Nucleobases are known as suitable builders of porous materials not only due to their high number of heteroatoms leading to different coordination modes, but also because they establish strong and predictable supramolecular interactions. In this contribution, nucleobases (adenine and guanine), functionalized nucleobases (9-methyladenine) and nucleobase derivatives (6-chloropurine) have been evaluated as ligands for the construction of metal–nucleobase building blocks which can afford supramolecular porous materials, analyzing in detail the requirements that these entities must fulfill and pointing out the relevance of accomplishing the suggested requisites. More concisely, we have evaluated a paddle-wheel shaped dimeric entity, [Cu2(μ-Hade)4Cl2]Cl2·8H2O (1) (where Hade: adenine), a trimeric unit, [Co3(μ-Hade)2(μ-Cl)4Cl2(H2O)4]·2H2O (2), a dimeric entity, [Cu2(Hgua)2(H2gua)2(μ-Cl)2Cl2(H2O)][CuCl4] (3) (where Hgua: guanine, H2gua: guaninium), a monomeric unit with 9-methyladenine as the pendant ligand, [Co(9-Meade)2(H2O)4]Cl2·2H2O (4), zigzag chains, [Cu2(μ-CH3COO)4(μ-9-Meade)]n·nCH3OH (5), and a monomeric unit with 6-chloropurinato ligands, [Co(6-Clpur)2(H2O)4]·4H2O (6).


Public-private partnership has increasingly become a preferred public service delivery approach in the provision of water services in Kenya. As a strategy, PPP in water service provision was started in Kenya following water sector reforms as contained in the Water Act 2002. In order to establish the impact of PPP on water service delivery in Kenya, a household survey of 288 respondents from seven (7) Water Service Providers (WSPs) comprising four Water Utility companies and three Community Water projects, under the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board (LVSWSB) umbrella was conducted. Using quantitative techniques to analyze the data under governance theory, the study established that compared to the period up to 2004, the households experienced better services in the year 2012 in terms of water quality, affordability, access and customer service levels as currently observed compared to the period up to 2004 to the extent that public institutions that had adopted more private sector participation performed better than those that have not. On average, there was reduction in: distance to water point reduced by 78.3 m; frequency of coloured water by 0.2 days, time taken to restore water 3 days within the ten years period.


In order to understand potential changes in pH driven by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, we first need to understand what controls pH and its variability in estuaries today. We measured total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, temperature and salinity of samples taken hourly for 24 hours once a month at three sites in Narragansett Bay (2/2010 to 4/2011) to understand the controls on daily and seasonal pH variation: GSO, Greenwich Bay (GB), and Potter Cove (PC). We also measured in situ pH (pHe ) and temperature every five minutes at the same sites and during the same time periods. Our calculations of pH (pHc) from total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, salinity and temperature measurements indicate daily pH variation of 0.10 to 0.62. The largest pHc range for GSO was on April 1 st 2010, which had range of pHc of 8.36 to 7.94. The pHe range on the same day was from 8.19 to 8.01. The largest pHc range for PC was on March 8 th 2011, which had range of pHc of 8.68 to 8.16. The pHe range on the same day was from 9.02 to 8.46. The largest pHc range for GB was on May 13 th 2010, which had range of pHc of 8.04 to 7.42. The pHe range on the same day was from 7.91 to 7.52. We propagate errors in our calculations and use a conservative mixing model to determine if this variation in pH is valid or an artifact of error. The variations in pH are real and are not an artifact because the observed daily range in pH is greater than the pH range due to total error. We compared pH determined from dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity measurements to pH determined from a conservative mixing model. The comparisons show that daily pH variation is not completely explained by the mixing of waters with different salinity, alkalinity, and dissolved inorganic carbon. Shortterm pH change that cannot be explained by the model and have carbon dioxide and dissolved oxygen deviation from equilibrium are driven by biological activity, primarily photosynthesis and respiration. The fractional departure of dissolved carbon dioxide (([CO2 * ] –[CO2 * ]sat)/[CO2 * ], CO2* = dissolved and hydrated CO2) and dissolved oxygen (([O2] – [O2]sat)/[O2]) are anti-correlated, but not clearly linked to chlorophyll concentration. The mixing efficiency of the estuary provides a physical explanation as to why pH below equilibrium concentrations of CO2 co-varies with low dissolved oxygen concentrations.


Abstract Recent results indicate that astrocytic β-adrenergic receptors (βAR) participate in noradrenergic modulation of synaptic activity. In this study, we sought to examine whether neural activity can, in turn, regulate astrocytic βAR. To address this question, an antiserum that recognizes β-adrenergic receptors (βAR) specifically in astrocytes was used to assess the distribution of the receptors across ocular dominance columns in VI of two monocular and four visually intact adult monkeys. Cytochrome oxidase histochemistry (CO) was used to identify the position of the cortical laminae and of the ocular dominance columns receiving visual inputs from the intact and enucleated eyes. This stain revealed the expected pattern within V1 of monocular monkeys–i.e. darker and lighter bands of equal widths (ca. 500μm) spanning laminae 4–6, each associated with larger and smaller blobs, respectively, in lamina 2/3;. Alignment of CO sections with adjacent sections stained for astrocytic βAR by the immunoperoxidase method revealed intense βAR-like immunoreactivity (βAR-li) in the superficial laminae, a slightly weaker staining in the infragranular laminae and weakest staining in lamina 4C. Within lamina 4C., a prominent striped pattern was evident. The darker bands of the stripe closely matched widths and positions of the lighter CO columns associated with the enucleated eye. On the other hand, immunocytochemical staining for the astrocytic intermediate filament protein, GFAP, within V1 of monocular monkeys revealed no inter-columnar difference in the density of astrocytic cell bodies or processes. Nissl stain also revealed no overt inter-columnar differences in cell density. V1 of visually intact monkeys exhibited a similar laminar distribution pattern of βAR-li and of CO. Within lamina 4C., βAR-li was uniformly faint and CO staining was uniformly intense. This suggests that the striped pattern of βAR-li seen in lamina 4C of monocular monkeys results from elevation of the βAR-antigen within the inactive columns. The results indicate that astrocytic βAR density is regulated by local neural activity. The mechanisms regulating βAR density are likely to be independent of those regulating glial cell proliferation or GFAP synthesis. In vitro experimental results of others suggest that elevation of astrocytic βAR may be a mechanism compensating for chronic neural inactivity, since the coincident release of noradrenaline with visual stimulation would elevate neuropil excitability via the astrocytic mechanism of (1) decreasing the uptake of neuronally released L-glutamate; (2) increasing GABA uptake; and (3) stimulating glycogenolysis. Alternatively, the changes in βAR-li may reflect an up-regulation of the receptors within inactive columns due to reduced levels of noradrenaline release.


LBA research has deepened our understanding of the role of soil water storage, clouds and aerosols in land‐atmosphere coupling. We show how the reformulation of cloud forcing in terms of an effective cloud albedo per unit area of surface gives a useful measure of the role of clouds in the surface energy budget over the Amazon. We show that the diurnal temperature range has a quasi‐linear relation to the daily mean longwave cooling; and to effective cloud albedo because of the tight coupling between the near‐surface climate, the boundary layer and the cloud field. The coupling of surface and atmospheric processes is critical to the seasonal cycle: deep forest rooting systems make water available throughout the year, whereas in the dry season the shortwave cloud forcing is reduced by regional scale subsidence, so that more light is available for photosynthesis. At sites with an annual precipitation above 1900 mm and a dry season length less than 4 months, evaporation rates increased in the dry season, coincident with increased radiation. In contrast, ecosystems with precipitation less than 1700 mm and a longer dry season showed clear evidence of reduced evaporation in the dry season coming from water stress. In all these sites, the seasonal variation of the effective cloud albedo is a major factor in determining the surface available energy. Dry season fires add substantial aerosol to the atmosphere. Aerosol scattering and absorption both reduce the total downward surface radiative flux, but increase the diffuse/direct flux ratio, which increases photosynthetic efficiency. Convective plumes produced by fires enhance the vertical transport of aerosols over the Amazon, and effectively inject smoke aerosol and gases directly into the middle troposphere with substantial impacts on mid‐tropospheric dispersion. In the rainy season in Rondônia, convection in low‐level westerly flows with low aerosol content resembles oceanic convection with precipitation from warm rain processes and little electrification. But in the same region in the dry season, widespread fires produce a high aerosol loading with high numbers of cloud condensation nuclei from biomass burning; and convection is then dominated by ice‐phase processes giving deep clouds with frequent lightning and convective tops in the lower stratosphere. Recent studies based on measurements of CCN and cloud droplet distributions have successfully modeled this wide range of convective regimes, and shown the fundamental link between cloud droplet spectra, convective structure and precipitation. The regional scale circulation responds to precipitation and aerosol forcing, as well as the memory provided by soil moisture. The field observations from LBA have been essential to identifying the interactions of critical processes, and for the development and evaluation of our models of the coupled system.


