Thalamic stimulation and thalamotomy for treatment of tremor due to Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and multiple sclerosis were compared in a randomized trial. The symptomatic and functional outcome was studied after 5 years of follow‐up. Sixty‐eight patients were treated (45 Parkinson's disease, 13 essential tremor, 10 multiple sclerosis) by thalamotomy (n = 34) or thalamic stimulation (n = 34). After 5 years, 48 patients were available for follow‐up. The primary outcome measure was change in functional status measured by the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), scores ranging from 0 to 60. Secondary outcome measures were tremor severity, frequency of complications, and patients' assessment of the outcome. The mean difference in FAI scores between thalamic stimulation and thalamotomy was 4.4 (95% CI: 1.1–7.7) after 6 months, 3.3 (95% CI: −0.03–6.6) after 2 years and 4.0 (95% CI: 0.3–7.7) after 5 years in favor of stimulation. Tremor suppression was equally effective after both procedures, and stable in Parkinson patients. In ET and multiple sclerosis, a diminished effect of stimulation was observed in half of the patients. There were six stimulation equipment‐related complications, but neurological side effects of surgery were higher after thalamotomy. Subjective outcome‐assessment by the patients was more favorable in the stimulation group. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society.


The hypothesis is to augment the bioavailability and therapeutic potential of
low bioavailable Carvedilol (25-35%) through Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (NLC) loaded Transdermal
patch (Nanolipid Transferosomes).

Box-Behnken design was designed to formulate NLC through a hot homogenization technique.
About 17 formulations (C1-C17) were formulated by varying the critical material attribute and
critical process parameter. Optimization was done based on its critical quality attributes like particle
size, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency. Selected NLC (C16) has been fabricated into a transdermal
patch through solvent evaporation technique and estimated for thickness, weight variation,
moisture content, folding endurance, drug content, in vitro drug release, ex vivo skin permeation
studies 48 hrs, in vitro drug release kinetic studies and skin irritation studies. In vivo pharmacokinetics
and pharmacodynamic study parameters were compared between carvedilol loaded NLC transdermal
patch and a conventional formulation (Coreg CR).

NLC (C16) was selected as the best formulation based on desirable, less particle size (201.1
± 2.02 nm), more zeta potential (-37.2 ± 1.84mV) and maximum entrapment efficiency (87.54 ±
1.84%). Experimental investigations of in vivo dermatopharmacokinetic data shown statistically significant
changes (p<0.05) in the parameter (increased AUC0-α, MRT with decreased Cmax, Tmax) when
administered through the transdermal patch and on compared to the conventional dosage form. It was
observed that there was a significant change with p<0.05 among the pharmacokinetic factors of conventional
Carvedilol formulation, Carvedilol NLC and Carvedilol NLC loaded Transdermal patch
with a maximum time of peak plasma concentration (Tmax) of 4 hrs, 8 hrs and 8 hrs; maximum peak
plasma concentration (Cmax) of 0.258 μg/ml, 0.208 μg/ml and 0.108 μg/ml. Area Under Curve
(AUC0-α) was established to be 125.127 μg/ml/h, 132.576 μg/ml.h and 841.032 μg/ml.h. Mean Residence
Time (MRT0- α) of the drug was established to be 17 hrs, 19 hrs and 82 hrs, respectively. This
data reveals the impact of NLC on the enhancement of bioavailability through a transdermal patch. In
vivo pharmacodynamic studies confirm that NLC loaded transdermal patch (Nanolipid Transferosomes)
shows a significant control in blood pressure for 48 hrs when compared to the conventional
dosage form.

This research data concludes that NLC loaded transdermal patch (Nanolipid Transferosomes)
was a suitable candidate to enhance the bioavailability of low bioavailable drug-like Carvedilol.

It was inferred from the literature that NLC filled transdermal patches were a novel
strategy to increase the solubility and permeability of Carvedilol, which has less bioavailability. It
reveals that there was no reproducible preparation for the NLC. It also reveals that the option of formulation
and process parameters for the formation of NLC is not clearly justified. On account of this,
an uniquely validated and optimized formulation technique was developed for NLC with low soluble
and poorly bioavailable carvedilol, tested in Albino wistar rats for enhancement of bioavailability,
the same study has been performed and proved.


As the Lifestyle Advantage study continues, HPS expects to follow the utilization trends for a consistent group of participants and nonparticipants, maintaining full confidentiality. Several key issues will be addressed in the process: As the participation rate increases, will the claims payment gap between participants and nonparticipants be reduced? Can a company hope to see a return on an investment in a health promotion program? If so, over what period of time? Finding answers to these questions will contribute to the larger issues of long-term health care cost containment and health care reform.


Among the array of innovative ICTs (information and communication technologies), radio frequency identification technology (RFID) can be considered as a major innovation with the potential to offer many new opportunities for construction companies to improve communication, facilitate teamwork, improve information management skills, and encourage greater cross-fertilization between business processes. Empirical results point to the need of the four participating firms to overcome several procurement issues and bottlenecks in order to gain more substantial competitive advantages and consistently satisfy project owners throughout the entire procurement cycle. An RFID system has the potential to improve real-time document and material tracking and control. But, more importantly, findings suggest that RFID improves the management, sharing, and transfer of knowledge and fosters collaboration through integrated document management, prompt issue management, risk management and efficient decision making.


Electrical functioning of the heart can be translated into a waveform known as Electrocardiography. Perfect diagnosis of heart is very much difficult due to different kinds of noise such as biological signal (EMG), power line interference and Gaussian noise interact during extraction. Several research have been studied in last few decades to develop effective algorithm for eliminating the high frequency noise between any two beats of continuous ECG signal. However, existing metric is capable to eliminate the noise with sacrificing a portion of the ECG rhythm. This study proposes a novel Daubechies wavelet based noise elimination algorithm to remove noises (such as power line interference and random Gaussian noise) from ECG signal. The proposed algorithm presents the best functions of the mother wavelet for eliminating ECG signal noises without scarifying the ECG waveform pattern. Therefore, the propose system maintains the necessary diagnostic information without any distortion of the original ECG signal, maintaining a high SNR and low RMSE with respect to the Haar wavelet and low-pass filter.


The four-arm nanomechanical switch 1 with four different terminals exhibits two switching arms (contacts A and D) and two distinct stations for binding (contacts B and C). In switching State I, the azaterpyridine arm is intramolecularly coordinated to a zinc(ii) porphyrin station (connection A ↔ B) while contact D (a ferrocenylbipyridine unit) and contact C (phenanthroline) remain disconnected. After addition of copper(i) ions (State II) both connections A ↔ B and C ↔ D are established. Upon one-electron oxidation, double-pole change-over switching cleaves both connections A ↔ B & C ↔ D and establishes the new connection A ↔ C (State III). Fully reversible three-state switching (State I → State II → State III → State II → State I) was achieved by adding appropriate chemical and redox stimuli.


Article history: Received 11 April 2014 Received in revised form 21 June 2014 Accepted 25 July 2014 Available online 20 September 2014


STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVES
The prediction of curve progression in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) remains an unresolved area in orthopedic surgery. To make a rapid meaningful prediction, easily accessible multi-dimensional data at the patient's first consultation should be used. Current studies use clinical growth parameters and numerical values extracted from radiographs to compile a predictive model, leaving out the radiographs themselves. Such practice inevitably wastes a lot of information. Thus, this study aims to create a neural network that can predict AIS progression among patients with curves indicated for bracing by integrating both one-dimensional (1D) clinical and two-dimensional (2D) radiological data collected at the patient's first visit in a fully automated manner.

METHODS
513 idiopathic scoliosis patients indicated for and managed with bracing orthosis were recruited. After exclusion, 463 patients were included in deep learning analysis. Processed first-visit growth parameters and posteroanterior radiographs are used as training inputs and the curve progression outcomes obtained in follow ups are used as binary training outputs. The CapsuleNet architecture was modified and trained accordingly to make a prediction.

RESULTS
The final model achieved 90% sensitivity with an overall accuracy of 73.9% in the prediction of AIS in-brace curve progression by using first-visit multi-dimensional data, outperforming conventional convolutional neural networks.

CONCLUSIONS
This first-ever multidimensional-input model shows promise in serving as a screening tool for AIS in-brace curve progression. The incorporation of such a model into routine AIS diagnostic pipeline can assist orthopedics clinicians in personalizing the most appropriate management for each patient.


The impact of device independent authoring on software engineering manifests itself mainly at the middleware level. Until recently middleware platforms were targeted at vertical coverage of specific scenarios. Consumer devices with integrated Internet-access are becoming more popular and their diversity grows with their market penetration and with the extension of the mobile communication infrastructure. This requires software architectures that are capable of supporting horizontal coverage of a wide range of devices and scenarios. This paper presents the Multi User Interface, Single Application project. It provides a feasable approach for multi-platform support through the introduction of an adaptable and abstract interaction-oriented user interface language.


ABSTRACT This article examines the suitability of entanglements and relations to think and see peacebuilding events. Through a reflection upon the limited results of the United Nations (UN) in securing lasting peace in war-torn scenarios, the text critically engages with three debates on contemporary peacebuilding literature: the inclusion of 'the locals', the achievement of an organisational system-wide coherence and the agential condition of peacebuilding actors. Whilst acknowledging the analytical potential of affirming the entangled ontogenesis of actors and processes in the conflict-affected configuration, the article ends with a cautionary argument about entanglement fetishism, namely the celebratory, normative and exclusionary projection of a relational world. Entangled peace is an invitation to read the peacebuilding milieu, and by extension the broader theatre of the real, as radical openness, where events emanate from the collision of an infinite multiplicity of possible worlds.


