The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Allium tuncelianum ethanol extract on nine important plant pathogens and the amount of total phenolic compounds in tomato and pepper. Three extract doses (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%) were applied in the form of irrigation water against soil-borne pathogens while the spraying method was applied for the bacterial speck disease in tomato and disease severity was determined. According to the pot trial results, higher doses of extract reduced the disease severity of Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, Pythium deliense, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii and the 1.5% dose reduced disease severity by 76.8%, 56.6%, 47.4%, 85.8%, and 53.1%, respectively. Total phenolic compounds were determined spectrophotometrically. The extract applications have increased the amount of phenolic compounds in a certain level compared to the control in tomato. However, it was also observed that this level was much higher when the different doses of extract and pathogen combinations were applied. Conclusively, ethanol extract of the garlic used in our study reduced the development of some important pathogens, and promising results were obtained. Key word: Allium tuncelianum, Tomato, Pepper, Soil-borne pathogens, Disease severity, Phenolic compounds.


In the i-Botics project about intuitive robotics, reusable software is desired to speed up and simplify robot software design. Nowadays, software is created for a specific application, reducing its reuse in multiple robotic
 applications. Functional source code of the implementation
can be re-used in future projects by writing in a modular way. The goal of this thesis is to write
reusable software for robotic applications that is language and platform independent.

Major topics for reusable software are: documentation, extensibility, intellectual property issues, modularity, packaging, portability, standards compliance, support and verification and testing. (Marshall et al., 2010). To quantify the level of reuse, the reuse readiness levels (RRL) are used. Requirements for a reusable component were defined from the nine topics and their RRL.

There are multiple characteristics of software writing that make software reusable. A selection of characteristics is made to create a paradigm for writing reusable software. A look into three main paradigms was taken: object-oriented programming, component-based software framework (CSBF) and the separation of 5 concerns.

Existing examples of reusable software using these paradigms are middleware. Middleware is software that connects individual components. Each component is a standalone object, which uses the object-oriented paradigm. The middleware defines the composition, coordination and communication. The configuration and computation is written by the user. The separation of 5 concerns in software writing allows for simple replacement of a single concern, without needing to adjust another. This allows adding pre-written computational software into
generated middleware software.

From design paradigms, model-driven design is used to create a design in a high level model, which is then generated as a middleware hierarchy of "empty" components, not containing any computational and/or configurable software. After reviewing the most common CBSF middleware, it turns out that a finite state machine (FSM) is used in each component. The connection between middleware and a general component is achieved using an interface, which allows the middleware to use a general component without having to know how it is implemented. By writing the computational component in a reusable and general way, the computational and configurable software can be reused in different projects. Following the structure of the FSM,
easy integration of a general component into middleware is achieved.

A demonstrator was designed, by writing a general component that achieved the requirements set by the RRL. This component was then integrated into a generated middleware and tested. The same component was integrated into a second middleware to determine if it was platform independent. Both times, the component worked as expected.

It is concluded that the design approach to create pre-written components that can be integrated into middleware is viable. These components can be reused in other projects, that use different middleware, running on different hardware.

It is recommended that the designed work flow needs to be used by other users in other applications. Feedback received from the users, should be used to improved the work flow.


This Article shows that Israeli case law refrains from economic analysis of harm to competition when it comes to determining whether agreements are antitrust violations. It also shows that the antitrust agency seems, de facto, to be content with the fact that courts tend not to conduct economic analysis in antitrust cases. Moreover, it shows that many times the antitrust agency itself initiated interpretations of the statute that set a broad range of per se prohibitions that do not require economic analysis. I hypothesize that the reason that the antitrust agency is content with the lack of economics analysis stems from the fact that broad per se prohibitions assist the agency in its role as a major litigator of antitrust cases. They also cause many of the business transactions to be subject to ex ante review by the antitrust agency, thereby enhancing the agency's regulatory powers. After fifteen years of broad per se prohibitions, courts concerned with the opportunism of parties began interpreting the statute to enable per se legality in many cases. It was only then that the antitrust authority responded by helping to propose an amendment that would make the statute less vague. THE (LACK OF) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS BY COURTS IN ISRAELI ANTITRUST CASES CONCERNING RESTRAINTS OF TRADE


The performances of two kinds of OXC (optical cross connect): share-per-link OXC and share-per-node OXC, are compared in this paper. A heuristic algorithm is proposed to decide how many wavelength converters are equipped in the share-per-node OXC. Then through unequally distributing the wavelength converters in different links of the share-per-link OXC, the performance of share-per-link OXC is under study, by simulation in three networks, the result shows that it is better than that of share-per-link OXC whose wavelength converters are equally distributed in each link, and it is the same as that of share-per-node OXC in some nodes.


The erbium: Yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser operates in the infrared spectrum at a wavelength of 2.94 μm. The absorption coefficient for water at this wavelength is approximately 10 times that of the carbon dioxide laser. It is anticipated that this laser will produce more precise surgical ablation with decreased surrounding tissue destruction. The results of impacting endotracheal tubes with the Er:YAG laser are presented. The CO2 laser was used as a reference. Metallic tape that was not perforated by the CO2 laser after 240 seconds of continuous exposure at 20 W was perforated by the Er: YAG laser with use of 15 pulses of 1 J per pulse. Silver foil tape with a Merocel lining was resistant to perforation by both the CO2 laser and the Er: YAG laser. As new laser wavelengths become available and are applicable to otolaryngology, modification of current safety standards will be necessary.


Coral reefs are highly biodiverse ecosystems and provide vital resources for the human population. Due to increasing pressure by climate change and local stressors, these ecosystems currently face a global crisis. The development of tools to monitor how coral reefs respond to environmental change is a key aspect of the conservation of their biodiversity and resources. A number of reef organisms produce fluorescent molecules, including photosynthetic pigments and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like pigments found in Anthozoa. These pigments are responsive to environmental conditions and can be optically monitored in vivo, making them a promising tool to investigate organism- and community-level processes on coral reefs. In this thesis, the fundamental principles and technological developments necessary for the application of fluorescence as a biomarker are explored. First, the mechanisms regulating coral fluorescence are considered for two functionally and biochemically distinct groups of GFP-like proteins. In mesophotic and depth-generalist symbiotic corals, incomplete light-driven maturation of the red GFP-like protein pool is shown to determine the spectrum of fluorescence emission. A role of this mechanism in adaptation to the reduced mesophotic light spectrum is discussed. In corals from shallow water environments, enhancement of internal light fluxes due to reduced absorption by symbiont pigments during bleaching is shown to induce expression of GFPlike proteins. High-level expression of these pigments in bleached tissue is shown to promote recovery of the symbiotic algae complement after a stress event. Second, a novel approach to fluorescence imaging for coral reef surveys is presented. The method enables automatic classification of reef benthic organisms based on the intensity of fluorescent signal in different excitation and emission bands. These findings demonstrate the potential of fluorescence as an in vivo marker for physiological and ecological studies of coral reef organisms, contributing to ongoing efforts to monitor and preserve the health of these ecosystems.


The concept of Green Exercise has now been widely adopted and implies a synergistic health benefit of being active in the presence of nature. This book provides a balanced overview and synthesis text on all aspects of Green Exercise and integrates evidence from many different disciplines including physiology, ecology, psychology, sociology and the environmental sciences, and across a wide range of countries. It describes the impact of Green Exercise on human health and well-being through all stages of the lifecourse and covers a wide spectrum from cellular processes such as immune function through to facilitating human behavioural change. It demonstrates the value of Green Exercise for activity and education purposes in both schools and the workplace, as well as its therapeutic properties. Green Exercise is an effective intervention for vulnerable groups and promoting healthy ageing, with activities including wilderness therapy, therapeutic horticulture and the use of forests and water. Chapters also integrate cross-cutting key themes which are relevant to all stages of the lifecourse and have significantly contributed to the Green Exercise research base, such as forest bathing and blue exercise. The book also explores the future of Green Exercise, the way in which research can be used to influence green design and planning and how health, social care and environmental agendas can be integrated to enable Green Exercise to be more widely used as a mechanism for improving health.


College education as one of the organizations currently have to apply information technology as more complex the problems faced. College of Technology information systems Nurul Jadid not fully able to provide complete information because only limited to academic information, library information, and financial information separately in each-each division making evaluation difficult. research on enterprise architecture design of information systems have a lot to do with the method of Zachman framework, the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF),Treasury Enterprise Architecture Framework unakan (TEAF) and The Open Group Architectural Framework(TOGAF).This study used methods of The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF) ADM. TOGAF ADM is a detailed method to model, develop and deploy an enterprise architecture. The results of this study obtained 15 data entities and 7 applications. The method yields Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF) ADM. TOGAF ADM will be developed to support the information systems Nurul Jadid School of Technology


The possible role of nitric oxide (NO) as inhibitory nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) neurotransmitter was studied in the rat gastric fundus. NO induced tetrodotoxin-resistant NANC relaxations in longitudinal muscle strips similar to those induced by electrical stimulation. Incubation with the stereospecific inhibitors of the NO biosynthesis NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) resulted in an increase of the basal tension which was reversed partly by L-arginine, but not by D-arginine. L-NMMA and L-NNA inhibited the relaxations to electrical stimulation, but not those induced by ATP, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), norepinephrine or NO. This inhibitory effect was prevented by L-arginine, but not by D-arginine. In a second series of experiments, the gastric fundus served as donor tissue in a superfusion bioassay with de-endothelialized rings of rabbit aorta as detector tissue. The fundus released a labile factor with vasodilator activity upon electrical stimulation. This release was inhibited by tetrodotoxin and L-NNA, whereas it was increased by L-arginine. The biological activity was enhanced by superoxide dismutase and eliminated by hemoglobin. Our results indicate that NO is formed and released upon brief stimulation of the NANC nerves in the rat gastric fundus which is essential for the transient relaxations in this preparation. Therefore, we suggest NO or a NO releasing substance as inhibitory NANC transmitter in the rat gastric fundus.


