A 53-yearold man with a dissecting aneurysm of Stanford's type-B or Crawford's type I measuring 8.5 cm in diameter underwent replacement of the distal descending aorta and the thoracic aorta using techniques for spinal cord protection involving deep hypothermia at 17 degrees C and lasting 38 minutes with total absence of circulation. A subarachnoid catheter was inserted at the lumbar level to monitor spinal fluid pressure as well as to provide drainage if pressure exceeded 10 mm Hg. During surgery 60 ml was drained, followed by 95 ml after surgery on the same day and 325, 262 and 169 ml on the following three days. No signs of neurological deficit were observed during the postoperative period. Clinical course was good until hypovolemic shock developed 27 days after the operation due to upper digestive tract bleeding caused by two duodenal ulcers that perforated the gastroduodenal artery. Emergency antrectomy and vagotomy were performed. The patient died from multiple organ failure. Spinal cord injury continues to be one of the most feared complications after excision of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aorta aneurysm. Currently, various ways of protecting the spinal cord are practiced, including drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, partial bypass of the femoral artery, intercostal artery reimplantation, drug therapy and local spinal and/or systemic hypothermia. These methods, together with shorter clamping time have achieved a reduction in the incidence of spinal cord injuries.


Performance of mobile systems is significantly influenced by the carrier frequency offset caused by a Doppler shift, which leads to deployment of differential modulation schemes instead of coherent detection-based schemes. In this paper, we propose a novel M-ary differential phase-shift keying (MDPSK) receiver that performs better than the receiver with MDPSK differential detection and is very close to the performance of a coherent MDPSK detector. The symbol error probability of the proposed MDPSK receiver is approximately constant within the practical frequency offset range. The proposed receiver may be used in the systems that work in fading and with high-frequency offset environments.


The study's main aim was to provide an in-depth insight into the Community Participation (also called Joint Forest Management or JFM) Rules enforced by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in 2004 to reform the KP Environment Department from a "policing model" to a participatory one. It sought to find out; whether the JFM rules are followed in letter and spirit or the environment department of the province is still using age-old policies without involving the local communities in the management of forests. The study has uncovered the departmental and bureaucratic constraints towards the JFM Rules that stop the department from embarking on a journey towards a more participatory, inclusive, transparent, accountable, and sustainable management as well as development of forest resources. A qualitative research design was selected for this study and data was collected from a sample assembled on quota sampling technique with the quotas of respondents: 10 forest owners (people who have ownership rights in forests. 5 were taken from Malakand Division and 5 from Hazara Division of KP), 10 forest users (people who occasionally or permanently live in or near forests and use its resources in an arrangement with the forest owners. 5 were taken from Malakand and 5  from Hazara again), 10 government officials (5 from the environment department and 5 from the legal fraternity) and finally 10 environmental activists (including 5 female activists). Themes were developed after carrying out semi-structured in-depth interviews using interview guides. One of the major findings of the research were the sweeping and discretionary powers of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) which hinders the progress of JFM as DFO is not only the final authority on registration of a JFM Committee but can influence various other aspects of community participation and JFM like planning, funding and termination. It was also found that the territorial or protection staff (like Ranger, Forester & Guard) were still calling the shots in a top-down approach instead of a bottom-to-top approach by the mobilization and developmental staff (like Community Development Officer or CDO & Female Forest Extensionist or FFE) despite the JFM Rules. It was revealed that there is a great lack of funds and financial independence of the Directorate of CDEGAD (Community Development, Extension, Gender and Development) which is responsible for implementing community participation and JFM. The directorate staff is mostly financially dependent upon the discretion of the DFO. Even after 16 years, the environment department has not internalized JFM Rules. There was a lack of concern by government top management towards addressing this huge environmental problem of the lack of implementation of JFM despite the recent Billion and 10 Billion Trees "Tsunami" Afforestation Projects with the help of the UN under the Bonn Challenge. A very small number of community members reported that they are participating in the forestry and wildlife activities with the environment department. "Rubber stamp" and "token" participation were reported just to give legal cover to the departmental activities and a photo session for the social media instead of truly real incentive participation to achieve sustainable management and development of forest resources. There is a great if not an organized resistance of the majority of forestry staff to JFM Rules and keep these rules hidden under the carpet to carry on the traditional approach which is harmful for the communities, the department, the forests, and the wildlife in the long run. Lack of implementation of JFM Rules also facilitates corruption. Without local support and knowledge, the poverty in the forest-dependent communities cannot be eradicated. Lessons from Nepal's social forestry should be learned and utilized for KP's JFM. Nevertheless, the recent projects by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led KP and Federal governments have given environmental activists a great glimmer of hope but the long-term positive results of it will depend upon its continuity by the future governments. The positions of CDOs, Female CDOs, and SOs (Social Organizers) need to be strengthened with legal powers regarding JFM. Several environmental policy and regulation needs were also identified in this study, followed by several recommendations for the environment department, provincial government, and civil society for bold and ambitious community-led forestry and wildlife conservation projects.


The financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession left the U.S. economy in an injured state. In 2013, output was 13 percent below its trend path from 1990 through 2007. Part of this shortfall--2.2 percentage points out of the 13--was the result of lingering slackness in the labor market in the form of abnormal unemployment and substandard weekly hours of work. The single biggest contributor was a shortfall in business capital, which accounted for 3.9 percentage points. The second largest was a shortfall of 3.5 percentage points in total factor productivity. The fourth was a shortfall of 2.4 percentage points in labor-force participation. I discuss these four sources of the injury in detail, focusing on identifying state variables that may or may not return to earlier growth paths. The conclusion is optimistic about the capital stock and slackness in the labor market and pessimistic about reversing the declines in total factor productivity and the part of the participation shortfall not associated with the weak labor market.


abstract:How do citizens in authoritarian states feel about their leaders? While some dictators rule through terror, others seem genuinely popular. Using the Gallup World Poll's panel of more than one hundred-forty countries in 2006–2016, the authors show that the drivers of political approval differ across regime types. Although brutal repression in overt dictatorships could cause respondents to falsify their preferences, in milder informational autocracies, greater repression actually predicts lower approval. In autocracies as in democracies, economic performance matters and citizens' economic perceptions, while not perfectly accurate, track objective indicators. Dictators also benefit from greater perceived public safety, but the authors find no such effect in democracies. Covert censorship of the media and the Internet is associated with higher approval in autocracies—in particular, in informational ones—but ratings fall when citizens recognize censorship. In informational autocracies, executive elections trigger a ratings surge if there is leader turnover, but, unlike in democracies, reelected autocrats enjoy little honeymoon.


Humoral alloimmunity, particularly that triggered by preformed antibodies against human leukocyte antigens (HLA), is associated with an increased prevalence of rejection and reduced transplant survival. The high sensitivity of solid phase assays, based on microbeads coated with single antigens (SAB), consolidated them as the gold-standard method to characterize anti-HLA antibodies, ensuring a successful allograft allocation. Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) provided by SAB is regularly used to stratify the immunological risk, assuming it as a reliable estimation of the antibody-level, but it is often limited by artifacts. Beyond MFI, other properties, such as the complement-binding ability or the IgG1-4 subclass profile have been examined to more accurately define the clinical relevance of antibodies and clarify their functional properties. However, there are still unresolved issues. Neat serum-samples from 20 highly-sensitized patients were analyzed by SAB-panIgG, SAB-IgG1-4 subclass and SAB-C1q assays. All 1:16 diluted serum-samples were additionally analyzed by SAB-panIgG and SAB-IgG1-4 subclass assays. A total of 1,285 anti-HLA antibodies were identified as positive, 473 (36.8%) of which were C1q-binding. As expected, serum-dilution enhanced the correlation between the C1q-binding ability and the antibody-strength, measured as the MFI (rneat = 0.248 vs. rdiluted = 0.817). SAB-subclass assay revealed at least one IgG1-4 subclass in 1,012 (78.8%) positive antibody-specificities. Among them, strong complement-binding subclasses, mainly IgG1, were particularly frequent (98.9%) and no differences were found between C1q- and non-C1q-binding antibodies regarding their presence (99.4 vs. 98.5%; p = 0.193). In contrast, weak or non-C1q-binding subclasses (IgG2/IgG4) were more commonly detected in C1q-binding antibodies (78.9 vs. 38.6%; p < 0.001). Interestingly, a strong association was found between the C1q-binding ability and the IgG1 strength (rIgG1dil = 0.796). Though lower, the correlation between the IgG2 strength and the C1q-binding ability was also strong (rIgG2dil = 0.758), being both subclasses closely related (rIgG1−IgG2 = 0.817). We did not find any correlation with the C1q-binding ability considering the remaining subclasses. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a particular profile of IgG subclasses (IgG1/IgG3) itself does not determine at all the ability to bind complement of anti-HLA antibodies assessed by SAB-C1q assay. It is the IgG subclass strength, mainly of IgG1, which usually appears in combination with IgG2, that best correlates with it.


The study investigated police officers' perceptions about corruption in Zimbabwe. The study was informed by Bourdieu's theory of habitus. A case study design involving a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from sixty-four respondents sampled using a census method of sampling. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented on tables and pie charts. The study revealed that police officers were aware of corruption through training, discussions, presentations by bosses and literature. Police officers do not continue to learn about corruption through formal means like workshops. They perceived that corruption existed in the police force; believed that police corruption was due to low salaries, poor working conditions and greediness. Police officers perceived that the existence of corruption in society was due to low salaries, long time in positions of authority and greediness. They also said that corrupt people were usually the rich, the middle class, company owners, top politicians or top management. The factors contributing to corruption in the police force are not due to lack of awareness but relate to power, conditions of service or selfish behaviour or interests. It is recommended that the government improves conditions of service for police officers to reduce corruption.

