The goal of this work is to build a cognitive system for the humanoid robot, Cog, that exploits human caregivers as catalysts to perceive and learn about actions, objects, scenes, people, and the robot itself. This thesis addresses a broad spectrum of machine learning problems across several categorization levels. Actions by embodied agents are used to automatically generate training data for the learning mechanisms, so that the robot develops categorization autonomously.
Taking inspiration from the human brain, a framework of algorithms and methodologies was implemented to emulate different cognitive capabilities on the humanoid robot Cog. This framework is effectively applied to a collection of AI, computer vision, and signal processing problems. Cognitive capabilities of the humanoid robot are developmentally created, starting from infant-like abilities for detecting, segmenting, and recognizing percepts over multiple sensing modalities. Human caregivers provide a helping hand for communicating such information to the robot. This is done by actions that create meaningful events (by changing the world in which the robot is situated) thus inducing the "compliant perception" of objects from these human-robot interactions. Self-exploration of the world extends the robot's knowledge concerning object properties.
This thesis argues for enculturating humanoid robots using infant development as a metaphor for building a humanoid robot's cognitive abilities. A human caregiver redesigns a humanoid's brain by teaching the humanoid robot as she would teach a child, using children's learning aids such as books, drawing boards, or other cognitive artifacts. Multi-modal object properties are learned using these tools and inserted into several recognition schemes, which are then applied to developmentally acquire new object representations. The humanoid robot therefore sees the world through the caregiver's eyes.
Building an artificial humanoid robot's brain, even at an infant's cognitive level, has been a long quest which still lies only in the realm of our imagination. Our efforts towards such a dimly imaginable task are developed according to two alternate and complementary views: cognitive and developmental. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)


Social financial reporting as an economic tool presents the firm as a socio-economic unit with empowered social capital to enable a sustainable economic solution, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Islamic social finance (ISF) is a corporate social responsibility initiative in the form of humanitarian and socio-development programs by Islamic financial institutions and Shariah-compliant corporations. ISF is applied through various methods and tools that structure based on Islamic Sharia Law. For example, Islamic social finance tools would either be philanthropic, involving activities such as zakat (obligatory alms-giving), Sadaqah (voluntary alms-giving/charity), and waqf (endowment) or ta'awun (cooperation-based activities), which include Qardh al-hasan (benevolent loan) and kafala (guarantee). Thus, Islamic social finance instruments play a vital role in alleviating poverty and addressing socio-economic issues such as illiteracy, unemployment, malnutrition, and health issues. As such, integrated ISF reporting can empower sustainable economic development and lead to recovery.

The Handbook of Research on Islamic Social Finance and Economic Recovery After a Global Health Crisis provides insights on the role of Islamic social finance in supporting and facilitating economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era as well as reducing poverty and addressing the challenges of socio-economic problems such as education, unemployment, malnutrition, and health issues. This book is ideally intended for practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in improving their understanding on the role of Islamic social finance theoretically and empirically in solving the issue of poverty and developing excellent funds management to achieve economic empowerment with better environmental sustainability.


In this paper, we address the problem of predicting the future motion of a dynamic agent (called a target agent) given its current and past states as well as the information on its environment. It is paramount to develop a prediction model that can exploit the contextual information in both static and dynamic environments surrounding the target agent and generate diverse trajectory samples that are meaningful in a traffic context. We propose a novel prediction model, referred to as the lane-aware prediction (LaPred) network, which uses the instance-level lane entities extracted from a semantic map to predict the multi-modal future trajectories. For each lane candidate found in the neighborhood of the target agent, LaPred extracts the joint features relating the lane and the trajectories of the neighboring agents. Then, the features for all lane candidates are fused with the attention weights learned through a self-supervised learning task that identifies the lane candidate likely to be followed by the target agent. Using the instance-level lane information, LaPred can produce the trajectories compliant with the surroundings better than 2D raster image-based methods and generate the diverse future trajectories given multiple lane candidates. The experiments conducted on the public nuScenes dataset and Argo- verse dataset demonstrate that the proposed LaPred method significantly outperforms the existing prediction models, achieving state-of-the-art performance in the benchmarks.


Research
 employing Q technique and its attendant methodology has long
encountered criticism targeted on the allegedly specious,
"non-generalizable" nature of such findings. Drawn typically from
small-sample investigations of human subjectivity, wherein respondents
supply data through Q sorts composed of items of unknown reliability,
findings of Q studies are considered by many to fall far short of the
minimal criteria for scientific measurement. Issues of generalization in
 Q methodology, it is argued, are amenable to examination in terms of
the notion of "reliable schematics." Findings from two pairs of
"tandem-study" explorations bear strong witness to the schematically
reliable character of Q-study results produced from differing probes of
the same subjective phenomenon. Viewed against this backdrop, the
frequently voiced concerns over reliability issues stemming from the use
 of Q would appear quite exaggerated if not altogether unfounded.


Brooklyn Law School's 2012 David G. Trager Public Policy Symposium, "Post-Zoning: Alternative Forms of Public Land Use Controls," called for a critical new appraisal of modern land use regulation. Over the years, zoning has widened its reach and flexibility through innovations such as overlay districts and planned unit developments. But these regulatory tweaks continue to take the separation of incompatible land uses as their point of departure. In this Introduction, we sketch zoning's origins and suggest why its traditional goals may no longer be tenable. New challenges, from finer-grained externalities within communities to sea-level rise, demand that zoning respond to change at broader and narrower scales. The impressive set of papers collected in the Symposium address, in varied and creative ways, zoning's ability to adapt to new pressures on land use from sublocal to global. Included in this issue are papers by Vicki Been, Alejandro Camacho, Richard Epstein, Lee Fennell, William Fischel, Nicole Garnett, Rachel Godsil, Gerald Korngold, John Nolon, and Stewart Sterk.


The temporal pattern of breeding, the bathymetric distribution of breeding pairs, the microhabitat selection of breeding sites and the sizes of breeding individuals of nine species of cichlid and one eleotrid predator, Gobiomorus dormitor, were examined in Lake Jilod, Nicaragua. For two relatively short periods of the year, during the middle of both wet and dry seasons, competition for breeding sites between these fishes was intense. Over 90% of all territories were lost prior to complet- ing a breeding cycle. Cichlid pairs in shallow water tended to be more successful and breeding sites in these areas were more vigorously contested. The seasonal pattern of breeding was bimodal with a different species complex breeding in the wet season as contrasted to the dry. In the wet season Cichlasoma citrinellum aggressively excluded all but the two smallest species from breeding in rocky areas. In the dry season, when C. citrinellum was not breeding, all other species were able to breed, but they, in turn, were separated within that season by both depth and timing of breeding.


London .—The great American contribution to contemporary English life is Barnhart, Steinmetz, and Barnhart's A New English Dictionary (1973). Where else could you discover what a "minikini" is? "Overkill" is another useful word, its second meaning being given as "something that causes harm by exceeding the required safe limits." Some paediatricians are wondering whether pertussis vaccination is not now an overkill situation. ("Situation" is a cliche here; the situation is getting out of hand.) Madsen noted in 1933 two deaths after whooping cough vaccination, but it was really the article by Byers and Moll, "Encephalopathies Following Prophylactic Pertussis Vaccine," in volume 1 of Pediatrics (1948) that sounded the alert. However, we were reassured by their statement that in Boston Children's Hospital twice as many encephalopathies were seen following attacks of whooping cough as following pertussis vaccination. One of my first medical chores, 40 years ago, was to look after a


There are many cases of rebranding and its numbers are growing. However, rebranding is still under research in the academic field, and there is no guideline on the effective way to change brand name. The objective of this paper is to integrate two inconsistent predictions from categorization theory and schema incongruity theory: a negative linear relationship (categorization theory) versus an inverted-U-shape relationship (schema incongruity theory) between brand name incongruity and consumer evaluation into one framework. Specifically, this study examines how the effect of incongruity between an existing brand name and a new brand name (hereafter called "brand name incongruity") on the new brand name attitude differs depending on a consumer`s individual characteristics (need for cognition). The experiment demonstrates that consumers with a high need for cognition show a better attitude towards a new brand name when the brand name was rebranded moderately incongruent compared to congruent or extremely incongruent. Thus, the experiment demonstrates that there is an inversed U-shape relationship between brand name incongruity and new brand name evaluation for consumers with a high need for cognition. On the contrary, consumers with a low need for cognition show a better attitude towards a new brand name when the brand name is rebranded congruently compared to incongruent conditions (moderate incongruity and extreme incongruity). This result indicates that there is a negative linear relationship between brand name incongruity and new brand name evaluation. Key theoretical and managerial implications of the present study are as follows. This study integrates two alternative views of research on incongruity evaluation into one framework by demonstrating that need for cognition moderates the relationship between brand name incongruity and consumer evaluation. This present study provides a conceptual basis for understanding consumer evaluation towards a new brand name. Next, though rebranding is a very important decision making of brand management, there is no guideline on how to change a brand name. The findings of this research can suggest which degree of change is optimal when rebranding in order to utilize and strengthen existing brand equity. More specifically, when our target customer has high need for cognition, moderately incongruent rebranding can be optimal, whereas for those with low need for cognition, rebranding in accordance with existing brand name will be optimal.