We estimate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on business failures among small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in seventeen countries using a large representative firm-level database. We use a simple model of firm cost-minimization and measure each firm's liquidity shortfall during and after COVID-19. Our framework allows for a rich combination of sectoral and aggregate supply, productivity, and demand shocks. We estimate a large increase in the failure rate of SMEs under COVID-19 of nearly 9 percentage points, ab-sent government support. Accommodation & Food Services, Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, Education, and Other Services are among the most affected sectors. The jobs at risk due to COVID-19 related SME business failures represent 3.1 percent of private sector employment. Despite the large impact on business failures and employment, we estimate only moderate effects on the financial sector: the share of Non Performing Loans on bank balance sheets would increase by up to 11 percentage points, representing 0.3 percent of banks' assets and resulting in a 0.75 percentage point decline in the common equity Tier-1 capital ratio. We evaluate the cost and effectiveness of various policy interventions. The fiscal cost of an intervention that narrowly targets at risk firms can be modest (0.54% of GDP). However, at a similar level of effectiveness, non-targeted subsidies can be substantially more expensive (1.82% of GDP). Our results have important implications for the severity of the COVID-19 recession, the design of policies, and the speed of the recovery.


The ongoing agrarian crisis in Punjab is becoming a centrestage issue as the farmers are reeling under debt arising from stagnant productivity and low profitability. The total debt burden on Punjab farmers is estimated to be Rs. 22943 crores and the debt per farm household is Rs. 218092. The level of education, non-farm income, farm size and non-institutional credit were the main factors which affect the level of farmers' indebtedness. The farmers face a large number of problems in availing institutional credit which drives them to fall into the debt trap of the crafty and exploitative non-institutional sources of credit. There is a need to strengthen the existing credit delivery system to accelerate growth of the farming sector for evacuating the peasantry from the incessant debt trap.


Knowledge is defined and distinguished from data. In manufacturing, knowledge-based engineering (KBE) involves a generic product model consisting of a description of the components of a product or product range, the relationships between them, and rules. What gives it its unique character is the use of geometric rules and their association to enable the automatic generation and modification of CAD models. KBE capabilities may be embedded within a CAD package. This is the approach taken for ICAD by Knowledge Technologies International (KTI). Alternatively, KBE software can be linked to, or integrated with, CAD software. The article describes various uses of KBE in CAD, and its usefulness to small and medium-sized enterprises.


BACKGROUND/HYPOTHESIS
Glutamine is the principal fuel used by lymphocytes. It is hydrolyzed by the glutaminase enzyme, which regulates the rate of intracellular glutamine metabolism. Since lymphocyte glutamine utilization is increased during infection to support cellular proliferation, we hypothesized that endotoxin regulates lymphocyte glutaminase expression at the molecular level.

METHODS
Adult rats received Escherichia coli endotoxin (one dose of 7.5 mg/kg) or saline. Total RNA from lymphocytes in the ileocolic lymph node chain was extracted for Northern hybridization and labeled with an alpha-phosphorus 32 rat glutaminase cDNA probe. The mRNA of the constitutively expressed gene beta-actin was the control for RNA loading. Quantitation of glutaminase transcripts was determined by densitometric scanning and values were normalized to actin. Glutaminase-specific activity (nanomoles per milligram of protein per hour) and glutaminase kinetic parameters were also determined.

RESULTS
Treatment with a single dose of endotoxin resulted in a 53% increase in glutaminase activity at 4 hours. Kinetic analysis showed that the increase in glutaminase activity was due to an 84% increase in Vmax (maximal enzyme velocity) with no change in Km (enzyme affinity). Endotoxin increased glutaminase mRNA twofold at 2 hours and more than fourfold at 4 hours. The increase in message preceded the increase in activity consistent with gene transcription prior to enzyme biosynthesis.

CONCLUSION/CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The increase in glutaminase activity provides lymphocytes in the mesenteric lymph nodes with more glutamine for energy and cellular proliferation during times of infection when the gut mucosal barrier may become compromised.


[1] The ice front region of Ronne Ice Shelf lies near the critical latitude of the semidiurnal M2 tide, the principal tidal constituent in the southern Weddell Sea. Here the Coriolis frequency almost equals the M2 tidal frequency, resulting in a strong dependence of the M2 tidal currents on depth and stratification and a boundary layer that can occupy the entire water column. Using data from four long-term moorings along Ronne Ice Front, we confirm the presence of strongly depth-dependent semidiurnal tidal currents and their sensitivity to changes in stratification. The time series show dramatic seasonal changes in tidal current profiles and significant interannual variability. During periods of stratification, the amplitude of the semidiurnal tides in the mid–water column shows a twofold increase and, despite being several kilometers offshore from the ice front, the tidal currents clearly show a second boundary layer originating from the adjacent ice shelf base. Together, these two boundary layers occupy most of the water column, up to 600 m deep, until intense sea ice formation and the production of High-Salinity Shelf Water erodes the vertical stratification. During winter when homogeneous conditions prevail, a single bottom boundary layer occupies the entire water column at some locations. This strong seasonality and sensitivity of the M2 tidal current to stratification highlights the difficulties of interpreting current data from short-term moorings while demonstrating that it is the best indicator for characterizing changes in stratification after direct observations of density variations.


Herein, we propose a versatile "functional modular assembly" strategy for customizing MOFs that allows installing the desired functional unit into a host material. The functional unit could be switched according to different applications. MOF-808, a highly stable Zr-MOF containing dangling formate groups, was selected as a host material for demonstration. Functional molecules with carboxyl connectors can be directly inserted into MOF-808 to form functional modular MOFs (FM-MOFs) through single substitution, while for those without carboxyl connectors, a pre-designed convertor was grafted firstly followed by the functional molecules in a stepwise manner. A series of tailor-made FM-MOFs were generated and show excellent performance toward different applications, such as adsorption, catalysis, fluorescent sensing, electrochemistry, and the control of surface wettability. On the other hand, the functional units on the FM-MOFs can switch freely and completely via full interconversion, as well as partly to construct multivariate MOFs (MTV-MOFs). Therefore, this strategy provides a benchmark for rapid customization of functional MOFs for diverse applications that can realize the rapid modular design of materials.


OBJECTIVE
A double-blind, crossover study was carried out to compare the efficacy of alpha-dihydroergocryptine mesylate (10 mg twice daily) vs propranolol (40 mg twice daily) in the prophylaxis of migraine without aura, and to identify possible predictors of therapeutic response by evaluating the symptomatological profile of individual migraine attacks and the autonomic cardiovascular response to noradrenergic and dopaminergic (cold pressor, bromocriptine) tests.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Forty migraineurs (10 males, 30 females) were randomized according to a two-period (3-month), two-treatment, crossover design. Efficacy was assessed using quantitative data recorded in the patient's headache diary. Data were evaluated using the Wallenstein's method.

RESULTS
Both drugs showed a significant reduction in all the efficacy variables (headache attacks, days with headache, analgesic consumption) with no difference between treatments. Neither a bromocriptine test, nor a cold pressor test nor the symptomatological profile of individual migraine attacks differed between the two groups of migraine patients. Ten patients experienced at least one adverse drug reaction during the first period of the crossover design, 5 being treated with alpha-dihydroergocryptine and 5 with propranolol.

CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that alpha-dihydroergocryptine is an effective medication for migraine prophylaxis. The biochemical tests and the type of psychological profile cannot be used to predict drug response.


This study analyzed credit use and its effect on production efficiency of cocoa farms in Ondo State. Primary data were collected in a crosssectional survey of 183 randomly selected cocoa farms. These were drawn in a multi-stage sampling process that covered the five dominant cocoa producing Local Government Areas of Ondo State Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier. The study found that most (95.1%) of the cocoa farms were operated by males, with a mean age of 49.8years. The mean cocoa farm size was 1.28 hectares. Only 58.5% cocoa farmer's procured credit during the 2009/2010 production season, of which (83.2%) procured credit mainly from produce merchants. The mean credit request was N238,738.30, only N113,321.50 (47.5%) were granted. Farmers that used credit had significantly (p<0.01) higher farm size (1.44Ha) and recorded significantly (p<0.01) higher net farm income (N292, 107.23/ Ha) than those that could not secure credit (1.05Ha and N183, 046.83/ Ha respectively). The empirical results revealed that cocoa farmers were operating at a point of decreasing return as depicted by the return to scale of 0.153 with mean technical efficiency of 0.44. Hire labour has positive and significant effect on output at p<0.01. Increase in credit use brings about significant reduction in technical inefficiency among the cocoa farms. The result revealed a direct relationship between access to credit and technical efficiency level. The study recommended that government and other stakeholders should support farmers to form virile farmer's organization that will improve credit delivery through the produce merchant.


