Have changing demographics, increased life expectancy and findings about gender similarities and differences, altered portrayals of older people in American feature films during the past 65 years? We identified 3,038 films made between 1929 and 1995 in which actors and actresses, nominated at least once during their lifetimes for an Oscar award, appeared when aged 60 years or older. Academy Award nominees were selected because they offered a sample of 'notable' performers and an accessible database. We selected an eight per cent random sample for a content analysis of their roles. Throughout this period, men were more likely to be depicted as vigorous, employed and involved in same-gender friendships and adventure (whether as hero or villain). Women remained either peripheral to the action or were portrayed as rich dowagers, wives/mothers, or lonely spinsters. Despite changing gender roles in later life since the 1930s and despite social and economic changes for older Americans (earlier retirement age and better health are but two examples), their film roles have remained remarkably static in age and gender stereotyping. In feature films, the mask of ageing differs by gender. Male masks veil inactivity and physical changes, while female masks reveal ageist and sexist stereotypes.


This study examines the empirical relations between the governance structure of public corporations in the United States and the rating and pricing of their debt securities. We study an unbalanced panel of 775 unique U.S. firms from 2001 through 2007 and identify several statistically significant relations between corporate governance factors and credit ratings, bond spreads and firm values. We find that credit ratings are negatively related to the presence of antitakeover measures for firms with speculative grade ratings and positively related to the presence of antitakeover measures for firms with investment grade ratings. Moreover, we find that spreads are positively related to the presence of antitakeover measures, and this relation is significantly stronger for firms with less than investment grade credit ratings. Our findings also suggest that more stable boards, defined as having attributes relating to board tenure, director liability indemnification and classified board structures are related to higher credit ratings and lower bond spreads. We conjecture that boards with greater stability may be better positioned to take into consideration the longer term interests of the firm as a whole, thus benefiting the firm's creditors.


This entertaining and useful book provides a comprehensive survey of films about the ancient world, from The Last Days of Pompeii to Gladiator. Jon Solomon catalogues, describes, and evaluates films set in ancient Greece and Rome, films about Greek and Roman history and mythology, films of the Old and New Testaments, films set in ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Persia, films of ancient tragedies, comic films set in the ancient world, and more. The book has been updated to include feature films and made-for-television movies produced in the past two decades. More than two hundred photographs illustrate both the films themselves and the ancient sources from which their imagery derives. Listed in The Signet Book of Movie Lists by Jeff Rovin as one of the best books about film ever written


For the majority of adults and children with AIDS, the disease is associated with neurologic manifestations [1, 2]. In children, a progressive encephalopathy has been described that often has characteristic findings on CT scans, including diffuse cerebral atrophy with secondary enlargement of the ventricular system [2-4] and symmetrical bilateral calcifica tions of basal ganglia and white matter adjacent to the frontal horns [3-4]. In addition, contrast enhancement of the basal ganglia has been noted in association with basal ganglia calcification [4]. This report describes a child who presented with unilateral calcification and contrast enhancement of the basal ganglia, signs of a progressive encephalopathy, and evidence of infection with the AIDS retrovirus HTLV-III/LAV (human T-Iymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy asso ciated virus) [5, 6]. The child did not have clinical AIDS. The presentation of HTLV-III/LAV infection in children with neu rologic signs and symptoms associated with a focal finding on CT scan makes recognition of the characteristic radio graphic appearance imperative for correct diagnOSis.


The distinctive iconography of Saul Leiter's early black-andwhite photographs stems from his profound response to the dynamic street life of New York City in the late 1940s and '50s. While this technique borrowed aspects of the photo-documentary, Leiter's imagery was more shaped by his highly individual reactions to the people and places he encountered. Like a Magic Realist with a camera, Leiter absorbed the mystery of the city and poignant human experiences. Together with Early Color (2008), also published by Steidl, Early Black and White shows the impressive range of Leiter's early photography.


: Since the presence of collective bargaining is assured, more specific focus on the impact and implications of this presence for allied health education is increasingly meaningful. The departmental chair stands to be influenced more than other administrative positions by the appearance of collective bargaining. Indeed, resolution of the question of whether the allied health chair is appropriately included in or excluded from bargaining units predominantly made up of faculty members may have profound implications for faculty and central administration. The allied health chair itself may undergo substantive shaping prior or subsequent to the advent of collective bargaining at the university. This article selectively explores not only the impact of collective bargaining and unit determination in higher education but also bargaining unit placement criteria operative in private and public academic sectors. State and federal legislative and judicial action relative to the bargaining unit placement of department chairs is also addressed. The gravity of the issue of bargaining unit placement of allied health department chairs means that all concerned should broaden their awareness of the relevant factors in this process.


Site‐specific ground‐motion hazard, as assessed by a probabilistic seismic‐hazard analysis one‐step approach that handles a single‐site sigma and its uncertainties and uses a simple logic tree, is compared with a two‐step approach that includes bedrock motion evaluation and wave propagation through a local soil profile with consideration of the main epistemic uncertainties. The one‐step analysis relies on accelerometer data from the Po Plain, a sedimentary basin in northern Italy where an earthquake sequence with two M w∼6.0 events was extensively recorded in 2012. Uniform hazard spectra (UHS) on soil and exposed bedrock are evaluated at three deep‐soil accelerometer sites (MRN, NVL, and T0821), using residual measures available from other studies, by which uncertainties in site terms ( δS 2 S ) and single‐site sigma ( σ ss , s ) are estimated. Despite similarity in geologic conditions, at least one out of three sites in the one‐step analysis displays substantial differences in mean level (T0821) or in the (84–16) percentile spread (NVL), depending on differences in site terms and single‐site sigma, possibly caused by source‐to‐site propagation effects.

The two‐step approach was applied to the remaining site (MRN) using carefully selected and broadband‐matched acceleration signals and linear, equivalent‐linear, and nonlinear approaches as excitation in propagation analyses. We found that assumptions on soil degradation curves dominate the variability of results. The linear approach provided the best results, based on (1) the similarity of the one‐step nonergodic UHS with the two‐step result based on the linear approach; (2) the comparison with observed records at MRN during the 2012 sequence mainshocks, showing peak ground acceleration and short‐period spectral levels well beyond those predicted by different nonlinear assumptions; and (3) similar evidence from a set of 21 stations at deep soil sites of the Japanese KiK‐net.


After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the mass media circulated images worldwide that showed a marked lack of respect for the victims involved by treating them as if they were no longer human. Haitians were treated with significant difference by the media compared to treatment and images that have been shown from American disasters. The mass media chose to portray graphic and violent images of the dead people in Haiti. Bodies lay on top of each other, mangled as though they were just another piece of debris. Often the media uses violent images to boost their ratings for financial gain. The network that publicizes the most sensational broadcast has the highest following and, therefore, the highest profits. The advancements in technology and the availability of instant coverage have led the public to develop an insatiable need to see more graphic or violent images from a disaster, even if these images are of the identifiable dead in Haiti. These images are having damaging effects on our society, specifically our youth and future generations. This insatiable need, according to research, has begun to make some members of our society desensitized to death and unsure of how to grieve properly when faced with a natural death. Our society must hold the media accountable for the graphic images they choose to display by drawing clear lines and distinctions of what is acceptable. The media empires must honor the dead, give respect to their families, and show them the dignity they deserve.


Chemical weathering of silicate rocks is considered responsible for the stabilization of atmospheric CO2 and climate on geological time scales. The strength of this negative feedback is hard to establish on a global scale due to the spatial variability of controlling factors of weathering such as climate, physical erosion and biotic activity. In order to investigate if there is a simple way of including spatial variability of climatic and tectonic drivers of weathering a new model of the regolith, which specifically considers the physical transports of water, carbon and minerals as boundary conditions for chemical weathering rates, was developed. This is in contrast to previous global models, in which chemical kinetics and thus temperature is considered of primary importance and physical transports are considered secondary in nature. The model is able to satisfactorily simulate river concentrations of elements relevant to the silicate weathering feedback for a present day scenario. If chemical weathering is limited by mineral supply, an increase in the climatic potential for dissolution and transport has no effect on chemical weathering rate. This suggests that mineral supply limitation weakens the silicate weathering feedback. Also, biotic enhancement of weathering is limited by mineral supply and by inference tectonic uplift. The model suggests that there are some inherent problems associated with the use of factorial laws in global models of the geological carbon cycle. This indicates that an integrated approach, in which all drivers of weathering are considered simultaneously, is preferable to separate empirical parameterizations, because a change in one driver might lessen the impact of the other drivers. This can only be achieved with process-based models. The principle of co-limitation associated with the physical transports of water, carbon, and minerals seems universal in setting the boundaries for the potential feedback.


