ABSTRACT PSI-352938 is a novel cyclic phosphate prodrug of β-d-2′-deoxy-2′-α-fluoro-2′-β-C-methylguanosine 5′-monophosphate that has potent activity against hepatitis C virus (HCV) in vitro. The studies described here characterize the in vitro anti-HCV activity of PSI-352938, alone and in combination with other inhibitors of HCV, and the cross-resistance profile of PSI-352938. The effective concentration required to achieve 50% inhibition for PSI-352938, determined using genotype 1a-, 1b-, and 2a-derived replicons stably expressed in the Lunet cell line, were 0.20, 0.13, and 0.14 μM, respectively. The active 5′-triphosphate metabolite, PSI-352666, inhibited recombinant NS5B polymerase from genotypes 1 to 4 with comparable 50% inhibitory concentrations. In contrast, PSI-352938 did not inhibit the replication of hepatitis B virus or human immunodeficiency virus in vitro. PSI-352666 did not significantly affect the activity of human DNA and RNA polymerases. PSI-352938 and its cyclic phosphate metabolites did not affect the cyclic GMP-mediated activation of protein kinase G. Clearance studies using replicon cells demonstrated that PSI-352938 cleared cells of HCV replicon RNA and prevented replicon rebound. An additive to synergistic effect was observed when PSI-352938 was combined with other classes of HCV inhibitors, including alpha interferon, ribavirin, NS3/4A inhibitors, an NS5A inhibitor, and nucleoside/nucleotide and nonnucleoside inhibitors. Cross-resistance studies showed that PSI-352938 remained fully active against replicons containing the S282T or the S96T/N142T amino acid alteration. Replicons that contain mutations conferring resistance to various classes of nonnucleoside inhibitors also remained sensitive to inhibition by PSI-352938. PSI-352938 is currently being evaluated in a phase I clinical study in genotype 1-infected individuals.


The literature has long suggested that the design of computer input devices should make use of the fine, smaller muscle groups and joints in the fingers, since they are richly represented in the human motor and sensory cortex and they have higher information processing bandwidth than other body parts. This hypothesis, however, has not been conclusively verified with empirical research. The present work studied such a hypothesis in the context of designing 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) input devices. The work attempts to address both a practical need - designing efficient 6 DOF input devices - and the theoretical issue of muscle group differences in input control. Two alternative 6 DOF input devices, one including and the other excluding the fingers from the 6 DOF manipulation, were designed and tested in a 3D object docking experiment. Users' task completion times were significantly shorter with the device that utilised the fingers. The results of this study strongly suggest that the shape and size of future input device designs should constitute affordances that invite finger participation in input control.


We have calculated magnetic field distribution and integral parameters for the slotted, five-phase, permanent-magnet tubular linear motor (PMTLM). We used a finite element (FE) model for the field analysis. We carried out the field analysis for different values of the exciting current and for variable mover position. To obtain experimentally the field distribution and its integral parameters, we developed and tested a physical model of the motor. We compared the calculation results with the measured ones and found a good conformity.


The financial crisis in the world economy after 2008 brought forward the importance of Islamic finance instruments and increased their usage in this way. Islamic finance, as a complementary component among financial instruments, provides sustainable material and spiritual welfare with its fairer, more participative and more sharing structure, by encouraging people/establishments that wishes to make investments and facilitate access to financing in economy. In this context "Sukuk" exports, which is one of the leading Islamic finance instruments, gained an important momentum in global financial markets; nowadays it strenghtened financial systems of public and private sectors, facilitated investment financing and provided a fairer contribution to economic growth. This study, in regard to this importance, analyzes the historical and economic results of "sukuk" exports in Europe. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15238/tujise.201428095


The context in which executives address performance is truly selective in that one can choose to consider performance of a function or department, of a product or asset, or even of an individual. When we talk about performance optimization it is in the enterprise context that is discussed at some length. Only the CEO and executive staff sit in a position of neutral view, the all encompassing enterprise view of performance. Performance metrics from all the pieces or elements of the organization aggregate to comprise a composite view. Performance management expert Frank Ostroff, speaking to the Association for Enterprise Information (AFEI) on the subject of "Designing and Implementing Horizontal, Collaborative Organizations to Improve Performance," emphasized the criticality of having executives spend at least 20% of their time addressing managing change or he said "it isn't worth it." Well, we are not talking to people who somehow make change happen through consultation and cajoling from the outside; we are talking to you, the executive, about what you can do personally tomake change happen.We are not talking about a special program;we're talking about executives asking the right questions and demanding the right data to answer them. That is the strategy, plain and simple.


In recent years, sustainable nanomaterials, such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), jointly referred to as cellulose nanomaterials (CNs), have been explored for application in water/wastewater treatment processes. Unique properties of CNs coupled with the global quest to develop low carbon footprint alternatives as aids for water treatment processes have been the driving force for the increasing interest among researchers worldwide. There are several reviews that describe the chemistry and modification of CNs; however, a comprehensive review on the potential application of CNs in water/wastewater treatment processes is scarce. Thus, this review provides a detailed overview of pristine, surface-functionalized CNs and CN-incorporated nanocomposites for applications in various water/wastewater treatment processes, such as sorption, membrane filtration, and flocculation. The latest advances and developments on other processes using CNs, such as catalytic degradation and disinfection, are also discussed. The mechanism responsible for the performance of CN-based systems in all these water treatment processes is also elucidated. The key challenges and knowledge gaps that limit the practical application of CNs in water treatment processes are examined, which offer appropriate perspectives to researchers working in this field.


It is shown that in acute experimental ileum microcirculatory disturbances arise earlier and disappear later than clinical manifestations. General chain of the strangulation ileum are microcirculatory changes in the intestinal wall. They are of one type, depend on the time of ileum and determine severity and reversibility of intestinal wall damage.


In the present work, we use either ethanol or ethylene glycol as reducing agents through the solvothermal method for graphite oxide reduction. A sulfuric acid treatment before the reduction process was also applied to evaluate its influence on the epoxy group ring-opening reaction. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) samples were obtained with morphology like crumpled sheets. X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD) showed that the RGO produced via ethylene glycol (EG) reduction followed by treatment with sulfuric acid (RGOEGH) presented the largest d-spacing (0.4114 nm). For reduction with ethanol (RGOEt), the d-spacing value was 0.3883 nm. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results indicated that RGOEt exhibited very low-intensity bands related to oxygenated functional groups, suggesting a high reduction degree, while the sample reduced with EG contained oxygen group bands in the spectrum that disappeared when H2SO4 pretreatment was performed. Thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) results showed that the samples present high stability and confirmed the reduction process. Moreover, the synthesized RGO sheets were comparable to those produced via more expensive and toxic methodologies.


While both plyometric and traditional resistance training methods are beneficial to athletic performance in a wide range of sports, their efficacy regarding training order has yet to be determined in a periodized training programme. Therefore, this study compared the effects of a 12-week training period where explosive strength training (six weeks) preceded plyometric training (six weeks), or vice versa. Forty-two competitive male (n = 12) and female (n = 30) adolescent handball players (age 14.9 ± 0.5 years, body mass 64.1 ± 9.1 kg, height 1.71 ± 0.09 m) conducted explosive strength training for six weeks followed by six weeks of plyometric training or vice versa. Variables included a 30 m sprint, a change of direction test, countermovement jump (CMJ) with and without arm swing, load-velocity back squat assessment, overhead throwing velocity with and without preliminary steps, and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1). Both groups experienced similar improvements in the CMJ, change of direction and load-velocity squat assessments from pre- to posttest (p ≤ 0.013, η 2 = 0.194–0.378). Conversely, no improvements were observed in the Yo-Yo IR1, 30 m sprint or throwing velocity tests, regardless of group (p ≥ 0.081). No main effect of training order was observed for any of the tests employed (p ≥ 0.31). Training order does not appear to play a noticeable role in the physical development of young handball players. Therefore, practitioners could focus on implementing variations in exercise and loading to benefit athlete adherence and correspond to present needs.


Lifelong language learning aims to stream learning NLP tasks while retaining knowledge of previous tasks. Previous works based on the language model and following data-free constraint approaches have explored formatting all data as "begin token (B) + context (C) + question (Q) + answer (A)" for different tasks. However, they still suffer from catastrophic forgetting and are exacerbated when the previous task's pseudo data is insufficient for the following reasons: (1) The model has difficulty generating task-corresponding pseudo data, and (2) A is prone to error when A and C are separated by Q because the information of the C is diminished before generating A. Therefore, we propose the Ask Question First and Replay Question (AQF-RQ), including a novel data format "BQCA" and a new training task to train pseudo questions of previous tasks. Experimental results demonstrate that AQF-RQ makes it easier for the model to generate more pseudo data that match corresponding tasks, and is more robust to both sufficient and insufficient pseudo-data when the task boundary is both clear and unclear. AQF-RQ can achieve only 0.36% lower performance than multi-task learning.


The morphometric invariant construction is considered. The invariants are the numbers generated in an axiomatic way. Nonempirical invariants coincide with the empirical ones of various species and are calculated by three functions of two independent variables that are natural numbers. The first function is a quantitative description of well-known spectra of empirical plant invariants in the form of phyllotaxis ratios. The second and the third functions are generated from the first one. They describe quantitatively Insecta and Vertebrata empirical morphometric invariants in the form of double ratio among three linear sizes.


