We predict the existence of half metallicity and thus highly spin-polarized conduction in the completely disordered double-perovskite Ca2MnRuO6, based on first principles calculations. For ordered structures we find the predominantly Ru t2g electrons to be itinerant whereas the Mn eg spins are nearly localized, thus favoring a ferrimagnetic alignment of the Ru and Mn spins. For disordered structures, we find the Mn ions to favor ferromagnetic coupling to other Mn ions in both Mn and Ru sublattices. This explains the overall ferrimagnetic alignment of Mn and Ru ions, irrespective of chemical disorder, that has been found experimentally. The existence of ferrimagnetism and half metallicity in the presence of high levels of chemical disorder is an unexpected combination not seen in other double perovskites.


Antisense transcription has been shown to be one of the hierarchies that control gene expression in eukaryotes. Recently, we have documented that the mouse Kcnq1 imprinting control region (ICR) harbors bidirectional silencing property, and this feature is linked to an antisense RNA, Kcnq1ot1. In this investigation, using genomic footprinting, we have identified three NF-Y transcription factor binding sites appearing in a methylation-sensitive manner in the Kcnq1ot1 promoter. By employing a dominant negative mutant to the NF-Y transcription factor, we have shown that the NF-Y transcription factor positively regulates antisense transcription. Selective mutation of the conserved nucleotides in the NF-Y binding sites resulted in the loss of antisense transcription. The loss of antisense transcription from the Kcnq1ot1 promoter coincides with an enrichment in the levels of deacetylation and methylation at the lysine 9 residue of histone H3 and DNA methylation at the CpG residues, implying a crucial role for the NF-Y transcription factor in organizing the parent of origin-specific chromatin conformation in the Kcnq1 ICR. Parallel to the loss of antisense transcription, the loss of silencing of the flanking reporter genes was observed, suggesting that NF-Y-mediated Kcnq1ot1 transcription is critical in the bidirectional silencing process of the Kcnq1 ICR. These data highlight the NF-Y transcription factor as a crucial regulator of antisense promoter-mediated bidirectional silencing and the parent of origin-specific epigenetic marks at the Kcnq1 ICR. More importantly, for the first time, we document that NF-Y is involved in maintaining the antisense promoter activity against strong silencing conditions.


Sociable folk dancing in the UK is an organised group activity in which a significant number of people take part, often practising folk styles which have their origins in other countries. These groups are generally not run for profit, operate under the radar of media attention, and consequentially their activities remain largely hidden from view. This thesis addresses the fact that there have been no in-depth studies of these groups. It reports on the findings of a detailed ethnographic research project, to offer in-sights into the practices and motivations of participants in social dance. The thesis answers the key question: 'What is the meaning and significance of participation in these folk music and social dance styles to those taking part?'.
An interdisciplinary and ethnographic research approach was adopted to investigate two such folk styles: Cajun and Zydeco, and Scandinavian. This approach allowed research participants to make a significant contribution to the focus of the research, and to inform the subsidiary questions: 'What are the concerns and interests of those involved in social folk dance?', 'What is it that makes involvement in these dance practices so appealing?', and 'What are the overall benefits of being involved?'
The research produced an interpretive account of these practices, through investigating sites of participation in these dance styles in the UK, which were explored by means of immersive involvement in their dance practices. This gave an insight into the way in which participation was organised and managed, and allowed for introductions to be made which were followed up with thirty in-depth interviews.
The study revealed that despite the stylistic differences between the two dance styles and how they are practised, both nevertheless benefitted participants in similar ways. That dance events are organised on a not-for-profit basis was particularly important to participants, and encouraged loyalty and cooperation, promoting feelings of empowerment and ownership. An atmosphere of supportive inclusion was also built in to the loose organisation of events and activities, which allowed a consensus to develop where social attitudes and ideas could be negotiated, cultivated, and shared. This created a sense of belonging to an unboundaried, and fluid community or social network, a safe environment in which participants were able to experience dance as a communicative and expressive dialogue between individuals and within the group. This thesis argues that participants found their involvement in these dance styles socially and personally satisfying, and that this made a considerable contribution to their individual wellbeing.
The research found that sociable folk dancing served as a vehicle for community, improving participants' sense of self-worth, supporting creativity, and well-being. These findings complement clinical research that champions dance, and social dance in particular, as a healthy and worthwhile leisure activity. This thesis supports the results of such scientific studies into the benefits of dance by providing supporting evidence from within a social setting. This has implications for further research, and for policy and practice, whether dance activities are pursued formally or informally and whatever their aim.


We analyze the coverage of U.S. political scandals by U.S. newspapers during the past decade. Using automatic keyword-based searches we collected data on 35 scandals and approximately 200 newspapers. We find that Democratic-leaning newspapers -- i.e., those with a higher propensity to endorse Democratic candidates in elections -- give relatively more coverage to scandals involving Republican politicians than scandals involving Democratic politicians, while Republican-leaning newspapers tend to do the opposite. This is true even when controlling for the average partisan leanings of readers. In contrast, newspapers appear to cater to the partisan tastes of readers only for local scandals.


In the present work BaFe12O19 nano-hexaferrite had been synthesized by sol-gel method and then characterized for its structural, electric, dielectric and magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the hexagonal structure of the prepared nanohexaferrite with no secondary phase and the particle size was found to be of the order of 49 nm. Further, the morphology of the sample has been studied by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A high value of the DC resistivity (5.5 × 10 6 Ω cm), has been obtained at room temperature. The dielectric properties such as dielectric constant (e'), dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) and ac electrical conductivity (σac) are investigated as a function of frequency. The dielectric constant and loss tangent are found to be decreasing with the increase in frequency while ac electrical conductivity is observed to be increasing with the increase in frequency. The dielectric properties have been explained on the basis of Maxwell-Wagner's two-layer model and hopping of the charge. The magnetic properties such as initial permeability (µi) and relative loss factor (RLF) have been investigated as a function of frequency in the range 75 kHz to 30 MHz .Fairly constant value of initial permeability and low values of RLF of the order of 10 -4 over a wide frequency range are the cardinal achievements of the present work. The room temperature M-H study shows that present nanohexaferrite has high value of coercivity (2151.3 Oe) and high saturation magnetization (32.5 emu/gm), which make present nanohexaferrite very suitable for magnetic applications. The M-T study shows that prepared nano-hexaferrite has high Tc (746 K). Copyright © 2014 VBRI press.


Broadband technology has in recent years experienced a substantial growth, and is still rapidly evolving. Many new kinds of content-rich and bandwidth demanding broadband Internet applications have emerged, aiming to make day-to-day tasks easier and more efficient. A strong broadband connection provides the platform for an optimal broadband utilization, but equally important is the adapting and implementing of these Internet applications, or "e-solutions", so that broadband can lead to socioeconomic benefits for individuals, businesses and for a society as a whole. This thesis reviews some of the areas where enterprises can utilize broadband opportunities in order to achieve social- and economic development. A broadband utilization benchmark study is carried out on a selection of geographical areas in the accommodations sector in Norway. By analyzing the recieved data from this research, this paper identifies gaps and opportunities for the increased adaption of broadband-enabled services and further economic development for the businesses. Also, by performing a comparative analysis between the data collected in the Norwegian research population and equivalent data from the US, similarities and differences regarding the two countries' utilization of the Internet are analyzed and discussed. Some important fields that are examined are broadband connectivity, barriers preventing the efficient use of broadband services, and the use of a selection of e-solutions. Also presented is an independent calculation of a broadband utilization index, constructed with the thought of providing a quick representation of a company's use of the Internet and its applications. This calculation will be subject for analysis, so as to understand the construction and potential outcomes that are derived by changing the input data. Resulting in an output-utilization score, this calculation, the Stople-Index, is constructed to give companies and organizations an easy way to promote awarness and identify opportunities for them to utilize their broadband Internet properly.


The number of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgeries has been increasing worldwide over the last decades reaching over 200 per 100,000 population with a high degree of variability between countries[1-3]. National Joint registry 2017 report mentions that in the UK during the last decade, 711,765 primary surgeries have been carried out in comparison to 80,042 revision surgeries to replace joints that have failed either prematurely or at the end of their useful life[1]. The life expectancy of a hip prosthesis is commonly expected to be 15-20 years.

Of all current commonly used bearing surface combinations,the use of fourth generation ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have proved to be very efficient[4]and has grown in popularity for primary hip surgery in the decadepreceding 2017[1]. This is due to the low reported wear volumes associated with all ceramic bearings [5]as well as the fact that ceramic debris being bio-inert overcomes the commonly reported issues of systemic cobalt chromium ion concentration as reported in metal-on-metal bearings [6, 7]and issues of osteolysis induced by polyethylene wear debris in metal-on-UHMWPE [8, 9]. The interest in ceramic-on-ceramic is elevated also due to significant improvements in material properties and manufacturing process [10]. However, the ceramic-on-ceramic hip prosthesis are reported to squeak in-vivo [11, 12]which appears to be linked to edge-loading [13]. Also, it has been reported that an unusual stripe pattern of wear can occur in some retrieved acetabular cup liners [14]and it has further been postulated that this is caused by cup liner edge loading [15]. The combined measurement challenge of wear occurring at the edge of the acetabular liner of a low-wearing ceramic-on-ceramic prosthesis is therefore considerable.

