A new hyperspectral endmember detection method that represents endmembers as distributions, autonomously partitions the input data set into several convex regions, and simultaneously determines endmember distributions (EDs) and proportion values for each convex region is presented. Spectral unmixing methods that treat endmembers as distributions or hyperspectral images as piecewise convex data sets have not been previously developed. Piecewise convex endmember (PCE) detection can be viewed in two parts. The first part, the ED detection algorithm, estimates a distribution for each endmember rather than estimating a single spectrum. By using EDs, PCE can incorporate an endmember's inherent spectral variation and the variation due to changing environmental conditions. ED uses a new sparsity-promoting polynomial prior while estimating abundance values. The second part of PCE partitions the input hyperspectral data set into convex regions and estimates EDs and proportions for each of these regions. The number of convex regions is determined autonomously using the Dirichlet process. PCE is effective at handling highly mixed hyperspectral images where all of the pixels in the scene contain mixtures of multiple endmembers. Furthermore, each convex region found by PCE conforms to the convex geometry model for hyperspectral imagery. This model requires that the proportions associated with a pixel be nonnegative and sum to one. Algorithm results on hyperspectral data indicate that PCE produces endmembers that represent the true ground-truth classes of the input data set. The algorithm can also effectively represent endmembers as distributions, thus incorporating an endmember's spectral variability.


: With an increasing ageing population, the incidence of pressure sores and incontinence is becoming an increasing burden on the health sector and requires new forms of intervention. Three dimensional knitted spacer fabrics can afford a range of properties making them ideal for use against the skin in a variety of medical applications. Fabrics can be engineered with the appropriate choice of yarns to meet a range of product specifications with each layer having a different characteristic. Spacer fabrics are washable and thus reusable making them viable alternatives to disposable products in the medical sector, at a time when there is great emphasis on sustainability and the environmental impact of textile products. Focusing on medical applications requiring bulk liquid absorption, a range of three dimensional weft knitted spacer fabrics were produced and evaluated for desirable properties such as high absorbency and liquid retention using standard test methods. The surface of the fabric was engineered to afford rapid liquid transfer. The level of liquid spreading on the surface of the fabric could be measured using conventional test methods, however to understand how the liquid spreads at different points through the thickness of the fabric a new test method was designed. Results of testing showed good repeatability and use of the prototype test method offering scope for further development.


Background: Demography is a uniquely empirical research area amongst the social sciences. We posit that the same principle of empiricism should be applied to studies of the population sciences as a discipline, contributing to greater self-awareness amongst its practitioners. Objective: The paper aims to include measurable data in the study of changes in selected demographic paradigms and perspectives. Methods: The presented analysis is descriptive and is based on a series of simple measures obtained from the free online tool Google Books Ngram Viewer, which includes frequencies of word groupings (n-grams) in different collections of books digitised by Google. Results: The tentative findings corroborate the shifts in the demographic paradigms identified in the literature-from cross-sectional, through longitudinal, to event-history and multilevel approaches. Conclusions: These findings identify a promising area of enquiry into the development of demography as a social science discipline. We postulate that more detailed enquiries in this area in the future could lead to establishing History of Population Thought as a new sub-discipline within population sciences. © 2014 Bijak, Courgeau, Silverman & Franck.


OBJECTIVE
This study demonstrates the applicability of an innovative wound score that summates 5 assessments using 2-point (best) to 0-point (worst) grades based on specific findings to generate a 0- to 10-point wound score for categorizing diabetic foot ulcers as well as validates its effectiveness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Long Beach Wound Scores (LBWS) were determined prospectively over an 18-month period in 105 hospitalized patients, with or without diabetes, with lower extremity wounds. Wounds were categorized as healthy, problem, or end-stage from their initial LBWS. Outcomes were graded as good or poor using a 5-level scale. Outcome information was available and statistically analyzed for comparisons with initial evaluation LBWSs in 85 patients.

RESULTS
In the healthy category, 66.7% healed or improved and were designated as good outcomes. In the problem category, 83.3% had good outcomes. In the end-stage category, 50.0% had good outcomes. Outliers for poor outcomes in the healthy category were due to the patients' comorbidities, and good outcomes in the end-stage category were explained by successful revascularizations and/or healing of minor amputations. The accuracy of the LBWS for predicting good versus poor outcomes was 75.3%.

CONCLUSIONS
The 0- to 10-point LBWS utilizes objective criteria for grading wounds, has validation data to confirm its efficacy for predicting outcomes, categorizes wound management, and is a practical tool to use for Comparative Effectiveness Research of wound care products and quantifying Minimal Clinically Important Improvement.


Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurobehavioral and developmental conditions that include impairments in a triad of behavioral domains: social development, communication and repetitive behavior/obsessive interests. This case-control study aims to assess executive functioning in ASD preschoolers.
Methods: A sample of 50 children participated in the study (24 males and 26 females; age ranged between 2.7 and 3.5 years). The study sample was subdivided into two groups: 25 ASD children and 25 typically developing children as a control group. All participants were administered the BRIEF-P test to assess executive functioning.
Results: The two groups were counterbalanced for age and gender. Comparison analysis between the two groups revealed significantly higher scores in ASD children in two subscales of BRIEF-P: inhibition and shifting.
Conclusion: These data evidenced significant impairments in several dimensions of executive functions in ASD children. Detecting these deficits at a very early stage of development could therefore have a great impact on clinical practice.


Fast growing plants or biomass wastes can be used as affordable and environmentally sustainable alternatives to synthetic insulation materials. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties (tensile strength and Young's modulus) of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites as potential building materials. As a natural fiber, Bermuda grass seeds, conifer cones and pinecones are selected. The fundamental processes to develop nanofiber reinforced resin by processing agricultural waste fibers into nanocellulose is also investigated. Tensile tests are conducted to define stress/strain relationship. SEM tests are conducted to evaluate the surface topologies after fracture. The tensile fracture surfaces of composites were investigated. With the addition of Bermuda fibers, the stiffness of the vinyl ester sample was observed to increase by 624.2% compared to neat vinyl ester sample. With the addition of nanocellulose fibers, the stiffness of the composite was observed to increase by 53.3% compared to neat vinyl ester sample.


This article examines how diasporic youth resilience is acquired and strengthened through communication. Communication is central to diasporic youth resilience, but communication and media scholars are often absent from theorizing diasporic youth resilience. Using the material social practice of mobile photography, and through original research with young migrants and refugees in Australia, I critically develop a new theory of diasporic youth resilience to demonstrate how adaptability, rather than adaptation, is key to diasporic young people's empowered experiences of relationships, identities, access, social cohesion, and future life plans, as well as advance communication, diasporic youth media, and social resilience studies.


Introduction: Active compounds derived from plants are able to inhibit nerve conduction. Cardamonin, a naturally occurring chalcone, manifests anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-neuropathy properties. Consequently, cardamonin may potentially inhibit nerve action potential, whereby, it affects the nerve conduction. Compound action potential is the sum of the activity which is measured from a nerve trunk. Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of cardamonin on compound action potentials and its possible mechanism of action on frog sciatic nerve. Methodology: Compound action potentials were recorded from frog sciatic nerve by using the AD instrument. Sciatic nerve was isolated from the frog and placed in Ringer's solution. Stimulating electrodes were used to stimulate the nerve and recording electrodes were used to record compound action potentials. Compound action potential of the nerve were recorded before and after treatments [vehicle, cardamonin (0.5, 1 & 2 mg/ml) & morphine (3mg/ml)]. To investigate the involvement of opioidergic system, the nerve were pre-treated with naloxone and followed by cardamonin. All the data were recorded and analysed via LabTutor software. The data were analysed by using Two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferonni's post hoc test with significant value at P < 0.05. Results: The outcomes showed that all the doses of cardamonin significantly reduced the peak amplitude of compound action potential in frog sciatic nerves. Besides, co-treatment of naloxone and cardamonin significantly (P < 0.001) reversed the effect of cardamonin on peak amplitude of compound action potential, suggesting the involvement of opioid receptors to inhibit nerve conduction. Conclusion: Cardamonin reduces the nerve signal conduction via activation of opioid receptors to modulate pain and contribute to the analgesic effects.


Background and aims: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics hasemerged as an important factor influencing patient mortalityand morbidity. The overall purpose of this project is to exam-ine the impact of bacterial resistance on resource use andoutcome in the critically ill. The aims of the current report isto demonstrate that linkage of local microbiology databasesand the Swedish Intensive Care Registry (SIR) was possibleand to provide a preliminary analysis of data from a sub-group of ICU patients (chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-ease, COPD).Methods: Admissions due to an acute exacerbation of COPDwere matched with bacteriology samples obtained 14 daysbefore ICU admission, during ICU stay and 14 days after dis-charge from ICU by linking six local microbiology databaseswith patient data in SIR. Linkage was by the patient's uniquepersonal number and ICU admission and discharge days.Results: We found 195 patients with median APACHE II prob-ability 0.22 (iqr 0.12–0.37), median length of stay (LOS) 46 (iqr 21–125) hours and 79% 30 day survival. Cultures from 2 weeks before (n=128), during ICU-stay (n=750) and from14 days after ICU discharge (n=228) were identified. During ICU stay airways (n=261), blood or intravascular devices (n=246) and other sites (n=243) were cultured. The totalnumber of airway cultures per patient increased linearly withlength of stay (P<0.01,r2= 0.61). Gram-negative bacteria were most common in positive airway cultures (41%) followedby Candida spp (22%), while positive blood cultures were pre-dominantly Gram-positive (71%). 30-day-mortality was 10/53 with positive and 10/29 with negative airway cultures(P=0.23).Conclusion: Linkage of local microbiology databases and theSwedish Intensive Care Registry is possible and can generate information that may be used to examine relationships between bacterial resistance and outcomes in the critically illpatient.


