This Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory sponsored research effort to develop environmentally cleaner projects as a spin-off of the FutureGen project, which seeks to reduce or eliminate emissions from plants that utilize coal for power or hydrogen production. New clean coal conversion processes were designed and tested for coproducing clean pitches and cokes used in the metals industry as well as a heavy crude oil. These new processes were based on direct liquefaction and pyrolysis techniques that liberate volatile liquids from coal without the need for high pressure or on-site gaseous hydrogen. As a result of the research, a commercial scale plant for the production of synthetic foundry coke has broken ground near Wise, Virginia under the auspices of Carbonite Inc. This plant will produce foundry coke by pyrolyzing a blend of steam coal feedstocks. A second plant is planned by Quantex Energy Inc (in Texas) which will use solvent extraction to coproduce a coke residue as well as crude oil. A third plant is being actively considered for Kingsport, Tennessee, pending a favorable resolution of regulatory issues.


The authors wish to make the following corrections to their paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [1]: [...]


We propose a new iterative estimation algorithm for use in semiparametric models where calculation of Z-estimators by conventional means is difficult or impossible. Unlike a Newton–Raphson approach, which makes use of the entire Hessian, this approach only uses curvature information associated with portions of the Hessian that are relatively easy to calculate. Consistency and asymptotic normality of estimators obtained from this algorithm are established under regularity conditions and an information dominance condition. Two specific examples, a quantile regression model with missing covariates and a GARCH-in-mean model with conditional mean of unknown functional form, demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm. This new approach can be interpreted as an extension of the maximization by parts estimation approach to semiparametric models.


Objective. Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important patient-reported outcome in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We evaluated the psychometric properties of 2 widely used preference-based generic HRQOL measures, EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and Short Form-6D (SF-6D), among United States patients with SLE. Methods. Patients with SLE enrolled at an academic institution were assessed for self-reported generic HRQOL (EQ-5D, Medical Outcomes Study SF-36), disease activity, and disease damage SF-6D. Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS) were calculated from SF-36. Criterion validity, convergent validity, and known-groups comparisons were evaluated for EQ-5D and SF-6D. Sensitivity to change (t tests, effect size) was evaluated in a subset of the cohort followed longitudinally. Results. One hundred sixty-seven patients with SLE were enrolled. Related domains on the EQ-5D and SF-36 correlated strongly, e.g., mobility and physical functioning (r = 0.60), whereas unrelated domains showed weak to moderate correlation. EQ-5D index, EQ-5D visual analog scale, and SF-6D score correlated strongly among each other as well as with most domains of SF-36. Both EQ-5D and SF-6D indices differentiated among patients of varied disease severity. EQ-5D and SF-6D were found to be sensitive to self-reported change in health but insensitive to change in disease activity longitudinally. Disease activity and damage showed weak correlation with HRQOL measures. Conclusion. The SF-6D and EQ-5D exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties for use among US patients with SLE. Measures of disease activity and damage were weakly correlated with HRQOL, suggesting that HRQOL is an important complementary source of information about patients with SLE.


Positive psychology interventions have tended to be intentional cognitive and / or behavioural activities, specifically designed by researchers to increase happiness and wellbeing. In everyday life, however, people naturally undertake activities to increase their happiness and wellbeing. In this study, we examine and compare gifting and eating as two types of everyday activity that influence Positive Affect and so also happiness and wellbeing. Two hundred participants were allocated to four groups to examine the impact of gifting and eating, both individually and combined, relative to a control group, on happiness and wellbeing. Results show that giving a desirable food (ice cream) to another person as a gift increases Positive Affect but not discrete positive emotions, whereas both eating and giving an ice cream as a gift increase both Positive Affect and discrete positive emotions. The discussion focuses on the role of everyday activities in enhancing Positive Affect with the accumulative potential to increase everyday happiness.


Magnetic susceptibility (MS) is a tool frequently used by geologists on sediments or rocks to perform correlations and sea-level or climatic reconstructions. Applied measurements are made on unoriented, bulk samples and bulk MS is mostly influenced by the magnetic mineral content of the rock and often interpreted as influenced by detrital inputs. Magnetic data acquisition is fast and straightforward and this allows the high-resolution sampling needed for palaeoclimatic research (e.g. spectral analysis). However, the link with detrital inputs is not always preserved and the impact of diagenesis on the final MS signal can blur primary information. This volume includes contributions dealing with the origin of the magnetic minerals, and the application of MS as a palaeoenvironmental or palaeoclimatic proxy and also as a tool to provide astronomical calibration in order to improve the chronology of selected time intervals.


In open abdominal image-guided liver surgery, sparse measurements of the organ surface can be taken intraoperatively via a laser-range scanning device or a tracked stylus with relatively little impact on surgical workflow. We propose a novel nonrigid registration method which uses sparse surface data to reconstruct a mapping between the preoperative CT volume and the intraoperative patient space. The mapping is generated using a tissue mechanics model subject to boundary conditions consistent with surgical supportive packing during liver resection therapy. Our approach iteratively chooses parameters which define these boundary conditions such that the deformed tissue model best fits the intraoperative surface data. Using two liver phantoms, we gathered a total of five deformation datasets with conditions comparable to open surgery. The proposed nonrigid method achieved a mean target registration error (TRE) of 3.3 mm for targets dispersed throughout the phantom volume, using a limited region of surface data to drive the nonrigid registration algorithm, while rigid registration resulted in a mean TRE of 9.5 mm. In addition, we studied the effect of surface data extent, the inclusion of subsurface data, the trade-offs of using a nonlinear tissue model, robustness to rigid misalignments, and the feasibility in five clinical datasets.


Pathogens, which alternate between environmental reservoirs and a mammalian host, frequently use thermal sensing devices to adjust virulence gene expression. Here, we identify the Yersinia virulence regulator RovA as a protein thermometer. Thermal shifts encountered upon host entry lead to a reversible conformational change of the autoactivator, which reduces its DNA-binding functions and renders it more susceptible for proteolysis. Cooperative binding of RovA to its target promoters is significantly reduced at 37°C, indicating that temperature control of rovA transcription is primarily based on the autoregulatory loop. Thermally induced reduction of DNA-binding is accompanied by an enhanced degradation of RovA, primarily by the Lon protease. This process is also subject to growth phase control. Studies with modified/chimeric RovA proteins indicate that amino acid residues in the vicinity of the central DNA-binding domain are important for proteolytic susceptibility. Our results establish RovA as an intrinsic temperature-sensing protein in which thermally induced conformational changes interfere with DNA-binding capacity, and secondarily render RovA susceptible to proteolytic degradation.


The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth knowledge about children with disabilities' lived experiences of participation in regular schools in Austria. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 5 children. Data were analyzed according to the descriptive phenomenological method. Children with disabilities appreciated attending regular schools. Being a part of school life was identified to include experiences of participation and nonparticipation. Different aspects of the environment influence experiences of participation and awareness of differences are facilitated through interaction with peers. Together, the findings complement empirical insights to the understanding of experienced and performed involvement combined with subjective dimensions of environmental features that influence participation.


Catechol-containing polymers have attracted much attention in recent years because of their versatile mussel-inspired adhesive function. We report herein the facile synthesis of 4-/3-substituted catechols using the Mannich reaction of catechol with formaldehyde and secondary amines. The reaction proceeds smoothly in water without any catalyst. Separation of the desired products is important for the success of this methodology, and was achieved by a pH-controlled solvent extraction and recrystallization process. The synthesized functional catechols not only exhibited dopamine-like oxidative cross-linking, but also possessed functional groups that are useful for the synthesis of catechol-containing polymers. As a proof-of-concept application, two functional catechols, one bearing monohydroxyl and the other bearing dihydroxyl groups at the 4-aminomethyl substituent, were incorporated into polyacrylate and polyurethane backbones, respectively, endowing these polymers with excellent coatability on various surfaces.


Purpose: Urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder and upper tract is prevalent. By subjecting a documented transcriptome data set of urothelial carcinoma of bladder (GSE31684) to data mining and focusing on genes linked to peptidase activity (GO:0008233), we recognized C1S as the most significantly upregulated gene related to an advanced tumor status and metastasis. We subsequently analyzed the association of both C1S mRNA and its encoded protein expression with the clinical and pathological significance. Materials and Methods: We used real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to detect C1S transcription levels in 20 cases each of urothelial carcinoma of bladder and upper tract. An immunohistochemical stain was conducted to determine C1s protein expression levels in patients with urothelial carcinoma of upper tract (n = 340) and urinary bladder (n = 295). Furthermore, we examined the correlation of C1s expression with clinicopathological characteristics, disease-specific survival, and metastasis-free survival. Results: C1S transcription levels were significantly high in patients with advanced-stage tumors of both groups (all P < .05). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that C1s expression levels were significantly associated with adverse clinicopathological parameters in both groups of urothelial carcinoma (all P < .05). C1s overexpression predicted poor disease-specific and metastasis-free survival rates for both urothelial carcinoma groups in the univariate analysis, and it was also an independent prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis (all P < .05). Conclusions: C1s may play a pivotal role in urothelial carcinoma progress and can represent a vital prognostic marker and a promising new therapeutic target in urothelial carcinoma.


Since 1948, this Series has filled the gap between the papers that report and the textbooks that teach in the diverse areas of catalysis research. The editors of and contributors to Advances in Catalysis are dedicated to recording progress in this area. Each volume of Advances in Catalysis contains articles covering a subject of broad interest.