Various wear measurement methods have been developed to measure wear in hip prostheses[12, 16-18], yet current recognised industrial practice regarding in vitro measurement of wear for hip joint prostheses involves either gravimetric assessment or co-ordinate measurement [19].Due to the considerable challenge in geometrical characterization of edge wear, current literature regarding the assessment of edge-wear in acetabular cup liners has been confined to in-vitro simulator studies and gravimetric measurement to assess wear volumes. Geometric characterisation of wear is essential in determining the contact conditions during gait and subsequent calculation of point and magnitude of the maximum stress condition. It is, therefore, vital that a robust and reliable method for geometric measurement and analysis of edge wear is created.

Current methodologies for assessing wear on acetabular cups have focused on quantifying the amount of material loss on the bearing surface. The bearing surface is constituted by well-defined geometry and surface characteristics. As such methods are able to estimatethe unworn surface and determine the amount of material loss. However, the main limitation of these methods was that wear could only be estimated on the well-defined spherical geometry of bearing surface. Hence, when edge wear is present at the boundary between the bearing surface and outer cup geometry it is normally thresholded during analysis process when using current methods. This can potentially underestimate the amount of wear present on acetabular cups.

This study provides details of the requirements and methodologies for the measurement and analysis of edge wear in ceramic-on-ceramic liners. Two methodologies have been developed based on measurements using a coordinate measuring machine and a roundness measuring machine. Both methods havebeen evaluated using ceramic liners tested in vitro under edge loading conditions, and the volume loss is compared to gravimetric measurements. The results show that both methods have the required resolution to measure volume loss of less that 1mm3and are thus capable of providing a volume loss estimation for ceramic-on-ceramic acetabular liners.


Climate change associated with increasing concentrations of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide(CO2), is expected to lead to an increase in global mean temperature of between 1 and 3.5 deg C by the end of the 21st century, with regional changes in rainfall and humidity.
 This thesis is concerned with modelling the effects of a changing climate and atmospheric C02 concentration on global vegetation. The process-based model, DOLY (Dynamic glObal phtogeographY), is used. It is able to operate using three climate variables, two soil variables and an atmospheric CO2 concentration. Its outputs are leaf area index (LAI), and net primary productivity (NPP).
 The LAI and NPP values predicted by DOLY were used to run a life-form model with a climate change scenario. It was found that warming led to the spread of trees into the tundra region. The DOLY model was also coupled with the Hadley Centre general circulation model to determine the feedbacks of vegetation on climate. With a global warming of 2◦C, the global feedback of vegetation on temperature was a decrease of 0.1 deg C. However at the regional scale the feedback was +/-2 ◦C, of similar magnitude to the driving temperature change. Finally, the DOLY model was run with transient climate data from the Hadley Centre. The boreal forest moved north, and the Gobi desert and the southern steppes in the former Soviet Union shrank in area.
 The sensitivity of the model to its soil and climate inputs have also been analysed over a range of environments and the model has been validated with reference to satellite data and experimental data. It was found to perform well.
 This thesis has shown that it is possible to predict current and possible future distributions of vegetation with climate change using a vegetation model.


Background The current study provides the first epidemiological estimates of lifetime mental disorders across NI based on DSM-IV criteria. Risk factors, delays in treatment and the experience of conflict are also examined. Method Nationally representative face-to-face household survey of 4340 individuals aged ⩾18 years in NI using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Analyses were implemented using SAS and STATA software. Results Lifetime prevalence of any disorder was 39.1% while projected lifetime risk was 48.6%. Individuals who experienced conflict were more likely to have had an anxiety, mood or impulse-control disorder. Treatment delays were substantial for anxiety and substance disorders. Conclusions Results from this study show that mental disorders are highly prevalent in Northern Ireland. The elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in relation to other countries and the association of living 'in a region of terror' disorders suggests that civil conflict has had an additional impact on mental health. Given substantial delays in treatment, further research is required to investigate the factors associated with failure and delay in treatment seeking.


Project based learning is a valuable tool in the teaching of engineering design. For example undertaking a design and make project can aid the development of subject knowledge whilst demonstrating meaning in subject specific higher skills. Where innovative assessment within project based learning can offer enhanced learning is through the ability to assess the progress of learning in addition to outcomes. Traditional approaches to assessment utilise formative assessment to provide feedback to the student and summative assessment as a measure of the product. Two aspects of this traditional approach reduce the potential for creative thinking; the desire of the learners to meet the perceived objectives of the lecturer, and, the inability of the learner to ignore their experiences and observations of their wider environment. These aspects reduce creativity and risk taking. This paper will describe how integration of an assessment for learning (AfL) approach has utilised both formative and summative assessment of the learning process to support creativity within the design process. During the project the student is guided through an exploration of the knowledge required to support a questioning of the final task before that task is revealed and the final objective outlined. In the way a formative dialogue may take place which gives the learner a confidence and freedom to innovate. This approach is seen as student centred, valid, reliable and affordable whilst also promoting creativity and problem solving.


Over the last five years, we conducted a longitudinal study to investigate a 'bring your own device' (BYOD) initiative by a New Zealand School to integrate one to one digital learning devices into their learning process. Prior research from past projects has revealed adoption of ICTs give rise to three stages of digital divides in society, namely, digital access (i.e., equity in access/ownership of digital learning technologies among learners), digital capability (i.e., equity in digital/information literacy skills and usage) and digital outcome (i.e., equity in knowledge acquisition and progression). This study shares insights on how existing and new digital divides have evolved in BYOD classrooms with the increased penetration of digital technologies into teaching spaces and the wide usage of technologies by students both in and out of school by the BYOD initiative. Following the same path as the three level digital divide framework, we investigated issues pertaining to digital divide in the context of BYOD classrooms to make the following revelations. First, the BYOD classroom initiative did not end up accentuating existing gaps in access to digital devices and information, despite initial results indicating towards a potentially digitally divided classroom. Second, our analysis strongly indicated the presence of gaps in terms of information literacy and critical thinking ability, which was eventually bridged in the later stage, as students slowly adjusted to the classroom curricular structures in the BYOD classroom. Third, learner-self efficacy has been identified as a determinant of learning outcomes. In the earlier phase of ICT adoption, learner self-efficacy is influenced by a combination of information literacy, critical thinking ability, and positive motivation; however subsequently, self-efficacy influences affordances in various aspects of social cognitive abilities related to individual's learning activities affecting how learners engage and apply technology to shape their learning outcomes.


Nutrient application systems are designed to apply a relatively uniform amount of a fertilizer to agricultural fields. However, considerable variation in soil texture and other characteristics often occurs within and across production fields, which could have a major impact on fertilizer management strategies. Therefore, uniform application of a fertilizer over the entire field can be both costly and environmentally unsound. Due to their rugged and fool-proof design, crankshaft type piston pumps are widely used in agriculture. The on-the-go outlet flow of these pumps can only be varied by changing the drive shaft speed for each pump stroke setting. But only a limited range of flow rates can be achieved by changing the drive shaft speed. There is a need for an electronic controller, which can adjust the pump stroke on-the-go, for real-time, variable-rate application of crop nutrients. The Clemson "Electro-me-chanical controller for adjusting pump stroke on-the-go" was designed to replace the current manual stroke adjustment system on positive displacement piston pumps. This affordable system can be retrofitted on most John Blue - piston pumps for real-time adjustment of the pump stroke and can be controlled using pre-described position sequences (map-based) or real-time sensor commands (such as optical, pressure, and flow sensors) combined with fertilizer calculation algorithms. In addition, it can adjust pump stroke manually, using an eclectic dial from the tractor's cab.


Mesenteric Panniculitis is an inflammatory process, not tumoral, of the adipose tissue of the mesentery. There are documented several ways of clinical presentation, from asymptomatic until abdominal pain, affectation of general condition and loose weight. Exceptionally it is declared like only fever. Several treatments have been used, including colchicine, dapsone or corticosteroids associated or not with inmunosupresants, but there are no prospective controlled studies to define appropriate treatment; moreover, there are cases of regresion without specific therapy. Below we present the case of a patient affected for mesenteric panniculitis which the one clinical manifestation is fever predominance evening. The treatment with oral corticosteroids, for 2 years, resulted in the disappearance of the clinica.


Food retailers and restaurants are under scrutiny for their alleged effects on diets and obesity, although no clear evidence of a causal relationship exists. Furthermore, because no prior study controls for nutrition education and the dynamic nature of the underlying phenomena, existing estimates quantifying these relationships could be biased. Using state-level data for the continental U.S. we evaluate how the density of different food stores and per-capita expenditures on SNAP (nutrition) Education impact eating habits and (indirectly) adult obesity, controlling for endogeneity of store locations and consumption dynamics. Our results caution against using large-scale policies regulating the food environment and highlight the need to control for nutrition education and process dynamics to obtain unbiased estimates. Implications for the agribusiness sector are discussed.


Integration of a high-k interfacial layer (IL) is considered the leading technological solution to extend the scalability of Hf-based high-k/metal gate CMOS technology. We have previously shown that thulium silicate (TmSiO) IL can provide excellent electrical characteristics and enhanced channel mobility at sub-nm EOT. This paper presents a detailed analysis of channel mobility in TmSiO/HfO2/TiN MOSFETs, obtained through measurements at varying temperature and under constant voltage stress. We show experimentally for the first time that integration of a high-k IL can benefit mobility by attenuating remote phonon scattering. Specifically, integration of TmSiO results in attenuated remote phonon scattering compared to reference SiOx/HfO2 dielectric stacks having the same EOT, whereas it has no significant influence on remote Coulomb scattering.


