Guerrero, in Mexico, is one of the subduction zones where long term slow slip events (SSEs) have been observed recurrently. Understanding the mechanics of these events is important to determine their role in the seismic cycle. SSEs in Guerrero have been found to have the same characteristics, along the interface of subduction, as classical earthquakes but with much longer slip time (around a year) and lower stress drop (0.1 MPa). We investigate the slip models of the Guerrero SSEs of 2006 and 2009 (Radiguet et al., JGR 2012). The kinematic slip models have been determined by inversion of GPS time series using two different methods. From these slip histories, the constitutive relation between stress and slip (or slip rate) on each subfault is determined. Analytical Green functions are used to calculate the shear stress in a homogeneous, elastic, isotropic medium. Whatever the kinematic slip modeling method used, a clear slip weakening law can be retrieved over the whole slipping area. While some spatial variation in the parameters of the slip weakening law is observed, a mean value of about 0.1 m for the slip weakening distance and 2.5 kJ/m2 for the fracture energy can be extracted on each subfault. Moreover the slip-weakening rate seems quite homogeneous (around 1 MPa/m), and this is roughly the same as the value found in coseismic processes. The yield stress is of the order of 0.01 MPa, a low value compared to a stress drop of 0.1 MPa. The stress-slip rate relationship presents a loop trajectory coherent with the one observed in classical earthquakes. The results of these analyses are used to numerically model the Guerrero SSEs. The aim is to reproduce the slip pattern using the mechanical laws determined in the study of the slip model. If a simple slip weakening law, with parameters found above, is used, we observe a rapid progress of the crack-like slip area. This is different from the observation of the migration of localized slip. So a slowing mechanism (healing) must be introduced in addition to the slip weakening law. A pseudo-dynamic model is developed, supposing a fully plastic fault strengthening with a prefixed slip distance.


Research into the epigenome is of growing importance as a loss of epigenetic control has been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies have implicated aberrant DNA and histone methylation in multiple sclerosis (MS) disease pathogenesis. We have previously reported that the methyl donor betaine is depleted in MS and is linked to changes in histone H3 trimethylation (H3K4me3) in neurons. We have also shown that betaine increases histone methyltransferase activity by activating chromatin bound betaine homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT). Here, we investigated the role of the BHMT-betaine methylation pathway in oligodendrocytes. Immunocytochemistry in the human MO3.13 cell line, primary rat oligodendrocytes, and tissue from MS postmortem brain confirmed the presence of the BHMT enzyme in the nucleus in oligodendrocytes. BHMT expression is increased 2-fold following oxidative insult, and qRT-PCR demonstrated that betaine can promote an increase in expression of oligodendrocyte maturation genes SOX10 and NKX-2.2 under oxidative conditions. Chromatin fractionation provided evidence of a direct interaction of BHMT on chromatin and co-IP analysis indicates an interaction between BHMT and DNMT3a. Our data show that both histone and DNA methyltransferase activity are increased following betaine administration. Betaine effects were shown to be dependent on BHMT expression following siRNA knockdown of BHMT. This is the first report of BHMT expression in oligodendrocytes and suggests that betaine acts through BHMT to modulate histone and DNA methyltransferase activity on chromatin. These data suggest that methyl donor availability can impact epigenetic changes and maturation in oligodendrocytes.


Mutations in the Drosophila kep1 gene, encoding a single maxi KH (K homology) domain-containing RNA-binding protein, result in a reduction of fertility in part due to the disruption of the apoptotic programme during oogenesis. This disruption is concomitant with the appearance of an alternatively spliced mRNA isoform encoding the inactive caspase dredd. We generated a Kep1 antibody and have found that the Kep1 protein is present in the nuclei of both the follicle and nurse cells during all stages of Drosophila oogenesis. We have shown that the Kep1 protein is phosphorylated in ovaries induced to undergo apoptosis following treatment with the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin. We have also found that the Kep1 protein interacts specifically with the SR (serine/arginine-rich) protein family member ASF/SF2 (alternative splicing factor/splicing factor 2). This interaction is independent of the ability of Kep1 to bind RNA, but is dependent on the phosphorylation of the Kep1 protein, with the interaction between Kep1 and ASF/SF2 increasing in the presence of activated Src. Using a CD44v5 alternative splicing reporter construct, we observed 99% inclusion of the alternatively spliced exon 5 following kep1 transfection in a cell line that constitutively expresses activated Src. This modulation in splicing was not observed in the parental NIH 3T3 cell line in which we obtained 7.5 % exon 5 inclusion following kep1 transfection. Our data suggest a mechanism of action in which the in vivo phosphorylation status of the Kep1 protein affects its affinity towards its protein binding partners and in turn may allow for the modulation of alternative splice site selection in Kep1–ASF/SF2dependent target genes.


Community engagement has been integrated into undergraduate programme to varying degrees in many universities. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,in particular, has made it compulsory for all students to take at least one credit-bearing subject in Service-Learning (SL). Each SL subject is offered with purpose-designed academic teaching, rigorous service and structured assessment components. At full implementation, in each year, more than 2,800 students enrolled in 4-year full time undergraduate programs are expected to enroll in around 60 subjects offered by a wide range of departments and faculties across the university. These subjects cover a diverse range of topics, such as digital divide, learning difficulties, engineering design, healthy living environments, orthotics, and eco-tourism, to name a few examples. Many of the projects involve ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in some way, ranging from digital literacy training to constructing community learning centers to data analysis and simulation. The target beneficiaries are equally diverse: students serve slum dwellers, disabled people, children with HIV, villagers without water nor electricity, new immigrants, mentally ill patients, ethnic minorities, and so on. To date, they have served in Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Rwanda. This paper reports on the pedagogical design of the program, challenges and strategies for implementation, and the experiences so far, with around 2,000 students enrolled in 2013-14


In safety-critical drive applications the knowledge of the rotor position of an electrical machine is essential to prevent damage of men and machines. This paper analyses several model-based rotor angle fault detection methods for permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM). Starting with a conventional fundamental wave machine model a method based on Analytical Redundancy Relations (ARR), a Parity Space approach, an observer structure and two simple back emf models are compared for fault detection. The ARR method is established with a graphical structural analysis and the Parity Space method is based on a Groebner basis approach. The observer method and the back emf models utilise conventional techniques. In an additional, part the machine model is extended with the differential mutual inductances to improve the dynamic fault detection characteristics. One back emf method is used to present the advantages of the extended machine model in contrast to the conventional one.


The efficient use of the available assets is the goal of the liberalized electricity market.
Nowadays, the development of new technologies of renewable production results in a significant increase in the total installed capacity of this type of generation in the power system. However, the unpredictable nature of this resources results in a changing and non controllable generation that forces the power system to be constantly adapting to these new levels of production. Thermal units, that are the base of generation, are the responsible to replace this changing generation but their ramp rates may not be enough to cover it. Thus, resources must be developed to overcome these inconveniences. The degree to which these resources help system stability is called flexibility. In this thesis, depending on operational short-term or investment long-term decisions, different points of view about flexibility are studied. Short-term includes sources as adaptable demand or storage availability while long-term is examined with the investment. To study the influence of sources in short-term planning, a model of the National Electricity Market (NEM) of Australia is developed, while long-term decisions are tested in 6 and 30 node systems applying Benders decomposition. System Flexibility Index and economic benefit are calculated to measure flexibility. This indicators show that decisions that have to be taken by regulators or transmission system operator for the planning of the market improve when flexibility sources are added.


C67 Aneustat (OMN54), a natural product derivative, has anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory activity as a single agent and in combination with standard of care cytotoxic agents. OMN54 was formulated to inhibit multiple signaling pathways demonstrated to be altered in cancer and to modulate immune responses. It is now appreciated that cancer development is exquisitely susceptible to regulation by immune cells. OMN54 is in late stage pre-clinical development.
 In vitro studies using microarrays and QRT-PCR determined genomic targets of OMN54, which include genes involved in apoptosis (Bax), adhesion (FN-1), metastases (CD26), angiogenesis (HIF1I±) , inflammation (PTGS 1, 2) as well as tumor specific genes (KLK3). Analysis of 25 cytokines chemokines and growth factors using the Luminex platform demonstrated potent immunomodulatory activity of OMN54 treated peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence of mitogen but no effect on normal cytokine production in the absence of mitogen. In vivo, OMN54 significantly inhibited growth of DU145 (androgen-independent) human prostate cancer tumors and induced apoptosis in chemo-resistant AB79 human small cell lung cancer in xenograft studies in mice. OMN54 was shown by flow cytometry to enhance the cycling of AB117 non-small cell lung cancer cells (i.e. entry into G1 from G0 of the cell cycle). Non-small cell lung cancer tumors treated with OMN54 show an increase in the percentage of S, G2 and M cells from about 30% to 50% (cells in these stages are most responsive to cytotoxic agents). As such Aneustat could be a powerful adjuvant to either chemotherapy or to radiation therapy based upon its action on enhanced cell cycling. A three-week treatment with OMN54 imparts significantly increased survival on A549 tumor bearing mice over a 3 month period compared to control treated A549 tumor bearing mice. OMN54 also demonstrated additive or synergistic activity in combination with a number of standard-of-care cytotoxics, including gemcitabine, pemetrexed and methotrexate. OMN54 was well-tolerated in IND-enabling toxicology studies that included multi-day oral dosing in rats over a two, four and six month time period.â\#8364; In summary, OMN54 is effective in inhibiting multiple targets and pathways controlling tumor growth in a number of model systems. IND-enabling toxicology studies have demonstrated OMN54 is orally bioavailable with no visible toxicity at therapeutic doses. A phase I clinical trial in cancer patients was approved in October 2006.


