The South African state has responded favorably to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social movement organizations' (SMOs) efforts to protect and extend sexual and gender minority rights, whereas Namibian state leaders have verbally attacked LGBT organizing and threatened to arrest sexual and gender minorities. In these countries, LGBT persons have organized themselves into publicly visible social movement organizations (SMOs) over the last ten years. Amid such different official responses to LGBT organizing, how, when, and why do Namibian and South African LGBT social movement organizations become publicly visible or retreat from visibility? To answer this question, I turn to sociologist James M. Jasper's (2004, 2006) concept of "strategic dilemma." LGBT social movement organizations encountered strategic dilemmas of visibility or invisibility when they decide whether and how to become visible, modify their public profile, or forgo political opportunities. To understand the micropolitical dynamics of how LGBT social movement organizations negotiated such strategic dilemmas of visibility and invisibility, I engaged in intensive, continuous ethnographic observation of four Namibian and South African LGBT social movement organizations for approximately 800 hours and analyzed my ethnographic fieldnotes. I also analyzed more than 2,100 newspaper articles and LGBT SMO documents and conducted 56 in-depth interviews with staff, members, and leaders of LGBT SMOs. In this dissertation, I explore the varied strategic dilemmas of visibility and invisibility that Namibian and South African LGBT SMOs faced. My findings advance social movement theorizing by demonstrating the importance of studying social movements in the global South. In addition, my findings contribute to postcolonial feminist and queer theorizing by showing how marginalized sexual and gender minorities in post-apartheid Namibia and South Africa used public visibility as a strategy to argue for their democratic inclusion.


Laminin and type IV collagen composition of the glomerular basement membrane changes during glomerular development and maturation. Although it is known that both glomerular endothelial cells and podocytes produce different laminin isoforms at the appropriate stages of development, the cellular origins for the different type IV collagen heterotrimers that appear during development are unknown. Here, immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that endothelial cells, mesangial cells, and podocytes of immature glomeruli synthesize collagen alpha 1 alpha 2 alpha1(IV). However, intracellular labeling revealed that podocytes, but not endothelial or mesangial cells, contain collagen alpha 3 alpha 4 alpha 5(IV). To evaluate the origins of collagen IV further, we transplanted embryonic kidneys from Col4a3-null mutants (Alport mice) into kidneys of newborn, wildtype mice. Hybrid glomeruli within grafts containing numerous host-derived, wildtype endothelial cells never expressed collagen alpha 3 alpha 4 alpha 5(IV). Finally, confocal microscopy of glomeruli from infant Alport mice that had been dually labeled with anti-collagen alpha 5(IV) and the podocyte marker anti-GLEPP1 showed immunolabeling exclusively within podocytes. Together, these results indicate that collagen alpha 3 alpha 4 alpha 5(IV) originates solely from podocytes; therefore, glomerular Alport disease is a genetic defect that manifests specifically within this cell type.


Objective A multidisciplinary approach is advocated for the management of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), but few clinical data exist to support this. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary NAFLD clinic using surrogate markers of liver injury and cardiovascular risk. Design Retrospective survey of clinical practice. Setting The multidisciplinary NAFLD clinic in a secondary/tertiary care setting with hepatology, diabetology, dietetic and exercise therapy input: initial 5-years' experience (2007–2012). Patients 180 patients with NAFLD but without hepatic comorbidities were followed up for a median of 19.5 (range 3–57) months. 52% had type 2 diabetes mellitus, 48% were Europoid Caucasian, 17% were South Asian. Interventions Multiple clinical interventions were employed including lifestyle (diet and exercise) advice, pharmacological intervention for cardiovascular risk factors, weight loss and exercise therapy. Main outcome measures Change in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), weight, HbA1c, lipid profile and blood pressure. Results Median ALT fell from 61 (12–270) U/l to 50 (11–221) U/l, −18%, p<0.001, and weight fell from 90.5 (42.7–175.0) kg to 87.3 (45.9–175.3) kg, −3.5%, p<0.001. There were significant improvements in total cholesterol overall, triglycerides (among dyslipidaemic patients), HbA1c (among diabetic patients) and systolic blood pressure (among hypertensive patients). 24% of patients achieved ≥7% weight loss during follow-up and 17% maintained this weight loss throughout. Conclusions Improvement in liver biochemistry and cardiovascular risk factors was seen in patients attending the multidisciplinary NAFLD clinic. Refinement of this approach is warranted in light of these data, novel therapies and a growing evidence base.


Machine perfusion of human donor livers offers the possibility to protect organs against damage and to select more carefully. The results of normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) based on human blood were presented. Subsequently, an NMP perfusion fluid was developed that circumvented the use of human blood products and was based on bovine hemoglobin (HBOC-201). HBOC-perfused livers showed better function than livers perfused with human blood products. HBOC-201 can also be used as an oxygen carrier at lower temperatures, allowing cold rescuscitation followed by gradual rewarming to NMP. This protocol was tested in seven livers that were initially rejected for transplantation, five of which were successfully transplanted. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that bicarbonate, pH, and glucose in bile are accurate predictors of histological biliary injury during NMP, which is important because biliary injury is correlated to biliary strictures prior to transplantation. Liver and bile duct-derived micro-RNAs in perfusate and bile were also tested. Early release of these micro-RNAs were able to predict late function and damage during NMP. Furthermore, the ability of various preservation fluids to protect against biliary injury was investigated. HTK solution led to higher biliary injury compared to UW solution, which has important clinical implications since HTK solution is used widely and livers with a high risk of biliary complications are increasingly being transplanted. Finally, the so-called ex vivo "precision-cut bile duct slices" model was developed to study human bile ducts, bypassing the use of laboratory animals. This was the first study to show that cells in peribiliary glands – niches of stem cells in the bile duct wall that play a crucial role in the development of biliary strictures - respond with proliferation, migration and differentiation to restore biliary epithelium after biliary damage.


The LIL3 protein of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) belongs to the light-harvesting complex (LHC) protein family, which also includes the light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding proteins of photosystems I and II, the early-light-inducible proteins, PsbS involved in nonphotochemical quenching, and the one-helix proteins and their cyanobacterial homologs designated high-light-inducible proteins. Each member of this family is characterized by one or two LHC transmembrane domains (referred to as the LHC motif) to which potential functions such as chlorophyll binding, protein interaction, and integration of interacting partners into the plastid membranes have been attributed. Initially, LIL3 was shown to interact with geranylgeranyl reductase (CHLP), an enzyme of terpene biosynthesis that supplies the hydrocarbon chain for chlorophyll and tocopherol. Here, we show another function of LIL3 for the stability of protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR). Multiple protein-protein interaction analyses suggest the direct physical interaction of LIL3 with POR but not with chlorophyll synthase. Consistently, LIL3-deficient plants exhibit substantial loss of POR as well as CHLP, which is not due to defective transcription of the POR and CHLP genes but to the posttranslational modification of their protein products. Interestingly, in vitro biochemical analyses provide novel evidence that LIL3 shows high binding affinity to protochlorophyllide, the substrate of POR. Taken together, this study suggests a critical role for LIL3 in the organization of later steps in chlorophyll biosynthesis. We suggest that LIL3 associates with POR and CHLP and thus contributes to the supply of the two metabolites, chlorophyllide and phytyl pyrophosphate, required for the final step in chlorophyll a synthesis.


The aim of this paper is to establish a complete sample of red supergiants (RSGs) in M31 and M33. The member stars of the two galaxies are selected from the near-infrared (NIR) point sources after removing the foreground dwarfs from their obvious branch in the J − H/H − K diagram with the archival photometric data taken by the UKIRT/WFCAM. This separation by NIR colors of dwarfs from giants is confirmed by the optical/infrared color–color diagrams (r − z/z − H and B − V/V − R) and the Gaia measurement of parallax and proper motion. The RSGs are then identified by their outstanding location in the members' J − K/K diagram due to high luminosity and low effective temperature. The resultant sample has 5498 and 3055 RSGs in M31 and M33 respectively, which should be complete because the lower limiting K magnitude of RSGs in both cases is brighter than the complete magnitude of the UKIRT photometry. Analysis of the control fields finds that the pollution rate in the RSG sample is less than 1%. The by-product is the complete sample of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs), carbon-rich AGBs, thermally pulsing AGBs, and extreme AGBs. In addition, the tip-RGB is determined together with its implication on the distance modulus to M31 and M33.


Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) have been demonstrated as an emerging class of anticancer drugs involved in regulation of gene expression and chromatin remodeling thus indicating valid targets for different types of cancer therapeutics. The pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat (Farydac®, LBH589) is developed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals and a newly US FDA approved drug for the multiple myeloma. It is under clinical investigation for a range of hematological and solid tumors worldwide in both oral and intravenous formulations. Panobinostat inhibits tumor cell growth by interacting with acetylation of histones and nonhistone proteins as well as various apoptotic, autophagy-mediated targets and various tumorigenesis pathways involved in the development of cancer. The current article summarizes the status of panobinostat in gastrointestinal cancers. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that panobinostat has potential inhibitory activity in hepatocellular, pancreatic, colorectal, gastric and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Clinical evaluations of panobinostat are currently underway. Herein, we have also reviewed the rationale behind the combination therapy under the trials and possible future prospective for the treatment of GI tumors.


