The influence of eolian dust deposition on the development of Red-Yellow soils and nonallophanic Andisols in Japan has been well documented. In these studies,, it was reported that the clay fractions of these soils are dominated by fine-grained quartz, 2:1 layer silicates and their intergrades, and kaolinite. However, the nature and composition of hydroxy-interlayered minerals on these soils influenced by eolian dust addition from China is largely unknown. To address this problem, we collected and characterized 28 soil samples from seven pedons in Japan classified as Hapludalfs, Hapludults, or Melanudands, and two soil samples from a pedon in China classified as a Vermiboroll. These samples were extracted with 0.15 M acid oxalate and 0.3 M sodium citrate solutions and the amounts of Al, Fe, and Si present in the extracts were determined. This information was used in combination with X-ray diffraction patterns of the samples obtained before and after extraction to determine the mineralogy and estimate the compositon of the interlayer material. Except for the Vermiboroll samples, which contained kaolinite and highly charged smectite, the dominant minerals in these soil samples were hydroxy-interlayered vermiculites (HIV). The citrate extracts yielded low Si/Al atomic ratios (i.e., 0.12-0.86 after 4h and 0.39-0.90 after 24h) suggesting that the interlayer materials of the HIV minerals were hydroxyaluminosilicate, hydroxy-Al, and/or hydroxy-Fe ions. Our results provide chemical and mineralogical evidence for the occurrence of hydroxy-interlayer materials in loess-derived Japanese soils developed under temperate, humid climates.


The authors report on the link between shoulder stiffness following surgery for a traumatically recurrent dislocation of the shoulder and an allergy to the metal bone clamp used. In addition to a review of the literature on the problems of metal allergies and their verification, the relationship between metal allergy and the stiffening of a shoulder due to an allergy and the stiffening of a shoulder due to an allergy to nickel, hitherto unknown to the present authors, is discussed.


Remote spectral characterization of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) relies on laboratory spectral calibration to constrain their surface composition, including mineral chemistry and relative mineral abundances. Often these calibrations are based on fine meteorite powders that are representative of regolith observed on large NEAs such as (433) Eros. However, spacecraft observations of smaller NEAs such as (25143) Itokawa, (101955) Bennu, and (162173) Ryugu show surfaces devoid of a thick layer of regolith and instead find variegated landscapes with millimeter-sized particles to meter-scale boulders. Here we present the results of a laboratory study to understand the effects of grain size on the spectral properties of meteorites and how this can impact ground-based characterization of NEAs. Our study focuses on ordinary chondrites (H, L, LL) and HED meteorites, as they comprise ∼90% of all meteorites that fall on Earth. Compared to ordinary chondrites, the spectral band parameters of HED meteorites are less affected by changing grain size. Among the ordinary chondrites, LL chondrites are least affected, but the spectral band parameters and mineral chemistries and abundances for H and L chondrites are most affected by changing grain size. Grain size does not seem to have any significant effect on the taxonomic classification of our meteorite spectra. We also used the Hapke model to investigate trends in single-scattering albedo as a function of grain size and present equations to recover the grain size from a spectrum.


We evaluate the feasibility of cognitive machine-to-machine communication on cellular bands from engineering and business perspectives. We propose a hierarchical network structure for cognitive M2M communication, where cluster headers gather M2M traffic using cognitive radio and forward it to the cellular networks. This structure can resolve the congestion problem that arises in conventional M2M systems. We obtain the optimal network parameters that minimize congestion at the radio access network. In addition, we investigate the business value of cognitive M2M on cellular bands. Taking into account the network usage fee, service fee, and hardware production costs, we model the profit structure of M2M services and derive the condition under which the CR type of M2M communication is superior to conventional M2M communication. We find that the optimal network design parameters (i.e., the number of cluster headers and cluster size) for business value would be different from the parameters expected from an engineering point of view. We believe that cognitive M2M communication can be a good solution for dealing with excessive M2M traffic in cellular networks, in terms of technical feasibility and business opportunity.


Abstract The genus Pararhinebothroides was established for a species of cestode (Parahinebothroides hobergi) found parasitizing the Tumbes round stingray, Urobatis tumbesensis (McEachran & Chirichigno), in the inshore Pacific waters in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Its apparent affinities with the freshwater endemic genus Rhinebothroides were considered evidence to support the long-standing, yet controversial, biogeographical hypothesis that freshwater stingrays of the family Potamotrygonidae derived from a Pacific marine ancestor during the Cretaceous Period before the uplifting of the Andes. Here, we re-evaluate the phylogenetic and taxonomic status of P. hobergi based on examination of the available type material and newly collected material from the type host near the type locality. The new material allowed the description of tegumental structures using scanning electron microscopy and the generation of a hypothesis for the phylogenetic position of the species based on molecular data for the first time. Morphological investigations revealed that P. hobergi shares all the diagnostic features of the most recent concept of Anthocephalum, including the previously overlooked presence of bothridial apical suckers. Phylogenetic analyses based on partial 28S rDNA (D1–D3) and complete 18S rDNA sequence data for 4 specimens of P. hobergi, 45 species of other rhinebothriideans, and 5 non-rhinebothriidean outgroup species provided unequivocal support for the transfer of P. hobergi to Anthocephalum. Since this is the type and only species of the genus, Pararhinebothroides is considered a junior synonym of Anthocephalum, and Anthocephalum hobergi n. comb. is redescribed. Furthermore, our results reveal Rhinebothroides and Anthocephalum to be only distantly related among the Rhinebothriidea. Not only do our results confirm reservations expressed earlier about the affinities of P. hobergi, but they also substantially challenge inferences drawn previously about the biogeographical history of potamotrygonid stingrays based on parasitological data.


Accurately measuring wettability is of the utmost importance because it influences several reservoir parameters while also impacting reservoir potential, recovery, development, and management plan. As such, this study proposes a new formulated mathematical model based on the correlation between the Amott-USBM wettability measurement and field NMR T2LM log. The exponential relationship based on the existence of immiscible fluids in the pore space had a correlation coefficient of 0.95. Earlier studies on laboratory core wettability measurements using T2 distribution as a function of increasing water saturation were modified to include T2LM field data. Based on the trends observed, water-wet and oil-wet conditions were qualitatively identified. Using the mean T2LM for the intervals of interest and the formulated mathematical formula, the various wetting conditions in existence were quantitatively measured. Results of this agreed with the various core wettability measurements used to develop the mathematical equation. The results expressed the validity of the mathematical equation to characterise wettability at the field scale. With the cost of running NMR logs not favourable, and hence not always run, a deep ensemble super learner was employed to establish a relationship between NMR T2LM and wireline logs. This model is based on the architecture of a deep learning model and the theoretical background of ensemble models due to their reported superiority. The super learner was developed using nine ensemble models as base learners. The performance of nine ensemble models was compared to the deep ensemble super learner. Based on the RMSE, R2, MAE, MAPD and MPD the deep ensemble super learner greatly outperformed the base learners. This indicates that the deep ensemble super learner can be used to predict NMR T2LM in the field. By applying the methodology and mathematical formula proposed in this study, the wettability of reservoirs can be accurately characterised as illustrated in the field deployment.


Abstract THIS SPECIAL ISSUE OF CONJUNCTIONS BEARS THE TITLE FEMINISM, GENDER, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND EVERYDAY RESISTANCE. THIS INTRODUCTION WILL ANALYSE CHOSEN RELATIONS BETWEEN THESE FOUR PHENOMENA, AMONGST OTHERS BY SHOWING HOW FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S MOVEMENTS HAVE MADE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON DIFFERENT SOCIETIES AND CULTURES ALL OVER THE WORLD AND HAVE INSPIRED THE PROTEST REPERTOIRES AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORKS OF BOTH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND MORE INFORMAL FORMS OF EVERYDAY RESISTANCE. THE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCES, EXPLORES AND LINKS THE INTERSECTIONAL TURN IN FEMINISM, DIFFERENT THEORIES OF EVERYDAY RESISTANCE AND THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN POLITICS AND RESISTANCE. AFTER MAPPING OUT THIS MORE GENERAL THEORETICAL LANDSCAPE OF GENDERED ACTIVISM, THE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCES AND REFLECTS ON A NUMBER OF THE RECURRING THEMES IN THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS SPECIAL ISSUE. THESE THEMES ARE 'MEDIATISED ACTIVISM', 'MOBILISATION OF AFFECT', 'ONLINE MISOGYNY AND REACTIONARY MOVEMENTS OF THE FAR RIGHT', 'THE BODY AS A POLITICAL SITE' AND 'CITIZENSHIP AND THE RIGHTS TO HAVE RIGHTS'. BY SHOWING HOW FEMINISM AND FEMINIST THEORY HAVE DEVELOPED OVER TIME THROUGH DIFFERENT MOVEMENTS, ACTORS AND DIFFERENT FORMS OF ACTIVISM WORKING TO PROMOTE MORE EQUAL POLITICAL, CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL GENDERS, THE INTRODUCTION ALSO RAISES MORE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND ACTIVISM. AMONGST OTHERS IT SHOWS THAT THE WAY WE DEFINE AND UNDERSTAND POLITICS AND WHAT WE RECOGNISE AND ACKNOWLEDGES AS POLITICS IS IN ITSELF A POLITICAL ACT AND AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION.


