Social inclusion, lifelong learning and the regeneration of competence networks are key processes which foster innovation. Museums may play an important role in these processes and ICT can strongly support the effectiveness of the interventions required. Among them, digital tools used to tell stories are becoming increasingly popular. Narratives in new dimensions enable the formation of personal and community identities, and the construction of meanings [1], [2]. Homm-sw supports multimedia narratives which enhance tangible and intangible heritage in education and cultural mediation, as well as in tourism. Developed by Officina Emilia (Italy) and Crafts Museum (India), the application is online at www.homm-museums-software.org. So far, it implements the engine for creating and managing the activity 'networks-of-stories', to create a nonlinear and open multimedia narration [3],[4]. In the last decade, digital storytelling has spread rapidly due to the growth and possibilities offered by new ICT devices [5], [6]. Together with crowd sourcing it can deepen and enrich the understanding of tangible and intangible heritage. Digital storytelling still faces some critical challenges: creation of content on tangible and intangible heritage, classification and re-use of existing documents and clips, cooperative and coordinated production of new content. Moreover, for effective exploratory paths and a more analytical approach to browsing material, contents must be set in the overall perspective of the narrations, to ensure narration is coherent. Finally, validation and dissemination of related outcomes must respect scientific standards. Homm-sw is based on four pillars: (1) a web system for creating and managing the community of users, authors, administrators of the sw platform and of contents; (2) ICT information points in the museum that integrate contents; (3) a website with a personal workspace that allows for the possibility to 'prolong the visit after the visit'; (4) a working group for production and content management, and a set of collaboration tools used to expand the storage of content. Homm-sw has tools that: support educators, also in contrasting learning difficulties, in developing inclusive and collaborative educational practices; support curators; facilitate crowd sourcing; create a personal web repository of contents and connections; share contents to be published, if approved by the administrator; create a network of contents and applications, at different levels for different users and specific needs. Homm-sw extends the museum experience. Before the visit: users can have a general look at museum contents and note, in their online personal desktop, what they are interested in. During the visit: users can retrieve their notes and add what is available on the museum's exhibits and augmented reality, hands-on activities and multimedia contents, living laboratories, demonstration programs. Homm-sw in the onsite-mode allows only notes and memos, to fully enjoy what the museum uniquely offers. After the visit: users access their online workspace to retrieve and explore their notes, and any other content, as much as they wish. Beyond those common to other ICT tools in use in museums, Homm-sw has two key innovative functions. First, recording and retrieval of users' activities: during the visit in a museum, the visitor accessing her account may browse and take notes in her personal workspace and then retrieve and explore them, and many more, as much as she likes after the visit. Second, narratives presented through a set of related clips (videos, albums, texts) are easily seen in the conceptual map proposed by the curators. Homm-sw can be shared with non-profit organizations which intend to develop new features and share the upgrade with previous users and with new users, on the same conditions. Other engines will be implemented according to the demands of users, together with multichannel and multilingual extension. As a tool for digital storytelling, integration with other software applications is welcome.


Large-scale patterns of precipitation are important for the changes they may effect upon the circulation of the ocean. However, marine precipitation is very hard to quantify accurately. Four independent climatologies are examined to compare their estimates of the annual mean precipitation, and the seasonal and interannual variations. One data set, Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), is based upon satellite data, the other three on output of weather forecast reanalyses from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Although all datasets have their errors, there is general agreement on the geographical patterns of precipitation. All the models had higher rain rates in the tropics than shown by the satellite data, and also greater seasonal ranges. However, GPCP has 10-25% more precipitation than NCEP and ECMWF in most of the southern regions, because of their weak representation of convergence zones; NCEP2, a more recent version of the NCEP reanalysis, shows a marked improvement in this area. However, in most regions NCEP2 exhibits a larger seasonal range than shown by other datasets, particularly for the tropical Pacific. Both NCEP and NCEP2 often show a seasonal cycle lagging two months or more behind GPCP. Of the three reanalysis climatologies, ECMWF appears best at realising the position and migration of rain features. The interannual variations are correlated between all four datasets, however the correlation coefficient is only large for regions that have a strong response to El Nino and La Nina event, or for comparisons of the two NCEP reanalyses. Of the datasets evaluated, GPCP has the most internal consistency, with no long-term trend in its regional averages, and it alone shows the deficit in Mediterranean precipitation coincident with the Eastern Mediterranean Transient.


This study seeks to discover the proper style and place of Christian doctrine in adult religious education. The critical assessment of the work of three influential authors: Johannes Hofinger, John H Westerhoff III and James Michael Lee reveals that none is able to offer an adequate model for practice. Hofinger has a limited vision of both theology and education; Westerhoff too limited an understanding of education; and Lee far too narrow an understanding of theology. Consideration of the nature of Christian doctrine and its relationship to theology and the life of faith indicates that it is the product of a multi-disciplinary encounter between the gospel and the world. It is continually changing and being refined and is best understood and communicated by means of analogy. Music offers an analogy which sheds light on the Christian story. It also provides an analogy for the process of doing theology itself. It draws attention to the central importance of the encounter between the composer, the composition, the performer and the listener in that moment of performance which is a new act of creation for each participant. This shows that God is not revealed in the un-read word of scripture, but in the present, lived encounter with the word. That encounter may be simple and direct, but it also involves a myriad of factors which together comprise the story and context of the scripture itself and of the person who reads it. It is the responsibility of the religious educator of adults to try to understand both levels of encounter. The re-making of Christian doctrine for each adult learner is a life-long process which depends upon reflection upon past learning. Its outcome is properly open-ended, but it must be continually assessed to prevent it becoming dangerously unfocussed.


In a collaborative effort between PANGAEA – Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science, the ICSU World Data System (WDS), and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTII) data resulting from projects related to the International Polar Year (IPY) have been extracted from literature for long time preservation and publication. In a first step ICSTII staff compiled a bibliography using keywords relevant to IPY projects. This bibliography referencing around 500 articles served as basis for PANGAEA staff to filter out journal articles having supplementary data that could be extracted either from the articles or from supplementary materials supplied with the publication. Preparation of data included a technical quality control of data (check for outliers, correctness of geocoding, precision of values etc.) and – using the editorial system of PANGAEA - annotation with metadata. Data and metadata were imported into the PANGAEA archive (relational database – RDB). Due to harmonization of content and structure of data and metadata archived data sets are efficiently usable. Data can be retrieved via the PANGAEA data portal (http://www.pangaea.de/search?q=project%3Aipy or via the WDS data portal (http://www.icsu-wds.org/services/data-portal) using the keyword IPY. Due to collaborations of PANGAEA with science publishers data can be cross-referenced with science articles. In some cases data are directly accessible from the article's splash page (e.g. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X11001233). Until end of July 2013 more than 300 data sets have been archived. The initiative presented here describes a data management effort following the IPY. Notwithstanding the overall positive effect of the work performed the initiative also exemplifies the limitations of data management efforts that are not synchronized with science activities. Not only can be assumed that large parts of existing data from IPY projects are not archived and openly accessible, also must be noted that due to the mostly missing communication data producers cannot be included into the editorial and final assessment of data. Ideally early involvement of organizations like ICSU WDS and of WDS members would allow a better planning and also funding of project data management activities. This not only leads to more collaboration and synergies between projects during the runtime of a science program but also improves the data basis for on-going programs and projects. It is therefore one of the declared aims of ICSU to establish a closer context between science programs and WDS.


This article deals with the issues of implementing the international standards on child rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Research purpose is to compare the theoretical provisions and problems of the established practice in anchoring the international child rights into the national legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in generating proposals on the national legislation improvement. The comparative legal analysis of laws, introduced in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the national legislation, allows pointing out that the Republic of Kazakhstan expends proactive efforts to improve the national legislation in order to bring it in one line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article carefully analyses the property and personal non-property rights of a child, regulated by the legislation, as well as the theoretical provisions, statistical data and judicial practice materials. The article also considers the best experience of foreign countries in child maintenance, adoption and in running the Ombudsman for Children. Based on the conducted research, conclusions were drawn for improving the national legal mechanism of children rights protection and implementation in accordance with the international legal acts.


The shelf-life of conventional surimi and isolated proteins that modified by acidic pH (2.5) and by using alkali pH (11) from silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) was studied during months of storage at -18±2 °C. For conventional surimi, three washing steps were used. In the third stage of washing, 0.2% NaCl was used to withdraw more water. The result showed that isolated protein by alkaline pH has a higher efficiency. In the obtained result of percent yield and the recovery of protein product, isolated proteins showed higher values than conventional surimi. Isolated protein by using acidaided processes had lower lightness and whiteness score, compared with alkaline-aided process and surimi prepared by a conventional washing method during frozen storage. The concentration of myosin heavy chain and actin were varied with solubilizing pH. Also, the lowest downfall of protein and the best surimi quality were found in produced samples with alkaline-acid aided process.


