As a low-cost marketing model, telemarketing has always been the most important channel for banks to promote wealth management products. Traditional telemarketing has not only brought intrusiveness to many telephone access customers, but also a waste of resources for the bank itself. In order to improve the success rate of bank telemarketing, it is necessary to predict in advance which customers are most likely to purchase the wealth management product, so as to achieve precision marketing. Aiming at the complex high-dimensional nonlinear characteristics of the factors affecting the success rate of telemarketing, a t-SNE (t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) feature extraction method, and then take the extracted low-dimensional features as input, use nonlinear support vector machine (SVM) for training and prediction. The empirical results show that the bank phone based on t-SNE-SVM proposed in this paper. The marketing prediction model has good learning ability and generalization ability, which can provide certain decision-making reference for banks and other industries to achieve precision marketing.


Examines the debate on quality in health care in light of GP fundholding and the Patients' Charter. Focuses on the development of quality issues in General Practice by carrying out research based on two stages: first, an exploratory stage aimed at the understanding of key issues; and second, a questionnaire made up primarily of attitude elements drawn from stage one. Concludes that, in the changing political and public environment, GPs are facing the challenges of managing service quality.


Abstract Understanding leisure-time physical activity among Latinos is a national public health concern. This study examined constraints to leisure-time physical activity among Latinos in North Carolina in relation to their level of acculturation. Data (N = 457) were obtained through a community survey. Four subgroups with similar constraints were identified using cluster analysis: Access and Partner Constrained, Safety and Access Constrained, Least Constrained, and Highly Constrained. Results showed that low acculturation was significantly associated with being highly constrained. Latinos born outside the U.S. were more likely to be classified as Access and Partner Constrained and Safety and Access Constrained. The findings contribute to understanding constraints in the context of acculturation and offer practitioners perspective on creating physical activity programs for Latinos.


Categorisation is a useful method for organising documents into subcollections that can be browsed or searched to more accurately and quickly meet information needs. On the Web, category-based portals such as Yahoo! and DMOZ are extremely popular: DMOZ is maintained by over 56,000 volunteers, is used as the basis of the popular Google directory, and is perhaps used by millions of users each day. Support Vector Machines (SVM) is a machine-learning algorithm which has been shown to be highly effective for automatic text categorisation. However, a problem with iterative training techniques such as SVM is that during their learning or training phase, they require the entire training collection to be held in main-memory; this is infeasible for large training collections such as DMOZ or large news wire feeds. In this paper, we show how inverted indexes can be used for scalable training in categorisation, and propose novel heuristics for a fast, accurate, and memory efficient approach. Our results show that an index can be constructed on a desktop workstation with little effect on categorisation accu-racy compared to a memory-based approach. We conclude that our techniques permit automatic categorisation using very large train-ing collections, vocabularies, and numbers of categories.


An operational model for message integrity in cryptographic protocols is presented, message integrity requirements are discussed, and message structures that satisfy those requirements are suggested. A message splicing/decomposition invariant of the cipher block chaining (CBC) mode of encryption is derived and used to identify heretofore-unknown vulnerabilities of well-known protocols. The suggested message structures remove these vulnerabilities relying only on the use of weak one-way functions.<<ETX>>


High rate of postoperative complications and limited range of indications makes total ankle replacement (TAR) still a controversial procedure. Together with introduction of new biomaterials and improvement in the operative technique TAR becomes more attractive and interesting solution. As the implantation of the prosthesis in the joint without significant deformations is relatively easy, in cases with heavy posttraumatic changes may be very difficult. In such cases the choice of the appropriate implant is very important. This paper presents a case of the patient with secondary posttraumatic ostearthritis treated operatively with tatal ankle replacement using Mobility (DePuy) endoprosthesis. 1 year after the surgery the patient underwent clinical and radiographic evaluation including pedobarography and kinetic and kinematic gait analysis. Despite the disruption of the talofibular syndesmosis, total ankle replacement provided a good result of the treatment.


ABSTRACT The traditional smoking procedure, which is the use of open fire, can lead to the formation of PAHs in sausages. The aim of this paper was to assess the types and concentrations of 16 PAHs in 30 samples of Slavonska kobasica, a traditional smoked sausage. In general, some samples showed high values of anthracene and acenaphthylene. In one sample, acenaphthylene reached the value of 1050 µg/kg and in another 1491 µg/kg anthracene was measured. Cancerogenic benzo(a)pyrene content was little above the maximum limit of 5 µg/kg in four samples, but mainly remained below the limit of quantification. PAH4 (i.c. benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene) were above the maximum limit of 30 µg/kg in three samples. Generally, it can be noted from the results that samples with high PAH4 and benzo(a)pyrene concentrations also have high PAH16 concentrations.


The native state can be considered as a unique conformation of the protein molecule with the lowest free energy of residue contacts. In this case, all other conformations correspond to the denatured state. The degree of their compactness varies significantly. Under folding conditions, the compact denatured state rather than the random coil is in equilibrium with native protein. The balance between the main forces of protein folding, the solvophobic interactions and conformational entropy, suggests that some properties of the compact denatured state are close to those of native protein, whereas other properties are close to those of the random coil. To investigate the molecular structure of the compact denatured state, the method of molecular dynamics simulation seems to be very useful.


Lost in Lace saw twenty leading international artists take over the Gas Hall at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from 29 October 2011 to 19 February 2012 showcasing how patterns, materials and cultural traditions of lace are represented through radical new approaches. The exhibition was produced in partnership between Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Crafts Council, in association with the University for the Creative Arts.

It featured large-scale, theatrical and visually spectacular work, which challenged perceptions of what lace can be, it involved the visitor in an environment where spaces became fluid and thread created entirely new boundaries. Many of the international artists were showing in the UK for the first time and the artworks broke out beyond the bounds of the gallery into public spaces.


SUMMARY Any variation in processing soybeans for inclusion in poultry diets requires validation of the ability of the soybean meal to sustain growth performance similar to what is achieved with solvent-extracted soybean meal. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of feeding an expeller-extruded soybean meal vs. a commercial solvent-extracted soybean meal. Growth performance attributable to the source of soybean meal did not differ for 0- to 18-d-old broilers fed 2 levels of Lys (1.0 or 1.3%) and 2 levels of ME (3,000 or 3,300 kcal/kg). Similar growth performance was obtained for broilers fed solvent-extracted soybean meal vs. expellerextruded soybean meal for 0 to 49 d. However, broilers fed the expeller-extruded soybean meal had lower breast meat yield (24.95 vs. 26.30%). True digestibility values determined with adult cecectomized roosters for the expeller-extruded soybean meal indicated digestibility values of 86.6, 83.5, 87.4, 85.5, 86.5, and 86.7 for Lys, Thr, Met, Val, Ile, and Leu, respectively, which are lower than those reported by the NRC for solvent-extracted soybean meal. The feeding value of expeller-extruded soybean meal used in these experiments was similar to that of solventextracted soybean meal; however, consideration must be given to amino acid digestibility to achieve optimal breast meat yield.


The bottom-up reconstitution of proteins for their modular engineering into synthetic cellular systems can reveal hidden protein functions in vitro. This is particularly evident for the bacterial Min proteins, a paradigm for self-organizing reaction-diffusion systems that displays an unexpected functionality of potential interest for bioengineering: the directional active transport of any diffusible cargo molecule on membranes. Here, the MinDE protein system is reported as a versatile surface patterning tool for the rational design of synthetically assembled 3D systems. Employing two-photon lithography, microswimmer-like structures coated with tailored lipid bilayers are fabricated and demonstrate that Min proteins can uniformly pattern bioactive molecules on their surface. Moreover, it is shown that the MinDE system can form stationary patterns inside lipid vesicles, which allow the targeting and distinctive clustering of higher-order protein structures on their inner leaflet. Given their facile use and robust function, Min proteins thus constitute a valuable molecular toolkit for spatially patterned functionalization of artificial biosystems like cell mimics and microcarriers.


Sub-zero treatment of steels with an Mf below 0°C relies (partly) on a continuation of the martensite formation. The present work reports on the observation of isothermal martensite formation in the sub-zero temperature regime for two steels: AISI 1070 and AISI 52100. Samples were austenitized, quenched in oil, and thereafter investigated with vibrating sample magnetometry, which allows a quantitative assessment of the fraction of retained austenite as a function of the sub-zero temperature and time. Isothermal martensite formation was observed on interrupting the continuous cooling (5 K/min) at temperatures in the range of 80–233 K. The kinetics of isothermal martensite formation depends strongly on the temperature and can be described by Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov kinetics. Isothermal experiments with dilatometry indicated the occurrence of a volume increase on isothermal holding, consistent with a continuation of the martensitic transformation. On prolonged isothermal holding, a volume reduction was observed for AISI 52100, but not for AISI 1070.


