Test smells are indications of poorly designed unit tests. Previous studies have demonstrated their negative impact on test understanding and maintenance. Moreover, surveys show that developers are not able to identify test smells, hindering optimal software quality. Automated tools can aid developers to handle these issues and detect test smells in the early stage of software development. However, few tools are publicly available and all of them target JUnit -- the most popular testing framework in Java. To overcome these limitations, we propose SoCRATES. This fully automated tool is able to identify six test smells in Scala Test which is the most prevalent testing framework in Scala. An empirical investigation on 164 Scala projects shows that our tool is able to reach a high precision without sacrificing recall. Moreover, the results show that Scala projects have a lower diffusion than Java projects. We make SoCRATES publicly available as an IntelliJ IDEA plugin, as well as an open-source project in order to facilitate the detection of test smells.


This research was conducted to determine the level of Self-Regulated Learning
Strategies (SRLS) among accounting students at Shah Alam Polytechnic, Kota Melaka
Polytechnic, and Port Dickson Polytechnic. The research objective is to specifically
observe of SRLS characteristics among those students. The areas of focus are
understanding subject contents, motivation, metacognitive, learning strategy, context
sensitivity and usage of external sources. The research instruments used to collect data
were through the distribution of questionnaires to one hundred eighty respondents.
Thereafter, all data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. The research findings were
presented using min distribution graphs together with their interpretations. The method
of sampling were Stratified Sampling. The research findings indicated that semester one
and semester six students used the SRLS but the scores were not satisfying. Among
suggestion to increase SRLS were to increase the level understanding in subject
contents, developing and increasing motivation, guidance to choose learning strategies,
increase of metacognitive abilities, development of contextual sensitivity and increasing
the usage of external sources among the polytechnics students.


International WOW Company's Surrender combines elements of avantgarde performance, dramatic karaoke, and audience participation to create an immersive portrait of urban combat and communicate the challenges soldiers face reintegrating into civilian life. Director Josh Fox reflects on making theatre out of the experience of being a soldier in 21st-century Iraq.


The fifth-generation (5G) of cellular technology is currently being deployed over the world. In the next decade of mobile networks, beyond 5G (B5G) cellular networks with the under-development advanced technology enablers are expected to be a fully developed system that could offer tremendous opportunities for both enterprises and society at large. B5G in more ambitious scenarios will be capable to facilitate much-improved performance with the significant upgrade of the key parameters such as massive connectivity, ultra-reliable and low latency (URLL), spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). Equipping non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) with other key drivers will help to explore systems' applicability to cover a wide variety of applications to forge a path for future networks. NOMA empowers the networks with seamless connectivity and can provide a secure transmission strategy for the industrial internet of things (IIoT) anywhere and anytime. Despite being a promising candidate for B5G networks a comprehensive study that covers operating principles, fundamental features and technological feasibility of NOMA at mmWave massive MIMO communications is not available. To address this, a simulation-based comparative study between NOMA and orthogonal multiple access (OMA) techniques for mmWave massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communications is presented with performance discussions and identifying technology gaps. Throughout the paper, aspects of operating principles, fundamental features and technological feasibility of NOMA are discussed. Also, it is demonstrated that NOMA not only has good adaptability but also can outperform other OMA techniques for mmWave massive MIMO communications. Some foreseeable challenges and future directions on applying NOMA to B5G networks are also provided


Climate change impact assessment and adaptation research in agriculture has focused primarily on crop production, with less known about the potential impacts on livestock. We investigated how the prevalence of health and welfare conditions in broiler (meat) chickens changes with weather (temperature, rainfall, air frost) in a temperate climate. Cases of 16 conditions were recorded at approved slaughterhouses in Great Britain. National prevalence rates and distribution mapping were based on data from more than 2.4 billion individuals, collected between January 2011 and December 2013. Analysis of temporal distribution and associations with national weather were based on monthly data from more than 6.8 billion individuals, collected between January 2003 and December 2013. Ascites, bruising/fractures, hepatitis and abnormal colour/fever were most common, at annual average rates of 29.95, 28.00, 23.76 and 22.29 per 10 000, respectively. Ascites and abnormal colour/fever demonstrated clear annual cycles, with higher rates in winter than in summer. Ascites prevalence correlated strongly with maximum temperature at 0 and −1 month lags. Abnormal colour/fever correlated strongly with temperature at 0 lag. Maximum temperatures of approximately 8°C and approximately 19°C marked the turning points of curve in a U-shaped relationship with mortality during transportation and lairage. Future climate change research on broilers should focus on preslaughter mortality.


OBJECTIVE
Acromegaly is a rare disease, which symptoms are caused by excess secretion of a growth hormone (GH) from the anterior pituitary benign tumor - adenoma. Authors present an evaluation of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images of temporal bone and paranasal sinuses of patients with acromegaly.

CONCLUSIONS
1. In all patients with acromegaly, morphological changes in paranasal sinuses were shown. They were mostly pronounced within the maxillary sinuses including the mucosa thickening up to 6 mm and encysted fluid occurrence. 2. CT of temporal bone did not reveal structural changes of internal and median ear. 3. There is a need for further studies on hearing impairment in patients with acromegaly.


Patients with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are frequently encountered in primary health care. The majority are uncomplicated and treated empirically by surgical incision and drainage and/or antibiotics. This strategy may risk delaying the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which, although still rare in Sweden, is increasingly being found in patients with SSTI. To avoid 'late detection' of MRSA, primary health care physicians in Kronoberg county, Sweden, were asked to perform a culture as soon as the patient's first visit. Samples from 175 patients with primary SSTI confirmed that S. aureus is the dominant pathogen. Two cases of MRSA were detected. Furthermore, isolates of S. aureus producing the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) toxin were more common among isolates from SSTI than among S. aureus from secondary infections. Finally, we confirmed the importance of the coagulase-negative staphylococcal species S. lugdunensis as a pathogen as it was isolated as the only pathogen in 10% of the skin and soft tissue samples.


We present the preliminary analysis of a study whose long term aim is to track IDE usage to identify novice-programmers in need of support. Our analysis focused on the activity of 24 dyads on a 3 week assignment. We correlated frequencies of events such as use of code generation and of the debugger with assignment grades, final exam grades, and the difference in rankings within dyad on the final exam. Our results show several significant correlations. In particular, code generation and debugging are correlated with the final grade, and running in non-debug mode is correlated with differences in ranking. These results are encouraging as they show that it is possible to predict learning outcomes with simple frequency data and suggest more complex indicators could achieve robust prediction.


Quantitatively describing effects caused by trees is a challenging issue for sky view factor (SVF) studies. The complex geometrical shapes of trees and the seasonally changing canopy volume caused by leaf growth and defoliation have forced SVF users to disregard trees in their analyses or to apply a simple geometric object, such as a rectangular pole or vertically elongated ellipsoid. The three‐dimensional point cloud (3DPC) method is useful for quantitative analysis of urban settings by describing the structured spatial complex in detail, not only by shape itself but also with many meaningful indices such as SVF. We here proposed a new SVF analysis method based on 3DPC. Stereoscopic projection was applied to project 3DPC on the virtual hemisphere. From intensive analysis of 3DPC SVF in a normal urban complex area, we discerned the effects caused by trees. The results showed that the tree effect derived from 3DPC SVF in an urban complex is clearly described by a comparison between two cases (trees and no trees). Trees with topography play an important role and contribute to the heat balance in an urban complex.


Thermopower, conductivity and photoconductivity measurements as a function of temperature, from 130 to 320 degrees C, have been carried out on manganese thiophosphate, MnPS3. The transport mechanisms involved in distinct temperature ranges and under different illumination conditions have been identified. At 130 degrees C a dark conductivity value of 8.6*10-13 Omega -1 cm-1 has been measured, while photoconductivity values ranged from 8.8*10-13 to 6.1*10-8 Omega -1 cm-1. In particular, the dark conductivity process has been attributed to holes in the phosphorus 3pz valence band. The results have been interpreted on the basis of a model, already used for NiPS3, that assumes a weak, ionic, interaction between the transition-metal and the sulphur atoms. A possible energy distribution of both valence and conduction bands, together with Mn 3d levels, is also provided.


Blood pressure measurement in the operating room has become increasingly sophisticated. The principles used, however, are based on proven concepts. The author's review of the historical bases for the principles, the principles themselves, and clinical applications demonstrate how anesthesiology has been improved by the development of different techniques for measuring blood pressure. Because the usefulness of the pressure readings--systolic, diastolic, or mean arterial--depends upon the clinical situation, all should be recorded. The automatic, noninvasive measuring devices offer substantial advantages in patient safety.


The boehmite sol is prepared with cheap inorganic salt Al(NO3)3 and NH3H2O. The anodized aluminum alloy was sealed with the boehmite sol. Influences of concentration of Al3+, pH and temperature of sol on the properties of sol and the sealed film were studied. The results shows that the viscosity of sol increases and the stability becomes lower with the increase of Al3+concentration and pH of sol. The viscosities of sol become lower with the rises of its temperature. The thickness of anodized film increases when sealed with boehmite sol. The thickness value of sealed film increases with the increase of the sol viscosity. The properties of sealed film are better while the color of sol is azury. The corrosion resistance of sealed film was enhanced with the pH rising from 5.5 to 7 at the same concentrate and temperature of sol. The corrosion resistance in acidic solution is improved remarkably for sol sealed film as the sol temperature rises up to 60°C. The time of changing colour for sol sealing film is longer than that of the film sealed by distilled water.