Does creativity, on average, increase or decrease during bereavement? Dates of death of relatives and close friends of 33 French artists and 15 American artists were gathered from electronic sources and biographies, and information on over 15,000 paintings was collected from the Blouin Art Sales Index and the online collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Musee d'Orsay, including more than 12,000 observations on price. An event study indicates that there is no evidence that the death of a friend or relative makes an artist more creative, and there is some evidence that prices of paintings are significantly lower during the first year following the year of death of a friend or relative. Furthermore, paintings that were created during this bereavement period are less likely to be included in a major museum's collection. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2850. This paper was...


Background Large amounts of researches indicate that non-coding RNAs play a crucial role in many malignancies. However, the potential mechanisms of non-coding RNAs involved in osteosarcoma tumorigenesis remain elusive. Materials and Methods The expression of long non-protein coding RNA 691 (lncRNA 691) in cell lines and paired osteosarcoma tissues was compared by qRT-PCR assay. Then, we explored the tumor suppressor function of lncRNA 691 with MTS and colony formation assay. Flow cytometry results showed lncRNA 691 can enhance cell apoptosis. Then, we predicted and verified the negative regulation relationship with miRNA and the miRNA's target gene. Lastly, we revealed the tumorigenesis function of lncRNA-691/miRNA/target gene axis in osteosarcoma. Results In our study, we disclosed that lncRNA 691 had low expression levels in osteosarcoma cell lines and tissues. Overexpression of lncRNA 691 could suppress the cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in MG-63 cell line. Then, bioinformatics analyses were performed and miR-9-5p was found to negatively regulate the lncRNA 691 expression and promote the osteosarcoma tumorigenesis in vitro. PTEN was predicted as the target gene of miR-9-5p. Luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay demonstrated the regulatory network of lncRNA 691/miR-9-5p/PTEN. We revealed that PTEN was downregulated by the overexpression of miR-9-5p and upregulated by the overexpression of lncRNA 691. At last, the apoptosis-associated protein of the lncRNA 691/miR-9-5p/PTEN/PI3K/AKT was further demonstrated. Conclusion LncRNA 691/miR-9-5p could regulate the tumorigenesis by regulating the PTEN/PI3K/AKT signal pathway in osteosarcoma.


Understanding the trophic transfer and biomagnification potential of nanomaterials in aquatic food chains is crucial for assessing the environmental risks of such materials. To analyse the fate of fullerenols in an aquatic food chain, we quantitatively investigated the bioaccumulation, tissue-specific distribution, depuration, trophic transfer and biomagnification potential of 13C-labelled fullerenols in a three-level aquatic food chain. The fullerenol nanoparticles accumulated in Scenedesmus obliquus through water exposure, and the latter were ingested by Daphnia magna before being transferred to Danio rerio. The tissues of D. rerio were ranked from highest to lowest fullerenol concentration as follows: intestine > liver > muscle > gills > brain. The biomagnification factor (BMF) value of fullerenols from S. obliquus to D. magna was 3.20, while the calculated fitted BMF from D. magna to D. rerio was less than 1 (BMFf = 0.54). Thus, fullerenols were significantly biomagnified from the first to the second trophic level but not from the second to the third trophic level. Although fullerenols eventually enter fish tissues via the food chain, a lack of biomagnification greatly reduce the potential risk to high-trophic-level aquatic organisms. These results will be useful for environmental and ecological risk assessments of carbon nanomaterials.


Background: Operating room (OR) is one of the main hospital parts and management of time and cost are very important in this essential unit. Also, due to the close relationship with other departments, improving its service quality and performance, significantly increases the efficiency of hospital. OR is a complex system in which each lack of coordination effects on all hospital departments. So it is important to identify and categorize the factors that caused loss of OR orchestration and analyze the cost and delay times that imposed by this loss of orchestrations. Method: Computer simulation is a useful technique for modelling system and its behavior. OR is a complex system which has lots of agents interacting with each other, so the agent based simulation method is a suitable technique for modelling OR agents, relationships, defining loss of orchestrations and analyzing the results on the system performance. Results: By identifying OR non-orchestration factors, the most frequencies are related to the lack of recovery beds, emergency surgery, surgeon delay, lack of patient transferor, prolongation of other surgical procedures, anesthesia and pediatric surgery; and the less frequencies are for Clinical changes in the patient status, inadequate testing, and patient's cancellation or lack of readiness. Also, the most delayed and lost time were due to the inadequacy of patient tests, anesthesia and pediatric surgery, prolongation of other surgical procedures, and lack of recovery beds. Conclusion: Surgery procedure is not just a surgical technique, but has many aspects that should be addressed and resolved. The results indicated that the most effective factor in hospital delay and costs is the shortage of resources and lack of planning, which can be improved by interconnecting communication and on-time information sharing.


BACKGROUND
Cleft lip or palate (or the two in combination) is a common birth defect that results from a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. We searched for a specific genetic factor contributing to this complex trait by examining large numbers of affected patients and families and evaluating a specific candidate gene.

METHODS
We identified the gene that encodes interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) as a candidate gene on the basis of its involvement in an autosomal dominant form of cleft lip and palate, Van der Woude's syndrome. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in this gene results in either a valine or an isoleucine at amino acid position 274 (V274I). We carried out transmission-disequilibrium testing for V274I in 8003 individual subjects in 1968 families derived from 10 populations with ancestry in Asia, Europe, and South America, haplotype and linkage analyses, and case-control analyses, and determined the risk of cleft lip or palate that is associated with genetic variation in IRF6.

RESULTS
Strong evidence of overtransmission of the valine (V) allele was found in the entire population data set (P<10(-9)); moreover, the results for some individual populations from South America and Asia were highly significant. Variation at IRF6 was responsible for 12 percent of the genetic contribution to cleft lip or palate and tripled the risk of recurrence in families that had already had one affected child.

CONCLUSIONS
DNA-sequence variants associated with IRF6 are major contributors to cleft lip, with or without cleft palate. The contribution of variants in single genes to cleft lip or palate is an important consideration in genetic counseling.


The current research on grain boundary dynamics in metals is reviewed. The boundary dynamics, i. e., the boundary reaction to applied forces, is strongly dependent on the grain boundary character, which is commonly reduced to the orientation relationship between adjacent grains and impurity segregation at the boundary. The misorientation dependence of the motion of specific capillary driven grain boundaries, the effect of inclination on the mobility of planar boundaries and the dislocation absorption by moving boundaries are considered. The role of segregation behaviour and boundary crystallography for the orientation dependence of boundary mobility is addressed. The compensation effect for the motion of structurally different grain boundaries is discussed.


Introduction: One of the factors determining the quality of health service delivery is well-trained and qualified health personnel. In addition to receiving a quality education to train qualified health personnel, the importance of the learner being ready and motivated to learn is obvious. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between motivational persistence and achievement goal orientations of Vocational School of Health Services students. Materials and Methods: In this research, which is structured in relational comparison type besides its descriptive feature, we studied with 278 students studying at Health Services Vocational School. The data were obtained with "Motivational Persistency" and "Achievement Goal Orientation" scales. In the analysis of the data, correlation and path analysis were used as well as descriptive statistics. Results: When achievement goal orientation and motivational persistency are examined with all subdimensions, the motivation to follow long-term goals was positively significant with the learning approach. The motivation to follow the current goals was positively significant with the motivation to learning approach achievement and to follow long-term goals while was negative with motivation to approach the performance. The motivation to repeat unattainable goals has been found to be positively significant with the motivation to learn approach, learn avoidance achievement orientations and long-term goals, and to follow existing goals. Conclusion: The results of the research showed that students' achievement learning approach and motivational persistency were prone to iteration subdimensions of unattainable goals. Although the study parallels with the literature, it is important to provide a better understanding of how the achievement goal orientation of the students of the Vocational School of Health Services affects the processes of motivational persistency.


The Iroise Sea is a shallow sea, located on the North West European Shelf close to Western Brittany (France) and North of the Bay of Biscay. Due to strong gradients in the bathymetry close to the coast and strong local winds, tidal currents can reach up to 3.5 m/s during spring tide and induce a strong vertical mixing along the coast. During summer, solar radiation and thus warming of the sea surface, together with mixing along he coast, and thus colder temperatures in this area, leads to a formation of a thermal front, where the differences between the sea surface temperatures on both sides can reach up to 3degC. During the SURLITOP experiment, that took place from August to November 2005, two HF radar stations have been installed at the French coast. Both stations were working simultaneously at a working frequency of 12.4 MHz and a measurement cycle of 12 min. The surface current fields processed from the radar data have been interpolated to a regular 2times2 km grid. For the same period, tide model simulations (MARS 2D) have been processed with the same temporal and spatial resolutions. Because the model has been run under barotropic conditions, the location of the front, which is induced by density gradients, can not be reproduced. In contrast to the model, the radar measures the total circulation including the baroclinic signal, so that the difference between radar data and model results can be exploited to find the location of the thermal front. To validate this result, satellite remote sensed sea surface temperature data have been used. The result is very promising, as the region of highest differences between radar data and model results coincide with the location of the thermal front. The location of the front itself can be determined by the narrowness of the isotherms. Also the structures of the front isotherms and the strongest gradients of the currents are very similar. Thus it is possible, to determine the location and dynamics of a thermal front by using HF radar data in combination with model results, if the model is working under barotropic conditions.


