Silicon oxycarbides modified with main group or transition metals (SiMOC) are usually synthesized via pyrolysis of sol-gel precursors from suitable metal-modified orthosilicates or polysiloxanes. In this study, the phase composition of different SiMOC systems (M = Sn, Fe, Mn, V, and Lu) was investigated. Depending on the metal, different ceramic phases formed. For M = Mn and Lu, MOx/SiOC ceramic nanocomposites were formed, whereas other compositions revealed the formation of M/SiOC (M = Sn), MSix/SiOC (M = Fe) or MCx/SiOC (M = V) upon pyrolysis. The different phase compositions of the SiMOC materials are rationalized by a simple thermodynamic approach which generally correctly predicts which type of ceramic nanocomposite is expected upon ceramization of the metal-modified precursors. Calculations show that the thermodynamic stability of the MOx phase with respect to that of the C–O system is the most important factor to predict phase formation in polymer-derived SiMOC ceramic systems. A secondary factor is the relative stability of metal oxides, silicates, carbides, and silicides.


Evaluating experimental data calls for dealing with measurement uncertainty (MU); this is often reported as a learning obstacle to scientific concepts in lab work. We report on a study of 1,545 secondary school students who evaluated self-collected data in a physics lab. Results reveal a) that students are aware of MUs depending on data variability and b) that the odds of framing a correct hypothesis after the experiment decrease (OR=0.66[0.57;0.76], p<.001) when students are aware of MUs in their decision-making process. This contradicts studies that identified students' lack of awareness of MUs as an obstacle in the evaluation of experimental data, and it could be interpreted to mean that learners decide conservatively when evaluating uncertainty-infused learning situations because of a lack of knowledge about MUs.


In this thesis I present simulation-based studies of systems of self-
propelled particles in heterogeneous media. I consider the interaction
of particles with planar walls, single spherical obstacles or arrays of
randomly distributed obstacles. Active particles with different propulsion mechanisms and different interactions with each other and the
environment have been known to exhibit interesting universal phenomena; however, in conducting a generic theory explaining such
phenomena we still require further investigation of different types of
active systems. The aim of our studies in this thesis is to shed some
light on the emergent behavior of individual or large collections of
active particles with repulsive excluded volume interactions and linear propulsion in the presence of environmental heterogeneities. First, I describe the behavior of single active particles in the vicinity
of a simple environmental constraint: a planar wall. It is shown how
the activity increases the tendency of the particles to move along the
wall and spend long times in its vicinity. These results are consistent
with the behavior of a large class of biological and synthetic active
particles, reported previously. The distribution of the residence time
on the wall is found and its dependence on different parameters is
explored numerically.
Then I introduce spherical large obstacles to the system and extend
our observations to this case. It is illustrated how active particles tend
to reside longer on the obstacles as they flatten, and also how the residence times are affected by our model parameters, as compared to
the case of a planar wall.Next, I go on to study the collective behavior of active particles in
the presence of large obstacles. The accumulation and crystallization
of active particles around the obstacles are characterized: an interesting phenomenon that has been previously found in different active
systems with repulsive interactions only.
I further describe a particular phenomenon of collective rotation of
active particles around the obstacles. Given the purely repulsive interactions of particles with themselves and the obstacle, the absence
of any active torque on the particles, and the lack of any aligning or
synchronizing mechanism between the particles, such huge rotating
aggregates of particles is not a trivial state of the system. I explore
the origin of such rotations and using simple arguments explain why
they occur. Our suggested mechanism for driving the rotations also
describes some of their important properties such as the increase of their angular velocity as the rotations build up, and the scaling of the
total torque driving the rotating crystals by their mass.
Finally, I present some results on the behavior of active systems in
crowded environments. Increasing the crowdedness, the diffusion becomes non-Gaussian and slow. The decrease of the diffusion constant
with the obstacle density is a function of the activity. The effect of
activity on the particle's exploration of the cages, made by the many
obstacles, is further investigated in this thesis.


In July, 2011, the Budgetary Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress convened an international symposium on reform of China's Personal Income Tax (PIT) system. Currently about 30 years old, the Chinese PIT system very roughly resembles the U.S. PIT system at a similar age (prior to changes effected during World War II). This symposium paper describes general principles and specific practices to improve compliance and enforcement of the PIT, based on the U.S. experience with that tax. Support for the symposium was also provided by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), an enterprise of the German government that supports international cooperation for sustainable development.


Strategic decisions are affected by beliefs about the expectations of others and their possible decisions. Thus, strategic decisions are influenced by the social context and by beliefs about other actors' levels of sophistication. The present study investigated whether strategic decision-making, as measured by the beauty contest game, is associated with social skills, as measured by the Autism Quotient (AQ). In line with our hypothesis, we found that social skills were positively related to successful strategic decision-making. Furthermore, results showed a curvilinear relationship between steps of reasoning in the beauty contest game and social skills, indicating that very high as well as very low scoring individuals on the social skills subscale of the AQ engaged in high-levels of strategic thinking.


Background: There is an assumption that fetus with restricted growth with an inappropriate intrauterine environment lies under stress. Although small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants have higher mortality, difference in the outcome of SGA and appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants regarding respiratory morbidity is controversial. It seems that respiratory morbidities in SGA neonates is different from neonates with AGA. In this study, we intend to compare the mortality and  respiratory morbidity rates between the preterm small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for age (AGA) neonates of less than 34 weeks of gestation. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 498 preterm neonates with gestational age of < 34 weeks, admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. These neonates were categorized into two groups of SGA (n=210) and AGA (n=286). The data analysis was performed, using Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U test for parametric variables and Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests for nonparametric data. Results: According to the results of the study, the two groups were significantly different in terms of their birth weight (P<0.001), pregnancy-induced hypertension (P<0.001), and antenatal steroid usage (P=0.011). Furthermore, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was found to be more prevalent in the premature AGA neonates than the SGA ones (P=0.011). In addition, surfactant usage was significantly less in the SGA group (P=0.0006). Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) developed in 14% and 9% of the premature AGA and SGA neonates, respectively (P=0.094). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the mortality rate, intra-ventricular hemorrhage, and necrotizing enterocolitis. Among the survived neonates, mean length of hospital stay was significantly higher in the premature SGA newborns born within 26-36 weeks of gestation than their AGA counterparts. Conclusion: As the findings of the current study demonstrated, the mortality rate was similar in the SGA and AGA groups; however, the respiratory morbidities such as RDS and BPD were more prevalent in the AGA neonates.


Lichens are classified into different functional groups depending on their ecological and physiological response to a given environmental stressor. However, knowledge on lichen response to the synergistic effect of multiple environmental factors is extremely scarce, although vital to get a comprehensive understanding of the effects of global change. We exposed six lichen species belonging to different functional groups to the combined effects of two nitrogen (N) doses and direct sunlight involving both high temperatures and ultraviolet (UV) radiation for 58 days. Irrespective of their functional group, all species showed a homogenous response to N with cumulative, detrimental effects and an inability to recover following sunlight, UV exposure. Moreover, solar radiation made a tolerant species more prone to N pollution's effects. Our results draw attention to the combined effects of global change and other environmental drivers on canopy defoliation and tree death, with consequences for the protection of ecosystems.


Abstract The objective of the paper is to identify predictive models in stock market prediction focusing on a scenario of the emerging markets. An exploratory analysis and conceptual modelling based on the extant literature during 1933 to 2020 have been used in the study. The databases of Web of Science, Scopus, and JSTOR ensure the reliability of the literature. Bibliometrics and scientometric techniques have been applied to the retrieved articles to create a conceptual framework by mapping interlinks and limitations in past studies. Focus of research is hybrid models that integrate big data, social media, and real-time streaming data. Key finding is that actual phenomena affecting stock market sectors are diverse and, hence, limited in generalization. The future research must focus on models empirically validated within the emerging markets. Such an approach will offer an insight to analysts and researchers, policymakers or regulators.


Van der Woude syndrome is the most common form of syndromic orofacial clefting, accounting for 1–2% of all patients with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes are caused by mutations in IRF6, but phenotypic variability within and among families with either syndrome suggests that other genetic factors contribute to the phenotypes. The aim of this study was to identify common variants acting as genetic modifiers of IRF6 as well as genotype–phenotype correlations based on mutation type and location. We identified an association between mutations in the DNA‐binding domain of IRF6 and limb defects (including pterygia). Although we did not detect formally significant associations with the genes tested, borderline associations suggest several genes that could modify the VWS phenotype, including FOXE1, TGFB3, and TFAP2A. Some of these genes are hypothesized to be part of the IRF6 gene regulatory network and may suggest additional genes for future study when larger sample sizes are also available. We also show that families with the Van de Woude phenotype but in whom no mutations have been identified have a lower frequency of cleft lip, suggesting there may be locus and/or mutation class differences in Van de Woude syndrome. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Hepatic phosphorus‐31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) was undertaken in 85 patients with histoloically proven cirrhosis of varying etiologies and functional severity. Reference data were acquired from 16 healthy volunteers who had no history or evidence of liver disease or alcohol abuse. In vivo hepatic 31P MR spectra were acquired with pulse angle 45° and repetition times (TR) of 5 and 0.5 seconds. Peak area ratios of phosphomonoesters (PME), inorganic phosphate (Pi), and phosphodiesters (PDE) relative to βATP, and of PME relative to PDE were calculated from spectra acquired at TR 5 seconds. Estimates of saturation effects for individual resonances were obtained by dividing the peak height at TR 5 seconds by that at TR 0.5 seconds to yield a T1‐related singnal height ratio (SHR). When compared with reference values, the patients with liver disease showed a significantly higher PME/ATP (P < .0001), PME/PDE (P < .0001), PME SHR (P < .001), and Pi SHR (P < .02) and a lower PDE/ATP (P < .001) and PDE SHR (P < .001). The magnitude of these changes increased significantly and progressively with increasing functional impairment. In patients with compensated cirrhosis spectral appearances varied with etiology; thus, patients with postviral cirrhosis showed a significantly higher Pi/ATP; those with alcoholic cirrhosis, a significantly lower PDE/ATP; and those with cirrhosis secondary to primary sclerosing cholangitis, a significantly lower Pi/ATP than the healthy volunteers or other etiological groups. However, spectral appearances did not vary with etiology in patients with decompensated disease. In vitro 31P MRS of perchloric extracts of samples of liver tissue obtained from 10 patients with cirrhosis at transplant hepatectomy showed increases in levels of the soluble PME metabolites, phosphorylcholine and phosphorylethanolamine, and reductions in the levels of the soluble PDE metabolites, glycerophosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylethanlamine. These changes suggest regenerative activity in cirrhotic livers. The increases in soluble phosphomonoesters in the aqueous extracts accounted for the increased PME/ATP ratio seen in the in vivo spectra, and might account for the increase in PME SHR. The reduction in soluble phosphodiesters in the aqueous extracts did not entirely account for the reduction PDE/ATP ratio seen in vivo. This change in the PDE resonance in hepatic in vivo spectra may also be partly due to reduced contribution to this peak from hepatic endoplasmic reticulum, resulting from replacement of hepatocytes by fibrous tissue. Hepatic 31P MRS provides insights into the pathophysiology of liver injury and may contribute to the assessment of hepatic functional state. (HEPATOLOGY 1995;21:417–427.)


