Background: Identification and treatment of malnutrition are essential in upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancer. However, there is limited understanding of the nutritional status of UGI cancer patients at the time of curative surgery. This prospective point prevalence study involving 27 Australian tertiary hospitals investigated nutritional status at the time of curative UGI cancer resection, as well as presence of preoperative nutrition impact symptoms, and associations with length of stay (LOS) and surgical complications. Methods: Subjective global assessment, hand grip strength (HGS) and weight were performed within 7 days of admission. Data on preoperative weight changes, nutrition impact symptoms, and dietary intake were collected using a purpose-built data collection tool. Surgical LOS and complications were also recorded. Multivariate regression models were developed for nutritional status, unintentional weight loss, LOS and complications. Results: This study included 200 patients undergoing oesophageal, gastric and pancreatic surgery. Malnutrition prevalence was 42% (95% confidence interval (CI) 35%, 49%), 49% lost ≥5% weight in 6 months, and 47% of those who completed HGS assessment had low muscle strength with no differences between surgical procedures (p = 0.864, p = 0.943, p = 0.075, respectively). The overall prevalence of reporting at least one preoperative nutrition impact symptom was 55%, with poor appetite (37%) and early satiety (23%) the most frequently reported. Age (odds ratio (OR) 4.1, 95% CI 1.5, 11.5, p = 0.008), unintentional weight loss of ≥5% in 6 months (OR 28.7, 95% CI 10.5, 78.6, p < 0.001), vomiting (OR 17.1, 95% CI 1.4, 207.8, 0.025), reduced food intake lasting 2–4 weeks (OR 7.4, 95% CI 1.3, 43.5, p = 0.026) and ≥1 month (OR 7.7, 95% CI 2.7, 22.0, p < 0.001) were independently associated with preoperative malnutrition. Factors independently associated with unintentional weight loss were poor appetite (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.6, 8.4, p = 0.002) and degree of solid food reduction of <75% (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2, 9.2, p = 0.02) and <50% (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.5, 15.6, p = 0.008) of usual intake. Malnutrition (regression coefficient 3.6, 95% CI 0.1, 7.2, p = 0.048) and unintentional weight loss (regression coefficient 4.1, 95% CI 0.5, 7.6, p = 0.026) were independently associated with LOS, but no associations were found for complications. Conclusions: Despite increasing recognition of the importance of preoperative nutritional intervention, a high proportion of patients present with malnutrition or clinically significant weight loss, which are associated with increased LOS. Factors associated with malnutrition and weight loss should be incorporated into routine preoperative screening. Further investigation is required of current practice for dietetics interventions received prior to UGI surgery and if this mitigates the impact on clinical outcomes.


With the advent of the new security measures, today's airports have become increasingly complex and congested. Air and passenger traffic continues to increase; consequently, the need for intelligent design concepts is required. Unlike all other existing airport designs that focused exclusively on operational performance, this study focused on the development of a new airport terminal design methodology that takes a proactive approach to minimizing the effects of security disruptions while simultaneously maximizing operational performance and passenger flow. The study addressed the impact of security operations on both the design of airport facilities and passenger flows, and discussed options and scenarios to integrate these factors in obtaining improved performance. Simulation analysis results revealed that alternative designs can result in cost savings from evacuation time reductions of up to 10%.


Annexin A2 and S100A10 proteins form a heterotetrameric complex and belong to different families of Ca2+-binding proteins. Annexins are non-EF-hand-type Ca2+-binding proteins that exhibit Ca2+-dependent binding to phospholipids and membranes in various tissues. They have been implicated in many Ca2+-regulated processes, including regulation of membrane organization, trafficking and interact with many targets such as ion channels. S100 proteins comprise a family of small proteins characterised by the presence of two consecutive EF-hand type Ca2+-binding motifs, interact with ion channels and regulate diverse processes and play a role as Ca2+ sensors. Several annexin–S100 complexes have been characterized and require calcium. In this regard, S100A10 binding to annexin A2 is an exception in that it is regulated by a post-translational modification of annexin A2 and occurs independently of calcium concentration. This review focuses on the regulatory mechanism behind annexin A2–S100A10 complex formation, its role in regulating chloride transport in health and cystic fibrosis and the potential of this mechanism to integrate calcium and cAMP signalling in airway epithelia. We propose that cAMP/PKA-dependent activation of chloride flux (through CFTR and ORCC) requires the mobilisation of a multi-protein complex involving calcium binding proteins from three different families (annexin 2, S100A10 and Calcineurin A).


North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been the most important and successful multilateral military cum political organization, pursuing the agenda of exporting democracy globally and ensuring the mutual defense of its allies. Historically, NATO was formed against the threat of communism emanating from USSR (Russia). The alliance did not use military option till the end of the cold war between the west and USSR, but post-cold war, it transformed and operated in Balkans, South Asia, Horn of Africa, and Middle East. The 9/11 incident further enhanced the military role of the organization and gave it ample reason to act internationally for ensuring the global security. America, being the leader of the alliance used it for fighting the so-called global war on terrorism and its adventures in Middle East. Nevertheless, in the last two decades the organization went through various changes and is now continuously in the state of transformation. The wave of populism which had influenced the very concept of globalization has posed serious challenges for the alliance. The Trump rhetoric of "America first", BREXIT, challenges of migration, changing demography of Europe, assertion of Russia in global politics, confrontation between the NATO allies like Turkey and France, and rise of China are few factors which may affect the future of the so-called intergovernmental military alliance. This article concurrently discusses the new challenges for the NATO and sheds light on the possible options to the strategy of Biden administration to reverse the policies of its predecessor which have influenced the cooperation of different allies of NATO. In the end researcher has tried to put forth few recommendations which may help the policy makers to cope with the challenges NATO is facing. The study is qualitative and analytical in nature whereas primary as well as secondary sources are used for data collection.


Hsp90 is gaining increasing importance as a protein involved in controlling the normal functioning of the cell. To do this it apparently interacts with a battery of co-chaperone proteins that are involved in both substrate recognition and the progression of the Hsp90 catalytic pathway. In this report we have identified the Drosophila Dpit47 protein (DNA polymerase interacting tpr containing protein of 47 kDa) through its interaction with the DNA polymerase alpha. This protein is a predominantly nuclear protein, which forms a tight and stoichiometric interaction with Hsp90 and shows interaction with Hsp70. It also has substantial homology to other known Hsp90 co-chaperones, e.g. CNS1 and hop1, making it likely that this protein also functions as an Hsp90 co-chaperone. The interaction with the DNA polymerase alpha is not related to the special situation in early embryos where there are large amounts of maternal protein stockpiles of the polymerase, as it occurs to the same level in early and late embryos and also in proliferating cell culture. However, it does not occur in quiescent cells, making it likely that the protein is related to proliferation. This is also consistent with Dpit47 expression being higher in proliferating cells. The interaction between the Dpit47 and the polymerase takes place predominantly in the nucleoplasm, and seems to involve several subunits of the polymerase in comparable amounts, making it unlikely that it is solely required for the assembly of the polymerase complex. The polymerase can also be seen to interact with Hsp90, and the interaction between Dpit47 and the polymerase is increased by the specific Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin. This suggests that a complex of the Dpit47, Hsp90 and DNA polymerase exists in the cell. The interaction between DNA polymerase alpha and Dpit47 completely inhibits the activity of the polymerase. These results suggest that Hsp90 acts as a chaperone for DNA polymerase alpha and that this interaction is mediated through the novel co-chaperone Dpit47. This provides the first suggestion of a role for chaperones in DNA replication in higher eukaryotes.


EB3 is a trace-based formal language created for the specification of information systems (IS). Attributes, linked to entities and associations of an IS, are computed in EB3 by recursive functions on the valid traces of the system. In this paper, we show how to synthesize relational database transactions that correspond to EB3 attribute definitions. Thus, each EB3 action is translated into a transaction. EB3 attribute definitions are analysed to determine the key values affected by each action. To avoid problems with the sequencing of SQL statements in the transactions, temporary variables and/or tables are introduced for these key values.


Aim To develop a simple method to assess the level of anxiety by using children's drawings and correlating them with Frankl's behavior rating scale. Materials and methods A total of 178 patients aged of 3 to 14 years were handed out two-page forms which contained three sections on coloring and drawing, along with general information, and Frankl's behavior rating scale for the visit. The three types of drawing exercises given to the patients were geometric copy drawings, coloring a nonthreatening figure, and an empty sheet for freehand drawing. Results Out of 178 patients, 60 showed definitely positive behavior, 73 exhibited positive behavior, 37 showed negative behavior, and 8 were definitely negative on Frankl's behavior rating scale; 133 children had none or, 1 stress marker and 45 exhibited 2 or 3 stress markers in their drawings. Chi-square (χ2) analysis was done with a 2 × 2 contingency table. Observed χ2 value was 46.166, which at 1 degree of freedom was much greater than that at 0.995 percentile. Therefore, the result was highly significant. Conclusion Children requiring specialized behavioral techniques can be identified by the presence of stress markers in their drawings. This nonverbal activity by itself can have an overall positive effect on the behavior displayed in the dental clinic. How to cite this article Mathur J, Diwanji A, Sarvaiya B, Sharma D. Identifying Dental Anxiety in Children's Drawings and correlating It with Frankl's Behavior Rating Scale. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;10(1):24-28.