This study set out to investigate the effects of shifting irrigation system on community
livelihood and environmental quality along the Ewaso Nyiro river basin. The land area
under irrigation schemes in Kenya is estimated at 103,233 hectares. 20% of this hectarage
is under smallholder irrigation schemes some of which are in the lower Ewaso Nyiro
Basin. These schemes have special features in that they are not permanent. The objectives
of this study are to asses the current status of irrigation schemes in the lower Ewaso
Nyiro basin, evaluate their effect on community livelihoods and evaluate their impact on
environmental quality. The overall approach to the study was both qualitative and
quantitative. Qualitative data was collected through participatory research techniques,
case studies, observation, and key informant interviews. Questionnaire survey was the
main quantitative research technique used. Data from questionnaire survey was analysed
using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Qualitative data analysis was mainly
descriptive. Narrative log was used to analyse data from case studies. Qualitative
information proved useful in explaining some of the quantitative information. By the
time of the study, the lower Ewaso Nyiro had nine operational irrigation schemes and 791
households practising irrigation farming. Though the schemes have a management unit,
most of them are not formally recognised. There was a positive correlation between the
number of years in crop production and the number of times a scheme shifted its
sites(r=O.456) at 0.001 significant level. The irrigation schemes do not have permanent
structures and use surface irrigation methods.· Maize is the major crop grown in the
irrigation scheme and crop diversification is low. Irrigation has diversified the means of
livelihood of the people. 100% of the household heads reported that irrigation was an
important means of livelihood. Out of these, 35% reported that trade in agricultural
produce was important means of livelihood. 3.8% said agricultural casual labour was
important means of livelihood. The stakeholders agreed that irrigation was an important
source of food in the lower Ewaso Nyiro basin(x2=5.12; df=3; p=0.163). Both the
household heads and other stakeholders concurred that irrigation had negative effects on
the environment (x2 =5.785; df=2; p=O.055). Types of environmental degradation
reported in the schemes by household heads were soil erosion by 91.2%, deforestation by
72.5%, salinity by 31% and water logging by 20% of the households. Low usage of
biocide and chemical fertilizers was reported with the highest usage being on insecticides
by 46% of the household heads. Environmental conservation practices are rarely used in
the irrigation schemes with the highest conservation practice reported on ·the usage of
farm yard manure by 56.2% of the household heads. The stakeholders agreed there was
limitation of technical know how and lack of input in environmental conservation at chi
square values (x2=7.672; df=3; p=0.053) and (x2=2.671; df=3; p=O.445). In the short
term, the study recommends portable means of lifting water from the river, organised
marketing in the irrigation schemes and environmental conservation at the household
level and at the scheme level. The long term recommendations are flood control at the
catchment level and an investigation into the feasibility of setting up permanent irrigation
schemes in the study area.


Until recently, the global capitalist economy has enjoyed a period of comparative tranquility and grown at a relatively rapid pace since the global economic crisis of 2001-02. During this period of global economic expansion there have been several important economic and political developments. First, the United States—the declining hegemonic power but still the leading driving force of the global capitalist economy—has been characterized by growing internal and external financial imbalances. The U.S. economy has experienced a period of debt-financed, consumption-led "expansion" with stagnant wages and employment, and has been running large and rising current account deficits (the current account deficit is a broad measure of the trade deficit). Second, China has become a major player in the global capitalist economy and has been playing an increasingly important role in sustaining global economic growth. Third, global capitalist accumulation is imposing growing pressure on the world's natural resources and environment. There is increasingly convincing evidence that the global oil production will reach its peak and start to decline in a few years. Fourth, the U.S. imperialist adventure in the Middle East has suffered devastating setbacks and there has been growing resistance to neoliberalism and U.S. imperialism throughout the world.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


The devil might be in the details, but that's where the hope for redemption is, too. Money-saving strategies are nothing new in the healthcare industry, but ones that can save more than $11 million a year-without a single budget cut, no less-are a little more difficult to generate.


This paper reviews the key features of cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology, blockchain. It becomes clear that cryptocurrencies do not fulfill the three functions of money, at least for the moment, but should instead be understood as high-risk, high-profitability securities. While there are great opportunities such as increased remittances, their potential disruption of economic activity, and particularly of monetary policy is mind-blowing. Under this premise, and keeping in mind hackers' heists suffered by cryptocurrency exchanges, it is important to regulate cryptocurrencies. Four core questions countries should decide on are: whether they consider cryptocurrencies' legal tender, whether they allow cryptocurrency exchanges to operate (and if so, how); whether Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) should be allowed (and if so, how); and whether they allow mining. Several policy options are presented, both from a theoretical perspective, and as they have been implemented by countries in Asia-Pacific. While countries such as China have decided to be restrictive, others such as Japan have chosen to regulate to let the sector thrive. Such diversity may be understandable, given that is such a novel technology that still poorly understood – especially its evolution. This diversity of standards offers great room for regulatory arbitrage, and highlights a great need for global coordination on cryptocurrency regulation and supervision.


The importance of applying good governance principles has grown over the past decade and many studies have been performed to investigate the role and impact of such principles. One of the difficulties in the governance arena is to provide sufficient empirical evidence that good corporate governance and good governance of information technology is beneficial. This paper describes a framework, based on a value- focused approach, which is used to identify unique dimensions for evaluation in a large organisation. Following the evaluation a practical phishing experiment was used to show how a learning process can be initiated through security incidents and how organisational learning can be used to focus on the improvement of specific governance areas.


With the rapid increase in prospecting for unconventional oil and gas, a large part of which remains on land, the demand for land seismic data processing has increased substantially and is expected to further increase in the future. It is known that land seismic data are often of much poorer quality than marine seismic data. This is to a large extent caused by the presence of unconsolidated rock in the near surface with often complex velocity structure, which is absent in many marine settings. Such near-surface variations cause the wavefield to scatter or even lose its coherence as it propagates. This makes it difficult to accurately image the deeper-lying targets in land seismic data.


Inflammation in the vasculature might be an important pathogenic link between cardiovascular diseases and the metabolic syndrome. Inflammation can be reduced by a variety of approaches including diet, exercise, cardiovascular drugs, and insulin sensitizers. Importantly, these different measures improve vascular function and reduce inflammation by distinct mechanisms. Therefore, combination therapy including lifestyle modifications and multiple drugs from separate classes might produce additive beneficial outcomes. We review plausible mechanisms for effects of combination therapy to reduce inflammation, improve endothelial dysfunction, and decrease insulin resistance in atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and hypertension in the context of insulin-resistant states including diabetes, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2005;46:1978–85) © 2005 by the American ublished by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2005.06.082


: Planning and strategic management of water resources are contingent on trends in water availability. In this study, the impact of decade-scale variations in annual and seasonal precipitation on streamflow and evapotranspiration ~ ET ! were identified for 10 watersheds in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In the Great Plains, an upward trend in precipitation over the last two decades of the 20th Century had a strong impact on streamflow and a comparatively weaker impact on ET. Even though precipitation, streamflow, and ET amounts differed between watersheds, the trend due to the precipitation increase was similar for all watersheds. Increased precipitation led to a disproportionately large increase in streamflow and comparatively smaller increase in ET. On average, a 12% increase in annual precipitation led to a 64% increase in streamflow, but only a 5% increase in ET. The seasonal partitioning of the annual precipitation increase was, in most cases, biased toward the fall, winter, and spring, with little or no change during the hot summer months. The strong streamflow response indicated that planning and management of surface-water storage and supply can be critically impacted by decade-long trends in precipitation. The lack of significant increase in precipitation and streamflow during summer suggests that any existing shortages will likely remain despite the observed annual precipitation increase. The ET response suggests that dryland farming and ecosystem vitality could benefit from the increased precipitation in fall, winter, and spring, but the relative impacts are more modest compared to the streamflow response and do not occur during summer when potential ET is greatest. Finally, since the mid-1990s precipitation and streamflow in a number of Oklahoma watersheds have shown a gradual decline from peak values in the late 1980s toward more average conditions. This declining trend in streamflow may be important for planning and management of water resources systems that must meet an increasing demand for water by a growing society while at the same time considering environmental and recreational needs. 2004 ! 9:5 360


Identifying the patterns in urban mobility is important for a variety of tasks such as transportation planning, urban resource allocation, emergency planning etc. This is evident from the large body of research on the topic, which has exploded with the vast amount of geo-tagged user-generated content from online social media. However, most of the existing work focuses on a specific setting, taking a statistical approach to describe and model the observed patterns. On the contrary in this work we introduce EigenTransitions, a spectrum-based, generic framework for analyzing spatio-temporal mobility datasets. EigenTransitions capture the anatomy of the aggregate and/or individuals' mobility as a compact set of latent mobility patterns. Using a large corpus of geo-tagged content collected from Twitter, we utilize EigenTransitions to analyze the structure of urban mobility. In particular, we identify the EigenTransitions of a flow network between urban areas and derive hypothesis testing framework to evaluate urban mobility from both temporal and demographic perspectives. We further show how EigenTransitions not only identify latent mobility patterns, but also have the potential to support applications such as mobility prediction and inter-city comparisons. In particular, by identifying neighbors with similar latent mobility patterns and incorporating their historical transition behaviors, we proposed an EigenTransitions-based k-nearest neighbor algorithm, which can significantly improve the performance of individual mobility prediction. The proposed method is especially effective in "cold-start" scenarios where traditional methods are known to perform poorly.


