Experiments were carried out at Jordan University in a stone-fruit orchard which is highly infested with peach rootborer Capnodis tenebrionis during April 2006 to December 2008 to study the life cycle of C. tenebrionis under field conditions.
Eggs were found in clusters on the base of the trunk. Egg dimensions were 5.7±0.098 mm x 3.6±0.080 mm on average. Incubation period of the eggs was 19 days at a mean daily mean temperature of 28 °C. Eggs hatching was 9 days after oviposition at the same temperature. Neonate larvae started boring in the roots. Larvae completed their development passing 9 moults (9 instars) in 40 days (from June, 10 to July, 20). Pupation lasted for 3 weeks. Adults emerged and the sex ratio ranged from 1:1 to 3:1(♂:♀). Adults fed, dispersed at a temperature of 26-30 °C copulated at a mean daily temperature of 33 °C. Females laid eggs and the life cycle repeated. Results were discussed, conclusions and recommendation were made.


Objectives The lower limb is widely reported as the most commonly injured body part in the field of hockey, more specifically lateral ankle sprains and internal knee injury. Despite this, there remains limited understanding of how the biomechanics of the sport could be adapted to minimise injury. The aim of this study was to propose a foot position during the hockey hit that results in the smallest joint angles and moments, from a total of four different foot positions: 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°, which may correlate to injury risk. Method Eighteen players from the local University Ladies Hockey Club participated in this study. Each player was required to perform a hit with their lead foot in four different positions: 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°, where 0° was a lead foot position perpendicular to the direction of motion of the ball. Angles and moments were calculated with the Vicon system using force plates and motion analysis. Results Significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the angles and moments of the four foot positions tested, indicating that foot angle can influence the degree of angulation, and moments, produced in the lower limb joints during the hockey hit. Conclusion There is a relationship between lead foot position and the angles and moments produced in the lower limb joints during the hockey hit, and this may correlate with injury risk.


Diamond films with high infrared transmittance have been successfully deposited using CH3OH-H2 gas mixtures through microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MWCVD). The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the deposition conditions on the optical properties of MWCVD diamond films using CH3OH-H2 gas mixtures. Room temperature optical properties of freestanding diamond films were studied by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. Experimental results indicated that under appropriate deposition temperature (620 °C) and methanol concentration (5.7%), the refractive index of CVD diamond films (2.33) was comparable with that of natural diamond (2.417). The average infrared transmittance was above 65% in the middle infrared region (500 cm-1-4000 cm-1), approaching to the theoretical value of diamond (71.4%). The mechanism of growing high IR transmittance diamond films by utilizing CH3OH-H2 gas system is that the high methanol concentration used in this study makes the surface roughness of diamond films decreased by increasing the secondary nucleation density and the high O/C ratio in CH3OH-H2 gas system, improved the quality of diamond films and therefore decreased the absorption of non-diamond carbon in the films.


Changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ([CO2]), nutrient availability and biotic diversity are three major drivers of the ongoing global change impacting terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. While it is well established that soil nutrient heterogeneity exerts a strong influence on the development of plant individuals and communities, it is virtually unknown how nutrient heterogeneity and global change drivers interact to affect plant performance and ecosystem functioning. We conducted a microcosm experiment to evaluate the effect of simultaneous changes in [CO2], nutrient heterogeneity (NH), nutrient availability (NA) and species evenness on the biomass and nutrient uptake patterns of assemblages formed by Lolium perenne, Plantago lanceolata and Holcus lanatus. When the nutrients were heterogeneously supplied, assemblages exhibited precise root foraging patterns, and had higher above‐ and belowground biomass (average increases of 32% and 29% for above‐ and belowground biomass, respectively). Nutrient heterogeneity also modulated the effects of NA on biomass production, complementarity in nitrogen uptake and below: aboveground ratio, as well as those of [CO2] on the nutrient use efficiency at the assemblage level. Our results show that nutrient heterogeneity has the potential to influence the response of plant assemblages to simultaneous changes in [CO2], nutrient availability and biotic diversity, and suggest that it is an important environmental factor to interpret and assess plant assemblage responses to global change.


In the search for sustainable energy batteries will play a major part. Batteries have been "silent partners" in past technologies that have made a major impact. We are in the midst of another major change where demand for batteries will experience an unprecedented growth. The questions relating to making batteries larger, better, safer, lighter, cheaper and sustainable will loom large in both research and development activities. In electrical vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs), batteries account for some 1/3rd to 1/5th of the vehicle costs and a significant decrease in costs at improved performance will boost this sector enormously. The electricity sector is undergoing its own transformation. If the growth scenarios in the coming decades for renewable energy are met, will change the composition of the electricity power sector. It is not fully appreciated that a key ingredient for unlocking the great potential of renewable energy is "stationary energy storage".
For over 1.3 billion people, connecting to the main electricity grid is unlikely to become a viable option in the foreseeable future. There is a great opportunity to skip over polluting forms of energy and move straight to cleaner renewable sources such as solar power. Leapfrogging in this way will avoid the large costs in transmission lines while benefitting the environment and the health of the people. Off-grid electrification is an innovation activity that should be harnessed for entrepreneurship and gainful employment.
For a zero carbon emission electricity to be adopted as a goal, serious considerations of how much energy does it take to make new batteries and recycle old batteries must be made transparent so that sustainable development is central to this potentially transformative paradigm in the horizon.


This systematic review of multidisciplinary literature synthesizes evidence of the prevalence and patterns of sensory processing disorder (SPD) in children ages birth-3 yr born preterm. Forty-five articles including physiological, behavioral, temperament, and SPD research met the inclusion criteria and provided 295 findings related to SPD-130 (44%) positive (evidence of SPD) and 165 (56%) negative (no evidence of SPD). The majority of findings related to sensory modulation disorder (SMD; 43% positive). The most prevalent subcategory of SMD was sensory overresponsivity (82% of findings positive). Evidence of sensory underresponsivity and sensory-seeking SMD, sensory discrimination disorder, and sensory-based motor disorder was limited. This study supports the education of neonatologists, pediatricians, and caregivers about the symptoms and potential consequences of SPD and helps justify the need for follow-up screening for SPD in children ages birth-3 yr born preterm. Research using measures based on sensory processing theory is needed.


ABSTRACT
It is recommended that every patient with a new third nerve palsy undergo urgent neuroimaging (computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance angiography) to exclude a posterior communicating artery aneurysm. Because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our institution noted a significant decline in the number of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage presenting to the hospital. We report one such example of a patient who developed new-onset severe headache and vomiting and did not seek medical attention because of COVID-19. Two months later, she was noted to have ptosis during a routine follow-up and was found to have a complete, pupil-involving third nerve palsy. Computed tomography angiography was performed and revealed an irregular bilobed saccular aneurysm (7 × 9 × 5 mm) of the right posterior communicating (PComm) artery, but no acute hemorrhage was visible on CT. On MRI, immediately adjacent to the aneurysm, there was a small subacute hematoma in the right medial temporal lobe with surrounding vasogenic edema. This case had a fortunate and unique outcome as she had a contained hematoma adjacent to the ruptured PComm aneurysm and did not experience severe morbidity from the subarachnoid hemorrhage nor did she rebleed in the interval in which she did not seek care. This case highlights the importance of providing neuro-ophthalmic care even during a pandemic.


We have carried out an extensive search for credible evidence to support the existence of a ballistic magnetoresistance (BMR) effect in magnetic nanocontacts. We have investigated both thin-film and thin-wire geometries for both mechanically formed and electrodeposited nanocontacts. We find no systematic differences between mechanically formed and electrodeposited nanocontacts. The samples we have investigated include mechanical contacts between ferromagnetic wires, electrodeposited nanocontacts between ferromagnetic wires, ferromagnetic nanocontacts electrodeposited on Cu wires, nanocontacts electrodeposited between ferromagnetic films anchored on wafers, ferromagnetic nanocontacts electrodeposited on Cu films anchored on wafers, nanocontacts between two ferromagnetic films connected by a pinhole through an insulating film, and nanocontacts formed by focused ion-beam etching. In none of these samples did we find credible evidence for a BMR effect. However, we did find a number of artifacts due to magneto...


The rapid development of the market economy has confronted China with a diversity of social changes in the public management and governance structure. NGOs make up for the lack of national capacity, providing a platform where citizens can participate in social development, in order to achieve harmonious coexistence between the state and civil society. Grassroots NGOs play an increasingly important role in the development of civil society. In this context, the development of grassroots public interest through NGOs targeting specific groups has caught the attention of the public.This study uses civil society as a framework and explores the development of grassroots NGOs. It examines key factors and breakthrough points in the development of grassroots NGOs now and in future points of time.The study concerns three classic representatives of this kind of organization: Loving Home, Green Stone and The Grassroots Home. The issues facing these individual organizations are in many ways representative of the larger issues facing grassroots NGOs in China. The study further examines the case of Xinyuan, a grassroots NGO in Eastern China. Based on observation and interviews, I find that its development is subject to the existing system similar to other NGOs. At the same time, its development has taken on a unique identity of its own. The Xinyuan's way enables grassroots NGOs to build their own development track: I analyze how this NGO interacts with its surroundings – the Chinese system and society – from the perspective of an NGO worker and in the theoretical framework of civil society. In addition to sharing features with other NGOs, I find that this organization has a distinct personality and identity of its own. This study will serve as a reference platform for future researches into Chinese grassroots NGOs.


