Infantile Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II) is a fatal disease that results from α glycosidase enzyme deficiency. Excessive undegradable intracellular glycogen deposition plays a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Although excessive glycogen deposition involves many cells, clinical signs are limited mainly to the skeletal and cardiac muscle involvement. Therefore, it is a progressive disease that can cause death in early childhood due to extensive cardiomyopathy and weakness of respiratory muscles. We as well, aimed to present three cases, which had short P-R interval, large QRS complex and the signs of biventricular hypertrophy on ECG and prominent hypertrophic cardiomyopathy on transthoracic echocardiography in addition to respiratory muscle involvement.


Internet services of numerous types are widely implemented at countless sites in today's worldwide computing environment, and the generated service logs they produce are important for assuring such systems work correctly. When the owners of such logs are auditors or system managers, it has been thought that from the standpoint of manageability, it is better to accumulate logs at one site rather than multiple sites. However, when the owner of a log generated by an application service is a system user, he or she might want to express a preference from the available log archival sites. Furthermore, there are often cases when a service site is located far away from the log archival site. It should also be mentioned that if sites providing services do so in a cloud computing environment, it is particularly necessary to use a secure messaging method between the service and log archival sites. In this paper, we define a "user centric log archival architecture" concept, examine related works and technical specifications, and propose a new trusted model via both abstract and practical methods. By extending the Simple Object Access protocol (SOAP) based Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), and using SAML assertions, we show how log messages can be exchanged with confidentiality, integrity, and availability, before they are written securely to storage devices.


A general approach to the optical characterization of thin films is developed. A numerical scheme is used to invert sets of optical equations for a stratified medium to solve for the optical constants and thickness of a thin film that is part of the medium. This inversion makes it possible to use any combination of measurements with the required information content. The inversion is essentially exact, and is also used in an error analysis of various optical methods. Several new optical methods involving reflectance and transmittance measurements are described and shown to give improvements in convenience and sensitivity.


Of the 812 strains of microbes belonging to 27 genera (isolated from food, fish-pond-water, lizards, cow, pigs and mithun) tested against Eucalyptus citriodora gum (EG), 157 (19.3%) strains were detected sensitive. All the strains detected sensitive through disc diffusion method had an MIC 0.25 mg to 5 mg/ ml while those resistant had an MIC of 10 mg to 25 mg/ ml. Significantly (p <0.01) more number of microbial strains isolated from lizards (91.6%) and and mithuns (88.4%) were resistant to EG than strains of cattle (66.7%), pig (65.1%), water (75%) and food origin (65.8%). However, there was no significant difference in sensitivity pattern of strains of lizard and mithun origin (p, 0.33) also among strains of pig, cattle, water and food origin (p, 0.96). Resistant and sensitive strains were distributed among majority of them genera. All the strains of Aeromonas salmonicida ssp. achromogenes (2), A. sobria (2), Citrobacter amalonaticus (11), Edwardsiella hoshiniae (1), Escherichia blattae (3), Hafnea alvei (3), Klebsiella oxytoca (8), Kluyvera cryocrescens (6), Lactobacillus acidophillus (1), Leclercia adecarboxylata, Proteus myxofacience (1), Raoultella terrigena (6), Salmonella enterica ssp. houtenae (3), Salmonella enterica ssp. salamae (11), Serratia fonticola (1), Se. Marcescens (2), Se. odorifera (5), Se. plymuthica (1), Streptococcus milleri (3), Str. alactolyticus (1) and Xenorhhabdus luminiscens (1) were resistant to EG. On the other hand, all strains of Candida albicans (1), Leminorella ghrimontii (1), Micrococcus spp. (2), Providencia heimbachae (1), Staphylococcus aureus (4), Staph. xylosus (2) and Streptocococcus caseolyticus (1) were sensitive to EG. It may be an important question to ponder upon why majority of strains of certain bacteria were resistant to EG and a few strains were sensitive viz., Citrobacter freundii (3 of 74), Erwinia ananas (2 of 12), Escherichia coli (6 of 73), Klebsiella pneumoniae ssp. pneumoniae (4 of 63), Proteus penneri (3 of 16), Pragia fontium (1 of 14), Providencia rettgeri (1 of 5), Salmonella enterica ssp. indica (1 of 45). Similarly, resistance in a few strains of some species comprising mostly sensitive EG strains was also puzzling, such strains were detected among Staph. sciuri (3 of 17), Proteus mirabilis (3 of 8) and Aeromonas caviae (4 of 11). These exceptions may help in future in understanding the factors responsible for resistance or sensitivity to EG. The study has indicated that drug resistance against herbal products is common in strains of some species of microbes while in others it is rare.


Effects of the Reynolds and Knudsen numbers on a micro-viscous pump are studied by using a Navier-Stokes code based on a finite volume method. The micro viscous pump consists of a circular rotor and a two-dimensional channel. The channel walls are treated by using a slip velocity model. The Reynolds number is studied in the range of 0.1~50. The Knudsen number varies from 0.01 to 0.1. Numerical solutions show that the pump works efficiently when two counter rotating vortices formed on both sides of the rotor have the same size and intensity. As the Reynolds number increases, the size and intensity of the vortex on the inlet side of the pump decrease. It disappears when the Reynolds number is larger than about Re=20. The characteristics of the performance of the pump is shown to deteriorate, in terms of mean velocity and pressure rise, as the Reynolds number increases. The Knudsen number shows a different effect on the characteristics of the pump. As it increases, the mean velocity and pressure rise decrease but the characteristics of the vortex flow remains unchanged, unlike the effect of Reynolds number.


Hybrid receptors were studied in GC rat pituitary cells overexpressing either wild-type 950Tyr (WT) human insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) receptors or mutant human IGF-I receptors truncated at position 952 in the beta subunit transmembrane region (952STOP). 125I-IGF-I binding was increased in both 950Tyr (WT) (14-fold) and truncated human IGF-I receptor (952STOP) stable transfectants (50-fold), when compared to untransfected cells that contained endogenous rat IGF-I receptors. Metabolic cell labeling followed by immunoprecipitation with monoclonal alpha and beta subunit-specific antibodies revealed the presence of hybrid rat/truncated human receptors, truncated transfected human receptors, and WT human IGF-I holotetramers. Both mutant and hybrid receptors were degraded slower than 950Tyr (WT) receptors (> 16 h). Despite their markedly increased ligand binding and prolonged receptor half-life, 952STOP transfectants failed to transduce the IGF-I signal to suppress growth hormone (GH). Also, they neither underwent autophosphorylation nor phosphorylated endogenous proteins. The expected suppression of GH by endogenous rat IGF-I receptors was completely abrogated in 952STOP transfectants (P < 0.001 compared to untransfected cells). Mutant 952STOP cells were therefore completely devoid of biological signaling to GH despite the presence of endogenous rat IGF-I receptors. Thus mutant IGF-I receptors block ligand-mediated endogenous rat IGF-I signaling by functioning as a dominant negative forming nonfunctional human/rat hybrid receptors. Defective IGF-I receptors may function therefore as dominant negative phenotypes which suppress normal receptor responses in pituitary cells.


Automatic weight selection to achieve maximum stability margin for a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is proposed in this paper. Uncertainty and infinity norm of transfer function from disturbances to states are formulated as the objective function in our optimization problem. Although the trial and error method can be applied to specify the performance weight in robust loop shaping method; however, it is still difficult to achieve high stability margin in some cases of control design. In the proposed technique, to enhance the ability and ensure the optimal value of selected weight, Genetic Algorithms (GA) is adopted to find the weight. Robust Loop Shaping technique is then applied to design the controller. Simulation results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


Abstract Objective. To evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of point-of-care troponin T testing (POCT-TnT) for the management of patients with chest pain in primary care. Design. Prospective observational study with follow-up. Setting. Three primary health care (PHC) centres using POCT-TnT and four PHC centres not using POCT-TnT in south-east Sweden. Patients. All patients ≥ 35 years of age, contacting one of the PHC centres for chest pain, dyspnoea on exertion, unexplained weakness and/or fatigue, with no other probable cause than cardiac, were included. Symptoms must have commenced or worsened during the previous seven days. Main outcome measures. Emergency referral rates, diagnoses of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or unstable angina (UA), and costs were collected for 30 days after the patient sought care at the PHC centre. Results. A total of 196 patients with chest pain were included: 128 in PHC centres with POCT-TnT and 68 in PHC centres without POCT-TnT. Fewer patients from the PHC centres with POCT-TnT (n = 32, 25%) were emergently referred to hospital than from centres without POCT-TnT (n = 29, 43%; p = 0.011). Eight patients (6.2%) from PHC centres with POCT-TnT were diagnosed with AMI or UA compared with six patients (8.8%) from centres without POCT-TnT (p = 0.565). Two patients with AMI or UA were classified as missed cases from PHC centres with POCT-TnT and there were no missed cases from PHC centres without POCT-TnT. SKr290 000 was saved per missed case of AMI or UA. Conclusion. The use of POCT-TnT in primary care may be cost saving but at the expense of missed cases.