Abstract. Retrievals of total column NO2 (TCNO2) are compared for 14 sites
from the Ozone Measuring Instrument (OMI using OMNO2-NASA v3.1) on the AURA
satellite and from multiple ground-based PANDORA spectrometer instruments
making direct-sun measurements. While OMI accurately provides the daily
global distribution of retrieved TCNO2, OMI almost always
underestimates the local amount of TCNO2 by 50 % to 100 % in polluted
areas, while occasionally the daily OMI value exceeds that measured by
PANDORA at very clean sites. Compared to local ground-based or aircraft
measurements, OMI cannot resolve spatially variable TCNO2 pollution
within a city or urban areas, which makes it less suitable for air quality
assessments related to human health. In addition to systematic
underestimates in polluted areas, OMI's selected 13:30 Equator crossing time
polar orbit causes it to miss the frequently much higher values of
TCNO2 that occur before or after the OMI overpass time. Six discussed
Northern Hemisphere PANDORA sites have multi-year data records (Busan,
Seoul, Washington DC, Waterflow, New Mexico, Boulder, Colorado, and Mauna Loa),
and one site in the Southern Hemisphere (Buenos Aires, Argentina). The first
four of these sites and Buenos Aires frequently have high TCNO2
(TCNO2 > 0.5 DU). Eight additional sites have shorter-term
data records in the US and South Korea. One of these is a 1-year data
record from a highly polluted site at City College in New York City with
pollution levels comparable to Seoul, South Korea. OMI-estimated air mass
factor, surface reflectivity, and the OMI 24 km × 13 km FOV (field of view)
are three factors that can cause OMI to underestimate TCNO2. Because of
the local inhomogeneity of NOx emissions, the large OMI FOV is the most
likely factor for consistent underestimates when comparing OMI TCNO2 to
retrievals from the small PANDORA effective FOV (measured in m2)
calculated from the solar diameter of 0.5∘.


By most estimates, as much as 90 percent of the archaeology done in the United States today is carried out in the field of cultural resource management. The effects of this work on the archaeological record, the archaeological profession, and the heritage of the American people would be difficult to overemphasize. CRM archaeology affects a wide range of federally funded or authorized developments. It influences how archaeologists educate their students, work with indigenous people, and curate field records and artifacts. It has yielded an enormous wealth of data on which most recent advances in the understanding of North American archaeology depend. This is "public" archaeology in the clearest sense of the word: it is done because of federal law and policy, and it is funded directly or indirectly by the public. The contributors hope that this book will serve as an impetus in American archaeology for dialogue and debate on how to make CRM projects and programs yield both better archaeology and better public policy.


Scanning-tunneling microscope induced luminescence at low temperature has been used to study the carrier injection into single self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots. Electrons are injected from the tip into the dots, which are located in the intrinsic region of a p-i-n junction, and contain excess holes under typical operational conditions. Only a fraction (∼4%) of the dots is found to be optically active under local electrical excitation. Spatial dependent measurements indicate a highly nonhomogeneous electron diffusion towards the dots. By analyzing the spatial dependence of individual peaks in the measured spectra, the contributions of individual dots to the total, multidot spectrum can be disentangled.


Terror has become a global issue. Terror acts perpetuated by religious, nationalist or political groups around the globe can propagate distress rapidly through different channels and possibly change political attitudes. This paper suggests the first evaluation of the impact of global terror on human welfare. We combine panel datasets for Australia, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Individual well-being information for 750,000 individual x year observations, recorded on precise dates, is matched with daily information on the 70,000 terror events that took place worldwide during 1994–2013. High-frequency data and quasi-random terror shocks of varying intensity provide the conditions for robust inference, while external validity is guaranteed by the use of large representative samples. We find a significantly negative effect of global terror on well-being, with a money-metric cost of around 6%–17% of national income. Among diffusion channels, stock markets and economic anticipations play a minimal role, while traditional media filter the most salient events. The effect is greatly modulated by the physical, genetic or cultural proximity to the terror regions/victims. For a subset of countries, we also show that global terror has significantly increased the intention to vote for conservative parties. Heterogeneity analyses point to the mediating effect of risk perception: individuals who exhibit stronger emotional responses to terror – possibly more exposed to potential threats – are also more likely to experience a conservative shift.


Titanium dioxide is a very useful photocatalyst for the decomposition and diminution of environmental water and air pollutants. In such applications, it can be used as slurry or as immobilized coating obtained by different deposition methods. The studies performed in the last years showed that thermal spraying could be employed to elaborate TiO2 coatings with high performance for the decomposition of organic compounds. This manuscript presents a comparative study on the microstructure and photocatalytic performance of titania coatings obtained by different thermal spray techniques: atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), suspension plasma spraying (SPS), and high-velocity oxygen fuel spray process (HVOF). Different titania powders and suspensions were used to study the influence of the feedstock materials on the coating characteristics. The deposits were mainly characterised by SEM and X-ray diffraction. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated from the removal of nitrogen oxides. The experimental results showed that a drastic reduction of the pollutant concentration was obtained in presence of coatings elaborated by suspension plasma spraying. TiO2 coatings resulting from the spraying of agglomerated powder presentd less efficiency. That was mainly explained by the significant phase transformation from anatase to rutile that occurred in the enthalpic source during the spray processes.


THE CLINICAL significance of acute and chronic thrombocytopenic purpura has been well understood for many years. The simultaneous occurrence of such a condition during the immediate postoperative period presents additional problems which require prompt recognition and careful treatment. Our recent experience with seven such cases has focused our attention on this particular problem. The function of the platelets in circulating blood was recognized and described by Bizzozero in 1882. He demonstrated their adhesive qualities, participation in thrombi, and the role in the coagulation of blood. The actual origin of these platelets has been the subject of much speculation, but Wright in 1906 suggested that they were formed in the bone marrow from megakaryocytes. He concluded that the platelets represented detached bits of cytoplasm of the megakaryocytes. 9 There are roughly 100,000 of these platelets formed and destroyed each day, and the entire number in the circulating plasma can be replaced


This article demonstrates points of discontinuity in the views on the identity of the original language of mankind in the 18th century, such as they are manifested in the seminal Dutch Orientalist Albert Schultens (1686-1750). In dealing with the question of the identity of the primordial language, Schultens developed a concept of a Semitic proto-language (although not coining the term Semitic), of which Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic were conceived as dialects. His guiding idea was that Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic are separate continuations of the original primaeval language spoken before the Flood. In his metalinguistic imagery these dialects are termed "offshoots and branches of the antediluvian tree trunk" and he underlines that Arabic best retains the characteristics of the antediluvian tongue. These ground-breaking ideas were elaborated in polemics with contemporary biblical philology, which attributed a unique position to Hebrew in claiming its identity with the primaeval language and disclaiming its need of a comparative method (Jac. Gousset). In modern historiography, Schultens' historical-linguistic ideas have never been traced out thoroughly, despite being clearly attested in his extant writings. This article elucidates Schultens' theoretical and metalinguistic innovations and his role in achieving a discursive turning point and explores what crises in scholarship his ideas answered and met.


MATERIALS SCIENCE
For many of their potential applications, carbon nanotubes will need to be grown defect-free and in high yield, and, if possible, regular architectures should be obtainable directly rather than through postsynthetic trimming. Franklin and Dai have now fabricated extensive networks of highly oriented, single-wall carbon nanotubes suspended on silicon towers. The authors use an enhanced chemical vapor deposition method involving a "conditioning" step in which bulk amounts of catalyst are placed upstream of the silicon towers, whose tops also expose the catalyst. The conditioning step appears to convert some methane into more reactive benzene and enhances the yield and the lengths of the nanotubes, which grow up to 150 micrometers. Most of the nanotubes bridged adjacent towers, but some extended over several silicon towers. This geometry is attributed to the differences in methane flow between the top and bottom surfaces that serves to "float" nascent nanotubes until they can attach to another tower. Electrical measurements will show whether the suspended nanotubes form a continuous, conducting network. – JU

Adv. Mater. 12 , 890 (2000).