Aims To evaluate an immunohistochemical panel differentiating endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) from uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) and leiomyoma (LM). Methods 94 cases (28 ESS, 41 ULMS, 25 LM) were retrieved and arrayed. 10 immunomarkers (estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), CD10, smooth muscle actin, desmin, h-caldesmon, transgelin, GEM, ASC1, stathmin1) were used. A predictive model was constructed and examined by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis to determine area under the curve (AUC). Results The combination of ER+/PR+/CD10+/GEM−/h-caldesmon−/transgelin− can predict ESS versus ULMS with AUC predictive value of 0.872 (95% CI 0.784 to 0.961, p<0.0001). The combination of ER+/PR+/CD10+/h-caldesmon−/transgelin− can predict low grade (LG) ESS from 'LG' ULMS with AUC predictive value of 0.914 (95% CI 0.832 to 0.995, p<0.0001). Finally, ULMS and ESS, including the LGs, were more likely to be stathmin1+ than LM. Conclusions Due to the different clinical course and management, adding novel antibodies (GEM, transgelin) to the well established immunohistochemistry panel seemed to be useful in distinguishing ESS from ULMS and LG ESS from 'LG' ULMS. Finally, stathmin1 expression could be of value in differentiating LM from uterine sarcomas.


The paper presents the investigations aimed at the determination of the effect of time and wavelength of ultrasound fi eld on the value of capillary suction time (CST), sludge thickening and dry matter of the excess sludge subjected to the process of stabilization. The investigations were carried out on the excess sludge which comes from communal waste treatment plant. The sludge was exposed to ultrasound fi eld, using ultrasound generator with power of 1500 W, frequency of 20 kHz and amplitude 39.42 μm (which corresponded to the amplitude of 100%). Sonication of the sludge was carried out for different amplitudes and sonication times. The non-conditioned sludge and the sludge initially conditioned with ultrasound fi eld were subjected to the process of stabilization in laboratory fl asks (V = 0.5 dm3) for the period of 10 days. On each day, sludge thickening and dewatering capacities were determined. The sludge subjected to the effect of ultrasound fi eld exhibited elevated levels of CST. However, the sonication time had positive effect on the increase in the degree of thickening for each of the amplitudes studied. Also, the process of stabilization positively affected fi nal thickening and dewatering of the sludge.


This paper proposes that strategy activity is the most necessary form of and the foundation for innovation. It is also the real context for any innovation effort that is intended to create competitive advantage, especially in response to three key strategic issues in the construction industry; changing client demands for value, partnering, and supply chain integration. Innovation is the profitable exploitation of ideas. Clearly, this requires two things - a source of ideas that can lend themselves to profitable exploitation and a goal in pursuit of which to exploit the ideas. Those goals are established and met by strategic innovation. The right strategy tools can motivate ideas and insight. However, elements of normal industry practice constitute strong demotivators to profitable strategic innovation, hence the low presence of strategy activities noted in the industry.

This paper discusses the development of the strategic management discourse and aims to identify tools for use in construction industry innovation that relate to its strategic challenges; the Value Chain, Game Theory and Delphi Technique. The paper also identifies the process of 'Bricolage', potentially a fourth tool, or process, which could be a source of hard to imitate advantage in developing strategic innovation practices which act as a catalyst for participation and the means to profitably exploit new ideas. With strategically-oriented innovation, a firm can identify and create new value for its customers and integrate its supply chains. Without it, innovation is at best blind, at worst, will never happen; there is no goal to exploit the idea in pursuit of. Without strategy, there is no motivation to innovate.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if supplementary structured breastfeeding counseling (SSBC) for both parents compared with conventional hospital breastfeeding support (CHBS) improves the duration of breastfeeding in very low-birth-weight infants up to 1 year old.

DESIGN
Randomized trial with longitudinal follow-up of infants at term, and ages 1, 3, 6, and 12 months (infant ages corrected for prematurity).

SETTING
A tertiary-level neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and geographically defined region in central-west Ontario, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS
Parents of infants with a birth weight less than 1500 g, who planned to breastfeed.

INTERVENTIONS
The SSBC consisted of viewing a video on breastfeeding for preterm infants; individual counseling by the research lactation consultant; weekly personal contact in the hospital; and frequent postdischarge contact through the infants' first year or until breastfeeding was discontinued. The CHBS group had standard breastfeeding support from regular staff members confined to the period of hospitalization in the NICU.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Duration of breastfeeding.

RESULTS
At study entry, there were no statistically significant differences in major demographic characteristics between groups. The mean duration of breastfeeding was 26.1 weeks (SD = 20.8; median, 17.4) in the SSBC group and 24.0 weeks (SD = 20.5; median, 17.4) in the CHBS group (not statistically significant).

CONCLUSIONS
Long-term breastfeeding counseling of parents of very low-birth-weight infants in this study did not demonstrate a significant difference in duration of breastfeeding. These results may be explained by the high motivation to breastfeed in both groups, a relatively advantaged population, and the availability of community breastfeeding resources, which may have diminished any significant differences that could have resulted from a breastfeeding intervention. The results of this study, compared with previous studies of very low-birth-weight infants, indicate a new trend to longer duration of breastfeeding in preterm infants.


Industrial automation has become very much popular these days because of its various advantages. This is achieved by using local networking standards and remotely controlling and monitoring industrial device parameters by using Raspberry Pi and Embedded web server Technology. Raspberry Pi module consists of ARM11 processor and Real Time Operating system whereas embedded web server technology is the combination of embedded device and Internet technology. Using embedded web server along with raspberry pi it is possible to monitor and control industrial devices remotely by using local internet browser. Use of these both technology reduce complexibiliy of devices and also reduces overall cost of the system. Keywords— Embedded Web Server, Raspberry Pi, Raspbian OS, TCP-IP.


Background Due to new technologies, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is becoming increasingly important, and has proven to have a significant impact in the decision-making process within the tourist industry. There is a large assortment of research focusing on why consumers voice their opinion online and engage in eWOM. However, there is little research to be found concerning how hotels currently manage online review sites from a service management perspective. Purpose The purpose of this thesis will focus on how hotels actively incorporate online review sites in their management and marketing strategy from a service management perspective. Method Primaryand secondary sources have been used in order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis. A multiple case study including in-depth interviews as well as observations has provided important empirical findings for the analysis and conclusion. Conclusion Through this thesis, the authors have been able to establish how hotels can work successfully with online review sites from a service management perspective. The strategic issue concerned with eWOM is how to encourage customers to interact through TripAdvisor and write and share reviews. In addition, how to treat the online reviews maturely, and how to interact and use the information is imperative.


This dissertation examines risk factors that play a role in the transformation of psychosis-like experiences into psychotic symptoms associated with a psychotic disorder. The aim is to improve prevention and treatment of psychosis. The development of self-reported psychotic experiences was studied by using data from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2 (NEMESIS-II), a large-scale Dutch population screening for mental symptoms. The use of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) gives an insight into emotional changes and psychotic symptoms in daily life. When confronted with stress factors in daily life, individuals at increased risk of developing psychosis report a more negative affect and more psychotic symptoms compared to patients with chronic psychosis and healthy control subjects.


Despite the vast amount of research around the development of modern instructional practices in public education, there is little motivation into adapting the classroom environment to match. This has resulted in a persisting passive model of teaching due to common misconceptions about how students learn and the impacts of classroom design. The purpose of this capstone project is to present the significant influences of the classroom environment by investigating the research question, how can physical classroom design be used to facilitate the implementation of modern teaching practices and create the most effective instructional environment for student learning? Contemporary teaching and learning methods were researched in addition to the classroom design parameters that could facilitate these processes, before concluding the necessity for flexibility both in pedagogy and environment. This capstone discovered that the classroom furniture is the most effective way to facilitate this and create more active student-centered learning. Through the presentation of this research, as well as examples of modern and future furniture designs, this project demonstrates the possibilities and effects of a flexible classroom design. Notwithstanding the evidence, this research and the resulting furniture designs are only effective if used by the very education professionals that will be responsible for instituting a more active student-centered learning environment.


We investigated the durability of the transparency and the conductivity of TiO2:Nb against the high temperature thermal annealing, and the potential as a diffusion barrier layer of phosphorous atoms for silicon quantum dot superlattice solar cells. The films were annealed at 900 °C for 30 minutes under the forming gas atmosphere. After the annealing, conductivity of the films was measured. The conductivity of 247 S/cm was achieved. And the films kept high transparency in the range above 600 nm. From the depth profiles of phosphorous measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), it was revealed that TiO2:Nb works as a diffusion barrier against phosphorous impurity.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in incidence in many countries, and is the most common cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. With regular surveillance, small early HCC lesions can be identified. An algorithm has been developed that allows for diagnosis of these lesions. Very early HCC lesions have high cure rates with appropriate treatment. If all these factors are in place most HCCs can be cured.


Endocannabinoids modulate neuroendocrine networks by directly targeting cannabinoid receptors. The time-hormone melatonin synchronizes these networks with external light condition and guarantees time-sensitive and ecologically well-adapted behaviors. Here, the endocannabinoid arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA) showed rhythmic changes in rat pineal glands with higher levels during the light-period and reduced amounts at the onset of darkness. Norepinephrine, the essential stimulus for nocturnal melatonin biosynthesis, acutely down-regulated AEA and other endocannabinoids in cultured pineal glands. These temporal dynamics suggest that AEA exerts time-dependent autocrine and/or paracrine functions within the pineal. Moreover, endocananbinoids may be released from the pineal into the CSF or blood stream.