Accurate knowledge of the gravitational-wave (GW) signal from inspiraling compact binaries is
essential to detect these signatures in the data from GW interferometers. With recent advances in post-
Newtonian (PN) theory and numerical relativity (NR) it has become possible to construct inspiral-mergerringdown
waveforms by combining both descriptions into one complete hybrid signal. While addressing
the reliability of such waveforms in different points of the physical parameter space, previous studies have
identified the PN contribution as the dominant source of error, which can be reduced by incorporating
longer NR simulations. In this paper we overcome the two outstanding issues that make it difficult to
determine the minimum simulation length necessary to produce suitably accurate hybrids for GW
astronomy applications: (1) the relevant criteria for a GW search is the mismatch between the true
waveform and a set of model waveforms, optimized over all waveforms in the model, but for discrete
hybrids this optimization was not yet possible. (2) these calculations typically require that numerical
waveforms already exist, while we develop an algorithm to estimate hybrid mismatch errors without
numerical data, which enables us to estimate the necessary NR waveform length before performing the
simulation. Our procedure relies on combining supposedly equivalent PN models at highest available
order with common data in the NR regime, and their difference serves as a measure of the uncertainty
assumed in each waveform. Contrary to some earlier studies, we estimate that �10 NR orbits before
merger should allow for the construction of waveform families that are accurate enough for detection in a
broad range of parameters, only excluding highly spinning, unequal-mass systems. Nonspinning systems,
even with high mass-ratio (q * 20) are well modeled for astrophysically reasonable component masses. In
addition, the parameter bias is only of the order of 1% for total mass and symmetric mass-ratio and less
than 0.1 for the dimensionless spin magnitude. We take the view that similar NR waveform lengths will
remain the state of the art in the advanced detector era, and begin to assess the limits of the science that
can be done with them.


In Australian universities, social research projects secure institutional approval as ethical through research ethics committees, and are defined and communicated to these committees through standardized local application forms. In organizational terms, ethics are instituted first as an administrative ritual anterior to research, and routinely elided as such. The documentation constituting this ritual thus bears scrutiny, in terms of what it says and what it does, and in turn, what it requires applicants to say and do. Such scrutiny is a means of fleshing out the standard critique of prospective ethics review from social media researchers: that the opportunity for a proper conversation about research ethics in the community of researchers is supplanted by an administrative exercise in "box ticking." This paper discusses these ethics application forms, attending specifically to the ethical consequences of the stance they require the applicant to take with respect to prospective research participants, and the implications of their formulation of research as a process of data extraction.


The research results of speed dynamics of explosive emission plasma expansion in the planar diode with the cathodes made of graphite and carbon fiber, of copper (solid and multi-edged) and with the multi-edged tungsten cathode are presented in the article. The plasma speed was determined by the volt-ampere characteristics of the diode with the time resolution of 0.2 ns. The experiments have been performed at the electron accelerator TEU-500 (350-450 kV, 100 ns, and 10 kA) in the matching mode of diode impedance and output resistance of nanosecond voltage generator. It was found out when the plasma formation at the cathode is completed and till the pulse ends the plasma speed is constant and equals 2±0.5 cm/μs for graphite and carbon fiber cathode, 3±0.5 cm/μs for tungsten cathode, 4±0.5 cm/μs for cathode made of copper. It is shown that the spread of explosive emission plasma is the principal tool determining its speed during the electron beam generation. The influence of the negative-charged layer by the cathode plasma surface (virtual cathode) on the additional acceleration of ions is insignificant and does not exceed 0.2-0.3 cm/μs.


The aim of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of using the continuous signals about the thickness and pennation angle changes of muscles detected in real-time from ultrasound images, named as sonomyography (SMG), to characterize muscles under isometric contraction, along with synchronized surface electromyography (EMG) and generated torque signals. The right biceps brachii muscles of seven normal young adult subjects were tested. We observed that exponential functions could well represent the relationships between the normalized EMG root-mean-square (RMS) and the torque, the RMS and the muscle deformation SMG, and the RMS and the pennation angle SMG for the data of the contraction phase, with exponent coefficients of (), , and , respectively. In addition, the preliminary results also demonstrated linear relationships between the normalized torque and the muscle deformation as well as the pennation angle with the ratios of and , respectively. The overall mean for the regressions was approximately 0.9 and the overall mean relative root mean square error (RRMSE) smaller than 15%. The potential values of SMG together with EMG to provide a more comprehensive assessment for the muscle functions should be further investigated with more subjects and more muscle groups.


The Board of Education will provide facilities and school district-owned property to assist staff members in their job responsibilities or for the staff members' convenience. These facilities or district-owned property may include, but are not limited to, an office, a storage closet, a filing cabinet, a locker, and/or a desk. The Principal or designee may provide a staff member with exclusive use and access to such facilities or school district-owned property or may require the facility or school district-owned property be shared with other staff members. The staff member may be provided a lock or key by the school district or may secure the facility or school districtowned property using their own locking device with permission from the Principal or designee. School staff members should be aware their expectation of privacy in these facilities and/or the school district-owned property provided by the Board of Education is reduced by virtue of actual office practices and procedures, for searches conducted pursuant to an investigation of workrelated employee misconduct, or by legitimate school district policies or regulations. In addition, staff members shall have a reduced expectation of privacy in these facilities and school districtowned property if there is reasonable suspicion the staff member is violating a law or school policy. School staff members shall be on notice this reduced expectation of privacy may result in such facilities and/or school district-owned property being searched without a search warrant. In order to avoid exposing personal belongings to such a search, school staff members are discouraged from storing personal papers and effects in these facilities or school district-owned property.


In 2011-2012, EU-GRASP has organized a foresight exercise to project the consequences of the project's findings into the near future building on the analytical work and the results of a number of case studies and transversal reports. The central research question adopted was: 'What can be the role of the EU as a security actor in the framework of security governance in the future?' The aim is to raise awareness on possible relevant issues in the field of multilateral security governance and to look at the consequences for the EU as a regional actor. This document reports the results of this exercise and formulates a set of recommendations for EU officials.


Précis: Neuroretinal rim minimum distance band (MDB) thickness is significantly lower in older subjects and African Americans compared with whites. It is similar in both sexes. Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between age, race, and sex with the neuroretinal rim using high-density spectral-domain optical coherence tomography optic nerve volume scans of normal eyes. Methods: A total of 256 normal subjects underwent Spectralis spectral-domain optical coherence tomography optic nerve head volume scans. One eye was randomly selected and analyzed for each subject. Using custom-designed software, the neuroretinal rim MDB thickness was calculated from volume scans, and global and quadrant neuroretinal rim thickness values were determined. The MDB is a 3-dimensional neuroretinal rim band comprised of the shortest distance between the internal limiting membrane and the termination of the retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch's membrane complex. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the associations of age, race, and sex with neuroretinal rim MDB measurements. Results: The population was 57% female and 69% white with a mean age of 58.4±15.3 years. The mean MDB thickness in the normal population was 278.4±47.5 µm. For this normal population, MDB thickness decreased by 0.84 µm annually (P<0.001). African Americans had thinner MDBs compared with whites (P=0.003). Males and females had similar MDB thickness values (P=0.349). Conclusion: Neuroretinal rim MDB thickness measurements decreased significantly with age. African Americans had thinner MDB neuroretinal rims than whites.


Adult mouse cardiac fibroblasts were cultured in conditioned medium from Ad.GFP, Ad.S16D, Ad.S16A. Fibroblast proliferation and markers of myofibroblast differentiation were assessed. (A) Quantification of fibroblast proliferation was determined using the MTT assay. Values are fold changes relative to those of Ad.GFP. Relative gene expression levels are shown for (B) Col1a1; (C) Col3a1; (D) TGFβ1; and (E) IL-6. Values are fold-changes relative to those of Ad.GFP. (F) Representative confocal images (original magnification: ×40) of fibroblasts stained with αSMA (green) plus DAPI to visualize nuclei (blue); scale bar: 50 μm. (G) Quantification of αSMA fluorescence intensity. The number of samples (n) per group is indicated on the bar graphs. SMA = smooth muscle actin; Ad.GFP = adenovirus-infected green fluorescent protein; Ad.S16D = adenovirus-infected phosphorylated Hsp16D; Ad.S16A = adenovirus-infected dephosphorylated Hsp16A; Col1a1 = collagen 1a1; Col3a1 = collagen 3a1; IL = interlukin-6; TGF = transforming growth factor; other abbreviations as in Figure 2.


Chickie came to L.A. in 1966 when she entered graduate school in UCLA in Film. She came from Berkeley and Mendocino and Mexico. By then she had lived several complete lives, survived two unhappy marriages, had two children, and paired up with her life partner, Marty. In preceding years, she and Bruce Baillie had formed the beginnings of Canyon Cinema, a peripatetic screening venue for 16mm films. There weren't very many filmmakers then, but their work was becoming known, to one another at first, and then to an enthusiastic and growing public. San Francisco and Berkeley were the center of gravity, for the west coast, just as they were the epicenter of social activism, rock, acid, pot, poetry, and personal mythologies. She had studied Anthropology as an undergraduate, learned basic film technique from Baillie, and then looked for a way to extend her skills and subsidize more ambitious projects. UCLA, a state university, was available to all who could meet its entrance requirements at the total cost of $40 a semester. Chick and Marty came to Los Angeles with some trepidation. They found a little house in a neighborhood east of Hollywood and Chick got part-time work typing transcripts for the county court. At the film school, she was an immediate hit. Her "Angel Blue Sweet Wings" was unlike anything anyone had seen, and she seemed to bring with her a little breeze of freedom, possibility, and gentle rebellion, and soon became one of a loyal band of cultural agitators. Her apprenticeship in experimental film led her to an interest in the physical nature of film stocks, the limits to which they could be stretched, and the kind of results that might spring from the combination of images. This is where I came in, as I was trying to do some of the same things. I was teaching classes in photography in the Art School, a half block west of Film, and had set up a little 16mm film lab in one of the darkrooms. We could print and process black and white negative and positive. Only a handful of people knew about it. Chick showed up one night and introduced herself. She wondered if I could show her how to do lab work. I was delighted. She was tallish, with long black curly hair and an engaging smile. She carried a big, well-worn leather pouch, from which she would pull a cold bottle of Coca-Cola and her trusty opener. "Want one?" she would hold out the bottle. I showed her how to use the war-surplus Bell and Howell contact printer and the spiral developing tanks, and how to solarize a print using bleach and a light bulb. She was working on "Anselmo," which she and Marty had shot in Mexico. Soon there were new projects. We traded between our collections of found footage - Chick was particularly taken with a Busby Berkeley mid- 1 930 's musical ice-skating number called "By a Waterfall," which she dismantled and reconstituted. We were unconcerned with the complications of copyright law, and felt that Industrial films that had survived for thirty years probably belonged to everybody. Marty and I began to work together on film projects. His professional name was Neon Park: he was a painter, largely self-taught, whose acute powers of observation and irony well overcame any shortcoming in his technique. …


Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects approximately 280 million people worldwide. The standard of care for pharmacological treatment of MDD has been monoaminergic antidepressants (MAA). However, MAAs have serious clinical limitations including a relatively slow onset of action and up to 40% of patients failing to respond and being diagnosed as "treatment resistant". Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, was originally approved for use as an injectable anesthetic. In addition, ketamine has been shown to rapidly improve depressive symptoms in patients with treatment resistant depression. In 2019, (S)-ketamine was approved as a nasal spray (Spravato®) for patients with MDD and treatment-resistant depression in conjunction with their previously prescribed MAAs. However, ketamine has limitations of its own, such as producing sedation and dissociative effects as well as having known abuse liability. The goal of the current study was to identify potential drug combinations that optimize ketamine's therapeutic use by decreasing its abuse-related behavioral effects. To address this goal, we tested the effects of ketamine alone and in combination with desipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant), D-cycloserine (a partial agonist at the NMDA receptor glycine-site) or naltrexone (opioid receptor competitive antagonist) in two behavioral assays in adult Sprague Dawley rats. The effects of our drug treatments on open field behavior was used to assess locomotor activation which has been linked to dopamine release in the brain. The ability of our test compounds to alter ketamine's reinforcing effects was evaluated using intravenous (IV) ketamine self-administration. Effects on activity in an open field following ketamine administered alone were consistent with both published literature and previous work in this laboratory. This included locomotor activation at intermediate doses of ketamine (10 and 30 mg/kg) with a sex-dependent difference in sensitivity to these activating effects at the 10 mg/kg dose. Ketamine readily maintained IV self-administration with 0.3 and 0.56 mg/kg/infusion serving as positive reinforcers of behavior. Intermediate and high doses of desipramine (1 and 3 mg/kg) were found to decrease locomotor activity alone but did not alter ketamine's locomotor activating effects. The high desipramine dose also reduced total ketamine intake in the self-administration procedure. D-cycloserine produced no effects on locomotor activity when administered alone nor any significant effect on ketamine 4 self-administration. Naltrexone alone decreased locomotor activity at 10 and 30 mg/kg. This non-selective suppression of behavior likely accounted for moderate decreases in ketamine-induced locomotor stimulation and self-administration that was observed. While data are too preliminary to rule out any of our three test compounds at this time, given its lack of disruption of behavior in the open field, potential to enhance antidepressant effects, and suggestion of modest decreases in ketamine self-administration, D-cycloserine remains the test drug of greatest interest.


Interpretation of seismic reflection data and restoration of depositional geometries of Cretaceous forearc basin strata in the northwest Great Valley of California provide important controls on structural reconstructions of the western margin of the Sacramento Valley and northern Coast Ranges. Monoclinal eastward dips of Great Valley Group strata and fault systems striking northwest-southeast, which are features proposed as evidence for a west-dipping blind Great Valley–Franciscan sole thrust and related backthrusts, instead are expressions of bedding geometry that resulted from folding of the Paskenta and related synsedimentary normal faults, depositional onlap, and a major structural-stratigraphic discontinuity. The discontinuity separates east-dipping Aptian and younger Great Valley Group strata from beds of lower Great Valley Group and Coast Range ophiolite that were deformed and erosionally or structurally truncated by mid-Cretaceous time. Dip divergence imaged between the supracrop and subcrop of the discontinuity is not unique to the ancient Great Valley forearc, but is also observed in modern forearc basins.

Advocates of the Franciscan thrust-wedge model have also proposed that west-dipping, shingled patterns of seismic events imaged beneath the Sacramento Valley are imbricate thrust slices of the Great Valley Group. This hypothesis, however, is incompatible with borehole, potential-field, and seismic-refraction data that characterize the Sacramento Valley basement as ophiolitic. Seaward-dipping reflections in the ophiolitic basement of the Sacramento Valley are analogous to layering developed in the oceanic crust of volcanic rifted margins or generated along midocean ridges. Thus, late-stage tectonic mechanisms are not required to interpret a forearc that owes much of its present-day bedding architecture to processes coeval with deposition.

Thickening of the Great Valley Group stratigraphic section (Valanginian–Turonian) in the hanging walls of the Paskenta, Elder Creek, and Cold Fork fault zones, combined with attenuation or complete omission of preextensional units (including the Coast Range ophiolite) and geometric evidence based on seismic reconstructions, suggest that these faults are Jurassic–Cretaceous normal faults that developed in a submarine setting. Down-structure views of the Great Valley outcrop belt simplify otherwise complex map relations and portray the Paskenta and related faults as half-graben bounding faults that accommodated significant northwestward tectonic transport of hanging-wall rocks. It is significant that these faults sole into the Coast Range fault, an enigmatic forearc structure that juxtaposes rocks of the Franciscan Complex (blueschists) with rocks of the Coast Range ophiolite and Great Valley Group that have sustained only zeolite-grade metamorphism. Discovery of Jurassic–Cretaceous crustal-scale extension in the Great Valley forearc suggests that a significant part of Coast Range fault-related attenuation developed early in the history of the subduction complex.


Nightmares and insomnia are sleep disorders with serious consequences. Both sleep disorders can effectively be treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Because of its cost-effectiveness and promising effects, self-help CBT has been proposed as a first option within a stepped-care framework. CBT for insomnia and nightmares primarily consists of psycho-education about sleep and exercises to improve sleep-wake habits. Therefore, the use of CBT self-help manuals for sleep problems within a stepped care approach framework seems promising. This dissertation describes three large randomized controlled trials concerning self-help CBT for nightmares or insomnia. In the first nightmare RCT, 399 participants were randomized into Imagery Rehearsal Therapy - IRT (n = 103), exposure (n = 95), recording (n = 106) or waiting-list condition (n = 95). Results showed that nightmares can successfully be treated with self-help and that effectiveness is sustained in the long run. IRT alleviated nightmare frequency faster, but, unexpectedly, was equally effective to exposure. It seems thus that the desensitization to the feared image is the crucial element in nightmare treatment. In the second nightmare RCT, 278 participants were randomized into IRT (n = 70), IRT+ (with sleep hygiene; n = 76), Lucid Dreaming Therapy - LDT (n = 70), or waiting-list condition (n = 62). Results showed that in addition to IRT, sleep hygiene or lucid dreaming did not have a beneficial effect. For insomnia, a self-help CBT protocol was developed and its effectiveness was evaluated in a large RCT (N = 623) which compared Internet delivered self-help CBT to bibliotherapy and a waiting-list condition. We found that insomnia can effectively be treated with unsupported self-help CBT. Internet and bibliotherapy were equally effective at 4-week follow-up. However, the Internet condition had a higher dropout. Effects were sustained at 48-week follow-up, but surprisingly, symptoms of insomnia and secondary complaints decreased more in the Internet compared to the bibliotherapy condition. In conclusion, in this dissertation we found that unsupported self-help CBT can successfully ameliorate nightmares and insomnia. Sleep disorders can be specifically targeted and self-help treatments have an effect on primary sleep complaints. The nightmare studies demonstrated that self-help CBT decreased nightmare frequency. The insomnia study showed that CBT increased total sleep time, and decreased sleep onset latency as well as waking time after sleep onset. Moreover, indirect effects were found on affective complaints such as depression and anxiety. The effects were sustained in the long run, suggesting that not only face-to-face but also self-help CBT has better long-term effects than sleep medication. The unsupported self-help format is promising because it appears to be a cost-effective way to reach a large number of people with sleep disorders.


A majority of the research focusing on the academic success and persistence of first generation students concentrates on students, and not the faculty, staff, and administrators who support, encourage, and guide them. Through qualitative research, this study sought to determine: how do faculty and staff support first generation students to motivate them to academic success and persistence/completion; what do faculty and staff identify as their most influential attitudes, behaviors, and/or contributions to helping first generation students succeed and persist; and what type of lens do faculty and staff use when motivating first generation students? The study involved the comprehensive examination of interview data from 10 faculty and staff participants at a small college, Brick University (pseudonym). Through an in-depth analysis, the study found that faculty and staff influenced academic success through validation and self-disclosure of experiences, as well as connection, communication, and support of this population to encourage academic success and persistence. Additionally, the research found that faculty and staff used generation neutral, asset-based, and combination asset-based and deficit lenses in their efforts to support first generation students. Furthermore, first generation faculty and staff described behaviors and actions to encourage greater academic success and persistence for first generation students than continuing generation students due to their ability to identify with the population.


We previously demonstrated that a beta-1,3-, 1,6-oligoglucan (AaGlucan) from the fungus Alternaria alternata 102 shows strong elicitor activity in tobacco BY-2 cells. We have used cDNA microarray analysis to monitor global changes in gene expression in tobacco cells treated with this A. alternata fraction or with laminarin. In total, we identified 265 genes that were induced 1 h after treatment with an AaGlucan-enriched fraction or laminarin. Among them, we characterized in detail a novel tobacco R2R3 MYB-type transcription factor homolog (NtMYBGR1) and two DC1 domain-containing genes (NtDC1A and NtDC1B). Microarray data, together with overexpression and metabolic analyses, indicated that NtMYBGR1, but not the NtDC1 proteins, primarily targets the phenylpropanoid synthesis-related genes PAL and 4CL. These results suggest that NtMYBGR1 specifically regulates defense responses in BY-2 cells by enhancing phenylpropanoid metabolism in response to AaGlucan and laminarin elicitors.