Long treatment times, poor drug compliance, and natural selection during treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) have given rise to extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). As a result, there is a need to identify new antituberculosis drug targets. Mtb GlgE is a maltosyl transferase involved in α-glucan biosynthesis. Mutation of GlgE in Mtb increases the concentration of maltose-1-phosphate (M1P), one substrate for GlgE, causing rapid cell death. We have designed 2,5-dideoxy-3-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-2,5-imino-d-mannitol (9) to act as an inhibitor of GlgE. Compound 9 was synthesized using a convergent synthesis by coupling thioglycosyl donor 14 and 5-azido-3-O-benzyl-5-deoxy-1,2-O-isopropylidene-β-d-fructopyranose (23) to form disaccharide 24. A reduction and intramolecular reductive amination transformed the intermediate disaccharide 24 to the desired pyrolidine 9. Compound 9 inhibited both Mtb GlgE and a variant of Streptomyces coelicolor (Sco) GlgEI with Ki = 237 ± 27 μM and Ki = 102 ± 7.52 μM, respectively. The results confirm that a Sco GlgE-V279S variant can be used as a model for Mtb GlgE. In conclusion, we designed a lead transition state inhibitor of GlgE, which will be instrumental in further elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism of Mtb GlgE.


This paper is about a study to establish the influence of training and development on employees' retention in an organization. The study was basically done at the IST, Dar es Salaam Region, a total of thirty (30) respondents were used as subjects. Questionnaires and unstructured interview were used for data collection. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data collected from the study. The study identified several types of retention strategies available at IST, like medical insurance; interest free loans per staff per year; assistance of funds to cover for staff children education whose distribution depended on the allocated budgeted funds; as well as professional development funding amounting to US$ 1,000 (US$ one thousand only) per year per staff. Despite of training to the staffs, they felt that they are not recognized and rewarded accordingly after the training. They were expecting a consideration in terms of salary increase – which is only being extended to two categories of staff i.e. Teacher Assistants and Instructional Staff. In conclusion, in order to retain employees it is important for IST to have talent management strategies which would go with improving work environment so that staff feels valued after training. It is, therefore recommended, that IST focus on other specific areas in terms of training and development – areas like house- keeping and maintenance so as to impart skills and knowledge to enable relevant staff perform better. IST Management should also ensure introduction of Training Policy that will encompass training calendar that would regulate the entire process to implementation. IST Management should also introduce recognition and reward system for staff that exhausts their positive energy in favour of the organization thus ensuring that the turnover is maintained at low level.


We previously reported that adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-mediated stimulation of Cl- secretion in the human intestinal epithelial cell line T84 is accompanied by significant remodeling of F-actin and that both the secretory and cytoskeletal responses may be inhibited by phalloidin derivatives, agents that polymerize actin and prevent dynamic reorganization of microfilaments. In contrast, the carbachol-elicited Cl- secretory response (Ca2+ mediated) was not attenuated by phalloidin (J. Clin. Invest. 87: 1903-1909, 1991). In the present study, we examine the effect of phalloidin on the Cl- secretory response elicited by the heat-stable enterotoxin of Escherichia coli (STa), which induces elevations in intracellular guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. We find that apical administration of 1 microM STa results in a regionally restricted redistribution of F-actin confined to the basal pole of the cells. In monolayers pretreated with phalloidin, the Cl- secretory response to STa was inhibited by > 60%. Sequential treatment of phalloidin-loaded monolayers with STa followed by carbachol resulted in a synergistic secretory response that was not different from control (unloaded) monolayers. Examination of efflux/uptake through specific membrane transport pathways involved in STa-stimulated Cl- secretion indicated normal activation of apical Cl- and basolateral K+ channels under phalloidin-loaded conditions. The ability of STa-treated monolayers to pump Na+ in an absorptive direction was also unaffected by phalloidin. der phalloidin-loaded conditions, STa-stimulated Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransporter activity was reduced by approximately 60%, sufficient to account for the observed inhibition of net Cl- secretory response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The preparation and characteristics of thiol-modified silica and its application to the preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of copper and cadmium by flame atomic absorption spectrometry are described. For the preparation of modified silica, the untreated silica suspended in methanol was impregnated with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-1-propanethiol to obtain thiol-modified silica and the methanol was evaporated under vacuum. The residual silica was dried at 150° C and washed with distilled water until the washings appeared clear. The surface area of thiol-modified silica was 410 m2/ g, whereas the copper capacity was about 0.022 mmolCu/ g silica. Batch and column methods were used for the separation and concentration of the above-mentioned metals. These metals were quantitatively retained on the adsorbent at acidic media. In the batch method, the effects of pH, shaking time and the kind of buffer on adsorption of copper and cadmium were investigated. The shaking time of 30 min was sufficient for a quantitative adsorption of the metals. In the column and batch procedures, both copper and cadmium adsorbed on the modified silica were quantitatively recovered with 2 M hydrochloric acid. Sodium chloride (up to 1%) had no effects on the recoveries.


Reed is one of the most frequent and dominant species in wetlands all over the world, with common reed ( Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.) as the most widely distributed species. In many wetlands, P. australis plays a highly ambivalent role. On the one hand, in many wetlands it purifies wastewater, provides habitat for numerous species, and is a potentially valuable raw material, while on the other hand it is an invasive species which expands aggressively, prevents fishing, blocks ditches and waterways, and builds monospecies stands. This paper uses the eutrophic reed-swamp of Wuliangsuhai Lake in Inner Mongolia, northern China, as a case to present the multiple benefits of regular reed cutting. The reed area and aboveground biomass production are calculated based on field data. Combined with data about water and reed nutrient content, the impact of reed cutting on the lake nutrient budget (N and P) is investigated. Currently, at this lake around 100, 000 tons of reed are harvested in winter annually, removing 16% and 8% of the total nitrogen and phosphorus influx, respectively. Harvesting all available winter reed could increase the nutrient removal rates to 48% and 24%, respectively. We also consider the effects of summer harvesting, in which reed biomass removal could overcompensate for the nutrient influx but could potentially reduce reed regrowth.


Glycosylation is important for many molecular processes, although how glycosylation contributes to glycoprotein structure and function is not entirely clear. Other than that, the study of many of these events is complicated by the fact that natural glycoproteins normally occur as mixtures of glycoforms, therefore the isolation or synthesis of homogenous glycoproteins is an important task. Previous studies on deglycosylated proteins have shown that glycosylation reduces their catalytic activity and increase thermal stability. Therefore, we hypothesize that similar effects may be observed in the naturally unglycosylated dihydrofolate reductase from Escherichia coli (EcDHFR). Four different surface-exposed sites for the incorporation of a single cysteine residue were selected based on the protein crystal structure, which may or may not affect its dynamics. Homogeneous glycoproteins have been synthesized via chemoselective ligation of a glycosyl haloacetammide with the thiol of a cysteine, to produce site- selectively glycosylated forms of EcDHFR. Techniques such as mass spectrometry, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV) visible spectroscopy and stopped-flow spectrophotometry have been used to identify and study the physical properties of different glycoforms of DHFR. Although there were some changes of the kinetic activity of the mutants of EcDHFR. the values were comparable to those of the wild-type protein. Interestingly, in four of the five cases studied. EcDHFRDM D87C, there was an increase in thermal stability upon site-selective glycosylation. The other mutants showed no effect. With the exception of the effect seen for the thermal stability of the D87C mutant, this is not in accordance with the original hypothesis. This suggest that the effect seen in the D87C mutant may be due to specific interactions of the carbohydrate moiety at certain points on the protein. An increase in resistance to thermal denaturation observed for proteins in sugar solutions may therefore also be due to binding of the sugars to specific sites on the protein. In conclusion, an effective method for the synthesis of homogeneous glycosylated and non-glycosylated proteins has been developed and applied to the site selective glycosylation of EcDHFR. The results also suggested that the kinetic properties of EcDHFR are not significantly affected by glycosylation. It may be the large effects in terms of protein stability which due to glycosylation only occur in naturally glycosylated proteins, and not in the naturally unglycosylated EcDHFR.


Apoptosis is a step of the cell cycle which is important in the regulation of immune cell populations. Chungkookjang is a Korean traditional fermented soybean containing microorganisms, enzymes, and bioactive compounds which was used in the treatment of mouse spleen as well as thymus cells (CH1-fermented soybean containing barley, wormwood, and sea tangle; CH2-fermented soybean) and was found to exhibit substantially reduced small DNA fragmentation. An MTT assay showed that the treatment of CH1 and CH2 into the mouse splenocytes and thymocytes sharply increased their survival. Moreover, a FACS analysis also showed that CH1 and CH2 are effective at suppressing the apoptosis of splenocytes and thymocytes. The fermented soybean isoflavone concentrations, which are implicated in lowering breast and prostate cancers, lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and improving bone health, were determined using Capillary Electrophoresis-Electrochemical Detection (CE-ED). The amount of Daidzein in fermented soybean significantly increased by 44-fold dramatically, compared with those in unfermented soybean. In this study, we demonstrated that ethanol extracts of Chungkookjang promote the survival of the mouse spleen and thymus cells in culture by suppressing their apoptotic death. Future studies should investigate which genes are related to apoptosis of the immune cells.


Leptospirosis represents a scattered zoonosis determined by antigenically distinct serovars of Leptospira interrogans, a sporadic bacterial disease which causes severe clinical illness in dogs and humans. Leptospira thrive directly within hosts, dogs and humans, and reservoirs hosts, rodents, and indirectly within the environment. Leptospirosis is an odd disease, with a large variety of symptomatology, or, in some cases, shows no signs or symptoms at all. That can be explained by the dog's organism defense mechanisms against infection. Although, in other cases, the disease may be life threatening. Even when symptoms and signs are quite specific, in order to confirm the diagnosis it is compulsory to perform laboratory tests, such as dark-field microscopy examination (DFM) and microscopic agglutination test (MAT). In this study we highlighted the request to link the clinical history with the clinical signs and paraclinical specific tests. The purpose of this paper is to show how to relate the results of different test with the clinical stage of the illness.