The rapid development of technology can help people solve their problems faced every day. One of them is the problem in transportation sector related traffic accident data often occur in Jember. Many agencies and institutions that play a role, making the existing data to be different. Traffic accident report from police and patient report in emergency room from hospital is collected from 2012 to 2014. The result of this research is a good integration traffic accident database system between police and hospital using PostgreSQL, an information system about traffic accident recording with the location can be presented in digital map using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, and a recommendations to improve the accuracy of existing traffic accident data.


In The Soul of the Stranger, Joy Ladin centers nonbinary gender expression in the first chapter of Genesis. Ladin articulates the opportunity for nonbinary gender categories by moving beyond the creation of the binary and focusing on Adam (humanity), who represents the whole of humanity. This review expands and creates an entry point for interreligious dialogue with African diasporic religions, by acknowledging humanity as a part of the interconnected balance of nature and recognizing the influence the Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish, had on the the deep primordial oceanic chaos described as tehon in the Torah.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background and Purpose: Endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke has been proven clinically effective, but evidence of the cost-effectiveness based on real-world data is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess whether endovascular therapy plus usual care is cost-effective in comparison to usual care alone in acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods: An economic evaluation was performed from a societal perspective with a 2-year time horizon. Empirical data on health outcomes and the use of resources following endovascular treatment were gathered parallel to the MR CLEAN trial (Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands) and its 2-year follow-up study. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated as the extra costs per additional patient with functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2) and the extra cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. Results: The mean costs per patient in the intervention group were $126 494 versus $143 331 in the control group (mean difference, −$16 839 [95% CI, −$38 113 to $5456]). Compared with patients in the control group, more patients in the intervention group achieved functional independence, 37.2% versus 23.9% (absolute difference, 13.3% [95% CI, 4.0%–22.0%]) and they generated more quality-adjusted life years, 0.99 versus 0.83 (mean difference of 0.16 [95% CI, 0.04–0.29]). Endovascular treatment dominated standard treatment with $18 233 saved per extra patient with a good outcome and $105 869 saved per additional quality-adjusted life year. Conclusions: Endovascular treatment added to usual care is clinically effective, and cost saving in comparison to usual care alone in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Registration: URL: https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/695; Unique identifier: NL695. URL: https://www.isrctn.com; Unique identifier: ISRCTN10888758.


Elderly diabetic patients are prone to the acute and subacute consequences of hyperglycemia, which can adversely affect health, well being, and quality of life. Every elderly patient with diabetes should be offered an individualized treatment plan, consisting of education, dietary counseling, and an exercise program. If fasting and postprandial glucose levels do not stay consistently in the desired range, then an oral hypoglycemic agent should be instituted at the lowest possible dose. When the oral hypoglycemic agent fails, it may be possible to achieve good glycemic control with the addition of insulin. Recent developments in insulin administration can optimize glycemic benefits and reduce potential adverse effects.


The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program was created in 1974 to clean up radioactive waste at sites used in the nation's early atomic energy and atomic weapons programs. For over two decades, this program was administered by the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies. In 1997, responsibility for FUSRAP was shifted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The transfer did not occur without controversy. Congress transferred the program with little legislative direction. Almost immediately, questions arose about the Corps' authority to administer to program without appropriate permits from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Since 1997, the NRC has repeatedly asserted that it does not have the authority to govern the remediation activities of another agency in the federal government. This Note explores the reasons why NRC regulation of the Corps' FUSRAP activities is not only proper, but should be undertaken in the interests of public health and safety.


The aim of the paper was to estimate 9 spirometric parameters in 38 children aged 8-12, among them in 16 with past bronchopulmonary dysplasia and in 22 healthy ones. Mean values of VC, FEV 1 , FVC Ex, PEF, MEF 75, MEF 50 and MEF 25 in children with past bronchopulmonary dysplasia were significantly lower than in healthy children. In children with past bronchopulmonary dysplasia VC was decreased comparing to normal values in 94% of cases, FVC Ex and MEF 50 in 75% and FEV 1 in 63% of subjects. Tiffeneau coefficient and value of FEV 1 % FVC Ex were normal. Inhaled salbutamol increased significantly the mean values of VC and MEF 25 in children with dysplasia. The increase of FEV 1 > 15% in 56% and VC > 15% only in 25% of these children was observed. It was found, that past bronchopulmonary dysplasia induces ventilatory disorders, mainly restriction changes with obstruction component in airways of school-age children.


In principle, the Group regards long-run market forces as the best guide to resource allocation, not only within existing production units, but also between sectors. However, in practice they perceive many instances of market failure in the rural sector which justify government intervention either on efficiency grounds or on equity grounds. They aggregate these intervention/assistance measures into sets and devote a chapter to each set. The new, novel and controversial aspects of assistance are highlighted in these comments. The Group discussed price support and underwriting schemes, input subsidies and related issues, natural disaster relief, income tax averaging, product promotion and export inspection services in Chapter 5 and research, extension and education in the context of innovation in Chapter 9.


A case of a 42 year old homosexual man with mastitis of the left breast due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae is presented on account of its extreme rarity. It was probably acquired as a result of direct oral-nipple contact.


Abstract The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) comprises an extensive expanse of hills located in the far southeast of Bangladesh, bordered by India and Myanmar. CHT covers more than 10% of the total land area of Bangladesh and lies within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. Because of political instability and the generally remote nature of this region, it remains as the least explored area in Bangladesh. Very little is known about the chelonian fauna of CHT. We investigated the occurrence, conservation status, and exploitation of chelonians in the southern part of CHT, in Sangu–Matamuhuri Reserve Forest and adjacent areas, from 2011 to 2015. During our survey, we obtained specimen-based records of 8 species: Arakan Forest Turtle (Heosemys depressa), Asian Brown Tortoise (Manouria emys), Keeled Box Turtle (Cuora mouhotii), Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), Sylhet Roofed Turtle1 (Pangshura sylhetensis), Asian Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys spp.), Malayan Softshell Turtle (Amyda ornata), and Indian Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys punctata). The critically endangered H. depressa and the endangered C. mouhotii are recorded from Bangladesh for the first time, and the endangered P. sylhetensis is recorded from CHT for the first time. We documented 2 isolated populations of M. emys in the Sangu-Matamuhuri Reserve Forest. We did not find any evidence of large-scale, commercial turtle harvesting in our survey area. Subsistence hunting is probably the most immediate threat to chelonians in this region. With no intervention, subsistence hunting will likely cause large-scale local extirpation of extant, low-density populations. Considering the species diversity and the opportunities for long-term conservation, CHT may be considered to be a priority site for conservation of these species in danger. To mitigate turtle hunting, we recommend a bottom-up, community-based conservation model, the foundation of which should be based on trust, traditional ecological knowledge, community participation, and ecological science.


This paper presents the results of a qualitative study aimed at exploring the experiences and needs of informal caregivers of persons with dementia and identifying caregiver expectations for support. The research was based on phenomenological and social constructionist approaches; it also took experience-centred and culturally oriented approaches to narratives. It was conducted in Estonia in 2017 by means of unstructured in-depth interviews with 16 informal caregivers who had relatives with dementia. The narrative approach used in this study proved to be an appropriate and valuable method to understand the situations of the caregivers of the people with dementia, in identifying their needs and expectations, and in developing social understanding for caregivers. The results are divided under four thematic headings: awareness of dementia; process of caregiving and different caregiving roles; influence of caregiving on personal life; and expectations of empowerment. We found that it is necessary to raise public awareness of dementia and develop person-centred support services for the people living with dementia.


Studies are presented on the ability of low-molecular-weight nuclear DNA fractions to hybridize to higher-molecular-weight nuclear DNAs taken from different stages of early developing sea-urchin embryos, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Using preparative DNA-DNA hybridization, a fraction of 60-s mid-blastula DNA was isolated for its ability to anneal to 10-s morula DNA. Approximately 80 regions on each 60-s molecule were found to be homologous to 10-s DNA. High-molecular-weight (> 240-s) nuclear DNA from mesenchyme blastula stage and later stages (compared with DNA from pre-blastula nuclei) shows an increase in the number of regions homologous to fractions of 10and 60-s DNAs.


