The performance of commercial websites is a critical issue that has a significant effect on consumers' online decision-making. This study develops and applies a fuzzy model to assess the performance of hotel websites. It presents a fuzzy decision-making approach to the evaluation of tourism website performance that integrates consumer perceptions with a hierarchical model. The model consists of a fuzzy multicriteria procedure that weighs evaluation criteria in a hierarchy structure and defuzzifies the matrix in a simpler and more accurate way. The study's findings include a new website usefulness evaluation framework and a newly developed fuzzy hierarchical TOPSIS model. The results from applying this model indicate that the functionality and usability dimensions are equally important for hotel websites. The ranking of hotel website performance is listed in terms of usefulness, functionality, and usability.


In this paper, we present a new weighted least-squares (WLS) approach for parameter estimation based on binary data. Two WLS criteria are studied. We show that these two criteria do not have the same asymptotical behavior although they are closely related. Particularly, in the presence of noise, one of the criteria used for determining the system parameters provides an appropriate estimation, whereas the other one leads to an underestimation of the system parameters. These asymptotical results are illustrated by simulations in Gaussian and non-Gaussian contexts.


Harmonic resonance often manifests as high harmonic voltages in a power system. It was found that such resonance phenomenon is associated with the singularity of the network admittance matrix. The singularity, in turn, is due to the fact that one of the eigenvalues of the matrix approaches zero. By analyzing the characteristics of the eigenvalue, one can find useful information on the nature and extent of the resonance. The objective of this paper is to present our findings on this interesting subject. Based on the results, a technique called resonance mode analysis is proposed. Analytical and case study results have confirmed that the proposed method is a valuable tool for power system harmonic analysis.


While surface-wave prospecting methods are classically applied for the one-dimensional (1D) estimation of shear (S-) wave velocities (Vs), two-dimensional (2D) profiling still requires implementing specific processing and inversion tools that are not yet widely available in the community. We present here a free and open-source tool performing surface-wave inversion and profiling (SWIP) in order to retrieve 2D lateral variations of Vs from typical seismic shot records. Windowing and stacking techniques are implemented to compute dispersion images with smooth lateral variations and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Dispersion curves are extracted for each window with an error in phase velocity taking into account the higher uncertainties at low frequency. These curves are then inverted for each window position using a Monte Carlo approach and a refraction tomography-based parameterization. Models matching the observed data within the error bars are selected to build a misfit-weighted final model and estimate the investigation depth. Finally, 1D models obtained for each window position are merged into a 2D Vs section.


OBJECTIVE
This study identified and characterized groups of clients who have serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders.

METHODS
Substance abuse recovery of 177 clients with co-occurring disorders was followed for ten years with multiperspective ratings every six months. Latent-class trajectory analysis was used to identify subgroups; profile analysis was used to examine baseline risk factors and treatment participation.

RESULTS
Two ratings of substance abuse recovery-stage of treatment and abstinence-were highly concordant and identified the same four groups: early recovery, unstable recovery, late recovery, and no recovery. The early-recovery group was characterized by less severe substance use disorders at baseline and by use of clozapine. The unstable-recovery group was too small for statistical analyses. The late-recovery group was similar to the no-recovery group at baseline but participated more extensively in treatments, especially residential dual-diagnosis programs, during the first three years of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
Latent-class trajectory analysis based on ten-year trajectories of substance abuse recovery identified clinically meaningful groups among clients with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders. Profiles of the three most common groups suggest differential clinical approaches for each.


The study seeks to explore and synthesize current issues in Slow Fashion and discuss potential future directions of the industry. While there are multiple definitions of the term, Slow Fashion typically describes long-lasting, locally manufactured clothing, primarily made from sustainably sourced fair-trade fabrics. It affords latitude to individual style, fosters education about clothing and emphasizes durability. While several challenges regarding the implementation of Slow Fashion principles in current society remain, the study offers an overview of the current state, and presents a fashion matrix-based framework for outlining the position of the Slow Fashion movement within industry-specific fashion segments and uses the matrix to present current knowledge and review future challenges. The support of networks serves as an indispensable tool for Slow Fashion designers, keeping them abreast of the competition.


A combined theoretical/experimental study of the heat transfer in thermoelectric shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators is undertaken in this paper. A one-dimensional model of a thermoelectric unit cell with a SMA junction is developed first and the transient temperatures in the SMA are evaluated for different applied electric current densities. As a first step towards the design of an actuator, a thermoelectric module is assembled in the laboratory for cooling/heating the SMA. Transient temperature profiles are recorded for the monotonic heating and cooling runs for two different materials-copper and SMA (with or without the phase transformation). These recorded profiles are then compared with the predictions from the model; the agreement is reasonable, particularly during the cooling process. Temperature profiles are also recorded for cyclic cooling and heating of copper at a frequency of 0.5 Hz and a good comparison is obtained. Theoretical predictions for thermal cycling of SMA show that it is possible to achieve a frequency of 2 Hz on full phase transformation and 17 Hz on partial transformation of 25%.


Quantities characterizing temporal property, e.g., power density, coherence, and time lag, can be defined and calculated directly in the time domain without using the Fourier transformation. Spectral hardness, variability duration, and correlation between different characteristic quantities on different time scale can be studied in the time domain as well. The temporal analysis technique in the time domain is a powerful tool, particularly in studying rapid variability on short time scales (or in high frequencies). Results of studying variabilities of X-rays from Cyg X-1 with the analysis technique in the time domain and RXTE data reveal valuable clues to understanding production and propagation processes of X-rays and structure of accretion disk in the black hole system.


Researchers and commercial suppliers worldwide pursue the objective of achieving a more transparent garment construction process that is computationally linked to a virtual body, in order to save development costs over the long term. The current aim is not to transfer the complete pattern making step to a 3D design environment but to work out basic constructions in 3D that provide excellent fit due to their accurate construction and morphological pattern grading (automatic change of sizes in 3D) in respect of sizes and body types. After a computer-aided derivation of 2D pattern parts, these can be made available to the industry as a basis on which to create more fashionable variations.


The ability or lack of ability to intervene when intervention may be justified is discussed from time to time. It often occurs as a result of an incident brought to attention through mass media focus. This is true regardless of whether it involves interventions in trouble spots from organisations such as the EU or the UN or governments like the United States, or if it concerns individual citizens' behaviour in specific situations, writes Marcus Samuelsson.


In this paper, an optimal design process for high-rise building structures is presented based on cost-effectiveness criterion. Then, an optimal design of a complex high-rise building based on cost-effectiveness criterion is carried out by using the design process. A minimum life cycle cost and corresponding elastic inter story drift considering initial cost and damage cost as two separate objective functions are obtained by using genetic algorithm. Finally, fitting curves of life cycle cost, initial cost, damage cost and corresponding performance indexes are interpolated by using one-dimensional linear interpolation considering elastic inter story drift ratio as control performance indexes. And lots of life cycle cost designs and corresponding performance indexes of the separated objective function are given. The results show that the optimal design process is practical and optimal results are diverse, and can be chosen flexibly by owners.


Experts of risk analysis aim to help decisions with efficient information. The decision itself is not included in their duties; nevertheless, they are responsible for confronting the decision makers with the expected consequences of their decisions. To this high standard data gained by modelling or monitoring are needed. Most of them have not yet been collected and integrated in a unique data system. One of the aims of this paper is to call the attention to the importance of common data management and joint research projects between different disciplines with a methodical summary.


With age, protein glycation in organisms increases continuously. Evidence from many studies shows that the accumulation of glycated protein is highly correlated with biological aging and the development of aging-related diseases, so developing a dietary agent to attenuate protein glycation is very meaningful. Previous studies have indicated that lactic acid bacteria-fermented products have diverse biological activities especially in anti-aging, so this study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of the fermented supernatants of Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3 (GKM3) and Bifidobacterium lactis GKK2 (GKK2) on protein glycation. The results show that GKM3- and GKK2-fermented supernatants can significantly inhibit protein glycation by capturing a glycation agent (methylglyoxal) and/or protecting functional groups in protein against methylglyoxal-induced responses. GKM3- and GKK2-fermented supernatants can also significantly inhibit the binding of glycated proteins to the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). In conclusion, lactic acid bacteria fermentation products have the potential to attenuate biological aging by inhibiting protein glycation.


Single-port thoracoscopic surgery has been widely applied in the treatment of thoracic diseases including mediastinal tumors. We present our technique and experience of transthoracic single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy. In this case, we performed single-port thoracoscopic thymectomy through a unilateral transthoracic approach. We approached through the fifth intercostal space in the mid-axillary line and applied a wound retractor with the multi-hole port device. Conventional and endoscopic devices were used without collision of devices through the port. Transthoracic single-port thoracoscopic thymectomy appears to be a safe and promising technique with port-accessible devices and instruments. A future study of the long-term oncologic outcomes may require more time and more patients to be evaluated to refine the advantages of this procedure.