Acne is a common disease of the pilosebaceous units of the skin and topical therapy is recommended for the management of acne with comedolytic, anti-inflammatory agents, along with antimicrobials. However, topical application of these drugs leads to frequent adverse effects and also, there is an emergence of antibiotic resistance by Propionibacterium acnes. Furthermore, systemic antimicrobial usage has been causally associated with various adverse events. No simple recipe for the treatment can be provided. Treatment options vary with the stage and severity of the disease. So now a day's physicians prefer the herboformulations containing Melaleuca alternifoli, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum, Aloe vera, Citrus bergamia, Santalum album, Rosa centifolia, Carica papaya etc. than the allopathic drugs due to less or no side effects. Perfact gel is herbal formulation contains 5% of Melaleuca alternifoli (Tea tree oil) and Perfact tablet is polyherbal formulations and contains extracts of Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, and Piper nigrum, and the study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of perfect face, Perfect face tablets and both in the management of acne. In this contest, the present work is carried out which includes Uncontrolled randomized, open labelled, multicentric Phase III clinical trial using oral Ayurvedic multicomponent preparations with or without use of Ayurvedic dermatological formulation in three different hospitals from 15 July 2009 to 15 Oct 2009. One hundred fifty three patients (n=153) including 63 males and 90 females in the age group of 35-50 years were enrolled. Children below 18 years of age, patients with preexisting systemic disease necessitating long-term medications, genetic and endocrinal disorders and those who refused to give informed consent were excluded from the study. Pregnant and lactating women were also excluded from the study. A baseline history was obtained in order to determine the patient's eligibility for enrolment in the trial. Thereafter all patients underwent a clinical examination and thorough skin examination was done the subjects are divided in to three groups. Group I received Perfect oral Tablet, Group II received dermatological gel (Perfact Face gel) and Group III received oral tablet and dermatological gel formula. Efficacy was assessed by the ability of perfact face gel and perfact face tablets to reduce the number of inflamed and non-inflamed lesions by using Leed's counting method and Cardiff index method. The group III shows more 12% as compared to group II. It was concluded that group III having more significant effect on the inflamed lesion as compared to group I and II treatment.


This work proposes an intelligent information management environment for mobile commerce. The environment contains four modules, namely, interface manager, information repository, information analyzer, and information collector. The interface manager provides an intelligent interface for generating and collecting business information from the mobile device. The information repository contains the user-specific information and the meta-information of information sources. The information analyzer performs the tasks of user behavior analysis, quality of information service measurement, information repository management, cost evaluation, anytime information supporting, and information filtering. Finally, the information collector dispatches different information agents for collecting business information from different information sources.


In many policy-learning applications, the agent may execute a set of actions at each decision stage. Choosing among an exponential number of alternatives poses a computational challenge, and even representing actions naturally expressed as sets can be a tricky design problem. Building upon prior approaches that employ deep neural networks and iterative construction of action sets, we introduce a reward-shaping approach to apportion reward to each atomic action based on its marginal contribution within an action set, thereby providing useful feedback for learning to build these sets. We demonstrate our method in two environments where action spaces are combinatorial. Experiments reveal that our method significantly accelerates and stabilizes policy learning with combinatorial actions.


The cellular level of neurogenic differentiation 1 (NeuroD) is modulated differentially by μ-opioid receptor agonists; fentanyl increases NeuroD level by reducing the amount of microRNA-190 (miR-190), an inhibitor of NeuroD expression, whereas morphine does not alter NeuroD level. In the current study, NeuroD activity was demonstrated to be also under agonist-dependent regulation. After 3 d of treatment, morphine and fentanyl decreased the activity of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II α (CaMKIIα), which phosphorylates and activates NeuroD. Because NeuroD activity is determined by both the CaMKIIα activity and the cellular NeuroD level, the overall NeuroD activity was reduced by morphine, but maintained during fentanyl treatment. The differential effects of agonists on NeuroD activity were further confirmed by measuring the mRNA levels of four NeuroD downstream targets: doublecortin, Notch1, neurogenic differentiation 4, and Roundabout 1. Decreased dendritic spine stability and μ-opioid receptor signaling capability were also observed when NeuroD activity was attenuated by miR-190 overexpression or treatment with KN93, a CaMKIIα inhibitor. The decrease could be rescued by NeuroD overexpression, which restored NeuroD activity to the basal level. Furthermore, elevating NeuroD activity attenuated the morphine-induced decrease in dendritic spine stability. Therefore, by regulating NeuroD activity, μ-opioid receptor agonists modulate the stability of dendritic spines.


Accurate quantification of fugitive dust emissions from quarries helps maintain the integrity of the National Pollutant Release Inventory. Emissions from unpaved roads, material handling, and storage piles at three quarries were calculated using the AP-42 emissions factor method, and the error of using 30-year climate averages, the uncertainty introduced by typical material properties, and the limited availability of climate data were addressed. Using daily and hourly data predicted unpaved roads emissions between 38.95% and 43.50% higher, materials handling emissions 15.31% lower to 18.64% higher, and storage pile emissions 12.48% to 37.50% lower than calculations using 30-yer averages. Employing Monte Carlo simulation, the confidence intervals attributable to typical material properties ranged from 87.50% below to 650% above the mean. Krige-interpolated climate data showed potential for being more accurate that observations at the nearest station. Using site-specific, temporally-relevant data and assessing uncertainty promotes calculations that better match the goals of the inventory.


This document describes the introduction of the concept of property in the field of clinical and environmental human toxicology for the presentation of results of clinical laboratory investigations. It follows the IFCC-IUPAC systematic terminological rules and attempts to create a common base for communication between the clinical chemist, the medical practitioner, the human toxicologist, and the environmental toxicologist. The term designating a substance being a toxicant may be an international nonproprietary name (INN), a generic name, a registered trade name, a fantasy name, or other. This causes difficulties in the transmission of requests and reports on properties involving such substances in biological fluids and environmental media to and from laboratories, to the end user, and in the collating of this information from different sources. The document comprises a list of properties of human and environmental systems involving toxicants for use in transmitting medical laboratory data. The document recommends terms based on the format developed by the IFCC and IUPAC to facilitate interaction between disciplines and unambiguous interpretation of data, e.g. for purposes of risk interpretation. Systematic terms are presented together with a code (identified by the letters NPU) for each. The complete C-NPU Database may be found at: http://dior.imt.liu.se/C-NPU


Increasing market demands for 'sustainable products' has in the development of disposable diapers resulted in a focus on material substitution and weight reduction. In this study we have compared the strategic potential of these two approaches for development of the absorbing core of the product. The study indicates that regardless what strategy a company selects for reducing a products socio-ecological impact, both society and environment would benefit from a stronger focus on the long term goal of a sustainably product, instead of the milestones.


The correct measurement of house price movements over time on a regional level and for small market segments, with relatively few transactions, is considered. The research is based on data of housing market transactions in the Amsterdam Region over the period 1985-1999. In response to the econstant qualityi price index problem two main methodologies for index construction have been adopted: a Fixed-sample approach and a Hedonic approach. In the hedonic price model a Hierarchical Trend Model is used for estimation. A Kalman filter could be applied to estimate models of this kind. Price index series, of the Hedonic type and the Fixed-sample type, are presented for the region as a whole as well as per segment and house type within the region. The analysis shows that, over the period studied here, the Hedonic index numbers are superior to the Fixed-sample index numbers, being less sensitive to small market segments and small housing categories.


Objective To determine the frequency with which children ≥6 years with acute asthma can perform peak expiratory flow rate measurements (PEFR) in an emergency department (ED). Design/Methods Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study of children with acute asthma. All children (age 2–18 years old) treated in an urban pediatric ED for an acute exacerbation during randomly selected days over a 12-month period were prospectively evaluated. According to treatment protocols, PEFR was to be measured in all children age 6 years and older before therapy and after each treatment with inhaled bronchodilators. Registered respiratory therapists obtained PEFR and evaluated whether patients were able to perform the maneuver adequately. Results Four hundred and fifty-six children, 6 to 18 years old (median 10 years), were enrolled; 291 (64%) had PEFR measured at least once. Of those in whom PEFR was attempted at least once, only 190 (65%) were able to perform adequately. At the start of therapy, 54% (142/262) were able to perform PEFR. Of the 120 who were unable to perform initially, 76 had another attempt at the end of the ED treatment, and 55 (72%) were still unable to perform. A total of 149 patients had attempts at PEFR both at the start and end of treatment, of these, only 71 (48%) provided valid information on both attempts. Patients unable to perform PEFR were younger (mean ± SD = 8.7 ± 2.8 years) than those who were able to perform successfully (11.2 ± 3.2 years) and those with no attempts (10.0 ± 3.4 years). Children admitted to the hospital were more likely to be unable to perform PEFR (58/126 = 46%) than those discharged from the ED (43/330 = 13%, P < 0.0001). Conclusion Adequate PEFR measurements are difficult to obtain in children with acute asthma. Treatment and research protocols cannot rely exclusively on PEFR for evaluation of severity.


A phenomenological study is conducted to investigate the experience of mothers with very low birth weight. Sample of 8 mothers participate. Seven theme clusters emerge when the formulated meanings were organized into categories. The participants are 8 mothers who gave birth in the general hospital located in Kyunggi-Province and still live there. The data are collected from the intensive interviews on the experience of mothers whose baby is very low birth weight infant. Data collection is through in depth personal interviews two or three times with each mother. On the basis of the meanings of the experience of mothers with very low birth weight infant, the seven essential themes have been obtained Theme 1:Being surprised and perplexed due to the unexpected sudden delivery Theme 2:Experiencing emotional pain such as anxiety, sorrow, fear, confusion and self-blaming caused by a small and feeble baby. Theme 3: Pouring all their time and efforts into the baby under the acute tension Theme 4:Undergoing intolerable difficulties in confronting reality `Theme 5:Raising the special infant into an normal one by themselves Theme 6: Being on the vigilance for their baby even though they can be relieved Theme 7:Finding out a reward for the difficulties they have experienced The results obtained in this study will enable us to comprehensively understand the experience by mothers whose baby is very low birth weight infant and furthermore to provide a new insight which helps baby.


