation of them. It is therefore argued that the discourse types to which they relate depend upon whether the syllogism is interpreted as a proof or as a problem. Further work based on these findings could aim to probe the informational links between conclusions and premises and thereby elucidate the coherence of arguments.


In many areas of health care, randomized controlled trials (the best evidence regarding the effectiveness of health care interventions) are lacking and decision-makers have to rely on evidence from nonrandomized studies (NRS). We conducted a Medline search to identify English-language articles describing instruments for assessing the quality of NRS of health care interventions. These instruments varied greatly in scope, in the number and types of items and in developmental rigor. Items commonly included were those related to specification of study questions, allocation method, comparability of groups, and blinding of outcome assessment. We do not support the development of a generic scale to evaluate the methodological quality of nonrandomized intervention studies. Instead, further study should be directed to investigate the degree to which, and the circumstances under which, different methodological characteristics are associated with bias. This information will assist researchers in identifying a priori which methodological characteristics need careful evaluation in particular studies.


Received November 2013 ABSTRACT. Pakistan has become a terror stricken, crisis-ridden and a destabilized polity in recent times. It is passingthrough one of the most critical junctures of its history where internal security challenges are haunting it like a curse. The multiple challenges which the country is facing nowadays are ranging from crisis of individuality to governance, from insecurity to collapsing state of economy. The apparent insecurity and instability in the country owes itself to these 'multiplities' of crisis. This paper, through descriptive methodology, attempts to unleash the vulnerabilities which the country is facing internally and are needed to be measured up to avoid the catastrophe of becoming a failed state. The purpose of our work is to highlight the problems in Pakistan, which are weakening the country and suggests remedies to those.


Somatostatin and its analogue octreotide have been used for two decades to treat oesophageal variceal haemorrhage. The drug was introduced because of its capacity to decrease portal venous pressure without major side effects. In clinical trials assessing the efficacy of somatostatin and long‐acting analogues in arresting variceal haemorrhage, conflicting results have been obtained. Furthermore, in haemodynamic studies evaluating the effects of somatostatin and analogues in patients with cirrhosis, divergent effects were observed. The main reason for these differences is probably related to different affinities of the drugs for different somatostatin receptor subtypes. The effects of somatostatin and analogues are mediated via five different G‐protein coupled receptors (somatostatin receptor subtypes 1–5), which regulate the activity of ion channels (Ca2+, K+, Na+ and Cl–) and enzymes (adenyl cyclase, phospholipase C, phospholipase A2, phosphoinositide 3‐kinase and guanylate cyclase) responsible for the synthesis or degradation of intracellular second messengers including cyclic AMP, inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate, diacylglycerol and cyclic GMP. Despite universal use of somatostatin, the cellular and biochemical mechanisms of its effects in portal hypertension are relatively poorly studied and remain incompletely understood. In this review, we summarize relevant signal transduction of somatostatin and analogues, the haemodynamic effects of the drugs and the possible mechanisms by which these effects are mediated.


We compare two rationales for the management of social-ecological systems under uncertainty: control and resilience. The first focuses at system performance, the second at system capacity to cope with change. The two schools of thought promote their own legitimacy, but undertake little effort to transcend their own perspective. Though, different scholars have pointed at the necessity of combining control and resilience for managing a system. We review the literature on control and resilience, synthesize the work in these fields into one coherent conceptual framework and reflect on the question whether control and resilience strategies can be reconciled or whether inevitable trade-offs are to be made. Based on a literature review, we develop a framework contrasting both rationales through their preferred (contrary) system attributes. Next, we discuss the operationalization of these system properties for policy development. Policies will generally reflect elements of both control and resilience. There will be trade-offs between preferred system attributes, where development of resilience restricts the development of possible control (and vice versa). The conceptual framework introduced provides a 'language' for contrasting and possibly (partly) reconciling the control and resilience rationales. Such a language is crucial for a meaningful policy discourse between actors, because it helps in understanding the implications of different rationales and in comparing alternative policies in terms of control and resilience.


An investigation on the seasonal variation of gill, skin muscle, liver and kidney pathology of Mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) was carried out from four Government (Govt.) and four Private (Pvt.) fish farms, Mymensingh, Bangladesh during June, 2010 to May, 2012. Fish sampling and water quality parameters were monitored monthly basis. For histopathological studies skin, muscle, gill, liver and kidney were collected, processed and stained in Haematoxylin and Eosin.  Histologically, Mrigal of different fish farms were more affected in colder months. All the investigated organs of Mrigal were exhibited few abnormalities during summer, however, mild hyperplasia, haemorrhage, partial loss of secondary gill lamellae, marked and hypertrophy was observed during the rainy season. Several pathological changes like necrosis, fungal granuloma, protozoan and monogenean cyst, vacuolation, melanomacrophase, haemorrhage, hypertrophy, hyperplasia and clubbing were recorded in all the investigated organs. Among them fish gills and skin were more affected followed by liver and kidney. In some cases, large bacterial colony and protozoan cyst were observed in the secondary gill lamellae of Mrigal. The ectoparasites were very common in gills and skin of all fishes. Water quality parameters were taken and management practices were investigated fortnightly interval in different farms. These were almost similar for all experimental ponds. The risk of being infestation by parasites of carp significantly (p<0.001) increased when the water quality parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, hardness, alkalinity, transparency and depth of water etc. were not maintained the optimum level.


The influence of polymer precursor additions on liquid phase sintering of SiC:Al2O3:Y2O3 has been evaluated. Two polymer precursors were used: polymethylhydrogensiloxane and D4Vi (1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-1,3,5,7-tetraviniylcyclotetrasiloxane). The ceramic phase had the following composition in wt%: 91.6 SiC, 4.2 Al2O3 and 4.2 Y2O3. The composites were prepared using the following ceramic phase to polymer ratios in wt%: 82.7: 17.3; 74.0: 26.0 and 71.5: 28.5. Density measurements were carried out using a helium picnometry and the Archimedes method. The crystalline phases were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis and the microstructures were observed by optical and scanning electron microscopy.


Trends in wine consumption are continuously changing. The latest in style is fresh wine with moderate alcohol content, high acidity, and primary aromas reminiscent of grapes, whereas certain fermentative volatiles may also influence the freshness of the wine. In addition, the effects of climate change on the composition of the grapes (high sugar content and low acidity) are adverse for the quality of the wine, also considering the microbiological stability. Herein, different strategies aiming at improving wine freshness are presented, and their performance in winemaking is discussed: among them, the addition of organic acids able to inhibit malolactic fermentation such as fumaric acid; the use of acidifying yeasts for alcoholic fermentation, such as Lachancea thermotolerans ; and the selection of non- Saccharomyces yeasts with β -glucosidase activity in order to release terpene glycosides present in the must.


