Safety and reliability of liquid ammonia storage tank is very important. The stress of manhole is high and complex, so it is necessary to analyse welding stress of manhole of liquid ammonia storage tank. This paper ignored the complex process in the weld pool, simulated complex thermal process in weld pool by continuous conductive welding heat source, deduced the calculation formula of maximum stress by establishing Gaussian heat source model of carbon dioxide welding, and modified stress exponent k of cylindrical pressure vessel. This new method has a positive meaning for welding stress analysis of pressure vessel.


Neurodegenerative diseases are fatal disorders in which disease pathogenesis results in the progressive degeneration of the central and/or the peripheral nervous systems. These diseases currently affect -2% of the population but are expected to increase in prevalence as average life expectancy increases. The majority of these diseases have a complex genetic basis. The work presented in this thesis aimed to investigate the genetic basis of two neurodegenerative diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the human prion diseases kuru and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), using novel complex genetic approaches. ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in which motor neurons are seen to degenerate. It is a complex disease with 10% of individuals having a family history and the remaining 90% of non-familial cases having some genetic component. The gene DYNC1H1 is involved in retrograde axonal transport and is a good candidate for ALS. In this thesis the genetic architecture of DYNC1H1 was elucidated and a mutation screen of exons 8, 13 and 14 was undertaken in familial forms of ALS and other motor neuron diseases. No mutations were found. A linkage disequilibrium (LD) based association study was conducted using two tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) which were identified as sufficient to represent genetic variation across DYNC1HI. These tSNPs were tested for an association with sporadic ALS (SALS) in 261 cases and 225 matched controls but no association was identified. Kuru is a devastating epidemic prion disease which affected a highly geographically restricted area of the Papua New Guinea highlands, predominantly affected adult women and children. Its incidence has steadily declined since the cessation of its route of transmission, endocannibalism, in the late 1950's. Kuru imposed strong balancing selection on codon 129 of the prion gene (PRNP). Analysis of kuru-exposed and unexposed populations showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) consistent with the known protective effect of codon 129 heterozygosity. Signatures of selection were investigated in the surviving populations, such as deviations from HWE and an increasing cline in codon 129 valine allele frequency, which covaried with disease exposure. A novel PRNP G127V polymorphism was detected which, while common in the area of highest kuru incidence, was absent from kuru patients and unexposed population groups. Genealogical analysis revealed that the heterozygous PRNP G127V genotype confers strong prion disease resistance, which has been selected by the kuru epidemic. Finally, PRNP copy number was investigated as a possible genetic mechanism for susceptibility to kuru and sCJD. No conclusive copy number changes were identified.


An important aspect of mental health in children is emotional resilience, the capacity to adapt to, and recover from, stressors and emotional challenges. Variation in trait mindfulness, ones disposition to attend to experiences with an open and nonjudgmental attitude, may be an important individual difference in children that supports emotional resilience. In this study, we investigated whether trait mindfulness was related to emotional resilience in response to stressful changes in education and home-life during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. We conducted a correlational study examining self-report data from July 2020 to February 2021, from 163 eight-to-ten-year-old children living in the US. Higher trait mindfulness scores correlated with less stress, anxiety, depression, and negative affect in children, and lower ratings of COVID-19 impact on their lives. Mindfulness moderated the relationship between COVID-19 child impact and negative affect. Children scoring high on mindfulness showed no correlation between rated COVID-19 impact and negative affect, whereas those who scored low on mindfulness showed a positive correlation between child COVID-19 impact and negative affect. Higher levels of trait mindfulness may have helped children to better cope with a wide range of COVID-19 stressors. Future studies should investigate the mechanisms by which trait mindfulness supports emotional resilience in children.


: From 1983 to 1985, ten men had combined transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and inguinal herniorrhaphy; hernia repair immediately preceded transurethral resection. Eight men had unilateral inguinal hernia repair and two had bilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy. Four men had additional procedures done concurrently. Follow-up ranged from 14 to 33 months (mean 22.4 months). There were no recurrent hernias or infections of the hernia incision. These results suggest that combined TURP and inguinal herniorrhaphy can be safely accomplished during a single period of anesthesia.


Ethnomathematics proposes the idea of mathematics that develops informally in cultural aspects of human's life.Mathematics is utilized through some daily activities such as grouping, counting, measuring, designing, playing, locating, etc. For specific group of people, mathematical activities can uniquely exist and develop. Hence, ethnomathematics can obviously be subject to diversity since it relies on culture of specific groups. The idea of ethnomathematics is promising to learning practice of school mathematics for at least two reasons. First, it can provide the context of learning which is undeniably familiar for learners living in specific area. Second, it enables the reinvention of relevant mathematical concepts which are already arranged formally in school curriculum. Kepulauan Riau province, one of provinces in Indonesia, has rich melayu culture that spreads across the entire islands. Wau kite and tenun melayuare the examples of many cultural items originating from Kepulauan Riau province. The making of Wau kite utilizes mathematical activity and precision to ensure the kite is fully functioning to be played and flown. Tenun melayu displays beautifully arranged geometrical patterns called corak-ragi that are created by particular technique that involves mathematics. This ethnography based qualitative study discovers the ethnomathematics behind the creating of Wau kiteandcorak-ragioftenun melayu. The data is obtained through interview andliterature study. Both data are triangulated to get a fuller information. The analysis is qualitatively described to deliver attention to two main analysis: etnomathematics domain analysis and ethnomathematics taxonomy analysis on Wau kiteandcorak-ragi oftenun melayu. The study indicates that creating of Wau kite heavily utilizes the length measurement which is a basic topic in school mathematics. Modelling of linear function-equation are other topics that can be reinvented. The creating ofcorakoftenun melayu and its variety applies the technique which is familiar to relevant mathematics topic in school such as transformation geometry (reflection, translation, rotation, and dilation). Other relevant concepts are symmetry, and transformation composition.


Abstract. Mercury speciation and isotopic fractionation processes
have been incorporated into the HAMOCC offline ocean tracer advection code.
The model is fast enough to allow a wide exploration of the sensitivity of
the Hg cycle in the oceans, and of factors controlling human exposure to
monomethyl-Hg through the consumption of fish. Vertical particle transport
of Hg appears to play a discernable role in setting present-day Hg
distributions, which we surmise by the fact that in simulations without
particle transport, the high present-day Hg deposition rate leads to an Hg
maximum at the sea surface, rather than a subsurface maximum as observed. Hg
particle transport has a relatively small impact on anthropogenic Hg uptake,
but it sequesters Hg deeper in the water column, so that excess Hg is
retained in the model ocean for a longer period of time after anthropogenic
Hg deposition is stopped. Among 10 rate constants in the model, steady-state
Hg concentrations are most sensitive to reactions that are sources or sinks
of Hg(0), the evasion of which to the atmosphere is the dominant sink term
in the surface ocean. Isotopic fractionations in the interconversion
reactions are most strongly expressed, in the isotopic signatures of
dissolved Hg, in reactions that involve the dominant dissolved species,
Hg(II), including mass independent fractionation during Hg photoreduction.
The Δ199Hg of MMHg in the model, subject to photoreduction
fractionation, reproduces the Δ199Hg of fish in the upper 1000 m of the ocean, while the impact of anthropogenic Hg deposition on Hg
isotope ratios is essentially negligible.


Abstract. Anthropogenic emission, meteorological conditions, and regional transport are the three major factors influencing heavy air pollution in China. The Hunan and Hubei provinces in the middle Yangtze River region border China's main air pollution areas, serving as the hub of regional transport of air pollutants. The meteorological formation mechanism of regional transport of air pollutants on heavy air pollution in the Hunan and Hubei provinces still remain urgent to be addressed in depth. In this study, multivariate empirical orthogonal function (MV-EOF) analysis was performed to objectively select eight typical heavy pollution events in the two provinces that occured in January 2015–2019. Based on the regional surface environment, meteorological network data, atmospheric sounding data, ERA-interim reanalysis data, and a numerical simulation experiment, this study investigated the pattern of regional transport of air pollutants in the two provinces and its mechanism of regional meteorological conditions. The results showed that transporting air pollutants mainly passed through two transport pathways, namely the Nanxiang Basin-Yunmeng Plain pathway and the Dabie Mountain's Hilly Area-Yunmeng Plain pathway, existing anomalous near-surface northerly winds in the two provinces and their upstream area accompanied by southward penetration of a shallow cold layer, all of which jointly provide a dynamic condition for regional air pollutant transport. The weak cold-air mass degenerated as it passed through the Hunan–Hubei Plain, causing warm air to accumulate in the near-surface layer of the downstream area, where winds slowed down and converged, buffering the air pollutant transport and resulting in pollutants accumulation; the near-surface atmosphere of the Hunan and Hubei provinces was a non-stagnant condition (dry intrusion of cold air, anomalous northerly winds, and positive anomalies of boundary-layer height), which is conducive to the horizontal transport of air pollutants. However, the mid-high layers, characterized by temperature inversion and the presence of a warm lid , had a stable stratification, inhibiting the diffusion of air pollutants to the upper layers; there is an obvious longitudinal vertical circulation above the Hunan–Hubei Plain, which results in the sinking and accumulation of air pollutants, thereby promoting rapid accumulation of air pollutants in the Hunan and Hubei provinces. In addition, extended empirical orthogonal function (EEOF) analysis was performed, revealing a quasi-4-d periodic oscillation pattern of air pollutants transport in the Hunan and Hubei provinces, which provides a reference for early prediction of its regional transport. The findings are of practical value in broadening the scientific understanding of the differences in the formation mechanism of heavy atmospheric pollution between the various regions of China and promoting environmental and ecological protection of the middle Yangtze Basin.