As part of the German GEOMAUD-expedition an aeromagnetic survey was carried out in Central Queen Maud Land. The helicopter-borne survey was designed in a conventional form of a regional survey with a spacing of profile-lines of 4.4 km. Due to terrain considerations - surveying from the coast across the mountain ranges to the high altitudes of the polar plateau - the survey was split into two sections flown at different constant levels. Over the coastal part survey elevation was 570 m (above sea level) while for the mountain section 2845 m was chosen. Both survey parts were processed separately. The low level section was upward continued before merging with the high level section. Though this leads to a homogeneous magnetic anomaly map, in some applications it may be more advantageous to present the anomalies of the magnetic field in original survey levels as a simple combined map because small scale features are preserved and can be used in recognizing magnetic units and patterns for geological/geophysical interpretation.


Due to the introduction of telecommunication tech- nologies in telemedicine services, the expeditious development of wireless and mobile networks has stimulated wide applications of mobile electronic healthcare systems. However, security is an essential system requirement since many patients have privacy concerns when it comes to releasing their personal information over the open wireless channels. For this reason, this study discusses the characteristics and security issues with wireless and pervasive data communications for a ubiquitous and mobile healthcare system which consists of a number of mobile devices and sensors attached to a patient. These devices form a mobile ad hoc sensor network and collect data that are sent to a hospital or healthcare center for monitoring. Subsequently, this paper discusses the innovation and design of a novel trust evaluation model. We then propose a secure multicast strategy that employs trust in order to evaluate the behavior of each node, so that only trustworthy nodes are allowed to participate in communications, while the misbehavior of malicious nodes is effectively prevented. We analyze the security properties of our multicast scheme and evaluate its performance based on simulation experiments. Our experimental results demonstrate that our scheme not only achieves the necessary data transmission in mobile environments, but also provides more security with reasonably little additional overhead.


There is a limited number of treatment options for patients with corticosteroid refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to evaluate tacrolimus for induction of remission in these patients.

 MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Clinicaltrials.gov and ICTRP were searched up to October, 2021 to identify all relevant randomised contolled trials (RCTs). The authors independently reviewed potentially relevant studies to determine eligibility based on pre-specified criteria. A data extraction form was developed and used to extract data from included studies. Data were analysed using Review Manager. The primary outcomes were induction of remission and clinical improvement, as defined by the studies.

 Five RCTs were included with a total of, 347 participants with active UC. There is low certainty (oral and rectal) tacrolimus may be superior for clinical remission when compared to placebo (14/87 to, 1/61, RR, 3.76, 95% CI, 1.03 to, 13.73). There is low certainty (oral and rectal) tacrolimus may be superior for clinical improvement when compared to placebo (45/87 to, 7/61, RR, 4.47, 95% CI, 2.15 to, 9.29. The results on adverse events are of very low certainty and no conclusions can be drawn. There is low certainty there may be no difference in achievement of clinical remission when tacrolimus suppositories (16/44) were compared to beclomethasone (15/44) (RR, 1.07, 95% CI, 0.60 to, 1.88). There is low certainty there may be no difference in clinical improvement when tacrolimus suppositories (22/44) were compared to beclomethasone (22/44) (RR, 1.00, 95% CI, 0.66 to, 1.88). There is low cerainty there may be no difference in serious adverse events when tacrolimus suppositories (1/44) were compared to placebo suppositories (0/44) (RR, 1.00, 95% CI, 0.13 to, 71.70) and total adverse events (21/44 to, 14/44) (RR, 1.50, 95% CI, 0.88 to, 2.55). The evidence on the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus compared to cyclosporine is of very low quality and no conclusions can be drawn.

 The cohorts studied are small, with missing data sets, short follow-up, and the clinical endpoints used are not in line with those suggested by regulatory bodies. No clinical practice conclusions can be made.This review highlights the need for further research that targets relevant clinical questions, uses appropriate trial methodology, and reports key findings in a systematic manner that facilitates future integration of findings with current evidence to better inform clinicians and patients. Future studies need to be adequately powered and of pertinent duration to capture the effectiveness of tacrolimus in the medium-to-long term. Well-structured efficacy studies need to be followed up by long-term phase, 4 extensions to provide key outputs and inform a real-world setting.


Atopic disorders including allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy, and dermatitis, are increasingly prevalent in Western societies. These disorders are largely characterized by T helper type 2 (Th2) immune responses to environmental triggers, particularly inhaled and dietary allergens. Exposure to such stimuli during early childhood reduces the frequency of allergies in at-risk children. These allergic responses can be restrained by regulatory T cells (Tregs), particularly Tregs arising in the gut. The unique attributes of how early life exposure to diet and microbes shape the intestinal Treg population is a topic of significant interest. While imprinting during early life promotes the development of a balanced immune system and protects against immunopathology, it remains unclear if Tregs that develop in early life continue to restrain systemic inflammatory responses throughout adulthood. Here, an inducible deletion strategy was used to label Tregs at specified time points with a targeted mechanism to be deleted later. Deletion of the Tregs labeled peri-weaning at day of life 24, but not before weaning at day of life 14, resulted in increased circulating IgE and IL-13, and abrogated induction of tolerance towards new antigens. Thus, Tregs developing peri-weaning, but not before day of life 14 are continually required to restrain allergic responses into adulthood.


Abstract: This paper analyzes two indexes in order to capture the volatility inherent in El Ninos Southern Oscillations (ENSO), develops the relationship between the strength of ENSO and greenhouse gas emissions, which increase as the economy grows, with carbon dioxide being the major greenhouse gas, and examines how these gases affect the frequency and strength of El Nino on the global economy. The empirical results show that both the ARMA(1,1)-GARCH(1,1) and ARMA(3,2)-GJR(1,1) models are suitable for modelling ENSO volatility accurately, and that 1998 is a turning point, which indicates that the ENSO strength has increased since 1998. Moreover, the increasing ENSO strength is due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The ENSO strengths for Sea Surface Temperature (SST) are predicted for the year 2030 to increase from 29.62% to 81.5% if global CO 2 emissions increase by 40% to 110%, respectively. This indicates that we will be faced with even stronger El Nino or La Nina effects in the future if global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase unabated.


Purpose: This study was designed to explore the parental stress, behaviors and need for parental education of young women with breast cancer and how these variables are related to their children characteristics. Methods: The subjects were 110 young women with breast cancer who have a child. Data were collected using questionnaire of parenting stress, parental behaviors and need for parental education. Results: The subjects reported many unmet needs for parental education, and have the highest level of need for education related to breast cancer. Women with daughters have higher level of need for parental education compared to subjects with sons. There was a negative correlation between parenting stress and parental behaviors and between parenting stress and need of parental education. Conclusion: As these results, the development and application of parental education program for mothers with breast cancer in the future should be considered with the demographic characteristics, the social and cultural environment, parenting stress, and parental behaviors of parents and children.


: Transmigration of mandibular canines across the midline is rare. Two 14-year-old female patients from South India were found to exhibit this phenomenon. In one patient, the mandibular right canine had crossed the midline and migrated to the left, up to the mesial root apex of the permanent first molar, near the lower border of the mandible. In the other patient, the permanent mandibular left canine had crossed the midline and migrated up to the root of the mandibular right canine. Both of these patients are being observed regularly for further migration. The literature on this rare condition is reviewed and its etiologic possibilities and treatment modalities are discussed.


The status of the sulphur goatfish Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier, 1829 population in the Iraqi marine waters, north-west of the Arabian Gulf was assessed using FiSAT program from March 2007 to September 2008. A total of 7574 specimens of U. sulphureus   were collected by trawl net, their lengths ranged from 5 to 17cm. Length-weight relationship was W = 0.0621 L3.0125. The growth parameters estimated were L∞= 18.85cm and K= 0.72. The growth performance index (ø) of the species was computed as 2.36. Total mortality rate (Z) was computed as 2.43, natural mortality rate (M) was 1.85, fishing mortality rate (F) was 0.58 and the exploitation ratio was 0.32. The values of F and E of U. sulphureus obtained in the present study were lower than those recorded for the same species in the previous studies, whereas the population of the species exposed to higher natural mortality rate. The results indicated that the present levels of E and F were lower than those of the maximum (Y/R)'.