This paper reviews the recent trends on super-patterned vertical alignment (S-PVA) and fringe-field switching (FFS) technologies for liquid crystal display (LCD)-television (TV) applications. For PVA mode, Samsung originally announced S-PVA technology in 2004 to enhance off-axis viewing quality of conventional PVA mode. S-PVA is a new technology which enables screen quality advantages over super-in plane switching (S-IPS) and multi-domain VA (MVA), including high transmittance, >2300:1 contrast ratio, and wide viewing angle with no off-axis image inversion. This paper explores and updates Samsung's latest developments toward its goal of ultimate LCD-TV performance. For FFS mode, the technology appeared in 1998 by HYDIS and now it has been commercialized in all kinds of display applications, implying its technical importance. This paper reviews recent developments and performance of LCD-TV using the FFS mode based on published papers and our knowledge.


This study estimated the levels and differentials in nutritional status and dietary intake and relevant knowledge of adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh using data from the Baseline Survey 2004 of the National Nutrition Programme. A stratified two-stage random cluster-sampling was used for selecting 4,993 unmarried adolescent girls aged 13–18 years in 708 rural clusters. Female interviewers visited girls at home to record their education, occupation, dietary knowledge, seven-day food-frequency, intake of iron and folic acid, morbidity, weight, and height. They inquired mothers about age of their daughters and possessions of durable assets to divide households into asset quintiles. Results revealed that 26% of the girls were thin, with body mass index (BMI)-for-age <15th percentile), 0.3% obese (BMI-for-age >95th percentile), and 32% stunted (height-for-age ≤2SD). Risks of being thin and stunted were higher if girls had general morbidity in the last fortnight and foul-smelling vaginal discharge than their peers. Consumptions of non-staple good-quality food items in the last week were less frequent and correlated well positively with the household asset quintile. Girls of the highest asset quintile ate fish/meat 2.1 (55%) days more and egg/milk two (91%) days more than the girls in the lowest asset quintile. The overall dietary knowledge was low. More than half could not name the main food sources of energy and protein, and 36% were not aware of the importance of taking extra nutrients during adolescence for growth spurt. The use of iron supplement was 21% in nutrition-intervention areas compared to 8% in non-intervention areas. Factors associated with the increased use of iron supplements were related to awareness of the girls about extra nutrients and their access to mass media and education. Community-based adolescent-friendly health and nutrition education and services and economic development may improve the overall health and nutritional knowledge and status of adolescents.


We are developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) risk governance framework based on human factors and AI governance principles to make automated healthcare decision-support safer and more accountable. Today, the healthcare system is facing a huge overload in reporting, which has made manual processing and comprehensive decision-making impossible. Emerging advances in AI and especially Natural Language Processing seem an attractive answer to human limitations in processing high volumes of reports. However, there are known risks to automation, including the risk in change of deploying AI itself into organisations, emotions, and ethics, which are rarely taken into consideration when making AI-based decisions. To explore this, we will first construct a Decision Support System (DSS) tool based on a knowledge graph extracted from real-world healthcare reports. Then, the tool will be deployed in a controlled manner in a hospital and its operation will be analysed using an established socio-technical methodology developed by the Centre for Innovative Human Systems in Trinity College Dublin over 25 years of research. We will contribute by integrating computer science with organizational psychology and the use of human factors methods to identify the impact of AI-based healthcare DSS, their associated risks, and the ethical and legal challenges. We hypothesize that collaborating with the organisational psychologists to consider the global system of human decision-making and AI-based DSS will help in minimizing the AI-based decision-making risk in a way that ensures fairness, accountability, and transparency. This study will be carried out with our partner hospital, St. James in Dublin.


Landslides represent the most frequent geological hazard in mountainous environments. Most notably, landslides are a major source of fatalities and damage related to strong earthquakes. The main aim of this research is to show through three-dimensional engineer-friendly computer drawings, different mountain environments where coseismic landslides could be generated during shallow crustal and megathrust earthquakes in the Andes of central Chile. We have determined topographic, geomorphological, geological and seismic controlling factors in the occurrence of earthquake-triggered landslides from: (1) a comparison of local earthquake-induced landslide inventories in Chile (the Mw 6.2, shallow crustal Aysén earthquake in 2007 (45.3° S) and the Mw 8.8, megathrust Maule earthquake in 2010 (32.5°S–38.5°S)) with others from abroad; and (2) analysis of large, prehistoric landslide inventories proposed as likely induced by seismic activity. With these results, we have built four representative geomodels of coseismic landslide geomorphological environments in the Andes of central Chile. Each one represents the possible landslide types that could be generated by a shallow crustal earthquake v. those likely to be generated by a megathrust earthquake. Additionally, the associated hazards and suggested mitigation measures are expressed in each scenario. These geomodels are a powerful tool for earthquake-induced landslide hazard assessment. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Ground models in engineering geology and hydrogeology collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/Ground-models-in-engineering-geology-and-hydrogeology


This article considers deficiencies in the designation and reassessment of Legal Quays (those authorized for foreign trade), and the detrimental impact of these and other Elizabethan customs reforms from the perspective of Christchurch, a small coastal town then in Hampshire. Throttling the flow of merchandise through such places drove trade, and consequently economic growth, to those other places that enjoyed a convenient Legal Quay. In places without such quays, regulation and the farming of customs caused (and also facilitated) the suppression not only of international trade but also of domestic maritime trade. Though otherwise encouraged by Crown policy, entrepreneurial endeavour in Christchurch was stifled by customs regulation, in particular by the logistical burden introduced with remote record‐keeping for coastal trade in the port books. The town seemed unable to break free of Southampton's controlling influence in order to realize its own apparent economic potential.


Coordination among processes in a distributed system can be rendered very complex in a large-scale system where messages may be delayed or lost and when processes may participate only transiently or behave arbitrarily, e.g. after suffering a security breach. In this paper, we propose a scalable architecture to support coordination in such extreme conditions. Our architecture consists of a collection of persistent data servers that implement simple shared data abstractions for clients, without trusting the clients or even the servers themselves. We show that, by interacting with these untrusted servers, clients can solve distributed consensus, a powerful and fundamental coordination primitive. Our architecture is very practical, and we describe the implementation of its main components in a system called Fleet.


Molten metal carbon is an important parameter to be controlled during the BOF operation. In this paper, a fuzzy logic system for carbon sensing in a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) is presented. This objective system is identified from input-output data of the system by applying the subtractive clustering algorithm. The input data presents the optical radiations emitted from the BOF mouth and the output presents the carbon content of the molten metal contained in BOF in order to provide an efficient decision support application. The variables employed to develop the fuzzy logic system are obtained through an optical sensor located adjacent a full scale BOF at Nanjing steels'. Preliminary results are really encouraging.


The Legal Judgment Prediction (LJP) is to determine judgment results based on the fact descriptions of the cases. LJP usually consists of multiple subtasks, such as applicable law articles prediction, charges prediction, and the term of the penalty prediction. These multiple subtasks have topological dependencies, the results of which affect and verify each other. However, existing methods use dependencies of results among multiple subtasks inefficiently. Moreover, for cases with similar descriptions but different penalties, current methods cannot predict accurately because the word collocation information is ignored. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Perspective Bi-Feedback Network with the Word Collocation Attention mechanism based on the topology structure among subtasks. Specifically, we design a multi-perspective forward prediction and backward verification framework to utilize result dependencies among multiple subtasks effectively. To distinguish cases with similar descriptions but different penalties, we integrate word collocations features of fact descriptions into the network via an attention mechanism. The experimental results show our model achieves significant improvements over baselines on all prediction tasks.


This thesis is devoted to designing new techniques and algorithms for combinatorial optimization problems arising in various applications of resource allocation. Resource allocation refers to a class of problems where scarce resources must be distributed among competing agents maintaining certain optimization criteria. Examples include scheduling jobs on one/multiple machines maintaining system performance; assigning advertisements to bidders, or items to people maximizing profit/social fairness; allocating servers or channels satisfying networking requirements etc. Altogether they comprise a wide variety of combinatorial optimization problems. However, a majority of these problems are NP-hard in nature and therefore, the goal herein is to develop approximation algorithms that approximate the optimal solution as best as possible in polynomial time.
The thesis addresses two main directions. First, we develop several new techniques, predominantly, a new linear programming rounding methodology and a constructive aspect of a well-known probabilistic method, the Lovasz Local Lemma (LLL). Second, we employ these techniques to applications of resource allocation obtaining substantial improvements over known results. Our research also spurs new direction of study; we introduce new models for achieving energy efficiency in scheduling and a novel framework for assigning advertisements in cellular networks. Both of these lead to a variety of interesting questions.
Our linear programming rounding methodology is a significant generalization of two major rounding approaches in the theory of approximation algorithms, namely the dependent rounding and the iterative relaxation procedure. Our constructive version of LLL leads to first algorithmic results for many combinatorial problems. In addition, it settles a major open question of obtaining a constant factor approximation algorithm for the Santa Claus problem. The Santa Claus problem is a NP-hard resource allocation problem that received much attention in the last several years. Through out this thesis, we study a number of applications related to scheduling jobs on unrelated parallel machines, such as provisionally shutting down machines to save energy, selectively dropping outliers to improve system performance, handling machines with hard capacity bounds on the number of jobs they can process etc. Hard capacity constraints arise naturally in many other applications and often render a hitherto simple combinatorial optimization problem difficult. In this thesis, we encounter many such instances of hard capacity constraints, namely in budgeted allocation of advertisements for cellular networks, overlay network design, and in classical problems like vertex cover, set cover and k-median.