21st century higher education paradigm is based on the teacher-student mutual cooperation, which urges for personalized treatment of students, greater cooperation and better links between formal and non-formal education, which can largely be implemented by school learning using digital technologies. Very important are academics skills, including digital literacy, improving the quality and modern teach their subjects. They have to learn new teaching methods, forms, students develop a host of innovative thinking. Universities must become effective partners for global development. Only through the proliferation of networks between like-minded alliances can transformation occur at the scale that is immediately needed in order to advance our present global knowledge economy. Our communities must open their eyes to this imminent future and transform their thinking to see universities, not as self-indulgent "people factories," but as valuable idea generators with vast influence and the potential to manifest technologies and concepts that can change lives the world over.


Now a day's character Identification from films is a very challenging task due to the huge variation in the appearance of each & every character. It will lead significant research interests and may have many interesting applications in today's life. In this paper, we investigate the problem of identifying characters & annotating them with respective name using graph matching algorithm to get the most accurate identification result. The contribution of our work include: 1) the character-character relationship representation including a noise insensitive 2) Use an edit operation based error correcting graph matching algorithm.3) Graph partitioning and graph matching for more complex character changes to handle simultaneously. 4) The existing character identification approaches, also we are going to perform an in-depth sensitivity analysis which will introduce two types of simulated noises.


Last year University College Cork (UCC) introduced a new form of accommodation: alcohol-free halls of residence. It is the first of its kind in Ireland and has the potential to be the starting point for a slow revolution in student accommodation.

Founded on the principle that alcohol would not be consumed or kept in the buildings, it provides an alternative living arrangement for students of all ages and all backgrounds. Those interested in living in the alcohol free halls have to provide a written personal statement explaining why they want to accept a place in the residence, and why they think they are suitable.......


The increasing energy consumption driven by striking growths in the number of users and data usage turns out the focal point for mobile operators in fulfilling requirements on cost reduction and environmental impact targets. As a step towards incorporating more energy friendly mobile platforms in future networks, 3GPP LTE-Advanced has adopted coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission/reception due to its ability to mitigate and/or coordinate inter-cell interference (ICI). The major CoMP techniques which already existed are joint transmission (JT) and coordinated scheduling/ beamforming (CS/CB). In this paper we propose a novel energy-efficient design (NEED) for heterogeneous network (HetNet) CoMP architecture composing both JT and CS/CB which provides a realistic trade-off for green wireless networks. A feedback based ICI coordination scheme is investigated in terms of different performance metrics (throughput; cell average and cell-edge energy efficiency; radio signaling and backhaul overhead comparison; and power consumption ratio) which eventually helps to reach a decision in favor of the proposed architecture in terms of performance trade-off.


F ew would argue that manual therapy has been used by physical therapists (PTs) since the beginning of the profession. Traditionally, manual therapy training for PTs has begun in entry-level professional programs with courses specifically directed at manual therapy and related foundational courses. Therapists with an interest in manual therapy can then choose to pursue post-professional educational opportunities in the form of continuing education seminars, clinical residency and fellowship training, postgraduate academic and diploma programs, clinical mentorship and manual therapy certification programs. Both at national and international levels, documents have been developed to standardize entry-level and post-professional manual therapy curricular content. 5 Arguments to include manual therapy interventions within the PT scope of practice are based on the profession's educational preparation, history, contributions to technique and concept development, development of clinical practice guidelines, research, and a superior safety record in the clinical application of manual therapy interventions. Until recently, manual therapy education in the United States was similar to that described above. Research has shown increasing emphasis on incorporating manual therapy into U.S. entry-level curricula, including both thrust and nonthrust techniques. With the publication of its manipulation education manual, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has shown its commitment and intent to standardize manual therapy entry-level curricular content and include thrust and non-thrust techniques for spinal and extremity joints. In contrast, the Canadian Physiotherapy Association's entry-level manual therapy curriculum guidelines state that the introduction of spinal and peripheral manipulation techniques should be at the discretion of individual physical therapy educational programs. We contacted all English-speaking physical therapy schools in Canada by e-mail and followed up with schools that did not respond with two reminder telephone calls. Ten of the 11 physical therapy schools responded, and of these, three stated that they included spinal thrust manipulation in their curriculum. These survey results may explain the low use rates for thrust manipulation in the management of patients with low back pain (LBP) among Ontario PTs, as reported by Li and Bombardier. Undoubtedly, political motives have influenced the APTA decision to emphasize thrust technique instruction in its accredited entry-level programs: For years, our U.S. colleagues have been involved in an ongoing struggle to defend the inclusion of manual therapy and, more specifically, thrust techniques in the PT's scope of practice against a nationwide initiative by the chiropractic profession. Of course, Canadian PTs have faced similar legal challenges to their scope of practice in the past. In our opinion, there are valid reasons to include spinal thrust manipulation in Canadian entry-level curricula.


The Objective structure clinical examination is an assessment tool to evaluate clinical skills. There are many factors that influence to pass rate of modified OSCE. Moreover, during online learning implementation, there are some barriers. The aim of the study is to determine the most influential factor that contributing to achieving the learning outcome in terms of passing rate modified online OSCE. An observational study was chosen involving 87 medical students batch 2.  Sample size calculation used the formulation of an estimated proportion population with a simple random strategy. This study employed a questionnaire of online skill learning that was made by the researcher through analysis of factor exploratory. The participants were asked to score their agreement on the five-Likert scale. Using SPSS version 24 and software of AMOS 26, we analyzed the data for simple linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results were summarized following 2 factors that influencing pass rate of modified OSCE online, in terms of transactional distance (p value=0.001, r=0.235) and learning platform availability ((p value=0.013, r=0.087). Our finding highlights that self-reflection and student access to resources have significant contributions toward independent learner characteristics. This study has contributed to solving the problem regarding the foundational concept for the requirement of online learning. The theoretical concept of a learning platform also enhances online teaching. Foremost and utmost that self-reflection and student access to resources have become two important factors to autonomy learning. The major strength of this study is the systematic manner in which it was conducted.


In this paper we model five Lithuanian HICP subcomponents in a medium scale Bayesian VAR framework. We deal with the parameter proliferation problem by setting the appropriate amount of shrinkage determined in the out-of-sample forecasting exercise. The main body of the paper consists of displaying the model's performance in two applications: forecasting and analysis of inflation determinants. We find the model's forecasts to be competitive against the univariate statistical models, particularly in the cases of predicting processed food and energy goods inflation. What is more, exercises based on conditional forecasting show that these two indices make the best use of accurate conditional information in terms of improving predicting accuracy. In the decomposition of the drivers of HICP components, we demonstrate that both, domestic and foreign factors can be prevalent inflation determinants in certain time periods. We also find some evidence on employees' bargaining power playing a role in determining the Lithuanian consumer price inflation.


THE DANGEROUSNESS CRITERION FOR CIVIL COMMITMENT Dear Sir: I believe that the chief message, near the end of the article The Dangerousness Criterion for Civil Commitment (I), is that society wants control over potentially violent people, but does not want to have preventive detention through the criminal justice system, so it leaves that job to psychiatrists. Drs. Brouillette and Paris also feel that this is bad for psychiatrists and for the "real" (psychotic) patients, to whom we could better turn our attention if we were not responsible for patients with personality disorders and drug addictions. By certifying only those with Axis I disorders, we could move in this direction. I have trouble envisioning how this could be done in practice. For example, if the police bring someone to the emergency unit who is ranting, raving, striking out and not responding to verbal messages, how is one to know the diagnosis? Often one does not. The "diagnosis" assumed by police, relatives, etc., is often incorrect, At the Form I (Ontario) level, we would have to admit the person at least for assessment. Suppose at the end of the assessment (after 72 hours or less), we decide that the person is "just a drug user." What do we do with such patients if they are still potentially violent? Often they will still be in a clinical state and likely to commit a crime, but, because of fast police action, have not done so. Do we discharge them and allow them to commit a crime? We have to put them on a Form III (involuntary) for them to become "patients". Another reality is that at the admitting level, where I now work, we already try to make the distinction between those who have a mental illness and those who do not. I personally turned away a "classical psychopath" who had threatened a doctor and who is now in police custody, because I felt he did not have a mental disorder. The police took him away. I know that I am not the only one who makes this distinction where possible. While the authors' argument makes sense in theory, an equally sensible one would be to accept the wishes of society, but insist that society be more explicit and open about them. Then we could set up "violence units" (forensic units?) alongside the "regular" psychiatric units in each provincial hospital. In fact, as I understand it, that is the current plan in Ontario. Yet another argument is that people who are so disordered that they are contemplating killing someone else (or themselves) for any reason other than monetary gain (bank-robbers, hit men) are sufficiently disordered to be considered abnormal. This argument says we do not often admit that this is true because society quite wrongly accepts all kinds of violence as normal wife battering, date rape, spanking children. In summary, I have some concerns about the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing the system suggested by Drs. Brouillette and Paris.


