Background: A recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), which began in Wuhan, China, with a high level of human-to-human transmission has been reported. There are limited data available on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with hematological malignancies with more than 60 days of follow-up. This study describes the clinical characteristics, including multiple recurrences of COVID-19, in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during 69 days of follow-up. Case Presentation: A 72-year-old female was admitted to hospital isolation after being infected with COVID-19 as part of a family cluster on January 30, 2020. Apart from SARS-Cov-2 virus infection, laboratory results revealed lymphocytosis of uncertain etiology and abnormal distribution of T lymphocytes. On blood smears, small blue lymphocytes with scant cytoplasm were observed, and the presence of high levels of circulating clonal B cells was also demonstrated by flow cytometry. The patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 and CLL. Among her family members, she had the highest viral loads and the fastest progression on lung injury and developed severe pneumonia. Serological results showed she had both 2019-nCoV-specific IgM and IgG antibodies; however, only IgG antibodies were detected in her husband's plasma. Results: A combination regimen of antiviral therapy and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the early stage seemed to be effective for treating CLL and SARS-Cov-2 infection. Because of the low humoral immune response, the CLL patient could not effectively clear the SARS-Cov-2 infection and suffered from recurrence twice during the 69-day follow-up. Conclusion: In CLL, a neoplastic antigen-specific B-cell clone proliferates, and the progeny cells accumulate and outgrow other B cells, leading to immune deficiency. Considering the low humoral immune response and ineffective clearance of SARS-Cov-2 in CLL patients, the follow-up and home quarantine period should be extended. We need further studies to clarify suspending or continuing CLL therapy during COVID infection. For those patients who are prone to progression to severe disease, administering humoral immunity therapies can help to prevent disease progression and quickly meet the cure criteria.


Thin Mn2(NO3)2/PVA precursor nanowire was fabricated via electrospinning technology at a low temperature in this paper. After dried at 150°C for 10 hours and then sintered at 450°C for 2 hours, Mn2O3 nanowire was successfully obtained. The nanowire was characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the nanowire was composed of pure Mn2O3 phase. The nanowire exhibited smooth surface and continuous sharp with length of tens of micrometer. The diameter of Mn2O3 nanowire was measured and calculated through SEM, which showed most probable value of about 110 nm and 270 nm. The reason of the diameter separation was also discussed.


Using transport measurements and micromagnetic simulations we have investigated the domain wall motion driven by spin-transfer torques in all-perpendicular hexagonal nanopillar spin-valves. In particular, we probe domain walls nucleated in the free layer of the spin-valves, which are then pinned in the devices. We have determined both the field-current state diagrams for the domain-wall state and the thermally activated dynamics of the nucleation and depinning processes. We show that the nucleation process is well-described by a modified Neel-Brown model taking into account the spin-transfer torque, whereas the depinning process is independent of the current. This is confirmed by an analytical calculation which shows that spin-torques have no effect on the Arrhenius escape rate associated with thermally activated domain wall depinning in this geometry. Furthermore, micromagnetic simulations indicate that spin-transfer only weakly affects the domain wall motion, but instead modifies the inner domain wall structure.


Education is essential for economic progress, happiness, and reducing violence. This paper discusses global effectiveness of distance computer‐based modules, both learning and cost. Frequent interaction will be in each student's language, computer to student and student to computer, with either keyboard or speech input. The units developed will be highly adaptive for students of any ethnic group, gender, or economic background. The goal is mastery for almost all students, in distance learning and schools. Current technology is adequate. Mathematics will be used as an example.


BACKGROUND
Pain sensitivity has been negatively associated with physical activity levels. Few studies have examined associations between experimentally induced pain sensitivity and physical activity in adults with chronic low back pain and pain-free controls.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine associations between physical activity levels and how an individual processes pain using experimentally induced pain stimuli.

METHODS
Seventy subjects (CLBP = 49; mean age = 46.8 ± 14.9; Pain-free = 21; mean age = 45.3 ± 18.2, n of females = 46) participated. A self-report questionnaire derived from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to calculate an activity level index. Pain sensitivity was assessed via quantitative sensory testing (QST) at the right lower extremity.

RESULTS
Moderate (U = 688, p< 0.05) and vigorous (U = 649, p< 0.05) physical activity levels were higher in pain-free vs. individuals with CLBP. Activity level was not associated with pain sensitivity (Pain-free: R2 = 0.02, p> 0.05; CLBP: R2 = 0.01, p> 0.05). Both moderate (R2 = 0.49, p< 0.05) and vigorous (R2 = 0.68, p< 0.01) physical activity were associated with pain modulation amongst pain-free individuals.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that physical activity influences pain modulation amongst pain-free individuals, however no relationship exists once CLBP is present. However, future investigation will elucidate the extent to which physical activity level either prevents CLBP or is effective in alleviating CLBP.


Background: Endometriosis is defined as the existence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. Diagnosis of endometriosis is a challenging theme. Despite the broad search for innovative laboratory tests and advances in imaging technologies, there are still no easy, non-invasive diagnostic tests available. Due to inflammatory process of endometriosis, still C-reactive protein (CRP) level may be the target of initial screening. The aim of this study was to investigate CRP levels as a marker of inflammatory process in serum and peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis. Materials and Methods: In a case control study, 179 patients with endometriosis (N = 90) and without endometriosis (N = 89) were evaluated. The venous blood samples were obtained from all patients before laparoscopy and the peritoneal fluid samples were collected from pelvis before any manipulation. Student's t-test was applied to compare the parameters between two groups. Findings: There was no significant difference between the CRP serum level in patients with endometriosis and infertile women without endometriosis. There was a significant difference in peritoneal level of CRP between case and control groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The findings suggested that measurement of this marker in patients' serum or plasma cannot be used to diagnose endometriosis. It is further recommended that a combination of different markers might be helpful in this regard that could be studied in future.


The pavement roughness is the main variable that produces the vertical excitation in vehicles. Pavement profiles are the main determinant of (i) discomfort perception on users and (ii) dynamic loads generated at the tire-pavement interface, hence its evaluation constitutes an essential step on a Pavement Management System. The present document evaluates two specific techniques used to simulate pavement profiles; these are the shaping filter and the sinusoidal approach, both based on the Power Spectral Density. Pavement roughness was evaluated using the International Roughness Index (IRI), which represents the most used index to characterize longitudinal road profiles. Appropriate parameters were defined in the simulation process to obtain pavement profiles with specific ranges of IRI values using both simulation techniques. The results suggest that using a sinusoidal approach one can generate random profiles with IRI values that are representative of different road types, therefore, one could generate a profile for a paved or an unpaved road, representing all the proposed categories defined by ISO 8608 standard. On the other hand, to obtain similar results using the shaping filter approximation a modification in the simulation parameters is necessary. The new proposed values allow one to generate pavement profiles with high levels of roughness, covering a wider range of surface types. Finally, the results of the current investigation could be used to further improve our understanding on the effect of pavement roughness on tire pavement interaction. The evaluated methodologies could be used to generate random profiles with specific levels of roughness to assess its effect on dynamic loads generated at the tire-pavement interface and user's perception of road condition.


In this work, we propose to use the Zoomed-Ranking approach to ranking and selecting artificial neural network (ANN) models for time series forecasting. Given a time series to forecast, the Zoomed-Ranking provides a ranking of the candidate models, by aggregating accuracy and execution time obtained by the models in similar series. The best ranked model is then returned as the selected one. In order to evaluate this proposal, we implemented a prototype to rank three ANN models for forecasting time series from different domains. In the experiments, the rankings of models recommended by Zoomed-Ranking were significantly correlated to the ideal rankings.


Current applications, such as Web-based services, electronic commerce, mobile telecommunication systems, etc. are distributed in nature and manipulate time-critical databases. In order to enhance the performance and the availability of such applications, the major issue is to develop efficient protocols that cooperate with the scheduler to manage the overload of the distributed system. In order to help real-time database management systems (RTDBS) to maintain data logical consistency while attempting to enhance concurrency execution of transactions, we introduce a transactional multimode model to let the application transactions adapt their behavior to the overload consequences. In this paper, we propose for each transaction several execution modes and we derive an overload controller suitable for the proposed multimode model.


This paper explores the impact of the use of the English language for health mobilization in Calabar Town. It also aimed at establishing the effectiveness of the language used in health mobilization in the town. The study was carried out in Calabar Municipality and Calabar South Local Government Areas of Cross River State. The research instruments used for this work were questionnaire, interview and general observation. Since one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals is the attainment of health for all by the year 2015, it is therefore important that health issues are communicated appropriately through the choice of a language that will be understood by the target population. From the findings of this research, it is believed that the English language alongside the Nigerian pidgin and Efik language help in sensitizing the residents of Calabar better, because Calabar is a melting pot of people from different linguistic backgrounds.


