A general differential equ.ation model of the temporal evolution of a pest population density when subjected to control measures using a pesticide, is investigated. The model is based on logistic growth combined with population dispersal described by diffusion, and pesticide action is characterised by its LD90 toxicity measure and a consumption limited by a saturation pesticide density. Solutions are found for a number of assumed scenarios concerning the initial pest distribution and pesticide application strategy. Criteria are established for pesticide toxicity and application density to ensure eradication, and the efficiency of the strategies investigated are compared with regard to total pesticide consumption. It is shown that rather general conclusions can be reached, such as that it is inevitable that a pesticide residue is left after full eradication has been accomplished.


Objective: Coronary slow flow (CSF) is an angiographic phenomenon characterized by delayed opacification of coronary arteries in the absence of obstructive coronary disease. Recently, increased aortic pulse pressure (PP) and aortic pulsatility were both linked to the presence of angiographic coronary artery disease. In this study aortic PP and aortic pulsatility, derived from the invasively measured ascending aortic pressure waveform, were analyzed in patients with CSF and otherwise normal epicardial coronary arteries and compared with those with completely normal coronary arteries. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with CSF (35 men, mean age: 51.7 ± 10 years) and fifty age and gender-matched controls (34 men, 51.1 ± 9 years) were included in the study. For determination of coronary flow, the thrombosis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count method was used. Blood pressure waveforms of the ascending aorta were measured during cardiac catheterization with a fluid-filled system. Aortic pulsatility was estimated as the ratio of aortic PP to mean pressure. Results: Study groups were well matched with respect to age, gender and atherosclerotic risk factors. Although systolic, diastolic and mean pressures of the ascending aorta were similar, aortic PP (60.5 ± 19 vs. 51.7 ± 14 mm Hg, p = 0.01) and aortic pulsatility (0.63 ± 0.1 vs. 0.54 ± 0.1, p = 0.006) were significantly higher in patients with CSF compared with the controls. Besides, in all subjects, corrected TIMI frame counts of all three coronary arteries correlated with both ascending aorta PP and aortic pulsatility values. No association was found between corrected TIMI frame counts of coronary arteries and aortic mean blood pressure or brachial blood pressure parameters. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CSF is, as with obstructive coronary artery disease, associated with more diffuse vascular disease rather than being an isolated finding.


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a long history of habitat conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the United States that has focused on migratory birds, particularly waterfowl. The ongoing acquisition program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System has conserved approximately 1.1 million hectares of critical breeding waterfowl habitat. Results of recent predicted future climate scenarios are being used to suggest that waterfowl conservation be shifted away from currently important areas in the western and central portions of the U.S. PPR eastward, to locations where wetland and climate models suggest may become more conducive for providing wetland habitat for breeding ducks in the future. We used 24 years of breeding waterfowl and wetland monitoring data collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System in the PPR of North and South Dakota and northeast Montana, along with land value and restoration cost data to conduct an economic assessment of the biological risk of refocusing waterfowl conservation efforts eastward due to recent projections of climate change. We considered the immediate risk of the loss of existing wetland and grassland resources in the western portion of the U.S. PPR, their current carrying capacity and production potential, the financial cost of protection vs. restoration relative to current conservation priorities, and the uncertainty of climate change effects on waterfowl habitat distribution. Because unprotected wetland and grassland habitats exist in the western and central portions of the PPR that are important for maintaining current waterfowl carrying capacity and productivity, and climate change effects are highly uncertain, maintaining the current focus of habitat protection appears to be the most cost effective approach for waterfowl habitat conservation efforts. Additionally, continued intensive monitoring activities designed to detect changing waterfowl populations and upland and wetland habitat as they relate to anthropogenic impacts (e.g., pattern tile drainage, grassland conversion) and climatic changes (e.g., wetland hydro-period), should provide more precise results to inform and adapt management and conservation activities accordingly should spatial and temporal changes in wet-dry cycles occur in the future.


Cognitive linguistics is one of the most rapidly expanding schools in linguistics with, by now, an impressive and complex technical vocabulary. This alphabetic guide gives an up-to-date introduction to the key terms in cognitive linguistics, covering all the major theories, approaches, ideas and many of the relevant theoretical constructs. The Glossary also features a brief introduction to cognitive linguistics, a detailed annotated reading list and a listing of some of the key researchers in cognitive linguistics. The Glossary can be used as a companion volume to Cognitive Linguistics, by Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green, or as a stand-alone introduction to cognitive linguistics and its two hitherto best developed sub-branches: cognitive semantics, and cognitive approaches to grammar. Key features: * A handy and easily understandable pocket guide for anyone embarking on courses in cognitive linguistics, and language and mind. * Supplies numerous cross-references to related terms. * Includes coverage of newer areas such as Radical Construction Grammar, Embodied Construction Grammar, Primary MetaphorTheory and Principled Polysemy.


Iwould like to thank all of the members of the Western Surgical Association for the special privilege and honor of being your president. Members of this organization have been my teachers in medical school, mentors in residency, role models in my early academic career, and now valued colleagues and warm friends. I attended my first meeting of the Western Surgical Association 26 years ago in Las Vegas and had the opportunity to present one of my first papers to a major surgical organization. I became a member in 1987 at the meeting in Dallas. Like all initiates, I was told that new members were the lifeblood of the association and that good things would happen to those who took part in its activities. I certainly can vouch for the veracity of these words, since I have gotten back much more than I have given to this, the oldest of the regional surgical organizations.


In this paper, we derive power-loading strategies for single-user and multicast orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless links in the presence of a nonregenerative relay node. Our approach is based on the minimization of the vector error rate at the destination subject to individual power constraints at the source and the relay. For the single-user case, we propose a joint max-min power-loading strategy that is optimal at large signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and in doing so, we show how the original problem may be recast into an effective (no-relay) OFDM power-loading problem with a previously known solution. Using bounds on effective SNRs, we propose disjoint power-loading strategies that require channel state information either at the source or at the relay but not at both. For the multicast scenario, we propose a max-min equalizing solution that yields a minimum effective SNR at each user terminal. We also formulate several linear solutions based on prioritizing the users in the network. Our single-user simulations show considerable error-rate performance gains for the proposed joint max-min solution and gives hints as to where disjoint power loading is the most effective. Our multicast simulations show that the max-min equalizing solution is best suited for networks with random user locations, whereas the linear prioritizing solutions work best for networks with fixed user locations.


We introduce a novel Machine Learning (ML) approach for processing distributed fiber-optic sensing (DFOS) data that enables dynamic flow profile monitoring using a fiber-optic e-line cable deployed in a gas condensate well and compare it to a conventional approach. DFOS technology has the potential to provide more efficient and dynamic flow profiles compared to traditional methods, particularly in high rate gas wells where production logs (PL) are recorded at reduced rates to avoid tool lifting.
 Distributed acoustic and temperature sensing (DAS & DTS) data were acquired simultaneously while the well was producing ~70 MMSCF/D gas. Conventional PL data was also acquired under the same condition to validate the flow profiling results obtained from DFOS measurements. This paper describes a novel data processing approach where ML based models for pattern recognition were applied to obtain the signatures of different fluid types. Flow profiling is achieved by applying multiple data models to address three key questions for inflow profiling: (1) which zones are producing? (2) what is the phase? and (3) what is the flow rate?
 A blind test was set up to avoid results contamination. The processing and interpretation of DFOS data and PL data were carried out independently and results were compared only when the work on both datasets was completed. The comparison demonstrates a good match between two measurements for gas inflow profile with an average error of about 1% in relative gas rate allocation along the four producing perforated intervals. Flow profile in a single-phase gas producing well was accurately determined by DFOS data analysis and the liquid production rate was then re-calculated using condensate-gas ratio (CGR) to obtain liquid and gas production rates at standard surface condition. The well was connected to a test separator during the entire acquisition period, and accurate gas, condensate and water production rates were obtained in real-time at surface condition.
 The hybrid processing technique was applied for the first time among our well stock and resulted in accurate gas inflow profiling. To further validate the performance of the presented approach, the authors intend to repeat the test in other high rate gas producing wells, including wells with permanently installed fiber. Multi-disciplinary teamwork involved collaboration between operator and vendor and allowed for efficient operational execution. The result of the risk assessment ensured the selection of the best candidate well ensuring minimum sand production at the optimum production rate, optimization of stationary time for DFOS data acquisition and cable armor erosion model.


At the Department of Acquired Cardiac Diseases (Head is Prof. G. I. Tsukerman), A. N. Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, 145 patients underwent operation for ascending aortic aneurysms, out of them the Bentalle-De Bono and the Cabrol operations were performed in 81 and 25 patients, respectively, the remaining 39 patients had palliative interventions. From February 1991 to April 1993, the clinic performed in 11 patients prosthesis of the ascending aorta with a xeno-pericardial conduit containing a bioprosthesis of the same tissue. The paper describes the technical features of bio-conduit implantation. The use of xeno-pericardial conduits facilitates the technique of applying anastomoses, lowers hemophilia and reduces the length of an operation. Hemorrhagic and thromboembolic events are expected to be reduced in late periods. At the hospital stage 1 patient died. The cause of his death was peri-coronary hematoma. Ten patients are still under observation. Repeated examinations have not detected no specific complications typical of those observed in the application of synthetic conduits. The first experience has proved to be quite promising. However, the final assessment is possible only when sufficient clinical materials are accumulated and late outcomes are studied.