The purpose of the present work was to study experimentally the indoor air quality status regarding PM10, PM2.5, TVOCs, CO2, NOx, SO2 and O3 in selected differently used areas. A flat on the third floor of a multi-storey building, located at a suburban area north-east of the centre of Athens and close to a heavily trafficked road and two offices of the Environmental Physics Department building at the University campus, in a suburban area were selected for the purpose of the measurements. The experimental campaigns covered several days in each area in order to include different indoor conditions and outdoor concentration levels. Total VOCs and CO2 were measured on a continuous basis at selected locations only in the indoor environment with two sets of portable samplers. Indoor and outdoor NOx, SO2 and O3 were measured with analysers. PM10 and PM2.5 24 hour averaged measurements were taken with the aid of two sets of indoor particle samplers. Experimental results obtained from Offices 1 and 2 indicate that the indoor air quality in both offices is satisfactory with respect to NOx, SO2 and O3. PM10 concentrations are well above the specified limits on days of smoking or closure of windows in both offices. The indoor air quality in Office 1 seems satisfactory with respect to CO2 and total VOCs concentrations measured, even on days when smoking was taking place and windows were kept closed while all occupants were present. In Office 2, both CO2 and total VOCs concentrations are elevated, even on days when the windows were open or smoking was not taking place, but do not exceed the specified limits, indicating poor air renewal. Experimental data obtained from the residence indicate firstly that NOx, SO2 and O3 concentrations in the indoor environment depend directly on the outdoor levels as they presented the same diurnal variation, while the indoor values were lower than the outdoor ones. Surprisingly enough, the total VOCs concentrations in the living room presented high values when windows were kept open indicating strong presence of outdoor sources. Furthermore, activities such as cooking, cleaning, smoking and use of indoor air fresheners further increased the total VOCs levels. Regarding CO2 concentrations, they were almost constant indicating acceptable but not satisfactory renewal of the indoor air. Finally, PM10 concentration measurements were most of the time below the specified limits, with some exceptions mainly related to window opening and cooking


Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the influence of investors' attitudes on their decision-making. Two subjective perception factors, brand familiarity and perceived trust, were proposed to influence investors' attitudes and decision-making. This paper also suggests the potential mediating effect of attitude on decisions on Islamic stock investment.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using a primary data collection method. Questionnaires were used and distributed to a sample size of 250 Malaysian investors in the Klang Valley aged between 25 and 50 years old. Data were analysed using SPSS and Structural Equation Modelling–Partial Least Squares.

Findings
Seven hypotheses were proposed, and six were supported. The findings show that brand familiarity and perceived trust have a significant relationship with attitude. Brand familiarity and attitude have a significant relationship with investment decision behaviour. The relationship between perceived trust and attitude also reveals significant findings. However, perceived trust was found to have an insignificant relationship with investment decision behaviour. Mediation analysis shows that attitude mediates the relationship between brand familiarity and investment decision behaviour. Attitudes are also found to mediate the relationship between perceived trust and investment decision behaviour.

Practical implications
It is recommended that publicly listed companies emphasize and devote extra efforts to enhancing investors' familiarity with and favour their brand. In addition, to build an investor's trust, a company must be consistent in dividend payments. Such action may improve the probability of the company's stock being chosen for investment.

Originality/value
Subjective perceptions of investors' decision-making in Islamic stock investment have yet to be thoroughly explored in the literature, especially in the Malaysian context. In this paper, the indirect relationship between brand familiarity and perceived trust in attitude is tested. This paper contributes to consumer behaviour and marketing of Islamic stock investment research area.


Anal fistula is a diverse disease. There is no single treatment which is effective for all types of anal fistulas. The management of simple anal fistula is straightforward, and a fistulotomy is recommended. However, in complex anal fistula if fistulotomy or fistulectomy is performed, it is combined with primary sphincter repair. Alternatively, a sphincter sparing procedure may be performed for complex anal fistula. The basic principle of sphincter preserving surgery for anal fistula involves three basic steps: disconnection of the tract from the anal canal, deepithelialization of the tract, and drainage from the external opening. The disconnection of the fistula tract from the anal canal can be achieved by direct closure of the internal opening, with endoanal advancement flap or with ligation of intersphincteric fistula tract procedure. After disconnecting the fistula from the anal canal, the remaining tract, which is now converted into a sinus is cleaned and deepithelialized. The tract is deepithelialized either mechanically by curetting or by using an energy source-like LASER or endocautery. The external opening of the tract is widened so that it does not close and continues to drain until the fistula is completely healed. The art of anal fistula treatment involves the assessment of the extent of the disease and selecting appropriate treatment strategy for a particular patient. None of the procedures are technically very demanding; however, selecting the right procedure for a particular patient is important.


Pericardial effusion is observed in approximately 5% of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma but is rarely symptomatic. We report a case in which a 21-year-old woman with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's lymphoma was found to have symptoms and radiographic evidence of pericardial effusion. Symptomatic pericardial effusion in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma is extremely rare, with few reports in the literature. The mechanism for the heart and pericardial involvement is reviewed along with a description of the presenting symptoms and differential diagnosis.


PDF metadata provides a quick & easy way of discovering what's in a PDF and even identifying it without opening or viewing it. Yet most academic publishers do not yet utilize rich PDF metadata. Here I provide some simple suggestions that would aid re-use & identification of PDFs.


This work has as main objective to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of different sample size classes of coffee husk as part of the thermal decomposition study of the samples. The granulometric study was conducted using methods: cumulative and differential, as result the average diameter (Dp) was obtained in each case. By the differential method the Dp = 1,29 mm and by the cumulative method the Dp = 1,5 mm, giving a 13,7 % error which is an acceptable value. Applying the experimental methodology the following chemical properties were determined for each particle size: moisture, volatiles, fixed carbon and ashes. For moisture and fixed carbon content there is no definite trend, instead, by decreasing the particle diameter, decreases volatile matter content and ash content increases. Design experiments corresponding to the largest accumulations area was carried out and using the statistical program STATGRAPHICS Centurion XV it was possible to determine the influence of particle size on the properties studied, it was found that this has a significant influence in all cases performed.


The authors report an experiment in which twenty-five participants discriminated force vectors presented along five directions (up, left, right, diagonally up left, diagonally up right). The force vectors were presented with a three degree-of-freedom forcefeedback device. A three-interval one-up three-down adaptive procedure was used. The five reference force-direction conditions were presented in randomly interleaved order. The results show an average force-direction discrimination threshold of 33° regardless of the reference-force direction. Position data recorded at a nominal sampling rate of 200 Hz revealed a 10.1 mm average displacement of the fingertip between the start and end positions in a trial. The average maximum deviation from the starting position within a trial was 21.3 mm. We conclude that the resolution with which people can discriminate force direction is not dependent on the direction of the force per se. These results are useful for designers of haptic virtual environments.


The paper investigates the effects of sectoral determinants on profitability of the Czech food processing industry over the period of years 2003-2014. Large micro-level sample (N = 10,509) for 12 years and across 9 food subsectors in the Czech Republic was utilized to create a sectoral panel dataset, which was used in the empirical analysis. As for the methods, regression models with fixed effects were employed. Sectoral profitability served as the dependent variable in regressions and it was operationalized by two variables, i.e. ROA and ROE. Both profitability indicators revealed the same influence of investigated determinants. Obtained results reported positive influence of higher market concentration on sectoral profitability, and also the increase of productivity was associated with the increase of ROA and ROE. It was confirmed that high indebtedness affects the profitability negatively. Contrary to the expectations, the effect of the import penetration on the profitability was not proved.


This paper presents the ITU-T Study Group 15 development of H-series Recommendations that allow interworking between different audiovisual communication terminals manufactured by different equipment providers. The paper focuses on H.310 and H.321 systems for broad-band ATM environments and H.322 and H.323 systems for LAN environments where the quality of service may or may not be guaranteed. The paper first lists the Recommendations developed by the ITU-T for audiovisual communication systems and the network environments in which they may be used. It then describes the design philosophy, the network specific characteristics, and hardware trials for each system. Then it describes the communication control protocol defined in H.245 which is used commonly by different audiovisual communication systems. Finally, the paper discusses interworking scenarios for communication between the different types of terminal on different networks.


Verisimilitude of 3D face modeling can be strongly enhanced by taking into account skin wrinkles. However, there are two difficulties to model real and natural wrinkles: one is the location of wrinkles and the other is the shape of wrinkles. For the first problem, an algorithm for locating wrinkles through extracting feature curves based on photo is presented; For the second problem, a shape control function is proposed considering the properties of real wrinkles, which could provides intuitive parameters for easily modulating the depth and the width of wrinkles, and express the attenuation and impact of one wrinkle on its surrounding surface. The experiment results by applying the method to a 3D face model show that it not only has the advantage of verisimilitude as the photo, but also has the feature of natural ripple which is deeper and wider in the middle than in both sides.


This second volume of the "Women's Studies Encyclopaedia" emphasizes women's role as producers of literature, art, and music. There are also articles on other aspects of women's relationships to writing and the fine arts and on women's education. Although the primary focus is on the United States and on literature in English, greater attention is given both to other Western and to non-Western women than was possible in the first volume of the "encyclopaedia". Most of the articles present the results of current research on a topic with, in many cases, a short bibliography following the article. In those cases where the current state of research on the topic, or the nature of the topic itself warrants it, the articles themselves are mainly bibliographic. The predominance of articles about literature reflects both the greater participation by women in literature than in other arts and the greater concentration of feminist scholarship in this area. The volume is completed by a general bibliography and index.