Chloroquine (CQ) is an antimalaria drug that has been widely used for decades. However, CQ-induced pruritus remains one of the major obstacles in CQ treatment for uncomplicated malaria. Recent studies have revealed that MrgprX1 plays an essential role in CQ-induced itch. To date, a few MrgprX1 antagonists have been discovered, but they are clinically unavailable or lack selectivity. Here, a cell-based high-throughput screening was performed to identify novel antagonists of MrgprX1, and the screening of 2543 compounds revealed two novel MrgprX1 inhibitors, berbamine and closantel. Notably, berbamine potently inhibited CQ-mediated MrgprX1 activation (IC50 = 1.6 μM) but did not alter the activity of other pruritogenic GPCRs. In addition, berbamine suppressed the CQ-mediated phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Interestingly, CQ-induced pruritus was significantly reduced by berbamine in a dose-dependent manner, but berbamine had no effect on histamine-induced, protease-activated receptors 2-activating peptide-induced, and deoxycholic acid-induced itch in mice. These results suggest that berbamine is a novel, potent, and selective antagonist of MrgprX1 and may be a potential drug candidate for the development of therapeutic agents to treat CQ-induced pruritus.


Stacked Ge quantum dots were grown on Si(100) by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD). Obvious blueshift (87 meV) observed from PL spectrum under 10 K demonstrates strong quantum confinement in Ge dots. Based on the material, PIiN structure quantum dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) were fabricated. At room temperature, I-V measurement showed a low dark current density of 1.7 /spl times/ 10/sup -6/ A/cm/sup 2/ at -3 V. The maximum photocurrent responsivity of 0.52 A/W at 774 nm was achieved, and 0.043 mA/W at 1.31 /spl mu/m was found. The dots layers were considered to trap the light in the intrinsic region, and thus increase the absorption. Finally, samples of structural optimization were proposed.


Objective: To identify if ultrasound measurement of endometrial thickness is predictor of retained products of conception in women with clinical suspicion of incomplete miscarriage. Methods: This was a prospective study of 100 women with a diagnosis of incomplete miscarriage who were referred for surgical evacuation. All women had a positive pregnancy test and ultrasound findings suggestive of retained product of conception. The indication for intervention was heavy vaginal bleeding or the endometrial thickness above 15 mm on antero-posterior diameter. The final diagnosis of incomplete miscarriage was based on histopathologic evidence of chorionic villi in the surgical specimen. Results: 90 (90%) women with endometrial thickness above 15 mm had evidence of chorionic villi on histology and decidua was only found in the remaining 10 (10%) women. Conclusion: Considering 90% positive predictive value, the measurement of endometrial thickness is good predictor of retained product of conception.


Results from an Etiella zinckenella (Treif.) natural enemy survey in Puerto Rico are presented. Egg parasitism by Trichogramma sp. was found la be very low (3%). Six hymenopterous larval parasitoids were collected from larvae feeding on Crotalaria pallida (Ait.). Of these the braconid Heterospilus etiellae Rower was the most abundant species, accounting for 74.2% of parasitized larvae. Iconella etiellae (Vier.) was the only larval parasitoid recovered from soybeans. Overall percentage parasitism averaged 33.6%, ranging from 5 to 91 % at different locations. Notes are presented on the life history of the most common species. One experimental manipulation of accessibility of eggs to Solenopsis geminata (Fab.) failed to demonstrate any effect on E. zinckenella attack of C. pallida . Additional predators recorded include Polistes wasps and anole lizards. Strategies for utilization of these natural enemies are briefly discussed.


Spathichlamys, a quite remarkable genus of the Rondeletieae is only known from the type collection from Burma. In fruit it could easily be mistaken for Wendlandia, but it differs from this genus in the flattened ovate stipules. The flowering material is most interesting, the anthers are contained within the long corolla tube which later splits and rolls open to expose the anthers. As far as is known this character of splitting of the corolla tube has only been reported elsewhere in the Rubiaceae in the African genus Dorothea Wernh. (Gardenieae); the splitting of the corolla is the main character separating it from the closely allied Aulacocalyx, in which genus it is currently placed in most recent works. However, in Dorothea, the style apparently curves away from the corolla through the slit, the corolla maintaining its normal form and not rolling back to any degree.


Research has shown that road lane width impacts on driver behaviour. This literature review provides guidelines to assist in the design, construction and retrofitting of urban roads to accommodate road users' safety requirements. It focuses on the impacts of lane widths on cyclists and motor vehicle safety behaviour. The literature review commenced with a search of library databases. Peer reviewed articles and road authority (local, state and national) reports were reviewed. The majority of studies investigating the effects of lane width on driver behaviour were simulator based, while research into cycling safety involved data collected from actual traffic environments. Results show that marked road lane width influences perceived task difficulty, risk perception and possibly speed choice. The positioning of cyclists in traffic lanes is influenced by the presence of on-road cycling facilities and the total roadway width. The lateral displacement between bicycle and vehicle is smallest when a bicycle facility is present. Lower, or reduced, vehicle speeds play a significant role in improving bicyclist and pedestrian safety. It is also shown that if road lane widths in urban areas were reduced, to a functional width that was less than the current guidelines of 3.5m, it could result in a safer road environment for all road users.


The induction of new additional immune responses to potential neoantigens on metastatic melanoma resulting in dense lymphocytic infiltrates might cause regression of metastases and could enhance the effects of anti-check point therapies. The blocking of CTLA-4 or PD-1/PD-L1, which normally constrain immune responses, results in significant prolongation of life and up to 7% complete responses (CRs) of metastatic melanoma when used individually. Insufficient nascent anti-melanoma immunity may account for the relatively low frequency of CRs. Also the lack of specificity in the dis-inhibition of immune responses can cause adverse reactions. We investigated a different strategy: inducing new specific immune responses to metastatic melanoma with mixed secreted cytokines. The development of immune responses is regulated by multiple cytokines/chemokines (CKs) acting in concert. To mimic this secretory environment, in a non-randomized prospective study, 88 patients with multiple palpable cutaneous/subcutaneous metastases (stages IIIC and IV-M1a) received weekly injections of autologous secreted CKs into some metastatic nodules while other metastases were never injected. CKs were prepared ex-vivo by stimulating PBMCs with recall microbial antigens to which the patients were sensitive as assessed by PBMC proliferative responses. The secreted mixtures contained individual cytokines at picogram to nanogram concentrations. New immune responses were identified by the development of dense lymphocytic infiltrates in never-injected metastases, consisting of CD8 and smaller numbers of CD4 T cells. This study was conducted before the availability of current therapies. After multiple injections into some metastatic nodules, never-injected metastases developed dense tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and often regressed completely. CD8 TILs from metastases directly killed fresh autologous melanoma cells ex-vivo in an MHC-restricted manner without in- vitro boosting. Although both never-injected and injected metastases often regressed completely, in some patients new metastases appeared even while never- injected nodules were regressing. The new metastases often regressed with or without injections. In 40% of subjects all never-injected and injected metastases regressed completely for > 2 months. 20% remained free of disease for 5 to 28 years (median 60 months, range 2 to 334 months). Median overall survival of patients, progressing and regressing, was 28.5 months (4-348 months), with 55% of patients surviving 2 years, and 30% 5 years. Durable disease-free survival also occurred in recipients of intracutaneous CKs mixed with irradiated autologous melanoma cells. No adverse events occurred. We conclude that intralesional secreted, mixed CKs can induce new systemic and effective cellular immune responses to metastatic melanoma. Mixtures of secreted cytokine/chemokines (CKs) may be more effective in inducing the development of immune responses than individual CKs. These immune responses were associated with a surprisingly high frequency (40%) of complete regressions and prolonged disease-free periods of 1 to 28 years. These new anti-melanoma cellular immune responses also might enhance the frequency of clinical responses to subsequent anti-check point therapies. Citation Format: Fred T. Valentine, Frederick M. Golomb, Matthew Haris, Daniel F. Roses. The feasibility of inducing effective systemic immune responses to human metastatic melanoma with intralesional secreted cytokines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A038.


Water is increasingly a major political issue as scarcity of the resource grips several societies, especially in developing countries where agriculture is responsible for about 80 percent of water consumptive use. However, western nations are not immune to water tensions, for instance in Greece, Spain, Italy, or the western United States, where the available water is being exploited to the limit: the Colorado no longer reaches the sea, and growing debates are emerging as to whether water should be allocated to thirsty cities or to agriculture; whether public funds should be invested again to increase the resource or demand management implemented; and whether water could be imported from far away.These questions are increasingly relevant: consumption patterns of water in the western US are clearly not sustainable. Given the technology available today, massive water transfers could only come from Canada. There have been several mooted projects in this vein, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Should Canadians worry about water exports to the United Sates, especially in the frame of NAFTA? Or is climate change going to be the decisive factor in the debate?THE ADVENT OF WATER ADDICTION IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATESWater is a key ingredient in the fabric of the western American society, as has been well studied by Donald Worster.1 The west is not completely waterscarce, for several mighty rivers flow in the region, mainly fed by snow and glaciers from the Rockies; but it definitely is a semi-arid region, compelling all societies living there before the industrial revolution to adapt to water scarcity. Early 20th century American society, empowered by the industrial age, decided to harness rivers and aquifers. Technology enabled American society to eliminate the water scarcity burden and developed the illusion that technology would always bring about a solution to growing water needs. "What nature does not yield freely, humanity should refashion to better suit human needs.... Nature has no greater purpose than to serve Man, and Man has no greater purpose than to work the land and take his place in the productive cycle."2 Wendy Nelson Espeland also clearly depicted the representation that developed at the time that all water flowing unused to the ocean was a wasted resource, and that rivers needed to be "tamed" and "harnessed" to be put to use. President Franklin Roosevelt declared in 1935, when inaugurating Boulder Dam, that "the mighty waters of the Colorado were running unused to the sea. Today we translate them into a great national possession."2This idea is still very much alive today. "Much of the contemporary culture of the American Southwest is based on denying its desertness.... In a subdivision being built to the south [of Las Vegas], Paseo Verde Parkway and Val Verde Road intersect in Green Valley Ranch. The concept of green, like sod lawns, was an imported fantasy."4 Technology can make up for water scarcity and water must be used so as to develop western resources: "The rural Western ethic is that all wealth comes out of the ground, either as grass growing or as minerals being mined.... So the fact that today's reclamation projects-such as Garrison, CUP, Animas-La Plata-cost a few million dollars for each farmer they put on the land, doesn't cause their proponents to blink. That, they say, is the price society pays for creating the stuff of wealth. Without it and the other industries based on earth, there is nothing."5EARLY MASSIVE WATER TRANSFER PROJECTSMassive water transfers were first built in the eastern United States in 1847 with the Croton aqueduct for New York City and the 1900 Chicago diversion. As early as 1906, water transfers began being built in the west, with a 46 km-long canal from the St. Mary River in Montana to the Milk River, triggering a severe dispute with Canada that forced the United States to negotiate the 1909 boundary waters treaty. Other projects soon followed: the Los Angeles aqueduct in 1913, the Hetch Hetchy water supply (1934), the Colorado River aqueduct (1941), the Ail-American Canal (1942), and the California central valley project (1951). …


