In preoperative risk management the anesthesiologist uses diagnostic information to estimate the probability of outcomes and to decide on the anesthetic strategy in a particular patient. The aim of this thesis was explore to what extent simple patient characteristics, particularly obtained from preoperative patient history and physical examination, could contribute to preoperative risk management. Furthermore, the implementation of outpatient preoperative evaluation (OPE) clinics in the Netherlands as well as the effects of OPE in a particular hospital were quantified.
Preferably, during OPE, 'healthy' patients are easily distinguished from the remainder using a minimal but optimal set of diagnostic tests. Currently, the literature shows no evidence about the optimal contents of preoperative evaluation. To determine the optimal set of diagnostic tests to appropriately detect existing co-morbidity would require an empirical diagnostic study. In such a study the contribution of each diagnostic test is related to the diagnostic outcome, i.e. 'presence or absence of significant co-morbidity'. To demonstrate how diagnostic research might be used in the clinical setting of an OPE clinic, we studied the diagnostic value of cardiac auscultation to detect VHD. Diagnostic research will decrease redundant information, but requires the a priori definition of what constitutes significant co-morbidity.
The anesthesiologist should also have evidence-based knowledge about the probability of perioperative complications and to what extent the anesthetic strategy may alter the complication rate. Prognostic prediction studies aim to estimate the probability of future occurrence of a particular outcome in a particular patient and are also suitable to estimate to what extent the individual risk of a patient can be modified using pre-emptive strategies, such as administering erythropoietin before surgery. Before a prediction model can be implemented in practice, its generalizability (the application to patients from a different but related population) should be estimated. To obtain an estimate of the generalizability, we applied two prediction models on perioperative blood transfusion to a patient population from another hospital. Both models stayed robust and we concluded that they could be implemented in practice. In this context, there will be an important role for information technology: a complication registration system could provide the necessary data for continuous prognostic prediction research, which in turn will provide risk stratification systems for (long-term) morbidity and mortality to be built-in in electronic patient record software used at the OPE clinic.
There are several potential benefits of OPE. For example, OPE allows for comprehensive assessment and optimization of the patient's health condition without delaying surgery. However, to extract the maximal benefits from OPE the incentives for all those concerned in preoperative patient care, such as anesthesiologists and surgical specialists, must be clear to change existing practice patterns, such as routine admission of patients to the ward the day before surgery. Because widespread implementation of OPE will require an increase in the number of anesthesiologists, the questions arises whether a specially trained anesthetic nurse can screen patients adequately. The partial substitution of the anesthesiologist by a specially trained nurse in a 'mixed-provider model OPE clinic' could have several benefits and might increase the quality and cost-effectiveness of OPE.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

Anemia of cancer (AOC) is a cytokine driven condition that frequently occurs in patients due to chronic inflammation associated with cancer development. It differs from chemotherapy-induced anemia because the anemia is a result of the disease itself and not a side effect of a treatment regimen, although the both causes can work in concert. AOC is caused by high levels of the liver peptide hormone, hepcidin, which sequesters iron in epithelial cells and macrophages, thereby limiting bioavailable iron required for erythropoiesis. Reducing elevated hepcidin levels in cancer patients can reverse the hypoferremia and anemia seen in AOC. Hepcidin levels are controlled by inflammatory cytokines through pathways dependent on bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP). BMPs up-regulate hepcidin by activating the SMAD signaling pathway through the activin-like kinase receptor 2 (ALK2). Therefore, ALK2 has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target to modulate hepcidin levels in cancer patients and treat their AOC. We have developed novel small molecule ALK2 inhibitors which have shown promising results in tissue culture models as well as a preclinical cancer model of AOC. The two most promising compounds downregulate hepcidin expression in BMP-induced cell culture studies at concentrations of 100 nM or lower. Importantly, this activity was observed at concentrations that exhibited little cytotoxicity suggesting the compounds have a clean selectivity profile. The two compounds have been tested in a TC-1 syngeneic mouse model of AOC where anemia is induced after tumor formation, in a manner similar to human cancer caused anemia. Treatment with the lead candidates reversed the induction of hepcidin expression and also decreased the symptoms of anemia as measured by serum iron and red blood cell levels. From these data, we have nominated a candidate to advance into IND-enabling studies that has favorable drug-like properties. We anticipate a clinical development strategy that focuses on AOC.

Citation Format: Peter W. Peterson. Targeting cancer-induced anemia with hepcidin lowering ALK2 inhibitors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3647. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3647


Statement of Problem: The destruction of gingival tissue in the interradicular region of multi rooted teeth is called furcation involvement. The correct diagnosis of furcation lesions are the basis of a successful treatment.
Purpose: compare the quality of printed images on desirable papers and indirect digital radiography (PSP) in diagnosis of furcation involvements.
Materials and Method: Grade I and grade II furcation involvement were artificially created on 41 mandibular first and second molars and PSP radiography was prepared before and after induction of furcation involvement. Radiographs were printed on radiographic plates using Prima laser printer (Fuji, Japan) and on A4-sized papers (silk) using HP color laserjet 1600 printer. Two observers examined the radiographs and their observations were given to the statistics consultant for data analysis.
Results: Positive and negative predictive value (PPV and NPV) of grade I, II (together) furcation involvement for PSP was measured as 96.1% and 84.4%, respectively, and for paper print were measured as 100% and 71.9%, respectively, in which there were no significant differences between the two in the PPV (Z=1.5, P ≥ 0.05) and NPV (Z=1.58, P ≥ 0.05). The sensitivities of the plate and paper print in diagnosis of grade I (Z=0, P>0.05) and grade I, II (Z=1.67, P>0.05) were not significant. Although, in grade II (Z=2.03, P ≤ 0.05), the plate sensitivity was significantly higher than paper print. The specificity of plate in comparison to paper print by considering the significant level of Z ≥ 1.96 did not show a significant difference (P ≥ 0.05).
Conclusion: In general, it seems that in case of lack of access to radiography plates, the use of paper prints can be a justified and appropriate action, due to its relatively good sensitivity and specificity. However, if you have access to radiography plates, it is certainly preferable to use it. of fit indexes, and very good concurrent validity support utility of this scale for Iranian primary school children.


Noise, bistable system and input signal are the three essential factors in stochastic resonance (SR). The noise-induced SR method, the parameter-tuning SR method, and the twice sampling SR method change the characteristics of the noise, the bistable system and the input signal, respectively. With the new cooperation, they can all produce the SR phenomena when the system exceeds the small-parameter area. If treating the strong noise and the input signal with large frequency, the actions of the system parameters can build the system behavior in an orderly way, associated with the twice sampling frequency. The united parameter-tuning SR method adjusts the system parameters to fit the normalized frequency after the twice sampling SR, in order to make the optimal noise intensity. The application to the flow meter vibration test has presented the practicability and effectiveness of the united parameter-tuning SR method.


Background & Aims Farnesoid X receptor (FXR, NR1H4) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. FXR is highly expressed in the liver and is essential in regulating bile acid homeostasis. FXR deficiency is implicated in numerous liver diseases and mice with modulation of FXR have been used as animal models to study liver physiology and pathology. We have reported genome-wide binding of FXR in mice by chromatin immunoprecipitation - deep sequencing (ChIP-seq), with results indicating that FXR may be involved in regulating diverse pathways in liver. However, limited information exists for the functions of human FXR and the suitability of using murine models to study human FXR functions. Methods In the current study, we performed ChIP-seq in primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) treated with a synthetic FXR agonist, GW4064 or DMSO control. In parallel, RNA deep sequencing (RNA-seq) and RNA microarray were performed for GW4064 or control treated PHHs and wild type mouse livers, respectively. Results ChIP-seq showed similar profiles of genome-wide FXR binding in humans and mice in terms of motif analysis and pathway prediction. However, RNA-seq and microarray showed more different transcriptome profiles between PHHs and mouse livers upon GW4064 treatment. Conclusions In summary, we have established genome-wide human FXR binding and transcriptome profiles. These results will aid in determining the human FXR functions, as well as judging to what level the mouse models could be used to study human FXR functions.


It has been noticed that during the initial semesters of Computing Engineering that the amount of human tutors is insufficient. The students/tutors ratio is very high and there is a great difference in the acquired knowledge and backgrounds. The idea is that a system could emulate the human tutor and besides provide the student with a degree of flexibility for the selection of the most adequate tutorial type. This could be a feasible solution to the stated problem. But a tutorial system should not only emulate the human tutor but besides it should be designed from an epistemological conception of what teaching Basic Programming means specially in an Engineering course due to the profile and identity of the future engineer.


