Visualization of sentiments and opinions extracted from or annotated in texts has become a prominent topic of research over the last decade. From basic pie and bar charts used to illustrate customer reviews to extensive visual analytics systems involving novel representations, sentiment visualization techniques have evolved to deal with complex multidimensional data sets, including temporal, relational and geospatial aspects. This contribution presents a survey of sentiment visualization techniques based on a detailed categorization. We describe the background of sentiment analysis, introduce a categorization for sentiment visualization techniques that includes 7 groups with 35 categories in total, and discuss 132 techniques from peer‐reviewed publications together with an interactive web‐based survey browser. Finally, we discuss insights and opportunities for further research in sentiment visualization. We expect this survey to be useful for visualization researchers whose interests include sentiment or other aspects of text data as well as researchers and practitioners from other disciplines in search of efficient visualization techniques applicable to their tasks and data.


OBJECTIVES
To utilize whole-body computed tomography (CT) imaging and calcium scoring techniques as tools for calcinosis assessment in a prospective cohort of patients with adult and juvenile dermatomyositis (DM and JDM, respectively).

METHODS
Thirty-one patients (14 DM and 17 JDM) who fulfilled Bohan and Peter Classification criteria as probable or definite DM, the EULAR-ACR for definite DM, and with calcinosis identified by physical examination or prior imaging studies were included. Non-contrast whole-body CT scans were obtained using low dose radiation procedures. Scans were read qualitatively and quantitated. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of calcinosis detection of physician physical exam against CT. We quantified calcinosis burden using the Agatston scoring technique.

RESULTS
We identified five distinct calcinosis patterns: Clustered, Disjoint, Interfascial, Confluent, and Fluid-filled. Novel locations of calcinosis were observed, including the cardiac tissue, pelvic and shoulder bursa, and the spermatic cord. Quantitative measures using Agatston scoring for calcinosis were used in regional distributions across the body. Physician physical exams had a sensitivity of 59% and a specificity of 90% compared with CT detection. A higher calcium score correlated with higher Physician Global Damage, Calcinosis Severity scores, and disease duration.

CONCLUSION
Whole-body CT scans and the Agatston scoring metric define distinct calcinosis patterns and provide novel insights relating to calcinosis in DM and JDM patients. Physicians' physical examinations underrepresented the presence of calcium. Calcium scoring of CT scans correlated with clinical measures, which suggests that this method may be used to assess calcinosis and follow its progression.


The Library Impact Data Project (LIDP) brought its initial findings to the NAG Conference in September 2011, showing a statistically significant relationship across a number of universities between library activity data (specifically the number of items borrowed and logins to e-resources in the library) and student attainment.

Phase II of LIDP seeks to deepen our understanding of this relationship by investigating additional data from the University of Huddersfield. This data will be used to identify predictors for student outcomes, with a particular focus on engagement with library services, in order to understand better how library activity relates to student attainment, including causal relationships.

This paper will show some of the results from our quantitative data analysis:

1. Demographic factors and library use, examining whether there is a relationship between demographic variables and all measures of library use, and to see which factors carry the most weight in such a relationship.

2. Retention vs. non-retention, to see whether there is a relationship between patterns of library use (including increasing or decreasing intensity of use and time of use) and retention.

3.We will discuss in house projects, such as MyReading and Lemon Tree and describe how these could be used to encourage greater use of library resources and therefore improve attainment.

4. Predicting final grade. We will discuss whether we can use demographic and library usage data to test whether you can predict a student's final grade from available data.

Finally the paper will recommend further study and suggest strategic aims and objectives that could result from the project.


Portfolio optimization is one of the main approaches in investing and one of the key steps of portfolio construction. In this study, we consider mean variance (MV), mean-absolute deviation (MAD) and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) optimizations, and compare the market portfolios and minimum risk lines by using these three optimizations. By proposing simulation experiments using Gaussian copula and Pearson distribution system, the influence of skewness and kurtosis to the minimum risk lines and market portfolios are investigated.


This article reports some of the preliminary findings of an ongoing participatory research study exploring the provision of health and social services for urban Aboriginal communities in the Okanagan Valley. In particular, the article examines how colonial structures and systems have worked to silence Aboriginal women's voices and how this has affected the ways in which urban Aboriginal women seek out health services. The article addresses these issues through the voices of the Aboriginal women in the study. The women's stories reveal the many assumptions and inequities that contribute to their marginalization. They describe how their voices are often silenced when they access health services and how this can cause them to either delay seeking needed health advice or accept the status quo. The women's stories are used to stress the importance and power of voice. This is most evident in their experiences accessing the health services offered through community-based Friendship Centres, where many felt they had more control over the care they received. In the context of this article, the impacts of colonization and the silencing of women's voices are viewed as acts of structural violence. The women's stories provide crucial insights into how health care provision can be changed to help prevent these acts of violence, thus leading the way to improved health for all urban Aboriginal populations.


In this issue ofThe Journal, Needleman and colleagues1report that elevated bone lead is associated with young boys' attention problems, aggression, and delinquency. Certainly the tibia does not deceive about its lead burden. But can we really expect boys to confess their transgressions truthfully? Skepticism is partially allayed because the research links lead and antisocial behavior using not only boys' reports, but also their teachers' and parents' reports. Nonetheless, one might challenge the study's measures of behavior problems. What are these measures? How accurate are they? Are they applicable to children beyond the study participants? Perhaps most important, do they predict behavior later in life? See also p 363. What are these measures? Needleman et al selected widely respected measures of children's antisocial behavior: the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)2for parents and teachers and the self-reported delinquency interview for the boys.3Parents and teachers selected items


Information extraction and data mining in biochemical literature is a daunting task that demands resource-intensive computation and appropriate means to scale knowledge ingestion. Being able to leverage this immense source of technical information helps to drastically reduce costs and time to solution in multiple application fields from food safety to pharmaceutics. We present a scalable document ingestion system that integrates data from databases and publications (in PDF format) in a biochemistry knowledge graph (BCKG). The BCKG is a comprehensive source of knowledge that can be queried to retrieve known biochemical facts and to generate novel insights. After describing the knowledge ingestion framework, we showcase an application of our system in the field of carbohydrate enzymes. The BCKG represents a way to scale knowledge ingestion and automatically exploit prior knowledge to accelerate discovery in biochemical sciences.


This historical analysis examines the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Child Welfare League of America's collaborative Indian Adoption Project, its influence on the evolution and practice of social work, and social work's response. It presents a narrative of the Indian Adoption Project's development and implementation and of the passing of the Indian Child Welfare Act. We use methods of document analysis, as well as content analysis and critical discourse analysis, to not only describe this history but also to explain and critically evaluate the role of our source documents and subsequent events in creating, maintaining, and legitimating inequality and oppression among Native Americans. Finally, the article presents implications and suggestions for the profession of social work, including the importance of cultural considerations, social work title protection, and the inclusion of historical and current content affecting Indian Country in all social work programs.


Flexible behaviour in humans requires rapid choices between conflicting actions plans. Although much attention has focused on how prefrontal cortex guides action under situations of response conflict, little is understood about the contribution of parietal cortex. In this thesis I explore the role of the parietal lobe when action selection requires resolution of competition between conflicting motor programs. Competitive imbalance between motor programs, resulting in disparity between leftward and rightward action plans, could in theory lead to directional motor bias in patients with parietal damage and spatial neglect. The first three chapters reporting experimental findings examine directional motor performance in right-hemisphere stroke patients, with and without neglect. Using a modified Eriksen flanker task, we show that right parietal damage associated with leftward spatial neglect leads to paradoxical facilitation (speeding) of rightward movements in the presence of conflicting leftward response plans. These findings indicate a critical role for parietal regions in action planning when there is response competition. In contrast, patients with prefrontal damage have an augmented cost of conflict for both leftward and rightward movements. Subsequently, results from both masked prime and free choice tasks support a parietal role in directional motor processing. Two further chapters reporting experimental findings investigate firstly the asymmetric basis of motor programming in normal subjects and secondly motor neglect, showing that underutilization of the left arm is associated with failure to suppress unwanted right-sided action plans. Overall, the data presented in this thesis suggest that parietal cortex plays a key role in directional movement selection particularly when there is competition between potential action choices. Further, there is evidence for at least two independent systems, with right parietal cortex being a crucial site for automatic activation of competing motor plans and prefrontal regions acting in parallel to inhibit information irrelevant to current task goals.


The article discusses the activities of both indigenous people and religion online, and introduces the pair of concepts indigeneity-online/online-indigeneity as a means of analysing this activity. This concept is new, and leans heavily on the pair of concepts religion-online/online-religion that is used in religious studies. The second part of the article consists of an analysis of the website www.osko.no, a site for the Christian education of Sami children and youth. I treat this as an expression of, or a medium for, the contemporary formation of Sami identity, and argue that it can be seen as an indigenous website. The Church of Norway, as an institution with a strong history of colonization  and  Norwegianization, has  developed  into an  institution  that  seeks  to integrate, implement and strengthen the Sami voices and traditions to such extent thatSami  Christians  use  it  as platform  for  the  communication  of  a Sami  kind of Christianity. www.osko.no is an example of a certain articulation of Sami identity. What seems  to  be  the  preferred  or idealized  Saminess  is  related  to nature and  a particular past, and is distant to modernity, urban culture and Norwegian culture.


