Abstract Objectives. This Anna Monika Award Lecture updates the role of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in the pathogenesis and treatment of psychotic major depression (PMD). Methods. Published reports from our group and others on the clinical phenomenology (including cognition), HPA axis activity, and genetics of PMD are reviewed as are published trials of the GR antagonist, mifepristone. Results. Current prevalence of PMD is 0.4%. PMD patients demonstrate significant elevations in HPA activity (e.g., particularly high rates of dexamethasone non-suppression, high post-dexamethasone cortisol, etc.) as well as significant impairment in cognition (attention, executive function/response inhibition and verbal and visual memory). High cortisol levels correlate with a number of cognitive deficits (e.g., verbal memory). Allelic variants of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene contribute significantly to both cortisol levels and to measures of psychosis; corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 variants contribute to measures of depression and psychosis. GR antagonists have produced rapid improvement in psychotic symptoms, although failed trials indicate a therapeutic blood level that may require a dose of 1,200 mg/day that is much higher than the commonly tested 600 mg/day. Conclusions. HPA axis over-activity appears to play a major role in the pathogenesis of PMD and is a target of drug development.


The study determined the environmental impact on the Cagayan de Oro River of the environmental projects as assessed by the 17 river barangay communities of Cagayan de Oro City, the local officials of the government, the Local Government Units (LGUs) and the various agencies of the government. The projects assessed were dredging, aqua-culture, tree planting, and clean – up drive. These projects obtained very satisfactory assessment. This assessment indicates the projects' positive environmental impact on the Cagayan de Oro River. Ensuring the full implementation and success of the projects is the active involvement of the river barangays. The participation of the various institutions in the different environmental projects clearly shows that Cagayan de Oro City has on its top agenda the preservation and protection of the Cagayan de Oro River. Vital to the sustainability of the projects are networking and people empowerment. Keywords - Community assessment, river rehabilitation, environmental impact


A craniocervical arterial dissection usually results from a tear in the intimal arterial layer. This tear allows the formation of a false lumen containing a clot, which can lead to thromboembolic complications (stroke). If the dissection is subintimal, stenosis of the artery is the likely end result. If it is subadventitial, the result is a "pseudo-aneurysm" (Figure 1).


When a stock market crash is defined as the period from an index's prior peak until its recovery, crashes demonstrate empirical regularities in their scale and timing. For instance, measures of the duration, maximum decline, and lost value of crashes are very highly correlated. These correlations suggest that crashes belong to well-defined categories based on their size and become increasingly predictable as they progress. Accordingly, I advance four stock market crash categories, which are logarithmic in size. Crashes then range from small scale market disturbances like 'flash crashes' in Category 1 to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, America's sole Category 4. Furthermore, I find that U.S. stock markets are bimodal, switching between crashes and booms, and that this switching is regular. Specifically, I find that either a Category 2 or 3 crash occurs every four years, with a variance of just two years. Moreover, by definition, growth during a crash is close to zero. During boom periods, however, the average annual growth rate is 21.5%. Together, these results suggest a new foundation for examining patterns of returns and other characteristics of stock markets.


UNLABELLED
 Background and aim. Leukocyte antigen DQ (HLA-DQ) and interferon-λ4 (IFNL4) gene polymorphisms were associated with susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection. This study further confirmed that variants of these genes were associated with susceptibility and spontaneous clearance of HBV infection in a Chinese population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 1,069 subjects were recruited and divided into three groups i.e. 397 with CLD (HBV-related chronic liver disease), 434 with SC (spontaneous clearance), and 238 HC (healthy controls). HLA-DQrs9275319 and IFNL4rs368234815, rs12971396, rs12979860, and rs8099917SNPs were genotyped using the Sequenom MassARRAY MALDI-TOF system.

RESULTS
HLA-DQ rs9275319 showed a significant association with HBV infection (allele model, OR, 0.514; 95% CI, 0.359-0.738, adjusted p = 0.0003) and with natural clearance (allele model, OR, 1.659; 95% CI, 1.197-2.300, adjusted. However, there was no association between IFNL4 polymorphism and HBV susceptibility or natural clearance (all p > 0.05). The multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) test with permutation correction showed that a three-way interaction between IFNL4 and HLA-DQ SNPs was identified for HBV susceptibility (permutation p = 0.009 for the best factor model) and clearance (permutation p = 0.014 for the best factor model).

CONCLUSIONS
The data from the current study provided additional evidence for an SNP-SNP interaction between HLA-DQ and IFNL4 in regulation to HBV infection and natural clearance.


In this paper, an analysis of foreign direct investment in terms of regional differences was conducted. The analysis covered the period 2005-2013. The analysis shows that the distribution of investors in Poland is varied regionally. Regions particularly attractive for foreign investors were Mazovia, Silesia, Lower Silesia and Greater Poland. In contrast, Lublin Province, Podlasie Province, Warmia-Masuria Province are regions where foreign investors are the least.


Macrophages have been shown to bind pathogenic microorganisms in the absence of exogenous opsonins, but the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Microbial recognition by macrophages under these conditions becomes particularly important in individuals who have decreased amounts of opsonins such as immunocompromised individuals and neonates. This study was undertaken to investigate the mechanisms of adherence between group B Streptococcus and macrophages in opsonin-limiting conditions. Using several adherence assays; visual binding, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, and flow cytometry, GBS was able to adhere to U937 cells, a human macrophage-like cell line, in a dose-dependent manner without exogenous opsonins. The $\beta\sb2$ integrins, a heterodimeric family of leukocyte receptors, have been implicated in adherence of GBS to macrophages in the absence of opsonins. GBS bound to CD18-deficient bovine polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) almost as well as bovine PMNs with normal CD18 surface expression, suggesting that CD18 is not essential for adherence and that additional receptors are involved in adhesion. In soluble binding assays, three macrophage proteins (60, 55 and 20 kDa) were found to bind to GBS. The results were confirmed when the experiments were performed using Listeria monocytogenes. In competition assays, the organisms competed for attachment to U937 cells. In addition, Listeria bound to the same U937 proteins as did GBS. These results support the roles of proteins in the interaction of GBS and Listeria to macrophages. Because adherence involves participation from the host and the bacteria the present study was expanded to investigate the role of GBS envelope proteins in the adherence to macrophages. The GBS adhesin for macrophages was identified using a soluble binding assay. A 21 kDa protein from GBS was shown to bind to U937 cells. Antisera to the 21 kDa protein was able to inhibit adhesion of GBS to U937 cells as measured using flow cytometry. This antisera was able to cross-react with a number of GBS strains and additional Gram positive bacteria, suggesting, this may be a conserved adhesin.


In this study, spherical activated carbons contained ZnS(Zn-SPAC) were successfully prepared through carbonization/activation processes. Strong acid ion exchange resin as starting material of Zn-SPAC was treated by 0.01 N zinc solution. Ion exchange treatment was performed from one time to three times for controling zinc content. The ion exchanged resins was activated under N2/H2O-vapor atmosphere at 900 °C for 0.5 hr following by carbonization treatment at 700 °C under N2 atmosphere. The Zn-SPAC samples were measured physicochemical characteristics such as X-ray patterns, SEM image, energy dispersive X-ray spectra, BET specific surface area, intensity and zinc content and used to remove humic acid(HA) in batch reactor for measuring photochemical activity. The X-ray patterns were appeared ZnS type. The Zn-SPAC had large BET specific surface area and their shape was spherical with a diameter about 350 ~ 400 μm. When the Zn-SPAC were dosed in UV reactor, the HA removal efficiency increased upto 60 % at 4hr. The order hand, the HA removal efficiency by only UV-C(λmax =254nm) irradiation was not good about 15 %. Therefore, we infer that the Zn-SPAC have good photochemical activity and presented possibility of photocatalyst for water purification.


Polymer-derived ceramic fibers with aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are fabricated through the electrospinning of polyaluminasilazane solutions with well-dispersed MWCNTs followed by pyrolysis. Poly(3-hexylthiophene)-b-poly (poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate) (P3HT-b-PPEGA), a conjugated block copolymer compatible with polyaluminasilazane, is used to functionalize MWCNT surfaces with PPEGA, providing a noninvasive approach to disperse carbon nanotubes in polyaluminasilazane chloroform solutions. The electrospinning of the MWCNT/polyaluminasilazane solutions generates polymer fibers with aligned MWCNTs where MWCNTs are oriented along the electrospun jet by a sink flow. The subsequent pyrolysis of the obtained composite fibers produces ceramic fibers with aligned MWCNTs. The study of the effect of polymer and CNT concentration on the fiber structures shows that the fiber size increases with the increment of polymer concentration, whereas higher CNT content in the polymer solutions leads to thinner fibers attributable to the increased conductivity. Both the SEM and TEM characterization of the polymer and ceramic fibers demonstrates the uniform orientation of CNTs along the fibers, suggesting excellent dispersion of CNTs and efficient CNT alignment via the electrospinning. The electrical conductivity of a ceramic fibers with 1.2% aligned MWCNTs is measured to be 1.58 x 10(-6) S/cm, which is more than 500 times higher than that of bulk ceramic (3.43 x 10(-9) S/cm). Such an approach provides a versatile method to disperse CNTs in preceramic polymer solutions and offers a new approach to integrate aligned CNTs in ceramics.