Normativity is considered the basis for the implementation of social regulation. However, this regulation of social relations must be organised and have a positive impact on the development of society. Normativity is considered to be the primary, original property of social reality due to the natural demand for establishing order and its integral
ability for self-organisation. The integration of elements into a balanced system is carried out through their coordinated interactions, resulting in something new, which has a unique integrative quality, provided that this quality was absent before their integration into the system.
At the same time, nowadays, the phenomenon of normativity is studied mostly from traditional positions. A number of well-known works that raise the issue of normativity were written in the middle of the last century under conditions of an ideological monopoly and are unlikely to enrich the modern understanding of the normative nature of law.
Today, in the Ukrainian scholarly literature, because of Soviet remnants, only the formal (positive- empirical) side of normativity is being assessed, which leads to it being replaced by the concept of state coercion. In general, this leads to the spread and dominance of extremely negative phenomena in Ukrainian society, among which the total non-enforcement of court decisions is worth mentioning. The solution to this problem cannot simply be improving coercive measures of the state alone – there must be changes to understanding the rule of law and, in particular, the nature of normativity. The analysis of the method of objectification (formation) of the due diligence of law will significantly contribute to targeting this problem because the latter is not solely derived from the dictates of the state (or the empirical phenomena). However, the key focus is finding the answer to one of the most important questions of jurisprudence and the philosophy of law, namely: 'Why should a person obey the law?'. Thus, we are highly motivated to initiate a philosophical and legal rethinking of approaches to the normativity of law and the legitimation of state and legal processes. This article is an attempt to target a discussion in this sphere.


BACKGROUND
Although interpersonal continuity is commonly assumed to be essential for care, some patients prefer to attend a university outpatient clinic where physicians change regularly and interpersonal continuity of care is not ensured.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate the differences between patients attending a university outpatient clinic and patients frequenting a private practice, explore their patterns of care-seeking and their understanding of continued care.

METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients attending the university medical outpatient clinic (OC) in Lausanne, Switzerland and ten randomly selected private general practices (PP). Eligible patients were >30 years, Swiss nationals or long term residents, with one or more chronic conditions and attending the same practice for >3 years. They were asked to complete a questionnaire on sociodemographic data, use of medical resources and reasons for choosing and remaining at the same practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a randomly selected subset of 26 patients to further explore their preferences.

RESULTS
329 patient questionnaires were completed, 219 by PP and 110 by OC patients. OC patients tended to be of lower socioeconomic status than PP patients. The main reason for choosing a PP were personal recommendation, while a higher percentage of patients chose the OC because they could obtain a first appointment quickly. A higher percentage of PP patients accorded importance to physician communication skills and trust, whereas a higher percentage of OC patients favoured investigation facilities. Qualitative data suggested that although OC and PP patients reported different reasons for consulting, their expectations on the medical and relationship level were similar.

CONCLUSION
Our study suggests that the two groups of patients belong to different social backgrounds, have different patterns of care-seeking and attach importance to different aspects of care continuity. However, patients' expectations and perceptions of the physician-patient relationship are similar.


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The spectral edge of a sound serves as an important cue in human sound perception. A recent physiological study revealed that there are four types of neurons in the primary auditory cortex (A1) based on the edge sensitivities of the cells. In this study, in order to explain the behavior of A1 neurons, we have developed an auditory model that consists of peripheral auditory functions and weighted summation of the peripheral responses. The peripheral auditory system was modeled using a cochlear filter bank as well as compression characteristics. Neural weighting was represented with a combination of excitatory and inhibitory weightings in which the weighting function was approximated with a normal distribution. The weighed summation of the outputs from the model of the auditory periphery was assumed to be the discharge rate of an A1 cell. To achieve the best fit to the physiological results, a simulation to find appropriate weighting values was conducted. As a result, the physiological data were successfully replicated using the proposed model. Because edge sensitivity is also important for vowel discrimination, the proposed model can be used as a preprocessor for an automatic speech recognition system.


Abstract Studies of Punjabi partition-related refugee resettlement have revealed a gap between official accounts and those provided by migrants. The former seek to legitimize the state by narrating its role in the transformation of helpless refugees into productive citizens. First hand accounts on the other hand frequently write the state out of the rehabilitation process. This paper seeks firstly to illustrate these processes at work by contrasting the narrative account contained in the Government of India publication, The Story of Rehabilitation, with interview material collected amongst former refugees. It then goes on to reveal the presence of state agency in cases of rehabilitation, despite refugee denial. Finally, it explores the refugee-state tensions arising from migrants' experience of local level bureaucratic and police services' corruption, which goes some way towards explaining the narrative dissonances.


&NA; The emphasis on cost reduction and increased efficiency in health care delivery has prompted an increase in outpatient (ambulatory) surgical procedures. A retrospective review of the perioperative management of patients undergoing cleft lip repair at two urban tertiary pediatric hospitals was performed to assess the safety of outpatient cleft lip repair. The hospital database at Childrens Hospital. Los Angeles was searched to find all patients who had been operated on for cleft lip repair during calendar years 1999 and 2000. Two groups were identified from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles: the outpatient cleft lip repair group (patients discharged the same day as the operation; n = 91) and the inpatient cleft lip repair group (n = 14). A data set was acquired from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, using the same criteria, for fiscal years 1998 to 2000 (n = 50). All patients from Royal Children's Hospital had operations as inpatients. Parameters considered for each group were age, sex, race, ethnicity, length of hospital stay, preexisting medical conditions or diagnoses, complications, and readmissions or presentation to the emergency department within 4 weeks of operation. The Childrens Hospital Los Angeles outpatient group had three readmissions that were considered to be complications of the operation. The Childrens Hospital Los Angeles inpatient group had one readmission attributable to a complication. The Royal Children's Hospital group also had one readmission for a complication. There was no significant difference in the complication rate of the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles outpatient group and the Royal Children's Hospital group (p > 0.05). There was also no significant difference in the complication rate of both of the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles groups compared with the Royal Children's Hospital group (p > 0.05). This study indicates that cleft lip repair performed in an outpatient setting may be a safe alternative to the inpatient operation. Certain preexisting medical conditions, however, may dictate the need for inpatient hospitalization after repair. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 112: 381, 2003.)


The composition and crystallinity of Fe oxides in soils determines the reactivity and toxicity of Fe through redox and solubility reactions. The mineralogy and crystallinity of Fe oxides seasonally precipitating on ped surfaces and within soil pores and those forming around rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots were investigated by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analyses. Iron oxides precipitated on exposed surfaces of the League soil (fine, montmorillonitic, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Dystrudert), which is flooded during rice production, differed from Fe phases precipitated around rice roots. Iron oxides precipitated on ped surfaces and within soil pores were relatively poorly crystallized while those precipitated on rice-root surfaces were well crystallized. The presence of soluble Si and P during flooding may be responsible for precipitation of the less crystalline Fe oxides. Infrared and electron-diffraction data on the precipitate suggest the presence of P04 groups either adsorbed or coprecipitated with Fe oxide. Depletion of Si and P from the rhizosphere is believed to contribute to the formation of well-crystallized lepidocrocite on root surfaces. The poorly crystalline Fe-oxide precipitate that forms on ped surfaces upon draining and oxidation of the League soil has adsorbed or occluded Si and P. Thus, Fe oxides may influence the mobility of Si and P in alternately flooded and drained soils. Electron-diffraction data suggests that some of the Fe may be precipitated as strengite. Upon reduction and dissolution, these oxides release Fe, Si, and P into the soil solution and influence the nutrient dynamics in the rhizosphere of the rice plant.


The sulfhydryl protease B was isolated from the cotyledons of 8-day old vetch seedlings and purified 1580-fold with a 38% recovery. The preparation obtained proved to be homogeneous by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme as shown by Na-DS gel electrophoresis is 38 000. Protease B hydrolyzes the peptide bonds involving the carboxyl groups of asparagine in insulin chains A and B. Since protease B fails to attack the native reserve proteins the high molecular weight products of the initial hydrolysis of reserve proteins by the earlier discovered protease A seem to be the most probable substrates of protease B. A considerable part of these substrates is split by protease B to form large peptides. The role of protease B in reserve proteins degradation is discussed.


Abstract. The lifetimes of electrons trapped in Earth's radiation belts can be calculated from quasi-linear pitch-angle diffusion by whistler-mode waves, provided that their frequency spectrum is broad enough and/or their average amplitude is not too large. Extensive comparisons between improved analytical lifetime estimates and full numerical calculations have been performed in a broad parameter range representative of a large part of the magnetosphere from L ~ 2 to 6. The effects of observed very oblique whistler waves are taken into account in both numerical and analytical calculations. Analytical lifetimes (and pitch-angle diffusion coefficients) are found to be in good agreement with full numerical calculations based on CRRES and Cluster hiss and lightning-generated wave measurements inside the plasmasphere and Cluster lower-band chorus waves measurements in the outer belt for electron energies ranging from 100 keV to 5 MeV. Comparisons with lifetimes recently obtained from electron flux measurements on SAMPEX, SCATHA, SAC-C and DEMETER also show reasonable agreement.