This study analyses spending behaviour of international visitors to Italy. In specific it focuses on the impact that visitors' satisfaction with different attributes of the trip exerts on expenditure among different service categories. Despite a general recognition by the economic literature that customer satisfaction exerts a positive effect on both economic returns and brand loyalty, very few academic studies explored the relationship between tourists' satisfaction with a destination and spending behaviour. This study focuses on the 1,030 visitors who travelled to the provinces Bolzano, Trento, and Belluno (Northern Italy), an area around the Dolomites. The Double-hurdle model with the Heien and Wessells estimator is applied. Discussion of the empirical evidence is aimed at highlighting the main relations between expenditure behaviour and satisfaction. Policy implications and managerial issues for tourism destinations are also presented.


Abstract: In this paper we focus on the most efficacious AI applications for life extension and anti-aging at three expected stages of AI development: narrow AI, AGI and superintelligence. First, we overview the existing research and commercial work performed by a select number of startups and academic projects. We find that at the current stage of "narrow" AI, the most promising areas for life extension are geroprotector-combination discovery, detection of aging biomarkers, and personalized anti-aging therapy. These advances could help currently living people reach longevity escape velocity and survive until more advanced AI appears. When AI comes close to human level, the main contribution to life extension will come from AI integration with humans through brain-computer interfaces, integrated AI assistants capable of autonomously diagnosing and treating health issues, and cyber systems embedded into human bodies. Lastly, we speculate about the more remote future, when AI reaches the level of superintelligence and such life-extension methods as uploading human minds and creating nanotechnological bodies may become possible, thus lowering the probability of human death close to zero. We conclude that medical AI based superintelligence is intrinsically safer than, say, military AI, as it may help humans to evolve into part of the future superintelligence via brain augmentation, uploading, and a network of self-improving humans. Medical AI's value system is focused on human benefit.


The emerging countries experience constraints for economic development and the institutional environment often appear burdensome for micro- and small enterprises (MSE). A favourable institutional environment reduces transaction costs, creates incentives for development and sustainability of enterprises. This paper studies the taxi industry in Moshi, Tanzania. Taxi driver A, Y and R are the focus in the study, and all use differentiating strategies due to institutional constraints affecting MSE's. In terms of the taxi industry in Moshi, tinged with uncertainty and weak institutional framework it becomes difficult for operators to differentiate themselves, which is why well thought-out marketing strategies becomes important in a competitive industry. Institutional theory with focus on transaction costs and service management are two theoretical disciplines, which together with an entrepreneurial theory creates an interesting combination and acts as the fundamental building blocks in this study. This study's research questions are what differentiation strategies could help MSE's and what strategies lower transaction costs for increased profit in developing countries. This study's objective is to understand how Taxi drivers in Moshi will benefit from a combination of transaction costs, service and relationship marketing and an entrepreneurial mindset to create a comprehensive marketing strategy for how success and profit with their business is created in terms of increased customer base, higher customer satisfaction and stronger customer relationships. This study's objective is not to identify, explain and analyse what exact institutional constraints are present in Moshi as that is a very complex area of research.This study is characterized by a triangulation methodology involving a combination of depth interviews, observations and a questionnaire survey. The authors have conducted an exploratory study aiming to create a deeper understanding of the taxi business' social context. A combination of the both induction and deduction approach was used; analytic induction; when inductive empirical results is combined with deduced theories to get deeper understanding.The results of this study provide implications for the overall differentiating strategies for taxi drivers in Moshi. The results implicates that efficient work to lower transaction costs, asymmetric information and relationship building increases opportunities for taxi drivers to ensure sustainable profit. INget man gor medvetet uten ett beteende som uppstar som en konsekvens av daliga institutionerThe study concludes with general recommendations and suggestions for future research.


For more than two hundred years, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provided the dominant national platform upon which firms could list, and investors could trade, securities. Until 2006, the NYSE was organized as a private mutual non-profit firm whose membership, dominated by investment banks, maintained tight control over floor brokers, specialists and issuing firms. Even when over-the-counter markets such as the NASDAQ and alternative platforms such as "electronic communications networks" (ECN's) offered faster execution of trades, NYSE floor quotes were protected against "trading through" to such competing venues (the so-called "trade-through" rule). The NYSE long argued that this framework provided highly liquid and continuous markets that lowered the cost of capital for, and incentivized good quality governance of, issuing firms. As a private monopoly the NYSE's self-regulation periodically generated controversy, and the NYSE was finally subjected to serious government oversight in the 1930's. In part based on that original Congressional mandate, in 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began a two-year process of implementing Regulation NMS (for "national market system"). Most significantly, Reg. NMS, among other features, eliminated the protective "trade-through" rule thus enabling customers to trade off price quality for faster trade execution of trades on ECN's. In 2006, in order to defend its place in the new post-"trade-through" world enabled by Reg. NMS, the NYSE demutualized and went public via a merger with Archipelago Holdings Inc., a large publicly listed ECN. We examine stock market data around the implementation of Reg. NMS and the NYSE IPO to show that eviscerating the "trade-through" rule triggered an explosion of new trading on alternative venues but also increased volatility in the pricing for formerly staid NYSE-listed shares. The end of the NYSE's monopoly reduces choices for issuing firms as the NYSE no longer offers an "orderly market" for their listed shares. This increases the cost of capital for stable, well-managed firms and contributes to the reluctance of promising firms to go public thus eliminating a source of high-end customers for underwriters and undermining liquidity for investors. Reg. NMS and the NYSE IPO also likely encourage the formation of "dark pools" (transactions that take place outside of the regulated markets) and the spread of risky "high frequency" trading.


The transaction cost incurred on the Kolaramma tank watershed in the Kolar district of Karnataka, with a geographical area of 6,570 hectares and covering 26 catchments has been found to be Rs 78,89,210. The decomposition of this transaction cost into information, contractual and enforcement costs has revealed that enforcement cost amounted to a vast share of 82.0 per cent, followed by contractual cost (13.6%) and information cost (4.4%) in the total transaction cost. Considering the overall transaction cost, the investment on information and contractual cost has been quite less. These need to be increased by economizing on the administrative expenses of the implementing agency. Any additional investment on information and contractual cost would greatly benefit the actual beneficiaries in the watershed.


Abstract Herbivory is rare among birds and is usually thought to have evolved predominately among large, flightless birds due to energetic constraints or an association with increased body mass. Nearly all members of the bird order Anseriformes, which includes ducks, geese, and swans, are flighted and many are predominately herbivorous. However, it is unknown whether herbivory represents a derived state for the order and how many times a predominately herbivorous diet may have evolved. Compiling data from over 200 published diet studies to create a continuous character for herbivory, models of trait evolution support at least five independent transitions toward a predominately herbivorous diet in Anseriformes. Although a nonphylogenetic correlation test recovers a significant positive correlation between herbivory and body mass, this correlation is not significant when accounting for phylogeny. These results indicate a lack of support for the hypothesis that a larger body mass confers an advantage in the digestion of low‐quality diets but does not exclude the possibility that shifts to a more abundant food source have driven shifts toward herbivory in other bird lineages. The exceptional number of transitions toward a more herbivorous diet in Anseriformes and lack of correlation with body mass prompts a reinterpretation of the relatively infrequent origination of herbivory among flighted birds.


Bolin analyses biblical and extra-biblical traditions and motifs in the book of Jonah, and argues that the book's portrayal of the relationship between God and humanity, much like those of Job and Ecclesiastes, emphasizes an absolute divine sovereignty beyond human notions of mercy, justice, or forgiveness. God is understood as free to forgive, yet he still punishes, and is unfettered by the constraints imposed by attributes of benevolence. The only proper human response to God is fear at his power and acknowledgment of him as the source of welfare and woe.


Abstract Geochemical characteristics and rare-earth element (REE)-bearing minerals of calc-alkaline granites in southern Myanmar were investigated to identify the minerals controlling fractionation between light and heavy REE (LREE and HREE) during magmatic differentiation and weathering. The granites were classified on the basis of the mineral assemblages into two contrasting groups: allanite-(Ce)- and/or titanite-bearing granites; and more HREE-enriched granites characterized by hydrothermal minerals including synchysite- (Y), parisite-(Ce), bastnäsite-(Ce), xenotime-(Y), monazite-(Ce), Y-Ca silicate, waimirite-(Y) and fluorite. This suggests that allanite-(Ce) and titanite are not stable in differentiated magma and HREE are eventually preferentially incorporated into the hydrothermal minerals. The occurrence of the REE-bearing minerals is constrained by the degree of magmatic differentiation and the boundary of two contrasting granite groups is indicated by SiO2 contents of ~74 wt.% or Rb/Sr ratios of ~3-8. Fractionation between LREE and HREE during weathering of the granites is influenced by weathering resistance of the REE-bearing minerals, i.e. allanite-(Ce), titanite, the REE fluorocarbonates and waimirite-(Y) are probably more susceptible to weathering, whereas zircon, monazite-(Ce) and xenotime-(Y) are resistant to weathering. Ion-exchangeable REE in weathered granites tend to be depleted in HREE relative to the whole-rock compositions, suggesting that HREE are more strongly adsorbed on weathering products or that HREE remain in residual minerals.


