The purpose of the study is to shed some crucial light on the determinants of bank risk-taking and analyze its relationship with capital and profitability. For the explanatory variables we use a range of bank-specific and country-specific variables that are believed to be important in explaining the performance and risk-taking propensity of banks.This paper applies the Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moments technique developed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998)for dynamic panels using bank-level data for 23 Turkish commercial banks over the period 2003 to 2011 to investigate the impacts of bank capital on profitability and risk. We find evidence that the effect of increasing bank capital on risk is significantly positive and negative, supporting the regulatory hypotheses and moral hazard hypothesis, respectively. The results also suggest thatthere is a positive and negative relation between the capital and profitability. Thus, the sample supports also structure-conduct-performance hypothesis. Important policy implications emerge from our empirical results. First, different profitability (risk) variables present different patterns with capital. Hence, the authorities should realize that using a single profitability (risk) variable may result in a totally wrong policy. Second, Turkish banking supervisor or regulators should improve their banking system by mending the financial efficiency of commercial banks to implement the suggestions proposed by Basel III.


We describe and illustrate the beginnings of a general framework for the design and analysis of educational games. Our students have used it to analyze existing educational games and to create prototype educational games. The framework is built on existing components: a method for precisely specifying educational objectives, a framework for relating a game's mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and principles for instructional design grounded in empirical research in the learning sciences. The power of the framework comes from the components themselves, as well as from considering these components in concert and making connections between them. The framework coordinates the many levels at which an educational game must succeed in order to be effective. We illustrate the framework by using it to analyze Zombie Division and to generate some redesign ideas for this game.


Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is the leading cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and affects up to 12% of all patients with SSc, with a 50% mortality rate within 3 years of PAH diagnosis. Compared with the idiopathic form of PAH (IPAH), patients with SSc-associated PAH (SSc-PAH) have a threefold increased risk of death and may receive a diagnosis late in the course of disease because of insidious onset and the high prevalence of cardiac, musculoskeletal, and pulmonary parenchymal comorbidities. Treatment with conventional forms of PAH therapy often yield poor results compared with IPAH cohorts; unfortunately, the exact reasons behind this remain poorly understood but likely include variations in the pathologic mechanisms, differences in cardiovascular response to increasing afterload, and inadequate strategies to detect and treat SSc-PAH early in its course. Current methods for screening and longitudinal evaluation of SSc-PAH, such as the 6-min walk test, transthoracic echocardiography, and MRI, each have notable advantages and disadvantages. We provide an up-to-date, focused review of SSc-PAH and how it differs from IPAH, including pathogenesis, appropriate screening for disease onset, and new approaches to treatment and longitudinal assessment of this disease.


Objective: To determine the frequency and type of placental infarcts in primigravidas having Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and to determine the fetal outcome in hypertensive primigravidas with placental infarcts.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Services Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan from July, 2014 to December, 2014 and included 350 patients with PIH. After delivery, the placenta of all the patients was sent for pathology and they were assessed for determination of presence or absence of placental infarct. Regarding fetal outcome, the newborns were assessed for birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA) and still birth.
Results: Placental infarcts were found in 113 (32.2%) patients. Out of these, focal infarcts were in 71 (62.8%) and multi focal infarcts in 42 (37.2%) patients. Stillbirths was found in 11 cases (3.2%) while SGA was found in 6 cases (1.7%). Risk ratio (RR) was calculated for strata of PIH and was found significant for sever PIH.
Conclusion: Sever PIH is a risk factor for SGA and placental infarcts among primigravida. Therefore, significant effort is needed to prevent primigravida for these grave complications due to PIH.


The objectives of the study is to observe the effects of deviation from neutral position on the perceived joint discomfort rating in neck and back in sitting and standing position. It is an observational study. Subjects were recruited from Dolphin (P.G.) Institute of Biomedical and Natural Science, Dehradun. A total of 40 subjects were recruited for the study on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria after signing the informed consent form. Comparison of perceived joint discomfort was done in different static positions of cervical and lumbar spine between sitting and standing postures. The results show that lateral flexion of the neck was the position in which maximum perceived joint discomfort was recorded both for sitting and standing position, but the difference was statistically, significant only for right lateral flexion. All other positions recorded lesser degrees of perceived joint discomfort but with statistically significant difference between sitting and standing position. Lateral flexion of the back was the position in which maximum perceived joint discomfort was recorded both for sitting and standing position and was statistically significant for right and left lateral flexion. All the other positions also showed statistically significant difference between sitting and standing except for forward flexion. Conclusions show that lateral bending produced the maximum discomfort for both cervical and lumbar static joint postures. The discomfort was more in standing as compared to sitting joint postures. Keywords: Perceived joint discomfort, neck, back, static posture, sitting, standing


Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have been identified in prostate cancer, raising the critical question of their physical and temporal source. Therefore, MSCs were quantified and characterized in benign and malignant prostate tissue representing different disease states and a wide range of age groups from fetal development through adult death using analytical and functional methodologies. In contrast to lineage-restricted Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells (MPCs) found in normal prostate tissue, MSCs with tri-lineage differentiation potential (adipogenesis, osteogenesis, and chondrogenesis) are identified in prostate tissue from a subset of men with prostate cancer, consistent with an influx of more stem-like progenitors (i.e. MSCs) from the bone marrow. Additionally, prostate tissue from a subset of these patients is highly enriched in MSCs, suggesting their enumeration may have prognostic value for identifying men with aggressive disease. This influx is an ongoing process continuing throughout disease progression as documented by the presence of MSCs in metastatic lesions from multiple organ sites harvested at the time of death in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. This infiltration of MSCs from systemic circulation provides the rationale for their use as a cell-based vector to deliver therapeutic agents.


Congestive cardiomyopathy of childhood is a poorly understood, highly lethal disorder characterized by intrinsic inefficiency of the myocardium. The disease predominantly affects infants and is often familial. Cardiomyopathy may be caused by a wide variety of underlying disorders of substrate utilization, vascular supply, immune status, etc. Specific therapy, when available, may be highly effective. Symptomatic therapy is not. Congestive cardiomyopathy is fatal in about one third of all cases, with half of the survivors having chronic disability. Improved prognosis in childhood congestive cardiomyopathy awaits a more complete understanding of its cause. Cardiac transplantation offers the greatest hope for severely affected patients with idiopathic disease.


Objective: to evaluate the effect of antioxidant vitamins on hearing loss in diabetic patients. Patients and methods: Sixty type 2 diabetic patients with positive pure tone audiogram (PTA) enrolled in the study and divided into two groups: each group consists of thirty patients, group one was put on antioxidant therapy, and group two on placebo therapy, for 2 months duration. Thirty healthy individuals were kept as a control. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in all groups. MDA and PTA were repeated after therapy. Results: The FBS and MDA are higher in diabetic patients, and beneficial effects of the administration of vitamin E and C combination on the oxidative stress and significant improvement, with mean differences of 12.5±7.79 decibel (dB), in the sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in diabetic patients were obtained. Conclusion: the present study demonstrated that diabetic patients have exaggerated oxidative stress, and administration of vitamin E and C combination had beneficial effect on the oxidative stress, and on the SNHL in diabetic patients with mean differences of 12.5±7.79 dB (p<0.001).


A design study was conducted to determine the potential weight savings and performance increase from advanced metallic materials for wing skin panels. The materials included aluminum lithium 2090-T83, ARALL-3 (aramid-reinforced aluminum laminate) and GLARE-2 (glass-aluminum-reinforced epoxy). An executive business jet airplane was taken as a baseline in the design trade study. This wing has mechanically attached stringers to stiffen the panel against compressive and shear loading. The advanced skin materials were designed into an advanced wing box; advantage was taken of the increase in strength and stiffness. The design, fabrication, and testing of the test panels were done at Textron Aerostructures. Two 2090-T83 aluminum-lithium skins with 7075-T6511 extruded Z-shaped stringers bonded to them were used for the evaluation of the upper wing cover structure. One panel had five bays, the other four. The respective widths were 59.39 cm (23.38 in.) and 49.48 cm (19.48 in.). The overall length was 125.43 cm (49.38 in.) for all panels. Two ARALL-3 and two GLARE-2 compression panels with the same type of stringers were designed to evaluate the lower wing cover structure. The laminate panels were all five-stringer bays 78.74 cm (31 in.) in width. The study confirmed that a weight savings in the order of 10 to 15% can be achieved with panels made with these advanced materials. The compression tests showed that all test panels failed in column bending and the predicted critical loads compared to those from the tests were conservative. The tests also validated the design methodology.