ABSTRACT The Arenigian Tourelle Formation is dominated by thick, coarse, graded sandstone layers. These poorly-sorted sands were deposited on submarine fans which formed in response to uplift during initiation of the Taconic orogeny. The base of the formation consists of interbedded red and green shales, and rippled dolomitic siltstones, and is injected in spectacular fashion by fine to coarse sandstone dikes and sills. Sills are the dominant type of injection and may exceed 3 metres in thickness. Depth of burial during injection was on the order of 20 to 60 metres, with sand mobilization being the result of liquefaction and perhaps the thixotropic behavior of a primary clay matrix. The source of injected sand in the Cap Ste-Anne section, which was studied in detail, is inferred to have been a sand-filled submarine channel to the southwest of the present outcrop area. Sand was injected laterally along bedding planes and upward from the base to the top of the sequence. Liquefaction was facilitated by sediment loading and compaction under a clay seal, and was triggered by (1) slumps, which are present in the section, and/or (2) earthquakes associated with contemporary orogenesis. Clastic injection did not occur at higher levels in the Tourelle Formation for want of an impermeable clay seal capable of preventing escape of excess pore fluids during compaction.


Through an international survey of agricultural economists, we shed new light on perceptions about agribusiness education, research, grantsmanship, and outreach. Results indicate that de-partments expect agribusiness faculty to teach more courses, yet maintain research expecta-tions for agribusiness faculty similar to those of their non-agribusiness peers. As a result, agri-business faculty have lowered their engagement in agribusiness extension programs. Moreover, evidence suggests an increasing trend in the amount of grant dollars obtained and the number of refereed publications reported at the time of tenure evaluation, while the number of non-refereed publications has declined. Finally, results indicate that specialized journals, such as the IFAMR, have improved their importance as outlets for agribusiness research.


A series of gene carriers (SP-PEI) have been synthesized by acylation reaction between soybean protein and branched polyethylenimine with low molecular weight of 600, 1200 and 1800 Da, and designed as SP-PEI600, SP-PEI1200 and SP-PEI1800, respectively. SP-PEI could effectively condense plasmid DNA into nanoscale polyplexes with size range of 100–200 nm, and exhibited much lower cytotoxicity against 293T and SH-SY5Y cells than that of branched polyethylenimine (25 kDa). In vitro gene transfection demonstrated that SP-PEI/DNA complex displayed increased transfection against 293T and SH-SY5Y cells with the increase of the weight ratio of SP-PEI/DNA complex with or without 10% serum. At weight ratio of 24, SP-PEI1800/DNA polyplexes showed the highest transfection on SH-SY5Y cells, which was almost three folds higher than PEI (25 kDa). Furthermore, these SP-PEIs/DNA polyplexes could effectively transfect 293T and SH-SY5Y cells with or without 10% serum, suggesting their excellent serum tolerance.


There are many potential applications particularly at microwave frequencies, for filters whose characteristics vary according to the signal applied to the device. Self adaptive bandpass filters are one class which produce a bandpass characteristic around the carrier frequency of a signal. One application is in multimode oscillators where any mode will then be stable when excited by a sample of an r.f. pulse.


Energy efficiency in cellular networks is a growing concern for cellular operators to not only maintain profitability, but also to reduce the overall environment effects. This emerging trend of achieving energy efficiency in cellular networks is motivating the standardization authorities and network operators to continuously explore future technologies in order to bring improvements in the entire network infrastructure. In this article, we present a brief survey of methods to improve the power efficiency of cellular networks, explore some research issues and challenges and suggest some techniques to enable an energy efficient or "green" cellular network. Since base stations consume a maximum portion of the total energy used in a cellular system, we will first provide a comprehensive survey on techniques to obtain energy savings in base stations. Next, we discuss how heterogenous network deployment based on micro, pico and femtocells can be used to achieve this goal. Since cognitive radio and cooperative relaying are undisputed future technologies in this regard, we propose a research vision to make these technologies more energy efficient. Lastly, we explore some broader perspectives in realizing a "green" cellular network technology.


The product of the RET proto-oncogene is a protein belonging to the receptor-like tyrosine kinase superfamily. RET is expressed in several neural crest-derived cell lineages and has been implicated in the correct development of the peripheral nervous system. To gain further insight into RET function, we investigated the presence of active RET in adult rat tissues. We show, by immunoblotting, that the products of the RET proto-oncogene (p155ret) are present in specific regions of adult rat brain, including the cerebellum, striatum, brainstem, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb. Moreover, in the cerebellum, p155ret is phosphorylated in tyrosine residues, thus indicating that this brain structure contains p155ret in an activated state. Finally, the presence of RET in motoneurons prompted us to analyze the effects of hypoglossal nerve section on its expression. We observed a dramatic increase in p155ret in the motoneuron nuclei, thus suggesting that RET tyrosine kinase plays a role in the neuronal response to axotomy and/or during nerve regeneration.


The redox non-innocent ligand 2,2'-bipyrimidine (bpym) reacted with two molar equivalents of LCo(tol) (L = CH(MeC[double bond, length as m-dash]NAr)2, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) to afford the binuclear CoII complex (LCo)2(μ-bpym) (1), in which the bpym moiety accepts two electrons from the metal centers and in the dianion state. Complex 1 readily underwent one-electron oxidation when treated with [Cp2Fe]+[BPh4]- affording the cation salt [(LCo)2(μ-bpym)][BPh4] (2) with the bpym moiety in the radical anion state. Meanwhile, complex 2 could be converted back to 1 with elemental potassium. The magnetic studies revealed that complex 2 is a single molecular magnet (SMM) under a small external field, while 1 has no SMM activity. This represents a new example of a SMM exhibiting a fully reversible 'on/off' switching ability in anodic and neutral states.


A purified pectate lyase isozyme derived from Erwinia chrysanthemi induced rapid net K(+) efflux and H(+) influx in suspension-cultured tobacco cells. Comparable fluxes of other ions (Na(+), Cl(-)) were not observed. The K(+) efflux/H(+) influx response began within 15 minutes after addition of enzyme to cell suspensions and continued for approximately 1 hour after which cells resumed the net H(+) efflux exhibited prior to enzyme treatment. The response was not prolonged by a second enzyme dose 1 hour after the first. The K(+)/H(+) response was characterized by saturation at low enzymic activity (2 x 10(-3) units per milliliter), and inhibition by the protonophore, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, and was not associated with membrane leakiness caused by structural cell wall damage. The total K(+) loss and H(+) uptake induced by enzyme was one-fourth to one-third that induced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi and did not reduce cell viability. These results indicate that pectate lyase induces a K(+) efflux/H(+) influx response in tobacco similar to but of shorter duration than that induced by P. syringae pv. pisi during the hypersensitive response. Pectate lyase or other cell wall degrading enzymes may therefore influence the induction of hypersensitivity.


Cerebral choline metabolism is crucial for normal brain function, and its homoeostasis depends on carrier-mediated transport. Here, we report on four individuals from three families with neurodegenerative disease and homozygous frameshift mutations (Asp517Metfs*19, Ser126Metfs*8, and Lys90Metfs*18) in the SLC44A1 gene encoding choline transporter-like protein 1. Clinical features included progressive ataxia, tremor, cognitive decline, dysphagia, optic atrophy, dysarthria, as well as urinary and bowel incontinence. Brain MRI demonstrated cerebellar atrophy and leukoencephalopathy. Moreover, low signal intensity in globus pallidus with hyperintensive streaking and low signal intensity in substantia nigra were seen in two individuals. The Asp517Metfs*19 and Ser126Metfs*8 fibroblasts were structurally and functionally indistinguishable. The most prominent ultrastructural changes of the mutant fibroblasts were reduced presence of free ribosomes, the appearance of elongated endoplasmic reticulum and strikingly increased number of mitochondria and small vesicles. When chronically treated with choline, those characteristics disappeared and mutant ultrastructure resembled healthy control cells. Functional analysis revealed diminished choline transport yet the membrane phosphatidylcholine content remained unchanged. As part of the mechanism to preserve choline and phosphatidylcholine, choline transporter deficiency was implicated in impaired membrane homeostasis of other phospholipids. Choline treatments could restore the membrane lipids, repair cellular organelles and protect mutant cells from acute iron overload. In conclusion, we describe a novel childhood-onset neurometabolic disease caused by choline transporter deficiency with autosomal recessive inheritance.


The necessity of coordination among entities is essential for the success of any supply chain management (SCM). This paper focuses on coordination between two players and cost-sharing in an SCM that considers a vendor and a buyer. For random demand and complex product production, a flexible production system is recommended. The study aims to minimize the total SCM cost under stochastic conditions. In the flexible production systems, the production rate is introduced as the decision variable and the unit production cost is minimum at the obtained optimal value. The setup cost of flexible systems is higher and to control this, a discrete investment function is utilized. The exact information about the probability distribution of lead time demand is not available with known mean and variance. The issue of unknown distribution of lead time demand is solved by considering a distribution-free approach to find the amount of shortages. The game-theoretic approach is employed to obtain closed-form solutions. First, the model is solved under decentralized SCM based on the Stackelberg model, and then solved under centralized SCM. Bargaining is the central theme of any business nowadays among the players of an SCM to make their profit within a centralized and decentralized setup. For this, a cost allocation model for lead time crashing cost based on the Nash bargaining model with the satisfaction level of SCM members is proposed. The cost allocation model under Nash bargaining achieves exciting results in SCM coordination.


