Background. A number of studies have suggested that indirect semantic priming is enhanced in thought-disordered schizophrenics. However, research on direct semantic priming has produced conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to resolve some of the ambiguities of previous findings. Methods. For the present study, 44 schizophrenic patients were split according to the presence of associative loosening into a positive thought-disordered (TD) and non-positive thought-disordered (NTD) group. Thirty healthy subjects and 36 psychiatric patients served as controls. Results. Schizophrenics displayed increased indirect semantic priming compared with psychiatric controls. When subtyping the sample, TD-patients exhibited significantly enhanced indirect semantic priming compared with healthy and psychiatric controls as well as NTD-patients. Overall slowing was found to be independent of priming effects. Medication, age and chronicity of the schizophrenic illness did not modulate priming. Conclusions. In line with Spitzer and Maher it is inferred that disinhibited semantic networks underlie formal thought disorder in schizophrenia. For future research, it would be appropriate to: employ indirect semantic priming rather than direct semantic priming conditions; and, pay more attention to potential moderators of the priming effect, most importantly, the prime display duration and the length of the stimulus onset asynchrony.


Two dielectric relaxation peaks, the crystalline and the primary relaxations, were observed in the temperature-dielectric loss curve's in isotactic polypropylene. Among them, the primary relaxation (β) was studied in detail using different kinds of polypropylene films and their films purified with acetone. It was found that β-relaxation consists of two peaks, denoted and β2, being consistent with the dynamic mechanical characteristics. The lower temperature peak (β1) is assigned to the amorphous phase, which is rich in atactic chains, and the upper temperature peak (β2) is ascribed to an antioxidant contained in the amorphous phase which is rich in isotactic chains. The antioxidant also causes an increase in dielectric loss in the higher temperature region. The extraction of impurities from polypropylene films with acetone reduces the magnitude of the primary relaxation peaks.


The value of hydraulic conductivity under saturated conditions, K, depends on the nature of the porous medium and the physical properties of the perfusing fluid. The equation K = kρg/η, where k is the permeability, η is the fluid viscosity, ρ is the fluid density, and g is the gravitational constant, has been used to account for porous medium and fluid properties on K. A laboratory study was conducted to determine whether the equation properly accounts for viscosity effects of organic solutes on K. Hydraulic conductivity of 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg L⁻¹ solutions of large molecular weight polyacrylamides (PAM); 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% (v/v) of glycerol in distilled water; and undiluted n-propanol was measured in two size fractions of quartz sand. The apparent viscosities of PAM and glycerol solutions were higher in the fine sand than in the coarse sand. The apparent viscosity of n-propanol was about the same in the two sand-size fractions. The above-stated equation did not properly account for the effects of fluid properties of PAM and glycerol on K. Use of viscosity values as measured by a viscometer in the equation could result in a several-fold error in prediction of K. Quantitatively characterizing those conditions under which the equation is valid may be important in analyzing the transport of environmental contaminants through soil, particularly when the contaminants may be organic chemicals of various molecular sizes and conformations. This research was supported by the Univ. of California Kearney Foundation of Soil Science.


Summary This prospective study of parturients at a tertiary health institution in south-western Nigeria aims to identify the incidence, severity and obstetric factors predisposing to feto – maternal haemorrhage (FMH) in our population. The exclusion criteria were haemoglobinopathy and patient's refusal of consent to participate in the study. The prepared slide was processed as in the acid elution test described by Kleihauer – Betke. The FMH was calculated using Mollison formula (Mollison ). Baseline data included maternal biodata, blood group, RhD and haemoglobin electrophoresis, route/mode of delivery, duration of labour, obstetric interventions, fetal blood group and birth weight. Data generated were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 11 software. Frequency tables, cross-tabulations and correlations were performed. Pearson's correlation was applied to continuous variables, while Spearman's correlation was utilised for discrete variables. Level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. A total of 163 parturients were studied, of which eight were multifetal gestations. There were no significant differences in maternal age, parity, estimated gestational age at delivery and birth weight, in both groups of parturients with and without FMH. A total of 17 parturients (10.43%), four of which were multifetal gestations (2.45%), had demonstrable FMH. Large FMH (>15 ml fetal cells) were noted in 10 (6.14%) parturients, of which, four were RhD-negative mothers. A total of 9.8% and 11.5% parturients in the vaginal and caesarean delivery groups, respectively, had significant FMH (p = 0.736). Incidence of large FMH was similar with each of the routes of delivery. Antepartum complications of pregnancy, delivery manoeuvres and episiotomy were not significant determinants of FMH. Multiple gestations, fetal birth weight and complications in labour were significantly associated with risk of FMH. Risk-based approach to management, in RhD negative pregnant women, might lead to under-treatment, with attendant increased incidence of isoimmunisation. At least in all RhD-negative women, the cord blood should be tested to determine the baby's blood group and if RhD-positive, Kleihauer – Betke test should be done to determine the degree of FMH and anti-D immunoglobulin dose administered appropriately. Further studies are necessary to establish the determinants/risk factors for FMH.


In many countries, various in-vehicle Telematics systems are already available, while new systems are being currently designed. This paper introduces a smart roadside server for driver assistance and traffic safety warning. In recent world wide projects, roadside equipment is used for wider applications and becomes a server with more intelligent functions. This paper introduces a concept and framework of smart roadside server in various road systems using Telematics system. We suggest two service and application models in signalized intersection and SMART highway. This system models provide a vehicular safety service to a vehicle terminal of a vehicle located on a road within a service area from a smart roadside server. The smart roadside server is useful for driver assistance and warning by Telematics devices.


At the time of writing Bolivia has experienced political democracy for nearly 30 uninterrupted years. During this period candidates have been voted into various levels of government through free, fair and regular elections. With each successful election it would seem that political democracy has become increasingly established in Bolivia. However, unlike in more traditional democracies the establishment of political democracy has not led to comprehensive social rights. One possible reason for the stalled democratisation currently facing Bolivia is the nearly quarter of a century of comprehensive neoliberalism, which began in 1986. During this period policy formation was largely decided by small, organised groups of powerful individuals. Furthermore, institutions such as organised labour movements that have been shown to help make political democracies more dynamic – through giving voice to wider interest groups in decision-making processes – were severely repressed during neoliberalism.

Evo Morales' ascension to the presidency in 2006 seems to have marked the end of the type of stringent neoliberal economic policies and narrow decision-making that defined the previous 20 years in Bolivia. More importantly, Morales' election has coincided with the reassertion of certain political rights that had been limited during neoliberalism. Thus, the political rights that have been argued to be vital in democratisation processes by authors such as O'Donnell, Lipset, Przeworski, Rueschemeyer, Stephens, Sen and Valenzuela seem more available now than in the previous two decades. Based in the literature we argue that the opportunities provided by political democracy will not lead to more substantial social democracy on their own but rather need to be positively grabbed by capable actors. Thus, in this thesis we seek to understand if and how the Central Bolivian Labour Confederation is able to use political democracy as a springboard for obtaining greater social rights?


The small punch (miniature disk bend) test was used to estimate conventional tensile and fracture properties of the reactor pressure vessel A 533B plate steel provided by ASTM for its Cross-Comparison Exercise on Determination of Material Properties Through the Use of Miniature Mechanical Testing Techniques. The test procedures followed those developed over the last six years mainly through support of the Electric Power Research Institute. The small punch, disk-shaped specimen of 6.35 mm (0.25 in.) diameter and 0.5 mm (0.020 in.) thickness is loaded by a 2.54 mm (0.1 in.) diameter hemispherical head punch at a constant displacement rate of typically 0.25 mm (0.01 in.) per minute. The room-temperature material fracture toughness (K I c ) and uniaxial tensile stress-strain curve and properties estimated from three separate small punch tests at room temperature show good reproducibility and agreement with the conventionally-measured, large specimen values. A series of small punch tests exhibited well-defined temperature-dependent energy transition behavior and potential for estimation of standard Chatpy transition temperatures from such data.


Fifteen patients with radiation-induced brachial plexus paralysis were studied. Thirteen women had been treated for breast cancer. Two men developed symptoms and signs following radiation therapy for lung cancer. The brachial plexus paralysis initially was not static and progressed, but spontaneous arrest with permanent residual paralysis was seen in three patients. Three were noted to have intractable pain, but the major complaint of the remaining 12 was the inability to use their hand. The ten patients on whom an earlier operation directed at the brachial plexus had been performed were not relieved. Two of these were later considered excellent candidates for a tendon transfer in the hand. One did not desire surgery. The other underwent operation and showed marked improvement of her grasp and general hand function.


Many philosophers have become worried about the use of standard real numbers for the probability function that represents an agent's credences. They point out that real numbers can't capture the distinction between certain extremely unlikely events and genuinely impossible ones�they are both represented by credence 0, which violates a principle known as �regularity.� Following Skyrms 1980 and Lewis 1980, they recommend that we should instead use a much richer set of numbers, called the �hyperreals.�

This essay argues that this popular view is the result of two mistakes. The first mistake, which this essay calls the �numerical fallacy,� is to assume that a distinction that isn't represented by different numbers isn't represented at all in a mathematical representation. In this case, the essay claims that although the real numbers do not make all relevant distinctions, the full mathematical structure of a probability function does. The second mistake is that the hyperreals make too many distinctions. They have a much more complex structure than credences in ordinary propositions can have, so they make distinctions that don't exist among credences. While they might be useful for generating certain mathematical models, they will not appear in a faithful mathematical representation of credences of ordinary propositions.