Medieval music is difficult. When performed, its harmonies are often pretonal, its rhythms obscure, and its language frequenly Latin and religious. Its theoretical framework is an abstract language of geometric proportions and arithmetic ratios. When Boethius articulated his taxonomy of music a system that undergirded all Medieval musicological writing he divided it into three types, and the first two made no sound at all: musica mundana was the music of the spheres, a harmony produced by the motion of celestial bodies so rarified that human ears did not have the ability to perceive it; musica humana was also phenomenally silent, referring to the continuous musical performance of the human soul as it resonated with the body. Only the third and final type, musica instrumentalis, was what we might consider "music" proper: sung or played melodies and harmonies. This dissertation argues for a fourth type of music implied, but almost never explicitly named, by Medieval thinkers, and one which generates much of Late Medieval English devotional and mystical literature. This is musica celestis, or, as I have chosen to call it, mystical song. Mystical song is produced by God and his angels in heaven beings without corporeal bodies and exists beyond the world of material being. However, beginning in the early fourteenth century, a number of English authors claimed to hear it during mystical experience. This dissertation charts the wide-ranging effects of musica celestis in devotional, mystical, liturgical, and literary writing from the beginning of the fourteenth century to the beginning of the Reformation in England. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group English First Advisor David Wallace


This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on accounting conservatism in Pakistan. A sample of 100 firms is drawn from non-financial companies listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2015. Corporate governance mechanisms often pave the way for the expropriation of minority shareholders at the hands of controlling shareholders and also support to hide their professional misconduct via conservative accounting reports. Multivariate panel data regression analysis is employed as the estimation procedure. The results show that some corporate governance mechanisms are related to accounting conservatism. This study reports an empirical evidence of a positive association between institutional shareholding and accounting conservatism as well as the negative association between board size, CEO duality, managerial ownership and accounting conservatism in case of listed firms in Pakistan. However, some corporate governance attributes that were not previously examined in Pakistan like CEO turnover, and gender diversity on board is found to have no significant impact on accounting conservatism. The results suggest that users of financial statements should consider the corporate governance mechanisms while evaluating non-financial listed in a country like Pakistan where corporate governance is undergoing an evolutionary process and numerous family-controlled firms exist.


Story-telling is a fundamental and prevalent aspect of human social behavior. In the wild, stories are told conversationally in social settings, often as a dialogue and with accompanying gestures and other nonverbal behavior. This paper presents a new corpus, the Story Dialogue with Gestures (SDG) corpus, consisting of 50 personal narratives regenerated as dialogues, complete with annotations of gesture placement and accompanying gesture forms. The corpus includes dialogues generated by human annotators, gesture annotations on the human generated dialogues, videos of story dialogues generated from this representation, video clips of each gesture used in the gesture annotations, and annotations of the original personal narratives with a deep representation of story called a Story Intention Graph. Our long term goal is the automatic generation of story co-tellings as animated dialogues from the Story Intention Graph. We expect this corpus to be a useful resource for researchers interested in natural language generation, intelligent virtual agents, generation of nonverbal behavior, and story and narrative representations.


Considering in symmetrical half-length bond operations, we present in this paper two types of newly-developed generalizations of the remarkable Migdal-Kadanoff bond-moving renormalization group transformation recursion procedures. The predominance in application of these generalized procedures are illustrated by making use of them to study the critical behavior of the spin-continuous Gaussian model constructed on the typical translational invariant lattices and fractals respectively. Results such as the correlation length critical exponents obtained by these means are found to be in good conformity with the classical results from other previous studies.


Abstract The purpose of the work was to characterize the variously used humus in the south-eastern part of the Lublin region. The basic research material were data taken from the literature on the subject. Standard soil science methods were used in the study. The humus level of humus varieties ranged from 30 to 80 cm. The researched molds were formed from loess deposits, which most often showed graining of clay dust. Organic carbon content in humus levels did not exceed 2.9%. The surface levels of the analyzed molds showed clear decalcification. The CaCO3 content in the loess mother rock was a maximum of 15.5%. These are soils with high saturation of the sorption complex with basic cations. The content of available phosphorus and potassium in humus levels was low and medium. According to Systematics of Poland's soils (2019), the analyzed molds mainly represented leached molds and typical molds, while according to the international soil classification WRB (IUSS Working Group WRB 2015) they are primarily Phaeozems. All the analyzed humus plants belong to soils with the highest utility value. Phenomena lowering the quality of molds in the Lublin region related to human activity are the use of improper agrotechnics, and above all water surface erosion. The unfavorable processes are favored by the undulating terrain and the grain size of the soils studied, characteristic for this area.


Hypercementosis is characterized by an excessive deposit of dental cementum. While it is considered a benign pathology, it can sometimes be associated with a chronic pulpal or periapical infection. Furthermore, its management is complex, because establishing an accurate apical limit for a root canal procedure is not always possible.

 When a periapical lesion is present, a conservative, surgical approach to remove the inflammatory tissue from the periapical lesion can be considered as a treatment option.

 This paper reports on the management of a tooth with hypercementosis accompanied by an asymptomatic apical periodontitis affecting a left mandibular second molar.


IMPORTANCE
Rehabilitation researchers and occupational therapy practitioners frequently conduct projects that involve the provision of services or the dissemination of knowledge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, the needs assessment process underlying these transcultural projects is often underreported.

OBJECTIVE
To identify a comprehensive set of feeding-related training needs that reflect the culture, resources, and service delivery practices in the West Bengal region of India and that will be used to develop video-based training modules that are contextually relevant and support decentralized training of community-based rehabilitation workers and caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

DESIGN
Mixed methods design using focus groups and observations.

SETTING
Community setting in rural, suburban, and urban locations in West Bengal, India.

PARTICIPANTS
Caregivers of children with CP and community-based rehabilitation workers with experience working with children with CP.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Focus groups and in-home mealtime observations.

RESULTS
Several findings suggest training priorities that were not anticipated. Caregivers commonly fed children by means of hand feeding while sitting on the floor. Children were fed a limited variation of food consistencies, often in positions of neck hyperextension. Water was frequently used to stimulate swallowing. Caregivers struggled to help children with oral hygiene practices after meals.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
A thorough needs assessment yielded insights that can favorably alter the trajectory of transcultural service and research projects. For occupational therapists who provide advice on practice, continuing education, or research in a transcultural project, the findings underscore the value of engaging local stakeholders and using firsthand observation.

WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS
The rigorous, multistakeholder needs assessment process described herein can serve as a road map for researchers and occupational therapy practitioners conducting transcultural projects in LMICs.


This paper discusses formulations and algorithms which allow a number of agents to collectively solve problems involving both (non-convex) minimization and (concave) maximization operations. These problems have a number of interesting applications in information processing and machine learning, and in particular can be used to model an adversary learning problem called network data poisoning. We develop a number of algorithms to efficiently solve these non-convex min-max optimization problems, by combining techniques such as gradient tracking in the decentralized optimization literature and gradient descent-ascent schemes in the min-max optimization literature. Also, we establish convergence to a first order stationary point under certain conditions. Finally, we perform experiments to demonstrate that the proposed algorithms are effective in the data poisoning attack.


Leucine analogs were tested in the Krebs II ascites cell-free translation system for the ability to inhibit preprotein cleavage by replacing leucine in nascent chains of bovine preprolactin, rat preprolactin, human placental prelactogen (pre-hPL), and pre-alpha subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (alpha-hCG). In the absence of analog, ascites microsomal membranes cleaved these preproteins to their mature forms and sequestered the processed products. Also, two asparagine residues in alpha-hCG were glycosylated. When 4 mM beta-DL-hydroxyleucine was added to the lysate instead of L-leucine, cotranslational processing and sequestration of both species of preprolactin and pre-hPL were inhibited. Sequential Edman degradation confirmed that pre-hPL was not cleaved. The inhibition of processing by beta-hydroxyleucine resulted from its incorporation into protein. This was shown by reversal of the effect by addition of leucine and by inhibition of [(3)H]leucine incorporation into protein. Of significance, the processing of pre-alpha-hCG was less sensitive to beta-hydroxyleucine because its prepeptide contains only four scattered leucine residues, whereas the presegments of hPL and the prolactins contain six to eight clustered leucine residues. These experiments demonstrate that translocation and processing of secretory proteins require structural features determined by the primary amino acid sequence.


Research processes as well as research outcomes are increasingly a focus of consideration for those engaging in a broad range of Indigenous research in Australia. 'Research reform advocates have argued for a fundamental re-positioning of Indigenous peoples from that of research participants to that of active participation in all aspects of research activity' (Dunbar and Scrimgeour 2006, p. 179). This paper proposes a set of guiding principles that may assist in developing an effective relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants when conducting research. As we all should know by now, research about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has not always been ethical. There are many examples of intellectual property of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples being exploited, with no beneficial outcomes for those providing the researchers with their knowledge.


Using farm household data from northern Nigeria as well as various spatial agroclimatic data, this study shows that the adoption of key mechanical technologies in Nigerian agriculture (animal traction, tractors, or both) has been high in areas that are more agroclimatically similar to the locations of agricultural research and development (R&D) stations, and this effect is heterogeneous, being particularly strong among relatively larger farms. Furthermore, such effects are likely to have been driven by the rise in returns on scale in the underlying production function caused by the adoption of these mechanical technologies. Agricultural mechanization, represented here as the switch from manual labor to animal traction and tractors, has been not only raising the average return on scale but also potentially magnifying the effects of productivity-enhancing public-sector R&D on spatial variations in agricultural productivity in countries like Nigeria.