Recent insights into the tissue-specific origin of myofibroblasts are paving the way for new organ-specific antifibrotic therapies. Recent scientific findings support the notion that fibrosis is driven by tissue-specific cellular and molecular mechanisms. Analysis of seemingly equivalent mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) populations residing in different organs revealed unique properties and lineage capabilities that vary from one anatomical location to another. We review recently characterized tissue-resident MSC populations with a prominent role in fibrosis and highlight therapeutically relevant molecular pathways regulating their activity in chronic disease.


We report the first karyotypic descriptions of Nesomyinae, a subfamily of rodents endemic to Madagascar. Using standard staining as well as G-banding and C-banding we detected karyotypic variation at the intergeneric, interspecific and intraspecific levels among six specimens referable to the species Eliurus majori, Eliurus minor, Eliurus tanala and Nesomys rufus. The two E. minor specimens analysed (2n=74 and 76) differ from the two E. tanala specimens (2n=74 and 75) by a minimum of 15 pericentric inversions (or centromeric shifts) suggesting that karyotypic orthoselection may be canalizing rearrangements in this species. In turn, the karyotype of E. minor appears to differ from E. majori (2n=58) and N. rufus (2n=60) by a series of more complex rearrangements involving multiple pericentric inversions (or centromeric shifts) and Robertsonian translocations. We discuss the presence of karyotypic variation in these nesomyine species in light of some environmental constraints that are known to have driven the evolution of the Malagasy vertebrate fauna.


BACKGROUND
This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2015. The conclusions have not changed.Hypodermic needles of different sizes (gauges and lengths) can be used for vaccination procedures. The gauge (G) refers to the outside diameter of the needle tubing. The higher the gauge number, the smaller the diameter of the needle (e.g. a 23 G needle is 0.6 mm in diameter, whereas a 25 G needle is 0.5 mm in diameter). Many vaccines are recommended for injection into muscle (intramuscularly), although some are delivered subcutaneously (under the skin) and intradermally (into skin). Choosing an appropriate length and gauge of a needle may be important to ensure that a vaccine is delivered to the appropriate site and produces the maximum immune response while causing the least possible harm. Guidelines conflict regarding the sizes of needles that should be used for vaccinating children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of using needles of different sizes for administering vaccines to children and adolescents on vaccine immunogenicity (the ability of the vaccine to elicit an immune response), procedural pain, and other reactogenicity events (adverse events following vaccine administration).

SEARCH METHODS
We updated our searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL to October 2017. We also searched proceedings of vaccine conferences and two trials registers.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of using hypodermic needles of any gauge or length to administer any type of vaccine to people aged from birth to 24 years.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Three review authors independently extracted trial data and assessed the risk of bias. We contacted trial authors for additional information. We rated the quality of evidence using the GRADE system.

MAIN RESULTS
We included five trials involving 1350 participants in the original review. The updated review identified no new trials. The evidence from two small trials (one trial including infants and one including adolescents) was insufficient to allow any definitive statements to be made about the effects of the needles evaluated in the trials on vaccine immunogenicity and reactogenicity.The remaining three trials (1135 participants) contributed data to comparisons between 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles. These trials included infants predominantly aged from two to six months undergoing intramuscular vaccination in the anterolateral thigh using the World Health Organization (WHO) injection technique (skin stretched flat, needle inserted at a 90° angle and up to the needle hub in healthy infants). The vaccines administered were combination vaccines containing diphtheria, tetanus, and whole-cell pertussis antigens (DTwP). In some trials, the vaccines also contained Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTwP-Hib) and hepatitis B (DTwP-Hib-Hep B) antigen components.Primary outcomesIncidence of vaccine-preventable diseases: No trials reported this outcome.Procedural pain and crying: Using a wider gauge 23 G 25 mm needle may slightly reduce procedural pain (low-quality evidence) and probably leads to a slight reduction in the duration of crying time immediately after vaccination (moderate-quality evidence) compared with a narrower gauge 25 G 25 mm needle (one trial, 320 participants). The effects are probably not large enough to be clinically relevant.Secondary outcomesImmune response: There is probably little or no difference in immune response, defined in terms of the proportion of seroprotected infants, between use of 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, or 25 G 16 mm needles to administer a series of three doses of a DTwP-Hib vaccine at ages two, three, and four months (moderate-quality evidence, one trial, numbers of participants in analyses range from 309 to 402. The immune response to the pertussis antigen was not measured).Severe and non-severe local reactions: 25 mm needles (either 25 G or 23 G) probably lead to fewer severe and non-severe local reactions after DTwP-Hib vaccination compared with 25 G 16 mm needles (moderate-quality evidence, one trial, 447 to 458 participants in analyses). We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a severe local reaction (extensive redness and swelling) after the first vaccine dose for every 25 infants vaccinated with the longer rather than the shorter needle (number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) with a 25 G 25 mm needle: 25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 15 to 100); NNTB with a 23 G 25 mm needle: 25 (95% CI 17 to 100)). We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a non-severe local reaction (any redness, swelling, tenderness, or hardness (composite outcome)) at 24 hours after the first vaccine dose for every 5 or 6 infants vaccinated with a 25 mm rather than a 16 mm needle (NNTB with a 25 G 25 mm needle: 5 (95% CI 4 to 10); NNTB with a 23 G 25 mm needle: 6 (95% CI 4 to 13)). The results are similar after the second and third vaccine doses.Using a narrow gauge 25 G 25 mm needle may produce a small reduction in the incidence of local reactions after each dose of a DTwP vaccine compared with a wider gauge 23 G 25 mm needle, but the effect estimates are imprecise (low-quality evidence, two trials, 100 to 459 participants in analyses).Systemic reactions: The comparative effects of 23 G 25 mm, 25 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles on the incidence of postvaccination fever and other systemic events such as drowsiness, loss of appetite, and vomiting are uncertain due to the very low quality of the evidence.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Using 25 mm needles (either 23 G or 25 G) for intramuscular vaccination procedures in the anterolateral thigh of infants using the WHO injection technique probably reduces the occurrence of local reactions while achieving a comparable immune response to 25 G 16 mm needles. These findings are applicable to healthy infants aged two to six months receiving combination DTwP vaccines with a reactogenic whole-cell pertussis antigen component. These vaccines are predominantly used in low- and middle-income countries. The applicability of the findings to vaccines with acellular pertussis components and other vaccines with different reactogenicity profiles is uncertain.


Job quality has received increased attention from academics and policy makers across industrialized countries. Yet, there has been limited assessment of how job quality is impacted by different organizational forms, including cooperatives and employee-owned businesses (EOBs). Although there has been growing interest in how cooperatives/EOBs impact on employee outcomes, comprehensive assessments of the range and reasons for varied employee outcomes in these settings are under-developed. To address these lacunae, this study examines whether cooperatives and EOBs can improve 'bad' jobs by examining three in-depth qualitative case studies of different types of cooperatives/EOBs forms located in low-paid sectors of the economy in Wales: social care, transport and manufacturing. In so doing, we seek to contribute to recent academic assessments of employee outcomes to explore whether job quality is influenced by different organizational forms, including cooperatives and EOBs. We extend existing discussions relating to salient explanations for job quality by developing a contextualized assessment to examine the extent to which workplace actors can improve 'bad' jobs.


Rabbits were immunized with purified almond major protein (AMP), the primary storage protein in almonds. Rabbit anti-AMP polyclonal antibodies (PA) could detect AMP when as little as 1-10 ng/mL were used to coat microtiter plates in a noncompetitive enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Competitive inhibition ELISA assays detected the AMP down to 300 ng/mL. PA recognized the AMP in protein extracts from all U.S. major marketing cultivars of almonds (Mission, Neplus, Peerless, Carmel, and Nonpareil) with specific reactivity of 52.6-75% as compared to that of the AMP alone. Immunoreactivity of protein extracts prepared from commercial samples of blanched almonds, roasted almonds, and almond paste was respectively reduced by 50.0%, 56.6%, and 68.4% (noncompetitive ELISA) when compared to the immunoreactivity of the AMP. Moist heat (121 degrees C, 15 min) pretreatment of the AMP reduced the PA reactivity by 87% (noncompetitive ELISA). Exposing AMP to pH extremes (12.5 and 1.5-2.5) caused a 53% and 57% reduction in PA reactivity, respectively (noncompetitive ELISA). PA showed some cross-reactivity with the cashew major globulin, and to a lesser extent, the Tepary and Great Northern bean major storage protein (7S or phaseolin). The presence of almonds in a commercial food was detected using PA in a competitive ELISA.


Here, we present a novel method for the directed genetic manipulation of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome free of any selection marker. Our new approach employed the Escherichia coli toxin gene mazF as a counter-selectable marker. The mazF gene was placed under the control of an isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible expression system and associated with a spectomycin-resistance gene to form the MazF cassette, which was flanked by two directly-repeated (DR) sequences. A double-crossover event between the linearized delivery vector and the chromosome integrated the MazF cassette into a target locus and yielded an IPTG-sensitive strain with spectomycin-resistance, in which the wild-type chromosome copy had been replaced by the modified copy at the targeted locus. Another single-crossover event between the two DR sequences led to the excision of the MazF cassette and generated a strain with IPTG resistance, thereby realizing the desired alteration to the chromosome without introducing any unwanted selection markers. We used this method repeatedly and successfully to inactivate a specific gene, to introduce a gene of interest and to realize the in-frame deletion of a target gene in the same strain. As there is no prerequisite strain for this method, it will be a powerful and universal tool.