Excitation energy transfer in PS I particles from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtiiCC 2696 was studied at 10 K by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Five-nm wide excitation pulses at 670, 680, 695, and 700 nm were applied to selectively excite different spectral forms contributing to the wide Q Y transition band of chlorophyll a. Absorbance changes between 630 and 770 nm, up to 100 ps after excitation, were collected with a time step of 54 fs during the first 5 ps. Excitation at 700 nm leads to a structured initial absorbance difference spectra with four positive bands clearly resolved at 634, 645, 652, and 661 nm, and four negative bands at 667, 675, 684, and 695 nm. These spectra are interpreted in terms of excitonic coupling between the six electron-transfer chlorophyll a molecules: a special pair, two accessory and two A0 chlorophylls. The negative bands were ascribed to photobleaching of the four one-exciton states in line with theoretical predictions (Beddard, G. S. J. Phys. Chem. B. 1998, 102, 10 966), and the positive ones to excited-state absorption. The significance of the broad absorbance changes is proposed to be the introduction of spectral overlap between the reaction center and different spectral forms of the antenna chlorophylls that is expected to increase the efficiency of energy flow to the reaction center. Excitation at different wavelengths shows indeed that trapping can occur from different spectral pools of chlorophylls with similar efficiency (trapping time 29-44 ps). Following the excitation at 670 and 680 nm, trapping was shown to occur from the same pool as at room temperature centered at 682-685 nm, containing apparently only a minority of antenna molecules located close to the reaction center. The trapping time was found to be only slightly longer compared to that at room temperature (20-23 ps at RT). At 10 K, a significant amount of chlorophylls cannot exchange excitation energy with their neighbors. Our results are consistent with previous reports that at cryogenic temperatures, charge separation is possible in 50% of PS I particles and that excitation quenching by the oxidized and reduced primary donor is equally effective. As was observed at room temperature, there is no indication of red chlorophylls absorbing above 700 nm. This lack of red chlorophylls makes it possible to directly excite reaction center chlorophylls and study interaction between them in wild type and, in future, mutant PS I from Chlamydomonas.


The extent to which processing affects the carotene or vitamin A value of foods is poorly understood. An extrinsic reference method was used to estimate the mass of carotenes and vitamin A derived from various preparations made from the same lot of carrots. Using a repeated-measures design, nine healthy adult subjects consumed test meals of either carrot puree (commercial baby food) or boiled-mashed carrots on separate days; six of the subjects also consumed a test meal of raw-grated carrot. Test meals supplied 34.7 micromol (18.6 mg) carrot beta-carotene (beta C), plus 6 micromol deuterium-labeled retinyl acetate (d(4)-RA) in oil solution. Baseline-adjusted carotene and retinyl ester (R-ester) area-under-curve (AUC) responses in the triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein (TRL) fraction (0-8.5 h) were determined using HPLC and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The masses of absorbed beta C, alpha-carotene (alpha C) and R-ester were estimated by comparing their AUC values with that of deuterium-labeled retinyl ester (d(4)-R-ester), assuming the latter represented 80% of the d(4)-RA reference dose. Absorption of beta C and alpha C was approximately twofold greater from carrot puree than from boiled-mashed carrots, whereas the retinol yield was only marginally (P = 0.11) influenced by treatment. Carotene and R-ester absorption from raw-grated carrot was intermediate to, and did not differ significantly from the cooked preparations. The vitamin A yield (puree, 0.53 mg; boiled-mashed, 0.44 mg) of cooked carrot containing 18.6 mg beta C was substantially less than that predicted by current convention and limited primarily by intestinal carotene uptake. Processing can therefore significantly improve bioavailability of carrot carotenes, and in some cases influence the carotene value more than the intrinsic vitamin A value.


The concept of plenoptic cameras has existed since the early 1900s, with recent advances in computational power making them a viable tool for industrial applications. Plenoptic cameras can give 3D information about the scene with one camera, one lens, and a single image. This is possible by placing a microlens array directly in front of the image sensor. The depth estimation is based on disparities observed in individual microlens images, similar to stereo camera approaches. To relate these so-called virtual depth units to metric distances, a camera calibration must be performed. This paper presents a robust, automated camera calibration technique, which introduces new ways to model a multi-focus plenoptic camera.


Caeruloplasmin and albumin were compared as potential donors of copper to Cu2Zn2-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) in culture. Aortas from 15-day copper-deficient chicks were suspended in oxygenated, serum-free, Waymouth medium (752/1) for 24 h. SOD activity was restored when the medium was supplemented with CuCl2, a copper-albumin complex or caeruloplasmin, all present at a level equivalent to 5 microM-copper. Activation did not occur at 4 degrees C or with Cu-EDTA as the supplement. Mn2+ and Zn2+, alone or in combination, did not activate nor enhance the activation achieved by CuCl2. The activation with CuCl2 was not inhibited by cycloheximide or cordycepin. [67Cu]Caeruloplasmin and albumin when added to the medium transferred radioactive copper to at least three cytosolic protein fractions, one of which was determined by immunoprecipitation to be CuZn-SOD. The transfer of 67Cu from caeruloplasmin was inhibited by increasing amounts of unlabelled caeruloplasmin; disodium EDTA (1.0 mM) had no effect on the transfer of copper from caeruloplasmin. These data show that aortic SOD activity, suppressed in copper deficiency, can be restored by incubating the aortas in culture medium supplemented with copper salts. In this system, caeruloplasmin and Cu-albumin appear equally capable of activating aortic CuZn-SOD. Moreover, the transfer of copper into the enzyme structure appears to be the primary event restoring catalytic activity to the enzyme.


The aim of this study is to develop biodegradable plastic with natural colourants as packaging material. Blends of anthocyanin and bromocresol purple (BCP) as biological and chemical colourants respectively, tapioca starch, glycerol, polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA), clay, nanocomposites and low density polyethylene (LDPE) with different formulation contents for five types of blends were prepared using a lab scale twin screw extruder. A series of low density polyethylene (LDPE) with different blends formulation were developed via blow film extrusion. The morphology and properties of the blends were evaluated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The dispersion of tapioca starch in the LDPE matrix was homogeneous and mechanical properties of the films were improved with the addition of glycerol. The interfacial adhesion between tapioca starch and LDPE was further improved by the addition of PEg-MA according to the morphological structure shown by SEM micrographs, thus enhanced the mechanical properties of the films. Formulations containing 35% tapioca starch with fairly high concentrations of additives indicate the importance of the concentration of starch and the presence of additives on the biodegradability of tapioca starch-LDPE film blends.


Wireless sensor networks have the potential to become significant subsystems of engineering applications where every each node functions as transmitter, receiver, router and data sink. It is necessary to understand the dynamic behaviour of these systems in simulation environments. It is critical to develop simulation platforms that are useful which can be used to explore both networking and wireless sensor networks issues. A discrete-event simulation is a trusted platform for modeling and simulating a variety of systems. This project emphasize on using new simulator for wireless sensor networks that is based on the discrete event simulation framework called Objective Modular Network Test bed in C++ version 4.1 (OMNeT++4.1) Simulator. This simulator is used to test the performance of sensor nodes within the networking in wireless communication networks based on indoor scenario. The test performances are focussed on aspects such as the time delay and packet utilization of the particular approach. The analysis approach is done through simulation software by the following metrics: packet frames delivery, packet loss and time delay experience within the system.


1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 suppresses the growth of multiple human cancer cell lines by inhibiting cell cycle progression and inducing cell death. The present study showed that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 causes cell cycle arrest at the G2/M transition through p53-independent induction of GADD45 in ovarian cancer cells. Detailed analyses have established GADD45 as a primary target gene for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. A DR3-type vitamin D response element was identified in the fourth exon of GADD45 that forms a complex with the vitamin D receptor·retinoid X receptor heterodimer in electrophoresis mobility shift assays and mediates the dose-dependent induction of luciferase activity by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in reporter assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays have shown that the vitamin D receptor is recruited in a ligand-dependent manner to the exonic enhancer but not to the GADD45 promoter regions. In ovarian cancer cells expressing GADD45 antisense cDNA or GADD45-null mouse embryo fibroblasts, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 failed to induce G2/M arrest. Taken together, these results identify GADD45 as an important mediator for the tumor-suppressing activity of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in human ovarian cancer cells.


This book recognizes the importance of cooperative learning, in contrast to the traditional classroom, as an effective approach to learning. Its coverage of the subject ranges across the educational spectrum, from pre-school years to university, and offers a fresh perspective on a topic that has gained increasing interest worldwide. With contributions from an international panel of leading experts in the field, this engaging text succeeds in providing key insights, linking the theories that underpin the study of group dynamics to their practical application in the classroom. It presents a comprehensive overview of this alternative educative approach, illustrating how cooperative learning experiences can promote socialisation and friendships, and facilitate learning. The editors assemble a range of well-researched essays, covering such aspects as: * The importance of teacher and student interaction * Small group, virtual and non-virtual teaching environments * Assessment practices for measuring the outcomes of individual and group progress * The effect of cooperative learning on relationships amongst students with diverse cultural, social and learning needs. Illustrated with practical examples throughout, this book will be a crucial read for teacher educators, educational psychologists, student teachers, academics and researchers who want to realize the significant potential of cooperative learning in all educational settings.


Workforce development is a multidisciplinary domain in which policy, laws and regulations, social services, training and education, and information technology and systems are heavily involved. It is essential to have a semantic base accepted by the workforce development community for knowledge sharing and exchange. This paper describes how such a semantic base-the Workforce Open Knowledge Exchange (WOKE) Ontology-was built by using the adaptive modeling approach. The focus of this paper is to address questions such as how ontology designers should extract and model concepts obtained from different sources and what methodologies are useful along the steps of ontology development. The paper proposes a methodology framework "adaptive modeling" and explains the methodology through examples and some lessons learned from the process of developing the WOKE ontology.


The objective of the present study was to differentiate specific migration-related factors that can account for an increased vulnerability to pathological gambling (PG) among migrants in Germany. One hundred and six gamblers (61 migrants, 45 Germans) with varying degrees of gambling problems participated in the study. We analysed (1) differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns, severity of gambling problems, motivation and craving; influence of (2) acculturative stress; (3) acceptance and popularity of gambling in the culture of origin on gambling problems; (4) differences between migrants and Germans regarding family gambling and peer gambling; and (5) differences in religiosity and its influence on gambling problems. Results suggest no differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns and the severity of gambling problems. However, findings indicate that migrants have higher motivation and craving to gamble. Findings further suggest that acculturative stress is associated with more severe gambling problems. In contrast, acceptance and popularity of gambling in the country of origin was not a significant predictor of gambling problems. At the same time, family gambling and peer gambling was significantly more prevalent among migrants, constituting an additional risk factor in the present sample. On the other hand, migrants in the sample benefit more often from a protective influence of religiosity.