The majority of the bacterial genome sequences deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database contain prophage sequences. Analysis of the prophages suggested that after being integrated into bacterial genomes, they undergo a complex decay process consisting of inactivating point mutations, genome rearrangements, modular exchanges, invasion by further mobile DNA elements, and massive DNA deletion. We review the technical difficulties in defining such altered prophage sequences in bacterial genomes and discuss theoretical frameworks for the phage-bacterium interaction at the genomic level. The published genome sequences from three groups of eubacteria (low- and high-G+C gram-positive bacteria and gamma-proteobacteria) were screened for prophage sequences. The prophages from Streptococcus pyogenes served as test case for theoretical predictions of the role of prophages in the evolution of pathogenic bacteria. The genomes from further human, animal, and plant pathogens, as well as commensal and free-living bacteria, were included in the analysis to see whether the same principles of prophage genomics apply for bacteria living in different ecological niches and coming from distinct phylogenetical affinities. The effect of selection pressure on the host bacterium is apparently an important force shaping the prophage genomes in low-G+C gram-positive bacteria and gamma-proteobacteria.


Aerial surveys for bowhead whales were conducted in conjunction with oceanographic sampling near Barrow, Alaska, in late summer of 2005 and 2006. In 2005, 145 whales were seen, mostly in two distinct aggregations: one (ca. 40 whales) in deep water in Barrow Canyon and the other (ca. 70 whales) in very shallow (< 10 m) water just seaward of the barrier islands. Feeding behaviours observed in the latter group included whales lying on their sides with mouths agape and groups of 5–10 whales swimming synchronously in turbid water. In 2006, 78 bowheads were seen, with ca. 40 whales feeding in dispersed groups of 3–11 whales. Feeding behaviours observed included surface skimming, echelon swimming, and synchronous diving and surfacing. Surfacing behaviour included head lunges by single animals and groups of 2–4 whales. Of 29 whales harvested at Barrow, 24 had been feeding. Euphausiids were the dominant prey in 2006 (10 of 13 stomachs), but not in 2005 (4 of 11 stomachs). Copepods were the dominant prey in the stomachs of three whales harvested near Barrow Canyon in 2005. Mysiids were the dominant prey in four stomachs, isopods in two, and amphipods in one although these taxa were not routinely captured during plankton sampling conducted in the weeks prior to the autumn harvest.


Anthropomorphic avatars and disembodied voices have become part of everyday life in Japan. From the animated characters that bow after you complete a transaction at an automated teller machine to the phenomenal proliferation of consumer goods bearing cute faces. There is a discernable growing tendency to anthropomorphize machines. These anthropomorphic devices stand in contrast with the somewhat automated nature of many human interactions. Particularly in the behavior required of employees that work in customer service roles, which calls to mind the demand that workers must often behave as machines from which the notion of a robot originates. Based on research conducted at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, examples not only of how friendliness can be mechanically produced but also of new devices being imbued with functions to demonstrate their friendliness will be critically examined.


We report on the therapeutic, functional and cosmetical late results of 103 patients with 117 basal-cell carcinomas treated with soft radiotherapy (total dose: 4800–6000 R). After an average of 9.1 years 95.4% of 109 controlled primary basal-cell carcinomas could be healed and of the retreated basal-cell carcinomas 62.5%. Usually slight functional disturbances were shown in 10 cases (8.5%). The cosmetical late results were judged as good or very good in 57.2%, as average in 24.8% and in 11.1% as bad, whereas big differences were made in regard of location.


The purpose of this study was to determine the criteria in which apolipoproteins AI and B should be performed during periodic health screening examinations. Clinically, the results of apolipoproteins AI and B are most useful when there are minor lipid perturbations (cholesterol and triglycerides), but their routine determination is not justified. Several mathematical models, defined by discriminate factorial analysis, have been studied. The one based uniquely on cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations was the most efficient in identifying patients in whom apolipoprotein B should be determined. In contrast, no model was found for the indication of apolipoprotein AI determination. Data from a population different from that used for the model establishment were used to validate the model. This strategy, determining criteria for additional measurement of apolipoprotein B in a general population, is of clinical interest because it may provide complementary information for subjects with atherogenic risk. Moreover, it is of economical interest because it has the potential of limiting complementary testing and its associated costs.


Background: Hyperinsulinemia results from β-cell ompensatory adaptation to insulin resistance and reduced insulin clearance. We examined the relationship between hepatic/peripheral insulin clearance and β-cell function in lean and obese insulin sensitive (IS) and insulin resistant (IR) adolescents. Methods: A 2-step euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp and an hyperglycemic clamp were performed in 153 youths (73F, 14.4±3.3y) to evaluate hepatic (MCR1) and peripheral (MCR2) insulin clearance, β-cell function (DI cpep ) and insulin sensitivity. Participants were grouped as:non-Obese NGT (nOb-NGT, n=23), obese NGT-IS (Ob-NGT-IS, n=47), obese NGT-IR (Ob-NGT-IR, n=47), and obese IGT (Ob-IGT, n=36). IS and IR were defined according to the median M (glucose disposal) from euglycemic clamp. Effect of MCR1-2, sex, age, BMI, Tanner stage, fasting/2h-glucose, ethnicity on DI cpep was estimated by multivariate regression model. Results: IS, MCR1/MCR2 did not differ between nOb-NGT and Ob-NGT-IS. MCR1 was lower in Ob-NGT-IR and Ob-IGT than nOb-NGT, while MCR2 only declined in the Ob-IGT. (upper panels) MCR1 and MCR2 were the sole determinants of DI cpep (p0.006 and p0.015), as confirmed by ~50% reduction in DI cpep of the lowest tertiles of MCR1 and MCR2. (lower panels). Conclusion: In obese adolescents, lower MCR1 and MCR2 are independently associated with a blunted β-cell function thus playing a key role in youth onset T2D. Disclosure A. Galderisi: None. D. Trico: None. C. Giannini: None. N. Santoro: None. S. Caprio: None. R. Weiss: Consultant; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01DK085577-01, R01HD40787, R01HD28016, P30DK045735, K12DK094714-02, R01DK111038-01A1); Robert E. Leet and Clara Guthrie Patterson Trust; European Medical International Framework (EMIF115372)


The gating system is usually made up of the sprue, the runner, the gate and the slag well. It is an important component of the mold. On the basis of relationship among runner's geometry, the pressure fall of plastic melt flowing in runner, flow rate and material properties, we can use the UDF library features and Pro / Toolkit functions in PRO / E software to do the second development of PRO / E software. As a result, we can establish the CAD module of gating system for the injection mold. The module has the perfect function and good generality and can help the designer for cost reduction. It may be used whenever you want to use. The PRO / E software has a powerful function to design mold. Taking these as a base, it is very convenient for the module to design the gating system of injection mold.


The characteristics of the radio media have traditionally been put forward as arguments to justify the lack of creativity in radio advertising in Spain. Factors such as fragmentation of the media, the need to resort to high frequencies in the broadcast message, the format almost absolute control wedge or direct translation of texts designed to television to radio, have led to and perpetuated the idea that radio advertising is not creative. However, the sono-digital realm has become the paradigm upside down transmission and reception of audio advertising messages. Multiplication, integration and interaction of different receiving devices paint a landscape in which arise not only new consumption habits that are beginning to overtake traditional formats, but also creativity stands as an essential tool to attract attention of the "new audiences". This is one conclusion that emerges from the first phase of the study being carried out Publiradio Research Group (Faculty of Communication Sciences Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona), with the title: The Digital Sonosphere as a New Space to Communicate with Young People: A Study of Listener Habits for the Development of new PSA Formats CSO2009-12236. The project emphasizes the importance given to creativity when developing advertising products, so much so that young people who have been part of the field investigation, one of the conditions to be given to advertising is acceptable to be creative. In this new stage of digital sound-field, in which the radio loses its characteristic half-king as a transmitter of sound advertising and must coexist with other media that carry the increased potential for contact with the target. These new media have features that allow them free of the topics traditionally associated with radio advertising, but have we taken this opportunity to renew? The emergence of these new media has not been accompanied by the emergence of new advertising formulas sound. In this communication, is intended to highlight the opportunity provided by the digital sound-field enhancement factor of creativity and highlight the central role it can and should play in building future audio advertisements.


Applications have driven the development of computer graphics from the beginning. With so many original technical objectives achieved, the coming decades will likely see a greater emphasis on graphics applications, both taking advantage of these technologies and motivating new ones. The problem with predicting the future in this fast-moving area is that most "predictions" are already true. That said, this article explores a selected set of application domains and speculates on what the next few years may bring. The application domains considered are: science (astronomy, chemistry, biology, heath and medicine, physics, and mathematics); the environment (meteorology, geology, oceanography, and agriculture and land use); entertainment and the arts (movies, television, games and amusements, sports, fine arts, and archaeology); and other industries (publishing, manufacturing, transportation, the military, and business).


