Purpose:  To compare the efficacy of the microwave pulse diode laser and argon laser trabeculoplasty in primary open angle glaucoma.
Study Design:  Quasi experimental study.
Place and Duration of Study:  Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College Lyari and Sindh Government Lyari General Hospital, Karachi, from October, 2017 to March, 2018.
Material and Methods:  One hundred and sixty patients, between 42 to 61 years with visual acuity of perception of light to 6/36 were enrolled. Patients diagnosed with POAG were included and patients with intraocular pressure of more than 40 mm Hg, previous glaucoma surgery or laser treatment and narrow angle on gonioscopy were excluded. Ophthalmic examination included visual acuity, slit lamp examination, fundus examination and visual field status using Humphrey perimeter. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A received microwave pulse diode laser (810) and Group B received argon laser trabeculoplasty. Average follow up period was 6 months. Success was assessed objectively by measuring intra ocular pressure and subjectively by visual acuity.
Results:  The average time-period for each procedure was 15 ± 5 minutes. In Group A, mean IOP at first week, first month, third month and sixth month was 20.79, 16.34, 16.21and 16.09 mm Hg respectively. While in Group B, IOP at first week, first, third and sixth month was 16.52, 15.76, 13.62, and 12.54 mm Hg at (P < 0.001 in both groups).
Conclusion:  Both microwave pulse diode laser and argon laser trabeculoplasty are effective in lowering intra ocular pressures in patients with primary open angle glaucoma.


Currently, progressively larger deep neural networks are trained on ever growing data corpora. In result, distributed training schemes are becoming increasingly relevant. A major issue in distributed training is the limited communication bandwidth between contributing nodes or prohibitive communication cost in general. To mitigate this problem we propose Sparse Binary Compression (SBC), a compression framework that allows for a drastic reduction of communication cost for distributed training. SBC combines existing techniques of communication delay and gradient sparsification with a novel binarization method and optimal weight update encoding to push compression gains to new limits. By doing so, our method also allows us to smoothly trade-off gradient sparsity and temporal sparsity to adapt to the requirements of the learning task. Our experiments show, that SBC can reduce the upstream communication on a variety of convolutional and recurrent neural network architectures by more than four orders of magnitude without significantly harming the convergence speed in terms of forward-backward passes. For instance, we can train ResNet50 on ImageNet in the same number of iterations to the baseline accuracy, using ×3531 less bits or train it to a 1% lower accuracy using ×37208 less bits. In the latter case, the total upstream communication required is cut from 125 terabytes to 3.35 gigabytes for every participating client.


The paper proposes an approach to contextualized answering of questions. The contextualization is achieved by using an ontology. The answers are provided based on a domain specific document collection. The approach consists of several phases as follows: data preparation, data enhancement, data indexing and handling questions. The functioning of the proposed approach is demonstrated on English document collections on Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries - ASFA, using Cyc ontology, ASFA thesaurus as domain specific ontology and WordNet as general ontology. The approach is in general applicable to other datasets in other languages, assuming the necessary natural language processing is handled and the match between the document collection language, domain ontology language and Cyc ontology is ensured.


A total of 42 cases of childhood mycobacterial adenitis have been studied to define the optimal steps that lead to the correct diagnosis of this disease. Antigens from the atypical mycobacteria are not currently available, so the usefulness of tuberculin skin testing as a diagnostic tool was examined. Skin testing differentiates mycobacterial adenitis from infection caused by pyogenic bacteria. In addition, repetitive skin testing with tuberculin over a three- to six-month period is also useful in differentiating adenitis caused by atypical mycobacteria from that due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Children with atypical mycobacterial adenitis have a decreasing tuberculin response to repeated testing, while children with tuberculous adenitis have a stable response. Other factors that assist in the differentiation of adenitides include a history of recent exposure to tuberculosis and evidence of extralymphatic tuberculosis. Needle aspiration or partial excision in mycobacterial adenitis may lead to drainage and sinus tract information. A PPD skin test should be done prior to surgical manipulation of enlarged nodes. Children with reactive skin tests should undergo complete excision.


The urban share of the United States and global population has been climbing steadily since well before the inception of Extension. As of the 2010 census, more than four out of five U.S. residents lived in urban areas, with 71% of the total U.S. population living in cities with more than 50,000 residents, and 10% living in smaller urban clusters. Cornell University established Cooperative Extension offices in New York City (CUCE-NYC) well after the Extension system was developed in rural and suburban counties throughout New York State. NYC is the largest city and part of the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., creating significant challenges of scale for Extension programming. The ratio of NYC residents to CUCE-NYC staff is roughly 125,000:1. CUCE-NYC works to mobilize limited resources to create large and positive impacts on individuals, families, communities, and institutions. Strategies to achieve these goals include partnership development, community recruitment, leadership development, and ecological efforts to foster setting-level change. Key CUCE-NYC strategies are grounded in sustained, intensive connections to communities, organizations, and other human ecological contexts. Geospatial mapping of program activities enables assessment and improvement of program reach and impact.


The emerge of personalized medicine demands high-quality human biospecimens with appropriate clinical annotation, especially in complex diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and metabolic alterations in which specimen heterogeneity and individual responses often complicate the development of precision therapeutic programs. In the growing field of extracellular vesicles (EVs) research, exosomes (EXOs)—a particular type of EVs—have been proposed as an advantageous diagnostic tool, as effective delivery vehicles and as therapeutic targets. However, the lack of consensus on isolation methods and rigorous criteria to characterize them puts the term EXO into question at the time that might explain some of the controversial results found in the literature. A lack of response in the biobank network to warrant standard optimized procedures for the isolation, characterization, and storage of EXOs will undoubtedly lead to a waste of resources and failure. This review is aimed at highlighting the increasing importance of EXOs for the clinic, especially in the cancer field, and at summarizing the initiatives taken to improve current isolation procedures, classification criteria, and storage conditions of EXOs as an effort to identify technological demands that biobank platforms face for the incorporation of EXOs and other extracellular vesicle fractions as valuable biospecimens for research.


Women's empowerment is the most recent approach to women in development. The inclusion of women's empowerment in development policies has recently gained traction in Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, the effectiveness of such policies has been questioned in its efforts to support local women to improve their lives. This study was undertaken to understand Australia's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to PNG in terms of the contribution of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to supporting women's empowerment in Oro province through the implementation of its Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Strategy 2016.  With the huge gender inequality gap in PNG and the rise in Gender-Based Violence (GBV), women's empowerment is an approach that can contribute to helping local women improve their lives. The purpose of this study was to understand the trickle-down effect of Australia's ODA to subnational organisations in PNG, and its contributions to women's empowerment in Oro province. The study used a qualitative approach involving policy document reviews and interviews with research participants.   The key findings from this study show that there is no direct support to local women's organisations in Oro province either from DFAT or the PNG government; there are some issues with implementation and ownership of DFAT's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Strategy and the PNG government's gender policies in Oro province; and that women's coalitions can be a vehicle for change in local communities in Oro province.  This study offers benefits to DFAT programmes in PNG, and to national government agencies tasked to review their gender policies; as well as the Oro Provincial Administration; the Oro Provincial Government; and the Oro Provincial Council of Women.   The study suggests topics for further research. It also suggests that DFAT's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Strategy, and its associated funding have the potential to improve women's lives in Oro province and PNG more broadly.


Rapid growth in water requirements makes it necessary to increase the amount of water drawn from rivers. The dams necessary for capturing river water have to be built to resist damage when large floods occur, and an idea of the possible destructive power of floods is given by the front photograph. The need for protection results in thick sill structures fitted with gates, and "upstream" and "downstream" cut-off walls. Sediment transported by rivers settles forming deposits behind dams, where flow velocities decrease. On the other hand, where flow velocities are high through hydraulic machinery (pums and turbines) fed from the dam, it can be necessary to remove even fine sand from the water, and also to remove floating debris. Various hydro-mechanical installations (including gates and screens) are introduced into the flow circuits to deal with sediment and debris problems. Many emperical solutions to definition of very important details complement standard design procedures. Understanding of their use is facilitated by numerous illustrations.


With improvements in living standards and innovations in medical care, life expectancy has increased. However, although people are living longer, particularly in developed countries, they are not necessarily healthier during the additional years of life, with a rising number of people with long-term physical and mental health conditions that require supported living, for example, within a care home or hospital environment. In response to the rising economic costs of managing long term conditions, successive governments have developed policies to reduce the use of institutional environments (e.g., care homes) and of unplanned hospital admissions, and are encouraging the development of systems which aim to monitor, support and manage people's health in their own home.

These developments have lead to increased research on using remotely monitored, sensor-based technologies to provide relatives, carers and health care professionals with timely data about the well-being of older people living independently, and so provide timely and appropriate support effectively, thus helping them remain in their own homes, especially when they have long-term health problems.

The aim of the research described in this thesis was to investigate the use of an electricity monitor to recognise and monitor changes in resident's daily activities. This was achieved using two phases; the first conducted a survey to gather information about which activities and features that carers and relatives would like to have access to, so as to be reassured about their relative's health and well being. The second phase collected and analysed electricity consumption data from four households for a one-week period, to develop models to identify when specific activities had been undertaken, e.g., using the shower, using a kettle.