The acid lavas forming the more easterly part of the northern coast of Jersey have been the subject of investigation by many geologists. M. de Lapparent, in a note on the eruptive rocks of the Isle of Jersey published in 1884, summarized these accounts, and his paper was extensively quoted by M. Noury in his 'Geólogie de Jersey,' published a few years later, the quotations including those paragraphs which relate to the work of previous authors. The earliest is that of Macculloch, in 1817, in which a hornstoneporphyry is noticed from this neighbourhood. A geological map of the island was published by A. Transon in 1851, in which the northern half of Boulay Bay is represented as being occupied by porphyries, the southern by grit, while the line of demarcation between the latter rock and the more easterly conglomerate is correctly indicated. In 1879 the 'spherular character' of the rhyolites of Boulay Bay was briefly noticed by Mr. Thomas Davies, principally from specimens supplied to him by Dr. Dunlop, of Jersey. M. Noury, in his work, supplements his quotations from M. de Lapparent with additional observations of his own on the characteristics and origin of the structures exhibited by the rhyolite, at the same time giving a map wherein the principal locality at which pyromerides occur is indicated. Since the publication of Noury's book, a few notes on Jersey have been intercalated in some general observations on the Channel islands by M. A. Bigot; and the Rev. Edwin Hill has


The Tertiary Eurekan orogen of northernmost North America differs from a standard fold-and-thrust belt in several respects. It lacks a metamorphic-plutonic hinterland and wedge-shaped profile; instead, 2-km-high mountains of southeast Ellesmere Island face the frontal thrust, whereas halotectonic polygons, gentle warps, and subdued topography extend from Axel Heiberg Island in the center of the system back to the Sverdrup Rim at its rear. Clastic deposits are not located in a single flexural foredeep but are distributed in topographic lows amid several thrust sheets. The age of the stratigraphy, amount of displacement, and intensity of strain all increase cratonward, and the system9s width-to-length ratio is anomalously high. The orogen is attributed to Greenland9s pivotal movement relative to North America, which formed a braided Cenozoic plate boundary in Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, not a single transform in Nares Strait as previously proposed. The three major strands of this braided system are the Parrish Glacier, Vesle Fiord, and Stolz thrusts. They die out toward a structural pole of rotation in the south, whereas to the north, movement is accommodated by a dextral transpression zone extending from Lake Hazen to northern Greenland. Field studies on Ellesmere Island combined with a regional synthesis of previous work show that Eurekan deformation style is indicative of pivotal tectonism, that the contraction necessary to accommodate Greenland9s displacement is similar in magnitude to that documented by Eurekan structures, and that the ages of continental structures are compatible with the paleomagnetic record of seafloor spreading in Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay. Previously proposed sinistral strike-slip displacement is not confirmed; rather, eastvergent thrusts and dextral wrench faults typify the system. We propose that the Eurekan orogeny marked a change from tip propagation to pivotal tectonism as the North Atlantic rift system penetrated the entire width of the Laurasian continent.


After the successes of flotation of waste-activated sludge (WAS), using the new technique utilizing CO 2 gas as well as using model gas (80% N 2 +20% CO 2 ) in previous research because of the high water solubility of CO 2 gas, the aim of this study is to develop a simple method for dewatering WAS for easier reuse and safe disposal. The paper introduces a laboratory model for dewatering WAS in two stages: flotation followed by filtration. The first stage enables recycling a mixture of greenhouse gases containing 20% of CO 2 and 80% of N 2 gases by volume. The second stage uses a simple compression cell for dewatering WAS. Experiments were carried out to reduce the moisture content and volume of WAS. This was executed using compression force introduced by a low value of air pressure. Using the experimental dewatering model, promising results were obtained. Furthermore, other data were obtained, such as the effect of temperature on the efficiency of dewaterability. It is hoped that the results of this study will lead to further study of collecting industrial CO 2 gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for use in wastewater treatment to decrease the resulting harmful effects of global warming.


Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur widely in the uppermost millimeters of the soil in arid and semi-arid systems. Worldwide they cover large terrestrial areas and play a major role in the global terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycles. However, knowledge of the microbial decomposer foodwebs within biocrusts is particularly scarce. Heterotrophic protists in soil are predominantly bacterivores, and because of their high biomass compared with other soil fauna and fast turnover rates, protists are considered an important factor for soil nutrient cycling and energy fluxes. Thus, knowledge of their biodiversity, abundance and functional roles is important to understand soil ecosystem functions. We investigated the diversity and abundance of heterotrophic soil protists in different types of biocrusts from the Succulent Karoo, South Africa. With an overall diversity of 23 distinct morphotypes, soil protist biodiversity was shown to be high. The most abundant groups were Spumella-like chrysomonads, gliding bodonids, glissomonads and heteroloboseans. Protist abundance was highly variable among samples. The abundance and diversity did not differ significantly among different types of biocrusts, indicating that microscale differences, but not macroscopic soil crust builders (e.g. cyanobacteria, lichens and bryophytes), have a major impact on the protist community.


This paper formulates and estimates a structural intertemporal model of a woman's household participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and her likelihood of being obese. We use an economic model of lifetime behavior in a finite life model to provide the structure of the econometric model, instrumental variable estimation is applied to control for endogeneity of SNAP participation decision, and individual fixed effects control for individual heterogeneity in panel data. Primary data are the panel, NLSY 79 with geocodes. We find that if a woman is in a SNAP household her BMI and probability of being obese are reduced by 15.7% and 56.3 percentage points, respectively. However, individual fixed effects account for much of the variation in her BMI and probability of being obese, suggesting early life attention to women's weight is an important public policy issue.


An increasing number of studies in the environmental and resource economic literature suggest that preferences for changes or improvements in environmental amenities, from water quality to recreation, are spatially heterogeneous. One of these effects in particular, distance decay, suggests that respondents exhibit a higher willingness to pay (WTP) the closer they live to a proposed environmental improvement and vice versa. The importance of spatial effects cannot be underestimated. Several of these studies find significant biases in aggregate WTP values, and therefore social welfare, from models that disregard spatial factors. This relationship between spatial aspects and preferences, however, remains largely ignored in the non-market valuation literature applied to valuing preferences for renewable energy, generally, and wind power, specifically. To our knowledge, fourteen peer-reviewed studies have been conducted to estimate stated preferences (SP) for onshore and/or offshore wind development, yet less than half of those utilize any measure to account for the relationship between spatial effects and preferences. Fewer still undertake more robust measures that account for these spatially dependent relationships, such as via GIS, outside incorporating a single 'distance' attribute within the choice experiment (CE) referenda. This paper first reviews the methodologies of the SP wind valuation studies that have integrated measure(s) to account for spatial effects. We then categorize these effects into three dimensions—distance to a proposed wind project, distance to existing wind project(s), and cumulative effects—supporting each with a discussion of significant findings, including those found in the wind hedonic and acceptance literature. Policy implications that can be leveraged to maximize social welfare when siting future wind projects as well as recommendations for additional research to control for preference spatial heterogeneity in wind CEs are also posited.


The goal of this study is to examine the factors that have effected the trend in CEO salary levels in companies traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange during the last 15 years. To this end, use is made of the largest sample of personal and salary data gathered so far in Israel on CEOs in publicly-traded companies. The main finding is that CEO salaries are positively correlated with the size of the firm's assets and its performance (on the stock exchange and according to its financial statements). At the same time, it was found that the sensitivity of salaries to firm performance has declined over the years, to the point where during the last five years of the sample period firm performance did not explain CEO salaries. Furthermore, the CEO is compensated for the firm's relative performance, such that if the firm's profit is low relative to other firms in the same industry, the CEO's salary will decline and vice versa. In addition, the elasticity of the CEO's salary with respect to a company's performance is not dependent on its size: there is no difference in elasticity between large and small companies. With respect to the business cycle, it was found that the sensitivity of salaries to firm performance was in fact higher during recession years. It was also found that CEOs are not compensated for the firm's long-term performance but only its short-term performance (up to a two-year lag). This study also examines, for the first time, the phenomenon of Co-CEOs. Salary gaps between two CEOs in the same company during the same period were found. The gaps are dependent on the holdings of the CEOs, their seniority, their education and their functions on the Board of Directors. Another area examined in the study is the correlation between the turnover of CEOs and firm's performance. It was found that a decline in performance as reflected in the firm's financial statements increases the probability of replacement. In contrast, performance on the stock market operates in the opposite direction, such that a CEO will prefer to leave a company at its "peak" in order to present enhanced personal achievements to the next company he will be managing.


Loss of habitat and predation are two of the primary reasons given for recent bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) population declines in the southeastern United States. However, the bobwhite quail remains a favored game species of many hunters throughout the southeastern states, a fact that is reflected in the many private and commercial quail plantations advertising quail hunts. A survey of private and commercial landowners in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida was conducted to determine the significance of predator control programs in the respondents' management plans. Survey questions aimed to assess the respondents' attitudes towards predators of bobwhite quail, the extent to which predators were controlled, and the perceived return of the implemented predator control programs. Results will be examined for which mammalian predator species are more commonly removed, which predator control practices are most common, and the cost and perceived return of such practices between private and commercial quail plantation owners and among the southeastern states.


Serum cortisol concentration was evaluated in 71 dogs before and after a stressful procedure was performed. Thirty dogs were skin tested with sedation (group S), 21 dogs were skin tested without sedation (group NS), and 20 dogs had other dermatologic procedures performed (group C). Group-S dogs had significant (P less than 0.001) decrease in serum cortisol concentration after skin testing, compared with baseline values. In contrast, dogs of groups NS and C had significant (P less than 0.001) increase in poststress serum cortisol concentration. Mean cortisol concentration after stress was significantly lower for dogs of group S, compared with that for dogs of the other 2 groups. The second part of the analysis consisted of determining the number of false-negative skin test results for dogs of groups S and NS and comparing these with serum cortisol concentration. Difference in the number of suspected atopic dogs with negative skin test results (false-negative) was not evident between groups S and NS. Also, difference was not apparent between cortisol concentration in dogs that had positive or false-negative skin test results in either group. This finding indicates that high serum cortisol concentration does not affect results of skin testing in suspected atopic dogs.


