It is a well-known fact in the materials science community that the use of low-energy atom impacts during thin film deposition is an effective tool for altering the growth behavior and for increasing the crystallinity of the films. However, the manner in which the incident atoms affect the growth kinetics and surface morphology is quite complicated and still not fully understood. This provides a strong incentive for further investigations of the interaction among incident atoms and surface atoms on the atomic scale. These impact-induced energetic events are non-equilibrium, transient processes which complete in picoseconds. The only accessible technique today which permits direct observation of these events is molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. This thesis deals with MD simulations of low-energy atom impact phenomena on metal surfaces during crystal growth. Platinum is chosen as a model system given that it has seen extended use as a model surface over the past few decades, both in experiments and simulations. In MD, the classical equations of motion are solved numerically for a set of interacting atoms. The atomic interactions are calculated using the embedded atom method (EAM). The EAM is a semi-empirical, pair-functional interatomic potential based on density functional theory. This potential provides a physical picture that includes many-atom effects while retaining computational efficiency needed for larger systems. Single adatoms residing on a surface constitute the smallest possible clusters and are the fundamental components controlling nucleation kinetics. Small two-dimensional clusters on a surface are the result of nucleation and are present during the early stages of growth. These surface structures are chosen as targets in the simulations (papers I and II) to provide further knowledge of the atomistic processes which occur during deposition, to investigate at which impact energies the different kinetic pathways open up, and how they may affect growth behavior. Some of the events observed are adatom scattering, dimer formation, cluster disruption, formation of three-dimensional clusters, and residual vacancy formation. Given the knowledge obtained, papers III and IV deal with growth of several layers with the aim to study the underlying mechanisms responsible for altering growth behavior and how the overall intra- and interlayer atomic migration can be controlled by low-energy atom impacts.


This paper introduces the generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) and the quantile generalized additive mixed model (QGAMM) through reanalyses of bilinguals' lexical decision data from Dijkstra et al. (2010) and Miwa et al. (2014). We illustrate how regression splines can be used to test for nonlinear effects of cross-language similarity in form as well as for controlling experimental trial effects. We further illustrate the tensor product smooth for a nonlinear interaction between cross-language semantic similarity and word frequency. Finally, we show how the QGAMM helps clarify whether the effect of a particular predictor is constant across distributions of RTs.


Higher education plays a crucial role in socio-economic transformation of a country. At present the rate of female participation in higher education has been increasing, especially in the urban and sub-urban areas of the State Assam. But this scenario is very much disheartening in the State's rural areas. Very recently, some new universities have been established in Assam which makes the rate of female participation in higher education increased. However, the involvement of female in different technical and job oriented courses is still lagging behind. The present study is therefore an attempt to analyse the trend and pattern of women participation in different faculties of Gauhati University and also to investigate the socio-cultural factors behind the low rate of female participation in some particular faculties. The study is based on secondary data collected from the office of the university.


Introduction: Glacierised catchments are remote and hostile environments, in which streams from different water sources (e.g., glacier melt, rain/snowmelt, groundwater) converge, creating a complex mosaic of stream sites with varying levels of glacial influence and environmental conditions. This environmental heterogeneity, in turn, influences the assemblage and composition of aquatic communities and produces complex patterns of species diversity at the catchment scale. Objectives: In this contribution, we assessed biodiversity and community composition of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities from 51 stream site types in a glacierised catchment in the tropical Andes. The aim of our study was to: (1) determine diversity, rarity, commonness and spatial distribution patterns of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities from sites with different water sources, and (2) identify which environmental variables influence the density and presence of macroinvertebrate taxa and, in particular, of the subfamilies of the ubiquitous chironomids. Methods: Our study sites were grouped according to their water source and to their percentage of glacier coverage in the catchment (GCC). At each site we sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates, measured environmental variables and assessed community differences and environmental influence with ordination analyses and generalized linear models. Results: Kryal and mixed sites had an important proportion of rare taxa. Mean richness was highest in the mixed sites and lowest in the sites with the highest glacier cover; while sites with an intermediate percentage of glacier cover, had the highest values of α and β diversity. We found that 13 taxa (15.9%) were common to all stream site types. SIMPER analysis showed that Orthocladiinae, Hyalella sp. and Andesiops sp. contributed the most to the dissimilarity between site types (˃ 45% of cumulative contribution). RDA showed that kryal sites were associated with high turbidity and density of Podonomids, and with low temperature, amount of CPOM and densities of both Anomalocosmoecus sp. and Andesiops sp. Orthocladinae was associated with high current velocity and chlorophyll a concentration, whereas Hyalella sp. had a positive relationship with higher pH and streambed stability. Generalized linear models showed that GCC was the main variable explaining all faunal metrics. Current velocity explained macroinvertebrate abundance, water temperature was related to chironomid density and chlorophyll a influenced Orthocladiinae presence-absence. Conclusions: Our results suggest that by favoring the presence of rare taxa and taxa turnover, glacier influence may increase biodiversity in glacierised catchments. In terms of biodiversity conservation, this study confirms an urgent need to increase knowledge of high-Andean stream biodiversity, especially in highly heterogenous glacierised catchments, to better describe regional biodiversity patterns and community composition of these highly vulnerable freshwater ecosystems. Detailed analyses of benthic communities and development of databases are key for conservation strategies. Water management municipalities and/or enterprises should consider water quality and stream types for more sustainable management of these important ecosystems.


Diagnose the infected patient as soon as possible in the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak which is declared as a pandemic by the world health organization (WHO) is extremely important. Experts recommend CT imaging as a diagnostic tool because of the weak points of the nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). In this study, the detection of COVID-19 from CT images, which give the most accurate response in a short time, was investigated in the classical computer and firstly in quantum computers. Using the quantum transfer learning method, we experimentally perform COVID-19 detection in different quantum real processors (IBMQx2, IBMQ London and IBMQ-Rome) of IBM, as well as in different simulators (Pennylane, Qiskit-Aer and Cirq). By using a small number of data sets such as 126 COVID-19 and 100 Normal CT images, we obtained a positive or negative classification of COVID-19 with 90% success in classical computers, while we achieved a high success rate of 94-100% in quantum computers. Also, according to the results obtained, machine learning process in classical computers requiring more processors and time than quantum computers can be realized in a very short time with a very small quantum processor such as 4 qubits in quantum computers. If the size of the data set is small; Due to the superior properties of quantum, it is seen that according to the classification of COVID-19 and Normal, in terms of machine learning, quantum computers seem to outperform traditional computers.


Lactobacillus species play a key role in the health of the urinary tract. For instance, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. jensenii have been found to inhibit uropathogenic Escherichia coli growth. While L. crispatus is typically found only within the microbiota of women without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), L. jensenii has been found in the microbiota of women both with and without LUTS. With the recent introduction of the new species Lactobacillus mulieris, several strains of L. jensenii were reclassified as L. mulieris based upon gene marker and average nucleotide identity. We took a phylogenomic and comparative genomic approach to ascertain the genetic determinants of these two species. Looking at a larger data set, we identified additional L. mulieris strains, including one distinct from other members of the species—L. mulieris UMB7784. Furthermore, we identified unique loci in each species that may have clinical implications. ABSTRACT Lactobacilli are dominant members of the "healthy" female urogenital microbiota. One of these species, Lactobacillus jensenii, is routinely identified in the urinary microbiota of women both with and without urinary tract symptoms. In March 2020, the new bacterial species Lactobacillus mulieris was introduced, and phylogenetic and average nucleotide identity analysis identified eight L. jensenii strains that should be classified as members of the L. mulieris species. This prompted our phylogenomic study of all publicly available L. jensenii and L. mulieris genome sequences. While there is little variation in the 16S rRNA gene sequences, the core genome shows a clear distinction between genomes of the two species. We find eight additional strains of the species L. mulieris among these genomes. Furthermore, one strain, currently classified as L. mulieris UMB7784, is distinct from both L. jensenii and L. mulieris strains. As part of our comparative genomic study, we also investigated the genetic content that distinguishes these two species. Unique to the L. jensenii genomes are several genes related to catabolism of disaccharides. In contrast, L. mulieris genomes encode several cell surface and secreted proteins that are not found within the L. jensenii genomes. These L. jensenii-specific and L. mulieris-specific loci provide insight into phenotypic differences of these two species. IMPORTANCE Lactobacillus species play a key role in the health of the urinary tract. For instance, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. jensenii have been found to inhibit uropathogenic Escherichia coli growth. While L. crispatus is typically found only within the microbiota of women without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), L. jensenii has been found in the microbiota of women both with and without LUTS. With the recent introduction of the new species Lactobacillus mulieris, several strains of L. jensenii were reclassified as L. mulieris based upon gene marker and average nucleotide identity. We took a phylogenomic and comparative genomic approach to ascertain the genetic determinants of these two species. Looking at a larger data set, we identified additional L. mulieris strains, including one distinct from other members of the species—L. mulieris UMB7784. Furthermore, we identified unique loci in each species that may have clinical implications.


In this paper we demonstrate that a passive vibration strategy can bring a 1 degree of freedom ball to a known trajectory from all possible initial configurations. We draw motivation from the problem of parts feeding in sensorless assembly. We provide simulation results suggesting the relevance of our analytical results to the parts feeding problem.


WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC
The formation of intrathecal masses complicates the use of intrathecal opioid therapy for chronic painThe degranulation of mast cells has been linked to intrathecal mass formation WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: Using a guinea pig model, masses formed around intrathecal catheters when morphine was infused, and this mass formation was not prevented by opioid receptor blockadeNon-opioid receptor mediated stimulation of Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor appeared to be mechanism responsible for mast cell degranulation, fibroblast proliferation and ultimately mass formationAgents not activating Mas-related genes at analgesic doses did not produce masses BACKGROUND:: As the meningeally derived, fibroblast-rich, mass-produced by intrathecal morphine infusion is not produced by all opiates, but reduced by mast cell stabilizers, the authors hypothesized a role for meningeal mast cell/fibroblast activation. Using the guinea pig, the authors asked: (1) Are intrathecal morphine masses blocked by opiate antagonism?; (2) Do opioid agonists not producing mast cell degranulation or fibroblast activation produce masses?; and (3) Do masses covary with Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor signaling thought to mediate mast cell degranulation?

METHODS
In adult male guinea pigs (N = 66), lumbar intrathecal catheters connected to osmotic minipumps (14 days; 0.5 µl/h) were placed to deliver saline or equianalgesic concentrations of morphine sulfate (33 nmol/h), 2',6'-dimethyl tyrosine-(Tyr-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2) (abbreviated as DMT-DALDA; 10 pmol/h; μ agonist) or PZM21 (27 nmol/h; biased μ agonist). A second pump delivered subcutaneous naltrexone (25 µg/h) in some animals. After 14 to 16 days, animals were anesthetized and perfusion-fixed. Drug effects on degranulation of human cultured mast cells, mouse embryonic fibroblast activation/migration/collagen formation, and Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor activation (PRESTO-Tango assays) were determined.

RESULTS
Intrathecal infusion of morphine, DMT-DALDA or PZM21, but not saline, comparably increased thermal thresholds for 7 days. Spinal masses proximal to catheter tip, composed of fibroblast/collagen type I (median: interquartile range, 0 to 4 scale), were produced by morphine (2.3: 2.0 to 3.5) and morphine plus naltrexone (2.5: 1.4 to 3.1), but not vehicle (1.2: 1.1 to 1.5), DMT-DALDA (1.0: 0.6 to 1.3), or PZM21 (0.5: 0.4 to 0.8). Morphine in a naloxone-insensitive fashion, but not PZM21 or DMT-DALDA, resulted in mast cell degranulation and fibroblast proliferation/collagen formation. Morphine-induced fibroblast proliferation, as mast cell degranulation, is blocked by cromolyn. Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor activation was produced by morphine and TAN67 (∂-opioid agonist), but not by PZM21, TRV130 (mu biased ligand), or DMT-DALDA.

CONCLUSIONS
Opiates that activate Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor will degranulate mast cells, activate fibroblasts, and result in intrathecal mass formation. Results suggest a mechanistically rational path forward to safer intrathecal opioid therapeutics.


Introduction: Micro-vascular occlusion (MVO) in a myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with an increased risk of heart failure and mortality. Hs-T-troponin has a double peak kinetic after MI. The aim was to determine if this kinetic was correlated to MVO evaluated by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after MI. Methods: This is a monocentric retrospective study. Inclusion criteria were hospitalization for MI, Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction flow 0 at coronary angiography, reperfusion within 12 h from the onset of chest pain, cardiac MRI within the first month, and a 5-days' biological follow-up with at least hs-T-Troponin and C-reactive protein (CRP). Statistics were performed using the R software. Results: Ninety-eight patients were included. Fifty-three patients (54.1%) had MVO at MRI. The existence of MVO was associated with a trend of more kissing procedure during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p = 0.06), a significantly more frequent second peak of troponin (p = 0.048), a significantly higher CRP level (p < 0.0001) and a longer time to balloon (p = 0.01). The association of CRP level above 40 mg/L at day 2 and the observation of a second peak of troponin were associated to 95% of MVO in ST-segment elevation MI patients. By contrast, in the absence of these 2 criteria, MVO was absent in 78% of the cases. This score was associated with a higher rate of hospitalisation at 2 years. Conclusion: A biological score integrating hs-TNT second peak and CRP might help to predict MVO and predict outcomes after reperfused MI in our population.


The amount of the elderly in the Netherlands is rising. The percentage of 65-citizen has risen last 20 years from 12,8 % to 15,6 %. This allows for problematic developments within the society in the financial field, within the healthcare and the labour market (CBS, 2011). Within the framework of ageing, few research has been done at the personal experience of ageing (Montepare & Zebrowitz, 1998).
Previous research has shown that several factors are related to the personal experience ageing: subjective age (Barak & Stern, 1986; Baum & Boxley, 1983; Goldsmith & Heiens, 1992; Kastenbaum, Derbin, Sabatini & Artt, 1972; Markides & Boldt, 1983; Ward, 1977), physical loss, loss of social contacts and continued growth (Steverink, Westerhof, Bode Ditmann-kohli, 1999-2001; & Westerhof et al., 2003). It also appeared that the personal experience of ageing is related to people's well-being. The correlations between the sub-scales of the personal ageing experience and the aspects of well-being appeared to be low (-0.11 to 0.53) (Steverink et al, 2001). Some participants with a positive well-being, got a negative personal experience of ageing. The purpose of the current research is to figure out what is related to a negative personal experience of ageing, when one has a positive well-being. The research question within this research is: 'What is related in having a negative personal experience of ageing at people with a positive well-being?'
9 Participants within the age groups 40-54, 55-69 and 70-85 years participated at an in-depth interview. Within this group of participants with a positive well-being, there were 4 participants with a low and 5 participants with a high score on the personal experience of ageing.
After the analysis on the results of the interviews, 4 main conclusions can be drawn: 1) The factors 'general', 'physical ', ' mentally', ' mindset', 'appearance' and 'finiteness' are related in having a negative personal experience of ageing. 2) People with a negative perception of aging (BOWneg) are mored focused on the lower life goals, while the group 'BOWpos' is more focused on higher life goals. 3) The group 'BOWpos' got a greater acceptance concerning their own ageing than the group 'BOWneg'. 4) The group 'BOWneg' is more pursued with their own ageing than the group 'BOWpos'.


Customer Relationship Management (CRM) standard package software has become a key contributor to attempts at aligning business and IT strategies in recent years. The past decade has witnessed a shift from the need to manage transactions to that of the need to manage relationships. Where Enterprise Resource Planning software dominated the management of transactions era, CRM software leads in regard to relationships. At present, a balanced view of CRM software is scantly presented instead relying on vendor rhetoric. This paper aims to make a contribution to this neglected area by presenting an analysis of some of the key issues associated with CRM systems. Three issues emerge: the limitations of CRM standard software, the need for a holistic view of CRM projects and the problems of a dominant management perspective of CRM projects. It is argued that these issues could be more readily accommodated by organisational detachment from beliefs in IT as utopia, consideration of prior IS theory and practice and a more informed approach to CRM software selection. The paper also raises research questions in relation to CRM systems, IT maturity, standard software trends and the role of the IS function.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of Escherichia coli endotoxin on the evolution of ischemic acute renal failure (ARF). Rats were subjected to 25 min of bilateral renal artery occlusion (RAO) plus subcutaneous/intraperitoneal injections of either boiled E. coli or purified E. coli endotoxin (1.5 mg). Boiling the E. coli renders them nonviable but leaves endotoxin intact. Ischemic controls were injected with saline. The E. coli injections exacerbated ischemic ARF, doubling the degree of azotemia and increasing the extent of tubular necrosis and cast formation. This occurred without an adverse effect on renal blood flow or blood pressure during the initiation phase or maintenance phase of the ARF. Endotoxin tolerant rats were totally protected against the E. coli-ARF potentiating effect. Neither Staphylococcus aureus nor E. coli with denatured endotoxin adversely affected ischemic injury. Purified E. coli endotoxin reproduced the E. coli-ARF potentiating action. Neither E. coli nor purified endotoxin induced azotemia in the absence of renal ischemia.

CONCLUSION
E. coli endotoxin can exacerbate ischemic renal injury without compromising renal hemodynamics. This action appears to be mediated by an adverse effect of endotoxin on critical subcellular determinants of ischemic tissue injury.


Abstract Previous research has examined a range of demographic variables that have been shown to influence an individual's attitude toward, and in turn their treatment of, animals. Little is known, however, about the effect of certain occupations upon these attitudes. The current study examines attitudes toward animals and the propensity for aggression within a sample of farmers and meatworkers in Queensland, Australia. Recent findings and publicity around the effects of employment (and cases of deliberate animal cruelty) within these industries indicates that this is an area in need of investigation from both human and animal welfare perspectives. The implications of the current findings for the meat-working industry and for the field of human-animal studies are discussed.


Current advance care planning practices focus on completion of a health care directive which usually lack clarity in treatment preferences, provide little assistance for patients, health care agents, care team to reliably honour goals and wishes and generally focus on end of life decisions. Individuals and their health care agents living with chronic illness are unprepared to respond to the medical decision making expected when an individual has an expected complication which results in an unexpected "bad outcome." Individuals and health care agents who participate in Disease Specific Advance Care Planning (DS-ACP) discussions have excellent satisfaction ratings; are more confident in knowing individual treatment preferences; have increase prevalence of advance care plan documents in the medical record (94.3% vs. 24.9%, p<0.001); are more likely to receive care according to documented wishes; and receive end of life care prior to death (56% vs. 37%, p=0.002). As a result of the positive outcomes from DS-ACP, it is cultural accepted as standard in for all patients living with chronic progressive illness. DS-ACP facilitator certification is now a required competency for staff caring for the complex chronically ill. Key learning from the DS-ACP pilot identified the importance of the following strategies for successful adoption: Leadership/stakeholders engagement. Electronic referral and documentation process. Patient, family, care team engagement. DS-ACP included in system care improvement strategies. Standard ACP education/training Leadership to support process improvement and change management.