Modeling of big faults or weak planes of strong and weak discontinuities is of major importance to assess the Geomechanical behaviour of mining/civil tunnel, reservoirs etc. For modelling fractures in Geomechanics, prior art has been limited to Interface Elements which suffer from numerical instability and where faults are required to be aligned with element edges. In this paper, we consider comparative study on finite elements for capturing strong discontinuities by means of elemental (EFEM) and nodal enrichments (XFEM) for Geomechanical applications. For general fracture scenarios, Oliver et al. (2008) have demonstrated advantages of EFEM over XFEM for including: (a) ease of modeling in any standard finite element code due to the possibility of static condensation, (b) higher accuracy in some cases for coarse meshes, and, (c) a reduced computational cost. However, there has been no work that considers
cohesive fractures in Geomechanics. We present a numerical analysis based on a linear constitutive model and linear triangular elements for the bulk and a linear constitutive behaviour for the fault for a representative set of fault planes in a circular tunnel made in rock mass. In the numerical examples we
consider both well-traced and bad-traced meshes. We focus on traction profile analysis for both EFEM and XFEM, since that is crucial to understand the cohesive fracture behaviour specially rock joint. Therefore in each case, shear, normal and stress ratio are compared across the two methods along the fault
plane. This is the first such work that compares XFEM and EFEM behaviour for Geomechanics problems. For the considered class of problems and the sharp penalization approach without regularizations adopted, it can be observed that accuracy and robustness of EFEM may strongly depend on the fault orientation with respect to the element edges, while, XFEM is independent of fault alignment with element edges. It has been also observed that, with mesh refinement model, stress oscillation completely removed with XFEM however EFEM fails to provide oscillation free results with finer mesh in case bad-traced
model. We also performed error analysis and found that in case of bad-traced mesh the average error in the XFEM is 84% smaller than of EFEM and for XFEM the error goes to zero with increasing mesh resolution, while for EFEM the error increases with mesh resolution. Thus, we experimentally demonstrate that, XFEM performs better than EFEM in terms of accuracy and rate of convergence with marginal increase in computational cost. This work hence provides novel insights on the application of XFEM and EFEM in Geomechanics.


Short-range air-to-surface missiles have become globally popular in the last two decades. As a performance driver, the type of guidance law gains importance. In this study, proportional navigation, velocity pursuit, and augmented proportional navigation guidance laws, whose resulting guidance commands take the form of lateral acceleration, are applied to a short-range air-to-surface missile against both stationary and maneuvering ground targets. Body pursuit and linear homing guidance laws, which yield angular commands, are additionally applied. Having completed the relevant computer simulations, we conclude that none of the acceleration- and angle-based guidance laws are absolutely superior to the others.


Recently, we have discovered that the registered pesticide, tolfenpyrad, unexpectedly and potently inhibits the development of the L4 larval stage of the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus with an IC50 value of 0.03 μM while displaying good selectivity, with an IC50 of 37.9 μM for cytotoxicity. As a promising molecular template for medicinal chemistry optimization, we undertook anthelmintic structure-activity relationships for this chemical. Modifications of the left-hand side (LHS), right-hand side (RHS), and middle section of the scaffold were explored to produce a set of 57 analogues. Analogues 25, 29, and 33 were shown to be the most potent compounds of the series, with IC50 values at a subnanomolar level of potency against the chemotherapeutically relevant fourth larval (L4) stage of H. contortus. Selected compounds from the series also showed promising activity against a panel of other different parasitic nematodes, such as hookworms and whipworms.


The yeast transcriptional activator ADR1 is required for expression of the glucose-repressible alcohol dehydrogenase gene (ADH2), as well as genes involved in glycerol metabolism. The N-terminal half of the ADR1 protein was shown to contain three separate transactivation domains, including one (TADI) that encompasses the zinc finger DNA-binding domain. While TADII and TADIII were shown to be functionally redundant in activating ADH2 expression, deletion of only TADIII impaired ADR1 control of glycerol metabolism genes. None of these activation domains appeared to be carbon source regulated when separated from the ADH2 promoter context. Interspersed among these activation domains were two regions which, when removed, increased ADR1 activity; one was localized to the site of ADR1c mutations (residues 227 to 239) that allow glucose-insensitive ADH2 expression. The 227-to-239 region blocked ADR1 activity independently of the TAD present on ADR1, ADR1 DNA binding, and specific ADH2 promoter sequences. In addition, this region inhibited the function of a heterologous transcriptional activator. These results are consistent with the existence of an extragenic factor that binds the ADR1c region and represses ADR1 activity and suggest that other factors are responsible for aiding ADR1 in the carbon source regulation of ADH2.


Through analyzing the factors affecting passengers' path-choice, the corresponding principles and rules of the ticket income distribution are put forward and the new model of the Urban Rail Transit Network in Beijing is set up in the paper. Through the deformation of the urban rail transit and the simplification of the lines, the topology of the urban rail transit lines is abstracted into an undirected connection graph. Breadth-priority optimization algorithm is applied to search the effective paths between the OD and the flow-matching ratio is acquired by calculating based on multi-factor matching algorithm, in which many relevant numerical examples are analyzed to verify the feasibility of the dual-ratio method and to summarize the characteristics of the project.


There have been two main streams of influence on Chicano artists aside from the obvious one that is the result of their artistic training, education and development in the United States. The primary influence came from Mexico, first during the colonial period in the form of New Spanish art and architecture, and then in modem times provided by the Mexican muralists through their work and their use of pre-Columbian art. The New Spanish materials formed the nucleus for the second stream of influence composed of the various manifestations of religious folk art found primarily in the Southwest.


This work presents an immersed-boundary technique for compressible, turbulent flows and applies the technique to simulate the effects of micro vortex generators in controlling oblique-shock/turbulent boundary-layer interactions. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, closed using the Menter k-ω turbulence model, are solved in conjunction with the immersed-boundary technique. The approach is validated by comparing solutions obtained using the immersed-boundary technique with solutions obtained on a body-fitted mesh and with experimental laser Doppler anemometry data collected at Cambridge University for Mach 2.5 flow over single micro vortex generators. Simulations of an impinging oblique-shock boundary-layer interaction at Mach 2.5 with and without micro vortex-generator flow control are also performed, considering the development of the flow in the entire wind tunnel. Comparisons are made with experimental laser Doppler anemometry data and surface-pressure measurements from Cambridge University and an analysis of the flow structure is performed. The results show that three dimensional effects initiated by the interaction of the oblique shock with the sidewall boundary layers significantly influence the flow patterns in the actual experiment. The general features of the interactions with and without the micro vortex-generator array are predicted to good accord by the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/ immersed-boundary model.


Background and objective: Because the incidence of asthma appears to be increasing, the importance of proper perioperative management of individuals with asthma will also continue to increase. Although its mechanism of smooth muscle relaxation is unknown, propofol has been associated with less bronchoconstriction during anaesthetic induction. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible mechanism of these effects and the effects of propofol on the isolated trachea preparations from control and ovalbumin‐sensitized guinea pigs. Methods: Adult male guinea pigs, weighing 280‐330 g, were randomly allocated to two experimental groups, each consisting of 10 animals. Ten guinea pigs were sensitized by intramuscular injections of 0.30 mL of a 5% (w/v) ovalbumin/saline solution into each thigh (0.6 mL total) on days 1 and 4, whereas the remaining 10 served as controls receiving a total of 0.6 mL distilled water on days 1 and 4 as placebo. The isolated trachea preparations were mounted in tissue baths with modified Krebs‐Henseleit solution and aerated with 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide. We tested the effects of propofol (10−7‐10−3 M) on resting tension and after precontraction with carbachol and histamine on isolated trachea preparations from control and ovalbumin‐sensitized guinea pigs. We also tested the effect of propofol on isolated trachea preparations precontracted with carbachol and histamine in the absence and presence of different inhibitors or antagonists. We investigated propofol responses in tracheal smooth muscle precontracted with CaCl2. Results: Propofol (10−7‐10−3 M) produced a concentration‐dependent relaxation of isolated tracheal preparations precontracted by carbachol (10−6 M) and histamine (10−6 M) in both groups. Preincubation with N(w)‐nitro l‐arginine methyl ester (3 × 10−5 M), indomethacin (10−5 M) or propranolol (10−4 M) did not produce a significant alteration on propofol‐induced relaxation responses (P > 0.05), while preincubation with tetraethylammonium (3 × 10−4 M) significantly decreased the propofol‐induced relaxation responses in both groups (P < 0.05). Propofol (10−7‐10−3 M) induced concentration‐dependently relaxations in isolated trachea rings precontracted with CaCl2 in both the control and ovalbumin‐sensitized groups. Conclusion: Propofol induced concentration‐dependent relaxations in precontracted, isolated trachea smooth muscle of guinea pigs in both the control and ovalbumin‐sensitized groups. These relaxations were independent of epithelial function and stimulation of &bgr; adrenergic receptors. Opened Ca2+‐sensitive K+ channels and inhibited L‐type Ca2+ channels can contribute to these relaxations.


In response to discussions about large multinational enterprises' tax planning activities, legislators around the world have adopted numerous regulations to increase corporate tax transparency. New settings and datasets have spurred empirical research in recent years. Our paper presents a review of this emerging literature on corporate tax transparency. To this end, we first propose a framework to structure the diverse landscape of tax-related disclosures. Second, we elaborate on the conceptual underpinnings of tax transparency by drawing on established theories from financial accounting and CSR reporting research. Third, we survey empirical evidence on corporate tax transparency. We classify the findings into (i) determinants of firms' tax disclosure decisions, (ii) informativeness of different kinds of tax-related disclosure, and (iii) effects of increased tax transparency on firms and their stakeholders. Finally, we synthesize the main inferences and offer suggestions for future research.


This case study analyzes the impact of theory-based factors on the implementation of different blockchain technologies in use cases from the energy sector. We construct an integrated research model based on the Diffusion of Innovations theory, institutional economics and the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. Using qualitative data from in-depth interviews, we link constructs to theory and assess their impact on each use case. Doing so we can depict the dynamic relations between different blockchain technologies and the energy sector. The study provides insights for decision makers in electric utilities, and government administrations.