Arthroscopic shoulder surgery with the patient in the beach-chair position (BCP) has been associated with neurocognitive complications caused by cerebral ischemia. We reviewed the current literature for the incidence of postoperative neurocognitive deficits, number of reported neurocognitive complications, and incidence of intraoperative cerebral desaturation events in patients who underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the BCP. Among 10 studies with a composite enrollment of 24,701 patients, there was only 1 case of a postoperative neurocognitive deficit (overall incidence, 0.004%). Four case reports (not included in the 10 studies) described 6 patients with a catastrophic neurocognitive complication after shoulder surgery in the BCP. Incidence of reported intraoperative cerebral desaturation events varied significantly (0%-100%; mean, 41.1%). Neurocognitive complications have been reported in patients who had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the BCP. Intraoperative monitoring of cerebral perfusion, alternatives to general anesthesia, and prudent use of intraoperative blood pressure control may improve patient safety.


Neurons in the ventral visual pathway exhibit behaviorally relevant temporal dynamics during image viewing. However, the most accurate existing computational models of this system are feedforward hierarchical convolutional neural networks (HCNNs), which capture neurons' time-averaged responses, but do not account well for their complex temporal trajectories. Here we show that HCNNs augmented with both local and global recurrent connections are quantitatively accurate models of dynamics in higher visual cortex. We began with a five-layer HCNN that achieved state-of-the-art predictions of temporally-averaged visual responses in macaque V4 and IT neurons. To model within-area dynamics, we replaced units in each layer with one of several local recurrent circuit motifs, including simple Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), Gated Recurrent Units (GRUs), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) units. We also included combinations of global feedback connections, in which outputs of later convolutional layers were added to inputs of earlier layers. Using backpropagation through time, these new parameters were optimized to predict V4 and IT neural response patterns. Finally, we tested these networks' ability to predict responses on held-out images and neurons not used for model optimization. We found that the best network structure led to substantial improvements over the feedforward baseline, explaining close to 100% of the explainable variance in V4 neurons and above 75% in IT neurons on average across time points. This network made use of gated local recurrence, with LSTMs and GRUs proving superior to simple RNNs. Furthermore, the presence of specific global feedback connections in this network was critical for best predicting V4 neuron dynamics. In summary, we have developed a deep recurrent neural network architecture that accurately captures temporal dynamics in several ventral cortical areas, opening the door to more detailed computational study of the circuit structures underlying complex visual behaviors.


Hypothesis testing is a cumbersome method of statistical analysis and sometimes leads to misinterpretation of results. Whenever possible, it is preferable to design studies and analyze data using estimation procedures. For ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression, and other standard statistical methods, it is possible, and no more difficult, to use estimation procedures.


In collision detection algorithm based on bounding volume hierarchies, the update cost of the bounding volume hierarchies tree when the collision detection object motion or deformation directly influenced speed of collision detection. According to this traitjhe update of bounding volume hierarchies was optimized by utilizing temporal-spatial coherence in virtual environment. It can reduce the cost when the collision detection object motion or deformation that coused the update of the bounding volume hierarchies tree by using the genetic algorithm instead of traditional approximate method and improve the speed of collision detection greatly. Experimental results show that this algorithm can solve the complexity and improve the property of the collision detection algorithm effectively. Key words-collision detection;bounding box;K-DOPs;genetic algorithms (GA))


The viticultural effects of sward competition with vines for water and nutrients, indirectly resulting from reduced herbicide use under a sustainable production system, are well established in cooler, more humid areas but are less well understood in warm and dry areas. Three groundcover treatments—standard industry practice of herbicide-treated undervine strips, bare soil maintained with herbicides, and complete floor cover (no herbicides)—were applied in two Chardonnay vineyards, one in a hot dry climate, the other in a mild climate. Increasing floor cover decreased early-season soil moisture and petiole nutrient status and strongly reduced vine vegetative growth. After three experimental years, grape yield also became limited. Large treatment differences in vegetative growth, canopy structure, and yield contributed to differences in berry weight and composition. Vine response to floor covers was less pronounced under mild climatic conditions compared to hot and dry conditions. Total or partial floor cover is a powerful tool for controlling vegetative growth of grapevines. However, under hot and dry conditions, competition for water and nutrients, particularly if it occurs at sensitive stages (such as bloom and berry set) can lead to a substantial decrease in yield and vine capacity.


Two novel experimental approaches have been developed to investigate the attachment of microorganisms to sulphide minerals as a function of the mineral and microbial phase in a joint project with BHP Billiton, conceptualised in 2005 and initiated in 2006. In the first approach, selective attachment of pure cultures to minerals was studied in the "particle coated column reactor" using A. ferrooxidans and L. ferriphilum. The saturated reactor containing glass beads coated with fine mineral concentrates provided a quantifiable surface area of mineral concentrate and maintained good fluid flow. Results are reported for chalcopyrite and pyrite concentrates, a low grade chalcopyrite ore and quartzite. The latter, representing typical gangue material, is used as a control. A. ferrooxidans displayed greater attachment to pyrite, and selective attachment to sulfide minerals over quartz. Similar attachment behaviour trends resulted for Leptospirillum spp. In the second approach, a novel technique was developed to investigate microbial ecology of microbe-mineral attachment, site and mineral specific associations of microorganisms and spatial organisation of microbial communities present. Qualitative assessment and visualisation of microorganisms associated with the mineral surface and subsequent biofilm development was shown in the biofilm reactor, using microscopy techniques and fluorochromes. FISH analyses of A. ferrooxidans and L. ferriphilum on massive chalcopyrite sections are presented. The consequence of the observed attachment on heap bioleach performance is discussed.


The major purpose of this study was to accumulate and analyze the expenditures of Fort Hays students in Hays, Kansas in order to emphasize the importance of these students to the city. The examination was to involve an item by item breakdown of all expenses including everything from necessities to luxuries. It was also to give a total expenditure breakdown by sex, school classification, and marital status. Methods and procedures employed: A questionnaire was prepared and used as a record-keeping tool during 100 personal interviews. These 100 interviewees were selected on a random basis, and all persons selected granted us an interview. The information for this study was obtained from these personal interviews. Summary and findings: The student population spent, as a universe, $8,918,097.28 in the city of Hays. There were 4,600 students during the spring of 1966, which means the average student expenditure was $1,938.72. The college student is definitely of economic value to the Hays community, and the college, undoubtedly, is the biggest business in the city.


Traditional measures of labour quality might have the shortcoming of missing some features of the very important increase in labour utilization within European countries. In particular, we explore the case of Spain. Despite showing one of the most important increases in labour quality in the EU according to standard methods, it also offers a negative increase in TFP growth. This paper computes an index of labour quality in Spain between 1988 and 2006 using microdata from the Labour Force Survey and the Structural Earnings Survey-2002 that allows the introduction of all possible interactions in a semi-parametric fashion between gender, age, education, experience in the current job and nationality. Considering those observable characteristics, the index still shows a notable growth at an average annual rate of 0.42 pp. After a period of slight decline (between 1988 and 1992) the index grows continuously until 2006 when it fell again. This is the case because education is, even by considering all possible interactions with other demographic variables, the highest contributor to the quality index�s growth. However, the paper shows the importance of considering changes in average productivities of different socio-demographic groups over time. We include in the analysis two usually omitted variables that help explaining the recent productivity slowdown in Spain: type of occupation held by the individual and unobserved heterogeneity of workers. Both the inclusion of occupation and especially the entry of individuals with below-average productivity levels compared to precedent periods decrease the labour quality growth to an average annual rate of 0.20 pp. Indeed with the addition of these two factors labour quality slightly decreases from 1997 onwards.


Many of the highly anomalous properties of heavy electron metal can be explained by assuming that to gain hybridization energy a small number of electrons are promoted from an f-level well below the Fermi energy. The f-states form an almost localized Fermi liquid with a very large effective mass due to the many low energy spin fluctuations of the f-states. Spin-fluctuation mediated interactions generally favor unconventional rather than s-wave singlet superconductivity. A sure sign of an unconventional form of superconductivity would be to observe an anisotropy in the electronic or lattice properties.


The investigation of generalized closed sets has led to several new interesting concepts. There is a vast progress occurred in the field of generalized open sets (compliment of generalized closed sets) which became the base for separation axioms in the respective context. In recent years there have been a considerable number of papers considering separation properties, essentially defined by replacing open sets by generalized open sets. We introduced semi -regular pre-semi- closed sets in topological spaces and semi -regular pre-semi open sets in topological spaces and we have studied the basic properties. Also we have given the relationship between these sets with some other existing generalized sets in topological spaces. Then we introduced semi -regular pre-semi continuous and semi -regular pre-semi irresolute functions in topological spaces and characterize the basic properties. Also we have given the relationship between these continuous functions with some other existing continuous functions. After that, we introduced contra -continuous functions in topological spaces. In this paper, we introduce some new type of separation axioms and study some of their basic properties using -open set. First we introduce -T 0 , - T 1 and - T 2 spaces and characterize their properties with -continuous, -irresolute and -open functions, -closure and                      -neighbourhoods. Next we introduce -Tb, -T⅓, -T½ and -T¾ spaces and the connections between these separation axioms are also investigated. Also we give a diagram which represents the relationships between -Tb, -T½, -T⅓, Tb, T, T and Tb spaces. Next we introduce -R 0 and -R 1 spaces and characterize the properties of these spaces with -T 0 , - T 1 and - T 2 spaces ,-kernal and -closure. Keywords: -T 0 , - T 1 , - T 2 , -Tb, -T⅓, -T½, -T¾, -R 0 , -R 1 .