In fuel gas project, the foundation of carburetor is in circumstance which concrete occurred freeze-thaw circulation. To meet durability of structure, polypropylene fibrous concrete was used in design to solve concrete freeze-thaw. By means of a project, this paper talks about its crack control mechanism, impermeability, frost resistance and wear-resisting strength. Furthermore, some attention is listed to use polypropylene fibrous concrete successfully.


In this study, the effects of implementing stochastic finite fault ground motion simulations in earthquake hazard and risk assessment are evaluated. The investigations are conducted for the city of Dehradun (Indian Himalayas). We compare two ground motion estimation techniques: a ground motion prediction equation–based technique and a simulation-based technique. The comparison focuses on the differences the techniques imply on earthquake damage and loss estimates. Ground motion simulations are first calibrated against the instrumental recordings of the 1991 Mw 6.8 Uttarkashi earthquake. Afterward, a number of events are considered with different magnitude, distance, and azimuth to the source. Results indicate large differences between ground motion and loss estimates derived by the two methods, especially in the direction of rupture propagation, which persist to 2–2.5 fault lengths distance. It is therefore strongly recommended to consider rupture kinematics and orientation to the test bed when providing ground motion estimates for near-field earthquake loss assessment studies.


Integrated circuit manufacturability in DSM is directly dependent on how well the manufacturing variations are accounted for during the design of circuits. This paper reviews the effect of various process variations in DSM especially systematic and random variations in three process generations 90 nm, 65 nm & 45 nm by doing SPICE simulation and analysis to look at the derating factors depending on the sensitivity to variations. Few individual standard cells are studied as apart of this exercise to see the effect of variation on their delays. Random variations are becoming a significant portion of the overall variations at 45 nm and below. The results suggests the need for selective, location based and variation aware analysis (SLVA) for the designs going forward.


Background: Initial reports of transbronchial cryobiopsy for diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD) suggest the diagnostic yield approaches that of surgical lung biopsy (SLB) with an excellent safety profile. Centers performing cryobiopsy differ significantly in procedure technique; an optimal technique minimizing complications but still capable of diagnosing a wide range of DPLDs has not been established. We evaluated our practice of flexible bronchoscopic cryobiopsy in a primarily outpatient setting for patients who required a tissue diagnosis for DPLD of uncertain etiology. Methods: Consecutive patients with indeterminate DPLD who underwent bronchoscopic cryobiopsy at a large academic medical center from January 2012 to August 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Rates of confident histopathologic diagnosis, confident multidisciplinary consensus diagnosis, management change, and complications were determined. Results: One hundred four cases were identified. Confident histopathologic diagnoses were established in 44% (46/104) and confident multidisciplinary consensus diagnoses in 68% (71/104). Usual interstitial pneumonia (19/104) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (22/104) were the most common histopathologic and consensus diagnoses, respectively. Five subjects proceeded to SLB after cryobiopsy which was diagnostic in 3. Results of cryobiopsies changed management in 70% (73/104). Complications occurred in 8 cases with no death. Conclusions: Cryobiopsy during outpatient flexible bronchoscopy facilitated confident multidisciplinary consensus diagnosis of DPLD in more than two thirds of cases, and appears sufficient to establish the histopathologic diagnosis of usual interstitial pneumonia, with a complication rate that compares favorably to that reported for SLB.


The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the engagement of employees in their work mediates the relationship between their performance and the job resources that organisations provide. A primary survey of 341 working adults from the Klang Valley in Malaysia revealed the direct and indirect relationships between the availability of job resources and employee performance. Work engagement partially mediates between them. The results highlight the importance of providing employees with appropriate resources so that they would be engaged in their work and perform well in their jobs. This article also discusses some of the theoretical and managerial implications and provides suggestions for future research.


The production of the East African highland cooking banana is constrained by pests, diseases and narrow genetic base amongst others. Research to develop resistant / tolerant genotypes has been on going at Kawanda. 18 promising banana hybrids have been identified. The hybrids were planted on farmers' fields in Kasangombe Sub-county in central Uganda for evaluation against black Sigatoka and yield. Data were collected on some of the agronomic traits, banana weevil damage and response to black Sigatoka disease on the plant and first ratoon crops.  The data were analysed using mixed model procedures on SAS software. Means within each crop cycle were separated by comparing hem to Mbwazirume using adjustment to Dunnett's Test at 5% level of significance. The hybrids had more functional leaves (at least 9) compared to Mbwazirume (approximately 8 leaves). Youngest leaf spotted was significantly higher in the hybrids. All the hybrids except 2734K-1 retained significantly higher number of leaves at harvest (approximately 3 leaves). Most of the hybrids produced bigger bunches (at least 16 kg and 19 in the plant crop and first ratoon respectively) and the yield (t/ha/yr) of the banana hybrids was also higher compared to Mbwazirume. A Bi-plot of principal component analysis 1 against principal component analysis 2 showed that banana hybrids 12419S-13, 2625K-1 and 7798S-2 displayed very good agronomic traits in terms of plant height, girth and bunch weights. They also appeared to be tolerant to black Sigatoka disease as compared to Mbwazirume. These could be recommended for further evaluation with farmers to establish their culinary qualities and acceptability.

 Key words: East African highland banana hybrids, black Sigatoka disease.


Physical activity is required for health, but resources to prompt physical activity (e.g. facilities, trainers, and programs) are scarce for individuals with disabilities, particularly those who require rehabilitation following discharge and those with severe disabilities. A legal and administrative framework supporting the implementation of health services for people with disabilities is not well established in Korea. Therefore, it is necessary to develop such a framework—one that is optimized by reflecting the opinions and views of all parties involved, including persons with disability, medical and physical education experts, facility managers, and government. This study aimed to establish expert consensus on the development of rehabilitation sports services (RSS) by reviewing previous studies and expert statements. Using the Delphi method, we reviewed the literature to identify the critical roles and factors for planning efficient RSS programs, including 'coordinators', 'physicians', 'facility managers', 'rehabilitation exercise and physical education trainers', and 'integrated information systems for facilities, trainers, and programs'. We developed a Delphi questionnaire with closed-end questions based on the factors derived from the literature and supplementary open-ended questions. The questionnaire was administered to a panel of 26 experts. The panel reached a consensus on most factors (i.e. coordinators, physicians, facility managers, rehabilitation exercise and fitness professionals, and integrated systems for facilities, trainers, and programs). However, no consensus was reached regarding 'when an applicant can continue/discontinue an RSS program', 'establishing information systems to manage physical fitness of people with disabilities', or 'joint operation of the to-be-established system by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism', leaving room for further debate. By identifying the factors and roles necessary for RSS, this study is expected to offer valuable information for state-led pilot projects and contribute to promoting physical activity and quality of life among people with disabilities. Abstract


Seasonal patterns of dry mass invested in chlorophyll and epidermal phenolic compounds (EPhen) were investigated in vivo using optical methods, in leaves of 2-year-old oaks (Quercus petraea Matt. (Liebl.)) grown under semi-controlled conditions. The plasticity of the seasonal pattern was investigated by applying stem girdling treatment. In control young expanding leaves, leaf dry mass per area, dry mass investment in chlorophyll and abaxial EPhen content increased. In late May, at leaf maturity, these variables reached a plateau, and adaxial and abaxial EPhen contents became similar. Thereafter, as leaves aged, dry mass investment in chlorophyll gradually decreased, whereas it remained steady for EPhen. Girdling treatment impacted this seasonal pattern differently depending on the phenological stage. Treatment effects and their reversion revealed in vivo EPhen turnover. Finally, optical signatures of immature and mature leaf phenological stages with contrasting nitrogen and carbon economy were proposed, based on the relationship between the chlorophyll to EPhen ratio and the leaf nitrogen to carbon ratio.


Context. The massive and luminous star-forming region W49A is a well-known Galactic candidate to probe the physical conditions and chemistry similar to those expected in external starburst galaxies. Aims: We aim to probe the physical and chemical structure of W49A on a spatial scale of ~0.8 pc based on the JCMT Spectral Legacy Survey, which covers the frequency range between 330 and 373 GHz. Methods: The wide 2 × 2 arcmin field and the high spectral resolution of the HARP instrument on JCMT provides information on the spatial structure and kinematics of the cloud traced by the observed molecular lines. For species where multiple transitions are available, we estimate excitation temperatures and column densities using a population diagram method that takes beam dilution and optical depth corrections into account. Results: We detected 255 transitions corresponding to 63 species in the 330-373 GHz range at the center position of W49A. Excitation conditions can be probed for 14 molecules, including the complex organic molecules CH3CCH, CH3CN, and CH3OH. The chemical composition suggests the importance of shock, photon-dominated region (PDR), and hot core chemistry. Many molecular lines show a significant spatial extent across the maps including CO and its isotopologues, high density tracers (e.g., HCN, HNC, CS, HCO+), and tracers of UV irradiation (e.g., CN and C2H). The spatially extended species reveal a complex velocity-structure of W49A with possible infall and outflow motions. Large variations are seen between the subregions with mostly blue-shifted emission toward the eastern tail, mostly red-shifted emission toward the northern clump, and emission peaking around the expected source velocity toward the southwest clump. Conclusions: A comparison of column density ratios of characteristic species observed toward W49A to Galactic PDRs suggests that while the chemistry toward the W49A center is driven by a combination of UV irradiation and shocks, UV irradiation dominates for the northern clump, eastern tail, and southwest clump regions. A comparison to a starburst galaxy and an active galactic nucleus suggests similar C2H, CN, and H2CO abundances (with respect to the dense gas tracer 34CS) between the ~0.8 pc scale probed for W49A and the >1 kpc regions in external galaxies with global star formation. Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org