BACKGROUND
Studies have documented AKI with high-grade proteinuria in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In some patients, biopsies have revealed collapsing glomerulopathy, a distinct form of glomerular injury that has been associated with other viruses, including HIV. Previous patient reports have described patients of African ancestry who developed nephrotic-range proteinuria and AKI early in the course of disease.

METHODS
In this patient series, we identified six patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), AKI, and nephrotic-range proteinuria. COVID-19 was diagnosed by a positive nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We examined biopsy specimens from one transplanted kidney and five native kidneys. Three of the six patients underwent genetic analysis of APOL1, the gene encoding the APOL1 protein, from DNA extracted from peripheral blood. In addition, we purified genomic DNA from paraffin-embedded tissue and performed APOL1 genotype analysis of one of the native biopsies and the donor kidney graft.

RESULTS
All six patients were of recent African ancestry. They developed COVID-19-associated AKI with podocytopathy, collapsing glomerulopathy, or both. Patients exhibited generally mild respiratory symptoms, and no patient required ventilator support. Genetic testing performed in three patients confirmed high-risk APOL1 genotypes. One APOL1 high-risk patient developed collapsing glomerulopathy in the engrafted kidney, which was transplanted from a donor who carried a low-risk APOL1 genotype; this contradicts current models of APOL1-mediated kidney injury, and suggests that intrinsic renal expression of APOL1 may not be the driver of nephrotoxicity and specifically, of podocyte injury.

CONCLUSIONS
Glomerular disease presenting as proteinuria with or without AKI is an important presentation of COVID-19 infection and may be associated with a high-risk APOL1 genotype.


The research reported in this thesis addresses a patient's information requirements when searching the Internet for health information. A patient's lack of information about his/her health condition and its care is officially acknowledged and traditional patient information sources do not address today's patient information needs. Internet health information resources have become the foremost health information platform. However, patient Internet searching is currently manual, uncustomised and hindered by health information vocabulary and quality challenges. Patient access to quality Internet health information is currently ensured through national health gateways, medical search engines, third-party accredited search engines and charity health websites. However, such resources are generic, i.e. do not cater for a patient particular information needs. In this study, we propose personalising patient Internet searching by enabling a patient's access to their Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) and using this EPR data in Internet information searching. The feasibility of patient access to EPRs has recently been promoted by national health information programmes. Very recently, in the literature, there are reports about pilot studies on personal Health Record (PHR) systems that offer a patient online access to their medical records and related health information. However, the extensive literature searching shows no reports about patient-personalised search engines, within the reported PHR prototypes, that utilise a patient's own data to personalise the search features for a patient especially with regard to health information vocabulary needs. The thesis presents a novel approach to personalising patient information searching based on linking EPR data with relevant Internet Information resources, integrating medical and lay perspectives in a diagnosis vocabulary that distinguishes between medical and lay information needs, and accommodating a variable perspective on online information quality. To demonstrate our research work, we have implemented a prototype online patient personal health information system, known as the Patient Health Base (PHB) that offers a patient a Summary Medical Record (SMR) and a Personal Internet Search (PerlS) service. PerlS addresses patient Internet search challenges identified in the project. Evaluation of PerlS's approach to improving a patient's medical Internet searching demonstrated improvements in terms of search capabilities, focusing techniques and results. This research explored a new direction for patient Internet searching and foresees a great potential for further customising Internet information searching for patients, families and the public as a whole.


Background Buruli ulcer (BU) caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans is the world's third most common mycobacterial infection. There is no vaccine against BU and surgery is needed for patients with large ulcers. Although recent experience indicates combination chemotherapy with streptomycin and rifampin improves cure rates, the utility of this regimen is limited by the 2-month duration of therapy, potential toxicity and required parenteral administration of streptomycin, and drug-drug interactions caused by rifampin. Discovery and development of drugs for BU is greatly hampered by the slow growth rate of M. ulcerans, requiring up to 3 months of incubation on solid media to produce colonies. Surrogate markers for evaluating antimicrobial activity in real-time which can be measured serially and non-invasively in infected footpads of live mice would accelerate pre-clinical evaluation of new drugs to treat BU. Previously, we developed bioluminescent M. ulcerans strains, demonstrating proof of concept for measuring luminescence as a surrogate marker for viable M. ulcerans in vitro and in vivo. However, the requirement of exogenous substrate limited the utility of such strains, especially for in vivo experiments. Methodology/Principal Finding For this study, we engineered M. ulcerans strains that express the entire luxCDABE operon and therefore are autoluminescent due to endogenous substrate production. The selected reporter strain displayed a growth rate and virulence similar to the wild-type parent strain and enabled rapid, real-time monitoring of in vitro and in vivo drug activity, including serial, non-invasive assessments in live mice, producing results which correlated closely with colony-forming unit (CFU) counts for a panel of drugs with various mechanisms of action. Conclusions/Significance Our results indicate that autoluminescent reporter strains of M. ulcerans are exceptional tools for pre-clinical evaluation of new drugs to treat BU due to their potential to drastically reduce the time, effort, animals, compound, and costs required to evaluate drug activity.


While institutional analyses have convincingly demonstrated the association between institutional environments and the rise of due-process structures in the workplace, they have been less clear on the extent to which institutional environments and due-process structures actually matter for worker outcomes in organizations. Through an analysis of CEOs in a national sample of U.S. organizations, this article contributes to institutional research in two ways: First, we examine the actual implications of institutional environments and due-process structures for equality of opportunity for women in the workplace, focusing on the likelihood that an organization will have a female CEO. Second, whereas institutional analyses have often relied on the presence of time-period effects to draw inferences about unmeasured characteristics of institutional environments, we measure characteristics of the institutional environment directly at the state and federal levels. Results show that specific aspects of the institutional environment in which an organization is situated, as well as the structure of an organization's internal labor market, are significant predictors of whether an


Context. Polarimetric imaging is one of the most effective techniques for high-contrast imaging and for the characterization of protoplanetary disks, and it has the potential of becoming instrumental in the characterization of exoplanets. The Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument installed on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) contains the InfraRed Dual-band Imager and Spectrograph (IRDIS) with a dual-beam polarimetric imaging (DPI) mode, which offers the capability of obtaining linear polarization images at high contrast and resolution.
Aims. We aim to provide an overview of the polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS and study its optical design to improve observing strategies and data reduction.
Methods. For H-band observations of TW Hydrae, we compared two data reduction methods that correct for instrumental polarization effects in different ways: a minimization of the "noise" image (Uϕ), and a correction method based on a polarimetric model that we have developed, as presented in Paper II of this study.
Results. We use observations of TW Hydrae to illustrate the data reduction. In the images of the protoplanetary disk around this star, we detect variability in the polarized intensity and angle of linear polarization that depend on the pointing-dependent instrument configuration. We explain these variations as instrumental polarization effects and correct for these effects using our model-based correction method.
Conclusions. The polarimetric imaging mode of IRDIS has proven to be a very successful and productive high-contrast polarimetric imaging system. However, the instrument performance is strongly dependent on the specific instrument configuration. We suggest adjustments to future observing strategies to optimize polarimetric efficiency in field-tracking mode by avoiding unfavorable derotator angles. We recommend reducing on-sky data with the pipeline called IRDAP, which includes the model-based correction method (described in Paper II) to optimally account for the remaining telescope and instrumental polarization effects and to retrieve the true polarization state of the incident light.


This report is intended to provide an indepth trade area analysis of Bowman, North Dakota. Specific analyses included determining Bowman's main and greater trade areas, identifying the demographic profile of Bowman shoppers, examining important and less important services for patron shoppers of Bowman, identifying neighboring cities that area shoppers patronize, determining distances area shoppers traveled to Bowman, and listing popular newspapers and radio stations among area residents. Current trade area information for Bowman was obtained from a statewide trade area survey conducted by the Department of Agricultural Economics at North Dakota State University in 1989. Recent trends (1980 to 1989) in Bowman population, retail sales, per capita income, pull factors, and Bowman County population and employment were identified and discussed. Bowman's population, trade area population, retail sales, and pull factors along with Bowman County population and per capita income have all decreased throughout the 1980s. Although most demographic and economic measurements have decreased, Bowman has fared as well as other North Dakota cities with similar populations, and has fared favorably compared to smaller competing trade centers. The economic situation found in Bowman and Bowman County are typical of the economic and demographic problems found with southwestern North Dakota communities in the 1980s. Bowman's trade areas were broken down into main and greater trade areas. A main trade area (MTA) was defined as an area where the majority of township residents purchase a majority of selected goods and services in one city. A greater trade area (GTA) was defined as the area beyond the MTA where some township residents purchase some selected goods and services in one city. Bowman's MTA decreased in size by five townships, compared to MTA boundaries determined in 1971. The typical household for survey respondents appears to be a middle-aged married couple, who have completed high school, have few children at home, primarily are employed in agriculture and professional/technical professions, and have resided in the area a large portion of their lives. Main trade area residents traveled an average of 18.2 and 18.1 miles to Bowman to purchase selected convenience and specialty goods and services, respectively. Nearly half (44.8 percent) of the respondents who purchased 50 percent or more of convenience and specialty goods in Bowman traveled over 21 miles to purchase the item. Bowman appears to be an important provider for most goods and services for MTA residents purchasing items in Bowman; however, Bowman could capture more of the available market for clothing items and electronic goods. Dickinson, Scranton, Bismarck, Rhame, and Hettinger were the most popular cities for the purchase of nonagricultural goods and services by Bowman MTA residents who did not purchase a majority of the good or service in Bowman. Scranton and Rhame were popular for purchasing agricultural goods and services. Catalog sales also appeared as a popular alternative to shopping in Bowman. Outshopping analysis revealed no substantial demographic or socioeconomic differences between Bowman MTA residents purchasing 50 percent or more and those purchasing less than 50 percent of selected goods and services in Bowman. Slight differences between groups were evident only in miles traveled and average income. The Bismarck Tribune and The Dickinson Press were the most popular daily newspapers for both Bowman MTA and GTA residents. Bowman County Pioneer and Adams County Record were the most popular weekly newspapers for Bowman MTA and GTA residents, respectively. The most popular radio stations for Bowman MTA residents included KPOK of Bowman, KNDC of Hettinger, KFLN of Baker, Montana, and KFYR of Bismarck. Although economic times have been difficult, Bowman appears to be doing a good job of retaining most of its past trade area and should remain an important trade center in southwestern North Dakota.