Immunization has virtually eliminated wild-type poliovirus in this country, but polio still occurs as an iatrogenic disease from the oral trivalent vaccine. 1 The risk is small—about one paralytic case per 3 to 4 million units of live vaccine distributed, or less than 20 cases yearly. History of exposure may be unknown or forgotten, since most cases occur in nonimmune adults who contact the virus from oral secretions or the stool of vaccine recipients. Unwary physicians trained in the postvaccine era may misdiagnose polio as the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Clinical features that should argue against Guillain-Barre syndrome are absence of sensory symptoms, prominent meningeal signs, fever at onset of paralysis, and pleocytosis of greater than 50 cells. 2 Electrodiagnostic tests also are useful in this differentiation. In polio, sensory nerve conduction velocities are normal, and motor conductions are either normal or, in severe cases, absent because of segmental anterior horn cell


Small bowel perforation secondary to phytobezoars is a rare clinical entity, which is not well-documented in the radiological literature. Sonographic and computed tomography (CT) findings of a case of closed small bowel perforation secondary to phytobezoars in a patient with previous gastric surgery are presented. Both abdominal ultrasound and CT examinations revealed a collection containing air at the left lower quadrant as well as neighboring intraluminal masses suggestive of bezoars. We propose that appropriate CT examination is a very useful imaging modality for evaluating this kind of bowel perforation.


OBJECTIVES
Since first pregnancy after ICSI was achieved in 1992, the treatment and prognosis of severe male factor, i.e azoospermia, has radically changed. The objective of this article is to review the issue from the urologist-andrologist point of view.

METHODS
We perform a short revision of the two types of azoospermia and diagnostic tests, and show the algorithm used in our centre for the management of patients with azoospermia. We review the techniques for spermatozoid recovery and surgical treatment of obstructive azoospermia because the role of the urologist is maximum in these aspects. Genetic anomalies in azoospermic patients is one of the issues analyzed in more detail for being one of the most important and of maximum interest currently.

RESULTS
Nearly 1% of pregnancies in developed countries are achieved by assisted reproduction techniques, and genetic anomalies among newborns from ICSI cycles have increased to 1.6%, three times normal population. Genetic anomalies are tenfold in azoospermic patients in comparison to general population. We analyze the importance of these studies in patients with secretory azoospermia. We review the most frequent genetic anomalies associated with azoospermia and diagnostic tests employed. Its importance is based on this diagnosis allowing genetic counselling and pre-implant or prenatal diagnosis with the aim of trying to minimize genetic anomalies and disease transmission to next generations.

CONCLUSIONS
The diagnosis and treatment of azoospermia continues to be one of the most thrilling challenges in the field of infertility, with promising research lines such as in vitro spermatogenesis from stem cells and autotransplantation of criopreserved cells in patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy.


VESICOVAGINAL reflux, more commonly referred to as urovagina or urine pooling, is a frustrating condition to deal with in horses intended for breeding. The long-term consequences of urine accumulation in the vaginal fornix include vaginitis, cervicitis and endometritis, which collectively lead to an environment within the genitourinary tract characterised by inflammation (Emberston 1990). This in turn reduces the ability of the mare to conceive or, following conception, maintain a pregnancy to full term, as chronic endometrial changes may lead to infection due to reduction in the efficacy of uterine defence mechanisms and therefore result in early embryonic death. In addition to this, urine is known to have a marked effect on the motility of spermatozoa such that they may be prevented from reaching the oviduct in the first place (Griggers and others 2001).

Diagnosis of the condition can be complicated by the lack of outward clinical signs, with vaginoscopy the only definitive method for confirming a build-up of urine within the vaginal vault. The picture is further complicated in a percentage of mares that only intermittently pool urine, although repeat examination during oestrus, when the tubular tract is under the influence of a high concentration of circulating oestrogen, is most likely to lead to positive confirmation of the condition (Woodie 2012 …


To learn about childrens ability to estimate the duration of an event many days after it occurred, 6-12-year-old children were asked to judge the amount of time (range 5-45 minutes) they spent in the treatment room as part of a paediatric visit. Judgements were made 1 week or 1 month after the visit occurred. Children showed an average error of about 13 minutes. Retention interval did not significantly affect estimates. Other judgements of the length of the interview itself (mean length 8 minutes) provided what may be the first data on childrens ability to make immediate retrospective duration estimates. The results also include information about childrens capacity to judge how long ago they visited the clinic.


Abstract Tenderness is usually associated with the proteolysis occurring in muscles. However, most of the studies concentrate on one muscle only. The aim of this study was to describe the changes in myofibrillar protein percentage proportions during the ageing of 8 bovine muscles. Investigations were conducted on the muscles from different parts of the carcass, from the forequarter: m. pectoralis profundus, m. infraspinatus, m. triceps brachii, m. serratus ventralis, and from the hindquarter: m. biceps femoris, m. semimembranosus, m. semitendinosus and m. longissimus dorsi (thoracis et lumborum). The effect of muscle type was significant for all parameters except for percentage proportions of titin (3000÷3700 kDa), MHC (205 kDa) and protein fractions between <205÷42> kDa. Differences between the muscles varied depending on the analysed proteins and the time of storage. A significant effect of ageing time for titin, nebulin (approx. 800 kDa), proteins of molecular weight of 38 kDa, proteins smaller than 42 kDa and in the range of 3000÷205 kDa, 205÷42 kDa and 38÷20 kDa was observed. The decrease of percentage proportions of titin, nebulin and proteins in the range of 3000÷205 kDa and an increase of protein bands in the range of 38÷20 kDa and proteins below 42 kDa was also observed. During the storage period of beef from the 2nd to the 14th day, the progress of myofibrillar proteolysis was different in each muscle. The changes of tenderness were not related to shear force values. It is probable that the changes in other constituents of meat might influence the tenderness more than those in myofibrillar proteins.


Thank you for downloading art across time. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search numerous times for their chosen novels like this art across time, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some malicious bugs inside their laptop. art across time is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly. Our book servers spans in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the art across time is universally compatible with any devices to read.


This article details an algorithm we used for selection of recipient vessels in free tissue transfer to the head and neck. Eighty-eight consecutive free flaps to the head and neck were performed in 85 patients. The superior thyroid was the commonest recipient artery used (61%). The facial artery, used in 14% of our cases, is the choice vessel in instances where neck dissection is not performed. In these cases, we have to access the neck separately for recipient vessels and it can be exposed easily via a short (3-cm) incision. The superficial temporal artery (11%) is our choice vessel for patients with previous neck dissection or radiotherapy as it is well outside the previous operative or irradiated field. Other vessels such as the transverse cervical and end-to-side anastomosis to the carotid artery were also used when appropriate. Recipient vein selection depends primarily on the selected artery. Corresponding veins and large branches of the internal jugular vein (IJV) in the vicinity of the selected artery are preferred. When these are exhausted, the external jugular vein and end-to-side anastomosis to the IJV are considered. We found this algorithm to be reliable in identifying the appropriate vessels in all cases.


In this article I reflect on ways in which the neoliberal university and its administrative counterpart, new public management (NPM), affect academic publishing activity. One characteristic feature of NPM is the urge to use simple numerical indicators of research output as a tool to allocate funding and, in practice if not in theory, as a means of assessing research quality. This ranges from the use of journal impact factors (IF) and ranking of journals to publication points to determine what types of work in publishing is counted as meritorious for funding allocation. I argue that it is a fallacy to attempt to assess quality of scholarship through quantitative measures of publication output. I base my arguments on my experiences of editing a Norwegian geographical journal over a period of 16 years, along with my experiences as a scholar working for many years within the Norwegian university system.


The ripening of fruits like nectarines and peaches is characterised by the decrease in chlorophyll content or colour of the fruit flesh. However, measuring the colour of fruit flesh is usually not conducted, as there is a lack of suitable techniques. Time-Resolved Reflectance Spectroscopy (TRS) is a novel technique that can measure the light absorbed by the fruit flesh. Using a laser light beam at 670 nm, the chlorophyll content of the fruit flesh is assessed without disrupting the natural structure of the fruit. Data on individual fruits of different maturity at harvest were analysed based on a deterministic model using mixed effect non-linear regression. The results indicate that an analysis of data combined from pre- and post-harvest is possible. Using the theory of Biological Shift Factor, an explained part of 97% is obtained at 20° C and 85% at 10° C.


Commercial image serving systems, such as Flickr and Facebook, rely on large image caches to avoid the retrieval of requested images from the costly backend image store, as much as possible. Such systems serve the same image in different resolutions and, thus, in different sizes to different clients, depending on the properties of the clients' devices. The requested resolutions of images can be cached individually, as in the traditional caches, reducing the backend workload. However, a potentially better approach is to store relatively high-resolution images in the cache and resize them during the retrieval to obtain lower-resolution images. Having this kind of on-the-fly image resizing capability enables image serving systems to deploy more sophisticated caching policies and improve their serving performance further. In this paper, we formalize the static caching problem in image serving systems which provide on-the-fly image resizing functionality in their edge caches or regional caches. We propose two gain-based caching policies that construct a static, fixed-capacity cache to reduce the average serving time of images. The basic idea in the proposed policies is to identify the best resolution(s) of images to be cached so that the average serving time for future image retrieval requests is reduced. We conduct extensive experiments using real-life data access logs obtained from Flickr. We show that one of the proposed caching policies reduces the average response time of the service by up to 4.2% with respect to the best-performing baseline that mainly relies on the access frequency information to make the caching decisions. This improvement implies about 25% reduction in cache size under similar serving time constraints.


This paper introduces a new technology of information systems creation based on the declarative descriptions of document collections in RDF. This approach is intended to improve the quality of information published on Web and the interaction between various web-applications. In this framework a model of the document generation is presented, a pictorial example is provided. The benefits and disadvantages of this technology in comparison with traditional XML-based approaches are discussed.