In this study we reconsider the relationship between heavy and persistent marijuana use and high school dropout status using a unique prospective panel study of over 4500 7th grade students from South Dakota who are followed up through high school. Propensity score weighting is used to adjust for baseline differences that are found to exist before marijuana initiation occurs (7th grade). Weighted logistic regression incorporating these propensity score weights is then used to examine the extent to which time-varying factors, including substance use, also influence the likelihood of dropping out of school. We find a positive association between marijuana use and dropping out (OR=5.68), over half of which can be explained by prior differences in observational characteristics and behaviors. The remaining association (OR=2.31) is made statistically insignificant when measures of cigarette smoking are included in the analysis. Because no physiological justification can be provided for why cigarette smoking would reduce the cognitive effects of marijuana on schooling, we interpret this as evidence that the association is due to other factors. We then use the rich data to explore which constructs are driving this result, determining that it is time-varying parental and peer influences.


PAN-based carbon fiber (CF) was modified by hypochlorous and urea in current treatments. The CF surface morphology and natures were characterized by specific facilities, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the degree of moisture. On the other hand, the biocompatibility nature was indicated by immobilization results of microorganisms on CF. The results show that the surface hydrophilicity and roughness of CF surface would contribute greatly to improve the immobilization ability of microorganisms on CF surface, and the produced oxygen on CF has more effect on microorganism immobilization than nitrogen.


The paleoenvironmental changes produced during the early middle Miocene have been restored based on foraminiferal assemblages collected from the Hațeg Basin in the southwestern part of Transylvania. The identified planktonics suggest a late early Badenian age (Orbulina suturalis: mid-late Langhian) and relatively warm water temperature (high percentages of Trilobatus trilobus together with Trilobatus quadrilobatus, Globigerinella regularis, and Orbulina suturalis). Composition, abundance, diversity, and distribution of the benthic assemblages indicate fluctuations in the paleoecological parameters and nutrient supply in shelf settings. Separating the assemblages based on the preferred life habitat and feeding strategies along with analysis of species distribution using univariate (Fisher Alpha, Shannon, Simpson, Pielou, Hurlbert) and multivariate statistical indices (Bray Curtis distance matrix) aided in interpreting the paleoenvironmental changes along the succession (food content, oxygenation, changes in the hydrodynamics). The results suggest a relatively shallow and well-oxygenated depositional environment with few intervals of increased nutrient supply and decreased oxygen content, warm surface waters as well as a deepening upward trend along the section.


We address a resource constrained lifetime problem in sensor networks in an operating environment where nodes can be physically destroyed. Specifically, given a limited number of sensors and a hostile environment, our goal is to maximize the network lifetime and derive a node deployment plan. The problem of physical destruction, due to hostile environments and the small size of the sensors, is a viable threat and severely constrains the practical lifetime of sensor networks. The lifetime problem we define is representative, practical, and encompasses other versions of similar problems. We also define a representative physical attack model under which we study and solve the lifetime problem. Our solutions take into account both node constraints and the goal of energy minimization. An important observation based on this work is that network lifetime is greatly affected by the presence of physical attacks, highlighting the importance of our study. Our work has a broad and immediate impact for system designers deploying networks in hostile environments.


, To develop a candidate vaccine for human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1), chimeric proteins were constructed by inserting sequences derived from the V3 loop of gp120 into a nontoxic form of Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE). Inserts of 14 or 26 amino acids, constrained by a disulfide bond, were introduced between domains II and III of PE. V3 loop-toxin proteins expressed in Escherichia coli and corresponding to either MN (sub-type B) or Thai (subtype E) strains, were recognized by strain-specific monoclonal anti-gp120 antibodies. When loop sequences were introduced into an enzymatically active form of the toxin, there was no loss of toxin-mediated cell killing, suggesting that these sequences were co-transported to the cytosol. Sera from rabbits injected with nontoxic PE-V3 loop chimeras were reactive for strain-specific gp120s in Western blots, immunocapture assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and neutralized HIV-1 infectivity. Since toxin vectors were designed to receive oligonucleotide duplexes encoding any V3 loop sequence, this approach should allow for the production of V3 loop-toxin chimeras corresponding to multiple HIV isolates.


This article discusses the role of larval therapy as an alternative to conventional treatment for acute or chronic wounds that respond poorly to conventional treatment (Courtenay 1999). Although not suitable for all wound types, this treatment is versatile and safe to use in hospitals and community settings (Davies 2004). In certain clinical situations, such as eliminating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, larval therapy is considered to be a proven alternative in modern wound management (Brocklesby 2002).


We prove limit theorems and variance estimates for quantities related to ponds and outlets for 2D invasion percolation. We first exhibit several properties of a sequence (O(n)) of outlet variables, the n-th of which gives the number of outlets in the box centered at the origin of side length 2n. The most important of these properties describes the sequence's renewal structure and exponentially fast mixing behavior. We use these to prove a central limit theorem and strong law of large numbers for (O(n)). We then show consequences of these limit theorems for the pond radii and outlet weights.


For years, Dorothy Heathcote's innovative "Mantle of the Expert" approach has benefited students and teachers all over the world. Mantle of the Expert starts with a problem or task, and, in role, teachers and students explore what knowledge they already have while making new discoveries along the way. "Drama for Learning" pushes the boundaries of learning, using drama to create an impetus for productive learning across the curriculum, from language arts to history, math, and science. Any one thing taught becomes meshed within broad curriculum knowledge and skills.


The photoactivity of carbon-incorporated titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been widely reported. This study involves a novel approach to the incorporation of carbon into TiO 2 through the use of microwave plasma processing. The process involved thermally treating printed TiO 2 nanoparticle coatings in a microwave-induced argon-oxygen plasma containing low concentrations of methane. The resulting deposited carbon layer was characterized using XRD, XPS, Raman, UV-VIS, ellipsometry, and optical profilometry. It was found that methane gas had been dissociated in the microwave plasma into carbon species, which were then deposited as a nm-thick layer onto the TiO 2 coatings, most likely in the form of graphite. The photovoltaic performances of both the TiO 2 and the carbon-incorporated TiO 2 were assessed through J - V and IPCE measurements of the N719-sensitized solar cells using the titania as their photoanodes. Up to a 72% improvement in the maximum power density ( P d-max ) was observed for the carbon-incorporated TiO 2 samples as compared to the TiO 2, onto which no carbon was added. This improvement was found to be mainly associated with an increase in the short-circuit current density ( J sc ), but independent from the open-circuit voltage ( V oc ), the filter factor ( FF ), and the level of dye adsorption. Possible contributory factors to the improved performance of the carbon-incorporated TiO 2 were the enhanced electron conductivity and electron lifetime, both of which were elucidated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). When the surface layer was examined using XPS, the optimal carbon content on the TiO 2 coating surface was found to be 8.4%, beyond which there was a reduction in the DSSC efficiency.


In this work, we report on the experimental observation of isotropic polarization modulational instability processes in various types of conventional normally dispersive telecom fibers. In particular, dispersion-shifted fibers, highly nonlinear fibers, spun fibers, and dispersion-compensating fibers are tested, and all provide polarization modulational instabilities under high-power ns pumping around 1.55 μm. This study reveals that the high quality of modern telecom fibers associated with their manufacturing process based on a fast spinning of the perform during the drawing stage results in a very low level of birefringence, which allows for the emergence of polarization modulation instability in commonly used optical fibers.


Synapses are highly organized, specific structures assuring rapid and highly selective interactions between cells. Synaptic transmission involves the release of neurotransmitter from presynaptic neurons and its detection by specific ligand-gated ion channels at the surface membrane of postsynaptic neurons. The protenomic analysis shows that for self-formation and functioning of synapses nearly 2000 proteins are involved in mammalian brain. The core complex in excitatory synapses includes glutamate receptors, potassium channels, CaMKII, scaffolding protein and actin. These proteins exist as part of a highly organized protein complex known as the postsynaptic density (PSD). The coordinated functioning of the different PSD components determines the strength of signalling between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons. Synaptic plasticity is regulated by changes in the amount of receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, changes in the shape and size of dendritic spines, posttranslational modification of PSD components, modulation kinetics of synthesis and degradation of proteins. Integration of these processes leads to long-lasting changes in synaptic function and neuronal networks underlying learning-related plasticity, memory and information treatment in nervous system of multicellular organisms.


Nematodes are one of the most abundant groups of invertebrates on the face of the earth. Their numbers are estimated to range from 1000 per cm2 in the sand-covered hydrogen sulphide 'black zone' beneath the ocean floors to 1.2 billion in a single hectare of soil. Estimates for their species diversity range from 100 000 to 10 million. The past history of nematodes is a mystery, since very few fossils have been discovered. This book establishes a solid base in palaeonematology with descriptions of 66 new fossil species and accounts of all previous fossil and subfossil nematodes from sedimentary deposits, coprolites, amber and mummies. It shows how nematode fossils can be used to establish lineages at various locations and time periods in the earth's history and when nematodes entered into symbiotic and parasitic associations with plants and animals.


SUMMARY. Fumonisins (FBs) are mycotoxins that are found worldwide in maize and maize products. Their main toxic effects have been well characterized in poultry, but differences between species have been demonstrated. Ducks appeared very sensitive to toxicity, whereas turkeys are more resistant. At the same time, alterations of sphingolipid metabolism, with an increase of the concentration of the free sphinganine (Sa) in serum and liver, have been demonstrated in the two species, but the link between the toxicity of FBs and Sa accumulation remains difficult to interpret. The aim of the present work was to compare the effects of FBs (10 mg FB1 + FB2/kg body weight) on sphingolipid metabolism in ducks and turkeys. Growth, feed consumption, and serum biochemistry were also investigated to evaluate toxicity. The main results showed that FBs increased Sa concentrations in liver and serum in ducks and turkeys, but these accumulations were not directly correlated with toxicity. Sa accumulation was higher in the livers of turkeys than in ducks, whereas Sa levels were higher in the sera of ducks than in turkeys. Hepatic toxicity was more pronounced in ducks than in turkeys and accompanied a decrease of body weight and an increase of serum biochemistry in ducks but not in turkeys. So, although FBs increase Sa concentration in the livers of both species, this effect is not directly proportional to toxicity. The mechanisms of FB toxicity and/or the mechanisms of protection of ducks and turkeys to the Sa accumulation within the liver remain to be established.