Previous studies on audio-visual translation indicate that there is a gap in the exploration of translation strategies in the Malaysian movie subtitling context and the quality of Malay to English subtitle translations. This study aimed to explore the strategies used in the subtitle translations of the Malaysian movie Ejen Ali: The Movie and evaluate the accuracy level of the translations associated with the identified strategies. Ten translation strategies developed by Gottlieb (1992), and the parameter of "accuracy" was purposefully selected out of the three criteria of the translation quality assessment proposed by Nababan et al., (2012) as the theoretical framework of this study. The three main strategies used in the most accurate translations were "transfer", "paraphrase", and "expansion". The subtitling of this movie was generally found accurate. In most of the accurate translations "transfer" strategy was utilized, whereas "dislocation" was identified in most of the inaccurate translations. Moreover, the findings revealed that there were inaccuracies in the translations which could have been avoided by using other relevant strategies. Gottlieb's nine of 10 strategies (except transcription) in addition to the nine mixed strategies were identified and described in the process of analysis.


Ti-Bearing blast furnace slag has been found to be suitable as the support of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts. Mn–Ce–M (M = Fe, Co, Ag)/Slag catalysts prepared using a solution impregnation method for the low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3 under the influence of transition metals were investigated in this study. The experiments suggested that the addition of Co can greatly enhance the SCR activity and the addition of Fe can broaden the SCR temperature range (NO conversion >90%), while the addition of Ag reduced the SCR activity. The XRD and SEM analyses revealed that for the Co and Fe doped catalysts, the active components were well dispersed, while the Ag doped catalyst had agglomeration and sintering. The XPS results revealed that the Fe and Co doped catalysts had relatively higher ratios of Mn4+/Mn3+, Ce3+/Ce4+ and Oα/Oα + Oβ. TPR results showed that the redox properties were enhanced after adding Co and Fe. NH3-TPD was also studied to investigate the acid sites over the surface of the catalysts. And the addition of Co and Fe increased strong acid sites on the surface of the catalyst. However, the strength of acid sites over the surface of the Ag doped catalyst was too high to cause the desorption of NH3.


The heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) has important roles in protecting cells and keeping them alive when exposed to different stress conditions. The polymorphism of the hsp 70 gene could be linked with the ability of stress tolerance. This study aimed to determine the polymorphism of the hsp 70 gene in Iraqi buffaloes and study bits effects on the resistance to stress. This study was conducted during from November 2018 to February 2019. The number of buffalo females used was 35 at the age of 4 6 years, which belonged to the local farmers from Basra city, Iraq. The DNA was extraction from the blood samples then the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was performed. The DNA sequences were analyzed by using bioinformatics analysis. The results of the molecular analysis showed that there were two groups of the hsp 70 gene as a compare with the same genes in GenBank due to silent and missense mutations. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the Iraqi buffaloes have adapted to the surrounding environmental conditions as a result of the action of HSP 70 proliferation. The hsp 70 gene was a useful biomarker of stress tolerance in buffaloes.


In this paper we compare and contrast three approaches for labelling polymers with functional groups via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). We explored the incorporation of functionality via initiation, termination and propagation employing an array of novel initiators, termination agents and monomers. The goal was to allow the generation of selectively labelled and well-defined polymers that would in turn lead to the formation of labelled nanomaterials. Norbornene analogues, prepared as functionalized monomers for ROMP, included fluorescent dyes (rhodamine, fluorescein, EDANS, and coumarin), quenchers (DABCYL), conjugatable moieties (NHS esters, pentafluorophenyl esters), and protected amines. In addition, a set of symmetrical olefins for terminally labelling polymers, and for the generation of initiators in situ is described.


This paper examines intrinsic characteristics of the integral control of a PID controller, and points out one that can cause excessive overshoot when the reference signal changes abruptly. Reasons for not totally relying on the derivative control to suppress overshoot are discussed, and then augmentation of an adaptive integral gain to an existing PID controller is proposed. The associated smooth adaptive law for the gain is presented, with the correspondingly allowable upper and lower bounds that guarantee input-to-state stability for the system of interest. Effectiveness, simplicity, and desirable properties of the proposed adaptive integral gain are clearly shown in two design examples. Numerical simulations show that maximum overshoot can be reduced by approximately 50%, without upsetting rise time.


In this paper permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) which is a multi-variable, nonlinear and high coupling system has a good performance adopting the strategy of field-oriented control (FOC) and space vector PWM (SVPWM). Furthermore, multi-PMSM synchronous driving system is established on employing adjacent cross-coupling strategy (ACC). In addition, a variable structure control with an integral sliding surface and exponential reaching law is designed for speed controller. Comparing with traditional PI controlled multi-PMSM system the results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control.


Background Despite increasing knowledge about the burden of unintentional injury among Australian Aboriginal children there is a lack of effective programs targeting Aboriginal children and families. Moreover, little is known about how Aboriginal people engage in child injury prevention programs. Research was conducted to inform the development of guidelines for effective injury prevention approaches targeting injury among Aboriginal children. We also worked closely with investigators on an Australian version of guidelines modelled from the European Child Safety Alliance. Methods In a staged process we conducted: (a) a review of effective injury prevention programs targeting Australian Aboriginal children; (b) qualitative research with practitioners and Aboriginal community members to explore attitudes to the prevention of injury and behaviours and perceptions of risk; (c) round table discussions with Aboriginal community members, injury practitioners and policy makers. Results A series of case studies of effective programs was developed. The project adopted a "best buys" approach to identifying programs with the most promise to address the burden of Aboriginal child injury; this was matched with community views and preferences about acceptable and appropriate programs and strategies. Guidelines also incorporated principles for successful engagement with Aboriginal communities including how to work with Aboriginal children and families when developing programs for unintentional injury prevention and the most appropriate methods for their evaluation. Conclusions The guidelines are expected to inform the development of policies and programs targeting child injury in the Aboriginal population in New South Wales. They will contribute to ensuring that the efforts and resources of policy makers and practitioners are based on the views and experiences of Aboriginal communities and raise awareness within the Aboriginal community by informing the further development of social marketing campaign around injury prevention.


This report (RE-259) presents the evaluation conducted by the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) of the Bank's country program in Paraguay during the period 1991-2002. Its objective is to present the results achieved by the IDB in the country and to derive lessons which may help enable the Bank to enhance the effectiveness of its actions in the future. The Bank is Paraguay's principal external creditor. The relatively limited presence of other international organizations, together with the Bank's continuous support for the country, have given it great capacity for dialogue with Paraguay. The report includes frame of reference for the report; the conclusions of the evaluation as regards the Bank's programming process in Paraguay; the Bank's actions in Paraguay and endeavors to evaluate how these activities related to the objectives defined by Bank programming; a description on the major outcomes of the country program financed and implemented by the Bank in Paraguay. Lastly, a set of conclusions and recommendations for future Bank activity in Paraguay are discussed.


Industrial robots can be mechanical intelligent agents by integrating programs, intelligent algorithms and facilitating intelligent manufacturing models from cyber world into physical entities. After introducing the concept of cloud, their storage, computing, knowledge sharing and evolution capabilities are further strengthened. Digital twin is an effective means to achieve the fusion of physics and information. Therefore, it is feasible to introduce the digital twin to the industrial cloud robotics (ICR), in order to facilitate the control optimization of robots' running state. The traditional manufacturing task-oriented service composition is limited to execution in the cloud, and it is separated from the underlying robot equipment control, which greatly reduces the real-time performance and accuracy of the underlying service response, such as Robotic Control as a Cloud Service (RCaaCS). Therefore, this paper proposes a digital twin-based control approach for ICR. At the manufacturing cell level, robots' control instruction service modeling is conducted, and then the control service in the digital world is mapped to the robot action control in the physical world through the concept of digital twin. The accumulated operational data in the physical world can be fed back to the digital world as a reference for simulation and control strategy adjustment, finally achieving the integration of cloud services and robot control. A case study based on workpiece disassembly is presented to verify the availability and effectiveness of the proposed control approach.


Cryptographic APIs (Crypto APIs) provide the foundations for the development of secure applications. Unfortunately, most applications do not use Crypto APIs securely and end up being insecure, e.g., by the usage of an outdated algorithm, a constant initialization vector, or an inappropriate hashing algorithm. Two different studies [1], [2] have recently shown that 88% to 95% of those applications using Crypto APIs are insecure due to misuses. To facilitate further research on these kinds of misuses, we created a collection of 201 misuses found in real-world applications along with a classification of those misuses. In the provided dataset, each misuse consists of the corresponding open-source project, the project's build information, a description of the misuse, and the misuse's location. Further, we integrated our dataset into MUBench [3], a benchmark for API misuse detection. Our dataset provides a foundation for research on Crypto API misuses. For example, it can be used to evaluate the precision and recall of detection tools, as a foundation for studies related to Crypto API misuses, or as a training set.


Rats emit aversive taste reactivity (TR) behavior (i.e., gapes) following intraoral delivery of a cocaine-paired taste cue, and greater conditioned aversive TR in well-trained rats predicts greater drug-taking. Here, we used a between-groups design and tracked the development of this conditioned aversive TR behavior on a trial by trial basis in an effort to determine when the change in behavior occurs and at what point individual differences in cue reactivity become predictive of cocaine-seeking and cocaine-taking. The results demonstrate that conditioned aversive TR to a cocaine-predictive flavor cue appears very early in training (i.e., following as few as 1 to 2 taste-drug pairings), stabilizes quickly, and becomes predictive of terminal self-administration within 3 to 4 trials. Indeed, rats exhibiting high conditioned aversive TR to the cocaine-paired cue also exhibited greater goal-directed behavior, were faster to take drug, self-administered more cocaine, and exhibited greater seeking during periods of drug non-availability. High conditioned aversive TR, then, develops quickly and is associated with a greater motivation for drug.