The preparation of solid dispersions, in this study felodipine/polyvinyl pyrrolidone solid dispersion, is a multifaceted phenomenon. In order to understand the formation of solid dispersions two different mixed solvent system, three different temperatures and different drug loadings were selected and monitored in real time using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. 50 mul of the prepared solution was placed onto a pre-heated ATR crystal. The effect of PVP/API ratio, molecular interactions and effect of temperature (30°C, 40°C and 50°C) on the rate of film formation (solid dispersions) was evaluated. The changes in the peak positions, peak intensities and peak width as a function of time was monitored. The data were then analysed using peak height measurements, statistical and chemometric data analytical tools. It was shown that the nature of the solvent, the working temperature, presence of polymer and low drug loading was found to influence the rate of evaporation of solvent, molecular interactions and quality of the final product. Moreover, using thermogravimetric techniques it was complemented that the residual solvent within the systems was within the studied limits. The spatial arrangement or distribution of components within solid dispersion was found to influence the physical stability, phase behaviour, dissolution and bioavailability. Mid infrared spectroscopic imaging has been shown to be useful and has provided unique insights in to various fields. However, it has very limited applications in analysing the pharmaceutical materials. This work aims to evaluate various image processing tools in extracting process related information. Three model systems with varying chemical composition were selected. The chemical images from the regions of interest were collected using a Varian 620 FTIR Imaging instrument equipped with 64 x 64 MCT-Focal Plane Array (FPA) detector. Firstly we showed the impact of optical artefacts on the quality of the acquired image. The data was then pre-processed to remove baseline effects, pathlength variations and image processed to extract distribution maps. Agreement between the data generated using peak height measurements, compare correlation, principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution was obtained only with the simple systems, the advantage with the latter being that the supervised and unsupervised chemometric approaches do not require any prior information about the sample and does not suffer from any physical or chemical interferences. The success of MCR-ALS over compare correlation and PCA methods is that it does not require any pure materials library and provides chemical information respectively. Moreover, implementation and data extraction is easy using MCR-ALS. It was then showed that once the optical artefacts are separated and chemically significant information is extracted, the benefits of infrared imaging was multitude. The optimised procedures were then applied to other samples to expand the applications of mid infrared imaging. There is no established paper to date describing the application of FTIR imaging to study the solvent induced phase separation in solid dispersions. One of the aims of this work is to study the impact of two different solvents on the phase behaviour of felodipine/polyvinyl pyrrolidone solid dispersions cast from different binary solvent systems. The temperature induced phase separation and degradation have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric etc, however we have shown the application of FTIR imaging in assessing the temperature induced degradation complemented and supported by in situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis.


There are two types of behavioural models in the WSMO semantic description of services: an orchestration and a choreography, together called the interface. While an orchestration defines a service's behaviour as a composition of existing parts, a choreography is intended to document the conversation of messages exchanged with its client. This paper presents a three-level model for behavioural descriptions, and how UML Activity Diagrams and the Cashew workflow model fit into this, building on existing work on the use of Abstract State Machines to define behaviour in WSMO.


During the non-Ag-specific early phase of infection, IFN-γ is believed to be primarily provided by NK and NKT cells in response to pathogen-derived inflammatory mediators. To test whether other cell types were involved in early IFN-γ release, IFN-γ-producing cells were visualized in spleens and lymph nodes of LPS-injected mice. In addition to NK and NKT cells, IFN-γ was also detected in a significant fraction of CD8+ T cells. CD8+ T cells represented the second major population of IFN-γ-producing cells in the spleen (∼30%) and the majority of IFN-γ+ cells in the lymph nodes (∼70%). LPS-induced IFN-γ production by CD8+ T cells was MHC class I independent and was restricted to CD44high (memory phenotype) cells. Experiments performed with C3H/HeJ (LPS-nonresponder) mice suggested that CD8+ T cells responded to LPS indirectly through macrophage/dendritic cell-derived IFN-α/β, IL-12, and IL-18. IFN-γ was also detected in memory CD8+ T cells from mice injected with type I IFN or with poly(I:C), a synthetic dsRNA that mimics early activation by RNA viruses. Taken together, these results suggest that in response to bacterial and viral products, memory T cells may contribute to innate immunity by providing an early non-Ag-specific source of IFN-γ.


This paper focuses on the numerical study of the melting process of the wax when using the "stuffy pipeline" operation to remove the wax. Transient two dimensional heat transfer analysis was performed by using the enthalpy-porosity and Volume of Fluid (VOF) methods in ANSYS FLUENT. This study aimed at revealing the phase change heat transfer characteristics of wax melting process. The effects of water temperature, the thickness of the wax layer and wax layer composition on the melting process were investigated. The results show that when the "stuffy pipeline" operation is adopted, the operation time should be controlled wisely, the effect of wax removal does not increase over time. Moreover, the thickness of the wax layer is smaller, and the effect of wax removal is greatly reduced. The composition of wax layer has a significant influence on the melting process. When the wax is distributed in a single or double layer, the liquid contours of wax varies greatly.


A novel interferometric analog-to-digital converter (ADC) scheme for real-time conversion at multiple-gigahertz bandwidth is presented and theoretically analyzed. The input analog signal is applied as an optical phase modulation in one of the arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the digital output is obtained in encoded form as a set of optical intensities in the interference pattern. Particular benefits of the proposed device are its simple design which facilitates integration, the extremely high bandwidth, and the inherent 2/spl pi/-periodicity that in comparison with conventional flash ADCs relaxes the demands on the comparators and allows unwrapping of the output for higher resolution.


ERPs were recorded from samples of young (18–29 years) and older (63–77 years) participants while they performed a modified "remember–know" recognition memory test. ERP correlates of familiarity-driven recognition were obtained by contrasting the waveforms elicited by unrecollected test items accorded "confident old" and "confident new" judgments. Correlates of recollection were identified by contrasting the ERPs elicited by items accorded "remember" and confident old judgments. Behavioral analyses revealed lower estimates of both recollection and familiarity in older participants than in young participants. The putative ERP correlate of recollection—the "left parietal old–new effect"—was evident in both age groups, although it was slightly but significantly smaller in the older sample. By contrast, the putative ERP correlate of familiarity—the "midfrontal old–new effect"—could be identified in young participants only. This age-related difference in the sensitivity of ERPs to familiarity was also evident in subgroups of young and older participants, in whom familiarity-based recognition performance was equivalent. Thus, the inability to detect a reliable midfrontal old–new effect in older participants was not a consequence of an age-related decline in the strength of familiarity. These findings raise the possibility that familiarity-based recognition memory depends upon qualitatively different memory signals in older and young adults.


PDA (personal digital assistant) technology is beginning to emerge as a viable technology for accessing and updating patient records. A handful of studies can be found in the literature on the use of PDAs for accessing patient's records. However, none have actually presented a formal usability study of user interaction with these systems. In this paper we describe a usability study in which we compared two versions (PDA and laptop) of an application to access an electronic patient record system in terms of the efficiency and satisfaction achieved by physicians while conducting typical tasks. The results of the study revealed that physicians are significantly faster on a laptop than on a PDA reading and performing tasks that require text entry. However, they are significantly faster on a PDA than on a laptop performing tasks that only require pointing and clicking. In general they are significantly more satisfied with the actions performed to complete typical tasks on the laptop than on the PDA.


The focus of this study is to find some of the best factors for festival coordinators and festival tourism providers to accept and adopt competencies that will be most useful in creating a successful festival tourism marketing program. The primary objective of this study was to study the influence factors that cause cultural festival tourism coordinators to adopt marketing competencies. Confirmatory factor analysis was used as the methodology. Data were collected from festival coordinators in Thailand. Primary data collect from 175 respondents by questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. The result revealed that tool experience, user expertise and task characteristic are the most important factors for cultural festival coordinators to accept marketing competencies idea while the factors that affect most in adoption depends on external factors including financial/ incentives and other supporting factors.


It has been known for centuries that the rich and famous have longer lives than the poor and ordinary. Causality, however, remains trenchantly debated. The ideal experiment would be one in which status and money could somehow be dropped upon a sub-sample of individuals while those in a control group received neither. This paper attempts to formulate a test in that spirit. It collects 19th-century birth data on science Nobel Prize winners and nominees. Using a variety of corrections for potential biases, the paper concludes that winning the Nobel Prize, rather than merely being nominated, is associated with between 1 and 2 years of extra longevity. Greater wealth, as measured by the real value of the Prize, does not seem to affect lifespan.


We report on a simple method to flatten the optical spectral response of a conventional Gaussian-like transfer function multiplexer and demultiplexer. Advantages and drawbacks of the technique are discussed, and an analytical formula that permits easy optical design is given.


The planktonic food web in extremely acidic mining lakes is restricted to a few species that are either acidophilic or acidotolerant. Common metazoans inhabiting acidic mining lakes with a pH below 3 include rotifers in the genera Cephalodella and Elosa. The life history response of Cephalodella acidophila to three environmental key factors, pH (2, 3.5, 5.0 and 7.0), temperature (10, 17.5 and 25 °C) and food concentration (10 000, 35 000 and 50 000 algal cells per mL), was investigated in a full factorial design using life-table experiments. The effect of each of the three environmental variables investigated on the rotifer life cycle parameters (life span, fecundity and population growth rate) differed. C. acidophila is a stenoecious species with a pH optimum in the range 3–4 and a comparably high food threshold. Combining the laboratory results with field data, we conclude that C. acidophila is severely growth limited in its natural habitat. However, low pH alone is not harmful as long as temperatures are moderate to warm and food is abundant. The population of C. acidophila in the field is maintained mainly due to release from competitors and predators.