The conversion of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into the abnormal scrapie isoform (PrPSc) is a key feature of prion diseases. The pathogenic mechanisms and the subcellular sites of the conversion are complex and not completely understood. In particular, little is known on the role of the early compartment of the secretory pathway in the processing of PrPC and in the pathogenesis of prion diseases. In order to interfere with the intracellular traffic of endogenous PrPC we have generated two anti-prion single chain antibody fragments (scFv) directed against different epitopes, each fragment tagged either with a secretory leader or with the ER retention signal KDEL. The stable expression of these constructs in PC12 cells allowed us to study their specific effects on the synthesis, maturation, and processing of endogenous PrPC and on PrPSc formation. We found that ER-targeted anti-prion scFvs retain PrPC in the ER and inhibit its translocation to the cell surface. Retention in the ER strongly affects the maturation and glycosylation state of PrPC, with the appearance of a new aberrant endo-H sensitive glycosylated species. Interestingly, ER-trapped PrPC acquires detergent insolubility and proteinase K resistance. Furthermore, we show that ER-targeted anti-prion antibodies prevent PrPSc accumulation in nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells, providing a new tool to study the molecular pathology of prion diseases.


This resource is aimed at those who are considering researching the higher education institution (HEI) in which they are employed or enrolled. It highlights and offers guidance on the issues which are specific to researching HEIs (as a particular type of organization) as an 'insider'. This kind of 'insider research' is sometimes referred to as 'endogenous research'. The resource highlights some of the key issues raised in conducting research into one's own HEI and the following are discussed: the characteristics of this kind of research and its growth; its strengths and weaknesses; conceptualising the nature of HEIs; ethical issues; and issues about value and robustness. The resource concludes by offering a series of questions for reflection.


While literac; is an important part of anyone's education, it should be noted that visual literacy, being able to view, interpret and react to visuals, is just as important for today's population. College students are reluctant at first to take the time to really examine a picture book, whereas youngsters go over and over their favorite books to see if there is anything new or different in the illustrations that they have overlooked. Childhood may allow for more time to spare on the essentials; college students, on the other hand, have full schedules of diverse demands. However, once college students begin to really examine art work, they do come away more satisfied with their abilities to judge the quality of the art work presented. The hope is that these college students will bring that literacy to their future elementary school students. In responding to illustrations, there are a number of areas of concentration: (1) color; (2) borders; (3) style; and (4) viewing distance. The style with which "Cinderella" is illustrated has a dramatic effect on the reader's understanding of the text. If in Susan Jeffer's "Cinderella," the heroine is beautifully, as she is traditionally taken to be, she is less than attractive, even frumpy, in Barbara Karlin's version of the classic, published in 1989. Similarly, Don Wood, illustrator of "Heckety Peg" (1987), creates an aura of goodness and light whenever the mother of the story is shown. (Contains 23-item bibliography.) (TB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


This is the graduation speech I gave on receiving an honorary doctorate at the University of Athens Economics and Business School. I talk about my Greek family, about how I got interested in economics, and then how in the 1990s I came to think about default, collateral, and leverage as the central features of the financial/macro economy, despite their complete absence (even now) from any textbooks. Finally I suggest that the Greek debt problem, and on a bigger scale, the American debt problem, can only be cured when lenders are prodded to forgive. That would be better for the borrowers but also for the lenders.


[1] This study presents monthly CO2 fluxes from 1997 to 2001 at a 3.75° latitude × 5° longitude resolution, inferred using a geostatistical inverse modeling approach. The approach focuses on quantifying the information content of measurements from the NOAA-ESRL cooperative air sampling network with regard to the global CO2 budget at different spatial and temporal scales. The geostatistical approach avoids the use of explicit prior flux estimates that have formed the basis of previous synthesis Bayesian inversions and does not prescribe spatial patterns of flux for large, aggregated regions. Instead, the method relies strongly on the atmospheric measurements and the inferred spatial autocorrelation of the fluxes to estimate sources and sinks and their associated uncertainties at the resolution of the atmospheric transport model. Results show that grid-scale estimates exhibit high uncertainty and relatively little small-scale variability, but generally reflect reasonable fluxes in areas that are relatively well constrained by measurements. The aggregated continental-scale fluxes are better constrained, and estimates are consistent with results from previous synthesis Bayesian inversion studies for many regions. Observed differences at the continental scale are primarily attributable to the choice of a priori assumptions in the current work relative to those in other synthesis Bayesian studies. Overall, the results indicate that the geostatistical inverse modeling approach is able to estimate global fluxes using the limited atmospheric measurement network without relying on assumptions about a priori estimates of the flux distribution. As such, the method provides a means of isolating the information content of the atmospheric measurements, and thus serves as a valuable tool for reconciling top-down and bottom-up estimates of CO2 flux variability.


A 1991 survey found that a large proportion of accounting students pirate software. Since 1991, however, the rate of software piracy within the United States has decreased. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this paper analyzes whether the frequency and the underlying antecedents of software piracy also have changed among accounting students. The results indicate that students' understanding and knowledge of copyright laws have increased, but this knowledge has not influenced software piracy rates. This paper also investigates respondents' willingness to answer honestly questions dealing with software piracy. The randomized response technique allows for an evaluation of the honesty of responses to a sensitive question (i.e., software theft). In contrast to other ethics issues about which individuals have been found to be dishonest, the results indicate that participants honestly answered most questions about their piracy behavior.


Background Although there are many studies considering specific aspects of political economy and health, there have been few attempts to synthesise the literature. This work describes a systematic review of reviews of the literature describing the impact of political economy on population health. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), Proquest Public Health, Sociological Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), EconLit, SocIndex, Web of Science and the grey literature via 'Google Scholar'; for reviews of the literature. Relevant exposures were differences or changes in: policy, law or rules; economic conditions; institutions or social structures; politics, power or conflict. Relevant outcomes were any overall measure of population health such as self-assessed health, mortality, life expectancy, survival, morbidity, well-being, illness, ill-health and lifespan. All citations were reviewed independently by two authors for relevance. Critical appraisal of all included reviews was undertaken using modified AMSTAR criteria and then synthesised narratively giving greater weight to the higher quality reviews. Results From 4,912 citations, 58 reviews were included. Both the quality of the reviews and the underlying studies within the reviews were variable. Social democratic welfare states, higher public spending, fair trade policies, extensions to compulsory education provision, microfinance initiatives in low income countries, health and safety policy, improved access to healthcare, and high quality affordable housing have positive impacts on population health. Neoliberal restructuring seems to be associated with increased health inequalities and higher income inequality with lower self-rated health and higher mortality. There are evidence gaps on the relationship between governance, polities, power, macroeconomic policy, public policy and population health, including the social class processes and forms of discrimination which generate inequalities. For some areas, such as the relationship between income inequality and mean population mortality, there is a need for a high quality systematic review. Primary research gaps also existing, for example on the impact of housing policy, availability and tenure. Conclusion Politics, economics and public policy are important determinants of population health. Countries with social democratic regimes, higher public spending and lower income inequalities have populations with better health. There are substantial gaps in the synthesised evidence on the relationship between political economy and health and there is a need for higher quality reviews and empirical studies in this area. However, there is sufficient evidence in this review, if applied through policy and practice, to have marked beneficial health impacts.


Faults bounding three tectonostratigraphic terranes in southeastern New England have been studied to determine their role in the accretion of northern Appalachian terranes. Different fault segments have experienced different motion histories. The earliest documented motion occurred on the Bloody Bluff fault and consisted of deep-seated sinistral faulting active sometime during Middle Silurian-Early Devonian time. Comparison with stratigraphic, paleomagnetic, and paleontologic data suggests that this episode of motion was associated with accretion of northern Appalachian terranes. Alleghanian (Permian) reactivation of some fault segments (Lake Char, Honey Hill, Willimantic, and Clinton-Newbury) removed any evidence of earlier motion, although xenoliths of mylonite in a Silurian-aged gabbro suggest that these fault segments were a southward continuation of the Bloody Bluff fault. Late Paleozoic reactivation resulted in low-angle normal motion with the hanging wall moving toward the northwest. Motion began when the area was at upper greenschist- to lower amphibolitefacies conditions and continued during uplift and cooling to temperatures below the brittle-ductile transition temperature of quartz. The tectonic environment of these normal motions was most likely associated with a releasing bend in a major, pan-Appalachian Alleghanian-aged dextral fault system.


Abstract In the system of electron cyclotron heating, highly overmoded, corrugated circular waveguides are used. To analyze propagating mode content in the waveguide, burn patterns of the thermal paper placed on the waveguide aperture are observed at several positions. Theoretical burn patterns are obtained by taking into account a nonlinear grayscale response of the thermal paper to the calculated power profiles. We have developed a new method of mode analysis by nonlinear optimization, which is based on an iterative error reduction of differences between observed and theoretical patterns. To examine the status of polarization, the transformation between hybrid modes and linearly polarized (LP) modes is derived. The method is applied to the 82.7-GHz transmission line connected with the gyrotron. The propagating wave is linear polarized and consists of [approximately]4% of the LP11 odd mode, [approximately]95% of the LP01 mode, and [approximately]1% of other modes. The calculated burn pattern is similar to the observed one, like a plateau. By using both center of power and weighted averages of the perpendicular wavenumber in these profiles, offset and tilting angles of an injecting electromagnetic beam to the waveguide entrance are inferred. These are verified to be consistent with the results by the coupling code of a Gaussian beam with hybrid modes.