Reovirus Type 2 was isolated from three patients aged 5, 9 and 10 years. The etiological role of Reovirus in one case was confirmed by demonstration of antibodies in convalescent serum and none in acute serum. Symptoms in this case were suggestive of infectious mononucleosis. In the second case, rhinitis and non-purulent otitis were preceded by two waves of fever, abdominal pain and emesis. Acute serum was not available but convalescent serum had a high titre to a Reovirus, thus supporting a Reovirus etiology. Symptoms in the third case were fever, intermittent headache, neck stiffness, abdominal cramps and weakness of a leg. Because of the unavailability of convalescent serum, evidence of a Reovirus etiology was incomplete. No attempt is made to associate Reovirus with a particular clinical picture. Rather, attention is simply drawn to the existence of Reovirus infections in Ontario.


Many project groups have a hard time meeting their deadlines. This research addresses this issue by studying group perceptions and group self-regulatory actions that may impede or foster the timeliness of group projects. Longitudinal data were collected from 22 student project groups developing a business solution in a field assignment. Using a questionnaire, we measured perceived time pressure, group potency, planning, and reflexivity, as well as the project's progress at three points during the 13-week working period: at the start of the project, just after the orientation phase, and finally after the execution phase and the project deadline. Our findings suggest that the effect of time pressure on progress is moderated by group potency. Furthermore, there were differential effects of planning and reflexivity in the orientation phase and the execution phase. Execution planning and reflexivity did not appear to be very useful for progress in the orientation phase of the project. However, in the execution phase, both planning and reflexivity contributed to meeting the deadline.


This paper examines how digital scanning techniques can be utilised in the digital fabrication of hybrid materials. It explores how 'imperfections' discovered in natural materials can inform unique design solutions. In the first part of this paper, the technical scan-to-production process is explained. Secondly, the paper discusses this new production model against current standardised production processes. Third, the paper introduces ways in which the proposed research method can be incorporated into emerging design practices through three realised projects – Digitized Grain, STP @ Milano Design Week, and Timber X-Ray Scanning; Finally, an assessment of the Research through Design Production over the course of these projects details the key changes in each stage of the STP process.


Corticosteroids directly affect the heart and vasculature and are implicated in the pathogenesis of heart failure. Attention is focussed upon the role of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in mediating pro-fibrotic and other adverse effects of corticosteroids upon the heart. In contrast, the role of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the heart and vasculature is less well understood. We addressed this in mice with cardiomyocyte and vascular smooth muscle deletion of GR (SMGRKO mice). Survival of SMGRKO mice to weaning was reduced compared with that of littermate controls. Doppler measurements of blood flow across the mitral valve showed an elongated isovolumetric contraction time in surviving adult SMGRKO mice, indicating impairment of the initial left ventricular contractile phase. Although heart weight was elevated in both genders, only male SMGRKO mice showed evidence of pathological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, associated with increased myosin heavy chain-β expression. Left ventricular fibrosis, evident in both genders, was associated with elevated levels of mRNA encoding MR as well as proteins involved in cardiac remodelling and fibrosis. However, MR antagonism with spironolactone from birth only modestly attenuated the increase in pro-fibrotic gene expression in SMGRKO mice, suggesting that elevated MR signalling is not the primary driver of cardiac fibrosis in SMGRKO mice, and cardiac fibrosis can be dissociated from MR activation. Thus, GR contributes to systolic function and restrains normal cardiac growth, the latter through gender-specific mechanisms. Our findings suggest the GR:MR balance is critical in corticosteroid signalling in specific cardiac cell types.


Actively addressing racism in our faculties of medicine is needed now, more than ever. One way to do this is through allyship, the practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person in a position of privilege and power seeks to operate in solidarity with a traditionally marginalized group. In this paper, we provide practical tips on how to practice allyship, giving educators and leaders background understanding and important tools on how to actively promote equity and diversity. We also share tips on how to promote inclusivity to more accurately reflect the communities we serve. Through six broad actions of being, knowing, feeling, doing, promoting, and acting, we can empower individuals to become allies and address racism in medical education and beyond. Creating psychologically safe spaces, educating ourselves on our complex histories and how they influence the present, recognizing racism, and advocating for change, augments awareness from which we can pivot conversations. Acknowledging potential feelings of shame, guilt, and embracing our loss of privilege, allow necessary, but challenging, personal growth to occur. Finally, dismantling the racist structures that exist within medicine, moving us beyond individual interventions, will address the systemic nature of racism in medicine. Everyone can find a starting place within this guide, as simple, consistent actions foster change in our spheres of influence; and the ripple effect of these changes will impact attitudes and behaviours broadly.


Plants, fungi, and animals generate a diverse array of deterrent natural products that induce avoidance behavior in biological adversaries. The largest known chemical family of deterrents are terpenes characterized by reactive α,β-unsaturated dialdehyde moieties, including the drimane sesquiterpenes and other terpene species. Deterrent sesquiterpenes are potent activators of mammalian peripheral chemosensory neurons, causing pain and neurogenic inflammation. Despite their wide-spread synthesis and medicinal use as desensitizing analgesics, their molecular targets remain unknown. Here we show that isovelleral, a noxious fungal sesquiterpene, excites sensory neurons through activation of TPRA1, an ion channel involved in inflammatory pain signaling. TRPA1 is also activated by polygodial, a drimane sesquiterpene synthesized by plants and animals. TRPA1-deficient mice show greatly reduced nocifensive behavior in response to isovelleral, indicating that TRPA1 is the major receptor for deterrent sesquiterpenes in vivo. Isovelleral and polygodial represent the first fungal and animal small molecule agonists of nociceptive transient receptor potential channels.


A PREVIOUSLY healthy 16-year-old boy was brought to the emergency department with a 1-day history of fever, headache, and lethargy. On that day, he vomited several times, was disoriented, and was incontinent. The physical examination results were notable for confusion, meningismus, and anisocoria. Results of a lumbar puncture showed an opening pressure of 55 cm H2O. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was grossly purulent. Laboratory test results were white blood cell count, 17 10/μL (59% segmented neutrophils, 37% band forms); glucose, 20 mg/dL (1.11 mmol/ L); and protein, 5.83 g/dL. A gram stain of the CSF showed intracellular gram-negative diplococci. Treatment was started with ceftriaxone, 75 mg/kg and mannitol, 0.5 g/kg. A computed tomogram of the brain was normal and showed unremarkable cisterns and ventricles. On arrival after transfer to a tertiary hospital, his blood pressure was 168/100 mm Hg and his heart rate was 80 beats per minute. The physical examination results showed minimally responsive pupils, petechiae of the face, hands, and feet, and decerebrate posturing in response to painful stimuli. The left side was less responsive than the right. Because of clinical evidence of increased intracranial pressure (ICP), an intraparenchymal catheter was placed in the right frontal lobe and the initial ICP was greater than 80 mm Hg. He was immediately treated with intravenous mannitol, sodium pentothal, fetanyl, and midazolam, and an external ventricular CSF drain was placed. After drainage of approximately 10 to 20 mL of CSF, the ICP was 10 to 14 mm Hg. A xenonenhanced computed tomographic (CT) scan was obtained (Figure). Therapy consisted of dopamine to maintain a mean arterial pressure greater than 80 mm Hg, with a goal of a cerebral perfusion pressure of greater than 70 mm Hg, sedation with fentanyl and midazolam, muscle relaxation with pancuronium, mannitol for ICP greater than 20 cm H2O, mild hyperventilation to maintain arterial PCO2 of 35 to 40 mm Hg, and continuation of antibiotics. The CSF cultures grew Neisseria meningiditis. On the fifth hospital day, he had improved and was following commands. The ventriculostomy and the endotracheal tube were removed. A detailed neurologic examination performed after extubation revealed no focal deficits, and his mental status continued to improve. At the time of discharge on the 10th hospital day, the patient had normal neurologic examination results.


Hazard assessment of remote volcanic islands provides many challenges compared to other volcanoes and volcanic fields. Here we present the first systematic volcanic hazard assessment of Jan Mayen Island, a remote island located in the North-Atlantic Ocean and home to the northernmost active subaerial volcano in the world (Beerenberg Volcano), and we discuss some of the challenges and characteristics of performing a volcanic hazard assessment of a remote volcanic island. Jan Mayen has had at least five eruptions since its discovery at the start of the 17th century. Its Holocene volcanism is mainly characterized by eruptions with styles ranging from Hawaiian to Strombolian, but also by lava domes and Surtseyan eruptions. Based on field data, remote images, topographic data, past data, and computer simulations, our study evaluates the spatial probability of new vents opening, estimates eruption recurrence rates, simulates various eruption scenarios, and produces hazard maps for the different scenarios. This work shows where the hazards of ash fall, and lava flows are more likely to affect the built infrastructure on Jan Mayen Island. This hazard assessment will assist emergency planning and the determination of future land use on the island.


