TO THE EDITOR: It was fantastic to participate in the training run for the new JNMT Twitter-based journal club (@JNMTClub using #JNMTClub). Although only a small number of invited participants were engaged, it promises to be a fantastic medium for nuclear medicine technologists to connect, engage, learn, and participate in continuing education among a global community of colleagues. The format will be of benefit to those experienced in social media and the novice. The JNMT article discussed during the Twitter-based journal club was Dako et al. (1), examining the patients' perception of quality at the point of care in PET. The Twitter discussion asked the question ''Do you think the results of the survey are meaningful?'' The results lack any statistical validity in my opinion. The Likert scale used rendered the data ordinal in nature. The statistical analysis treated the data as though it were continuous data, and this represents a fatal flaw. Ordinal data should not be represented as a mean; the median is the appropriate expression for central tendency (2). Indeed, had the median been cited, it may have given a better insight into any trends. This flaw is easily rectified with appropriate statistical treatment; however, the mean data and associated P values are inappropriate and leave no conclusions that can be reliably drawn. This statistical flaw is not uncommon in the medical literature but represents reputation damage to the research itself, the review process of the journal, the journal, and the broader profession. Aworking understanding of appropriate use and meaning of common statistical tools is essential for all.


This paper presents an instrument based on a new architecture called "Remote Wiring and Measurement Laboratory" ( RwmLAB) acting as a local multicircuit board on a common distributed panel on the Internet. Matrix switching, data acquisition, data processing and analysis, and graphical unit interface enabled-devices characterize the RwmLAB. RwmLAB is intended to address real-time remote wiring of electrical and electronic circuits and real data acquisition over the Internet instead of using simulated data. This Web-based instrument allows for flexibility and the spontaneous delivery of laboratory material and ensures a global access to a worldwide audience.


Tumor ablation using radiofrequency (RF) energy is clinically used for treatment of various cancer types. During RF ablation, an electrode is inserted into a tumor under imaging-guidance, and the tumor is heated by RF electric current and cancer cells killed above temperatures of ~50 °C. One of the major factors affecting tissue temperature and ablation zone dimensions is tissue perfusion. To examine perfusion effects, we created Finite Element Method computer models of a clinically used RF ablation device, including temperature-dependent electrical and thermal tissue properties. Microvascular perfusion was modeled according to Pennes' Bioheat Equation, and was varied with temperature to include perfusion cessation due to coagulation at high temperatures. Microvascular perfusion rate was varied to represent variations between patients by +/-1 standard deviation based on prior data measured in humans. Macro-vascular perfusion was modeled by including a large vessel (10 mm diameter) in the model geometry, and assigning a convective heat transfer coefficient as a boundary condition at the vessel wall. The vessel resulted in local deviation of the ablation zone around the vessel, and resulted in a region of viable tissue near the vessel wall. Microvascular perfusion affected overall size and geometry of the ablation zone. Ablation zone volume for average microvascular perfusion was 20.1 cm3, and was 16.6 and 25.3 cm3 when perfusion rate was increased or reduced by 1 standard deviation. Both micro- and macrovascular perfusion considerably affect tissue temperature and ablation zone. Patient-specific data on perfusion would allow for more accurate estimates of ablation zone dimensions and improved treatment planning.


Workfare programs are one of the most popular social protection and employment policy instruments in the developing world. They evoke the promise of efficient targeting, as well as immediate and lasting impacts on participants' employment, earnings, skills and behaviors. This paper evaluates contemporaneous and post-program impacts of a public works intervention in Côte d'Ivoire. The program was randomized among urban youths who self-selected to participate and provided seven months of employment at the formal minimum wage. Randomized subsets of beneficiaries also received complementary training on basic entrepreneurship or job search skills. During the program, results show limited impacts on the likelihood of employment, but a shift toward wage jobs, higher earnings and savings, as well as changes in work habits and behaviors. Fifteen months after the program ended, savings stock remain higher, but there are no lasting impacts on employment or behaviors, and only limited impacts on earnings. Machine learning techniques are applied to assess whether program targeting can improve. Significant heterogeneity in impacts on earnings is found during the program but not post-program. Departing from self-targeting improves performance: a range of practical targeting mechanisms achieve impacts close to a machine learning benchmark by maximizing contemporaneous impacts without reducing post-program impacts. Impacts on earnings remain substantially below program costs even under improved targeting. JEL classification: H53, I38, J24, O12, C93.


Currently gaps in non-destructive 2D and 3D imaging in PFA for advanced packages and MEMS exist due to lack of resolution to resolve sub-micron defects and the lack of contrast to image defects within the low Z materials. These low Z defects in advanced packages include sidewall delamination between Si die and underfill, bulk cracks in the underfill, in organic substrates, Redistribution Layer, RDL; Si die cracks; voids within the underfill and in the epoxy. Similarly, failure modes in MEMS are often within low Z materials, such as Si and polymers. Many of these are a result of mechanical shock resulting in cracks in structures, packaging fractures, die adhesion issues or particles movements into critical locations. Most of these categories of defects cannot be detected non-destructively by existing techniques such as C-SAM or microCT (micro x-ray computed tomography) and XRM (X-ray microscope). We describe a novel lab-based X-ray Phase contrast and Dark-field/Scattering Contrast system with the potential to resolve these types of defects. This novel X-ray microscopy has spatial resolution of 0.5 um in absorption contrast and with the added capability of Talbot interferometry to resolve failure issues which are related to defects within organic and low Z components.


This report is Volume 4 of a four volume report set describing aircraft measurements of the Chalk Point Cooling Tower plume. Data included in this volume are from the June 1976 intensive test period. Experimental data are presented in two forms, tables and graphs. The tables (Volume 2) provide exact data as recorded or calculated; these data are to be used in modeling analyses. The graphical plots (Volumes 3 and 4) provide qualitative visualization of the measurement as the sampling aircraft passes through the plume. They also indicate relative instrument delays and correlations between different measurements. Data reported in the data volumes represent only the time during actual plume penetration even though data were also recorded continuously between penetrations. This selective presentation is necessary in order to limit the data volumes to managable sizes.


Effects of electrical and chemical stimulation of the ventromedial (VMH) and lateral hypothalamic (LH) nuclei on glucose uptake in peripheral tissues were studied by the 2-deoxy-D-[3H]glucose (2-[3H]DG) method in anesthetized rats. Electrical stimulation of the VMH increased the rate constant of glucose uptake in brown adipose tissue (BAT; 8 times), heart (3 times), and skeletal muscles (1.5 times) but not in white adipose tissue, diaphragm, and brain, without detectable changes in plasma insulin levels. Chemical stimulation of the VMH by microinjection of L-glutamate also enhanced the rate constant of glucose uptake in BAT, heart, and skeletal muscles preferentially, which indicates that the enhancement of glucose uptake in these tissues is derived from activation of VMH neurons. The increased rate of glucose uptake in BAT in response to VMH stimulation was effectively suppressed by surgical sympathetic denervation, suggesting a mediation of the sympathetic nerve in this effect. On the other hand, electrical stimulation of the LH had no appreciable effect on 2-[3H]DG uptake in any tissues. It is concluded that glucose uptake in certain peripheral tissues is accelerated selectively by activation of VMH neurons, the action of which is independent of plasma insulin but which is probably via the sympathetic nervous system.


Abstract Differential categories were introduced by Blute, Cockett, and Seely as categorical models of differential linear logic and have since lead to abstract formulations of many notions involving differentiation such as the directional derivative, differential forms, smooth manifolds, De Rham cohomology, etc. In this paper we study the generalization of differential algebras to the context of differential categories by introducing T-differential algebras, which can be seen as special cases of Blute, Lucyshyn-Wright, and O'Neill's notion of T-derivations. As such, T-differential algebras are axiomatized by the chain rule and as a consequence we obtain both the higher-order Leibniz rule and the Faà di Bruno formula for the higher-order chain rule. We also construct both free and cofree T-differential algebras for suitable codifferential categories and discuss power series of T-algebras.


This paper proposes the hardware and software implementation of the system required to establish a low-cost educational remotely controlled solar energy laboratory. The system consists of two main parts, a Solar Energy System and a Remotely Controlled Laboratory. The Solar Energy System is a Photovoltaic system, which consists of multiple photovoltaic cells that convert solar radiation (sunlight) or normal lights into usable direct current (DC) electricity, and then it either charges a backup battery or uses an inverter circuit that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The other part of the system is a Remotely Controlled Laboratory, aimed at enabling students to control solar energy experiments remotely.


Background The terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice in 2015 and 2016 generated widespread emotional stress in France. Given that acute emotional stress is a well-known trigger for cardiovascular disease, we investigated whether these attacks had any short-term impact on hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular disease in France. Methods Annual hospital discharge data from 2009 to 2016 were extracted from the French Hospital Discharge Database. All hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, or stroke were selected. Generalized additive Poisson models were used to differentiate "unusual" variations in daily hospitalization numbers in the 15 days following the attacks from the expected background hospitalization rate. Results The average daily number of hospitalizations was 396.4 for acute coronary syndrome, 598.6 for heart failure, and 334.6 for stroke. The daily mean number of hospitalizations for heart failure and stroke was higher in the 15 days following each attack compared with the reference periods. However, multivariate analysis showed no significant variation in the risk of hospitalization in the days following the attacks. Interpretation Watching events unfold on television, no matter how dramatic, was not a sufficiently potent trigger for cardiovascular disease, although it may have led to an increase in hospitalizations for stress or anxiety. The 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks do not seem to have had any measurable short-term impact on hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease either in the Paris and Nice regions or in the rest of France.