Machine Learning (ML) models are increasingly deployed in the wild to perform a wide range of tasks. In this work, we ask to what extent can an adversary steal functionality of such ``victim'' models based solely on blackbox interactions: image in, predictions out. In contrast to prior work, we study complex victim blackbox models, and an adversary lacking knowledge of train/test data used by the model, its internals, and semantics over model outputs. We formulate model functionality stealing as a two-step approach: (i) querying a set of input images to the blackbox model to obtain predictions; and (ii) training a ``knockoff'' with queried image-prediction pairs. We make multiple remarkable observations: (a) querying random images from a different distribution than that of the blackbox training data results in a well-performing knockoff; (b) this is possible even when the knockoff is represented using a different architecture; and (c) our reinforcement learning approach additionally improves query sample efficiency in certain settings and provides performance gains. We validate model functionality stealing on a range of datasets and tasks, as well as show that a reasonable knockoff of an image analysis API could be created for as little as $30.


This paper investigates the generation of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes at radio frequencies (RFs) by utilizing either a continuous aperture or a discrete array. The mode generation can be performed with or without sidelobe control, and superdirectivity is avoided by properly selecting the system geometry and regularizing the associated inverse problem. For an individual mode, a continuous aperture source is first determined based on the singular value decomposition of the wave system. This continuous source is subsequently discretized following the construction of a 2-D quadrature rule, which, in the two extreme cases of no and maximum sidelobe suppression, results in an array grid that inherently requires a minimum number of antenna elements. A tradeoff can be made between the adopted array element number and the realized sidelobe level. A method to use a single array with a conserved number of elements to generate and multiplex multiple modes simultaneously is also developed. Full-wave simulations are used to demonstrate the application of the developed theories to arrays of realistic antennas with mutual coupling included. The study shows that, despite their origin in optics, LG modes can be accurately generated in the RF regime, and therefore still play a crucial role in orbital angular momentum (OAM)-based radio.


The use of a generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) based on the late-time scattered return for target discrimination was recently presented by J.E. Mooney et al. (see ibid., vol.46, p.1817-23, Dec. 1998). The performance of the GLRT was demonstrated by direct simulation with scattering data from a target library consisting of several thin-wire targets. In this paper, a numerical procedure for analytically evaluating the performance of the GLRT is presented. At the heart of this procedure is the computation of the probability density of the GLRT decision statistic. Unlike previous works that rely solely on some simulation examples to demonstrate performance, our accurate analytical results provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of the GLRT method. The resulting analysis yields a measure of the discrimination capability of the GLRT. This measure, which is referred to as the probability of correct identification, is computed as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using the theoretical scattering data from several thin-wire targets. These results are compared to the direct simulation results presented by Mooney et al. to demonstrate the accuracy of the analysis.


Objective: The study aims to examine the effect of thymosin β10 (TMSB10) on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) progression and metastasis. Methods: Real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to evaluate TMSB10 expression in RCC tissue samples and renal cancer cells. Statistical analyses were applied to investigate the association between TMSB10 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of RCC patients. In vitro migration and invasion assays were performed in 786-O and ACHN cells. Results: The expression of TMSB10 was significantly higher in renal cancer cells and tissues compared with normal kidney cells and tissues. TMSB10 expression was significantly related to tumor stage (P=0.002), lymph node metastasis (P=0.034), and distant metastasis (P=0.039). Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested that high TMSB10 expression was significantly associated with unfavorable overall (P=0.004) and recurrent-free survival (P=0.025) of RCC patients. Furthermore, TMSB10 knockdown inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of renal cancer cells in vitro. Conclusion: TMSB10 is overexpressed in RCC and regulates malignant cell metastasis by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which makes TMSB10 a candidate therapeutic target for RCC.


Abstract The rise of populism and the radical right alongside ongoing global recruitment by jihadist groups has seen academics and popular discourse alike note parallels between the two. In particular, authors have emphasized gendered similarities between the movements. Based on 'close-up' ethnographic research, this article empirically shows how gender produces group members' activism in two extreme movements: a network linked to the U.K.'s banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun; and activists for the English Defence League, Britain First and other anti-Islam(ist) groups. Through a gendered analysis, the article problematizes assertions that the two movements mirror one another. In particular, it emphasizes the ways in which gender produces fragmentation across the anti-Islam(ist) movement, contrasted with a more consistent gendered logic in those networked to al-Muhajiroun. Its key contribution is to use ethnographic research to evidence the ways in which group members' gendered activism ultimately undercuts group ideals.


Deflectometric methods have been studied for more than a decade for slope measurement of specular freeform surfaces through utilization of the deformation of a sample pattern after reflection from a tested sample surface. Usually, these approaches require two-directional fringe patterns to be projected on a LCD screen or ground glass and require slope integration, which leads to some complexity for the whole measuring process. This paper proposes a new mathematical measurement model for measuring topography information of freeform specular surfaces, which integrates a virtual reference specular surface into the method of active fringe reflection photogrammetry and presents a straight-forward relation between height of the tested surface and phase signals. This method only requires one direction of horizontal or vertical sinusoidal fringe patterns to be projected from a LCD screen, resulting in a significant reduction in capture time over established methods. Assuming the whole system has been precalibrated during the measurement process, the fringe patterns are captured separately via the virtual reference and detected freeform surfaces by a CCD camera. The reference phase can be solved according to the spatial geometric relation between the LCD screen and the CCD camera. The captured phases can be unwrapped with a heterodyne technique and optimum frequency selection method. Based on this calculated unwrapped-phase and that proposed mathematical model, absolute height of the inspected surface can be computed. Simulated and experimental results show that this methodology can conveniently calculate topography information for freeform and structured specular surfaces without integration and reconstruction processes.


Using 311 sovereign rating actions by the three leading global rating agencies between January and August 2020, we show that severity of sovereign ratings actions is not affected by the intensity of the COVID-19 health crisis (proxied by case and mortality rates). We find that economic repercussions of the pandemic such as economic outlook of a country and governments' response to the health crisis, and not the severity of the pandemic itself, determine the intensity of negative rating actions. Contrary to expectations, credit rating agencies pursued mostly a business-as-usual approach and reviewed sovereign ratings when they were due for regulatory purposes rather than in response to the rapid developments of the pandemic. Despite the disappointing reaction to the ongoing pandemic, sovereign rating news from S&P and Fitch still conveyed price-relevant information to the bond markets.


In this study, it was investigated that the effects of plant spacing on some technological properties of plywood panels manufactured from alder logs. In the manufacture of plywood, it was used alder logs taken from five different plantation spacing (1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 meter) of Giresun (Erimez) and Maçka (Yeniköy) regions. Some mechanical properties such as shear strength, bending strength, modulus of elasticity of the plywood panels were conducted according to TS EN 314-1, TS EN 310, respectively. Physical properties such as density were determined according to TS EN 323. As a result of the study, it was determined that the density and mechanical strength values of plywood panels increased with decreasing plantation spacing.


In timing signoff for leading-edge SOCs, even few-picosecond timing violations will not only increase design turnaround time, but also degrade design quality (e.g., through power increase from insertion of extra buffers). Conventional flip-flop timing models have fixed values of setup/hold times and clock-to-q (c2q) delay, with some advanced "setup-hold pessimism reduction" (SHPR) methodologies exploiting multiple setup-hold pairs in the timing model. In this work, we propose to use multiple timing models to give more flexibility at timing path boundaries, thus recovering significant "free" margins and reducing the number of timing violations that require unnecessary fixes. We exploit a flexible flip-flop timing model that captures the three-way tradeoff among setup time, hold time and c2q delay, so as to reduce pessimism in timing analysis of setup- or hold-critical paths. A sequential linear programming optimization for multiple corners is used to selectively analyze setup- or hold-critical paths with less pessimism. Further improvements are possible based on partitioning of timing paths according to different modes. We demonstrate that our method can improve worst setup/hold slack metrics over conventional signoff methods, using a set of open-source designs implemented in a 65nm foundry library. We show that opportunity for timing pessimism reduction with our approach remains significant in a 28nm FDSOI foundry library as well.


PURPOSE
Subfascial division of incompetent perforating veins seems to be a successful treatment for patients with venous leg ulceration (CEAP 6). For postoperative wound complications, endoscopic techniques are more common than open subfascial division of incompetent perforating veins (Linton procedure). We investigated the long-term results of ulcer healing and recurrence rates and compared them with preoperative and postoperative duplex findings.

METHODS
Patients with venous ulceration on the medial side of the lower leg were randomly allocated to endoscopic exploration or open exploration by means of the modified Linton approach. Ulcer healing and recurrence rates were documented.