This thesis analyses how the relationship between elected representatives, policy frameworks and evolving policy processes impacts upon local electronic government (e-government) and the provision of online contexts for civic participation. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet and World Wide Web are embedded in many citizens' everyday lives. Governments, however, have been slow to respond to technological changes that enable increased interaction and advanced two-way communication with citizens. The case study presented is the Victorian municipality of the City of Casey in Melbourne's south-east, with a population of over 259,000. Like many Australian local governments, Casey utilises the Internet to offer increased information dissemination through its website (www.casey.vic.gov.au), but offers limited opportunities for policy discussion that might facilitate citizen involvement in decision-making. Casey is, nonetheless, well situated to trial and implement online participatory practices – for reasons of scale, infrastructure, financial resources, and civic access to ICTs. Implementing a 'grounded' methodological approach, the thesis undertakes a document analysis of Casey's policies and strategies, and semi-structured interviews with Casey Councillors in order to examine the council's impact on the development and implementation of online mechanisms for civic participation. The research concludes that a combination of insufficient policy documentation and the contentious motives and actions of policy actors are restricting e-government development. Advancing e-government demands a more integrated approach that combines federal guidance with local knowledge. Additionally, increased awareness is needed amongst Casey's policy-makers about ICTs, the value of civic involvement, and the potential benefits and risks associated with online civic participation. These findings arise out of changing communicative and democratic practices and need to be recognised and addressed by governments if online initiatives are to enable civic engagement. Ultimately, e-government must be understood and approached as both a technological and political matter.


This paper will report recent developments in electro-optic polymer optical fibers. We discuss mainly the experimental work done by the Photonics and Optical Communications Group in the University of New South Wales. The relevant issues regarding material processing, design and fabrication of electric-optic polymer fibers and devices will be addressed. In particular, electro-optical polymer fibers that incorporating various electro-optic organic materials, including the well-known disperse red 1, the synthetically attached DR1 side chain monomers, optical liquid crystals, etc., have been fabricated and investigated.


Massive, quiescent galaxies at high redshift have been found to be considerably more compact than galaxies of similar mass in the local universe. How these compact galaxies formed has yet to be determined, though several progenitor populations have been proposed. Here we investigate the formation processes and quantify the assembly histories of such galaxies in Illustris, a suite of hydrodynamical cosmological simulations encompassing a sufficiently large volume to include rare objects, while simultaneously resolving the internal structure of galaxies. We select massive ( 10 11 M ) and compact (stellar half-mass radius < 2 kpc) galaxies from the simulation at z = 2. Within the Illustris suite, we find that these quantities are not perfectly converged, but are reasonably reliable for our purposes. The resulting population is composed primarily of quiescent galaxies, but we also find several star-forming compact galaxies. The simulated compact galaxies are similar to observed galaxies in star formation activity and appearance. We follow their evolution at high redshift in the simulation and find that there are multiple pathways to form these compact galaxies, dominated by two mechanisms: (i) intense, centrally concentrated starbursts generally triggered by gas-rich major mergers between z 2 4, reducing the galaxies' half-mass radii by a factor of a few to below 2 kpc, and (ii) assembly at very early times when the universe was much denser; the galaxies formed compact and remained so until z 2.


At the moment that Colonel Browne is standing in the shallow end of the swimming pool of the Hotel Alphenrose, preparing for his late afternoon dip, his daughter Charlotte, carrying a suitcase, is getting out of her car back in England, preparing to rob the ancestral home. It is not just another day: it is the culmination of hundreds of days, hundreds of disappointments and misunderstandings, and thousands of very small lies...


Abstract Major supranational organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union, and the World Bank have used lifelong learning as a strategy to boost economic competitiveness both at individual and national levels. In the literature related to lifelong learning this is characterised as the economistic model of lifelong learning. The humanistic model of lifelong learning, which appears as an alternative of the economistic model, takes education and learning as a fundamental human right for all individuals irrespective of their age, gender and class. However, this model is criticised as a vague, rhetorical and utopian ideal with little potential for informing educational policy decisions at national level. Using some key Habermasian conceptualisations, mainly the colonisation of the lifeworld and communicative rationality, this paper argues that three major dimensions of human learning informed by Habermas – transformative, citizenship and intersubjective – can contribute towards the development of a more comprehensive model of lifelong learning.


There is a demand for scientific knowledge to make informed decisions in environmental policy. This study examines expectations of knowledge use, and how knowledge stemming from systematic reviews (SR) is being used through an analytical framework that distinguishes between instrumental, conceptual and legitimising evaluation use, as well as between process and product use. Empirically, we investigate knowledge generated from six SRs conducted through the Mistra Council for Evidence-based Environmental Management from the perspectives of those carrying out the SR and their targeted stakeholders. Our study reveals ways in which SRs are used and some characteristics that improve and some that hamper their usefulness. While the systematic method and the comprehensiveness of the SRs contribute positively to the usefulness, we found that the SRs produced were simultaneously too focused (lacking multiple perspectives), and too general (providing evidence on the effects of an intervention only at the general level) thereby restricting their usefulness. The time and resources it takes to produce an SR can also affect its usefulness compared to a traditional review.


Muscle weakness, rigidity, tremor, bradykinesia and gait impairment are common symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease and may contribute for a reduced efficiency during exercise, despite a similar maximal aerobic power when compared with healthy individuals. Respiratory dysfunction is also described in these patients and may play a role for this worst performance. To improve the understanding of this dysfunction in breathing pattern we evaluated 19 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 19 healthy controls (CT) during incremental exercise by using cardiopulmonary exercise test. Tidal volume (VT); breathing frequency (BF); total respiratory time (TOT); inspiratory time (TI); expiratory time (TE); inspiratory time to total time (TI/TOT); ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VE/VCO2) and end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure (PETCO2) were assessed and expressed as a function of minute ventilation (VE) of 30, 40 and 50 L/min for comparisons. To examine the normal distribution of data, the Shapiro-Wilk test was done. Demographic and clinical data were compared between groups by using independent t-test. To compare groups, variables at 30, 40 and 50 L/min a mixed 3 × 2 ANOVA was performed. Significance level was previously set at p < 0.05. Post-hoc LSD analysis was conducted. PD group were composed by 8 women and 11 men and CT group by 7 women and 12 men. No differences were observed for age (PD: 61 ± 8 y; CT: 61 ± 7 y; p = 0.89), body mass index (PD: 25.2 ± 3.0 kg/m²; CT: 25.0 ± 3.2 kg/m²; p = 0.85) and relative peak oxygen consumption (PD: 28.1 ± 7.8 ml/kg.min; CT: 30.0 ± 8.1 ml/kg.min; p = 0.45). VT (F1 = 9.1; p = 0.005), TOT (F1 = 12.54; p = 0.001), TI (F1 = 6.35; p = 0.016) and TE (F1 = 14.25; p = 0.001) are reduced and BF (F1 = 8.12; p = 0.007) are higher in PD when compared with CT in all situations analysed. Pattern and time of breathing during incremental exercise is altered in Parkinson's disease despite similar maximal aerobic power when compared with healthy controls.


Background Symptoms of anhedonia are often central to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but it is unclear how anhedonia is affected by processes induced by reliving past traumatic memories. Methods Sixty-nine male refugees (PTSD = 38) were interviewed and scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing positive, neutral and Scrambled Pictures after being read personalized scripts evoking an emotionally neutral memory and a traumatic memory. We further measured postprovocation state symptoms, physiological measures and PTSD symptoms. We tested whether neural activity associated with positive picture viewing in participants with PTSD was differentially affected by symptom provocation compared to controls. Results For the pictures > scrambled contrast (Positive contrast), PTSD participants had significantly less activity than controls in fusiform gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus and left middle occipital gyrus. The Positive contrast activity in fusiform gyrus scaled negatively with anhedonia symptoms in PTSD participants after controlling for total PTSD severity. Relative to the emotionally Neutral Script, the Trauma Script decreased positive picture viewing activity in posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and left calcarine gyrus, but there was no difference between PTSD participants and controls. Conclusions We found reduced responsiveness of higher visual processing of emotionally positive pictures in PTSD. The significant correlation found between positive picture viewing activity and anhedonia suggests the reduced responsiveness to be due to the severity of anhedonia.


This article is a comparative study that points to the differences between national cultures in Scandinavia, as they are reconstructed from source material left over from the encounter between Scandinavian insiders and German outsiders in the pre-World War II period. This article uses a variety of memoirs, notes, interviews, and other records produced by German refugees in Scandinavia, and by Scandinavians who encountered German refugees in the period 1933-1940. Danes, Norwegians and Swedes characterise and are characterised by the German refugees. Thus, in-group and out-group mechanisms highlight patterns that help to constitute national cultures. This article provides a few examples that show the comparative differences in the ways in which German refugees were seen and treated by the Scandinavians who encountered them. It also provides a few examples that show the comparative differences in national culture in Scandinavia, as those differences appeared to German refugees.


