Urban impacts to water quality and quantity have been a major focus of resource and ecosystem protection efforts since the early 1960s, focusing in the last decade on the impact of impervious thresholds. These are now commonly used as benchmarks of water quality planning and protection in local, watershed, and regional planning efforts. However, the relationship between urbanization and hydrologic impacts is much more complex than this cause-and-effect model would indicate, containing some weaknesses for effective growth management planning. This paper reviews the current literature to synthesize the development-related variables of hydrologic impairment, placing them in a context that is useful in growth management and development mitigation. Through this critical review of the literature, the paper focuses on an outstanding question in land planning: which best management practices, individually or in concert, are the most effective in dealing with the water quality impacts of urban growth and development? Research indicates two largely overlooked areas of potential improvement in water protection efforts: the location of impervious surfaces in the watershed, and the maintenance of adequate areas of forest stands and native vegetation.


Using gatekeeping theory as a conceptual framework, this study examines social media's influence on American sports journalists' perception of gatekeeping, particularly sports journalists who cover elite sports. Seventy-seven print sports journalists covering professional sports were asked if their definition of gatekeeper has changed since they began using social media for news-gathering purposes. Thirty-six participants did not think their definition of gatekeeper had changed. The 26 respondents who did think it had changed were asked to explain how. Responses were coded into 1 of the 5 categories in Shoemaker and Reese's Hierarchy of Influences model—individual, media routines, organization, extramedia, and ideological. Results suggest that for practitioners who do believe there has been a change, they see social media as changing their day-in, day-out job routines, as opposed to extramedia influences.


Background and objective: Anaesthesiology is considered a stressful occupation. Our purpose was to assess stress and burnout among Portuguese anaesthesiologists. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey based on an anonymous questionnaire was sent to all Portuguese anaesthesiologists registered by the Portuguese Medical Association. Data on patient characteristics and professional variables, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), the subscale of work satisfaction of the Pressure Management Indicator scale, burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and main stress factors were collected. The proportion of participation was 31.8%. Results: The average value of perceived stress scale was 24.0 (range: 0–56). Among the 263 anaesthesiologists, 57.9% experienced emotional exhaustion, 44.8% lack of personal accomplishment and 90.9% depersonalisation. Lack of personal accomplishment increased with number of children among women but not among men; depersonalisation was more frequent among anaesthesiologists working in community hospitals and anaesthesiologists with leadership functions experienced less professional stress. Conclusion: There are stress conditions and burnout amongst Portuguese anaesthesiologists. The prevalence of depersonalisation was extremely high in the studied sample. Emotional exhaustion is partially explained by high perceived‐stress and low satisfaction with organisation in the job according to Pressure Management Indicator scale.


Human-induced climate change has been one of the most widely discussed issues of scientific and political spheres in the recent decades, and it has been overwhelmingly agreed that climate change poses a very serious threat for the environment and the economy. It has been observed that increasing temperatures and extremities in weather patterns create a serious challenge for agriculture and food security especially in various disadvantaged regions. Even in the most optimistic scenarios, where global mean temperatures rise by around 2°C by 2100, serious negative effects are expected on agricultural production and crop yields over the next century.The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the most vulnerable regions as one of the most food-import dependent region in the world. Water resources are scarce and irrigation is not sufficiently developed in the region, and climate change hurts the already vulnerable agricultural supply, where on the other hand increasing population continuously fosters the demand for agricultural products.The aim of this paper is to examine the impacts of climate change on agricultural trade in the MENA region. The indicators for climate change includes variables such as precipitation patterns and temperatures, and the effect of the change in the climate change indicators on agricultural exports and imports will be analyzed through a panel data analysis, where the impacts of GDP, per-capita oil use and trade integration will also be added as variables.


This book examines how World War Two is simulated through serious computer games, such as first-person shooters, flight and tank simulators, and grand strategy games. It argues that a particular dynamic emerges in these 'simgames', especially when curious players begin to look beyond gameplay for how to understand the past. This points them toward a wide range of 'simtexts'—anything from game manuals or online resources such as YouTube, to published material in the popular sphere or even monographs by professional historians. This is important because major events like World War Two continue to feature in a wide range of game genres, and this engagement demonstrates how we are learning about the past outside of traditional mechanisms such as classrooms, teachers or textbooks. Utilizing interdisciplinary methods, this volume foregrounds the experience that simgames provide to players, especially in how they reconfigure and reimagine history. Despite its visceral power and instructive potential, the simulated digital experience created by simgames curates World War Two and other global events of similar magnitude within constrained frames that ignore much of what actually happened in the past. This suggests that as computer games continue to increase in power and fidelity—as seen with the expanding scope of virtual reality—then the range of what can be simulated will grow too. This will raise concerns about what is morally acceptable to be simulated, and what should remain unplayable.


Simplicial complexes can be viewed as high dimensional generalizations of graphs that explicitly encode multi-way ordered relations between vertices at different resolutions, all at once. This concept is central towards detection of higher dimensional topological features of data, features to which graphs, encoding only pairwise relationships, remain oblivious. While attempts have been made to extend Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to a simplicial complex setting, the methods do not inherently exploit, or reason about, the underlying topological structure of the network. We propose a graph convolutional model for learning functions parametrized by the k-homological features of simplicial complexes. By spectrally manipulating their combinatorial k-dimensional Hodge Laplacians, the proposed model enables learning topological features of the underlying simplicial complexes, specifically, the distance of each k-simplex from the nearest "optimal" k-th homology generator, effectively providing an alternative to homology localization.


With the synergetic development of express enterprises and air freight enterprises, the express enterprises in China are gradually extending their scope of business to air express. The express company does not have its own airplane, it cooperates with airlines to offer air express services. The company has established branches in China. The branch usually adopts direct transportation to complete express shipping, which means that there is no stop between the origin airport and the destination airport. As for the routes with less volume of business, they are unable to achieve economies of scale which leads to high transportation costs. Besides the huge cost problem, there are other issues such as less cooperation among branches, arbitrariness and lack of standardization in the network operation and delayed delivery. The goal of this paper is to optimize the air express backbone network formed by branches. We establish air express backbone network optimization model based on scale economics. The model takes transportation cost, time, the number of aircrafts, the interval of airplane, and transit costs between nodes into account. We also present an illustrative case study.


Miguel de Cervantes' last book, published posthumously, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (1617) has been considered a 'Byzantine novel'; recently it has been studied from a different perspective that includes the direct knowledge of the Greek novel and the neoclassical projection of the first years of the XVII century. This new perspective of investigation offers readers and researchers new viewpoints and different hermeneutic links. Miguel Alarcos Martinez, versant in classical philology and modern literature, reads book in a new critical way.


Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, debilitating, multisystem illness of unknown etiology for which no cure and no diagnostic tests are available. Despite increasing evidence implicating EBV and human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) as potential causative infectious agents in a subset of patients with ME/CFS, few mechanistic studies address a causal relationship. In this study we examined a large ME/CFS cohort and controls and demonstrated a significant increase in activin A and IL-21 serum levels, which correlated with seropositivity for antibodies against the EBV and HHV-6 protein deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPases) but no increase in CXCL13. These cytokines are critical for T follicular helper (TFH) cell differentiation and for the generation of high-affinity antibodies and long-lived plasma cells. Notably, ME/CFS serum was sufficient to drive TFH cell differentiation via an activin A–dependent mechanism. The lack of simultaneous CXCL13 increase with IL-21 indicates impaired TFH function in ME/CFS. In vitro studies revealed that virus dUTPases strongly induced activin A secretion while in vivo, EBV dUTPase induced the formation of splenic marginal zone B and invariant NKTFH cells. Together, our data indicate abnormal germinal center (GC) activity in participants with ME/CFS and highlight a mechanism by which EBV and HHV6 dUTPases may alter GC and extrafollicular antibody responses.


Strip intercropping of corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and soybean may be a viable alternative to monoculture cropping to help reduce soil erosion. Careful study of yields and yield components can add to understanding crop performance and contribute to design of more productive systems. Rainfed and irrigated experiments were conducted in eastern Nebraska from 1988 to 1990, on a Sharpsburg silty clay loam (fine, smectitic, mesic Typic Argiudoll), to quantify strip-intercropping effects on crop yields and yield components. Corn border-row and grain sorghum border-row yields next to soybean increased significantly compared with inside rows in the strips. Increased seed number and seed weight contributed to higher corn border-row yields, while only seed number increased in grain sorghum border rows. Soybean border-row yields were lower next to all corn strips and next to grain sorghum strips at the rainfed site. Soybean seed number was lower in border rows next to corn. Corn border-row increases in seed number and seed weight indicate that competition for resources was important in both reproductive and grain-filling periods; sorghum border-row increases in seed number suggest competition only in the reproductive period. Higher corn density in border rows may further exploit a competitive advantage with soybean in the reproductive period, perhaps increasing system productivity. Whole-system productivity of strip-intercropping systems was a maximum of 4% higher than monocultures of component crops, and gross returns did not differ between the two systems. If there is need to control soil erosion, strip intercropping can be equally profitable to monoculture if production costs are similar.


Light bridges are used in the Halo series of games. This paper discusses the viability of such a bridge and finds that it is not possible due to the required power being impractical and so high that it would vaporise anything that tried to use such a bridge.


