Several recent works have shown separation results between deep neural networks, and hypothesis classes with inferior approximation capacity such as shallow networks or kernel classes. On the other hand, the fact that deep networks can efficiently express a target function does not mean that this target function can be learned efficiently by deep neural networks. In this work we study the intricate connection between learnability and approximation capacity. We show that learnability with deep networks of a target function depends on the ability of simpler classes to approximate the target. Specifically, we show that a necessary condition for a function to be learnable by gradient descent on deep neural networks is to be able to approximate the function, at least in a weak sense, with shallow neural networks. We also show that a class of functions can be learned by an efficient statistical query algorithm if and only if it can be approximated in a weak sense by some kernel class. We give several examples of functions which demonstrate depth separation, and conclude that they cannot be efficiently learned, even by a hypothesis class that can efficiently approximate them.


We observe very small gate-voltage shifts in the transfer characteristic of as-prepared graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) when the pH of the buffer is changed. This observation is in strong contrast to Si-based ion-sensitive FETs. The low gate-shift of a GFET can be further reduced if the graphene surface is covered with a hydrophobic fluorobenzene layer. If a thin Al-oxide layer is applied instead, the opposite happens. This suggests that clean graphene does not sense the chemical potential of protons. A GFET can therefore be used as a reference electrode in an aqueous electrolyte. Our finding sheds light on the large variety of pH-induced gate shifts that have been published for GFETs in the recent literature.


Background
The educational experience of four young adults with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were explored with a view to thinking about how their experiences can inform the practice of Educational Psychologists. The children and families act has had a profound impact on EP practice. EP's are now expected to support young people between the ages of 16-25. The four young adults contributed a rich and unique perspective into what it is like to exist in mainstream school with the diagnosis. Their lived experience provided insights into the controversial narratives that surround ADHD, such as the legitimacy of the condition and the manner in which professionals support them.
Methods
Using in-depth qualitative semi structured interviews, 4 young people with a medical diagnosis of ADHD aged between 18-24 years gave an in-depth insight into their lived school experiences. The research focused on how the participants' perceived that having a medical diagnosis of ADHD impacted on their educational journey. The researcher adopted the epistemological positon of a social constructionist and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis(IPA) was used as the methodology for the research. This was due to IPA having an explicitly phenomenological commitment to discerning individual meaning and a clear idiographic emphasis.
Results
Key Themes for individuals were Cultural Reinforcement of Normality, Discriminatory Practise, Living with an Unwanted Self and the Transformative self. The group themes that emerged from the participants lived school experience were 1) Psychological Homeostasis, 2) Identity, 3) Self Concept, 4) Professional Disappointment and 5) Positive Relationships.
Conclusions
The findings of this research have some potentially significant implications for Educational Psychologists. Young people expressed different beliefs about the legitimacy of ADHD and its impact on their educational experiences. These beliefs and attitudes were influenced by the participant's social and cultural environments. The research unearthed themes that demonstrated the participants' had formed significant negative perceptions of teaching staff and professionals. EP's should consider moving to a strength based perception of ADHD. Individuals diagnosed with ADHD need a balanced intervention plan that focuses not only on managing undesirable behaviours but also builds on their strengths and positive aspects.


Cloud computing shares data and oers services transparently among its users. With the increase in number of users of cloud the tasks to be scheduled increases. The performance of cloud depends on the task scheduling algorithms used in the scheduling components or brokering components. Scheduling of tasks on cloud computing systems is one of the research problem, Where the matching of machines and completion time of the tasks are considered. Tasks matching of machines problem is that, assume number of active hosts are Y, number of VMs in each host are Z. Maximum number of possible Virtual Machines(VMs) to schedule a single task is (y*z). If we need to schedule X tasks, number of possibilities are (y *z)^x. So scheduling of tasks is NP Hard problem. NP Hard means this scheduling of tasks on VMs not having polynomial time complexity, but it may have algorithm for verifying solution. Fault-tolerance becomes an important key to establish dependability in cloud computing system. In task scheduling, if task not completed in it's deadline ,then it is one type of fault in scheduling of tasks. In this thesis this type of faults are taken and try to overcome it. In this thesis we present a non-preemptive scheduling algorithm, By inserting the ideal time for postponing the task by ensuring the other task will completes its execution with in the deadline. In simulation the proposed algorithm maximizes the prot of 25%, throughput of 25% and minimizes the penalty of 20% over EDF.


According to Tim Berners-Lee, wiki technology represents an instantiation of how the World Wide Web was planned to work: a platform that users can use both to retrieve content (read) and contribute content (write). Wiki technology lends itself to many uses. One of the main features of wiki technology is its support for collaborative editing of content. In this paper, we introduce briefly wiki technology, the pedagogical premises of the use of wiki in education, and present one case of the use of wiki in university education context as support for constructivist collaborative learning. We present empirical data on the participants' evaluation of the use of wiki, and the analysis by the course instructor. We also discuss possibilities and potential problem situations when utilizing wiki-technology in educational settings, in particular related to the assessment of learning, the monitoring of student participation, and the need for communication support in the learning process.


A high-performance fully digital controller has been designed for the drive of a 50-kW four-phase switched reluctance (SR) motor built for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The SR machine is specifically designed and manufactured to have high power density and low acoustic noise. The controller is based on the advanced digital signal processor (DSP) with internal CAN interface-TMS320F2406 and complex programmable logic device (CPLD)-EPM7128S. The experimental results show that the controller is met with the system specification and requirement, satisfactorily.


The objective of this paper is to investigate and analyse the drivers' preferences toward ridesharing, with focus on examining whether the passengers intend to use a shared vehicle and identifying the main factors which determine the choice of ridesharing service as a way to travel. For this purpose, a stated preference experiment (questionnaire survey) was carried out in order to capture travelers' preferences on ride sharing preferences in Athens. In the next step, an appropriate modelling methodology has been developed, including descriptive analysis in order to explore the large database followed by two binary logistic regression models which were developed. Results indicate that especially young and female travelers were found to state that they would use ridesharing services to a higher degree. Furthermore, regarding traveling for work purposes, it was found that increasing transit time and number of weekly trips for work seems to lead to increase probability of the future ridesharing option.


Text memorization is a widely used yet under-explored language practice in foreign language teaching and learning in China. The research addresses the need for a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the practices and beliefs of Chinese learners regarding the use of text memorization in foreign language learning and teaching. This paper reports on findings from semi-structured interviews concentrating on the perceptions of text memorisation as a way of learning from the learners' perspective. The data was collected from a group of Chinese learners and teachers (N=62) affiliated with 15 schools and universities at three different educational levels, i.e. junior high, senior high and college, which constitute the major part of foreign language education in China. Qualitative analyses of the data reveal that the practice was perceived to be beneficial not only because it assists learning in a number of ways but because it affords the learners psychological satisfaction built on their sense of achievement and confidence.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Efforts to develop "laboratories" for primary care research have largely focused on the development of networks that recruit subjects on a project-specific basis. We sought to develop an alternative model--a representative cohort of adult primary care patients maintained for use in multiple projects.

METHODS
In 2001, research assistants in waiting areas of a representative sample of 16 family medicine practices in North Carolina approached all adult patients during a 4-week period. Follow-up has been maintained for 3 years. In 2004 and 2005, the cohort was refreshed by adding eight new practices. Each consenting subject was administered a four-page self report questionnaire that included items on demographics, risk factors, health status, and quality of life.

RESULTS
Of 10,649 eligible patients approached in 2001, 6,811 (64%) completed the enrollment questionnaire, of whom 5,575 (81.9%) consented to be included in the cohort. African Americans, Latinos, and older persons were enrolled at rates paralleling the state's adult population. Poor general health, chronic illness, and risk factors for chronic disease were more prevalent in the cohort than in the general population. Over 3 years, cohort members were included in multiple studies, and 77% of the original cohort remained active. The per-subject enrollment cost varied between 27 US dollars and 45 US dollars; annual program maintenance costs were estimated at approximately 35,000 US dollars.

CONCLUSIONS
The research cohort has these advantages over traditional practice-based research networks: patient focus rather than physician focus, a structure that places few demands on practices, ability to target racial and ethnic minorities, and a better-defined patient population. As is true of all aspects of research infrastructure, the cost of development and maintenance is significant.