Learning the meaning of grounded language— language that references a robot's physical environment and perceptual data—is an important and increasingly widely studied problem in robotics and human-robot interaction. However, with a few exceptions, research in robotics has focused on learning groundings for a single natural language pertaining to rich perceptual data. We present experiments on taking an existing natural language grounding system designed for English and applying it to a novel multilingual corpus of descriptions of objects paired with RGB-D perceptual data. We demonstrate that this specific approach transfers well to different languages, but also present possible design constraints to consider for grounded language learning systems intended for robots that will function in a variety of linguistic settings.


This paper is written in response to increasing calls around the world for large enterprises to become more creative in their core business operations. However, most of the research into enterprise creativity is based on the assumption that creativity (or "innovation") can be managed like any other function. This paper builds on the work of F.A. Hayek to argue instead that creativity is not an operational function, but rather an aspirational outcome. To enhance overall enterprise creativity managers need to create internal environments that enable what Hayek refers to as "spontaneous order" to arise. The greatest engine of creativity ever devised by humans, Western capitalist economic structure, is Hayek"s prime example of how outcomes are often the result of human action, but not necessarily of human design. The article concludes with action steps managers can take to enhance their enterprise creativity.


CELL BIOLOGY
The transcriptional activity of a nuclear receptor depends not only on its dimerization with another nuclear receptor but also on the functional communication between four distinct domains within its ligand-binding domain (LBD). For example, the retinoid X receptor (RXR) heterodimer is differentially responsive to ligands through allosteric communication within the LBDs and across the dimerization interface. However, it is not clear how ligand binding propagates through the LBD to affect the sites that mediate cofactor, coregulator, and DNA binding; receptor dimerization; and transcription. Shulman et al. analyzed the LBD sequences of 250 nuclear receptors and identified a network of 27 residues that mediate allosteric communication. Certain residue pairs were energetically coupled and thus likely to have coevolved to maintain a specific function—global interaction between these pairs predicted the allosteric network.

Nettles et al. examined allostery in estrogen receptor subtypes that underlies their differential responses to ligands. Residues outside the ligand-binding pocket contributed to the subtype-specific positioning of bound ligands. The coactivator-binding pocket also affected ligand positioning through the conformation of a specific helix, suggesting that functional communication between these two regions of the LBD is bidirectional. — LDC

Cell 116 , 417 (2004); Mol. Cell 13 , 317 (2004).


Plant growth, development, and yield of current tomato cultivars are directly affected by low temperatures. Although wild tomato species have been suggested as a potential source for low temperature tolerance, very little is known about their behavior during the reproductive phase. Here, we investigated the impact of suboptimal temperatures (SOT, 16/14°C), as compared to control temperatures (CT, 22/20°C), on plant growth, photosynthetic capacity, and carbohydrate metabolism. Under these conditions, two genotypes were analyzed: a Solanum lycopersicum cultivar Moneymaker and a high-altitude wild species Solanum arcanum LA385, from flowering onset until a later stage of fruit development. Total dry matter production in cv. Moneymaker was reduced up to 30% at SOT, whereas it was hardly affected in wild accession LA385. Specific leaf area, total leaf area, and number of fruits were also decreased at SOT in cv. Moneymaker. In contrast, wild accession LA385 showed an acclimation to SOT, in which ΦPSII and net CO2 assimilation rates were less affected; a similar specific leaf area; higher total leaf area; and higher number of fruits compared to those at CT. In addition, LA385 appeared to have a more distinct sucrose metabolism than cv. Moneymaker at both temperatures, in which it had higher contents of sucrose-6-phosphate, sucrose, and ratio of sucrose: starch in leaves and higher ratio of sucrose: hexose in fruits. Overall, our findings indicate that wild accession LA385 is able to acclimate well to SOT during the reproductive phase, whereas growth and development of cv. Moneymaker is reduced at SOT.


Clinical Relevance: Optometrists often are the first to examine previously underdiagnosed diabetic patients because of its ocular manifestations such as a change in refractive status. This study is relevant to help optometrists identify patients with diabetes using changes in pupil mydriasis as a marker. Background: This study compared the pupillary dilatation in subjects with diabetes mellitus and those without diabetes mellitus. The purpose of the study was to use this difference as a diagnostic marker for identification of diabetes in previously undiagnosed subjects who present for eye examination. Methods: An experimental study was conducted involving 40 non-diabetic and 80 diabetic subjects with or without diabetic retinopathy. Baseline pupil diameter was measured using Orbscan and Aberrometer. Mydriasis was elicited using a combination eye drop (0.8% Tropicamide and 5% Phenylephrine). Pupil diameter was measured at 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after the instillation of the eye drops. The difference in pupil diameter amongst the three groups was determined using factorial ANOVA to account for the effect of age. Results: There was no significant difference between the mean pupil diameter among the three groups at baseline when measured with Orbscan (p=0.187) and Aberrometer (p=0.146). There was a significant difference in the mean and mean change in pupil diameter among the three groups with either Orbscan or Aberrometer at 30, 45 and 60 minutes after the instillation of mydriatic drops. The non-diabetics have larger pupil diameter while the diabetics with retinopathy have the least pupil diameter. Conclusion: The study showed that there was a significant difference in pupil diameter between non-diabetics, diabetics without retinopathy and diabetics with retinopathy during mydriasis. Alongside a history of symptoms of diabetes, this difference could be explored as an ocular biomarker to identify previously undiagnosed diabetes in individuals who present for routine eye examination.


OBJECTIVES
To characterise patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM) who present a clinical profile suggestive of simulation.

METHODS
Observational case-control study of 218 patients who met the classification criteria for FM. The profile supporting simulation was based on the proposed criteria for evaluating disability related to the simulation of pain.

RESULTS
Compared with controls (n=105), patients with suspected simulation of FM (n=106) had a higher mean age (52.5 vs. 49.2 years, p=0.003), a higher frequency of primary education (88.7% vs. 58.1%; p<0.001), a higher percentage of separated/widowed persons (33.9% vs. 8.6%, p<0.001), a higher frequency of psychiatric disorders (100% vs. 67.6%, p<0.001), a higher mean number of positive 'control' tender points (4.5 vs. 1.3, p<0.001), a higher mean FIQ questionnaire score (89.8 vs. 68.8, p<0.001) and a lower mean LHS questionnaire score (41.0 vs. 59.9, p<0.001). Patients with suspected simulation were able to walk a shorter distance in the 6-minute walk test than controls (231.0 vs. 356.3 metres, p<0.001), while the appearance of allodynia was achieved with a significantly lower mmHg pressure (159.8 vs. 229.9 mm Hg, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Some physical/functional tests, together with the administration of specific questionnaires, may identify a subgroup of patients with FM with a profile consistent with simulation or malingering; these patients have a differentiated demographic and psychiatric profile in comparison with FM patients without a profile of simulation.


The importance of movement corridors for maintaining connectivity within metapopulations of wild animals is a cornerstone of conservation. One common approach for determining corridor locations is least‐cost corridor (LCC) modeling, which uses algorithms within a geographic information system to search for routes with the lowest cumulative resistance between target locations on a landscape. However, the presentation of multiple LCCs that connect multiple locations generally assumes all corridors contribute equally to connectivity, regardless of the likelihood that animals will use them. Thus, LCCs may overemphasize seldom‐used longer routes and underemphasize more frequently used shorter routes. We hypothesize that, depending on conservation objectives and available biological information, weighting individual corridors on the basis of species‐specific movement, dispersal, or gene flow data may better identify effective corridors. We tested whether locations of key connectivity areas, defined as the highest 75th and 90th percentile cumulative weighted value of approximately 155,000 corridors, shift under different weighting scenarios. In addition, we quantified the amount and location of private land that intersect key connectivity areas under each weighting scheme. Some areas that appeared well connected when analyzed with unweighted corridors exhibited much less connectivity compared with weighting schemes that discount corridors with large effective distances. Furthermore, the amount and location of key connectivity areas that intersected private land varied among weighting schemes. We believe biological assumptions and conservation objectives should be explicitly incorporated to weight corridors when assessing landscape connectivity. These results are highly relevant to conservation planning because on the basis of recent interest by government agencies and nongovernmental organizations in maintaining and enhancing wildlife corridors, connectivity will likely be an important criterion for prioritization of land purchases and swaps.


There are new safety challenges with an increased use of hydrogen, e.g. that people may not see dangerous jet flames in case of an incident. Compared to conventional fuels, hydrogen has very different characteristics and physical properties, and is stored at very high pressure or at very low temperatures. Thus the nature of hazard scenarios will be very different. Consequence modelling of ventilation, releases, explosions and fires can be used to predict and thus understand hazards. In order to describe the detailed development of a hazard scenario and evaluate ways of mitigation, 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models will be required. Even with accurate modelling the communication of risk can be challenging. For this visualization in virtual reality (VR) may be of good help, in which the CFD model predictions are presented in a realistic 3D environment with the possibility to include sounds like noise from a high pressure release, explosion or fire. In cooperation with Statoil, Christian Michelsen Research (CMR) and GexCon have developed the VRSafety application. VRSafety can visualize simulation results from FLACS (and another CFD-tool KFX) in an immersive VR-lab or on a PC. VRSafety can further be used to interactively control and start new CFD-simulations during the sessions. The combination of accurate CFD-modelling, visualization and interactive use through VRSafety, represents a powerful toolbox for safety training and risk communication to first-responders, employees, media and other stakeholders. It can also be used for lessons learned sessions studying incidents and accidents, and to demonstrate what went wrong and how mitigation could have prevented accidents from happening. This paper will describe possibilities with VRSafety and give examples of use.


