This thesis explored the relevance of goal conflict for well-being and psychopathology. The thesis incorporates a comprehensive literature review, research into well-being, applied research concerning emotion- and behaviour- regulation difficulties including bipolar disorder, and two intervention studies. The literature review (Chapter 1) described four concepts related to goal conflict, clarified the state of the existing literature, and proposed a reconceptualisation of these four concepts within a hierarchical model. This review also highlighted important avenues for future research, and a number of these avenues were pursued in this thesis (Chapters 2 ? 8). Study 1 tested the possibility that inconsistent findings in previous goal conflict studies might be due to interaction effects. The combination of high ambivalence and low goal conflict related to elevated depression symptoms in a student sample (Chapter 2). It was hypothesised that conflict between opposing goals might underlie a range of emotion- and behaviour-regulation difficulties, and two student studies supported this hypothesis. Individuals who held highly important, opposing goals for the regulation of six everyday emotions and behaviours reported more difficulties in managing these emotions and behaviours, in terms of self-ratings (Study 2) and scores on validated measures (Study 3). These difficulties related to general distress and lower well-being (Chapter 3). This form of conflict is potentially relevant in mood swings and bipolar disorder. An analogue study (Study 4) explored the relationship between mood symptoms and extreme positive and negative beliefs and appraisals of high, energetic states. Positive appraisals uniquely related to high, activated mood, whilst negative beliefs and appraisals of the same states uniquely related to depression (Chapter 4). It was hypothesised that conflict between these opposing appraisals might relate to bipolar disorder, which is characterised by both high and low mood. In Study 5, the combination of opposing extreme positive and extreme negative appraisals of the same internal states discriminated individuals with bipolar disorder from controls and from individuals with unipolar depression (Chapter 5). Tenacity in striving for one?s goals and flexibility in disengaging from or adapting one?s goals may enable the successful reorganisation of conflict when it arises, promoting long-term well-being. Study 6 examined these processes in a large, older adult sample. The combination of high tenacity in goal pursuit and high flexibility in goal adjustment predicted a number of aspects well-being at 10-year follow-up (Chapter 6). The final two studies involved investigations of therapeutic approaches to conflict. Study 7 found that an expressive writing intervention reduced the distress caused by ambivalent conflict in an analogue sample with varying levels of depression and anxiety symptoms (Chapter 7). In Study 8, individuals with various psychological difficulties received a form of cognitive therapy (Method of Levels) designed to facilitate awareness of higher-level goals and the resolution conflict. Therapist adherence, along with working alliance, predicted client readiness to change, and readiness predicted improvements in symptoms between therapy sessions (Chapter 8). Goal conflict seems to be important in determining distress and psychopathology, particularly in the context of emotion-regulation difficulties. Research would benefit from further exploration of therapeutic approaches which target internal goal conflict.


OBJECTIVE
Abnormalities of attention are considered the fundamental deficits in cognitive function manifested by patients with schizophrenia. The authors administered variations of two types of cognitive tasks to patients with schizophrenia (N=20) and normal comparison subjects (N=30) to test four possible cognitive mechanisms that might account for such abnormalities.

METHOD
Variations of the Continuous Performance Test were used to test the four mechanisms. Stimulus-response mapping was explored by comparing results on a task in which subjects were to make a response if the word "nine" was preceded by the word "one" with results on a task in which the required response was made explicit by the stimulus (the word "ready" followed by the word "press"). The building up of a prepotent response tendency was tested by manipulating the probability with which the cue and imperative stimulus appeared (17% or 50%). The amount of working memory required to maintain contextual information was tested by using different delay intervals (1000 msec and 3000 msec). The extent to which problems in vigilance might be attributable to problems in the "motoric" component of response readiness was operationalized by having subjects perform a secondary motor task concurrent with the attentional task.

RESULTS
Patients with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than the normal comparison subjects on all tasks. However, none of the four manipulations of the Continuous Performance Test tasks had a differential impact on the patients' performance speed or accuracy. In contrast, there was a significant interaction of group, delay interval, and target probability in which patients made disproportionately more omission errors at short delay intervals and at low target probabilities.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings may call into question the explanatory power of certain well-known contemporary mechanistic accounts of performance on the Continuous Performance Test in patients with schizophrenia. The findings suggest that a difficulty in rapidly encoding information (i.e., constructing a representation) in certain "unengaging" situations may be at the core of deficits on tasks associated with this attentional test.


The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei produces two cellobiohydrolases (CBHI and CBHII). These, like most other cellulose-degrading enzymes, have a modular structure consisting of a catalytic domain linked to a cellulose-binding domain (CBD). The isolated catalytic domains bind poorly to cellulose and have a much lower activity towards cellulose than the intact enzymes. For the CBDs, no function other than binding to cellulose has been found. We have previously described the reversibility and exchange rate for the binding of the CBD of CBHI to cellulose. In this work, we studied the binding of the CBD of CBHII and showed that it differs markedly from the behaviour of that of CBHI. The apparent binding affinities were similar, but the CBD of CBHII could not be dissociated from cellulose by buffer dilution and did not show a measurable exchange rate. However, desorption could be triggered by shifting the temperature. The CBD of CBHII bound reversibly to chitin. Two variants of the CBHII CBD were made, in which point mutations increased its similarity to the CBD of CBHI. Both variants were found to bind reversibly to cellulose.


Open reduction and internal fixation has become the standard of care for the treatment of most displaced acetabular fractures. As surgical techniques have become refined, long term results of surgical fixation have improved. During the past 10 to 15 years, several controversies have surfaced in the orthopaedic literature regarding the treatment of acetabular fractures. The recent literature regarding acetabular fixation was reviewed. Controversies include the most efficacious surgical approach for complex acetabular fractures; the effectiveness of intraoperative sciatic nerve monitoring; the most effective method of prophylaxis against deep vein thrombosis; and the indications for and method of prophylaxis against heterotopic bone formation.


Introduction: We sought to compare the outcomes of patients with cryptic versus overt shock treated with an emergency department (ED) based early sepsis resuscitation protocol. Methods: Pre-planned secondary analysis of a large, multicenter ED-based randomized controlled trial of early sepsis resuscitation. All subjects were treated with a quantitative resuscitation protocol in the ED targeting 3 physiological variables: central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure and either central venous oxygen saturation or lactate clearance. The study protocol was continued until all endpoints were achieved or a maximum of 6 h. Outcomes data of patients who were enrolled with a lactate ≥4 mmol/L and normotension (cryptic shock) were compared to those enrolled with sustained hypotension after fluid challenge (overt shock). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 300 subjects were enrolled, 53 in the cryptic shock group and 247 in the overt shock group. The demographics and baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. The primary endpoint of in-hospital mortality was observed in 11/53 (20%, 95% CI 11–34) in the cryptic shock group and 48/247 (19%, 95% CI 15–25) in the overt shock group, difference of 1% (95% CI −10 to 14; log rank test p = 0.81). Conclusion: Severe sepsis with cryptic shock carries a mortality rate not significantly different from that of overt septic shock. These data suggest the need for early aggressive screening for and treatment of seru patients with an elevated


SIR,-It is interesting that having challenged some of the things I wrote as being incapable of substantiation Dr. Russell then goes onin the sentence-to claim that what I say is more fantasy than fact. This must surely be equally difficult to substantiate. It is true in one sense that coitus is but part of a complete reproductive act. I might go further than he does and say that the care of the offspring is also a part of the process. However, to reach the conclusion he does is to ignore the possibility that with the advent of human sensibility orgasm has come to have a satisfaction, and perhaps indeed a purpose, quite separate from that of reproduction. The fact that there is no clear pattem to the acceptability of intercourse by the woman would suggest this. Evolution is occurring in patterns of behaviour as well as in our physical attributes. The physiological response to sexual stimuli, including the contraction of the muscle deep to the areola and the erection of the clitoris, have all been demonstrated and well documented in the sources I quoted, so to prove that they do not occur an equally impressive body of experimental evidence must be cited. Equally, the occurrence of changes in the shape of the vaginal vault and contractions of the levator ani muscles and of the uterus which accompany the female orgasm are also documented by research workers of good reputation. If one was to seek a purpose for these changes it may very well be found in the speed with which spermatazoa can make their way into the Fallopian tubes. It is, I think, too much to postulate that they always make their way by their own power. The "orgasm" of the female can at least assist the process. However, speculation on these lines is likely to be as unprofitable to me as it appears to be to others, so I will desist.-I am, etc.,


Chemical and pharmacological studies of Panax vietnamensis (Vietnamese ginseng; VG) have been reported since its discovery in 1973. However, the content of each saponin in different parts of VG has not been reported. In this study, 17 ginsenosides in the different underground parts of P. vietnamensis were analyzed by HPLC/evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Their contents in the dried rhizome, radix, and fine roots were 195, 156, and 139 mg/g, respectively, which were extremely high compared to other Panax species. The content of protopanaxatriol (PPT)-type saponins were not much different among underground parts; however, the content of protopanaxadiol (PPD)- and ocotillol (OCT)-type saponins were greatly different. It is noteworthy that the ginsenoside pattern in the fine roots is different from other underground parts. In particular, despite the content of PPD-type saponins being the highest in the fine roots, which is similar to other Panax species, the total content of saponins was the lowest in the fine roots, which is different from other Panax species. The ratios of PPT : PPD : OCT-type saponins were 1 : 1.7 : 7.8, 1 : 1.6 : 5.5, and 1 : 4.8 : 3.3 for the rhizome, radix, and fine roots, respectively. OCT-type saponins accounted for 36-75% of total saponins and contributed mostly to the difference in the total saponin content of each part.