In recent years, quality attributes have received increased attention as being critical for a software system's success or failure. Different classifications of quality attributes frequently mention many relations both positive and negative between quality attributes. However, the classifications and the quality attribute relations are often presented in such a way that they are not easily compared with each other, which means that it is difficult to confirm the relations found in one source with the relations found in another. In this article we triangulate between different sources where quality attribute relations have been (or can be) expressed. The contribution is a consolidated view of which quality attributes that are considered (by several sources) to have positive or negative relations with each other.


In the last few years a large number of different procedures for flicker reduction were proposed. The different types are linear interpolation, nonlinear median filtering, motion adaptive processing, and vertical edge adaptive processing. These methods can be used for conversion to progressive scanning, but also for doubling the field frequency to avoid large area flicker. An experimental system was built to compare the different kinds of flicker reduction methods. Subjective tests show the advantages and drawbacks of each procedure. Based on these results, an optimized algorithm for an edge adaptive processing is proposed. >


Posterior mediastinal lesions represent a relatively small proportion of the case loads in thoracic surgery. As the minimally-invasive approaches to the lung and anterior mediastinum continued to advance and improve, many of those techniques can also be employed for posterior mediastinal lesions. Single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery and robot-assisted thoracic surgery are the two leading techniques in this field. Due to the lower incidence of posterior mediastinal lesions and the heterogeneity of the pathologies, evidence for their application is limited. Nevertheless, the available literature demonstrated high safety and effectiveness of these new approaches for surgical management of posterior mediastinal lesions with satisfactory short-term outcomes comparable to their conventional counterparts. Based on the promising early results, more evidence is expected to consolidate the role of these new techniques for posterior mediastinal lesions.


Background: Despite the demonstrated equivalency, rapid delivery, and lesser use of personnel resources with the MDI/spacer combination, nebulized salbutamol remains the standard therapy for patients with acute asthma . 23 Patients' perception of the nebulizer being more effective, the lack of coordination between MDI actuation and inhalation when using an MDI/spacer during acute asthma, especially for first time users, and the notion that delivery with non-disposable commercial spacers is more expensive, has limited the use of spacers in the ED. 24 Objective: To compare the effectiveness of administration of salbutamol by metered-dose inhaler with spacer and administration of salbutamol by nebulizer to treat asthma exacerbation in children aged 1-5 years. Methodology: The study was a prospective Randomized controlled trial, conducted in the pediatric emergency department of a tertiary care government hospital. Subjects n_75 received salbutamol with a nebulizer and the spacer group n_75 received salbutamol by MDI/spacer, symptom scores were monitored in the two groups. Results: In the nebulizer group, 76%(57nos) patients had mild breathlessness, decrease in alertness, wheezing and mild suprasternal retactions and 24% (18nos) had moderate symptoms .After the therapy 76% were relieved from the symptoms and 24%had mild problems. In the MDI spacer group 92% (69nos) had mild symptoms and 8% (6nos) had moderate symptoms. After the therapy 92% were relieved of the symptom and 8% had mild problems. Conclusion: It is concluded that MDI-spacer is as effective as a nebulizer for the aerosolized administration of salbutamol in an acute exacerbation of asthma in children. However, for developing countries, distinct advantages (economic and power requirement) argue strongly for utilization of MDI-spacer in preference to nebulizer.


Recently, the Weisfeiler-Lehman (WL) graph isomorphism test was used to measure the expressiveness of graph neural networks (GNNs), showing that the neighborhood aggregation GNNs were at most as powerful as 1-WL test in distinguishing graph structures. There were also improvements proposed in analogy to $k$-WL test ($k>1$). However, the aggregators in these GNNs are far from injective as required by the WL test, and suffer from weak distinguishing strength, making it become expressive bottlenecks. In this paper, we improve the expressiveness by exploring powerful aggregators. We reformulate aggregation with the corresponding aggregation coefficient matrix, and then systematically analyze the requirements of the aggregation coefficient matrix for building more powerful aggregators and even injective aggregators. It can also be viewed as the strategy for preserving the rank of hidden features, and implies that basic aggregators correspond to a special case of low-rank transformations. We also show the necessity of applying nonlinear units ahead of aggregation, which is different from most aggregation-based GNNs. Based on our theoretical analysis, we develop two GNN layers, ExpandingConv and CombConv. Experimental results show that our models significantly boost performance, especially for large and densely connected graphs.


One of the most challenging knowledge management tasks is to obtain, summarize, and present tacit knowledge. It is important to develop approaches for creating insightful summaries from the knowledge obtained. In this paper, we present different information extraction methods for summarizing interview transcripts. Manual, semi-automatic, and automatic text analysis are evaluated to transform tacit knowledge into explicit form and to substantially reduce the time required to perform this transformation. These approaches are described in the context of a real application.


Simulation during the design and operation of microgrids should include dynamic phenomena that would be a result of the unpredictable variation in renewable generation and loading. Detailed modelling of different components is constrained when using simplified models from suppliers. Accurate prediction of system response is needed to maintain voltage stability within a microgrid during islanded conditions and when grid-connected, between interconnected microgrids. Distributed energy resources in a microgrid are constituted by local generation (mostly renewable and standby diesel), a grid connection and increasingly, local storage (most commonly batteries). Synchronised field data is used to validate, and improve, the results obtained from a microgrid simulation model during both steady-state and transient conditions. This microgrid simulation approach makes use of MATLAB™ and DIgSILENT™, and is shown to be useful in designing for predictable performance. With field representative results, the model developed in DIgSILENT™ can be used as a development tool allowing various control strategies and component configurations to be tested.


We study the unexpectedly large rate for the factorization-forbidden decay $B\to \chi_{c0}K$ within the QCD factorization approach. We use a non-zero gluon mass to regularize the infrared divergences in vertex corrections. The end-point singularities arising from spectator corrections are regularized and carefully estimated by the off-shellness of quarks. We find that the contributions arising from the vertex and leading-twist spectator corrections are numerically small, and the twist-3 spectator contribution with chiral enhancement and linear end-point singularity becomes dominant. With reasonable choices for the parameters, the branching ratio for $B\to\chi_{c0}K$ decay is estimated to be in the range $(2-4)\times 10^{-4}$, which is compatible with the Belle and BaBar data.


The problem of control system design for longitudinal axis of a small-size flying wing is studied. The new controller proposed is comprised of two controllers working together to provide robust stability and step reference tracking for the nonlinear dynamics of SmartFly UAV. More precisely, Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) is used together with Proportional, Integral, Derivative (PID) controller. The inspiration comes from the fact that each of the mentioned controllers have advantages and disadvantages that cannot be neglected. LQR, as an optimal in terms of energy-like regulator, provides robust stability with a minimized energy-like performance index. It is also very computationally efficient. But, when it comes to the transient of particular output, LQR is not the best solution. On the other hand, PID has the advantage of a possibility to tune the gains for optimized transient behavior, especially for well-behaving plants. Furthermore, PID controller is particularly useful for tracking problems. However, PID is often not robust (in terms of parameter uncertainties) and it is also difficult to tune PID parameters for unstable systems. By differentiating between system stability and performance in the controller design process, it is possible to benefit from both controllers, using them along side together in one system. Functionality of this method was verified through computer simulation in MATLAB/SIMULINK for a nonlinear model of SmartFly UAV. Closed-loop system performance was evaluated in terms of robustness and step reference tracking.


Crystallographic CourseWare is a set of computer animations and interactive exercises designed to assist undergraduate and introductory graduate students in their learning of crystallography. Topics discussed include crystal growth, plane- and space-group symmetry elements, unit cells and asymmetric units, reciprocal space, precession photographs, and an introduction to reading the International Tables for Crystallography.


Loneliness can play a significant role in the wellbeing of older adults. This article describes a qualitative method for using case notes from the clinical records of older individuals in order to investigate the priority concerns spontaneously reported by older adults to deepen our understanding of both the context in which reported loneliness occurs in Ireland and the potential triggers. The participants in this study represent a cross-section of older adults who participated in the Technology Research for Independent Living Clinic (TRIL). Data were collected from participants through interviewer case notes at the TRIL centre in St James's hospital, Dublin. 624 participants (431 females; 193 males) ranging in age from 60-92 years (Mean 73 years, SD 7 years) took part in the study. All were community dwelling and provided consent. A thematic analysis from grounded theory was used to evaluate the case notes for each participant. Preliminary results highlight the richness of phenomenological experience to enhance our understanding of loneliness and provide an opportunity to better understand the precursors and variability that loneliness may take. In this study we found themes in the case note analysis linking social loneliness with self-imposed limitations on social engagement due to declining health while predominate themes for emotionally lonely focused on psychological issues of stress and anxiety associated with adverse life events. The results suggest the importance of case notes to inform clinical practice. Qualitative results provided insights into differing live events of older Irish adults, which help distinguish the causal differences between social and emotional loneliness.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this phase II trial was to assess tolerance and efficacy of the combination of radiation, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin as neoadjuvant treatment in locally advanced rectal cancer. Between March 2001 and August 2004 , 28 patients M/18 F/10 with locally advanced rectal cancer were entered in our study. All the patients underwent to the Radiotherapy with a total dose was 45 Gy and concurrent chemotherapy with Oxaliplatin 80 mg/mq G1 on weeks 1,3,5 followed by five day continuous infusion of 5-Fluorouracile 300 mg/mq on five consecutive weeks. Surgery was planned 5 weeks later. Surgery was performed in all patients after a mean interval time of 5 weeks. Side effects and toxicity included grade II sec WHO diarrhea and grade II mucositis , grade I-II dysuria and skin reaction Downstaging to T0-2N0 was achieved in 18 patients (65%) with 4 (15%) achieving a pathologically complete response.

CONCLUSIONS
Such a combined preoperative chemioradiotherapy and oxaliplatin-containing regimen is well tolerated with non increase in surgical toxicity. The good response rate observed warrants its use in further clinical trials.