Emerging research on how suspects perceive the physical environment during investigative interviews yields contrasting findings. While previous studies have suggested that a room made to be physically comfortable may be optimal for interviewing suspects, another study found it can instead lead to higher suspicion of the investigator's intentions. The current study examined current detainees' and general population participants' beliefs about a room that resembled a "typical" interview room, and one decorated to be warm, inviting, and comfortable. Participants also provided descriptive information about their perceptions of police interview environments (e.g., preferences, expectations). We hypothesized that the decorated room would elicit higher ratings of suspicion and wariness compared to the "typical" room. Our findings showed that, overall, participants expected to be interviewed in the "typical" room but preferred the decorated one. Contrary to our expectations, they rated the "typical" room higher on feelings of suspicion than the decorated room. The decorated room also corresponded with what participants reported to be an environment that promotes disclosure. These results bode well for conducting investigative interviews in comfortable environments.


Introduction Every surgeon has encountered difficulty in dissection of the indirect inguinal hernia sac. If the hernia is large, hypertrophy of the musculofascial tissues of the cord occurs and the sac so envelopes the cord structures that in freeing it by his usual method the surgeon may soon find himself in a maze of tissue planes. Other difficulties arise in being unable to locate a small patent process vaginalis of a communicating hydrocele, with the excessively fatty cord, or when there is a sliding component to the hernia. Surgical atlases and textbooks depict, and it is likely most surgeons use, a technique of total cord mobilization with opening and dissection of the sac from the cord structures. However, to turn things about and to dissect the cord structures from the sac simplifies the isolation of the hernial sac in all types of indirect hernia. The technique is described in this


This article is concerned with estimating hedonic price equations for cricketers. The 2008 auction in India for cricketers to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) of Twenty20 cricket has revealed the bids made for 75 players. Using the information on the bids, the author has estimated hedonic price equations. The author finds that the usual way of judging cricketers—in terms of runs scored and wickets taken—is reflected in the estimated equations. In addition, young players command a substantial premium over other players as do players from India and Australia. The author extends the analysis to evaluate the performance of players in the IPL tournament of 2008 and estimates the rates of return to the owners of the teams. The estimated models are checked for robustness by incorporating the results of the IPL Auction of 2009. The author finds that the models are robust to the inclusion of additional cricketers bought during the latest IPL auction.


Plant immunity is triggered following the perception of pathogen-derived molecules by plant receptor proteins. Two protein families, membrane-localized receptor-like kinases (RLK) and intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors, play key roles in pathogen perception and in the initiation of downstream signaling cascades that lead to defense responses. In addition to RLKs and NLRs, recent research has identified additional protein families that function as plant resistance (R) proteins. In particular, the botanical tribe Triticeae, which includes the globally important crop species wheat and barley, has played a significant role in the discovery of 'unconventional' R proteins. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on unconventional R genes in Triticeae and the proteins they encode. The knowledge on unconventional R proteins will not only broaden our understanding of plant-pathogen interactions but also have great implications for disease resistance breeding in crops.


In this paper we present a proof system that operates on graphs instead of
formulas. Starting from the well-known relationship between formulas and
cographs, we drop the cograph-conditions and look at arbitrary undirected)
graphs. This means that we lose the tree structure of the formulas
corresponding to the cographs, and we can no longer use standard proof
theoretical methods that depend on that tree structure. In order to overcome
this difficulty, we use a modular decomposition of graphs and some techniques
from deep inference where inference rules do not rely on the main connective of
a formula. For our proof system we show the admissibility of cut and a
generalisation of the splitting property. Finally, we show that our system is a
conservative extension of multiplicative linear logic with mix, and we argue
that our graphs form a notion of generalised connective.


: Patients with infections are sometimes nursed in side rooms or isolation units. Little is known of how this experience of being isolated is perceived from either the patient's or the nurse's viewpoint. In this research eight patients and nurses were interviewed to explore their perceptions. Analysis indicated a wide range of response, with some patients valuing the privacy, solitude and control that the situation provided. However, expressions of neglect and isolation were common, and some patients perceived themselves to be stigmatised and lonely. Nurses described their patient's responses fairly accurately, but their ability to alter practice to meet the needs of these patients appeared constrained by time, the physical environment, fear of infection and the limitations of defining nursing interventions primarily in terms of physical care.


This article explores the characteristics of a newly emergent 'neuroculture' and its relationship to cultures of ageing; in particular, the social meanings associated with 'active ageing' and 'cognitive health' and the discourses and sciences around memory and the 'ageing brain'. The argument proposes a critical perspective on this relationship by looking at the shifting boundaries between standards of normality and abnormality, values of health and illness, practices of therapy and enhancement, and the lines demarcating Third Age (healthy, active and agentic) and Fourth Age (dependency, loss and decline) periods of ageing. Conclusions offer further reflections on the complex questions that arise regarding expectations, hopes and ethics in relation to the promises and perils of a neurocultural future.


Purpose Malignant melanoma (MM) is rare in India. Indian data on demography and treatment outcome on advanced MM is very limited in the literature. Materials & methods This is a retrospective study of advanced MM treated between January 2013 and December 2020. We evaluated the clinicopathologic features, mutational profiles, survival outcome and prognostic factors in advanced MM patients. Results Out of a total 460 patients, 185 (42%) had metastatic disease at presentation and were enrolled in this study with a median age of 63 years (range: 28–93) and male:female ratio of 94:91. The mucosal primary was predominant (n = 110, 59%) than cutaneous primary (38%) and anorectum was the most common site (n = 84, 45%). Tumour mutational analysis was performed in 65 (35%) patients. BRAF mutations were detected in 12 patients and KIT mutations in 7 patients. Thirteen patients didn't have any mutations and 22 patients had mutations other than KIT & BRAF. Only 59 (32%) patients took any systemic treatment – immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in 17, temozolomide in 18 and paclitaxel/carboplatin in 18, tyrosine kinase inhibitors in 6 patients. After a median follow-up of 26 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 11.6–not reached), median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.1 months (95% CI: 4.4–9.1) and median overall survival was 14.8 months (95% CI: 7.7–18.2 months). The use of ICI emerged as an only significant good prognostic factor (p ≤ 0.001) for PFS, on multivariate analysis. Conclusion Mucosal origin was more common than cutaneous primary with anorectum being the most common site. BRAF mutation was less as compared to published literature. Very few patients received systemic therapy and the use of ICI showed superior PFS.


Two tests, the mixed leukocyte culture (MLC) and cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) tests, have been used as in vitro models of the in vivo allograft reaction. These tests have been applied to histocompatibility testing for transplantation as well as to assay of immune function. They involve the use of peripheral blood lymphocytes as "responding" cells in mixed leukocyte culture or as "stimulating" cells in the generation of a proliferative or a cytotoxic response. The proliferative events in MLC are primarily in response to LD antigens of the major histocompatibility complex; the cytotoxic cells use as their targets the SD antigens of that complex. A new method for defining the LD antigens, the primed LD typing (PLT) test, is based on in vitro sensitization of lymphocytes to certain LD antigens of the major histocompatibility complex and their subsequent restimulation with test cells.


Abstract. Since the dawn of time the Moon has held fascination for the earliest humans who saw it as a natural navigational beacon, a heavenly body to be revered and a poetic inspiration. Ancient art features the Moon as a prominent subject from all epochs and genres. The name "lunatic" infers that it drives men insane. Giant tides and rapid recessions of water are all attributed to its gravitational influence. As a young boy I was thrilled by stories of Moon travel like Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" plus TV shows and movies such as "Lost in Space", "Star Trek" and "Dr. Who." The Russian-American "Space Race" focussed on the exciting possibility of man landing on the Moon. I cannot forget the live telecast of the Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon's surface in 1969 when I was 13 years old. Four years later I decided to be a land boundary surveyor trained in precise measurement for land title creation. My curiosity was alerted to the Apollo 11 laser ranging aspect of the project when the US team set up a bank of retro-reflectors for measurements from powerful devices on the Earth in the same way we Earthly surveyors make our daily measurements using such EDM equipment. In this paper I will describe the techniques and equipment utilised during this accurate Moon positioning project. You will also see the Earth observatories still measuring to five sites on the Moon and some ancient admirable attempts to determine this distance.


BACKGROUND
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. It is also the most common STI in adolescents. This highlights a great clinical and public health concern that must be addressed. Parents are typically involved in the clinical decision-making process of vaccine administration to children and adolescents. Therefore, understanding the acceptability of the HPV vaccination as a method to prevent STIs and certain cancers is critical.

PURPOSE
  To present the three primary themes that emerged from the literature: parental attitudes, parental beliefs and parental barrier towards vaccinating children and adolescents with the HPV vaccine.

METHOD
A literature search using Scopus to determine parents' attitudes and beliefs towards vaccinating children and adolescents with the HPV vaccine. The initial search included the key search terms of 'children' and 'HPV vaccine'. The publication year was limited from 2006 to present.

FINDINGS
The three themes greatly influence parents' decisions to vaccinate their children. In the future, more attention needs to be paid to specific subgroups. Future research should include groups that are currently under-represented: fathers, urban populations, low socio-economic status and ethnic minorities.

CONCLUSION
Since nurses worldwide are often sought as healthcare resources by parents in the clinical decision-making process, their understanding of the attitude, beliefs and barriers parents have towards the HPV vaccine is paramount.