Whereas hemoglobin (Hb) E-&bgr; thalassemia is recognized as probably the most common serious hemoglobinopathy worldwide, its natural history remains poorly defined. The interaction of hemoglobin E and &bgr;-thalassemia result in a wide spectrum of clinical disorders, some indistinguishable from thalassemia major and some milder and not transfusion-dependent. Partially as a result of this wide range of phenotypes, clear guidelines for approaches to transfusion and to iron-chelating therapy for patients with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia have not been developed. By contrast, data that have accumulated during the past 10 years in patients with &bgr;-thalassemia permit a quantitative approach to the management of iron overload and provide guidelines for the control of body iron burden in individual patients treated with iron-chelating therapy. These guidelines may be applicable to patients with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia. Preliminary evidence from our studies of iron loading in affected patients with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia in Sri Lanka suggest that this disorder may be associated with variable, but accelerated, gastrointestinal iron absorption, and that the iron loading associated with chronic transfusions in patients with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia is similar to that observed in patients with &bgr;-thalassemia. These data, in the only cohort of patients with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia to have undergone quantitative assessment of body iron burden, suggest that the principles that guide assessment of iron loading and initiation of chelating therapy in patients with &bgr;-thalassemia may be generally applicable to those with Hb E-&bgr; thalassemia. Further quantitative studies in both nontransfused and transfused patients will be necessary to permit firm conclusions.


(MS) in adults can be complicated, and even more so in children. Few studies have been conducted in children and some elements of the differential diagnosis are unique for young patients. Now, however, new findings in a retrospective study in the Sept. 23 issue of Neurology describe how MRI and CSF data can help predict which children develop MS after a first attack of inflammatory demyelination. These findings are similar to prognostic factors established in adults. The study investigators, led by Rogier Q. Hintzen, MD, PhD, head of the MS Center at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, reported that at least three of the Barkhof and KIDMUS (Kids with Multiple Sclerosis) Study Group prognostic criteria for MS were highly specific and predictive of MS disease progression in children, 10 and older. [For more specifics, see "Prognostic Criteria for MS."] The criteria by Barkhof were 92 percent specific and for KIDMUS, 96-percent specific for MS progression. But both sets of criteria showed low sensitivity for MS progression in children younger than 10 years old. Specifically, clinicians can look for such definite MS predictors as well-defined lesions, lesions perpendicular to the corpus callosum, monofocal onset, presence of CSF oligoclonal bands, and elevated IgG index — all prognostic factors in adults. In children (but not adults) MS can cause a syndrome with fever, headache, and encephalopathy that mimics encephalitis, the study authors noted. In the current study, however, encephalopathy was not a statistically significant predictor for MS progression. The take-home message for clinicians, according to Dr. Hintzen, is that in cases of suspected CNS demyelination, an MRI scan should be done and CSF should be examined for oligoclonal band testing, not only for differential diagnosis, but also to help distinguish monophasic variants from progressive, relapsing MS. Several experts, who were not involved with the study, commented that although the ideal management for these children is still not clear, the results provide a major advance for detecting pediatric MS. STUDY FINDINGS Investigators reviewed CSF and MRI data on 117 children, aged 16 or younger who had an attack compatible with a demyelinating CNS disease. After a mean followup of 54 months, nearly one-third of the 117 patients were diagnosed with MS. Forty-six percent of the children had had an initial attack, or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), involving single lesions in the optic nerve, brainstem, cerebellum, or spinal cord; 44 percent had a second attack and were diagnosed with MS. Nearly 54 percent of the children had multiple CNS lesions, but only 21 percent of this group had a second MS-defining attack. Generally, these children were younger and they also had encephalopathy, fever, headache, seizures, and an infection four weeks prior to symptom-onset of the first attack. EXPERTS COMMENT Sean J. Pittock, MD, a specialist in autoimmune neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, who was not involved in the study, said early prognostic factors for MS progression would be helpful for neurologists and also for patients — particularly because there is often debate about which immunodulatory therapies to use and when to start treatment. "The most reasonable approach is to explain the options for low-risk CIS patients and allow them to make an informed decision, whether to commit to disease-modifying agents or follow a watchful clinical and radiologic approach," Dr. Pittock said. High-risk patients, such as those with higher disease burden on imaging — more than nine T2 lesions and three periventricular lesions, infratentorial or juxtacortical — should be advised to consider immunomodulatory therapy. Dr. Pittock pointed out those children with multiple lesions, even without encephalopathy, are unlikely to develop MS, according to the study. This, he said, "argues for a watchful waiting approach with clinical and MRI follow-up for those children." Lauren B. Krupp, MD, professor of neurology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and director of the university's pediatric MS Center, said the study results will refine and strengthen the definitions of acute demyelinating events in childhood. But, she added, since the MRI and CNS predictors aren't absolute, they need to be communicated cautiously and clinical follow-up remains the standard for a definite diagnosis. The study authors noted that strengths of the study included the substantial number of multicenter, young subjects and the inclusion of CSF data. But they acknowledged that, among limitations, the study was retrospective and there was no standardized protocol for the MRI and CSF testing. Previous studies have reported that the absence of any lesion on brain MRI is the most favorable outcome measure in adults with CIS, Dr. Pittock said, but data regarding specific numbers of lesions in this study were lacking. Also, the study did not investigate whether the type of CIS (optic neuritis or transverse myelitis) or presence or absence of signs (such as focal weakness) were predictive of outcome. Still, Dr. Hintzen said, this study sets the stage for more patient-oriented pediatric MS research in Europe and collaborations in North America. He noted that a nationwide Dutch multicenter study group is now confirmed. • OCTOBER 2, 2008 | | NEUROLOGY TODAY | 11


BACKGROUND
Because cyclosporin A (CsA) and glucocorticoids inhibit the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and other cytokines, quantitative analysis of cytokine mRNA might constitute a pharmacodynamic measure for immunosuppressive drug effects. We investigated whether immunosuppressive drugs influence cytokine mRNA expression kinetics during T-cell costimulation.

METHODS
We used a human whole blood assay to determine basal (unstimulated) IL-2, IL-4, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA concentrations and expression kinetics after anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody costimulation in kidney transplant recipients undergoing CsA-based immunosuppressive triple therapy and in healthy controls (ex vivo study I). The effect of CsA on IL-2 mRNA expression kinetics was also determined ex vivo in patients undergoing CsA monotherapy (ex vivo study II) and after in vitro addition of CsA.

RESULTS
In ex vivo study I, basal TNF-alpha mRNA but not IL-2 and IL-4 mRNA was decreased in kidney transplant patients. We observed shifts in peak IL-2 and IL-4 (from 8 to 24 h) and TNF-alpha (from 4 to 8 h of costimulation) mRNA expression in kidney transplant patients after T-cell costimulation. In patients undergoing CsA monotherapy (ex vivo study II), the inhibitory effect of CsA was detectable as an individually delayed increase in IL-2 mRNA during costimulation. In vitro addition of CsA also induced a dose-independent displacement of IL-2 mRNA expression kinetics (i.e., a delay).

CONCLUSIONS
A delayed increase in cytokine mRNA expression during T-cell costimulation may represent a sensitive effect of immunosuppression. The single analysis of one absolute or peak mRNA value could be misleading. For prospective studies involving measurement of cytokine mRNA, we therefore suggest the parameter "area of cytokine mRNA expression over time", which should include absolute cytokine mRNA values at two different time points of mRNA kinetics.


This report contains the principal results of the
work performed during the 1971-72 academic year
by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Policy Research Project on Land Use Planning in
Austin, Texas. Research was done on population
projections, on demographic features of the immediate
past and probable future population, on
present and potential methods of dealing with land
use, and on the responses of prominent citizens to
questions about the nature of the city's problems
and acceptable solutions to them.*


Val In contrast to all other known tRNAs, mammalian tRNA1 contains two adenosines A59 and A60, opposite to U54 and 55 in the U WCG sequence of the TW C loop, which could form unusual A:U (or A:W ) pairs in addition to the five "normal" G:C pairs. In order to measure the number of G:C and A:U (A:W ) pairs in the T WC stem, we prepared the 30 nucleotide long 3'terminal frag- ment of this tRNA by "m7G-cleavage". From differentiated melting curves and temperature jump experiments it was concluded that-the TWOC stem in this fragment is in fact extended by an additional A6o:UJ4 pair. A dimer of this fragment with 14 base pairs was charac erized by gel electrophoresis and by the same physical methods. An additional A:U pair in the tRNAlal frag- ment does not necessarily mean that this is also true for intact tRNA. However, we showed that U54 is far less available for enzymatic methylation in mammalian tRNAyal compared to tRNA from T E.coli. This clear difference in U54 reactivity, together with the identification of an extra A60:U54 pair in the U WCG containing fragment suggests the presence of a 6 base pair TWC stem and a 5 nucleotide TO C loop in this tRNA.


FRP rubber bearing was developed just almost 10 years ago, and it is characterized by less weight, lower cost, and better damping capacity. In this paper, the concept of the FRP rubber bearing is introduced first, and a finite element simulation of the bearing is presented then. At last the effects of dimension parameters on the compression performance of FRP rubber bearing are investigated, including the tensile stresses of the FRP plates and the vertical stiffness of the bearing. The influence laws of the dimension parameters are preliminarily concluded, and which can be taken as a reference for the design of FRP rubber bearings.