This research concluded that the monitoring of general and some specific activities is important to the relatives and carers, although the best form of reassurance about their relative's situation was felt to be human contact. Following the analysis of the electricity consumption data, it was concluded that while it is possible to recognise appliance usage from whole house electricity consumption data, the variability and lack of transferability between houses and appliances would mean that the large-scale use of this type of monitoring would require considerable further development.


Objective Although Manganese (Mn) is essential for brain metabolism, excessive exposure to Mn in occupational settings such as in welding can lead to cognitive and motor deficits. To further study the relation between exposure, brain function and brain Mn accumulation, we developed a new 3D whole-brain MRI approach to visualise the distribution of excessive brain Mn in welders. Methods We used a voxel-by-voxel analysis of whole-brain R1 relaxation rate mapping as an indicator of Mn deposition in deep brain structures and the cerebral cortex in 30 welders (mean air Mn = 0.18 ± 0.16 mg/m³) and 20 non-exposed controls from the same factory. Results A wide-spread accumulation of Mn throughout the brain was discerned in our study. Outside the basal ganglia, significantly higher R1 values, indicative of higher Mn concentration, were found in the inferior parietal cortex and insula in welders (all p < 0.005), consistent with deficits in motor control and emotional instability found in Mn-exposed welders. Mn deposition in the supplementary motor cortex, primary motor cortex and somatosensory cortex point toward an effect on the motor regulation network. Elevated Mn concentrations (p < 0.005) were also found in superior primary visual cortex, secondary visual cortex and inferior temporal lobe, all belonging to visual association areas. An especially significant difference was found in the precuneus (p < 0.005), an area engaged in visuospatial function. Whole-brain voxel-by-voxel correlation maps (p < 0.005) show that R1 in motor cortex and basal ganglia correlates with Mn exposure over the past 3 months prior to the MRI scan. Conclusions These findings suggest that Mn exposure leads to increased Mn accumulation in the motor and visuospatial networks, which may be related to reported impaired neurobehavioral effects.


Adoption of machine learning models in healthcare requires end users' trust in the system. Models that provide additional supportive evidence for their predictions promise to facilitate adoption. We define consistent evidence to be both compatible and sufficient with respect to model predictions. We propose measures of model inconsistency and regularizers that promote more consistent evidence. We demonstrate our ideas in the context of edema severity grading from chest radiographs. We demonstrate empirically that consistent models provide competitive performance while supporting interpretation.


We propose a novel approach for preserving topological structures of the input space in latent representations of autoencoders. Using persistent homology, a technique from topological data analysis, we calculate topological signatures of both the input and latent space to derive a topological loss term. Under weak theoretical assumptions, we construct this loss in a differentiable manner, such that the encoding learns to retain multi-scale connectivity information. We show that our approach is theoretically well-founded and that it exhibits favourable latent representations on a synthetic manifold as well as on real-world image data sets, while preserving low reconstruction errors.


Aims: To carry out a retrospective study, screening for mutations of the entire coding region of RB1 and adjacent intronic regions in patients with retinoblastoma. Methods: Mutation screening in DNA extracts of formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissues of 28 patients using combined "exon by exon" polymerase chain reaction mediated single strand conformational polymorphism analysis, followed by DNA sequencing. Results: Eleven mutations were found in 10 patients. Ten mutations consisted of single base substitutions; 10 were localised in exonic regions (eight nonsense, one missense, and one frameshift) and another one in the intron–exon splicing region. Three novel mutations were identified: a 2 bp insertion in exon 2 (g.5506–5507insAG, R73fsX77), a G to A transition affecting the last invariant nucleotide of intron 13 (g.76429G>A), and a T to C transition in exon 20 (g.156795T>C, L688P). In addition, eight C to T transitions, resulting in stop codons, were found in five different CGA codons (g.64348C>T, g.76430C>T, g.78238C>T, g.78250C>T, and g.150037C>T). Although specific mutation hotspots have not been identified in the literature, eight of the 11 mutations occurred in CGA codons and seven fell within the E1A binding domains (codons 393–572 and 646–772), whereas five were of both types—in CGA codons within E1A binding domains. Conclusions: CGA codons and E1A binding domains are apparently more frequent mutational targets and should be initially screened in patients with retinoblastoma. Paraffin wax embedded samples proved to be valuable sources of DNA for retrospective studies, providing useful information for genetic counselling.


Problem statement: In this research, it had been presented a novel Skew Scenario Model that has been developed and implemented for mobile ad hoc networks. There exist several mobility patterns that try to capture the behavior of the mobile devices under different circumstances, whereas in our work, the direction movement of the nodes is significantly specified horizontally, vertically and diagonally in the simulation area. Approach: Our novel Skew Scenario Model and the impact of mobility on MANET protocols had been compared and analyzed. The performance of DSDV and DSR under SSM in terms of packet delivery fraction, routing load and latency for varying source and destination traffic from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 under 100 nodes environment had been analyzed. Apart from this, our SSM with the existing waypoint model in 100 nodes environment had been compared. A suitable algorithm for SSM has also been developed. Results: Our simulation result showed that the functioning of our SSM had greatly influenced the performance of routing protocols in MANET environment. Simulation experiments confirm that for DSR under SSM, the PDF is highest between 93.56-99.43%, routing load is lowest between 1.005-1.068 and Latency is very less between 0.0163-0.049 sec, in the case of DSDV under SSM, the PDF is 63.22-79.104%, routing load is 1.20-1.58 and latency is 0.018-0.050 sec. The result revealed the fact that the reactive routing protocol DSR outperforms much more than the Proactive routing protocol DSDV. Our Novel Model has performed well when we compared it with existing waypoint mobility model while setting many source-destination connections. In DSR under SSM and waypoint model, PDF is between 93.56-99.43% in SSM and in waypoint 94.20-98.88%. Routing load in SSM is 1.0056-1.068, waypoint 1.01-1.06 seconds. Latency is between 0.026-0.063 in SSM and in waypoint 0.026-0.1235 sec. Conclusion: This study revealed the fact that the DSR discovers new routes faster and more effectively to the destination when the old route is broken as it invokes route repair mechanism locally also high route cache hit ratio in DSR, whereas in DSDV there is no route repair mechanism. In DSDV, if no route is found to the destination, the packets are dropped. While our novel SSM is compared with the existing waypoint model, the performance of SSM is better as far as PDF, Normalized Routing Load and latency are concerned. The reasons are velocity of mobile nodes are memory less random process and they move independently over other nodes also mobile node can move with a restriction in accordance with the given direction.


Taenia solium cysticercosis is an important public health problem in developing countries. Oxfendazole has been shown to be highly effective against porcine cysticercosis, when given as a single dose at 30 mg/kg bodyweight. This dose, however, was estimated from experience with albendazole. A controlled dose-response trial was therefore undertaken to determine the efficacy and safety of three concentrations of oxfendazole. Twenty-four naturally parasitised pigs were divided into four groups and treated with oxfendazole at 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg, or left untreated. Eight to 10 weeks later the pigs were killed and the viability of the parasites assessed by evagination. No side-effects of oxfendazole treatment were observed. In the control group more than 90 per cent of the cysts were viable. Viable cysts were found in the muscle and brain of the pigs treated with 10 or 20 mg/kg oxfendazole. At 30 mg/kg there were no viable cysts in any of the tissues examined, indicating that this concentration of oxfendazole provided an effective treatment against porcine cysticercosis.


This study examines the application of Shaffer's – Star model in the distribution of agricultural produce. The paper uses the Ane Osiobe Altruism Farm in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a case study. The study aims to define the concept of marketing and its application to grow the farm's revenue. Furthermore, the study seeks to review previous research carried out on the farm and apply the Shaffer's – Star in the distribution of the farm output to consumers. From reviewed literature (Osiobe E.U. 2018), and (Enyinnaya J.C. and Osiobe E.U. 2017), it shows that the farm may likely earn ₦255.00k for every ₦1.00k invested. However, it is dependent on the efficient utilization of resources such as land, labor, and capital (Eninnaya J.C. and Osiobe E.U. 2017). For this paper, marketing will be delved into because it is an essential strategy in raising more revenue for the Altruism farm, and the distance between the Altruism farm and nearby market(s) would be analyzed using the gravity model. Our results show that market N would be the best place to sell the farm's products as it's ranked as number one, followed by market G and A. The rankings are based on the number of commuters' moving in and out of the market, and this reflects the volume of transactions that take place within the market. Keyword: Shaffer Star; Gravity Model; Altruism Farm


Adenomyosis is a complex issue in reproductive-age women not only on worsening of quality of life due to severe dysmenorrhea or heavy menstrual bleeding but also on the impact of infertility. A 39-year-old female, gravida 0 para 0, with a history of bilateral ovarian endometrioma post laparoscopic surgery presented to our hospital due to suspected deep infiltrative endometriosis (DIE), adenomyosis, and repeated implantation failure. Initially, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog treatment for DIE with progestin-primed ovarian stimulation protocol was arranged. Four D5 blastocysts were obtained and freezed. Two frozen embryo transfer were performed after ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) treatment of adenomyosis. She later had a dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy, and two healthy newborns were delivered by Cesarean section at gestational age of 35 weeks due to antepartum hemorrhage with placenta previa and preeclampsia. In conclusion, USgHIFU can be a potential treatment option in segmented in vitro fertilization in future.