BACKGROUND
Pediatric bipolar disorder (BD), a highly debilitating illness, is characterized by amygdala abnormalities, i.e., volume reduction and hyperactivation during face processing. Evidence of perturbed amygdala functional connectivity with other brain regions would implicate a distributed neural circuit in the pathophysiology of BD, and would further elucidate the neural mechanisms associated with BD face emotion misinterpretation.

METHODS
Thirty-three BD and 24 healthy age, gender, and IQ-matched subjects completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task of face emotion identification in which attention was directed to emotional (hostility, fearfulness) and nonemotional (nose width) aspects of faces. Voxel-wise analyses examined whole brain functional connectivity with the left amygdala.

RESULTS
Compared to healthy subjects, BD subjects had significantly reduced connectivity between the left amygdala and two regions: right posterior cingulate/precuneus and right fusiform gyrus/parahippocampal gyrus. Deficits were evident regardless of mood state and comorbid diagnoses.

CONCLUSIONS
BD youth exhibit deficient connectivity between the amygdala and temporal association cortical regions previously implicated in processing facial expressions and social stimuli. In conjunction with previously documented volumetric and functional perturbations in these brain regions, dysfunction in this distributed neural circuit may begin to clarify the pathophysiology of the face emotion misperceptions and social deficits seen in BD youth.


Perold and Sharpe (1988) present four dynamic strategies which combine investment in stocks with investment in Treasury bills to reduce the risk of equity portfolios. This study uses empirical resampling (historical simulation) to examine the risk and ending wealth of three of these strategies – buy and hold, constant mix, and CPPI. While results are generally consistent with the average proportion of common stock in the portfolio these strategies imply – greater return and risk from a greater proportion of common stock in the portfolio – there are some exceptions. Finally, although the buy and hold strategy places a positive floor on value of the portfolio while the constant mix strategy does not, this makes the buy and hold strategy less risky than the constant mix strategy only in a few limited cases.


: Intelligent Tutoring System has been developed to provide an individualized learning environment in order to prompt learning interests and learning efficiency for online education. In this paper, based on the concept of intelligent tutoring system and educational product function, we establish a distance learning environment where students receive learning contents that best suit their needs. In this environment, we adopt clustering theory by utilizing SOM algorithm in the system and analyze the relationship between students' personal background, interests and learning result. The workload of instructors is relieved and student's learning ability and interests are considered in providing adequate learning contents which lead to more effective teaching effect and learning result. The proposed system is applied to the construction of an online 3D virtual museum.


Brassicaceae is one of the most diverse and economically valuable angiosperm families with widely cultivated vegetable crops and scientifically important model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana. The evolutionary history, ecological, morphological, and genetic diversity, and abundant resources and knowledge of Brassicaceae make it an excellent model family for evolutionary studies. Recent phylogenetic analyses of the family revealed three major lineages (I, II, and III), but relationships among and within these lineages remain largely unclear. Here, we present a highly supported phylogeny with six major clades using nuclear markers from newly sequenced transcriptomes of 32 Brassicaceae species and large data sets from additional taxa for a total of 55 species spanning 29 out of 51 tribes. Clade A consisting of Lineage I and Macropodium nivale is sister to combined Clade B (with Lineage II and others) and a new Clade C. The ABC clade is sister to Clade D with species previously weakly associated with Lineage II and Clade E (Lineage III) is sister to the ABCD clade. Clade F (the tribe Aethionemeae) is sister to the remainder of the entire family. Molecular clock estimation reveals an early radiation of major clades near or shortly after the Eocene–Oligocene boundary and subsequent nested divergences of several tribes of the previously polytomous Expanded Lineage II. Reconstruction of ancestral morphological states during the Brassicaceae evolution indicates prevalent parallel (convergent) evolution of several traits over deep times across the entire family. These results form a foundation for future evolutionary analyses of structures and functions across Brassicaceae.


New light curves and available times of minima of a β Lyr system EG Cep were analysed to deduce more information on the nature of the system. The main U-shaped (O – C) variation was interpreted in terms of the mass transfer and mass loss in the system. The same variation was also considered as a part of a sinusoidal variation and thus interpreted in terms of a light-time effect due to an unseen component in the system. New B and V light curves were analyzed with different fitting procedures, and there is general agreement that both stars must be very close to each other and to stability limits. A model that fits all the data well has a near main sequence primary and a secondary star that is overflowing matter towards it. This secondary is also reasonably close to main sequence conditions. The configuration thus appears to be a (relatively uncommon) 'Case A' type evolving Algol and raises interesting questions about such interactive evolution and potentially useful tests of theory. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The fall in blood pressure which all observers agree is commonly found accompanying spinal anesthesia has been ascribed in the main to two causes: (1) dilatation of the arterioles in the anesthetized area due to a block of vasoconstrictor fibers in the anesthetized roots 1 ; (2) decreased cardiac output. 2 The evidence in the literature for diminished vasoconstriction is as follows: Burch and Harrison le showed that spinal anesthesia increases the rate of flow of perfusion fluid through the femoral and brachial arteries of dogs. They showed also that compensatory vasoconstriction following hemorrhage by bleeding as shown by a marked diminution in the perfusion rate does not occur in the animals which receive spinal anesthesia, since in these animals the perfusion rate is unchanged or increased by hemorrhage. They concluded that ... in subjects under spinal anesthesia, the power of active vasoconstriction is, however, more or less completely absent because of


Background: Assessment of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in stress-related health problems in humans is frequently carried out as a dynamic test by measuring the profile of increment in adrenocortical hormone (ACTH) and/or cortisol level in plasma in response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) administration. However, obtaining multiple blood samples for this type of test is not only an invasive procedure but also problematic to use in individuals with constricted or damaged veins which collapse during the blood draw such as the injecting drug users (IDUs) and HIV-1-infected individuals. Salivary cortisol measurement presents a non-invasive alternate approach to evaluate HPA axis activity in different situations. In order to validate the efficacy of salivary cortisol measurement for a dynamic test in IDUs and HIV-1-infected individuals, the present study was carried out to evaluate the cortisol profile in matched samples of plasma and saliva in healthy young men in response to ovine CRH (oCRH) administration. Methods: Cortisol levels were measured in matched samples of plasma and saliva of healthy young men at baseline and over a 90-min period after administration of a single low dose of oCRH (1 µg/kg). Results: Salivary cortisol levels were found to follow the profile similar to that of plasma, increasing significantly at each time point after oCRH administration from their respective baseline values (all Sign tests, p < 0.05). The peak level of cortisol occurred at 30 min in both fluids. Although salivary cortisol concentration was a fraction of the total plasma cortisol levels at all time points, there was a significant correlation in the values between the two fluids at baseline (r = 0.87, p < 0.02) as well as at 90 min (r = 0.70, p < 0.03). Conclusion: The findings support the earlier studies and substantiate the efficacy of using salivary free cortisol measurement for assessment of dynamic function of pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy young men and its application in individuals such as IDUs and HIV-infected individuals who may have difficulty in donating multiple blood samples.


Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a pathogenic, positive-sense RNA virus of the Alphavirus genus, which causes fever and debilitating joint pain in humans. CHIKV is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and is currently re-emerging in the absence of approved vaccines or antiviral therapies. One approach to vaccine production is to attenuate CHIKV replication through disruption of genomic RNA secondary structures. We have mapped the RNA structure of the 5' region of the CHIKV genome using selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analysed by primer extension (SHAPE) to investigate intramolecular base-pairing at single-nucleotide resolution. We have identified five highly-conserved RNA structures within the nsP1-coding region of ORF-1 and, using a reverse genetics approach, determined their impact on virus replication in infectious virus and luciferase-reporter subgenomic replicon systems. Our results suggest that RNA structures within the nsP1-coding region are required for efficient CHIKV genome replication in mammalian and mosquito cells, potentially via vertebrate/invertebrate host-specific mechanisms. For example, disruption of one of the stem-loops inhibits CHIKV replication in mammalian cell lines, while having no significant effect in mosquito cells. Restoration of the structure via compensatory silent mutations restores replication – indicating RNA structure-dependent enhancement of CHIKV replication. Conversely, disruption of an adjacent stem-loop inhibits CHIKV replication in mosquito cells but not in mammalian cell lines. Our structural data also suggests that higher-order interactions within this region impact CHIKV replication. As arboviruses continue to re-emerge, it is critical that we improve our understanding of their replication cycles. RNA structures may constitute novel targets for vaccine attenuation or drug design.


Abstract After the People's Republic of China resumed her sovereign control over Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was established pursuant to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, which is the constitutional document for Hong Kong. The Basic Law of Hong Kong defines the scope of autonomy enjoyed by Hong Kong as a region within a unitary state under the policy of 'one country, two systems.' However, the policy has never been clear, and it leads to controversy surrounding the application of the 'dual system' of constitutional interpretation in Hong Kong, as the highest appellate court in Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal, may be required to refer to the Chinese Government for interpretation of the Basic Law. In this article, the referral mechanism in the Basic Law and the scope of constitutional jurisdiction enjoyed by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal after the two landmark cases, Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration and Democratic Republic of the Congo v FG Hemisphere Associates LLC, will be discussed with reference to the similar mechanism under Article 177 of the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community (now Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), to ascertain who will interpret the 'mini-constitution' of Hong Kong.