Stalk-eyed flies of the family Diopsidae have their eyes laterally displaced on the end of head extensions called "eye-stalks". Diopsids vary in their degree of sexual dimorphism
for eyespan (distance between the eyes). In some dimorphic species it has been well established that females preferentially mate with males possessing exaggerated eyespan.
With over 150 members, the family Diopsidae is an ideal model system for analysing
the evolution and development of exaggerated sexual traits.
Progress towards understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of
exaggerated eyespan has been significantly hampered by the lack of modern molecular
genetic technology in stalk-eyed flies. I have developed a transgenic protocol in
Teleopsis dalmanni, a highly dimorphic diopsid species. I selected and tested embryo microinjection procedures. I used excision assays to compare the activity of three
potential transposable element vector systems. Minos and piggyBac demonstrated suitable activity in T. dalmanni embryos but mariner did not. Using Minos and the
transgene construct Px3-eGFP, I successfully achieved stable germline transformation
in T. dalmanni. A number of transgenic lines were created. In one, a single copy of the
insertion was seen to segregate with the X chromosome.
I used a histological approach to investigate the relative contributions of cell size and
cell number to variation in eyespan. I compared estimates of cell size in the eye-stalks
of newly eclosed flies among fully fed and nutritionally stressed individuals. For
comparison, I assessed cell size in a non-sexually dimorphic organ, the wing. I found
that variation in eyespan was explained, at least in part, by variation in cell size. No
inherent difference in eye-stalk cell size was detected between the sexes.
The implications of the cell size findings and of the future studies made possible by
transgenic technology are discussed.


Feeding trials were conducted to test the validity of using crickets (Acheta domesticus L.) to assay the quality of forages intended for ruminant feed. Diets of forage from diverse genotypes of tall rescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) produced significant differences in survival and growth rate of crickets. Certain tall rescue genotypes were consistently ranked high on the basis of cricket performance compared to others that caused almost complete mortality in all trials. Survival and growth rate were not related to in vitro digestibility; tensile strength of the leaves; and concentration in the forage of lignin, acid detergent fiber, cellulose, and ash. A feeding trial was conducted to study the relationship between cricket performance and toxicity of tall rescue to cattle. Anion, cation, and neutral fractions, were prepared from extracts of two genotypes representing opposite extremes on the basis of cricket performance in earlier trials. These and other extracts of interest were included in cricket diets. Results indicated the presence of an inhibitory substance in the cation fraction of the genotype found to cause a high rate of mortality. This entity is probably not associated with "fescue foot" toxicity in cattle, because the toxic principle responsible for that syndrome is most likely in the anion fraction. However, the effect of the cation fraction and other forage attributes associated with cricket survival and growth on the performance of ruminants, merits additional study.


The major source of energy comes from fossil fuels. The current situation in the field of fuel and energy is becoming more problematic as world population continues to grow because of the limitation of fossil fuels reserve and its pressure on environment. This review aims to find economic, reliable, renewable and non-polluting energy sources to reduce high energy tariffs in Russian Federa- tion. Biofuel is fuel derived directly from plants, or indirectly from agricultural, commercial, domestic, and/or industrial wastes. Other alternative energy sources includ- ing solar energy and electric power generation are also discussed. Over 100 Mt of biomass available for energy purposes is produced every year in Russian. One of the downsides of biomass energy is its potential threatens to food security and forage industries. An innovative approach proved that multicomponent fuel (80% diesel oil content for motor and 64% for in stove fuel) can remarkably reduce the costs. This paper proposed that the most promising energy model for future is based on direct solar energy conversion and transcontinental terawatt power transmission with the use of resonant wave-guide technology.


In this paper, a systematic design procedure is described for manifold type multiplexers formed by the classical circular dual mode waveguide filters. The design procedure starts with cascade synthesis of lumped quadruplet version of the filters with inverter couplings. Then the LC resonators are converted into SC transmission line (SCTL) resonators. The whole circuit is then impedance scaled by inverters at ports for realization of resonators as waveguides with desired cross-sectional dimensions thus forming a quadruplet with four waveguide resonators coupled by inverters. The resonator pairs on source and load side are treated as dual modes of single waveguides reducing the four waveguides into two. Then the in-line inverters are converted into constant reactances for realization as irises. This stage causes electrical lengths of the resonating dual modes to differ. They are equated by introducing proper tuning reactances to complete design of the circuit model of the filter. Several X-band and Ku band manifold type multiplexers are designed and optimized by using the circuit models of the filters. Then field models of the filters and multiplexers are formed on EM simulators and fine tuned for implementation.


Drawing on Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Student Census data (2006 and 2011), we examine if there have been changes in the perceptions of school climate between two cohorts of high school students. First, we contextualize our study and review relevant policy changes to student inclusion and equity to set the stages for examining, by way of a sort of "natural experiment", to see if there was a change in the perception of school climate by students after these policy changes occurred. We then review the scholarship on school climate, its relationship to race, and its relationships to educational experiences and outcomes. We then examine how self-identified race is associated with students' perceptions of school climate in both cohorts, interpreting our results within a Critical Policy Analysis framework. We find evidence of improved school climate from 2003 to 2008, although the changes have not been uniform by self-identified race, and in some cases have worsened, particularly for self-identified Black and Latin American students.


Community livelihood assets are important in enhancing household adaptive capacity and resilience to the impact of climate change. This paper examined the vulnerability of community livelihood assets to the impacts of climate change using Ileje District, in south-western Tanzania as a case study. Random sampling was used to select four villages, out of which two villages were sampled from midland and two from highland established agro ecological zones, constituting a total sample size of 308 households. Descriptive statistics was used in data analysis generated from household interviews. A balanced weighted average approach was performed to calculate households' livelihood vulnerability index (LVI). The results showed that climate change impacted the livelihood assets of households; and more so on social, physical and financial capital; with LVI of 0.7, 0.4, and 0.4, respectively. Households' incomes, land and water productivity, biodiversity, soil fertility and water flow from water sources were reduced; household health and employment opportunities were impacted; whereas households' food shortage and poverty increased. The results also revealed the adaptive capacity index of 0.35 (overall), 0.34 (midland zone) and 0.36 (highland zone), indicating the study area to be moderately vulnerable to climate change. This paper argues that assessing the magnitude of climate change impacts on households' livelihood assets is strategic for sustainable adaptation to climate changes as it guides policy makers and planners on appropriate management measures. Similarly, increasing the access of livelihood assets to the more vulnerable households is vital for sustaining their livelihoods.


Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death due to a single infectious agent, and over one-third of the global population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiologic agent of human tuberculosis. In recent years, the likelihood of biofilm-based infections contributing toward bacterial persistence and increased drug tolerance, has gained some recognition. M. tuberculosis and its non-pathogenic fast-growing relative, M. smegmatis, have been found to form biofilms that harbor bacteria that are more resistant to anti-tuberculosis agents than free-living cells.

Biofilm formation involves the development of several distinct morphological structures, with associated physiological features. Bacteria growing within biofilms exist as heterogeneous populations, dependent on the distinct micro-environments within the complex community structure. Consequently, gene expression profiles differ between sub-populations of cells, and also during distinct stages of biofilm development. Gene expression in biofilms also differs greatly from the gene expression profiles of planktonically growing cells of the same species.

M. smegmatis biofilms can serve as a model for other mycobacterial biofilms. Transcriptome analyses of M. smegmatis biofilms have led to the identification of several genes that were induced in a biofilm-specific pattern.

Iron plays an essential role in mycobacterial growth, metabolism and infection. Taken together with its significance in biofilm development, the detailed profiling of the expression of iron acquisition genes in mature biofilms would provide insight into the physiological state of the bacterial cells within these structures. Using stable fluorescent reporter constructs, we have provided a detailed profile for the expression of the intramembrane-associated siderophore, mycobactin. Our results suggest that mycobactin biosynthesis is differentially induced in biofilms and in liquid cultures. In mature biofilms, a significant proportion of cells induce mycobactin biosynthesis in spite of the availability of iron-rich conditions. Our analyses also attempt to sort out subsets of cells within the biofilm that differentially induce mycobactin biosynthesis.

In a related study undertaken to understand the relationship between biofilm formation and surface translocation in M. smegmatis, we have isolated a transposon mutant that is defective in sliding motility, but proficient in biofilm formation. This mutant suggests that biofilm formation in M. smegmatis does not depend on sliding motility.


The junction between double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT) and anaesthetic circuit is of crucial importance to modern anaesthesiological management in thoracic surgery. We present a connector which allows for all the essential procedures, such as clinical control of DLT position, use of fiberoptic bronchoscope (FOB) to control or correct DLT position, application of differential lung ventilation patterns or simple suction manoeuvres by easy handling, minimal interference, and avoidance of disconnection or clamping.


Copper(i) is a soft metal ion that plays an essential role in living organisms and Cu+-responsive probes are required to detect Cu+ ions in physiological conditions and understand its homeostasis as well as the diseases associated with its misregulation. In this article, we describe a series of cyclic peptides, which are structurally related to the copper chaperone CusF, and that behave as Cu+-repsonsive probes. These peptide probes comprise the 16-amino acid loop of CusF cyclized by a β-turn inducer dipeptide and functionalized by a Tb3+ complex for its luminescence properties. The mechanism of luminescence enhancement relies on the modulation of the antenna effect between a tryptophan residue and the Tb3+ ion within the probe when Cu+ forms a cation-π interaction with the tryptophan. Here, we investigate the influence of the amino acid sequence of these cyclic peptides on the copper-induced modulation of Tb3+ emission and show that the rigid β-turn inducer Aib-d-Pro and insertion of the Tb3+ complex close to its tryptophan antenna are required to obtain turn-on Cu+ responsive probes. We also show that the amino acid sequence, especially the number and position of proline residues has a significant impact on metal-induced luminescence enhancement and metal-binding constant of the probes.