One of the key assumptions in the original model of proto-industries, formulated by Mendels, Kriedte, Medick and Schlumbohm, is that the size and composition of families were determined by the proto-industrial work process in which those families were involved. The family was considered to be the basic unit of production, and the larger this unit, i.e. the more children a family had, the better. Among other reasons, with more children, a certain division of labour could be established within the family.
However, later studies showed that there were many alternatives to the family as the unit of production, and that a division of labour could not only be established within families, but also between families. Families could take up other people into their households to perform proto-industrial work, or individual family members could perform specific tasks for merchant-entrepreneurs (the Verlagsystem or putting-out). Another option was for family members to perform specific tasks within the production process, by exchanging the required raw materials and intermediate products independently, either at periodic markets or through informal contacts with other producers.
The latter option is the topic of this paper. The paper considers the division of labour in the Flemish linen industry around the 1840s, based on the linen censuses that were held in that decade. For many Flemish households at that time, the linen industry was a crucial part of their coping mechanisms. The production process encompassed several different steps that gave rise to a clear division of labour, which had regional and gendered dimensions. Firstly, the paper shows that periodic markets were a crucial element in enabling the division of labour in rural industries. In the 1840s, the linen industry of rural Flanders relied on a limited number of large markets for the sale of cloth, the final product, but also on a dense network of smaller markets where flax and yarn were exchanged. Trade at the latter markets was small, but the number of them was quite large. Secondly, the paper also emphasises that by the 1840s the importance of these small markets had expanded rather recently. Their establishment is linked to developments in relative prices and their effect on the existing informal exchange networks. As it became more difficult to make a living from spinning and weaving flax due to foreign competition and deteriorating terms of trade between linen products and agricultural products, the older, more informal exchange networks of commodities and labour between rural households also deteriorated. In response, the households that remained deeply involved in the linen industry relied more on formal exchange mechanisms such as markets, of which many were newly established between the 1780s and 1830s.


At the awakening of the new 5G network as the network of services, issues related to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) will become one of the key aspects for the cost-effective establishment of the 5G infrastructure. The new 5G services will meet the rigorous demand for bandwidth through the implementation of a large number of densely located base stations operating in the millimeter-wave range. Introduction of new emission sources, working in parallel with already existing 2G/3G/4G mobile technologies, raises concerns about exceeding the admissible EMF exposure limits. This paper analyzes issues and challenges related to EMF measurements in 5G technology, which are crucial for the assessment of EMF compliance with regulatory limits. We point out that the existing methodologies, dedicated to EMF measurements in 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, are not suitable for 5G. The reason is the use of new techniques, such as massive MIMO and precise beamforming together with higher frequency bands so that the existing measurement methods can lead to significantly overestimated results when they will be applied to 5G networks. Such results, in conjunction with the restrictive legislation on the EMF limits that apply in some countries, may have the negative impact on 5G network deployment, making it difficult to achieve the intended 5G network capabilities. We also propose an alternative method of EMF exposure assessment that is based on calculations and simulations and allows obtaining an accurate estimation of the EMF distribution in the 5G environment.


Between 2004 and 2014, healthcare jobs were among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S, adding 4.3 million positions and expected job growth of 30.3%. The majority of the healthcare workforce is overwhelmingly dominated by women. However, when it comes to leadership positions, especially executive and board levels, females are considerably underrepresented. Interestingly, though, women, more than men, are reported to demonstrate traits such as transparency, compassion, and support for teamwork, which would benefit organizations as they venture into the future of healthcare delivery. In recent years, women have made minimal entry into the highest ranks of managerial positions of healthcare in American corporations. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to identify experiences, barriers, and obstacles that women in healthcare organizations have overcome in their efforts to obtain successful leadership positions. Ten women in varying capacities of healthcare leadership positions from across the United States engaged in open-ended interviews to discuss what obstacles and adversities they have faced and conquered to advance to their levels of leadership. The data focused on career paths, obstacles, leadership qualities, demographics, and experiences. The participants identified their perceived leadership styles to be centered around the importance of communication and what they deemed soft skills, suggesting a different style from their male counterparts. The results of this study confirmed that even in the 21st century, career barriers such as family responsibilities, gender, lack of self-confidence, and current career challenges continue to exist for women seeking executive leadership positions in the healthcare field.


Discrimination of surface textures using tactile sensors has attracted increasing attention. Intelligent robotics with the ability to recognize and discriminate the surface textures of grasped objects are crucial. In this paper, a novel method for surface texture classification based on tactile signals is proposed. For the proposed method, first, the tactile signals of each channel (X, Y, Z, and S) are decomposed based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Then, the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) are obtained. Second, based on the multiple IMFs, the sample entropy is calculated for each IMF. Therefore, the multi-IMF sample entropy (MISE) features are obtained. Last but not least, based on the two public datasets, a variety of machine learning algorithms are used to recognize different textures. The results show that the SVM classification method, with the proposed MISE features, achieves the highest classification accuracy. Undeniably, the MISE features with the SVM method, proposed in this paper, provide a novel idea for the recognition of surface texture based on tactile perception.


Abstract Niosome nanoparticles can be prepared using different methods, each of which can affect the size and homogeneity of the prepared particles. The aim of this study was to establish if the method of preparation impacted on the prepared vesicles when loaded with a model protein and the type of immune responses induced to the vaccine antigen. Niosomes were prepared using both the traditional thin film hydration (TFH) technique and the microfluidic mixing (MM) technique. Influenza antigen was then entrapped in the niosomes and formulations tested for their ability to induce in vivo immune responses in immunised BALB/c mice. Niosomes prepared by MM had a mean size of 157 ± 1.8 nm and were significantly more uniform compared with the niosomes prepared using TFH (mean size 388 ± 10 nm). Niosomes play a key role as an adjuvant to help raise high antibody immune responses. This was confirmed in this study since animals treated with both types of niosomes and antigen were more responsive than unentrapped (free) antigen. Cytokine analysis showed that the TFH niosomes induced a Th1 immune response by raising IgG2a and high levels of IFN-ɣ, while the MM niosomes induced a Th2 immune response by inducing IgG1 (p < .05). These results confirmed that the method of preparation of the niosomes nanoparticles induced different immune responses and the average particle size of the niosomes differed depending on the method of manufacture. This indicates that particle size and uniformity are of importance and should be taken into consideration when designing an oral based delivery system for vaccine delivery.