Asn-52 of rat cytochrome c and baker's yeast iso-1-cytochrome c was changed to isoleucine by site-directed mutagenesis and the mutated proteins expressed in and purified from cultures of transformed yeast. This mutation affected the affinity of the haem iron for the Met-80 sulphur in the ferric state and the reduction potential of the molecule. The yeast protein, in which the sulphur-iron bond is distinctly weaker than in vertebrate cytochromes c, became very similar to the latter: the pKa of the alkaline ionization rose from 8.3 to 9.4 and that of the acidic ionization decreased from 3.4 to 2.8. The rates of binding and dissociation of cyanide became markedly lower, and the affinity was lowered by half an order of magnitude. In the ferrous state the dissociation of cyanide from the variant yeast cytochrome c was three times slower than in the wild-type. The same mutation had analogous but less pronounced effects on rat cytochrome c: it did not alter the alkaline ionization pKa nor its affinity for cyanide, but it lowered its acidic ionization pKa from 2.8 to 2.2. These results indicate that the mutation of Asn-52 to isoleucine increases the stability of the cytochrome c closed-haem crevice as observed earlier for the mutation of Tyr-67 to phenylalanine [Luntz, Schejter, Garber and Margoliash (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 3524-3528], because of either its effects on the hydrogen-bonding of an interior water molecule or a general increase in the hydrophobicity of the protein in the domain occupied by the mutated residues. The reduction potentials were affected in different ways; the Eo of rat cytochrome c rose by 14 mV whereas that of the yeast iso-1 cychrome c was 30 mV lower as a result of the change of Asn-52 to isoleucine.


This study was carried out to examine the association between exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with traffic exhaust and biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant levels among highway toll station workers. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 47 female highway toll station workers exposed to traffic exhausts and 27 female classroom trainees as a reference group. Exposure assessment was based on a biomarker of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene-glucuronide (1-OHPG). Urinary isoprostane was assayed as a biomarker of lipid peroxidation, and plasma antioxidative capacity of lipid-soluble substances (ACL) and water-soluble substances (ACW) was measured. The median concentration of urinary isoprostane was higher among the exposed non-smokers (4.63 ng/mL) compared with the reference non-smokers (3.52 ng/mL, difference: 0.91, 95% CI -0.15 to 1.98) (Wilcoxon rank-sum test: p = 0.04). The median concentration of ACW among non-smoking exposed subjects (37.9 μg/mL Trolox equivalent) was lower than that of the reference non-smokers (86.3 μg/mL). Adjusting for confounding effects by linear regression, a change in log (isoprostane) concentration was significantly related to a unit change in log(1-OHPG) (regression coefficient [s], β = 0.14, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.21). Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon is associated with increased lipid peroxidation and reduced antioxidative capacity in toll station workers.


Studies were carried out on the social aspects of malaria among 600 students. Three hundred students (150 male, 150 females) were randomly selected from two tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria. These schools are Lagos State University (LASU) and AOCOED (Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education). A structured questionnaire elicited relevant information on knowledge, perception and social aspects of malaria. Students aged 21-23, from faculty of arts and in their second year participated mostly in the study with no significant difference between the two schools. In LASU, 223(74.3%) and 211(70.3%) in AOCOED knew the cause of malaria (P>0.05). In LASU, 282(94%) and 192(64%) in AOCOED believed that malaria could be prevented (P 0.05). 109 (36.3%) respondents in LASU and 112(37.3%) in AOCOED thought that malaria was contagious (P>0.05). Fever was the most recognised symptom of malaria in both schools and self-medication was more popular in AOCOED. In LASU, 284(94.6%) and AOCOED, 273(91%) had malaria in the past one year (P>0.05). 146(48.7%) of the students who participated in LASU and 206(68.6%) in AOCOED had been admitted for malaria within the past one year (P<0.05). Class absenteeism and low academic performance were significantly higher in AOCOED than LASU. However, our results suggested that the LASU students were more informed about malaria than the AOCOED students because their knowledge and perception was better. The students, despite their academic backgrounds need intensified health education on malaria incorporated into their schools' curriculum.


Abstract We discuss three effects of axial rotation at low metallicity. The first one is the mixing of the chemical species which is predicted to be more efficient in low metallicity environments. A consequence is the production of important quantities of primary 14N, 13C, 22Ne and a strong impact on the nucleosynthesis of the s-process elements. The second effect is a consequence of the first. Strong mixing makes possible the apparition at the surface of important quantities of CNO elements. This increases the opacity of the outer layers and may trigger important mass loss by line driven winds. The third effect is the fact that, during the main-sequence phase, stars, at very low metallicity, reach more easily than their more metal rich counterparts, the critical velocity. We discuss the respective importance of these three effects as a function of the metallicity. We show the consequences for the early chemical evolution of the galactic halo and for explaining the CEMP stars. We conclude that rotation is probably a key feature which contributes in an important way to shape the evolution of the first stellar generations in the Universe.


CONTEXT
Multiple comprehensive, risk-adjusted studies evaluating short-term surgical mortality have been reported previously. This report analyzes short-term and long-term outcomes, both nationally and at each individual transplant program, for all solid organ transplantations performed in the United States.

OBJECTIVES
To report graft and patient survival rates for all solid organ transplantations, both nationally and at each specific transplant program in the United States, and to compare the expected survival rate with the actual survival rate of each individual program.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Multivariate regression analysis of donor and recipient factors affecting graft and patient survival of all kidney, liver, pancreas, heart, lung, and heart-lung transplants reported to the United Network for Organ Sharing from 742 separate transplant programs.

PATIENTS
A cohort of 97587 solid organ transplantations performed on 92966 recipients in the United States from January 1988 through April 1994.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Short-term and conditional 3-year national and individual transplant program graft and patient survival rates overall and from 2 separate eras (era 1, January 1988-April 1992; era 2, May 1992-April 1994); comparison of actual center-specific performance with risk-adjusted expected performance and identification of centers with better-than-expected or worse-than-expected survival rates.

RESULTS
One-year graft follow-up exceeded 98% and conditional 3-year follow-up exceeded 91% for all organs. Graft and patient survival improved significantly in era 2 compared with era 1 for all cadaver organs except heart, which remained the same. One-year cadaveric graft survival ranged from 81.5% for heart to 61.9% for heart-lung and 3-year conditional graft survival ranged from 91.3% for pancreas to 74.7% for lung. The percentage of programs whose actual 1-year graft survival was not different from or was better than their risk-adjusted expected survival ranged from 98.3% for heart-lung to 75.7% for liver. Most kidney, liver, and heart programs whose actual survival was significantly less than expected performed small numbers (less than the national average) of transplantations per year.

CONCLUSIONS
Graft and patient survival for solid organ transplantations showed improvement over time. Conditional 3-year graft and patient survival rates were approximately 90% for all organs except for lung and heart-lung. The conditional 3-year survival rates were better than 1-year survival rates, indicating the major risk after transplantation occurs in the first year. The majority of transplant programs achieved actual survival rates not significantly different from their expected survival rates. Center effects were most significant within the first year after transplantation and had much less influence on long-term survival outcomes.


Injuries to the acromioclavicular joint usually result in pain and instability. However, few biomechanical studies have investigated the mechanism of injury and treatment. Consequently, current rehabilitation protocols and surgical techniques have similar outcomes with no "gold standard" for treatment. Therefore, the thesis objective was to evaluate the function of the intact and injured acromioclavicular joint during combined loading to provide guidelines for the development of rehabilitation protocols and reconstructions for complete dislocations.A robotic/universal force-moment sensor testing system was utilized to apply an external load in combination with joint compression to intact and injured joint. Joint compression caused significantly decreases in primary (in the direction of loading) translations and joint contact forces while increasing coupled (orthogonal to the direction of loading) translations for the injured joint (p<0.05). These findings suggest common surgical techniques such as distal clavicle resection, which remove painful joint contact, may cause loads to be supported by other structures and be transmitted over a smaller area due to the increased coupled motion and joint contact. Both findings reinforce the importance of restoring each component of the acromioclavicular joint after injury. Next, the cyclic behavior and structural properties of an anatomic reconstruction of the coracoclavicular ligaments were determined during uni-axial tensile testing and compared to the intact coracoclavicular ligaments. After complete dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint, the anatomic reconstruction complex was found to have significantly lower stiffness and ultimate load compared to the intact ligaments (p<0.05). However, the bending stiffness of the clavicle significantly decreased after dislocation. Consequently, the individual properties of the tendon graft used during reconstruction had more comparable results to the intact coracoclavicular ligaments than current surgical techniques.The evaluation of the intact and injured joint during a combination of loading conditions provided guidelines for the development of an anatomic reconstruction. The experimental methodology used to evaluate the anatomic reconstruction incorporated a more realistic mechanism of failure scenario during testing. Both studies provide insight on functional changes of the intact acromioclavicular joint following injury and reconstruction. Future investigations should quantify the loads transmitted across the joint during daily activities. Computational models could use this information in addition to data collected with the methodology developed in this thesis to optimize the proposed anatomic reconstruction.


In theory, a safe approach to an intersection implies that drivers can simultaneously manage two scenarios: they either choose to cross or to give way to an oncoming vehicle. In this article we formalize the critical time for safe crossing (CTcross) and the critical time for safe stopping (CTstop) to represent crossing and stopping possibilities, respectively. We describe these critical times in terms of affordances and empirically test their respective contribution to the driver's decision-making process. Using a driving simulator, three groups of participants drove cars with identical acceleration capabilities and different braking capabilities. They were asked to try to cross an intersection where there was an oncoming vehicle, if they deemed the maneuver to be safe. If not, they could decide to stop or, as a last resort, make an emergency exit. The intersections were identical among groups. Results showed that although the crossing possibilities (CTcross) were the same for all groups, there were between-group differences in crossing frequency. This suggests that stopping possibilities (CTstop) play a role in the driver's decision-making process, in addition to the crossing possibilities. These results can be accounted for by a behavioral model of decision making, and provide support for the hypothesis of choice between affordances.


