The nature of the inhibitory transmitter in the canine gastric muscularis mucosae was studied in vitro using superfusion techniques. The inhibitory effect of nerve stimulation (10 V, 200 mus, 10 Hz) was not altered by adrenergic, cholinergic or serotonergic antagonists. Adenosine triphosphate had no effect on spontaneous mechanical activity. Nucleotide pyrophosphatase and apamin had no effect on the response to nerve stimulation. Alpha‐chymotrypsin abolished the inhibitory effect of nerve stimulation. Radioimmunoassay of the muscle indicated the presence of gastrin/cholecystokinin‐substance P‐ and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)‐like immunoreactivity. Of the three peptides present, only VIP produced a concentration‐dependent relaxation. A substance with VIP‐like immunoreactivity was released during nerve‐induced relaxation of the muscle, and its release was blocked by tetrodotoxin and calcium‐depleted solution. The inhibitory effect of nerve stimulation was abolished by VIP antiserum. These data strongly support the hypothesis that VIP or a closely related peptide is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the canine gastric muscularis mucosae.


Purpose - Despite the growing pressure to encourage new ways of thinking about research methodology, only recently have interview methodologists begun to realize that "we cannot lift the results of interviewing out of the contexts in which they were gathered and claim them as objective data with no strings attached". The purpose of this paper is to provide additional insight based on a critical reflection of the interview as a research method drawing upon Alvesson's discussion from the neopositivist, romanticist and localist interview perspectives. Specifically, the authors focus on critical reflections of three broad categories of a continuum of interview methods: structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Design/methodology/approach - The authors adopt a critical and reflexive approach to understanding the literature on interviews to develop alternative insights about the use of interviews as a qualitative research method. Findings - After examining the neopositivist (interview as a "tool") and romanticist (interview as "human encounter") perspectives on the use of the research interview, the authors adopt a localist perspective towards interviews and argue that the localist approach opens up alternative understanding of the interview process and the accounts produced provide additional insights. The insights are used to outline the skills researchers need to develop in applying the localist perspective to interviews. Originality/value - The paper provides an alternative perspective on the practice of conducting interviews, recognizing interviews as complex social and organizational phenomena rather than just a research method.


The aim of the project is to study students' learning in a transformed course in Theory and Methodology of Science (TMS), a compulsory course in all teacher education programs in Sweden. The students perceive the course TMS as difficult and abstract. At the same time it offers an important foundation for their continued education such as their final thesis and other research-related courses. Hereby it's important for students to successfully pass, not only for the course itself, but also for subsequent courses. In a wider perspective, it is also sigificant for the development of the educational field, and to the students' future workplaces. Our students should be able to understand and apply research for years to come. Heavy courses can also be problematic for economic reasons. Since few students are passing, they do not generate as much money as courses that many students pass. There are also examples where teachers are asked by the management to lower the requirements to increase the pass rate. As teachers we have put a lot of effort into the course to support and help students learning. Despite this, only 35% passed the exam in spring 2016, which gave rise to the learning experiment we designed and studied this fall. The pedagogical idea is based on a problem-oriented learning, participatory learning and self-organized learning. This means that the students themselves are largely responsible for the organization of their learning. Teachers work with lectures and seminars, as well as coaching and scaffolding. The course is designed as an authentic empirical research project where both quantitative and qualitative data is used as a starting point. Students work in teams. They organize their work in the project by them selves and write a common research rapport. Through the reformed course, learning is combined with a great student responsibility, where students meaning making, socialization and co-learning are central. Hence, the most important research group work takes place is the project-office-rooms where the students' main course work is performed. The organization of the course involves that students themselves designates project managers and that they take responsibility for their joint work, week by week. They can also request extra support from the teachers, if necessary. study shows that 86% of the students received a passing grade. The aspects that matter most to the success are: 1) common spaces, the project office, which creates opportunities to exchange knowledge and experience IRL, 2) problem-oriented learning, participatory learning and self-organized learning, increasing participation and motivation, 3) Collective responsibility for knowledge formation during the project period, and 4) Authentic approach of the course, which by its design as closely as possible should simulate real research projects.


In the United States, new regulatory restrictions have been placed on the use of some second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. This action may be offset by expanded use of first-generation compounds (e.g., dipha- cinone; DPN). Single-day acute oral exposure of adult Eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio) to DPN evoked overt signs of intoxication, coagulopathy, histopathological lesions (e.g., hemorrhage, hepatocellular vacuolation), and/ or lethality at doses as low as 130 mg/kg body weight, although there was no dose-response relation. However, this single-day exposure protocol does not mimic the multiple-day field exposures required to cause mortality in rodent pest species and non-target birds and mammals. In 7-day feeding trials, similar toxic effects were observed in owls fed diets containing 2.15, 9.55 or 22.6 ppm DPN, but at a small fraction (\5%) of the acute oral dose. In the dietary trial, the average lowest-observed-adverse-effect- level for prolonged clotting time was 1.68 mg DPN/kg owl/week (0.24 mg/kg owl/day; 0.049 mg/owl/day) and the lowest lethal dose was 5.75 mg DPN/kg owl/week (0.82 mg/kg owl/day). In this feeding trial, DPN concen- tration in liver ranged from 0.473 to 2.21 lg/g wet weight, and was directly related to the daily and cumulative dose consumed by each owl. A probabilistic risk assessment indicated that daily exposure to as little as 3-5 g of liver from DPN-poisoned rodents for 7 days could result in prolonged clotting time in the endangered Hawaiian short- eared owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) and Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius), and daily exposure to greater quantities (9-13 g of liver) could result in low-level mor- tality. These findings can assist natural resource managers in weighing the costs and benefits of anticoagulant roden- ticide use in pest control and eradication programs.


Many eukaryotes have from one to three heat shock factors (Hsfs), but plants have more than 20 Hsfs, designated class A, B, and C. Class A Hsfs are activators of transcription, but details of the roles of individual Hsfs have not been fully characterized. We show here that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) HsfB1 and HsfB2b, members of class B, are transcriptional repressors and negatively regulate the expression of heat-inducible Hsfs (HsfA2, HsfA7a, HsfB1, and HsfB2b) and several heat shock protein genes. In hsfb1 hsfb2b double mutant plants, the expression of a large number of heat-inducible genes was enhanced in the non-heat condition (23°C) and the plants exhibited slightly higher heat tolerance at 42°C than the wild type, similar to Pro35S:HsfA2 plants. In addition, under extended heat stress conditions, expression of the heat-inducible Hsf genes remained consistently higher in hsfb1 hsfb2b than in the wild type. These data indicate that HsfB1 and HsfB2b suppress the general heat shock response under non-heat-stress conditions and in the attenuating period. On the other hand, HsfB1 and HsfB2b appear to be necessary for the expression of heat stress-inducible heat shock protein genes under heat stress conditions, which is necessary for acquired thermotolerance. We show that the heat stress response is finely regulated by activation and repression activities of Hsfs in Arabidopsis.


Background: Two randomized trials have examined the role of local therapy on survival in the stage IV setting of breast cancer, largely suggesting no benefit. However, the effect of surgery for stage IV disease amongst various breast cancer subtypes is not well characterized. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the survival benefit of surgery in patients with stage IV breast cancer based on molecular subtype. J Cancer Sci Clin Ther 2021; 5 (3): 414-425 DOI: 10.26502/jcsct.5079127 Journal of Cancer Science and Clinical Therapeutics 415 Methods: Using an institutional database, we extracted 255 women with a clinicopathologic confirmed diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer who were treated between January 2006 and October 2016. We collected patient data including age, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, histological grade, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and the use of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and/or endocrine therapy. Correlates of overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) in the surgical and non-surgical groups were identified on multivariate analysis. Results: The median overall survival in the surgical group and the non-surgical group was 30.3 months and 20.7 months, respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups according to subtype in the distribution of OS and BCSS (P <0.001). On multivariate analysis for the OS and BCSS, using non-surgical group as a reference, there were significant improvement for the luminal B subtype (P=0.010). Conclusion: This study suggest that surgery of the primary breast tumor may have a positive impact on OS and BCSS in patients with stage IV breast cancer, especially in the luminal B subtype.


: We feel the reorganization has enabled us to position the department and, more importantly, the individual practitioner to achieve a practice model that approaches the pharmaceutical care paradigm. As a result of the reorganization, our department is now structured around patient care and has in place teams of pharmacists, technicians, and managers who have the potential to be proactive and collaborative with other health care professionals to improve the drug therapy outcomes of our patients.


This essay is adapted from a talk presented at the symposium sponsored by the Institut Droit et Sante in Paris, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Code de Sante Publique, the French national health law. The essay outlines differences in how the French and American legal systems approach regulation of health care. The starting point for analysis is the stark difference between the strong centralization of French national law and the federalist diffusion of legal authority in the United States. I argue that, despite the power of federalism, American health law is becoming more centralized through the operation of three forces: the convergence of state common law tort principles; the impact of federal funding programs, which indirectly regulate by the criteria they set for various actors; and the particularly strong role in health care of private sector governance organizations, such as JCAHO, which are also national in scope. The increasing development of a national market for various aspects of health care delivery will continue to create pressure for adoption of national laws.


