The early gut microbiome is essential for health, and diet has a profound influence in its composition. Oligosaccharides in breast milk or formula act as prebiotics, influencing gut microbiome structure. Here we simulated the impact of a dietary switch from fructooligosaccharides (FOS) to 2-fucosyllactose (2FL) in a continuous culture containing a consortium of species of the infant gut microbiome. During growth on FOS the consortium was dominated by Lactobacillus acidophilus, characterized by high amounts of lactate. Switching to 2FL led to a decrease in total biomass, and a recovery in Bifidobacterium infantis and Escherichia coli levels. While FOS was rapidly metabolized by the consortium, 2FL was utilized only after a delay. 2FL consumption was followed by a gradual switch from lactate to acetate. The activity of these bacterial species correlated well with gene expression analysis. Mathematical modeling of a multi-species consortium in continuous culture was capable to explain in great part the behavior of the system. The model was finally used to represent the outcome of the system after 48 h after each regime. This work highlights the impact of dietary changes in the gut microbiome, and provides a modeling framework to predict this influence.


AbstructThe scalable coherent interface (SCI) is a newly established IEEE standard thait provides bus-like services to a network of nodes without actually using a physical bus. Rather, it utilizes very fast, unidirectional liinks that can be arranged into a variety of topologies. SCI provides a novel fairness protocol that equally allocates bandwidth to all inodes on the network. When global fairness is not required., it is often desirable to relax its enforcement, in exchange for increased network utilization and better load balanciing. This paper presents an extension to the SCI flow control protocol that increases network utilization and, hence, attainable system throughput by enforcing fairness only among nodes whose transmissions interfere with one another. The enhanced protocol grants a node as much bandwidth as it requires, as long as its transmissions do not inhibit those of other nodes. Although this is commonly known as mu-min fairness, we more descriptively refer to it as relaxed fairness. We present extensive simulation results aad compare them to the standard SCI protocol and to our desired performance, which has been previously derived in the literature. The comparisons show that, on average, this enhancement can provide a substantial increase in performance over the original protocol.


Negative perceptions about migrants in Europe, the Continent with the largest social policy programmes, are driven by concerns that foreigners are a net fiscal burden. Paradoxically instruments of social inclusion are becoming a weapon of mass exclusion. Increasing concerns of public opinion are indeed pressing Governments, in the midst of the recession, to reduce welfare access by migrants or further tighten migration policies. Are there politically feasible alternatives to these two hardly enforceable (and procyclical) policy options? In this paper we look at economic and cultural determinants of negative perceptions about migrants in Europe. Based on a simple model of the perceived fiscal effects of migration and on a largely unexploited database (EU-Silc), we find no evidence that legal migrants, notably skilled migrants, are net recipients of transfers from the state. However, there is evidence of "residual dependency" on non-contributory transfers and selfselection of migrants more likely to draw on welfare in the countries with the most generous welfare state. Moreover, redistribution does not find much support among those who are in favour of immigration. A way out of the migration into the welfare state dilemma facing Europe involves i. co-ordinating safety nets across the EU, ii. adopting explicitly selective migration policies, and iii. improving activation programmes. Other options – such as restricting migration or welfare access by migrants – are however on the agenda of national Governments.


Motivation. Software maintenance is a significant part of the software life-cycle cost. Current research focuses on the maintenance of application software. Despite increased focus on systems integration, there is limited research on maintaining integrated systems. Before progressing with informing software integration practice, researchers therefore need to better understand the actual work of maintaining integrated systems. Research. To this end, a study of maintaining an integrated system in practice has been conducted. The study is conducted in the context of a community of volunteer software integrators. The research combines field studies with document analysis, asking: RQ1: How is knowledge of software failures developed during geographically distributed software maintenance? RQ2: How do software developers build knowledge of how to replace a businesscritical software system? RQ3: What are the characteristics of large-scale software maintenance work in a geographically distributed community of volunteers? Contributions. The main empirical contribution offered by this thesis is insight into the social and technical processes of maintaining an integrated system in a distributed community of volunteer software integrators. It offers a view of software maintenance where multiple stakeholders with different interests continuously negotiate over problems and their solutions. Focusing upon scarcity of resources and contradictory interests brings out the inherently political aspects of software maintenance. C1: Knowledge of software failures is developed through a process of negotiating over possible interpretations of available data, a process that is contingent upon situational issues such as workload, priorities, and responsibilities C2: A collective understanding of the scope, stakeholders, and sequence of activities for rewriting software evolves in response to new problems emerging from the rewrite efforts themselves as well as environmental changes C3: Maintaining an integrated system in a community of volunteers is characterized by scarcity of resources, an emphasis on coalition building, and volatility of stakeholders Two contributions to software maintenance practice are offered: C4: Recommendations for a lenient approach to coping with variability during corrective maintenance C5: Recommendations for an opportunity-driven approach to systems replacement


Aspect Based Sentiment Analysis techniques have been applied in several application domains. From the last two decades, these techniques have been developed mostly for product and service application domains. However, very few aspect-based sentiment techniques have been proposed for the movie application domain. Moreover, these techniques only mine specific aspects (Script, Director, and Actor) of a movie application domain, nevertheless, the movie application domain is more complex than the product and service application domain. Since, it contains NER (Named Entity Recognition) problem and it cannot be ignored, since there is an opinion often associated with it. Consequently, in this paper MAIM (Movie Aspect Identification Model) is proposed that can extract not only movie specific aspects, also identifies NEs (Named Entities) such as Person Name and Movie Title. The three main contributions are 1) the identification of infrequent aspects, 2) the identification of NE (named entity) in movie application domain, 3) identifying N-gram opinion words as an entity. MAIM incorporates the BiLSTM-CRF hybrid technique and is implemented on the movie application domain having precision 89.9%, recall 88.9% and f1-measure 89.4%. The experimental results show that MAIM performs better than baseline models CRF and LSTM-CRF.


Palatal rugae have been proven to be useful as a means of individual identification. As there are no antemortem data about palatal rugae, they have to be connected with other indicators, such as fingerprints with available antemortem data. Objectives: To assess the association of the direction patterns of palatal rugae prints and thumbprints in the Deutero-Malay sub-race to improve forensic identification. Methods: Palatal rugae intraoral photos and thumbprints scans were from 193 Deutero-Malay individuals aged between 18–25 years (170 female, 23 male). ImageJ and Adobe software was used to identify direction patterns of the palatal rugae and thumbprints. Results: An antero-posterior direction was the most common direction pattern among right (64.17%) and left (49.26%) palatal rugae and right (58.12%) and left (56.02%) thumbprints. An association with small effect size was found between first right palatal rugae and right thumbprint (p-value = 0.024; Cramer's V = 0.181) and with medium effect size between second left palatal rugae and left thumbprint (p-value = 0.000; Cramer's V = 0.332). Conclusion: There is a significant association between the direction patterns of palatal rugae and thumbprints. This finding may lead to the development of a new effective technique in forensic odontology identification.


This interdisciplinary thesis explores the relationship between commercial structures, such as advertising and exhibitions, and consumer agency during the period 1851-1914. Its first aim is to develop a new theoretical model that can account for the structure/agency relationship in the context of commercial discipline and consumer perception and agency. This aim arises from the fact that dominant poststructuralist models are unable to adequately consider and explain such relationships. The second aim of this thesis is to apply this model to the analysis of historical case studies to help further our understanding of the structure/agency relationship in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. The central argument presented is that commercial modes of representation at the beginning of the period, exemplified by The Great Exhibition of 1851, were coherent, totalising, and narrative-based, and because of this were easier to contest and see-through. As the period progressed, however, commercial representation fragmented into individual visual advertisements. These advertising fragments contested one another, and in doing so, worked to conceal the reality of their unity. This situation meant that consumers found it much more difficult to apprehend the nature of commercial manipulation and the world of production it concealed, and thus to articulate or action critiques of it.


It is inevitable to encounter many diseases of ostriches in Turkey as a consequence of the rapid expansion of ostrich farming and flocks in this country. Aspergillus fumigatus was isolated from the lungs and air sacs of a 3-month-old, male, blue-neck ostrich. In postmortem examination, the ingestion of a large amount of gravel was noted. The accumulated gravel had led to an occlusion of the passage between the proventriculus and gizzard. This work appears to be the first report of aspergillosis and gastric impaction developing together and leading to death in an ostrich.


Benthic foraminifera are valuable environmental indicators of heavy metal contaminants in marine environments. To broaden their effectiveness as bioindicators, this study compares individually the effects of selected heavy metal contaminants, including both metabolically essential and non-essential elements, on temperate rotalids and subtropical miliolids, as well as associated monothalamid foraminifera. To accomplish these aims, assemblages of foraminifera were grown experimentally from propagules (small juveniles) collected from two coastal sites: Sapelo Island, Georgia, and Little Duck Key, Florida, that provide an effective comparison between environments and types of foraminifera. Surface sediment was collected from both locations and sieved immediately after collection. Using the propagule method, assemblages of foraminifera were grown in the laboratory from propagules in the sediment samples. Two metabolically essential trace elements, nickel, and zinc, and two non-essential elements, arsenic and cadmium were used to represent both types of heavy metal. Experimental conditions were held constant while varying only the metal concentrations.
 In treatments from both origins, increasing concentrations of cadmium, nickel, and zinc led to decreases in abundance and diversity for the foraminifera. In addition, zinc, and to a lesser extent cadmium and nickel above certain concentrations, resulted in an increase of deformed tests among the foraminifera. Deformities occurred amongst the most common calcareous species from Sapelo island: Ammonia tepida and Haynesina germanica. Fewer deformities were observed in common calcareous species from Little Duck Key, the miliolids Quinqueloculina sabulosa and Quinqueloculina bosciana featured few deformities. Notably, monothalamid species such as Psammophaga sapela remained present at high metal concentrations. These results support previous research and reinforce the usefulness of rotalids such as A. tepida and H. germanica as bioindicators of heavy metal contamination as well as suggesting a possible use of monothalamids such as P. sapela in this manner.