The decline of Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) has been well documented. Research has identified several factors responsible for this decline including a decrease in extended contracts and elimination of SAE supervision periods (Steele, 1997), lack of student motivation, limited student opportunities, lack of teacher time, inadequate financial resources and facilities, and low parent interest (Osborne, 1988 as cited in Dyer & Osborne, 1996). Additionally, Whaley and Lucero (1993) identified several barriers to SAE in urban schools: program completers, support at home/role models, crime, overcrowding, and community safety. Dyer and Osborne (1995) concluded that "while teachers claim to support the concept of SAE, many fail to implement the programs fully, resulting in decreased participation by students" (p. 10). As a teacher in an urban school, I reflected on this statement. I faced several of the same challenges that were mentioned above. Most of my students lived in apartment complexes or subdivisions, so they had limited space at home for SAE projects. Also, many of my students were first generation Agricultural Education students and their parents did not express a lot of interest in their SAE projects or did not have extra time available to assist with projects at home. Community safety was a problem. Once, my students' chicken projects were killed by a pack of dogs that roamed the neighborhood. There were other times when people in the neighborhood would throw items in the sheep pens...resulting in the construction of a large fence around the animal area. Almost all of my students rode the bus one to two hours each way to school and either held after-school jobs or participated in sports and other extracurricular activities, so the idea of staying after school to work on an SAE project was unrealistic. As my school expanded, valuable land was being taken up by portable classrooms. So, how was I supposed to implement the SAE program fully? While focusing on the challenges of requiring each student to complete an SAE, I re-discovered some of the things that I did have in my program. I had a shade house and a greenhouse that were underutilized. This would be an excellent place for my students to get involved with horticulture projects. Promoting such projects can help efforts to engage each and every one of our students in an SAE project. The following steps can help sell agriculture students on the idea of horticulture SAEs, which can take place in almost any agriculture program. 1. Emphasize students' investments in their futures. Many of my students were from a low socioeconomic background, so they had to earn and save their own money to purchase the typical teenager things. My students were eager to share with me all the material things that they desired, such as new sneakers, a cell phone, or a car. To capitalize on this opportunity, have students sit down and identify the actual cost of some of these items and then have them calculate an estimated amount of money that they could earn through horticulture SAEs. Examples like this help students understand that SAE is not just for a grade in their agriculture class, but serves as an investment in their futures! For instance, students can asexually propagate plants using division. Students make an initial investment of approximately $3.00 in September to purchase a 4 inch potted plant. They can then divide this plant into four equal parts each month. By February, they will have 256 plants that can be sold at $3.00 each. Using this strategy, a student could earn almost $600 in five months. Such a project is great for students because it requires limited financial and time investment. Students can get started on their project with an investment of only $3.00 and could care for their plants prior to the start of school, at lunch, or a designated SAE day every other week. Plants that can be easily propagated through division Ground Covers Irish Moss (Sagina subulata) Stonecrop (Sedum sp. …


Transmembrane and coiled-coil domains 1 (TMCO1) is a protein of 22 KDa highly conserved in amino acid sequence among mammalian species and functions as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+load-activated Ca2+channel. Homozygous frameshift mutation in TMCO1 causes distinctive craniofacial dysmorphism, skeletal anomalies, and mental retardation. However, its physiological functions are largely unknown. In this study, we found that TMCO1 was co-localized with microtubules as determined by immunohistostaining and a co-sedimentation assay. Interestingly, TMCO1 was highly expressed in the invasive front of high grade lung cancer and metastatic cancer cells of clinical specimens. To further investigate the biological role of TMCO1 in lung cancer, we knocked it down in A549 cells, a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line, by using shRNA lentiviral particles. Disruption of TMCO1 in the cells resulted in delayed microtubule polymerization and remarkably increased acetylation of α-tubulin. In addition, A549 cells lacking of TMCO1 grew significantly slower than the control cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that TMCO1 may be a therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment.


— There has been a massive decline in coral population worldwide, but the Caribbean Sea has been particularly impacted. The Caribbean was once the home to millions of branching coral, Acropora , but has seen severe degradation in the past few decades due to climate change, pollution, coral disease, bleaching events, overfishing, coastal development and other disturbances. Coral reef restoration has since expanded rapidly with thousands of coral nurseries in the Caribbean alone and has become an important process in maintaining coral reefs in our oceans today. Corals help protect our shorelines, maintain biodiversity in our oceans, provide jobs for fisheries and tourism, and bring money into the communities. The purpose of this review is to review the different types of coral reef restoration methods in the Caribbean and Florida Keys as well as some key complications with solutions to a successful coral restoration. The different methods of coral restoration include coral gardening, transplantation, micro-fragmentation, artificial reefs and genetic diversity in coral larvae. One of the most common and highly successful methods being coral gardening, while transplantation is also widely used. I describe each of these methods in this paper and identify core knowledge gaps and recent discoveries that may improve outplanted and nursery coral survivorship. Ecological processes and the density and arrangement of corals integrated with coral restoration could also impact coral survivorship in a positive way by possibly helping outplanted corals sustain a healthy environment without human intervention. Herbivory, corallivory, lack of nutrients, and diseases all are issues that must be addressed in coral restoration, but recent advances may provide solutions to these issues. Coral restoration is a relatively new process with not many long-term successful projects to learn from. Trial and error is still a big part of coral restoration today as researchers are still learning the best and most successful processes to aid coral survivorship.


We demonstrate a Yb:fiber ring laser incorporating a piece of solid-core photonic bandgap fiber for intra-cavity group delay dispersion compensation. The output pulse was as short as 29 fs after a prism pair compression with a spectral bandwidth of 41 nm. The output power was 150 mW at a repetition rate of 130 MHz.


We analyzed a light-field super-resolution problem in which the 3-D scene is reconstructed with a higher resolution using super-resolution (SR) reconstruction with a given set of multi-view images with a low resolution. The arrangement of the multi-view cameras is important because it determines the quality of the reconstruction. To simplify the analysis, we considered a situation in which a plane is located at a certain depth and a texture on that plane is super-resolved. We formulated the SR reconstruction process in the frequency domain, where the camera arrangement can be independently expressed as a matrix in the image formation model. We then evaluated the condition number of the matrix to quantify the quality of the SR reconstruction. We clarified that when the cameras are arranged in a regular grid, there exist singular depths in which the SR reconstruction becomes ill-posed. We also determined that this singularity can be avoided if the arrangement is randomly perturbed.


Previous studies have suggested that children possess cognitive representations of multi-word units (MWUs) and that MWUs can facilitate the acquisition of smaller units contained within them. We propose that the formation of MWU representations precedes and facilitates the formation of single-word representations in children. Using different computational methods, we extract MWUs from two large corpora of English childdirected speech. In subsequent regression analyses, we use age of first production of individual words as the dependent and the number of MWUs within which each word appears as an independent variable. We find that early-learned words appear within many MWUs – an effect which is neither reducible to frequency or other common co-variates, nor to the number of context words contained in the MWUs. Our findings support accounts wherein children acquire linguistic patterns of varying sizes, moving gradually from the discovery of MWUs to the acquisition of small-grained linguistic representations.1


Traditionally embedded systems are developed with a specific control task in mind, and are able to affect only a limited set of actuators, based on measurements from a limited set of sensors. With the arrival of cheap and efficient communication technology, this traditional picture is starting to change. It is our belief that future embedded systems will interact with each other, forming federations to provide new emergent services to their users. With this in mind, a pre-study was performed to discern the main concepts of such federations and the related challenges that need to be addressed. This has led to two parallel research directions, presented in this paper. One is focusing on the enabling technology that is needed for dynamic creation of new types of federations, while the other deals with the methodological concepts for creation of ecosystems in which federations of embedded systems can be dynamically formed.


This research targeted the learning preferences, goals and motivations, achievements, challenges, and possibilities for life change of self-directed online learners enrolled in a massive open online course (MOOC) related to online teaching hosted by Blackboard using CourseSites. Data collection included a 40-item survey of which 159 MOOC respondents completed the close-ended survey items and 49 completed the 15 open-ended survey items. Across the data, it is clear that self-directed online learners are internally motivated and appreciate the freedom to learn and choice that open educational resources provide. People were also motivated to learn informally from personal curiosity and interest as well as professional growth needs and goals for self-improvement. Identity as a learner was positively impacted by informal online learning pursuits. Foreign language skills as well as global, cultural, historical, environmental, and health-related information were among the most desired by the survey respondents. The main obstacles to informal online learning were time, costs associated with technology use, difficulty of use, and lack of quality. Qualitative results, embedded in the findings, indicate that self-directed learners take great pleasure in knowing that they do not have to rely on others for their learning needs. Implications for instructional designers are offered.


Using international data from the Life in Transition Survey, I analyse the role of social trust on pro‐environmental behaviours aimed at helping to fight climate change. Social trust might increase pro‐environmental behaviour by reducing the free‐rider problem, restraining opportunistic behaviour, and enhancing cooperation. The results suggest that social trust increases the probability of individuals taking personal actions aimed at helping to fight climate change; the results are robust to using different sets of control variables, and to controlling for country and region fixed effects. The results also indicate that social trust is positively and significantly associated with environmental actions that are time‐consuming, but there is no significant relationship with environmental actions that impose monetary costs on individuals.