In recent years, a number of dynamic aspects of food supply chains have attracted great interest among social scientists investigating rural restructuring and change. These include: the expansion of organic agriculture; the development of new value added enterprises at farm level and the revitalisation of traditional and new-old artisanal production practices; the expansion from a low base of the market share of 'alternative' short supply chains, such as farmers' markets; and the so-called quality turn, riding on the heels of another turn in rural social research - the consumption turn. All of these changes come together in a vision of alternative agro food networks (AAFNs) that has been built around empirical and theoretical work from a number of predominantly European social researchers, centred on Wageningen, but conducted in a number of countries in Europe. These and other associated changes in the composition of farm-based economic activity are seen to be constitutive of a new paradigm of rural development comprising an alternative network of producers, consumers and other actors in relation to the mainstream agro-food system (Van der Ploeg et al. 2000; Van der Ploeg and Renting 2004; Renting et al. 2003). The theorisation surrounding this work on AAFNs has been sharply criticised by Goodman (2004). He challenges the vision of certain European social scientists of an alternative food sector rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the commodity-based food system to constitute a new paradigm of rural development. He notes their view of AAFNs as: 'innovative precursors of paradigm change, of a more endogenous, territorialized and ecologically embedded successor to the allegedly crisis-ridden modernisation model of conventional industrialised agriculture.' (Goodman 2004:6) In particular, he challenges the binary categorisation into alternative and mainstream and is deeply sceptical as to the existence of a new paradigm while, at the same time, highly cognisant of dynamic changes within the agro-food sector. This paper is motivated by a desire to explore the extent to which different theories can help interpret and explain some of the most dynamic areas of agro-food systems that belong neither in the mainstream food supply chains and networks, nor in the alternative food supply networks. We review two areas where we argue that hybridity is evident in food supply chains and networks, and draw conclusions as to the research needs in a field where too often dualistic interpretations have prevailed.


Daily toothbrushing is essential for maintaining oral health. Recently, a wrist-watch based system was designed to monitor the e'ectiveness of toothbrushing at home [3]. Since toothbrushing involves complex motions of the hand and the toothbrush, advanced machine learning techniques are needed for accurate recognition. In this paper, we design a neural network classi€er to recognize toothbrushing surfaces based on wrist watch sensor data, including accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer data. Experiments shows that our algorithm successfully recognized toothbrushing surfaces with a recognition precision of 91.2%, outperforming existing solutions.


Some preliminary observations on the students of civic education at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) in Indonesia indicated that they were not able to map various local and global problems. They were not capable of questioning the policies of their government on the related issues as well. This study argues that the students' incapability stems from the components of the civic education for university students which have not sufficiently covered various issues related to the interconnectedness of national and global issues. In fact, along with global changes in the last few decades, the Indonesian civic education should have given greater attention to global issues as one of its core components. In this way, it can facilitate some reflections and dialogues on global changes that we have been facing, such as 1) climate change, 2) global of justice and social harmony, 3) human right issues as security, 4) global peace and global governance, and 5) dialogues among civilizations. This study attempts to develop an effective civic education that adequately incorporates global issues for Indonesian university students. It carefully considers some perspectives on citizenship issues, particularly from Beck (1997) on risk society and Linklater (2002) on cosmopolitan citizenship. It applies the Research and Development (R & D) methodology of Borg and Gall (1983) by taking UNS students as a case study. The duration of the study will be two years, encompassing the following steps in the R & D cycle (1) research, analysis and needs assessment; (2) data collection; (3) model development; (4) validation of the model; (5) revision of the model; (6) preliminary testing of the model; (7) wider revision of the model; (8) main field testing; (9) final model revision. It is through this R & D cycle that a meaningful model of civic education that students, being the consumers of the product, value most can be better developed.


Casein micelles have been separated from skim milk by chromatography on CPG-10 3000 glass beads. Fractionation of the micelles according to size has been demonstrated. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of urea treated micelles reveals that different relative amounts of the major casein components occur in the various micelle fractions. No discernible dissociation of the micelles into monomeric caseins has been observed.


Helical swimming is adopted by microswimming robots since it is an efficient mechanism and commonly observed among microorganisms swimming at low Reynolds numbers. However, manufacturing of micro-helices made of sub-micron magnetic thin layers is neither straightforward nor well-established, advanced materials and methods are necessary to obtain such structures as reported in the literature. In this paper, a topological patterning method utilizing basic microfabrication methods is presented for the self-assembly of magnetic micro-helices made of a sandwiched nickel thin film (50–150 nm) between two silicon nitride layers. Strain mismatch between the thin films and the geometric anisotropy introduced by the slanted patterns on the top nitride layer result in self-rolled-up helical microribbons. Moreover, inspired by the actual release process during the wet-etching of the microribbon from the substrate, moving boundary conditions are incorporated in a numerical model to simulate the self-rolling of trilayer ribbons. The simulation results are compared and validated by experimental data within 7% error for all cases, including the geometries that do not result in a helical shape. The swimming performance of the magnetized micro-helix is demonstrated inside a capillary glass tube experimentally and cross-validated with a numerical model.


Introduction: Comorbidity between mental disorders and physical illnesses is the rule rather than the exception. Approaches to study the impact of comorbidity become challenging also due to lack of consensus about how to define and measure the concept of comorbidity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical profile of medical comorbidity among a group of local chronic elderly schizophrenic patients to see their prevalence and physiognomies. Methods: while the geriatric section of Razi psychiatric hospital had been selected as the field of investigation, all elderly schizophrenic patients, who have been hospitalized there for lifelong, had been selected as accessible sample and surveyed with respect to recorded checkups and comorbid medical diagnoses. Psychiatric diagnosis was in essence based on 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders', 5th edition (DSM-5) and medical diagnosis was principally based on 'International Classification of Diseases', 10th edition. Results: Assessment had been performed on 168 aged schizophrenic patients (≥65 years old), including 101 men and 67 women. According to the results, 89% (n=151) of the elderly patients had some kind of registered non-psychiatric co-morbidity, which was meaningful higher than the frequency of comorbidity among a senior group of local residents. Amongst recorded co-morbidities: falls, hypertension and osteoarthritis were the most prevalent comorbidities with a frequency around 48.8%, 44.6% and 39.2%, respectively. Hypertension, renal disease and malnutrition were significantly more prevalent among male patients (p<0.0000, p<0.0045 and p< 0.0018, in turn) and hyponatremia, aspiration/ asphyxiation and seizure were meaningfully more prevalent among female patients (p<0.0075, p<0.0000 and p<0.0009, one-to-one). As stated by the findings and in comparison, with the senior group of local people, while diabetes, renal diseases and malnutrition were significantly more frequent, coronary artery disease, gastrointestinal disorder and osteoarthritis were significantly less frequent among the present sample of elderly schizophrenic patients. Conclusion: While in comparison with a senior group of local people, the rate of medical comorbidities, particularly diabetes, renal diseases and malnutrition, were significantly higher in chronic elderly schizophrenic patients, a significant difference; as well, was the interrelated items between male and female patients, which demands further methodical and gender-based studies to define proper care and interventions for this vulnerable group of patients.


Nucleus instance segmentation and classification in histopathological images is an essential prerequisite in pathology diagnosis/prognosis. However, nucleus annotations (e.g., segmentation and labeling) require domain experts, and annotating nuclei at pixel-level is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Moreover, nuclei from different cancer types vary in shapes and appearances. These inter-cancer variations require careful annotations for specific cancer types. Therefore, to minimize the labeling cost, we propose a novel application that considers each cancer type as an individual domain and apply domain adaptation techniques to improve the segmentation/classification performance among different cancer types. Unlike the previous studies that focus on unsupervised or weakly-supervised domain adaptation independently, we would like to discover what kinds of labeling can achieve the most cost-effective domain adaptation performance in nucleus instance segmentation and classification. Specifically, we propose a unified framework that is applicable to different level annotations: no annotations, image-level, and point-level annotations. Cyclic adaptation with pseudo labels and adversarial discriminator are utilized for unsupervised domain alignment. Image-level or point-level annotations are additionally adopted to supervise the nucleus classification and refine the pseudo labels. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and efficacy of the proposed framework (jointly using unsupervised and weakly supervised learning) on adapting the segmentation and classification model from one cancer type to 18 other cancer types.


Customer loyalty is paramount for hospitality businesses, and social media communication is becoming a powerful way to increase touchpoints with customers. However, scant research evaluates the impact of social media behavior on program loyalty. Thus, the goal of our study is to determine the impact of social media communication on hotel program loyalty. We present a quantitative model of the differential impact of various forms of social media word of mouth (WOM) and verify it with a random sample of 575 participants. Our results suggest that hotelier social media communication style and information quality significantly affect consumer social media behavior; this leads to increased loyalty toward hotel reward programs. Combined with other findings, the friendly dimension of communication style has the highest impact, whereas interactive and professional display the lowest scores. In other words, study respondents are more likely to participate in friendly social media environments; such participation is more limited with regard to those that are simply interactive and professional. Therefore, this study adds to the body of knowledge on loyalty, WOM, social media communication, and rewards programs by proposing and testing an integrative model between social media communication style, information quality, social media behavior, and all of their ultimate impact on program loyalty.


The microstructure and interface quality of chemical solution-deposited BaTiO 3 films on Ni foil were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The microstructures were found to consist of equiaxed and uniform grains, with average grain sizes for rapid thermal-annealed films of 12 nm (700°C) and 18 nm (750°C), respectively. Films furnace annealed at 1000°C after a rapid thermal anneal at 700°C showed a grain size of 42 nm. It is believed that the final grain size is limited by the highly reducing atmosphere and also by the existence of well-developed crystallites resulting from the rapid thermal annealing step. Spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy identified the existence of residual carbon and variations in the oxygen content in BaTiO 3 films. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed an interfacial layer of Ni-Ba alloy (5-10 nm thick) between the BaTiO 3 and Ni foil.