The planform geometry of submarine channels commonly exhibits a spatiotemporal stability generally not observed in fluvial channels. As such, submarine channels tend to lack the meander loop cutoffs and frequent avulsion history typical of fluvial channels. Fluvial sinuosity develops through inner-bend deposition and outer-bend erosion. Inner-bend deposits have also been recognized in submarine channels, from subsurface and seafloor images and from ancient channel outcrops, and have been demonstrated within physical models. However, outer-bend sediment accumulations are a feature thought to be unique to submarine channels. We report on physical experiments on channelized, subaqueous, particle-driven turbidity currents that demonstrate that channel-fill architecture relates directly to the degree of flow bypass, in turn largely determined by the degree of confinement. In general, weakly bypassing flows deposit at the outer bend, whereas strongly bypassing flows deposit at the inner bend. Therefore flows within aggradational channel systems whose axes are bypass dominated may preferentially deposit at the inner bend, ultimately having the effect of increasing channel sinuosity through time; this is an evolution pattern commonly observed in seismic images. Once developed, the apparent spatio-temporal longevity of sinuosity within many systems may be explained by the passage of turbidity currents of varying magnitude (and consequently bypass potential) depositing preferentially at either the inner or outer bank of the channel, maintaining a quasistable morphological equilibrium. Fluvial channels do not have the ability to reduce or maintain their sinuosity in this way, which plausibly explains why they tend to develop cutoffs at higher rates than subaqueous channels.


Background: The objective of this study was to report the outcomes of children with dysplastic kidney and identify the variables that are independent predictors on the renal involution. Methods: We reviewed the clinical, radiological, and nuclear medicine findings of 48 children (30 boys and 18 girls) with dysplastic or hypodisplastic kidney who were diagnosed and treated in our center between 1999 and 2012. Results: A total of 25 cases (52%) were diagnosed prenatally and 23 (48%) postnatally. Twenty-six cases (54.1%) had pathologic findings in the contralateral kidney. During the follow-up, 21 patients (43.7%) showed completely involution within 2 years and 16 (33.3%) showed a partial involution. The univariate analysis showed that no variables were associated with complete involution. On laboratory evaluation, the mean creatinine level was 1.66 ± 2.1 mg/dL and the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 75.8 ± 55.6 mL/min. Eleven patients (22.9%) had an eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , of which 7 had contralateral renal dysplasia and 4 had contralateral reflux nephropathy. Nevertheless, at last follow-up, 18 children were in end-stage renal failure (37.5%). Proteinuria was noted in 11(22.9%) patients, of whom all had nephrotic range proteinuria. Fifteen (31.2%) cases had hypertension at diagnosis but no children developed new onset hypertension during the follow-up. Furthermore, no neoplastic degeneration was documented in any case. Conclusions: The prognosis of dysplastic kidneys depends on the function of the contralateral kidney, so these patients should be monitored regularly assessing the dysplastic and contralateral kidney, blood pressure, urinalysis, and renal function. World J Nephrol Urol. 2013;2(2):55-59 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/wjnu122w


This study aims to develop a health behavior model for females with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to promote healthy dietary habits and glucose tolerance testing by identifying factors affecting the health behaviors of this population based on the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior. A questionnaire survey was administered to females with a history of GDM who were raising infants, and 58 responses were analyzed. An exploratory factor analysis using Promax rotation was conducted to determine the factor structure of the influencing factors of each health behavior. Next, a structural analysis of covariance was conducted using each factor extracted from the factor analysis and "behavioral intention" and "behavior" as observed variables. The analyses identified six factors affecting health behaviors. Of these the following four factors affected "behavioral intentions" of healthy dietary habits: Having spare time in daily life, finding positive implications for healthy dietary habits, family understanding of postpartum healthcare, and feelings of ease about eating; also, feeling of ease about eating and "behavioral intentions" affect "behaviors." For the factors affecting taking periodic glucose tolerance tests, four factors were identified, and of these the following three affected "behavioral intentions": awareness of the necessity of taking the test, psychological burden of taking the test, and finding positive implications for taking the test. The "behavioral intentions" affected "behaviors." These models yielded adequate goodness-of-fit indices, suggesting that interventions focusing on the factors affecting their respective health behaviors may contribute to the promotion of health behaviors.


Like all filmic modes documentaries are ideological artistic constructions and according to Bill Nichols (2001: 38) they carry more influence than fiction because we assume that documentary sounds and images are authentic. According to John Ellis (2005: 1) documentaries work because they generate in us a belief of truth that what we see on the screen can be trusted. Through its ability to elicit trust from its audiences, the documentary has set itself apart from the fiction which has also been termed "fabrication" (Renov, 1993: 7). Unlike fiction, the documentary does not stage, fabricate or create life but simply represents it (Nichols, 2001: 20). Fiction therefore becomes the antithesis of documentary and documentary becomes the antithesis of the fiction and all that it is known for: fabrication and falsification. Carroll Noel agrees that (1996: 255) the fiction/nonfiction dichotomy is used to "commend or disparage items as true or false." Drawing from the complimentary film component as a case study and a framework of theoretical ideas, this paper suggests that without such perceived conditions of difference and associations of truth the documentary film by itself might be no more truthful than fiction. What separates these two forms is the way we look at them.


Today there is a strong interest in the scientific and industrial community concerning the use of biopolymers for electronic applications, mainly driven by low-cost and disposable applications. Adding to this interest, we must recognize the importance of the wireless auto sustained and low energy consumption electronics dream. This dream can be fulfilled by cellulose paper, the lightest and the cheapest known substrate material, as well as the Earth's major biopolymer and of tremendous global economic importance. The recent developments of oxide thin film transistors and in particular the production of paper transistors at room temperature had contributed, as a first step, for the development of disposable, low cost and flexible electronic devices. To fulfil the wireless demand, it is necessary to prove the concept of self powered devices. In the case of paper electronics, this implies demonstrating the idea of self regenerated thin film paper batteries and its integration with other electronic components. Here we demonstrate this possibility by actuating the gate of paper transistors by paper batteries. We found that when a sheet of cellulose paper is covered in both faces with thin layers of opposite electrochemical potential materials, a voltage appears between both electrodes -paper battery, which is also self-regenerated. The value of the potential depends upon the materials used for anode and cathode. An open circuit voltage of 0.5V and a short-circuit current density of 1μA/cm2 were obtained in the simplest structure produced (Cu/paper/Al). For actuating the gate of the paper transistor, seven paper batteries were integrated in the same substrate in series, supplying a voltage of 3.4V. This allows proper ON/OFF control of the paper transistor. Apart from that transparent conductive oxides can be also used as cathode/anode materials allowing so the production of thin film batteries with transparent electrodes compatible with flexible, invisible, self powered and wireless electronics.


Waste collection and management is an integrated part of both city and village life. Lack of optimized and efficient waste collection system vastly affect public health and costs more. The prevailing traditional waste collection system is neither optimized nor efficient. Internet of Things (IoT) has been playing a great role in making human life easier by making systems smart, adequate and self-sufficient. Thus, this paper proposes an IoT based efficient waste collection system with smart bins. It does real-time monitoring of the waste bins and determines which bins are to emptied in every cycle of waste collection. The system also presents an enhanced navigation system that shows the best route to collect wastes from the selected bins. Four waste bins are assumed in the city of Mount Pleasant, Michigan at random location. The proposed system decreases the travel distance by 30.76% on an average in the assumed scenario, compared to the traditional waste collection system. Thus it reduces the fuel cost and human labor making the system optimized and efficient by enabling real-time monitoring and enhanced navigation.


We performed bolus inhalations of 1-micrometer particles in four subjects on the ground (1 G) and during parabolic flights both in microgravity (microG) and in approximately 1.6 G. Boluses of approximately 70 ml were inhaled at different points in an inspiration from residual volume to 1 liter above functional residual capacity. The volume of air inhaled after the bolus [the penetration volume (Vp)] ranged from 200 to 1,500 ml. Aerosol concentration and flow rate were continuously measured at the mouth. The deposition, dispersion, and position of the bolus in the expired gas were calculated from these data. For Vp >/=400 ml, both deposition and dispersion increased with Vp and were strongly gravity dependent, with the greatest deposition and dispersion occurring for the largest G level. At Vp = 800 ml, deposition and dispersion increased from 33.9% and 319 ml in microG to 56.9% and 573 ml at approximately 1.6 G, respectively (P < 0.05). At each G level, the bolus was expired at a smaller volume than Vp, and this volume became smaller with increasing Vp. Although dispersion was lower in microG than in 1 G and approximately 1.6 G, it still increased steadily with increasing Vp, showing that nongravitational ventilatory inhomogeneity is partly responsible for dispersion in the human lung.


In this paper, we propose to utilize Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and the segmentation-based multi-scale analysis to locate tampered areas in digital images. First, to deal with color input sliding windows of different scales, a unified CNN architecture is designed. Then, we elaborately design the training procedures of CNNs on sampled training patches. With a set of robust multi-scale tampering detectors based on CNNs, complementary tampering possibility maps can be generated. Last but not least, a segmentation-based method is proposed to fuse the maps and generate the final decision map. By exploiting the benefits of both the smallscale and large-scale analyses, the segmentation-based multiscale analysis can lead to a performance leap in forgery localization of CNNs. Numerous experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.