As a domain of political intervention, speed is a meeting ground for projects of domination and tactics of emancipation, for logics of exclusion coexisting with various forms of collisions, intersections and amalgamations. Instead of reducing the 'need for speed' to a linear and unequivocal process, this article makes the case for thinking about speed as an arena of conflict, subject to brutal accelerations but also to at least momentary decelerations. Taking the example of Karachi, where road accidents and larger controversies around transport played a prominent role in the violent postcolonial transformations of the city, it argues that from these collisions emerged a form of political power premised on the regulation of traffic flows. It concludes that moving-power always exceeds the initial intentions of those setting it in motion as it simultaneously builds on and disrupts the forces that give every city its vitality, that is, on the vitalism of speed.


Electronic health records (EHRs) are valuable tools for efficiently delivering safe and effective care, yet the majority of providers continue to rely on paper based systems. Cost is a significant barrier to adoption. Providers unable to afford a comprehensive EHR may still be capable of taking a less costly first step toward improving quality and safety with less aggressive yet effective clinical information system strategies. We identified a single, clearly definable, clinical information need: Improving the delivery of results and reports. We built a results review system to improve the efficiency and reliability of access to clinical information for providers working in the New Orleans safety net for the under/uninsured. We measured provider satisfaction with clinical information delivery systems before and after implementation and analyzed the rate of adoption and ongoing system utilization. Providers expressed increased satisfaction, and showed rapid adoption and an ongoing high rate of utilization over time.


The main objective of this bachelor essay is to analyse the impact of increased competition on upper-secondary teachers' wage. In 1994, the introduction of a school voucher system in Sweden facilitated the expansion of private upper-secondary schools. Based on monopsony and quasi-market, we assess the extent to which the tendency towards increased competition has had any significant effect on upper-secondary teachers' wage. Using a semi-logarithmic wage equation and cross-sectional individual data we found that upper-secondary school teachers employed in 2010 in the region characterised by the highest degree of competition had significantly higher wage compared to teachers employed in regions with a lower degree of competition. In addition, our findings suggest that upper-secondary teachers employed in the public sector had on average higher wages than private employees. To investigate the wage gap between the two sectors further, we perform a quantile regression. We found that up to the 80th percentile teachers employed in private school experience, ceteris paribus, a wage penalty. On the other hand, in the upper tail of the wage distribution we found a significant wage premium for teachers in the private sector.


Distributed system design is a highly complicated and non-trivial task. The problem is the characterised by the need to design multi-threaded, multi-processor, and multimedia systems. Design frameworks such as open distributed processing (ODP), the ITU/ISO standard, define a number of viewpoints from which the design of a distributed system should be approached. To use the framework, a design language for each of these viewpoints must be defined. This paper defines a computational viewpoint language based on the Unified Modelling Language (UML) and Component Quality Modelling Language (CQML). The use of this approach to provide the ODP viewpoint languages enables standard UML tools to be used as part of an ODP compliant design process; and in addition, it will potentially enable the use of Meta Object Facility (MOF) based generation tools for constructing tool support for our language.


The interleukin-1 receptor associated kinases (IRAKs) sit at the bottle neck for the Toll-like-receptor (TLR) mediated signal transduction process controlling host innate immune response. However, the exact role and regulation of IRAKs are still in the early stage and not fully understood. This review intends to summarize the recent advancement in this important topic and points out areas that need further intensive investigation.


Abstract. In this study, we aimed to determine the daily activity patterns and seasonal activity variations of the Eurasian lynx in different habitats (forests and open lands) in a geographical region where there are relatively few data on its ecological characteristics. Survey effort totaled 10 102 camera trap days, with 24 camera trap stations covering an area of approximately 650 km2. Our results showed no significant differences in the habitat preference of the lynx throughout the entire study area or between seasons. The crepuscular and nocturnal activity preferences of the lynx were similar to those of the wolf, red fox, and the European hare. The lynx's daily activity pattern peaked during 20:00–22:00 and 04:00–06:00 hours, and did not show significant variation between seasons. Kernel density estimation was used in order to reveal the temporal overlap of other carnivore and herbivore species with the lynx. The highest temporal overlap (coefficient of overlapping: 0.90) was seen with the European hare. Our findings also indicated higher temporal overlaps with the wolf, red fox, wild boar, and brown bear, and lower overlaps with the red deer, Southwest Asian badger, and Martes spp., which improved understanding of their interactions and co-existence with the lynx.


H1 and related linker histones are important both for maintenance of higher-order chromatin structure and for the regulation of gene expression. The biology of the linker histones is complex, as they are evolutionarily variable, exist in multiple isoforms and undergo a large variety of posttranslational modifications in their long, unstructured, NH2 -a nd COOH-terminal tails. We review recent progress in understanding the structure, genetics and posttranslational modifications of linker histones, with an emphasis on the dynamic interactions of these proteins with DNA and transcriptional regulators. We also discuss various experimental challenges to the study of H1 and related proteins, including limitations of immunological reagents and practical difficulties in the analysis of posttranslational modifications by mass spectrometry.


The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance of two common filters operating on noisy speech recorded in automobiles travelling at various speeds. The filters are based on Spectral Subtraction (SS) and Kalman Filtering (KF). The literature contains studies based on simulated data whereas this paper uses real time data collected in car's in search of an optimal solution. The comparisons were based on real recorded samples containing noisy speech signals with durations of approximately 2 minutes each. Different cases of noise levels which represent the most common situations experienced by drivers were created. The different settings used include varying car speeds (e.g., 40 mph, 70 mph), varying fan power, and window positions settings. The study was carried out using three different car models. The measured noisy voice signals were filtered using the different filtering techniques and the resulting filtered signals were compared in the time domain and the frequency domain, both quantitatively and psychometrically. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis approach was applied to the results for more accurate interpretation. Results show that SS outperforms KF in noise reduction, and with much less speech distortion at the different Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) tested. The audio test results subjected to human listening are comparable with the simulation results. Overall, SS showed superior performance over KF in vehicular hands-free speech applications.


With autonomous robots becomingmore andmore common, the interest in applications of mobile robotics increases. Many applications of robotics include the grasping and manipulation of objects. As many robotic manipulators have several degrees of freedom, controlling these manipulators is not a trivial task. The actuator needs to be guided along a proper trajectory towards the object to grasp, avoiding collisions with other objects and the surface supporting the object. In this project, the problem of learning a proper trajectory towards an object to grasp, located in front of a humanoid robot, the Aldebaran NAO, is solved by using machine learning. Three algorithms were evaluated. Learning from demonstration using a neural network trained on a training set of recorded demonstrations was not capable of learning this task. Using Nearest Neighbor on the same training set yielded much better results in simulation but had more problems picking up objects on the real robot. A form of Reinforcement Learning (RL) tailored to continuous state and action spaces, the Continuous Actor Critic Learning Automaton (CACLA), proved to be an effective way to learn to solve the problem by exploring the action space to obtain a good trajectory in a reasonable amount of time. This algorithm also proved to be robust against the additional complexity of operating on the real robot after being trained in simulation, bridging the reality gap.


Sri Lankans use medicinal plants for curative and therapeutic values and in other social, cultural and religious activities. However, there is a potential of using medicinal plants in landscaping to provide aesthetic and other benefits. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the objective of assessing the preference of selected home garden owners on selected medicinal plants in view of introducing these plants for landscaping. For this, a survey was conducted in Kurunegala Municipal limits using a pretested questionnaire. Friedman and Mann-Whitney tests were carried out to analyze preferences. Results revealed a high preference towards medicinal plants by households and among the species studied, Komarika, Vishnukranthi and Thebu received a significant preference. Komarika and Vishnukranthi can be used as a ground cover while Thebu can be used as a specimen plant or can be introduced into borders. Therefore, this study stresses the importance of popularizing medicinal plants in home garden landscaping as it will give an aesthetic value in addition to medicinal and other benefits.


Endostatin, the COOH-terminal fragment of collagen XVIII, is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis and tumor growth. To understand the mechanisms behind endostatin action, we analyzed the plasma membrane- extracellular matrix interactions of recombinant human endostatin in cultured microvascular endothelial cells. We observed that endostatin induced rapid clustering of alpha5beta1 integrin associated with actin stress fibers and its concomitant colocalization with the membrane anchor protein caveolin-1. Furthermore, endostatin could be coimmunoprecipitated with alpha5beta1 and caveolin-1 from endothelial cell extracts. Endostatin treatment induced phosphatase-dependent activation of caveolin-associated Src family kinases. The disassembly of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions by endostatin was found to occur via activation of Src and in a tyrosyl phosphatase-dependent manner. The endostatin-treated cells void of the focal adhesions had impaired ability to deposit fibronectin into their extracellular matrices and were unable to migrate in response to basic fibroblast growth factor in a wounding experiment. These results indicate that recombinant endostatin interacts with alpha5beta1 integrin and caveolin-1 at the endothelial cell surface. In addition, the antimigratory effect of endostatin involves phosphatase-dependent Src activation and impaired cell-matrix interactions.


BACKGROUND
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. It is mainly characterized by a progressive deterioration of cognition, but sleep-wake cycle disturbances frequently occur. Irregular sleep-wake cycle, insomnia, and daytime napping usually occur in patients with AD in the course of the disease.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to verify the sleep-wake cycle in mild to moderate AD patients compared to controls, and to evaluate the relationship between the sleep-wake cycle impairment and the neuropsychological testing, CSF AD biomarkers, and CSF orexin concentrations.

METHODS
Mild to moderate AD patients were enrolled and underwent 14-day actigraphic recording, sleep diary, neuropsychological testing, and CSF biomarkers analysis. All patients were compared to controls.