Especially in secondary school, students need to learn from multi-representational material. For integrating information from different sources, students need specific competencies, which are seldom explicitly fostered. Teaching and learning with text-picture material is not systematically embedded in teacher education at German universities, but teachers have to deal with this material and its inherent challenges. For initiating successful learning processes teachers need to judge students' learning prerequisites and the level of difficulty of text-picture material. This raises the need for investigating teachers' attitudes, motivation and their self-related cognitions in diagnostics, which are assumed to impact teachers' diagnostic activities. The presented study aims at examining teachers' attitudes towards diagnostics, motivation towards diagnostics, self-efficacy beliefs and self-reflection in diagnostics in regard to teaching with multi-representational learning material. CFAs support the superiority of a four-factor model. Structural equation models reveal that teachers' experience is positively related to their motivation in diagnostics. Teachers' attitudes and self-related cognitions are positively related to their diagnostic behavior. The study provides evidence of the structure and importance of teachers' attitudes, motivation and self-related cognitions.


This article argues that two non-profit national eating disorder advocacy groups, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), play an integral role in censoring pro-anorexia (pro-ana) subculture on social media platforms. This article adds to the ongoing debate surrounding the censorship of pro-ana discourse by interrogating the erasure of digital forums due to fears that eating disorders are communicable through narratives written predominately by young women. In response to these ostensibly infectious narratives, the advocacy groups institute guidelines for crafting a singular recovery narrative that might be "useful" for others, eschewing much of the research pertaining to eating disorder treatment and recovery and the lived experiences of self-starving women. As I will demonstrate, viewing this erasure through the lens of epistemic violence reveals that a social discomfort with pro-ana content may speak to a general unwillingness to confront structural violence that influences some women to engage in self-starvation.


Objective The authors investigated the quality of reporting for randomised controlled trials of auriculotherapy for pain before and after the implementation of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) guidelines. Methods The authors identified randomised controlled trials of auriculotherapy that measured pain or pain medication use as a primary outcome and were published in English in peer-reviewed journals. Proportions of studies that reported STRICTA and CONSORT items were compared for the years before and after implementation of STRICTA (2001) using Fisher's exact tests. Global differences across all study factors were investigated using hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis (PCA). Results 15 studies met our inclusion criteria. On average, 11 studies (74%) reported STRICTA items and eight studies (54%) reported CONSORT items. Differences in reporting between pre and post-STRICTA studies were found for two CONSORT items (randomised sequence and treatment provider) but no STRICTA items. However, the results of cluster analysis and PCA detected global differences over time for both STRICTA and CONSORT items. Conclusion Quality of reporting for studies of auriculotherapy for pain appears to have generally improved since the implementation of STRICTA and CONSORT guidelines.


In feto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT), severe hemorrhage, particularly intracranial haemorrhage (ICH), may occur before delivery. Management strategies to prevent ICH in high-risk pregnancies include maternal administration of intravenous Ig with or without steroids and fetal platelet transfusions. This report describes a patient who lost three fetuses with ICH because of FMAIT due to anti-HPA-1a. ICH occurred earlier in successive pregnancies (at 28, 19, and 16 weeks of gestation) despite maternal treatment with intravenous Ig and steroids from 14 weeks of gestation in the third pregnancy. The fourth pregnancy was managed by administering weekly intraperitoneal injections of Ig to the fetus from 12 to 18 weeks of gestation. At 18 weeks, there was no evidence of ICH, but the fetal platelet count was only 12 x 10(9)/L. Serial fetal platelet transfusions were started, but there were poor responses because of immune destruction of the transfused platelets by maternal HLA antibodies. There were improved responses to transfusions prepared from the mother and from HLA-compatible HPA-1a-negative donors. At 35 weeks of gestation, a normal infant was delivered by Caesarean section after 20 platelet transfusions. There was prolonged thrombocytopenia in the baby for 15 weeks after birth, probably due to transfer of HPA-1a antibodies in the transfusions of unwashed maternal platelets. The optimal management of pregnancies likely to be severely affected by FMAIT is still evolving. Intensive management was successful in this case, but a successful outcome cannot be guaranteed in severely affected cases. This is the first time that HLA incompatibility has been found to complicate fetal transfusion therapy.


OBJECTIVE
Non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP) is the most common diagnosis of patients presenting to emergency departments (ED) with abdominal pain. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate how many NSAP patients were re-admitted within 1 year to the ED with abdominal pain.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Included were all patients discharged with NSAP from adult EDs of Landspítali University Hospital (gynecology and pediatric EDs excluded), from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. Hospital records for patients re-admitted within 12 months with abdominal pain were reviewed. Symptoms, pain location, blood tests and imaging results were registered, also the subsequent discharge diagnosis at re-admission.

RESULTS
Out of 62.116 patients attending the EDs in 2005, 1411 (2.3%) were diagnosed with NSAP. During 12 months, 112 of these 1411 patients (7.9%) were re-admitted to the ED with abdominal pain, most of them ≥2 times. Out of 112 patients, 27 (24.1%) were discharged with a more specific diagnosis; cholelithiasis (29.6%), appendicitis (18.5%) and gastrointestinal cancer (7.4%) being the most common diagnosis. The other 85 (76%) patients were diagnosed with NSAP again. Surgery was performed in 17 of the 27 (63%) cases and 8 received specific treatment, most often antibiotics.

CONCLUSION
Almost 8% of discharged NSAP patients were re-admitted within a year for abdominal pain. At re-admission, one of four patients received a more specific diagnosis, most often cholelithiasis or appendicitis. Our results suggest that the diagnosis of patients with NSAP, at the first visit to the ED, could be improved.


This research aims to examie the effect of bayclin concentration on washing II and BAP in MS media on eksplan growth of klutuk banana in vitro and was conducted at the Tissue Culture Laboratory Lempes Pekanbaru from April to August 2016. The research used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 factorials and 3 replications. The first factor was the concentration of washing eksplan bayclin on phase II which consisted of four levels: K0 (concentration of 0%), K1 (concentration of 10%), K2 (concentration of 20%), and K3 (concentration of 30%). The second factor was the concentration of BAP contained on media MS consisted of four levels: T0 (BAP concentration 0 mg/liter), T1 (BAP concentration of 0.1 mg/liter), T2 (BAP concentration of 1.0 mg/liter) and T3 (BAP concentration of 10.0 mg/liter). The parameters observed were percentage of explants contaminated, age appears buds, the number of shoots/explant, length of shoots/explant, number of roots/explant (root), root length/explant and percentage of explant life. The results showed that effect of concentration on the washing bayclin II and BAP in MS Media on growth eksplan of klutuk banana in-vitro was the best treatment K2T2 with 33.33% of explants contaminated, age of appears buds 2,67 weeks after planting, the number of shoots 2,67/explant, length of shoots 5,50 cm/explant, number of roots 2.67/explant, root length 12,08 cm/explant and 58.33% of explants life.


Information regarding the evaluation of long-term tillage effects on soil properties and summer maize growth after winter vetch in western Turkey is not available. Therefore, this study was conducted for 5 years with three types of tillage including conventional (mouldboard plough) and conservation (rototiller and chisel). Results indicated that tillage had no significant effect on penetration resistance, except at the bottom of 20 cm soil depth where it was higher in mouldboard plough than in rototiller and chisel. Bulk density in the topsoil of 10 cm decreased with the degree of soil manipulation during tillage practices. Rototiller caused significantly higher root, leaf and stems biomass and plant height than the other systems. The root dry weight was higher in the topsoil of 10 cm than at the bottom of this soil depth for all systems. The highest root dry weight was found in fourth year of chisel, but the lowest was recorded in the same year of plough, especially at the bottom of 20 cm due to higher penetration. Rototiller improved soil properties and maize growth compared to other systems in 2 of 5 years. We concluded that using rototiller for maize after winter vetch will be more effective compared with other systems.


Abstract Introduction and aims Strand 1 develops assessment and outcome measures for use and intervention in research and clinical practice. We set out to improve the patient assessment platform, to improve comparable measurement within and between studies. Methods Our process of meeting, rigorous collaborative discussion, guidance for researchers in training, grant application and dissemination has brought integration of service user involvement and collaboration among the different universities. We focused upon symptoms including psychological distress care giver burden and palliative outcomes. We evaluated measures from diagnosis to survivorship and end of life care. Results We have recently published about measures of psychological distress across cancer trajectories, clinical and psychometrics features of the General Health Questionnaire across the cancer trajectory, complex interventions for cancer survivors and assessment of care giver burden. In our collaborative's evolution, we continue to work on psychological distress assessment across cancers, characteristics of psychological distress, political challenges to supportive and palliative care research, cancer pain, palliative outcomes, short-form carer burden questionnaires, the selection of research assessment measures, telehealth with advanced symptoms, dignity-conserving interventions, place of death in non-cancer conditions and evaluation of services. Each of these can shape clinical research studies and services in supportive and palliative care. Conclusions Our commitment, complementary insights, backgrounds and methodological expertise were essential and productive. We continue to collaborate, developing high impact research, infrastructure and training and wider collaborations across Europe and beyond (PRISMA in palliative care, ENCCA in young people with cancer) across disciplines and professions in supportive and cancer survivorship care, palliative and end of life care.