First, the problems in cutting database are analyzed and primary factors that should be considered in establishing high-speed cutting database are pointed out, including data presenting modes, data collecting and updating, the intelligence of the database, and the integration with CAD, CAPP and CAM. Secondly, high-speed cutting system is analyzed. On the basis of the categorization of the variables, the function model and the information model of cutting database are set up, which leads to the establishment of the architecture of high-speed cutting database. Finally, the combination mechanism of the rule-based reasoning and the case-based reasoning is analyzed and the process of the hybrid reasoning is given.


In this paper a new architecture for all digital phase locked loop (ADPLL) is proposed The new architecture is based on the ADPLL architecture proposed by Motorola in 1995 but modified in some block A new binary search decision scheme was used to accelerate the frequency acquisition process. It can reduce the chip area and increase the operating frequency. In this design, a 14-bit control word is used to control the digital control oscillator. The new type ADPLL has been designed and implemented by TSMC's 0-35 /spl mu/ IP4M CMOS process for 3.3V applications. The phase lock process takes 20-reference cycle, and the maximum frequency of the proposed ADPLL is about 820MHz.


This article stresses the importance of evaluation as a tool for improving the design and implementation of effective programs to reduce iron deficiency anemia and to advocate for their continued and increased support. Current concepts in program evaluation are applied to the specific issues relevant to iron programs. Evaluations should be designed to meet the needs of specific audiences (e.g. community members program implementers policymakers donors and researchers) and to answer specific questions. Evaluations might answer questions about provision coverage or impact. The choice of indicators for evaluating impact of iron programs is discussed and illustrated with recent examples. Evaluation design can be broadly categorized as monitoring plausibility evaluations and probability evaluations. These designs differ in cost and also in the strength of evidence that they provide; however each has appropriate uses. It is important to document program costs in the evaluation process as policymakers and donors weight impact against costs. To be useful evaluation findings must be disseminated usually to multiple audiences. This requires allocation of time and resources and attention to the needs of various stakeholders. (authors)


The study of spatial price relationships helps to explain market performance and the degree of market integration. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the long- and short-run price linkages in the olive oil market of the Mediterranean using Time Series techniques. The empirical results suggest the existence of a stable long-run relationships among prices in Spain, Italy, and Greece. They also suggest that the major producer and exporter (Spain) is the price leader while Greece and Italy are the followers.


In §50 of Philosophical Investigations Wittgenstein wrote the sentence, "There is one thing of which one can say neither that it is one metre long, nor that it is not one metre long, and that is the standard metre in Paris." Although some interpreters have claimed that Wittgenstein's statement is mistaken, while others have proposed various explanations showing that this must be correct, none have questioned the fact that he intended to assert that it is impossible to describe the standard meter as being a meter long- Given that Wittgenstein introduces this sentence as analogous to the claim that "existence cannot be attributed to an element," and that the preceding passages discuss a language- game the simples of which can be described by their own names, there is good reason to think that Wittgenstein did not intend to assert this infamous sentence.


In this study, multifunctional chitin microspheres are synthesized and utilized as a platform for multiple potential applications in enzyme immobilization, catalytic reduction and adsorption. Porous chitin microspheres with an average diameter of 111.5 μm and a porous architecture are fabricated through a thermally induced phase separation method. Then, the porous chitin microspheres are conferred with surface multifunctionality through facile coordination-enabled self-assembly of tannic acid (TA) and titanium (Ti(IV)) bis(ammonium lactate)dihydroxide (Ti-BALDH). The multipoint hydrogen bonds between TA and chitin microspheres confer the TA-Ti(IV) coating with high adhesion capability to adhere firmly to the surface of the chitin microspheres. In view of the biocompatibility, porosity and surface activity, the multifunctional chitin microspheres are used as carriers for enzyme immobilization. The enzyme-conjugated multifunctional porous microspheres exhibit high catalytic performance (102.8 U·mg(-1) yeast alcohol dehydrogenase). Besides, the multifunctional chitin microspheres also find potential applications in the catalytic reduction (e.g., reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles) and efficient adsorption of heavy metal ions (e.g., Pb(2+)) taking advantages of their porosity, reducing capability and chelation property.


Multi-pose face detection has been one of difficult and hot issues in face detection research nowadays, and urgently need to be solved in practical application. In this paper, a multi-pose face detection algorithm based on facial features and AdaBoost algorithm is introduced. Making full use of facial skin color information firstly, the most background regions can be quickly excluded and the skin color regions can be gotten. After detecting eyes and mouth, the face candidates are segmented according to face orientation decided by the geometric features of the eyes and mouth regions. At last, the face candidates are verified by AdaBoost algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm can further improve the multi-pose face detection accuracy and is highly robust to facial expression and occlusion.


Microorganisms are central to the functioning of coral reef ecosystems, but their dynamics are unstudied on most reefs. We examined the microbial ecology of shallow reefs within the Federated States of Micronesia. We surveyed 20 reefs surrounding 7 islands and atolls (Yap, Woleai, Olimarao, Kosrae, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, and Pohnpei), spanning 875 053 km2. On the reefs, we found consistently higher coral coverage (mean ± SD = 36.9 ± 22.2%; max 77%) compared to macroalgae coverage (15.2 ± 15.5%; max 58%), and low abundances of fish. Reef waters had low inorganic nutrient concentrations and were dominated by Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus, and SAR11 bacteria. The richness of bacterial and archaeal communities was significantly related to interactions between island/atoll and depth. High coral coverage on reefs was linked to higher relative abundances of Flavobacteriaceae, Leisingera, Owenweeksia, Vibrio, and the OM27 clade, as well as other heterotrophic bacterial groups, consistent with communities residing in waters near corals and within coral mucus. Microbial community structure at reef depth was significantly correlated with geographic distance, suggesting that island biogeography influences reef microbial communities. Reefs at Kosrae Island, which hosted the highest coral abundance and diversity, were unique compared to other locations; seawater from Kosrae reefs had the lowest organic carbon (59.8−67.9 μM), highest organic nitrogen (4.5−5.3 μM), and harbored consistent microbial communities (>85% similar), which were dominated by heterotrophic cells. This study suggests that the reef-water microbial ecology on Micronesian reefs is influenced by the density and diversity of corals as well as other biogeographical features.


In response to frequent news media reports about how poorly American students fare compared with their peers abroad, Daniel Koretz takes a close look at what these comparisons say, and do not say, about the achievement of U.S. high school students. He stresses that the comparisons do not provide what many observers of education would like: unambiguous information about the effectiveness of American high schools compared with those in other nations.  Koretz begins by describing the two principal international student comparisons—the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Both assessments, he stresses, reflect the performance of students several years before they complete high school. PISA, which targets fifteen-year-old students, measures students' abilities to apply what they have learned in school to real-world problems. By contrast, TIMSS tests fourth and eighth graders. Unlike PISA, TIMSS follows the school curriculum closely.  Because the findings of the two tests are sometimes inconsistent, Koretz stresses the importance of considering data from both sources. He cautions against comparing U.S. students with an "international average," which varies widely from survey to survey depending on which countries participate, and recommends instead comparing them with students in other nations that are similar to the United States or that are particularly high-achieving.  Many observers, says Koretz, speculate that the lackluster average performance of American students in international comparisons arises because many, especially minority and low-income U.S. students, attend low-performing schools. But both TIMSS and PISA, he says, show that the performance of American students on the exams is not much more variable than that of students in countries that are socially more homogeneous or that have more equitable educational systems.  Koretz emphasizes that the international comparisons provide valuable information and are a useful source of hypotheses about American secondary schooling to be tested by researchers. Studies designed to explain differences between U.S. students and those in very similar countries, he says, might provide especially useful suggestions for changes in policy and practice.


We report improved efficiency in fullerene and non-fullerene polymer solar cells utilizing an interdigitated interface between the photoactive layer and the PFN-OX electron transport layer (ETL). This interdigitated interface is formed in situ during the solution casting process of the photoactive layer on the blend films made of electron-transporting PFN-OX and template materials of either semi-conducting 3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis((4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2′,3′-d′]-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene) (ITIC) or insulating polystyrene (PS). Compared to the devices having a planar interface between PFN-OX and the photoactive layer, devices with an interdigitated interface templated by ITIC increased the efficiency of PTB7-Th:PC71BM solar cells from 9.3% to 10.4%, with the device having an interdigitated interface templated by PS exhibiting a PCE of 9.9%. PTB7-Th:ITIC non-fullerene solar cells employing this ITIC-templated interdigitated PFN-OX ETL exhibited an enhanced PCE from 7.4% to 8.3%. Interfacial charge transport studies support that favorable electrical doping of PFN-OX to ITIC as well as charge transfer between PTB7-Th and ITIC contribute to this superior efficiency enhancement in devices employing an ITIC-templated interdigitated PFN-OX ETL. This work provides a new strategy for constructing a novel ETL to prepare high efficiency polymer solar cells.