A new type of GaAs bipolar transistor with a base formed by a two-dimensional inversion hole gas was fabricated for the first time. In a conversional GaAs hetero-bipolar transistor, the base thickness is limited to a few hundred angstroms to avoid the unacceptable increase of the base resistance. The present GaAs inversionbase bipolar transistor (GaAs IBT) consists of an n+-GaAs layer as an emitter, an undoped thin AlAs layer, and an n--GaAs layer as a collector, and the transistor has a self-aligned external p+ base region. By applying the emitter-base bias V,, sufficiently, the surface of the n--GaAs at the AlAs interface is inverted, and the two dimensional inversion hole gas is induced. The inversion layer fonns an extremely thin base layer. The valence band discontinuity at AlAs/n--GaAs interface is sufficiently large ( A E , = 0.55 eV) for the holes to be confined at the interface. The electrons, which have a lighter mass tunnel through the thin and low ( A E , = 0.20 eV) AlAs barrier layer, pass across the inversion base layer, and reach the collector after falling down the slope of the collector depletion layer. The fabrication process starts from the crystal growth by MBE of following structure; HB n+-GaAs substrate (Si-dopeci)/n--GaAs (Si-doped 1 X lOI6/cm3, 1.5 pm)/;ndoped AlAs (100 A)/n+-GaAs (Si-doEed, 1 X lOl*/cm3, 5000 A ) . After the crystal growth, a 5000 A tungsten nitride (WN) layer was deposited by sputtering technique on the top n+-GaAs. Then the WN layer and n+-GaAs were selectively etched off down to the AlAs surface and formed the emitter. Using the WN and n+-GaAs emitter electrode as a mask, the magnesium (Mg) ions were implanted to form the selfaligned external base p+-GaAs region. The sample was, then, flash annealed at 800°C for 30 s without a cap under an arsenic pressure. After the annealing process, the ohmic electrodes were formed to the top nC-GaAs, the ion implanted pi layer, and the back side of the HB GaAs substrate for the emitter, base, and collector electrodes, respectively. The transistor characteristics measured at 77 K shows the current gain of CY = 0.77 for the base common circuit, and the current gain of 6 = 3.8 for the emitter common cirucit. The emitter-base voltage of more than V,, = 1.8 V is necessary to obtain the transistor characteristics. This emitter-base voltage of V,, = 1.8 V corresponds to the bias necessary to invert the undoped AlAsIn-GaAs interface and form the two-dimensional hole gas which works as a base. The GaAs inversion base bipolar transistor has an extremely thin base layer with a small base resistance. Therefore, the transistor is a good candidate for an ultrahigh-frequency microwave amplifier.


This volume presents recent work on basin inversion and the causes and effects of inversion tectonics, the increasing recognition and importance of which are highlighted by examples from four continents. The book also features sections on mechanics, dynamics and geometry in inverted basins, on the modelling of inversion tectonics and on the recognition and measurement of basin inversion. Integrated studies require detailed analysis of every available dataset, and conclusions of many of the papers here are based on numerous data types and both surface mapping and sub-surface seismic interpretation. The volume shows that research in recent years has increased understanding of the inversion processes. In many cases inversion tectonics is the controlling factor in hydrocarbon prospectivity and its timing, extent and amount, as well as controls on it, will need to be understood further in order successfully and cost-effectively to explore sedimentary basins. The book brings together work from both academia and the petroleum industry and attempts to forge links between workers in both these areas.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Neonatal resuscitation training for healthcare workers can prevent pregnancyrelated mortality and reduce disability among birth asphyxia survivors. Since the participation of nurses in workshops is not always possible for recertification, in this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of self-learning, using the new edition of neonatal resuscitation textbook on the improvement of nurses' skills and knowledge in this area. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 58 nurses at Babol hospitals, who had received the neonatal resuscitation certificate less than two years ago, were provided with the new edition of neonatal resuscitation textbook (published in 2011). Practical training was performed under the supervision of a trained instructor at the skill laboratory. After eight weeks, a knowledge test was performed based on the textbook, and Megacode skill test was carried out, using the skill assessment checklist in the textbook. The scores were rated as follows: poor (<17), acceptable (17-19), and favorable (> 19). Afterwards, the mean scores of the previous workshop and self-learning were compared. FINDINGS: The comparison of knowledge scores revealed that 39.4% and 56.9% of the subjects obtained favorable scores in the previous workshop and self-learning (p=0.27), 10.4% and 36.2% obtained acceptable scores (p=0.05), and 44.8% and 6.8% had poor scores (p=0.0002), respectively. Moreover, the comparison of skill scores showed that 48.3% and 34.5% of the subjects obtained favorable scores in the previous workshop and self-learning (p=0.33), 34.5% and 43.1% had acceptable scores (p=0.052), and 17.2% and 22.3% obtained poor scores (p=0.56), respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on the obtained results, self-learning is more effective in improving theoretical knowledge rather than practical skills. Therefore, participation in skill workshops is recommended for the improvement of neonatal resuscitation skills.


Before the use of photography and digital projections, cast collections had a major place in Archaeology and History of Art studies. Replacing the original content, they permitted in different manners to touch the past in a safety and unobtrusive way : watch, touch and manipulate the cast allowed proactively students to learn the techniques of the ancient masters. Nowaday cast collections lays in university corridors or in museum storage waiting to be restored due to their material properties, the degradations of time, and the difficulty to use them in a course. Thinking about their past didactic roles, the Université Libre de Bruxelles wanted primarily a way to restore and preserve her antique study cast collection and, in the same way, give it a new sight as a nowaday collection study. For three months, in the same time of cast restorations, PANORAMA team have developed a photogrammetric workflow to produce and treat photographic shooting, texture delighting, point clouds reconstruction, meshing, retouching, simplifying, retopologizing, relighting and at the end of the whole process, web publishing. Through this paper, the PANORAMA photogrammetric reconstruction methodology will be introduced and particularly the texture delighting process developed to enhance texture details and easily reintegrate models as a fully usable 3D asset in any 3D scene.


ABSTRACT Various instruments that have the aim of assessing children even from a very young age are constantly being developed. We argue that these instruments and assessment processes risk removing judgement from educators and teachers. Using the Aristotelian concept of phronêsis, we argue that teachers need to develop a habit of engaging with practical judgments with children. This is done through being attentive to children, that gives us the possibility to 'see the ordinary world around us' [Smith, R. 1999. 'Paths of Judgment: The Revival of Practical Wisdom.' Educational Philosophy and Theory 31 (3): 327–340, 334].


In this essay I shall address the modern American system of plea bargaining from a perspective that must appear bizarre, although I hope to persuade you that it is illuminating. I am going to contrast plea bargaining with the medieval European law of torture. My thesis is that there are remarkable parallels in origin, in function, and even in specific points of doctrine, between the law of torture and the law of plea bargaining. I shall suggest that these parallels expose some important truths about how criminal justice systems respond when their trial procedures fall into deep disorder.


This article is based on an interview conducted with Mark Olssen in October 2014, and the subsequent discussions. These conversations invited Olssen to reflect on his experiences of neoliberalism as a practising academic who has worked in the UK for some 14 years, and also to comment as a researcher and writer who is well known for his work on neoliberalism, especially in relation to higher education policy. While focusing on a question of how neoliberalism has changed the context in which academics work, following Olssen's lead in his own research, in this interview he articulates a Foucauldian understanding of neoliberalism that can be seen as a specific mode of government rooted in economic discourses of competition (Foucault, 2008). The accentuation of the competitive forces shaping higher education, linked in Britain to periodic audits such as the RAE and the REF, have become increasingly visible within higher education institutions through techniques, such as performance indicators and targets, the increasing role of non-academic managers, the adoption of line-management authority hierarchies, linked to strategic planning, quality assurance, annual appraisals and audits that now function as a regular part of university governance (Olssen and Peters, 2005) and which discipline the way academics 'conduct their conduct', in Foucault's phrase. By drawing on various examples from Olssen's experience, it is argued that academics in neoliberalised institutions have been seriously deprofessionalised, the sources of which must be traced to complex causes 'in the whole network of the social' (Foucault, 1982: 345). Although this complexity of power is increasingly constraining, it is also suggested that it still offers some opportunities for academic resistance. The summary of our conversations is presented in this article, aiming to address the ways in which neoliberalism has transformed academia. We argue that the replacement of traditional liberal collegial models of governance by neoliberal technologies has diminished the academic freedom and professional self-determination of academics within the university acting to the detriment of autonomous research endeavours and propelling an escalation of the 'dark times' so vividly depicted by Tamboukou (2012: 860). In general terms, the article contributes to wider scholarly debate on neoliberalisation of higher education and academic work.


Expert evidence from mental health professionals and medical doctors can play a central role in child welfare cases, and this evidence needs to be carefully scrutinized before it is relied upon in making critical decisions about the future of parent-child relationships. In Ontario, concern about the reliability of expert evidence in child abuse and neglect cases was heightened by the 2014 decision of the Court of Appeal in R v. Broomfield, where a mother's conviction on criminal charges related to giving her infant child cocaine based on testimony by an expert from the Motherisk Drug Testing Lab at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. In overturning the conviction, the Court of Appeal noted that "the trial judge made her decision unaware of the genuine controversy among the experts about the use of the testing methods relied upon by the Crown expert at trial to found a conclusion of chronic cocaine ingestion." In the months following the Court of Appeal decision in Broomfield, the Attorney General of Ontario appointed a former justice of the Court of Appeal, Susan Lang, to undertake a Review to assess the adequacy and reliability of hair analysis evidence used in child protection and criminal proceedings (report to be released Dec. 15, 2015).This paper reviews the principles of the law on the use of expert evidence in child welfare cases in Canada, highlighting the issues related to the judicial role as the "gatekeeper" for the admission of expert evidence in these proceedings. It considers some of the issues related to use of "hard science" evidence, like that from the Motherisk Lab, as well as the use of expert evidence from the social (or "soft") sciences, which is more common in child protection cases. We argue that in order to ensure a fair trial process, in some cases s.7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights may require a court order that the State-funded indigent parents in criminal or child welfare cases to allow them to retain their own expert to testify.