The paper aims at linking the concepts of transnational communities and regional clusters. Using the example of the Antwerp diamond district, it will be shown that its recent structural change can mainly be attributed to the influx of a  transnational community, namely Jaina families from Western India. Based on the analysis of guided interviews, immigration files and secondary data, the migration patterns will be  considered as an outcome of both economic growth in the transmigrants' home region and the social structure of the community itself. Furthermore, it will be shown that the Indians contributed to closures of incumbent firms, a modification of local specialization patterns as well as to changes  of the local institutional framework in the destination area.


The Internet is straining to meet demands that its design never anticipated, such as supporting billions of mobile devices and transporting huge amounts of multimedia content. The publish-subscribe Internet (PSI) architecture, a clean slate information-centric networking approach to the future Internet, was designed to satisfy the current and emerging user demands for pervasive content delivery, which the Internet can no longer handle. This article provides an overview of the PSI architecture, explaining its operation from bootstrapping to information delivery, focusing on its support for network layer caching and seamless mobility, which make PSI an excellent platform for ubiquitous information delivery.


Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive, neuromodulating technique for brain hyperexcitability disorders. The objective of this paper is to discuss the mechanism of action of rTMS as well as to investigate the literature involving the application of rTMS in the treatment of tinnitus. The reviewed aspects of the protocols included baseline evaluation, the total number of sessions, frequency and the total number of stimuli, the location of treatment, and the outcome measures. Even with heterogeneous protocols, most studies utilized validated tinnitus questionnaires as baseline and outcome measures. Low frequency (1 Hz) stimulation throughout 10 consecutive sessions was the most widely used frequency and treatment duration; however, there was no consensus on the total number of stimuli necessary to achieve significant results. The auditory cortex (AC) was the most targeted location, with most studies supporting changes in neural activity with multi-site stimulation to areas in the frontal cortex (FC), particularly the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The overall efficacy across most of the reviewed trials reveals positive statistically significant results. Though rTMS has proven to impact neuroplasticity at the microscopic and clinical level, further studies are warranted to demonstrate and support the clinical use of rTMS in tinnitus treatment with a standardized protocol.


Abstract Context. Feral cats (Felis catus) pose a significant threat to Australia's native species and feral cat control is, therefore, an important component of threatened species management and policy. Australia's Threatened Species Strategy articulates defined targets for feral cat control. Yet, currently, little is known about who is engaged in feral cat control in Australia, what motivates them, and at what rate they are removing feral cats from the environment. Aims. We aim to document who is engaging in feral cat control in Australia, how many cats they remove and to estimate the number of feral cats killed in a single year. Furthermore, we seek to better understand attitudes towards feral cat control in Australia. Methods. We used a mixed methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. Feral cat control data were obtained from existing data repositories and via surveys targeting relevant organisations and individuals. A bounded national estimate of the number of feral cats killed was produced by combining estimates obtained from data repositories and surveys with modelled predictions for key audience segments. Attitudes towards feral cat control were assessed by exploring qualitative responses to relevant survey questions. Key results. We received information on feral cat control from three central repositories, 134 organisations and 2618 individuals, together removing more than 35 000 feral cats per year. When including projections to national populations of key groups, the estimated number of feral cats removed from the environment in the 2017–2018 financial year was 316 030 (95% CI: 297 742–334 318). Conclusions. Individuals and organisations make a significant, and largely unrecorded, contribution to feral cat control. Among individuals, there is a strong awareness of the impact of feral cats on Australia's biodiversity. Opposition to feral cat control focussed largely on ethical concerns and doubts about its efficacy. Implications. There is significant interest in, and commitment to, feral cat control among some groups of Australian society, beyond the traditional conservation community. Yet more information is needed about control methods and their effectiveness to better understand how these efforts are linked to threatened species outcomes.


Abstract We hypothesize and test for a U-shaped relation between the cost of equity capital and the level of disclosure in annual report narratives. Using a computer-generated word-count-based index of the level of disclosure in U.K. annual report narratives, we document a negative relation with the cost of equity capital at low levels of disclosure, and a positive relation at higher levels of disclosure, together implying the presence of an optimal level of disclosure. We interpret the positive relation at higher levels of disclosure as evidence of uninformative clutter increasing the cost of equity capital. Additional analyses indicate the presence of both firm-level learning and regulatory corporate reporting initiatives as factors shaping adjustments towards optimum levels of disclosure.


The kinetic energy in ocean currents, or marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy, is a renewable energy resource that can help meet global energy requirements. An ocean circulation model-based census shows that subtropical surface western boundary currents (WBCs) are the only nearshore, large-scale currents swift enough to drive large electricity-generating ocean turbines envisioned for future use. We review several WBCs in the context of kinetic energy extraction. The power density in the Gulf Stream off North Carolina at times reaches several thousand watts per square meter at 75 m below the surface, and the annual average power is approximately 500-1,000 W m-2. Significant fluctuations occur with periods of 3-20 days (Gulf Stream meanders) and weeks to months (Gulf Stream path shifts). Interannual variations in annual average power occur because of year-to-year changes in these WBC motions. No large-scale turbines presently exist, and the road to establishing MHK facilities in WBCs will encounter challenges that are similar in many aspects to those associated with the development of offshore wind power.


This report presents the results of an analysis of motor vehicle crash costs in the United State in the year 2000. The total economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in 2000 was $230.6 billion. This represents the present value of lifetime costs for 41,821 fatalities, 5.3 million non-fatal injuries, and 28 million damaged vehicles, in both police-reported and unreported crashes. Lost market productivity accounted for $61 billion of this total, while property damage accounted for nearly as much - $59 billion. Medical expenses totaled $32.6 billion and travel delay accounted for $25.6 billion. Each fatality resulted in an average discounted lifetime cost of $977,000. Public revenues paid for roughly 9% of all motor vehicle crash costs, costing tax payers $21 billion in 2000, the equivalent of over $200 in added taxes for every household in the U.S. Alcohol-involved crashes accounted for $51.1 billion or 22% of all economic costs, and 75% of these costs occurred in crashes where a driver or non-occupant had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .10 or greater. In roughly 80% of these cases, alcohol was the cause of the crash. Crashes in which police indicate that at least one driver was exceeding the legal speed limit or driving too fast for conditions cost $40.4 billion in 2000. Safety belt use prevented 11,900 fatalities, 325,000 serious injuries, and $50 billion in injury related costs in 2000, but the failure of a substantial portion of the driving population to buckle up caused 9,200 unnecessary fatalities, 143,000 serious injuries, and cost society $26 billion in easily preventable injury related costs.


Stomatal control of transpiration was implied as the major strategies by which plants cope with water stress. Here we did investigate the genetic control of this process using the following trait: Fraction of Transpirable Soil Water threshold (FTSWt) representing the threshold of soil water content at which the stomatal control of transpiration started. We conducted a progressive water deficit experiment using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of sunflower and we analyzed the variation of FTSWt. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was then performed to determine the loci involved and to identify the genetic control. This work has shown, for the first time, QTL mapping for FTSWt in crops. In this work QTL mapping was made in sunflower.


Trisomy 18 is a rare genetic disorder (1/6000 liveborn infants), with controversial issues nowadays regarding the intensive medical interventions, as 8-12% of children survive beyond the first year, with a satisfactory quality of life. The clinical features are specific and the cardiac malformations usually confer the gravity of the case, with high mortality during the first weeks after delivery and during the first year of life (about 90%). We present the case of a girl with trisomy 18, with complex cardiac malformation, for which no surgery was indicated, who died at the age of 5 months due to acute pneumonia.


Two-dimensional (2D) material-based P–N junctions are unique building blocks for next-generation optoelectronics with the advantages of atomic thinness, flexibility and low cost. However, their device performances are limited due to either weak photo-absorption or low-quality junctions. Herein, we demonstrate a high-quality homogeneous and seamless P–N junction based on multilayer WSe2 instead of the reported monolayer structure or van der Waals junction and present its optoelectronic applications as a diode, photovoltaic cell and photodetector with high performances. Our WSe2 P–N junction exhibits ideal diode behaviour with an ideal factor close to 1 and rectifying ratio of 105. It also shows significant photovoltaic properties with VOC of ∼0.8 V and PCE of up to 6.2% under 635 nm light illumination. As a photodiode, it produces the maximum responsivity of 486 mA W−1, external quantum efficiency of ∼90%, fast speed below 4 ms and broadband spectral coverage up to the near-infrared region. This study demonstrates a high-performance 2D-based P–N diode as multifunctional optoelectronics in a single device, which holds promise to revolutionize electronic and optoelectronic technology.