Since its discovery in murine thymoma in 1982, the p56lck (lymphocyte cellular kinase) has been shown to be a pivotal enzyme to both maturation of thymocytes and activation and proliferation of peripheral lymphocytes. The p56lck sequence appeared highly homologous to that of the oncogene p60c-src as did its exon-intron organisation. These data have suggested the lck gene originates from the ancestral src gene by the exon-shuffling mechanism. However, and in spite of this relationship with the p60src oncogene which is often implicated in human cancers, p56lck does not appear involved in lymphoproliferative diseases, either by overexpression or activating mutations. Nevertheless, its aberrant expression has been reported in some carcinomas (colon, lung and mammary). This unexpected expression of a lymphoid-specific protein in solid tumors remained enigmatic until recent studies. In this review, we report these data and explain the possible mechanisms which could lead to the p56lck ectopic expression. We also discuss of signalling pathways which could be affected by the abnormal presence of the p56lck in these tumoral epithelial cells. In particular, we indicate that p56lck could favor metastases by facilitating loss of cell adhesion.


In areas subject to social and economic disadvantage where resources are scarce, the physical environment of the public realm is often identified as a place for investment by governments - a place where infra-structural improvements to the built environment, funded through government, may reap wider social rewards. In addition, specific social policy ambitions in Australia, within both state government and other welfare agencies, focus on social capital building and community strengthening initiatives. Yet the relationship between these crucial areas of government action - social welfare and community development, and the design of the built environment - is often disconnected. This article describes an experimental pilot study for a prototype community engagement tool aimed at foregrounding the user in design for the public realm. The project, which will devise an innovative methodology for community consultation in areas of neighbourhood renewal and change, operates within the structure of a design studio at RMIT University School of Architecture + Design. The outcome - the Digital Map - is an interactive map website which acts as a mechanism for engaging people in the design of the built environment and the public realm, simultaneously providing a platform for social connected-ness and networking within the community. Embedded links to a repository of one-person film narratives, means that the map is an ongoing device for community participation: a transparent and open-ended alternative to the limitations of consultation through questionnaire, and a mechanism for building sustainable communities.


Two information revolutions are underway in trading and investing. Most headlines focus on structured quantitative market information at ever higher frequencies, but the other technology revolution in trading and investing is driven by qualitative, textual, and relationship information. The IBM computer Watson's overwhelming Jeopardy victory demonstrated how good machines can get at this. News analysis is a focus of language technology in finance. In this article, Leinweber and Sisk include event studies and show U.S. portfolio simulation results for "pure news" signals applied over the period 2006–2009 as well as a true out-of-sample period in 2010, which indicates alpha in excess of 10% a year. The authors also describe other applications of automated qualitative analysis for information-driven social media client relations.


Introduction: Preeclampsia, a pregnancy specific syndrome, is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to assess relationship between leptin and adiponectin, and leptin/adiponectin ratio in preeclamptic women compared with normal pregnant women. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed. The patients consisted of 30 preeclamptic women. The control group consisted of 30 healthy pregnant women. Serum levels of total leptin and adiponectin were assessed using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. The unpaired Student's t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Findings: Serum levels of leptin were significantly higher in preeclamptic group than in normal control group, while adiponectin levels decreased. There was a significant negative correlation between leptin and adiponectin in normal control group and also in preeclamptic women. The leptin/adiponectin ratio increased significantly in preeclamptic patients. Discussion & Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that increase in leptin and decrease in adiponectin levels can help as a biomarker for diagnosis of severe preeclampsia.


In this study, the aerosol direct, semi-direct and indirect effects on the East Asia climate are investigated using the International Center for Theoretical Physics Regional Climate Model v. 4 (RegCM4.1.1), by focusing on the East Asian Summer Monsoon temperature and precipitation. The externally mixed aerosols, including sulfate (SO 4 2– ), black carbon and organic carbon, reduced the solar flux reaching the surface directly by scattering solar radiation, and indirectly by increasing the cloud droplet concentration and cloud liquid water path over East China. The combined aerosol effects (direct and indirect) decreased the temperature on the continent and increased it over the oceans, leading to the reduction of rainfall in the central regions of China and an enhancement of rainfall in the adjacent ocean regions.


Exotic option structures are not as popular in the market as they once were but one type, multi-asset barrier reverse convertibles (MBRCs), continues to be actively traded in Switzerland. The underlying is a portfolio containing several stocks, typically three, and the payoff depends on whether any of them reaches a pre-specified barrier level during the life of the security. Like an ordinary convertible bond, there is a set coupon rate, but at maturity the holder receives either the bond's face value or, alternatively, some quantity of the worst-performing of the stocks if any one of them has hit its barrier. The authors develop a clever valuation technique based on a multinomial tree and use it to examine how MBRCs are priced in the market. They show that prices exceed model values on average, with greater overpricing when the stocks are less commonly used in MBRCs and for those denominated in low interest rate currencies.


The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current business strategy of the Niagara wine region and determine whether it would be more advantageous for the area to specialise in the Riesling grape variety. Questionnaires were administered to a range of different types of experts with a specialty in wine. Quantitative data from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario supplemented the core interviews. The results of this study indicate that differentiation through specialisation is the best strategy to develop the Niagara wine region. However, the structure of the wine industry encourages wineries to produce a vast array of grape varieties to cater to the needs of the domestic market. This has resulted in a loss of identity for the region. Though because Niagara Riesling is differentiable, world class, the most consistently awarded grape and unreproducible elsewhere, it is the prime candidate to become the representative grape for the region. By developing the Niagara style of Riesling and focusing on exporting small amounts of the variety, the region would benefit by developing an identity and increasing consumer confidence and sales.


Our understanding of the clinical implications of eosinophilic airway inflammation has increased significantly over the last 20 years, aided by the development of noninvasive means to assess it. This pattern of airway inflammation can occur in a diverse range of airway diseases. It is associated with a positive response to corticosteroids and a high risk of preventable exacerbations. Our new understanding of the role of eosinophilic airway inflammation has paved the way for the clinical development of a number of more specific inhibitors that may become new treatment options. Different definitions, ideas of disease, and adoption of biomarkers that are not well known are necessary to fully realize the potential of these treatments.


In this paper, we present an integrated system for real-time dose distribution calculation and treatment planning optimisation for brachytherapy of prostate cancer, with a special emphasis on the visual integration of the dosimetry and target images obtained from the open magnetic resonance system. This system involves a fast method to calculate dose distributions of multiple concurrent radioactive sources, based on the combination of elements from a database of pre-calculated dose distribution maps for single sources, combined linearly to provide the final dose distribution map. Simulated annealing, in conjunction with the inverse planning method, is used to determine the source dwell times at preselected locations in order to optimally irradiate the tumour while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues. This algorithm, implemented in FORTRAN, is integrated into a computer-assisted treatment planning tool, written in JAVA, using the runtime class and RMI API of Java. The whole system is now under clinical testing at the Geneva University Hospital.


Abstract The effect of the amount of gaseous by‐products from small chemical explosions on seismic source signatures is examined. The explosions analyzed in this article were conducted using different types of explosives (ammonium nitrate–fuel oil and Composition B) as a part of the New England Damage Experiment (NEDE) in Barre, Vermont. These explosives have different densities, burn rates, and energy contents per unit mass, and upon detonation they produce different amounts and compositions of gaseous by‐products. The amount of gas products released during the detonation depends on the chemical composition of the explosives as well as on the presence of other compounds in and around the cavity that can vaporize or chemically decompose during the explosion (e.g., water). Analysis of the NEDE data suggests that the characteristics of the P spectra from these explosions depend on the amount of noncondensable gases released in the cavity during explosive detonation. The low‐frequency amplitudes of the explosion spectra show strong correlation with the amount of gas produced by the explosions, which can be explained by higher steady‐state pressure in the cavity resulting in a larger cavity and subsequently higher static value of the reduced displacement potential. Alternatively, the increase in low‐frequency amplitudes can be due to a longer duration of the source function caused by the late time damage from gas‐driven fracturing. The amplitudes in the high‐frequency band around the corner frequencies (overshoot amplitudes) show a relationship with the trinitrotoluene (TNT)‐equivalent yield and with the heat of the detonation. Thus, based on our dataset, the increase in the low‐frequency amplitudes with the corresponding decrease in overshoot parameter can be explained by the increase of the amount of cavity gas released during the detonation. Online Material: MP4 movies of NEDE1 and NEDE2 explosions.


Abstract Most of the affairs of the AAPG coincide with the terms of elected officers, and thus extend from annual meeting to annual meeting. For the years 1960-61 and 1961-62 a special committee for Industrial-Academic relations was appointed. The objective of this committee was to gather facts that would allow a recounting of the history of employment and academic training of geologists over the previous ten years; then, on the basis of this history, to attempt a forecast of this supply and demand relationship over the coming years, to 1965. Two detailed questionnaires were sent out in successive years, and final results arrived in March of this year. We have recorded a complete cycle of excessive demand over supply, then supply exceeding demand, and are now again on the threshold of a demand that exceeds expected supply over the coming three years. Industry trends continue to emphasize a master's degree as the basic academic training for professional employment. Thus, five years are needed for the training of a geologist. The five-year training period introduces a critical time lag that distorts the relations of demand and supply if industry is only willing to think of its employment needs on a year-to-year basis. Already there is a disturbing age-spread in the geological employees of major oil companies. There are old geologists and very young geologists. Retirements in the next ten years will bring serious problems to companies hoping for experienced leadership in geological departments. Despite broad diversification of oil companies into all phases of the oil industry, the production of oil and gas is still the major factor in the economic health of most companies. Long range geological employment policies and practices must be developed and followed if this important aspect of the oil company's business is to survive. On the other hand, many small colleges have started geology departments in recent years during the peak of employment. Often these new departments have only one or two instructors, and the geologic curriculum is built around the specialization of one professor. In such a case, a graduate education at another institution is especially needed in the training of a professional geologist. Geological education fulfills a dual role. We must serve the science needs of the student majoring in other subjects. At the same time, we must provide a sound basic knowledge of general geology and allied sciences for the student majoring in geology. General geological training, with emphasis on field and laboratory courses, is still the most important background for which industry looks in the selection of professional geologists. Employment demand for geologists will exceed the supply of graduates from universities over the next three years. Already major oil companies are exceeding their normal search for geologists with five or six years of experience. It can be expected that competent, experienced geologists, who have swelled the ranks of the unemployed during the past five years, will again find their professional services needed in the near future.