The advents of uniform international commercial laws and model laws have seen serious variations in the applications and interpretations of different doctrines. The doctrine of impossibility of performance of a contract has spawned different routes via the connotations and interpretations various legal systems and regimes of laws have given to it. This article will constructively and critically analyse the doctrines of exemption, force majeure and frustration under the CISG, UNIDROIT Principles and English law respectively in order to lay the foundation for further and better appreciation of these doctrines.


Ostrich skin when tanned forms distinctive and exclusive leather which is much sought after in the fashion industry. Promotion and marketing are focused on its distinctive quill pattern, durability and suppleness. The leather commands a high price by comparison with other livestock leather. The industry in southern Africa is currently export focused with the highest number of tanned skins being exported from South Africa principally to Japan. There are currently many debates on the optimum age for slaughter, skin size being dependent on buyer demand. Skins are subjected to strict grading criteria. Many factors need to be considered to maximise skin yield and quality including adequate nutrition, preventing on-farm scarring and bruising during transport, preventing feather pecking and treating birds for parasitic and arthropod infestations. Stringent conditions during the processing of the skins at the abattoirs and tanneries are crucial in preventing damage and subsequent downgrading. Environmental impacts of tanning are crucial and harmful by-products, including trivalent chromium, must be extracted from the effluent. The establishment of a strategy that ensures improvements in both the local ostrich and skin industry, and in the export market is necessary if southern Africa is to become a global player.


Through technological innovation and the rise of digital media platforms, many young adults are afforded the opportunity to spend their lives on the Internet. Not only is a large amount of time spent on the Internet by most people, but young adults are making media sharing-platforms, specifically YouTube, part of their daily lives (Westenberg, 2016, p. 8). YouTube allows content creators to produce videos that not only attract audiences of different ages and geographic location, but, too, create an intimate bond between creator and subscriber, allowing each party to communicate and engage in content related activities through the comments section (Westenberg, 2016, p. 9). This qualitative study examined the comments and experiences of subscribers of a gaming YouTuber with over one million subscribers: GameGrumps. Specifically, this study analyzed the meaning making processes of YouTube subscribers surrounding their relationship with GameGrumps who discloses his personal mental health challenges in YouTube gaming videos. Via in-depth interviews with four GameGrumps subscribers, this study sheds light on how subscribers disclose their own personal mental health experiences on a gaming YouTuber's comments section in order to uncover subscriber intentions and outcomes for self-disclosure and how this may implicate the online relationship between gaming YouTuber and subscriber. Results show disclosing creates positive self-awareness, solidarity in experiences, and a stronger understanding and bond with a YouTube gamer.


This paper presents a short analysis of human-nature relationship among the Bahuban community people of eastern Nepal based on the use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs1). The paper basically describes perceptions and understanding of different categories of people towards NTFPs based on symbolic meaning and use-value of these products in their lives. In addition, the paper also shortly discusses indigenous practices for NTFPs management in the study area. DOI: 10.3126/opsa.v11i0.3034 Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology Vol.11 2009 126-147


The development of Ag-specific IL-4-producing T cells in short term cultures was examined. Freshly harvested lymph node cells from B10.A mice immunized with the cytochrome c fragment 81-104 did not produce detectable amounts of IL-4 upon Ag stimulation. However, after one cycle of bulk in vitro restimulation, the same cells could be stimulated to secrete IL-4. The development of Ag-specific IL-4-producing cells during the in vitro culture could be influenced by different culture conditions. When IL-4 and IL-1, in the presence of anti-IL-2R antibodies, were added to the bulk culture, secondary stimulation of the cells revealed increased levels of IL-4 production and constant or decreased levels of IL-2 production. The addition of IFN-gamma during the bulk culture led to a decrease in IL-4 production, yet had no effect on IL-2 production. When anti-IL-4 antibodies were present during the restimulation culture, no IL-4 was produced in the final stimulation assay. In addition, T cells cultured at high cell density produced more IL-4 in a secondary stimulation than did T cells cultured at low cell density. These results demonstrate that culture conditions during a short term culture of freshly harvested primed T cells may profoundly influence the development of IL-4-producing cells. This may be caused either by selective expansion or inhibition of preexisting IL-4-producing T cells, or by the differentiation of precursors of IL-4-producing cells.


By means of sonography, it is possible to monitor the growth of the kidney from the 20th week of foetal life up to adulthood. Anomalies of number and position, hydronephrosis, cysts, multicystic kidneys and polycystic diseases can be demonstrated. Some specific problems of sonography arising in this field are discussed.


Abstract:Austerity measures are commonly adopted to address economic crises. Such measures have particularly adverse effects for women, but studies have found these consequences to be strategically silenced. I explore the conditions under which the gendered effects of austerity are silenced, and by whom. Drawing on an original dataset of 9,420 newspaper articles (2010–2020) addressing austerity measures introduced in Spain, I find that politicians from left parties critique the labor reforms for negatively affecting women's working conditions, while conservative politicians rarely address the reforms from a gender perspective. The party political difference is conditioned by government–opposition dynamics, and the salience of gender perspectives varies with election cycles. These findings suggest that a gender lens is more likely to be present in the public debate on economic policy-making when it is strategically beneficial for garnering political support.


The results of published research critically depend on methodological decisions that have been made during data analysis. These so-called 'researcher degrees of freedom' (Simmons, Nelson, & Simonsohn, 2011) can affect the results and the conclusions researchers draw from it. It is argued that phonetic research faces a large number of researcher degrees of freedom due to its scientific object—speech—being inherently multidimensional and exhibiting complex interactions between multiple covariates. A Type-I error simulation is presented that demonstrates the severe inflation of false positives when exploring researcher degrees of freedom. It is argued that combined with common cognitive fallacies, exploitation of researcher degrees of freedom introduces strong bias and poses a serious challenge to quantitative phonetics as an empirical science. This paper discusses potential remedies for this problem including adjusting the threshold for significance; drawing a clear line between confirmatory and exploratory analyses via preregistration; open, honest, and transparent practices in communicating data analytical decisions; and direct replications.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationships among specific lymphocyte antigenic reactivities of lupus sera and central nervous system complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), lymphocytotoxic antibody (LCA) positivity, and specific cognitive impairment.

METHODS
Sera from 115 patients with SLE were examined for the presence of IgM- and IgG-class autoantibodies binding to surface target antigens on lymphocytes, by immunoblotting and microdroplet lymphocytotoxicity studies. Seventy-three of these patients also underwent detailed neuropsychological testing within the same time period.

RESULTS
Significant associations were found between reactivities to several lymphocyte antigenic moieties and neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) or cognitive impairment. Specifically, immunoblot reactivities to 31-32-kd, 50-52-kd, 54-56-kd, and 97-98-kd targets were associated with clinical NPSLE; there was a significant association between reactivity to the 50-52-kd moiety in particular and cognitive impairment. There were also associations between LCA and immunoblot reactivity. Furthermore, the previously reported association between LCA positivity and specific visuospatial cognitive impairment was confirmed with data obtained from 2 different batteries of neuropsychological tests.

CONCLUSION
In some cases, specific antigenic targets of LCA-containing sera may be implicated in the pathogenesis of NPSLE:


We derive an analytical expression for the count probability of a single photon detector for a wide range of input optical power that includes afterpulsing effects. We confirm the validity of the expression by fitting it to the data obtained from a saturated commercial Single Photon Detector by illuminating it with a cw laser. Detector efficiency and afterpulsing probability extracted from the fits agree with the manufacture specs for low repetition frequencies.


Handwriting recognition in general and online handwriting recognition in particular has been an active research area for several decades. Most of the research have been focused on English and recently on other scripts like Arabic and Chinese. There is a lack of research on recognition in Turkish text and this work primarily fills that gap with a state-of-the-art recognizer for the first time. It contains design and implementation details of a complete recognition system for recognition of Turkish isolated words. Based on the Hidden Markov Models, the system comprises pre-processing, feature extraction, optical modeling and language modeling modules. It considers the recognition of unconstrained handwriting with a limited vocabulary size first and then evolves to a large vocabulary system. Turkish script has many similarities with other Latin scripts, like English, which makes it possible to adapt strategies that work for them. However, there are some other issues which are particular to Turkish that should be taken into consideration separately. Two of the challenging issues in recognition of Turkish text are determined as delayed strokes which introduce an extra source of variation in the sequence order of the handwritten input and high Out-of-Vocabulary (OOV) rate of Turkish when words are used as vocabulary units in the decoding process. This work examines the problems and alternative solutions at depth and proposes suitable solutions for Turkish script particularly. In delayed stroke handling, first a clear definition of the delayed strokes is developed and then using that definition some alternative handling methods are evaluated extensively on the UNIPEN and Turkish datasets. The best results are obtained by removing all delayed strokes, with up to 2.13% and 2.03% points recognition accuracy increases, over the respective baselines of English and Turkish. The overall system performances are assessed as 86.1% with a 1,000-word lexicon and 83.0% with a 3,500-word lexicon on the UNIPEN dataset and 91.7% on the Turkish dataset. Alternative decoding vocabularies are designed with grammatical sub-lexical units in order to solve the problem of high OOV rate. Additionally, statistical bi-gram and tri-gram language models are applied during the decoding process. The best performance, 67.9% is obtained by the large stem-ending vocabulary that is expanded with a bi-gram model on the Turkish dataset. This result is superior to the accuracy of the word-based vocabulary (63.8%) with the same coverage of 95% on the BOUN Web Corpus.