We present a parallel distributed solver that enables us to solve incremental dense least squares arising in some parameter estimation problems. This solver is based on ScaLAPACK [8] and PBLAS [9] kernel routines. In the incremental process, the observations are collected periodically and the solver updates the solution with new observations using a QR factorization algorithm. It uses a recently defined distributed packed format [3] that handles symmetric or triangular matrices in ScaLAPACK-based implementations. We provide performance analysis on IBM pSeries 690. We also present an example of application in the area of space geodesy for gravity field computations with some experimental results.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) occurs in ≈1:2000 deliveries in the United States and worldwide. The genetic underpinnings of PPCM remain poorly defined. Approximately 10% of women with PPCM harbor truncating variants in TTN (TTNtvs). Whether mutations in other genes can predispose to PPCM is not known. It is also not known if the presence of TTNtvs predicts clinical presentation or outcomes. Nor is it known if the prevalence of TTNtvs differs in women with PPCM and preeclampsia, the strongest risk factor for PPCM. Methods: Women with PPCM were retrospectively identified from several US and international academic centers, and clinical information and DNA samples were acquired. Next-generation sequencing was performed on 67 genes, including TTN, and evaluated for burden of truncating and missense variants. The impact of TTNtvs on the severity of clinical presentation, and on clinical outcomes, was evaluated. Results: Four hundred sixty-nine women met inclusion criteria. Of the women with PPCM, 10.4% bore TTNtvs (odds ratio=9.4 compared with 1.2% in the reference population; Bonferroni-corrected P [P*]=1.2×10–46). We additionally identified overrepresentation of truncating variants in FLNC (odds ratio=24.8, P*=7.0×10–8), DSP (odds ratio=14.9, P*=1.0×10–8), and BAG3 (odds ratio=53.1, P*=0.02), genes not previously associated with PPCM. This profile is highly similar to that found in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Women with TTNtvs had lower left ventricular ejection fraction on presentation than did women without TTNtvs (23.5% versus 29%, P=2.5×10–4), but did not differ significantly in timing of presentation after delivery, in prevalence of preeclampsia, or in rates of clinical recovery. Conclusions: This study provides the first extensive genetic and phenotypic landscape of PPCM and demonstrates that predisposition to heart failure is an important risk factor for PPCM. The work reveals a degree of genetic similarity between PPCM and dilated cardiomyopathy, suggesting that gene-specific therapeutic approaches being developed for dilated cardiomyopathy may also apply to PPCM, and that approaches to genetic testing in PPCM should mirror those taken in dilated cardiomyopathy. Last, the clarification of genotype/phenotype associations has important implications for genetic counseling.


One mechanism for estimating software quality is through the use of metrics, which are functions that evaluates certain characteristics of the product quality development. A software product can be evaluated from different points of view, and in that sense, the results of the evaluations are numeric vectors, which together describe the quality of the software. This research uses data from NASA's open access which undergo a process of reducing the dimensionality by principal component analysis (PCA), then applied three clustering techniques and evaluates the best grouping using Rand Index. Finally, the top clusters are tested with regression to find the metrics that are related to the error of the Software. The results suggest that groups consisting of software modules whose code source have a higher average of blank lines, show a higher density of error. This could be interpreted as an indication of the order of implementation. On the other hand, shows the presence of a direct relationship between the number of errors in a module with the number of calls functions to other modules. The contribution of this work is related to the use of assessment techniques of clustering, dimensionality reduction, clustering algorithms and regression to discover patterns in software metrics a rigorous manner.


A large number of references dealing with the geometry, static, vibration and buckling analysis of elliptic paraboloid shells exist in the literature. This review work attempts to organize and summarize the extensive published literature on the basic achievements in investigations of thin-walled structures in the form of elliptic paraboloids. Possibilities of elliptic paraboloids with reference to machine-building and construction designs and to the apparatuses used in theoretical physics are briefly considered. The geometric part of the review is extended due to consideration of optimization of surface's sizes, researches of representation of a surface on the plane and introducing bibliographic material on fractal geometry. Several existent analytical and numeral methods of calculation of the examined shells on durability give a possibility to choose one of the methods for the solution of new twodimensional or three-dimensional tasks. Geometrical researches, approximation and bending of elliptic paraboloid surfaces, research of the stress-strain state of shells by analytical and numerical methods, natural and forced vibration of a shell, forming and setting of surfaces, application of shells in the form of elliptic paraboloids are the main problems which are considered in this review.


One of the biggest challenges to implementing ion exchange processes in
full scale at wastewater treatment works is regeneration of the media.
In this paper, regeneration efficiency as a function of brine type,
brine reuse, molarity and pH was investigated for the zeolite MesoLite
treating synthetic solutions of ammonium. When pretreating the zeolite
with KCl rather than NaCl, a 30% improvement in regeneration efficiency
was found in the first cycle, which dropped to a 10% improvement in the
fifth cycle. For both systems, the observed uptake capacity during the
load cycle remained constant, indicating that both were effective and
that the brine could be reused five times without deterioration in the
performance of the zeolite. The use of KCl was more effective at lower
molarities than NaCl such that equivalent regeneration efficiencies were
 observed at 1.0M and 0.1M for NaCl and KCl respectively. Alteration of
the pH between 9 and 12 had no impact on the regeneration efficiency.
However, operation at pH 12 was possible without brine. Taken together,
these findings indicate that the choice of regenerant can have
significant implications on regeneration efficiency and that potassium
chloride might be a potentially viable alternative choice.


AIM
To assess the effects of self-management interventions on systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, self-efficacy, medication adherence and body mass index in older adults with hypertension.

BACKGROUND
Effective treatment of hypertension may require the practice of self-management behaviours. However, evidence on effects of self-management interventions on blood pressure, self-efficacy, medication adherence and body mass index in older adults with hypertension is lacking.

DESIGN
A systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES
CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid-Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and other sources were searched to October 2020.

REVIEW METHODS
Data were analysed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.0 and quality assessment was done using ROB 2.0. The pooled effect sizes were reported as Hedges' g values with corresponding 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects model.

RESULTS
Twelve randomized controlled trials met our inclusion criteria. The results revealed that self-management interventions significantly decreased blood pressure and increased self-efficacy and medication adherence in older adult patients with hypertension, with no significant effect on body mass index.

CONCLUSIONS
Self-management interventions have considerable beneficial effects in older adults with hypertension. Health care providers should implement self-management interventions to strengthen the patient's role in managing their health.


In 2018, the authors were invited to share their perspectives as Indigenous studies scholars to the work of Breakthrough Listen, an organization affiliated with both the Berkeley SETI Research Center (BSRC) and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This collectively authored statement highlights some of the ethical concerns these authors perceived regarding the history colonialism and the expectations to find "advanced" or "intelligent" extraterrestrial life. A prologue contextualizes the short working group statement and we then provide the unedited original statement in its entirety.


In this paper, a cylindrical capacitance sensor with a multi-layer structure was presented. The mathematical model in stratified flow was established and the sensor response in non-stratified flow was also discussed. Results of static experiments agreed well with the stratified model and showed a monotonic relationship between the sensor response and the water holdup. Dynamic experiments were carried out using a long pipeline with inner diameter (ID) 20 mm. A section of plexiglas pipe with the same ID was installed on the line through which pictures of flow state could be shot by a camera. The mathematical model, experiments and results were detailed in the paper.


This paper presents estimates of achievement-related peer effects on school pupils' literacy using data from national test scores, across multiple literacy or language-related measures and student cohorts, for the population of public secondary school pupils in Years 7 and 9 (aged 12/13 and 14/15 years) in the Australian state of Victoria. Identification is achieved via individual fixed effects and by distinguishing between secondary school peers who attended the same primary school as the individual and those who did not. Estimates of peer effects are based on the new peers, whose primary school achievement could not have been affected by the individual. The results provide evidence for the existence of achievement-related peer effects, with small but positive and statistically significant effects from having higher achieving peers on average and from having a higher proportion of very high achieving peers (in the top 10% of the prior achievement distribution). We do not find a penalty from having 'bad' peers (from the bottom 10% of the prior achievement distribution). Further, it is low achievement individuals who benefit most from having high achievement peers.


— This paper reviews the glimpses of microfinance interventions in renewable energy technologies to promote rural electrification through Solar Home Systems. In this regard, the present study highlights the strategic issues, implementation and dissemination of renewable energy technology in Bangladesh to enhance the living standard of rural households. By critically reviewing the research concentrations and findings of pertinent studies, this paper attempts to fill the gap of present literature on sustainability of solar energy dissemination programs by addressing the practice of micro-finance in a developing country like Bangladesh. The study attempts to add value to the existing literature in two ways: first, it reviews the rationale of microfinance for providing access to renewable energy. By doing that the paper makes an appraisal on the resulting living standard improvement and captures the prevailing constraints in the sustainability of the program. The study concludes with an emphasis on the need for further research on formulating relevant micro-finance policy to expedite the renewable energy ventures.


A simple conventional dc chopper is employed to protect the doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) from overvoltage; however, it is not capable to keep the transient overcurrent in an acceptable level in stator and rotor sides. Therefore, an effective current-limiting strategy should be incorporated with the dc chopper to improve the fault ride-through capability of the DFIG. In this paper, a modified DC chopper is proposed not only to keep the dc-link voltage in an acceptable range, but also to limit the high-current level in the stator and the rotor sides in a permissible level without incorporating any extra fault-current-limiting strategy. Unlike the conventional dc chopper, in the proposed dc chopper, it is not required to stop rotor-side converter (RSC) switching and employ high-rated-current antiparallel diodes. The proposed modified dc chopper is placed between the dc-link capacitor and the RSC. In the proposed switching strategy of the modified dc chopper, three extra semiconductor switches are included, which are triggered to insert dc chopper resistance either in parallel or series connections with the dc link regarding the dc-link voltage level and the dc-link current level, respectively. Calculation of the dc chopper resistance is discussed. To prove the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed modified dc chopper in terms of both limiting the fault current and controlling the dc-link voltage of the DFIG, symmetrical and asymmetrical grid faults are applied in a power system including the DFIG-based wind turbine modeled in PSCAD/EMTDC so.