Recently, the mechanisms responsible for anti-glycation activity of cyanidin and its derivatives on the inhibition of methylglyoxal (MG)-induced protein glycation and advanced glycation-end products (AGEs) as well as oxidative DNA damage were reported. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of cyanidin against MG-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in rat INS-1 pancreatic β-cells. Exposure of cells to cytotoxic levels of MG (500 µM) for 12 h caused a significant reduction in cell viability. However, the pretreatment of cells with cyanidin alone (6.25–100 μM) for 12 h, or cotreatment of cells with cyanidin (3.13–100 μM) and MG, protected against cell cytotoxicity. In the cotreatment condition, cyanidin (33.3 and 100 μM) also decreased MG-induced apoptosis as determined by caspase-3 activity. Furthermore, INS-1 cells treated with MG increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during a 6 h exposure. The MG-induced increase in ROS production was inhibited by cyanidin (33.3 and 100 μM) after 3 h stimulation. Furthermore, MG diminished the activity of glyoxalase 1 (Glo-1) and its gene expression as well as the level of total glutathione. In contrast, cyanidin reversed the inhibitory effect of MG on Glo-1 activity and glutathione levels. Interestingly, cyanidin alone was capable of increasing Glo-1 activity and glutathione levels without affecting Glo-1 mRNA expression. These findings suggest that cyanidin exerts a protective effect against MG-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in pancreatic β-cells by increasing the activity of Glo-1.


Parties in advanced democracies take ideological positions as part of electoral competition, but some parties communicate their position more clearly than others. Existing research on democratic party competition has paid much attention to assessing partisan position taking in electoral manifestos, but it has largely overlooked how manifestos reflect the clarity of these positions. This article presents a scaling procedure that better reflects the data-generating process of party manifestos. This new estimator allows us to recover not only positional estimates, but also estimates for the ideological clarity or ambiguity of parties. The study validates its results using Monte Carlo tests, a manifesto-drafting simulation and a human coding exercise. Finally, the article applies the estimator to party manifestos in four multiparty democracies and demonstrates that ambiguity can enhance the appeal of parties with platforms that become more moderate, and lessen the appeal of parties with platforms that become more extreme.


The COVID-19 pandemic has affected teaching and learning around the world As a result, schools and higher learning institutions use the e-learning platform to replace face-to-face teaching and learning E-learning presents new challenges when compared to a traditional classroom because students are separated from their instructor by a computer screen It has been established that the psychological and pedagogical barrier is an obstacle arising for a teacher in the process of his professional activity, which reduces its effectiveness The main psychological and pedagogical barriers are highlighted, which are combined into groups: due to the personal and professional qualities of the teacher;caused by the physical and psychological characteristics of the student himself;determined by the specifics of the subject of interaction;caused by unfavorable factors of the social and material environment in which educational interaction takes place An in-depth analysis of typical barriers that potentially arise between a teacher and students makes it possible to determine ways to overcome them A psychological portrait of a personality that potentially creates barriers in interpersonal interaction is outlined The paper proposes the ways of overcoming psychological and educational barriers between teachers and students during the COVID-19 pandemic


Marfan syndrome (MS) is a rare disease of the connective tissue. Neonatal MS is even rarer, and rarer still is its prenatal ultrasound diagnosis with 7 cases reported and only 1 surviving patient. We describe 2 new cases. Both had no relevant family history, had normal scans in the first half of pregnancy, were referred because of fetal cardiomegaly at 28 and 35 weeks respectively, and were delivered at term. Case 1: Fetal echocardiography showed severe cardiomegaly, dilation of the initial portion of the great vessels and mild prolapse of the atrioventricular (AV) valve leaflets. Postnatally, a marfanoid habitus was found and a moderate insufficiency of the AV and semilunar valves was also seen. The neonate was discharged on the 7th day and an angiotensin II receptor antagonist (Losartan) was prescribed to prevent aortic root dilation. Echocardiography at 2 months revealed severe AV valve insufficiency. Rapid worsening required AV valve surgical repair, but the patient died 5 days later. A heterozygous mutation of the fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene was found. Case 2: Fetal echocardiography showed dilation of the outflow tracts, AV valve insufficiency and redundant AV cusps protruding in the atria during systole. Enlarged and hiperflexed hands and feet were observed. A scan 2 weeks later revealed aortic insufficiency. Postnatally, the same marfanoid habitus was noted. The patient was discharged at 31 days, with Losartan. Two weeks later the patient was readmitted, chest X-ray revealed severe cardiomegaly and emphysematous lungs, and death occurred soon after due to cardiorespiratory arrest. A new mutation of the FBN1 gene was found. The combination of cardiomegaly, enlargement of great vessels and multivalvular regurgitation in the second half of pregnancy may lead to suspect neonatal MF. These valve problems progress relentlessly, leading to heart failure and early death in most cases. This information may be helpful to provide the parents the most accurate counseling.


BACKGROUND
Because of their size and the possibility of complications, giant hemangiomas represent a therapeutic challenge. Various forms of treatment have been used, with variable results, including surgery, embolization, lasers, pentoxifylline, and corticosteroids. Interferon alfa has been used successfully to treat life-threatening hemangiomas, possibly by means of its antiangiogenic activity.

OBSERVATIONS
We treated 7 infants with organ-interfering and/or life-threatening giant hemangiomas with subcutaneous injections of 3 million U/m2 per day of interferon alfa-2b during the first month and subsequently every 48 to 72 hours, depending on the evolution in each case. The treatment lasted from 3 to 12 months. In 2 patients, interferon alfa-2b was administered while prednisone therapy was being tapered. In all 7 patients, there was considerable reduction of the volume of the hemangiomas and remission of their complications. All patients presented with fever, neutropenia, and an increase in serum aminotransferase levels. The patients who received interferon alfa-2b and prednisone seemed to improve at a faster rate.

CONCLUSIONS
Interferon alfa-2b is a good option for the treatment of patients with steroid-resistant, organ-interfering and/or life-threatening giant hemangiomas. In our experience, the adverse effects were transient and minor and did not require the interruption of the treatment.


: Purpose: The article deals with the issue of changes that take place in the habits of car users and in the automotive market in terms of introducing electromobility solutions. Basic documents show the necessity and possibility of developing electromobility in Europe and Poland. It indicates the harmfulness of the current transport model. The author paid special attention to the study of automotive preferences among the inhabitants of Polish cities Design/Methodology/Approach: The survey was carried out using the CAWI and direct survey method on a sample of over 200 residents from the ten most populated Polish cities. Conclusionss: The study shows that choosing an electric car in the near future will become as common as petrol one. At the same time, the lack of sufficient infrastructure, especially public availability is clearly indicated. Practical Implications: The availability of charging points and the level of household income should be indicated as key for the development of electromobility. Consumers' attitudes related to experiences and concerns about new products are also not without significance. Originality/value: An attempt to identify the current mood towards electromobility, as well as practical obstacles in the purchase and operation of this type of vehicle.


We report the discovery of an unidentified, extended source of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission, VER J2019+407, within the radio shell of the supernova remnant SNR G78.2+2.1, using 21.4 hr of data taken by the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory in 2009. These data confirm the preliminary indications of gamma-ray emission previously seen in a two-year (2007–2009) blind survey of the Cygnus region by VERITAS. VER J2019+407, which is detected at a post-trials significance of 7.5 standard deviations in the 2009 data, is localized to the northwestern rim of the remnant in a region of enhanced radio and X-ray emission. It has an intrinsic extent of and its spectrum is well-characterized by a differential power law (dN/dE = N0 × (E/TeV)−Γ) with a photon index of Γ = 2.37  ±  0.14stat  ±  0.20sys and a flux normalization of N0 = 1.5  ±  0.2stat ± 0.4sys × 10−12 photon TeV−1 cm−2 s−1. This yields an integral flux of 5.2 ± 0.8stat ± 1.4sys × 10−12 photon cm−2 s−1 above 320 GeV, corresponding to 3.7% of the Crab Nebula flux. We consider the relationship of the TeV gamma-ray emission with the GeV gamma-ray emission seen from SNR G78.2+2.1 as well as that seen from a nearby cocoon of freshly accelerated cosmic rays. Multiple scenarios are considered as possible origins for the TeV gamma-ray emission, including hadronic particle acceleration at the SNR shock.


In this paper, a novel Delay and Glow (DAG), back projection-based photoacoustic reconstruction, for point source recovery is presented. The projections of the absorber coefficients are delayed and weighed based on the transducer directivity sensitivity and matched with the other projections from other transducer elements leading to glow the point source at the exact location. The DAG was tested with 2-D experimental and simulation studies and compared with conventional delay and sum (DAS) reconstruction method. The proposed algorithm outperforms the DAS in terms of contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and RMS errors.


Vitamin A, which is available from dietary sources, vitamin supplements, and fortified products, affects numerous bodily processes through its impact on cellular differentiation. More than 300 genes are regulated by the rapid action of the vitamin. It has recently been recognized that mild vitamin A deficiency is widespread among children and pregnant women in developing countries. This deficiency increases severity of infectious diseases, iron-related anemia, and growth disturbances. Improving the vitamin A status of all deficient children could avert a million or more deaths annually, and administration of high-dose vitamin A has been advised for treatment of measles. There is also an apparent association between high beta carotene status (which may represent vitamin A status) and lower rates of some forms of cancer, but this has yet to be confirmed. Supplementation programs in developing countries rely on periodic administration of high-dose vitamin A in doses of 100,000 IU orally for those under 1 year old and 200,000 IU for those older once every 3-6 months. The optimal dosing schedule is unknown, but no cases of death have been linked to isolated vitamin A toxicity. Experts also disagree about the window of safety during which a high-dose of vitamin A can be given to pregnant and postpartum women without causing teratogenicity. It is unwise to administer high-dose vitamin A to women of reproductive age after the first 6 weeks postpartum. All women at risk should receive small daily doses or 20,000 IU weekly doses. In the US, where general dietary status is good, women should not use more than 8000 IU supplements except when indicated for a specific reason.


Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) arise from Kulchitsky cells and are rarely seen in the female genital tract. Differential diagnosis of PNET can be made based on immunohistochemical profiles and genetic analyses. Genital tract pNETs are very aggressive pathologies with different clinical and molecular manifestations and there are no standard guidelines for treatment. We aimed to present two cases of uterine PNETs with different symptomatology and clinical findings.


OBJECTIVES
To asses the impact of augmentation enterocystoplasty on the success of cadaveric renal transplantation in patients with dysfunctional bladders.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Between 1980 and 2001, 3 men and a woman with severe dysfunctional lower urinary tract underwent a total of 4 cadaveric renal transplantations. The etiologies of the bladder dysfunction were bladder contraction secondary to urinary tuberculosis in all cases. In 3 patients were performed an enterocystoplasty with ileocecal segment and one with ileon.

RESULTS
The overall allograft survival was 58.7 months. Two patients have functioning grafts 27 and 74 months after transplant, 1 has died due to an intestinal disease and other had chronic rejection after follow-up of 98 months. Technical complications occurred in 3 patients. All patients remain continent without catheterization after the transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS
Enterocystoplasty is a safe and effective method of restoring lower urinary tract function in the patient with end stage renal disease and a small non compliant bladder.


Background: A key manifestation of Parkinson's disease (PD) is visual impairment. Cognitive impairment has been found to overlap with convergence insufficiency (CI) in patients with PD and is associated with significantly greater near point convergence (NPC) distance. Difficulty in reading and diplopia were the most common symptoms of CI in PD. The prevalence of CI is greater among patients with PD. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the relationship between PD and CI.
Methods: Studies that had included data on CI, NPC, or both were selected by searching PubMed/MEDLINE and clinicaltrails.gov, without any timeline or language limitation. The following terms were used in PubMed/MEDLINE search: 'Clinical Trials', 'Parkinson's Disease', and 'Convergence Insufficiency'. For clinical trials.gov database, the terms 'Parkinson's Disease', 'Convergence Insufficiency', and 'Completed Studies' were used. Only those studies with control subjects were included. PubMed/MEDLINE search yielded 1,563 articles, but no article was found in the clinical trails.gov search. Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria, among which nine articles were selected as they had data on CI or NPC distance (cm), and PD.
Results: Overall, there were 1,563 articles; among them, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. Nine articles were selected based on their data concerning CI or NPC distance (cm) and PD. Relative to the control group, the PD group had high CI. In addition, PD group showed increase in NPC distance than the control group.
Conclusions: These data suggest that the patients with PD had an increased likelihood of developing CI visual symptoms, and increased NPC distance than healthy controls. These findings indicate that regular eye examination is very important for patients with PD.


A series of ten 2,4,6-trisubstituted s-triazines wa s synthesized with 4-Hydoxy benzonitrile, benzimida zole and different substituted arylamine derivatives and all the products were characterized by conventional and instrumental methods. The title compound was then e xamined for their in vitro microbial activity again st gram negative bacteria and gram positive bacteria and two fungal species. Structure of final compound was affirmed by IR, 1 H NMR, Mass Spectra and followed by elemental analy sis.


The role of combination therapy in rheumatoid arthritis is increasing with the recent development of various new treatment modalities. While past combinations of slow acting antirheumatic drugs have resulted in either excessive side effects or lack of efficacy over single agent therapy, recent combinations appear more promising. Recently, the combination of cyclosporine and methotrexate (MTX) was shown to be more efficacious than MTX alone. Improved methodology and a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of these newer agents is responsible for these exciting results.


Cooperation in time-critical and physically distributed work settings, such as air traffic control, requires extensive coordination between the involved actors. For this coordination to be efficient the controllers rely both on the comprehensive use of rules and procedures, and on artifacts supporting them in following these procedures. At the Copenhagen Air Traffic Control Center this coordination is largely carried out through the use of a flight plan database system, paper flight strips, and a closed-circuit television system. In relation to the introduction of a new and increasingly automated system in the year 2003 this paper discusses the coordinative functions served by these three, soon to be replaced, artifacts from a design perspective. Despite the skepticism expressed in previous research, our results show that a further computerization could be successful if the coordinative functions the system currently fulfills are properly preserved.


We present Hubble Space Telescope UV spectrophotometry of three extremely metal-deficient blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies, SBS 0335-052 (Z ~ Z☉/40), Tol 65 (Z ~ Z☉/24), and T1214-277 (Z ~ Z☉/23). Broad damped Lyα absorption is seen in the first two BCDs. For SBS 0335-052, the H I column density derived by fitting the Lyα absorption profile is N(H I) = (7.0 ± 0.5) × 1021 cm-2, which is the highest H I column density derived thus far for a BCD and which is ~2 times larger than that in I Zw 18. As for Tol 65, N(H I) = (2.5 ± 1.0) × 1021 cm-2, which is also in the high range of H I column densities derived for BCDs and which is only ~1.4 times smaller than that in I Zw 18. The interstellar absorption line O I λ1302 has also been detected in both galaxies. Comparison with high-resolution quasar spectra implies that in SBS 0335-052, the O I λ1302 line, along with other heavy element interstellar absorption lines such as Si II λ1304 and S II λ1251, λ1254, and λ1259, are not saturated, which allows us to derive abundances. Assuming that these lines originate in the H I gas, we derive abundances of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur, respectively, as 37,000, 4000, and 116 times lower than the solar values. The oxygen abundance is a whole 37 times lower than in the neutral gas of I Zw 18. However, these highly discrepant deficiency factors of different elements suggest that the absorption lines are produced, not in the H I, but in the H II gas. Adopting that hypothesis, the derived abundances from the UV absorption lines are then consistent with that derived from the optical emission lines (Z ~ Z☉/40). The conclusion that the heavy element absorption lines originate in the H II region is supported by the detection of several systems of blueshifted S II λ1259, Si II λ1260, O I λ1302, Si II λ1304, and C II λ1335 absorption lines originating in fast-moving clouds with velocities up to ~1500 km s-1 and also by the presence of heavy element absorption lines with excited lower levels. If this conclusion holds, then the H I cloud in SBS 0335-052 is truly primordial, unpolluted by heavy elements. This would alleviate the need for postulating previous enrichment by widespread Population III stars and poses the problem of how such a cloud could last for a Hubble time without making stars before the present epoch. Because the O I λ1302 is likely to be saturated in Tol 65, we could derive only a lower limit for the oxygen abundance, ~6000 times lower than the solar value. Contrary to the situation in the two previous BCDs, a strong Lyα line is seen in the spectrum of T1214-277, which makes it the lowest metallicity BCD with detected Lyα emission. Its equivalent width of 70 Å is the largest found in star-forming galaxies. The Lyα emission is not redshifted with respect to the H II gas velocity, so that the escape of Lyα photons in T1214-277 is not dictated by the velocity structure of the H I gas but probably by its porosity. The absence of Lyα emission in SBS 0335-052 and Tol 65 is probably caused by a combination of dust extinction, redistribution of the Lyα photons by multiple scattering over the whole area of the H I cloud, and the geometry of the cloud. The spectrum of SBS 0335-052 shows stellar Si IV λ1394 and λ1403 lines with P Cygni profiles, which suggests the presence of numerous hot supergiant stars. A strong stellar N V λ1240 line with a P Cygni profile is also seen in the spectrum of T1214-277, which suggests that a large population of massive (M ≳ 60 M☉) stars is present. The stellar wind terminal velocity is very low in SBS 0335-052, being only ~500 km s-1. It is higher, ~2000 km s-1 in T1214-277, in the low range of terminal velocities found for other BCDs. These BCDs are the two most metal-deficient galaxies known with P Cygni profiles. The presence of such profiles raises the question of how to set up a wind in stellar atmospheres devoid of heavy elements as in SBS 0335-052.


Background and Aims Severe respiratory disease presents a challenge for anaesthesia in shoulder surgery. Awake surgery under interscalene block may be considered. However, the reduction in FEV1 and FVC due to phrenic nerve palsy may be prohibitive. Numerous techniques have been described as phrenic nerve sparing for shoulder analgesia. However, there is limited published data regarding effectiveness in anaesthesia for awake shoulder and clavicular surgery. Methods We describe a case of a 64-year-old male undergoing brachial plexus exploration with open reduction and internal fixation for clavicle non-union. Following an injury 10 months previously, he presented with medial cord symptoms; sensory deficit predominately in the ulnar nerve distribution and hand weakness. Significant comorbidities included severe COPD with a FEV1 <27%. Results Using a direct to the clavicle, the non-union excised and fracture debrided. inferior perios-teum clavicle brachial plexus. intraoperative in ulnar nerve observed the lateral clavicle was clinically phrenic oxygen the


Engosengiu Women Farmers' Group constitutes a number of 30 members with the potential of reaching a membership base of 200 in the very near future. The Group is located at Sokoni Ward, in Arusha City Council; it was formed with the aim of combining individual efforts to increase income of the family and to insure food security, the objective being to increase productivity and income level. During the community needs assessment carried out in 2013, it was revealed that low income was the main problem among the women who were involved in poultry production. Further analysis attributed this problem to lack of poultry husbandry and entrepreneurship skills. This project aimed at strengthening the Engosengiu women group through selected areas of capacity building (training) in order to hasten achievement of the desired benefits, which are primarily vested in increased income and food security.