The advent of multi-core processors, particularly with projections that numbersof cores will continue to increase, has focused attention on parallelprogramming. It is widely recognized that current programming techniques,including those that are used for scientific parallel programming, will notallow the easy formulation of general purpose applications. An area which isreceiving interest is the use of programming styles which do not haveside-effects. Previous work on parallel functional programming demonstrated thepotential of this to permit the easy exploitation of parallelism. This thesis investigates a dynamic load balancing system for shared memory ChipMultiprocessors. This system is based on a parallel computing model called SLAM(Spreading Load with Active Messages), which makes use of functionallanguage evaluation techniques. A novel hardware/software mechanism forexploiting fine grain parallelism is presented. This mechanism comprises aruntime system which performs dynamic scheduling and synchronizationautomatically when executing parallel applications. Additionally the interfacefor using this mechanism is provided in the form of an API. The proposed systemis evaluated using cycle-level models and multithreaded applications runningin a full system simulation environment.


The DC current-voltage characteristics of an n-channel silicon MOSFET with an effective gate length of about 60 nm are analyzed and interpreted in terms of scattering theory. The experimental results are found to be consistent with the predictions of scattering theory - the drain current is closer to the ballistic limit under high drain bias than under low drain bias, and the on-current in strong inversion is limited by a small portion of the channel near the source. The question of how the low- and high- V DS drain currents are related to the near-equilibrium, long-channel mobility is also addressed. In the process of this analysis, theoretical and experimental uncertainties that make it difficult to extract numerically precise values of the scattering parameters are identified.


In the wake of Hinckley, widespread public dissatisfaction with the role of psychiatrists in insanity defense litigation prompted Congress in 1984 to amend the Federal Rules of Evidence to prohibit psychiatric testimony on the ultimate legal issue of whether or not a defendant is insane. APA's Statement on the lnsanity Defense served as the ably articulated premise for this evidentiary amendment. APA argued that in going beyond their psychiatric expertise by answering ultimate issue questions as to whether defendants are legally insane, experts are likely to confuse the jury and undermine public confidence in psychiatry. APA also asserted that there was an impermissible logical leap between scientific psychiatric inquiry and morallegal conclusions on the ultimate issue of insanity. This article reviews the origins, history, and vicissitudes of the Ultimate lssue Rule and analyzes the Stateme~t on the lnsanity Defense from both a legal and psychiatric perspective on the issue of whether psychiatrists should answer the ultimate question in insanity cases. The analysis suggests that APA's conclusions are not supported on scientific or evidentiary grounds, but may be warranted as a policy consideration to safeguard the public image of psychiatry.


Interactions among geomorphology, circulation, and biogeochemical cycling determine estuary responses to external nutrient loading. In order to better manage watershed nutrient inputs, the goal of this study was to develop seasonal dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) budgets for the two estuaries in south Florida, the Caloosahatchee River estuary (CRE) and the St. Lucie Estuary (SLE), from 2002 to 2008. The Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) approach was used to generate water, salt, and DIN and DIP budgets. Results suggested that internal DIN production increases with increased DIN loading to the CRE in the wet season. There were hydrodynamic effects as water column concentrations and ecosystem nutrient processing stabilized in both estuaries as flushing time increased to >10 d. The CRE demonstrated heterotrophy (net ecosystem metabolism or NEM 0.0) increased significantly with external DIP loading. This included DIP consumption and a bloom of a cyanobacterium ( Microcystis aeruginosa ) following hurricane-induced discharge to the SLE in 2005. Additionally, while denitrification provided a microbially-mediated N loss pathway for the CRE, this potential was not evident for the SLE where N 2 fixation was favored. Disparities between total and inorganic loading ratios suggested that the role of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) should be assessed for both estuaries. Nutrient budgets indicated that net internal production or consumption of DIN and DIP fluctuated with inter- and intra-annual variations in freshwater inflow, hydrodynamic flushing, and primary production. The results of this study should be included in watershed management plans in order to maintain favorable conditions of external loading relative to internal material cycling in both dry and wet seasons.


Abstract
Objective – Doctoral studies offer a unique phase in the development and legitimization of researchers, in which PhD students shift from the consumption to the production of knowledge. If librarians are to support this process in an evidence based manner, it is essential to understand the distinct practices of this user population. While recent reviews exist concerning the information behaviours of graduate students and researchers, there is little knowledge synthesis focused on the information literacies of PhD students in specific disciplines. The aim of this article is to explore the depth and breadth of recent evidence which describes the information literacies of students pursuing a doctoral degree in the health sciences.
Methods – Strategic searches were performed in databases, hand-searched key journals, and reference lists. Records were screened independently by both authors based on pre-determined criteria. General trends within the literature were mapped based on the extraction of the following data: geographic location, population, study aims, and method of investigation. Further analysis of the articles included charting the academic disciplines represented, summarizing major findings related to PhD students in health sciences, and which databases indexed the relevant articles.
Results – Many studies fail to treat doctoral studies as a unique process. PhD students are often grouped together with other graduate students or researchers. Studies tend to be based on small populations, and the number of PhD students involved is either unclear or only equals a few individuals within the entire group of study. In addition, of the limited number of studies which focus exclusively on PhD students, few conduct explicit examination of information practices in the health sciences. The result is that this user group is underrepresented within recent journal publications.
Conclusion – This review highlights the need for more primary, in-depth research on the information literacies of PhD students in the health sciences. In addition, librarians are encouraged to share their knowledge in scholarly publications which can reach beyond their own professional circles.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Distributed leadership has been suggested for describing patterns of influence in collaborative settings where public services are performed across professions and organizations. This study explores how leadership in health quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) is characterized by aligned distributed leadership practices, and how these practices relate with experienced progress and achievements in the quality improvement (QI) work.

METHODS
The analysis relied on a qualitative, multicase study of two nationwide Danish QICs. Data consisted of 12 single-person and 21 group interviews with local QI teams and local and regional QIC coordinators (85 informants in total), participant observations of 34 meetings within the QICs, and a collection of documentary material. The collected data were analyzed thematically with NVivo.

RESULTS
Leadership practices in local QI teams are characterized by aligned distributed leadership, with leadership activities being widely distributed based on negotiated, emergent practices regarding the aims, roles, and scope of the QI work. However, local quality coordinators play a pivotal role in driving the QI activities, and hierarchical support from hospital/municipal management is a precondition for the contribution of aligned distributed leadership to experienced progress and QIs.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
Emergent distributed leadership should be balanced by thorough consolidation of the practices to provide the best circumstances for robust QI. The active participation of formal managers and local coordinators plays a pivotal role in this consolidation and is decisive for the increased potential for long-term success and sustainability of the QI work, particularly within complex QICs.


Quantum key distribution (QKD) is moving from research laboratories towards applications. As computing becomes more mobile, cashless as well as cardless payment solutions are introduced. A possible route to increase the security of wireless communications is to incorporate QKD in a mobile device. Handheld devices present a particular challenge as the orientation and the phase of a qubit will depend on device motion. This problem is addressed by the reference frame independent (RFI) QKD scheme. The scheme tolerates an unknown phase between logical states that vary slowly compared to the rate of particle repetition. Here we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of RFI QKD over a free-space link in a prepare and measure scheme using polarization encoding. We extend the security analysis of the RFI QKD scheme to be able to deal with uncalibrated devices and a finite number of measurements. Together these advances are an important step towards mass production of handheld QKD devices.


As of November 2004, persistent violence in Iraq and the legacy of opposition in some European countries to the US-led invasion continued to militate against more extensive EU engagement in the country. Europe's absence has been felt most acutely in the security sphere, both in terms of troop deployments and the contribution to the training of Iraqi security forces. While European governments have valid criticisms over the coalition's handling of Iraq's post-conflict imperatives, and are right not to over-commit to Iraq under the present circumstances, there are nevertheless a number of areas where stronger European engagement might now be both possible and helpful. These include: · economic projects in the areas least affected by violence; · a discussion of Iraqi participation in some of the softer social and cultural aspects of EuroMed programmes; · development of sub-national institution-building programmes; · support for the development of a dense web of national institutions, such as syndicates, chambers of commerce and universities; · capacity-building for emerging political parties; · preparation of sub-national elections; · elaboration of a more carefully thought through regional plan; · training and capacity-building for border guards; · broadening the scope of security sector reform assistance; and · mediation with insurgents.


Background: Acute confusional syndrome is a current problem of special relevance among elderlypatients admitted to hospital medical services. The determination of its risk factors is an essential process in the development and implementation of programs to prevent this complication. Methods: With the mentioned aim we have carried out this case-control study as an analytical, observational, retrospective and transversal study, whose source population was integrated by 60 patients over age 65 according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into two groups: with and without delirium. Discussion: Our analysis has confirmed the association between these factors and delirium: illness severity; previous history of Delirium (OR 10.6); mental status (OR 7.3); high risk medications (OR 6.9); renal failure (OR 6.5); medication at risk added (OR 6); physical status (OR 5.2); use of neuroleptics (OR5.1); anemia (OR 4.75); sodium alterations (OR 4.5); urinary catheter (OR 3.8); low albumin (OR 3.7); infection (OR 3.1). Conclusion: There is no relationship proved between acute confusional syndrom and the following factors: use of benzodiazepines, aggressive procedures, immobility, old age, dementia, diminished ADL skills, co-morbidity and polypharmacy, even if they have been identified as risk factors in previous studies. Hence, these results should be interpreted with caution.