Catalytic carbon deposition reactions, using methane, ethane or synthetic natural gas (1.8 vol. % propane, 6.7 vol. % ethane and balance methane) as the carbon-containing gas feedstock with or without the addition of hydrogen, have been investigated over nickel, cobalt and iron catalysts supported on 3-dimensional carbon fibre supports, using both a horizontal tube furnace and an isothermal, isobaric induction furnace.

The transition metal catalysts were prepared by impregnating 3-dimensional carbon fibre supports with a methanolic solution of the metal nitrate, using a wet impregnation technique, and the effects of temperature, gas composition and deposition time on their catalytic behaviour was studied. Samples were characterised using a number of complementary techniques, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, polarised light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, digital photography and weight change measurements. The findings from these techniques were used to explain the observed type and amount of carbon deposited.
Nickel was found to be the most active catalyst and methane was found to be a poor carbon precursor for the catalytic deposition of carbon, from these findings nickel was chosen as the catalyst and ethane and synthetic natural gas were used as the carbon precursors, with and without the addition of hydrogen.

The activity of the nickel catalyst was found to be dependant on a number of factors; weight percent used, temperature, gas feedstock used and deposition time. It was found, in all cases, that increasing the deposition temperature resulted in higher deposition rates, ethane was found to yield higher deposition rates than synthetic natural gas and the effect of hydrogen addition had a negligible effect upon the rate of carbon deposition for the reactions carried out in ethane whereas it was significant for the reactions carried out in synthetic natural gas. The majority of the carbon deposition took place in the first three hours of deposition, with extended deposition times only yielding small increases in the overall rate of carbon deposition.

The type of carbon deposited varied from filamentous carbon i.e. carbon nanotubes, nanofibres and microcoils, to encapsulation. The factors affecting the type of carbon deposited were, the temperature of carbon deposition, with higher temperatures (800C) yielding encapsulation and lower temperatures (650C) yielding filamentous carbon, and the addition of hydrogen, with higher hydrogen concentrations favouring the formation of filamentous carbon over encapsulation. It was also found that the addition of hydrogen did not extend the lifetime of the catalysts.

It was found that nickel catalysts could be used within larger carbon fibre preforms to catalytically deposit carbon at lower temperatures than those used in industry for the manufacture of carbon-carbon composites (> 1000C).


Invasive fungal infections, particularly invasive aspergillosis (IA), are frequent complications in immunocompromised patients. The identification of risk factors for IA is crucial to select patients who will benefit from different antifungal treatment. Retrospectively, we studied 1,194 hospitalizations registered at our Institution between March 2005 and December 2007, involving 618 patients affected by haematological malignancies (acute leukemia 34%, lymphoma 34%, multiple myeloma 24%, chronic myeloid leukemia 5%, severe aplastic anemia 1.5%, chronic lymphocytic leukemia 1.5%), with the purpose of developing a risk score able to stratify patients in categories at different risk for IA. Every febrile episode and every hospitalization without febrile episodes were recorded as single "phase", for a total number of 1,409 "phases". In 53% of the phases, the haematological malignancy was fully active (first presentation or resistant disease), and the main treatments administrated were: induction chemotherapy (18%), consolidation chemotherapy (20%), salvage chemotherapy (15%), HSCT in 33% (autologous: 21%; allogeneic: 12%). In 13% of the hospitalizations, patients did not receive chemotherapy but supportive cares. Seventeen variables were assessed as risk factors for IA according to literature data and to local clinical practice (age, smoking habit, type of job, previous IA, prolonged steroids treatment, diabetes, type of haematological malignancy, disease staus, type of treatment, prolonged neutropenia and lymphocytopenia, acute or chronic GvHD, CMV infection, mucositis, presence or absence of HEPA filter, proximity of building sites to the Haematology Unit) receiving a score ranging from 0 to 2. Summing the weighted points assigned to each variable, a total score (TSCORE08) was calculated for each phase and allowed to empirically identify 3 groups of patients at low (1 to 8), intermediate (8.5 to 11.5), and high (12 to 17) risk for IA, and was significantly higher in patients with IA (p


Alien invasive aquatic macrophytes tend to displace native species and transform diverse macrophyte communities into monospecific stands. It is often thought that superior competitiveness allows alien invaders to achieve this. Cabomba caroliniana is a submersed macrophyte that is highly invasive worldwide and frequently monopolises habitats. However, field observations in Queensland, Australia, found that the native floating attached Nymphoides indica can co-exist with C. caroliniana, highlighting N. indica as a potential candidate for habitat restoration. To identify factors and processes that regulate the coexistence of these species, we conducted a field survey and two experiments in artificial mesocosms. We found that N. indica leaf areal coverage of the water surface significantly reduced C. caroliniana standing crop biomass in the field. C. caroliniana growth was also linked to water depth; N. indica was not able to grow beyond 2 m depth. There was a small reduction in N. indica root and shoot biomass when co-cultured with C. caroliniana in our experiment. Therefore, there was reciprocal competitive inhibition between the two species. However, the effect of N. indica on C. caroliniana was much larger. There was evidence that a reduction of C. caroliniana biomass below a threshold of c. 300 g dry mass/m is critical for protecting native submersed macrophyte diversity and abundance. Once C. caroliniana biomass exceeds this threshold, it dominates plant communities and forms high biomass monocultures. The experimental work identified shading as the most important factor that reduces C. caroliniana biomass, corroborating the relationship between leaf areal cover and C. caroliniana biomass found in the field. Based on these findings, N. indica could be useful for restoring the shallow lake littoral habitat, because it suppresses biomass of the invasive species to a level that allows other macrophytes to coexist and additionally increases habitat heterogeneity. Similarly, N. indica could be suitable to restore areas where C. caroliniana was previously removed to reduce the likelihood of future habitat monopolisation by C. caroliniana and realise long-term ecological benefits from invasive macrophyte management.


Background: Plants offer a wide range of natural compounds of medicinal values to humans and domestic animals. Objective: The ethanolic extracts of Gongronema latifolium, Aloe perryi, Viscum album (leaves) and Allium sativum (bulb) were investigated for their phytochemical/biochemical constituents and hypoglycemic properties. Materials and Methods: Hypoglycemia was induced in rats by a single dose (140 mg/kg) of intra-peritoneal injection of alloxan monohydrate in citrate buffer (pH 4.5). Suspensions of the ethanolic extracts were administered by intraperitoneal injection at doses of 2 mg/kg every 16 h for 54 h. Collection of blood samples for estimation of fasting blood glucose (FBG) was carried out at regular time intervals of 0, 16, 32, 48 and 54 h, using the glucose oxidase method. Results: Phytochemical and biochemical screening showed the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, proteins and carbohydrates in the four plant tissues under investigation. A. sativum and G. latifolium also tested positive for the presence of alkaloids. The capacities of the four ethanolic extracts to reduce FBG concentrations in treated rats at the 54 h were in the order: A. perryi > G. latifolium > A. sativum > V. album. Comparatively, at t = 16 h, FBG concentration of V. album treated rats was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from those of G. latifolium treated group. Likewise, FBG concentration of rats treated with V. album extract did not show a significant difference (p > 0.05) compared to the group administered with extract of A. sativum. Conclusion: The four plant extracts used in the present study exhibited approximately the same capacity to act as hypoglycemic agents in the treated rats and correlate with the therapeutic capacity of the standard drug, glimepiride.


Economics, they say, can explain (almost) everything. In this paper, we argue that with a little help from its friends – that is, borrowing a few insights from psychology and sociology – economics can explain also why certain rock bands have had more success than others. We argue that the two most successful rock bands of all times in terms of album sales – Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd – have both relied on an efficient internal organisation in which productive tasks were allocated according to the principle of comparative advantage. We also note that efficient organisational structures are difficult to achieve and to maintain in the case of rock bands. Finally, we suggest that our analysis yields valuable insights for the study of the internal organisation of productive teams without a pre-ordained hierarchical structure.


Large prospective cohorts originally assembled to study environmental risk factors are increasingly exploited to study gene-environment interactions. Given the cost of genetic studies in large samples, being able to select a subsample for genotyping that contains most of the information from the cohort would lead to substantial savings. We consider nested case-control and case-cohort sampling designs with and without stratification and compare their efficiency relative to the entire cohort for estimating the effects of genetic and environmental risk factors and their interactions. Asymptotic calculations show that the relative efficiency of the case-cohort and nested case-control designs implementing the same sampling stratification are similar over a range of scenarios for the relationships among genes, environmental exposures, and disease status. Sampling equal numbers of exposed and unexposed subjects improves efficiency when the exposure is rare. The case-cohort designs had a slight advantage in simulations of sampling designs within the Framingham Offspring Study, using the interaction between apolipoprotein E and smoking on the risk of coronary heart disease as an example. It was possible to estimate the interaction effect with precision close to that of the full cohort when using case-cohort or nested case-control samples containing fewer than half the subjects of the cohort.