 Key words: Awareness, police officers, corruption, habitus, power, field.


ABSTRACT: This article explores the political mobilization of ex- militias for support during post-war elections in Sierra Leone. Taking its point of departure from the tension between ex- militias' potential for deployment and displacement of violence, it illuminates the ambiguous ways in which ex-militia members engage with political big men. The article suggests that the notion of debt can be employed as a prism to explain the complexities of social relations between ex-militia rank-and-file members and political elites and thus aims at shedding novel light on how big men systems and patronage work in post-war society, most notably in the political domain. By tracing particular relations between ex-militia members and political big men over time, the article empirically unravels the enduring yet ambiguous nature of debt relations and how they are shaped by and give shape to "the gift of violence."


The Neurorestoratology discipline is getting worldwide attention from the clinicians, basic scientists, students and policy makers alike. Accordingly, this year too, the discipline has made profound advances and great achievements for the benefit of the mankind. In this report, of the 2018 Neurorestoratology Yearbook, salient features of new developments are summarized. This Yearbook consists 3 key themes namely (i) the new findings on pathogenesis of neurological diseases or degeneration; (ii) the new mechanisms of neurorestorative aspects; and (iii) the achievements and progresses made in the clinical field of neurorestorative therapies. The new trend has emerged in clinical studies that are based on greater levels of evidence-based medical practices both in clinical therapies and clinical trials based on standard designs.


This paper presents an algorithm to develop a mission-based optimal joint space control for a Stewart manipulator. The proposed algorithm consists of two optimization phases. The first phase seeks an inverse kinematic model and controller for the closed loop control of a Stewart manipulator using a feedback value. The second phase optimally tunes the controller called amplitude phase control (apc) in order to meet special mission requirements. Iteration algorithm is used in this phase as the optimization method. The proposed amplitude phase control optimal joint space control shows the capability to reduce the error in tracking the sin signals.


A marketing information system for Honduras was devised. The premise behind this project is to provide timely access to agricultural market prices for the private sector. Daily price information would be generated for major markets in the two largest cities in Honduras-Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The collected information would be disseminated publicly within 24 hours of its collection. Prior to initiation of this project, farmers did not have access to current market prices. Procedures involved in implementing the first agricultural marketing information system for Honduras-a potential model for low-income economies-will be discussed in this paper.


Conrad's "Amy Foster" and its film adaptation, Beeban Kidron's Swept from the Sea, tell the story of a cross-cultural encounter in a closed ethnocentric community. Yanko, a young man from the East Carpathians, is su pposed to reformulate a new identity at the intersection of his native discourse and the new dominant discourse in England. In both the original story and the film, Yanko fails to find such an intersection as this closed community defines its members against the background of their ethnic background, and grants recognition or denies it on this principle. The differences in the film adaptation add to the richness of the original story by digging up certain details from Amy's perspective. This paper aims to offer a contrastive analysis of their cases, not from the center, but from the edges: one from Yanko's and the other from Amy's wing against the backdrop of the shifting perspective in narration.


The Black Death, which struck al-Andalus in the second half of the 8th/14th century, was an unprecedented natural disaster. In this essay I examine the legal and ethical responses of two Granadan scholars to the social and intellectual challenge posed by this event. Whereas previous scholarship has almost universally lauded the stridently critical stance of the wazir Ibn al-Khatīb as an exceptional example of rational empiricism, I argue that his stance is more productively understood when compared to that of his teacher Ibn Lubb. Both scholars articulated an ethical response to an insurmountable challenge from within a medical and legal framework. Their interpretive choices and conclusions were based not so much on one scholar's privileging of empirical evidence over legal dogma, or vice versa, as they were on both scholars' grounding their respective statements in differing understandings of the nature of the evidence at hand.


Operators of large mobile equipment must contend with limited line of sight (LOS), and must use varying levels of awkward postures to obtain enough LOS to safely manoeuvre in the workplace. Anecdotally, individuals who have never driven large mobile equipment (ie. first responders, supervisors, investigators and other pedestrians) are unaware of the extent of the limited LOS, despite their frequent interactions with such equipment. The safety of pedestrians on worksites hinges on their understanding of the visibility limits of the operators driving around them. Most drivers of passenger cars have an appreciation for their lack of visibility when passing through the blind spots of large transport trucks. This same awareness does not seem to extend to the workplace. A pen and paper test was developed in an effort to assess the mismatch between a pedestrian's perception of equipment LOS and the actual LOS available to the operator. Participants with no previous experience operating large mobile equipment were shown a scaled representation of a haul truck, Euclid EH4500, and were then asked to complete a LOS plot diagram representing the LOS an operator may have, purely based on their interpretation of the external appearance of the equipment. The actual line of sight plot for that machine was then overlaid, and percentage of area overlap was compared to the participants' diagrams. The participants were then given the standard LOS plot, and were given 10 minutes to examine it. Seven days later the participants were asked once again, without any visual aids or reminders of the machine, to draw a LOS plot for the same haul truck. This investigation evaluates the usefulness of LOS plots as a potential low-cost high-impact intervention to increase awareness and knowledge of the health and safety implications of visibility.


Abstract In an era of fiscal stress for many local governments in the United States, intergovernmental cooperation has become a focus for cost savings. Cooperation and consolidation is a recognition that existing boundaries and service delivery mechanism simply are too inefficient and burdensome for a community to maintain. City and county officials face a basic tradeoff in assessing the merits of cooperation involving the desire of many citizens for sovereignty and local decision making authority versus the potential cost savings associated with the economies of scale of larger government units. As intergovernmental agreements are negotiated, the issue of cost allocation among various parties often becomes a major issue. Some cost allocation formulas emphasize ease of implementation, while potentially shifting the burden onto one or another party. Complicated cost allocation formulas may reduce burden sharing or donor situations, but at greater cost of implementation and maintenance. A simple economic model is presented in this analysis to highlight the distributional consequences of various cost allocation strategies among parties to intergovernmental agreements.


An automotive wheel bearing is one of the most important components to guarantee the service life of a passenger car. The endurance life of a bearing is affected by many parameters such as material properties, heat treatment, lubrication conditions, temperature, loading conditions, bearing geometry, internal clearance and so on. Generally, a tapered roller bearing gives longer endurance life than that of an equivalent size ball bearing. Consequently, the application of taper bearing units will be increased for more compact design and extended warranty. In this paper, we derive the relation between loads and deformations of a taper bearing unit. On the basis of that, we calculate the endurance life of the taper bearing unit considering initial axial clearance.


Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histological subtype of lung cancer worldwide. Until now, the molecular mechanisms underlying LUAD progression have not been fully explained. This study aimed to identify a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in LUAD.Methods: Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs), miRNAs (DEMs), and mRNAs (DEGs) were identified from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database with a |log2FC| > 1.0 and a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05. Then, these DELs, DEMs, and DEGs were used to construct the initial ceRNA network. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and survival analyses were performed to analyse these DEGs involved in the ceRNA network. Subsequently, the drug-gene interaction database (DGIdb) was utilized to select candidate LUAD drugs interacting with significant DEGs. Then, lasso-penalized Cox regression and multivariate Cox regression models were used to construct the risk score system. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were utilized to validate the reliability of the risk score system. Finally, based on the correlations between DELs and DEGs involved in the risk score system, the final ceRNA network was identified. Meanwhile, the GEPIA2 database and immunohistochemical (IHC) results were utilized to validate the expression levels of selected DEGs. GEPIA2 was further used to verify the correlations between DEGs and DELs.Results: A total of 340 DELs, 29 DEMs, and 218 DEGs were selected to construct the initial ceRNA network. Functional enrichment analyses indicated that 218 DEGs were significantly enriched in the GO terms "nucleoplasm", "transcription factor complex", "protein binding", and "metal ion binding", whereas these DEGs were associated with the KEGG pathway terms "microRNAs in cancer", "pathways in cancer", "cell cycle", "HTLV-1 infection", and the "PI3K-Akt signalling pathway". K-M survival analysis of all differentially expressed genes involved in the ceRNA network identified 24 DELs, 4 DEMs, and 29 DEGs, all of which were significantly correlated with LUAD progression (P < 0.05). Furthermore, 15 LUAD drugs interacting with 29 DEGs were selected. After lasso-penalized Cox regression and multivariate Cox regression modelling, 4 DEGs, PRKCE, DLC1, LATS2, and DPY19L1, were incorporated into the risk score system. The area under the curve (AUC) values of the time-dependent ROC curves at 3 years and 5 years were both higher than 0.5. Finally, the correlation coefficients between these 4 DEGs and their corresponding DELs involved in the ceRNA network suggested that there were 2 DEL-DEG pairs, NAV2-AS2 – PRKCE (r = 0.430, P < 0.001) and NAV2-AS2 – LATS2 (r = 0.338, P < 0.001). Considering the previously constructed ceRNA network, NAV2-AS2 – mir-31 – PRKCE and NAV2-SA2 – mir-31 – LATS2 were identified.Conclusions: The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network plays an essential role in LUAD. These results may improve our understanding and provide novel mechanistic insights to explore diagnostics, tumourigenesis, prognosis, and therapeutic drugs for LUAD patients.