OF DISSERTATION ATTENTIONAL BIAS TO ALCOHOL IN AN IN VIVO SETTING The phenomenon of attentional bias to alcohol, where drinkers demonstrate a preference in allocating visual attention towards alcohol-related stimuli rather than neutral stimuli, is well-established. Studies detecting this phenomenon typically utilize computer-administered stimulus presentation tasks such as the visual dot probe task. Despite their frequency of use, these tasks do not represent the ways in which individuals typically encounter alcohol outside of the laboratory. Typical environments where alcohol is present allow individuals to move about freely and encounter alcohol while also being exposed to many other stimuli. This dissertation sought to implement a novel approach to assessing attentional bias in vivo, and identify how alcohol consumption might influence such in vivo attentional bias. This two-study dissertation utilized an in vivo task where participants looked freely around a room representing a recreational setting containing numerous objects while portable eye-tracking glasses monitored what an individual looked at and for how long. Target items of alcohol and neutral beverages were placed throughout the environment and fixation time spent on these objects was recorded. The first study of this dissertation examined attentional bias to alcohol-related objects across two identical testing sessions to understand the impact of novelty on allocation of in vivo attention. The second study tested individuals using the same in vivo assessment following a 0.30 g/kg dose of alcohol, a 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol and a placebo. Participants also completed the visual dot probe task in order to measure and compare their attentional bias in a more traditionally implemented task to the novel in vivo approach. Results from the first study indicate that as the novelty of stimuli begins to wane and habituation to neutral stimuli occurs, attentional bias to alcohol-related objects emerges. This attentional bias was shown to be related to drinking habits, where heavier drinkers demonstrated increased attentional bias. The second study in this research found no discernible effect of alcohol consumption on in vivo attentional bias, but did identify a satiating effect of consumption on bias as measured by the visual dot probe task. Additional visual dot probe findings suggest the specificity of the effect of alcohol consumption on attentional bias. Together, these findings help inform whether there is benefit in utilizing an ecological model of measuring attentional bias and how the phenomenon might be measured in laboratory settings in the future.


The link between partial least squares regression and the conjugate gradient algorithm is well known, the goal of this paper is to prove and explore this link to give a simpler proof that PLS regression is a regularization method. Using the conjugate gradient algorithm we will propose a new formula for the PLS filter factors, one that is less sensitive to rounding off error. Finally we will use a simulation study to illustrate the relationship between the amount of regularization and the optimal mean squared error value obtained with PLS regression.


OBJECTIVE
To review the literature related to risk factors for bone fragility and strategies for prevention.

DATA SOURCES
Computerized searches.

STUDY SELECTION
All human research articles from indexed journals in the English language related to the topics in this review and published after 1982 (except for earlier classic pieces) were evaluated.

DATA EXTRACTION
The author extracted data independently using tables that included the following headings: author, year, design, sample size, age range of subjects, results, and comments. Power analyses were done on all reports that included enough information.

DATA SYNTHESIS
The following are determinants of bone fragility: peak bone mass, genetic influences, hormonal status, dietary factors, exercise patterns, and personal exposures.

CONCLUSIONS
Women should be informed of the risk factors and helped to determine whether they are at risk for osteoporosis. All women, starting with young girls, should be taught what methods can be used to decrease their risk. Additional research is needed on methods of improving bone health and decreasing risk.


: The role of gonadal hormones in the nephrotoxicity of the hepatocarcinogen 2-aminoanthraquinone (2-AAQ) was investigated. Intact and castrated four week old Fischer rats of both sexes and castrated female rats with subcutaneous implants of testosterone propionate pellets were fed 2% 2-AAQ in a Wayne meal diet. After 12 weeks of ad libitum feeding the animals were then given control diet. Based on survival, body, liver and kidney weights, and the histopathological evaluation of the kidneys, castrated female rats given testosterone propionate were afforded the greatest protective effect against the nephrotoxicity of 2-AAQ.


Declining pollinator populations have caused concern about consequences for food production, and have initiated an increasing number of initiatives that aim to mitigate pollinator loss through enhancement of floral resources. Studies evaluating effects of mitigation measures generally demonstrate positive responses of pollinators to floral resource enhancement. However, it remains unclear whether this represents landscape‐level population effects or results from a spatial redistribution of individuals from otherwise unaffected populations. Here, we present a method for estimating landscape‐level population effects using data from commonly used standardized pollinator transect surveys. The approach links local density responses of pollinators in both mitigation sites and surrounding landscape elements to the area these habitats occupy in mitigation landscapes as well as control landscapes to obtain landscape‐level population estimates. We demonstrate the method using data from a 2‐year study examining the effects of experimental wildflower enhancements on wild bumblebees and solitary bees in Dutch agricultural landscapes. The results show that conclusions based on local responses may differ significantly from those based on landscape‐level responses. Wildflower enhancements significantly enhanced landscape‐level abundance of both bumblebees and solitary bees. Bumblebees showed a pronounced positive local density response in mitigation sites and the surrounding landscape that was in line with significant landscape‐level increases in abundance. However, solitary bees showed no local response to mitigation sites, and the landscape‐level increases in abundance only became apparent when the area of bee habitat was taken into account. Incorporating the area of both newly created and pre‐existing pollinator habitats into effect estimates accounts for density‐dependent processes such as dilution, spillover and local concentration of individuals. It, therefore, results in more reliable estimates of the response to mitigation measures of pollinators, as well as other mobile arthropod groups that are often being surveyed using transect surveys.


Sh. flexneri mutants No. 2a, resistant to phosphomycin (25 microgram/ml), differ in their fermentability in respect to glucose, mannitol, mannose and fructose. The mutants fall into 7 groups by this characteristic. All the resistant mutants, irrespective of the type of hydrocarbon fermentation, have lost their ability of causing keratoconjunctivitis. The decreased virulence of the phosphomycin-resistant mutants is linked with the loss of their penetration properties, although their adhesiveness and proliferative capacity on the surface HeLa cells is retained. A change in the virulence of the mutants under study is not connected with disturbances in the synthesis of O-antigen LPS. Most of these mutants are highly immunogenic.


" In 2017, CERT-RO processed over 138 million cyber security alerts and an exponential increase in cyber fraud is expected. By its nature, the financial sector is in danger, registering an alarming growth in recent years, and about 70% of fraud remains undetected. When we talk about operations and security, financial organizations should use a multi-level, layered approach, focused on both the technical side and the human resource. Many financial institutions have been victims of cyber-attacks and social engineering. It is absolutely obvious that incidents are the result of human error, so prevention requires training, courses, awareness workshops. In the context of the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, most activities have moved to the online environment, both services, customer-company interactions (browser or application) and employee-company interactions (confidential databases). In order to highlight the above, a comparative analysis is required between entities that have invested in cybersecurity and training of their own employees versus entities that have not been prepared for these exposures. In this sense, what would help the chartered accountant to play a significant role in diminishing the effects of cyber fraud?"


The Institute of Comparative Law provides expert, focused and reliable information on foreign regulations and case law to government institutions, legal practitioners and academics. In order to obtain up-to-date and reliable information, its researchers use the internet as a valuable tool, but also face a number of challenges, including limited access to specialized legal databases. In legal research, the fact that national legislation and case laws, as a rule, are not translated into foreign languages presents a particular challenge. Using a comparative study on restrictions for foreigners to acquire rights on immovables, conducted in August 2015, covering eight European states, the authors will show how they overcame this challenge and adjusted the research methodology to available resources. Finally, the authors will formulate recommendations aimed at improving access to key pieces of translated national legislation online, which can help promote national legislative solutions as best practice examples at the European and global level.


Maintaining consistency between individuals' activity choices and realistic network conditions is made possible through a unified framework of activity-based and dynamic traffic assignment models. In this study, a model formulation and solution approach is presented for an integrated system of household activity schedule adjustment and multimodal dynamic traffic assignment model. In the proposed framework, individuals are initially assigned an activity pattern that includes their activity start time, end time, sequence, and number of intermediate and final destinations. The planned schedules are loaded to the network and executed to obtain the dynamic traffic conditions. Next, the individuals who experience schedules inconsistent with the planned ones try to adjust their activity durations or trip departure times to accommodate the fluctuations. In some cases, however, the schedule inconsistencies may not be resolved through departure time or duration adjustments; therefore, the traveler may cancel an activity or trip as a response to the fluctuations. Strategies for selecting activities to be canceled are discussed, and the influence of incorporating activity cancellation on numerical convergence is presented.