UNLABELLED
Ventilator-dependent premature infants are often treated with dexamethasone. Several trials showed that steroids while improve pulmonary compliance and facilitate extubation, some treated infants may have adverse effects, such as alterations of growth curves. We conducted this retrospective study to evaluate the effects of steroids on mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy, hospital length stay and mortality, in ventilator-dependent infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (defined as the need of oxygen supplementation at 28 days of life). Twenty-six newborns with BPD were evaluated during 9 - 42 days postpartum (mean = 31 days) and were divided into two groups: Group I - 14 newborns that did not receive dexamethasone, and Group II - 12 newborns that received dexamethasone at 14 - 21 days of life. Dexamethasone was given at a dose of 0.25 mg per kilogram of body weight twice daily intravenously for 3 days, after which the dose was tapered.

RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences in the mean length of mechanical ventilation (Group I - 37 days, Group II - 35 days); oxygen supplementation (Group I - 16 days, Group II - 29 days); hospital stay (Group I - 72 days, Group II - 113 days); mortality (Group I - 35.7%, Group II - 41.6%). At birth, Group II was lighter (BW: Group I - 1154 grams +/- 302, Group II - 791 grams +/- 165; p < 0.05) and smaller (height: Group I - 37.22 cm +/- 3.3, Group II - 33.5 +/- 2.4; p< 0.05) than Group I. At 40 weeks, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in relation to anthropometric measurements.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of corticosteroids in bronchopulmonary dysplasic infants may influence the somatic growth during its use. However, after its suspension, a recovery seems to occur, suggesting that its influence could be transitory.


In the last year, the research about new ways of using Machine Learning for the human profit has grown exponentially. At the same time, our society is evolving into new ways of communication and social interaction. Instagram is one of the faces of this change in the human evolution. Prediction systems and Artificial Intelligence are topics that are exploding right now. Companies are investing in challenges and experts to predict that product that a user will want, or that music that he will like, or that film that he will want to watch. There is a new challenging branch to be followed and that is Social Media. Predict the popularity of pictures, which one will be the most popular of the day, which is the best cut for a selfie to be more popular... This project tries to put these two realities together. The goal is to predict how many likes a post is gonna get before being posted on Instagram. This would only be possible right now thanks to Machine Learning. Machine Learning is this concept that we can train computers to identify patterns and data, and then use those patterns to predict off of new data. We will give samples of posts to our machine so it can find patterns and estimate and predict a result after being given some other input, based on the patterns that it learned. The system will consist of three sections: First, the input picture will be classified into one category depending on the theme of the picture using a retrained model based on Deep Learning. In this project we are going to take into account six categories: Animals, Food, Friends, Landscape, Quote and Selfie. Second, the input picture will be compared with a set of 200 pictures from the selected category that already have a score between 0 and 1 using another retrained model based on Deep Learning. An algorithm will make the comparison and will result in a histogram. The maximum point of the histogram will be the computed score of the input picture. Third, we will use that computed score from the second section as a variable in a regression, in order to get the final prediction of likes. Other variables are taken into account in this regression as well. As you can see in the description of the system, without Machine Learning it would be impossible, even for a human being, to identify all the necessary patterns and predict off new data accurately. Humans can typically create one or two good models a week; machine learning can create thousands of models a week.


The authors reviewed 322 articles in podiatric medical journals to determine their level of evidence. Only 1% of the articles reviewed were randomized controlled trials. The authors concluded that if the podiatric medical profession wishes to become a participant in evidence-based medicine, greater emphasis must be placed on studies that assess hypotheses.


Attempts to quantitatively describe ventricular function during diastole have been stimulated by the recognition that diastolic mechanics significantly influence overall cardiac performance, and that diastolic dysfunction may precede, or substantially contribute to, abnormalities of systolic function in various pathologic conditions (table 1). Indices of diastolic function can be derived invasively or noninvasively, and focus on the measurement of a diverse and complex set of separate, but intimately interrelated, processes that, while complementary, may not be directly comparable. Measurement of these indices is complicated, because diastolic function depends on several determinants: active, energy-dependent forces (isovolumic ventricular relaxation); passive and dynamic filling characteristics (chamber and myocardial stiffness); and extrinsic factors (left atrial function, ventricular interaction, valvular integrity, pericardial restraint, and myocardial blood flow), as well as other conditions that affect myocardial function during systole (preload, afterload, heart rate, and inotropic state). The diversity of events occurring during diastole indicates that a single index of diastolic function cannot adequately describe this period of the cardiac cycle, and the physiologic implications of diastolic dysfunction may be different, depending on the period of diastole affected (table 1). Thus, assessment of diastolic function is complicated, because of the heterogeneity of the event and the multiple factors that influence it. Despite the inherent potential limitations of indices describing diastolic function, these parameters provide useful references for evaluating the natural history of patients with diastolic heart failure, for assessing the benefits of therapeutic interventions of anesthetic actions, and for enhancing our knowledge of cardiac pathophysiology.


Background and Purpose— Because 10% of strokes occur in hospitalized patients, we sought to evaluate stroke knowledge and predictors of stroke knowledge among inpatient and emergency department nursing staff. Methods— Nursing staff completed an online stroke survey. The survey queried outcome expectations (the importance of rapid stroke identification), self-efficacy in recognizing stroke, and stroke knowledge (to name 3 stroke warning signs or symptoms). Adequate stroke knowledge was defined as the ability to name ≥2 stroke warning signs. Logistic regression was used to identify the association between stroke symptom knowledge and staff characteristics (education, clinical experience, and nursing unit), stroke self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. Results— A total of 875 respondents (84% response rate) completed the survey and most of the respondents were nurses. More than 85% of respondents correctly reported ≥2 stroke warning signs or symptoms. Greater self-efficacy in identifying stroke symptoms (odds ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.27) and higher ratings for the importance of rapid identification of stroke symptoms (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.002–1.51) were associated with stroke knowledge. Clinical experience, educational experience, nursing unit, and personal knowledge of a stroke patient were not associated with stroke knowledge. Conclusions— Stroke outcome expectations and self-efficacy are associated with stroke knowledge and should be included in nursing education about stroke.


Background Improved systematic screening of high-risk groups is a key component of the tuberculosis (TB) elimination strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). We used a multiplex microbead immunoassay to measure antibody responses to 28 M. tuberculosis (M.tb) antigens, and assessed whether combinations of antibody responses achieve accuracy thresholds required for a TB screening test. Methods A random selection of plasma samples obtained from consecutive HIV-negative adults who were admitted to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda with cough ≥2 weeks' but <6 months' duration were analyzed for serological response to 28 M.tb antigens using an in-house multiplex microbead immunoassay. We compared the median difference of the antibody response to each antigen between patients with and without culture-confirmed TB, ranked each antigen according to variable importance (VIM), and assessed the sensitivity and specificity of combinations of antibody responses using an advanced classification algorithm, SuperLearner. Results Among the 237 patients included in the analysis, 119 (50%) were female, median age was 32 years (IQR 25, 46), and 113 (48%) had TB. Median antibody levels to eight antigens were significantly different between patients with and without TB. A panel including eight of the top ranked antigens had a sensitivity of 90.6% (95% CI 89.4, 93.8) and a specificity of 88.6% (95% CI 78.2, 97.6) (Ag85B, Ag85A, Ag85C, Rv0934-P38, Rv3881, BfrB, Rv3873, and Rv2878c). With sensitivity constrained to be >90%, specificity remained close to 70% with as few as 3 antigens included in the panels. Conclusions Measuring antibody responses to combinations of antigens could facilitate TB screening and should be further evaluated in populations being targeted for systematic screening.


Separately the adjuncts of hypotension and hypothermia have been demonstrated to be controllable and safe. Morris 1 induced controlled hypotension by the administration of hexamethonium and found that there was little evidence of cerebral or renal damage due to anoxia in patients kept in the supine position during the period of depression. In these subjects the mean blood pressure was lowered to 55 mm. of mercury. Anlyan 2 has studied the extent of liver damage incurred after hypotension induced by ganglionblocking drugs. He and his co-workers compared the changes in liver function induced by hypotension produced by hemorrhage with that produced by ganglion-blocking agents. They reduced the blood pressure to a mean pressure of 30 mg. of mercury for 30 to 45 minutes in dogs by each method and found that the mortality rate was lower when the ganglion-blocking chemical drug was used to reduce the pressure. Histological changes in


The aim of the present study was to describe the associations between glucose tolerance and symptoms in an unselected non-institutionalised elderly population aged 73 years or over (n = 259, of whom 93 were men). Diabetes was assessed on the basis of self-reports and 2-h oral glucose tolerance tests (1985 WHO criteria). Symptoms were measured with a modified diabetes symptom checklist (DSC-Type 2). The previously diagnosed diabetic patients reported to have more symptoms in all the six dimensions of the symptom checklist than the other study groups. According to the responses to twenty out of 34 items, more of the previously diagnosed diabetic women had symptoms than the other female study groups; the corresponding figure for the previously diagnosed diabetic men being 16/34. The following hyperglycaemic symptoms: "dry mouth", "increasing fatigue in the course of the day", "numbness in the hands", were either weakly or significantly associated with undiagnosed diabetes. Men with IGT reported to have "dry mouth" and "tingling or pricking in the legs or feet" more often than men with NGT. Symptoms of "moodiness" increased along with the deterioration of glucose tolerance, and it seems that depression is associated with type 2 diabetes in elderly people, too. Although the study covered a wide range of symptoms, it did not clearly reveal such symptoms that could be used as potential indicators of undiagnosed diabetes or especially IGT among elderly patients.