High concentrations of heavy metals are harmful to plants, animals and humans and their potential accumulation in human tissues and bio-magnification through the food chain cause serious health hazards. An experiment was conducted in the glasshouse to evaluate the potential of Dyera costulata as a bioaccumulator to absorb heavy metals from sewage sludge contaminated soils. D. costulata seedlings were planted in the following growth media: T 0 (control soil), T 1 (100% sludge), T 2 (80% sludge + 20% soil), T 3 (60% sludge + 40% soil), T 4 (40% sludge + 60% soil) and T 5 (20% sludge + 80% soil). T 4 showed the best growth performance in terms of height, basal diameter and number of leaves. The maximum reduction of Cd, Cr and Pb was found in the 100% sludge treatment. Zn, Cd, Ni and Cr were highly concentrated in the leaves, while Pb accumulated mainly in the stems. D. costulata showed high potential to retain high amounts of Zn, Ni and Cr in the leaves and Pb in the stems. The species had high translocation factor (TF) and low bioconcentration factor (BCF) values in the soil at higher metal concentrations as well as it was able to tolerate and accumulate high concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr and Pb. It means that, this species is a good accumulator of heavy metals and can be considered as a potential bioaccumulator species.


Abstract Iron deficiency in humans is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency worldwide. To screen for high Fe cultivar, genotypic variation in Fe concentration of barley grain was investigated in two collections of barley: 274 standard varieties selected at the Barley Germplasm Center of the Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University (SV) and 135 varieties from the Barley Core Collection of Americas (BCCAM). The Fe concentration of barley grain showed large variation, ranging from 24.6 to 63.3 mg kg−1 in SV, from 21.0 to 83.0 mg kg−1 in BCCAM barleys. The Fe concentration was not affected by the key characters of barley varieties, kernel row types, and hulled or hull-less. The Fe concentration was also not related to the place of origin of the barley variety. About 90% of total Fe was localized in the grain without hull. These results provide fundamental data for breeding Fe-rich cultivars and for studying the mechanisms involved in genotypic variation in Fe concentration.


ABSTRACT The essay is divided into approach and two parts plus a short summation. The approach poses the theme of nexus between communism and democracy as the only hope to oppose the present neo-fascist turn of capitalism. Part 1 discusses central political choices after the Yugoslav 1941–45 revolution, focusing on its popular revolutionary horizon as well as on disalienation of labour in workers' self-management, and sketching the history of their achievements and then reflux after the 1960s. The three available politico-economic horizons were a Soviet-style police state, "market socialism," and a fully associational plebeian democracy. Choosing the second solution meant, in the absence of central planning, a slide towards a market without democratic control and swayed by international centres of financial capital plus the six or seven regional centres of power in the "federal republics," inevitably turning to nationalism. This led to economic and state disaster. Part 2 discusses plebeian democracy in a participatory mode, foregrounding the need for open politics in post-revolutionary societies and what might a real "civil society" be (Gramsci). The conclusion is not only that Marx's horizon of communism can only be radical plebeian democracy, but also that only communism can be radical plebeian democracy.


To contain risks and increase the profitability of innovation efforts, firms frequently engage in joint innovation activities with external sources of knowledge, like design consultancies. Innovation literature has given limited consideration to the strategic role that design consultancies can play in the innovation efforts of their clients. A plausible explanation reside in the difficulty to assess and quantify the quality of their output, given the intangibility of the output itself and the difficulty of connecting a knowledge-intensive output to clients' performance indicators. By analysing the data from 7 dyadic case studies, we examine design consultancies' impact on their clients' strategic decision-making as a way of capturing their strategic role in clients' innovation efforts. We conclude that design consultancies can influence clients' strategic decisions by enhancing the two main strategic decision-making mechanisms identified by the literature – rationality and intuition. Design consultancies' impact on strategic decision-making is then transferred to some indicators of innovation performance. Early involvement in problem definition and long term relationships with clients seem to strengthen design professionals' influence.


Unsteady flow over a stationary sphere with small fluctuations in the free-stream velocity is considered at finite Reynolds number using a finite-difference method. The dependence of the unsteady drag on the frequency of the fluctuations is examined at various Reynolds numbers. It is found that the classical Stokes solution of the unsteady Stokes equation does not correctly describe the behaviour of the unsteady drag at low frequency. Numerical results indicate that the force increases linearly with frequency when the frequency is very small instead of increasing linearly with the square root of the frequency as the classical Stokes solution predicts. This implies that the force has a much shorter memory in the time domain. The incorrect behaviour of the Basset force at large times may explain the unphysical results found by Reeks & Mckee (1984) wherein for a particle introduced to a turbulent flow the initial velocity difference between the particle and fluid has a finite contribution to the long-time particle diffusivity. The added mass component of the force at finite Reynolds number is found to be the same as predicted by creeping flow and potential theories. Effects of Reynolds number on the unsteady drag due to the fluctuating free-stream velocity are presented. The implications for particle motion in turbulence are discussed.


BACKGROUND
Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) combines a 30-year-old established lamellar keratectomy procedure with the precision of the photoablating excimer laser. This procedure is used to reduce moderate myopia and astigmatism.

METHODS
LASIK was performed on 130 eyes and the visual outcome was evaluated.

RESULTS
A total of 63 male eyes and 67 female eyes (mean age, 36 years: range, 19 to 57 years) were evaluated, for a total of 130 eyes. The mean preoperative spherical equivalent was -7.450 (range, -3.12 to -13.87 D). The mean preoperative cylinder was -1.15 DC (range, plano to -4.50 DC). For 130 eyes, after 1 month the mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -0.53 D (range, +2.00 to -4.62 D), and the mean postoperative cylinder was -0.33 DC (range, plano to -2.75 DC). For 82 eyes, after 3 months the mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -0.83 D (range, +1.00 to -4.67 D), and the mean postoperative cylinder was -0.41 DC (range, plano to -2.00 DC). For 49 eyes, after 6 months the mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -0.84 D (range, +1.00 to -8.25 D), and the mean postoperative cylinder was -0.43 DC (range, plano to -1.75 DC). For 20 eyes, the mean postoperative spherical equivalent after 12 months was -0.72 D (range, +0.50 to -2.50 D), and the mean postoperative cylinder was -0.53 DC (range, plano to -2.50 DC).

CONCLUSIONS
LASIK appears to be an effective treatment for the reduction of moderate-to-high myopia.


The asymmetric synthesis of 1,3-oxathiolan-5-one derivatives through an enzyme-catalyzed, dynamic covalent kinetic resolution strategy is presented. Dynamic hemithioacetal formation combined with intramolecular, lipase-catalyzed lactonization resulted in good conversions with moderate to good enantiomeric excess (ee) for the final products. The process was evaluated for different lipase preparations, solvents, bases, and reaction temperatures, where lipase B from Candida antarctica (CAL-B) proved most efficient. The substrate scope was furthermore explored for a range of aldehyde structures, together with the potential access to nucleoside analog inhibitor core structures. 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


Abstract While much of the literature concerning counterterrorism focuses on policies and strategies aimed at removing either the terrorist environment and/or the groups or individuals willing to utilize political violence to achieve their goal(s), there is a much smaller body of work concerned with antiterrorism, namely those defensive measures that are designed to prevent or deter terrorist attacks. Increasingly, crowded places have become popular targets for terrorists and the research presented in this article connects the planning, design, and development of real estate with respect to the adoption of protective counterterrorism measures. It seeks to develop new understandings of the considerations that real estate developments have toward terrorism, as well as the barriers that may inhibit counterterrorism protective security measures in future development projects. The analysis is based on qualitative research, namely semi-structured interviews conducted in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia with professionals involved in all core strands of the real estate development process. The findings suggest that considerations toward terrorism vary considerably as a consequence of a range of factors and that while expected factors such as cost and aesthetics are important determinants for decision making, a range of other barriers exist.


Abstract
This thesis explores ways in which non-normative representations of gender in contemporary photography (with a focus on amateur work displayed on the photo-sharing website Flickr) raise the issue of what gender is and whether an original exists. Using Judith Butler"s seminal ideas in Gender Trouble of gender as performatively constituted as a theoretical background, each chapter goes on to deal with a particular strategy and style of image that work towards subverting binary gender norms.
I begin with a discussion of new media technologies, in particular photo-sharing websites. I apply Donna Haraway"s cyborg metaphor to the interlinked nature of humans and these technologies with regards to their possible impact on the dissemination of images and thus on binary gender norms. Chapters two-five begin with providing an extended theoretical basis for understanding the images that are analysed in that chapter. The focus of chapter two is the gender attribution process, the "sex signs" and aspects of gender roles that are involved and how their visual manipulation can challenge gender norms. Chapter three introduces Genderqueer as a concept of non-binary gender and looks at the portrayal of ambiguous gender in the images analysed, while chapter five uses discussions of "other spaces" to conceptualise a queer time and space. Chapters two, three and five look at amateur photographic images that are displayed on the photo-sharing website Flickr. Chapter four, however, uses gender variant visual artist Del LaGrace Volcano"s images in the photo-book Femmes of Power to conceptualise femme as a subversive parody that queers and denaturalises femininity as essential to femaleness.
Its focus on amateur photography that is displayed on Flickr, the discussion of the potential of these new media technologies and the variety of theoretical strategies and image styles that are addressed give my thesis a unique approach to the visual portrayal of queer genders.