We investigated the problem of testing equality among spectral densities of several independent stationary processes. Our main methodological contribution is the introduction of a novel semiparametric log-linear model that links all of the spectral densities under consideration. This model is motivated by the asymptotic properties of the periodogram ordinates and specifies that the logarithmic ratio of G − 1 spectral density functions with respect to the Gth is linear in some parameters. Then the problem of testing equality of several spectral density functions is reduced to a parametric problem. Under this assumption, the large-sample theory of the maximum likelihood estimator was studied, and it was found that the estimator is asymptotically normal even when the model is misspecified. The development of the asymptotic theory is based on a new contrast function that might be useful for other spectral domain time series problems. The results are applicable to a variety of models, including linear and nonlinear processes. Simulations and data analysis support further the theoretical findings.


Egg size represents a fundamental predictor of chick mass and body condition. Chicks from bigger eggs have significantly increased survival, especially in precocial species, where chicks must forage for themselves and cope with environmental threats, such as bad weather or predators. Therefore, our understanding of the factors influencing egg size is crucial both from the perspective of their breeding ecology as well as of their conservation. However, studies simultaneously addressing multiple factors and quantifying their influence on egg size in large samples are rare. Here, we test the effect of seasonality, clutch size and nesting habitat on egg size, measured as volume, in a ground-nesting shorebird, the Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, using a sample of 4384 eggs from 1125 clutches in South Bohemia, Czech Republic, during the period between 1988 and 2018. We report a significant decline in egg size over the breeding season, on average bigger eggs in larger clutches with a significant difference between 2-egg and 4-egg clutches, and no direct effect of nesting habitat. From our review of the same predictors across 15 Northern Lapwing populations throughout Europe it is apparent that replacement or late clutches have on average 3–7% smaller eggs than first or early clutches. Nesting habitat only rarely affects egg size and there are no significant differences in egg size between 3-egg and 4-egg clutches. Earlier studies showed that chicks hatching from bigger eggs early in the breeding season performed better, and that there was higher food abundance available for chicks at that time. This fact, together with the documented seasonal decline in egg size, sends an important message to conservationists and policymakers that early breeding attempts may play a pivotal role in safeguarding shorebird breeding productivity.


Structural defects in SiC crystals were investigated and 4H-SiC pin devices were characterized by micro-Raman scattering and photoemission. With the experimental set-up presented, defects could be successfully detected in SiC crystals but stacking faults could not be detected with micro-Raman scattering, although they could be detected by photoemission. Residual stress could be evaluated in 4H-SiC devices, as well as the temperature increase associated with the devices powering. A good correlation was found between the characterization techniques used: micro-Raman scattering and photoemission.


The aggressiveness and lack of well-tolerated and widely effective treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of liver cancer, rationalize its rank as the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Preclinical models need to be adapted to recapitulate the human conditions to select the best therapeutic candidates for clinical development and aid the delivery of personalized medicine. Three-dimensional (3D) cellular spheroid models show promise as an emerging in vitro alternative to two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures. Here, we describe a 3D tumor spheroid model which exploits the ability of individual cells to aggregate when maintained in hanging droplets, and is more representative of an in vivo environment than standard monolayers. Furthermore, 3D spheroids can be produced by combining homotypic or heterotypic cells, more reflective of the cellular heterogeneity in vivo, potentially enabling the study of environmental interactions that can influence progression and treatment responses. The current research optimized the cell density to form 3D homotypic and heterotypic tumor spheroids by immobilizing cell suspensions on the lids of standard 10 cm3 Petri dishes. Longitudinal analysis was performed to generate growth curves for homotypic versus heterotypic tumor/fibroblasts spheroids. Finally, the proliferative impact of fibroblasts (COS7 cells) and liver myofibroblasts (LX2) on homotypic tumor (Hep3B) spheroids was investigated. A seeding density of 3,000 cells (in 20 µL media) successfully yielded Huh7/COS7 heterotypic spheroids, which displayed a steady increase in size up to culture day 8, followed by growth retardation. This finding was corroborated using Hep3B homotypic spheroids cultured in LX2 (human hepatic stellate cell line) conditioned medium (CM). LX2 CM triggered the proliferation of Hep3B spheroids compared to control tumor spheroids. In conclusion, this protocol has shown that 3D tumor spheroids can be used as a simple, economical, and prescreen in vitro tool to study tumor-stromal interactions more comprehensively.


The Internet is increasingly permeating daily life with an essential and structuring bundle of innovations: Internet-based applications that operate on algorithmic selection. Automated algorithmic selection is embedded in a variety of services and applied for numerous purposes. Algorithms in search engines or news Aggregators select information in general and news in particular; in recommender systems, they suggest music and video entertainment or influence one's choice of products. They may also suggest friends, partners, and travel routes. Moreover, they are used to automatically produce news articles and messages in social media, to calculate scoring of content and people, and to observe behavior and interests as well as to predict and shape future needs and actions. Although their modes of operation differ in detail, all these applications share a common defining functionality: They automatically select information elements and assign relevance to them.


Abstract Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that lipid oxidation products such as (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E,Z)-2,4-decadienal, and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal were formed in a deoiled soy lecithin-reduced fat milk system during 24 h of fermentation by Lactococcus lactis at 32°C. In addition, initial numbers of L. lactis (10 2 or 10 6 cfu/mL milk) and soy lecithin content (0.2 or 2.0 g/100 mL milk) affected the formation of these 2,4-alkadienals in fermented lecithin-milk system. These 2,4-alkadienals were detected in reduced fat milk containing 0.2 g soy lecithin/100 mL milk (the lowest concentration investigated) and initial culture numbers of 10 2 cfu/mL milk. Other lactic acid bacteria, Lactococcus cremoris, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus helveticus , or Lactobacillus bulgaricus ssp. were subsequently evaluated in a deoiled soy lecithin-reduced fat milk system at one lecithin concentration (2.0 g lecithin/100 mL milk, 102 cfu/mL milk) and also produced 2,4 alkadienals. Sensory evaluation confirmed the presence of typical lecithin associated off-flavors (mayonnaise/bread) in all fermented milks containing lecithin across the concentration used in this study (0.2–2.0 g/100 mL milk).


It is evident from practice that the child's right to support and its defence largely depends on how the issues of children support entities are settled. Therefore the main aim of this article is to determine through the analysis of law doctrine and court practice the relevant creditor and the relevant debtor in the child support obligation. It is worth mentioning that the answer to these seemingly simple questions is by far not so easy. Undoubtfully, both parents of the child are debtors in the obligation of the child support, however, the opinions part when they have to decide on the starting date when they become debtors and at what extent the retroactive principle may be applied to their duties, arising from this obligation. In this respect two different solutions are possible. First, the formal basis of the origin of the obligation may be stressed – the registration of paternity (maternity) – and consider it as the starting point of the support obligation. Second, it may be considered, that the child support obligation is natural, therefore the parties' rights and duties connected with it come into existence together with the birth of the child. It is this position that is being stressed in the article. In Lithuania the issue of the creditor in the obligation of the child support has been solved differently in court practice during the last decade. The laws in force previous to the new Civil Code did not provide for the legal status of the child as an independent possessor of property rights. Due to this reason, there was quite an old court practice, when the support used to be given to another father or mother, with whom the child having the right to support lived. However, after the concept of the rights of the child had transformed and after autonomous rights had been granted to the child, the issue of the creditor in the child support obligation has to be revised. The practice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, analysed in the article, shows that presently this particular direction is being taken.


Background and Aim
Studies have revealed a relationship between erythrocytic antigens of the ABO and Rh blood
systems and cardiovascular pathology. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) indicates an
increased risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. The present study was
aimed to do correlative analysis of Rh blood groups and HRV in normal individuals.
Materials and Method
This cross sectional study includes 120 healthy medical students (18–22 years) of both sexes,
from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, The study was approved by institutional ethical
committee and study was carried out with written informed consent of students. All the subjects
were grouped in to Rh positive blood group and Rh negative blood groups based on the result
of standard slide haem agglutination technique. ECG of all the subjects was recorded in lead II
for a period of five minutes and HRV was analysed by measuring the R-R intervals using a
software "HRV soft 1.1 Version" software package. The HRV was analyzed both by the time
domain method and frequency domain analysis during normal breathing. HRV is also analysed
by deep breathing test for one minute and analyzed by the time domain method. In the time
domain method, RMSSD-the square root of the mean squared differences of successive RR
intervals (in milliseconds) SDNN-Standard deviation of RR intervals (in milliseconds), pNN50-
percentage of differences between adjacent normal RR intervals exceeding 50 milliseconds
were analyzed. In frequency domain method LF nu-Low frequency in normalized units, HF nuHigh frequency in normalized units, LF/HF-Ratio between low frequency and high frequency
was measured. Statistical tests included in this study were ANOVA and student's unpaired ttest. P-value was taken as statistically significant at 5 percent confidence level (P<0.05).
Results
The time domain analysis and the frequency domain analysis of HRV among Rh positive blood
group and Rh negative blood group subjects during normal breathing did not show any
statistically significant changes. Further, comparison of HRV between Rh positive blood group
and Rh negative blood groups during deep breathing using time domain method did not show
any statistically significant results.
Conclusions
The present study, concludes that there were no significant change in the heart rate variability
of Rh positive blood group and Rh negative blood groups subjects. Further research is needed
including in a larger sample size to confirm these findings and to show the correlation of Rh
groups and heart rate variability.