As part of a collaboration with a major California school district, we study the problem of fairly allocating unused classrooms in public schools to charter schools. Our approach revolves around the randomized leximin mechanism. We extend previous work to the classroom allocation setting, showing that the leximin mechanism is proportional, envy-free, efficient, and group strategyproof. We also prove that the leximin mechanism provides a (worst-case) 4-approximation to the maximum number of classrooms that can possibly be allocated. Our experiments, which are based on real data, show that a nontrivial implementation of the leximin mechanism scales gracefully in terms of running time (even though the problem is intractable in theory), and performs extremely well with respect to a number of efficiency objectives. We take great pains to establish the practicability of our approach, and discuss issues related to its deployment.


CLICK HERE TO LAUNCH VIDEO Description:  ASHRAE 90.1-Appendix G Performance Rating Method: modeling of envelope and lighting in commercial and multifamily buildings. Presenter: Sue Reilly , Principal at Group14 Engineering PBC This video is part of the online learning course video series: Building Energy Modeling workshop BEM101. The presenters are past ASHRAE conference BEM101 workshop veteran presenters and leading experts in the energy modeling field. The target audience is the beginning and intermediate level energy modelers. BEM101 online learning videos have 7 parts: Modeling to Inform Design, Fundamentals of Energy Modeling, Energy Modeling Best Practices, ASHRARE Std 90.1 Performance Rating Method, Measurement and Verification and Life Cycle Cost Analysis.


The purpose of study was to investigate the ultrastructural features of leukemic megakarocyte (LMK) in patients with acute megakaryocytic leukemia (M(7)). Analyzing the ultrastructure characteristics of LMK and positive ratio of platelet peroxides (PPO) in 11 patients with M(7) were analyzed on basis of transmission electron microscopic observation retrospectively. The results showed that the diameter of LMK in 7 out of 11 cases was less than 20 microm, in 2 cases of them, the LMK diameter was from 10 to 15 microm and their PPO positive ratio was more than 50%, most LMK displayed regular shape, less protrusions, irregular nucleus, high nuclear/cytoplasm ratio, tiny granules, undeveloped demarcation membrane system (DMS) and irregular tubules in cytoplasm; in 5 out of those 7 cases the diameter of LMK was about 20 microm, PPO positive cell count was from 8% to 22%, most showing round or horseshoe nuclei, more or less heterochromatin, no DMS and granules were found in LMK in 3 cases and 2 cases occasionally. In other 5 out of 11 cases, the diameter of LMK was from 20 to 40 microm and PPO positive ratio was from 16% to 80%, in which smaller LMKs were similar to those in former cases in shape, and the larger LMK had irregular protrusions, varied nuclear/cytoplasm ratio, more heterochromatin, prominent nucleolus, some of them contained developed DMS, tubules and alpha-granules. It is concluded that most patients with M(7) are predominant of LMK in stage-I and minority contained LMK in II or III stage simultaneously. The differentiation degrees of LMK are different in individual and various cases.


Summary

1. Statistical modelling of habitat suitability is an important tool for planning conservation interventions, particularly for areas where species distribution data are expensive or hard to collect. Sometimes however the predictor variables typically used in habitat suitability modelling are themselves difficult to obtain or not meaningful at the geographical extent of the study, as is the case for the Alaotran gentle lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis, a critically endangered lemur confined to the marshes of Lake Alaotra in Madagascar.

2. We developed a habitat suitability model where all predictor variables, including vegetation indices and image texture measures at different scales (as surrogates for habitat structure), were derived from Landsat7 satellite imagery. Using relatively few presence records, the maximum entropy (Maxent) approach and AUC were used to assess the performance of candidate predictor variables, for studying the effect of scale, model selection and mapping suitable habitat.

3. This study demonstrated the utility of satellite imagery as a single source of predictor variables for a Maxent habitat suitability model at the landscape level, within a restricted geographical extent and with a fine grain, in a case where predictor variables typically used at the macro-scale level (e.g. climatic and topographic) were not applicable.

4. In the case of H. alaotrensis, the methodology generated a habitat suitability map to inform conservation management in Lake Alaotra and a replicable protocol to allow rapid updates to habitat suitability maps in the future. The exploration of candidate predictor variables allowed the identification of scales that appear ecologically relevant for the species.

5. Synthesis and applications. This study presents a cost-effective combination of maximum entropy habitat suitability modelling and satellite imagery, where all predictor variables are derived solely from Landsat7 images. With a habitat modelling method like Maxent that shows good performance with few presence samples and Landsat images now freely available, the methodology can play an important role in rapid assessments of the status of species at the landscape level in data-poor regions, when typical macro-scale environmental predictors are of little use or difficult to obtain.


The long-wave radiation (L*) in the urban canyons in Sao Paulo City, Brazil was observed through the use of a Pyrgeometer PIR model (Precision Infrared Radiometer by Eppley) and a Net Radiometer LITE model (NR-LITE by Kipp & Zonen). A simple scheme to estimate the upward longwave radiation (L↑) from observations of the net all-wave radiation (Q*) is evaluated using a 2,200 km dataset. The instruments are set up on a mobile platform, which moves through the bottom of the canyons. The results are compared with the observed wall surface apparent temperatures. The thermal and radiation patterns are verified along the traverses through the different land use types in typical nocturnal and diurnal periods during the dry season. This upward long-wave radiation parameterization is most sensitive to urban aspect ration effects on incoming long-wave radiation (L↓). Air temperature measurements and estimates of the convective QH flux between the atmosphere and urban buildings are also taken. For incoming long-wave radiation, even clear sky estimates show a large degree of scatter, the results degrade as intensive vehicle traffic periods are included.


This product provides a short and readable source for individuals interested in constitutional law, First Amendment law, and communications law. It is divided into four parts: the history, methodology, and philosophical foundations of the First Amendment; topics such as First Amendment issues that arise in cable television and in regulating children's access to the Internet; issues in First Amendment law such as the public forum doctrine, the compelled speech doctrine, and the free expression rights of government employees; and the text, history, and theory of the religion clauses, chronicling the ongoing battle in the Supreme Court between accommodationists and separationists.


Relatively little is known about loneliness in nursing homes. The aim of this study is to gain insight in the prevalence of social, emotional and existential loneliness among nursing home residents and in the relationship between loneliness and participation in activities and having contacts. Data is collected among nursing home residents in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands (N = 101; age range = 42 to 103 years; median = 83 years; 71% female). Social, emotional and existential loneliness, personal characteristics and participation in activities and having contacts are measured. Prevalence of loneliness is calculated. Regression analyses are performed to study the relationship between loneliness and personal characteristics, participation in activities and having contacts. The majority of respondents experiences social, emotional and/or existential loneliness. A longer duration of stay in the nursing home and participating in exercise activities are related to a lower extent of social loneliness but not emotional or existential loneliness. Organised activities typically aim at social loneliness, but not emotional and existential loneliness, even though these forms of loneliness occur often in nursing homes.


In recent years moral philosophers have increasingly paid attention to the development of scientific researches about the functioning of moral mind. Placed into the framework of Darwinian evolutionary theory the cognitive science of morality aims at discovering the core mechanisms of the moral faculties and the evolutionary path that produced them. The intertwinement of cognitive science and philosophical ethics has led to a new understanding of metaethics. Embedding cognitive science in such an investigation switches the focus from the more traditional analysis of the language of morals to the functioning of moral mind. Whereas the contribution of such empirical researches to metaethics is clear and considerable, the role of cognitive science with regard to normative ethics is much more difficult and obscure. Even if the fact/value separation ought to be intended in a soft and non dogmatic way, the normative "use" of empirical findings about human moral minds is a puzzling and slippery task. Rather than being a direct source of norms and values, the understanding of moral psychology carried out by cognitive science contributes to the task of moral reflection insofar as it is a form of self-understanding. Part of the practice of moral reflection – that is critically weighing up and evaluating one's own habits, attitudes and moral responses – is the understanding of one's own nature, both as a specific individual and as a member of the human species. My aim will be to discuss whether the cognitive science of morality could be regarded as a modern answer to the ancient exhortation "know thyself" and, therefore, whether advancements in such science could lead to moral progress.


This paper analyzes differences in welfare transitions between natives and immigrants in Sweden using a large representative panel data set, LINDA, for the years 1991 to 2001. The data contains administrative information on welfare use, country of birth, and time of arrival in Sweden among other things, and provides an excellent opportunity to examine immigrantnative differences in welfare use. The empirical results suggest that the main reason for the large immigrant-native welfare gap observed in the data is differences in welfare entry rates. Thus, policies aimed to reduce these transitions may be particularly successful in reducing welfare use in general and the immigrant-native welfare gap in particular.


The effect of the middle heat treatment+aging(1323K+1073K) for the precipitation mechanism and volume fraction of Ni-11at.%Cr-17at.%Al ternary alloy are studied based on microscopic phase-field model. The results show that the precipitation mechanism is non-classical nucleation and growth for the alloy at middle heat treatment, and the congruent ordering and spinodal decomposition mechanism occur at single-stage aging. The larger precipitation strengthening phases are obtained, the volume fraction of ordering phases and the averaged ordering parameter are higher, and the incubation period prolongs after the middle heat treatment.