Introduction: In the Western world, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predominantly caused by long-term smoking, which results in pulmonary inflammation that is often associated with systemic inflammation. A number of co-morbid conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, muscle wasting, type 2 diabetes and asthma, may coexist with COPD; these and other co-morbidities not directly related to COPD are major causes of excess morbidity and mortality. Aim: This review sets out to explore the most frequent co-morbidities in COPD and their implications for treatment. Method: Review of the literature on co-morbidities of COPD. Results: Co-morbidities are frequent, but often remain undiagnosed in the COPD patient. In order to provide the best possible care for people with COPD, the physician should be aware of all potential co-morbidities that may arise, and the critical role that effective management of these co-morbidities can play in improving patient outcomes. Conclusions: Increased awareness of the potential co-morbidities of COPD, although potentially adding to the general practitioner's work burden, may provide insights into this difficult disease state and possibly improve each individual's prospects for effective management. (c) 2010 Primary Care Respiratory Society UK. All rights reserved. T van der Molen. Prim Care Resp J 2010; 19(4): 326-334 doi:10.4104/pcrj.2010.00053


Purpose: Hypertension is an increasing threat to global public health, a leading cause of premature death, and an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Despite evidence on the efficacy of antihypertensive medication for blood-pressure control and mortality prevention, a large proportion of individuals are undiagnosed and untreated, especially in resource-constrained settings. This qualitative study explored patient pathways to care, as well as knowledge of and adherence to hypertension care. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 hypertensive patients in two rural districts in Bangladesh. Interviews were conducted and transcribed in Bangla and translated to English. QSR NVivo 10 software was used for analyses. We mapped patient pathways and report here on patient experiences accessing care from local pharmacies, the government, and private clinics. Results: Overall, most patients reported hypertension awareness prior to diagnosis and were conscious about consequences of hypertension. However, patients had little knowledge about prevention and treatment strategies. Most patients considered hypertension an important disease, albeit reporting taking medication only when symptomatic. Patients were aware of dietary advice; however, they were largely sedentary. Qualified doctors in both private and government settings diagnosed hypertension in the majority of the patients, and some were diagnosed by an informal provider and a few reported self-care at home. Patients followed three pathways: specialized hospitals for acute care, private hospitals/local pharmacy for nonacute symptoms, and incidental hypertension identification while being treated for another condition. Conclusion: We identify barriers to access to hypertension prevention and care that prevented patients from seeking and receiving treatment from government facilities. Challenges included a lack of support to enable community screening by government health workers, long waiting times, and inadequate supplies for hypertension treatment. Expanding community-health workers' scope in the dissemination of chronic-disease information may improve patient pathways to hypertension care in rural communities in Bangladesh.


Moment functions have been used recently to compute stroke parameters for painterly rendering applications. The technique is based on the estimation of geometric features of the intensity distribution in small windowed images to obtain the brush size, colour and direction. This paper proposes an improvement of this method, by additionally extracting the connected components so that adjacent regions of similar colour are grouped for generating large and noticeable brush stroke images. An iterative coarse-to-fine rendering algorithm is used for painting regions of varying colour frequencies. Performance improvements over the existing technique are discussed with several examples


This paper proposes a distributed coordination framework with opportunistic scheduling among multiple users as opposed to the existing works on the multiple‐cell cooperative beamforming problem that deals with a single active user in each cell. In this cross‐layer design framework that deals with the beamforming in the physical layer and multiuser scheduling in the upper layer, radio resource management and inter‐cell coordination issues are jointly considered to improve the cell‐edge throughput performance by trading off their individual benefit in an optimal manner. Our simulation results demonstrated that its performance can reach up to 85% of its upper bound at the cell boundary. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Private police assume many of the same roles as traditional law enforcement. But courts and legislatures regulate public and private police very differently. This article evaluates the statutory and judicial regulation of private police. By collecting and coding all state statutes related to the regulation of private police, I theorize on the inadequacies of the current regulatory scheme. I show that most state statutes only regulate a certain category of private police officers, leaving a substantial portion of the private policing industry virtually unregulated. Many state regulations of private police misunderstand, and thus inadequately protect against the threat posed by the private policing industry. I argue that while most state regulations facilitate predictable transactions for security services, few statutes protect individuals from the potential social harms of the privatized police. Based on these descriptive observations, I make several normative recommendations for future regulation. In doing so, I borrow from the sociological literature on organizational regulation. I conclude that judicial attempts to control private police behavior through the expansion of the state action doctrine would be ineffective at deterring private police misconduct. Instead, state legislatures should expand the depth and breadth of current statutes.


Current evidence indicates that the neuroendocrine system is the highest regulator of immune/inflammatory reactions. We hypothesized that immune alterations, which were related to the level of injury, found in a cohort of spinal cord-injured subjects may be influenced by altered hormonal patterns postinjury. Therefore, we investigated aspects of both pituitary and adrenal function in the same cohort of spinal cord-injured subjects. We found significant elevations in both cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in chronic spinal cord-injured survivors compared with their able-bodied age- and gender-matched controls. Levels of dehydroepiandrosterone, adrenocorticotropin, and prolactin were not different in spinal cord-injured subjects overall compared with their controls. Both dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and dehydroepiandrosterone were higher in tetraplegics compared with their controls, but we found no such differences in paraplegics compared with their controls. When the two groups of spinal cord-injured subjects were compared with each other, we also found differences between these two subject groups in dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and dehydroepiandrosterone (higher in the tetraplegics compared with paraplegics). We found no differences between either group of spinal cord-injured subjects and their controls for adrenocorticotropin, prolactin, or cortisol. These data suggest that some hormonal differences between subjects and their controls may be further related to the level of injury (specifically dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone). Finally, we investigated correlations within subjects for the above hormones. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and prolactin were highly correlated (the higher the dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, the higher the prolactin) but only in the tetraplegic subjects.


Redundant disk arrays are single fault tolerant, incorporating a layer of error handling not found in nonredundant disk systems. Recovery from these errors is complex, due in part to the large number of erroneous states the system may reach. The established approach to error recovery in disk systems is to transition directly from an erroneous state to completion. This technique, known as forward error recovery, relies upon the context in which an error occurs to determine the steps required to reach completion, which implies forward error recovery is design specific. Forward error recovery requires the enumeration of all erroneous states the system may reach and the construction of a forward path from each erroneous state. We propose a method of error recovery which does not rely upon the enumeration of erroneous states or the context in which errors occur. When an error is encountered, we advocate mechanized recovery to an error-free state from which an operation may be retried. Using a form of backward error recovery, we are able to manage the complexity of error recovery in redundant disk arrays without sacrificing performance.


Objectives To determine the efficacy and safety of allopurinol dose escalation using a treat-to-target serum urate (SU) approach. Methods A randomised, controlled, parallel-group, comparative clinical trial was undertaken. People with gout receiving at least creatinine clearance (CrCL)-based allopurinol dose for ≥1 month and SU ≥6 mg/dL were recruited. Participants were randomised to continue current dose (control) or allopurinol dose escalation for 12 months. In the dose escalation group, allopurinol was increased monthly until SU was <6 mg/dL. The primary endpoints were reduction in SU and adverse events (AEs). Results 183 participants (93 control, 90 dose escalation) were recruited. At baseline, mean (SD) urate was 7.15 (1.6) mg/dL and allopurinol dose 269 mg/day. 52% had CrCL<60 mL/min. Mean changes in SU at the final visit were −0.34 mg/dL in the control group and −1.5 mg/dL in the dose escalation group (p<0.001) with a mean difference of 1.2 mg/dL (95% CI 0.67 to 1.5, p<0.001). At month 12, 32% of controls and 69% in the dose escalation had SU <6 mg/dL. There were 43 serious AEs in 25 controls and 35 events in 22 dose escalation participants. Only one was considered probably related to allopurinol. Five control and five dose escalation participants died; none was considered allopurinol related. Mild elevations in LFTs were common in both groups, a few moderate increases in gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were noted. There was no difference in renal function changes between randomised groups. Conclusions Higher than CrCL-based doses of allopurinol can effectively lower SU to treatment target in most people with gout. Allopurinol dose escalation is well tolerated. Trial registration number: ANZCTR12611000845932; Results.


This article presents data, precedent, and empirical evidence relevant to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposal to issue a new rule to exclude graduate assistants and other student employees from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The analysis in three parts. First, the authors show through an analysis of information from other federal agencies that the adoption of the proposed NLRB rule would exclude over 81,000 graduate assistants on private campuses from the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. Second, the article presents a legal history from the past half-century about unionization of student employees at private and public sector institutions of higher education, including the NLRB's oscillation on the question of whether student employees are protected under the NLRA. The inconsistencies of the NLRB is in stark contrast to state and Canadian provincial precedent during the same period. Lastly, the authors analyze the terms of 42 current collective bargaining agreements covering student workers, including 10 at the private sector institutions. The empirical evidence from five decades of relevant collective bargaining history, precedent, and contracts demonstrates consistent economic relationships between student employees and their institutions.


This study aims to investigate the viability and effectiveness of the Hanen More Than Words (HMTW) programme amongst parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This quassi-experimental study involved 31 children (27 boys, 4 girls; M = 34.58 months, SD = 3.67) who met criteria for ASD and their parents. The measurement was conducted in three phases; Time 1 (prior to intervention), Time 2 and Time 3 (at three and five months after the intervention begins). The outcome measures were assessed based on: (1) changes in parental facilitative strategies; (2) the children's growth in vocabulary and (3) the progress of communication and social skills. The paired t-test were used to analyze the pre and post findings within the intervention and control group with p-value <.01. Results showed that there was an increase in using the facilitative communication strategies by parents in the HMTW group during parent-child interaction. The children showed an increased in vocabulary, communication and social skills. The parents agreed that their mastery of facilitative communication strategies increased and they provided positive feedback about the HMTW approach. The results suggested that the HMTW program could be implemented well by Malaysian parents. The training was supported by Malaysian parents and had measurable effect on both parents and children. DOI :  http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2017-1502-06


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the process of survivorship care plan (SCP) completion and to survey oncology staff and primary care physicians (PCPs) regarding challenges of implementing SCPs.

DESIGN
Descriptive pilot study.

SETTING
Two facilities in Vermont, an urban academic medical center and a rural community academic cancer center.

SAMPLE
17 oncology clinical staff created SCPs, 39 PCPs completed surveys, and 58 patients (breast or colorectal cancer) participated in a telephone survey.