Purpose
Discussions about sustainability in the organizational context present a blind spot. It appears when we ask if a company recognized as sustainable, keep what it means compatible with corporate sustainability premises and its values on the strategic decision process. In this context, the purpose of this paper is, on the light of sensemaking and the decision-making theory, to reflect on possible divergences between meanings attributed to sustainability, available on official documents, and the meanings identified in current actions and narratives related to sustainability goals in the researched organization.

Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a qualitative approach, characterized as descriptive, using as methods narrative analysis and documentary research, that were carried out from sensemaking theory.

Findings
It was identified coherence between strategic statements and present sustainable actions. However, in view of theoretical reference used, it was identified an imprecision in sustainability perspectives of decision making. Inconsistency tends to promote internal resistance, difficulty to commit to all areas and prejudice long-term results.

Research limitations/implications
Future studies should compare the decision-making meaning attributed to sustainability in companies of different market segments.

Practical implications
The studied case shed light on the importance of managers having at their disposal a map that relates strategic objectives and actions aimed at sustainability. The lack of this compromises the organizational results focused on corporate sustainability.

Originality/value
The understanding of the meanings attributed gives rise to perceptions of possible and relevant flaws in the alignment between the discourse and the practice of sustainability, supporting possibilities of the fine adjustments in strategic decision making.


The vocal pitch matching ability is one of the most important abilities in music education. This study focuses on children's development of the vocal pitch matching ability. Children of 4- and 5-year-olds in two kindergartens, and one class of the first 3 grades of the elementary school listened to musical tones and were asked to reproduce by singing what they had heard. The types of musical inputs were (1) piano sounds; (2) female singing voice sounds; and (3) chants with female singing voice sounds. As for the results, (3) input led to the best answer and the second best was (2). It was easier for children to match the pitch with voice sounds inputs with meaning. Children's pitch matching ability was higher in the kindergarten offering music activities intentionally. From the study, the importance of developing a system- atic music transition program for children to improve their music ability is suggested.


Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the frontline class of antidepressant drugs. They are widely used because of their safety, tolerability, and demonstrated efficacy. In this review, we are pointing at other indications of SSRIs – apart from depression.This article is based on a selective review of the relevant literature retrieved by a PubMed search and ScienceDirect search. The results of electronic searches show SSRIs to be of great importance in pharmacotherapy of many conditions outside depression. Medical literature supports the use of SSRIs for the treatment of premature ejaculation (especially short-acting SSRI – dapoxetine), eating disorders (especially bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder), obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder.


This study aimed to find out which countries around the world require psychosocial hazards and workplace violence to be assessed by employers through a mandatory occupational risk assessment process and to compare the type of legislation between countries. We systematically searched the International Labour Office (ILO) "LEGOSH" database for documents published during the period between December 2017 and February 2018. The search included 132 countries, of which 23 were considered as developed and 109 as developing according to the United Nations. Our review showed that most countries (85, i.e., 64%) have not included mandatory psychosocial risk assessment and prevention in their national occupational safety and health legislation. Moreover, we found differences between developed and developing countries, showing that developed countries more frequently have legislative measures. Within developed countries, we also found differences between countries following the Scandinavian model of workplace health and safety culture and other countries. Moreover, in many countries, workplace violence was prohibited only if it involves an offence to moral or religious customs. In conclusion, the marked difference in psychosocial hazards and workplace violence regulations among countries leads to unequal levels of workers' protection, with adverse effects on global health.


I t can be time consuming to use decision analysis to allocate resources over a portfolio of projects. It may be possible to attain most of the value added by decision analysis in significantly less time. This paper defines and compares different analytic strategies in terms of the resulting value added for a range of simulated portfolios. A portfolio consists of a set of candidate projects or investments of uncertain value. The value of each project may be estimated with or without the additional information provided by decision-analytic methods. Projects are then completely prioritized and funded in order of the ratio of their expected net present value to their cost, or partially prioritized and funded whenever this ratio exceeds a predefined threshold level. The portfolio funded under the various analytic strategies is compared against a strawman alternative of random funding decisions. The value added through disciplined prioritization often exceeds the additional value added through the more costly step of developing refined estimates of project values. Intermediate approaches, including threshold approaches and the application of triage rules to determine which projects to analyze, are found to be useful but not robust.


We studied the effect of 2.5 X 10(9) live Escherichia coli per kilogram v 2.7 X 10(9) dead E coli per kilogram injected into the peritoneal cavity of sheep with chronic pulmonary lymph fistulas. The effects of dead E coli were compared with those of live E coli, with respect to (1) pulmonary hypertension, (2) hemodynamic failure, (3) damage to the pulmonary microvasculature, (4) systemic arterial hypoxemia, (5) neutropenia and lymphopenia, (6) thrombocytopenia and platelet aggregation, (7) plasma fibrinogen concentration, and (8) classic- and alternative-pathway hemolytic complement. The time after injection of the bacteria was divided into an early period (zero to two hours) and a late period (two to seven hours). We made two conclusions: (1) The early period effects, with the exception of the absolute neutrophil count and Pao2, were independent of bacterial viability, whereas the late period effects were strongly dependent on bacterial viability. (2) The early notable difference between the live v dead groups, with respect to the absolute neutrophil count and Pao2, could not be explained on the basis of an increase in bacterial numbers alone.


Three primary healthcare nurses were funded by the Commonwealth Government to establish a primary healthcare program for three clusters of small rural communities (four towns in each cluster) of less than 1000 people. The role of the nurses was to include the provision of clinical nursing support to GPs in outreach locations similar to that of a practice nurse; to support community development activities; and to foster the development of collaborative partnerships with other service providers and key stakeholders. Initial success led to continued funding for the program and the inclusion of a cohesive strategic approach to enhance community collaboration and sustainability. This led to the development of a community engagement model involving (1) community assessment; (2) community consultation; and (3) project planning. The model acknowledges that rural nursing is more holistic and people-orientated rather than task orientated, where nurses need to display leadership and be agents of change. It also embraces the notion that the individual's health and wellbeing responds positively to active participation in community activities, and those communities that encourage participation have better health outcomes. A case study is provided, describing the nurse's role in the establishment of a Seniors' group in one community.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Patients with HIV-1 infection or AIDS may present with abnormal chest radiograph (CXR) findings in the absence of symptoms specific to the lung. The objective was to determine the spectrum of disease and the diagnostic modalities employed in these patients.

METHODS
From 1996 to 1998, we identified patients with HIV-1 infection presenting to the Bellevue Hospital Chest Service with abnormal CXR findings, and absence of specific pulmonary symptoms. Charts were reviewed for presence of constitutional symptoms, CD4 lymphocyte count, use of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis, eventual diagnosis, and all diagnostic modalities employed. CXR findings were classified according to their predominant abnormalities: nodules, infiltrates, cavity, mass, adenopathy, or effusion.

RESULTS
Forty-four patients were eligible for inclusion. Eight-six percent of patients had a CD4 lymphocyte count < 200 cells/microL, and 57% were receiving PCP prophylaxis. Nodular disease was the most common radiographic abnormality (57%), followed by adenopathy (17%). A definitive diagnosis was obtained in 86% of the patients. The most common diagnosis was tuberculosis (26%), followed by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM; 23%) and Kaposi sarcoma (12%). No patients had PCP or bacterial pneumonia. Sixty-two percent of patients required an invasive modality to establish a diagnosis. Only 18% of patients with tuberculosis (2 of 11 patients) received diagnoses by sputum analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with HIV-1 infection, abnormal CXR findings, and lack of pulmonary symptoms have a high incidence of infectious disorders, especially pulmonary tuberculosis and infection due to NTM. The high prevalence of treatable and potentially communicable disorders warrants an aggressive diagnostic approach in these patients.


Abstract The district noticed in this paper lies to the north of Bovey Tracey. The author describes the courses of the Teign and its feeders, and the strata traversed by those streams, namely, Granite and Carboniferous Limestone. Gravels are occasionally found, which the author regards as having been deposited before the reexcavation of the valley; and he shows that these had been transported by a current from north-west to south-east. From the absence of these gravels in the gorge of the Carboniferous rocks between Hunts Tor, near Chagford, and Clifford Bridge, he considers that that valley has been opened since the time when the boulders and gravels were deposited; and he then shows that the stream from the valley of the Teign, prior to the opening of that valley, passed by Moreton Hampstead to Bovey Tracey. The paper contains notices of the minerals found in the district, and of the Granite veins in the Carboniferous rocks.


We present a comprehensive study of the frequency-dependent sensitivity for measurements of the AC elastocaloric effect by applying both exactly soluble models and numerical methods to the oscillating heat flow problem. These models reproduce the finer details of the thermal transfer functions observed in experiments, considering here representative data for single-crystal Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2. Based on our results, we propose a set of practical guidelines for experimentalists using this technique. This work establishes a baseline against which the frequency response of the AC elastocaloric technique can be compared and provides intuitive explanations of the detailed structure observed in experiments.