Objectives To assess the time course of changes in rapid muscle force/torque production capacity and neuromuscular activity of lower limb muscles in response to prolonged (∼2 h) match-play tennis under heat stress. Methods The rates of torque development (RTD) and electromyographic activity (EMG; ie, root mean square) rise were recorded from 0 to 30, –50, –100 and –200 ms during brief (3–5 s) explosive maximal isometric voluntary contractions (MVC) of the knee extensors (KE) and plantar flexors (PF), along with the peak RTD within the entirety of the torque-time curve. These values were recorded in 12 male tennis players before (prematch) and after (postmatch, 24 and 48 h) match-play in HOT (∼37°C) and COOL (∼22°C) conditions. Results The postmatch core temperature was greater in the HOT (∼39.4°C) vs COOL (∼38.7°C) condition (p<0.05). Reductions in KE RTD occurred within the 0–200 ms epoch after contraction onset postmatch and at 24 h, compared with prematch, independent of environmental conditions (p<0.05). A similar reduction in the KE peak RTD was also observed postmatch relative to prematch (p<0.05). No differences in KE RTD values were observed after normalisation to MVC torque. Furthermore, the rate of KE EMG activity rise remained unchanged. Conversely, the PF contractile RTD and rate of EMG activity rise were unaffected by the exercise or environmental conditions. Conclusions In the KE, a reduction in maximal torque production capacity following prolonged match-play tennis appears to account for the decrease in the rate of torque development, independent of environmental conditions, while remaining unchanged in the PF.


Electrically conducting polythiophene (PTh) was prepared from 2-thiopheneacetyl chloride at different concentrations of 9.1, 16.7, 23.1, 28.6 and 33.3 wt% dispersed in
polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films. The sample films were irradiated in a γ-ray chamber at different doses of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kGy at ambient conditions. Upon gamma
irradiation, the 2-thiopheneacetyl chloride monomer polymerized into conducting PTh by loosing H+ ions and formed conducting species of polarons. The SEM morphology of PTh/PVA composite of optimum 2-thiopheneacetyl chloride concentration and absorbed dose of 28.6 wt% and 30 kGy respectively, shows a good morphology with spherical size, 0.7 μm in diameter and spreaded uniformly in the PVA matrix. The UV-visible absorption peak of this PTh composite red-shifted to 400 nm and the intensity increases with increase of concentration and dose until the optimum values. The optical band gap energy Eg decreases with an increase of monomer concentration and absorbed dose. For examples, Eg decreased from 3.38 eV at 0 kGy to 3.19 eV at 30 kGy for 9.1 wt% and from 2.35 eV at 0 kGy to 2.15 eV at 30 kGy for 28.6 wt%. The impedance analyzer was used to determine the electrical conductivity and found that the conductivity increased with increase of monomer concentration and absorbed dose until they reached the optimum amounts. The direct current dc component is the major conductivity due to the formation of polarons in the PTh chain structure. For examples, the dc conductivity increased from 5.2×10-7 S/m at 0 kGy to 2.6×10-5 S/m at 30 kGy for 9.1 wt% and from 2.8×10-4 S/m at 0 kGy to 9.8×10-4 S/m at 30 kGy for 28.6 wt%.


The kinetic properties of sulfate transport mediated by the anion exchangers AE1 and AE2 have been examined. Microsomes isolated from HEK cells transiently overexpressing either protein were reconstituted in unilamellar, 200-600-nm diameter proteoliposomes. Transport mediated by the exchangers was monitored by loading the reconstituted proteoliposomes with the slowly transportable anion SO4(2-) using [35S]SO4(2-) as a tracer and performing [35S]SO4(2-)/SO4(2-) exchange. The following data suggest that AE1 and AE2 have been functionally reconstituted: (i) the rate of SO4(2-) transport in AE1 and AE2 containing proteoliposomes was 10-20 times higher than in proteoliposomes derived from control microsomes; (ii) the transport of SO4(2-) was strongly dependent on the presence of a trans anion; and (iii) the anion exchanger inhibitors, 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′- disulfonate (DIDS) and 4,4′-dinitrostilbene-2,2′-di-sulfonate (DIDS) totally abolished SO4(2-) transport. furthermore, DIDS inhibits SO4(2-) transport only when occluded inside the vesicles, indicating a uniform, asymmetrical, inside-out orientation of the reconstituted exchangers. The Ki values of the stilbene disulfonate compound DNDS were 2.5 and 4 microM for AE1 and AE2, respectively, suggesting that the two exchangers possess similar high affinity sites for stilbene compounds. Both AE1 and AE2 showed the same steep pH dependence of sulfate transport, which was maximal at pH 5.5 and reduced to less than 10% (of the value at pH 5.5) at pH 8.5, suggesting that an acidic residue shared by AE1 and AE2 participates in the pH regulation of sulfate transport.


Introduction: Rib fractures in the geriatric patient can be life altering. Across the country trauma centers are caring for an increased volume of geriatric patients aged 65 years and older (Ali-Osman et al., 2018). The geriatric patient with thoracic injury has the second highest mortality rate among the trauma population in the United States (Mentzer et al., 2017). The assessment of the patient is key to identify critical changes due to high risk of adverse events from rib fractures. Despite efforts to standardize the assessment and care provided to the patient with rib fractures, a lot of variation occurs. Research supports the provision of a standard assessment and discharge process for the geriatric trauma patient (GTP) with rib fractures to improve outcomes. Objective: This project focused on conducting a gap analysis of process and outcomes measures in this population at the specific site of interest in the emergency department (ED), inpatient setting and outpatient setting to determine needs for improvement. Then, after the data analysis, evidenced based recommendations were given to appropriate leadership staff. Methods: The development of a dashboard displayed key measures identifying areas of outliers for the ED, inpatient and outpatient setting. Results: Through the development of the dashboard it was identified that when compared to the evidence the large urban hospital needs improvement in the consistent use and documentation of the incentive spirometer (IS) by the nurses, and more consistency with evaluation of the GTP using the FRAIL assessment and standard of care for follow-up post-discharge. Conclusions: The dashboard was effective at displaying areas in need of evidence-based improvement at the organization of focus for the GTP with rib fractures.