METHODS
Using Journey Forward tools, SCPs were created and presented to patients. PCPs received the SCP with a survey assessing its usefulness and barriers to delivery. Oncology staff were interviewed to assess perceived challenges and benefits of SCPs. Qualitative and quantitative data were used to identify challenges to the development and implementation process as well as patient perceptions of the SCP visit.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
SCP, healthcare provider perception of barriers to completion and implementation, and patient perception of SCP visit.

FINDINGS
Oncology staff cited the time required to obtain information for SCPs as a challenge. Completing SCPs 3-6 months after treatment ended was optimal. All participants felt advanced practice professionals should complete and review SCPs with patients. The most common challenge for PCPs to implement SCP recommendations was insufficient knowledge of cancer survivor issues. Most patients found the care plan visit very useful, particularly within six months of diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS
Creation time may be a barrier to widespread SCP implementation. Cancer survivors find SCPs useful, but PCPs feel insufficient knowledge of cancer survivor issues is a barrier to providing best follow-up care. Incorporating SCPs in electronic medical records may facilitate patient identification, appropriate staff scheduling, and timely SCP creation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Oncology nurse practitioners are well positioned to create and deliver SCPs, transitioning patients from oncology care to a PCP in a shared-care model of optimal wellness. Institution support for the time needed for SCP creation and review is imperative for sustaining this initiative.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION
Accessing complete medical records is an obstacle for completing SCPs. A 3-6 month window to develop and deliver SCPs may be ideal. PCPs perceive insufficient knowledge of cancer survivor issues as a barrier to providing appropriate follow-up care.


Folate is required for one-carbon transfer reactions and the formation of purines and pyrimidines for DNA and RNA synthesis. Deficiency of folate can lead to many clinical abnormalities, including macrocytic anemia, cardiovascular diseases, birth defects, and carcinogenesis. The nucleotide imbalance due to folate deficiency causes cell cycle arrest in the S phase and uracil misincorporation into DNA, which may result in DNA double-strand breaks during repair. The role of folate in the immune system has not been fully characterized. We cultured PHA-activated human T lymphocytes in varying concentrations of folate, and measured proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, uracil misincorporation, and proportions of Th cells (CD4+) and cytotoxic T (CD8+) cells. Folate deficiency reduced proliferation of T lymphocytes, induced cell cycle arrest in the S phase, induced apoptosis, and increased the level of uracil in DNA. Folate deficiency also increased the CD4+ to CD8+ ratio due to a marked reduction of CD8+ cell proliferation. Folate or nucleoside repletion of folate-deficient cells rapidly restored T lymphocyte proliferation and normal cell cycle, reduced the DNA uracil content, and lowered the CD4+ to CD8+ ratio. These data suggest that folate status may affect the immune system by reducing the capacity of CD8+ cells to proliferate in response to activation.


Revised and updated to include the most current information on same-sex marriage, "The Limits to Union" documents a legal struggle at its moment of greatest historical importance. ""The Limits to Union" is a superb book about the complexities of recent political struggles over same-sex marriage. Goldberg-Hiller offers a sophisticated account of egalitarian rights advocacy and the reaction it has generated from established majorities animated by a 'new common sense' of exclusionary sovereign authority. The author's analysis is multidimensional and nuanced, but the core argument is bold, important, and well-supported. I recommend it very highly to everyone interested in understanding the character, possibilities, and constraints of civil rights amid our contemporary culture wars."-Michael McCann, author of "Rights at Work: Pay Equity Reform and the Politics of Legal Mobilization" "In this excellent book, Goldberg-Hiller uses Hawaii's experience to examine the interaction between courts and the political system. . . . Relying on briefs, legislative statements, and interviews with activists from both sides of the question, he views this familiar debate . . . through the unfamiliar prism of gay marriage, which allows him to gauge the viability and the pliability of the American civil rights ideal, and how gay and lesbian issues fit (or don't fit) within that ideal."-Willian Heinzen, "New York Law Journal" "Goldberg-Hiller presents the history of the same-sex marriage question since it first sparked debate in Hawaii. He follows the shifting debate through court cases, state propositions, and state and federal legislatures, considering questions about the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and the concept of equal protection under the law for gays and lesbians. This detailed treatment of the legal issues surrounding same-sex marriages is highly recommended."-R. L. Abbott, University of Evansville "[A] valuable contribution to the field, situating the gay marriage debate in broader contexts of theory, law and practice. [S]ame-sex marriage is an important issue...that finds itself caught in the friction points of much larger debates over the nature of rights, the limits of sovereignty and the proper role of courts and law in a democratic society. "The Limits to Union" should therefore be of interest even to those who do not think of themselves as interested in gay and lesbian rights issues."-Evan Gerstmann, Loyola Marymount University, Law and Politics Book Review


During the last three decades, China has experienced the largest migration in human history. China's great migration has had transformative social, economic, and demographic consequences for China and the world. In this review, first I provide background on China's household registration system (hukou), which has been in existence since the late 1950s and continues to affect the life chances of Chinese people. Then I focus on the great migration by discussing research that has examined its causes, migration trends, the adaptation/assimilation of migrants in urban China, the well-being of migrant children, and migration's impact on rural China. Finally, I identify key areas for future research and argue that China's great migration holds major promise to contribute to the literature on migration studies.


Transitional Justice (hereafter: 'TJ') has been the object of great attention in conflict and post-conflict societies. The concept deals with justice in societies in transition, either post-conflict or during an ongoing conflict; it entails a series of measures which could be judicial and/or non-judicial in nature. Its success depends on to what extent it contributes to true reconciliation and the consolidation of democracy and the domestic judicial system (para. 1). Experience shows that the quest for justice often conflicts with the mostly official efforts towards peace. Indeed, TJ aims at ensuring justice and peace at the same time but refraining from criminal prosecution and/or punishment seems sometimes necessary to facilitate a peaceful transition (para. 3), the issuing of an amnesty being the most important technique of exemption from criminal prosecution (para. 5). In any case, whether the absence of criminal prosecution contributes to reconciliation depends on the framing of this concept and the circumstances of each case (para. 4). 2. To develop the legal framework of TJ and, ultimately, to establish some more or less precise guidelines for peace negotiations within the framework of transition, necessary to 'judicialize' the politics of TJ (para. 6), one must first determine the contents of the justice element in TJ. Justice in this sense is to be understood broadly, going beyond mere criminal justice and including certain key elements such as accountability, fairness in the protection and vindication of rights and the prevention and punishment of wrongs (para. 2). 3. The legal substance of the justice element or interest has as a starting point the duty to prosecute the international core crimes as defined in Art. 6–8 of the ICC Statute (para. 8). While this duty would almost logically lead to a prohibition of amnesties or other exemption measures regarding these crimes (para. 9) the broad concept of justice applicable in TJ calls for a more sophisticated approach. On the one hand, the justice interest is to be complemented by the rights of victims of 20 K. Ambos international core crimes (para. 10-11); these rights go well beyond criminal prosecution and include, besides a right to justice, the rights to truth and reparation in a broad sense (para. 11). On the other hand, as another consequence of a broad concept of justice, alternatives to criminal prosecution must be developed and applied (para. 12 et seq.), in particular (effective) Truth Commissions (para. 13 et seq.). In general, though, alternative measures can only complement, not substitute criminal justice (para. 10). To do so, they must offer a serious alternative way of dealing with the past and as such effectively take into account the interest of victims (para. 12). Ultimately, the admissibility of limitations of the justice interest depends on the result of a complex process of balancing of the conflicting interests which is carried out by a threefold proportionality test (para. 19 et seq.). This test leads, on the third stage of the proportionality stricto sensu, to some important limitations (ratione materiae and personae) and requirements (esp. some form of accountability) to be taken into account to assess the admissibility of exemption measures (para. 21). From the above analysis follows a bifurcated approach as to the admissibility of amnesties (para. 23 et seq.): On the one hand, blanket amnesties are generally inadmissible (strict approach) since their primary goal is to completely conceal past crimes by prohibiting any investigation (para. 24 et seq.); on the other, conditional ('accountable') amnesties are, in principle, admissible (flexible approach) since they do not – unlike blanket amnesties – automatically exempt perpetrators from punishment but make the exemption conditional on certain acts or concessions by the benefiting person(s), e.g., unreserved promise to lay down arms, satisfaction of the victim's legitimate demands, in particular by a full disclosure of the facts, acknowledgment of responsibility and repentance (para. 30 et seq.). 4. With the ICC a permanent accountability mechanism has been established (para. 34). It is part of the TJ project in that it may interfere in processes of transition and thus come into conflict with the parties on the ground. The Ugandan situation where the ICC has issued arrest warrants against leading members of the LRA is a vivid example of such a possible conflict. Yet, it must not be overlooked that the Prosecutor's strategy only to prosecute the most responsible perpetrators and the most serious crimes (para. 36) limits the ICC's 'interventionist' or 'monitoring' role considerably and leaves the bulk of the prosecutions to the domestic judicial systems which therefore still have an important role to play in bringing less important perpetrators and/or crimes to justice (para. 34). In any case, as to the most important cases, the question arises whether and, if so, to what extent national peace deals, including amnesties or other exemptions, may bar the ICC from exercising its jurisdiction. While this issue was not explicitly dealt with in the ICC Statute, the Statute is a flexible instrument which enables the Prosecutor and the Court to take transitional situations on the ground into account (para. 35). This follows from the broad discretion of the Prosecutor during the preliminary investigation (para. 35), the ICC's judicial autonomy (para. 34, 36) and in particular three provisions of the ICC Statute, namely Art. 17 on complementarity, Art. 16 on the intervention by the Security Council and Art. 53 (1) (c), (2) (c) on the interest of justice. 5. Art. 17 tries to strike an adequate balance between the states' sovereign exercise of (criminal) jurisdiction and the international community's interest in preventing impunity for international core crimes by according prevalence to the State Parties if they are willing and able to investigate and prosecute the international core crimes (para. 37). The detailed analysis of the provision (para. 37 et seq.) shows that a national exemption measure (esp. an amnesty) as such does not make a case inadmissible; rather, the admissibility depends on the specific content and conditions of the measure (para. 44). If one applies this conclusion to certain scenarios (para. 44 et seq.) it follows that, as to full exemptions, only a conditional amnesty with a TRC may render a case inadmissible if an effective TRC grants an amnesty on an individual basis under certain strict conditions (para. 46); other full exemptions (blanket self-amnesty, conditional amnesty without a TRC) will not pass the complementarity test (para. 45, 47). In the case of partial exemptions, e.g., a considerable mitigation of punishment in exchange of demobilization and full cooperation, the admissibility in the sense of Art. 17 depends on the extent to which the respective process satisfies the justice interest, e.g., by employing alternative mechanisms of justice, in particular an effective TRC and/or non-punitive sanctions (para. 48). In the case of ex post exemptions, the admissibility depends exclusively on the criterion of 'genuine' willingness to prosecute in the sense of Art. 17 (1) (a), (b) or/and (2) (para. 49). Art. 16 gives the Security Council the faculty to suspend proceedings but leaves ICC's competence to indirectly review the Council's decision unaffected (para. 50). The interests of justice clause of Art. 53 (para. 51 et seq.) gives the Prosecutor an additional instrument to exercise his discretion going beyond the rather 'technical' Art. 17 (para. 51). Yet, this discretion does not convert the clause to a mere policy instrument irrespective of the legal criteria provided by it (gravity of the crime, interests of victims, age or infirmity of the alleged offender and the role of the perpetrator in the alleged crime); rather the Prosecutor has to take a legally substantiated decision in each individual case (para. 52). 1 Introduction 1. In recent years the issue of Transitional Justice (hereinafter 'TJ') has received increased attention in conflict and post-conflict societies. TJ, as understood in this study, 'comprises the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation'. While regime change is not at all a new phenomenon the concept of TJ is recent and innovative in that it recognizes the importance of 'justice' in processes of transition; in short, TJ deals with justice in transition. However, TJ is not limited to situations of post-conflict and/or regime change, in particular transition from dictatorship to 1 See.