Hospital administrators may lack familiarity with what clinical ethicists do (and do not do), and many clinical ethicists report receiving inadequate financial support for their clinical ethics consultation services (CECSs). Ethics consultation is distinct in that it is not reimbursable by third parties, and its financial benefit to the hospital may not be quantifiable. These peculiarities make it difficult for clinical ethicists to resort to tried-and-true outcome-centered evaluative strategies, like cost reduction or shortened length of stay for patients, to show a "need" for ethics consultation. Likewise, it can be difficult for clinical ethicists to "speak the same language" as healthcare administrators and managers, which, in turn, means that CECSs run the risk of being unable to demonstrate value to those who pay for the service. The purpose of this descriptive article is to provide practical guidance to clinical ethicists and program directors on how to cultivate administrative support for a CECS. Specifically, we discuss two elements that clinical ethics leaders must critically appraise and successfully argue to meet the expectations of administrators— the value of a CECS and its fit in clinical workflow.


The use of geographic approaches in improving health outcomes, including the fight against Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), is increasing; however, health ministries, AIDS coordinating agencies, and other social service ministries often lack the capacity to use geospatial data and tools such as geographic information systems (GIS). Health organizations would benefit from building collaborative relationships with national mapping agencies (NMAs), national geospatial data infrastructure (NGDI) coordinating bodies and in-country stakeholders with GIS capacity to enhance decision making for health sector programmes and to create an action plan to help address identified challenges.
One approach for strengthening the NGDI within the nation's health sector was the two-day Nigeria Health and Mapping Summit of 2011. The summit provided opportunities for stakeholders in the NGDI and health sectors to discuss strategies for sharing geospatial data and building capacity to support national health endeavours.
This paper provides a description of the summit and offers lessons learned on key aspects of the event, including the post-summit communique presented to both executive and legislative arms of the government with the intent of improving the NGDI. This paper also discusses progress on health and mapping sector collaboration and coordination since the summit.


Beta titanium alloys, e.g., are now the main target for medical materials. Ti-35Nb-7Zr- 5Ta alloy were manufactured by blended elemental (BE) powder method, which appears to be one of the most promising technique for titanium parts production at reduced cost. The process employs hydrided powders as raw materials with low production costs and oxygen content. Among the titanium alloys recently developed, Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta is distinguished for presenting low modulus of elasticity, high mechanical resistance and superior biocompatibility. Samples were produced by mixing of initial metallic powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by sintering among 800 at 1500 °C, in vacuum. Sintering behavior was studied by means of dilatometry. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microhardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. Density was measured by Archimedes method. In this work, an alternative blending technique (with planetary mill) was used. The samples presented a good densification and a totally β-type microstructure, with complete dissolution of alloying elements in the titanium matrix with the temperature increase with low pore content.


The use of in vitro propagated Ruppia maritima for seagrass meadow restoration was evaluated in two experiments. Experiment 1 compared two different planting methods for in uitro propagated plants. In one method, cultured plants were attached to metal staples which were then inserted into the sediment. Almost all of these transplants disappeared within one month at the four different planting sites. For the other method, in vitro propagated plants were first transferred to peat pots and grown in a flowing seawater system for six weeks. These transplants showed 20 to 80% survival. Ruppia maritima was still growing in experimental plots after 11 months at three of the four sites. There was an increase in the number of short shoots m and the percent cover. After 23 months, there was decreased cover of R. maritima and an increase in Zostera marina . In Experiment 2, R maritima was propagated in vitro using a modified culture medium. Plants from these cultures were directly rooted ex vitro in peat pots during six weeks growth in a flowing seawater system. These planting units were transplanted to three sites. After 12 months, the experimental plots showed significant coverage of R. maritima at two sites. The other site was a more exposed location and had no R. maritima in the experimental plots from either Experiment 1 or 2, probably due to the severe winter storm of 1993. The increase in shoot numbers and areal coverage in the experimental plots suggests that if R. maritima can be propagated in vitro and used successfully for habitat restoration.


A literature review is given concerning the occurrence, clinical signs and possible treatment of the different types of inguinal herniation in foals. A six-week old filly with a reducible inguinal hernia is described in detail.


Abstract The myth regarding religious parties in Pakistan possessing street power sans political power was broken with the success of the Muttahida Majlise Amal's (MMA)— a coalition of Muslim parties and groups — in the 2002 general elections. The party sprung to power for a variety of reasons including the support it received from General Musharraf's military establishment. The MMA on several occasions facilitated Musharraf's political schema in the hope for larger political favours, drawing severe criticism from both within and outside the party. The electoral experience of the MMA so far has been mixed as it has earned both rewards and brickbats. It now stands at a point from where it is trying to resurrect its lost credibility and convince other mainstream parties of its political bona fide. The rise of the MMA has added a new dimension to political jostling and power play in Pakistan and so far has helped the authoritarian forces. Would it continue to side with the military in the decades old civil and military struggle in Pakistan or would be forced in the emerging political configuration to join the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan remains somewhat an open question.


Over the last five years, new «voxel-based» approaches have allowed important leaps in multimodal image registration, notably due to the increasing use of information-theoretic similarity measures. Their wide success has led to the progressive abandon of measures using standard image statistics (mean and variance). Until now, such measures have essentially been based on heuristics. In this paper, we address the determination of a new measure based on standard statistics from a theoretical point of view. We show that it naturally leads to a known concept of probability theory, the \textit{correlation ratio}. In our derivation, we take as the hypothesis the functional dependence between the image intensities. This means that one image is considered as a model of the other. Although such a hypothesis is not validate in every circumstance, it enables us to incorporate implicitely an a priori smoothness model. We also demonstrate preliminary results of multimodal rigid registration involving Magnetic Resonance (MR), Computed Tomography (CT), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images. These results suggest that the correlation ratio provides a good trade-off between accuracy and robustness.


Purpose Longitudinal data on the effect of time and environmental conditions on physical activity (PA) among COPD patients are currently scarce, but this is an important factor in the design of trials to test interventions that might impact on it. Thus, we aimed to assess the effect of time and climate conditions (temperature, day length and rainfall) on progression of PA in a cohort of COPD patients. Patients and methods This is a prospective, multicenter, cohort study undertaken as part of the EU/IMI PROactive project, in which we assessed 236 COPD patients simultaneously wearing two activity monitors (Dynaport MiniMod and Actigraph GT3X). A multivariable generalized linear model analysis was conducted to describe the effect of the explanatory variables on PA measures, over three time points (baseline, 6 and 12 months). Results At 12 months (n=157; FEV1% predicted=57.7±21.9) there was a significant reduction in all PA measures (Actigraph step count (4284±3533 vs 3533±293)), Actigraph moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA ratio (8.8 (18.8) vs 6.1 (15.7)), Actigraph vector magnitude units (374,902.4 (265,269) vs 336,240 (214,432)), MiniMod walking time (59.1 (34.9) vs 56.9 (38.7) mins) and MiniMod PA intensity (0.183 (0) vs 0.181 (0)). Time had a significant, negative effect on most PA measures in multivariable analysis, after correcting for climate factors, study center, age, FEV1% predicted, 6MWD and other disease severity measures. Rainfall was the only climate factor with a negative effect on most PA parameters. Conclusion COPD patients demonstrate a significant decrease in PA over 1 year follow-up, which is further affected by hours of rainfall, but not by other climate considerations.


Background and purpose — Uncemented monoblock cruciate retaining (CR) trabecular metal (TM) tibial components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) work well in the long-term perspective in patients ≤ 60 years. Younger persons expect nearly normal knee flexion after TKA, but CR implants generally achieve less knee flexion compared with posterior stabilized (PS) implants. Cemented PS implants have higher revision rate than CR implants. Can an uncemented monoblock PS TM implant be used safely in younger patients? Patients and methods — 40 patients (49 knees) age ≤ 60 years with primary (20 knees) or posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) were operated with a high-flex TKA using an uncemented monoblock PS TM tibial component. Knees were evaluated with radiostereometric analysis (RSA) a mean 3 days (1–5) postoperatively, and thereafter at 6 weeks, 3 months, 1, 2, 5, and 9 years. Clinical outcome was measured with patient-related outcome measures (PROMs). Results — The implants showed a pattern of migration with initial large migration followed by early stabilization lasting up to 9 years, a pattern known to be compatible with good long-term results. Clinical and radiological outcome was excellent with 38 of the 40 patients being satisfied or very satisfied with the procedure and bone apposition to the entire implant surface in 46 of 49 knees. Mean knee flexion was 130°. 1 knee was revised at 3 months due to medial tibial condyle collapse. Interpretation — The uncemented monoblock PS TM implant works well in younger persons operated with TKA due to primary or secondary OA.


We present the first direct measurements of NO 3 reactivity (or inverse lifetime, s −1 ) in the Finnish boreal forest. The data were obtained during the IBAIRN campaign (Influence of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions on the Reactive Nitrogen budget) which took place in Hyytiala, Finland during the summer/autumn transition in September 2016. The NO 3 reactivity was generally very high with a maximum value of 0.94 s −1 and displayed a strong diel variation with a campaign-averaged nighttime mean value of 0.11 s −1 compared to a daytime value of 0.04 s −1 . The highest nighttime NO 3 -reactivity was accompanied by major depletion of canopy level ozone and was associated with strong temperature inversions and high levels of monoterpenes. The daytime reactivity was sufficiently large that reactions of NO 3 with organic trace gases could compete with photolysis and reaction with NO. There was no significant reduction in the measured NO 3 reactivity between the beginning and end of the campaign indicating that any seasonal reduction in canopy emissions of reactive biogenic trace gases was offset by emissions from the forest floor. Observations of biogenic hydrocarbons (BVOC) suggested a dominant role for monoterpenes in determining the NO 3 reactivity. Reactivity not accounted for by in-situ measurement of NO and BVOCs was variable across the diel cycle with, on average, circa 30 % "missing" during nighttime and circa 60 % missing during the day. Measurement of the NO 3 reactivity at various heights (8.5 to 25 m) both above and below the canopy, revealed a strong nighttime, vertical gradient with maximum values closest to the ground. The gradient disappeared during daytime due to efficient vertical mixing.