The ixora is ornamental plant widely used in landscaping. In order to maximize the propagation of cuts, we evaluated the concentrations of auxin (indolbutiric acid) and the presence of leaves on the rooting in cuts of Ixora coccinea L. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design, in factorial design 3x4, with three types of cuts (without leaf, with two or four leaves), four concentrations of indolbutiric acid (0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg L-1), with four replications and 10 cuts in each experimental unit. After 53 days of implantation the experiment, evaluated the survival(%), rooting(%), sprouting(%), formation of callus(%), number, length and biomass of roots formed. The interaction of the type of cuts with concentrations of auxin was not significant for any of the variables analyzed. The survival of cuttings was not influenced by the treatments. Cuts with two or four leaves presented rooting and length of roots above the cuttings without leaves. The application of auxin does not substitute the presence of leaf in cuts of ixora in vegetative propagation. The vegetative propagation by cut of ixora can be made without application of auxin, and the leaves must be maintained in the cuttings.


This study explores the perception of and readiness for hepatitis C treatment within a sample of 77 clients already participating in drug treatment, with a view to identifying likely barriers and incentives to hepatitis C treatment within a drug treatment population. Participants with hepatitis C did not demonstrate a consistent, indepth knowledge of the infection, lacked confidence in symptom recognition, and had little awareness of treatment options. Those without obvious symptoms or liver deterioration did not have a pressing interest in treatment, and many had heard concerning stories about the side effects of hepatitis C treatment. For those coping with anxiety or depression, the increased risk of a depressive episode under interferon treatment was a major barrier to treatment.


Every genocide in history has been notable for the minority of brave individuals and groups who put their own lives at risk to rescue its would be victims. Based on three case studies--the genocides of the Armenians, the Jews and the Rwandese Tutsi--this book is the first international comparative and multidisciplinary attempt to make rescue an object of research, while breaking free of the notion of "The Righteous Among the Nations." The result is an exceptionally rich and disturbing volume. While it is impossible to distill or describe what makes an individual into a rescuer, acts of rescue reveal a historical fact: the existence of an informal, underground network of rescuers-- however fragile--as soon as genocides get underway, and in every geographical and social context. (Resume editeur)


The present research article relates to the discovery of the novel drugs based on Zonisamide to treatment of autism disease. In first step, the electronic properties, reactivity and stability of the said compound are discussed. To attain these properties, the said molecular structure is optimized using B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory at room temperature. The frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) energies are used to calculate the global reactivity indices. Based on these indices, Zonisamide is a high stable compound and has low reactivity. In the next step, the optimized molecular structure of Zonisamide is docked into the potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily D member 2 (Kv4.2) and ligand-receptor interactions are analyzed. After that, the novel molecular structures based on Zonisamide backbone are designed and optimized. Designing the novel drugs are done using changes the backbone of Zonisamide and various functional groups. The interactions of the optimized molecular structures with the said potassium channel are analyzed using docking study.Based on these studies, ten molecules showed better ligand-receptor binding than Zonisamide. Finally, the physicochemical properties of the title compounds are analyzed. The compounds P3TZ, H2P3TZ, M2P3TZ, H4P3TZ and M4P3TZ are our novel drugs to treatment of autism disease based on the molecular docking and physicochemical properties.


Endolymph, also known as Scarpa fluid, is a clear fluid that can found in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. It is unique in composition compared to other extracellular fluids in the body due to its high potassium ion concentration (140 mEq/L) and low sodium ion concentration (15 mEq/L). Many tissues play key roles in the production and maintenance of the ionic composition of endolymph, including the Reissner membrane, stria vascularis, and dark cells of the vestibular organs. Endolymph is separated from surrounding perilymph by the Reissner membrane that forms a barrier between the two fluids. The Reissner membrane allows for selective ion transport and ultimately the production of endolymph from perilymph. Another important tissue involved in the production of endolymph is the stria vascularis found lining the lateral wall of the cochlear duct. The cells found in this tissue help to maintain the high membrane potential and potassium ion concentration of endolymph. Dark cells present in the cristae ampullaris of the semi-circular canals make use of the sodium/potassium ATPase pump to actively pump potassium into the endolymphatic fluid. The ion concentration created and maintained by these various tissues results in endolymph having a high positive potential relative to perilymph. The potential gradient created between the two fluids allows for high sensitivity to sound waves that result in depolarization and nerve transmission to the brain for interpretation. Many tissues play a role in the regulation and reabsorption of endolymph; however, these processes are not entirely understood.[1][2][3][4]


Introduction: Solid tumors are characterized by complex morphology. Numerous factors relating to the composition of the cells and tumor stroma, vascularization and drainage of fluids affect the local microenvironment within a specific location inside the tumor. As a result, the intratumoral drug/drug delivery system (DDS) disposition following systemic or local administration is non-homogeneous and its complexity reflects the differences in the local microenvironment. Mathematical models can be used to analyze the intratumoral drug/DDS disposition and pharmacological effects and to assist in choice of optimal anticancer treatment strategies. Areas covered: The mathematical models that have been applied by different research groups to describe the intratumoral disposition of anticancer drugs/DDSs are summarized in this article. The properties of these models and of their suitability for prediction of the drug/DDS intratumoral disposition and pharmacological effects are reviewed. Expert opinion: Currently available mathematical models appear to neglect some of the major factors that govern the drug/DDS intratumoral disposition, and apparently possess limited prediction capabilities. More sophisticated and detailed mathematical models and their extensive validation are needed for reliable prediction of different treatment scenarios and for optimization of drug treatment in the individual cancer patients.


Introduction Refractory angina (RA) is a growing clinical problem due to improved survival from coronary artery disease (CAD) and an ageing population. These no option patients experience chronic angina-type pain, in the context of CAD, despite optimal medical and revascularisation therapies. Consequently, management of these patients is challenging and outcomes remain suboptimal. As mortality is no worse, the focus of treatment has shifted to improving symptoms, quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial outcomes. Methods We undertook a single-centre study of the impact of a multi-disciplinary care pathway (Figure 1) on psychosocial outcomes, QoL and changes in cardiovascular medications. We performed a retrospective search of Electronic Patient Records and databases at the Royal Brompton Hospital for all patients with RA seen between 23/01/2003 and 06/06/2016. Data collected included pre- and post-intervention Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Seattle Angina Questionnaire scores, use of the Angina Plan, referral for specialist pain management and alterations in cardiovascular medications. Median scores and differences for anxiety, depression and QoL were analysed using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank tests. Chi-squared tests were used to assess medication changes. Statistical significance was p< 0.05. Results A total of 190 patients with RA were included. The Angina Plan was used in 80.5% (n=153) and 38.9% (n=74) patients were referred to pain clinic. Comparison of pre- and post-intervention scores (Table 1) showed significant improvements in anxiety (p= 0.0005), depression (p= 0.0469), and QoL including physical limitation, frequency and perception of angina symptoms and treatment satisfaction (all p< 0.0001) (Figure 2). Nicorandil use was reduced (p< 0.05) and ivabradine and ranolazine increased (p< 0.0001). Other anti-anginal (ß-blockers, calcium channel blockers, long-acting nitrates) and disease modifying drugs (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, statins, antiplatelets) were unchanged (p> 0.05) (Table 2). Conclusions In this study, we showed that a multi-disciplinary care pathway for patients with RA can significantly improve psychosocial outcomes, QoL and medication use. Furthermore, the rate of use of the Angina Plan was high, emphasising the benefits of this specialist nurse-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy-based rehabilitation program in the management of RA. Conventional anti-anginal medication use was largely unchanged or reduced (52.8% of patients), in keeping with a non-cardiac aetiology for a proportion of patients symptoms. Ivabradine and ranolazine increased, associated with their introduction to the market. Few data demonstrate the potential impact of specialist services for patients with RA in improving QoL and psychosocial wellbeing, which are the management priorities in this challenging patient group. Our findings suggest that further work in this area is warranted.


Purpose - The purpose of the study is to examine the profitability indicators of public and private commercial banks of Pakistan explored in 2006-2009. Design/methodology/approach - The return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) are used as profitability measures to determine the affect of bank-specific and macroeconomic indicators on profitability. The descriptive, correlation and regression analysis results are derived with the help of SPSS. Findings - The efficient asset management and economic growth establish positive and significant relation with profitability in both models (measured by ROA & ROE). The high credit risk and capitalization lead to lower profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). The operating efficiency tends to exhibit the higher profitability level as measured by return on equity. Research limitations/implications - The technological changes over the time and changes in productivity of macroeconomic and bank specific dimensions could yet be another extension to study. The study is beneficial to banking sector to overcome the ambiguities. Originality/value - The main objective of the study is providing empirical evidence on indicators of profitability in case of Commercial Banks of Pakistan to fill a demanding gap in the literature.


OBJECTIVE
Uncontrolled glucose, present in 40% of diabetic patients admitted to United States hospitals, has been associated with prolonged length of stay and poorer general outcomes in critically ill and surgical patients. However, past studies of general ward patients have shown there to be no consistent benefits of strict glucose control, and the Hispanic population has been underrepresented in such studies. This work evaluated the association between glycemic control and the outcomes of hospitalized Hispanics with diabetes and to describe physicians' interventions in the treatment of diabetes.