The ultimate question about the success of eGovernment depends on how citizens perceive its value. Understanding success in Information Systems (IS) is however a complex challenge made more difficult when set in the public sector environment. While private sector studies may focus on profitability efficiency, quality and reliability, public sector evaluation must combine these concerns with accountability, citizen trust and the creation of public value. This research adopts the Public Value approach to provide the first empirical assessment of eGovernment success from a citizen perspective. It is also the first study to identify the important IT Quality dimensions that have a positive impact on success. This paper identifies the specific constructs within Information, System and Service Quality that predict citizen value perceptions. This level of granularity provides an important contribution in advancing a deeper understanding of the dynamics of eGovernment success. The novel environment of Web 2.0 in eGovernment is also explored, resulting in new findings that define what citizens' value in this mode of interaction. This research therefore contributes to the body of knowledge by increasing our understanding of what citizens' value in eGovernment services and what aspects of IT Quality influence eGovernment success.


The film morphology of π-conjugated oligomers has been controlled by self-assembly in solution. To this end supramolecular hydrogen-bonded systems of oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV) carrying ureido-s-triazine hydrogen-bonding groups are used. Neutron scattering experiments in dodecane solutions show that columnar stacks are formed. Films with thicknesses on the order of 100 nm are made that have a supramolecular organization resembling the organization present in solution. Uniform rodlike morphological domains range over several hundreds of nanometers as shown by atomic force microscopy. The rodlike morphology of the OPVs was also preserved when blended with a C60 derivative, producing stable photovoltaic devices.


Here we propose a feasible experimental setup for implementing optimal probabilistic cloning of two arbitrary nonorthogonal qubit states. This proposal is based on linear optics together with a pair of entangled twin photons generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The states to be cloned are encoded in the polarization degree of freedom of one of the photons while two perfect clones are generated and encoded in the polarization and the spatial degree of freedom of the resting photon. Therefore, the clones are produced nonlocally. The proposed implementation requires the application of recovery unitary operations onto the photon hosting the clones which are conditional on measurements performed on the other photon in a process akin to quantum teleportation.


Genetic analysis through construction of chimeric genes and their transfection in mammalian cells could provide a better understanding of biological functions of native or modified proteins, and would allow the design of new gene constructs encoding peptides that mimic or block ligand interaction with target tissues. To identify the hGH domains responsible for induction of adipose differentiation we constructed hGH/hPL chimeric molecules using homologous DNA mutagenesis, since hGH, but not human placental lactogen (hPL), promotes adipose differentiation in mouse 3T3-F442A cells. We assayed their adipogenic activity in an autocrine/paracrine biological model consisting of transiently transfected 3T3-F442A cells with the chimeric constructs. Plasmid DNAs carrying these constructs were transfected into growing 3T3-F442A cells, and cultures were further maintained for 7 days to differentiate into adipocytes. Secretion of transfected hGH/hPL chimeric proteins into the medium was in the range of 5-25 ng/ml. Adipogenic activity was a property only of those chimeric proteins that contained hGH exon III together with either hGH exon II or hGH IV. Our results also suggest that hGH binding site-2 is composed of two structural subdomains: subsite 2A encoded by exon II of hGH and subsite-2B encoded by exon IV. We also suggest that full adipogenic activity requires the presence of binding site-1 and any of the subsites of binding site-2. This simple autocrine/paracrine biological model of gene transfection allows the analysis of specific biological activity of products encoded by modified genes.


Vitamin D deficiency is widespread: 50 to 80% of the world population. In reproduction medicine, the literature remains discordant about the influence of vitamin D on intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes. In this context, a study was conducted whose, its main objective was to evaluate the association between the vitamin D levels and pregnancy rates in a large population of patients followed for in vitro fertilization. Our findings suggest that women with sufficient levels of vitamin D are significantly more likely than those with insufficient levels to achieve a pregnancy following intracytoplasmic sperm injection. We suggest making determining vitamin D status as part of a routine infertility assessment and before assisted reproductive treatment, especially in women with high body mass index.


CONTO TV S.r.l. (CONTO TV) is a small broadcasting company operating satellite TV in Italy. LEGA CALCIO is the Italian Soccer Association, entrusted by the Italian law (Law no. 106/2007 and…


Computer systems are playing an increasing role in management. This thesis
presents three related field investigations of the benefits and problems of
manager–computer interaction. An initial literature search shows that
computers have considerable potential in the management process but that
this potential is rarely realised. The first field investigation was an
interview study of 82 managers who used three different kinds of systems;
batch processed standard output systems, data base systems with interrogative
facilities and management modelling systems. The results showed serious
mis-matches between user task needs and the provisions of the system ('task
fit' problems) especially for standard output systems. The more interactive
systems had the potential to overcome 'task fit' problems but created 'ease
of use' problems for the managers because of the more complex facilities
they had to know and to operate. [Continues.]


This article analyzes women's admission to Mexico's National Academy of Medicine (NAM) originally an all-male institution. We describe the demographic characteristics of female members of the NAM. By the year 2006, the NAM had 536 academic members, 62 of them were women. Data gathered included date of entry to the NAM, members' age at time of admission, current age, whether they had children and the field and or area to which they were assigned. We also analyzed membership to the "National System of Researchers" (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, SNI). Women admitted to the NAM were all competitive scholars who planned their career choices, sought and achieved positions of power yet gender issues still determined their professional careers.


Abstract Background Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs) cause significant morbidity and mortality. Traditional open surgical management strategies offer limited benefit except for the most superficial hemorrhages in select patients. Recent reports suggest that endoscopic approaches may improve outcomes, particularly for deep subcortical hemorrhages. However, the management of these patients remains controversial. We reviewed our experience using endoscopic port surgery to identify characteristics that may predict acceptable outcomes. Materials and Methods We completed a retrospective chart and imaging review of patients who underwent endoscopic port surgery for evacuation of spontaneous ICH at a single center. Data were gathered regarding patient demographics, hemorrhage locations, operative findings, and clinical outcomes. Results From 2007 to 2011, 18 patients underwent evacuation of spontaneous intracerebral hematomas using an endoscopic port. The mean age in years was 62 years (range, 43–84 years). Six of 18 patients (33%) died before discharge, and 2 others (11%) died after at least 1 month of survival. Of 12 initial survivors, all were discharged to a rehabilitation or nursing facility. Complete hematoma evacuation was achieved in 7 of 18 patients, with the remaining 11 having a partial evacuation. The patients who died (n = 6) before discharge were statistically more likely to have a left-sided hemorrhage, partial evacuation, or older age than the survivors; death at least 1 month after evacuation was additionally associated with greater preoperative hematoma volumes. Conclusions Our series demonstrates that endoscopic port surgery for acute intracerebral hematoma evacuation has the ability to achieve significant decompression of large and deep-seated hematomas. Patient age, extent of evacuation, laterality, and preoperative hematoma volume appear to influence patient outcome. Most overall outcomes remain poor. Future studies are necessary to determine if surgical evacuation is in fact superior to best medical treatment and if so, to validate, refute, or further identify characteristics that define surgical candidates.


Hypertonic sodium chloride solutions in concentrations ranging from 1.5% to 24% have been studied for use in the resuscitation of burn and hemorrhagic shock victims for many years. In animal studies, in the setting of small volume resuscitation, hypertonic sodium chloride is superior to standard isotonic crystalloid resuscitation for restoration of hemodynamic stability. The combination of hypertonic sodium chloride with a hyperoncotic colloid solution sustains hemodynamic improvements for an additional hour. Hypertonic-hyperoncotic solutions restore vascular volume primarily by drawing water out of the cell and then selectively partitioning some of the newly recruited fluid within the plasma space. The hyperosmolar state also augments microcirculatory flow, reduces cerebral edema formation, and perhaps increases myocardial contractility. The ability to increase cardiac output with small volume hypertonic-hyperoncotic resuscitation may solve some of the problems related to fluid resuscitation in the prehospital setting when transport times are prolonged or mass casualties need to be treated. Decreasing the volume of fluid required during resuscitation may also prove beneficial in the setting of craniocerebral trauma where the administration of large volumes of crystalloid can increase intracranial pressure. The largest clinical experiences have been reported with the administration of 4 mL/kg of 7.5% sodium chloride combined with 6% dextran 70. These studies have shown that this solution is safe to administer and effective for reversal of hypotension. Whether or not the ability to reverse hypotension will translate into improved survival remains undetermined at present and will require larger multi-institutional trials.