This project sought to break down high jump twist rotation into portions contributed by angular momentum and those contributed by rotational action and reaction ("catting"). Five male and 5 female high jumpers were studied with three-dimensional film/video analysis procedures. The hip twist angle at the peak was broken down into an initial twist angle at takeoff and the subsequent twist rotation accumulated between takeoff and the peak. The latter was in turn broken down into rotations contributed by the twisting component of angular momentum and rotations contributed by catting. It was found that the contribution of catting to the twist rotation was at least as large as that of the angular momentum. The important contribution of catting to the twist rotation introduces the possibility that defects in its execution might play a role in the problems that some high jumpers have with twist rotation.


Technoparks are economic public policy tools. Their success depends on government-backed support mechanisms, incentives and legislation, and the services and programs provided by the management companies. Today in Turkey, it might not be easy to measure the effectiveness of technoparks in nation's growth and development since there are too many parameters involved. This article elaborates on the effectiveness of technoparks in generating the desired benefits within the framework of the current technology and innovation policies and the potentials of the resident companies. The hypothesis is that, despite the involvement of complex public management aspects, the capacity and the potential of the technopark companies appear as the most critical parameters. Nevertheless, the performance of the companies will determine the value that the technoparks shall add to economic growth and development.


This paper focuses on the use of vehicle dynamics control systems (VDCS) to mitigate vehicle collisions in case of offset frontal vehicle-to-barrier crash scenario. A unique six-Degree-of-Freedom (6-DOF) vehicle dynamics/crash mathematical model is developed and analysed in this paper. The model is used to define the vehicle body crash parameters by integrating a vehicle dynamics model with a vehicle front-end structure model. In this model, the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and the active suspension control system (ASC) are co-simulated with the full car vehicle dynamics model and integrated with the front-end structure. The associated equations of motion of the model are developed and solved numerically.In this study, different crash scenarios are simulated with different cases of VDCS to investigate their influences on the vehicle collision improvement. ABS, ASC, and anti-pitch control (APC) systems as well as an under pitch control (UPC) technique are applied in this paper, and their results are compared with free rolling crash scenarios. This study shows that the vehicle dynamics/crash response is captured and analysed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, it is shown that the VDCS affect the crash characteristics positively.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Visible light communication (VLC) has attracted great attention with the development of the emerging solid-state lighting sources. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique is promising to support high data rate VLC thanks to the deployment of multiple lighting sources. However, high channel correlation in indoor MIMO-VLC channels is critical to the performance of indoor MIMO-VLC systems. The advanced non-imaging receivers in recent works reduce the channel correlation by directivity for each photodetector (PD) by interfering the reception of light oriented in the specific direction. Contrary to previous works, we propose in this paper a new mirror-embedded non-imaging receiver which not only blocks the reception of light on one specific direction but also improves the channel gain on the other direction by receiving the light reflected by a double-sided mirror deployed between the PDs. Numerical results and experimental demonstration show that our proposed mirror diversity receiver (MDR) are more beneficial to obtain well-conditioned channel matrices for spatial-multiplexing MIMO-VLC systems supporting high speed data transmission.


For clonal plants, the role of sexual reproduction in the maintenance of populations can vary widely. Some species are dependent on repeated seedling recruitment. For other species, interactions between adults and seedlings within existing populations can affect seedling survival and limit sexual reproduction in existing populations. Genetic studies of seagrass populations increasingly suggest sexual reproduction is important for the resilience and stability of their populations, but as of yet little observational data support these findings. Because seagrass populations provide important ecosystem services and are threatened with increasing anthropogenic impacts, understanding their reliance on sexual reproduction is evolutionarily and ecologically important. The goals of this study were to determine (a) whether seedlings of a marine angiosperm, Zostera marina, establish and recruit within existing Z. marina meadows and (b) whether interactions between seedlings and surrounding adult shoots influence the survival of established seedlings. To meet these goals, surveys estimated seedling establishment and tracked seedling survival within multiple populations. Manipulative experiments then tested the impact of neighbouring adult shoots on seedling survival and the overall trajectory of experimental plots with and without sexual reproduction. A 3‐year survey identified established seedlings within Z. marina meadows each year. Additionally, concurrent seed addition experiments indicated seed supply could influence seedling establishment rates. A survey tracking the survival of tagged seedlings, as well as the height and density of surrounding adult shoots, showed adult shoots may negatively impact seedling survival. Experiments then demonstrated that seedlings without neighbouring shoots survived longer than those with neighbouring shoots. Lastly, two transplant garden experiments comparing the survival of plots with and without seeds highlighted that seedling recruitment is likely most important to maintain bottom cover where disturbances generate gaps in the adult population. Synthesis. This study demonstrates that seedlings do establish within existing seagrass meadows, and that some survive to recruit into the adult population. Competition with existing vegetation, however, can be a factor compromising seedling survival. Sexual reproduction may thus most likely occur in, and be most important for, clonal plant populations that experience seasonal disturbance.


An overview of the aerodynamic characteristics, development of the preflight aerodynamic database and flight simulation of the NASA/Orbital X-34 vehicle is presented in this paper. To develop the aerodynamic database, wind tunnel tests from subsonic to hypersonic Mach numbers including ground effect tests at low subsonic speeds were conducted in various facilities at the NASA Langley research Center. Where wind tunnel test data was not available, engineering level analysis is used to fill the gaps in the database. Using this aerodynamic data, simulations have been performed for typical design reference missions of the X-34 vehicle.


The Communicative Approach has been the dominant paradigm in language teaching for over a quarter of a century. Despite the positive transformation it has brought to the way in which foreign languages are taught and learned, it has, the author argues, often been uncritically embraced wholesale and incorporated indiscriminately into contexts of application that are not always conducive to its principles and practices, and without due consideration of the need to adapt these so as to make them 'digestible' according to local cultural and educational norms. This is no better illustrated than in Japan, a particular focus of the book. By offering a comprehensive critical appraisal of the Communicative Approach, the author demonstrates the need for language teachers to become fully conversant in and adopt a critical mindset to new ideas that appear in the field if they are to adjust them, effectively, for use in particular contexts yet maintain their essential integrity. Communicative Language Teaching provides a fascinating account of the Communicative Approach and offers an invaluable resource for language teachers and educators alike.


This paper proposes the use of a random parameter negative binomial (NB) model for the analysis of crash counts. With the use of a 9-year, continuous panel of histories of total crash frequencies on Interstate highways in Washington State for 1999 to 2007, a random parameter NB model was estimated to account for parameter correlations, panel effects that contributed to intrasegment temporal variations, and between-site effects. Interstate geometric variables, such as lighting type proportions by length, shoulder width proportions, lane cross-section proportions, and curvature variables, were used in the model specification. Curvature variables included the number of horizontal curves in a segment, the number of vertical curves in a segment, the shortest horizontal curve in a segment length, the largest degree of curvature in a segment, the smallest vertical curve gradient, and the largest vertical curve gradient in a segment. Segments were analyzed at the interchange and the noninterchange levels. A total of 1,153 directional segments of the seven Washington State Inter-states were analyzed. The analysis yielded a statistical model of crash frequency on the basis of 10,377 observations. Several curvature effects were found to be random, which meant that they varied from segment to segment. Although, for example, the numbers of horizontal and vertical curves in a segment were fixed-parameter effects, the largest degree of curvature, as well as the smallest and largest vertical curve gradient variables, were random parameters. The logarithm of average daily travel and the median and point lighting proportions were also found to be random parameters. These results suggested that segment-specific insights into crash frequency occurrence could be improved for appropriate design policy and prioritization.


Nurses have important tasks regarding medication and antibiotics. Physicians prescribe the medication, but nurses need to give the correct dosage. They are close to the patient and are the first to notice differences in a patients status. Nurses receive a lot of information from many different devices, including a lot of information that has to do with Antibiotic Stewardship. Antibiotic Stewardship programs try to optimize the use of antibiotics in order to control antibiotic resistance, which is caused by wrong or careless use of antibiotics. All this information could lead to a cognitive overload for nurses, and integrated information could be a solution. Therefore, an antibiotic information app was designed for nurses, to help them with their information needs. This research tested whether the app was effective and supportive for nurses. Nurses needed to solve three scenarios with or without the app. The scenarios contained situations and questions that could arise during their job. There were three conditions, a baseline measurement without the app, and two post-measurements 8 months after the first measurement, one post-measurement with and one post-measurement without the app. During these months, the app was available for all nurses. The expectation was that the effectiveness of the app was positively evaluated and that it would be easier for nurses to find information with than without the antibiotic app. The results of this research were not conclusive. It was ambiguous whether nurses did found more correct solutions, but it seemed to be that nurses were more satisfied with the app than with the other resources. It was not clear whether the app supported nurses to find the solution in less time, nor whether the app contributed to Antibiotic Stewardship, which meant that further research was needed.