Section 1: The basics Introduction. The basics of medical interaction.Informed consent and adults with capacity.Informed consent and adults who lack capacity.Breaking bad news. Section 2: Special communication situations Patient confidentiality. Explaining results. Communicating with children. Communicating with other special patient groups. Explaining patient discharge (foundation year level). Dealing with potential self-discharging patients (foundation year level). Dealing with angry patients and relatives (foundation year level). Dealing with introspective patients (foundation year level). Dealing with poor adherence. Section 3: Achieving the patient-centred history General history taking. Cardiovascular history. Respiratory history. Gastrointestinal history. Genito-urinary history. Gynaecological and obstetric histories. Legal guidance on termination of pregnancy. Neurological history. Psychiatric history and mental health. Paediatric history. Pre-operation clinic. Section 4: HIV counselling HIV The basics. Social impact. Pre-HIV test counselling. Giving test results. Legal guidance - HIV and AIDS. Section 5: Explaining disease X Explaining disease. Explaining asthma. Explaining depression. Explaining angina. Explaining osteoarthritis. Explaining appendicitis (surgical case). Explaining cystic Fibrosis (genetic origin). Explaining type 1 diabetes. Explaining type 2 diabetes. Explaining hepatitis B. Explaining eczema. Explaining epilepsy. Explaining cancer. . Section 6: Explaining drug Y Explaining drugs and medication.Explaining atenolol. Explaining statin therapy. Explaining SSRI drugs. Explaining asthma medication. Explaining aspirin. Explaining oral hypoglycaemics (metformin). Explaining combined oral contraceptive pill (OCP). Explaining warfarin. Explaining steroid use. Section 7: Explaining device Z Explaining devices. Explaining GTN spray. Explaining insulin injector pens. Explaining peak flow meters. Explaining inhalers. Explaining adrenalin pens. Section 8: Explaining procedures Explaining procedures. Explaining central line placement. Explaining angiograms. Explaining exercise stress test. Explaining OGD for epigastric pain. Explaining colonoscopy/flexisigmoidoscopy (C/FS) for PR bleeding. Explaining bronchoscopy for haemopytsis. Explaining ERCP for gallstones.Explaining lumbar puncture. Section 9: Explaining surgical operations Explaining surgical operations. Explaining appendicectomy. Explaining laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Explaining inguinal hernia repair. Section 10: OSCE scenarios Situation 1 New diagnosis of asthma. Situation 2 Explaining asthma medication. Situation 3 Oral combined contraceptive pill. Scenario 4 HIV test counselling. Scenario 5 HIV test results counselling. Scenario 6 Laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Scenario 7 Angina patient. Scenario 8 Depression, anxiety and suicide. Appendix 1: Clinical negligence Appendix 2: A summary of the British legal structure Appendix 3: Notifiable diseases


Socially accountable medical schools deem themselves responsible for the health needs of the communities that they serve. They orientate their education, research and service to the health needs of the population. As a theoretical concept, socially accountable medical schools developed out of attempts for the transformation of medical education. During the 1910s to 1980s there were key reforms in medical education and broader public health from the Flexner review to "Health for All". Developments included decolonisation in less financially resourced countries which led to the need for new health roles. During the 1980s to 2000s Dr Charles Boelen and other colleagues at the World Health Organization developed the theory of socially accountable medical education and socially accountable medical schools. Influential conceptual frameworks developed included the social accountability grid, then the conceptualization, production and utilization grid, the values of social accountability (relevance, equity, cost-effectiveness and quality) and the Towards Unity for Health partnership's model. From the 2000s to 2010s medical schools and global institutions refocused on socially accountability and there was re-interest in measuring and evaluating socially accountable medical schools. A number of initiatives at individual schools and collectively, operationalised social accountability. In the 2010s initiatives included the Lancet's Independent Commission on Health Professional Education for the 21st century and the call for socially accountable medical education to be aligned with accreditation systems. Some of the challenges to implementing social accountability at medical schools included the perceived lack of power of the medical profession and medical schools to address wider systems issues.

From my professional experience I observed that many medical schools aspiring to be socially accountable had developed independently from the theoretical concepts of socially accountable medical education. Therefore contextual factors, or external and internal conditions, must have influenced schools to aspire to be socially accountable. From this analysis of the historical and conceptual development of socially accountable schools I hypothesised that there were three key contextual factors that have influenced socially accountable medical schools:

• Profile of the local health workforce

• Partnerships with the local, state and national health system; and

• Partnerships between the medical school and its 'community'.

Using a multiple case study approach I explored how contextual issues have influenced social accountability at four medical schools in Australia and the Philippines. I theorised that workforce, health sector partnerships and communities would be strong contextual influences. I interviewed 75 participants including staff, students, health sector representatives and community members. I undertook fieldwork and documentary analysis.

I needed to understand how social accountability was interpreted at the schools to appreciate the contextual factors that influenced social accountability at that school. Social accountability was understood in different ways at each school, but there were three common understandings. Firstly, socially accountable medical education was about meeting workforce, community and health needs. Secondly, social accountability was determined by the type of programs the school implemented or, the way the school operated. Thirdly, social accountability was deemed a personal responsibility or value. Nevertheless there are differences between understandings at each school. There was an assumption that social accountability in the context of medical schools and medical education was known and universally understood, yet the term is still open to contention and debate.

There were internal and external factors that influenced the activities and outputs of socially accountable medical schools. At Flinders University School of Medicine (FUSOM) the influential contextual factors were: workforce; government policy and funding; Flinders School of Medicine's community engagement policy; the Flinders University remit for difference; The Training for Health Equity and leadership and individual champions. At James Cook University School of Medicine (JCUSOM) there were five contextual factors that had influenced social accountability: the difference of the geographic place and the unique needs of the population of the north of Australia (connected with the participants' understanding of community); the local workforce situation; the impact of government policy; community support for the school; and the shared values and experiences of people, including staff and leaders at both the school and the health sector. There were seven overarching influences, both external and internal factors at Ateneo de Zamboanga School of Medicine (ADZU SOM): regional health; workforce and community needs; placement communities; local officials and politics and peace and order in the face of a regional conflict; religion; limited resources and the values and experiences of a leader. Social accountability at the University of the Philippines, Manila, School of Health Sciences (UPMSHS) was influenced by four contextual factors: the regional workforce and health needs; local politicians and politics; the community and limited resources.

In the cross case analysis I found ten contextual factors that influenced social accountability. The strongest contextual factor was the local workforce and health situation which led to innovative educational programs and a research focus on local health issues. Communities may not have comprehended their own influence; however, they were fundamental for socially accountable practices including student placements. Government policy and funding supported socially accountable programs such as rural health initiatives in Australia. While in the Philippines, due to the decentralisation of the health system, the local government and local politicians influenced student placements and graduate employment. The wider institutional environment of their universities affected the culture and the resourcing of programs. In some contexts, resources were required to fund programs and in some contexts lack of resources has spurred innovation. The values and professional experiences of leaders and individuals influenced whether a school's organisational culture was conducive to social accountability. Membership of a coalition of socially accountable medical schools, The Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) created a community of learning and legitimised local practice.

There were two contextual factors that emerged from the cross case analysis and require further investigation: the idea of resisting dominant paradigms of medical education and the health system. All schools also had a culture of resistance to mainstream models of medical education. The resistance or rebellion against dominant paradigms fostered the need for alternative models of medical education that develop the theory of socially accountable medical schools. The health sector, a contextual factor I identified in the literature, was not a direct influence. However the health sector was connected with other contextual factors: individual champions; the workforce situation and resources.

A conceptual framework illustrates the seven building blocks for socially accountable medical schools. Practical guidelines based on these building blocks are provided for medical schools. Topics for further research include applying the conceptual framework to medical schools not part of THEnet and developing understandings of how communities would like to work with medical schools. There needs to be further exploration on how medical schools aspiring to be socially accountable are perceived, both internally and externally as "the other" and are challenging dominant paradigms of medical education. This research will assist the medical education community to learn from the experiences of the four case study schools, and will contribute to the development of the theory and practice of socially accountable medical schools.


Administering the medications and fluids intravenously is a frequent practice in modern medical procedures, which plays a vital role in the treatment of certain acute conditions which require immediate action by drugs or fluids. This paper covers the design of a low-cost, wireless drip monitoring system for use in the hospital environment. The device is equipped with the Bluetooth low energy based battery-operated microcontroller, an infrared based drops counting system and a digital servo motor to control the drip flow rate, and it is attached to an existing intravenous stand. A LabView graphical user interface has also been developed to provide sets of input to the system to calculate the desired drip rate and the amount of pressure that digital servo motor must apply to achieve it. The system shows an average accuracy of 96% when compared with the measured and calculated values. This allows accurate computation of the level of the drip.


Reinforced concrete is perhaps the most widely used building material in the world. However, the materials used for reinforcement of concrete i.e. steel is quite expensive and scarcely available in the developing world. As a result, bamboo is considered to be a cheaper replacement with high tensile strength. This research investigated the structural behaviour of bamboo-reinforced concrete slabs used for footplate foundation subjected to concentrated load. For this purpose, four different reinforced concrete slab panels were developed and analyzed. The influence of replacing steel with bamboo for the reinforcement of concrete slabs on their structural behaviour was assessed by determining the load-deflection characteristics, the ultimate load, the stiffness, the ductility, the cracking pattern, and the energy absorption capacity. The results showed that in comparison to steel reinforced concrete slabs, the strength of 82% can be acquired by the bamboo reinforced slabs. Furthermore, ductility demonstrated by the two types of specimens was almost equivalent i.e. up to 93%. Those indicated that the structural behaviour demonstrated by bamboo reinforced slabs is quite comparable to that of steel reinforced concrete slabs. Therefore, bamboo can prove to be a promising substitute for steel in concrete reinforcement. Future studies may further examine this opportunity.


In cooperative networks firms appropriate value through bargaining over the economic benefits generated from successful execution of joint tasks and through internalizing the knowledge of partners. Consequently, acquisition and protection of knowledge are the key issues for collaborating parties. Taking into account the shortage of theoretical basis concerning protection of intellectual resources in networks, the paper presents an outline of this subject.