Abstract In recent years, interest in the capability of virus particles as a treatment for cancer has increased. In this work, we present a mathematical model embodying the interaction between tumour cells and virus particles engineered to infect and destroy cancerous tissue. To quantify the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy, we conduct a local stability analysis and bifurcation analysis of our model. In the absence of tumour growth or viral decay, the model predicts that oncolytic virotherapy will successfully eliminate the tumour cell population for a large proportion of initial conditions. In comparison, for growing tumours and decaying viral particles there are no stable equilibria in the model; however, oscillations emerge for certain regions in our parameter space. We investigate how the period and amplitude of oscillations depend on tumour growth and viral decay. We find that higher tumour replication rates result in longer periods between oscillations and lower amplitudes for uninfected tumour cells. From our analysis, we conclude that oncolytic viruses can reduce growing tumours into a stable oscillatory state, but are insufficient to completely eradicate them. We propose that it is only with the addition of other anti-cancer agents that tumour eradication may be achieved by oncolytic virus.


Grotius's theory of punishment provides a unique lens through which to view his evolving thought on sovereignty between De Indis and De iure belli ac pacis and the implications of that evolution for Grotius's theory of the ius in bello. Throughout both works, Grotius attempted to leave open the possibility of private punishment and private warfare, a position not easily squared with prevailing views of sovereign authority. Initially, Grotius was content with a theory marrying the private right of punishment with more traditional Scholastic views of sovereignty through a transfer of the private right from individuals into the hands of the sovereign. This theory also adopted traditional views of subject responsibility for sovereign acts—and, by extension, the exposure of subjects to punishment for the acts of their sovereign. By the time of his mature work, however, Grotius turned away from natural law justifications for collective responsibility and collective punishment, denying that subjects had to answer for the acts of their sovereign as a necessary incident of the compact creating civil society. This led Grotius to refer virtually all forms of collective responsibility, such as reprisal or punishment exacted through war, to the law of nations. This sharp reduction of the natural consequences of the creation of sovereign power also enabled Grotius's argument that the private right of war, and in particular the private right of punishment, remained available after the creation of civil society.


We present a kinematic model for the Himalayan thrust belt that satisfies structural and metamorphic data and explains recently reported late Miocene‐Pliocene geochronologic and thermochronologic ages from rocks in the Main Central thrust zone in central Nepal. At its current exposure level, the Main Central thrust juxtaposes a hanging-wall flat in Greater Himalayan rocks with a footwall flat in Lesser Himalayan rocks of the Ramgarh thrust sheet, which is the roof thrust of a large Lesser Himalayan duplex. Sequential emplacement of the Main Central (early Miocene) and Ramgarh (middle Miocene) thrust sheets was followed by insertion of thrust sheets within the Lesser Himalayan duplex and folding of the Main Central and Ramgarh thrusts during late Miocene‐ Pliocene time. Thorium-lead (Th-Pb) ages of monazite inclusions in garnets from central Nepal record the timing of coeval, progressive metamorphism of Lesser Himalayan rocks in the footwall of the Main Central thrust. Although this model does not rule out minor, late-stage reactivation of the Main Central thrust, major late Miocene reactivation is not required.


Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy (Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath) is an alternative history of the First World War written for a Young Adult audience. It is an example of steampunk fiction, and as such makes numerous changes to historical fact. Chief among these is the division of much of the world along two axes, namely those nations who have chosen to pursue progress through mechanical engineering – known in the novels as Clankers – and those nations who continue to build on Charles Darwin's discovery of genetic engineering to create new creatures that are employed in industrial and military capacities. Examples of Clanker nations are Germany and Austria, whilst Britain – thanks to Darwin's pioneering work – is the leading Darwinist nation. Some powers want the best of both worlds, and so Japan as well as the USA show evidence of using both Clanker inventions and Darwinist creatures. For the most part, therefore, this division allows Westerfeld to map his re-imagined world onto the genuine antagonisms of the period surrounding the First World War. The narrative is based around the adventures of two young protagonists. His Serene Highness, Prince Aleksander of Hohenburg is the fictitious son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and is also a representative of the Clanker approach to progress. His counterpart representing the Darwinists is Deryn Sharp, who for much of the trilogy is disguised as a boy called Dylan, since this was the only way open to her to gain admittance into the Air Service. The changing relationship between Alek and Deryn – at first suspicious, then collegial, before transforming into love – is the backbone of the trilogy, allowing Westerfeld to weave numerous themes, such as gender and class differences, into his work. However, Westerfeld's major goal is to build a world that, whilst originally based on open hostility between the mechanical and the organic, realises that its only opportunity for peace and progress will lie in a deconstruction of this division. In keeping with the steampunk agenda, and echoing Donna Haraway's work on the cyborg, Westerfeld leads his readers to the point where a type of mechanical / organic hybridity is seen as the most desirable and optimistic solution not just for his fictional early 20th Century world, but also for our own early 21st Century.


It is general preferable to consider stamping effects of sheet metal forming for vehicle crash simulation nowadays. However, the present approaches for stamping simulation and coupling forming results to crash finite element model require massive pre-works. To overcome these difficulties, an inverse method for rapid and simple stamping simulation using HYCRASH is introduced, where crashworthiness analysis of front side rail under frontal crash was used as an example in this study. A detailed stamping simulation by AUTOFORM is used for comparison, also accompanied with the one without stamping effects. Through comparison of stamping results and frontal crashworthiness performance, it is concluded that effective plastic strain makes more contribution on simulation accuracy than thickness reduction, and HYCRASH shows an attractive approach for stamping analysis than AUTOFORM coupled in crash simulation in the context of computational cost.


Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a series of corporate actions that appear to improve social products, expand the reach of the company beyond the explicit economic interests of the company, with the consideration that such actions are not required by law. This study aims to determine the effect of sales growth, Return on Equity, and Size on CSR. CSR in this study is measured by two approaches, namely CSR based on accrual basis (assumed CSR) and CSR based on cash basis (CSR fulfillment). This research wasconducted at companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2015-2017. The results showed that sales growth, Return on Equity and size did not affect the assumed CSR. However, the results of the study also showed that company size has influence on CSR fulfillment, while sales growth and ROE do not have an influence on CSR fulfillment.


When compared to bare metal stents (BMS), drug-eluting stents (DES) are associated with a dramatic reduction in restenosis and target lesion revascularization. However, the benefit of DES is limited to restenosis, and DES utilization does not translate into reductions in death or myocardial infarction. Additionally, concern exists regarding the long-term safety of DES, as there appears to be a small but real increase in late (LST) and very late stent thrombosis (VLST), seen particularly after the discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy. The specter of LST and VLST has curtailed enthusiasm for widespread DES utilization mandating critical appraisal of DES and the optimal role they play in percutaneous coronary intervention. The incidence of DES thrombosis is debated and varies somewhat by definition. The mechanisms are multifactorial, and involve patient, lesion, stent and physician related factors. Some of these factors are modifiable at the physician-patient level, while others are not. This review focuses on DES thrombosis, with particular attention paid to the definitions, incidence, mechanisms and clinical implications.


OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not stem cell injections improve the quality of life in patients with cardiopathy. STUDY DESIGN: Review of three randomized controlled trial (RCT) articles. All articles were published between 2012 – 2017 and were all printed in the English language. DATA SOURCES: All three RCT articles were found through PubMed. OUTCOMES MEASURED: One of the outcomes measured in each of the articles were improvement in quality of life in patients with cardiopathy. Among the three review articles, quality of life was measured using either the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and/or the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). Questionnaires were given to patients at either three, six, and/or twelve months after stem cell or visually matched placebo injections. Higher scores for MLHFQ indicated a decrease in quality of life. Whereas, higher scores in the KCCQ indicated improvement in the quality of life. RESULTS: All three studies used in this selective EBM review reported improvement in the quality of life at 3, 6, and/or 12-month assessment periods. Hare et al. study reported a p-value of 0.05 and 0.0167 versus baseline for the MLHFQ and KCCQ respectively. Similarly, the Hamshere et al. study also reported that a combination of G-CSF with IC BMC demonstrated an improvement the quality of life and reported a significant p-value of 0.005 at the one year assessment period. Improvement in quality of life was also reported in the Hare et al. study. A pvalue of 0.009 was reported for autologous stem cell injections. CONCLUSIONS: The three RCT used in this EBM review concluded that stem cell injections improved cardiac function resulting in the improvement of the quality of life in patients with cardiopathy.


Recent recommended changes to Australia's patent laws could narrow the scope of patentable inventions. We argue this could have a comparatively bigger impact on female inventors who we find clustered in the life sciences. We examine 309,544 patent applications filed with IP Australia (the majority from international applicants) across a 15-year period (2001–15) and attribute a gender to 941,516 inventor names. Only 23.6% of patent applications in this dataset include at least 1 female inventor. The average overall success rate irrespective of gender was 75.0%, but the odds of success increased with increasing numbers of male inventors on a team. The addition of female inventors to a team did not have the same effect. We propose that the gender disparity could arise from implicit gender effects (examiner or patentee) during patent prosecution. suggests that the observed odds ratio is consistent with the null hypothesis of no effect of the number of females on the odds of patent application success.