: On the basis of examining 293 young patients (predominantly individuals with intelectual occupations) with asthenia the authors have established the clinical characteristics of asthenic states of various genesis. Psychogenic asthenias, asthenias in patients with a history of a craniocerebral injury and so-called adaptation asthenias are described in greater detail. The data obtained are important for the diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of the asthenic syndrome of variable genesis.


The value added tax gap (VAT gap) is a notable indicator of tax evasion, tax avoidance and overall inefficiency within the tax system. As the VAT gap in Greece is one of the largest in the European Union (EU), an attempt to quantify and analyze it was made. In order to achieve that, social, economic, fiscal and tax factors were examined based on international literature, since there is very little relevant research in Greece. Particular emphasis was given to factors that revolve around tax administration, such as tax audits. Specifically, twelve factors were examined for a period of 21 years (between 1997 and 2018) using econometric models based on time series data. In addition, the VAT Gap was separated into two components; a gap arising from tax non-compliance ('compliance gap') and a gap arising from political decisions ('policy gap'), for the purpose of properly analyzing the effects of the influential factors on the Greek VAT gap. The VAT revenue ratio (VRR) was used as the dependent variable in order to measure the Greek VAT Gap. The analysis revealed that five out of the total twelve explanatory variables examined greatly influence the Greek VAT Gap. Specifically, two of them, that is, the ratio of VAT to total taxes and the number of tax audits, have a negative correlation with the Greek VAT gap. The other three variables, namely the final government consumption expenditure, the difference between the standard and reduced VAT rates and the gross value added/gross domestic product ratio have a positive correlation with the Greek VAT gap. These findings can be potentially utilized by the authorities to limit VAT non-compliance and battle evasion.

 Key words: Value added tax (VAT), VAT gap, VAT revenue ratio (VRR), tax administration, tax audits.


In stark contrast to undergraduates, new PhD students often find no framework for study, few deadlines and little peer support. Working for a Doctorate: * Addresses the problems of the research process, such as finance and time-management * Offers practical guidance and specialist advice to both students and their supervisors * Is written by a team of experts who have had a long and successful experience of tutoring PhD students * Contains case studies of current and ex-PhD students * Explores issues such as gender, culture and the fundamental nature of the PhD. The book will be a vital guide and companion to anyone studying, supervising or contemplating a doctoral degree in the humanities or social sciences.


A network of continuously recording GPS stations has operated in the Nicoya Peninsula of northern Costa Rica since 2002. We processed all available data from this network for the period of 2002–2011 to investigate the occurrence of Slow Slip Events (SSE) on the subduction interface between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. In order to overcome signal masking by high levels of tropospheric noise, we developed a new technique that facilitates detection of transient events in the presence of noise. We identified five significant SSEs during the 2002–2011 period, with event middle times in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011, with an average recurrence interval of 21 ± 6 months. Time series analysis shows that transient deformation imparts a signature similar to random walk. Removal of the SSEs and regional common mode errors from the time series reduced velocity uncertainty by nearly an order of magnitude. Limited available data for the 2003, 2005 and 2011 events preclude detailed characterization of these events. However, good spatiotemporal coverage of the 2007 and 2009 events suggest that both events had irregular duration and distribution. In the 2007 event, slow slip started in the northwest coastal area and migrated southeastward over a period of ∼1 month. The 2009 event had a significantly longer event duration and larger surface displacement. Stations in the northwest area observed two separate SSEs in 2008.6 and 2009.4, correlating well with the tremor episodes offshore, indicating a shallow SSE slip patch with shorter recurrence interval. Significant differences between the 2009 and 2007 events lead us to question the simple recurrence interval model for the SSE in Nicoya.


Banks strategically choose and dynamically restructure deposits and nondeposit debt in response to the minimum requirements on total capital and tangible equity. We derive the optimal strategic liability structure and show that it minimizes the protection for deposits conditional on capital requirements. Although, given any liability structure, regulators can set capital requirements high enough to remove the incentive for risk substitution, the strategic response to the capital requirements always preserves this incentive. Banks reduce leverage but increase the proportion of nondeposit debt if regulations raise the capital requirements. This paper was accepted by Lukas Schmid, finance.


Antibiotics are used in animals to cure disease and prevent suffering. Bacterial populations in animals which are exposed to these antibiotics may be selected for resistance. There is a concern that spread of these bacteria in the food chain to humans may result in the establishment of antibiotic resistant bacteria in people which will prove difficult or impossible to treat with conventional drugs. It is clear that antibiotics must be used carefully to reduce the development of resistance and that steps should be taken to reduce the transfer of bacteria from animals to man.


A new window on the microuniverse has opened with announcements by two research groups that they have created atom-scale holograms. To see individual atoms with holography, which makes images from the interference patterns produced when beams of radiation scatter from an object, the investigators needed atom-scale radiation sources or detectors. One group solves the problem by getting the atoms themselves to emit x-rays; the other uses atoms as detectors. Either way, the technique could be a valuable addition to x-ray crystallography, the standard way of discerning atomic arrangements, because it may be better for seeing local structures in a solid.


We develop a simulation model for the ATM ABR service, and use it to engineer ABR congestion control behavior. Although significant work has been performed on ABR rate allocation algorithms at network switches, little work has focused on the end system behavior, which we examine in this paper. The effect of the speed of links on the path from the source to the destination, and the connection round trip time on the selection of ABR parameter values is studied. Simulation results illustrate the impact of the key parameters that control rate reduction in the absence of network feedback on performance, in terms of connection throughputs, queue lengths at the switches and link utilizations. These results have been incorporated into the ABR standards, and can be generalized to cooperative congestion control with explicit congestion notification (ECN) in the Internet. Keywords— traffic management, congestion control, simulation models, ATM networks, available bit rate (ABR) service, ABR end system, ABR parameter tuning


Hard, machine-supported formal verification of software is at a turning point. Recent years have seen theorem proving tools maturing with a number of successful, real-life applications. At the same time, small high-performance OS kernels, which can drastically reduce the size of the trusted computing base, have become more popular. We argue that the combination of those two trends makes it feasible, and desirable, to formally verify production-quality operating systems -- now.


This letter discusses the usage of high-gain steerable antenna arrays operating at millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies for future cellular networks (5G). Based on the probable outline of the 5G networks, a method for characterizing phased array antennas in cellular handsets has been introduced. For analyzing the performance, the total scan pattern of the array configuration together with its respective coverage efficiency are essential to consider in order to compare different antenna designs and topology approaches with each other. Two design approaches and subarray schemes of these have been considered in order to illustrate the relevance of such a characterization method. The results show the importance of evaluating potential array antennas in such manners. The method can be applied to much more complex system models, where polarization diversity, hand and body effect, and statistical modeling of the channel may be included.


Female self-employment rates are consistently lower than those of men. This untapped female potential has drawn the attention of policy makers. In the present paper the determinants of selfemployment rates of both men and women are investigated in the context of a two-equation model explaining both actual self-employment and the preference for self-employment. A systematic distinction is made between different ways in which gender can exert influence on (preference for) self-employment,including moderation, mediation and direct effects. Using Flash Eurobarometer data of about 8,000 individuals from 29 countries (including the 15 old EU member states, 10 new EU member states and the United States) probit equations are estimated explaining the (preference for) self-employment. Next to gender, explanatory variables include age, education, social capital, risk attitude, locus of control and perceptions of the entrepreneurial environment. Findings show that at least part of the explanation of the lower female self-employment rate is caused by a lower preference for women to become self-employed. We do not find evidence for a moderating effect of gender on the relationship between self-employment and the preference for self-employment, indicating that ' other things equal ' women and men who have a preference to become self-employed do not differ with respect to the impact of this preference on its materialization. Read also the new version of this paper: R200803, "Explaining preferences and actual involvement in self-employment: new insights into the role of gender."


Introduction Ciprofloxacin, a commonly prescribed fluoroquinolone antibiotic, has been shown to have a deleterious effect on the tendon extracellular matrix. The aims of this study were to determine the effects of short term exposure of ciprofloxacin on 1) tenocyte metabolism, 2) glycosaminoglycan content, and 3) mRNA expression levels of extracellular proteoglycans, and to correlate these changes with the production of newly synthesised proteoglycans in explant cultures of equine tendon. Methods Normal superficial digital flexor tendon from 6 yr old Thoroughbred horses were incubated for 4 days in DMEM alone (control), or DMEM containing up to 300 µg/ml ciprofloxacin (CPX). The effect of CPX on the metabolism of tenocytes was determined by lactate production and Alamar blue assay and glycosaminoglycan content was determined by a dimethylene blue assay. Levels of gene expression of aggrecan, versican, decorin, biglycan and fibromodulin were determined by quantitative PCR. The production of newly synthesised proteoglycans was determined by 35S-sulfate incorporation at the end of the treatment period. Results Higher levels of CPX (≥100 µg/ml) reduced tenocyte metabolism by 30–40% as measured by lactate production and Alamar blue assay. There was no change in glycosaminoglycan content nor mRNA expression levels of aggrecan, versican, decorin, biglycan or fibromodiulin in CPX-treated tendon explants compared with control. However, CPX suppressed the synthesis of both 35S-labelled large and small proteoglycans in a dose dependent manner. Discussion The suppression of newly synthesised proteoglycans in tendon explants treated with CPX suggests that these changes are driven by changes in metabolism rather than expression of its associated genes.