Abstract Storage policies are used in many countries to smooth price volatility and thereby support food security. When there is a global decrease in food supply caused by a number of extreme weather effects, food reserves are expected to reduce the potential negative implications for households with low purchasing power. In this paper, the properties of such a stockpiling policy are assessed and compared to a policy with storage but without stockpiling. The results show that a stockholding policy is an expensive strategy that generates economic benefits only in extreme cases.


This master's thesis deals with the topic Professional Discretion in the Social Services. The starting point is the experience that a social security officer is exposed to many and partly contradictory expectations and requirements. The thesis is based on review and analysis of relevant literature. This approach has its basis in the fact that there is a lack of theory on the subject Professional Discretion and I have aimed at gathering available knowledge on the topic. The problem of the Thesis was formulated as follows: How can one explain the content in the practice of professional discretion of the social security service in a perspective which recognizes that the social security worker shall safeguard different and partly contradictory expectations and requirements? My scientifically and theoretically approach is hermeneutic. There are two ways to look upon professional discretion which are important to distinguish between. Professional discretion can be looked upon as an epistemic category and as a structural category. Professional discretion as epistemic category is about how one as a social security officer can understand another person and know something about what is good, right or appropriate for him or her. In the paper I point to the fact that this does not have to be described as tacit knowledge, empathy, intuition, or similar, but that professional discretion as epistemic category can be looked upon as a form of practical reasoning. Professional discretion as structural category deals with the laws, guidelines, rules, procedures etc. that govern the professional discretion of the social security officer, and I have discussed the influence of these limits on the professional discretion of the social security officer. My findings show that: Professional discretion shall preserve what is fair and good in the situation. One may say that the task of the professional discretion is to argue humanity into the system, at the same time as it is connected to policy, laws, rules and guidelines. Professional discretion has a place in situations where one is facing several equally good optional actions. Professional discretion must be allowed space. If one is too tightly connected (personally or the workplace) to the standards one may lose the space available which the professional discretion shall move in. What is certain or obvious shall not be made uncertain to include the professional discretion. Judgment, consideration and professional discretion are unlike but act together. The practicing of professional discretion is a form of practical reasoning with weak normative clues. Assessments without normative clues are however not professional discretion but feeling. The title of the thesis, "A Room for Thinking", refers to what I consider to be a very significant discovery: Distance to guidelines and rules, gives a necessary room for thoughts and considerations both for oneself and for the other. One should be connected to one's knowledge but if the professional discretion shall function one must at the same time have a certain distance to the guidelines, standards and rules which is represented by one's knowledge. A meeting between people is about giving space for both parties to express oneself and present their considerations. If one is more occupied with arguing one's own views than with understanding the other, that is an expression of the fact that one has conquered the standards. In that way one may achieve security but the consequence is that the professional discretion becomes homeless.


Background: The promotion of early foetal tissue growth and development is facilitated by thyroid hormones. This study sought to examine if instances of the existing screening programme would miss cases of congenital hypothyroidism as well as to identify delayed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) increase with gestational age in preterm neonates (33 weeks) at age one month. Methods: In this prospective study, 50 preterm neonates with gestational ages between 33 weeks and less than ≤1.8 kg were included. They were split into two equal groups: Group 1 contained low birth weight (LBW) infants, defined as those weighing less than 1.8 kg at delivery (1.5:1.8 kg). Baby born with a very low birth weight (VLBW) of less than 1.5 kg is in group 2. During the first week after birth and again at one month, free thyroxine hormone (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and TSH were collected as part of a routine screening programme. Results: TSH levels increased in both groups at one month, with Group II having a greater TSH than the other. The relationship between TSH at one month and birth weight in the two study groups was significantly unfavourable. The level of FT4 and FT3 at birth and one month were substantially different across groups for APGAR1, APGAR 2, and other measurements. Conclusions: Thyroid issues are common in preterm babies with a gestational age of 33 weeks and birth weight of 1800 grammes. When thyroid dysfunction was present, the majority of patients exhibited CH and delayed TSH rise, which newborn blood spot screening was unable to identify (NBS).


The RIP kinases (RIPKs) play an essential role in inflammatory signaling and inflammatory cell death. However, the function of their kinase activity has been enigmatic, and only recently has kinase domain activity been shown to be crucial for their signal transduction capacity. Despite this uncertainty, the RIPKs have been the subject of intense pharmaceutical development with a number of compounds currently in preclinical testing. In this work, we seek to determine the functional redundancy between the kinase domains of the four major RIPK family members. We find that although RIPK1, RIPK2, and RIPK4 are similar in that they can all activate NF-κB and induce NF-κB essential modulator ubiquitination, only RIPK2 is a dual-specificity kinase. Domain swapping experiments showed that the RIPK4 kinase domain could be converted to a dual-specificity kinase and is essentially indistinct from RIPK2 in biochemical and molecular activity. Surprisingly, however, replacement of RIPK2's kinase domain with RIPK4's did not complement a nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 signaling or gene expression induction defect in RIPK2−/− macrophages. These findings suggest that RIPK2's kinase domain is functionally unique compared with other RIPK family members and that pharmacologic targeting of RIPK2 can be separated from the other RIPKs.


Fibrates are a class of medication that mainly lowers the blood triglyceride levels. They reduce the LDL and increase the levels of HDL C, in the blood. Clofibrate, the first member to be discovered  in 1962 , and introduced in USA in 1967, is withdrawn in 2002, due to unexplained hepatomegaly, hepato-toxicity and possible risk of hepatic cancer. Other fibrates are introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as gemfibrozil in the United States and bezafibrate and ciprofibrate in Europe. Their lipid lowering effects are found to decrease CVS risk , progression of atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome,  macrovascular and microvascular diabetic complications  like stroke, myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease  and  diabetic  retinopathy .Various clinical trials like VA-HIT trial (Veterans Affairs High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Intervention Trial) ,  FIELD trail.  (the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes) Helsinki Heart Study,   ACCORD -Lipid trial  (The lipid component of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes trial ) and  BIP (Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention Study)  trial and angiography trials, like LOCAT (Lopid Coronary Angiography Trial)  and BECLAIT (Bezafibrate Coronary Atherosclerosis Intervention Trial) demonstrated the  beneficial effects of gemfibrozil and fenofibrate.  Their mechanism of action remained obscure for three decades, ie till 1990s, when their mode of action was found. The Mechanism of action of fibrates include limitation of substrate availability for triglyceride synthesis in the liver, promotion of the action of lipoprotein lipase, (LPL)  modulation of low density lipoprotein receptor/ligand interaction and stimulation of reverse cholesterol transport The biochemical and molecular mechanisms involving  the various  enzymes like LCAT (Lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase)  and CYP7A1 etc.  (cholesterol 7-alpha-monooxygenase or cytochrome P450 7A1 (CYP7A1) ) ,  transporters like ABC , CETP (ATP-binding cassette transporter, Cholesterol ester binding protein) and NTCP, OATP (Na+-dependent taurocholate transporter / organic anion transporters) . These are the.) and nuclear factors like LXR, PPAR alfa etc. (liver orphan receptor α , and peroxisome proliferative nuclear factor) , in relation to the mechanisms  of action of fibrates are discussed . Areas of current interests in literature are briefed.


Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling is critical for defense against pathogenic infection, as well as for modulating tissue development. Activation of different TLRs triggers common inflammatory responses such as cytokine induction. Here, we reveal differential impacts of TLR3 and TLR7 signaling on transcriptomic profiles in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Apart from self-regulation, TLR3, but not TLR7, induced expression of other TLRs, suggesting that TLR3 activation globally enhances innate immunity. Moreover, we observed diverse influences of TLR3 and TLR7 signaling on genes involved in methylation, caspase and autophagy pathways. We compared endogenous TLR3 and TLR7 by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to knock in a dual Myc-HA tag at the 3' ends of mouse Tlr3 and Tlr7. Using anti-HA antibodies to detect endogenous tagged TLR3 and TLR7, we found that both TLRs display differential tissue expression and posttranslational modifications. C-terminal tagging did not impair TLR3 activity. However, it disrupted the interaction between TLR7 and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88), the Tir domain-containing adaptor of TLR7, which blocked its downstream signaling necessary to trigger cytokine and chemokine expression. Our study demonstrates different properties for TLR3 and TLR7, and also provides useful mouse models for further investigation of these two RNA-sensing TLRs.