Water-based Fe3O4 nano-magnetic fluid for seal was prepared by coprecipitation. In order to obtain nano-magnetic fluid preparation technology which can produce industrially, the choice of second coating surfactant has been studied. Factors affecting nano-particle size and particle saturation magnetization were investigated using five factors and three level orthogonal experimental design. The size of nano-particles and particle saturation magnetization were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and WSM vibration magnetometer. The results showed that the adding speed of NaOH solution and heat-maintaining time after adding, adding speed and reaction temperature of sodium oleate solution, as well as the heating temperature of sodium oleate solution influence the properties of nano-magnetic particles more. With the optimum process parameters, Fe3O4 nano-magnetic fluid which is below 15nm and can meet the nano-magnetic fluid sealing technology requirements has been prepared.


The influence of old and customary ways on legal ethics is ubiquitous. Like other humans, the members and regulators of the profession suffer from heuristics and biases — including the status quo bias. Unsurprisingly, those who resist a particular ethical application or ethical improvement in legal or judicial ethics often invoke tradition and preexisting practice as reasons against change; the ABA, courts, scholars, and lawyers have all done so in recent memory (several examples of which are discussed in this Essay). This older-is-better approach raises concerns because it can ignore or hamper the pursuit of excellence characteristic of professions. In addition to becoming and remaining competent in practice, lawyers and judges are supposed to seek the improvement of the law and the delivery of legal services. Moreover, although ethics of course incorporates and protects certain enduring principles (including deontological concepts), legal and judicial ethics as written or applied are subject to revision to correct previous errors or omissions and to account for the changed context, including new members and new types of practice. On the twentieth anniversary of the Tabor Lecture in Legal Ethics, this Essay explores whether and to what extent a preoccupation with old and customary practices risks stunting and stagnating our ethical professional development.


As final status negotiations prepare to convene, what have become the terms of daily life in the Gaza Strip? Mohammed El Aydi and I explored this question in the book we began three years ago and published last year. Since then, Israeli security forces have redeployed; the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been established; and Israel has been applying, since March 1993, a policy of closure that has affected more than three hundred days out of the PA's first two years and caused financial losses to the Gazan economy that outstrip the value of postOslo international aid; the social costs may prove greater still. The present article is a personal account of a week's visit in early April 1996. I spent most of my time in Khan Yunis Camp, where Mohammed lives. I went not only as a journalist, but also as a friend. I avoided political officials.


Considerable progress in our understanding of the population genetic changes associated with biological invasions has been made over the past decade. Using selectively neutral loci, it has been established that reductions in genetic diversity, reflecting founder effects, have occurred during the establishment of some invasive populations. However, some colonial organisms may actually gain an ecological advantage from reduced genetic diversity because of the associated reduction in inter-colony conflict. Here we report population genetic analyses, along with colony fusion experiments, for a highly invasive colonial ascidian, Didemnum vexillum. Analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) partial coding sequences revealed two distinct D. vexillum clades. One COI clade appears to be restricted to the probable native region (i.e., north-west Pacific Ocean), while the other clade is present in widely dispersed temperate coastal waters around the world. This clade structure was supported by 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence data, which revealed a one base-pair difference between the two clades. Recently established populations of D. vexillum in New Zealand displayed greatly reduced COI genetic diversity when compared with D. vexillum in Japan. In association with this reduction in genetic diversity was a significantly higher inter-colony fusion rate between randomly paired New Zealand D. vexillum colonies (80%, standard deviation ±18%) when compared with colonies found in Japan (27%, standard deviation ±15%). The results of this study add to growing evidence that for colonial organisms reductions in population level genetic diversity may alter colony interaction dynamics and enhance the invasive potential of newly colonizing species.


In cirrhotic patients, plasma amino acid levels are severely deranged. A decreased ratio of branched-chain to aromatic amino acids (Fischer ratio) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. In this prospective study, we investigated the effects of extracorporeal detoxification on amino acid levels using a sorbent suspension dialysis system. Twenty patients with documented cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy grade II-III not responding to standard treatment were randomized to receive either six hours of sorbent dialysis and standardized conventional medical treatment or ongoing medical treatment alone. In contrast to previous uncontrolled studies, no significant effect on amino acid levels, Fischer ratio or clinical grade of hepatic encephalopathy was detected in either treatment group. In conclusion, a 6-hour treatment with sorbent dialysis did not significantly influence plasma levels of amino acids and did not ameliorate the clinical grade of hepatic encephalopathy.


Language enables us to represent our world, rendering salient the identities, groups, and categories that constitute social life. Michael Silverstein (1945–2020) was at the forefront of the study of language in culture, and this book unifies a lifetime of his conceptual innovations in a set of seminal lectures. Focusing not just on what people say but how we say it, Silverstein shows how discourse unfolds in interaction. At the same time, he reveals that discourse far exceeds discrete events, stabilizing and transforming societies, politics, and markets through chains of activity. Presenting his magisterial theoretical vision in engaging prose, Silverstein unpacks technical terms through myriad examples – from brilliant readings of Marcel Marceau's pantomime, the class-laced banter of graduate students, and the poetics/politics of wine-tasting, to Fijian gossip and US courtroom talk. He draws on forebears in linguistics and anthropology while offering his distinctive semiotic approach, redefining how we think about language and culture.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To explore the role of supportive-expressive group therapy (SEGT) in facilitating the development and quality of healthcare relationships in patients with ovarian cancer.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Qualitative, grounded theory, and comparative approach.

SETTING
Tertiary care cancer center.

SAMPLE
6 patients with advanced ovarian cancer and 3 healthcare professionals.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
Patients participated in semistructured interviews that examined the nature of their healthcare relationships, diagnoses, and SEGT experience. The primary gynecologic oncologist and two nurses responsible for the care of the patients also were interviewed. Analysis of this qualitative study employed a grounded theory technique.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Patients' and healthcare professionals' perceptions of healthcare relationships.

FINDINGS
Patients' negative diagnostic experiences were found to influence the quality of relationships with healthcare providers. However, the process appears to benefit from patient participation in SEGT. Patients perceived that SEGT helped facilitate communication between patients and professionals. Patients also indicated that SEGT led them to participate more actively in the treatment process. Professionals viewed patient participation in SEGT as a positive outlet for emotional expression, a source of psychological healing, and a tool that facilitated communication, collaboration, and understanding of medical treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Participation in SEGT can advance communication and collaboration in medical care and provide opportunity and resources for psychological healing.

INTERPRETATION
SEGT provides a vehicle to enhance the quality of life of patients with ovarian cancer by breaking down the common feeling of isolation, addressing women's frustration and resentment regarding delayed diagnosis, and enhancing relationships with healthcare providers to promote collaborative care in this patient population.


The data of the literature on the impact factors of the extrusion cooking on physical and chemical properties of food proteins, biological value and digestibility have been discussed. Extrusion cooking is a high temperature short-time process, characterizing by a minimal loss of nutrients. and biologically active substances compared to other methods of heat treatment of food. Studies of the properties of protein-containing products, protein isolates and concentrates in the extrusion are examined in different ways: the inactivation of antinutritional factors; improvement in digestibility and availability; changes in the content and chemical modification of amino acids; Maillard reactions involving amino acids; mutual enrichment of protein mixtures during the composite food extrusion; formation of functional technological properties of the extruded protein products.


The trigger logic for the Collider Detector Facility (CDF) at Fermilab is described. An analog/digital system constructs triggers based on clusters of energy in the calorimetry. These triggers are then combined with signals from the muon and central tracking systems to make a global trigger. Two levels of trigger logic have been implemented: a 'Level 1' trigger which is dead-timeless, and a more sophisticated Level 2 trigger. The rejection factor provided by these two systems will be 103 - 104.


We describe our efforts to understand the key mechanistic aspects of the previously reported alkene hydrofunctionalization reactions using 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium (Mes-Acr+) as a photoredox catalyst. Importantly, we are able to detect alkene cation radical intermediates, and confirm that phenylthiyl radical is capable of oxidizing the persistent acridinyl radical in a fast process that unites the catalytic activity of the photoredox and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) manifolds. Additionally, we present evidence that diphenyl disulfide ((PhS)2) operates on a common catalytic cycle with thiophenol (PhSH) by way of photolytic cleaveage of the disulfide bond. Transition structure analysis of the HAT step using DFT reveals that the activation barrier for H atom donation from PhSH is significantly lower than 2-phenylmalononitrile (PMN) due to structural reorganization. In the early stages of the reaction, Mes-Acr+ is observed to engage in off-cycle adduct formation, presumably as buildup of PhS− becomes significant. The kinetic differences between PhSH and (PhS)2 as HAT catalysts indicate that the proton transfer step may have significant rate limiting influence.


We propose a novel imaging method for near-complete, surround, 3D reconstruction of geometrically complex objects, in a single scan. The key idea is to augment a timeof-flight (ToF) based 3D sensor with a multi-mirror system, called a light-trap. The shape of the trap is chosen so that light rays entering it bounce multiple times inside the trap, thereby visiting every position inside the trap multiple times from various directions. We show via simulations that this enables light rays to reach more than 99.9% of the surface of objects placed inside the trap, even those with strong occlusions, for example, lattice-shaped objects. The ToF sensor provides the path length for each light ray, which, along with the known shape of the trap, is used to reconstruct the complete paths of all the rays. This enables performing dense, surround 3D reconstructions of objects with highly complex 3D shapes, in a single scan. We have developed a proof-of-concept hardware prototype consisting of a pulsed ToF sensor, and a light trap built with planar mirrors. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the light trap based 3D reconstruction method on a variety of objects with a broad range of geometry and reflectance properties.