We use the 2011 and 2013 U.S. debt limit impasses to examine the extent to which investors react to a heightened possibility of financial contagion. To do so, we first model the response of yields on government debt to a potential debt limit "breach." We then demonstrate empirically that yields on all Treasuries rose by 4 to 8 basis points during both impasses, while excess yields on bills at risk of delayed principal payments were significantly larger in 2013. Perhaps counterintuitively, our model suggests market participants placed a lower probability on financial contagion resulting from a breach in 2013.


Background In order to address the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems
have used all their resources, including health care workers in
training. Knowing the insights of these workers is of the utmost
importance to generate adequate educative/political /administrative
strategies. Methods An anonymous cross-sectional online survey was made
by the General Directorate of Quality and Health Education in Mexico, in
a convenience sample of 6,020 participants who belong to personnel in
training for the health area, which included practitioners and
professional technologists, undergraduate doctors, nursing, and
residents in several specialties. Results Different positive and
negative feelings were identified by the health workers who participated
in facing this health emergency; emphasizing elements such as the need
for Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) that, when deficient or lacking,
generate concerns that raise questions about the medical/epidemiological
attention to the pandemic. Based on an analysis of feelings, 8 main
feelings were identified, which by frequency of appearing were:
distrust(24.83%), fear(21.97%), sadness(12.45%),
anticipation(11.65%), anger(10.71%), disgust(9.69%), joy(4.97%) and
surprise(3.72%) which influence health workers in training and their
wrok performance day to day. Concerning their positive and negative
evaluation of their experience facing this health emergency, 13.83% of
participants had a positive perception about participating in this kind
of health emergency to support the country, 49.94% showed a negative
evaluation, and 36.23% kept a neutral evaluation about their
participation. Conclusions The health workers in training in Mexico gave
a negative evaluation of the management of the health emergency.
Distrust as a response to the absence of timely information from the
education/health institutions, as well as concern about lack of personal
protection equipment/inputs, are the main conflicts reported. We must
establish a credible globally relevant continuity plan for the education
of health care personnel in training, facing emergencies and disasters,
so that next time we are properly prepared.


In regression analysis, to overcome the problem of multicollinearity, the r − k class estimator is proposed as an alternative to the ordinary least squares estimator which is a general estimator including the ordinary ridge regression estimator, the principal components regression estimator and the ordinary least squares estimator. In this article, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for the superiority of the r − k class estimator over each of these estimators under the Mahalanobis loss function by the average loss criterion. Then, we compare these estimators with each other using the same criterion. Also, we suggest to test to verify if these conditions are indeed satisfied. Finally, a numerical example and a Monte Carlo simulation are done to illustrate the theoretical results.


In this study, three novel fluorophores with aggregation-induced emission effects (AIE) have been synthesized by a new strategy that uses the non-AIE active compound 3,5-dibromobenzaldehyde (DBB) as a core (stator). This new strategy is completely different from the traditional synthetic process of AIE compounds that rely heavily on the modification of the classic existing AIE core such as archetypal silole, tetraphenylethene and distyrylanthracene. The obtained DBB derivatives (S1, S2 and S3) display typical AIE characteristics in which their quantum yields in the solid state are much higher than that in the solution. In addition, the emission can be fine-tuned by varying the rotor on the DBB skeleton, and a significant Stokes shift from 395 nm to 434 nm can be observed with the increase of the conjugate structure from S1 to S3. Furthermore, S1, S2 and S3 showed an exclusively selective turn-on response to As3+, and the detection limits are lower than the guideline of As3+ in drinking water, permitted by the EPA. This study will be instructive in providing a strategy for the synthesis of AIE luminogens, which not only greatly enrich the species of AIE compounds, but also broaden their application.


Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test-system for HIV-1 p24 antigen detection in human blood specimens has been developed. Use of complex biotin-streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate increased the sensitivity of the method to 50 pg/ml. The test system is characterized by 100 percent specificity, whereas direct p24 assay detects the antigen in only 5 percent of 100 sera of HIV-infected patients, since even low-titer sera efficiently mask p24. In order to extend the use of the test-system, destruction of immune complexes by different methods has been undertaken in experiments with different HIV-1 strains (RF, BRU). Acid hydrolysis detected the antigen in 30% of samples, appreciably improving the prognostic value of the test-system. A manifest correlation was revealed between the frequency of p24 detection in the blood plasma and clinical diagnosis.


Blast is an economically important disease of rice. To map genes controlling blast resistance, recombinant inbred lines (RIL) were developed from Khao Dawk Mali 105, an aromatic, blast-susceptible cultivar and the blast resistance donor, CT 9993-5-10-M (CT). A linkage map encompassing 2112 cM was constructed from 141 RILs using 90 restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) and 31 simple sequence repeats (SSR). Virulent isolates of blast fungus were identified by screening differential host sets against 87 single-spore isolates collected from the north and northeast of Thailand. Fifteen virulent blast isolates were selected for leaf blast screening. Neck blast was evaluated both under natural conditions and controlled inoculations. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for broad resistance spectrum (BRS) to leaf blast were located on chromosomes 7 and 9. In particular, the QTL(ch9) was mapped near the Pi5(t) locus. The QTL(ch7) was located close to a previously mapped partial resistance QTL. Both loci showed significant allelic interaction. Genotypes having CT alleles at both QTL(ch7) and QTL(ch9) were the most resistant. Two neck-blast QTLs were mapped on chromosomes 5 and 6. The inconsistent map locations between the leaf and neck blast QTLs indicate the complexity of fixing both leaf and neck blast resistance. The coincidence of BRS and field resistance QTLs on chromosome 7 supports the idea that BRS may reflect the broad resistance spectrum to leaf blast in rice. These findings laid the foundation for the development of a marker-assisted scheme for improving Khoa Dawk Mali 105 and the majority of aromatic Thai rice varieties that are susceptible to blast.


Photoevaporation driven by high energy radiation from the central star plays an important role in the evolution of protoplanetary discs. Photoevaporative winds have been unambiguously detected through blue-shifted emission lines, but their detailed properties remain uncertain. Here we present a new empirical approach to make observational predictions of these thermal winds, seeking to fill the gap between theory and observations. We use a self-similar model of an isothermal wind to compute line profiles of several characteristic emission lines (the [Ne${\rm{\scriptsize II}}$] line at 12.81 $\mu$m, and optical forbidden lines such as [O${\rm{\scriptsize I}}$] 6300 $\mathring{A}$ and [S${\rm{\scriptsize II}}$] 4068/4076 $\mathring{A}$), studying how the lines are affected by parameters such as the gas temperature, disc inclinations, and density profile. Our model successfully reproduces blue-shifted lines with $v_{\rm peak} \lesssim 10$ km/s, which decrease with increasing disc inclination. The line widths increase with increasing disc inclinations and range from $\Delta v \sim 15-30$ km/s. The predicted blue-shifts are mostly sensitive to the gas sound speed. The observed [Ne${\rm{\scriptsize II}}$] line profiles are consistent with a thermal wind and point towards a relatively high sound speed, as expected for EUV photoevaporation. However, the observed [O${\rm{\scriptsize I}}$] line profiles require lower temperatures, as expected in X-ray photoevaporation, and show a wider scatter that is difficult to reconcile with a single wind model; it seems likely that these lines trace different components of a multi-phase wind. We also note that the spectral resolution of current observations remains an important limiting factor in these studies, and that higher resolution spectra are required if emission lines are to further our understanding of protoplanetary disc winds.


The Pythium flora of 38 soils from different sections of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was determined using a selective agar medium and a surface - soil - dilution plating technique. A total of 23 species were recovered. Sixteen of these species possessed subglobose sporangia and/or hyphal swellings and constituted 92 % of the total number of Pythium propagules. The remaining species had filamentous or lobulate sporangia. Considerable differences in population levels in the different localities were found. The Nablus locality harboured the highest mean level of Pythium propagules followed by the localities in Jenin, Bethlehem, Jericho, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Gaza Strip, and Hebron. Solis in the different localities differed also in population levels and composition of species. Associations between Pythium population levels and soil factors and agricultural practices are discussed.


In the elegant society portraits by John Singer Sargent, body language created social identities. The fallen dress strap and obvious makeup in Madame X, for example, declared her a "professional beauty"; the costume of Charles Stewart proclaimed him a British lord. Critics often conflated appearance and character in Sargent's images, yet Sargent used theatre and masquerade in numerous works to problematize essentialist links between appearance and character that were fundamental to turn-of-the-century class, gender, and racial stereotypes. This dissertation concentrates on the art Sargent produced after Madame X, as he recovered from the scandal it provoked in 1884 and as he established his patron base in England and America. Many of Sargent's later works can be seen as a response to the issues raised by Madame X concerning the relationship between appearance and character. An analysis of theatrical elements in Sargent's paintings elucidates the function of these images in variously maintaining and challenging notions of social identity. Chapter One discusses the critical reception of Sargent's art in the context of a turn-of-the-century culture engaged in classification and performance activities. These activities are interpreted as strategic responses to a pervasive anxiety about the instability of class, gender, and racial identities resulting from modern conditions. This chapter looks specifically at the celebration of Sargent as a skilled delineator of "racial" types, the varied analyses of his own "national" identity, the debate over his artistic merit, and the concern about his "artifice." Chapters Two through Four consider how Sargent responded to the discourses about his art through his portrayals of Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (Chapter Two), Jewish and aristocratic patrons (Chapter Three), and costumed family members and friends (Chapter Four). The visual structures of the paintings, in relation to evidence about the social culture in which Sargent painted and exhibited, suggest his artistic intentions even if Sargent himself rarely spoke of them. Through his work, Sargent called attention to the dialectic between reality and artifice and, consequently, the constructed nature of art and identity. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History of Art First Advisor Elizabeth Johns


Since wireless sensor actor networks (WSANs) interact with critical physical environments, one of the important issues of WSANs is real-time considerations. Existing WSANs suffer from the lack of a real-time task allocation in support of real-time communication and coordination. In this paper we present a two level task allocation mechanism. We first break end-to-end periodic tasks into real-time jobs, and then use appropriate algorithms for sensing tasks and acting tasks. To formally state our approach, we propose a model for WSANs using graph transformation systems. Using this formalism we analyze the correctness of our algorithms. We show that the proposed algorithms guarantee that the tasks complete their activities before their deadlines expire. To show the efficiency of our algorithms we have simulated the model. Simulation results showed an improvement of 65 percent in deadline hit ratio comparing our approach to FIFO algorithm.