The Upper Cretaceous nonmarine deposits of the Neuquén Basin have an important regional exposure. These deposits are included in the Neuquén Group, a well-studied unit in both the south and central part of the basin. However, the northernmost exposed between the Laguna del Diamante and the Atuel River-assigned to the Diamante Formation-have not been studied in detail. In the studied area, the Diamante Formation corresponds to a braided fluvial system with moderate sinuosity evolving through time towards an anastomosing fluvial system. Petrographic analyses indicate that sandstones belong to feldspatic litharenites and litharenites, while the source area indicates provenance from both a recycled orogen and a transitional arc. The latter could be linked to the exhumation of the Andean orogen located to the west and to the input from the north-eastern border of the Neuquén Basin, represented by the rocks currently exposed in the San Rafael Block. On a macroscopic scale, the presence of calcareous lithic fragments in the mid and upper part of the surveyed stratigraphic section, strongly suggest an input from the west. This indicates an important change in the polarity of the basin and the presence of a deformation front located to the west of the study area in accordance to previous proposals in equivalent deposits to the south of study area.


This conference presents new advances in the study of planets orbiting other stars, their formation, and evolution, and methods for their detection and characterization using both ground-based and space-borne observations. Participants in the conference are active researchers in this new field, and the content of the conference is at a level appropriate for researchers and graduate students in astronomy or physics. Topics include: statistics of planetary systems; establishing the environment for planet formation; dusty disks and unseen planets; giant planets; terrestrial planets, dynamics and dynamical evolution of planetary systems; and programs and techniques for detection and characterization of extrasolar planets.


Zero-Shot Cross-Modal Retrieval (ZS-CMR) is an emerging research hotspot that aims to retrieve data of new classes across different modality data. It is challenging for not only the heterogeneous distributions across different modalities, but also the inconsistent semantics across seen and unseen classes. A handful of recently proposed methods typically borrow the idea from zero-shot learning, i.e., exploiting word embeddings of class labels (i.e., class-embeddings) as common semantic space, and using generative adversarial network (GAN) to capture the underlying multimodal data structures, as well as strengthen relations between input data and semantic space to generalize across seen and unseen classes. In this paper, we propose a novel method termed Learning Cross-Aligned Latent Embeddings (LCALE) as an alternative to these GAN based methods for ZS-CMR. Unlike using the class-embeddings as the semantic space, our method seeks for a shared low-dimensional latent space of input multimodal features and class-embeddings by modality-specific variational autoencoders. Notably, we align the distributions learned from multimodal input features and from class-embeddings to construct latent embeddings that contain the essential cross-modal correlation associated with unseen classes. Effective cross-reconstruction and cross-alignment criterions are further developed to preserve class-discriminative information in latent space, which benefits the efficiency for retrieval and enable the knowledge transfer to unseen classes. We evaluate our model using four benchmark datasets on image-text retrieval tasks and one large-scale dataset on image-sketch retrieval tasks. The experimental results show that our method establishes the new state-of-the-art performance for both tasks on all datasets.


Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been proposed to study the degradation of virgin olive oils (VOO) in samples undergoing thermoxidation. The polar and nonpolar fractions of oxidized oils have been analyzed by FTIR to provide further information on the minor spectral changes taking place during thermoxidation. This information assists in the interpretation of the spectra of the samples. For this purpose polar and nonpolar fractions of 47 VOO samples thermoxidized (190 °C) in a fryer were analyzed by FTIR. The time-course change of the band area assigned to single cis double bonds was explained by their correlation with the decrease in oleic acid (adjusted-R2=0.93). The bands assigned to the hydroxyl groups and the first overtone of ester groups was better studied in the spectra collected for the polar and nonpolar fractions, respectively. The bands assigned to peroxide, epoxy, tertiary alcohols and fatty acids were clearly observed in the spectra of the polar fraction while they are not noticeable in the spectra of the oils.


Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK Abstract: Pencil-tip injuries, although usually insignificant, have the potential to provoke granulomatous reactions. Other undesirable consequences of such injuries include pigmentation and abscess formation. Despite the rarity of such outcomes, it is important that clinicians are aware of the varying presentations of pencil-tip injury, as this can cause diagnostic uncertainty. Here, we present a case of graphite foreign body granuloma, originally thought to be a blue naevus-like localised argyria. The diagnostic work-up was complicated by the absence of a history of injury with a pencil-tip.


The evolution of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) into more complex forms of organization, with additional layers, larger convolutions and increasing connections, established the state-of-the-art in terms of accuracy errors for detection and classification challenges in images. Moreover, as they evolved to a point where Gigabytes of memory are required for their operation, we have reached a stage where it becomes fundamental to understand how their inference capabilities can be impaired if data elements somehow become corrupted in memory. This paper introduces fault-injection in these systems by simulating failing bit-cells in hardware memories brought on by relaxing the 100% reliable operation assumption. We analyze the behavior of these networks calculating inference under severe fault-injection rates and apply fault mitigation strategies to improve on the CNNs resilience. For the MNIST dataset, we show that 8x less memory is required for the feature maps memory space, and that in sub-100% reliable operation, fault-injection rates up to 10−1 (with most significant bit protection) can withstand only a 1% error probability degradation. Furthermore, considering the offload of the feature maps memory to an embedded dynamic RAM (eDRAM) system, using technology nodes from 65 down to 28 nm, up to 73∼80% improved power efficiency can be obtained.


This study was focused to highlight the problems that comes with being a minority on a workplace, in this case female sports journalist who are working in a male dominated sports field. The objective was to find out how the female sports journalist was experiencing working in such a domain, with focus on journalists who works on local news papers. The study also wanted to look on how these workplaces incorporated gender in their daily work. In combination with gender theory, with concepts as masculine hegemony and power structures, I also choose to apply the american researcher Rosabeth M Kanters concept "token". With these aspects in mind I analyzed the five interviews that I carried out with female sports journalist with a qualitative data analysis. The results of the study showed that the female sports journalist in some aspects were aware of the difficulties of being a woman in a male dominated area – when they were talking about the profession at large. But on the other hand they were not as aware when it came to their own situation. Even though the gender problems that comes with being a woman in a patriarchal society, in combination with the minority-issue, the respondents did not express their situation in terms of problem, even though their stories of interview situations for example showed the opposite. In conclusion, the study showed that even though the respondents really enjoyed their work, even though it was not always easy to cope with. But since their own interest in sports and the profession lead them there in the first place, the obstacles created in society like the minority role they were in or the fact that they are women in a patriarchal society, they kept working in the profession despite the resistance.


Due to the unprecedented circumstances of the last two and a half years, the organizations are facing unprecedented challenges. After the official recommendations for work from home and the re-entry of employees to the office environment – many other questions arise. First, are the employees satisfied that they are back in the office? Is working from home possible? What are the results of the employees' monitored working time from home? These and many other issues are a major focus of employers in the field of consulting services. The current article aims to explore the concept of self-efficacy and its follow-up based on management control systems. This study is theoretical. Methods of induction and deduction, including analysis and synthesis, are at the article's core. The results show that well-established management control systems in organizations with consulting services can use the home office as a motivational tool.


In the process of developing nuclear energy, removing radioactive waste in the environment is a challenging problem that human beings have to face. The main work of this paper is to investigate the mechanism of the interaction between metallic radionuclides (Cs, Sr, and Ba) and a monolayer MoS2 nanosheet, and the work is completed by using the first principles calculation method. The results show that all of the three kinds of metallic radionuclides can be chemisorbed on the monolayer MoS2 nanosheet. The optimum adsorption site for the metallic radionuclides adsorbed on the monolayer MoS2 is TMo (top of the Mo atom), because the metallic radionuclides can interact with the three nearest S atoms when the metallic radionuclides are at the TMo site. The chemisorption strength of the metallic radionuclides on the monolayer MoS2 is Ba > Sr > Cs. The mechanism of the chemisorption is explored by using the total charge transfer, density of states, and electron density difference. The final analysis shows that the s orbital of S atoms plays an important role in the chemisorption.


In this thesis we evaluate different types of GIS data as well as their use cases in the context of the generation of 3D environments. We explore what kinds of GIS data are suited towards 3D graphics generation, how each type is typically represented and different use cases for each.Subsequently, a software prototype is implemented inside an existing codebase, in the form of a tool for a 3D editor that uses GIS data files to produce textured terrain as well as synthetically reproduced roads. A novel technique for detecting and extracting roads from LiDAR data is introduced, and used to generate roads in the form of 3D meshes. The road extraction technique is based on shape analysis of LiDAR-backed road cross-sections.The program creates satisfactory terrain, but the texturing is observably awed as a consequence of the choice of source data. The road extraction typically works well, allowing for a visually pleasing and correct reproduction of roads. However, the technique is weak in handling edge cases due to the opimization problem of minimizing both false negatives and false positives.The prototype clearly demonstrates the merits of using GIS data for the purpose of generating 3D environments, and the lessons learned are valuable to similar endeavors.


A seven-year-old boy presented with a right-side mandibular luxation resulting from an acute unilateral dystonia of the masticatory muscles. Repositioning took place under a general anaesthetic. The luxation recurred the same day. Once again the jaw was repositioned under a general anaesthetic. In view of the rarity of jaw dislocation in someone so young it was assumed that it could have been caused by a dystonia possibly resulting from the patient's medication. The patient was known to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To treat the condition, the patient's psychiatrist had prescribed 1 mg risperidone daily for one year and 10 mg methylphenidate daily for two years. Following the discussion with the psychiatrist, the patient was taken off both of these drugs and instead was prescribed oxazepam. So far the luxation has not recurred.