The Mono Model Checker (MMC) is a software model checker that can
verify whether a .NET program contains assertion violations or deadlocks.
It was developed as part of a Master's project by [1]. Much of its design was
inspired by Java PathFinder, a software model checker for Java programs.
This thesis is the result of the follow-up Master's project on MMC. The
goal during this project was to improve MMC's ability to verify models
with larger state spaces.
Enhancements have been added in all areas. For improving MMC's performance,
both partial order reduction (POR) using object escape analysis
and stateful dynamic POR have been added. These techniques reduce the
size of a model's state space, and hence reduce the time and memory needed
for its verification. For improving MMC's usefulness, .NET's exception handling
has been fully implemented, more instructions have been added for increased
.NET compliance and a comprehensive testing framework has been
created. The latter employs Microsoft's own .NET virtual machine testing
suite and has revealed numerous bugs. For improving MMC's usability, an
error tracer has been added. It shows the sequence of instructions leading to
the assertion violation or deadlock. This improves the user's understanding
of detected errors.
Besides improving MMC with known techniques, during the course of
this Master's project, three new techniques were developed that effectively
decrease both time and memory needed for verifying a model. To decrease
memory use, a collapsing scheme has been developed for collapsing the metadata
used by a stateful dynamic POR. The reduction of memory is more
than a factor of two. To decrease the verification time, a Memoised Garbage
Collector has been developed. It has a lower time-complexity than the often
used Mark & Sweep garbage collector. Its main idea is that it only
traverses changed parts of the heap instead of the full heap. The average
time reduction is between 9% and 26%, depending on the model that is
verified. The third technique is called incremental hashing, which also has
a lower time-complexity. The key notion in this hashing scheme is that a
hashcode of an array is recalculated using the old hashcode and the changes
to the array. Though this technique was originally developed for MMC, we
implemented in Spin, because the stake of hashing in MMC is near zero.
Experiments with the BEEM benchmarks showed up to 20% reduction in
time when compared against Jenkins's hash function, which is an often used
hash function in model checking due to its good uniformity.
We also benchmarked MMC against JPF and Bandera using the Java
Grande Benchmark models. The results indicate that MMC is faster in
terms of states per second, but JPF is more effective in reducing the state
space. Bandera is on all fronts no match for MMC and JPF, as it is outperformed
in every benchmark.


Mortality risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with End Stage Renal
Disease (ESRD) is more than general population. Hence, if it isnot regarded, it will result in reduced
survival and death in ESRD patients especially who are renal transplant candidates. Aim of the present
study was the evaluation of the frequency and pattern of CAD in ESRD patients with candidates to
kidney transplantion and their relation with duration of dialysis regarding remarkable prevalence of
CAD in this group of patients.
Materials & Methods: In this study, we evaluated 56 patients (24 females and 32 males) with renal
transplantation who underwent coronary angiography for assessment of CAD prevalence, pattern of
vessels involvement and need for revascularization. We also assessed the association between the
underlying causes of ESRD (such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension and so.), duration of dialysis,
and CAD.
Results: The prevalence of CAD in ESRD Patients were 60.7% (34) that 82.3% (28 patients) of them
were candidate for revascularization. There was no significant correlation between number of diseased
vessels, underlying disease of ESRD and duration of dialysis. No statistically significant association
was observed between the need for revascularization and age of patients, underlying disease or
duration of dialysis.
Conclusion: In regard to high prevalence of coronary artery disease in renal transplant candidates,
particularly in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, it seems that angiography (instead of noninvasive
testing) and effective treatment of CAD before transplantation is really necessary


Accretion disks can be eccentric: they support m = 1 modes that are global and slowly precessing. But whether the modes remain trapped in the disk—and hence are long-lived—depends on conditions at the outer edge of the disk. Here we show that in disks with realistic boundaries, in which the surface density drops rapidly beyond a given radius, eccentric modes are trapped and hence can live for as long as the viscous time. We focus on pressure-only disks around a central mass, and show how this result can be understood with the help of a simple second-order WKB theory. We show that the longest-lived mode is the zero-node mode in which all of the disk's elliptical streamlines are aligned, and that this mode decays coherently on the viscous timescale of the disk. Hence, such a mode, once excited, could live as long as the lifetime of the disk. It may be responsible for asymmetries seen in recent images of protoplanetary disks.


To study the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic therapy (TLT) with the recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in stroke, we treated 691 patients in 48 clinical units using systemic or selective TLT. Safety and high efficacy of TLT was shown: the three-months fatality rate was 18.2%, the symptomatic hemorrhage transformation rate related to clinical worsening was 6.1%. The good functional recovery (scores 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale) was observed in 48.6% of patients.


Deviation angles of secondary electrons and muons in simulated extensive air showers were studied. The angles have wide distribution, whose width depends on energy cuts imposed on shower particles. In this work, variation of deviation angles with the energy of secondary particles, shower energy, primary direction, and core distance was investigated. The results put limitations on application of hodoscopic devices in cosmic ray and gamma ray observations.


Surface modification techniques have been used to develop biomimetic scaffolds by incorporating cell adhesion peptides. In our previous work, we have shown the tethering of laminin-332 α3 chain to type I collagen scaffold using microbial transglutaminase (mTGase), promotes cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. In this study, we evaluated the wound healing properties of tailored laminin-332 α3 chain (peptide A: PPFLMLLKGSTR) tethered to a type I collagen scaffold using mTGase by incorporating transglutaminase substrate peptide sequences containing either glutamine (peptide B: PPFLMLLKGSTREAQQIVM) or lysine (peptide C: PPFLMLLKGSTRKKKKG) in rat full-thickness wound model at two different time points (7 and 21 days). Histological evaluations were assessed for wound closure, epithelialization, angiogenesis, inflammatory, fibroblastic cellular infiltrations, and quantified using stereological methods (p < 0.05). Peptide A and B tethered to collagen scaffold using mTGase stimulated neovascularization, decreased the inflammatory cell infiltration and prominently enhanced the fibroblast proliferation which significantly accelerated the wound healing process. We conclude that surface modification by incorporating motif of laminin-332 α3 chain (peptide A: PPFLMLLK GSTR) domain and transglutaminase substrate to the laminin-332 α3 chain (peptide B: PPFLMLLKGSTREAQQIVM) using mTGase may be a potential candidate for tissue engineering applications and skin regeneration.


For the first time, the inclusive neutrinoproduction of \Delta^{++}(1232) from nuclei is investigated. The total yield of $\Delta^{++}(1232) in neutrino-nuclear interaction is found to be \_{\nu A} = 0.080\pm0.011, being compatible with \_{\nu N} = 0.091\pm0.013 inferred for neutrino-nucleon interactions. It is shown that the \Delta^{++}(1232) inclusive spectra on variables x_F, z and the isobar total momentum for \nu A interactions are shifted toward lower values respective to those for \nu N interactions, that can be caused by secondary intranuclear collision processes. No idication on a significant nuclear absorption of \Delta^{++}(1232) leading to its disappearance is found.


The fail of communist ideology and the subsequent breaking up of the old empire has allowed an acceleration of the process of world wide exchange liberalization. Population flow adapts itself to the movement naturally, helped by the development of communications, transportation and transnational networks in different parts of the industrialized world. Conflicts, wars, human rights violations and non democratic Systems also contribute extensively to increase the south-north migratory pressures. This contemporary context has led the international community to consider international migrations to be a major threat to world stability and global security. In this context, the right to seek and to enjoy a safe haven becomes a mere illusion. The survival of the right of asylum is linked to the recognition of the failure of the actual international System. The reality of today's refugee movement calls for new types of solidarities and cooperation which should be inspired by the principles of democracy and human rights protection.


Over the past 50 years, an evolution has occurred in the instruction of wilderness professionals and practitioners within the higher education realm. The National Wilderness Conference, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, provided a timely opportunity to discuss the current and future role of higher education and wilderness among academics and wilderness practitioners. During this conference, directives were released through a vision document, providing a set of shared interagency goals, priorities, and actions to guide future collaborative stewardship of designated wilderness. In this commentary stemming from this conference and aligning with the vision directives, we discuss the role of higher education and wilderness-based curriculum in the historical development of instruction, current academic practices through examples, challenges that should be considered, and suggestions for moving forward to enhance wilderness preservation and professionalism.


Rover is a mechatronic imaging device inserted into quotidian space, transforming the sights and sounds of the everyday through its peculiar modes of machine perception. Using computational light field photography and machine listening, it creates a kind of cinema following the logic of dreams: suspended but mobile, familiar yet infinitely variable in detail. Rover draws on diverse traditions of robotic exploration, landscape and still-life depiction, and audio field recording to create a hybrid form between photography and cinema. This paper describes the mechatronic, machine perception, and audio-visual synthesis techniques developed for the piece.


This paper introduces the performance of an elliptical shaped antenna with random slots with the use of parasitic element and compares the results between the original patch and the patch without dots stacked with parasitic element mounted on foam. 5.8GHz is the reference or desired frequency set for measuring the performance of this antenna. The purpose of using parasitic element is to optimize the gain and radiation efficiency of this antenna since microstrip antennas has weaknesses in gain and efficiency. Three elliptical shaped slots with different dimensions are designed and connected to each other to allow equal surface current distribution throughout the radiating patch. In addition, 14 cylindrical dots with different radius were designed at the left most center of the patch, making it as a part of the antenna. Adopting the parasitic element method has provided outstanding effects on the antenna's gain and efficiency. The antenna manages to radiate a maximum gain of 4.206dB. The radiation efficiency and total efficiency of the antenna has improved significantly with the usage of parasitic ring. The proposed antenna can be used for point to point communication and other applications under the same frequency range if the research done is considered successful.