Secret sharing schemes allows information to be shared among a group of participants so that all together (or qualified subsets) of participants can recover the information. A visual cryptography scheme (VCS) is a cryptographic technique which allows visual information (e. g. printed text, handwritten notes, and picture) to be encrypted in such a way that the decryption can be performed by the human visual system, without the aid of computers. The performance of any visual cryptography scheme depends on various measures such as pixel expansion, contrast, security, accuracy, computational complexity etc. This work throws light on the theoretical background and the comparison on the various visual cryptography schemes. Here introduces a 2 in 1 scheme which can embed additional information with reduced shadow size and better visual quality of revealed image. Compared with the two-in-one image secret sharing


Background and Aim: Caring about workers is important due to protect human capital and economic growth. Understanding health priorities is one of the main challenges of health management. The aim of this research was to priorities health promotion behaviors of female workers. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 2012 and had a triangulation design with sequential qualitative-quantitative method based on "integrated model of planned behavior and self-efficacy". In the qualitative phase of the study, a content analysis approach was done to develop the questionnaire, based on the model and psychometric properties were assessed. Then, the educational intervention was conducted in an experimental study with randomized sampling in 70 female workers (35 intervention group, 35 controls). The pretest and posttest was compared. Results: Content analysis demonstrated 6 main themes, including the main constructs of the research model: attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, self-efficacy, intention and behaviour in 4 domain (nutrition, exercise, cervical and breast cancer screening, cope with stress). Scale level content validity index was 0.93. Confirmatory factor analysis showed CFI=0.97, GFI=0.95, IFI=0.96, NNFI=0.98, NFI=0.97, RMSEA=0.05. Concurrent validity versus the Health-promoting lifestyle profile II showed r=0.60. Cronbach alpha was 0.75– 0.93 across the subscales. Test–retest reliability revealed no significant differences.After educational intervention there was a significant increase in attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, intention and behavior of female workers in intervention group. Also, effect of intervention program was mostly in self-efficacy construct. Conclusion: With regards to working conditions economic and socio-cultural barriers in female workers, health policy making is essential in this group to promote health


The preparation of immobilized graphene–based photocatalyst layers is highly desired for environmental applications. In this study, the preparation of an immobilized reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/TiO2 composite by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was optimized. It enabled quantitative deposition without sintering and without the use of any dispersive additive. The presence of rGO had beneficial effects on the photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol in an aqueous solution. A marked increase in the photocatalytic degradation rate was observed, even at very low concentrations of rGO. Compared with the TiO2 and GO/TiO2 reference layers, use of the rGO/TiO2 composite (0.5 wt% of rGO) increased the first-order reaction rate constant by about 70%. This enhanced performance was due to the increased formation of hydroxyl radicals that attacked the 4-chlorophenol molecules. The direct charge transfer mechanism had only limited effect on the degradation. Thus, EPD-prepared rGO/TiO2 layers appear to be suitable for environmental application.


Classical job-shop scheduling problem (JSP) is one of the heaviest (strongly) NP-hard scheduling problems, which is very difficult to solve in practice. No approximation algorithms with a guaranteed performance exist. We deal with a natural generalization of this problem allowing parallel processors instead of each single processor in JSP, and an arbitrary task graph (without cycles) instead of a serial-parallel task graph in JSP. Parallel processors might be identical, uniform or unrelated. The whole feasible solution space grows drastically compared to JSP. However, as it turned out, parallel processors can also be used to reduce the solution space to a subspace, which is essentially smaller than even the corresponding solution space for JSP. For large problem instances, this space still may remain too big. Here we propose different global estimations which allow us to reduce it further. By applying our bounds to the reduced solution space, a class of exact and approximation algorithms are obtained. We are in the process of the implementation of our reduction algorithm and the bounds. Then we aim to carry out the experimental study comparing the behavior and the efficiency of the proposed bounds in practice


This study set out to establish the major minerals at Dorowa and determine which of those are likely to host metals that may leach into surface and groundwater. This study comes after a preliminary assessment of the water quality in the Save River downstream of the Dorowa phosphate mine in Zimbabwe showed an increase in conductivity, iron content, manganese content, nitrates and hardness when compared to those taken before the mining area. X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD) was used to establish the major minerals at Dorowa whilst Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP- MS) was used to establish the chemistry of the rocks. The results from this study show that the major minerals in the rocks around Dorowa are feldspars, pyroxenes, apatite, magnetite and calcite. The metals hosted by the rocks include Ag, As, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni, Sb, Se and Zn. The study concludes that the minerals likely to host metals are calcite and apatite. Metal hosting is higher in apatite minerals than in calcite. Metal hosting by the other minerals observed in the study area is low.


BACKGROUND
Sickle cells have a shorter life span than normal red blood cells. It has been suggested that pregnancy complications for women with sickle cell anaemia may be reduced by regular blood transfusions. The aim is to maintain haemoglobin at 60-70% of the normal total.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this review was to assess the effects of a policy of routine blood transfusion for pregnant women with sickle cell disease with a policy of selective transfusion.

SEARCH STRATEGY
The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register was searched.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Acceptably controlled trials of blood transfusion in pregnant women with sickle cell disease.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Eligibility, trial quality assessment and data extraction were done by one reviewer.

MAIN RESULTS
One trial involving 72 women was included. Half the women received blood transfusion only if haemoglobin fell below 6g% and the other half received two units of blood every week for three weeks, or until haemoglobin level was 10-11g%. A policy of selective transfusion reduced the number of transfusions required at the expense of more frequent pain crises.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
There is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about the prophylactic use of blood transfusion for sickle cell anaemia during pregnancy.


This is solution for N-body problem without singularities and collisions using only Newtonian Physics. Here all bodies move and keep themselves in dynamic equilibrium with all other bodies depending on their present positions, velocities and masses. This model provides solution to problems, like Missing mass in Galaxies, Blue & red shifted Galaxies co-existence, Pioneer anomaly, New-horizons satellite trajectory calculations etc. Non collapsing large-scale mass structures formed when non-uniform density distributions of masses were used. This model explains the force behind expansion of universe and explains the large voids and non-uniform matter densities in universe. There are no Blackholes and Bigbang in this mathematical Model.


The symmetry of the crystal violet cation has been the subject of ongoing discussion since G. N. Lewis and co-workers called attention to the unexpected shoulder in its optical absorption spectrum. Strikingly absent from this debate is a description of the X-ray crystal structure of the common chloride salt, that compound to which the vast majority of the spectroscopic analyses pertain, and whose large crystals account for the familiar name. This absence is especially curious since a preliminary structure determination was made as early as 1943. Here, we present single crystal structures of two forms of crystal violet chloride, a monoclinic monohydrate and a trigonal nonahydrate. In principle, the pair is well suited to address whether desymmetrization is responsible for the shoulder since the cation is asymmetric in the monoclinic crystal, while it is axially symmetric in the trigonal crystal. Absorption spectra of the two crystalline forms were identical and dominated by peaks assigned to aggregates. Raman spectra also could not distinguish the hydrates from one another. Mixed crystals of benzene-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (phthalic acid) containing mM concentrations of crystal violet were prepared in order to study the cation fixed in a dissymmetric medium, yet free from aggregate absorption. Through this work, and a reevaluation of the literature, we show that the two prevailing theories for the shoulder, that there are two isomers in equilibrium, and that desymmetrization gives rise to two excited states, are not mutually exclusive.


The aim of this thesis is to use numerical modelling to evaluate practical guidelines for soil and large diameter rigid pipe interaction problems. A detailed critique is also given on current design methods, followed by an explanation of the alternative general criteria for field performance. Conventional design methods are generally based on Marston-Spangler theory developed for small diameter concrete non-prestressed pipe in the 1920's, which take no account of the actual material properties, true geometry and field construction procedure. Numerical analyses have been performed using the geotechnical finite element package CRISP, together with data from full scale site installation trials and three-edge bearing load tests. Practical guidance is given for various construction conditions. A brief summary of the main factors influencing the behaviour of buried rigid pipe are: the elastic properties of both the pipe and the surrounding soil, the placement, compaction, and any subsequent volumetric changes in the soils placed around the pipe, the variation of earth cover, geometry and bedding conditions, the weight of water, internal pressures, and prestressing effects from helically-wound steel wires. From this study, it was found that the prestressing and internal water pressures significantly affect the behaviour of buried pipe, leading to the change of bending stresses in the pipe wall. The improvement of construction techniques is also very important in terms of bedding condition and compaction of side fill, etc. In conclusion, current design practice is highly deficient, causing very uneconomical designs for buried large diameter rigid pipe. The finite element method has provided useful insights into an important practical engineering problem, and has indicated the critical design factor for large diameter buried rigid pipe.


As an important successional stage and main type of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in Shapotou region of China (southeastern edge of Tengger Desert), lichen soil crusts (LSCs) often suffer from many stresses, such as desiccation and excess light intensity. In this study, the chlorophyll fluorescence and CO2 exchange in the rehydrated LSCs were detected under a series of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) gradients to study the photosynthetic acclimation of LSCs. The results showed that although desiccation leaded to the loss of photosynthetic activity in LSCs, the fluorescence parameters including Fo, Fv and Fv/Fm of LSCs could be well recovered after rehydration. After the recovery of photosynthetic activity, the effective photosynthetic efficiency ΦPSII detected by Imaging PAM had declined to nearly 0 within both the lichen thallus upper and lower layers when the PAR increased to 200 μE m-2 s-1, however the net photosynthesis detected by the CO2 gas analyzer in the LSCs still appeared when the PAR increased to 1000 μE m-2 s-1. Our results indicate that LSCs acclimating to high PAR, on the one hand is ascribed to the special structure in crust lichens, making the incident light into the lichen thallus be weakened; on the other hand the massive accumulation of photosynthetic pigments in LSCs also provides a protective barrier for the photosynthetic organisms against radiation damage. Furthermore, the excessive light energy absorbed by crust lichens is also possibly dissipated by the increasing non-photochemical quenching, therefore to some extent providing some protection for LSCs.