equipment correctly and one suffered extreme rebreathing, which limited his exercise tolerance in the test atmosphere to less than two minutes. Two volunteers refused to undergo the session in the test atmosphere wearing the hood as they perceived it as too stressful. We have also studied two other commercially available smoke hoods with filters in two volunteers exercising in air at only 75 W. One resulted in a ventilation of 109 /min in one subject, while the other subject was unable to exercise beyond two minutes when his oxygen saturation fell to 87% and his ventilation reached 919 I/min. The other device resulted in ventilations of 103-1 l/min and 107 71/min in the same volunteers. Our subjects represent the healthiest of those who travel by air, whose range of states of health and disease is wide. Tolerance to wearing a smoke hood is probably reduced in less healthy people, elderly people, and children. The hazards of rebreathing while wearing a smokehood and attempting to escape from fire need to be investigated further before widespread use of smoke hoods can be recommended. Our study further emphasises the widely held view that people who wear respiratory protection should be specifically trained in its use. Without training, such equipment carries a risk that might limit escape from fire even if the atmosphere is minimally toxic. We believe that existing smoke hoods carry an intrinsic risk to the wearer that in some instances outweighs their potential benefits. PAUI MARTIN Department of Anaesthetics, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen AB9 2ZB


Spurred by the enthusiasm surrounding the "Big Data" paradigm, the mathematical and algorithmic tools of online optimization have found widespread use in problems where the trade-off between data exploration and exploitation plays a predominant role. This trade-off is of particular importance to several branches and applications of signal processing, such as data mining, statistical inference, multimedia indexing and wireless communications (to name but a few). With this in mind, the aim of this tutorial paper is to provide a gentle introduction to online optimization and learning algorithms that are asymptotically optimal in hindsight - i.e., they approach the performance of a virtual algorithm with unlimited computational power and full knowledge of the future, a property known as no-regret. Particular attention is devoted to identifying the algorithms' theoretical performance guarantees and to establish links with classic optimization paradigms (both static and stochastic). To allow a better understanding of this toolbox, we provide several examples throughout the tutorial ranging from metric learning to wireless resource allocation problems.


The automatic detection of hate speech online is an active research area in NLP. Most of the studies to date are based on social media datasets that contribute to the creation of hate speech detection models trained on them. However, data creation processes contain their own biases, and models inherently learn from these dataset-specific biases. In this paper, we perform a large-scale cross-dataset comparison where we fine-tune language models on different hate speech detection datasets. This analysis shows how some datasets are more generalizable than others when used as training data. Crucially, our experiments show how combining hate speech detection datasets can contribute to the development of robust hate speech detection models. This robustness holds even when controlling by data size and compared with the best individual datasets.


Political parties are taken for granted today, but how was the idea of party viewed in the eighteenth century, when core components of modern, representative politics were trialled? From Bolingbroke to Burke, political thinkers regarded party as a fundamental concept of politics, especially in the parliamentary system of Great Britain. The paradox of party was best formulated by David Hume: while parties often threatened the total dissolution of the government, they were also the source of life and vigour in modern politics. In the eighteenth century, party was usually understood as a set of flexible and evolving principles, associated with names and traditions, which categorised and managed political actors, voters, and commentators. Max Skjonsberg thus demonstrates that the idea of party as ideological unity is not purely a nineteenth- or twentieth-century phenomenon but can be traced to the eighteenth century.


Why is the instinct for vengeance so strong even when it is clear that widespread death and destruction would be a much more likely outcome than any kind of "victory"? In the event of a nuclear war, why is second-strike retaliation so certain when it may gain nothing of social or material value? We believe these things because humans share a universal thirst for retaliation in the face of threat and in the wake of loss, no matter what classical economists may say to the contrary about how people "should" behave. Indeed, the psychology of revenge and the hatred on which it rests make a seemingly irrational second strike entirely credible. We can apply this analysis to nuclear weapons, but the basic drive is no different than the one that makes most people want to kill anyone who threatens their child, or to hurt a cheating spouse. The instinct for revenge is universal, automatic, and immediate. It also serves a function: to deter the threat of future exploitation.


Hybrid metal-halide perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) have drawn unprecedented attention during the last decade due to their superior photovoltaic performance, facile and low-cost fabrication, and potential for roll-to-roll mass production and application for portable devices. Through collective composition, interface, and process engineering, a comprehensive understanding of the structure-property relationship and carrier dynamics of perovskites has been established to help achieve a very high certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.5%. Apart from material properties, the modified heterojunction design and device configuration evolution also play crucial roles in enhancing the efficiency. The adoption and/or modification of heterojunction structures have been demonstrated to effectively suppress the carrier recombination and potential losses in PVSCs. Moreover, the employment of multijunction structures has been shown to reduce thermalization losses, achieving a high PCE of 29.52% in perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Therefore, understanding the evolution of the device configuration of PVSCs from single junction, heterojunction to multijunction designs is helpful for the researchers in this field to further boost the PCE beyond 30%. Herein, we summarize the evolution and progress of the single junction, heterojunction and multijunction designs for high-performance PVSCs. A comprehensive review of the fundamentals and working principles of these designs is presented. We first introduce the basic working principles of single junction PVSCs and the intrinsic properties (such as crystallinity and defects) in perovskite films. Afterwards, the progress of diverse heterojunction designs and perovskite-based multijunction solar cells is synopsized and reviewed. Meanwhile, the challenges and strategies to further enhance the performance are also summarized. At the end, the perspectives on the future development of perovskite-based solar cells are provided. We hope this review can provide the readers with a quick catchup on this emerging solution-processable photovoltaic technology, which is currently at the transition stage towards commercialization.


Background: Over the past 25 years, many trials of screening and brief alcohol
intervention in primary care have reported positive effects in terms of reducing
excessive drinking. However, it is still not clear how applicable this evidence is to
routine primary care. In addition, there is a need to identify an efficient screening
strategy for busy medical practices. Lastly, the evidence-base in unclear on whether
brief structured advice or motivational counselling is the required form of brief
intervention to produce positive behaviour change. This SIPS trial is a pragmatic
evaluation based in regular primary care practices and involving general practitioners
and nurses who deliver screening and brief alcohol intervention during their day-to-day
work The aim of the trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of
different models of screening to identify excessive drinkers and differing intensities of
brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking in routine practice.
Method: GPs and nurses from 24 practices in England were recruited. Practices were
randomly allocated to one of three brief intervention conditions: a leaflet-only control
group (n = 8); five minutes of brief structured advice (n = 8); and twenty minutes of brief
lifestyle counselling (n = 8). Practices were additionally randomised to either universal
or targeted screening and to use either a modified single item (M-SASQ) or the FAST
screening tool. Practices in each of the three intervention conditions were asked
to recruit at least 31 hazardous or harmful drinkers who received a short baseline
assessment followed by brief intervention. Patients were subsequently followed up at
six and twelve months after the intervention.
Results: Six month follow-up data will be completed by February 2010. With just one
month remaining, the follow-up rate is currently 86% and has included 560 patients.
The majority of the follow-up work has been via telephone although postal and email
follow-up have also been used.
Discussion: The presentation will report not only drinking outcomes following brief
intervention but also quality of life measures and health service use data. The findings
will answer the key question of whether brief intervention is effective in routine practice
and if structured advice is sufficient to change drinking behaviour in non-treatment
seeking patients or if motivational counselling is more impactful. Finally the costeffectiveness
of these approaches will be outlined.


In the IT industry, precisely evaluate the effort of each software development project to develop cost and development schedule management to the software company in the software are count for much. Since a project, majority of development teams will feel time isn't enough to use or the project valuation be false to make the software project failed. However the cost of the software project is almost a manpower cost, manpower cost and then become a direct proportion with development schedule, so precise effort the valuation more seem to be getting more important. Consequently, this research will use Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and one-way analyze to select several factors then used K-Means clustering algorithm to software project clustering. After project clustering, we use Particle Swarm Optimization that take mean of MRE (MMRE) as a fitness value and N-1 test method to optimization of COCOMO parameters. Finally, take parameters that finsh the optimization to calculate the software project effort that is want to estimation. This research use 63 history software projects data of COCOMO to test. The experiment really expresses using base on project clustering with multiple factors can make more effective base on effort of the estimate software of COCOMO's three project mode.


While exploring human mobility can benefit many applications such as smart transportation, city planning, and urban economics, there are two key questions that need to be answered: (i) What is the nature of the spatial diffusion of human mobility across regions with different urban functions? (ii) How to spot and trace the trip purposes of human mobility trajectories? To answer these questions, we study large-scale and city-wide taxi trajectories; and furtherly organize them as arrival sequences according to the chronological arrival time. We figure out an important property across different regions from the arrival sequences, namely human mobility synchronization effect, which can be exploited to explain the phenomenon that two regions have similar arrival patterns in particular time periods if they share similar urban functions. In addition, the arrival sequences are mixed by arrival events with distinct trip purposes, which can be revealed by the regional environment of both the origins and destinations. To that end, in this paper, we develop a joint model that integrates Mixture of Hawkes Process (MHP) with a hierarchical topic model to capture the arrival sequences with mixed trip purposes. Essentially, the human mobility synchronization effect is encoded as a synchronization rate in the MHP; while the regional environment is modeled by introducing latent Trip Purpose and POI Topic to generate the Point of Interests (POIs) in the regions. Moreover, we provide an effective inference algorithm for parameter learning. Finally, we conduct intensive experiments on synthetic data and real-world data, and the experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed model.