The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) prohibits health claims for foods containing more than a certain amount of fat per serving. This disqualifier level eliminates health claims for cooking oils since these products have approximately 14 grams of fat per serving, above the acceptable threshold. However, a number of scientific studies indicate that, from a heart-health perspective, cooking oils lower in saturated fat and higher in monounsaturated fats are superior to other oils. Prior to the NLEA, firms actively competed on this basis, with manufacturers of cooking oils making explicit heart-health claims in print advertising and labeling. This study utilizes supermarket scanner data from twenty stores to examine the type of cooking oil chosen by consumers. The results indicate that after implementation of the NLEA, consumers shifted purchases toward cooking oils higher in saturated fat and lower in monounsaturated fat. This study does not address whether consumers changed their total consumption of cooking oil after implementation of the NLEA.


Facilitating irreversible changes in perspective – changes which show the interconnectedness of phenomena and reveal troublesome knowledge - involve affective and cognitive change (Cousin, 2006). Yet, how can students be invited into liminal space to grasp threshold concepts unless those teaching them have lived in such a space? With the emphasis on life-long learning and continued professional development, are not academics expected to learn as they teach and research? Can it be assumed that only students experience a state of liminality, and if not how are academics assisted in a systematic manner through the oscillation of understanding towards an 'aha moment'? In this presentation, O Donnchadha outlines how the use of pedagogies of engagement (such as community based learning) resembles threshold concepts insofar as they are transformative, irreversible, bounded and can lead to troublesome knowledge (Meyer and Land, 2003). Based on his recently completed doctoral thesis on the reflective practice of academics who use community-based learning, O Donnchadha discusses the relevance of his model of the Community of Reflective Practice to the examination of threshold concepts. A Community of Reflective Practice (CoRP) is a structured model of reflection which facilitates academics to critically reflect with their peers in a safe and nurturing environment on their academic, civic and personal development. The CoRP model examines the need for time, structure, communication skills and a knowledge of how to reflect deeply, in a safe space to address issues of discourse, space and criticality. The aim of such a forum is to contribute to and transform the personal, academic and civic development of the academic so as to support them in the role as facilitators of learning. O Donnchadha suggests that because the Community of Reflective Practice can address some of the practical and philosophical needs of civically engaged academics, it can have a broader application for those who use other forms of transformative learning, by providing a forum in which academics can move from personal practice to professional development. Cousin, G. (2006) An Introduction to threshold concepts. Planet, 17(December), 4-5. Meyer, J. H. F. and Land, R. (2003) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines, in: R. C. (Ed.) Improving Student Learning - Ten Years On. (Oxford, OCSLD), 1-16.


Transplants for both vegetable and floral crops are produced in a number of various sized containers or cells. Varying container size alters the rooting volume of the plants, which can greatly affect plant growth. Container size is important to transplant producers as they seek to optimize p roduction space. Transplant consumers are interested in container size as it relates to optimum post-transplant performance. The following is a comprehensive review of literature on container size, root restriction, and plant growth, along with suggestions for future research and concern.


In this paper, we use an online bachelor study program in IT as a case for research on Perceived Employability (PE). Collecting data from alumni through interviews and a survey we find an increase in students' PE during their bachelor education. We also find a difference between students who had relevant work experience before their studies and those without such experience, the former having higher PE before their education. This gap decreases and is not significant after completion of the bachelor program, except for the aspect of Contact Network. We discuss the results in light of how PE can be used as a construct in the evaluation and development of the specific bachelor program of our study and other study programs. We suggest that PE can be used to measure some important aspects of a study program, but as part of an overall evaluation, it should be combined with questions about competence and satisfaction.


Abstract Academic library collections are under pressure to follow dominant voices in the library world to redefine library missions and collections according to emerging trends in new library services. These trends call for a shift in focus away from traditional resource support for curriculum and research to new tech-related and other services. This sea-change in academic library function is led by the voices of major figures at library conferences and taken up by some library leaders who want to be on the cutting edge of reevaluating traditional academic library collections and the very essence of the mission of academic libraries. Thus, it is important to question dominant voices at library conferences, in published discourse, and among our colleagues so as to prevent the shaping of all libraries into a common mold of new services that can seem alluring but can potentially disconnect our libraries from their more fundamental role in supporting the research and curriculum of our institutions. Listening to the input of our faculty and student stakeholders, as well as balancing new roles with the value of foundational ones, are key to preserving our central importance to the university.

http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Scherlen_Allan and McAllister_Alex_2019_Voices Versus Visions.pdf


Application of technology in the promotion of international trade between countries has increased in the last 20 years. East African countries have been using technology in increasing proportions and applying new technological applications as they appear. The use of social media as a promotion tool has gained currency especially after 2013. Facebook, twitter, PayPal, e-mail, swift, electronic money transfer has improved international payment and settlement systems of accounts. This study was conducted between 2010 to 2015 with two objectives: one was to establish which kind of technology is mostly used by business organizations in East African countries to promote their intercountry trade; and two, how has the application of technology improved in the promotion of trade in East African countries. The literature reviewed indicated that most firms used conventional means of known technology and less use of the modern technology. The methodology adopted was a survey conducted in all the six EAC countries and adjacent neighbouring countries. Interviews were conducted on the top management of concerned firms and information obtained was analysed using content analysis. The results of the study showed that some firms, especially those who have embraced new technological methods of management have adopted new information technology and have established connection in all the EAC member-states. Although some countries like Burundi and Southern Sudan have not developed fully their technological infrastructure, we found out that some firms and individual businessmen within those countries have invested on appropriate information technology and are ready to use it. The results of this study indicated that the application of the latest technology to promote intercountry trade has increased the volume of trade between member states.


In this paper we consider the problem of constructing feedback control laws for a system of n agents that shall synchronize their attitudes in SO(3). We propose distributed controllers for two synchronization problems, in which the objective is the same, to synchronize the orientations, but what the agents can perceive or communicate differs. In the first problem the agents can measure their orientation to a common reference object, and either communicate with the neighbors or estimate the relative orientation to their neighbors. In the second problem the agents can, without communication, only measure the relative orientation to the neighbors. For the first problem we present a controller which will lead to synchronization, provided the neighborhood graph is connected. For the second problem we present a controller that will lead to synchronization provided the neighborhood graph is connected and the agents initially are contained within a geodesic ball of radius πover2 , which is the maximal convex set in SO(3).


A water distribution system WDS is often divided into smaller isolated and independent zones called district metering areas (DMA). A DMA can have anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand properties. Normally only three locations within a district metering area are actively monitored for pressure or flow readings. These are the supply point pressure and flow and the critical point pressure which is the point of the lowest pressure in the DMA. As leakage rates are typically directly proportional to average pressures in the DMA, keeping the network pressure as low as possible while maintaining desired serviceability is an effective and widely used method for leak reduction. With advancement in technology this network pressure reduction is now done in real-time, where the network pressure is increased or decreased based on the demand. However, such real-time optimisation changes the DMA dynamics making it different from traditional unoptimised DMAs. We consider the problem of detecting and quantifying leaks in pressure optimised DMA, using only these three DMA-level hydraulic measurements. The DMA-level measurements represent the current aggregate water demand/consumption within the DMA. Detecting leaks at this point is challenging, particularly small leaks, as they do not produce a significant increase in the aggregated DMA-level measurements. Furthermore, the DMA-level data exhibits input signal dependence whereby both noise and leaks are dependent on the flow and pressure being measured, making leak detection task more difficult. To address this, we first propose a Gaussian process (GP) based approach that uses only the DMA-level flow to detect leaks (NSGP). We devise an additive diagonal noise covariance for the GP that is able to handle the input dependant noise observed in this setting. A parameterised mean step change function is used to detect and approximate leaks. As accurate leak data is often not available due to poor record keeping, we develop a detailed simulated model of a pressure optimised DMA and use it for analysing proposed leak detection methods. We show that active pressure optimisation changes the dynamics of a DMA. In light of the change in DMA dynamics, we proposed a domain specific, data driven, multi output gaussian process model, to detect and quantify leaks in pressure optimised DMAs (SMOGP). The novelty of the model is, firstly its ability to use all available information from a DMA to detect leaks, secondly the ability to model the pressure dependant leak process mathematically within the GP framework. We compare the performance of the proposed methods with the current state of the art leak detection method. We show that our proposed method out perform other approaches considerably both in terms of the accuracy of leak detection and leak magnitude estimation.


This paper is an exploration of the processes used and ideas behind an animated full CGI feature film project that attempts to reach blockbuster production values, while retaining Art House sensibilities. It examines methods used to achieve these production values in an academic production environment and ways costs can be minimized while high quality levels are retained. It also examines the film's status as an Art House project, by comparing its narrative design and use of symbolism to existing works of Art House cinema.