Effects of the Verwey transition on the (100) surface of magnetite were studied using scanning tunelling microscopy and spin polarized low-energy electron microsccopy. On cooling through the transition temperature Tv, the initially flat surface undergoes a roof-like distortion with a periodicity of ~0.5 um due to ferroelastic twinning within monoclinic domains of the low-temperature monoclinic structure. The monoclinic c axis orients in the surface plane, along the [001]c directions. At the atomic scale, the charge-ordered sqrt2xsqrt2R45 reconstruction of the (100) surface is unperturbed by the bulk transition, and is continuous over the twin boundaries. Time resolved low-energy electron microscopy movies reveal the structural transition to be first-order at the surface, indicating that the bulk transition is not an extension of the Verwey-like sqrt2xsqrt2R45 reconstruction. Although conceptually similar, the charge-ordered phases of the (100) surface and sub-Tv bulk of magnetite are unrelated phenomena.


Preoperative and postoperative neurological evaluation of 22 infants (4 days to 24 months old, 2.7 to 9.7 kg) having correction of congenital cardiac anomalies by deep hypothermia (14° to 23°C) and circulatory arrest (10 to 57 minutes) revealed only 6 normal clinical neurological examinations prior to surgery. Sixteen patients had neurological defects, delayed psychomotor development, or muscular hypotonia. Seizures occurred in 2 and choreo-athetosis in 4 of 22 survivors 4 to 6 days after surgery and varied in severity and duration. Abnormal electroencephalograms )eeg) 1 week after surgery in 6 patients did not necessarily correlate with clinical defects. Continuous EEG during 14 operations showed decreased voltage and frequency with hypothermia, but cerebral activity was not lost prior to circulatory arrest. Low-voltage (1 to 4&mgr;v) activity persisted in 8 patients through the arrest period.Examination 2 to 15 months postoperatively showed that only 1 of 18 patients had significant persistent dyskinesias, and the EEG was normal in all except 3. Developmental delay and/or hypotonia persisted in one-half the patients, but the degree was often less marked.Cerebral metabolism is altered by deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest, and neurological defects may follow. Fortunately, significant persistent neurological damage is unusual (1/22 = 4%).


Seven years ago, researchers proposed a postprocessing method to equalize the error rates of a model across different demographic groups. The work launched hundreds of papers purporting to improve over the postprocessing baseline. We empirically evaluate these claims through thousands of model evaluations on several tabular datasets. We find that the fairness-accuracy Pareto frontier achieved by postprocessing contains all other methods we were feasibly able to evaluate. In doing so, we address two common methodological errors that have confounded previous observations. One relates to the comparison of methods with different unconstrained base models. The other concerns methods achieving different levels of constraint relaxation. At the heart of our study is a simple idea we call unprocessing that roughly corresponds to the inverse of postprocessing. Unprocessing allows for a direct comparison of methods using different underlying models and levels of relaxation.


In this paper, a novel CMOQPSO algorithm is proposed, in which cultural evolution mechanism is introduced into quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) to solve multiobjective environmental/economic dispatch (EED) problems. There are growing concerns about the ability of QPSO to handle multiobjective optimization problems. Two important issues in extending QPSO to multiobjective context are the construction of exemplar positions for each particle and the maintenance of population diversity. In the proposed CMOQPSO, one particle is measured for multiple times at each iteration in order to enhance its global searching ability. Belief space, which is based on cultural evolution mechanism and contains different types of knowledge extracted from the particle swarm, is adopted to generate global ptimization ultural evolution mechanism ocal search ultiobjective optimization best positions for the multiple measurements of each particle. Moreover, to maintain population diversity and avoid premature, a novel local search operator, which is based on the knowledge in belief space, is proposed in this paper. CMOQPSO is compared with several state-of-art algorithms and tested on EED systems with 6 and 40 generators respectively. The comparative results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


THE IMPACT MIGRATION PROCESSES THE INDIVIDUAL The overall purpose of this paper is to put everyone in the picture about the nature of the brain drain migration and to the search of the possible ways of the improvement of the EU labour migration policy to solve this significant problem. The findings of the analysis indicate that in the modern world with its demographic and economic imbalances, the total number of international migrants is likely to rise during the XXI century. After presenting a statistical overview of two distinct migratory flows of European labour force, it was concluded that the existing politics of brain drain is not adequately captured in the official data. Therefore, the core factors that drive brain drain migration are determined by authors. The most spread models of high-skilled labour attraction management are investigated in the paper. And, finally, the main pillars of the EU labour migration policy to solve a brain drain social problem are proposed.


By crossed immunoelectrophoresis, 85 different antigens were demonstrated in sonicated preparations of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 (Lp1). The precipitin patterns of 82 anodic-migrating antigens were numbered and were designated the Lp1 reference system. Eleven antigens were stable to boiling, and seven of these were shown to be surface antigens. One heat-stable surface antigen (antigen no. 61) was highly reactive with limulus amoebocyte lysates and formed a precipitin resembling lipopolysaccharide. Serum from an isolation confirmed case of Lp1 infection and serogroup-specific rabbit antiserum reacted specifically with antigen no. 61, which was designated the serogroup-specific antigen. Normal human and rabbit sera commonly had antibodies to antigen no. 66 of the Lp1 reference system. This antigen is antigenically related to the "common antigen" of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.


This paper presents a performance comparison of new authenticated encryption (AE) algorithms which are aimed at providing better security and resource efficiency compared to existing standards. Specifically, these algorithms improve the security of existing AE standards by providing a critical property termed nonce-misuse resistance. This paper addresses algorithm to architectural mappings of several candidates from the ongoing Competition for AE: Security, Applicability, and Robustness as well as a submission from the Crypto Forum Research Group. Implementations of the architectures on both field-programmable gate arrays and application-specific integrated circuits platforms are provided and compared with the architecture of a popular standard: Advanced Encryption Standard in Galois Counter mode (AES-GCM). Optimizations that are applicable to AE, in general, and nonce-misuse-resistant architectures, in particular, are presented. A hardware–software codesign approach to optimization is also discussed. The implementations via proposed optimizations demonstrate that new AE algorithms can provide comparable performance as standard AES-GCM while enhancing security and resource utilization for specific use-case scenarios.


Gaining accreditation from international bodies will improve university reputation, image and the scientific research quality. As the observation from scholars, the Jordanian private universities seems to have an ambiguity in the strategic intention towards international accreditation also Jordanian HEIs were not aware of any suitable strategy formulation and implementa-tion framework, which could be suitable for their peculiar environment. The objective of this study is to explore what factors may influence the strategic intention to go for international accreditation within the perspective of Jordanian private universities. The researcher hypothesis that uncertainty avoidance and accreditation cost has a significant relationship with strategic intention to go for international accreditation. A survey was conducted on population of 593 personals in 17 Jordanian Private Universities. Data were collected via questionnaire from University president, vise president, Dean, head of departments and professors. WarpPLS version 3.0 structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and the relationships and effects among the variables based on hypotheses. In addition, fuzzy logic employed for model simulation regarding the relationship among the constructs. In particular, the research will interpret the models based on four conditions, which capture alternative interpretations of the dependencies, combining quantitative and qualitative information.


Six novel copper(I) cluster-based coordination polymers (CPs) [Cu9(pzt)7Cl2]n (1), [Cu2(pzt)Cl]n (2), [Cu4(pzt)3Br]n (3), [Cu(pzt)]n (4), [Cu4(pzt)3I]n (5), and [Cu7(pzt)6I]n (6) were solvothermally synthesized using Hpzt (Hpzt = pyrazine-2-thiol) ligand and well-characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). Six CPs exhibit either 2D (4 and 6) or 3D (1-3, and 5) network based on diverse multinuclear {CuxSy} clusters. The structural evolutions of 1-6 are greatly influenced by types of metal halides and the ligand-to-metal molar ratio used in the reaction. Among them, compound 1 displays interesting temperature-dependent photoluminescence arising from triplet cluster-centered (3CC) excited state from the cluster metal core. Compounds 1-6 also exhibit photocurrent responses upon visible-light illumination (λ = 420 nm) in the order 6 > 5 > 3 > 1 > 4 > 2. This work not only shows the structural diversity of {CuxSy} clusters-based CPs but also provides an interesting insight into structural modulation using crystal engineering concept.