The sustainability of publicly funded Canadian health care services is an ongoing debate. Timely access to services and the availability of qualified health care professionals are vital to the survival of emergency health care services in rural and small towns. One of many factors threatening sustainability is the lack of qualified professionals. The current nursing shortage and the aging nursing workforce present rural hospitals with recruitment and retention challenges that threaten the sustainability of emergency services and thus have the potential to compromise the health of Canadians living in rural communities. Health care decisions are primarily based upon economics without consideration of the diversity of rural communities. Challenges in health care delivery including access to emergency services affect Canadians living in rural communities. These challenges need to be highlighted in the context of rural health as a unique entity in order to build awareness in policy makers to ensure appropriate health care service delivery to rural communities. It is important for researchers and policy makers to recognize that rural hospitals are not mini-urban centres and thus have differing needs. This two phase study focused on the sustainability of emergency health care services in rural and small town Ontario. Using a mixed methods approach, this study explored a descriptive analysis of emergency departments in rural Ontario and concluded with in-depth case studies of three rural emergency departments with varying travel distances to tertiary care facilities. These findings have validated pre-existing frameworks and can be used to assist policy makers at all levels to develop recommendations for sustaining emergency health care services in rural Ontario including ways to recruit, train, retain, and maintain resources that are vital to the survival of rural emergency services.


was seen lying transversely in the oesophagus. It was firmly impacted. It was impossible to rotate the foreign body so that it could be extracted in one piece, as the hooked corners were firmly embedded in the oesophageal wall. With considerable difficulty the plate was broken and removed in four pieces. The photograph shows a duplicate plate and the four pieces of the swallowed denture (see Fig.). During the course of instrumentation the right upper premolar was loosened and was therefore removed. The patient was given antibiotic cover and remained on sterile fluids for 48 hours. She made a-rapid but somewhat uncomfortable recovery.


The paper presents streaming current distributions measured in an overflow system in both laminar and turbulent conditions. For lower values of Reynolds number the profile of current is parabolic. For higher values of Reynolds number the profile is flattened. In this paper also charge density distributions were determined in both cases. In the turbulent regime the volume charge density is distributed in the pipe more evenly compared with the laminar regime.


The use of linguistics within market research is for the most part, marked by its absence. This is perhaps surprising given the potential it offers for analysing what people
have said and what they might mean. Though the study of 'evaluation' has been approached from many different linguistic perspectives, previous work in this field has
tended to focus on individual markers, rather than aiming to provide a fuller, more comprehensive account.
This thesis proposes that it is possible to combine approaches from Discourse and Conversation Analysis, with developments in the field of Systemic Functional Grammar,
to gain a more inclusive understanding of the social and interactional influences that can determine how an evaluation is both formulated and articulated.
The data for this study was collected from thirty paired depth interviews, in the field of New Product Development. This data was transcribed and tagged using O'DOlU1ell's
(2007) CorpusTool software. It was then analysed using Martin and White's (2005)framework of Appraisal Theory, in conjunction with a scale developed from Brown and
Levinson's (1987) Politeness Theory and Sinclair and Coulthard's (1975, 1992) work on teacher! pupil interactions.
As a result of the analysis carried out in this study, two potential extensions to the Appraisal Theory Framework are suggested. These extensions are with regards to the
relevance of the subject matter to the speaker making the evaluation, and the notion of neutral evaluations. In addition to taking an existing framework and developing it for a new purpose, this thesis also contributes to the wider understanding of 'evaluation', through the development of a Scale of Importance for individual hu'J1S, with regards to
the 'weight' that should be assigned to them due to their place in the turn taking structure.


Early human development from late gestation to the neonatal period is a critical time in the individual's life span. Preterm birth or medical issues affecting the brain function during late gestation or the first months of life may lead to an avalanche of neurodevelopmental problems, including cognitive deficits and motor disability, with lifelong consequences for the individuals, their families, the health care system and the society (de Kieviet et al., 2012; March of Dimes, PMNCH, Save the Children, WHO, 2012). Despite the need for the alleviation of perinatal adversities, effective monitoring methods and clinical diagnostic procedures able to reduce fetal impairment and advance neonatal and infant healthcare are still missing.

The focus of this E-Book is on the most recent developments and findings in the field of non-invasive monitoring of the central and autonomous nervous systems in fetuses and infants. The contributed opinion, review and original research articles included in this E-Book cover different methodological, clinical, functional, and structural topics, with the purpose to disseminate the knowledge on novel perinatal diagnostic tools and procedures, and to share the findings of high quality functional assessment of the developing human brain, and of clinical studies on pathological neurodevelopment.

The fundamental requirement for a healthy functional development of the brain is the maintenance of an adequate blood flow and oxygenation. Inadequate brain perfusion is the main cause of preterm brain damage, which can be diagnosed by high-frequency ultrasound. Camfferman et al. (2015) performed an in vitro experiment using a microvessel flow phantom designed to mimic preterm cerebral perfusion and assess blood flow velocity. Their flow phantom allowed the visualization of the vessels, but flow velocity and vessel diameter were overestimated. Therefore, the authors solicited the development of a sonographic tool for clinical practice to study regional perfusion in preterm babies.

Conversely, fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) is a well-established diagnostic tool for fetal surveillance. Two original research papers describe the findings of studies performed with fMCG to estimate the development of the autonomic nervous system. It is known that, around 32 weeks of gestation, four fetal behavioral states (quiet and active sleep and awakeness) can be identified by combining fetal heart rate variability (fHRV) and fetal movements. Brandle et al. (2015) confirmed these results in 55 fetuses and also showed that only quiescence and active awakeness can be found in fetuses younger than 32 weeks, respectively in the 58.5 and 41.5% of cases. Therefore, fHRV parameters can differentiate fetal behavioral states at different ages and can show the neurovegetative modulation of each state, thus offering new insights into the vegetative development in utero. On the other hand, Hoyer et al. (2014) proved that the use of the fMCG based fetal Autonomic Brain Age Score (fABAS) may help estimating the fetal autonomic brain age, suggesting that the establishment of a fABAS score normogram is needed.

To understand the normal functional development of the fetal brain, periods of developmental vulnerability should be identified to assess the function of the fetal nervous system and open a window on novel prenatal diagnostics and prognostics. MRI has become increasingly feasible and clinically important in fetal brain studies due to its higher tissue resolution and better visualization of normal and pathological development of macroscopic anatomy or white matter microstructure and connections. Jakab et al. (2014) employed resting-state MRI (rsMRI) in 32 fetuses with no detectable morphological abnormalities to investigate the developmental changes in the functional connectivity architecture. They demonstrated that the short-range and interhemispheric connections show a sigmoid development peaking at around 26–29 gestational weeks, whereas long-range connections do not show any peak. They also observed an increasing region-specific functional connectivity from 24 to 28 gestational weeks, starting with the occipital and ending with the parietal cortex. Schopf et al. (2014) used the same method to investigate the relationship between eye movements and brain functional activity in seven fetuses. The emergence of the visuomotor system involves the relationship of intrinsic and extrinsic components supposed to shape the subsequent development of perception. Schopf and colleagues showed that spontaneous fetal eye movements are linked to the simultaneous networks in visual and frontal brain regions, demonstrating that the preparation of the human visuomotor system links visual and motor areas already in utero.

Despite the advancements in monitoring techniques and perinatal care, clinicians still have limited means to predict neurodevelopmental outcomes and plan early intervention. In their opinion article, Giampietri et al. (2015) offer a succinct and clear overview of the non-invasive techniques actually employed. The authors focused on the neonatal application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), claiming that, although its low predictive power, advanced MRI techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or spectrography could be useful in anticipating the diagnosis of brain damage and should become part of standard clinical care. The recent advances in diffusion MRI (dMRI) have also a great potential for a better understanding of neuronal connectivity impairments in preterm babies, as brilliantly exposed by Dudink et al. (2015) in their review article, or in revealing structural connectivity changes in infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as discussed by Conti et al. (2015) in their review article, suggesting a shift from hyper- to hypo-connectivity at around 3 years of age.

The development of functional connectivity patterns from infancy to childhood were studied also by Berchicci et al. (2015), who investigated the intrahemispheric properties of the sensorimotor system from 3 to 60 months of life using a prototypal magnetoencephalographic (MEG) system. In line with prior findings on the development of the adult fronto-parietal network for adaptive online task control, which involves both segregation and integration, the authors showed that this network, which provides a neurophysiological basis for the action-perception coupling, evolved with age from a more random to an adult small-world organization, more efficient for both local and global information processing. Another study regarding the development of the infant motor and motivation systems was conducted by Moon et al. (2015), who designed a contingent sucking preference study to test neonatal motivation to the mother or an unfamiliar female. Although difficult to demonstrate, electrophysiological studies showed that newborns use prenatal experiences and the motivational system to produce responses to familiar sounds. The authors demonstrated a weak neonate's contingent sucking response to the maternal voice, which was ascribed to insufficient neonates' motivation to alter their behavior, therefore pointing to the complementary value of electrophysiological and behavioral studies for very early development.