Fractionated lasers have acceptable aesthetic outcomes with reduced side effects for the patient. This technology could be applied for other uses such as laser assisted transdermal delivery (TDD). This technology has been demonstrated as feasible in an in vitro setting. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate if this could be translated from the laboratory bench into clinical practice. The histopathological mechanism generated by fractional lasers for facilitating TDD was elucidated with a series of in vivo studies utilizing a porcine animal model. Abdominal skin of a pig was subject to different laser settings and biopsy samples taken for histological analysis. The histopathological pattern generated by the laser was analyzed to determine optimum laser settings. The same animal model was then used to demonstrate systemic absorption of a topically applied study drug (lidocaine). The effect of laser setting in relation to drug absorption was examined by serum blood sampling. In addition, adipocyte derived stem cells were delivered to the dermis. Subsequently a human clinical model was used to prove that laser assisted TDD can be clinically applicable. Patients were subjected to a facial rejuvenation laser procedure prior to application of the study drug and serial blood serum levels were taken. Laser type and influence on systemic absorption of the topically applied study drug (lidocaine) was then investigated. Histopathologically fractionated lasers partially ablated the stratum corneum, and perforated the underlying epidermis/dermis creating 'microchannels' which allowed absorption of lidocaine and stem cells. The depth and thermal injury of these microchannels could be determined by changing the laser settings. Enhanced systemic absorption of a topically applied study drug was successfully demonstrated in both animal and human clinical models. The amount of drug absorbed could be manipulated by altering laser settings, but also influenced by factors such as intrinsic enzymatic rate.


The crystal structure of metastable phase in Ag added Al-Mg-Si alloy was investigated by comparing the β'-phases in Al-Mg-Si alloy without Ag, using images of high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction patterns (SADPs) and an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). SADPs and HRTEM images obtained from metastable phase in the Ag added Al-Mg-Si alloy showed similar to those of β'-phase in Al-Mg-Si alloy without Ag and had different lattice spacings because of the effect of Ag. According to our careful analysis on obtained HRTEM images and SADPs, it includes more complicated crystal lattice of distorted hexagons.


In many applications and environments for mobile communication there is a need for reference free perceptual quality measurements. In this paper a method for prediction of a number of quality metrics is proposed, where the input to the prediction is readily available parameters at the receiver side of a communications channel. Since the parameters are extracted from the coded video bit stream the model can be used in user scenarios where it is normally difficult to estimate the quality due to the reference not being available, as in streaming video and mobile TV applications. The predictor turns out to give good results for both the PSNR and the PEVQ metrics.


Purpose
This study aims to highlight the system-wide potential relationships between forms of human bias, selected Lean tools and types of waste in a manufacturing process.

Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal single-site ethnographic case study using digital processing to make a material receiving process Lean was adopted. An inherent knowledge process with internal stakeholders in a stimulated situation alongside process requirements was performed to achieve quality data collection. The results of the narrative analysis and process observation, combined with a literature review identified widely used Lean tools, wastes and biases that produced a model for the relationships.

Findings
The study established the relationships between bias, Lean tools and wastes which enabled 97.6% error reduction, improved on-time accounting and eliminated three working hours per day. These savings resulted in seven employees being redeployed to new areas with delivery time for products reduced by seven days.

Research limitations/implications
The single site case study with a supporting literature survey underpinning the model would benefit from testing the model in application to different industries and locations.

Practical implications
Application of the model can identify potential relationships between a group of human biases, 25 Lean tools and 10 types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes that support decision makers and line managers in productivity improvement. The model can be used to identify potential relationships between forms of human biases, Lean tools and types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes and take suitable remedial actions. The influence of biases and the model could be used as a basis to counter implementation barriers and reduce system-wide wastes.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that connects the cognitive perspectives of Lean business processes with waste production and human biases. As part of the process, a relationship model is derived.


In previous centuries, several technical fields that are now engineering disciplines exhibited problems analogous to those frequently observed in software development today. This paper presents selected examples of experiences from some of those fields, especially electrical telegraphy and telephony during the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries, and compares them with difficulties, major mistakes, and so on, arising in software development today. It is the thesis of this paper that software development today is in a pre-engineering phase, analogous in many respects to the pre-engineering phases of the now traditional engineering disciplines. From observations regarding similarities between experiences in those fields in the past and software development today, questions are raised regarding lessons that software developers might learn from those earlier experiences of others-in particular, from the solutions they found to their problems. Some answers are suggested.


Morphometric geometric analyses are a useful tool in developmental evolutionary biology and studying shape can help us to better understand evolutionary processes. In Iceland four morphs of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) can be found and extensive research has been done on their biology, habitats and evolutionary processes. In this study I wanted to examine the effects of morph and sex on shape in charr from Lake Þingvallavatn. I applied landmarks on photos of 256 charr of three morphs. My main focus was on the small benthic and small pelagic morphs. For analysis I used ANOVA tests evaluating the effect of several variables, morph, sex and weight as a covariate, Pearson's correlation tests and polynomial linear regression done in R. The data suggests that there is a significant shape difference between morph and sex in at least two warps. I also checked the effects of bending of specimens and how unbending procedures affect the data. My conclusion was that unbending the data set is not crucial but makes data analysis easier. I also checked the correlation between of size and weight between morphs and sex. A strong correlation was seen between size and weight and the large benthic morph had the largest weight distribution and contained the biggest and heaviest individuals. An interesting result was seen for the weight distribution of small benthic females. It was by far greater than for the small benthic males suggesting that some individuals might have been wrongly classified.


Heteroatom‐doped carbon (HDC) has attracted tremendous attention due to its promising application in energy conversion and storage. Herein, due to its abundance high rate of reproduction, the microorganism, Bacillus subtilis, is selected as a precursor. An effective ionothermal process is adopted to produce the HDCs. Using acid activation, the obtained sample exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity, long‐term stability, and excellent resistance to crossover effects in oxygen reduction. Additionally, the base‐treated sample exhibits superior performance in capacitors to most commercially available carbon materials. Even at a high current density, a relatively high capacitance is retained, indicating a great potential for direct application in energy storage.


An unusual combination of disconnective syndromes is reported: transcortical motor aphasia, left arm apraxia and optic ataxia. Neuropathological examination showed a left parieto-occipital and a subcortical frontal infarct and a lesion of the dorsal part of the posterior two-fifths of the callosum. The frontal lesion caused the transcortical motor aphasia and produced the left arm apraxia. Visuomotor incoordination in the right hemispace was due to the left parieto-occipital infarct, while the crossed optic ataxia in the left hemispace was attributed to the callosal lesion. It is proposed that the pathway that serves crossed visual reaching passes through the dorsal part of the posterior callosum. This case reinforces the growing evidence that fibres in the corpus callosum are arranged in ventro-dorsal functional lamination.


Is a shorter life with more years lived in poor health a defining attribute of the life cycle of disadvantaged groups? Based on the J990 5% Public Use Microdata Survey, we develop life table models of healthy (or active) life for the major racial groups, by sex, in the United States. The analysis underscores the complexity of the relationship between morbidity and mortality in the population. For Asians, longer life is associated with fewer years lived in poor health. In contrast, Native Americans' relatively longer lives are accompanied by extended periods of chronic health problems. of all racial groups, blacks live the fewest years, and they live a high proportion of those years with a chronic health problem. Hispanics also live substantially fewer years, yet the period of life they spend with a health problem is relatively compressed. Racial differences in the link between morbidity and mortality point to the importance of investigating how chronic diseases and disease prevention and treatment are related to active life across the population subgroups.


We introduce a simple procedure - based on passive optical elements - to produce pure three-mode Gaussian states with arbitrary entanglement structure (upon availability of an initial single-mode squeezed state). We analyze in detail the properties of distributed entanglement, showing that the promiscuity of entanglement sharing is a feature peculiar to symmetric Gaussian states that survives even in the presence of significant degrees of mixedness and decoherence. Next, we discuss the suitability of the considered tripartite entangled states to the implementation of quantum information and communication protocols with continuous variables. This will lead to a feasible experimental proposal to test the promiscuous sharing of continuous-variable entanglement, in terms of the optimal fidelity of teleportation networks with Gaussian resources. As a byproduct, optimal resource states for various communication protocols (among which asymmetric telecloning) will be exactly determined.


PURPOSE
To clarify the effect of genetic polymorphisms on the response to interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRCC), and to find a reliable molecular marker to select those patients with MRCC who would benefit from IFN-alpha immunotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We carried out an association study in which 463 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 33 candidate genes were genotyped in 75 Japanese patients who had received IFN-alpha for MRCC.

RESULTS
After adjusting for lung metastasis, stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that the SNPs in signal transducer and activator 3 (STAT3) were most significantly associated with better response to IFN-alpha. Linkage disequilibrium mapping revealed that the SNP in the 5' region of STAT3, rs4796793, was the most significant predictor of IFN-alpha response (odds ratio [OR] = 2.73; 95% CI, 1.38 to 5.78). The highest OR was shown in the CC genotype at rs4796793 compared to the GG + GC genotypes (OR = 8.38, 95% CI, 1.63 to 42.96). Genotype-dependent expressions of STAT3 in B lymphocyte cell lines and the enhanced growth inhibitory effects of IFN- by STAT3 suppression in an RCC cell line supported the results of the present association study.