The tempo with which C57BL/6 females reject male skin isografts is determined in part by the immunogenicity of the H-Y antigen and in part by the capacity of the host to respond immunologically. Our studies indicate that the spleen plays an important role in determining the briskness of the rejection process in that splenectomy 7-30 days before grafting with male skin significantly shortens the survival time. The results of reconstitution experiments suggests that a population of cells is present in spleens of normal, but not specifically sensitized, females which can restore the conventional first set reaction in splenectomized females. It is inferred that this resident population normally operates in spleen-intact females to delay the development of specific effector responses. Lymphoid cells from H-Y antigen- sensitized, splenectomized females failed to evoke graft-vs.-host responses in males whereas similar cells from females with spleens intact did possess graft-vs.-host potential.


Education forms the foundation for the development of human resource, making it critical for national development.  To ensure that children attain a minimum period of schooling, the government of Ghana has committed itself to a number of international protocols to provide basic education for all Ghanaian children.  Hence, many basic schools have been built throughout the country to increase access and participation.  These schools are administered in most cases by experienced teachers who serve as leaders.  The subject of 'leadership' has gained considerable attention, discussion, and extensive study by theorists and researchers in a number of disciplines.  This is so, especially in modern times when the concept has become complex as a result of globalization and technological advancement. School leaders are considered as pillars of the educational system, and also seen as the major agents in the promotion of school effectiveness.  This is clearly seen in the numerous functions that they are expected to perform daily and often simultaneously, thereby showing the crucial role of school leaders in establishing, monitoring and maintaining the quality and standards in education.  This paper examines the duties of headteachers of public basic schools in Ghana in attaining school and educational goals, and the challenge(s) they face in executing their duties.   The paper recommends among other things that headteachers need to improve on their knowledge and skills in school and financial administration through learning and experience, and they must be effectively monitored, supervised.  Again, the Capitation Grant (CG) policy should be evaluated, reviewed and revised so that its implementation could meet changing and current trends. Keywords: Educational goals, school goals, headteachers, duties, public basic schools, Capitation Grant (CG)


Abásolo and Tsuchiya (2004a) report on an empirical study to elicit public preferences regarding the efficiency-equality trade-off in health, where the majority of respondents violated monotonicity. The procedure used has been subject to criticisms regarding potential biases in the results. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether violation of monotonicity remains when a revised questionnaire is used. We test: whether monotonicity is violated when we allow for inequality neutral preferences and also if we allow for preferences that would reject any option which gives no health gain to one group; whether those who violate monotonicity actually have non-monotonic or Rawlsian preferences; whether the titration sequence of the original questionnaire may have biased the results; whether monotonicity is violated when an alternative question is administered. Finally, we also test for symmetry of preferences. The results confirm the evidence of the previous study regarding violation of monotonicity.


This paper employed a widely accepted theoretical concept, the 'theory of migrant networks' to look at the recent immigration and absorption experience of ethnic Germans (Aussiedler) from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in Germany. Consistent with network theory, the social background of the Aussiedler group became more representative of the sending communities as migrant networks expanded. The paper additionally showed that Aussiedler tended to participate in migrant networks after they have moved to Germany. Whereas all studies on the economic effects of migrant networks found a positive impact on the labor market performance of ethnic Germans, the outcome of network participation with respect to social absorption is less encouraging. In recent years migrant networks seem to support ethnic German minority enclaves and an increasing segregation of the Aussiedler group.


Author(s): Clearwater, Brian | Advisor(s): Talamantez, Ines | Abstract: In 2014, more than 70% of American Indians live in urban areas away from reservations. This dissertation employs theoretical work on diaspora religion to interpret the effects on spiritual practices of the displacement of Native Americans to cities since the mid-20th century. Using the framework of an urban diaspora, I argue that the split geographical situation results in a center-satellite formation of pan-Indian religion in which Lakota practices are dominant. Employing ethnographic fieldwork among a diverse group practicing Native American spirituality in Ventura County, California, I argue that such urban spiritual networks balance competing forces of indigenizing versus extending within the larger pan-Indian religious community. That is, as Lakota spiritual practices were gradually opened to non-Lakota, and even non-Indian, outsiders, the traditional protocols that govern the ceremonial structure have become more important in ensuring the continuance of an authorized, traditional religion.I trace the logic of assimilation through the relevant history of Native American forced dislocations and urbanization--from 19th century removal policies, prisoner-of- war camps, to compulsory boarding schools for Indian youth, to the Termination andixRelocation policies of the United States government in the decades after World War II. These migrations and policies of de-culturization contribute to the historical context for a study of mixed-blood natives and non-natives practicing intertribal, Lakota-based spirituality in coastal California from the 1970's to the present.In addition, I interrogate categories of analysis in popular use, such as "Indian" and "Indigenous Religion," in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the competing claims of biological race, cultural hybridity, and a history of forced assimilation upon native identifications. In order to more fully explore the meanings of pan-Indian and trans-Indigenous exchange, I turn to the field of Religion and Healing in Native America. The openness and welcoming of non-natives into native-controlled ceremonial spaces can be explained through an analytic of healing. Accordingly, I argue that native people have identified colonization as a pathology, both mentally and socially, from which both colonizing and colonized populations must recover. The sacred space invoked by Native American spirituality creates decolonizing spaces for the diverse multi-racial participants in that they seek to reinforce an indigenous model of knowledge and practice that resists assimilation. Community ceremonies, such as sweat lodges, function as a hub for the exchange of knowledge and for the healing of individuals and for the group as a whole.Finally, I explore the logics of contestation to change and adaptation within the ceremonies themselves. Tension inevitably arises between fidelity to a sacred tradition and adaptations deemed necessary by the change in context from reservation to diverse city. In these cases, racial identity determines religious authority, where those with a greater degree of perceived "Indianness" express more freedom to improvise and adapt in challenging conditions. Whereas among those without biological claim to an indigenous identity, emphasis is centered around performing and interpreting the traditional protocol in a strict manner. This case study in an American Indian urban diaspora community proposes a new model of indigeneity incorporating outsiders, extending the religious boundary, and circulating knowledge without losing an authentic connection to tradition and homeland.