Fabry, V. J., Seibel, B. A., Feely, R. A., and Orr, J. C. 2008. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 414-432.Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is altering the seawater chemistry of the world's oceans with consequences for marine biota. Elevated partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) is causing the calcium carbonate saturation horizon to shoal in many regions, particularly in high latitudes and regions that intersect with pronounced hypoxic zones. The ability of marine animals, most importantly pteropod molluscs, foraminifera, and some benthic invertebrates, to produce calcareous skeletal structures is directly affected by seawater CO 2 chemistry. CO 2 influences the physiology of marine organisms as well through acid-base imbalance and reduced oxygen transport capacity. The few studies at relevant pCO 2 levels impede our ability to predict future impacts on foodweb dynamics and other ecosystem processes. Here we present new observations, review available data, and identify priorities for future research, based on regions, ecosystems, taxa, and physiological processes believed to be most vulnerable to ocean acidification. We conclude that ocean acidification and the synergistic impacts of other anthropogenic stressors provide great potential for widespread changes to marine ecosystems.


Purpose The aim of this study is to identify the extent of initial malapposition using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) treated with different types of drug-eluting stents (DES). Materials and Methods Twenty four STEMI patients that underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled. The OCT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) were performed within 72 hours after the primary PCI. Distances between the endo-luminal surface of the strut reflection and the vessel wall and the extent of malapposition were measured and analyzed. Results Sirolimus-eluting stents (SES), paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) and zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) were deployed in 7 patients (29%), 7 patients (29%) and 10 patients (42%). In total, 4951 struts in 620 mm single-stent segments were analyzed (1463 struts in SES, 1522 in PES, and 1966 in ZES). In strut analysis by OCT, the incidence of malapposition was 17 % (860/4951) and in stent analysis by IVUS, malapposition rate was 21% (5/24). The malapposition rate of strut level using OCT in 5 patients who had malapposition in IVUS was significantly higher than the 19 of those who had not (32 ± 5% vs. 12 ± 6%, p = 0.001). In addition, the frequency of malapposition was also significantly different (28% in SES, 11% in PES, 10% in ZES, p = 0.001). The use of SES was an independent predictor of malapposed struts. Conclusion The incidence of malapposition using OCT was quite prevalent in STEMI after primary PCI with DES implantation and SES has especially higher rates of malapposition compared to other DESs.


b Received 18 September 2010; received in revised form 3 February 2011; accepted 7 February 2011 Summary A best evidence topic in thoracic surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is superior to supportive care in the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Overall, 110 papers were found using the reported search, of which 14 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results are tabulated. We conclude that EPP confers no advantage to chemotherapy and palliative treatment in terms of survival and symptom improvement. Ten studies evaluated the role of EPP in the management of MPM. The median survival was 13 months and perioperative and 30-day mortality rates were 5.7% and 9.1%, respectively. There was a high morbidity rate of 37% including atrial fibrillation, empyema and supraventricular arrhythmias. Disease recurred in 73% of patients at a median time of 10 months. Median hospital stay was 13 days and intensive care unit stay was 1.5 days. At three months postsurgery, improvement in symptoms was achieved in 68% of patients. Significant advantages were observed in patients with epithelial MPM (19 vs. 8 months, P-0.01) compared to non-epithelial MPM and with N2 disease (19 vs. 10 months) compared to N1 or N0 disease, respectively. Two studies reported outcomes after chemotherapy in patients with MPM. The median survival was 13 months and symptoms improved in 50% of patients. Response rate of 21% was achieved and the median time to disease progression was 7.2 months. Postoperative haematological toxicity was common and included neutropenia (25%), anaemia (5%) and thrombocytopenia (7.4%). Two studies analysed palliative treatment in mesothelioma and reported a median survival of seven months and improvement in symptoms in 25% of patients at one-year post-treatment. The 30-day mortality rate was 7.8% and complications included prolonged air leak (9.8%) and empyema (4%). Median hospital stay was seven days. Overall, EPP shows no benefit in terms of survival or symptom improvement which is compounded by its high operative mortality and recurrence rate. 2011 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.


Supervised deep learning methods for performing audio source separation can be very effective in domains where there is a large amount of training data. While some music domains have enough data suitable for training a separation system, such as rock and pop genres, many musical domains do not, such as classical music, choral music, and non-Western music traditions. It is well known that transferring learning from related domains can result in a performance boost for deep learning systems, but it is not always clear how best to do pretraining. In this work we investigate the effectiveness of data augmentation during pretraining, the impact on performance as a result of pretraining and downstream datasets having similar content domains, and also explore how much of a model must be retrained on the final target task, once pretrained.


Generative adversarial networks (GANs), a class of distribution-learning methods based on a two-player game between a generator and a discriminator, can generally be formulated as a minmax problem based on the variational representation of a divergence between the unknown and the generated distributions. We introduce structure-preserving GANs as a data-efficient framework for learning distributions with additional structure such as group symmetry, by developing new variational representations for divergences. Our theory shows that we can reduce the discriminator space to its projection on the invariant discriminator space, using the conditional expectation with respect to the sigma-algebra associated to the underlying structure. In addition, we prove that the discriminator space reduction must be accompanied by a careful design of structured generators, as flawed designs may easily lead to a catastrophic"mode collapse"of the learned distribution. We contextualize our framework by building symmetry-preserving GANs for distributions with intrinsic group symmetry, and demonstrate that both players, namely the equivariant generator and invariant discriminator, play important but distinct roles in the learning process. Empirical experiments and ablation studies across a broad range of data sets, including real-world medical imaging, validate our theory, and show our proposed methods achieve significantly improved sample fidelity and diversity -- almost an order of magnitude measured in Fr\'echet Inception Distance -- especially in the small data regime.


Hyperspectral imaging is an innovative technology for non-invasive mapping, with increasing applications in many sectors. As with any novel technology, robust processing workflows are required to ensure a wide use. We present an open-source hypercloud dataset capturing the complex but spectacularly well exposed geology from the Black Angel Mountain in Maarmorilik, West Greenland, alongside a detailed and interactive tutorial documenting relevant processing workflows. This contribution relies on very recent progress made on the correction, interpretation and integration of hyperspectral data in earth sciences. The possibility to fuse hyperspectral scans with 3D point cloud representations (hyperclouds) has opened up new possibilities for the mapping of complex natural targets. Spectroscopic and machine learning tools allow or the rapid and accurate characterization of geological structures in a 3D environment. Potential users can use this exemplary dataset and the associated tools to train themselves or test new algorithms. As the data and the tools have a wide range of application, we expect this contribution to benefit the scientific community at large.


Recent developments in the application of controllable air ionization processes that apply dielectric-barrier discharge devices to generate nonthermal plasmas have led to applications for chemical and biological decontamination in indoor air environments. These include significant reductions in airborne microbials, neutralization of odors, and reductions of specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Removal of very fine particulates (PM/sub x/) is also is enhanced by air ionization. The process of air ionization involves the electronically induced formation of small air ions, including reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide O/sub 2//spl middot//sup -/, the diatomic oxygen radical anion, which react rapidly with airborne VOC and PM/sub x/. The physics and chemistry of air ionization, and its utility for contributing to significant improvements in indoor air quality are discussed.


The industrial use of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films are limited because it is changed by moisture. The plasma source ion implantation (PSII) technique with CF4 or CH4 gas was used for EVOH, LLDPE, and PET films to improve the surface hydrophobic properties and oxygen barrier properties. Their treated surfaces were characterized to understand the mechanism of modification processes by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). Variables examined in implantation were ion energy (0-10 keV) and ion species. The modified surfaces of EVOH, LLDPE, and PET were characterized to check the relevance of the modification and aging on the polymer surface. PSII treated polymer was found to have more hydrophobic property than plasma treatment. The hydrophobic properties of polymer films were greatly enhanced after a CF4-PSII treatment as evidenced by an increased contact angle. XPS provided the evidence that hydrophobic properties of the modified polymer surfaces are related to the fluorine-containing functional groups, especially CF2 and CF3 groups.


The focus of this study is the estimation of the Australian demand for meat between 1967 and 1990, employing a demand systems approach which uses the linear approximate, almost ideal demand system (LA/AIDS) model. Two demand systems are estimated by maximum likelihood methods, one for aggregate types of meat and one for disaggregated meat products. After correcting for serial correlation in the two demand systems, restrictions from utility theory are imposed and tested for their appropriateness. By using a new data set on the Australian retail price and consumption offresh pork, ham and bacon, the results from the disaggregated model provide the first estimates of the own-price, cross-price and expenditure elasticities for these commodities.


Different variants of teaching organization at high school have been studied on the basis of a comparative analysis. The 10th-form pupils of specialized classes have been established to have a lower level of mental performance than those of the same age from general educational classes. This is associated with the drastic increase in a weekly summary educational load as compared with that in a ninth form, which was characteristic of the pupils of specialized classes; their educational load is increased by 8.5 hours whereas that is by 2.5 hours in those of educational classes. The adaptation of the pupils of specialized classes to new specialized educational conditions is completed by the 11th form, as suggested by the positive changes in their mental performance. The study of different models of specialized education organization has revealed that a multispecialized model that can individualize an academic process to a greater extent is hygienically most favorable. Recommendations have been developed for the hygienic optimization of an academic process at high school.