Nucleotide excision repair (NER) activity was investigated in lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The NER process consists of two broad stages: incision/excision of the damaged oligonucleotide and resynthesis of the repair patch. NER in CLL lymphocytes was monitored with the use of in vitro biochemical assays, allowing the determination of either the extent of repair synthesis or the incision activity on damaged plasmid DNA during incubation with whole-cell protein extracts. Fresh CLL tumor cells were purified from the blood of 7 untreated patients and 11 patients who had been treated with chemotherapy. No repair activity was found in 14 extracts (7 treated and 7 untreated) or in normal blood peripheral lymphocytes. The defect was at the level of both repair synthesis and incision/excision activity of DNA damage. In contrast, 4 of the extracts exhibited 25-60% of the repair activity measured in an extract from a control repair-proficient cell line. A linear relationship was found between the values of DNA-repair synthesis and incision activities, which indicates that the extent of significant incision was the limiting factor in these protein extracts. All of the extracts that exhibited DNA-repair activity were purified from lymphocytes of treated patients. These data suggest that chemotherapy might exert an effect on the status of repair activity in the lymphoid tumor cells of patients.


We propose a low-power two-port SRAM for real-time video processing that exploits statistical similarity in images. To minimize the discharge power on a read bitline, a majority-logic circuit decides if input data should be inverted in a write cycle, so that ldquo1rdquos are in the majority. In addition, for further power reduction, write-in data are reordered into digit groups from the most significant bit group to the least significant bit group. The measurement result of a 68-kbit video memory in a 90-nm process demonstrates that a 45% power saving is achieved on the read bitline. The speed and area overheads are 4% and 7%, respectively.


In order to improve the safety of driving under different visibility meteorological conditions on the expressway, this paper analyses the composition and operation principle of the expressway lane departure warning and navigation system based on machine vision. And an effective lane mark identification algorithm suiting for different visibility situations is proposed. Firstly the image contrast between the expressway lane and its background is increased by using histogram equalization technology, improving detecting range of lanes and accuracy. Secondly the edges in the lane directions are detected by utilizing specific Sobel operator. In order to suit for different visibility situations and improve detecting efficiency, the method of maximum classes square error is applied to threshold segmentation. Finally, lane is abstracted according to expressway lane features after image Hough transform. Based on lanes identification, this paper designs a navigation algorithm of driving direction. This algorithm performs driving direction navigation decisions according to two characteristic parameters which are deviation angle and deviation distance. The experimental results indicate that the developed system exhibits good detection performances in recognition reliability and navigation decision. It has proved that this system has high accuracy, large detection range and high practicability.


There are many factors impacting student's decisions to attend college. Researchers investigated selfesteem, perceived academic abilities, and intended college attendance in a group of high school seniors involved in a program aimed at assisting them get into college. Participants were 83 senior high school students (males = 28, females = 55) from various high schools in Idaho. Many students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and were Caucasian (Caucasian = 40, Latino = 28, Asian = 6, African American = 2, and other = 6). Participants were asked 39 questions concerning intended college attendance, self-esteem, perceived academic abilities, and other factors that influenced their decision to attend college. Significant correlations were found between self-esteem and perceived academic abilities.


We consider the backward optical wave stimulated by a multimode, monochromatic, incident optical wave in a waveguide filled with a transparent nonlinear medium, when the incident wave is negligibly perturbed by the nonlinear processes. We derive the conditions on guide length, area, mode number, and Stokes shift in order that a given high percentage of the power in the backscattered field be the "phase conjugate" of the incident field, i.e., be proportional to its complex conjugate in the entrance plane of the waveguide.


Thermo-sensitive hydrogel have broad application prospects in biochemistry, medicine and other fields. In this paper, PEG as low melting point polymer was grafted at PVA which was as polymer framework of high melting point by copolymerization, a serials of new reversible phase-change materials were obtained and thermo-sensitive hydrogel were prepared because of their swelling properties. The hydrogel swelling behavior was analyzed, thermo-sensitive properties analysis was made by using DSC method, xerogel phase transition behavior was also studied and through which the relationship between PEG phase transition temperature and thermo-sensitive behaviors of the hydrogel was studied. The results showed that the thermo-sensitive hydrogel phase transition temperature was in the range of 36.3~43°C,and the phase transition temperature and the temperature sensitivity existed a certain relationship.


Rainfall data from 14 stations (cities, towns and major villages) spanning 26 years (1970 to 1995) were used to calculate reliability and vulnerability of rainfall in Botswana. Time series data for 72 years were generated from the long-term rainfall gauging stations and the number of wet and dry years determined. Apart from Mahalapye, most places have rainfall reliability greater than 0.5 but less than 0.7. Palapye and Serowe are the most vulnerable to flooding. During the 1995 floods, 87% of casualties were from these areas. Other factors such as rivers, topography, land use etc. can influence flooding vulnerability, but these have not been dealt with in the study, and hence vulnerability is purely based on rainfall amounts. Using two methods, the correlation coefficient is 0.9 (p<0.005) for reliability and risk values. The first method was originally developed for water resource system performance evaluation and the second method is based on dry/wet year sequences.


We consider the pricing of FX, inflation and stock options under stochastic interest rates and stochastic volatility, for which we use a generic multi-currency framework. We allow for a general correlation structure between the drivers of the volatility, the inflation index, the domestic (nominal) and the foreign (real) rates. Having the flexibility to correlate the underlying FX/inflation/stock index with both stochastic volatility and stochastic interest rates yields a realistic model that is of practical importance for the pricing and hedging of options with a long-term exposure. We derive explicit valuation formulas for various securities, such as vanilla call/put options, forward starting options, inflation-indexed swaps and inflation caps/floors. These vanilla derivatives can be valued in closed form under Schöbel and Zhu [Eur. Finance Rev., 1999, 4, 23–46] stochastic volatility, whereas we devise an (Monte Carlo) approximation in the form of a very effective control variate for the general Heston [Rev. Financial Stud., 1993, 6, 327–343] model. Finally, we investigate the quality of this approximation numerically and consider a calibration example to FX and inflation market data.


The chapter discusses whether YouTube empowers professional amateurs (Pro-Ams) to build the agenda of their channels independently. It also explores the development of YouTube from being a user-dominated platform into an institutionalized medium in its post-Google era. In-depth interviews were conducted with a group of 19-Pro-Ams in Saudi Arabia, representing two YouTube video-producing companies to explore the business model of their channels, how they feel empowered, and how their work is affected by culture, business, and politics. Attempting to re-interview them after 4 years, only one respondent agreed to participate. The results show that the leading YouTube channels in Saudi Arabia attract millions of views monthly. The business model of the channels shows that they are run in a semi-professional style by using personal and advertising funding. The Pro-Ams feel empowered thanks to the routine-free, low cost, and easy-to-use popular platform. They launched their channels to "broadcast" themselves, but with the professionalization and monetization, they had to accommodate the agenda of the audience, the advertisers, and the regime. Eventually, the model was either discontinued or reduced to be an advertising/entrainment platform. The lack of regulations has been always a challenge for these Pro-Ams to get licensed and have a legal standing.


Active learning has been demonstrated to be a useful tool to reduce human labeling effort for many multimedia applications, especially for those handling large video collections. However, most of the previous work on active learning has focused on only binary classification, which greatly limits the applicability of active learning. We present a multi-class active learning approach which extends active learning from binary classification to multi-class classification using a unified representation with margin-based loss functions. The experimental results on the TREC03 semantic feature extraction task shows that the proposed active learning approach works effectively even with a significantly reduced amount of labeled data.


This book provides an analysis of the highly politicized field of Roma inclusion and addresses the controversies surrounding the effectiveness of the funding initi- atives derived from European cohesion policy. It confronts the widely held notion that European financial transfers (Structural Funds) are highly suitable instruments for addressing the systemic causes of poverty and for facilitating changes towards substantive equality for Europe's largest ethnic minority. Shedding critical light on the Structural Funds programme, it offers an innovative approach to thinking about the value of European funding schemes and the efficacy of national Roma inclusion strategies. Multidisciplinary in approach, it draws on rich interview material and literature from fields including policy implementation, new public governance, equality studies, and political representation. Why Good Intentions Fail examines the implementation of European funding in Spain and Slovakia, two countries with contrasting policy outputs, and offers a nuanced picture of the way European cohesion policy interacts with the intricacies of domestic policy- making. It thus sheds light on the key challenges facing Roma inclusion strategies in contemporary Europe and will be of interest to scholars interested in European studies, equality policy, new public governance, and minority studies.


In ownership-based access control frameworks with the possibility of delegating permissions and administrative rights, chains of delegated accesses will form. There are different ways to treat these delegation chains when revoking rights, which give rise to different revocation schemes. One possibility studied in the literature is to revoke rights by issuing negative authorizations, meant to ensure that the revocation is resilient to a later reissuing of the rights, and to resolve conflicts between principals by giving precedence to predecessors, i.e. principals that come earlier in the delegation chain. However, the effects of negative authorizations have been defined differently by different authors. Having identified three definitions of this effect from the literature, the first contribution of this paper is to point out that two of these three definitions pose a security threat. However, avoiding this security threat comes at a price: We prove that with the safe definition of the effect of negative authorizations, deciding whether a principal does have access to a resource is an NP-complete decision problem. We discuss two limitations that can be imposed on an access-control system in order to reduce the complexity of the problem back to a polynomial complexity: Limiting the length of delegation chains to an integer m reduces the runtime complexity of determining access to O(nm), and requiring that principals form a hierarchy that graph-theoretically forms a rooted tree makes this decision problem solvable in quadratic runtime. Finally we discuss an approach that can mitigate the complexity problem in practice without fully getting rid of NP-completeness.