The adequacy of educational content considering student ́s culture, knowledge and values allow them to identify the relationship between what they are learning and their reality and, consequently they feel more interested and engaged at education. In contrast, in informatics at education, designing educational systems to allow adequacy is a challenge because of a lack of techniques to support the design and the difficulty to identify what and how allow this adequacy by users, because many users of these systems, as educators and students, do not have knowledge of designing. In this context, it is presented here a formalization of the design pattern with successful solutions for recurrent problems on designing co-authorship systems analyzed and/or experienced by the researcher of this dissertation during design and evaluations of these systems at Advanced Interaction Laboratory (LIA). These patterns intend to support designing of educational systems that allow users, as co-authors, adequate these systems, inserting the content to be displayed at them. Each pattern describes specific problem and solution. In order to support indentifying how these patterns are organized to each other, semantic relations defined by Minsky are adopted to organize them based on humans ́ intellectual structure. Validations with different participants ́ profiles, e.g., with or without knowledge about concepts related to design, software engineering, human-computer interaction, co-authorship, etc., were done to formalize, refine and observe the comprehension and/or application of these patterns to design co-authorship system prototypes, as well as, different participants from mathematic or pedagogy areas and teachers to validate the use these of these prototypes. The results shown that the pattern language is comprehensible and it supports designing to define what and how to display on interface to allow and help users insert content.


A new method for measuring T1 based on a measurement of the ratio, R, of the steady-state partially saturated NMR signals acquired at two fixed low flip angles (<90°) and a single sequence-repetition period, TR, is presented, The flip angles are chosen to optimize both the signal-to-noise ratio per unit time relative to the best possible Ernst-angle performance and the sensitivity with which a measurement of R can resolve differences in T1. A flip-angle pair at of around (60°, 15°) yields 70-79% of the maximum achievable Ernst-angle signal-to-noise ratio and a near-linear dependence of R on TR/T1 with gradient of about 2:1 over the range 0.1 ≤ TR/T1 ≤ 1. Errors in hip-angle and excitation-field (B1) inhomogeneity result in roughly proportionate errors in the apparent T1. The method is best implemented with adiabatic low-angle pulses such as B1-independent rotation (BIR-4) or BIR-4 phase-cycled (BIRP) pulses, which permit measurements with surface coils. Experimental validation was obtained at 2 T by comparison of unlocalized inversion-recovery and dual-angle proton (1H) and phosphorus (31P) measurements from vials containing doped water with 0.04 ≤ T1 ≤ 2.8 s and from the metabolites in the calf muscles of eight human volunteers. Calf muscle values of 6 ± 0.5 s for phosphocreatine and around 3.7 ± 0.8 s for the adenosine triphosphates (ATP) were in good agreement with inversion-recovery T1 values and values from the literature. Use of the dual-angle method accelerated T1 measurement time by about fivefold over inversion recovery. The dual-angle method was implemented in a one-dimensional localized surface-coil 31P spectroscopy sequence, producing consistent T1 measurements from phantoms, the calf muscle, and the human liver. 31P T1 values of ATP in the livers of six volunteers were about 0.5 ± 0.1 to 0.6 ± 0.2 s: the total exam times were about 35 minutes per subject. The method is ideally suited to low-sensitivity and/or low-concentration moieties, such as in 31P NMR in vivo, where study-time limitations are critical, and for rapid 1H T1 imaging.


Understanding of hydro-climatic changes in the world's river basins is required to ensure future food security. Different regional basins experience different levels of hydro-climatic change depending on the endorheic or exorheic nature of a hydrological basin, along with the climatic conditions and human land and water-use practices, for instance for irrigation. This thesis has analyzed long-term hydro-climatic changes in two main irrigated regions of the world: the Mahanadi River Basin in India and the Aral region in Central Asia. Thesis applies a basin-wise, data-driven water balance-constrained approach to quantifying the hydro-climatic changes, and to distinguish their main drivers in the past century and for future. Results point at human water-use and re-distribution for irrigation within a basin as a major driver of water balance changes, which also affect surface temperature in the region.Cross-regional comparison focused on the climatically important changes of water, vapor and latent heat fluxes at the land surface, and also on the changes to water resource availability in the landscape. Results show that irrigation- driven changes in evapotranspiration, latent heat fluxes and associated temperature changes at land surface may be greater in regions with small relative irrigation impacts on water availability in the landscape than in regions with severe such impacts. This implies that one cannot from the knowledge about only one aspect of hydro-climatic change simply extrapolate the impact importance of those changes for other types of water changes in a region.Climate model projections results show lack of consistency in individual GCM performance with regard to temperature and to precipitation, implying difficulties to identify well-performing GCMs with regard to both of these variables in a region. In Aral region, the thesis shows that ensemble mean of different GCM outputs may provide robust projection of future hydro-climate changes.


This study examined the regulation of two genes, hcp and ogt, that are reported to be involved in protection from the mutagenic effects of reactive nitrogen species in Escherichia coli. Biochemical techniques were used to investigate promoter activity and the effects of the transcription factors that are reported to regulate expression of the hcp and ogt genes, namely NarL / NarP, FNR and NsrR. Transcription activation by NarL was then studied using semi-synthetic promoters. The hcp gene was found to be positively regulated by FNR and negatively regulated by NsrR. Contrary to previous reports, NarL and NarP were found to have little direct effect on expression of hcp, however, an indirect effect of NarL was detected. This study demonstrates that the indirect effect on hcp regulation of NarL is related to repression by NsrR and suggests that NarL is involved in the generation of reactive nitrogen species. The ogt gene was confirmed to be activated by NarL independently of FNR. Studies focused on characterising the different classes by which NarL / NarP can activate promoter activity independently of FNR. NarL was found to activate by class I, II and III mechanisms, whilst NarP was capable of class II activation only. Activation by NarL was studied and a library of alanine substitutions in the carboxyl terminal domain (CTD) of the α subunit of RNA polymerase was used to demonstrate direct interaction between NarL and RNA polymerase. NarL, the CTD of NarL, NarXL, NarP and the CTD of NarP were expressed from plasmids and transcription activation studied in cells lacking chromosomal narL and narP. Full-length NarL activated by Class I, II and III mechanisms, whilst the CTD of NarL only activated by class II mechanisms. Both the full-length NarP and the CTD of NarP only activated by class II mechanisms.


Conversational Artificial Intelligence has gained a lot of traction due to its ability to communicate with the user and the machine with automated texting and dialog flow based applications that allow computers and humans to communicate in a human-like manner. Hence leveraging this technology, it is able to help guide diabetic patients when they are suffering from diabetes or just to self assess and to make things easier for the people which will allow them to learn and follow a healthy diabetic diet. The usage of Conversational AI-bot will Identify and give answers and analyzes the queries asked that is available based on the text trained. It also allows us to automate book and assist the receptionist to book appointments without any errors This makes things easier and enabling a faster appointment service and this bot helps people to be cautious and lead a healthy life.