The business world is rife with metaphors these days, as managers look to other disciplines for insights into their own challenges. And metaphors can--despite their somewhat flaky image--be powerful catalysts for generating new business strategies. But metaphors are often improperly used, their potential left unrealized. We tend to look for reassuring parallels in business metaphors instead of troubling differences, the author contends. In fact, using metaphors to come up with new strategic perspectives begins to work only when the metaphors themselves don't work, or at least don't seem to. Take the following case in point. An insurance company's corporate headquarters put together a team of experts to discuss ways the firm might respond to the challenges of conducting business via the Internet. Once the team drafted a master plan, the idea was that it would be promulgated to the individual agents and offices of this widely dispersed organization. In a meeting with the company's top managers, the author talked about Charles Darwin's conceptual breakthrough in formulating the principles of evolution. As his overview of Darwin's theories about variation and natural selection gave way to questions, a heretical notion took shape: Those far-flung agents' offices, instead of being strategic liabilities in a suddenly virtual age, might instead be the mechanism for achieving an incremental but powerful corporate transformation in response to the changing business environment. But it was only when the evolutionary metaphor began to break down--when the elements of Darwin's theory clearly were at odds with the besieged insurance company's situation--that real strategic insight occurred. This anecdote offers, in a compressed form, an example of how the process of using metaphors can play out and what managers can learn from it.


QUESTION
An important feature in surgery is the absence of wound infection after elective sterile operation. That's why the VQG (Verein zur Qualitätssicherung im Gesundheitswesen) from Berne recommends as a standard control the surveillance of wound healing, where hernia repair is suited for a tracer operation [1].

METHOD
In our hospital retrospectively all 106 patients of the year 1999 were asked by a questionnaire, 3 month after operation, if their wound healed primarily or if they noticed any signs of infection or even had to be re-operated again.

RESULTS
Most hernias were indirect (71) or direct (11), followed by umbilical hernias (11), epigastric or incisional hernias (4), femoral hernias (2). The majority of procedures were a Shouldice repair (43), followed by mesh implantation according to Lichtenstein (33) or Bassini repair (15). 14 times an umbilical or epigastric hernia was operated by Mayo's method. One Stoppa operation was performed. 7 Hernias were incarcerated at the time of operation. 51 hernias were on the right, 41 on the left side, 5 on both sides. Mean age of patients was 52.9 years; mean duration of hospital stay was 4.42 days. After Shouldice repair hospital stay was 3.9 days with an average patients age of 48.3 years, after Bassini 5.41 days (mean age 46.4 years), after Lichtenstein repair 5.23 days (mean age 66.0 years). 82 (77.4%) from 106 patients returned the questionnaire. 67 (81.7%) were completely satisfied, 11 (13.6%) mentioned minor problems. So 95.1% had a normal primary wound healing without infection. There was no correlation between wound healing, type of hernia, age, hospital stay, surgeon or method of operation. In the same study other complications occurred (e.g. 5% recurrences of hernias, nerve lesions), that could not be integrated into the evaluation because they were excluded by definition.

CONCLUSION
Studying the tracer "wound healing after groin hernia repair" allows an approximate follow-up for quality control with little expense. Because of the narrow point of view and the neglect of other complications in the same investigation we estimate the power of the result as limited.


Complex socio-technical systems rely extensively on organisational artefacts - such as rules, procedures and authority structures -for their protection. These artefacts help coordinate the cognitions of people designing, operating and maintaining such systems. Nonetheless, people continuously engage in processes of sensemaking that can undermine the coordinating function of organisational artefacts. A set of accidents on the UK railway was analysed in order to reveal the way in which artefacts and sensemaking combined to cause catastrophic failure. The main advantage of studying such failure is that is has helped reveal what is sometimes taken for granted in organisational cognition, and sometimes neglected in the design of systems.


The classification of living things depends upon the literature. Access to this literature is essential to taxonomic research and to our understanding of biodiversity. There have been tremendous efforts to digitise the world's biodiversity literature; the Biodiveristy Heritage Library (BHL) alone has uploaded over 54 million pages, all of which is freely accessible online. Our scientific literature is far more accessible than it has ever been, but that does not mean it is easily discoverable. Much of the taxonomic literature online remains outside the linked network of scholarly research. But that is rapidly changing. Taxonomic aggregators are an invaluable source of authoritative information on species names and their hierarchical classification. It is critical that this information includes citations for taxonomic descriptions, that these citations link to the published literature online and that (wherever possible) the citations include DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers). The DOI is an essential part of a publication's bibliographic metadata and should be included (as a live link) in any reference to that content. However, the definitive (DOI'd) versions of recent publications are frequently behind paywalls. And, while much of the historic literature available online is open access, commercial publishers are uploading out-of-copyright publications onto their own websites, ‡ © Kearney N. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. assigning DOIs to "their" definitive versions (the versions that must be cited in other publications, as per DOI requirements) and then locking the defintiive versions behind paywalls. This is perfectly within their rights. DOIs may be assigned to legacy publications retrospectively, providing that: a) the party assigning them owns the rights for the content, or has permission from the rights holder to assign a DOI, and b) the publication does not already have a DOI. If there are no rights attached to a piece of content, anyone can assign a DOI to it. This means that citation traffic from the bibliographies of current publications is increasingly directed towards commercial publishers' websites, rather than towards open access versions, such as those freely available on the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). However, taxonomic aggregators are not bound by the same obligations as publishers and may therefore choose to link to any online version of a publication (although the DOI should still be included in the citation). Many taxonomic aggregators link to the literature available on BHL. The taxonomic name profiles in EOL (Encyclopedia of Life), GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and ALA (Atlas of Living Australia) each contain a BHL bibliography: a list of links to the pages in BHL that contain an identified mention of that taxon name. However, the lists of returned results can be long, and they may or may not include the citations for accepted names, synonyms and taxon concepts. Some biodiversity aggregators feature these key citations on the names pages (or tabs) of taxon profiles. However, where these do exist, they are usually plain text rather than links. BHL is now registering DOIs for the content it hosts and is creating landing pages for articles, containing the full bibliographic metadata, including (where applicable) the DOI. Articles are now discoverable by article title, keywords within titles (scientific names, locations, traits, etc.), author names and DOIs, and can be easily linked to (via their landing pages) by other parties. This paper will examine the issues, benefits and complexities associated with linking to definitive versions, the difference between easy and open access, the ethics of putting outof-copyright content behind paywalls, and the future of creating order amongst the massively expanding resource of literature online.


Atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) during polar springtime are closely correlated with bromine-catalyzed tropospheric ozone depletion events (ODEs). To study gas- and aqueous-phase reaction kinetics and speciation of mercury during AMDEs, we have included mercury chemistry into the box model MECCA (Module Efficiently Calculating the Chemistry of the Atmosphere), which enables dynamic simulation of bromine activation and ODEs. We found that the reaction of Hg with Br atoms dominates the loss of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM). To explain the experimentally observed synchronous depletion of GEM and O 3 , the reaction rate of Hg+BrO has to be much lower than that of Hg+Br. The synchronicity is best reproduced with rate coefficients at the lower limit of the literature values for both reactions, i.e. k Hg+Br ≈3×10 −13 and k Hg+BrO ≤1×10 −15 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 , respectively. Throughout the simulated AMDEs, \chem{BrHgOBr} was the most abundant reactive mercury species, both in the gas phase and in the aqueous phase. The aqueous-phase concentrations of BrHgOBr, HgBr 2 , and HgCl 2 were several orders of magnitude larger than that of Hg(SO 3 ) 2 2− . Considering chlorine chemistry outside depletion events (i.e. without bromine activation), the concentration of total divalent mercury in sea-salt aerosol particles (mostly HgCl 4 2− ) was much higher than in dilute aqueous droplets (mostly Hg(SO 3 ) 2 2− ), and did not exhibit a diurnal cycle (no correlation with HO 2 radicals).


The authors discuss an approach to approximation based on interpolating a set of points. The one interpolator that they concentrated on, the cubic spline, is relatively straightforward to implement and can be made to be computationally efficient. They also point out that another approach to approximation involves fitting a curve to a set of data points without forcing that curve to pass through any of those data points. This approach is especially useful when the data available is recognized to contain an error component.


OBJECTIVES
To describe historic baseline session administration practices, to assess the utility of a practice trial (an acclimation trial) before the official balance session, and to examine the within-session reliability of the Sway Balance Mobile Application (SBMA).

DESIGN
Retrospective observational study.

SETTING
Middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the United States.

PARTICIPANTS
More than 17 000 student-athletes were included in the Sway Medical database with 7968 individuals meeting this study's inclusion criteria.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
The Sway Medical database included the following subject characteristics for each student-athlete: age, sex, weight, and height.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Balance assessment score generated by the SBMA.

RESULTS
Variable administration practices with significant differences between baseline session averages across methods were found. Individuals who performed an acclimation trial had a significantly higher baseline session average than those who did not. Within-session reliability estimates were in the low to adequate range (r = 0.53-0.78), with higher estimates found for 2 consecutive baseline tests (r = 0.75-0.78).