CONCLUSION
The present study suggested that the STAT3 polymorphism is a useful diagnostic marker to predict the response to IFN-alpha therapy in patients with MRCC. An efficient response marker for IFN-alpha needs to be utilized to establish individual optimal treatment strategies, even when newer drug therapies are used as first line treatments for MRCC.


OBJECTIVE
The systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) estimates the 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD), and its application is recommended. The absolute risk of CVD, independent of risk factors, is relatively low in young individuals. Expressing the risk as their "risk age" may aid in understanding the risk. This study aimed to demonstrate a possible correlation between vascular risk age, SCORE risk value, and the level of subclinical atherosclerosis evaluated using a pulse wave velocity (PWV) device.

METHODS
This work was designed to be a cross-sectional study. The SCORE 10-year fatal CVD risk and vascular risk age were calculated for patients below the age of 50 years and without any previous diagnosis of atherosclerotic disease or equivalents. The PWV of each patient was measured non-invasively using a PWV device.

RESULTS
The study population included a total of 300 patients with a mean age of 35.1±9.5 years. The mean PWV and mean vascular age of the entire study population were 6.3±1.3 m/s and 44.3±5.5 years, respectively, and the median 10-year risk of fatal CVD score was 0.4 (0.04-2.74). There was a positive correlation between PWV and the 10-year risk of fatal CVD (r=0.613; P<0.001) and vascular risk age (r=0.684; P<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Despite their young age and low to moderate 10-year risk of fatal CVD (<1%-5%) according to the SCORE chart, patients with a high vascular risk age were found to have high PWV values. These results show that calculations of vascular risk age might be used to assess the risk of fatal CVD in young patients and correlate with subclinical atherosclerosis.


Dissolved organic matter (DOM) transported from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems is an important source of C, N and energy for the metabolism of aquatic heterotrophic bacteria. I examined the concentration and chemical quality of DOM exported from coastal temperate watersheds in southeast Alaska to determine if wetland soils are an important source of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) to aquatic ecosystems. I addressed this question through a combination of high resolution temporal and spatial field measurements in three watersheds near Juneau, Alaska by using a replicated experimental design that characterized DOM export from three different soil types (bog, forested wetland and upland forest) within each of the watersheds. PARAFAC modeling of fluorescence excitation-emission spectroscopy and BDOC incubations were used to evaluate the chemical quality and lability of DOM. Overall, my findings show that wetland soils contribute substantial biodegradable DOM to streams and the response in BDOC delivery to streams changes seasonally, with soil type, and during episodic events such as stormflows. In particular, the chemical quality of DOM in streamwater and soil solution was similar during the spring runoff and fall wet season, as demonstrated by the similar contribution of protein-like fluorescence in soil solution and in streams. These findings indicate a tight coupling between wetland DOM source pools and streams is responsible for the export of BDOC from terrestrial ecosystems. Thus, seasonal changes in soil-stream linkages can have a major influence on watershed biogeochemistry with important implications for stream metabolism and the delivery of labile DOM to coastal ecosystems. Soil DOM additions in small streams draining the three soil types showed that DOM leached from watershed soils is readily used as a substrate by stream heterotrophs and at the same time modified in composition by the selective degradation of the proteinaceous fraction of DOM. These findings indicate terrestrial DOM inputs to streams are an important source of C to support stream heterotrophic production. Thus, the production of protein-rich, labile DOM and subsequent loss in stream runoff has the potential to be an important loss of C and N from coastal temperate watersheds.


Patients with severe aphasia are rarely treated using speech therapy. We used music therapy to continue to treat a 79-year-old patient with chronic severe aphasia. Interventions 1, 2, and 3 were to practice singing a song that the patient knew, to practice singing a song with a therapist, and to practice saying a greeting using a song with lyrics, respectively. In addition, practice of uttering names of body parts was initiated using touch and rhythm. After intervention 1, the patient could sing spontaneously and repeat lyrics. After intervention 2, she could sing with the therapist, and sing spontaneously and repeat lyrics. After intervention 3, she could memorize words with meaning, say the words in context, and use them. The patient could utter the names of two body parts after therapy with touch and rhythm. These suggest that rehabilitation therapy can still be used in patients with severe cognitive impairment.


Stone formation in the urinary tract is a multifactorial world‐wide disease afflicting between 8 and 20% of population groups in different geographical locations. Discrimination between stone formers and healthy persons on the basis of urine composition remains a crucial goal among researchers. Since 1H NMR is able to monitor the metabolic function of the kidney we applied it to the urine of 60 stone formers (34 females, 26 males) and 38 healthy persons (14 females, 24 males). Spectra were normalized relative to an internal standard and integrated over 37 consecutive regions. The resulting data were subjected to principal component and canonical discriminant analysis. Excellent discrimination between patient and controls for both genders was achieved, with all the data falling within the 95% confidence interval. The most important variables allowing for this inter‐group separation correspond to those associated with protein signals. We therefore speculate that the discrimination between patients and controls may be due to the presence or absence of macromolecular stone promoters and/or inhibitors. This supports numerous in vitro studies demonstrating that urinary macromolecules play significant roles in stone formation and prevention. Our finding that 1H NMR analysis of urine differentiates between stone formers and healthy persons represents an important breakthrough for rapid screening of individuals who are at risk for this disease.


In this paper, for the problems of low convergence rate and getting trapped in local optima easily, the average path similarity (APS) was proposed to present the optimization maturity by analyzing the relationship between parameters of local pheromone updating and global pheromone updating, as well as the optimizing capacity and convergence rate. Furthermore, the coefficients of pheromone updating adaptively were adjusted to improve the convergence rate and prevent the algorithm from getting stuck in local optima. The adaptive ACS has been applied to optimize several benchmark TSP instances. The solution quality and convergence rate of the algorithm were compared comprehensively with conventional ACS to verify the validity and the effectiveness.


To explore the mechanism of apoptosis induced by cisplatin, the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) and regulating genes in K562 cells was analyzed using reverse transcription PCR, quantitative real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Our results showed that miR-16, miR-34a-c, miR-17-5p and miR-125 were up-regulated, and their associated oncogenes (BCL2, E2F1 and E2F3, respectively) were down-regulated after cisplatin treatment. We also showed that miR-106 and miR-150 were down-regulated while their target genes (RB1 and P53, respectively) were up-regulated after cisplatin treatment. Moreover, miR-16, miR-34a-c and miR-17-5p proved to be upstream factors, regulating the expression of BCL2, E2F1 and E2F3, respectively. The oncogene E2F3 was down-regulated when RB1 expression was increased after treatment with antisense oligonucleotides (ASO). Similarly, BCL2 and E2F3 were down-regulated when P53 expression was elevated by ASO treatment. The study demonstrated that cisplatin induces K562 cells to apoptosis by reducing miR-106 which up-regulates RB1 or by inhibiting miR-150 which increases P53 expression.


Abstract In this paper we study the valuation problem of an insurance company by maximizing the expected discounted future dividend payments in a model with partial information that allows for a changing economic environment. The surplus process is modeled as a Brownian motion with drift. This drift depends on an underlying Markov chain the current state of which is assumed to be unobservable. The different states of the Markov chain thereby represent different phases of the economy. We apply results from filtering theory to overcome uncertainty and then we give an analytic characterization of the optimal value function. Finally, we present a numerical study covering various scenarios to get a clear picture of how dividends should be paid out.


In recent years, environmental awareness has been a great concern, and even governments have sometimes been under pressure to comply with bilateral agreements. Mineral oil is one of the most harmful pollutants if it infiltrates the soil. Of course, it provides a good insulation material in (distribution/power) transformers, but it presents some disadvantages such as low firing value, additional insulation costs, requirement for an extinguishing apparatus, long clearance distance, being non-edible, and extensive soil spill cleanup, among others. Explosion is another danger for oil-insulated transformers. For this reason, gas-insulated transformers have nowadays been put into specifications. SF6 GITs present more reliable working conditions due to the inherited specs of SF6 because it has non-flammable insulation and explosion-proof design. Therefore, the proposed transformer design is mostly suitable for security risk environments such as submarines, mines and nuclear power plants. Apart from these advantages, the new SF6 GIT design is compact in design and lighter than the oil-type one. In this study, electrostatic analysis of a three phase SF6 gas-insulated transformer (GIT) with 50 kVA rating, 34.5/0.4 kV, 50 Hz was conducted by using finite element method. Electric potential and electric field distributions inside the transformer were investigated.