The detailed methodology and implementation of a semiautomatic microtechnique for performing serial dilution antimicrobial susceptibility studies are described. Quantitative susceptibility studies to a battery of antimicrobials are performed routinely on all significant clinical isolates. Results are reported as the minimal inhibitory concentration in micrograms per milliliter of broth. Guidelines relating standard doses of antimicrobials with expected blood and urine levels are presented to facilitate the use of the quantitative data. This microtechnique is used to measure serum and other body fluid levels of antimicrobial agents to document the level attained with a specific course of therapy. This technique is highly reproducible and has a high correlation with, and is at least 10 times faster than, standard glass tube techniques.


In "Seeing Gender," anarchist novelist, poet, and playwright Kathy Acker tells us that when she was a child, the only thing she wanted to be was a pirate.1 Pirates could send men down the plank, see the sights on the high seas, and swing from the yardarms. Pirates could be who they wanted to be. Acker tells us that pirates could be and do these things because pirates lived in books and, just as importantly, pirates were not girls wearing girdles and white gloves and dead in/to the world. Pirates existed in the living world, and because of this, pirates had fun.2

When Acker grew up, she still wanted to be, still wanted to live with, the pirates (and she did of course and she still is a pirate in the living world to many of us). She writes:

> … I want to live forever in wonder.
>
> The difference between me as a child and me as an adult is this and only this: when I was a child, I longed to travel into, to live in wonder. Now, I know, as much as I can know anything, that to travel into wonder is to be wonder. So it matters little whether I travel by plane, by rowboat, or by book. Or, by dream.
>
> I do not see, for there is no I to see. …


The term "algorithmic trading of options" refers to slicing and dicing, tick setting, scheduling, and liquidity seeking of orders (which are orders in instruments that happen to be options). Time Slicing or TWAP-ing an option order is one example. Market microstructure differences between different instruments (such as stocks and options) can have a profound effect on the effectiveness of the algorithm. "Option algorithms," on the other hand, are unique to options and hinge on their derivative nature. Examples of option algorithms include volatility pegged orders, delta-adjusted limit orders, and volatility dispersion trades.


Information-centric networking (ICN) builds on a content-centric network architecture to overcome the shortcomings of host-centric routing/operation and realize efficient pervasive and ubiquitous networking. Similarly, multi-access edge computing (MEC) is another key technology to fulfill the stringent requirements of 5G to offer anytime-anywhere connected services for massive numbers of devices with ultra-low delay and very large bandwidths. The amalgamation of the ICN paradigm with MEC opens up new opportunities as well some challenges to realize 5G vision and advance beyond 5G systems. The key motivation of this article is to discuss and elaborate the convergence of ICN and MEC for better future networks, and to identify the current standardization efforts. Moreover, the article renders the key use cases and identifies potential research directions with the coexistence of ICN and MEC.


A phase II trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of a double modulation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by methotrexate (MTX) and L-leucovorin (L-LV) in patients with advanced recurrent (inoperable) or metastatic colorectal carcinoma (ACC). Between July 1993 and October 1995, 41 patients with ACC received a regimen that consisted of MTX 150 mg/m2 i.v., infused over a 20-minute period at hour 0, followed 19 hours later by L-LV 250 mg/m2 in a 2-hour i.v. infusion. 5-FU, 900 mg/m2, was administered by i.v. push injection at hour 20. Beginning 24 hours after MTX administration, all patients received four doses of L-LV, 15 mg/m2 i.m., every 6 hours. Cycles were repeated every 15 days. Two patients were not assessable for response. Objective regression was observed in 11 of 39 (28%) patients, [95% confidence interval (CI), 14-42%]. One (2%) patient achieved complete response (CR) and 10 (26%) partial response (PR). No change was recorded in 15 (39%) patients and progressive disease was noted in 13 (33%) patients. The median time to treatment failure was 6 months and the median survival time was 10 months. Toxicity was within acceptable limits, but one therapy-related death due to severe leukopenia was observed. The dose-limiting toxicity was mucositis. Eight episodes of grade 3 or 4 stomatitis were observed, and were responsible for dosage modifications of MTX and 5-FU. In conclusion, further in experimental and clinical studies are clearly necessary in order to design the best modulatory strategy of 5-FU.


Objective. To determine the effect of floc growth in juvenile shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles in intensive systems under experimental conditions. Materials and methods. To determine which treatment achieved greater physical and chemical factors were measured: temperature and dissolved oxygen; Cumulative growth and population parameters, Survival and Feed Conversion Factor. Collecting this data for 25 days where shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei had an initial weight of 1.8 g in both treatments. Results. According to the results obtained in the experiment, food processing trades + floc obtained a final growth of 5.35 on the other hand treatment with commercial food only reached 4.9 gr. Conclusion. Commercial food Treatment + win larger floc and biomass in less time because application achieved floc provide more nutrients to applied diet and thus used this supply shrimp and this health food as the primary power source, while in the treatment without floc lower biomass was obtained and that this treatment will not be added any substitute only the commercial feed, to conduct the statistical analysis it was found that p <0.05 indicating that significant difference grounds that with the use of floc growth of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei is greater.


According to the Targeted Intervention HIV Prevention Program (2013) initiated by Sangama, Bangalore approximately 1200 transgender are identified in the city. Hijras are transgender who are born biologically male or intersexed but identify themselves as women. The word hijra is derived from the Urdu word hich-gah which is meant something without a proper place or journey. Hijras gathered and attached closely around their cultural group known as gharanas means houses. The present study deals with the issues a hijra faces in search for identity (gender) within and outside gharanas as an individual in society. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory research design and employed in-depth interview of thirteen hijras and four experts for data collection. The data is analysed with the help of thematic analysis network which explored the childhood and adolescence experiences, their serious lack of opportunities in expressing themselves in their biological family and their initial encounters with other transgender, are critical incidents in promoting adolescent hijras? self-acceptance. Gharanas are identified as a self-contained community with an organised structure, well-delineated roles, unique social norms and cultural practises wherein the guru-chela relationship has an authoritative and abusive style which monitors interpersonal relationship and friendships among hijras and "others?. A blend of hindu-muslim cultural identity is one of its kinds in gharanas and castration is considered as a gateway to womanhood. The political structure in gharanas indicates the presence of regulatory procedures to ensure the continuity of gharanas as a community and reaching out to society for acceptance and jamat is considered as a court lead by the nayaks of gharanas which keeps the deviant behaviour in gharanas in check and takes any key decisions. The mediating role of NGOs strives for the welfare of hijras and provides them a democratic platform to express themselves as individual persons. Existence of
2
hijras is ignored the law and they are denied of basic human rights and subjected to violence by police and gundas. Formulation of Government policies would ensure social entitlements and protection from relationship violence. Effective negotiation with gharanas by the NGOS and the Government could improve their standard of living in hamams/ gharanas. Transgender studies are useful in interdisciplinary knowledge generation and dissemination, planning of mental health services and creating public awareness to bridge the gap between hijras and common people.
 Keywords: Transgender, Identity, Status, Hijra, Gharanas, Guru-chela, Clan culture


Resilient modulus has been used for characterizing the stress-strain behavior of subgrade soils subjected to traffic loadings in the design of pavements. With the recent release of the M-E Design Guide, highway agencies are further encouraged to implement the resilient modulus test to improve subgrade design. In the present study, physical property tests, unconfined compressive tests, resilient modulus (Mr) tests and Several Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) tests were conducted to assess the resilient and permanent strain behavior of 14 cohesive subgrade soils and five cohesionless soils encountered in Indiana. The applicability for simplification of the existing resilient modulus test, AASHTO T 307, was investigated by reducing the number of steps and cycles of the resilient modulus test. Results show that it may be possible to simplify the complex procedures required in the existing Mr testing to a single step with a confining stress of 2 psi and deviator stresses of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 15 psi. Three models for estimating the resilient modulus are proposed based on the unconfined compressive tests. A predictive model to estimate material coefficients k1, k2, and k3 using 12 soil variables obtained from the soil property tests and the standard Proctor tests is developed. The predicted resilient moduli using all the predictive models compare satisfactorily with measured ones. A simple mathematical approach is introduced to calculate the resilient modulus. Although the permanent strain occurs during the resilient modulus test, the permanent behavior of subgrade soils is currently not taken into consideration. In order to capture both the permanent and the resilient behavior of subgrade soils, a constitutive model based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is proposed. A comparison of the measured permanent strains with those obtained from the Finite Element (FE) analysis shows a reasonable agreement. An extensive review of the M-E design is done. Based on the test results and review of the M-E Design, implementation initiatives are proposed.


The existence and exact form of the continuum expression of the discrete nonlogarithmic q-entropy is an important open problem in generalized thermostatistics, since its possible lack implies that nonlogarithmic qentropy is irrelevant for the continuous classical systems. In this work, we show how the discrete nonlogarithmic q-entropy in fact converges in the continuous limit and the negative of the q-entropy with continuous variables is demonstrated to lead to the (Csiszár type) q-relative entropy just as the relation between the continuous Boltzmann-Gibbs expression and the Kullback-Leibler relative entropy. As a result, we conclude that there is no obstacle for the applicability of the q-entropy to the continuous classical physical systems.