Recently returned Veterans experience many health and mental health problems post deployment. These Veterans, also referred to as OEF/OIF Veterans, are applying and appealing for Veterans disability compensation (VDC) at rapidly increasing rates. Despite this fact, little is known about how Veterans experience the process. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with Veterans age 35 and under who were denied disability compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This dissertation follows a three paper format which explore various components of disability compensation as experienced by OEF/OIF Veterans. The first paper describes how Veterans learn about VDC, motivations for applying and their experience with the process of applying. Veterans typically framed the approach to seeking compensation as deciding to finally get help from the VA in a general way. Overall, many felt that something was generally wrong, and pursuing VDC was a step to help them understand their health/mental health problems, and to ultimately get better. Many also perceived they would have access to better resources through the VA (e.g. priority appointments) if they were rated for a particular illness or injury. The actual process of applying was exhausting to many veterans, and involved significant work and commitment. Decisions made about applications were perceived by Veterans as confusing and arbitrary. The second paper considers the process of symptoms becoming diagnoses for Veterans via the VDC process. Veterans arrived to the disability application process certain of their symptoms. Veterans and other entities involved in the VDC process then played a role in affirming, molding or diminishing those symptoms. Three key aspects of the VDC process are highlighted including the process of completing the application, getting evaluated through the compensation and pension exam and receiving a decision. These aspects are explored as key arenas were symptoms were molded, affirmed or diminished. In the context of concerns about Veterans malingering to receive disability compensation, these findings suggest a more complex and nuanced experience. The third paper depicts the way that recent Veterans perceive themselves and other Veterans as deserving and undeserving of VDC. Their rationales considered three primary areas: (1) military and combat experiences, (2) specific conditions and (3) the motivation toward self-improvement and work. Veterans also grappled with their own sense of deservingness as applicants and recipients of VDC. Veterans applied these three rationales to themselves, and also described the powerful role of military culture as a fourth factor that influenced their perceptions around deservingness.


This study considers the possibility of introducing an element of more naturalistic, two-way interaction into the IELTS Speaking Test (IST). The research aimed to evaluate the effect of an intervention, namely the addition of a fourth part into the structure of the IST. This was intended as a two-minute section in which the candidate asked questions on a typical IST topic to the examiner, who then replied. Asking questions is a skill that university students have to develop, and such sequences could potentially provide useful rating data and a two-way interactional element. This four-part test was trialled by 18 candidates and three (3) examiners under six (6) conditions which enabled evaluation of the best format and location for the new part. The study evaluated whether candidate-led question-answer sequences are actually produced and whether value is added to the test in any way. The tests were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a CA approach. Both candidates and examiners were interviewed about the intervention. The new Candidate Question (CQ) part did generate candidate-led question-answer sequences as anticipated, even with weak candidates. The research suggests that the 'examiner leading statement' format after the existing part 2 would be optimal. The CQ part does add value in a number of ways, according to both examiners and candidates, creating a context for more naturalistic, two-way interaction. Higher-scoring candidates took a more active role, developing topic and making other kinds of speech moves outside the question-answer lockstep. Examiners felt that candidate questions provided useful extra information for rating purposes. Potential disadvantages are increased test duration and variation in amount and type of examiner talk.


Brucellosis, a neglected zoonotic disease remains a major public health problem world over. It affects domesticated animals, wildlife and humans. With large pastoral communities, and demand for meat and livestock production to double by 2050, brucellosis poses a major threat to the public health and economic growth of several developing nations whose economies rely heavily on agricultural exports. Since human-to-human transmission of the disease is rare the ultimate management of human brucellosis can be achieved through effective control of brucellosis in animal population. Hence there is need to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of effective ways to control the disease in animal populations. Mathematical modeling, analysis and simulation offer a useful means to understand the transmission and spread of brucellosis so that effective disease control measures could be designed. In this dissertation, five epidemiological models that seek to evaluate the role of intervention strategies on the transmission dynamics of brucellosis in animal population have been studied. Firstly, a non-autonomous model that focuses on evaluating the impact of animal vaccination and environmental decontamination in a periodic environment, is introduced. Secondly, a modeling framework that seeks to improve our quantitative understanding of the influence of chronic brucellosis and culling control on brucellosis dynamics in periodic and non-periodic environments, is considered. Thirdly, a deterministic brucellosis model that incorporates heterogeneity and seasonality is studied. Fourthly, we evaluated the effects of short-term animal movements on the transmission dynamics of brucellosis through a two-patch model. Finally a model that incorporates two discrete delays and culling of infected animals displaying signs of brucellosis infection is proposed and analysed. All the proposed models incorporate relevant biological and ecological factors as well as possible disease intervention strategies. Epidemic and endemic analysis of the models have been performed, with a focus on the threshold dynamics characterized by the basic reproduction numbers. In addition, numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the analytical findings. A brief summary of the main results of the thesis and an outline of some possible future research directions rounds up the thesis. Preface and Declaration The study described in this thesis was carried out in the Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, University of Zimbabwe, during the period 1 August 2015 to 20 October 2018. This thesis was completed under the supervision of Professor S. Mushayabasa. This study represents original work by the author and has not been submitted in any form to another University. Where use was made of the work of others it has been duly acknowledged in the text. Copyright c © 2018 Paride Oresto Lolika


Every individual who is employed by an organization demands that he/she will be able to do the best job they can under safe conditions. Equally, employers in all organizations are seeking the optimal conditions for employers to do their job productively and safely, so that they avoid personnel injuries, high turnover, sick leave, substitutes and general poor work ethics. There are many elements involved in creating a safe environment, which is mainly the same for large and small organizations. The context for a small organization, in difference to a large organization, is relatively the same, but do small organizations have the same possibility for high reliability performance as large organizations? PI Intervention, an oil-service organization have asked me to perform this investigation, in addition to evaluate their emergency preparedness plan and response. In this thesis the high reliability theory is used to investigate the safety culture and organizational approach to a safe work environment. PI Intervention invited me in to do this investigation and provided me access to their organization to do interviews and observations of their emergency preparedness exercise. Qualitative research methods like interviews, observations and informal conversations were used to gather empirical material, which has then been discussed in relation to high reliability organization theory, as well as emergency management. The findings indicate that PI Intervention as an organization is preoccupied with maintaining a safe environment for their employees. There is a trusting relationship between management and front line personnel which creates an open and transparent organization, where safety is in high priority. PI Intervention is a small/medium sized organization, but there is no indication that the size of the company has a negative effect on their safety systems. There are, of course, some aspects, such as limited resources and manpower, that could influence the work that is done in safety procedures, but there was no sign that this was the case at PI Intervention. Being a relatively small sized company has its limitations, but also its advantages. Although PI Intervention does not fulfil all of the elements that a high reliability organization requires, I see them as a high reliability organization because of their successful procedures and preventive work toward emergency preparedness.


Abstract. Outdoors, navigation aids are widely used. Indoors, on the other hand, these systems are not yet common practice, because it requires another more elaborate positioning method and the environments are more complex. Especially in complex buildings, wayfinding can be challenging and induce a rise in cognitive load. To reduce cognitive load, indoor wayfinding aids have to be adapted to both the architecture of the building and the requirements of the users. To facilitate this adaptation, first of all, the complexity of a building has to be quantified. Several methodologies are developed to this end and some of them have been proven to correlate well with wayfinding strategies of navigators, such as isovists and the space syntax theory. An isovist is the area in space which can be seen from a certain viewpoint. This isovist area can be drawn on a floorplan of a building, resulting in a polygon with several geometric properties (e.g. surface area, longest line of sight, compactness) that can be used to quantify the complexity in a certain point of a building. Rather than focussing on separate elements of space, the space syntax theory analyses how spaces relate to each other. The visibility graph analysis (VGA) combines both methodologies by putting a grid on the floorplan and drawing an isovist in every point of the grid. From all these points, measures such as the mean visual depth can be calculated, which quantify the integration of the points in the global building structure. Measures of isovists and VGA are often used in literature to link spatio-visual properties of buildings (e.g. museums and shopping centers) to exploratory movements of visitors. The architectural layout of a building has a significant impact on the cognitive load during navigation, but the demanded effort also depends on people's environmental perception. One of the factors that shape this perception are personal characteristics such as cultural background, familiarity and navigation capabilities. The quantification of decision point visibility with isovist measures or VGA on the one hand and the navigator's perception of the same decision point on the other hand are not necessarily equivalent. However, both have an influence on indoor movement and therefore, both should be included in a framework for an adaptive wayfinding aid.  This adaptation can be implemented in several components of a wayfinding system (e.g. the route planning by generating the least turn path instead of the shortest path). However, the route instructions convey the spatial information and are therefore the key to successful navigation. Adequate communication can accelerate the process of wayfinding and avoid uncertainties of the user. Moreover, the chosen presentation form of the instruction is decisive for the usability of the navigation system. A distinction can be made between maps and turn-by-turn instructions. Maps give a survey perspective of the environment by displaying the complete floorplan. That way, navigators can improve their cognitive map of the environment. However, most users of wayfinding aids in complex buildings have no interest in improving their mental map and prefer a maximum ease of wayfinding. Alternatively, turn-by-turn instructions can be given at every decision point in many forms (e.g. symbols, text, map, photo, 3D simulations). The current studies on route communication are limited to one type per route. However, because every decision point is different, the induced cognitive load is also different at these points. Therefore, route communication should be adapted at decision point level. To be able to make an adaptive wayfinding system an online survey is executed to determine the best type of route instruction for every decision point (Figure 1). The case study building of the online survey is the iGent tower, a recently built (2015) office building in Ghent (Belgium). The architects designed the tower as a smart building (with several location sensors implemented in the ceiling), hence, it is well equipped for the development of a wayfinding system. During the survey, participants are guided along ten routes, based on video materials. For every new route, a different type of route instruction is shown whereby the order of both the routes and the types is randomised. At every decision point along the ten routes (52 in total) participants indicated how complex they found that decision point and how good they found that instruction type. The answers to the first question are compared to six isovist measures and one VGA measure (calculated with Isovists.org). The preliminary results indicate that several measures are correlated with the complexity ratings of the participants. However, a factor with a larger influence on the complexity ratings is the action participants had to take (e.g. go straight forward, turn left, change floors). Therefore, the complexity of a decision point depends both on the architecture and on the type of action navigators have to take. It can be concluded that both aspects should be considered in the instruction type selection of an adaptive wayfinding system. This conclusion is confirmed by the instruction type ratings.