Finally, electroencephalography (EEG) is the most commonly used technique to non-invasively assess neonatal brain activity, but the main challenge in interpreting EEG signals is the quantitative characterization of the spontaneous "background activity" in sick neonates. Matic et al. (2015) applied multifactorial detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) to long-term EEG from 34 asphyxiated neonates to distinguish different grades of abnormality in EEG background activity, which could help monitoring the brain state changes occurring during long periods of time. The EEG from a normal developing neonate also presents specific characteristics. Koolen et al. (2014) used the interhemispheric synchrony (HIS) and the activation synchrony index (ASI) to analyze EEG traces from normal and abnormal neonates, and found these measures promising for diagnostic and clinical purposes. In particular, the ASI was able to correctly distinguish between normal and abnormal neonates in the 97% of cases.


The objective of this study was to determine the extent and nature of psychosocial morbidity and patterns of treatment and referral in rural general practice in a West Australian community. The research design was a survey based on structured questionnaires completed by the general practitioners about patients consulting with mental health problems in Bunbury in the rural south west region of Western Australia. Twenty-two general practitioners from five surgeries collected information on 428 patients, pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, reasons for encounter, diagnoses, social problems, chronicity, counselling, medication and use of referral services. The positive stereotype of patients (i.e. most likely to be identified) consisted of a female preponderance in a ratio of 3:1, a high prevalence in the middle years (35-54), an overrepresentation of the divorced and separated, unemployed men and housewives. Neurosis was the most prevalent diagnosis at 68.5%, chronicity at 55%, and the most frequent social problems reported to the GPs related to relationship difficulties with partner, and being physically ill. Only a quarter of the patients were referred to other counselling services and social problems were an important reason for referral. Particular attention needs to be given to the negative stereotype in general practice of young people under the age of 25. With the bulk of psychosocial disorder concentrated in general practice, with the evident association of mental illness with physical illness and social problems, and with the lack of specialist resources in rural areas, innovative ways of support from other mental health professionals need to be addressed.


BACKGROUND
Studying the work-family relationships is important because it affects the personal and professional life. Women increases in medicine without redistribute domestic tasks and responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to create and validate a scale of work-family relations in women and men family physician (FP) in Andalusia.

METHODS
Cross sectional and multicenter study. The study population were FP of urban primary care centres, sample=500FP (50% by sex). We studied: sex, age, postgraduate family medicine specialty, care burden (2 variables), and family burden (7 variables). We design, and included in self-administered questionnaires, a scale of 13 questions on work-family relations. Bivariate analysis, exploratory factor and multiple regressions to test the convergent validity was performed.

RESULTS
The response rate was 73.6%. We identified two dimensions, Overloading and Family Support Deficit (OFSD) (5 questions), and Work-Family Conflict (WFC) (6 questions), in both, female FP score higher than their peers. There are more family variables associated with both dimensions in female FP, it expresses differences in the complexity of the causes of OFSD and WFC by sex.

CONCLUSION
The scale obtained is valid, reliable and gives two empirical dimensions of family-work relationships.


Article 28 of the ICC Statute encapsulates the concept of command or superior responsibility. This is a complex and multilayered concept of liability. It is, on the one hand, a mode of liability, and, on the other hand, a separate offense. It is noteworthy that certain national laws recognize the various "layers" of superior responsibility in that they criminalize these different concepts of superior responsibility in separate provisions. In that sense a "conceptual distinction" is made. Article 28 of the ICC Statute does not provide for such a distinction. The distinction the provision does make, however, is that between military and nonmilitary superiors. To this author9s opinion that distinction should be removed and replaced by a conceptual distinction.


We have developed a simple, fast, portable, inexpensive, and indirect method for the determination of water in ethanol fuels. The addition of an excess amount of water is the most simple and common method of adulterating these fuels. Such procedure can adversely affect the performance of the vehicle. Our system uses a laboratory-made photometry device to monitor the formation of complexes between ethanol and cerium(IV). These reactions produce deep orange–red solutions. The limit of detection and the analytical sensitivity were estimated to be 0.22% v/v (water in ethanol) and 0.11 (% v/v)−1, respectively. The developed platform was satisfactorily robust with respect to the changes in temperature and stability of the reagents during storage. The measurements were accurate at the 95% confidence level compared with data obtained by Karl Fischer titration.


ABSTRACT Communication signals underpin the social lives of animals, from species recognition to mate selection and territory defense. Animal signals are diverse in structure between and within species, with the diversity reflecting interacting factors of shared evolutionary history, constraints imposed on senders and receivers and the ecological context in which signalling takes place. The dragon lizards of Australia (family Agamidae) are known for their movement-based visual displays and are useful models for how ecology influences behaviour. However, we know little about the communication strategies of many species. Our aim here was to provide new knowledge on some of these species, focusing on the north-west of Western Australia. We filmed within-species pairwise interactions of Diporiphora superba, D. bennetti, D. sobria and Ctenophorus isolepis isolepis. We describe and quantify for the first time push-up displays by D. superba and C. isolepis isolepis and tail waving displays of D. bennetti. Only D. sobria did not generate movement-based visual signals. We have confirmed that more species engage in such behaviour than previously reported, but further work is required to document the full repertoire of these species. The implications of our work are discussed in the context of signal structure, function and environmental context.


Samuel R. Delany, whose theoretically sophisticated science fiction and fantasy has won him a broad audience among academics and fans of postmodernist fiction, offers insights into and explorations of his own experience as writer, critic, theorist, and gay black man in his new collection of written interviews, a form he describes as a type of "guided essay." Gathered from sources as diverse as Diacritics and Comics Journal, these interviews reveal the broad range of his thought and interests.


Control of retinoic acid synthesis in vertebrate organisms is undoubtedly important for regulating the numerous retinoid signaling events which occur during development. The mechanisms which accomplish this task involve enzymes such as class I aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1), which has recently been found to be conserved from amphibians to mammals and which functions as a retinoic acid biosynthetic enzyme in vivo. Here we have found that Xenopus ALDH1 mRNA and protein is expressed in a subset of retinoid‐dependent tissues which develop shortly after neurulation during the tail bud stages. ALDH1 mRNA was first clearly detectable by in situ hybridization in stage 28 tail bud embryos localized in the olfactory placode and pronephros, and at stage 35 mRNA was also detected in the pronephric duct. Antibodies were generated against Xenopus ALDH1, and immunohistochemistry was used to demonstrate that ALDH1 protein accumulates in the olfactory placode, pronephros, and dorsal retina at stage 28, and additionally in the lens placode and pronephric duct at stage 35. Neither ALDH1 mRNA nor protein was detected in the posterior region of Xenopus embryos during the tail bud stages. In contrast to neurula stage embryos in which retinoic acid is distributed in an anteroposterior gradient with the high end posteriorly, we found that tail bud stage embryos have retinoic acid present in significant levels in both the head and trunk regions, but with no detection in the posterior region. These findings are consistent with ALDH1 contributing to retinoic acid synthesis needed for development of certain head structures (olfactory placodes, dorsal retina, lens placode) and certain trunk structures (pronephros and pronephric duct). Dev Dyn 1999;215:264–272. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


OBJECTIVE
The members of the International Consortium for Oral Clefts Genetics recognize the need for collaboration between researchers involved in etiologic studies of nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate and cleft palate. To address this need, the consortium established four working subcommittees: diagnostic and phenotypic assessment, molecular genetic studies, epidemiologic data collection and analysis, and genetic data collection and analysis. These subcommittees were charged with the development of guidelines for data collection and analysis that would facilitate both a priori and a posteriori comparisons and pooling of data from multiple centers. This report presents summary statements of the four subcommittees.


To further understand displacement based seismic theory of building structures, the seismic performance evaluation using capacity spectrum method related to damping is carried out for the reinforced concrete frame-shear wall model structure of a thermal power main plant. By comparing with time-history analysis results, it can be seen that some problems such as equivalence of multi-degree-of-freedom system and value of equivalent damping ratio in capacity spectrum method remains to be further investigated. Force and displacement response of structures and plastic hinges position of all members could be obtained through nonlinear push-over analysis after determining the top displacement; weak parts and damage pattern of structures could also be easily found out by this method. At last, research shows that dynamic time-history analysis can be replaced by static push-over analysis, which is regarded as an exact seismic performance evaluation method by contrast.


Mesenteric lymphangioma (ML) is a cystic tumor developed at the base of the mesentery, which occurs frequently in children, rarely in adults, with nonspecific symptoms, often diagnosed late. The diagnosis is made by computer tomography and the curative treatment is the surgical one with good results and with optimal postoperative outcome. A 44-year-old patient for whom mesh surgery for incisional hernia post appendectomy has been performed was admitted to our clinic for nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms for which he has also been investigated multiple times in other services. On the right flank and iliac fossa, a tumor of firmelastic consistency is detected, relatively well delimited. Computed tomography (CT) describes the lesion as a mesenteric tumor. Intraoperatively, a cystic tumor is detected, which is punctured, the biochemical result highlighting the lymphatic character. The surgical treatment was represented by segmental intestinal resection with entero-enteroanastomosis. No postoperative events were reported.


Abstract Alkaline lamprophyre intrusives from the western Deccan Traps (Murud-Janjira, south of Bombay) host rare lithospheric xenoliths and megacrysts. The xenolith suite consists of clinopyroxenites and granulites which show eclogitic affinities. The former have transitional (porphyroclastic to equigranular) textures whereas the latter are porphyroclastic, xenomorphic to meta-igneous. The textural features provide evidence of ductile-brittle deformation. The protoliths of the pyroxenite and granulite xenoliths were formed as cumulates of alkaline and sub-alkaline magmas respectively. Mineral chemistry and geochemical data for the xenoliths bear testimony to the metasomatized nature of the deep crust. The xenolith data coupled with the geophysical evidence indicate that the lower crust beneath Murud-Janjira is dominated by mafic granulites and pyroxenites. The latter have under- and intra-plated the continental crust beneath the region.