When the participants in a visual search experiment have the task to detect if there is an item that belongs to another category among the distractors, or not, they show shorter reaction times (RTs) for fear-relevant target stimuli (snakes and spiders) when compared to fear-irrelevant target stimuli (flowers and mushrooms). This could be concluded to mirror a faster detection of the fear-relevant target stimuli. However, when the participants in this type of visual search task are requested to withhold their responses and respond to a probe presented at a fixed point in time after the search arrays, the difference in RTs between fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant target stimuli still remained. Over time the impact on RTs of fear-relevant distractors became stronger. This indicates a motor response preparation to potential biological threats and that it is building up over time. The notion that effect of distractors occur later in time is supported by a visual search experiment with heart rate measure, and that the shorter RTs to fear-relevant target stimuli are caused by a motor response preparation is supported by the time and location of an ERP component in another experiment. There are indications that the advantage in responding in relation to fear-relevance is caused by the possibility to automatize the responding. When the probe that followed the search arrays was randomized to different positions in time the effect disappeared, and a disadvantage was indicated. Other studies with randomized probe presentations also indicate a disadvantage caused by threat stimuli.


We developed MrEnt, a Windows‐based, user‐friendly software that allows the production of complex, high‐resolution, publication‐quality phylogenetic trees in few steps, directly from the analysis output. The program recognizes the standard Nexus tree format and the annotated tree files produced by BEAST and MrBayes. MrEnt combines in a single software a large suite of tree manipulation functions (e.g. handling of multiple trees, tree rotation, character mapping, node collapsing, compression of large clades, handling of time scale and error bars for chronograms) with drawing tools typical of standard graphic editors, including handling of graphic elements and images. The tree illustration can be printed or exported in several standard formats suitable for journal publication, PowerPoint presentation or Web publication.


This paper studies and evaluates the extent to which automated compiler techniques can defend against timing-based side channel attacks on modern x86 processors. We study how modern x86 processors can leak timing information through side channels that relate to data flow. We study the efficiency, effectiveness, portability, predictability and sensitivity of several mitigating code transformations that eliminate or minimize key-dependent execution time variations. Furthermore, we discuss the extent to which compiler backends are a suitable tool to provide automated support for the proposed mitigations.


Based on estate statistics collected by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, that in 2017 the total area of plantations producing Sago Islands Regency reaches 91,944 hectares and plant production of 418,802 tons. The number increased from 2 years earlier, namely in 2015 sago plant area was 83,691 ha with a production yield of 366,032 tons and in 2016 sago plant area was 89,611 ha with a production yield of 377,914. This study tries to trace the direction of the sago-based policy development Center for Small and Medium Industries in the Meranti Islands District. This research was conducted with a qualitative approach which is research that focuses on the concepts that arise from the data. The results of the analysis and interpretation of data in the form of exposure to the situation under study and then given a narrative and systematic explanation. The results showed that policies in order to encourage the development of sago-based Small and Medium Industrial Centers in the Regency of Meranti Islands including carried out with scenarios of structuring the location of activities, land use plans, efforts to map the transportation network system plans, telecommunications, electricity and clean water.


Organic food labelling debates in Sweden and the USA are examined in order to compare two different policy discourse climates on the basis of interviews, documents, and websites of governmental and non-governmental organisations. Framings in the Swedish debates mainly take place through eco-pragmatic metaframing, aimed at consensus, and based on a mixture of undefined scientific and ideological framings. The American examples indicate more adversarial, inter-frame controversies, with polarised framings of science and ideology. The article highlights the different pathways towards frame-resolution. The different opportunities and dilemmas of each are discussed. Increased awareness of the interdependence of ecology and politics need not entail public resignation that policy decisions are inevitably arbitrary.


: Assessing the research capital that a scholar has accrued is an essential task for academic administrators, funding agencies, and promotion and tenure committees worldwide. Scholars have criticized the existing methodology of counting papers in ranked journals and made calls to replace it (Adler & Harzing, 2009; Singh, Haddad, & Chow, 2007). In its place, some have made calls to assess the uptake of a scholar's work instead of assessing "quality" (Truex, Cuellar, Takeda, & Vidgen, 2011a). We identify three dimensions of scholarly capital (ideational influence (who uses one's work?), connectedness (with whom does one work?) and venue representation (where does one publish their work?)) in this paper as part of a scholarly capital model (SCM). We develop measurement models for the three dimensions of scholarly capital and test the relationships in a path model. We show how one might use the measures to evaluate scholarly research activity.


The main aim of this thesis is to examine the formation, development and role of regional associations among rural-urban migrants in Lima, Peru. The analysis covers three interconnected contexts - the urban, the regional and the local. Emphasis is placed on a consideration of wider historical and politico-economic process which have led to differential patterns of regional and local development, and of how this has generated migration and the formation of migrant associations. The material for the thesis was collected in two contrasting Peruvian Highland regions and among their respective migrant groups in Lima. The study also presents a critical assessment of existing literature on regional associations. This critique is based on three main arguments: firstly, that regional associations cannot be studied merely as urban phenomena; secondly, that they cannot be analysed separately from the migration process; and thirdly, they cannot be explained simply in terms of adaptational functions or in isolation from the political arena. The methodological strategy adopted for exploring these issues is detailed case-studies of two associations and their regional and local connections .This is looked at both in terms of institutional relations, focusing on the part played by local village and barrio associations, and in terms of the types of interpersonal and familial exchanges occurring between village residents and migrants.


In this retrospective observational study performed in a high-volume hepatobiliary–pancreatic unit, we evaluated the effect of a surgery-specific goal-directed therapy (GDT) physiologic algorithm on complications and length of hospital stay. We compared patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy with either a standardised Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program (usual care group), or a standardised Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program in combination with a surgery-specific cardiac output–guided algorithm (GDT group). We included 145 consecutive patients: 47 in the GDT group and 98 in the usual care group. Multivariable associations between GDT and lengths of stay and complications were investigated using negative binomial regression. Postoperative complications were common and occurred at similar frequencies amongst the GDT and usual care groups: 64% versus 68% respectively, P=0.71; odds ratio 0.82; (95% confidence interval 0.39–1.70). There were fewer cardiorespiratory complications in the GDT group. Median (interquartile range) length of hospital stay was ten days (8.0–14.0) in the GDT group compared to 13 days (8.8–21.3) in the usual care group, P=0.01. Median (interquartile range) total intraoperative fluid was 3,000 ml (2,050–4,175) in the GDT group compared to 4,500 ml (3,275–5,325) in the usual care group, P <0.0001; but by day one, the median (interquartile range) fluid balance was similar (1,198 ml [700–1,729] in the GDT group versus 977 ml [419–2,044] in the usual care group, P=0.96). Use of vasoactive medications was higher in the GDT group. In our patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy, GDT was associated with restrictive intraoperative fluid intervention, fewer cardiorespiratory complications and a shorter hospital length of stay compared to usual care. However, we could not exclude an influence of surgical caseload, which we have previously found to be an important variable. We also could not relate the increased hospital length of stay to cardiorespiratory complications in individual patients. Therefore, these observational retrospective findings would require confirmation in a prospective randomised study.


An effective, convenient and inexpensive method for the purification of water has been investigated. Water is one of the principal elements, which influences economic, industrial and agricultural growth of mankind. The over utilization of groundwater, poor recharge, uncertainty of monsoon, poor aquifer conditions, absence of proper monitoring and management have gradually influenced the quality of water. A solar desalination plant was fabricated to utilize solar energy to obtain distilled water. The effect of photocatalyst nickel sulphide on the rate of production of distilled water and its quality was made. It was found that the rate of production of desalinated water increased to a remarkable extent. A comparative study of different parameters like pH, conductivity, concentration of anions and cations, etc. was made between raw water and desalinated water.


This paper considers a uniform machine scheduling problem in which the release date of a job can be compressed by additional resources. The objective is to minimise the total resource usage, subject to the constraint that the makespan does not exceed a given deadline. The problem is known to be strongly NP-hard. We define two types of job moves - the right move and the left move - and analyse their effect on the resource usage. We discuss the calculation of total resource usage for two types of neighbourhood generation methods - the insertion method and exchange method. A variable neighbourhood search algorithm and a simulated annealing algorithm are developed as heuristics. To evaluate the performance of the heuristics, we develop a lower bound by relaxing the original problem to an assignment problem, which can be solved in time. Finally, we generate a large number of random data, and test the performance and efficiency of the proposed heuristics. Our results indicate that the heuristics are reasonably efficient and perform very well compared with the lower bound.


TCR-CD8–engineered CD4+ T cells have potent antitumor activity with sustained expression of diverse transcriptional programs. Transgenic coexpression of a class I–restricted tumor antigen–specific T cell receptor (TCR) and CD8αβ (TCR8) redirects antigen specificity of CD4+ T cells. Reinforcement of biophysical properties and early TCR signaling explain how redirected CD4+ T cells recognize target cells, but the transcriptional basis for their acquired antitumor function remains elusive. We, therefore, interrogated redirected human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells by single-cell RNA sequencing and characterized them experimentally in bulk and single-cell assays and a mouse xenograft model. TCR8 expression enhanced CD8+ T cell function and preserved less differentiated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells after tumor challenge. TCR8+CD4+ T cells were most potent by activating multiple transcriptional programs associated with enhanced antitumor function. We found sustained activation of cytotoxicity, costimulation, oxidative phosphorylation– and proliferation-related genes, and simultaneously reduced differentiation and exhaustion. Our study identifies molecular features of TCR8 expression that can guide the development of enhanced immunotherapies.