METHODS
This is a retrospective chart review of all patients with diabetes admitted over a period of six months in the general ward of a community hospital in Puerto Rico. We evaluated glucose levels during the first 72 hours, length of stay, and reported complications during admission. Outcomes were evaluated with crude odds ratios and multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS
Uncontrolled blood glucose was observed in 59.1% of the 875 patients whose records were revised; of that 59.1%, treatment modification was not prescribed for 43.2%. Patients with poorly controlled glucose were more likely to develop acute coronary syndrome (corrected OR: 11.46; 95% CI = 1.48-88.50) as a complication and less likely to develop hypoglycemia (corrected OR: 0.57; 95% = CI 0.37-0.88).

CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that hospitalized but non-critically ill Hispanic patients with diabetes are prone to poor outcomes secondary to uncontrolled glucose levels; in addition, those results support the creation of standardized protocols for the management of diabetes in this population.


Genital hemorrhage continues to be the primary cause of death among fertile women. Hysterectomy, when practiced as a second surgical procedure following an obstetric event, and without having been planned, is an ongoing therapeutic resource. The author depicts the risk profile of women who could eventually undergo obstetric hysterectomy. Certain pathologies, guidelines, surgical technique instructions, and other surgical manouvers are also presented. The causes of surgical re-intervention and other surgical techniques, as well as massive blood loss, and morbidity are assessed. The authors finally emphasize the importance of an early consultation, of a correct surgical technique, the appropriate equipment management, and the measures for preventing the originating pathology.


Background: In most of Taiwan's medical institutions, congestion is a serious problem for emergency departments. Due to a lack of hospital beds, patients spend more time in emergency retention zones, which make it difficult to detect cardiac arrest. Objective: We seek to develop a Drug Early Warning Scoring Model (DEWSM), including drug injections and vital signs as these research important features. We use it to predict cardiac arrest in emergency departments via drug classification and medical experts' suggestion. Methods: We propose this new model for detecting cardiac arrest via drug classification and by using a sliding window, and apply learning-based algorithms to time-series data for a DEWSM. To evaluate the proposed model, we use the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results: We identify the two important drug predictors: bits (intravenous therapy), and replenishers and regulators of water and electrolytes (fluid and electrolyte supplement). We verify feature selection, in which accounting for drugs to improve the accuracy and demonstrate that thus accounting for the drugs significantly affects prediction. Also, we show that CPR events can be predicted four hours before the event. Conclusion: Our study used a sliding window to account for dynamic time-series data consisting of the patient's vital signs and drug injections. The experimental results of adding the drug injections were better than only vital signs. In addition, we using LSTM method as the main processing time series data, it was the bases for comparison of this research.


Brain tumors represent the leading cause of childhood cancer mortality, of which medulloblastoma (MB) is the most frequent malignant pediatric brain tumor. Current molecular subgroups of MB recognize distinct disease entities of which activated Wnt signaling (monosomy 6, exon 3 mutations in CTNNB1, and Wnt gene signature) is associated with a distinct subgroup and the best overall outcome. In contrast, only non-Wnt MBs are characterized by metastatic disease, increased rate of recurrence, and poor overall survivorship. Given the excellent clinical outcome in patients with Wnt-driven MB, we aimed to convert treatment-resistant MB subgroups into an ostensibly benign tumor through selective targeting by small molecules and transgenic patient-derived lines containing a stabilized beta-catenin mutant. Activated Wnt signaling by way of Wnt agonists in treatment-refractory MBs resulted in decreased in vitro self-renewal and promoted differentiation. Comparative gene expression profiling of control and transgenic lines containing a stabilized beta-catenin mutant demonstrated a reduction in stem cell self-renewal genes following beta-catenin overexpression, including Sox2 and Bmi1. In order to validate the therapy-sensitive nature of Wnt-activated cells, we developed stable patient-derived lines containing a 7XTOPFlash reporter for endogenous Wnt signaling. Rare subclonal Wnt-active cells demonstrated a reduced self-renewal and tumor-initiating capacity through in vivo limiting dilution assays when compared to bulk Wnt-inactive cells. The therapeutic relevance of these findings were demonstrated with an in vivo survival advantage in mice with orthotopic injections of cells containing a stabilized beta-catenin mutant representative of constitutively active Wnt signaling or endogenous Wnt-active cells. Xenografts generated from Wnt-activated tumors were smaller in size, maintained a lower rate of proliferation, and reduction in MB self-renewal genes. To further illustrate the clinical utility of activated Wnt signaling, we modified the Children's Oncology Group therapy protocol for childhood MB so that xenografts may receive chemo/radiotherapy. Tumors generated from Wnt-active xenografts were much more radiosensitive and displayed a significant reduction in spinal metastasis when compared to mice receiving standard therapy without Wnt activation. To develop a rationale clinical therapeutic, we developed unique agonist antibodies that target the Wnt co-receptor LRP5. Treatment with LRP5 antibodies showed a significant reduction in tumor burden and increase in survival of patient-derived tumors that were otherwise treatment-resistant. Our work establishes for the first time activated Wnt signaling as a novel treatment paradigm in childhood MB, identifies a rationale therapeutic approach for recurrent MB, and provides evidence for the context-specific tumor suppressive function of the canonical Wnt pathway. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Branavan Manoranjan, Chitra Venugopal, Zvezdan Pavlovic, David Bakhshinyan, Michelle Kameda-Smith, Minomi Subapanditha, Sujeivan Mahendram, Jason Moffat, Bradley W. Doble, Sheila Singh. Activated Wnt signaling for the treatment of recurrent medulloblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5831. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5831


A complete bathymetry and geophysical survey of the recent domain of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores, between 40°30′N and 45°N, was achieved during the 1998 Triatnord cruise of R/V L9Atalante . Interpretation of along-track data and geochemical analyses of rock samples show that the surveyed section represents a peculiar section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This new data set allows us to tentatively place the northern limit of the influence of the Azores hotspot on the accretion processes between lat 43°N and 44°N. This limit is marked by a 1° wide transition zone. This fits well with the asymmetry of the upper mantle thermal structure, as previously inferred from seismic tomography and geoid models, thus enhancing the links between shallow and deeper accretion processes in a hotspot-ridge interaction context. Observations of along-ridge variations of geochemical parameters at various scales shed light on the relations between mantle (geochemical) heterogeneities and the accretion processes along the ridge axis, confirming the asymmetry in the along-ridge horizontal extent of the Azores plume.


We compared the effects of surfactant and partial liquid ventilation (PLV), and the impact of administration order, on oxygenation, respiratory system compliance (Crs), hemodynamics, and lung pathology in an animal lung injury model. We studied four groups: surfactant alone (S; n = 8); partial liquid ventilation alone (PLV-only; n = 8); surfactant followed by partial liquid ventilation (S-PLV; n = 8); and partial liquid ventilation-followed by surfactant (PLV-S; n = 8). Following treatments, all animals had improved oxygenation index (OI) and Crs. Animals in PLV groups showed continued improvement over 2 h (% change OI: PLV-S -83% versus S -47%, p < 0.05; % change Crs: S-PLV 73% versus S 13%, p < 0.05). We also saw administration-order effects: surfactant before PLV improved Crs (0.92 ml/cm H2O after surfactant versus 1.13 ml/cm H2O after PLV, p < 0.02) without changing OI, whereas surfactant after PLV did not change Crs and OI increased (5.01 after PLV versus 8.92 after surfactant, p < 0.03). Hemodynamics were not different between groups. Pathologic analysis demonstrated decreased lung injury in dependent lobes of all PLV-treated animals, and in all lobes of S-PLV animals, when compared with the lobes of the S animals (p < 0.05). We conclude that surfactant therapy in combination with PLV improved oxygenation, respiratory system mechanics, and lung pathology to a greater degree than surfactant therapy alone. Administration order affected initial physiologic response and ultimate pathology: surfactant given before PLV produced the greatest improvements in pathologic outcomes.


One language skill that should be learnt by English learners is Listening.
Listening is the one of four important skills to study and it is a basic skill that is needed to communicate. Teaching listening must use techniques in order to make students interested and increase the student's ability with listening English. The purposes of the study are 1) to describe the teaching technique of listening comprehension used by the teacher at the second year of SMA Muhammadiyah I Malang. 2) to find out the reason of the teaching techniques listening comprehension used by the teacher at SMA Muhammadiyah I Malang. 3) to know how the teaching
techniques implemented of listening class at SMA Muhammadiyah I Malang.
The research design, which was used in this study, was descriptive research design. The subject of the study was one English teacher at the second year of SMA
Muhammadiyah I Malang. To collect the data in this study, the researcher used two kinds of instruments: interview and observation. The researcher used semi structured
interview because in addition to the questions prepared in advance, the researcher asked other related questions to the teacher freely during the interview about the
teaching technique used in teaching listening, the reason was that techniques and implementation of the techniques are used in teaching listening comprehension at
SMA Muhammadiyah I Malang. In this study, the researcher was a non participant observer because the researcher observed without participating in the situation but the
researcher observed about techniques used by the teacher in teaching listening in the classroom for five times. One of observation purposes is to confirm the result of
interview.
The result of this study showed that, the techniques used by English teacher of the teaching listening at SMA Muhammadiyah I Malang were answering question, guessing, whispering, dictation, songs and identification topic sentences. The teacher combined the techniques in order that the students could easily understand the lesson
that the teacher tought. The teacher's reasons used that technique (1) to make students to study English easier, especially listening. (2) to make the students does not easily get bored. (3) to create more attractive and fun atmosphere at the classroom.(4) to reduce the problems by the teacher in teaching listening in using those techniques.(5) to make the students to be more active in class. Meanwhile, in implementing the teaching technique, the teacher usually used three phases in teaching listening, those were; PreListening, WhilstListening, and PostListening.