A three-factor authentication scheme combines biometrics with passwords and smart cards to provide high-security remote authentication. Most existing schemes, however, rely on smart cards to verify biometric characteristics. The advantage of this approach is that the user's biometric data is not shared with remote server. But the disadvantage is that the remote server must trust the smart card to perform proper authentication which leads to various vulnerabilities. To achieve truly secure three-factor authentication, a method must keep the user's biometrics secret while still allowing the server to perform its own authentication. Our method achieves this. The proposed scheme fully preserves the privacy of the biometric data of every user, that is, the scheme does not reveal the biometric data to anyone else, including the remote servers. We demonstrate the completeness of the proposed scheme through the GNY (Gong, Needham, and Yahalom) logic. Furthermore, the security of our proposed scheme is proven through Bellare and Rogaway's model. As a further benefit, we point out that our method reduces the computation cost for the smart card.


Real-time global illumination in VR systems enhances scene realism by incorporating soft shadows, reflections of objects in the scene, and color bleeding. The virtual light field (VLF) method enables real-time global illumination rendering in VR. The VLF has been integrated with the extreme VR system for real-time GPU-based rendering in a cave automatic virtual environment.


This chapter addresses whether the use of new neuroscience techniques, especially non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the data from studies employing them raise new ethical issues for forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. The implicit thesis throughout is that if the legal questions, the limits of the new techniques and the relevance of neuroscience to law are properly understood, no new ethical issues are raised. A major ethical lapse would occur if practitioners use neuroscience without the proper understanding. It concludes that little new neuroscience is directly relevant at present to forensic practice and prescribes modesty and caution before employing it as the basis for expert reports and testimony in criminal and civil law cases.


Many bacteria, viruses and other parasites cause severe morbidity or mortality in their host populations, creating strong selection for physiological or behavioural mechanisms to avoid disease. Likewise, changes in host susceptibility and contact patterns can dramatically influence the spread of infectious diseases, and hence selection for traits such as virulence and infectivity range in parasites. Understanding how ecological and evolutionary changes in one population affect selection in another represents a key challenge for theoreticians and empiricists alike, and is essential for gaining further insights into host-parasite relationships. This thesis contains theoretical models that explore how genetic and environmental factors shape the evolutionary and coevolutionary dynamics of hosts and parasites. In particular, the roles of genetic specificity (i.e. genotype-by-genotype interactions) and population mixing patterns are investigated, using both mathematical models and computer simulations. A broad range of scenarios are covered, including the coevolution of broad resistance and infectivity ranges (generalism), the persistence of coevolutionary cycling and the maintenance of sex, the effects of mating behaviour on disease prevalence and evolution, and the evolution of sexual and social behaviour. The models presented herein develop our understanding of host-parasite relationships and highlight the importance of genetic interactions and ecological feedbacks.


Layered structures of dense porcelain/porous alumina and dense porcelain/porcelainalumina/ porous alumina are designed and their crack propagation behaviors are investigated. As a substrate, the porous alumina, which is prepared by a gel-casting process using the binary slip of alumina powder and PMMA spherical micro-bead, is dried at room temperature for 24 h and then sintered at 1600 for 2 h. Porcelain is coated on the porous alumina substrate and then re-sintered at 987. Bi- and tri-layered structures are produced by the different dwell times (2 min, 10 min) at re-sintering temperature. There is no delaminating or cracks observed after re-sintering the layered samples. The crack propagation behaviors in the bi- and tri-layered structures are evaluated by micro-indentation. The indentation cracks do not propagate into the porous alumina through interface (porosity; 36~62%) except for another one (porosity; 70%) in the bi-layered samples. In the case of the high porosity bi-layered sample (porosity; 70%), cracks are scattered along the 3-D open-pore channels. However, cracks do not propagate through the interface in the tri-layered samples with a porcelain-alumina buffer layer, because the porcelain-alumina buffer layer plays an important part such as a barrier layer in crack propagation.


Is water part of a shared "commons", a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? Thirst tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions, as water becomes the most valuable global resource of the 21st Century. A character-driven documentary with no narration, Thirst reveals how the debate over water rights between communities and corporations can serve as a catalyst for explosive and steadfast resistance to globalization. (Source: Bullfrog Films )


Klein, Sigrid M. (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) and Richard D. Sagers. Intermediary metabolism of Diplococcus glycinophilus. II. Enzymes of the acetate-generating system. J. Bacteriol. 83:121-126. 1962-The enzymatic steps in the conversion of glycine to acetate by Diplococcus glycinophilus were examined and the reaction rates of the individual steps compared with the maximal glycine fermentation rate by whole cells. Glycine is oxidatively cleaved to one-carbon units with the alpha carbon being transferred to tetrahydrofolate at the oxidation level of formaldehyde. The activated one-carbon unit is condensed with a second glycine molecule to form serine which is then deaminated to pyruvate. Pyruvate gives rise to acetyl units as acetyl coenzyme A and acetyl phosphate. The latter compound reacts with adenosine diphosphate to yield acetate and adenosine triphosphate, providing the main energy-yielding reaction in the fermentation. The enzyme systems discussed together with their specific activities (mumoles substrate acted upon per hr per mg protein) are as follows: serine aldolase, 9 to 12; serine dehydrase, 180; pyruvate-oxidizing and acyl unit-generating system, 96; phosphotransacetylase, 96; acetokinase, 3,600. The high activity of the acetokinase system may tend to pull the entire reaction series in the direction of acetate and adenosine triphosphate generation. In all cases the reaction rates of the individual enzyme systems were equal to or significantly greater than the over-all glycine fermentation rate by whole cells (9 mumoles per hr per mg protein). If coupled together, these enzymes could account for the fermentation of glycine to acetate, CO(2), and ammonia and could account for the conversion of 2-labeled glycine to doubly-labeled acetate as demonstrated in previous tracer studies.


Abstract Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in breath of lung cancer patients and released by lung cancer cells were determined. As a reference sample breath collected from healthy volunteers and lung segments of cells with proper morphology were used. Methods: Solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) method was applied for VOC analysis. Statistical methods have been developed to find similarities between patterns of investigated compounds within three populations of samples: exhaled air samples from patients with lung cancer, headspace of lung tissues with healthy and cancer cells. Results: Quantitative analysis of VOCs in the headspace of lung tissues revealed that cancer cells released higher concentrations of ethanol, acetone, carbon disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 2-butanone and 2-pentanone than healthy tissues. The increase of concentration of the same compounds was observed in the breath of patients with lung cancer in comparison to breath from healthy non-smoking volunteers. Conclusions: Detection of lung cancer is possible by volatile biomarkers analysis in breath.


Abstract The invasive cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini) (Acari: Ixodidae), occurs in the United States only along the Texas border as incursions from Mexico. Intensive acaricide treatment of cattle herds in Mexico to reduce tick populations has resulted in the development of resistance to an array of acaricides. Resistance to permethrin has increased both in incidence and level inTexas over the last decade, even though permethrin is not used to control fever ticks on the U.S. side of the border. From 3 to 4% of submittals in 2008 to over 50% in 2016 and 2017 showed resistance based on standardized pesticide bioassays. Moreover, by 2017, the highly resistant ticks had spread to include all five of the southmostTexas counties and were found on both cattle and sylvatic hosts. Improved diagnostic tools developed by our group include a panel of DNA-based real-time PCR assays to detect mutations within the voltage-sensitive sodium channel (Vssc) that are involved in permethrin resistance. Further, a positive correlation between the presence of multiple Vssc mutations and phenotypic resistance was validated. These assays can be completed within days of receiving field collected ticks providing timely, valuable information to program managers. Microsatellite marker analysis of these pyrethroid resistant tick populations provided evidence that separate incursions of resistant ticks had enteredTexas independently.


Performing any laboratory study and evaluation on medicinal plants of traditional medicine relies on documented information of medicinal plants with definite scientific names. Thus, here we address the issue of scientific names to make traditional medicine closer to the modern medicine. To remove any potential ambiguity, we prepared a list of plants that there is a consensus about their scientific name. To this end, first we drew up a list of ancient Iranian and non-Iranian medicinal plants with their scientific names. Then, we added the names of medicinal plants on the market as well as the common Iranian plants. The primary list consisted of the scientific names of 2962 medicinal plants. The names then were critically reviewed and compared with scientific descriptions of reliable textbooks such as "Makhzan al-Adwiya" and "Al-Seidene" by Al-Biruni. After that, we selected the plants with a good agreement between their scientific names on the one hand, and their traditional name and description in ancient books, on the other hand. Consequently, we prepared a list of almost 700 species of medicinal plants (400 traditional medicinal plants) with definite scientific names.