The concentrations and size distributions of airborne microorganisms were determined for outdoor air samples collected with cascade impactors on hazy summer days in Guangzhou. The percentage of airborne bacteria was markedly higher than that of fungi, and the concentrations of bacteria were much higher in a densely populated area (Guangzhou Medical College) than in a clean area (Guangzhou Liuhua Lake Park) or one with heavy traffic (Dongfengxilu Road). Moreover, the concentrations of bacteria at 8:00 and 23:00 were higher than those at 12:00 and 17:00. Sixteen species of bacteria belonging to eight genera were identified, and all were opportunistic pathogens. Of these, 11 species from four genera were Gram-positive, and five species from four genera were Gram-negative. Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Enterobacter, and Serratia were the dominant bacterial genera, and the most abundant species were Staphylococcus hominis (8–58%) and Staphylococcus lugdunensis (14 to 35%). Size distribution studies showed that 36 to 76% of the microorganisms deposited on stages 3 to 6 of the sampler (0.65–4.7 µm aerodynamic equivalent diameter), and particles of this size could penetrate the lower respiratory tract of humans.


Persistent vulture declines across Africa are a cause for concern as the number of species threatened with extinction increases. The White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus was, until recently, considered abundant but has been declining rapidly in recent years due to various threats including decreasing food availability. We used camera traps to investigate nest attendance and food provision at the nests of White-backed Vultures in north-eastern Swaziland. Chick age influenced brooding behaviour of the parents, with a reduction in brooding time as the chick aged. Mean food provision rate by parents to the nestling was 0.7 bouts d−1, which was mostly delivered between 09:00 and 15:00. Contrary to expectations, provisioning rates did not increase with age of the chick despite both adults delivering food. The growth of chicks showed a curvilinear relationship with age for the first 100 d with the tarsus and bill reaching maximum length after 80 d. We recommend further research into the availability of food for breeding vultures in order to understand the emerging threat of declining food availability in Africa.


Healthy governance systems are key to delivering effective outcomes in any broad domain of natural resource management (NRM). One of Australia's emerging NRM governance domains is our national framework for greenhouse gas abatement (GGA), as delivered through a wide range of management practices in the Australian landscape. The emerging Landscape-Based GGA Domain represents an innovative governance space that straddles both the nation's broader NRM Policy and Delivery Domain and Australia's GGA Domain. As a point-in-time benchmark, we assess the health of this hybrid domain as it stood at the end of 2013. At that time, the domain was being progressed through the Australian government's Clean Energy Package and, more particularly, its Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). While significant changes are currently under development by a new Australian government, this paper explores key areas of risk within the governance system underpinning this emerging hybrid domain at that point in time. We then map some potential reform or continuous improvement pathways required (from national to paddock scale) with the view to securing improved landscape outcomes over time through widespread GGA activities.


This study investigated the role of government and local community in supporting
street children access education in Arusha city. The study had three objectives: assess
the effectiveness of the existing policies on the rights of children in assisting street
children to access education on the rights of children; examine the government
responsibilities to the problem of street children; and explore the community
responsibilities to the problem of street children. Mixed method was used to access
information through questionnaires, interviews and documentary review from 70
respondents of whom 20 were parents, 30 street children. The rest were education
official in different levels, one Regional Administrative Secretary, five ward
executive officials, five Non Governmental organization representatives, 6 local
leaders and 3 religious leaders. The key findings indicated that although the
government of Tanzania has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (UNCRC), the African Youth Charter 2006, the Convention on the
Elimination of all kinds of discrimination against children, it has not been able to
provide ways in which street children access those rights including a right to
development through accessing education. Furthermore, although the community
members understand their role in supporting street children, they do not feel
responsible to supporting them or even advocating for the rights of street children.
The study recommended that the government should devise a way to ensure that all
the children include street children have the right to education and to other social and
economic benefits. Also the community member should be in a forefront in
providing street children with attachments, resources and opportunities to develop
skills.


To the Editor: An Australian Aboriginal man living in an Aboriginal community near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, in the far north of Western Australia, had 10 episodes of meningitis between 1984 and 1992 and one episode of Escherichia coli septicaemia in 1991. Each episode of meningitis was characterised by the classical features of bacterial meningitisfever, headache. neck stiffness, raised cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein level and neutrophil count, and recovery after treatment with antibiotics. During all but one episode of meningitis, no organisms were cultured from the CSF (probably due to the over 4-hour delay between specimen collection and processing). E. coli was isolated from the CSF during an episode of meningitis in 1992 which occurred fortuitously in a city teaching hospital while the patient was being investigated for the cause of his recurrent meningitis. A computed tomographic (CT) scan showed cerebral and cerebellar atrophy due to heavy drinking; immune function was normal, and an HIV test was negative. Previous investigations over four years had shown no evidence of a CSF leak. Strongyloides stercoralis had been identified from many stool examinations over the past 10 years; however, the connection between this and his recurrent episodes of meningitis was not made until 1992. Monthly courses of thiabendazole were suggested to control the infestation and prevent further episodes of meningitis, but the patient did not comply with this, continued to drink heavily and has had another two episodes of meningitis. Meningitis is a recognised complication of S. stercoralis hyperinfection and may occur by direct invasion of the central nervous system by migrating larvae' or by bacterial seeding of the meninges during bacteraemia which occurs when the parasite ulcerates the bowel wal1.2 In this case, meningitis was almost certainly due to the latter mechanism, as suggested by the patient's response to antibiotics used for the treatment of bacterial meningitis, and an enteric organism (E. coil) being isolated from the blood and CSF during one episode of meningitis. Strongyloidiasis is endemic among the Aboriginal population of northern Australia' and should be considered in patients with recurrent Gram-negative bacteraemia and/or meningitis, especially those who have lived or are living in areas where this parasite is endemic.


The kinetics and inhibitory effects of cyanide on the granular starch hydrolyzing enzyme (GSHE) activity during hydrolysis of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) starch at low temperature were studied. The substrates included native cassava starch at various concentrations (100-400 g/L) and native cassava starches with added cyanide at various concentrations (50-150 mg/kg), while the concentration of enzyme was 1.5% (w/w). A decrease in reducing sugar concentration during hydrolysis of cassava starch indicated that the cyanide reduced the enzyme activity. Lineweaver-Burk plot of Michaelis-Menten equation was used to study the inhibition kinetics. The maximum velocity (Vmax) value was higher for native cassava starch than that of native cassava starch with added cyanides. The presence of cyanide was found to reduce the Vmax values. No significant different of the saturation constant (Km) value between native cassava starch and native cassava starch with added cyanides was observed. Based on the inhibition type analysis, the effect of cyanide in the cassava starch can be classified as a noncompetitive inhibition, with the Ki value of 0.33 mg/L.


The purpose of this paper is to conduct an economic assessment of the Aardklop National Arts Festival (hereafter referred to as Aardklop) by means of applying both the SAM and CGE methods, in order to ensure quality information for decision-taking. Data from a visitor survey conducted at Aardklop during 2010 was used for the analyses, which were executed using two regional (or placespecific) models (i.e. SAM and CGE models) constructed for South Africas North West Province. The results confirm that when these two economic impact assessment methods are applied to the same data-set of an event, the reported economic impact results differ significantly. This finding serves as a further warning to assessors that economic impact results can be misleading (if the underlying method and assumptions are not clearly stated and explained) and therefore their application should be handled with the utmost care as the results can readily be misinterpreted by


We study the fair allocation of a cake, which serves as a metaphor for a divisible resource, under the requirement that each agent should receive a contiguous piece of the cake. While it is known that no finite envy-free algorithm exists in this setting, we exhibit efficient algorithms that produce allocations with low envy among the agents. We then establish NP-hardness results for various decision problems on the existence of envy-free allocations, such as when we fix the ordering of the agents or constrain the positions of certain cuts. In addition, we consider a discretized setting where indivisible items lie on a line and show a number of hardness results extending and strengthening those from prior work. Finally, we investigate connections between approximate and exact envy-freeness, as well as between continuous and discrete cake cutting.


Expression of the antiviral cytokines IFN-alpha/beta is among the most potent innate defenses of higher vertebrates to virus infections, which is controlled by the inducible transcription factor IFN regulatory factor (IRF)3. Borna disease virus (BDV) establishes persistent noncytolytic infections in animals and tissue culture cells, indicating that it can circumvent this antiviral reaction by an unexplained activity. In this study, we identify the BDV P protein as microbial gene product that associates with and inhibits the principal regulatory kinase of IRF3, Traf family member-associated NF-kappaB activator (TANK)-binding kinase 1 (TBK-1). We demonstrate that the P protein counteracts TBK-1-dependent IFN-beta expression in cells and, hence, the establishment of an antiviral state. Furthermore, our data show that the BDV P protein itself is phosphorylated by TBK-1, suggesting that P functions as a viral decoy substrate that prevents activation of cellular target proteins of TBK-1. Thus, our findings provide evidence for a previously undescribed mechanism by which a viral protein interferes with the induction of the antiviral IFN cascade.


ABSTRACT An impressive record of mass wasting is preserved in the Shadow Valley basin, California, chiefly rock-avalanche breccias and gravity-driven glide blocks. The rock-avalanche breccias show commonly described features including penetrative fragmentation and preserved stratigraphy inherited from their source terrane. Basal contacts may have substantial (5-60 m) relief and a well developed mixed zone. A variety of transport indicators show predominant transport from an eastern source to a western depositional site across a variety of facies. Structural reconstructions suggest that Shadow Valley rock avalanches had unusually long run-outs that are not obviously due to variations in substrate, drop height, or mechanism of avalanche initiation. Many features observed in the Shadow Valley rock-avalanche breccias demonstrate significant internal and basal shear, as well as a prolonged interaction with depositional substrate. As such, the basal contacts were not frictionless, and basal shear stresses probably were transmitted through the breccia mass during transport. If so, then many common features of megabreccia deposits, including long run-out, inherited stratigraphy, and "crackle" or "jigsaw" textures, may be consistent with intergranular actions and collisions. Granular mechanics may be sufficient to produce long run-out and these other features, suggesting that no special mechanism is required to produce Shadow Valley-type deposits. Recent two-dimensional numerical models and new observations of the physics of granular m dia support this conclusion.