One of the most vital duties for engineers is to preserve life and nature by utilising safe designs that take into account environmental standards and monitoring the performance of structures against design criteria. Furthermore, monitoring can be used to determine any required maintenance of an important structure following a catastrophic event. Numerous different techniques and instruments can be employed for such a purpose with different requirements producing different results. For instance, some techniques need to embed sensors inside the building, such as Geotechnical Sensors. Others can offer high quality, but with a low point density and require fixed stations and targets, like Total Stations (TS). In such cases, the location of deformation tends to be known, such as in dams, bridges, and high-rise buildings. However, this is not always the case where it might be hard to expect deformation location as in the case of historic ruins where each part of the structure could be subject to deformation. The challenge in such case is to detect the deformation without any previous knowledge. Remote Sensing (RS) techniques, such as Digital Photogrammetry, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) can be solutions for such an issue.
Interestingly, many researchers are focusing on using TLS for monitoring owing to the great spatial resolution system can offer. However, there are three challenges in using TLS in monitoring: the first one is a huge amount of data and the difficulty of handling it; the second one is the difficulty of comparing between two epochs because observations of TLS are not repeatable; and the third issue is the noise which is attached to the data. The first problem is solved by segmentation and point structure while the second and the third ones still need more investigation, although some interesting researches have been done in this area. The aim of this research is to develop a new approach to detect and localise unpredictable deformation. It is based on TLS measurements and Generalised Procrustes Analysis (GPA) techniques to determine deformation vectors, while boxing structure and F-test are used to detect and localise deformation. In summary, after applying this approach, the whole concerned building is represented as parts, for each of which the displacement vector and the deformation probability are estimated. Ultimately, it is possible to monitor any part through different epochs. In addition, through this technique, it is possible to determine deformations - not just between two epochs, but for sequences of them. This can give more reliable results.
Four validation experiments have been conducted. The first test was designed to assess the performance of the developed software and to fix some variables. Therefore, it was based on simulated data with controlled white noise, distributed according to the normal distribution, and simulated deformations. The results of this test revealed the success of the proposed algorithm to detect and to localise deformations. In addition, it showed the success when no deformations exist. Furthermore, optimistically, it could observe deformations with magnitude less than the noise level; however, the probability was only 40%.
Correspondingly, real scan data with simulated deformations was used in the second test. The purpose of this test is to examine the performance of the proposed method in case of real errors budget. However, the short range of the test (about 10m), a featureless scanned area (wall only), and scanning from one position for all epochs (no need for registration) can reduce errors to a minimum. Results of this test showed the success of the proposed method to detect and localise deformations. Potentially, it can give indications for areas with deformations less than the noise level. Furthermore, results of the proposed method can be considered better than that of CloudCompare software.
The third test was conducted to examine the performance of the proposed technique regarding different materials and textures. For this purpose, the Nottingham Geospatial Building (NGB) was selected with more extensive ranges (between 20-25 m). Similar to the second test, all measurements were taken from the same scanner position. To some extent, the proposed technique succeeded to detect and to localise deformations. However, the researcher does not recommend it for monitoring modern and complicated buildings, instead it has been developed for monitoring historic ruins.
Finally, the proposed method was applied on the Bellmanpark Limekiln, Clitheroe, Lancashire monitoring project. This is a live project for Historic England and addresses a historic building that currently has some structural issues. The outcome of the proposed method revealed deformations in the faces South East (SE) and North East (NE). From examining these faces, three deformed areas were found: two in the face SE and one in the face NE, which might cause some cracks appeared in these faces. Alternatively, the CloudCompare software has been employed to detect deformation. Although results coincide with the proposed method for detected deformations, it cannot locate these deformations very well because it diffused over a wide area. In addition, it cannot determine actual directions of the deformations unlike the proposed method.


Background and Aim Hearing impairment is a commonly reported chronic condition among older adults. Hearing impairment is significantly associated with reduced quality of life and diminished function status. This study aimed to investigate the association between hearing impairment and mental health among Chinese older adults, with a focus on exploring the moderating effects of social participation and exercise on this association. Methods The data of this study were obtained from the 2018 wave of Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). We employed ordinary least squares regression models to analyze the effect of hearing impairment on mental health. Propensity score matching (PSM) and doubly robust estimation were employed to conduct robustness checks. Results Hearing impairment produced an adverse effect on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (coefficient = −1.4073, p < 0.001), while it had a positive effect on depression score (coefficient = 0.8682, p < 0.001). Further analyses using PSM and doubly robust estimation reported similar results. Moreover, social participation (coefficient = 0.9424, p < 0.001) and exercise (coefficient = 0.7001, p < 0.01) moderated the association between hearing impairment and MMSE score. Social participation (coefficient = −0.5991, p > 0.05) and exercise (coefficient = 0.7806, p > 0.05) did not moderate the association between hearing impairment and depression score. Conclusion We provide robust evidence indicating that hearing impairment had significantly negative effects on the cognitive function and depression status of older adults. Furthermore, we find that social participation and exercise relieved the negative effect of hearing impairment on cognitive function.


This article examines the ways in which researcher authenticity is negotiated along three axes of difference, ethno‐linguistic affiliation, sexual orientation and race/skin color. Ultimately, it analyzes how researcher authenticity is produced and played out within research, via interactions between participants, researchers and others who influence the research project, especially when researchers and research are transnational. Yoshino's Covering, a new addition to critical legal studies, provides a theoretical framework for analysis. Namely, what society comes to imagine as 'normal' and 'mainstream' are myths that limit us by forcing us to play‐up favored traits and downplay disfavored ones. In order to be considered authentic, researchers often are pressed into playing roles – fitting norms – produced by narratives that limit and give way to how the researcher can be imagined. The analysis suggests that researcher authenticity, however, is not completely fixed, but discursively shaped during research. The ambivalence inherent in inscribing imaginary subjects that are inadequate and unattainable unfixes the subject and provides a gap where the possibility for producing new narratives exists. This work has implications for the narrow view of science that quickly is becoming the norm in this era of research.


Myxofibrosarcoma is a slow-growing subcutaneous tumor found in the older patient. Because of its deceptive macroscopic and histologic appearance, it is often misinterpreted as a benign lesion. We report a case of this tumor in a young woman recurring five times before the final diagnosis was made. Since recurrence may lead to tumor progression and increases the risk of metastasis, accurate diagnosis and radical removal of the lesion are extremely important. Eight benign and malignant myxoid tumors that have to be considered as differential diagnosis are reviewed.


Background The road to Universal Health Care is paved with evidence-based priority-setting, ensuring resources are proportionally allocated to address the most burdensome diseases. Objectives This descriptive study aims to compare the Philippines' disease burden profile with the budget allocation of DOH and the profile of PHIC case rates. Methods Data on Philippine disease burden was taken from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. DOH budget data was taken from the 2015 General Appropriations Act. PhilHealth case rate data were obtained from the PhilHealth website. Relative rankings of diseases were compared with DOH's Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) budget items, and with PHIC case rates. Case rates reflect PHIC's priorities by indicating willingness-to-pay for medical treatment. Disease categories which were unmatchable to any case rate, were excluded. Lack of utilization data prevented calculation of total expenditure per case rate. Result Of the DPC items, NCDs, with the highest disease burden, had the 2 nd smallest budget. Malaria, lymphatic filiariasis, schistosomiasis and leprosy, together comprising the 2 nd lowest burden, had the 3 rd largest allotment. Of the Top 80% disease burden, low back pain, with 4 th largest burden, had the 5 th smallest PHIC case rate. Colon and rectal cancers, with 3 rd lowest burden, got the 7 th largest PHIC case rate. Finally, certain high burden diseases aren'tcovered by either the DOH-DPC budget or PHIC case rates. Conclusion Competing considerations (political interests, maximizing government savings, etc.) might have borne more weight than disease burden in the priority-setting process. Entrenchment of established health programs may have also made priority-setting adjustments difficult, despite changes in disease burden. Priority-setting grounded on disease burden as well as cost-effectiveness studies can maximize returns on health investments. DOH and PHIC can reallocate current funds and/or provide additional funding to proportionally finance the Philippines' disease burden.


Using new complete orthonormal sets of exponential-type orbitals introduced by the author (I. I. Guseinov, Int J Quantum Chem, submitted), the different analytical expressions are derived for the expansion of one- and two-center electron charge density over Slater-type orbitals (STOs) in terms of STOs about a new center. The expansion coefficients in these formulas are expressed through the overlap integrals with the same screening parameters. The one-center expansion formulas in terms of STOs are also obtained for arbitrary central and noncentral potentials (CPs and NCPs). Using the expansion formulas obtained for the electron charge density and potentials, the general formulas are established for the multicenter molecular integrals of CPs and NCPs. In the formulas for the multicenter molecular integrals of CPs and NCPs, all the expansion coefficients and the overlap integrals are expressed through the binomial coefficients. The final results are especially useful for the calculation of these quantities for large quantum numbers. Using the derived expressions in terms of binomial coefficients, one-electron molecular integrals over STOs can be evaluated efficiently and accurately from the series expansion formulas. The relationships obtained are valid for the arbitrary location, quantum numbers, and screening constants of atomic orbitals. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002


The review was made on determinants and challenges of livelihood diversification in Ethiopia. Different published and unpublished documents were collected through different search engines from different databases, Google scholar and Google. After thorough reading, 42 papers were used to review out of 182 papers. There are a lot of pushes and pull factors that affect rural livelihood diversification. Some determinants, which affect rural community were human, financial, social, natural, and physical capitals/assets. Lack of capital, poor infrastructures, lack of access to credit service, lack of access to market and marketing service and farmland scarcity were some of challenges that face rural household to diversify their livelihood. The major limitations of the studies were lack of consistence on terminology of livelihood diversification strategies, generalization during identification of factors affecting livelihood diversification and unable to reason out econometric model results. Therefore, further investigations should be conducted and development practitioners should pay attention to those factors affecting livelihood diversification.

 Key words: Determinants, diversification, livelihood, rural, strategies.