Mistletoe, Viscum album, is a medicinal plant used in complementary medicine in oncology. Patients do not necessarily mention to their oncologist this phytotherapeutic treatment which may be responsible for unsuspected drug interactions. Some patients are adept at taking medicinal plants, a practice often unknown to health professionals who take care of them. This case reports drug interactions leading to bleeding secondary to warfarin overdose. A patient over 75 years of age was treated with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine as a first course for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (day 0). He was also treated with warfarin for atrial fibrillation. At day 3, he reported faintness and melena. At day 5, the biological assessment revealed anemia with hemoglobinemia of 5.1 g/dL and an international normalized ratio of 7.3, indicating vitamin K antagonist (VKA) overdose. Warfarin was discontinued and the patient received vitamin K supplementation and transfusions. The final diagnosis was an anemic syndrome due to gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to VKA overdose. Based on the chronology, a drug interaction between chemotherapy and warfarin was first suspected. Then, the patient interview found out that he self-medicated with subcutaneous injections of mistletoe extracts: 10 mg on day 0 and on day 2. Nab-paclitaxel can displace warfarin from its albumin binding sites and increase the free and active concentration of warfarin. Mistletoe extracts (V. album) are used as complementary medicine in oncology. Warfarin is predominantly metabolized in the liver by 1A2, 2C9, and 3A4 cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms. An inhibitor of these cytochromes prevents the degradation of warfarin into inactive metabolites, leading to accumulation or even overdose of this narrow therapeutic index VKA. Nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine do not act on these cytochromes. V. album is a cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitor which therefore probably led to an increase in exposure to warfarin. Thus, there are two pharmacokinetic hypotheses that may explain warfarin overdose: the displacement of warfarin from its albumin binding sites or the inhibition of CYP3A4 by mistletoe. This adverse drug event was reported to the Regional Pharmacovigilance Center of Strasbourg on June 30, 2021, and registered under the number ST20212767.


With the evolution of power system components and structures driven mainly by renewable energy technologies, reliability of the network could be compromised with traditional control methodologies. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly validate and test future power system control concepts before deployment. In this paper, a Controller Hardware in the Loop (CHIL) simulation for a real-time distributed control algorithm concept developed within the ELECTRA IRP project is performed. CHIL allows exploration of many real-world issues such as noise, randomness of event timings, and hardware design issues that are often not present on a simulation-only system. Octave has been used as the programming language of the controller in order to facilitate the transition between software simulation and real-time control testing. The distributed controller achieved frequency restoration with a collaborative response between different controllers very fast after the unbalanced area is located.


This paper aims to explain Indonesia's readiness and challenges in implementing the ASEAN Community Project. ASEAN Community has been running for more than one year, since 2015. ASEAN Community as part of the regionalization process is intended as a way to enhance cooperation and unity among ASEAN countries. However, the process requires the readiness of a country in various aspects, one of which is the security and political conditions of a country. Using a political security approach, this paper seeks to address Indonesia's readiness and challenges in implementing this ASEAN Community. Based on the findings, this paper concludes two points; Firstly, Indonesia is facing many challenges both internally and externally, especially in an effort to give the protection and guaranty at the level of individuals associated with human rights issues. Some challenges can be seen from the increasing restricted civil liberties, intolerance action, and the use of threat of some groups in many areas. Secondly, as the first consequence, Indonesia's political and security situation is internally unstable in which causes a divided society and a stagnant democracy. This condition implicitly describes the condition of Indonesia's readiness and challenges in implementing the ASEAN Community project.

Keywords: Political and Security, Democracy, Readiness, Challenge, ASEAN Community


Abstract The purpose of this paper is to classify Italian adjectives that have the predicative function and accept a complement clause (Ch F) or an infinitive (V-inf) in N0 or N1. For the formation of the word list, we have used electronic dictionaries from the "DELA" system in use in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Salerno (now Department of Political and Communication Sciences) and De Mauro Dictionaries (2000a and 2000b). 34,132 adjectives of the Nooj list have been examined. The acquired data have been subjected to further verifications in order to obtain the adjectives responding to the basic theoretical hypothesis. The adjectives have been classified according to the principles of Lexicon-Grammar methodology as developed by Maurice Gross (1975, 1981 and further). The result was a list of 1,732 entries relating to 1,619 adjectives classified in 10 classes.


Terrestrial shallow seismic reflection offers great potential in the characterization of shallow sedimentary environments. Experience from the oil industry's standard use of the seismic technique in basin-wide, 3D seismic stratigraphic studies reinforces this point. Unlike the marine environment, where it is relatively easy to record high resolution shallow reflections, land acquisition can be affected by near surface layers that absorb the high frequency signals necessary to resolve thin sub-surface sedimentary layers. The quality of reflection data recorded in shallow terrestrial environments can be difficult to predict without initial field trials. Shallow 2D and 3D reflection data can be improved greatly by the use of appropriate seismic sources, receivers and modern distributed recording systems utilizing many recording channels. UK-based case studies are described at Porth Neigwl; Dinas Dinlle; St Bees and Camlad Valley where the resolution capabilities of the reflection data are of the same magnitude as the thickness of sedimentary units exposed in cliff section or boreholes. At these sites, a fully integrated interpretation framework for sedimentary environments can be determined. A survey at Llanrhidian Marsh, Gower is also described where organic rich surface sediments absorbed the high frequency reflections necessary to image the thin sedimentary units revealed in shallow boreholes.


BACKGROUND
There remains controversy regarding the outcomes resulting from treatment versus conservative management of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) among preterm infants. The effects of extreme prematurity, hemodynamic status of the PDA, and age at treatment remain poorly defined.

STUDY DESIGN
This retrospective case-control study including infants <  1250 gm who were categorized into 3 groups: Group 1: without PDA, Group 2: with untreated PDA, and Group 3: treated PDA. Diagnosis and treatment of PDA extracted from the medical records. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes compared using chi-square and analysis of variance. Logistic regression used to estimate adjusted odds ratios.

RESULTS
The study included 734 infants, with 141(19%) in Group 1, 329 (45%) in 2, and 264 (36%) in 3. Group 3 had higher incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (aOR, 2.9; 95%CI 1.7-4.8). Infant treated for hemodynamically significant PDA (HSPDA) had higher incidence of BPD (aOR, 1.9; 95%CI 1.0-3.8) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (aOR, 3.4; 95%CI 1.6-6.9). There were no differences in outcome associated with treatment among≤26 weeks gestation and the age when treated.

CONCLUSION
Infants with PDA who were treated had higher incidence of BPD. Among those who were treated, those with HSPDA had a higher incidence of BPD and ROP.


Fingerprint sensor becomes more and more popular, and has been installed in many electronic devices, ranging from portable mobile devices to high-end personal computers. With the high penetration power of fingerprint sensor, this paper proposes to make use of finger gesture as a natural physical input device through a sweep fingerprint sensor which is small, compact and cost effective. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to perform finger gesture recognition on sweep sensor. The contributions of this paper are threefold. First, we define a set of finger motion features for finger gesture recognition. Second, we develop an efficient algorithm to detect the finger motion features. Finally, we propose and develop an efficient algorithm to recognize four finger gestures. Experimental results show that the proposed method could recognize four gestures with 95% accuracy. The computational time to recognize one finger gesture is less than 70 ms in a standard PC. The encouraging results show that the proposed finger gesture recognition algorithm is ready to be deployed to consumer electronics and provides a new mean for natural input.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent for the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. For laboratory diagnosis, low-cost detection of SARS-CoV-2 is urgently needed, particularly in developing countries with limited resources. Probe- or TaqMan-based real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is currently the gold standard for diagnosing infected individuals, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, this assay is expensive, making it difficult to use for diagnosis on a large scale. Therefore, in this study we develop and validate an alternative approach for RT-qPCR diagnosis by employing the DNA intercalating dye SYBR Green. We evaluate and use two WHO-recommended primers, namely CCDC-N and HKU-ORF1b-nsp14. Compatibility of the two primers was tested in silico with Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences retrieved from the GISAID database and using a bioinformatic tools. Using in vitro-transcribed RNA, optimization, sensitivity, and linearity of the two assays targeting the N and Nsp-14 genes were carried out. For further evaluation, we used clinical samples from patients and performed the SYBR Green-based RT-qPCR assay protocol in parallel with TaqMan-based commercial assay. Our results show that our methodology performs similarly to the broadly used TaqMan-based detection method in terms of specificity and sensitivity and thus offers an alternative assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for diagnostic purposes.


SUMMARY This article is part of a research in progress about comparative study methods for the Brazilian reality using among many other authors, Givoni (1969), Voght and Miller-Chagas (1970), Fanger-ISO(1970), ASHRAE (55-1992), Mahoney (1971), Humphreys (1978) and Olgyay (1962) methods. This research presents the principal concept to be evaluated by the Universal Fuzzy Controlled aiming to establish a reference to determine a possible interference of the acclimatization factor to determine thermal comfort. An experimental evaluation method was elaborated through a questionnaire applied to the population of students in classroom, monitoring the environmental variables inside and outside the classroom during the years 2004 and 2005. It shows their particularities for the altitude tropical climate of the city of Sao Paulo - Brazil. This article describes interference of mass advance at the responses of students in classroom comparing to internal and external environment variables. The data was gotten in parallel with classroom in full activity.


