Abstract The basic motivation of the theory of textures is to find a convenient point-set based setting for fuzzy sets. Recent works on textures show that they also provide a useful model for rough set theory. In this paper, we show that i-c spaces (interior-closure texture spaces) can be regarded as a textural rough set systems on a single universe. Then we consider the approaches containing direlations and dicovers for textural rough sets and we give some basic results related to direlations and dicovers. Considering the discrete textures we discuss on these results for rough sets based on relations and coverings. Finally, we prove that the category of topological spaces and continuous functions is isomorphic to the category of (covering) approximation spaces and continuous functions.


Resistin plays an important role in the body's metabolic system and its devastation is associated with obesity. Thyroid hormones also play a role in regulating the body's overall metabolism. So in this experimental study, we tried to investigate the relationship between the resistin gene expression and thyroid hormones in Wistar rat. For experiments, 24 Wistar rats, were used to develop obesity (obese group, n=8) or hypothyroidism (hypothyroid group, n=8); also 8 rats were used as control. To cause obesity in obese rats, they were kept for 60 d and fed with a high fat diet. Propylthiouracil was used to induce hypothyroidism. Resistin messenger ribonucleic acid expression was evaluated by real time polymerase chain reaction in all rats. Data were compared between the groups of study by statistical package for the social sciences. The results showed that the obese group had a significantly higher weight than the two hypothyroid and control groups (p<0.05). However, the hypothyroid group, despite having a higher average weight than the control group, did not have a statistically significant difference in weight with the control group (p=0.067). Examination of triiodothyronine and thyroxine hormones also showed that the hypothyroid group had significantly lower triiodothyronine and thyroxine than both control and obese groups (p<0.05). However, the two groups of obesity and control did not differ in terms of the level of these hormones (p>0.05). The results of the study of the relative expression of resistin gene in the three study groups did not show a significant difference (p>0.05). However, the control group had less expression than the two obese and hypothyroid groups. Separating animals to 2 groups of high resistin and low resistin expression revealed higher triiodothyronine and thyroxine in a group of animals expressing low resistin (p<0.05). There were so many controversies between studies and this disagreement could be because of serum resistin. The short half-life of resistin cannot be considered for the study of resistin and as well as the human studies should also assess its expression.


Background Many have reported the difficulty of defining 'quality' with several concepts emerging to characterise quality end of life care. People with dementia have been described as the 'disadvantaged dying' with poor end of life care. Towards the end of life people with dementia cannot report on the care they receive. It is therefore important to talk to carers; however, few have explored the views about end of life care from the carers' perspective. Aim To explore the features of 'good' and 'bad' quality end of life care for people with dementia from the perspective of family carers. Method 1) A systematic review of qualitative studies which explored family carers' views of quality end of life care for people with dementia. 2) A qualitative study with 46 in-depth interviews with carers analysed using thematic analysis methods. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 1) family carers of someone who had recently received a diagnosis of dementia, 2) family carers currently caring for someone with dementia, and 3) bereaved family carers. Results Many elements to 'good' care were identified including: tailoring care, attention to the individual, respect and dignity. Participants perceived some basic principles such as compassion were lacking, particularly from nurses. The finer details of care such as clothing and appearance were important manifestations of social identity and personhood. Care for the carer was also important, with carers often being left to act as a care manager and navigate the health and social care systems. Conclusion At end of life not everyone with dementia will require input from specialist palliative care services; there are many basic principles to good quality end of life care. This study suggests that end of life care for someone with dementia may not be that different to dementia care in general.


The performance is considered of unbuffered packet-switching nonrectangular multistage interconnection networks. Performance analysis is based on a simplified model for resolution of packet contention. An approximate closed-form analytical expression for the probability of packet acceptance is derived. Blocking characteristics of nonrectangular networks are analyzed and it is shown that for large nonrectangular networks, the probability of packet acceptance does not degrade with growth of network size. >


Background: Wellness Wednesday is a grant program the University of Akron School of Nutrition and Dietetics participates in during the school year. The Wellness Wednesday program focuses on older adult education within the AMHA housing community. Each month, students from the University of Akron rotate through three locations teaching a lesson to residents within each facility. Departments involved include psychology, exercise science and nutrition and dietetics. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to define goals and objectives for nutrition education for the Wellness Wednesday grant program, determine the residents needs for nutrition education and determine food accessibility of the residents. Methodology: 40 residents were assessed using a health risk assessment questionnaire during a Wellness Wednesday event. The nutrition component included: height, weight and dietary intake using a food frequency questionnaire. Residents were asked about their yearly income, and ability to go to the grocery store to buy foods. Health risk was determined by the presence of nutrition related medical conditions. Findings: All participants reported a chronic health condition that has the potential to affect nutrition status. Greater than 50% of residents reported having an income less than 10,000 dollars per year. Based on findings, the future goals of nutrition education are to help residents understand basic nutrition concepts, nutrition implications of their chronic health problems, and help residents gain access to healthy foods.


The paper examines the adoption of the Semantic Web (SW) technologies and Linked Data (LD) principles to manage a knowledge base about opera. The Corago repository collects historical data and documentation about opera works, performances and librettos from the 16th to the 20th century. We experimented the use of semantic technologies to manage the repository's knowledge catalogued following the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) relational model. Cultural Heritage Knowledge Bases (CHKB) as Corago could leverage SW and LD to overcome proprietary models and to introduce new information to better satisfy user's requirements. Two well-established reference ontologies as CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC CRM) and FRBR Object Oriented (FRBRoo) are adopted to transpose contents form the legacy conceptual model to RDF. Through the process, we observed that formal semantics allow, not only to adequately represent the opera domain, but also enable to define the way information is being presented to users. This led to the definition of "reception pathways" which become themselves part of the knowledge about opera within the KB. This novel semantic approach is introduced with the Corago Semantic Model (Corago SM), a domain ontology dedicated to functional representation of opera's historical data. Advancements have been tested with an experimental system and assessed through a questionnaire submitted to a panel of users.


Rationale: Obtaining venous access in a patient with extensive postburn scar contractures is a challenge. Patient concerns: A 39-year-old woman suffered a burn 2 years previously with a total body surface area burn of 93%, and a burn index of 85. Reconstructive surgery was previously performed 39 times. Split-thickness skin grafting to the neck was planned. She had no accessible peripheral veins. Diagnosis: Difficult venous access due to excessive burn scar contractures. Interventions: Central venous catheterization was considered impossible even with ultrasound guidance. We placed a midline catheter for intraoperative venous access in a patient with extensive burn scar contractures. The midline catheter is a peripheral venous catheter placed in an arm vein. Outcomes: We successfully placed a midline catheter in the right brachial vein. This catheter was used for 24 days without difficulty. Lessons: The midline catheter is a viable choice in patients with difficult vascular access due to extensive postburn scar contractures.


BACKGROUND
To determine the epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics of Whipple s disease in Spain.

PATIENTS AND METHOD
Cases of Whipple s disease reported in the Spanish literature between 1947 and 2001 which meet histological or PCR criteria are reviewed.

RESULTS
91 cases were included, 87.5% of which were male. The maximum incidence was between 40 and 60 years of age (68%). There was no family clustering or susceptibility by profession or surroundings. The most common symptoms and signs were: weight loss (80%), diarrhoea (63%), adenopathies (35%), skin problems (32%), abdominal pain (27%), fever (23%), joint problems (20%) and neurological problems (16%). Arthralgias, diarrhoea and fever were noted prior to diagnosis in 58, 18 and 13% of patients, respectively. Diagnosis was histological in all cases except two, which were diagnosed by PCR. Intestinal biopsy was positive in 94%. Adenopathic biopsies (mesenteric or peripheral) were suggestive in 13% of cases, and treatment was effective in 89%. There were nine relapses, four of which were neurological, although all occurred before the introduction of cotrimoxazole.

CONCLUSIONS
Whipple s disease is not uncommon, although it requires a high degree of suspicion to be diagnosed in the absence of digestive symptoms. The most common and most sensitive diagnostic method is duodenal biopsy. PCR is beginning to be introduced to confirm the diagnosis and as a therapeutic control. Initial antibiotic treatment with drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier, such as cotrimoxazole and ceftriaxone, is key to achieving a cure and avoiding relapses.


The question he addresses here is, What are the emotional bonds that hold collective entities, such as an army and a church, together? It is a fruitful question, and Freud offers some interesting answers. But Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego stands chiefly as an invitation to further psychoanalytic exploration.


Abstract. The Budyko hypothesis has been widely used to describe precipitation partitioning at the catchment scale. Many empirical and analytical formulas have been proposed to describe the Budyko hypothesis. Based on dimensional analysis and mathematic reasoning, previous studies gave an analytical derivation, i.e., the Mezentsev-Choudhury-Yang (MCY) equation. However, few hydrological processes were involved in the derivation. Therefore, this study firstly defines a catchment network to describe water vapor transformation and transportation using the Lagrangian particle tracking method; and then proposes the generalized flux of water vapor, which can be expressed as the ratio of potential difference with resistance. Furthermore, this study obtains a new constraint for the mean annual water-energy balance, 1 f(E)  =  1 f(E0)  +  1 f(P) with E, E0 and P being evaporation, potential evaporation and precipitation, respectively, and f( ) being a function of generalized flux, based on an analogy of the Ohms-type approach and the homogeneity assumption, i.e., the generalized flux has the same form for both water vapor transportation and chase transformation, and in other words, precipitation and potential evaporation have an equalized effect on evaporation. According to this constraint, the MCY equation can be obtained when the generalized flux f( ) is a power function. In addition, this study suggests a more general expression E  =  P(b+kE0) [pn+(b+kE0n]1/n under conditions without the homogeneity constraint, where E, E0 and P are evaporation, potential evaporation and precipitation, respectively, and n, k and b are constants (MCY equation when b = 0 and k = 1).