Signaling molecules in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as released from intrinsic, or extrinsic neurons, or from local endocrine cells may serve as positive or negative growth factors, and it has been suggested that such could participate also in colorectal carcinogenesis/cancer progression. Sporadic colorectal cancer arises from an initially benign adenoma, which, in turn, develops from the stem cell compartment, located in the bottom of the crypts of the colorectal mucosa. It was recently demonstrated in rat that intrinsic denervation of the colon appeared to be protective against chemically induced carcinogenesis. Of the various GI signaling molecules, noradrenaline (NA) and substance P (SP) may be of particular importance as growth factors involved in colorectal cancer. In the current issue of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Graf et al. demonstrate that in benign, human colon polyps, there was a loss of innervation compared with adjacent mucosa, affecting efferent, noradrenergic, as well as sensory, SP‐ergic fibers, while there was an increase in SP‐immunoreactive non‐neuronal cells in the polyps. The results obtained could suggest that loss of mucosal innervation, due to e.g. luminal, pro‐inflammatory stimuli, could result in unbalanced pro‐tumorigenic stimulation of the stem cell region by non‐neuronal SP. The current findings may be important for the further understanding of the development of sporadic colorectal cancer.


Organization: Presbyterian SeniorCare Network (PSCN) is a non-profit faith-based network of living and care options, that has been serving the needs of approximately 6,500 older adults every year in 10 counties in Western PA for over 85 years. PSCN offers a comprehensive continuum of care and service options to meet the needs of older adults.

Problem: Presbyterian SeniorCare Network decided to adopt and implement the Abaqis quality management system five years ago across their seven skilled nursing facilities in hopes of holding themselves accountable in providing the best quality of care to their residents. PSCN is currently Quality and Performance Improvement (QAPI) accredited at all of their skilled nursing facilities but only four of the facilities have reached advanced level accreditation. PSCN wants all of their facilities to be advanced level and is struggling to get all of their assessments and corrective action items done in a timely fashion. This essay examines if the Abaqis system is being used for its intended use as a compliance, prevention, and quality improvement system or if it just being used reactively as an alert system at the different skilled nursing facilities at PSCN.

Goals: The goals of this paper are: 1) Examine the current use and implementation process of the Abaqis Quality Management System at Presbyterian Care Network. 2) Gain a deeper understanding of how the system fits in with their overall quality improvement goals. 3) Provide a summary of lessons learned from this review and potential recommendations that the organization can stay on task with their assessments and action plans and receive the QAPI advanced accreditation at all of their skilled nursing facilities.

Public Health Relevance: The Abaqis system is effective in reducing deficient practice in facilities designated by CMS to have Substandard Quality before implementation of Abaqis, and included facilities designated as Special Focus Facilities based on prior survey results. The use of the Abaqis system at PSCN will improve a resident's quality of care and quality of life of because the web-based assessments identify quality problems and cause staff to investigate root causes of quality problems.


The Government of Ethiopia's (GoE) One WASH National Programme, launched in September 2013 is a comprehensive 7 years programme (2013-2020). It operationalizes agreements between 4 sector ministries; Water, Health, Education and Finance, with a total budget of USD $2.4bill. The Program is the GoE's main instrument for achieving the goals set out in the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), with targets for access to safe water supply at 98%, 100% for rural and urban areas, respectively. The targets for sanitation and hygiene set out in the Universal Access Plan (UAP) are that all Ethiopians will have access to basic sanitation, while 77% of the population practice hand washing at critical times, and 80% of communities in the country declared open defecation free (ODF).
The SWAp in Ethiopia aspires to be the most comprehensive WASH SWAp ever, with a unified planning, budgeting and monitoring system.


1. By means of (14)C tracer experiments and isotope competition experiments the roles of d-tyrosine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, phenylacetic acid, homogentisic acid and homoarbutin (2-methylquinol 4-beta-d-glucoside) in the biosynthesis of plastoquinones, tocopherols and alpha-tocopherolquinone by maize shoots was investigated. It was established that d-tyrosine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and homogentisic acid can all be utilized for this purpose, whereas p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, phenylacetic acid and homoarbutin cannot. Studies on the mode of incorporation of d-tyrosine, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and homogentisic acid showed that their nuclear carbon atoms and the side-chain carbon atom adjacent to the nucleus give rise (as a C(6)-C(1) unit) to the p-benzoquinone rings and nuclear methyl groups (one in each case) of plastoquinone-9 and alpha-tocopherolquinone and the aromatic nuclei and nuclear methyl groups (one in each case) of gamma-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol. 2. By using [(14)C]-homogentisic acid it has been shown that homogentisic acid is also a precursor of plastoquinone, tocopherols and alpha-tocopherolquinone in the higher plants Lactuca sativa and Rumex sanguineus, the green algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Euglena gracilis and the blue-green alga Anacystis nidulans.


A fully differential CMOS ultrawideband low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented. The LNA has been realized in a standard 90-nm CMOS technology and consists of a common-gate stage and two subsequent common-source stages. The common-gate input stage realizes a wideband input impedance matching to the source impedance of the receiver (i.e., the antenna), whereas the two subsequent common-source stages provide a wideband gain by exploiting RLC tanks. The measurements have exhibited a transducer gain of 22.7 dB at 5.2 GHz, a 4.9-GHz-wide B 3dB, an input reflection coefficient lower than -10.5 dB, and an input-referred 1-dB compression point of -19.7 dBm, which are in excellent agreement with the postlayout simulation results, confirming the approach validity and the design robustness.


Porous blocks of calcium hydroxyapatite ceramic were evaluated as delivery systems for the sustained release of antibiotics. We tested gentamicin sulphate, cefoperazone sodium, and fiomoxef sodium in powder form placed in a cylindrical cavity in calcium hydroxyapatite blocks, using in vitro studies of elution and in vivo studies in rats. Gentamicin sulphate gave a maximum concentration within the first week, which gradually decreased but was still effective at 12 weeks, when 70% of the antibiotic had been released. Even at this stage the antibiotic concentration from a 75 mg dose was five times the minimum inhibitory concentration for staphylococci. In the in vivo studies the release of gentamicin sulphate into the normal bone of rats was at similar rates and levels. The bacteriocidal activity of the drugs was not affected by packing into calcium hydroxyapatite ceramic and the blocks were completely biocompatible on histology. This new system overcomes the disadvantages of other drug delivery systems, avoiding thermal damage to the antibiotics and a second operation for the removal of the carrier. Some mechanical strength is provided by the ceramic and healing may be accelerated by bone ingrowth into its micropores.


Naive T cells undergo slow homeostatic proliferation in response to T cell lymphopenia, which is also called lymphopenia-induced proliferation (LIP). IL-7 is critically required for this process, but previous studies suggested IL-15 was expendable for LIP of naive CD8 T cells. In contrast, we show that IL-15 is important for sustained CD8 T cell proliferation and accumulation in a lymphopenic setting, as revealed by truncated LIP in IL-15−/− hosts. At the same time, we find that IL-12 enhances LIP by acting directly on the CD8 T cells and independently of IL-15, suggesting distinct pathways by which cytokines can regulate homeostatic proliferation. Interestingly, the memory-phenotype CD8 T cell generated by LIP in IL-15−/− hosts are phenotypically distinct from the rare endogenous memory-phenotype cells found in IL-15−/− animals, suggesting these cells are generated by different means. These findings demonstrate that cytokine requirements for LIP change during the process itself, illustrating the need to identify factors that regulate successive stages of lymphopenia-driven proliferation.


Accidents during anaesthesia may be clinical or technical. To avoid the latter, stress is laid on the by no means new concept that techniques and handling must fit contingent requirements and that they may be dangerous as much for their inadequate as for their excessive use.


This report examines what I see as the core argument for concern about existential risk from misaligned artificial intelligence. I proceed in two stages. First, I lay out a backdrop picture that informs such concern. On this picture, intelligent agency is an extremely powerful force, and creating agents much more intelligent than us is playing with fire – especially given that if their objectives are problematic, such agents would plausibly have instrumental incentives to seek power over humans. Second, I formulate and evaluate a more specific six-premise argument that creating agents of this kind will lead to existential catastrophe by 2070. On this argument, by 2070: (1) it will become possible and financially feasible to build relevantly powerful and agentic AI systems; (2) there will be strong incentives to do so; (3) it will be much harder to build aligned (and relevantly powerful/agentic) AI systems than to build misaligned (and relevantly powerful/agentic) AI systems that are still superficially attractive to deploy; (4) some such misaligned systems will seek power over humans in high-impact ways; (5) this problem will scale to the full disempowerment of humanity; and (6) such disempowerment will constitute an existential catastrophe. I assign rough subjective credences to the premises in this argument, and I end up with an overall estimate of ~5% that an existential catastrophe of this kind will occur by 2070. (May 2022 update: since making this report public in April 2021, my estimate here has gone up, and is now at >10%.)