The scope of this study was to describe and compare records of the results of lawsuits filed in three Brazilian courts in cases involving the Unified Health System. A survey was made of the judgments listed on electronic sites of Courts of Justice in the states of Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais using a specific script. A total of 558 judgments was analyzed. There was a greater frequency of ordinary lawsuits (73.1%). In the majority of cases, it was not possible to identify the economic situation of the plaintiff or the legal representative of the defendant (54.5%). In cases where such identification was possible, a public defender was the most common (71.5%). The cases were predominantly individual in all three states. There was a large number of requests for injunctions (83.8%), which were almost al- ways granted (91.2%), with the allegation of ur- gency/emergency in almost all cases (98.8%). The majority of decisions were favorable to the users of the public healthcare system (97.8%). The de- cisions studied showed that the users sought to ensure their right to health individually, using the public authorities to file their lawsuit, but there is a perceived difference in posture between legal courts evaluated. There is a strong tendency of the judiciary to accept these requests.


The main argument of this article is that the meaning of the national identity clause of Article 4 (2) TEU should be limited to what its text actually states, namely to a guarantee for the constitutional structures of the European Union (EU) Member States. The article rejects the broader meaning often given to this Treaty provision, namely that it offers a kind of generic protection for national diversity and national constitutional values. Such a broader meaning is not needed, since primary EU law contains many other provisions that protect national diversity, all of which have a specific meaning and role in the EU legal order. Giving Article 4(2) the broader meaning is harmful, as it opens the door to abusive and superficial uses of identity as a justification for non-compliance with EU law obligations from the side of the Member States.
national constitutions, institutional diversity, cultural diversity, regional autonomy, judicial organization, national languages


The empirical literature on the stability of the Phillips curve has largely ignored the bias that endogenous monetary policy imparts on estimated Phillips curve coefficients. We argue that this omission has important implications. When policy is endogenous, estimation based on aggregate data can be uninformative as to the existence of a stable relationship between unemployment and future inflation. But we also argue that regional data can be used to identify the structural relationship between unemployment and inflation. Using city-level and state-level data from 1977 to 2017, we show that both the reduced form and the structural parameters of the Phillips curve are, to a substantial degree, quite stable over time.


ABSTRACT We explore the feasibility of Ag fiber meshes as electron transport layer for high-efficiency flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. Woven meshes of Ag fibers after UV illumination and millisecond flash-lamp treatment results in a sheet resistance of 17 Ω/sq and a visible transmittance above 85%. Conductive Ag meshes are integrated into flexible CIGS cells as transparent conductive electrode (TCE) alone or together with layers of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) with various thickness of 0…900 nm. The Ag mesh alone is not able to function as a current collector. If used together with a thin AZO layer (50 nm), the Ag mesh markedly improves the fill factor and cell efficiency, in spite of the adverse mesh shadowing. When Ag mesh is combined with thicker (200 nm or 900 nm) AZO layers, no improvements in photovoltaic parameters are obtained. When comparing a hybrid TCE consisting of 50 nm AZO and Ag fiber mesh with a thick 900 nm reference AZO device, an improved charge carrier collection in the near-infrared range is observed. Regardless of the AZO thickness, the presence of Ag mesh slows down cell degradation upon mechanical tensile stress, which could be interesting for implementation into flexible thin film CIGS modules. Graphical Abstract


With normal human skin fibroblasts in culture, a transient decrease in queuine modification of tRNA precedes a phorbol ester tumor promoter-induced 5- to 10-fold increase in saturation density. Subsequently, an increase in the queuine content of cellular tRNA (to levels comparable to those in untreated cultures) precedes a decrease in saturation density. This reversal of the phorbol ester-induced alteration in tRNA modification occurs in the continued presence of the tumor promoter, and it parallels an increased ability of the cells to salvage queuine from catabolized endogenous tRNA. Addition of exogenous queuine concurrently with the tumor promoter at early passage significantly inhibits the increase in saturation density. The results suggest a role for the decrease in queuine modification of tRNA in mediating the phenotypic change induced by the tumor promoter.


When Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 through the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), it mandated that individual consumer debtors undergo two debtor education courses, one as a condition precedent to filing for bankruptcy relief, and a second for later receiving a discharge of indebtedness. As for the pre-filing credit counseling course, Congressional aim was to have prospective debtors understand the potential alternatives to filing for bankruptcy relief with the goal of having some percentage of debtors settle their debt obligations outside of the bankruptcy system. Regarding the post-filing financial management course, Congress wanted debtors who utilized the bankruptcy system to learn effective financial management techniques to employ after the closing of their bankruptcy cases. Ever since the prospect of debtor education as a formal component of the bankruptcy process was raised decades ago, bankruptcy scholars and commentators have offered empirical studies and opinions about the efficacy of such a program. To date, however, no empirical study has appeared in the legal literature regarding the effectiveness of the mandated debtor education courses imposed by BAPCPA. Accordingly, the purpose of this Article is to report the findings of my own qualitative study of Chapter 7 debtors regarding their experiences with, and impressions of, the current debtor education courses required by the Bankruptcy Code. My study sought to address two research questions. First, do either, or both, of these mandated debtor education courses help individuals in the way Congress intended? And second, do consumer debtors change their financial behaviors as a result of participating in either, or both, of these mandated debtor education courses? As will be reported herein, the vast majority of the participants interviewed for this study did not find the courses to be of any help to them in their financial lives, and for most, any positive changes made to their financial wellbeing following bankruptcy was not attributed to anything learned from the education courses themselves, but from the experience of going through the bankruptcy process, never again wanting to find themselves in such a desperate and vulnerable place in life. Nevertheless, a small population of debtors interviewed for this study, less than seven percent, did find the debtor education courses helpful in the ways Congress intended.