Evaluating benefits for society is a common requirement for most social innovation programmes, yet evaluating social impact is one of the most challenging tasks. This challenge has salience for service design and designing social innovation – both fields that seek to make social impact. This paper shares insights from researching social innovation practices in Southeast Asia. We draw attention to intelligent ways practitioners in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand are evaluating work with social outcomes, and from this, we generate a propositional framework that supports the core principles observed. We place this framework alongside dominant and traditional models of evaluation to highlight epistemic, political and power differences between them, and reinforce the importance of diversifying evaluative approaches. We demonstrate how alternative evaluative practices are community and culturally-led through specific examples, to reinforce the core principles of building trust, participatory collaboration and being grounded in place, culture and locality.


Purpose: This article aims to bridge recent work on Service Logic with practice and research in Design for Service to explore if and how human-centered participatory design approaches could provide an ideal source for interpreting existing service systems, proposing new ones and thus realize service logic in organizations.Design/methodology: This paper compares existing theoretical backgrounds and frameworks from Service Logicand Design for Service studies that conceptualize core concepts for value co-creation: actors, resources, resource integration, participation, context and experience.Findings: Service Logic provides a framework to understand service systems in action by focusing on how actors integrate resources to co-create value, while Design for Service provides an approach and tools to analyze current service systems in context to imagine future service systems and how innovation may develop as a result of reconfigurations of resources and actors. Design for Service also provides frameworks, competence and tools enabling involved actors to participate in and be part of the service system re-design. Based in this the model Design for value co-creationis presented.Research implications: The authors bridge service research studies with Design for Service, articulating how Design for Service could be a key factorin realizing Service Logic in organizations. Emerging research questions and potentials for interdisciplinary work are part of our final conclusions.Originality/value: The paper extends the Service Logic literature by 1) repositioning service design from a phase of development to Design for Serviceas an approach to service innovation centered on understanding and engaging with customers' own value creating practices 2) extends the meaning of value co-creationto include collaborative approaches for generation of new resource constellations and through this process achieving value co-creation in designing.


Policy-makers and academics frequently emphasize a positive link between city size and economic growth. The empirical literature on the relationship, however, is scarce and uses rough indicators for the size for a country's cities, while ignoring factors that are increasingly considered to shape the relationship. In this paper, we employ a panel of 113 countries between 1980 and 2010 to explore whether (1) there are certain city sizes that are growth enhancing and (2) how additional factors highlighted in the literature impact the city size/growth relationship. The results suggest a non-linear relationship which is dependent on the country's size. In contrast to the prevailing view that large cities are growth-inducing, for the majority of countries relatively small cities of up to 3 million inhabitants are more conducive to economic growth. A large share of the urban population in cities with more than 10 million inhabitants is only growth promoting in countries with an urban population of 28.5 million and more. In addition, the relationship is highly context dependent: a high share of industries that benefit from agglomeration economies, a well-developed urban infrastructure, and an adequate level of governance effectiveness allow countries to take advantage of agglomeration benefits from larger cities.


Sir.—Influenza is an important cause of pediatric morbidity, especially in children with chronic cardiopulmonary conditions.1The American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases recommends that children with asthma be targeted for vaccination.2Although pediatricians devote much attention to universal immunizations, only 1% to 7% of high-risk children are vaccinated against influenza.1Mailed reminders have been effective in improving adherence to recommended health care in other settings. Several studies in adult medicine demonstrated that mailed reminders improve the rate of immunization against influenza.3-5Mailed reminders have also been effective in improving compliance with immunizations in pediatric clinics.6We were unable to find any studies addressing the effectiveness of mailed reminders in improving the rate of influenza immunization in pediatric clinics. Accordingly, we performed a controlled clinical trial to answer the following question: do computer-generated reminder letters improve the rate of influenza immunization in children


Results: Blocks with 60 ml worked statistically significantly quicker than blocks with 45 ml (P 0.036). Adrenaline did not significantly affect onset time. Blocks with 60ml and adrenaline scored best on all measures of block quality. Some of these values reached statistical significance, some not. Adrenaline had the more important effect, and significantly reduced alfentanil consumption (P 0.03) during the operation. All cases of toxicity were after 20–30 minutes. The incidence was 14% without adrenaline and 1% with adrenaline (P 0.0002) (average mepivacaine dose for toxicity was 9.8 mg/kg [7.2 – 15.8]). Signs of toxicity were generally mild, and often elicited on questioning; there were no convulsions.


Abstract Objectives To evaluate the effect on breast cancer mortality during the first 10 years of the mammography service screening programme that was introduced in Copenhagen in 1991. Design Cohort study. Setting The mammography service screening programme in Copenhagen, Denmark. Participants All women ever invited to mammography screening in the first 10 years of the programme. Historical, national, and historical national control groups were used. Main outcome measures The main outcome measure was breast cancer mortality. We compared breast cancer mortality in the study group with rates in the control groups, adjusting for age, time period, and region. Results Breast cancer mortality in the screening period was reduced by 25% (relative risk 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.63 to 0.89) compared with what we would expect in the absence of screening. For women actually participating in screening, breast cancer mortality was reduced by 37%. Conclusions In the Copenhagen programme, breast cancer mortality was reduced without severe negative side effects for the participants.


Abstract Background Although clozapine is effective for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), the rate of clozapine prescription is still low. Whereas antipsychotic monotherapy is recommended in clinical practice guidelines, the rate of antipsychotic polypharmacy is still high. There is little evidence on whether a clozapine prescription influences changes in the rate of monotherapy and polypharmacy, including antipsychotics and other psychotropics. We therefore hypothesized that the rate of antipsychotic monotherapy in patients with TRS who were prescribed clozapine would be higher than that in patients with schizophrenia who were not prescribed clozapine. Methods We assessed 8306 patients with schizophrenia nationwide from 178 institutions in Japan from 2016 to 2019. We analyzed the psychotropic prescription data at discharge in patients diagnosed with TRS and with no description of TRS (ND-TRS) based on the diagnosis listed in the discharge summary. Results The rate of antipsychotic monotherapy in the TRS with clozapine group (91.3%) was significantly higher than that in the TRS without clozapine group (45.9%; P < 2.0 × 10−16) and the ND-TRS without clozapine group (54.7%; P < 2.0 × 10−16). The rate of antipsychotic monotherapy without any other concomitant psychotropics in the TRS with clozapine group (26.5%) was significantly higher than that in the TRS without clozapine group (12.6%; P = 1.1 × 10−6) and the ND-TRS without clozapine group (17.0%; P = 5.9 × 10−6). Conclusions Clozapine prescription could be associated with a high rate of antipsychotic monotherapy. Patients will benefit from the correct diagnosis of TRS and thus from proper clozapine prescription.


Biopotentials of the heart were studied in 120 normal children aged 3 to 14 years by means of integral electrocardiotopography. The data obtained made it possible to reveal a number of common mechanisms characteristic of the child's body: the presence of pathway zones, the multipolar type of potential distribution, high degree of minimal potentials according to the electropositivity and electronegativity charts, high degree of the gradient according to the electropositivity charts, and the presence of the zones with dipole span. The results of the studies may be regarded as new perspective approaches to further improvement of the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in children with the aid of integral electrocardiotopography.


1. Paired iris smooth muscles from rabbits were incubated for 30 min at 37 degrees C in an iso-osmotic salt medium containg glucose, inositol, cytidine and [32P]phosphate. 2. One of the pair was then incubated at 37 degrees C for 10 min in unlabelled medium containing 10mM-2-deoxyglucose and the other was incubated in the presence of acetylcholine plus eserine (0.05mM each). 2-Deoxyglucose, which was included in the incubation medium to minimize the biosynthesis of triphosphoinositide from ATP and diphosphoinositide, decreased the amount of labelled ATP by 71% and inhibited further 32P incorporation from ATP into triphosphoinositide by almost 30%. 3. Acetylcholine (0.05mM) increased significantly the loss of 32P from triphosphoinositide (the 'triphosphoinositide effect') in 32P-labelled iris muscle. This effect was measured both chemically and radiochemically. It was also observed when 32Pi was replaced by myo-[3H]inositol in the incubation medium. 4. The triphosphoinositide effect was blocked by atropine but not by D-tubocurarine. Further, muscarinic but not nicotinic agonists were found to provoke this effect. 5. Acetylcholine decreased by 28% the 32P incorporation into triphosphoinositide, presumably by stimulating its breakdown. This decrement in triphosphoinositide was blocked by atropine, but not by D-tubocurarine. 6. The triphosphoinositide effect was accompanied by a significant increase in 32P labelling, but not tissue concentration, of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid. The possible relationship between the loss of 32P label from triphosphoinositide in response to acetylcholine and the concomitant increase in that of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid is discussed. 7. The presence of triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase, the enzyme that might be stimulated in the iris smooth muscle by the neurotransmitter, was demonstrated, and, under our methods of homogenization and assay, more than 80% of its activity was localized in the particulate fraction.


Riociguat is a new drug prescribed to patients with pulmonary hypertension that reduces the pressure in pulmonary artery by vasodilation. This drug like many other drugs has several side effects, some of which can be serious such as bleeding. Riociguat causes vaginal bleeding by increasing endometrial thickness and blood flow to the endometrium, therefore, should be used with care especially for patients who have history of dysfunctional uterine bleeding. In this case report, we present a 27-year-old female patient with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and dysfunctional uterine bleeding presented with severe vaginal bleeding under riociguat treatment.