The thesis uses the case study of the experience of middle-class northern white women in America during the period 1800-1860 to explore several issues of wider significance. Firstly, the research focuses upon the dynamic relationships between the culturally-constructed categories of public/formal and private/informal power and participation at both the practical and symbolic levels, suggesting ways in which they intersected on the lives of women. Secondly,consideration is given to the validity of the stereotyped view that 'domestic' women were necessarily disadvantaged and dominated relative to those who aspired to public political and economic roles. Thirdly, the relationship of religious belief to these two areas is discussed, in order to discover its relevance to the way in which women both perceived themselves and were perceived by others. In seeking to explore these issues, the research has analysed the patterns of social and cultural change in the era under question, indicating how those changes influenced the perceptions and experiences of both women and men. Their reactions in terms of discourse and activity are located as strategies of negotiation in redefining both social role and participation for the sexes. The rhetoric of 'separate spheres', which was used by men and women to order their mental and physical surroundings, is reduced to its symbolic constituents in order to illustrate that the distinction between male and female arenas was more perceptual than actual. The motivating forces behind the activities and ideas of women themselves are investigated to determine the role of religion in the construction of both female self-images and wider negotiational strategies.The context of nineteenth-century social dynamics has been revealed by detailed analysis of extensive primary sources originated by both women and men for private as well as public consumption. Feminist tools of analysis which enable the conceptualisation of 'meaningful discourse' as including female contributions have further enhanced the specificfocus on how women constructed their own world-views and approaches to reality. 'Traditional' approaches and tools are shown to have seriously skewed and misrepresented the reality and variety of both discourse and female experience in the era. Great efforts have been made to allow women to speak in their own words. This has produced an insight into a richness of female social participation and discourse which would otherwise be obscured.The research indicates that women were indeed actors and negotiators during the period. Those women who advocated as primary the duties of women in the domestic and social arenas were by no means setting narrow limitations on female participation in both society and discourse. The religious impulses and eschatological frameworks derived by women (varied as they were) served to order and renegotiate reality and meaning, whilst they produced female roles and influence of great significance. Women were not passive victims of male oppression. Religion can thus be perceived as a positive force which women were able to approach both for its own sake, and for their own particular ends.


Inflammatory mediators produced by human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) have been implicated in the initiation and progression of periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to examine whether Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which is produced in abundance from HGF after stimulation with interleukin (IL)-1β or tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), could regulate IL-6 production by HGF. HGF stimulated with either IL-1β or TNF-α showed a rapid and dose-dependent increase in IL-6 mRNA accumulation and IL-6 secretion, as demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and bioassay. IL-6 secretion from either IL-1β- or TNF-α-stimulated HGF was enhanced by the inhibition of PGE2 synthesis with indomethacin. Furthermore, the addition of PGE2 inhibited IL-6 secretion from these cells. In contrast, indomethacin or PGE2 did not affect the accumulation of IL-6 mRNA in IL-1β-stimulated HGF. These data indicate that IL-6 production by HGF is up-regulated by specific cytokines, IL-1β and TNF-α, and sugge...


The thesis examines processes of change in a geographic context within the region of the south of Morocco over the past fifty years. The most striking phenomenon, that of the rise to political and economic dominance within the region of the town of Agadir, is examined in parallel with the consequent relative decline of two other centres in the area, Taroudant and Tiznit, and with their eventual, delayed growth, though of a weaker nature. Various approaches are adopted in the course of the study including historical and economic analyses, and a mathematical technique is devised to yield a practical measure of the degree of demographic-spatial concentration within a specified area. A general theme of the thesis is that of the division between centre and periphery at different levels of political organization, and of a related, particularly Moroccan, concept of a division of specific areas into 'utile' and 'inutile' portions. On the administrative side the process of fragmentation of existing provinces and the creation of new provinces is examined, together with the consequent apparent devolution of some political responsibilities; on the economic side recent projects are discussed, including those in the sectors of agriculture, mining, industry, fishing and port activity, as well as tourism and urban development. It is felt that the limited political decentralization effected has far outpaced any real economic decentralization. Finally, likely future projects, including that of a railway link between the area and the north of Morocco, are critically assessed as regards their impact on the region. It is concluded that planning for the region is uncoordinated and in many cases misdirected both in. terms of the types and spatial locations of projects as well as the time scales being proposed for their development.


This paper presents a new technique for accurate fault location based on voltage measurement from one end of the two-terminal transmission line and Smooth Support Vector Machine (SSVM). Due to common problems of current transformer during fault location and as a result increasing the cost and reduction of the accuracy, proposed technique is independent of current measurement and based on one terminal voltage measurement of the transmission line. Post-fault voltage at one end of the line is measured and used in calculation of the fault location. GPS (global positioning system) is not required for this technique resulting in a reduction of economic cost. Using the proposed technique, fault location can be estimated with a lower than 0.025% error without using current transformers and GPS. EMTP/ATP simulation and SSVM results show that the proposed fault location technique is independent of fault type, fault resistance and fault inception of the transmission line.


Many companies consider the reduction of packaging material as a relevant development direction, either required by cost savings, supply chain efficiency, sustainability or substantiated by regulations (directive 94/62/EC). This aligns with an eco-efficient redundancy perspective on packaging. Research shows that material efficiency requirements in packaging design briefs are often only justified by aims towards cost reduction; commercial viability is regularly prioritized over sustainability aims. Insights collected from current material quantification analyses like product-packaging life cycle assessment (LCA) and costing (LCC) are not directly applicable during generative development processes. Packaging material key figures can be useful for that, as the middle ground between design guidelines and rules-of-thumb but research in this area is limited. Key figures are established in other sectors like electrical appliances' energy use, automobile fuel economy, or housing energy efficiency. Based on existing studies about eating patterns of Dutch consumers the research determined typical fast moving consumer goods consumption patterns that are grouped according to product type and use scenario, which lead to daily product consumption patterns. Key figures of used amount of packaging material per product type are determined by looking at packaging solutions present in the market. These figures are linked to the consumer patterns. The outcome is compared with annual packaging waste figures as validation. The research shows for example that packaging material use for food products is currently over 6 times higher than material use for non-food products, and that beverages and products required for dinner require the highest amount of packaging. The research contribution is a collection of packaging material key figures, grouped per product type and use scenario. The range of key figures (minimal and maximum material amounts) is useful as starting point for efficient material use in packaging design.