The kernel density estimator (KDE) based on a radial positive-semiden ite kernel may be viewed as a sample mean in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. This mean can be viewed as the solution of a least squares problem in that space. Replacing the squared loss with a robust loss yields a robust kernel density estimator (RKDE). Previous work has shown that RKDEs are weighted kernel density estimators which have desirable robustness properties. In this paper we establish asymptotic L 1 consistency of the RKDE for a class of losses and show that the RKDE converges with the same rate on bandwidth required for the traditional KDE. We also present a novel proof of the consistency of the traditional KDE.


The increasing spread of stalking in recent years has captured the community's and media's interest and highlighted complex legal, clinical and cultural issues. This phenomenon, far from being an individual problem, can be considered as a product of a growing culture that seems to reveal the crisis of current rules of social coexistence. This work aims at detecting the cultural repertoires that organise the stalking discourse, from an analysis of Italian newspaper articles, within a socio-constructivist paradigm. Emotional text analysis was conducted on a corpus of headlines and subheadings derived from 496 articles. These articles were published in major national newspapers and helped to identify four cultural repertoires (clusters) that characterise the social representation of stalking: gender violence and women's social independence (Cluster 1), psychological violence and control as illusion of intimacy (Cluster 2), anomic violence and intolerant individualism (Cluster 3), domestic violence and women's marital obligation (Cluster 4). These repertoires are conceived along three latent dimensions which respectively refer to the cultural functions of stalking (Factor 1), representations of the victim (Factor 2), and gender inequalities (Factor 3). The paper offers a key to a social contextualisation of stalking in Italy, in order to re-think work practices within institutional agencies that deal with this phenomenon.


This paper explores cultural integration paths of eight migrant groups in Switzerland. It specifically analyzes the evolution of objective behaviors and subjective attitudes of migrants from the first to the second generation. In order to deepen the analysis, the cultural integration of migrants is further examined from different perspectives: across cohorts (older vs. younger migrants) and across types of couples (individuals in endogamous vs. mixed couples). Gender differences are also paid attention to. First, behaviors are examined by looking at performances of migrants at school (educational attainment and gender gap). As women play a key role in the transmission of cultural traits and the socialization of the second generation, the focus then turns to their position in the couple (marriage, intermarriage, age and education gap between partners, early marriage, cohabitation, fertility, divorce) and in the labor market (labor force participation). Finally, this paper proposes to look at migrants' use of language, their feelings towards Switzerland, as well as their attitudes towards gender, religious and political issues. Evidence points to overall convergence. As the most striking and lasting differences across groups do not pertain to educational achievement, religious or political attitudes but to gender-related attitudes and, even more, to gender-related behaviors in endogamous couples, it appears that migration-related gender issues and migration-specific household dynamics" should be taken into account in the design of future cultural integration policies.


Recent experimental results demonstrate that substantial improvements in the mechanical behavior of polymers can be obtained using very small amounts of carbon nanotubes as a reinforcing phase. Here, a method is developed to incorporate the typically observed curvature of the embedded nanotubes into traditional micromechanical methods for determination of the effective modulus of the nanotube-reinforced polymer. Using a combined finite element and micromechanical approach, it was determined that the nanotube curvature significantly reduces the effective reinforcement when compared to straight nanotubes. This model suggests that nanotube waviness may be an additional mechanism limiting the modulus enhancement of nanotube-reinforced polymers.


Sixty-nine (28 females, 41 males) children with spastic cerebral palsy and 26 (13 females, 13 males) healthy children were included in the study. Total- and partial-body bone mineral content and bone mineral density values of patient and control subjects were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Left hand and wrist radiographs of all patients and right hand and wrist radiographs of 39 randomly selected patients were taken, and the bone ages of all radiographs were determined. In both female and male tetraplegics, bone mineralization values of lower extremities, where the mobility disorder and effects of absence of weight-bearing activity were maximal, were lower than those of controls and hemiplegics (P < .05). In 47 (68%) patients, left-side bone age values were below normal ranges for their ages, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .01). Our results indicate that motor function handicap affects skeletal mineralization adversely, and skeletal maturation is frequently delayed in children with cerebral palsy. We speculated that this delay might be a result of disrupted embryologic skeletal development due to hypoxic attack, which also causes the disease. (J Child Neurol 2001;16:425-430).


The hawk owl genus Ninox is unique among raptorial birds in that it includes three species in which males are substantially larger than females. This is a reversal of the normal pattern observed in both diurnal and nocturnal raptorial birds in which females are larger. Interestingly, these three Ninox species also are both the largest of the 22 species in the genus and the only species that exhibit the striking behaviour of 'prey holding' in which large (> 600 g) mammalian or avian prey is captured at night and held with body parts intact, and draped below a roost for the entire day without being consumed. Because explanations of the evolution of large male size suggest that it results from competition among males, the adaptive significance of prey holding was studied in a wild population of powerful owl Ninox strenua. Prey holding is largely confined to breeding males and its occurrence varies significantly across the breeding cycle, being most frequent during incubation and brooding. The study did not clearly resolve whether prey holding is a form of food storage or territorial display; however, both functions can select for large male body size and therefore play a significant role in the evolution of nonreversed size dimorphism. Although female-only incubation and brooding is typical of Ninox owls and other owl species, prey holding appears to occur only in the large Ninox species because of the unique combination of large body size, large prey size, separate sex roles, and obligate cavity nesting. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 95, 284–292.


Bankruptcy has always been a source of significant stigma. The first Elizabethan statutes regarded bankruptcy as a quasi-criminal state, punishable by public shaming, imprisonment and, in some cases, death. More modern regimes have recognised that bankruptcy serves important economic objectives, by encouraging entrepreneurial risk-taking and offering rehabilitation to debtors with useful skills and productive capacity. Over the course of the nineteenth century, the laws of the United States and United Kingdom became more liberal and less morally prescriptive in their treatment of financial failure. The early laws of the Australian colonies took a similarly pragmatic approach, and the current federal Bankruptcy Act 1966 continues in this vein. Still, bankruptcy remains a source of considerable stigma in Australian society, fuelled by political discourse, judicial decisions and media accounts of high-profile bankrupts. Noting that bankruptcy stigma has received little scholarly attention in Australia, the authors draw on parliamentary debates, court judgments, media reports, and other sources to provide an account of bankruptcy stigma in contemporary Australia. The authors examine the UK's recent efforts to address bankruptcy stigma by way of legislation, and consider several factors that may undermine such efforts. The authors conclude by calling for a wider public discussion about rising levels of household debt – one that would reframe bankruptcy as a social issue, rather than just a matter of personal morality.


AIM AND OBJECTIVES
To explore fathers' views and experiences of providing Kangaroo Care (KC) to their baby cared for in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

BACKGROUND
Kangaroo Care has been known to improve the health outcome for preterm, low birth weight and medically vulnerable term infants and achieve the optimal perinatal health wellbeing for parents and infants. Historically, mothers are considered as the dominant KC providers, whereas fathers are spectators and have been overlooked. Little is known about the fathers' perspectives in providing KC in NICUs.

METHODS
Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 fathers who delivered KC to their baby when in the NICU. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematical framework. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was followed to report this qualitative study.

FINDINGS
Fathers in this study identified they were passing a silent language of love and connecting with their baby by the act of KC in a challenging environment. Three themes emerged: 'Positive psychological connection', 'Embracing father-infant Kangaroo Care' and 'Challenges to father-infant Kangaroo Care'.

CONCLUSION
The findings of this study show KC enhances the bonding and attachment between fathers and infants. The conceptualisation of the paternal role in caregiving to a newborn is evolving as a contemporary practice. Further research is warranted to confirm or refute the study findings. Policies and facilities should be modified to include father-infant KC within the fields of neonatal care.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
It is important for nurses and other health professionals to support and enable fathers to give KC. Father-infant KC is recommended in neonatal care settings.


Arrays of quantum dots (QDs), i.e., semiconducting nanoparticles with typical sizes of 3–10 nm, have become more than merely an object of scientific research; they are now used in electronic devices. They are appealing mainly due to their optical properties, which depend on the QD size. Here, we consider the electronic properties of such arrays. These properties typically inherit the properties of bulk semiconductors, but in some cases can be substantially different due to the discreteness of sizes and a particular type of disorder in the array: the difference in size and spacing among QDs, as well as the number of donors. Notably, in such arrays, the metal–dielectric transition occurs at a much higher concentration of donors than in the bulk material. The nature of hopping conductivity in the dielectric phase strongly depends on the disorder type, quantum confinement effects, the Coulomb blockade, and the overlap integral of QDs.


Based on a survey of the French Biotech SMEs (see annex 1), this article examines localisation effects in the biotechnology sector. It consists of two strands of analysis. The first presents a detailed statistical survey of the French biotechnology sector. Among other things, the survey shows that a) localisation effects within France are strong, and b) French firms can be grouped into four general types of firm, ranging from 'type 1' growth-oriented product firms, to 'type 2' niche market players, 'type 3' subsidiaries of larger firms, and 'type 4' firms that have been acquired. Localisation effects differ across these firms, especially across type 1 (international) and type 2 (very localised) firms. The second strand of analysis consists of a review of the localisation and related cluster literature, with implications identified for localisation and knowledge spillovers within biotech clusters. The relative effects of the proximity of scientific centres compared to public policy on start-ups is examined.