This paper describes a deep generative approach to joint chord and key estimation for music signals. The limited amount of music signals with complete annotations has been the major bottleneck in supervised multi-task learning of a classification model. To overcome this limitation, we integrate the supervised multi-task learning approach with the unsupervised autoencoding approach in a mutually complementary manner. Considering the typical process of music composition, we formulate a hierarchical latent variable model that sequentially generates keys, chords, and chroma vectors. The keys and chords are assumed to follow a language model that represents their relationships and dynamics. In the framework of amortized variational inference (AVI), we introduce a classification model that jointly infers discrete chord and key labels and a recognition model that infers continuous latent features. These models are combined to form a variational autoencoder (VAE) and are trained jointly in a (semi-)supervised manner, where the generative and language models act as regularizers for the classification model. We comprehensively investigate three different architectures for the chord and key classification model, and three different architectures for the language model. Experimental results demonstrate that the VAE-based multi-task learning improves chord estimation as well as key estimation.


Zober et al' examined fertility, hormones, and offspring sex ratio of men exposed to the fungicide vinclozolin. These authors were inclined to dismiss the possibility that it has any deleterious effect on the male reproductive system. I should like to suggest in contrast, that its effects in two respects resemble those of the nematocide dibromochloropropane (DBCP), which lowers sperm count2 and is associated with a highly significantly lowered offspring sex ratio.3 Zober et all report that although the testosterone concentrations of exposed men


OBJECTIVE
To develop a brief screening tool that will allow emergency department (ED) staff to rapidly and accurately detect suicide risk in child and adolescent patients.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey. Participants. One hundred forty-four children and adolescents, mean age of 13.6 years, presenting to an urban university teaching hospital pediatric ED for primarily psychiatric reasons. Data Collection. As part of a quality improvement initiative, we developed a 14-item screening survey (the Risk of Suicide Questionnaire [RSQ]) that was administered by a triage nurse to all pediatric mental health patients on admission to the ED. All patients were subsequently administered the 30-item Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) by a mental health clinician, which served as the criterion standard assessment of suicidality. Other information collected included demographic and clinical characteristics.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for responses to individual and combinations of RSQ items, relative to determinations of suicidality by the criterion standard SIQ.

RESULTS
Four of the items from the RSQ had a predictive c statistic of 0.87, a sensitivity of 0.98, and a NPV of 0.97. Little improvement in predictive ability was obtained by including other RSQ items (c statistic for the most predictive 4-item model = 0.87; c statistic for the model containing all 14 items = 0.90). Among all possible combinations of 4 RSQ items, the combination of items inquiring about current suicidal behavior, past suicidal ideation, past self-destructive behavior, and current stressors yielded the highest sensitivity (0.98), NPV (0.97), and c statistic (0.87), as assessed by the criterion standard SIQ.

CONCLUSIONS
A brief 4-item screening tool can be used by nonmental health clinicians to accurately detect suicidality in children and adolescents who visit an ED. Early and accurate identification of suicidality is a critical first step that could lead to better treatment and improved health outcomes for children and adolescents with mental health concerns.


This is, to be frank, a somewhat bizarre book, which seems to have arisen out of the author's previous work on the Julian debt legislation. The author believes that Cornelius' plebiscite of 67 B.C. about the praetor's edict was in effect also a law about debt, seeking to control the legal procedures under which creditors operated. Ironically, he misses what might have been his best evidence—Cic, pro Corn. frr. 37-8 Schoell, Puccioni. Cicero is clearly commenting here on the law in question and cites an example of an arbitrary missio in possessionem (see CQ 27 (1977), 184—6, for the view that this more probably concerns inheritance). Instead, the author produces a very strained interpretation of Dio Cassius 36. 40. 1-2, where Dio's comment that the list of civil actions had not yet been codified (as in the Hadrianic perpetual edict) is understood as meaning that the praetors in the late Republic had not finally organized all the exceptiones regarding contracts of mutuum in their edicts. On this the rest of the work hangs. The author must be one of the very few Italian scholars of this period who do not know M. W. Frederiksen's article, 'Cicero, Caesar and the Problem of Debt' (JfRS 56 (1966), 128 ff.) or Miriam Griffin's study of the tribune Cornelius (JRS 63 (!973)> 196 ff.). Sadly, this book does not contribute to the current debate about legal development in the late Republic.


This work investigated the washout of dissolved nutrients from beaches due to waves by conducting tracer studies in a laboratory beach facility. The effects of waves were studied in the case where the beach was subjected to the tide, and that in which no tidal action was present. The following may be inferred: (1) waves created a steep hydraulic gradient in the swash zone and a mild one landward of it; (2) waves increased the residence time of a plume when they broke seaward of it. They also created additional pathways for transport of the tracer to the beach surface; and (3) in the presence of a tide that completely covered the solute plume, overall, the waves increased the washout of the tracer from the intertidal zone of the beach in comparison with the no-wave case. The residence time of the tracer plume due to waves superimposed on the tide was estimated as 75% of that resulting from the tide with no waves. Discussion on scaling up the results and implications for bioremediation are also presented.


Summary

1
For many species, human-induced disturbances can severely influence an individual's pay-off; however, energy-cost variations from different disturbance types have rarely been reported.

2
We evaluated the dynamic behavioural responses of staging greater snow geese Anser caerulescens atlanticus to different types of disturbance in southern Quebec, Canada, between 1997 and 2000. We specifically considered the impact of a unique measure, a spring conservation hunt implemented in agricultural habitats in 1999.

3
We tracked 237 radio-tagged females for 2764 h and recorded 697 take-offs following fortuitous disturbance, scaring and hunting in three regions characterized by different habitats. Geese used cornfields in south-western Quebec, Scirpus marshes and hayfields in the upper St Lawrence estuary, and Spartina marshes and hayfields in the lower estuary.

4
Overall, disturbance levels increased in the upper and lower estuary during years with hunting, mostly through an increase in hunting and scaring activities.

5
The probability of geese returning to a refuge after disturbance in agricultural habitats increased in years with hunting except in the corn-growing region. The short-term energy gain of geese resuming feeding after disturbance was less than before disturbance, and this difference was greater in years with hunting. Distances flown after disturbance decreased with flock size and were longer after scaring and hunting than after fortuitous disturbances in the Scirpus region.

6
Overall, habitat use varied among years and associated estimated energy gain decreased markedly in both years with hunting in the Spartina and corn-growing region, but did not change in the Scirpus region. Changes in behaviour due to disturbance, and especially those associated with hunting, probably contributed to the reduced body condition of staging greater snow geese during years with hunting.

7
Synthesis and applications. From a methodological viewpoint, we highlight the importance of tracking the behaviour of individual animals after disturbance to properly evaluate its impact. From a conservation perspective, we provide empirical arguments to limit the hunting of breeding waterfowl during their prenuptial migration in order to facilitate their fattening and forthcoming reproduction. From a management standpoint, we suggest that a side-effect of disturbance induced by spring hunting to control overabundant populations may be reduced fattening and breeding output among birds that survive. Together, these data emphasize further the importance of measuring the direct and indirect effects of disturbance rather than assuming effects from the incidence of the disturbance alone.


While implant-related infections continue to play a relevant role in failure of implantable biomaterials in orthopaedic and trauma there is a lack of standardised microbiological procedures to identify the pathogen(s). The microbiological diagnosis of implant-related infections is challenging due to the following factors: the presence of bacterial biofilm(s), often associated with slow-growing microorganisms, low bacterial loads, previous antibiotic treatments and, possible intra-operative contamination. Therefore, diagnosis requires a specific set of procedures. Based on the Guidelines of the Italian Association of the Clinical Microbiologists (AMCLI), the World Association against Infection in Orthopaedics and Trauma has drafted the present document. This document includes guidance on the basic principles for sampling and processing for implant-related infections based on the most relevant literature. These procedures outline the main microbiological approaches, including sampling and processing methodologies for diagnostic assessment and confirmation of implant-related infections. Biofilm dislodgement techniques, incubation time and the role of molecular approaches are addressed in specific sections. The aim of this paper is to ensure a standardised approach to the main microbiological methods for implant-related infections, as well as to promote multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and microbiologists.


There is a strong need for recovery decision-making for end-of-life (EOL) products to satisfy sustainable manufacturing requirements. This paper develops and tests a profit maximisation model by simultaneously integrating recovery option selection and disassembly planning. The proposed model considers the quality of EOL components. This paper utilises an integrated method of multi-target reverse recursion and partial topological sorting to generate a feasible EOL solution that also reduces the complexity of genetic constraints handling. In order to determine recovery options, disassembly level and disassembly sequence simultaneously, this paper develops an improved co-evolutionary algorithm (ICA) to search for an optimal EOL solution. The proposed algorithm adopts the evolutionary mechanism of localised interaction and endosymbiotic competition. Further, an advanced local search operator is introduced to improve convergence performance, and a global disturbance strategy is also suggested to prevent premature convergence. Finally, this paper conducts a series of computational experiments under various scenarios to validate the meta-heuristic integrated decision-making model proposed and the superiority of the developed ICA. The results show that the proposed approach offers a strong and flexible decision support tool for intelligent recovery management in a ubiquitous information environment. We discuss the theoretical and practical contributions of this paper and implications for future research.