RESULTS
Thirty-nine patients were randomly allocated to exploration, 19 patients to open subfascial division of incompetent perforating veins (Linton group), and 20 patients to subfascial endoscopic division of incompetent perforating veins (SEPS group). During the follow-up period, four patients in the SEPS group died, all of causes other than the venous leg ulcer. Because of a squamous cell carcinoma that had developed in the venous ulcer, one patient in the SEPS group underwent a below-knee amputation. In a mean follow-up period of 50.6 months, the venous ulceration of all 18 patients in the Linton group who were available for follow-up initially healed. The recurrence rate in this group was 22% (4 patients). In the SEPS group, the mean follow-up period for 19 patients was 46.1 months, with the ulceration healing in 17 patients and a recurrence rate of 12% (2 patients). The presence of deep venous incompetence (DVI) did not influence the recurrence rates (P =.044, Fisher exact test), but it significantly influenced the development of new incompetent perforating veins (3 of 10 without DVI; 7 of 10 with DVI; P =.011, binomial test).

CONCLUSION
The long-term follow-up results of the endoscopic division of perforating veins are comparable with those of the open division of perforating veins (modified Linton procedure).


Electrophysiological recordings have been made from cells in the eight large, labellar sensilla of g. morsitans. One of these cells in each sensillum was shown to respond to ATP over a concentration range of 10(-6)-10(-3) M. It was also sensitive to several other adenosine phophates, but much less sensitive to CTP, GTP and ITP. The activity of the receptor was depressed below pH 7, and sometimes considerably increased above pH 9. These aspects the receptor's physiology support the results of behavioural studies. It is concluded that the eight receptors mediate the flies' behavioural response to ATP.


A computer program implements two extensions of ANTLR (Another Tool for Language Recognition), which is a set of software tools for translating source codes between different computing languages. ANTLR supports predicated- LL(k) lexer and parser grammars, a notation for annotating parser grammars to direct tree construction, and predicated tree grammars. [ LL(k) signifies left-right, leftmost derivation with k tokens of look-ahead, referring to certain characteristics of a grammar.] One of the extensions is a syntax for tree transformations. The other extension is the generation of tree grammars from annotated parser or input tree grammars. These extensions can simplify the process of generating source-to-source language translators and they make possible an approach, called "polyphase parsing," to translation between computing languages. The typical approach to translator development is to identify high-level semantic constructs such as "expressions," "declarations," and "definitions" as fundamental building blocks in the grammar specification used for language recognition. The polyphase approach is to lump ambiguous syntactic constructs during parsing and then disambiguate the alternatives in subsequent tree transformation passes. Polyphase parsing is believed to be useful for generating efficient recognizers for C++ and other languages that, like C++, have significant ambiguities.


Yttrium silicates oxidation resistance coatings were deposited on SiC-C/C composites surface by a hydrothermal electrophoretic deposition process. The influence of deposition voltage on the yttrium silicates coatings and the deposition amount of coatings were particularly investigated. Results show that with the increase of deposition voltage, the deposition amount of coatings increase, the density and uniformity of the coating surface is improved. When the deposition voltage reaches 210V, dense yttrium silicates coatings are achieved. While increase the deposition voltage continually, the uniformity of coatings decrease. When the deposition voltage arrives to 240V, high deposition voltage will result in cracked coatings. There is a parabola relationship between the deposition amount of coatings and time.


While queer theology has foregrounded sexual and gender diversity in faith communities internationally, in South Africa, the emergence of a queer, African theology is necessary given that religion is often not a 'safe space' for sexual and gender minorities owing to theological violence. Advocacy for inclusion requires the development of theological capacity in queer communities so as to foster biblical, theological and interpretative resistance. There are a number of approaches available, including demythologising and reclaiming the Bible for queer communities, developing more redemptive interpretative options for queer inclusion and developing alternative discourses that challenge the heteropatriarchy of the Bible. Entry points for this work include Bible study; workshops and seminars for faith communities on sexual and gender diversity; the acceptance of a minimum pastoral threshold (or minimum levels of preparedness) for engaging with issues of sexual and gender diversity; and creating ecumenical spaces, cognizant of the local context, where such engagements can take place. This involves moving beyond a theology of compassion and essentialised notions of sexuality and gender so as to develop a queer, African, people's theology that recognises the trauma experienced by sexual and gender minorities in faith communities.


An octagonal steel ingot weighing 13 tons made of manganese-molybdenum steel developed gaping cross-cracks on all eight sides in the forging press during initial pressure application. It was reported that the steel had been melted in a basic 12-ton arc furnace, oxygenated, furnished with 42 kg of 75% ferrosilicon and 12 kg aluminum additions, alloyed with 160 kg of 80% ferromanganese, and finally deoxidized in the ladle with 42 kg calcium silicon. For metallographic examination a plate approximately 100 mm thick was cut parallel to one of the eight planes. Platelet-like particles could be discerned on the conchoidal fracture planes with the SEM. The precipitates proved to be thin and partially transparent platelets of a hexagonal crystal lattice whose parameters resemble those of AIN. The precipitates were at least in part still undissolved in spite of the long holding period at high initial forging temperature. Another block melted under the same conditions and immediately after the defective one, was forged into a gear ring without any trouble. This ring was free of grain boundary precipitates, but it contained only 0.012 % AI and 0.0102 % N.


In modern day society, the ability to code is a highly desirable skill. So much so that the current supply from third level institutes across the world does not meet the high demands of industry. One of the major issues is the low progression rates from first to second year in third level Computer Science courses with introductory programming courses proving to be a high contributing factor. This is something that needs to be addressed. One such way to address the issue is to get children involved and engaged with computing at young ages.
This paper describes a study undertaken that is the first step in a body of work that aims to garner the interest of potential Computer Science students at an early age. The study involves a comparison of two short courses; one based in Java and one based in Snap. The goal is to determine whether either of these languages is a better first programming language for students than the other, or if both are viable. These languages were chosen to allow for a comparison between a Visual Programming Language and a Textual Programming Language.
Feedback in the form of a survey will be used to gather the opinions of the students. This will provide data on issues such as which language was easier to learn and which language was preferred amongst others. Based on the outcomes of this study, a full-scale curriculum will be developed in the coming year. The outcomes of this study will help to establish which is the best programming language to suit the learning needs of students.


The choice of transportation mode for freight transport has a profound effect on logistics companies, infrastructure providers and society as a whole. The efficiency of freight transport is important because it has a profound effect on several economic and environmental factors. The paper analyses the costs difference between railroad and road freight transport. The stakeholder analysis is used to enable the identification of the interests of various groups. The government is identified as the focal stakeholder. The governmental decision support model that focuses on the Slovenian case of road and railway freight transport is proposed. The proposed model can serve the government with its decision-making process when adopting policies that concern road and railroad transport such as subsidies or increased road tolls in order to promote railroad transport.


The oldest written tradition of European music, the art we know as Gregorian chant, is seen from an entirely new perspective in Katherine Bergeron's engaging and literate study. Bergeron traces the history of the Gregorian revival from its Romantic origins in a community of French monks at Solesmes, whose founder hoped to rebuild the moral foundation of French culture on the ruins of the Benedictine order. She draws out the parallels between this longing for a lost liturgy and the post-revolutionary quest for lost monuments that fueled the French Gothic revival, a quest that produced the modern concept of 'restoration'. Bergeron follows the technological development of the Gregorian restoration over a seventy-year period as it passed from the private performances of a monastic choir into the public commodities of printed books, photographs, and Gramophone records. She discusses such issues as architectural restoration, the modern history of typography, the uncanny power of the photographic image, and the authority of recorded sound. She also shows the extent to which different media shaped the modern image of the ancient repertory, an image that gave rise to conflicting notions not only of musical performance but of the very idea of music history.


Cellulose nanofibrils can be obtained from microcrystalline cellulose by acid hydrolysis processes. Under optimum hydrolysis conditions is possible to obtain cellulose nanofibers with high surface / volume ratio, high aspect ratio (length to diameter), high crystallinity and improved thermal stability. All these parameters then determine their effectiveness as reinforcement in a polymer matrix. In this work, cellulose nanofibrils were obtained from commercial microcellulose supplied by Aldrich. The acid hydrolysis synthesis was optimized studying the effect of reaction time and temperature and acid solution concentration. The optimized parameters were selected so as to obtain fibers with high crystallinity, high aspect ratio with diameter in nanoscale and high thermal stability. The morphology and size (length and diameter) of the fibers was analyzed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), the chemical structure by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal stability by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and crystallinity by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Copyright © 2019 VBRI Press.