Several transactivating factors specifically involved in the differentiation and proliferation of anterior pituitary cell types have been recently identified. Among them Pit-1 a member of the POU-domain transcription factors family is specific of anterior pituitary cells, and was initially identified and cloned as a transactivator of the GH and PRL genes and as a regulator of the TSH beta gene. Pit-1 play a key role during embryogenesis in the differentiation and proliferation of somatotrophs, lactotrophs and thyreotrophs. The importance of Pit-1 as a regulator in the anterior pituitary development has been further demonstrated by naturally occurring mutations or delections in dwarf mouse strains. In the Snell and Jackson dwarf mice, the levels of Pit-1 gene expression are low or undetectable, GH, PRL and TSH beta gene expression are absent and lactotrophs, somatotrophs, and threotrophs fail to proliferate. Furthermore Pit-1 carries out similar functions in humans. This is supported by the fact that children with mutations of the Pit-1 gene present with a congenital combined GH, PRL and TSH deficiency analogous to the phenotype of the Snell and Jackson dwarf mice. In children who were born to healthy consanguinous parents and present such combined deficiencies we recently reported a Pit-1 mutation causing a transition from a Phe to a Cys in a region of the protein known to be involved in DNA binding. Pit-1 transcripts identical in size and sequence to those observed in normal pituitary were described in human GH, PRL and TSH secreting pituitary adenomas. The Pit-1 beta isoform, raised through alternative splicing of exon 2 of the Pit-1 gene, is a more potent inducer of GH transcription than the major Pit-1 form. However no difference in the level of expression of the different Pit-1 isoforms was observed between tumors identified as pure GH or PRL producing tumors. The results support the existence of other transcription factors interacting with Pit-1 to coordinately regulate the activity of the GH and PRL promotors in a cell specific manner. In contrast, variable Pit-1 expression was observed in prolactinomas, according to their sensitivity to bromocriptine treatment. A highly significant correlation was indeed evidenced between the D2 receptors mRNA and the Pit-1 mRNA levels. These results raise the possibility that Pit-1 may either directly or indirectly affect the transcription of the D2 dopaminergic receptor gene. In fact, receptors for other hypothalamic neurohormones such a GHRH and somatostatin are known to be potential Pit-1 target genes. Such mechanisms could be implicated in the differentiation and proliferation of lactotrophs and somatotrophs.


We present a real-time differential phase-front detector sensitive to better than 3 mrad rms, which corresponds to a precision of approximately 500 pm. This detector performs a spatially resolving measurement of the phase front of a heterodyne interferometer, with heterodyne frequencies up to approximately 10 kHz. This instrument was developed as part of the research for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Technology Package interferometer and will assist in the manufacture of its flight model. Because of the advantages this instrument offers, it also has general applications in optical metrology.


The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) was established in 1958 and is one the oldest prospective studies of aging in the USA and the world. The BLSA is supported by the National Institute of Aging (NIA) and its mission is to learn what happens to people as they get old and how to sort out changes due to aging from those due to disease or other causes. In 1986, an autopsy program combined with comprehensive neurologic and cognitive evaluations was established in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). Since then, 211 subjects have undergone autopsy. Here we review the key clinical neuropathological correlations from this autopsy series. The focus is on the morphological and biochemical changes that occur in normal aging, and the early neuropathological changes of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). We highlight the combined clinical, pathologic, morphometric, and biochemical evidence of asymptomatic AD, a state characterized by normal clinical evaluations in subjects with abundant AD pathology. We conclude that in some individuals, successful cognitive aging results from compensatory mechanisms that occur at the neuronal level (i.e., neuronal hypertrophy and synaptic plasticity) whereas a failure of compensation may culminate in disease.


Measuring a biomarker in pooled samples from multiple cases or controls can lead to cost-effective estimation of a covariate-adjusted odds ratio, particularly for expensive assays. But pooled measurements may be affected by assay-related measurement error (ME) and/or pooling-related processing error (PE), which can induce bias if ignored. Building on recently developed methods for a normal biomarker subject to additive errors, we present two related estimators for a right-skewed biomarker subject to multiplicative errors: one based on logistic regression and the other based on a Gamma discriminant function model. Applied to a reproductive health dataset with a right-skewed cytokine measured in pools of size 1 and 2, both methods suggest no association with spontaneous abortion. The fitted models indicate little ME but fairly severe PE, the latter of which is much too large to ignore. Simulations mimicking these data with a non-unity odds ratio confirm validity of the estimators and illustrate how PE can detract from pooling-related gains in statistical efficiency. These methods address a key issue associated with the homogeneous pools study design and should facilitate valid odds ratio estimation at a lower cost in a wide range of scenarios.


Background Eribulin mesylate (E) is indicated for metastatic breast cancer patients previously treated with anthracycline and taxane. We argued that E could also benefit patients eligible for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods Patients with primary triple negative breast cancer ≥2 cm received doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 and paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 x 4 cycles (AT) followed by E 1.4 mg/m2 x 4 cycles. Primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) rate; secondary and explorative endpoints included clinical/metabolic response rates and safety, and biomarker analysis, respectively. Using a two-stage Simon design, 43 patients were to be included provided that 4 of 13 patients had achieved pCR in the first stage of the study. Results In stage I of the study 13 women were enrolled, median age 43 years, tumor size 2–5 cm in 9/13 (69%), positive nodal status in 8/13 (61%). Main grade 3 adverse event was neutropenia (related to AT and E in 4 and 2 cases, respectively). AT followed by E induced clinical complete + partial responses in 11/13 patients (85%), pCR in 3/13 (23%). Median measurements of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) resulted 13, 3, and 1.9 at baseline, after AT and E, respectively. Complete metabolic response (CMR) occurred after AT and after E in 2 and 3 cases, respectively. Notably, 2 of the 5 (40%) patients with CMR achieved pCR at surgery. Immunostaining of paired pre-/post-treatment tumor specimens showed a reduction of β-catenin, CyclinD1, Zeb-1, and c-myc expression, in the absence of N-cadherin modulation. The study was interrupted at stage I due to the lack of the required patients with pCR. Conclusions Despite the early study closure, preoperative E following AT showed clinical and biological activity in triple negative breast cancer patients. Furthermore, the modulation of β-catenin pathway core proteins, supposedly outside the domain of epithelial–mesenchymal transition, claims for further investigation. Trial registration EU Clinical Trial Register, EudraCT number 2012-004956-12.


Purpose:  To study the results of sutureless scleral fixation of intraocular lens (IOL) in cases of complicated cataract surgery.
Study Design:  Interventional case series.
Place and Duration of Study:  Niazi Medical and Dental College Sargodha from Jan 2018 to Dec 2019.
Methods:  Twenty-five eyes of 25 consecutive patients were selected for this study. Patients of traumatic cataract with zonular dehiscence, patients who had per-operative complications like PC rent with insufficient capsular bag, and children with subluxated lens of Marfan, Ehler Danlos syndrome were included in this study. After routine investigation all patients were operated under local anesthesia except children, who were operated under general anesthesia. Sclerotomies were made at 3 and 9 o'clock positions with MVR blade. Sutureless scleral fixation of intraocular lens was done. The haptics of lenses were buried in the scleral pockets which were already made at 3 and 9 o'clock position. Post-operative antibiotics and steroids were given for 8 weeks and patients were followed up for two years.
Results:  Out of 25, 18 (72%) female patients and 7 (28%) male patients underwent surgery. Most of the patients had previous surgical complications of Posterior capsular rent 15 (60%). Four (16%) patients had eye trauma, three had lens subluxation for pseudo-exfoliation and 3 patients (children) were suffering from Marfan Syndrome. Seventy-two percent patients had visual acuity of more than 6/18, 16% had 6/18 to 6/24 and 12% had 6/24 to 6/60.
Conclusion:  Properly done suture-less scleral fixation is a safe technique with little chance of IOL dislocation.
Key Words:  Scleral fixation, Intraocular lens, Cataract.


The variety image, which looks much like a randomly selected target image and can be utilized like a camouflage from the secret image, is produced by dividing the key image into fragments and changing their color qualities to become individuals from the corresponding blocks from the target image. Existing data hiding techniques mainly make use of the techniques of LSB substitution, histogram shifting, difference expansion, conjecture-error expansion, recursive histogram modification, and discrete cosine/wavelet changes. A brand new secure image transmission strategy is suggested, which transforms instantly confirmed large-volume secret image right into a so-known as secret-fragment-visible variety image of the identical size. Skilled techniques are made to conduct the color transformation process so the secret image might be retrieved nearly lossless. A plan of handling the overflows/underflows within the converted pixels' color values by recording the color variations within the untransformed color space can also be suggested. The data needed for recuperating the key image is embedded in to the produced variety image with a lossless data hiding plan utilizing a key. Good experimental results show the practicality from the suggested method. Within the first phase, a variety image is produced; featuring it's the fragments of the input secret image with color corrections based on a similarity qualifying criterion according to color versions.