One of the quality control measures in the construction industry in Ghana is the statutory requirement for the acquisition of permits before the commencement of construction work. The acquisition of these permits, among others, ensures quality of building construction products and less impact on the environment. The process of obtaining these permits has however been observed to be associated with steps that affect the flow of pre-construction activities leading to delays, and possibly cost overruns and decreased value of building construction products. The paper examines the processes involved in obtaining building construction permits and how that impacts flow of activities at the pre-construction stage. The study focused on the Sunyani Municipality, an emerging urban area in Ghana. Permit issuing authorities like the Municipal Assembly, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fire Service were contacted for data on permit acquisition processes and requirements. Developers and consultants who have been involved in obtaining permits from these authorities were also interviewed. The study points to the acquisition of permits as one of the obstacles in ensuring continuous workflow in the building construction project delivery process, mainly due to lack of integration of process steps as well as delays in processing and issuing the permits.


An Internal Process Evaluation of The Storytime Project: A parental dialogic story-reading programme
This thesis is an internal process evaluation of a parental dialogic story-reading programme called The Storytime Project. The aim of the empirical study was to evaluate the significance of the project to the participants and to gain insight into how it might be improved by engaging in depth with the processes involved in running the project. The views of all the project's stakeholders – children, parents, early childhood practitioners, home school liaison teachers, classroom teachers, school principals, and project administrators – were gathered for the evaluation study using a mixed methods research approach. The Storytime Project is a collaborative initiative between Marino Institute of Education and Dublin's Northside Partnership. It runs twice yearly for a five week period. The project evaluation targeted parents and children from areas that are socio-economically marginalised. The project aims to support children's oral language development and to enable parents and children to become users of their local public library. The project also focuses on parental empowerment. Relevant research demonstrates the following: Positive family-school relationships and family-child relationships benefit children's learning; parents are interested and able to carry out learning activities at home with their children; parental storybook reading has a positive impact on children's overall literacy development; brief instruction in interactive reading has an enduring effect on parents' reading style and the best method of helping parents to support their children's learning is through focused, specific coaching. Findings indicated that relationships between parents and children and between parents and educational settings improved as a result of engagement with The Storytime Project. Strategies designed to improve children's oral language, and shared with parents during the project, were practised and continue to be used. Parents reported increased confidence and knowledge of literacy practices and as a result began to get involved in school-based activities and use their local library.


An evidence-based interprofessional educational (IPE) intervention involving first year undergraduate students studying medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy was piloted at the University of Liverpool. Campbell's phased approach and Complexity Theory guided development of the intervention and its evaluation. The intervention included a staff-training programme, e-learning materials and interprofessional team working skills workshops. A multi method study design was used to evaluate outcomes and the processes by which the outcomes had transpired. The first year cohort of students (n = 442) was invited to attend the pilots. Fifty-four per cent (n = 237) opted to attend. Findings showed that the intervention promoted theoretical learning about team working. It enabled the students to learn with and from each other (p < 0.001), it significantly raised awareness about collaborative practice (p < 0.05), and its link to improving the effectiveness of care delivery (p < 0.01). The qualitative data showed that it served to increase students' confidence in their own professional identity and helped them to value difference making them better prepared for clinical placement. The findings support the need to start IPE early in students' training before professional doctrines have been built into their learning. As a result of the findings, the intervention has become compulsory for students to attend and the project has evolved to include trained service users/carers as co-facilitators of the workshops. It is also working on strengthening e-learning by integrating the generic materials into the curricula of all courses. Alongside this, strategies are being explored for interprofessional learning in practice.


An interview in July 1996 with Carver Andress Mead, Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Engineering and Applied Science (as of 1999, Moore Professor emeritus). Dr. Mead received his undergraduate and graduate education at Caltech (BS, 1956; MS, 1957; PhD, 1960). He joined the Caltech faculty in 1958, becoming a full professor in 1967.
 In this interview, he recalls growing up in the mountains east of Fresno, father's work for the Southern California Edison Company; early education in a one-room schoolhouse, then high school in Fresno. Early interest in electronics. Enters Caltech in 1952. Freshman courses with Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman, Frederic Bohnenblust; junior year focuses on electrical engineering. Stays on for a master's degree with the encouragement of Hardy C. Martel. PhD student with R. David Middlebrook and Robert V. Langmuir. Work on electron tunneling; grants from the Office of Naval Research and General Electric.
 Helps establish applied physics in the 1960s with Amnon Yariv and Charles Wilts. Discusses his friendship with Gordon Moore and work on design of semiconductors. Discusses the establishment of a computer science department at Caltech in the mid-1970s and the arrival of Ivan Sutherland: the Silicon Structures Project. Departure of Sutherland in 1978 and decline of computer science under Pres. Marvin L. (Murph) Goldberger.
 MOSIS [Metal Oxide Semiconductor Implementation Service] program. Teaching at Bell Labs, 1980; startup of fabless semiconductor companies. Discussion of Caltech's attitudes toward investment in small technology companies and licensing arrangements. His own consulting for Silicon Valley companies. MESFET [Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor]. Formation of CNS [Computation and Neural Systems] program at Caltech with John Hopfield, early 1980s. Caltech's Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering; help from National Science Foundation; involvement of Christof Koch, Demetri Psaltis, Rodney M. Goodman, Pietro Perona, and Yaser Abu-Mostafa.
 The interview concludes with a discussion of his interest in the freshman and sophomore physics courses and his advocacy of greater flexibility in the curriculum.


Introduction The eye and its adnexal tissues are frequently affected in the course of leprosy. In many cases, the involvement is the result of invasion of the eye by the bacilli but in others the ocular lesion is the result of sequelae of infection of adjacent tissues or nerves. However, since leprosy usually is a chronic low-grade infection beginning in childhood and persisting through an only moderately shortened average life span, a certain number of patients are affected by diseases of the eye found in nonleprous patients. In addition, in many countries in which leprosy is prevalent, superimposed and secondary infections or infestations play a considerable role in the development of ocular lesions. The present paper is the first of a series of reports on a study made to correlate the clinical and pathologic findings in a group of patients, most of whom show a pure leprotic infection. Corneal Lesions


Background Prone positioning has been used as an intervention to improve oxygenation in critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. During the COVID-19 pandemic, resources were even more limited given a surge in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients, which outstripped intensive care unit (ICU) capacity at many institutions. Local Problem The purpose of this article is to describe the development and implementation of a proning team during the surge in ICU patients with COVID-19 and to measure the impact of the program through surveys of staff involved. Methods/Interventions A proning protocol and educational plan was developed. A proning team of redeployed staff was created. A survey of ICU registered nurses and proning team members was used to evaluate the benefits and challenges of the proning team. Results The proning team was successful in safely performing more than 300 proning and supinating maneuvers for critically ill patients. There is overwhelming support within the institution for a proning team for future COVID-19 surges. Discussion The development and implementation of the proning team happened quickly to assist with the surge of patients and off-load work from ICU registered nurses. Despite the success of the proning team, more clearly defined roles and expectations, as well as additional education, are needed to further enhance teamwork and workflow. Conclusions Creation of the proning team was a creative use of resources that helped manage the large and medically complex patient population. This work may serve as a guide to other health care institutions.


The enhanced high gain harmonic generation (EHGHG) scheme has been proposed and shown to be able to significantly enhance the performance of HGHG FEL. In this paper we investigate the EHGHG scheme with negative dispersion. The bunching factor at the entrance of the radiator is analyzed, which indicates that the scheme with negative dispersion can further weaken the negative effect of the dispersive strength on the energy spread correction factor. The numerical results from GENESIS (3D-code) are presented, and are in good agreement with our analysis. Then we comparatively study the effects of the initial beam energy spread and the relative phase shift on the radiation power. The results show that the EHGHG scheme with negative dispersion has a larger tolerance on the initial beam energy spread and a nearly equal wide good region of the relative phase shift compared with the case of positive dispersion.


394 Abstract—Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) consist of a collection of wireless mobile nodes which dynamically exchange data among themselves without the need of fixed infrastructure or a wired backbone network. Due to limited transmission range of wireless network nodes, multiple hops are usually needed for a node to exchange information with any other node in the network. Thus routing is a crucial issue in the design of MANET. On-demand routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks discover and maintain only the needed routes to reduce routing overheads. They use a flood-based discovery mechanism to find routes when required. Since each route discovery incurs high overhead and latency, the frequency of route discoveries must be kept low for ondemand protocols to be effective. The wide availability of wireless devices requires the routing protocol should be scalable. But, as the size of the network increases the ondemand routing protocols produce poor performance due to large routing overhead generated while repairing route breaks. The proposed multipath routing scheme provides better performance and scalability by computing multiple routes in a single route discovery. Also, it reduces the routing overhead by using secondary paths. This scheme computes combination of the node-disjoint path and fail-safe paths for multiple routes and provides all the intermediate nodes of the primary path with multiple routes to destination.