The dazzling wealth of data that Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can provide on biological systems leads to its application in many thousands of studies published annually. This review highlights a number of key papers which used the technique in the field of Structural Biology, appearing in peer-reviewed journals over the 12 month period up until May 2014. The first part of the chapter deals with papers which present methodological advances, in particular in sample production and new or improved algorithms for data analysis. Subsequently, a number of studies are summarised, selected for their particular biological interest or due to the challenging nature of the system under investigation. As far as possible within the constraints of space, the methods used are described. The review is thus intended to provide the reader with a snapshot of the "state of the art" of NMR in Structural Biology.


Clinical Image: A 45-year-old male farmer presented with blunt ocular trauma by cow horn in the left eye three days back. He had undergone manual small incision cataract surgery with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation five years back with good postoperative gain of vision. At presentation his vision was hand motion close to face. Slit lamp examination revealed full chamber hyphema (Figure 1A) and anterior chamber details were not clear. On down gaze, posterior chamber intraocular lens was seen in the superior subconjunctival space (Figure 1B). Intraoperatively, subconjunctival scleral rupture was noted at the site of cataract incision. The single-piece rigid polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lens with intact haptic was removed, hyphema drained, surgical iridectomy of prolapsed iris done, the anterior chamber reformed and the wound resutured. A secondary intraocular lens implantation was performed later. This case highlights a rare presentation of blunt ocular trauma


: This article reviews the current status of the prevention and treatment of hypertension. The need to prevent complications resulting from hypertension is stressed. However, once complications do develop, rehabilitation and secondary prevention is necessary. There is a tremendous need for health education in South Africa regarding complications from hypertension. Programmes for the treatment of hypertension are a major therapeutic challenge.


This paper describes an innovative design concept to enable electronic control of the flow delivered by external spur gear pumps. The basic principle used to obtain flow variation relies on a variable timing concept previously demonstrated by the author's research team. This principle permits to vary the flow within a certain range, without introducing additional sources of power loss. Previous work proved the applicability of the proposed concept in a pressure compensated design of an external gear pump for high pressure applications. This concept took advantage of the pressure differential acting on the "slider", which is an internal element performing the flow regulation.In this paper, a solution that permits to achieve balance of the pressure forces acting on the slider is proposed. This solution reduces the actuation forces, thus enabling direct flow control actuation through an electronic control system. The proposed solution is cost effective, it consists of a limited number of parts, and it is suitable for pumps without pressure compensation, i.e. for low or intermediate pressures.The paper details the aspects of the pump design, which was performed by using a multi-objective algorithm that maximizes the flow operating range and at the same time the pump. The optimum design could achieve a flow variation of about 32% in simulation and this was also demonstrated in actual experiments on a prototype realized at the author's Research Center.The proposed design can impact several of the current applications of external gear pumps, introducing the additional "flow on demand" capability.Copyright © 2017 by ASME


The following is a reprint of the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy Essay published in 2011, with minor text, citation, and footnote revisions. The original abstract is below:In a recent article Professors Lawrence Rosenthal and Joyce Lee Malcolm provided an intriguing debate over the standard of scrutiny that should be applied to restrictions on the Second Amendment in the wake of McDonald v. City of Chicago. This article sets forth to illuminate two aspects of that debate. The first is Professor Rosenthal's concern on the constitutionality of open-carry or conceal-carry prohibitions. He inaccurately claims that the Founders left insufficient historical evidence to support such prohibitions, thus this article addresses those concerns through the use of "historical guideposts." The second aspect this article sets forth to address is Rosenthal and Malcolm's characterization of the Second Amendment's "well-regulated militia" language, for it highlights a historical and legal error that continues to pollute contemporary Second Amendment jurisprudence. This error being a "well-regulated militia" does not merely equate to "well-trained," nor is it a vehicle to analyze gun control regulations in the constraints of the opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller.


Abstract. This work presents the methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) products as generated by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) processor developed during the project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water). The processor retrieves CH4 and N2O with different water vapour and water vapour isotopologues (as well as HNO3) and uses a single a priori data set for all the retrievals (no variation in space and time). Firstly, the characteristics and errors of the products are analytically described. Secondly, the products are comprehensively evaluated by comparisons to the following reference data measured by different techniques and from different platforms as follows: (1) aircraft CH4 and N2O profiles from the five HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observation (HIPPO) missions; (2) continuous in situ CH4 and N2O observations performed between 2007 and 2017 at subtropical and mid-latitude high-mountain observatories (Izaña Atmospheric Observatory and Jungfraujoch, respectively) in the framework of the WMO–GAW (World Meteorological Organization–Global Atmosphere Watch) programme; (3) ground-based FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer) measurements made between 2007 and 2017 in the framework of the NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) at the subtropical Izaña Atmospheric Observatory, the mid-latitude station of Karlsruhe and the Kiruna polar site.The theoretical estimations and the comparison studies suggest a precision for the N2O and CH4 retrieval products of about 1.5–3 % and systematic errors due to spectroscopic parameters of about 2 %. The MUSICA IASI CH4 data offer a better sensitivity than N2O data. While for the latter the sensitivity is mainly limited to the UTLS (upper troposphere–lower stratosphere) region, for CH4 we are able to prove that at low latitudes the MUSICA IASI processor can detect variations that take place in the free troposphere independently from the variations in the UTLS region. We demonstrate that the MUSICA IASI data qualitatively capture the CH4 gradients between low and high latitudes and between the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere; however, we also find an inconsistency between low- and high-latitude CH4 data of up to 5 %. The N2O latitudinal gradients are very weak and cannot be detected. We make comparisons over a 10-year time period and analyse the agreement with the reference data on different timescales. The MUSICA IASI data can detect day-to-day signals (only in the UTLS), seasonal cycles and long-term evolution (in the UTLS and for CH4 also in the free troposphere) similar to the reference data; however, there are also inconsistencies in the long-term evolution connected to inconsistencies in the used atmospheric temperature a priori data.Moreover, we present a method for analytically describing the a posteriori-calculated logarithmic-scale difference of the CH4 and N2O retrieval estimates. By correcting errors that are common in the CH4 and N2O retrieval products, the a posteriori-calculated difference can be used for generating an a posteriori-corrected CH4 product with a theoretically better precision than the original CH4 retrieval products. We discuss and evaluate two different approaches for such a posteriori corrections. It is shown that the correction removes the inconsistencies between low and high latitudes and enables the detection of day-to-day signals also in the free troposphere. Furthermore, they reduce the impact of short-term atmospheric dynamics, which is an advantage, because respective signals are presumably hardly comparable to model data. The approach that affects the correction solely on the scales on which the errors dominate is identified as the most efficient, because it reduces the inconsistencies and errors without removing measurable real atmospheric signals. We give a brief outlook on a possible usage of this a posteriori-corrected MUSICA IASI CH4 product in combination with inverse modelling.


Thorough study of work conditions and health state of stone masons proved physical overload to be a principal factor in charge of the occupational diseases. The physical overload is associated with prevalent manual tasks, frequent monotonous movements, lifting and manual carriage of heavy net weight during the working shift, uncomfortable working postures, unfavorable climate conditions. Nearly half (55.9%) of the examinees were diagnosed as having peripheral neurologic disorders and locomotion diseases--autonomous and sensory polyneuropathy, "frozen shoulder" syndrome, shoulder epicondylitis.


We describe the measured group-velocity dispersion characteristics of several air-silica photonic crystal fibers with anomalous group-velocity dispersion at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The values measured over a broad spectral range are compared to those predicted for an isolated strand of silica surrounded by air. We demonstrate a strictly single-mode fiber which has zero dispersion at a wavelength of 700 mm. These fibers are significant for the generation of solitons and supercontinua using ultrashort pulse sources.


This work is a critique of the program of "environment-induced decoherence" as advocated by Zurek, Zeh and Joos, among others. In particular, the alleged relevance of decoherence for a solution of the "measurement problem" is subjected to a detailed philosophical analysis. In the first chapter, an attempt is made to unravel what exactly this "measurement problem" amounts to for the decoherence theorists. The second chapter reviews the standard decoherence literature. The third chapter starts with a brief discussion of the philosophical implications of the decoherence program, followed by a non-standard reconstruction of the decoherence argument that aims to uncover some (mostly hidden) assumptions underlying the approach. It is argued that different subsets of these assumptions result in different versions of the decoherence argument. Next, these assumptions are investigated in more detail, and a number of open problems for the decoherence approach is formulated, in addition to the well-known "problem of outcomes". These problems concern the interpretational relevance of the preferred basis, the role and status of the ignorance interpretation of mixed states, imperfect decoherence and the role of the environment and the definition of subsystems. The fourth chapter addresses the question to what extent the embedding of decoherence in an Everett-like interpretational framework, such as Zurek's "existentional interpretation" and Wallace's structural-realistic version of the many-worlds interpretation, helps to resolve these problems. The main conclusions are formulated in the fifth chapter. Namely: 1) decoherence cannot address the "preferred-basis problem" without adding new interpretational axioms to the standard formalism, 2) the the locality principle (that says that the environment is the "irrelevant" part and should therefore be ignored) is not only problematic but also interpretationally superfluous, 3) the decoherence approach, when formulated in terms of the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, is predicated on a solution of the "problem of outcomes" and thus cannot claim to account (even partially) for the latter, and 4) that the results of the decoherence program do not increase the plausibility of a realist interpretation of the quantum state.