Summary. More than 150 large deep-seated landslides have been mapped in the Flemish Ardennes. Slope instabilities that have occurred in this hilly area of western Belgium during the last decades correspond to ground movements within these pre-existing landslides. In order to identify the mechanisms and controlling factors of these ground movements, a good knowledge of their spatial and temporal distribution is critical. 13 landslides affecting two hills were investigated based on several DTMs extracted by aerial stereophotogrammetry and spanning the 1952–1996 period. Vertical ground displacements were measured at each pixel by DTM subtraction with a confidence value of 0.70 m. Horizontal displacements were also estimated within the landslides and along the head scarps through topographical profiles. Most observed movements displayed patterns typical of rotational landslides. Vertical and horizontal displacements vary in magnitude both spatially and temporally, with respective ranges – 7.4 m–+ 3.8 m and 0–14 m. Many displacements are materialized in the field. We distinguished two kinds of slope processes, corresponding to either reactivation at a deeper level or shallower motion. The former re-uses pre-exiting surfaces of rupture located at depths of ~ 15– 20 m and is associated with the largest subsidence and uplift. They are also smaller reactivations confined at the landslide head. The other displacements consist in (1) earth flows occurring in the zone of accumulation sometimes as a consequence of large upslope reactivations, and (2) small failures occurring randomly. While most movements were triggered by intense rainfall, their spatial and temporal distribution is strongly related with the nature of the vegetation cover and the human activity.


This research explores the contributions of the sharing economy to food security in Australia by examining how the sharing economy promotes access to food to a population that is unable to acquire enough healthy quality food to meet their needs. The findings of this research offer a range of sharing economy approaches to address food insecurity and provide evidence of the contributions and constraints of the sharing economy to access to food, core element of food security. The study identifies practices and policies that can be developed to achieve food security in a more meaningful way in Australia.


Increasing evidence supports the important role of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Many reports suggest that epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a useful marker for cancer stem cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To elucidate the mechanisms of cancer stem cells, the development of specific molecular targeted drugs has become very important. In the present study, we examined the EpCAM expression pattern and its characteristic expression in resected HCC. We studied the drug resistance of EpCAM expression cells. EpCAM expression was detected significantly more frequently with hepatitis B virus (HBV) than with other etiologies. In HCC resection patients who had received prior treatment (transcatheter arterial embolization or hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy), EpCAM was strongly expressed. In particular, very strong expression was observed after hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. The PLC/PRF/5 human HCC cell line expressed bimodal EpCAM, and EpCAM-positive cells had CSC cell potency. The EpCAM expression in EpCAM-positive cells increased significantly by treatment with cisplatin. EpCAM-positive cells showed better viability than EpCAM-negative cells when treated with ciplatin. Collectively, our results suggest that cancer stem cells are highly expressed in hepatitis B and have potential anticancer drug resistance.


Solid-state drives (SSDs) are quickly becoming an affordable alternative to mechanical hard disk drives. SSDs perform low latency reads and have access times that are magnitudes smaller than those of their mechanical counterparts. Many current file systems make clever optimizations that target mechanical hard disk drives; the faster performance of SSDs without use of mechanical parts makes obsolete many of these file system optimizations. We created a file system meant for use with SSDs. Our file system IotaFS is based on the small, simple Minix file system, and we investigate a few optimizations of our own. We compare the performance of IotaFS with existing file systems such as ext3 and ReiserFS on both SSDs and mechanical hard drives.


Informed by stakeholder theory and resource dependence theory, this paper investigates whether United Kingdom (UK) charities are engaged in earnings management practices. Based on a sample of 1414 charities over a five-year period (2008–2012) this study firstly finds that UK charities use discretionary accruals to drive their financial results toward a zero surplus/deficit; this result also reveals that the distribution of reported earnings around zero is prevalent amongst UK charities. In addition, in contrast to prior findings, the empirical results point to a significant association between leverage and earnings management behaviour by charities. Lastly, this study also finds that the practice of earnings management is influenced by non-profit organizational size.


Objective Ambulance-based secondary telephone triage systems have been established in ambulance services to divert low-acuity cases away from emergency ambulance dispatch. However, some low-acuity cases still receive an emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary triage. To date, no evidence exists identifying whether these cases required an emergency ambulance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cases were appropriately referred for emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary telephone triage. Methods A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted of cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch in Melbourne, Australia following secondary telephone triage between September 2009 and June 2012. Appropriateness was measured by assessing the frequency of advanced life support (ALS) treatment by paramedics, and paramedic transport to hospital. Results There were 23,696 cases included in this study. Overall, 54% of cases received paramedic treatment, which was similar to the state-wide rate for emergency ambulance cases (55.5%). All secondary telephone triage cases referred for emergency ambulance dispatch had transportation rates higher than all metropolitan emergency ambulance cases (82.2% versus 71.1%). Two-thirds of the cases that were transported were also treated by paramedics (66.5%), and 17.7% of cases were not transported to hospital by ambulance following paramedic assessment. Conclusions Overall, the cases returned for emergency ambulance dispatch following secondary telephone triage were appropriate. Nevertheless, the paramedic treatment rates in particular indicate a considerable rate of overtriage requiring further investigation to optimize the efficacy of secondary telephone triage.


ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus that has emerged as the cause of encephalitis and fetal microencephaly in the Americas. ZIKV uniquely persists in human bodily fluids for up to 6 months, is sexually transmitted, and traverses the placenta and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to damage neurons. Cells that support persistent ZIKV replication and mechanisms by which ZIKV establishes persistence remain enigmatic but central to ZIKV entry into protected neuronal compartments. The endothelial cell (EC) lining of capillaries normally constrains transplacental transmission and forms the BBB, which selectively restricts access of blood constituents to neurons. We found that ZIKV (strain PRVABC59) persistently infects and continuously replicates in primary human brain microvascular ECs (hBMECs), without cytopathology, for >9 days and following hBMEC passage. ZIKV did not permeabilize hBMECs but was released basolaterally from polarized hBMECs, suggesting a direct mechanism for ZIKV to cross the BBB. ZIKV-infected hBMECs were rapidly resistant to alpha interferon (IFN-α) and transiently induced, but failed to secrete, IFN-β and IFN-λ. Global transcriptome analysis determined that ZIKV constitutively induced IFN regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), IRF9, and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) 1 to 9 days postinfection, despite persistently replicating in hBMECs. ZIKV constitutively induced ISG15, HERC5, and USP18, which are linked to hepatitis C virus (HCV) persistence and IFN regulation, chemokine CCL5, which is associated with immunopathogenesis, as well as cell survival factors. Our results reveal that hBMECs act as a reservoir of persistent ZIKV replication, suggest routes for ZIKV to cross hBMECs into neuronal compartments, and define novel mechanisms of ZIKV persistence that can be targeted to restrict ZIKV spread. IMPORTANCE ZIKV persists in patients, crossing placental and neuronal barriers, damaging neurons, and causing fetal microencephaly. We found that ZIKV persistently infects brain endothelial cells that normally protect neurons from viral exposure. hBMECs are not damaged by ZIKV infection and, analogous to persistent HCV infection, ZIKV constitutively induces and evades antiviral ISG and IFN responses to continuously replicate in hBMECs. As a result, hBMECs provide a protective niche for systemic ZIKV spread and a viral reservoir localized in the normally protective blood-brain barrier. Consistent with the spread of ZIKV into neuronal compartments, ZIKV was released basolaterally from hBMECs. Our findings define hBMEC responses that contribute to persistent ZIKV infection and potential targets for clearing ZIKV infections from hBMECs. These results further suggest roles for additional ZIKV-infected ECs to facilitate viral spread and persistence in the protected placental, retinal, and testicular compartments. ZIKV persists in patients, crossing placental and neuronal barriers, damaging neurons, and causing fetal microencephaly. We found that ZIKV persistently infects brain endothelial cells that normally protect neurons from viral exposure. hBMECs are not damaged by ZIKV infection and, analogous to persistent HCV infection, ZIKV constitutively induces and evades antiviral ISG and IFN responses to continuously replicate in hBMECs. As a result, hBMECs provide a protective niche for systemic ZIKV spread and a viral reservoir localized in the normally protective blood-brain barrier. Consistent with the spread of ZIKV into neuronal compartments, ZIKV was released basolaterally from hBMECs. Our findings define hBMEC responses that contribute to persistent ZIKV infection and potential targets for clearing ZIKV infections from hBMECs. These results further suggest roles for additional ZIKV-infected ECs to facilitate viral spread and persistence in the protected placental, retinal, and testicular compartments.


Aside from monitoring calls for quality assurance purposes, many corporate call centers require call monitoring for anger management. By identifying angry emotions in calls, managers can take appropriate action against call agents who may have behaved improperly. NICE Systems Inc., a supplier of call monitoring systems, has developed an emotion-sensitive software that is able to detect angry emotions during phone conversations using the changes in a voice's pitch. The software engine will go over the data signal, and, second by second, run the algorithm. If emotion is detected, a report is generated that includes the level of certainty that the call included angry emotions. As the software improves and the hardware gets faster, ever more calls will be scanned in ever more sophisticated ways.


An atomic scale modeling method is provided to study the buckling behavior of the single-walled carbon nanotubes. The Brenner potential is employed to describe the C-C atomic interaction,and the stable state is determined using the Norton's method with the first- and second-order derivatives of the total energy with respect to the atomic coordinates. The reponse of single-walled carbon nanotubes under the axial compressive, twisting and buckling loads is modeled using the developed Fortran codes, and the buckling patterns are obtained. The proposed method can be used to study the mechanical property of cabon nanotubes and explore its application in the cement composite in future.