The relationship between initial soil inoculum level of Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea (Sss) and the incidence and severity of powdery scab on potato tubers at harvest was investigated. In all experiments soil inoculum level of Sss (sporeballs ⁄g soil) was measured using a quantitative real-time PCR assay. Of 113 commercial potato fields across the UK, soil inoculum was detected in 75%, ranging from 0 to 148 Sss sporeballs ⁄g soil. When arbitrary soil inoculum threshold values of 0, 10 sporeballs ⁄g soil were set, it was observed that the number of progeny crops developing powdery scab increased with the level of inoculum quantified in the field soil preplanting. In four field trials carried out to investigate the link between the amount of inoculum added to the soil and disease development, disease incidence and severity on progeny tubers was found to be significantly (P <0 AE01) greater in plots with increasing levels of inoculum incorporated. There was a cultivar effect in all years, with disease incidence and severity scores being significantly greater in cvs Agria and Estima than in Nicola (P <0 AE01).


Statistics of bites of patients in a rural district hospital in Hong Kong were accumulated over a 5 year period from 1984-1989. Analysis revealed a predominance of dog bites. Seasonal variations were noted for snake and insect bites, but not for dog bites. Comparison was made with some UK data.


Background Information is needed on the effects on health after retirement from participating in sport and any effects of sustaining concussions. Objective To investigate differences in cognitive function between former rugby and non-contact sport players, and any association between concussion history and cognitive function. Design Cross sectional descriptive study. Comparisons across player groups, concussion groups (one or more self-reported concussions versus no concussions) and between these groups with CNS-vital signs age-matched norms (US norms). Setting On-line data collection. Participants 366 former players (mean ±SD age 43.3±8.2 years); 103 elite rugby, 193 community rugby, 65 non-contact sport. Assessment of Risk Factors Concussion history was obtained from an on-line self-report questionnaire. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the online CNS-vital signs neuropsychological test battery. Main Outcome Measurements CNS-vital signs test scores and concussion counts. Results The former elite rugby union player group had deficits in cognitive functioning relative to the non-contact sport player group as indicated by complex attention, cognitive flexibility, processing speed and executive functioning scores using the CNS-vital signs test. The former community rugby group performed worse than non-contact sports players on cognitive flexibility and executive functioning tests. Community and elite former rugby union players reported a substantially higher number of concussions than non-contact sport players. The player group who had experienced one or more concussions, had deficits in cognitive flexibility, complex attention, and executive function relative to the player group with no history of concussion. Conclusions Past participation in rugby, or history of concussion, were associated with small to moderate neurocognitive deficits, as indicated by worse CNS-vital signs scores. A greater proportion of former rugby players than expected showed deficits in composite memory, verbal memory, and reaction time, in addition to processing speed and complex attention for elite rugby, and psychomotor speed and motor speed for community rugby.


Abstract This is a continuation of Nowacka's (2016) study on the importance of local and global errors and spelling in pronunciation instruction. Unlike in the previous research that focused on the performance of Polish learners only, respondents of six different nationalities are included, in search of some cross-national universals or absence of them. This study seeks to answer the following questions: whether there is a need to focus on spelling in a pronunciation course with learners representing six different L1s and if this is the case which graphophonemic / phonotactic rules of English should be explicitly taught to all of these learners and which ones might be L1 specific only. The intention is also to empirically confirm the existence of local errors in the performance of around 240 speakers and 50 more listeners, constituting 291 listeners of six nationalities (Kazakh, Malaysian, Polish, Turkish, Tajik and Ukrainian) and to confirm the usefulness of memorizing Sobkowiak's (1996) 'Words Commonly Mispronounced' even for learners of different L1s.


In the present study, slags from the steelmaking industry are described and considered as a potential raw material within the field of sulphoaluminate belite cement. The objective of the study was to investigate the possibility of using a substantial amount of steelmaking slags as raw meal in the manufacture of a sulphobelitic clinker. A further aim was to compare the influence of different slags in relation to the formation of sulphoaluminate and the other clinker phases required. The behaviour of high temperature reactions was investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Mineralogical observations were carried out through X-ray powder diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Three different mixtures and a single ladle slag were prepared using modified Bogue calculations, which are characterised by the assessment of a potential phase composition in order to produce belite-rich cement activated with sulphoaluminate. The results so far prove that steel...


Molecular image-based techniques are widely used in medicine to detect specific diseases. Look diagnosis is an important issue but also the analysis of the eye plays an important role in order to detect specific diseases. These topics are important topics in medicine and the standardization of these topics by an automatic system can be a new challenging field for machine vision. Compared to iris recognition has the iris diagnosis much more higher demands for the image acquisition and interpretation of the iris. One understands by iris diagnosis (Iridology) the investigation and analysis of the colored part of the eye, the iris, to discover factors, which play an important role for the prevention and treatment of illnesses, but also for the preservation of an optimum health. An automatic system would pave the way for a much wider use of the iris diagnosis for the diagnosis of illnesses and for the purpose of individual health protection. With this paper, we describe our work towards an automatic iris diagnosis system. We describe the image acquisition and the problems with it. Different ways are explained for image acquisition and image preprocessing. We describe the image analysis method for the detection of the iris. The meta-model for image interpretation is given. Based on this model we show the many tasks for image analysis that range from different image-object feature analysis, spatial image analysis to color image analysis. Our first results for the recognition of the iris are given. We describe how detecting the pupil and not wanted lamp spots. We explain how to recognize orange blue spots in the iris and match them against the topological map of the iris. Finally, we give an outlook for further work.


OBJECTIVE: To determine incidence and management of prehospital emergencies in children. METHODS: Between November 15, 1994 and March 14, 1995 in the City of Mainz (200,000 inhabitants) children with the diagnosis of a prehospital emergency were identified. RESULTS: 390 children were discovered, 62% in the age group 0-3 years. 85% of the emergency conditions occurred at home. In 71% the medical practitioner providing prehospital care was a paediatrician, in 14% an emergency physician. 48% of the children were transported to the Children's Hospital by the parents. 32 different types of emergency were diagnosed, 8 types more than 10 times. A retrospective analysis of 386 emergencies demonstrated an acute life-threatening situation in 12%. Lacking a final diagnosis in 19%, first and final diagnosis were identical in 64% of all children evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: In Germany acute life-threatening emergencies are rare. Paediatricians are mainly involved also in the care of children with emergency conditions. Most pediatricians and nonpaediatricians are familiar with the relevant prehospital emergency conditions in the young children mainly concerned.


Quantal analysis has been applied to the inhibitory synapses made by single spiking local interneurons onto several nonspiking local interneurons (and motorneurons) in the locust CNS. Transmission at these synapses appears to be mediated by GABA. The apparent reversal potential of the IPSP and inhibitory postsynaptic current were -80 to - 85 mV, a value similar to that of the potential evoked by pressure- applied GABA. This reversal potential was 25–30 mV more negative than the resting potential of the nonspiking interneurons in the experimental conditions. The statistical properties of release at these synapses were studied by recording simultaneously from pre- and postsynaptic interneurons with intracellular electrodes. The distribution of postsynaptic potential amplitudes could be described by a simple binomial model, implying uniformity of binomial p (probability of release at a single release site) for each synapse. The mean quantal amplitude was 290 +/- 110 microV, and the mean quantal content m of the IPSPs was 6.25 +/- 2.83. The mean values of binomial n (average size of the releasable pool) and p were 13.11 +/- 2.8 and 0.45 +/- 0.16, respectively. Numerical simulations of statistical experiments were performed to test whether the IPSP amplitude distribution histograms might be misleadingly indicative of quantal release. These simulations showed that such a hypothesis was very unlikely. When a spiking local interneuron was impaled, several of its target interneurons could sometimes be successively sampled. Quantal analysis was then performed with the different IPSPs evoked, in identical conditions, by a same presynaptic interneuron, and the quantal parameters were compared between the synapses. It was found that binomials n and p and their product m generally differed between the synapses made by a given spiking interneuron onto different target neurons. These results show that quantal contents can vary for the many synapses made centrally by one interneuron, and suggest that this variability may arise from differences in release probabilities between the sites associated with different synapses.


Mass media can play a key role in enabling citizens to monitor the actions of incumbents and to use this information in their voting decisions. This can lead to government which is more accountable and responsive to its citizens' needs. In spite of the intuitive plausibility of the proposition, there is comparatively little work in political economy literature that scrutinises the role and effectiveness of the media in fulfilling this function. A literature, however, is emerging which focuses attention on the importance of the so-called 'fourth estate of government' in the policy process. A key feature of the approach taken here is to focus on incentives the media have to produce and disseminate information.


France has it all - a rich history, an incredibly varied geography, a gastronomic culture that is unsurpassed, and a tradition of good living that remains blissfully untainted by the stresses of modern life. Hip Hotels: France brings together the most authentically individual of France's hotels in the country's choicest destinations. Choose the futuristic vision of Jean Nouvel or the hearty hospitality of an Alpine farmhouse, a fisherman's but on the South Atlantic coast or the hip modernity of Le Corbusier's Unite d' Habitation in Marseilles, a Mecca for devotees of modernist architecture. Some are established, some are virtually unknown, but every one of these hotels is a unique response to the geography, cuisine and design heritage of its location. So whether you are an adventurer, a gourmet, or a design aficionado - or all of the above - Hip Hotels: France will enable you to plan your itinerary through city, town, coast and countryside. This third volume in the phenomenally successful Hip Hotels series is once more guaranteed to set you dreaming. It has all the slick of City and all the variety of Escape - all in one amazing country.