ABSTRACT
CYP2S1 is an orphan Cytochrome P450 whose expression is elevated in numerous epithelial derived cancers; however, little is known about CYP2S1 inhibitors. Our results indicate that liarozole acts as an effective inhibitor of CYP2S1, and decreases the turnover of the prodrug AQ4N to its active metabolites AQ4M and AQ4. Our studies also found that the active drug AQ4 is found only in the perinuclear location, whereas the prodrug AQ4N is located in the cytoplasm. In addition, we showed that AQ4N is non-geno/cytotoxic whereas the bioreduced metabolite AQ4 is both genotoxic and cytotoxic. Finally, we observed that CYP2S1 metabolizes AQ4N under anoxic conditions and that increasing the CYP2S1 concentration leads to more AQ4N turnover. The important enzymatic role of CYPS21 with regard to the metabolism of the anticancer prodrug AQ4N into Liarozole was confirmed.


The present study investigated the effect of the keyword method of vocabulary teaching on the learning and longterm retention of vocabulary in a normal EFL classroom context. Fifty elementary EFL students were selected and assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received vocabulary instruction using mnemonic keyword method and the control group received conventional memorization-based instruction of the same vocabulary items. Each group took two post-tests, one test immediately after instruction and one test two weeks later. Paired and independent samples t-tests were run on the data and the results indicated that participants in the keyword group outperformed the memorization group significantly in both their learning and retention of the vocabulary items. The results of the study support the effectiveness of the establishment of mental links and images, through the use of mnemonic strategies, for the vocabulary learning and retention of elementary level EFL learners.


ABSTRACT With the growing share of fluctuating renewable energy sources in our energy systems, providing sufficient flexibility on the demand side is becoming more and more important – also in the context of the emergence of Smart Grids. However, it will be difficult to achieve this by concentrating on electricity-only solutions. So, the next step is to focus on electricity-thermal solutions (e.g. heat pumps, electrical heating and cooling) and thermal system components. Here district heating and the building stock are important contributors due to their large share of energy demand. This literature review focuses on energy flexibility in context of heat demand in buildings and district heating systems. First, the theory regarding definitions of energy flexibility found in the literature, its quantification methods and indicators is discussed. Due to a lack of literature on the heating side, most of the theory in this review is based on electrical solutions. Then, the connection between electrical and thermal energy systems is described and the importance of integrated systems approach is explained. A schematic of flexibility sources in the built environment is proposed and technological solutions found in literature on buildings and district heating are presented based on the proposed framework.


The anthozoan sea anemone Nematostella vectensis belongs to the phylum of cnidarians which also includes jellyfish and corals. Nematostella are native to United States East Coast marsh lands, where they constantly adapt to changes in salinity, temperature, oxygen concentration and pH. Its natural ability to continually acclimate to changing environments coupled with its genetic tractability render Nematostella a powerful model organism in which to study the effects of common pollutants on the natural development of these animals. Potassium nitrate, commonly used in fertilizers, and Phthalates, a component of plastics are frequent environmental stressors found in coastal and marsh waters. Here we present data showing how early exposure to these pollutants lead to dramatic defects in development of the embryos and eventual mortality possibly due to defects in feeding ability. Additionally, we examined the microbiome of the animals and identified shifts in the microbial community that correlated with the type of water that was used to grow the animals, and with their exposure to pollutants.


Abstract:Optima is a software package for modeling HIV epidemics and interventions that we developed to address practical policy and program problems encountered by funders, governments, health planners, and program implementers. Optima's key feature is its ability to perform resource optimization to meet strategic HIV objectives, including HIV-related financial commitment projections and health economic assessments. Specifically, Optima allows users to choose a set of objectives (such as minimizing new infections, minimizing HIV-related deaths, and/or minimizing long-term financial commitments) and then determine the optimal resource allocation (and thus program coverage levels) for meeting those objectives. These optimizations are based on the following: calibrations to epidemiological data; assumptions about the costs of program implementation and the corresponding coverage levels; and the effects of these programs on clinical, behavioral, and other epidemiological outcomes. Optima is flexible for which population groups (specified by behavioral, epidemiological, and/or geographical factors) and which HIV programs are modeled, the amount of input data used, and the types of outputs generated. Here, we introduce this model and compare it with existing HIV models that have been used previously to inform decisions about HIV program funding and coverage targets. Optima has already been used in more than 20 countries, and there is increasing demand from stakeholders to have a tool that can perform evidence-based HIV epidemic analyses, revise and prioritize national strategies based on available resources, set program coverage targets, amend subnational program implementation plans, and inform the investment strategies of governments and their funding partners.


In parallel microplasma etching system, microplasmas are generated in the hollow pyramidal tips array and extracted through the nano-apertures at the tips for maskless locally etching. In this paper, SiO2 hollow pyramidal tips array and nano-apertures of 50~200nm diameters at the tips are successfully fabricated using a low temperature nonuniform thermal oxidation and selective wet etching on a silicon wafer with high efficiency and low cost. Key issues such as the factors influencing the tip shape and quality, nonuniform oxidation phenomenon, releasing of hollow tips array with high width-thickness ratio (hollow pyramidal tip base width/sidewall thickness) and nano-aperture etching are presented and analyzed in detail. The results of this paper may lay a good foundation for ongoing experiments of parallel microplasma maskless etching.


As biologic organization became increasingly complex during the evolutionary process, evidently survival value became attached to the development of hormonally mediated regulatory mechanisms. It would not be surprising to find that as mechanisms of resistance to infection also became more complex, these also came under hormonal influence to some degree. Thus, the study of the influence of hormones on mechanisms of resistance to infection may offer insights not only into immune processes but perhaps also into the means by which hormones regulate physiologic processes. At present no completely satisfactory mechanistic description of the action of any hormone exists. The many attempts to demonstrate specific enzymatic changes in tissues in consequence of alteration in hormonal activity have provided ample evidence that many enzymatic activities are altered after the administration of various hormones to various hosts. However, direct and specific enzymatic responses to the action of hormones have been demonstrated in but one or two instances, and the general applicability of even these is far from clear. For example, the demonstration by Villee (30) of the stimulation by estrogen of DPN-dependent uterine transhydrogenase is one of the rare examples of a hormonesensitive metabolic system operating in vitro. However, many potent estrogens do not participate in this hydrogen transfer system in a very active way and, at present, there is no way that the transhydrogenase reaction can explain, for example, the effect of estrogens on uterine growth, pituitary function, secondary sex characteristics, or thyroid binding protein of the blood. Ignorance of the mode of action of hormones both as to their general physiological effects as well as in relation to mechanisms of resistance to infection permits empirical statements only. It would not serve the purpose of the present


Recently, Boniface and Antoun reported endovascular EEG during intra-arterial amobarbital tests using an endovascular guide wire as the diVerent electrode for bipolar recordings against an extracranial surface electrode (T3) or an average reference. They concluded that their technique was feasible to identify intracranial epileptiform discharges and was less invasive than other intracranial EEG methods with the advantage that it was possible to move the guide wire between different intracranial sides. They also mentioned "the potential to achieve more in a bipolar format when the electrical characteristics of the electrode are optimised". Our experience with this technique prompted us to use a multilead catheter developed for cardiological examinations (PathfinderTM, Cardima, 47201 Lakeview Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94538, USA) with eight pairs of electrodes (electrode length 0.5 mm, interelectrode spacing 2 mm; electrode pair spacing 6 mm).This allows bipolar recording simultaneously from each electrode to an extracranial surface electrode (FZ) (figure). Our endovascular EEG shows pulse artefacts in some leads, which are a common problem of this technique, but they were less pronounced than other recordings. Using the tip of the guide wire as the diVerent electrode, as done by previous groups, has the disadvantage that recordings are achieved from a single area at one time only and that the guide wire has to be moved to record from other parts of the temporal lobe. The catheter we used, however, provides simultaneous recordings from 16 different points over a length of 72 mm of the temporal lobe. Such a technique may be of interest during pharmacological activation of epileptogenic foci with short acting barbiturates, and especially during the intracarotid amobarbital test, as this test is routinely performed during presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy and is known to activate the epileptic focus in more than half of the patients. The clinical use of this technique awaits further evaluation in an appropriate number of patients.


In order to achieve the greatest clinical benefit from the use of fluoride, we must understand its mechanism of action, so that fluoride can be given at the right time, by the best route, at the optimum dosage and in the most suitable form. The first article in this two-part series reviewed the scientific rationale behind the use of fluoride. Part 2 now illustrates fluoride therapy in practical terms, by examining nine clinical cases.