Background : Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health concern and is identified as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the population infected with Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). South Africa (SA), particularly the KwaZulu-Natal Province, is burdened with persistently high rates of both TB and HIV infections. In an attempt to improve TB and HIV co-infection outcomes the South African health care system has adopted the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for intensified TB case findings in all HIV positive individuals for regular screening of TB symptoms in order to promptly diagnose and treat active TB disease or to exclude TB for initiation Isoniazid Prophylactic Therapy (IPT). IPT has proven effective in preventing TB disease in People Living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA). This critical first step of TB symptom screening is regarded as the intervention that could significantly reduce the challenge currently faced with TB-HIV co-infection. The study was conducted in selected eThekwini Municipality Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities with the focus on an investigation to determine the extent of the implementation of the TB symptom screening tool in HIV infected individuals, in addition to identifying treatment initiation or further investigations based on the tool implementation. It has been found during the literature review, that there is a lack of research in SA to show that this critical first step in TB identification has been investigated, yet one in six South African's is HIV positive and the incidence of TB-HIV co-infection is not declining. Methodology : A quantitative, descriptive approach was utilised to conduct a retrospective patient chart review. A multistage cluster sampling technique comprising three stages was implemented to identify the sample. There was a random selection of clinics, and the required number of client records was obtained through convenience sampling from the selected clinics. Results : The findings of this study revealed there is inadequate implementation of the current national and provincial TB protocols. The study provides varied levels of information about TB symptom screening in HIV infected individuals in the PHC clinics of eThekwini Municipality. It was observed that Health Care Worker's (HCW) in some facilities carried out TB symptom screening to an extent. However, the inconsistent and partial application of this screening tool warrants improvement to facilitate the broad success of TB-HIV care strategies.


The prospect of Reog's handicrafts is more exciting because Reog's art is now one of the mainstays of Ponorogo tourism in national and even international scale. This study aims: Knowing the business conditions of craftsmen Reog Ponorogo, and Know the problems faced by the craftsmen Reog Ponorogo. Respondents of this study are Reog Craftsmen in Ponorogo. This research uses Quantitative Descriptive research method. The sample in this study population because the population is less than 100 ie 31 craftsmen. The data were collected by questionnaire. Data analysis in the field using descriptive and quantitative descriptive explorative format. The result of the research is known that the business of reog craft is mostly done downhill. Craftsmen have pioneered the business since about 10-20 years ago. Making a reog craft does not require higher education proved the largest number of artisans have a minimum of elementary education. The total workforce of each craftsman <20 workers. The highest level of labor education is SMP.Productions made monthly can reach the sales target because most of the production is based on orders from retailers. The market share of craft reog to foreign countries such as Malaysia, Korea, America, and others. The main problem of craftsmen is the difficulty in obtaining raw materials such as peacock, tiger skin, cow leather, cow tail, horse tail and high price of raw materials, capital problem. Keyword :     Reog Craftsmen, Business Management, UKM Problems


BACKGROUND
As costs related to mechanical ventilation increase, clear indicators of patients' readiness to be weaned are needed. Research has not yet yielded a consensus on physiological variables that are consistent correlates of weaning outcomes. Subjective perceptions rarely have been examined for their contribution to successful weaning.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the subjective perceptions of dyspnea, fatigue, and self-efficacy and selected physiological variables in patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation.

METHODS
Data were collected prospectively on 68 patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation. Subjective perceptions were measured by using 3 visual analog scales; physiological variables were measured by using the Burns Weaning Assessment Program and a patient profile. Weaning outcomes were recorded 24 hours after data collection.

RESULTS
Participants were primarily white women and required mechanical ventilation for a mean of less than 4 days. Participants reported mild dyspnea, moderate fatigue, and high weaning self-efficacy. High PaO2, low PaCO2, stable hemodynamic status, adequate cough and swallow reflexes, no metabolic changes, and no abdominal problems were associated with complete weaning (P = .05). Subjective perceptions were associated with physiological variables but not with weaning outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS
Multidimensional assessment of both primary and secondary indicators of readiness to be weaned is necessary for timely, efficient weaning from mechanical ventilation. Primary assessments include physiological variables related to gas exchange, hemodynamic status, diaphragmatic expansion, and airway clearance. Secondary assessments include perceptions related to key physiological variables. Additional research is needed to determine the predictive value of physiological variables and perceptions of dyspnea, fatigue, and self-efficacy.


Densification and shrinkage behaviour of ceramics or other powder materials can be predicted in a simple manner by using the master sintering curve. In this work, the densification data required to construct the master sintering curve of a 3-mol% yttria stabilised zirconia powder have been obtained. Bulk samples prepared by cold pressing, as well as thick films made of the same powder applied to a rigid substrate, were sintered. The free and constrained sintering experiments have been performed applying three different heating rates, with and without isothermal step at a maximum temperature of about 1450 °C. The shrinkage of the samples was measured in situ during densification using a push rod dilatometer. Also, a conventional box furnace was used, applying the same heating schedule, to compare the results. Microstructural analysis has been achieved by using scanning electron microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. An acceptable agreement was obtained between similar samples sintered in the dilatometer and the box furnace, indicating that the dilatometer data could be used for both environments. The bulk samples reached lower densities than the films, probably due to their lower initial densities. For the samples free of constraint, a master sintering curve was achieved with an activation energy of 550 kJ mol-1. For the constrained case, problems associated with the substrate and the uncertainties in the measurements hindered the characterisation of the film, i.e., a single master sintering curve could not be produced.


In highway engineering, performance, quantity and status of machines available for projects have direct impact on projects time. For instance, the status of machines, such as working or in trouble, have great influence on the activity execution. Therefore, while scheduling projects, managers always increase spare machines or prolong the activity time to avoid delaying projects time when some of the machines are in trouble in construction site. However, how many are the spare machines and how long are the prolonged activity time, which are estimated subjectively by managers. This subjective estimation has been criticized for systematically overestimating or underestimating quantity of the machines and the activity time. In the paper, a model is proposed to simulate the status of the machines in construction site, and then to evaluate the schedule feasibility considering the performance, quantity and statues of the machines involved.


This guide was developed for the Famous Criminal Trials Seminar offered at SLU LAW, but it will provide any user with some of the best resources available for locating and researching court filings and other trial-related documents.


Many people across Latin America still do not have access to reliable electricity. Although Chile exhibits a comparatively high electricity coverage, many barriers are still present for the development of sustainable energy supply solutions exploiting local renewable energy sources. To face this challenge, a coconstruction methodology is proposed, which considers a flexible and participatory design with continuous communication between the technical team of the project and the community, thus ensuring informed decision making around the project design. In this context, microgrid-based solutions offer an ideal opportunity to exploit the integration of energy sources adapted to the specific local characteristics. The coconstruction methodology allows the identification of local requirements, less often considered for design procedures based on a traditional approach, in a joint work with the communities so that the technological solution is tailored for it. Consequently, different technical solutions (design adaptations and innovations) have been proposed and developed under this framework, such as: energy management systems, demand response strategies, microgrid applications for Mapuche communities, microformers, a monitoring system that includes social aspects, and vehicle to grid for microgrids. This paper summarizes the experience of several microgrid projects in Chile, identifies risks, impacts, control actions, and discusses their replicability to the Latin American and the Caribbean region.


In the years 1945–52, that is, between Raoul Wallenberg's incarceration in the Lubianka prison in Moscow (6 February 1945) and the first Swedish demand for his return (11 February 1952), more than fifty people provided the Swedish Foreign Ministry with diffuse and often contradictory information about his whereabouts. This article argues that a number of these testimonies may have been part of a Soviet campaign of disinformation aimed at diverting the Swedes' attention away from Moscow and to have them believe that Wallenberg had died in Hungary. The appearance of messages to this effect by February–March 1945 may indicate that the Soviets had already decided at this early point never to let Wallenberg return alive, or at least to construct an option that would allow for such a decision. In August 1947, after twenty-six Swedish diplomatic approaches on account of Wallenberg over the course of two and a half years, the Soviets handed over a note signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Vyshinskii that declared that Wallenberg had presumably died in Hungary. The note had the desired effect. No Swedish diplomatic approaches on Wallenberg were made for the next five years. This article argues that the Vyshinskii note was an extraordinary measure taken by the Soviets finally to get the message of Wallenberg's death in Hungary through to the Swedes. The Soviet disinformation regarding the 1940 Katyn massacre provides an interesting point of reference for understanding the way in which the Soviets tried to mislead Sweden over Wallenberg.


Rho Rho Rho your cells: Increased RhoA activity protects intervertebral disc from TNFα-induced degradation. Inflammation triggers degradation of intervertebral disc extracellular matrix (ECM), a hallmark of disc degeneration that contributes to back pain. Mechanosensitive nucleus pulposus cells are responsible for ECM production, yet the impact of a proinflammatory microenvironment on cell mechanobiology is unknown. Using gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we show that tumor necrosis factor–α (TNFα)–induced inflammation alters cell morphology and biophysical properties (circularity, contractility, cell stiffness, and hydraulic permeability) in a mechanism dependent on actomyosin contractility in a three-dimensional (3D) culture. We found that RhoA activation rescued cells from TNFα-induced mechanobiological disruption. Using a novel explant-in-hydrogel culture system, we demonstrate that nuclear factor kappa-B nuclear translocation and transcription are mechanosensitive, and its downstream effects on ECM degradation are regulated by actomyosin contractility. Results define a scaling relationship between circularity, contractility, and hydraulic permeability that is conserved from healthy to inflammatory microenvironments and is indicative of cell mechanobiological control across scales in 3D.