When students perceive their surroundings as being safe and comfortable, they can concentrate on higher order tasks such as learning (Bowen et al., 1998); a perception of safety is a "basic requirement" for academic success (Hernandez, Floden, & Bosworth, 2010). The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify building features that affect the safety perceptions of high school students and teachers, from one school district in rural Virginia. The study employed aspects of the methodology used by Biag (2014) in the study 'Perceived School Safety: Visual Narratives from the Middle Grades'. Comparisons were drawn between the areas and characteristics that influence the safety perceptions of students and teachers. This study was conducted in one high school (N=14) in rural Virginia. All findings and suggestions were shared with the school and district participating in order to assist with future improvements in their safety practices. Results show windows, lighting and accessibility to be among the most common items influencing perceptions of safety. Items such as cameras and proximity to administration were discussed the least for their influence. Building Features that Impact Perceptions of Safety as Seen Through the Eyes of Students and Teachers


This research project examines how community member participation in informal arts activities contributes to the community in which the activities are held. A central concept includes analyzing informal arts participation that occurs in group settings through a community development lens. Though there are few published works on the informal arts sector, Dr. Alaka Wali's research on informal arts participation in urban Chicago, Illinois neighborhoods and other previous ethnographic research studies on the sector have inspired some of the research design. Key findings suggest that informal arts participation builds social capital, breaks down social barriers, and contributes to community identity. Through participant observation, key informant interviews, document analysis/comparison of small case studies created through observation of informal arts groups located in the city of Eugene, Oregon, the role of informal arts practices in community development is explored.


Background Internationally, Canada was one of the first countries to offer free HPV vaccination to young gbMSM. The provinces of British Columbia (BC), Ontario (ON) and Quebec (QC) implemented HPV vaccination programs in 2015–2016 for gbMSM aged 9–26. We explored HPV vaccine initiation and among unvaccinated men, potential barriers to uptake. Methods Engage is a sexual health study among gbMSM aged 16+ in Vancouver BC, Toronto ON, and Montreal QC, the largest urban centres in each province. Men are recruited via respondent driven sampling (RDS). We estimated the proportion that had initiated HPV vaccination and among unvaccinated men, compared proportions to responses on HPV vaccine knowledge and willingness, healthcare access and sexual orientation disclosure by age (eligible for free vaccination: ≤26 and ineligible for free vaccination: ≥26 years old). Proportions were RDS unadjusted. Results From 01/2017 to 31/12/2018, 2099 men enrolled (542 Vancouver, 378 Toronto, 1179 Montreal). Their median age was 33 years (IQR 27–46). In Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, 48.6%, 44.1% and 44.2% of men aged ≤26 and 24.9%, 30.3% and 7.1% of men aged ≥26 had 1+ dose of the HPV vaccine, respectively. Among unvaccinated men, more men aged ≥26 versus ≤26 accessed healthcare (family doctor/sexual health/HIV care) (87.2% vs 78.9%, p=0.0008) and disclosed their sexual orientation to their family doctor (86.2% vs 64.4%, p<0.0001). A similar proportion of unvaccinated men from each age group had heard of the HPV vaccine (≥26=67.5% vs ≤26=69.0%, p<0.0529). Among unvaccinated men aware of the HPV vaccine, more men aged ≥26 versus ≤26 were willingness to get vaccinated if the vaccine were free and required disclosure of same-sex activity (80.3% vs 61.5%, p=0.0259). Conclusion Preliminary analyses indicate that HPV vaccine initiation in this population remains suboptimal. Among unvaccinated gbMSM ≤26, accessing healthcare, not disclosing sexual orientation and willingness to get vaccinated may be barriers to vaccine uptake. Disclosure No significant relationships.


Merchant-owned charging stations will replace gasoline stations in the near future. As charging times of electric vehicles (EV) may be significant, without optimization, customers will wait to get charged without knowing the actual period of charging. In this thesis, two optimal scheduling methods for charging electric vehicles were developed for merchant-owned charging facilities, the first with a single charger and the second with multiple chargers.

In the mathematical model for the single merchant-owned charging station, the problem is formulated as a hybrid nonlinear optimization model and solved using a backward recursive algorithm with nonlinear optimization solvers. As for a single charger, a hybrid system framework was used to capture the tradeoff between demand charges and speed of charging.

For the merchant-owned multiple chargers case, the problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear optimization challenge with three-dimensional matrices characterizing the solution space and was solved using the MOSEK optimization toolbox in MATLAB.

The proposed algorithms have been analyzed for different penalty factors which were imposed on total waiting time of each EV. Final results are analyzed and discussed.


Given the phenomenal increase in Islamic banking activities globally, it is important that there exists good governance practices of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs). This is primarily to ensure its sustainability in the long run. More importantly, in order for Islamic banks to play an optimum role in the development of Islamic countries, it is imperative to develop regulatory structures which can help to control fraud, exploitation, and un-Islamic behaviour in banking practices. Additionally, the development of strong governance practices will win public confidence, thereby promoting trust amongst equity holders, investors and other parties dealing with these IFIs. However, promulgating and developing standards and guidelines on corporate governance (CG) may not be adequate. Thus, this paper examines the extent IFIs are adhering to such guidelines. There are two stages to this study. First a disclosure index was developed using the guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM), the standard on CG promulgated by the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the framework introduced by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). The index developed in the first stage was then used to assess the annual reports of all the 16 IFIs operating in Malaysia. It was found that on a scale of 0 to 100, the CG disclosure index ranges from a low of 42.28 to a high of 68.29, with the average score of 51.42. This shows that IFIs are not particularly motivated to disclose specific-governance related information. On


Peru is a megadiverse country, with richness in life zones (84), climates, and genetic diversity of wild and agricultural species. Development and scaling out of CSA practices that focus on research and recovery of this richness and dissemination of traditional crops would build resilience of agricultural systems, improve productivity, and contribute to nutrition and food security. The preservation and transference of ancestral adaptation practices for soil conservation (e.g., platforms, terraces) and water retention (e.g., canals, ponds) are important for mainstreaming CSA.


Bisacridinyl-bisarginyl porphyrin (BABAP) is a trisintercalating derivative of a tricationic porphyrin, formerly designed and synthesized in order to selectively target and photosensitize the ten-base pair palindromic sequence d(CGGGCGCCCG)2. We resorted to the previously derived (Far et al., 2004) lowest energy-minimized (EM) structure of the BABAP complex with this sequence as a starting point. We performed polarizable molecular dynamics (MD) on this complex. It showed, over a 150 ns duration, the persistent binding of the Arg side-chain on each BABAP arm to the two G bases upstream from the central porphyrin intercalation site. We subsequently performed progressive shortenings of the connector chain linking the Arg-Gly backbone to the acridine, from n=6 methylenes to 4, followed by removal of the Gly backbone and further connector shortenings, from n=4 to n=1. These resulted into progressive deformations ('kinks') of the DNA backbone. In its most accented kinked structure, the DNA backbone was found to have a close overlap with that of DNA bound to Cre recombinase, with, at the level of one acridine intercalation site, negative roll and positive tilt values consistent with those experimentally found for this DNA at its own kinked dinucleotide sequence. Thus, in addition to their photosensitizing properties, some BABAP derivatives could induce sequence-selective, controlled DNA deformations, which are targets for cleavage by endonucleases or for repair enzymes.


Competing in global markets creates pressure for manufacturers to rigidly use automation, and advanced manufacturing techniques to improve manufacturing plant productivity. Among productivity, manufacturers are also interested about other performance dimensions, namely time, flexibility and quality. With the wise use of automation, we could directly improve all of the other indicators, and indirectly quality. In this paper it is shown, how implementation and use of Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) could benefit from the use of manufacturing simulation. AGVs have been available for practical use since the 1970s, but still in the investment and use processes it is rarely seen justified to a high detail, what eventually determines the number of vehicles used in the system. Our paper is able to show with two simulation cases (a hypothetical example and a real case study) that the number of AGVs is very sensitive with respect to production system output. Furthermore, some assumptions that are often made can overly simplify the problem (e.g. no recharging of batteries and constant speed). Therefore, in this paper, we propose that more research should be addressed to the AGV system simulation, and in practice tools for decisions makers should be developed further. Our research also shows that empty travelling and low utilisation is a norm in current AGV systems in order to assure production system functionality, and there is a need and potential for performance improvement here, as well.


This study examined the pre-service EFL teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, goal orientations, and participations in an online learning environment. Embedded mixed design was used in the study. In the quantitative part of the study, the participants were 186 senior pre-service EFL teachers and data were collected on two scales and a questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected in form of one-on-one interviews from 2 pre-service EFL teachers, the most representative of the population, to understand the motivation and behaviour variables. The findings of this research revealed that pre-service EFL teachers' self-efficacy believes are high but fragile. However, some of the participants had more than one goal orientation. The mastery and performance oriented pre-service teachers displayed different characteristics of motivation. Moreover, few of the pre-service EFL teachers participate in the online learning environment. Results also showed several positive associations between teachers' goal orientations and self-efficacy beliefs. The results as well as their implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.


This paper Proposes Maximum Power Extraction from Wind Turbine with permanent magnet synchronous generator, using MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control scheme with the help of regulating the dc link Voltage through Boost converter. This MPPT control scheme is applied by using directly the voltage and current of the generator which is much accurate then getting the parameters from the mechanical and other relative transducers will reduce the accuracy and cost. Feasibility of this control become possible from the relation of the power to the rotor speed and the speed is then related to the DC voltage on the rectifier's side. The components in this wind generation system are Wind Turbine as Prime Mover, PMSG (permanent magnet synchronous generator), rectifier for converting the ac three phase voltage of the PMSG to DC Voltage, Boost converter which will control the DC Voltage of the rectifier and we will have relative speed for the extraction of maximum power from the wind turbine, and a PWM inverter which will invert the DC Voltage supplied by PMSG through rectifier and boost converter to AC Voltage for the load or the grid. The simulation is done with help of MATLAB/SIMULINK and the result is shown which prove that the maximum power point tracking algorithm is suitable for wind turbine.