RESULTS
Eighteen AD patients were compared to ten controls. AD patients showed the alteration of the sleep-wake cycle, featured by sleep dysregulation and daytime wake fragmentation, with respect to controls. Considering the correlation analysis, we documented the correlation between tau proteins and orexin CSF levels and sleep-wake cycle dysregulation.

CONCLUSION
This study confirmed the dysregulation of sleep-wake cycle in AD patients, as reflected by the daytime wake fragmentation, irregular sleep-wake rhythm, and nocturnal sleep impairment. This sleep-wake cycle disorder correlates with AD neuropathological in vivo features and brain orexin activity. Hence, we suppose that a more marked AD pathology coupled with orexinergic system dysregulation may promote sleep-wake cycle impairment in AD patients.


STUDY OBJECTIVE: To present a formula for equity adjusted years of life saved (EYLS). DESIGN: A mailed questionnaire. The survey participants were given a scenario describing a trade off between a health maximization programme and a programme that is less efficient, but eliminates social inequalities. SETTING: Swedish politicians responsible for health care in the county councils. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 449 Swedish politicians responsible for health care in the county councils. MAIN RESULTS: The principle of health maximization was rejected. Under certain conditions, the Swedish politicians are prepared to sacrifice 15 of 100 preventable deaths to achieve equity. Based on the results a formula for EYLS is presented. CONCLUSIONS: An equity adjusted formula for years of life saved has been proposed, but must be developed and revised according to each country's specific conditions and value premises. In the future, such formulas could serve the purpose of incorporating explicit considerations of equity into cost effectiveness analyses.


An attempt has been tried to develop a chronomodulated drug delivery of pravastatin sodium, which can be taken at bed time (10 pm) and capable of releasing the drug between night and early morning hours after predetermine time delay (4 h), when free cholesterol levels are more prevalent, can prevent various heart diseases like atherosclerosis, stroke, angina and myocardial infraction. The rationale of this study is to design and characterize an oral pulsatile drug delivery system containing pravastatin sodium, to modulate drug level in synchrony with the circadian rhythm of hypercholesterolemia. Various formulations have been made by varying the composition of pravastatin sodium with MCC, HPMC and the percentage release of the drug was analysed in each formulations. Drug-excipient possible interaction has been studied by FT-IR spectroscopic studies. The formulated tablets were evaluated by stability, friability, drug content uniformity tests.


We consider call admission and capacity management in a dynamically reconfigurable network that carries a multitude of traffics. Our approach is a heuristic capacity as- signment algorithm designed to maximise an arbitrary profit function. The algorithm is based on the concept of equivalent circuits, i.e. a given relationship between transmis- sion capacities and call handling capabilities expressed as effective numbers of circuits. Such relationships are examined for the two traffics of our application, voice and frame relaying. Methods and results are independent of the transfer mode used.


Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) is ideally suited for the analysis of elements in water and wastewaters. The contamination levels in urban and industrial effluent such as the effluent rose water need to be specified and controlled as a waste management strategy for this kind of effluent, by recycling or reused of the effluent of the rose water in several industries such as applied to cosmetics and agriculture depending on the kinds of the elements found in effluent rose water. The aim of this study is to evaluate and characterize the elements (qualitative and quantitative analysis) of the effluent rose water manufactory in Al Hada- Taif , which are widely used in different parts of Taif. The element concentration of the effluents rose water will be determined using ICP-OES techniques. Samples was collected overall Al hada. To our knowledge there has been no research or work investigated on the effluent of the manufactures of hydro- distillation of the Taif rose. The results showed this method suitable for the analysis of nineteen elements and their associated wavelengths for different kinds of samples.


Previous studies have shown that surfactant protein A (SP-A) derived from alveolar-proteinosis patients activates rat alveolar macrophages. However, it is not known if normal rat, dog and human SP-A can also stimulate alveolar macrophages. As alveolar-proteinosis SP-A has a slightly different structure from ordinary SP-A, it would be possible that the ascribed alveolar-macrophage-stimulating properties of SP-A are restricted to alveolar-proteinosis SP-A. To clarify this issue, we isolated SP-A from normal rat and dog pulmonary surfactants, using the same isolation technique commonly used for the isolation of alveolar-proteinosis SP-A, i.e. by butanol precipitation. In contrast with human alveolar-proteinosis SP-A, rat and dog SP-A obtained thus could not activate rat alveolar macrophages to produce oxygen radicals or enhance the phagocytosis of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled herpes simplex virus. However, rat, dog and normal human SP-A isolated by a novel method, involving extraction from pulmonary surfactant by using n-octyl beta-D-glucopyranoside and subsequent purification by cation-exchange chromatography, were able to elicit an oxidative burst in rat as well as normal human alveolar macrophages. In addition, dog and rat SP-A obtained thus stimulated the phagocytosis of herpes simplex virus by rat alveolar macrophages. These findings indicate that normal human, rat and dog SP-A have the same alveolar-macrophage-stimulating properties as human alveolar proteinosis SP-A. Dog and rat SP-A isolated by this novel method had the same Ca(2+)-dependent self-aggregation and lipid-aggregation properties as SP-A isolated by butanol precipitation. The new and milder isolation procedure yielded SP-A of high purity, as judged by SDS/PAGE and ELISA.


The use of plastic mulching (PM) in agriculture has strongly increased in the last years. Improved water saving and higher soil temperature are some advantages of this management. Yet, an intensive use of PM has been recently linked to negative effects on soil quality. The aim of this study is thus to assess the effects of long-term plastic mulching (PM) on soil microbial indicators. PM was compared with the use of wheat straw mulching (SM), an also widely used mulch material. Samples were collected at two depths (0-5 and 5-10 cm) from strawberry fields, after 4-year management. Cultivation in PM and SM was done in a ridge-furrow system with subsurface irrigation. Soil characterization comprised soil texture and aggregate stability, soil organic carbon, pH and water content. Soil microbial analysis included: Soil microbial biomass (Cmic), a fraction of soil cultivable fungi (CFU values), soil bacteria (16S rRNA), denitrifying community (nirK, nirS, narG, napA genes), soil enzyme activity (C-Chitinase, P-Phosphatase and N Leucine-aminopeptidase), deoxynivalenol (DON) content and Cmic:Corg ratio. Positive effects on soil physicochemical properties were observed under PM as compared to SM, reflected by a higher soil carbon content and better aggregate stability (p>0.05). Yet, soil microbial analysis revealed some differences between managements. Cmic values were comparable in both systems, showing no differences in soil microbial biomass. In the same way, the analysis of functional genes of the N cycle and the activity of the enzymes P-Phosphatase and N Leucine-aminopeptidase was not affected by the mulching treatment. But, the abundance of bacteria (18%) and a fraction of soil cultivable fungi were reduced by respectively 18 and 62% under PM. Since the Cmic values remained similar between treatments, this accounts for a shift of microbial communities under PM. Additionally, C-Chitinase activity declined under PM. Interestingly, this enzyme correlated positively with CFU values (r=0.781, p=0.001), suggesting that a reduction of the activity is a consequence of the reduction of the fungal biomass. Additionally, a higher deoxynivalenol concentration (2.2 ± 2.4 µg kg-1) and a reduced Cmic:Corg ratio (1.3±0.3%) were observed under PM, indicative of less appropriate soil conditions after long-term PM management.


PURPOSE
The intent of this study was to identify and characterize guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) that are a component of cell signaling of stimulus-secretion coupling in lacrimal gland.

METHODS
Membranes were isolated from the lacrimal glands of male Sprague-Dawley rats and New Zealand rabbits and were used to identify G proteins in lacrimal gland by Western blot analysis. Solubilized membrane proteins from lacrimal glands and from a positive tissue control (SH-SY5Y cells) were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The alpha subunits of the G proteins were identified by immunoreactivity, with specific peptide directed antisera against Gs alpha, Gi alpha 1, Gi alpha 1/2, and Go alpha. The initial characterization of coupling of specific G proteins to receptors was accomplished by preincubation of membranes with nonimmune serum, anti-Gs alpha, or anti-Go alpha antiserum and assay of adenylyl cyclase activity in the presence of the neuropeptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), or forskolin.

RESULTS
Gs alpha, Gi alpha 3, and Go alpha were present in all three membrane preparations. Gs alpha subunits were detected as two bands at 45 to 48 kd and 48 to 54 kd. Gi alpha 3 was detected as a single protein at 40 to 41 kd, and at least one form of Go alpha with a molecular weight of 40 kd was detected in all three preparations. Gi alpha 1 was detected in immunoblots of rat lacrimal and SH-SY5Y membranes at 41 kd, and the density of the band was enhanced in blots probed with anti-Gi alpha 1/2 antiserum. Immunoreactivity to anti-Gi alpha 1 or anti-Gi alpha 1/2 was faint or not detectable in rabbit lacrimal membranes. A prominent band was detected in rabbit and rat lacrimal but not in SH-SY5Y membranes at 31 kd with anti-Gi alpha 1/2 antiserum, which may represent a G protein involved in exocytosis. Coupling of VIP receptor activation to adenylyl cyclase by Gs alpha was evidenced by the reduction of VIP stimulation of the enzyme by preincubation of rabbit membranes with anti-Gs alpha antiserum. In contrast, preincubation of membranes with anti-Go alpha antiserum resulted in an increase in activity of adenylyl cyclase in the presence of VIP.