On designing and realization of aesthetic appearance of compound woven structures, each of us uses any visual sources that could inspire us. In this paper were generated new woven structures on the principle of communicating vessels as a metaphor, so that one structure helps the other and is complementary to it. For this purpose was used ArahWeave CAD/CAM textile software for dobby and Jacquard fabric design and weaving, which offers such innovative design possibilities and helps to create amazing patterns. ArahWeave has a special function for constructing multiple layer weaves with different densities in warp and weft layers. The maximum weave size is ,,limited" to 65520 by 65520 threads in ArahWeave Pro and 262080 by 262080 threads in ArahWeave Pro XL. In the Tools menu from Edit weave are advanced weave editing functions, which can be used both on dobby or Jacquard woven fabrics. As sample, in the Edit decomposed window from Tools, the weave area is split into ,,weave table", where the number of columns is number of warps, and the number of rows is number of wefts. The ,,limitations" of a decomposed weave means maximum weave systems of 16 warps and 16 wefts. These so-called ,,limitations" are motivated only by deeper technical reasons on dobby and Jacquard looms. By applying weave to fabric tool, the result will be immediately visible on fabric in the main window, in a selected mode of view (weave, integer, shaded integer or simulation view), and appeared at the desired zoom level. The hyper realistic woven fabric simulations in ArahWeave, ArahDrape, ArahView3D or Arahne online configurator mean cost and time saving and the best design solutions for a creative work.


This paper presents the rapid, low-temperature bonding between silicon and steel using the rapid thermal annealing process. Three different thin-film adhesion layer systems including silver, gold, and nickel were utilized as the intermediate bonding material to assist the eutectic Pb/Sn bonding between silicon and steel. The bonding temperature was set at 220/spl deg/C for 20 s, with a 20-s ramp-up time. Five experiments were conducted to determine the strength of the bond, including static tensile and compressive four-point bend tests, axial extension tests, tensile bending fatigue tests, and corrosion resistance tests. The test results have shown that the gold adhesion layer is the most robust, demonstrating minimal creep during fatigue tests, no delamination during the tensile or compressive four-point bend tests, and acceptable strength during the axial extension tests. Additionally, all adhesion layers have withstood four months of submersion in various high-temperature solutions and lubricants without failure. Simulations of the axial stresses and strains that developed during the four-point bend and axial extension tests were performed and showed that the presence of the silicon die provides a local reinforcement of the bond as observed in the experimental tests.


In this paper we consider the Web as a network of networks and reflect on its evolution, firstly by analyzing the reasons why it became the first truly ubiquitous hypertext system against all competitors and secondly by looking at how it has evolved from a network of linked documents to a system that facilitates social networking on a scale previously unimaginable and how it will evolve in the future as a network of linked data and beyond. The study of the Web—its evolution and its impact on society, on business and on government—is referred to as Web Science. We consider some of the major challenges of Web Science and discuss possible Web worlds of the future.


LiDAR sensors can be used to obtain a wide range of measurement signals other than a simple 3D point cloud, and those signals can be leveraged to improve perception tasks like 3D object detection. A single laser pulse can be partially reflected by multiple objects along its path, resulting in multiple measurements called echoes. Multi-echo measurement can provide information about object contours and semitransparent surfaces which can be used to better identify and locate objects. LiDAR can also measure surface reflectance (intensity of laser pulse return), as well as ambient light of the scene (sunlight reflected by objects). These signals are already available in commercial LiDAR devices but have not been used in most LiDARbased detection models. We present a 3D object detection model which leverages the full spectrum of measurement signals provided by LiDAR. First, we propose a multi-signal fusion (MSF) module to combine (1) the reflectance and ambient features extracted with a 2D CNN, and (2) point cloud features extracted using a 3D graph neural network (GNN). Second, we propose a multi-echo aggregation (MEA) module to combine the information encoded in different set of echo points. Compared with traditional single echo point cloud methods, our proposed multi-signal LiDAR Detector (MSLiD) extracts richer context information from a wider range of sensing measurements and achieves more accurate 3D object detection. Experiments show that by incorporating the multi-modality of LiDAR, our method outperforms the state-of-the-art by relatively up to 9.1%.


Aims: This symposium aims to highlight the significant problem of chronic pain across the lifespan. Data will be presented on the prevalence, impact and cost of chronic pain amongst children aged 5-12 years. The impact of chronic pain will also be described amongst adults working in a high risk environment (prison settings). The symposium will also highlight effective psychological interventions for working with young people and adults - three controlled clinical trials for chronic pain will be presented: 1. A cognitive behavioural intervention is described for management of menstrual pain in young women with an intellectual disability. 2. A mindfulness and progressive muscular relaxation was evaluated for treatment of chronic headache. 3. A cognitive behavioural activation programme was evaluated for people with chronic low back pain. Rationale: Chronic pain is a significant problem in terms of personal impact and health service burden. Summary: Psychological research is helping us to understand the scale of the problem of chronic pain across the lifespan and to develop effective interventions. Running order: 1. Siobhan O'Higgins: Chronic pain in school-aged children in Ireland: Results from the PRIME-C study on prevalence, impact and economic costs. 2. Susan Kennedy: Evaluation of a cognitive behavioural programme for menstrual pain management in women with an intellectual disability. 3. John Bogue: Chronic pain among prison officers: Prevalence, impact and predictors of pain-related disability. 4. Jonathan Egan: Online Mindfulness vs Progressive Muscle Relaxation vs a combination of both as a treatment of migraine: Empowering clients in their choice of treatment to control their chronic headache. 5. Sara Hayes: Effectiveness of a CBT-based rehabilitation programme (Progressive Goal Attainment Program) for people who are work disabled due to back pain.


Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) have attracted much attention recently, triggered by new scientific progress in understanding brain function and by impressive applications. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the various steps in the BCI cycle, i.e., the loop from the measurement of brain activity, classification of data, feedback to the subject and the effect of feedback on brain activity. In this article we will review the critical steps of the BCI cycle, the present issues and state-of-the-art results. Moreover, we will develop a vision on how recently obtained results may contribute to new insights in neurocognition and, in particular, in the neural representation of perceived stimuli, intended actions and emotions. Now is the right time to explore what can be gained by embracing real-time, online BCI and by adding it to the set of experimental tools already available to the cognitive neuroscientist. We close by pointing out some unresolved issues and present our view on how BCI could become an important new tool for probing human cognition.


Data can take various forms and types such as numbers, symbols, words, images, and graphics. All these data are significant resources in companies' operating process. So, if data has any quality problems (e.g. poor schema design, data entry errors, misspelling, inconsistency, and etc.), it will very risky for companies. On the other hand, high quality data can increase opportunities dependent on performance issues. This study introduces an automation tool enabling data quality tests of data warehouse applications. Also with this tool, historical changes of a dataset are analyzed with linear regression algorithm and, thus, outlier variables of data trend are reported to application users. The efficiency of the proposed automation tool is also tested and results are evaluated.


Y chromosomal (Y-DNA) haplogroups are more widely used in population genetics than in genetic epidemiology, although associations between Y-DNA haplogroups and several traits (including cardio-metabolic traits) have been reported. In apparently homogeneous populations, there is still Y-DNA haplogroup variation which will result from population history. Therefore, hidden stratification and/or differential phenotypic effects by Y-DNA haplogroups could exist. To test this, we hypothesised that stratifying individuals according to their Y-DNA haplogroups before testing associations between autosomal SNPs and phenotypes will yield difference in association. For proof of concept, we derived Y-DNA haplogroups from 6,537 males from two epidemiological cohorts, ALSPAC (N=5,080, 816 Y-DNA SNPs) and 1958 Birth Cohort (N=1,457, 1,849 Y-DNA SNPs). For illustration, we studied well-known associations between 32 SNPs and body mass index (BMI), including associations involving FTO SNPs. Overall, no association was replicated in both cohorts when Y-DNA haplogroups were considered and this suggests that, for BMI at least, there is little evidence of differences in phenotype or gene association by Y-DNA structure. Further studies using other traits, Phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS), haplogroups and/or autosomal SNPs are required to test the generalisability of this approach.


The Smith dilemma refers to the inconsistency ("strictly an error") between the Smith theory on the efficiency of the market based on the absence of increasing returns and the Smith theorem on the facilitation of the economies of specialization (which gives rise to increasing returns) by the extent of the market. This paper argues that, despite the prevalence of increasing returns, Adam Smith was largely right on the efficiency of the invisible hand and hence that the Smith dilemma does not really exist. Ignoring separate issues such as environmental disruption, the market is very efficient in coordinating the allocation of resources even in the presence of increasing returns. The efficiency due to the automatic and incentive-compatible adjustments, free trade and enterprise (entry/exit) largely prevails. The Dixit–Stiglitz model shows that the free-entry market equilibrium coincides with the (non-negative profit) constrained optimum when the elasticity of substitution between products is constant. For non-constant elasticities, the divergences between the market equilibrium and the constrained optimum in output levels, in the numbers of firms and in utility levels are shown to be small.


The authors describe a case of cake kidney occurring in association with a ruptured abdominal aneurysm with special reference to preoperative evaluation by angiography. They discuss the need to prepare these patients for possible in-vivo or ex-vivo renal manipulation during the removal of the aneurysm and the placement of the Dacron graft.