The 1976 Viking Labeled Release (LR) experiment was positive for extant microbial life on the surface of Mars. Experiments on both Viking landers, 4000 miles apart, yielded similar, repeatable, positive responses. While the authors eventually concluded that the experiment detected martian life, this was and remains a highly controversial conclusion. Many believe that the martian environment is inimical to life and the LR responses were nonbiological, attributed to an as-yet-unidentified oxidant (or oxidants) in the martian soil. Unfortunately, no further metabolic experiments have been conducted on Mars. Instead, follow-on missions have sought to define the martian environment, mostly searching for signs of water. These missions have collected considerable data regarding Mars as a habitat, both past and present. The purpose of this article is to consider recent findings about martian water, methane, and organics that impact the case for extant life on Mars. Further, the biological explanation of the LR and recent nonbiological hypotheses are evaluated. It is concluded that extant life is a strong possibility, that abiotic interpretations of the LR data are not conclusive, and that, even setting our conclusion aside, biology should still be considered as an explanation for the LR experiment. Because of possible contamination of Mars by terrestrial microbes after Viking, we note that the LR data are the only data we will ever have on biologically pristine martian samples. Key Words: Extant life on Mars-Viking Labeled Release experiment-Astrobiology-Extraterrestrial life-Mars. Astrobiology 16, 798-810.


In developing their Civil Recourse theory of tort law, John Goldberg and Benjamin Zipursky seek to separate Civil Recourse from Corrective Justice by showing that tort law does not work in the ways in which corrective justice theory says that it must. The strategy of separation, in turn, rests on a separation between wrongs and remedies, a separation between ideas of risk and ideas of ordinariness, a separation between abstract characterizations of rights and contingent social norms, and, finally, a separation between a wrong done against the plaintiff and her power to exact a remedy. I argue that none of these separations can be made.


In the United States, there are two broad indexes of consumer prices: the consumer price index, or CPI, and the chain price index for personal consumption expenditures, or PCEPI. Because the indexes are similar in many respects, the inflation rates measured with them often move in parallel. There are, however, some important differences, which, at times, can lead to large gaps between CPI and PCEPI inflation rates. In 1998, for example, the CPI rose 1.5 percent, while the PCEPI increased just 0.7 percent. The discrepancy was even larger excluding food and energy prices: the core CPI grew 2.4 percent in 1998, while the core PCEPI rose just 1.2 percent.> Such gaps between CPI and PCEPI inflation rates raise a simple question: Is one index better than the other? From a monetary policy perspective, an index could be superior in two respects. First, one of the price indexes might be a more accurate measure of inflation today and in the very recent past. To gauge progress toward price stability over the past year, for example, a policymaker would like to know if either the CPI or PCEPI more accurately measures consumer price inflation today. Second, one of the indexes could be a superior measure of historical inflation rates. A policymaker would probably want to use the better historical indicator for gauging long-term price trends and developing inflation forecasting models.> Because some observers have recently suggested the PCEPI may be a better price index, Clark examines whether the PCEPI is truly superior to the CPI. He reviews the differences in the construction of the indexes and examines the advantages and disadvantages of the CPI and PCEPI. He concludes that, while some observers might weigh the many pros and cons of the indexes differently, with recent improvements the CPI is the better price index.


In this work the methodology of determining mechanical and magnetomechanical properties (mainly magnetostriction) of original composite material on epoxy resin matrix and powdered Giant Magnetostrictive Material (Terfenol-D) has been presented. Researches were carried out in order to differentiate properties of the GMM composite with two different volume fraction of Terfenol-D powder (35% and 45%) in comparison with bulk Terfenol-D. Results show that composites magnetostriction highly depends on volume fraction of Terfenol-D powder, and it is few times lower than in monolithic material. Moreover a possible ways of application were indicated.


This paper describes the concept of Service Level Management (SLM), reviews the scant literature and discusses the negotiation, implementation and monitoring of outsourcing agreements. The SLM concept originated in the context of computer services distributed to users through networks (e.g. banking though automatic telling machines). In this and similar situations the SLM methodology was used to help management balance the quality (exemplified "up time and response times) and the cost of the service. We argue that the SLM methodology should be applied outside the Information Technology discipline and extended in scope to the management of all phases of any outsourcing or insourcing project. Outsourcing is becoming a routine business technique in which responsibility for an activity formerly performed in-house is transferred to an outside supplier. It is appropriate to recognize insourcing, in which an organisational unit formally contracts to supply goods or services to another unit of the organization. Australian businesses have now had appreciable experience of outsourcing and are considering issues that were neglected when the first outsourcing agreements were being negotiated. An emerging view is that both parties should co-operate in improving the client's business processes and share the benefits. Executives are considering what to do when an outsourcing project terminates: under what conditions should contracts be renewed, how should they be modified and how can clients be sure that the prices charged are reasonable?


The effect of propolis on the growth of Lactobacillus casei RSKK 591, Streptococcus mutans NCTC 10449 and Streptococcus sobrinus DSN sobrinus 20742 was investigated in vitro. Bursa propolis had the most inhibitory effect on S. sobrinus. The effect of Bursa propolis on rats inoculated with S. sobrinus was also studied. In rats inoculated with the bacteria and given propolis, the severity of sulcal enamel and superficial dentine lesions was significantly less than that in the control group, but colony forming unit numbers and the caries scores in other levels were not different. Weight gains, and the food and water consumption of the rats were nearly the same, apart from a decrease in weight gain in the control group in the first week, and a decrease in water intake in the propolis group after the second week. The results of this study suggest that propolis is effective in controlling dental caries in the rat model.


A semantic parser based on the hidden vector state (HVS) model has been proposed for extracting protein-protein interactions. The HVS model is an extension of the basic discrete hidden Markov model, in which context is encoded as a stack-oriented state vector and state transitions are factored into a stack shift operation followed by the push of a new preterminal category label. In this paper, we investigate three different models, log-linear regression (LLR), neural networks (NNs) and support vector machines (SVMs), to rerank parses generated by the HVS model for protein-protein interactions extraction. Features used for reranking are manually defined which include the parse information, the structure information, and the complexity information. The experimental results show that reranking can indeed improve the performance of protein-protein interactions extraction, and reranking based on SVM gives more stable performance than LLR and NN.


In the development of an individual's education, skills developed at one stage are prerequisites for success at the next stage. Within the domain of mathematics there are many such sequential relationships in skill development and, more broadly, mathematical skills are often prerequisites for success in subsequent content‐area courses. Unfortunately, many content‐area teachers simply assume a level of math skills and then bemoan the failure of their students, or teach to the lowest common denominator, or refer apparently weak students to alternative courses. In this piece we offer another model for addressing prerequisite mathematics needs. It is one in which a small set of prerequisite skills for the content course (in our case, introductory economics) are identified, this set is assessed, and students at the margin are tuned up for success. We believe this model is a more efficient and effective way of dealing with mathematical skill needs in content area courses. Our model is described and the results ...


To evaluate the hemodynamic "cost" of inflammation and effects on the hyperemia of drugs used in the treatment of shock, inflammatory lesions were created in anesthetized dogs by the infection of 10% calcium chloride into one thigh. Compared to the normal limb four days later, iliac arterial blood flow to the inflamed limb was 123% greater, iliac arteriovenous oxygen difference 47% less, and oxygen consumption 23% greater. With norepinephrine levarterenol 0.56μg/kg/min, the blood flow fell and vascular resistance and arteriovenous oxygen difference rose in the inflamed limb but not in the normal limb. Effects of norepinephrine were inhibited by phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride and phentolamine hydrochloride. Effects of methylprednisolone (10 mg/kg) were minimal. The findings indicate that inflammation increases hemodynamic requirements in excess of metabolic requirements. The active hyperemia is reduced by α-adrenergic stimulation but not by steroids.


The arrival of the internet age forces academic journals to adjust their output margins: journal length, article length, and number of published articles. Using data from 41 major economics journals spanning 21 years (1994-2014), we find that both journals and articles are getting longer, but the page share of an individual article within its journal is shrinking. This pattern is consistent with a monopolistic competition model that features within-firm (journal) specialization. As predicted by the model, the share of an individual article shrinks less in general-interest journals and better ranked journals, where expertise is less substitutable across topics. In this discipline that emphasizes the benefits of specialization, the expertise underpinning its publications is indeed divided in a specialized fashion.


This paper is positioned at the intersection of two literatures: partisan polarization and deliberative democracy. It analyzes results from a national field experiment in which more than 500 registered voters were brought together from around the country to deliberate in depth over a long weekend on five major issues facing the country. A pre–post control group was also asked the same questions. The deliberators showed large, depolarizing changes in their policy attitudes and large decreases in affective polarization. The paper develops the rationale for hypotheses explaining these decreases and contrasts them with a literature that would have expected the opposite. The paper briefly concludes with a discussion of how elements of this "antidote" can be scaled.


The representation of gender and emotionality in the major public media has long
been the subject of much discussion and research. This thesis sets out to assess the
impact on this field of representations of docusoaps, a television programme form,
which by crossing generic boundaries has the potential to unpick the ties binding the
chain of dichotomies that organise everyday mental maps around the binary
oppositions between male/female, reason/emotion, rational/irrational, and public
sphere/private sphere.
This question is explored in four main ways; historical and theoretical research on
changing concepts of gender and emotionality; contextual research on the origins and
development of docusoaps as a genre; detailed textual analyses of the organisation of
meaning in three programmes chosen to represent the major sub genres of
contemporary docusoaps; and explorations of audience understandings and responses
to these programmes using focus group methodology.