Author(s): Guha, Sharmistha | Advisor(s): Rodriguez, Abel | Abstract: There has been a growing interest during recent years in connectomics, which is the study of interconnections or networks within the human brain. This interest has been spurred by the development of new imaging technologies, which allow researchers to peer non-invasively into the human brain and obtain data on connections. Motivated by these datasets, this dissertation develops a novel class of Bayesian regression models which study the relationships between neuro-scientific phenotypes and brain connectome networks of individuals.First, we introduce a novel approach that develops a regression framework of the brain network (represented in the form of a symmetric matrix) on a continuous phenotypic response. We propose a novel network shrinkage prior on the network predictor coefficient matrix. The proposed framework is able to identify nodes or functional regions in the brain network and interconnections between different regions, significantly related to the phenotypic response. To the best of our knowledge, our framework is the first principled Bayesian framework that enables identification of network nodes and edges significantly relatedto the response. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated with respect to a wide range of existing competitors available in the high dimensional frequentist and Bayesian literature using a variety of simulation studies. The proposed model identifies important brain regions and interconnections significantly associated with creativity for a group of subjects.Next, we extend our model to build network classifiers when a brain connectome network along with a binary response is provided for a group of individuals. Here we develop a broader class of global-local network shrinkage priors which includes the novel prior distribution specified earlier as a special case. We specifically consider two different global-local network shrinkage priors from this class of priors and investigate them using simulation studies. In particular, we assess their performance in terms of network classification and identifying influential network nodes and edges for the purpose of classification. We also demonstrate superior performance of our proposed network classifiers over state-of-the-art high dimensional classification techniques. Another major contribution remains developing theoretical conditions to guarantee asymptotically consistent classification for the proposed framework. In particular, we derive conditions on the number of network nodes, sparsity in the network coefficient matrix as a function of the sample size to achieve asymptotically optimal classification. While theoretical results on high dimensional binary regression with ordinary shrinkage priors have emerged recently, developing theory for our network classifier model involves several additional challenges due to the complex nature of the global local shrinkage prior developed here. The framework is used to classify individuals into high and low IQ groups based on their brain connectomes.Notably, the work discussed in the last two paragraphs tacitly assumes that all nodes and edges have similar impact on a phenotype for every individual. In our next project, we study a brain connectome data where this assumption is violated. In fact, there is a relatively less developed literature in neuroscience that argues for different groups of individuals having shared relationships between brain networks and phenotypes, though this literature lacks a principled Bayesian approach that takes into account different relationships of nodes and edges with the response for different groups of individuals and facilitates clustering of individuals. Motivated by this problem and our dataset, we have developed a Bayesian network mixture regression model. Simulation studies and analysis of the brain connectome dataset demonstrate superior performance of the proposed approach over the approach described earlier. Simulation studies are also used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach by varying the true and fitted number of clusters, size of the network and sample size.For these projects, computationally efficient Bayesian sampling algorithms are developed to enable computations even for reasonably large networks in presence of moderately large sample size.


It has recently been reported that the major green tea polyphenolic constituent, epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), mimics the cellular effects of insulin including the reductive effect on the gene expression of rate-limiting gluconeogenic enzymes in a cell culture system. We show that administration of green tea that contains EGCG caused a reduction in the level of mRNAs for gluconeogenic enzymes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase in the mouse liver. EGCG alone was also found to down-regulate the gene expression of these enzymes but not so curcumin or quercetin. The results of this study support the idea that green tea intake may be beneficial in the prevention of diabetes mellitus.


Speech intelligibility is a subjective performance index defined as the percentage of a message understood correctly. Often the results of speech intelligibility tests would suggest that conditions are acceptable, with Intelligibility Score (IS) of the order of 90% or more, while speech transmission performance may not be satisfactory. Subjective ratings of the Listening Easiness Score (LES), based on a discrete questionnaire, provide an alternative approach. A total of 239 primary school pupils, aged 7 to 11, evenly distributed among the grades, participated in the survey. The objective indicator Speech Transmission Index (STI) was also measured for each test setting in seven different positions in the laboratory classroom used for the test. Both IS and LES are inherently bounded, and their data distributions exhibit a significant accumulation of scores in the upper and lower parts. The resulting truncation problem has been addressed with a method based on the normal probability plot, enabling identification of mathematical models relating IS and LES to STI, as well as the estimation of related uncertainties. IS and LES exhibit substantially similar metrological capabilities, as, for both, model relative uncertainty does not exceed 4% and uncertainties in prediction of new observations are about twice as large.


A simple and fast solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) method is suggested for the speciation of Se (IV) and Se (VI) in water samples prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric (ETAAS) detection. For that purpose, 1-phenylthiosemicarbazide (PTC) was used as chelating agent and undecanol was used as extraction solvent. The pH of solution, extraction solvent volume, amount of ligand, effect of time for complex formation, and effect of possible foreign ions were also evaluated for quantitative and effective extraction of analyte. Under optimized parameters, detection limit (0.19 $\mu $g L$^{-1})$, limit of quantification (0.60 $\mu $g L$^{-1})$, relative standard deviation (4.6%), linear range (0.60-24 $\mu $g L$^{-1})$, relative error (-4.3%), and enrichment factor (53) were calculated, respectively. The accuracy of the SFODME method was confirmed with analysis of reference material (LGC 6010 Hard drinking water). The presented method was applied to water samples.


BACKGROUND
The prevalence of obesity among children is increasing, but treating obesity is difficult and has poor outcomes. We assessed the 4-year impact of a school-based educational intervention on physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

METHODS
A 6-year cluster-randomised study was used to evaluate an intervention programme for children in primary school in 2006-08. The intervention promoted healthy eating habits and physical activity in the school setting through the investigation, vision, action and change educational methodology that involves children as active participants in healthy change. BMI and physical activity were measured in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression was used to assess change in BMI over time.

RESULTS
The effect of the intervention was maintained 4 years after completion. Average increase in BMI was greater in the control than in the intervention group (3.85 ± 2.82 vs. 2.79 ± 2.37); the mean difference was 1.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.14-1.97). In the intervention group, the prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased (1.4 and 3.7%, respectively). In the control group, the prevalence of overweight increased (9.4%) and the prevalence of obesity decreased (1.6%). The control group spent more time in sedentary activities. No differences were observed in physical activities.

CONCLUSIONS
Control of weight gain was sustained 4-years after an educational intervention during the first 2 years of primary school. Future interventions to prevent obesity should build on principles viewing children as active agents of healthy change.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01156805.


The JSC NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by Texas A M University and JSC. The objectives of the program, which began nationally in 1964 and at JSC in 1965, are as follows: (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of the NASA centers. Each faculty fellow spent at least 10 weeks at JSC engaged in a research project in collaboration with a NASA/JSC colleague. This document is a compilation of the final reports on the research projects completed by the faculty fellows during the summer of 1993. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles from this report.


Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and complex communication needs often rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as a means of functional communication. This meta-analysis investigated how individual characteristics moderate effectiveness of three types of aided AAC: the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), speech-generating devices (SGDs), and other picture-based AAC. Effectiveness was measured via the Improvement Rate Difference. Results indicated that AAC has small to moderate effects on speech outcomes, and that SGDs appear to be most effective when considering any outcome measure with individuals with ASD without comorbid intellectual/developmental disorders (IDD). PECS appears to be most effective when considering any outcome measure with individuals with ASD and IDD. SGDs and PECS were the most effective type of AAC for preschoolers, when aggregating across outcome measures. No difference was found between systems for elementary-aged and older individuals.


Abstract Using problems from real life contexts which is related to learners' environment or their culture plays an important role in their learning that concept. In this regard, science educators especially physics educators search for real-life domain of theoretical concepts for effective science teaching and they consider analogical and physical models as an opportunity in their instruction. In the presented activity, we worked with 66 senior pre-service science teachers from our science teaching methods course. We used crowd movements as a real-life domain of our analogical models to scientifically explain a stampede case, then utilized physical model to explore continuity equation. Real life problem based scenarios could be used while taking advantage of the 3 D modeling in teaching of scientific principle. As a result, we found that pre-service teachers were able to make scientific explanation for causes of stampedes by using modeling activity. High school teachers and upper-level instructors could benefit from including the modeling activity introduced in this study to help their students understand the concepts related to continuity equation by designing a physical model based on an analogical model. Via the physical model, students are able to make predictions, observations, interpretations and explanations of a complex and abstract scientific phenomenon.