Background: Ovarian cancer is particularly lethal due to late stage at presentation. The subtypes behave differently with respect to their biology and response to treatment. Two recent markers reported to be useful in assisting in the diagnosis are WT1 and PAX8. Malaysia, with its multiethnic population provides an opportunity to study the expression of these biomarkers in ovarian cancer in the three most populous ethnicities in Asia and ascertain their usefulness in the diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma. Materials and methods: Tissues from ovarian epithelial neoplasms diagnosed between 2004 and 2012 were tested using antibodies to WT1 and PAX8. The slides were assessed to determine levels of marker expression and related to ethnicity, ovarian tumour type, grade and stage. Results: Serous tumours were the main histological type (n  =  44), the remaining being endometrioid (n = 15), mucinous (n = 15) and clear cell tumours (n = 7). Late stage at diagnosis was significantly associated with serous (p < 0.001) and endometrioid (p 0.026) tumours. The vast majority of serous tumours were positive for WT1 (87%, p < 0.001) and PAX8 expression (86%, p < 0.001) whilst 40% of endometrioid tumours were positive for PAX8 and 13% for WT1. Few mucinous carcinomas (n = 1) and clear cell carcinomas (n = 2) expressed PAX8, and none expressed WT1. There was no significant difference in the tumour expression of either WT1 or PAX8 between the three Malaysian ethnicities. Conclusions: In an Asian setting, PAX8 and WT1 are expressed in the vast majority of serous ovarian cancers and may be useful in distinguishing serous ovarian carcinomas from other poorly differentiated tumours. © 2017 British Journal of Biomedical science


Instructional television graphics are defined as artwork and photographs used to aid comprehension of a concept presented through the medium of television. In this paper television graphics are examined for educational effectiveness and technical reproducibility. Educational effectiveness of a graphic is facilitated by utilizing the same criteria or components of instructional design used in development of the program. Technical reproducibility is more likely assured if the artist understands the characteristics of television as medium.


With current high resolution handheld digital devices such as camera phones and PDAs, image capturing of documents like books and posters has become a convenient and efficient way of collecting and disseminating information. Nevertheless, a simple snapshot of such documents in an uncontrolled environment often results in distorted images. One particular example is when capturing documents with non-planar geometric shapes, such as thick bound book pages, rolled posters, etc. The resultant images often exhibit both perspective and geometric distortions. This paper proposes a method to remove these warping distortions through a shape recovery process based on shape-from-shading (SFS) followed by restoration using surface interpolation techniques. We evaluated the proposed method using various snapshot images captured by normal handheld digital cameras. The OCR results on the original images and the restored images are compared. The precision is shown to be increased up to 22.3%. The comparison with a 2-D interpolation approach also shows a clear improvement on the restored images near the warping area


Intensive aquaculture of vaname shrimp (L. vannamei), has been known to be a favorite for aquaculture commodities in Indonesia at the last 2 decades. The purpose of this study was to determine status of financial feasibility and business sensitivity rate in intensive shrimp culture activities. The research method used in this study is a quantitative method. The data analysis used to determine of financial feasibility and business sensitivity in the form of NPV analysis, Net B/C, R/C, IRR, and payback period. Also, an analysis of assumptions about rising feed prices and decreasing production revenues for the level of business sensitivity. The results showed that the shrimp culture business was categorized as feasible and profitable with NPV value of IDR 63,417,262,006, Net B/C 29.11, R/C 2.14, IRR 42.46%, and PP 1.4 years. Sensitivity analysis shows that the business is not so sensitive to the increase of feed prices and decreased revenue, but is very sensitive if both conditions change simultaneously, but are still in the financially feasible category. So, it can be concluded based on NPV, Net B/C, R/C, IRR, and payback period indicator analysis that intensive white shrimp farming is very feasible and profitable to use with a low level of business sensitivity due to feed price fluctuations changes and uncertain operational business revenues.


A new multisensory system that aims at fostering the interaction of people with cerebral palsy is presented. This article describes the strategies and technologies used to provide people who have moderate to severe cerebral palsy with playful and fun activities designed according to their abilities. These activities are based on interactive systems that use computer vision and generate graphics and sounds in real time. The well-being that is achieved through the use of these activities is the result of gaining a significant degree of autonomy by the users. The presented system was first developed in the Cerebral Palsy Centre of Tarragona, Spain. Its motivation came from the low rate of users able to interact with computers. Although several assistive technology gadgets and special software applications (e.g., cause–effect and educational activities, simple navigation environments, etc.) were used, most users simply did not understand the interaction mechanisms. It was thought that a highly interactive activity (reinforced with sounds and images closely related with gestures) would be more accessible to most users in spite of their sensory, motor, and cognitive impairments. Tests with impaired users show that the proposal promotes participation, engagement, and play. In this article, the experimental methodology, the used and developed tools, and the results that were obtained are explained.


BACKGROUND
We investigated the hypothesis that the esophageal crus (EC, part of the crus surrounding the esophagus) is an "individual muscle" and does not share in the contractile activity of the costal diaphragm (CD).

MATERIAL/METHODS
The electric activities of the EC and the costal diaphragm (CD) were recorded in 21 subjects (12 men, 9 women, aged 41.6+/-10.4 years) scheduled for laparotomy. One needle electrode was introduced into the EC, one into each vertebral crus (VC), and one in the CD. Recording was performed before and after diaphragmatic paralysis by curarization. While the diaphragm was paralyzed, the responses of the EC and the 2 VCs to CD stimulation were registered.

RESULTS
The CD had significantly higher resting motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) than the EC and the 2 VCs (p<0.05), and the EC higher MUAPs than the 2 VCs (p<0.05). During diaphragmatic contraction on inspiration or by stimulation (5 square pulses, 1 ms apart, threshold 32.2+/-6.3 mA), the MUAPs of the CD increased significantly (p<0.01), while those of the EC or VCs exhibited no significant change (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The current findings suggest that the EC is an autonomous muscle which does not share in the contractile activity of the CD. The EC seems to be essentially involved in the competent mechanism of the lower esophagus and has no role in respiratory function.


This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework's capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.


English speakers talk and think about Time in terms of physical space. The past is behind us, and the future is in front of us. In this way, we 'map' space onto Time. This dissertation addresses the specificity of this physical space, or its topography. Inspired by languages like Yupno (Núñez, et al., 2012) and Bamileke-Dschang (Hyman, 1980), languages that encode temporal events through physical downhill/uphill topography or through fine-grained proximaldistal grammatical forms, this dissertation revisits our understanding of English by asking the extent to which English speakers, too, construe temporal events as physically proximal or distal with relation to a deictic center. Through seven experiments featuring two novel paradigms with physical space both behind and in front of the deictic center, this dissertation shows that English speakers construe Time through fine-grained topographical space, with tomorrow physically closer to a deictic center than next year. Since thought and language are inextricably connected, it also addresses the extent to which grammaticalized constructions, such as future forms (be going to vs. will) and epistemic modal verbs (may vs. might) encode proximal-distal temporal distinctions (Comrie, 1985; Langacker, 2008). English speakers have multiple means of construing fine-grained past or future events, co-locating the present either with the ego (e.g., The past is behind me) or with an external locus, like a square on a calendar (Núñez and Cooperrider, 2013). Therefore, this dissertation also examines the conditions under which English speakers adopt an external deictic center or default to an internal one, essentially demonstrating the contextual flexibility of speakers' space-time construals. Finally, English speakers have also been shown to recruit representations of physical motion when processing temporal events (e.g., We're approaching summer) (Boroditsky & Ramscar, 2002). Using a novel paradigm in which participants estimate physical distances behind and in front of them, this dissertation shows that English speakers recruit representations of motion when co-locating the present with the ego, but not when they co-locate the present with an external locus. In these ways, this dissertation serves as a first map of English speakers' space-time topography, providing a new perspective on the interaction of language and cognition when speakers cognize temporal events.


The potential of SiC MESFETs has been demonstrated for high frequency applications on several circuits in the 1-5 GHz frequency range. Although MESFET structures are conventionally used for RF applications, in this paper we report a low voltage (180V) power switch and its current limiting application based on a double gate MESFET structure, showing enhanced forward and blocking capabilities. The reported devices utilize a thin highly doped p-type layer implanted at high energy as buffer layer. Various layouts have been fabricated, varying the gate length; with either a single gate (p-buried layer connected to source) or double gate (one Schottky, and the second on the P-buried layer). Gate RESURF field-plate variation has been also included at the gate electrode. The I(V) electrical characterization validates the double gate configuration benefits. This double gate structure shows a higher gate transconductance than the single gate one. High voltage measurements in conducting mode (180V, 160mA/mm, 30W/mm) confirm the operation of the MESFET as a current limiting device, with excellent gate control capabilities at temperature up to 190°C.