Background Little information exists regarding the use of acupuncture in combination with allopathic treatment of infertility. Objective To describe the use of acupuncture to stimulate follicle development in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. Design, Setting, and Patients Prospective case series of 6 women receiving intracytoplasmic sperm injection and acupuncture along with agents for ovarian stimulation. Main Outcome Measures Number of follicles retrieved, conception, and pregnancy past the 1st trimester before and after acupuncture treatment. Results No pregnancies occurred in the non-acupuncture cycles. Three women produced more follicles with acupuncture treatment (mean, 11.3 vs 3.9 prior to acupuncture; P=.005). All 3 women conceived, but only 1 pregnancy lasted past the 1st trimester. Conclusion Acupuncture may be a useful adjunct to gonadotropin therapy to produce follicles in women undergoing in vitro fertilization.


We investigated the role of speech-accompanying gestures in analogical problem solving. Participants attempted to solve Duncker's (1945) Radiation Problem after reading and retelling a story that described an analogous solution in a different domain. Participants were instructed to gesture, instructed not to gesture, or given no instructions regarding gesture as they retold the story. Participants who were instructed to gesture as they retold the analogous story were more likely to mention perceptual details in their description and less likely to apply the analogous solution to the problem than participants who were instructed not to gesture. These results suggest that gestures can be detrimental to analogous problem solving when the perceptual elements of a story are irrelevant to its schematic similarity with a problem.


order of the poems, and so on, and these are treated with the utmost precision and care : on the literary side Schumann (who is responsible for this introduction) does not go very deep: we have 'ein Ausschnitt aus der weltlichen Klerikerdichtung des 12. and 13. Jahrhunderts,' written in Bavaria towards the end of the thirteenth century, the poems themselves collected from different sources. The ' moral-satirical' poems in this instalment are of considerable importance {e.g. Walter of Chatillon's Propter Sion non taccbo) and are edited with unstinting critical and explanatory commentaries: but we look forward eagerly to the tender love-lyrics which are still to come, for it is by these that the Carmina Burana have fixed the affections of others besides scholars and historians.


It has been reported that aerosol supplied from the land to the ocean affects ocean biogeochemistry. Not only in the modern age, but also during the glacier age, macroand micro-nutrient in aerosol possibly increases ocean nutrients resulting in increases of primary productivity and settling particles. On the other hand, aerosol input possibly has negative impact: the harmful trace metals in aerosol might damage ocean primary producer and some chemical substances might accelerate the ocean acidification. The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is located in the northeast of the Indian Ocean. The BoB is semi-closed tropical maritime surrounded by the land on its north, east, and west. In addition to strong insolation, large amount of fresh water input from Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers that are one of largest river in the world and large precipitation during the boreal summer monsoon season strongly stratify the ocean. As a result, the supply of nutrient from the subsurface is strictly inhibited and the BoB is oligotrophic. As mechanisms of nutrients supply to the sun-lit layer in the BoB, in addition to passes of meso-scale cyclonic eddy and of meteorology turbulence such as cyclone, aerosol input is very important. Because of the unique monsoon system in the Indian Ocean, the northeast wind is pre-dominant during winter season. Thus, especially in winter, natural and anthropogenic aerosol that originates from the consumption of fossil fuel and the biomass burning are largely transported from the land to the BoB. Another characteristic of the BoB is that about one-quarter of the world population live around the BoB. Especially, Indo and Bangladesh are well known as a country that magnitude of air pollution (concentration of PM2.5) is quite high and gigantic anthropogenic aerosol are emitted. It is reported that , in spring, an amount of anthropogenic aerosol input to the BoB is much higher than that to the Arabian Sea. It has been reported that concentration of iron (Fe) in the anthropogenic aerosol that serves as micronutrient is higher and dissolved more easily (namely, more bioavailable) than that in the natural aerosol. Thus in future, increase of anthropogenic aerosol input might enhance ocean primary productivity in the pelagic ocean with Fe deficiency. Moreover, large amount of aerosol that is attributed to wildfire, volcanic explosion and biomass burning are emitted from Indonesia located in the southeast of the BoB. These aerosols possibly affect biogeochemistry in the BoB too. There is another negative feedback that irradiance to the BoB would decrease resulting decrease of primary productivity if large amount of aerosol were transported over the BoB. Therefore the BoB is a "hot spot" for the study on impact of aerosol on ocean biogeochemistry. This presentation reviews previous study on this issue and introduces a scientific cruise planned in 2018.


Introduction: The power of young celebrities and brand image in influencing young consumers are becoming more relevant in the marketing and advertising of products and services of the plethora of brands we have in the twenty-first century. Businesses and brands use young celebrities to endorse their products to appeal more towards younger consumers. This research investigates the impact of young celebrity endorsements in social media advertisements and brand image towards the purchase intention of young consumers.Methodology: The theoretical framework from Shimp's TEARS Model of celebrity endorsement is derived from 4 research studies and the variables were tested using 5-point Likert scale on a sample of 282 respondents who are young consumers, aged between 13 to 18 years old. All respondents were recruited using stratified sampling technique and data were analyzed using SmartPLS. The results derived from the data analyses conducted highlights eight main findings.Results: From the TEARS Model, similarity and respect has an influence on celebrity endorsement in social media whereas expertise, physical attractiveness and trustworthiness do not influence celebrity endorsement in social media. Brand image and celebrity endorsement in social media also found to be significant antecedents for the purchase intention. These findings will provide insights to marketer of businesses who requires to understand the attributes of young celebrity endorsements on social media advertisements that will appeal to young consumer. In this technological era, businesses build their brand image via investing in advertising; especially in social media advertising and celebrity endorsements.Recommendations: Following the current findings of the insignificance of expertise, physical attractiveness, and trustworthiness of the celebrity endorsers towards young consumers; marketers should look into similarity and respect qualities of their young celebrity endorsers if they would like to appeal their brands and products to pique the interests of young consumer which now become one of the major group of consumers in the world.


Simplicity of operation, extreme endurance and stealth are some of the principal advantages of autonomous underwater gliders. These advantages come at the expense of a minimalist approach in the sense of actuation and permissible power consumption. Also by nature the gliders are highly dependent on their operational environment, notably currents and density gradients. A control system that is able to cope with this challenging dynamic environment and the actuation and sensing constraints has to be robust with respect to environmental uncertainties and at the same time it has to be optimal in the sense of power consumption and accuracy. In this paper we look at the existing controller structure and show possibilities for improvements within the framework of the available sensor information. We summarize the existing controller structure and show results from recent field-tests of Slocum gliders in the Gulf of Mexico that demonstrate the potential for improvements in the sense of reduced power consumption associated with actuation and decreased response time enabling shallow water operations.


Truancy is currently (DfElS, 2001) right at the top of the government's list of educational issues to be addressed. On any one day, 400,000 pupils who should be in school are absent.That is 5% of the school population. The education welfare officer (EWO) has a very specific role in supporting a school to maintain high levels of attendance but these figures indicate there is clearly a need to examine ways in which different Education Welfare Services (EWSs) and their officers tackle school non-attendance. The research documented in this study set out to examine the working practice of EWOs engaged to improve school attendance.

The methodology employed to do trIis comprised of a postal questionnaire, 16 in-depth
interviews over a six-month period and a two-year action research investigation in one
'failing' secondary school. The lead methodological approach has been the interview technique that has enabled the researcher to pursue the collection of data as part of a social
process. The research strategy involved a survey of 90 EWOs and from this sample 16 volunteers were sought to take part in the next phase of the research.

The research findings strongly suggest the status and position of the EWS within education hierarchy is not at all clear. Issues regarding practitioner's title, training, supervision, skills required, qualifications and interventions have all been discussed leading to a conclusion that the EWS needs to be professionalised, the role of the EWO needs to be specialised and basic administrative tasks need to be undertaken by an administrator. The findings from this study are entirely in keeping with evidence from other research in that there are no national guidelines; staff tend to disagree with the fundamentals of their job; some staff do not work in partnership with schools; others try to change what happens in a school without the position and authority to succeed. However, this investigation has taken matters a stage further by extending this knowledge through interviews with EWOs and managers to develop a model of effective practice that has been tried and tested.


Newspapers provide the best examples of clear, concise writing you can find anywhere. Learning how journalists work their magic can help you write better, and it all begins with the "inverted pyramid."


Many companies have asked suppliers to begin using RFID (radio frequency identification) tags by 2006 RFID allows pallets and products to be scanned at a greater distance and with less effort than barcode scanning, offering superior supply-chain management efficiencies This unique plain-English resource explains RFID and shows CIOs, warehouse managers, and supply-chain managers how to implement RFID tagging in products and deploy RFID scanning at a warehouse or distribution center Covers the business case for RFID, pilot programs, timelines and strategies for site assessments and deployments, testing guidelines, privacy and regulatory issues, and more


Portacaval transposition was performed in ten dogs, followed by hemodynamic, biochemical, and histologic studies at intervals up to 12 weeks. All survivors appeared to be in excellent condition clinically at the time of study. Six to 12 weeks following transposition, total hepatic blood flow was in the high normal or slightly elevated range, with a significant (50%) increase in venous flow component from the caval source and a significant (32%) reduction in hepatic artery component. Despite the high normal or slightly elevated total hepatic blood flow and excellent clinical condition, all animals studied after six weeks showed slight biochemical and histopathological evidence of liver damage. Postoperative course and clinical condition of dogs with portacaval transposition, compared to dogs with conventional portacaval shunts, is very encouraging when considering application of this procedure for portal decompression.