We have previously shown that CD18 and alpha4 integrin were important in the adherence of emigrated neutrophils to cardiac myocytes. Whether either of these molecules is important in myocyte dysfunction is unclear. In this study, we measured contractility as an index of myocyte function. Control contractility was compared with shortening response in myocytes exposed to neutrophils in the presence and absence of anti-CD18 or anti-alpha4 antibodies. Control unloaded cell shortening, expressed as a percentage of resting cell length, measured 10.06+/-1.16% (n=10) at 5 minutes. Circulating neutrophils caused a 35% reduction in cell shortening, an event prevented by anti-CD18, but not by anti-alpha4 antibody. When emigrated neutrophils were added to the myocytes, a profound reduction (50%) in unloaded cell shortening was noted. A significant increase in CD18 and alpha4 integrin was found on emigrated neutrophils. Addition of anti-CD18 antibody did not protect the myocyte from the emigrated neutrophils, whereas the addition of an anti-alpha4 antibody significantly reduced neutrophil-induced cell shortening, despite some neutrophils still adhering to the myocytes. Furthermore, emigrated neutrophils were able to cause myocytes to go into contracture within 5 minutes in the presence of neutrophils with or without anti-CD18 antibody. In addition to the impairment in unloaded cell shortening, at later times (10 minutes), neutrophils also caused a 40% reduction in the rate of contraction and relaxation. The addition of either anti-CD18 or anti-alpha4 antibody protected the myocytes from these changes. The data suggest that immunosuppression of CD18 on emigrated neutrophils was only partially effective in reducing myocyte dysfunction. In contrast, immunosuppression of the alpha4 integrin alone was sufficient to dramatically reduce all parameters of cell dysfunction measured in this study.


Traditional ligand-field theory has to be improved by taking into account both "pure electronic" contribution and electron-phonon interaction one (including lattice-vibrational relaxation energy). By means of improved ligand-field theory, R-1, R-2, R-3', R-2', and R-1' lines, U band, ground-state zero-field-splitting (GSZFS), and ground-state g factors of ruby and/or GSGG: Cr3+ as well as thermal shifts of GSZFS, R-1 line and R-2 line of ruby have been calculated. The results are in very good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, it is found that the value of cubic-field parameter given by traditional ligand-field theory is inappropriately large. For thermal shifts of GSZFS, R-1 line and R-2 line of ruby, several conclusions have also been obtained.


The efficiency of a build system is an important factor for developer productivity. As a result, developer teams have been increasingly adopting new build systems that allow higher build parallelization. However, migrating the existing legacy build scripts to new build systems is a tedious and error-prone process. Unfortunately, there is insufficient support for automated migration of build scripts, making the migration more problematic. We propose the first dynamic approach for automated migration of build scripts to new build systems. Our approach works in two phases. First, from a set of execution traces, we synthesize build scripts that accurately capture the intent of the original build. The synthesized build scripts are typically long and hard to maintain. Second, we apply refactorings that raise the abstraction level of the synthesized scripts (e.g., introduce functions for similar fragments). As different refactoring sequences may lead to different build scripts, we use a search-based approach that explores various sequences to identify the best (e.g., shortest) build script. We optimize search-based refactoring with partial-order reduction to faster explore refactoring sequences. We implemented the proposed two phase migration approach in a tool called METAMORPHOSIS that has been recently used at Microsoft.


The paper presents an investigation into the design and operation of an intelligent controller for a multimicroprocessor-based fault-tolerant aircraft control system. This unit, called an asynchronous consistency unit (ACU), uses an interactive procedure and a mutual feedback mechanism (called synchronisation voting) for the timing control of the exchange of data among processors. Fault tolerance is achieved by majority voting of the exchanges between various processors. This is implemented by using both hardware and software techniques (hence the name hybrid). The ACUs govern the reliable operation of the system so that no module failure (processor, ACU or bus) has hard core characteristics; i.e. it cannot affect the reliable operation of the system, causing a catastrophic failure. The design provides full fault assertion for the ACUs and notification of failures to the processors. An ACU requires no master clock operation and it operates independently of its host processor in an asynchronous mode. A four-module system is presented. A disadvantage of this design is that the total number of data and control lines of the bus is substantial. If N data bits are exchanged in a four-module system, the total number of lines in the ACU is at least 4N+32. This disadvantage is, however, offset by the stringent requirement of full system fault tolerance in both the data and control signals of the aircraft control system.


The important mass of textual documents is in perpetual growth and requires strong applications to automatically process information. Automatic titling is an essential task for several applications: 'No Subject' e-mails titling, text generation, summarization, and so forth. This study presents an original approach consisting in titling journalistic articles by nominalizing. In particular, morphological and semantic processing are employed to obtain a nominalized form which has to respect titles characteristics (in particular, relevance and catchiness). The evaluation of the approach, described in the paper, indicates that titles stemming from this method are informative and/or catchy.


This master's thesis examines the possibility to heuristically optimise instruction cache performance in a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler. Programs that do not fit inside the cache all at once may suffer from cache misses as a result of frequently executed code segments competing for the same cache lines. A new heuristic algorithm LHCPA was created to place frequently executed code segments to avoid cache conflicts between them, reducing the overall cache misses and reducing the performance bottlenecks. Set-associative caches are taken into consideration and not only direct mapped caches. In Ahead-Of-Time compilers (AOT), the problem with frequent cache misses is often avoided by using call graphs derived from profiling and more or less complex algorithms to estimate the performance for different placements approaches. This often results in heavy computation during compilation which is not accepted in a JIT compiler. A case study is presented on an Alpha processor and an at Ericsson developed JIT Compiler. The results of the case study shows that cache performance can be improved using this technique but also that a lot of other factors influence the result of the cache performance. Such examples are whether the cache is set-associative or not; and especially the size of the cache highly influence the cache performance.


This paper investigates the effect of a unique child labor ban regulation on employment and school enrollment. The ban implemented in Mexico in 2015, increased the minimum working age from 14 to 15, introduced restrictions to employ underage individuals, and imposed penalties for the violation of the law. Our identification strategy relies on a DiD approach that exploits the date of birth as a natural cutoff to assign individuals into treatment and control groups. The ban led to a decrease in the probability to work by 1.2 percentage points and an increase in the probability of being enrolled in school by 2.2 percentage points for the treatment group. These results are driven by a reduction in employment in paid activities, and in the secondary and tertiary sectors. The effects are persistent several years after the ban.


The service-oriented architecture has come a long way in solving the problem of reusability of existing software resources. Grid applications today are composed of a large number of loosely coupled services. While this has opened up new avenues for building large, complex applications, it has made the management of the application components a nontrivial task. Use of services existing on different platforms, implemented in different languages and presence of variety of network constraints further complicates management. This paper investigates problems that emerge when there is a need to uniformly manage a set of distributed services. We present a scalable, fault-tolerant management framework. Our empirical evaluation shows that the architecture adds an acceptable number of additional resources for providing scalable, fault-tolerant management framework.


Thirteen Old Sydneians lost their lives fighting in South Africa (the Boer War), 1899–1902. Eleven of them are honoured on a memorial board at Sydney Grammar School. The best known of them was Keith Kinnaird Mackellar, killed in 1900. His letters to his sister, Dorothea (the famous poet), are a reminder of the youthful enthusiasm that drove so many young men into the conflic. Another old boy of the School was the famous bush poet, Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson, who went to South Africa as a war correspondent. Both men had Scots ancestry and they were among a large contingent of Old Sydneians for whom some form of Scottish identity was meaningful. Altogether, over 150 Old Sydneians fought in South Africa—an unusually high number of volunteers from one school. This paper explores the meaning of Scottish identity for the Grammar old boys who fought and died in South Africa.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is a numerical analysis of transient natural convection in a square partially porous cavity with a heat-generating and heat-conducting element using the local thermal non-equilibrium model under the effect of cooling from the vertical walls. It should be noted that this research deals with a development of passive cooling system for the electronic devices.

Design/methodology/approach
The domain of interest is a square cavity with a porous layer and a heat-generating element. The vertical walls of the cavity are kept at constant cooling temperature, while the horizontal walls are adiabatic. The heat-generating solid element is located on the bottom wall. A porous layer is placed under the clear fluid layer. The governing equations, formulated in dimensionless stream function, vorticity and temperature variables with corresponding initial and boundary conditions, are solved using implicit finite difference schemes of the second order accuracy. The governing parameters are the Darcy number, viscosity variation parameter, porous layer height and dimensionless time. The effects of varying these parameters on the average total Nusselt number along the heat source surface, the average temperature of the heater, the fluid flow rate inside the cavity and on the streamlines and isotherms are analyzed.

Findings
The results show that in the case of local thermal non-equilibrium the total average Nusselt number is an increasing function of the interphase heat transfer coefficient and the porous layer thickness, while the average heat source temperature decreases with the Darcy number and viscosity variation parameter.

Originality/value
An efficient numerical technique has been developed to solve this problem. The originality of this work is to analyze unsteady natural convection within a partially porous cavity using the local thermal non-equilibrium model in the presence of a local heat-generating solid element. The results would benefit scientists and engineers to become familiar with the analysis of convective heat transfer in enclosures with local heat-generating heaters and porous layers, and the way to predict the heat transfer rate in advanced technical systems, in industrial sectors including transportation, power generation, chemical sectors and electronics.


The paper contributes by providing a comprehensive assessment of the decline of DMB in Korea from a socio-technical perspective. The results highlight a number of factors accounting for the decline of Broadcast mobile TV (BMTV). These factors are summarised in terms of policies, markets, and technologies. In the initial and development stages, policies and business models were set mainly by the Korean government, making it difficult for the DMB market to sustain itself. However, the most profound impact in the long term has come from technological advances. The case of Korea's BMTV demonstrates how technological advances have influenced BMTV markets and caused profound consequences on mobile TV. Due to the generic characteristics of disruptive technologies, the Korean case will not be limited to a particular country. Overall, this paper contributes by providing implications for the future mobile TV and by adding another case to the literature of failure studies in the media industry.