The skeleton, populated by large numbers of osteoblasts and long‐lived osteocytes, requires a constant supply of energy‐rich molecules to fuel the synthesis, deposition and mineralization of bone matrix during bone modelling and remodelling. When these energetic demands are not met, bone acquisition is suppressed. Recent findings suggest that key developmental signals emanating from Wnt low‐density lipoprotein‐related receptor 5 and hypoxia‐inducible factor pathways impact osteoblast bioenergetics to accommodate the energy requirements for bone cells to fulfil their function. In vivo studies in several mutant mouse strains have confirmed a link between bone cells and global metabolism, ultimately leading to the identification of hormonal interactions between the skeleton and other tissues. The hormones insulin and leptin affect postnatal bone acquisition, whilst osteocalcin produced by the osteoblast in turn stimulates insulin secretion by the pancreas. These observations have prompted additional questions regarding the nature of the mechanisms of fuel sensing and processing in the osteoblast and their contribution to overall energy utilization and homeostasis. Answers to such questions should advance our understanding of metabolic diseases and may ultimately improve management of affected patients. In this review, we highlight recent studies in this field and offer a perspective on the evolutionary implications of bone as a metabolic endocrine organ.


Too many managers are burned out on strategic change. They have lived through the scenario in which the CEO announces a bold initiative designed to dramatically lift performance. The initiative calls for sweeping changes in the company's processes, systems and culture; it unfolds with great fanfare and large resource investments. Later, managers look back and wonder what went wrong. Even when there are some short-term gains, it's common for the organization to slip back into old ways of doing things. Employees typically dismiss the initiative as just another "flavor of the month" exercise. This article argues for a system that enables change initiatives to stick. The authors use a detailed case study (a large clothing retailer disguised as "Apparelizm Corp.") to demonstrate what it takes to produce sustainable changes in processes, behavior or performance. The study uncovered four critical processes - chartering, learning, mobilizing and realigning - that pave the way for successful institutionalization of a strategic change initiative. The elements rely much more on an understanding of the mix of task-related, emotional and behavioral factors than is fashionable in today's metrics-driven environment. The article also highlights the study's divergence from conventional wisdom about programmatic change. Whereas most prior research has emphasized early articulation of a sense of urgency, the authors found that managers need to set in motion a series of processes right at the start if widespread changes are to stick. They must reshape the organizational structure, demonstrate that processes are fair and legitimate, and employ a range of open approaches to engage people's emotions if they want strategic initiatives to become more than the latest flavor of the month.


Bentonite clay is intended to form one of the barriers in most repositories of spent nuclear fuel located in granite. One important function of the bentonite barrier is to retard transport of radionuclides in the event of waste canister failure. Bentonite has a high sorption capacity of cations and its main constituent is montmorillonite. In contact with groundwater of low ionic strength, montmorillonite colloids can be released from bentonite and thereby control transport of radionuclides sorbed onto the colloids.In colloid transport in bedrock fractures, size separation of clay colloids may occur due to physical and chemical interactions with the bedrock fracture surface. This may enhance or retard the overall transport of radionuclides, depending on the sorption capacities and stability of the differently sized clay colloids. The bentonite barrier will be exposed to γ-radiation from the spent nuclear fuel. Irradiation affects surface-related properties of bentonite. If an average sorption capacity value cannot be used for all colloid sizes or if sorption is affected by exposure to γ-irradiation, corrected sorption capacity values would give higher resolution in current reactive transport models.In order to study the size separation process, a protocol was developed and successfully applied to fractionate montmorillonite into different-sized colloid suspensions by means of sequential or direct centrifugation. The stability and sorption capacity were studied using these fractions. Both stability and sorption capacity were found to be similar for all colloid sizes.Bentonite exposed to γ-radiation sorbed less divalent cations with increasing radiation dose. The effect was not large enough to have any impact on diffusion. The presence of bentonite enhanced irradiation-induced corrosion of copper under anaerobic atmosphere.An average sorption capacity value for montmorillonite can be used for all colloid sizes in reactive transport models. The effect of γ-irradiation on sorption capacity is sufficiently large to require consideration in transport modelling.


At the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) Proton Therapy Center (GPTC), a novel and advantageous form of radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer is available. This treatment technique, referred as proton therapy, uses charged particles (protons) to irradiate, and consequently, damage the tumour. Due to the physical properties of protons, proton therapy allows to successfully kill the tumour, while sparing the adjacent healthy tissue from any damaging radiation. The tumours within liver, lung, and oesophageal cancer patients move due to the patients' respiration. These moving tumours are surrounded by organs (heart, lung, spinal cord, and oesophagus), which need to be spared from radiation. This is why proton therapy is particularly valuable for these patients. However, the interference of the movement of these tumours with the highly precise proton therapy machine, brings a challenge for the execution of their treatments at the GPTC, and other proton centres. The work performed throughout this thesis focuses on achieving optimal and safe proton treatments for moving tumours. To complete this, we performed comprehensive and representative analysis with clinical patient data and proton machine specific information of our department. The tools developed and the results obtained contributed to the start of the treatment of moving tumours at the GPTC, and therefore we believe they will play an important role for the proton therapy community in general. We aim to extend our gained experience to all proton centres worldwide, so that moving tumours can take advantage of the clinical benefits expected from proton therapy.


This paper shares electrical work practices and recommends additional training and qualifications for industrial electrical workers. It introduces new work methods to safely work with special electrical hazards for power electronics equipment and underground electrical distribution equipment. The paper will be of most interest to industry, outdoor electrical construction workers, manufacturers, and other institutions where a variety of this type of equipment exists. These work methods have recently been placed in practice at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden CO.


This study is aimed at investigating the impact of poverty alleviation programmes on economic growth in Nigeria. Using data covering the period 1981 to 2013. Based on empirical study, it is observed that poverty is multidimensional and its persistence is due to lack of productive resources. The paper notes that successive regimes in Nigeria have been introducing different programmes to alleviate poverty. The Nigerian case reveal that the major constraint to improving the standard of living of the poor is capital (finance). This has restricted their extensive participation in economic activities which could improve their lives. This study therefore adopts the Bounds Testing (Autoregressive Distributed Lag, ARDL) approach to long-run analysis, the result shows that in the short-run PRCEA and PRCESCS contributed positively to changes in RGDP but FD showed negative sign. This means that government expenditure on economic services and per capita expenditure on other social and community services contribute positively in alleviating poverty in Nigeria. While Fiscal Deficit which represents the level of good governance impacts negatively on economic growth, this implies that (FD) does not contribute to alleviating poverty in the short run but does at the long run. However, this paper maintained that continuous improvement and re-structuring of programmes targeted at alleviating poverty through increase in capital expenditure on economic, social and community services and qualitative governance would alleviate poverty in Nigeria.


Bone remodeling is a physiological process determined by the sequential and coordinated interaction of osteocytes, osteoclasts, osteoblasts and angiogenesis. During bone repair, osteoblastic cells, originated from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are highly regulated to proliferate and to produce an osteogenic matrix, thus forming a new bone. MSCs are multipotential and undifferentiated cells that are present in the adult bone marrow. They serve in vitro and in vivoas precursors for bone marrow stroma, bone, fat, cartilage, muscle (smooth, cardiac and skeletal) and neural cells. MSCs are usually isolated from adult bone marrow but can also be isolated from several other tissues, such as fetal liver, adult circulating blood, umbilical cord blood, placenta or adipose tissue. In the bone marrow, MSCs give rise to mesenchymal cells residing in the bone (osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic cells) and also support hematopoiesis. Therefore, MSCs regulate both osteogenesis and hematopoiesis, and they are responsible in part for the regenerative capacity of bone tissue. Acquisition of such a phenotype may be also regarded through the modification of the ionic channel expression. This review highlights current status and progresses in the differentiation MSCs along the osteoblastic/osteocytic pathways and the ionic channel expression and evolution during this differentiation.

 Key words: Mesenchymal stem cells, osteoblastic differentiation, ionic channels.