Objective: To determine whether chronic systemic hypertension alters the response of photoreceptors to photic stress. Methods: Spontaneously hypertensive rats and strain-matched, normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats were exposed to green fluorescent light (490 to 580 nm, 180 to 200 foot-candles) for 24 hours. Retinal changes were evaluated by histopathologic examination, morphometry of the outer nuclear layer, and rhodopsin levels. Results: Before light exposure, spontaneously hypertensive rats developed elevated systolic blood pressure and showed mild sclerosis of choroidal vasculature. After exposure, retinas of the spontaneously hypertensive rats revealed exaggerated light damage with increased loss of photoreceptor cells, more distortion, and shortening of the inner and outer segments relative to the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. The outer nuclear layer thickness and rhodopsin level were significantly lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats by day 14 after light exposure. Conclusion: Photic injury to photoreceptor cells was exaggerated in spontaneously hypertensive rats. This may have clinical relevance given the association of both systemic hypertension and light exposure in patients with age-related macular degeneration.


Legal interpretation within the Executive Branch has attracted increased interest in recent years, much of it focused on the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The most significant centralized source of legal advice within the Executive Branch, OLC has also been plagued by charges of undue politicization - especially in connection with various issues relating to the "war on terror." Yet there has been little consideration of the role in OLC of one of the main devices thought to constrain political and ideological preferences within the Judicial Branch - stare decisis. This Article provides the first sustained descriptive and normative examination of the role of stare decisis in OLC. Descriptively, it analyzes all of OLC's publicly available legal opinions from the beginning of the Carter administration through the end of the first year of the Obama administration. The data show that OLC rarely openly departs from its prior opinions, but that an express request for overruling from the executive entity most affected by the opinion is a good predictor of such a departure. Normatively, the Article considers whether OLC should employ something like a rule of stare decisis with respect to its prior opinions, and, if so, in what circumstances it is justified in departing from those precedents. It argues that stare decisis has a legitimate place in OLC, but that OLC's location within the Executive Branch affects both the weight it should accord its precedents and the circumstances in which it should depart from them.


problems created by the use of the word "professional"; then he plumbs the vast body of literature on the emergence, definition, and responsible expression of the great professions-law, medicine, etc. He points to the hazards of sub-professions of the minister which rush in to fill the void of a lack of clear professional competence on the part of ministers. He proposes the organization of an American Academy of the Parish Clergy. Glasse clearly and competently identifies the need for a clear professional selfconcept in the ministry. He does not point as definitely to the functional principles of professional behavior as this reviewer would like. Is this a status or a more concrete definition of function we express when we see ourselves as "professionals"? Yet, no one will read this book without a "developed sweat" of interest if he takes his own ministry seriously at all. . Wayne E. Oates


This dissertation is founded on the importance of phytoplankton community composition to marine biogeochemistry and ecosystem processes and motivated by the need to understand their distributions on regional to global scales. The ultimate goal was to predict surface phytoplankton communities using satellite remote sensing by relating marine habitats--defined through a statistical description of environmental properties--to different phytoplankton communities. While phytoplankton community composition is governed by the interplay of abiotic and biotic interactions, the strategy adopted here was to focus on the physical abiotic factors. This allowed for the detection of habitats from ocean satellites based on abiotic factors that were linked to associated phytoplankton communities. The research entailed three studies that addressed different aspects of the main goal using a dataset collected in the western Gulf of Maine over a 3-year period. The first study evaluated a chemotaxonomic method that quantified phytoplankton composition from pigment data. This enabled the characterization of three phytoplankton communities, which were defined by the relative abundance of diatoms and flagellates. The second study examined the cycles of these communities along with environmental variables, and the results revealed that the three phytoplankton communities exhibited an affinity to different hydrographic regimes. The third study focused on the implementation of a classifier that predicted phytoplankton communities from environmental variables. Its ability to differentiate communities dominated by diatoms versus flagellates was shown to be high. However, the increase in data imprecision when using satellite data led to lowered performance and favored an approach that incorporated fuzzy logic. The fuzzy method is well suited to characterize the uncertainties in phytoplankton community prediction, and provides a measure of confidence on predicted communities. The final product of the overall dissertation was a time series of maps generated from satellite observations depicting the likelihood of three phytoplankton communities. This dissertation reached the main goal and, moreover, demonstrated that improvements in the predictive power of the method can be achieved with increased precision and more advanced satellite-derived products. The results of this research can benefit present bio-optical and primary productivity models, and ecosystembased models of the marine environment.


Boueina pacifica Ishijima, 1978, found in Aptian shallow-water carbonates from Seberuang (Indonesia), was originally ascribed to the calcareous halimedacean algae (Chlorophyta). However, during a taxonomic revision of Ishijima's types of Corallinales (Rhodophyta) described from 1954 to 1978, the type specimens of Boueina pacifica Ishijima 1978—currently housed at the Geology and Paleontology Department, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo (Japan)—have been identified as an orbitolinid foraminifer. The types have a microgranular shell texture with clearly distinguishable exoskeletal and endoskeletal shell structures diagnostic of the larger foraminiferal subfamily Orbitolininae. Unfortunately, " Boueina" pacifica Ishijima has no diagnostic features that can be used to ally it to any particular genus or species of the orbitolinids.


Purpose: Guggulu Kalpana enjoys a coveted position in the arena of Ayurvedic therapeutics. Guggulu Kalpana is widely used in Charak Samhita & Sushruta Samhita and its notable collection is described in Ashtanga Sangraha. Out of laghu trayi, Sharangadhara Samhita has described Guggulu kalpas at length. Though its present form is closely related to Guti Vati Kalpana, it has not been the case always. Present study was attempted to track these transitions in Guggulu Kalpana during period of Brihat Trayi and Laghu Trayi and propose the importance of this journey in the view of current Ayurvedic pharmaceutics and therapeutics. Method: A comprehensive review of Brihat Trayi and Laghu Trayi was done. Opinions of their critics as well as contemporaries were also taken into consideration. These views were collated on the basis of current trends and researches in Guggulu Kalpana. Result: Amongst other categories, main usage of Guggulu Kalpana was seen in form of Kwatha and Guti Vati Kalpana. Though used in great deal, Brihat Trayi doesn't describe Guggulu in every respect. Different point of view regarding preparation of Guggulu Kalpana was observed in all these treatises. Various functional limitations and constant improvisations seemed to have shaped the Guggulu Kalpana in its today's form. Conclusion: Current status of Ayurvedic pharmaceutics in general and Guggulu Kalpana in particular, is greatly influenced by Sharangadhara Samhita. It mainly shows use of Guggulu in GutiVati form. The Brihat Trayi treatises, however display its use in Conjunction of Kwatha Kalpana chiefly. This paradigm shift in the pharmaceutics of Guggulu Kalpana highlights the buoyant and pliant nature of Ayurveda. The difference in choice of kalpana is explained on the basis of soluble alkaloid content and insoluble resinous gum content of Guggulu. Thus, this study is helpful to understand the progression of Ayurvedic therapeutics and prospective avenues for its advancement.


Virtual reality software has evolved to create ever more realistic virtual environments.  Sophisticated virtual education laboratory experiments are now possible.  Some educators and researchers question the value of hands-on laboratories relative to virtual laboratories.  Researchers have investigated students' acceptance of virtual laboratories and the relative effectiveness of virtual laboratories compared to traditional hands-on laboratories.  Research results indicated that students' attitudes toward virtual laboratory experiments are positive, and researchers found virtual laboratory experiments to be as effective as or more effective than traditional hands-on laboratories.  However, researchers have not measured simulated laboratory effectiveness for all standard education laboratory goals.  Simulated laboratory technology will be part of science education, but how to introduce laboratory simulations and the appropriate role for simulated laboratories remains a subject of debate. Are virtual laboratory experiments acceptable substitutes for hands-on laboratories in secondary education?  To explore this question, laboratory goals and effectiveness criteria must be defined and measured for secondary education.  This paper explores the goals and effectiveness of virtual and hands-on education laboratories.  This paper also outlines the arguments for and against the replacement of traditional hands-on labs with simulated laboratories in secondary science education and makes a case for using laboratory simulations to supplement rather than replace traditional hands-on laboratories.


Objectives Nitric oxide (NO) plays a dual role: it can inhibit the inflammatory process under physiological conditions, but on the other hand, a large amount of NO can be involved in inflammation in autoimmune myocarditis. We investigated the effects of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, in the treatment of BALB/c mice with experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) and discuss the therapeutic mitochondrial mechanism induced by apoptosis. Methods Sixty male BALB/c mice aged 4–5 weeks were randomly divided into a normal control group, a model control group and an experimental group. EAM was induced in the model control group and experimental group by injection of porcine cardiac myosin subcutaneously into the groin and axilla and intraperitoneal injection of pertussis toxin on days 0 and 7, respectively. The model control group was intraperitoneally administered 5 mg/kg/day of physiological saline after injection of myosin and pertussis toxin. The experimental group was intraperitoneally given 5 mg/kg/day of L-NAME on days 1–21. At the end of the intervention, mice were euthanatized and hearts were harvested on day 21. The inflammatory score, fibrosis score, protein expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, serum NO level, iNOS, iNOS mRNA, caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 mRNA, cardiac reactive oxygen species (ROS) production rate and mitochondrial membrane potential were measured. Mouse heart weight/body weight was calculated (HW/BW). Results The inflammatory score, cardiac interstitial fibrosis score, cardiac apoptotic index, protein expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, HW/BW, level of NO and activity of iNOS, expression levels of iNOS mRNA, and caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 protein were all significantly higher in the model control group and experimental group than in the normal control group (p < 0.01), and the levels in the model control group were higher than in the experimental group. HW/BW was only slightly elevated in the model control group compared with the experimental group. Conclusions The development of EAM is related to the NO catalyzed by iNOS. L-NAME protected cardiac myocytes through suppressing the activity of iNOS and further decreased production of NO in EAM. The mechanism may be related to inhibiting the apoptosis of cardiac myocytes mediated by the caspase family and protecting mitochondrial function. Acknowledgments This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 61573139).