A predictive transient two-phase flow rotodynamic pump model has been developed in the Code for Analysis of THermalhydraulics during an Accident of Reactor and safety Evaluation (CATHARE-3). Flow inside parts of the pump (suction, impeller, diffuser, volute) is computed according to a one-dimensional discretization following a mean flow path. Transient governing equations of the model are solved using a implicit resolution method and integrated along the curvilinear abscissa of the element. This model has been first qualified at the component scale during years 2017-18 by comparison to an existing experimental database. The present study aims at extending the validation at the system scale: a whole experimental test loop is modelled. The ability of the transient pump model to predict flow rate, head and torque as a function of time during a 1-second pump fast start-up is presented. Evolution of the pressure upstream and downstream from the centrifugal pump obtained in the simulation is similar to the measurements during the transient.


a fairly exhaustive study of the offender's progress, through the labyrinth of penal practice, with particular reference to welfare provisions and the functions of the Probation & After-Care Service. Clearly, with its limited resources confounding any skill it may have, the Service is on a hiding to nothing in any really serious treatment stakes and the author does not attempt to suggest otherwise. He presents the facts as he sees them, comments in restrained fashion and throws doubts where in the past we have had too many complacent assumptions. For all those who like adjectives like &dquo;exciting&dquo; and &dquo;challenging&dquo; the book will hardly find favour. It is in fact a comprehensive researcher's eye view, a realist's matter of fact look at the complexities of our penal system and the confusion which arises from the many conflicting as well as well-meaning attempts to provide one which is remotely viable. Custodial and non-custodial methods are examined and the frustrations of failure which exist in the limbo between aspiration and reality are well brought out. There is also a very balanced understanding (by a former probation officer and social worker) of the need which society has to control (and often rightly) its recalcitrant elements in the interests of the many. There is as yet, it seems, no really valid alternative to prison and even the latter could be and should be a much better proposition, in viable terms, than it is. We are not conspicuously successful according to Dr Davies and 20 years of personal experience leads the writer to offer a modest endorsement of the view. '


Abstract Fulmekiola serrata (Kobus) was observed infesting sugarcane, Saccharum spp. hybrids, in the United States for the first time in January 2017 in Florida. Field studies were conducted to determine F. serrata infestation levels on popular sugarcane cultivars and to determine the efficacy of foliar insecticide treatments that could be used for management. Cultivar evaluations comparing six and five commercial cultivars representing >46% of the sugarcane production area in Florida were conducted in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Fulmekiola serrata infestation levels did not differ among cultivars in 2017. However, infestation levels on CP 00-1101 were greater than on CP 96-1252 grown on organic soils, and infestation levels on CP 96-1252 were greater than on CPCL 97-2730 grown on mineral soils in 2018. Three insecticide evaluations, two in 2017 and one in 2018, were conducted. The pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin, which is registered for use on sugarcane, was consistently associated with the greatest decreases in F. serrata infestation levels. The neonicotinoids imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, as well as the butenolide flupyradifurone, decreased infestation levels but to a lesser extent than did lambda-cyhalothrin. The spinosyn spinetoram was associated with the lowest decreases in F. serrata infestation levels. Our results supported short-term F. serrata management recommendations: Popular Florida sugarcane cultivars should be considered equally susceptible to F. serrata until additional evaluations are conducted and F. serrata outbreaks can be treated with lambda-cyhalothrin when infestations stress the crop beyond acceptable levels.


In this work, we propose and compare several methods for the visualization and exploration of time-varying volumetric medical images based on the temporal characteristics of the data. The principle idea is to consider a time-varying data set as a 3D array where each voxel contains a time-activity curve (TAC). We define and appraise three different TAC similarity measures. Based on these measures we introduce three methods to analyze and visualize time-varying data. The first method relates the whole data set to one template TAC and creates a 1D histogram. The second method extends the 1D histogram into a 2D histogram by taking the Euclidean distance between voxels into account. The third method does not rely on a template TAC but rather creates a 2D scatter-plot of all TAC data points via multi-dimensional scaling. These methods allow the user to specify transfer functions on the 1D and 2D histograms and on the scatter plot, respectively. We validate these methods on synthetic dynamic SPECT and PET data sets and a dynamic planar Gamma camera image of a patient. These techniques are designed to offer researchers and health care professionals a new tool to study the time-varying medical imaging data sets.


The idea that the Euro zone sovereign debt crisis was caused by structural weaknesses degenerating into fundamental macroeconomic imbalances in the peripheral countries prevails among international institutions such as the IMF, the ECB, and the European Commission. On the contrary, some economists believe that this crisis is the consequence of major deficiencies in the architecture of economic policy making in the Euro zone that did not allow a proper response to a global systemic crisis of the financial markets that started in the United States. The objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the public debt dynamics in the EU, differentiating the case of Euro zone peripheral countries. We used quarterly data from 2000 to 2011 to estimate a small-scale model that takes into account the interactions between key variables. Our results do not support entirely the official view. We conclude that the cause of the adverse debt dynamics unravelling after 2007 was a sharp GDP contraction, coupled with a substantial increase in the interest cost of debt finance due to higher self-fulfilling solvency risks perceived by creditors, interacting with a higher sensitiveness of Euro zone peripheral countries to fundamentals.


The current UK Government policy implementation framework, which directs the structure of partnership involvement in the environmental area, has introduced an implementation model which encompasses both 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' theoretical typologies, consequently, there is an opportunity to examine the impact of this novel framework by in-depth, practical examination. To address this gap, a critical analysis of UK Government environmental implementation strategy was undertaken, framed within the financial challenges, political devolution debate and social factors which impact implementation agents. The research consisted of a case study on the practical experience of selected river catchment conservation partnerships (NW England River Basin), critically examining the overall governance structure and individual partner relationships through the application of a complexity science approach incorporating social network analysis. UK DEFRA guidance encourages the adoption of an ecosystem framework to direct goal prioritisation, consequently, positioning environmental goals against ecosystem services and disservices formed an important facet of the research, established by novel analysis of historical, narrative records and contemporary reports. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used in the evaluation. Powerful stakeholders, including partnership development support, are found to influence collaborative activity and maintain a strong focus on statutory goals: suggestions for establishing accountable stakeholders in a complex network are outlined. Understanding long-term trends offers greater potential for robust, innovative environmental interventions, however, the lack of an explicit application of the ecosystem framework is considered to contribute to the prioritisation of water quality and quantity goals within the partnership. The current devolution debate has a discernible impact on the governance arrangements of one of the studied partnerships. Given the restrictions on funding and stakeholder participation found in this study, alternative governance arrangements for catchment partnerships are proposed. Policy frameworks need to support an approach which involves potentially competing UK Government departments, consequently, findings have implications for policymakers, environmental activists and local communities.


The farm magazine is one of the important media to disseminate agricultural information to the farming community. Among various farm magazine published in Gujarat, KRUSHIJIVAN farm magazine (KFM) is the oldest farm magazine. It is publishing regularly since May 1969 with the main aim to 'disseminate and to popularize the scientific methods of agriculture in farming community. There was hardly any research work carried out in past to measure the impact of farm magazine in terms of gain in knowledge of agriculture technology on subscriber farmers. The independent variables like, education, social participation, market intelligence, scientific orientation, innovativeness, economic motivation, reading behavior, mass media had positive and highly significant correlation with gain in knowledge of KFM subscriber farmers towards selected agriculture technology. KFM subscribers had significant impact of KRUSHIJIVAN farm magazine was observed in improving knowledge gain of selected agriculture technology.


: X-ray microanalysis was carried out on resting and stimulated rat exorbital lacrimal gland. The acinar cells of the resting gland are rich in calcium, which is localized in the secretory granules. In vitro stimulation with the cholinergic agonist carbachol leads to decreased cellular concentrations of K and increased concentrations of Na and Cl, concomitantly with intracellular vacuole formation. In vivo stimulation with pilocarpine leads after 90 min to loss of virtually all secretory material and also of the major part of the intracellular calcium. The secretory material is replenished after 24 h, and calcium levels in the acinar cells are then comparable to those in the resting gland. Chronic pilocarpine treatment induces significantly elevated calcium levels in the acinar cells of rat lacrimal gland.


In this paper we introduce a new distributed algorithm for the exploration of an unknown environment with a team of mobile robots. The objective is to explore the whole environment as fastest as possible. The proposed approach is based on the potential field method. The advantages of using this method are several and well known, but the presence of many local minima does not assure the exploration of the entire environment. Our idea is to preserve these advantages but overcome the problem of local minima by introducing a leader in the team which has a different control law, unaffected by this problem. Furthermore, we consider also the case of several local leaders, dynamically selected on the basis of a hierarchy within the team. Extensive simulations are presented to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. In particular, the results are compared with the exploration obtained by a potential field approach without leaders.


BACKGROUND
The efficacy of thoracoscopic blebectomy and pleurodesis for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) is often attenuated by diffuse emphysematous parenchyma. In this study, we reviewed our surgical results of pleural tenting and its association with preoperative chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with SSP.