25/March/2019 Approved: 23/December/2019 ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of phytase inclusion in broiler breeder diets on fecal and egg characteristics. A total of 48 female broiler breeders were evaluated in this study from 21 to 31 weeks of age. The dietary treatments were fed from 30 to 31 wks of age, and included a Positive Control (PosCon) diet, containing 3.0% calcium and 0.50% available phosphorus (AvP); a Negative Control (NegCon) diet, with 3.0% calcium and 0.25% AvP; Negative Control diet + 275 FTU/kg phytase (NegCon+275), and Negative control diet + 550 FTU/kg phytase (NegCon+550). Egg, yolk, albumin, and eggshell weight, albumin height, and eggshell thickness were measured. Fecal parameters included fecal moisture, liquid portion, and mineral content. After 14 d on the experimental diets during the onset of lay, the NegCon+550 diet increased ( p <0.01) fecal moisture content. In general, hens fed the highest enzyme level (NegCon+550) excreted fewer ( p <0.05) divalent and trivalent cations, which included Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Zn. Fecal Na and K levels were not affected by dietary treatments. The NegCon+550 diet increased fecal P when compared with the NegCon and the NegCon+275 diets. The NegCon+550 and PosCon diets exhibited similar fecal P. No significant effects on egg characteristics were observed. It was concluded that during early lay, various signs of fecal changes would probably be observed at phytase dosages above approximately 500 FTU/kg characterized by increased fecal moisture content and excretion of P


Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and multi-level modeling, we examine the role of social comparison with schoolmates in adolescent girls' weight control. Specifically, we focus on how girls' own weight control is influenced by the body sizes and weight-control behaviors of their schoolmates. Our findings suggest that comparisons with similar others (in this case, girls of a similar body size) appear to have the strongest association with individual girls' reports of trying to lose weight. For example, the odds that an overweight girl is engaged in weight control increase substantially when many overweight girls in her school are also trying to lose weight. This study highlights how schools play an important role in shaping girls' decisions to practice weight control and demonstrates how social comparison theory improves our understanding of how health behaviors are linked to social contexts.


It is hard to describe tax law succinctly. The federal Internal Revenue Code is over 6,000 pages and contains over 4 million words. As scholars who write about taxation, we are well aware of this challenge. Nevertheless, the 100-word summary that appeared on Invest in Education's petitions accurately describes its proposed change to Arizona tax law.

Arizona's Invest in Education initiative would establish a new, separate surcharge of 3.5% on taxable income above certain threshold amounts. This new surcharge shall be imposed "[i]n addition to any other tax imposed by this chapter" and, it will be "collected regardless of whether the income tax rate brackets in this chapter are changed, replaced or eliminated by an act of the legislature."

Invest in Education's 100-word summary described this provision as "establishing a 3.5% surcharge on taxable income above $250,000 annually for single persons or married persons filing separately, and on taxable income above $500,000 annually for married persons filing jointly or head of household filers." This description straightforwardly describes the tax law change proposed in the initiative text.

The Arizona trial court held there were three tax-related problems with the 100-word summary. The trial court concluded that the use of the term "surcharge" rather than "tax" was misleading, and it held that the description omitted two principal provisions: the relative percentage change in the marginal tax rate and the fact that the definition of taxable income includes income that individuals earn as owners of pass-through entities. The trial court's conclusions are based in confusion about tax law and a misreading of the Arizona Supreme Court's decision in Molera v. Reagan. As this brief explains, there is nothing misleading about the 100-word summary, and it accurately described the principal tax provision.


Background: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) deficiency is the most common complication of kidney disease. Previous studies have suggested that 25(OH)D deficiency is involved in the pathogenesis of anemia in kidney disease subjects not requiring dialysis. However, these associations have not been investigated in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to elucidate the prospective relationship between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency and anemia in PD Patients.Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 80 PD participants were included. Participants were divided into two groups based on baseline 25(OH)D3 concentrations: group 1, 25(OH)D3 levels <10 ng/mL; and group 2, 25(OH)D3 levels ≥ 10 ng/mL. We recorded basic data of subjects. Peripheral blood samples were collected to determine the level of 25(OH)D and hepcidin by the competitive ELISA method. Results: Pearson's correlation analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis showed that hemoglobin concentration was positively correlated with serum 25(OH)D3 level, p<0.01). Even after adjusting for potential risk factors for anemia, serum 25(OH)D were found to be still associated with anemia (β=1.264; 95% CI=0.992-1.612, P=0.048). Meanwhile, Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that serum 25(OH)D3 level negatively affect the level of Hepcidin and hs-CRP (p<0.001). We also observed that Hepcidin and hs-CRP negatively regulate Hb level (p<0.001).Conclusions: These findings indicate that 25(OH)D insufficiency was significantly associated with anemia in patients with PD, which, at least in part, was related with the hepcidin level and inflammation.


In this paper, a novel pseudo-noise (PN) sequence assisted noise suppression scheme for ultra-wideband (UWB) transmitted reference (TR) system is presented by replacing the repetitive reference pulses with multiple short PN reference pulse sequences. The receiver uses them to estimate the channel impulse response and based on this to form an improved template which removes the parts mainly consist of noise and gives the multipath components that have better signal-to-noise ratio higher weights. The proposed system is described and its performance in a multipath channel is analyzed and simulated. The result shows that the proposed system has a better bit-error-ratio performance than that of an averaged TR system


Recent methods in self-supervised learning have demonstrated that masking-based pretext tasks extend beyond NLP, serving as useful pretraining objectives in computer vision. However, existing approaches apply random or ad hoc masking strategies that limit the difficulty of the reconstruction task and, consequently, the strength of the learnt representations. We improve upon current state-of-the-art work in learning adversarial masks by proposing a new framework that generates masks in a sequential fashion with different constraints on the adversary. This leads to improvements in performance on various downstream tasks, such as classification on ImageNet100, STL10, and CIFAR10/100 and segmentation on Pascal VOC. Our results further demonstrate the promising capabilities of masking-based approaches for SSL in computer vision.


Adjustment algorithms for conventional insulin therapy must be tested for safety and efficacy before clinical implementation. We did this by computer simulation. Accordingly, a computer simulator of human intermediary metabolism created 10 randomly chosen diabetic subjects for study. All were well defined with respect to compliance (i.e., medication and diet) and life-style (i.e., physical and emotional stress). Insulinadjustment algorithms that were tested calculated daily insulin dosages for these computer-simulated patients based on either blood or urine glucose concentrations self-measured 4 times/day before breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime snack. The twofold purpose of the simulation study was to determine the ability of the adjustment algorithms to improve initially poor metabolic control and to compare the outcomes when either blood or urine glucose measurements were the basis on which glycemic control was implemented. A significant improvement in metabolic control could be achieved with either blood or urine glucose measurements as input to the algorithms. Detailed comparisons between blood and urine glucose-based treatments showed no significant advantage of blood glucose-based algorithms at breakfast (122 ± 21 vs. 131 ± 16 mg/dl) and dinner (117 ± 27 vs. 130 ± 23 mg/dl), whereas mean glycemia at lunch (122 ± 24 vs. 164 ± 21 mg/dl) and bedtime (117 ± 25 vs. 150 ± 21 mg/dl) after 120 days of simulation did differ significantly (P < 0.01). Hypoglycemia was not provoked by either treatment. Total daily insulin doses evolved by blood glucose-based algorithms were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the doses used by urine glucose-based algorithms (53 vs. 47 U). We conclude that either blood or urine glucose-based insulin-adjustment algorithms that we devised promise to achieve improved glycemic control with only minor differences between the two. Clinical studies can now safely be conducted.


This article considers how primary teachers might introduce children to critical studies, in the light of an examination of recent developments in art theory, to show how these can inform our approach. It looks at the work of one teacher, Caron Ementon, to show how this relates to contemporary art theory. Thus, practice is contextualised within theory and vice versa. Some procedural principles are suggested which, in responding to developments in art theory, can provide an approach to critical enquiry that is educationally enriching. This approach can enable children to relate to the work of other artists in ways that are appropriate to their own level of development. It also lays the foundations for later learning, in terms of procedural knowledge both for interpreting art works, and, ultimately, for understanding that theory itself. Furthermore, the metacognitive dimension of critical enquiry, implicit both in the theory and the concomitant processes of learning described, opens up rich possibilities for developing critical thinking.


Modal decomposition method is utilized to investigate Lamb wave scattering at step-like discontinuity. The structure is regard as a special delamination structure where one or two delamination layers are missing and only one delamination layer extended to infinite. Model decomposition technique is then combined with the boundary condition equations to get the scattering solution of the whole discontinuity region. The efficacy of the method is illustrated by calculation examples where the scattering of the second symmetric mode at step-discontinuity with different thickness are evaluated and Energy flux conservation is confirmed.


The paper analyzes the interoperability importance and role in development of eGovernment. The interoperability challenges was faced in different EU countries since 2000. System complexity, multiplicity and diversity in the public sector is posing extreme challenges to common interoperability standards the eGovernment Interoperability Frameworks (eGIFs) pose as a cornerstone for the provision of one-stop, fully electronic services to businesses and citizens. The paper analyzes eGovernment development preconditions in Lithuania, overview and good practice experience in developing eGovernment interoperability framework at EU level (European Interoperability Framework) and national levels – UK, Germany and Greece. Comparing these frameworks by different criteria the guidelines for developing eGovernment interoperability framework in Lithuania are designed. The project for Lithuania eGovernment Interoperability framework development is supported by Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and State Science Fundation.


Component metadata is one of the most effective methods to improve the testability of component-based software. In this paper, we firstly give a formal definition of component, and summarize the basic meanings of component metadata. Based on these, an idea of grouped-metadata object (GMO) is introduced, which is divided into two types, respectively named descriptive metadata and operative metadata. And a general framework of descriptive metadata and operative metadata is further given, which is consisted of several groups. Each group includes several attributes, and their meanings are described in detail. Furthermore, we give a formal reference model of GMO using class diagram of UML. Combining with the above formal model, we present change model used in GMO and introduce an idea to map all changes inside component to the changes in component interfaces, mainly referring to changes of public method and variables. Here we introduce a concept of method dependency graph (MDG) to implement the mapping. Then the changes are reflected in relevant attributes in GMO provided to component users in order to facilitate component-based software integration testing and regression testing. Finally, the case study based on previous formal model is done, and the corresponding results are given. All these show effectively that the models we presented are valid and helpful for component-based software integration testing and regression testing.