Integrating complementary therapies (acupuncture) into conventional medicine has garnered recent support. Given the health benefits, low cost, and minimal risks, the military has advocated for acupuncture and begun training family medicine physicians. Little is known about the role of physician communication in patients' acupuncture engagement (uptake and adherence) in conventional medicine settings. We interviewed physicians (N = 15) and patients (N = 17) to capture physician communication they perceived affected treatment engagement. Data for each group were thematically analyzed. Physicians and patients prioritized different communication approaches and associated strategies. Physicians identified four approaches that enhance treatment engagement: (1) using shared decision-making (e.g., treatment options); (2) not being pushy (e.g., in tone); (3) carefully choosing language (e.g., Eastern versus Western terms); and (4) explaining treatment outcomes (e.g., efficacy). Patients also prioritized explaining treatment outcomes but differently (e.g., timing clarity), with two additional approaches: (5) talking with the same physician (e.g., continuity) and (6) being responsive to patient (e.g., flexibility). Findings highlight how physicians and patients prioritize patient-centered communication differently and how it is embedded within a unique, complex therapy. Data showcase authentic narratives that could be translated into physician communication skills training to promote treatment engagement in integrative care.


This study focuses on the relationship between group lending methodology virtues and customer dropouts in MFIs. The relationship between group dynamics, loan terms & conditions, clients' socio-economic profiles and client dropouts is important in highlighting how the methodology used by an MFI can influence the level of customer dropouts and retention which are key factors in attaining an acceptable level of self sustainability and outreach of the MFI. The relationship between the study variables also guides policy makers on how to develop and manage the products and policies/procedures of microfinance institutions. A conceptual model developed from literature review was used as a guide on assessing the relationship between the study variables. Using a designed questionnaire, data was collected from one hundred fifty sampled MFI clients and analyzed using SPSS, from which zero-order correlations were used to summarize the results of the research questions. The finding showed strong positive relationships between the study variables implying that the virtues of group lending methodology affect the dropout levels in microfinance institutions. Therefore increased outreach and sustainability of MFIs would be attained with improvements in loan terms and conditions, group dynamics and client socioeconomic profiles as these would result into reduced client exits, which are positively correlated with the growth and sustainability of MFIs.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the defining characteristics of the extreme luxury fashion business model (ELFBM) and the relationship between this business model and the process of firm internationalization. The paper examines the potentially positive outcomes of differences and distances in the internationalization process of extreme luxury fashion companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents and discusses the data collected during a five-year case analysis of an Italian luxury company. The main characteristics of the business model are identified in terms of products, manufacturing and sourcing, distribution channels, marketing communications and overall characteristics of consumers. The internationalization process is described, with a focus on the Russian market as an emblematic case, highlighting the role of distances – geographic, psychic and cultural – and liabilities, namely foreignness and outsidership in the international expansion of the firm.

Findings

The findings of this paper highlight the main features and specific traits of the ELFBM characterized by a global and unique approach to the offer. This business model has in its origin the demand from certain foreign markets, and the elements of the country of origin of the firms coexist and are enhanced by the presence of specific characteristics of the destination countries in terms of niche consumers with economic and cultural characteristics and a strong perception of "Made in" and luxury goods.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to previous studies on the relationships between business models and internationalization. It provides a framework for the "ELFBM," in which internationalization is a constitutive element of a specific business model rather than a strategy for a business model already defined. Examining the positive side of differences and distances in the internationalization process of firms adopting such business model, the paper contributes to the international business theory and practice. It also expands research on luxury fashion defining an international company which is under-investigated, the extreme luxury fashion company, and the elements that constitute its business model.


Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is rigorously regulated by various powerful mechanisms to safeguard the match between cerebral metabolic demand and supply. The question of how a change in cardiac output (CO) affects CBF is fundamental, because CBF is dependent on constantly receiving a significant proportion of CO. The authors reviewed the studies that investigated the association between CO and CBF in healthy volunteers and patients with chronic heart failure. The overall evidence shows that an alteration in CO, either acutely or chronically, leads to a change in CBF that is independent of other CBF-regulating parameters including blood pressure and carbon dioxide. However, studies on the association between CO and CBF in patients with varying neurologic, medical, and surgical conditions were confounded by methodologic limitations. Given that CBF regulation is multifactorial but the various processes must exert their effects on the cerebral circulation simultaneously, the authors propose a conceptual framework that integrates the various CBF-regulating processes at the level of cerebral arteries/arterioles while still maintaining autoregulation. The clinical implications pertinent to the effect of CO on CBF are discussed. Outcome research relating to the management of CO and CBF in high-risk patients or during high-risk surgeries is needed.


PURPOSE
To perform a descriptive analysis of the effects on ocular blood flow of transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) for occult subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVMs) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

METHODS
Eleven subjects with occult subfoveal CNVM due to AMD were assessed in a masked fashion by color Doppler imaging (CDI) within 24 hours before, 24 hours after, and 1 month after undergoing TTT.

RESULTS
In the posterior ciliary arteries (PCAs), there were no statistically significant changes observed in the peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), or resistive index (RI) at 24 hours. At 1 month, the mean EDV decreased 36% (P = 0.0105) and the mean RI increased 3.8% (P = 0.0305) in the nasal PCA. Although there was a similar trend in the temporal PCA, the differences did not reach statistical significance. In the central retinal artery (CRA), the mean PSV decreased 16% (P = 0.0137), and the mean EDV decreased 21% (P = 0.0222) at 24 hours after treatment. There were no statistically significant differences in the CRA blood flow indices at 1 month after treatment. In the ophthalmic artery, there were no statistically significant differences observed in the mean PSV, EDV, or RI at 24 hours or 1 month after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
TTT is associated with transiently decreased volumetric blood flow in the retinal circulation 24 hours after treatment. In the posterior ciliary arteries that supply the choroid, there were no changes observed at 24 hours, but at 1 month, there was a decrease in the mean EDV and an increase in the RI in the nasal and temporal PCAs, reaching statistical significance in the nasal PCA only. This study suggests that TTT could lead to alterations in choroidal blood flow, as assessed by CDI. Further study is warranted.


Objectives Anti-osteoporotic drugs (AOD) are essential for secondary prevention of osteoporotic fracture (OF) in patients with established osteoporosis. However, data about AOD utilization rates are scarce among patients with OF. This study was therefore aimed at determining the AOD utilization rates among those particularly vulnerable patients. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study followed the medical records of patients with OF starting from their first OF diagnosis date. Each patient's preventive osteoporosis treatments (vitamin D, calcium+vitamin D) and AOD utilization rate were recorded for a 12-month period following OF diagnosis. Results A total of 210 patients (168 females, mean age: 67.8±11.9 years; 42 males, mean age 62.4±16.1 years) were enrolled in the study. Of these, 65.7% (n=138) did not use any medication for primary protection against osteoporosis before OF diagnosis. The ratio of patients not using any type of medication for secondary prevention after OF increased from 26.5% to 51% during a 12-month period. In addition, by one year following diagnosis, AOD usage rate had decreased from 62.3% to 41.3%. Conclusion The AOD usage rates for secondary prevention of OF were insufficient, and cessation rates were high. Identification of factors associated with decreased AOD utility rates will provide important information for guiding patient follow-up in order to reduce the occurrence of OF.


Chapter 1 Cyclobutanediyl has been studied in both its singlet and triplet states by ab initio
electronic structure theory. The triplet, which is the ground state of the molecule, exists in
both C_(2h) and C_(2v) forms, which interconvert via a C_s transition state. For the singlet, only
a C_(2h) form is found. It passes, via a C_s transition state, onto the C_(2v) surface on which
bicyclobutane is the only minimum. The ring-flipping (inversion) process in
bicyclobutane includes the singlet biradical as an intermediate, and involves a novel, nonleast
motion pathway. Semiclassical periodic orbit theory indicates that the various
minima on both the singlet and triplet surfaces can interconvert via quantum mechanical
tunneling. Chapter 2 The dimethylenepolycyclobutadienes (n) are the non-Kekule analogues of the
classical acenes. Application of a variety of theoretical methods reveals several novel
features of such structures. Most interesting is the emergence of a parity rule. When n is
even, n is predicted to be a singlet, with n disjoint NBMOs. When n is odd, theory
predicts a triplet ground state with (n+1) NBMOs that are not fully disjoint. Chapter 3 Bi(cyclobutadienyl) (2), the cyclobutadiene analogue of biphenyl, and its
homologues tri- (3) and tetra(cyclobutadienyl) (4) have been studied using electronic
structure theory. Ab initio calculations on 2 reveal that the central bond is a true double
bond, and that the structure is best thought of as two allyl radicals plus an ethylene. The
singlet and triplet states are essentially degenerate. Trimer 3 is two allyls plus a
dimethylenecyclobutanediyl, while 4 is two coplanar bi(cyclobutadienyl) units connected
by a single bond. For both 3 and 4, the quintet, triplet, and singlet states are essentially
degenerate, indicating that they are tetraradicals. The infinite polymer,
polycyclobutadiene, has been studied by HMO, EHCO, and VEH methods. Several
geometries based on the structures of 3 and 4 have been studied, and the band structures
are quite intriguing. A novel crossing between the valence and conduction bands
produces a small band gap and a high density of states at the Fermi level. Chapter 4 At the level of Huckel theory, polyfulvene has a HOCO-LUCO degeneracy much
like that seen in polyacetylene. Higher levels of theory remove the degeneracy, but the
band gap (E_g) is predicted to be significantly smaller than analogous structures such as
polythiophene and polypyrrole at the fulvenoid geometry. An alternative geometry, which
we have termed quinoid, is also conceivable for polyfulvene, and it is predicted to have a
much larger E_g. The effects of benzannelation to produce analogues of
polyisothianaphthene have been evaluated. We propose a new model for such structures
based on conventional orbital mixing arguments. Several of the proposed structures have
quite interesting properties, which suggest that they are excellent candidates for
conducting polymers. Chapter 5 Theoretical studies of polydimethylenecyclobutene and polydiisopropylidene-
cyclobutene reveal that, because of steric crowding, they cannot achieve a planar, fully
conjugated structure in either their undoped or doped states. Rather, the structure consists
of essentially orthogonal hexatriene units. Such a structure is incompatible with
conventional conduction mechanisms involving polarons and bipolarons.