This collection of original essays looks at a topic of growing interest and debate in feminist and historical circles: the social regulation of women through law during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the resistance which emerged in response. The collection refutes the notion of women oppressed during the 19th century, unable to act in opposition to the law. When issues of motherhood and women's sexuality became areas of public policy, women began to negotiate the law, as case studies from Europe and the USA show. This book should be of interest to students of women's studies, sociology of law, and social policy.


Mindful attention is qualitatively receptive and non-reactive, and is thought to facilitate adaptive emotional responding. Using a multi-method approach, I studied the relationship between individual differences in self-reported trait mindfulness and electrocortical, electromyographic, electrodermal, and self-reported responses to emotional pictures. Specifically, while subjects passively viewed IAPS pictures, electrocortical data, skin conductance, and also electromyographic data were recorded. Afterwards, subjects rated their subjective valence and arousal while viewing the pictures again. If trait mindfulness reduces general emotional responding, then responses from individuals with high mindfulness would be associated with decreased late positive potential amplitudes, decreased skin conductance response, and decreased subjective ratings of valence and arousal to emotional pictures. High mindfulness would also be associated with a decreased emotional modulation of startle eyeblink amplitudes and of startle P3 amplitudes during emotional pictures. Although analysis showed clear effects of emotion on dependent measures, in general, mindfulness did not moderate these effects.


Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressant agent that suffers from poor and variable bioavailability. This can be related to limited solubility and dissolution. The main objective of this study is to use SFT to prepare solid dispersions of tacrolimus in order to enhance its dissolution. SFT was selected since it offers several advantages over conventional techniques such as efficiency and stability. Several solid dispersions of tacrolimus were prepared using SFT to enhance its dissolution. The selected polymers included soluplus, PVP, HPMC, and porous chitosan. TPGS was used as a surfactant additive with chitosan, HPMC, and PVP. Soluplus dispersions were used to study the effect of processing parameters (time, temperature, and pressure) on loading efficiency (LE) and dissolution of the preparation. Physicochemical characterization was performed using DSC, X-ray diffraction, FTIR analysis, SEM, and in vitro drug release. Stability testing was evaluated after 3 months for selected dispersions. Significant improvement for the release profile was achieved for the prepared dispersions. Better release achieved in the soluplus dispersions which reached maximum cumulative release equal to 98.76% after 24 h. Drug precipitated in its amorphous form in all prepared dispersions except those prepared from chitosan. All dispersions were physically stable except for PVP preparations that contained TPGS which started to re-crystallize after one month. Prepared dispersions were proved to be affected by supercritical processing parameters. In conclusion, SFT was successfully used to prepare dispersions of tacrolimus that exhibited higher dissolution than raw drug. Dissolution rate and stability are affected by the type of the polymer.


The paper studies platforms that are often analysed in terms of cooperative economy, sharing economy or peer-to-peer economy, as a virtual infrastructure. The research, based on a sample of 15 platforms, distinguishes between two types of platforms: new media; and transaction platforms. After introducing each type of platform, the paper analyses the role of algorithms, how the platforms fluctuate between the market and outside the market between permanent and temporary labour, between local and global and how they disrupt the regulation of legacy professions. The paper reveals how these "discreet" intermediaries, little by little, became powerful infrastructures and concludes on their role for the future of work.


We present crystallization depth vs. temperature estimates for clinopyroxene phenocrysts from the Springerville volcanic field, Arizona. These calculations reveal several intriguing patterns that have considerable implications for magma transport and genesis. First, partial crystallization occurs over a wide depth range (0–60 km), but most partial crystallization occurs between 0 and 30 km. Second, low crystallization temperatures, low-density magmas, and evolved liquid compositions derive exclusively from two depth intervals, 0–12 and 23–30 km. These intervals coincide with a density contrast in the upper crust and a rheology contrast at the base of the middle crust. They also coincide with two highly seismically reflective depth intervals. These relationships indicate that (1) the Moho is not a staging area for volcanic eruptions; (2) density contrasts in the upper crust, and a rheology contrast in the middle crust, control magma transport and liquid evolution; (3) magma conduits are probably magma mush columns, with a preponderance of sills within the 0–12 and 23–30 km intervals; and (4) seismically reflective layers are sills related to Tertiary–Holocene volcanic activity. Moreover, these sills appear to represent the principal sites of magma evolution.


: Complex examinations of the state of the liver with the employment of biochemical and histochemical methods were conducted in 211 patients with myocardial infarction and in 69 dogs among which myocardial infarction was induced in 41. The examinations have demonstrated that in myocardial infarction protein, lipid, carbohydrates and pigment metabolism disorders develop in the liver, as well as those of the oxidative--reduction processes and the resulting changes in the liver structure. A comparison of the obtained data with the results of numerous investigations on the state of the liver in cases of various hypoxemic states indicates that in myocardial infarction the liver changes are predominantly determined by the developing hypoxia of the organ. This is due to the decreasing contractile capacity of the myocardium, to the involvement of the hepatic vessels into the atherosclerotic process, the microcirculation disturbances, the development of proliferative and sclerotic changes in the hepatic vessels. Of certain importance are also the general neurohumoral changes developing in the body during myocardial infarction, such as an excess of catecholamines in the blood.


Despite continuous efforts in layout automation for full-custom circuits, including analog/mixed-signal (AMS) designs, automated layout tools have not yet been widely adopted in current industrial full-custom design flows due to the high circuit complexity and sensitivity to layout parasitics. Nevertheless, the strict design rules and grid-based restrictions in nanometer-scale FinFET nodes limit the degree of freedom in full-custom layout design and thus reduce the gap between automation tools and human experts. This paper presents AutoCRAFT, an automatic layout generator targeting region-based layouts for advanced FinFET-based full-custom circuits. AutoCRAFT uses specialized place-and-route (P&R) algorithms to handle various design constraints while adhering to typical FinFET layout styles. Verified by comprehensive post-layout analyses, AutoCRAFT has achieved promising preliminary results in generating sign-off quality layouts for industrial benchmarks.


Senior citizens often find it difficult to remember names. This paper describes a novel cell phone application that uses information about one's social network and the places one frequents to suggest the names of individuals one might plausibly encounter in a particular place. We anticipate that this "names prosthesis" will help senior citizens to improve socialization, functional memory and levels of autonomy. We motivate the need for this application space before describing our design process, first implementations, and early testing and iterative improvement of both the concept and the implementation.


Six cases are described where the medical management of a person's epilepsy was brought under legal scrutiny. Lessons learnt from this educational exercise include improving doctor patient communication, the function of a Coroner's Court, when is misdiagnosis negligent, the vagaries of expert witnesses, should failure to diagnose a tumour be blamed on the physician or the service when facilities are inadequate, is failure to recognise a rare drug interaction, failure to warn against an interaction, or failure to take a proper history, negligent? The conference also examined the legal ramifications of the nurse/doctor relationship in epilepsy care, the place of epilepsy guidelines and, due to its interactive nature, reflected on the audience's epilepsy knowledge, which, in places seemed significantly deficient. It was a gripping educational exercise.


A social behavioural profile accurately reflects a user's OSN activity patterns. People access OSNs using both traditional desktop PCs and new emerging mobile devices. With more than one billion users worldwide, OSNs are a new venue of innovation with many challenging research problems. In this paper, we study the social behaviours of OSN users, i.e., their usage of OSN services, and the application of which in detecting the compromised accounts. We capture user behaviour with the following metrics: user connectivity, user activity and user reactions. we validate and characterize the user social activity on OSN. The study is based on detailed click stream data, the click stream data reveals key features of the social network workloads, such as how frequently people connect to social networks and for how long, as well as the types and sequences of activities that users conduct on these sites. we pay attention to the characteristics of social behaviours we review malicious behaviours of OSN users and show the social behavioural profiles can accurately differentiate individual OSN users and detect compromised accounts.


Treatment with the TLR4 agonist MPLA augments innate resistance to common bacterial pathogens. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which MPLA augments innate immunocyte functions are not well characterized. This study examined the importance of MyD88‐ and TRIF‐dependent signaling for leukocyte mobilization, recruitment, and activation following administration of MPLA. MPLA potently induced MyD88‐ and TRIF‐dependent signaling. A single injection of MPLA caused rapid mobilization and recruitment of neutrophils, a response that was largely mediated by the chemokines CXCL1 and ‐2 and the hemopoietic factor G‐CSF. Rapid neutrophil recruitment and chemokine production were regulated by both pathways although the MyD88‐dependent pathway showed some predominance. In further studies, multiple injections of MPLA potently induced mobilization and recruitment of neutrophils and monocytes. Neutrophil recruitment after multiple injections of MPLA was reliant on MyD88‐dependent signaling, but effective monocyte recruitment required activation of both pathways. MPLA treatment induced expansion of myeloid progenitors in bone marrow and upregulation of CD11b and shedding of L‐selectin by neutrophils, all of which were attenuated in MyD88‐ and TRIF‐deficient mice. These results show that MPLA‐induced neutrophil and monocyte recruitment, expansion of bone marrow progenitors and augmentation of neutrophil adhesion molecule expression are regulated by both the MyD88‐ and TRIF‐dependent pathways.