Abstract As AI-enhanced technologies become common in a variety of domains, there is an increasing need to define and examine the trust that users have in such technologies. Given the progress in the development of AI, a correspondingly sophisticated understanding of trust in the technology is required. This paper addresses this need by explaining the role of trust in the intention to use AI technologies. Study 1 examined the role of trust in the use of AI voice assistants based on survey responses from college students. A path analysis confirmed that trust had a significant effect the on intention to use AI, which operated through perceived usefulness and participants' attitude toward voice assistants. In Study 2, using data from a representative sample of the U.S. population, different dimensions of trust were examined using exploratory factor analysis, which yielded two dimensions: human-like trust and functionality trust. The results of the path analyses from Study 1 were replicated in Study 2, confirming the indirect effect of trust and the effects of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and attitude on intention to use. Further, both dimensions of trust shared a similar pattern of effects within the model, with functionality-related trust exhibiting a greater total impact on usage intention than human-like trust. Overall, the role of trust in the acceptance of AI technologies was significant across both studies. This research contributes to the advancement and application of the TAM in AI-related applications and offers a multidimensional measure of trust that can be utilized in the future study of trustworthy AI.


The existence of black holes (BHs) with masses in the range between stellar remnants and supermassive BHs has only recently become unambiguously established. GW190521, a gravitational wave signal detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration, provides the first direct evidence for the existence of such intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs). This event sparked and continues to fuel discussion on the possible formation channels for such massive BHs. As the detection revealed, IMBHs can form via binary mergers of BHs in the "upper mass gap" (≈40–120 M ⊙). Alternatively, IMBHs may form via the collapse of a very massive star formed through stellar collisions and mergers in dense star clusters. In this study, we explore the formation of IMBHs with masses between 120 and 500 M ⊙ in young, massive star clusters using state-of-the-art Cluster Monte Carlo models. We examine the evolution of IMBHs throughout their dynamical lifetimes, ending with their ejection from the parent cluster due to gravitational radiation recoil from BH mergers, or dynamical recoil kicks from few-body scattering encounters. We find that all of the IMBHs in our models are ejected from the host cluster within the first ∼500 Myr, indicating a low retention probability of IMBHs in this mass range for globular clusters today. We estimate the peak IMBH merger rate to be ≈2Gpc−3yr−1 at redshift z ≈ 2.


This dissertation presents an exploration of identity and career in an international context. The perspectives of thirty-seven highly educated, non-French origin, Western (first world) individuals, who reside indefinitely in the South of France (host country) while maintaining occupational careers are considered. These 'bounded transnationals', as termed by the author, were interviewed in the geographical case study of Sophia Antipolis (South of France) over a three year period. A critical realist and constructivist ontology, and a hermeneutic and interpretivist epistemology is adopted, using narratives from ethnographically informed interviews to study the career stories (of which identity is an integral element) of the sample. On reviewing existing international human resource management and career literature on international assignees and careers, the identity and career construction of this previously un-explored sample of self-initiated international assignees is interpreted inductively in its complexity. The study follows a pragmatic pluralistic approach, using different theoretical concepts which allow for a deeper interpretation of the findings. The findings and interpretation contribute to the existing knowledge on international assignees, international human resource management and international careers. Specifically, the study presents a typology of international assignees, emphasizing the specific characteristics of the bounded transnational sample. Secondly, it shares evidence of lifestyle migration. Thirdly, an unpacking and conceptualization of the complexity of factors (structure, agency, process) impacting (limiters and facilitators) upon identity construction and career direction and preference is demonstrated. The continuous identity and career construction shows the protean, evolving nature of identity and career. It is argued that a deeper understanding of individual contributors' (specifically the bounded transnationals in this study) identity and career construction would aid organisations in developing career management systems which consider the variety of potential interests and concerns.


Rendering time depends on number of faces in polygonal mesh. Displaying large number of objects or objects with a lot of faces can result in performance degradation. One of the ways to overcome this problem is to use several levels of detail for polygonal mesh. Levels of detail with low quality are used when object is far away from camera and difference in number of faces is not apparent to viewer. Coarse meshes can be generated manually which is difficult and time consuming. For many applications (computer graphics, computer vision, finite element analysis) it's preferable to use automated methods for polygonal surface simplification to increase performance. Traditional methods for surface simplification are designed for CPU. GPU methods provide improvements in performance and have comparable visual quality. This survey covers algorithms on GPU. They are based on either shader programming or general purpose computing frameworks like OpenCL and CUDA. Shader methods are very restrictive. They are designed to render images in real-time. General purpose computing frameworks provide flexible APIs but require attention to hardware implementation details to avoid performance bottlenecks. Main features of algorithms are provided for comparison as the result. The most used operation for geometry simplification is edge collapse. It's difficult to avoid expensive data exchange between GPU and CPU. It's important to take into account computational model of GPU to increase number of stream processors working in parallel.


Laser clearing is nowadays employed successfully for the removal of unwanted layers of diverse chemical and physical nature from historical and religious monuments and objects. Significant research evolution has been made via close collaboration between scientists, conservators and curators. Several studies have shown that the maximum efficiency of the laser-induced divestment can be obtained in parallel with the safety of the preservable artefact. The examples discussed herein and the numerous case studies presented in the biennial international LACONA conferences demonstrate that in the future laser cleaning may be the leading technique for the preservation of churches, historical monuments and religious objects with great cultural heritage significance.


Behçet disease (BD) is a rare, multifactorial condition with multiple manifestations affecting various systems. Bipolar disorder has been reported as more frequent in individuals with BD than in the general population. We report a case of BD and bipolar disorder and summarize previous findings in the literature concerning this topic. Our case illustrates the relevance of managing comorbid BD and bipolar disorder. It is crucial to manage both conditions to maximize the patient's quality of life. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of bipolar disorder in patients with BD and vice versa and an integrated model of care could be useful. The exact biological and psychological aspects mediating the association between the 2 diagnoses remain unclear. Further, larger, prospective studies could help better clarify this relationship, leading to new advances in diagnosis and treatment.


Author(s): Ballard, Grey | Advisor(s): Demmel, James W | Abstract: Dense linear algebra computations are essential to nearly every problem in scientific computing and to countless other fields. Most matrix computations enjoy a high computational intensity (i.e., ratio of computation to data), and therefore the algorithms for the computations have a potential for high efficiency. However, performance for many linear algebra algorithms is limited by the cost of moving data between processors on a parallel computer or throughout the memory hierarchy of a single processor, which we will refer to generally as communication. Technological trends indicate that algorithmic performance will become even more limited by communication in the future. In this thesis, we consider the fundamental computations within dense linear algebra and address the following question: can we significantly improve the current algorithms for these computations, in terms of the communication they require and their performance in practice?To answer the question, we analyze algorithms on sequential and parallel architectural models that are simple enough to determine coarse communication costs but accurate enough to predict performance of implementations on real hardware. For most of the computations, we prove lower bounds on the communication that any algorithm must perform. If an algorithm exists with communication costs that match the lower bounds (at least in an asymptotic sense), we call the algorithm communication optimal. In many cases, the most commonly used algorithms are not communication optimal, and we can develop new algorithms that require less data movement and attain the communication lower bounds.In this thesis, we develop both new communication lower bounds and new algorithms, tightening (and in many cases closing) the gap between best known lower bound and best known algorithm (or upper bound). We consider both sequential and parallel algorithms, and we asses both classical and fast algorithms (e.g., Strassen's matrix multiplication algorithm).In particular, the central contributions of this thesis are: proving new communication lower bounds for nearly all classical direct linear algebra computations (dense or sparse), including factorizations for solving linear systems, least squares problems, and eigenvalue and singular value problems; proving new communication lower bounds for Strassen's and other fast matrix multiplication algorithms; proving new parallel communication lower bounds for classical and fast computations that set limits on an algorithm's ability to perfectly strong scale; summarizing the state-of-the-art in communication efficiency for both sequential and parallel algorithms for the computations to which the lower bounds apply; developing a new communication-optimal algorithm for computing a symmetric-indefinite factorization (observing speedups of up to 2.8x compared to alternative shared-memory parallel algorithms); developing new, more communication-efficient algorithms for reducing a symmetric band matrix to tridiagonal form via orthogonal similar transformations (observing speedups of 2--6x compared to alternative sequential and parallel algorithms); and developing a new communication-optimal parallelization of Strassen's matrix multiplication algorithm (observing speedups of up to 2.84x compared to alternative distributed-memory parallel algorithms).


Tonsillectomy is one of the most common performed procedures in ENT practice, it may be associated with bleeding and postoperative throat pain which are significant morbidities.
 The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of peritonsillar infiltration with (Mepecaine-Levonottrdefrin) on tonsillectomy duration, intraoperative blood loss and early post-operative pain in adults.
 In this case-control study; fifty adults aged between 18-32 year were included, they were 34 females and 16 males who underwent tonsillectomy in the period between November 2011 and April 2012 at Basrah General Hospital, Iraq. Unilateral peritonsillar injection with Mepecaine-L (Mepecaine 2% - Levonorderfrin 1:20000) were infiltrated to one side and compared with the other side for the following parameters: operation duration, intraoperative blood loss and early post-operative pain score.
 There was no statically significant difference in the duration of operation between the test and control side (P>0.05); There was significant reduction in the blood loss in the tested side (P< 0.001); and also significant reduction of the early postoperative pain (P<0.001). No significant intraoperative or postoperative complications were noticed.
 In conclusion, the use of peritonsillar infiltration with Mepecaine-L before tonsillectomy is a safe and effective method that significantly reduces the blood loss and relieves the pain in adults after tonsillectomy.
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Spatially homogeneous random walks in $(\mathbb{Z}_{+})^{2}$ with non-zero jump probabilities at distance at most 1, with non-zero drift in the interior of the quadrant and absorbed when reaching the axes are studied. Absorption probabilities generating functions are obtained and the asymptotic of absorption probabilities along the axes is made explicit. The asymptotic of the Green functions is computed along all different infinite paths of states, in particular along those approaching the axes.