An ultra-low quiescent current output-capacitorless low-dropout (OCL-LDO) regulator with adaptive power transistors technique is presented in this paper. The proposed technique permits the regulator to transform itself between 2-stage and 3-stage cascaded topologies with respective power transistor, depending on the load current condition. As such, it enables the OCL-LDO regulator to achieve ultra-low power consumption, high stability and good transient response without the need of off-chip capacitor at the output. The proposed LDO regulator has been implemented and fabricated in a UMC 65-nm CMOS process. It occupies an active area of 0.017 mm2 . The measured results have shown that the proposed circuit consumes a quiescent current of 0.9 μA at no load, regulating the output at 1 V from a voltage supply of 1.2 V. It achieves full range stability from 0 to 100 mA load current at a maximum 100 pF parasitic capacitance load. The measured transient output voltage is 68.8 mV when load current is stepped from 0 to 100 mA in 300 ns with CL = 100 pF. The recovery time is about 6 μs. Compared to previously reported counterparts, the proposed OCL-LDO regulator shows a significant improvement in term of OCL-LDO transient figure-of-merit (FOM) as well as balanced performance parameters in terms of PSR, line regulation and load regulation.


Electronic commerce has had a considerable development in the world; it always implies information exchange, -being it frequently personal information-, between Internet users and site owners. Providing such data to a website, when usually users don't even know where the company is located, has brought concerns about the use of private information by online business. Some countries have started to pass laws and guidelines regarding the use of private information gathered online, and also non government associations have started to certificate websites in the use and management of personal data. This study explores and analyzes the content of 120 privacy statements from online companies established in Mexico to address all privacy dimensions that seems to be important in online environment and to evaluate characteristics and differences in the use of the personal identifiable information among them. When possible, a comparison is made between some of the results of this research for companies operating in Mexico, and the findings made by Pollach (2006) for companies operating in U.S.A. Finally some possible future work is described and some conclusions are made.


Many studies have reported that a patient can move even when an immobilization device is used. Researchers have developed an immobilization-device quality-assurance (QA) system that evaluates the validity of immobilization devices. The QA system consists of force-sensing-resistor (FSR) sensor units, an electric circuit, a signal conditioning device, and a control personal computer (PC) with in-house software. The QA system is designed to measure the force between an immobilization device and a patient's skin by using the FSR sensor unit. This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using the QA system in radiation-exposure situations. When the FSR sensor unit was irradiated with a computed tomography (CT) beam and a treatment beam from a linear accelerator (LINAC), the stability of the output signal, the image artifact on the CT image, and changing the variation on the patient's dose were tested. The results of this study demonstrate that this system is promising in that it performed within the error range (signal variation on CT beam < 0.30 kPa, root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the two CT images according to presence or absence of the FSR sensor unit < 15 HU, signal variation on the treatment beam < 0.15 kPa, and dose difference between the presence and the absence of the FSR sensor unit < 0.02%). Based on the obtained results, we will volunteer tests to investigate the clinical feasibility of the QA system.


The new subject of citizenship requires that students undertake community service. This is something which is also being emphasized in other countries. The International Baccalaureate has pioneered such work for thirty years. It includes a compulsory element of community service 'Creativity, Action, Service' (CAS) involving about half a day per week for two years. Though many students are likely to find this motivating the very fact that it is compulsory means that this may not always be the case. In general, the benefits of community service to what might be termed the 'recipient' are self‐evident. Within the context of educational programmes, however, the relationship between encouraging service for reasons related to the greater good of the community, and for reasons related to the associated benefits to the individual student, is a delicate one. This paper describes a study undertaken in an international school. The study was initiated with the major purpose of determining the extent to which the school had been successful in developing the CAS programme. In particular, the study aimed to establish to what extent CAS participants achieved the programme's prescribed aims, to highlight any aims not fully achieved and, through reflecting on why this might be the case, to identify how improvements could be made. As a result of the findings it was possible to make a number of recommendations for improvements, with implications for such work both in the school and at a more general level.


The impact of iodination on the total mutagenic activity (TMA) of chlorinated tap water was studied. Iodination was made, by using iodine in doses of 0.5 to 4.0 mg/l on an experimental unit at pH 7.3-7.5 for 30 min. Organic water pollutants were concentrated, by using the polymer sorbent Separon SE. The mutagenic activity of water concentrates was evaluated in the Ames test using the strains Salmonella TA 100 and TA 98 both in the presence and in the absence of the metabolic activation system. Iodination substantially reduced the TMA of chlorinated tap water. The minimally effective dose of iodine against the TMA of chlorinated tap water was 1 mg/l, as evidenced by the tests using all the strains/variants and 0.5 mg/l, as shown by the tests using the strain TA 100 in the variant without metabolic activation.


The mechanical behaviors of prototype and simulated model of reinforced concrete aqueduct with multi-longitudinal beams were analyzed by 3D FEM. The regularity of structural deformation and concrete stress of the aqueducts were studied, what influenced by the surface force instead of dead weight and the equivalent concentrated load or ladder load instead of lateral water load. The rationality of the loading method for aqueduct model test is evaluated. It shows that the ladder surface pressure is superior to concentrated loads to simulate the lateral water load, and the equivalent dead loads can be added reasonably to simulate the additional self-weight of model.


Using GC-MS the volatile composition of Jasonia glutinosa D. C., was studied by comparing two different methods for the isolation of a volatile fraction: distillation from the fresh plant in order to obtain the essential oil, and direct thermal desorption (DTD). Compared with essential oil extraction the main advantages of the DTD technique are the smaller sample amount required, and the increased range of volatile compounds which can be subsequently analysed by GC-MS.


Healthcare providers often rely on surrogates to decide on behalf of their patients with dementia who are deemed incapable of exercising autonomy. There is a longstanding debate about the appropriate standard of surrogate healthcare decisionmaking for these patients. Many influential scholars argue that the precedent autonomy of the person with dementia should be respected, and healthcare decision-making laws generally reflect this principle. These laws direct surrogate decisionmakers to follow instructions in living wills or to decide on the basis of the wishes and values of the person before the onset of dementia. But other prominent scholars have questioned whether surrogates should instead use the best interests standard, which accounts for the current interests of the person with dementia.

This debate about decision-making standards ignores an arguably more important issue: who should be deciding? Empirical research demonstrates that persons with mild dementia retain the ability to make or participate in decisions despite their acquired cognitive impairments, and that they prefer to be actively involved in healthcare decisionmaking. However, persons with dementia are routinely marginalized in the decision-making process, which leads to a decline in their psychological wellbeing.

Based on studies of their decision-making abilities, preferences, and experiences, this Article will argue that persons with dementia should not be prevented from making their own healthcare decisions. Stated differently, persons with dementia should have the legal right to make their own healthcare decisions at the time when the decisions need to be made. Ensuring this right will require looking beyond surrogate-based healthcare decision-making law, which facilitates the exclusion of persons with dementia from decisionmaking.

Disability law in six U.S. jurisdictions provides an alternative decision-making model, known as supported decisionmaking, which empowers persons with cognitive impairments to make their own decisions and could be usefully applied to dementia. In supported decisionmaking, an adult with a disability (the "principal") voluntarily chooses people to assist them in decisionmaking (a "supporter") and formalizes this arrangement in a written agreement. The supporter's role is to help the principal gather relevant information, think through the decision, and convey the decision to other people. Supported decisionmaking preserves the legal decision-making authority of a person with a disability rather than transferring such authority to a surrogate. Because supported decisionmaking accords with the preferences and interests of persons with dementia, supported decision-making laws should be widely adopted.

This novel application of supported decisionmaking to dementia also provides insight into the nature of autonomy in the larger context of late-life healthcare decisionmaking. My past research has demonstrated that autonomous decisionmaking in this context is relational, which is consistent with supported decisionmaking. This Article will further build upon this conceptualization and advance a new understanding of autonomy in healthcare decisionmaking as more closely approximating relational agency. With this revised understanding of autonomy and the adoption of supported decisionmaking, persons with dementia can remain autonomous for longer in the progression of their disease.


Course guide to support GER 435: German and Austrian Exile Literatures (1933-1945) taught by Dr. Paul Michael Lutzeler (Fall 2015)


Interference from digital signals in multipair cables has been shown to be cyclostationary under some conditions. This work evaluates the performance of a decision feedback equalizer (DFE) in the presence of cyclostationary interference (CI), intersymbol interference (ISI), and additive white noise (AWN). A comparison between a DFE with CI and one with stationary interference (SI) shows the ability of the DFE to substantially suppress CI. Fractionally spaced and symbol-rate DFE equalizers are also compared and the former is found to yield better performance, especially in the presence of CI. The use of a symbol-rate DFE using an adaptive timing technique that finds the receiver's best sampling phase is proposed for when the fractionally spaced DFE cannot be used because of its complexity. The results also demonstrate the potential benefits of synchronizing central office transmitter clocks, if a fractionally spaced DFE is used at the receiver. >


of the usual charges about excessive caution on the offensive, he does indict the British army for the intellectual failure to develop training and doctrine for pursuit after a breakout. The core of Rommel's army did escape after El Alamein, but the British created a massive traflk jam in their desire to trap the Axis forces rather than give some units priority for pursuit. Barr, a senior lecturer in Defense Studies at Kings College London, relies on extensive research in army archives in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and also uses translated German material. The Italian forces, a majority of the Axis troops, receive relatively little attention. His observations reflect a deep familiarity with British army traditions, as well as insight gained from leading professional tours of the El Alamein battlefields.