The effect of concentration, temperature and pH-value on the demulsification potency of the propylene oxide and ethylene oxide block copolymer initiated from alkylphenol formaldehyde resin in breaking up emulsion from Daqing oilfield have been investigated. The results revealed that demulsification potency of the studied demulsifier increases with the increase of demulsifier at low concentration, the increase of temperature, the increase of acidic pH-value and the increase of demulsification time, respectively. In the meantime, demulsification potency of the studied demulsifier decreases with the increase of demulsifier at high concentration and the increase of basic pH-value, respectively. Neutral pH-value of the emulsion was found to be the optimum value causing maximum demulsification potency.


We propose a method for the unsupervised reconstruction of a temporally-coherent sequence of surfaces from a sequence of time-evolving point clouds, yielding dense, semantically meaningful correspondences between all keyframes. We represent the reconstructed surface as an atlas, using a neural network. Using canonical correspondences defined via the atlas, we encourage the reconstruction to be as isometric as possible across frames, leading to semantically-meaningful reconstruction. Through experiments and comparisons, we empirically show that our method achieves results that exceed that state of the art in the accuracy of unsupervised correspondences and accuracy of surface reconstruction.


This book offers a detailed look into the life and works of Pulitzer Prize - winning Jewish American poet George Oppen. Born in 1908 in New York State, Oppen spent parts of his life working as a die cutter and carpenter and later running a furniture factory. Like the work he did with his hands during those years, his poetry used basic materials; he favored short, simple nouns and focused on concrete objects rather than abstractions. This book examines the characteristics of Oppen's work, particularly his use of small and often odd phrasings and unusual line-formations to express the ultimately inexpressible. The first three chapters delve into his primitive modes, language and materials. Subsequent chapters tackle his subjects: cityscapes, light and water, and then animals and their relation to human history and struggles. His final collection of poems, "Primitive", is examined in its own chapter, which is followed by an exploration of recurring specific phrases and concrete images. The author demonstrates how Oppen's poetry restores to readers an essential dimension of communication and experience that has been ignored or forgotten.


Microfinance has taken centre stage in the quest for poverty eradication in Uganda. Microfinance providers traverse the country, many with an objective of making a return on their investment, NGOs notwithstanding. The investment in the sector has grown to enormous proportions. This increased investment, however, has come with increased competition. Amid this increased investment and competition, consumers have taken the backseat to profit-making among many providers. Questionable means of recovery, high interest rates, non-transparent contracts, standard form contracts, cash collateral, fraud against clients, arrest, and committal to civil prison using ex parte judgments have become common phenomena. There is a need to change the legal framework to protect the consumer against the said abuses. Training of loans officers, increased monitoring, insurance, training microfinance clients, and formulating standard acceptable contracts with fair terms to be used by all providers seem to be the only solutions to consumer protection.


This article discusses the findings and practical import of the authors' study of the fuel hedging activity of 28 U.S. airlines during the period 1992-2003. The aim of the study was to answer the following question: Does fuel hedging add value to the airlines and, if so, how? The airline industry provides a natural experiment for investigating the relation between hedging and value for a number of reasons: (1) the industry is by and large competitive and remarkably homogeneous; (2) airlines are exposed to a single, volatile input commodity - jet fuel - that represents a major economic expense for all competitors; and (3) fuel price increases cannot be easily passed through to customers because of competitive pressures in the industry. The results of the study show that jet fuel hedging is positively related to airline firm value. Those airlines that hedged their fuel costs had Tobin's Q ratios that were 5-10% higher, on average, than those of airlines that did not hedge. What's more, the higher the proportion of future fuel requirements hedged, the larger the valuation premium. The authors' results also suggest that the main source of value added by hedging in the airline industry is its role in preserving the firm's ability to take advantage of investment opportunities that arise when fuel prices are high and airline operating cash flows and values are down. Consistent with this argument, the study finds that the value premium associated with hedging increases with the level of the firm's capital spending. The authors also report that the most active hedgers of fuel costs among the airlines are the larger firms with the least debt and highest credit ratings. This result is somewhat surprising, at least to the extent that smaller airlines are expected to have larger financial distress costs (as a percentage of firm value) and hence greater motive to hedge. One explanation is that the smaller airlines have lacked either sufficient resources or the strategic foresight to acquire a derivatives hedging capability. A second possibility - one that is consistent with the study's main findings - is that the largest airlines also have the highest costs of financial distress (even as a percentage of firm value) in the form of larger growth opportunities that could be lost as a result of high leverage and financial risk. In other words, only the largest airlines are typically able to buy distressed assets during periods of industry weakness; to the extent this is so, such firms may also have the most to gain from hedging.


In this study, a new signal model for shingled magnetic recording (SMR) is developed based on the drive waveform analysis with squeezed side tracks. Shingled recording effects are modeled by the data dependent effective write width or erase band, and the readback signals are represented by the weighted sum of the individual target and side track signals without intertrack interference (ITI). The weights of the target and side track signals, denoted by the ITI coefficients, are estimated from the drive waveforms collected from the track squeeze tests. Near the track edge location, the ITI coefficients are reduced by the erase band and the data-independent electronic noise is effectively increased. In addition, the ITI coefficients also depend on the recorded data patterns due to such effect as track width broadening by low frequency data patterns. Cross-track ITI coefficient profiles are modeled by Gaussian read sensitivity and rectangular magnetization functions and applied for various SMR conditions. Two data sets of 50% and 44% bit transition rates are investigated to take into account data dependent erase band. Based on the proposed signal model, the cross-track bit error rate (BER) performance of the SMR are evaluated with the readback signals, synthesized for various read offsets. The results show that modulating the data bits to have fewer bit transitions may improve the on-track BER performance, while its off-track performance can be limited by the increased ITI due to the low frequency data patterns. In addition, BER performance of SMR can be improved by the ITI cancellation (ITIC) scheme.


Dent is one of the important factors affecting pipeline fatigue life, and it will greatly reduce the fatigue life of the pipeline in service. And the peak cycle stress on the dented pipeline is the key parameter to calculate pipeline fatigue life. For typical II type dent in the pipeline, the finite element models are established under different circumstances. A large number of the calculation results are sorted, inducted, drew. On this basis, the results are analysed by univariate and multivariate. Non-linear regression analysis was utilized to fit the results by matlab, some specific expressions of the relationship between the dented pipeline peak cycle stresses and the dent depth, diameter and thickness of pipeline, and the dent longitudinal length are obtained after much calculation and analog.


We consider tidal encounters between a white dwarf and an intermediate mass black hole. Both weak encounters and those at the threshold of disruption are modeled. The numerical code combines mesh-based hydrodynamics, a spectral method solution of the self-gravity, and a general relativistic Fermi normal coordinate system that follows the star and debris. Fermi normal coordinates provide an expansion of the black hole tidal field that includes quadrupole and higher multipole moments and relativistic corrections. We compute the mass loss from the white dwarf that occurs in weak tidal encounters. Secondly, we compute carefully the energy deposition onto the star, examining the effects of nonradial and radial mode excitation, surface layer heating, mass loss, and relativistic orbital motion. We find evidence of a slight relativistic suppression in tidal energy transfer. Tidal energy deposition is compared to orbital energy loss due to gravitational bremsstrahlung, and the combined losses are used to estimate tidal capture orbits. Heating and partial mass stripping will lead to an expansion of the white dwarf, making it easier for the star to be tidally disrupted on the next passage. Finally, we examine angular momentum deposition. By including the octupole tide, we are able for the first time to calculate deflection of the center of mass of the star and debris. With this observed deflection, and taking into account orbital relativistic effects, we compute directly the change in orbital angular momentum and show its balance with computed spin angular momentum deposition.


The starch-acrylamide-diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride graft copolymer (St-AMDADMAC copolymer) was prepared firstly. Then the synthesized St-AM-DADMAC copolymer was analyzed by FTIR and SEM. Finally the synthesized St-AM-DADMAC copolymers were applied in making packaging paper, the first pass retention and the mechanical properties of the made packaging paper were determined. The FTIR of St-AM-DADMAC copolymer indicated that AM and DADMAC can be grafted in the chain of starch. The SEM of starch and St-AM-DADMAC copolymer indicated that the surface of starch had been changed obviously by grafting copolymerization. The first pass retention increased with the increase of degree of cationic of St- AM-DADMAC copolymer. When the dosage of St-AM-DADMAC copolymer was about 1% and the degree of cationic of St-AM-DADMAC copolymer was about 25.96%, the mechanical properties of the packaging paper were improved best.