In this paper, we first describe a framework to model the sponsored search auction on the Web as a mechanism design problem. Using this framework, we describe two well-known mechanisms for sponsored search auction - generalized second price (GSP) and Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG). We then derive a new mechanism for sponsored search auction which we call optimal (OPT) mechanism. The OPT mechanism maximizes the search engine's expected revenue, while achieving Bayesian incentive compatibility and individual rationality of the advertisers. We then undertake a detailed comparative study of the mechanisms GSP, VCG, and OPT. We compute and compare the expected revenue earned by the search engine under the three mechanisms when the advertisers are symmetric and some special conditions are satisfied. We also compare the three mechanisms in terms of incentive compatibility, individual rationality, and computational complexity.


Abstract A new method is introduced which tolerates distortions between spectrogram patterns in template matching. Cross-correlation provides a fast method to calculate similarities but it is sensitive to durational and spectral fluctuations. Dynamic time warping tolerates durational differences but requires that frequency components match. An extension to dynamic time warping is introduced where frequency is warped in addition to time. This allows for a detailed analysis to find the similarities and differences between the sound units to be compared. The method was applied to analyses of owl and Bengalese finch vocalizations.


Abstract Observations from outcrop and subsurface datasets indicate that key stratigraphic surfaces in ancient submarine slope successions are diachronous and form during periods of seascape degradation and sediment bypass. Evidence for time transgressive confinement of submarine channel–levee systems includes composite basal erosion surfaces, cut-off bends and hanging valleys, and external levees overlying lobe deposits. After the onset of a sediment supply cycle, progressive confinement will develop on the submarine slope, through a combination of incision and external levee construction, such that successive sediment gravity flows will maintain their downslope energy farther into the basin. This way, frontal lobe deposits are incised by channel systems and overlain by external levee deposits as the channel–levee system becomes more entrenched and propagates farther into the basin. The stratigraphic response on the related basin floor is fan growth and net progradation until a maximum basinward extent is reached, which corresponds to the time of maximum through-channel sediment transfer (bypass). At this time a maximum regressive surface forms, although in reality this is challenging to identify in the rock record. Conceptually, this basin-floor process response to progressive slope confinement at a point could be autocyclic, but would be amplified with an allogenically driven waxing-then-waning sediment supply cycle. The coupled progressive confinement of the submarine channel–levee system and basin-floor fan growth will result in a diachronous lithological basal surface to the system. This challenges the idea of the deep-water sequence boundary being isochronous and passing into a single correlative conformity at the base of the basin floor fan, or that there is temporal distinction between deposition by high- and low-density turbidity currents.


Abstract Velocity reversals are layers within the soil/rock profile that have a velocity lower than that of the overlying strata. When performing site‐response analysis, these reversals are often avoided because of the complexity they introduce. In this study, we explore the effect of a velocity reversal on the fundamental mode of the 1D linear elastic response for the case of two layers over a half‐space. We define a criterion for tolerable velocity reversals, in which the amplitude change imposed by the reversal is relatively insignificant. We do so by modeling three‐layer velocity profiles with different combinations of thickness and velocities. We observe that the amplitude is affected by both the impedance ratio and the thickness ratio between the upper two layers. We find that the amplitude of the linear transfer function at the fundamental frequency is, on a first order, a function of the effective impedance ratio—the impedance ratio between the half‐space and a layer having the combined thickness of the upper two and their time‐averaged shear‐wave velocity. We suggest a model to compute the minimum allowable velocity in the reversal layer while maintaining an amplitude change smaller than 10% with respect to a nonreversal velocity profile. The reversal velocity in our model is a function of the overlaying velocity and the thickness ratio.


Remarks on the essence of a terrorist crime and penalty for it. Part IIThe paper is an attempt to draw attention to some of the most important aspects of the problem of terrorist crimes, a problem that is complex both in criminological sense and in terms of the legal dogma. The starting point for the reflections in Part I of the article is a historical analysis of the origins and evolution of the dogmatic and normative perception of and approach to the concept of terrorist crime — beginning with the legislation of the interwar period, through post-war provisions and ending with the regulations of the 1969 Criminal Code. The Central question of this part is an analysis of the normative form of the terrorist crime construct under Article 115 § 20 of the Criminal Code, its legal nature as well as consequences of the application of the analysed norms. The reflection of Part II of the paper encompasses issues concerning the consequences of a terrorist crime in terms of statutory and judicial penalties as well as other penal measures. In this part the author analyses, in particular, the question of extraordinary enhancement of punishment for terrorist crimes, including doubts that can be aroused in practice by the regulations concerning punishment progression applied to terrorists as well as the possibility and rules of applying other measures having an impact on the legal situation of the perpetrators of terrorist crimes.


The Indian National Science Academy has published two S tatus Reports on Pharmacological Research (1984 & 2000). The International Council for Science ( ICSU) National Committee for Pharmacology has commissioned the third status report on Pharmacological Research in India covering the last 5 years. This report covers research done in chemotherapy of infectious diseases barring tropical diseases. The areas covered in chemotherapy included drug-discovery , observational studies, pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics and safety studies. We largely relied on Pubmed for our search. Work conducted in India and where at least one of the authors was affiliated to the Department of Pharmacology was included. Salient features of the studies were summarized. Lacunae in the current scene of research were explored and way forward suggested.


As in the laminar case, the turbulent plane Couette flow is unstable (stable) with respect to roll cell instabilities when the weak background angular velocity Ωk is antiparallel (parallel) to the spanwise mean flow vorticity (-dU/dy)k. The critical value of the rotation number Ro, based on 2Ω and dU/dy of the corresponding laminar flow, was estimated as 0.0002 at a low Reynolds number with fully developed turbulence. Direct numerical simulations were performed for Ro = ±0.01 and compared with earlier results for non-rotating Couette flow. At the low rotation rates considered, both senses of rotation damped the turbulence and the number of near-wall turbulence-generating events was reduced. The destabilized flow was more energetic, but less three-dimensional, than the non-rotating flow. In the destabilized case, the two-dimensional roll cells extracted a comparable amount of kinetic energy from the mean flow as did the turbulence, thereby decreasing the turbulent kinetic energy. The turbulence anisotropy was practically unaffected by weak spanwise rotation, while the secondary flow was highly anisotropic due to its inability to contract and expand in the streamwise direction.


This paper considers a new axiom of a choice function called equal treatment of individuals in an indifference class (ETI) in the context of matching problems. We show that when a choice function satisfies ETI and two commonly-used axioms, substitutability and size monotonicity, any individual for whom ETI applies must either be always accepted whenever the choice set includes them or be never selected. ETI is also generally incompatible with another axiom, q -acceptance. When ETI, substitutability, and size monotonicity are required, the degree of q -acceptance violation depends on the sum of the sizes of all indifference classes for which ETI applies, but when size monotonicity is replaced by consistency, it is characterized by the size of a particular indifference class. These results clarify the trade-off between ETI and other axioms, which would be helpful in designing a tie-breaking rule.


This paper presents fracture studies conducted on nanographene platelet (NGP) reinforced EPON 862 polymer composite tested in pure Mode I and mixed mode. Compact Tension (CT) tests were performed to determine Mode I fracture toughness for baseline (0 wt%), 0.1 wt% and 0.5 wt% NGP reinforced EPON 862 neat resin. Remarkable improvement in fracture toughness, KIC (~197%), and critical strain energy release rate, GIC (~572%), was observed for only 0.5 wt% NGP addition to the polymer system. SEM and AFM studies revealed significantly higher roughness in the fracture surface morphology for NGP reinforced specimens. Asymmetric four-point bend tests were also performed for three different mode mix (tan-1(KII/KI)) ratios (38o, 57o, and 89.5o). Significant enhancement in toughness for each mode mix case was observed. In order to ascertain if the toughness enhancements translated from the neat resin to the carbon composite, IM7/EPON 862 unidirectional laminates were manufactured using hand-layup with 0.1 and 0.5 wt% of NGP reinforcement. Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) experiments were performed to characterize delamination toughness in Mode I (initiation toughness as well as fracture resistance). Significant increases of 48% and 100% in initiation toughness and resistance to crack propagation was observed respectively for 0.5 wt% NGP reinforced EPON 862. The reinforcement potential of NGPs is explained using a novel nanoscale toughness enhancement mechanism, which can be employed to predict the length and orientation of the NGPs for maximum fracture toughness improvement.


Most current well-being measures ignore the contributions of natural systems in people's well-being. Evaluating the role of natural resources in well-being is particularly important for many Indigenous and local communities to appropriately reflect their well-being and to inform future welfare policies. It is well acknowledged that Indigenous and peoples' values and customs are well integrated with natural systems, and inclusion of these nature-related attributes into well-being measures is required to accurately measure Indigenous/local well-being. This study reviews the available well-being frameworks from global as well as from local—Australian perspectives; and proposes a holistic approach to assess the role of natural systems for human well-being using how Indigenous and local peoples' social, economic and ecological values, and capabilities relate to natural systems, that can inform broader human well-being attributes. Both, Capability and the Millennium Assessment Approaches are analysed and applied to develop an integrated framework. This paper emphasises the importance of each connection that people may have with nature to consider for developing better-informed policies on Indigenous and local peoples' well-being as well as on the use and management of natural systems.