Fast reconstruction of defects geometry is one of the main goal of Eddy Current Non-destructive testing. The information about the type of defects, their shapes, orientations and geometrical characteristics is of great importance in evaluating the impact of defects on structures' integrity and operation safety. From one point of view, the knowledge of the defect shape could give important information about the manufacturing, the use or the cause that have stressed the specimen and generated the defect, and from the other point of view the reconstruction of geometrical parameters of defect could be made easier if the shape of the defect is known. Although many inverse procedures have been developed for Eddy Current Testing, usually high-computational time and resources are requested, hampering the application of 3D reconstruction methods in on-line or in-situ inspections. In this paper a fast 2D defect profile reconstruction technique is presented based on image processing. The main idea of the proposed method is that images obtained from the maps of magnetic field on specimen with flaws, express a trend attributable to a class of known functions. In particular, the shape of the obtained image depends on both the type of defect that the type of measurement probe adopted. Then using a suitable reference image related to the response of the probe as a digital filter to process the acquired image through deconvolution or correlation operations, the shape of the flaw that has generated the image can be retrieved.


Toxicology: a multidisciplinary approach for improving health and environmental safety Toxicology provides the scientific bases to understand and evaluate risks. Complementary physical, chemical and biological data have to be gathered to establish that transversal analysis which helps to elaborate the appropriate technical and legal measures for protecting public health and environment. Thus, risk awareness, public confidence or fear largely depend on the toxicologist expertise. By helping to determine the risk/benefit ratio of new technologies, toxicology has also become a growing challenge for economy and competitiveness. If the renewed interest for toxicology is a reason for feeling satisfied, we nevertheless have to keep in mind that this is its ability to cross other scientific fields which makes its strength and interest. Thus, multidisciplinarity represents a real asset for its future.


&NA; Progressive scarring is ubiquitous postoperatively and in an array of chronic systemic diseases. Recent studies indicate that such scarring has a high female propensity; females are also almost exclusively affected by endometriosis, a common sex steroid‐dependent fibrotic disease. Endometriosis‐related fibrosis is regulated epigenetically through transcription factor Krüppel‐like factor 11 (KLF11). In response to surgical induction of endometriosis, Klf11‐/‐ female mice develop significant fibrosis in contrast to wild‐type mice. We therefore hypothesized that female fibrotic predilection was mediated by differential sex steroid regulation of KLF11/collagen 1a1 signaling and investigated the fibrotic response in wild‐type and Klf11‐/‐ male and female animals using a sterile peritonitis model. Fibrosis selectively developed in Klf11‐/‐ females. Fibrosis in these animals was almost completely abrogated by ovariectomy. Ovariectomized animals were selectively supplemented with estradiol, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), or dihydrotestosterone; fibrosis was only observed in mice exposed to MPA. Fibrosis therefore selectively developed in Klf11‐/‐ female mice in response to physiological or pharmacological progesterone. The fibrotic response in these animals was also mitigated in response to antiprogestin therapy. Profibrotic gene expression was activated in a primary human peritoneal cell line in response to KLF11 short hairpin RNA and MPA but not estradiol. KLF11/collagen 1a1 signaling previously shown to be linked to fibrosis was thus selectively dysregulated in MPA‐treated cells. Our in vivo and in vitro findings in an animal model and human cells, respectively, suggest that progressive fibrotic scarring is a sexually dimorphic response irrespective of etiology; moreover, it is responsive to novel, individualized therapeutic intervention.


In the wake of the current global financial crisis, experts and analysts agreed that the initial effects on African financial sectors will be minimal because of the limited exposure to the international financial markets. However, African countries are more integrated than before with the world economy through the following transmission channels: international trade, foreign direct and portfolio investments, foreign aid flows, private remittances, and tourism; and since they are predominantly primary commodity exporters, their economies will be negatively affected by the current recession in many developed countries due to the sharp decline in world demand for commodities and in their prices. This paper takes the view that African countries are more susceptible to external shocks than other developing regions of the world because of their flawed macroeconomic fundamentals, but more importantly, the transmission channels emphasize the extent of the region"s vulnerabilities. JEL Classification Numbers: E52, E59, F31, F32, F34, F35, G20, O55


The so-called "metaphyseal channel" and "serpiginous tract" signs are described in detail, emphasizing their value in the roentgen diagnosis and differential diagnosis of some bone lesions. The authors present two cases of osteomyelitis, one of the chronic type and the other subacute in two adult patients, to illustrate the value of the above radiologic signs. These have been previously described in the long bones of infants and children only. The serpiginous tract sign is reported, for the first time, in a flat bone.


The main aim of the paper is analysis of production and economic results of sugar beets, cow milk and live cattle in 2014 for farms having different production scale of these products. Research was held at commercial farms, which have greater development opportunities. The results of the researched products were affected by the production potential of farms, i.e. resources of land, labour and capital, their quality and manner of use, but they were also dependent on the external conditions of operation, e.g. weather or market conditions. This impact resulted in different level of changes in production volume, unit costs and implementation prices of respective products. A consequence of differences in selected production scale sections, production and price results and incurred costs was differentiation of profitability of production, understood as a difference between the production value and costs corresponding thereto and as a quotient of production value and costs in percentages. The research showed that benefits following from a growth in production scale are clear. Greater production volume allows for generation of higher income and due to a higher level of specialisation and mechanisation of conducted works it is connected with much lower labour inputs. This results in higher labour productivity. Thus, one might expect coverage of alternative costs of land and capital.


This experiment was focused on the characterization of anti-Toxoplasma monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and the effect of mAbs on the parasite invasion of mouse peritoneal macrophages. Twenty eight mAbs including M110, M556, R7A6 and M621 were characterized by Ab titer, immunoglobulin isotyping and western blot pattern. Antibody titer (optical density) of 4 mAbs, M110, M556, R7A6 and M621, were 0.53, 0.67, 0.45 and 0.39 (normal mouse serum; 0.19) with the same IgG1 isotypes shown by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blot analysis showed that M110, M556, R7A6 and M621 reacted with the 33 kDa (p30), 31 kDa (p28), 43 kDa and 36 kDa protein. Immunogold labelling of mAbs M110, M556, R7A6 and M621 reacted with the surface membrane, dense granules and parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM), rhoptries and cytoplasm of tachyzoite, respectively. For in vitro assay, preincubation of tachyzoites with four mAbs, M110, M556, R7A6 and M621 resulted in the decrease of the number of infected macrophages (p < 0.05) and the suppression of parasite multiplication at 18 h postinfection. Four monoclonal antibodies including M110 (SAG1) were found to have an important role in the inhibition of macrophage invasion and T. gondii multiplication in vitro, and these mAbs may be suitable for vaccine candidates, diagnostic kit and for chemotherapy.


Blood transfusion is an important mode of transmission of infections to the recipient. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections and the possible risk factors among blood donors. During the study period (1994-99) donor samples were screened for HBsAg, HIV, HCV and Syphilis. The relevant donor history was examined to identify the risk factors leading to transfusion transmissible infections. The prevalence of infection was 3.1% among donors, with HBsAg constituting 1.3%, HCV 1.4%, HIV 0.2% and RPR 0.2%. In a classification based on occupation, class III donors (drivers, Businessmen & men in uniform) showed a significantly higher incidence of transfusion transmissible infections for HIV (0.38%) and Syphilis (0.36%). Health care workers constituted only a small fraction of the study; prevalence of infections was low among them. History of jaundice or hospitalization was not associated with higher incidence of seropositivity. Seropositivity for HIV is relatively low compared to similar studies conducted in other regions of the country. This finding is attributed to the pre donation counseling in donor selection. An important outcome of the study is that Class III donors form a high-risk group for transfusion transmissible infections.


The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) provides protection for persons with disabilities in employment, public services, and certain public accommodations. It may also require employers and health insurers to provide coverage for various treatments and procedures associated with certain disabilities. The following article provides employers and health insurers with useful information surrounding the pitfalls and complexities of the ADA as it relates to health insurance coverage.


Multi-speaker speech synthesis is a technique for modeling multiple speakers' voices with a single model. Although many approaches using deep neural networks (DNNs) have been proposed, DNNs are prone to overfitting when the amount of training data is limited. We propose a framework for multi-speaker speech synthesis using deep Gaussian processes (DGPs); a DGP is a deep architecture of Bayesian kernel regressions and thus robust to overfitting. In this framework, speaker information is fed to duration/acoustic models using speaker codes. We also examine the use of deep Gaussian process latent variable models (DGPLVMs). In this approach, the representation of each speaker is learned simultaneously with other model parameters, and therefore the similarity or dissimilarity of speakers is considered efficiently. We experimentally evaluated two situations to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. In one situation, the amount of data from each speaker is balanced (speaker-balanced), and in the other, the data from certain speakers are limited (speaker-imbalanced). Subjective and objective evaluation results showed that both the DGP and DGPLVM synthesize multi-speaker speech more effective than a DNN in the speaker-balanced situation. We also found that the DGPLVM outperforms the DGP significantly in the speaker-imbalanced situation.