The complete hydrogen Lyman spectrum in several prominences has been observed with the UV spectrometer SUMER on-board the SOHO, during the Joint Observing Programme 107, together with other space and ground-based observatories. Based on these observations, we are able to demonstrate, for the first time, that there exists a large variety of intensities and shapes of Lyman lines in different prominences and in various parts thereof. Therefore, no "canonical" Lyman spectrum can be considered for modelling purposes. However, we have identified at least two representative properties of the observed spectra: in one case (May 28, 1999 prominence) we detected high integrated intensities and no reversals in lines higher than Lα. Another prominence (June 2, 1999) exhibited quite similar integrated intensities, but all lines have rather strongly reversed profiles. This behaviour cannot be explained in terms of standard isothermal-isobaric models and we thus consider more general models which are in pressure equilibrium with the magnetic field and which have significant prominencecorona transition region (PCTR) temperature gradients. This type of model, recently suggested by Anzer & Heinzel (1999), is capable of explaining strong emission profiles without reversal. Based on extended non-LTE computations, we suggest that quite different Lyman spectra mentioned above may correspond to two types of PCTRs, one seen along the magnetic-field lines (unreversed profiles) and the other one seen across the field lines (reversed profiles). Finally, we again confirm the importance of partial-redistribution (PRD) scattering processes for Lyman lines in prominences. However, our analysis of new SUMER data also points to a critical role of the PCTR in radiative transport in these lines.


The Lower Devonian to Upper Permian Stikine Assemblage is well exposed in northwestern British Columbia, near the west-central margin of the Stikine terrane. The stratigraphic base of the assemblage is not exposed and the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group disconformably overlies the assemblage locally. The assemblage consists mainly of various types of volcanic rocks, and there is a large, polyphase, Devono-Mississippian sub-volcanic plutonic complex. The assemblage includes a distinctive, but laterally discontinuous mid-Carboniferous limestone named the Arctic Lake Formation. Facies are mainly locally re-worked, well-bedded skeletal wackestone, but whole fossil floatstone and intraformational olistostromal deposits are present. Stratigraphic thickness varies from 32 to 80 metres. Stratigraphic contacts with bounding Lower and Upper Carboniferous successions are conformable and intergradational, but paraconformities may also be present. The formation records weak development of disjointed carbonate ramps on volcanic highlands. Neritic faunal assemblages have warm water, open marine affinity. The formation spans the Serpukhovian-Bashkirian boundary and encompasses microfacies assigned to Global Foraminiferal zones 17, 18 and 20. Integrated foraminiferal-coralconodont biostratigraphy and uranium-lead geochronology support a circa 350 Ma age for the Tournaisian-Visean boundary, and a circa 320 Ma age for the Serpukhovian-Bashkirian (Mississippian-Pennsylvanian) boundary.


Marc Owen Jones began his PhD at the University of Durham in 2011 after securing a studentship from the North East Doctoral Training Centre. He worked briefly as a graduate research assistant at Leicester University following the completion of an MSc in Arab World Studies from Durham University in 2010. This two-year MSc was funded by the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World and involved a year of intense Arabic tuition at both the Universities of Edinburgh and Damascus. He received his BA in Journalism, Film and Broadcasting from Cardiff University in 2006 before spending a year in Sudan teaching English. He tweets and blogs regularly on Bahrain and his research interests include critical security surveillance, cultural geography, public space, social justice, systemic control, policing and social media. This is a study of how the Bahraini regime and its supporters utilized Facebook, Twitter and other social media as a tool of surveillance and social control during the Bahrain uprising. Using a virtual ethnography conducted between February 2011 and December 2011, it establishes a typology of methods that describe how hegemonic forces and institutions employed social media to suppress both online and offline dissent. These methods are trolling, naming and shaming, offline factors, intelligence gathering and passive observation. It also discusses how these methods of control limit the ability of activists to use online places as spaces of representation and anti-hegemonic identity formation. While there is considerable research on the positive role social media plays in activism, this article addresses the relative paucity of literature on how hegemonic forces use social media to resist political change.


Several previous studies on explanation for recurrent neural networks focus on approaches that find the most important input segments for a network as its explanations. In that case, the manner in which these input segments combine with each other to form an explanatory pattern remains unknown. To overcome this, some previous work tries to find patterns (called rules) in the data that explain neural outputs. However, their explanations are often insensitive to model parameters, which limits the scalability of text explanations. To overcome these limitations, we propose a pipeline to explain RNNs by means of decision lists (also called rules) over skipgrams. For evaluation of explanations, we create a synthetic sepsis-identification dataset, as well as apply our technique on additional clinical and sentiment analysis datasets. We find that our technique persistently achieves high explanation fidelity and qualitatively interpretable rules.


ABSTRACT The paper discusses aspects of the grading of a pebble beach, Chesil Beach, Dorset, England. Because of the prevailing conditions, grading is especially well developed along this beach. The principles included apply elsewhere. The initial samples were taken in July, 1965, from the surface along 23 lines of section extending over a distance of 26 km. The number of sites per section varied between 3 and 11 and included the main Beach Crest, and High and Low Water Mark. The same section lines were used for monthly sampling at High and Low Water Mark on alternate series of Spring Tides until July, 1966. Samples were also obtained from a number of boreholes through either the beach ridge or the back slope of the beach, and from the Raised Beach nearby. Generally 500 pebbles were analyzed. The initial samples were measured for long diameter, short diameter, and weight, but both monthly and borehole samples were examined for long diameter alone. The data were computed for mean, standard deviation, and standard error. The results show that Low Water samples are frequently bimodal; that certain landward samples are of a different population to the adjacent Beach Crest and seaward face, and that a higher proportion of coarser material is found near, but not necessarily on, the present Beach Crest. The profile along the beach suggests a marked inflection of pebble size both along the Beach Crest and at High Water towards the eastern end, and greater variability toward the west. Monthly variations at High Water Mark suggest rapid lateral transport from time to time. The tendency towards bimodal distributions at Low Water, and the presence of different size ranges there compared with the rest of the adjacent beach, reflects both current beach processes and mode of origin. Boreholes sited on the Beach Crest indicate fine material at and below present-day Low Water Mark. There is a suggestion of grading below the present-day beach level The Raised Beach samples fall within the range of the present-day beach. The significance of these results is discussed.


The main goal of machine translation has been to convey the correct content. Stylistic considerations have been at best secondary. We show that as a consequence, the output of three commercial machine translation systems (Bing, DeepL, Google) make demographically diverse samples from five languages "sound" older and more male than the original. Our findings suggest that translation models reflect demographic bias in the training data. This opens up interesting new research avenues in machine translation to take stylistic considerations into account.


Contemporary internal migration trends in the US raise questions about the role of community characteristics in shaping individual-level migration propensities among different racial and ethnic groups. To examine this issue more closely, this research incorporates key county-level characteristics into a study of repeat migration. With data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged with US census data, this study found that heavily populated counties and counties with large concentrations of employment in manufacturing industries reduce the odds of primary outmigration, onward migration to other locations, and return migration to a previous county of residence. Counties with a high degree of natural amenity retain longstanding white residents. Net of individual unemployment, the county-level unemployment rate hinders primary and onward migration among whites. In support of the cultural constraints hypothesis – a hypothesis that anticipates divergent community-level effects for minority and majority group members – whites are more likely to engage in repeat migration from counties with smaller shares of non-Hispanic White population whereas blacks are more likely to engage in repeat migration from areas with larger shares of non-Hispanic White population. whites and blacks are more likely to move out of counties with larger shares of foreign-born population. The share of neither non-Hispanic White population nor foreign-born population affects Hispanic repeat migration propensities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


LIVING A BETTER LIFE Success is a Journey, by Doug Smart. 2004. Roswell, GA: James & Brookfield Publishers. 130 pages, Soft Cover, $20 Intended Audience: All Major Headings from Table of Contents: The Power of Focus; Smiling Through the Storms; Private Victory: Winning the War Within; No Matter What! Turning Points: From Potholes to Progress; Catalyst Points For Change; Turning the Impossible into I'm Possible; Rainmaker: Building Strategic Relationships that Lead to Big Business; Success: It's a Matter of Opinion! Making a Comeback; I Belong Here; Make This Your Smartest Year Yet! How is the book most useful for its intended audience? It's a quick read and filled with many great ideas on how to become more successful. The top five things you learned from reading this book: 1. It is important to write down your goals. 2. Success means something different to each person. 3. How to turn bad situations into good or at least okay. 4. Positive thinking goes a long way toward success. 5. It is important to take care of yourself so you can reap the rewards of success. Success is a Journey is a collection of 12 articles about success - how to define, plan for, and achieve it. The articles are contributed by top speakers, trainers, and consultants with diverse backgrounds. Also included are informative author profiles and a resource directory of contact information for each author. This book is extremely inspirational and packed full of tips and tricks for transforming your behaviors to reach the place you have defined as success. The authors use many poignant and personal stories to effectively illustrate their examples, along with an assortment of mnemonic devices and systems to engage, educate, and encourage the reader along the path to success. Several major themes emerged from the collection: defining success, making the most of adversity, and actions one can take to achieve success. Two articles address the particulars of defining success. The first, "The Power of Focus" by Nido Quebin, maintains that people who can't focus are often not as successful as they could be. To help remedy that situation, he presents a worksheet to help analyze five areas of life in which focus is important; answering the questions carefully and completely will take the reader far in clarifying what to focus on in the areas of personal identity, professional purpose, career vision, marketing, and product offerings. The second article, titled "Success: It's a Matter of Opinion" by Lynn Giuliani, offers ideas and questions to consider when defining success and finishes with a helpful listing of the common attributes of successful people. Five articles are dedicated to overcoming adversity. "Making a Comeback," by Robert Stack and Gemma Utting, defines a comeback as "using adversity as an opportunity to improve the quality of your life. …


Objective. In the setting of known facial nerve sacrifice or injury, patients require precautions to prevent exposure keratitis and the morbidity that follows. One recommended treatment is surgical placement of a gold weight with or without lateral tarsal strip. In patients in whom the facial nerve has been sacrificed, it is unknown whether rehabilitation should be simultaneous or in the perioperative period. Study Design and Setting. Case series with chart review of patients who underwent immediate rehabilitation of the eye (gold weight and lateral tarsal strip) following facial nerve resection. Subjects and Methods. From 1998 to 2009, 52 patients were studied. Postoperative ophthalmologic complications and the need for revision surgeries were measured. Results. A gold weight was placed in all patients, and 48 of 52 (92%) simultaneous lateral tarsal strips were performed. The facial nerve was sacrificed in 51 of 52 (88%) patients, and the remaining patient had a known preoperative facial nerve paralysis. Thirty-six of 52 (69%) required free tissue transfer for reconstruction, underscoring the extensive resections performed. A 1.2-g gold weight was placed in 50 of 52 (96%) patients. Three (6%) patients required gold weight revision with a larger weight and 3 (6%) for extrusion. Eight (16.7%) patients underwent revision of the lateral tarsal strip for ectropion. Conclusions. No patients developed ophthalmologic complications. Patients undergoing radical surgical resections with known or suspected injury of the facial nerve should be considered for simultaneous rehabilitation of the upper and lower eye.