During the Asian monsoon period, intense precipitation commonly occurs for an extended period in accompaniment with a reduction in solar radiation. This suggests that wet surface evapotranspiration is an important contributor to the total evapotranspiration. Therefore, investigating evapotranspiration over a wet canopy surface is critical to achieve a better understanding of water and energy cycles in Asia. In this study, we estimated surface resistances under wet conditions in a mixed forest influenced by the East Asian monsoon system. We showed that the surface resistance had a non‐negligible magnitude of about 30 sm−1 even under wet conditions. We also found that the ratio between the actual and potential evapotranspiration depended on the friction velocity regardless of the time of day. Our analyses suggest that this dependency is tightly related to the underestimation of turbulent fluxes by the eddy‐covariance system under wet surface conditions. Together, our findings suggest that the wet surface resistance, although small, should be considered in simulating evapotranspiration because the forest ecosystem is strongly coupled to the overlying atmosphere. This could significantly improve the shortcomings of evapotranspiration measurement and modeling in Asian forest canopies influenced by the monsoon system. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Several recent technological and generational changes have led to the need for improved approaches to riverine habitat modeling and more comprehensive environmental flow assessments. The Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) described an impact assessment framework but did not create the comprehensive software which would allow for a complete implementation of that framework. SEFA, System for Environmental Flow Analysis, is new software that implements the substance of the IFIM. SEFA has been created through a collaboration of the primary creative forces behind the principal versions of existing physical habitat simulation software. Bob Milhous (PHABSIM), Ian Jowett (RHYHABSIM), and Tom Payne (RHABSIM) have contributed their considerable experience acquired through development and use of these programs, and Juan Manuel Diez Hernández provided both his experience and Spanishlanguage capability. In a single Windows 7-compatible 32-bit program currently available on the internet, SEFA either contains or branches to legal-institutional analysis, both one and two dimensional habitat hydraulics analysis, habitat suitability criteria development, water temperature modeling, sediment transport analysis, dissolved oxygen modeling, riparian modeling, and time series analysis. This new tool and a not-for-profit technical and educational support structure will ensure continuity into the future for the critical science of instream flow evaluation and environmental flow protection.


A four freedom robot able to carry out automatic welding of offshore platform is introduced in this paper. The kinematic design of the robot has been designed according to the welding seam feature of T/Y/K-joint. The path planning of T/Y and the obstacle avoidance technique are used to study the robot's collision avoidance welding on K-joint. In the process of K-joint path planning, the geometrical method was adopted to study the welding torch's posture in branch gap. And for ensuring the postural stability of robot, the robot posture of a series welding points in single branch pipe condition was adjusted gradually in K-joint condition. The automatic welding process of K-joint was simulated in Solidworks. The result shows that the method could satisfy the collision avoidance requirement in the K-joint welding project.


Membrane separation process, which greatly meets the demand of reducing the environmental pollution in the modern industry, has become one of the most important strategies in the durative low carbon economy development.. This paper has studied the transformation structure mechanism of of Al2O3-SiO2-ZrO2 composite membrane produced by the sol-gel method on a porous α-Al2O3 support and the effects of SiO2 and ZrO2 in γ-Al2O3 membrane. Porous Al2O3-SiO2-ZrO2 composite membrane of the average pore size 2~4µm was obtained first time through controlling various factors, The structure crystal type and surface state are characterized by means of optical microscope, XRD, SEM, and IR. The results show that the membrane calcined at 1000°C obtain a composition of γ-Al2O3, t-ZrO2 and amorphous SiO2. The phase transformation has not appeared when heated at 1200°C. As the thermostability of the modified membrane being improved, the phase transformation temperature in the sintering process could be delayed. Therefore, the membranes properties are greatly improved.


"Romanian cinema needs to start again from scratch. It has to regain a sense of everyday reality and it has to render
truthfully an important slice of recent history which has been horribly falsified. A blast of Neorealism is practically a
moral obligation for our cinema at this time in its history."
- Eugenia Voda, film critic, 1995.

Romanian film critic Eugenia Voda has made this nearly prophetic statement only five years after the end of Romania's communist regime. Yet more than prophetic, her remark was an appeal to filmmakers, and their conscious as well as conscientious sense of truth. Although more than ten years have passed since, her words often resonate in close association with recent Romanian films and their honest representation of social reality, unique in the history of Romanian cinema.

But to what extent is recent Romanian cinema a national cinema? Given the Western history of analysis of foreign cinematic productions, any current examination of non-Western films within a Western theoretical context must be carried out in relation to the prior theoretical developments, debates, and conclusions within the national cinema framework.

Benedict Anderson's concept of the "imagined community' resides as foundation in the process of defining what is national (Anderson, 1983). When speaking of nationalist media, Anderson claims that while a nation is portrayed as a community, it is only an imagined one. Members of a nation do not all know each other, "yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion" (Anderson, 1983, p.6). From this perspective, cinema's popularity and ease of distribution has led to films becoming part of mass communications, and thus it can easily play a role in disseminating both national and nationalist ideals. persisted as a theoretical framework during the development and establishment of film studies as a Western academic discipline.


Fusarium oxysporum MSA 35 [wild-type (WT) strain] is a nonpathogenic Fusarium strain, which exhibits antagonistic activity to plant pathogenic F. oxysporum isolates. The fungus lives in association with a consortium of ectosymbiotic bacteria. The WT strain, when cured of the bacterial symbionts [the cured (CU) form], is pathogenic, causing wilt symptoms similar to those of pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae. Both WT and CU MSA 35 strains produce microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs), but with a different spectrum. In vitro dual culture assays were used to assess the effects of the MVOCs produced by WT and CU strains of F. oxysporum MSA 35 on the growth and expansin gene expression of lettuce seedlings. An increase in the root length (95.6%), shoot length (75.0%) and fresh weight (85.8%) was observed only after WT strain MVOCs exposure. Leaf chlorophyll content was significantly enhanced (68%) in WT strain MVOC-treated seedlings as compared with CU strain volatiles and nontreated controls. β-Caryophyllene was found to be one of the volatiles released by WT MSA 35 responsible for the plant growth promotion effect. Semi-quantitative and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays indicated a significant difference in the expansin gene expression level between leaf (6.7-fold) and roots (4.4-fold) exposed to WT strain volatiles when compared with the CU strain volatiles and those that were nonexposed.


This paper introduces enforcement costs and farmer noncompliance into the economic analysis of the USDA conservation program on highly erodible lands. A model of heterogeneous producers is developed to determine the economic causes of farmer noncompliance with the provisions of the conservation program. In addition, the paper determines the enforcement policy design that can induce conservation compliance and examines the effectiveness of the current enforcement policy in deterring producer noncompliance. The implications of the theoretical model are tested empirically with data provided by USDA. The analysis shows that farmer compliance with the provisions of the conservation program is not necessarily the natural outcome of self-interest and complete deterrence of noncompliance is not feasible with the current enforcement policy of the government. Both theoretical and empirical results indicate that the use of farm program payments as a leverage against noncompliance is not sufficient for inducing full producer compliance. Unless the government alters its policy on fines for fraudulent behavior, enforcement of conservation compliance will remain imperfect and some degree of noncompliance with the provisions of the program on highly erodible lands will continue to persist.


Older and more recent evidence indicates that the anion accompanying sodium plays an important role in determining whether or not the administration of a sodium load leads to an increase arterial in blood pressure. This review describes animal and human studies in which blood pressure responses to sodium administration, with or without chloride, were determined. The evidence suggests that sodium and chloride together combine to increase blood pressure in salt-sensitive models and patients. The observations have relevance to the understanding of the pathogenesis of hypertension. They also have clinical relevance, since some food sources may have an abundance of one or the other ion.


Background Weight gains in pregnancy within the recommended guidelines are associated with healthy fetal and maternal outcomes; higher weight gains are associated with fetal macrosomia. This study was a systemic review of randomized controlled trials on the effect of aerobic training on maternal weight in pregnancy. Methods The study data source was publications through May 2012 in the MEDLINE (PubMed) database. The citation lists of randomized controlled trials on the effect of aerobic training and maternal weight were extracted. Data on participants' characteristics, study quality, population, intervention, treatment outcome (maternal weight gain) were collected and analyzed. Results There were 11 randomized controlled studies using body weight (kg) as measure of treatment outcome. A total of 1177 subjects were recruited in the 11 studies. The mean± SD weight gain (kg) for the exercise (11.31± 7.44kg) and control (14.42± 6.60kg) groups; Meta-analysis result indicated significant effect of aerobic training on maternal weight (t= -7.580, p= .000) at p< 0.05. Conclusion It was concluded that aerobic training is an effective tool in maternal weight gain control in pregnancy. More randomized controlled trials are warranted.