Agent Based Modeling of Power Distribution Systems by Sridhar Chouhan Master of Science in Electrical Engineering West Virginia University Professor Ali Feliachi, Ph.D., Chair The electric power system is a very vast network and becoming more complex each day. The traditional vertically monopolistic structure has been deregulated and replaced by gencos, transcos and, discos; increasing the power system intricacy. During the past few decades there has been remarkable development in software and hardware technologies for the analysis and design activities in power system planning, operation, and control. However, much still depends on the judgment of human experts. A single fault in power system can lead to multiple faults and can collapse the whole system. Power System needs a more decentralized control mechanism for solving these problems. One novel solution would be Multi-agent Systems. A Multi-agent system is a collection of agents, which perceives the system changes and acts on the system in order to achieve its goals. Recent technology developments in the area of Multi-agent systems making it a viable solution for today's complicated power network. A Multi-agent system model is developed for fault detection and reconfiguration in this thesis work. These models are developed based on graph theory tree models and mathematical models. A set of objective functions are specified in the mathematical model for the restoration of the network. The agent platform for the fault detection is developed by Java Agent Development Framework. The restoration algorithm is programmed in MATLAB and applied to the distribution system modeled in the commercial software, Distributed Engineering Workstation and Power World Simulator. The test system in this thesis is, a distribution system developed by Southern California Edison called Circuit of the Future. The Multi-agent system can detect the fault precisely and reconfigures the circuit using the reconfiguration algorithm. The reconfiguration will happen in a way that it always try to supply all the critical loads in the network. When there are multiple solutions available for reconfiguration, the one with good voltage profile and less power loss is selected as the solution. The algorithm makes use of shunt compensation and priority based load shedding in order to control the voltage across the network. Agents make use of learning to speed up the reconfiguration process.


An hepatic disease caused by a filterable agent carried in leukemic mice is described. Ordinarily the virus remains latent and asymptomatic. If, however, the mice are treated with urethane or methylformamide before and after virus inoculation, the disease becomes manifest and is characterized by extremely marked liver necrosis. Infant mice, a large percentage of weanlings, and adult Bagg albino mice are killed when injected with a filtrate from organs of diseased animals. Adult F1 and Swiss mice show signs of the disease but generally recover. They succumb, however, when simultaneously treated with urethane or methylformamide. By continuing the treatment of consecutive transfer generations an acute disease can be induced which finally kills all adult F1 mice without the treatment. At this stage the original leukemia may be lost. Mice which have recovered from the subacute disease are resistant to the acute disease, and mice injected with the latent form of the agent are immune to the subacute disease. However, even immunized animals lose their resistance if they are treated with urethane. The acute or subacute disease can be reduced to the latent stage by passing the agent through several generations of immunized animals. The relationship of this hepatitis virus of mice to viruses causing similar diseases is discussed, as is the possibility that these agents are closely related, if not identical.


This article indulges in a laconic critique of the newly introduced 2015 Indian Model BIT, focussing on certain standards of protection offered to the investors. Comparisons are drawn with its predecessor viz., the 2004 Model BIPA. This paper emphatically argues, that in the present atypical form the Model BIT is pragmatically inefficacious, and lopsided, as it only inaptly and parochially expresses India's current apprehensions as a host contracting state. It needs to be even-keeled, protecting Indian investors as well, in order to be acceptable in the future to other countries. Otherwise, the author suggests, that it is better to discontinue India's BIT Program, rather than have a hypocritical approach to it.


Alexandra David-Neel had already been acquainted with the Himalayas for a long time before the visits to Tibet in 1924 that would make her a mainstream figure of modern Buddhism. In fact, her encounter with Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism can be linked with Sikkim, where she arrived in 1912 after visiting India. An exploration of her Sikkim stay invites us to reconsider the self-fashioning of David-Neel's image as an explorer of what she called the "land of marvels." This paper highlights her construction of Sikkim as the locality that helped her create her singular vision of Tibet. Her encounters with local Buddhists in Sikkim provided her with the lofty images of a spiritual Tibet that she contributed to publicizing in the wake of the globalization of Buddhism.


Since 1980, population trends in Australia have indicated new patterns of urbanization involving substantial growth not only in the dominant conurbations, but also in suburban areas and in an extensive coastal zone (Paris, 1994). Comparisons can be made with the emergence of post-suburban forms and processes in other parts of the world (Kling et. al., 1991). The principal aim of this paper is to present an analysis of some of the major local development conflicts and planning and environmental protection issues that are being faced by developers, planners and local communities as the urban restructuring of Australia takes place. The paper draws on evidence of urbanization on the upper North Coast of New South Wales and provides a detailed examination of two shires in the region - Ballina and Byron - where a study was carried out by the authors in 1994 and 1995. Previous research on the population and development trends in Australia is reviewed to provide a context within which the patterns in New South Wales and its North Coast may be placed, and a discussion is presented of the implications of new development with reference to Ballina Shire and Byron Shire. The usefulness of the postfordist model as an explanatory framework for examining these post-suburban landscapes and contested space issues on the North Coast of NSW is also explored. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.


BACKGROUND
Laparoscopic gastric bypass (LGB) is an increasingly utilized approach to bariatric surgery in Australia. A high proportion of those procedures are revisional due to Australia's legacy of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), which is not the case internationally. The aim of this study was to compare post-operative outcomes in an Australian general foregut surgery unit against benchmarks published in the literature.

METHODS
This is retrospective cohort study of morbidly obese patients undergoing primary or revisional laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or laparoscopic one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) with the two senior authors between 5 May 2015 and 27 June 2019. Perioperative data for the unit's first 100 cases were collected prospectively, stored on a unit database and analysed. Post-operative complications at 30 days, 90 days, mortality, length of hospital stay, and Defined Adverse Events were chosen as indicators of the perioperative outcome (as defined in the Monash Bariatric Surgery Registry).

RESULTS
In this cohort, 35% of procedures were RYGB and 65% were OAGB. The majority (58%) were revisional procedures. Most patients (74%) were female. The median age was 50. The comorbidity profile of the population was similar to those published internationally. The median hospital stay was 4 days. There was no mortality. Early complications occurred in 9% of patients, with 3% occurring late.

CONCLUSION
Outcomes of our first 100 cases are comparable with those recorded in the literature, notwithstanding a much higher proportion of revisional cases. LGB can be safely introduced in Australian general foregut surgery units by experienced laparoscopic surgeons.


Low live weight gain of cattle in the wet season of tropical areas was identified as a major limitation to achieving annual growth rates from tropical pasture systems sufficient to meet new market specifications of young animals of high carcass weight. Both protein and energy are limiting nutrients for growth. Net transfer of feed protein to the intestines is often not complete, and losses occur with grasses and legumes when CP content exceeds 210 g of CPkg of digestible OM. This protein loss is important because a collation of experimental data indicated that cattle consuming lowand high-quality pasture and silage-based diets all responded to extra protein. The response was less for the higher-quality forage. The role of legumes in supplying this protein was investigated and, unless legumes can increase total DM1 by at least 30%, they will not supply suffkient intestinal protein to increase live weight gain by about 300 g/d. The problem with legumes and some grasses is the loss of protein from the rumen, and increasing energy supply to the rumen, either through improved digestibility or energy supplements, is a strategy that could be used to reduce this. Strategies to increase the proportion of escape protein would be successful, but incorporation of lowly degradable protein fractions into legumes may be more difficult because of the level of expression of these protein fractions required for a significant live weight gain response. Cattle entering the wet season usually exhibit compensatory growth and are exposed to high ambient temperatures and often to high humidity. Intestinal protein above that stipulated in feeding standards may be beneficial in these circumstances, and more emphasis should be placed on the ability of legumes to supply protein postruminally. At present the protein delivery capacity of agronomically competitive legumes seems to be inadequate for the higher growth rates required in production systems, and supplements of energy and protein will be needed to achieve these higher targets until new cultivars appear.


The number of web applications continues to grow rapidly. Many applications that were traditionally desktop-based such as word processors, email clients or even file managers have now their web alternatives that often have bigger user base.While the software world is shifting from providing desktop-based applications to offering cloud-based services, challenges arise to provide high quality software in this radically different environment.Web-based applications are different in many aspects to their desktop equivalents. Web-based and desktop-based applications have radically dissimilar architecture, user interface, execution environment, requirements and limitations. To mention a few specific differences: the web application is executed in the context of a web browser, not operating system; code is executed in two separate places: on the server and in the web browser; code for the server is written in a different language than code for the client.Because of these differences, the traditional software testing techniques are only of limited use. To properly test a web application one needs to take into account numerous differences in Web-Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Apple Safari. Simple input-output testing is useful only to limited degree, because output cannot be just compared to the predefined value but must be compared within the context of all the environments and operating systems the application supports. The fact that an application works in one browser does not guarantee that it will work at all in other browsers.The entire complexity of the problem makes testing web applications a very time consuming and difficult task. Often it takes significantly longer time to test the application than it is to implement it. Because of these difficulties, web applications are often tested exclusively manually by humans, and only to a limited degree. New techniques and technologies are necessary to approach the problem of web application testing.This paper includes a case study carried out during author's work on a web-based application. It examines the current state-of-the-art of web application testing and suggests useful techniques in tackling the problem.