In medical imaging, computer vision researchers are faced with a variety of features for verifying the authenticity of classifiers for an accurate diagnosis In response to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, new testing procedures, medical treatments, and vaccines are being developed rapidly One potential diagnostic tool is a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) RT-PCR, typically a time-consuming process, was less sensitive to COVID-19 recognition in the disease's early stages Here we introduce an optimized deep learning (DL) scheme to distinguish COVID-19-infected patients from normal patients according to computed tomography (CT) scans In the proposed method, contrast enhancement is used to improve the quality of the original images A pretrained DenseNet-201 DL model is then trained using transfer learning Two fully connected layers and an average pool are used for feature extraction The extracted deep features are then optimized with a Firefly algorithm to select the most optimal learning features Fusing the selected features is important to improving the accuracy of the approach;however, it directly affects the computational cost of the technique In the proposed method, a new parallel high index technique is used to fuse two optimal vectors;the outcome is then passed on to an extreme learning machine for final classification Experiments were conducted on a collected database of patients using a 70:30 training: Testing ratio Our results indicated an average classification accuracy of 94 76% with the proposed approach A comparison of the outcomes to several other DL models demonstrated the effectiveness of our DL method for classifying COVID-19 based on CT scans


SUBJECT AREAS: Acquisitions, Mergers, Present value, Valuation CASE SETTINGS: District of Columbia; Radio; $81.7 million revenues; 1999 Radio One (NYSE: ROIA and RIOAK), the largest radio group targeting African-Americans in the country, had the opportunity to acquire 12 urban stations in the top 50 markets from Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: CCU) in the winter of 2000. The stations were being sold by Clear Channel Communications, Inc. to obtain Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for its acquisition of AMFM, Inc. (NYSE: AFM). Radio One was also negotiating the acquisition of nine stations in Charlotte, North Carolina, Augusta, Georgia, and Indianapolis, Indiana. The proposed acquisitions would double the size of Radio One. The case focuses on the strategic and financial evaluation of the proposed acquisitions.


BACKGROUND
Past literature showed an increase in the tendency to seek out news media information when social connections are strained. In general, news exposure has been linked to a mix of both positive and negative outcomes, such as heightened protective behaviors, feelings of reassurance, lower uncertainty, and an increase in stress and anxiety. However, its impact on individuals living in communities under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be explored.

AIMS
This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the effects of COVID-19-related news exposure on mental health outcomes (such as depression and anxiety) for people living in areas that are under community lockdown.

METHODS
Using purposive sampling, 435 Filipinos under community quarantine were surveyed. The structural model of the relations between exposure to COVID-19-related news, difficulty accessing social support, stress, depression, and anxiety was tested via ML estimation with Robust specification using EQS 6.3 software. Social support access was hypothesized to have a moderating role in the impact of COVID-19 news exposure on stress.

RESULTS
The results showed an adequately fit model. Results show that higher exposure to news related to COVID-19 led to lower levels of stress, especially for those who were having more difficulty accessing social support. In turn, lesser stress was shown to lead to lesser symptoms of anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSIONS
This research illustrates the modest, positive impact news exposure has on mental health outcomes, particularly for individuals who may have difficulty accessing social support due to lockdown measures. In situations where social connectedness and access to social support becomes strained, accessing news can be one way to reduce distress among individuals in lockdown and quarantine.


A dynamic analysis of death reasons among the population of the Krasnodar territory during 1989-2000 is presented in the article. The standardized indices of mortality due the infectious and parasitic diseases as well as due mental disorders, digestion pathologies, injuries and poisoning were growing at a higher speed. The increase of death-rate due to the disease of the above categories is caused mainly by an increased prevalence of pathologies, which have a profoundly pronounced social predisposition, i.e. tuberculosis, alcoholic hepatic diseases, chronic alcoholism, alcoholic psychosis, suicides, and murders. This calls for radical changes within the system of social prevention of mortality among the population.


Study Design Trunk list was measured using three different techniques to compare accuracy, precision, and ease of use. Objective To obtain a reproducible technique for further studies of the nature, cause, and clinical relevance of trunk list. Summary of Background Data Gravity‐induced trunk list is a clinical sign that is frequently observed in patients with low back pain and has been associated with intervertebral disc lesions. Methods Patients with trunk list participated in a comparison of three techniques to determine list magnitude and direction. Paired measurements of trunk list were obtained from each patient using three techniques: a plumbline, a projected shadow, and the 3SPACE lsotrak (McDonnell Douglas Electronics Company, Colchester, VT). In addition, intra‐ and interobserver reliability of list measurement was assessed by comparison of paired measurements by each of two observers. Results List measurements assessed by the plumbline and the projected shadow techniques were not significantly different, but the lsotrak produced data that differed significantly (P < 0.05) from both of these techniques. Comparison of intra‐ and interobserver repeatability of list measurement using the plumbline technique indicated no significant difference between repeated measures by each observer or between two observers. Conclusions A plumbline is the most useful instrument for measuring static trunk list, but its limitations and the need for standardization of measurement technique must be recognized.


Copper and copper alloys had various applications in tremendous areas due to their unique properties, such as good conductivity, good thermal conductivity and so on. However, applications of copper and copper alloys were severely restricted as the result of the limited strength at room temperature and poor wear-resistance at high temperature. In this paper, we investigated the preparation of Cu-Cr-Zr/AlN nanocomposites by mechanical alloying process and then powder metallurgy technology. XRD and SEM were performed for the phase and morphology characterization. The conductivity properties were also tested and the results showed that Cu-Cr-Zr/AlN nanocomposites exhibited excellent conductivity behavior.


Bisexual peoples' experiences of mental health problems appear to be closely related to factors such as the public erasure of bisexuality and a lack of public spaces that are specifically 'bisexual'. Common experiences include feelings of not belonging anywhere, of rejection and stigmatisation by gays, lesbians and straight people, and in some cases of disbelief in bisexuality as a viable identity. In the face of biphobia, organised bisexual spaces such as BiCon are extremely important for the positive identity formation, and mental wellbeing, of some bisexual people, especially for bisexual people who have been previously isolated. This can be theorised using social interactionism, which suggests that interaction with other people is key to the development of our identities. However, in the UK, organised bisexual spaces tend to have very distinct subcultures and ways of doing things, which are connected with patterns of institutional racism, classism and ageism, as well as a valorisation of certain alternative cultures. Also, many bisexual people are not involved in organised bisexual spaces, for a number of reasons. The challenge remains to create a more inclusive bisexual 'scene'.
This paper reports on initial findings from the UK part of a research project about bisexual identities which has involved (to date) interviews with 26 bisexual people with a range of ethnicities, backgrounds and ages. The project is being conducted primarily to support the production of a book (Bisexual Identities, Palgrave MacMillan forthcoming 2014).


Background: The natural history of initially compensated cirrhosis in patients with HIV and concurrent hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is poorly defined. This study was designed to investigate the incidence and type of liver-related complications and mortality in coinfected cirrhotic patients. Methods: We retrospectively identified a cohort of patients coinfected with HIV and HCV or HBV and initially compensated viral cirrhosis. Time to decompensation and mortality from liver-related causes were recorded. Results: Between 1999 and 2004, 392 HIV-infected patients underwent a follow-up of ≥6 months. Sixty-nine patients (17.6%) with initially compensated cirrhosis were identified (7 HBV positive, 59 HCV positive, and 3 positive for both HBV and HCV). The most frequent complication was ascites. The mortality was 71.3 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 47 to 108) in HIV-infected patients with HBV and/or HCV compensated cirrhosis, 8 (95% CI, 4 to 16) in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients without cirrhosis, and 6.5 (95% CI, 2.7 to 15.5) in HIV-monoinfected patients. After the first event of decompensation, the survival rate was 48% at 1 year and 18.1% at 3 years. Treatment with HAART after the first event of decompensation was associated with an increased survival rate (61.1% and 26.2% at 1 and 3 years, respectively, vs. 26.7% and 0%; P < 0.0001). Conclusions: These results indicate significant morbidity and mortality during the 6 years after the diagnosis of compensated cirrhosis due to HBV and/or HCV in HIV-infected patients, identifying ascites as the most frequent complication.


Purpose
This paper aims to draw on Latour's (1991) conceptual "performative" framework to investigate the role of management control systems (MCSs) in the establishment of post-acquisition integration. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach, where data are collected and analysed from an Australian company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which contribute to shaping customer and sales integration activities, including the forms some resistance may take. In this case, a bitter betrayal was perceived to have occurred in an early stage of the merger, and this paper argues that the use of a performative theoretical framework has enabled subsequent post-acquisition integration strategies to be rendered more visible and thus actionable.

Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative approach where data are collected and analysed from an Australian case study company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Research methods used include semi-structured interviews, a review of archival documents and observations to capture daily integration activities and practices of actors operating in the company.

Findings
Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which structure customer and sales integration activities and make post-acquisition integration relations strategy visible and actionable.

Research limitations/implications
Findings are only on one case study, and there is a need to undertake further detailed case studies across a range of industries and timeframes, plus, where possible, revisit such studies post hoc to assess the stability of success of the integration.

Practical implications
Integration strategy and strategic change may be constituted by non-human actants such as MCSs. Practitioners who are engaged in acquisitions and making integration decisions need to recognise that MCSs do not merely play a subordinate role to integration strategies, but rather is an important moderating variable that play an active role in their formulation, configuration and enactment.

Originality/value
A performative approach is taken to provide a broader analytical framework for analysing the construction and sustaining of post‐acquisition integration relations, where there is no distinction between technical and social dimensions of action but, rather, the two are merged. This makes it possible to overcome the limitations inherent in existing theoretical frameworks. Using this approach, integration relations involve construction of a network of entities that are enrolled to support, create and sustain the integration.