Background: The objective of this study was to investigate changes in the diameters of major arteries in trauma patients at the time of severe intravascular volume depletion.
Methods: Patients admitted from January 2008-June 2017 in extremis or in arrest who had an immediate CT scan in the resuscitation period and at least one subsequent CT scan after hemodynamic stabilization and admission to the ICU were included. Diameter in millimeters (mm) of the common carotid, subclavian, common iliac, external iliac, common femoral arteries, and aorta at the following locations were obtained: ascending, proximal descending, and mid- descending thoracic, and supra-celiac, renal and aortic bifurcation.
Results: 14 patients (93% male) were included. Mean injury severity score (ISS) was 37±8 and age 36±18 years. 10 patients received a REBOA and 4 patients received a resuscitative thoracotomy (RT) prior to the first CT. A maximum increase of the aorta of 63.6%, and 116.9% in the common carotid, subclavian, common iliac, external iliac, and common femoral arteries was observed. For patients age 18-39 years, increases in diameter were statistically significant (p<0.05) at all locations except the peri-renal aorta and left subclavian. Patients ?40 years had a less robust change, with a significant diameter increase only at the level of the proximal descending aorta (p=0.02).
Conclusions: Large arterial diameters in the setting of severe hemorrhage are significantly reduced particularly in younger patients. This has significant implications for emergent placement of endovascular devices such as introducer sheaths, balloon catheters, and stent grafts where determination of arterial diameter is critical.


: A comprehensive hygienic evaluation was done of the ambient air pollution in urban industrial centers of the Dnepropetrovsk Province. Substantiated as priority pollutants were nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and benz(a)-pyren. Air pollution was at its greatest in Krivoi Rog and Dneprodzerzhinsk, with the aggregated atmospheric air pollution index being 34,9 and 34,5 respectively. The chief metals in the air were found to be lead, cadmium, manganese and copper. The results obtained served as a scientific justification for a block of ecologohygienic monitoring of the region.


In this study was investigated effects of borax (BX) on inflammation markers, haematolojical parameters and total oxidant (TOS)-antioxidant status (TAS) in rats applied 3–methylcholanthrene (3-MC). In this research a total of 24 Wistar Albino rats were used. They were divided into 4 groups each containing 6 rats. 1st group was separated as a control group. 3-MC was applied twice a week first 2 weeks 25 mg/kg dose to the 2nd group with i.p. way. BX was given to 3rd group 300mg/L/day dose with drinking water during 150 days. 3-MC was applied twice a week first 2 weeks 25 mg/kg dose with i.p. way and BX were given with drinking water during 150 days to 4th group. At the end of the study blood analysis, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) levels in 3-MC group; TOS and oxidative stress index (OSI), platelet (PLT) levels in 3-MC and 3-MC+BX groups showed significantly increases when compared to other groups. It was determined that lymphocytes % (LY%) of ever 3 groups were significantly higher; however, neutrophil % (NEU%) were significantly fewer according to control group. Haemoglobin (HGB) and hematocrit (HCT) values of 3-MC+BX groups showed significantly decrease according to other groups (P≤0.05). Mean corpusculer volume (MCV) in 3-MC and 3-MC+BX groups showed significantly decrease when compared to other groups (P≤0.05). As a result, in case of exposure to 3-MC, long-term use of BX with oral ways may not decrease oxidative stress, may changes haematolojical parameters such as, WBC, LY%, NEU%, PLT, HGB, HCT, MCV. However, these changes remain within physiological limits. Even so, in the use of BX should be considered use of iron. Furthermore, BX with the abovementioned dosage may be used to reduce the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 being inflammation and cancer markers.


In our music history classrooms we all want to find ways to make musics of the past relevant and alive. One of these ways is to sing and play our way through the canon of music history. For music majors this can be both daunting and pleasurable at the same time. Depending on the strengths of aural training and the performance areas of the students, these experiences are rewarding in varying degrees. Placing a performance demand on students in a history-based course, however, is tricky, for to put a grade to their work is usually not appropriate or fair, since performance is not one of the learning objectives of the course. We all know, however, that students are driven by grades and need to see how their classroom activities will be rewarded. This paper explores three areas related to the teaching problem presented above. First of all, I seek to present the pedagogy of live engagement and encounters with the content under study. What is the degree of learning that occurs by performing music live? Can that be an improvement on reliable textbook learning, class discussion, and reliable professional recordings? What if the music is too hard to perform and the experiment fails? Second, I will discuss assessment methods for live performance components in traditionally non-performance courses. Third, I will present some of my experiments in the classroom; the good, the bad, and even an ugly one—singing Gesualdo.


Abstract The provenance and tectonic setting of the Lower–Middle Triassic clastic sediments from the Napo basin, South China, have been examined here using detrital modes, whole-rock geochemistry and detrital zircon U–Pb ages. Field investigations indicate that these sediments consist of fan delta, slope and turbidity fan facies with dominantly southward palaeocurrent directions. Detrital modes and geochemical characteristics of the clastic rocks indicate that they were derived from mixed magmatic arc and Palaeozoic successions in a continental island arc setting, with no significant sediment recycling. The U–Pb age spectra of sandstone detrital zircons from different stratigraphic positions are similar, with one major group (300–230 Ma), two subordinate groups (400–320 Ma and 480–420 Ma, respectively) and two scattered groups (1200–800 Ma and 2000–1700 Ma, respectively). Thus, we consider that the north late Permian – Middle Triassic volcanic rocks and the uplifted Palaeozoic sedimentary/volcanic sequences constituted the predominant sources. The detritus derived from the late Permian Emeishan mafic rocks is subordinate and limited. The pre-Devonian zircons are likely sedimentary-recycled or magmatic-captured instead of directly derived from the early Palaeozoic orogen (e.g. Yunkai massif) and Neoproterozoic Jiangnan orogen because of the topographic barrier of a magmatic arc and carbonate platform. Considering the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the volcanic arc and ophiolite, we suggest that the Triassic Napo basin was a fore-arc basin within a continental island arc setting, which developed in response to the northward subduction of the Babu–Cao Bang branch ocean beneath the South China Block.


In this paper we suggest that official curriculum statements provide a relatively modest influence on the emergence of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in school settings and that not enough attention is paid to the other factors that influence curriculum practice in schools. We argue that while the perspectives of teachers may reflect the conceptions and philosophies of particular national curriculum documents, there are a variety of agents and discursive elements operating at the level of curriculum practice that influence how teachers in secondary school situations perform in the subject area of Physical Education. The metaphor of music is used as the basis for conceptualising curriculum as a complex emergent practice resulting from the interplay of many different elements operating at multiple levels of the education system. In particular, we identify four 'rhythms', that of health, criticality, biculturalism, and technology, that contribute to giving New Zealand Physical Education and performance of HPE in schools a unique style and character.


Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UW-ASNs) have recently been proposed as a way to explore and observe the ocean, which covers two-thirds of the Earth's surface. In particular, we consider a SEA Swarm (Sensor Equipped Aquatic Swarm) architecture for short-term ad hoc real-time aquatic exploration, such as oil and chemical spill monitoring, submarine detection, and surveillance, by deploying drifting sensor nodes (e.g., UCSD Drogues) to the venue of interest that form a swarm and move as a group with the ocean oceanic current. Each sensor monitors local underwater activities and reports critical data or events in real-time using acoustic multi-hop routing to a distant data collection center, e.g., surface buoys or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).
As SEA Swarm architecture adopts acoustic links as a means of communication, it is accordingly confronted with long propagation delays, low bandwidth, and high transmission power consumption. To put SEA Swarm architecture into practical use and alleviate these limitations, we propose the Delay-aware Opportunistic Transmission Scheduling (DOTS) algorithm to increase channel utilization by harnessing both temporal and spatial reuse. Extensive simulation results show that DOTS outperforms existing solutions, S-FAMA, DACAP, and CS-ALOHA in a line topology, in a highly competitive medium access star topology, and in a random topology with an underwater mobility by harnessing temporal and spatial reuse. Furthermore, in a SEA Swarm architecture, a sensor cloud that drifts with water currents and enables 4D (space and time) monitoring of local underwater events such as contaminants, marine life and intruders, is escorted at the surface by drifting sonobuoys that collect the data from underwater sensors via acoustic modems and report it in real-time via radio to a monitoring center. Thus, to realize SEA Swarm architecture, designing an efficient anycast routing algorithm for reliable underwater sensor event reporting to any one of the surface sonobuoys is imperative. Major challenges are the ocean current and the limited resources (bandwidth and energy). We address these challenges and propose two hydraulic pressure based anycast routing protocols, namely HydroCast and VAPR, which exploit the measured pressure levels to route data to surface buoys. The proposed routing protocols are validated via extensive simulations.


Human monoclonal antibodies have considerable potential in the prophylaxis and treatment of viral disease. However, only a few such antibodies suitable for clinical use have been produced to date. We have previously shown that large panels of human recombinant monoclonal antibodies against a plethora of infectious agents, including herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, can be established from phage display libraries. Here we demonstrate that facile cloning of recombinant Fab fragments against specific viral proteins in their native conformation can be accomplished by panning phage display libraries against viral glycoproteins "captured" from infected cell extracts by specific monoclonal antibodies immobilized on ELISA plates. We have tested this strategy by isolating six neutralizing recombinant antibodies specific for herpes simplex glycoprotein gD or gB, some of which are against conformationally sensitive epitopes. By using defined monoclonal antibodies for the antigen-capture step, this method can be used for the isolation of antibodies to specific regions and epitopes within the target viral protein. For instance, monoclonal antibodies to a nonneutralizing epitope can be used in the capture step to clone antibodies to neutralizing epitopes, or antibodies to a neutralizing epitope can be used to clone antibodies to a different neutralizing epitope. Furthermore, by using capturing antibodies to more immunodominant epitopes, one can direct the cloning to less immunogenic ones. This method should be of value in generating antibodies to be used both in the prophylaxis and treatment of viral infections and in the characterization of the mechanisms of antibody protective actions at the molecular level.