Diabetic mellitus (DM) patients are at an increased risk of developing peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Danhong injection (DHI) is a Chinese patent medicine widely used for several cardiovascular indications but the mechanism of action is not well-understood. We investigated the therapeutic potential of DHI on experimental PAD in mice with chemically induced as well as genetic (KKAy) type 2 DM and the overlapping signaling pathways regulating both therapeutic angiogenesis and glucose homeostasis. Compared with normal genetic background wild type (WT) mice, both DM mice showed impaired perfusion recovery in hind-limb ischemia (HLI) model. DHI treatment significantly accelerated perfusion recovery, lowered blood glucose and improved glucose tolerance in both DM models. Bioluminescent imaging demonstrated a continuous ischemia-induced vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) gene expressions with a peak time coincident with the maximal DHI stimulation. Flow cytometry analysis showed a DHI-mediated increase in endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mobilization from bone marrow to circulating peripheral blood. DHI administration upregulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in ischemic muscle. A cross talk between ischemia-induced angiogenesis and glucose tolerance pathways was analyzed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) which suggested an interaction of VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) genes. We confirmed that upregulation of VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 by DHI promoted PPARδ gene expression in both type 2 diabetic mice. Our findings demonstrated that a multi-component Chinese medicine DHI effectively increased blood flow recovery after tissue ischemia in diabetic mice by promoting angiogenesis and improving glucose tolerance through a concomitant activation of VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 and PPARδ signaling pathways.


In general, pulsation damper is installed in fuel rail for conventional MPI engine to decrease undesirable noise in vehicle cabin room. However, pulsation damper is so expensive that there are prevailing studies to reduce fuel pressure pulsations with integrated damping effect. This paper is one of basic studies for development of fuel rail to abate pulsations with self-damping effect. Primarily, the pressure pulsation characteristics was investigated with aspect ratio of cross section, wall thickness, and materials of fuel rail. A high aspect ratio or thin wall was found to absorb the pressure pulsations effectively. But volume effects on the fuel pressure pulsation reductions were not especially significant than cross section effects because volume increment rate is larger than pressure pulsation reduction rate. The fuel rail made of aluminum is effective for reduction of pressure pulsation than that of low-carbon steel. Pressure change period increases on the basis of same lengths of supply line and fuel rail as the volume is enlarged and/or the thickness of wall is thinned.


A kinetic model for the oxidation of mixtures of n-heptane/iso-octane, the primary reference fuels for octane rating in spark-ignited internal combustion engines, has been written by using the system of automatic generation of mechanisms developed in Nancy. The relevant mechanism involves 647 species and includes 2386 reactions. The concentration profiles predicted by this model have been compared with experimental results obtained in a perfectly jet-stirred reactor in a temperature range from 580 to 1150 K, which includes the negative temperature coefficient region. A good agreement has been obtained for both the conversion of reactants and the distribution of the products formed. Reaction rates analyses have been performed for both compounds at 650 and 1100 K. A sensitivity analysis and a study of the influence of the structure of each molecule on the preferential reaction channels have been carried out and have enabled us to explain the changes in reactivity with the composition of the mixtures studied.


Objectives This study aimed to investigate the relationship between individual natural light exposure, sleep need, and depression at two latitudes, one extreme with a few hours of light per day during winter, and the other with equal hours of light and darkness throughout the year. Methods This cross-sectional study included a sample of Brazilian workers (Equatorial, n = 488 workers) and a Swedish sample (Arctic, n = 1,273). Results The reported mean total natural light exposure per 4-week cycle differed significantly between the Equatorial and Arctic regions. However, shiftworkers from both sites reported similar hours of natural light exposure. Short light exposure was a predictor for insufficient sleep. Conclusion Reduced exposure to natural light appears to increase the perception of obtaining insufficient sleep. Arctic workers were more prone to develop depression than Equatorial workers.


The sample size required to power a trial to a nominal level in a paired comparative diagnostic accuracy trial, i.e. Trials in which the diagnostic accuracy of two testing procedures are compared relative to a gold standard, depends on the correlation between the two diagnostic tests being compared. The lower the correlation between the tests the higher the sample size required, the higher the correlation between the tests the lower the sample size required. A priori, we usually do not know the correlation between the two tests and thus cannot determine the exact sample size. Furthermore, the correlation between two tests is a quantity for which 1) it is difficult to make an accurate intuitive estimate and, 2) it is unlikely estimates exist in the literature, particularly if one of the tests is new, as is very likely to be the case. One option, suggested in the literature, is to use the implied sample size for the maximal negative correlation between the two tests, thus, giving the largest possible sample size. However, this overly conservative technique is highly likely to be wasteful of resources and unnecessarily burdensome on trial participants - as the trial is likely to be overpowered and recruit many more participants than needed. A more accurate estimate of the sample size can be determined at a planned interim analysis point where the sample size is re-estimated - thereby incorporating an internal pilot study into the trial design, with the intention of producing an accurate estimate of the correlation between the tests into the trial. Methods This paper discusses a sample size estimation and re-estimation method based on the maximum likelihood estimates, under an implied multinomial model, of the observed values of correlation between the two tests and, if required, prevalence, at a planned interim. The method is illustrated by comparing the accuracy of two procedures for the detection of pancreatic cancer, one procedure using the standard battery of tests, and the other using the standard battery with the addition of a PET/CT scan all relative to the gold standard of a cell biopsy. Simulation of the proposed method are also conducted to determine robustness in various conditions. Results The results show that the type I error rate of the overall experiment is stable using our suggested method and that the type II error rate is close to or above nominal. Furthermore, the instances in which the type II error rate is above nominal are in the situations where the lowest sample size is required, meaning a lower impact on the actual number of participants recruited. Conclusion We recommend a paired comparative diagnostic accuracy trial which used an internal pilot study to re-estimate the sample size at the interim. This design would use a maximum likelihood estimate, under a multinomial model, of the correlation between the two tests being compared for diagnostic accuracy, in order to more effectively estimate the number of participants required to power the trial to at least the nominal level.


Position emission tomography (PET) is a powerful functional imaging modality with wide uses in fields such as oncology, cardiology, and neurology. Motivated by imaging datasets from a psoriasis clinical trial and a cohort of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, several interesting methodological challenges were identified in various steps of quantitative analysis of PET data. In Chapter 1, we consider a classification scenario of bivariate thresholding of a predictor using an upper and lower cutpoints, as motivated by an image segmentation problem of the skin. We introduce a generalization of ROC analysis and the concept of the parameter path in ROC space of a classifier. Using this framework, we define the optimal ROC (OROC) to identify and assess performance of optimal classifiers, and describe a novel nonparametric estimation of OROC which simultaneous estimates the parameter path of the optimal classifier. In simulations, we compare its performance to alternative methods of OROC estimation. In Chapter 2, we develop a novel method to normalize PET images as an essential preprocessing step for quantitative analysis. We propose a method based on application of functional data analysis to image intensity distribution functions, assuming that that individual image density functions are variations from a template density. By modeling the warping functions using a modified function-on-scalar regression, the variations in density functions due to nuisance parameters are estimated and subsequently removed for normalization. Application to our motivating data indicate persistence of residual variations in standardized image densities. In Chapter 3, we propose a nonlinear mixed effects framework to model amyloid-beta (Aβ), an important biomarker in AD. We incorporate the hypothesized functional form of Aβ trajectory by assuming a common trajectory model for all subjects with variations in the location parameter, and a mixture distribution for the random effects of the location parameter address our empirical findings that some subjects may not accumulate Aβ. Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, group differences are specified into the trajectory parameters. We show in simulation studies that the model closely estimates the true parameters under various scenarios, and accurately estimates group differences in the age of onset. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Epidemiology & Biostatistics First Advisor Russell T. Shinohara This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2010 Second Advisor Andrea B. Troxel


Introduction: Intimate partner violence refers to any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes emotional, physical and sexual problems to victims. Coping strategy as significant factors in mental health is defined as behavioral and psychological attempts to control stress and confront stressful situations.
Aims: This study aimed to compare spouse abused and non- abused women in attachment styles, marital conflicts, coping strategies and sexual satisfaction.
Methods: This is a comparative study. Statistical population of study consisted of all women who had referred to healthcare centers in Alborz province during February-May 2017. All of women filled spouse abuse questionnaire and 300 c spouse abused women compared with 300 non- abused  women. Both groups were similar in terms of age, education level, number of children, and living place using convenience sampling method. Sample members filled out Sanaee's Marital Conflict Questionnaire, Endler and Parker (1990) Coping Strategies Inventory, Hudson et al.  (1981) Sexual Satisfaction Scale, and Collins and Reid (1990) Attachment Scale. Data analyzed by t test, Pearson correlation coefficient, MANCOVA and Levin test through SPSS-21 Software.
Results: Results showed that spouse women had more marital conflicts, insecure attachment, dysfunctional coping strategies and less sexual satisfaction than non-abused women (0/000).
Conclusion: There were insecure attachment style, more marital conflicts, and dysfunctional coping strategies, less sexual satisfaction in spouse abused women.