CONCLUSIONS
For maximum clinical utility, a standardized protocol for postural control baseline acquisition is necessary. Acclimation trial should be administered before a baseline session to minimize variability, especially with only 1 to 2 baseline tests. The highest reliability was observed across 2 consecutive baseline tests within the same baseline session. We suggest obtaining baseline balance measurements with an acclimation trial followed by a baseline session with 2 baseline tests. Prospective studies are required for validation.


Immediate Axonal Retrograde Signaling in Amyloid-Dependent Neurodegeneration Chandler Walker The following dissertation herein discusses the role of axonal protein synthesis in Aβ1-42-dependent neurodegeneration, which has important implications in AD pathogenesis. In Part 1, I provide a brief introduction to relevant topics including neurodegeneration and axonal protein synthesis. In Part 2, I discuss findings that we published in 2014 describing a mechanism by which axonal exposure to Aβ142 induces cell death via axonal synthesis and retrograde transport of a transcription factor, ATF4. In Part 3, I discuss a follow-up project that I conducted independently, which is not yet published but is in preparation for submission describing the immediate effect of Aβ1-42 on axonal protein synthesis, which mediates the downstream axonal ATF4 signaling events described in Part 2. In Part 4, I discuss the key findings from these two projects including their significance and potential future directions. In the Appendix, I provide details regarding experimental methods and statistical analyses performed in Part 3.


The goal of this article is to discuss the aesthetics of the three-way pattern in the musical concept of  talempong renjeang (tenteng) and the social system of the people of Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau. The musical concept of talempong renjeang is formed by 3 (three) pairs of  talempong: talempong Jantan, talempong Paningkah, and talempong Pangawinan. As the 'leader', the talempong Jantan maintains the consistency and integrity of the theme and danyuik (tempo) of the playing, the talempong Paningkah follows the lead of the talempong Jantan using different playing motifs, and the talempong Pangawinan has the role and authority to make the guguah (melody) of the talempong complete – creating a three-way aesthetical pattern. The social system of the people of LuhakNan Tigo was created by three legendary figures, namely Dt. Katumangguangan, Dt. Parpatiah Nan Sabatang, and Dt. Nan Sakelap Dunia (RajoBabandiang). From these three figures, the concept of tali tigo sapilin, tungku nan tigo sajarangan was born (a philosophy of harmony). The method used for the research is based on qualitative data which was collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. The data analysis focuses the talempong renjeang as a musical and the social system of the Minangkabau community which began with two legendary Minangkabau figures. The results of the study show that talempong as a musical system corresponds to, or synchronizes with, the social concept of the people of Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau.


The role of the Colonial Medical Service - the organisation responsible for healthcare in British overseas territories - goes to the heart of the British Colonial project. "Practising Colonial Medicine" is a unique study based on original sources and research into the work of doctors who served in East Africa. It shows the formulation of a distinct colonial identity based on factors of race, class, background, training and Colonial Service traditions, buttressed by professional skills and practice. Anna Crozier analyses all aspects of recruitment, qualifications, training as well as the vital personal factors that shaped the Service's character - religion, a sense of adventure, professional interest, ideas of imperial service, family traditions, professional ties, perceptions of service to humanity and the building up of a common service mentality among colonial medical staff. This is the first comprehensive history of the Colonial Medical Service and makes an important contribution to our understanding of the social and cultural aspects of medical history.


Drawing on feminist research methodologies and theory, this article recentres critical security studies to focus on a migrant seeking an alternative form of security after his application for asylum was denied by the state. The two main objectives of this article are; first, to resituate a failed asylum seeker, Qasim, as an agent of international security as understood through his practice of seeking and obtaining security; and, second, to demonstrate a revised performative conceptualization of security through understanding the failed asylum seeker as practicing an embodied theorization of security. The encounter with Qasim shows alternative means of seeking security, which illustrates agency on the part of the migrant that exists actively outside of the state. This contests the positioning of migrants as passive victims and recognizes a way of being in the world that by necessity cannot rely on a state-based identity. Ethnographic methods, including participant observation and a narrative interview with Qasim, elucidate his practice of security and allow for the development of a theoretical conceptualization of security that remains true to a failed asylum seeker's practice in the UK.


Background: There is a claim in the folklore medicine of the use of Garcinia kola (GK) seeds in the management of gastritis and gastric ulcer. However, there has not been any scientific evidence in the literature that substantiated or refuted this with regards to the management of gastritis and gastric ulcerations in association with gastric morphological damage and cytoarchitectural changes. Aim: This study aims at evaluating the efficacy of the methanolic extract of GK (mGK) in the management of gastritis and gastric ulcerations in rat model. Methods: Adult albino rats with comparable weight were randomized into six groups. Group A was administered 1ml/kg bw of distilled water three times daily. Group B and C were administered ethanol (0.2ml/23g bw of 80% v/v) two hours prior termination of experiment and 150mg/kg bw of mGK daily for three weeks respectively. Group D was pre-treated with mGK and then ethanol as in groups B and C. Group E was administered ethanol as in group B and posttreated with mGK as in group C. Group F was concomitantly treated with mGk as in group C and ethanol as in group B. Results: Ethanol induced gastritis and gastric ulceration. Treatment with mGK abrogated ethanolinduced gastric damage: it reduced the morphological damage score, ulcer score, gastric wall thickness, and lipid peroxidation (p<0.05), and also improved the cytoarchitecture of the gastric mucosa. Conclusion: This study substantiated the gastroprotective potentials of mGK. The mechanism of action could be associated with the anti-oxidative activities of the flavonoid constituents.


The main purpose of this project was to develop a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool which can be used by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) for the decision making process when comparing different alternatives of their products. The tool is expected to assist designers in making choices regarding the definition of product characteristics, integrating a series of analysis, calculation, and decision-making tools in the most appropriate manner in order to compare different alternatives of their product. LCCA appears to be a useful approach to a comprehensive assessment of economic, environmental and social impacts of the life cycle of a product and aids SMEs to meet environmental requirements adopted in nations around the world. The tool plays a primary role in this specific context due to the fact that not only production costs, but also those costs incurred during use and disposal are greatly conditioned by the initial design choices. Due to the differences exist in the cost structure of different products under evaluation, it is difficult to generalize the model; However, by making some modification to cost categories and by following the general LCCA framework developed, it is possible to match the model to any application desired. The model is simplified for usage in the form of ExcelTM in such away that the analyst can easily input data into tables and generate outputs using Excel Charts. The decision is made based on the alternative with lowest life cycle cost.


Due to the housing shortage in Sweden, the construction industry is experiencing a
high demand, which has lead to high pressure on the construction companies and their
employees. At the moment there is a common notion among big construction
companies to get rid of the piecework system, and traditionally there is a high focus
on wage and payment system in the construction industry. According to theory
however, there should be other motivational factors called intrinsic factors that should
be more important than the external factors, such as wage. This thesis aims to identify
the most important motivational factors from a worker's perspective within the
construction industry, and also to identify potential areas of improvement. A model of
origin has been created in order to identify which person at what level is affecting
different motivation factors. In this study 13 interviews were performed along with a
review of the previous research performed in the area of motivation in the
construction industry. Previous research states that motivation cannot be created by
others, however a motivating work environment can be created for the workers to
utilise in order to find personal motivation. The thesis has been performed in close
cooperation with a medium sized construction company called Tommy Byggare
where the interviews have been executed. The results show a number of important
motivational factors, wage is one of them but it is not considered to be the single most
important, well-being and cohesiveness seems to have a greater impact according to
latent data. Among the interviewees a certain Tommy Byggare "spirit" was described,
something that has closely been investigated in order to establish what is contributing
to this feeling. A number of demotivators, such as the risk of repetitive strain injuries
have also been identified.


UNLABELLED
Hypercholesterolemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy of a 12-week treatment regimen with HEP-40 low-molecular weight chitosan given at daily doses of 1,200 mg, 1,600 mg, and 2,400 mg in reducing serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with low-to-moderate hypercholesterolemia.

DESIGN
The study was a 16-week, multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized study. Eligible patients were treatment-naive for lipid-lowering medications. Patients were randomly assigned to HEP-40 at the following doses: 400 mg three times daily, 800 mg twice daily, 800 mg three times daily, 2,400 mg once daily, or placebo for 12 weeks. The main outcome measure was the percent change in LDL-C after four weeks of treatment.

RESULTS
Out of 283 patients screened, 105 (37.1%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and 95 (90.4%) completed the study. The mean (SD) age was 53 (11) years and 62.3 percent were male. The majority of patients (82.9%) were at low 10-year risk for CVD. The results showed an overall treatment effect (p=0.040) with the highest difference from the placebo group observed for the HEP-40 2,400-mg once daily group (-16.9%, p=0.002), followed by 400 mg three times daily (-11.1%, p=0.054), 800 mg three times daily (-9.7%, p=0.065), and 800 mg twice daily (-8.7%, p=0.101). There were 29 predominantly mild adverse events reported by 24 (23%) patients related to the study treatment, most frequently constipation (3.0%) and diarrhea (3.0%).

CONCLUSION
HEP-40 low-molecular weight chitosan, although not as effective as statins, is efficacious and safe in lowering LDL-C concentrations in treatment-naive patients with low-to-moderate hypercholesterolemia.