This revision recognises 19 species of Simuliidae as being present in the New Zealand subregion, with all species assignable to Austrosimulium ( Austrosimulium ) Tonnoir. Added to the 13 previously described species are 2 taxa originally described by Dumbleton as subspecies which we have elevated to species rank, plus 4 new species. The species groupings of Dumbleton (1973) are confirmed with cladistic analysis: the australense species-group, diagnosed in large by the lack of a basal tooth on the female tarsal claws, and the ungulatum species-group, characterised mainly by presence of the basal tooth on the female tarsal claws. Further subdivision of these species-groups is also confirmed. In the australense species-group, the australense -subgroup contains Austrosimulium ( A. ) australense (Schiner) and A . ( A .) longicorne Tonnoir; and that of the tillyardianum -subgroup contains A . ( A .) albovelatum Dumbleton, A . ( A .) alveolatum Dumbleton new status, A . ( A .) dugdalei n. sp., A . ( A .) extendorum n. sp., A . ( A .) fiordense Dumbleton new status, A . ( A .) laticorne Tonnoir, A . ( A .) multicorne Tonnoir, A . ( A .) stewartense Dum-bleton, and A . ( A .) tillyardianum Dumbleton. In the ungulatum species-group, the ungulatum -subgroup contains A . ( A .) campbellense Dumbleton, A . ( A .) dumbletoni Crosby, A . ( A .) ungulatum Tonnoir, A . ( A .) vailavoense n. sp., and A . ( A .) vexans (Mik); and the unicorne -subgroup contains A . ( A .) bicorne Dumbleton, A . ( A .) tonnoiri n. sp., and A . ( A .) unicorne Dumbleton. Lectotypes are designated for A . ( A .) australense and Simulium tillyardi Tonnoir, 1923 (= A . ( A. ) australense), and a neotype is designated for A . ( A .) fiordense . Examination of specimens with the nomen nudum , caecutiens Walker, 1848, confirmed the synonymy with A . ( A .) australense . The Simuliidae of New Zealand are a segregate of species of the genus Austrosimulium endemic to Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. A small group of Australian species form the subgenus Novaustrosimulium Dumbleton. However, only members of subgenus Austrosimulium occur in the New Zealand subregion. The genus is well established as the sister taxon to the monospecific genus Par austrosimulium Wygodzinsky & Coscaron in South America. This revision is based on numerous new specimens obtained between 2006 and 2012 from over 319 localities, and 330 collections in addition to an equal number of earlier collections. Full descriptions for known stages are given for all previously described species as well as the new species. Most diagnostic characters are found in the pupal stage and involve the structure of the pupal gills, the cocoon structure, and sculpture of the thoracic cuticle. Mature final instar larvae, exhibiting dark pharate pupal gills, are also of major diagnostic value. Keys are provided to adult females and males, pupae, cocoons, final instar larvae, and larval ecological requirements. There are full illustrations of the morphological characters used. An extensive review is provided on bionomics. For most species little is known about their biology, habitat requirements, and the factors limiting their distribution, but it appears that the requirements of the immature stages are the major determinants. A. longicorne larvae are found in smooth, markedly slow flowing water — quite unusual for a simuliid — and we propose the common name "slow flow black fly" for this species. Some high altitude species, such as A. bicorne , have quite specific habitat requirements for the immature stages. Others, such as those of A. australense , are habitat generalists, but normally use vegetation as a substrate. Details about recent collecting localities and their hydrological parameters are given. Typical habitats for species are illustrated, although all recent localities have an associated photograph that is accessible through . The biogeography of species is discussed in-depth in relation to current knowledge of the geological events that have shaped New Zealand and influenced the distribution of species. Preliminary molecular analysis (Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) mitochondrial DNA barcoding, 800 base pairs) is almost in full concordance with the groupings formed through morphological cladistic analysis, but the molecular analysis could not distinguish species in the tillyardianum -subgroup. Austrosimulium ungulatum , recognised from morphological evidence to be a single entity, is shown to comprise 4 haplotypes. Similarly, some other species show multiple haplotypes. Further, A. vexans of the Auckland Islands is sister to an aggregate of haplotypes previously assumed to be A. ungulatum . Austrosimulium dumbletoni and A. vailavoense , taxonomically placed in the ungulatum -subgroup because of morphological characters, are shown by molecular analysis to be in the unicorne -subgroup; and that subgroup is sister to all remaining New Zealand Austrosimulium . Further, A. australense probably comprises 2 species, one primarily North Island, the other precinctive to the South Island and Stewart Island and that cannot be distinguished on current morphological characters. The molecular analysis indicated that New Zealand Austrosimulium originally arrived by dispersal well after the so-called Oligocene Great Inundation ca 34–23 Mya, and the concatenation of the large tillyardianumsubgroup even more strongly indicated that it is a segregate of recent origin. That the unicorne -subgroup of species require cold water, high altitude habitats in the Southern Alps, that at maximum are only some 5 million years of age, indicates that New Zealand Austrosimulium is unlikely to be older. Checklist of taxa Family SIMULIIDAE Newman, 1834 Genus Austrosimulium Tonnoir, 1925 Subgenus Austrosimulium Tonnoir, 1925 australense species-group Dumbleton, 1973 australense -subgroup Dumbleton, 1973 australense (Schiner, 1868) caecutiens Walker, 1848 nomen nudum tillyardi Tonnoir, 1923 longicorne Tonnoir, 1925 tillyardianum -subgroup Dumbleton, 1973 albovelatum Dumbleton, 1973 alveolatum Dumbleton, 1973 new status dugdalei Craig, Craig & Crosby new species extendorum Craig, Craig & Crosby new species fiordense Dumbleton, 1973 new status laticorne Tonnoir, 1925 multicorne Tonnoir, 1925 stewartense Dumbleton, 1973 tillyardianum Dumbleton, 1973 tillyardi Tonnoir, 1925 ungulatum species-group Dumbleton, 1973 ungulatum -subgroup campbellense Dumbleton, 1973 dumbletoni Crosby, 1976 ungulatum Tonnoir, 1925 vailavoense Craig, Craig & Crosby new species vexans (Mik, 1881) unicorne -subgroup Dumbleton, 1973 bicorne Dumbleton, 1973 crosbyi Yankovsky, 1996 tonnoiri Craig, Craig & Crosby new species unicorne Dumbleton, 1973


IMPORTANCE
Use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) promotes better clinical outcomes for coronary intervention in complex coronary lesions. However, randomized data demonstrating the clinical usefulness of IVUS are limited for lesions treated with drug-eluting stents.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the long-term clinical outcomes with IVUS-guided drug-eluting stent implantation are superior to those with angiography-guided implantation in patients with long coronary lesions.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
The Impact of Intravascular Ultrasound Guidance on Outcomes of Xience Prime Stents in Long Lesions (IVUS-XPL) randomized, multicenter trial was conducted in 1400 patients with long coronary lesions (implanted stent ≥28 mm in length) between October 2010 and July 2014 at 20 centers in Korea.

INTERVENTIONS
Patients were randomly assigned to receive IVUS-guided (n = 700) or angiography-guided (n = 700) everolimus-eluting stent implantation.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Primary outcome measure was the composite of major adverse cardiac events, including cardiac death, target lesion-related myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization at 1 year, analyzed by intention-to-treat.

RESULTS
One-year follow-up was complete in 1323 patients (94.5%). Major adverse cardiac events at 1 year occurred in 19 patients (2.9%) undergoing IVUS-guided and in 39 patients (5.8%) undergoing angiography-guided stent implantation (absolute difference, -2.97% [95% CI, -5.14% to -0.79%]) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.48 [95% CI, 0.28 to 0.83], P = .007). The difference was driven by a lower risk of ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization in patients undergoing IVUS-guided (17 [2.5%]) compared with angiography-guided (33 [5.0%]) stent implantation (HR, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.28 to 0.91], P = .02). Cardiac death and target lesion-related myocardial infarction were not significantly different between the 2 groups. For cardiac death, there were 3 patients (0.4%) in the IVUS-guided group and 5 patients (0.7%) in the angiography-guided group (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.14 to 2.52], P = .48). Target lesion-related myocardial infarction occurred in 1 patient (0.1%) in the angiography-guided stent implantation group (P = .32).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among patients requiring long coronary stent implantation, the use of IVUS-guided everolimus-eluting stent implantation, compared with angiography-guided stent implantation, resulted in a significantly lower rate of the composite of major adverse cardiac events at 1 year. These differences were primarily due to lower risk of target lesion revascularization.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01308281.


Uncertainty about biases common across models and about unknown and unmodeled feedbacks is important for the tails of temperature change distributions and thus for climate risk assessments. This paper develops a hierarchical Bayes framework that explicitly represents these and other sources of uncertainty. It then uses models' estimates of albedo, carbon cycle, cloud, and water vapor‐lapse rate feedbacks to generate posterior probability distributions for feedback strength and equilibrium temperature change. The posterior distributions are especially sensitive to prior beliefs about models' shared structural biases: nonzero probability of shared bias moves some probability mass toward lower values for climate sensitivity even as it thickens the distribution's positive tail. Obtaining additional models of these feedbacks would not constrain the posterior distributions as much as narrowing prior beliefs about shared biases or, potentially, obtaining feedback estimates having biases uncorrelated with those impacting climate models. Carbon dioxide concentrations may need to fall below current levels to maintain only a 10% chance of exceeding official 28C limits on global average temperature change.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate a computerized information system, the Professional Activity Study-Medical Audit Program (PAS-MAP), when used by the medical staff of a hospital to conduct medical care evaluation studies. PAS-MAP was compared to a manual system for collecting data not contained on the face sheets of medical records. The results indicated that, compared to the manual system, PAS-MAP: was less costly if more than 41 per cent of hospitalized patients were included in medical care evaluation studies; was as timely as the manual system for data it could provide but provided fewer clinical data elements than physicians requested; and was less protective against human error. Three decision makers assigned weights indicating the relative importance of these results. The weights were combined in an additive model to arrive at a score for each system. Based on these scores, the manual system was recommended for implementation.