Non-recurring traffic congestion is caused by temporary disruptions, such as accidents, sports games, adverse weather, etc. We use data related to real-time traffic speed, jam factors (a traffic congestion indicator), and events collected over a year from Nashville, TN to train a multi-layered deep neural network. The traffic dataset contains over 900 million data records. The network is thereafter used to classify the real-time data and identify anomalous operations. Compared with traditional approaches of using statistical or machine learning techniques, our model reaches an accuracy of 98.73 percent when identifying traffic congestion caused by football games. Our approach first encodes the traffic across a region as a scaled image. After that the image data from different timestamps is fused with event- and time-related data. Then a crossover operator is used as a data augmentation method to generate training datasets with more balanced classes. Finally, we use the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to tune the sensitivity of the classifier. We present the analysis of the training time and the inference time separately.


Estimates of risks and benefits, should be set out in a straightforward way for patients

P roponents of breast cancer screening make powerful claims for its role in reducing mortality.1 The evidence is, however, disputed.2 Critics argue that the presentation of information about the benefits of screening in terms of the relative reduction in the risk of dying from breast cancer is misleading and that the absolute reduction in overall mortality should be used.3 Another criticism is that women are given insufficient information about possible harmful consequences.4 In this issue, Barratt et al present a balance sheet of risks and benefits to help patients make informed choices about screening (p 936).5

The figures on the balance sheet are generated by using a mathematical technique known as Markov modelling. A disease is represented as a process with several states (for example, healthy, diagnosed, treated) and the probabilities of possible transitions between them. The model employed by …


To enhance the electrochemical performance and syngas production in low-temperature co-electrolysis (LT-Co-EC), incorporation of Pd into the nickel–yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) fuel electrode functional layer (FEFL) of a thin film-based solid oxide cell (TF-SOC) by multi-layer thin film deposition was investigated. The optimal configuration to insert a Pd layer without disturbing the surface and cross-sectional microstructure of the FEFL was fabricated by alternating multi-layer deposition of Pd by sputtering and nickel oxide–yttria-stabilized zirconia (NiO–YSZ) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). TF-SOCs with Pd (Pd-cell) and without Pd (Ref-cell) were fabricated and compared based on the electrochemical reaction and syngas production in LT-Co-EC. The results showed that the catalytic activity by forming the Pd–Ni alloy on the electrochemical performance and thermochemical reaction are improved by Pd incorporation at low temperatures (≤600 °C). Detailed microstructural analyses showed that Pd distributes from the electrode/electrolyte interface to a depth of several tens of microns in the anode support and forms a nano-structured Ni–Pd alloy, which contributes to improving the electrochemical reaction and thermochemical reactions such as water–gas-shift (WGS). It was also found that the performance stability was superior in the Pd-cell because pore array generation at the electrolyte/electrode interface was significantly suppressed in comparison with that of the Ref-cell.


Companies today are faced with the challenge of providing as much variety as possible for the market-place with as little variety as possible between products. To achieve this, many companies are using platform-based product development to realize families of products with sufficient variety to meet customers' demands while keeping costs relatively low. The challenge when designing a family of products is in resolving the trade-off between product commonality and distinctiveness: too much commonality can cause products to lack distinctiveness and perform poorly, while too little commonality can increase manufacturing costs. Toward this end, several commonality indices have been proposed to assess the amount of commonality within a product family. In this paper, a framework for redesigning a product family using commonality indices is proposed. We first compare and contrast six of the commonality indices based on their ease of data collection, consistency, sensitivity, and repeatability. Nine families of products are dissected, and the commonality of each family is then computed. This study lays a foundation for understanding the relationships between different platform leveraging strategies and the resulting degree of commonality within a product family. The framework that is then proposed gives recommendations for product family redesign using commonality indices.


The occurrence of natural disasters in the coastal regions and numerous potential events in urban regions have drawn considerable attention among transportation stakeholders. Federal, state, and local officials need to be effectively prepared to address the challenges raised by an evacuation. The focus of this research effort is to develop a tool to study the repercussions of evacuation of an entire regional transportation network recognizing the human behavior element. Neglecting these seemingly chaotic traffic flow patterns would lead to inaccurate system assessment and predictions. The influences of evacuees' locations in the urban region at the moment of emergency alert are studied. In addition, the locations of all members of the household are identified, and household member interactions are explicitly considered. Further, the accurate times the individuals enter the network to evacuate the study region are studied; times can vary according to where the other household members are located at that time and the travel time on the network to reach those locations. To accomplish the goals, the integration framework of activity-based modeling and dynamic traffic assignment is used to study the evacuation traffic flow patterns at the time of evacuation. Specifically, the paper describes the evacuation problem, discusses the utility of deploying the integrated module of activity-based modeling and dynamic traffic assignment for evacuation planning, and outlines the challenges in integrating these two tools.


This study contributes to the understanding of the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel segment, as it focuses on the use of tourism distribution channels as information sources for consumer travel behaviour in the VFR segment. Demographics and trip characteristics of the VFR travel segment were also analysed, according to trip organization (package holiday/self-guided holiday), time used to decide about the trip, type of accommodation, travel companion, and booking; the findings justify the significant and profitable role of VFR in commercial accommodation. The data are representative of the province of Arcadia, Greece, serving as the research field of a longitudinal study. The findings underscore the important role that VFR travel holds in commercial accommodation, confirming the 'hybrid' nature of VFR travel, and highlight the importance of social identity issues involved in VFR travel, as well as indicating an emerging role of the diasporas in their return visit(s) to the homeland. As such, the findings would seem to promote a marketing strategy of organized governance that takes into account identification and focuses on a 'sense of belonging' and community, tailored to the characteristics of this particular target market and aligned with the distribution channels they use, as evidenced in the research findings. Keywords: VFR travel, consumer behaviour, distribution channels, tourism marketing, tourism segmentation


The tremendous increase in international business over the past decade has required a substantial number of corporations to deal with the risks arising from fluctuations in currency values. To do this, corporate treasurers have developed a number of decision rules to guide them in hedging against these risks. Based on the author9s experience with many financial officers involved in conducting these activities, several major alternative decision rules have been identified. Using decision theory as a reference point, this article discusses these practices in terms of their benefits and costs to the firm. A description of how many of the practical problems can be handled with decision theory and some suggested changes in corporate control procedures in this area are provided.


In recent years, the collective behaviors in nature have motivated rapidly expanding research efforts in the control of multi-agent systems. A multi-agent system is composed of multiple interacting subsystems (agents). In order to seek approaches that respect the network nature of multi-agent systems, distributed algorithms has recently received a significant amount of research attention, the goal of which is allowing multi-agent systems to accomplish global objectives through only local coordination. Under this scope, we consider three major problems in this dissertation, namely, distributed computation, distributed optimization, and the resilience of distributed algorithms. First, for distributed computation, we devise distributed algorithms for solving linear equations, which can eliminate the initialization step for agents; converge to the minimum $l_1$ and $l_2$ solutions of under-determined linear equations; achieve ultimate scalability inters of agents' local storage and local states. Second, for distributed optimization, we introduce a new method for algorithm discretization so that the agents no longer have to carefully choose their step-size. We also introduce a new distributed optimization approach that can achieve better convergence rate with lower bandwidth requirement. Finally, for the resilience of distributed algorithms, we propose a new approach that allow normal agents in the multi-agent system to automatically isolate any false information from malicious agents without identification process. Though out the dissertation, all mentioned results are theoretically guaranteed and numerically validated.


In the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a substantial mortality 'penalty' to living in urban places. This circumstance was shared with other nations. By around 1940, this penalty had been largely eliminated, and it was healthier, in many cases, to reside in the city than in the countryside. Despite the lack of systematic national data before 1933, it is possible to describe the phenomenon of the urban mortality transition. Early in the 19th century, the United States was not particularly urban (only 6.1% in 1800), a circumstance which led to a relatively favorable mortality situation. A national crude death rate of 20-25 per thousand per year would have been likely. Some early data indicate that mortality was substantially higher in cities, was higher in larger relative to smaller cities, and was higher in the South relative to the North. By 1900, the nation had become about 40% urban (and 56% by 1940). It appears that death rates, especially in urban areas, actually rose (or at least did not decline) over the middle of the 19th century. Increased urbanization, as well as developments in transport and commercialization and increased movements of people into and throughout the nation, contributed to this. Rapid urban growth and an inadequate scientific understanding of disease processes contributed to the mortality crisis of the early and middle nineteenth century in American cities. The sustained mortality transition only began about the 1870s. Thereafter the decline of urban mortality proceeded faster than in rural places, assisted by significant public works improvements and advances in public health and eventually medical science. Much of the process had been completed by the 1940s. The urban penalty had been largely eliminated and mortality continued to decline despite the continued growth in the urban share of the population.


Although diversity has become a cherished ideal for Americans, a growing literature suggests that many are also ambivalent about lived experiences of diversity. Focusing on three historically homogeneous neighborhoods in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, this paper explores the "civic talk" used to express this ambivalence through interrelated frames of social order and civic engagement. In all three neighborhoods, long–term residents and neighborhood association members speak fluently about race, class, and other forms of diversity in their neighborhoods. Yet when they assess who "belongs" in the neighborhoods, the discussion is coded in civic terms. This framing enables neighborhood association members to act as gatekeepers, wielding civic discourse in ways that reinforce traditional neighborhood boundaries and social hierarchies, while maintaining structural inequalities.