Solar geoengineering, also known as Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), has been proposed to alter Earth's radiative balance to reduce the effects of anthropogenic climate change. SRM has been identified as a research priority, as it has been shown to effectively reduce surface temperatures, while substantial uncertainties remain around side effects and impacts. Global modeling studies of SRM have often relied on idealized scenarios to understand the physical processes of interventions and their widespread impacts. These extreme or idealized scenarios are not directly policy-relevant and are often physically implausible (such as imposing global solar reduction to counter the warming of an instantaneous quadrupling of CO2). The climatic and ecological impacts of politically relevant and potentially plausible SRM approaches have rarely been modeled and assessed. Nevertheless, commentators and policymakers often falsely assume that idealized or extreme scenarios are proposed solutions to climate change. This paper proposes 18 scenarios that appear to be broadly plausible from political and Earth System perspectives and encompass futures that could be both warnings or perhaps desirable. We place these scenarios into four groups following broader strategic contexts: (1) Global Management; (2) Regional Emergencies; (3) Coordinated Regional Interventions; and (4) Reactive Global Interventions. For each scenario, relevant model experiments are proposed. Some may be performed with existing setups of global climate models, while others require further specification. Developing and performing these model experiments – and assessing likely resulting impacts on society and ecosystems – would be essential to inform public debate and policymakers on the real-world issues surrounding SRM.


The peculiar features of ovarian cancer metastasization in the greater omentum have been studied. A retrospective analysis of the data on 268 operated patients with serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary and a perspective study pertaining to 99 patients with ovarian malignant tumors of different histotypes enabled detecting metastases in the greater omentum in 73.9% and 63.6% of cases accordingly. An intensity of metastatic dissemination was dependent on stage, the presence of exudates in the abdominal and pleural cavities but was independent on patients' age. High incidence of metastatic involvement of the omentum, the recognition of micrometastases, detected only histologically in 15.9% of patients, allowed a recommendation to be substantiated for the mandatory removal of the greater omentum at all clinical stages of ovarian cancer.


Immune escape is a fundamental trait of cancer. Dendritic cells (DC) that interact with T cells represent a crucial site for the development of tolerance to tumor antigens, but there remains incomplete knowledge about how DC-tolerizing signals evolve during tumorigenesis. In this study, we show that DCs isolated from patients with metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer express high levels of the adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, which are sufficient to blunt antitumor immunity. Mechanistic investigations of ligand-receptor interactions on DCs revealed novel signaling pathways for each receptor. AdipoR1 stimulated IL10 production by activating the AMPK and MAPKp38 pathways, whereas AdipoR2 modified inflammatory processes by activating the COX-2 and PPARγ pathways. Stimulation of these pathways was sufficient to block activation of NF-κB in DC, thereby attenuating their ability to stimulate antigen-specific T-cell responses. Together, our findings reveal novel insights into how DC-tolerizing signals evolve in cancer to promote immune escape. Furthermore, by defining a critical role for adiponectin signaling in this process, our work suggests new and broadly applicable strategies for immunometabolic therapy in patients with cancer.


A new method has been developed and applied in a micro amperometric immunosensor to immobilize antibody with electropolymerized staphylococcal protein A (SPA). SPA is usually used directly as an immunoadsorbent and can achieve the binding of IgG very well. In this paper, pyrrole doped with SPA was co-electropolymerized onto the working electrode surface by cyclic voltammetry in 10 minutes. It effectively immobilized SPA on the surface of the working electrode for orientation-controlled immobilization of capture antibodies. This method as a controllable and convenient manipulation can modify the sensing surface more rapidly with less consumption of reagent (10μL), which is proper to the micro immunosensor. As an application to test the validity of this method, Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) with the concentration of 102cfu/ml could be detected by this immunosensor, which shows the good property of the sensor and proves the feasibility of the method applied for the immobilization of antibody. It is potential to develop a biosensor that can be used for convenient, low-cost and real-time sensing of pathogens in food products.


Four major components are involved in physician behaviour that may impact on patient compliance with treatment regimens: compassion, communication, activating patient self-motivation and shared responsibility with the patient. An attitude of concern coupled with hope and interest in the patient's future well-being effect compliance. Other facets of compliance may be outside the physician's control: factors within the patient or within the environment and factors intrinsic to hypertension in itself suggest that physician behaviour is the factor most easily controlled by the physician to enhance compliance.


In the paper, a novel three-port channel drop filter in two dimensional photonic crystals (2D PCs) with a wavelength-selective reflection micro-cavity is proposed. In the structure, two micro-cavities are used. One is used for a resonant tunneling-based channel drop filter. The other is used to realize wavelength-selective reflection feedback in the bus wave-guide, which consists of a point defect micro-cavity side-coupled to a line defect waveguide based on photonic crystals. Using coupled mode theory in time, the conditions to achieve 100% drop efficiency are derived thoroughly. The simulation results by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method imply that the design is feasible.


Introduction: Hypertension is a chronic disease that needs to be treated adequately. Nonadherence to antihypertensive medicines can lead to coronary heart disease and stroke complications. The present study assessed the prevalence and predictors of medication nonadherence among hypertensive patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among hypertensive patients visiting the outdoor patient department of a tertiary care hospital in North India. Trained investigators interviewed the study participants after obtaining their written informed consent. A validated tool, namely the Brief Medication Questionnaire, was used to assess the medication nonadherence. Statistical analyses were performed using the Epi Info version for Windows. Results: A total of 400 hypertensive patients participated in the study. The mean age of study participants was 62.8 years (standard deviation = 11.0). Around half (55.0%) of the hypertensive patients suffered from comorbid disease conditions. The prevalence of antihypertensive medication nonadherence was 23.8%. The logistic regression model revealed that patients having a shorter duration of hypertension (odds ratio = 2.2 [1.2–3.9]) and those living in a joint family (odds ratio = 1.7 [1.1–2.8]) had higher medication nonadherence, as compared to their counterparts. Conclusion: Nearly one-fifth of the study participants were nonadherent to their antihypertension medication. There is a need for designing and implementing effective strategies by health-care providers for increasing antihypertensive medication adherence.


One of the key areas in which the United Kingdom government plans to achieve net zero, reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon is through afforestation. Afforestation will also provide ecosystem services to society. The Scottish government's target is to increase woodland cover in Scotland to 25% by 2050. In this study, a land suitability analysis was used to investigate the likelihood of achieving this target based on the biophysically suitable and available land considering the current policy constraints for planting Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) in Scotland. The results showed that about 19% of land area in Scotland is biophysically suitable for Sitka spruce and about 13% is biophysically suitable and available based on policy constraints. Thus, there is an opportunity for the Scottish government to increase the woodland cover in Scotland to 31.5% and exceed its 25% woodland target. However, for Scotland to achieve net zero by 2045, it will require that more trees be planted on higher-quality agricultural land, different from areas where trees are currently planted.


This is a report on 73 cases of free lateral arm-flap transplantations (success rate 96%). The flaps were used for a wide range of indications to cover defects measuring up to 6 x 20 cm. 47 donor-site defects in 45 patients were evaluated according to subjective and objective criteria in order to permit comparison with other studies on donor-site defects in the German Group for Microsurgery of Peripheral Nerves and Vessels (DAM).


Nowadays, energy is becoming more and more important. With the development of society, the demand of energy is also increasing correspondingly. There is 22% of the total energy which is used in building part. A more effective and sustainable energy system becomes necessary due to increasing energy prices and demand. The aim of this thesis is to make an energy survey of this building, evaluating different sources of energy supply and losses in this building. By evaluating, a better thermal comfort is expectedly achieved when having examinations, and a possible saving method is also expected in order to reduce the cost of this system. In this project, the building is located in University of Gavle which is surveyed. It has 2 floors. The first floor is underground as a basement. An examination room is included in the second floor. There are a space heating system and heating recovery system ventilation in this examination building.At first step of analysis, the data of construction, ventilation, district heating and hot tap water were arranged by Mr. Magnus. Secondly, an energy balance had been done, and it helped to make energy input and output more clearly. In energy supply part, the solar radiation is 22.4MWh, the internal heat from people is 1.95MWh, the internal heat from equipment is 5.63MWh and district heating is 184MWh. In energy losses part, the transmission loss is 165MWh, the mechanical ventilation loss is 38.3MWh, the infiltration loss is 8.38MWh and the hot tap water is 2.09MWh. Thirdly, results of calculations were analyzed. At last, the optimization methods were given to save energy. The optimization methods were changing type of windows and improving indoor temperature which influenced the transmission loss part. Another method was reducing operating time of the ventilation system.Through these optimizing methods, the total energy use is reduced from 214MWh to 179MWh, and district heating is reduced from 184MWh to 149MWh. District heating of this building is supplied by Gavle Energi company, which is able to save 20% cost by these optimizing methods. According to the investment analysis, 19thousand SEK energy is saved per annum.


In this article we attempt to develop an analysis of the English urban riots of 2011. Rather than build on the assumption of organic resistance and protopolitics, we argue that the disturbances were a brief eruption of social unrest that lacked the clear, unifying political symbolism necessary to turn objectless dissatisfaction into articulate political demands. Rather, the consumer-oriented subjects who inhabit the socioeconomic margins of late capitalism were unable to make this political move and ultimately found themselves with nowhere to take their dissatisfaction but to the shops. This speaks loudly of the current condition of subjectivity in a postpolitical era dominated by neoliberalism and liberal postmodernism.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the development, process and outcome evaluation of a culturally tailored diabetes prevention education program for community healthcare workers (CHCWs) in Thailand.