There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e-learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e-learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents. DOI: 10.1080/09687760600668552


The use of molecular editing in the elucidation of the mechanism of action of amphotericin B is presented. A modular strategy for the synthesis of amphotericin B and its designed ana- logues is developed, which relies on an efficient gram-scale synthesis of various subunits of amphotericin B. A novel method for the coupling of the mycosa- mine to the aglycone was identified. The implementation of the approach has enabled the preparation of 35- deoxy amphotericin B methyl ester. In- vestigation of the antifungal activity and efflux-inducing ability of this am- photericin B congener provided new clues to the role of the 35-hydroxy group and is consistent with the in- volvement of double barrel ion chan- nels in causing electrolyte efflux.


We address the problem of incrementally maintaining a materialized view using the view instance and the update but with only limited access to the base data. We give necessary and suucient conditions for self-maintainability handling updates without looking at all base data for conjunctive-query CQ views. These conditions, which we call Complete Tests for Self-Maintainability or CTSM in short, are generated at view-deenition time and are expressed as safe, nonrecursive Datalog queries. We show both a direct approach that yields surprisingly simple CTSM's for a class of CQ views with self-joins, when no knowledge of the base data is available, and a query-containment-based approach that can be systematically used to nd CTSM's for more complex CQ views with or without additional knowledge about the base data.


In this paper we present the first surface micromachined ultraminiaturized, highly sensitive, pressure sensor that utilizes a force-transducing beam and a 2??m thick polysilicon pressure sensing diaphragm as an encapsulation layer for high media isolation of the sensing piezoresistor. A beam is attached to the diaphragm at one end and to the cavity at the other end. The pressure-induced diaphragm deflection is transduced to strain in the beam and sensed by a piezoresistive strain-gauge on the beam. The piezoresistor is thus well isolated from the sensing environment. The pressure sensing performance was measured to 0.9??V?V-1?mmHg-1.


Abstract Despite extraordinary strides in queer religious activism in recent decades, religiously motivated anti-queer violence continues to be both prevalent and inadequately addressed. Forms of subtle and outright homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are among the few remaining forms of societal discrimination that still have an air of acceptability. This discrimination appears to be further exacerbated both by complacency within queer communities, and an increasing normalization and mainstreaming of queer religious activist movements. This article introduces a new body of work combining queer theologies and Theatre of the Oppressed to develop strategic interventions in addressing religiously motivated anti-queer violence. The paper brings into conversation queer theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid with Theatre of the Oppressed creator, Augusto Boal; in so doing, this new area of ministry aims to bridge the gap between academic and activist approaches to sexual-theological activism.


: The health care debate will continue throughout much of the summer in the legislative committees and subcommittees of Congress. Both the American College of Surgeons and the PPRC will participate in that process through invitations to testify on many of the issues discussed in this article. The author will begin his third three-year term on the PPRC in July 1994, and will continue to express the concerns of the surgical community to that body. Thus, your comments and opinions are always appreciated.


ABSTRACT This paper examines how intangible assets contribute to firm-level productivity in the small open economies of Denmark and Finland from 2000 to 2013. We examine whether the role of intangible assets has changed over time, from the period of fairly stable growth prior to the crisis in 2008 to the more difficult period of recovery afterwards where intangible capital deepening decreased in 2008–2013 in many European countries. The productivity analysis is conducted in two stages. First, we derive total factor productivity (TFP), and second, we estimate the effects of intangible assets on total factor productivity. Our approach for measuring intangible assets is based on occupational classifications in a linked employer–employee dataset. We construct measures for three types of intangibles: broad R&D assets (R&D), organizational assets (OC) and information and communication technology assets (ICT). In both countries, the TFP effects of broad R&D increase slightly in the period after the crisis. For Finland, we also find that the TFP effects of OC increase after the crisis, while Denmark experienced a considerable increase in OC assets after financial crises in intangible intensive industries such as information, education and health industries, where productivity is lower.


Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic likely impacted emotional regulation and mood states. The present study aimed to investigate the perceived risk, stigma, and emotional regulation strategies of psychiatric patients, as well as the association between these characteristics, cognitive emotion regulation strategies (emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal), and anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study of 282 patients with anxiety and mood disorders was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants completed questionnaires that investigated anxiety (hospital anxiety and depression scale [HADS]), depression (patient health questionnaire [PHQ-9]), and cognitive emotion regulation strategies (emotion regulation questionnaire [ERQ]). Descriptive statistics were used to assess the data. The t-test, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the differences between the two groups, with cut-off scores of 11 in the HADS and nine in the PHQ-9.
Results: Most participants were female (78.4%), and the median age was 31 years. A total of 23.8% of participants reported having anxiety symptoms, and 24.8% and 54.3% of participants reported having depression on the HADS-D and PHQ-9, respectively. HADS-A, HADS-D, and PHQ-9 were found to be significantly associated with emotional regulation style (P=0.002, P=0.005, P=0.006) but not with perceived risk and stigma. Patients with anxiety or depression tended to use expressive suppression more often than cognitive reappraisal.
Conclusion: This study found that mood states were associated with cognitive emotional regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with anxiety or depression tended to use expressive suppression more often than cognitive reappraisal.


Assisting patients with basic hygiene not only creates a personal connection between the health care provider and the patient but also is vital to maintaining the patient's health. It is the responsibility of the health care professional to balance the proper amount of grooming. Both too much grooming, as well as too little grooming, can have negative effects. There are various health care settings and a variety of patients; thus, it is necessary to determine how much assistance is necessary for each patient on a case by case scenario. Patients should be allowed to assist with their hygiene to the best of their ability. Assistance may be needed for tasks such as eliminating, shaving, brushing and styling hair, oral care, and bathing.


Background: Best practices in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) recommend building parental capacities to enhance children's functioning but few outcome measures are available to document the impact of such interventions. The Parent Knowledge and Skills Questionnaire (PKSQ) is a valid instrument currently only available in English evaluating parental perception of their ability to manage their child, understand DCD's impact and use knowledge about DCD. The aim of the study was to translate the PKSQ in French and assess the factor structure consistency between the French and English versions.Methods: PKSQ was translated in French using a back-translation method. Parents of children with DCD were recruited in collaboration with the DCD association and rehabilitation centers. Parents completed the questionnaire online (n = 99). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted based on the questionnaire response data and estimated item-domain correlations were compared with the English version.Results: All items of the original PKSQ were culturally appropriate in the Quebec French context and were thus included in the final version (n = 22). The French questionnaire version showed overall good consistency with the English version. The frequency of statistically inferior item-domain correlations was consistent with the expected rate of 5% under the no difference assumption (3/22, 95% confidence interval: 3% to 35%). Items showed moderate to large correlations with their underlying construct (estimated item-domain correlations between 0.45-0.91).Conclusions: Results suggest the French version of the PKSQ is consistent with the 3-factor structure of the English version, and may now be used to evaluate interventions based on DCD best practices.


This report examines the performance of different types of speed-reducing treatments (or combinations of treatments) in high-speed environments. The project also considered how desired speed can be aligned with a safe, anticipated operating speed with the goal of making high-speed roads more self-explanatory. Treatments reviewed included: treatments to support development of road hierarchies in line with the concept of self-explaining roads; perceptual countermeasures; transverse rumble strips; vehicle activated signs; gateway treatments; route-based curve treatments; wide median centrelines; and sight distance adjustments on intersection approaches. Based on the outcomes of this review, these treatments may merit further consideration for future Austroads research and guidance.


The practice of delivering an electrical current waveform to an excitable tissue such as a structure in the brain, nerve fiber, or muscle to relieve the symptoms of disease constitutes an electrical stimulation therapy. Electrical stimulation therapies supported by implantable devices provide effective treatment options for people suffering from treatment-resistant chronic diseases that often fail to respond to medication and other traditional therapies [1, 2]. However, implantable electrical stimulators traditionally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) use implanted batteries that require surgical replacement over years of operation and limit therapies to applications with minimal constraints on implant mass, volume, and rigidity [3, 4]. Previous works have proposed to eliminate batteries in implantable stimulators by using magnetically-coupled coils to deliver energy through radio-frequency (RF) fields, exciting alternating currents on implantable devices to be converted into stimulus pulses by rectifiers [5, 6]. Implantable stimulators without batteries may be excited by an alternative theory of operation without the use of RF fields that eliminates the need for a rectifier and permits stimulators with minimal complexity.This work proposes an original use of magnetically-coupled circuits theory for the wireless excitation of electrical stimulation current waveforms on passive stimulators that eliminates the need for an implanted battery. The principle of the technique is to drive stimulation current waveforms on passive stimulators with electromotive forces excited by applied time-varying magnetic fields via the phenomena described by Faraday's law of induction [7-9]. The proposed systems require a wearable driving component and a passive driven component that may either be worn or implanted. The wearable driving component must include a battery, pulse-generating circuitry, and a primary coil, whereas the driven component is a passive device requiring only a secondary coil with electrodes to contact tissue. The pulse-generating circuitry of the driving component may be implemented readily such that the design of the coils defines the challenge in the implementation of the proposed systems. The design of the coils for the proposed systems presents the potential for a nontrivial optimization problem with conflicting objectives; possible objectives for the design of the coils include maximizing the attainable peak amplitudes of the stimulation currents, obtaining various characteristics of a desired stimulation current waveform, and minimizing the variation of the stimulation currents with varying displacements between the coils. The problem posed by the design of the coils for the proposed systems is addressed by direction obtained from theoretical analyses and experiments performed in this work that supplement direction from the literature [5, 10-12]. The potential utility of the proposed theory of operation is demonstrated by enabling the first chronic electrical stimulation therapy for glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The system designed for the glaucoma stimulation therapy and the methods used to quantify its electrical performance are presented along with data from experimental therapeutic trials with human participants.