The existing approaches to design efficient safety-critical control applications is constrained by limited in-vehicle sensing and computational capabilities. In the context of automated driving, we argue that there is a need to leverage resources "out-of-the-vehicle" to meet the sensing and powerful processing requirements of sophisticated algorithms (e.g., deep neural networks). To realize the need, a suitable computation offloading technique that meets the vehicle safety and stability requirements, even in the presence of unreliable communication network, has to be identified. In this work, we propose an adaptive offloading technique for control computations into the cloud. The proposed approach considers both current network conditions and control application requirements to determine the feasibility of leveraging remote computation and storage resources. As a case study, we describe a cloud-based path following controller application that leverages crowdsensed data for path planning.


The action of growth substances in causing cell elongation is closely linked to respiration, and many respiratory inhibitors also inhibit growth (COMMONER and THIMANN, 3, BONNER, 1, 2). In the study -of the way in which growth substances act to bring about growth it is therefore useful to have inhibitors which will suppress the action of growth substances without affecting respiration of the treated tissue. Such a selective inhibitor of growth substance action has been found in arsenate.


In Understanding Participant-Reference Shifts in the Book of Jeremiah methodological reflections lead to a text-phenomenological investigation of the origins and functions of participant-reference shifts.


Relying on a quantitative analysis of the patenting and assignment behavior of inventors, we highlight the evolution of institutions that encouraged trade in tech- nology and a growing division of labor between those who invented new technologies and those who exploited them commercially over the nineteenth and early-twentieth centu- ries. At the heart of this change in the organization of inventive activity was a set of familiar developments which had signif- icant consequences for the supply and demand of inventions. On the supply side, the growing complexity and capital intensity of technology raised the amount of human and physical capital required for effective invention, making it increasingly desirable for individuals involved in this activity to specialize. On the demand side, the growing competitive- ness of product markets induced firms to purchase or other- wise obtain the rights to technologies developed by others. These increasing incentives to differentiate the task of inven- tion from that of commercializing new technologies depended for their realization upon the development of markets and other types of organizational supports for trade in technology. The evidence suggests that the necessary institutions evolved first in those regions of the country where early patenting activity had already been concentrated. A self-reinforcing process whereby high rates of inventive activity encouraged the evolution of a market for technology, which in turn encouraged greater specialization and productivity at inven- tion as individuals found it increasingly feasible to sell and license their discoveries, appears to have been operating. This market trade in technological information was an important contributor to the achievement of a high level of specialization at invention well before the rise of large-scale research labo- ratories in the twentieth century.


Purpose To present a subgroup analysis of patients from a large real-world study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) for treating femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR). Materials and Methods This study examined patients enrolled in the Zilver PTX Japan Post-Market Surveillance Study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02254837), a prospective, multicenter registry of 904 symptomatic patients with 1082 femoropopliteal lesions treated with the DES at 95 institutions in Japan. Five-year outcomes, including mortality, stent radiography, freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), and clinical benefit, were evaluated for 177 patients (mean age 74.2±8.3 years; 118 men) with 204 ISR lesions treated with the Zilver DES. Over half of the patients (108, 61.0%) were diabetic. Mean lesion length was 17.8±10.4 cm, and a third (72, 35.3%) were total occlusions. Outcome measures were all-cause mortality, thrombosis, freedom from TLR, and clinical benefit, defined as freedom from persistent or deteriorating ischemic symptoms. Results No device-related or procedure-related deaths or paclitaxel-related adverse events were reported. All-cause mortality was 25.1% at 5 years. Stent fracture was observed in 5 stents through 5 years. The 5-year rate of freedom from clinically-driven TLR was 73.4%, and the rate of clinical benefit was 63.6%. Improvement in Rutherford category and ankle-brachial index was sustained through 5 years. Conclusion The safety and effectiveness of the Zilver PTX stent for the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions demonstrated that this device provides a favorable treatment option in this difficult-to-treat subgroup.


The background to our study is our common interest in fiction and our curiosity of how it is being used in school at present. The aim of the study was to find out if and how teachers in the earlier years of school, use fiction in their teaching. We have found how some teachers think about their teaching where fiction is an element and in what purpose fiction are used. By doing qualitative interviews with six active teachers we got a material that we analysed. In the result we found that the teachers were well aware of the possibilities fiction gives, not just in the subject Swedish but in all subjects in school. The main purpose of using fiction in school was to entertain but we found that the teachers also used it to teach their pupils how to read, to increase their knowledge and to give them inspiration. The conclusion is that fiction is used a lot in school today, in many different ways and with different intentions. We found that fiction has the ability to stimulate children's imagination and make them experience and explore other worlds and cultures without even leaving the classroom. As a result we can establish that fiction is more than just a book!


Preparation of a new formulation of oxytetracycline 20% injectable solution was done for veterinary therapeutic use. Information about all the materials used in preparation of formula were collected from the well known pharmacopeia while analar material were provided and used to prepare about three pilot formulae, from which the final one was prepared. Stability of new formula was tested in different room environmental conditions by comparing any change in physicochemical properties concerning form, colour, transparency, pH in different storage room temperatures for 18 months as well their MIC value and bacterial inhibition rate formorethan 12 months. The results showed that the new drug proved its stability, antibacterial activity when tested both in vitro against E coli 0.78 was growth in which MIC was 0.2 μg /ml. It was also tested clinically in therapy of group of infected sheep and cows (4 each) with respiratory diseases, at the college of veterinary medicine, University of Baghdad as well as in the central veterinary hospital in comparison with other similarly infected group treated with common commercially used 20% oxytetracycline drug (Alamycin) while control group treated with normal saline. The results showed improvement of the animals of both treated groups when compared with control one, which its animal health deteriorated and improved when treated with the formula. Both quantitative and qualitative results for oxytetracycline 20% formula as well as its physicochemical properties and steritity was tested by Board of drug and biological standardization, Iraqi Veterinary State Company (I.V, S.C.) and a certificate of approval of quality, quantity, antibacterial activity was issued by I.V.S.C. for new oxytetracycline 20% injectable solution and registered, it as new drug formulated by the College of Veterinary Medicine, university of Baghdad for veterinary use.


Who hasn't heard of elderly people "in their second childhood" -- or of children who "grow old before their time"? Expressions such as these bear witness to the fact that a variety of images and expectations attach themselves to biological age. When various ages are set side by side in contrast to each other, these images and expectations become apparent. "Childhood and old Age" lies at opposite ends of life's trajectory and so are quite distinct. The child finds itself at life's starting-point, the old person at its close. And yet there are in many areas more similarities than differences. Both children and old people live an institutionalised, economically unproductive and sheltered life and, in our late modern society, are completely dependent on middle-aged adults. Both age groups are objects of commercial, medical-scientific and pedagogical interest. The aim of this anthology is to confront expectations of childhood with expectations of old age. The focus is not, then, on age as a biological phenomenon, but on preconceptions of age and on the ways in which man, at different times and in different cultures, has dealt with age. The articles view their subject from both historical and contemporary standpoints, and there is an attempt to answer questions about age in the society of the future, where biological lifespans will be challenged by gene technology and improved living conditions.


This study underscores the development of Ag-PEG-Ch nanocomposite film using the aqueous leaves extract of  Cannabis sativa under the influence of ultrasound, as smart substrates for antimicrobial uses, via innovative in situ reactive and reduction pathways. Ag nanoparticles that are synthesized by using leaves extract and ultrasound as an energy source have emerged as nontoxic and ecofriendly.  In this study, silver nitrate was used as a silver precursor and PEG and chitosan were used as the polymeric stabilizer and solid support, while cannabis sativa leaves extract acts as a green reducing agent. This polymer metal film was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TEM, TGA, DSC and antimicrobial activities. XRD peaks clearly reveals that FCC Ag nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrix, very fine Ag nanoparticles (4-6 nm) can be synthesized through ultrasound has been proven by TEM images and TGA-DSC results show that this nanocomposite film is thermally stable. This nanocomposite film possesses synergistic biocidal activities also.


As a prelude to necessary industrialization, foundries are springing up in various parts of Nigeria and most of these foundries rely on oil fired furnaces in their operation. This study is aimed at developing an oil fired crucible furnace from locally sourced materials for foundries in Nigeria. In our design, a new system of fuel supply was developed in order to achieve optimum fuel consumption, high temperature, and low cost of melting. The crucible furnace was carefully designed and manufactured in order to ensure effective performance, ease and low cost of operation. It was constructed from locally sourced materials which include: mild steel sheet of thickness 3mm measuring 1822mm x 540mm, an hollow metal drum which was lined with refractory brick insulation. The firing technique employed, involved the use of two burners attached tangentially to the inner walls of the furnace and a fuel mass flow rate of 8.4 kg/hr with a temperature of 12000C was achieved in 25 minutes of operation. Keywords : Crucible Furnace, Effective Performance, Fuel Consumption, Locally Sourced Materials.