Abstract In Africa the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) varies considerably from one country to another, for example between Kenya and Tanzania on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other. In Kenya and Tanzania telecommunications systems have been liberalized, while in Ethiopia all ICT infrastructures and services are provided by one single telecommunications operator – one that is owned and run by the government. ICT plays a significant role in poverty reduction and empowerment of the disadvantaged, but this requires that ICT has first to be adopted by them. The main research question is: what are the factors affecting the adoption of ICT in the small hotel and tour operator sector? The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that affect the adoption of ICT in small hotels and tour operators in Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa. The sector was chosen because, driven by demand from customers, it uses ICT more than many other sectors, and because the government requires hoteliers to use a particular software for tax purposes. During the course of several visits between 2009 and 2013 data were collected from hoteliers and tour operator owners/managers. Sixteen hoteliers who had adopted ICT in their businesses were interviewed. One hundred and twenty-eight hoteliers and 57 tour operators responded to a questionnaire. Analysis of the findings indicates that factors affecting the adoption of ICT in these organizations can be arranged according to three levels: individual, organizational and national. The major factors that affect the adoption arise from the national level factors: the political, socio-economic, technological and legal factors that play a critical role in the adoption or rejection of ICT in this sector. This paper provides insights into the impact a monopolized telecommunications service can have on the adoption of ICT.


Metabolic reprogramming which refers to altered nutrient uptake and use is thought to be essential for rapid cancer cell proliferation. Accelerated phospholipid biosynthesis is another metabolic signature of cancer because proliferating cells have a significant need for membrane production. Fatty acids that compose the hydrophobic tails of membrane phospholipids can regulate gene transcription through enzyme-mediated pathways, e.g., cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, and changing lipid raft composition that affect receptor-mediated signalings. We previously showed that dietary intervention with freeze-dried black raspberries (BRBs) decreased cell proliferation in colorectal tumors and IL-8, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, in plasma in colorectal cancer patients. The goal of the current study was to determine if BRBs affect fatty acid metabolism which may contribute to their anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities. Plasma samples were collected from 28 colorectal cancer patients before and after oral consumption of BRB powder (60g/day) for 1-to-9 wks for metabolomic profiling analysis. 421 biochemicals were analyzed using UHPLC/Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. When data from all 28 patients were combined, the top 30 ranking biochemicals suggest that berry intervention led to alterations mostly in lipids, following by carbohydrates, amino acids, and cofactors and vitamins. Both monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), e.g., eicosenoate (20:1n9 or 11), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), e.g., linoleate (18:2n6), arachidonate (20:4n6), were lower in the post plasma samples. PUFAs can be synthesized from linoleate and they also can be released by phospholipase A from phospholipid membrane. Therefore, berry intervention might alter activities of phospholipase A, elongases, and desaturases which in turn reduce levels of PUFAs. Alternatively, berry intervention increased secondary bile acids, e.g., glycodeoxycholate, produced by the action of enzymes existing in the microbial flora of the colonic environment, suggesting dietary BRBs could alter colonic microflora. Berry intervention associated alternations in bile acid metabolism could affect fat absorption and subsequently impact fatty acid metabolism. In conclusion, our results suggest that dietary berry consumption protectively modulates enzymes associated with fatty acid metabolism in the host as well as in gut microflora leading to decreased proliferation and inflammation in colorectal cancer patients. Supported by R01 CA148818 to L-S Wang Citation Format: Li-Shu Wang, Matthew Young, Chieh-Ti Kuo, Mark Arnold, Edward Martin, Christine Sardo, Gary Stoner. Metabolomic profiling reveals a protective modulation on fatty acid metabolism in colorectal cancer patients following consumption of freeze-dried black raspberries. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 163. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-163


(NOTE: Each chapter begins with an Introduction and ends with a Summary and Try These Exercises.) I. INTRODUCTION. 1. What is the Information in the Information Revolution? Information, Messages, and Signals. Examples of Information Systems. Representing and Quantifying Information. Analog and Digital Information. The Move Toward Digital Information Technology. 2. The World Wide Web: A Unique Product of the Information Age. Why Introduce the Web This Early in the Book? What Is the Web, and Why Was It Created? The Origin of the Web. How the Web Solves Our Document Distribution Problem. How the Web Was Won. The Success of the World Wide Web. The Structure of the Web. Technologies That Enhance the Power of the Web. Java and the Web. II. FUNDAMENTALS OF BINARY REPRESENTATION. 3. Representing Information in Bits. Information and Its Representation. The Search for an Appropriate Code. Bits as Building Blocks of Information. Convenient Forms for Binary Codes. 4. The Need and Basis for Data Protocols. Using Protocols to Organize Information. Saving Information: Tapes, Disks, and CDs. Protocols for Sending Data. Word Processor and Web Protocols. III. GRAPHICS AND VISUAL INFORMATION. 5. From Real World to Images and Video. Images: Information Without Words or Numbers. Cameras and Image Formation. Human Visual Discrimination and Acuity. Other Types of Image Formation. Converting Images to Bits. Binocular Vision and 3D Displays. From Images to Video. 6. Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality. Synthesizing Images. Two Ways to Store Images. Displaying the Bit-Mapped Image. Display Device Formats. From Numbers to Images. Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The Organization of a VRML Scene. Placing a Surface on a Virtual Object. IV. DATA COMPRESSION. 7. Compressing Information. Why Can Information be Compressed? Messages, Data, and Information. Information Theory. Probability-Based Coding. Variable Length Coding. Universal Coding. 8. Image Compression. Image-Specific Compression Methods. Lossless Image Compression. Virtual Lab Demonstrations of Lossless Compression. Lossy Compression. 9. Digital Video. Video Compression. MPEG Video Compression. Digital Television. V. BANDWIDTH AND INFORMATION THEORY. 10. Audio as Information. The Physical Phenomena Underlying Sound. From Sound to Signals. Limitations on Human Hearing. Sinusoidal Frequency Components. The Frequency Content and Bandwidth of Audio Signals. Frequency Content of Audio Signals. 11. Sampling of Audio Signals. Sampling an Audio Signal. Reconstructing Audio from Samples. 12. Digital Audio. Digitization of Audio Samples. The Process of Quantization. Quantization Noise. Adding Up the Bits: Home CD Players. Reconstruction. Other Applications, and a Few Tricks. 13. The Telephone System: Wired and Wireless. The Original (Analog) Telephone System. The Digital Telephone System. Cellular Telephone Systems. Satellite Telephones. VI. TRANSMISSION AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY. 14. What Is Bandwidth and How Is It Used? Real-Time Data Transmission. Delay Time and the Speed of Light. Finite Data Rate and Real-Time Transmission. Physical Origin of Bandwidth Limitations. Fiber-Optic Transmission. Human Laws Set Limits Too! Pulse Transmission Limits and Bandlimits. Information Rates above the Pulse Rate. 15. Wire and Fiber Transmission Systems. Wire as a Transmission Medium. Fiber-Optic Cable. 16. Radio Frequency and Satellite Systems. Overview of Radio Communications System Design. Satellite and Other Long-Distance Communications Systems. The Global Positioning System. 17. Large Capacity Storage. Magnetic Disks and Tapes. The Compact Disc. Digital Versatile Disk. Future Digital Data Storage Media. VII. NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET. 18. Telephone and Data Communications Networks. Circuit-Based Networks. The Packet-Switched Connection. 19. The Local Area Network. Datagram Packet Switching. The Ethernet. 20. Organization of the Internet. How Would You Organize Universal Mail Delivery? What Makes up the Backbone of the Internet? 21. Electronic Commerce and Information Security. Threats to Information Security. Security Services. Data Security and Cryptosystems. Computationally Secure Symmetric Key Cryptography. Public Key Cryptography. Digital Signatures. Digital Certificates. Electronic Commerce. 22. Voice Over IP and the Convergence. Circuit-Switched Telephone Systems. The IP Packet Connection. How to and Why Move to VoIP? Appendix A: ASCII Character Codes. Appendix B: Related Organizations. Appendix C: Example Projects. Glossary. Index.


In 1967 Daniel Schwartz and Joseph Lellouch1 argued that there are 2 kinds of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) embodying radically different attitudes to evaluation of treatment. They named these trials "pragmatic" and "explanatory" and stated that these 2 attitudes require different approaches to the design of an RCT. The pragmatic attitude seeks to directly inform real-world decisions among alternative treatments, and Schwartz and Lellouch show that this purpose is satisfied in trials that test feasible interventions on typical patients in common settings, with usual care as the comparator, to widen real-world applicability. The explanatory attitude, in contrast, is directed to understanding a biological process by testing the hypothesis that the specified biological response is explained by exposure to a particular treatment. Tight restrictions on eligible participants, intense and closely monitored treatment, inactive control interventions (such as placebo), and an idealised healthcare setting maximise the comparison between intervention and control groups and increase the ability to test this kind of hypothesis.

What attitude to RCT design is most useful for patients and clinicians? Clearly, the trial has to ask an important question that is relevant to some aspect of the care clinicians provide to their patients. The clinicians and patients in the trial should resemble the clinicians who are reading the trial report and the patients they typically treat. The intervention being evaluated in the trial should be deliverable by the clinician, and the outcome being used to judge whether the intervention is effective has to be something that the clinician and his or her patients recognise as being worth influencing. In short, the trial has to be applicable, or have what is often called external validity.2

Consider the NASCET trial.3 It asked the following question: among patients with symptomatic 70–99% stenosis of a carotid …


RKBExplorer (http://rkbexplorer.com/) is a system for publishing Linked Data to Semantic Web standards, also providing a browser that allows users to explore this interlinked Web of Data, primarily in the domain of scientific endeavour. As part of the activity, we have harvested the metadata from a number of the larger ePrints repositories into http://eprints.rkbexplorer.com, and republished it as Linked Data. This allows the RKBExplorer browser to present a unified view of these repositories and related data from other sources such as dblp and dbpedia (a Semantic Web version of Wikipedia). Users can thus investigate concepts related to the ePrints people and articles, such as related people, projects and institutions.