Background: Cancer ranks the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 19.3 million new cases and 10 million deaths. The most common causes of cancer death were cancers of the lung (1.69 million deaths), liver (788,000 deaths), colorectal (774,000 deaths), stomach (754,000 deaths), and breast (571 000 deaths). Cancer rates in Somalia are under-reported, national population-based cancer registry in the country is missing to conduct a nationwide prevalence study. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cancer and determine the most common organ affected and the existence of Benign or Metastasis among cancer patients. Methods: The study undertook a retrospective cross-sectional design using a quantitative approach. Secondary data from patient records between January 2014 to November 2017, clinically diagnosed with cancer and referred from other hospitals to Kamil diagnostic center for radiological analysis were selected for this study in Mogadishu, Somalia. Results: 583 registered cancer patients, 60.2% (351) were reported in men and 39.8% (232) in women. The primary cancer types were hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which was diagnosed among 151 (26%) patients, of which 124 (82%) were male, and 27(18%) were female. HCC followed by esophageal carcinoma (EC), which was diagnosed among 97 (17%) patients, of which 50 (52%) were female, in comparison to 47 (48%) were male, followed by renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which was diagnosed among 56 (10%) patients of which 31 (55.4%) were male while 25 (44.6%) were female. Lymphoma was diagnosed in 40 (7%) patients, of which 20 (50%) were male, and 20 (50%) were female. It was also established that metastatic cancer was found among 152 (26%) patients, which is little compared to 431 (73.9%) patients whose cancer was not metastatic. The major organs of metastatic were lymph node 48 (8.2%), pulmonary and hepatic with lymph node each 22 (3.8%), and bones 20 (3.4%). Conclusion: The study reveals an increasing trend of cancer prevalence in Somalia. HCC was found to be the major type, followed by EC. The study recommends that people take timely screening and diagnosis of cancer to stand higher chances of preventing and surviving cancer death. Healthy lifestyles such as a healthy diet, avoiding tobacco, alcohol, risky behaviors, maintaining a healthy weight, vaccination (HBV and HPV), and public health efforts could stem this trend.


Middle Permian (Guadalupian) foraminiferal faunas in Japan are divided into the Akiyoshi, Chichibu, and Kurosegawa faunas based on the spatiotemporal distribution and phyletic evolution mainly of neoschwagerinid, verbeekinid, and schwagerinid fusulines. The Capitanian Akiyoshi Fauna of the Lepidolina shiraiwensis Zone in the Akiyoshi Limestone Group of the Akiyoshi Belt consists of 48 species assignable to 35 genera of foraminifers (17 species assignable to 13 genera of fusulines and 31 species to 22 genera of non-fusuline foraminifers). Fusulines in the fauna are represented by Lepidolina shiraiwensis, Sumatrina longissima, and Verbeekina douvillei . On the whole, the Capitanian Akiyoshi Fauna is as variable as the coeval Chichibu Fauna and somewhat less variable than the coeval Kurosegawa Fauna. The interrelation of variability and richness between the fusuline and non-fusuline foraminifers is locally controlled by ecological and depositional facies changes during the Capitanian. Taxonomic composition and richness of these three faunas throughout the Middle to Late Permian are related to environmental and faunal changes in the Panthalassan-originated seamounts and continental shelves in and around circum-Pacific regions. Twelve species assignable to nine genera including Parafusulina nagatoensis n. sp. are systematically described from the Lepidolina shiraiwensis Zone of the Akiyoshi Limestone Group.


The failure of the development of commercially viable traditional crop insurance products and innovations in financial markers has fed a renewed interest in the search for alternatives to help producers in developing countries manage their risk exposure. Salient among these is the proposal of several index insurance schemes against weather events. Among the basic tenets are that the presence of index insurance allows producers to intensify their operations and reduce the risks of default and hence may induce creditors to offer loans at affordable rates. The two factors combined are touted as key to help producers in developing countries escape poverty traps. Improvements in seasonal climate forecasts create challenges for the design and effective functioning of the insurance against climate risks. However, very little is known about potential synergies or conflicting impacts of these two institutions, and the interactions between them and input management decisions by producers. We find that insurance and forecast may have synergistic or conflicting effects on input decisions. In the presence of (state contingent) actuarially fair insurance, producers may prefer the forecast information not to be available, especially if the management options available do not result in sufficient changes in profitability. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that forecast information may induce producers to increase the amount of insurance purchased.


Computer Numeric Control (CNC) is the automation of machine tools that are operated by precisely programmed commands encoded on a storage medium (computer command module, usually located on the device) as opposed to controlled manually by hand wheels or levers, or mechanically automated by cams alone. Most NC today is computer (or computerized) numerical control (CNC), in which computers play an integral part of the control.


The main objective of this work is to demonstrate some new computational methods for estimation, optimization and modeling of dynamical systems that use automatic differentiation. Particular focus will be upon dynamical systems arising in Aerospace Engineering. Automatic differentiation is a recursive computational algorithm, which enables computation of analytically rigorous partial derivatives of any user-specified function. All associated computations occur, in the background without user intervention, as the name implies. The computational methods of this dissertation are enabled by a new automatic differentiation tool, OCEA (Object oriented Coordinate Embedding Method). OCEA has been recently developed and makes possible efficient computation and evaluation of partial derivatives with minimal user coding. The key results in this dissertation details the use of OCEA through a number of computational studies in estimation and dynamical modeling.
Several prototype problems are studied in order to evaluate judicious ways to use OCEA. Additionally, new solution methods are introduced in order to ascertain the extended capability of this new computational tool. Computational tradeoffs are studied in detail by looking at a number of different applications in the areas of estimation, dynamical system modeling, and validation of solution accuracy for complex dynamical systems. The results of these computational studies provide new insights and indicate the future potential of OCEA in its further development.


ABSTRACT:  This paper introduces the review process to new researchers, describes the institutional background for reviews, and provides advice to reviewers. The objectives of a quality review are (1) to assist the editor in his/her gatekeeping role, and (2) to assist the authors in improving their work. We argue that the review process plays a critical role in the dissemination of research that ultimately provides credibility to the body of academic knowledge. This process relies on expert, anonymous reviews by established researchers (typically those who have already published in top journals on similar topics). Because reviewers are relatively scarce, and anonymous, the review process also relies on the personal ethics of reviewers. Invitations to review should only be accepted if the researcher has the skill, time, objectivity, and inclination to do a quality review. A quality review should consider the contribution, execution, and conclusions of the paper.


Renewable energy combined with energy efficiency can offer a viable and influential solution to minimise the harmful consequences of both fossil fuel depletion and increases in the cost of power generation. However, in most cases renewable energy technologies require high initial investments that may deter potential users. Pavement Energy Systems (PES) potentially offer a low-cost solution to sustainable and clean energy generation by utilising the thermo-physical properties and design features of new/existing pavement infrastructure. Within the PES, fluid-filled pipes are buried in the pavement at varying depths and transfer heat to and from the surrounding material, for application as a solar energy collector and/or thermal storage media. The fluid in the pipes can absorb/reject heat to the pavement and deliver useful energy to nearby buildings as well as benefiting the pavement structure and
pavement users (in terms of reduced rutting, winter road maintenance, etc.). A significant advantage of such systems is that the pipes can be installed within pavements that are
already needed for structural reasons and need not to be installed as single-function elements, as do conventional thermal utilisation systems.

In this project, the effect of pavement materials and layer design optimisations on the performance of PES was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The thermo-physical properties and load-bearing performance of concrete and asphalt pavements, consisting of conventional and unconventional components, were determined. In addition, pseudo 3D transient explicit finite-difference software was developed for modelling and performance analysis of the PES under various operating conditions and configurations. This software is capable of predicting the outlet fluid temperature and temperature distributions within the pavement structure. Furthermore, large-scale physical models of the PES were designed and constructed to compare the performance of the thermally modified pavement structures with those of conventional ones and also to validate the model. The physical model consisted of copper pipes embedded in pavements which were irradiated (causing surface heating) using halogen lamps.

The results of thermo-physical optimisation of pavement materials, coupled with mechanical testing, showed that it was possible to achieve a wide range of thermally-modified pavements that can also meet the rigorous functional requirements of an airfield pavement. The experimental comparison between the thermally modified and unmodified concrete pavements revealed that there was potential to enhance both the heat collection and storage capability of concrete pavement structures. In addition, the model's predicted temperatures in concrete pavements were in good agreement with the experimental ones with a mean error of less than 1°C. A similar comparison on asphalt pavements showed that although the surface temperature was lowered by asphalt modification, there were significant discrepancies between the measured and predicted surface temperatures for both modified and unmodified pavements. Further study was conducted on the pipe/pavement interface using X-Ray Computed Tomography (XRCT). The X-ray images revealed improper bonding between the pavement's matrix and the pipe that was evidenced by the presence of air voids accumulation around the pipe perimeter, and could explain the significant discrepancy in the modelled temperatures.

Furthermore, the validated model was used, for genuine temperature patterns, to simulate the relative influence of both the thermo-physical properties of pavement materials and the pavement layer sequences on the performance of the PES and to determine the implications for pavement design. It was concluded that the enhancements could allow pipes tobe installed deeper within the pavement without having any negative effect on their thermal performances. Pipe installation deeper in the pavement is expected to reduce 'reflective cracking' under traffic loading as well as enabling future resurfacing of the pavement without damaging the pipe network.