The paper investigates the effect of unity-gain output-current-feedforward in a peak-current-mode-controlled (PCMC) buck converter. A consistent theoretical basis is provided showing that the unity-gain feedforward can improve significantly the load invariance and transient performance of a PCMC buck converter. The nonidealities associated to the scheme would, however, deteriorate the obtainable level of invariance. The nonidealities can be maintained at acceptable level, and therefore, the scheme would provide a viable method to reduce significantly the load interactions as well as improve the load-transient response. The theoretical predictions are supported with comprehensive experimental evidence both at frequency and time domain as well as comparisons between three different buck converters


Comparative analysis of dissemination by H. pylori of the bile portions in patients of a control group, suffering an acute calculous cholecystitis (ACCH), was performed. Dissemination of H. pylori in a control group was significantly less, than in a bile portions of patients, suffering ACCH. While analyzing the rate and degree of dissemination by H. pylori of the gastic and gallbladder mucosa biopsies of patients, suffering chronic non-calculous cholecystitis, associated with duodenogastric reflux and gastroduodenitis, bacteria were revealed trustworthy more often and in more number, than in a gallbladder mucosa in patients, suffering ACCH.


ABSTRACT The genus Saccharomyces consists of several species divided into the sensu stricto and the sensu lato groups. The genomes of these species differ in the number and organization of nuclear chromosomes and in the size and organization of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In the present experiments we examined whether these yeasts can exchange DNA and thereby create novel combinations of genetic material. Several putative haploid, heterothallic yeast strains were isolated from different Saccharomyces species. All of these strains secreted an a- or α-like pheromone recognized by S. cerevisiae tester strains. When interspecific crosses were performed by mass mating between these strains, hybrid zygotes were often detected. In general, the less related the two parental species were, the fewer hybrids they gave. For some crosses, viable hybrids could be obtained by selection on minimal medium and their nuclear chromosomes and mtDNA were examined. Often the frequency of viable hybrids was very low. Sometimes putative hybrids could not be propagated at all. In the case of sensu stricto yeasts, stable viable hybrids were obtained. These contained both parental sets of chromosomes but mtDNA from only one parent. In the case of sensu lato hybrids, during genetic stabilization one set of the parental chromosomes was partially or completely lost and the stable mtDNA originated from the same parent as the majority of the nuclear chromosomes. Apparently, the interspecific hybrid genome was genetically more or less stable when the genetic material originated from phylogenetically relatively closely related parents; both sets of nuclear genetic material could be transmitted and preserved in the progeny. In the case of more distantly related parents, only one parental set, and perhaps some fragments of the other one, could be found in genetically stabilized hybrid lines. The results obtained indicate that Saccharomyces yeasts have a potential to exchange genetic material. If Saccharomyces isolates could mate freely in nature, horizontal transfer of genetic material could have occurred during the evolution of modern yeast species.


In a previous contribution, we implemented a finite locus model (FLM) for estimating additive and dominance genetic variances via a Bayesian method and a single-site Gibbs sampler. We observed a dependency of dominance variance estimates on locus number in the analysis FLM. Here, we extended the FLM to include two-locus epistasis, and implemented the analysis with two genotype samplers (Gibbs and descent graph) and three different priors for genetic effects (uniform and variable across loci, uniform and constant across loci, and normal). Phenotypic data were simulated for two pedigrees with 6300 and 12,300 individuals in closed populations, using several different, non-additive genetic models. Replications of these data were analysed with FLMs differing in the number of loci. Simulation results indicate that the dependency of non-additive genetic variance estimates on locus number persisted in all implementation strategies we investigated. However, this dependency was considerably diminished with normal priors for genetic effects as compared with uniform priors (constant or variable across loci). Descent graph sampling of genotypes modestly improved variance components estimation compared with Gibbs sampling. Moreover, a larger pedigree produced considerably better variance components estimation, suggesting this dependency might originate from data insufficiency. As the FLM represents an appealing alternative to the infinitesimal model for genetic parameter estimation and for inclusion of polygenic background variation in QTL mapping analyses, further improvements are warranted and might be achieved via improvement of the sampler or treatment of the number of loci as an unknown.


Abstract According to Krishnamurthy et al (2007) the building of competitive advantage from alliances via innovation with technical partners is the most challenging of the objectives sought in partnerships. Academic research in the last decade has examined the prerequisites and success factors and general agreement has been reached on the critical issues. They include, for example, the concept of relationship capital - mutual trust, mutual commitment and information exchange (Sarkar et al, 2001). However, it is not clear that this knowledge has led to improvements in the historically poor success ratio. This case explores the successful implementation of an innovation partnership, endorsing the recent work by Sturgess & Cumming (2011) on the importance of a focus on implementation. Previous academic research on such partnerships has tended to focus on manufacturing; in particular the automotive engineering and pharmaceutical sectors. Relationships were typically asymmetric with the supplier being much smaller in size and power relative to the manufacturer. The authors wanted to explore a different power and size relationship emerging from the growing needs of a number of service industries, where technology is becoming a strategic imperative for gaining competitive advantage. Organisations in the aviation, retail banking and retail communications sectors are seeking IT and telecommunication skills that will help them build competitive advantage from better services, systems and products. The most knowledgeable organisations with this technical knowledge tend to be large ones. Our case examines how Westpac, a large retail bank in Australia, went about the task of reviewing their existing commercial relationships and selected the most promising one for the objective of building a trusted value adding partnership. In the process, they identified the critical pre-requisites and developed a five-stage key success model for implementation. It is hoped that the study will encourage other researchers to look more closely at the implementation challenge.


The linear filters characterized by a state-variable realization given by matrices with nonnegative entries (called positive filters) are heavily restricted in their achievable performance. Nevertheless, such filters are the only choice when dealing with the charged coupled device MOS technology of charge routing networks (CRN's), since nonnegativity is a consequence of the underlying physical mechanism. In order to exploit the advantages offered by this technology, the authors try to overcome the above-mentioned limitation by realizing an arbitrary transfer function as a difference of two positive filters.


Recent studies have suggested improvements in quality of life (QOL) in patients on quotidian dialysis compared with conventional hemodialysis. Few studies have focused on the burden and QOL in caregivers of patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) on nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHD). We aim to assess the caregivers' burden, QOL, and depressive symptoms and to compare these parameters with their patients' counterparts. Cross‐sectional surveys were sent to 61 prevalent NHD patients and their caregivers. Surveys assessed demographics, general self‐perceived health using the 12‐Item Short Form Health Survey (SF‐12) and the presence of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory. Subjective burden on caregivers was assessed by the Caregiver Burden scale and was compared with perceived burden by the patients. Thirty‐six patients and 31 caregivers completed the survey. The majority of caregivers were female (66%), spouse (81%) with no comorbid illness (72%). Their mean age was 51 ± 11 years. Patients were mostly male (64%) with a median ESRD vintage of 60 months (interquartile range [IQR], 18–136 months) and a mean age of 52 ± 10 years. Compared to caregivers, patients had lower perceived physical health score but had similar mental health score. Depression criteria were present in 47% of patients and 25% of caregivers. Total global burden perceived by either caregivers or patients is relatively low. Although there is a relatively low global burden perceived by caregivers and patients undergoing NHD, a significant proportion of both groups fulfilled criteria for depression. Further innovative approaches are needed to support caregivers and patients performing NHD to reduce the intrusion of caring for a chronic illness and the risk of developing depression.


The graphical based technique is mainly used for authentication purpose. The purpose of this paper is increasing the security space and usability and avoiding the weakness of conventional password. The graphical based password technique uses persuasive cued click point. This persuasive Cued click points was designed to reduce patterns and reduce the usefulness of hotspots for attackers. An important usability goal for authentication systems is to support users in selecting better passwords, thus increasing security by expanding the effective password space. In click-based graphical passwords, poorly chosen passwords lead to the emergence of hotspots. The graphical password technique use robust discretization method, this discrete method is used to determine a click point's tolerance square &corresponding grid. The click-based graphical passwords, encourage users to select more random, and hence more difficult to guess, click-points.


The first major work in the history of philosophy to bear the title "Metaphysics" was the treatise by Aristotle that we have come to know by that name. But Aristotle himself did not use that title or even describe his field of study as 'metaphysics'; the name was evidently coined by the first century C.E. editor who assembled the treatise we know as Aristotle's Metaphysics out of various smaller selections of Aristotle's works. The title 'metaphysics'—literally, 'after the Physics'—very likely indicated the place the topics discussed therein were intended to occupy in the philosophical curriculum. They were to be studied after the treatises dealing with nature (ta phusika). In this entry, we discuss the ideas that are developed in Aristotle's treatise. 1. The Subject Matter of Aristotle's Metaphysics 2. The Categories 3. The Role of Substance in the Study of Being Qua Being 4. The Fundamental Principles: Axioms 5. What is Substance? 6. Substance, Matter, and Subject 7. Substance and Essence 8. Substances as Hylomorphic Compounds 9. Substance and Definition 10. Substances and Universals 11. Substance as Cause of Being 12. Actuality and Potentiality 13. Unity Reconsidered 14. Glossary of Aristotelian Terminology Bibliography Academic Tools Other Internet Resources Related Entries


In the report "Allergic encephalomyelitis: passive transfer prevented by encephalitogen" by S. Levine et al. (13 Sept., p. 1155). by error, no valuLe was indicated in Table 1 (p. 1156) for rats treated with 2.0 mg of basic protein 6 hours after passive transfer. Four rats were actually treated in this manner and all had zero EAE scores.