: Aggregating data is a widely used technique to protect privacy. Membership inference attacks on aggregated data aim to infer whether a specific target belongs to a given aggregate. We propose to study how aggregated time series data can be susceptible to simple membership inference privacy attacks in the presence of adversarial background knowledge. We design a linear programming attack that strongly benefits from the number of data points published in the series and show on multiple public datasets how vulnerable the published data can be if the size of the aggregated data is not carefully balanced with the published time series length. We perform an extensive experimental evaluation of the attack on multiple publicly available datasets. We show the vulnerability of aggregates made of thousands of time series when the aggregate length is not carefully balanced with the published length of the time series.


Cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs) mediate the coupled, electroneutral symport of cations such as Na+ and/or K+ with chloride across membrane. Among CCCs family, K-Cl cotransporters (KCC1-KCC4) extrude intracellular Cl- by the transmembrane K+ gradient. In humans, these KCCs play vital roles in the physiology of the nervous system and kidney. However, mechanisms underlying the KCCs specific properties remain poorly understood, partly because purification of membrane proteins is challenging. Here, we present the protocol for purifying the full-length KCC1 from HEK293F cells used in our recent publication ( Liu et al., 2019 ). The procedure may be adapted for functional and structural studies.


Malicious code detection is a crucial component of any defense mechanism. In this paper, we present a unique viewpoint on malicious code detection. We regard malicious code detection as an obfuscation-deobfuscation game between malicious code writers and researchers working on malicious code detection. Malicious code writers attempt to obfuscate the malicious code to subvert the malicious code detectors, such as anti-virus software. We tested the resilience of three commercial virus scanners against code-obfuscation attacks. The results were surprising: the three commercial virus scanners could be subverted by very simple obfuscation transformations! We present an architecture for detecting malicious patterns in executables that is resilient to common obfuscation transformations. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our prototype tool, SAFE (a static analyzer for executables).


In distributed applications like teleconferences, a group of multiple processes are cooperating, where messages exchanged among the processes are required to be causally delivered. The processes are exchanging different kinds of multimedia objects in addition to traditional text data. The multimedia objects are longer than traditional messages and are structured. We discuss new types of causally precedent relations among multimedia objects transmitted in the network. We discuss a protocol to causally deliver multimedia objects in a group of processes. We also show the evaluation of the protocol.


Accurate estimation of system frequency in real time is a prerequisite for the future smart grid, where the generation, loading, and topology will all be dynamically updated. In this article, we introduce a unified framework for the estimation of instantaneous frequency in both balanced and unbalanced conditions in a three-phase system, thus consolidating the existing approaches and providing next-generation solutions capable of joint adaptive frequency estimation and system fault identification. This is achieved by employing recent developments in the statistics of complex variables (augmented statistics) and the associated widely linear models, allowing us to benefit from a rigorous account of varying degrees of noncircularity corresponding to different sources of frequency variations. The advantages of such an approach are illustrated for both balanced and unbalanced conditions, including voltage sags, harmonics and supply-demand mismatch, all major obstacles for accurate frequency estimation in the smart grid.


To the Editor .—Drs. Chessick et al ( Arch Surg 110:53, 1975) should be congratulated for their valuable observation that fentanyl produces "severe spasm of the sphincter of Oddi that is variable and not dose related." However, I found no evidence to support the claim that the response is variable, and I think the editorial by Francis Scholz, MD, that accompanied the article ( Arch Surg 110:17, 1975) might well give the wrong impression. It is a fact of life at the present time that fentanyl remains the anesthetic drug of choice for surgery on the biliary tract. Tremblay et al 1 measured the pressure in the common bile duct at the level of the sphincter of Oddi in nine patients before and after intravenous injection of 0.05 mg fentanyl. Elevation of pressure was observed three to five minutes later, but the peak declined rapidly, so that 25 minutes after the injection


ABSTRACT Purpose: This study investigates the perceived influence of outcome-based budgeting implementation towards accountability in public sectors and the moderating role of governance. Methodology: The quantitative method was applied using simple random sampling techniques. Eighty-two usable questionnaires were collected from the prospective respondents of public sector departments/agencies in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Malaysia. The primary data analysis technique for this study is Multiple Linear Regression analysis. Findings: The research findings indicate a significant and positive influence of OBB implementation on accountability in public sectors. There is no significant direct influence of governance towards accountability. However, governance has a significant moderating role between the OBB implementation and accountability. Practical Implications: This study can become a platform for public sectors to continue implementing outcome-based budgeting as their budgetary system, even though they face some challenges in setting up the performance measure for each activity. This study also seeks to inform policy-making within the government, which will support the shaping of better-managed, more legitimate, trusted and accountable public service in Malaysia. Originality/Value: Few studies link new budgetary practices, outcome-based budgeting, with accountability and good governance. Given the lack of extensive literature on this topic, this is probably one of the first studies that provide evidence of the moderating role of governance in the relationship between OBB implementation and accountability, which is in line with the stakeholder theory. Keywords: Outcome-based budgeting, accountability, governance, public sector.


The main stages and inductors of biosynthesis of jasmonic acid and its derivatives, peculiarities of their content depending on the type of tissue, organ, plant age, mechanical irritation, injury and the impact of pathogens are considered. Data about use of mutant and transgenic plants with disturbed biosynthesis and perception of jasmonic acid for research ofjasmonate value in the induction of defense reactions are presented. Enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid, synergistic (with abscisic acid, ethylene) and antagonistic (with salicylic acid) action of jasmonic acid with other phytohormones are described. There are data on the induction of jasmonic acid defense reactions in plants by the activation of genes encoding the synthesis ofthionins, extensins, phytoalexins and phenolic compounds. It is stressed that the ways of signal transmission for defense reactions induction are largely unknown and require further study.


For designing and developing products/services it is vital to know the relevancy of the performance generated by each technical attribute and how they can increase customer satisfaction. Improving the parameters of technical attributes requires financial resources, and the budgets are generally limited. Thus the optimum target is to achieve maximum customer satisfaction within given financial limits. Kano's quality model classifies the relationships between customer satisfaction and attribute-level performance and indicates that some of the attributes have a non-linear relationship to satisfaction, rather power-function should be used. For the customers' subjective evaluation these relationships are not deterministic and are uncertain. This paper proposes a method for fuzzy extension of Kano's model and presents numerical examples that can prove the efficiency of bacterial evolutionary algorithm in as well.


The bending properties of high strength precipitation-hardening AA6016-type Al alloy thin sheets in pre-aged T4P temper state were studied in this work. Microstructural features like grain boundary particles distribution and volume fraction of the matrix strengthening phases were considered as factors controlling the mechanical properties and the fracture of this grade. Remarkable decrease in ductility, accompanied by severe deterioration of bendability occurred when coarse precipitates were found into the grain boundaries. The in-situ fracture sequence investigations as well as the post-failure surfaces observations indicated that grain boundary ductile fracture mechanisms were involved in the propagation of the cracks during bending. Heat treatment simulations were carried out and the results showed that the precise control of the technological parameters during production of these sheets is the key factor responsible for obtaining an appropriate combination of strength and bendability. Only by providing both, homogeneous distribution of the matrix strengthening phases and a favourable grain boundary structure, the severe and often contradictory requirements for the functional properties of these alloys can be successfully satisfied.


This study aimed to assess the status of cigarette marketing in Tehran and the attitude of smokers toward smoking Behavior and tobacco control programs in smokers of Tehran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 608 volunteer smokers in Tehran City. Using a stratified cluster random sampling method, the study population involved smokers who used at least one cigarette per day. The data collection tool was an anonymous self-administered questionnaire including basic information and questions related to participants' attitude toward smoking habits (Cronbach's alpha; 78.19%.). (72.9%) of the participants started smoking at the age of 10 to 19 years and 72.2% used foreign cigarettes. Each person spends a daily average of 30690 riyals for cigarettes. Being tempted (28.0%), feeling euphoria (27.8%) and getting nervous (25.5%) were the most common reasons of restarting cigarette smoking after cessation. A majority of the participants believed that smoking in public places was a violation of the rights of others and smoking should be avoided in such places. 61 Iranian and foreign cigarette brands available in the market that some foreign cigarettes were smuggled. Most smokers start smoking as teenagers, then smoking prevention programs should focus on adolescents as the most vulnerable age group. Raising the retail price of tobacco products through increasing taxes can reduce consumption particularly among first starters and youth. increasing taxes and prices of tobacco products may be effective when simultaneous effective measures are implemented to eliminate all kinds of illicit trade in all forms of tobacco products.


We examine how political corruption affects firms' accounting choices. We hypothesize and find that firms headquartered in corrupt districts manipulate earnings downwards, relative to firms headquartered elsewhere. Our finding is robust to alternative corruption measures, restatement-based earnings management measures, and the instrumental variable approach. Consistent with the motive to depress earnings, we find that firms headquartered in corrupt districts prefer LIFO over FIFO, and the accelerated depreciation method over the straight-line method, they report high LIFO reserve and depreciation reserve, and they tend to select a low useful life estimate. Finally, we find that the effect of corruption on earnings management is more pronounced for geographically concentrated firms and for firms without political connections. In sum, our findings suggest that firms respond to corruption by lowering their accounting earnings.