This collection contains the first English translations of a group of important eighteenth-century German essays that address the question, 'What is Enlightenment?'. The book also includes newly translated and newly written interpretive essays by leading historians and philosophers, which examine the origins of eighteenth-century debate on Enlightenment and explore its significance for the present. In recent years, critics from across the political and philosophical spectrum have condemned the Enlightenment for its complicity with any number of present-day social and cultural maladies. It has rarely been noticed, however, that at the end of the Enlightenment, German thinkers had already begun a scrutiny of their age so wide-ranging that there are few subsequent criticisms that had not been considered by the close of the eighteenth century. Among the concerns these essays address are the importance of freedom of expression, the relationship between faith and reason, and the responsibility of the Enlightenment for revolutions. Included are translations of works by such well-known figures as Immanuel Kant, Moses Mendelssohn, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Johann Georg Hamann, as well as essays by thinkers whose work is virtually unknown to American readers. These eighteenth-century texts are set against interpretive essays by such major twentieth-century figures as Max Horkheimer, Jurgen Habermas, and Michel Foucault.


Exosomal lncRNAs secreted by cancer cells can serve as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of various tumours. Here, we are committed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum exosomal XIST secreted by tumour cells to predict recurrence in patients with triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC). Significant increments in XIST and exo‐XIST from tumour tissues and blood serum were found in reoccurring TNBC patients by comparison with non‐recurrences. Levels of serum exo‐XIST were only significantly increased in TNBC recurrence and no association with other clinicopathological parameters. Additionally, serum exo‐XIST levels could be served as an assessment of change in the load of triple‐negative breast cancer. Expressions of exo‐XIST were markedly decreased after resection of the primary breast tumours and obviously elevated at the time of recurrence. Finally, an obvious association was identified between serum exo‐XIST levels and a poorer overall survival (OS) in TNBC patients. Levels of serum exo‐XIST may serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker to predict the recurrent TNBC‐loading status.


The purpose of this text is to search for medical books in monasteries, museums and university libraries in Split, Omi's, Zaostrog, Ciovo (near Trogir) and Sinj. Medical books from the 17th century were rare. When we compare this research with previous ones, one can conclude that very little of such sort of literature in Dalmatian libraries is still existing. Among preserved literary works we found works by Galenus, Oribasius, Valverde and others. The explanation for the little number of medical books is to be seeked in hard historical and educational conditions, destruction and damage to library stock in the past.


For years Tommy Charles searched South Carolina's upcountry for examples of ancient rock art carvings and paintings, efforts conducted on behalf of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA). As SCIAA's collections coordinator, Charles amassed considerable field experience in both prehistoric and historic archaeology and had firsthand involvement in cataloging sixty-four sites of South Carolina rock art. Charles chronicles his adventures in exploration and preservation in Discovering South Carolina's Rock Art.Although Native American rock art is common in the western United States and even at many sites east of the Mississippi, it was believed to be almost nonexistent in South Carolina until the 1980s, when several randomly discovered petroglyphs were reported in the upstate. These discoveries set in motion the first organized endeavor to identify and document these ancient examples of human expression in South Carolina. Over the ensuing years, and assisted by a host of volunteers and avocational collectors, Charles scoured the Piedmont and mountains of South Carolina in search of additional rock art. Frustrated by the inability to find these elusive artifacts, many of which are eroded almost beyond visibility, Charles began employing methods still considered unorthodox by current scientific standards for archaeological research to assist with his search and documentation. Survey efforts led to the discovery of rock art created by Native Americans and Europeans. Of particular interest are the many circle-and-line petroglyphs the survey found in South Carolina. Seeking a reason for this repetitive symbol, Charles's investigation into these finds led to the discovery that similar motifs had been identified along the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to New York, as well as in the American Southwest and Western Europe.This engrossing account of the search for South Carolina's rock art brings awareness to the precarious state of these artifacts, threatened not only by natural attrition but also by human activities. Charles argues that, if left unprotected, rock art is ultimately doomed to exist only in our historical records.


Many readers of academic books prefer reading on paper. In many of our contexts, however, avoiding academic eBooks is becoming less and less of an option as students (as well as other users) have few viable opportunities for accessing print-on-paper information if that content is already available to them in electronic form. This session primarily considerrf ways in which librarians and information professionals can demystify and make useful the academic eBook for the (disinclined) user.
Currently, we have a mixed bag of experiences regarding how the academic eBooks in our collections operate and we don't yet know what the academic eBook of the future will look like or be able to offer to our readers. This session explored some options for both preparing the uninitiated for the variety of eBooks they will encounter, as well as consider some point-of-service strategies that may prevent a research conversation from ending abruptly when paper resources on a topic are scarce. How can we best help the resources that we have access to currently be more informative for our readers?


Aquaculture is rapidly expanding in Nepal as a result demand for fish seed is increasing. Access to adequate high quality seed is the basis for sustainable aquaculture development. Due to quick and high profitability, and encouraging government policy, a number of private hatcheries are increasing especially in southern parts of the country. A survey of 40 private fish hatcheries was conducted from different regions (Eastern-9; Central-19, Western-6, Midwestern-3 and Farwestern-3) representing 15 districts (Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Bara, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur) of Terai and inner Terai to assess the status of different stages of seed production within five year from March 2009 to April 2014. The survey revealed that total production of hatchlings, fry and advanced fry within five years were 15852.6, 879.5 and 259.5 million respectively. All these development regions showed increasing trend of their own contribution within a total of five years. The percentage of eggs fertility and hatchability was more (78.3 and 71.7) in mid western development region followed by eastern (68.9 and 61.7), central (68.3 and 61.7), far western (68.3 and 61.7) and western (68.3 and 60.0). Though private hatcheries played important role in seed production, improving their efficiency are imperative, further studies are recommended to overcome constraints on carp seed production.


Gateways are emerging as a key element of bringing legacy and next generation devices to the Internet of Things (IoT). They integrate protocols for networking, help manage storage and edge analytics on the data, and facilitate data flow securely between edge devices and the cloud. Current IoT gateways solve the communication gap between field control/sensor nodes and customer cloud, enabling field data to be harnessed for manufacturing process optimization, remote management, and preventive maintenance. However, these gateways do not support fully-automatic configuration of newly added IoT devices. In this paper, we proposed a self-configurable gateway featuring real time detection and configuration of smart things over the wireless networks. This novel gateway's main features are: dynamic discovery of home IoT device(s), automatic updates of hardware changes, connection management of smart things connected over AllJoyn. We use the 'option' field for automatic configuration of IoT devices rather than modify standard format of CoAP protocol. Proposed gateway functionality has been validated over the large-scale IoT testbed.


Dump Trucks are widely used. Multistage hydraulic cylinder is the key device that it is directly related to the main performances of dump trucks. With Pro/E, the parametric modeling of the three-stage hydraulic cylinder was completed. The supporting stability of the three-stage hydraulic cylinder was studied with ANSYS. The results showed that the forward-pushing design adopted in the three-stage hydraulic cylinder can greatly meet the requirements of the lifting force, shorten the stroke per cylinder, increase the total strokes and guarantee the supporting stability of the hydraulic cylinder. This method was proved to be significant to improving the efficiency of design, shortening the design and trial-manufacture cycle of hydraulic cylinder and reducing the development cost. Meanwhile this method can improve the reliability and scientific of the structure design. It also provides a convenient and practical analysis method for the design of the multistage hydraulic cylinder used in dump trucks.


Beyond these demands on their personal lives and those of their partners and families of presidents are the larger, and in many ways more difficult, relentless passages which must be navigated in the life of institutions and in the office of the president. These are the points of intersection, to name just a few of the forces, between and among leadership dynamics, the organizational culture of the college, its institutional saga, its diverse and often competing constituencies, and its stated and unstated mission and purpose. Here the very real politics and the necessary use of human capital takes place. Frank Smallwood, emeritus Professor of Government and Director of the Nelson Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, once remarked employing an analogy from a card game, that all leaders, especially college presidents, have only so many chips of goodwill stacked in front of them at the beginning of their tenure. They can expend these however rapidly they wish, but the reality is there are only so many chips in the stack, and they are not replenishable. Some might argue whether political and human capital cannot in fact at times be regained. But no matter how one views it, there is certainly a finite amount of goodwill any president has to enjoy over time.


After Poland regained its independence, Polish sports achieved beneficial conditions for development. It resulted in the creation of the first community and government sports management solutions. The opportunity of the State's financial support helped to overcome one of the significant obstacles to the development of sports at that time – the lack of an adequate number of sports facilities. This process was incredibly intensive during the years 1926–1929 due to the economic and political circumstances. Several representative facilities of international importance were erected during the interwar period. The main or the only investor in this type of projects was the State, which was aware of the beneficial consequences of sports for promoting its image on the international forum. Local and regional investors in sports facilities often included the self-government or community organisations and sports clubs. Even then, they usually completed their projects with the support of state funds. It was the State – independently or as a principal partner in the public-private partnerships - that was the main sponsor of sports in the Second Republic of Poland, especially in terms of the symbolic facilities of international significance.