Nowadays, telecommunication services providers offer many services regarding to telecommunication activities to their customers. Customer loyalty is related to the
factors affecting customer experience for cellular mobile services subscriptions. This study aims in investigating what are the factors which determine customer experience in
cellular mobile services of telecommunication companies. The factors including brand, price and service quality are analyzed as the independent variables and the dependent
variable is customer experience. A systematic approach is developed by using descriptive study through structured questionnaires of data collection. Thus, customer experience is formulated as a conceptual framework for analysis in this study. The data are analyzed using descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The result of regression analysis showed the significant factors that influenced customer experience are price and service quality provided by the telecommunication companies. In this study, it shows the most important factor is the price of cellular mobile services provided by the telecommunication companies. There are three recommendations given in this study. Firstly, future study is recommended to
include other races of the respondents besides Malay such as Chinese and Indian respondents as well. Secondly, further study may include more independent variables.
Thirdly, future study is proposed to emphasize the role of cellular service types (fixed and prepaid line) as an antecedent of engagement.


Logical framework of enterprise integration platform is constructed, which is based on the model of user-process-applications. The application systems and business processes are encapsulated by the neutral and standard web services with the support of enterprise applications and database. By using services publishing and discovering mechanisms, enterprise resources can be located and shared. Services within the enterprise can by dynamically orchestrated as processes, so that the enterprise business process can by dynamically constructed and monitored according to the changing environment. Core of the platform is orchestration and management of web services, which is driver by a process engine. The platform is exhibited as enterprise portal supporting single sing-on. An enterprise –wide Kanban system is also incorporated within the platform, covering the enterprise and workshop information. An example is given at the end.


Consumers worldwide are becoming health conscious and are concerned about nutrition (Hart, 2000) and the quality of food consumed. Consumers are also increasingly concerned with food safety issues taking into consideration, the recent salmonella case in Germany and elsewhere. Gil, Gracia and Sanchez (2000) have investigated that consumers are getting health conscious and are paying more attention to quality of food consumed. Therefore, food must deliver an added value that are sought after by consumers besides basic hedonistic and functional needs such as nutrition, taste, health, favorable price-quality ratio, etc., in the selection of food. This added value may be perceived in the form of ecological, social and individual benefit. A study on consumer perception towards organic food products may add insight into the nascent but emerging organic food industry in India. The review of related literature in the area of organic food products and consumer perception studied has provided many insights for the study. It has also provided direction in designing the present study. A number of researchers have identified various factors that influence consumer perception of organic food products mainly in developed countries. Some studies have also been undertaken in Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Very few researchers have attempted to focus in detail the various factors that influence consumer perception towards organic food. Having reviewed several studies and having identified the gap, the investigator felt an imperative need to undertake the present investigation. Keywords:  Demographic Factors, Organic Food Products and Psychographic Factors Influencing Consumer Perception


Condensation of methylcrotonic acid with 4-chloro-o-phenylenediamine in 4N HCl yielded 5-chloro-2-(1-isobutenyl)benzimidazole and 7-chloro-4, 4-dimethyl-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-one. Methacrylic acid when condensed with o-phenylenediamine in 4N HCl yielded the already reported 3-methyl-1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-one and 2(2-propenyl)benzimidazole. Condensation of methacrylic acid with 4-chloro-o-phenylenediamine in 4N HCl yielded 5-chloro-2(2-propenyl)benzimidazole. The structures of all the purified compounds were confirmed with the help of mass and 1H NMR spectral analysis.


In the antebellum nineteenth century, courts often voided legislative acts for substantive unreasonableness or for exceeding the scope of legitimate police powers. Contrary to the assertions of a number of modern scholars, however, this tradition does not support the concept of economic substantive due process. Courts voided municipal acts exceeding the scope of legitimate police powers on two grounds—the law of delegation and the law of municipal corporations—that did not apply to acts of state legislatures. The states themselves were limited to reasonable exercises of the police power only when their asserted authority came into potential collision with federal constitutional requirements, most prominently the Commerce and Contracts Clauses.

It was only late in the century, after the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, that a police-power version of substantive due process emerged as a limitation on state legislatures as courts began conflating, under the guise of "due process of law," earlier doctrines that had used a similar vocabulary but for distinct purposes. Police-power limitations on state legislatures regulating purely internal matters therefore probably cannot be justified by any antebellum legal conception of due process of law. A police-power analysis might, however, play some role in a Privileges or Immunities Clause challenge by analogy to antebellum Commerce Clause and Contracts Clause jurisprudence.


Introduction The measurement of power output (PO) is an essential element in cycling. Three types of tools can measure PO: ergometers (e.g. SRM Indoortrainer), mobile power meters (e.g. SRM, Powertap G3, Powertap P1, Stages, Garmin Vector) and home-trainers (e.g. Wahoo KICKR) (Zadow, Kitic, Wu, Smith, & Fell, 2016), Cyclus (Rodger, Plews, McQuillan, & Driller, 2016), Lemond Revolution (Novak, Stevens, & Dascombe, 2015), Velotron (Abbiss, Quod, Levin, Martin, & Laursen, 2009), Axiom (Bertucci, Duc, Villerius, & Grappe, 2005). The CycleOps Hammer Direct Drive Trainer (Saris, Madison, USA) is a new home-trainer. It use the technology of Powertap G3 hub (PowerTuned) for measuring PO. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of the Hammer in comparison with the Powertap P1 pedals. We hypothesized a lower POHammer than POP1 considering the location of the two power meters on the bicycle.   Methods 3 cyclists (age: 23 i'± 1 years old, body mass: 65.3 i'± 2.5 kg, height: 174 i'± 3 cm) performed all testing sessions on their personal bicycle fitted with the Powertap P1 pedals and fixed on a CycleOps Hammer Direct Drive Trainer. To investigate the accuracy and reproducibility, the PO of the two power meters was recorded during a sub-maximal incremental test (150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 W). For each PO level the cyclists  exercised 3 min with 3 different cadences (60, 80 and 100 rpm) (Bouillod, Pinot, Soto-Romero, Bertucci, & Grappe, 2016). The last 45s of each measurement was analyzed. Also, the cyclists performed a sprint test (3 sprints of 8 s with three different resistances) and a Wingate test. Before each test, the power meters were calibrated according to the manufacturers' instructions. Results For all data, there was a strong correlation between POP1 and POHammer (r = 0.99, p < 0.001) (Figure 1A). The Bland-Altman analysis (Figure 1B) showed a bias of 17 i'± 28 W (95% CI: 12 and 22 W) for the Hammer. Paired t-test have shown significant difference between POHammer and POP1 for the submaximal incremental test (+0.9%, p = 0.008), sprint test (+3.4% for PO1-sec and +3.5% for PO8-sec p < 0.001) and Wingate test (+1.8%, p < 0.001).  The coefficient of variation (CV, %) was 0.4% for both the Hammer and the P1 during all submaximal incremental tests. For the Wingate and sprint tests, CV was the same (0.1%) for the two systems. The reproducibility was tested for the submaximal incremental test because the PO was fixed by the Hammer. Both systems have the same intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = 1).   Conclusions The main findings show that the PO provided by the Hammer must be treated with some caution concerning the accuracy whereas the Hammer has a good reproducibility. The over-estimation of the Hammer can be explained by the difference of measurement processes. Theoretically, the Hammer should underestimate PO due to drive train frictional losses.  Coaches and scientists should use the Hammer with some caution because the system overestimates PO when it increases. One the other hand, the reproducibility is good. This point is valuable when coaches compare athletes with the same system. Future studies should evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the Hammer in comparison with a dynamic calibration rig to confirm our findings.


Ocular hypertension (OHT) is characterized by raised intraocular pressure (IOP) >21 mmHg without any visual field (functional) or optic nerve (structural) defect featuring glaucoma. Raised IOP is a major risk factor of glaucoma and a proportion of eyes with OHT progresses into primary open angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is a debilitating disease with potential for blindness if left untreated and associated reduction in the quality of life of the affected individual. It is challenging for the clinicians to decide whether an OHT will progress into glaucoma or not based on the risk factor model of the Ocular hypertension treatment study. Moreover, the question whether only IOP or a myriad of factors like central corneal thickness, baseline IOP, visual field, family history of glaucoma, ocular biomechanics are all important in determining the progression is yet to be answered. The rate of progression is also important and needs analysis for further discussion. Summarizing the landmark studies on ocular hypertension and glaucoma to date are imperative in this regard. This chapter presents the overview of OHT and its possible etiology and pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical tests evaluating OHT eyes and elaborates on the progression of OHT to glaucoma over time in relation to the treatment.


Context: Gitelman syndrome is an inherited autosomal recessive disorder. It is usually diagnosed incidentally during adolescence or early adulthood based on clinical and biochemical findings. Case Report: We present a case of 16 years old adolescent female presenting with recurrent chest pain, tingling, and numbness of bilateral hands. Diagnosis was established by the typical biochemical abnormalities with hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria, metabolic alkalosis, and hyperreninemic hyperaldosteronism. Genetic diagnosis was confirmed by sequence analysis of the SLC12A3 gene showing the compound heterozygous mutation encoding the thiazide-sensitive sodium chloride co-transporter. The patient was treated with oral potassium, magnesium, and amiloride with complete improvement of symptoms and biochemical profile. Conclusion: Gitelman syndrome should be considered as a differential diagnosis in work up of hypokalemia, especially in adolescent age group. The presence of hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, hypomagnesaemia, hypocalciuria, and mutation analysis provides the final diagnosis.


In a rock-shelter in rural Portugal, archaeologists last month found the complete skeleton of a young child of our own lineage who was buried with ceremony perhaps 28,000 years ago. Researchers say the child may prove to be the oldest well-preserved early modern human on the Iberian peninsula. The burial may also provide cultural clues to a pivotal era, when the last of the Neandertals co-existed with modern humans in southern Iberia.