The atomic scale structure of amorphous Si-C-O ceramics fibers produced from the pyrolysis of a polycarbosilane precursor has been investigated by X-ray diffraction using high-energy synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. First peak in the total correlation function T(r) of the amorphous and the heat-treated fibers is analyzed to consist of two contributions: Si-C (1.89 Å) and Si-O (1.61 Å) bonds. The coordination number of C and/or O around Si is about four. This suggests that the Si-C-O fibers basically have a network structure that consists of two tetrahedral units: SiC4 and SiO4. The local chemical and structural orders vary continuously in the materials from the disordered network structure of SiC4 and SiO4 tetrahedra (mixture of amorphous SiC and SiO2) to nanocrystals of SiC and SiO2, through the ternary Si-C-O solid solution which is believed to have an intermediate structure between the amorphous and crystalline states.


Multiliteracies is a pedagogical approach developed in 1994 by the New London Group (NLG) that aims to make classroom teaching more inclusive by addressing cultural and linguistic diversity, and rapid development in communication channel and technology. The purpose of this study was to explore the early grade teachers' perception on multiliteracies pedagogy and their awareness, skills and proficiency on it. We used critical ethnography research design to obtain rich and in-depth data from five years' experienced three early grade teachers through interviews and participant classroom observation in a community school of Nepal. Interviews and class observation of teachers were audio-recorded, and recorded data were transcribed assigning codes, and main two themes were developed in terms of the codes. Regarding understanding and awareness on multiliteracies pedagogy, the findings reveal that the teachers do not have more clear theoretical concept on it. They perceive multiliteracies as being literate not only through reading and writing but also using pictures, signs, symbols and mimics. They are aware in the use of multiliteracies pedagogy to make teaching learning effective but they do not have sufficient skills and proficiency on it. They can apply multiliteracies pedagogy in early grades effectively if their knowlwdge and skills is developed through training and capacity development programme on it.


Abstract Silicon photonics offers the possibility of a reduction in size weight and power for many optical systems, and could open up the ability to build optical systems with complexities that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. Silicon photonics is an emerging technology that has already been inserted into commercial communication products. This technology has also been applied to analog signal processing applications. MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with groups at MIT has developed a toolkit of silicon photonic devices with a focus on the needs of analog systems. This toolkit includes low-loss waveguides, a high-speed modulator, ring resonator based filter bank, and all-silicon photodiodes. The components are integrated together for a hybrid photonic and electronic analog-to-digital converter. The development and performance of these devices will be discussed. Additionally, the linear performance of these devices, which is important for analog systems, is also investigated.


Lactic acid bacteria isolated from wine fermentations, particularly from the malolactic fermentation, and belonging to Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus hilgardii, Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactococcus lactis species were tested for their effectiveness in inhibiting the development of different microorganisms. The different strains showed, to varying degrees, an antagonistic effect against bacteria of the genera Bacillus and Staphylococcus. The specificity of the species L. hilgardii that inhibits only strains of the genus Bacillus is remarkable, on the other hand, L. plantarum was more effective against the strains of the genus Staphylococcus. The greatest effectiveness, considering both the degree of inhibition and the number of inhibited species, was presented by strains of L. lactis and L. paracasei. Seven strains belonging to the species that showed a more broad-spectrum activity, L. paracasei and L. plantarum, were also tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of fungi. All of them showed, in different degree (55–76%), activity against Fusarium oxysporum. Finally, the ability of the L. paracasei LPAUV12 and L. plantarum LPLUV10 strains was evaluated to protect Lycopersicon esculentum plants against the fungus F. oxysporum and promote its growth. Strain LPLUV10, showed capacity to significantly inhibit the harmful effect of F. oxysporum in tomato plants as well as to significantly stimulate their growth.


The symptoms of an illness that requires chemotherapy and the corresponding effects of such treatment exacerbate the pain and discomfort that patients typically experience. Listening to music may help patients cope with chemotherapy symptoms, thereby contributing to their physical ease and well-being. Seventy patients who were receiving treatment at the outpatient chemotherapy unit were invited to participate in this work. During chemotherapy sessions and the week after the sessions, the patients listened to music with headphones. The occurrence of chemotherapy symptoms such as pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, not feeling well, and shortness of breath in the intervention group was statistically significant after listening to music (p < .05). Improvements in total general comfort, as well as physical, psychospiritual, and sociocultural comfort, were also statistically significant (p < .05). These findings indicate that listening to music effectively reduces the severity of chemotherapy symptoms and enhances the comfort of patients receiving the treatment.


PT INTI engaged in telecommunication, has long become a supplier of network construction with a large scale that is national. Therefore, PT INTI has a lot of material and spread all over the city in Indonesia. Previously, PT Inti still uses semi-manual way to do their material recording. The material recording is done by using Microsoft Excel which will be sent by electronic mail (email) if needed. But it is vulnerable to errors because the data contained in is not integrated. To overcome this, PT INTI wants to have a web based application called INTI Maintenance to manage financial materials such as material input, material search, material removal, material search, material data printing, to finance such as request addition, change of request status, delivery, and residual balances of each city. INTI Maintenance web-based information system financial module is built with open source software that uses PHP as the programming language, MySQL as the database, and Windows as server computer. The final results achieved in the material management information system in this module have advantages in assisting PT INTI employees in managing financial data and validation for material delivery using receipt of delivery material.


This dissertation includes three studies examining individual differences in domain-specific quantitative skills as predictors of adults' mathematical performance. Quantitative skills included subitizing, counting, approximate number system (ANS), and symbolic skills. Subitizing is the ability to quickly and exactly enumerate small sets without counting (1 to 3 or 4), whereas the ANS facilitates discrimination between large quantities. Given the evidence for their presence among human infants and other animals, the subitizing and approximate number systems are considered core quantitative systems—leading to theories that one or both systems scaffold the acquisition of symbolic quantity representations. Counting is the process of enumerating sets beyond the subitizable range to determine exact quantity; learning to count is the first step in acquiring the symbolic system. The present research was framed by three theoretical accounts, each of which emphasize the subitizing, counting, or approximate number system as the key contributor to mathematical success. Compared to the ANS literature, very little research has examined subitizing and counting skills in relation to mathematics performance with adult samples. To address this issue, the current research included subitizing, counting, and ANS—as well as symbolic skills. These domain-specific quantitative skills were examined in relation to each other and as relative contributors to mathematics outcomes via path analyses (Studies 1 and 2) and structural equation modeling (Study 3). ANS skill did not uniquely predict mathematical outcomes requiring exact calculation, but did predict symbolic and nonsymbolic number line performance. Counting predicted symbolic quantitative skills, but not mathematical outcomes. Subitizing emerged as a predictor of arithmetic fluency across all three studies, but did not predict other mathematical outcomes. As hypothesized, symbolic quantitative skill tended to be the strongest predictor of all mathematical outcomes, except for nonsymbolic number line. Experiential factors also predicted mathematical outcomes across all three studies. These findings suggest that the subitizing system scaffolds the development of counting and symbolic quantitative skills, and continues to predict arithmetic fluency in adulthood. It is recommended that future research explore the role of subitizing in the development of symbolic quantitative skills, to gain understanding of this developmental trajectory.


Edges tend to be over-smoothed in total variation (TV) regularized under-sampled images. In this paper, symmetric residual convolutional neural network (SR-CNN), a deep learning based model, was proposed to enhance the sharpness of edges and detailed anatomical structures in under-sampled cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). For training, CBCT images were reconstructed using TV-based method from limited projections simulated from the ground truth CT, and were fed into SR-CNN, which was trained to learn a restoring pattern from under-sampled images to the ground truth. For testing, under-sampled CBCT was reconstructed using TV regularization and was then augmented by SR-CNN. Performance of SR-CNN was evaluated using phantom and patient images of various disease sites acquired at different institutions both qualitatively and quantitatively using structure similarity (SSIM) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). SR-CNN substantially enhanced image details in the TV-based CBCT across all experiments. In the patient study using real projections, SR-CNN augmented CBCT images reconstructed from as low as 120 half-fan projections to image quality comparable to the reference fully-sampled FDK reconstruction using 900 projections. In the tumor localization study, improvements in the tumor localization accuracy were made by the SR-CNN augmented images compared with the conventional FDK and TV-based images. SR-CNN demonstrated robustness against noise levels and projection number reductions and generalization for various disease sites and datasets from different institutions. Overall, the SR-CNN-based image augmentation technique was efficient and effective in considerably enhancing edges and anatomical structures in under-sampled 3D/4D-CBCT, which can be very valuable for image-guided radiotherapy.