Large-scale multi-label learning (LMLL) aims to annotate relevant labels from a large number of candidates for unseen data. Due to the high dimensionality in both feature and label spaces in LMLL, the storage overheads of LMLL models are often costly. This paper proposes a POP (joint label and feature Parameter OPtimization) method. It tries to filter out redundant model parameters to facilitate compact models. Our key insights are as follows. First, we investigate labels that have little impact on the commonly used LMLL performance metrics and only preserve a small number of dominant parameters for these labels. Second, for the remaining influential labels, we reduce spurious feature parameters that have little contribution to the generalization capability of models, and preserve parameters for only discriminative features. The overall problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem pursuing minimal model size. In order to solve the resultant difficult optimization, we show that a relaxation of the optimization can be efficiently solved using binary search and greedy strategies. Experiments verify that the proposed method clearly reduces the model size compared to state-of-the-art LMLL approaches, in addition, achieves highly competitive performance.


Objectives: Describe the sonographic findings in assessment of the chondroectodermal dysplasia. Methods: Descriptive study of two cases with chondroectodermal dysplasia diagnosed in our center. Maternal fetal medicine specialists performed the prenatal ultrasound and postnatal follow-up was obtained in all cases. The two cases were presented to the Prenatal Diagnosis Committee. Results: The skeletal dysplasias correspond to 12% of the cases evaluated in our unit between 2003 and 2006. We had two cases of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in 23 520 live births, with incidence 1/11 760. In our cases we had CNS, facial, heart and limb anomalies. We present the images in ultrasound and postnatal correlation. Anomalies associated to the Ellis-van Creveld syndrome involve the three germinal lines: ectodermic dysplasia (affects tooth, nails, hair and lips), mesodermal dysplasia (affects bones, heart and kidneys) and endodermic dysplasia (affects liver and lungs). For the diagnosis, it is necessary to meet three of the four criteria: ectodermic dysplasia, chondro-dysplasia, postaxial polydactyly and congenital heart disease. Conclusion: The prenatal assessment of suspected skeletal dysplasias using ultrasound presents great challenges both in assigning an accurate prognosis. Our experience shows that the adequate knowledge of features of this type of skeletal dysplasia and sequential ultrasound examination raise the possibility of accurate diagnosis.


This book offers a rationale and techniques for using literature in the ESL classroom. The first two chapters address objections to using literature in ESL and present a positive, documented argument for doing so. Chapter 3 deals with teaching poetry and Chapter 4 with short stories. These two chapters use specific poems and short story excerpts to model principles, techniques, and activities for directing students through a text in a stimulating and beneficial way. The fifth chapter briefly defines the place of literature in an ESL curriculum as a single, but valuable, resource among many. Chapter 6 raises objections against simplified and abridged texts and suggests guidelines for selecting and editing unaltered texts. This volume offers little that is original in the area of applying literature to second language teaching, but it brings together much that is known in an applicable, accessible, and well-documented form. It is sure to be a helpful and reassuring guide to language teachers who experience some trepidation at the idea of bringing literature into their classroom.


The use of stress protection with dalargin, clofelin, and pentamine in the treatment of children with severe burn injury was ascertained to result in a reduction in the magnitude of abnormal changes in the endocrine system and in the prevention of depletion of its compensatory capacities. This treatment will assist in reducing the severity of endotoxicosis, as well as the frequency and severity of toxic and pyoseptic complications.


ABSTRACT
Introduction: The purposes of this study were (1) to summarize multiple related health indicators within a health domain using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the patterns of risky behaviors and health conditions; (2) to profile high risk behaviors and health conditions among sexual minority and unsure students.
Methods: The Rhode Island Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a population-based high school survey conducted in odd years between 2007 and 2015 with a total sample size of 14,718. Thirty-four indicators of five domains were identified: safety and being bullied, depression and suicide, substance use, sexual behavior, and health conditions. LCA was used to categorize students into high- and low-risk classes based on similar patterns of indicators, then these two classes were cross-tabbed with sexual minority categories. The analysis was conducted on 2017.
Results: Bisexual, lesbian and gay, and unsure (not sure of sexual orientation identity) students had higher health-related risks and conditions than their heterosexual peers. Students who reported sexual contact were more likely to have engaged in risky behaviors than those who reported they never had sexual contact. Those who identified as heterosexual, but who had sexual contact with the same sex or both sexes, were more likely to have engaged in risky behaviors than those who identified as heterosexual, but who did not have sexual contact with the same or both sexes.
Conclusions: The LCA method can be applied to identifying and defining risk behavior patterns among subgroups, which can improve specification of high-risk populations and allocation of prevention resources.


The importance of renewable energy for our world's energy supply is steadily increasing. Starting last year, offshore wind parks are being developed along the German coastline following the success achieved in the onshore wind energy. The first German offshore wind energy park is be erected on the Alpha Ventus test field near the isle of Borkum, where the depth of the sea amounts to 30 meters. Due to the hazardous conditions associated with the sea water, many challenges regarding corrosion control have to be met. With the combined effects of sea water, varying moisture conditions and impact damages caused by ice and flotsam, the conventional methods of corrosion protection with mean thicknesses of 1000 μm will not suffice to protect the steel for an operating life expectancy of 25 years. As a result, the thickness of the various construction elements need to be increased beforehand leading to an excessive usage of steel. For the new corrosion protection system presented in this paper, a layer made of high performance mortar with a thickness of about ten millimeters will be sufficient to protect the steel. To unfold its protecting effect, the mortar needs to comply with stringent requirements such as exhibiting high resistance to chloride ingress, frost and abrasion.


Purpose:  The purpose of this paper is finding the current state of research and identifies high-potential area for future investigation in optimization in supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach:  In this paper we present Bibliometric and Network analysis to examine current state research on optimization in supply chain management to identify established and emergent research field for future investigation. The systematic research review which we used in our study have not grasp or assess by other researchers on this topic. Firstly, based on our methodology Bibliometric analysis began by identifying 1610 publications raised from scientific journals, included literatures from 1994 to March of 2016. Secondly, we applied PageRank algorithm in our data for citation analysis to indicate the significance of a publication. Thirdly, the topological decision variables analysis is done based on Louvain method for network data clustering, for this proposes we used the rigorous tools. Finding:  Based on our Network analysis result, the optimization in supply chain management research can be divided into four clusters /modules that introduced fundamental skill, knowledge, theory, application and method. Research limitations/implications:  We presented some limitation in our research in some fields which could allow new researchers and practitioners conduct the future research to grow up in different dimensions. Practical implications:  Practitioners or policy maker usually are not familiar with these type researches so this is why mush of these survey remain in theatrical and conceptual .Future investigation needs to play in practical application  domain instead stop merely in opinion.    Originality/value:  Based on our research, the researchers have more attention to work in conceptual analysis due to other fields but we believe that in facility location problem there many remarkable rooms still exist for future research to development. We also contributed more details in the papers.


Since the 1980s, patent offices in most developed countries (with some exceptions, particularly in Latin America) have been granting patents over both genomic and modified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences based on the legal understanding of the difference between invention and discovery, which does not necessarily accord with the same concepts among scientists. Recent litigation in USA has, however, cast uncertainty over this conclusion, particularly with respect to genomic DNA sequences. Patents over the process of using these sequences to identify the risk of contracting a disease is even more uncertain. Controversy continues over the role that both DNA sequence and associated method patents play in encouraging innovation. This is particularly true in clinical genetics in which the patent holder is rarely the first to make a genetic test available to patients.

Key Concepts:

The legal understanding of the difference between an 'invention' and a 'discovery' does not correspond to how scientists appreciate the difference.

Patent offices in most developed countries have been granting patents over both DNA sequences (in both genomic and modified form such as cDNA) and methods of using them since the 1980s.

Only recently have these been challenged in court in USA with uncertain results.

Keywords:

patents;
DNA sequence;
clinical genetics;
inventions;
discovery;
research


Recent works showed that meaningful dominant components can be extracted from the EEG of patients in coma through an algorithm based on the joint use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). A procedure for automatic critical epoch detection would support the doctor in the long time monitoring of the patients, thus we investigated the automatic quantification of the criticality of the epochs. In this paper we propose a procedure based on the extraction of dominant components and features for the quantification of the critical state of each epoch, in particular we use entropy and kurtosis. This feature analysis allowed us to detect some epochs that are likely to be critical and that are worth being carefully inspected electrographically by the expert.


Intramembrane charge movement has been measured in frog cut skeletal muscle fibers using the triple vaseline gap voltage-clamp technique. Ionic currents were reduced using an external solution prepared with tetraethylammonium to block potassium currents, and O sodium + tetrodotoxin to abolish sodium currents. The internal solution contained 10 mM EGTA to prevent contractions. Both the internal and external solutions were prepared with impermeant anions. Linear capacitive currents were subtracted using the P-P/4 procedure, with the control pulses being subtracted either at very negative potentials, for the case of polarized fibers, or at positive potentials, for the case of depolarized fibers. In 63 polarized fibers dissected from Rana pipiens or Leptodactylus insularis frogs the following values were obtained for charge movement parameters: Qmax = 39 nC/microF, V = 36 mV, k = 18.5 mV. After depolarization we found that the total amount of movable charge was not appreciably reduced, while the voltage sensitivity was much changed. For 10 fibers, in which charge movement was measured at -100 and at 0 mV, Qmax changed from 46 to 41 nC/microF, while V changed from -41 to -103 mV and k changed from 20.5 to 30 mV. Thus membrane depolarization to 0 mV produces a shift of greater than 50 mV in the Q-V relationship and a decrease of the slope. Membrane depolarization to -20 and -30 mV, caused a smaller shift of the Q-V relationship. In normally polarized fibers addition of D-600 at concentrations of 50-100 microM, does not cause important changes in charge movement parameters. However, the drug appears to have a use- dependent effect after depolarization. Thus in depolarized fibers, total charge is reduced by approximately 20%. D-600 causes no further changes in the voltage sensitivity of charge movement in fibers depolarized to 0 mV, while in fibers depolarized to -20 and -30 mV it causes the same effects as that obtained with depolarization to 0 mV. These results are compatible with the idea that after depolarization charge 1 is transformed into charge 2. D-600 appears to favor the conversion of charge 1 into charge 2. Since D-600 also favors contractile inactivation, charge 2 could represent the state of the voltage sensor for excitation-contraction coupling in the inactivated state.