Abstract. We present the CarbonTracker Europe High-Resolution (CTE-HR) system that estimates carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange over Europe at high resolution (0.1 × 0.2∘) and in near real time (about 2 months' latency). It includes a dynamic anthropogenic emission model, which uses easily available statistics on economic activity, energy use, and weather to generate anthropogenic emissions with dynamic time profiles at high spatial and temporal resolution (0.1×0.2∘, hourly). Hourly net ecosystem productivity (NEP) calculated by the Simple Biosphere model Version 4 (SiB4) is driven by meteorology from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis 5th Generation (ERA5) dataset. This NEP is downscaled to 0.1×0.2∘ using the high-resolution Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) land-cover map and combined with the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) fire emissions to create terrestrial carbon fluxes. Ocean CO2 fluxes are included in our product, based on Jena CarboScope ocean CO2 fluxes, which are downscaled using wind speed and temperature. Jointly, these flux estimates enable modeling of atmospheric CO2 mole fractions over Europe. We assess the skill of the CTE-HR CO2 fluxes (a) to reproduce observed anomalies in biospheric fluxes and atmospheric CO2 mole fractions during the 2018 European drought, (b) to capture the reduction of anthropogenic emissions due to COVID-19 lockdowns, (c) to match mole fraction observations at Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) sites across Europe after atmospheric transport with the Transport Model, version 5 (TM5) and the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT), driven by ECMWF-IFS, and (d) to capture the magnitude and variability of measured CO2 fluxes in the city center of Amsterdam (the Netherlands). We show that CTE-HR fluxes reproduce large-scale flux anomalies reported in previous studies for both biospheric fluxes (drought of 2018) and anthropogenic emissions (COVID-19 pandemic in 2020). After applying transport of emitted CO2, the CTE-HR fluxes have lower median root mean square errors (RMSEs) relative to mole fraction observations than fluxes from a non-informed flux estimate, in which biosphere fluxes are scaled to match the global growth rate of CO2 (poor person's inversion). RMSEs are close to those of the reanalysis with the CTE data assimilation system. This is encouraging given that CTE-HR fluxes did not profit from the weekly assimilation of CO2 observations as in CTE. We furthermore compare CO2 concentration observations at the Dutch Lutjewad coastal tower with high-resolution STILT transport to show that the high-resolution fluxes manifest variability due to different emission sectors in summer and winter. Interestingly, in periods where synoptic-scale transport variability dominates CO2 concentration variations, the CTE-HR fluxes perform similarly to low-resolution fluxes (5–10× coarsened). The remaining 10 % of the simulated CO2 mole fraction differs by >2 ppm between the low-resolution and high-resolution flux representation and is clearly associated with coherent structures ("plumes") originating from emission hotspots such as power plants. We therefore note that the added resolution of our product will matter most for very specific locations and times when used for atmospheric CO2 modeling. Finally, in a densely populated region like the Amsterdam city center, our modeled fluxes underestimate the magnitude of measured eddy covariance fluxes but capture their substantial diurnal variations in summertime and wintertime well. We conclude that our product is a promising tool for modeling the European carbon budget at a high resolution in near real time. The fluxes are freely available from the ICOS Carbon Portal (CC-BY-4.0) to be used for near-real-time monitoring and modeling, for example, as an a priori flux product in a CO2 data assimilation system. The data are available at https://doi.org/10.18160/20Z1-AYJ2 (van der Woude, 2022a).


Importance
Evidence of the efficacy and safety of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5 to 11 years has been emerging. Collecting these data will inform clinicians, families, and policy makers.

Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5 to 11 years in a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources
PubMed and Embase databases were searched on September 29, 2022, without language restrictions.

Study Selection
Randomized clinical trials and observational studies comparing vaccinated vs unvaccinated children aged 5 to 11 years and reporting efficacy or safety outcomes were included. Studies reporting safety outcomes in vaccinated children only (ie, no control group) were also included.

Data Extraction and Synthesis
Two investigators independently extracted relevant data from each study. Odds ratios (ORs) for efficacy and safety outcomes and incidences of adverse events (AEs) following vaccination were synthesized using a random-effects model. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology reporting guidelines.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary outcome was SARS-CoV-2 infections with or without symptoms. The secondary outcomes included symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. The incidences of each AE following vaccination were also evaluated.

Results
Two randomized clinical trials and 15 observational studies involving 10 935 541 vaccinated children (median or mean age range, 8.0-9.5 years) and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children (median or mean age range, 7.0-9.5 years) were included. Two-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccination compared with no vaccination was associated with lower risks of SARS-CoV-2 infections with or without symptoms (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.35-0.64), symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.41-0.70), hospitalizations (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.68), and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (OR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.02-0.10). Two randomized clinical trials and 5 observational studies investigated AEs among vaccinated children. Most vaccinated children experienced at least 1 local AE following the first injection (32 494 of 55 959 [86.3%]) and second injection (28 135 of 46 447 [86.3%]). Vaccination was associated with a higher risk of any AEs compared with placebo (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.26-2.91). The incidence of AEs that prevented normal daily activities was 8.8% (95% CI, 5.4%-14.2%) and that of myocarditis was estimated to be 1.8 per million (95% CI, 0.000%-0.001%) following the second injection.

Conclusions and Relevance
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines among children aged 5 to 11 years were associated with measures of efficacy in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19-related illnesses. While most children developed local AEs, severe AEs were rare, and most of AEs resolved within several days. These data provide evidence for future recommendations.


Reducing system complexity and cost in synthesizing a sparse array antenna design is a challenging task for practical communication systems, such as radar systems and space communication. In this paper, a hybrid technique to synthesize a linear sparse array antenna design is described. This technique is developed using two methods. The first method is a combinatorial approach that applies cyclic difference sets (CDS) integers to significantly reduce the number of antenna elements. The approach and procedure used to apply the new CDS method to configure a linear sparse array, with significant reduction of the spatial antenna dimension, is described. The second method, applied to the array result of the first method, is amplitude tapering using a binomial array approach to reduce the sidelobes level (SLL). The simulation and measurement results of the sample sparse array design showed that the SLL was reduced in comparison to the sparse array design using only the combinatorial CDS method.


We compute all loop topological string amplitudes on orientifolds of local Calabi-Yau manifolds, by using geometric transitions involving SO/Sp Chern-Simons theory, localization on the moduli space of holomorphic maps with involution, and the topological vertex. In particular we count Klein bottles and projective planes with any number of handles in some Calabi-Yau orientifolds.


Background. Enhancement of sensory input in the form of repetitive peripheral sensory stimulation (RPSS) can enhance excitability of the motor cortex and upper limb performance. Objective. To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of effects of RPSS compared with control stimulation on improvement of motor outcomes in the upper limb of subjects with stroke. Methods. We searched studies published between 1948 and December 2017 and selected 5 studies that provided individual data and applied a specific paradigm of stimulation (trains of 1-ms pulses at 10 Hz, delivered at 1 Hz). Continuous data were analyzed with means and standard deviations of differences in performance before and after active or control interventions. Adverse events were also assessed. Results. There was a statistically significant beneficial effect of RPSS on motor performance (standard mean difference between active and control RPSS, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.09-1.24; I2 = 65%). Only 1 study included subjects in the subacute phase after stroke. Subgroup analysis of studies that only included subjects in the chronic phase showed a significant effect (1.04; 95% CI, 0.66-1.42) with no heterogeneity. Significant results were obtained for outcomes of body structure and function as well as for outcomes of activity limitation according to the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health, when only studies that included subjects in the chronic phase were analyzed. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions. RPSS is a safe intervention with potential to become an adjuvant tool for upper extremity paresis rehabilitation in subjects with stroke in the chronic phase.


2.1 How is it diagnosed? The diagnosis of SLE is based on a combination of symptoms (such as pain), signs (such as fever), blood and urine tests and when other illnesses have been ruled out. Not all symptoms and signs are present at any given time and this makes it hard to diagnose SLE quickly. To help distinguish SLE from other diseases, physicians of the American College of Rheumatology have established a list of 11 criteria that, when combined, point to SLE. These criteria represent some of the more common symptoms/abnormalities observed in patients with SLE. To make a formal diagnosis of SLE, the patient must have had at least 4 of these 11 characteristics at any time since the beginning of the disease. However, skilled doctors can make a diagnosis of SLE even if less than 4 criteria are present. The criteria are:


In Reply. —These letters illustrate the range of responses that the SUPPORT project has evoked and suggest the tasks that lie ahead if we are to improve the care of seriously ill patients. The groups led by Dr Frank and Dr Solomon argue that interventions that affect the entire health care organization can change physician behavior and institutional culture and practices. I agree with their analysis. The challenge is to demonstrate that organizational interventions in fact improve important clinical outcomes. SUPPORT has set a new standard for evaluating interventions that are intended to improve the care of dying patients. Factors other than the institution-wide intervention may influence outcomes. For instance, hospital lengths of stay may decrease for many reasons, such as financial incentives under managed care. End points must be selected carefully. In addition to improving hospital policies, institutions need to show that their interventions improve pain control, increase discussions


A better understanding of the pathophysiological processes of Giardia may lead to understanding the diseases it causes and to identifying new therapeutic agents

Infection with the ubiquitous intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia (synonymous G duodenalis or G intestinalis ) may cause acute or chronic diarrhoea, dehydration, abdominal discomfort and weight loss.1–4 Despite the prevalence of this disease, the pathophysiological features underlying intestinal disturbances in giardiasis remain incompletely understood. Giardia causes disease without penetrating the epithelium, invading the surrounding tissues or entering the blood stream. Interestingly, the epithelial abnormalities responsible for intestinal malabsorption and diarrhoea in giardiasis seem to share similarities with those observed in other enteric disorders, such as bacterial enteritis, chronic food anaphylaxis, Crohn's disease and coeliac disease.5–9 Therefore, a better understanding of these pathophysiological processes may help identify new therapeutic targets for a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. In an attempt to unravel the mechanisms by which Giardia exerts its clinical effects, researchers have relied on a variety of cell systems and animal models. This issue of Gut presents data from an elegant human clinical study by Troeger et al 10 ( see page 328 ) that sheds new light on these processes. In view of the limited space available, this commentary only highlights selected mechanisms whereby Giardia -induced epithelial dysfunction may contribute to disease development.