Purpose: Potential retinal adverse events after COVID-19 vaccinations reported previously include paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM), acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN), and central serous chorioretinopathy. We report four cases of branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO), one case of PAMM, and one case of AMN that occurred after administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Patients and Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of six patients who presented to Yame General Hospital or Oita University Hospital from July through October 2021. Results: Four patients (2 males) presented with visual field defects associated with BRAO, one male patient with PAMM, and one female patient with AMN after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The mean age was 59.3 years; the mean bestcorrected visual acuity was 20/21. The mean time from the last vaccination to the onset of visual field defect was 22.8 days. Five patients had received two doses of the vaccine and one patient one dose. Patients' medical history included diabetes mellitus in case 2, hypertension in cases 2, 3 and 6, and Alport syndrome and end-stage renal disease in case 6 for which the patient was undergoing regular hemodialysis. Conclusion: Although rare, retinal adverse events may occur after COVID-19 vaccinations. Further studies with a larger sample size should determine whether these retinal abnormalities are causally associated with COVID-19 vaccinations or just coincidental. Potential risks of BRAO/PAMM/AMN after COVID-19 vaccinations must be carefully weighed against the substantial benefit of COVID-19 vaccinations.


Thematic roles such as Agent and Instrument have a longstanding place in theories of event representation. Nonetheless, the structure of these categories has been difficult to determine. We investigated how instrumental events, such as someone slicing bread with a knife, are categorized in English. Speakers described a variety of typical and atypical instrumental events, and we determined the similarity structure of their descriptions using correspondence analysis. We found that events where the instrument is an extension of an intentional agent were most likely to elicit similar language, highlighting the importance of agency in structuring instrumental categories.


AbstractThe hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic atmospheric solvers within the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) are tested using an extension of Jablonowski and Williamson baroclinic wave test case that includes moisture. This study uses the dry test case to verify the correctness of the solver formulation and coding by comparing results from the two different MPAS solvers and from the global version of the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting Model (ARW-WRF). A normal mode initialization is used in the Jablonowski and Williamson test, and the most unstable mode is found to be wavenumber 9. The three solvers produce very similar normal mode structures and nonlinear baroclinic wave evolutions. Solutions produced using MPAS variable-resolution meshes are quite similar to the results from the quasi-uniform mesh with equivalent resolution. Importantly, the small-scale flow features are better resolved in the fine-resolution region and there is no apparent wave distortion in the fine-to-coars...


Abstract Between mid-July and early August, an unusual mass mortality of cetaceans was detected on the Turkish Western Black Sea coast. 114 cetaceans (53 harbour porpoises, 9 common dolphins, 7 bottlenose dolphins, 45 unidentified) were reported dead and nine common dolphins stranded alive, 6 of which were returned to the sea. Only two freshly dead common dolphins were subjected to a complete necropsy, sampling and tissue analysis. Tissue samples from brain, lung, spleen, liver, kidney, muscle and testis were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin. Histological analysis was conducted and immunohistochemical technique to detect morbillivirus antigen was applied. RNA and cDNA samples were examined for dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) detect by reversetranscription–PCR (RT-PCR) and conventional PCR. Main histopathological lesions were multifocal non-purulent meningitis, severe diffuse alveolar oedema in lung samples, multifocal periportal macrovacuolar hepatic steatosis, interstitial and tubulardegeneration with protein casts and calcifications in renal medulla. No evidence for DMV infection was analytically found in both dolphins, and the cause of this unusual mortality is still uncertain.


Guidance and counseling in Argentina are professional practices valued and accepted by a large quantity of persons, specially by the middle classes. It began as recognized work as early as the beginning of the century, and since then, like any other social endeavours, has changed in many ways, since it has renewed its practices and intervention techniques. This and others factors have improved the social and political recognition of counseling. This article tries to bring out the most important landmarks in the history of Guidance and Vocational Counseling in Argentina, and the relevance of the work achieved by the Argentine Association – APORA, for the development of counseling practices in the whole country. Nowadays many social and cultural factors and historical conditionings make it necessary to think over the intercrossing of the social and political factors in the context of counseling but also taking care of personal and subjective factors. Globalization and the opening of national limits and frontiers for commerce and cultural interchange are only one side of the question, because they do not take into account the reality lived in many marginal countries. Because of economic policies , the market has become the most important factor, but it tends to clearly exclude the structurally poor. There is a knowledge society one side and in the other side huge sectors of population that cannot received education and training. The increase in technology and digitalization, the unemployment, and the social and psychological pathology derived from the crisis, make it necessary to find new and creative answers for the needs of adults and young persons, that are searching for a place in the world Lastly, we find that it is our responsibility to give some response to all new demands, with creativity, solid technical knowledge and a a wide transdisciplinary focus. We also want to stress the important of developing a rich interchange with all our Mercosur colleagues, since we are bound not only by origins as nations, but specially by our crude socioeconomic reality, that shows many urgent needs for our young. We stress our professional commitment searching for positive changes towards a more just and solidary society.


BACKGROUND: Non-specific Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common cause of musculoskeletal disorder related to work status and condition. The objective of this study was to determine frequency of low back pain among health care professionals of Rehman Medical Institute Peshawar.
METHODOLOGY: A total of 150 subjects were selected, including 118 males and 32 females. Diagnosis was made after initial assessment by a physical therapist, pain was recorded on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and disability was recorded on the self-reported questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.
RESULTS: Majority (72.2%) of participants in current study were in age group 21 to 30 years. (Table 1) Majority (78.7%) of participants were male while 21.3% were female. 73 patients (48.7%) were having backache history of 2 years whereas, 18 (12%) subjects reported backache history of 5 years and 10 6.7%  subjects having backache history of 10 years. Remaining 49 subjects (32.7%) were not having any back pain complaint. About 18.7% of the patients reported minimum pain intensity, 35.5% with mild pain intensity, 11.3% with moderate pain intensity and 2% of patients with severe pain intensity and 32.7% reported no pain at all. Majority (82%) subjects showed mild disability with the disability score below 57, 15.3% showed moderate disability with the score of 71 and 2.7% of the subjects showed severe disability with the disability score of 85.
CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded from the above findings that the nonspecific low back pain is common among age group 21 to 30 with specifically male being more affected. Greater number of Patients was observed having backache history of two years. Work load and posture related complications are associated with worsening of low back pain and disability among young adult subjects.


This article focuses on the symbolic role of Greece's geography in its development as a nation. L'Archipel en feu follows the rugged coasts of disseminated islands, in search of national unity. This rarely-discussed novel should not be read only as a simple tale of piracy, but also as another vernian investigation of a geological unconscious, so to speak: in this case, the sunken continent that connects all the islands and unifies them.


Training large-scale image recognition models is computationally expensive. This raises the question of whether there might be simple ways to improve the test performance of an already trained model without having to re-train or fine-tune it with new data. Here, we show that, surprisingly, this is indeed possible. The key observation we make is that the layers of a deep network close to the output layer contain independent, easily extractable class-relevant information that is not contained in the output layer itself. We propose to extract this extra class-relevant information using a simple key-value cache memory to improve the classification performance of the model at test time. Our cache memory is directly inspired by a similar cache model previously proposed for language modeling (Grave et al., 2017). This cache component does not require any training or fine-tuning; it can be applied to any pre-trained model and, by properly setting only two hyper-parameters, leads to significant improvements in its classification performance. Improvements are observed across several architectures and datasets. In the cache component, using features extracted from layers close to the output (but not from the output layer itself) as keys leads to the largest improvements. Concatenating features from multiple layers to form keys can further improve performance over using single-layer features as keys. The cache component also has a regularizing effect, a simple consequence of which is that it substantially increases the robustness of models against adversarial attacks.


Background Single-drug regimens (SDR) with ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PI) could potentially be a regimen simplification to avoid nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) toxicities in patients carrying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who fulfil several requirements: virological suppression, high level of medicines adherence, no previous IP virological failure and high CD4 count (>100 cell/mcL). Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SDR with ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (Lp/r) and ritonavir-boosted darunavir (Dr/r) in HIV-positive patients pre-treated with three-drug regimens (TDRs) including an NRTI. Material and methods Retrospective observational study of HIV-positive patients with treatment switches from TDR to SDR in a second-level hospital. Data were collected from the Farmatools-Dominion program and medical records. Variables included: sex, age, duration of previous TDR, plasma viral load (PVL) pre- and post-treatment switching, virological failure with PIs, CD4 cell count before switching and months of SDR to date (June'11–September'14). Results Twenty-two patients were identified, 9 treated with Lp/r (5 men) and 13 with Dr/r (all men). Mean age at the time of the study: 48 + 6 years. 4 patients (2 with Lp/r and 2 with Dr/r) were co-infected with Hepatitis C virus and all subjects had been treated with TDR for a minimum of 12 months prior to treatment change. In all subjects basal PVL was undetected for at least 6 months before switching and remained undetectable during the entire study. One exception was a single patient with confirmed viral rebound which led to treatment re-intensification with two NRTIs included in the previous TDR. No patients presented virological failure with the previous PI and the median CD4 counts at treatment switch were normal (825 ± 583 cell/mcL). All subjects were treated with SDR for a median period of 22 months and both adherence and tolerance were considered successful before and after switching. Conclusion SDR with a ritonavir-boosted PI might be an alternative as effective as traditional combinations. It involves a clear benefit for HIV-positive patients because it simplifies treatment with minor toxicity and a small number of interactions. References and/or acknowledgements No conflict of interest.