This work argues that, in a polarized environment, scientists can minimize the likelihood that the audience's biased processing will lead to rejection of their message if they not only eschew advocacy but also, convey that they are sharers of knowledge faithful to science's way of knowing and respectful of the audience's intelligence; the sources on which they rely are well-regarded by both conservatives and liberals; and the message explains how the scientist arrived at the offered conclusion, is conveyed in a visual form that involves the audience in drawing its own conclusions, and capsulizes key inferences in an illustrative analogy. A pilot experiment raises the possibility that such a leveraging–involving–visualizing–analogizing message structure can increase acceptance of the scientific claims about the downward cross-decade trend in Arctic sea ice extent and elicit inferences consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change among conservatives exposed to misleadingly selective data in a partisan news source.


The Jesuits' experience in China is usually analysed within the framework of Sino-Western relations. However, Jesuits' writings often evoked their experience in and knowledge about China in association with other parts of the non-European world, including India, South-East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and America. Based on a prosopographical analysis of China Jesuits' biographical data, we first demonstrate that the encounter with other non-European regions was an integral part of the China Jesuits' itineraries; for they all travelled through intermediate areas on their way to China, and some also did so on their way back to Europe. Secondly, relying mainly on examples drawn from French Jesuits' scholarship between the 1680s and the 1750s, we demonstrate how encounters with other non-European regions and the overseas interests of their home country shaped the Jesuits' scientific agenda as well as the way they understood things Chinese. Lastly, we illustrate how Jesuits keenly studied historical and contemporaneous accounts in Chinese and Manchu on the neighbouring regions of the Qing empire. We argue that the body of knowledge produced by the China Jesuits should be studied in a spatial framework that goes beyond the China-Europe dichotomy since it was, on one hand, filtered by the Jesuits' knowledge about other non-European regions and, on the other hand, concerned with a geographical area larger than the territory of China under the Ming and even the Qing dynasty. We also argue that, in the eighteenth century in particular, the China Jesuits' scholarship was configured by the spatial dynamics shaping the Society of Jesus, Bourbon France and Qing China; thereby, we contribute to a better understanding of both the French Jesuit and Qing networks, and the interconnections between them.


The colonisation of microorganisms and subsequent biofilm formation on the surface of polymeric high voltage insulators affect the surface properties and can lead to failure of the insulators. In this study, silicone materials were prepared with different antimicrobial agents. The materials were analysed for the changes in the physical, chemical, surface and mechanical properties before and after biological growth test. Microorganisms used for the biological tests were fungi defined in the international standard test ISO 846 for electrical applications (Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, Penicillium funiculosum Thom, Paecilomyces variotii Bainier, Chaetomium globosum Kunze: Fries, Aspergillus terreus Thom, Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) Arnaud & Penicillium ochrochloron Biourge) and algae isolated from insulators in Sri Lanka and Tanzania (Chlorella vulgaris var. Autotrophica + various bacterial strains). Fungi growth test was performed by inoculation of the fungi on the surface of the materials and incubation in an oven at 28°C and 98% humidity for a specific period. Algae growth test was performed by inoculation on the material surface and subsequent incubation in room temperature under a constant fluorescent lamps for a specific period. The results indicated that some of the samples could prevent the biofilm formation on the surface of the materials while the microbial growth was unaffected on the pure silicone rubber.


Broadcast authentication is a critical security service in sensor networks; it allows a sender to broadcast messages to multiple nodes in an authenticated way. /spl mu/TESLA and multi-level /spl mu/TESLA have been proposed to provide such services for sensor networks. However, none of these techniques are scalable in terms of the number of senders. Though multi-level /spl mu/TESLA schemes can scale up to large sensor networks (in terms of receivers), they either use substantial bandwidth and storage at sensor nodes, or require significant resources at senders to deal with DOS attacks. This paper presents efficient techniques to support a potentially large number of broadcast senders using /spl mu/TESLA instances as building blocks. The proposed techniques are immune to the DOS attacks. This paper also provides two approaches, a revocation tree based scheme and a proactive distribution based scheme, to revoke the broadcast authentication capability from compromised senders. The proposed techniques are implemented, and evaluated through simulation on TinyOS. The analysis and experiment show that these techniques are efficient and practical, and can achieve better performance than the previous approaches.


Background/context Issues around standards and quality assurance have been variably addressed in simulation based education. This is particularly true for Simulated Patients. Despite expansion in the complexity of roles undertaken, this group appear to have been neglected in their need for continuing professional development (CPD). Methodology The current situation with regard to CPD for SPs was explored by a review of the literature and online surveys of both SPs themselves and their educators. There was a focus on the critical elements of CPD i.e. training, feedback, critical reflection and appraisal. The value of portfolios of evidence was also explored. Results/outcomes 115 survey responses were received from SPs and 16 from SP Educators from a convenience sample across centres in England. The findings from the literature review and the surveys, which will be presented in detail, confirmed the hypothesis that there is limited CPD for SPs at present. The surveys demonstrated that informal reflection by SPs on their performance is commonplace but that little training is given for it. Formal feedback and appraisals are uncommon and portfolios of evidence the exception. Overall, however, both SPs and their educators were very supportive of more formalised CPD, although many were sceptical about the value of portfolios. Conclusions and recommendations We will consider the resource implications of the introduction of widespread formalised CPD for SPs. We will present a standardised template for the structure of a CPD portfolio, based on previously described domains of SP expertise¹ and the results of the literature review and surveys. We will also postulate reasons for the apparent ambivalence of many SPs and SP Educators to the concept of a portfolio of evidence, despite their enthusiasm for the tenets of CPD. Reference Coffey F. Accreditation of SPs and SP Educators in the UK – Musings and Update. Abstract ASPE Conference. Nashville, 2011


This paper demonstrates a single topology to implement ultra-wideband in-phase and 180° out-of-phase power dividers which will be dedicated for ultra-wideband frontends and balanced antenna systems that require a decent amount of isolation between ports. Both power dividers are formed of two couples of microstrip-to-slotline transitions terminated with radial stubs and then cascaded with a multisection Wilkinson power divider. A parametric study of the microstrip-to-slotline transition is performed to identify the main parameters' influence on its frequency response, followed by a full-wave optimization. Both power dividers are designed on RO4003C substrates and both have the same size of $22 \times 38 mm^{2}$. Simulation results show that the power dividers can operate between 4 and 40 GHz with less than 6 dB insertion loss and with small amplitude and phase imbalances between output ports. And most importantly, both devices have at least 20 dB of isolation between output ports over the entire bandwidth.


The effects of sintering temperature on the properties of W-9.8Ni-4.2Fe alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering were studied. The peak, base, repetition frequency of pulse electric current and the initial average no-load current were chosen as 3000A, 360A, 50Hz and 1200A during the sintering process, respectively. Research results show that W-9.8Ni-4.2Fe alloy, consolidated by SPSing for 6min at 1250°C under a pressure of 30MPa, has a relative density of 97.72%, hardness of 41.8HRC, transverse rupture strength of 1443MPa, and compression strength of 2640MPa. Its combination properties are topmost among all specimens sintered at various temperatures, which is attributable to the microstructural characteristics of dense microstructure, uniform distribution of binder, low connectivity of W-W and good metallurgic bonding. The optimal fracture surface in relation to the microstructure is dominating tungsten intergranular fracture, accompanied by local transgranular fracture in tungsten phase and ductile avulsion of the binder phase.


UNLABELLED
In order to evaluate the physiological profile of elite competitive sailors, and to determine if sailors revealed any seasonal variation in their exercise capacity over a 9 month period, results from female sailors (n = 6), and male sailors ("hikers" n = 8 and "non-hikers" n = 7) were compared with male physical education students (n = 8). Maximal oxygen uptake rate (VO2max) determined on treadmill did not differ between male sailors and control subjects (61.4 +/- 2.0 vs 64.9 +/- 1.4 ml O2/min.kg, mean +/- SE) and did not change with time in elite sailors (p > 0.05). Isometric endurance for abdominal and back muscles was similar for all groups. The isometric muscle endurance in a hiking bench was markedly greater in "hikers" [time: 218 sec (91-426) mean, range] compared to control subjects [time: 98 sec (48-188)], male "non-hikers", and female sailors (p < 0.05). Hiking endurance in "hikers" did not change over the 9 month observation period. Furthermore, dynamic arm performance ("all-out" in 60 sec) was higher in "hikers" compared to all other groups.

IN CONCLUSION
Elite sailors who perform hiking activity ("hikers") show an enhanced performance in a functional arm test and higher endurance in a hiking-bench compared to "non-hiking" elite sailors and a control group matched for age, weight and fitness. Furthermore sailors did not show any seasonal variation in their VO2max or isometric endurance over a 9 month period.


The structure of the northern Sierra Nevada, California, is a series of east-directed thrust faults modified by upright and west-directed folds and faults. The highest tectonic unit is a nappe composed of the Smartville ophiolitic complex and related rocks. These structures collectively represent the Middle Jurassic Nevadan orogeny. This overthrust-backfold model resembles Middle Jurassic events in British Columbia and the Cretaceous-Tertiary tectonics of the western European Alpine belt, and it is consistent with the hypothesis that the Nevadan orogeny reflects the collision of an oceanic volcanic arc with North America.