We examine over 1000 U.S non-specialized mutual funds in 2001-2009 and offer a comprehensive report on benchmark model impact on fund's estimated alpha (risk-adjusted excess return). Consistent with previous literature, we find that estimated alpha's magnitudes strongly depend on the benchmark system. Furthermore, there exists substantial disagreement among our 7 benchmark systems regarding fund's classification as good or poor, and fund's ranking relative to other funds. Notably, the Jensen (CAPM based) alphas are most deviant from other models' alphas, and the best funds recommended by it (the CAPM) score lower Sharpe ratios in out of sample tests. This suggests that asset management and investment advice should also and perhaps mainly rely on performance scores of multi-factor benchmark models.


This study aimed to characterize different extracts/fractions obtained from Cymbopogon citratus according to their chemical composition and antioxidant properties. Plant leaves were submitted to extractions with different solvents, and the antioxidant capability of each fraction was analyzed using different methods (E1–E4). The ethyl acetate fraction from extraction procedure 1 (E1) presented a high polyphenolic content and antioxidant capability. Therefore, in E2, the pH of the aqueous phases was modified to fractionate the compounds in the ethyl acetate extractions. Interestingly, the fraction obtained at pH 4 presented a higher antioxidant activity than AcOEt F1. Furthermore, it was verified that the essential oil removal improved the extraction of polyphenols in ethyl acetate fractions. The antioxidant activity of these fractions was comparable to ascorbic acid, and could also inhibit TBARS production in phospholipids comparatively to vitamin E. Such fraction will be further explored to isolate the active chemicals, and to evaluate its toxicity and antioxidant actions in vivo.


Electron energy transport in the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator exhibits a strong sensitivity to the boundary value of the rotational transform when the magnetic shear is low. Pronounced confinement maxima close to the low order rational values correlate with a low density of other rational numbers in these favourable ranges. The dependence is lost if magnetic shear is increased by large plasma currents. The hypothesis is proposed that, at rational flux surfaces, electron energy transport is increased above the already anomalous level and that magnetic shear reduces the additional enhancement. An empirical model that incorporates these features into a simple expression for the electron heat conductivity can reproduce the experimental dependences over a wide range of external control parameters, e.g. the rotational transform and the net plasma current. Except for the explicit shear dependence, this model bears a remarkable similarity to the RTP model, which successfully describes the electron transport barriers near low order rational q?surfaces in RTP and other tokamaks.


Writing-to-learn (WTL) assignments are low-stakes approaches to teaching course content through writing. These short and informal writing tasks offer students an opportunity to explore and consolidate their understanding of concepts. Research has demonstrated that WTL assignments increase critical thinking, enhance student engagement, and improve student reading comprehension. They can also be quite a lot of fun as they can facilitate more creative and personal connections to content and between peers. In this interactive session, faculty will learn the fundamentals of writing-to-learn pedagogies, discuss some sample WTL assignments from across disciplines, and have the opportunity to develop and discuss their own assignments.


It is fundamental for science and technology to be able to predict chemical reactions and their properties. To achieve such skills, it is important to develop good representations of chemical reactions, or good deep learning architectures that can learn such representations automatically from the data. There is currently no universal and widely adopted method for robustly representing chemical reactions. Most existing methods suffer from one or more drawbacks, such as: (1) lacking universality; (2) lacking robustness; (3) lacking interpretability; or (4) requiring excessive manual pre-processing. Here we exploit graph-based representations of molecular structures to develop and test a hypergraph attention neural network approach to solve at once the reaction representation and property-prediction problems, alleviating the aforementioned drawbacks. We evaluate this hypergraph representation in three experiments using three independent data sets of chemical reactions. In all experiments, the hypergraph-based approach matches or outperforms other representations and their corresponding models of chemical reactions while yielding interpretable multi-level representations.


This study investigates future changes in atmospheric circulation during the Baiu in Japan using 20-km-mesh atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations for the present-day (1979–2003) and the future (2075–2099) climates under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 scenario. The simulated future climates include the outputs obtained with one control sea surface temperature (SST) and three different SST patterns. The Baiu frontal zone, defined as the meridional gradient of equivalent potential temperature, gradually moves northward during June–July–August in the present-day climate. In the future climate simulations using the control SST, the Baiu frontal zone is projected to stay to the south of Japan in June. Thus, precipitation is projected to increase over this region, while decreasing in the western part of Japan. Future changes in precipitation and atmospheric circulations in June are consistent across all four SST patterns. However, precipitation and atmospheric circulation in July and August in the future climate simulation depends on the SST patterns as follows: in non-El Niño-like SST pattern, the Baiu terminates in late July, similar to that of the present-day climate; a result with an El Niño-like SST pattern shows that sufficient amount moisture is transported to the Japanese islands and leads in a delay of the Baiu termination until August; and in the SST pattern with strong warming in the western North Pacific (WNP), a sufficient amount of moisture is transported to the south of Japan from June until August. The difference in the SST pattern leads to a variation in sea-level pressure in the WNP and affects a variation of the Northern Pacific subtropical high around the Japanese islands in July and August.


Background According to the World Health Organisation, globally falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths with low- and middle-income countries accounting for about 80% of these deaths. Previous studies from Bangladesh have reported a high burden of fall injuries especially among children. The overall goal of this study is to describe the burden of fall injuries in rural Bangladesh and to identify risk factors. Methods In 2013, a large household survey covering 1,169,593 population was conducted in seven rural sub-districts of Bangladesh to assess burden of all injuries including falls. The recall periods for non-fatal and fatal injuries were 6 and 12 months respectively. Descriptive, bivariate and multiple logistic regressions analysis were conducted. Results During the recall period, the rates of non-fatal and fatal falls were 36.3 per 1000 and 5 per 100,000 population respectively. After adjusting for covariates, compared to <18 years old, >64 years old had 180 times higher odds (p < 0.05) of experiencing fatal falls. Risk of non-fatal falls was higher at extremes of age. Compared to <1 year old, the adjusted odds of experiencing non-fatal falls were 3.4 (p < 0.001) and 2.6 (p < 0.001) times higher for >64 years olds and 1–4 years old respectively. Lower limb and waist injuries were frequent following fall. Among <1 year olds 35% had head injury while among >64 years old about 39% had lower limb and waist injuries. Injuries to all other body parts except waist were frequent among men. Most (57%) non-fatal falls occurred in internal or external home environment especially at extremes of age. About 70% of non-fatal and 59% of fatal falls were at same level with about 62% occurring on sidewalk/street. Nearly 50% of fatal and 27% of non-fatal different level falls were from a tree. Conclusions Elderly and children are more vulnerable for falls in Bangladesh. The injury patterns and risk factors of falls differ by demographic factors.


The healthcare sector in Croatia is predominantly composed of female employees across all levels. The Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka with 3,000 employees is no exception. The Republic of Croatia is populated by a little over 4 million inhabitants and the numbers have been in a constant decline due to multiple factors, which include aging of the population and economic migrations. These two factors significantly impact the healthcare workforce and specifically medical personnel. In the era where there are less and less new marriages and newborns, the government struggles for every child and thus offers families exceptional parental benefits. For hospitals, which are mainly staffed by women, confronting the government politics that seek to advantage the pregnant employees' presents a problem and a significant financial burden. This is due to the fact that they are entitled to the full salary whilst staying at home from the very early stage of pregnancy. Theoretically, if the hospital management offered their pregnant employees all the benefits that law provides, the hospital would soon be left without sufficient number of nurses and particularly doctors, because they would very soon after becoming pregnant simply stop working.  The Health and Safety Law states that if the employer in health care, i.e. in a hospital, cannot provide a safe working environment for their pregnant employees, prior to their regular maternity leave financed by the state, they are not obliged to work and are entitled to a full salary, which is financed by the hospital itself. A female medical doctor found the article in the law that allows a full salary when she stopped working. She claimed such a benefit at the very beginning of her otherwise regular pregnancy and soon after that other cases followed. The occupational medicine doctors, after this first claim were soon put in a position to issue another 15 certificates of work incapacity to women at the very early stages of their pregnancy.  That seriously exhausts modest hospital funds due to the prevalence of female employees. Thus, in the Clinical Hospital Centre, urgent action is needed to prevent future "epidemic" compensation claims.  Occupational Medicine in cooperation with the Health and Safety Service together with the hospital management found a solution to the problem to the mutual benefit of all the parties involved. The personalized work post for pregnant medical staff was to be created, one without the exposure to biotic agents. Pregnant employees can hold administrative or educational work places, and should they feel unwell, they can always take regular sick leave, organised by their family doctor or gynaecologist and paid for by the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance. Pregnancy is not an illness; women can work and help the work of the hospital which is extraordinarily important especially when medical doctors are concerned for their absence is very expensive and hard to compensate. Although the sick leave pays less than the regular salary, the compromise is necessary to maintain the hospital solvent.


Based on the case of Sany Heavy Industry changed registered address, this paper aims to take policy burden as a starting point to explore the impact of policy burden on private enterprise behavior. It finds that under the stimulus of fiscal decentralization system and political tournament mode, in order to achieve political goals, the governments enhance the motive for intervening local companies, and local governments intervene local private enterprises with large scale through policy burden. Compared to state-owned companies, private enterprises' responses to policy burden depend on their own development scales. When the development scale of private enterprises reaches a certain degree, they tend to avoid local governments' intervention actively and seek a more fair market environment. Existing literature mainly concludes that some private enterprises establish political connections with local governments through undertaking policy burden in a positive attitude or in a passive attitude. From the perspective of case study, this paper analyzes another possible response of private enterprises to policy burden, and explains the interaction between private enterprises and local governments from the perspective of policy burden.