Coronary artery disease (CAD) is leading due to disability and death of the working population, and successful its treatment is largely determined by maintaining adequate coronary blood flow, including through interventions, percutaneous interventions. Acetylsalicylic acid is widely used in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) to prevent major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Lately, attention is increasingly being paid to the variability of the response to antiplatelet therapy. High platelet reactivity increases the risk of ischemic events. The causes of resistance to antiplatelet agents are heterogeneous and multicomponent: clinical, cellular and genetic. This review article describes features and characteristics of the using acetylsalicylic acid- aspirin in CAD, as well as current problems in the antiplatelet therapy.


Increased demands on academics due to the changing work and higher educational environments challenge traditional approaches to postgraduate supervision. Supervisors often tend to follow the apprenticeship approach uncritically. Supervisors therefore need to be aware of alternative approaches to supervision and of the need for structured planning for the postgraduate supervisory process. A framework for planning for complementary approaches to postgraduate supervision was designed based on the characteristics and benefits of alternative approaches to supervision identified in the literature. This framework or grid helps to plot the roles of supervisors and the processes and activities for students during the course of their postgraduate studies. Application of this grid in planning and the identification of various role players in the supervision process may help to alleviate the pressure placed on individual supervisors. Structured planning within a specific context will contribute to quality, efficiency and sustainability of supervision in the postgraduate process.


BACKGROUND: Diverticulitis is a common and morbid disease with incompletely understood risk factors and pathophysiology. Geographic and, recently, seasonal trends in diverticulitis have been described in the United States. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare seasonal trends in urgent hospital admission for diverticulitis in geographically distinct populations in the northern and southern hemispheres. DESIGN: Inpatient, urgent admissions for diverticulitis were identified within the Dr Foster Intelligence Global Comparators Dataset, a global benchmarking collaborative. SETTINGS: Admissions to participating hospitals in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States were identified between 2008 and 2013. PATIENTS: A total of 18,672 urgent admissions for diverticulitis were identified among 5.5-million admissions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Four separate hypothesis testing methods were used to identify seasonal trends in diverticulitis admissions among international patient populations. RESULTS: Seasonal trends were present in all 3 countries. A summer peak was observed in both hemispheres using multiple statistical testing methods. Logistic regression analyses identified summer months as significantly associated with diverticulitis admission in all 3 countries. LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by restriction to inpatient admissions, reliance on administrative data, and participation of select hospitals within the database. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a shared seasonal risk factor among geographically distinct populations for diverticulitis.


In this study, the application, Into the Campus, was used as a visual tool in advocating the virtual and 3D technology to allow its user to experience the environment of La Verdad Christian College – Apalit chapter anywhere they want. The researchers used Google Sketchup, to create the 3D objects and buildings of the school. Unity 3D was used to merge the 3D objects and create the Virtual Tour and 3D Map feature of the application which shows the different parts of the school including its facilities and rooms, and also some information about the different objects inside the campus. The respondents of the survey conducted were from La Verdad students and non-students to measure the whole usability, functionality and accuracy of the mobile application. In the final results, it was shown that in the overall responses, the application would greatly help students, applicants and their parents to be familiarized with the appearance of the school and know the different basic application process of the school even before they visit the school personally which would help them make their application process faster, and convenient. This would also help the applicants with their decision making on applying to the school.


The Tribag breccia pipes, located near the eastern extremity of Lake Superior, are associated with Keweenawan felsic intrusions and have yielded a K-Ar age of 1,055 + or - 35 m.y. The pipes cut Archean diabase and greenstones but in terms of regional setting exhibit a relationship to Keweenawan rifting.Four major breccia pipes occur in the district. Three contain large tonnages of disseminated subeconomic Cu and Cu-Mo mineralization, but only two have supported mining. That production amounted to 16,000 metric tons of copper from relatively high grade ore associated with domal fractures within the two pipes.The pipes contain mainly angular fragments of the surrounding metavolcanic and granitic country rocks and exhibit sharp contacts. Hydrothermal alteration within the pipes is restricted to the vicinity of fractures and orebodies but becomes more pervasive downward. Mineralization of the pipes can be divided into four periods, each marked by somewhat distinctive mineral assemblages and ore fluid characteristics. Period 1 resulted in formation of disseminated chalcopyrite-molybdenite sulfides associated with magnetite, pyrite, epidote, and quartz. Fluid temperatures were up to 469 degrees C and salinities ranged up to 48.5 equiv. wt percent NaCl. Period 2 resulted in deposition of coarsely crystalline quartz and carbonates in the breccia matrices accompanied by lesser amounts of zeolites, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. Fluid temperatures were approximately 420 degrees to 330 degrees C and salinities ranged from 12 to 1.5 equiv. wt percent NaCl. Period 3 and 4 mineralization resulted in deposition of orebodies in fracture-controlled sites. Principal sulfides in period 3 ores are chalcopyrite and pyrite; these sulfides are massive in character and were deposited from fluids ranging from approximately 412 degrees to 291 degrees C and 14 to 5 equiv. wt percent NaCl salinity. Period 4 ores have a mineralogy similar to that of period 3 but, in addition, contain sphalerite and galena, are of a disseminated nature, and were deposited from fluids of approximately 363 degrees to approximately 250 degrees C and of 17 to 6 equiv. wt percent NaCl salinity. Estimates of pressure during the entire mineralization episode range from about 248 to 550 bars, with pressure up to 1 kb at times during period 1. These estimates suggest a regime that mostly fluctuated between hydrostatic and lithostatic conditions at a depth close to 2,500 m, but during period 1, pressures attained nearly twice lithostatic pressure.Analyses of the fluids in inclusions indicate mineralizing waters of two types: period 1, 3, and 4 waters were Ca-Na brines, some of which contained copper in concentrations of thousands of ppm; period 2 fluids were Na-Ca brines containing about 90 ppm Cu. Analysis of fluid inclusion gases detected CO 2 , H 2 , H 2 S, He, and Ar. From these data and thermodynamic considerations it can be demonstrated that H 2 S concentrations decreased through the paragenesis, the f (sub O 2 ) varied from below to above H 2 S-HSO (super -) 4 equilibria in period 1, 2, and 3 solutions which boiled, and the pH remained between 4.2 to 5.1. Limited stable isotope measurements suggest fluids of primarily magmatic origin.Three of the breccias are thought to be the result of collapse resulting from the creation of open space by alteration and solution of rock at depths of about 3 km by fluids streaming upward along faults. The remaining breccia has features indicative of fracturing by fluid under high pressure. Tribag breccias are postulated to be the result of identical processes which have formed Cu-Mo breccias in cordilleran settings. The difference between subeconomic disseminated mineralization and the viable, more concentrated mineralization in domal fractures appears to be related to the creation of open space and the higher Cu content of the ore-depositing fluids.


The modern, broadly conservative articulation of the distinct personality and deity of the Holy Spirit has often included in its arsenal a point or two from the realm of philology. The Fourth Gospel has especially been mined for such grammatical nuggets, though Ephesians, 1 John, and sometimes even 2 Thessalonians have been claimed as yielding syntactical evidence in defense of the Spirit's personality. Two kinds of texts have been put forth in support of this supposition: passages involving grammatical gender and passages involving notions of agency. Those involving grammatical gender are used as an apologetic defense of a high pneumatology; those involving agency are simply assumed to prove the point. I believe that this grammatical defense for the Spirit's personality has a poor foundation. If it is indeed invalid, then to use it in defense of a high pneumatology not only damages Trinitarian apologetics but also may well mask an emerging pneumatology within the NT.


The poet and academic Sarah Corbett reveals Plath's profound response to Yorkshire's powerful and often threatening natural and human landscape, as well as to the writings of Emily Bronte and Ted Hughes. In a handful of poems, Plath can be heard sounding out a Hughesian strain of voice against the ghosts and rumoured angels of her own emergent poetic imagination. These West Yorkshire interludes show Plath making use of an ambivalent energy in the landscape to mirror her self/psyche, a technique that can be seen in many of the Ariel poems, and the beginnings of a working out of the struggle between masculine and feminine voices that was to underpin much of her mature work.