This article introduces a scenario optimization framework for reliability-based design given measurements of the uncertain parameters. In contrast to traditional methods, scenario optimization makes direct use of the available data thereby eliminating the need for assuming a distribution class and estimating its hyper-parameters. Scenario theory provides formal bounds on the probabilistic performance of a design decision and certifies the system ability to comply with various requirements for future/unseen observations. This probabilistic certificate of correctness is non-asymptotic and distribution-free. Furthermore, chance-constrained optimization techniques are used to detect and eliminate the effects of outliers in the resulting optimal design. The proposed framework is exemplified on a benchmark robust control challenge problem having conflicting design objectives.


This paper examines the economic determinants that lead German firms to adopt value-based management and control systems (VBMSs). Further, we investigate whether firms' operating performance improves after VBMS adoption. Using a hand-collected data set of German listed firms covering 1,575 firm-years from 2004 to 2011, we predict and find that firms are more likely to adopt a VBMS when they are large and have low market-to-book ratios and high foreign sales ratios. In addition, VBMS adoption is more likely if the free float is larger than the blocking minority of 25%. These findings support our argument that the adoption of VBMSs is more likely when information asymmetry is high. However, we do not find that VBMS adoption improves operating performance. Therefore, our results indicate that German firms adopt VBMSs to appear more attractive and transparent to investors (signaling function), but not necessarily to improve performance. We conclude that our results should be interpreted against the background of increased shareholder value orientation among German firms and a long-standing tradition of a sophisticated cost accounting system. Author Contribution Statements


A man with polymyalgia rheumatica (patient 1) and two patients (2 and 3) with Felty's syndrome had neutropenia at the time of diagnosis. Bone marrow samples in each patient were cellular but showed an "arrest" of granulocyte maturation at the myelocyte stage. Agar colony growth of marrow cells from each patient was subnormal but increased after removal of sheep erythrocytes rosette-forming cells (thymus-dependent [T] cells) from marrow cell suspensions before culture. Preincubation of marrow cells with cortisol also enhanced colony growth. Maximum enhancement with cortisol occurred at 1 mM (patient 1), 1 microM (patient 2), and 10 nM (patient 3). Cortisol failed to enhance colony growth after removal of T cells from marrow cell suspensions. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and PBL-conditioned medium from all three patients inhibited colony growth of normal human marrow cells. Cortisol treatment of PBL or T depletion from PBL abrogated the inhibition in coculture and with conditioned medium. Prednisone therapy resulted in the disappearance of suppressor T-cell function concomitant with hematologic improvement in patients 2 and 3, but suppressor T cells persisted in patient 1, who did not respond to prednisone. We conclude that cortisol-sensitive T lymphocytes inhibited granulopoiesis in vitro probably by elaboration of a soluble factor or factors. Our results suggest (a) that neutropenia in these patients resulted, at least in part, from T-cell suppression of granulopoiesis, (b) that the effectiveness of prednisone therapy was a result of its inhibition of suppressor T cells, and (c) that responses to glucocorticoid therapy may be predicted in such patients with the agar culture technique and cortisol dose response in vitro.


Objective To understand whether thyroid cells can be directly infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and to establish a putative correlation with the expression of the host entry machinery: ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin. Methods We assessed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus at the gene level by RT-PCR, viral RNA transcripts localization by in situ hybridization, and by detecting viral proteins by immunohistochemistry for the nucleocapsid and the spike proteins. Furthermore, we also described the immunoexpression of key host factors for virus entry in the COVID-19 thyroid samples. Results We performed RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in all autopsy specimens and detected viral genome positivity in 13 of 15 thyroid tissues and in a lung specimen. In 9 of the 14 positive samples, we were also able to confirm SARS-CoV-2 signal by in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemistry for the viral nucleocapsid and spike protein was also positive for ten and nine of the RT-PCR-positive cases, respectively, but revealed a lower sensitivity. We also described, for the first time in a COVID-19 series, the immunohistochemical expression of ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin in the thyroid. Conclusions Our results obtained in thyroid specimens from deceased COVID-19 patients indicate that thyrocytes can be directly infected by SARS-CoV-2 since we detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genome in follicular cells. Nevertheless, we did not find a clear correlation between the presence of viral genome and the expression of the host factors for virus entry, namely ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin.


In their work published in 2001, "After Postmodernism" (López, Potter 2001), the editors Garry Potter and José López claim that postmodernism was the most influential intellectual trend of the last third of the 20th century, and one of the central trends in the Western cultural-theoretical thinking since the 1960s. Postmodernism managed to grasp the spirit of the time and at the same time challenge self-confidence, presented by the mind, objectivity and knowledge (ib. 3). At the same time the authors have to admit that by the beginning of the 21st century the heyday of postmodernism had passed, postmodernism was in the "stage of decline" and "out of fashion" (ib. 4). Today, in 2011, we have to admit that the early-decade prediction of Potter and López has come true; postmodern society is retreating and the postmodernist theory is on the decline and losing its central role.


To the Editor: We read with great interest the paper by Saugel et al. reporting that preinduction and lowest intraoperative blood pressure measurements are different than ambulatory measurements made during the daytime and nighttime. Without entering the debate as to whether intraoperative blood pressure measurements can be used as surrogates for organ perfusion, and the fact that there is only an association and not direct causation between intraoperative mean arterial pressures lower than 65 mmHg and adverse clinical outcomes, we would like to address some methodologic issues concerning this study. The two blood pressure monitors used in the study were not calibrated. It is possible that in the same individual there would be differences between simultaneous blood pressure measurements done with the two devices. Additionally, in the ambulatory setting, the blood pressure was measured on the nondominant arm. There is no information on whether this was also done in the operating room. This is an important issue as in many people there are differences in blood pressure measurements between the two arms. Moreover, in obese patients (who were not excluded), noninvasive blood pressure measurements are highly inaccurate when compared with invasive measurements. The arbitrary exclusion of very low and very high ambulatory blood pressure measurement "artefacts" and measurements done during the retiring and rising period could have skewed the results. Ambulatory blood pressure was measured at 30-min intervals, but then compared with intraoperative measurements made at 3-min intervals and invasively measured blood pressure at 1-min intervals. There were thus at least 10 times more measurements in the operating room than in the ambulatory setting, and it is well possible that the ambulatory measurements do not represent the variability in blood pressure for someone awake or asleep. Moreover, comparing intraoperative invasive with ambulatory noninvasive blood pressure measurements is problematic. First, these are totally different technologies that cannot be treated as equivalent. In the operating room, during hypotension, noninvasive blood pressure tends to be higher than invasive blood pressure, and during hypertension, the noninvasive blood pressure tends to be lower than invasive blood pressure.6 Second, placing and zeroing of the transducer for invasive blood pressure measurement must be standardized and checked continuously. A height difference of only 5 cm from the left atrium to the transducer results in a 4-mmHg reduction or elevation of the invasive blood pressure measurement. Third, technical issues such as air bubbles (causing "damping" and false lower blood pressure measurements) or amplifying of the signal (causing "overshoot" and false high blood pressure measurements) must be taken into consideration. Knowing the "normal" patient's blood pressure may help to optimize the intraoperative hemodynamics. But with the methods used in this study, the value of the results is questionable since in our opinion, "apples were compared with pears."


In 1975, North Dakota was the leading sunflower producing state in the United States with about 400,000 acres harvested. Two tests were conducted and compared on sunflowers at two different sites. Although sunflowers are considered relatively drought tolerant and adapted to a wide range of soil types, little information was available on the performance of sunflowers outside the generally more favorable soil and moisture conditions prevailing in the eastern part of the state. Sunflower yields from variety trials conducted at Carrington, Minot Clnd Williston,
ND, under sometimes drought-like conditions. Seed oil contents of oilseed varieties at Minot and Williston were similar to those of sunflowers produced at Casselton in the Red River Valley production area. Oil contents at Carrington and percentage of large seed of confectionery varieties at all three locations were lower than at Casselton. In 1975, the prices and yields, sunflowers were promising promise as an alternative crop for portions of central and western North Dakota.


Flavobacterium psychrophilum produces biofilms under laboratory conditions, and it has been inconclusively suggested that F. psychrophilum biofilms can be a potential reservoir for transmission of the pathogen to a fish population under fish farming conditions. Therefore, there is a need for anti-biofilm compounds. The main aim of this study was to determine the anti-biofilm properties of certain compounds and bacteriophages on F. psychrophilum biofilms under static conditions using a standard 96-well microtiter plate biofilm assay in vitro. Eight compounds (A-type proanthocyanidins, D-leucine, EDTA, emodin, fucoidan, L-alliin, parthenolide, and 2-aminoimidazole) at three sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs), four bacteriophages (Fpv-3, Fpv-9, Fpv-10, and Fpv-21), and a phage combination (Fpv-9 + Fpv-10) were tested for inhibition of biofilm formation and reduction of the biomass of mature biofilms formed by two smooth isolates (P7-9/10 and P1-10B/10) and two rough isolates (P7-9/2R/10 and P1-10B/2R/10) of F. psychrophilum. The crystal violet staining method was used to stain the biofilms. Most of the compounds at sub-MICs inhibited the biofilm formation of mainly smooth isolates, attaining up to 80% inhibition. Additionally, the same reduction trend was also observed for 2-aminoimidazole, emodin, parthenolide, and D-leucine on the biomass of mature biofilms in a concentration-dependent manner. The anti-biofilm properties of the compounds are believed to lie in their ability to disturb the cellular interactions during biofilm formation and probably to cause cell dispersal in already formed biofilms. Lytic bacteriophages efficiently inhibited biofilm formation of F. psychrophilum, while they partially reduced the biomass of mature biofilms. However, the phage combination (Fpv-9 + Fpv-10) showed a successful reduction in the biomass of F. psychrophilum mature biofilms. We conclude that inhibiting compounds together with bacteriophages may supplement the use of disinfectants against bacterial biofilms (e.g., F. psychrophilum biofilms), leading to a reduced occurrence of bacterial coldwater disease outbreaks at fish farms.