This paper offers a global vision of the types of Colombian national government's decrees in the constitutional system. The paper thesis focuses on showing the way how the executive branch has manipulated the Constitution in order to enact whichever type of decree, even though it has not the competence for that. Also it aims to get not only from the Constitutional Court and the State Council but also the society a preoccupation about the necessary labor of establishing a precise standard classification of the pieces of the Colombian legal system for detecting those of the executive branch which violate our supreme norm and start a long way in order to demolish the norm invention paradigm.


Flexible joint plays an important role in compliant motion of robot and bionic function and so on. We developed a new type bidirectional controllable flexible bending joint based on elongation artificial muscles, and which can axial elongate and bend two-dimensional two-way control in space. Furthermore, we had theoretical and experimental analysis on both axial elongation and bending deformation of joint, and get the pressure-elongation relationship and bending moment-angle properties. And this study could be valuable for the dynamic analysis and motion accuracy control of the robots driven by this type flexible joint.


In a retrospective study a total of 227 women and men between 24 and 79 years of age who had undergone meniscectomy at the State Orthopedic Clinic of Munich between 1958 and 1975 were reexamined clinically and radiologically in order to determinate late effects of surgery. Of 149 patients with an uncomplicated subtotal meniscectomy 35% showed an unsatisfactory subjective result while 62% were continuously free of symptoms regarding their operated knee. Including constitutional factors degenerative changes in the knee occurred in 50%, 34% of the total of 149 showing severe radiologic changes of grade 2 and 3. The roentgenographic changes in the knee correlated frequently with the subjective result. The frequency of degenerative arthritis in the follow-up investigation was significantly higher for patients with preoperative osteoarthritis than in those without. Some other factors seemed to have no bearing on the longterm effect of meniscectomy. The procedure of subtotal meniscectomy proved to be an important factor for degenerative arthritis. Arthroscopic and meniscus healing techniques require further examination of longterm results.


The increase in availability of longitudinal electronic health record (EHR) data is leading to improved understanding of diseases and discovery of novel phenotypes. The majority of clustering algorithms focus only on patient trajectories, yet patients with similar trajectories may have different outcomes. Finding subgroups of patients with different trajectories and outcomes can guide future drug development and improve recruitment to clinical trials. We develop a recurrent neural network autoencoder to cluster EHR data using reconstruction, outcome, and clustering losses which can be weighted to find different types of patient clusters. We show our model is able to discover known clusters from both data biases and outcome differences, outperforming baseline models. We demonstrate the model performance on $29,229$ diabetes patients, showing it finds clusters of patients with both different trajectories and different outcomes which can be utilized to aid clinical decision making.


We have shown that bacterial contamination of sera can have a marked influence on the results of the rubella hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. In addition to increasing the levels of nonspecific agglutinins, a number of common bacterial species tested had a significant effect on the HI titers. When sera free from rubella-specific antibodies were contaminated with Bacillus subtilis or Pseudomonas fluorescens, HI titers ranged from 16 to 128 (expressed as the reciprocal of the highest serum dilution completely inhibiting hemagglutination) after treatment with heparin/MnCl2. Our observations demonstrate, therefore, that bacterial contamination can be one of the causes of false-positive reactions in this test.


The development of embedded system has been toward the multicore architectures in the recent years. It raises concerns in the community of supporting programming models and languages to derive maximal performance from the architectures. Among the diversity of models for programming multicore processors, remote procedure call (RPC) is one of the most relevant programming techniques for supporting an explicit parallel programming model. Although such promising programming technique provides an easy way of modeling the applications on multiple processors, it remains an interesting and challenging problem of how to provide an effective system of programming data-intensive applications under the programming scenario of RPC. In this paper, we propose a streaming mechanism called streaming RPC to provide a system for modeling data-intensive and stream-based applications to efficiently utilize the constituents of the multicore processors. Streaming RPC is based on the framework of RPC and implemented as a middleware support to provide a library-based programming model with parallelism by mandatory. We also propose design patterns for the streaming mechanism and present experiences of developing high performance multimedia applications. Experimental results show that our streaming RPC framework is efficient to support multicore programming for multimedia applications.


Interactive music systems are dynamic real-time systems which combine control and signal processing based on an audio graph. They are often used on platforms where there are no reliable and precise real-time guarantees. Here, we present a method of optimizing audio graphs and finding a compromise between audio quality and gain in execution time by downsampling parts of the graph. We present models of quality and execution time and we evaluate the models and our optimization algorithm experimentally .


Few, if any, amphibians and reptiles are endemic to Utah. This is also true for much of the Great Basin, upper Colorado Plateau, southern Idaho, and Wyoming. Many species that would seemingly survive in this inland, mountainous area are not here. Only one widespread salamander and a few frogs and toads have occupied suitable habitats in the area. Lizards and snakes, like the amphibians, provide few distributions that extend throughout the area. A migration which presumably followed the Pleistocene Ice Age brought most of the species into the area as climatic conditions warmed. Distribution maps of our modern species and subspecies indicate rather clearly that these vertebrates have invaded the Intermountain Region in relatively recent geological time. Only the periphery of Utah and adjoining states to the east and west have been penetrated by many of the species in the regional fauna.


Improving the efficiency of Diode Pumped Solid State Laser (DPSSLs) is a challenging job ever since the discovery of DPSSLs. End pumped DPSSL has an inherent advantage of higher coupling efficiency compared to side pumped DPSSLs due to higher absorption length for the input diode power. However this technique is not applicable to high power DPSSL especially above 100 W CW lasers as the laser crystal cannot withstand the very high pump power density and the get fractured under thermal stress. Therefore, obviously side pumping is the only option for high power DPSSLs typically above 100 W average power. The limitation of side pumping is the lower absorption length and multiple reflection of diode power is required for efficient use of pump power. This is partially solved by increasing the doping concentration but the lower beam quality is the price to be paid for it. Further doping concentration cannot be increased beyond certain level as the crystal breaks under strain developed by the dopant. This introduces stringent design constraints for high power DPSSL and also limitations to the power coupling. Furthermore bare diodes have typical divergence of 40 to 50 deg and very close coupling becomes essential for efficient utilization of diode power. Use of micro-lens array is the usual solution, but this reduces the available diode power to be coupled to the laser crystal due to Fresnel reflections leading to reduction in overall efficiency of the system. Thus the laser head design becomes a real challenge for any designer working with high average power DPSSLs. In this paper we describe various techniques employed to improve the overall efficiency of diode side pumped DPSSL.


Phosphine-scavenging resins can significantly facilitate the synthesis of highly active Ru metathesis catalysts, including the second-generation Grubbs, Hoveyda, and indenylidene catalysts (GII, HII, InII). These catalysts are customarily prepared by ligand exchange of the corresponding first-generation catalysts with the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) H2IMes. The PCy3 coproduct is conventionally removed by pentane extraction, but the partial solubility of the desired Ru products can cause product losses of over 20%. Sequestration of the PCy3 coproduct with CuCl is more efficient, but is undesirable given the potential for non-innocent copper residues. Use of the arylsulfonic acid resin Amberlyst-15 delivers near-quantitative catalyst yields, but the high acidity of the resin leads to problems with reproducibility and decomposition. An alternative approach is described, in which a neutral Merrifield resin (crosslinked polystyrene with pendant p-C6H4CH2I groups; MF-I) is used to sequester PCy3 as the covalently-tethered benzylphosphonium salt. Addition of MF-I following complete ligand exchange effects quantitative uptake of free PCy3 (and any residual free NHC) within 45 min at RT: the clean products are isolated by filtration, in ca. 95% yield. These yields compare well with those obtained via the Amberlyst-15 route, without the challenges due to resin acidity. The efficacy of this methodology is demonstrated in the synthesis of isotopically-labelled derivatives of HII, in which the H2IMes ligand bears a 13C-label at the carbene carbon, or perdeuterated mesityl rings.


The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducts hundreds of surveys to make estimates on crops, livestock, production practices, farm economics, etc. Some elements of the agricultural industry ask, "What effects will the publishing of agricultural statistics have on the market of our product?" Markets of agricultural commodities that involve a great deal of speculation have especially wondered about this. In response, NASS publishes two reports (Price Reactions After USDA Crop Reports and Price Reactions After USDA Livestock Reports) showing that the price reactions to the official release of certain NASS publications tend to even out over time. This report examines the honey market which was not covered in NASS's earlier price reactions studies. The independent price data used in assessing the impact of the NASS publication release were obtained from the National Honey Report published by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA. The mean interval estimate determined from the sample of 65 measured price reactions with a confidence level of 95 percent is between -$0.03 and $0.01. The interval is short, includes zero, and is roughly symmetric about zero. A frequency distribution comparison (including a sample mean t-test) also supports this conclusion and suggests that the official release of the NASS Honey publication has no systematic effect on the honey market.