CONCLUSIONS
Detection of specific alpha subunits in lacrimal gland indicates that Gs, Gi, and Go are present in rabbit and rat lacrimal gland. Both Gs and Go influence VIP stimulation of lacrimal adenylyl cyclase and thus are presumed to be involved in signal transduction, leading to second-messenger accumulation and subsequent regulation of lacriminal function, including secretion. In addition, an unidentified protein is present in lacrimal gland that may represent one of the guanine nucleotide binding proteins involved in exocytosis.


Affiliations of authors: Cancer Genetics Service, Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre, Singapore (JN); Oncology Academic Clinical Program, DukeNUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore (JN); Genomic Medicine Institute (JN, CE) and Taussig Cancer Institute (CE), Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences and Germline High Risk Focus Group, CASE Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (CE).


textabstractThe main goal of blood coagulation is to diminish blood loss and to support vessel damage
repair. The initial step in primary hemostasis is the adhesion of platelets to the exposed
subendothelial extracellular matrix which contains several adhesive macromolecules
such as collagen, von Willebrand factor (vWF), laminin, fibronectin and thrombospondin.
These adhesive macromolecules are ligands for different platelet-surface receptors. Upon
binding, platelets can be activated by different signal transduction pathways. Platelet
adhesion and activation is followed by platelet aggregation, which involves fibrinogen
binding to an integrin on the surface of the activated platelet. Secondary hemostasis
is initiated by exposure of tissue factor (TF) to blood by endothelial damage. TF forms a
complex with coagulation factor VII which activates factor IX and factor X. Activated factor
X (FXa) forms the prothrombinase complex together with activated factor V (FVa) on
a phospholipid membrane surface, which is provided by, for example, activated platelets
and microparticles, and which converts prothrombin into thrombin. Thrombin can
amplify its own generation by activating FXI, and FXIa activates FIX, that together with
activated FVIII forms more FX. Thrombin is an important enzyme that cleaves fibrinogen
into fibrin monomer. Fibrin monomers polymerize and the resulting network is stabilized
by factor XIIIa-catalyzed cross-linking. This tight fibrin network together with activated
platelets occludes the site of vascular injury. After its formation, the clot will retract.
The speed and degree of clot retraction are proportional to the number of platelets.
Neither the significance of in vivo clot retraction for hemostasis as well as the mechanism
of clot retraction are well understood. Retraction may improve the mechanical stability of
clots. To maintain a balance, the coagulation pathway is inhibited by several inhibitors.
Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) inhibits the TF-induced coagulation firstly by binding
to FXa. Secondly, this TFPI-FXa complex binds to the TF-FVIIa complex resulting in
the formation of an inactive quaternary complex. TFPI can also inhibit the initiation phase
of coagulation in one step by binding to activated FX that is not yet released from its
complex with TF-FVIIa. Thrombin is directly inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor
antithrombin as well as heparin cofactor II. Thrombin can also bind to thrombomodulin
and form a complex that activates protein C. Activated protein C (APC), with its cofactor
protein S, has anticoagulant properties through proteolytic inactivation of factors Va and
VIIIa.


This paper is focused on the complex evaluation of the prosthetic socket (of a hand) manufactured by the usage of additive technologies. Main advantage of this method is a significantly shorter production time and lower production cost. The durability of the socket is generally between 12 and 24 months. It is caused by the atrophy of the patient's tissues and also by the mechanical loading during the usage. The laminating of the carbon fibers on the model of the internal socket is used nowadays. This method is technologically and time demanding. The newly developed production process is using the 3D printing method by the HP MultiJet Fusion 4200 printer. The considered material is HP PA12GB. It is the thermoplastic material (polyamide) with 40% of glass beads. Production of the socket is reduced to few hours. This paper consists the mechanical comparison of the laminated (old design) and the 3D printed (new design) socket. The real mechanical testing is simulating the most critical loading by impact to the edge of the table. The evaluation in terms of durability and fatigue is performed also using the software nCode and Siemens NX.


The recent advancement of Web 2.0 enables people to exchange their opinions on a variety of topics. Among these discussions, the opinions of employees, customers, and investors are of great interest to companies. Insight into such perspectives can help managers make better decisions on business policies and strategy. However, assessing online opinions is a nontrivial task. The high volume of messages, casual writing style, and the significant amount of noise require the application of sophisticated text mining techniques to digest the data. Previous research has successfully applied sentiment analysis to assess online opinions on specific items and topics. In this research, we propose the integration of topic analysis with sentiment analysis methods to assess the public opinions expressed in forums with diverse topics of discussion. Using a WalMart-related Web forum as an example, we found that combining the two types of analysis can provide us with improved ability to assess public opinions on a company. Through further analysis on one cluster of discussions, several abnormal traffic and sentiment patterns were identified related to Wal-Mart events. The case study validates the propose framework as an IT artifact to assess online public opinion on companies of interest. Our research promotes further efforts to combine topic and sentiment analysis techniques in online research supporting business decision making.


This study investigates the reliability of using short-term averages of earnings as a proxy for permanent earnings in empirical research. An earnings dynamics model is estimated on a large sample of men covering the period from 1983 to 1997 following the cohort-based methodology of Baker and Solon (1999). The analysis uses a unique dataset that matches men in the 1984, 1990 and 1996 Surveys of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to the Social Security Administration's Summary Earnings Records (SER). The results confirm that using a short-term average of earnings can lead to spurious estimates of the effect of lifetime earnings on a particular outcome. In addition, the transitory variance appears to vary considerably over the lifecycle. The share of earnings variance due to transitory factors is higher among blacks and the persistence of transitory shocks appears to be greater for this group as well. Finally, the transitory variance appears to be a more important factor in explaining the overall earnings variance of college educated men than those without college.


Some previous global and regional studies have indicated teleconnection between the extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation (SO) and Turkish climate and hydrologic variables; however, they failed to suggest a strong correlation structure. In this study, categorised Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and Multivariate ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) index (MEI) series were used to examine the far‐reaching effects of the SO on temperature, precipitation and streamflow patterns in Turkey. These SO indicators were categorised into five subgroups according to their empirical distributions. Correlations between the categorised SO indicators and three analysis variables were computed using the Spearman's rho from lag‐0 to lag‐4. Significance of calculated correlations was tested at the 0·01 level for station‐based analysis and at the 0·05 level for regional analysis. Temperature records demonstrated significant correlations with the categorised SOI and MEI in nearly half of the entire stations. For some categories, precipitation and streamflow were found to be correlated with the SO indicators in some stations mainly in western Turkey. Regional analyses of temperature and precipitation revealed a clear and strong correlation structure with the categorised SO indicators on a large portion of Turkey. This was not concluded by the earlier pertinent studies. Besides, this study showed that significant correlations were obtained not only for the SO extreme phases (namely, El Nino and La Nina) but also for neutral and moderate phases of the SO. Plausible explanations for the observed teleconnection are presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract Background Venous resection of the superior mesenteric or portal vein is increasingly performed in pancreatic cancer surgery, whereas results of studies on short- and long-term outcomes are contradictory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the type of venous resection in pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer on postoperative morbidity and overall survival. Methods This nationwide retrospective cohort study included all patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer in 18 centres (2013–2017). Results A total of 1311 patients were included, of whom 17 per cent underwent wedge resection and 10 per cent segmental resection. Patients with segmental resection had higher rates of major morbidity (39 versus 20 versus 23 per cent, respectively; P < 0.001) and portal or superior mesenteric vein thrombosis (18 versus 5 versus 1 per cent, respectively; P < 0.001) and worse overall survival (median 12 versus 16 versus 20 months, respectively; P < 0.001), compared to patients with wedge resection and those without venous resection. Multivariable analysis showed patients with segmental resection, but not those who had wedge resection, had higher rates of major morbidity (odds ratio = 1.93, 95 per cent c.i. 1.20 to 3.11) and worse overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.40, 95 per cent c.i. 1.10 to 1.78), compared to patients without venous resection. Among patients who received neoadjuvant therapy, there was no difference in overall survival among patients with segmental and wedge resection and those without venous resection (median 32 versus 25 versus 33 months, respectively; P = 0.470), although there was a difference in major morbidity rates (52 versus 19 versus 21 per cent, respectively; P  = 0.012). Conclusion In pancreatic surgery, the short- and long-term outcomes are worse in patients with venous segmental resection, compared to patients with wedge resection and those without venous resection.


We analyze the relationship between the long term development in liquidity at the Oslo Stock Exchange and the Norwegian economy for the period 1980 to 2007. We calculate different liquidity measures that captures various dimensions of liquidity over time and across industry groups. Overall, we find that the liquidity at the OSE has improved over the sample period. However, the improvement is most pronounced for the largest firms on the exchange. Interestingly, some measures indicate that the implicit cost of trading has been lower in earlier periods than it is today. Another important finding is that there is a strong counter cyclical relationship between proportional transaction costs measured by the relative spread and the business cycle measured by the output gap. The average relative spread also responds very quickly to the turning points of the business cycle. This result suggest that liquidity measures provide important real time information about the current state of the economy as well as market participants expectations about future economic growth.


: A comparative analysis was performed of a clinical course and intensive therapy of sepsis in 43 patients over 60 years of age. 86% of them were patients aged 60 to 74 years, the rest were older. The intensive therapy included: surgical treatment of the infection focus (on demand), antibiotics, immunomodulators (immunoglobulins or interleukine-2 preparations), nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs (diclofenak), inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor (pentoxiphilline), vitamins of group B, infusion therapy, parenteral feeding (on demand), plasmapheresis or biospecific antiproteinase hemosorption. It is shown that geriatric patients develop sepsis due to chronic therapeutic pathology, their condition at admission to hospital is more severe. They have a changed posture of red blood and insignificant leukocytosis though the eukocytic index of intoxication in them is much higher. Biochemical indices in sepsis are approximately the same in all the age groups except total protein. Cellular immunity in the elderly is hyperactive while humoral immunity is depressed. Aged patients have hyperkinetic circulation and bad oxygen blood transport. A complex of therapeutic measures minimized sepsis lethality in geriatric patients.