Several fundamental problems in hydrophobic force measurements by using AFM are discussed in this paper. A novel method for colloid probe preparation based on the chemical etching technology is proposed, which is specially fit for the unique demands of the hydrophobic force measurements by AFM. The features of three different approaches for the determination of spring constants of the rectangular cantilevers, including geometric dimension, Cleveland and Sader methods are compared. The influences of the sizes of the colloids on the measurements of the hydrophobic force curves are investigated. Our experimental results showed that, by selecting a colloid probe with a proper spring constant and a tip size, a real hydrophobic force, even the complete hydrophobic interaction force curve with every subtle change in details might be measured by using AFM.


In open pit mining from the safety point of view it is very important that physical and mechanicalcharacteristics of the dug-out materials are carefully studied, and geological and geotechnicalcharacteristics should also be considered in planning bench slopes of the dug-out materials. Thepurpose of this study is to work out the stable slope geometry of the eastern permanent slopes inthe Kifllakoy open pit lignite mine of the Afflin-Elbistan Linyit ‹flletmesi. In the Kifllakoy open pitmine, 35 geotechnical drillings totalling 3393.20 m were made for the geotechnical studies andto work out slope sizing. A total of 250 vertical electrical drillings (DES) were also made to studytectonic features and lithological changes which do not have surface expressions. All these datahave been used in this study. Design analyses showed that black coloured clay bands with highplasticity present in between lignite horizon is the most important unit controlling slope stability.Slope stability analyses have in general been conducted using the 'finite elements' and the 'limitequilibrium' method to suit block sliding model and to suit different groundwater conditions. Inthe analyses for the stresses affecting the slices; central part of the slice has been taken as a baseand the 'finite elements' stability studies have been conducted then the findings have beencompared. According to this it is understood that if stresses affecting the slices are conducted bythe 'finite elements' method then calculated factor of safety on the bench base would be morefrom 1% to 7%, and in the slope angles it would be more from 1% to 23%.1. Girifl


deterioration in the motives of those who present themselves as candidates for a career in the medical profession. He does but reiterate the view of all true educationists when he points out that personality cannot be measured by standardized intelligence tests, nor indeed by any method which does not ultimately depend upon human judgment. The truth is (and I am by no means alone in emphasizing this point) that the chief defect in most of the recruits for our profession to-day is the lack of an adequate standard of general education. I am fully aware of the practical difficulties and disadvantages which confront those who still dare to advocate a preliminary grounding in the humanities, and to insist that the essential purpose of a university is the pursuit of learning for its own sake. Nevertheless, it can hardly be denied that the deterioration in type of applicants for entry to the medical schools has increased pari passu with the tendency to cut short the general school curriculum in favour of early specialization, a tendency which, I regret to say, has been fostered to some extent by the older universities ever since they ceased to insist upon some measure of classical learning as a sine qua non of graduation. Medicine has always been, and still is, a vocation, and until our educational authorities are willing to make some attempt to revive this elemental conception I can see no real prospect of maintaining those traditional values upon which the reputation of British medicine has rested for many centuries, and which now seem to stand in some jeopardy, a danger of which most of your correspondents appear to be painfully aware.-I am, etc.,


Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the determinants affecting knowledge of healthcare students towards mental health challenges (MHCs) in a private medical university. Methods: A crosssectional observational study was conducted to correlates the different determinants of university students with their knowledge towards MHCs in a private university in Malaysia. Validated questionnaires were distributed using a convenient stratified sampling technique among students studying in the different healthcare faculties, namely medicine, pharmacy and dentistry. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 24.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: Among 284 study participants, male students had less adequate knowledge than females. The majority of the students from the studied faculties had adequate knowledge of MHCs. Students of the age group of 25-30 years had adequate knowledge of MHCs. Multiple logistic regression revealed that statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were present among the three studied variables i.e., faculty, year of education and healthcare professionals in the family. Conclusion: Overall good knowledge of MHCs was observed among the studied cohort of the healthcare students of the private medical university. The present study concluded that faculty, year of education and healthcare professionals in the family were the observed determinants of knowledge about MHCs among the study participants.


Proton arc therapy (PAT) has been proposed as a possible evolution for proton therapy. This commentary uses dosimetric and cancer risk evaluations from earlier studies to compare PAT with intensity modulated proton therapy. It is concluded that, although PAT may not produce better physical dose distributions than intensity modulated proton therapy, the radiobiological considerations associated with particular PAT techniques could offer the possibility of an increased therapeutic index.


Fifty-five state and territorial commissioners of mental health and chiefs of psychiatry at 158 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers were surveyed about current policies related to psychiatrists' roles as primary care providers in state and VA facilities. About half the respondents indicated that psychiatrists provided primary medical care or indicated interest in having psychiatrists provide such care. Less than half of this group limited such care to specific patient populations, and less than 25 percent required specific training for providers. The survey results indicate that opportunities for psychiatrists to provide primary care exist in many state and VA facilities but that no generally accepted guidelines or training standards for such practice have been developed.


On the way to developing an electronic watchman one more sense, i.e. gas sensing facilities, are added to an autonomous mobile robot. For the gas detection, up to eight metal oxide sensors are operated using a commercial sensor system. The robot is able to move and navigate autonomously. The geometric information is extracted from laser range finder data. This input is used to build up an internal map while driving. Using the new sensor the localisation of a gas source in unventilated in-house environments is performed. First experiments in a one-dimensional case show a very good correlation between the peak and the gas source. The one-dimensional concentration profile is repeatedly recorded and stable for at least two hours. The two-dimensional experiments exhibit a circulation of the air within the room due to temperature and hence density effects. The latter is limiting the available recording time for the two-dimensional mapping.


Conformal antenna arrays have long represented an attractive solution to challenges imposed by an electromagnetic aperture on an aerospace platform. This allows designers to trade between array positioning and geometry, and avoids the significant aerodynamic drag of a planar array. This is hampered by the expense of the design and computational modelling required to ensure that a conformal array will meet its performance requirements. The proposed approach uses raycasting techniques to predict the rectilinear projection of a conformal aperture onto the farfield to calculate the maximum achievable beam coverage (aperture maximum directivity envelope). In order to compare aperture projection with the performance of the modelled arrays in a consistent manner, the steering efficiency (SE), which is the fraction of the farfield steerable to within 3dB of the maximum directivity, was calculated for the aperture, stacked patch, and conical monopole elements. The stacked patch elements demonstrated a SE of 18% over the steering plane compared with 40% for the arbitrary directional elements, and the optimum of 38% for the aperture overall. The Conical monopole elements achieved a SE of 8%, compared to 20% for the measured elements, and 33% achieved with arbitrary omnidirectional elements. These results demonstrate that, for both omnidirectional and directional elements, the aperture projection method offers a compelling tool for conformal array design, which is consistent with the achieved array performance for the stacked patch and conical monopole elements.


In comparison to city-level and building-level sustainability research, neighborhood-level sustainable urban development is less studied. One of the ways of achieving sustainability at this level is the use of the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tool (NSAT), which focuses on the sustainable urban development of districts, communities, and neighborhoods. NSAT is comprised of urban sustainable indicators and associated points ascribed towards achieving specific urban agendas, called headline sustainability indicators (HSIs) and themes. In China, neighborhood-level sustainability agenda has just been recently established in 2017. Hence, there is an immediate need for NSAT development of multiple cities responding to specific regions of different climate zones in China. As an example, this study utilizes the case of Ningbo City, located in east China, for such NSAT development. This paper provides a comprehensive analytical and comparison study of eight Asian NSATs to highlight compatibilities and extract specific indicators for a new NSAT development for China. The results from this comparative and analytical study, developed through a multidimensional approach of sustainable pathway model (SPM) inform a new NSAT development in a new context. This novel contribution is significant in a context where neighborhood sustainability measures are recently developed. This study serves as the starting point for future research of NSATs in China and other countries.


EIA detection system for the measurement of alpha 2 M globulin and GFAP antigen has been developed. The limit of the sensibility was only 1 ng/ml for alpha 2M and 0.8 ng/ml for GFAP. The system was used for the studies of the penetration through the blood-brain barrier in rats with experimental acute brain ischemia. The measurement of alpha 2M and GFAP antigens by EIA technique 16-20 hours after the occlusion of the carotid artery has revealed disturbances in the blood-brain barrier permeability for specific brain proteins. The method is recommended for indirect evaluation of the blood-brain barrier functional disorders.