Verified small-scale gold mining was carried on by Indians and Spaniards in New Mexico, Arizona, southern Colorado, and possibly in the southeastern United States (Becker, 1894, p. 289-290). However, gold was first discovered with certainty in the southeastern states in the Virginia Piedmont as first reported and described by Thomas Jefferson in 1782 (Jefferson, 1787) along the Rappabannock River northwest of Fredricksburg, VA. In 1799 the first very large gold nugget (the Reid nugget) was found near Georgeville, N.C. (Pardee & Park, 1948, p. 27). From that time on gold placers, saprolite ore, and the gold quartz-lode mining expanded rapidly from northern Virginia southwestward into eastern Alabama, in the gold belt of the southeastern Piedmont. Gold mining was an important industry, and two mints were established at Charlotte, N.C. and Dahlonega, Georgia by the U.S. Government. All mining ceased and the mints were closed during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The Piedmont gold belt (Pardee & Park, 1948, p. 2 and 9), which geologically resemble the Mother Lode gold belt in California, had a small revival of lode and placer gold mining after the war into the early 20th century. An important revival took place in the 1930's, but it was stopped in 1942 by the U.S. Government's closing of the gold mines. Another revival began in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's with prospecting in the belt away from cities, and three large open pit gold mines opened in South Carolina, which are still in operation in 1995. Massive sulfide deposits of copper, copper-zinc, and copper-zinc-lead in the southeast and east (Kinkel, 1967) and large skarn deposits of magnetite-copper ores in Pennsylvania have produced byproduct gold and silver. The potential of gold is in almost every Appalachian state, and in Wisconsin, and Michigan. With the closure of the Cornwall and Morgantown skarn deposits in Pennsylvania, the massive sulfide deposits of Ducktown, Tennessee and in north-central Wisconsin are the main sources of byproduct gold. Many massive sulfide deposits are known in the southern Piedmont interspaced between the lode gold deposits, but none are producing at present (Production of deposits of all types has been prevented in the eastern states due to coastal growth of cities). Many deposits are in small rich veins or lodes and are of no interest to the large major companies producing gold in the latter part of the 20th century. The central and south-central states of the nation contain very little known gold. North of the Pleistocene glacial front a little quantities of gold were produced by small placer mining in the 19th century in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. In the north-central states in the 1970's and 1980's large volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits were found in north-central and north-eastern Wisconsin in a belt of poorly exposed intermediate to felsic metavolcanic Precambrian rocks of about 1,900 m.y. in age, originally mapped and defined by Carl E. Dutton (Dutton & Bradley, 1970). One of these deposits is now in production. A lode gold deposit (Rope gold mine) northwest of Marquette, Michigan was mined in 1989 into the early 1990's. Other massive sulfide deposits with copper, or copper and zinc, and with byproduct gold are known in the central Adirondacks, near Peekshill, N.Y., western Massachusetts, eastern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and in Maine but none are in production at present. Lode gold deposits are rare or absent in the same region. The total recorded gold production into the 1980's in the eastern and central states has been more than 2,600,000 troy ounces valued at about $ 51,000,000 at the time of production.


This paper, based on magnetic fluid dynamics, combined with the air leakage of sintering machine, proposes a new type of magnetic fluid sealing device in sintering machine. According to the sealing mechanism of MHD as well as Bernoulli equation, the sealing theory--pressure difference equation in static sealing by magnetic fluid is deduced for the actual model of sintering machine. By using ansys finite element simulation software, the two-dimensional numerical simulation of thermal magnetic- coupling inside of sealing device is set up, the effects of different temperature on the magnetic properties are analyzed and the best sealing performance is found, that is when the edge temperature of the sealing device is controlled from 30°C to 80°C.


BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
Patients with schizophrenia often suffer from comorbid hepatic disease. This multicenter, open-label, single-arm, crossover study evaluated the safety and efficacy of paliperidone extended-release (ER) in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and hepatic disease.

METHODS
The study comprised a screening period, followed by 9 weeks' open-label treatment, divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 (4 weeks) was a continuation of usual antipsychotic treatment (UAT); phase 2 (5 weeks) consisted of a 1-week cross-titration from UAT to flexibly dosed paliperidone ER (3-12 mg/d), followed by 4 weeks of paliperidone ER alone. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), including those considered more relevant to antipsychotic treatment (prespecified adverse events [AEs]), were analyzed.

RESULTS
Although more subjects reported TEAEs during the paliperidone ER alone period than during the UAT period, no significant differences occurred in prespecified AE rates. No new safety signals were detected, and minimal shifts in liver function test values were observed. Improvements in psychiatric symptoms and functioning were observed after 4 weeks' paliperidone ER treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that paliperidone ER is well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and hepatic disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest prospective study to date in this population.


Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Lauri Kovanen Name of the doctoral dissertation Computational analysis of large and time-dependent social networks Publisher School of Science Unit Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 81/2013 Field of research Manuscript submitted 12 February 2013 Date of the defence 16 May 2013 Permission to publish granted (date) 27 March 2013 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Abstract Complex systems consist of a large number of elements that interact in a non-trivial way; for example the human brain, society, Internet, and biological organisms can all be modelled as complex systems. Complex systems can be naturally represented as networks, mathematical objects that consist of nodes and edges connecting these nodes, and the study of large networks based on empirical data has become known as complex networks. Since the first articles on complex networks appeared in the end of the 1990's, various technological, biological, and social networks have been analyzed. In recent years introductory text books on the subject have also been published. The study of social networks of course has a longer history. Small social networks have been studied for decades in sociology, social psychology and anthropology, and the influence that social networks have on both performance and well being of individuals has been well documented. The availability of electronic communication records—mobile phone calls, emails, online social networking sites and even multiplayer computer games—have changed the scale and detail at which social networks can be analyzed. The largest data set studied so far includes over 700 million individuals, and the mobile phone call records studied in this Thesis contain information of over 6 million people. The combination of powerful computers and large data sets have enabled the emergence of computational social science. Several aspects of large social networks are studied in this Thesis. Models of social networks are commonly used as a way to gain insight about the structure of these networks. The first article studies a number of models suggested for social networks and discusses their advantages and shortcomings. The community structure of various networks has also been a subject of great interest. It is widely accepted that nearly all networks have modular structure, evidenced by local densifications of connectivity. However, identifying communities in empirical data has turned out to be difficult both theoretically and in practice. We apply three state-of-art community detections methods to a large social network and evaluate the quality of the identified communities. One important aspect of human interactions is omitted when analyzing networks: time. Temporal networks have become a common framework for studying data sets where the relations between nodes vary with time, and this framework can be readily applied to study mobile phone calls. The last part of this Thesis introduces the concept of temporal motifs— recurring patterns of events in temporal networks—that can be used to analyze the meso-scale structure of temporal networks.Complex systems consist of a large number of elements that interact in a non-trivial way; for example the human brain, society, Internet, and biological organisms can all be modelled as complex systems. Complex systems can be naturally represented as networks, mathematical objects that consist of nodes and edges connecting these nodes, and the study of large networks based on empirical data has become known as complex networks. Since the first articles on complex networks appeared in the end of the 1990's, various technological, biological, and social networks have been analyzed. In recent years introductory text books on the subject have also been published. The study of social networks of course has a longer history. Small social networks have been studied for decades in sociology, social psychology and anthropology, and the influence that social networks have on both performance and well being of individuals has been well documented. The availability of electronic communication records—mobile phone calls, emails, online social networking sites and even multiplayer computer games—have changed the scale and detail at which social networks can be analyzed. The largest data set studied so far includes over 700 million individuals, and the mobile phone call records studied in this Thesis contain information of over 6 million people. The combination of powerful computers and large data sets have enabled the emergence of computational social science. Several aspects of large social networks are studied in this Thesis. Models of social networks are commonly used as a way to gain insight about the structure of these networks. The first article studies a number of models suggested for social networks and discusses their advantages and shortcomings. The community structure of various networks has also been a subject of great interest. It is widely accepted that nearly all networks have modular structure, evidenced by local densifications of connectivity. However, identifying communities in empirical data has turned out to be difficult both theoretically and in practice. We apply three state-of-art community detections methods to a large social network and evaluate the quality of the identified communities. One important aspect of human interactions is omitted when analyzing networks: time. Temporal networks have become a common framework for studying data sets where the relations between nodes vary with time, and this framework can be readily applied to study mobile phone calls. The last part of this Thesis introduces the concept of temporal motifs— recurring patterns of events in temporal networks—that can be used to analyze the meso-scale structure of temporal networks.


OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this retrospective case-control study was to evaluate the influence of different occlusal characteristics and self-referred bruxism in the presence of noncarious cervical lesions (NCCLs).

METHODS AND MATERIALS:
The participants were 280 students (140 cases and 140 controls), with an average age of 24.5 years, from six schools of dentistry in Spain. Clinical examination was carried out to record the NCCLs and the static and dynamic occlusal characteristics. The side of mastication and bruxism was collected by questionnaire. Data variables were analyzed by means of univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Odds ratios and the respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated ( p<0.05).

RESULTS:
The presence of NCCLs was significantly more likely in subjects with protrusive interferences (odds ratio [OR]=1.82); with lateral interferences, especially on the nonworking side (OR= 1.77); or who were self-reported bruxists (OR=1.72). In the multivariate analysis, protrusive interferences, bruxism, age, and the presence of attrition were risk factors for the development of NCCLs. These factors resulted in a model with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.667 and a positive predictive value of 61.43%.

CONCLUSIONS:
There was no significant relationship between most occlusal factors and the presence of NCCLs. Only bruxism, protrusive interferences, age, and occlusal wear were risk factors. The predictive model was not sufficiently explanatory. Occlusal factors alone do not appear to be sufficient to explain the presence of NCCLs.


Extracting a rich representation of an environment from visual sensor readings can benefit many tasks in robotics, e.g., path planning, mapping, and object manipulation. While important progress has been made, it remains a difficult problem to effectively parse entire scenes, i.e., to recognize semantic objects, man-made structures, and landforms. This process requires not only recognizing individual entities but also understanding the contextual relations among them.
The prevalent approach to encode such relationships is to use a joint probabilistic or energy-based model which enables one to naturally write down these interactions. Unfortunately, performing exact inference over these expressive models is often intractable and instead we can only approximate the solutions. While there exists a set of sophisticated approximate inference techniques to choose from, the combination of learning and approximate inference for these expressive models is still poorly understood in theory and limited in practice. Furthermore, using approximate inference on any learned model often leads to suboptimal predictions due to the inherent approximations.
As we ultimately care about predicting the correct labeling of a scene, and not necessarily learning a joint model of the data, this work proposes to instead view the approximate inference process as a modular procedure that is directly trained in order to produce a correct labeling of the scene. Inspired by early hierarchical models in the computer vision literature for scene parsing, the proposed inference procedure is structured to incorporate both feature descriptors and contextual cues computed at multiple resolutions within the scene. We demonstrate that this inference machine framework for parsing scenes via iterated predictions offers the best of both worlds: state-of-the-art classification accuracy and computational efficiency when processing images and/or unorganized 3-D point clouds. Additionally, we address critical problems that arise in practice when parsing scenes on board real-world systems: integrating data from multiple sensor modalities and efficiently processing data that is continuously streaming from the sensors.