This study set out to analyze the effectiveness of the National policy on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NOP) in directing interventions to the beneficiaries. This is one of the policy interventions adopted by the Uganda government to strengthen the legal, policy and institutional framework for child protection, and to ensure that orphans, other vulnerable children (OVC) and their families' do access basic essential services. The priority intervention areas of this policy focus on care and support, child protection, education, health, food security and nutrition, psychosocial support, socioeconomic security and mitigating the impact of conflict. The study revealed that the policy had been effective in enabling many orphans and vulnerable children and families' access goods and services. Issues concerning them had become more cross-cutting across many sectors of the economy like education, health and production. Also, investment in this category of people continues to grow annually. There is a more coordinated effort by various government ministries to address matters affecting OVC in unison. It was however noted that implementation of the policy faces a lot of challenges which include; a lack of resources, both human and financial, poor coordination and enforcement, poor service delivery, poor data collection among others. The recommendations included among others the need for all ministries to mainstream child related concerns in planning and budgeting. Government needed to enforce and update all child related polices and laws, and countrywide efforts to increase women's access to services such as Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and ARVs needed to be made. Also, Institutions mandated to deal with child issues need to be facilitated more to enable them carry out their roles effectively.


Mortality disparities between high school dropouts and high school graduates may be widening over time. These changes could simply reflect demographic changes among dropouts over time or could represent changes to the cognitive or social benefits of education itself. We used a unique dataset that contains 32 years of survey data, 38 years of mortality follow-up data, and a wide array of psychological, sociological, cognitive, and demographic questions to explore the underlying causes of widening disparities in survival among high school dropouts relative to graduates. We focus on individuals surveyed from 1978 through 1997, and focus on ten-year survival for each respondent. We confirm that mortality disparities between high school dropouts and high school graduates have widened over time. We also find that the racial composition, parental education, racial mix of neighborhoods, income, and verbal IQ of high school dropouts and high school graduates have changed greatly over the past three decades. However, while each of these factors is itself an important determinant of survival, we find that none of these factors (or combinations of them) explain the widening mortality disparities by high school graduation status over the two time periods we study. The widening disparities in survival time by educational attainment we observe are not linked to changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of high school dropouts relative to high school graduates.


Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh between 1876 and 1881 under Doctor Joseph Bell who emphasised in his teaching the importance of observation, deduction and evidence. Sherlock Holmes was modelled on Joseph Bell. The modern notions of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) are not new. A very brief indication of some of the history of EBM is presented including a discussion of the important and usually overlooked contribution of statisticians to the Popperian philosophy of EBM.


The lack of success in preventing and combating viral hepatitis (VH) is due to a number of objective difficulties, of which the most important are marked infectiousness of patients in the incubation period, two to three weeks or more before the appearance of jaundice; many, usually unrecognized, sources of the infection in patients with anicteric or asymptomatic forms of the disease and in carriers; inefficacy of anti-epidemic measures, due to their delayed application; and lack of specific preventive measures, owing to the fact that the etiologic agent has not yet been isolated. Evidence from electron microscopic, immunological, biochemical, and epidemiological studies indicates that the Australia (Au) antigen is associated with the etiologic agent of hepatitis, especially the parenteral form. Epidemiology Precise information on the epidemiology of VH, especially concerning cases of parenteral infection, is essential. Comparison of the findings in different countries is difficult, because reporting is often incomplete


In this dissertation, the qualitative and quantitative multimodal imaging possibilities of holmium-166 loaded poly(L-lactic acid) microspheres (166Ho-PLLA MS) are explored and exploited to improve biodistribution assessment and dose calculations for planning, image-guidance and evaluation of hepatic arterial radioembolization of liver malignancies. This relatively novel radiotherapy treatment modality represents a promising treatment option for patients with unresectable liver malignancies. In hepatic arterial radioembolization, radioactive microspheres are administered directly into the hepatic artery using a catheter. Targeting of tumors is accomplished by exploiting the predominance of the arterial blood supply to liver tumors, while normal parenchyma largely depends on portal blood supply. Ideally, this results in a high tumor-to-liver ratio, leading to an increased radiation dose to the tumor tissue while minimizing exposure to healthy liver parenchyma. An essential element of successful radioembolization of hepatic malignancies is preprocedural biodistribution assessment. The large variation in vascularity of tumor and liver tissue observed between patients necessitates extensive treatment planning to assure a favorable dose distribution in each individual patient. Due to their multimodal imaging properties, 166Ho-PLLA MS are believed to be an improvement as compared to the already clinically applied yttrium-90 microspheres, which lack high quality medical imaging possibilities. To fully exploit 166Ho-PLLA MS' imaging opportunities and enable accurate biodistribution assessment and dose calculations, the qualitative and quantitative multimodal imaging possibilities of 166Ho-PLLA MS were investigated, focusing on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X ray computed tomography (CT) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). In vitro experiments demonstrated that SPECT has the highest sensitivity and lowest detection limit for 166Ho-PLLA MS, followed by MRI and CT, respectively. The development of highly-loaded holmium microspheres, with increased holmium content from 17% to 45% w/w, strongly increased the specific activity for therapeutic purposes and more than doubled the multimodal diagnostic properties for SPECT, MRI and CT. MicroCT imaging was demonstrated to enable high resolution 3D biodistribution assessment of 166Ho-PLLA MS in liver tissue after hepatic arterial radioembolization of a Vx2 tumor-bearing rabbit liver both qualitatively and quantitatively. Single microspheres were detectable using microCT. Microspheres mainly lodged in the periphery of the tumor, revealing a highly skewed cluster volume distribution towards small volumes. Macroscopically, MRI was demonstrated to enable selective depiction of Ho-PLLA MS with positive contrast in liver tissue in the presence of macroscopic magnetic field distortions, using a method called susceptibility gradient mapping. For MR-based quantitative assessment of the distribution of Ho-PLLA MS in liver tissue using T2* relaxometry, sampling of free induction decay (FID) was shown to be superior to sampling of the spin echo (SE), due to diffusion sensitivity of the SE signal decay time course. By means of MR experiments and Monte Carlo simulations FID signal behavior of a diffusive medium containing Ho-PLLA MS was shown to exhibit monoexponential signal decay. Both the static dephasing theory and the theory of strong field behavior accurately predicted transverse relaxivity, allowing MR-based quantification of the local concentration of HoMS. Furthermore, a method which increases the upper detection limit of the Ho-PLLA MS concentration by estimating the S0 value of the signal decay curve to be used in the quantitative fitting procedure was proposed. Finally, the feasibility to utilize quantitative MR data for dosimetric calculations of 166Ho-PLLA MS was demonstrated in an anthropomorphic gel phantom, indicating the potential of MR-based dosimetry for planning, guidance and evaluation of transcatheter radioembolization of hepatic malignancies.


The design of woven and knitted structures can be compared with the formation of buildings' facades and constructions. However, textile designers do not generally participate when the exterior structure and facades of a building take shape, but rather when textiles and materials for the indoor environment are chosen, often with the intention of enhancing the acoustic qualities of spaces. In this research project, two architects and a textile designer collaborate, the latter focusing particularly on sound design. Incorporating textile designers in the early stages of building projects can lead to benefits of exploring and improving sound landscapes in outdoor environments. In order to search for and develop new approaches, methods and techniques in the field described as textile architecture, textile facade modules were designed and produced, and the design process was examined and evaluated from the points of departure of the two design fields. Questions such as 'who is actually prototyping?' arose, as well as the search for finding common references and concepts, both historical and contemporary, to strengthen the collaborative work. A practice-based experimental approach was important for the project and the merger of the two design fields, not least to put different textile techniques and materials to the test to examine how they can affect the sound landscape and experiences of space. The key activities in the laboratory work were technique, method, perception, stage-setting and context, which connected both to textile design and architecture. The different textile materials were chosen to comply with the requirements of external climate impact and rough outdoor environments. In groups of demarcated design experiments, the textile techniques of weaving and hand tufting were explored, and the modules were tested acoustically.


Australia assigns and allocates spectrum using three broad types of regulatory approaches; command and control, property rights and open access. Each approach entails numerous pros and cons, buttressed by uncertainties over future consumer demand, interference management, barriers to entry, and technological evolution. The development and commercialisation of dynamic spectrum access technologies (DSA) requires new regulatory approaches. This article discusses an array of intermediary, dynamically efficient spectrum management approaches, which may make better use of DSA opportunities. The article then discusses the practical hurdles and legal challenges posed by their adoption and regulation in an Australian context.


Changes in the economic structure, energy consumption and awareness of the environmental impact have altered the intensity of CO2 emission from energy consumption in Malaysia. The objective of this study is to examine the sources of changes in CO2 emission from energy consumption by industrial sectors during 1991 to 2005 using IO-SDA model. Results show that export sector is the biggest generator of CO2 emissions caused by usage of CO2-intensive technologies and foreign demand for CO2-intensive products. In addition, high export earnings and positive growth rates are also sources of increased CO2 emissions through changes in the inputs used in the production activities. However, technology alone has not been strong enough to offset the negative environmental impact from changing export and consumption patterns in Malaysia. Our analysis shows that continuously increasing consumption and export that changes the input structure will continue to affect the environment. Thus, through technology improvement, particularly on inputs structure will reduce the CO2 emission somewhat. A policy to reduce CO2 emission should incorporate changes in the export as well as consumption patterns so that Malaysia's commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent in 2020 can be achieved.