The authors have studied and clarified that ion nitriding was able to improve the fatigue properties of tool steel. Five kinds of ion nitriding methods (ion nitriding condition is different) were used in this study. The fatigue test had been performed using a rotating bending fatigue testing machine to investigate the effects of ion nitriding on fatigue properties of tool steel. The fractography was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and hardness distribution was also investigated using a microhardness tester. As a result, the fatigue strength and hardness of the ion nitrided specimen increased after ion nitriding processing. It is considered that the compressive residual stress which produced by ion nitriding processing in the layer reduced fatigue fracture, and the altered surface composition improved surface hardness. According to the results of the fatigue test, the optimal ion nitriding method on improving the fatigue limit of tool steel was determined. The hardness of the specimens remarkably increased after ion nitriding processing.


Background The significance of how occupational noise can influence attitudes towards occupational noise exposure, susceptibility to hearing loss and job performance has generally been neglected in the past studies. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the impact of occupational noise on attitudes towards occupational noise exposure, susceptibility to hearing loss and job performance of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) workers in Zimbabwe. Method A survey was conducted involving 250 respondents, including manufacturing SME workers, and the hypotheses were analysed by applying structural equation modelling. Results Occupational noise had a positive and significant effect on attitudes towards occupational noise exposure and perceived susceptibility to hearing loss amongst manufacturing SME workers. In addition, attitudes towards exposure to occupational noise and the perceived susceptibility of hearing loss have had a positive and significant impact on manufacturing SME workers' job performance. Conclusion The novelty of the research is its analysis of occupational noise as an indicator of attitudes towards occupational noise exposure and susceptibility to hearing loss as well as job performance. This study provides practitioners with beneficial implications. Collective knowledge on occupational noise could help manufacturing SME managers in recognising the perceptions of employees on occupational noise and how it ultimately affects job performance. Moreover, this study is intended to add new knowledge to the current body of African occupational noise literature – a context that has not received much research attention in developing countries.


1. The limitations inherent in the conventional treatment of glucose decay curves as first-order rate systems are described. 2. The conventionally derived K value is a rate constant and should not be confused with a rate. 3. First-order systems are described by this rate constant and the initial concentration of substance studied. They cannot be described by either factor alone. 4. Two parallel curves cannot both result from first-order systems. 5. If K is conventionally calculated for two parallel curves, then the value obtained for the upper curve must be smaller than the value for the lower.


The present article is about a research which had as fi nality get to know and understand the values concerning for the Legal Institution that is present in the discourse of civil policemen interviewed. For that, the interviewed people answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Three civil policemen were interviewed, all male, working at a police station in Paraná. For the treatment of the interviews was used the content analysis, which allowed the categorization of them. From that, it was revealed that the participants had predominantly an instituted speech about situations relevant to their practice, referring to the criminal law to answer the questions.


A rectus abdominis musculocutaneous island flap for breast reconstruction following mastectomy is presented. The vascular anatomy of the abdominal wall has been clinically studied in patients undergoing abdominal lipectomy. Cadaver dissections are shown, demonstrating the anatomy, arc of rotation, and design alternatives of the rectus abdominis flap. The surgical technique is demonstrated and representative patients are shown.


Biological productivity in the Southern Ocean is limited by iron availability. Previous studies of iron supply have focused on mixed‐layer entrainment and diapycnal fluxes. However, the Southern Ocean is a region highly energetic mesoscale and submesoscale turbulence. Here we investigate the role of eddies in supplying iron to the euphotic zone, using a flat‐bottom zonally re‐entrant model, configured to represent the Antarctic Circumpolar Current region, that is coupled to a biogeochemical model with a realistic seasonal cycle. Eddies are admitted or suppressed by changing the model's horizontal resolution. We utilize cross spectral analysis and the generalized Omega equation to temporally and spatially decompose the vertical transport attributable to mesoscale and submesoscale motions. Our results suggest that the mesoscale vertical fluxes provide a first‐order pathway for transporting iron across the mixing‐layer base, where diapycnal mixing is weak, and must be included in modeling the open‐Southern Ocean iron budget.


Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) evaluations have primarily focused on primary care providers and not on the primary care team. This systematic literature review examined the extent to which access and care coordination measures in PCMH reflect the involvement of associate care providers (ACPs), which include registered and licensed practical nurses, nursing and medical assistants, clerks, pharmacists, social workers, and dietitians. Among 42 studies, few measures specified ACP roles or linked ACP care to outcomes. Increasing attention on team-based care emphasizes a vital need to reframe measures within a team context.


Purpose: The study aims to address the low student motivation in learning and the lack of creativity, especially during lectures. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research used the qualitative descriptive research approach to determine the effectiveness of learning through an online instructional system. The participants comprised of 145 students of the Educational Administration study program. Practical Implications: The research findings indicated students' increased interest in conducting the discussions with the lecturers and the other students, proving the effectiveness of information systems in learning. With the challenges associated with mobility coupled with the convenience information systems present like almost unlimited access to academic information, the future of education will be inseparable from information systems. Before the current situation, online learning thought it had been around for years, it was unpopular, mostly it was used in developed countries, but currently, the abrupt global confinement has led to online schooling and learning as a new norm at a national level and also turning out to be a global trend, influencing the mode of learning and delivery in developing countries, such as Indonesia. Originality/Value: There are several studies conducted on information management systems in higher education learning, but its adoption in mainstream learning systems in higher education has been treated with reservations' policymakers in many countries. This study's value is to draw more attention to the empirical proof effectiveness of these systems in higher learning to stimulate policy shifts towards its adoption as mandatory mainstream learning systems even after the social lockdown measures are currently gripping the world.


Abstract In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the applicant Syngenta Crop Protection AG submitted a request to the competent national authority in France to modify the existing maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the active substance benzovindiflupyr in leeks and spring onions, green onions and Welsh onions. The data submitted in support of the request were found to be sufficient to derive MRL proposals for the crops under assessment. Adequate analytical methods for enforcement are available to control the residues of benzovindiflupyr on the commodities under consideration at the validated limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.01 mg/kg. Based on the risk assessment results, EFSA concluded that the short‐term and long‐term intake of residues resulting from the use of benzovindiflupyr according to the reported agricultural practices is unlikely to present a risk to consumer health.


Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is a parameter which reveals extent of the soil surface sites that can potentially retain cations by electrostatic forces. Different soil types vary in CEC values, which in turn depend on many factors (soil pH, texture, organic matter content, etc.). CEC is a good indicator of soil quality and fertility. CEC can be measured using different methods and it is difficult to recommend a universal one. The most commonly used methods include exchange of cations with a specific solution of known salt concentrations that are not present in the soil, followed by analytical detection of these cations by standard techniques. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the CEC and the amount of exchangeable cations measured on the same samples (n = 50) of soil with different characteristics, using two common methods (one with BaCl2 and the other with CH3COONH4 solution), and to determine their dependence on soil pH, content of organic matter and clay content. Correlation between the values of CEC measured with two different methods was very high (r=0.83). Still, significant difference between the two methods (F test, p ≤ 0.05) was noted. Transformation of the CEC values achieved by one method into the estimated values of the other method is possible. Very high correlation was observed between CEC (CECBaCl2 and CECCH3COONH4) and OM content in soil (r=0.78 and r=0.80), high correlation with soil pH (r=0.58 and r=0.52), and very weak or no correlation with clay content (r=0.12 and r=-0.04). Also, soil salt content influenced measured values of CEC (in CH3COONH4) and sum of exchangeable cations (in BaCl2).


Shock breakout X-ray emission has been reported for the first time from a supernova connected with a gamma-ray burst, namely, GRB 060218/SN 2006aj. The gamma-ray emission and the power-law-decaying X-ray afterglow are ascribed to a highly relativistic jet, while the thermal soft X-rays are thought to be produced when the radiation-dominated shock breaks from the optically thick stellar wind. We study the inverse Compton (IC) emission of the breakout thermal soft X-rays scattered by relativistic electrons in the jet forward shock, which is expected to be at larger radii than the breakout shock. This IC emission produces sub-GeV to GeV photons, which may be detectable by GLAST. The detection of such GeV photons simultaneously with the supernova shock breakout emission would provide us with evidence for the presence of a GRB jet ahead of the shock while the shock is breaking out. The anisotropic scattering between the X-rays and relativistic electrons may lead to large angle emission outside of the jet opening angle. This has implications for the detection of GeV photons from "burstless" Type Ib/c hypernova shock breakout, which, due to its more isotropic emission, might be observed with wide-field X-ray cameras such as Lobster.


In this paper we present a framework of how board chairperson practices may promote innovation in small entrepreneurial firms. A case study approach is employed involving interviews with experienced board members. In our analysis we identify a set of chairperson practices related to issues such as structure, processes and culture, which serves as prerequisites for effective board work. In addition, we distinguish another set of innovation-driving chairperson practices related to the cognitive aspects of the board's work. Overall, our findings provide a conceptual foundation for the value creating potential of board leadership embedded within the boundaries of the entrepreneurial firm and its operations.


In this paper we study distributionally robust stochastic programming in a setting where there is a specified reference probability measure and the uncertainty set of probability measures consists of measures in some sense close to the reference measure. We discuss law invariance of the associated worst case functional and consider two basic constructions of such uncertainty sets. Finally we illustrate some implications of the property of law invariance.