Over the past few years, the rise of restrictions on religious freedom, and the denial of fundamental rights to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex people (LGBTI) minorities in many parts of the world have resulted in an increased number of the asylum requests in many European countries. This article compares and contrasts the approaches of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, highlighting common approaches and divergences. Part I serves as an introduction to the topic. Part II discusses recent developments in the case law concerning the persecution of religious minorities. Part III discusses recent developments concerning the persecution of LGBTI communities. Part IV highlights the common trends, key notions and legal uncertainties of the two sets of decisions. Finally, Part V offers some concluding remarks.


In terrestrial ecosystems, the largest pool of amorphous silica (ASi) is stored in soils and is an important reservoir of biologically active Si for the global biogeochemical cycling of Si. Only limited data are available that quantify the size of this reservoir and often these estimates are made from the physical separation of silt-sized phytoliths, which can underestimate the ASi pool. Soil samples from five watersheds in a temperate-zone continental ecosystem at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, were analyzed for ASi using alkaline digestion. Soils from two of the watersheds were analyzed after experimental forest removal. In undisturbed watersheds, ASi was concentrated at the surface of the soil profile, similar to organic matter, and then progressively decreased with depth. This investigation supports our hypothesis that forest disturbance leads to redistribution of Si in the soil. In fact, although deforestation led to significant decreases in ASi in the upper soil horizons, total profile ASi (similar to 17,400 kg SiO2 ha(-1)) remained essentially unchanged, implying translocation downward. Significant increases in the transport of dissolved silica (DSi) by rivers have been observed With deforestation, however, in which the ASi pool in soils may play an important role. Additional studies should target the potential role of ASi as a buffer for DSi losses from deforested watersheds. (Less)


Introduction Platelet activation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. Thus, it is very important to identify novel pharmacological targets for platelet inhibition to improve ischemic stroke treatment. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between metabolic disorders and platelet activity markers in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Material and methods Ninety-four patients with acute ischemic stroke were divided into four groups with: normolipidemia and normoglycemia (NL/NG), n = 25; normolipidemia and hyperglycemia (NL/HG), n = 21; hyperlipidemia and normoglycemia (HL/NG), n = 27; hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia (NL/NG), n = 21. Twenty-one healthy subjects served as controls. We assessed the CD62P expression on resting and thrombin-activated blood platelets using the flow cytometer and anti-CD61 and anti-CD62P monoclonal antibodies. CD61-positive microparticles were defined as platelet-derived microparticles. The level of sP-selectin in serum was measured by the ELISA method. Results We observed a significant influence of hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia on sP-selectin concentration. A strong correlation between higher sP-selectin concentration and enhanced LDL (p = 0.001), total cholesterol (p = 0.02), HbA1c level (p < 0.001) was noticed. The level of sP-selectin and PDMPs (p < 0.001) were significantly higher in all groups of stroke patients compared with the controls. CD62P expression on resting and thrombin activated platelets were significantly lower in groups of patients with stroke. Conclusions Hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia exert an equal stimulatory effect on tested platelet markers but with no synergistic action in stroke patients with both of the metabolic comorbidities. sP-selectin concentration in stroke patients best reflects the impact of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia on vascular lesions and platelet activation.

https://www.termedia.pl/Journal/-19/pdf-29463-10?filename=the impact of hyperglycemia.pdf


Cummins, Hasset, and Oliner(American Economic Review, 2006) construct a new measure of fundamentals, and show that the positive cash flow effects typically found in investment-Q models disappear when traditional Q is replaced with their new measure. Their results are not robust to small changes in their specification or in the dataset used to estimate their model. The explanatory power of cash flow does not disappear when replacing traditional Q with their new measure of Q; it is never there to begin with. Investment's lack of sensitivity to cash flow may be because their data is biased towards firms with positive cash flow (it is negative for only 242 observations of 11431). This bias and our results mute their argument that the positive cash-flow effects obtained in such models may reflect a failure to control properly for fundamentals rather than the presence of financial constraints.


System Dynamics (SD) and Discrete Event Simulation (DES) are two established simulation techniques for simulating the dynamics of a system. Both have been widely used in modelling business decisions. This paper presents meta-comparison between the two approaches based on literature survey. Upon reviewing the existing literature it has been identified that existing comparisons could be classified under three main perspectives: Systems perspective, Problems perspective and Methodology perspective. The nature of system and nature of problem have been argued as primary factors for deciding modelling methodology. Therefore SD and DES comparisons have been classified on the basis of systems, problems and inherent aspects and capabilities of both modelling methods. It has been argued that development of sound models need fit between system, problem and methodology. The success of model depends on it's technical soundness as well as it's successful implementation. In order to develop successful models this vision has been further extended to incorporate stakeholders, resources and time.


The muscle membrane, sarcolemma, must be firmly attached to the basal lamina. The failure of proper attachment results in muscle injury, which is the underlying cause of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), where mutations in the dystrophin gene disrupts the firm adhesion. In DMD patients, even moderate contraction causes damage, leading to progressive muscle degeneration. The damaged muscles are repaired through myogenesis. Consequently, myogenesis is highly active in DMD patients, and the repeated activation of myogenesis leads to the exhaustion of the myogenic stem cells. Therefore, approaches to reducing the risk of the exhaustion are to develop a treatment that strengthens the interaction between the sarcolemma and the basal lamina, and increases the efficiency of myogenesis. Galectin-3 is an oligosaccharide-binding protein and known to be involved in cell-cell interactions and cell-matrix interactions. Galectin-3 is expressed in myoblasts and skeletal muscle while its function in muscle remains elusive. In this study, we found evidence that galectin-3 and the monosaccharide N-acetylglucosamine, which increases the ligands (oligosaccharides) of galectin-3, promotes myogenesis in vitro. Moreover, in the mdx mouse model of DMD, treatment with N-acetylglucosamine increased the muscle force production. Our results demonstrate that treatment with N-acetylglucosamine can mitigate the burden of DMD.


Changes in the speed with which equilibrium between alveolar gas and capillary blood is approached along the course of the pulmonary capillary are analyzed graphically. Inflections do not occur in the curve of blood oxygen content vs. time but may occur in the curve of blood oxygen tension vs. time. Such inflections depend on the rate of change of the alveolar-capillary tension gradient in relation to the rate of change of the slope of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve. Three graphic methods for estimating the mean alveolar-capillary diffusion gradient are presented.

Submitted on August 8, 1956


Transform faults constitute conservative plate boundaries, where adjacent plates are in tangential contact. Transform faults in the ocean are marked by fracture zones, which are long, linear, bathymetric depressions. One of the largest transform offsets on Earth can be found in the South Atlantic. The 1200 km long Agulhas Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ), form by this, developed during the Early Cretaceous break-up of West Gondwana.Between approx. 41°S, 16°E and 43°S, 9°E the Agulhas Falkland Fracture Zone is characterised by a pronounced topographic anomaly, the Agulhas Ridge. The Agulhas Ridge rises more than 2 km above the surrounding seafloor. The only equivalent to this kind of topographic high, as part of the AFFZ, is found in form of marginal ridges along the continental parts of the fracture zone, namely the Falkland Escarpment at the South American continent and the Diaz Ridge adjacent to South Africa. But the Agulhas Ridge differs from both the Falkland Escarpment and the Diaz Ridge in the facts (1) that it was not formed during the early rift-drift phase, and (2) that it separates oceanic crust of different age and not continental from oceanic crust.A set of high-resolution seismic reflection data (total length 2000 km) and a seismic refraction line across the Agulhas Ridge give new information on the crustal and basement structure of this tectonic feature. We have observed that within the Cape Basin, to the North, the basement and sedimentary layers are in parts strongly deformed. We observe basement highs, which point towards intrusions. Both the basement and the sedimentary sequence show strong faulting. This points towards a combined tectono-magmatic activity, which led to the formation of basement ridges parallel to the Agulhas Ridge. Since at least the pre-Oligocene parts and, locally, the whole sedimentary column are affected we infer that the renewed activity began in the Middle Oligocene and may have lasted into the Quaternary. As an origin of the renewed tectono-magmatic activity we suggest modifications in spreading rate and direction as a result of the Discovery hotspot chain activity starting ~ 25 Ma (Kempe and Schilling, 1974) and the significant deceleration of the African plat since at least 19 Ma (O'Connor et al., 1999).Kempe, D., Schilling, J.G. (1974), Discovery Tablemount basalt:Petrology and geochemistry. Contrb. Mineral. Petrol., 44, 101-115.O'Connor, J.M., Stoffers, P., van den Bogaard, P., McWilliams, M. (1999), First seamount age evidence for significant slower African plate motion since 19 to 30 Ma. Earth Planet. Scie. Letts., 171, 575-589.


Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Purpose: To evaluate safety and efficacy of autologous serum eye drops (AS) in the treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) associated with glaucoma surgery. Methods: Retrospective case series of eyes with glaucoma surgery-induced LSCD treated with AS. Diagnosis of LSCD was confirmed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography, in vivo confocal microscopy, and/or impression cytology. Limbal stem cell deficiency severity was staged using a clinical scoring system (2–10 points). Outcome measures were changes (≥2 points) of the LSCD score and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from the baseline to the last follow-up. Results: Thirteen eyes of 12 consecutive patients treated with 50% AS for at least 3 months were included. The mean age was 78.9±7.5 years and the mean duration of AS use was 20.9±16.8 months. Indications of AS included LSCD progression in eight eyes (61.5%) and visual axis threatening in five eyes (38.5%). The mean LSCD score at baseline (6.7±1.6) was similar to that at last follow-up (6.5±2.2, P=0.625). Two eyes (15.4%) showed improvement, nine eyes (69.2%) were stable, and two eyes (15.4%) worsened. The mean baseline BCVA (0.89±0.64 logMAR) was similar to the mean final BCVA (1.05±0.63 logMAR, P=0.173). There were no serious adverse complications related to AS. Conclusion: AS appears to be well tolerated and may stabilize the progression of LSCD with limited effects. A larger study is necessary to confirm the findings.