Populations of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, are established in western and central Wisconsin in the upper midwestern United States, but appear to be expanding geographically there. Here, we report a previously unknown population in northeastern Wisconsin. Questing I. scapularis nymphs and adults were collected by flagging vegetation from a riverine site in Marinette County, Wisconsin, in spring of 1993 and 1994. Dissection and culture of tick guts in modified Barbour-Stoenner-Kelley II medium showed that some of the ticks were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwald & Brenner, causative agent of Lyme disease. Fifteen of 30 white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque), live-trapped at the site on 23-24 August 1994 were infested with immature I. scapularis, and ear-punch biopsies yielded B. burgdorferi cultures from 2 of the mice. However, none of 50 white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), shot by hunters in Marinette County in November 1994 had I. scapularis on them, probably because no deer were shot at the same site where the tick population is located. These findings document existence of an established population of I. scapularis and a focus of Lyme disease in northeastern Wisconsin.


Emerging organic compounds EOC are substances which have been only recently determined as pollutants, and substances which have been newly developed or discovered in the environment. EOC in groundwater can cause adverse effects on the environment and human health. They enter into the natural environment as a result of various anthropogenic activities. The article provides an overview of emerging organic pollutants that occur in groundwater. These compounds are drug residues, substances originating from personal care products, pesticides, veterinary products, food additives, nanomaterials, industrial and other compounds found in wastewater. The article describes the main sources and the presence of EOC in groundwater, pathways and potential impacts (risks). An overview of EOC detection research in the world is presented. Within the review of Slovenian studies the investigations dealing with the determination of wide spectrum of EOC presence in groundwater, with drug residues in groundwater and waste water, or with the development of analytical methods for these substances were analyzed. From the entire analysis we inferred that we must be aware of the possible presence of EOC risk in ground water even in small concentrations. To reduce the yet extent unknown risks, it is necessary to determine EOC threshold values in groundwater and their impact. In the future it will be necessary to identify new pollutants, to develop new analytical methods to determine their sources and routes, and in particular, to establish monitoring for these substances. GEOLOGIJA 55/2, 243–262, Ljubljana 2012 doi:10.5474/geologija.2012.015


Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a gut selective anti-α 4β 7 integrin antibody for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with a well-known optimal safety profile. We aimed to compare the risk of infections of VDZ with that of anti-TNF drugs and ustekinumab, in patients with both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

 All CD and UC patients undergoing biological treatment at our centre between June 2013 and June 2020 were retrospectively included. All infectious complications were registered, considering both inpatient and outpatient events. A comparison of exposure-adjusted infection rate of vedolizumab with that of anti-TNF drugs and ustekinumab was carried out, with a specific focus on the rate of gut infections. All infection rates were expressed in events per patient-years (PYs).

 The overall exposure-adjusted infection rate was 11.5/100 PYs. Detailed information about the infectious complications related to the different biologics is reported in Table 1. The most common infections were respiratory tract infections, cutaneous infections, HSV infections/reactivations, and gut infections. The rate of serious infections was 1.3/100 PYs. Among the 85 patients who were on a VDZ therapy, 17 (3 CD and 14 UC, median age 64, IQR 31–68) suffered an infectious complication. The exposure-adjusted incidence rate for vedolizumab was 17.5/100 PYs, with CD patients having a lower infection risk compared with UC patients (p = 0.035). Gut infections were observed in 3.0% of the whole patient population (1.5/100 PYs) and were more common in the VDZ group (p = 0.0001).

 Our study confirms the good safety profile of vedolizumab. Among patients treated with vedolizumab, those with UC have a higher risk of developing infectious complications. Patients treated with vedolizumab have a higher risk of gut infections compared with patients treated with anti-TNF drugs or ustekinumab. Presumably, this could be due to the gut-selective mechanism of action of vedolizumab.


OBJECT
Cervical kyphosis can lead to spinal instability, spinal cord injury, and disability. The correction of cervical kyphosis is technically challenging, especially in severe cases. The authors describe the anterior sequential interbody dilation technique for the treatment of cervical kyphosis and evaluate perioperative outcomes, degree of correction, and long-term follow-up outcomes associated with the technique.

METHODS
In the period from 2006 to 2011, a consecutive cohort of adults with cervical kyphosis (Cobb angles ≥ 0°) underwent sequential interbody dilation, a technique entailing incrementally increased interbody distraction with the sequential placement of larger spacers (at least 1 mm) in the discectomy and/or corpectomy spaces. The authors retrospectively reviewed these patients, and primary outcomes of interest included kyphosis correction, blood loss, hospital stay, complications, Nurick grade, pain, reoperation, and pseudarthrosis. A subgroup analysis among patients with preoperative kyphosis of 0°-9° (mild), 10°-19° (moderate), and ≥ 20° (severe) was performed.

RESULTS
One hundred patients were included in the study: 74 with mild preoperative cervical kyphosis, 19 with moderate, and 7 with severe. The mean patient age was 53.1 years, and 54.0% of the patients were male. Mean estimated blood loss was 305.6 ml, and the mean length of hospital stay was 5.2 days. The overall complication rate was 9.0%, and there were no deaths. Sixteen percent of patients underwent supplemental posterior fusion. There was significant correction in cervical alignment (p < 0.001), and the mean overall kyphosis correction was 12.4°. Patients with severe preoperative kyphosis gained a correction of 24.7°, those with moderate kyphosis gained 17.8°, and those with mild kyphosis gained 10.1°. A mean correction of 32.0° was obtained if 5 levels were addressed. The mean follow-up was 26.8 months. The reoperation rate was 4.7%. At follow-up, there was significant improvement in visual analog scale neck pain (p = 0.020) and Nurick grade (p = 0.037). The pseudarthrosis rate was 6.3%.

CONCLUSIONS
Sequential interbody dilation is a feasible and effective method of correcting cervical kyphosis. Complications and reoperation rates are low. Similar benefits are seen among all severities of kyphosis, and greater correction can be achieved in more severe cases.


The Faculty of Arts and Science and the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) developed a plan to offer a number of first year courses to three remote communities via videoconferencing beginning in the fall 2005. To prepare, a pilot project was conducted during the spring semester of 2005 for an instructor, the administrators, and support staff to gain experience using videoconferencing as a teaching tool. This pilot divided a first year English course where half the students participated face-to-face with the instructor, while the other half participated via videoconferencing in a classroom a few minutes away. Halfway through the semester the two student groups switched classrooms. The purpose of this manuscript is to document all the aspects of this pilot project from the room design and technology, to the perceptions of those involved. It provides an analysis of the instructor's perspectives based on several interviews, student experiences and perspectives based on data gathered from an online survey, and the phenomenological observations of the researcher. The result produced a collection of valuable and practical information that may guide others in their implementation of videoconferencing in both the classroom and for other uses such as meetings, professional development workshops, and presentations. It is intended to inform instructors, technical support personnel, administrators, and policy makers at the U of L, across Alberta, and elsewhere. In spite of the many technical and logistical problems that occurred during this pilot, both the instructor and the students found the experience to be valuable. The instructor has expressed interest in teaching using videoconferencing again and all but two of the students indicated they would participate in a video conference class again.


Background and objectives: Obesity is a health condition in which there is the gathering of the body fat, which arises due to imbalance of intake and expenditure. In recent years Obesity in Saudi Arabia has increased tremendously and it is one of the main causes of the coronary artery disease and diabetes. Our study aims to investigate the reasons behind the prevalence and risk factors of obesity among medical students at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia. Methods: One hundred fourteen medical students at Shaqra college of medicine participated randomly in a cross sectional study after obtaining their verbal consent. A standard questionnaire included: demographic data, anthropometric parameters, life style patterns, etc has been designed and distributed to the respondents. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The BMI data showed that 8.8% medical students were underweight, 46.5% normal, 25.4% overweight and 19.3% were obese. The results clearly showed that only 46.5% were normal and the rest had abnormal BMI values. Our study showed that, there was not much effect on obesity by consuming the fast food. On the other hand, there was a significant effect of performing regular exercise on obesity. Interpretation & conclusions: Our study findings could be comparable with that reported in Saudi Arabia regarding prevalence of obesity and overweight. We concluded that, regular exercise is a cornerstone in antagonizing obesity while no significant effect of both fast and normal food consumption on it in young medical students.


BACKGROUND
 Sarcopenia, defined as the age-associated loss of muscle mass and strength, can be effectively mitigated through resistance-based physical activity. With compliance at approximately 40% for home-based exercise prescriptions, implementing a remote sensing system would help patients and clinicians to better understand treatment progress and increase compliance. The inclusion of end users in the development of mobile apps for remote-sensing systems can ensure that they are both user friendly and facilitate compliance. With advancements in natural language processing (NLP), there is potential for these methods to be used with data collected through the user-centered design process.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study aims to develop a mobile app for a novel device through a user-centered design process with both older adults and clinicians while exploring whether data collected through this process can be used in NLP and sentiment analysis

 METHODS
 Through a user-centered design process, we conducted semistructured interviews during the development of a geriatric-friendly Bluetooth-connected resistance exercise band app. We interviewed patients and clinicians at weeks 0, 5, and 10 of the app development. Each semistructured interview consisted of heuristic evaluations, cognitive walkthroughs, and observations. We used the Bing sentiment library for a sentiment analysis of interview transcripts and then applied NLP-based latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling to identify differences and similarities in patient and clinician participant interviews. Sentiment was defined as the sum of positive and negative words (each word with a +1 or −1 value). To assess utility, we used quantitative assessment questionnaires—System Usability Scale (SUS) and Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease of use (USE). Finally, we used multivariate linear models—adjusting for age, sex, subject group (clinician vs patient), and development—to explore the association between sentiment analysis and SUS and USE outcomes.