Paracaprellapusilla Mayer, 1890 is a tropical caprellid species recently introduced to the Eastern Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we used direct sequencing of mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and nuclear (28S and ITS) genes to compare genetic differences in presumed native and introduced populations in order to infer its introduction pattern and to shed light on the native range of this species. The temporal pattern of genetic diversity at the westernmost limit of the geographic range of P.pusilla in Europe (the Atlantic coast of southern Spain) over an eight-year period was also investigated. Our results confirm P.pusilla as a neocosmopolitan species and suggest that the species is native to the Atlantic coast of Central and South America. Paracaprellapusilla seems to have been introduced into European waters from multiple introduction pathways and source populations, which are likely to include populations from coastal waters of Brazil. Multiple introduction pathways may have been involved, with the most important being commercial shipping through the Strait of Gibraltar. While this tropical species appears to be expanding in the Mediterranean, populations from the westernmost limit of its geographic range in Europe showed a temporal instability. This study constitutes the first molecular approach focused on this species, but it is also the first study of temporal change in genetic diversity of any introduced marine amphipod. Additional intensive sampling of this species, including both native and non-native populations, and detailed temporal studies are still necessary to properly understand how genetic diversity influences the introduction and survival of P.pusilla in invaded areas.


The blue boys: the School of Instrument Makers in the Leiden Physical Laboratory of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853-1926) is famous for his work in low temperature physics. In 1908 he was the first ever to liquefy Helium. Three years later, in his Leiden cryogenic laboratory, he discovered the extraordinary effect of superconductivity. What was the secret of his success? Of course he had a coherent theoretical program, perseverance and a talent to persuade the right people, but also such a Big Science effort couldn't do without strong technical support. The way Kamerlingh Onnes organised this support, by creating a school of instrument makers as an integral part of his laboratory, is a unique feature of his cryogenic work and a decisive factor in its success. In 1882 Kamerlingh Onnes started as a professor of experimental physics in Leiden. His goal was to test the molecular theories of J.D. van der Waals. As a consequence he needed a laboratory for extremely low temperatures. Starting with one technician, Onnes soon opened the doors of his (simple) workshop for a few 14-18 year old boys, who were trained as technicians. These 'blue boys' (the name refers to the work clothes they had to wear) were obliged to visit a local technical school in the evening. Onnes used this small army of cheap technicians (in 1898 there were 16 of them; six years later 32) for building up his laboratory and performing measurements. But the blue boys themselves profited too: after a few years of hard training they could get a job anywhere (Onnes employed the best trainees himself). To guarantee the continuation of the system, which was essential in running the huge cryogenic laboratory he needed, the workshop training was institutionalized. In 1901 Kamerlingh Onnes founded the Leiden School of Instrument Makers. It was completely integrated in his laboratory. The way he succeeded to raise the money needed for his school and the way this school earned a solid reputation in Dutch technical education and abroad, shows that Kamerlingh Onnes was not only a very succesfull experimental physicist, but also a brilliant organiser.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Low-income adults in the United States have historically had poor access to dental services largely due to limited dental coverage. Objective: We examined the effects of recent Medicaid income-eligibility expansions under the Affordable Care Act on dental visits separately for preventive care and treatments. Research Design: We used restricted data from the 2011 to 2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey with state geocodes. The main analytical sample included nearly 21,000 individuals who were newly eligible for Medicaid. We employed a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design to identify the impact of the state Medicaid expansions effective in 2014 on dental services use by the level of state Medicaid dental benefit for the newly eligible. Results: Expanding Medicaid in 2014 with extensive or limited dental coverage increased preventive dental visits and use of major dental treatments by over 5 percentage-points in 2014 and 2015. The increase in preventive visits continued in 2016 in expanding states with extensive coverage, while increase in major dental treatments continued in 2016 in expanding states with limited coverage. There is some but less consistent evidence of an increase in dental treatment with emergency-only coverage. Conclusions: Medicaid expansions with dental coverage beyond emergency-only services have increased access of the newly eligible low-income adults to dental treatments and preventive services, with extensive coverage showing continuing increase in preventive services use 3 years after the expansion. With limited coverage, there is some evidence of individuals needing to stretch treatments over a longer period. Providing comprehensive dental coverage can address unmet dental needs and improve oral health among low-income adults.


The prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster forms communal groups by retention of philopatric offspring and the addition of unrelated individuals at malefemale and single female breeding units. Populations undergo high amplitude fluctuations in density with frequent low density bottle necks of 10-15 generations. We review the mating system and social behavior of the prairie vole with respect to potential for formation of genetically unique trait groups within the population as predicted by group selection theory. Hormonal-behavioral interactions reduce the opportunity for inbreeding within communal groups. Demographic traits, combined with dispersal and settlement behavior of those offspring that do disperse from the natal nest are such that breeding units would rarely include related animals. We predict that genetically distinct trait groups do not form in prairie vole populations, including during periods of low density bottlenecks.


tissue inhibitors and accumulation oxidized lipids in the conjunctiva and around the site of operation and glaucoma shunts. Tear fluid proteome is a novel technique to get detailed information about the processes of the anterior surfaces of the eye and could easily be performed. It is a powerful tool when developing new, more efficient and safer therapeutic options for eye diseases. It has also proven to be a promising technique for detecting biomarkers for ocular surface disease, ocular inflammation and predicting thus the success of glaucoma surgery.


Renewable energy sources are ecological and sustainable solutions accepted with a common consensus under the sustainable development goals. Energy source exploration has enforced the human race to think about sustainable energy production as fossil fuels are non-renewable and are having a negative impact on ecosystem. Consumer needs and wants are the key for acceptance of renewable energy and making production a possibility. The real challenge is with the consumer market for the acceptance of green energy. The current research is based on the concept of GREEN consumer values synergizing with renewable energy sources, and eco innovation for sustainability in India. The crucial point of study is assessing GREEN consumer values which are the determining factor for consumption. All five renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass) have received a higher level of acceptance by respondents which shows that India is on its way to enhancing its capacity for renewable energy. Indian consumer values are very much aligned with eco sustainability, and the market is ready to consume renewable energy.


One of the key factors to measure the progress of a research problem is the design of appropriate evaluation protocols defined on suitable databases. Recently, the introduction of comprehensive databases and benchmarks of face videos has had a great impact on the development of new face recognition techniques. However, most of the protocols provided for these datasets are limited and do not capture requirements of unconstrained scenarios. That is why sometimes the performance of face recognition methods on current benchmarks seems to be saturated. To address this lack, the tendency is to collect new datasets, which is more expensive and sometimes the main the problem is not the data but the protocols. In this work, we propose new relevant evaluation protocols for the YouTube Faces database (REP-YTF) supporting face verification and open/closed-set identification. The proposal better fits realistic face recognition scenarios and allows us to test existing algorithms at relevant assessment points, under different openness values and taking both videos and images as the gallery. We provide an extensive experimental evaluation, by combining several well-established feature representations with three different metric learning algorithms. The obtained results show that by using the proposed evaluation protocols, there is room for improvement in the recognition performance on the YouTube Faces database.


In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out to investigate and analyze the gradual effects of thermal buoyancy strength on laminar flow of an incompressible viscous fluid and heat transfer rate inside a 180° curved channel of square cross-section. The governing equations of continuity, momentum and energy balance are obtained and solved numerically using finite volume method. The effect of Dean number, De, and Richardson number, Ri, on dimensionless velocity profiles and Nusselt number are examined for the conditions: De = 125 to 150, Ri = 0 to 2 at Pr = 1. The mean results are illustrated in terms of streamline and isotherm contours to interpret the flow behaviors and its effect on heat transfer rate. Dimensionless velocity profiles and the local Nusselt number at the angle 0° and 90° are presented and discussed. Also, the average Nusselt number on surfaces of curved duct is computed. The obtained results showed that by adding thermal buoyancy to computed domain, some early Dean vortices are observed at the angle 0° and new sort are observed at 90°. Furthermore, increase in Dean number increases the heat transfer rate. In other hand, increase in Richardson number decreases the average Nusselt number of 180° curved duct.


Investment in capital, both physical and financial, and innovation in its uses are often considered the linchpin of modern economic growth, while credit and credit markets now seem to determine the wealth - as well as the fate - of nations. Yet was it always thus? The Roman economy was large, complex, and sophisticated, but in terms of its structural properties did it look anything like the economies we know and are familiar with today?

Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, the individual essays comprising this volume go straight to the heart of the matter, exploring such questions as how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth. Their authors consider multiple aspects of capital use in agriculture, water management, trade, and urban production, and of credit provision, finance, and human capital, covering different periods of Roman history and ranging geographically across Italy and elsewhere in the Roman world. Utilizing many different types of written and archaeological evidence, and employing a range of modern theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the contributors, an expert international team of historians and archaeologists, have produced the first book-length contribution to focus exclusively on (physical and financial) capital in the Roman world; a volume that is aimed not only at specialists in the field, but also at economic historians and archaeologists specializing in other periods and places.