Summary: It is the first occasion in this series of lectures in which the major part of the problem under discussion concerns the work of the lecturer himself. This is rather like entering the confessional in public, and you will forgive me, I know, for having provided myself with a few lantern slides in order to darken the room from time to time. A diffieulty that became very real to me in preparing this lecture was to recall my actual processes of thought at the time of this work 21 years ago. So much has happened since which has a direct bearing on it that it is extremely difficult to cast out things which have since become, so to speak, part of my phenotypic constitution. However, I will try to be strictly honest and if things in fact did not occur in the way in which, in the light of the present knowledge, they ought to have occurred, this is not my fault. I am instructed to discuss the interplay of theory, experiment, models and chance in my work; this means that I really have to be frank!


Abstract In order to examine the association between high nutritional risk status and severe functional disability (any ADL and any IADL) among a racially diverse sample of community-dwelling older adults participating in the home-delivered nutrition program, a cross-sectional analysis was performed on data collected on all participants (n = 245) in two rural North Carolina counties. Using multivariate logistic models, participants with a high nutritional risk status were 2.4 times more likely to report severe functional disability than those with low or moderate nutritional risk status. Age demonstrated an unexpected inverse association with both nutritional risk status and functional disability. This study supports the conclusion that home-delivered nutrition participants at high risk for poor nutrition are also at high risk for severe functional disability. This underscores the importance of nutritional and functional screening as an antecedent for community-based targeted interventions to help older adults remain independent and in their home.


Abstract Bacground: Oral tobacco consumption predisposes to cancer. The pattern of its use in rural Indian cancer patients is unknown. Aim: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of oral tobacco consumption in cancer patients. Objectives: To identify oral tobacco consumption pattern with respect to demographic variables and clinical profiles in adult Indian rural cancer patients. Materials and Methods: All consecutive individual adult (age >18 years) patients diagnosed with any cancer and registered in the Medical Oncology Outpatient department were enrolled for questionnaire-based survey on oral tobacco consumption between July 2017 and October 2017. Demographic variables were also recorded, including income, education, and occupation. Frequency distribution and cross-tabulation were used for statistical analysis using SPSS version 17. Results: Of 517 cancer patients enrolled, 456 (88%) were rural. 230/517 (44%) consumed several forms of oral tobacco. Out of 230, 179 (78%) of them had dried tobacco leaves, whereas 23 (10%) and 26 (11%) had Gutkha and pan (betel leaves) alone, respectively. 63 (27%) consumed tobacco leaves and gutkha both. 163 (91%) of tobacco chewers were male, whereas 65% of pan chewers were male and 35% of females. About 48% of tobacco chewers were addicted since >20 years, whereas 13% started in the past 5 years. 47/179 (26%) of tobacco chewers were illiterate, whereas 13/179 (7.2%) were graduates. 106 (59%) had monthly income of between Rs. 5000–10,000. 57 (32%) and 40 (22%) were farmers and laborers, respectively. 25/215 (12%) housewives were addicted. 41/58 (70%) of the head-and-neck cancer patients consumed tobacco products, where 29/41 (70%) used dried tobacco leaves to chew. Conclusion: More than 40% of adult Indian rural cancer patients consume oral smokeless tobacco products. Dried tobacco leaves are the most common form of smokeless tobacco consumed.


Using the data on the maximum wind speed within ten minutes every month in the period 1971-2009 in Zhucheng City of Shandong Province, we conduct statistical analysis of the maximum wind speed in Zhucheng City. The results show that over thirty-nine years, the annual maximum wind speed in four seasons in Zhucheng City tends to decline. The annual maximum wind speed declines at the rate of 1.45 m/s every 10 years. It falls fastest in winter, with decline rate of 1.73 m /s every 10 years; it is close to the average annual maximum wind speed in spring and autumn, with decline rate of 1.44 m/s and 14.8 m/s every 10 years, respectively; it falls slowest in summer, and the extreme value of the maximum wind speed occurs mainly in spring. The curve of changes in the monthly maximum wind speed in Zhucheng City assumes diminishing shape of "two peaks and one trough". We conduct preliminary analysis of the windy weather situation, and put forth specific defensive measures against the hazards of strong winds in the different periods.


Background: High intake of folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 have been hypothesized to lower the risk for breast cancer. We conducted a population-based case-control study to evaluate the risk for breast cancer among Mexican women with relatively low vitamin intakes. Methods: We included 475 women (median age, 53 years; range, 23-87 years) diagnosed with incident breast cancer through six hospitals in Mexico City and interviewed them to obtain data on breast cancer risk factors and their usual diet using a food frequency questionnaire. We selected 1,391 (median age, 49 years; range, 18-82 years) controls from the Mexico City population using a national sampling frame. Results: Compared with women in the lowest quartile, the odds ratio for breast cancer for women in the highest quartile of folate intake was 0.64 [95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.45-0.90; P, test for trend = 0.009] and 0.32 (95% CI, 0.22-0.49; P, test for trend < 0.0001) for vitamin B12 intake. Among postmenopausal women, intakes of folate and vitamin B12 were associated with a lower risk of breast cancer and those associations were stronger than among premenopausal women. The inverse association of folate and breast cancer was stronger among women who consumed a high level of vitamin B12 as compared with women consuming diets low in vitamin B12. No association was observed for vitamin B6 intake. Conclusions: In this population, high intakes of folate and vitamin B12 were independently associated with decreased breast cancer risk, particularly among postmenopausal women. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(3):443–8)


Collection and research activities in biology at the New York State Museum (NYSM) are centered in the Biological Survey. Its operating funds are set by the governor, the state legislature, and the state education department. Additional funding is provided from grants and the New York State Museum Institute. Operating budgets and staff size between 1973 and 1994 were rather constant or rose somewhat during the first three-fourths of this period, then increased dramatically as a result of special appropriations by the legislature. In recent fiscal years, there were major cuts in the NYSM's operating budget, and the Biological and Geological Surveys were especially targeted for "downsizing." The museum embarked on a campaign to have the proposed cuts more broadly assigned or the funding restored. The methods used included testimonials to legislators by survey clients and visits by museum staff to explain the benefits of the surveys. The Museum Visiting Committee and the Business and Industry Advisory Council were formed to further ensure support of the surveys. This advocacy emphasized the importance of a clear focus on actual and potential client needs in research and other programs of the surveys, constantly advertising what we do, and broadly-based collaborative projects that make good use of expertise existing in the state. The Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) was created by legislation in 1993 and placed within the NYSM.


Emission from blazar jets in the ultraviolet, optical, and infrared is polarized. If these low-energy photons were inverse-Compton scattered, the upscattered high-energy photons retain a fraction of the polarization. Current and future X-ray and gamma-ray polarimeters such as INTEGRAL-SPI, PoGOLITE, X-Calibur, Gamma-Ray Burst Polarimeter, GEMS-like missions, ASTRO-H, and POLARIX have the potential to discover polarized X-rays and gamma-rays from blazar jets for the first time. Detection of such polarization will open a qualitatively new window into high-energy blazar emission; actual measurements of polarization degree and angle will quantitatively test theories of jet emission mechanisms. We examine the detection prospects of blazars by these polarimetry missions using examples of 3C 279, PKS 1510-089, and 3C 454.3, bright sources with relatively high degrees of low-energy polarization. We conclude that while balloon polarimeters will be challenged to detect blazars within reasonable observational times (with X-Calibur offering the most promising prospects), space-based missions should detect the brightest blazars for polarization fractions down to a few percent. Typical flaring activity of blazars could boost the overall number of polarimetric detections by nearly a factor of five to six purely accounting for flux increase of the brightest of the comprehensive, all-sky, Fermi-LAT blazar distribution. The instantaneous increase in the number of detections is approximately a factor of two, assuming a duty cycle of 20% for every source. The detectability of particular blazars may be reduced if variations in the flux and polarization fraction are anticorrelated. Simultaneous use of variability and polarization trends could guide the selection of blazars for high-energy polarimetric observations.


This paper presents a creep-fatigue life assessment of a typical hydrogenation reactor made of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and subjected to inner pressure and thermal gradient using the Linear Matching Method (LMM) framework. The LMM framework has been implemented as a plug-in with a graphic user interface within the commercial finite element software ABAQUS for improved usability and accuracy. The study is performed with the latest developed extended Direct Steady Cycle Analysis (eDSCA) module for creep-fatigue interaction assessment. The design operating condition is determined by the shakedown analysis using corresponding modules in the LMM framework. The creep-fatigue analysis is then conducted using the Ramberg-Osgood (R-O) model considering temperature-dependent stress-strain relationship for cyclic steady-state plastic behaviour and non-isothermal Norton-Bailey model for creep strain evaluation. Damage assessment considers time fraction rule for creep damage evaluation, e-N curve and total strain range for fatigue damage evaluation, and bi-linear damage rule for total creep-fatigue damage evaluation. The influence of dwell time and internal pressure on the number of cycles to failure has been studied. Based on that, a series of analytic functions have been formulated for practical use in the petrochemical industry.


Study of the ethics, processes, and people which constitute the maintenance of health for human beings. Consists of the theological, philosophical, medical, scientific, and legal aspects of these issues. This guide is primarily from a Catholic viewpoint.