Oxidative stress is worldwide recognized as a fundamental component of the aging, a process that begins before birth. There is a critical balance between free radical generation and antioxidant defenses. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of antioxidant system to detoxify them. Oxidative stress can occur early in pregnancy and continue in the postnatal period; this damage is implicated in the pathophysiology of pregnancy-related disorders, including recurrent pregnancy loss, preeclampsia and preterm premature rupture of membranes. Moreover, diseases of the neonatal period such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, and periventricular leukomalacia are related to free radical damage. The specific contribution of oxidative stress to the pathogenesis and progression of these neonatal diseases is only partially understood. This review summarizes what is known about the role of oxidative stress in pregnancy and in the pathogenesis of common disorders of the newborn, as a component of the early aging process.


Using a newly compiled data set, this paper provides insights into the characteristics of the child care industry. First, there is no difference in average quality of the services produced between nonprofit and for-profit centers. This indicates that nonprofit status cannot be taken as a signal of higher quality. Second, the hypothesis of relative inefficiency of nonprofit centers with respect to for-profits is unfounded. On the other hand, centers that receive public money, either from the state or federal government, that is tied to higher standards, have variable costs that are 19 percent higher than other centers. Child care workers with 13 to 15 years of education and workers with 16 and more years of education are substitutes. Both of these groups are complements to workers with 12 and less years of education. Centers have inelastic demand for workers. There are economies of scale in production. Controlling for the level of quality of services, a 10 percent increase in hours of children served brings about only an 8.5 percent increase in costs in the long-run. There is no evidence of economies of scope. Serving various age groups jointly is not more efficient than serving them separately, although the issue is less clear in the case of preschoolers and school aged children. The cost of increasing the quality of an average center from mediocre to good is between 12-16 cents per child-hour.


This study presents an integrated approach that allows the reconstruction and prediction of 3D pore structure modifications and porosity/permeability development throughout carbonate diagenesis. Reactive Pore Network Models (PNM-R) can predict changes in the transport properties of porous media, resulting from dissolution/cementation phenomena. The validity and predictability of these models however depend on the representativeness of the equivalent pore networks used and on the equations and parameters used to model the diagenetic events. The developed approach is applied to a real case of a dolostone rock of the Middle East Arab Formation. Standard 2D microscopy shows that the main process affecting the reservoir quality is dolomitisation, followed by porosity enhancement due to dolomite dissolution and secondary porosity destruction by cementation of late diagenetic anhydrite. X-ray μ -CT allows quantifying the 3D volume and distribution of the different sample constituents. Results are compared with lab measurements. Equivalent pore networks before dolomite dissolution and prior to late anhydrite precipitation are reconstructed and used to simulate the porosity, permeability characteristics at these diagenetic steps. Using these 3D pore structures, PNM-R can trace plausible porosity-permeability evolution paths between these steps. The flow conditions and reaction rates obtained by geochemical reaction path modeling can be used as reference to define PNM-R model parameters. The approach can be used in dynamic rock typing and the upscaling of petrophysical properties, necessary for reservoir modeling.


This thesis compares statistical methods for addressing selection bias in cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) that use observational data. The thesis has four objectives: (1) to critically appraise currently recommended statistical methods, (2) to consider alternative statistical methods for CEA, (3) to compare propensity score (PS) approaches and Genetic Matching (GM) for estimating subgroup-effects in CEA, and (4) to compare methods that combine regression with PS approaches, for CEA. I developed a new checklist for critically appraising statistical methods for addressing selection bias in CEA, and applied it in a systematic review of published CEA. Most studies used regression or matching methods, and did not assess their underlying assumptions, such as the correct specification of the PS or the endpoint regression model. I identified methods that can make less restrictive assumptions: GM, a multivariate matching method that can directly balance covariates, double-robust (DR) methods, regression-adjusted matching, and machine learning estimation of the PS and the endpoint regression. I compared these methods across a range of typical CEA circumstances, using simulations and case studies. In the first case study, where cost-effectiveness estimates for subgroups were of interest, I found that the cost-effectiveness results differed according to the statistical approach. The accompanying simulation study found that GM was relatively robust to the misspecification of the PS, and provided the least biased and most precise estimates of cost-effectiveness for each subgroup. The second simulation study considered DR methods and regression-adjusted matching for estimating overall cost-effectiveness and found that regression-adjusted matching was relatively robust to misspecification of the PS and the regression model. The third study extended these approaches with machine learning estimation of the PS and the endpoint regression, and found that bias due to misspecification could be further reduced. This thesis concludes that those approaches that relax the assumption that the statistical model for addressing selection bias is correctly specified, can give more accurate and precise estimates of cost-effectiveness than previously recommended methods. Findings from this thesis can improve the quality of CEA that use patient-level observational data, to help future studies provide a sounder basis for policy making.


As cities worldwide grow, their residents must be
able to traverse urban space in order to access employment, social
services, recreation, and other critical activities. Urban
accessibility reflects the ease of such access with respect to
locations within a city, and it is largely dependent on the city's
land use and transport systems. A variety of urban accessibility
metrics have been proposed to guide urban policy and planning, but
they have not been implemented systematically. Better understood
and more widely adopted accessibility measures could help guide
complex land use and multimodal transportation planning processes
toward more eective and equitable outcomes. Such measures represent
a signicant departure from the facility, maintenance, and mobility
priorities that dominate transportation planning today, opening
possibilities for new approaches. In particular, a clearer focus on
accessibility could help prioritize and inform the design of bus
rapid transit (BRT) projects, which tend to include dierent
potential streetscape, transport, and network improvement options
across a wide range of geographic and temporal scales. This thesis
aims to develop a participatory framework built on an open-source,
web-based toolkit that transit advocates and planners can use to
visualize how urban design and operational characteristics of
dierent incremental BRT scenarios might affect access at a personal
level and accessibility at a regional level. Such visualizations
can encompass the interaction of these scenarios with pedestrian,
local bus, and rail connectivity, as well as regional land use.
Built on Open Trip Planner Analyst and other web-based civic
engagement platforms, as well as open data such as transit
information in the general transit feed specification (GTFS)
format, this toolkit is applied to transit performance and
accessibility for example projects in two contexts, Boston and
Santiago de Chile. Focus groups with transit advocates and planners
were conducted in these two settings to evaluate the proposed
toolkit. Members of community-based transit advocacy organizations
found the toolkit to be both understandable and able to represent
some of their key concerns; professional planners thought the
toolkit could help them better understand existing operations and
proposed projects. These evaluations suggest that the participatory
framework developed around this toolkit could be an eective
platform for dialogue between planners and community organizations.
By connecting individual perspectives on access with broader
accessibility metrics, this framework has the potential to build
political will for the adoption of equitable accessibility
indicators as decision-making metrics.


A sensitivity study is first performed on some damage indices of simple building systems. It is shown that the maximum softening index composed of the fundamental vibration period becomes insensitive to damage severity when damage occurs in high‐rise buildings or at the upper stories of buildings. Directly identifying the story lateral stiffness is then necessary in order for damage diagnosis. Through a nonlinear regression analysis to the total sum of squares of the errors between recorded and predicted accelerograms, story parameters are identified using a model of shear building or non‐shear frame in the case of full measurement. When the beams of a frame are not rigid, using the story stiffness reduction indices from the identified results of a shear frame model to assess damage will underestimate the damage severity at the lower stories but overestimate that at the upper stories. In the case of incomplete measurement, an equivalent system with less number of degree‐of‐freedoms is proposed to identify the story lateral stiffness. The damage location and severity of an original system can be reasonably assessed by the identified story stiffness reduction indices of the equivalent system. Finally, the equivalent story lateral stiffness coefficients of a real building triggered by several events are identified to view their variations before and after a powerful earthquake. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Every year, in Sweden, more than 4,000 people require inpatient care for single injury incidents obtained while walking or bicycling in a traffic environment. The aim of this study is to describe causes of single injury incidents among pedestrians and bicyclists and to identify preventive strategies. The study is based on data from the injury registration database at the University Hospital in Umeå and from a complementary questionnaire containing questions regarding the causes of injury and preventive strategies. The questionnaire was distributed to all pedestrians and bicyclists injured in single incidents in a city in northern Sweden and who had visited the hospital in 2009 because of those injuries. The data set is comprised of medical data for all 367 patients (244 pedestrian and 123 bicyclists) who responded to the questionnaire. The results from this study show that the pedestrians and bicyclists differ in their reports regarding causes of their injuries and the differences seem to be related to injury severity. The pedestrians mainly referred to environmental factors as causes to their injuries, while the bicyclists referred to environmental factors, product factors, and human factors as causes of the injury incident. Regarding preventive strategies, the views of the pedestrians and the bicyclists is in line with their views of causes to their injuries. The results are useful for developing preventive strategies for differing groups of road users.


Despite the interest that literacy educators in the United States have expressed in graphic novels as a pedagogical tool, few empirical studies have asked how readers interact with their multimodal design to interpret them. To account for a gap in the literature, this case study asked how six high school students read and talked about four graphic novels in the context of a voluntary after-school reading group. In doing so, it sought to identify semiotic resources the students drew on as readers, and understand how they used them to construct literary meaning. Contrary to arguments that have traditionally characterized works written in the medium of comics as rendering readers passive, the findings indicate that the participants actively drew on an available visual and linguistic design to construct meaning and interpret the graphic novels they read.


BACKGROUND
Smoking accounts for a large proportion of cancer-related mortality, creating a need for better smoking cessation efforts. We investigated whether gain-framed messages (ie, presenting benefits of quitting) will be a more persuasive method to encourage smoking cessation than standard-care messages (ie, presenting both costs of smoking [loss-framed] and benefits of quitting).