Background The suicide risk in Huntington's disease (HD) is 4–8 times higher compared to the general population, and the prevalence of suicidality (suicidal thoughts and attempts) in HD is also increased. Several previous studies reported depressed mood as an important association of suicidality in HD. Aims This study investigates clinical associations and predictors of suicidality in a large European cohort of HD mutation carriers. Methods Presence of suicidality in the preceding month was assessed in 2106 mutation carriers from 15 European countries, all participating in the European Huntington Disease Network (EHDN) REGISTRY study. Mutation carriers were considered suicidal if the total score on the item "suicidal ideation" of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) was >1point. Associations of suicidality were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Of the 1937 participants free of suicidality at baseline, 945 had one or more follow-up measurements. Cox regression analysis was used to determine predictors of suicidality. Results At baseline, 169 (8%) mutation carriers were considered suicidal. Cross-sectionally, the presence of anxiety (OR=2.1), aggression (OR=2.4), a suicide attempt in the past (OR=4.0) and a depressed mood (OR=13.7) were independently associated to suicidality. During follow-up, 45 (5.5%) mutation carriers became suicidal. The presence of a depressed mood (OR=2.0; 95% CI 1.0 to 3.8) and use of benzodiazepines (OR=2.4; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.9) at baseline were independent predictors of suicidality at follow-up. Conclusions Suicidality prevalence is increased in HD mutation carriers. Assessment of depressed mood, which is an important association and predictor of suicidality, can help to identify mutation carriers with an increased suicidality risk.


Penguins face a wide range of threats. Most observed population changes have been negative and have happened over the last 60 years. Today, populations of 11 of the 18 penguin species are decreasing. Here we present a review that synthesizes details of threats faced by the world's 18 species of penguins. We discuss alterations to their environment at both breeding sites on land and at sea where they forage. The major drivers of change appear to be climate, and food web alterations by marine fisheries. In addition, we also consider other critical and/or emerging threats, namely human disturbance near nesting sites, pollution due to oil, plastics and chemicals such as mercury and persistent organic compounds. Finally, we assess the importance of emerging pathogens and diseases on the health of penguins. We suggest that in the context of climate change, habitat degradation, introduced exotic species and resource competition with fisheries, successful conservation outcomes will require new and unprecedented levels of science and advocacy. Successful conservation stories of penguin species across their geographical range have occurred where there has been concerted effort across local, national and international boundaries to implement effective conservation planning.


Cancer cells interrelate with the bordering host microenvironment that encompasses the extracellular matrix and a nontumour cellular component comprising fibroblasts and immune-competent cells. The tumour microenvironment modulates cancer onset and progression, but the molecular factors managing this interaction are not fully understood. Malignant transformation of a benign tumour is among the first crucial events in colorectal carcinogenesis. The role of tumour stroma fibroblasts is well-described in cancer, but less well-characterized in benign tumours. In the current work we utilized fibroblasts isolated from tubulovillous adenoma, which has high risk for malignant transformation, to study the interaction between benign tumour stroma and the circadian clock machinery. We explored the role of the biological clock in this interplay taking advantage of an experimental model, represented by the co-culture of colon cancer cells with normal fibroblasts or tumour-associated fibroblasts, isolated from human colorectal tumour specimens. When co-cultured with tumour-associated fibroblasts, colon cancer cells showed alterations in their circadian and metabolic parameters, with decreased apoptosis, increased colon cancer cell viability, and increased resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. In conclusion, the interactions among colon cancer cells and tumour-associated fibroblasts affect the molecular clockwork and seem to aggravate malignant cell phenotypes, suggesting a detrimental effect of this interplay on cancer dynamics.


Background: For the past two decades there has been increased emphasis on implementing community coalition-driven, evidence-based interventions. However, little information is available to determine which elements of coalition infrastructure and partnerships are most supportive of successful intervention implementation. The Educational Program to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening (EPICS) is a cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) currently underway in 20 communities located in 12 US states. The objective of this paper is to describe the role of three elements important in EPICS implementation by community coalitions: organizational infrastructure, facilitator selection and partnership formation. We hypothesized that more experienced community coalitions with larger, formal structures will train more facilitators and establish more partnerships when compared to smaller, less formal coalitions. Methods: National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer (NBLIC) community coalitions were charged with recruiting facilitators and community partners for EPICS delivery. The role of the facilitators was to deliver the educational intervention to small groups of participants. Facilitators selected were either community health educators (CHEs) – persons with a health professions degree - or community health workers (CHWs). Partnerships were formed with churches, clinics and other community sites to serve as settings and to assist in participant recruitment. Data were collected using a mixed method approach: two self-administered surveys (Organizational Assessment and Facilitator Baseline, Knowledge, Attitudes and Confidence Survey) and telephone key informant interviews. Descriptive analyses of the three groups of study participants (e.g., community coalitions, facilitators and partners) and correlational analysis was also performed within each community coalition to test for differences in facilitator and partnership type. Results: A total of 20 community coalitions, 204 facilitators and 61 community institutions formed partnerships for EPICS implementation. Organizational Structure: All but one community coalition targets primarily African American populations (95.24%). Facilitator Selection: CHEs and CHWs were demographically similar (e.g., gender, race, age, language of preference, marital status, religious preference, and insurance coverage). While the association between community coalition size and the number of CHEs was not significant, there was a significant difference between community coalition size and the number of CHWs. Smaller and medium-sized coalitions engaged more CHWs as facilitators (p=0.0071). Partnership Formation: Community coalition size did not correlate with partnership type or number. Community coalitions indicating partnerships with clinics were more likely to select CHEs than CHWs (p=0.0338). Conclusions: We examined multiple organizational characteristics to determine their relationship to facilitators and partners implementing EPICS. Although demographically similar, CHWs were selected more often by smaller and medium-sized community coalitions to train as EPICS facilitators. This finding suggests that smaller community coalitions, with a less formal structure were more likely to engage individuals with limited health backgrounds to facilitate the intervention. As a community-driven intervention, EPICS facilitation does not require a health professional for delivery. Interestingly, for community coalitions planning to implement EPICS in clinical settings, CHEs were selected over CHWs as facilitators. Citation Format: Selina A. Smith, Sandra J. Hamilton, Rene D. Jackson, Mechelle D. Claridy, Ernest Alemah-Mensah, Joyce Q. Sheats, Joyce Q. Sheats. Factors impacting implementation of a community coalition-driven evidence-based intervention: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr C11.


In this paper, multicast routing protocol namely Hypercube based Team Multicast Routing Protocol (HTMRP) has been proposed to address the scalability in mobile ad hoc networks In HTMRP team multicasting is proposed where the multicast group does not consist of individuals rather, member teams. This mechanism is common in ad hoc networks to accomplish collective tasks such as emergency recovery, battle field where team affinity model exist when the member teams has a common interest. In MANET the link failures due to mobility is a big concern and is addressed in HTMRP by incorporating a logical hypercube model. The HTMRP also has a mesh layer on top of the hypercube for effective fault tolerance. In addition to scalability, HTMRP also guarantee the new QoS requirements namely high availability and good load balancing by incorporating team, hypercube and mesh tiers. The HTMRP has been simulated and extensively analyzed for s c a l a b i l i t y , delivery ratio and control overhead. HTMRP provides better performance for the above evaluation parameters than the existing multicast routing protocol.


A study on the sequestering ability between arsenate, AsO43-, and Cu2+ and Zn2+ in aqueous solution is reported. The results of the elaboration of potentiometric data include only species with 1 : 1 metal to ligand ratio for Cu2+-arsenate system, namely CuLH2, CuLH, CuL, and CuLOH (L = AsO43-). For the Zn2+-arsenate system, a speciation model with only two species with both 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 metal to ligand ratios was obtained, namely ML and ML2. Spectrophotometric titrations were also employed in the study of the Cu2+-AsO43- system, and the results of the analysis of experimental data fully confirmed potentiometric ones. The potentiometric titrations were performed under different conditions of temperature (288.15 ≤ T/K ≤ 310.15, at I = 0.15 mol L-1) and ionic strength (0.15 ≤ I/mol L-1 ≤ 1 in NaCl). The dependence of formation constants of the complex species on ionic strength and temperature was also evaluated, as well as the enthalpy and entropy change values were obtained. Laser desorption mass spectrometry (LD MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) were exploited to confirm Cu2+-AsO43- and Zn2+-AsO43- complex formation and to determine both their composition and structural characteristics. Simulation of speciation profiles under natural water conditions was performed. The sequestering ability of arsenate towards Cu2+ and Zn2+ was quantified under different conditions of pH, temperature and ionic strength, typical of several natural waters. Examples of arsenate distribution under seawater and freshwater conditions were reported.