 RESULTS
 The mean age of the 22 participants was 68 (SD 14) years, and 17 (77%) were female. The overall mean SUS and USE scores were 66.4 (SD 13.6) and 41.3 (SD 15.2), respectively. Both patients and clinicians provided valuable insights into the needs of older adults when designing and building an app. The mean positive-negative sentiment per sentence was 0.19 (SD 0.21) and 0.47 (SD 0.21) for patient and clinician interviews, respectively. We found a positive association with positive sentiment in an interview and SUS score (ß=1.38; 95% CI 0.37 to 2.39; P=.01). There was no significant association between sentiment and the USE score. The LDA analysis found no overlap between patients and clinicians in the 8 identified topics.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Involving patients and clinicians allowed us to design and build an app that is user friendly for older adults while supporting compliance. This is the first analysis using NLP and usability questionnaires in the quantification of user-centered design of technology for older adults.


This article reviews both the global and Kenyan tuberculosis (TB) situations and gives a manager's perspective of the management of a national TB control program with limited resources. It demonstrates how complex it can be to manage a control program with a 500% increase in case load and a 60% decline in real per capita health expenditure during the last 20 y. The picture is complicated even further by a high prevalence of TB among the country's nomadic population inhabiting the arid and semi-arid parts of the country. Acceptable treatment results are achieved through a combination of appropriate strategies. However, the future picture is grim unless more personnel are used to implement the DOTS strategy.


Whirlwinds and visible dust devils occur over semi-arid ecosystems and entrain particles from the ground surface. Fires produce abundant charcoal across savannahs and the resulting blackened surfaces create a large albedo contrast. Whirlwinds have been observed associated with active fires; yet, there are few published observations on post-fire landscapes. Spatiotemporal patterns of whirlwinds have been documented for a limited number of regions and have not been made for the ecosystems of eastern Africa. From field-based sightings in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, we report on whirlwinds over burned savannah patches that entrained large quantities of charcoal to produce black coloured charcoal devils that lofted charcoal into the atmosphere. Two occurrences of charcoal devils were sighted and photographed, one each in the Western Corridor (Bunda District) and Lamai (Serengeti District), Mara Region. The observations were compared with regional scale meteorological data and remote sensing satellite imagery and albedo estimates of the land cover conditions. Although direct meteorological or particulate matter measurements were not made, the observations show that both charcoal devils differed in colour, funnel shape, height, and savannah land cover types (different woody to grass fuel canopies), and thus different charcoal morphologies. Charcoal laden whirlwinds require further study and characterization to analyse the contribution to local-scale redistribution of matter and regional-to-global fluxes of terrestrially derived atmospheric particulates. Future research focusing on the spatiotemporal patterns of whirlwinds over burned patches of savannah, the formation, duration and dissipation mechanisms, and characterisation of the entrained material would contribute to our understanding of the phenomena. The redistribution of organic and clastic material would contribute to understanding of detrital fluxes to depositional environments, such as lakes, wetlands, and snow.
Keywords:    Atmospheric boundary layer; Convection; Detritus; Dust devils; Fires; Particulate matter.


This report mainly discusses the perceptions of the ultra poor regarding NGO membership and their future development needs if they join NGOs like BRAC. It also focuses on reasons for membership discontinuation, issues of targeting and suggests some alternative programme interventions useful for them. It was found that at the time of survey 79% of the ultra poor living in BRAC villages did not ever have membership of any NGO. Major reasons for non-participation were poverty and their inability to pay regular installments due to lack of continuous income flow. Age limit and vulnerability conditions also prevent some of them. Fifty-one percent of those who are willing to join BRAC, wants to get some support mainly in asset creation, loan receipt and in getting salaried job/wage employment. Only 12% want to get some donations. Due to heterogeneity even among the ultra poor a single intervention package would not be helpful for all. In designing any development programme for the ultra poor the subsidy element should be necessary for reducing their food insecurity. It also should consider all the elements of human poverty to address their multidimentionality of poverty.


Spectrum sensing is one of the core functionalities of a true cognitive radio (CR) that supports operation over a broad range of frequencies and can autonomously adapt transmission parameters to the operating environment. There are several types of hardware ranging from sophisticated (i.e. Nutaq Radio420X FPGA mezzanine card) to low cost (i.e. WiSpy) that can be used to experiment with spectrum sensing. This hardware is available for use in several testbeds across the world (i.e. ORBIT, w-iLab.t, TWIST and LOG-a-TEC). Each testbed provides a specific mechanism to define, deploy and execute experiments making it difficult for an individual researcher to use more than one testbed. In this work we propose an information model for describing spectrum sensing functionality with the ultimate goal of developing and promoting a Common CR language that can describe the resources in existing GENI and FIRE testbeds.


Hypothyroidism can be induced by various diseases. An autoimmune cause accounts for approximately 90% of adult hypothyroidism, mostly due to Hashimoto's disease. The majority of Hashimoto patients are women aged between 20 and 60 years old and nearly 10% show overt hypothyroidism. With time euthyroid patients progress to hypothyroidism and thus the prevalence of hypothyroidism is higher in elderly patients. Especially at 3 to 8 months postpartum, the prevalence of hypothyroidism is very high, up to 2-4%, but more than 90% of these cases are transient. Autoimmune destructive mechanisms, such as antibody dependent cytotoxicity, K and NK cell cytotoxicity, T lymphocyte cytotoxicity and lymphokine cytotoxicity, have been studied in vitro, but the most important factor in vivo is still unknown. A recent finding is that thyroid stimulation blocking antibody (TSBAb) may induce primary atrophic hypothyroidism. This antibody not only blocks TSH-induced cAMP production but also blocks TSH-induced DNA synthesis and iodine uptake in cultured thyroid cells. The prevalence of TSBAb in patients with primary atrophic hypothyroidism varies in different studies, from 0 to 47%. Reports on the relationship between TSBAb and TSH-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII) detected by radioreceptor assay are conflicting. The prevalence of TSBAb in patients with goitrous hypothyroidism is also controversial, varying from 0 to 20%. Transient hypothyroidism is observed frequently in the postpartum period and in the post-thyrotoxic phase of pregnancy-unrelated silent thyroiditis. Maternal TSBAb causes transient neonatal hypothyroidism when the activity is more than 1500 i.u./litre. The blocking and stimulatory types of anti-TSH receptor antibodies may both react with the same epitope(s) of TSH-receptor related antigens but the exact mechanisms that lead to the different effects are unknown. In some patients, including those with Graves' disease, stimulating and blocking antibodies co-exist and thyroid function may change from hyperthyroidism to hypothyroidism, or vice-versa, depending on the balance of stimulatory and blocking activities. Hypothyroidism in Graves' disease after treatment is thought to be induced in two ways: autoimmune thyroid destruction and the predominant appearance of TSBAb. Dietary iodine restriction is helpful in allowing recovery from hypothyroidism in more than half of the patients with spontaneously occurring primary hypothyroidism in Japan. Submaximal doses of T3 may be useful in differentiating transient from persistent hypothyroidism, since spontaneous recovery is detected by an increase of serum T4.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


: The relative mean contents of pisum sativum agglutinin receptors and DNA of human normal esophageal epithelium, its atypical hyperplasia as well as esophageal carcinoma were determined respectively by flow cytometry. The results revealed that the relative mean contents of pisum sativum agglutinin receptors which denote membrane composition and DNA which denote nuclear composition were increased gradually from normal, dysplastic and then malignant esophageal tissues. This suggested that during the neoplastic transformation, changes of the cell membrane component may correlate with changes of the cell nuclear component.


Muscle fibers have great plastic properties, responding to different stimuli with their weight increase or reduction, length and serial sarcomere number. The aim of this study was to analyze the static passive stretching in 3 daily bouts of 30 s and the free remobilization effects for two weeks, in the soleus muscle of rats immobilized in shortening position. For this purpose, 12 rats (Wistar) were used and divided in 2 groups: G1 (n=6) - left soleus muscle (LSM) immobilized and free in the cage (GIF); G2 (n=6) - LSM immobilized and stretched daily (GIS). The variations found between the LSM and RSM (right) of each group have been compared. The variables were: soleus muscle weight, length, serial sarcomeres number and sarcomere length. The results comparing LSM with RSM were: muscle weight: GIF=-23.16%, (p=0.0007), GIS-32.43% (p=0.0008); muscle length: GIF=-5.47% (p=0.0120); GIS=-9.99% (p=0.0034); serial sarcomere number: GIF=-15.42% (p=0.0047); GIS=-8.08% (p=0.0008); sarcomere length: GIF=11.16% (p=0.0142); GIS=-1.92% (p=0.3783). It can be concluded through these results that neither the stretching nor the free remobilization promotes restoration in the skeletal muscles structure submitted to prolonged immobilization.


The objective of this paper is to propose a new algorithm for self-tuning control in the presence of unmodeled dynamics. It is shown (with probability one) that the resulting closed-loop system is globally stable and the mean-square tracking error is proportional to the size of unmodeled dynamics. In the absence of unmodeled dynamics, the algorithm produces the minimum-variance self-timing control. It is analytically verified that the proposed algorithm has self-stabilization property, i.e., possible occurance of instability results in mean-square bounded signals.