Since the end of the last glaciation, the United Kingdom's land surface has been altered by isostatic rebound, rising in the north and sinking in the south. Numerous studies have been published documenting the impact of isostatic rebound on relative sea levels. However, due to the difficulties in acquiring evidence to prove former sea levels, locally, these data can be sparse or absent. In this work, we explored the suitability of the passive seismic survey (PSS) method to estimate the contemporaneous beach thickness in coastal environments where there is a high impedance contrast between the beach deposits and the underlying wave-cut platform. We conducted a three-day survey at Perran Beach, Cornwall, collected 149 measurements using PSS, and interpreted the observations supported by auxiliary topographical, geological, and independent geophysical observation in the study area. The study site is a contemporaneous beach mostly composed of sand underlain by a wave-cut platform composed of igneous and sedimentary rock, therefore high impedance contrast with the sandy beach is anticipated. The elevation of the bedrock relative to the topographical elevation suggests that the bedrock elevation is −15 m ± 5 m below the present day mean sea level, which is coherent with the observation of relative sea level rise along the region of the south-west. The present study contributes to our current limited understanding of land and sea level movements by providing further subsurface information to the coastal geological archive of south-west England, a region currently in need of more data to reconstruct land- and sea-level movements.


ConspectusConvergent syntheses are characterized by the coupling of two or more synthetic intermediates of similar complexity, often late in a pathway. At its limit, a fully convergent synthesis is achieved when commercial or otherwise readily available intermediates are coupled to form the final target in a single step. Of course, in all but exceptional circumstances this level of convergence is purely hypothetical; in practice, additional steps are typically required to progress from fragment coupling to the target. Additionally, the length of the sequence required to access each target is a primary consideration in synthetic design.In this Account, we provide an overview of alkaloid, polyketide, and diterpene metabolites synthesized in our laboratory and present parameters that may be used to put the degree of convergence of each synthesis on quantitative footing. We begin with our syntheses of the antiproliferative, antimicrobial bacterial metabolite (-)-kinamycin F (1) and related dimeric structure (-)-lomaiviticin aglycon (2). These synthetic routes featured a three-step sequence to construct a complex diazocyclopentadiene found in both targets and an oxidative dimerization to unite the two halves of (-)-lomaiviticin aglycon (2). We then follow with our synthesis of the antineurodegenerative alkaloid (-)-huperzine A (3). Our route to (-)-huperzine A (3) employed a diastereoselective three-component coupling reaction, followed by the intramolecular α-arylation of a β-ketonitrile intermediate, to form the carbon skeleton of the target. We then present our syntheses of the hasubanan alkaloids (-)-hasubanonine (4), (-)-delavayine (5), (-)-runanine (6), (+)-periglaucine B (7), and (-)-acutumine (8). These alkaloids bear a 7-azatricyclo[4.3.3.01,6]dodecane (propellane) core and a highly oxidized cyclohexenone ring. The propellane structure was assembled by the addition of an aryl acetylide to a complex iminium ion, followed by intramolecular 1,4-addition. We then present our synthesis of the guanidinium alkaloid (+)-batzelladine B (9), which contains two complex polycyclic guanidine residues united by an ester linkage. This target was logically disconnected by an esterification to allow for the independent synthesis of each guanidine residue. A carefully orchestrated cascade reaction provided (+)-batzelladine B (9) in a single step following fragment coupling by esterification. We then discuss our synthesis of the diterpene fungal metabolite (+)-pleuromutilin (10). The synthesis of (+)-pleuromutilin (10) proceeded via a fragment coupling involving two neopentylic reagents and employed a nickel-catalyzed reductive cyclization reaction to close the eight-membered ring, ultimately providing access to (+)-pleuromutilin (10), (+)-12-epi-pleuromutilin (11), and (+)-12-epi-mutilin (12). Finally, we discuss our synthesis of (-)-myrocin G (13), a tricyclic pimarane diterpene that was assembled by a convergent annulation.In the final section of this Account, we present several paramaters to analyze and quantitatively assess the degree of convergence of each synthesis. These parameters include: (1) the number of steps required following the point of convergence, (2) the difference in the number of steps required to prepare each coupling partner, (3) the percentage of carbons (or, more broadly, atoms) present at the point of convergence, and (4) the complexity generated in the fragment coupling step. While not an exhaustive list, these parameters bring the strengths and weaknesses each synthetic strategy to light, emphasizing the key contributors to the degree of convergence of each route while also highlighting the nuances of these analyses.


This paper reports the results of an empirical analysis of the linkage between the financial markets (foreign-exchange, stock, and bond markets) of Korea and the financial markets of the United States, Japan, and six major East Asian countries. A multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) model is used to analyze 23 financial variables and identify time-varying correlation coefficients. A comparison of these values before and after the currency crisis yields four main conclusions. First, the interest rates in the major Asian countries, including Korea, are moving independently of one another. Second, the correlations between the Korean financial variables are higher after the crisis than before it, and the highest correlation is between the won/dollar exchange rate and the stock price index. The high linkage between the won/dollar exchange rate and stock price index signifies that short-term foreign investment flow influences the won/dollar exchange rate and the stock price index equally. Third, the impact of U.S. stock prices on Korean stock prices has increased by more than 20 times since the currency crisis, indicating a synchronization of the Korean stock market and the U.S. stock market. Fourth, the linkage between the stock market prices of Korea and those of Japan and several East Asian countries has been increasing since the currency crisis, whereas the KoreanU.S. stock market linkage has become somewhat less significant.


In recent years the contrast ratio (CR) has played an important role in the quantitation of imaging performance of X-ray image intensifiers. In practice, one uses either a lead disc or strip for measurement of contrast ratios. A theoretical relationship relating contrast ratios measured by both disc and strip techniques is discussed and experimental results are presented. The theoretical analysis uses the point spread function model to describe veiling glare for an image intensifier. It has been shown that one can predict strip contrast ratios after a determination of the veiling glare point spread function from a measurement of disc contrast ratios.


A glassy carbon electrode modified with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) containing phenacetin recognition sites is introduced. The phenacetin-selective MIP was synthesised based on the electropolymerisation of pyrrole in a 1:1 (v/v) water/ethanol with HClO4 solution. The MIP-modified electrode showed higher recognition ability in comparison with a bare electrode for procaine and aminopyrine, reported to electrochemically interfere in the quantification of phenacetin in cocaine samples. In addition, the MIP was able to preconcentrate one of the intermediates of the phenacetin electrochemical oxidation, acetaminophen, indicating the possibility of monitoring phenacetin based on the acetaminophen oxidation. The acetaminophen oxidation peak is 15 times more detectable compared to the signal obtained by the non-molecularly imprinted polymer (NIP), and it occurs 450 mV below the phenacetin electrochemical oxidation signal. These achieved characteristics decrease the possibility of interference from other electrochemical reactions that may occur in the same potential range as phenacetin electrochemical process.


User concerns regarding data handling within the cloud will gain increasing importance as cloud computing becomes more pervasive. Existing service level agreement (SLA) frameworks are not designed for flexibly handling even relatively straightforward usage policies. This paper introduces the notion and importance of usage management in cloud computing. It provides an analysis of features and challenges involved in deploying a usage management framework over a distributed cloud environment to enable automated and actionable interpretation, reasoning and enforcement of usage policies. Finally, a preliminary architecture for such a framework is proposed.


We describe an approach to Grammatical Error Correction (GEC) that is effective at making use of models trained on large amounts of weakly supervised bitext. We train the Transformer sequence-to-sequence model on 4B tokens of Wikipedia revisions and employ an iterative decoding strategy that is tailored to the loosely-supervised nature of the Wikipedia training corpus. Finetuning on the Lang-8 corpus and ensembling yields an F0.5 of 58.3 on the CoNLL'14 benchmark and a GLEU of 62.4 on JFLEG. The combination of weakly supervised training and iterative decoding obtains an F0.5 of 48.2 on CoNLL'14 even without using any labeled GEC data.