The group mutual exclusion problem extends the traditional mutual exclusion problem by associating a type (or a group) with each critical section. In this problem, processes requesting critical sections of the same type can execute their critical sections concurrently. However, processes requesting critical sections of different types must execute their critical sections in a mutually exclusive manner. We present a distributed algorithm for solving the group mutual exclusion problem based on the notion of surrogate-quorum. Intuitively, our algorithm uses the quorum that has been successfully locked by a request as a surrogate to service other compatible requests for the same type of critical section. Unlike the existing quorum-based algorithms for group mutual exclusion, our algorithm achieves a low message complexity of O(q) and a low (amortized) bit-message complexity of O(bqr), where q is the maximum size of a quorum, b is the maximum number of processes from which a node can receive critical section requests, and r is the maximum size of a request while maintaining both synchronization delay and waiting time at two message hops. As opposed to some existing quorum-based algorithms, our algorithm can adapt without performance penalties to dynamic changes in the set of groups. Our simulation results indicate that our algorithm outperforms the existing quorum-based algorithms for group mutual exclusion by as much as 45 percent in some cases. We also discuss how our algorithm can be extended to satisfy certain desirable properties such as concurrent entry and unnecessary blocking freedom.


Diabetes mellitus affects 28.5 million people in the United States with another 79 million people having prediabetes at high risk for developing diabetes mellitus,1 despite current preventive efforts using lifestyle or antidiabetic agents such as metformin.2 Because cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death and disability in diabetes mellitus, and its impact on health remains considerable despite intensified diabetes mellitus management, early identification of diabetes mellitus and those at risk for it offers the optimal opportunity for effective prevention of vascular complications. The demonstration that low-density lipoprotein (LDL)–lowering with statin therapy is beneficial in preventing CVD and its progression in these patients has led to their increasingly widespread application. As a consequence, the recently released American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Blood Cholesterol Task Force now recommends >50% LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering in those with diabetes mellitus who are 40 to 75 years old with LDL-C levels >70 mg/dL.3 This expands the requirement for high-intensity statin treatment, as well as the need for add-on therapy with second-line LDL-lowering drugs. Another recommendation by the Task Force is for the use of moderate- to high- intensity statin therapy in nondiabetic subjects and in those who have a 10-year CVD risk of >7.5%, many of whom have prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Although statin therapy has yielded significant benefit in CVD prevention, many subjects are unable to tolerate statins because of myalgia, particularly at higher doses. Furthermore, it is now recognized that statin therapy increases risk for diabetes mellitus especially in those with diabetes mellitus …


Pressured by directives from the Obama Department of Education (DOE), colleges and universities across the country hastily revamped their processes of adjudicating sexual assault, making it easier to bring, and prove, charges of sexual misconduct on campus. These changes have generated substantial concern on behalf of accused students. The Department of Education (under Secretary Betsy DeVos) has responded by proposing new Title IX regulations that would substantially amend the Obama-era guidance in the name of fairness and due process. What constitutes fair process in this context, and do the new DOE rules meet that standard? It can be difficult to see through the fog of political ideology on this topic. But the central issues are actually quite clear. This Article explains why. It also develops a model for fairness-based procedure in the context of college- and university-based sexual misconduct cases, and assesses DOE's proposed reforms under that model. I conclude that the reforms, though not perfect, would go a long way toward restoring fairness to the process of adjudicating sexual assault on campus.


Following the withdrawal of the filtering track from the latest TREC conferences, there is a niche for new evaluation standards. Towards this end, we suggest, based on variations of TREC's routing subtask, two new evaluation methodologies. The first can be used for evaluating single, multi-topic profiles and the second for testing the ability of a multi-topic profile to adapt to both modest variations and radical drifts in user interests.


The purpose of this comparative study is to investigate if the views of Sayyid Qutb and Tariq Ramadan regarding social structure and religion are possible to unite with western liberal democracy. The basis of the study is the problematizing approaches written by Qutb and Ramadan regarding the possible unity between Islam and democracy. These problematizing approaches are then tested on the political philosophy of liberalism to see if a unity is possible. The result showed that Qutb's view did not meet the criteria of democracy, which wasn't surprising due to his negative views on the system. However, Ramadan's reformist view on Muslim identity did unite with the views of liberal democracy, though questions regarding the possibility of creating and preserving a European Muslim identity in the secular society were immediately brought to attention. The importance in Qutb's view is social equality, unity and submission to God and the importance of Ramadan's view is to create and preserve a European Muslim identity and adapt to the society where you live and participate as a citizen. Qutb's view will not tolerate diversity and one is to keep or convert to the Muslim faith. Ramadan's view however, adapts to the existing social structure.


The definition of a policy problem is important in all stages of the policy processes, and especially in presidential election seasons, which usually open the political window. We propose priorities among the policy problems of Korean healthcare by the positioning approach, which compares Korea with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries using OECD health data. The range of positioning is 1 to -1 where 1 is the best or highest level among OECD countries, 0 is the average level, and -1 is the worst or lowest level. The positioning results show that the overall health status of Korea is good (positioning=0.34), but the suicide rate (-1.00) is a major problem. Healthcare human resources are scarce (-0.46), but rapidly increasing. Hospital beds and medical equipments are over-supplied (respectively 0.37, 0.33), but medical equipments that are utilized mainly in tertiary hospitals are below average. The utilization of healthcare is at the top level in doctors' consultations (0.97) and average length of stay (0.65). The quality of in-patient care is good (0.35), but quality of out-patient care is poor (-0.36). Healthcare costs are low (-0.73), but their growth rate is high. Among healthcare costs, the policy problems are large pharmaceutical expenditures and many households with catastrophic expenditures. This study determined the priorities of healthcare policy problems in Korea. The next step is to search for the factors that influence these policy problems and develop their solutions.


A structural time series approach utilizing the state space model is used to analyze the impact of exchange rate volatility on the bilateral U.S. cotton exports to major export destinations. An EGARCH (Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model with normal and non-normal errors is used to estimate the volatility of exchange rate. Monthly data from 1995 to 2006 is utilized for the analysis. The results indicate a negative relationship between exchange rate volatility and U.S. cotton exports for most countries. The stochastic process governing the U.S. cotton exports to different countries is found to be permanent as well as transitory. The results support the view that the impact of exchange rate volatility can be better understood by analyzing markets separately.


OBJECTIVE
To describe a possible case of ofloxacin-induced generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Although the etiology is unknown, ofloxacin most likely precipitated this patient's seizure threshold because of sepsis or secondary to drug accumulation due to the patient's compromised renal function.

CASE SUMMARY
A 69-year-old white woman with non-small-cell lung cancer and a history of central nervous system metastatic disease treated with radiation therapy presented to the emergency department with symptoms of urosepsis. Because of multiple drug allergies she was started on ofloxacin (hospital formulary quinolone). After 4 days of therapy she developed a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. A computed tomography scan of the head with and without contrast was negative. The ofloxacin was discontinued and aztreonam therapy was started. Phenytoin therapy was instituted and, despite serum concentrations below the conventional therapeutic range, there was no recurrence of seizure. Subsequent discontinuation of phenytoin did not result in a seizure for this patient.

DISCUSSION
Seizures induced by the fluoroquinolones are uncommon. The histopathologic features of this phenomenon are currently unknown. In this patient, imaging studies were negative for structural defects, ruling out metastasis as the cause of the seizure. Therefore, an investigation of drug-related causes ensued. The most likely offending agent was ofloxacin. Ofloxacin has been reported in the literature as a cause of seizures in patients with compromised renal function.

CONCLUSIONS
This case and other reports indicate that fluoroquinolones, including ofloxacin, may contribute to seizure development in patients with or without a history of epilepsy. Fluoroquinolone therapy should be used with caution in patients with risk factors for the development of drug-induced seizures.


Abstract The expression of a candidate auxin-responsive gene was evaluated for use in a diagnostic assay for plant growth regulator (PGR) herbicide injury in soybean leaves. Expression of GH3, a primary auxin-responsive gene, was evaluated in response to dicamba and clopyralid at the RNA and protein levels, and proteomic analysis evaluated global expression of proteins in response to dicamba. Expression of GH3 was also analyzed in response to heat, drought, salt stress, and infection by soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) to determine the specificity of GH3 expression as a diagnostic marker for PGR herbicide injury. At the RNA level, GH3 was strongly induced by dicamba and clopyralid within 8 h after application. Expression peaked 1 to 3 d after treatment (DAT) in response to 10% and 1% of a labeled dose of dicamba and clopyralid, with higher expression levels detected at higher herbicide rates. At the protein level, GH3 expression was also strongly induced at 1, 2, and 3 DAT by 10% vs. 1% of a labeled dose of dicamba and clopyralid. Heat, drought, and salt stress and infection with SMV or BPMV had no effect on GH3 expression at either the RNA or protein level. Proteomic analysis identified three proteins that were up-regulated in response to dicamba. Two were induced for less than 7 DAT, and a third was identified as a stress-response enzyme (superoxide dismutase) that is likely not specific to PGR herbicide injury. Expression of GH3 was highly induced by PGR herbicides at the RNA and protein level and was not affected by environmental stresses or viral infection, indicating that GH3 expression has excellent potential for use in a diagnostic assay for PGR herbicide injury. Nomenclature: Clopyralid; dicamba; soybean, Glycine max L. Merr.