Occult HBV infection is defined as the presence of HBV DNA in the liver (with or without detectable or undetectable HBV DNA in the serum) of individuals testing negative for HBsAg. Studies on occult HBV infection in hepatitis C patients have reported highly variable prevalence, because the prevalence of occult HBV infection varies depending on the hepatitis B risk factors and methodological approaches. The most reliable diagnostic approach for detecting occult HBV detection is through examination of liver DNA extracts. HCV has been suspected to strongly suppress HBV replication up to the point where it may be directly responsible for occult HBV infection development. However, more data are needed to arrive at a definitive conclusion regarding the role of HCV in inducing occult HBV infection. Occult HBV infection in chronic hepatitis C patients is a complex biological entity with possible relevant clinical implications. Influence of occult HBV infection on the clinical outcomes of chronic hepatitis C may be considered negative. However, recent studies have shown that occult HBV infection could be associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma and contribute to the worsening of the course of chronic liver disease over time in chronic hepatitis C patients. Nevertheless, the possible role of occult HBV infection in chronic hepatitis C is still unresolved and no firm conclusion has been made up until now. It still remains unclear how occult HBV infection affects the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Therefore, in order to resolve current controversies and understand the pathogenic role and clinical impacts of occult HBV infection in chronic hepatitis C patients, well-designed clinical studies are needed. (Korean J Gastroenterol 2013;62:154-159)


The histologic picture of tuberculin skin tests in guinea pigs sensitized passively by the transfer of spleen and lymph node cells from BCG-immunized guinea pigs was investigated. As early as 90 min following intradermal injection of PPD numerous necrotic foci of muscle fibers and frequently also lipophagic foci were observed in subcutaneous tissue. Similar changes were not found in reactions to corresponding doses of ovalbumin given to the same animals and in tuberculin tests made in recipients of nonsensitized cells. Muscle fiber necroses occurred without demonstrable participation of inflammatory infiltration, which developed later together with the paresis of subcutaneous venules. These histologic findings are viewed as supporting the hypothesis that the reaction of hypersensitive cells with antigen leads to tissue damage, which in turn constitutes the principal cause of the development of inflammatory changes which form the second (nonspecific) part of the reaction.


Graphical models are useful tools for describing structured high-dimensional probability distributions. Development of efficient algorithms for generating unbiased and independent samples from graphical models remains an active research topic. Sampling from graphical models that describe the statistics of discrete variables is a particularly challenging problem, which is intractable in the presence of high dimensions. In this work, we provide the first method that allows one to provably generate unbiased and independent samples from general discrete factor models with a quantum circuit. Our method is compatible with multi-body interactions and its success probability does not depend on the number of variables. To this end, we identify a novel embedding of the graphical model into unitary operators and provide rigorous guarantees on the resulting quantum state. Moreover, we prove a unitary Hammersley-Clifford theorem -- showing that our quantum embedding factorizes over the cliques of the underlying conditional independence structure. Importantly, the quantum embedding allows for maximum likelihood learning as well as maximum a posteriori state approximation via state-of-the-art hybrid quantum-classical methods. Finally, the proposed quantum method can be implemented on current quantum processors. Experiments with quantum simulation as well as actual quantum hardware show that our method can carry out sampling and parameter learning on quantum computers.


Global production chains carry environmental and socioeconomic impacts embodied in each traded good and service. Even though labor and energy productivities tend to be higher for domestic production in high‐income countries than those in emerging economies, this difference is significantly reduced for consumption, when including imported products to satisfy national demand. The analysis of socioeconomic and environmental aspects embodied in consumption can shed a light on the real level of productivity of an economy, as well as the effects of rising imports and offshoring. This research introduces a consumption‐based metric for productivity, in which we evaluate the loss of productivity of developed nations resulting from imports from less‐developed economies and offshoring of labor‐intensive production. We measure the labor, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions footprints in the European Union's trade with the rest of the world through a multiregional input‐output model. We confirm that the labor footprint of European imports is significantly higher than the one of exports, mainly from low‐skilled, labor‐intensive primary sectors. A high share of labor embodied in exports is commonly associated with low energy productivities in domestic industries. Hence, this reconfirms that the offshoring of production to cheaper and low‐skilled, labor‐abundant countries offsets, or even reverts, energy efficiency gains and climate‐change mitigation actions in developed countries.


Class incremental semantic segmentation (CISS) focuses on alleviating catastrophic forgetting to improve discrimination. Previous work mainly exploits regularization (e.g., knowledge distillation) to maintain previous knowledge in the current model. However, distillation alone often yields limited gain to the model since only the representations of old and new models are restricted to be consistent. In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective method to obtain a model with a strong memory of old knowledge, named Endpoints Weight Fusion (EWF). In our method, the model containing old knowledge is fused with the model retaining new knowledge in a dynamic fusion manner, strengthening the memory of old classes in ever changing distributions. In addition, we analyze the relationship between our fusion strategy and a popular moving average technique EMA, which reveals why our method is more suitable for class-incremental learning. To facilitate parameter fusion with closer distance in the parameter space, we use distillation to enhance the optimization process. Furthermore, we conduct experiments on two widely used datasets, achieving state-of-the-art performance.


An analytic reversible Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom is studied in a neighborhood of its symmetric heteroclinic connection made up of a symmetric saddle-center, a symmetric orientable saddle periodic orbit lying in the same level of a Hamiltonian, and two non-symmetric heteroclinic orbits permuted by the involution. This is a codimension one structure; therefore, it can be met generally in one-parameter families of reversible Hamiltonian systems. There exist two possible types of such connections depending on how the involution acts near the equilibrium. We prove a series of theorems that show a chaotic behavior of the system and those in its unfoldings, in particular, the existence of countable sets of transverse homoclinic orbits to the saddle periodic orbit in the critical level, transverse heteroclinic connections involving a pair of saddle periodic orbits, families of elliptic periodic orbits, homoclinic tangencies, families of homoclinic orbits to saddle-centers in the unfolding, etc. As a by-product, we get a criterion of the existence of homoclinic orbits to a saddle-center.


Abstract As survival after cardiac surgery continues to improve, an increasing number of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome are reaching school age and beyond, with growing recognition of the wide range of neurodevelopmental challenges many survivors face. Improvements in fetal detection rates, coupled with advances in fetal ultrasound and MRI imaging, are contributing to a growing body of evidence that abnormal brain architecture is in fact present before birth in hypoplastic left heart syndrome patients, rather than being solely attributable to postnatal factors. We present an overview of the contemporary data on neurodevelopmental outcomes in hypoplastic left heart syndrome, focussing on imaging techniques that are providing greater insight into the nature of disruptions to the fetal circulation, alterations in cerebral blood flow and substrate delivery, disordered brain development, and an increased potential for neurological injury. These susceptibilities are present before any intervention, and are almost certainly substantial contributors to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in later childhood. The task now is to determine which subgroups of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome are at particular risk of poor neurodevelopmental outcomes and how that risk might be modified. This will allow for more comprehensive counselling for carers, better-informed decision making before birth, and earlier, more tailored provision of neuroprotective strategies and developmental support in the postnatal period.


To contribute to the debate about the reorganization of the public-school supply, in this paper we analyze a reform introduced in Colombia in 2001 that merged several independent small schools into a single educational institution, with the same name, administration, educational project and school principal. Specifically, we estimate the differences in student achievement and measures of teacher characteristics and technological infrastructure between school sites belonging to a multi-site institution with single-site schools. Our results suggest that there are no differences in standardized test scores, but at the same time, we found that school sites belonging to multi-site schools, especially those in larger networks (more than 6 sites) and located far away from the main site of the school, tend to have younger teachers that earn lower salaries and are more likely to have a temporary contract. We also find evidence that more isolated sites from large-sized schools have less of a probability to have access to the Internet and a computer room than single-site schools. From the point of view of public policy, these results provide suggestions of potential reforms that should be implemented to increase cooperation between sites within the same school.


Colombian geothermal potential for power generation is interesting due to the presence of the three Andean mountain ranges and the existence of active volcanoes in junction with springs and underground reservoirs with the consequent closeness of available hydrothermal water-wells. The Machin volcano is a small mountain placed in the middle of the country, that has a considerable geothermal potential with wells in a temperature range of 160 to 260 C. For that reason, a techno-economic simulation for a Geothermal Energy Generation System is proposed in this paper, using for that the System Advisor Model software. The purpose of this research is to present a more encouraging picture for public and private investors interested in exploiting this energy potential in Colombia. Simulation results include technical and economic aspects as annual and monthly energy production, geothermal resource monthly average temperature, and the Time Of Delivery Factors are also considered. Some tables with system con guration, plant and pump costs, Capacity Factor, and real and nominal Levelized Cost of Energy are also shown.


The history of banking in the United States is the history of competing impulses, one motivated by ideology, the other by pragmatism. Against ideological preferences for federalism and relatively laissez-faire capitalism, pragmatic responses to crises have lead repeatedly to attempts at centrally planned regulatory intervention into lending. While the degree of intervention fluctuates through time in response to various crises, it is never accurate to characterize banking and housing finance industries as either fully nationalized or fully de-nationalized. Examining banking and housing finance industries in nations with diverse histories and systems of government reveals surprisingly similar patterns of government intervention. Ideology gives way to pragmatism in response to crises, then re-emerges when it can be afforded. Our ideological preferences are luxuries that we have paid for repeatedly, and at great cost.