A valveless planar fluid pump based on the diffuser-nozzle principle has been designed and prototyped. The pump is of the reciprocating displacement type and comprises two pump chambers connected in parallel and each actuated by a piezoelectric drive disk on a glass diaphragm. Diffuser/nozzle elements are utilised as a flow rectifier on both sides of each chamber. Prototypes of the pump has been fabricated using stereolithography to verify the pump principle. Subsequent pumps are fabricated using various micro-fabrication techniques on silicon material. A pump head of 105 mm of water has been achieved and design efforts are now focused on increasing the pressure head. The intent is to fabricate the chambers, channels and diffuser/nozzles using the latest techniques such as deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and anodic bonding. The depth of the pump and the nozzle width are both 0.3 mm.


Several studies have reported loss or alteration of expression of E-cadherin in breast cancer and more recently changes in levels of expression of the catenins. We used immunofluorescence to examine E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and p120ctn (formerly p120CAS) expression in 91 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma. As expected, all four proteins co-localize to the junctional regions of the cells. Although nuclear localization has been described for beta-catenin in colonic polyps, no examples were found in these breast cancer cases. We found that, although alteration is common in the catenins and E-cadherin, complete loss, as exemplified by E-cadherin in lobular carcinoma (where E-cadherin is frequently mutated), is rarely seen. In contrast, the catenin-related protein p120ctn shows an expression pattern that is significantly unrelated to the other catenins (or E-cadherin), including complete loss of expression in approximately 10% of the cases. No statistically significant correlations with traditional prognostic indicators were observed with any of these proteins. We conclude 1) that expression of E-cadherin and alpha- and beta-catenin are generally retained at the membrane although frequently reduced or altered, 2) that complete loss of p120ctn expression is seen in approximately 10% of the cases, and 3) that there is a significant correlation in the expression of E-cadherin and the catenins but no correlation between these molecules and p120ctn, suggesting an absence of coordinate regulation.


Immigration reform. Bilingual education. Affirmative action. Such issues trigger knee-jerk reactions from many people, and in California those reactions are likely to fall along strict ethnic lines. A white majority has long called the shots in voter initiatives, but with Mexican Americans becoming the majority population in southern California, their views on these matters can no longer be ignored. In Moving from the Margins, an outspoken member of the Mexican American community explores issues that have molded politics over the past decade in a state where division seems more common than unity. Addressing immigration, education, health care, and economic and political concerns, Adela de la Torre provides a distinctly Chicana perspective that often differs from that of mainstream readers and voters. Drawn from the author's syndicated column in the Los Angeles Times along with writings from other publications, Moving from the Margins includes incisive and often provocative commentaries that provide insights into the roots of ethnic tensions in the Golden State. The book also includes readers' reactions to the articles, creating a dialogue of ideas while confronting fears of what many Americans view as an alien culture. Whether addressing entitlements granted to noncitizens, the future of public schools, or access to health care, de la Torre challenges readers to move beyond their own frame of reference and consider new points of view. The issues she faces have shaped today's California and they also lie at the heart of urban public policy in America for the twenty-first century.


A Late Devonian (?) Carboniferous episode of regional extension related to the collapse of the Caledonides triggered the formation of major basin-bounding faults, e.g. Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex, and offshore basins in the SW Barents Sea, such as the Nordkapp Basin and smaller triangular to sigma-shaped (half-) graben basins on the Finnmark Platform. New high-resolution aeromagnetic and bathymetry data from the shallow shelf (strandflat) show that analog fault systems are present in coastal and onshore areas of NW Finnmark. We investigate the Langfjord-Vargsund fault, a NW-dipping, zigzag-shaped, onshore-nearshore, coast-parallel, extensional brittle fault complex, trending parallel to the Vestfjorden-Vanna fault complex in Lofoten-Vesterålen and Western Troms. This fault complex consists of alternating NNE-SSW and ENE-WSW striking normal fault segments that merge into triangular basins on the Finnmark Platform. Nearshore coastal fjords show several triangular, sigmashaped mini-basins, e.g. the Ryggefjorden trough, bounded by zigzag-shaped fault segments of the Langfjord-Vargsund fault, and they may represent analogs to shallow and deep offshore, DevonianCarboniferous basins such as the Nordkapp Basin prior to the deposition of late Paleozoic evaporites and subsequent diapirism. Moreover, the Langfjord-Vargsund fault accommodated hundreds of meters to a few kilometers of down-to-the-NW normal movement during post-Caledonian extension. In northern Finnmark, the Langfjord-Vargsund fault is offset ca. 28 km right-laterally by steep, WNWESE trending, strike-slip fault segments of the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone, a reactivated Neoproterozoic, margin-orthogonal transfer fault zone that segmented onshore and nearshore areas of NW Finnmark from the offshore Finnmark Platform east. The island of Magerøya is potentially located within the fault-tip process zone of the Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone and the fault most likely dies out to the west. Similarly, a ca. 2 km left-lateral offset of the Langfjord-Vargsund fault in Revsbotn is linked to sinistral strike-slip movement along the Akkarfjord fault, a steep, WNW-ESE to ENE-WSW trending brittle fault forming steep escarpments in nearshore fjords and in northeast Sørøya. We propose that the Akkarfjord fault may have initiated as part of an oblique, conjugate fault set to the Trollfjorden2 Komagelva Fault Zone in Timanian (?) times and was reactivated synchronously with the LangfjordVargsund fault. Steeply dipping fault segments of the Langfjord-Vargsund formed as extensional splayfaults along inverted, Caledonian, brittle-ductile thrusts, such as the Talvik and the Kvenklubben (thrust) faults, which they eventually truncated and decapitated. Other controlling fabrics include favourably oriented, (folded) Precambrian fabrics and units depicted by new aeromagnetic data, e.g. steeply NWplunging, upright and gently NE-plunging, inclined folds, which may have provided preferential zones of weakness for Caledonian thrust faults and post-Caledonian normal faults to form along steeply dipping fold limbs and define major bends over fold hinges. In addition, large-scale, NW-SE trending belts of granite-gneiss and macrofolded volcano-sedimentary rocks delineated by matching aeromagnetic anomalies are possibly downthrown to the northwest by the Langfjorden-Vargsund fault. A Late Devonian-Carboniferous age for the Langfjord-Vargsund fault is supported by radiometric dating of dolerite dykes and fault gouge, and by seismic interpretation of syn-tectonic sedimentary wedges along the possible offshore extension of the Langfjord-Vargsund fault.


Cross-cultural quality of life measurement and psychosocial assessment in oncology have become reality with the translation and international validation of quality of life questionnaires. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) Measurement System, under development since 1987, produced its 4th version in November 1997. The FACIT system includes the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), the Functional Assessment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (FAHI) and the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS). These questionnaires were developed in North America and, to date, many have been translated into almost 30 languages. One of the strengths of this ongoing translation project is its use of input from patients, linguists, psychologists and physicians internationally to assure that the wording of Version 4 is more cross-culturally relevant and more sensitive to measuring the psychosocial impact of illness in cultures outside the United States. Statistical analysis, aggregation of patient comments, and comments from linguists and users of the translated versions are used as needed to revise item wording to ensure clarity and consistency across languages. A 'decentering' approach is also used to adapt the source (English language) document in response to problems encountered during its translation.


The security of code-based cryptography relies primarily on the hardness of generic decoding with linear codes. The best generic decoding algorithms are all improvements of an old algorithm due to Prange: they are known under the name of information set decoding techniques (ISD). A while ago a generic decoding algorithm which does not belong to this family was proposed: statistical decoding. It is a randomized algorithm that requires the computation of a large set of parity-check equations of moderate weight. We solve here several open problems related to this decoding algorithm. We give in particular the asymptotic complexity of this algorithm, give a rather efficient way of computing the parity-check equations needed for it inspired by ISD techniques and give a lower bound on its complexity showing that when it comes to decoding on the Gilbert-Varshamov bound it can never be better than Prange's algorithm.


Observations and some conclusions made of the interactions of "*PuO 2 heat sources with terrestrial and aquatic environments may be used in predicting heat source behavior in the eyent of contact of these heat sources with land or ocean and in assessing the risk to the environment. These studies indicate that plutonium transport from the heat sources is mostly a physical process involving the movement of extremely fine particles rather than the chemical migration of plutonium ions.


Motivation: De novo assembly of a eukaryotic genome with next-generation sequencing data is still a challenging task. Over the past few years several assemblers have been developed, often suitable for one specific type of sequencing data. The number of known genomes is expanding rapidly, therefore it becomes possible to use multiple reference genomes for assembly projects. We introduce an assembly integrator that makes use of all available data, i.e. multiple de novo assemblies and mappings against multiple related genomes, by optimizing a weighted combination of criteria. Results: The developed algorithm was applied on the de novo sequencing of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CEN.PK 113-7D strain. Using Solexa and 454 read data, two de novo and three comparative assemblies were constructed and subsequently integrated, yielding 29 contigs, covering more than 12 Mbp; a drastic improvement compared with the single assemblies. Availability: MAIA is available as a Matlab package and can be downloaded from http://bioinformatics.tudelft.nl Contact: email@example.com


OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of the utility of flow cytometry for phenotyping of acute leukaemias and selection-of monoclonal antibodies.