Objective Interprofessional collaboration is a crucial component of care for children with rheumatic disease. Interprofessional care, when delivered appropriately, prevents disability and improves long-term prognosis in this vulnerable group. Methods The aim of this survey was to explore allied health professionals' and nurses' confidence in treating paediatric rheumatology patients. Results Overall, 117 participants were recruited, 77.9% of participants reported being "not confident at all," "not confident," or "neutral" in treating children with rheumatic diseases (RD) despite 65.1% of participants reporting having treated >1 paediatric rheumatology case in the past month. Furthermore, 67.2% of participants felt their undergraduate education in paediatric rheumatology was inadequate. "Journals" or "texts books" were used by 49.3% of participants as their primary source of continuing professional development (CPD) and 39.3% of participants indicated that they did not undertake any CPD related to paediatric rheumatology. Small group and online education were perceived to be potentially of "great benefit" for CPD. Conclusion This paper highlights allied health professionals' and nurses' perceived inadequacy of their undergraduate education in paediatric RD and their low confidence in recognising and treating RD. Undergraduate and postgraduate education opportunities focusing on interprofessional collaboration should be developed to address this workforce deficiency.


This study provides evidence on whether investors value tax gross-up provisions for executives, and how the elimination of these provisions changes executive compensation. We examine the market response to tax gross-up eliminations and find investors react favorably to the removal of these provisions, suggesting that on average, investors perceived these agreements as a bad compensation practice that destroyed firm value. Next, we examine whether firms respond to these eliminations by increasing other forms of executive compensation. We find firms eliminating tax gross-up provisions increase bonus but not salary. Broadly, we provide evidence that some features of compensation contracts are not valued by shareholders, and that the elimination of these features can lead to increased firm value.


Flat surface phases are unstable during growth and known to become rough. This does not exclude the possibility that surface reconstruction order persists in rough growing surfaces, in analogy with so-called equilibrium reconstructed rough phases. We investigate this in the context of KPZ type dynamics, using the restricted solid on solid model with negative mono-atomic step energies. Long range reconstruction order is strictly speaking absent in the thermodynamic limit, but the reconstruction domain walls become trapped at surface ridge lines, and the reconstruction order parameter fluctuates critically with the KPZ dynamic exponent at finite but large length scales.


Statement of the problem. Research on Instructional Assessment is in its infancy. To date, no studies regarding its psychometric properties have been published, but the need for using technically sound assessment methods is prominent in education. Therefore, demonstrated technical adequacy is crucial. The lack of psychometric data for Instructional Assessment is especially noteworthy since it is one of the few educational assessment techniques that includes assessment of performance and cognitive learning theory, both of which have been linked to improved student achievement. Method. Ninety-six students from Grades 1, 3, and 5 were individually taught a series ofwords from the Esperanto International Language using the Incremental Rehearsal technique until they reached a defined level of interference. The number of words learned before interference occurred was recorded as the rate of acquisition, and the students were tested for retention 1 to 3 days later. After an interval of 14 days, the same students were again individually taught different words from the Esperanto list using the Incremental Rehearsal technique until interference occurred, and they were again tested for retention 1 to 3 days later. The acquisition rates, rates of retention expressed in terms of the number of words remembered, and rates of retention expressed as a percentage of the acquisition rate were all correlated using the Pearson r . The two different approaches to retention rates were compared using a t -test. Results. The results of the study listed test-retest coefficients for the rates of acquisition that ranged from .756 to .931. The coefficients for the rates of retention described as the number of words retained fell between .679 and .919, while the reliability coefficients for the retention rates listed as a percentage of the acquisition rate fell between .342 and .848. The test-retest reliability of rates of acquisition and retention fell above a standard minimum level necessary to base educational decision on the data, and revealed significant correlations ( p < .01). However, this was true only for Grades 3 and 5, not Grade 1, and was not true for rates of retention listed as a percentage of the acquisition rate. The comparison between correlations for retention rates as a number of words retained and asa percentage of words acquired revealed significantly higher ( p < .01) correlations for the former over the latter. Conclusions. Instructional Assessment using the Incremental Rehearsal model is a reliable method of measuring an individual student's rate of acquisition for Grades 3 and 5. It is also a reliable approach for Grades 3 and 5 to measure rates of retention if they are expressed asthe number of words retained. In general, expressing the rate of retention as the number of words retained is a more reliable method than expressing it as a percentage of the acquisition rate. The practical applications for effective instruction are discussed in terms ofthe amount of new information that can be presented to individual learners to increase student achievement.


Objective: Exposures to petrol vapours have been shown to affect functioning of different systems of the body. The effect on lung function is largely unexplored in Africa. We aimed at studying the effect of exposure to petrol vapours on pulmonary function among petrol pump workers.
Method: A cross-sectional survey using modified Medical Research Council questionnaire was conducted and spirometry was carried out after a typical work shift in exposed petrol pump attendants and security guards in a university hospital as controls.
Result: The pre-bronchodilator percent predicted forced vital capacity and post bronchodilator percent predicted forced vital capacity were significantly lower for the exposed vs controls 83.4±12.2;87.2±11.9 and 83.9±12.4;87.7±12.3 (p=0.031 and 0.036 respectively).
Conclusion: Exposure to petrol fumes of petrol pump workers may result in significantly lower lung function when compared with age and sex-matched controls.


Internet end users and ISPs alike have little control over how packets are routed outside of their own AS, restricting their ability to achieve levels of performance, reliability, and utility that might otherwise be attained. While researchers have proposed a number of source-routing techniques to combat this limitation, there has thus far been no way for independent ASes to ensure that such traffic does not circumvent local traffic policies, nor to accurately determine the correct party to charge for forwarding the traffic.We present Platypus, an authenticated source routing system built around the concept of network capabilities. Network capabilities allow for accountable, fine-grained path selection by cryptographically attesting to policy compliance at each hop along a source route. Capabilities can be composed to construct routes through multiple ASes and can be delegated to third parties. Platypus caters to the needs of both end users and ISPs: users gain the ability to pool their resources and select routes other than the default, while ISPs maintain control over where, when, and whose packets traverse their networks. We describe how Platypus can be used to address several well-known issues in wide-area routing at both the edge and the core, and evaluate its performance, security, and interactions with existing protocols. Our results show that incremental deployment of Platypus can achieve immediate gains.


This study investigated the relationship between different stages of the life cycle of organizational and leadership styles in the offices of government agencies Kermanshah province. This descriptive study with a quantitative approach and appropriate information gathered from a sample of 402 people. The data gathering tool was a standard questionnaire. Therefore, the model of Miller and Friesen (1984) was used to identify the stages of the life cycle and has had 20 questions, each of the stages of birth, growth, maturity, decline and revival is measured with four items and the leadership model Rensys Likert (1961) was used to identify leadership practices. The questionnaire has 27 questions, imperious manner with 7 items, charitable way with 6 items, consultative approach with 6 items and collaborative manner is measured by 8 items. The population of the entire staff of managers and administrative staff, including 27 Department of Kermanshah city with a population of 8526 people. Bartlett test was used to assess reliability. Content validity was used for validity; the questionnaire was sent to a number of professors in the field of research and after the reforms were attempted to distribute it. The results of the tests "Bartlett" calculated for the concept of leadership style equal to 0.702 and for the life cycle of the 0.891 was decided to confirm the adequacy of sampling (more than 0.50). For analyze the software "SPSS" and Amos were used. The results show that organizational life and its dimensions ranging between cycles of birth, growth, maturity, decline and revival and leadership styles include authoritarian, benevolent, consultation and participation, there is a significant correlation between positive effects.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional gene expression regulators. Here, 448 different miRNA genes, including 17 novel miRNAs, encoding for 589 mature Atlantic salmon miRNAs were identified after sequencing 111 samples (fry, pathogen challenged fry, various developmental and adult tissues). This increased the reference miRNAome with almost one hundred genes. Prior to isomiR characterization (mature miRNA variants), the proportion of erroneous sequence variants (ESVs) arising in the analysis pipeline was assessed. The ESVs were biased towards 5' and 3' end of reads in unexpectedly high proportions indicating that measurements of ESVs rather than Phred score should be used to avoid misinterpreting ESVs as isomiRs. Forty-three isomiRs were subsequently discovered. The biological effect of the isomiRs measured as increases in target diversity was small (<3%). Five miRNA genes showed allelic variation that had a large impact on target gene diversity if present in the seed. Twenty-one miRNAs were ubiquitously expressed while 31 miRNAs showed predominant expression in one or few tissues, indicating housekeeping or tissue specific functions, respectively. The miR-10 family, known to target Hox genes, were highly expressed in the developmental stages. The proportion of miR-430 family members, participating in maternal RNA clearance, was high at the earliest developmental stage.