AZD3759 can penetrate the blood-brain barrier to treat EGFR mutant non–small-cell lung cancer with CNS metastases. Crossing the BBB to pursue tumors Non–small-cell lung cancer remains difficult to treat despite recent advances in targeted therapy. One reason for this is metastasis to the central nervous system. Drugs that inhibit the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a common target in this cancer, do not effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which means that metastatic tumors can grow unchecked once they spread to the brain or spinal cord. Yang et al. have now developed a drug that not only can inhibit EGFR as effectively as clinically approved therapeutics but also can cross the blood-brain barrier to target metastases. This drug shows promising effectiveness in multiple different mouse models, as well as signs of antitumor activity in human patients. Non–small-cell lung cancer patients with activating mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) respond to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Nevertheless, patients often develop central nervous system (CNS) metastases during treatment, even when their extracranial tumors are still under control. In the absence of effective options, much higher doses of EGFR TKIs have been attempted clinically, with the goal of achieving high enough drug concentrations within the CNS. Although limited tumor responses have been observed with this approach, the toxicities outside the CNS have been too high to tolerate. We report the discovery and early clinical development of AZD3759, a selective EGFR inhibitor that can fully penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), with equal free concentrations in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain tissue. Treatment with AZD3759 causes tumor regression in subcutaneous xenograft, leptomeningeal metastasis (LM), and brain metastasis (BM) lung cancer models and prevents the development of BM in nude mice. An early clinical study in patients with BM and LM treated with AZD3759 confirms its BBB-penetrant properties and antitumor activities. Our data demonstrate the potential of AZD3759 for the treatment of BM and LM and support its further clinical evaluation in larger trials.


In evolution, it is widely believed that phenotypic changes root in developmental changes and phenotype conservation, in developmental conservation. Seeming phenotype conservation may however hide evolutionary changes in the underlying developmental mechanisms by which a trait is produced. This cryptic evolution is also called Developmental System Drift, and the extent of this phenomenon unclear. We used a well-characterized evo-devo model system, rodent molars, to test the correlation between phenotypic and developmental evolution. Between mouse and hamster, the morphology of the lower molars has much less diverged than the morphology of the upper molars. Is development accordingly more conserved? We compared molar crown formation with a standard approach, and with a tight transcriptome time-series to get a quantitative molecular profiling of developmental states. Our data identify common trends in the development of all molars. Upper and lower molars have their specificities since the early steps of morphogenesis, at the levels of the pattern of cusp formation, cellular composition and biased gene expression. The extent of difference in lower vs. upper molar development within one species does correlate with the extent of difference in final morphology. However, the specificity of lower vs. upper molar development is drowned among the rapid evolution of development, which is highly species-specific in term of expression levels and temporal profiles. Divergence in developmental systems is almost as high for lower as it is for upper molar, despite much lesser morphological changes in lower molar crown. Hence, our results point an extensive drift in this developmental system. Because serial organs are largely sharing gene networks, it supports previous theoretical work that suggest a causal link between pleiotropy and DSD.


MIT is developing an Earth-based hopper prototype for autonomous planetary exploration. This paper describes the initial development of the hopper prototype and its application as a testbed for lunar hopper technologies. The prototype hopper consists of a gravity-canceling system, composed of battery-powered electric ducted fans, and an integrated lunar hopper system, which operates using cold gas propulsion. The gravitycanceling system is designed to allow the lunar hopper system to operate in an environment which is dynamically similar to the surface of the Moon, although it also allows for recovery and safe touchdown if the cold gas system experiences a failure. The environment provided by the electric ducted fans applies the fan thrust against Earth's gravity to obtain a desired upward acceleration, allowing the cold gas jets to operate as if they were in a fractionalgravity environment. The key design features of the integrated gravity-canceling and lunar hopping systems are presented in this paper.


Nausea and vomiting are common complaints during pregnancy. Their severity and persistence can lead to the diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum, which is associated with weight loss, ketonuria, and decreased fetal birth weight. Hypercalcemia in pregnancy can confound these common gastrointestinal symptoms as well as have its own intrinsic maternal-fetal risks. A 23-year-old woman was diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism after multiple visits to the emergency department and the obstetrical clinic with symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Her symptoms were initially attributed to hyperemesis gravidarum and only after multiple hospital visits was her hypercalcemia discovered. Her workup led to the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism caused by a solitary parathyroid adenoma. The patient was treated conservatively with intravenous fluids and eventually surgical resection of the parathyroid adenoma which led to complete resolution of her symptoms. This case demonstrates the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with hyperparathyroidism in pregnancy.


This thesis proposes an expressive yet efficient declarative framework for graph matching in constraint programming (CP), and focuses on efficient algorithms to solve the subgraph isomorphism problem. The framework is based on graph and map variables, and specific graph morphism constraints. This allows to model and solve various graph matching problems, avoiding the tedious development of dedicated and specific algorithms. A specialized filtering algorithm is proposed for the subgraph isomorphism problem, which uses the semantic of the problem as well as the global structure of the two input graphs. It is shown that it is the state-of-the-art filtering algorithm, compared to dedicated algorithms and other CP approaches. Various search techniques from CP are also extended to the subgraph isomorphism problem. An automatic detection and exploitation of symmetries for the subgraph isomorphism problem is proposed, together with a decomposition approach of the search. The significance of this thesis lies in the fact that, even though the framework is expressive, CP can be considered as the state-of-the-art for subgraph isomorphism, outperforming the dedicated known algorithms on current benchmarks.


Using a high-resolution hydrologic model, a land surface microwave emission model (LSMEM), and an explicit simulation of the orbital and scanning characteristics for the advanced microwave sensing radiometer (AMSR-E), an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) is carried out to assess the impact of land surface heterogeneity on large-scale retrieval and validation of soil moisture products over the U.S. Southern Great Plains using the 6.925 GHz channel on the AMSR-E sensor. Land surface heterogeneity impacts soil moisture products through the presence of nonlinearities in processes represented by the LSMEM, as well as the fundamental inconsistency in spatial scale between gridded soil moisture imagery derived from in situ point-scale sampling, numerical modeling, and microwave remote sensing sources. Results within the 575000 km/sup 2/ Red-Arkansas River basin show that, for surfaces with vegetation water contents below 0.75 kg/m/sup 2/, these two scale effects induce root mean squared errors (RMSEs) of 1.7% volumetric (0.017 cm/sub water//sup 3//cm/sub soil//sup 3/) into daily 60 km AMSR-E soil moisture products and RMS differences of 3.0% (0.030 cm/sub water/3/cm/sub soil//sup 3/) into 60 km comparisons of AMSR-E soil moisture products and in situ field-scale measurements of soil moisture sampled on a fixed 25-km grid.


This paper describes some results of shear load testing of welded and hybrid expanded tube-to-tube-sheet joints. The construction consisted of strength welding SA-688-TP 304N tubes to SA350LF-2 tube sheets clad with stainless-steel type 308/309 weld wire followed by hybrid expanding the tubes into the full thickness of thick double-grooved tube sheets. The author theorizes that the mechanism that led to all failures reported to have occurred in the welds/heat-affected zones instead of the anticipated tube yielding resulted from loss of interfacial pressure between the expanded tubes and surrounding ligaments. The author further speculates that elastic and plastic tube deformation during application of axial loads during shear load testing caused loss of interfacial pressure, which eliminated the holding capacity of the expanded-in length of tubes and that there was sufficient flattening of the tube metal deformed into the annular grooves to permit the applied loads to be carried to the welds.


1. RNA synthesis was studied in chick cells infected with SFV, to determine the sizes and the structures of the RNA species made, and the mechanism of replication of SFV RNA.

2. Four single-stranded (SS), three double-stranded (DS) and multi-stranded (MS) species of RNA were detected in infected cells. Methods were described for their separation..

3. The molecular weights of the SS species of RNA were 4.0 x 10 6 , 3.1 x 10 6 , 2.3 x 10 6 and 1.8 x 10 6 , the largest of which was virion RNA. The molecular weights of the three DS RNA species, determined by separation of the strands of the DS RNA and analysis of the product, 6 6 6 were 8.0 x 10 , 5.6 x 10 , and 3.6 x 10 •
4. Viral RNA synthesis was detected within ½ hour after infection and was logarithmic for about 3 hours. The rate of RNA synthesis was linear for the next 5 hours, and then decreased rapidly.

5. DS and MS RNA were the first viral species detectable, at 1 hour after infection, No SS RNA was detected up to 11/2 hours after infection when 42S RNA was detected.

6. During the linear phase of RNA synthesis, all species of RNA could be detected after labelling infected cells for 1 minute. The ratios of labelling of the SS species of RNA were the same for pulses varying between 1 minute and 70 minutes. More label was detected in DS and MS RNA in pulses up to 2 minutes, but :in pulses of 5 minutes or more, the SS RNA species were more highly labelled.

7. No alteration of the pattern of viral RNA species was seen when RNA was extracted :in the presence of DEPC, suggesting that no major alterations in the structure of RNA were taking p:).&ce during extraction. It was concluded that DS and MS RNA represent viral RF and RI, respectively.

8. The synthetic times for 26s and 425 RNA molecules were estimated to be 58 seconds and 130 seconds, respectively.

9. The evidence suggests that the mechanism of SFV RNA replication is largely semi-conservative. A model for the replication of SFV RNA is described, which involves the synthesis of all the species of SS RNA anemone template, corresponding :in length to 42S RNA.

10. No SS RNA complementary to virion RNA was detected in infected cells, suggesting that viral messenger RNA was of the same polarity as virion RNA.