Abstract. Adaptive optics (AO) systems deliver high-resolution images that may be ideal for precisely measuring positions of stars (i.e., astrometry) if the system has stable and well-calibrated geometric optical distortions. A calibration unit equipped with a back-illuminated pinhole mask can be utilized to measure instrumental optical distortions. AO systems on the largest ground-based telescopes, such as the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), require pinhole positions known to be ∼20  nm to achieve an astrometric precision of 0.001 of a resolution element. In pursuit of that goal, we characterize a photolithographic pinhole mask and explore the systematic errors that result from different experimental setups. We characterized the nonlinear geometric distortion of a simple imaging system using the mask, and we measured 857-nm root mean square of optical distortion with a final residual of 39 nm (equivalent to 20  μ for TMT). We use a sixth-order bivariate Legendre polynomial to model the optical distortion and allow the reference positions of the individual pinholes to vary. The nonlinear deviations in the pinhole pattern with respect to the manufacturing design of a square pattern are 47.2 nm ± 4.5 nm (random) ± 10.8 nm (systematic) over an area of 1788  mm2. These deviations reflect the additional error induced when assuming that the pinhole mask is manufactured perfectly square. We also find that ordered mask distortions are significantly more difficult to characterize than random mask distortions as the ordered distortions can alias into optical camera distortion. Future design simulations for astrometric calibration units should include ordered mask distortions. We conclude that photolithographic pinhole masks are >10 times better than the pinhole masks deployed in first-generation AO systems and are sufficient to meet the distortion calibration requirements for the upcoming 30-m-class telescopes.


Upon completion, this paper will utilize numerical modelling techniques to estimate the MetOcean conditions at sites with potential for tidal energy development. Understanding and incorporating these MetOcean site characteristics into the initial stages of a feasibility study, will increase the accuracy of economic viability predictions. A more comprehensive approach will assist in building investor confidence, as the previously overlooked or unknown lifetime costs can be estimated and included in the choice of ultimate deployment location. Freely available astronomic, bathymetric and meteorological data was input into a Delft3D-FM simulation of the Bay of Fundy. Spatially and temporally varying estimates of tidal height, flow velocity and significant wave height were output, and will be validated against several sets of tide gauge, flowmeter and wave buoy data respectively. Initial results suggest areas of highest resource are the most profitable, but sheltered areas with lower flow speeds are also highly economically viable. For an emerging technology sector with relatively limited amounts of operational experience, it is these areas of "low-hanging fruit" that should be targeted by tidal energy developers.


Deciphering the palimpsest structure of a city is an effective means of discovering the processes that underlie its physical character. Aleppo in the south-eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, was built incrementally following principles that endured over a long period. Its stone-based building technology has produced such permanent urban forms that its urban landscape is a palimpsest of an urban development from an initially spontaneous settlement, adapted to regional, and later, imperial urban standards (Hellenistic and Roman-Byzantine) and finally becoming part of a local dialectical process that led the city to develop an individual urban form from Umayyad times onwards. In Aleppo, it is impossible to understand the structure of the urban fabric of the medieval Islamic and Ottoman city without taking into account the role played by the substratum of the Hellenistic-Roman- Byzantine city in its conformation.


We present an investigation of Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) through detailed ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional electrons are simulated with realistically evaluated scattering rates. Transport of the excited electrons is accurately modelled including the reflections from well–barrier interfaces. The details incorporated into the simulator clarified some important phenomena, as well as verifying the previous predictions. Under large bias, well accumulation occurs non-uniformly, being highest near the emitter. Contrary to previous assumptions, the L valley is found to be the origin of a significant portion of the captured electrons even under typical bias voltages. Γ–L transfer, while decreasing carrier mobility, also increases capture probability and decreases the electron lifetime, having a twofold effect on device gain. The above findings explain the large difference between the gains of AlxGa1−xAs/GaAs (with x ∼ 0.3) and InP/In0.53Ga0.47As (or GaAs/InxGa1−xAs) QWIPs, as well as the bias dependence of gain. The average barrier electron velocity is close to the saturated electron velocity in bulk Al0.3Ga0.7As under moderate and large bias; however, low-field mobility is significantly lower than that in bulk material. While complementing previous work, our results offer a deeper understanding of some important QWIP characteristics by resolving the details of transport and electron dynamics in the device.


Phagocytosis is thought to be the most important internalization pathway for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with a length of 1 μm or more and thus for SWCNT related toxicity. In this paper we therefore focused on the effect of SWCNT exposure on cytotoxicity, cell cycle, gene expression and cytokine release in the non-phagocytic A549 lung epithelial cell line and phagocytic human monocyte derived THP-1 and mouse J774 macrophages. The J774 cell line was found to be the most efficient at taking up SWCNTs and its phagocytic ability was 4 times higher than for THP-1. The effect of SWCNT exposure on the different cell lines significantly increased with their ability to take up SWCNTs (J774 > THP-1 > A549). In contrast to A549 and THP-1, exposure to 10 μg mL−1 SWCNTs affected all the investigated parameters in J774 and led to, e.g., changed cell morphology, reduced cell viability, induction of necrosis, reduced phagocytic ability, increased ROS levels, induction of regulation of gene expression and cytokine release. In contrast, apoptosis was not induced. Our results strongly suggest that the toxic effects of SWCNTs are linked to the phagocytic activity of cells and suggest that there might be a difference in how human and mouse macrophages react to SWCNT exposure.


We show how Feynman amplitudes of standard QFT on flat and homogeneous space can naturally be recast as the evaluation of observables for a specific spin foam model, which provides dynamics for the background geometry. We identify the symmetries of this Feynman graph spin foam model and give the gauge-fixing prescriptions. We also show that the gauge-fixed partition function is invariant under Pachner moves of the triangulation, and thus defines an invariant of four-dimensional manifolds. Finally, we investigate the algebraic structure of the model, and discuss its relation with a quantization of 4d gravity in the limit GN → 0.


The transitional justice (TJ) field has gone through phases in which the role of actors and their environments – or structure and agency, more broadly viewed – have been alternatively emphasised. This article privileges agency as the focal point of analysis. The main task is to conceptualise ways in which actors promote, or obstruct, transitional justice. Taking time and context into consideration, we construct a multi-level framework to explore how domestic and international actors operate within local, national and transnational environments. We focus on how diverse actors employ their various capabilities and are affected by values as well as interests when advancing their TJ preferences. Actors simultaneously shape and are shaped by the multi-level environments in which they operate. The framework presented here is designed to enhance knowledge about TJ outcomes. The working assumption is that the type of actors that promote (or obstruct) TJ will significantly influence the type of TJ initiatives adopted and also shape their impact.


The purpose of sentiment classification is to determine whether a particular document has a positive or negative nuance. Sentiment classification is extensively used in many business domains to improve products or services by understanding the opinions of customers regarding these products. Deep learning achieves state-of-the-art results in various challenging domains. With the success of deep learning, many studies have proposed deep-learning-based sentiment classification models and achieved better performances compared with conventional machine learning models. However, one practical issue occurring in deep-learning-based sentiment classification is that the best model structure depends on the characteristics of the dataset on which the deep learning model is trained; moreover, it is manually determined based on the domain knowledge of an expert or selected from a grid search of possible candidates. Herein, we present a comparative study of different deep-learning-based sentiment classification model structures to derive meaningful implications for building sentiment classification models. Specifically, eight deep-learning models, three based on convolutional neural networks and five based on recurrent neural networks, with two types of input structures, i.e., word level and character level, are compared for 13 review datasets, and the classification performances are discussed under different perspectives.


The investigation of renal pathophysiology and toxicology has traditionally been advanced by the development of increasingly defined and refined in vitro preparations. This study has sought to develop and evaluate various methods of producing pure samples of renal proximal tubules (PTs) from the Fischer rat. The introduction summarised the most common in vitro preparations together with the parameters used to monitor viability - particularly with regard to toxic events. The most prevalent isolation methods have involved the use of collagenase to produce dissociation of the cortex. However, the present study has shown that even the mildest collagenase treatment caused significant structural damage which resulted in a longevity of only 3hr in suspension. An alternative mechanical isolation technique has been developed in this study that consists of perfusion loading the renal glomeruli with Fe304 followed by disruption of the cortex by homogenisation and sequential sieving. The glomeruli are removed magnetically and the PTs then harvested by a 64μM sieve. PTs isolated in this way showed a vastly superior structural preservation over their collagenase isolated counterparts; also oxygen consumption and enzyme leakage measurements showed a longevity in excess of 6hr when incubated in a very basic medium. Attempts were then made to measure the cytosolic calcium levels in both mechanical and collagenase isolated PTs using the fluorescent calcium indicator Fura. However results were inconclusive due to significant binding of the Fura to the external PT surfaces. In conclusion, PTs prepared by the present mechanical isolation technique exhibit superior preservation and longevity compared with even the mildest collagenase isolation technique and hence appear to offer potential advantages over collagenase isolation as an in vitro renal system.