This study titled Compensation Policy Implementation Fuel Particularly Direct Cash Assistance in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi Province. This research uses descriptive method with qualitative approach, which starts from the initial informant, and data that is not provided by the initial informant, hereinafter through the second informant and rolling on until sufficient data required. Data acquisition is done through informal and unstructured interviews using the interview guide as a handle. Based on the results of the study showed that, (1) the communication factor in implementation was less socialized; (2) Disposition factor or attitude implementor basically not shown seriousness in implementing services to poor families; (3) Human Resources readiness factor (executor) in carrying out policy is not optimal; (4) Factor bureaucratic structure / organization implementing compensation Fuel particular direct cash assistance was not implemented according to operational standards, so the chance of overlapping duties and authority between sectors. Based on the results of research and discussion, it can be argued that the findings from this study is that the compensation policy implementation Fuel Particularly Direct Cash Assistance, the most influencing factor is the communication of local communities in this regard is the language of the region in the implementation of policies, both between and among executive officers of the local poor.


The enzyme folylpoly-gamma-glutamase synthethase (FPGS) plays an important role in the intracellular polyglutamation of the disease-modifying antirheumatic drug methotrexate (MTX) and the length of the polyglutamated MTX product correlates with the time that MTX resides in the cell. The glutamates are released from MTX by activity of the enzyme gamma-glutamyl-hydrolase (GGH), thereby allowing the efflux of MTX. GGH 452C>T has been associated with decreased catalytic activity and higher accumulation of long-chain MTX-polyglutamate. However, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in FPGS and GGH genes have not yet been explored for association with MTX efficacy or toxicity. We selected for SNPs with frequencies higher than 10% or, in case of FPGS 114G>A, causing an amino acid change with no known frequencies. In this study, frequencies of two SNPs in FPGS (1994A>G and 114G>A, rs10106 and rs10760502, respectively) and GGH genes (452C>T and 16T>C, rs11545078 and rs1800909, respectively), were determined using a newly developed method in rheumatoid arthritis patients (n = 352) and in a group of healthy controls (n = 360). Next, the SNPs were associated with response to MTX in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with MTX monotherapy. In rheumatoid arthritis patients, allele frequencies of FPGS 1994A>G were 0.534 (A) and 0.466 (G), and for FPGS 114G>A 0.714 (G) and 0.286 (A). Allele frequencies of GGH 16T>C were 0.737 (T) and 0.263 (C) and for GGH 452C>T 0.912 (C) and 0.088 (T). No significant differences in allele frequencies between rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls were found. In addition, the SNPs were not associated with good clinical response to MTX. Only patients with the GGH 16C-allele and one or no copies of the GGH 452C-16T haplotype were associated with good clinical improvement at 3 months upon treatment with MTX. No associations with efficacy at 6 months and MTX-induced toxicity were found. Therefore we conclude that despite the positive association of the GGH 16C-allele and one or no copies of the GGH 452C-16T haplotype with good clinical improvement at 3 months upon treatment with MTX, the tested SNPs in GGH and FPGS genes are suggested not to be clinically important for MTX treatment outcome.


A revamped inclusive strategic planning process in the University Library System (ULS) has created two kinds of connections. It has created new connections in the library system and new partnerships with the university. In a yearly cycle, the Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) thinks about and creates strategic direction for the library system by gathering input from all library staff in a variety of ways. In the words of one PBC member: "What I love most about PBC is that everyone in the ULS has a voice. And there's a process that moves from highlighting lots of individual thoughts to discovering collective concerns." These collective concerns strive to create strategic vision for partnerships outside of the library.

A main benefit of the reinvigorated planning process has been the creation of connections between staff in a very large, distributed library environment. In the words of another PBC member, these connections are "fostering relationships across the organization that otherwise would have been a real challenge. PBC alumni take away friendships with people from across the ULS, and those friendships help us all build bridges for collaboration moving forward." Two chairs of the PBC will present their findings of connectivity in this planning process and how you can apply it in your own settings.


Cotton is a major source of foreign exchange earnings in more than 15 countries across all regions of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) and a crucial source of cash income for millions of rural people in these countries. The crop is, therefore, critical in the fight against rural poverty. The World Bank and other development institutions have been and are currently assisting many cotton exporting countries of SSA to improve their cotton sector performance through projects supporting investment as well as through policy and institutional reform. Many SSA countries have been implementing or are considering implementing reforms of their cotton industries. The ultimate objective of the reform programs is to strengthen the competitiveness of cotton production, processing, and exports in an increasingly demanding world market and to ensure long-term, sustainable, and equitable growth for these major sectors of many African economies. The reform programs generally entail redefining the role of the state; facilitating greater involvement of the private sector and farmer organizations; ensuring greater competition in input and output markets; improving productivity through research and development, extension, and technology dissemination; and seeking value addition through market development and processing of cotton lint and by-products. A number of SSA cotton sectors, especially in West and Central Africa (WCA), are currently facing serious short-term financial difficulties. It is important to clarify that the purpose of this report is not to provide quick solutions to these short-run problems. Rather, it is to step back, build up a reliable broad assessment of cotton sector performance from detailed empirical information, and thereby provide guidance for the design of strategies that will address the long-term challenges of cotton production and marketing in Africa. Finally, to ensure that a broad perspective was brought to bear, the study was entrusted to a team which includes independent researchers and experts in the field of cotton.


In this thesis we present novel approaches to regression and causal inference using popular Bayesian nonparametric methods. Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) is a Bayesian machine learning algorithm in which the conditional distribution is modeled as a sum of regression trees. We extend BART into a semiparametric generalized linear model framework so that a portion of the covariates are modeled nonparametrically using BART and a subset of the covariates have parametric form. This presents an attractive option for research in which only a few covariates are of scientific interest but there are other covariates must be controlled for. Under certain causal assumptions, this model can be used as a structural mean model. We demonstrate this method by examining the effect of initiating certain antiretroviral medications has on mortality among HIV/HCV coinfected subjects. In later chapters, we propose a joint model for a continuous longitudinal outcome and baseline covariates using penalized splines and an enriched Dirichlet process (EDP) prior. This joint model decomposes into local linear mixed models for the outcome given the covariates and marginals for the covariates. The EDP prior that is placed on the regression parameters and the parameters on the covariates induces clustering among subjects determined by similarity in their regression parameters and nested within those clusters, sub-clusters based on similarity in the covariate space. When there are a large number of covariates, we find improved prediction over the same model with Dirichlet process (DP) priors. Since the model clusters based on regression parameters, this model also serves as a functional clustering algorithm where one does not have to choose the number of clusters beforehand. We use the method to estimate incidence rates of diabetes when longitudinal laboratory values from electronic health records are used to augment diagnostic codes for outcome identification. We later extend this work by using our EDP model in a causal inference setting using the parametric g-formula. We demonstrate this using electronic health record data consisting of subjects initiating second generation antipsychotics. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Epidemiology & Biostatistics First Advisor Jason A. Roy


In this commentary we discuss the two examples of systematic case study research in this issue: Miller et al., (2021), who continue the development of the quasi-judicial Panels of Psychological Inquiry method by applying it to a child client with an autistic spectrum condition; and Bohart et al. (2021), who apply their research jury approach to a video recorded case of Emotionally-Focused Therapy for couples.  We open by briefly summarizing the main issues addressed in our previous commentary (Stephen Elliott, 2011), which involved the same authors; we also note some key developments in systematic case study research over the past ten years.  The rest of our commentary is divided into three parts. First, we look at more general conceptual issues in systematic case study research, including situations in which systematic case studies are likely to be most useful; the problem of overly broad research questions; the definition and assessment of outcome; and the thorny issue of causality.  In the second part, we turn our attention to methodological issues raised by the two articles, returning to the questions of what counts as evidence in systematic case study research (here the use of observational methods for assessing client change and change processes), but also to the processes by which research judges or jurors make decisions about knowledge claims and methods for generalizing from one case to other cases. In the final main section, we offer more substantive commentary on Miller et al. (2021), from the point of view of autism research. We start by putting the DIR/Floortime intervention in context before raising key diagnostic issues that we think circumscribe the case and spelling out uncertainties about the nature of the intervention used. We round off this section with a set of proposals for future systematic single case research on interventions for autism.  We close our commentary with a brief set of recommendations.


Spontaneous acceptance of liver allografts occurs in several species. However, tolerance is rare in human transplant patients even though rejection is relatively easily reversed. Histological features of acute rejection in liver transplantation are similar to those in other organs. Nevertheless, mechanisms of rejection of liver transplants may differ in degrees and cellular involvement. Liver-specific cell populations, such as Kupffer cells (KCs), liver sinusoidal epithelial cells (LSECs), and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), may contribute to liver tolerogenicity. Other mechanisms, such as microchimerism, soluble major histocompatibility complex (MHC molecules), donor human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C genotype, and regulatory T cells, may participate in inducing tolerance. The low incidence of hyperacute or antibody-mediated rejection in liver might be linked to the infrequency of chronic rejection of liver transplants. Understanding the mechanisms of liver transplant rejection/tolerance and the availability of better immune monitoring could help develop strategies to recognize tolerance and reduce rejection.


Abstract Luminescent paints allow non-intrusive measurement of pressure and temperature at high spatial resolution without prior knowledge of the flow-field. Experiments have demonstrated that a 'standard' luminescent paint technique, developed by BAE Systems, can simultaneously measure steady pressure and temperature. This is achieved through knowledge of the paint phosphorescence lifetime rather than the absolute intensity, which increases the measurement accuracy. In addition, a new 'fast' paint has been calibrated at the University of Bath for the measurement of unsteady pressure using a variable frequency pulsing air jet. Pressure measurements were made with both paints in the wake of various excrescences, sized to produce vortex shedding in the frequency range 500–4,200Hz, in a transonic tunnel. The extent of the wakes was determined from a flow visualisation technique. Time-averaged measurements, using both luminescent paints, and transient measurements of the unsteady pressure field, made with the fast paint, were compared with transducer data. For all cases the luminescent paint data compared well with the conventional measurements and the Strouhal number agreed well with data from the literature. The use of luminescent paint for the simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature over a NACA 0012 aerofoil, as well as the quantification of convective heat transfer is examined in Part 2.