Amsassia shaanxiensis sp. nov. occurs in the Middle Ordovician part of the Jinghe Formation in Yongshou and the lower part of the Upper Ordovician Beiguoshan Formation in Longxian, Shaanxi Province, north‐central China. In addition to module increase by bipartite longitudinal fission, which is also known in other species of Amsassia, tripartite and rare quadripartite fission are recognized in A. shaanxiensis. All species previously assigned to Lichenaria from the Middle to Upper Ordovician of Shaanxi probably belong to Amsassia. Therefore, Amsassia, rather than the tabulate coral Lichenaria, should be credited as an important contributor to reef‐building in this area. Reports of Lichenaria from elsewhere in the North China Platform require confirmation in the light of the present study. Some morphological characteristics of Amsassia are comparable to those of tabulate corals, tetradiids and chaetetid sponges. Consequently, various authors have assigned Amsassia to the Lichenariida, Tetradiida (now Prismostylales; florideophycean rhodophyte algae) and Chaetetida. Other important characters, however, seem to exclude Amsassia from those taxonomic groups. The phacelocerioid organization of modules having separate walls would not be expected in sponges. The basic symmetry of individuals may have been radial, unlike the tetramerous symmetry of tetradiids. Module increase by longitudinal fission, involving infoldings of the wall, is fundamentally different from modes of increase in corals, tetradiids and chaetetids. The skeleton was probably aragonitic, whereas that of tabulates was calcitic. The affinity of Amsassia remains unresolved, but it is unlikely to have been a coral, tetradiid or sponge. Perhaps, like the tetradiids, Amsassia was an alga.


Why we are losing sea ice Arctic sea ice is disappearing rapidly, leading to predictions of an ice-free summer in the near future. Simulations of the timing of summer sea-ice loss differ substantially, making it difficult to evaluate the pace of the loss. Notz and Stroeve observed a linear relationship between the monthly-mean September sea-ice area and cumulative CO2 emissions. This allowed them to predict Arctic summer sea ice directly from the observational record. Interestingly, most models underestimate this loss. Science, this issue p. 747 Arctic sea-ice loss during the summer scales directly with cumulative carbon dioxide emissions. Arctic sea ice is retreating rapidly, raising prospects of a future ice-free Arctic Ocean during summer. Because climate-model simulations of the sea-ice loss differ substantially, we used a robust linear relationship between monthly-mean September sea-ice area and cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to infer the future evolution of Arctic summer sea ice directly from the observational record. The observed linear relationship implies a sustained loss of 3 ± 0.3 square meters of September sea-ice area per metric ton of CO2 emission. On the basis of this sensitivity, Arctic sea ice will be lost throughout September for an additional 1000 gigatons of CO2 emissions. Most models show a lower sensitivity, which is possibly linked to an underestimation of the modeled increase in incoming longwave radiation and of the modeled transient climate response.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are generated from aerobic metabolism, as a result of accidental electron leakage as well as regulated enzymatic processes. Because ROS/RNS can induce oxidative injury and act in redox signaling, enzymes metabolizing them will inherently promote either health or disease, depending on the physiological context. It is thus misleading to consider conventionally called antioxidant enzymes to be largely, if not exclusively, health protective. Because such a notion is nonetheless common, we herein attempt to rationalize why this simplistic view should be avoided. First we give an updated summary of physiological phenotypes triggered in mouse models of overexpression or knockout of major antioxidant enzymes. Subsequently, we focus on a series of striking cases that demonstrate "paradoxical" outcomes, i.e., increased fitness upon deletion of antioxidant enzymes or disease triggered by their overexpression. We elaborate mechanisms by which these phenotypes are mediated via chemical, biological, and metabolic interactions of the antioxidant enzymes with their substrates, downstream events, and cellular context. Furthermore, we propose that novel treatments of antioxidant enzyme-related human diseases may be enabled by deliberate targeting of dual roles of the pertaining enzymes. We also discuss the potential of "antioxidant" nutrients and phytochemicals, via regulating the expression or function of antioxidant enzymes, in preventing, treating, or aggravating chronic diseases. We conclude that "paradoxical" roles of antioxidant enzymes in physiology, health, and disease derive from sophisticated molecular mechanisms of redox biology and metabolic homeostasis. Simply viewing antioxidant enzymes as always being beneficial is not only conceptually misleading but also clinically hazardous if such notions underpin medical treatment protocols based on modulation of redox pathways.


Scorpions, a characteristic group of arthropods, are among the earliest diverging arachnids, dating back almost 440 million years. One of the many interesting aspects of scorpions is that they have venom arsenals for capturing prey and defending against predators, which may play a critical role in their evolutionary success. Unfortunately, however, scorpion envenomation represents a serious health problem in several countries, including Iran. Iran is acknowledged as an area with a high richness of scorpion species and families. The diversity of the scorpion fauna in Iran is the subject of this review, in which we report a total of 78 species and subspecies in 19 genera and four families. We also list some of the toxins or genes studied from five species, including Androctonus crassicauda, Hottentotta zagrosensis, Mesobuthus phillipsi, Odontobuthus doriae, and Hemiscorpius lepturus, in the Buthidae and Hemiscorpiidae families. Lastly, we review the diverse functions of typical toxins from the Iranian scorpion species, including their medical applications.


Cancer genomes commonly harbor many genetic aberrations which are often associated with carcinogenesis, progression, metastasis and tolerance. The system of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9), has been extensively utilized as a precise genome editing tool for genetic screens of cancer. Comprehensive CRISPR-Cas9 libraries and databases have been established for cancer researches, and some essential genes, druggable targets or biomarkers have been identified by CRISPR-Cas9 technology. The identified genes that are helpful to uncover genotype-phenotype interactions by establishing cell or animal models with gene knockout or knock-in, and the druggable targets or biomarkers provide an approach to cancer treatment or diagnosis. Furthermore, combined with pharmaceutical delivery system, CRISPR-Cas9 system has been directly applied for cancer gene therapy and some exciting results have been reported from different research groups. Furthermore, immune cells edited with the CRISPR-Cas9 system have been developed for cancer immunotherapies, 11 of which have entered phase I/II stage clinical trials up to now. This review focused on the application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system for cancer research, including oncogene identification, genetic screen, druggable targets, cell or animal models, gene therapy, cell therapy, and clinical trials. In addition, some concerns about translational CRISPR-Cas9 therapeutics are also addressed for cancer therapy. Altogether, the CRISPR-Cas9 system is a powerful tool for cancer research and a promising approach to cancer therapy.


This study involved an examination of the nature of the young driver problem and the factors accounting for their over-representation in road crashes, coupled with a discussion of the linkages between road safety education, adolescent development and various learning styles. These factors were then linked to the concepts of the proposed model of behaviour change. Learning outcomes were developed for each concept, to assist in determining the appropriateness of introducing various road safety related issues to secondary school students, using a variety of techniques in the school setting, as they move from a being a pre-driver, to a learner and finally to a new, novice driver. This process allowed the activities within each resource in the NSW 'Young Driver' program to be audited against the proposed learning outcomes, to determine which components of the behaviour change model were addressed by the current suite of resources, which were not addressed by the current program and which concepts may be better addressed outside the school setting. Recommendations regarding the development of, and the technological opportunities available for, future resources for the education of young drivers in the school environment were also drafted. This current paper intends to illustrate the process developed for auditing the educational resources implemented in NSW high schools to promote safer road use by new, novice drivers, rather than detail the outcomes of the audit. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E206143.


Like many fields, public health has embraced the process of evidence-based practice to inform practice decisions and to guide policy development. Evidence-based practice is typically dependent upon generalizations made on the bases of the existing body of knowledge – assimilations of the research literature on a particular topic. The potential utility of scientific evidence for guiding policy and practice decisions is grounded in the validity of the research investigations upon which such decisions are made. However, the validity of inferences made from the extant public health research literature requires more than ascertaining the validity of the statistical methods alone; for each study, the validity of the entire research process must be critically analyzed to the greatest extent possible so that appropriate conclusions can be drawn, and that recommendations for development of sound public health policy and practice can be offered. A critical analysis of the research process should include the following: An a priori commitment to the research question; endpoints that are both appropriate for and consistent with the research question; an experimental design that is appropriate (i.e., that answers the research question[s]); study procedures that are conducted in a quality manner, that eliminate bias and ensure that the data accurately reflect the condition(s) under study; evidence that the integrity of the Type-I error – or false-positive risk – has been preserved; use of appropriate statistical methods (e.g. assumptions checked, dropouts appropriately handled, correct variance term) for the data analyzed; and accurate interpretation of the results of statistical tests conducted in the study (e.g., the robustness of conclusions relative to missing data, multiple endpoints, multiple analyses, conditions of study, generalization of results, etc.). This paper provides a framework for both researcher and practitioner so that each may assess this critical aspect of public health research.


In the offshore wind industry, failures are often costlier than those experienced onshore. Through examination of the literature, it is clear that failures occurring in offshore transmission systems are not well documented. As a result of this, many developers and other parties involved in the planning processes associated with offshore wind farms will defer back to existing reliability metrics in the public domain. This article presents a review of European offshore wind farm transmission failures based on fusing information from multiple public domain sources. The results highlight both the spread of the reliability performance of these assets and the reliability performance over time. The results also reinforce the industry view that installation practices could lead to low reliability in the initial years of operation, resulting in increased repair costs and decreased revenue for wind farm owners and operators. The information collated in the review is also compared to metrics from across the literature to evaluate the difference in forecasted failure rates to those experienced within the industry. In general, it is found that the experienced failure rates are subject to a much higher spread in practice than those published until now.