METHODS
A tailored diabetes prevention education program was designed based on formative research and implemented with 35 CHCWs in semi-urban areas in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. Modules were delivered over eight group classes and eight self-directed E-learning sessions (www.FitThai.org). The program incorporated problem-based learning, discussion, reflection, community-based application, self-evaluation and on-line support. The frequency that students accessed on-line materials, including videotaped lectures, readings, monthly newsletters and community resources, was documented. Participant satisfaction was assessed through three questionnaires. Knowledge was assessed through pre-post testing.

RESULTS
Three-quarters of participants attended all eight classes and no participant attended fewer than six. On-line support and materials were accessed 3 to 38 times (median 13). Participants reported that program information and activities were fun, useful, culturally-relevant and applicable to diabetes prevention in their specific communities. Participants also appreciated the innovative technology support for their work. Comfort with E-learning varied among participants. Scores on pre-post knowledge test increased from a mean (sd) of 56.5% (6.26) to 75.5% (6.01) (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS
An innovative diabetes prevention education program was developed for CHCWs in Thailand. Interactive classroom modules and self-directed E-learning were generally well-received and supported better knowledge scores. Ongoing access to web-based materials and expert support may help sustain learning.


Ambient and pervasive technologies provide several ways to assist people with special needs in smart environments. However, the system's complexity and the size of the contextual information of these environments lead to several difficulties in deploying and providing the assistance services. A service provision mechanism which is aware of the environment context can simplify the deployment of assistance services on environment devices, by taking care of the decision processes. Moreover, the integration of the interaction modalities in the decision processes of such mechanisms allows deliveries of services to users based on their capabilities and preferences. In this paper, we present a context-aware service provision system for smart environment, which takes into account a whole set of contextual information: user profiles, device profiles, software profiles and environment topology. In regards to our previous work, this paper focuses on the modeling of the user interaction capabilities, built around the notion of interaction modalities. We also detail the integration of the model to the service provision reasoning process, as well as its implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the functionalities of this system through technical validations and scenarios carried out in a real smart apartment.


Abstract. In most Photogrammetry and computer vision tasks, finding the corresponding points among images is required. Among many, the Lucas-Kanade optical flow estimation has been employed for tracking interest points as well as motion vector field estimation. This paper uses the IMU measurements to reconstruct the epipolar geometry and it integrates the epipolar geometry constraint with the brightness constancy assumption in the Lucas-Kanade method. The proposed method has been tested using the KITTI dataset. The results show the improvement in motion vector field estimation in comparison to the Lucas-Kanade optical flow estimation. The same approach has been used in the KLT tracker and it has been shown that using epipolar geometry constraint can improve the KLT tracker. It is recommended that the epipolar geometry constraint is used in advanced variational optical flow estimation methods.


To test the hypothesis that joint incongruity contributes to the pathogenesis of elbow osteochondrosis, the left and right radius and ulna of 20 young large breed dogs were measured to determine any variation in length and to observe any incongruity of the elbow joint. Both lame and normal dogs were included in the study. Nine of the 20 dogs had marked disparity in radial and ulnar lengths yet only one had obvious elbow joint incongruity. The use of a sliding osteotomy for the treatment of fragmented coronoid process and a lengthening osteotomy for the treatment of an ununited anconeal process is also discussed. All four dogs treated with a sliding osteotomy showed a marked clinical improvement, and two of the three dogs treated with a lengthening osteotomy showed radiographic fusion of the anconeal process.


Total kininogenase activity was higher by 50% in supernatant of malignant mucosa homogenate as compared with normal tissue. But specific kininogenase and N-acetyl-arginine esterase activity were distinctly similar both in normal and tumoral tissues; N-ac-arg esterase activity tended to decrease in malignant mucosa. Partially purified preparations of kallikrein, isolated from adenocarcinoma and normal mucosa of human large intestine, were distinctly identical in their properties: both these enzymes were not inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor, they were highly sensitive to main pancreatic inhibitor from bovine tissues (Ki = 10(-10) M) and their molecular mass was about 40,000 daltons. The data obtained suggest that these enzymes may be concerned with tissue kallikreins. Highly purified preparation of kininogenase (85-90% of purity) first obtained from adenocarcinoma of human ascending colon, was identify with tissue kallikreins as it hydrolyzed low molecular kininogen, liberating the kinin--lysyl-bradykinin.


Numerous innovative smart grid technologies are deployed in modern power systems, making a power system a typical cyber-physical system (CPS). The increasing coupling between a physical power system and its communication network requires a smart grid simulator to run in a cyber-physical environment for cyber security research. In addition, smart grid technologies introduce numerous access points to the communication network, making cyber security a big concern in smart grid planning and operation. In this paper, a simple real time CPS test bed, implemented in RTDS and OPNET, is discussed. The setup of the test bed is introduced. Results of a case study simulated in the test bed to study the impact of cyber attacks on system transient stability are presented. The simple test bed was capable of accurately modelling a smart grid while providing user-friendly modeling experience.


Abstract Enough water is stored in the sapwood of large Douglas-fir to significantly contribute to transpiration. Sapwood water content falls through the season, causing the wood's conductivity to fall. This leads to low leafwater potentials, stomatal closure, and reduced photosynthesis by the trees.

The amount of water stored in the sapwood of Douglasfir 50-60 m tall, growing in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, was estimated periodically over two seasons from measurements of sapwood relative water content (Rs). The relationship between Rs and volume of water contained in the sapwood was determined in the laboratory, and an equation describing the variation of relative conductivity (K) with Rs was derived from the literature. Stomatal conductance (ks) and leaf water potentials were measured in the field.

The relative conductivity of the sapwood was calculated from estimates of the flow rate through the tree and differences in water potential between dawn and the time of comparison. Flow rate was assumed to equal transpiration rate, calculated from the Penman-Monteith equation using measured ks values. A sixfold decrease in K during the summer was attributed to changes in Rs. The maximum observed diurnal variation in K would require a change in RS estimated at 25%.

About 270 m3 ha−1 (27 mm) of water were stored in sapwood, and 75% of that was in the stemwood. Withdrawal from this store reached 1.7 mm day−1 on clear days after cloudy or rainy weather. Recharge could be almost as fast (up to 1.6 mm day−1) after rain, but was very slow if the foliage remained wet.


The Virtual Network (VN) protocol is a communications protocol software compatible with the Space Plug-and-play Architecture (SPA). This Master Thesis defines a protocol that extends the Virtual Network protocol to cover communication over the Controller Area Network (CAN). The Virtual Network for the Controller Area Network (VN-CAN) is defined, modelled and verified using UPPAAL as well as implemented and tested while running on actual hardware.The VN-CAN protocol enables components on the CAN network to communicate with other components both inside and outside of the CAN network, which together with the modularity of both the protocol and the implementation enables application level software to be agnostic of their physical position in the network.The implementation enables components to automatically discover routes to other components on the VN network without the need for any prior knowledge about the network topology. A method for direct addressing, i.e. that two components on the CAN network can communicate directly without sending messages via a central router, has been added to the VN-CAN protocol in order to reduce traffic on the CAN network. UPPAAL modelling and verification of the VN-CAN protocol has been done to give a high level of confidence in the correctness of the protocol. Testing on actual hardware has shown that the protocol achieves the goals of address resolution, self addressing and transfer of VN messages over CAN.


ASTRACT: Changes in general fall and winter distributions of Mallards and Black Ducks over the past century have resulted in markedly increased sympatric contact during pair formation between these two forms, and have been responsible for increased opportunities for hybridization. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife records of hybrids from 34 states indicate a minimal current hybridization rate that is about 4% of the frequency expected on the basis of mating according to mathematical probabilities of chance contact. Thus, hybridization is most frequent where both forms are almost equally abundant, indicating that no reinforcement of differences reducing hybridization in the primary zone of contact is detectable. The primary zone of sympatry has moved eastward approximately 300 miles during the past half century and will almost certainly continue to do so. Owing to its much smaller gene pool, the Black Duck is vulnerable to eventual swamping through hybridization and introgression, although the present hybridization rate is sufficiently low as to make this unlikely in the foreseeable future.


This article examines the concept of financial system efficiency in the New Zealand context. The primary function of the financial system is to facilitate the allocation of society's scarce resources, both across the economic system and over time, in an environment of inherent uncertainty. If the financial system performs this role well, then it will be contributing to economic growth and prosperity in a positive way. The article develops a conceptual framework for evaluating financial system efficiency and applies this to the New Zealand financial system. In particular, we focus on whether the high return on equity enjoyed by the New Zealand banking system, relative to other jurisdictions, is indicative of a banking system that is any less competitive and efficient than elsewhere. Our research to date suggests these high relative returns can be explained by a number of factors including relatively high cost of capital in New Zealand and the implicit support the major banks receive from their Australian parents.