Past empirical studies have investigated the effect of hard and soft technologies on different measures of performance in the operations area. The term 'hard technologies' refers to hardware and the associated software consisting of technologies such as computer numerical control (CNC) machines, flexible manufacturing systems, robotics, etc., whilst 'soft technologies' refers to manufacturing techniques and know-how and includes Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing and Total Quality Management (TQM). Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) conceptualization of the firm as a bundle of resources, this study argues that the relationship between hard and soft technologies and competitive performance can be additive and interactive. Hence it seeks to advance previous studies in two main ways. Firstly, differing from previous studies that generally consider the effects of either hard or soft technologies on manufacturing performance, this study brings the two types of resources (hard and soft technologies) into one study and examines their additive effects. As suggested by the RBV, it is important to understand the unique roles of the different types of resources on improving different types of performance. Investigating these unique effects is important in guiding managers to align the types of resources and the competitive goals pursued by firms. Secondly, this study investigates the interaction between hard and soft technologies in predicting different types of manufacturing performance. Drawing on the RBV, the concept of complementarity, and Socio-Technical System (STS) Theory, this study examines how the interaction between these two types of resources can be synergistic; this occurs when one resource magnifies the impact of another, multiplying the common effect. However, to date there have been very few empirical studies examining the effects of synergistic relationships between hard and soft technologies on multiple types of manufacturing performance. In addition, this study investigates the effects of hard and soft technologies on different types of performance in the context of an emerging economy, Thailand. Most research has been conducted in the context of advanced economies. There have been very few studies aimed at understanding operations management issues in emerging economies. Hence research is needed to examine whether findings from studies conducted in advanced economies also apply in emerging economies such as Thailand's. A two-phase design was implemented in this research. The first phase comprised a quantitative, self-administered mail survey, completed by managers from 186 manufacturing plants in Thailand. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test 12 hypotheses about the effects of hard and soft technologies on cost, product quality, lead time and flexibility performance. In the second phase, qualitative interviews were conducted with eight senior/middle managers from four plants to explore and further integrate the quantitative findings in greater depth. There are two major findings from this study relating to the drivers of high performance that have implications for the operations management discipline and practitioners. Firstly, hard and soft technologies are shown as significantly and positively related to the four types of manufacturing performance (cost, product quality, lead time and flexibility performance), hence emphasizing the importance of both hard and soft technologies and confirming their additive relationship. The results also suggest that hard technologies have a relatively stronger relationship with flexibility, cost, and lead time, whilst soft technologies have a stronger relationship with product quality. This study therefore highlights the importance of understanding the unique roles of resources in improving different types of performance as suggested by the RBV. It also offers useful insight into firms' technology justification. Secondly, the significant, positive interaction between hard and soft technologies in predicting the four types of manufacturing performance represents the synergistic relationships between these two types of technologies. This study has found that development of either hard or soft technologies may be sufficient for incrementally improving performance. Akin to the RBV, the concept of complementarity and the STS, consideration of the synergistic relationship between hard and soft technologies offers an opportunity for multiplying their common effect. Because many manufacturing firms have invested enormous capital in manufacturing technologies over the last three decades, it is important for decision makers to understand costs and benefits from the usage and applicability of these technologies to their companies. Additionally, the results also confirm that the RBV, the concept of complementarity and the STS, originally developed in advanced economies, are applicable in an emerging economy such as Thailand.


BACKGROUND.- Percutaneous coronary intervention has shown to be effective in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). However, due to in-stent restenosis, the rate of clinical events in patients with ACS still remains high. Drug eluting stents (DES) have shown to reduce in-stent restenosis and target lesion revascularization, but its results in ACS population are controversial.
OBJECTIVES.- To confirm whether DES are safer and more effective than bare metal stents (BMS) in patients with ACS. We considered clinical and angiographical objectives. The clinical primary end-point was the incidence of target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 1 year. Clinical secondary end-points were major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and the incidence of stent thrombosis at 1 year. An angiographic follow-up was performed from 1 year. The angiographic primary end-point was the incidence of in-stent restenosis.
METHODS.- We conducted an observational study of 145 patients with ACS who were treated with DES. This group was compared with 138 patients treated with bare metal stents (BMS) in the preceding period.
RESULTS.- The procedure was successful in all patients. At 1 year, the incidence of TLR was lower in the DES group than in the BMS group (7,6% vs. 19,6%, respectively; p=0,003), as were the rates of MACE (11,7% vs. 27,5%; p=0,001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the rate of death (2,1% vs. 6,5%; p=0,06), myocardial infarction (3,4% vs. 2,1%;p=0,36) or stent thrombosis (2,1% vs 2,2%, respectively;p=0,82). In the angiographic follow-up the rate of in-stent restenosis was also lower in the DES group (13,7% vs. 33%; p=0,001) due to a lesser late luminal loss (1,94+0,91 vs 2,40+1,90;p=0,02).
CONCLUSIONS.- In patients with ACS, implantation of DES is as safe as BMS. DES reduce the incidence of TLR and MACE at 1 year, and shows better angiographic results on the follow-up, reducing in-stent restenosis by 58% and late luminal loss by 64%. Angiographic pattern of in-stent restenosis was, more often, focal in DES and diffuse in BMS. No significant differences were seen in death, myocardial infarction or stent thrombosis. Stent thrombosis was related with ST elevation myocardial infarction procedures and larger stent length.


Background: there are few questionnaires of depression screening appropriately validated in Spanish language. Objective: to adapt and to validate to the Spanish language the abbreviated version of the Geriatric Depression Scale of Yessavage (GDS) for their use in the one sieved of depressive dysfunctions in patients older than 65 years. Design, material and method: the study was carried out in the consultations of a health center, in three stages: in the first one, the questionnaire was translated and adapted to the Spanish language (GDL- VE). In a second phase, the doctor or the nurse applied the questionnaire to every patient individually. Finally, another investigator carried out each a semiestructurated interview, in a blind way, to determine the depression symptoms according to the approaches settled down in the ICE-10. Cognitive satate was also assesed, and the questionnaires of Montgomery-Asberg, Pfeiffer-VE, MEC, IQCODE-EV were passed, as the part of the questionnaire OARS-MFAQ corresponding to the evaluation of the daily activities. The final result of this exploration was considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of depression, being the reference for the calculation of the sensibility, specificity and reasons of maximum verisimilitude for a positive and negative results of the test. Results: an adaptation from the GDS to the version GDS-GO was performed. Two hundred and forty-nine patients older than 65 years completed the study, with age of 74. 3 on average, 67.5% of them were women and 65 were analphabet or with no studies. The intraobserver reliability was 0.95 and the interobserver was 0. 65, with an internal consistency of the 0.99. An under curve area of 0.385 was obtained. The sensibility reached 81.1% and the specificity 76.7%, for a cut point of 5 or more. Conclusions: the parameters of reliability and validity for the adapted version of the questionnaire have been acceptable and similar to those of the original questionnaire. It is recommended to use a cut point of 5 or above to consider the existence of a depression.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
T1-weighted, 3D gradient-echo MR sequences can be optimized for rapid acquisition and improved resolution through asymmetric k-space sampling and interpolation. We compared a volumetric interpolated brain examination (VIBE) sequence with a magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo (MP RAGE) sequence and a 2D T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) sequence.

METHODS
Thirty consecutive patients known or suspected to have focal brain lesions underwent postcontrast studies (20 mL of gadopentetate dimeglumine) with VIBE, MP RAGE, and 2D T1-weighted SE imaging. Source and 5-mm VIBE and MP RAGE reformations, and 5-mm T1-weighted SE images were compared qualitatively and by using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). SNRs in a gadolinium-doped water phantom were also measured for all three sequences.

RESULTS
On the source images, SNRs for gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), and CNRs for WM-to-GM and contrast-enhancing lesion-to-GM were slightly, but significantly higher for the VIBE sequence than for the MP RAGE sequence (P <.05). On 5-mm reformations, WM-to-GM CNR was significantly higher on VIBE and MP RAGE images than on T1-weighted SE images (P <.001), but contrast-enhancing lesion-to-GM CNRs were higher on SE images compared with both gradient-echo sequences (P <.001). Qualitatively, VIBE images showed fewer flow artifacts than did SE and MP RAGE images (P <.05). In the phantom, VIBE SNR was higher than MP RAGE SNR for short T1 relaxation times.

CONCLUSION
VIBE provides an effective, alternative approach to MP RAGE for fast 3D T1-weighted imaging of the brain.


The properties of molecules and materials containing light nuclei are affected by their quantum mechanical nature. Accurate modeling of these quantum nuclear effects requires computationally demanding path integral techniques. Considerable success has been achieved in reducing the cost of such simulations by using generalized Langevin dynamics to induce frequency-dependent fluctuations. Path integral generalized Langevin equation methods, however, have this far been limited to the study of static, thermodynamic properties due to the large perturbation to the system's dynamics induced by the aggressive thermostatting. Here, we introduce a post-processing scheme, based on analytical estimates of the dynamical perturbation induced by the generalized Langevin dynamics, which makes it possible to recover meaningful time correlation properties from a thermostatted trajectory. We show that this approach yields spectroscopic observables for model and realistic systems that have an accuracy comparable to much more demanding approximate quantum dynamics techniques based on full path integral simulations.


Background: Knowledge decay, or poor retention, is a problem experienced among the undergraduate students and even by their teaching faculty. During the undergraduate course in paediatrics, this knowledge decay is seen between the first (4th semester) and second (8th semester) clinical posting with wasting of time and faculty resources in reinforcement of this acquired knowledge again.
Objectives: To identify the extent and reasons for the
knowledge decay in undergraduate medical
education in paediatrics.
Method: Mixed method comparative study was
conducted among 8th semester students posted in
Department of Paediatrics. The end of posting
multiple choice questions (MCQ) test in 4th semester was re-administered as a pre-test in 8th semester along with open ended questions for their
reasons. The marks obtained in both tests were
compared and analysed using the paired t-test.
Results: The marks of 225 students were compared
between the 2 posting sessions. Decay of acquired
knowledge was found to be statistically significant
among all sections of paediatrics, with the most
decay being in the knowledge of anthropometry and
least decay in infectious diseases and haematology.
The long gap between the two postings, lack of
theory knowledge and paediatrics not being an
examination subject in the second year, were the
reasons given for the decay.
Conclusions: Significant loss of acquired knowledge was found in paediatrics between 4th and 8th semester clinical postings after initial good acquisition. The lack of reinforcement in the intervening years was the main reason for knowledge decay from the students' perspective.


Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major nosocomial pathogen and recently there has been the emergence of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA). The impact of CA-MRSA genotypes (e.g. USA300) as a cause of bacteremia and nosocomial infections is poorly understood. Purpose of Study To determine the molecular epidemiology of MRSA bloodstream infections (BSI) in a large urban hospital. Methods Between January 1, 2004 and April 7, 2004, MRSA isolates recovered from blood of patients were collected. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on extracted DNA after SmaI-digestion. DNA fingerprints were compared to established pulsed-field type (PFT) clusters. Epidemiologic data were recorded. Results A total of 49 patients had a MRSA BSI during the study period, for a rate of 5.7 per 1,000 patient admissions. The demographic and clinical characteristics of patients included mean age of 51 years (range 6 months-92 years); 25 (51%) were male; 44 (90%) were African-American; 14 (29%) were HIV-seropositive; and 15 (31%) had a current or prior history of substance abuse. The mean length of stay was 25.6 days (range 2-131 days), and 13 (27%) died during their hospitalization. Age was independently associated with an increased risk of death (OR 1.07 per year, 95% CI 1.01-1.12). Community-onset disease, defined by positive cultures within 48 hours of admission, occurred in 25 (51%) of the patients; nosocomial infections, defined by a positive culture > 48 hours after admission, occurred in 24 (49%). However, 48 (98%) of 49 patients had health care-associated infections as all but 1 with "community onset" had previous contact with health care facilities (e.g., dialysis, antibiotic use, surgery, and residence in long-term care facility within 1 year prior to admission). Molecular typing revealed that 21 (43%) of 49 MRSA isolates were PFT USA100, 16 (33%) were USA500, and 12 (24%) were USA300, which has been associated with CA-MRSA infections. Conclusions MRSA is a common cause of bacteremia at our institution and is primarily health care-associated, even if the onset occurred in the community. The MRSA USA300 genotype, usually associated with skin and soft tissue infection, has emerged as a significant cause of nosocomial and health care-associated MRSA BSI in our institution, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all infections. The emergence of MRSA USA300 as a nosocomial pathogen presents new challenges to infection control programs.


Although tidal marshes are known for their coastal defense function during storm surges, the impact of extreme wave forcing on tidal marsh development is poorly understood. Seedling survival in the first season after germination, which may involve exposure to extreme wave events, is crucial for the natural establishment and human restoration of marshes. We hypothesize that species‐specific plant traits plays a significant role in seedlings survival and response to wave induced stress, i.e., through stem bending and uprooting. To test this hypothesis, seedlings of pioneer species (Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Spartina anglica, and Puccinellia maritima) with contrasting biophysical traits were placed in the Large Wave Flume in Hannover (Germany) and exposed to storm wave conditions. Seedlings of P. maritima and S. anglica experienced a lower loss rate and bending angle after wave exposure compared to S. tabernaemontani and especially B. maritimus. The higher loss rates of B. maritimus and S. tabernaemontani result from deeper scouring around the stem base. Scouring depth was larger around stems of greater diameter and higher resistance to bending. Here, B. maritimus and S. tabernaemontani have both thicker and stiffer stems than S. anglica and P. maritima. Our results show that especially seedlings with thicker stems suffer from erosion and scouring, and have the highest risk of being lost during extreme wave events. This implies that for successful seedling establishment and eventually the establishment of a mature tidal marsh vegetation, the species composition and their capacity to cope with storm wave disturbances is crucial.


Techniques for determining and correcting threaded part alignment using force and angular position data are developed to augment currently limited techniques for aligning threaded parts. These new techniques are based on backspinning a nut with respect to a bolt and measuring the force change that occurs when the bolt "falls" into the nut. Kinematic models that describe the relationship between threaded parts during backspinning are introduced and are used to show how angular alignment may be de-termined. The models indicate how to distinguish between the aligned and misaligned cases of a bolt and a nut connection by using axial force data only. In addition, by tracking the in-plane relative attitude of the bolt during spinning, data can be oh-tained on the direction of the angular misalignment which, in turn, is used to correct the misaligmnent.Resultsfrom experimentsusinga bolt heldin a specializedfixture anda threefingeredStanford/JPLhandarepresented.


This paper deals with dynamic vision, vehicle avoidance, navigation, and applications to guide dog robot and vehicle intelligent control system. Danger estimation of vehicles at the intersection is proposed in this paper. Traffic rules of vehicles and the locomotion strategy of robot is formulated, and finally a danger matrix is defined for each vehicle represented by its location and its moving direction. This method is implemented on an image processing system. The location, velocity, and the moving direction of a vehicle are measured by computer vision and its danger coefficient is evaluated. About 90% of vehicles at a T shape intersection have been successfully voted in danger judgment.


Humic substances mainly humic acids constitute the major fraction of natural organic matter in water supplies. They play an important role in the formation of harmful disinfection by products. Degradation of humic acids by means of ultraviolet radiation and ultrasonic irradiation processes was investigated in a laboratory-scale batch photoreactor equipped with an 300 W immersed-type medium-pressure mercury vapour lamp and sonoreactor with low frequency (42 kHz) plate type transducer at 170 W of acoustic power with emphasis on the effect of various parameters on degradation efficiency. Experiments were performed at humic acids initial concentrations varying between 2.5-10 mg/L. Oxidation of humic substances has been followed over time by measuring total organic carbon and UV absorbance in 254 nm and 436 nm. Initial results indicated a strong capacity of photolysis for degradation of humic substances. The results also showed that ultrasonic alone cannot be an efficient method for degradation of humic substances in comparison with UV process. The maximum degradation efficiency of humic substances after 90 min of irradiation, however, was only 5.7% and reached a maximum value of 9.5% after 300 min of irradiation. It was found that total organic carbon can be removed effectively by photolysis. It was also found that lower concentrations of humic substances favor the humic substances degradation. Also, the experimental results indicated that the kinetics of ultrasono-oxidation and photo-oxidation processes fit well by pseudo-first order kinetics.


Background/Objective: Long bone fractures are of the most common and costly medical traumas humans experience.  Adequate characterization of the fracture healing process and development of potential medical interventions generally involves fracture induction operations on animal models of varying treatment or genetic groups, then analyzing relative repair success via synthesis of diverse assessment methodologies.  This review discusses the procedures, relevant parameters, special considerations, and key correlations of these major methodologies of fracture repair quantification.
Methods: A literature review was conducted for articles discussing the procedures or identifying correlations between each of the major fracture healing assessment methodologies.
Results: These methodologies include biomechanical testing, which provides the most direct quantification of skeletal functionality; micro-computed tomography, which enables high resolution visualization of fracture callus architecture; histology which helps elucidate the intricate processes underlying fracture repair; and x-ray which offers a non-invasive and clinically relevant view of fracture repair progress.  Each of these methodologies measure parameters directly correlating to restored functionality of fractured bone.
Conclusion: When appropriately integrated, synthesis of relevant parameters from each methodology of fracture repair assessment enables a comprehensive understanding of varying fracture healing outcomes and associated causalities.
Scientific/Clinical Policy Impact and Implications: This review may guide the interpretation and planning of fracture healing studies utilizing murine models.


: Cross-cloud data migration is one of the prevailing challenges faced by mobile users, which is an essential process when users change their mobile phones to a different provider. However, due to the insufficient local storage and computational capabilities of the smart phones, it is often very difficult for users to backup all data from the original cloud servers to their mobile phones in order to further upload the downloaded data to the new cloud provider. To solve this problem, we propose an efficient data migration model between cloud providers and construct a mutual authentication and key agreement scheme based on elliptic curve certificate-free cryptography for peer-topeer cloud. The proposed scheme helps to develop trust between different cloud providers and lays a foundation for the realization of cross-cloud data migration. Mathematical verification and security correctness of our scheme is evaluated against notable existing schemes of data migration, which demonstrate that our proposed scheme exhibits a better performance than other stateof- the-art scheme in terms of the achieved reduction in both the computational and communication cost.


Acoustic-to-articulatory inversion for vowels is performed by cepstral analysis-by-synthesis, using chain-matrix calculation of vocal tract (VT) acoustics and the Maeda articulatory model. The derivative of the VT chain matrix with respect to the area function was calculated in a novel efficient manner, and used in the BFGS quasi-Newton method for optimizing a distance measure between input and synthesized cepstral features over the entire articulatory trajectory. The optimization is initialized by a fast search of an articulatory codebook with a bin structure in formant space and the cost function also includes regularization and continuity terms to obtain realistic inverted VT shapes and smooth articulatory trajectories. Inversion is evaluated on the three diphthongs /ai/, /oi/ and /au/ of two speakers, one male and one female, from the University of Wisconsin X-ray microbeam (XRMB) database, and good agreement was achieved between inverted midsagittal vocal tract outlines and measured XRMB tongue and lip pellet positions, with an average relative error of less than 3% in the first three formants.