Universities
are pursuing learning analytics practices to improve returns from their
investments, develop behavioral and academic interventions to improve student
success, and address political and financial pressures. Academic libraries are
additionally undertaking learning analytics to demonstrate value to
stakeholders, assess learning gains from instruction, and analyze
student-library usage, among other things. The adoption of these techniques
leads to many professional ethics issues and practical concerns related to
privacy. In this narrative literature review, we provide a foundational
background in the field of learning analytics, library adoption of these
practices, and identify ethical and practical privacy issues.


An important source for a firm's competitive advantage is its external knowledge-related relationships. Absorptive capability is a firm's ability to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends. It pertains to knowledge creation and utilization that enhances a firm's ability to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. Four capabilities compose a firm's absorptive capacity: acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and exploitation. This paper focuses acquisition, which is a firm's capability to identify and acquire external information and knowledge. Information and communication technologies (ICT) and Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) can play an important role in inter-organizational knowledge processes and flows. The paper discusses how ICT and KMS can be used to enhance knowledge acquisition. The core business process used for illustration is (new) product development.


Two kinds of high-entropy alloy coatings of FeCrNiCoCu and FeCrNiCoCuB were deposited on AZ91 magnesium alloy substrate using high velocity arc spraying technology. Microstructure and general mechanical properties of the coatings were investigated with Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction instrument (XRD), microhardness tester and strength bond tester. The results show that the two kinds of coatings exhibit compact layered microstructure and the phase lattice type are both FCC, the microhardness of the FeCrNiCoCu and FeCrNiCoCuB coatings are 414HV0.1 and 342HV0.1 respectively, the bond strength are 36.9 MPa and 33.6 MPa respectively.


We examine the functioning of financial markets when firms can invest in activities that produce externalities. We consider a model in which some investors are socially responsible in the sense that they take externalities into account when they value their portfolio. We study two issues: i) under what conditions do firms adopt a pro-social behavior (i.e., limit negative externalities or expand positive ones), and ii) how does the financial performance of socially responsible investors compare with the one of convetional investors? There are two mechanisms by which socially responsible investors can influence firm's decisions. They can vote with their feet, shying away from "vice"firms, and thereby raising their cost of capital. Being relatively more invested in pro-social firms, socially responsible investors have a lower risk adjusted performance. Socially responsible investors can also engage in activism. A large investor can generate positive abnormal returns by investing in non-responsible companies and turning them into responsible. In some circumstances, a long-term horizon and a pro-social orientation raise the purely financial profit of the large investor.


Internet of Things (IoT) devices are low-powered and network connected embedded
computers that collect sensor data and perform computations at the edge of a
network. These Internet-connected devices often lack sufficient security, with the
Mirai botnet being the most highlighted incident to date. To detect attacks, a
Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) may be used. Intrusion detection is
often performed with the costly method of pattern matching, where predefined patterns
are matched against observed network traffic, requiring up to 70% of a NIDS's
computational power.
This thesis evaluates the suitability of using an embedded device with an integrated
GPU as an NIDS. Direct Filter Classification, a state of the art pattern matching
algorithm, is improved by moving part of the execution to a GPU. This implementation
is then optimized, keeping the quirks of embedded systems in mind. Surprisingly,
some optimizations that would intuitively result in an improved execution
time, instead increases it. Further attempts at optimizations are performed in the
heterogeneous design domain where the CPU and GPU cooperate extensively.
Evaluation is performed by comparing the throughput of network traffic possible to
analyze per second, and energy consumption of the algorithm in its different forms:
CPU-only, GPU-only and a heterogeneous variant. These are later compared to
another state of the art pattern matching algorithm.
By utilizing a GPU, the throughput was increased by more than 2× while reducing
the total energy consumption by more than 50%, compared to a CPU-only variant
of DFC. The GPGPU variant of DFC was able to improve the throughput of the
widely used pattern matching algorithm Aho-Corasick by more than 50% while only
requiring 50% of the energy.


ABSTRACT Affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal (PAB96-1) and mouse monoclonal (1G9-1C2) antibodies to synthetic H-DDDDDDD-OH, an antimicrobial anionic peptide (AP) originally isolated from ovine pulmonary surfactant, were prepared and used to assess the concentrations of AP-like molecules in human respiratory tract samples. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, concentrations of AP-like molecules measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were significantly lower in 13 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 0.78 ± 0.46 mM) than in 34 patients without CF (1.30 ± 0.66 mM) (P = 0.01). In pulmonary tissues of three patients without CF, very little antigen was stained in the apical cytoplasm of the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium yet robust staining was seen in the alveolar epithelium. In pulmonary tissues of three patients with CF, robust staining of antigen was seen in the apical cytoplasm of the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium yet no staining was seen in the alveolar epithelium. These results show that AP-like molecules are present in healthy human respiratory tract samples and differ in concentration and location of expression in patients with and without CF.


Background: This study is grounded in the theory of self-determination, the achievement goal theory, and the theory of perceived motivational climate. The goal of the study was to examine the relationships among perceived coach autonomy, motivation, task and ego orientation, and the perceived motivational climate in young ice hockey players. Material and methods: The participants included 401 ice hockey players aged 14–18 years old. To calculate the power of prediction between the independent variable "perceived autonomy from the coach", all 6 factors of motivation in the self-determination theory (SDT) and the goal orientation we conducted two path diagrams: one where task environment was the dependent variable and one with ego environment as the dependent variable. Between these factors and goal orientation among the players and the dependent variables, a hierarchical regression analysis was employed. Results: We found that high perceived autonomy support from the coach positively influences motivation in junior hockey players. Players who perceive autonomy support from their coach have a higher chance of scoring highly for autonomic regulation, according to self-determination theory. Conclusions: This probably leads to more task-oriented players who create a more task-oriented environment, hopefully resulting in fewer players dropping out of the sport.


Abstract Catastrophic deterioration of limestone facades occurs where areas of stonework become rapidly hollowed out. It affects many historic buildings in Oxford, especially where soot-rich gypsum crusts have accumulated. In order to understand the processes of catastrophic deterioration we need to understand the microenvironmental conditions, especially the moisture distributions in the deteriorating walls. Geoelectric methods, in the form of two-dimensional (2D) resistivity surveys, have been used to study the distribution and amount of water stored in deteriorating limestone walls within the historic centre of Oxford. Fifteen vertical profiles, each 2–2.5 m in length, have been monitored at five sites using 50 medical electrodes and GeoTom equipment. Calculated moisture contents and distributions are presented for those profiles that extend up to 40 cm into the wall. The data indicate the diversity and complexity of moisture distributions within these often heterogeneous walls, which have also had long histories of decay and conservation. Replacement stone patches show consistently higher moisture conditions than the surrounding stone. Most profiles indicate the presence of wetter patches 5–10 cm behind the wall face under blackened crusts. Catastrophically decayed sections of profiles often exhibit wetter near-surface conditions than surrounding stonework, whilst areas with shallow but active decay are often much drier than surrounding crusted stone. In conclusion, the results give preliminary confirmation of a simple model of catastrophic decay and illustrate the complexity of moisture regimes in historic walls.


The visualization system of large-scale crowd simulations should scale up with both the number of visuals views of the virtual world and the number of agents displayed in each visual. Otherwise, we could have large scale crowd simulations where only a small percentage of the population is displayed. Several approaches have been proposed in order to efficiently render crowds of animated characters. However, these approaches either render crowds animated with simple behaviors or they can only support a few hundreds of user-driven entities. In this paper, we propose a distributed visualization system for large crowds of autonomous agents that allows the visualization of crowds animated with complex behaviors without adding significant overhead to the simulation servers. The proposed implementation can be hosted on dedicated computers different from the servers, and it takes advantage of the Graphics Processor Unit GPU capabilities. As a result, the performance evaluation shows that thousands of agents can be rendered without affecting the system performance. Also, the results show that the design of the visual client allows to add multiple visuals for displaying large crowds.


STANDARDS
There is insufficient evidence to support treatment standards.

GUIDELINES
There is insufficient evidence to support treatment guidelines. Early closed reduction of cervical spine fracture-dislocation injuries with craniocervical traction is recommended to restore anatomic alignment of the cervical spine in awake patients.Closed reduction in patients with an additional rostral injury is not recommended.Patients with cervical spine fracture-dislocation injuries who cannot be examined during attempted closed reduction, or before open posterior reduction, should undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before attempted reduction. The presence of a significant disc herniation in this setting is a relative indication for a ventral decompression before reduction.MRI study of patients who fail attempts at closed reduction is recommended.Prereduction MRI performed in patients with cervical fracture dislocation injury will demonstrate disrupted or herniated intervertebral discs in one-third to one-half of patients with facet subluxation. These findings do not seem to significantly influence outcome after closed reduction in awake patients; therefore, the usefulness of prereduction MRI in this circumstance is uncertain.