A method (200) for determining a plurality of requirements and structuring of the plurality of requirements during software development executed on a server (105) over a communicating network (113) includes the steps of receiving by a client device (115), at least one user defined requirement, retrieving the plurality of requirements from the at least one user by employing a retrieval platform, determining the plurality of requirements by extracting data by an extraction module (125) for extracting target elements from the plurality of requirements, structuring the target elements by classifying the target elements into categories, presenting the requirements in form of at least one formal and meaningful structure, and storing at least one formal and meaningful structure in a database (120).


In this theoretical study, the prediction of the corrosion resistance and age-hardening behavior of an Al/TiC functional gradient material (FGM) has been investigated by using the artificial neural network (ANN). The input parameters have been selected as TiC volume fraction of the composite layers, aging periods of the composite, environmental conditions, and applied potential during the corrosion tests. Current and microhardness were used as the one output in the proposed network. Also, a new three-layered composite has been imaginarily designed to demonstrate the predictive capability and flexibilities of the ANN model as a case study. Artificially aging (T6) process and potentiodynamic scanning (PDS) tests were used for heat-treating and corrosion response of the FGS, respectively. The results showed that the generated PDS curves of the FGM and calculated corrosion parameters of the case study are quite near and in acceptable limits for similar composites obtained values in experimental studies. Besides, this study has been a great success in predicting peak-aging times and its corresponding hardness values more precisely.


Soil suction and its relationship with water content (gravimetric or volumetric) are inevitable in the study of unsaturated soil mechanics. Suction-water content relationship (designated as SWR) is an important input parameter for the mathematical modeling of unsaturated soil response pertained to physico-mechanical, hydraulic, and volume change behavior and hence needs to be accurate and unambiguous. There are two commonly adopted procedures for establishing the SWR. In the first method (designated as continuous measurement), continuous drying suction measurements are performed on the same soil sample, starting from a high water content (corresponding to insignificant suction), which is termed as soil-water characteristic curve. In the second method (designated as spot measurement), remolded soil samples are packed at different compaction states, varying in unit weight and water content, on which suction measurements are performed. It is noted that there is no comparison and critical evaluation of these two procedures adopted for determining SWR. Such a study is important as the particle rearrangement in the soil samples undergoing a drying process might be different from that of the reconstituted/remolded samples. Therefore, the present study attempts to understand the uniqueness of SWR obtained by using two procedures for a locally available sandy soil. In this study, tensiometer and a capacitance probe have been used for measuring suction and volumetric water content, respectively. The study indicates that SWR established by using different procedures may not be unique and there is a need to highlight it while reporting such relationship for the soil.


Understanding why some exotic species become widespread and abundant in their colonized range is a fundamental issue that still needs to be addressed. Among many hypotheses, newly established host populations may benefit from a parasite loss ("enemy release" hypothesis) through impoverishment of their original parasite communities or reduced infection levels. Moreover, the fitness of competing native hosts may be affected by the acquisition of exotic taxa from invaders ("parasite spillover") and/or by an increased transmission risk of native parasites due to their amplification by invaders ("parasite spillback"). We focused on gastrointestinal helminth communities to determine whether these predictions could explain the ongoing invasion success of the commensal house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) and black rat (Rattus rattus), as well as the associated drop of native Mastomys species, in Senegal. For both invasive species, our results were consistent with the predictions of the enemy release hypothesis. A decrease of helminth overall prevalence and individual species richness was observed along the invasion gradients as well as lower specific prevalence/abundance (Aspiculuris tetraptera in M. m. domesticus, Hymenolepis diminuta in R. rattus) on the invasion fronts. Conversely, we did not find strong evidence of helminth spill-over or spill-back in invasion fronts, where native and invasive rodents co-occurred. Further experimental research is needed to determine whether and how the loss of helminths and reduced infection levels along invasion routes may result in any advantageous effects on invader fitness and competitive advantage.


Background: Adherence is a critical component of clinical intervention utility, but little is known about how cancer patients with depression, particularly low-income, ethnic minority patients, perceive adherence to and drop out from treatment. Aim: To explore low-income, minority cancer patient perspectives about not adhering or dropping out of depression treatment. Methods: A qualitative substudy was conducted within the Alleviating Depression among Patients with Cancer (ADAPt-C) study. The intervention was an individualized stepped care depression treatment program provided by a clinical social worker in collaboration with a study psychiatrist. Patients randomized to the intervention were offered antidepressant medication and/or 8–10 sessions of problem solving treatment talk therapy. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 20 patients who had dropped out of depression treatment, using a grounded theory qualitative methodological approach. Results: Enrolled intervention patients were predominately Latina, Spanish-speaking, and foreign born. Most patients (12/20) acknowledged they had dropped out of treatment for a variety of reasons, including dissatisfaction with treatment, poor patient-provider relations, logistical and financial barriers, cancer treatment commitments, and language barriers. However, other patients (8/20) denied they had dropped out of treatment and/or became confused about being labeled as a "dropout." Conclusion: A substantial percentage of low-income, ethnic minority patients who drop out of treatment for depression appear not to realize they have dropped out of treatment. Improving treatment adherence requires explanation of what constitutes adherence and the consequences of failing to do so from the perspective of both patient and provider.


This paper uses the Rasch measurement model to analyse data collected on children's attention, activity and impulsiveness at the end of their first year at school by teachers in England, Scotland and Australia. The analysis offers insights into differences in teachers' perceptions of children's behaviour between countries and changes with age. The analysis of large school-based samples from three countries (approximately 2,500 children per country) indicated that the Scottish teachers perceived the behaviour of their pupils as more problematic than teachers in Australia and England. The reasons for this are not clear but it raises issues for researchers wishing to compare behaviour characteristics internationally. Possible ways forward are discussed.


In virtual colonoscopy, minimizing the blind areas is important for accurate diagnosis of colonic polyps. Although useful for describing the shape of an object, the centerline is not always the optimal camera path for observing the object. Hence, conventional methods in which the centerline is directly used as a path produce considerable blind areas, especially in areas of high curvature. Our proposed algorithm first approximates the surface of the object by estimating the overall shape and cross-sectional thicknesses. View positions and their corresponding view directions are then jointly determined to enable us to maximally observe the approximated surface. Moreover, by adopting bidirectional navigations, we may reduce the blind area blocked by haustral folds. For comfortable navigation, we carefully smoothen the obtained path and minimize the amount of rotation between consecutive rendered images. For the evaluation, we quantified the overall observable area on the basis of the temporal visibility that reflects the minimum interpretation time of a human observer. The experimental results show that our algorithm improves visibility coverage and also significantly reduces the number of blind areas that have a clinically meaningful size. A sequence of rendered images shows that our algorithm can provide a sequence of centered and comfortable views of colonography.


An abrupt transition from a merged jet regime to a subtropical jet regime is analyzed using a two-layer modified quasigeostrophic (QG) spherical model. Unlike the common version of QG models, this model includes advection of the zonal mean momentum by the ageostrophic mean meridional circulation, allowing for a relatively realistic momentum balance in the tropics and subtropics. The merged jet is a single jet inside the Ferrel cell created by a merging of the subtropical and eddy-driven jets, and the subtropical jet is a mainly thermally driven jet at the Hadley cell edge. The maintenance of each type of jet depends on the dominant baroclinic modes. In the merged jet regime, the spectrum is dominated by intermediate-scale (wavenumbers 4‐6) fast waves at the midlatitudes that grow close to the jet maximum. In the subtropical jet regime, the spectrum is dominated by long (wavenumbers 1‐3) slow westward-propagating waves at high latitudes and somewhat weaker intermediate-scale slow waves at the midlatitudes. In the subtropical jet regime, waves equilibrate at weaker amplitudes than in the merged jet regime. A mechanism is found that explains why baroclinic instability is weaker in the subtropical jet regime, although the vertical shear of the mean flow is stronger,whichhas todo withthelower-levelpotentialvorticity (PV)structure.Therelevanceoftheseresults to the real atmosphere seams to hold in local zonal sections but not for the zonal mean.


Protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) is an endogenous inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). We have found that the alpha-isoform of PKI (PKIalpha) is asymmetrically expressed along the left-right (L-R) axis in chick embryos. At stage 6, PKIalpha is expressed on the right side of the node, and this asymmetric expression continues until stage 7+. After stage 8, PKIalpha expression returns symmetric. Treatment of embryos with antisense PKIalpha oligonucleotides increased the incidence of reversed heart looping. Antisense oligonucleotides also induced ectopic expression of the left-specific genes Nodal and Pitx2, and suppressed the expression of the right-specific gene SnR in the right lateral plate mesoderm. Similarly, treatment with PKA activators forskolin and Sp-cAMPs resulted in both reversed heart looping and bilateral expression of NODAL: Ectopic activin induced PKIalpha on the left side of the node, while ectopic Shh and anti-Shh antibody had no effect on PKIalpha expression. Taken together, these data suggest that PKIalpha induced by an activin-like molecule, through the inhibition of PKA activity, suppresses the Nodal-Pitx2 pathway on the right side of the body.