The oxide layer that usually covers the surface of liquid aluminum and its alloys, is one of the main factors that hinders infiltration of these alloys into graphite particle compacts. The oxide film increases the threshold pressure for infiltration and the porosity of the resulting composites is large because the wetting at the metal/carbon interface is reduced. Infiltrating graphite compacts with tin requires, however, a much lower pressure, less than half of that required to infiltrate the eutectic Al-12Si alloy. As the surface tension of tin is half that of the Al-12Si alloy, this result indicates that wetting at the Sn/C interface is slightly better. As a result, porosity in the infiltrated samples is reduced. In order to reduce the threshold pressure and improve the properties of Al-Si/graphite composites, a novel method has been used in this work that consists in placing a thin film of tin at the compact end through which infiltration takes place. During the infiltration process the graphite particles are firstly infiltrated by tin, which is pushed by the aluminum alloy, thus avoiding the oxidation of the latter. The method proved to be very effective in reducing the threshold pressure, while keeping almost constant the infiltration rate.


Firefly algorithm is among the nature-inspired optimization algorithms. The standard firefly algorithm has been successfully applied to many engineering problems. However, this algorithm might be stuck in stagnation (the solutions do not enhance anymore) or possibly fall in premature convergence (fall in to the local optimum) in searching space. It seems that both issues could be connected to the exploitation and exploration. Excessive exploitation leads to premature convergence, while excessive exploration slows down the convergence. In this study, the classical firefly algorithm is modified such that make a balance between exploitation and exploration. The purposed modified algorithm ranks and sorts the initial solutions. Next, the operators named insertion, swap and reversion are utilized to search the neighbourhood of solutions in the second group, in which all these operators are chosen randomly. After that, the acquired solutions combined with the first group and the firefly algorithm finds the new potential solutions. A multi-echelon supply chain network problem is chosen to investigate the decisions associated with the distribution of multiple products that are delivered through multiple distribution centres and retailers to end customers and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.


When I began to research the topic of master and servant legislation
in Tasmania my main object was to examine the factors leading to the
passage of the Master and Servant Act in 1856, to explain how it worked and
to examine its implications, principally in relation to the economic torts
of modern industrial law. However, I found that certain aspects of the
Act could not be explained without reference to the 1854 Master and
Servant Act and that, in turn, the 1852 Servants and Apprentices Act and
the 1840 Apprentices and Servants Act called for attention.
Although the 1840 legislation was the first of its type in Van
Diemen's Land it had been preceded in New South Wales by similar legislation
in 1828, and since the intention of the governments of both
colonies was to clear up doubts as to the applicability of English law
it became necessary to examine the English provisions which treated
breaches of contracts of employment as criminal offences.
The thesis is therefore much more of an historical study than was
originally intended, although Chapter 10 does attempt to show why the
continued existence of the 1856 Act still constitutes a danger to
unions and their members in Tasmania and in other states possessing
similar statutes. An analysis of each colonial Act is prefaced by a
chapter which seeks to place it in its political, social and economic
context with particular emphasis on the legal aspects of various
contemporary schemes of immigration.


This paper provides an overview of bilateral, multilateral development collaboration activities in the sanitation sector in Uganda, a sector not based on sewer pipes and support by public utilities. Efforts of donors are compared with provision of sanitary services by local actors in Kampala. International aid often overlooks the needs of urban slum dwellers. Aid tends to be used for rehabilitation and expansion of centralised sanitation solutions. To be effective in urban low-income areas, international aid should be geared to the specific conditions of the urban poor and include them in their project planning, which often concern building and maintaining pit latrines and creating a governance structure allowing maintenance and cost recovery. Benchmarking should take the reality of non-piped drinking water and sanitation into account. It should not only take the point of view of utilities or donors, but also bother about the views of the poor and their organisations.


Due to its advantages, including reduced operation time and cost, tunnelling with boring machines in urban areas has become a popular technique over hand-tunnelling or open-trench excavations. However, tunnelling in clayey soil poses a great challenge since the mechanical and physical properties of clays cause different issues, one of which is clogging. To solve this problem, engineers have treated the soils with different soil conditioners in order to change their rheological properties, improve their manageability and eliminate undesirable characteristics. However, the root of this problem is the lack of understanding the phenomenon and characterising it on the framework of soil mechanics. By considering the use of polymers, this paper aims to provide information regarding the theory involved in this mechanism and the factors influencing clogging potential. The authors present a systematic study of the physical and mechanical properties of plain soil and conditioned soil, which includes a direct shear test, vane shear test and Atterberg limits test. Results show that the initial water content, roughness of shear plate and percentage of additive have a significant effect on the clogging potential. Additionally, the results are plotted on an empirical diagram to understand the clogging potential by relating the clogging potential to soil properties.


We develop and analyze a general technique for learning with an unknown distribution drift. Given a sequence of independent observations from the last $T$ steps of a drifting distribution, our algorithm agnostically learns a family of functions with respect to the current distribution at time $T$. Unlike previous work, our technique does not require prior knowledge about the magnitude of the drift. Instead, the algorithm adapts to the sample data. Without explicitly estimating the drift, the algorithm learns a family of functions with almost the same error as a learning algorithm that knows the magnitude of the drift in advance. Furthermore, since our algorithm adapts to the data, it can guarantee a better learning error than an algorithm that relies on loose bounds on the drift.


Following the format of his earlier Companion to The Crying of Lot 49, J. Kerry Grant tackles Pynchon's first novel in his new offering, similarly targeted to those teaching or studying the novel in undergraduate courses. As Grant notes in his introduction, A Companion to V. is designed primarily to ease the inexperienced reader's first encounter with the daunting aspects of V., "its shifting points of view and its complex narrative structure, its cast of more than 150 characters and its extraordinarily wide range of reference" (xi). That said, Grant's companion will also appeal to a wider audience, for even sophisticated readers will appreciate not having to spend hours tracking down the sources of Pynchon's allusions or looking up critical commentaries about details of the novel. Need a primer on Wittgenstein's Tractatus? A clarification of Freud's psychoanalytic version of the theory of entropy? A brief biography of Mohammed Ahmad Ibn AI-Saiyid Abd Allah? Grant's companion proffers helpful illumination, giving fairly equal attention to frequently cited passages and fleeting details in the novel.


Background and aims : since faculty members are among the most important assets of higher education institutes, surveying and identifying factors associated with these sources which can be effective on their performance & stress, have gained increasing importance. Accordingly, the aim of this study was surveying the mediating effect of individual accountability in causal relations among conscientiousness, agreeableness, and stress and job satisfaction of faculty members. Methods: To conduct this study a sample consisting of 250 faculty members in three state universities were chosen using random stratified sampling. The data were gathered through NEO big five factor inventories and stress, job satisfaction and individual accountability questionnaires. To evaluate the relations among latent variables, measured in conceptual model, the structural equation modeling was used. Results: The results showed that the personality trait of conscientiousness bears a negative and significant relation with stress, a positive and significant relation with felt accountability, and the personality trait of agreeableness bears a positive and significant relation with satisfaction and a negative and significant relation with accountability. The results also showed that the relation between conscientiousness and job satisfaction is mediated through felt accountability. The mediating role of the felt accountability in the relation between the personality trait of agreeableness and job satisfaction was confirmed. Conclusion: According to the results, individual accountability affects the relation among personality traits, stress and job satisfaction of faculty members. The results put emphasis on the necessity of reassessing the mediating role of individual accountability in surveying the causal relation among personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and stress and job satisfaction.


The authors present seldom-discussed sources of error in force-guided motions to execute assemblies. Among these sources are noisy F/T (force/torque) readings, the presence of sliding and sticking frictions, and the possibilities of eccentric oblique impacts. They point out how most of these errors might be reduced or eliminated. The authors introduce the notion of straight line motion goals (SLMGs) and show how SLMGs can be considered as the basic building blocks of a dynamic planning strategy. The steps required to carry out peg-in-hole experiments are examined. It is shown how the torque vector can be used to compute the direction in which the peg should be compliantly moved to align the axes of the peg and the hole. The authors present an error-detection-and-recovery algorithm for these experiments and show the dependence of the success rate on the number of error-detection-and-recovery cycles allowed.<<ETX>>


Objectives: Shoulder pain is the third most common musculoskeletal complaint that necessitates physician consultation and significantly diminishes patients' quality of life. In this review, we analyzed clinical studies that investigated the use of Korean Medicine for the treatment of shoulder pain. Methods: We searched the online Korean databases, such as KMBase, DBpia, NDSL, RISS, KISS, and OASIS for clinical studies that report the use of Korean Medicine for shoulder pain. We analyzed the included studies with regard to study design, interventions, evaluations, and results. Results: We analyzed data from the following 29 studies: 14 clinical trials (which included 9 randomized controlled trials) and 15 observational studies (which included 11 case reports). In this review, we observed that post-stroke shoulder pain was the most common cause of shoulder pain, which was reported in 13 out of 29 studies (44.8%), although in actual clinical practice, patients are more likely to present with primary shoulder pain. Most included studies (72.4%) reported manual acupuncture as the most common intervention for shoulder pain. More than 50% of the studies used range of motion (58.6%) and the numeric rating scale (51.7%) to evaluate shoulder function and pain, respectively. Although the result was not statistically significant in all included studies, most studies concluded that Korean Medicine could be considered an effective treatment option in patients with shoulder pain. Conclusions: Based on analysis of studies included in this review, Korean Medicine can be considered useful clinical treatment for shoulder pain.