Second messenger production in avian medullary nephron segments in response to peptide hormones. Am. J. Physiol. 276 ( Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 45): R847–R854, 1999.—We examined the sites of peptide hormone activation within medullary nephron segments of the house sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) kidney by measuring rates of hormone-induced generation of cyclic nucleotide second messenger. Thin descending limbs, thick ascending limbs, and collecting ducts had baseline activity of adenylyl cyclase that resulted in cAMP accumulation of 207 6 56, 147 6 31, and 151 6 41 fmol·mm 2 1 ·30 min 2 1 , respectively. In all segments, this activity increased 10- to 20-fold in response to forskolin. Activity of adenylyl cyclase in the thin descending limb was stimulated approximately twofold by parathyroid hormone (PTH) but not by any of the other hormones tested [arginine vasotocin (AVT), glucagon, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), or isoproterenol, each at 10 2 6 M]. Thick ascending limb was stimulated two- to threefold by both AVT and PTH; however, glucagon and isoproterenol had no effect, and ANP stimulated neither cAMP nor cGMP accumulation. Adenylyl cyclase activity in the collecting duct was stimulated fourfold byAVT but not by the other hormones; likewise, ANP did not stimulate cGMP accumulation in this segment. These data support a tubular action of AVT and PTH in the avian renal medulla.


This is the engaging and accessible intellectual memoir of a leading jurist. It tells the story of the development of his thoughts and writings over sixty years in the context of three continents and addresses the complexities of decolonisation, the troubles in Belfast, the contextual turn in legal studies, rethinking evidence and the implications of globalisation which have been central to his life and research. In propounding his original views as an enthusiastic self-styled 'legal nationalist', Twining maps his ideas of law as a unique discipline, which pervades all spheres of social and political life while combining theory and practice, concepts and values, facts and rules in uniquely fascinating ways. Addressed to academic lawyers generally and to other non-specialists, this story brings out the importance and fascinations of a discipline that has changed, expanded and diversified in the post-War years, with an eye to its future development and potential. // This record contains the text of chapter 18, "Globalisation and Law".


Presents a new category of optical CDMA systems which work based on spectral encoding. In such systems, that the authors refer to as frequency-encoded CDMA (FE-CDMA) systems, the coding is done in the frequency domain while in the usual CDMA systems the code multiplies the modulation signal in the time domain. They present a new type of FE-CDMA system, based on encoding noncoherent broadband sources. They discuss the advantages of the system compared to other optical CDMA systems and present its performance. They show that very efficient, low-cost, CDMA systems can be obtained with an aggregate throughput of many gigabits per second. Also, for this system, the spreading gain of CDMA is independent of the modulation bandwidth. Hence, the system can accommodate variable bit rates, naturally. >


This is a NIAS Policy Brief document about people's movements for rights over resources. Long-standing conflicts around rights over land, forest, and water resources have led to the emergence of several people's movements. A study conducted by the Conflict Resolution and Peace Research Programme at NIAS, supported by the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) brought out critical aspects involved around conflicts over natural resources leading to people's movements in Odisha. The organized efforts by several people's movements demanding rights over resources have been a critical factor leading to multiple conflicts in and around the tribal majority districts of Kalahandi and undivided Koraput. The immediacy of the conflicts in the form of people's movements demands critical attention for effective resolution.


The method of electrical impedance measurement was tested for its usefulness in monitoring of extra-cellular fluid (ECF) in the dog submandibular gland during salivary secretion. Measurements were performed during rest and stimulated state with or without blood supply. During stimulation with blood supply, the conductivities of the gland decreased to some extent. During stimulation without blood supply, the decrease in conductivities was markedly enhanced. The decrease of ECF compartment during stimulation without blood supply was ascertained by the stereological measurement. Coincidence of conductivity decrease and histologically observed decrease of ECF compartment supports the usefulness of impedance measurement for monitoring of ECF during secretory activity of gland tissue. The present study also shows that the interlobular space decreased mainly during stimulation when blood supply is absent. This indicates that, among ECF space, the interlobular space plays an important role as a fluid reservoir in the salivary gland.


Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) have achieved great success in generating realistic synthetic data like images, tags, and sentences. We explore using GAN to generate bid keywords directly from query in sponsored search ads selection, especially for rare queries. Specifically, in the query expansion (query-keyword matching) scenario in search advertising, we train a sequence to sequence model as the generator to generate keywords, conditioned on the user query, and use a recurrent neural network model as the discriminator to play an adversarial game with the generator. By applying the trained generator, we can generate keywords directly from a given query, so that we can highly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of query-keyword matching based ads selection in search advertising. We trained the proposed model in the clicked query-keyword pair dataset from a commercial search advertising system. Evaluation results show that the generated keywords are more relevant to the given query compared with the baseline model and they have big potential to bring extra revenue improvement.


Phytophagous insects is one of the major biological constraints in crop production. To cope with continuous threat from insects, plants produce insecticidal peptides or proteins. Plant lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins, one of the most important secondary metabolites which also serve as a defense tool against plant-eating organisms. Although most lectins have moderate effects to development, fecundity or growth of insect, several lectins are highly toxic to insects. In the last decade, many studies reported a role of lectins in pest management. In particular, several plant lectins respond to different kinds of stress such as drought, fire, wounding, high-salinity, hormone treatment and pathogen attack. This group of lectin is called as "inducible plants lectin". This review summarized recent progresses in research on the application of lectin as a potential approach for integrated pest management.


Physical sensors form the fundamental building blocks of a multitude of advanced applications that detect and monitor the surroundings and communicate the acquired physical data. The everlasting need for more compliant, low-cost, and energy-efficient sensor solutions has led to considerable interest in enhancing their features and operation limits even further. While graphene has emerged as a promising candidate material, due to its outstanding electrical and mechanical properties, it is still not available in large volumes for practical applications. Meanwhile, Laser-Induced Graphene has opened new perspectives for a versatile, durable, printed physical sensing platform capable of detecting various physical parameters across a range of conditions and subjects. In this review, LIG physical sensors were categorized into four broad types based on their transduction mechanism: mechanical, thermal, magnetic, and electromagnetic. We summaries various design strategies established for preparing reliable physical sensors without the involvement of chemical treatments, synthesis, and multi-step fabrication processes. The review considers the effects of laser choice, lasing environment, and parameters on graphene properties. We also discuss a broad spectrum of applications of LIG physical sensors in fields ranging from healthcare, tactile sensing, environmental monitoring, energy harvesting, and soft robotics to desalination and THz modulation.


The report covers the flora, fauna and selected physical characteristics of the southwestern North Dakota 'Ecological Test Area' being studied in depth by the Western Energy and Land Use Team. This Test Area covers known coal deposit sites in the state. Published and unpublished documents located by June 1977 and pertinent to the Test Area are listed. Subject, author, geographic and species indexes are included.


The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the standard interdomain routing protocol in the Internet. Inside an Autonomous System (AS), the interdomain routes are often distributed by using BGP Route Reflectors (RR). Today, most RR are simple BGP routers. We show that by adding intelligence to the RR, it is possible to improve both the routing and the packet forwarding in ASes. We show how a versatile RR can help an AS to engineer the flow of its incoming or outgoing interdomain tra#c. We also discuss how a versatile RR could help to reduce the BGP convergence time or reduce the size of the routing tables when providing BGP/MPLS VPN services. 1


Exposure to antibiotics is an important factor influencing the development of bacterial resistance. In an era where very few new antibiotics are being developed, a strategy for the development of optimal dosing regimen and combination treatment that reduces the rate of resistance development and overcome existing resistance is of utmost importance. In addition, the optimal dosing in subpopulations is often not fully elucidated. The aim of this thesis was to develop pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) models that characterize the interaction of antibiotics with bacterial growth, killing and resistance over time, and can be applied to guide optimization of dosing regimens that enhance the efficacy of mono- and combination antibiotic therapy.A mechanism-based PKPD model that incorporates the growth, killing kinetics and adaptive resistance development in Escherichia coli against gentamicin was developed based on in vitro time-kill curve data. After some adaptations, the model was successfully applied for similar data on colistin and meropenem alone, and in combination, on one wild type and one meropenem-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The developed population PK model for colistin and its prodrug colistin methanesulfonate (CMS) in combination with the PKPD model showed the benefits for applying a loading dose for this drug. Simulations predicted the variability in bacteria kill to be larger between dosing occasions than between patients. A flat-fixed loading dose followed by an 8 or 12 hourly maintenance dose with infusion duration of up to 2 hours was shown to result in satisfactory bacterial kill under these conditions.Pharmacometric models that characterize the time-course of drug concentrations, bacterial growth, antibacterial killing and resistance development were successfully developed. Predictions illustrated how PKPD models based on in vitro data can be utilized to guide development of antibiotic dosing, with examples advocating regimens that (i) promote bacterial killing and reduce risk for toxicity in preterm and term newborn infants receiving gentamicin, (ii) achieve a fast initial bacterial killing and reduced resistance development of colistin in critically ill patients by application of a loading dose, and (iii) overcome existing meropenem resistance by combining colistin and meropenem


The two-dimensional (2-D) parabolic equation (PE) is widely used for making radiowave propagation predictions in the troposphere. The effects of transverse terrain gradients, propagation around the sides of obstacles, and scattering from large obstacles to the side of the great circle path are not modeled, leading to prediction errors in many situations. In this paper, these errors are addressed by extending the 2-D PE to three dimensions. This changes the matrix form of the PE making it difficult to solve. A novel iterative solver technique, which is highly efficient and guaranteed to converge, is presented. In order to confine the domain of computation, a three-dimensional (3-D) rectangular box is placed around the region of interest. A new second-order nonreflecting boundary condition is imposed on the surface of this box and its angular validity is established. The boundary condition is shown to keep unwanted fictitious reflections to an acceptable level in the domain of interest. The terrain boundary conditions for this 3-D PE method are developed and an original technique for incorporating them into the matrix form of the iterative solver is described. This is done using the concept of virtual field points below the ground. The prediction accuracy of the 3-D PE in comparison to the 2-D PE is tested both against indoor scaled frequency measurements and very high frequency (VHF) field trials.