The synthesis of antibodies to proteinases, such as terrilytin, hygrolytin, brinase, trypsin, chemotrypsin and papain was studied by using the complement fixation test and immunoelectrophoresis. The results obtained indicated that proteinases possessing fibrinolytic activities proved to differ considerably by their immunogenic properties. The antibody formation to microbial proteinases was found to be more intensive than against the enzymes from the antimal tissues.


This paper deals with the design of a suitable microreactor for the catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There are a number of ways to release VOCs into the atmosphere, typically during processing of natural gas and handling petroleum products. As VOCs are harmful to our health, there is increased scientific interest in developing technologies for their destruction. Catalytic oxidation is one of them. Microreactors have showed higher efficiency than the conventional ones, mainly due to their large surface area to volume ratio and excellent heat and mass transfer properties. The design of a microreactor can be explored based on simulation results obtained by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package of COMSOL Multiphysics. The first design step, based on cold flow simulation, was the selection of the most suitable microreactor geometry and configuration. Four different geometries had been proposed and simulated to evaluate the fluid behaviour in the microchannels. One of them, Type A2, allowed the most uniform flow distribution in all channels, as assessed through relative standard deviation calculations. The second design step involved the investigation of the VOCs catalytic oxidation, using propane as model molecule, occurring in the microreactor with the geometry/configuration previously found. The proposed microreactor consists of eleven parallel channels of square cross-section, with 0.5 × 10 -3 m width, 0.5 × 10 -3 m height and 0.1 m length. The catalytic microreactor was simulated for temperatures between 563 K and 663 K and inlet flow velocities from 0.01 to 1.00 m·s -1 . The exit propane conversion increased rapidly with increasing temperature for a fixed inlet flow velocity. For a fixed temperature, the propane conversion increased as the inlet flow velocity decreased.


Background & objective: In order to have effective parenting, which, in turn, results in children being happy, healthy and productive, it is necessary to design an effective indigenous pattern based on the Iranian culture. The aim of this study was to explore indicators of successful parenting of adolescents among Iranian families. Methods: This applied study used qualitative grounded theory to gather its data. 13 cases of successful parents were selected using theoretical sampling. They were studied using in-depth interviews over a period of 6 months. After collecting the data, they were recorded and coded in terms of categories, and then they were classified. In analyzing the data, the original codes were identified and based on axial coding, categories of parental role were identified. Results: In the context of the role of parents, appreciation, encouraging, sincerity, positive communication, navigation, responsibility, fairness, monitoring, control and modeling role of parents were identified as parenting indicators. Conclusion: The findings of this study can be helpful for parents in the upbringing of healthy young adults. Family counselors and psychologists could also apply the results of this study for educating families for successful parenting. Paper Type: Research Article.


Introduction: The increase in the consumption of antibiotics is becoming a significant problem of recent years in Greece. This study focuses in the necessity of antimicrobial stewardship programs in order to reduce antibiotics misuse.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the excessive antibiotics use and the development of antimicrobial resistance, while spotting measures of antibiotic misuse reduction through the implementation of various protocols by health professionals.
Method: A systematic literature review of research articles was performed, using the electronic database Pubmed and search engine Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were English language, the research methodology, the specific time that the study was conducted (2007-2017). Five hundred and forty-two articles were found and finally 36 research studies were included in the present systematic review covering all of the inclusion criteria.
Results: Mortality in patients with resistant infectious loads is twice as high as patients infected with non-resistant microorganisms. Prolonged hospitalization increases the risk of developing antibiotic resistance. Applying empirical therapy is often ineffective on colonized patients with multidrug resistant bacteria.
Conclusion: The developement of antimicrobial resistance seems to be a constant threat for public health, leading to morbidity and mortality increase. Designing and implementing new and better practices is the most effective way for combating the problem. Continuous search for new solutions, combined with communication strategies between all stakeholders could contribute to a proper use of antibiotics, in order to promote and protect public health.


When decisions are made to construct new stadia or to undertake major renovation work, the decision makers often assume that more spectators will be attracted. This so-called "novelty effect" is used as an argument that an impulse towards increased demand for the region and its services will be created, thus justifying public sector management to supply public funding. This study registers the novelty effect of soccer stadia in Germany since the beginning of the Bundesliga (1963-64) up to the end of the 2003-04 season and is based on annual team attendance per game. The data from all 12,488 completed games was used to create the annual attendance per game for each team. A persistent novelty effect of around 2,700 spectators per match (10.7% increase) can be seen. This value is significantly below the values calculated for the US-American professional leagues. The extent to which public funding for soccer stadium buildings can be justified will be small indeed.


Abstract. Starting from the object-oriented idea, this paper analyses the existing event-based models and the logical relationship between behavioral cognition and events, and discusses the continuity of behavioral cognition on the time axis from the perspective of temporal and spatial cognition. A geospatial data model based on behavioral-event is proposed. The physical structure and logical structure of the model are mainly designed, and the four-dimensional model of "time, space, attribute and event" is constructed on the axis. The organic combination of the four models can well describe the internal mechanism and rules of geographical objects. The expression of data model based on behavior-event not only elaborates the basic information of geospatial objects, but also records the changes of related events caused by the changes of geographic Entities' behavior, and expresses the relationship between spatial and temporal objects before and after the changes of behavior cognition. This paper also designs an effective method to organize spatio-temporal data, so as to realize the effective management and analysis of spatio-temporal data and meet the requirements of storage, processing and mining of large spatio-temporal data.


In order to understand diagrammatic reasoning with multiple diagrams, this study proposes a theoretical framework that focuses on the cognitive processes of perceptual and conceptual integration. The perceptual integration process involves establishing interdependence between relevant system elements that have been dispersed across multiple diagrams, while the conceptual integration process involves generating and refining hypotheses about a system by combining higher-level information inferred from the diagrams. This study applies a diagrammatic reasoning framework of a single diagram to assess the usability of multiple diagrams as an integral part of a system development methodology. Our experiment evaluated the effectiveness and usability of design guidelines to aid problem solving with multiple diagrams. The results of our experiment revealed that understanding a system represented by multiple diagrams involves a process of searching for related information and of developing hypotheses about the target system. The results also showed that these perceptual and conceptual integration processes were facilitated by incorporating visual cues and contextual information in the multiple diagrams as representation aids. Visual cues indicate which elements in a diagram are related to elements in other diagrams; the contextual information indicates how the individual datum in one diagram is related to the overall hypothesis about the entire system.


It is cost-effective to construct a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) grid via
interconnecting existing HVDCs. The grid protection and the interconnection between HVDCs
are studied in the thesis.
The future HVDC grid will be protected via the hybrid HVDC circuit breakers due to their
high interrupting speed and low conduction losses. The hybrid DC circuit breakers have to be
installed at each line end to fulfil the requirement of the grid protection. The overall cost of the
breakers used in a HVDC grid will be extremely high as each breaker contains a large number
of semiconductor switches. The research question in this part is how to reduce the cost of the
hybrid DC circuit breakers. The novel interlink hybrid HVDC circuit breakers based on the
concept of sharing main breaker branch will be proposed to reduce the size of the main breaker
branch. An alternative method through coordination of converters and hybrid HVDC circuits
breakers will be proposed to reduce the current rating of the breaker.
Most of the commissioned HVDC projects are point-to-point Line Commutated Converter
(LCC) HVDCs. The interconnection of LCC-HVDCs will achieve the benefits of the grid
operation, such as highly efficient and flexible power transportation, and high security of power
transportation. However, benefits of the interconnection are hindered by the disadvantages of
the LCC-HVDC. The first one is that a LCC-HVDC has to reverse its voltage polarity in order
to reverse its power. The second one is that a LCC-HVDC is at risk of the commutation failure,
which will cause a DC fault when a commutation failure occurs. The research question in this
part is how to achieve the interconnection of LCC-HVDCs with the benefits of the grid
operation. Interconnection of LCC-HVDCs with the capability of power reversal and
commutation failure mitigation will be studied, and the corresponding controls for the
interconnection system will be proposes.


Surfactant administration to infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation was compared between two time periods (1 April 1994 to 31 March 1996 and 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2001). Overall administration increased significantly from 41% to 54%, and within one hour of birth from 13% to 60%. Regional data collection and feedback helps promote quality improvement and implementation of published evidence and guidelines.


Fast replacement models (or surrogates) have been widely applied in the recent years to accelerate simulation-driven design procedures in microwave engineering. The fundamental reason is a considerable—and often prohibitive—CPU cost of massive full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analyses related to solving common tasks such as parametric optimization or uncertainty quantification. The most popular class of surrogates are data-driven models, which are fast to evaluate, versatile, and easy to handle. Notwithstanding, the curse of dimensionality as well as the utility demands (e.g., so that the model covers sufficiently broad ranges of the system operating conditions), limit the applicability of conventional methods. A performance-driven modeling paradigm allows for mitigating these issue by focusing the surrogate setup process in a constrained domain encapsulating designs being of high quality w.r.t. the assumed figures of interest. The nested kriging framework capitalizing on this idea, renders the constrained surrogate using kriging interpolation, and has been shown to surpass traditional approaches. In pursuit of further accuracy improvements, this work incorporates the performance-driven concept into the fully-connected regression model (FRCM). The latter has been recently introduced in the context of frequency selective surfaces, and combined deep neural networks with Bayesian optimization, the latter employed to determine the network architecture and hyper-parameters. Using two examples of miniaturized microstrip couplers, our methodology is demonstrated to outperform both conventional modeling techniques and nested kriging, with reliable models constructed over multi-dimensional parameters spaces using just a few hundreds of samples.