Wildfires can cause significant negative impacts to water quality with resultant consequences for the environment and human health and safety, as well as incurring substantial rehabilitation and water treatment costs. In this paper we will illustrate how state-of-the-art wildfire simulation modeling and geospatial risk assessment methods can be brought to bear to identify and prioritize at-risk watersheds for risk mitigation treatments, in both pre-fire and post-fire planning contexts. Risk assessment results can be particularly useful for prioritizing management of hazardous fuels to lessen the severity and likely impacts of future wildfires, where budgetary and other constraints limit the amount of area that can be treated. Specifically we generate spatially resolved estimates of wildfire likelihood and intensity, and couple that information with spatial data on watershed location and watershed erosion potential to quantify watershed exposure and risk. For a case study location we focus on National Forest System lands in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. The Region houses numerous watersheds that are critically important to drinking water supplies and that have been impacted or threatened by large wildfires in recent years. Assessment results are the culmination of a broader multi-year science-management partnership intended to have direct bearing on wildfire management decision processes in the Region. Our results suggest substantial variation in the exposure of and likely effects to highly valued watersheds throughout the Region, which carry significant implications for prioritization. In particular we identified the San Juan National Forest as having the highest concentration of at-risk highly valued watersheds, as well as the greatest amount of risk that can be mitigated via hazardous fuel reduction treatments. To conclude we describe future opportunities and challenges for management of wildfire-watershed interactions.


Abstract Adults of Sphaerirostris picae (Rudolphi, 1819) Golvan, 1956 are described from European magpie, Pica pica Linnaeus (Corvidae), collected in 2008 from wooded areas near the northern Iranian town of Tonekabon by the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Other specimens also were collected from Corvus cornix Linnaeus, Corvus corone Linnaeus, and Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus (Corvidae) in the same location, as well as from some of these hosts in other locations. Our specimens had 31–38 proboscis hook rows on the ovoid anterior proboscis and 27–36 spine rows on the cylindrical- to cone-shaped posterior proboscis, each with 8–10 hooks and 2–5 spines per row, respectively. They are distinguished from those of all other species of the genus by having a unique prominent expansion of the dorsal inner receptacle wall, called the receptacle process (RP), anteriorly into the anterior proboscis and by the presence of longitudinal alveolar lobes throughout the receptacle and proboscis. The RP is described using histological sections. Sphaerirostris picae is further distinguished from 2 closely related species, namely, Sphaerirostris lancea (Westrumb, 1821) Golvan, 1956 and Sphaerirostris pinguis (Van Cleave, 1918) Golvan, 1956, by characteristics of proboscis armature, position of female gonopore, and other reproductive system and receptacle features. Histological sections revealed damage to host intestinal tissue.


Background A cohort of routine care rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in sustained remission had biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) tapered according to a treatment guideline. Little is known about predictors of successful tapering and discontinuation of bDMARDs. Objectives We studied: 1) the proportion of patients whose bDMARD could be successfully tapered or discontinued; 2) unwanted consequences of tapering/discontinuation; 3) potential baseline predictors of successful tapering and discontinuation. Methods One-hundred-and-forty-three patients with sustained disease activity score (DAS28-CRP)≤2.6 and no radiographic progression the previous year were included. bDMARD was reduced to 2/3 of standard dose at baseline, ½ after 16 weeks, and discontinued after 32 weeks. Patients who flared (defined as either DAS28-CRP≥2.6 and DAS28-CRP≥1.2 from baseline, or erosive progression on X-ray and/or MRI) stopped tapering and were escalated to the previous dose level. Results One-hundred-and-forty-one patients completed 2 year follow-up. At 2 years, 87 patients (62%) had successfully tapered bDMARDs, with 26 (18%) receiving 2/3 of standard dose, 39 (28%) ½ dose and 22 (16%) having discontinued; 54 patients (38%) were receiving full dose. DAS28-CRP0–2yrs was 0.1((−0.2)–0.4) (median(interquartile range)) and mean Total-Sharp-Score0–2yrs was 0.01 (1.15) (mean(SD)). Radiographic progression was observed in 9 patients (7%). Successful tapering was independently predicted by: ≤1 previous bDMARD, male gender, low baseline MRI combined inflammation score and low MRI combined damage score. Negative IgM-rheumatoid factor predicted successful discontinuation. The association between potential predictors and the proportion of patients with successful tapering of bDMARDs is shown in figure 1. Conclusions By implementing a clinical guideline, 62% of RA patients in sustained remission in routine care were successfully tapered, including 16% successfully discontinued at 2 years. Radiographic progression was rare. IgM-RF was an independent predictor for successful discontinuation of bDMARDs. Maximum one bDMARDs, male gender, and low baseline MRI combined inflammation and MRI combined damage scores were independent predictors for successful tapering. Disclosure of Interest None declared


ABSTRACT Purpose Various surgical options are available for large proximal ureteral stones, such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL), percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (LU). However, the best option remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a network meta-analysis comparing various surgical treatments for proximal ureteral stones ≥10mm to address current research deficiencies. Materials and methods We searched PubMed, Ovid, Scopus (up to June 2019), as well as citation lists to identify eligible comparative studies. All clinical studies including patients comparing surgical treatments for proximal ureteral stones ≥10mm were included. A standard network meta-analysis was performed with Stata SE 14 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA) software to generate comparative statistics. The quality was assessed with level of evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine and risk of bias with the Cochrane Collaboration's Review Manager (RevMan) 5.3 software. Results A total of 25 studies including 2.888 patients were included in this network meta-analysis. Network meta-analyses indicated that LU and PCNL had better stone-free rates and auxiliary procedures. PCNL could result in major complications and severe bleeding. In initial stone-free rate, final stone-free rate, and auxiliary procedures results, SUCRA ranking was: LU> PCNL> URSL> ESWL. In Clavien Dindo score ≥3 complications, SUCRA ranking was: LU> ESWL> URSL> PCNL. In fever, SUCRA ranking was: ESWL> LU> URSL> PCNL. In transfusion, SUCRA ranking was: LU> URSL> ESWL> PCNL. In Cluster analysis, LU had the highest advantages and acceptable side effects. Considering the traumatic nature of PCNL, it should not be an option over URSL. ESWL had the lowest advantages. Conclusions LU have the potential to be considered as the first treatment choice of proximal ureteral stone ≥10mm.


OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical and biological differences between medium sized vessel vasculitis and small vessel vasculitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS descriptive and retrospective study of 91 patients with vasculitis attended in our hospital from January 1991 to mars 2001. We describe the characteristics of clinical and analytic features. RESULTS 57% were males. The mean age was 61.9 +/- 18.6 years (17 to 90 years). The symptoms and affected organs were: palpable purpura (89%), fever (36%), asthenia (20%), arthromyalgias (19%), nephropathy (18%), arthritis (16%), abdominal pain (16%), neuropathy (8.7%), pulmonary involvement (6.5%). 25% had several episodes, lasting clinical, chronic disease, 42% had evidence of two or more involve organs. The patients with pauci-inmune vasculitis presented more asthenia, nephritis, pulmonary involvement, multi-organic involvement and mortality related to the process. We did not found significant differences respect to the others clinical manifestations analysed. CONCLUSIONS There is a substantial overlap among different vasculitis, the presence or absence of some clinical and biological features can help in the differentiation and characterization of the different entitles.


Abstract. In this paper, an innovative framework, based on both spectral and spatial information, is proposed. The objective is to improve the classification of hyperspectral images for high resolution land cover mapping. The spatial information is obtained by a marker-based Minimum Spanning Forest (MSF) algorithm. A pixel-based SVM algorithm is first used to classify the image. Then, the marker- based MSF spectral-spatial algorithm is applied to improve the accuracy for classes with low accuracy. The marker-based MSF algorithm is used as a binary classifier. These two classes are the low accuracy class and the remaining classes. Finally, the SVM algorithm is trained for classes with acceptable accuracy. To evaluate the proposed approach, the Berlin hyperspectral dataset is tested. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared to the original MSF-based approach. It achieves approximately 5 % higher rates in kappa coefficients of agreement, in comparison to the original MSF-based method.