To investigate the possibility that the pattern of multiple DNA-dependent RNA polymerases of an animal cell exerts a controlling influence on its nature, the activities of these enzymes were compared in differentiated rat liver and in a rapidly growing minimal-deviation rat hepatoma cell line by using established techniques of enzyme extraction, separation and determination. Relative to the DNA content of the tissues, RNA polymerase activities of forms AI, AII and B were approx. ninefold, twofold and twofold higher respectively in the cell line than in the liver. Tests indicated that these results could not be explained by differences in extraction efficiency or by the presence of unbound inhibitors or stimulators of polymerase activity in the final enzyme preparations. New forms of the enzyme were not detected in either tissue. The significance of these findings with respect to the possible role of multiple RNA polymerases in the control of cellular activities is discussed.


Total Diet Studies (TDS) were recognised as a cost-effective approach to estimating dietary exposures ofcontaminants by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1978. By 2011 approximately 33 countries in the world had been engaged in the process of performing a TDS. A Working Group of experts on TDSs conducted a survey aimed at mapping the methodological aspects of the latest TDSs conducted in the world and also investigating the overall readiness of countries with no previous TDS experience to conduct the survey in the future. The survey results showed differences in TDS implementation around the world. The main differences were reported in the principles for compiling a food list, the representativeness of the sampling plan (regions, seasons), the strategy for pooling foods prior to analysis and quality requirements set for the laboratories involved in the food analysis. Countries with no previous experience reported interest in the TDS study approach and possible plans to carry out a TDS in the future. The interest to carry out a TDS was, however, related with the need for further guidance and training in this area and allocation of funding. The results of the survey confirmed the need for harmonisation of the TDS methodology at international level.


A photonic crystal fiber pressure sensor using mechanical induced tilted long period grating is reported. Transmission dip has a blue shift when the tilted angle of the long period grating increases. The performances of the pressure sensor are evaluated by the shifting of the transmission spectrum after applying different pressure level. The experimental results show that the larger the tilted angle of the grating, the transmission dip experiences the larger blue-shift, leading to higher sensitivity up to 2.701 nm/MPa.


Contryphan-R, from venom of the cone-shell Conus radiatus, represents a novel cyclic peptide scaffold onto which residues may be grafted to mimic unrelated protein surfaces. Three substitutions were made at the x and X positions of the disulfide-bridged motif CPxXPXC, where X and x represent any L- and D-handed residues, respectively, P represents proline or hydroxyproline, and C a half-cystine. These substitutions were designed to mimic part of the pharmacophore of the unrelated globular polypeptide omega-conotoxin GVIA, which blocks N-type calcium channels. The structure of this engineered contryphan, YNK-contryphan-R ([D-Tyr4, Asn5, Lys7]contryphan-R), is shown to be similar to that of native contryphan-R (Pallaghy et al., Biochemistry, 1999, Vol. 38, pp. 13553-13559), confirming that the scaffold is robust with respect to the multiple substitutions. In particular, the alpha-beta bond vectors characterising the orientation of the side chains relative to the backbone are similar in contryphan-R, YNK-contryphan-R, and omega-conotoxin GVIA, which is the required result for a scaffold-based approach to molecular design. The solution structure of YNK-contryphan-R has an N-terminal, nonhydrogen-bonded, chain reversal centered on Hyp3-D-Trp4, and a C-terminal type I beta-turn. A minor form due to cis-trans isomerism of the Hyp2-Cys3 peptide bond is present in YNK-contryphan-R in a larger proportion than in contryphan-R. It is evident, particularly from the (3)J(HalphaHN) coupling constants, that YNK-contryphan-R is more flexible than contryphan-R, probably due to the absence in YNK-contryphan-R of the Pro-Trp packing present in the native molecule. Nevertheless, the structure confirms that cyclic peptide molecular designs can achieve the intended conformations.


Received 28 May 2013 Accepted 17 August 2013 The plant hormones cytokinins play a central role in regulating cell division and developmental events. Cytokinin oxidase regulates the levels of these plant hormones by catalyzing their irreversible oxidation, which contributes to the regulation of various morpho-physiological processes controlled by cytokinins. In this study, the crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the flax cytokinin oxidase LuCKX1.1 are reported. Plate-like crystals of LuCKX1.1 were obtained using PEG 3350 as a precipitant and diffracted X-rays to 1.78 Å resolution. The protein crystals have the symmetry of space group C2 and are most likely to contain two molecules per asymmetric unit.


Recent work has shown that when range dependence, in either the index of refraction or the boundary conditions, is introduced into the infinite frequency (ray) approximation to the wave equation, ray chaos results. This is because the resulting conservative system of ordinary differential equations is nonlinear and nonintegrable. Attempts have been made to reconcile chaotic ray behavior with the fact that chaotic solutions of the full linear wave equation cannot exist. When the terms neglected in making the eikonal approximation are kept, the resulting system of equations is generally no longer conservative, and hence chaos is not a necessary result of the higher‐order approximation. [Work supported by ONR.]


Purpose: Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a common treatment modality for inoperable liver cancer. Several studies have demonstrated that significant differences exist between the electrical properties of tumor and normal tissue, especially at lower frequencies. In this study, we investigated in an ex vivo setting whether the use of lower frequencies during ablation results in preferential heating of tumor tissue.


Many defects relative to stress occur during the complicate casting process, such as hot tearing, residual stress concentration and distortion. Modeling of casting thermal stress during casting solidification process is of great significance to predict and analyze casting stress defects. Involving too many complex influencing factors, the stress simulation is very difficult and retains a hot spot of macro simulation in foundry engineering. Currently most researchers adopt integrated FDM/FEM method, i.e. using finite difference method (FDM) to calculate solidification and heat transferring, while finite element method (FEM) to simulate stress. Some universal commercial FEA packages are usually adopted. This study has tried two kinds of approaches to simulate casting thermal stress. One is based on ANSYS, a well-known powerful FEA analysis software. Another is to develop an independent own copyrighted casting stress simulation system based on FDM. The routes of these two methods were given respectively. To calibrate the simulation system, a stress frame sample and a real practical casting were simulated and pouring experiment was also carried on. The results of simulation were in agreement with the experiment results and practical cases. It indicates that these two approaches can all meet demands. When adopting FDM method, thermal analysis and stress analysis can use the same FD model, which can avoid the nodes matching between different models and reduce the errors of thermal load transferring. It makes the simulation of fluid-flow field, temperature field and stress field unify into one model. This system takes full advantages of mature FDM technology and can be used to simulate the forming of residual stress and predict the occurrence of hot tearing.


The purpose of this article is to inform the reader that a commonality in grief and bereavement exists even though it is highly individualized. Health care providers and consumers of health care should realize and understand the potential for bias and miscommunication when there is delivery of care from non-similar cultures. Grief and bereavement are two of many issues existing in the health care delivery system which can result in substandard delivery of care as a result of cultural insensitivity and cultural incompetence.


ited slower reaction time to targets. Subjects exhibited slow psychomotor speed relative to controls. No group differences were observed in executive functioning. ADHD subjects required less information and displayed inconsistent application of a semantic clustering strategy on a memory task. ADHD subjects were also susceptible to retroactive interference and item recall inconsistency. The authors argued that adults with ADHD demonstrate a selective pattern of deficits revealing slow cognitive processing and a significant list-learning deficit.


The formation of botulinal toxin relative to spoilage of fresh whole tomatoes was investigated at 13 and 23°C under passively modified (MA) and controlled atmospheres (CA) and air. Tomatoes were subsurface inoculated with a composite of type A and proteolytic and nonproteolytic type B strains of Clostridium botulinum spores. Some were also inoculated with Alternaria mold spores. MA (1.0-2.9% O2) was passively established by a combination of product respiration and package permeability. CA was established by placing tomatoes in continuously flushed (1% O2, 20% CO2, balance N2) Plexiglass plastic containers. Tomatoes were tested for botulinum toxin by the mouse assay at the time when they first became inedible based on predefined stages of decay rather than specific storage times in order to determine the relationship between spoilage and botulinal toxigenesis. All tomatoes became inedible according to the established criteria within 17 to 46 d depending on the storage temperature and atmosphere. Botulinum toxin was not detected in the 24 composite samples of inedible tomatoes (representing 99 tomatoes) which were tested at the time they first became inedible. Toxin was detected in four of five additional composite samples (representing 10 tomatoes) which were held 2 to 9 d beyond the time they were first determined to be inedible. These data indicate that MA-packaged tomatoes can become toxic but only after becoming severely spoiled beyond the point of being organoleptically acceptable. The risk of botulism from consumption of extended shelf life whole tomatoes appears to be insignificant.