In this study we assessed the effects of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) rush immunotherapy in comparison with placebo treatment in our asthmatic patients. Fourteen highly Dpt-susceptible adults were randomized in two groups (immunotherapy and placebo) and treated in single-blind manner. Patients were selected according to the recommendation of the immunotherapy position paper (1993). To minimize side effects we modified the protocol by adjusting allergen doses for each patient separately. Immunologic (total and Dpt-specific serum IgE and IgG antibodies/EIA, Pharmacia) and clinical parameters (spirometry, medication score and skin testing) were recorded before treatment, after 2 weeks, at the second month and after 4 months of immunotherapy onset. None of the patients had life-threatening side effects in the course of the treatment. The results obtained demonstrated significant influence of immunotherapy on Dpt-specific serum IgG synthesis (Kruskal Wallis test, p < 0.05) and on the late phase skin reaction with Dpt (U-test, p < 0.05) at the end of the second month of immunotherapy onset. In the immunotherapy group, we also registered a negative correlation between concentrations of Dpt-specific serum IgE and IgG antibodies (p = -0.83; p < 0.05), at the end of the second month. In addition, diversities among patients, expressed by immunologic parameters, were related to the amount of delivered allergen. There were no significant differences between groups concerning medication score from opposite to better FEV, PEFR and dPEFR results (Kruskal Wallis, p < 0.05) in the placebo group. In conclusion, Dpt-specific serum IgG concentration, immunologic score and late phase skin reactivity to allergen appeared to be the valid parameters of rush-immunotherapy achievement, while delivered allergen dose also seemed to be an influencing factor.


In order to solve some problem of stress sensor in dynamic weigh rail, a new kind of inductive stress sensor based on magnetostriction effect of amorphous alloy was developed. First, the principle of sensor, and inferred its output equation were discussed. Second, the static characteristic experiment and the actual experiment on the material testing machine and the mine haulage rail were separately made. The results of the test have showed that this stress sensor has some characteristics as high measurement sensitiveness and accuracy. Also being simple, convenient and solid to install and use, so it is feasible to apply the sensor for the dynamic weigh rail.


To study the inheritance of the sensitivity to UV, X-rays, methylmethanesulphonate (MMS), nitrosoguanidine (NG) and nitrous acid (NA) in five uvs mutants of Aspergillus nidulans, having multiple sensitivity to these factors, the sensitivity of recombinants obtained from crossing uvs mutants with uvs+ strain, resistant to all the factors analysed, and uvs leads to uvs+ revertants is investigated. Four uvs mutants (15, 17, 19 and 26) are found to have a nomogenic control of sensitivity to different mutagens. In one mutant (uvs11) the sensitivity to five factors is controlled by two non-linked mutations, one of them determining the sensitivity to UV, NG, NA, and the other--to X-rays and MMC. Phenotypic manifestations of uvs mutations is modified by cell genotype, both chromosomal and cytoplasmic factors being responsible for the modification. Phenotypic modification of uvs mutation results in the change to some (but not to all) mutagenic factors. It suggests, that not the product of uvs gene, but some other components of the reparation complex are modified. Otherwise, reparation of different DNA damages can be carried out by a single enzyme acting in different reparation complexes.


What is involved in 'seeing' a foreign culture? Guidebooks, historical references and cultural prejudices constantly colour what the traveller might hope to see afresh, with a 'naked eye'. Through whose eyes, for instance, do we see Japan today? This book is an analytical history of French literary images of Japan, since its reopening to the West in 1854 to the present day. It aims to analyse the social and historical contexts surrounding French perceptions of Japan, to present close readings of selected texts, and to show how Japan offers an 'exceptional' instance in postcolonial studies of French literary relations with the east, being a Far Eastern country that was never colonised by the west. The book is centrally concerned with the experience of seeing and understanding a foreign culture, focusing on each writer's individual vision of Japan. Each of these is related to a specific mode of travel - journalism, diplomacy, collecting, ethnography, photography - and each writer is discussed as a different type of traveller. The book offers an unusual angle on the work of canonical writers such as Proust, Claudel, Michaux and Barthes, as well as being an introduction to several less well-known writers such as Farrere, Loti and Gerard Mace. Interdisciplinary in scope, the end result is the history of the intercultural exchanges between France and Japan, between a literary lineage and the object of its gaze, that is still relevant and pertinent today.


What explains multilateral cooperation leading to the free movement of labor? I examine the ability of two theories of regime formation (structural and game-theoretic approaches) and of two theories of integration (supranationalism and intergovernmentalism) to account for such cooperation. Based on a review of attempts to promote cooperation at the regional and inter-regional levels, and on a more detailed analysis of two case studies (the EU and ECOWAS), I demonstrate that none of the four theories adequately explains how multilateral cooperation with regards to the free movement of labor emerges. I then offer an alternative model, which highlights bargaining between the countries of origin and those of destination. I assert that countries of origin are likely to support the free movement of labor, while countries of destination are likely to oppose it. Multilateral cooperation is achieved when the countries of destination agree to the free movement of labor, and in return, the countries of origin grant the former unrestricted entry into their markets, and/or accept their leadership status. This kind of cross-issue linkage mainly develops in regional integration schemes. I further explain the factors contributing to the durability of cooperation on the free movement of labor, and the paradoxical finding that the multilateral agreements most likely to emerge and survive are the ones that contribute the least to economic efficiency.


: In this review, based on recent studies of population genetics and phylogeographics of East Asia's Tertiary relict plants, we have outlined the main phylogeographic patterns and processes. We also summarize common geographic and environmental factors which may contribute to the phylogeographic patterns of East Asia's Tertiary relict plants and present future challenges and research prospects. There are four recurrent phylogeographic scenarios identified by different case studies, including: (1) the global cooling and aridification during the Middle and Late Miocene induced recent speciation, with climate change during the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene accounting for their intra-specific lineage divergence, genetic diversification and demographic expansion/contraction. The latitudinal contraction/expansion can lead to the formation of "su-ture zone" for some relict plants; (2) the effects of the formation of the glacial East China Sea land bridge, as a "corridor" or "filter", have to account not only for habitat preferences per se but also for other biological features of different relict plant species; (3) the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) during the Late Pliocene and the intensification of East Asian monsoon system (EAMS) are the most suggestive factors re-sponsible for the major phylogeographic break between the western and eastern lineages across the Sichuan Basin and northwestern arid regions; and (4) some Tertiary relict plants migrated southward to Taiwan from mainland China or Japan before the Pleistocene under global climatic cooling and aridification since the Late Miocene, and refugial isolation that occurred between and mainland accelerated vicariant lineage diversification and speciation. Overall, both historical and contemporary geography and environment have affected the distribution, genetic diversity, lineage divergence and speciation of East Asia's Tertiary relict plants. Finally, we emphasize notable gaps in our knowledge due to the long-term application of simple molecular clock based on very limited genetic markers, and outline future research prospects for disentan-gling the evolution and biogeographic history of East Asia's Tertiary relict flora. We present the utilization of genome data and biogeography models and integrative phylogeographic research of multi-taxon communities as possible future directions.


Primary Central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is most frequently a diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is confined to the Central nervous system (CNS). We performed an experiment in which lymphoma cells from a PCNSL patient were implanted subcutaneously in an athymic mouse. The lymphoma cells were shown to home to the CNS with histologic evaluations of the brain showing multiple large B cells in blood vessels consistent with intravascular large B cell lymphoma (IVL). We did not find any evidence of lymphoma at the site of implantation or other locations. The findings are consistent with highly selective tropism of PCNSLforthe CNS and its vasculature.


A 51-year-old male suffering from recurrent cerebral ischemia due to total occlusion of the bilateral intracranial vertebral arteries more than 1 month old was successfully treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). The totally occluded portion from the right intracranial vertebral artery to the basilar artery was adequately dilated. Follow-up angiography approximately 3 months after angioplasty demonstrated no evidence of restenosis. His symptoms have not recurred. PTA is potentially a much less invasive and safer reconstruction than bypass surgery for total occlusions of the intracranial vertebral arteries less than 3 months old.