Tensile tests on smooth and notched axisymmetric specimens were carried out to determine the large strain work-hardening curves and the ductile fracture characteristics of an AA6060 aluminium alloy for three different processing routes. The alloy was processed in three subsequent steps: 1) casting and homogenization, 2) extrusion, and 3) cold rolling and heat treatment to obtain a recrystallized grain structure. After each processing step, the material was tested after natural ageing for more than one week. A laser-based extensometer was used to continuously measure the average true strains to failure in the minimum cross-section of the specimens and the true stress-strain curves were calculated. Since these curves are influenced by necking, they do not represent the correct work-hardening of the material. Accordingly, finite element (FE) simulations of the tensile tests on the smooth axisymmetric specimens were conducted to determine the work-hardening curves to failure, using an optimization tool that interfaced with the nonlinear FE code and the experimental stress-strain curves as objectives. The microstructure of the alloy was characterized after the three processing steps by optical and scanning electron microscopy, and fractography was used to investigate the failure mechanisms.


In management science, as in all of science, a fundamental issue is the generalizability of what we know. It is a never-ending quest to discover and create knowledge and rules which are universal. Yet, frequently what we hold to be universal is quite specific when examined with scientific scrutiny. In this special issue of Management Science we want to develop more precisely the dimension and the extent to which what we know in management science is generalizable, e.g., is our knowledge about managing universal or specific? Is our knowledge limited to a particular firm, an industry, a given country, or a culture? The universality/specificity issue remains a dilemma. The theme of this special issue is the generalizability of management science. Management Science publishes research on theory, methodology and empirical results.


Aeolian dust deposition has been shown to stimulate phytoplankton growth in various oligotrophic oceanic regions of the northern hemisphere. The present study investigated the relationship between the change in phytoplankton biomass in Queensland coastal waters and aeolian dust deposition during the severe October 2002 dust storm, using satellite-derived chlorophyll concentrations. A response in phytoplankton standing stock immediately following dust deposition from this event was found in the area of maximal dust deposition, as defined by a previous dust transport modelling analysis. Standing stock levels increased to 1.5-2 times the long-term mean. This is the first documented episode of a dust fertilisation event in Australian coastal waters and, given the high frequency of dust storms in northern Australia, demonstrates that aeolian delivery of nutrients may be an important factor in future regional nutrient budget analyses.


This article examines factors driving technical change, technical efficiency, and scale and mix efficiency – all components of total factor productivity – in U.S. agriculture. We use economic theory and previous literature to identify explanatory variables affecting each component and examine some potentially important factors which have received less attention in the literature. Results show that technical change comes primarily from increased innovation through public research and from improvements in human capital. Technical efficiency is driven by farm size and the ratio of family to total labor, while scale and mix efficiency is driven mainly by agro-climatic conditions, weather, and farm size.


Empirical research in the New Institutional Economics tradition has concentrated on the degree to which institutional constraints on rulers protect property rights and foster growth through private investment. This view of institutions is overly narrow, neglecting the role of state capacity in particular. Both state authority and constraints on rulers matter for economic performance, but the relative strength of these effects depends upon a country's distance from the frontier of the world economy. Tests using a panel data set that covers up to 84 countries from the period 1960 to 2005 reveal that, in countries that have low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, constraints on rulers in the form of checks and balances affect neither the rate of productivity growth nor the growth of capital stock per worker. Basic state authority, however, has a strong, positive effect on both of these outcomes. The story is different for advanced industrial economies, where the effects of checks are positive, especially with respect to productivity growth. Institutional checks on rulers are thus not an agent of investment-based growth but support continued growth based upon innovation at the leading edge.


Forest carbon is a large and uncertain component of the global carbon cycle. An important source of complexity is the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation vertical structure and extent, which results from variations in climate, soils, and disturbances and influences both contemporary carbon stocks and fluxes. Recent advances in remote sensing and ecosystem modeling have the potential to significantly improve the characterization of vegetation structure and its resulting influence on carbon. Here, we used novel remote sensing observations of tree canopy height collected by two NASA spaceborne lidar missions, Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation and ICE, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2, together with a newly developed global Ecosystem Demography model (v3.0) to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of global forest structure and quantify the corresponding implications for forest carbon stocks and fluxes. Multiple‐scale evaluations suggested favorable results relative to other estimates including field inventory, remote sensing‐based products, and national statistics. However, this approach utilized several orders of magnitude more data (3.77 billion lidar samples) on vegetation structure than used previously and enabled a qualitative increase in the spatial resolution of model estimates achievable (0.25° to 0.01°). At this resolution, process‐based models are now able to capture detailed spatial patterns of forest structure previously unattainable, including patterns of natural and anthropogenic disturbance and recovery. Through the novel integration of new remote sensing data and ecosystem modeling, this study bridges the gap between existing empirically based remote sensing approaches and process‐based modeling approaches. This study more generally demonstrates the promising value of spaceborne lidar observations for advancing carbon modeling at a global scale.


Acyclovir, known as an antiherpetic agent, showed an inhibitory effect on the propagation of pseudorabies virus in BHK-21 cells. The antiviral effect of acyclovir was observed by plaque reduction, as well as by the inhibition of the virus-stimulated uptake of thymidine by BHK-21 cells. Amphotericin B potentiated the antiviral activity of acyclovir. The optimal concentrations of polyene antibiotic expressing the potentiating effect were lower than required for the induction of K+ leakage from the cells. There was no evident amphotericin B-induced stimulation of thymidine incorporation into infected BHK-21 cells. The model presented may be useful to study the potentiation phenomenon of polyene macrolide antibiotics.


In the current study, The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale is validated for the Dutch situation using a sample consisting of mostly high-educated women with mild depressive symptoms (n=286). The questionnaire measures well-being using 14 items with both hedonistic and eudaimonic components. As expected, no ceiling- or flooreffects were found. Factor analysis did not confirm the expected model based on two factors, consisting of an hedonistic and eudaimonic component, but did confirm a single factor with hedonistic and eudaimonic aspects. The questionnaire has a high reliability in the sample and was found to correlate positively with the MHC-SF and WHO-5 questionnaires that both measure well-being. It correlates negatively with the depression questionnaire CES-D and the anxiety subscale HADS-A. The current study shows that the Dutch translation of the WEMWBS is valid for measuring well-being. One weakness of the WEMWBS is that the component social well-being is not fully represented in the questionnaire, on which the WEMWBS and its translations could be adapted. The current study is a first step for validating the WEMWBS in the Netherlands. Validation in the general Dutch population is recommended as the next step. Beyond that, research in clinical populations and research on well-being in specific groups in the Netherlands are recommended. The WEMWBS can, after further validation, be used for international research on the effects of well-being.


Scintigraphic technique (SPECT) with intravenous injection of 131I-HIPDM was used to study pulmonary amine imaging in asthmatic patients and Guinea pig animal models. The results showed that the patients and animals had similar characteristic changes of amine imaging: the amine scanning pictures were not well-distributed, pulmonary amine uptake was significantly decreased but the clearance speed significantly increased as compared with those in healthy controls (P < 0.05-0.01). The only difference between the patients and the animals was that the amine imaging parameters in animals during remission recovered practically to normal, while that in patients during remission did not. The mechanism and clinical significance of the above changes were discussed.


Laboratory paper coatings of simple composition, comprising only a single spherical plastic pigment and binder type, were analysed in terms of water-based inkjet print quality. Optical density and gamut of dye colours decreased with increasing pigment size, and followed the binder hierarchy from polyvinyl alcohol (best) to carboxymethyl cellulose to styrene-butadiene latex (worst). For the larger pigment size, density and gamut also decreased with decreasing binder content and increasing coat weight. Colour-colour sharpness was evaluated using four measures of line bleeding, of which mean line width and blurriness were found to be the most useful and well correlated. Both bleeding measures, while following the same binder chemistry hierarchy mentioned above, now worsened with decreasing pigment particle size. This tallies with expectations from capillarity and light scattering, e.g. Increasing particle size (in the range studied) increases both liquid penetration rate and opacity, thus resulting in decreased colour richness but increased sharpness.


Nowadays, more and more lamp types are being used. Since different lamp types have different working principles, they also have different flicker responses. This paper shows the measurement results of different flicker responses for various types of lamps. These results prove that the UIE/IEC flickermeter, which has been used widely around the world for many years, cannot be used to advise on the flicker level of all lamp types. This is because of the fact that this flickermeter is based on a 230 V, 60 W or 120 V, 60 W incandescent lamp and can be used as reference only for this type of lamp or as reference to the standard. The UIE/IEC (International Union for Electricity Applications/International Electrotechnical Committee) flickermeter and the existing standards are therefore insufficient for other lamp types. This paper describes a proposal to improve the UIE/IEC flickermeter.


Anxiety disorders are the most common reasons for referring to specialized clinics. If the response to stress changed, anxiety can be greatly controlled. The most obvious effect of stress occurs on circulatory system especially through sweating. the electrical conductivity of skin or in other words Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) which is dependent on stress level is used; beside this parameter person's heart rate is measured for more accuracy and reducing error. When the person encounters with relaxation training and biofeedback, he can reduce his stress due to changes in GSR circuits. In this article it is offered stress management by Q-learning along with biofeedback that is more efficient than other methods computationally. The purpose is reducing the amount of stress by getting feedback from biological signals (biofeedback) using photo and music playback. Response to the electrical resistance of the skin is measured by passing the flow through the sensors on it. In fact, it is possible to get information (feedback) from the body (bio) by connecting the electrical sensors on hand. So the person can be aware of his situation, according to LEDs placed on the machine. The person should focus on the photos and music which are playable by using Q-learning to make maximum changes in stress reduction. In general, it can be concluded, the image and rough tracks, raises stress levels, heart rate increased, the amount of sweat resulting in increased resistance and reduced voltage level, LEDs that can be embedded on the device, see the role of Q-learning is stress management by playing photo and music due to therapist condition instead of a psychologist in the clinics. So in this study it is presented a method for stress management with Q-learning to improve the accuracy of diagnosis with easy way, early detection, low cost and new style.