We assessed the effects of dietary consumption of soy isoflavone aglycones on the reproductive tract of sexually mature male and female mice. Isoflavone concentrates with a ratio of 10:1, 2:1 or 1:10 genistein:daidzein (G:D) were added to provide 120 mg total isoflavones/1800 Calories (approximately 40 mg/kg body weight) to diets having either casein/lactalbumin or soy protein isolate as the source of protein. After 16 weeks, mice were necropsied and gross and histopathologic assessments of uterus, vagina, testes and accessory sex glands were completed. Effects of the 10G:1D isoflavone concentrates were absent or minimal in females but in males included atrophy of accessory sex glands. In contrast, the 2G:1D and 1G:10D concentrates caused dramatic estrogenic effects in both male and female mice. Effects in females included endometritis and effects typical of estrogenic stimulation (i.e., uterine enlargement, keratinization of vaginal epithelium, increased height of endometrial surface epithelial cells, and uterine squamous metaplasia). Effects in males included reduced plasma testosterone concentrations, atrophy of seminiferous epithelium, atrophy of accessory sex glands, and squamous metaplasia of seminal vesicles. Some effects varied with protein source. We conclude that a diet containing approximately 40 mg/kg soy isoflavone aglycones with a genistein:daidzein ratio of 2:1 or less has marked estrogenic effects on the reproductive system of male and female mice.


Abstract Garnet is a common metamorphic and igneous mineral with extensive solid solution that can be stable to mantle depths ≥400 km. High-T and/or high-P garnet may contain oriented lamellae of other minerals, most commonly simple oxides (e.g., rutile, ilmenite), apatite, and, in ultrahigh-P cases, silicates including pyroxene and amphibole. Lamellae have classically been considered to be precipitation features preserving a record of former garnet chemistry richer in the lamellae nutrients (e.g., Ti4+). Such microtextural origins in precipitation systems (e.g., alloys) have long been studied via the crystallographic orientation relationships (COR) that form between a host and a separating phase, and by the shape-preferred orientation (SPO) of the lamellae. Recently, however, alternative hypotheses to precipitation have been suggested that require emplacement of lamellae in garnet by fluids, or co-growth, overgrowth, or inheritance mechanisms. These hypotheses posit that lamellae cannot be used to study former garnet chemistry. Moreover, they predict that lamellae phases, SPO, and COR should differ widely between localities, as lamellae formation will be controlled by various local rock-specific factors such as fluid presence, fluid chemistry, or mineral growth sequence. On the other hand, if lamellae characteristics are largely consistent between localities, it likely reflects control by precipitation energetics, rather than external factors. There have been few comparative COR studies in geologic systems, but the integrative assessment of COR, SPO, and lamellae assemblages should fingerprint lamellae growth process. To test the precipitation and alternative hypotheses, we collected large electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data sets for rutile, ilmenite, and apatite lamellae in garnet from the Brimfield Schist, Connecticut (≥1000 °C metamorphism; Central Maine Terrane, U.S.A.). We analyzed these data alongside published EBSD data for rutile, ilmenite, and corundum from metapegmatites metamorphosed in the eclogite facies from the Austrian Alps (Griffiths et al. 2016). The apatite data set is the first of its kind, and reveals that apatite preferentially aligns its close-packed direction parallel to that of garnet (c-axisapatite//<111>garnet). We also recognize a rutile-garnet COR related to those in meteorites with Widmanstätten patterns that are unequivocal products of exsolution. This is the first identification of direct similarities between silicate-oxide and metal-metal COR of which we are aware. Significantly, this rutile-garnet COR is found in diverse geologic settings including Connecticut and Idaho (U.S.A.), Austria, Germany, Greece, and China over a broad range of bulk-rock compositions. Results for all lamellae minerals show that COR are largely consistent between localities and, furthermore, are shared between apatite, ilmenite, and corundum. Moreover, between 70% and 95% of lamellae have COR and there is a dominant COR for each lamellae phase. Calculations show that d-spacing ratios of host-lamellae pairs can successfully predict the most commonly observed specific COR (those COR with two or more axial alignments with the host). These results, especially similarity of COR from markedly different geologic settings and a low diversity of lamellae minerals, are fully consistent with lamellae formation by precipitation (likely via exsolution). In contrast, the alternative hypotheses remain unsupported by COR results as well as by mineralogical and petrological evidence. Lamellae with similar traits as those in this work should thus be considered precipitates formed during unmixing of garnet compositions originally stable at elevated or extreme pressures and temperatures.


The ongoing digital revolution may lead to a radical departure from the traditional model of monetary exchange. We may see an unbundling of the separate roles of money, creating fiercer competition among specialized currencies. On the other hand, digital currencies associated with large platform ecosystems may lead to a re-bundling of money in which payment services are packaged with an array of data services, encouraging differentiation but discouraging interoperability between platforms. Digital currencies may also cause an upheaval of the international monetary system: countries that are socially or digitally integrated with their neighbors may face digital dollarization, and the prevalence of systemically important platforms could lead to the emergence of digital currency areas that transcend national borders. Central bank digital currency (CBDC) ensures that public money remains a relevant unit of account.


Young children generally learn words from other people. Recent research has shown that children can learn new actions and skills from nonhuman agents. This study examines whether young children could learn words from a robot. Preschool children were shown a video in which either a woman (human condition) or a mechanical robot (robot condition) labeled novel objects. Then the children were asked to select the objects according to the names used in the video. The results revealed that children in the human condition were more likely to select the correct objects than those in the robot condition. Nevertheless, the five-year-old children in the robot condition performed significantly better than chance level, while the four-year olds did not. Thus there is a developmental difference in children's potential to learn words from a robot. The results contribute to our understanding of how children interact with non-human agents. Keywords: developmental cybernetics; word learning; social cognition; cognitive development


Djibouti is very well placed, as a landing site of undersea fiber optic cables, to benefit from the digital economy. However, the prevalence of a single national telecom operator in the country has stifled service delivery and innovation in the telecom sector. Mobile broadband coverage and access to internet in Djibouti in 2018 remains below that of many Sub-Saharan African countries. This paper simulates the impact of the introduction of competition on the telecom sector's prices and its implications for households' welfare. The analysis finds important gains in welfare among current users of telecom services, with the largest gains going to the richest households. On the extensive margin, the analysis also finds a higher likelihood of take up of telecom services across the consumption distribution but skewed toward the rich. More work is needed to understand the implications of changes in the telecom sector, especially as greater access may lead to more unequal access, at least in the short term.


In this work, we provide a solution to the problem of computing collision stress in particle-tracking simulations. First, a formulation for the collision stress between particles is derived as an extension of the virial stress formula to general-shaped particles with uniform or non-uniform mass density. Second, we describe a collision-resolution algorithm based on geometric constraint minimization which eliminates the stiff pairwise potentials in traditional methods. The method is validated with a comparison to the equation of state of Brownian spherocylinders. Then we demonstrate the application of this method in several emerging problems of soft active matter.


Required courses for agribusiness degrees at forty-three schools were divided into six categories. The ranges in the percentage of required credits by category were quite large. Industry leaders, alumni, and employers have suggested increasing the course work on communications and business skills to improve the curricula. However, a comparison of degree requirements over time for a sample of twelve programs did not reveal major increases in emphasis for these areas. Departments should consider customer needs and competing programs as they review their curricula and attempt to add more value to their educational products.


Recent strong growth of China's exports has elevated the country to a rising global economic power and caused geo-political concern to policy-makers in the country and its trading partners world-wide. What are the determinants of this growth, how has it affected major economies in ASEAN (World Bank, 2009) in particular, and what kind of evidence-based responses are required and appropriate? The paper focuses on the first issue and introduces an endogenous trade model (ETM) and, using historical data, empirically investigates the causes of China's exports in recent years for regional trade policy analysis. The ETM (see Tran Van Hoa, 2004, 2008a for earlier applications) is a system approach and contains improved structural and modelling features, in comparison to conventional gravity theory, panel regression and CGE/GTAP, to provide more credible outcomes and policy options in the sense of Friedman (1953) and Kydland (2006). Significantly, the ETM also incorporates multiple structural changes in the form of crises and policy reforms to accommodate and manage recent economic and financial developments in regional and global economies. Policy options and choice recommendations are, finally, suggested for debate and analysis.


Medical dictionaries represent, among the other things, an important pedagogic genre (Swales 1995, Bhatia, 1997, Hyland 2000) within academic education, since they are the means through which professional writers talk about their disciplines and address to scholars. The preface sections are of the utmost importance since, among several functions, they (should) attract and orient the readers (Azar, 2012). This paper describes the macro structure of preface sections in fourteen English dictionaries related to the field of medicine and investigates on the rhetorical and discursive devices employed in these texts to establish the importance of the author's work. In addition, the paper questions on the nature of dictionaries readership and, as such, addressing moves are analysed.
The preface sections were extracted from the fourteen dictionaries published between 1719 and 1949 in order to assess the potential reader to whom these manuals are addressed and to identify the moves, the rhetorical and discursive devices that occur in the medical text prefaces. Move structure is analysed according to a taxonomy of categories adapted from Swales (1990) and Bhatia (1993).

More importantly, results are studied within the historical context in which these dictionaries are published and within the medical advances that took place between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The study of medical dictionaries in terms of their generic structures and functions (Swales, 1990) can be useful for researchers willing to understand how societal changes modify group-communities and their specific and generic knowledge.