Spoken language understanding (SLU), one of the key enabling technologies for human-computer interaction in IoT devices, provides an easy-to-use user interface. Human speech can contain a lot of user-sensitive information, such as gender, identity, and sensitive content. New types of security and privacy breaches have thus emerged. Users do not want to expose their personal sensitive information to malicious attacks by untrusted third parties. Thus, the SLU system needs to ensure that a potential malicious attacker cannot deduce the sensitive attributes of the users, while it should avoid greatly compromising the SLU accuracy. To address the above challenge, this paper proposes a novel SLU multi-task privacy-preserving model to prevent both the speech recognition (ASR) and identity recognition (IR) attacks. The model uses the hidden layer separation technique so that SLU information is distributed only in a specific portion of the hidden layer, and the other two types of information are removed to obtain a privacy-secure hidden layer. In order to achieve good balance between efficiency and privacy, we introduce a new mechanism of model pre-training, namely joint adversarial training, to further enhance the user privacy. Experiments over two SLU datasets show that the proposed method can reduce the accuracy of both the ASR and IR attacks close to that of a random guess, while leaving the SLU performance largely unaffected.


Using a panel dataset of 86 countries from 1960-2005, this paper empirically assesses the effect of several democracy proxies (by means of the Polity IV database), together with a set of control variables, such as human capital and the initial level of GDP per capita, on the rate of economic growth. By means of pooled OLS regressions, fixed effects and TSLS estimation procedures our results support the long-run conditional convergence hypothesis and they show a positive and statistically significant effect of democracy and human capital on economic growth. Furthermore, these findings are robust to several sensitivity exercises, such as the consideration of different time spans and groupings (rich and poor countries). Our evaluation allows us to conclude that electoral democracy, by itself, increases GDP growth per capita while almost no support is found for the hypothesis that autocracy, by itself, increases it.


Local causal structures, Hadamard states and the principle of local covariance in quantum field theory. Abstract. In the framework of the algebraic formulation, we discuss and analyse some new features of the local structure of a real scalar quantum field theory in a strongly causal spacetime. Particularly we use the properties of the exponential map to set up a local version of a bulk-to-boundary correspondence. The bulk is a suitable subset of a geodesic neighbourhood of any but fixed point p of the underlying background, while the boundary is a part of the future light cone having p as its own tip. In this regime, we provide a novel notion for the extended *-algebra of Wick polynomials on the said cone and, on the one hand, we prove that it contains the information of the bulk counterpart via an injective *-homomorphism while, on the other hand, we associate to it a distinguished state whose pull-back in the bulk is of Hadamard form. The main advantage of this point of view arises if one uses the universal properties of the exponential map and of the light cone in order to show that, for any two given backgrounds M and M ′ and for any two subsets of geodesic neighbourhoods of two arbitrary points, it is possible to engineer the above procedure such that the boundary extended algebras are related via a restriction homomorphism. This allows for the pull-back of boundary states in both spacetimes and, thus, to set up a machinery which permits the comparison of expectation values of local field observables in M and M ′ .


The incidence of cryptorchidism in children at age of 1 year is 1%, and 20% of these cases represent nonpalpable testes. The aim was to evaluate the use of minimal invasive surgery for the diagnosis and therapy of these patients. The authors made a prospective, analytical and longitudinal study from January 2001 through December 2004 in 89 consecutive boys undergoing laparoscopy for 98 impalpable testes. The following details were analyzed: examination under general anesthesia, ultrasound examination, age at surgery, findings at laparoscopy, operative procedure, results of the histology and follow up.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether provider volume is associated with early failures following total hip replacement (THR) requiring revision.

METHODS
Claims data were analyzed to follow a cohort of 57,488 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent elective primary THR in 1995-1996 in 3,044 hospitals in the US. Patients were followed through the end of 1999. Failure of primary THR was defined as a subsequent revision THR, as determined by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes in hospital claims. Hospitals were stratified into 4 volume groups: low (<25 THRs/year), medium (26-50, 51-100 THRs/year), and high (>100 THRs/year). Low-volume surgeons were defined as those surgeons performing <12 elective primary THRs annually in the Medicare population. Associations between the rates of revision and surgeon volume were determined by hazard ratios from a proportional hazard model, with adjustment for hospital volume, patient age, poverty status, sex, and comorbidities. We also examined whether the effect of surgeon volume on revision rates differed between the first 18 months postoperatively and later time periods.

RESULTS
Among 57,488 patients who had elective primary THR in 1995-1996, 2,537 (4.4%) had at least 1 revision THR by the end of 1999, with 1,437 (56.6%) of these revisions occurring within the first 18 months after the index primary THR. Median followup time was 47 months (range 0-54). Patients of high-volume surgeons were less likely to have revision THRs than patients of low-volume surgeons, regardless of hospital volume stratum. Further analysis revealed that the effect of surgeon volume on revisions was striking in the first 18 months after surgery but was not evident in the subsequent years.

CONCLUSION
Patients of low-volume surgeons have higher rates of revision THR than patients of high-volume surgeons, particularly within the first 18 months postoperatively. Referring clinicians should consider including surgeon volume among the factors influencing their choice of surgeon for elective THR.


This work offers an approach to conceptualizing, demarcating and analyzing a national web. Instead of defining a priori the types of websites to be included in a national web, the approach put forward here makes use of web devices (platforms and engines) that purport to provide (ranked) lists of URLs relevant to a particular country. Once gathered in such a manner, the websites are studied for their properties, following certain of the common measures (such as responsiveness and page age), and repurposing them to speak in terms of the health of a national web: Are sites lively, or neglected? The case study in question is Iran, which is special for the degree of Internet censorship undertaken by the state. Despite the widespread censorship, we have found a highly responsive Iranian web. We also report on the relationship between blockage, responsiveness and freshness, i.e., whether blocked sites are still up, and also whether they have been recently updated. Blocked yet blogging portions of the Iranian web show strong indications of an active Internet censorship circumvention culture. In seeking to answer, additionally, whether censorship has killed content, a textual analysis shows continued use of language considered critical by the regime, thereby indicating a dearth of self-censorship, at least for websites that are recommended by the leading Iranian platform, Balatarin. The study concludes with the implications of the approach put forward for national web studies, including a description of the benefits of a national web health index.


This paper presents the results of testing a Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) data-based mode estimation application deployed within a decentralized architecture using a real-time test platform. By extending the author's previous work in [1], this paper shows that a decentralized architecture is effective in detecting local modes which are less observable in presence of other dominant modes when estimated in a centralized architecture. The tests in this paper were carried out that was coupled with actual PMUs, a Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) and two types of mode estimation architectures. The is network comprised of a high voltage network connected to an Active Distribution Network (ADN) with Renewable Energy Resources (RES). In the decentralized architecture where each PMU was associated with its own processing unit running to compute mode estimates from the acquired time-series data. The results of the decentralized mode estimation architecture are analyzed and compared with centralized architecture.


Closed-end, round, cast-in-place (CIP) tubular friction piles are commonly used in bridge and retaining wall structures in the State of Wisconsin. Installation of CIP piles is typically performed by the contractor according to specified bearing capacities in the construction plans. These CIP piles have historically been installed at depths ranging from 30 ft. to 120 ft., with nominal diameters between 10-3/4 in. and 14 in. and shell thicknesses between 1/4 in. and 3/8 in. In this study, a series of field-cast piles are investigated both experimentally and numerically to assess their structural capacity. The evaluation consisted of testing stub sections of pile with varying diameters (10-3/4 in., 12-3/4 in.), wall thicknesses (0.375 in., 0.5 in.) under various states of stress. The focus was on the axial capacity, the bond capacity and the compressive strength of the core material.


It is shown that the tractable class of CNF formulas solvable by linear autarkies properly contains the class of q-Horn formulas and that it is incomparable with SLUR.


Free-field auditory medical alarms, although widely present in intensive care units, have created a number of hazards for both patients and clinicians in this environment. The harsh characteristics of the alarm noise profile combined the frequency at which they sound throughout the ICU have created discomfort for the patients and contribute to psychological problems, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and delirium. Thus, this frequency-selective silencing device seeks to attenuate these problems by removing the alarm sounds from the patient perspective. Patients do not need to hear these alarms as the alarms primarily serve to alert clinicians; therefore, this device, through the use of a Raspberry Pi and digital filters, removes the alarm sounds present in the environment while passing all other sounds to the patient without distortion. This allows patients to hear everything occurring around them and to communicate effectively without experi - encing the negative consequences of audible alarms.


Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) in children have an ever-expanding range of rare causes. Mutations in ITPA have been recently described as causative of DEE, but only a small number of patients have been reported so far. We describe two Indian children with novel variants in the ITPA gene. Both patients had characteristic, previously described, neuroradiological findings that helped us suspect this condition even before genetic evaluation. In addition, we present new and rarely reported clinical findings associated with this condition: migrating partial epilepsy, fever-triggered seizures, movement disorder including oculogyria and dystonic tremor. One of the patients also had high cerebrospinal fluid glycine levels. Both patients had drug-responsive epilepsy, in contrast to drug-resistant seizures in previously reported patients. These patients reiterate the utility of awareness of specific neuroradiological findings and subsequent genetic evaluation to help make a precise diagnosis. Our report also extends the clinical spectrum and provides insight into possible biochemical causes for the neuroimaging findings seen in this condition.