The sedimentary succession near the village of Villafeliche in the Calatayud-Montalban Basin (Spain) is well known for its very rich, densely sampled and well dated fossil mammal record of Miocene age and roughly spans the time interval between 17 and 10 million years ago. The exceptional quality of this fossil record provides ideal conditions for studying the biostratigraphy, evolution and changes in the community structure of small mammals. Extensive research on Neogene mammal paleontology has been carried out in this area for decades and has previously been focused primarily on the rodent families present. Their fossil record has yielded new insights in small-mammal community dynamics. The role of the pikas (Ochotonidae, Lagomorpha) in this context has so far remained unexplored and is the subject of the present thesis. Pikas represent a family of small-sized herbivores that is closely related to the family of rabbits and hares. Although they are currently extinct in Europe, pikas are a common component in small-mammal fossil assemblages of Miocene age in which they are often abundantly present. The time interval covered by the mammal succession is characterized by major shifts and distinctive episodes in global climate, such as the Miocene Climate Optimum, which represents the warmest phase of the Neogene, and the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, which encompasses one of the major cooling phases in the Cenozoic. These characteristic climate intervals significantly influenced the local environment of the research area, in particular with respect to precipitation patterns and humidity, which in turn influenced the evolution and local diversity of mammals. The present study is focused on the evolutionary history of pikas in Spain during the Miocene and their role in small-mammal communities in relation to the influence of major changes in global climate. Analysis of the several thousands of fossil teeth from the succession has resulted in the identification of two new species within the four evolutionary lineages present in the region and has led to new insight in their phylogenetic affinity. Secondly, it is shown that the timing of evolutionary changes and of immigrations in the small-mammal communities, including those of the pikas, and changes in the fauna composition due to (local) extinction, appear to be strongly related to changes in global climate and its associated shifts in local humidity. Thirdly, the analysis of the intra- and interspecific variability of tooth morphology suggests that beside climate, interspecific competition appears to have played a significant role in the evolutionary and coexistence patterns of Spanish pikas in the Miocene. Analysis of the changes in the composition of the small-mammal primary consumer community confirms the patterns of disassembly, assembly and succession of small-mammal communities on a geological time scale previously established on the basis of rodents. Three out of the four pika lineages present are identified as belonging to the group of species with long residence times that defines local temporal communities in geological time. Pikas were therefore likely an important component of Spanish ecological communities in the Miocene


The eigenstructure assignment scheme for robust multivariable state feedback control is extended to redundantly actuated dynamical systems. The fact that the plants that are atleast square allow for the exact assignment of an arbitrary orthonormal set of closed loop eigenvectors makes this methodology attractive for feedback controller design poorly modeled dynamical systems. For second order mechanical systems, a partial eigenstructure assignment methodology is presented which simplifies the scheme of pole assignment for real target sub-modal matrix. An optimal allocation strategy is derived for redundant control inputs to minimize an integral cost function. A novel adaptive aggregation procedure is introduced to handle problems with very high redundancy in actuation. The aggregation approach along with the eigenstructure assignment methodology is applied to the wing morphing problem. The robust redundant actuation procedure is demonstrated on a mathematical model constructed from the wind tunnel test data of the novel morphing wing model designed and developed at Texas A & M University.


We introduce an efficient algorithm for determining a suitable projection order for performing cylindrical algebraic decomposition. Our algorithm is motivated by a statistical analysis of comprehensive test set computations. This analysis introduces several measures on both the projection sets and the entire computation, which turn out to be highly correlated. The statistical data also shows that the orders generated by our algorithm are significantly close to optimal.


Background / purpose – Home-based exams were introduced during COVID-19 with an open-book format and limited control over dishonest student behavior. Such exams were used in lieu of traditional, closed-book school-based exams as a necessity due to the pandemic. This article investigates whether or not students' grades from home-based assessment exams differed from the grades they achieved in traditional school-based exams. Materials / methods – Using administrative data from 2017 to 2020 from a business school in Norway, a quantitative approach that compared differences, correlation analysis, and regression models was applied in the study. Results – By switching from school-based to home-based exams, students' academic success during their second year of business school showed a smaller association with students' outcomes from their first year. One interpretation is that skilled students achieved weaker performance in home-based exams. Conclusion – Home-based exams without any control mechanisms appear to result in different student rankings. This knowledge may be useful for employers looking to hire applicants who graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Network-on-Chip (NoC) paradigm allows designers to integrate efficiently more intellectual properties (IPs) into a single chip system. However, the power consumption has become one of the most critical issues for designing such large complex systems. Low power design can be achieved by scaling the voltage and frequency of the target components. The question is how to make the voltage-frequency scaling adaptable to the required performance of the system at run-time while reducing as much as possible the power consumption. In this paper, we present the design and modeling of a Voltage-Frequency Controller for NoC routers based on fuzzy-logic processing. The communication traffic of a network router will be predicted by a fuzzy-logic algorithm. Then the voltage and frequency of the router will be dynamically scaled according to the predicted results in order to get power consumption optimal for the network router. The Voltage-Frequency Controller is then modeled at register-transfer level using VHDL – a hardware description language. The most important part of the proposed controller, the fuzzy-logic processor (FLP) designed with the famous Sugeno model, has been successfully implemented on FPGA devices. c © 2015 Published by VNU Journal of Sciences. Manuscript communication: received 20 May 2015, revised 16 June 2015, accepted 25 June 2015. Corresponding author: Hai-Phong Phan, firstname.lastname@example.com


High-dose ionizing radiation is known to induce adverse effects such as inflammation and fibrosis in the heart. Transcriptional regulators PPARα and TGFβ are known to be involved in this radiation response. PPARα, an anti-inflammatory transcription factor controlling cardiac energy metabolism, is inactivated by irradiation. The pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic TGFβ is activated by irradiation via SMAD-dependent and SMAD-independent pathways. The goal of this study was to investigate how altering the level of PPARα influences the radiation response of these signaling pathways. For this purpose, we used genetically modified C57Bl/6 mice with wild type (+/+), heterozygous (+/-) or homozygous (-/-) PPARα genotype. Mice were locally irradiated to the heart using doses of 8 or 16 Gy; the controls were sham-irradiated. The heart tissue was investigated using label-free proteomics 20 weeks after the irradiation and the predicted pathways were validated using immunoblotting, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry. The heterozygous PPARα mice showed most radiation-induced changes in the cardiac proteome, whereas the homozygous PPARα mice showed the least changes. Irradiation induced SMAD-dependent TGFβ signaling independently of the PPARα status, but the presence of PPARα was necessary for the activation of the SMAD-independent pathway. These data indicate a central role of PPARα in cardiac response to ionizing radiation.


Abstract Introduction: A randomised, assessor-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was used to compare the short-term effectiveness of manipulative therapy and acupuncture on the pain caused by mechanical thoracic spine dysfunction and on the pressure pain threshold. Subjects and Methods: The research sample consisted of 114 female patients aged 20–60 years. The primary complaint of these subjects had been pain in the thoracic spine area. After completing a questionnaire and undergoing a clinical examination, 114 subjects were diagnosed with mechanical thoracic spine dysfunction and these were randomised into the final study groups. Five persons dropped out the trial and thus the remaining 109 subjects were randomly divided into the manipulation group (n = 37), the acupuncture group (n = 35), and the placebo group (interference-electrotherapy with suction cups without electricity; n = 37). The subjects were treated four times with a 1-week follow-up assessment. The measurements of VAS and pressure pain threshold were taken on three occasions (baseline, before the second treatment and one week after the last treatment). The whole intervention took 4 weeks. Results: The VAS measurement performed one week after the last treatment indicated that manipulative therapy was superior to placebo (P-value 0.01). The intra-group results of the VAS measurements between the first and the last measurement revealed clinically significant pain reductions in all three groups. Pressure pain threshold values had increased in both the manipulation group and in the acupuncture group, whereas in the placebo group they had decreased, though the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: This trial suggests that manipulative therapy is more efficient than placebo in treating the pain caused by mechanical thoracic spine dysfunction when measured one week after the last treatment. In contrast, there was no significant difference between the effect of acupuncture and placebo.


Cost recovery has been widely documented as a means through which local municipalities can financially sustain service provision. In the South African context, the devolution of powers from the national government to local government transferred service delivery functions and financing of service provision to local municipalities. Policy analysts use implementation theory to understand the complexity of policy implementation. There are diverse models which policy implementation analysts use to analyse the implementation process but there is no consensus on an ideal model. This study attempts to analyse the implementation of cost recovery mechanisms at the Msunduzi Municipality. The study found that tailoring of cost recovery principles and other constitutional mandates (such as free basic services) is problematic for local municipalities. The study found that different contexts provide different outcomes of the policies implemented. For instance, the Provincial government intervention after a service delivery crisis of the Msunduzi municipality resulted into contrasting outcomes. Before the Provincial intervention, revenue collection was at 55% and increased to 80% after the intervention. The study also found that the capacity of the local municipality to implement cost recovery mechanisms has a great bearing on the outcome of the policy in question. The Provincial Intervention Team provided the necessary technical and human capacity to improve collection of consumer service debt. This is consistent with implementation theorists like Lipsky, Matland and Wiemer and Vining who argue that contextual factors may lead to divergence from initial intended goals and objectives of a policy or programme. The study also found that implementation of cost recovery is being hampered by non-payment of services charges by consumers, billing and collection problems and failure to comply with the Financial Management Act before the provincial intervention.


Adverse experiences, like long-term poverty, can inhibit innovation. But as much research and many real-world examples show, adversity can also stimulate innovation in some circumstances. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic provides a number of recent examples where adverse conditions have led individuals, firms, and governments to innovate in the hopes of benefiting society.

Despite the fact that some forms of adversity undermine innovation while others stimulate it, legal scholars have largely failed to distinguish between the two or even account for adversity's relationship to innovation when assessing innovation law and policy, including intellectual property (IP) laws. Yet given adversity's significant role in affecting the pace and direction of innovation, doing so is crucial.