Gain a solid understanding of how information theoretic approaches can inform the design of more secure information systems and networks with this authoritative text. With a particular focus on theoretical models and analytical results, leading researchers show how techniques derived from the principles of source and channel coding can provide new ways of addressing issues of data security, embedded security, privacy, and authentication in modern information systems. A wide range of wireless and cyber-physical systems is considered, including 5G cellular networks, the Tactile Internet, biometric identification systems, online data repositories, and smart electricity grids. This is an invaluable guide for both researchers and graduate students working in communications engineering, and industry practitioners and regulators interested in improving security in the next generation of information systems.


As the only still used pictographs in the world, NaXi pictographs has been used in computer information processing. However, the technology of processing minority scripts hasn't been applied on mobile platform. Using Eclipse, this paper has developed a NaXi Pictographs Mobile Phone Dictionary Based on J2ME. Via Fast Searching Algorithm of Trie tree, we achieved the goal of NaXi-Chinese query and online update of the lexicon. To the problem of display NaXi pictographs on the MT (Mobile Terminal), we extracted matrix font of NaXi pictographs. The realization of NaXi Pictographs Mobile Phone Dictionary drew a new page on the history of information processing on Chinese minority scripts mobile, as well as a great reference for information processing on other minority scripts.


ABSTRACT Bazgirkhoob, H.; Linhoss, A., and Armandei, M., 2022. A numerical tool for dissolved oxygen simulation in the western Mississippi Sound. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(4), 699–711. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Dissolved oxygen is an indicator of aquatic health. Hydrodynamic–water quality models facilitate the understanding of flow dynamics and dissolved oxygen in estuarine systems. In this study, dissolved oxygen concentration, seasonality, and vertical stratification were studied in the western Mississippi Sound, Northern Gulf of Mexico. Visual Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code and the water quality model CE-QUAL-ICM were linked together to develop a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model of the western Mississippi Sound. The model was verified and validated for nutrients and chlorophyl a. Then, the modeled results for dissolved oxygen were compared to measured data. Mean observed dissolved oxygen ranged between 6.29 and 8.48 mg/L in the top and bottom layers at each site. The root mean squared error between measured and modeled dissolved oxygen ranged between 1.30 and 2.87 mg/L. Results indicate that the model was able to capture measured seasonal trends and vertical stratification. The model simulated more realistic results in shallower areas compared to deeper areas. Overall, the model simulated slightly higher dissolved oxygen than what was measured, although 27% of the stations showed no statistical difference between the modeled and measured dissolved oxygen. These results are useful for interpreting the value of this model for future ecological studies. The model can be used as a tool to provide better understanding of the dissolved oxygen dynamics due to multiple scenarios such as hurricanes and storms.


Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of global disability. Post stroke rehabilitation program becomes the key to gain functional recovery. Thus it minimizes disabilities. Multiple studies have been carried out to gain greater functional outcomes for post stroke patients, including medical therapy such as supplements. However, supplement effectiveness in providing stroke recovery or prevention is still debatable. There is no data of supplement consumption among post stroke patients; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the supplement consumption among post stroke patients. Methods: This study was a cross sectional descriptive study using primary data with a consecutive sampling method. Minimum samples for this study were 42 post stroke respondents who followed rehabilitation program. This study was conducted at Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung from June until November 2013. The interviews were done after written informed consent was obtained. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distributin and proportion were used to analyze the data. Results: From 42 respondents, 23 (55%) respondents consumed the supplement. From 34 supplements recorded, 56% were herbs supplements; followed by multivitamin (29%), mineral (6%), multivitamin and mineral (6%), and other supplement (3%). The most frequent ingredients composed in the supplements were B1, B6 and B12 vitamin (7%). Conclusions : More than a half of post stroke patients at Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital are supplement users, with herbal supplements as the majority. The most frequent ingredients used are B1, B6 and B12 vitamin. [AMJ.2016;3(3):451–8] DOI: 10.15850/amj.v3n3.865


Chronic intermittent hypoxia, a characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is associated with the progression of simple hepatic steatosis to necroinflammatory hepatitis. We determined whether inhibition of a hypoxia-induced signaling pathway could attenuate hypoxia-exacerbated lipoapoptosis in human hepatocytes. The human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) was used in this study. Palmitic acid (PA)-treated groups were used for two environmental conditions: Hypoxia (1% O2) and normoxia (20% O2). Following the treatment, the cell viability was determined by the 3,4-(5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium salt (MTS) assay, and the mechanism of lipoapoptosis was evaluated by Western blotting. Hypoxia exacerbated the suppression of hepatocyte growth induced by palmitic acid via activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways as a result of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and oxidative stresses. Ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, attenuated the hypoxia-exacerbated lipoapoptosis in hepatocytes, whereas glycerol, which reduces ER stress, did not. This may have been because inhibition of oxidative stress decreases the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, such as caspase 9 and cytochrome c. These results suggested that modulation of apoptotic signaling pathways activated by oxidative stress can aid in identifying novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with OSA. Further in vivo studies are necessary to understand the pathophysiologic mechanism of NASH with OSA and to prove the therapeutic effect of the modulation of the signaling pathways.


A research guide designed to complement the Wilson Music Library's orientation sessions for first-year students entering the Blair School of Music.


Neopterygii is the largest known group of ray-finned fishes today, and the Luganoiidae, recognized by its specialized skull and greatly deepened flank scales, is a stem lineage of this group in the Middle Triassic. Since its naming in 1939, the Luganoiidae has been represented solely by the marine species Luganoia lepidosteoides found near the Ladinian/Anisian boundary of the southern and eastern Switzerland, northern Italy and southeastern Spain. Here, I report the discovery of a new species of this genus, Luganoia fortuna sp. nov. based on a nearly complete specimen from the late Middle Triassic (Ladinian) marine deposits exposed near Xingyi, Guizhou, China. The discovery represents the first record of the Luganoiidae in Asia, indicating that the biogeographical distribution of this family is much wider than previously recognized. Comparative studies of the new species with the type species from Europe reveal some anatomical features previously unnoticed in Luganoia , e.g., the presence of antorbitals, absence of a plate-like quadratojugal, presence of a narrow naked region of the body at the base of the dorsal fin, presence of a small anal fin closer to the caudal fin than to the pelvic fin, and absence of postcleithra. An amended diagnosis of the genus is presented. Moreover, the distinguishable features between the Chinese and European species are highlighted in this study, and they provide valuable information on the morphological diversification of Luganoia .


NOVA Libraries affirms that BLACK LIVES MATTER. Here you can: (1) Explore the history & conditions that have led to the unrest of 2020. (2) Find resources to move forward in antiracism as individuals & as an institution. Feedback to firstname.lastname@example.com.


Imaging is about reproducing the field, or more often the irradiance pattern of an object or scene, at an image plane. Geometrical optics, where optical rays are assumed to travel in rectilinear fashion without diffraction, is used extensively in lens and optical system design. Geometrical optics provides useful relationships between the object and image locations and sizes and is also applied in the analysis of the pupils of an imaging system. A proficient approach for image modeling draws on both geometrical optics and diffraction theory. This chapter begins with a review of geometrical imaging concepts and relationships that are helpful for the imaging simulations that follow. 7.1 Geometrical Imaging Concepts Not all optical systems form images. For example, a beam expander increases the size of a laser beam but doesn't image. However, our concern is with imaging, and in order to form a real image, light from an arbitrary object point must be collected and focused at the image plane. For the imaging situation shown in Fig. 7.1, the lens law (Gaussian form) describes the relationship needed under the
paraxial condition (small ray angles relative to the optical axis) for "best focus" imaging: (7.1) Here, f is the lens (or lens system) focal length, z 1 is the distance along the optical axis from the object to the front principal plane of the lens, and z 2 is the distance from the back principal plane to the image location. Principal planes are a virtual concept for geometrical lens analysis. They are normal to the optical axis. A ray incident on the front principal plane at some height from the optical axis will exit the back principal plane at the same height. In other words, principal planes are planes of unit magnification. For a "thin" lens, the front and back principal
planes are co-located in the plane with the vanishingly thin lens.


Physical literacy is a term and concept that has, in recent years, been gaining in both usage and popularity in many physical education (PE) contexts. However, discussion, writing, and understanding of physical literacy have been marked by uncertainty, confusion, or resistance. Since physical literacy can be found in several curricular documents and outcome statements, it would certainly be ideal for PE teachers to share a common understanding. This article reports on a qualitative case study in which 12 lead PE teachers from four Canadian provinces were interviewed, the purpose of which was to acquire knowledge about PE teachers' understanding of physical literacy. Results suggest that these leaders are largely unable to articulate conceptions of physical literacy that are in line with contemporary perspectives. In light of these findings, a discussion about these physical literacy (mis)understandings is also offered.


In this paper, we examine the nature of optimal inventory policies in a system where a retailer manages substitutable products. We first consider a system with two products 1 and 2 whose total demand is D and individual demands are negatively correlated. A fixed proportion of the unsatisfied customers for an item will purchase the other item if it is available in inventory. For the single-period case, we show that the optimal inventory levels of the two items can be computed easily and follow what we refer to as "partially decoupled" policies, i.e., base stock policies that are not state dependent, in certain critical regions of interest both when D is known and random. Furthermore, we show that such a partially decoupled base-stock policy is optimal even in a multiperiod version of the problem for known D for a wide range of parameter values and in an N-product single-period model under some restrictive conditions. Using a numerical study, we show that heuristics based on the decoupled inventory policy perform well in conditions more general than the ones assumed to obtain the analytical results. The analytical and numerical results suggest that the approach presented here is most valuable in retail settings for product categories where the level of substitution between items in a category is not high, demand variation at the aggregate level is not high, and service levels or newsvendor ratios are high.