The ongoing situation in Afghanistan highlights the deadly implications that the convergence of security and development can create. The article argues that prior to the current focus on the security-development nexus, the convergence was first evidenced by the creation of human security. The article reviews the power relationships involved in the processes that have affected understandings of security and development in the process of the creation of human security. By investigating how the securitisation process operates with regards to human security, the ongoing convergence of security and development will be made evident. The implications for humanitarian workers in Afghanistan will be used to highlight that a clearer delineation is needed between security and development, both in discourse and in practice.


Koro syndrome is a psychiatric disorder characterised, in its typical form, by acute and intense anxiety, with complaints in men of a shrinking penis or fear of its retraction into the abdomen and resultant death. Initially, this syndrome was described as a culture specific disorder. Sporadic cases referred to as the koro-like syndrome have been observed in western countries recently. They are more likely to appear in the context of a psychiatric or neurological disorder. The clinical course of culture bound koro syndrome is usually self limited, but in some cases it can be transient or take on a chronic or recurrent form, lasting from days to weeks, months or even years. We present two cases, one of a middle aged man whose koro-like symptoms have persisted for over 18 years in a relapse mode that is rarely observed, and one of a young schizophrenic, who also exhibits koro-like symptoms.


A carbon molecular sieve for the purification of a gas mixtures containing O2, N2 and CO2, CH4 was produced from a waste granulated PET by means of a single carbonisation step at 973 K. Activated carbon materials presenting good adsorption capacity and some selectivity for O2/N2 and CO2/CH4 were prepared from granulated PET and cork oak with pore mouth narrowing using CVD from benzene. The diffusion coefficients of O2, N2, CO2 and CH4 in these materials were calculated and are comparable to published values determined on Takeda 3A and on a carbon molecular sieve prepared from PET textile fibres by means of carbonisation and subsequent CVD with benzene. However, the selectivities were not quite as good as those given by Takeda 3A. However, taking into account that this is a first attempt at producing CMS from PET, the results are encouraging, and it is to be expected that further development of the experimental procedure will result in new materials with improved performance.


The Duke FEL lab operates a unique UV/VUV storage ring FEL and an FEL driven nearly monochromatic, highly polarized, high intensity Compton gamma-ray source. The Duke storage ring light source is undergoing several phases of upgrade in order to significantly improve its light source capabilities and performance. The recent upgrade in 2004 included an upgrade of the RF system with a high-order mode damped RF cavity and a new 34 meter long straight section lattice designed to host new FEL wigglers. This upgrade was completed in August 2004, followed by the storage ring and light source commissioning. This paper provides an overview of this upgrade project and reports the commissioning experience of the Duke storage ring and light sources.


At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, China underwent an important social transformation, which was among others manifested by the renouncement of revolutionary aesthetics in both art and everyday life. As a result, one can observe the emergence of a new, pluralistic culture, which nowadays appears to combine the unfinished modernist project with postmodernity. The mutual defining of these two factors constitutes also an important aspect of the ongoing Chinese globalisation within the area of culture, where the global is modified by the local, and concurrently the latter invalidates the identity of the former. This article describes the relation between these two factors in the field of contemporary Chinese art. The analysis of selected artworks by Wang Guangyi, Xu Bing, MadeIn, Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei and Wang Qingsong serves as a departure point of assessing whether the new cultural quality constitutes strong distortion of Chinese aesthetic order or is a new challenge it has to confront.


The infrared optical constants, n and k, (n = n-ik) of swelling and nonswelling coals, their respective char products, and limestone at room temperature have been obtained by a particle extinction technique using compressed KBr tables. By assuming spherical particles and using Mie theory for the particle extinction measurements in conjunction with normal specular reflectance measurements from polished specimens, it is possible to obtain more accurate values for n and k than if the usual Fresnel reflectance technique is misapplied to samples that may appear specular but do not satisfy the stringent conditions necessary for invoking the Fresnel equations. Values of k for coal were found to be an order-of-magnitude smaller than previously reported values, with absorption due mainly to molecular vibration. The results for char evidenced that a significant increase in absorption by free electrons takes place upon devolatization and carbonization of coal. The limestone results demonstrated pronounced molecular absorption bands characteristic of CaCO/sub 3/.


This paper presents basic aerodynamics and stall characteristics of the high-lift configuration aircraft model JSM (JAXA Standard Model). During research process of developing high-lift system design method, wind tunnel testing at JAXA 6.5m by 5.5m low-speed wind tunnel and Navier-Stokes computation on unstructured hybrid mesh were performed for a realistic configuration aircraft model equipped with high-lift devices, fuselage, nacelle-pylon, slat tracks and Flap Track Fairings (FTF), which was assumed 100 passenger class modern commercial transport aircraft. The testing and the computation aimed to understand flow physics and then to obtain some guidelines for designing a high performance high-lift system. As a result of the testing, Reynolds number effects within linear region and stall region were observed. Analysis of static pressure distribution and flow visualization gave the knowledge to understand the aerodynamic performance. CFD could capture the whole characteristics of basic aerodynamics and clarify flow mechanism which governs stall characteristics even for complicated geometry and its flow field. This collaborative work between wind tunnel testing and CFD is advantageous for improving or has improved the aerodynamic performance.


Success in basketball comes from a player's ability to consistently execute the fundamental skills of the game and also from the coach's ability to coach and incorporate these skills into their training programmes. Basketball Coaching is a vital resource for current and aspiring coaches, covering the essential skills needed to successfully coach and develop players. The book provides guidance on skills and techniques training, tactical training and physical and psychological preparation for each individual position. It also covers elite level coaching skills, such as performance analysis and talent identification, which can be used at all levels of the game. The book also uniquely discusses the place of coaching within the context of the organizational structures involved in managing the sport of basketball at National, European and International level. The book is illustrated throughout with diagrams to explain all drills. Comprehensive and accessible, this book is the ideal tool for coaches wanting to develop a better understanding of this dynamic sport and how to coach it effectively.


With age advancement, the decrease of bone mineral density is ineluctable. Phy- sical exercise constitutes a physiological approach likely to attenuate or limit the effects of normal bone demineralization (i.e. not pathological) particularly in elderly subjects. Indeed, physical exercise induces mechanical constraints generating bone deformation which sti- mulates osteogenesis and favors bone remodelage. Physical activities achieved in condition of body discharge (e.g. swimming, cycling) or in static condition (e.g. stretching, balance) do not stimulate (or very weakly) osteogenesis. The osteogenic function of aerobic training (e.g. walking, running) is effective only if the intensity of exercise is high (i.e. the impacts on the ground and thus the bone deformation) and that of strength training is effective only if the completed muscular contractions are dynamic and carried out with heavy loads. The calcium concentration increase is greater on the concave side than on the convex side for the bones which undergo strong mechanical pressures during exercise. Hence, it is advi- sable to vary the directions of mechanical constraints during physical activity to strengthen the resistance of the bone in all the plans. In order to obtain significant effects in terms of bone remodelage, the optimal duration of training programs should last at least 4 to 6 months. The osteogenic effects of regular exercise begin from 2-3 weekly sessions. The activation of osteogenesis by means of physical exercise is more difficult in aging women than in aging men because of hormonal factors that are not favorable in aging women. At last, regular exercise is fundamental not only to maintain bone mineral density but also to reduce the risk of bone fracture since there is a relationship between the bone mineral density and the risk of bone fracture.


Introduction: Social, psychological and economic factors are involved in the individual's exposure to drugs. Moreover, individual variations in susceptibility to environmental effects, such as polymorphisms and epigenetic mechanisms reinforce the idea that the gene is a possibility, not a destination. Literature review: The vulnerability of an addicted individual is due to long-lasting changes in brain function linked to neural mechanisms of neuroplasticity. Since the 1970s, it was realized that the acute administration of drugs of abuse promotes behavior reinforcement and development of addiction to understand the behavior of an addict, neurobiology focused on three brain regions: the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens. The amygdala involved in behavior motivated by fear and the establishment of associations5. The nucleus accumbens connected to a reward circuit. And the prefrontal cortex regulates the motivational relevance and intensity of the behavioral response. Glutamatergic and dopaminergic interconnections between these regions converge to the final behavior. In this context, polymorphisms step in generating phenotypic changes. Epigenetic also causes theses changes and refers to modifying DNA without any changes in the sequence of the genetic material12. Epigenetic mechanisms act regulating gene transcription and lasting changes in gene expression are performed when such modifications affect transcription factors, thereby altering the biological program inherited13. Conclusion: Based on what was said, the repeated use of drugs "addictive" induces a reorganization of neurological circuit, establishing the characteristic behaviors of addiction. The plasticity in excitatory transmission generates a condition marked by relapses and uncontrollable desire for the drug. We can consider a hypermetabolic in response to stimuli related to the drug which may be triggered, then the binge eating. And so pharmacotherapy linked to this broadcast and this metabolism that would target the changes caused by addiction.


In structural engineering applications a sufficient quantity of experimental data to be able to achieve a consistent estimate of nonlinear quantities is seldom available: this applies in particular when the structures are to be tested in situ. This report discusses the definition of instantaneous estimators to be used in the dynamic identification of invariant nonlinear systems on the basis of Short-Time Fourier Transform representation of excitation and system's response and within the framework of a Volterra series representation of the input/output relationship. An estimation of the parameters of a dynamic system can be worked out from the evolution of such instantaneous estimators.