In this Article, we undertake that task. Our analysis shows that adversity is most likely to stimulate innovation when it satisfies what we call the Goldilocks principle: the adversity is neither too intense nor too mild, too fleeting nor too enduring, too all-encompassing nor too confined, too commonly experienced nor too isolated, too severe nor too insignificant, but instead is "just right." Hence, for adversity to have the best chance of stimulating innovation, it should be (1) a relatively discrete experience; (2) of moderate intensity; (3) experienced collectively rather than in isolation; and (4) significant enough that, left unaddressed, the adversity could result in severe consequences for large groups of people. To be clear, these conditions are not necessary for innovation—adversity, or some other trigger, might spur innovation even if each of these conditions is not met. Neither are they sufficient—innovation will not necessarily occur even if all of these conditions are present. Indeed, individual and organizational characteristics often play a role in determining whether a party will respond to adversity with innovation. But existing research suggests that these are some of the adverse conditions most conducive to, and thus most likely to inspire, innovation. Conversely, adverse conditions falling outside of these parameters are more likely to inhibit innovation, or at least fail to stimulate it.

We then assess what this means for IP laws and innovation policy more generally. Predominant theories suggest that IP laws are meant to incentivize parties to benefit society through innovation and creativity. Yet over the years, commentators have pointed out that IP rights are often unnecessary to inspire these activities and thus at times impose unnecessary costs on society by restricting access to those innovations. We contribute to this important discussion by highlighting the role that adverse conditions frequently play in affecting the pace and direction of innovation. First, we argue that the role of adversity in stimulating certain innovations provides another reason to doubt the efficacy of IP rights as applied to many of those innovations. Other policy levers, such as grants and prizes, may often be preferable in such cases. Second, we explore possible solutions to innovation-inhibiting adversity, including bolstering IP rights in certain situations and a greater societal commitment to basic research funding. Finally, we examine the role that adversity can play in creating innovation path dependencies, and we briefly explore some possible solutions to this dilemma.


In general symbiotic robotic systems can be considered three-agent systems in which the agents are performing interdependent tasks. In such systems the robot's actions are generally controllable and observable the environment's actions are partially controllable and partially observable, and the human's actions are not (directly) controllable but are partially observable. This new paradigm will enable us to incorporate techniques from AI and robotics in everyday, smart environments. Symbiotic robotic systems will shift our focus from the development of fully autonomous, almighty robot servants to the development of an open, extensible environment in which humans will cohabitate with many cooperating robotic devices


In this paper we describe an approach for the computer-aided identification of Shakespearean intertextuality in a corpus of contemporary fiction. We present the Vectorian, which is a framework that implements different word embeddings and various NLP parameters. The Vectorian works like a search engine, i.e. a Shakespeare phrase can be entered as a query, the underlying collection of fiction books is then searched for the phrase and the passages that are likely to contain the phrase, either verbatim or as a paraphrase, are presented in a ranked results list. While the Vectorian can be used via a GUI, in which many different parameters can be set and combined manually, in this paper we present an ablation study that automatically evaluates different embedding and NLP parameter combinations against a ground truth. We investigate the behavior of different parameters during the evaluation and discuss how our results may be used for future studies on the detection of Shakespearean intertextuality.


Mrs. G. H., aged 44 years; American; of large build and strong; previous to the present illness had been robust. About seven years ago she lifted hard upon an iron kettle and felt something give away in the right side. She was ill for some time after this strain, and attributed her illness to some injury done to an internal organ. Commencing six years ago, she was for three years confined to the bed the greater part of the time. Of the nature of her disease, at the commencement, I am unable to say, since she was seen by many physicians, no two of whom agreed in the diagnosis of her case. Four and one-half years ago she came under my observation and treatment. Then there were ascites and anasarca, and pain in the pelvic region. The urine was slightly albuminous. I thought her a subject of chronic Bright's disease,


This research aims to review the current state of Indonesian Journals of religious studies indexed by Scopus. It also attempts to reveal the contribution of the religious studies journals in the publishing of Islamic economics and finance issues. This research uses content analysis. The data retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, and its journal's website. The result showed as per March 2020, there are five journals indexed by Scopus. Based on SJR, the international journal of Indonesian Muslims and societies (IJIMS) is the best journal that ranked at the Q1 level. Nevertheless, based on google scholar, the Studia Islamika journal ranked number one. These all five journals have published articles on Islamic economics and finance. Hence, the Qudus international journal of Islamic studies (QIJIS) is the most suitable for the academicians and researchers to publish their articles in the field of Islamic economics and finance.


Highlights - Small-molecule-gated tether-and-release system for rapid pulse-chase of nuclear proteins - Tracking nuclear import of histone H3.1 and H4 and their incorporation at sites of active replication - Tethered H3.1 and H4 are monomeric and do not associate with ASF1, NASP, RbAp46 or HAT1 in the cytosol - Importin-β proteins as cytosolic binders of monomeric histones Summary We present here a cytosolic tether-and-release system to study the import and dynamics of newly synthesised nuclear proteins. Release is gated by rapamycin-induced recruitment and activation of a viral protease, with cleavage of a peptide linker releasing the tethered cargo. We use this system to investigate nucleo-cytoplasmic divisions in the histone H3.1 & H4 deposition pathway, revealing that, contrary to previous analyses, H3.1 and H4 are predominantly monomeric in the cytosol, and only associate with the core histone chaperoning machinery after translocation to the nucleus. Whilst we do not detect interaction with known H3-H4 chaperones in the cytosol we do detect interaction with a number of importin-β proteins, that may serve a dual import and chaperoning function, preventing aggregation of histones until they are handed-off to the core histone chaperoning machinery in the nucleus.


This letter proposes a colored noise based multicondition training technique for robust speaker identification in unknown noisy environments. The colored noise samples generation is based on filtering a white Gaussian sequence that leads to a power spectral density (PSD) proportional to 1/fβ, where β ∈ [0, 2]. Gaussian mixture models (GMM) are applied to obtain the speaker models using the noisy speech signals with a single signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The colored noise based multicondition training is evaluated for the speaker identification task considering the test utterances corrupted with real acoustic noises and different values of SNR. The results show that the proposed technique outperforms the white noise based multicondition and the clean-speech training approaches.


Brazil is internationally known for its activities in mass production and use of biocontrol agents. Batch studies on Bacillus thuringiensis fermentation were initiated in 1970, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) to explore the feasibility of producing endotoxin preparations, using cheap liquid by-products as fermentation substrates. The culture media composition, its price, and their influence on the final cost were studied for miniand pilot-scale production. The results obtained generated two industrial patents on the fermentation process, using sugar cane molasses and corn steep liquor as sources of nutrients. Besides these studies, others such as rheological characteristics of many culture media and the culture broths, the influence of aeration and agitation levels on growth and sporulation, the continuous technique affecting growth and sporulation rate, the effects of different ways of drying on the viability of the spores and the potency of the insecticide obtained, as well as the solid state fermentation were developed. These studies were done as Master and Ph.D. theses, and some results were published from 1971 to 1996.


A 30-year-old woman undergoing chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia developed fever. Chest radiograph showed ill-defined nodules in the mid and lower zones. CT showed multiple nodules that cavitated with commencement of anti-fungal therapy. Follow-up CT showed complete resolution of the pulmonary nodules, confirming the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergillus fumigatus presents clinically as aspergilloma, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis depending on the immune status of the host. The different manifestations are discussed and imaging features of representative clinical case studies are illustrated.


In this work, the origin of the singlet and triplet exciton-induced degradation of host materials with C(sp2)-N(sp3) bonds around nitrogen (carbazoles, acridines, etc.), connecting donor and acceptor units, was unravelled using DFT and CASSCF methods. The results reveal that molecules (employed in OLEDs) with basic units containing C(sp2)-N(sp3) bonds (nitrogen connected to carbon in a triangular fashion) have a natural tendency to fragment at the C-N bond through an S1/S0 conical intersection (CI). The calculation of barrier heights, to reach a dissociation point, indicates that degradation via triplet states is kinetically less feasible (ΔGT1-TS* > 25 kcal mol-1) compared to that via the first singlet excited state (ΔGS1-TS* ∼7-30 kcal mol-1). However, the long lifetime of triplets (as compared to singlets) aids in the reverse intersystem crossing from triplet to singlet state for subsequent degradation. From the results and inference, ΔGS1-TS* and ΔES1-T1 are proposed to be the controlling factors for exciton-induced degradation of host materials with C(sp2)-N(sp3) bonds. Furthermore, multiple functionalization of carbazole moieties reveals that polycyclic aromatic systems employed as acceptor units of host materials are best suited for PhOLEDs as they will increase their lifetime due to the larger ΔGS1-TS* and ΔES1-T1. For TADF-based devices, materials with fused ring systems (with N(sp3) at the centre) in the donor unit are the most recommended ones based on the findings of this work, as they avoid the dissociative channel altogether. A negative linear correlation between ΔGS1-TS* and HOMO-LUMO gap is observed, which provides an indirect way to predict the kinetic stability of these materials in excitonic states. These initial results are promising for the future development of the QSAR-type approach for the smart design of host materials for long-life blue OLEDs.


January 27, 2005, was an extraordinary day for Gillette's James Kilts, the show-stopping turnaround expert known as the "Razor Boss of Boston." Kilts, along with Proctor & Gamble chairman Alan Lafley, had just orchestrated a $57 billion acquisition of Gillette by P&G. The creation of the world's largest consumer products company would end Kilts's four-year tenure as CEO of Gillette and bring to a close Gillette's 104-year history as an independent corporate titan in the Boston area. The deal also capped a series of courtships between Gillette and other companies that had waxed and waned at various points throughout Kilts's stewardship of Gillette. But almost immediately after the transaction was announced, P&G and Gillette drew criticism from the media and the state of Massachusetts concerning the terms of the sale. Would this merger actually benefit shareholders, or was it principally a wealth creation vehicle for Kilts?