In April and May 2015 two devastating earthquakes hit central Nepal. More than 5 million people were affected of whom 1.4 million were estimated to be women of reproductive age. More than 90000 women were estimated to be pregnant and 10300 were expected to give birth over one month. Approximately 4500 women were predicted to suffer complications from pregnancy and childbirth and an esti¬mated 28000 women were presumed to experience sexual violence. The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) is a coordinated set of priority activities designed to prevent and manage the consequences of sexual violence; reduce HIV transmission; prevent excess newborn and maternal morbidity and mortality; and plan for comprehensive reproductive health services. Additional priority activities include: ensure contraceptives are available to meet demand; ensure people presenting with symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) receive treatment; ensure people on antiretrovirals (ARVs) including for prevention of mother-to-child treatment continue treatment; and address menstrual hygiene. In September 2015 the Women's Refugee Commission led a mission to Nepal to evaluate the implementation of the MISP in the six months following the earthquake in the capital Kathmandu and in Sindhupalchowk a rural district. The evaluation explored awareness of the MISP; implementation of the standard; and factors that influenced implementation. The evaluation found that all MISP services and priority activities were largely avail¬able in both Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk. Some services were only partially available based on the availability at a limited number of facilities in the district. Some services where they were available were of questionable comprehensive-ness/quality. There was a major gap in community knowledge about culturally sensi¬tive reproductive health issues the benefits of seeking care and the location of services for sexual violence STIs and HIV. Many key informants were not aware of what services were available at each health facility for the comprehensive manage¬ment of rape (CRM) specifically the use of emergency contraceptives (EC) and post-exposure prophylactics (PEP).


Optimization of logistics processes and activities in the function of supply-chain sustainability is a great challenge for logistics companies. It is necessary to rationalize processes in accordance with the strict requirements of the market, while respecting aspects of sustainability, which is not an easy task. Multicriteria decision making can be a tool that contributes to the optimization of logistics processes in terms of making the right decisions and evaluating different strategies in different logistics subsystems. In this paper, we considered the warehousing system as one of the most important logistics subsystems in a company. Conditions and the possibility of implementing barcode technology in order to optimize warehousing processes were evaluated. We formed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) matrix consisting of a total of 27 elements. In order to determine the weights of all factors at the first level of decision making and its indicators at the second level of the decision making hierarchy, an original model was developed. This model involved the creation of a novel grey full-consistency method (FUCOM-G) and integration with a SWOT analysis. Since it was a matter of group decision making, we developed a novel grey Hamy aggregator that, by adequately treating uncertainties and ambiguities, contributed to making more precise decisions. The original grey FUCOM-SWOT model based on the grey Hamy aggregator represents a contribution to the entire field of decision making and optimization of logistics processes. Based on the applied model, the obtained results showed that Weaknesses, as part of the SWOT matrix, are currently the most dominant indicators, and that the implementation of barcode technology in a warehousing system is justified.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease that often has fluctuating and painful symptoms. IBD patients must cope with a lifelong illness with relapses, remissions, and varied treatments that can affect their overall quality of life. Patients living in a rural setting are faced with further challenges such as access to healthcare, physician availability, and socioeconomic factors. For the current study, we interviewed adult patients in a clinic who were diagnosed with IBD for at least 3 years to better understand their experiences with the aim to inform intervention and educations for patients and physicians. Through a thematic analysis, we argue that five themes emerged from the data: i) IBD etiology, ii) ceding self-care, iii) environmental factors associated with disclosure, iv) stigma, and v) environmental obstacles to care. We suggest opportunities for research and collaboration among researchers and practitioners to help reduce stigma associated with IBD and promote health among rural communities.


Language in social media is extremely dynamic: new words emerge, trend and disappear, while the meaning of existing words can fluctuate over time. This work addresses several important tasks of visualizing and predicting short term text representation shift, i.e. the change in a word's contextual semantics. We study the relationship between short-term concept drift and representation shift on a large social media corpus — VKontakte collected during the Russia-Ukraine crisis in 2014 — 2015. We visualize short-term representation shift for example keywords and build predictive models to forecast short-term shifts in meaning from previous meaning as well as from concept drift. We show that short-term representation shift can be accurately predicted up to several weeks in advance and that visualization provides insight into meaning change. Our approach can be used to explore and characterize specific aspects of the streaming corpus during crisis events and potentially improve other downstream classification tasks including real-time event forecasting in social media.


: Interaction of IgG molecules with oligonucleotides using reactive derivatives of p(T)16 bearing a 4-[(N-2-chloroethyl-N-methyl)amino]benzylamine residue at the 5'-terminal phosphate was investigated. The modified immunoglobulins were degraded with pepsin into Fab and Fc fragments and by incomplete CNBr hydrolysis into smaller peptides. It became obvious from the analysis of the peptides obtained that the oligonucleotides contacted with immunoglobulins at the antigen-binding Fab fragment of the molecule. The site of interaction is localized in the light-chain N-terminal fragment 178 amino acids long. These facts are in accordance with our previous data about the ability of a specific antigen to prevent the oligonucleotide-antibody interaction. On the contrary, an oligonucleotide covalently linked with immunoglobulin could not prevent the antigen-antibody reaction. Monoclonal Fab fragments modified with the alkylating p(T)16 derivative were found to interact with the specific antigen (human myoglobin) during affinity chromatography. This interaction deserves further investigation because of its importance in studying the fate of oligonucleotides in vivo.


The paper analyzes the lending decisions of banks whose role is to sort out and finance profitable projects. Depositors cannot observe the lending policy of banks. This gives banks incentive to exploit their limited liability and take too much risk. On the other hand, limited liability of entrepeneurs prevents banks from appropriating the entire value of their information production, this leaning towards under-investment. One cannot generally tell which effect dominates, it depends on the size of future bank rents, and to what extent private bankruptcy costs represent social costs of bank failure. Increased competition may not increase risk-taking by banks. Because banks take future profits into account, new entry into banking might induce banks to become more conservative.


Although the majority of patients recover consciousness after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a minority develop a prolonged disorder of consciousness, which may never fully resolve. For these patients, accurate prognostication is essential to treatment decisions and long-term care planning. In this review, we evaluate the use of resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) as a prognostic measure in disorders of consciousness following TBI. We highlight that routine clinical EEG recordings have prognostic utility in the short to medium term. In particular, measures of alpha power and variability are indicative of relatively better functional outcomes within the first year post-TBI. This is hypothesized to reflect intact thalamocortical loops, and thus the potential for recovery of consciousness even in the apparent absence of current consciousness. However, there is a lack of research into the use of resting-state EEG for predicting longer-term recovery following TBI. We conclude that, given the potential for patients to demonstrate improvements in consciousness and functional capacity even years after TBI, a research focus on EEG-augmented prognostication in very long-term disorders of consciousness is now required.


OBJECTIVE
Data regarding the cerebral atherosclerotic stenosis (CAS) and incidence of stroke are conflicting. The number of stroke patients is more than three times that from coronary heart disease in China. The main aim of this report is to review the current status of intracranial and extracranial atherosclerotic stenosis including epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and risk factors in China.

METHODS
Data was identified by searches of MEDLINE (January 1966 to December 2008), China Biological Medicine Database (CBM-disc 1979 to 2008), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI 1994 to December 2008).

RESULTS
The occurrence of intracranial artery stenosis was more frequent than that of extracranial artery in the Chinese population. TCD, Doppler ultrasound, CTA, MRA and DSA techniques are established to examine intracranial and extracranial atherosclerotic stenosis in China. Evidence-based treatments and CAS are more commonly applied in patients with cerebrovascular stenosis in China. However, the development of carotid endoarterectomy (CEA) is limited in Chinese communities. The risks of cerebral atherosclerotic stenosis include age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking and metabolic syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS
Further studies are needed to focus on the intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis.


We consider here the fault detection and isolation (FDI) problem for linear systems. We are interested in designing a set of observer-based residuals, in such a way that the transfer from the faults to the residuals is diagonal and the transfer from the disturbances to the residuals is zero. We deal with this problem when the system under consideration is structured, that is, the entries of the system matrices are either fixed zeros or free parameters. This problem can be solved in terms of the graph that can be associated in a natural way with a structured system. When the FDI solvability conditions are not satisfied, we assume that internal variables can be measured at a cost and look into the question of wether the problem is solvable with these new measurements. We give solvability conditions for a solution with a minimal number of additional sensors and among such solutions provide a minimal cost solution for the sensor location problem under consideration. We pay particular attention to the internal analysis of the system, and we propose a structural decomposition of the system associated graph based on some particular separators. This analysis leads to the definition of a reduced system. We prove that some potential additional sensors are inefficient for solving our FDI problem and that the FDI problem can be solved using only measurements on the reduced system


Auto-ID technologies allow capturing the time and location of products in the supply chain for tracking and tracing. This paves the way for a variety of business applications, such as anti-counterfeiting, pedigree, and genealogy, which analyze the trace history of products to detect patterns or anomalies in the supply chain. While these applications have gained considerable interest recently, further work is needed towards integration of event data from heterogeneous auto-ID nodes in order to obtain the complete trace history for products of interest. As a first step, we perform an architectural study on interoperable auto-ID systems and present the results in this paper. We first review established techniques for data integration and data sharing as well as relevant industrial efforts. We then clarify the requirements that need to be addressed by an auto-ID network. Finally, we discuss four possible architecture alternatives for implementing interoperability in such a network and comparatively evaluate the approaches according to the identified requirements


Switzerland is a follower of the EU chemicals legislation due to its close trade relations and interest in a high level of protection for human health and the environment. However, Switzerland as a non-EEA member needs to find solutions for elements of REACH that cannot rea-sonably be introduced by a small country, such as a comprehensive registration scheme for substances, as is possible for the EU with its 28 member states and half a billion inhabitants. In addition, Switzerland's own registrations and decisions would inevitably lead to trade barriers. The rapid development of the EU chemicals legislation requires smart solutions and fast autonomous adaptations. Switzerland plans to introduce the 'no data - no market' principle for substances on the Swiss market that are not registered under REACH. The envis-aged solution is a pragmatic compromise that requires data only for substances for which the necessary data for self-regulation by the manufacturer may not be available. With this approach, comparatively few resources can ensure a high level of protection and prevent trade barriers.