Background: Protein synthesis control is important for β-cell fate during ER stress. Results: Increased protein synthesis during chronic ER stress in β-cells involves the transcriptional induction of an amino acid transporter network. Conclusion: Increased amino acid uptake in β-cells during ER stress promotes apoptosis. Significance: Induced expression of a network of amino acid transporters in islets can contribute to chronic ER stress-induced diabetes. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced responses are associated with the loss of insulin-producing β-cells in type 2 diabetes mellitus. β-Cell survival during ER stress is believed to depend on decreased protein synthesis rates that are mediated via phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2α. It is reported here that chronic ER stress correlated with increased islet protein synthesis and apoptosis in β-cells in vivo. Paradoxically, chronic ER stress in β-cells induced an anabolic transcription program to overcome translational repression by eIF2α phosphorylation. This program included expression of amino acid transporter and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase genes downstream of the stress-induced ATF4-mediated transcription program. The anabolic response was associated with increased amino acid flux and charging of tRNAs for branched chain and aromatic amino acids (e.g. leucine and tryptophan), the levels of which are early serum indicators of diabetes. We conclude that regulation of amino acid transport in β-cells during ER stress involves responses leading to increased protein synthesis, which can be protective during acute stress but can lead to apoptosis during chronic stress. These studies suggest that the increased expression of amino acid transporters in islets can serve as early diagnostic biomarkers for the development of diabetes.


Herzlich's (1969) theoretical framework was used to explore Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from the point of view of affected individuals. Content analysis was performed on transcripts of interviews with eight French Canadian gay men living with AIDS. Results indicate that health and illness are socially constructed concepts and that health can coexist with illness. The authors discuss how Herzlich's framework can be used by nurses to better understand the individual's experience of illness and to guide the individual towards making behavioural changes that will generate health throughout the course of the illness.


Purpose
The education sector is at the forefront of developing tomorrow's construction professionals. It is therefore important that with the current rate of change in the construction industry, education curriculum should be seen to be relevant. An area that is revolutionising the construction industry is the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), including its potential for improving H&S on construction sites. This paper aims to focus on the perception of higher education (HE) students on the potential impact of 4D modelling on the management of site health and safety on construction sites.

Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental approach was adopted to determine student's perception of the extent to which 4D modelling and simulation can impact H&S management. Pre-test and post-test students' perceptions of the value of 4D to management of health and safety were compared.

Findings
The influence of education was examined by using two main students groups, one group studying BIM modules within their course while the other group did not. Although minimal perception differences regarding key impacts of 4D were highlighted, the awareness differences were significant. The study demonstrated the perception of benefits regarding 4D for H&S being in the planning of site logistics, visualisation, programme accuracy and risk reduction. The study highlights the importance of relevant education, to increase awareness of 4D for Health and Safety.

Originality/value
While most of the studies reported in academic literature on education and training related to university/tertiary education, this study focused on the higher education level students. It considered this as an equally important cohort as the graduates will also contribute to health and safety management on construction sites. The study also demonstrated the value of including technology based H&S training to mirror developments in the construction industry.


Softwoods represent a significant fraction of the available lignocellulosic biomass for conversion into a variety of bio-based products. Its inherent recalcitrance, however, makes its successful utilization an ongoing challenge. In the current work the research efforts for the fractionation and utilization of softwood biomass with the organosolv process are reviewed. A short introduction into the specific challenges of softwood utilization, the development of the biorefinery concept, as well as the initial efforts for the development of organosolv as a pulping method is also provided for better understanding of the related research framework. The effect of organosolv pretreatment at various conditions, in the fractionation efficiency of wood components, enzymatic hydrolysis and bioethanol production yields is then discussed. Specific attention is given in the effect of the pretreated biomass properties such as residual lignin on enzymatic hydrolysis. Finally, the valorization of organosolv lignin via the production of biofuels, chemicals, and materials is also described.


To support studies on the development of broodstock and hatchery technology for mud crabs under the genus Scylla, the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department maintains captive broodstock in land-based tanks. Disease problems seen in broodstock after being held for three months in these tanks include shell disease due to a combination of fouling organisms and chitinoclastic bacteria, bacterial contamination of the hemolymph, parasitic infestation on the gills and shell, and loss of appendages. Shell disease was manifested as off-white and black patches on the shell, that progressed and became perforations exposing underlying tissues. The hemolymph of a significant number of newly recruited crabs harbored mixed populations of sucrose-fermenting vibrios. Pedunculate cirripedes were found in large numbers both in the gill region and on the shell, boring through and creating perforations in the latter. Nematodes and other saprophytic organisms enter the crab through these perforations. The fouling problems that affect the integrity of the shell are considered to reduce the life span and reproductive potential of captive broodstock under tank conditions; therefore, regular cleaning of the shell is recommended to minimize shell fouling.


Aim: The aim was to describe the effect of a multidisciplinary pain management program, in terms of patientreported occupational performance and satisfaction with performance.Methods: The study is a retrospective, case series study. Data from interviews documented routinely in patient medical records were used. Interviews were made at introduction, on conclusion and six months after a pain management program. Data from all participants (n=85) introduced during one year, were analysed. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used as the main outcome measure.Results: Estimated occupational performance as well as satisfaction with performance improved between measures (occupational performance p<0.001; satisfaction with performance p<0.001). The percentage of participants, who improved two or more points on the COPM ten-point scale between baseline and the 6-month follow up, was 27% for occupational performance and 40% for satisfaction with performance.Conclusion: The findings raise questions regarding what the team might learn from different ways of scrutinizing results; the relevant level of MID in this program; and the overall objective in terms of the proportion of clients who reported a 'successful' outcome in occupational performance and satisfaction with performance, based on the identified MID. These questions need to be further analysed and discussed within the professional team.


This paper offers a new perspective on the "development" of the intellectual property regimes in the United Kingdom. The system put in place under the 1875 Trade Marks Act may be seen as the last of a sequence of earlier "technologies" that sought to administer the creative endeavours of (sections of) the English population. Prior to the trade mark registration (that included examination) there was the registration of designs that did not require examination but was necessary for the protection of the right. In the eighteenth century, patent specifications were lodged with the Crown via a process that was much more involved than that was instituted for designs in the nineteenth century. Before that, books had to be enrolled with the Stationers' Company before they could be printed. And, in what may be seen as an earlier attempt at the centralised regulation of artefacts of expression, the Rolls of Arms (maintained by the King of Arms) was repository of coats of arms for English nobility. An exploration of these different technologies of regulation, in their socio-political context, will offer new insight into the antecedents, and limits, of the registration systems that are now common across the intellectual property world.


Wavelet analysis has become a popular subject in scientific research during the past twenty years. In this work, we introduce the notion of vector-valued multiresolution analysis and vector-valued multivariate wavelet packets associated with an integer-valued dilation matrix. A novel method for constructing multi-dimen- -sional vector-valued wavelet packet is presented. Their characteristics are researched by means of operator theory, time-frequency analysis method and matrix theory. Three orthogonality formulas concerning the wavelet packets are established. Orthogonality decomposition relation formulas of the space are derived by constructing a series of subspaces of wavelet packets. Finally, one new orthonormal wavelet packet bases of are constructed from these wavelet packets.