This paper proposes a procedure of predicting channel characteristics based on a well-known machine learning (ML) algorithm and convolutional neural network (CNN), for three-dimensional (3D) millimetre wave (mmWave) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) indoor channels. The channel parameters, such as amplitude, delay, azimuth angle of departure (AAoD), elevation angle of departure (EAoD), azimuth angle of arrival (AAoA), and elevation angle of arrival (EAoA), are generated by a ray tracing software. After the data preprocessing, we can obtain the channel statistical characteristics (including expectations and spreads of the above-mentioned parameters) to train the CNN. The channel statistical characteristics of any subchannels in a specified indoor scenario can be predicted when the location information of the transmitter (Tx) antenna and receiver (Rx) antenna is input into the CNN trained by limited data. The predicted channel statistical characteristics can well fit the real channel statistical characteristics. The probability density functions (PDFs) of error square and root mean square errors (RMSEs) of channel statistical characteristics are also analyzed.


The eighteenth century was a transition period between Britain's knowledge of China as mere projection of Chinoiserie values and the development of British sinological studies. It was a historical moment for the exploration and establishment of British attitudes towards China, as well as for Britain's formation of its own identity in a globalizing world order. Reflections of China in eighteenth-century English literature were at once about contemplation of a foreign entity and about ways of holding up a critical mirror to nature, for speculating about culture and politics closer to home. This study aims to make a distinctive contribution to research on Sino-British encounters in the eighteenth century, in its detailed critical and literary analysis of individual texts pertaining to China in this period. It shows the significance of reading these texts not simply as documents of a historical kind, but as texts that are worthy of literary and artistic attention on the basis of their rich variety in genre, style, and themes. Chapter One of this study traces both the social-historical development of tea and representations of tea in literature, since the leaf was first introduced to Britain in the late seventeenth century. Chapter Two looks at Arthur Murphy's adaptation of an original Chinese opera, The Orphan of China (1759), and investigates both the play's manipulation of tragic conventions and the way the original Chinese plot is adapted to carry allusions to events happening in eighteenth-century Britain. Chapter Three focuses on Oliver Goldsmith's The Citizen of the World (1760-62), a collection of pseudo-letters written by a fictional Chinese visitor in England to his friend in China, and examines the way Goldsmith adopts reverse ethnography in his depiction of Sino-British encounters. Chapter Four studies Thomas Percy's Hau Kiou Choaan (1761), a text that is based on an original Chinese novel, and analyses Percy's heavy interventions in the text as a reflection of his particular approach to the Chinese theme. Through exploring reflections of China in eighteenth-century English literature, this study invites a rethinking of ideas of foreignness and selfhood. The eighteenth-century authors discussed in this study are among the bold thinkers who – in their various ways – have thought to build bridges between the East and the West. Chinese and British cultures are not antithetical entities; they exist in relation to one another and create possibilities in the continuing appreciation of diversity amidst a drive to universality.


The change in dentistry from need based dentistry to elective dentistry has made a significant impact on the profession and the public perception of dentists.It is estimated that up to one half of the dentistry accomplished at this time is elective. Much of this treatment is what could be considered to be esthetic dentistry including smile designing, bonding, veneers, tooth colored inlays and onlays, non metallic crowns and fixed prosthesis, orthodontics and surgical procedures, and many other procedures. Dentists and their staff must be proactive in their patient educational activities to stimulate patients to desire these elective procedures.If dentists ask for patients to ask for the procedures, practice activity can be influenced negatively. This book will assist interested professionals in becoming updated in the broad scope of esthetic dentistry and getting closer to achieve miracles. As well said by "Albert Einstein" in order to succeed " You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else."


Nanometric control of optical quality is relevant in many different fields, ranging from Ophthalmology to Lithography, where ordinary setups suffer from optical aberrations. Most common aberrations feature amplitudes in the nanometer range and are often mapped within apertures on the order of micrometers to centimeters. Compensation of these distortions demand devices with structural resolution that is nanometric in the vertical direction (Y-nano) and micrometric on the horizontal plane (X-micro). This paper focuses on our recent research progress on wavefront detection and correction, involving sensors, actuators and static components fabricated in the scope of standard Silicon technologies. It also introduces concepts for the homogeneous and smooth texturization of solar cells.


This paper investigates flight delay propagation in air transportation networks (ATNs) by considering both network structures and airport operation performance. An airport susceptible-infected-recovered (ASIR) model is established based on the mechanism of epidemic spreading, where the focus is on the impact of the infection rate in order to properly map and understand the probability of delay propagation. Different network configurations are abstracted under complex network theory, in which the ASIR model can be simulated upon. The simulation results show that the original airport traffic, airport connection and the level of airport turnaround services play important roles in influencing delay propagation in different airports. In addition, changes of network structure such as the emerging of secondary hubs can also influence the delay propagation.


Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare chronic and ultimately fatal disease resulting in an aberrant scarring and thickening of lung tissue. Molecular pathogenetic mechanisms of IPF are still unknown and till now no effective therapy is known to really improve disease's outcome. A deeper understanding of IPF biology is now mandatory to clarify IPF origin in order to identify actionable targets. Here we discuss and analyze the data presented by a recent paper published by De Pianto et al. on the prestigious respiratory journal Thorax. The work is focused on how gene expression analysis can be applied to stratify IPF cases based on their risk of disease progression. Moreover they tried to match genetic and phenotypic profiles in order to predict therapeutic response and patients' prognosis.


In order to correctly analyze the effect of water vapor cooling in metal cutting process, the turning process of AISI 1045 in the water vapor cooling condition is simulated using a commercial finite element software Deform-2D, including geometric modeling, meshing, boundary condition setting and material modeling, etc. The cutting temperature in different cooling conditions are then analyzed and discussed. The experimental validation showed a good agreement with simulation results. Thus, FEM simulation of cutting process can be considered as a promising and reliable tool for machining development within the near future.


Abstract: Melatonin is widely abundant in many eukaryotic taxa, including vari‐ous animal phyla, angiosperms, and unicells. In the bioluminescent dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra, melatonin is produced in concentrations sometimes exceed‐ing those found in the pineal gland, exhibits a circadian rhythm with a pro‐nounced nocturnal maximum, and mimics the short‐day response of asexual encystment. Even more efficient as a cyst inducer is 5‐methoxytryptamine (5MT), which is also periodically formed in Gonyaulax. In this unicell, the photoperiodic signal‐transduction pathway presumably involves melatonin formation, its deace‐tylation to 5MT, 5MT‐dependent transfer of protons from an acidic vacuole, and cytoplasmic acidification. According to this concept, we observe that cyst forma‐tion can be induced by various monoamine oxidase inhibitors and protonophores, that 5MT dramatically stimulates H+‐dependent bioluminescence and leads to a decrease of cytoplasmic pH, as shown by measurements of dicyanohydroquinone fluorescence. Cellular components from Gonyaulax catalyze the photooxidation of melatonin. Its property of being easily destroyed by light in the presence of cel‐lular catalysts may have been the reason that many organisms have developed mechanisms utilizing this indoleamine as a mediator of darkness. Photooxidative reactions of melatonin, as studied with crude Gonyaulax extracts and, more in de‐tail, with protoporphyrin IX as a catalyst, lead to the formation of N1 ‐acetyl‐N ‐formyl‐5‐methoxykynuramine (AFMK) as one of the main products. Photochemical mechanisms involve interactions with a photooxidant cation radi‐cal leading to the formation of a melatonyl cation radical, which subsequently combines with a superoxide anion. Photooxidation of melatonin represents one of several possibilities of a more general, biologically highly important property of this indoleamine to act as an extremely efficient radical scavenger, including its feature of terminating radical reaction chains by a final combination with the su‐peroxide anion. Trapping of free radicals may reflect the primary and evolutionar‐ily most ancient role of melatonin in living beings.


Na+-H+ exchange may proceed via an endogenous antiporter or by exposure to the Na+ ionophore monensin. We investigated the characteristics of Na+-H+ exchange induced by antiporter stimulation and by monensin in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells. We also examined the effects of intracellular pH (pHi) changes on iodide uptake and efflux. pHi was determined using 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein. The resting pHi was 7.33 +/- 0.02 units; this level correlated directly with extracellular pH. In acid-loaded cells, Km for external Na+ activation of the antiporter was 7.1 mM and maximum velocity was 0.3801 delta pH units/min. Dimethylamiloride was 42 times more potent than amiloride in inhibiting sodium-dependent recovery in acidified cells. Metabolic inhibition reduced the initial alkalinization rate. Monensin increased pHi, and this response was dependent on extracellular Na+ and HCO3- but not on antiporter function. Low-dose monensin (1 microM) and 1 mM NH4Cl enhanced 125I uptake. High-dose monensin (100 microM), but not NH4Cl, reduced iodide uptake. Neither NH4Cl nor monensin altered 125I efflux. Thus FRTL-5 cells possess an amiloride-sensitive Na+-H+ exchanger, which is not essential for maintaining basal pHi but is affected by ATP depletion. Monensin also alkalinizes these cells but independently of the antiporter. Iodide uptake, but not efflux, is affected by changes in intracellular Na+ and H+ levels.