Architectural review of Inverkip Power Station. Inverkip power station is an oil-fired power station located on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland - between Inverkip and Wemyss Bay in Inverclyde. The coastal location meant the station could draw its cooling water from the sea, obviating the need for the large parabolic towers normally associated with such installations. Resultantly, the most imposing feature of the station is its 778 foot (236 m) high chimney - the third tallest chimney in the UK, and Scotland's tallest freestanding structure.


BACKGROUND
 Eligibility criteria are the main strategy for screening appropriate participants for clinical trials. Automatic analysis of clinical trial eligibility criteria by digital screening, leveraging natural language processing techniques, can improve recruitment efficiency and reduce the costs involved in promoting clinical research.

 OBJECTIVE
 We aimed to create a natural language processing model to automatically classify clinical trial eligibility criteria.

 METHODS
 We proposed a classifier for short text eligibility criteria based on ensemble learning, where a set of pretrained models was integrated. The pretrained models included state-of-the-art deep learning methods for training and classification, including Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), XLNet, and A Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach (RoBERTa). The classification results by the integrated models were combined as new features for training a Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) model for eligibility criteria classification.

 RESULTS
 Our proposed method obtained an accuracy of 0.846, a precision of 0.803, and a recall of 0.817 on a standard data set from a shared task of an international conference. The macro F1 value was 0.807, outperforming the state-of-the-art baseline methods on the shared task.

 CONCLUSIONS
 We designed a model for screening short text classification criteria for clinical trials based on multimodel ensemble learning. Through experiments, we concluded that performance was improved significantly with a model ensemble compared to a single model. The introduction of focal loss could reduce the impact of class imbalance to achieve better performance.


This book combines a broad scientific and sociopolitical view of US wetlands, for a wide audience of students and professionals concerned with basic or applied ecology, environmental conservation and policy. Wetland science is a new and rapidly evolving branch of ecosystem science, and wetland regulation is increasingly central to conservation policy. Regulatory initiatives frequently raise unanswered questions, while scientific study supports or calls into question regulatory practice, which occurs in an environment of intense public scrutiny. This primer lays out the science and policy considerations in a format accessible and useful to all who would be involved in wetland ecology, and his book would also serve as a supplementary text for courses on conservation biology, wetlands or environmental policy.


The discovery of insulin was among the most important medical advances of the 20th century, and led to rapid adoption into clinical practice. Since then, a substantial evidence base has developed to support both clinical care and self-management of diabetes through modern pharmaceutical and health services research. Research methods have also developed over the same timescale, enabling the detection of more subtle benefits, and of
adverse effects only evident over longer intervals. The last in a series about evidence-based medicine, this article identifies the key principles underlying the primary care management of diabetes and reviews some of the evidence that supports them.


In this paper, the novel Distributed Bayesian (D-Bay) algorithm is presented for solving multi-agent problems within the Continuous Distributed Constraint Optimization Problem (C-DCOP) framework. This framework extends the classical DCOP framework towards utility functions with continuous domains. D-Bay solves a C-DCOP by utilizing Bayesian optimization for the adaptive sampling of variables. We theoretically show that D-Bay converges to the global optimum of the C-DCOP for Lipschitz continuous utility functions. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated empirically based on the sample efficiency. The proposed algorithm is compared to state-of-the-art DCOP and C-DCOP solvers. The algorithm generates better solutions while requiring fewer samples.


As human traits and preferences were shaped by natural selection, there is substantial potential for the use of evolutionary biology in economic analysis. In this paper, we review the extent to which evolutionary theory has been incorporated into economic research. We examine work in four areas: the evolution of preferences, the molecular genetic basis of economic traits, the interaction of evolutionary and economic dynamics, and the genetic foundations of economic development. These fields comprise a thriving body of research, but have significant scope of further investigation. In particular, the growing accessibility of low cost molecular data will create more opportunities for research on the relationship between molecular genetic information and economic traits.


Aquaculture development in New Zealand (NZ) is a politically controversial topic that is reliant on science for decision-making. Aquaculture causes conflict over use of marine space because the ecosystem is rich with overlapping values and uses, such as recreation, fishing and biodiversity. Science helps decision-makers understand aquaculture's effects on other stakeholders and the environment. This case study investigates the role that science and scientists have in addressing spatial conflict in NZ aquaculture. This is approached from three angles: policy frameworks, scientific knowledge, and the challenges to utilising scientific knowledge in policy frameworks. Data were drawn from documentary analysis and fifty-two semi-structured interviews with members of the aquaculture policy community, marine scientists, and stakeholders in the marine ecosystem.  The results of this case study are as follows. First, the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) framework employs science to make normative planning decisions. Where there is controversy over planning decisions, science represents different interests in debates over spatial allocation. Second, regarding scientific knowledge, beliefs and policy goals for aquaculture science appear to be oriented towards commercial, civic and Māori epistemologies. Commercial science is the narrowest of the three for considering the full range of values in the debate over aquaculture. Third, when science is used in policy debates, interviewees perceive it to be politicized, revealing the assumption that science should be neutral and objective. Misinformation and mistrust of scientists are barriers to using science effectively to address spatial conflict.  This research suggests that science politicization of science may be a natural part of aquaculture development, which implies that the links between science and values must be made transparent to allow debate. It is necessary to ensure appropriate and adequate opportunity for deliberation about the principles and values for use and non-use of space. This removes the focus from employing 'right' and 'wrong' scientific facts to influence the political process. This type of debate is supported by civic-oriented science.


Autonomic Web service composition has been a challenging topic for some years. The context in which composition takes places determines essential aspects. A context model can provide meaningful composition information for services process composition. An ontology-based approach for context information integration is the basis of a constraint approach to dynamically integrate context validation into service processes. The dynamic integration of context constraints into an orchestrated service process is a necessary direction to achieve autonomic service composition.


This paper extends the existing vehicle routing models by incorporating unanticipated delays at the customers' docking stations in time-dependent environments, i.e., where speeds are not constant throughout the planning horizon. A model is presented that is capable of optimizing the relevant costs taking into account these unplanned delays. The theoretical implications on the composition of the routing schedules are examined in detail. Experiments using a Tabu Search heuristic on a large number of datasets are provided. Based on these experiments, the generated routing schedules are analyzed and the cost-benefit trade-off between routing schedules that are protected against delays and routing schedules that are not protected against these delays are examined. Structural properties of the different solutions that have higher endurance capabilities with regards to the disruptions are highlighted.


This paper investigates the economic conditions of stepfamilies in Germany, the Russian Federation and France using data from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS). The analysis shows that stepfamilies more often report economic hardship than nuclear families in France and western Germany. Socio-demographic differences between family types — particularly the fact that stepfamilies tend to be larger families — explain the differences in economic well-being between families in France. For western Germany, differences between nuclear and stepfamilies remain after controlling for socio-economic composition of different family types. For the Russian Federation and eastern Germany, we do not find any statistically significant differences in economic well-being between stepfamilies and nuclear families. The major dividing line for these regions runs between single parents and other types of families.


We report for the first time an integrated process for the selective production of 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF) from fructose via a two-step reaction in 1-butanol (BuOH). Fructose was initially dehydrated to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in >95% yield using Amberlyst-15, and the resulting solution was directly transformed into DHMF in >97% yield by liquid-phase hydrogenation over a Cu(50)–SiO2 nanocomposite. This nanocomposite catalyst was demonstrated to be highly stable, with no Cu leaching or catalyst deactivation observed. The obtained DHMF/BuOH mixture was then transformed successfully into poly(2,5-furandimethylene succinate) by reaction with succinic acid. Thus, from both environmental and industrial perspectives, this protocol is a novel and effective method for producing a biomass-derived polymer from fructose.


With the slowing or even death of Moore's Law, computer system architectures are trending toward more CPU cores. This trend has driven systems researchers to explore novel ways of utilizing this computational power for improved efficiency and performance. One such approach is to use this power to help alleviate the memory wall problem through execution delegation. The memory wall problem describes the issue whereby system performance hits a wall that is dictated by the latency of accessing main memory. Using execution delegation, the execution of the application on one core is delegated to another core. The desired result is that the cores of the system are specialized to access mostly disjoint sets of data. In this way, data locality and, therefore, performance are improved. The aim of this work is to develop tools and methods for predicting situations in which execution delegation via user thread migration is useful for improving an application's data locality. To this end, a microbenchmarking tool named Accesstest is used to perform a systematic study of execution delegation via user thread migration. Further, an approach, which makes use of a working set characterization tool named Accessprof, is developed to predict the qualitative impact of delegating an execution sequence. This prediction approach is verified and used to improve the Apache HTTP server's performance by as much as 11%.


Objective To compare ultrasonographic features of uterine lesions with the findings at macroscopy and microscopy. Methods Case series of ten consecutive women undergoing a hysterectomy for uterine pathology. A preoperative transvaginal ultrasound examination was performed. After hysterectomy, the uterus was re-evaluated by 3D in vitro ultrasonography and in vitro gel instillation sonography (iGIS). The lesion of interest was pinpointed by inserting an intramuscular injection needle using a free-hand 2D-ultrasound guided technique to focus the macroscopic and the microscopic examination by the pathologist. Results: Adenomyosis, benign fibroids and infiltrating endometrial cancer were diagnosed in six, five and one patient, respectively. We found that iGIS improved image quality of in vitro ultrasound. There was a good correlation between the reported ultrasound features and the final histological diagnosis. Some lesions had been misinterpreted during preoperative ultrasonography or at macroscopical examination: e.g. dense myometrial vessels reported as small myometrial cysts at grey scale ultrasound examination; absence of macroscopical lesions in a case of diffuse adenomyosis. Conclusions In vitro 3D ultrasonography and iGIS allow for accurate mapping of uterine lesions so that ultrasound features can be matched with final histology. Our series demonstrates some pitfalls in the interpretation of sonographic and macroscopic features of uterine lesions. Stereotaxis of focal uterine lesions could focus histological assessment and reduces examination time for the pathologist.