DATA SOURCES
The literature review was obtained through internet, journals and chapters in the relevant books.

DATA SELECTION
Relevant articles and chapters on immunophenotyping of acute leukaemias were selected from respected international journals and books in the field of haematology and were reviewed.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS
Complete articles relevant to the topic were selected and reviewed and the necessary information extracted for this review.

CONCLUSIONS
Flow cytometry has been used extensively in recent years to characterise haemopoeitic malignancies and done routinely in the developed world. This technique has greatly improved the diagnosis and classification of haemopoeitic malignancies and has been recommended by World Health Organisation classification (WHO) of tumours of haemopoeitic and lymphoid tissue. Application of flow cytometry for the diagnosis of leukaemias has been recently introduced in Kenya and is currently being undertaken in research using limited but appropriate panels of monoclonal antibodies. It is hoped that findings of this research will inform the use of flow cytometry as an ancillary diagnostic technique in our resource-constrained set up.


A light-stimulated increase in beta-1,3 glucan accumulation was observed for Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. The acid-soluble polysaccharide accumulated in large quantities in 'white' light- and blue light-grown cultures. This polysaccharide also accumulated in both dark- and red light-grown cultures as well. However, the quantities were significantly lower when compared to the 'white' light- and blue light-grown cultures. A greater quantity of polysaccharide accumulated in red light-grown cultures than in dark-grown cultures.


The 80Ni20Cr coatings on cotton fabric substrates using the electron beam evaporated deposition are reported to improve the electrical conductivity of fabric substrates. The cotton fabrics are coated twice for single-faced NiCr film and one time per face for double-faced NiCr film, respectively. The morphology of coatings is characterized by an optical microscopy. The effect of sample length and test orientation of warp-wise and weft-wise on electrical conductivity is measured. It is found that the NiCr coatings dramatically increase the electrical conductivity of cotton fabrics. For warp-wise orientation with lengthwidth (4 cm1 cm) of test sample, the surface resistance is about 0.7 MΩ for single-faced coating and 0.89 MΩ for double-faced coating, while the surface resistance of raw cotton fabric is above 104 MΩ. The results tested from warp-wise and weft-wise are uniform, which is mainly because of the structure balance of the plain fabrics. The microstructure observation indicates that the single-faced coatings are uniform and dense, and the present double-faced coating processes are not enough to completely cover the fabric substrates. The uniform and dense coatings of single-faced NiCr coatings could be the reason that the electrical conductivity is better than that of the present double-faced NiCr coating.


Calcinosis cutis (CC) is a type of calcinosis wherein insoluble compounds or salts deposited on the skin. Clinical diagnosis of CC is usually achieved through time consuming histopathological or immunohistochemical procedures, but it can only be empirically identified by experienced practitioners. The use of advanced vibrational spectroscopy has been recently shown to have great potential as a diagnostic technique for various diseased tissues because it analyses the chemical composition of diseased tissue rather than its anatomy and predicts disease progression. This review article includes a summary of the application of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopic or microspectroscopic analysis for the rapid diagnosis and identification of the chemical composition of skin calcified deposits in patients with various CC symptoms. Both advanced techniques not only can detect the types of insoluble salts such as calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and monosodium urate, and β-carotene in the calcified deposits of human skin tissue but also can directly differentiate the carbonate substitution in the apatite structure of the skin calcified deposits. In particular, the combination of both vibrational techniques may provide complementary information to simultaneously assess the intact components of the calcified deposits. In the future, both FT-IR and Raman vibrational microspectroscopic techniques will become available tools to support the standard test techniques currently used in some clinical diagnoses. Molecular spectroscopy technique is rapidly changing disease diagnosis and management.


This article presents a study of the academic reading proficiency in English of 217 senior level Norwegian upper secondary school students who upon graduation are considered qualified for higher education. Testing with an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Reading Module revealed that two thirds of the 178 respondents with ordinary EFL courses did not achieve the equivalent of the IELTS Band 6 score minimum that is usually required for admission to British and Australian universities. In comparison, two thirds of a sample of 39 respondents with a single, sheltered Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) subject achieved a Band 6 score or better. Closer analysis indicates that the poor test scores can be attributed to weaknesses in current English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction where reading is neglected, where students do not learn to adjust how they read to reading purpose, and where they do not learn how to handle unfamiliar words to avoid disrupting the reading process. The article ends with suggestions on how to improve EFL instruction, in Norway and elsewhere.


Homophily between agents and structural balance in connected triads of agents are complementary mechanisms thought to shape social groups leading to, for instance, consensus or polarization. To capture both processes in a unified manner, we propose a model of pair and triadic interactions. We consider N fully connected agents, where each agent has G underlying attributes, and the similarity between agents in attribute space (i.e., homophily) is used to determine the link weight between them. For structural balance we use a triad-updating rule where only one attribute of one agent is changed intentionally in each update, but this also leads to accidental changes in link weights and even link polarities. The link weight dynamics in the limit of large G is described by a Fokker-Planck equation from which the conditions for a phase transition to a fully balanced state with all links positive can be obtained. This "paradise state" of global cooperation is, however, difficult to achieve requiring G>O(N^{2}) and p>0.5, where the parameter p captures a willingness for consensus. Allowing edge weights to be a consequence of attributes naturally captures homophily and reveals that many real-world social systems would have a subcritical number of attributes necessary to achieve structural balance.


In October 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on claims brought against the Russian Federation for the 1940 massacre of more than 21,000 prisoners of war. Relatives of the prisoners challenged that Russia had, among other things, failed in its legal obligation to carry out an adequate and effective investigation into the massacre. The court concluded that it did not have temporal jurisdiction to evaluate the merits of these claims; it stated that Russia's legal obligation to investigate could not extend to transgressions that occurred prior to the existence of the convention under which the claims had been brought. Unfortunately, in looking to the convention and not to international customary law as the source of temporal jurisdiction, the court was unable to protect the rights of the prisoners and their relatives. The court should have looked to customary law to establish temporal jurisdiction so that it could reach the merits of the case and hold Russia accountable for its gross violation of human rights.


In many types of central neurons, the coefficient of variation (CV) of stimulus‐evoked uniquantal events inferred from quantal analysis is small, frequently less than 20%. In contrast, spontaneous putative uniquantal events (minis) from the same neurons are much more variable in amplitude, having a CV of roughly 50% or more. One explanation for this discrepancy is that, if the variance in mini amplitude were generated by differences between release sites, the small number of sites activated during stimulation would sometimes fortuitously have similar quantal amplitudes. Only in these fortuitous cases where uniquantal variance is small could quantal peaks be resolved, and therefore the uniquantal CV seen in the subset of cells where quantal analysis can be performed would systematically be much smaller than predicted by the mini distribution. We have explored this possibility by Monte Carlo simulation assuming all variance in mini amplitude to be due to intersite differences in uniquantal amplitude. We find that when a small number of release sites are activated under these conditions, there is a reduction in the expected uniquantal variance. However, the expected uniquantal CV is highly variable from one experiment to the next, and low uniquantal CVs are not expected to be seen often enough to account for the high frequency with which quantal peaks with a uniquantal CV < 20% are observed experimentally. We conclude that variance in mini amplitude between release sites cannot account for the small uniquantal CV seen in quantal analysis of many central synapses. Synapse 32:276–287, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Least-squares reverse time migration (LSRTM) is an iterative inversion algorithm for estimating the broadband-wavenumber reflectivity model. Although it produces superior results compared with conventional reverse time migration (RTM), LSRTM is computationally expensive. We have developed a one-step LSRTM method by considering the demigrated and observed data to design a deblurring preconditioner in the data domain using the Wiener filter. For the Wiener filtering, we further use a stabilized division algorithm via the Taylor expansion. The preconditioned observed data are then remigrated to obtain a deblurred image. The total cost of this method is about two RTMs. Through synthetic and real data experiments, we see that one-step LSRTM is able to enhance image resolution and balance source illumination at low computational costs.


The next few years should be exciting as the battle of optics versus electronics plays out in developing communication systems. Dynamic reconfigurability, network efficiency, and wavelength management will be the determining factors behind new technology development. Both optically transparent band-switching fabrics and all-optical waveband converters are expected to play an important role in meeting these requirements.


In the application of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to smart grid, real-time and accurate wireless link quality prediction (LQP) is important to determine which link is reliable enough to undertake the communication task. However, the existing LQP methods are neither suitable to describe the dynamic stochastic features of link quality nor to ensure the validity of prediction results. In this paper, a random-vector-functional-link-based LQP (RVFL-LQP) algorithm is proposed. The algorithm selects the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the link quality metric and decomposes the raw SNR sequence into the time-varying sequence and the stochastic sequence according to the analysis of wireless link characteristics. Then, the RVFL network is used to establish the prediction model of the time-varying sequence and the variance of the stochastic sequence. Lastly, the probability-guaranteed interval boundary of SNR is predicted, and the validity and practicability of prediction results are evaluated by comparative experiments and real-world application, respectively.


Algae has vital roles in ecosystems all over the world. They are a prevalent contributor, especially when pertaining to aquatic systems. Algae respond quickly to its surrounding factors, whether that be for its good or detriment. We hypothesized that if we change a nutrient factor, Calcium (Ca), more biomass will be produced. With algae being a promising clean energy source for the future, our research could show how to more efficiently produce this newest form of energy. Our experimental design has increased the amounts of calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) added to water bottles to test our hypothesis. We carried out two trials over a two week period. After a week of growth, a hemocytometer was used to measure the number of cells produced in the previous week. The data we collected from our results had an increasing number of algae for the increasing amount of calcium we added to the bottles.