This paper re-examines environmental regulation, under the assumption that pollution abatement technologies and services are provided by an imperfectly competitive environment industry. It is shown that each regulatory instrument (emission taxes and quotas; design standards; and voluntary agreements) has a specific impact on the price-elasticity of the polluters' demand for abatement services, hence on the market power of the eco-industry and the resulting cost of abatement. This implies that the optimal pollution tax will be higher than the marginal social cost of pollution, while a voluntary approach to pollution abatement may fail unless the eco-industry itself is willing to participate.


ABSTRACT Mental and physical health problems are common during early fatherhood. The current study aimed to assess a broad range of mental, physical and social outcomes for fathers of young children (aged 0–4 years) participating in a pilot evaluation of 'Working Out Dads' (WOD). These results were complemented by a nested qualitative study capturing the perceived outcomes for fathers. The sample consisted of 53 fathers who completed pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up measures. There were significant reductions in psychological distress, depression, anxiety and stress from pre- to post-intervention, which were maintained at 3-month follow-up. There were significant improvements in perceived vitality levels across all time points, and improvements in general physical health, social support and parenting self-efficacy from pre- to the 3-month follow-up. The nested qualitative results revealed that fathers and their partners perceived positive changes to paternal health, social support, parenting and the couple relationship. These findings contribute to the evidence-base for interventions targeting fathers' health in the early years of their children's lives. The current findings will be used to inform further development of WOD.


This paper uses wavelet analysis to investigate the relationship between the spot exchange rate and the interest rate differential for seven pairs of countries, with a small country, Sweden, included in each of the cases. The key empirical results show that there tends to be a negative relationship between the spot exchange rate (domestic-currency price of foreign currency) and the nominal interest rate differential (approximately the domestic interest rate minus the foreign interest rate) at the shortest time scales, while a positive relationship is shown at the longest time scales. This indicates that among models of exchange rate determination using the asset approach, the sticky-price models are supported in the short-run while in the long-run the flexible-price models appear to better explain the sign of the relationship.


Currently, there are 86 communities in the U.S. which employ waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities as a means of high quality solid waste disposal. The WTE process beneficially produces electricity while reducing the volume of landfill waste by up to 90 percent, thereby extending the remaining life of a community's landfill more than ten-fold. However, the traditional WTE process requires a significant volume of water. This interdependency is often referred to as the "water-energy nexus."An innovative approach was needed to optimize water conservation for a new 3,000-ton-per-day (TPD) mass burn WTE facility in Palm Beach County (PBREF2). With this in mind, a cascading water management system (CWMS) was developed that uses alternative water supply sources and a cascading hierarchy of water systems that maximize reuse to meet the new facility's water needs. The selection of an air-cooled condenser to be used for cooling purposes, instead of the wet cooling systems traditionally in place at these facilities will also significantly reduce the amount of water needed in the overall process.The WTE facility will be constructed adjacent to an existing 2,000-TPD refuse-derived fuel facility (PBREF1), allowing beneficial reuse of some of the cooling tower blowdown from the RDF facility as a source of supply water in the new facility. The reuse of this process wastewater will conserve clean water sources that otherwise would have to be used as a source of makeup to the new facility, as well as reduce the amount of wastewater disposed through deep-well injection from the RDF facility. Harvested rainwater and industrial supply well water will also be used as alternative sources of supply to the new facility.The innovative CWMS will maximize reuse and reduce the amount of makeup water needed to the system. As water conservation continues to be of high concern in all areas of the globe, this concept can be applied to other WTE and industrial facilities. This paper will provide an overview of the innovative CWMS that has been designed for the PBREF2 facility.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


For patients, the sickroom is a place where they receive medical treatment and also a living space where they spend most of time in a day. Therefore, good indoor air quality and comfort should be kept in sickroom. We propose to use the displacement ventilation as a means of obtaining high indoor air quality in sickrooms. The purpose of the study is to examine the validity of this system. This paper shows the experiment results and CFD analysis results to examine the effect of partition curtain in the displacement-ventilated room.


In this paper, we address the security of a two-way relay network in the presence of an eavesdropper, where each node is only equipped with single antenna. We propose two-phase distributed analog network coding, or distributed beamforming and power allocation to enhance the secrecy sum rate of the data exchange. In the first phase, the two terminals broadcast their information data simultaneously to all the relay nodes. In the second phase, three different security schemes are proposed: optimal beamforming, null-space beamforming, and artificial noise beamforming. In the first scheme, the objective is to achieve the maximum secrecy sum rate of the two terminals. Mathematically, the objective function is difficult to optimize. In the second scheme, we maximize the total information exchanged while we eliminate the information leakage completely, subject to the total transmission power constraint. We show that the problem has a unique and global optimum, which can be solved using bisection method. When the instantaneous channel state information of the eavesdropper is not available, we propose an artificial noise beamforming in the third scheme. We minimize the information transmission power so that the artificial noise power is maximized to eliminate information leakage, under the constraints of quality of service (QoS) required by terminals. It is a second-order convex cone programming (SOCP) problem, thus can be efficiently solved using interior point methods. Numerical results are provided and analyzed to show the properties and efficiency of the proposed designs.


An optical cell has been designed and fabricated using standard digital 1.6 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. It has been designed for applications to sensors where the image acquisition time of fast moving objects or documents is of primary importance. The cell contains a photodiode working in storage mode and a shielded MOS capacitor acting as analog frame buffer. A chip prototype containing 64 linear arrays of 64 cells whose size is 36/spl times/36 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ has been tested and measurements have proved the functionality down to microsecond-range of exposure times. By virtue of the proposed read-out technique, the sensor architecture provides simultaneous image acquisition of irregular moving objects allowing precise detection of position and motion.


This research aims to test the influence of facilities and promotions on the interest of visiting the public on Lagoon attraction of Depok, Bantul, Yogyakarta. The research was done on the Lagoon attraction Depok, Bantul, Yogyakarta. This research is a quantitative study. The population of this research is a visitor to a Depok lagoon, Yogyakarta. The sample was taken by 96 people and the sampling method used an accidental sampling. Data obtained by distributing questionnaires directly to visitors / tourists. Data is analyzed using descriptive analysis, instrument quality test (validity test and reliability), Classic assumption test (normality test, multicolinierity test, and heterostosity test), as well as hypothetical tests via linear regression multiple (t test, F test, R test and R2 test). The results of this study show that facilities do not affect the interest of visiting tourists with significant value of 0.617 > 0.05. While promotions have a significant effect on the interest of visiting tourists with significant value of 0.000 < 0.05. Simultaneous facilities and promotions have a significant impact on the interest of visiting the public at the lagoon attraction of Depok, Bantul, Yogyakarta with significant value of 0,000 < 0.05. The impact of facilities and promotions on the interest of visiting tourists by 15.1 % and the rest by 84.9 % is affected by other variables. Keyword : Facility, Promotion, Interest of visiting, Travelers, Tourist Attraction


Extreme weather conditions increase the frequency of regular maintenance on heritage buildings and cause erosion of traditional materials. Developments in bio-enhanced self-repair materials provide an opportunity to improve building performance and reduce the frequency of costly maintenance schedules. The microbial sequestration of carbon by bacteria, encapsulated and layered into several limewash coats, facilitates capturing atmospheric carbon and reduces carbon-generating maintenance regimes. The use of hydrogels, alginates and biofilm derived biopolymers as novel bacterial encapsulation and nutrient delivery vehicles is discussed and the opportunity to develop self-healing sacrificial limewash as a future research project. Microbial enhanced carbon-fixing limewash may also offer a broader application to improve the performance of sustainable materials such as hemp-lime bio-composites as a fast-forward projection of problems and solutions with these materials in the future.


This paper introduces a proof procedure that integrates Abductive Logic Programming (ALP) and Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) to automate the learning of first order Horn clause theories from examples and background knowledge. The work builds upon a recent approach called Hybrid Abductive Inductive Learning (HAIL) by showing how language bias can be practically and usefully incorporated into the learning process. A proof procedure for HAIL is proposed that utilises a set of user specified mode declarations to learn hypotheses that satisfy a given language bias. A semantics is presented that accurately characterises the intended hypothesis space and includes the hypotheses derivable by the proof procedure. An implementation is described that combines an extension of the Kakas-Mancarella ALP procedure within an ILP procedure that generalises the Progol system of Muggleton. The explicit integration of abduction and induction is shown to allow the derivation of multiple clause hypotheses in response to a single seed example and to enable the inference of missing type information in a way not previously possible.


Abstract. Mixing of the upper ocean affects the sea surface temperature by bringing deeper, colder water to the surface. Because even small changes in the surface temperature can have a large impact on weather and climate, accurately determining the rate of mixing is of central importance for forecasting. Although there are several mixing mechanisms, one that has until recently been overlooked is the effect of turbulence generated by non-breaking, wind-generated surface waves. Lately there has been a lot of interest in introducing this mechanism into ocean mixing models, and real gains have been made in terms of increased fidelity to observational data. However, our knowledge of the mechanism is still incomplete. We indicate areas where we believe the existing parameterisations need refinement and propose an alternative one. We use two of the parameterisations to demonstrate the effect on the mixed layer of wave-induced turbulence by applying them to a one-dimensional mixing model and a stable temperature profile. Our modelling experiment suggests a strong effect on sea surface temperature due to non-breaking wave-induced turbulent mixing.