The nineteenth century was a period of profound change in Scottish history. Industrialisation, improved communications, agricultural transformation, country to town migration, upheavals in the church, increased trade, and imperialism -- all these affected the pace and rhythm of everyday life across the country. At the same time increased literacy helped to generate new patterns of identity, extending beyond the local to encompass the nation, which challenged certainties of how the world was viewed. With new styles of living came new dangers to the physical and moral health of the population, and increased apprehension of crime and disorder. Industrialisation created opportunities for consumption and recreation but with tangible environmental and economic costs. Rural Scotland adjusted to changes in farming practice and the traumas of population loss and began to look to the opportunities presented by recreation and tourism. The large-scale creation and survival of documentary evidence and records make the study of everyday life during this period practicable in depth for the first time. This volume presents a vivid account that includes the experiences of all the people of Scotland. It draws on every kind of available evidence and on work in social and cultural history, sociology and anthropology. The series will be complete in four volumes. x and x are already available. x is forthcoming.


The presence of iron in gastric and duodenal mucosa was investigated with Perl's stain in endoscopic biopsies from 13 patients with overt primary hemochromatosis, 10 chronic heavy alcohol abusers, and 10 patients with nonulcer dyspepsia. In the primary hemochromatosis patients marked iron deposition was found in cells at the base of glands in the gastric body and antrum in nine cases, and in crypt cells and Brunner gland cells of the duodenum in six. Iron was detected in the lamina propria of the stomach in five and duodenum in four cases. A similar distribution of iron overload, usually of lesser degree, was also observed in five alcoholics. Serum ferritin levels and the degree of gastric and/or duodenal iron deposits did not correlate in either hemochromatosis patients or alcoholics. No gastric or duodenal siderosis was observed in nonulcer dyspepsia cases. The absence of gastric and duodenal stainable iron in some hemochromatosis patients and its presence in some alcoholics suggests that the diagnostic value of upper gastrointestinal biopsy in primary hemochromatosis is limited.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Play Practice (PP) instruction on badminton performance in college students. Method: A total of 66 students from the United States and China participated in units following either the principles of PP or skill-focused instruction. A nonequivalent control/comparison group experimental design with premeasure and postmeasure was used in this study. Separate analyses of variance with repeated measures (Time × Group) were conducted to examine the effects of PP and skill-focused instruction for each of the four dependent variables: (a) forehand clear, (b) wall volley, (c) game performance, and (d) tactical understanding. Results: Both PP and skill-focused instruction conditions were effective in improving participants' skills from pretest to posttest. However, PP was also effective in improving participants' game performance. Conclusion: PP effectively developed both fundamental skills and tactical aspects of badminton without diminishing the transfer effect from practice to games.


Aim  Ecosystem engineering polychaetes in the genus Diopatra are undergoing range shifts in western Europe. Here we: (1) assess the species diversity underlying these shifts; (2) link biogeographic patterns to sea surface temperature patterns; and (3) predict possible ecosystem-level outcomes of Diopatra's northward expansion.

Location  Western Europe.

Methods  We use molecular phylogenetic and morphological evidence to assess species diversity and biogeographic ranges. Using regression tree analyses, we assess thermal limits for two Diopatra species. We compare biogeographic patterns with historical sea surface temperature patterns to draw links between range shifts and climate change. Finally, we review published data to predict potential ecological changes as Diopatra invades new habitats.

Results  The native Diopatra neapolitana range has contracted 130 km to the south. A cryptogenic species, Diopatra sp. A, has extended the northern limit of the genus 350 km to the southern Brittany Peninsula. Both shifts can be explained by historical sea surface temperature anomalies. The Diopatra sp. A expansion is predicted to continue into the English Channel and the North Sea, introducing large tube structures to sheltered sedimentary habitats that currently lack such structures.

Main conclusions  As climate change intensifies, the sediment-stabilizing Diopatra sp. A will invade habitats dominated by the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina. The resulting interaction between functionally different ecosystem engineers will probably cause ecological changes in northern European coastal waters. Existing data for Diopatra species and arenicolids suggest that the diversity and biomass of macroalgae, vascular plants, infauna and epibenthic fauna may increase, while microbial activity may decrease. Net changes in productivity will depend on the relative rates of these changes.


Objectives In people with a disability, or their caregivers, who reported suboptimal experiences, the objectives were to explore: (1) challenges with telehealth-delivered allied health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) suggestions to improve such services. Design Qualitative study based on an interpretivist paradigm and a phenomenological approach. Setting Participants who accessed allied healthcare via telehealth during the pandemic. Participants Data saturation was achieved after 12 interviews. The sample comprised three people with permanent or significant disabilities, and nine carers/partners/family members of people with permanent or significant disabilities, who were funded by the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme and had suboptimal experiences with telehealth. Semistructured one-on-one interviews explored experiences with telehealth and suggestions on how such services could be improved. An inductive thematic analysis was performed. Results Six themes relating to the first study objective (challenges with telehealth) were developed: (1) evoked behavioural issues in children; (2) reliant on caregiver facilitation; (3) inhibits clinician feedback; (4) difficulty building rapport and trust; (5) lack of access to resources and (6) children disengaged/distracted. Five themes relating to the second study objective (suggestions to improve telehealth services) were developed: (1) establish expectations; (2) increase exposure to telehealth; (3) assess suitability of specific services; (4) access to support workers and (5) prepare for telehealth sessions. Conclusions Some people with permanent and significant disabilities who accessed allied healthcare via telehealth during the pandemic experienced challenges, particularly children. These unique barriers to telehealth need customised solutions so that people with disabilities are not left behind when telehealth services become more mainstream. Increasing experience with telehealth, setting expectations before consultations, supplying resources for therapy and assessing the suitability of clients for telehealth may help overcome some of the challenges experienced.


Carbenoxolone may bind to enzymes, inhibiting or activating them. Enzymes inhibited are human pepsins 1, 3 and 5, human pepsinogens 1, 3 and 5, swine pepsin, bovine trypsin, bovine chymotrypsin, porcine elastase, human gastric proteinase 2, human gastric prostaglandin 15-OH dehydrogenase and delta-5 reductase, and pronase. Enzymes activated are papain, bovine carboxypeptidase and gastric microsomal glycosyl transferase. Enzymes unaffected are human pancreatic amylase and porcine pancreatic lipase. Binding occurs away from the active site; inhibition thus occurs when binding impedes access of substrate to, or products from, the active site, and activation when access is facilitated. Carbenoxolone causes increased secretion of mucus; this action can be explained by activation of the gastric glycosyl transferases. Carbenoxolone also causes intraluminal loss of peptic activity and diminished secretion of pepsins; these actions are explained respectively by intraluminal inhibition of the pepsins and intramucosal inactivation of the pepsinogens, particularly of the peptic ulcer-associated enzyme, pepsin 1. The healing effect of carbenoxolone in peptic ulcer involves these actions together with a reduced turnover of gastric mucosal cells. Pepsins 1 and 3 have collagenolytic activity, causing release of alpha-chains from native collagens. Pepsin 1 is five-fold the more active. Carbenoxolone inhibits peptic collagenolysis.


Despite pre-trained language models have proven useful for learning high-quality semantic representations, these models are still vulnerable to simple perturbations. Recent works aimed to improve the robustness of pre-trained models mainly focus on adversarial training from perturbed examples with similar semantics, neglecting the utilization of different or even opposite semantics. Different from the image processing field, the text is discrete and few word substitutions can cause significant semantic changes. To study the impact of semantics caused by small perturbations, we conduct a series of pilot experiments and surprisingly find that adversarial training is useless or even harmful for the model to detect these semantic changes. To address this problem, we propose Contrastive Learning with semantIc Negative Examples (CLINE), which constructs semantic negative examples unsupervised to improve the robustness under semantically adversarial attacking. By comparing with similar and opposite semantic examples, the model can effectively perceive the semantic changes caused by small perturbations. Empirical results show that our approach yields substantial improvements on a range of sentiment analysis, reasoning, and reading comprehension tasks. And CLINE also ensures the compactness within the same semantics and separability across different semantics in sentence-level.


Observed reddening in the circum-galactic medium (CGM) indicates a significant abundance of small grains, of which the origin is still to be clarified. We examine a possible path of small-grain production through shattering of pre-existing large grains in the CGM. Possible sites where shattering occurs on a reasonable time-scale are cool clumps with hydrogen number density =H ∼ 0.1 cm−3 and gas temperature )gas ∼ 104 K, which are shown to exist through observations of Mg ii absorbers. We calculate the evolution of grain size distribution in physical conditions appropriate for cool clumps in the CGM, starting from a large-grain-dominated distribution suggested from theoretical studies. With an appropriate gas turbulence model expected from the physical condition of cold clumps (maximum eddy size and velocity of ∼100 pc and 10 km s−1, respectively), together with the above gas density and temperature and the dust-to-gas mass ratio inferred from observations (0.006), we find that small-grain production occurs on a time-scale (a few ×108 yr) comparable to the lifetime of cool clumps derived in the literature. Thus, the physical conditions of the cool clouds are favrourable for small-grain production. We also confirm that the reddening becomes significant on the above time-scale. Therefore, we conclude that small-grain production by shattering is a probable cause for the observed reddening in the CGM. We also mention the effect of grain materials (or their mixtures) on the reddening at different redshifts (1 and 2).