Abstract. The sea level (SL) variations at the coastal ocean result from multiscale processes and are substantially contributed by the SL changes due to the meteorological forcing. In this study, a new methodology, named as IBR, is developed to estimate the response of the coastal ocean to meteorological forcing. The response is taken as the combination of the static ocean response calculated using the inverted barometer formula and the dynamic ocean response estimated using the multivariable linear regression involving atmospheric pressure and wind component at the dominant wind orientation. The dominant wind orientation is determined based on the averaged values of the magnitude squared coherences between the adjusted SL and wind at every wind orientation. The IBR is implemented to estimate the response of the coastal ocean at two stations, E1 and E2 in the Bohai Bay, China. The analysed results indicate that at both E1 and E2, the adjusted SLs are related more to the regional wind, which is the averaged value in the Bohai Bay of the 10 m wind in the ERA-Interim data, than to the local wind; the dominant regional wind orientation is 75°. The estimated response using IBR with the regional meteorological forcing is much closer to the observed values than other methods, including the classical inverted barometer correction, the dynamic atmospheric correction, the multivariable linear regression and the IBR with local forcing, demonstrating that IBR with regional forcing have the best skill in estimating the response. The large deviations between the observed values and the estimated values using IBR with the regional meteorological forcing are mainly due to the remote wind, which is not considered in the IBR. This case study indicates that the IBR is a feasible and relatively effective method to estimate the response of the coastal ocean to the meteorological forcing.


BACKGROUND
To determine the rate and predictors of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and its effect on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression in HIV-infected women, we performed a multiple-site, prospective study of HIV-infected women in 4 cities in the United States.

METHODS
During the period of 1993-2000, we observed 885 HIV-infected and 425 HIV-uninfected women with a history of injection drug use or high-risk sexual behavior. Participants underwent semiannual interviews, and CD4+ lymphocyte count and viral load were assessed in HIV-infected subjects. Data regarding episodes of bacterial pneumonia were ascertained from medical record reviews.

RESULTS
The rate of bacterial pneumonia among 885 HIV-infected women was 8.5 cases per 100 person-years, compared with 0.7 cases per 100 person-years in 425 HIV-uninfected women (P < .001). In analyses limited to follow-up after 1 January 1996, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) use were associated with a decreased risk of bacterial pneumonia. Among women who had used TMP-SMX for 12 months, each month of HAART decreased bacterial pneumonia risk by 8% (adjusted hazard ratio [HR(adj)], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-0.95). Increments of 50 CD4+ cells/mm3 decreased the risk (HR(adj), 0.88; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93), and smoking doubled the risk (HR(adj), 2.12; 95% CI, 1.26-3.55). Bacterial pneumonia increased mortality risk (HR(adj), 5.02; 95% CI, 2.12-11.87), with adjustment for CD4+ lymphocyte count and duration of HAART and TMP-SMX use.

CONCLUSIONS
High rates of bacterial pneumonia persist among HIV-infected women. Although HAART and TMP-SMX treatment decreased the risk, bacterial pneumonia was associated with an accelerated progression to death. Interventions that improve HAART utilization and promote smoking cessation among HIV-infected women are warranted.


This paper investigates the extent of integration of the transition economies into the world economy. We find that south-eastern Europe (SEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) trade significantly less with the world economy than the accession countries. We use a gravity model to explain why this is the case and conclude that the low quality of economic institutions in the CIS, and hence the high risks associated with trade, explain a considerable proportion of the "trade gap" compared to trade levels in industrialised countries. Moreover, the landlocked nature of many CIS countries (and hence high costs of transport and transit) is another reason for the lack of integration. In SEE these factors play a lesser role and the gravity model is unable to fully explain the lack of integration, which we suggest is a legacy of the region's recent turbulent past. The paper suggests that a combination of improved market access to western markets and efforts to reduce trade and transit barriers within the region provide the best hope to increase economic integration with the world economy in the future.


ZnO nanorods were grown on silicon (Si) substrates by two techniques: (i) Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) and (ii) a CBD seed layer combined with Carbothermal Reduction Vapor Phase Transport (CTR-VPT). The structured ZnO nanorods were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurments. The photoelectrochemical property of ZnO nanorods were analyzed by linear voltammetry under UV-ABC light excitation. Using the ZnO nanorod samples as photoanodes, the removal of methylene blue (MB) as a representative organic compound was studied by the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) technique applying a potential (E) of 0.6 V. For comparison purposes, experiments were performed under the same conditions using photocatalysis (PC), direct photolysis and using samples of pure Si (support material) as working electrodes in PEC. XRD analyses of ZnO prepared by both methods showed the expected ZnO wurtzite phase and a preferred c-axial orientation in the growth of the nanorods. The presence of ZnO was further confirmed by XPS and contact angle measurements showed that ZnO grown by CBD (ZnO/CBD) had a slightly hydrophobic behavior while ZnO grown by CTR-VPT (ZnO/CTR-VPT) is hydrophilic. Both ZnO sample types were shown to be photoactive, with ZnO/CBD showing higher resultant photocurrent compared to ZnO/CTRVPT. For the degradation of MB 53% of the compound was removed using ZnO/CBD as a working electrode, while using the ZnO/CTR-VPT electrode led to a removal of 43% of MB. However, direct photolysis alone removed 39% of the MB. The lower removal of MB using ZnO/CTR-VPT samples was related to surface dissociation during the degradation process. The results show that ZnO nanorods prepared by the CBD techique are a promising photoelectrode for PEC applications. Our data also indicate that CTR-VPT-grown nanorods produce uniform nanorod arrays, but this uniform nanostructure deposit does not lead to any increase in PEC activity.


The multiscale restriction-smoothed basis (MsRSB) method is the current stateof-the-art within multiscale methods. MsRSB is very robust and versatile and can be used either as an approximate coarse-scale solver having mass-conservative subscale resolution or as an iterative fine-scale solver that will provide massconservative solutions for any given tolerance. The performance of the method has been demonstrated on incompressible two-phase flow, on compressible twoand three-phase black-oil models, as well as on compositional models. It has also been demonstrated that the method can utilize combinations of multiple prolongation operators; e.g., corresponding to coarse grids with different resolutions, adapting to geological features, adapting to wells, or moving displacement fronts. This chapter explains the basic ideas of the MsRSB method, including methods to construct coarse partitions, prolongation, and restriction operators; reduction of the finescale flow equations to a coarse-scale system; and formulation as part of a two-level iterative solver. We outline the key functions in the module and show various examples of how the method can be used as an iterative solver for incompressible and compressible flow on 2D rectilinear grids, unstructured grids, and 3D stratigraphic grids. 4.


We introduce the first large-scale corpus for long form question answering, a task requiring elaborate and in-depth answers to open-ended questions. The dataset comprises 270K threads from the Reddit forum "Explain Like I'm Five" (ELI5) where an online community provides answers to questions which are comprehensible by five year olds. Compared to existing datasets, ELI5 comprises diverse questions requiring multi-sentence answers. We provide a large set of web documents to help answer the question. Automatic and human evaluations show that an abstractive model trained with a multi-task objective outperforms conventional Seq2Seq, language modeling, as well as a strong extractive baseline.However, our best model is still far from human performance since raters prefer gold responses in over 86% of cases, leaving ample opportunity for future improvement.


Risk reduction behaviors are often voluntary and influenced by how at-risk an individual personally feels, known as risk perception. This paper examines how risk perception changed from before and six months after Hurricane Irma, a Category 3 storm that narrowly missed Sarasota County, FL. Both surveys asked about residents' hurricane risk perceptions, evacuation behaviors, mitigation plans, and attitudes about self-efficacy. For each question found in both surveys, the research used t-tests (ɑ = 0.05) to assess whether significant changes in risk perceptions occurred between responses. The results suggest that Hurricane Irma had a notable impact on risk perception. The changes were most evident in reported levels of self-efficacy as residents were less likely to feel able to sufficiently prepare for or recover from hurricane impacts after Hurricane Irma. Respondents were also more likely to believe individuals are responsible for preparing for hurricane impacts. The findings have implications for public risk communicators, who may find it effective and sustainable to appeal to residents' lowered self-efficacy or sense of responsibility for the dangers of hurricanes while implementing policies and communication strategies.


A dissertation submitted to the School of Statistics and Planning in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Population Studies of Makerere University.


this is the extended research work where we tried to add more sections in Quality instruments to their role in achieving interoperability in e-learning and quality. In this paper we included more reference models such as experiences of Quality instruments affected by demographic criteria. In Higher education systems E-Learning faces two major challenges, first to ensure the interoperability of E-Learning (IEL) and secondly, developing quality learning through e-Learning. This research studies the concept, scope and dimensions of interoperability of E-Learning in education with special reference to King Khalid University then the connection and interdependence between with quality development. To impart learning and teaching through E-learning, KKU has adopted Learning Management Services (LMS) through Blackboard. The university has three types of learning and teaching methods; full online, Blended and Supportive. In this paper we have described the dimensions of quality and the standards of E- Learning for the objectives of IEL and quality development (QD) in KKU. The research is based principally on secondary data observed from KKU E-Learning deanship. Also sample of 20 E-Learning experts at KKU were given closed ended as well as semi closed questionnaires for evaluating the assurance of IEL and QD. These experts are mainly certified online facilitators and admin staff. Results provide the verification of application and presence of IEL and assured the QD process in KKU in imparting knowledge.