Fatal and near-fatal maulings of humans by pit bulls have recently become a topic of major public concern, resulting in the passage of laws in some jurisdictions that make the owner of a pit bull criminally liable for manslaughter if his or her pet causes a human death. The authors recently investigated two cases in which children were fatally injured by pet dogs. In the first case, a 17-day-old girl suffered fatal abdominal injuries when attacked by a pregnant Siberian husky. A 2-year-old girl expired from neck wounds inflicted by a pit bull or a rottweiler or both. Because no expert would testify as to which dog caused the fatal injury, the owner of the animals was not charged under a statute which specified criminality only if a pit bull caused the fatal injury. We also examined a 12-year-old boy who attempted to pet a circus tiger; the animal grabbed his arm with its claws and bit off the arm at the shoulder. The arm could not be reattached, but the child survived. These cases and the differentiation of animal bites from other injuries will be presented.


Some text classification methods don't work well on short texts due to the data sparsity. What's more, they don't fully exploit context-relevant knowledge. In order to tackle these problems, we propose a neural network to incorporate context-relevant knowledge into a convolutional neural network for short text classification. Our model consists of two modules. The first module utilizes two layers to extract concept and context features respectively and then employs an attention layer to extract those context-relevant concepts. The second module utilizes a convolutional neural network to extract high-level features from the word and the contextrelevant concept features. The experimental results on three datasets show that our proposed model outperforms the stateof-the-art models.


Context. Accurate modelling of solar-like oscillators requires that modelled mode frequencies are corrected for the systematic shift caused by improper modelling of the near-surface layers, known as the surface effect. Several parametrizations of the surface effect are now available but they have not yet been systematically compared with observations of stars showing modes with mixed g - and p -mode character. Aims. We investigate how much additional uncertainty is introduced to stellar model parameters by our uncertainty about the functional form of the surface effect. At the same time, we test whether any of the parametrizations is significantly better or worse at modelling observed subgiants and low-luminosity red giants. Methods. We model six stars observed by Kepler that show clear mixed modes. We fix the input physics of the stellar models and vary the choice of surface correction between five parametrizations. Results. Models using a solar-calibrated power law correction consistently fit the observations more poorly than the other four corrections. Models with the remaining four corrections generally fit the observations about equally well, with the combined surface correction by Ball & Gizon perhaps being marginally superior. The fits broadly agree on the model parameters within about the 2 σ uncertainties, with discrepancies between the modified Lorentzian and free power law corrections occasionally exceeding the 3 σ level. Relative to the best-fitting values, the total uncertainties on the masses, radii and ages of the stars are all less than 2, 1 and 6 per cent, respectively. Conclusions. A solar-calibrated power law, as formulated by Kjeldsen et al., appears unsuitable for use with more evolved solar-like oscillators. Among the remaining surface corrections, the uncertainty in the model parameters introduced by the surface effects is about twice as large as the uncertainty in the individual fits for these six stars. Though the fits are thus somewhat less certain because of our uncertainty of how to manage the surface effect, these results also demonstrate that it is feasible to model the individual mode frequencies of subgiants and low-luminosity red giants, and hence also use these individual stars to help to constrain stellar models.


Producers' preferences for cottonseed with respect to price, seed type, yield, and fiber quality are examined by a willingness-to-pay approach via mail surveys. Results indicate a positive willingness to pay (WTP) for technology relative to conventional cottonseed, and WTP increases with the level of technology. Yield and quality also show a positive WTP. Larger farms have a higher WTP for technology, and farms with more farm labor have a lower WTP for technology. These results suggest economies of size in technology adoption (biotechnology is not size-neutral) and that labor and biotechnology are direct substitutes.


The issue of widespread food insecurity amongst children in Africa and Asia has often been narrowed to the discourse on 'severe acute malnutrition (SAM)' in the last decade. Further, conflicting notions exist in relation to the root causes and solutions for SAM; ranging from the dominant view that it is a medical emergency needing medical/technical assistance, to it being perceived as a socio-economic-political phenomenon, to be managed largely by enhancing the agency of the affected families and communities. Much recent experience, and some evidence, has emerged that suggests that SAM in India is a unique phenomenon with distinct differences from its counterpart in Africa. Nonetheless, the technical community has been slow to acknowledge these differences, leave alone alter their recommendations accordingly. These differences in understanding are sharply evident in the interpretation of community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) in particular.

This paper examines these differences; factual and perceptual, and critically interrogates the definition and programmatic interpretation of CMAM that is in current usage, which results in the further marginalization and dependence of the affected community upon external resources. It also highlights the characteristics of alternate programmes for CMAM using a few models for illustration.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether baseline systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is associated with 3-month poor prognosis and early neurological outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 221 consecutive patients were enrolled in the retrospective study. The primary endpoints were poor functional outcomes or death at 3 months. Secondary endpoints were early neurological deterioration (END) or symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage within 24 hours. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses was performed to assess the overall discriminative ability of SII in predicting the 4 endpoints. We also performed the Spearman correlation test to evaluate the relationship between SII and stroke severity. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between SII and endpoints.

RESULTS
The cutoff values of SII were 504.99×109/L for predicting a 3-month poor prognosis (sensitivity, 70.9% and specificity, 69.6%), 524.47×109/L for predicting 3-month death (sensitivity, 78.9% and specificity, 59.9%) and 504.99×109/L for predicting END (sensitivity, 70.7% and specificity, 62.6%), respectively. A positive association between SII and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was observed (rs = 0.306, P < 0.001). Multivariable analyses indicated that SII was independently associated with 3-month poor prognosis [odds ratio (OR) = 5.384; 95% CI: 2.844-10.193; P < 0.001], 3-month death (OR = 2.592, 95% CI: 1.046-6.421, P = 0.040) and END (OR = 3.202, 95% CI: 1.796-5.707, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
Increased baseline SII was associated with END and 3-month poor outcomes, and may act as a potential prognostic predictor for acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis.


Platelet structural physiology has contributed significantly to our understanding of basic mechanisms of platelet function in hemostasis and thrombosis. Current evidence indicates that platelets are a form of muscle cell with specialized capabilities for secretion and adhesion-aggregation. Activation of the discoid cell by any agent appears to involve a perturbation of the membrane resulting in movement of calcium from the cell wall to the interior. The calcium flux stimulates phospholipase A2 to cleave arachidonic acid from platelet phospholipids starting the cascade of prostaglandin synthesis. In addition, the movement of calcium to the cytoplasm initiates contraction leading to shape change. Products formed during prostaglandin synthesis, particularly thromboxane A2, act as ionophores to transport additional calcium from the dense tubular system to the cytoplasm amplifying the wave of contraction. Alterations in organelle membranes result in their fusion with channels of the open canalicular system. The contractile wave causes extrusion of secretory products which stimulate other platelets to become involved in formation of irreversible aggregates in vitro and hemostatic plugs in vivo. Mechanisms regulating platelet stimulation-contraction-secretion coupling are currently under investigation.


Currently, the main focus on tissue engineering strategies is to mimic the extracellular matrix of the related tissues. Many studies accomplished to build tissue scaffolds to act as the natural surroundings of the specific interest, which can be established to behave like either healthy or unhealthy tissues. The latter one of these conditions is a quite new approach and crucial for the design of three-dimensional in vitro disease models. This study investigates the potential of a composite scaffold consisting hydroxyapatite-integrated fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl diphenylalanine hydrogels by focusing on the optimization of this hybrid scaffold for the development of an in vitro model of degenerative cartilage. Cell growth, chondrocyte proliferation, extracellular matrix production, hypertrophy marker monitoring, scaffold mechanical properties, and morphological analysis were evaluated. Fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl diphenylalanine dipeptides were dissolved in null cell culture media and pH decreased sequentially to compel peptides to self-organize into fibrous hydrogel scaffolds. Nano-hydroxyapatite crystals were incorporated into fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl diphenylalanine hydrogels during the gelation to investigate the effect on chondrocytes. It is observed that hydroxyapatite incorporation into peptide hydrogels significantly increased the alkaline phosphatase activity and assymetrical cell divisions, which is appraised as an outcome of chondrocyte hypertrophy. It is concluded that chondrocytes develop a hypertrophic potential when they are cultured in a media with nano-hydroxyapatites in a three-dimensional cell culture matrix mimicking the extracellular matrix conditions of degenerative cartilage.


In this work, we propose a fully automatic and computationally efficient group registration approach for sets of three-dimensional models represented as mesh objects. Our approach is based on agglomerating the set of pairwise model-to-model rigid registrations by a robust spectral synchronization scheme. The pairwise registration is computed using spectral graph matching applied to meshes via the LD-SIFT local mesh features. We applied the proposed scheme to sets of subcortical surfaces, and it was shown to provide accurate and robust registration results.