Previous studies using models in vivo and in vitro have established that Giardia causes malabsorption of glucose, sodium and water, and reduced disaccharidase activity, due to loss of epithelial absorptive surface area. …


Somaclonal variation is genetic variation which is observed through the regeneration of cultured somatic cells that usually results in cultured types that was reduced the commercial value during the micropropagation of the valuable elite clones. However, the hypothesis stated that the RDA product between normal and somaclonal variation clones of banana contains the genetic variability that can cause different phenotypic variation between the clones. The main purpose of this research is to isolate the unique fragments of DNA between somaclonal and normal banana. The study was conducted by using the nonnal and somaclonal banana of Musa acuminata (Pisang Berangan). Both normal and somaclonal banana had been hybridized and the unique fragment of DNA was isolated. The primers used in this protocol consist of two oligomers, a short strand and a long strand (l2-mer and 24-mer adaptor). RDA successfully isolated few DNA fragments from the normal banana in reaction where the normal banana becomes the tester and the somaclonal banana becomes the driver, but result obtained when vice versa. From the identification, the sequence of genes from the genetic variation can be detennined for the enhancement of the cultured banana.


An overwhelming majority of the world's human population lives in urban areas and cities. Understanding a city's transportation typology is immensely valuable for planners and policy makers whose decisions can potentially impact millions of city residents. Despite the value of understanding a city's typology, labeled data (city and it's typology) is scarce, and spans at most a few hundred cities in the current transportation literature. To break this barrier, we propose a supervised machine learning approach to predict a city's typology given the information in its Wikipedia page. Our method leverages recent breakthroughs in natural language processing, namely sentence-BERT, and shows how the text-based information from Wikipedia can be effectively used as a data source for city typology prediction tasks that can be applied to over 2000 cities worldwide. We propose a novel method for low-dimensional city representation using a city's Wikipedia page, which makes supervised learning of city typology labels tractable even with a few hundred labeled samples. These features are used with labeled city samples to train binary classifiers (logistic regression) for four different city typologies: (i) congestion, (ii) auto-heavy, (iii) transit-heavy, and (iv) bike-friendly cities resulting in reasonably high AUC scores of 0.87, 0.86, 0.61 and 0.94 respectively. Our approach provides sufficient flexibility for incorporating additional variables in the city typology models and can be applied to study other city typologies as well. Our findings can assist a diverse group of stakeholders in transportation and urban planning fields, and opens up new opportunities for using text-based information from Wikipedia (or similar platforms) as data sources in such fields.


ABSTRACT Purpose: This research investigates how to manage and organize existing employees when launching a solution sales strategy, specifically addressing whether it is possible to migrate existing sales representatives active in product sales to solution sales, and whether it is possible to combine the roles. Methodology/approach: A case-based approach was applied to a multinational firm, engaged in business-to-business sales that simultaneously launched a solution sales strategy in 17 countries. In-depth interviews with 29 managers and sales representatives were performed to inductively identify why some countries succeeded in the launch, while others did not. Findings: Because of fundamental differences in approach between solution and product sales, those countries where the solutions and product businesses were separated performed better. The difference in required capabilities and mindset meant that migrating sales representatives from product to solution sales is problematic. Research implications: This research offers evidence of differences in mindset and approach between different marketing and sales strategies, extending the conclusions to how these differences affect the possibility of migrating existing sales representatives when launching a new selling strategy. Whether to separate service and product sales has been debated. The present results indicate that separating the current product business from the new solution business facilitates the successful implementation of the new strategy. In the case company, the solutions represent a mixture of product and services, suggesting that the problem is not the difference between products and services, but rather different selling strategies and approaches that require different capabilities. Practical implications: When launching a solution sales strategy, the solution business should be separated from the current product business at both the organizational and personnel levels. Solution sales necessitates a particular approach and capabilities, making it unadvisable to transfer sales representatives and managers to the new solution business based solely on previous product sales success. Instead, a new skill profile must be developed taking account of the requirements of a demand-driven solution strategy. Originality/value/contribution: Consensus is lacking as to whether to separate product and service businesses. This article extends the debate to the field of solution sales, demonstrating that separation is needed to succeed in launching a solution sales strategy. Furthermore, this research extends our knowledge of the difference in approaches between different selling strategies, covering the possibility of successfully migrating existing sales representatives to a different selling strategy.


In this paper, we present a new approach for lifted MAP inference in Markov logic networks (MLNs). The key idea in our approach is to compactly encode the MAP inference problem as an Integer Polynomial Program (IPP) by schematically applying three lifted inference steps to the MLN: lifted decomposition, lifted conditioning, and partial grounding. Our IPP encoding is lifted in the sense that an integer assignment to a variable in the IPP may represent a truth-assignment to multiple indistinguishable ground atoms in the MLN. We show how to solve the IPP by first converting it to an Integer Linear Program (ILP) and then solving the latter using state-of-the-art ILP techniques. Experiments on several benchmark MLNs show that our new algorithm is substantially superior to ground inference and existing methods in terms of computational efficiency and solution quality.


Interest in open access (OA) to scientific publications is steadily increasing, both in Norway and internationally. From the outset, FORMakademisk has been published as a digital journal, and it was one of the first to offer OA in Norway. We have since the beginning used Open Journal Systems (OJS) as publishing software. OJS is part of the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), which was created by Canadian John Willinsky and colleagues at the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia in 1998. The first version of OJS came as an open source software in 2001. The programme is free for everyone to use and is part of a larger collective movement wherein knowledge is shared. When FORMakademisk started in 2008, we received much help from the journal Acta Didactic (n.d.) at the University of Oslo, which had started the year before us. They had also translated the programme to Norwegian. From the start, we were able to publish in both Norwegian and English. Other journals have used FORMakademisk as a model and source of inspiration when starting or when converting from subscription-based print journals to electronic OA, including the Journal of Norwegian Media Researchers [Norsk medietidsskrift]. It is in this way that the movement around PKP works and continues to grow to provide free access to research. As the articles are OA, they are also easily accessible to non-scientists. We also emphasise that the language should be readily available, although it should maintain a high scientific quality. Often there may be two sides of the same coin. We on the editorial team are now looking forward to adopting the newly developed OJS 3 this spring, with many new features and an improved design for users, including authors, peer reviewers, editors and readers.


Antifibrinolytic agents such as aprotinin and epsilon aminocaproic acid limit postoperative bleeding and blood transfusion in patients undergoing cardiac operations using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Recent evidence suggests that these agents have adverse side effects that influence operative mortality and morbidity. We studied postoperative bleeding, transfusion rates, and operative outcomes in our patients in order to assess the efficacy of these agents during cardiac operations requiring CPB. We reviewed records of 520 patients undergoing a variety of cardiac operations between January 2005 and May 2009. We measured multiple variables including pre-operative risk factors, antifibrinolytic agent used, and outcomes of operation, such as measures of bleeding and blood transfusion, as well as serious operative morbidity and mortality. Postoperative bleeding rates varied significantly between patients receiving aprotinin and those receiving aminocaproic acid (P < 0.05). There was an associated 12% decrease in operative site bleeding in aprotinin-treated patients compared with aminocaproic acid. There was no significant difference in the transfusion rates of packed red blood cells between patients receiving aminocaproic acid or aprotinin (P > 0.05), though individuals in the aprotinin group did receive FFP more frequently than patients in the aminocaproic acid group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in morbidity and mortality rates between patients in either drug group (P > 0.05). Our study shows that aprotinin is more effective at controlling operative site bleeding than aminocaproic acid. Reduced operative site bleeding did not portend better outcome or differences in transfusion requirements. Aminocaproic acid remains a safe and cost-effective option for antifibrinolytic prophylaxis because of unavailability of aprotinin.


In the framework of sensor fusion, multiple sensors corresponding to the number of physical variables that must be measured are used. In this paper, we propose a novel sensing approach that simultaneously deals with heterogeneous physical variables with a sensor. It is fundamentally different from sensor fusion. The proposed approach takes into consideration the fact that any sensor that detects a certain physical variable is influenced to a degree by other physical variables, which are designated as noise. The objective in conventional sensor design has been the minimization of noise. In contrast, the proposed approach takes advantage of sensors that are easily influenced by many physical variables and makes full use of the multisensing characteristics of these sensors. The system designed using this concept has advantages in terms of cost performance and system simplification compared to existing approaches. This concept can be realized by developing a novel multiple-input/single-output sensor that can detect various variables, including pressure, acceleration, temperature and incandescent light emission, by a single device. We apply the sensor to monitor the symptoms of fire, earthquakes, and break-ins for the purpose of home security. The proposed security system is realized through statistical signal processing and machine learning techniques


HYPOTHESIS
Sex differentially influences heme oxygenase (HO) expression following trauma and hemorrhagic shock.

DESIGN
Prospective controlled animal study.

SETTING
A university laboratory.

INTERVENTIONS
Female Sprague-Dawley rats in the proestrus stage of their estrus cycle and male rats underwent a 5-cm midline laparotomy (ie, induction of soft tissue trauma) and were bled to a mean arterial blood pressure of 35 mm Hg for approximately 90 minutes, after which they were resuscitated with Ringer lactate solution (4 x the shed blood volume). In another group of animals, tin protoporphyrin IX was used to block HO activity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Liver samples were collected for analysis of HO expression and activity, plasma samples were collected, and alanine transaminase levels were determined 5 hours after resuscitation. Portal pressure and bile production were measured in vivo 5 hours after resuscitation.