This policy comment seeks to address three key questions relating to the participation of civil society in international drug policymaking. Firstly, who are the relevant 'stakeholders' and what options do they have to participate in drug policy discussions at the United Nations level? Secondly, have certain 'stakeholders' been able to positively influence the direction of global drug policies? And thirdly, who are the 'most affected' communities and what could be done to improve their meaningful engagement in the definition of drug policies that directly impact their lives? Unpacking the terminology around civil society, stakeholders, and most affected communities, the chapter argues for a clearer distinction between 'rights-holders' and 'duty-bearers'. Masking the inherent power imbalances between the different stakeholders risks underplaying the rights of affected communities and legitimising a place at the table for corporations as 'equal actors' in spite of fundamentally different interests. The commentary concludes that the increased involvement over the past decade of civil society as well as other United Nations entities around the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) has markedly influenced the global drug policy debate by shifting more attention towards health, human rights and development concerns.


K. Abrams, M. Kushner, K. Medina, and A. Voight (2001) showed that alcohol attenuates social anxiety symptoms in socially phobic individuals. This article examines whether social anxiety symptoms can lead to increased alcohol use in this same population. Forty-four individuals with social phobia attended 2 laboratory sessions, spaced 1 week apart, in groups of approximately 10. Participants underwent a social anxiety challenge during 1 session and a control task during the other. Half of the sample self-administered alcohol immediately before, and half immediately after, these 2 activities. As predicted, participants consumed more alcohol following the anxiety challenge than following the control task; however, the opposite pattern was evidenced for drinking preceding [corrected] the 2 activities. These findings add to an understanding of why social phobia and alcohol problems tend to co-occur.


It is important to control the martensitic transformation start temperature (Ms) of Ti–Ni alloys because it determines the temperature range over which the shape memory effect and superelasticity appear. Powder metallurgy (PM) is known to provide the possibility of material-saving and automated fabrication of at least semi-finished products as well as net-shape components for NiTi alloys. In this study powder with different particle sizes was subjected by gas atomization. The evolution of the control the martensitic transformation start temperature (Ms) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The effect of the particle size of powders on the transformation temperatures behaviors was discussed.


Interracial couples experience stressors that can negatively impact their relationship quality, such as racial discrimination. In dyads in which one partner identifies as White and the other identifies as Black or Hispanic, the stress due to racial discrimination is associated with differential alternatives: The White partner can end the relationship to stop their experience with the stress of racial discrimination, but Black or Hispanic partners cannot. As such, the White partner is a "weak link" in such relationships, and understanding processes that can mitigate discrimination-induced stress for White partners could be beneficial for interracial relationship longevity. In this study, we examined perspective-taking as a process to reduce momentary, discrimination-based stress. White partners in interracial relationships (N = 292) were randomly assigned to engage in perspective-taking (or remain objective) when imagining their partner experiencing discrimination (or a common aversive situation). We predicted, and found, that momentary stress was lower for White partners who took their partners' perspectives while thinking about them experiencing racial discrimination than for those who objectively recounted the details of their partners' experiencing racial discrimination. In turn, lower momentary stress predicted greater commitment and relationship satisfaction. This indicates that perspective-taking can reduce the momentary stress a White partner experiences during an event of racial discrimination, which may strengthen interracial relationships.


In April 2010, the University of Colorado Boulder (CUB) Libraries implemented a patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) e-book program through Ingram Content Group's on the MyiLibrary platform. CUB's PDAprogram expanded to include all campuses within the University of Colorado (CU) system, launching a collaborative pilot project for shared purchasing and shared cataloging of e-books among five geographically separate and diverse CU libraries in December 2011. The PDA program affects the catalogs, cataloging departments, and cataloging workflows of each library. This paper describes the CU PDA program with a focus on how MARC records are prepared and distributed to the CU libraries, both before and after titles are purchased. It covers factors that impact editing and customization of the records such as the quality of vendor-supplied data, local needs, and best practices for Prospector, a regional unified catalog in which all CU system libraries participate. In addition, the authors share their strategies for detecting and correcting cataloging errors that occur and their methods for handling PDA titles duplicated in other e-book packages available at CU libraries.


Soil samples were collected from garden of P.G. Department of Botany, Utkal University, Odisha India. The physical analysis of soil revealed that texture of the soil was sandy loam with pH 5.7, temperature 34.6ÂoC, 5.7% water content and 67.3% water holding capacity, respectively. Utmost numbers of Aspergillus species with other fungi were isolated from garden soil (5A—105 CFU/g). Total 19 fungal taxa were isolated from all the samples studied. The isolated species were belonging to 8 genera representing the genus Aspergillus as dominant one. Total twelve fungal species of six genera were recorded from air of the pesticide treated soil area. Soil treated with 600ppm cypermethrin exhibited ten fungal species. Out of which, A. flavus appeared in greater number as compared to other fungi. Similarly, A. candidus was contributed highest percentage followed by A. flavus in dilution plate technique. Total eight species of fungi belonging to three genera were found when soil was treated with cypermethrin at a concentration of 800 ppm. A. candidus and A. flavus were isolated in highest number at 1000ppm cypermethrin. But, in direct plate technique, A. flavus was found to be the dominant species followed by A. terreus and A. niger at 1000 and 1200ppm concentration of cypermethrin, respectively. Soil treated with cypermethrin at 1400ppm concentration exhibited that A. awamori was the dominant species isolated followed by A. terreus and Mucor hiemalis both in direct and dilution plate techniques. Among all the isolates screened for protease activity, A. terreus was potent enough for this production.


A diesel engine with optical access through an extended piston has been developed. It is based on a heavy duty truck engine and the purpose is to generate calibration data for computer simulation of spray combustion, hereby facilitating reliable combustion prediction using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Conventional photography using a solid-state camera was adopted to image the combustion. As the upper surface of the glass window in the piston is flat, the compression ratio of the engine is reduced to 12:1, in order to avoid that the spray plumes hit the glass surface. To compensate for the lowered compression ratio, the inlet pressure as well as the inlet temperature were increased. As top dead center conditions regarding gas density and temperature are desired to be maintained, this approach results in an increased overall air-to-fuel ratio. Additionally, the cylinder pressure decay due to the piston movement becomes slower than it should be at the present engine speed. However, despite these drawbacks, the engine allows for spray combustion studies under realistic diesel engine conditions regarding pressure and temperature. In the preliminary study the inlet pressure was 400 kPa absolute and the temperature was 450 K, resulting in a compression pressure of about 8.6 MPa at top dead center when the engine runs at 1200 rpm. To predict the air mass in the cylinder as accurately as possible, the exhaust back pressure is always kept equal to the inlet pressure. To minimize the thermal load on the piston, fuel is injected only during cycles when an image is exposed. This is also beneficial when estimating the air mass in the cylinder, as the temperature of the rest gas from the preceding cycle is quite low. In the preliminary study a nozzle with eight orifices fitted to a common-rail injector was used to generate the sprays. The orifice diameter was 190 µm. The rail pressure was 160 MPa and the injected amount of fuel was 80 mg. The resulting combustion was dominated by diffusion flames.


Terminal relaying offers effective means for realizing machine-type communication (MTC) systems. However, coordinating these relaying terminals (RTs) becomes a cumbersome task as the number of RTs increases. In the absence of channel state information, the efficient utilization of RTs requires a mechanism by which RTs can autonomously assign available resource blocks (RBs) to large numbers of uncoordinated MTC devices with minimal conflicts. Unlike random RB assignments, using prescribed assignment sequences provides an opportunity for obtaining performance gains. However, realizing these gains requires optimizing RB assignments over a large set of sequences. One technique for selecting assignment sequences is based on an exhaustive search of exponential complexity over sequences generated by multiplicative cyclic groups. This technique restricts the RB assignment sequence length and does not consider sequences generated using other group operations.
In this thesis, we use group isomorphism to eliminate the constraint on the sequence length and to show that the optimal assignment sequences generated by a specific cyclic group are globally-optimal over the set of all cyclically-generated sequences. We also develop a greedy algorithm with polynomial complexity for the sequential selection of assignment sequences in systems with large numbers of RTs. This algorithm is further simplified by invoking the graphical representation of cyclic groups to enable its application in massive MTC systems. To further improve performance, we extend the RB assignment sequences set by considering multi-generator sequences. In particular, the Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) is used to combine cyclically-generated sequences into longer ones. This combining process introduces additional degrees of freedom in sequence generation, thereby enriching the set of assignment sequences. We then use group isomorphism to show that the set of pseudonoise maximal length sequences (M-sequences) constitutes a subset of the cyclically-generated sequences set and that their performance is upper bounded by that of cyclically-generated and CRT-based sequences. This isomorphism is also used to extend the ease of generation property of M-sequences to their corresponding cyclically-generated supersets. Finally, we compare the correlation properties of CRT-based, Zadoff-Chu (ZC), and M-sequences and discuss the applicability of the CRT-based sequences for synchronization signalling in practical systems with large carrier frequency offsets.