Abstract This paper investigates spatial data on the unit sphere. Traditionally, isotropic Gaussian random fields are considered as the underlying mathematical model of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We discuss the generalized multifractional Brownian motion and its pointwise Hölder exponent on the sphere. The multifractional approach is used to investigate the CMB data from the Planck mission. These data consist of CMB radiation measurements at narrow angles of the sky sphere. The results obtained suggest that the estimated Hölder exponents for different CMB regions do change from location to location. Therefore, the CMB temperature intensities are multifractional. The methodology developed is used to suggest two approaches for detecting regions with anomalies in the cleaned CMB maps.


With proposals to include "gaming disorder" in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and International Compendium of Diseases (ICD), the concept of video game addiction has gained traction. However, many aspects of this concept remain controversial. At present, little clarity has been achieved regarding diagnostic criteria and appropriate symptoms. It is unclear if symptoms that involve problematic video gaming behavior should be reified as a new disorder, or are the expression of underlying mental conditions. Nonetheless, the recent proposals around gaming disorder from respected bodies such as the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association seem to lock much of the applied research into a confirmatory trajectory. Since the DSM–5 proposal, research is increasingly focused on the application of the proposed criteria, as opposed to broadly testing validity and necessity of the overarching construct. This raises multiple concerns. First, the current approaches to understanding "gaming addiction" are rooted in substance abuse research and approaches do not necessarily translate to media consumption. Second, some research has indicated that "video game addiction" is not a stable construct and clinical impairment might be low. Third, pathologizing gaming behavior has fallout beyond the therapeutic setting. In light of continuing controversies, it is argued that the currently proposed categories of video game addiction disorders are premature.


A 256 by 256 pixel spatial light modulator has been designed and constructed with liquid-crystal-on-silicon technology. The device is a binary electrically addressed spatial light modulator with a measured zero-order contrast ratio of 70:1 and an imaged contrast ratio of 10:1. The electronic load time is 43 μs, and the 10-to-90% switching time of the liquid crystal is 50 μs (turn-on) and 50 μs (turn-off), giving a maximum frame rate of ∼10 kHz. Its design for a specific application is described, and the first operational results are presented.


This research gave attention to three factors that influence individuals in making investment decisions, motivation, locus of control, and financial literacy. This study generally aims to compare and analyze the effect of motivation, locus of control, and financial literacy on investment decisions on the families of the baby boomers generation, generation X, and generation Y.  This study applied a direct interview method and uses a questionnaire as a data collection tool. Thirty housewives from each generation were interviewed. The results showed a significant difference in motivation and financia literacy between the three generations. The results also showed that all variables had a significant effect on investment decisions in each generation. Otherwise, overall, only the locus of control variable that has no significant effect on investment decisions. Based on this, the government together with investment service providers need to formulate an appropriate program. Apart from the education provided through educators, the program can also be provided with socialization and consultation services, either directly or indirectly. Development of supporting infrastructure and public access to financial institutions, products or services according to their needs and capacities also need attention.


This study focused on the possibility of industrial extrusion of cellulose fibers polypropylene composites. The challenges were to introduce cellulose fibers into the extruder, to obtain a good dispersion of the fibers into the polypropylene matrix and simultaneously preserve the fiber length and avoid any thermal degradation of the materials. Cellulose fibers were pelletized prior extrusion. The properties of the pellets were analyzed. The pelletization process was optimized in order to promote the dispersability of the fibers during extrusion and to preserve the fiber reinforcement capacity. The extrusion process parameters were investigated so that their effects on fiber dispersion, fiber breakage and thermal degradation could be understood. The mechanical and rheological properties of the composite materials were studied according to the fiber loading, the fiber length, the dispersability of the fibers, the degradation of the materials, and also the origin and the delignification process of the fibers.


It was hoped that with the introduction of the death penalty for medicine murders in 1949, the increase of Christianity and
education , medicine murder would eventually be eliminated in Lesotho. The reality has however proved to be different. The number of
reported cases of medicine murder increased from an annual average of 8 in 1942-49 to 14 in 1952, and reached a record height of 16 in 1959. Thereafter, there was an annual average of 8 reported cases, up to 1965.


Tomatoes contain many beneficial nutrients to the body as carotene, vitamins and mineral elements. There are many ways to increase in productivity and quality of these cultivars, including the fertilizer of micronutrients. CuSO 4 0.02%, MnSO 4 0.03% solution and their mixture were treated to F1 France tomato in the stages before bud formation, in bud and in 25% ripening. Control variant was treated to which by distilled water. We conducted flow-up time preserving tomatoes at room temperature (22-25 o C), at refrigerator temperature (8 o C) with polyethylene bags and without polyethylene bags. Some biochemical indices of tomato fruits during ripening was analysed Our results showed that the treating of Cu, Mn micronutrients have active effects to some biochemical indices and preservation duration of tomatoes. Chlorophyll content increased the most in CuSO 4 0.02% variant (0.360 mg/g), followed MnSO 4 0.03% (0.247 mg/g) and the lowest is the mixed variant (0.25 mg/g) compared with control (0.247 mg/g). Carotenoid content in fruits of tomato in the experimental variants are higher than that compared with control, in particular, organic acid content of fruits through the ripening periods in CuSO 4 0.02% variant increased up 14.59% in 25% ripening fruits and 11.08% in 50% ripening fruits. Reduced sugar content in ripening fruits at various stages in the experimental variants war increased to compare with control. In particular, in CuSO 4 0.02% variant accumulated reduced sugar content in fruits reached the highest value (2.95 mg/100g) increased 3.15% compared with control (2.86 mg/100 g) in the period of 25% ripening fruits. Treating micronutrients, organic acid content increased compared with control at all stages of maturity. However, the mixed treatment is most effective (up 23.21%). Treating micronutrients resulted in formation levels of vitamin C were higher compared with control in the third stage of ripening fruits, in which the variant is mixed treatment reached the highest value, up 13.29% in 25% ripe fruits, 17.48% in 50% ripe fruits and 25.54% in 100% ripening fruits. Cu and Mn content too little change over the periods of fruit ripening, with Cu and Mn content in the fruits that we have analysed, do not exceed standard level on food safety. The treated variants by CuSO 4 0.02% and MnSO 4 0.03% were increased in storage time for tomatoes at room temperature 22-25 o C from 0.6 to 3.0 days and at 8 o C from 0.3 to 6.1 days, especially, MnSO 4 0.03% is most effective.


We consider an integrated design problem of structural and control systems. It is well known that even the simplest formulation of this problem results in a kind of a BMI problem. In this paper, a homotopy-like iterative design method based on LMIs is proposed to obtain an optimal plant and a controller simultaneously for a full-order output feedback problem. We can deal with a multiobjective problem, e.g., H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// control problem etc. in the proposed design method. We can also optimize structural design parameters appearing nonlinearly in the coefficient matrices of the plant state-space form using the first order approximation of the nonlinear dependence in the proposed algorithm. Several design examples show that the proposed algorithm works quite effectively for various integrated design problems.


Recently, content delivery services using the P2P architecture have been growing rapidly over the Internet. ISPs are suffering from network congestion due to the increase in traffic volume. For efficient delivery of P2P traffic, the IETF ALTO WG (Application-Layer Traffic Optimization) has been working on the standardization of the ALTO service for controlling P2P traffic. In addition, ALTO services have a ranking service, which is providing the ranking value indicating the peer selection priority using the BGP attribute. In this paper, we propose the mechanism of an ISP-Friendly with ALTO-like server called "n-Tracker", which provides a ranking service that applies the ISP's own policy flexibly. This mechanism defines the ranking value according to the P2P peer selection policy for the ISP using not only the BGP attributes received from external ASes but also ISP own policies statically configured by ISP operators. We evaluated the performance of the n-Tracker, which was running on a 1U PC server. For example, we evaluated the processing time to reflect the policies when it received the approximately 310,000 BGP routes and the n-Tracker's average response time for each request from the client. We validated that they took 19.57 sec and 2.30 msec, respectively. In addition, we showed that the priority for the peers changed depending on the configuration of the policies configured in the n-Tracker, and we validated that download traffic could be controlled by the peer selection policy.


b Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Escola de Enfermagem, Programa de Pós-graduação em Enfermagem. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil. ABSTRACT Objective: To understand the ethos and pathos in the discourses of pregnant women and healthcare professionals in the context of the delivery room. Method: This is a qualitative and interpretative study. The research approach was discourse analysis. The study participants were 36 women and 24 health workers from seven maternity hospitals in midwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Results: The discourses indicate the notion the women have of childbirth, centered in the eyes of others and in their representations. The nurses have difficulty operationalising care and building a professional image. The medical discourse stresses the skills, the ability to intervene in high-risk situations, and changes in the status of the profession. Conclusions: The construction of the ethos of physicians and nurses to essential to design more flexible fields of knowledge and ensure a professional performance that is consistent with their role, committed to the ethical and legal issues of obstetric care.