Antisera prepared against papain-digested spleen cell membranes were known to by cytotoxic for normal and neoplastic human B lymphocytes and for a majority of acute and chronic myeloid leukemic cells. It is now shown that these antisera are also cytotoxic for normal myeloid stem cells (CFU-C), thus providing a probable explanation for their occurrence in myeloid neoplasia.


Waves in the Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies (ICRF) enhance local Plasma-Surface Interactions (PSI) near the wave launchers and magnetically-connected objects via Radio-Frequency (RF) sheath rectification. ITER will use 20MW of ICRF power over long pulses, questioning the long-term impact of RF-enhanced localized erosion on the lifetime of its Beryllium (Be) wall. Recent dedicated ICRF-heated L-mode discharges documented this process on JET for different types of ICRF antennas. Using visible spectroscopy in JET ICRF-heated L-mode discharges, poloidally-localized regions of enhanced (by ∼2–4x) Be I and Be II light emission were observed on two outboard limiters magnetically connected to the bottom of the active ITER-Like Antenna (ILA). The observed RF-PSI induced by the ILA was qualitatively comparable to that induced by the JET standard, type-A2 antennas, for similar strap toroidal phasing and connection geometries. The Be II line emission was found more intense when powering the bottom half of the ILA rather than its top half. Conversely, more pronounced SOL density modifications were observed with only top array operation, on field lines connected to the top half of the ILA. So far the near-field modeling of the ILA with antenna code TOPICA (Torino Polytechnic Ion Cyclotron Antenna), using curved antenna model, was partially able to reproduce qualitatively the observed phenomena. A quantitative discrepancy persisted between the observed Be source amplification and the calculated, corresponding increases in E// field at the magnetically connected locations to the ILA when changing from only top to only bottom half antenna operation. This paper revisits these current drive phased and half-ILA powered cases using for the new simulations flat model of the ILA and more realistic antenna feeding to calculate the E// field maps with TOPICA code. Further, the Self-consistent Sheaths and Waves for Ion Cyclotron Heating Slow Wave (SSWICH-SW) code, which couples slow wave evanescence with DC Scrape-Off Layer (SOL) biasing, is used to estimate the poloidal distribution of rectified RF-sheath Direct Current (DC) potential VDC in the private SOL between the ILA poloidal limiters. The approach so far was limited to correlating the observed, enhanced emission regions at the remote limiters to the antenna near-electric fields, as calculated by TOPICA. The present approach includes also a model for the rectification of these near-fields in the private SOL of the ILA. With the improved approach, when comparing only top and only bottom half antenna feeding, we obtained good qualitative correlation between all experimental measurements and the calculated local variations in the E// field and VDC potential.


: Chronic active hepatitis with increased hepatic copper concentration was diagnosed in 25 female and 1 male Doberman Pinscher dogs. Common clinical signs included polyuria/polydipsia, weight loss, anorexia, icterus, and ascites. Increased liver enzyme activities and abnormal liver function test results were the most consistent clinicopathologic changes. The dogs were assigned to 3 groups on the basis of clinical course of the disease. Group 1 dogs (n = 12) had clinical signs of advanced liver failure and died within one week. Group 2 dogs (n = 7) had less severe clinical signs of liver disease and died within one month. Group 3 dogs (n = 5) did not have clinical signs of illness or had mild clinical signs of liver disease and died 1 to 42 months after initial evaluation. One dog could not be reevaluated and another dog was alive 3 months after initial examination. Treatments consisted of supportive care for dogs in group 1, and dietary manipulations and corticosteroids for dogs in groups 2 and 3. The association of increased liver copper concentration and chronic active hepatitis is not known.


Rayleigh scattering theory is extended to determine the perturbation on an arbitrarily prescribed elastic wave field produced by small inhomogeneities in an otherwise homogeneous, isotropic medium. The general result is applied to the specific problems of the scattering of both plane P- and S-waves. It is found that a change in compressibility acts at a distance as a simple source and a change in density as a dipole, as in the acoustical problem, while a change in shear modulus contributes both simple‐source and quadrapole fields.


Abstract : The second Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Software Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) Workshop was held April 25-26, 2006 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A total of 61 software systems engineers, architects, technical managers, product managers, and researchers exchanged best practices and lessons learned in applying SEI software architecture technology in an architecture-driven development or acquisition project. In the closing session, workshop participants noted these highlights: presentations showing the methods in action, a comparison of multiple SEI Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) evaluations and cross-wise analysis, the workshop format using interactive presentations, a good mix of academic and industry perspectives, and a sharing of workshop results. This report describes the workshop format, discussion, and results, as well as plans for future SATURN workshops. Key topics covered in the workshop and noted by the participants were the future plans of the SEI's Software Architecture Technology Initiative, the overall integration of software architecture methods and techniques, and the experiences others shared in applying the methods and transitioning them for use.


The zonal electric field is the primary driver of two important features of the equatorial ionosphere: (1)The Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA), and (2) plasma density irregularities, also known as spread‐F. During propagation through the ionosphere, communication and navigation radio signals are attenuated, delayed and scattered by these ionospheric features. Prediction of the zonal electric field is therefore a key to the real‐time specification of the ionosphere. We divide the zonal electric field into a climatological contribution plus the prompt‐penetration contribution predicted by a transfer‐function model applied to the interplanetary electric field measured by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite. The zonal electric field is predicted about one hour in advance, covering all local times and longitudes. The real‐time prediction is available as a Google application at http://www.geomag.us/models/PPEFM/RealtimeEF.html. The benefit of this application to space weather forecasting is twofold: As the driver of the equatorial plasma fountain, the predicted zonal electric field is a leading indicator by 2–3 h of the EIA and the Total Electron Content (TEC) of the equatorial ionosphere. Second, rapid uplift of the ionosphere by strong eastward electric field is known to induce spread‐F. Prediction of enhanced prompt penetration electric field in the eastward direction therefore enables the forecast of radio communication and navigation outages in the equatorial region.


Background: Most organizations rely on their information system on a daily basis to generate opportunities and advantages. Meanwhile, with the increasing emphasize on corporate social responsibility (CSR), more directors and CEOs are shifting their sights to CSR by developing business models that underline responsible and ethical disciplines for running businesses. However, studies that combine the analysis of IS and CSR are few. Therefore, the potential benefits of utilizing IS from a more intan-gible view, which means CSR in our case, are less likely be discovered. Besides, sen-ior managers have a hard time on shifting perceptions on CSR from being an add-on activity to be integrated in core operations of the organizations. Aim & Purpose: The aim of our research is to investigate the functions that IS has in CSR management from managers' perspectives. As mentioned above, the main reason for con-duction this research is the existing knowledge gap through the subjects being investigated. The overall purpose for this study is to adopt EFQM Excellence Model and Work System Model to contribute to CSR value creation of the organization. Method: The current research approach is qualitative and a case study is applied as re-search strategy. Data collection is carried out by means of documents and interviews. Doc-uments include company annual reports and website information. Semi-structured inter-views are conducted with managers from Lasfosaringar Jokoping and PwC. Conclusions: The functions of IS in the management of CSR can be concluded into four aspects, which are information management, customer relationship management, monitor-ing daily affairs and corporate governance. Information system have changed the way data is being sorted, spread, disseminated and have accelerated the information exchange fre-quency in business operation. Those changes in turn reflect on the performance of cus-tomer, employee and corporate governance of the organization.


The discovery of the magnetoimpedance (MI) effect in 1994 had a strong impact on the development of magnetic sensors, offering miniature, highly sensitive, and quick response elements. Along with traditional areas of sensing applications (data storage, bio-medical electronics, robotics and security), the MI elements have a high potential for non-destructive testing (as eddy current probes) and smart sensory systems (self-sensing composites). In certain soft magnetic materials, such as composites of amorphous thin wires, the impedance change (MI ratio) can be as high as 600 % in the MHz band and 50-100% at GHz frequencies subjected to small magnetic fields or stresses. Furthermore, special thin-film structures have been proposed to improve the MI performance in miniature elements. This paper discusses physical concepts of MI in multilayered structures including MI ratio enhancement and effect of anisotropy, experimental results proving high sensitivity to the external stimuli for excitation frequencies up to few GHz, practical sensor designs and, finally, the use of MI fibers for tagging the composites to build-in sensing functionality .


The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) occupies a central position in pathways regulating hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) stress regulation. The potential role of the BNST in tonic neural control of HPA function was assessed by examining effects of selective BNST lesions on expression of ACTH secretagogues in HPA‐integrative neurons of the medial parvocellular paraventricular nucleus. Anterior BNST lesions (ABN) involved major portions of the anteromedial, anterolateral, ventromedial, ventrolateral, dorsolateral and juxtacapsular subnuclei. These lesions resulted in significant (30%) decreases in corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA expression across the rostrocaudal extent of the medial parvocellular PVN, with no accompanying changes in basal arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA levels. Posterior BNST (PBN) lesions involved large but subtotal damage to the posterior intermediate, posterior medial, posterior lateral and preoptic subnuclei; these lesions resulted in small but significant changes in CRH mRNA and slight increases in number of AVP mRNA‐producing parvocellular neurons. PBN effects on CRH mRNA expression were most pronounced at the caudal extent of the medial parvocellular zone, suggesting a topographic input from the posterior BNST to the PVN that is only partially compromised by PBN lesions. Analysis of individual cases revealed a correlation between damage of the anterolateral BNST and decreased CRH mRNA levels, and damage of the posterior intermediate and/or posterior medial BNST and increased CRH mRNA levels. The results suggest differential BNST input into HPA regulation, perhaps reflecting the diversity of limbic input into the BNST region.