Shared expectations and mutual understanding are critical facets of teamwork. Achieving these in human-robot collaborative contexts can be especially challenging, as humans and robots are unlikely to share a common language to convey intentions, plans, or justifications. Even in cases where human co-workers can inspect a robot's control code, and particularly when statistical methods are used to encode control policies, there is no guarantee that meaningful insights into a robot's behavior can be derived or that a human will be able to efficiently isolate the behaviors relevant to the interaction. We present a series of algorithms and an accompanying system that enables robots to autonomously synthesize policy descriptions and respond to both general and targeted queries by human collaborators. We demonstrate applicability to a variety of robot controller types including those that utilize conditional logic, tabular reinforcement learning, and deep reinforcement learning, synthesizing informative policy descriptions for collaborators and facilitating fault diagnosis by non-experts.


A finite element model of the tibio-femoral joint in the human knee was created using a new technique for developing accurate solid models of soft tissues (i.e. cartilage and menisci). The model was used to demonstrate that constraining rotational degrees of freedom other than flexion/extension when the joint is loaded in compression markedly affects the load distribution between the medial and lateral sides of the joint. The model also was used to validate the assumption that the bones can be treated as rigid.


The influence of process variables on the DME-to-hydrocarbon (DtH) conversion has been assessed. The reaction was studied at atmospheric pressure, over an MFI zeolite (H-ZSM-5, SiO2/Al2O3 = 58), in a gradientless recycle reactor, under the kinetic regime, and process variables in the range of 598 – 648 K and space-time in the range of 0.008 – 0.040 h kgcat kgDME-1. The results showed that DME and methanol are not in equilibrium, that the cis-/trans- C4 olefins are in equilibrium with each other but not with the 1-butene, while C5+ hydrocarbons are favored at high oxygenates conversion. Finally, it was observed for the first time, to best of the knowledge of the current authors, that under kinetically controlled conditions, the selectivity to main groups of products can be described by the oxygenates conversion (x_Oxy), independently of the process conditions, which means that the x_Oxy controls the process selectivity independently of reaction temperature and space time.


We characterize a prevalent weakness of deep neural networks (DNNs)---overthinking---which occurs when a DNN can reach correct predictions before its final layer. Overthinking is computationally wasteful, and it can also be destructive when, by the final layer, a correct prediction changes into a misclassification. Understanding overthinking requires studying how each prediction evolves during a DNN's forward pass, which conventionally is opaque. For prediction transparency, we propose the Shallow-Deep Network (SDN), a generic modification to off-the-shelf DNNs that introduces internal classifiers. We apply SDN to four modern architectures, trained on three image classification tasks, to characterize the overthinking problem. We show that SDNs can mitigate the wasteful effect of overthinking with confidence-based early exits, which reduce the average inference cost by more than 50% and preserve the accuracy. We also find that the destructive effect occurs for 50% of misclassifications on natural inputs and that it can be induced, adversarially, with a recent backdooring attack. To mitigate this effect, we propose a new confusion metric to quantify the internal disagreements that will likely lead to misclassifications.


Industrialised house-building suppliers must learn to see how the lack of resource management disrupt the synchronisation of their production processes both upstream (e.g. capability to forecast material consumption) and downstream (e.g. order delivery Just-in-Time). In contrast to focus on workflow as is more common in construction, Systematic Production Analysis (SPA) is a tool capable of providing a more robust production process in terms of better resource characterisation and predictability. A roadmap model, composed of six steps, has been developed for simple introduction of SPA. The model is a straightforward way of classifying the production system in terms of impacting resource and parameters attributing to production loss (scrap or downtime). The applicability of SPA is analysed through a pilot case study at a patio door manufacturer. Two main response parameters emerged related to scrap; surface and dimension errors of the work piece material (wood). An objective function was formulated to reduce the scrap without increasing the total cost of the work piece material. It was suggested that the case company evaluates Engineering Wood Products (EWP) leading to a more robust production process (less scrap), but in turn increasing the initial cost of the work piece material. Other potential measures are purchasing new processing tools, investing in new machinery or educating workers which all, directly or indirectly, lead to reduced scrap. Consequently, proper management of production resources will improve their predictability and in turn improve production control.


This is a much-needed work in the financial literature, and it is the first book ever to analyse the use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) from a theoretical and practical perspective. By the end of 2020, more than 240 SPACs were listed in the US (on NASDAQ or the NYSE), raising a record $83 billion. The SPAC craze has been shaking the US for months, mainly because of its simplicity: A bunch of investors decides to buy shares at a fixed price in a company that initially has no assets. In this way, a SPAC, also known as a "blank check company", is created as an empty shell with lots of money to spend on a corporate shopping spree. Could the trend be here to stay? Are SPACs the new legitimate path to traditional IPO? This book tackles those questions and more. The author provides a thorough analysis of SPACs including their legal framework and how they are used as a risk mitigation tool to structure transactions. The main objectives of the book are focused on finding a working definition for SPACs and theorising on their origins, definition, and evolution;identifying the objectives of financial regulation within the context of the recent finan-cial crisis (2007–2010) and the one that is currently unfolding (Covid-19);and also describing practical examples of SPACs through a comparative study that, for the first time, outlines every major capital market on which SPACs are listed, in order to identify a possible international standard of regulation. The book is relevant to academics as well as policymakers, international financial regulators, corporate finance lawyers as well as to the financial in-dustry tout court. © 2022 Daniele D'Alvia.


Recently, Green and Losonczy~GL1,GL2 introduced \emphfreely braided permutation as a special class of restricted permutations has arisen in representation theory. The freely braided permutations were introduced and studied as the upper bound for the number of commutation classes of reduced expressions for an element of a simply laced Coxeter group is achieved if and only if when the element is freely braided. In this paper, we prove that the generating function for the number of freely braided permutations in S_n is given by \par (1-3x-2x^2+(1+x)√1-4x) / (1-4x-x^2+(1-x^2)√1-4x).\par


The purpose of this study was to quantify relative contributions of impact interface, muscle activity, and knee angle to the magnitudes of tibial and femoral accelerations occurring after external impacts. Impacts were initiated with a pneumatically driven impacter under the heels of four volunteers. Impact forces were quantified with a force sensor. Segmental accelerations were measured with bone mounted accelerometers. Experimental interventions were hard and soft shock interfaces, different knee angles (0 degrees, 20 degrees, 40 degrees knee flexion), and muscular preactivation (0%, 30%, 60% of maximal voluntary contraction) of gastrocnemii, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Greater knee flexion led to lower impact forces and higher tibial accelerations. Increased muscular activation led to higher forces and lower tibial accelerations. The softer of the two shock interfaces under study reduced both parameters. The effects on accelerations and forces through the activation and knee angle changes were greater than the effect of interface variations. The hardness of the two shock interfaces explained less than 10% of the variance of accelerations and impact forces, whereas knee angle changes explained 25-29%, and preactivation changes explained 35-48% of the variances. It can be concluded that muscle force and knee joint angle have greater effects in comparison with interface hardness on the severity of shocks on the lower leg.


Retinitis pigmentosa is a clinically heterogeneous disease affecting 1.6 million people worldwide. A growing number of identified disease-causing genes are associated with the spliceosome, but the molecular consequences that link defects in splicing factor genes to the aetiology of the disease remain to be elucidated. In this paper, we present a Drosophila model for Retinitis pigmentosa 11, a human disease caused by mutations in the splicing factor PRPF31. Here, we induced mutations in the Drosophila orthologue Prp31. Mutant flies are viable and show a normal eye phenotype when kept under regular light conditions. However, when exposed to constant light, photoreceptors of mutant flies degenerate, thus resembling the human disease phenotype. Degeneration could be shown to be associated with increased oxidative stress. This increase was in agreement with severe dysregulation of genes involved in oxidation/reduction processes, as revealed by high throughput transcriptome sequencing. In fact, light induced photoreceptor cell degeneration could be attenuated by experimentally reducing oxidative stress. A comparable decrease in retinal degeneration was achieved by raising mutant larvae on a vitamin A-depleted medium, thereby reducing rhodopsin levels. Finally, transcriptome data further uncovered an overall retention of introns in mRNAs. Among those, mRNAs of genes involved in synapse assembly, growth and stability were most prominent. These results point to a multifactorial genesis of light induced degeneration in retinae of Prp31 mutant flies, including transcriptional and splicing dysregulation, oxidative stress and defects in vitamin A metabolism.


Human herpesviruses cause diseases of considerable morbidity and mortality, ranging from encephalitis to hematologic malignancies. As evidence emerges about the role of innate immunity and natural killer (NK) cells in the control of herpesvirus infection, evidence of viral methods of innate immune evasion grows as well. These methods include interference with the ligands on infected cell surfaces that bind NK cell activating or inhibitory receptors. This paper summarizes the most extensively studied NK cell receptor/ligand pairs and then describes the methods of NK cell evasion used by all eight herpesviruses through these receptors and ligands. Although great strides have been made in elucidating their mechanisms, there is still a disparity between viruses in the amount of knowledge regarding innate immune evasion. Further research of herpesvirus innate immune evasion can provide insight for circumventing viral mechanisms in future therapies.