Background/Objectives: A variety of R&D policies for small businesses are being implemented, but R&D investment of small businesses is extremely weak. The aim of this study is to find the causes for this and to suggest effective policies. Methods/Statistical Analysis: To find the causes for weak R&D investment of small companies, a survey was conducted with 300 small companies, which had invested in R&D from 2012 to 2014. For this survey, structured questionnaires were distributed and there was an interview using telephone and fax from August 19th to September 22nd 2015. Also, a survey was conducted with 829 of 1,675 mid-sized companies that belong to the Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea and 102 effective responses were analyzed. Findings: The rate of R&D success in the small companies that received government support was 59.2%, but it was mostly focused on performance or quality improvement. At every stage, the companies considered insufficiency of funds and complex administrative procedures as major failure factors. They preferred funding and prototype production support as the most required policies. On the contrary, the mid-sized companies showed a lot of demands for professional manpower, facilities and equipment purchase support. This demonstrates there is a need to offer opportunities for joint use of specialized test equipment's. Application/Improvements: This study has big significance by studying the demands of the companies, but further research would need to observe if the policies suggested serve as continued growth engines.


Common interest communities have become the property form of choice for many Americans. As of 2010, sixty-two million Americans lived in common interest communities. Residents benefit from sharing the cost of common amenities – pools, lawns, gazebos – and from rules that ensure compliance with community expectations. But decisionmaking in common interest communities raises serious concerns about minority abuse and manipulation, a problem well known to all property law students. Decisions about which amenities will be provided and which rules will be enacted are typically made through some combination of delegation and voting. Delegates often act for their own benefit, and, for a variety of reasons, voting fails to capture the preferences of the community. This Article suggests a better way. Building upon the pioneering work of Vickrey, Clarke, and Groves, we propose a novel auction system that captures the intensity of resident preferences while preserving the honesty of declared preferences. The use of auction theory induces truthful revelation of preferences by participants and reflects the intensity of preference for any given policy outcome. As a result, our system allows communities to make better decisions and makes common interest communities more responsive to the needs of residents.


The dynamic shear modulus (DSM) is the most basic soil parameter in earthquake or other dynamic loading conditions and can be obtained through testing in the field and in the laboratory. By using the resonant column tests, the effect of the consolidation ratios on the nonlinear behavior of DSM versus the shear strain, G/Gmax-γ, for two types of sands and fourteen types of undisturbed silty soil is investigated and its effect on the surface response spectrum is presented in the paper. The results here indicate that consolidation ratios have certain effect on the shape of the nonlinear behavior of DSM versus the shear strain and G/Gmax increases with increasing of the consolidation ratios. By comparing to the isotropic consolidation, the consideration for the actual anisotropic consolidation makes the acceleration peak amplitude increase and makes the characteristic period decrease. For the incidence of the strong seismic excitation, the effect of the anisotropic consolidation on earthquake ground motion should be considered.


There is an ever-growing need for polymers with specific surface properties for the production of modified materials. Recently, extremely efficient polymer surface modification has been achieved by incorporating dendritically end functionalised polymers into blends, which combine sufficient mobility, with optimal functionality, to cause dramatic changes in surface properties. This method has significant advantages over traditional coating technologies in that no additional processing step is required.
It has already been established that blends of dendritically functionalised polymers have great potential in amorphous systems, but for commercial uptake similar results in semi-crystalline materials must be achieved. Polyethylene (PE) is the world's most widely produced polymer, coming in many grades of molecular weight, branch content, and crystallinity. Semi-crystalline materials, such as PE possess excellent bulk properties, but their surfaces are notoriously difficult to functionalise except by harsh chemical treatments, or corona discharge methods. By bridging the gap between polymer science that is well understood, and polymer modification, will add value to commercially important materials. However to do this the effect that crystalline domains have on spontaneous surface segregation must be understood. Do crystalline regions exclude lower energy additives and drive them to the surface or are the additives trapped in the bulk?
In this study new synthetic methodologies were developed for the preparation of fluoro-end-capped polymers with well defined multiple hydrophobic groups, via anionic polymerisation, resulting in analogues of end-functionalised LLDPE. Physical properties have been characterised using a variety of techniques, namely ion beam analysis (IBA), contact angle measurements and several neutron scattering measurements, including neutron reflectivity (NR), small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and studies proved surface enrichment with fluoro-chain ends.
This work has shown that blends of fluoro-polymer preferentially segregate to the air surface interface and the subsequent surface free energies of these blends were near that of polytetrafluoroethylene (measured surface energy was 8.95 mNm-2) with minimal amounts of fluorine. For example blends with 12 wt% (with respect to matrix polymer) fluorocarbon end-functionalised PE, which is equivalent to ~1% fluorocarbon, result in a measured surface energy of 8.44 mNm-2.


Handayani T. 2018. Diversity, potential and conservation of Annonaceae in Bogor Botanic Gardens, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 591-603. The Annonaceae is a large family of trees, shrubs and climbers consisting of about 109 genera and 2440 species. This family has important economic value for fresh fruit, cosmetics and perfumes, timber, traditional medicines, processed foods and beverages, insecticides, and ornamental plants. It also has an important role in forest ecosystems and in environmental management, as a key habitat organism. Despite its many uses, the family has not received special attention, and many of its species have been forgotten. Therefore, efforts are required to conserve the Annonaceae. Conservation of the Annonaceae depends upon ex-situ as well as in-situ methods. Conservation by ex situ approaches is considered effective because it can save from extinction species that are rare, endemic or of as yet recognized, unknown usefulness.The research reported in this paper aimed to determine Annonaceae diversity in Bogor Botanic Gardens (BBG), West Java, Indonesia as well as its current and potential utilization, with a view to developing ways of ensuring preservation of the collection within the Gardens. The study used direct observation of the Garden's collection, compilation and scrutiny of relevant data from the long-term BBG registration database, analysis of past research data, and a literature study. Currently, BBG holds in its collection about 28 genera and 83 species of the Annonaceae family. The collection is estimated to cover 80% of the total species scattered across the Malesian region. Within the collection there are 49 tree species (59.04%), 14 shrub species (16.87%) and 20 liana species (24.09%). Most of the collections are from Java and Sumatra, while the fewest are from Maluku Islands and Papua. Among 40 species observed, 7 species are used for their fruit, 7 species have cosmetic or perfume uses, 22 species are a source of timber, 34 species have uses in traditional medicine, 6 species are used in the food or beverage industry, 19 species can be used as ornamental plants, 8 species for insecticides, and 4 species for other uses.The Annonaceae collections consist of young and old plants.Plants within the Gardens that are more than 100 years old include trees (7 species), shrubs (3 species) and a liana (1 species).The most widely used parts for traditional medicine are roots and leaves. This paper discusses the efforts taken by BBG to conserve the Annonaceae, include maintaining the diversity of the collection, researching the potential usefulness of the collection and exploring different approaches to its conservation.


Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are intraplate magmatic events, involving volumes of mainly mafic magma upwards of 100,000 km3, and often above 1 million km3. They are linked to continental break-up, global environmental catastrophes, regional uplift and a variety of ore deposit types. In this up-to-date, fascinating book, leading expert Richard E. Ernst explores all aspects of LIPs, beginning by introducing their definition and essential characteristics. Topics covered include continental and oceanic LIPs; their origins, structures, and geochemistry; geological and environmental effects; association with silicic, carbonatite and kimberlite magmatism; and analogues of LIPs in the Archean, and on other planets. The book concludes with an assessment of LIPs' influence on natural resources such as mineral deposits, petroleum and aquifers. This is a one-stop resource for researchers and graduate students in a wide range of disciplines, including tectonics, igneous petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, Earth history, and planetary geology, and for mining industry professionals.


The use of videoconferencing platforms adapted to teaching offers students the opportunity to take distance education courses in much the same way as traditional in-class training. The sessions can be recorded and they allow students the option of following the courses synchronously or asynchronously. Three typical profiles can then be distinguished: students who choose to follow the courses synchronously, students who could attend the course in synchronous mode but choose to follow the session off-line, and students who follow the course asynchronously as they cannot attend the course when it is offered because of professional or personal constraints. Our study consists of observing attendance at all distance education courses offered in the synchronous mode by the Computer Science and Software Engineering Department at Laval University during 10 consecutive semesters. The aim is to identify factors that influence students in their choice of attending the distance courses in synchronous mode. It was found that participation tends to be relatively stable over the years for any one semester (fall, winter summer) and is similar from one course to another, although students may be increasingly familiar with the synchronous distance education courses. Average participation is around 28%. There may be deviations, but they concern only a few courses during certain semesters, suggesting that these deviations would only have occurred because of the composition of particular promotions during specific semesters. Furthermore, course schedules have a great influence on the attendance rate. The highest rates are all for courses which are scheduled outside office hours. Keywords—Attendance, distance undergraduate education in computer science, student behavior, synchronous e-learning.