To understand the factors that persuaded shareholders of both P&G and Gillette to merge their companies, the valuation metrics involved in determining the merger consideration, compensation packages for key managers, and the politics (internal, local government, and regulatory) that impact major mergers.


Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is a motility disorder of the esophagus that typically presents with dysphagia. The objective of the present study was to explore patient characteristics, clinical and endoscopic features, and response to treatment of patients with EE. Patients were selected retrospectively based on a review of biopsy results from previous endoscopies performed between 2004 and 2008. A total of 54 patients (41 men and 13 women) with biopsy-proven EE were included in the study. Further information regarding the patients' clinical and endoscopic features, and response to treatment were obtained through chart reviews and patient telephone interviews. The mean age of the patients at symptom onset was 30 years. All patients complained of dysphagia, 81% had a history of bolus obstruction, 43% had a history of asthma and 70% had a history of environmental allergies. Thirty-three per cent had a family history of asthma, while 52% had a family history of food or seasonal allergies. The most common endoscopic findings were rings and⁄or corrugations, which were found in 63% of patients. Swallowed fluticasone therapy resulted in symptom resolution in 74% of patients; however, 79% of these patients relapsed after discontinuing fluticasone therapy and required repeat treatments. Esophageal dilation was complication free and resulted in improvement in 80% of patients. However, 83% of those reporting improvement relapsed within one year. The clinical and endoscopic findings were similar to those found in the literature, with most patients requiring ongoing, repeated therapies. Further studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of treatment modalities ideally suited to patients with EE.


This paper suggests that an Enhanced Reflective Practice model, as part of a structured reflective practice discipline, supports the vision of an initiative known as "Design Praxium". This initiative aims to fulfil: (i) a need for a new type of design practice; (ii) a deeper design educational experience; (iii) a new generation of designers that are able to shape new contexts through design. Design Education would benefit from the inclusion of practical ways to cultivate values to develop hand in hand with design theory and technique. If mental training disciplines that aim to ultimately foster cooperative human qualities can be inserted within existing structured reflective disciplines in an educational context, then rising design students may progress into professional endeavours with higher potential of making more sustainable and socially responsible choices. This paper presents the theoretical context for a developing study that will use validated scales to assess whether mindfulness-based techniques designed to enhance structured reflective practice, can cultivate the attention component of mindfulness, and promote desirable human qualities that support the "Design Praxium" principles. Moreover, it is concluded that the significant value of this approach is the seamless integration of the disciplines of mindfulness and that of structured reflective practice.


Article History: This work presents an application of wireless sensor network (WSN) of the random access with one way transmission to the monitoring of the patients in the hospital. In the paper, we will study a clustered wireless sensor network. The sensors are within each cluster forward the message to another cluster via cooperative communication techniques. In wires sensor network, several architectures usually called network topologies are possible: star, cluster free and mesh. In different topologies, sensor nodes can act as simple data transmitters and receivers or routers working in a multi hop fashion. Other wireless networks are not as energy constrained as WSNs, because they may be plugged into the mains supply or equipped with batteries that are rechargeable and replaceable. The nodes of the proposed wireless sensor network are created by using a combination of various sensors a CC2500 low power wireless radio.


ABSTRACT The author explores the vibrant, but often hidden, unorthodox musical culture of Australia, recounting little known movements, events, dates, personalities and Aboriginal traditions. He urges the listener to investigate and value this unique and fecund musical history, and in so doing, find models that are relevant to solving the dilemmas of a declining contemporary music practice. Live music encourages direct interconnectivity among people and with the physical world upon which we rely for our existence; music can be life supporting, and in some situations, as important as life itself. While there is much to learn from the past, digital technology can be utilized as an interface establishing a tactile praxis and enabling musical expression that promotes original content, social connection and environmental context.


The results of a two-dimensional fluid simulator were validated against the experimentally measured electrical properties (power dissipation and discharge current) of SiH4/H2 RF discharges used for the deposition of microcrystalline or amorphous silicon thin films. The use of the typical values for the electron–SiH4 and H2 collision cross sections found in the literature, results in a significant underestimation of the calculated power dissipated in the discharge and an overestimation of the current flow. A study of the main parameters affecting the model results showed that this deviation is mainly due to the H2 ionization rate. An improved calculation of the power dissipated in the discharge was then possible, leading to a significant improvement in the prediction of the deposition rate. This result underlines the importance of H2 chemistry in SiH4/H2 discharges and also indicates that the correct estimation of the discharge electrical properties is a necessary first step in the development of a code for simulating the deposition of silicon films from SiH4/H2 discharges.


Stationary potential drop and ion acceleration along diverging magnetic-field lines are observed in a fully ionized collisionless plasma flow in the presence of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating (ECRH). Time-resolved measurements for the purpose of clarifying the potential-formation dynamics show that temporal evolutions of the potential profile and electron energy distribution function correlate well with each other. The strong potential drop is found to be caused by a field-aligned electron acceleration due to ECRH, being accompanied by an effective ion acceleration so as to maintain the charge neutrality condition in the downstream region from the ECR point.


The present study reports the lagged effects of work stress on work-related rumination, restful sleep, and nocturnal heart rate variability experienced during both workdays and weekends. Fifty employees participated in a diary study. Multilevel and regression analyses revealed a significant relationship between work stress measured at the end of a workday, work-related rumination measured during the evening, and restful sleep measured the following morning. Work stress, measured as the mean of 2 consecutive workdays, was substantially but not significantly related to restful sleep on weekends. Work stress was unrelated to nocturnal heart rate variability. Work-related rumination was related to restful sleep on weekends but not on workdays. Additionally, work-related rumination on weekends was positively related to nocturnal heart rate variability during the night between Saturday and Sunday. No mediation effects of work stress on restful sleep or nocturnal heart rate variability via work-related rumination were confirmed.


Visual-evoked potentials (VEP) were studied in 8 healthy adult cats anesthetized with xylazine HCl and ketamine HCl. Monocular visual stimulation was accomplished by a 3 x 5 matrix of light-emitting diodes. Subcutaneous needle electrodes placed in the scalp at various locations and a contact lens electrode on the cornea were used to record cortical and electroretinographic activities, respectively. Multiple electrode pairings and unilateral optic nerve transsection were used to distinguish between retinal and postretinal potentials recorded from scalp electrodes. The VEP was a robust polyphasic cortical potential, with peak latencies between 0 and 110 ms. Using the light-emitting diode method of stimulation, a VEP was recorded which was not contaminated by volume-conducted retinal activity.


Sucrose release from polysaccharide gels has been studied extensively because it is expected to be useful in understanding flavour release from solid foods and to find a new processing method which produces more palatable and healthier foods. We provide an overview of the release of sucrose and other sugars from gels of agar and related polysaccharides. The addition of sucrose to agar solutions leads to the increase in transparency of the resulting gels and the decrease in syneresis, which is attributed to the decrease in mesh size in gels. The syneresis occurring in the quiescent condition and fluid release induced by compression is discussed. The relationship between the sugar release and the structural, rheological and thermal properties of gels is also discussed. Finally, the future research direction is proposed.


This paper presents a case study of the fifty earliest English wills in the Court of Probate, London, with a view to contributing towards highlighting the historical development of this legal genre. By analysing these documents from a pragmatic perspective and setting them in a diachronic framework, I show how the realisation of the act of bequeathing is highly dependent on the socio-cultural context of production and use. Late medieval wills are utterly different from Anglo-Saxon ones in that they are the product of a relatively literate culture in which drafters followed the format of Latin testaments; in this sense late medieval wills are similar to modern ones because they conform to the model of autonomous, formal text. However, they do not fulfil all the felicity conditions necessary to achieve their full constitutive potential as the authority validating these documents remains rooted in religious practices rather than in legal enforcement. This paper offers evidence in favour of the view that a proper pragmatic analysis of medieval documents can only be achieved by taking the historical context into account.


The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) is a major locus for the descending control of nociception and opioid analgesia. However, it is not clear how opioids affect synaptic inputs to RVM neurons. In this study, we determined the effect of mu-opioid receptor activation on excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in spinally projecting RVM neurons. RVM neurons were retrogradely labeled with a fluorescent tracer injected into the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in rats. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were performed on labeled RVM neurons in brain slices in vitro. The mu-receptor agonist [D-Ala(2),N-Me-Phe(4),Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO, 1 microM) significantly decreased the amplitude of evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in 52% (9 of 17) of labeled cells. DAMGO also significantly reduced the amplitude of evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) in 69% (11 of 16) of cells examined. Furthermore, DAMGO significantly decreased the frequency of miniature EPSCs in 55% (15 of 27) of cells and significantly decreased the frequency of miniature IPSCs in all 12 cells studied. Although most EPSCs and IPSCs were mediated by glutamate and GABA, the nicotinic and glycine receptor antagonists attenuated EPSCs and IPSCs, respectively, in some labeled RVM neurons. Immunocytochemical labeling revealed that only 35% of recorded RVM neurons were tryptophan hydroxylase-positive, and 15% cells had GABA immunoreactivity. Thus, this study provides important functional evidence that activation of mu-opioid receptors decreases the release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters onto most spinally projecting RVM neurons.