In recent years, participatory design (PD) has increasingly occurred in the context of various public, private, governmental, and non-governmental institutions operating in the public realm. This context has led some to call for more direct attention to the ways institutions frame PD, particularly the practice and process of encouraging institutional change (i.e. institutioning). Building on this work, we introduce the idea of institutional constraints as particular interactions between PD practices and institutional frames. Using the concepts of thinging, infrastructuring, and commoning as analytical lenses on three empirical cases found within so-called smart city efforts, we identify, name, and describe three provisional institutional constraints---the sandbox, the administrative gap, and the ideological mismatch. These institutional constraints provide concrete articulations of PD's form within neoliberalization---a form marked by circumscribed, austere, opaque, and fraught interventions inextricable from processes of urbanization. As a first step for contemporary PD processes and research, we argue that the empirical description of institutional constraints is a means to assess the contemporary limitations of PD and a resource to create new strategies and tactics for doing PD in the contemporary public realm.


Increasing evidences suggest that propofol could have adverse effects on the developing brain by triggering apoptotic neurodegeneration, which is noted in rodents and non-human primates. Intralipid emulsion is a vehicle to carry propofol in propofol formulation. This emulsion may produce a significant lipid load and by itself has previously been found to affect NMDA receptor activity. The effect of intralipid itself on the developing brain has not been investigated; however, we designed an experiment to examine whether intralipid itself can cause apoptotic neurodegeneration in the fetus and cause learning and memory impairment in the offspring when administered to pregnant rats. With IACUC approval, 24 pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. Normal saline (control) or 20% intralipid emulsion (the vehicle of propofol) were infused to pregnant rats (gestational day 20) via a tail vein catheter for 1 h. The final volume for saline and intralipid emulsion was around 2.0 ml. Brain tissues of fetal rats were harvested at 6 h later and subjected to Western blot to assess cleaved caspase-3 levels. Separately, another two groups of pregnant rats were allowed to deliver via normal vaginal delivery after infusion. Locomotor activity of the offspring on postnatal day (P28) were monitored using TruScan 2.0, spatial working memory was assessed from P28 using an 8-arm radial maze. The number of total errors, number of correct choices to first error, and time to complete the maze was recorded and analysed using a repeated measure Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), with P<0.05 being considered statistically significant.


1. Dermal melanophores of intact Scyllium equilibrate at µ=4.9 and µ=1.4 respectively on black and white background with overhead illumination. They equilibrate at µ=2.9 in complete darkness. 2. Normal responses are of the 'slow' type. 3. Expanded melanophores in skin strips immersed in saline contract in 30 min. In pituitary extract they expand in 60 min. So we may interpret the slow responses of intact fish as indices of the slow rise and fall of co-ordinating hormones in circulation. 4. The time relations of normal responses are not consistent with a one-hormone hypothesis. 5. Thyroids removed from animals hypophysectomized a month previously afford no evidence for pituitary control of thyroid activity.


Background: Albanian immigrants consist a large ethnic minority group in Greece and a significant proportion of local population in many areas of the country, including rural areas, such as in the Cyclades Islands (1). Even though migrants and their families are to various degrees integrated in the life of local communities, the factors associated with family dynamics and their relation to common mental health issues have not been much studied. There is evidence supporting an association between aspects of family dynamics and depression in adults (2-3). The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between depressive symptomatology and family functioning in Albanian immigrants in a rural area in Greece. A comparison between Albanians and Greek natives was also made, in order to investigate if there were differences between the two ethnic groups, regarding the specific dimensions of family functioning associated with depressive symptomatology.
Methods: The sample consisted of 204 adult service users, 105 (51,5%) Greeks and 99 (48,5%) Albanians, who sought help from the Mental Health Mobile Unit (EPAPSY-NGO) in Paros and Antiparos islands, during the years 2012-2016. The Family Assessment Device (FAD) (4-5) was used to assess perceived family functioning and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (6) was used to measure the current level of depressive symptomatology. Additional data was also recorded for every participant, including sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatric diagnosis (assigned by the psychiatrist).
Results: More Greek service users in comparison to Albanians were categorised as perceiving to have healthy family functioning in the domains of 'Communication' (25.5% vs 10.1%, p<0.05) and 'Affective Responsiveness' (21% vs 6.6%, p<0.05) (according to the cut-off scores of FAD). Irrespective of nationality, better family functioning was related to less depressive symptoms. In Albanians, the specific dimension of family functioning referring to 'Behaviour Control' was independently associated with the score in depression scale, while in Greeks the 'Problem Solving' dimension was found to be significantly associated with depressive symptomatology.
Conclusions: Differences were detected in certain domains of perceived family functioning between Albanian immigrants and Greek natives, regarding the categorization of healthy/unhealthy functioning. Association of family dynamics with depressive symptomatology was detected in both ethnic groups. Patterns of interaction in Albanian families, as expressed in roles, hierarchy, rules or standards, expectation of behaviour and discipline (Behaviour Control dimension of family functioning) were found to be related, independently of other factors, to depressive symptomatology. When working with migrants, it is important to evaluate different dimensions of family functioning and take them into consideration in order to improve prevention and intervention strategies developed by mental health services.


The issue of quality of life in large agglomerations has become more and more important for many years. The challenges faced by the real estate market relate to its planned further development taking into account all dimensions of sustainable development. The aim of the work is to assess the state of sustainable development of the residential construction sector in Poland. The work assumes that sustainable development of construction is one of the factors determining sustainable development of cities. The research was based on statistical data describing housing resource in Poland and on analyses and reports published by the Central Statistical Office, NBP, Responsible Business Forum and Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030. The goals of Agenda 2030 were discussed with particular emphasis on stability and sustainability of the real estate market. The value of the urbanization index for large agglomerations in Poland confirmed the very positive effects of the sustainable development of the real estate market. The paper attempts to determine the relationship between the economic value of the housing sector and the consumption of environmental resources, which may lead to the establishment of an indicator that is a new tool for assessing sustainable development. The analysis carried out in the work thus confirmed the legitimacy of the thesis put in place, leading to the realization of the aim of the work Keywords: Agenda 2030, urbanization, construction sector, real estate market, sustainable development


The experiments described reveal the direct relationship between blood flow and evoked electrical activity in muscle flaps. It is demonstrated that monitoring of EMWs will detect vascular occlusion to a muscle flap within 1 hour. Detecting failure this soon provides the surgeon an opportunity for reexploration and salvage of a muscle flap before irreversible change has occurred. Correlations with observed muscle contraction and intramuscular temperature changes are also made.


The grid to vehicle context in this report referred to the current status of the vehicle charging system that supported by the grid and its implication to the grid. The electric vehicle also can be exploited and treated as the mobile energy storage that has the capability to inject the power back to the grid. The idea of transfer back power the grid from electric vehicle is commonly known as V2G. In total, the cumulative horse power that millions vehicle have are tens times larger than the total of all electricity generating capacity in the world. However, due to the technical issue, the vehicle potential could not be tap to contribute to the grid until the birth of current concept of so called V2G. V2G is relatively a new technological breakthrough, which not only support the grid but also could potentially accelerate the process of creating a smarter grid.


The principal objective of the working paper is to present an academic proposition for studying state policies towards the development of religious minorities in Karnataka. It specifies a few demographic details concerning minorities at all India and Karnataka levels. The study discusses perspectives of prominent political scientists who have examined Karnataka as "comparatively cohesive society", "broadening and deepening democracy", and "increasing communalisation of society". The central argument of the working paper is that the state of Karnataka has witnessed a paradigm shift from being a cohesive society to communalisation of politics and society. The findings of various state-appointed committees and commissions are discussed which have identified a host of social, economic, and political challenges faced by minorities in Karnataka. Post reviewing the available literature, a set of research questions and objectives are identified for further in-depth research.


\s=b\The thyroid function of 49 patients homozygous for the hemochromatosis allele was studied by measurement of serum thyroxine and thyrotropin concentrations. Of 34 homozygous men, three were found to be hypothyroid (thyroxine, 40 ImU/mL) and one was hyperthyroid (thyroxine, 24 \g=m\g/dL).All 15 homozygous women had normal thyroid function. The hypothyroid patients had elevated titers of antithyroid antibodies. Histologic examination of the thyroid at autopsy of one hypothyroid patient showed notable iron accumulation and fibrosis with modest lymphocytic infiltration. The causative importance of iron deposition in thyroid diseases associated with hemochromatosis was suggested by the reversal of the usual sex ratio of thyroid dysfunction. Men with hemochromatosis had a much greater iron load than women, and they also had a surprisingly higher incidence of thyroid disease. Iron may have caused injury to the thyroid, followed by the development of antithyroid antibodies and hypothyroidism. The frequency of thyroid disorders in men with hemochromatosis is about 80 times that of men in the general population. (Arch Intern Med 1983;143:1890-1893)


Neurotransmitter maps are important complements to anatomical maps and represent an invaluable resource to understand how signals are transmitted throughout the nervous system and how a nervous system is developmentally patterned. We report here a comprehensive map of neurons in the C. elegans nervous system that contain the neurotransmitter GABA, revealing twice as many GABA-positive neuron classes as previously reported. We define previously unknown glia-like cells that reuptake GABA, as well as "GABA reuptake neurons" which do not synthesize GABA but take it up from the extracellular environment. We used the map of GABA-positive neurons for a comprehensive analysis of transcriptional regulators that define the GABA phenotype. We synthesize our findings of specification of GABAergic neurons with previous reports on the specification of glutamatergic and cholinergic neurons into a nervous system-wide regulatory map which defines neurotransmitter specification mechanisms for more than half of all neuron classes in C. elegans.