Tourmaline-supergroup minerals are ubiquitous accessory minerals in rocks of the Earth's crust. They can adjust their composition to suit a wide variety of environments, and therefore display a remarkable range in stability in terms of pressure, temperature, fluid composition, and host-rock composition. Because of this compositional sensitivity, tourmaline is an excellent indicator of the environmental conditions in its host. This is further enhanced by negligible diffusion up to high temperatures and a strongly refractory character during subsequent host-rock alteration and weathering, as well as mechanical transport of grains. Whereas most prior research on tourmaline has focused on chemical and crystallographic characterizations and systematics of the tourmaline-supergroup minerals, recent studies are shifting the focus to a quantitative reconstruction of environmental conditions in the host using a combination of structural, compositional and crystallographic characteristics of the tourmaline. This thematic issue, which follows a special session at the 2009 GAC–MAC–AGU meeting in Toronto, highlights these exciting advances; here we discuss some of the obstacles that will need to be overcome to insure the practical applicability of tourmaline. The papers presented in this thematic issue of The Canadian Mineralogist show that we are standing on the brink of a major breakthrough in the use of tourmaline as a quantitative indicator of the chemical and physical properties of its host environment these properties may well make tourmaline the prime mineral for this purpose.


The genome-linked protein-proteinase (NIa) genes of three potyviruses (tobacco vein mottling virus[TVMV], tobacco etch virus[TEV], and potato virus Y [PVY]) were introduced into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cultivar Burley 21 and transgenic plant lines were evaluated for viral symptoms and virus accumulation. Plant lines that expressed the TVMV NIa gene were resistant to infection by TVMV; inoculated plants did not develop disease symptoms after inoculation, and virus did not accumulate. Most lines that carried the TEV NIa and PVY NIa genes did develop symptoms after inoculation with TEV and PVY, respectively, but these symptoms abated with time (a response termed as recovery). Three genes, each consisting of two NIa coding regions (TEV NIa-PVY NIa, TEV NIa-TVMV NIa, and TVMV NIa-PVY NIa) were also introduced into Burley 21. Transgenic lines that carried either TEV NIa-PVY NIa or TEV NIa-TVMV NIa constructs either did not develop disease symptoms or exhibited the process of recovery after inoculation with TEV. TEV NIa-TVMV NIa and TVMV NIa-PVY NIa lines recovered from an initial infection after inoculation with TVMV. Likewise, TEV NIa-PVY NIa and TVMV NIa-PVY NIa transformed lines recovered from initial infection after inoculation with PVY. These results demonstrate that different potyvirus NIa-proteinase genes can be used for protection against virus infection and that multiple NIa genes may be used to produce plants that are protected against more than one potyvirus.


We propose a new method to infer the star formation histories of resolved stellar populations. With photometry one may plot observed stars on a colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) and then compare with synthetic CMDs representing different star formation histories. This has been accomplished hitherto by parametrising the model star formation history as a histogram, usually with the bin widths set by fixed increases in the logarithm of time. A best fit is then found with maximum likelihood methods and we consider the different means by which a likelihood can be calculated. We then apply Bayesian methods by parametrising the star formation history as an unknown number of Gaussian bursts with unknown parameters. This parametrisation automatically provides a smooth function of time. A Reversal Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is then used to find both the most appropriate number of Gaussians, to avoid overfitting, and the posterior probability distribution of the star formation rate. We apply our method to artificial populations and to observed data. We discuss the other advantages of the method: direct comparison of different parametrisations and the ability to calculate the probability that a given star is from a given Gaussian. This allows the investigation of possible sub-populations.


Hop-derived compounds have been subjected to numerous biomedical studies investigating their impact on a wide range of pathologies. Isomerised bitter acids (isoadhumulone, isocohumulone and isohumulone) from hops, used in the brewing process of beer, are known to inhibit members of the aldo-keto-reductase superfamily. Aldo-keto-reductase 1B10 (AKR1B10) is upregulated in various types of cancer and has been reported to promote carcinogenesis. Inhibition of AKR1B10 appears to be an attractive means to specifically treat RAS-dependent malignancies. However, the closely related reductases AKR1A1 and AKR1B1, which fulfil important roles in the detoxification of endogenous and xenobiotic carbonyl compounds oftentimes crossreact with inhibitors designed to target AKR1B10. Accordingly, there is an ongoing search for selective AKR1B10 inhibitors that do not interact with endogeneous AKR1A1 and AKR1B1-driven detoxification systems. In this study, unisomerised α-acids (adhumulone, cohumulone and n-humulone) were separated and tested for their inhibitory potential on AKR1A1, AKR1B1 and AKR1B10. Also AKR1B10-mediated farnesal reduction was effectively inhibited by α-acid congeners with Ki-values ranging from 16.79 ± 1.33 µM (adhumulone) to 3.94 ± 0.33 µM (n-humulone). Overall, α-acids showed a strong inhibition with selectivity (115–137 fold) for AKR1B10. The results presented herein characterise hop-derived α-acids as a promising basis for the development of novel and selective AKR1B10-inhibitors.


The encapsulation of coordination complexes in a tetragonal prismatic nanocage (1·(BArF)8) built from Zn-porphyrin and macrocyclic Pd-clip-based synthons is described. The functional duality of the guest ligand L1 allows for its encapsulation inside the cage 1·(BArF)8, along with the simultaneous coordination of ZnII, CuII, or FeIII metal ions. Remarkably, the coordination chemistry inside the host-guest adduct L1⊂1·(BArF)8 occurs in both solution solution and solid state. The resulting confined metallocomplexes have been characterized by means of UV-vis, ESI-HRMS, NMR, and EPR techniques. Furthermore, the emission of the Zn-porphyrin fluorophores of 1·(BArF)8 is strongly quenched by the encapsulation of paramagnetic complexes, representing a remarkable example of guest-dependent tuning of the host fluorescence.


VICbus is a multiplexed multimaster cable bus primarily intended for interconnecting backplane bus systems, such as VMEbus, but which may also be used wherever a high-performance, general-purpose cable bus is required. It is implemented using differential line transmission to interconnect up to 31 devices on a total cable length of 100 m. Both compelled (asynchronous) and noncompelled (synchronous) data transmission protocols are specified. An efficient bus arbitration mechanism takes into consideration the long signal propagation times on cables. A simple interrupt mechanism permits the transparent use of interrupts on interconnected VMEbus backplanes. The data transfer protocols, bus arbitration, interrupts, register, and implementation details are discussed. >


Binge drinking (BD) is a pattern of alcohol consumption characterized by an intake of large amounts of alcohol concentrated in a short period of time. BD peaks during the early twenties followed by a progressive decline. The scientific evidence has revealed the neurocognitive consequences that this type of consumption has in the maturing brain, which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of BD. However, there are hardly any longitudinal studies that allow to determine the cumulative effects of the maintenance of this consumption or the possible recovery once the BD pattern has been abandoned. To address this objective, the present thesis evaluated the neuropsychological performance in working memory, verbal episodic memory and decision making in university students during a six-year period (18 /19 - 24/ 25). The results showed that a stable BD trajectory was associated with difficulties in working memory (poor span and perseverative errors) and verbal episodic memory (poor immediate and delayed recall), while decision making does not seem to be affected. Both sexes had a similar performance. With the exception of poor span in working memory, which seems to show some improvement, cognitive deficits present a stable course. The abandonment of the pattern was associated with an improvement in cognitive performance. There seem to be short-term improvements for executive difficulties, while difficulties in episodic memory -especially regarding consolidation processes- seem to require a longer time without a BD consumption to show improvement. The results are consistent with the special vulnerability of the frontal and temporomedial region to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol during this period of significant neuromadurational changes.


Microbial infections can happen on a daily basis. There are specific microbial infections that are associated with the reproductive health. Infertility is a devastating health prob‐ lem. It is estimated that out of 15% of infertility worldwide, around 50% is due to male partner. Infections due to Chlamydia trachomatis , Mycoplasma genitalium , hepatitis B virus, tuberculosis, Streptococcus faecalis , and mumps are found to be associated with male infer‐ tility. Although most of the life-threatening microbial infections have dramatically de‐ clined since the introduction of the childhood vaccination program, there are concerns about few outbreaks and the associated risk of male infertility. This chapter deals with few microbial infections, their association with male infertility, prevention, symptoms, di‐ agnosis, treatment, and control measures.


The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences of formerly incarcerated African American women as they resume parenting post release from prison and re-form their maternal identity. Few studies have focused specifically on African American women and their resumption of the parenting post incarceration. This study's findings suggest that parenting is fluid, does not arrest and is therefore not re-formed as originally thought. Instead, the 12 women in this maintained their maternal identity and attempted to parent from prison, remain involved in their children's lives and continued contact either because of relational ties with the child's caregiver or through programmatic support. The study's findings were similar to the literature on African American women and incarceration as the participants in this study experience past abuse (either sexual or physical) which remained unresolved, had low educational attainment, and several had histories of substance abuse. The participants in this study also engaged in protective parenting despite their drug use, maintained positive relationships with their child(ren)'s kin caregiver, and transitioned back to parenting with the support of the family caregiver and with programmatic support from agencies serving women involved in the criminal legal system. This study has several implications for social work practice and policies governing how formerly incarcerated mothers are provided services. First, there is an enduring need to strengthen and empower families within African American communities. Because of mass incarceration, social workers and criminologists need to develop creative ways to provide comprehensive gender relevant services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers. African American mothers, as shown in this study, need programs to help them deal effectively with unresolved issues of past abuse, prior substance use/abuse issues and to help support mother's reconnection with their children.