The dynamic analysis of flexible delaminated layered beams is revisited. Exploiting Boolean vectors, a novel assembly scheme is developed which can be used to enforce the continuity requirements at the edges of delamination region, leading to a delamination stiffness term. The proposed assembly technique can be used to form various beam configurations with through width delaminations, irrespective of the formulation used to model each beam segment. The proposed assembly system and the Galerkin Finite Element Method (FEM) formulation are subsequently used to investigate the natural frequencies and modes of 2- and 3-layer beam configurations. Using the Euler-Bernoulli bending beam theory and free mode delamination, the governing differential equations are exploited and two beam finite elements are developed. The free bending vibration of three illustrative example problems, characterized by delamination zones of variable length, is investigated. The intact and defective beam natural frequencies and modes obtained from the proposed assembly/FEM beam formulations are presented along with the analytical results and those available in the literature


Mastermind proteins are required for transcription of Notch target genes, yet the molecular basis for mastermind function remains incompletely understood. Previous work has shown that Notch can induce transcriptional responses by binding to promoters but more often by binding to enhancers, with HES4 and DTX1 as representative mammalian examples of promoter and enhancer responsiveness, respectively. Here, we show that mastermind dependence of the Notch response at these loci is differentially encoded in Jurkat T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. ABSTRACT Mastermind proteins are required for transcription of Notch target genes, yet the molecular basis for mastermind function remains incompletely understood. Previous work has shown that Notch can induce transcriptional responses by binding to promoters but more often by binding to enhancers, with HES4 and DTX1 as representative mammalian examples of promoter and enhancer responsiveness, respectively. Here, we show that mastermind dependence of the Notch response at these loci is differentially encoded in Jurkat T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. Knockout of Mastermind-like 1 (MAML1) eliminates Notch-responsive activation of both these genes, and reduced target gene expression is accompanied by a decrease in H3K27 acetylation, consistent with the importance of MAML1 for p300 activity. Add-back of MAML1 variants in knockout cells identifies residues 151 to 350 of MAML1 as essential for expression of either Notch-responsive gene. Fusion of the Notch-binding region of MAML1 to the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) domain of p300 rescues expression of HES4 but not DTX1, suggesting that an additional activity of MAML1 is needed for gene induction at a distance. Together, these studies establish the functional importance of the MAML1 region from residues 151 to 350 for Notch-dependent transcriptional induction and reveal differential requirements for MAML1-dependent recruitment activities at different Notch-responsive loci, highlighting the molecular complexity of Notch-stimulated transcription.


Zinc oxide thin films were prepared on the glass substrate by rf-magnetron sputtering technique and their structural, optical, and mechanical characteristics were then investigated. As the SEM images have revealed, the average grain size of ZMO thin film are influenced by pressure and sputter power, and the average value of the grain size is about 30~50 nm. The EDS analysis also revealed a successful doping of Mo in ZnO thin film. The transmittance property of ZMO thin film exhibited an excellent transparency in the visible range, where the transmittance was about 90% for ZMO film with Mo. Moreover, good transmittance was also demonstrated in the range of 350nm to 400nm (UV regime). Finally, the nano-mechanical properties of ZMO thin films were investigated using a nanoindentation technique. The corresponding result would show that the Young's modulus and hardness both increased with decreasing pressure.


The interactions of users and items in recommender system could be naturally modeled as a user-item bipartite graph. In recent years, we have witnessed an emerging research effort in exploring user-item graph for collaborative filtering methods. Nevertheless, the formation of user-item interactions typically arises from highly complex latent purchasing motivations, such as high cost performance or eye-catching appearance, which are indistinguishably represented by the edges. The existing approaches still remain the differences between various purchasing motivations unexplored, rendering the inability to capture fine-grained user preference. Therefore, in this paper we propose a novel Multi-Component graph convolutional Collaborative Filtering (MCCF) approach to distinguish the latent purchasing motivations underneath the observed explicit user-item interactions. Specifically, there are two elaborately designed modules, decomposer and combiner, inside MCCF. The former first decomposes the edges in user-item graph to identify the latent components that may cause the purchasing relationship; the latter then recombines these latent components automatically to obtain unified embeddings for prediction. Furthermore, the sparse regularizer and weighted random sample strategy are utilized to alleviate the overfitting problem and accelerate the optimization. Empirical results on three real datasets and a synthetic dataset not only show the significant performance gains of MCCF, but also well demonstrate the necessity of considering multiple components.


The paper presents the results of investigation on the distortions of the fine structure of the heart biopotentials caused by filtering circuits of medical diagnostic equipment. The method of computer simulation is used. Some programs for simulating different types of filters (Bessel, Chebyshev, Butterworth, and elliptic) are developed using LabView software. The artificially generated electrocardiograms (ECG) and high-resolution signals recorded with the equipment based on high-stable low-noise nanoelectrodes in the band from 0 to 150 Hz are used as test signals. Filters used in the ECG equipment may change the amplitude, wavelength, and displacement of (ECG) intervals. When using lowpass filters, small frequency cutoff value makes the low-amplitude potentials of 5-20 mV virtually invisible on the ECG. The higher the order of the filters, the greater is the distortion regardless of the type of filters. The amplitude ripple of filters in the passband and a nonlinear character of phase response contribute to cardiac signal disturbance equal to the informative low-amplitude of the heart biopotential by the order of magnitude. In some cases, application of diagnostic criteria to the filtered signal can produce erroneous results. The data analysis shows that the amplitude of the signal distortion due to time delays and frequency response for different types of filters range from 2 to 15%, which is comparable to the amplitudes of the ventricular late potential which amount to 2% of the amplitude of the cardiac signal.


Abstract Motivation In recent years, the development of natural language process (NLP) technologies and deep learning hardware has led to significant improvement in large language models (LLMs). The ChatGPT, the state-of-the-art LLM built on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, shows excellent capabilities in general language understanding and reasoning. Researchers also tested the GPTs on a variety of NLP-related tasks and benchmarks and got excellent results. With exciting performance on daily chat, researchers began to explore the capacity of ChatGPT on expertise that requires professional education for human and we are interested in the biomedical domain. Results To evaluate the performance of ChatGPT on biomedical-related tasks, this article presents a comprehensive benchmark study on the use of ChatGPT for biomedical corpus, including article abstracts, clinical trials description, biomedical questions, and so on. Typical NLP tasks like named entity recognization, relation extraction, sentence similarity, question and answering, and document classification are included. Overall, ChatGPT got a BLURB score of 58.50 while the state-of-the-art model had a score of 84.30. Through a series of experiments, we demonstrated the effectiveness and versatility of ChatGPT in biomedical text understanding, reasoning and generation, and the limitation of ChatGPT build on GPT-3.5. Availability and implementation All the datasets are available from BLURB benchmark https://microsoft.github.io/BLURB/index.html. The prompts are described in the article.


Genome-analysis enables researchers to detect mutations within genomes and deduce their consequences. Researchers need reliable analysis platforms to ensure reproducible and comprehensive analysis results. Database systems provide vital support to implement the required sustainable procedures. Nevertheless, they are not used throughout the complete genome-analysis process, because (1) database systems suffer from high storage overhead for genome data and (2) they introduce overhead during domain-specific analysis. To overcome these limitations, we integrate genome-specific compression into database systems using a specialized database schema. Thus, we can reduce the storage overhead to 30%. Moreover, we can exploit genome-data characteristics during query processing allowing us to analyze real-world data sets up to five times faster than specialized analysis tools and eight times faster than a straightforward database approach.


As education incorporated technology into classroom pedagogy, second language writing instruction experimented with computers in the teaching of writing in English as a second language. Though abundant, the research has yet to address second language students' perception of the use of computers in the writing instruction. This descriptive study examines the views of 15 students who took Linguistics 101, a first semester composition course for second language learners, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Data was collected through pre- and post-diagnostic essays, surveys, and interviews. At the beginning of the Fall 2006 semester, students did not show much interest in the presence or use of computers in the writing classroom; at the end of the academic term, students not only had a positive attitude toward computers, but also were able to perceive that the computer could benefit learners in the process of becoming better writers. Furthermore, the study presents pedagogical practices that can be used in the classroom to enhance the use of computers in the teaching of writing in the second language.
Chapter One introduces the research problem and the rationale for this type of study. Chapter Two provides a historical background of the writing instruction and research in English as a second language as well as an overview of the impact computers have had on the teaching of L2 writing. Chapter Three describes the methodology of the study. Chapters Four and Five respectively provide the results and analysis of the study. Chapter Six addresses the limitations and conclusions of this study plus offers recommendation for future research. The appendices provide copies of the materials used to collect data, of students' pre- and post-diagnostic essays, the scoring rubrics, and a collection of activities for the computer classroom.


Opioids have been and continue to be used for the treatment of chronic pain. Evidence supports the notion that opioids can be safely administered in patients with chronic pain without the development of addiction or chemical dependency. However, over the past several years, concerns have arisen with respect to administration of opioids for the treatment of chronic pain, particularly non-cancer pain. Many of these involve legal issues with respect to diversion and prescription opioid abuse. Amongst these, opioid induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is becoming more prevalent as the population receiving opioids for chronic pain increases. OIH is a recognized complication of opioid therapy. It is a pro-nocioceptive process which is related to, but different from, tolerance. This focused review will elaborate on the neurobiological mechanisms of OIH as well as summarize the pre-clinical and clinical studies supporting the existence of OIH. In particular, the role of the excitatory neurotransmitter, N-methyl-D-aspartate appears to play a central, but not the only, role in OIH. Other mechanisms of OIH include the role of spinal dynorphins and descending facilitation from the rostral ventromedial medulla. The links between pain, tolerance, and OIH will be discussed with respect to their common neurobiology. Practical considerations for diagnosis and treatment for OIH will be discussed. It is crucial for the pain specialist to differentiate amongst clinically worsening pain, tolerance, and OIH since the treatment of these conditions differ. Tolerance is a necessary condition for OIH but the converse is not necessarily true. Office-based detoxification, reduction of opioid dose, opioid rotation, and the use of specific NMDA receptor antagonists are all viable treatment options for OIH. The role of sublingual buprenorphine appears to be an attractive, simple option for the treatment of OIH and is particularly advantageous for a busy interventional pain practice.