Polysaccharides are complex but essential compounds utilized in many areas such as biomaterials, drug delivery, cosmetics, food chemistry or renewable energy. Modifications and functionalizations of such polymers are often necessary to achieve molecular structures of interest. In this area, the emergence of the "click" chemistry concept, and particularly the copper-catalyzed version of the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between terminal acetylenes and azides, had an impact on the polysaccharides chemistry. The present review summarizes the contribution of "click" chemistry in the world of polysaccharides.


This report describes a working autonomous mobile robot whose only goal is to collect and return empty soda cans. It operates in an unmodified office environment occupied by moving people. The robot is controlled by a collection of over 40 independent ``behaviors'''' distributed over a loosely coupled network of 24 processors. Together this ensemble helps the robot locate cans with its laser rangefinder, collect them with its on-board manipulator, and bring them home using a compass and an array of proximity sensors. We discuss the advantages of using such a multi-agent control system and show how to decompose the required tasks into component activities. We also examine the benefits and limitations of spatially local, stateless, and independent computation by the agents.


A set S of vertices is a dominating set if every vertex in V \ S has a neighbour in S. A Roman dominating function (RDF) on a graph G = (V,E) is defined to be a function f : V → {0, 1, 2} satisfying the condition that every vertex u for which f(u) = 0 is adjacent to at least one vertex v for which f(v) = 2. A Roman dominating function f of G can also be represented by a set of ordered pairs Sf = {(v, f(v)) : v ∈ V } . A subset T of Sf is called a forcing subset of Sf if Sf is the unique extension of T to a γR(G)-function. We define a forcing Roman domination number of Sf denoted by F(Sf, γR), as F(Sf, R) = min{|T| : T is aforcing subset of Sf }. The forcing Roman domination number F(G, γR) of G is degined as F(G; γR) = min{f(Sf, γR) : f is a γR(G) function}. Hence for every graph G, F(G,γR) ≥ 0. In this paper, we initiate a study of this parameter. We also obtain the forcing Roman domination number of paths, cycles, complete graphs, and complete multipartite
graph.


Introductions: The pattern of ocular malignant tumors in institutes of Eastern Nepal was analyzed by a retrospective study. Ocular malignant tumors are relatively rare compared to other eye lesions, and require immediate diagnosis and management. Ignorance or unawareness can result into debility, loss of vision, and death. This study provides spectrum of ocular malignant tumor correlating its pathological and clinical findings. Methods: This cross sectional study includes ninety-six cases of ocular malignant tumors diagnosed in the Department of Pathology from January 2005 to December 2009. Relevant history, clinical findings and light microscopic findings were reviewed. Descriptive analysis was done. Results: A total of 96 patient's records were studied. Age ranged between 1-90 years. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Retinoblastoma was found in 34.5%, basal cell carcinoma (18%), squamous cell carcinoma in 14.5% and malignant melanoma in 10.5%. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and management help to reduce debility and loss of vision of the patients as well as help ophthalmologist in shaping the strategy for diagnosis and management of malignant neoplasm. This help in decrease morbidity and mortality of the patient. Keywords: malignant melanoma, ocular malignant tumor, retinoblastoma, squamous cell carcinoma


The purpose of this paper is to research the effect of abandoning the assumption of long-term time horizon in terms of reliability of the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) findings. In order to achieve this goal we will compare the GCR findings with the findings of a composite index of competitiveness, named 6 BIC (Basic Indicators of Competitiveness). We have developed this index on the theoretical basis provided by Krugman, Fagerbergs, Scott, Lodge, Aiginger and others. Economists are aware that any theoretical conception, including the GCR, relies on a number of assumptions and postulations. If some of those have been under scrutiny, then the whole construction and its findings would lose their credibility. One of the most significant assumptions rooted in the Global Competitiveness Report is its longevity. In the long-term, the change in productivity level through price competitiveness certainly brings out a change in outcome competitiveness level. However, the effects in short-to-middle term are not certain. Our findings show that there is a whole range of countries whose national competitiveness is either under-estimated by the GCR (for example Russia, Turkey, Estonia, Moldova) or overvalued (Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain) in short-to-middle term. The basic conclusion from the obtained results of the research is that the GCR does not provide sufficiently good view of the current competitiveness of the countries, and that this indicator needs to be extended also with other competitiveness indicators, such as those selected in our paper.


Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in a randomized, double blind, cross‐over trial. They received mirtazapine, mianserin or placebo during separate periods of 15 days. Mirtazapine and mianserin were respectively administered in doses of 15 mg and 30 mg nocte for the first 7 days and doses of 30 mg and 60 mg nocte for the remaining 8 days. Assessments were made at baseline and on days 2, 8, 9 and 16 of each period to compare effects of drugs and placebo on mood, psychomotor (CTT, CRT, CFF and Vigilance) and 'actual' driving performance. Sleep quality and duration and side‐effects were assessed at baseline and every treatment day. Mirtazapine 15 mg and mianserin 30 mg slightly impaired psychomotor and driving performance on day 2 of treatment. On day 8, the effects were virtually gone, although some driving impairment could still be observed in the mianserin condition. No drug effects on performance were found on day 9 despite the dose escalation. On day 16 of treatment, driving performance and vigilance slightly decreased in, respectively, the mirtazapine and the mianserin conditions. These effects indicate that tolerance to the drugs' adverse effects was not complete. This observation was also supported by subjective data. Similar increments in sleep duration and feelings of lethargy, drowsiness and weakness were observed throughout treatment with both drugs. Alertness and contentedness was always lower during both drug treatments than with placebo. Spontaneously reported adverse events were similar to self‐rated side‐effects and more of both were recorded during mianserin treatment. It is concluded that the acute and subchronic effects of nocturnal doses of both drugs were similar and equally low in magnitude. Effects on performance were much less than those seen in other studies after administration during the day. Full daily doses of both drugs should be prescribed in nocturnal dosing regimens, and not in divided doses over the day, for avoiding excessive sedation and performance impairment. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


OBJECTIVE
Up to 50 % of patients suffering from major depression are not recognised by their general practitioners. On the other hand general practitioners do rate some of their patients as depressive despite the fact that psychiatric diagnostic instruments do not. In this study we wanted to not only analyse the number and proportion of concordant diagnoses between GP and an established psychiatric diagnostic instrument (PHQ-9), but also to analyse the modalities of non-concordant diagnostic classifications.

METHODS
34 participating GPs asked all their patients visiting them at one ordinary work-day to fill in a questionnaire that included the German version of PHQ-9. Independently GPs documented their diagnostic judgement. If they saw a mental affection, they were asked to choose between eight different affections, with depression being just one of them.

RESULTS
1 277 patients filled in the questionnaires; from these 902 questionnaires could be analysed, because a pair of GP and patient could be identified. The prevalence of major-depression in the study-population was 9 %. GPs and PHQ-9 diagnoses were concordant in 45 %. However, GPs rated two thirds of patients that were classified as depressed by the PHQ-9 as psychologically affected. In these patients they also devoted more than half of the consultation time to mental problems.

CONCLUSIONS
GPs do often not diagnose patients as depressive even though they clearly realise their mental affection. Simple explanations like lack of time or conscious or unconscious avoidance to make a psychiatric diagnosis cannot explain this phenomenon.


The adverse effects of rapid urbanization are of global concern. Careful planning for and accommodation of accelerating urbanization and citizenization (i.e., migrants gaining official urban residency) may be the best approach to limit some of the worst impacts. However, we find that another trajectory may be possible: one linked to the rural development plan adopted in the latest Chinese national development strategy. This plan aims to build rural areas as attractive areas for settlement by 2050 rather than to further urbanize with more people in cities. We assess the political motivations and challenges behind this choice to develop rural areas based on a literature review and empirical case analysis. After assessing the rural and urban policy subsystem, we find five socio-political drivers behind China's rural development strategy, namely ensuring food security, promoting culture and heritage, addressing overcapacity, emphasizing environmental protection and eradicating poverty. To develop rural areas, China needs to effectively resolve three dilemmas: (1) implementing decentralized policies under central supervision; (2) deploying limited resources efficiently to achieve targets; and (3) addressing competing narratives in current policies. Involving more rural community voices, adopting multiple forms of local governance, and identifying and mitigating negative project impacts can be the starting points to manage these dilemmas.


The paper presents the comparative analysis of inverse emulsion rheological behavior stabilized by monoethanolamide and diethanolamide of tall oil fatty acids, which are promising reagents for petroleum engineering. Flow curves of emulsions and volume ratio of dispersed phase have been obtained. The analysis of the dependence of Herschel–Bulkley model parameters on concentration of emulsifiers has been carried out. It is proved that emulsifiers affect weakly on the rheological parameters in high water phase content emulsions, while in cut-back emulsions their impact is registered to be stronger. It has been found that rheological parameters of the emulsions stabilized by monoethanolamide throughout the range of concentration are considerably higher than the samples on the base of diethanolamide. The experimental data proved the key impact of viscosity of dispersion medium on rheological behavior of cut-back emulsions.