The typical limitations of ferroelectric polymers like poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) – low crystallinity and indirect ferroelectric β-phase crystallization – and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) – high materials and processing costs and a low Curie point – are tackled by a simple and industrially viable melt blending approach. Despite the immiscible nature of PVDF and PVDF-TrFE, strong interactions exist between the two polymers, which substantially affect the morphology and texture of the blends as well as their dielectric and ferroelectric properties. Surprisingly, minor amounts of PVDF-TrFE lead to a significant increase in the β-phase content and preferred orientation of PVDF, well beyond the rule-of-mixtures. Moreover, the blends exhibit maximum increases in the dielectric constant of 80% and 30%, respectively, compared with pure PVDF and PVDF-TrFE. The ferroelectric remnant polarization increases from 0.040 to 0.077 C m−2, while the coercive field decreases from 75 to 32 kV mm−1 with increasing PVDF-TrFE content from 0 to 40 wt%. The enhancement of properties is explained by the strong interactions at the interfaces between PVDF and PVDF-TrFE, which also suppress the Curie transition of PVDF-TrFE, providing a potentially increased working temperature range for blended films, which is important in applications like non-volatile energy storage devices, ferroelectric field-effect transistors and touch sensors.


Introduction: Rhythmic gymnastics (RG) is a sport that combines art biomechanical gestures of high complexity, which requires a high level of development of physical qualities such as agility, flexibility, strength, impulsion and dexterity. In this modality studies show that injuries are attributed more articulate knees, ankles, and in some cases ends wrist sprains being the most frequently recorded in athletes in competition level. Therefore, proprioception and muscle control play a fundamental role in dynamic joint stability, since after orthopedic injuries sensorimotor some characteristics are altered and should be focused on rehabilitation programs to get a better return so the activities prior to the injury. Objective: The objective of this project is to evaluate the effect of proprioceptive training on postural balance of athletes in rhythmic gymnastics - RG, from the use of a force platform BIOMEC400 (EMG System do Brazil, Ltda SP). Method: We performed a proprioceptive training in thirty days, in two stages, moving the complexity of the exercises each phase proprioceptive training. Results: We observed that there was a significant improvement in results of training, when it was used more complex exercises and agility exercises before. Conclusion: Because it is athletes RG high performance and present a predominance of activities in one foot, protocols proprioception should be more intensively, generating a higher level of disturbance and postural imbalances.


Genome-wide linkage analysis was carried out in a sample of 497 sib pairs concordant for recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). There was suggestive evidence for linkage on chromosome 1p36 where the LOD score for female-female pairs exceeded 3 (but reduced to 2.73 when corrected for multiple testing). The region includes a gene, MTHFR, that in previous studies has been associated with depressive symptoms. Two other regions, on chromosomes 12q23.3-q24.11 and 13q31.1-q31.3, showed evidence for linkage with a nominal P < 0.01. The 12q peak overlaps with a region previously implicated by linkage studies of unipolar and bipolar disorders and contains a gene, DAO, that has been associated with both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The 13q peak lies within a region previously linked strongly to panic disorder. A fourth modest peak with an LOD of greater than 1 on chromosome 15q lies within a region that showed genome-wide significant evidence of a recurrent depression locus in a previous sib-pair study. Both the 12q and the 15q findings remained significant at genome-wide level when the data from the present study and the previous reports were combined.


The entry presents four steps to model the supply and demand of energy resources using exergy analysis to transform the energy base of cities toward reducing CO2 emissions. These steps put forth a systemic view that shows how the mismatch between the supply and demand of exergy results in an excess of energy spending in current cities. Alongside a guide to the key equations of each step, the reference environments of 40 capital cities around the world are provided for ease of application. An analytical model further indicates a causal relation between exergy mismatches and compound CO2 emissions in the energy system. All steps are then exemplified based on a combined heat and power district heating network in Stockholm as the 2010 Green Capital. This entry shows that it is possible to make a difference in the quest to boost the speed and direction of curbing CO2 emissions through exergy matches as an urban goal for green cities of the future.


The impending increase in the frequency of weather extremes means that there may be an expected increase in drought frequency and severity, leading to more variability in agricultural production. Production variability in turn leads to price volatility, production management challenges and concerns over food security. Several drought measures or indices have been developed, but most are not linked directly to agricultural water demands, or if linked, are based on cumulative seasonal precipitation for relatively large geographic areas. Using cumulative seasonal precipitation assumes that each unit of water has the same effect on yields irrespective of when it occurs. This leads to inaccuracies, because the marginal effect of one inch of rain on yield is extremely high during certain periods of time and almost epsilon at others. In this paper drought is defined using a newly developed measure called the Net Crop Moisture Deficit (NCMD). NCMD has not been used in research previously. NCMD is the difference between, the amounts of water a crop would use with a full water supply, less an estimate of effective rainfall. NCMD is estimated at the county level using a simulation model that incorporates monthly crop water requirements, stored soil moisture and effective monthly precipitation. Preseason soil moisture conditions are incorporated based on inter-seasonal rainfall. Droughts which occurred during the 1980 to 2013 time period were identified based on observed dryland corn yield reductions relative to trend yields. These ground truth results were then compared to NCMD and seasonal precipitation measures of drought to evaluate which measure worked best. The results showed that basing drought classifications on NCMD resulted in improved predictions of yield relative to other drought measures. The positive predictive value, which gives the probability of correctly identifying drought years, was higher for NCMD compared to seasonal precipitation. The negative predictive value, which gives the probability of correctly identifying no drought years, was also higher for NCMD compared to seasonal precipitation. NCMD was also more precise in identifying the severity of drought. The average and marginal effect of NCMD on yield was the same for different annual events within a given county. This means that the NCMD regression coefficients are estimates of the marginal contribution of an inch of effective water to yield. It also means that for a given location the impact per inch doesn't change when the magnitude of the shortage changes. For ex ante analysis regression equations were estimated on grain yields based on the cumulative NCMD value at the end of July. The forecasted yield deviations were compared to the observed yield deviations and to the forecasted values using the full season moisture shortfall. The results showed that there was no statistical difference in the yield prediction using July rather than end of season values. This effectively means that one can forecast the reduction in yield at the end of July.


Power management (PM) enabling rates of personal computers (PCs) must increase in order to maximise the use phase efficiency of PC systems. The use of product integrated feedback to promote optimal use of available PM features is proposed and a method of implementation is demonstrated. Feedback is terms of use phase efficiency is achieved through the use of existing application program interface (API) calling functions. These functions are accessible in all current Microsoft Windows operating systems. The periodic provision of immediate direct feedback on usage in the form of environmental and monetary savings can increase user awareness on usage efficiency. This information used in conjunction with education on optimal configuration of PM settings for an inefficient usage pattern can promote more efficient computing and also serve to mitigate any portion of environmental impact incurred in PC lifetime extension activities.


The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical and empirical explanation of the question: How do conflicts within a party affect its coalitional behaviour insofar as such conflicts may influence the bargaining power of party elites in the parliamentary arena. There are three major themes around which the theoretical explanation is organized. The first theme is that 'party institutionalization' and the nature of intra-party conflicts are important factors in shaping the ability of the party elites to neutralize internal conflicts. The second theme - a particular application of the first - is that the strength of a party in the parliamentary bargaining plane (i.e. its relative bargaining power) lies in its organization weakness. The third theme reveals that political parties, which are characterized by the existence of heterogeneous and diffused mechanisms for internal dissent, can handle internal conflicts in a variety of ways without forcing members to leave the party. Based upon a comparative analysis of intra-party conflicts and minority governments in Denmark, Norway, France, Italy and the U.K., the study suggests that weakly institutionalized parties can enter into conflict inducing coalition negotiations without risking their hold on their membership, whereas inter-party negotiations can lead to disintegration of highly institutionalized parties as members may be forced to leave the party as their primary mechanism for expression of discontent. A major implication of this study is that in multi-party systems in which minority situations occur, the most attractive strategy (i.e. in terms of bargaining power) for highly institutionalized parties occupying a governmental position is the formation of informal minority governments, whereas the most attractive strategy for weakly institutionalized parties is the formation of formal minority governments.