A system is described for maintaining synchrony of operations among a plurality of devices hat have independent clocking arrangements. The system includes a task distribution device that distributes tasks to a synchrony group comprising a plurality of devices that are to perform the tasks distributed by the task distribution device in synchrony. The task distribution device distributes each task to the members of the synchrony group over a network. Each task is associated with a time stamp that indicates a time, relative to a clock maintained by the task distribution device, at which the members of the synchrony group are to execute the task. Each member of the synchrony group periodically obtains from the task distribution device an indication of the current time indicated by its clock, determines a time differential between the task distribution device's clock and its respective clock and determines therefrom a time at which, according to its respective clock, the time stamp indicates that it is to execute the task.


We analyze ways by which people decompose into groups in distributed systems. We are interested in systems in which an agent can increase its utility by connecting to other agents, but must also pay a cost that increases with the size of the system. The right balance is achieved by the right size group of agents. We formulate and analyze three intuitive and realistic games and show how simple changes in the protocol can drastically improve the price of anarchy of these games. In particular, we identify two important properties for a low price of anarchy: agreement in joining the system, and the possibility of appealing a rejection from a system. We show that the latter property is especially important if there are some pre-existing constraints regarding who may collaborate (or communicate) with whom.


Sobering-up SIR,-I wonder whether those who have entered into this correspondence (October 14, p. 1025) or, for that matter, the many who may be interested in the subject now, have ever tried the simple remedy, temporary perhaps, which we used to use "on casualty" when I was a student at "George's." For those who were obviously drunk and pretty incapable we used a tablespoonful of vinegar; stand clear and watch the results. Apart from possible vomiting, there was a remarkable sobering-up. This remedy may be somewhat unscientific, but often it was remarkably effective. I used it several times later on when serving in India with equally satisfactory results, particularly one Sunday evening in Karachi on a fellow who had been lying " blotto " in the club for some hours. In 20 minutes he drove his own car home. I presume this remedy is the basis of the "prairie oyster*" used for a hangover. It would be interesting to know whether this method is still used and whether it can be recommended for a motorist about to drive home after an evening at the " pub."-I am, etc.,


The last decade has seen a large number of studies employing metaphor elicitation techniques, especially using 'X is (like) Y' format to investigate language teachers' and learners' understandings of teaching and/or learning. Although a few recent studies have reported the proportion of unsuccessful answers to this type of task, and identified a number of issues connected with task difficulty, there appears to be little published work that has seriously addressed the validity of the method used. The aims of this paper are therefore to explore the discourse and contexts where failure/difficulty with the metaphor elicitation task occurs, to try and understand what causes the problems and to suggest approaches to resolving them. In so doing, this paper reports on two small-scale metaphor analysis studies that were primarily designed to reduce the incidence of difficulty with 'X is (like) Y' metaphor prompts, presenting the perceived reasons for the difficulties and discussing possible solutions by introducing training in the form of four ready-made metaphor related teaching sessions. Essentially, I argue that training both about metaphor and in using it are important, and that thought needs to be given to both the nature and the length of training. The hope is that the present paper can be a first step and will serve to shed light on the ways that can be employed by metaphor researchers to identify and then resolve their methodological problems.


Biological invasions can entail major threats to marine biodiversity. Non-indigenous species may induce changes in community structure and ecosystem functioning, thereby affecting ecosystem services and human economic interest and health. Decapod brachyuran crabs are among the most invasive marine animal taxa. The originally European species Carcinus maenas and the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus invaded different coastal areas around the world. While their invasion history and ecology has been thoroughly investigated, physiological properties of H. sanguineus are virtually unknown.
The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic energy demand of both crab species and - based on these data - to assess their potential dietary impact on the ecosystem. Respiration measurements were conducted with a flow-through system covering a temperature range naturally experienced by these crabs (5, 10, 15 and 20 °C). Both species were analyzed on the island of Helgoland in April, June and August 2015.
A general linear mixed-effects model (LMM) was applied to test for the effects of species, temperature, biomass and sex on respiration rates. Overall rates increased with temperature but decreased with the mass of the crabs. Respiration rates did not differ significantly between sexes in both species.
From the full model, two separated LMMs were created for either species. They allowed establishing species-specific equations for the prediction of respiration rates y (nmol d-1 g-1) for a crab of any given mass xMass (g) at any given ambient temperature xTemp (°C):
ln y = 10.39 + (-0.34 * ln xMass) + (0.06 * xTemp) for C. maenas
and
ln y = 10.42 + (-0.39 * ln xMass) + (0.08 * xTemp) for H. sanguineus.
The mass-specific respiration rates of C. maenas and H. sanguineus were quite similar. By applying the diet-dependent respiratory quotient, oxygen uptake may be used to calculate carbon uptake and metabolic energy demand either for single crabs or for entire populations of a given area.
On the population level, the metabolic energy demand and thus ecosystem impact of both species depend primarily on their abundance in the field and, less so on their dietary preferences.


This study investigated the exposed coronal superficial dentin of 28 human molars were immersed in strongly acidic electrolyzed water (AW group), neutral electrolyzed water (NW group), 5% sodium hypochlorite (negative control, NL group), or deionized water (positive control, DW group). Microhardness was determined at 5-min intervals for 60 min. Surface roughness, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed after 5 and 60 min. Reductions in microhardness were observed in the AW, NW and NL groups, with further decreases as immersion time increased. Surface roughness was also markedly greater, and the Ca/P ratio markedly decreased, in the AW group. Prolonged immersion of dentin in strongly acidic electrolyzed water markedly decreased the microhardness and Ca/P ratio and markedly increased surface roughness. Prolonged immersion can lead to greater softening effect in dentin depending on the acidity of the electrolyzed water used.


Deposited solder paste inspection plays a critical role in surface mounting processes. When detecting solder pastes defects on a printed circuit board, profile measurement-based methods suffer from large system size, high cost, and low speed for inspection, although they provide 3-D information of solder pastes. In contrast, image analysis-based methods facilitate the defect detection process of solder pastes by treating them as a pattern recognition problem. However, existing image analysis methods do not perform well because low-level visual features cannot catch sufficient information for defect detection. This paper proposes a new defect detection scheme for solder pastes based on learning the color biological feature sub-manifold. In particular, we apply the biologically inspired color feature (BICF) to represent the solder paste images, and introduce a new sub-manifold learning method to extract the intrinsic low-dimensional BICF manifold embedded in an extrinsic high-dimensional ambient space. This scheme mimics the function of human visual cortex in recognition tasks, and can separate poor quality solder pastes from good quality ones. We apply the new scheme to our automated optical inspection system, and thorough empirical studies indicate the effectiveness of the new scheme for practical utilization.


ABSTRACT Most agency-focused research in language-in-education policy compares codified intention to reality. Such an approach implies that the policy in question is ontologically stable and can therefore act as the benchmark against which to compare practice. Operating under the notion that ontologically grounded methodologies are susceptible to missing those instances in which educators develop policy outright (as opposed to interpret it), we propose an ontogenetic alternative that sees policy as never materially stable, as constantly in a state of production. Drawing on contemporary developments in the philosophy of cartography, we attempt to identify teachers' policies-in-the making during an ethnographic study conducted in Spanish–English bilingual schools in the greater Seattle area of the United States by centering our attention, not on a policy to be implemented, but on a problem to be solved. Findings revealed that the lack of resources, contextual changes, and the need for new practices all compelled teachers to develop new policies-in-the-making from moment to moment. The results are discussed in terms of compliance and resistance which begin to lose their meaning when policy is no longer understood to be molded and enacted by agents.


BACKGROUND
Elevated levels of plasma factor VIII and D-dimer predict recurrent venous thromboembolism in adults. We sought to determine whether an elevation of factor VIII, D-dimer, or both at diagnosis and persistence of the laboratory abnormality after three to six months of anticoagulant therapy correlate with poor outcomes of thrombosis in children.

METHODS
We evaluated levels of factor VIII and D-dimer and additional components of an extensive laboratory thrombophilia (i.e., hypercoagulability) panel at the time of diagnosis in 144 children with a radiologically confirmed acute thrombotic event. All patients were treated initially with heparin and then with either warfarin or low-molecular-weight heparin for at least three to six months, according to the current standard of care. Patients were examined at follow-up visits 3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis and then annually, at which times testing was repeated in children with previously abnormal factor VIII and D-dimer test results and a uniform evaluation for the post-thrombotic syndrome was performed.

RESULTS
Among 82 children for whom complete data were available regarding laboratory test results at diagnosis and thrombotic outcomes during follow-up, 67 percent had factor VIII levels above the cutoff value of 150 IU per deciliter, D-dimer levels above 500 ng per milliliter, or both at diagnosis, and at least one of the two laboratory values was persistently elevated in 43 percent of the 75 patients in whom testing was performed after three to six months of anticoagulant therapy. Fifty-one percent of the 82 patients had a poor outcome (i.e., a lack of thrombus resolution, recurrent thrombosis, or the post-thrombotic syndrome) during a median follow-up of 12 months (range, 3 months to 5 years). Elevated levels of factor VIII, D-dimer, or both at diagnosis were highly predictive of a poor outcome (odds ratio, 6.1; P=0.008), as was the persistence of at least one laboratory abnormality at three to six months (odds ratio, 4.7; P=0.002). The combination of a factor VIII level above 150 IU per deciliter and a D-dimer level above 500 ng per milliliter at diagnosis was 91 percent specific for a poor outcome, and after three to six months of standard anticoagulation, the combination was 88 percent specific.