We report here that with a direct method for measurement of cardiovascular parameters in conscious rats, intracerebroventricular administration of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist RU-28318 (100 ng) reduces the blood pressure, heart rate, and the corticosterone response to a brief restraint stress, provided the rats were previously subjected to a daily 30-min exposure to 32 degrees C for 2 wk. The daily exposure to warming and restraint stress are applied identically to the training procedure required for indirect blood pressure measurement using the tail-cuff method. The basal arterial pressure is not affected by the MR antagonist. The effect of the MR antagonist on the stress-induced pressor response develops with a delay of several hours in the normotensive rats. The corticosterone response to daily warming and stress is also attenuated by the intracerebroventricular infusion of MR antagonist but with shorter onset and shorter duration. The findings suggest that conditioning to daily warming and stress imposes mineralocorticoid dependency of the pressor response, which involves MR functioning in brain.


Is there a bright spot in the shadow of an opaque disk? Nearly 200 years ago, Augustin Fresnel and François Arago's remarkable answer to this question validated the wave theory of light and inaugurated the modern theories of diffraction. Today, their renowned experiment can be easily reproduced using lasers and cameras. Far beyond its historical interest, the experiment is a versatile platform to illustrate the main concepts of optical physics, including diffraction, interference, speckle, and Fourier optics.


Strains obtained from the germination of 30-40 year old ascospores from seven stocks of the heterothallicAscobolus stercorarius furfuraceous complex were mated in all combinations. All st X st and fu X fu pairings were fertile (ascospores) whereas all st X fu pairings were sterile (no ascospores). Based on this reproductive isolation between st and fu strains I conclude that the complex consists of two species. The block that segregated the two species is probably some stage in the establishment of the dikaryotic phase in ascogenous hyphae. One hypothesis is that this block is at the stage of nuclear recognition. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. This regular paper is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: http://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol51/iss1/10


It is important to make therapeutics a critical component of teaching about dosage forms and to make dosage forms and drug delivery systems an integral part of therapeutics. This book will be the first to focus on the therapeutic impact of drug dosage forms.Tying together concepts of traditional pharmaceutics with therapeutics, "Drug Delivery Systems" "in Pharmaceutical Care" demonstrates how the modern clinical pharmacist can integrate knowledge in pharmaceutical sciences and therapeutics with appreciation of patient needs and nuances to advise on preferable and optimal product choices.Each chapter represents a collaboration of a clinical pharmacist practitioner and a pharmaceutical scientist. This unique perspective takes the science of dosage form design and helps translate the theory into the pragmatic.Special Features: Case studies and problems to help students get a better understanding of concepts Well-organized chapters with outlines and objectives Summary tables and helpful figures, along with reasonable compilations of original references Final sections with Learning Points that reinforce essential material. Foreword by William J. Jusko, PhD, Professor and Chair, University of Buffalo, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences"


ADHD- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. The number of children with ADHD increases every year. Most of the teachers working in schools and kindergartens are not educated enough to use appropriate methods while working with these students. That is the reason why some Universities included the ADHD as vocational elective course in their programs. The aim of this research is to ensure and increase the knowledge and information's of teacher's candidates about ADHD before their work with children. In this research we decided to analyze the effects of the ADHD as vocational elective course for the students from Canakkale 18 Mart University in Turkey. Questionnaire before and after taking the course was applied on students who attended it, in a period of three months. The group consisted 20 females, from two different departments at the Faculty of Education: Pre-school Teachers and Primary School Teachers. The implemented pre and post questionnaire contained four questions. The data were analyzed using the content analysis method and the questions were analyzed with the MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020 program. Codes and sub-codes were created with purpose to analyze and interpret the answers given to each question through content analysis. In the research, it was seen that the conceptual learning about ADHD was increased and the teacher candidates learned what should be done about children with ADHD. Within the framework of the research results, it is recommended to make observations during the diagnosis process of the ADHD student, and to conduct practical studies for functional measures for ADHD in the classroom.


This paper presents the ongoing development and qualification program of a subsea sulphate removal and injection system and provides an overview of the system together with the features that enable its operation subsea. The ongoing development program has completed a dry piloting phase that focused on the design of the system, subsystems, assembly of the pilot and qualification of the process, including the modified operation of the filtration technologies. This development is in cooperation with 5 leading global oil companies. The pilot operation took place over a period of 6 months.
 Injection of seawater to provide reservoir pressure support is often the choice to increase oil recovery in a field. Traditionally, large and heavy topside processing systems are deployed to treat and inject seawater. This creates significant operational challenges, especially in brownfields, where topside space and weight capacity are constrained. Moving the system to the seabed will greatly reduce the capacity demand imposed on the floating facility and will eliminate the need for an expensive high-pressure riser and flowline system. The subsea system requires a different operational approach in which the conventional chemical cleaning is eliminated. Special design considerations must be made to maintain operational robustness without the chemical cleaning in place unit.
 Baker Hughes and its partners are proposing to move the seawater treatment system to the seabed to simplify and debottleneck the topside facilities and reduce the total cost of ownership. Seawater treatment systems for injection are conventionally topside units. Necessary operational modifications have to be implemented to enable its reliable operation in subsea conditions. These modifications are being validated through piloting.


Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the differences between early maladaptive schemas in women who facedmarital infidelity and those who didn't. In order to determine the contribution of each components having access to extensive information can play a significant role in promoting the marital relationships and reducing the marital infidelity. Methods: The present research is a casual-comparative study. The study sample consisted of all married women who refer to Welfare Divorce Reduce centers in Tehran province because of infidelity. Of these, 120 married women are selected among which 60 women experienced infidelity and 60 of them didn't experience marital infidelity. Data collection toolwas short form of Young early maladaptive schemas. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS software and using statistical descriptions (frequency, tendency to center of index and dispersion index) and statistical analysis method was ANOVA. Results: According to the results of this study, the hypothesis was confirmed. In other words, there is a significant different between the component of early maladaptive schemas in women who had infidelity and those didn't face infidelity in their marriage.So each of the components of early maladaptive schemas can be a predictor of marital dissatisfaction and infidelity. Conclusion: The high level in early maladaptive scheme would decreases marital satisfaction and increase infidelity. It seems that determination of maladaptive schemas traits for each of the couples before marriage can be a contributing factor in improving marital relations. So people who seek to design and implementprevention programs in the family, including infidelity, should consider these factors too.


This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 189637, "Optimizing the Deepwater Completion Process: Case History of the Tamar 8 Completion Design, Execution, and Initial Performance Offshore Israel," by John Healy, SPE, Steven M. Waggoner, Ian Magin, SPE, Matt Beavers, SPE, Kevin Williams, and Russell Hebert, SPE, Noble Energy, prepared for the 2018 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 6–8 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
 This paper describes the successful delivery of one ultrahigh-rate gas well (more than 250 MMscf/D) completed in a significant gas field offshore Israel with 7-in. production tubing and an openhole gravel pack (OHGP). The Tamar 8 well was completed approximately 4 years after the start of initial production from the Tamar development. Several operational innovations and process improvements were implemented that resulted in a significant reduction in rig time.
 Introduction
 The Tamar field was discovered in 2009 in 5,505 ft of water at a total depth (TD) of 14,967 ft. Tamar is one of several recent gas discoveries made in the deep waters offshore northern Israel and Cyprus in the Levant Basin (Fig.  1). The field consists of three gas-bearing sandstone layers separated by two shaley units. The trap for the reservoir is a large four-way anticline cross-cut by northwest bearing faults. There is an approximately 4,900-ft-thick evaporate sequence in the shallow overburden above the field consisting of mostly halite, with interbedded anhydrite and clastics.
 Tamar was designed as a subsea development with five initial wells tied back 150 km to a new shallow-water production-processing platform located near the existing Mari-B platform. As the world's longest subsea tieback, the Tamar field came online in March 2013 at gas rates ranging from 600 to 950  MMscf/D from a production platform designed for 1,200 MMscf/D. Since 2013, all wells have produced with high reliability and minimal difficulty.
 Tamar 8
 In early 2016, a decision was made to add an additional well, Tamar 8, to the existing well stock. Accelerated well planning was conducted thereafter to be ready for a completion start date of 1 December 2016. On the basis of front-end engineering studies, several operational statements of requirements (SORs) were specified consistent with the previous Tamar completion campaign. These SORs included the following:
 The production (9 7/8-in.) casing was to be set approximately 10 ft inside the reservoir section.
 The reservoir interval must be underreamed to 12¼ in.
 The reservoir interval must be vertical to a low angle (less than 20°).
 Only 115 ft of reservoir interval would be drilled/completed.
 Completion Sandface. The Tamar sandface completion is an OHGP that, in simple terms, is a drilled section of the reservoir [using a qualified and fit-for-purpose reservoir drill-in fluid (RDIF)] in which a gravel pack has been placed. A key geometric attribute of the Tamar OHGP is the requirement to enlarge (underream) the drilled reservoir section; this hole enlargement (from 8½ to 12¼  in.) significantly increases the effective wellbore radius from which multiple production benefits are derived.