A taxonomic revision and phylogeny of the neotropical palm genus Geonoma based on morphological data and morphometric methods was carried out. 4990 herbarium specimens were scored for 44 qualitative variables and 27 quantitative variables. Qualitative variables were divided into 30 characters and 14 traits. Using the phylogenetic species concept, characters were used to recognize 68 species. These are widely distributed from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Paraguay, and reach the Lesser Antilles and Hispaniola. Analysis of each species for traits, geographic distribution, and quantitative variables led to recognition of 90 subspecies in 18 species, giving a total of 140 taxa. Twelve new species (G. bernalii, G. concinnoidea, G. deneversii, G. dindoensis, G. fosteri, G. galeanoae, G. gentryi, G. operculata, G. peruviana, G. sanmartinensis, G. schizocarpa, G. venosa) and 33 new subspecies (G. brongniartii subsp. pascoensis, G. concinna subsp. simplex, G. concinnoidea subsp. coclensis, G. concinnoidea subsp. jefensis, G. congesta subsp. osensis, G. cuneata subsp. guanacastensis, G. cuneata subsp. indivisa, G. cuneata subsp. minor, G. cuneata subsp. rubra, G. deversa subsp. belizenesis, G. deversa subsp. peninsularis, G. deversa subsp. quadriflora, G. ferruginea subsp. nicaraguensis, G. lehmannii subsp. corrugata, G. longivaginata subsp. copensis, G. longivaginata subsp. sanblasensis, G. longivaginata subsp. vallensis, G. maxima subsp. dispersa, G. maxima subsp. multiramosa, G. maxima subsp. sigmoidea, G. pohliana subsp. linharenseis, G. pohliana subsp. rodriguesii, G. pohliana subsp. unaensis, G. stricta subsp. antioquiensis, G. stricta subsp. bracteata, G. stricta subsp. divaricata, G. stricta subsp. pendula, G. stricta subsp. pliniana, G. stricta subsp. quibdoensis, G. stricta subsp. submontana, G. undata subsp. tacarcunensis, G. undata subsp. tumucensis, G. undata subsp. venezuelana) are described. Forty-one new combinations are made. Several of the most variable species are considered to be species complexes and are divided into morphotypes-groups of similar specimens with no formal taxonomic status. Nomenclature, descriptions and distribution maps are provided for each species and subspecies. Images of the type specimens of all new taxa are also provided. A phylogenetic analysis, using the same 30 characters used for the taxonomic revision was carried out using parsimony analysis. A sample tree and consensus tree are shown and a discussion is given of the various clades.


MRP8 and MRP14 are two S100-like calcium-binding proteins of unknown function, associated with numbers of human inflammatory disorders. Both molecules have been described as L1 complex, cystic fibrosis antigen, or p8 and p14. We report here the cloning of mouse MRP8 and MRP14 and their pattern of expression during hematopoiesis. Mouse MRP8 and MRP14 proteins share 59% identity with their human counterparts, but they are more divergent than the other members of the S100 protein family. Mouse MRP proteins are coexpressed in fetal myeloid progenitors, where they are detected as early as day 11 of gestation. In fetal liver and yolk sac, MRP+ cell populations increased in number, in association with the development of the myeloid lineage. In adult mouse, we identified MRP8 and MRP14 proteins in immature myeloid cells of the bone marrow, myeloid cells in the splenic red pulp and marginal zone, in addition to monocytes and blood neutrophils. However, MRP expression is lost as cells terminally differentiate into tissue macrophages. In addition, using thioglycollate-induced peritoneal inflammatory exudates, we showed that MRP8 and MRP14 proteins are highly expressed in recruited neutrophils and monocytes.


Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of falls and their circumstances in non-institutionalized people older than 89 years and living in an urban community. Design: Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting: Community-based study. Participants: 137 nonagenarians living at home. Measurements: We evaluated sociodemographic data, capacity to perform basic activities according to the Barthel Index (BI) and instrumental activities on the Lawton-Brody Index (LI), cognition with the Spanish version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MEC), near visual acuity by the Snellen test, and auditory acuity with the whisper test. Results: Ninety-nine women (72%) and 38 men with an average age of 93.07 years (0.7) were included. 48.1% of them had suffered a fall during the last year, and in 20% of cases this had happened on more than one occasion. In 5.7% of cases, falls led to fractures. Factors associated with falls were a lower LI and a greater number of prescribed drugs. In the multivariate analysis the only factor related to falls was the number of drugs taken (p>0.001, odds ratio 0.785, 95% confidence interval 0.676-0.912). Conclusions: Measures to prevent falls among nonagenarians should be intensified due to their high frequency. In this age group the increase in the percentage of falls is mainly related to the higher number of drugs taken.


Fiscal vulnerability, like a contagion, poses a threat to financial sector stability, which can lead towards sovereign default. This study aimed to assess fiscal vulnerability to crisis by investigating the Australian economy's gross public debt, net public debt, and net financial liabilities. We used a threshold regression model and compared results with the baseline deficit–debt framework of analysis. The results of the base model suggested that the economy is fiscally sustainable, and that the primary surplus remains unaffected by increasing levels of public debt. In contrast, the threshold regression model indicated that the increasing level of debt has eroded primary surplus below the threshold level of 30.89% of public debt to GDP. These results need further investigation. Therefore, we modified our basic threshold model to capture budget deficit and surplus as a threshold in response to changes in public debt. The results from the sequential threshold regression model using the debt to GDP ratio and primary budget surplus identifying the periods of 1991, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019 as times of likely vulnerability to fiscal crisis. The overall results confirmed that the primary surplus remained sustainable over the estimated threshold level of public debt in all other sample periods and these findings persisted across alternative measures of public debt.


We explore, explain and extend previous research on the relations between large and small stock returns in six Asian (Pacific-Basin) nations and the association among the same six Asian financial markets. Our purpose is to provide evidence of the cross-autocorrelation of stock returns in a more recent time period than analysed before by others. Evidence is brought to bear as to the theoretical explanations for stock market behaviour of Pacific-Basin nations including those with large financial markets, i.e. Japan and Hong Kong, and those with small financial markets, i.e. Thailand and Malaysia. No other study collects and analyses stock market behaviour in these nations for the recent time period. In addition, we study results from a sample of time periods and compare them. We indicate the validity of the conclusion made on studies of earlier time periods which conflict with various explanations of stock market behaviours. Relations between large and small size firms' stock returns as well as the influence of lagged returns provide the subject matter of this study.


Outdoor workers performing heavy physical labour in hot conditions are at increased risk for developing occupational heat-related illness. Seasonal harvesting of certain tree fruits in Washington occurs during summer months. In addition to environmental heat exposure, harvesting involves internal heat generation from physical work. We sought to characterise heat stress and physiological effects of heat stress (heat strain) in workers performing harvest activities. During the summer of 2015, 46 pear and apple harvesters participated in a cross-sectional study in Yakima Valley, Washington for one work shift during warmer periods in August (n = 34) and cooler periods in September (n = 12). Heat stress and strain were characterised using American Conference of Governmental Hygienist (ACGIH) guidelines, which recommend thermal Action Limits and Threshold Limit Values based on several factors including: environmental temperatures, metabolic rate of task, clothing ensembles, core body temperature, and heart rate. Heat exposure was measured near individual workers using hand-held Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) monitors, metabolic rate was estimated using field observations and hip-mounted accelerometers, and research staff observed workers' clothing. Heart rate and core body temperature were monitored using heart rate monitors and ingestible core body temperature sensors. Of the 46 participants, 25 (54.4%) exceeded the ACGIH Action Limit (WBGT 25°C), and 16 (34.8%) exceeded the Threshold Limit Value (WBGT 28°C) for a moderate work task (300 Watts). All participants exceeding the Threshold Limit Value were working in August. Using accelerometer data (n = 39), 12 (30.8%) exceeded the Action Limit and 4 (10.3%) exceeded the Threshold Limit Value. Heat strain data are currently being analysed. Under current conditions, workers are exposed to hazardous thermal environments. Future climate conditions may further impact physically intensive outdoor occupations. Effective approaches for reducing heat exposure and/or promoting biological adaptation to heat are needed to prevent heat-related illness in vulnerable working populations.


We consider a wireless sensor network with n sensor nodes. The sensed data needs to be transferred in a multi-hop fashion to a common processing center. We consider the standard data sampling/sensing scheme where the sensor nodes have a sampling process independent of the transmission scheme. In this paper, we study the problem of optimizing the end-to-end delay in a multi-hop single-sink wireless sensor network. We prove that the delay-minimization objective function is strictly convex for the entire network. We then provide a distributed optimization framework to achieve the required objective. The approach is based on distributed convex optimization and deterministic distributed algorithm without feedback control. Only local knowledge is used to update the algorithmic steps. Specifically, we formulate the objective as a network level delay minimization function where the constraints are the reception-capacity and service-rate probabilities. Using the Lagrangian dual composition method, we derive a distributed primal-dual algorithm to minimize the delay in the network.We further develop a stochastic delay control primal-dual algorithm in the presence of noisy conditions. We also present its convergence and rate of convergence. The proposal is extensively evaluated by analysis and simulations.


BACKGROUND
The ability to predict the amount of bone remodeling around implants is important for a stable and predictable esthetic result. The purpose of this study was to investigate the amount of radiographic bone remodeling that occurs over time using a one-piece implant system.

METHODS
Twenty-seven patients receiving implants in the maxilla and 15 receiving implants in the mandible were included in the study. All implants were placed with a non-submerged surgical technique with varying locations of the rough-smooth border with respect to the alveolar crest. Clinical exams and radiographs were taken on the day of implant placement, at 6 months, and annually up to 5 years. Linear measurements from digitized radiographs were made from the implant shoulder to the first bone-to-implant contact at all time points.

RESULTS
A significant amount of bone remodeling compared to baseline occurred for all implants at the 6-month follow-up visit (1.10 mm), with the remaining time points showing virtually no change (0.1 mm). A relationship was found between the amount of bone remodeling and the location of the rough-smooth border with respect to the alveolar crest. Those implants with the rough-smooth border surgically placed below the crest had, on average, a greater amount of remodeling at 6 months (average 1.72 mm) than implants with the rough-smooth border placed at or near the crest (average 0.68 mm). In both situations, this remodeling: 1) occurred early (within 6 months), 2) reached a similar level, and 3) remained virtually unchanged up through 60 months (0.05 mm).