From a 9-year Veterans Administration Medical Center experience, 34 patients were identified who had synchronous or metachronous pulmonary lesions in association with primary head-neck carcinoma. Evaluation of the pulmonary lesions included bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, and thoracotomy. Lung lesions were felt to be metastatic lesions from head and neck primary in 12 patients, primary lung carcinoma in 20 patients, and metastases from subdiaphragmatic primary neoplasms in two patients. This study demonstrates that head-neck carcinoma may spread to the lung but that associated lung lesions are most commonly second primary neoplasms.


Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transmembrane channel formation in a pure 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (DMPC) bilayer, and the spontaneous internalization of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) into the formed pore were simulated. A combination of computational techniques, Dissipative Particle Dynamics-Monte Carlo hybrid simulations and quantum mechanical calculations at the hybrid-DFT level, was used as a new proposal to perform DPD simulations granting specific chemical identity to the model particles. The simulated transmembrane channels showed that, in the case of pristine SWCNTs and upon increasing the nanotube length, a higher tilt angle with respect to the bilayer normal is observed and more time is needed for the nanotube to stabilize. On the other hand, for SWCNTs with polar rims an almost perpendicular orientation is preferred with less than 15° of tilt with respect to the bilayer normal once the nanotubes have pierced both monolayers. These findings are supported by experimental observations where CNTs of average inner diameters of 1.51 ± 0.21 nm and lengths in the 5-15 nm range were inserted in DOPC membranes [J. Geng, et al., Nature, 2014, 514(7524), 612-615]. Moreover, the narrower the SWCNTs, the slower the spontaneous internalization of ssDNA becomes, and ssDNA ends hydrophobically trapped inside the artificial pore. A dependence on the nucleotide content is found indicating that the higher the presence of adenine and thymine in the ssDNA chains the slower the internalization becomes, in agreement with the experimental [A. M. Ababneh, et al., Biophys. J., 2003, 85(2), 1111-1127] and predicted solvation tendency in water for nucleic acid bases.


The Gorgan Plain of northeast Iran was one of the northern frontiers of the Sasanian Empire (c. AD 225-640), and was marked by considerable investment in water management
and defensive features such as canals, fortifications and the nearly 200 km long-wall known as the Gorgan Wall. However, in comparison we know very little about settlement and land use associated with urban, rural, and mobile pastoral communities in this period. What impact did Sasanian investment in this landscape have on settlement patterns, networks of movement, and subsistence economies of the communities inhabiting the plain, and how do these developments fit within the long-term settlement history of the region? This thesis reconstructs Late Iron Age through Islamic settlement and land use patterns utilising data obtained from historical (CORONA) satellite imagery, integrated with the available settlement data draw from field surveys conducted by the Gorgan Wall project, other published surveys, and historical and ethnographic information. At the local and regional scale, the observed trends are discussed in terms of changes in site type and
location, subsistence strategies and agricultural investment. These trends are then compared to landscape developments associated with the later territorial empires in other regions of the Near East.


Inherited retinal degenerations are genetically heterogeneous conditions affecting roughly 1:3000 people and are characterized by the loss of photoreceptors. Progressive retinal degenerative disease is the leading cause of vision loss in industrialized countries, and is the result of a wide range of mutations, mostly in rod-specific transcripts. Over 140 disease-causing genes have been identified to date. As the genetic mechanisms underlying inherited forms of retinal degeneration are identified, gene therapy is becoming a promising approach for the treatment of many inherited blinding diseases. Indeed, the recent success of three clinical trials using adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver a normal copy of the RPE65 gene to the retinas of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) patients illustrates the potential of gene therapy in the retina. AAV has been shown safe and effective especially in a younger cohort of patients. Some important obstacles remain, however, for AAV-mediated gene therapy to become widely applicable across the range of existing retinal degenerative diseases. It will be essential to carefully evaluate the method used to deliver therapeutic genetic material to the retina, as this will determine the success of the treatment. The serotype of vector used, the promoter chosen to drive expression and the method of injection are important components of the gene delivery system. A wide variety of AAV serotypes exist with different tropisms for cell populations in the retina, potentially allowing treatments to be targeted to specific cell types. The retinal cell types AAV can infect differs, however, depending on whether the vector is delivered into the vitreous cavity or the subretinal space. Subretinal injections, which were used in the LCA trials, result in the creation of a retinal detachment and localized injury to the retina while delivering high concentrations of transgene to only a limited area. An intravitreal approach has the potential to transduce panretinally and is less invasive, and therefore preferable, but naturally occurring serotypes of AAV transduce photoreceptors poorly from the vitreous, as a result of structural barriers that exist on the inner surface of the retina. Recent advances in the understanding of AAV and the production of viral vectors have shown the flexibility of this virus, indicating that its function can be altered and tailored to the requirements of retinal gene therapy. A directed evolution approach has been used to select, out of a highly diverse library of AAV capsid variants, a novel variant with improved tropism for Muller glia. And in a parallel approach, residues on the capsid surface have been mutated to avoid ubiquitination and altering the nuclear trafficking of the virus.This dissertation examines the use of engineered viral vectors for gene therapy in the retina. The creation of a novel variant of AAV, called 7m8, which is characterized by increased transduction of photoreceptors from the vitreous, is described below. 7m8 was derived from an AAV2 peptide insertion library and contains a 7mer motif. Injected intravitreally, 7m8 transduces cells throughout the retina, including photoreceptors in the outer retina, significantly more efficiently compared to the parental serotype. Expression was restricted to photoreceptors using a rhodopsin promoter. This virus, as well as the previously described Muller-specific variant ShH10, was used to deliver a wild-type copy of the retinoschisin gene to mice lacking this protein. Retinoschisin is secreted from photoreceptors, and retinas deficient in this protein are severely structurally impaired. Subretinal injections, which are damaging in nature, are therefore suboptimal because they are likely to cause additional injury. We show that 7m8 is able to efficiently target photoreceptors via intravitreal injection in this mouse model, leading to high levels of retinoschisin protein production, as well as structural and functional rescue. This rescue is longer lasting than that seen using ShH10, indicating the importance of targeting photoreceptors in this disease model. AAV9 has been shown to transduce the murine retina when injected intravenously through the tail vein. We used two surface tyrosine-to-phenylalanine mutations to improve the retinal expression of AAV9, and demonstrated that these mutations lead to higher infectivity of all retinal layers, most dramatically in photoreceptors and the inner nuclear layer, but also including the retinal pigment epithelium and ganglion cells. This novel vector was then used to explore the bifunctionality of the Nxnl1 gene, which encodes two isoforms of the rod-derived cone viability factor (RdCVF). The short form of RdCVF is secreted and has been shown to support cone survival, while the long isoform is retained intracellularly and has been implicated in redox signaling. AAV92YF and 7m8 were used to express the two isoforms of RdCVF in the rd10 mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. RdCVF rescued cone survival when injected intravenously or intravitreally, but had little effect on rod survival. Early expression of RdCVFL in dark-reared rd10 mice delayed rod, and subsequently cone death.