The year 2016 was pivotal in the history of the "soda wars" – the politically divisive conflict between soda as a joy of life or as a uniquely harmful food. This past year, the soft beverage industry lost its battle against soda taxes. At the beginning of 2016, only 121,000 Americans, residents of Berkeley, California, paid public health based taxes on sugary drinks. Throughout the year, six cities and counties followed suit, and when these new measures take effect, that number is predicted to grow to more than 8.3 million nationally. Evidence from early adopters shows great promise. Mexico's 1-peso-per-liter tax produced a 6% average decline in purchases during its first year, reaching 12% by December. In Berkeley, California, consumption of sugary beverages in low-income neighborhoods decreased by 21%.
Soda taxes are an innovative method of reducing consumption of added sugars, which increase risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases. Taxes aim to discourage consumption of sugary drinks by raising prices, and offer the dual benefit of generating revenue, which can be used to fund other public health and community programs. Not surprisingly, "Big Soda" has unleashed well-coordinated, heavily resourced opposition campaigns against soda taxes, including lobbying and litigation. The successes of 2016 show that local governments can overcome industry opposition and provide leadership and innovation in tackling rising rates of obesity and noncommunicable diseases. Now, faced with an administration that has offered few (if any) reasons to be optimistic about disease prevention and health promotion at the federal level, local leaders and public health advocates should consider soda taxes as a key pillar of obesity prevention.


Human pancreatic ribonuclease 1 (RNase 1) is considered to be the human counterpart of bovine pancreatic RNase A. Truncation of seven amino-acid residues from the amino-terminal sequence resulted in RNase 1ΔN7, which has a reduced ribonucleolytic activity and a lower affinity for the human placental RNase inhibitor (PRI). This RNase 1 variant has been cloned, heterologously overexpressed, purified and crystallized. Its crystal structure has been determined and refined using data to 1.9 A resolution. The molecule displays the α + β folding topology typical of members of the RNase A superfamily. The main distinct features found in RNase 1ΔN7 are basically located in three loops affecting the fitting of the enzyme to the active site of subtilisin and the shape of the B2 subsite. These changes, taken with the lack of the catalytically active residue Lys7, may explain the reduced affinity of RNase 1ΔN7 for PRI and the low ribonucleolytic activity of the protein when compared with the native enzyme.


OBJECTIVE
The purposes of our study were to: (1) assess if changes in the volemic status of children and adolescents over the course of standard dialysis could be observed using bioelectric impedance (BIA); and (2) evaluate whether the variability of blood pressure (systolic blood pressure, SBP; diastolic blood pressure, DBP) and heart rate (HR) could be explained by independent variables from BIA data.

DESIGN
We used a randomized, single-blinded treatment and repeated-measures design.

SETTING
This study took place at the DaVita Children's Dialysis Center (Chicago, IL).

PATIENTS
There were 7 subjects, aged 10 to 16 years.

INTERVENTION
Two identical standard hemodialysis (HD) sessions were completed, with data collected five times during each HD session: pre-HD, intra-HD (hours 1, 2, and 3), and post-HD. Endpoints included total body water (TBW), resistance (R), reactance (Xc), bioimpedance vector |Z|, supine and sitting SBP, DBP, and HR. Standing SBP, DBP, and HR were collected pre-HD and post-HD.

RESULTS
No differences were observed in TBW between HD sessions for all subjects. However, TBW decreased throughout the HD sessions for all subjects (although no significant differences were seen between hour 3 and post-HD). Reactance (representative of extracellular water) correlated with supine, sitting, and standing SBP (r = 0.55, 0.59, and 0.51, respectively; P < or = .008). The bioimpedance vector increased beginning at hour 1 (P < .001), reflective of a decline in tissue hydration over the course of HD.

CONCLUSIONS
Weight gain in end-stage kidney disease patients is largely fluid. Thus, the use of BIA during HD may aid in the prediction of cardiovascular instability before the development of symptoms, because intravascular hypovolemia and hypotension can result from excessive ultrafiltration below the critical dry weight. In addition, BIA explains, in part, the variability of SBP, DBP, and HR during HD. We suggest that our data also demonstrates the delay in mobilization of fluid from the interstitial space for plasma refill, as evidenced by the delayed change in |Z| over HD. Bioelectric impedance is useful for explaining changes in volemic status and, in part, the variability of SBP, DBP, and HR during HD.


Phase relations have been determined for the system Cu-Sb-As-S between 350 degrees C and 500 degrees C. A new compound, Cu 4 (As,Sb) 2 S 5 , the only quaternary phase synthesized in this study, has not yet been reported as a mineral. It is not stable in either the Cu-Sb-S or Cu-As-S ternary system yet is ideally a ternary compound because Sb and As replace each other freely by solid solution. The compound ranges in composition from Cu 4 (Sb (sub 0.26) As (sub 0.74) ) 2 S 5 to Cu 4 (Sb (sub 0.55) As (sub 0.45) ) 2 S 5 . The d values (A) and intensities of the four strongest X-ray diffraction lines are 2.99(10), 2.59(4), 1.83(8), and 1.56(7) for the composition Cu 4 (Sb (sub 0.391) As (sub 0.609) ) 2 S 5 . The X-ray pattern resembles that of tennantite in its strongest lines. Because the phase is demonstrably stable down to 350 degrees C, and is apparently stable to even lower temperatures, it is probable that it will be discovered as a mineral.Phase relations are controlled by extensive substitutions of As for Sb in phases that appear on the ternary faces Cu-Sb-S and Cu-As-S. The important compounds are enargite, Cu 3 (As,Sb)S 4 ; famatinite, Cu 3 (Sb,As)S 4 ; luzonite Cu 3 (As,Sb)S 4 ; chalcostibite, Cu(Sb,As)S 2 ; high-skinnerite, Cu 3 (Sb,As)S 3 ; compound A, Cu 24 (As,Sb) 12 S 31 ; and the solid solution series tennantite-tetrahedrite, Cu (sub 12+X) (As,Sb) (sub 4+Y) S 13 . The composition volume for tennantite-tetrahedrite is complex and continuous from the pure As to the pure Sb end-member compositions. Compositions in the quaternary are always less sulfur rich than the ideal formula Cu 12 (As,Sb) 4 S 13 .Besides extensive substitution of As for Sb, the dominant controls on phase relations are (1) a set of tie lines between Cu 2 S and the continuous As-Sb binary solid solution and (2) a large liquid field centered on the ternary face Sb-As-S that extends far out into the quaternary.


"Industry and the Creative Mind "takes a radically new look at the figure of the eccentric, alienated writer in American literature and entertainment from 1790 to 1860. Traditional scholarship takes for granted that the eccentric writer, modeled by such Romantic beings as Lord Byron and brought to life for American audiences by the gloomy person of Edgar Allan Poe, was a figure of rebellion against the excesses of modern commercial culture and industrial life. By contrast, "Industry and the Creative Mind" argues that in the United States myths of writerly moodiness, alienation, and irresponsibility predated the development of a commercial arts and entertainment industry and instead of forming a site of rebellion from this industry formed a bedrock for its development. Looking at the careers of a number of early American writers---Joseph Dennie, Nathaniel Parker Willis, Edgar Allan Poe, Fanny Fern, as well as a host of now forgotten souls who peopled the twilight worlds of hack fiction and industrial literature---this book traces the way in which early nineteenth-century American arts and entertainment systems incorporated writerly eccentricity in their "logical" economic workings, placing the mad, rebellious writer at the center of the industry's productivity and success.


We introduce a framework for proving lower bounds on computational problems over distributions against algorithms that can be implemented using access to a statistical query oracle. For such algorithms, access to the input distribution is limited to obtaining an estimate of the expectation of any given function on a sample drawn randomly from the input distribution rather than directly accessing samples. Most natural algorithms of interest in theory and in practice, for example, moments-based methods, local search, standard iterative methods for convex optimization, MCMC, and simulated annealing, can be implemented in this framework. Our framework is based on, and generalizes, the statistical query model in learning theory [Kearns 1998]. Our main application is a nearly optimal lower bound on the complexity of any statistical query algorithm for detecting planted bipartite clique distributions (or planted dense subgraph distributions) when the planted clique has size O(n1/2 − δ) for any constant δ > 0. The assumed hardness of variants of these problems has been used to prove hardness of several other problems and as a guarantee for security in cryptographic applications. Our lower bounds provide concrete evidence of hardness, thus supporting these assumptions.


The economic structure of the industry of cycling coaches has yet to be the subject of any apparent published inquiry. This study describes the basic characteristics of practicing cycling coaches and presents economic models of the determinants of commercial success for individual coaches. Data were collected through an independent survey of current and former U.S.A. Cycling (USAC) coaches in 2010 (N = 386). Results of ordinary least squares and negative-binomial regression models suggest that coaching and competitive experience are associated with larger clienteles, but formal human capital investments do not generally add to a coach's ability to garner more clients. Additionally, the study also explored the effects of reputation and experiential learning by using three subgroups of sport levels for dependent variables (i.e., recreational, developmental, and ProAm). These client groupings displayed different patterns of associated coach characteristics.