Sign languages offer a unique perspective for understanding the relation between handedness and cerebral lateralisation for language, since in sign language the hands themselves are the articulators. Signers display evidence of hand dominance while signing and fingerspelling. In one-handed signs and one-handed fingerspelling, the dominant hand is predominantly used. In two-handed signs and two-handed fingerspelling, the dominant hand is the active articulator with the non-dominant hand acting as the base. Past studies of handedness in the deaf population have reported a lower prevalence of right-handedness than in the population generally. These studies however have investigated mostly non-linguistic and non-communicative tasks such as throwing a ball, using a hammer etc. The present study looks at handedness patterns for linguistic and communicative tasks such as signing and fingerspelling, and non-linguistic communicative use of the hands such as gesture. The main research questions are: What is the handedness distribution for signing and fingerspelling within the BSL using population? Is this distribution similar to that of the hearing population? What are the handedness patterns for linguistic and non-linguistic tasks within right and left-handed signers? How are these patterns affected, if at all, under experimental conditions? What is the effect on handedness in relation to linguistic and motoric impairments caused by stroke in Deaf people? The study is in three parts: the first provides handedness statistics drawn from observation and reported signing hand preference in Deaf users of British Sign Language (BSL) as well as for tool use. A new questionnaire suitable for use with signers (the BSL Handedness Screen) was developed. In contrast to previous studies, this study did not find a higher prevalence of non-right handedness in the signing population. Parts 2 and 3 explore dominance switching in an experimental study by impeding or preventing use of the dominant or non-dominant hand (Part 2), and comparing errors and compensatory mechanisms with those found in RH and LH signers following stroke (Part 3). Differences between signing, fingerspelling and gesture are found in dominance switching. Possible motoric and linguistic explanations are explored and implications for therapy are also discussed. The hand as linguistic articulator offers a route to addressing questions about the interplay of linguistic and motoric skills and underpinning neural mechanisms.


The paper aims to empirically analyze the effect of the quality of the formal institutional environment and social capital on financial development and long-run economic growth for a sample of developed and developing countries using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for the period spanning from 1980 to 2009. The author sets out to find out if there is a synergetic effect between financial sector development and: first, formal institutional aspects measured by the institutional environment quality index, second, informal institutional aspects measured by the level of social capital in society. The article examines if the qualities of formal institutions as well as the level of confidence and cooperation between individuals are important to promoting financial sector and consequently long-run economic growth. The main results of the model are that (i) the development of formal institutions with a higher level of general institutional quality has a positive impact on long-run economic performance through the development of financial markets; (ii) the effect of financial sector development on long-run economic growth also depends on the state of informal institutions with a higher level of trust between individuals.


This study investigated the effect of the mammalian diving reflex (MDR) on the R-R intervals, mean heart rate (MHR) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) on 40 healthy subjects. Two groups were compared a group of SCUBA divers and a group of non SCUBA divers. Each group consisted of ten males and ten females. Subjects completed seven protocols: three in air; breathing (BA); apnea (AA); breathing through a snorkel (BSA) and three facially immersed; breathing through a snorkel (23±1°C) (BSI); apnea (35±1°C) (AWW); apnea (23±1°C) (AWR) apnea (10±1°C) (AWC). A negative correlation was observed between diving experience and bradycardia. A positive correlation was observed between MABP and R-R intervals with respect to diving experience. No relationship was observed between the MHR, MABP or the R-R intervals in either the male or female subject groups. However, there was significant variance between the MHR, MABP and R-R complex intervals of divers and nondivers (P ≤ 0.0085). Significant variance was observed between male scuba divers, female scuba divers, male non-scuba divers and female non-scuba divers in MHR, MABP and R-R interval (P ≤ 0.0085). The results of this study suggest that the mammalian diving reflex is exacerbated in humans by repeat exposure to apnea with immersion. It also suggests that males and females are physiologically similar when considering MDR.


The UK chemical distribution industry, which is a well-established, fragmented, subject to strong consolidation, significant part of the chemical industry and a major contributor to the UK economy and employment, remains largely unexplored, with no research in the factors contributing to SMEs success. This is the first study to identify the factors critical to small business success and provide an integrative perspective in the specific industry. The research is based on the opinions of owners and very senior managers (Managing Directors, Directors, CEOs and CFOs), an approach extensively used by other researchers. A total of 180 SMEs fulfilling the criteria of this study are identified with 118 owners/managers participating, generating a very satisfactory response rate of 65.5%. Regulatory Compliance, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Customer Relations Management, Market and Product development, Prior Work Experience and Management Skills, Human Capital, Economic Environment and Strategic Planning are established as critical success factors (CSFs). Findings suggest that success is a multidimensional phenomenon where both firm-internal and firm-external factors need to be optimal simultaneously; satisfying one or two factors does not necessarily guarantee success. Strong interrelationships are also revealed amongst the critical and non-critical success factors. The paper contributes towards the integration of SMEs success factors theories and provides guidelines to various stakeholders and policy-makers to improve strategy formulation and decision-making process in supporting chemical distribution SMEs.


Summary

1
Studies have shown that many adult and immature insects are able to maintain body temperature well above, and often independently of, ambient temperature in the presence of direct solar radiation. They may do so directly by basking, or indirectly via microhabitat choice. The implications for this are often ignored in development models that serve to predict species' responses to climate change.

2
To investigate the difference in development times attributable to solar input, field development of Aglais urticae, Inachis io and Polygonia c-album larvae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) was followed both in a natural open situation and in an artificially shaded environment. Each species completed development more quickly in the open, equivalent to a 20%, 10% and 15% reduction in development time, respectively.

3
Observed development times in the artificially shaded environment were used to compare the techniques of rate summation and degree-day modelling. Rate summation models were found to describe development in the shade best for A. urticae and I. io, although a degree-day model performed best for P. c-album, possible reasons for which are discussed. The best-performing models for each species were modified to include larval thermoregulation data, assuming a linear relationship between body and ambient temperatures during the measured sunshine hours each day, and tested against observed development times in the open situation. Times for 50% adult emergence were predicted exactly for A. urticae, and to an accuracy of 1 day for I. io and 5 days for P. c-album.

4
The models were tested further using climate data from 128 UK Meteorological Office weather stations across England, Wales and Scotland. Thermoregulation model predictions matched observed UK distribution and voltinism better than predictions made by the standard unmodified models. It was estimated that larval thermoregulation allows A. urticae and I. io populations to persist approximately 200 km further north than would otherwise be possible, and that the extent of bivoltinism may be shifted northwards by around 300 km.

5
These results have significant implications for predicting the effects of global warming on insects' geographical ranges, the potential distributions of invasive species, and the phenology and voltinism of introduced biocontrol agents as one component of their likely success.


Background The behaviour of each basal cell carcinoma is known to be different according to the histological growth pattern. Among these aggressive lesions, sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas are the most common type. This is a challenging-to-treat lesion due to its deep tissue invasion, rapid growth, risk of metastasis and overall poor prognosis if not diagnosed in early stages. Objective To investigate if sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas are diagnosed later compared to non-sclerodermiform basal cell carcinoma Method: All lesions excised from 2000 to 2010 were included. A pathologist classified the lesions in two cohorts: one with specimens of non-aggressive basal cell carcinoma (superficial, nodular and pigmented), and other with sclerodermiform basal cell carcinoma. For each lesion, we collected patient's information from digital medical records regarding: gender, age when first attending the clinic and the tumor location. Results 1256 lesions were included, out of which 296 (23.6%) corresponded to sclerodermiform basal cell carcinoma, whereas 960 (76.4%) were non-aggressive subtypes of basal cell carcinoma. The age of diagnosis was: 72.78±12.31 years for sclerodermiform basal cell and 69.26±13.87 years for non-aggressive basal cell carcinoma (P<.0001). Sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas are diagnosed on average 3.52 years later than non-aggressive basal cell carcinomas. Sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas were diagnosed 3.40 years and 2.34 years later than non-aggressive basal cell carcinomas in younger and older patients respectively (P=.002 and P=.03, respectively). Study limitations retrospective design. Conclusion The diagnostic accuracy and primary clinic conjecture of sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas is quite low compared to other forms of basal cell carcinoma such as nodular, superficial and pigmented. The dermoscopic vascular patterns, which is the basis for the diagnosis of non-melanocytic nonpigmented skin tumors, may not be particularly useful in identifying sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas in early stages. As a distinct entity, sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas show a lack of early diagnosis compared to less-aggressive subtypes of BCC, and thus, more accurate diagnostic tools apart from dermatoscopy are required to reach the goal of early-stage diagnosis of sclerodermiform basal cell carcinomas.


The central puzzle in international business cycles is that fluctuations in real exchange rates are volatile and persistent. We quantify the popular story for real exchange rate fluctuations: they are generated by monetary shocks interacting with sticky goods prices. If prices are held fixed for at least one year, risk aversion is high, and preferences are separable in leisure, then real exchange rates generated by the model are as volatile as in the data and quite persistent, but less so than in the data. The main discrepancy between the model and the data, the consumption—real exchange rate anomaly, is that the model generates a high correlation between real exchange rates and the ratio of consumption across countries, while the data show no clear pattern between these variables. Copyright 2002, Wiley-Blackwell.


The study was conducted for two successive years at a private farm in El-Saf, Giza, Egypt on 19 years old trees of olive cultivars, Picual, Aggizi and Manzanillo, grown in calcareous soils. Leaf nutrients were measured bi-monthly during the 2001-2002 growing season. The study revealed that most of nutrients in the soil were at inadequate level. Nutrient concentrations in the leaves of the three cultivars were nearly the same. Results revealed that leaf N ranged between low to satisfactory. P contents were adequate in spring while inadequate in summer. K leaf contents were adequate. Peaks of Mg were found to be the highest during winter. Ca peaks were observed during March-June. Fe and Zn were inadequate while Mn was adequate. The concentrations of Fe, Mn and Zn peaked during June, which could be due the repeated foliar application of these nutrients during this period. The seasonal nutrient changes (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) of the olive leaves are supposed to be used as a guide for proper fertilization. Nutrients should be added as acidic fertilizer to the soil, which is useful in calcareous and high pH conditions.