The course and complications of fifty-two infants with patent ductus arteriosus requiring closure were assessed prospectively. Twenty-six infants with a PDA received indomethacin for pharmacologic closure of the PDA, and 26 underwent ligation. The current study analyzes and compares the longitudinal follow-up with respect to somatic growth, neurologic function, psychomotor and mental clevelopment, and renal, ophthalmologic, and auch'ologic function in 21 infants in each group who entered the follow-up. No selective morbidity was attributable to PDA closure with indomethacin when compared to surgically treated infants.


Variability is intrinsic to all human activities and psychotherapy is no exception. However, trials methodology is not suited to investigating and building our knowledge about variability. By contrast, the paradigm of practice-based evidence, which focuses on routine practice, is a better way of researching the phenomenon of variability. We outline the key hallmarks of a practice-based evidence paradigm and report on a series of UK studies drawing on datasets using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE) measures and also datasets from the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) initiative. We consider variability at the level of psychological treatment models, at patient, therapist and group levels, as well as at service levels, and finally at the level of neighborhoods and regions. We conclude that variability occurs at all levels of psychological therapies and that equal investment is required at these levels similar to that of trials in order to develop large, national, standardized practice-based datasets in order to advance our understanding of variability in the psychological therapies.


We present a 41-year-old man with Chiari type 1 malformation and cervical syringomyelia. Although the tonsillar herniation persisted, his syringomyelia was almost completely resolved during an eleven-year time period without surgery.


Purpose: The study aimed to explore the outcome of current practices in the treatment of persons with traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) in Bangladesh, through the stages of rescue and first contact with physician, transportation to the tertiary hospital and intermediate admission. Methods: This observational study was conducted between June and August 2011, at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), in Dhaka, Bangladesh. From the 113 persons with SCI admitted at CRP during this period, 56 persons with TSCI were selected. With the help of a questionnaire, data were collected from these persons or their attendants by trained staff, and also taken from hospital records. Data were processed and analysed by SPSS software version 16. Results: The male-female ratio among the study participants was 5.25: 1, with a mean age of 33.02 years. 55.3% of them were paraplegic, while 44.7% were tetraplegic. About 70% of the injuries were complete according to ASIA impairment scale (AIS) during admission at CRP. The most common causes of injury were falls (50%), followed by road traffic accidents (RTA) and carrying loads on the head. 74.8% of the injured persons had been rescued from the accident site by local people but only 16.1% had been transported by ambulance. The spine board had never been used. More than half of the injured received initial treatment only at a sub-district or district hospital where none of the requisite facilities were available. While being transported from one hospital to the other, 10.7% experienced neurological deterioration of some sort. Significant statistical correlation was found between mode of transfer (P <0.03) and intermediate admission (P<0.001) with neurological deterioration. Conclusions: There is an urgent need to implement pre-hospital trauma care in Bangladesh. Since resources and places for the rehabilitation of persons with TSCI are scarce, regional and national spinal injury centres should be established without delay. Limitations: The study focussed only on a small sample of persons with TSCI undergoing treatment at a single centre. doi 10.5463/DCID.v24i1.211


The results of the numerical experiments carried out within the two-layer eddy-resolving Black Sea model are discussed. The motion of the liquid is excited by a stationary wind with a constant cyclonic vorticity. Bottom relief, β-effect, bottom friction and horizontal turbulent viscosity parameterized by the bi-harmonic operator are taken into account in the model. Friction on the interface of the layers is not taken into account, thus, the motion in the lower layer is excited only by non-linear factors. The calculations cover a long period (20 years) up to the moment when the solution achieves the statistically equilibrium mode which is characterized by presence of intense currents, waves and eddies. It is shown that under the statistically equilibrium mode, a cyclonic circulation is formed in the sea: in the upper layer – a meandering flow (the Rim Current analog); in the lower layer – rather intensive waves which are imposed on the flow propagating along the isobaths. These waves can be characterized as the topographic Rossby waves trapped by the continental slope. The technique for analyzing such waves is proposed. It is shown that the current wave disturbances in the lower layer significantly influence the flows in the upper layer contributing to their instability and meandering.


The predicted deterioration of the component quality, due to the shrinking of components to near atomic scale, threatens the effectiveness and the applicability of conventional digital system design methodologies in the giga and tera-scale integration era. Three aggression sources support the previous statement: i) the increasing device parameter variability induced by the extreme reduction of the critical feature sizes and the intrinsic nature of new devices; ii) the intense and practically unpredictable internal noise; and iii) the large number of physical defects. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the noise and parameter variations effects on a basic processing gate. We derive formulas to calculate the expected value and the variance of the gate output under the effects of noise, threshold, and gain fluctuations. Using these expressions we also derive a cost-performance equation that evaluates the gate error probability from its parameter variability, noise, power, and area or redundance. The proposed model is generic for any computing gate in the current digital paradigm. To illustrate the model applicability we calculate the error probability curve for a 90 nm CMOS inverter showing that for this technology the noise is the main limiting factor. A tradeoff analysis of area-power-redundancy-reliability for nanogates is performed indicating that the use of nanoscale individual elements for fabricating gates in deep-nanoscale technologies may not be a viable option. The results clearly suggest that the use of redundant structures is necessary and that averaging structures with mid-high redundancy factors may constitute a reasonable solution for building reliable nanoscale gates.


Introduction: There is increasing evidence that cognitive and behavioural psychological processes are important in relation to bipolar disorder, particularly the ways in which people think about and respond to their experiences. This includes research on processes including positive and negative self appraisals (e.g. 'When I feel good, I know that whatever I do, I could do no wrong', or 'I am a worthless person to have these type of thoughts'; Dodd et al, 2011; Jones & Day, 2008), and behavioural strategies such as risk-taking or rumination (Fisk, Dodd & Collins, 2015). Importantly, these are amenable to change in psychological interventions, and are key psychological processes targeted by Thinking Effectively About Mood Swings cognitive-behavioural therapy for bipolar disorder (Searson, Mansell, Lowens & Tai, 2012). There is also evidence that some people value some aspects of their BD (Lobban, Taylor, Murray & Jones, 2012), such as creativity and inspiration, which is linked to cognitive, behavioural and emotional processes relevant to bipolar disorder and mania risk in students (Jones, Dodd & Gruber, 2014). Additionally, there is increasing evidence that people with BD value improved quality of life and functional outcomes, as well as reduced relapse and symptoms, in relation to psychological interventions (Jones et al, 2013). With this in mind, the Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire (Jones et al, 2013) was developed to measure these experiences, in collaboration with service users. This is important so that novel interventions can be evaluated with respect to outcomes that are valued by individual service users. This research has evaluated associations between positive and negative cognitive styles, emotion regulation strategies, mood and recovery among individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Method: Individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (n = 140) completed measures relating to appraisals of internal states, beliefs about mood swings, emotion regulation strategies, mood and recovery via a cross-sectional survey.

Results: Data collection was completed as of March 2015. Hierarchical multiple regression will be used to explore associations between these cognitive and behavioural processes and outcomes (mood and recovery).

Conclusions: Findings will be discussed in relation to existing theory and evidence about the psychological processes underlying the development and maintenance of bipolar disorder. The study has explored the role of cognitive styles not yet investigated in a diagnosed bipolar sample, such as inspiration and positive beliefs about mood swings. Another novel aspect of this research has been the investigation of associations between cognitive styles, emotion regulation strategies and personal recovery in bipolar disorder. This is important to assess clinical validity and aid the development of new psychological models and interventions. These measures have the potential for clinical use in formulation, assessing the process of change in interventions, and utilising outcome variables important for service users (such as recovery).


Parallel machine scheduling, also known as parallel task scheduling, involves the assignment of multiple tasks onto the system architecture's processing components (a bank of machines in parallel). A basic model involving m machines and n independent jobs is the foundation of more complex models. Here, the jobs are allocated according to resource availability following some allocation rule. The completion time of the last job to leave the system, known as the makespan (Cmax), is one of the most important objective functions to be minimized, because it usually implies high utilization of resources, but other important objectives must be also considered. These problems are known in the literature [9, 11] as unrestricted parallel machine scheduling problems. Many of these problems are NP-hard for 2≤ m ≤ n, and conventional heuristics and evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been developed to provide acceptable schedules as solutions. This presentation shows the problem of allocating a number of non-identical independent tasks in a production system. The model assumes that the system consists of a number of identical machines and only one task may execute on a machine at a time. All schedules and tasks are non-preemptive. A set of well-known conventional heuristics will be contrasted with evolutionary approaches using multiple recombination and indirect representations. 1 The LIDIC is supported by the Universidad Nacional de San Luis and the ANPCYT (National Agency to Promote Science and Technology).


OBJECTIVE
To study the impact of minimum direct care staffing (MDCS) requirements on nurse staffing levels, nurse skill mix, and quality.

DATA SOURCES
U.S. nursing home facility data from the Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) System merged with MDCS requirements. STUDY DESIGN; Facility-level outcomes of nurse staffing levels, nurse skill mix, and quality measures are regressed on the level of nurse staffing required by MDCS requirements in the prior year and other controls using fixed effect panel regression. Quality measures are care practices, resident outcomes, and regulatory deficiencies.

DATA EXTRACTION METHOD
Analysis used all OSCAR surveys from 1999 to 2004, resulting in 17,552 unique facilities with a total of 94,371 survey observations.

PRINCIPLE FINDINGS
The effect of MDCS requirements varied with reliance of the nursing home on Medicaid. Higher MDCS requirements increase nurse staffing levels, while their effect on nurse skill mix depends on the reliance of the nursing home on Medicaid. MDCS have mixed effects on care practices but are generally associated with improved resident outcomes and meeting regulatory standards.