Background In the current climate of austerity and need to demonstrate that hospices are able to prepare for a changing future of widening access, it is important that hospices take every opportunity to develop practice and ensure the whole workforce is abreast of current thinking. Furthermore, this development must be made explicit to staff and all stakeholders. Having always prided itself on being a centre of excellence, this hospice sought to demonstrate this by being recognised as a practice development unit. Approach After working with a university to reach first stage accreditation, it was acknowledged that the framework to achieve this was too rigid and costly for a charitable organisation. The existing education and research group was amalgamated with the practice development team to create a Hospice Education And Research and Development (HEARD) group to ensure that every aspect of hospice care follows a practice development approach. Outcomes The group HEARD offers everyone in the organisation a voice, and a place for their development ideas to be heard. It meets bi-monthly to examine current practice, ideas for research and publication, and to plan a series of learning events to meet changing educational needs of all hospice staff. This plans to generate evidence, develop practice, disseminate good practice, and share best evidence through a journal club, with a focus on developing the workforce and leadership abilities through a largely bottom-up approach. Application To preserve the academic rigour of the practice development process, eight criteria were created to guide innovation, and the group has a steering committee. Two successful celebration days have now been held to showcase practice developments to stakeholders and staff. An electronic source of educational information has developed from this; the research behind which, as well as other developments, have been published and shared at international conferences.


Context: Inter-spouse communication majorly influences the decision making process of couples for adopting family planning measures. This factor is especially important in male dominated cultures, where, it is thought unnecessary for men to discuss family planning as child bearing and contraception are presumed to be female matters. Aims: The present study was conducted with the aim to know the extent of inter spouse communication among couples and its impact on use of family planning measures and family size. Settings and Design : The study was conducted among ever married women in the reproductive age group of 15-49 years (n=718) residing in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. The study was a community based cross-sectional study. Methods and Material : A community based household survey was conducted in the registered areas of urban and rural health training centres of Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh,Uttar Pradesh. Participants were enquired on various parameters related to their conversations on family planning with their husband, ever use of contraception and their family size. Statistical analysis used : Chi square was applied to test the association. Results : A sizeable portion (18.1%) of women had never conversed with their husbands on family planning matters. Communicators were observed to have lesser number of living children (p<0.001). Current use of contraceptives was significantly associated with inter spouse discussion (p<0.05). 43% women from the study sample had never discussed the choice of a contraceptive method with their husbands. Conclusions : Husband-wife communication plays an important role in family planning acceptance as well as in deciding the final family size.


Many receptor families exhibit both pleiotropy and redundancy in their regulation, with multiple ligands, receptors, and responding cell populations. Any intervention, therefore, has multiple effects and is context specific, confounding intuition about how to carry out precise therapeutic manipulation. The common γ-chain cytokine receptor dimerizes with complexes of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15, and IL-21 and their corresponding "private" receptors. These cytokines have existing uses and future potential as immune therapies due to their ability to regulate the abundance and function of specific immune cell populations. Here, we build a binding-reaction model for the ligand-receptor interactions of common γ-chain cytokines enabling quantitative predictions of response. We show that accounting for receptor-ligand trafficking is essential to accurately model cell response. Using this model, we visualize regulation across the family and immune cell types by tensor factorization. This model accurately predicts ligand response across a wide panel of cell types under diverse experimental designs. Further, we can predict the effect of ligands across cell types. In total, these results present a more accurate model of ligand response validated across a panel of immune cell types, and demonstrate an approach for generating interpretable guidelines to manipulate the cell type-specific targeting of engineered ligands. Summary points A dynamical model of the γ-chain cytokines accurately models responses to IL-2, IL-15, IL-4, and IL-7. Receptor trafficking is necessary for capturing ligand response. Tensor factorization maps responses across cell populations, receptors, cytokines, and dynamics. An activation model coupled with tensor factorization creates design specifications for engineering cell-specific responses.


: The alleviation of foreign DNA restriction after treatment of cells by UV and gamma-rays or ocr+-gene product of T3, T7 phages has been studied. Both UV and gamma-radiation were shown to induce in restriction alleviation of unmodified phage. The results of restriction alleviation caused by T3 and T7 ocr+-gene products have been evaluated by F-lac+ transfer efficiencies in heterologic crosses and plating of unmodified phage lambda. The phenomenon of restriction alleviation was established to depend on the strain used and to be expressed mostly in AB157 and its derivatives.


Aspirin (ASA) was tested in a group of 8 Oriental and 3 Occidental subjects who were shown in a previous study to respond to small doses of ethanol (0.06-0.25 g/kg) with facial flushing. They were compared to a similar group of 11 non-flushing Occidental subjects following a larger ethanol dose (0.37 g/kg) to determine if similar effects could be produced in less sensitive individuals. Control tests of blood ethanol and acetaldehyde (AcH) levels (calculated from breath), facial and neck skin temperatures, body sway (Romberg test), blood pressure, heart rate and 10 Subjective High Assessment Scales (SHAS-Judd, 1977) were conducted before and at 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes after drinking ethanol as vodka in orange juice. The tests were repeated one week later one hour after receiving 0.64 gm of ASA orally. ASA produced slight changes in the early absorption of ethanol and small decreases in AcH levels in the flushing and non-flushing groups. Facial flushing was markedly reduced in the flushing group, but was slightly increased in the non-flushing Occidentals. Body sway was reduced by ASA in both groups. An alcohol-induced increase in heart rate in the flushing group was reduced with no change in blood pressure. SHAS subjective parameters were widely variable, but indicated that ASA produced reduced sleepiness and earlier relaxation in the flushing group. It is concluded that ASA can block alcohol-induced facial flushing in sensitive subjects and also reduces body sway in the Romberg test and alters some subjective feelings of alcohol intoxication.


: The author reviews the literature of the past 20 years on heart disease among firefighters, covering the specific aspects of firefighting that may be related to potential cardiovascular disease. The author then outlines steps that can be taken to reduce the risks of developing cardiovascular disease.


Defining neighborhood boundaries within a city is a complex and often subjective task. Neighborhoods boundaries are defined by the people that visit and live in the region, and activities that occur within those boundaries. Depending on the individual or group activity being conducted, these boundaries can change substantially. Transportation and human mobility patterns offer a novel basis on which to explore and delineate neighborhoods. In this work we take a first, exploratory step in capturing dynamically changing neighborhoods based on two different types of urban mobility data. Through clustering temporal urban mobility signatures of alternative transportation users in Washington, D.C., this work provides implications about the characteristics of different types of mobility data and research directions.


Let $\Gamma$ be a lattice in $\mathrm{SO}_0(n, 1)$. We prove that if the associated locally symmetric space contains infinitely many maximal totally geodesic subspaces of dimension at least $2$, then $\Gamma$ is arithmetic. This answers a question of Reid for hyperbolic $n$-manifolds and, independently, McMullen for hyperbolic $3$-manifolds. We prove these results by proving a superrigidity theorem for certain representations of such lattices. The proof of our superrigidity theorem uses results on equidistribution from homogeneous dynamics and our main result also admits a formulation in that language.


Sleep quality is one of the physiological needs of life. Poor sleep quality can affect college student performance. One of sleep quality management is dzikir therapy. Dzikir therapy is a complementary therapy that uses mind-body technique therapy. This research aimed to identify the effect of dzikir therapy on sleep quality of college students at School of Nursing University of Jember. This research used quasy experimental with control group  pretest-posttest design. The sampling technique was purposive sampling involving 34 respondents divided into 17 respondents as dzikir therapy group and 17 respondents as control group. The instrument used Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire (PSQI). Data were analyzed using dependent t-test and independent t-test with significance level of 95 % (α=0.05). The results showed that there was a significant difference of sleep quality score before and after dzikir therapy with the average decreased from 8.59 to 4.35 (p= 0.001). Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in sleep quality score between pretest and posttest of control group with the average decreased from 7.94 to 7.53 (p= 0.150). For both group, sleep quality of students decreased, but the decrease  in the intervention group was higher than in control group. So, there was a significant difference of sleep quality score between intervention group and control group (p=0.001). Relaxation effect of dzikir therapy stimulates the hypothalamus to affect the pineal gland in producing melatonin which make it easy to sleep. The conclusion is there is a significant effect of dzikir therapy toward sleep quality of college students at School of Nursing University of Jember. Nurses can apply dzikir therapy to increase sleep quality of clients, besides dzikir therapy can also be a part of activity for college students before sleeping.


Allergic diseases continue to increase in prevalence, and now affect over a third of the population in many countries. There is evidence that the increase in such diseases has its origins in early life exposures. Pregnancy or early childhood may therefore be critical periods for preventing the onset of allergic disease, and prenatal interventions are an attractive possibility for a population‐based preventive approach. Here we review the data suggesting that prenatal exposures are important in the development of allergic disease, and that interventions during this time might be effective in prevention. We find evidence from both animal and human studies that prenatal interventions can influence the future development of allergic disease. There are a number of mechanisms through which such interventions may act to prevent allergic sensitization. We conclude that prenatal interventions have the potential to reduce the burden of allergic disease, and merit continued investigation. Further research in this area may lead to significant public health initiatives.


The biomethanisation of pig wastes produces a significant amount of biogas and reduces the organic load of the effluent. This effluent contains an important amount of nutrients that may be recuperated by coagulation-floculation, with cationic polymers. The optimization of this process was studied and the characteristics of the solid wastes produced determined. This product is a typical protein concentrate whose value is discussed, as well as possible reutilizations for feeding purposes.