Background Skimboarding is a beachside water sport that is enjoying increasing popularity among both dedicated enthusiasts and casual beachgoers. Although many consider this sport to be similar to its "sister" sport, surfing, the technique, the environment in which it is performed, and the skills required differ dramatically from that of surfing. Moreover, the pattern of injuries seen in skimboarders differs substantially from those sustained while surfing. Hypothesis A better understanding of the injuries encountered in this sport will allow improved participant education and facilitate the implementation of preventative measures. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods A case series was generated by performing a single retrospective chart review of skimboarding injuries referred for orthopaedic evaluation over a 2-year period at 2 medical treatment facilities, one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast of the United States; demographic data, injury type, and treatments rendered were documented. Results Sixty-one patients were identified and analyzed. Average patient age was 19.1 years. Fractures represented 93.4% of all acute injuries. The most common sites of injury were the ankle (41%) and wrist (36%). Rotation about a planted lower extremity was the most common mechanism of injury (30/61, 49%), followed by falls onto an outstretched hand (26/61, 43%). Conclusion Fractures of the ankle and wrist comprise a high proportion of skimboarding injuries. Knowledge of potential hazards associated with this sport should be made available to participants. To decrease the risk of orthopaedic injury, the use of protective equipment or instruction in proper techniques of the activity may be warranted.


Islamic education in Indonesia has been going on since the introducing of
Islam in Indonesia starting with informal education that personal relationships between
broadcasters of Islamic preachers who came to Indonesia with the surrounding community.
A relationship that led to the initial recognition of the Islamic community, then began
appearing of Islamic education in non-formal centers such as in the mosque. In this place
was taken away in non-formal education, diverse learners are still a child and there are also
adults. Once the need for education among the Muslim community, they begin to appear
formal educational institutions such as schools, Islamic schools and madrasah as well as
Islamic universities. Islamic education experience its dynamics in terms of both quantitative
and qualitative in the light of the qualitative. Qualitative terms of Islamic education
experienced rapid growth throughout Indonesia with thousands of Islamic boarding schools
(pesantren), schools and madrasah. In view of the qualitative angle of Islamic education,
has evolved from traditional education appears to be a modern Islamic education is able to
provide its response to the progress of the times and was able to give contribution to the
development of the nation, and the state. On the relation with this, the Islamic education in
Indonesia has a very important position and strategic, because that is the Law of National
Education System that Islamic education occupies a position as a sub-system of the National
Education System.


Journal impact factor (IF) as a gauge of influence and impact of a particular journal comparing with other journals in the same area of research, reports the mean number of citations to the published articles in particular journal. Although, IF attracts more attention and being used more frequently than other measures, it has been subjected to criticisms, which overcome the advantages of IF. Critically, extensive use of IF may result in destroying editorial and researchers' behaviour, which could compromise the quality of scientific articles. Therefore, it is the time of the timeliness and importance of a new invention of journal ranking techniques beyond the journal impact factor.


Existing regulations for ultra-wide-band technology make negligible its impact on incumbent networks. But compliant UWB devices are severely range-limited, and hence useful for a limited class of applications. More powerful UWB devices could be allowed in exchange for some form of "economic mitigation" to incumbents. Fortunately, world-wide UWB regulations have not yet been set, and those set may be adjusted. We explore the technical-economic impact of higher-power UWB on a 3G CDMA cell populated by data-downloading terminals. Performance is measured by the ratio of actual to potential revenue. Each served terminal continues to operate at the original service quality (signal-to-interference level), and does not alter its contribution to revenue. But fewer terminals may be served, resulting in reduced total revenue. This reduction (given by a simple expression) would be a fair dynamic monetary compensation to the cellular network. As an alternative, such network may receive additional spectrum, and/or base stations to restore its original performance. As interference rises, so does the cost of the mitigation. Thus, there is an economically-efficient level. Other incumbent technologies can be similarly considered, and a regulatory radio-spectrum "mask" can be fully determined by market forces.


It is becoming increasingly apparent that bathymetry plays a crucial role in determining the behavior of marine-terminating glaciers. This is because variations in the shape of the bed can produce both pinning points where glaciers (or their floating tongues) can ground and stabilize, as well as pathways for warm waters to move across the shelf and access the grounding line. Ahead of the first ITGC field season we present the existing state of knowledge about the bed in front of Thwaites Glacier (TG). We have compiled existing multibeam-bathymetric datasets from the UK, the USA and international partners (Korea, Germany) to produce a high-resolution grid (50-m cells) for the area. From this grid we identify possible pathways for warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the TG grounding line, a topographic high – as shallow as 130 m in places - that likely acted as a pinning point and is less than 18 km from the current eastern ice-shelf margin, and landforms indicative of the past behavior of the glacier (e.g. meltwater channels and basins, streamlined landforms). This exercise also highlights important data gaps to target for surveying in 2019, including for example, the area left vacant by the calving of the B-22 iceberg. Secondly, we explore existing sub-bottom and seismic-reflection profiles from the Amundsen Sea Embayment to investigate the nature of the substrate in front of TG. Unlithified sediment cover is generally thin (<5 m) over scoured crystalline bedrock but thickens to up to 40 m in basins. We discuss potential coring targets close to pathways for warm water incursions, and former stability points including the possibility of unknown basins in front of TG.


A 3D shape is N-fold rotational-symmetric if the shape is invariant for 360/N degree rotations about an axis. Mach pointed out that human observers are sensitive to rotational-symmetry in a 2D image, but less sensitive than to mirror-symmetry, which involves invariance to reflection across an axis. We have previously shown that observers are also sensitive to mirror-symmetry of a 3D shape, and the assumption of mirror-symmetry helps to perceive the veridical 3D shape from its 2D image. Now we examine whether rotational-symmetry of a 3D shape plays a role in visual perception. We compared the perceptual and geometrical properties of 3D rotational-symmetry to those of 3D mirror-symmetry. We found that these two types of symmetry have similar geometrical properties. Both types of symmetry, with an additional constraint (planarity of contours), provide invariants for a 3D to 2D projection. Namely, a relation between projections of a pair of contours with either type of symmetry can be represented by a subset of 2D Affine transformations. Consequently, we show formally that a 3D shape with either type of symmetry can be recovered from a single 2D image, by using the symmetry as an a priori constraint. Unlike for mirror-symmetry of a 3D shape, observers do not seem to reliably detect N-fold 3D rotational-symmetry unless N is roughly 20 or higher. When N is infinity, the N-fold rotational-symmetric 3D shape becomes a surface of revolution, and every 2D projection of a surface of revolution is itself 2D mirror-symmetrical. We will show how rotational-symmetry appears in a 3D shape as a secondary product of its mirror-symmetry by increasing the number of folds of its mirror-symmetry (Note that infinite-fold 3D mirror-symmetry is also a surface of revolution). These considerations suggest that the human visual system is sensitive to 3D rotational-symmetry only through its accompanying 3D mirror-symmetry. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


On February 27, 1998, the Philadelphia Inquirer quoted a hospital administrator who runs a Republican professional women's group in Louisiana as saying, Well, let me tell you about my dearest friend. Her son has a rare heart disease, and at one time she had a $160,000 medical bill because she couldn't get health insurance. So we're talking about the sex scandal, and she tells me, "Because Clinton's in the White House, I can get the insurance now." That's all she call come up with! This is a person with a big IQ. I wanted to say to her, "What about the fact that because of Clinton, our moral foundation is built on sand?" There is a similar sense of bewilderment in press accounts. U.S. News and World Report, for example, asked on its February 2 cover, "Is He Finished?" and showed a stern Clinton dwarfed by a grainy, smiling Lewinsky. In that issue, columnist Gloria Borger's disbelief is evident in her hypothetical explanation for the voters' continued approval of Clinton's presidency: Look at it this way: Hillary Clinton's ability to separate her own personal anguish from the political anger she feels is not unlike Bill Clinton's ability to persuade voters to separate his private life from his public character. Most voters now even accept this notion that somehow one side of the brain doesn't affect the other.(1) Where pundits predicted that the allegations would undercut public confidence in his presidency, the opposite seemed to be the case. Clinton's approval ratings stayed above 60 percent through May. When a reporter questioned whether it was healthy for the public to feel that presidents' personal lives are not relevant, Clinton declined to answer the question. What explains this disconnection between the assumptions of reporters and the polled responses of citizens? The answer is simple: the public makes a distinction between private and public character and between the personal and the presidential. So, for example, 80 percent of a national sample reported in late February(2) that "In judging Clinton, we should focus on how the country is doing and his policies, and not on his private life." Sixty-five percent agreed with the statement, "The public has become more realistic and accepts that political leaders should be judged on their job performance not their personal life."(3) Sixty-seven percent told the same pollsters that the president "should be able to withhold certain private matters," and a majority (59 percent) found it "understandable [that] he would not tell the truth about his sex life."(4) Even if one supposes that Clinton did have an affair, 66 percent believe that that is "his business and has nothing to do with this job."(5) Even when pollsters explicitly ask about ethics, the public-private distinction holds up, with 59 percent saying that it is "possible for Clinton to be unethical in his personal life while maintaining integrity as president."(6) Why the distinction between the personal and the presidential? In part it is because revelations about the sex lives of presidents from Franklin Roosevelt through John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson have lowered public expectations about marital fidelity in the White House. Eighty-eight percent report that "other presidents have had equally bad private lives."(7) Similarly, three out of four say, "Clinton's faults are no worse than other presidents."(8) Based in part on the conclusion that some of the nation's great presidents have led less than exemplary private lives, 84 percent now tell surveyors that "Someone can be a good president even if you disapprove of his personal life."(9) Also, it is possible that at least the 24 percent who say they can imagine "circumstances where you'd commit adultery"(10) have concluded that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. This conclusion is borne out by the finding that 51 percent think that Clinton's moral standards are the same as the average married man's, while 6 percent consider them higher. …