To evaluate the role of vitamin D3 during gestation and lactation of sows, 2 independent experiments were performed with the aim of investigating sow reproductive performance, milk composition (study 1 only), and changes in blood status of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3), 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-(OH)2-D3; study 2 only), minerals, and bone markers of sows during gestation and lactation. Study 1 comprised 39 primi- and multiparous crossbred sows fed 1 of 3 barley meal-based diets fortified with 200 IU/kg vitamin D3 (NRC, 1998; treatment DL), 2,000 IU/kg vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol; treatment DN), or 50 μg 25-OH-D3 (calcidiol; treatment HD)/kg feed. This study was conducted over a 4-parity period under controlled conditions. Study 2, running over 1 parity only, was performed in a commercial farm with 227 primi- and multiparous sows allocated to 2 dietary treatments: control (CON), receiving 2,000 IU vitamin D3/kg (equivalent to 50 μg/kg) feed (114 sows), and test (HYD), supplemented with 50 μg 25-OH-D3/kg feed (113 sows). Blood samples of sows were collected at 84 and 110d postcoitum and 1, 5, and 33 d postpartum (study 1) and at insemination and 28 and 80 d postinsemination as well as d 5 and 28 postpartum (study 2). Colostrum and milk samples in study 1 were obtained at 1, 9, and 33 d of lactation after oxytocin administration. Plasma 25-OH-D3 concentrations were increased (P < 0.05) in sows receiving 25-OH-D3 (HD and HYD) at any time of sampling whereas circulating plasma concentrations of 1,25-(OH)2-D3, Ca, and P were not affected by treatment. Milk concentrations of Ca and P were similar, but 25-OH-D3 content (except in colostrum) was clearly increased (P< 0.05) when 25-OH-D3 was fed. Most characteristics of sow reproductive performance responded similarly to the 2 sources and levels of vitamin D3, but weight gain of piglets between birth and weaning was decreased (P< 0.05) in offspring of DL and HD sows compared with animals of treatment DN (study 1). In study 2 total litter weight and birth weight per piglet were increased (P< 0.05) with 25-OH-D3 supplementation in comparison with the control (CON). Overall, feeding sows with 25-OH-D3 was considered to improve maternal supply with vitamin D3 and thereby maintain Ca homeostasis during gestation and lactation.


"Applied Theories in Occupational Therapy: A Practical Approach" provides a comprehensive overview of theories and frames of reference in occupational therapy. Unlike other texts, there are no distinctions between specialty areas as current and developing theories are applied to a continuum of health and wellness for all age groups. Practical guidelines are included to assist with evaluation and treatment planning. The focus of this text is wellness rather than illness. Applications and learning activities use occupational theories for personal growth and self-improvement. These activities provide the reader with a guide through the reasoning process, enabling them to select and apply frames of reference in a logical manner. Learning theory and its application to occupational therapy intervention will become a rewarding experience for both student and practicing therapist. The origins of each frame will be included as well as their objectives, function-dysfunction continuum, and views of change and motivation. Practical applications of each frame along with case studies demonstrate a new and reasonable methodology to organize theory for occupational therapy intervention. With all of the changes occurring within this field, "Applied Theories in Occupational Therapy" provides readers with the necessary guidelines to succeed professionally.


Behavioural evidence suggests that English regular past tense forms are automatically decomposed into their stem and affix (played = play+ed) based on an implicit linguistic rule, which does not apply to the idiosyncratically formed irregular forms (kept). Additionally, regular, but not irregular inflections, are thought to be processed through the procedural memory system (left inferior frontal gyrus, basal ganglia, cerebellum). It has been suggested that this distinction does not to apply to second language (L2) learners of English; however, this has not been tested at the brain level. This fMRI study used a masked-priming task with regular and irregular prime-target pairs (played-play/kept-keep) to investigate morphological processing in native and highly proficient late L2 English speakers. No between-groups differences were revealed. Compared to irregular pairs, regular pairs activated the pars opercularis, bilateral caudate nucleus and the right cerebellum, which are part of the procedural memory network and have been connected with the processing of morphologically complex forms. Our study is the first to provide evidence for native-like involvement of the procedural memory system in processing of regular past tense by late L2 learners of English.


This paper traces humanitarian debates over corporal punishment and the use of the lash in the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century, with particular attention to Quakers James Backhouse and George Washington Walker's interventions in penal discipline in colonial Van Diemen's Land. It examine the ways that corporal punishment of convicts and Aboriginal peoples was framed through abolitionist eyes and explores in detail specific objections to the lash, including ideas around suffering, abstract vengeance and pain. The paper considers the move to other punishment strategies such as silent and solitary confinement, promoted in place of the lash. As we show, the evidence provided by the travelling investigative Quakers did much to inform the 1837 Select Committee on Transportation chaired by William Molesworth. The same report is also credited with reducing the rate of flogging in the penal colonies. However, while the Molesworth Committee is regarded as a decisive turning point in the history of Britain's deployment of convict labour, we argue that a shift in punishment strategies was already well underway before the late 1830s. Using new data on punishments awarded, we demonstrate that in Van Diemen's Land the demise of the lash had begun well before the Molesworth Committee met. We conclude by arguing that the association between the great humanitarian moment and the demise of flagellation so often associated Molesworth, was more complex and less direct than is often supposed.


Based on a comprehensive cultural-history approach, this essay argues that the selection of Oedipus as the basic model for psychoanalytical theory represents a negation of Antigone, the relevant sibling relation, and the horizontally structured family model. This negation will also be identified in Sigmund Freud's punch line "Antik? Oh, nee." Taking Sophocles's play as a point of reference, this article reviews different interpretations of Antigone around 1800, 1900, and 2000. They are given a new interpretation regarding the dynamics of horizontally structured relationships: as part of the construction of a sibling dispositive around 1800 (Hegel), as final phase of a period of 100 years of enthusiasm for Antigone (Hofmannsthal) and rejection of her dominating role (Freud) and, finally, as alternative vision for the millennium (Butler)


Ferroelectric Aurivillius thin films Bi4Bin−3Fen−3Ti3O3n+3 (BFTO n = 3, 4, 5, 6) were successfully prepared on platinum-coated silicon substrate by chemical solution deposition and the ferroelectric polarization properties were investigated and detailed. Simultaneously, the dielectric and leakage current characteristics of the thin films were obtained. Evolution of the Aurivillius layer structure was confirmed by XRD and HR-TEM results. A saturated hysteresis loop with larger remanent polarization (2Pr) and excellent retention properties are observed in all thin films. The values of 2Pr in the film capacitors are all about 50 μC cm−2 besides the n = 3 film, in which the leakage current increases significantly in larger electric fields. The leakage current values of films Bi5FeTi3O15, Bi6Fe2Ti3O18 and Bi7Fe3Ti3O21 gradually increased with increasing n, and the leakage current mechanism was studied by various conduction mechanisms. The combined relationships of the ferroelectric polarization, leakage current, polarization fatigue and retention of BFTO thin films are discussed in terms of the structural characteristics, aggregation of oxygen vacancies and crystallite grain size in the films. The results of optimization of the ferroelectric properties in Aurivillius phase thin films with higher n by chemical solution deposition are useful for further exploration of single-phase multiferroics in the Aurivillius family and other layer structure compounds with potential applications in the field of ferroelectric-based data storage.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
AKI is associated with both increased short-term morbidity and mortality and greater long-term risk for CKD. This study determined the prevalence of AKI among very low birth weight infants using a modern study definition, evaluated the frequency of AKI diagnosis reporting in the discharge summary, and determined whether infants were referred to a pediatric nephrologist for AKI follow-up.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Records of very low birth weight infants admitted to a level IV neonatal intensive care unit from 2008 to 2011 were reviewed. AKI was classified using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes definition modified to include only serum creatinine.

RESULTS
AKI occurred in 39.8% of 455 infants; 75 (16.5%) infants experienced multiple episodes of AKI, and 8 (2%) infants were discharged with an abnormal last creatinine. Updated clinical risk index for babies score >10 (odds ratio, 12.9; 95% confidence interval, 7.8 to 21.4) and gestational age <28 weeks (odds ratio, 10.6; 95% confidence interval, 6.8 to 16.7) were strongly associated with AKI in univariate analyses. AKI was associated with increased mortality (odds ratio, 4.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 11.5) and length of stay (11.7 hospital days; 95% confidence interval, 5.1 to 18.4), even after accounting for gestational age, birth weight, and updated clinical risk index for babies score. AKI was recorded in the discharge summary for only 13.5% of AKI survivors. No infants were referred to a nephrologist for AKI follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
AKI occurred in 40% of very low birth weight infants and was concentrated in the most premature and severely ill infants. One in six infants experienced multiple episodes of AKI, and a small number of infants was discharged with an elevated serum creatinine. Reporting a history of AKI in the discharge summary occurred infrequently, and referral to a nephrologist for AKI follow-up did not occur, highlighting areas for quality improvement.


Background Externalizing behavior has been attributed, in part, to decreased frontolimbic control over amygdala activation. However, little is known about developmental trajectories of frontoamygdalar functional connectivity and its relation to externalizing behavior. The present study addresses this gap by examining longitudinal associations between adolescent and adult externalizing behavior and amygdala–anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala–orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) resting‐state functional connectivity in a sample of 111 typically developing participants aged 11–23 at baseline. Methods Participants completed two‐to‐four data waves spaced approximately two years apart, resulting in a total of 309 data points. At each data wave, externalizing behavior was measured using the Externalizing Behavior Broadband Scale from the Achenbach Youth/Adult Self‐Report questionnaire. Resting‐state fMRI preprocessing was performed using FSL. Amygdala functional connectivity was examined using AFNI. The longitudinal association between externalizing behavior and amygdala–ACC/OFC functional connectivity was examined using linear mixed effect models in R. Results Externalizing behavior was associated with increased amygdala–ACC and amygdala–OFC resting‐state functional connectivity across adolescence and young adulthood. For amygdala–ACC connectivity, externalizing behavior at baseline primarily drove this association, whereas for amygdala–OFC functional connectivity, change in externalizing behavior relative to baseline drove the main effect of externalizing behavior on amygdala–OFC functional connectivity. No evidence was found for differential developmental trajectories of frontoamygdalar connectivity for different levels of externalizing behavior (i.e., age‐by‐externalizing behavior interaction effect). Conclusions Higher externalizing behavior is associated with increased resting‐state attunement between the amygdala and ACC/OFC, perhaps indicating a generally more vigilant state for neural networks important for emotional processing and control.