Coastal aquifers are aquifers which are hydraulically connected to the sea. They are important sources of groundwater which are often over-exploited due to the high density of population existing near the coasts. Coastal aquifers are susceptible to seawater intrusion caused by over-exploitation or other factors like sea level rise due to climate change. Carefully planned groundwater extraction and monitoring strategies are required for the optimal and sustainable use of coastal aquifers. This study develops methodologies for multi-objective optimal groundwater extraction strategies using simulation and optimisation techniques. Two conflicting objectives of management, viz, maximising the total beneficial pumping and minimising the total barrier well pumping are considered in this work. This study also develops optimal monitoring network designs for evaluating the compliance of the implemented strategies with the prescribed ones and illustrates the sequential modification of the prescribed strategies based on the feedback information from the compliance monitoring network.

A coupled simulation-optimisation framework is proposed and developed as the basic tool for deriving optimal groundwater management strategies. A three dimensional density-dependent flow and transport simulation model FEMWATER is used to simulate the coastal aquifer responses to groundwater extraction, in terms of the saltwater intrusion levels. A large number of such simulations is performed to generate the concentration levels resulting from different combinations of pumping from the beneficial and barrier well pumping locations. This pumping-salinity dataset is used as input-output patterns to train and test surrogate models based on modular neural networks (MNN) and genetic programming (GP). Properly trained and tested surrogate models are coupled to the multi-objective genetic algorithm. The optimisation algorithm iteratively searches for the optimal groundwater extraction strategies in a number of generations and in each step, the surrogate models are run to evaluate the salinity levels resulting from the candidate pumping strategies considered. The Pareto-optimal set of solutions is evolved after a number of such generations. It is observed from the obtained results that both surrogate modelling approaches identified similar Pareto-optimal front of solutions for the coastal aquifer management problem. However, the genetic programming based surrogate modelling approach is found to have specific advantages when used in the simulation-optimisation framework.

One of the main concerns regarding surrogate modelling based simulation-optimisation is the non-reliability issues associated with the optimal solutions resulting from the approximation involved and predictive uncertainty of the surrogate models. In this study a methodology is developed for obtaining reliable solutions to coastal aquifer management by overcoming the predictive uncertainty of the surrogate models. In this approach, an ensemble of surrogate models is developed to predict the aquifer responses to pumping. Bootstrap samples of pumping-salinity patterns are used to train and test different surrogate models using genetic programming. The number of surrogate models in the ensemble is determined by an uncertainty criterion. All the surrogate models in the ensemble are independently coupled to the multi-objective genetic algorithm, and a multiple-realisation optimisation approach is utilised to derive reliable optimal pumping strategies for coastal aquifer management. Reliability of optimal solutions is defined in terms of the percentage of the surrogate models, for which the imposed constraints are satisfied in deriving the pumping solutions. From these results, it is observed that optimal solutions with increased levels of reliability can be obtained using this proposed approach. The ensemble surrogate based methodology is further extended to address coastal aquifer management under parameter uncertainty. Uncertainty in the values of hydraulic conductivity and annual aquifer recharge are considered. The realisations of hydraulic conductivity and aquifer recharge are sampled from their respective distributions using Latin hypercube sampling. Bootstrap samples of pumping-salinity patterns generated using the numerical simulation model over different realisations of the uncertain parameters are used to train and test different surrogate models in the ensemble. Thus, surrogate models in the ensemble have different predictive capabilities in different regions of the parameter-decision space. All the surrogate models are then coupled with the multi-objective genetic algorithm, and multiple-realisation optimisation is performed incorporating the reliability criterion. This approach results in the robust optimisation of the groundwater management strategies under parameter uncertainty. On validating the derived optimal solutions with the numerical simulation model for different realisations of the uncertain parameters, it was observed that these solutions are robust for the range of values of the uncertain parameters considered. For performance evaluation, the methodology is applied to an existing well field in a realistic coastal aquifer system in the Lower Burdekin in Australia.

Compliance monitoring is an essential component of any groundwater management project. A methodology is developed for the design of compliance monitoring networks in this study. The network is necessary to monitor the compliance of the actual field level implementation with the simulated results. The design is performed subject to the imposed constraint of budgetary limitation, implemented as the maximum permissible number of monitoring wells. Subject to this constraint, the design methodology incorporates two goals within a single objective, viz, to place the monitoring wells where there is maximum uncertainty and to reduce the redundancy in monitored information by minimising the coefficient of correlation between the monitored locations. This objective of monitoring network design is compared against the widely used objective of uncertainty maximisation and the advantages are illustrated. The use of compliance monitoring information to sequentially update the coastal aquifer management strategies is illustrated by simulation experiments. A deviation from the prescribed optimal strategy, at any stage during the field implementation, may result in undesirable effects like increased levels of salinity. Based on the compliance monitoring information, the pumping strategies for the subsequent stages of management are modified to compensate for these ill effects. The results of the simulation experiments conducted for the Lower Burdekin aquifer illustrate that sequential updating of the management strategies based on compliance information helps to better achieve the objectives of management.

A coupled simulation-optimisation framework using trained and tested surrogate models based on genetic programming are shown to be computationally efficient tools for developing optimal extraction strategies for coastal aquifer management. The newly developed ensemble surrogate modelling with multiple realisation optimisation has potential applications in deriving reliable and robust strategies for coastal aquifer management under parameter uncertainty. The developed simulation-optimisation methodology for developing optimal pumping strategies, together with the designed compliance monitoring network and sequential updating of the strategies constitute an integrated approach for the management and monitoring of coastal aquifer systems.


[1] This paper introduces a new Earth's atmosphere-ionosphere coupled model that treats seamlessly the neutral atmospheric region from the troposphere to the thermosphere as well as the thermosphere-ionosphere interaction including the electrodynamics self-consistently. The model is especially useful for the study of vertical connection between the meteorological phenomena and the upper atmospheric behaviors. As an initial simulation using the coupled model, we have carried out a 30 day consecutive run in September. The result reveals that the longitudinal structure of the F-region ionosphere varies on a day-to-day basis in a highly complex way and that a four-peak structure of the daytime equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) similar to the recent observations appears as an averaged feature. The simulation reproduces and thus confirms the vertical coupling processes proposed so far with respect to the formation of the averaged EIA longitudinal structure; the excitation of solar nonmigrating tides in the troposphere, their propagation through the middle atmosphere, and the modulation of ionospheric dynamo, which in turn affects EIA generation. The simulation result indicates that not only the ionospheric averaged longitudinal structure but also the day-to-day variation can be modulated significantly by the lower atmospheric effect.


The Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), is developing a part of a project from the European program H2020 which consists in increase the safety, sustainability, flexibility and efficiency of road transport in a city (its acronym is TIMON). The CTTC contribution is a new positioning module that uses inertial measurement units (IMUs), which bases their performance in the gyroscopes and accelerometers measurement fusion, with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) assistance to provide a reliable navigation solution to the vehicles drivers. The goal of this project is to improve the performance of the positioning module by adding a three-axis magnetometer to the measurement set used by the positioning algorithm. This device measures the magnetic field components with a given position and using the measurements is possible to estimate their orientation with respect to the magnetic north, which is very useful for the vehicle's heading estimation. The gyroscope measures the angular rate, thus, it gives information about the change of orientation, but does not provide an absolute orientation and it is affected by bias and scale errors among other imperfections. To improve the heading estimation, in this work, the gyroscope and magnetometer data is fused by Bayesian filtering using Kalman filter. This project also includes the exploration of magnetometer calibration's techniques and algorithms to compensate the distortions in the measurements due to the ferromagnetic and magnetic fields near the device, or by the device fabrication imperfections. The main goals of this project are: create a realistic simulator of the magnetometer measurements to implement a calibration algorithm and check its performance. In second place, implement a data fusion algorithm using a Kalman filter to integrate the gyroscope and magnetometer data to estimate the vehicle's heading, and to improve the performance achieved by the original algorithm, obtaining a more accurate navigation solution. The results of this project had been partially published in the 4.3 deliverable of TIMON's project. This project is divided in six chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction to the TIMON project, the organizations involved on it, the impact that will have, the work developed in the CTTC and the goals of this project. Next chapter introduces the inertial navigation system (INS), the inertial sensors characteristics of the simulator, the different coordinate systems used along the project, the transformations and rotations between frames. The third chapter introduces the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and the advantages of integrating INS and GNSS. The fourth introduces the Earth's magnetic field and the magnetometer, explaining how is calculated the magnetic heading and the distortions and noise that must be added in order to make realistic the simulator. This chapter gives details about the construction of the magnetic simulator and its calibration. Chapter five provides information about the Kalman filter, beginning with a brief introduction and deepening on the equations that form the algorithm. Besides, it details the algorithm's application to obtain the magnetic heading and to fuse the magnetometer and gyroscope data. Finally, in chapter six are the conclusions extracted by the obtained results. The programming language used in the project to implement the simulator and the algorithms is Matlab. In the Annex the code is attached, and also the simulations and graphics that show the results of the heading estimation with the Kalman filter and the heading estimation when the magnetometer and gyroscope data are fused.