Type X collagen is a member of the family of network-forming collagens, it contains a triple helical domain flanked by two non-collagenous (NC) domains, NC2 at the N-terminal and NCI at the C-terminal. It is expressed and synthesised by hypertrophic chondrocytes of the epiphyseal growth plates during the process of endochondral ossification (EO). This process involves replacement of a cartilaginous anlagen by bone, the coordination of chondrocyte proliferation, maturation and hypertrophy are followed by calcification of hypertrophic cartilage, vascular invasion and deposition of a bone matrix. A precise functional role for type X collagen has not been defined, although its temporal and spatial expression has linked it to endochondral ossification. A family of Small Leucine Rich Proteoglycans (SLRPs) have been demonstrated to be important for collagen biology. In particular, the well characterised decorin and biglycan, interact with numerous collagen types, non-collagenous proteins and growth factors. Decorin and biglycan have also been linked to the mineralisation process. This led to the hypothesis that type X collagen interacts with decorin and biglycan in the hypertrophic cartilage extracellular matrix. Interactions of type X collagen with decorin and biglycan were investigated using a solid phase assay and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The interaction of type X collagen with decorin and biglycan was found to be of high affinity, with dissociation constants in the nanomolar range. Through using different domains of the type X collagen molecule the NCI domain, the triple helical region or whole type X collagen, it was demonstrated that the interactions are likely to be mediated by the NCI domain. The interaction of type X collagen with decorin and biglycan was found to be independent of the presence of the glycosaminoglycan chain(s) on decorin and biglycan, indicating the protein cores of decorin and biglycan are involved. Negative staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to visualise the interactions of type X collagen with decorin and biglycan labelled gold particles. The localisation of gold particles to the ends of type X collagen molecules supports the finding that the interactions are mediated by NCI. Recombinant fragments of the NCI domain were synthesised in an attempt to further determine regions of NC 1 important for the interactions with decorin and biglycan, these fragments have to date provided no additional information. Using RT-PCR decorin was demonstrated to be co-expressed with type X collagen by hypertrophic chondrocytes. Immunohistochemistry was utilised to study the localisation of type X collagen, decorin and biglycan in the hypertrophic cartilage extracellular matrix. All of the interacting components were shown to co-localise. The co-expression and co-localisation studies indicate that these interactions could occur in vivo. The characterised interactions of type X collagen with decorin and biglycan are likely to have functional roles in EO. Potentially they may be involved in regulation and assembly of a type X collagen pericellular matrix, they may adopt a structural role providing mechanical stability to an extracellular matrix undergoing dynamic remodelling, they could be involved in sequestering growth factors in the hypertrophic cartilage and hence be involved in modulating interactions of growth factors with their signalling receptors. These postulated functions are all possible in the normal development and growth of a long bone. Type X collagen, decorin and biglycan have all been implicated in pathology the interactions could alternatively be involved in pathological calcification. Molecular interactions that contribute to the molecular assembly of the growth plate are fundamental to its functions. Characterisation of such interactions will aid in defining precise roles for molecules such as type X collagen, decorin and biglycan during the process of EO.


Alongside, Cinema and Motor Racing are little more than a hundred years old and they are the fruit of the industrial era when mechanical devices transformed the way of perceiving and understanding the world. In this short historical trajectory, both became entertainment attractions, establishing vigorous audiences around the world, creating characters, stories and legends. To go back through this period of industrial innovations is to be able to perceive the spirit of that time that led Walter Benjamin to oppose art to new expressive formats and led art to admire and speculate men in the world of speed. The transformations of the 21st century have put us definitively in the universe of networks, streaming and innovations of languages descended from those that preceded them. Entertainment consumption grew and diversified. Over time, fictional films and documentaries about motorsport disputes were produced. This essay aims to reflect on the documentary production of the series Formula1® Drive to Survive (2019- ) which shows events lived behind the scenes during the Formula 1 World Championships. As a reflection of our time, it was produced and distributed in streaming by Netflix. The essay is based on the tripod articulating cinematography (documentary), the motorsport spectacle, sometimes it is mediated by cinematography and the participation of users of social networks that relate reality to the series, through digital data collection. Our goal is to present an outline of this dialogue.


BACKGROUND AND AIM
The aim of this prospective study was to determine the range of various hemodynamic parameters of portal vein and hepatic artery with echo-Doppler imaging in asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and healthy adults.

METHODS
One hundred and twenty two healthy adults and fifty-three asymptomatic patients with chronic HBV formed two groups. All participants underwent color Doppler imaging of the portal vein and hepatic artery. A single operator performed all echo-Doppler measurements. The examination protocol included measurements of portal vein and hepatic artery diameter (d), blood flow (BF), time averaged velocity (TAV) and calculation of Doppler Perfusion Index (DPI) of liver.

RESULTS
Asymptomatic HBV carriers showed a statistically significant decrease in portal vein TAV (12.8 ± 6.1 vs 17.5 ± 8.8), an increase in portal vein BF (411.38 ± 211.31 vs 327.55 ± 188.77) and decrease in DPI (0.18 ± 0.14 vs 0.28 ± 0.15).

CONCLUSIONS
Echo-Doppler measurements of portal vein and hepatic artery can detect significant hemodynamic changes in asymptomatic HBV carriers.


One way to deal with bugs is to avoid them entirely. The approach would be wasteful because we'd be underutilizing the many automated tools and techniques that can catch bugs for us. Most tools for eliminating bugs work by tightening the specifications of what we build. At the program code level, tighter specifications affect the operations allowed on various data types, our program's behavior, and our code's style. Furthermore, we can use many different approaches to verify that our code is on track: the programming language, its compiler, specialized tools, libraries, and embedded tests are our most obvious friends. We can delegate bug busting to code. Many libraries come with hooks or specialized builds that can catch questionable argument values, resource leaks, and wrong ordering of function calls. Bugs many be a fact of life, but they're not inevitable. We have some powerful tools to find them before they mess with our programs, and the good news is that these tools get better every year.


ABSTRACT Background: Economic burden of diabetes was expected to continue to grow. In 2017, International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated the total healthcare expenditure was USD 727 billion (MYR 3260 billion) (20 – 79 years), which represented an 8% increase compared to 2015. A study had shown that up to 73% of diabetes-related healthcare costs result from hospitalization and ambulatory care, as a result of complications due to poor blood sugar control (IPH, 2015). Analysis by Shafei et al. (2012) showed that improved glycemic control would be likely to bring substantial clinical and economic benefits to the patients, arising primarily from reduced incidence of diabetes complications. HbA1c reduction was associated with reduced costs of treating diabetes complications and an increase in life expectancy. Health literacy intervention is one type of diabetic education approach which integrates self-efficacy and self-care behaviour into the module (Wolff et al., 2009). The aim of the intervention was to reduce the HbA1c by giving knowledge on how to manage their own diabetes. Materials and Methods: The study design was randomized control trial with health economic evaluation for cost-effectiveness analysis. The intervention group received health literacy education module adapted from DLNET for the study, and control group received conventional health education module.    Cost effectiveness ratio (CER) and incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) were calculated. The costs per unit of reducing HbA1c (%) was evaluated in both intervention and control groups, and decision rules were applied to determine cost effectiveness of intervention. Result: Total cost at final cost centre for the intervention group was RM 68,113 while the total cost at final cost centre for the control group was RM 67,206. The intervention was cost effective with CER of 0.12 and ICER of RM 1,225 per HbA1c improvement. Conclusion: The study revealed that health literacy education module intervention was cost effective in reducing HbA1c among type 2 diabetic patients at the study hospital. Keywords: cost effectiveness, health literacy, education module interventionHbA1c, diabetes,


Readability and accuracy are two important features of any good classifier. For reasons such as acceptable accuracy, rapid training and high interpretability, associative classifiers have recently been used in many categorization tasks. Although features could be very useful in text classification, both training time and the number of produced rules will increase significantly owing to the high dimensionality of text documents. In this paper an association classification algorithm for text classification is proposed that includes a feature selection phase to select important features and a clustering phase based on class labels to tackle this shortcoming. The experimental results from applying the proposed algorithm in comparison with the results of selected well-known classification algorithms show that our approach outperforms others both in efficiency and in performance.