The approach for breath-VOCs' collection and preconcentration by applying needle traps was developed and optimized. The alveolar air was collected from only a few exhalations under visual control of expired CO2 into a large gas-tight glass syringe and then warmed up to 45 °C for a short time to avoid condensation. Subsequently, a specially constructed sampling device equipped with Bronkhorst® electronic flow controllers was used for automated adsorption. This sampling device allows time-saving collection of expired/inspired air in parallel onto three different needle traps as well as improvement of sensitivity and reproducibility of NT-GC-MS analysis by collection of relatively large (up to 150 ml) volume of exhaled breath. It was shown that the collection of alveolar air derived from only a few exhalations into a large syringe followed by automated adsorption on needle traps yields better results than manual sorption by up/down cycles with a 1 ml syringe, mostly due to avoided condensation and electronically controlled stable sample flow rate. The optimal profile and composition of needle traps consists of 2 cm Carbopack X and 1 cm Carboxen 1000, allowing highly efficient VOCs' enrichment, while injection by a fast expansive flow technique requires no modifications in instrumentation and fully automated GC-MS analysis can be performed with a commercially available autosampler. This optimized analytical procedure considerably facilitates the collection and enrichment of alveolar air, and is therefore suitable for application at the bedside of critically ill patients in an intensive care unit. Due to its simplicity it can replace the time-consuming sampling of sufficient breath volume by numerous up/down cycles with a 1 ml syringe.


Pattern poetry is an art form that combines literary and visual elements to produce poems in which the text and the shape of the poem work together as an aesthetic whole. To fully appreciate a pattern poem one needs to see it as well as hear it. Although varied forms of this art existed throughout history and across cultures, it is only in the 19 th century that pattern poetry became a recognized genre of poetry. This genre is further enriched by the increasing graphing capabilities of modern computers that add a new dimension to the hand-drawn or typewriter-produced pattern poems of the past. Mathematical pattern poetry―pattern poetry possessing a substantial mathematical component―includes poems whose shape or content involve geometric figures, mathematical curves, or other mathematical notions and symbols. This article provides a brief overview of modern mathematical pattern poetry, including selected references for the use of such poetry in the mathematics classroom. The concluding remarks touch lightly on the poetry forms that sprang from this genre: visual poetry and electronic poetry.


Sir, Angiolipomas of the spinal canal are extremely uncommon benign tumors, may be infiltrating or noninfiltrating and are composed of mature lipomatous and angiomatous elements.[1] Clinical presentation is nonspecific and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the imaging modality of choice. I read with interest the article entitled "Thoracic epidural angiolipoma with bilateral multilevel extraspinal extensions: A rare entity" by Diyora et al.[2] published in this journal and wish to congratulate my colleagues on this unique contribution to the literature on spinal angiolipoma. Nevertheless, I wish to add some important points to the discussion. I recently reviewed the world literature and found a total of 142 cases with spinal extradural angiolipoma to date, including the new case reported by Diyora et al. [2] From a surgical standpoint, it is important to know that "dumbbell" spinal angiolipomas with extraspinal extensions are treated by a combined microneurosurgical and thoracoscopic approach, requiring a multidisciplinary approach.[3-5] There is an inconsistency regarding the MRI findings of spinal angiolipoma on T1and T2-weighted sequences within the text. As a rule, these neoplasms show isoor hyperintensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintensity on T2-weighted images, enhancing with gadolinium administration. Finally, it seems that there is a potential error concerning the dermatomal level of sensory loss on neurological examination because of the well-known anatomic relationship between cord segments and the vertebral bodies and spines in adults due to the different growth rates of the cord and spine. Undoubtedly, it is of clinical importance both in determination of the correct level of a spinal cord lesion and in selection of the appropriate surgical approach.


Active faulting in Iran is a direct indicator of active crustal deformation due to the convergence between Arabia and Eurasia which occurs at 2.1-2.5 cm/yr. In this paper active faults of Iran have been considered in some detail. Geometric characteristics, mechanisms and the trend of active fault zones in different areas of Iran have been discussed while considering their tectonic differences. Active faults in Zagros are blind and the focal mechanism solutions of the earthquakes of the region point to the presence of both thrust and transverse strikeslip faulting in its basement. Whereas in the rest of the country most active faults reach the surface. The earthquake mechanism solutions along active fault systems in eastern and central Iran imply dominance of strike-slip faulting in a transpression regime. Conversely, active faults in NW Iran are transtensive. The Alborz and Kopeh-Dagh fault zones are relatively vast active fault zones in which location of individual active faults is difficult. Aside from raised terraces in the shores of the Oman Sea, information on active faults in the Makran region is scarce.


A four-year retrospective survey was carried out at our Infectious Disease ward, to point out discrepancies between immediately hospitalized patients, and those referred to us for admission, but needing trasferral elsewhere, due to lack of a suitable room. Since the year 2000, 439 patients out of 1979 (28.5%) could not find a place at our ward. Paralleling increased rooms at our ward in June 2002 (16 to 35 beds), the described phenomenon had a sharp drop, but a subsequent stabilization followed, with around 13% of Infectious Disease patients sent elsewhere for hospitalization until July 2003. Patients with severe, transmissible diseases are of particular concern, when the accepting Infectious Disease unit is located 40-115 km far from our city. This occurrence happened in nearly 25% of patients trasferred from our Hospital from the year 2000.


Abstract. The extreme precipitation that would result in historic flooding across areas of northeastern France and southern Germany began on May 26th when a large cut-off low spurred the development of several slow moving low pressure disturbances. The precipitation took different forms in each country. Warm and humid air from the south fueled sustained, large-scale, heavy rainfall over France resulting in significant river flooding on the Seine and Loire (and their tributaries), whereas the rain came from smaller clusters of intense thunderstorms in Germany triggering flash floods in mountainous areas. The floods left tens of thousands without power, caused over a billion Euros in damage in France alone, and are reported to have killed at least 18 people in Germany, France, Romania, and Belgium. The extreme nature of this event left many asking whether anthropogenic climate change may have played a role. To answer this question objectively, a rapid attribution analysis was performed in near-real time, using the best available observational data and climate models. In this rapid attribution study, where results were completed and released to the public in one week and an additional week to finalise this article, we present a first estimate of how anthropogenic climate change affected the likelihood of meteorological variables corresponding to the event, 3-day precipitation averaged over the Seine and Loire basins and the spatial maximum of 1-day precipitation over southern Germany (excluding the Alps). We find that the precipitation in the Seine basin was very rare in April–June, with a return time of hundreds of years in this season. It was less rare on the Loire, roughly 1 in 50 years in April–June. At a given location the return times for 1-day precipitation as heavy as the highest observed in southern Germany is 1 in 3000 years in April–June. This translates to once roughly every 20 years somewhere in this region and season. The probability of 3-day extreme rainfall in this season has increased by about a factor 2.3 (> 1.6) on the Seine a factor 2.0 (> 1.4) on the Loire, with all four climate models that simulated the statistical properties of the extremes agreeing. The observed trend of heavy 1-day precipitation in southern Germany is significantly negative, whereas the one model that has the correct distribution simulates a significant positive trend, making an attribution statement for these thunderstorms impossible at this time.


In this paper, we problematise current conceptualisations of agency in education. Firstly, we consider how the construction of the hyper-individual, one that is entirely determined by its own internal capacities, has become the norm within Australian educational policy. We propose that this conceptualisation produces undemocratic educational possibilities, built on assumptions that individuals have the capacity to rationally choose pathways that will maximise their own interests, ignoring the contextually bound ways in which this produces, makes durable and reproduces trajectories of disadvantage and advantage within the educational system. We experiment with how education could be understood if the ontological assumption of the individual was unsettled, with a focus shifting to relations rather than intrinsic entities. To do this, we draw from New Materialist literature, and Karen Barad's agential realism, to suggest that the assignment of 'interactive' agency between fully interiorised individuals, especially through competitive logics, confuses the basis, and possibility, of democratic action. We consider how educative spaces are the enactments and realisation of knowledge and, thus, how an enactment of education is not reducible to separate or separable individuals.


Background Carcinoid tumours are common neuroendocrine tumours in the lung. The majority of cases appear to be solitary; multiple tumours occur in patients with diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell heperplasia (DIPNECH), characterised by multiple hyperplastic neuroendocrine (NE) cell foci throughout the lung fields. In these patients DIPNECH appears to be the precursor lesion in the development of carcinoid tumours. Aims ASCL1 (Achaete-scute homolog 1) and HES1 (Hairy and enhancer of split 1) are transcription factors important in neuroendocrine development in the lung. We hypothesised that pathways involving these genes may be deranged in patients with DIPNECH and aimed to study their expression in sporadic and DIPNECH carcinoids. Methods Formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples from 25 carcinoid tumour cases (19 sporadic pulmonary carcinoids, 6 DIPNECH carcinoids) were studied. Expression of ASCL1 and HES1 was studied by real time PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results ASCL1 was more highly expressed in tumour samples than background lung (p=0.0149). HES1 was more highly expressed in background lung and DIPNECH compared to tumour samples (p=0.0016). HES1 staining was positive in all carcinoid tumours with no difference between DIPNECH and sporadic cases. ASCL1 staining was positive in 4 of 6 DIPNECH carcinoids, compared to 3 of 19 sporadic carcinoids (p=0.0324). Conclusion ASCL1 expression was significantly higher in DIPNECH carcinoids compared to sporadic cases, and was also present in NE foci suggesting an alteration in the pathway of this gene in DIPNECH patients and the carcinoid tumours found in this condition.


: The authors briefly account the opioidergic regulation of pain and postulate a concept of adrenergic pain-relieving systems. They also analyze the analgetic and vegetocorrecting effects of clofelin and its benefits as a centrally acting non-opiate analgetic. They discuss the status and prospects for optimization of non-opiate anesthesia in clinical practice.