Objectives
Dietary restriction of the sulfur amino acids (SAAs) improves metabolic health in part via hepatic production of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Transcriptional control of Fgf21includes regulation by ATF4 during low protein feeding. Therefore, we aimed to determine the impact of Atf4 deletion on FGF21 levels and associated metabolic outcomes in mice fed a SAA restricted diet.

Methods
Male and female mice lacking Atf4 globally or in hepatocytes only were fed either a SAA restricted diet (0.17% Met, 0% Cys) or a control diet (0.86% Met, 0% Cys) alongside littermate controls for up to 10 wk. Body mass and composition, energy expenditure and intake were measured. Blood and tissues were collected at specific time points. Transcript (RT-qPCR) and protein (ELISA and Western blot) abundances were analyzed by two factor ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis Test, with alpha = 0.05.

Results
Independent of genotype, SAA restriction attenuated weight gain and reduced adiposity despite increased food intake. Improvements in body weight and composition strongly associated with increased energy expenditure regardless of genotype. Deletion of Atf4 did not prevent hepatic Fgf21 nor circulating FGF21 from increasing during chronic SAA restriction (P < 0.05, effect of diet). However, loss of hepatic Atf4 prevented increased circulating FGF21 at 12 h. Overall, males fed the SAA restricted diet induced hepatic Fgf21and serum FGF21 to a greater degree than females. Other known ATF4 targets in liver such as asparagine synthetase, Asns, showed significant induction in the livers of only intact SAA restricted mice. Conversely, loss of Atf4 exacerbated induction of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor Chop (P < 0.05) by SAA restriction.

Conclusions
Genetic loss of Atf4 delays but does not impede FGF21 production during dietary SAA restriction. Biological sex is a contributing factor to some of the physiological responses to dietary SAA restriction.

Funding Sources
DK109714 (TGA) and DK096311 (TWG).


Ultrathin sections of sporangia of the actinomycete Microellobosporiu JEavea were examined with an electron microscope. The sporangial wall is a thin, wrinkled membrane which seems to be an extension of the outer layer of the cell wall of the sporangiophore. A substance, probably a liquid, is located between the sporangial wall and the sporangiospores. The spores are ovoid and consist of a laminated wall in which two layers can be differentiated. The wall is 30-40 mp thick but thickens to 90-120 mp a t the point of contact between two spores. Inside the spores one can differentiate a finely granular nucleus, large vacuoles which are probably filled with a fatty substance, and a coarsely granular cytoplasm. The cytology of the sporangiospores of M. Jlaveu is similar to that of the conidia of Walcsmaniu rosea.


Background: The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) scholarship program is the most ambitious program in the United States designed to supply physicians to medically underserved areas. In addition to providing medical service to underserved populations, the NHSC promotes long-term retention of physicians in the areas to which they were initially assigned. This study uses existing secondary data to explore some of the issues involved in retention in rural areas. Methods: The December 1991 American Medical Association (AMA) Masterfile was used to determine the practice location and specialty of the 2903 NHSC scholarship recipients who graduated from US medical schools from 1975 through 1983 and were initially assigned to nonmetropolitan counties. We used the AMA Masterfile to determine what percentage of the original cohort was still practicing in their initial county of assignment and the relation of original practice specialty and assignment period to long-term retention. Results: Twenty percent of the physicians assigned to rural areas were still located in the county of their initial assignment, and an additional 20 percent were in some other rural location in 1991. Retention was highest for family physicians and lowest for scholarship recipients who had not completed residency training when they were first assigned. Retention rates were also higher for those with longer periods of obligated service. Substantial medical care service was provided to rural underserved communities through obligated and postobligation service. Nearly 20 percent of all students graduating from medical schools between 1975 and 1983 who are currently practicing in rural counties with small urbanized populations were initially NHSC assignees. Conclusions: Although most NHSC physicians did not remain in their initial rural practice locations, a substantial minority are still rural practitioners; those remaining account for a considerable proportion of all physicians in the most rural US counties. This study suggests that rural retention can be enhanced by selecting more assignees who were committed to and then completed family medicine residencies before assignment.


abstract:The resurgence of the medieval bestiary in contemporary Hispanic literature has resulted in increasingly creative interpretations of the genre. Among these interpretations is 200 años de monstruos y maravillas argentinas (2015) compiled by Gabo Ferro, illustrated by Christian Montenegro, and designed by Laura Varsky. This article explores the ontological debate that ensues from 200 años's choice to place humans in literary spaces traditionally reserved for animals. 200 años compiles documentation denoting Argentine history's dark underbelly, brandishing the word bestia to blur the line between "appropriate" and "marginalized" historical subjects. In this work, images check historical documentation through sardonic interpretation, creating a space between text and image in which the reader/viewer may reconsider the veracity and underpinnings of official Argentine historical narratives and hegemony.


A framework for quantifying the uncertainty propagating through the signal energy-based acoustic source localization approach in an orthotropic plate under an uncertainty in the properties of the plate material is presented. Seven mechanical properties of an orthotropic plate material, namely, density and six elastic constants, are considered as lognormally distributed and mutually independent random variables with a fixed coefficient of variation for all seven random variables. Their means are considered such that the 'mean' plate exhibits a strong anisotropy. Using Latin Hypercube Sampling, several design points in lognormal spaces of these random variables are selected. For each design point, an acoustic event is simulated in the corresponding plate using finite element analyses. The signal energy-based approach is applied to localize the acoustic source for each design point. The localization error for each design point is taken as the 'response', and a regression kriging metamodel is constructed through these response values at the design points. Monte Carlo points are selected in lognormal spaces of the random variables, and the response values at these Monte Carlo points are estimated using the regression kriging metamodel. The distribution parameters of the so obtained response values are computed. Finally, a global sensitivity analysis of the random variables is carried out by computing the Sobol' indices.


In urban areas, tunneling may induce ground movements which distort and damage overlying buildings and services founded on different geological formations. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of horizontal distance between the center of tunnel and the surface buildings. The study has been achieved using 3D-FEM with the aid of PLAXIS 3D Tunnel code. The parametric studies including the horizontal distance between center line of tunnel and the center of loaded area by taking five different distances that as ratios of distance to tunnel diameter (X/D= 0, 1, 3, 7 and 10). Three different geological formations have been selected that clay, sand and rock. In addition, three type of surface loadings have been adopted that greenfield, uniform pressure and piles. The results show that the surface subsidence decreasing with the increasing in the horizontal distance between the centerline of tunnel and the center of surface load. The maximum subsidence occurs when the center of tunnel sited under the edge of building (uniform pressure or piles), i.e. when (X/D=1). Then, the effect of tunnel vanished when it is at a distance of (3D) from the building. The greatest effect of the distance observed in case of pile group in sandy soil by increasing of (52%) in settlement over the unloaded one. The subsidence being uniform when the centerline of tunnel coincides with the center of building (X/D=0), while a differential subsidence has been obtained when the distance increases, i.e. X/D > 0.


BACKGROUND
Because of possible complications, it has been common practice to admit to the hospital most if not all patients undergoing therapeutic ERCP. Therefore, little descriptive data exist on the safety of out-patient therapeutic ERCP for endobiliary stent placement.

OBJECTIVE
To assure quality patient care and patient safety, we reviewed our experience with out-patient therapeutic ERCP for palliation of benign and malignant common bile duct obstruction by means of endobiliary stent insertion. PATIENTS-METHODS AND RESULTS: A retrospective review of all therapeutic ERCPs for palliation of benign and malignant common bile duct obstruction with endobiliary stents was performed from January 1, 1998, through December 31, 1999. One hundred forty therapeutic ERCPs were performed to place an endobiliary stent for benign and malignant common bile duct obstruction. Seventy-two procedures were performed on out-patients, sixty-eight on in-patients. There was no significant difference between out-patient and in-patient groups with regard to age, gender, need for endoscopic sphincterotomy, and complication rate. In patients had one procedure-related complication; out patients had four. There was no procedure-related mortality in either group.

CONCLUSIONS
Therapeutic ERCP for palliation of benign and malignant common bile duct obstruction with endobiliary stents can be safely and successfully performed on an out-patient basis for selected patients. This should result in substantial cost savings.


A number of time-varying step-size algorithms have been proposed to enhance the performance of the conventional LMS algorithm. Experimentation with these algorithms indicates that their performance is highly sensitive to the noise disturbance. This paper presents a robust variable step-size LMS-type algorithm providing fast convergence at early stages of adaptation while ensuring small final misadjustment. The performance of the algorithm is not affected by existing uncorrelated noise disturbances. An approximate analysis of convergence and steady-state performance for zero-mean stationary Gaussian inputs and for nonstationary optimal weight vector is provided. Simulation results comparing the proposed algorithm to current variable step-size algorithms clearly indicate its superior performance for cases of stationary environments. For nonstationary environments, our algorithm performs as well as other variable step-size algorithms in providing performance equivalent to that of the regular LMS algorithm.