The implementation of social responsibility is not solely to meet the expectations of the public, but as a form of devotion to Allah. Good values in social responsibility are shown for the formation of a physically and morally prosperous society, as well as to achieve happiness ( fâlah ) in the world and the hereafter. Activities of Islamic banks is not only to maximize financial profit but also to achieve social welfare as an effort to fulfill the maqâshid syari'ah . Therefore, a policy of social responsibility of Islamic banks should be legally integrated in their operational systems and as an obligatory mandate to optimize achievement. DOI:  10.15408/ajis.v16i1.2894


on the pages are purposely set in varying type styles, with annotations about typeface, size and leading: how admirable to have put all this information under one cover. Yet, sadly, it suffers the critical flaw that, too often, the typography and layout of the book contradict the book's own principles. For example, nearly all the text is set in 8.5 point type with 12 point leading, regardless of typeface. While this may be convenient for type comparisons, the effect is devastating for the reader, since some type styles can survive dense paragraphs at that setting, while others cannot. In the book's opening pages, the boldface, small cap headings for "dedication" and "acknowledgments" are so small and tightly letter spaced that they are all but unreadable. These strange errors, of which there are many throughout the book, are not quibbles. The relationship between what one says (content) and how one speaks (form) is essential in design, which is largely about form and function and, in the end, the book undermines its own credibility. It is, after all, an arrangement of type about type arrangement, a book about book design. (Reprinted by permission from Ballast Quarterly Review 14, No. 3, Spring 1999.)


markdownabstractInfluenza viruses are among the leading causes of acute respiratory tract infections worldwide. Natural influenza virus infections elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses. Although, neutralizing antibodies directed to the hemagglutinin (HA) globular head domain prevent reinfection with the same influenza virus they exert limited/no cross-reactivity with antigenically drifted variants or influenza viruses of different strains, it is therefore of interest to identify other correlates of protection. Cellular immunity, especially influenza virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), contribute to rapid clearance of influenza virus infections and thereby reduce viral shedding. Influenza virus-specific CTLs, elicited after seasonal influenza virus infections, are mainly directed to conserved internal proteins. In this dissertation we were able to demonstrate the cross-reactivity of seasonal influenza virus-specific CTLs with the novel and potentially pandemic A/H7N9 virus and between different lineages of influenza B viruses. Furthermore, using an unique PBMC donor cohort we were able to assess the longevity of these cells in healthy individuals. In addition, we were able to demonstrate that human influenza A viruses can impair the recognition of the HLA-A*0201 restricted and highly conserved M158-66 epitope by specific CTLs by variations in the extra-epitopic amino acids. This CTL evasion strategy may have implications for the viral replication kinetics in HLA-A*0201 individuals and thus the spread of influenza A viruses in the human population. Finally, we describe a novel adjuvant, G3/DT, that improves the immunogenicity of a standard inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine in terms of enhancing the antibody response and inducing a protective CTL response.


SHARK-NIR is one of the two coronagraphic instruments proposed for the Large Binocular Telescope. Together with SHARK-VIS (performing coronagraphic imaging in the visible domain), it will offer the possibility to do binocular observations combining direct imaging, coronagraphic imaging and coronagraphic low resolution spectroscopy in a wide wavelength domain, going from 0.5{\mu}m to 1.7{\mu}m. Additionally, the contemporary usage of LMIRCam, the coronagraphic LBTI NIR camera, working from K to L band, will extend even more the covered wavelength range. In January 2017 SHARK-NIR underwent a successful final design review, which endorsed the instrument for construction and future implementation at LBT. We report here the final design of the instrument, which foresees two intermediate pupil planes and three focal planes to accomodate a certain number of coronagraphic techniques, selected to maximize the instrument contrast at various distances from the star. Exo-Planets search and characterization has been the science case driving the instrument design, but the SOUL upgrade of the LBT AO will increase the instrument performance in the faint end regime, allowing to do galactic (jets and disks) and extra-galactic (AGN and QSO) science on a relatively wide sample of targets, normally not reachable in other similar facilities.


Abstract : This report documents the results of dynamic material response tests of 5 rock and 2 grouts that were performed in support of DNA's HYDROPLUS yield verification program. Pennsylvania slate, Maine slate, thawed permafrost phyllite, SHIST granite, Sierra White granite, HSG-14 grout and a granite grout were characterized in the stress range of 0.5 to 15 GPa by the derivation of Hugoniot data and by loading and release paths calculated from Lagrangian analyses of in situ stress gauge measurements. The anisotropic response of the Pennsylvania and Maine Slates was quantified. An inflection in the Hugoniot of thawed permafrost Phyllite was detected at a stress of 14.8 GPa and particle velocity of 0.95 km/s. The HSGA and granite grouts each show dispersive wave propagation characteristics at low stresses (<2 GPa). Transmitted wave profile measurements in SHIST and Sierra White granites also showed a dispersive ramp loading at low stresses. Evidence of a yield or phase transition beginning at 6 GPa and stiffening at about 10 GPa was observed in SHIST granite. A two wave structure was seen at 13.4 GPa. The Sierra White granite high stress data are consistent with the inflection in the SHIST granite Hugoniot at 10 GPa. (MM)


The purpose of this article is to examine some issues in social representations theory, distinguishing among different terms, concepts and theoretical approaches. A theoretical model of social representations as an architecture of cognitions (empirical indicators, conceptions, theories) is suggested and tested through a re-analysis of the data presented in Mugny & Carugati's monograph (1985) about social representations of intelligence. A confirmatory second-order analysis (LISREL) has been conducted with the original sample and with various sub-samples (women; 'mysterious and ignorant' women; 'non mysterious-non ignorant' women; mothers non teachers; teachers non mothers). The strategy of testing the model in sub-samples of women goes with the role, already illustrated in the monograph on intelligence, played by the subjective inexplicability about a target-topic, and by social positions and social identities of subjects. The theoretical model is then discussed within the general framework of the sociogenesis and socialization of social representations, as significant socio-cognitive structures of different levels of symbolic productions.


Context Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most challenging diseases to treat. Even patients able to undergo resection for potential cure have a high risk of recurrence and require close monitoring. The typical areas of recurrence and/or metastasis are the surgical bed, liver, and lungs. We present a rare case of a solitary bone metastasis identified seven years after a Whipple procedure for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This is the first case report to demonstrate its ability to metastasize to bone in the absence of other systemic disease more than 7 years after surgical resection and adjuvant therapy. Case report The patient initially presented with a locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma that was resected, pT3N1b. He was treated with 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy, and monitored thereafter with quarterly MRI's of the abdomen and pelvis, and the CA 19-9 tumor marker. The patient had a good performance status (KPS 100), with no evidence of recurrence until over 7 years later, when an elevation in his CA 19-9 triggered a systemic workup. An isolated sclerotic lesion in the right sacral ala was identified on imaging and biopsied, found to be adenocarcinoma, consistent with pancreaticobilliary origin. Conclusions This case highlights the unusual ability of pancreatic adenocarcinoma to recur many years after treatment. It also shows the potential for pancreatic adenocarcinoma to metastasize to the bone as a solitary lesion and illustrates the role of CA 19-9 in monitoring tumor recurrence and treatment response. As patients may live longer with the recent advances in chemotherapy, this report may help inform providers about possible unusual patterns of recurrence.


Ice-rich permafrost deposits such as Yedoma are highly sensitive to thaw and given that they contain up to one third of the organic carbon content of the Northern circumpolar permafrost region, their degradation is considered to be a potential climate tipping point on Earth. Accurately predicting the impact of climate warming on the fate of organic carbon in Yedoma requires better constraints on the mineral element reserve in these deposits. This study provides evidence for the homogeneity of chemical composition and mineralogy of Yedoma deposits with depth. This suggests that upon deep thaw through thermokarst or thermo-erosion a high reserve in mineral nutrients is likely to be exposed also from deeper deposits.


Glymour MM, Berkman LF, Ertel KA, Fay ME, Glass TA, Furie KL: Lesion characteristics, NIH stroke scale, and functional recovery after stroke. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2007;86:725–733. Objective:We examined the relationships between the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and physical, cognitive, and social participation outcomes across subpopulations of stroke survivors on the basis of cortical involvement and lesion lateralization. Design:Families in Recovery from Stroke Trial participants were classified with respect to lesion lateralization (n = 274) and cortical involvement (n = 158). NIHSS scores (average 13 days after stroke) were used to predict Physical Performance Test times (PPT), limitations in activities of daily living (Augmented Barthel Index (ABI)), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), cognitive function, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale [CES-D]), and productive, recreational, self-care, and social role activities 3 and 6 mos later. We compared the relationship between NIHSS and each outcome in stroke subgroups classified by lesion lateralization and cortical involvement. Results:NIHSS predicted physical performance, activities of daily living, and IADL independence. The association between NIHSS and both PPT and IADLs was less steep for patients with cortical lesions than for patients with exclusively subcortical lesions. NIHSS predicted physical performance, activities of daily living, or IADLs similarly for right- and left-hemisphere strokes, but hemisphere modified the association between NIHSS and CES-D and cognitive measures. Conclusions:The NIHSS may predict outcomes in subpopulations of stroke survivors with subcortical lesions better than in patients with cortical involvement. NIHSS predicted CES-D in patients with right-sided lesions but not in those with left-sided lesions. In contrast, NIHSS had little association with cognitive outcomes among patients without left-side involvement.


We investigate the problem of classification in the presence of unknown class-conditional label noise in which the labels observed by the learner have been corrupted with some unknown class dependent probability. In order to obtain finite sample rates, previous approaches to classification with unknown class-conditional label noise have required that the regression function is close to its extrema on sets of large measure. We shall consider this problem in the setting of non-compact metric spaces, where the regression function need not attain its extrema. In this setting we determine the minimax optimal learning rates (up to logarithmic factors). The rate displays interesting threshold behaviour: When the regression function approaches its extrema at a sufficient rate, the optimal learning rates are of the same order as those obtained in the label-noise free setting. If the regression function approaches its extrema more gradually then classification performance necessarily degrades. In addition, we present an adaptive algorithm which attains these rates without prior knowledge of either the distributional parameters or the local density. This identifies for the first time a scenario in which finite sample rates are achievable in the label noise setting, but they differ from the optimal rates without label noise.