CONCLUSIONS
A physiologic dimension appears to exist between the bone and the implant-crown interface around one-piece implants that is established early and maintained over time. These results are significant because they demonstrate in patients that the magnitude of initial bone remodeling around these one-piece dental implants is dependent on the positioning of the rough-smooth border of the implant in an apico-coronal dimension. Furthermore, the dimension, from the crown-implant interface to the first bone-to-implant contact, is consistent with the formation of a biologic width similar to that found around the natural dentition.


In Mozambique, the majority of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Thus, the low levels of production and productivity, in conjunction with the relatively high population growth rate, have contributed substantially to a high unemployment rate, extensive poverty, and widespread VAD–especially among children and pregnant and lactating women. In early 2000, Mozambique experienced a severe flood that devastated cultivated land throughout the southern and central provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica and Sofala. Soon after the floods subsided, the government launched a program to multiply and distribute OFSVs. The program, which targeted the flood-affected rural people, was aimed at mitigating hunger and food insecurity, and reducing VAD. In addition, SARRNET, in close collaboration with its partners, conducted training activities to teach farmers about improved sweet potato agronomic practices, the crop's nutritional value and agro-processing techniques for sweet potato; developed teaching materials on nutritional concepts for the primary school curriculum; and sponsored field days/demonstration activities at which food products made out of the roots of OFSVs were displayed. Several studies have highlighted the importance of B-carotene as the predominant source of pro-Vitamin A in preventing VAD in developing countries. However, the bioavailability (conversion of B-carotene into Vitamin A and effective utilization of this Vitamin A by humans) is conditioned by a complex set of factors, including the type and amount of carotenoid in a meal, the matrix in which the carotenoid is incorporated, the presence of absorption and conversion modifiers, the health status of the target population, and the presence of other micronutrients. Studies aimed at assessing the impact of food-based interventions in developing countries revealed different results from country-to-country. Furthermore, the seasonal availability of enriched sources of B-carotene, the low bioavailability and conversion of B-carotene into Vitamin A, and the prevalence of infectious diseases hamper the efficacy of food-based initiatives to mitigate VAD in developing countries.


The development effect of steam flood well is influenced by the combination of the following parameters: injection speed, dryness fraction of steam, temperature of injection steam, and bottom hole flowing pressure. Taking the advantage of adaptive simulated annealing genetic algorithm with the characteristic of fast search and globally optimization, and combine with the mathematical model of the steam flood well. Maximization of the vapor-liquid interface factor is the target to optimize injection production parameter of the steam flood well, the results of the optimization shows that cumulative oil production increases obviously.


The efficiency improvement and emissions reduction potential of lean and EGR dilute operation of spark-ignition gasoline engines is well understood and documented. However, dilute operation is generally limited by deteriorating combustion stability with increasing inert gas levels. The combustion stability decreases due to reduced mixture flame speeds resulting in significantly increased combustion initiation periods and burn durations.A study was designed and executed to evaluate the potential to extend lean and EGR-dilute limits using a low-energy transient plasma ignition system. The low-energy transient plasma was generated by nano-second pulses and its performance compared to a conventional transistorized coil ignition system operated on an automotive, gasoline direct injection (GDI) single-cylinder research engine. The experimental assessment was focused on steady-state experiments at the part load condition of 1500 rpm 5.6 bar IMEP, where dilution tolerance is particularly critical to improving efficiency and emissions performance.Experimental results suggest that the energy delivery process of the low-energy transient plasma ignition system significantly improves part load dilution tolerance by reducing the early flame development period. Statistical analysis of relevant combustion metrics was performed in order to further investigate the effects of the advanced ignition system on combustion stability. Results confirm that at select operating conditions EGR tolerance and lean limit could be improved by as much as 20% (from 22.7 to 27.1% EGR) and nearly 10% (from λ=1.55 to 1.7) with the low-energy transient plasma ignition system.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


The violation case about religion insulting had been often times occurred in Indonesia; one of them was at Batu Town. It was axpected the government joint in creating religious community harmony and there was no discrimination for minority community anymore because implementation of rule was not running well and multi interpretation of the rule.
the problem formulation of this research: 1. How the effort of local government Batu town in creating Ministers Collective Rule No. 8 and No. 9 year 2006 by Ministers of religious and Ministers of internal Affairs and also giving comprehension toward community about the important of religious community harmony? 2. How Effective the Application of Ministers Collective Rule No. 8 and No. 9 year 2006 by Ministers of Religious Affairs and Ministers of Internal Affairs at Batu Town?
the mthod use in this research was approach method of juridical sosiologic by interview with several responders who really needed on writing thesis and observation directly to take primary data, then to be analyzed as descriptive. on the local government office Batu Town, head of Religious Community Harmony (KUB) Community Prosperity (KESRA), Department of Religious Affairs (DEPAG), Religious Figures and head of religious Community Harmony Forum (FKUB) Batu Town. To look for data which become causal factor the violation and implementation of Ministers Collective Rule between Ministers of Religious Affairs and Ministers of Internal Affairs No. 8 and No. 9 year 2006 about Cultivation of Religious Community Harmony (KUB), Socialization of Religious Community Harmony Forum (FKUB) and Establishment House of Worship at Batu Town.
The conclusion, lack of religious activity control that collected many people by law officer, particularly control in the field, government has to reviewed Ministers Collective Rule (PBM) based on needed of others religion that need house of worship suitable with religious sect, thus minority community was not gave discrimination anymore by current rules and social jealously that able to make conflicts like occurred so far in Indonesia. Suggestion, Ministers Collective Rule (PBM) has to be revised, appropriated with pluralism spirit and religioussty Indonesian people


This thesis examines different understandings of 'landscape' in Wales between 1900 and 1950, and
the implications of these 'ways of seeing' for questions of nationhood and national identity. The
bridge between these conceptual and political realms is the practice of rural planning as developed
and applied in Wales. The Introduction sets the thesis in the context of work on national identity
and the idea of landscape, and discusses the notion of modernity. It closes by outlining the
understandings of landscape which run through the body of this thesis - landscape as 'scenery',
'environment' and 'territory'.
Section One examines the evolution of planning in Wales. Chapter One identifies four individuals
who represent themes of sustained importance in the development of this modernist discipline. All
four were involved in the founding of the Council for the Preservation of Rural Wales (C.P.R.W.)
in 1928. The C.P.R.W. is the focus of Chapter Two in which planning ideals and notions of
scenic order are seen applied to the Welsh countryside. Consistent themes in the C.P.R.W.'s
approach are identified, and their success is evaluated. Section Two addresses the work of others
active in the study and planning of rural Wales, but from a perspective less concerned with the
visual construct of landscape. Chapter Three examines the work of geographers and other
academics, primarily in University College Aberystwyth, who constructed in their work a picture
of rural Wales as a repository of both ancient artefacts and contemporary civilising values. Welsh
history and society had, they argued, been shaped by its geography and environment. These
academics' attempts to plan rural society according to their ideals is considered. Academic work
informed the campaigns of the Welsh Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru, which is discussed in
Chapter Four. The nationalists echoed this reverence for rural Wales, seeing it as the fount of
national character. The evolution of a political philosophy around this sociological and territorial
concern is examined in detail. Section Three examines conflicts between these groups and their
philosophies of landscape in response to large-scale State planning. Chapter Five discusses
wartime land requisitioning and its perceived challenges to the scenic, social and political integrity
of rural Wales. Nationalist concern for the sovereignty of Welsh land emerges as the profoundest
issue. Chapter Six considers the role of Wales in post-war reconstruction, with particular reference
to debates on the subject of tourism and the holiday trades. Conflicting views as to the use Wales
should make of its rural resources become evident. In the Conclusion, the emergence of the main
themes surrounding landscape in rural Wales are summarised, and it is argued that the three ways of
seeing have merged to some extent. The implications of a greater concern for environment and
territory in planning are analysed, and some suggestions offered as to the role the discipline of
geography might play in the process of shaping new landscapes and environments.


We report trace element/calcium ratios for modern (Cu/Ca, Mn/Ca, Cd/Ca, and Pb/Ca) and seventeenth-century (Cu/Ca, Mn/Ca, and Pb/Ca) specimens of Favona claws collected in the Galapagos IsIands. These data include the first reliable m~s~ements of Cu/Ca ratios in coralline aragonite. We estimate that the ratio of CufCa in the lattice to that in seawater (i.e., the effective ~st~bution coefficient) is -0.3, lower than the value of 1 observed for several other divalent elements; we estimate the effective distribution coefficient for Mn is 1. Distribution coefficients in coral aragonite for 8 divalent metals are near unity despite different ionic radii and chemical speciation in seawater. Investigation of where these substituents are incorporated in the aragonite lattice is clearly warranted. In a modem Hood Island coral, quarter-annually sampled from 1964-73, Cu/Ca ratios decrease twofold from the late 1960s to early 1970s. Mn/Ca and Cd/Ca ratios vary seasonally with upwelling and the generic El Niiio. The El Niiio Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of 1965, 1969, and 1972 are marked by suppression of Cd/Ca ratios by about 2.5 nmol/mol, while the Mn/Ca ratio is highest during the strong 1972 ENSO. Pb/Ca ratios were relatively constant throughout this period. From the Cu/Ca record of a seventeenth-century Urvina Bay coral annually sampled from 16001725 and the estimated Cu distribution coefficient, surface seawater Cu concentrations at Galapagos during the seventeenth century were similar to present day at 0.71.4 nmol/kg. Estimated Pb concentrations were lower at 5-20 pmol/kg, and Mn concentrations were slightly higher at 1.6-2.8 nmol/kg.