CONCLUSIONS
MDCS requirements change staffing levels and skill mix, improve certain aspects of quality, but can also lead to use of care practices associated with lower quality.


A method is presented for computing far-field antenna patterns from measured near-field data measured by an array of planar dipole probes. The method utilizes the near-field data to determine some equivalent magnetic current sources over a fictitious planar surface which encompasses the antenna. These currents are then used to find the far fields. The near-field measurement is carried out by terminating each dipole with 50 /spl Omega/ load impedances and measuring the complex voltages across the loads. An electric field integral equation (EFIE) is developed to relate the measured complex voltages to the equivalent magnetic currents. The mutual coupling between the array of probes and the test antenna modeled by magnetic dipoles is taken into account. The method of moments with Galerkin's type solution procedure is used to transform the integral equation into a matrix one. The matrix equation is solved with the conjugate gradient-fast Fourier transformation (CG-FFT) method exploiting the block Toeplitz structure of the matrix. Numerical results are presented for several antenna configurations to show the validity of the method. >


BACKGROUND: Grafts available for posterior fossa dural reconstruction after Chiari decompression surgery include synthetic, xenograft, allograft, and autograft materials. The reported rates of postoperative pseudomeningocele and cerebrospinal fluid leak vary, but so far, no dural patch material or technique has sufficiently eliminated these problems. OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of graft-related complications after posterior fossa surgery using AlloDerm alone vs AlloDerm with a DuraGen underlay. METHODS: We performed a retrospective single-center study of a cohort of 106 patients who underwent Chiari decompression surgery by a single surgeon from 2014 through 2021. Age, sex, body mass index, tonsillar descent, syrinx formation, type of dural graft, and follow-up data were analyzed using univariate and χ2 statistical tests. RESULTS: The AlloDerm-only group had a percutaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak rate of 8.6% vs a 0% rate in the dual graft group (P = .037). At initial follow-up, there was a 15.5% combined rate of pseudomeningocele formation plus CSF leak in the AlloDerm-only group vs 18.8% in the AlloDerm + DuraGen group (P = .659). However, the pseudomeningoceles were larger in the AlloDerm-only cohort (45.5 vs 22.4 mm anteroposterior plane, P = .004), and 5 patients in this group required operative repair (56%). All pseudomeningoceles resolved without reoperation in the AlloDerm + DuraGen group (P = .003). CONCLUSION: The use of a DuraGen underlay with a sutured AlloDerm dural patch resulted in significantly fewer CSF-related complications and eliminated the need for reoperation compared with AlloDerm alone. This single-center study provides evidence that buttressing posterior fossa dural grafts with a DuraGen underlay may decrease the risk of postoperative complications.


ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze the agribusiness of Orange Siam in Kuok Subdistrict. This study was conducted in Kuok Subdistrict, Kampar District. The respondent technique was taken by purposive sampling with 34 farmers. The results showed that the upstream agribusiness subsystem was in the right category. On farm agribusiness subsystem, orange siam farmer spend the production cost of farming amounted to Rp. 35.042.645/Ha/year. The gross revenues received by the orange siam farmer amounted to Rp. 71.853.659/Ha/year with average production is 4.970 Kg/Ha/year. Net income received by the orange siam farmers of Rp. 36.811.014/Ha/ with Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) > 1.05. Downstream agribusiness related to post-harvest handling by orange siam farmer only fruit collection and fruit sorting activities. Marketing subsystem related marketing channel of orange siam farmers in Kuok Subdistrict consists of 3 marketing channels, that is farmer-consumer, farmer-retailer-consumer, and farmer-wholesalers-retailer-consumer. Supporting institutional subsystem in Kuok Subdistrict are government institution, agricurtural extension institutes, and farmer groups.

Keywords : Agribusiness, Orange Siam, Benefit Cost Ratio


The use of discrete variables in optimal design models offers the opportunity to deal rigorously with an expanded variety of design situations, as opposed to using only continuous variables. However, complexity and solution difficulty increase dramatically and model formulation becomes very important. A particular problem arising from the design of a gear train employing four spur gear pairs is introduced and formulated in several different ways. An interesting aspect of the problem is its exhibition of three different types of discreteness. The problem could serve as a test for a variety of optimization or artificial intelligence techniques. The best known solution is included in this article, while its derivation is given in a sequel article.


Overall, twenty of the world's adult populations live with hypertension. Blood pressure determination forms an integral part of anesthesiologist's evaluation of the patient prior to and during surgery. 25% of surgical patients have hypertension preoperatively. There are several risks related to untreated preoperative hypertension in perioperative and postoperative phase. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of preoperative hypertension and its intraoperative anaesthesia management among patients undergoing elective surgery at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from March 20 to May 30, 2018. Institutional based cross-sectional study was employed. 423 patients that came for elective surgery at Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital from March 20 to May 30, 2018 were included in the study. The findings of this study showed that out of 423 patients studied, 232 (54.8%) and 191 (45.2%) were males and females, respectively, with the highest percentage (36.6) in age group 20 to 29 years, 6.9% were hypertensive, 11 (37.9%) of the hypertensive patients had abdominal procedures, 6 (20.6%) orthopedic procedures, 5 (17.3%) gynecological procedures, 5 (17.3%) undergone other type of surgical procedures (like neurological, plastic) and 2 (6.9%) thyroidectomy and ENT procedures. Beta Blockers were the most commonly used type of preoperative premedication for hypertensive patients. Majority of patients have had their procedure with general anaesthesia. Half was induced by thiopental and followed by propofol.

 Key words: Pre-operative, hypertension, anesthetic management, elective surgery.


We study insider trading disclosure in a dynamic model where a security is traded in two venues by an insider together with noise traders, and prices are set by competitive dealers in each location, under two alternative information regimes. We first posit that markets are informationally segmented, in that market makers are privy to the information gathered in their venue. In this case, fragmentation has no effect on the price discovery impact of insider trades' disclosure. We then allow market makers in a given venue to also observe the other venue's past period price as well as a noisy signal of that venue's order flow. In this case, we show that if markets are sufficiently pre-trade transparent, disclosure can impair price discovery.


James McBride grew up one of twelve siblings in the all-black housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn, the son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white. The object of McBride's constant embarrassment and continuous fear for her safety, his mother was an inspiring figure, who through sheer force of will saw her dozen children through college, and many through graduate school. McBride was an adult before he discovered the truth about his mother: The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, she had run away to Harlem, married a black man, and founded an all-black Baptist church in her living room in Red Hook. In her son's remarkable memoir, she tells in her own words the story of her past. Around her narrative, James McBride has written a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.


A flexible link of a manipulator has an advantage over a rigid link in the sense that, not only is it light-weighted and thus can move fast using a small-sized actuator, but also that it is safer when it comes into contact with its environment, in particular with humans. However, the vibration due to the flexibility of the link makes it difficult to control the position of the end-point with precision, and when the link is in contact with its environment the problem becomes further complicated. On the other hand, if an actuator can deliver enough force while maintaining proper compliance, it would be advantageous for the sake of safety. An artificial pneumatic muscle-type actuator is an adequate choice in this case. However, the dynamic characteristics of this particular actuator possess strong nonlinearity and load-dependency, and thus a number of problems need to be resolved for its successful application as an actuator. In this work, the position and force control problem of a two-d.o.f. arm system having a flexible second link with artificial pneumatic muscle-type actuators is addressed. A composite controller design method is proposed in the framework of the singular perturbation method. Various robust control schemes are designed in order to meet with payload variation, parameter uncertainty, unmodelled vibration mode and actuator dynamics, both in the slow and the fast subsystems. Simulations and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the suggested composite control scheme.


The aim of this paper is to research whether the complexity of accounting regulatory framework in Croatia and its frequent changes significantly affect the accountants' overall job satisfaction. During the past ten years regulatory accounting framework has been changed many times and all these changes make it very complex and affect the accounting practitioners' scope of the job and its complexity. The results of the research indicate that the complexity of the regulatory accounting framework and frequent changes have statistically significant impact on job satisfaction of accounting practitioners. Among individual characteristics, education and attitude about changes have a statistically significant impact on the extent of accountants' overall job satisfaction, while other demographic and personality characteristics surveyed were not found to be in statistically significant correlation with the job satisfaction. Company's characteristics that were surveyed also did not have an influence on the extent to which accountants' job satisfaction is affected.


Planning--one of the most important functions of laboratory management--cannot be done efficiently without forecasts of external and internal conditions that affect the laboratory. The successful Delphi Method for external forecasting of technological events is discussed. The internal forecasting methods covered in this report include judge and jury methods, time series analysis, and regression models. A brief description of each of these methods is presented along with information on accuracy, typical applications, costs, and references that provide the details of how to perform the forecasts.


Recognition of the importance of effective interviewing and communication skills, and the concomitant need to teach such skills to students in the helping professions are both relatively recent phenomena in rehabilitation medicine. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the model developed at the Institut de réadaptation de Montréal (IRM model) in the teaching of interviewing skills to physiotherapy students in the clinical setting. Twenty-six final-year physiotherapy students were assigned to two groups of 13 each, one of which received structured training in interviewing skills over a four-week period while the other received no specific instruction. Analyses of the appraisals of pre- and post-test student-patient interviews--the appraisals having been done not only by the students themselves, but by the patients and the independent raters--showed that scores on each evaluation improved significantly following the students' training program. The group receiving no training showed no significant improvement. The authors conclude that a short clinical training program using the IRM model can be effective in improving the interviewing skills of physiotherapy students.