Rhetoric about the future has been a prominent theme in many areas of discussion about technology and change. As societies enter periods of change and uncertainty there is a growing need to deal with the future. This has been the case in the area of telecommunications policy in Australia but this feature of discourse is often taken for granted or not seen as problematic. This paper has two goals. First, it aims to analyse the significance of discourse about the future. This significance has a long historical precedent but it is intimately tied up with the notion of progress and technology. It has political ramifications since it functions to shore up expectations around specific interests—usually those of powerful corporations and governments. Second, it aims to relate the analysis about the future to recent Australian debates in telecommunications policy. Since many countries have been swept up in the enthusiasm for a telecommunications-based future, lessons from Australia may be very relevant. It is argued that some groups (users and consumer groups) would appear not to have had their expectations met in the areas of competition and universal service. In spite of this, some of Telecom Australia's views expressed in the 1975 planning exercise Telecom 2000 seem remarkably prescient today. This seeming paradox is discussed in terms of discourse on the future. A future based on an over reliance on technological or managerial determinism may well lock the country into a future of limited choice. It will be important that mechanisms are established to ensure that appropriate and timely choices can be made in telecommunications policy.


We review the recently introduced concept of variety of a financial portfolio and we sketch its importance for risk control purposes. The empirical behaviour of variety, correlation, exceedance correlation and asymmetry of the probability density function of daily returns is discussed. The results obtained are compared with the ones of a one-factor model showing strengths and limitations of this model.


ABSTRACT A study was conducted at the University of Maine at Orono (UMO) to examine gender differences with respect to mathematical problem-solving ability, visual spatial ability, abstract reasoning ability, field independence/dependence, independent learning style, and developmental problem-solving.ebility (i.e., formal reasoning ability). Subjects included 27 females and 48 males from two-year programs at UMO who had finished or tested out of a developmental algebra course in 1980-81. Subjects received a multiple-choice test of algebraic concepts and paper and pencil tests assessing various abilities and characteristics. A three-stage analysis of the scores revealed the following: (1) males did better than females in the algebraic concepts test; (2) females had more independent learning sty Yes; (3) although the three tests with a spatial pr figural component were significantly correlated with problem solving, one'of the tests showed no gender differences at all and the other revealed differences less than the differences on the problem-solving tests; and (4) tests of the level of formal reasoning ability tended to produce higher results' among males. The study report details methodology, limitations, and findings; provides suggestions for further research; ane considers implications for instruction. Data tables and sample test items are appended. (KL)


In many multiphase pipeline-riser systems, anti-slug control is necessary to ensure steady and optimal operation. In this paper, we propose using an ℒ1 adaptive controller as an augmentation to standard PI control to stabilize the desired non-slugging flow regime. The ℒ1 adaptive controller is designed based on a model identified from an experimental closed-loop step test. The proposed design involves fewer tuning parameters compared to other adaptive control methods and it does not need any observer. We have tested the controller by simulations in both MATLAB and OLGA, and by experiments in a small-scale laboratory. The results show that the proposed solution can stabilize the process outside the stability region of the traditional PI controller.


It is understood that the biocompatibility of a material depends upon the proteins that bind to its surface. It is this protein layer that interacts directly with components of the coagulation and inflammatory systems. Fibrinogen, capable of platelet binding and activation, is a particularly important protein in determining a material's biocompatibility. Hydrophobic materials tend to have a greater affinity for fibrinogen, making them less biocompatible than hydrophilic materials. We compared the hydrophobicity of three different heparin-coated polyvinylchloride (PVC) tubing preparations with uncoated PVC tubing. We also determined if there would be a difference in the applied solution; water, an ionic solution (saline), and a protein solution (fresh frozen plasma). Hydrophobicity was quantified with five separate measurements of contact angles of water, saline, and plasma, and droplet spread diameter of water and saline. We found that Duraflo II displayed hydrophobicity similar to that of uncoated PVC tubing (initial contact angles of water were 78.0 ± 1.1 and 79.6 ± 0.6 degrees, respectively). Carmeda and 3M heparin-coated tubings displayed significantly (p < .01) less hydrophobicity (initial contact angles of water were 59.8 ± 2.1 and 39.6 ± 1.9, respectively). Three minutes after initial contact, the 3M heparin coating was the only preparation that remained significantly (p < .01) less hydrophobic than the uncoated PVC. These data suggest that 3M heparin-coated PVC is the most biocompatible of the tubings we examined, followed by Carmeda, Duraflo II, and the untreated PVC tubing.


The term "mundane realm" refers to the space in which sentient beings abide. In early Buddhism, this mundane realm was regarded as an obstacle to be avoided and overcome. As Mahāyāna Buddhism spread, however, buddhas and bodhisattvas were venerated as beings abiding in that mundane realm and having a thorough insight into it without being defiled by it. This respect for them then led to the notion of "supra-supramundane," which mandates that practitioners transfer their merits to the mundane realm without being stuck in the pursuit of the "supramundane." Wŏnhyo (617–686), who is well known for his unhindered acts (K. muae haeng 無礙行), established firm doctrinal foundations for the notion of "supra-supramundane." Influenced by the scholarship of the Dilun master Huiyan (523–592), Wŏnhyo identified the cognitive hindrance, mentioned in the Awakening of Faith, as the fundamental ignorance that discriminates the mundane from the supramundane. Such an attitude is also discernible in his Yŏlban chongyo. In that text, he does not consider the nirvāṇa without remainder to be an extinction of mind and body; he identified it as a unity of a sentient being's suchness with the dharma-body of buddhas. He also criticizes the Hīnayāna attachment to the nirvāṇa without remainder and upholds the idea of the nirvāṇa with remainder, which underscores active involvement in the mundane realm. He finally emphasized the nirvāṇa of nonabiding. His view of nirvāṇa is closely related to his view of this world in which he recognizes the value of bodhsattvas' salvific activities.


********** Apart from the use of horse-and-buggy transportation, nothing distinguishes the Amish more visibly from the rest of society than their distinctive forms of dress. Surrounded by a culture where fashions change from season to season and clothing is a mark of individual identity, the Amish resistance to shifting whims of fashion and their commitment to simple and modest dress makes them visible anomalies to all they encounter. Yet even though interpreters of the Amish have offered helpful theological explanations for their convictions about dress, very little research exists on the historical origins of these practices. (1) The standard explanations for their distinctive clothing styles--a commitment to modesty, simplicity, humility and corporate forms of witness--are all important elements for understanding Amish faith and life. But these specific commitments emerged in the late seventeenth century within broader political and cultural understandings regarding appropriate Christian dress. A fuller picture of contemporary Amish practice must take into account the historical context from which the Amish emerged. SUMPTUARY LAWS IN BERN Laws governing clothing--so-called "sumptuary laws"--were common in virtually every European territory or free city during the early modern era. (2) In the Swiss city-state of Bern, for example, clothing regulations predate the Reformation, going back at least to 1481 when the council passed a brief ordinance prohibiting men's overly short skirts and coats. Mandates of varying scope, length and detail continued to appear in the following centuries imposing detailed restrictions on dress and fashion. (3) In the decades after the Reformation, Bernese authorities established morals courts (Chorgerichte) in the city and surrounding countryside to oversee the enforcement of a wide range of moral legislation, including strictures governing clothing. (4) The regulations dictating permissible clothing styles sometimes appeared as subcategories of statutes for the morals courts (Chorgerichtssatzungen) or as mandates explicitly defining acceptable moral behavior (Sittenmandate). (5) These mandates--almost always accompanied by instruction that they be read from the pulpits--attempted to eradicate behavior that civil and ecclesial authorities deemed undesirable or sinful. Thus, the "Great Mandate" (Grosses Mandat) of 1661 divided "current vices of all sorts" into tidy subcategories based on the Ten Commandments. The mandate forbade actions ranging from drinking on Sundays to jealousy, cursing, swearing, usury and miserliness. Haughtiness (Hoffart) in clothing appeared under the seventh commandment, (6) together with adultery--and the "drunkenness, debauchery and intemperance, as well as idleness, vanity and indolence" which led to it. The mandate also included in this category the misuse of tobacco, "flippant running and dancing" and extravagant expenditures for rural baptisms and funerals. (7) The mandates and ordinances that focused specifically on moderation in dress often described the rules against extravagance in great detail. They stipulated, for example, the precise kinds of gold and silver embellishments that were forbidden along with adornments, such as pearls or silk lace, that should be avoided. Long hair and curled wigs for men, the excessive use of fabric in wide sleeves and trousers, and any sort of ornamental ribbons and strings were denounced as improper or useless. In precisely delineated categories, the clothing of all residents of Canton Bern--whether maid or noblewoman, cleric or tradesman--was carefully regulated. (8) In 1676, the Bernese council established a specific "chamber for the reformation of behavior" (Reformationskammer) to administer and enforce the increasingly detailed regulations. (9) Bernese authorities continued their effort to enforce moderation in clothing and accessories well into the eighteenth century, fighting to counteract the pressure of fashion's tide. …


Introduction: In order to successfully perform root canal treatment, thorough knowledge of the root canal anatomy is essential. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has the ability to improve our understanding of the root canal system. The goal of the present study was to compare the accuracy of CBCT in revealing the number and form of the root canals of different maxillary and mandibular teeth with clearing and staining method. Methods and Materials: CBCT images were taken from 80 extracted human teeth fixed in agar arch models. The number and configuration of the root canals of each tooth were determined by the two observers. Then the teeth were cleared and stained. Two endodontists evaluated the number and forms of the root canals. The accuracy of CBCT was determined and compared with clearing and staining by Fisher's exact test. The agreement of two methods in detection of the number and form of the root canals were evaluated by Kappa test, P≤0.05. Results: CBCT accurately detected the number of root canals in 129 (92.1%) of 140 roots and the form of the canals in 119 (85%) of the roots. There was no significant difference between the accuracy of CBCT in the detection of the number (P=0.13) and forms (P=0.4) of root canals of maxillary and mandibular teeth. The agreement between CBCT, and tooth clearing and staining in detection of the number of root canals was excellent in the maxilla (kappa=0.88±0.05) and good in the mandible (kappa=0.720±0.097). The agreement between the two methods in demonstration of the form of root canals was good in both maxillary (kappa=0.73±0.07) and mandibular (kappa=0.67±0.09) teeth. Conclusion: CBCT provides accurate information about root canal morphology. Application of this technique could result in more successful endodontic treatments.