Abstract Fault-related host rock deformation and dilation control fluid flow and mineralization in many world-class mineral deposits. This numerical modelling study explores the interactions between deformation, faulting, dilation, fluid flow and chemical processes, which are suggested to result in this control, with special attention to fault dilatant jog structures. Our two-dimensional numerical models focus on faulting-related deformation, dilation and permeability enhancement, fluid flow patterns and fluid focusing/mixing locations, while three-dimensional models examine several different cases of fault underlap and overlap. The results show that fault-dilation and faulting-induced permeability enhancement, which are closely associated with tensile failure, represent important ways to generate fluid flow conduits for more effective fluid flow and mixing. Dilation during strike–slip faulting is localized near fault tips (wing crack locations) and jog sites, where fluids are strongly focused and mixed. These locations are the tensile domains of the strike–slip regime. In overlapping-fault (dilatant jog) cases, the magnitude of dilation and the extent of the dilatant region are closely related to the extent of fault overlap. These results provide insight into the transport of fluids through low-permeability rocks with isolated, but more permeable, faults. Gold and quartz precipitation patterns as a result of the coupling of chemical reactions to deformation induced fluid flow velocities are also computed. The rates of precipitation depend on structural and fluid flow conditions and on the geometrical relation between local fluid velocity and chemical concentration gradients generated by mixing. Maximum precipitation rates for gold occur in the dilation zones and in faults where high fluid flow rates, sufficient fluid mixing and high concentration gradients of critical chemical species are all present, while the quartz precipitation rate is predominantly controlled, in this isothermal situation, by the rate of fluid flow across concentration gradients in the aqueous silica concentration.


In this paper, a new class of distributed space-time block codes (DSTBCs) is introduced. These DSTBCs are designed for wireless networks which have a large set of single-antenna relay nodes , but at any given time only a small, a priori unknown subset of nodes can be active. In the proposed scheme, the signal transmitted by an active relay node is the product of an information-carrying code matrix and a unique node signature vector of length . It is shown that existing STBCs designed for co-located antennas are favorable choices for the code matrix, guaranteeing a diversity order of if nodes are active. For the most interesting case, , the performance loss entailed by the distributed implementation is an- alytically characterized. Furthermore, efficient methods for the op- timization of the set of signature vectors are provided. Depending on the chosen design, the proposed DSTBCs allow for low-com- plexity coherent, differential, and noncoherent detection, respec- tively. Possible applications include ad hoc and sensor networks employing decode-and-forward relaying.


OBJECTIVE
To determine potency and selectivity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and cyclooxygenase- (COX-) specific inhibitors in whole blood from horses, dogs, and cats.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Blood samples from 30 healthy horses, 48 healthy dogs, and 9 healthy cats.

PROCEDURE
Activities of COX-1 and COX-2 were determined by measuring coagulation-induced thromboxane and lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E2 concentrations, respectively, in whole blood with and without the addition of various concentrations of phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine, ketoprofen, diclofenac, indomethacin, meloxicam, carprofen, 5-bromo-2[4-fluorophenyl]-3-14-methylsulfonylphenyl]-thiophene (DuP 697), 5,5-dimethyl-3-(3-fluorophenyl)-4-(4-methylsulphonyl) phenyl-2(5H)-furan one (DFU), 3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-4-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-2-(5H)-furanone (MF-tricyclic), and celecoxib. Potency of each test compound was determined by calculating the concentration that resulted in inhibition of 50% of COX activity (IC50). Selectivity was determined by calculating the ratio of IC50 for COX-1 to IC50 for COX-2 (COX-1/COX-2 ratio).

RESULTS
The novel compound DFU was the most selective COX-2 inhibitor in equine, canine, and feline blood; COX-1/COX-2 ratios were 775, 74, and 69, respectively. Carprofen was the weakest inhibitor of COX-2, compared with the other COX-2 selective inhibitors, and did not inhibit COX-2 activity in equine blood. In contrast, NSAID such as phenylbutazone and flunixin meglumine were more potent inhibitors of COX-1 than COX-2 in canine and equine blood.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The novel COX-2 inhibitor DFU was more potent and selective in canine, equine, and feline blood, compared with phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine, and carprofen. Compounds that specifically inhibit COX-2 may result in a lower incidence of adverse effects, compared with NSAID, when administered at therapeutic dosages to horses, dogs, and cats.


INTRODUCTION
This study evaluated the degree of disability, pain levels, muscle strength, and electromyographic function (RMS) in individuals with leprosy.

METHODS
We assessed 29 individuals with leprosy showing common peroneal nerve damage and grade 1 or 2 disability who were referred for physiotherapeutic treatment, as well as a control group of 19 healthy participants without leprosy. All subjects underwent analyses of degree of disability, electromyographic tests, voluntary muscle force, and the Visual Analog Pain Scale.

RESULTS
McNemar's test found higher levels of grade 2 of disability (Δ = 75.9%; p = 0.0001) among individuals with leprosy. The Mann-Whitney test showed greater pain levels (Δ = 5.0; p = 0.0001) in patients with leprosy who had less extension strength in the right and left extensor hallucis longus muscles (Δ = 1.28, p = 0.0001; Δ = 1.55, p = 0.0001, respectively) and dorsiflexion of the right and left feet (Δ = 1.24, p = 0.0001; Δ = 1.45, p = 0.0001, respectively) than control subjects. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the RMS score for dorsiflexion of the right (Δ = 181.66 m·s-2, p = 0.001) and left (Δ = 102.57m·s-2, p = 0.002) feet was lower in patients with leprosy than in control subjects, but intragroup comparisons showed no difference.

CONCLUSIONS
Leprosy had a negative influence on all of the study variables, indicating the need for immediate physiotherapeutic intervention in individuals with leprosy. This investigation opens perspectives for future studies that analyze leprosy treatment with physical therapeutic intervention.


Objective: This study was conducted to explore the relationship between 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and Vitamin-D binding protein (DBP) in patients with periodontitis and healthy controls. Methods: Seventy-five periodontitis cases were recruited from the dental OPD of Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi. Diagnostic criteria of periodontitis were followed according to the probe pocket depth and clinical attachment loss. Seventy-five periodontal healthy controls were selected from the faculty and students of same university. Serum levels of 1,25(OH)2D and DBP were determined by ELISA. Results: Significantly low levels of 1,25(OH)2D and high levels of serum DBP were observed in periodontitis patients compared to healthy controls (p<0.05), with levels of DBP increasing significantly with the severity of periodontitis (p=0.005). Concentrations of DBP correlated positively with 1,25(OH)2D, especially in cases with periodontitis (r =0.780; p<0.001). Conclusion: Within the limits of the study, we conclude that low 1,25(OH)2D levels and high DBP levels are associated with periodontitis.


The light curve of Mrk 6 for 1970-2002 is presented and discussed. The amplitudes of variability were 1.6 m , 1.1 m , and 0.8 m in UBV bands, respectively. The magnitudes of the underlying galaxy in the 27.5 00 aperture were found to be Ug= 15:82, Bg = 15:42 and Vg = 14:36. The mean color indices of the variable component are (U B)var = 0:49 and (B V)var= 0:75 without correction for reddening. In the time intervals from 10 days to 1300 days the structure function can be presented as a power function, SF/ b ,w hereb= 0:72 0:04. The time where the SF for Mrk 6 reaches the upper plateau is about 3300 days. The observed SF can be interpreted by the superposition of independent flares model with the maximal duration of flares 800 days. If these flares are located in the radiation pressure dominated region of the accretion disk, the size of this region is about 70, 330 RS, assuming the viscous parameter is 0.1, 0.01, respectively. It is concluded that the optical long-term variability of Seyfert galaxies can be explained by thermal instability in the accretion disk.


Even–even nuclei in the A ~ 100 mass region are investigated within the framework of the interacting boson model-1 (IBM-1). The study includes energy spectra and electric quadrupole transition properties of zirconium, molybdenum, ruthenium and palladium isotopes with neutron number N ≥ 52. A global parametrization of the IBM-1 Hamiltonian is found leading to a description of about 300 collective levels in 30 nuclei with a root-mean-square deviation from the observed level energies of 120 keV. The importance of the d5/2 subshell closure at neutron number N = 56 is pointed out. The geometric character of the nuclei can be visualized by plotting the potential energy surface V(β, γ) obtained from the IBM-1 Hamiltonian in the classical limit. The parametrization established on the basis of known elements is used to predict properties of the unknown, neutron-rich isotopes 106Zr, 112Mo, 116Ru and 122Pd.


Since the late 1990s, nation branding has attracted a lot of attention from academics, professional consultants and government actors. The ideas and practices of nation branding are frequently presented by branding advocates as necessary and even inevitable in the light of changing dynamics of political power and influence in a globalised and media-saturated world. In this context, some have argued that nation branding is a way to reduce international conflict and supplant ethno-nationalism with a new form of market-based, national image management. However, a growing body of critical studies has documented that branding campaigns tend to produce ahistorical and exclusionary representations of the nation and advance a form of 'commercial nationalism' that is problematic. Importantly, the critical scholarship on nation branding has relied primarily on sociological and anthropological theories of nationhood, identities and markets. By contrast, the role of the media – as institutions, systems and societal storytellers – has been undertheorised in relation to nation branding. The majority of the existing literature tends to treat the media as 'neutral' vehicles for the delivery of branding messages to various audiences. This is the guest editors' introduction to the Special Issue 'Theorizing Media in Nation Branding', which seeks to problematise this overly simplistic view of 'the media' and aims to articulate the various ways in which specific media are an integral part of nation branding. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach and problematises both the enabling and the inhibiting potentialities of different types of media as they perpetuate nation branding ideas, images, ideologies, discourses and practices.