Abstract Objective To examine the effectiveness of an intervention that combined continuing medical education with process improvement methods to implement "office systems" to improve the delivery of preventive care to children. Design Randomised trial in primary care practices. Setting Private paediatric and family practices in two areas of North Carolina. Participants Random sample of 44 practices allocated to intervention and control groups. Intervention Practice based continuing medical education in which project staff coached practice staff in reviewing performance and identifying, testing, and implementing new care processes (such as chart screening) to improve delivery of preventive care. Main outcome measure Change over time in the proportion of children aged 24-30 months who received age appropriate care for four preventive services (immunisations, and screening for tuberculosis, anaemia, and lead). Results The proportion of children per practice with age appropriate delivery of all four preventive services changed, after a one year period of implementation, from 7% to 34% in intervention practices and from 9% to 10% in control practices. After adjustment for baseline differences in the groups, the change in the prevalence of all four services between the beginning and the end of the study was 4.6-fold greater (95% confidence interval 1.6 to 13.2) in intervention practices. Thirty months after baseline, the proportion of children who were up to date with preventive services was higher in intervention than in control practices; results for screening for tuberculosis (54% v 32%), lead (68% v 30%), and anaemia (79% v 71%) were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Continuing education combined with process improvement methods is effective in increasing rates of delivery of preventive care to children.


The use of ICT tools in mathematics instructions has been proved to have a positive impact on students' success. However, little is known about the ICT readiness of both teachers and students to incorporate these tools in mathematics teaching-learning process. This study investigates the readiness of teachers and students to integrate ICT in mathematics teaching and learning at a higher education institution in Tanzania. Specifically the study assesses the device, skills and psychological readiness of teachers and students to integrate ICT tools in mathematics instructions. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods whereby data are collected through interviews and questionnaires respectively. Seven teachers and 129 bachelor degree students pursuing business studies, form the study population. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze the quantitative data while qualitative data are analyzed through content analysis. Results show that teachers and students have device, skills and psychological readiness to integrate ICT in teaching and learning of mathematics. This is significant as it provides information that will be useful in planning the use of ICT tools to benefit teaching and learning. This study contributes to transfer and diffusion of technology discourses.


Background: Functional MRI (fMRI) has shown promise as a tool to characterize altered brain function in Alzheimer disease (AD) and for use in proof of concept clinical trials. FMRI studies of subjects with AD have demonstrated altered hippocampal and neocortical activation while encoding novel stimuli compared to older controls. However, the relationship between fMRI activation and performance on standardized clinical trial memory measures has not been fully investigated. Objective: To determine whether patterns of activation during an associative-memory fMRI paradigm correlate with performance on memory measures used in AD clinical trials. Methods: Twenty-nine subjects with AD underwent neuropsychological testing, including the AD Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), and an associative-encoding fMRI paradigm. Scores were entered as regressors in SPM2 analyses of the differential fMRI activation to novel-vs-repeated (NvR) stimuli. To account for cerebral atrophy, native-space structure-function analyses were performed with subjects' high-resolution structural images. Results: Performance on the ADAS-Cog verbal memory component, and the ADAS-Cog total score, correlated with NvR activation in left superior temporal (p = 0.0003; r = −0.51) and left prefrontal (p = 0.00001; r = −0.63) cortices. In a subgroup with more extensive neuropsychological testing (n = 14), performance on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test was correlated with activation in these same regions. fMRI activation remained correlated with performance even when accounting for atrophy. Conclusions: The relationship between functional MRI (fMRI) activation and standardized memory measures supports the potential use of fMRI to investigate regional mechanisms of treatment response in clinical trials of novel therapies for Alzheimer disease. GLOSSARY: AD = Alzheimer disease; ADAS-Cog = AD Assessment Scale; EPI = echoplanar imaging sequence; FA = flip angle; FCSRT = Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test; FLAME = FMRIB's Local Analysis of Mixed Effects; fMRI = Functional MRI; FOV = field of view; GLM = general linear model; HRF = hemodynamic response function; LFG = left fusiform gyrus; LPFC = left prefrontal cortex; LSTG = left superior temporal gyrus; MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination; MTL = medial temporal lobe; NvR = novel-vs-repeated; ROI = region of interest; TE = echo time; TR = repetition time.


A new coding scheme using serial concatenated turbo TCM (SCTTCM) for enhanced VSB reception system is proposed. The proposed coding scheme is backward compatible with the conventional VSB receivers and at the same time is able to receive the enhanced stream. The conventional schemes are based on the idea of directly combining an outer convolutional code with the standard 8-VSB trellis code, but our proposed method inserts a random interleaver between the two codes comprising the SCTTCM. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated and compared with the conventional method considering both the mixed and non-mixed mode stream. We also apply the extrinsic information transfer chart (EXIT chart) method for the performance analysis of the proposed scheme.


A consortium led by the Dutch chemical maker Nouryon will receive a European grant of about $12 million for a green hydrogen project in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The group wants to use McPhy's alkaline water electrolysis technology to turn renewable electricity into 3,000 metric tons of H2 per year. Another firm, BioMCN, will combine the H2 with carbon dioxide to produce renewable methanol. The consortium will make a final decision on the plant later this year.


The undesirable breakage of agglomerates is a problem present in almost all operations involving the handling of these materials. The response of agglomerates to mechanical loading has traditionally been related to the total porosity of the structure. However, there is at present no universally accepted model which relates the internal structure of the agglomerates with their breakage propensity. This Thesis addresses the preparation and impact breakage of agglomerates of large primary particles with well-quantified interparticle adhesion and structure, using experimental and numerical simulation techniques, namely the Distinct Element Method (DEM). The agglomerates structure is manipulated in both cases by introducing a well-known number of large voids of controlled sizes. For the experimental part of the work, this required the development of a novel agglomeration technique, which allows good control of the interparticle bond properties and void size and number. The detailed observations of the impact process and of the impact product show two main patterns of breakage for the experimental agglomerates. The first one is the local disintegration of the impact site into small debris, producing a bimodal size distribution of the impact product, with fines made of small clusters and the residual fragment. The second pattern consists of the generation of large fracture planes, which split the agglomerates into relatively large fragments. For the numerical simulation, only the local damage pattern has been observed. The local structure of the impact site has been shown to have a significant effect on the pattern and the extent of breakage. Impact breakage is shown to increase with impact velocity and macro-void number and to decrease with interparticle bond strength. The macro-void size is shown to have a smaller influence on the agglomerate breakage. Finally, experimental and DEM agglomerates with matching physical properties have been prepared and their breakage behaviours have been compared. The results show satisfactory agreement when localised damage takes place, thus confirming the potential of the combination of the two techniques, i.e. experiments and numerical simulations. There is no agreement between the simulation and experiments for the case of fragmentation. This issue needs to be addressed in future work. This work is the first attempt to compare experiments and DEM simulations on a rigorous basis. It has addressed the case of brittle bond behaviour. Other modes of bond breakage need to be addressed in the future, in order to provide a comprehensive mapping of agglomerate failure.


Abstract China's approach to gaining coercive leverage in the limited wars that it has planned to fight against nuclear-armed adversaries differs from the choices of other states. A theory of strategic substitution explains why China relied on threats to use information-age weapons strategically instead of nuclear threats or conventional victories in the post–Cold War era. Information-age weapons (counterspace weapons, large-scale cyberattacks, and precision conventional missiles) promise to provide quick and credible coercive leverage if they are configured to threaten escalation of a conventional conflict using a "brinkmanship" or "calibrated escalation" force posture. China pursued information-age weapons when it faced a leverage deficit, defined as a situation in which a state's capabilities are ill-suited for the type of war and adversary that it is most likely to fight. China's search for coercive leverage to address those defi- cits became a search for substitutes because its leaders doubted the credibility of nuclear threats and were unable to quickly redress a disadvantage in the conventional military balance of power. A review of original Chinese-language written sources and expert interviews shows that China pursued a coercive cyberattack capability to address a leverage deficit after the United States bombed China's embassy in Belgrade in 1999. China's low dependence on information networks shaped its initial choice of a brinkmanship posture for large-scale offensive cyber operations. China switched to a calibrated escalation posture in 2014, following a dramatic increase in its vulnerability to cyberattacks.


As an alternative resin to conventional synthetic unsaturated polyesters (UPEs), epoxidized maleinated castor oil (EMACO) was synthesized in two steps. For this purpose, castor oil was reacted with maleic anhydride at 70°C to obtain maleinated castor oil (MACO). Then, epoxidation of MACO was carried out by using a mixture of formic acid and hydrogen peroxide at 0–5°C. Then, the free carboxyl groups of the synthesized EMACO were further reacted with free epoxide groups of EMACO at 90°C. At the end of the reaction, an unsaturated polyester precursor-prepolymer was obtained (P-EMACO). FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the monomers synthesized. The P-EMACO was then mixed with styrene and cross-linked in the presence of AIBN at 50°C. Thermal and mechanical properties of the final cross-linked product were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) techniques. The degradation onset temperature of the material at which cross-linked X-EMACO loses 5% of its weight was found to be 209°C. Its dynamic and storage modulus at 25°C were determined as 72°C and 1.08 GPa, respectively. These results are higher than some of the different oil based polymers reported in the literature.