Hypertension is the most common modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality in the world (1). The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association hypertension guidelines published online on November 13, 2017 stated that a normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg (2). Elevated blood pressure is 120–129/<80 mmHg. Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic blood pressure of 130–139 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of 80–89 mmHg.


A discussion is given of the problems involved in the formal modeling of the innovation process. The link between innovation and finance is stressed. The nature of how the circular flow of funds is broken and the role of finance in evaluation and control is discussed.


Some published tectonic reconstructions of the eastern Lachlan Orogen in New South Wales have shown Ordovician volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Macquarie Arc conformably overlying or interfingering with a coeval Ordovician quartz-rich turbidite sequence. Re-examination of key contacts between the volcanic and quartz-rich successions has found no evidence to support this interpretation, and suggests that the two packages are separate tectonostratigraphic terranes. The contacts between these two coeval successions are generally marked by major faults containing mylonites, cataclasites and, at some locations, fragments of mid-ocean ridge-type pillow basalt and chert. The quartz-rich turbidites are generally highly deformed and of higher metamorphic grade than the adjacent volcanics. At Oberon and Mudgee, contacts are faulted but there are no mylonites or significant differences in metamorphic grade. At Palmers Oaky and Black Springs, Silurian quartz-rich sandstones overlying the Ordovician volcanics have been mistakenly assigned to the Ordovician in previous studies. Throughout the Lachlan Orogen, there is no mixing of framework grains. Quartz-rich turbidite successions are dominated by quartz with lesser feldspar and rare tourmaline, zircon and monazite derived from recycled continental sources. In contrast, the volcaniclastic sandstones contain feldspar, clinopyroxene and lithic fragments derived from subduction-related clinopyroxene-phyric basalt and plagioclase-phyric andesite. Detrital-zircon populations also differ, with separate U/Pb age populations and almost no overlap. Comparison of the Ordovician sequences of the Lachlan Orogen with modern turbidites from continental- and arc-related sedimentary basins suggests that complete separation of sedimentary sources is only possible if the sandstones were deposited hundreds of kilometres apart, in separate tectonic environments. The two sequences were juxtaposed along major faults in the Late Ordovician or Early Silurian, probably when the Macquarie Arc collided with a thick Ordovician sedimentary wedge located on the Gondwanan continental margin.


In light of increasing terrestrial carbon (C) transport across aquatic boundaries, the mechanisms governing organic carbon (OC) oxidation along terrestrial-aquatic interfaces are crucial to future climate predictions. Here, we investigate the biochemistry, metabolic pathways, and thermodynamics corresponding to OC oxidation in the Columbia River corridor using ultra-high resolution C characterization. We leverage natural vegetative differences to encompass variation in terrestrial C inputs. Our results suggest that decreases in terrestrial C deposition associated with diminished riparian vegetation induce oxidation of physically -bound OC. We also find that contrasting metabolic pathways oxidize OC in the presence and absence of vegetation and—in direct conflict with the 'priming' concept—that inputs of water-soluble and thermodynamically favorable terrestrial OC protects bound-OC from oxidation. In both environments, the most thermodynamically favorable compounds appear to be preferentially oxidized regardless of which OC pool microbiomes metabolize. In turn, we suggest that the extent of riparian vegetation causes sediment microbiomes to locally adapt to oxidize a particular pool of OC, but that common thermodynamic principles govern the oxidation of each pool (i.e., water-soluble or physically-bound). Finally, we propose a mechanistic conceptualization of OC oxidation along terrestrial-aquatic interfaces that can be used to model heterogeneous patterns of OC loss under changing land cover distributions. Key points Riparian vegetation protects bound-OC stocks Biochemical processes associated with OC oxidation vary with vegetation conditions Common thermodynamic principles underlie OC oxidation regardless of vegetation conditions


The correspondence of the Swedish Romanticists is still largely unpublished. By publishing and discussing one of the many letters, I wish to illustrate some of the benefits of making the Romanticists' correspondence available in critical editions. In this section, a letter from Lorenzo Hammarskold to C. F. Dahlgren, written in 1823, is edited and commentated. The edition is preceded by an introduction, where I point to the important role that Hammarskold played in Romantic literary networks. The letter reveals new information regarding the publication of several Romantic works, including Almqvist's Amorina (1822). Further, Hammarskold's letter is discussed as an example of a particular epistolary style among the Swedish Romanticists, marked by humour and allegories that often imply a close knowledge of the reader.


Many preparations of carbon nanotubes have been developed in the last decade, such as arc discharge, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, simple thermal chemical vapor deposition by pyrolysis of ethyl alcohol, etc. Here we present a simple growth technique of carbon nanotubes by combustion of ethyl alcohol. Pt filament can be employed as substrate, ethyl alcohol as carbon source, and iron nitrate as catalyst precursor. We have characterized the morphology of carbon nanotubes at the different synthesis conditions by both SEM and TEM. In our experiment, we also use other metal as substrate, such as Cu, top of pin, and other catalyst precursor of different concentration, such as nickel nitrate. This technique has some advantages, such as low cost, large production, and flexible reaction conditions, etc. We can use this technique to synthesize carbon nanotubes on metal substrate directly. So this technique has protential applications for fabricating nano-electrical devices.


Chatbots, or machine based conversational systems, have become popular in recent years in a variety of applications. Chatbots are intelligent technologies that employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) to converse with humans in their natural languages. Chatbot's primary function is to interpret user's questions and respond with the most convenient intelligent and natural responses. In a number of the world's most generally spoken languages, chatbots appear to be quite successful; however, Arabic chatbots have not yet attained the predicted degree of success. Many academics have recently sought to bridge the gap in the implementation of Arabic chatbots by overcoming the complicated linguistic Arabic language features. This survey reviews the chatbots, their categories and implementation techniques. It also, presents some challenges that face the developer of Arabic chatbots due to rich complex properties of Arabic language. Then, most of published chatbot researches that deal with Arabic language are highlighted. Finally, a table of comparison among the mentioned Arabic chatbots is presented. The study concludes that, all the present AI based Arabic chatbots are developed in retrieval mode, and that Arabic chatbot literature is scarce in comparison to that in many other languages.


The efficiency of three new synthesized Gemini surfactants (namely, A312, A314, and A316) of the type 4,4[1,4phenylenebis(azanylylidene)bis(N,N-dimethyl-N-alkylaminium] bromide is evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel API 5L X52 grade in 1MHCl.The relation between the experimental inhibition efficiency and theoretical chemical parameters obtained by computational calculation in order to predict the behavior of the organic compounds as corrosion inhibitors was instigated. The chemical structures were elucidated using HNMR spectra. Inhibition performance was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and weight loss tests. The polarization curves show that applied surfactants act as mixed type inhibitors. Nyquist plots showed the semicircle capacitive loop with different surfactants and concentrations. The inhibition efficiency orders are A312 > A314 > A316 with the highest efficiency of 94.87% for A312. Adsorption of inhibitors on API X52 steel surface was found to obey Langmuir isotherm. Theoretical evaluation of the inhibitory effect was performed by computational quantum chemical calculations. The molecule structural parameters (EHOMO), (ELUMO), energy gap (ΔE), and the dipole moment (μ) were determined. The results of experimental inhibition efficiency and theoretical calculated quantum parameters were subjected to correlation analysis.


Research on liquid metals has been steadily garnering more interest in recent times, especially in flexible electronics applications because of their properties like possessing high conductivity and being liquid state at room temperature. The unique properties afforded by such materials at low temperatures can compensate for the limitations of stretchable electronic devices, particularly robustness and their fluidic property, which can enhance the flexibility and deformation of these devices. Therefore, interest in liquid-metal nanoparticles and liquid metals with nanocomposites has enabled research into their fabrication technologies as well as utilisation in fields such as chemistry, polymer engineering, computational modelling, and nanotechnology. In particular, in flexible and stretchable electronic device applications, the research attention is focused on the fabrication methodologies of liquid-metal nanoparticles and liquid metals containing nanocomposites. This review attempts to summarise the available stretchable and flexible electronics applications that use liquid-metal nanoparticles as well as liquid metals with nanomaterial additives.