OF THE THESIS Sample Size Calculation When High Dose Cannot be Administered First in a Three-Period Crossover Design by Bin Tang Master of Science in Statistics with a Concentration in Biostatistics San Diego State University, 2015 We derive a sample size calculation formula for a three-treatment three-period crossover design with continuous outcomes and with restriction on treatment sequences that lower dose must be administered prior to higher dose of a drug. The three-period crossover is defined by these three sequences, D0D1D2, D1D0D2 and D1D2D0, where D0, D1 and D2 are referred to as placebo, the low dose and the high dose, respectively. Appropriate contrast coefficients are derived for model 1 without carry-over effect, and for model 2 with carry-over effect as well. Based on these coefficients, the unbiased contrast variances are estimated and a sample size formula is derived in terms of hypothesis testing with normal distribution of assumption. Parameters introduced for sample size calculation include contrast coefficients, the number of contrasts, the desired differences of treatment effects, and common within-subject variance. Using the developed formula, we calculate the minimum sample size required for determining the differences between treatment effects for models with or without carry-over. Further, Monte Carlo simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of this formula. The results show that the formula can work well to achieve desired power for model 1 and model 2. Finally, the formula is demonstrated in an example of comparing Tacrine at the low dose (40mg/day) and the high dose (80mg/day) with a zero dose (placebo).


Purpose
The Inflation Expectations Survey of Households, conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), indicates that there is considerable disparity in inflation expectations across cities in India. The purpose of this paper is to investigate why different cities exhibit heterogeneous inflation expectations despite coming under a central monetary policy umbrella.

Design/methodology/approach
First, the correspondence between city-level inflation expectations and city-specific economic characteristics is mapped. Second, how the disagreement in inflation expectations across cities, measured by dispersion, behaves over the business cycle is investigated. Finally, using seemingly unrelated regression technique, the economic factors that play a role in explaining inflation expectations heterogeneity across cities are estimated.

Findings
Cities with higher economic activity and cost of living have higher inflation expectations. Disagreement across cities regarding inflation expectations rise with an increase in output gap and inflation. Information friction plays an important role in explaining the disparity in inflation expectations across cities, and the effects of macro-level factors vary across cities, thereby accentuating expectations dispersion.

Research limitations/implications
Monetary policy-related communication by the RBI (toward the general public) should increase in order to address information friction, which, in turn, would temper down the extent of inflation expectations heterogeneity across cities in India.

Originality/value
This is a novel application of the data from the monetary policy perspective. Heterogeneity in inflation expectations across cities or regions is an unexplored area. The use of nightlights as a proxy for city-level economic activity in India (in absence of data on city-level income) is another original contribution.


This paper investigates how far a very deep neural network is from attaining close to saturating performance on existing 2D and 3D face alignment datasets. To this end, we make the following 5 contributions: (a) we construct, for the first time, a very strong baseline by combining a state-of-the-art architecture for landmark localization with a state-of-the-art residual block, train it on a very large yet synthetically expanded 2D facial landmark dataset and finally evaluate it on all other 2D facial landmark datasets. (b)We create a guided by 2D landmarks network which converts 2D landmark annotations to 3D and unifies all existing datasets, leading to the creation of LS3D-W, the largest and most challenging 3D facial landmark dataset to date (~230,000 images). (c) Following that, we train a neural network for 3D face alignment and evaluate it on the newly introduced LS3D-W. (d) We further look into the effect of all "traditional" factors affecting face alignment performance like large pose, initialization and resolution, and introduce a "new" one, namely the size of the network. (e) We show that both 2D and 3D face alignment networks achieve performance of remarkable accuracy which is probably close to saturating the datasets used. Training and testing code as well as the dataset can be downloaded from https://www.adrianbulat.com/face-alignment/


Questions
Is there a consistent change in species composition and species richness across the communities along the wetness zonation? Which species are sensitive to environmental changes? Has species richness increased or decreased? What are the relative effects of climate, geographical position and local environmental factors on the inland marsh community?

Location
Sanjiang Plain, northeast China (130–133° E, 45–48° N).

Methods
A total of 94 plots were re-surveyed in 2012 and compared with data from 1973. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and indicator species analysis were used to analyse the direction and nature of change in community composition between 1973 and 2012. Paired t-test was used to test for change in species richness, water level and soil variables between the two surveys. Correlation and step-wise regression analyses were used to test the relationship between vegetation change (species richness and DCA scores), environmental variables and geographic position.

Results
Vegetation has changed towards a drier state, with the greatest changes in the wettest Carex lasiocarpa community and the smallest changes in the driest Calamagrostis angustifolia community. The frequency and cover of hygrophilous species and species typical of oligotrophic wetlands decreased, while grasses and other non-marsh species increased. Species richness per community and per plot increased over time. The dynamics within each community was only weakly correlated with biogeographic predictors: longitude, latitude, elevation and annual precipitation.

Conclusions
Hydrology was the main factor controlling changes along the marsh zonation, and was most likely in response to climate warming and land-use changes. The different responses among the marsh communities along the zonation and between hydrophytes and other species imply that future protection and management need to be based on community type and plant functional types.


This beautiful series lavishly illustrates the world's major fresco cycles from the early fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries. Each book also contains a comprehensive text, a biography of the artist, a bibliography, and a glossary.


Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) is one of the most active in the current research field of multimedia retrieval. It retrieves the images from the large databases based on images feature like color, texture and shape. In this paper, Image retrieval based on multi feature fusion is achieved by color and texture features as well as the similarity measures are investigated. The work of color feature extraction is obtained by using Quadratic Distance and texture features by using Pyramid Structure Wavelet Transforms and Gray level co-occurrence matrix. We are comparing all these methods for best image retrieval.


Background. While neuropsychological studies have consistently reported impaired cognition in elderly patients with unipolar depression, studies of cognitive function in younger patients with depression have produced equivocal results. The aim of this study was to examine the presence and nature of cognitive deficits in young patients with depression. Methods. Neuropsychological function was assessed in 20 young patients with unipolar depression, in comparison to 20 age-, education- and IQ- matched controls. Subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were employed, as this battery has proved sensitive to deficits in middle-aged and elderly patients with depression. Results. The patients were not impaired for short-term memory capacity, spatial working memory, planning ability, cognitive speed, delayed matching to sample or recognition memory. Compared to controls, the patients showed impaired subsequent movement latencies on the Tower of London task, suggesting deficits in the ability to sustain motor responses in depression. The depression group were also impaired on the task of attentional set shifting, requiring more trials to criterion at the intradimensional stage of the task and being more likely to fail the task at the extradimensional shift stage than controls. Further analysis indicated that half of the depression group failed to complete all stages of the set shifting task. These patients were more likely to have required in-patient hospitalization at some time during their illness. Conclusions. These results indicate that there are specific cognitive deficits in young patients with depression and that their presence may be related to a history of hospitalization.


Scaling makes digital circuits highly vulnerable to faults, hence, fault detection and correction in digital systems is crucial. This problem becomes more serious when the complexity and frequency of the system on a chip increase in order to achieve higher performance. Addition is one of the fundamental mathematical operators, which is also the basis of many other operations such as subtraction, multiplication, and addressing. Therefore, designing a fault-tolerant adder is a hot topic in VLSI circuits. In such circuits, the important issue of detecting and correcting multiple faults while using few hardware resources is of high interest from the aspect of circuit design optimization. In this paper, a fast adder is used, and the ability to detect and correct multiple errors is supplemented. In the proposed architecture, a self-testing full adder is designed based on multiplexers, and then this full adder is incorporated to design a self-testing multi-bit fast adder. Furthermore, a self-correcting full adder is designed using redundancy, and then this full adder is applied to design a self-correcting multi-bit fast adder. The syntheses and simulations of the proposed adders are performed for 8, 16, 32, and 64 bits. The obtained results show that the proposed adders outperform recent works in terms of the used hardware resources and the multiple faults detection and correction capability.


An important aspect of dynamic urban coverage is how building collision avoidance is incorporated into the overall coverage mission. We consider a multi-agent urban dynamic coverage problem in which a team of flying agents uses downward facing cameras to observe the street-level environment outside of buildings. Cameras are assumed to be ineffective above a maximum altitude (lower than building height), such that agents must move around or over buildings to complete their mission. The main objective of this paper is to compare three different building avoidance strategies that are compatible with dynamic ergodic methods. To provide context for these results, we also compare our results to three other common coverage methods including: boustrophedon coverage (lawn-mower sweep), Voronoi region based coverage, and a naive grid method. All algorithms are evaluated in simulation with respect to four performance metrics (percent coverage, revisit count, revisit time, and the integral of area viewed over time), across team sizes ranging from 1 to 25 agents, and in five types of urban environments of varying density and height. We find that the relative performance of algorithms changes based on the ratio of team size to search area, as well the height and density characteristics of the urban environment.