Anthropogenic CO2 emission from fossil fuel combustion has major impacts on the global climate. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) observations have previously been used to estimate individual power plant emissions with a Gaussian plume model assuming constant wind fields. The present work assesses the feasibility of estimating power plant CO2 emission using high resolution chemistry transport model simulations with OCO-2 observation data. In the new framework, 1.33 km Weather Research and Forecasting-Chem (WRF)-Chem simulation results are used to calculate the Jacobian matrix, which is then used with the OCO-2 XCO2 data to obtain power plant daily mean emission rates, through a maximum likelihood estimation. We applied the framework to the seven OCO-2 observations of near mid-to-large coal burning power plants identified in Nassar et al (2017 Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 10045–53). Our estimation results closely match the reported emission rates at the Westar power plant (Kansas, USA), with a reported value of 26.67 ktCO2/day, and our estimated value at 25.82–26.47 ktCO2/day using OCO-2 v8 data, and 22.09–22.80 ktCO2/day using v9 data. At Ghent, KY, USA, our estimations using three versions (v7, v8, and v9) range from 9.84–20.40 ktCO2/day, which are substantially lower than the reported value (29.17 ktCO2/day). We attribute this difference to diminished WRF-Chem wind field simulation accuracy. The results from the seven cases indicate that accurate estimation requires accurate meteorological simulations and high quality XCO2 data. In addition, the strength and orientation (relative to the OCO-2 ground track) of the XCO2 enhancement are important for accurate and reliable estimation. Compared with the Gaussian plume model based approach, the high resolution WRF-Chem simulation based approach provides a framework for addressing varying wind fields, and possible expansion to city level emission estimation.


Mammalian olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) form the primary elements of the olfactory system. Inserted in the olfactory mucosa lining of the nasal cavity, they are exposed to the environment and their lifespan is brief. Several reports say that OSNs are regularly regenerated during the entire life and that odorant environment affects the olfactory epithelium. However, little is known about the impact of the odorant environment on OSNs at the cellular level and more precisely in the context of early postnatal olfactory exposure. Here we exposed MOR23-green fluorescent protein (GFP) and M71-GFP mice to lyral or acetophenone, ligands for MOR23 or M71, respectively. Daily postnatal exposure to lyral induces plasticity in the population of OSNs expressing MOR23. Their density decreases after odorant exposure, whereas the amount of MOR23 mRNA and protein remain stable in the whole epithelium. Meanwhile, quantitative PCR indicates that each MOR23 neuron has higher levels of olfactory receptor transcripts and also expresses more CNGA2 and phosphodiesterase 1C, fundamental olfactory transduction pathway proteins. Transcript levels return to baseline after 4 weeks recovery. Patch-clamp recordings reveal that exposed MOR23 neurons respond to lyral with higher sensitivity and broader dynamic range while the responses' kinetics were faster. These effects are specific to the odorant–receptor pair lyral–MOR23: there was no effect of acetophenone on MOR23 neurons and no effect of acetophenone and lyral on the M71 population. Together, our results clearly demonstrate that OSNs undergo specific anatomical, molecular, and functional adaptation when chronically exposed to odorants in the early stage of life.


A companion paper defined the notion of digital social contracts, presented a design for a social-contracts programming language, and demonstrated its potential utility via example social contracts. The envisioned setup consists of people with genuine identifiers, which are unique and singular cryptographic key pairs, that operate software agents thus identified on their mobile device. The abstract model of digital social contracts consists of a transition system specifying concurrent, non-deterministic asynchronous agents that operate on a shared ledger by performing digital speech acts, which are cryptographically-signed sequentially-indexed digital actions. Here, we address the distributed-ledger implementation of digital social contracts in the presence of faulty agents: we present a design of a fault-tolerant distributed-ledger transition system and show that it implements the abstract shared-ledger model of digital social contracts, and discuss its resilience to faulty agents. The result is a novel ledger architecture that is distributed with a blockchain-per-person (as opposed to centralized with one blockchain for all), partially-ordered (as opposed to totally-ordered), locally-replicated (as opposed to globally-replicated), asynchronous (as opposed to globally-synchronized), peer-to-peer with each agent being both an actor and a validator (as opposed to having dedicated miners, validators, and clients), environmentally-friendly (as opposed to the environmentally-harmful Proof-of-Work), self-sufficient (as opposed to the energy-hogging Proof-of-Work or capital-hogging Proof-of-Stake) and egalitarian (as opposed to the plutocratic Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake).


Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is an uncommon condition and its most important predisposing factor is diabetes mellitus. Although the treatment of choice is prompt surgical abscess evacuation, followed by antibiotic therapy, successful conservative treatment of SEA has been reported in some cases. We describe a SEA case in a 23-year old white woman with diabetes for 14 years, who was successfully treated only with antibiotics, and achieved full recovery at the fourth month of follow-up.


The mixed-mode dynamical states found experimentally in the concentration phase space of the iodate catalyzed hydrogen peroxide decomposition (The Bray-Liebhafsky oscillatory reaction) are discussed theoretically in a related multiple-time-scale model, from the viewpoint of tourbillion. With aim to explain the mixed-mode oscillations obtained by numerical simulations of the various dynamical states of a model for the Bray-Liebhafsky reaction under CSTR conditions, the folded singularity points on the critical manifold of the full system and Andronov-Hopf bifurcation of the fast subsystem are calculated. The interaction between those singularities causes occurrence of tourbillion structure.


Rationale: The objective of this autopsy study was to determine whether gastrointestinal angiodysplasia develops during continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support. Objective: LVAD support causes pathologic degradation of von Willebrand factor (vWF) and bleeding from gastrointestinal angiodysplasia at an alarming rate. It has been speculated that LVAD support itself may cause angiodysplasia. The relationship to abnormal vWF metabolism is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that abnormal gastrointestinal vascularity develops during continuous-flow LVAD support. Methods and Results: Small bowel was obtained from deceased humans, cows, and sheep supported with a continuous-flow LVAD (n=9 LVAD, n=11 control). Transmural sections of jejunum were stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate–conjugated isolectin-B4 for endothelium to demarcate vascular structures and quantify intestinal vascularity. Paired plasma samples were obtained from humans before LVAD implantation and during LVAD support (n=41). vWF multimers and degradation fragments were quantified with agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Abnormal vascular architecture was observed in the submucosa of the jejunum of human patients, cows, and sheep supported with a continuous-flow LVAD. Intestinal vascularity was significantly higher after LVAD support versus controls (5.2±1.0% versus 2.1±0.4%, P=0.004). LVAD support caused significant degradation of high–molecular-weight vWF multimers (–9±1%, P<0.0001) and accumulation of low–molecular-weight vWF multimers (+40±5%, P<0.0001) and vWF degradation fragments (+53±6%, P<0.0001). Conclusions: Abnormal intestinal vascular architecture and LVAD-associated vWF degradation were consistent findings in multiple species supported with a continuous-flow LVAD. These are the first direct evidence that LVAD support causes gastrointestinal angiodysplasia. Pathologic vWF metabolism may be a mechanistic link between LVAD support, abnormal angiogenesis, gastrointestinal angiodysplasia, and bleeding.


IoT is both a concept and a specific platform with large variety of applications that rapidly become inseparable part of everyday life not only improving it, but making it more interesting and fun. ICT based, it is devoted to interactions with environment that are usually not available with traditional ICT equipment and platforms. IoT is at the same time both complementary and compatible with exist-ing non IoT world, which offers computing power and resources to IoT, making it a unique and powerful combination. Pocket Lab is a relatively new teaching concept that supports students' creativity and initiative allowing for carrying and experimenting with real equipment at a time and place of choice, much like using of regular text books for studying. Although the IoT & Pocket Labs are not nec-essarily interconnected or mutually conditioned, this paper discusses such a real case of teaching practice, where the Pocket Labs are a natural solution for teach-ing of IoT. The paper deals with one semester teaching experience of IoT as a university course. Obtained results and experience may be quite general except for university students profile defined with their previous education and knowledge. Besides the main goal of the course which is an introduction to IoT, some other aims were exploring the students' motivation for studying of IoT as a new technology and emphasizing the importance of new original ideas and views being as important as mastering the IoT technologies.


Recent studies of dietary habits in children and adolescents performed in Spain show that a high percentage of the daily energy intake corresponds to fat (42.0-43.0%). These findings show an excessive contribution of saturated fatty acids and also a considerable supply of trans fatty acids. These compounds are formed generally during partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, a process that converts vegetable oils into semisolid fats. Also, in some cases naturally occurring trans fatty acids in smaller amounts in meat and dairy products from ruminants (cows, sheep), these trans fatty acids are produced by the action of bacteria in the ruminant stomach by reactions of biohydrogenation. On the other hand, metabolic studies have clearly shown that trans fatty acids increase LDL cholesterol and reduce HDL cholesterol. Our results show that major sources of trans fatty acids in commercial Spanish foods are fast-food (hamburger, French fries), snacks, bakery products (cakes, donuts, biscuits), margarines and dehydrated soups.


In adults, electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) with intact hearing in the implanted ear improves speech comprehension, spatial hearing, and overall quality of life. However, there is a scarcity of research on the effects of EAS in children. The aims of this study was to evaluate the degree of EAS-related speech understanding benefit in children with retained acoustic hearing, as well as what role acoustic interaural time difference (ITD) sensitivity may have in that benefit. Six children with acoustic hearing loss and twenty children with normal hearing (NH) were chosen to take part in the study. An eight-loudspeaker array was used to test voice recognition, with speech coming from one loudspeaker at 0 degrees and restaurant noise coming from the other loudspeakers (45–315 degrees). The ITD thresholds for a 250-Hz stimulus presented acoustically via insert earphones were measured.