Purpose: We investigated the antitumor effect of murine/human chimeric CD138-specific monoclonal antibody nBT062 conjugated with highly cytotoxic maytansinoid derivatives against multiple myeloma (MM) cells in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Design: We examined the growth inhibitory effect of BT062-SPDB-DM4, BT062-SMCC-DM1, and BT062-SPP-DM1 against MM cell lines and primary tumor cells from MM patients. We also examined in vivo activity of these agents in murine MM cell xenograft model of human and severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice bearing implant bone chips injected with human MM cells (SCID-hu model). Results: Anti-CD138 immunoconjugates significantly inhibited growth of MM cell lines and primary tumor cells from MM patients without cytotoxicity against peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers. In MM cells, they induced G2-M cell cycle arrest, followed by apoptosis associated with cleavage of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Nonconjugated nBT062 completely blocked cytotoxicity induced by nBT062-maytansinoid conjugate, confirming that specific binding is required for inducing cytotoxicity. Moreover, nBT062-maytansinoid conjugates blocked adhesion of MM cells to bone marrow stromal cells. The coculture of MM cells with bone marrow stromal cells protects against dexamethasone-induced death but had no effect on the cytotoxicity of immunoconjugates. Importantly, nBT062-SPDB-DM4 and nBT062-SPP-DM1 significantly inhibited MM tumor growth in vivo and prolonged host survival in both the xenograft mouse models of human MM and SCID-hu mouse model. Conclusion: These results provide the preclinical framework supporting evaluation of nBT062-maytansinoid derivatives in clinical trials to improve patient outcome in MM.


Genistein, a radioprotective soy isoflavone and protein kinase inhibitor, blocks the invasion of pathogenic bacteria in mammalian epithelial cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the direct effect of genistein on the survival and growth of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri and selected opportunistic bacteria in vitro as a prelude to in vivo use for managing postirradiation sepsis. We evaluated the opportunistic bacterial enteropathogens Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, and Staphylococcus aureus as well as Klebsiella pneumoniae and the non‐pathogenic organism, Bacillus anthracis (Sterne). The latter two bacteria are found in the environment and may be of concern in irradiated individuals. A standard in vitro test was employed to evaluate the direct effect of genistein on the bacteria. This test involved determining bacterial colony forming unit (CFU) counts at a single concentration of genistein. In the CFU assays, significant reductions in CFUs were found for S. aureus and B. anthracis when cultured in the presence of 100 μM genistein. However, L. reuteri, E. coli, S. sonnei, and K. pneumoniae were not altered by in vitro culturing in the presence of 100 μM genistein. These results demonstrate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of genistein. Furthermore, the use of genistein in combination with probiotics may augment the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapies currently used in the management of infections, including those induced by ionizing irradiation. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


We're in a crisis We are in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis. Just weeks since its outbreak, the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has already affected, and will continue to affect, our daily lives, around the globe, for the foreseeable future. The answers and the solutions to this crisis will come from science. But the crisis affects science, too.It affects students, educators, and researchers; not just their day-to-day lives, social ties, and work routines, but also their ability to actively collaborate, convene in face-to-face meetings, attend academic conferences, teach and learn in an open university setting, pay a visit to the library, work overnight at the laboratory, and so on.But the thing is: science cannot stop. Scientific progress must go on. For each one of the challenges that scientists face in this time of crisis, there is, or there will be, a solution. We believe that the solution is not to be found in a single technological tool, product, framework, institution, funding agency, or company. It is the global cyber-infrastructure of scientific collaboration, built on scientific rigor, intellectual curiosity, and cooperation, that will enable science to advance in such difficult times. The power of scientific collaborationAs scientists, publishers, science communicators and technologists, we believe that: a. Science is the solution to the ongoing crisis. Now more than ever, reliance on the scientific method, rigor and clarity of scientific communication, transparency, reproducibility, and seamless sharing of all research data (including negative results), are fundamental to solving this health crisis and advancing human progress.b. Global collaboration and cooperation, beyond and above national and economic interests, is necessary not only at the scientific level, but also at the political and societal level. We're more interconnected and interdependent today than ever. And such interconnectedness extends to the ecological ecosystem in which we live. A crisis of such scale requires global solidarity, bipartisan political action, civic participation, and long-term thinking.


Calls for evaluations in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), in particular those of a participatory nature have stepped up in recent years. Much of this shifting discourse has emerged in response to the fact that evaluations overall remain scarce. Furthermore, very little is known about the impacts of CBR in practice and if/how it benefits persons with disabilities and their families on the ground. Nevertheless, and despite the calls for participatory approaches, the few existing efforts are too often targeted at creating standardised evaluations frequently at the expense of voice, participation and flexibility. This paper reports on a series of critical workshops held in Jamaica with CBR workers and other stakeholders, the objectives of which included discussions and reflections on emerging issues in localised, locally driven and responsive participatory evaluation frameworks. The findings highlight how participants favoured a flexible, adaptive and iterative approach that was not rigid, structured or per-determined by outsiders. Instead, they favoured an approach that created a safe space for sharing and learning, prioritised their narratives, and that was directly linked to and that fed directly into action on the ground. The paper concludes with the call for critical, engaged and bottom-up approaches that move away from control-oriented approaches in CBR towards more experimental and adaptive problem and process-oriented approaches, that embrace complexity and that are consistently responsive to an ever changing context.


The Yangtze River shipping industry has large energy consumption, which is China's key energy saving areas. Energy consumption of support ships occupies high proportion in the Yangtze River shipping industry. According to actual operating condition of the Yangtze River shipping support system, and the situation of energy-saving management, proposed the energy-saving targets for evaluation, and determined targets weight with theories of system engineering, and established the incentive mechanism of energy consumption in accord with energy conservation law and the related energy consumption standard, designs the energy saving assessment form in view of the ships navigation environment. Energy consumption levels can be seen by evaluating the targets.


When deep learning is applied to visual object recognition, data augmentation is often used to generate additional training data without extra labeling cost. It helps to reduce overfitting and increase the performance of the algorithm. In this paper we investigate if it is possible to use data augmentation as the main component of an unsupervised feature learning architecture. To that end we sample a set of random image patches and declare each of them to be a separate single-image surrogate class. We then extend these trivial one-element classes by applying a variety of transformations to the initial 'seed' patches. Finally we train a convolutional neural network to discriminate between these surrogate classes. The feature representation learned by the network can then be used in various vision tasks. We find that this simple feature learning algorithm is surprisingly successful, achieving competitive classification results on several popular vision datasets (STL-10, CIFAR-10, Caltech-101).


In cutting experiment, high alloy antifriction cast irons were selected. Through high-speed cutting experimentation, the materials' performance and requirement for tools were analyzed. The feasible cutting capacity and tool parameters were ascertained. The cutting defect and solving method were discussed. The results indicate that there are high hardness, high wear resistance and brittleness of high alloy antifriction cast irons. In ensuring the technical requirements of work-piece machining, PCBN is a better tool material. When the tool orthogonal rake angle =-6°, the tool's durability is higher and machining quality is better. High cutting efficiency can be obtained, when cutting speed vc is from 75 to 100 m/min, the feedrate f is less than 8 mm/min, and the cutting depth ap is from 0.1 to 0.3 mm. These cutting dosages are appropriate in machining high alloy antifriction cast irons.


Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is an idiosyncratic and rare drug reaction that can be severe and life‑threatening if untreated. We present a 34 year old male patient, who developed DRESS syndrome after receiving phenytoin for 8 weeks and presented with rapidly progressive erythematous rash on trunk, face and upper extremities, fever and facial swelling. Abnormal laboratory findings, RegiSCAR score, and Naranjo's probability scale revealed the association between phenytoin and DRESS syndrome. Phenytoin was withdrawn and adequately managed with systemic corticosteroids, antihistamine, and other symptomatic treatments. DRESS syndrome can be cured completely by early detection and removal of culprit drug along with other adequate symptomatic treatments.


Rather than passively accepting development, some Indigenous communities have forced their demands into corporate decision-making. Accordingly, recognising and responding to community expectations becomes a matter of prudent strategy and 'enlightened self-interest'. This paper examines the case of Century Zinc Mine in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria where the miner undertook negotiations and reached agreement with local Indigenous communities. It was later held to account by communities concerned about insufficient implementation of this agreement. Discussion then explores the campaign against Jabiluka uranium mine in Australia's Northern Territory, especially why multinational miner Rio Tinto deferred to local community wishes surrounding development. These experiences show that Indigenous communities are most effective in bringing leverage over mining companies when they impact upon profit or future profit (often related to reputation with specific audiences). The parameters and consequent limitations ...


The oxygen triple‐isotope composition of dissolved O2 provides an integrative method to estimate the rates of Gross Photosynthetic Production (GPP) in the upper ocean, and combined with estimates of Net Community Production (NCP) yields an estimate of the net‐to‐gross (NCP/GPP) production ratios. However, derivations of GPP from oxygen triple‐isotope measurements have involved some mathematical approximations. We derive an exact expression for calculating GPP, and show that small errors associated with approximations result in a relative error of up to ∼38% in GPP, and up to ∼50% in N/G. In open ocean regimes with low primary production, the observed magnitude of the error is comparable to the combined methodological uncertainties. In highly productive ecosystems, the error arising from approximations becomes significant. Using data collected on the Bering Sea shelf, we illustrate the differences in GPP estimates in both high and low productivity regimes that arise from exact and approximated formulations.