Reforms in the area of retail payments are becoming increasingly important. Given the nature of retail payment systems and the structure of the retail payments industry, there are multiple challenges and roadblocks that impede those much needed reforms. Navigating through these challenges requires a comprehensive and strategic approach. In this document, the Payment Systems Development Group (PSDG) of the World Bank presents a framework for countries to use in developing a comprehensive retail payments strategy. This framework has been developed by synthesizing the past studies of the World Bank, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS), and other international and national bodies, and also the worldwide experience of the World Bank's PSDG in supporting payment systems reforms in over 100 countries. This document is organized into five sections. The first section discusses the importance of retail payments and the ongoing efforts by public authorities and international organizations in this area. The second section scans the evolution of retail payment systems over the last five to six decades, the types of retail payment instruments, the challenges in increasing the adoption of electronic payment instruments, and finally the various processes and entities that together constitute the national retail payments system. The third section analyzes the public policy objectives in the area of retail payments. The fourth section builds a case for adapting the CPSS-World Bank general principles for international remittance services to build a framework for a comprehensive retail payments strategy. The fifth and final section of the report discusses the implementation aspects of a retail payments strategy. The report is intended to provide a framework that can be used to think through the retail payments landscape in a particular jurisdiction and to offer guidance on what the building blocks for a successful retail payments strategy can be.


Researchers worked on many facets of joining of similar/dissimilar aluminum alloys using different joining techniques and came up with their own recommendations. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is widely preferred for joining aluminum alloys being an economical alternative to produce high-quality welds. However, obtaining high strength welded joints without the detrimental and visible effects still needs attention considering the effect of hybrid FSW techniques, tool material, and geometry, process parameters (tool rotation, welding speed, and plunge depth), and post welding treatments. This study presents state of the art with the authors' own inferences on the evaluation of FSW performances in terms of joint tensile strength, fatigue strength, corrosion resistance, residual stresses, microstructure, and microhardness. This study also presents attempts made by the researchers on modeling and parametric optimization of FSW to finding scope for application of advanced optimization techniques and development of predictive models for mechanical properties of welded joints. This study emphasizes more studies required on the comparative evaluation of FSW performance with the application of ultrasonic frequency combinedly or individually on advancing and retreating sides of plates.


Objective: As a necessity of modern life, the duration of smartphone usage is getting longer. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the levels of smart phone use and physical activity and exercise capacities among university students aged 18-25. Methods: Ninety-three volunteer persons (female=50, male=43) who ages between 18 and 25 years participated in the study. Having collected participants' demographics informa-tion, smartphone addiction level was assessed by the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, physical activity level was assessed by International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form and exercise capacities were assessed by 6 Minute Walk Test. Results: It was found that 52.69% of the participants defined themselves as addicted to smartphone use. There was no significant difference in the level of smartphone addiction between male and female individuals. There was no significant difference between participants' daily use of smartphones and physical capacity. However, 67.8% of smartphone users decreased their physical activity levels independently of duration. Conclusion: Our study finds that smartphone usage does not affect the physical capacity of the young age group however, it seems that it may lead to physical inactivity as a psychosocial problem.


In Global Perspectives, we bring you interviews with psychoanalysts from around the world in an effort to explore the influence of culture on training, theory development and adherence, clinical technique, and psychoanalytic practice in general.


Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal disorder and typically results from a maternal duplication of chromosome 21 yielding trisomy 21. General features include a flat facial profile, short stature, oblique palpebral fissures, epicanthal folds, and associated medical conditions such as congenital heart disease, vision problems, and hearing loss.  Most musculoskeletal manifestations of Down syndrome are related to generalized ligamentous laxity, joint hypermobility, and hypotonia which can lead to atlantoaxial instability, atlanto-occipital instability, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, hip dysplasia / instability, patellar instability, pes planus, and hallux valgus.  Importantly, the orthopaedist may also be the first to discover systemic conditions such as hypothyroidism associated with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) or leukemia or inflammatory arthritis leading to musculoskeletal pain .  The purpose of this review is to summarize what the orthopaedist needs to remember when evaluating and treating their patients with Down Syndrome.


OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of etiologic factors that causes postmenopausal bleeding. STUDY DESIGN: For the purpose, a total number of 200 women with postmenopausal bleeding were included in the study. Medical records regarding history, physical examination, and endometrium biopsy of these cases were retrospectively analyzed. The frequency of etiologic factors and relevancy of pathological results with demographic factors were determined. RESULTS: Most frequent histopathologic diagnosis of the women with postmenopausal bleeding were established as endometrial atrophy, endometrial polyp, inadequate material, cancer, proliferative endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia, and other disorders respectively. Contrarily the previous studies, our study showed that estrogen replacement therapy was not a reason for postmenopausal bleeding. CONCLUSION: Although endometrial atrophy is the most frequent cause, postmenopausal bleeding should promptly be evaluated since endometrial hyperplasia and cancer are frequently the underlying cause. We found that premalignant and malignant lesions were related to the patients' BMI (body mass index), duration of postmenopause, the presence of diabetes, determination of thick endometrium by ultrasonography.


This Essay refutes Adler's and Cannon's argument that the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") does not authorize premium tax credits for insurance policies purchased from the federal healthcare Exchanges. Adler's and Cannon's argument is the basis of challenges in a number of ongoing lawsuits, including Oklahoma ex rel. Pruitt v. Sebelius and Halbig v. Sebelius. This Essay conducts a textual analysis of the Affordable Care Act and concludes that the text clearly authorizes premium tax credits for insurance policies purchased from the federal healthcare Exchanges. On November 7th, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of the King v. Burwell case. The Supreme Court will thus consider the arguments refuted in this Essay. If the Supreme Court accepts these arguments, commentators expect that the result will dramatically undermine the functioning of Obamacare in many states, potentially generating far worse outcomes than the status quo prior to Obamacare.


OBJECTIVES
Given the growing recognition of patient-centeredness as a healthcare quality indicator and its limited implementation in practice, our study evaluated how the Italian hospitals (ItHs), including research hospitals (IRCCSs), research teaching hospitals (THs), and independent public hospital trusts (AOs), address the dimension of online data access through their institutional Web sites to promote a patient-centered care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
To address patient-centeredness and e-health, eight specific indicators adapted from the Euro Health Consumer Index were evaluated from 169 ItHs: online booking of healthcare services; access to medical records; register of legitimate doctors; waiting times for most commonly delivered healthcare services; transport information; centralized booking; public relations office; and pain management hospital committee. Univariate and bivariate statistics and a logistic regression analysis have been performed.

RESULTS
The majority of the ItHs were under public ownership, and half of them are located in Northern Italy. From the logistic regression analysis, AOs appeared to be more likely to develop a patient-centered healthcare approach (odds ratio [OR]=3.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-11.89) compared with IRCCSs or THs. In addition, when grouped together, all public hospitals show more than threefold higher implementation of patient-centeredness strategies (OR=3.60; 95% CI 1.49-8.72) with respect to private ones. Northern hospitals are more likely to ensure wider implementation of a patient-centered approach to healthcare (OR=3.37; 95% CI 1.49-7.62).

CONCLUSIONS
According to our results, most of the ItHs are under public ownership, and half of them are located in the northern regions of Italy. The higher implementation of patient-centeredness strategies observed for Northern hospitals highlights interregional disparity in healthcare that needs a coordinated effort at both the hospital and policymaker levels to ensure a widespread implementation of patient-centered care among all Italian regions.


This paper discussed the effects of different cooling rate on the microstructure of the 4Y32 aluminum alloy and the refinement and modification on 4Y32 aluminum alloy by using Na and Al-10%Sr master alloys in various treatment states. And also the effect of Al-10Sr and Al-3Ti-1B compound modification on microstructures of 4Y32 aluminum alloy has also been studied. The results showed that: the primary silicon was eliminated during slow cooling. As the cooling rate increased, the number of primary silicon was also growing, but the size of primary silicon and eutectic silicon were significantly refined; when without modification, the shape of eutectic silicon was needle and flake; 4Y32 aluminum alloy could be effectively refined after Na modification, under the optimum addition amount of 0.8wt%. The best modification was achieved with 15 minutes, that is, the shape of primary silicon changed to small granular or oval and the primary silicon was eliminated; the as-cast structure has been improved after Al-10Sr modification, under the optimum addition amount of 0.2wt. %, the shape of eutectic silicon changed to fine short rod or point and the primary silicon was eliminated; However, in the compound modification, efficiency of Sr was decreased with the increasing additional amount of AI-3Ti-1B master alloy, which was attribute to the interaction of Sr and Ti.


The Teller Acuity Card test was used to examine 49 normal children, 77 with strabismus, 9 with anisometropia and 19 with various organic ocular diseases. The vision of some of these children was also tested with the Landolt C and fixation preference tests. A comparison of the three tests showed that strabismic amblyopia is not reliably detected with the Teller Acuity Cards. On the other hand, this test appears to be a good one for detecting loss of acuity due to ocular diseases.