Objective Radiation is an integral part of the treatment of many pelvic tumors. The cellular death induced by radiotherapy (RT) benefits cancer control but can also result in adverse effects (AEs) on the organ being treated or those adjacent to it. RT for cancers of the pelvis (bladder, prostate, rectum, uterus or cervix) can result in AEs in the urinary tract. While the acute urinary AEs of pelvic RT are well described, late AEs are less well characterized. The burden of treatment for late AEs may be large given the prevalence of tumors in the pelvis and the high utilization of RT to treat them. Review For prostate cancer, grade 1 and 2 urinary AEs following external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) are reported to occur in 20-43% and 7-19%, respectively, with a follow up of 10 years. Three-year cumulative risk for grade ≥2 urinary AEs is 28-30%. Following brachytherapy (BT), rates of urinary AEs at 5 years are reported to be 36%, 24%, 6.2% and 0.1% for Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) grade 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. For bladder cancer, with a median follow-up of 5 years, 7-12% of patients who receive RT experience urinary AEs of grade 3 or more. For cervical cancer, there remains a 0.25% per year risk of severe AEs for at least 25 years following RT, and ureteral stricture is a well-described AE. For endometrial cancer, severe urinary AEs are rare, but at 13 years of follow up, patients report a significantly worse quality of life with respect to urinary function. In rectal cancer, preoperative RT has a lower risk of AEs than postoperative RT, and few urinary AEs are reported in the literature. Conclusions Urinary AEs can manifest long after RT, and there is a paucity of studies describing rates of these long-term AEs. It is important that the possible complications of RT are recognized by providers and properly communicated to patients so that they are able to make informed decisions about their cancer treatment.


A proper understanding of the local construction market is essential for making appropriate project budgeting and planning decisions. State highway agencies typically use highway construction cost indexes (HCCIs) to understand the current market conditions. In the United States (US) highway construction industry, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pioneered the concept of a HCCI as an indicator of the national construction market. State Departments of Transportation (DOT) also started developing their state level HCCIs to better represent their state level construction markets. But, some state DOTs noted the lack of guidance to develop and update their HCCIs. This paper summarizes literature review and nationwide questionnaire survey results to identify the current practices of calculating and using HCCIs. There are two methods to generate basket of construction items for HCCI calculation: a) categorized market basket and b) item level market basket. The Fisher index is the most popular indexing formula among the state DOTs and is also recommended by the FHWA and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Despite many potential users of HCCIs, the current use of HCCIs is very limited in state DOTs.


A questionnaire was designed to assess the attitude of Omani people to the state of their teeth, their personal oral hygiene and their acceptance of dental care. The questions were formulated to provide information without the need for dental examination. In Oman, as opposed to industrialised countries, the rate of dental decay is on the increase. In addition, there is a high prevalence of periodontal diseases as observed by this survey as well as some previous studies. The results of this nationwide survey, in connection with two previous field and clinical studies, indicate that more importance must be given to oral hygiene education together with increased facilities for treatment.


Transcription of genes encoding L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), the first enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway, and caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and caffeoyl CoA 3-O-methyltransferase (CCOMT), enzymes involved in the synthesis of lignin and wall-esterified phenolic compounds, was strongly activated in elicitor-treated cell-suspension cultures of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). However, consequent changes in the extractable activities of COMT and CCOMT were small to nonexistent compared with a 15- to 16-fold increase in PAL activity. Only low levels of COMT and CCOMT transcripts were reflected in the total and polysomal RNA fractions compared with PAL transcripts. Elicited cell cultures did not accumulate lignin or the products of COMT and CCOMT in the soluble and wall-esterified phenolic fractions. In one alfalfa cell line in which elicitation resulted in very high PAL activity and increased deposition of methoxyl groups in the insoluble wall fraction, there was still no change in COMT and CCOMT activities. Overall, these results indicate that the initial gene transcription events in elicited cells may be less selective than the subsequent metabolic changes, highlighting the importance of posttranscriptional events in the control of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.


OBJECTIVES
Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) is an initiative to encourage patient-physician discussions about the appropriate, evidence based use of medical tests, procedures and treatments. We present the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians' (CAEP) top five list of recommendations, and the process undertaken to generate them.

METHODS
The CAEP Expert Working Group (EWG) generated a candidate list of 52 tests, procedures, and treatments in emergency medicine whose value to care was questioned. This list was distributed to CAEP committee chairs, revised, and then divided and randomly allocated to 107 Canadian emergency physicians (EWG nominated) who voted on each item based on: action-ability, effectiveness, safety, economic burden, and frequency of use. The EWG discussed the items with the highest votes, and generated the recommendations by consensus.

RESULTS
The top five CAEP CWC recommendations are: 1) Don't order CT head scans in adults and children who have suffered minor head injuries (unless positive for a validated head injury clinical decision rule); 2) Don't prescribe antibiotics in adults with bronchitis/asthma and children with bronchiolitis; 3) Don't order lumbosacral spinal imaging in patients with non-traumatic low back pain who have no red flags/pathologic indicators; 4) Don't order neck radiographs in patients who have a negative examination using the Canadian C-spine rules; and 5) Don't prescribe antibiotics after incision and drainage of uncomplicated skin abscesses unless extensive cellulitis exists.

CONCLUSIONS
The CWC recommendations for emergency medicine were selected using a mixed methods approach. This top 5 list was released at the CAEP Conference in June 2015 and should form the basis for future implementation efforts.


The absorption spectrum and fluorescence emission spectrum of RS601 were found to keep the typical characteristics of those of the purple nonsulfide bacteria Rb. sphaeroides. Under illumination, methyl viologen was reduced by RS601 chromatophores in the presence of DCPIPH(2) as the electron donor, setting up a standard noncyclic electron transport. o-phenanthroline with I(50) of 1.0 mM inhibited the DCPIPH(2) right curved arrow MV electron transport. Antimycin A did not inhibit the DCPIPH(2) right curved arrow MV electron transport and had no I(50). The results suggested that the exact site where methyl viologen accepted electron should locate between the secondary electron acceptor, Q(B), and cyt b, but not at the Q(A) binding site as indicated before. The difference of electron transport between reduced sides of reaction centers of Rb. sphaeroides and Rs. rubrum was discussed.


Based on the analyzing the fact of slewing bearing production, the primary need for software of the corporation is determined. On this condition, it has discussed the main designs, which include the framework of software, key categories, and design of method and so on. Some examples are given. Through using this software, we can not only reduce the workload of design of nonstandard slewing bearing which is repeating and heavy, but also avoid misplay of the designer. This software also provides the precondition for Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP). Through the using of the software, we can increase the rate of eligible product, reduce the cost of production and fulfill time limit for client better.


Muscular dystrophies are a heterogeneous class of inherited disorders presenting with different clinical, genetic, and biochemical features. Musc ular dystrophies include Duchennemuscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) myotonic dystrophy (DM), oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), facioscapulohumeral muscular dy strophy (FSHD), limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), distal muscular dystrophy, and congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD)types, each with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Those muscular dystrophies can have similar symptoms or unique and specific presentations. This abstract will review the prevalence, clinical presentation, and management of ocular findings in certain muscular dystrophies.


The massive open online course is a development in distance education. The existing online courses for primary and middle school students are based on several classic open educational resources like images, sounds, animations, but they could also be based on competence achieving web games. Writing web games for each discipline competence is a hard task, achievable only by programmers. Using frameworks we can offer teachers and other content editors the possibility of creating their own web games for the students. In this sense we designed and implemented two frameworks. One framework is based on a configurable dialog between two players. The dialog can be configured with mathematical expressions based on formulas, fields for questions with expected answers, loops for repetition in case of wrong answers, mark giving algorithms. The second framework is based on a configurable board and dice. The board has to be designed as an image with several ordered cells. On each cell we can configure events like: showing simple messages, asking questions, reading surprises. All events can be configured with actions like: moving backward of forward on the table stepping a certain number of cells, rolling the dice again. Both frameworks are using the HTML5 web technology and a simple communication server side logic. Dialog based games are suitable to disciplines which are have mathematical formulas like arithmetic, physics, chemistry. The board games are suitable to disciplines where concepts must be learned and actions must be performed. Thus, the games implemented with these frameworks represent a more attractive way to perform distance education for primary and middle school students.


In light of various reforms in recent years, this article provides a (re)assessment of the broad package of family-friendly employment rights and relevant dispute resolution procedure now available to pregnant workers and working carers. It exposes how the realities of working life for many pregnant workers and carers and the long standing desire to promote gender equality in informal care-work remain at odds with the legal framework. An argument is presented in favour of an approach that, based upon the concept of care ethics, better engages with the impact of the provisions upon crucial interdependent care relationships.


Date Presented 04/06/19
 Mixed-method analysis of advocacy projects were created by college students with learning and attention disorders (L/AD). Articulated textual messaging of disability informed a theoretical model of identity development for young adults of L/AD and were used to test for changes over time. Statistically significant results indicate positive changes in disability identity level over time and suggest students may benefit from holistic campus-based disability supports during this critical transitional time point.
 Primary Author and Speaker: Consuelo Kreider
 Additional Authors and Speakers: Claudia Luna
 Contributing Authors: Mei-Fang Lan, Chang-Yu Wu, Susan Percival, Charles Byrd


Resistive switching property enables various promising applications such as design of non-volatile in-memory computing devices which has attracted high attention to Resistive Random Access Memories (RRAMs). In this work, we present a multi-objective BDD optimization approach for RRAM based logic circuit design. Dissimilar to classical BDD optimization, evaluating the cost metrics of the circuits in this case does not only depend on the number of BDD nodes but is more advanced. We have utilized a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm for bi-objective BDD optimization with respect to the number of required RRAMs and computational steps addressing the area and delay of the resulting circuits, respectively. The algorithm also allows preference to one of the objectives if it is of higher significance. Experimental results show that the proposed multi-objective genetic algorithm achieves considerable reduction in both aforementioned criteria in comparison with an existing approach.