Oil palm activities have increased rapidly since the 1980's. The establishment of the oil palm plantations involves opening up of new areas of forested land, conversion of rubber to oil palm and replanting. It is well established that clearing of jungle for agriculture purpose results in environmental problem, including land degradation, especially in hilly terrains, when terracing is carried for crop cultivation. However, under oil palm cultivation, unlike other crop, the crop management practices involved the additional of empty fruit bunches (EFB) as a mulch and establishment of legume cover crop in the immature stages and placement of pruned fronds in mature phase, which add a lot of organic mater back to the soil to rebuild soil organic matter (SOM) or carbon (C) storage in the soil. Although work has been done to show the benefits of EFB and frond placements and leguminous cover on lowland soils cultivated with oil palm, there are no documented information on the effects of these palm residues on the terraced to show the extent of the addition crop residues (EFB as a mulch, fronds pruned and placement interrows and leguminous establishment) rebuild SOM and rehabilitate the soil. Hypothetically, similar beneficial effects of residues on terraced soil in hilly terrain areas should also be observed.
In 1993, a study was initiated at an oil palm plantation at Bukit Rokan, Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, which established after clearing a logged-over jungle in a hilly terrain. The aim was to investigate the long-term in SOM and other related soil chemical characteristics in a hilly terrain. The terraced on hill slope of about 30 degrees. This project was initiated by the Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), in 1993. This study is a continuously of the above with the following: i. to assess the short-term changes (1 year period) of soil organic carbon (SOC) and other related chemical characteristics on a terrace of an 8 ½ year old oil palm area converted from jungle, ii. to determine the long-term (8½ years) changes of SOC and other soil chemical characteristic in the above area, over a period 1993 (under jungle) to 2003 and iii. to compare the SOC content and other soil chemical characteristics of the soil under oil palm in objective ii and soil under jungle in an adjacent jungle area.
Since the soil surface cover under the palms is not the same, the establishment of the long term study in 1993, bulk soil sampling was done at three different sites with eight replicated along the terrace around the palm at along the terrace in stratisified random sampling. The area were on upper terrace of hilly area around the base where EFB was earlier applied during the 1st three years, bare soil area – l m radius around outside the palm base and with legumes cover and/or fronds placement between two palms. For the first objective, a short-term study, (1 year) was carried whereby soil samples were taken at three tine interval, i.e. 3rd March 2002, 5th September 2002 and 3rd March 2003 at 0 – 15 cm (topsoil) and 15 -30 cm (subsoil) soil depths. Altogether there were 64 soil samples collected (3 times interval x 3 sites x 2 depth x 8 replication). Soil sample were analysed for total mineral N i.e. (NH4+-N + NO3 --N and NO2 --N), pH (H2O), total N, organic C, light fraction organic matter, available P, exchangeable cations and cation exchange capacity (CEC).
There for the second objective, for a long term study, was carried out based on data obtained from the first study from samples collected at 98 and 104 month after planting (MAP) and data from similar soil sampling by previous workers from the time area under jungle, then jungle clearing and planting of palms in a period of about 8½. The third objective was achieved by selecting an adjacent jungle area to the cultivated terraced area in study (ii) as the similar slope. Four terraces were selected in the two cultivated slope and four levels at similar heights of the 4 terraces on two slops under jungle. Bulk topsoil (0 – 15 cm) samples were collected at 8 replicated points above each terrace (under area of oil palm) and level (under area of jungle). Altogether, there was 128 soil sampling [2 main areas (oil palm and jungle) x 4 terrace/level x 2 slopes x 8 replicated point sampling].Results of this study showed dynamic short-term changes in SOC and other chemical characteristics. Small changes or fluctuation in the soil chemical characteristics including SOM occurred that could be attributed to crop management practices and environmental factors. Soil organic carbon, light fraction organic matter, soil pH and CEC of topsoil showed dynamic significant difference between times of sampling under all area of soil cover types (area of EFB apply, bare soil area and area of cover crop). Soil organic carbon for the topsoil, at all soil cover types, showed significant increased until second time sampling but remain similar at third time sampling while at the area of cover crop (Subsoil) showed highly significantly different from first time sampling (0.083%) to third time sampling (1.577%). Soil pH, generally showed significant decreased especially at bare soil and cover crop.
Generally, long term-changes study under different area of soil cover types showed fluctuating trend. At the end of this study, at 104 MAP, all soil cover types showed lower values of soil organic carbon (SOC) and other chemical characteristics compared with soil under jungle except for exchangeable potassium. Started from at palm planting until 104 MAP, the build up of SOC and other soil chemical characteristics in this area are about 55 to 65 per cent comparing with soil properties when this sites is under jungle. Study there, showed CEC under jungle area (14.9cmolckg-1) significant high than oil palm (6.5cmolckg-1) while available P showed significant lower than oil palm area. Only exch. Ca and Mg at J2 showed small differences between levels. Generally, it was concluded that short-term study showed dynamic changes of soil properties and fluctuation trend in long-term study. After 8 ½ years SOC and other soil chemical characteristics under oil palm cultivation on terrace still lower than under jungle area but study there showed that not differences soil properties under oil palm and nearby jungle.


The building construction industry is in need of sustainable materials and solutions. A novel building material, such as textile-reinforced concrete (TRC), could be used to meet this demand. TRC is a combination of fine-grained concrete and multi-axial textile fabrics, which has been fundamentally researched over the past decade. TRC-based research has explored various facets of this composite material, such as its structural functionality, production, applicability and design. One key aspect that is still missing, however, is a comprehensive review of the sustainable potential of this material in terms of its input-output and durability which suitably answers to requirement no.7 of EU's Construction Products Regulation. This article provides qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the sustainable potential and prospective development of TRC particularly reinforced by alkali-resistant (AR) glass, carbon or basalt fibers. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, carbon textile fibers were observed to hold the optimal potential mechanical behavior; additionally, it was revealed through the conducted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), that basalt had the least cumulative energy demand while carbon had the least environmental impact.


UNB (Ultra Narrow Band) is one of the technologies dedicated to low-power wide-area communication for IoT, currently exploited by SigFox. The specificity of UNB is the Aloha-type channel access scheme, both asynchronized in time and frequency domain. This randomness can cause partial spectral interference. In this paper, we take advantage of the spatial diversity of multiple base stations to improve the UNB performance, by using selection combining. In the presence of pathloss and spectral randomness of UNB, the channels are considered correlated. A theoretical analysis of outage probability is demonstrated by considering this correlation, for the case of 2 base stations. This methodology of probability computing can be extended to general $K$ BSs. The diversity of multiple receivers is proved to be beneficial in enhancing the performance of UNB networks. This gain is shown to be related to the density of the base stations, as well as the distance between each of them.


The Paraguay Belt in central South America developed in response to the collision of the Amazonian craton, the Sao Francisco craton, and the Paranapanema block. The alleged "Brasiliano" age (ca. 620 Ma) of orogenesis has recently been questioned by paleomagnetic and radioisotopic ages that indicate the closing stages of orogenesis occurred well into the Cambrian. We investigated the timing of deposition and source areas for these sedimentary rocks overlying the Amazonian craton using integrated U-Pb and Hf isotope data of detrital zircons from within this sequence. In total, 742 detrital zircon U-Pb ages were analyzed from samples taken from the base to the top of this sedimentary succession. Maximum depositional ages from the uppermost part of this sequence of rocks, the Diamantino Formation, indicate that final deposition began no earlier than 560 ± 13 Ma and possibly as young as the Cambrian. Given that zircon inheritance in these rocks continues up until this age and that known Amazonian craton ages are older than ca. 950 Ma, we considered other potential sources for these sediments. This was achieved by integrating the U-Pb detrital zircon data with Hf isotopic data from these zircons that have e Hf values ranging from −18 to 12. The e Hf signature is consistent, with a predominantly Amazonian source until the early Neoproterozoic, at which point the signal becomes significantly more evolved. These data, when combined with other evidence discussed here, are consistent with an ocean to the east of the present-day Amazonian craton that did not close until the latest Ediacaran–Cambrian.


The mental health of young people is of increasing concern, and early intervention prevention strategies are required. Youth sports are potentially effective environments within which to situate interventions due to high participation rates, familiarity to young participants, and the typically positive relationships held with adults within such spaces. However, coaches identify that they require more knowledge to better respond to mental health concerns that may be present among players. Here, we describe a research translation process in which an open-access, evidence-informed resource was developed to support coaches and sports clubs to better respond to athletes in need as well as to create environments that may protect against mental ill-health and promote well-being. The resource includes a toolkit—with an associated checklist—for recreational sport clubs to follow, a guide to responding to young people in need, and a short educational video. We suggest that these practical and applied resources, which can be immediately implemented, may assist in the provision of targeted and structured guidance for coaches' first response intervention with vulnerable young people. Furthermore, these resources can support future efforts by being specifically tailored for the unique locations and cultures that vary among youth sport environments.


The objective of this study was to test the relationship of multiaspect distributors/consultants' involvement depending on the popularity of MLM companies (brands) operating in the Russian market with business attractiveness – the commercial value of MLM companies' supply based on the empirical data obtained during the research, and to analyze secondary data and results of the netnographic research. The study was performed by combining several methods: desk studies, netnographic research, and a quota survey. The ethnographic research implied analysis of utterances about the MLM companies' activities in the Russian market in social networks by keywords; these opinions also contained utterances about the attitude to various forms of selling cosmetic products, including through distributors/consultants of MLM companies. The survey was held in Moscow. The structured questionnaire was a survey tool. A total of 91 female respondents participated in the study, since women most often purchase cosmetics (including for men). All respondents came under the age limit in the range of 18 to 46 years. The links between emotional, cognitive and behavioral involvement and the popularity of companies (brands) were revealed, with the attractiveness of business – the commercial value of supply, and competitive advantages. Adaptation of the well-known methods of marketing research, reinforced by the inclusion of the modern method of netnographic research, confirms the survey results that the involvement of current consumers of MLM cosmetic products in the Russian market to conduct business in MLM companies grows depending on the company's brand, comprehensibility and transparency of the model of compensation schemes.


Kenya, an East African country has 38 Boarding schools and units for the hearing impaired. This includes three (3) secondary schools. Communication has been identified as one of the greatest areas of difficulty for the deaf. Both the receptive and expressive communication pose barriers in almost all aspects of life of the deaf. This study endeavors to examine teachers' perceptions of communication needs of deaf children in Kenyan school system. It is believed that teachers being the major service deliverer in the school system, their opinion on this matter will have long-lasting effects on their deaf pupils, as it will affect the quality of their service delivery. Ninety participants-50 males and 40 females responded to a nine-item questionnaire. Results show among others that most of the teachers saw the necessity for speech use by the deaf in order for them to successfully interact with family and society. Acceptance by the society highly correlates with use of speech by the deaf. However, use of speech is not seen by many teachers as mandatory for acquiring education. Most parents are indifferent to whether speech is taught to their deaf children or not. The open-ended question generated diverse reasons why speech is important. Most of the responses focus on speech-use, interaction and acceptance. Nigerian Journal of Clinical and Counselling Psychology Vol.8(2) 2002: 205-218