Background:Mutations in BRCA1/2 confer a high risk of breast cancer, but literature values of this risk vary. A genotype–phenotype correlation has been found in both genes, and the effect of reproductive factors differs according tomutation location. Therefore, we hypothesize that such a variation may exist for other factors related to estrogen exposure. Methods: We used a weighted Cox regression model to assess variation in breast cancer risk with these factors using location of mutation in homogeneous breast cancer risk region of BRCA1/2 in the GENEPSO study. Results: We found that late age at menarche reduced breast cancer riskby31%and that amongBRCA1 carriers, a longor a short menstrual cycle increased risk (by 65% and 73%, respectively). Among premenopausal women, overweight was associated with a 45% decrease in risk whereas underweight was associated with an increased risk (HR, 2.40). A natural menopause, mainly after age 50, was associated with a high breast cancer risk (HR, 2.46), and a significant interaction betweenmenopause status and the location of mutations was found leading up to 10% variation in absolute risk according to the age at menopause. Conclusions: As observed in the general population, a late menarche, a long or a short menstrual cycle, overor underweight, and being postmenopausal were associated with breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 carriers. The association with the menopause was observed only when the mutation was located in the "high-risk" zones. Impact: Taking into account modifier factors, location of mutation might be important for the clinical management of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(4);


Sanjay Subrahmanyam's Three Ways to Be Alien draws on the lives and writings of a trio of marginal and liminal figures cast adrift from their traditional moorings into an unknown world. The subjects include the aggrieved and lost Meale, a "Persian" prince of Bijapur (in central India, no less) held hostage by the Portuguese at Goa; English traveler and global schemer Anthony Sherley, whose writings reveal a surprisingly nimble understanding of realpolitik in the emerging world of the early seventeenth century; and Nicolo Manuzzi, an insightful Venetian chronicler of the Mughal Empire in the later seventeenth century who drifted between jobs with the Mughals and various foreign entrepots, observing all but remaining the eternal outsider. In telling the fascinating story of floating identities in a changing world, Subrahmanyam also succeeds in injecting humanity into global history and proves that biography still plays an important role in contemporary historiography.


Background: Diseases such as stroke and heart disease are chiefly caused by unhealthy behaviours and are a major societal burden. User financial incentives are being explored as a way to encourage healthier lifestyles. This research developed a framework to provide information on pricing and cost-effectiveness of incentives and guide design of future incentive schemes.
Methods: The workstreams were: a) structured, configurative literature review to identify neo-classical/behavioural economic explanations for behaviour change and incentives; b) contingent valuation survey to identify willingness to accept (WTA) and incentive pricing; c) systematic review and meta-analysis of incentives for weight loss; d) development of decision-analytic model to estimate cost-effectiveness of incentives for weight loss.
Results: The reviews identified a number of factors important for understanding the effect of incentives including internal motivation, self-control and time preference. A theoretical framework of incentive impact was developed to facilitate WTA survey design. The WTA survey was completed by 112 people (n=56 at 3 months). 57% strongly disagreed with incentive use. The mean incentive required per month depended on behaviour, ranging £103.69 for smoking cessation to £45.43 for reducing alcohol intake. The most important predictors of WTA were self-control, perceived difficulty of change and attitudes to incentives. There was some evidence that WTA incentives increased over time. Review and meta-regression provided efficacy parameters for the decision-analytic model which comprised the following health states: healthy, type II diabetes, stroke, myocardial infarction and dead. Analyses from NHS and employer perspectives indicated incentives for weight loss are cost-effective over a lifetime as they dominated usual care.
Discussion: Incentives may be most powerful if they are personalised to account for individual factors and attitudes and are dynamic in response to these. Incentives may be cost-effective in a number of scenarios. Further research is required on the long term outcomes of incentives and financing models.


This chapter begins by explaining the main SDN concepts with the focus on a SDN controller. It presents the most important aspects to consider when we desire to go from traditional network to a SDN networks. We present an in-depth analysis of the most commonly used and modern SDN controllers and analyse the main features, capabilities and requirements of one of the presented controllers. OpenFlow is the standard leading in the market allowing the management of the forwarding plane devices such as routers or switches. While there are other standards with the same aim, OpenFlow has secured a position in the market and has been expanded rapidly. Therefore, an analysis is presented on a different OpenFlow compatible device for the implementation of an SDN network. This study encompasses both software and hardware solutions along with the scope of implementation or use of these devices. This chapter ends up presenting a description of OpenFlow protocol alternatives, a more detailed description of OpenFlow and its components and other wellknown southbound protocols involved for the management and configuration of the devices.


Hearts of 50 patients (males of 30 to 54 years) after sudden cardiac death (SCD) without myocardial infarction, acute or recorded in the past, were studied. Heart slides were stained with an iron hematoxylin; polarizing microscopy was also used. The surface of cardiomyocytes diffusely stained with an iron hematoxylin was determined in histological slides by means of a 100-points ocular mesh. Essential differences in the spread of contractural myocardial lesions were found, this likely to be bound with different mechanisms of death (ventricular fibrillation, asystole). A low degree of spread of these lesions was noted more frequently in grave stenoses (greater than 75%) of coronary arteries. A direct correlation between the spread of contractural lesions and renin activity in plasma is found.


High functional complexity is leading us towards new architectures for sensing systems. Multi-tiered design is one among the many emerging alternatives. Such architectures bring new opportunities for effective system-level power management. For instance, varying one/more tier-level parameters can provide substantial end-to-end energy scaling. In this paper, we review an existing approach that shows how one such parameter, namely data compression, can help us scale energy at the cost of algorithmic accuracy. The methodology is driven by a case study of inferring the onset of seizure events directly from compressively-sensed electroencephalograms. Results from an integrated circuit implementation have shown tier-level computational energy scaling in the range 1.2-214 μJ depending on the amount of compression (2-24×) and inference accuracy (sensitivity, latency, and specificity of 91-96%, 4.7-5.3 sec., and 0.17-0.30 false-alarms/hr., respectively). The projections we make in this paper show that for similar systems, compressive sensing, through this approach, has the potential to prolong battery lives of all tiers by up to 5×.


The aim of this work is conducting polymeric synthesis with microwaves for producing beta-SiC. A polymeric precursor was prepared by means of hydrolysis and condensation reactions from pheniltrimethoxysilane, water, methanol, ammonium hydroxide and chloride acid. The precursor was placed into a quartz tube in vacuum; pyrolysis was carried out conventionally in a tube furnace, and by microwaves at 2.45 GHz in a multimode cavity. Conventional tests took place in a scheme where temperature was up to 1500 degrees C for 120 minutes. Microwave heating rate was not controlled and tests lasted 60 and 90 minutes, temperature was around 900 degrees C. Products of the pyrolysis were analyzed by means of x-ray diffraction; in the microwave case the diffraction patterns showed a strong background of either very fine particles or amorphous material, then infrared spectroscopy was also employed for confirming carbon bonds. In both processes beta-SiC was found as the only produced carbide.


Core transport barriers can be reliably formed in DIII-D by tailoring the evolution of the current density profile. This paper reports studies of the relative role of magnetic and ExB shear in creating core transport barriers in the DIII-D tokamak and considers the detailed dynamics of the barrier formation. The core barriers seen in DIII-D negative shear discharges form in a stepwise fashion during the initial current ramp. The reasons for the stepwise formation is not known; these steps do not correlate with integer values of q(O) or minimum q. The data from DIII-D is consistent with previous results that negative magnetic shear facilitates the formation of core transport barriers in the ion channel but is not necessary. However, strongly negative magnetic shear does allow formation of transport barriers in particle, electron thermal, ion thermal and angular momentum transport channels. Shots with strong negative magnetic shear have produced the steepest ion temperature and toroidal rotation profiles seen yet in DIII-D. In addition, the ExB shearing rates seen in these shots exceed the previous DIII-D record value by a factor of four.


The focus of this paper is on analyzing the value creation dynamics in the project implementation phase. By value creation, we mean the activities, processes, and strategies that the project team uses to increase benefits and/or reduce costs in the project. By synthesizing the literature on project management and system dynamics, we developed a simulation model with various structures underlying project dynamics. We considered four structures that influence project realized value: project team features, project characteristics, project controls and value creation processes, and project remedial actions due to ripple effects. The resulting model can systematically examine the interplay of value creation processes: work progression, rework, redesign and innovation, and rescheduling. We used the model to explain how the project team's capability, motivation, and speed of making the best-for-project decisions ensure that the value creation goals are met. We simulate various scenarios that show the significance of the processes and their influencing structures on the realized value. The results present how endogenous and exogenous drivers of system behavior unfold over time and provide a richer understanding of the effect of various model structures such as project complexity and uncertainty on value creation.


OBJECTIVE
Since full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, the number of uninsured individuals in the United States has declined considerably; however, millions still lack health insurance. Although 29% of the remaining uninsured population (8.5 million individuals) have a mental or substance use disorder, little is known about this population.

METHODS
This study used data from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to describe demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and use of behavioral health services among adults (ages 18-64) with a behavioral disorder who remained uninsured (unweighted N=2,300; weighted N of approximately 8.5 million).

RESULTS
Over half of individuals with a behavioral disorder who remained uninsured were non-Hispanic whites. The largest age group was 26- to 35-year-olds. Most worked in clerical or blue-collar occupations, and less than 20% were college graduates and above. More than 90% could qualify for insurance assistance under the ACA, either through Medicaid eligibility (income <138% of the federal poverty level [FPL]) or eligibility for cost-sharing subsidies or tax credits on the health insurance exchanges (income ≥138% but <400% of the FPL). Rates of behavioral health treatment were low; however, nearly half of Medicaid-eligible individuals (46%) reported a past-year emergency department visit.

CONCLUSIONS
The high proportion of behavioral health conditions among the remaining uninsured population, and the fact that a significant portion of this population would be eligible for ACA insurance support, highlights the need for continued educational outreach efforts and steps to remove barriers to treatment access.