RESULTS
Trauma and hemorrhage induced a 2-fold increase in hepatic HO1 expression (the inducible form of HO) in proestrus females compared with males. Hepatic expression of HO2 (a constitutive isoform of HO) was unaffected by sex or trauma and hemorrhage. Blockade of HO in vivo with tin protoporphyrin IX abolished the sex differences caused by diverse HO1 expression. Treatment with tin protoporphyrin IX also elevated the portal pressure, decreased bile production, and increased alanine transaminase to similar levels in proestrus females and males following trauma and hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS
Sex influences the hepatic expression of HO1 following trauma and hemorrhage. The enhanced induction of HO1 expression and activity in females after trauma and hemorrhage may attenuate hepatocellular dysfunction and injury by maintaining microcirculation via the increased production of carbon monoxide.


This paper examines the trade-off between the length of treatment days and the units of service provided per day for elderly patients in the context of the initiative taken by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan to discourage lengthy hospital treatment and/or stay by elderly patients. By using three leading diseases among the elderly in Japan (cancer, heart related disease and mental illness) and separating care utilization into an episode by types of treatment, our results suggest that the government measures function but they do not effectively work to reduce increases in medical expenditures by the elderly under the fee-for-service basis. The evidence shows the interdependency between days and quantity of services, and the larger impact of services on days than days on services. Providers are more able to raise their revenue by additional services, than by additional treatment days, under the government's current cost containment policy toward the elderly care. For the so-called skilled type of treatment services (injection, general treatment, consultation and operation), the results on all elderly ages 65 and over without disease classification show some statistically significant positive impact on length of treatment in days and quantity of services provided per day. For the so-called material type of service (medication and examination), medical service providers are likely to prescribe more drugs as the price of drugs falls under the current strict drug price control by the Japanese government.


Abstract:This article examines the trajectories of British intelligence officer Eric T.D. Lambert and an incarcerated Afro-Colombian named Germán Angulo, whose intersecting stories reveal the post-imperial displacement of expertise in the 1960s, as well as the features of societies that imperial expertise misses: social/racial hierarchies and the nature of the politics that sustain them. The tension between British post-imperialism liberalism and Colombian ideologies of "racial democracy," on the one hand, and the lived reality of race in carceral institutions on the other, demonstrates how decolonization's redefinition of sovereignty, law, and belonging configured a global moment that reached even long-independent nation-states.


The Black-Box Hypothesisstates that any property of Boolean functions decided efficiently (e.g., in BPP) with inputs represented by circuits can also be decided efficiently in the black-box setting, where an algorithm is given an oracle access to the input function and an upper bound on its circuit size. If this hypothesis is true, then P neq NP. We focus on the consequences of the hypothesis being false, showing that (under general conditions on the structure of a counterexample) it implies a non-trivial algorithm for CSAT. More specifically, we show that if there is a property F of boolean functions such that F has high sensitivity on some input function f of subexponential circuit complexity (which is a sufficient condition for F being a counterexample to the Black-Box Hypothesis), then CSAT is solvable by a subexponential-size circuit family. Moreover, if such a counterexample F is symmetric, then CSAT is in Ppoly. These results provide some evidence towards the conjecture (made in this paper) that the Black-Box Hypothesis is false if and only if CSAT is easy.


Genetic variation conferring resistance and susceptibility to carcinogen-induced tumorigenesis is frequently studied in mice. We have now turned this to melanoma using the collaborative cross (CC), a resource of mouse strains designed to discover genes for complex diseases. We studied melanoma-prone transgenic progeny across seventy CC genetic backgrounds. We mapped a strong quantitative trait locus for rapid onset spontaneous melanoma onset to Prkdc, a gene involved in detection and repair of DNA damage. In contrast, rapid onset UVR-induced melanoma was linked to the ribosomal subunit gene Rrp15. Ribosome biogenesis was upregulated in skin shortly after UVR exposure, Mechanistically, variation in the "usual suspects" by which UVR may exacerbate melanoma, defective DNA repair, melanocyte proliferation, or inflammatory cell infiltration, did not explain melanoma susceptibility or resistance across the CC. Instead, events occurring soon after exposure, such as dysregulation of ribosome function, which alters many aspects of cellular metabolism, may be important.


Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) and idiopathic focal torsion dystonia are both movement disorders in which the pathologic process is thought to arise within the basal ganglia. However, despite their possible functional links, they are clinically distinct and are generally considered to have different underlying etiologies. There are several reports in the literature that suggest a relationship between eye winking tics, excessive blinking, and blepharospasm and a report of the coexistence of tics and dystonia. We describe a three‐generation family in which TS and dystonias cosegregate. In total, eight patients were affected, five with dystonia and three with TS/facial tics. One of the patients with historic evidence of dystonia subsequently died of motor neuron disease. The identification of this family further strengthens the evidence in favor of an etiologic relationship between some cases of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and focal dystonia.


The focus of this paper is on the political history of modern Gujarat, which has been an intriguing one. The paper identifies and discusses in the broad landscape of Gujarat's politics three notable developments that have shaped its trajectory over the years: First, the creation of Gujarat as a separate state in 1960 and its bearing on the state's polity; Second, the three-decade rule of the Congress party and its political tactic of assimilation in the form of the Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim (KHAM) formula that enabled it to continue in power, despite the party's decline at the all-India level; and third, the ascent and the stranglehold of the BJP on the political reigns through the employment of different tactics that have oscillated from the spread and consolidation of the 'Hindutva' ideology to the mantra of 'good' and 'inclusive governance', which now forms part of the party's official lexicon


The purpose of this article is to examine the current literature addressing interventions to support the developmental process of children of early age with disabilities in Indonesia, who are threatened with significant environmental risk. To achieve that, a scoping review was conducted. The following databases were searched: PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, Social Services Abstracts, and Scopus, as well as the reference lists of all included studies. We searched 46 open access Indonesian journals and conducted hand-searches at the four main Indonesian universities. Searches were conducted of Google Scholar and the websites of Indonesian government and nongovernmental agencies to identify gray literature. These agencies were also personally contacted to identify relevant reports. Eight studies met our inclusion criteria. The existing research investigates on various interventions including two studies utilizing strategies indigenous to Indonesian. Environmental risk factors were not addressed directly by all the interventions. The eight studies targeted all areas of early childhood development. Several limitations were found in these studies' methodology, and they also used similar research designs. This review highlights the need of more rigorous and culturally relevant research to fulfill the developmental needs of young children with disabilities in Indonesia.


Nowadays, the rapid increase in global developments, the transition from traditional society to an information society and paying attention to new strategies for optimal use of new opportunities have made the banking system increasingly bind to change. Hence, one of the basic concerns of organizations these days is to achieve a comprehensive, reliable, and reflexive performance management approach so that, based on them, they can achieve exact and sufficient information about their position to apply appropriate approach. One of the efficient models which improves the performance of the organization is comprehensive banking model; on the other hand, the managers of organizations have realized that human resources is one of their most important assets, so the failure to pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the organization of human resources resulted in incorrect choice of the optimal strategy for the organization. The present study will investigate the impact of comprehensive banking implementation on the empowerment of human resources in the branches of Tejarat Bank based on the conceptual model of comprehensive bankinh in this organization. At first, literature review and background of research are presented and then sample is given to selected participate. The samples consisted of Tejarat Bank management employee at Tehran branches including 440 employees, among whom, using Cocran random sampling, 206 were selected as sample. The instrument used for questionnaire data collection consists of three parts: demographic information, Spritzer's empowerment questionnaire, and comprehensive banking questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha coefficient is used for reliability and validity of the study (more than 0.7) and validity (more than 0.7) and content (with the approval of the supervisor and experts of Tejarat Bank). To analyze the data of research, according to the normal distribution of data, structural equation modeling and LISREL software were used. The results indicate that personal banking by a coefficient of 69%, private banking by a coefficient of 68%, retail banking by a coefficient of 59%, business banking by a coefficient of 58%, investment banking by a coefficient of 57%, and, finally, corporate banking by a coefficient of 52% are effective on empowering of employee; also, implementation of comprehensive banking has a significant positive impact of 85% on the empoverment of employee. Therefore, the research hypotheses are accepted.


Both mouse interferon-beta (MuIFN-beta) and the inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO), inhibited the differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 fibroblasts into adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. DFMO and MuIFN-beta added together to cultures that were induced to differentiate produced an additive anti-differentiation effect. In contrast to this additive cellular effect, DFMO reduced the antiviral activity of MuIFN-beta in both undifferentiated and differentiated cells; DFMO alone had no detectable effect on replication of encephalomyocarditis virus. Putrescine, the product of ornithine decarboxylation, when added to 3T3-L1 cultures (i) enhanced differentiation, (ii) reversed completely the inhibition of differentiation by DFMO, but (iii) had little effect on the antidifferentiation effect of MuIFN-beta. Polyamine content changed four-fold or less in cultures treated with 0.5 mM DFMO and less than two-fold in cultures treated with 100 IU/ml MuIFN-beta for seven days. Thus, it appears not only that MuIFN-beta and DFMO inhibit differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells by different mechanisms but also that the antiviral action of IFN does not involve the regulation of polyamine metabolism by ornithine decarboxylase.