Phenomenon: Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) serve an integral role in most United States (US) medical schools and contribute substantially to literature on the quality of care to uninsured persons. There has been substantial growth over the past decade of scholarly work produced by SRFCs as they have increased in size and number. Research on patient care outcomes informs better care structures for patients, however there is no current synthesis of patient care outcomes research among SRFCs. This article provides an overview of SRFC research on patient outcomes to understand current research domains and to identify gaps in the literature. Approach: We completed a scoping review by searching Scopus, PubMed, and Journal of Student Run Clinics in June 2021. All peer-reviewed, English-language articles focused on patient-centered outcomes at SRFCs in the US were included. Two independent reviewers performed title, abstract, and full-text screening of relevant works, and eight reviewers conducted data extraction. Descriptive data analysis was performed along with relevant content analysis of patient-centered outcomes. Findings: The search strategy identified 784 studies, of which 87 met inclusion criteria. Most studies were published within the last six years (81.6%), located in California, New York, or Florida (43.7%), and intervention based (33.3%). Many studies (46.0%) had a specific disease of focus of which diabetes was the most researched(19.5%). Patient-centered studies were the leading focus of the study aims (40.2%), where key findings demonstrated primarily improved outcomes in clinic metrics post-intervention (36.8%) or equivalent/better clinical performance than national metrics (20.7%). Insights: This review brings to light gaps in the literature reporting research in SRFCs and can be applied to other low-resource settings. Future efforts to expand SRFC outcomes research should focus on community relationship building, understanding institutional support, and ensuring education on best practices for research within SRFCs. Doing so informs patient care improvement as SRFCs continue to operate as safety net clinics for marginalized populations.


Approximately 75% of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages (FIGO stage III/IV), with 15-23 months median global survival and 20% 5year survival. Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumour development and proliferation. Increased angiogenesis is associated with worse clinical outcome in ovarian cancer. Here we review the play of bevacizumab in the treatment of ovarian cancer and also other antiangiogenic drugs. In total, to date there are no promising results for most of the reviewed antiangiogenic agents, except those already known for bevacizumab, trebananib, pazopanib, cediranib and nintedanib. Ongoing re‐ search will shed more light on this fascinating tumour process and its control.


Pharmacokinetic behavior of single dose of 2 mefenamic acid capsule formulations was studied in a randomized crossover design in 22 healthy male volunteers. Following ingestion of 250 mg of either of the products, blood samples were obtained over a 14-hour period and the serum drug concentrations were determined by an HPLC assay with ultraviolet detection at 280 nm. The parametric 90% confidence intervals of the mean value of the ratio (fendol (test)/ponstan (reference)) of pharmacokinetic parameters were 0.88-1.07, 0.94-1.19, and 0.89-1.16 for AUC zero-infinity, Cmax and T1/2. In each case values were within the acceptable bioequivalence range of 0.8-1.25. Distribution-free point estimate for the difference in expected medians of Tmax of the 2 formulations (fendol-ponstan) was -0.5 hours with a 90% confidence interval of -1.0 to -0.25 which overlaps with the stipulated bioequivalence range of +/-0.48. The kinetic parameters a comparable to what is reported for mefenamic acid and there were no statistically significant differences in any of them when comparing the 2 products by ANOVA on log-transformed data. Although the 2 products are not equivalent regarding the secondary parameter Tmax, still the data indicate that they could be considered bioequivalent regarding rate of absorption (Cmax), extent of absorption (Cmax and AUC), and elimination (t1/2).


The experiments were carried out in the fiber-glass ponds in the greenhouse during the months of April, July and September in order to determine the effect of seasonal temperature and light intensity on the blue pigment C-phycocyanin and protein content of Spirulina platensis. While C-phycocyanin content was found higher in Autumn (332.7 ±1 μgmL-1), lower and similar in Spring and Summer (327.5 ±2 and 323.4 ±1 μgmL-1) respectively. The water temperature of Summer, 34.52 ±0.05oC, was found to be higher than the temperatures of Autumn (30.04 ±0.06) and Spring (24.87 ±0.5 oC). The light intensity of July (1195.08 ±29 μmol m-2 s-1) was also found to be higher than the light intensity of September and April (822.46±61 and 684.40 ±13 μmol m-2 s-1). The higher protein ratio (r.09 ±1) was found in Autumn in Spirulina bi-omass and lower and similar protein ratios (h.15 ±0.9, f.16 ±0.3) were recorded in Spring and Summer respectively. It was concluded that C-phycocyanin and protein contents of Spirulina platensis cultures were different in April, July and September.


This paper describes the use of Bayesian networks for the reduction of irrelevant features [1,2] in the recognition of oceanic structures in satellite images. Bayesian networks are used to validate the symbolic knowledge -provided by neuro symbolic or HLKPs (High Level Knowledge Processors) netsand the numeric knowledge. This provides an automatic interpretation of images. The main objective of this work is the construction of an automatic recognition system for processing AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) images from NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) satellites to detect and locate oceanic phenomena of interest like upwellings, eddies and island wakes. With this aim, this paper reports on a methodology of knowledge selection and validation. In knowledge selection, filter measures are used. For knowledge validation, Bayesian networks (Naive Bayes, TAN and KDB) are evaluated.


As experience clusters certain ideas into sets, so does the mind too, by its occult nature, cluster certain ideas into sets. These sets have various forms of connection. The simplest are sets of things all on one footing and agreeing in each belonging to the set. Such a set is a class. The clustering of ideas into classes is the simplest form which the association of ideas by the occult nature of ideas, or of the mind, can take. Now, just as in association by contiguity an idea calls up the idea of the set in which experience has placed it, and thence one of the other ideas of that set, so in association by resemblance an idea calls up the idea of the set in which the mind's occult virtue places it, and that conception perhaps gives, owing to some other circumstance, another of the particular ideas of the same set.


Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery has many advantages compared to conventional open surgery but also certain drawbacks: it causes less operative trauma and faster recovery times but does not allow for direct tumor palpation as is the case in open surgery. This article reviews state-of-the-art intra-operative tumour localization methods used in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery and in particular methods that employ force-based sensing, tactile-based sensing, and medical imaging techniques. The limitations and challenges of these methods are discussed and future research directions are proposed


Abstract Numerous studies have investigated a probable association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by researching limited and dispersed parameters. We aimed to evaluate both traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors in male patients with early-onset AGA. This case–control study included 68 participants: 51 male patients with early-onset AGA and 17 healthy male controls. Patients with AGA were classified into three groups according to the Hamilton–Norwood scale and the presence of vertex hair loss. Traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors were examined in all study subjects. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 25 patients with AGA and in two control subjects (p < 0.05). The carotid intima–media thickness values were found to be significantly higher in patients with vertex pattern AGA than in patients without vertex baldness and controls (p < 0.05). The pulse-wave velocity values were also found to be significantly higher in patients (p < 0.001). A limitation of this study was the small study population. In conclusion, vertex pattern AGA appears to be a marker for early atherosclerosis. This finding supports the hypothesis that early-onset AGA alone could be an independent risk factor for CVD and metabolic syndrome.


HISTORY
A 9-year-old girl suffered from an enlarging tumor in the lamina of the axis. After resection of the aneurysmatic bone cyst via laminectomy of C2 an anterior plate-fusion of C2/3 was done. Instead of a correctly placed ventral cervical plate, an adjacent instability of the level C3/4 with kyphosis and subluxation of the facet joints was seen at follow-up.

COURSE OF TREATMENT
After reposition over a hypomochlion retention was achieved with a halo body-jacket. Two weeks later the level C3/4 was stabilized by posterior instrumentation. After almost two years the patient has no complaints and the radiological controls show correctly placed instrumentation and increasing bony fusion at the levels C2/3 and C3/4.

CONCLUSION
Especially in children and adolescents laminectomy of a cervical vertebra often leads to kyphotic deformities. When using a posterior approach for surgery of intraspinal lesions or in case of tumors of the dorsal elements of the spine, the laminae and posterior structures should be preserved or, respectively, reconstructed for restoration of traction and tension mechanisms. This is of essential relevance for biomechanical stability and maintenance of the sagittal profile of the spine.


As a contribution to accurate estimation of arthropod alpha and beta diversities in tropical forests, we present results of some of the largest moth samples ever collected in the Malaysian region. To estimate alpha diversity, light traps were run at three geographically distinct locations. We generated individual‐based and coverage‐based rarefaction curves to estimate sampling sufficiency and alpha diversity of the locations. Despite a large number of moths collected (67 282 individuals, from three locations), none of the rarefaction curves reached asymptote. The species accumulation curves based on the Chao1 richness estimator at each location suggested that, even when sampling yielded over 30 000 individuals, Chao1 could not reliably estimate the observed number of species. In one of the three locations, moths were collected systematically by light traps in 1979–1980 and 2000–2001. Despite over 160 trapping nights and 16 500 individuals collected in total, the estimated total number of species (2262) was well below the general collection conducted at the same location over a 35‐year period [3921 species (1975–2013)]. Beta diversity was investigated using the samples collected at one location on two occasions over a 20‐year period. The faunal composition has changed over the 20‐year period, possibly as a result of extensive land‐use change around the study location. We estimated the minimum sampling effort required to detect such changes by calculating type II errors. Unlike alpha diversity estimation, we found that only four replicate samples, each with only two trapping nights, would be sufficient to reliably detect changes in assemblage composition.