Objective: To estimate the prevalence of chronic conditions and/or disability in intensive care units admitting children (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit [PICU]) or both neonates and children (Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit [NPICU]) and to describe available rehabilitation resources. Design: A cross-sectional study on two separate days, using a web questionnaire. Setting: NPICU/PICUs affiliated to the Groupe Francophone de Réanimation et Urgences Pédiatriques and the Réseau Mère-Enfant de la Francophonie. Patients: Children >1 month of gestationally corrected age. Measurements and Main Results: Disability was defined as a Pediatric Overall Performance Category ≥3 before admission and chronic conditions as hospitalization since birth or the presence before admission of any condition requiring ongoing pediatric subspecialty care that was expected to last ≥12 months. Intensivists indicated what rehabilitation services they would have ideally prescribed ("perceived needs") and those provided. Of 45 affiliated units, 8 PICUs and 15 NPICUs participated. Staff included or had access to a psychologist (11 and 5, respectively), a social worker (10 and 3), a physiotherapist (11 and 12), a "psychomotrician" (2 and 8), a child educator (1 and 6), and a speech-language pathologist (0 and 6). Among 289 recorded intensive care unit-days, 236 were analyzed (excluding those for children admitted after surgery): 57 concerned children hospitalized since birth and 179 children admitted from home. Among these 179 recorded intensive care unit-days, 107 concerned children with chronic conditions (including 50 concerning disabled children) and 72 previously healthy children. Thus, prevalence of chronic conditions, including children hospitalized since birth, was 67%. Rehabilitation services included respiratory physical therapy (552 visits), musculoskeletal physical therapy (71), neurologic physical therapy (37), rehabilitation for swallowing (11), and for speech-language disorders (1), representing 79% of perceived needs. Conclusions: Prevalence of chronic conditions in NPICU/PICU was 67%. More attention must be paid to the rehabilitation care needs of patients during their NPICU/PICU stay and after discharge.


The 2012 Edition contains the major chapters of title 12 of the United States Code covering the National Bank Act, the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, and the Bank Holding Company Act. The supplement reflects the changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act. Additions made by Dodd-Frank to existing statutory provisions are underlined so the reader may easily locate the Dodd-Frank changes. In addition, the each statutory provision includes a citation to the section of Dodd-Frank which amends it. New statutory provisions of Dodd-Frank codified in Chapter 53 of Title 12 (including provisions relating to the FSOC, CFPB, and the Orderly Liquidation Authority) are included as well. Relevant provisions of the Securities Exchange Act, federal provisions relating to insurance, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's provisions related to privacy are also included. Excerpts from the New York banking statutes provide a sample of state regulation of banking. The supplement


My PhD offers a reassessment of the representation of English bishops within episcopal vitae composed between 1093 and 1214. It argues that the depiction of episcopal sanctity was shaped by the expectations of the community for which these texts were written and the hagiographer's specific causa scribendi (reasons for writing). Through an investigation of four distinct Latin episcopal saints' lives, I investigate the relationship between hagiographical function, episcopal identity and patronage by setting each text within its specific institutional and historical context. The vitae I have selected are: Faricius of Arezzo's life of Aldhelm (c.1093-1099), William Wycombe's life of Robert Bethune (c.1148-1150) and Gerald of Wales's lives of Remigius (c.1198-1199) and Hugh of Avalon (c.1210-1214). One aim of my thesis has been to establish the precise hagiographical function of each text. As such, each chapter begins by providing a textual history of the particular vita in question, and situates the source within its historical and cultural environment. By reflecting upon the local circumstances surrounding the production of these texts, we establish how different twelfthcentury religious communities sought to interpret the episcopal office in the light of their own spiritual values and concerns. The thesis also demonstrates that these texts were all written for a particular purpose, including didactic instruction, propaganda, and to construct the way a community remembered its past and/or to promote an institution's cult. Yet, we also show how each author employed different techniques and hagiographical models to achieve his objective. By investigating the ways in which episcopal vitae were composed in their specific


This is a detailed, single volume analysis of Britain's changing position in the world during the twentieth century. It places British policy making in the appropriate domestic and international contexts, offers an alternative to the more negative, 'decline'-obsessed assessments of Britain's role and influence in global affairs. This book suggests that Britain's leaders did a better job than some historians think. Michael Turner, in order to understand why they took the options they did, investigates their motives and aims within the international environment within which they operated.


The molecular electronic devices based on self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on metal surfaces demonstrate novel electronic functions for device minimization yet are unable to realize in practical applications, due to their instability against oxidation of the sulfur-metal bond. This paper describes an alternative to the thiolate anchoring group to form stable SAMs on gold by selenides anchoring group. Because of the formation of strong selenium-gold bonds, these stable SAMs allow us to incorporate them in molecular tunnel junctions to yield extremely stable junctions for over 200 days. A detailed structural characterization supported by spectroscopy and first-principles modeling shows that the oxidation process is much slower with the selenium-gold bond than the sulfur-gold bond, and the selenium-gold bond is strong enough to avoid bond breaking even when it is eventually oxidized. This proof of concept demonstrates that the extraordinarily stable SAMs derived from selenides are useful for long-lived molecular electronic devices and can possibly become important in many air-stable applications involving SAMs.


This study focuses on the examination and comparison of selected behavioural and environmental indicators that predict the intention to change lanes. These indicators were chosen from previous driving studies and driver models. The data were gathered in a field study with an instrumented car that can log data from the driver, the car, and the environment. The collected data were analysed and modelled with the help of a "knowledge discovery framework" (Georgeon, Mille, & Bellet, 2006). The first analysis of all lane changes caused by a slow leading vehicle focuses on the following indicators: glance to the left outside mirror, turn signal, and lane crossing. It is shown that the glance to the left outside mirror could serve as a predictor with a high potential to get information about the intention to change lanes in a very early stage. However, it is important to combine this predictor with additional predictors to avoid a high false alarm rate.


Review was carried out on important ant- nutritional factors and toxins in animal feed, their effect on animals and possible mechanisms to reduce toxicity.  The major anti- nutrients found in plant protein sources are saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, tannins, phytic acid, oxalates, protease inhibitors, chlorogenic acid and amylase inhibitors.  Anti-nutritional factors are compounds which reduce the nutrient utilization and/or feed intake of plants or plant products used as animal feeds. Numerous Anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in forages can cause toxicity in livestock. Some of these toxins are produced by the grasses, legumes and other forages. The tannin-protein complexes are astringent and adversely affect feed intake and  cause negative animal responses. Saponins  can affect animal performance and metabolism through erythrocyte haemolysis, reduction of blood and liver cholesterol, depression of growth rate, bloat (ruminants), inhibition of smooth muscle activity, enzyme inhibition and reduction in nutrient absorption. Phytic acid forms  protein and mineral-phytic acid complexes and  reduces protein and mineral bioavailability, inhibits the action of gastrointestinal tyrosinase, trypsin, pepsin, lipase and amylase. Oxalic acid on the other hand binds calcium and forms calcium oxalate which adversely affects the absorption and utilization of calcium in the animal body. The positive  effect of tannin in animal feeding includes; increased efficiency of protein utilization, reduction of parasite burden, reduction of proteolysis during ensilage, bloat prevention, increase quality of animal products, reduction of emission into the environment and defaunate rumen. Saponins have shown a variety activities such antitumor, cholesterol lowering, immune potentiating, anticancer, antioxidants.  A number of methods can be employed to reduce the toxic effects of antinutrients in animal feed.


This thesis addresses the issue of compensation for work-related injuries – the so called occupa-tional damages. Tort law, private insurance law, insurances due to collective bargaining, public insurances covering occupational damages as well as different areas of the social security system are all connected in a vast and complex structure. An important feature of the thesis is to analyse the so called "interdependence" between the different compensation systems. In Part I, the total system – the so called Swedish, or Nordic, model – and its historical development are presented.In Part II of the thesis, it is established what kind of damage situations, which can at all give rise to claims for compensation. Important issues are thereby the requirements of the concept of damage regarding this area of the law (the "work-related injury"). Also the subject matter of causation – "causation-in-fact" and "causation-in-law" – are brought into the analysis. Another factor of crucial importance is the procedural law and its requirements about burden of proof and what is to be counted as proven.If Part II of the thesis has shown the way "into the system", Part III describes what a person can "get out of the system". The different forms of compensation are conveyed, with emphasis on income loss.Part IV contains concluding remarks concerning legal aspects on collective agreement regulation of action for damages – the safety insurance – whereby the debate individualism versus collectivism is involved. Moreover, the issue tort law versus insurance law and social welfare law is discussed. The author's general aim in the thesis is to give stimulus to both critical and constructive discussions concerning the present situation and the development in this field of law.


This paper is divided into two parts. The first part traces the genesis of the modern interpretation of individual selfhood back to the Protestant Reformation. By privatizing, deregulating, and decentralizing religion, Luther prepared the way for what would eventually become the modern notion of the market. Educated in the Calvinist atmosphere of Scotland, Adam Smith translates Calvin's notion of divine providence and the fortunate fall into the notion of the invisible hand and machinations of the market through which pursuit of personal ends serve the good of the whole.The second part of the paper presents an analysis of the dynamics of individual decision through a consideration of theories of emergent complex adaptive systems. In this model, individuals function as something like nodes in intersecting social, cultural, technological and natural webs. The economy as a whole is a complex network that functions as a self-regulating, non-equilibrium system in which individuals must be understood as integral members of all-encompassing wholes. In this way, complexity theory counterbalances the excessive individualism of much recent economic theory. The Protestant interpretation of the individual subject informs the understanding of individual choice and decision that lies at the heart of contemporary capitalism.