Vegetative propagation were studied in order to implement Khaya senegalensis A. Juss. wood production, conservation and genetic improvement programs. The objective of this research work was to establish the requirement as well the appropriated concentration of indolbutiric acid (IBA) in the K. senegalensis leafy stem cuttings to produce new plants. The basal end of the leafy stem cuttings were immersed, at first subjected to the so called slow method, in a 5% ethanol solution with 0, 100, 200 and 400 mg L-1 of IBA for 12 h and, as another procedure, the so called quick method, to a 50% ethanol solution with 0, 3000, 6000, 9000 and 12000 mg L-1 of IBA for 5. The leafy stem cuttings were transferred to plastic trays filled with 9.5 L of medium texture expanded vermiculite in which the cuttings had their basal end immersed to a depth of 3 cm in an 8.0 x 8.0 cm spacing. The experimental units were distributed according to a completely random design with five replications. Each experimental unit consisted of twelve cuttings. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse under a 50% of shade condition during the period from January to June of 2012. The quick method, in comparison with the slow one, gave the best results in terms of percentage of rooted stem cuttings and height of the sprouted plantlets. In the quick method, no differences between IBA concentrations were observed. The slow and the quick methods did not differ as to stem cuttings survival, total root length per leafy stem cutting, number of roots per stem cutting, plantlets survival and percentage of sprouted plantlets. It was concluded that K. senegalensis may be propagated by leafy stem cuttings taken from plantlets of seminal origin without the use of IBA.

 Key words: Khaya, Senegal mahogany, vegetative propagation, auxin, seedlings.


This paper aims to raise awareness about the role of international and European law in the creation of administrative bodies that enjoy political independence. To that end, it gives an overview of the most important sources of this trend of 'international impulse'. It furthermore aims to critically assess the validity of the arguments underpinning these initiatives. It distinguishes between three main motives that are generally believed to inspire these provisions: ensuring credibility in the implementation and monitoring of substantive obligations of international and European law, allowing for expertise to play a role in the decision-making process and avoiding conflicts of interest. It then argues that these rationales are often insufficient as justifications for the degree of political independence that is being required. Consequently, these requirements fail to meet the test of striking a proper balance between the principle of (representative) democracy and the benefits of political autonomy.


This paper, an output of an art research project, explores the agency of the aircraft landing gear compartment in global transfer. Through the prism of historical events involving aircraft preparing to land at London Heathrow, it reflects on the part played by the compartment in ecological and humanitarian struggle. Its theoretical frameworks include John Ruskin's writing on geology, new materialism, and the planetary garden. These are brought into proximity with methodologies and collaborations developed through practice-based elements of the research, such as architectural modelling, geoforensic science and exhibition making. It incorporates an account of the process of reconstructing a compartment, as well as extracts from a microstratigraphic survey commissioned as part of the project. It examines the landing gear compartment's capacity as a vessel in which dust, seeds, insects, pollen and even people are transported around the globe. It explores, too, its role as expository instrument, as far as it makes available for inspection the politics inscribed into its formal, spatial and temporal configuration. The paper argues that the wheel bay gives shape to a set of otherwise intangible aeromobilities, knowledge of which is integral to a nuanced understanding of the political geography of London Heathrow.


This article presents an exploratory research based on the virtual ethnography from an
environment of research and learning including new technologies. The ethnography is a
method of qualitative research of social sciences that is mainly used in the socio-cultural
Anthropology, where it has its theoretical basis. The target was to explore the web 2.0 and its
tools. The process of participant observation is by means of a blog, other tools and virtual
communities. The result is a descriptive model of the web 2.0 based on a Personal Learning
Environment which developed in the ethnographic experience.


Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS or micro-electro-mechanical systems) is a branch of nanotechnology studying microscopic devices, especially those with moving parts. Microgear MEMS is probably the most common type of MEMS that involves transmission of rotational motion between a gear pair. Understanding of physical and chemical mechanisms related to friction between components of microgear MEMS is important for their design and accurate prediction of their tribological properties. In this thesis, various problems related to modelling of tribological performance of silicon microgear MEMS are under investigation. The microgear MEMS teeth have been simulated in the vacuum environment and, therefore, the energy dissipation mechanisms may be reduced the dissociation of chemical and van der Waals interactions as well as the elastic interlocking between counterparts subscale asperities. The models developed have been used to simulate various tribological phenomena, including adhesion, friction, wear and the elastic interlocking of the tooth surfaces.
The MEMS tooth roughness is described using statistical approach in accordance with the experimental data obtained by AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy). It has been shown that the microgear MEMS tooth surface roughness does not have any microscale roughness and hence, there is no plastic deformation of the atomic and adhesive subscale asperity due to the Polonsky-Keer effect. The tooth asperity of microgear MEMS is modelled as a nanoblock obtained by superposition of two hierarchical subscales that are specified by the character of interactions at the subscale: an atomic subscale, where chemical interactions are likely to occur, adhesive subscale, where molecular adhesion (van der Waals interaction) is significant and bulk elastic material. The tooth surface is covered by the nanoasperity blocks.
According to the roughness studies, a real silicon rough surface has been described at different scales: nanoscale that include atomic subscale of active chemical interactions and molecular subscale of active van der Waals interactions, and bulk elastic scale. The Borodich-Savencu (B-S) one level model that have been developed before for tribology of nominally flat surfaces has been developed. In order to mirror the specific features of interactions between MEMS teeth, the B-S model assumed the gap between the surfaces is constant, while the gap in a gear MEMS pair is changing during the mesh cycle. This was taken into account by the iterative solutions of two-dimensional frictional Hertz-type problems using the Cardiff numerical solver. The new model allows us to model tribology of curved teeth using nanoblocks consisting of atomic and molecular subscales located at varying levels. The apparent friction force and coefficient of friction μ have been calculated by estimations of the total energy per unit length dissipated through the above-mentioned physical and chemical mechanisms. It has been shown that there is a high possibility of stiction (cohesion or the so-called cold welding) between pure silicon MEMS teeth. To improve the system performance and to find ways for controlling
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friction effects and reducing stiction possibility, it is suggested to functionalise the MEMS microgear tooth surfaces by self-assembled monomolecular (SAM) layers.
A damage model has been developed to study the damage accumulation and wear of these carbon-based functionalised monomolecular layers. The model is based on the Goryacheva-Torskaya model for damage accumulation in fatigue elements. The maximum damage occurs under action of the maximum load, hence the dry friction contact of a single tooth contact is considered. To use the damage model, the surface stresses are calculated. Numerical simulations for silicon-based MEMS micro-tooth surfaces functionalised by monomolecular layer carbon-based coatings show that initially the surfaces do not stick to each other. However, the stiction occur after some number of cycles because the functionalised monomolecular is gradually worn away due to damage accumulation in the layer.


In this paper, the reconstruction of discrete signal with finite time duration from its end point and Fourier Transform (FT) magnitude is considered. Based on one result of [1] that a class of discrete signal can be reconstructed from its FT magnitude and one end sample point, with the help of Measure Theory, furtherly we point out that a correspondence between RN+1space and discrete signals with duration of N+1 points can be set up, and the signals that can't be reconstructed from its end point and FT magnitude correspond to a subset of RN+1with measure zero. In other words, discrete signal with finite time duration can almost be uniquely reconstructed from its end point and FT magnitude.


This paper presents novel results on the asymptotic rejection of periodic disturbances utilizing no external power sources. The exposition is done for Single Input, Single Output linear time invariant systems that have a passive characteristic; representative of many vibration control schemes. The Internal Model Control approach is utilized to develop a controller that will asymptotically track reference commands or reject disturbances. The passivity of the open loop system is then utilized to determine a controller that acts in a semi-active fashion for the disturbance rejection case only. Two issues are addressed: overall closed loop stability and asymptotic rejection of the disturbance. The resulting controller leads to a discontinuous dynamic system and methods are given for handling this. Experimental results on a Single Degree of Freedom electromechanical testbed verify the performance and advantages of the Send Active Internal Model (SAIM) method. By carefully modulating the rate of energy dissipation, performance levels akin to fully active vibration control can be achieved without utilizing external power.


Malignant lymphoma (ML) is frequently associated with several forms of collagen diseases such as Sjören syndrome, systemic lupus erythematodes, and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the occurrence of ML in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients has rarely been reported. Here we report an SSc patient who developed mediastinal (thymic) large B-cell lymphoma (MLBCL). A 31-year-old woman was diagnosed as having SSc in August 2007. The patient was treated with low-dose prednisolone (10 mg/day) without any effect. One year after the diagnosis, chest computed tomography-scan demonstrated thymic tumor in the anterior mediastinum. Thymectomy was performed, and a pathohistological diagnosis of MLBCL was established. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the tumor cells were positive for CD45 and CD20, but negative for CD30 and EBV-encoded RNA. The patient was treated with 6 courses of CHOP regimen, resulting in complete remission of lymphoma. This report describes the first SSc patient associated with MLBCL. SSc patients occasionally develop ML after a relatively short interval. Our case suggests that intensive monitoring for the development of ML is needed in newly diagnosed SSc patients.