Spector has spent much of her career championing a "canon of rejected knowledge" that she describes in her book as having been "extirpated from the bibliographies of acceptable resources" (330). The Evolution of Blake's Myth is her most ambitious and persuasive statement yet on the importance of esoteric or "hidden" traditions, largely Kabbalistic, to Blake's work. Spector discusses almost all of Blake's illuminated books and a good number of his paintings; she also develops a vocabulary for Blake's composite art that allows for a consistently integrated discussion of text and design.


Abstract. Monitoring the terrestrial carbon cycle for responses to disturbances, caused for example by extreme climate events and insect outbreaks, has the potential to provide early warnings about ecosystem change. However, our capability to detect these carbon balance responses by atmospheric CO2 monitoring remains unknown despite sub-ppm comparability of many well-calibrated CO2 measurement sites. Here, this study explores how accurately atmospheric CO2 and transport models can detect imposed carbon flux anomalies against a background terrestrial flux. Air mass back trajectories from three CO2 monitoring stations in the central U.S. Rocky Mountains for one year (2008) were computationally simulated. To simulate reduced CO2 uptake, a constant p0.2 µmol C m−1 s−2 anomaly was added to all surface fluxes within perturbation domains of varying size. A spatially and temporally uniform 10°×10° p0.2 µmol C m−2 s−1 flux anomaly (p6 Tg C m−1) was detectable above a comprehensive model-data mismatch detection threshold in a large majority of months at each site, but only when the perturbation was located in the central Mountain West. The intensity of the perturbation and its area were important to detection, but the effect of area declined exponentially with increasing source-to-station distance. To further evaluate response, a more realistic spatiotemporally varying drought extracted from a dynamic global vegetation model with a monthly varying perturbation area (1°×1° to 5°×5°) and higher peak intensity (p0.8 µmol C m−2 s−1) was applied. Detectability of excess CO2 from this experiment by the nearest CO2 site (Utah) was similar to detectability of the largest (10°×10°) uniform perturbation. These experiments demonstrate disturbance and drought related carbon-cycle perturbations do create a discernible impact on the composite signal of atmospheric CO2 if sufficiently proximal to a measurement station.


Asynchronous online forums such as FirstClass are frequently used in many educational settings to link networks of learners. They offer opportunities for knowledge-building dialogue and for the exchange of learning resources, but many students struggle to make effective use of them. Researchers have therefore been concerned to investigate how learners successfully build knowledge together in online forums and which skills and literacies are likely to help users to learn in these environments. To date, much of this research has focused on the textual elements of online forum dialogue. This paper acknowledges the importance of studying these textual elements, but presents visual analysis as a complementary tool that can significantly extend understanding of activity in these forums.

Asynchronous dialogue, like written text, is typically both verbal and visual, with much of its meaning carried by a range of visual features, including layout and typographical elements. These aspects of forum data require analysis of the composition of the dialogue alongside its content. In the case of such composite texts, with meanings realised through different semiotic codes, visual and verbal elements interact and should be analysed as an integrated whole. This semiotic approach draws attention to the syntax of images as a source of meaning and to the structuring principles that enable viewers to make sense of the layout of text and images. These principles include salience, frames, vectors and reading paths.

This paper demonstrates ways in which analysis that makes use of these structuring principles can increase understanding of online exchanges between learners. It takes as an exemplar a series of forum postings that were shared in the formal setting of an online course at the UK's Open University. It shows that the construction of knowledge in an online forum is heavily reliant on visual elements of the online interaction, and that a focus on words alone does not make it clear either how this construction takes place or why it fails to take place on some occasions. Visual analysis shows that groups of learners use affordances of forum software to increase the salience of some elements of the dialogue and to increase the coherence of their discussion.


Recent advances in reinforcement learning have yielded several PAC-MDP algorithms that, using the principle of optimism in the face of uncertainty, are guaranteed to act near-optimally with high probability on all but a polynomial number of samples. Unfortunately, many of these algorithms, such as R-MAX, perform poorly in practice because their initial exploration in each state, before the associated model parameters have been learned with confidence, is random. Others, such as Model-Based Interval Estimation (MBIE) have weaker sample complexity bounds and require careful parameter tuning. This paper proposes a new PAC-MDP algorithm called V-MAX designed to address these problems. By restricting its optimism to future visits, V-MAX can exploit its experience early in learning and thus obtain more cumulative reward than R-MAX. Furthermore, doing so does not compromise the quality of exploration, as we prove bounds on the sample complexity of V-MAX that are identical to those of R-MAX. Finally, we present empirical results in two domains demonstrating that V-MAX can substantially outperform R-MAX and match or outperform MBIE while being easier to tune, as its performance is invariant to conservative choices of its primary parameter.


Real power injections at loads and generators, and real power flows on selected lines in a transmission network are monitored and transmitted over a SCADA network to the system operator. These are used in state estimation algorithms to make dispatch, re-balance and other energy management system [EMS] decisions. Coordinated cyberattacks of power meter readings can be arranged to be undetectable by any bad data detection algorithm. These unobservable attacks present a serious threat to grid operations. Of particular interest are sparse attacks that involve the compromise of a modest number of meter readings. An efficient algorithm to find all unobservable attacks [under standard DC load flow approximations] involving the compromise of exactly two power injection meters and an arbitrary number of power meters on lines is presented. This requires O(nm) flops for a power system with n buses and m line meters. If all lines are metered, there exist canonical forms that characterize all 3, 4, and 5-sparse unobservable attacks. These can be quickly detected with O(n) flops using standard graph algorithms. Known-secure phase measurement units [PMUs] can be used as countermeasures against an arbitrary collection of cyberattacks. Finding the minimum number of necessary PMUs is NP-hard. It is shown that p+1 PMUs at carefully chosen buses are sufficient to neutralize a collection of p cyberattacks.