CONCLUSIONS
Elevated levels of plasma factor VIII, D-dimer, or both at diagnosis and a persistent elevation of at least one of these factors after standard-duration anticoagulant therapy predict a poor outcome in children with thrombosis.


Controllability (C class) represents the level of the ability to avoid harm and is one of the parameters that determine the Automotive Safety Integrity Level in the ISO 26262 functional safety standard, which applies to the electrical and/or electronic systems. This study aimed to consider an appropriate C class evaluation technique for expert riders in applying ISO 26262 to motorcycles.

This study attempted to show a C class evaluation method without deviation by the riders and presented examples of the evaluation of three hazardous events in actual vehicle tests. In addition, riders' comments regarding their understanding of the circumstances that resulted in the evaluation were collected, and the correspondence of these comments was examined.

We selected "unintended acceleration" or "unintended deceleration" due to the malfunction of the electronic throttle control system as hazard examples and conducted tests to reproduce hazardous events. The expert riders evaluated the C class using the evaluation method that we considered. For unintended acceleration when following a preceding vehicle or during turning, the C classes were evaluated from C0 (control in general) to C3 (difficult to control or uncontrollable) depending on the acceleration level. The results of C class evaluation by all riders were found to be similar. For unintended deceleration during turning, all riders evaluated it as C0 at all deceleration levels.

The specific C class evaluation considered in this study is believed to be a useful technique because the C class of each hazardous event was evaluated by expert riders via actual vehicle tests.


Gonadal growth was controlled in two avian species by corticosterone and prolactin injected daily at various times. Testicular growth was induced in photorefractory house sparrows (Passer domesticus) kept in continuous light by prolactin injected 4 or 8 hours after administration of corticosterone. Other temporal patterns were ineffective. Gonadal growth was also stimulated in photosensitive white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) kept in continuous light by prolactin injected 12 hours after administration of corticosterone. Daily injections of prolactin 8 hours after injection of corticosterone inhibited gonadal growth. The seasonal cycle of reproductive photorefractoriness and photosensitivity is controlled by a changing relation between the daily rhythms of plasma concentrations of corticosterone and prolactin.


Shigella dysenteriae organisms of a very young culture released neurotoxin into the medium within 1 hr after it was infected with T-phages. Two types of phage-associated enzymes were considered to be involved in this process. The first type was phage-bound enzyme, which was bound firmly with phage, worked together with phage, and depolymerized neurotoxin into smaller molecules. The second type enzyme was phage-induced lysin, so-called ' endolysin ', which was separable from phage and had lytic activity on dead bacteria. The latter enzyme, however, had no direct effect on the amount of neurotoxin released from acetone-powder preparations of the bacteria into phosphate buffer, although endolysin lysed 25 yo of the bacteria at 30° in 30 min. Young living S. dysenteriae organisms did not release neurotoxin into the medium under normal conditions, whereas the acetone-powder preparations of S. dysenteriae, i.e. dead organisms, released neurotoxin into the medium freely under the same conditions.


Located in Central Africa, at the fringe between Sahel and Sahara, the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) is an endorheic basin of
2,5.106 km2. This sedimentary basin contains a multilayer aquifer system. The Quaternary unconfined aquifer represents
the main water resource in this region: it covers 500 000 km2 and is characterized by the occurrence of poorly understood
piezometric depressions and flow paths. Two underlying confined aquifers (early Pliocene and Continental Terminal)
are artesian but have undergone significant piezometric decline due to extensive abstraction since the 1960's.
To identify the origin of the recharge and flow dynamics in this multilayer aquifer, more than one hundred surface and
groundwater samples have been collected. Together with major and stable isotope analyses, measurements of 36Cl have been carried out at CEREGE, on the French 5MV AMS National Facility ASTER. Moreover, 14C activities have been analyzed for 17 samples on the French AMS ARTEMIS.
The geochemical and isotopic signatures of the Quaternary aquifer show very large variations. In the southern part of the
LCB and near the Chari/Logone Rivers and the Lake Chad, groundwaters are of Ca-Mg-HCO3 type with high 36Cl/Cl ratio
(>1000 at/at). This 36Cl/Cl signature is similar to the one of surface waters indicating that these groundwaters are recent
and very likely imprinted by the 1950s' bomb pulse.
Elsewhere, waters are more concentrated and evolve to NaSO4-Cl type. Their 36Cl/Cl ratio is lower and less variable
(around 200.10-15 at/at). The 14C contents for these latter groundwaters are above 50 pmc, suggesting recent or
Holocene recharge. A flow pattern and a groundwater recharge scheme for the Quaternary aquifer is proposed based on these geochemical data.
In contrast, the confined aquifers have a more homogeneous geochemical and isotopic signature. 14C contents are all below 0.5 pmc and mainly below the detection level, the 36Cl/Cl ratios are under 100.10-15 at/at and stable isotopes show
more depleted waters. This consistently indicates a major episode of recharge of the confined aquifers during a humid
period older than 50ky.


Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disease marked by bone marrow failure, birth defects, and cancer. The FA proteins FANCA, FANCC, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, and FANCL participate in a core complex. We previously have shown that several members of this complex bind to chromatin until mitosis and that this binding increases after DNA damage. The purpose of the present study was to determine the dynamics of complex movement between cytoplasm and nuclear compartments. Fluorescent-tagged versions of FANCA, FANCC, and FANCG colocalize in cytoplasm and nucleus, chiefly in chromatin. At the G1-S border, the FA core complex exists as foci on chromatin, progressively diffusing and migrating to the nuclear periphery and becoming completely excluded from condensed chromosomes by mitosis. Chromatin fiber analysis shows FA proteins diffusely staining along chromatin fibers during G1-S and S phase. Treatment with the DNA cross-linker mitomycin C results in a diffusion of foci and increased binding of complex proteins to chromatin, as well as diffuse and increased complex binding to chromatin fibers. These data are consistent with the idea that the FA proteins function at the level of chromatin during S phase to regulate and maintain genomic stability.


One dose of 10(7) viable units of Mycobacterium bovis, strain BCG, protected a significant number of Swiss mice from a primary challenge with 10(4) thoracic sporozoites of Plasmodium berghei. Immunization with irradiated sporozoites induced greater protection than that observed in BCG-treated with BCG and surviving a primary sporozoite challenge were not protected from rechallenge, whereas mice immunized with irradiated sporozoites and surviving initial challenge of sporozoites were solidly immune to further challenge. Immunizing mice with BCG and irradiated sporozoites simultaneously resulted in a synergistic effect of increased protection against a primary challenge of sporozoites only if the two immunogens were administered on the same day and if the mice were challenged 1 to 3 days later. Mice given BCG and irradiated sporozoites and surviving a primary challenge of sporozoites were unable to survive rechallenge. BCG given to mice previously immunized with irradiated sporozoites suppressed their protective immunity against sporozoite challenge.


My research suggests that American literature from the 1970s to today is deeply concerned with a representation of social and cultural upheaval, and argues that it figures this concern through aesthetic failure, particularly the failure to formally represent the totality of late capitalist America. The literature I consider – including works by Kathy Acker, Cormac McCarthy, Willian Gaddis, Vanessa Place, and others – responds to contemporary crises, particularly the financial unrest that begins in the 1970s and 80s and resonates to today. These authors' works conceive of this "neoliberal" or, as I would call it, late capitalist crisis not indexically, in ways that register at the level of content, but rather at the level of form. I call this literature innovative because it attempts to represent the totality of the world in crisis through new, experimental formal strategies. But when innovative literature attempts to model new ways of representing social or political totality, it fails due to the aesthetic logic of constraint by which it is defined, either through misinterpretation, formal incongruity, or the intrusion of narrative subjectivity into the aesthetic.
This failure, against pessimistic descriptions of reactionary "capitalist realism" endorsed by Mark Fisher among others, defines, I claim, the very ground of productivity for innovative literature. This dissertation argues that, just as crisis impels innovation, so too do these innovative texts reveal in their formal malfunctions something about the deeply contradictory world in which they are produced. My dissertation, The New What's Next: Innovation and Failure in 20th Century Literature, therefore begins by locating the conditions of late 20th century economic crisis in the shifting formal quality of money since the middle of the 19th century, and then turns exclusively to aesthetic considerations of literary works that engage with the symptoms of this crisis via formal intervention. Ultimately, this investigation provides not only a relevancy for literary form and practice in our contemporary intellectual moment, but in fact resituates literary aesthetics as the crucial technology for societal self-knowledge and revelation.


Agile methods are gaining widespread use in industry. Although management is keen on adopting agile, not all developers exhibit preference for agile methods. The literature is sparse in regard to why developers may show preference for agile. Understanding the factors informing the preference for agile can lead to more effective formation of teams, better training approaches, and optimizing software development efforts by focusing on key desirable components of agile. This study, using a grounded theory methodology, finds a variety of categories of factors that influence software developer preference for agile methods including self-efficacy, affective response, interpersonal response, external contingencies, and personality contingencies. Each of these categories contains multiple dimensions. Preference rationalization for agile methods is the core category that emerges from the data. It informs that while the very essence of agile methods overwhelmingly and positively resonates with software developers, the preference is contingent on external and personality factors as well.