Objectives To assess whether time to diagnosis influenced surgical procedure and survival in primary malignant brain tumours Design Retrospective cohort study of adult patients newly diagnosed with a primary intra-cerebral tumour April 2010 – March 2015 referred to neuro-oncology centre in South-East Scotland Subjects 400 patients with primary malignant intracerebral tumours Methods Univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate Cox regression survival analysis were performed Results Our dataset included 229 Males (57.7%), mean age 62.05 (SD14.01). Time to diagnosis did affect choice of surgical procedure. Patients undergoing biopsy had significantly longer TtD than those undergoing resection (28 vs 21 days, MWU test, p=0.035). 233 (58.3%) patients were deceased at 12 months. Having a cognitive first symptom (e.g confusion/memory changes) predicted not getting any surgical procedure (OR 2.95 [95% CI 1.8–4.8]). Where surgery was performed, first cognitive symptom was not predictive of type of surgery (biopsy vs debulking/excision) (OR 1.5 [95% CI 0.8–2.9] norhaving tumour in the frontal lobe (OR 0.9 [95% CI 0.5–1.7]. In multivariate analysis, increased hazard ratio of death at 12 month was significantly associated with a cognitive first symptom (HR 1.4 [95% CI 1.0–1.9] and KPS <70 (HR 1.69 [95% CI 1.2–2.4]). Conclusions Earlier diagnosis is associated with getting debulking surgery rather than biopsy, and patient's presenting symptoms influence surgical decision making and outcome.


Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) bypasses DNA lesions encountered during S-phase and is critical for cell survival after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. In humans, Rad6/Rad18 attaches single ubiquitin moieties (i.e. monoubiquitination) to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) sliding clamps encircling primer/template (P/T) junctions that are stalled at DNA lesions. TLS occurs via PCNA monoubiquitination-independent and -dependent pathways and both contribute to cell survival. The interaction of Rad6/Rad18 with PCNA is paramount to PCNA monoubiquitination and remains poorly defined. In particular, the location of the Rad6/Rad18 binding site on PCNA is unknown. Many PCNA-binding proteins, particularly DNA polymerases (pols), converge on PCNA encircling stalled P/T junctions in human cells and all interact in a similar manner with the universal binding sites on PCNA. We reasoned that if Rad6/Rad18 utilizes the universal binding sites (or nearby sites), then PCNA monoubiquitination may be suppressed by pols involved in TLS. Results from quantitative studies reveal that; 1) a Y-family (pol η) and a B-family (pol δ) pol critical to TLS each inhibit transfer of ubiquitin from Rad6/Rad18 to PCNA and; 2) the observed inhibitions are dependent on the interaction of these pols with PCNA encircling DNA. These studies suggest that Rad6/Rad18 utilizes the universal PCNA-binding sites or nearby sites and, hence, competes for PCNA encircling DNA with pols η and δ and possibly other PCNA-binding proteins involved in TLS. These findings provide valuable insight into the nature of the interaction between Rad6/Rad18 and PCNA and have important implications for the division of human TLS pathways.


Hygroscopic moisture content of the soil is usually determined by an air-drying method and has been related with the surface area and cation exchange capacity of the soil, by many researchers. However, as relative humidity influences the overall soil-water interaction, quantification of its impact on hygroscopic moisture content of the soil becomes mandatory. Incidentally, it has been noted that no standard methodology, which specifies determination of the soil hygroscopic moisture content exists in the literature. With this in view, laboratory investigations were carried out on soils, with entirely different properties, and by exposing them to different relative humidity and storage time. Based on the results, "optimal hygroscopic moisture content" of the soil has been defined and the methodology for its measurement has been proposed. Further, attempts were made to correlate hygroscopic moisture content of the soil with its surface area, cation exchange capacity, liquid limit, swelling potential, and electrical properties (conductivity and dielectric constant). Such correlations will be of the utmost help in predicting these properties of the soil by knowing its hygroscopic moisture content.


A simple, fast and reliable method was developed to measure the origin and daily and seasonal variations of selected air pollutants in the Brookhaven Environmental Unit. None of the pollutants that were measured surpassed its threshold limit value. The average concentrations of the pollutants that were measured could be considered as preliminary standard for environmental units in hospitals as long as material analysis for outgassing is used simultaneously.


Though numerous research reports have provided a body of information about benefits of e-learning there are barriers such as, asynchronous communication channels, lack of personalisation, which decrease the level of interaction between the learner and instructor [13]. The aim of this paper is to discuss and outline a framework on e-learning pedagogical and technology issues which provide a basis for the creation of an e-learning instructional programme (ELIP). The Phase I of this research start with the creation of a framework for an e-learning environment and derivation of the e-learning instructional programme (ELIP); Phase II is aimed to implement a popular audio playback device (iPod) and VoIP. In this phase 40 learners, one instructor and three tutors will be observed and their experiences will be evaluated through focus group interviews and documents analysis. This research was based on a qualitative research approach [78],[44].


The use of appropriate mixtures of noble gases in proportional counters can take advantage of the Penning effect, a process of energy transfer between the two species which produces extra electrons. The Penning effect can occur in Xe-Ne mixtures and recent Monte Carlo simulation measurements have shown that a small percentage of Xe (below ~1%Xe) brings to a minimum the fluctuations in the formation of the primary electron cloud and decreases the w-value to a magnitude near that for pure Xe. In addition, the excitation and ionization thresholds and the fluctuations in charge multiplication become lower and the ionization efficiency becomes higher than in pure Xe, indicating that improved energy resolution can be achieved at low applied voltages for a Xe-Ne filled proportional counter. In this work, we present an experimental study of the performance of a cylindrical proportional counter filled with several Xe-Ne mixtures at atmospheric pressure, for 5.9 keV x-rays. Results are presented for the energy resolution and gas multiplication factor and a discussion of the experimental results is made


In past 10 years, composite foundations, especially multipile composite foundations have been extensively used. Multi-pile composite foundation is a method of ground improvement that involves using different pile types with different lengths and diameters beneath the same raft. The CFG piles are generally much stiffer than lime piles and they are used in a manner similar to that used for conventional piles; that is, to mobilize bearing capacity from the deeper soil strata. This paper presents the results of a series of three dimensional (3D) finite element analyzes on CFG–lime composite pile foundations. The parameters investigated are the spacing of CFG pile and cushion thickness.


OBJECTIVES. The goals were (1) to determine the feasibility and yield of maternal depression screening during all well-child visits, (2) to understand how pediatricians and mothers respond to depression screening information, and (3) to assess the time required for discussion of screening results. METHODS. Implementation of brief depression screening of mothers at well-child visits for children of all ages was studied in 3 rural pediatric practices. Two screening trials introduced screening (1 month) and then determined whether screening could be sustained (6 months). Screening used the 2-question Patient Health Questionnaire. Practices tracked the proportions of visits screened and provided data about the screening process. RESULTS. Practices were able to screen in the majority of well-child visits (74% in trial 1 and 67% in trial 2). Of 1398 mothers screened, 17% had 1 of the depressive symptoms and 6% (n = 88) scored as being at risk for a major depressive disorder. During discussion, 5.7% of all mothers thought they might be depressed and 4.7% thought they were stressed but not depressed. Pediatric clinicians intervened with 62.4% of mothers who screened positive and 38.2% of mothers with lesser symptoms. Pediatrician actions included discussion of the impact on the child, a follow-up visit or call, and referral to an adult primary care provider, a mental health clinician, or community supports. Pediatrician time needed to discuss screening results decreased in the second trial. Prolonged discussion time was uncommon (5–10 minutes in 3% of all well-child visits and >10 minutes in 2%). CONCLUSIONS. Routine, brief, maternal depression screening conducted during well-child visits was feasible and detected mothers who were willing to discuss depression and stress issues with their pediatrician. The discussion after screening revealed additional mothers who felt depressed among those with lesser symptoms. The additional discussion time was usually brief and resulted in specific pediatrician actions.


The article explores on the theoretical and empirical evidences of growing suicide trend in Nepal from psychological perspective. Nepal has been witnessing the increasing suicidal attempts since the last two decades. The paper is developed based on the secondary sources of data. The published research papers, government information, suicide recorded information of police headquarter, governmental and non-governmental reports are the major sources of information. The study found that various socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, biological factors to mental illness such as anxiety, disorder and hopelessness are critical issues for suicide attempts in Nepal. It is argued that socio-environmental, cross-cultural, demographic factors have contributed to develop mental illness. If mental illness is not addressed timely then suicidal attempt is likely to happen. Government response to prevent suicidal attempt is not sufficient. Based on the second generation, theoretical understanding and prevention measures are crucial for the prevention.


Housing is a basic human need and considered as the most expensive item in the life of a certain group of people. The high cost of owning a housing unit will affect the level of affordability among public at large. This is because the unique criteria of properties and different environmental conditions at a certain location contribute to high house prices. This situation directly affects people placement mode either as a tenant or homeowner. In fact, every placement decision is always influenced by various factors such as properties itself and the current financial situation. This research aims to examine the extent to which these factors affect the placement decision toward the best residential properties. Putrajaya, the main administrative centre of the government of Malaysia, situated in a self-contained township on its own has been chosen as a case study. A group of respondents was interviewed to consider their decision on housing placement in the township. A total number of sub-factors were analyzed using a Chi-square test to establish the significant effect on residential placement. The study found that these preference factors played significant roles in influencing the placement decision of residential properties by the public in a township area).