A natural- based nanocomposite film consisting of chitosan, montmorillonite (MMT) and cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) was synthesized. The nanocomposite was prepared by mixing a suspension of clay particles (filler, MMT) with a solution containing chitosan as the macroscopic polymer matrix. In this study, it was proposed that non-ionic long-chain alkyl molecules with possible interactions with the amine group of chitosan could be used as a plasticizer. As a natu-ral source for these compounds, an extract of CNSL was used. A series of chitosan/MMT com-posite samples containing two different clay contents and a sample with an additional CNSL were prepared. FTIR spectroscopy of the nanocomposite films indicated that, by addition of CNSL, amide groups of the chitosan are probably less attached and have more space for vibra-tion. CNSL seems to provide intermolecular spaces between the chitosan molecules. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed that the composite contained particles measuring 100 nm or less, which confirmed that the nanocomposite had been successfully produced by this method. Addition of CNSL as plasticizer improved the tensile strength by 10% and the elastic modulus by almost 18%. Cell growth was observed on all the nanocomposite samples studied.


Widespread, convenient access to COVID-19 testing has been challenging in the United States. We make a case for provisioning COVID-19 tests through the United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities and demonstrate a simple method for selecting locations to improve access. We provide quantitative evidence that even a subset of USPS facilities could provide broad access, particularly in remote and at-risk communities with limited access to health care. Based on daily travel surveys, census data, locations of USPS facilities, and an established care-seeking model, we estimate that more than 94% of the US population would be willing to travel to an existing USPS facility if warranted. For half of the US population, this would require traveling less than 2.5 miles from home; for 90%, the distance would be less than 7 miles. In Georgia, Illinois, and Minnesota, we estimate that testing at USPS facilities would provide access to an additional 4.1, 3.1, and 1.3 million people and reduce the median travel distance by 3.0, 0.8, and 1.2 miles, respectively, compared with existing testing sites per 28 July 2020. We also discuss the option of distributing test-at-home kits via USPS instead of private carriers. Finally, our proposal provides USPS an opportunity to increase revenues and expand its mission, thus improving its future prospects and relevance.


This research aimed to analyze the motivation of goat smallholder farmers joined the farmer group using Vroom's Expectation Theory. Vroom's expectancy theory differs from the content theories of Maslow, Alderfer, Herzberg, and McClelland in that Vroom's expectancy theory does not provide specific suggestions on what motivates organization members. Instead, Vroom's theory provides a process of cognitive variables that reflects individual differences in work motivation. The sample used in this study was goat farmers in Yogyakarta Provice. A total number of respodents was 162 farmers. Using the survey method, the result showed that farmers' participation motivation category in the group housing was intermediate. The average value of valence was intermediate, expectancy was high, and instrumentality was intermediate. The average total score for motivation joining the group was intermediate. It can be concluded that farmers' motivation joining group was in the intermediate category. The rank of the components underlying farmers' motivation in group from the lowest to the highest was expectancy, instrumentality and valence


Three insecticide active ingredients (cyfluthrin, indoxacarb, and zetacypermethrin) were evaluated for their efficacy on several insects found in fall alfalfa in the low desert. Both liquid and wettable formulations were included for both cyfluthrin and zetacypermethrin, and four rates of indoxacarb were applied. Insect pressures were fairly low throughout the study. Pyrethroid chemistries (cyfluthrin, zetacypermethrin) provided excellent control of threecornered alfalfa hoppers for seven days after application while cyfluthrin applications resulted in lowest numbers of pale striped flea beetles during the same time period. All chemistries resulted in excellent control of the South American bean thrips (Caliothrips phaseoli). Indoxacarb treatments resulted in significantly increased levels of spotted alfalfa aphid, thought due to a reduction of big eye bugs noted with usage of this chemistry. Wettable formulations of both cyfluthrin and zetacypermethrin resulted in significant hay yield increases (0.1 tons/acre) when compared with their liquid formulations. An inverse yield trend was noted with indoxacarb rate. Usage of the liquid cyfluthrin chemistry also resulted in an unexplained quality decrease in this experiment.


Copper (Cu) is a redox-active micronutrient that is both essential and toxic. Its cellular homeostasis is critical for supporting cuproprotein maturation while avoiding excessive oxidative stress. The Cu importer CcoA is the prototype of the widespread CalT subfamily of the MFS-type transporters. Hence, understanding its molecular mechanism of function is significant. Here, we show that CcoA undergoes a thiol:disulfide oxidoreduction cycle, which is important for its Cu import activity. ABSTRACT CcoA belongs to the widely distributed bacterial copper (Cu) importer subfamily CalT (CcoA-like Transporters) of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) and provides cytoplasmic Cu needed for cbb3-type cytochrome c oxidase (cbb3-Cox) biogenesis. Earlier studies have supported a 12-transmembrane helix (TMH) topology of CcoA with the well-conserved Met233xxxMet237 and His261xxxMet265 motifs in its TMH7 and TMH8, respectively. Of these residues, Met233 and His261 are essential for Cu uptake and cbb3-Cox production, whereas Met237 and Met265 contribute partly to these processes. CcoA also contains five Cys residues of unknown role and, remarkably, its structural models predict that three of these are exposed to the highly oxidizing periplasm. Here, we first demonstrate that elimination of both Met237 and Met265 completely abolishes Cu uptake and cbb3-Cox production, indicating that CcoA requires at least one of these two Met residues for activity. Second, using scanning mutagenesis to probe plausible metal-interacting Met, His, and Cys residues of CcoA, we found that the periplasm-exposed Cys49 located at the end of TMH2, the Cys247 on a surface loop between TMH7 and THM8, and the C367 located at the end of TMH11 are important for CcoA function. Analyses of the single and double Cys mutants revealed the occurrence of a disulfide bond in CcoA in vivo, possibly related to conformational changes it undergoes during Cu import as MFS-type transporter. Our overall findings suggest a model linking Cu import for cbb3-Cox biogenesis with a thiol:disulfide oxidoreduction step, advancing our understanding of the mechanisms of CcoA function. IMPORTANCE Copper (Cu) is a redox-active micronutrient that is both essential and toxic. Its cellular homeostasis is critical for supporting cuproprotein maturation while avoiding excessive oxidative stress. The Cu importer CcoA is the prototype of the widespread CalT subfamily of the MFS-type transporters. Hence, understanding its molecular mechanism of function is significant. Here, we show that CcoA undergoes a thiol:disulfide oxidoreduction cycle, which is important for its Cu import activity.


Brucella abortus infection of the aortic valve caused acute aortic regurgitation leading to severe left ventricular failure in a 62-year-old man. He made an excellent recovery after emergency aortic valve replacement. This is the third reported case of successful heart valve replacement for Brucella endocarditis and the second such case involving the aortic valve.


We investigated the role of the chondrocyte primary cilium in mechanotransduction events related to cartilage extracellular matrix synthesis. We generated conditionally immortalized wild‐type (WT) and IFT88orpk (ORPK) mutant chondrocytes that lack primary cilia and assessed intracellular Ca2+ signaling, extracellular matrix synthesis, and ATP release in response to physiologically relevant compressive strains in a 3‐dimensional chondrocyte culture system. All conditions were compared to unloaded controls. We found that cilia were required for compression‐induced Ca2+ signaling mediated by ATP release, and an associated up‐regulation of aggrecan mRNA and sulfated glycosaminosglycan secretion. However, chondrocyte cilia were not the initial mechanoreceptors, since both WT and ORPK cells showed mechanically induced ATP release. Rather, we found that primary cilia were required for downstream ATP reception, since ORPK cells did not elicit a Ca2+ response to exogenous ATP even though WT and ORPK cells express similar levels of purine receptors. We suggest that purinergic Ca2+ signaling may be regulated by polycystin‐1, since ORPK cells only expressed the C‐terminal tail. This is the first study to demonstrate that primary cilia are essential organelles for cartilage mechanotransduction, as well as identifying a novel role for primary cilia not previously reported in any other cell type, namely cilia‐mediated control of ATP reception.—Wann, A. K. T., Zuo, N., Haycraft, C. J., Jensen, C. G., Poole, C. A., McGlashan, S. R., Knight, M. M. Primary cilia mediate mechanotransduction through control of ATP‐induced Ca2+ signaling in compressed chondrocytes. FASEB J. 26, 1663‐1671 (2012). www.fasebj.org


Cluster-based information retrieval is one of the Information retrieval(IR) tools that organize, extract features and categorize the web documents according to their similarity. Unlike traditional approaches, cluster-based IR is fast in processing large datasets of document. To improve the quality of retrieved documents, increase the efficiency of IR and reduce irrelevant documents from user search. in this paper, we proposed a (K-means) - Hierarchical Parallel Genetic Algorithms Approach (HPGA) that combines the K-means clustering algorithm with hybrid PG of multi-deme and master/slave PG algorithms. K-means uses to cluster the population to k subpopulations then take most clusters relevant to the query to manipulate in a parallel way by the two levels of genetic parallelism, thus, irrelevant documents will not be included in subpopulations, as a way to improve the quality of results. Three common datasets (NLP, CISI, and CACM) are used to compute the recall, precision, and F-measure averages. Finally, we compared the precision values of three datasets with Genetic-IR and classic-IR. The proposed approach precision improvements with IR-GA were 45% in the CACM, 27% in the CISI, and 25% in the NLP. While, by comparing with Classic-IR, (k-means)-HPGA got 47% in CACM, 28% in CISI, and 34% in NLP.