1College of Modern Management, Yango University, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China; 2INTO Newcastle University, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Purpose: Several threatening infectious diseases, including influenza, Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19, have affected human society over the past decades. These disease outbreaks naturally inspire a demand for sustained and advanced safety and suppression measures. To protect public health and safety, further research developments on emergency analysis methods and approaches for effective emergency treatment generation are urgently needed to mitigate the severity of the pandemic and save lives. Methods: To address these issues, a novel case-based reasoning (CBR) system is proposed using three phases. In the first phase, the similarity between the current case and the historical cases is calculated under a variety of heterogeneous information. In the second phase, a filter approach based on grey clustering analysis is created to retrieve relevant cases. In the third phase, the cases retrieved are taken as initial host nests in a cuckoo search (CS) algorithm, and our system searches an optimal solution through iteration of this algorithm. Results: The proposed model is compared with a CBR method improved by particle swarm optimization (PSO) and a CBR method improved by a differential evolution algorithm (DE), to confirm the efficiency of our CS algorithm in adapting solutions for public health emergencies. The results show that the proposed model is better than the existing algorithms. Conclusion: The proposed model improves the speed of case retrieval using grey clustering and increases solution accuracy with CS algorithms. The present research can contribute to government, CDC, and infectious disease emergency management fields with regard to the implementation of fast and accurate public biohazard prevention and control measures based on a variety of heterogeneous information.


In The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Celtic, Nicholas Zair for the first time collects all the words from the Celtic languages which contained a laryngeal, and identifies the regular results of the laryngeals in each phonetic environment.


A phage, designated CP-51, that carries out generalized transduction in Bacillus cereus 569 was isolated from soil. All auxotrophic mutants tested, those requiring tryptophan, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, or phenylalanine, were transduced to prototrophy. The phage was extremely unstable when stored at 2 to 4 C, but stability was enhanced by storage at higher temperatures. The optimal temperature of those tested for maintenance of plaque-forming units was 15 C.


The paper deals with learning the probability distribution of the observed data by artificial neural networks. We suggest a so-called gradient conjugate prior (GCP) update appropriate for neural networks, which is a modification of the classical Bayesian update for conjugate priors. We establish a connection between the gradient conjugate prior update and the maximization of the log-likelihood of the predictive distribution. Unlike for the Bayesian neural networks, we do not impose a prior on the weights of the neural networks, but rather assume that the ground truth distribution is normal with unknown mean and variance and learn by neural networks the parameters of a prior (normal-gamma distribution) for these unknown mean and variance. The update of the parameters is done, using the gradient that, at each step, directs towards minimizing the Kullback--Leibler divergence from the prior to the posterior distribution (both being normal-gamma). We obtain a corresponding dynamical system for the prior's parameters and analyze its properties. In particular, we study the limiting behavior of all the prior's parameters and show how it differs from the case of the classical full Bayesian update. The results are validated on synthetic and real world data sets.


There are number of common humidity sensing methods in MEMS. They include capacitive, resistive, and thermal methods. Among these methods, capacitive sensing is considered the most common in MEMS. In this method, changes of a capacitor dielectric constant, due to the absorption of air water vapor into a coating layer is correlated to humidity. The slow sensor time response and the degradation of the coating material over time are the major limitations of this method. Humidity have recently been studied as significant sources for environmental noise that, if ignored while operating a typical MEMS sensor, may lead to poor performance. In this work, we propose the utilization of this effect to overcome the challenging limitations of the humidity capacitive sensing. Specifically, we propose the use of an uncoated arch micro-beam to detect changes in the thermal properties of air due to humidity. Found to amplify these changes by orders of magnitude due to the richness of its nonlinear dynamics, an arch beam was selected for this investigation. These amplified effects become the measurements of interest, rather than being treated as noise. This new way of sensing humidity, can eliminate the need for the coating layer and significantly decrease the sensor response time.


Unsupervised learning of disentangled representations is an open problem in machine learning. The Disentanglement-PyTorch library is developed to facilitate research, implementation, and testing of new variational algorithms. In this modular library, neural architectures, dimensionality of the latent space, and the training algorithms are fully decoupled, allowing for independent and consistent experiments across variational methods. The library handles the training scheduling, logging, and visualizations of reconstructions and latent space traversals. It also evaluates the encodings based on various disentanglement metrics. The library, so far, includes implementations of the following unsupervised algorithms VAE, Beta-VAE, Factor-VAE, DIP-I-VAE, DIP-II-VAE, Info-VAE, and Beta-TCVAE, as well as conditional approaches such as CVAE and IFCVAE. The library is compatible with the Disentanglement Challenge of NeurIPS 2019, hosted on AICrowd, and achieved the 3rd rank in both the first and second stages of the challenge.


The stochastic waves generated by storm landfalls usually determine the design and safety of coastal and offshore structures in typhoon regions. This study developed a parametric wave spectrum model for typhoon-generated stochastic waves that considers the variation in the wave spectrum due to the temporal variation in the typhoon. A field measurement campaign was conducted in nearshore strait water on the east coast of China to measure the wave data for two landfall typhoons: Soudelor and Dujuan. The measured wave data were filtered through a preprocessing framework. The parametric wave spectrum model was then developed based on the measured wave spectra for different stages of the typhoon. The main conclusions include the following: (1) 78% of the measured wave spectra at the example site under a typhoon are double-peaked, and approximately 15% are single-peaked; (2) the parametric model with either the Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP) or Ochi-Hubble (OH) kernel function is effective in defining the typhoon-generated wave spectra; and (3) the critical parameters of the developed model for typhoon-generated waves are site-specific and depend on the temporal variation of the typhoon.


Epitope mapping of the major envelope glycoprotein E2 of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is important for our understanding of E2 and also for development of the CSFV-specific diagnostic assays and epitope- or peptide-based marker vaccines. Previous competitive binding studies showed that monoclonal antibodies raised against E2 protein of CSFV detected 8 individual epitopes. At the present study using a set of synthetic peptides covering the full sequences of E2 glycoprotein five linear non-overlap B-cells epitopes were identified. The identified sequences of 12 strains of the CSFV and 5 other pestiviruses were aligned. The data obtained could be useful for improvement of the CSFV diagnostic systems and studies of amino acid substitutions and their influence on antigenic properties of the CSFV E2 protein.


Introduction: Chinese hospitals still face various barriers to implementing pharmaceutical care. The quantitative instrument for measuring these barriers in China is scarce. This study aims to develop and validate a scale for measuring barriers to providing pharmaceutical care in Chinese hospitals from the perspective of clinical pharmacists. Methods: The scale was developed based on existing literature and qualitative interviews with 20 experts. The scale was included in a small-range pilot survey and then administered to a validation survey in 31 provinces in China. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the structure of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to verify the structure of the scale and to validate the scale's convergent and discriminative validity. Known-group validity was also examined. Cronbach's alpha examined the internal consistency reliability of the scale. Results: 292 scales were completed and returned for a response rate of 85.6% in the pilot study. Exploratory factor analysis of the scale suggested a five-factor solution (Cognition and attitude, Knowledge and skills, Objective conditions, External cooperation, and Support from managers) accounting for 66.03% of the total variance. 443 scales were sent out in the validation study, with a response rate of 81.0%. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good fit of the structural model for pharmaceutical care barriers. It showed the scale's good convergent and discriminative validity (The average variance extracted >0.5 and composite reliability >0.7). The scale could also identify the differences in total score among the clinical pharmacists from different hospital grades (p < 0.05). Cronbach's alpha is between 0.658 and 0.896, indicating good internal consistency. Conclusion: From the perspective of clinical pharmacists, this study has developed a scale to assess obstacles to pharmaceutical care. The scale comprehensively encompasses barriers to clinical pharmacists' cognitive and ability-related aspects, hindrances encountered in collaborating with other health professionals and patients, and barriers to the working environment. The reliability and validity have been established through verification.


Abstract The survival rate for non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Hong Kong is low (1.25%-1.6%). Despite the reduced time interval between call receipt and first defibrillatory shock to 11.12 minutes during the past decade, the time interval between collapse/recognition and first defibrillatory shock, at 14.25 minutes, is too long. Studies of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest performed in Hong Kong were reviewed to ascertain whether a public access defibrillation programme can improve survival in Hong Kong. Three delays were found in the traditional response by emergency medical service, namely in the collapse/recognise-to-call receipt, call receipt-to-vehicle stops, and vehicle stops-to-first defibrillatory shock time intervals. The first delay is related to public education, while the second and third delays are intrinsic to a dispatched response. A public access defibrillation programme employing responders at scenes of cardiac arrests can eliminate the collapse/recognise-to-call receipt and call receipt-to-vehicle stops time intervals before defibrillation. Possible sites of public access defibrillation could include the airport and other immigration points, which have a high volume of people passing through, with projected figures for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at these sites supporting this consideration. For successful implementation of public access defibrillation, a comprehensive educational programme and coordination with the emergency medical service are required.


In the very darkest hour, who do you trust, who do you love, and who can be saved? It is 1943 - the height of the Second World War. With the men taken by the army, Berlin has become a city of women. And while her husband fights on the Eastern Front, Sigrid Schroder is, for all intents and purposes, the model soldier's wife: she goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law. But behind this facade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman who dreams of her former Jewish lover, who is now lost in the chaos of the war. Sigrid's tedious existence is turned upside-down when she finds herself hiding a mother and her two young daughters: could they be her lover's family? Now she must make terrifying choices that could cost her everything.


Given TVs reach, we envision the use of TV based applications by a wide range of the population, including the elderly and people with different kinds of impairments. Thus, it is paramount to guarantee that everyone can access the same information. In this paper we present a study of the current state of the accessibility of TV applications, analysing their conformance with the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and comparing them to their desktop versions. The results show that, even though there has been less effort in TV accessibility research, TV applications are more conformant than their desktop counterparts.