METHODS
Twenty-eight specialists working at the New York State Smokers' Quitline (a free telephone-based smoking cessation service) were randomly assigned to provide gain-framed or standard-care counseling and print materials. Smokers (n = 2032) who called the New York State Smokers' Quitline between March 10, 2008, and June 13, 2008, were exposed to either gain-framed (n = 810) or standard-care (n = 1222) messages, and all medically eligible callers received nicotine replacement therapy. A subset of 400 call recordings was coded to assess treatment fidelity. All treated smokers were contacted for 2-week and 3-month follow-up interviews. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS
Specialists providing gain-framed counseling used gain-framed statements statistically significantly more frequently than those providing standard-care counseling as assessed with frequency ratings for the two types of gain-framed statements, achieving benefits and avoiding negative consequences (for achieving benefits, gain-framed mean frequency rating = 3.9 vs standard-care mean frequency rating = 1.4; mean difference = -2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -2.8 to -2.3; P < .001; for avoiding negative consequences, gain-framed mean frequency rating = 1.5 vs standard-card mean frequency rating = 1.0; mean difference = -0.5; 95% CI = -0.6 to -0.3; P < .001). Gain-framed counseling was associated with a statistically significantly higher rate of abstinence at the 2-week follow-up (ie, 99 [23.3%] of the 424 in the gain-framed group vs 76 [12.6%] of the 603 in the standard-care group, P < .001) but not at the 3-month follow-up (ie, 148 [28.4%] of the 522 in the gain-framed group vs 202 [26.6%] of the 760 in the standard-care group, P = .48).

CONCLUSIONS
Quitline specialists can be trained to provide gain-framed counseling with good fidelity. Also, gain-framed messages appear to be somewhat more persuasive than standard-care messages in promoting early success in smoking cessation.


We consider the Higgs boson signals from pair production at the LHC within the framework of the MSSM in the non-decoupling (low-m_A) region. In light of the recent observation of a SM-like Higgs boson, we argue that the exploration for Higgs pair production at the LHC is a crucial next step to probe the MSSM Higgs sector. We emphasize that the production of H^\pm A^0 and H^{+}H^{-} depends only on the electroweak gauge couplings while all the leading Higgs production channels via gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion, and Higgsstrahlung depend on additional free Higgs sector parameters. In the non-decoupling region, the five MSSM Higgs bosons are all relatively light and pair production signals may be accessible. We find that at the 8 TeV LHC, a 5\sigma signal for H^\pm A^0, H^\pm h^0 -> \tau^{\pm}\nu b\bar b and H^{+}H^{-} -> \tau^{+}\nu \tau^{-}\nu are achievable with an integrated luminosity of 7 (11) fb^{-1} and 24 (48) fb^{-1}, respectively for m_A=95 (130) GeV. At the 14 TeV LHC, a 5\sigma signal for these two channels would require as little as 4 (7) fb^{-1} and 10 (19) fb^{-1}, respectively.


The Jacobites, adherents of the exiled King James II of England and VII of Scotland and his descendants, continue to command attention long after the end of realistic Jacobite hopes down to the present. Extraordinarily, the promotion of the Jacobite cause and adherence to it were recorded in a rich and highly miscellaneous store of objects, including medals, portraits, pincushions, glassware and dice-boxes. Interdisciplinary and highly illustrated, this book combines legal and art history to survey the extensive material culture associated with Jacobites and Jacobitism. Neil Guthrie considers the attractions and the risks of making, distributing and possessing 'things of danger'; their imagery and inscriptions; and their place in a variety of contexts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Finally, he explores the many complex reasons underlying the long-lasting fascination with the Jacobites.


Free space optical (FSO) communication technology, also known as optical wireless communications, has regained a great interest over the last few years. In some cases, FSO is seen as an alternative to existing technologies, such as radio frequency. In other cases, FSO is considered as a strong candidate to complement and integrate with next-generation technologies, such as 5G wireless networks. Accordingly, FSO technology is being widely deployed in various indoor (e.g., data centers), terrestrial (e.g., mobile networks), space (e.g., inter-satellite and deep space communication), and underwater systems (e.g., underwater sensing). As the application portfolio of FSO technology grows, so does the need for a clear classification for FSO link configurations. Most existing surveys and classifications are single-level classifications, and thus not inclusive enough to accommodate recent and emerging changes and developments of different FSO link configurations and systems. In this paper, we propose a multi-level classification framework to classify existing and future indoor, terrestrial, space, underwater, and heterogenous FSO links and systems using common and simple unified notation. We use the proposed classification to review and summarize major experimental work and systems in the area until 2017. Using the proposed classification and survey, we aim to give researchers a jump-start to tap into the growing and expanding realm of the FSO technology in different environments. The proposed classification can also help organize and systematically present the progress in the research on FSO technology. This makes the identification of the market needs for standards an easier task. Moreover, different entities involved in the standardization process including academic, industry, and regulatory organizations can use the proposed classification as a unified language to communicate during the early stages of standard development which require ambiguity-free discussions and exchange of ideas between different standardization entities. We use the proposed classification to review existing standards and recommendations in the field of FSO. It is also envisioned that the proposed classification can be used as a unified framework to define different FSO channel models for simulation tools.


This report presents a noise reduction method for speech communication where the input signal is divided into a number of subbands that are individually weighted in time domain according to the short time Signal-to-Noise Ratio estimate (SNR) in each subband at every time instant. Instead of focusing on suppression the noise, the method is focusing on speech enhancement. The method has proven to be advantageous since it offers low complexity, low delay and low distortion. Also, there is no need for a Voice Activity Detector (VAD). The method is stand-alone and works regardless of speech coding schemes and other surrounding adaptive systems.


An archive is a place, a thing/object, and a practice. But can "things" be archived at all, or do they rather belong to a world of endless transformation? Do "things" have a life of their own that exceeds the limits of the archive? A massive immersive performance, Bom Retiro 958 metros by Brazil's theatre company Teatro da Vertigem, suggests that matter, although martyred by constant change and transformation, resists disappearance and calls into question what we presume remains, and what we assume disappears, from culture.


Objective. To explore the advantages of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of bilateral hands in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Consecutive patients with active RA were recruited for clinical assessments, radiographs, and MRI of bilateral hands. Bilateral hands were scanned simultaneously on 3.0 T whole-body MRI system and were scored on synovitis, osteitis, and bone erosion according to the RA MRI scoring (RAMRIS) system. Results. Among 120 patients included, wrist bones and metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) 2 proximal showed bone erosion in early RA. The second to fifth metacarpal bases and the second to fourth MCPJ distal showed more bone erosion in mid-stage or late-stage RA. When MRI of dominant unilateral hand was analyzed, MRI synovitis and osteitis in 5% of wrists and 3 MRI features in 5–14% of MCPJ were misdiagnosed (McNemar test, all p < 0.05). There were 46% wrist synovitis, 29–52% MCPJ2–5 synovitis, 45% wrist osteitis, and 20%–34% MCPJ2–5 osteitis not detected by joint tenderness and/or swelling. When the clinically more severe hand was selected for MRI of unilateral hand according to physical examination, MRI synovitis in 5% of wrists and 3 MRI features in 7–15% of MCPJ were misdiagnosed (all p < 0.05). Scatter plots and linear regression analyses were used to illustrate RAMRIS between dominant or selected hand (Y values) and nondominant or nonselected hand (X values). All linear models were markedly different from a Y = X linear model, indicating the dominant or clinically more severe hand could not represent the contralateral hand to evaluate RAMRIS. Conclusion. MRI of bilateral hands is more optimal than MRI of the unilateral hand in RA.


Imperceptibility and Robustness are the two main imperative components of Steganography. This paper presents a new combined approach to improve the imperceptibility and robustness by cascading the features of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). Steganography becomes a proficient mean of securing multimedia documents. In the Proposed method we show how to use the DWT and SVD for hiding the secret text message which is encrypted by using our own methodology for providing another layer of security. DWT is applied on cover image for decomposition of images into sub bands which gives linear flexibility of images in terms of resolution and distortion and do image compression without any data loss. By adding SVD in the sub bands of DWT, the encrypted message is embedded in the SVD transformed image using LSB algorithm. The decomposition level of DWT and Scaling Factor of SVD can be chosen at runtime. We have selected LL plane for SVD transformation and other planes are also used for different purpose, the appropriate coefficients are properly used which is different from other conventional methods. The Capacity issue in using the SVD is accomplished by taking the video and converting the video into frames then selecting the random number of frames for embedding is done here. The Proposed method is tested with various statistical attacks including Salt & pepper noise .The Experimental results shows that the proposed method is robust against various statistical attacks then PSNR and NC values are maintained as 77db and 0.999 respectively for all the frames. Email is used as communication channel. Finally comparison of the proposed method with other existing methods has been carried out.