This paper introduces a new approach to designing smart control chips that enables automatic synthesis of real-time control systems from agent specifications. An agent specification is compiled into a hardware description format, such as RTLVHDL (Register Transfer Level–VLSI Hardware Description Language) or RTL Verilog, which is synthesized using computerassisted tools to develop ASIC masks or FPGA configurations. A rule-based specification language called Layered Argumentation System (LAS) is defined and a sound and complete mapping to Verilog is developed. LAS combines fuzzy reasoning and nonmonotonic reasoning. This enables chip designers to capture commonsense knowledge and concepts having varying degrees of confidence collaboratively and incrementally.


In recent years, the idea of smart sustainable cities has come to the fore. Furthermore, it is quickly gaining momentum, and worldwide attention as a promising response to the challenge of urban sustainability. This pertains especially to ecologically and technologically advanced nations. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of smart (and) sustainable cities in terms of their underlying foundations, assumptions, state-of-the art research development, policies, and future planning practices. As to the design strategy, the paper reviews existing sustainable city models and smart city approaches. Their strengths and weaknesses are examined by focusing on the degree to which cities to the objectives and whether the latter incorporate these goals. To distinguish the related challenges, these models and adopt methodologies are assessed and contrasted against each other in line with the notion of sustainability. The gaps in the exploration inside the field of smart sustainable cities are recognized as in accordance with the research being proposed. Subsequently, a coordinated approach is proposed in view of an applied theoretical perspective to align the existing problems and solutions identified for future practices in the area of smart, sustainable urban planning and smart cities policy development. With regard to knowledge contribution, the paper demonstrates Policy developments related to smart cities in general and particular problems within the policy development, as well as considering the commitment to the application of the policy. Also, diverse country's approach on policies for smart cities and their policy related to Governance It also reveals that numerous research opportunities are available and can be realized within the realm of smart sustainable cities.


Article, see p 167

Since Charles Dotter performed the first balloon angioplasty for critical limb ischemia (CLI),1 there have been myriad advances in the treatment of patients with peripheral arterial disease. Primary and secondary prevention measures, supervised exercise programs, and revascularization strategies, including surgical, endovascular, and hybrid approaches, have dramatically evolved, leading to improved patient outcomes. CLI represents the most complex and advanced stage of peripheral arterial disease and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality and significant consumption of healthcare resources, particularly during admissions and subsequent readmissions.2 The initiation of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program in 2012, as a part of the Affordable Care Act, heralded an era of cost consciousness and quality metrics, with a particular emphasis on hospital readmissions as a quality and performance metric for hospitals.3 Although the 30-day readmission metric may not necessarily reflect the actual quality of care delivered during the index admission, financial penalties against hospitals with excessive readmissions within 30 days of discharge for Medicare beneficiaries have led to intense scrutiny of in-hospital patient care, postdischarge planning, and drivers of readmissions. Initially, conditions known to have a high risk of readmissions such as congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and pneumonia were targeted. Given its high readmission prevalence, CLI may soon become a target of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Further data on the incidence, predictors, and reasons for 30-day readmission after hospitalization for CLI can assist policy makers in designing quality metrics and reimbursement policies as payment reforms are being implemented.

In this issue of the Circulation , Kolte et al4 attempt to address these issues by conducting a thorough examination of unplanned readmissions in 60 998 index hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of CLI during which patients underwent endovascular or surgical therapy (revascularization and/or amputation) in the 2013 …


Mass loss is a crucial component in stellar evolution models, since it largely determines the rate of evolution at the later stages of a star's life. The dust-driven outflows from AGB stars are particularly important in this regard. Including AGB dust formation in a stellar evolution model does also require a model of these outflows. Since AGB stars exhibit large-amplitude pulsation, a model based on time-dependent radiation hydrodynamics (RHD) is needed in order to capture all the important physical aspects of dust formation. However, this cannot be afforded in a stellar evolution model. Here, a mean-flow model is presented, which include corrections to the steady-state model currently being used in AGB evolution models with dust formation.


The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the investigation into customer e-service adoption. The investigation includes a qualitative survey and observation of participants using e-services. E-services are used to attract customers and persuade them to transact online and the customer's perception of an e-service contributes greatly to e-service adoption or rejection. This paper describes the factors that influence customer perception towards e-services. Relationships between the identified factors were also considered in order to build a conceptual framework. Grounded theory was used for its flexibility, repetitive comparisons of data, and emergence of concepts and theories.


Web-based video collaboration environments have transformative potential for video-enhanced education and for video-based research studies. We first describe DIVER, a platform designed to solve a set of core challenges we have identified in supporting video collaboratories. We then characterize five collaboration design patterns (CDPs) that emerged from numerous collaborative groups who appropriated DIVER for their video-based practices. Collaboration design patterns (CDPs) are ways of characterizing interaction patterns in the uses of collaboration technology. Finally we propose a three-dimensional design matrix for incorporating these observed patterns. This representation can serve heuristically in making design suggestions for supporting a broader constellation of user groups than those spanned by our observed CDPs.


There is evidence of connections between soil organic carbon (SOC) and inorganic carbon (SIC) in dryland of north China. However, fractions of SOC and SIC and the relationship are not well understood in the Loess Plateau that undergoes profound erosion and redeposition. A study was conducted in low-elevation cropland of Loess Plateau across two distinctive basins: Linfen basin (LFB) with lower soil pH (<8.4) and subject to erosion-redeposition, and Yuncheng basin (YCB) with higher soil pH (>8.6) and under the influence of the Yellow River. Soil samples were collected from 30 sites over 100 cm. We determined SOC, SIC, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and other properties. Above 100 cm, SOC stock is significantly higher in LFB (10.0±2.6 kg C m-2) than in YCB (6.9±1.5 kg C m-2), but SIC lower in LFB (14.0±2.5 kg C m-2) than in YCB (17.0±5.7 kg C m-2). We find a significantly negative correlation between SOC and SIC stocks in LFB, but no clear relationship in YCB. DOC:SOC ratio (an indicator for DOC desorption or SOC stability) is significantly higher below 40 cm in YCB (1.9%) than LFB (1.2%), indicating stronger DOC desorption in YCB that has stronger hydrological process due to the influence of the Yellow River. Overall, SOC has a negative correlation with SIC and soil pH, and DOC:SOC ratio has a significantly positive correlation with soil pH. Our analyses suggest that erosion/re-deposition of topsoil is partly responsible for the negative SIC-SOC relationship in LFB, and high soil pH and stronger hydrological processes are attributable to relatively lower levels of SOC in YCB. This study highlights that soil carbon fractions in the lowland of Loess Plateau are influenced by many drivers, which leads to complex relationships between major soil carbon pools.


The incoherent scattering radar is promising facilities for obtaining low cost routine space debris observations in low Earth orbit [1]. The Irkutsk Incoherent Scatter Radar (IISR) is intended for studying the ionosphere [2]. Simultaneously with ionospheric measurements IISR detects space object (SO) passing through the IISR sector. In each sample series we measure the following of the SO characteristics: range, beam velocity, azimuth angle, elevation, and signal amplitude. Two from six Keplerian elements of the orbit can be defined with high accuracy, they are the inclination and the right ascension of the ascending node of the observed SO. The SO flux is several tens of thousands per month for standard ionospheric measurements.


It is established that leucine aminopeptidase activity during emotional-algesic stress increases in the brain hemispheres, left ventricle and liver of the rats as compared to that of intact animals. Maximum activation of the enzyme in the brain and liver is detected for the first two days after the stress while in the heart - for the whole period of the total stress damages volume development. A conclusion is drawn that the shifts observed in leucine aminopeptidase activity during emotional-algesic stress affect the methionine-enkephalin and leucin-enkephalin ratio.


Highly crowded living conditions exist among the !Kung Bushmen, hunter-gatherers who live on the edges of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South-West Africa. The !Kung appear to be crowded by choice, and biological indicators of stress are absent. Data indicate that residential crowding alone does not produce symptoms of pathological stress.


Background: Retrograde Urethrography (RUG) combined with Micturating cystourethrography (MCUG) is imaging method of choice for studying the urethra and its 1-9 abnormalities . Though there are many modern imaging modalities that are also useful but these are not available in most developing countries. Even the standard method of doing the conventional Urethrography using penile clamp cannot be done in our centre because this is not also available. This led us to this study to help us maximize results by improvising on the available technique. Objective: To demonstrate a local modification of method for synchronous/ combined RUG and MCUG. Method: This is a method in which Foley's catheter, amputated needle cap, and syringe are used to inject contrast into the lower urinary tract to help define the calibre and outline of these structures during the combined RUG and MCUG. Result: This combined technique demonstrates clearly, the anatomy of the lower urinary tract urethra and bladder. It shows the length of stricture, where this exists. Conclusion: This method of synchronous RUG and MCUG is cheap, available and readily transferable and helps to demonstrate various pathologies of the lower urinary tract. This is recommended in places where materials for other methods of urethrography are deficient.


The electrical and optical characteristics of indium doped Se2Sb2Te6 phase-change alloy are studied. It is found that adding indium to Se2Sb2Te6 alloy (In0.3Se2Sb2Te6) increased the crystallization temperature and reduced the electrical conduction activation energy. The capacitance-temperature measurements showed a drastic change in the capacitance of the modified film when the temperature approaches the crystallization temperature, and eventually the capacitance becomes negative and nonlinear. The negativity and nonlinearity in the capacitancevoltage dependence can be attributed to the growth of conductive crystalline islands by increasing the temperature.