In 1997, the Wood Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service concluded that a state of `systemic and entrenched corruption' existed in the police organization. Major reforms were introduced in the wake of the Commission, including the appointment of a new Police Commissioner, organizational restructuring, a complete revamp of recruit education, as well as increased monitoring and accountability. The magnitude and scope of the Commission's reform programme was bold and ambitious by international standards. This article takes stock of the impact of the Commission 10 years after the publication of its Final Report. Drawing on interviews with key informants, official reports and other documentary sources, the article analyses the activities of the Commission, the intentions of its recommendations and the implementation and consequences of reform. The lessons of the NSW experience are salutary not only for understanding the vagaries of police reform, they also demonstrate the complex relationship between police organizations and the volatile political environments in which they increasingly need to operate.


Polyglutamines are known to form aggregates in pathogenic contexts, such as Huntington disease. However, little is known about their normal biological role. We found that the polyglutamine domain of the Snf5 subunit of yeast SWI/SNF complex is required for efficient induction of glucose-repressed genes. Both transient cytosolic acidification and histidines within the polyglutamine domain were required for efficient transcriptional reprogramming. We hypothesized that a pH-dependent oligomerization could be important for ADH2 expression. In support of this idea, we found that a synthetic spidroin domain from spider silk, which is soluble at pH 7 but oligomerizes at pH ~6.3, could partially complement the function of the SNF5 polyglutamine domain. These results suggest that the SNF5 polyglutamine domain is a pH-responsive transcriptional regulator, and provide further evidence of an important biological role for polyglutamine domains beyond the disease context.


Purpose
The specificity of visual channel impairment in dyslexia has been the subject of much controversy. The purpose of this study was to determine if a differential pattern of impairment can be verified between visual channels in children with developmental dyslexia, and in particular, if the pattern of deficits is more conspicuous in tasks where the magnocellular-dorsal system recruitment prevails. Additionally, we also aimed at investigating the association between visual perception thresholds and reading.

Methods
In the present case-control study, we compared perception thresholds of 33 children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia and 34 controls in a speed discrimination task, an achromatic contrast sensitivity task, and a chromatic contrast sensitivity task. Moreover, we addressed the correlation between the different perception thresholds and reading performance, as assessed by means of a standardized reading test (accuracy and fluency). Group comparisons were performed by the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's rho was used as a measure of correlation.

Results
Results showed that, when compared to controls, children with dyslexia were more impaired in the speed discrimination task, followed by the achromatic contrast sensitivity task, with no impairment in the chromatic contrast sensitivity task. These results are also consistent with the magnocellular theory since the impairment profile of children with dyslexia in the visual threshold tasks reflected the amount of magnocellular-dorsal stream involvement. Moreover, both speed and achromatic thresholds were significantly correlated with reading performance, in terms of accuracy and fluency. Notably, chromatic contrast sensitivity thresholds did not correlate with any of the reading measures.

Conclusions
Our evidence stands in favor of a differential visual channel deficit in children with developmental dyslexia and contributes to the debate on the pathophysiology of reading impairments.


A new kind of international regulatory system is spontaneously arising out of the failure of international "Old Governance" (treaties and intergovernmental organizations) to adequately regulate international business. NGOs, business firms and other actors, singly and in novel combinations, are creating innovative institutions to apply transnational norms to business. These institutions are predominantly private, and operate through voluntary standards. We depict the diversity of these new regulatory institutions on the "Governance Triangle," according to the roles of different actors in their governance. To analyze this complex system, we adapt the domestic "New Governance" (NG) model of regulation to the international setting. "Transnational New Governance" (TNG) potentially provides many benefits of NG, and is particularly suitable for international regulation because it demands less of states and IGOs. However, TNG requires states and IGOs to act as orchestrators of the regulatory system, which currently suffers from a significant orchestration deficit. By expanding "directive" and "facilitative" orchestration, states and IGOs could strengthen high-quality private institutions, improve the international regulatory system and better achieve their own regulatory goals.


The purpose of this article is to present an historical account of an intersection that occurred in Brazil between popular healing treatments and conventional psychiatric practices during the first half of the 20th century. To illustrate our argument, we analyzed data retrieved from the medical records of patients admitted to the Spiritist Sanatorium of Uberaba, Brazil, between 1934 and 1948. Although the Uberaba Spiritist movement founded the institution, it was directed by a physician educated in the biomedical tradition at the Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine. Based on the theory of the circulation and appropriation of knowledge, we elucidated the adaptations and negotiations that were necessary for the reception and dissemination of the practice of the two different therapeutic methodologies on Brazilian psychiatric soil.


Plant cell enlargement is regulated by wall relaxation and yielding, which is thought to be catalyzed by elusive "wall-loosening" enzymes. By employing a reconstitution approach, we found that a crude protein extract from the cell walls of growing cucumber seedlings possessed the ability to induce the extension of isolated cell walls. This activity was restricted to the growing region of the stem and could induce the extension of isolated cell walls from various dicot stems and the leaves of amaryllidaceous monocots, but was less effective on grass coleoptile walls. Endogenous and reconstituted wall extension activities showed similar sensitivities to pH, metal ions, thiol reducing agents, proteases, and boiling in methanol or water. Sequential HPLC fractionation of the active wall extract revealed two proteins with molecular masses of 29 and 30 kD associated with the activity. Each protein, by itself, could induce wall extension without detectable hydrolytic breakdown of the wall. These proteins appear to mediate "acid growth" responses of isolated walls and may catalyze plant cell wall extension by a novel biochemical mechanism.


In the diagnosis of ankle injuries routine radiography is often unproductive. An international survey of the average number of radiographs made of injured ankles suggested that two projections are adequate to detect fractures. This was confirmed in a prospective study of 242 patients coming to a hospital emergency department with recent ankle injuries. All the fractures could be identified on an anteroposterior or a lateral projection, although some were more obvious on an oblique view. As well, all the fractures were associated with malleolar soft-tissue swelling. Thus, radiography for acute ankle injuries could safely be restricted to patients with soft-tissue swelling, and fractures could be diagnosed using only two routine projections, though for management purposes additional projections might be needed. With a policy of limiting the use of radiography substantial cost reductions are possible.


2-Chloroethyl (methylsulfonyl)methanesulfonate (clomesone) is highly effective against certain experimental neoplasma and is now undergoing initial clinical trials.Two groups of analogues have been prepared to explore further the anticancer activity of this type of sulfonates.The first group is comprised of several 2-chloroethyl sulfonates that have electron-attracting groups α to the sulfonate group; among these, the α-chloroethanesulfonate and the (trifluoromethyl)- methanesulfonate caused increases in lifespan of 45 and 72%, respectively, in tests against P388 leukemia in mice. The second group is comprised of several (methylsulfonyl)methanesulfonates that possess alkylating groups other than the 2-haloethyl groups. 2-Hydroxyethyl (methylsulfonyl)methanesulfonate was active against P388 leukemia (increases in lifespan, 66 and 94%), but was less effective than clomesone, which effects cures. The 3-chloropropyl and the propyl derivatives caused modest increases in lifespan. Therefore, several 2-chloroethyl α-substituted methanesulfonates are less effective against P388 leukemia than is the α-(methylsulfonyl) derivative (clomesone), and several substituted alkyl (methylsulfonyl)methanesulfonates are also less effective than is the 2-chloroethyl derivative (clomesone). The synthesis of clomesone was simplified to one operational step from methanesulfonyl chloride.


OBJECTIVES
to identify the factors related to the use of religious coping in informal caregivers.

METHODS
integrative literature review carried out through a search in the databases LILACS, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL, in addition to the Virtual Health Library and SciELO. The study selected primary articles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, using the descriptors Coping Behavior, Caregivers, Spirituality, and Religion, which were combined with each other and with synonyms. There was no time limit for the publications.

RESULTS
nine articles were selected. Factors related to the use of religious coping in informal caregivers included: having an advanced age, experiencing traumatic situations, being under overload, being a spouse or mother, caring for hospitalized individuals, or for those with chronic diseases and high degrees of dependence.

CONCLUSIONS
the factors related to the use of religious coping are multifaceted and involve physical, psychological, psychosocial, and situational aspects.


Objectives: 1. To assess if B vitamin supplementation decreases symptoms of depression. 2. To assess if B vitamin supplementation decreases depressive symptoms in people who take antidepressants yet still experience symptoms of depression. 3. To assess if dietary intake of B vitamins affects the efficacy of B vitamin supplementation in reducing symptoms of depression. Participants: 33 medicated and unmedicated adult students and staff with depressive symptoms at a small regional university in the Midwest, in February 2013. Methods: Participants took a B vitamin supplement daily for 28 days. Presence of depressive symptoms was assessed before and after the intervention using the CES-D Scale. Dietary B vitamin intake was determined by two 24-hour food recalls. Results: There was a significant decrease in depressive symptoms from baseline (M = 31.4, SD = 9.6) and at post-intervention (M = 18.9, SD = 10.4), t(32) = 7.08, p < .001, regardless of medication status and dietary intake of B vitamins. Conclusions: This research suggests that B vitamin supplementation may reduce depressive symptoms in people whether medicated or unmedicated with antidepressants, and regardless of their dietary B vitamin intake. Larger, placebo-controlled trials using a B complex supplement are warranted to further investigate B vitamins in treating depression, so that mental health professionals have an alternative or adjunct treatment for patients who are unwilling or unable to take antidepressants, or are responding poorly to traditional treatments.