11. Thus, SFV appears to belong to animal virus class IV, although it shares some features with class V viruses.


A general technique is given for constructing new Markov processes from existing ones. The new process and its state space are both projective limits of sequences built by an iterative scheme. The space at each stage in the scheme is obtained by taking disjoint copies of the space at the previous stage and quotienting to identify certain distinguished points. Away from the distinguished points, the process at each stage evolves like the one constructed at the previous stage on some copy of the previous state space, but when the process hits a distinguished point it enters at random another of the copies \pinned" at that point. Special cases of this construction produce di usions on fractal-like objects that have been studied recently.


The invention relates to a novel polymerization method for (meth)acrylates, wherein the polymerization is initiated by isocyanates and special bases having an imine structure. By means of said novel method that can be deliberately employed, even high-molecular-weight poly(meth)acrylates having in part a narrow molecular weight distribution can be produced. Furthermore, a wide variety of polymer architectures, such as block, star or comb polymers, are available using said novel polymerization method.


DNA replication starts at many sites (origins) throughout eukaryotic DNA. To fully understand the replication program in higher organisms, one needs to understand the behaviour of these origins. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast), the spatial organization of the origins is simple: The origins are confined to known specific sites on the genome. The temporal behaviour of origins in budding yeast is more complex: They fire stochastically with a broad distribution of firing times. Several key proteins take part in the DNA replication process. The MCM2-7 hexamer in particular forms a helicase that unwinds DNA locally, allowing access for other proteins to replicate the separated DNA. Past analysis of the budding yeast replication program suggested the Multiple Initiator Model (MIM), which hypothesizes that the number of these MCMs loaded at an origin predicts the firing time of that origin. Part of the MIM formalism assumes that the number of loaded MCMs is large; in this case the relative fluctuations between cells will be small and are ignored. However, a recent experiment measuring the number of loaded MCMs has revealed that the number is low, and thus, cellto-cell fluctuations may be larger than expected. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the impact of large relative fluctuations in the number of MCMs on the MIM. To measure this effect, we built the "MIM simulator," a modular program that simulates the replication process. Although a naive argument suggests that the MIM should fail when the number of MCMs is low, the impact of these fluctuations is mitigated by the contributions from neighbouring origins. We conclude that inferences made with the MIM remain accurate in the case that the number of MCMs is lower than first assumed.


The authors present some interesting data and interpretations, but they are obviously keen to avoid interpreting one important aspect: the greater degree of dissatisfaction of German patients with their healthcare system, compared with other countries, correlates with their (statistical) insurance status.

With a proportion of 11%, Germany has a rate of privately insured patients that is several orders of multitude lower than in other countries, where the same surveys were conducted but the results showed a higher degree of satisfaction.

This is not mitigated by the fact that the authors, in an extended table, have included the additional insurance schemes in Germany at a seemingly higher percentage. The survey was mainly concerned with patients' satisfaction with outpatient care, and additional insurance schemes, such as those that are available in Germany for inpatient services, are not relevant in this context.

If the overwhelming majority of survey participants in Germany were in favor of substantial, partly even fundamental, changes to the healthcare system, then, according to the data presented in the article, this type of assessment came primarily from members of statutory health insurance schemes.

A precise differentiation of ratings of Germany's healthcare system according to insurance status should be possible and would be interesting.


Pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) inhibitors, 6-aminonicotinamide (6-AN) and epiandrosterone (Epi), were employed to examine whether changes in NADP(H) redox regulates contractile force in endothelium-removed bovine coronary arteries (BCAs). 6-AN (0.01-5 mM) or Epi (1-500 μM) elicited dose-dependent relaxation in BCAs contracted with 30 mM KCl, 0.1 μM U-44619, and endothelin-1 but not with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, a protein kinase C activator that causes Ca 2+ -independent contraction. Relaxation to PPP inhibition was associated with oxidation of NADPH and glutathione (GSH). Relaxation to 6-AN was not mediated by H 2 O 2 , because it was not altered by hypoxia or the peroxide scavenger ebselen (100 μM). The thiol reductant DTT (3 mM) attenuated the relaxation to 6-AN and Epi by 30-40%. Inhibition of glycolysis or mitochondrial electron transport did not elicit relaxation in BCAs contracted with 30 mM KCl, suggesting these pathways may not be involved in relaxation elicited by PPP inhibition. High doses of K + channel blockers [e.g., TEA (10 mM) and 4-aminopyridine (10 mM)] only partially inhibited the relaxation to 6-AN. On the basis of changes in the fura-2 fluorescence ratio, 6-AN and Epi appeared to markedly reduce intracellular Ca 2+ . Thus PPP inhibition oxidizes NADPH and GSH and appears to activate a novel coordination of redox-controlled relaxing mechanisms in BCAs mediated primarily through decreasing intracellular Ca 2+ .


Educational researchers and practitioners agree that schooling must push beyond memorization into the realm of critical reflection. A model that facilitates instruction beyond the didactic approach, the input-elaboration-output model of constructive memory, has been used by many to describe the process of critical reflection. However, the current hegemony of this model has dampened the exploration, slowed the development, and limited the adoption (or even the consideration) of other perspectives. This paper discusses a theory of thinking, learning, and schooling based on recent developments in biofunctional cognition. At the heart of the theory is the notion that the brain-awareness-mind cycle, not the input-elaboration-output sequence, directly represents the natural course of human reflection. It is argued that what makes this brain-mind cycle of reflection possible is intuitive self-awareness. According to this theory, learning is best viewed not as the internalization of external knowledge but as wholetheme reorganization of the learner's own intuitive knowledge base. The application of the theory is illustrated with data from an experimental teacher education program.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs is associated with clinical signs of intestinal dysfunction, as well as abnormal lymphocytic and myeloid cell infiltrates in the small and/or large intestine. Thus, in many respects IBD in dogs resembles IBD in humans. However, the factors that trigger intestinal inflammation in dogs with IBD are not well understood and have been variously attributed to immune responses against dietary antigens or intestinal antigens. Previous studies in humans with IBD have documented increased production of IgG and IgA antibodies specific to intestinal bacteria, and this abnormal immune response has been linked to disease pathogenesis. Therefore, we investigated the humoral immune response against gut bacteria in dogs with IBD, using flow cytometry to quantitate IgG and IgA binding. Studies were also done to investigate the source of these antibodies (locally produced versus systemic production) and whether greater antibody binding to bacteria is associated with increased inflammatory responses. We found that dogs with IBD had significantly higher percentages and overall amounts of IgG bound to their intestinal bacteria compared to healthy dogs. Similarly, significantly higher percentages of bacteria were IgA+ bacteria were also found in dogs with IBD. Serum antibody recognition of gut bacteria was not different between healthy dogs and dogs with IBD, suggesting that anti-bacterial antibodies were primarily produced locally in the gut rather than systemically. Importantly, bacteria in the Actinobacteria phylum and in particular the genus Collinsella had significantly greater levels of antibody binding in dogs with IBD. Based on these findings, we concluded that antibody binding to commensal gut bacteria was significantly increased in dogs with IBD, that particular phyla were preferential targets for gut antibodies, and that anti-bacterial antibody responses may play an important role in regulating gut inflammation.


: Purpose: Organizational network analysis is usually a long and complex process, consisting of many steps and generally using many analytical tools. Design/Methodology/Approach: Numerous papers have been written about the analysis itself, especially about network measures, concepts, and visualizations used in research. This is unfortunately not the case for the data collection process. Findings: The practice of conducting research shows that effective data collection is often a barrier to network analysis in organizations. The current situation related to COVID-19 has become an additional difficulty in assessing the occurrence of relationships between employees based on observations. Practical Implications: An analysis of the literature and especially years of conducted studies in different organizations show that researchers still lack deeper insights into that kind of issue, such as identifying the main challenges and potential ways to improve the data collection process. This is a research gap we strive to address within this paper. Originality/Value: In the addition to the effort made towards structuring the entire process of data collection in the organizational network analysis research contribution of this paper include our proposals of potential improvements that could be made to the data collection process in analyzing organizational networks.


Rationalizable partition-confirmed equilibrium (RPCE) describes the steady-state outcomes of rational learning in extensive-form games when rationality is common knowledge and players observe a partition of the terminal nodes. RPCE allows players to make inferences about unobserved play by others. We discuss the implications of this using numerous examples, and discuss the relationship of RPCE to other solution concepts in the literature.


INTRODUCTION
Ethnic variations in the prevalence of absence of the palmaris longus (PL) are well known. Many techniques for clinically determining the presence of the PL have been described. Studies have also attempted to correlate its absence with other anatomical anomalies. However, most studies have been done in Caucasian populations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The presence of the PL was clinically determined in 329 normal Chinese men and women using the standard technique. In subjects with an absent PL, 4 other tests were performed to confirm absence and an Allen's test was done to assess the palmar arches. All subjects were examined for the presence of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) to the little finger.

RESULTS
The overall prevalence of absence of the PL was 4.6%. All techniques were equally effective in determining the absence of the PL. There was no significant difference in its absence with regard to the body side or sex. Absolute deficiency of FDS to the little finger was seen in 6.4%. No correlation could be detected between the absence of the PL and FDS of the little finger.

CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of absence of the PL and absence of FDS to the little finger in a Chinese population is much lower compared to previous reports in the literature. There is no association between absence of the PL and absence of the FDS to the little finger. Although all techniques of examining for the absence of the PL are equally effective, the method suggested by Mishra seems the best as it was easily understood by subjects and can be used even when thumb abduction is not possible.


This short paper is a note offering provisional results of my current research in philosophical economics and the philosophy of economics. It is offered in the spirit of promoting discussion of an interesting topic worthy of further investigation.