Collecting medical biography has been an avocation and one of my minor sins for some years now. I have more than 150 biographies, mostly medical but anything goes. In size they range from the three volumes that Ernest Jones did on Sigmund Freud (as well as Jones' own autobiography) to biographies of small scope and compass. Of some people, I have as many as three different biographies; Weir Mitchell somehow falls into this category. My growing group of books by and about Osler and the books by and about Drake constitute relatively large holdings in a small library whose size is determined by academic fiscal anemia rather than shelf space. All medical historians and anyone interested in medicine's great men will be delighted that John L. Thornton, who is librarian at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and his assistants, Monk and Brooke, have brought out a select bibliography of medical and scientific


Theory: The benefits of coalitional advocacy in a crowded group environment, and the organization maintenance costs imposed on groups that seek to work as part of alliances are used to develop a model of organized interests' decisions to join alliances or work alone. Hypotheses: Organizations estimate whether an alliance is likely to improve their chances for success relative to working alone. The forces that affect this estimate derive from the context of the policy issue, organizations' knowledge of their potential allies, and, in a less direct way, particular institutional features of the group. Balanced against this estimate will be a group's concern for maintaining a distinct identity in the interest group and political communities. Methods: A probit analysis of interest groups' decisions to join coalitions or work alone is supplemented by information obtained through interviews with representatives of organized interests. Results: When a group's interest in an issue is narrow, and when a group's potential allies signal that they have little to contribute to a collective advocacy campaign, the costs of joining an alliance will likely outweigh any benefits that may accrue. But when organizations perceived to be "pivotal" to success are members of an alliance, and when groups represent expressive interests or perceive a strong organized opposition, the benefits of coalition appear substantial.


Background: Sofosbuvir-Velpatasvir has a high efficacy in adult patients with chronic hepatitis C infection .In this study, we reported treatment outcome with this drug in children and younger adults in Pakistani population.
Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of Sofosbuvir-velpatasvir in treating HCV-infected children and young adults.
Methods: This Interventional(Clinical trial) was done in Hepatitis clinic Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from April 10, 2021 to January 9, 2022.A total of 45 patients aged 6 to 18 years with detectable HCV RNA by PCR were registered. They were evaluated clinically. HCV genotyping was not done as Sofosbuvir – Velpatasvir is pangenotypic. All of the patients were given a single oral dose of Sofosbuvir-velpatasvir per day. Ribavirin was included for patients with compensated cirrhosis and for those who were treatment-experienced .Clinical assessment, CBC, LFT, RFT, and PT were performed monthly to determine side effects and safety. To evaluate treatment efficacy, HCV RNA was measured by PCR at 12 weeks (end of treatment) and 12 weeks post-treatment (sustained virological response). Treatment lasted for 24weeks for those with compensated cirrhosis. (Child Turcotte Pugh score 5 and 6; Child class A) or those who were treatment experienced. SPSS 24 was used for data analysis.
Results: Non cirrhotic patients had a mean age of 13.6±1.45 years, while those with compensated cirrhosis had 14.1±2.15 years. There were 63.6% males (28) and 36.4% female (17). 41 patients (91.11%) had undetectable HCV RNA by PCR ,12 weeks after treatment (Sustained virological response), indicating treatment effectiveness. Nine patients had HBV co-infection and took HBV medications as well during HCV treatment. At 12 weeks post-treatment, all HBV-coinfected patients had undetectable HCV RNA by PCR and lower HBV titers. Some of the patients experience minor side effects. However, none of the patients stopped their treatment due to these side effects Thus, this treatment was safe and effective.
Conclusion: Sofosbuvir/ velpatasvir has effectiveness and safety in treating HCV in children and young adults.


Coating processes are applied in order to improve coating adhesion and resistance to degradation. Covalently bound organic coatings rather than merely physically bound ones assure stable modification. In this study a novel two-step process was developed to modify cellulose/chitin mix fibers consisting of enzymatic activation with a commercial cellulase, followed by a coupling reaction with N-isopropylacrylamide (or poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)) in the presence of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Both enzyme-activated and subsequently modified samples were characterized by ATR-FTIR, XPS, and SEM. All obtained results confirm the structural and morphological changes of the fiber surface after the application of the two-step procedure. The particular responsiveness to temperature and to pH of the coated fibers was evidenced by following the swelling behavior. It was established that the swelling kinetics followed a Fickian behavior.


IEEE standard 802.16 is a broadband wireless access technology in wireless metropolitan access network (WMAN). It promises to provide wireless broadband access to homes, businesses and core telecommunication networks worldwide. Security is a critical concern to the success of IEEE standard 802.16. There has been extensive work on improving the security of IEEE standard 802.16 for both fixed and mobile networks in PMP mode, but thus far there is scarcity of research on security in IEEE 802.16 mesh mode. This paper presents a synopsis of the IEEE 802.16 mesh topology, overviews its security architecture and analyzes weaknesses in the existing privacy and key management protocol. It proposes an augmented privacy and key management (APKM) protocol that provides defense against the security threats present in a wireless environment


Abstract The aim of this article is to explore where and why religious naturalism differs from its rivals, and also to consider some of the challenges religious naturalism faces. I argue that religious naturalism is best conceived as a reaction against both theists who are religious and naturalists who are atheists: the best option is taken to be a naturalist who is religious. Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to say more exactly what claims the view contains. In fact, it is argued, three forms of religious naturalism must be distinguished and contrasted with their rivals, which are taken to be non-religious naturalism, scientific naturalism, theism (including panentheism), divine transcendentalism, religious agnosticism, and religious relativism.


Ophiorrhiza mungos Linn. (No. Rubiaceae) which is generally known as Sarhati is indigenous to India and is reported to be associated with important medicinal properties. The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the concentrated ethanolic extract of defatted seed of this plant was subjected to chromatographic analysis, when it yielded a compound, molecular formula C31H46O, m.p. 176-177oC, M+ = 578, which gave positive test of cardenolide. Various characteristic reactions, chemical degradations and UV, IR 1H NMR and mass spectroscopic analysis led to its identification as Oleandrigenin-3-O-α-L rhamnopyranoside.


Background: The global incidence of breast cancer (BC) is rising, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this review is to summarize existing publications on BC care in Africa. Patients and Methods: A systematic search in MEDLINE and smaller databases was carried out to identify African studies on BC treatment, and an additional PubMed search was performed for relevant topics on BC care. Results: A total of 219 publications, mainly from North and West Africa, were found by systematic search. We also selected articles on BC epidemiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, and cancer control in Africa. Conclusions: Publications on BC treatment are mostly from hospital case series. Evidence on treatment from prospective randomized trials that address the specific characteristics of African patients is lacking. The epidemiologic data shows rising incidences in Africa. The prevalence of risk factors is changing by age group, geographic region, and over time. The clinical picture of BC differs from that of Western countries due to the high proportion of young patients (on account of the African population with a high proportion of young people) and late presentation. Global collaborative efforts are needed to address the rising need for improved BC care in Africa.


The growing outsourcing of logistics services resulting from the ongoing current in firms of costs reduction/increased efficiency means that it is becoming more and more important for the companies doing the outsourcing to carry out a proper evaluation. The multiple definitions and measures of logistics service performance found in research on the topic create a certain degree of confusion and do not clear the way towards the proper measurement of their performance. Do a model and a specific set of indicators exist that can be considered appropriate for measuring the performance of logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments? Are said indicators in keeping with the objectives pursued by outsourcing? We aim to answer these and other research questions in the study we have initiated in the field within the framework of the international High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project of which this paper forms part. As the first stage of this research, this paper reviews articles dealing with the topic published in the last 15 years with the aim of detecting the models most used to make this measurement and determining which performance indicators are proposed as part of said models and which are most used. The first steps are also taken in determining whether these indicators, financial and operational, cover the aims that are being pursued when outsourcing logistics services. The findings show there is a wide variety of both models and indicators used. This would seem to testify to the need to continue with our research in order to try to propose a model and a set of indicators for measuring the performance of logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments. Keywords—Logistics, objectives, outsourcing, performance measurement systems


In the course of his highly successful career as a writer of Icelandic crime fiction, Arnaldur Indriðason has turned to the Second World War and its afterlife with notable regularity. While the war has long been a popular topic in crime fiction generally, it is unusual in an Icelandic literary context. Indeed, even the crime genre itself in its Icelandic guise has a very short history and still struggles to be taken seriously despite its unprecedented popularity. This article examines the literary context of Indriðason's work, its reception and place in Icelandic literature, and the role of the Second World War in his work. War and crime literature share a number of important features, which makes the genre a particularly apt medium to explore wartime events and effects and their consequences in the present. In his crime novels, Indriðason uses the war as a framework to open up the past to investigation, uncover buried secrets and transgressions, and raise moral questions in the present. In doing so, he has initiated the process of exploration and critical revision of the wartime past in Icelandic literature that has characterised other European literatures since the 1990s.


: Stent implantation is as a rule preceded by balloon angioplasty (predilation). This increases duration and cost of the procedure. Low profile stents with improved design allow to perform direct (i.e. without predilation) stenting. Immediate results of our series of direct coronary artery stenting procedures evidence for high efficacy and safety of the technique.