The objective of this study is to investigate elevated parks as urban green spaces using social media data analytics. Two popular elevated parks, the High Line Park in New York and the 606 in Chicago, were selected as the study sites. Tweets mentioning the two parks were collected from 2015 to 2019. By using text mining, social media users' sentiments and conveyed perceptions about the elevated parks were studied. In addition, users' activities and their satisfaction were analyzed. For the 606, users mainly enjoyed the free events at the park and worried about possible increases in housing prices and taxes because of the 606. They tended to participate in physical activities such as biking and walking. Although the 606 provides scenic observation points, users did not seem to enjoy these. Regarding the High Line, users frequently mentioned New York City, which is an important aspect of the identity of the park. The High Line users also frequently mentioned arts and relaxation. Overall, this study supports the idea that social media analytics can be used to gain an understanding of the public's use of urban green spaces and their attitudes and concerns.


Most patients with acute lung injury (ALI) have reduced alveolar fluid clearance that has been associated with higher mortality. Several mechanisms may contribute to the decrease in alveolar fluid clearance. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that pulmonary edema fluid from patients with ALI might reduce the expression of ion transport genes responsible for vectorial fluid transport in primary cultures of human alveolar epithelial type II cells. Following exposure to ALI pulmonary edema fluid, the gene copy number for the major sodium and chloride transport genes decreased. By Western blot analyses, protein levels of αENaC, α1Na,K-ATPase, and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator decreased as well. In contrast, the gene copy number for several inflammatory cytokines increased markedly. Functional studies demonstrated that net vectorial fluid transport was reduced for human alveolar type II cells exposed to ALI pulmonary edema fluid compared with plasma (0.02 ± 0.05 versus 1.31 ± 0.56 μl/cm2/h, p < 0.02). An inhibitor of p38 MAPK phosphorylation (SB202190) partially reversed the effects of the edema fluid on net fluid transport as well as gene and protein expression of the main ion transporters. In summary, alveolar edema fluid from patients with ALI induced a significant reduction in sodium and chloride transport genes and proteins in human alveolar epithelial type II cells, effects that were associated with a decrease in net vectorial fluid transport across human alveolar type II cell monolayers.


During this study, full-size wood composite sandwich panels, 1.2 m by 2.4 m (4 ft by 8 ft), with a biaxial corrugated core were evaluated as a building construction material. Considering the applications of this new building material, including roof, floor, and wall paneling, sandwich panels with one and two corrugated core(s) were fabricated and experimentally evaluated. Since primary loads applied on these sandwich panels during their service life are live load, snow load, wind, and gravity loads, their bending and compression behavior were investigated. To improve the thermal characteristics, the cavities within the sandwich panels created by the corrugated geometry of the core were filled with a closed-cell foam. The R-values of the sandwich panels were measured to evaluate their energy performance. Comparison of the weight indicated that fabrication of a corrugated panel needs 74% less strands and, as a result, less resin compared to a strand-based composite panel, such as oriented strand board (OSB), of the same size and same density. Bending results revealed that one-layer core sandwich panels with floor applications under a 4.79 kPa (100 psf) bending load are able to meet the smallest deflection limit of L/360 when the span length (L) is 137.16 cm (54 in) or less. The ultimate capacity of two-layered core sandwich panels as a wall member was 94% and 158% higher than the traditional walls with studs under bending and axial compressive loads, respectively. Two-layered core sandwich panels also showed a higher ultimate capacity compared to structural insulated panels (SIP), at 470% and 235% more in bending and axial compression, respectively. Furthermore, normalized R-values, the thermal resistance, of these sandwich panels, even with the presence of thermal bridging due to the core geometry, was about 114% and 109% higher than plywood and oriented strand board, respectively.


mDia1, a Rho effector, belongs to the Formin family of proteins, which shares the conserved tandem FH1-FH2 unit structure. Formins including mDia1 accelerate actin nucleation while interacting with actin filament fast-growing ends. Here our single-molecule imaging revealed fast directional movement of mDia1 FH1-FH2 for tens of microns in living cells. The movement of mDia1 FH1-FH2 was blocked by actin-perturbing drugs, and the speed of mDia1 FH1-FH2 movement appeared to correlate with actin elongation rates. In vitro, mDia1 FH1-FH2 associated persistently with the growing actin barbed end. mDia1 probably moves processively along the growing end of actin filaments in cells, and Formins may be a molecular motility machinery that is independent from motor proteins.


Much research has shown that the definitions of within-class and between-class scatter matrices and regularization technique are the key components to design a feature extraction for small sample size problems. In this paper, we illustrate the importance of another key component, eigenvalue decomposition method, and a new regularization technique was proposed. In the hyperspectral image experiment, the effects of these three components of feature extraction are explored on ill-posed and poorly posed conditions. The experimental results show that different regularization methods need to cooperate with different eigenvalue decomposition methods to reach the best performance, the proposed regularization method, regularized feature extraction (RFE) outperform others, and the best feature extraction for a small sample size classification problem is RFE with nonparametric weighted scatter matrices


Urban environments are habitat mosaics, often with an abundance of exotic flora, and represent complex problems for foraging arboreal birds. In this study, we used compositional analysis to test how Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus and Great Tits Parus major used heterogeneous urban habitat, with the aim of establishing whether breeding birds were selective in the habitat they used when foraging and particularly how they responded to non-native trees and shrubs. We also tested whether they showed foraging preferences for certain plant taxa, such as oak Quercus, which are important to their breeding performance in native woodland. Additionally, we used mixed models to test the impact these different habitat types had on breeding success (expressed as mean nestling mass). Blue Tits foraged significantly more in native than non-native deciduous trees during incubation and when feeding fledglings, and significantly more in deciduous than in evergreen plants throughout the breeding season. Great Tits used deciduous trees more than expected by chance when feeding nestlings, and a positive relationship was found between availability of deciduous trees and mean nestling mass. Overall, the breeding performance of both species was poor and highly variable. Positive relationships were found between mean nestling mass and the abundance of Quercus for Great Tits, but not for Blue Tits. Our study shows the importance of native vegetation in the complex habitat matrix found in urban environments. The capacity of some, but not all, species to locate and benefit from isolated patches of native trees suggests that species vary in their response to urbanisation and this has implications for urban ecosystem function.


Lower extremity stress fractures are common overuse injuries in endurance athletes. Most fractures are low risk and respond well to nonsurgical management involving rest, activity modification, and slow resumption of activities after symptom resolution. However, some high-risk fractures or nonunions warrant surgical intervention to prevent fracture completion and continued symptoms. Anterior stress fractures of the tibial shaft are tension-sided high-risk stress fractures with significant risks of delayed union, nonunion, and fracture propagation. The gold standard surgical treatment has traditionally been antegrade tibial intramedullary nailing. However, the risk of anterior knee pain following intramedullary nail placement has prompted clinicians to seek alternative methods of fixation. Anterior tibial plating with biological augmentation is biomechanically sound in that the plate is placed on the tension side, able to resist tensile stress, and biologically sound in that bone graft may be used to enhance fracture healing. The purpose of this article is to describe the presentation, evaluation, and management of patients with anterior tibial shaft stress fracture. The surgical techniques for intramedullary nail and anterior plating are discussed and illustrated in detail.


The European Child Safety Alliance was released in December 2010; it is a statement regarding the danger of tap water scalds to children, and is supported by more than 20 countries. ISCAIP is proud to be a signatory on this important statement, and urges the European Commission and Member States to give attention to the problem of tap water scalds.

Scalds due to hot tap water are a cause of severe injury in very young children and a source of tremendous pain, requiring multiple hospitalisations and lengthy treatment, and resulting in permanent disability or disfigurement and even death. Hot bath water is responsible for the highest number of fatal and severe scalding injuries among young children. For example, every year in the UK approximately 500 children under the age of 5 are hospitalised due to a severe scald caused by bath water, over 20 of whom die of their injuries. An additional 2000 are seen in the emergency department for bath water scald injuries. Scalds can be expensive to treat due to their severity—as much as €290 000 per severe injury.

The exposure time required …


The critical role of research and development (R&D) and advertising in the marketing strategy of the firm is well established. This paper conceptually and empirically examines why and how much the effectiveness of these two marketing instruments differs between times of economic expansions versus periods of economic contractions---and whether these results depend on the cyclicality of the industry in question. We consider a key marketing metric (market share) and a key financial metric (firm profit). Our empirical setting is 1,175 U.S. firms across a time period spanning over three decades. We find that R&D and advertising contribute to firm performance but that their effectiveness is not constant across the business cycle. Increasing advertising share in contractions has a stronger effect on profit and market share than increasing advertising share in expansions. Likewise, investments in R&D in contractions lead to higher gains in market share and profit than R&D investments in expansions, albeit only in subsequent years. If in contractions the firm faces tight budget constraints and has to choose between either maintaining R&D or advertising, our simulation results show that maintaining R&D is associated with better company performance. We find that advertising effectiveness, in general, and in contractions, in particular, is systematically moderated by the degree of cyclicality of the industry in which the firm operates. In relatively stable industries, advertising effects are small or even nonsignificant, and they do not go beyond the year the firm advertises. However, in highly cyclical industries, advertising effects are long-lasting, its total effect being 50% larger (market share) and 200% larger (profits) than in industries of average cyclicality. The effect of industry cyclicality on advertising effectiveness is especially pronounced in contractions. Collectively, these findings provide valuable and actionable insights into how firms should respond to contractions in order to grow profits and market share.