Chronic, systemic inflammation is mechanistically involved in processes associated with most major chronic diseases. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) was developed to measure diet-based inflammatory potential, a strong risk factor for systemic inflammation. Participants included those attending baseline measurement clinics for the Healthy Eating and Active Living in the Spirit (HEALS) educational and behavioral intervention (2009-2012). HEALS, a randomized control trial set in faith-based communities, enrolled African Americans (AA) at high risk of chronic inflammation and related diseases. Baseline data were utilized for these analyses. Prior to each clinic visit, participants completed a questionnaire packet to assess demographic characteristics, physical activity, sleep habits (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), health history, depression/stress, and social desirability, approval, and support. Dietary data were collected using a 144-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) which was modified based on the Block/NCI instrument. Dietary data from this FFQ, processed using the Nutrient Data System for Research (version 2012, Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota) was used to compute the DII. The DII is comprised of various micro and macronutrients, as well as several individual food items (collectively termed 'food parameters'); each of which has an inflammatory effect score based on research from 1,943 diet and inflammation research articles. A "world" database (11 populations from around the world) consisting of means and standard deviations for the food parameters was subtracted from an individual9s actual dietary intake and divided by its standard deviation, creating a z-score, which were centered around 0 and multiplied by the inflammatory effect score. These were summed across all parameters to create the overall DII score, which were categorized into quartiles. During clinic visits, participants had their blood pressure, height, weight, and percent body fat (via bioelectrical impedance assessment) measured. Physical activity levels were measured using Bodymedia9s SenseWear® physical activity armband monitors. Blood samples were collected to characterize inflammatory biomarkers (i.e., high-sensitivity c-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]). In addition to using quantile regression for the main analyses, logistic regression was utilized when CRP was categorized as ≤3.0mg/L vs. >3.0mg/L. The population was middle-aged (average = 56.9±11.3 years), obese (mean BMI=32.6±6.9kg/m2) and primarily female (80%). Various population characteristics were described according to DII quartiles. Higher DII values were associated with younger age, being married or living with a partner, being employed fulltime, and having a higher BMI. Quantile regression was used to estimate the adjusted 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of both CRP and IL-6. The 75th and 90th percentiles of CRP for the fourth quartile of the DII were significantly greater than for the first DII quartile (β0.75=3.95, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]=1.71-6.19; β0.90=6.83, 95%CI=1.11-12.55). No significant findings were observed for IL-6. Logistic regression analyses agreed with the quantile regression results for CRP. Those in DII quartile 4 had 3.17 times (95%CI=1.52-6.62) the odds of having CRP values greater than 3.0mg/L compared to those in DII quartile 1. This is the first construct validation of the DII in an all AA population. Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for many major chronic diseases, diseases that AA suffer from disproportionately. Therefore, the DII may serve as a useful tool to track dietary inflammatory potential among AA populations, which, in turn, may reduce risk of chronic disease among these populations. Citation Format: Michael Wirth, Nitin Shivappa, Lisa Davis, Thomas Hurley, Andrew Ortaglia, Ruby Drayton, Steven Blair, James Hebert. The dietary inflammatory index is associated with inflammatory biomarkers among a population of African Americans from South Carolina. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A69.


Thermal experimentation and electric properties measurements are presented, using tumor breast phantom and breast phantom built in our laboratory. Electric properties were measured to find similar characteristics between breast and tumor breast tissue and phantoms. For tumor breast phantom, we obtained a variation of 4.1216 for dielectric constant and 0.3798 S/m for electric conductivity. Breast phantom had a variation of 0.7065 for permittivity and electric conductivity had a variation of 0.0066 S/m. Microwave ablation therapy was applied on both phantoms for five minutes, with 10 watts of power. According to literature reports, tumor breast tissue presents higher temperature than breast tissue, but our results present breast phantom temperature higher than tumor tissue. It is necessary to find other materials for tumor breast phantom to get higher temperatures than breast phantom.


Most zoning laws severely restrict residents' ability to work from home. Some prohibit it outright. These regulations serve the ostensible purpose of protecting neighbors from externalities that might be generated by home businesses. But, home occupation restrictions also reflect in a particularly sharp way the central motivating ideology underlying all zoning laws - namely, that the "good life" requires the careful segregation of work and home. Today, home business regulations are being challenged by both planning theory and economic reality. At the same time that many in the academy and planning professions are calling into question zoning's pervasive segregation of land uses, increasing numbers of Americans are choosing to work from home. Homeowners, however, continue to worry about the introduction of commercial activity into residential neighborhoods. This article examines how local governments might respond to zoning law's "home business dilemma."


A 2 X 2 nonblocking optical matrix switch, composed of four elemental switches formed in a slab waveguide, is described. Switching action is based on total internal reflection caused by an electrically controlled change in refractive index of the liquid crystal. Propagation loss was remarkably reduced to 2.3 dB/cm, both by using liquid crystal as a cladding layer and by operating at the 1.31 µm wavelength. The experimental matrix switch exhibited 7.3-7.7 dB insertion loss, -17.3 to -18.2 dB crosstalk, and a 14° switching angle.


BACKGROUND:
developing coping strategies to use in stressful situations is an essential nursing skill. Prolonged and constant stress is harmful to nurses' health and leads to organisational inefficiency, high staff turnover and decreased job satisfaction.

AIM:
to identify nurses' stress coping strategies and determine the relationship between coping strategies and sociodemographic factors.

METHOD:
a descriptive cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was undertaken at an emergency department and critical care units at the largest referral hospital in Brunei.

RESULTS:
problem-solving and positive reappraisal were the predominant positive coping strategies identified. Those working in medical intensive care employed escape-avoidance behaviours more frequently. Married participants exhibited higher levels of confrontative coping behaviours.

CONCLUSION:
to the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to examine job-stress coping strategies among nurses in Brunei. The authors examined the different strategies and the poor health outcomes associated with using negative coping styles. Future stress management interventions should target staff who employ negative coping strategies to promote positive strategies, enabling them to provide better quality care.


A new spatial filtering technique is proposed for improving image contrast and depth of focus in projection photolithography. The technique is based on fractional Fourier domain filtering. Unlike the current pupil filtering method, the fractional filter can be placed at any location along the projection optical path other than the pupil plane. The theory of partial coherent diffraction combined with fractional Fourier domain filtering is presented. Phase filters for contact hole and line-space patterns have been designed. Computer simulation of complete imaging process including fractional Fourier domain filtering have been carried out. The simulation has demonstrated that the new filtering technique can significantly improve image fidelity, reduce the optical proximity effect and increase the depth of focus. Because of the flexibility in filter location, it is predicted to be easier to implement in a practical optical lithography system.  2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Whilst the predecessor (Part I) to this paper addresses criticisms and challenges which have arisen in response to recent Basel Committee's initiatives aimed at addressing capital and liquidity standards, the present paper highlights further measures which are being introduced by the Basel Committee to address such criticisms and challenges. As well as presenting and drawing attention to proposals which could serve as means of addressing challenges presented by liquidity risks, Part I of the paper concludes with the result that market based regulation is an essential and vital tool in the Basel Committee's efforts to address some of the challenges presented by liquidity risks. The present paper highlights the Basel Committee's acknowledgement of this conclusion. Furthermore, it draws attention to other areas which are considered to constitute fertile substrates for purposes of future research. This paper will also illustrate why the potential of banking regulations and disclosure requirements to impact risk taking levels is not only dependent on certain factors such as the dissemination of information to appropriate recipients, appropriate volume of disseminated information, when to disseminate such information, but also on other factors such as ownership structures and effective corporate governance measures aimed fostering monitoring, supervision and accountability. In arguing that additional leverage ratios which have recently been proposed by the Basel Committee will play a key role in facilitating the diversification of banks' liquid assets – via the new liquidity standards (Liquidity Coverage Ratio and the Net Stable Funding Ratio), contribution is also made to the current discussion on the resilience of the banking sector – albeit from the perspective of the stabilisation of the entire system.


Proteasome inhibitors (PIs), especially bortezomib (BTZ), have come to the forefront over the last years because of their unprecedented efficacy mainly against multiple myeloma (MM). Unfortunately, peripheral neuropathy (PN) secondary to treatment of MM with PIs has emerged as a clinically relevant complication, which negatively impacts the quality of life of MM survivors. Bortezomib‐induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN) is a dose‐limiting toxicity, which develops in 30% to 60% of patients during treatment. Typically, BIPN is a length‐dependent sensory axonopathy characterized by numbness, tingling, and severe neuropathic pain in stocking and glove distribution. BIPN mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Experimental studies suggest that aggresome formation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, myotoxicity, microtubule stabilization, inflammatory response, and DNA damage could contribute to this neurotoxicity. A new generation of structurally distinct PIs has been developed, being increasingly used in clinical settings. Carfilzomib exhibits a much lower neurotoxicity profile, with a significantly lower incidence of PN compared to BTZ. Pre‐existing PN increases the risk of developing BIPN. Besides, BIPN is related to dose, schedule and mode of administration and modifications of these factors have lowered the incidence of PN. However, to date there is no cure for PIs‐induced PN (PIIPN), and a careful neurological monitoring and dose adjustment is a key strategy for preserving quality of life. This review critically looks at the pathogenesis, incidence, risk factors, both clinical and pharmacogenetics, clinical phenotype and management of PIIPN. We also make recommendations for further elucidating the whole clinical spectrum of PIIPN.