Objective: The purpose of this research was to determine alveolar bone resorption by measuring alveolar bone height in the mandible of partially edentulous female patients through panoramic radiograph

Material and Methods: The method of this study was descriptive using 34 panoramic radiographs of partially edentulous mandible in female patients aged 20-45 years in Dental Radiology Installation of Unpad Dental Hospital from 2016 to 2017. Alveolar bone height was measured using Proximal RABL (Radiographic Alveolar Bone Loss) method with the help of Ez-Pax Plus software.

Results: The highest average alveolar bone height was 3.5 mm and 12.96% of them occurred in 30-35 years age group. The lowest height was 3 mm with 10.98% occurred in 20-29 years age group.

Conclusion: Alveolar bone height in partially edentulous mandible of female patients underwent resorption of mild classification according to proximal RABL method.


Feature Issue on Transmission in Optically Transparent Core NetworksThe properties of semiconductor optical amplifiers offer new strategies for building dynamic optical networks. Three key characteristics are its coverage of the full range of wavelengths that are accessible using semiconductor source lasers, a transient response that enables wavelength add/drop without the need for external transient control, and the possibility of direct modulation, which enables its use as a switch in packet networks.


The magnetic filed arrangement of unbalance magnetron sputtering can be changed employed to expand the plasma region and induce more ions to bombard the films for fabricating excellent quality films. In this paper, four targets closed-filed unbalance magnetron sputtering was introduced, the effect of the different magnetic field arrangement on the titanium oxide films properties was investigated. By changing the distance from target to vacuum center, the different unbalance state of the magnetic field was formed around the substrate. The titanium oxide films were synthesized at different unbalance state of the magnetic field. The microstructure of the titanium oxide films was studied by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and the residual stress measurement for the films was determined by grazing incidence XRD. The results revealed that the higher unbalance of the magnetic field around the substrate, the higher ion current of the substrate. Comparing with increasing the substrate bias voltage, the ion current increased 2~4 times through changing magnetic field arrangement to induce higher unbalance of the magnetic field. Ion/atom ratio increase was in favor of rutile phase formation for titanium oxide film. The unbalance state increase resulted in more higher compressive stress in the films.


Given the growing popularity of the social accountability approach to governance, we developed and tested measures of governance outcomes to evaluate maternal and reproductive health social accountability interventions. We articulate a theory of change for how CARE's Community Score Card©, a social accountability approach, 1) empowers women, 2) empowers health workers and 3) creates expanded, inclusive and effective spaces for the two to interact. Our measures worked well in surveys of women and health workers. For women, eight of 13 scales had alphas ≥.70. For health workers, five of 11 scales were ≥.70; four were .60–.69. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to develop comprehensive measures of governance outcomes to evaluate a social accountability approach for maternal and reproductive health.


Giant pulses of optical maser radiation have been produced which are several orders of magnitude larger than the commonly observed spontaneous pulses. The pulses were produced by varying the effective reflectivity of the reflecting surfaces at the ends of the ruby rod through a Kerr-cell switching technique. The measured pulse characteristics are found to be in agreement with theoretical predictions.


Although significant efforts have been devoted to designing efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction, further progress is still needed regarding modulating the microstructures of electrocatalysts to further improve catalytic activity. Herein, utilizing ionic compound NaF and heteroatom-N-rich urea as morphology directing reagents, ultralong needle-like N-doped Co(OH)F supported on carbon fiber paper has been synthesized through a one-step hydrothermal method. Specifically, the hydrothermal kettle provides a stable environment for the formation of ultra-long needle-like structures. Meanwhile, with the addition of halogen anion F− and heteroatom N, a wealth of oxygen vacancies are obtained, and the OER activity is enhanced. The as-prepared N-doped Co(OH)F-CFP (N:Co(OH)F-CFP) has excellent hydrophilicity, which facilitates its contact with the electrolyte and then accelerates the passing of electrons back and forth between the surface of the material and the electrolyte. Under alkaline conditions, N:Co(OH)F-CFP's OER activity is superior to that of IrO2. Its potential can reach 1.540 V (vs. RHE) at 10 mA cm−2 with a Tafel slope of 69.75 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH solution.


negative outcomes of job insecurity. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, perceived employability and mental health among workers in public and private sector. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1038 Croatian workers from 6 different organisations. Healthcare and public transport service workers from public sector and industrial workers from private sector were included in this research. Corre-lational and regression analyses have been performed in SPSS. Results Workers in public sector experience lower level of job insecurity and higher level of perceived employability in com-parison to private sector workers. Job insecurity is related to poor mental health in both groups, while positive correlation of perceived employability and mental health was found only in public sector. Moderating effect of perceived employability on the relationship between job insecurity and mental health was found among public sector workers. Discussion The results have shown significant differences in experiences of job insecurity, perceived employability and their relation to workers ' mental health between sectors. In public sector, perceived employability was recognised as a moderator that can buffer the negative effects of job insecurity on mental health. This finding can have practical implications. In private sector, significantly higher level of job insecurity has been found, while there was no relationship between perceived employability and mental health. Possible explanation is that industrial workers are one of the most vulnerable groups in the labour market. On average they are less educated, depend-ant on their job, with fewer resources to cope job insecurity. Further investigation of other occupational groups within sec-tors should be conducted.


This study combined traditional classroom teaching methods and blogs with blended creative teaching as a new teaching method for the course Design and Applications of Teaching Aids for Young Children . It aimed to improve the shortcomings of the traditional teaching approach by incorporating the Asking, Thinking, Doing, and Evaluation (ATDE) teaching model and encouraging interactions between teacher and students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using blogs in blended creative teaching while also exploring the ideal blended creative teaching model, work completion rates, patent applications (as the teaching outcome), and learning attitudes of students. The research subjects were 46 second year students from the department of early childhood education in a vocational high school. Data were collected from qualitative teaching materials, teaching logs, learning logs, blog applications, and quantitative survey questionnaire. The results showed that the ideal blended creative teaching model can be implemented over six stages. Additionally, creative techniques can help teachers generate ideas on teaching material design and facilitate patent applications. Furthermore, the results of the survey indicate that students possessed positive feedback and affirmation toward the blended creative teaching model. Finally, blog teaching can help enhance interactions between teachers and students and among peers, thus improving the effectiveness of learning.


This paper provides a general overview of Time-Frequency reassignment and synchrosqueezing techniques applied to multicomponent signals, covering the theoretical background and applications. We explain how synchrosqueezing can be viewed as a special case of reassignment enabling mode reconstruction and place emphasis on the interest of using such time-frequency distributions throughout with illustrative examples.


Experimental investigations of plastically deformed elemental and III-V semiconductors prove that a high number of vacancies and vacancy clusters are formed. The formation of point defects by the motion of jogged dislocations is analysed. Vacancies formed behind the jog are not stable as a simple chain of vacancies. Instead, they are transformed immediately to stable three-dimensional agglomerates. The stability of various vacancy clusters has been investigated by means of density-functional calculations. The positron lifetime in such clusters was calculated and compared to experimental results. The association of open-volume defects with the dislocation can be derived from positron lifetime measurements. The analysis in a positron-trapping model characterizes the dislocation as a combined defect. The undisturbed dislocation line is a precursor trap for the positron capture in a deep trap related to the vacancies bound to the dislocation.


Jarcho-Levin syndrome (JLS) is a genetic disorder characterized by defects of spine formation, abnormal fusion of the ribs at the costovertebral and costochondral junction due to abnormal vertebral and costal segmentation. There are two subtypes associated with different distribution and severity of defects in JLS. While vertebral segmentation abnormalities are frequent in spondylo-thoracic subtype costal segmentation and fusion abnormalities are frequent in spondylo-costal subtype. Neural tube defects with severe hydrocephalus are rare findings in this syndrome. Herein we report three infants with severe hydrocephalus associated with Jarcho-Levin syndrome.


This article analyzes how the Brazilian news media covers the illegal market for misoprostol, the main drug used to induce abortion. A total of 1,429 news stories were retrieved from 220 print and electronic media channels from 2004 to 2009. The analysis included 524 stories from 62 regional and national newspapers. Misoprostol appeared repeatedly in the news, but was usually approached from a criminal perspective, unlike abortion as a whole, which the Brazilian media routinely covers as a religious, political, and public health issue. Misoprostol is part of the illegal gender-related drug market, along with drugs for weight loss and erectile dysfunction and anabolic steroids. Sixty-four (12%) of the news stories told life histories of women who had aborted with misoprostol. The women's ages ranged from 13 to 46 years, and socioeconomic status was associated with different experiences with abortion. Three characters appeared in the women's abortion itineraries: girlfriends (confidantes), go-betweens, and physicians. Stories of late-stage abortion are confused with the criminal characterization of infanticide and provide the extreme cases in the media's narrative on abortion.