In Augmented Reality (AR) the real world is enhanced by superimposed digital information commonly visualized through augmented annotations. The visualized data comes from many different data sources. One increasingly important source of data is user generated content. Unfortunately, AR tools that support user generated content are not common hence the majority of augmented data within AR applications is not generated utilizing AR technology. In this paper we discuss the main reasons for this and evaluate how the contact-view paradigm could enhance annotation authoring process within the class of tabletop size AR workspaces. This evaluation is based on a prototype that allows musicians to annotate a music score manuscript utilizing freehand drawing on top of device screen. Experimentation showed the potential of contact-view paradigm as an annotation authoring method that performs well in single and collaborative multi-user situations.


Through the analysis of wood microstructure, the study revealed the reason of forming the wood zone line pattern, and analyzed the wood zone line pattern's similarities and differences between the artificial cultivation and natural formation. And the wood zone line pattern was formed because that the fungal hyphae invaded into the wood inside. The research results showed that: (1) The causes for the formation of wood zone line pattern, took place when different fungi eroding the same tree, due to antagonism among the hyphae, and the zone line was formed on their against interface. (2) Artificial cultivation and natural formation wood zone line pattern were the same, their hyphae both entered into the wood cells, and formed the irregular, natural and beautiful pattern. The wood zone line pattern could be used as the woodwork surface decoration materials, they were the excellent materials of furniture and indoor decoration. The study laid a theoretical foundation for further research on artificial cultivation fungi coloring wood, really realized the wood biological coloring. And the wood zone line pattern was green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly products.


Due to colonization (1895-1960) Mali has been submitted, on the legislative and regulation plan to a corpus of numerous and scattered texts relative to pharmacy. It is essentially the Law AN XI of 21 Germinal or the 11 April 1803 Law; the content of Book V of the Public Health Code relative to pharmacy practice, of which some disposals have been extended to Overseas Territories, Togo and Cameroon in 1953; the 1955 Ministerial Order about the dispatching of the Retail Pharmacy in AOF; the 1960 Law creating the Board of Pharmacists in the Federation of Mali etc. After independence, the new Malian State while renewing the pharmacy legislation issued by the old tutor State which was not opposed to the new fundamental Law, has also set up, according to the political orientations of the moment, some new texts. In the framework of this work, we have collected all the legislative and regulation texts that have been allowed in Mali in the pharmacy area and in that of Studies in Pharmacy. We have examined those texts and proceeded to codify the legislative part. The present Code consists of 189 articles divided in 5 titles layed out in chapters and sections.


SUMMARY

We present a new database of surface wave group and phase-velocity dispersion curves derived from seismic ambient noise, cross-correlating continuous seismic recordings from the Swiss Network, the German Regional Seismological Network (GRSN), the Italian national broad-band network operated by the Istituto Nazionale di Geosica e Vulcanologia (INGV). To increase the aperture of the station array, additional measurements from the Mediterranean Very Broad-band Seismographic Network (MedNet), the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), the French, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian and Greek stations obtained through Orfeus are also included. The ambient noise, we are using to assemble our database, was recorded at the above-mentioned stations between 2006 January and 2006 December. Correlating continuous signal recorded at pairs of stations, allows to extract coherent surface wave signal travelling between the two stations. Usually the ambient-noise cross-correlation technique allows to have informations at periods of 30 s or shorter. By expanding the database of noise correlations, we seek to increase the resolution of the central Europe crustal model.

We invert the resulting data sets of group and phase velocities associated with 8–35 s Rayleigh waves, to determine 2-D group and phase-velocity maps of the European region. Inversions are conducted by means of a 2-D linearized tomographic inversion algorithm. The generally good agreement of our models with previous studies and good correlation of well-resolved velocity anomalies with geological features, such as sedimentary basins, crustal roots and mountain ranges, documents the effectiveness of our approach.


Today, one of the major challenges facing nursing and other health professions is the concept of "big data." The purpose of
 this commentary is to briefly define big data, discuss the need to
 incorporate big data in nursing curriculum to improve outcomes in
 health care organizations, and propose the development of a
 Masterfile to more accurately examine and predict the needs of
 the nursing workforce. The evolution of big data will benefit
 nursing and the advancement of nursing science by inspiring new
 ways of thinking about data and improving patient outcomes. In
 order to meet big data demands of health care organizations,
 schools of nursing must be encouraged to incorporate Big Data
 into their curriculum at all levels. The development of a Nursing
 Masterfile has the potential to support national and state level
 initiatives, and increase the accuracy with which the supply of the
 future nursing workforce can be projected. A comprehensive
 u nderstanding of the use of big data in nursing will enhance the
 development of nursing science.


Glossopharyngeal neuralgia, asystole, and seizures occurred in a patient with an internal carotid occlusion and external carotid stenosis. Swallowing was the triggering mechanism for these events. Mechanical stimulation of the pharynx failed to reproduce the symptoms. An ischemic injury to the glossopharyngeal nerve in the region of the jugular foramen that resulted in an artificial synapse is the proposed etiology.


The possibility of using plasma deposited thin films of iron oxides as electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) was examined. Results of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the plasma deposit consisted mainly of FeO X structures with the X parameter close to 1.5. For as deposited material iron atoms are almost exclusively in the Fe 3+ oxidation state without annealing in oxygen containing atmosphere. However, the annealing procedure can be used to remove the remains of carbon deposit from surface. The single cell test (SCT) was performed to determine the suitability of the produced material for ORR. Preliminary results showed that power density of 0.23 mW/cm 2 could be reached in the tested cell. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.23.1.14406


Aims. To identify the prognostic factors possibly related to end-stage renal failure development. Subjects and methods. The prognostic factors affecting chronic renal failure progression were analysed in 456 patients who had participated in a formal, multicentre, prospective randomized trial aimed at verifying the role of protein restriction in slowing down or halting the progression of chronic renal failure. The 24-month follow-up foreseen by the protocol was completed by 311 patients and 69 reached an end-point. An inductive analysis on patient survival was made by using the Cox proportional hazard regression model, using a stepwise procedure in order to select only those factors which are significantly associated with survival. For each individual risk factor, a univariate descriptive analysis of survival was performed using the Kaplan-Meier technique. Results. Underlying nephropathy, baseline plasma creatinine, proteinuria, and plasma calcium were all shown to be related to end-stage renal failure on-set. Hypertensive patients (mean blood pressure > 107 mmHg) had a worst cumulative renal survival but the degree of proteinuria was even more important as a prognostic factor of renal death than hypertension. The cumulative renal survival of patients whose proteinuria decreased during the trial follow-up was better than those of patients without changes. However, the interaction between baseline lying mean blood pressure and proteinuria was not significant. Conclusions. Only primary renal disease and proteinuria were related to renal survival, being baseline plasma creatinine confounding factor. By blocking the possible causal role of proteinuria and hypertension, end-stage renal failure could be prevented in a significant percentage of patients.


The global rise of dementia has provoked a multidimensional response from research, policy, and practice sectors. Care for dementia in hospital settings is of particular concern given the outsized lengths of stay and readmission rates. To respond to the resulting care needs, arts in health programmes are increasingly implemented in hospitals, with a central focus on supporting those with dementia. This PhD aimed to explore patterns of engagement with the arts and their psychosocial effects on hospital inpatients with dementia, with a particular focus on the differences in psychological impact between traditional and digital modes of engagement. The study used a sequential mixed methods design organised across three inter-related studies. Study 1, a cross-sectional study of 123 inpatients, used a questionnaire battery consisting of validated measures for loneliness, quality of life, and depression alongside questions regarding current, past-year, and life course engagement with different art forms and cultural activities. High rates of loneliness and depression were measured among participants, but current individual engagement with the arts was associated with less loneliness and increased quality of life. Notably, passive and solitary activities such as reading and watching television were associated with lower levels of loneliness. Study 2, a focused ethnographic study of 43 participants, focused on digital and traditional arts and music programmes at an acute care NHS trust. This study found that the novelty of digital art led to focused individual engagement while traditional art groups were more likely to engage socially. Additionally, this study presented a model for patient experience of hospital art groups describing the discrete and interactive effects of arts engagement, social interaction, and environment. Study 3, a 3-arm controlled study with 90 participants, compared validated before and after measures of anxiety and wellbeing for traditional art, digital art, and control activities. This study found short term improvements in wellbeing in both digital and traditional art groups and lowered anxiety in the traditional art group compared with a control group. The thesis triangulates data from the studies to explicate patterns of arts engagement and their effects. A methodological contribution is made by using both qualitative and quantitative methods to connect intra-activity data with outcome measures. Theoretical contributions include considerations of the balance between novelty and familiarity in arts engagement, the roles of the environment and social engagement in a hospital setting, and the use of art for both reminiscence and expression in dementia.


A case in which a radial forearm osteocutaneous perforator flap was successfully transferred for one-stage reconstruction of total nasal loss is described. This thin flap consists of vascularized radial bone, superficial adiposal tissue, and no deep fascia. It is nourished by a single perforator of the radial artery and a cutaneous vein. The advantages of this flap are minimal donor-site morbidity, easy reconstruction for preservation of the radial arterial system, and no need for longer dissection through the radial artery. The donor defect can be repaired with a flow-through flap, such as an anterolateral thigh flap or a latissimus dorsi perforator flap.