MANY OF THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED on Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace since the late 1990 reveal a measure of discomfort with what appears to be the novel's incompatible aims, namely those of providing a postmodernist critique of history within the framework of nineteenth-century literary conventions. I argue that these two aims are reconcilable when the novel is understood as a trial novel that questions the construction of a teleological courtroom narrative (1) deliberately based upon nineteenth-century novel-writing strategies and delivered in large part by a fictional Grace Marks, who acts throughout the novel as her own defence attorney. Critics have noticed contradictory currents in Atwood's writing yet have failed to harmonize them. Hilary Mantel, Burkhard Niederhoff, Alice Palumbo, Barbara Hill Rigney, and Margaret Rogerson, for example, acknowledge the postmodernist sensibility and techniques at play within Alias Grace. Mantel lays emphasis on the novel's fragmentation (4); Niederhoff classifies the novel as an example of historiographic metafiction and concedes that such a genre is "fundamentally sceptical, eroding the distinction between fact and fiction as well as undermining all claims to truth and knowledge" (81); Palumbo characterizes Atwood's work as one which makes it clear that "it is nearly impossible to expect one single 'true story' to emerge from the wealth of alternatives" (85); Rigney similarly states that Atwood's major thesis is "the inherent ambiguity of the nature of truth" (159); and Rogerson recognizes the novel's function as process rather than mere product when she refers to its central quilting metaphor and suggests that in the act of reading and interpretation, the reader him- or herself becomes a quilt maker (9). The same scholars, however, give voice to a certain anxiety when they attempt to make sense of Alias Grace's outcome. Despite the work's skeptical stance toward truth, the matter of whether the character of Grace Marks is guilty or innocent, a temptress or a victim, a liar or a paragon of integrity is one which these critics are unwilling to abandon. Mantel raises the question: "[W]ith her background of deprivation, how likely is it that she had retained any innocence at all? Grace is a deceiver" (4). Niederhoff, in turn, concludes that Atwood is after all less interested in the truth value of historical reconstruction "than in its effects on people's lives" (82). In his reading of the novel, he accepts unequivocally that Grace was involved in the murders as Mary Whitney (80). Among Atwood scholars, Magali Cornier Michael is perhaps the one who is most persuasive in her attempt at resolving the dichotomy between Atwood's postmodernist approach and her love of nineteenth-century narratives. Michael does indeed see in Alias Grace a feminist, postmodern approach to the recovery of the past that deals a clear blow to the scientific positivism that continues to dominate Western thought (423). The novel, she argues, insists on the validity and importance of women's oral history. Grace's quilting itself stands as a metaphor for alternative forms of thinking about and narrating the past (427). Narrative, however, is offered both as the key to times gone by and as a fallible tool because, as Atwood herself puts it in "In Search of Alias Grace," "[H]uman beings [...] are subject to error, intentional or not, and to the very human desire to magnify a scandal, and to their own biases" (32). Michael also briefly looks at the role of trial narratives within her reading of the novel. She asserts that Alias Grace presents a legal case and a convicted murderess as its focal point and claims that although "the legal process presents itself as an objective, positivist enterprise in its aim to uncover the 'truth, its thoroughly discursive nature highlights the impossibility of accessing the past outside of narrative." Thus, for Michael, the novel's references to the law become one more way to stress both the importance and the relative value and impact of narrative, generally (425). …


Research in artificial neural networks has generally emphasized homogeneous architectures. In contrast, the nervous systems of natural animals exhibit great heterogeneity in both their elements and patterns of interconnection. This heterogeneity is crucial to the flexible generation of behavior which is essential for survival in a complex, dynamic environment. It may also provide powerful insights into the design of artificial neural networks. In this paper, we describe a heterogeneous neural network for controlling the walking of a simulated insect. This controller is inspired by the neuroethological and neurobiological literature on insect locomotion. It exhibits a variety of statically stable gaits at different speeds simply by varying the tonic activity of a single cell. It can also adapt to perturbations as a natural consequence of its design.


A three wheeled electric hydraulic hybrid vehicle with tiltingbody was built and tested at Linkoping University as a partof a student project. The goal of the student project wasto design and fabricate an environmentally friendly vehicleto enter the Formula ATA Electric & Hybrid Italy 2009 competition.The design of the vehicle was based on the rulesand requirements of the competition. The vehicle was alsoprepared for a hydraulic recovery system which was laterimplemented on the vehicle. Hydraulic motor/pump unitsare used to brake and recover energy and to provide additionalboost during acceleration. The energy recovery storageis hydraulic gas accumulators, while the primary propulsionsystem is electrical with Li-Fe batteries. Gas accumulatorshave very high power density superior to electricalbatteries.In this paper, the design of the hydraulic recovery system isdescribed along with simulation and experimental results.The concept shows high potential and the tests show a20 % recovery of the kinetic energy by the hydraulic systemfor a given cycle.


Background: A total of 8.3 million HIV-positive people live in the Asia-Pacific region. The burden of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment and symptomatic sensory neuropathy in this region is unknown. Methods: Between July 2005 and March 2006, we undertook a cross-sectional study at 10 sentinel sites within eight Asia-Pacific countries to determine the prevalence of moderate to severe HIV-related neurocognitive impairment and symptomatic sensory neuropathy. We clinically assessed and administered sensitive neuropsychological and peripheral neuropathy screening tools to 658 patients infected with HIV. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were applied to the data. Results: The results showed that 76 patients (11.7%) (95% CI 9.3–14.2) were significantly neurocognitively impaired, 235 patients (36.4%) (95% CI 32.7–40.2) were depressed, and 126 patients (19.7%) (95% CI 16.6–22.8) had either definite or probable symptomatic sensory neuropathy; 63% of this last group had exposure to stavudine, didanosine, or zalcitabine. Several potential confounders including depression (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.88–2.51, p = 0.11) and prior CNS AIDS illness (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.50–2.89, p = 0.54) were not significantly associated with neurocognitive impairment. Conclusions: A total of 12% of patients had moderate to severe HIV-related neurocognitive impairment, 20% of patients had symptomatic sensory neuropathy, and 36% of patients had evidence of depression. This study provides a broad regional estimate of the burden of HIV-related neurologic disease and depression in the Asia-Pacific region.


Background: A business rescue plan has to comply with a new and vague set of obligations regulated by South African legislation. Expectations of the plan are largely unknown, yet crucial in determining compliance. Establishing an effective benchmark for the plan is essential for the growth and success of the industry. Purpose: The study set out to answer these questions: What are the most crucial elements needed to fill the gap between the specifics of the Companies Act (2008) and the further elements needed to meet the plan's primary objective of providing adequate information to stakeholders? What are the international principles applicable to rehabilitation plans and what elements underpin them? Method: Thirteen industry experts were selected and interviewed to identify the most crucial elements of the business rescue plan. Sampling was a combination of convenience and purposive sampling. Data collection obtained data on subjects' opinions, rankings, agreement and ratings. Results: The study was able to confirm that there is indeed a gap between the mandatory elements prescribed in section 150(2) and the provision of sufficient information required by section 150(1) of the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008. The survey revealed that in the subjects' expert opinion, the international principles are applicable to the business rescue plan. Conclusion: The crucial elements of the rehabilitation plan selected by the experts offer insight and clarity in terms of what is expected of the plan. Key words: Business Rescue, Companies Act, Business Plans, Measurement, Insolvency, Turnaround, Reorganisation


Two extensions to the AMR smatch scoring script are presented. The first extension com-bines the smatch scoring script with the C6.0 rule-based classifier to produce a human-readable report on the error patterns frequency observed in the scored AMR graphs. This first extension results in 4% gain over the state-of-art CAMR baseline parser by adding to it a manually crafted wrapper fixing the identified CAMR parser errors. The second extension combines a per-sentence smatch with an en-semble method for selecting the best AMR graph among the set of AMR graphs for the same sentence. This second modification au-tomatically yields further 0.4% gain when ap-plied to outputs of two nondeterministic AMR parsers: a CAMR+wrapper parser and a novel character-level neural translation AMR parser. For AMR parsing task the character-level neural translation attains surprising 7% gain over the carefully optimized word-level neural translation. Overall, we achieve smatch F1=62% on the SemEval-2016 official scor-ing set and F1=67% on the LDC2015E86 test set.


AIM This study aimed to analyze the feelings and thoughts related to working in the pediatric hematology–oncology unit of the nurses who have worked in this unit in the past, related and the meanings they attribute to it. METHOD In this qualitative study, 15 nurses between the age of 29 and 53 years, who had previously worked in the pediatric hematology–oncology unit and left the unit, were interviewed in depth. The interviews were held using a semi-structured interview form. Each interview lasted for 35 to 45 minutes. RESULTS In the study, 5 main themes and sub-themes related to these were identified from the perspective of the nurses with working experience in the pediatric hematology–oncology unit in the past with regard to their feelings and thoughts about this experience. These included 1) feelings: (a) fear and anxiety, (b) desperation, mercy, and guilt, (c) exhaustion, and (d) longing; 2) coping; 3) professional attributions; 4) meanings related to life; and 5) unmet requirements and suggestions. CONCLUSION Working in the pediatric hematology–oncology unit should be considered as a multi-dimensional condition that causes nurses to experience a wide variety of feelings and affects their perspectives on the profession and life. These findings can be used to strengthen the nurses working in hematology–oncology unit.


The responses of m. adductor pollici to TOF stimulation of the ulnar nerve were recorded by electromyography (EMG) and acceleromyography (AMG) in 36 children aged 2-12 years with ASA classes I-II during 36 planned surgeries. In 14 children myoplegia was attained by intravenous bolus and infusion atracurium (Tracrium) and in 22 by cisatracurium (nimbex). The data on the function of this muscle after the initial bolus injection of myoplegics do not provide reliable information on the function of the larynx and respiratory muscles during intubation and do not allow a conclusion on the possibility of endotracheal intubation. The threshold sensitivities of EMG and AMG recording of the neuromuscular function starting from the fifth minute after the myorelaxant injection till the end of anesthesia are different. EMG permits evaluating the recovery of neuromuscular conduction early after the infusion of myoplegics; complete recovery of the block is shown virtually simultaneously by AMG and EMG. EMG as a more accurate method is preferable for research, while AMG is a simpler and stable method, preferable for routine practice.


The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against B. bovis and B. bigemina in calves from the region of Araguaina, State of Tocantins, Brazil. In this research we used sera obtained from 506 calves, from both genders and of 8 to 24 months old, to detect antibodies by indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA-test). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Chi-square (χ 2 ) test with Yates correction. The seroprevalence obtained was 90.5 and 91.7% for B. bigemina and B. bovis, respectively, characterizing the region as an area of enzootic stability for the species analyzed. The seroprevalence to B. bovis showed higher positivity among calves 19-24 months old.