Monopoly is a particular problem in markets where experience goods are traded, since the consumer cannot respond to bad experiences by switching repeat purchases to another supplier. New evidence shows how the defence ministry as buyer in the Soviet market for military goods responded to this problem by investing in an evaluation of quality prior to purchase, by showing reluctance to buy, and by exploiting the available non-market means to influence the defence industry as supplier. The effectiveness of these stratagems was limited by the defence industry's counteractions and because the buyer had no choice but to come to a compromise with the supplier.


A parallel architecture for the computation of Hessian elliptic curve scalar multiplication over binary fields is presented. The architecture was designed as general as possible trying to make no assumptions about the specific hardware platform to be used by the designers. The idea of using parallel strategies was considered in every design stage and implemented as much as hardware resources allowed us to do it so. The design results reported allow us to compute GF(2/sup 191/) elliptic curve scalar multiplication operations in about 114.7/spl mu/ Secs.


Epoxide filled composites are being increasingly used for mouldings blocks of hybrid injection moulds. The filling is sought for improving both mechanical and thermal properties that are relevant for the mould performance. In spite of several works investigating the particulate filling of resins, there are only a few reports on fibre reinforcement. Composites based on an epoxy system with varying volume fractions of short steel fibres (SSF) were investigated. The mechanical properties were determined for each composite, and the topography of the fracture surfaces was analyzed by SEM. The mechanical properties of the epoxy filled composites were also compared to commercial particulate composites that are used for producing casting moulds. In spite of the SSF being more difficult to mix that the usual metal particulate fillers, it was found that the resulting composites show some improvement in the mechanical properties.


Epidemic nephropathy, a form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, caused by the Puumala serotype of hantaviruses and occurring endemically in northern Scandinavia, was studied in 13 children. The clinical symptoms and signs were somewhat different from those reported in adults; none of our patients had hemorrhagic manifestations despite low thrombocyte counts. The most common presenting symptoms were fever, abdominal pain, and renal tenderness with oliguria followed by polyuria. The predominant laboratory findings were proteinuria and/or hematuria and elevated serum creatinine levels. Thrombocytopenia was a constant finding in the children in whom thrombocyte count was obtained. Most children had a decreased serum sodium concentration during the oliguric phase of the disease. All the children recovered, with no long-term renal disease. Epidemic nephropathy is an important alternative for differential diagnosis in children with findings suggesting nephritis, especially in endemic areas. An awareness and knowledge of this syndrome and an ability to diagnose it by means of a specific antibody measurement will probably improve our understanding of its epidemiologic features in children.


Large-scale software is developed by teams of engineers that work together. The teams' compositions change all the time, with engineers continuously leaving and joining. Learning about these organizational dynamics is vital to understanding how engineers acquire technical skills and business relationships throughout their career. In addition, since employee turnover can be costly to team morale and productivity, it is important for management to learn how to proactively guide the process. In this paper, we report on a study of a professional software development organization in which engineers switch teams frequently. We learned what causes engineers to consider leaving their teams, why they leave, how they learn about new teams, and how they decide which team to join. We also quantify the perceived costs and benefits of recent moves made by the engineers. In addition to reporting the answers to our research questions, we interpret our results to offer recommendations to engineers and their managers on how to ensure that both make better, happier team moves.


Over the centuries, gemstones have at times played a key role in the international trade. To date, they still play a significant role in economies of many countries, especially Thailand. Ruby, the red gemstone, one of the best known gemstones to ordinary people, is the focus of this study. Previous studies have shed the light on examinations of the characteristics and production methods of ruby. However, none has studied the attitudes of gemstone distributors toward several treatment strategies, which aiming to add value to ruby and maximize the return from the limited ruby supplies. The prime purpose of this study is to identify the value adding strategies deemed acceptable to gemstone distributors, by comparing their levels of satisfaction toward each treatment strategy. The findings reveal gemstone distributors accept that other methods in addition to normal cutting and polishing can also add value to rubies. Analyses of sample t-test and one-way repeated measures ANOVA suggest two treatment strategies of ruby production are deemed acceptable to gemstone distributors, and that the satisfaction levels of gemstone distributors toward each of the five treatment strategies are significantly different. Gemstone distributors consider heat treatment strategy as the most satisfactory strategy in adding value to rubies.


Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, also known as Epiloia or Bourneville-Pringle disease is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous syndrome with variable clinical expression. It is a multisystem disorder that may be associated with hamartomas in multiple organs in an unpredictable manner. The dermatologist plays an essential role in the history of the disease, since skin manifestations represent the most prevalent clinical features, enabling early diagnosis and intervention in its natural course. This article aims to inform the scientific community about advances made in the study of genetics and molecular biology. Recent findings regarding stimulation of tumor growth have been changing the history of this condition, making therapeutic trials with topical and systemic drugs possible. Knowledge of these topics enables better management of the patients affected, since tissue replacement by tumors can result in significant morbidity and mortality.


We propose to establish the relationship between the clinical, functional and immunological parameters in a cohort of women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The study included 68 patients between 19 and 70 who were hospitalized for two years in the Endocrinology Clinic of the Hospital in Timisoara. The thyroidal dimensions and the aspects of the thyroidal stroma were shown by echography examinations. The functional parameters like the serum TSH and free T4 concentrations were determined by chemiluminescent methods. The immunological investigations (antithyroglobulin and antiperoxidase antibodies) were performed by the ELISA method. Comparisons were performed by the t test and the Pearson correlation analysis. The correlation between the aspects of thyroidal stroma and thyroid function revealed hypothyroidism in most cases with moderate (++) or severe (+++) echogenity. Another researched aspect was that of correlation of the serum levels of TSH with the thyroidal dimension. The following correlations were obtained: r= 0.14 in patients with clinical hypothyroidism and r= 0.3055 in those with subclinical hypothyroidism. The Pearson coefficients for the level of TSH in um and those of the antiperoxidase antibodies,according to clinical and functional categories,revealed the following results: r= 0.1580 in patients with clinical hypothyroidism and r= 0.1961 in those with subclinical hypothyroidism. Patients with clinical hypothroidism have significant higher serum level of TSH as compared with those of the patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (p=0.0001). We established a relation between the severe hypoechogenity and hypothyroidism status in patients with positive serum antibodies (r= 0.5695).


Abstract Deep body temperatures were monitored with an implanted radiotelemetry device from 2 to 4 days prepartum to approximately 12 days postpartum in sows. The mean prepartum temperature of five normal sows was 38.6 degrees C, with a range of 38.3--38.9 degrees C. An increase in body temperature (1.4 degrees C) was associated with parturition. The increase in body temperature began about 12 hours before the first pig was born, peaked 1-2 hours after delivery of the last pig, and decreased during the first day postpartum but did not reach the prepartum values. Two days postpartum, the mean body temperature was about 1 degree C higher than it was during the prepartum period. The mean body temperature increased an average of 0.06 degrees C per day during the 12-day postpartum period. A diurnal pattern was evident in the body temperature variations.


An invitation from the President of the Royal Society to speak at one of these Dinners gives pleasure and confers honour; but it also disconcerts, for the Society, by its motto of Nullius in verba, gives notice that the President and the Fellows and the Foreign Members, some of whom are present tonight, do not intend to take on trust anything that the speaker may say: which, if it were so, would be a pity, because I shall have occasion to express the gratitude and appreciation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for what the Society does in the field of its foreign relations and I should wish my words to be believed. Digressing for a moment, I am going to take advantage of this phrase Nullius in verba because a former President of the Royal Society, who was also a very distinguished classical scholar, once said that all bureaucrats of all countries should be required to speak in Esperanto; but this evening I propose to speak English. I am told by a former Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society that this motto means nothing more than 'check the evidence'. It must be admitted that by checking the evidence and by testing the validity of propositions in the field of natural philosophy in the 314 years which have elapsed since the Society was founded, science has come a long way; to the benefit, on balance, of the greater part of mankind. Yet, at the beginning of this century, I think the Royal Society was over-optimistic about the role of science in society.


Exercise tracking apps offer a novel and powerful channel to deliver behavioral interventions at a massive scale. As thousands of fitness tracking solutions emerge, the lack of systematic research quantifying their effectiveness on exercise outcomes becomes more prominent. Drawing on the motivation literature, this paper elucidates the effects of app-enabled motivation on fitness improvement. Specifically, this study examines the two most common forms of feedback available to users of exercise tracking apps, namely performance feedback and social feedback. The results of our field experiment reveal strong evidence that performance feedback and social feedback motivate fitness improvement. Furthermore, whereas the effect of social feedback diminishes over time, the effect of performance feedback remains resilient. There theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.


Brief measurement devices can alleviate respondent burden and lower refusal rates in surveys. This article reports on a field test of two shorter forms of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) symptoms index in a multisite survey of persons 65 and older. Factor analyses demonstrate that the briefer forms tap the same symptom dimensions as does the original CES-D, and reliability statistics indicate that they sacrifice little precision. Simple transformations are presented to show how scores from the briefer forms can be compared to those of the original.