METHODS
From September 2005 to December 2014, there were 96 surgeries on 84 patients with SSP due to pulmonary emphysema. The data was collected on age, sex, smoking status, preoperative chest CT scan image, surgical procedure, blood loss, operative time, duration of tube thoracostomy, and hospital stay. We used Goddard score, a visual scoring system, to evaluate the severity of emphysema. Multivariable regression and logistic regression were performed to identify the factors associated with outcomes.

RESULTS
The patients were separated according to the Goddard score, where patients with Goddard score ≤2 were in group 1 and those with Goddard score >2 in group 2. Goddard score and pleural tenting both significantly influenced the duration of tube thoracostomy in group 2 (P=0.026 and 0.003) but not in group 1. The Goddard score had significant impact on recurrence (P=0.019, OR =2.525), the risk of secondary procedure (P=0.033, OR =4.754), and complication (P=0.002, OR =2.913). Pleural tenting was found to decrease the risk of secondary procedure (P=0.034, OR =0.059). For complication and mortality rate, age was an important risk factor (P<0.001, OR =1.110 and P=0.028, OR =1.146).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with moderate and severe emphysema, pleural tenting significantly reduced the duration of tube thoracostomy and the risk of secondary procedure.


Australia's rules for taxing benefits under employee share schemes in Div 83A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 have been subject to much criticism, particularly by start-up companies and the venture capital industry. The Government under its new Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda proposes to reform the rules for taxing such benefits from 1 July 2015. This article examines how the current rules in Div 83A operate and analyses how the Government's proposed reforms are intended to change the way in which benefits under ESSs will be taxed. The article compares the policy rationale that underpins both the current and proposed regimes and focuses on how the current and proposed rules affect start-up companies.


Phyllodium pulchellum L. Desv. is an subshrub, belongs to the fabaceae family. The present study has been attempted to antifungal activity and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the leaf of P. pulchellum. The plant extracted with different organic solvents viz., aqueous, chloroform and ethanol. Antifungal activity of the leaf extract against some pathogenic fungus like Aspergillus nigar, Pencillium notatum, Rhizhotonia solani and Colletotrichum falcatum. The inhibitory effect of leaf distillates was compared with the standard fluconazole. Quantitative phytochemical analyses were performed using standard procedures. The ethanol leaf extracts of P. pulchellum showed maximum activity against Aspergillus niger, followed by Colletotrichum falcatum, Penicillium notatum and Rhizoctonia solani. The ethanolic extract showed higher level of phenol (88.68±2.081 mg/g), flavonoid (71.33±4.172 mg/g) tannin (30.23±3.025 mg/g) and than the other extracts which having secondary metabolites. These findings provide scientific evidence to support the traditional use of Phyllodium pulchellum and also indicate that the leaf of this species are a promising potential for the development of quantitative phytochemical and antifungal agent. Accepted: 18 July 2017 Available Online: 06 August 2017


By using Four-ball test machine, the anti-wear and extreme pressure performance of the lubricating oil that contain the ceramics nanoparticles additives were investigated. With the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the worn surface is observed, and its tribological performance is studied. The experimental results show that nanoparticles additives can effectively improve extreme pressure and anti-wear performance of the lubricating oil, and the optimal concentration of it in the base oil is 3 wt%. With ZDDP additive contrast experiment show that under low-load and long time conditions, ZDDP additive is far inferior to nanoparticles additives, and containing AlN nanoparticles additives lubricating oil mainly happen Fatigue wear and scratch.


Abstract Admixture and polyploidization are major recognized eukaryotic genome evolutionary processes. Their impacts on genome dynamics vary among systems and are still partially deciphered. Many banana cultivars are triploid (sometimes diploid) interspecific hybrids between Musa acuminata (A genome) and M. balbisiana (B genome). They have no or very low fertility, are vegetatively propagated and have been classified as "AB," "AAB," or "ABB" based on morphological characters. We used NGS sequence data to characterize the A versus B chromosome composition of nine diploid and triploid interspecific cultivars, to compare the chromosome structures of A and B genomes and analyze A/B chromosome segregations in a polyploid context. We showed that interspecific recombination occurred frequently between A and B chromosomes. We identified two large structural variations between A and B genomes, a reciprocal translocation and an inversion that locally affected recombination and led to segregation distortion and aneuploidy in a triploid progeny. Interspecific recombination and large structural variations explained the mosaic genomes observed in edible bananas. The unprecedented resolution in deciphering their genome structure allowed us to start revisiting the origins of banana cultivars and provided new information to gain insight into the impact of interspecificity on genome evolution. It will also facilitate much more effective assessment of breeding strategies.


In a chemostat, transient oscillations are often experimentally observed during cell growth. The aim of this paper is to propose simple autonomous models which are able (or not) to generate these oscillations, and to investigate them analytically. Our point of view is based on a simplification of the cell cycle in which there are two states (mature and immature) with the transfer between the two dependent on the available resources. We built two similar models, one with cell biomass and the other with cell number density. We prove that the first one oscillates, but not the second. This paper is dedicated to Claude Lobry, who helped us to build a first version of these models.


The principal function of a protection relay is to protect the electric power system (EPS) from intolerable phenomena, such as fault produced by lightning, which can produce deleterious effects on EPS. Both impedance estimation protection and transient-based protection have become the most used protection relays for the lightning stroke classification. However, it is clear that currently these techniques suffer from drawbacks, which cannot correctly classify lightning stroke signals with speed and precision balanced, and cannot correctly distinguish the lightning stroke with and without a fault. Therefore, in order to avoid maloperation, protection schemes must be able to classifier lightning strokes correctly. This paper presents a novel methodology to provide effective lightning transmission-line protection. Principal component analysis is used to extract different patterns for lightning strokes due to shielding failure and backflashover. This work discloses that the transient voltages projected on the principal component coordinates clearly illustrate lightning strokes with and without a fault. In this manner, two pattern classifiers, based on spectral energy and artificial neural network, are useful for effectively classifying lightning stroke types. On the other hand, to evaluate the robustness of the proposed methodology, this research is also compared with the technique based on the wavelet transform, which has been the major tool used for the analysis of lightning strokes. Results show that the methodology proposed is fast and effective, which is not affected by operational conditions. Thus, this methodology can be applicable for high-speed protection systems.


Cell elongation requires directional deposition of cellulose microfibrils regulated by transverse cortical microtubules. Microtubules respond differentially to suppression of cell elongation along the developmental zones of Arabidopsis thaliana root apex. Cortical microtubule orientation is particularly affected in the fast elongation zone but not in the meristematic or transition zones of thanatos and pom2–4 cellulose-deficient mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we report that a uniform phenotype is established among the primary cell wall mutants, as cortical microtubules of root epidermal cells of rsw1 and prc1 mutants exhibit the same pattern described in thanatos and pom2–4. Whether cortical microtubules assume transverse orientation or not is determined by the demand for cellulose synthesis, according to each root zone's expansion rate. It is suggested that cessation of cell expansion may provide a biophysical signal resulting in microtubule reorientation.


This paper describes a tool that combines an accurate SIMULINK-based time-domain behavioural simulator with a statistical optimizer for the automated high-level synthesis of ¿¿ Modulators (¿¿Ms). The combination of high accuracy, short CPU time and interoperability of different circuit models together with the efficiency of the optimization engine makes the proposed tool an advantageous alternative for ¿¿M synthesis. The implementation on the well-known MATLAB/SIMULINK platform brings numerous advantages in terms of data manipulation, flexibility and simulation with other electronic subsystems. Moreover, this is the first tool dealing with the synthesis of ¿¿Ms using both Discrete-Time (DT) and Continuous-Time (CT) circuit techniques(*).


The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 26(3). 1~30. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the awareness and attitudes of Korean learners about Academic Writing and to identify the problems which should be solved in academic writing education for Korean learners. For this, 62 foreign students were conducted a questionnaire survey, and 18 of them were interviewed to elicit their attitudes, perceptions about academic writing. A result of analysis showed that students have a very negative attitude towards writing. Moreover, they are not aware of the importance of writing. Therefore, they are negligent of writing and do not actively participate in academic activities. Second, students know the connection between general purpose writing learning and academic writing learning, but they have no systematic understanding of Korean academic writing. They simply gain knowledge of writing by imitating. Third, although they showed a willingness to be good at academic writing, they lacked subjective initiative on writing learning. And their writing study was centered on TOPIK. In order to solve these problems, this paper suggested solutions from an ecological perspective: language knowledge entry, learning environment, and learner's self - growth. First, it is needed to help foreign students to have a systematic knowledge of academic writing as soon as possible. Second, outside the classroom, students should be offered a variety of opportunities to participate in academic activities. third, it is necessary to study the internal motivation of interest which attracts students' attention and allow them to have a positive attitude about academic writing.


Background Global estimates on work-related injuries and illnesses have been presented using the methodology of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, over the past 15-20 years. This work continues while further development of the methods and sources need attention. Methods Occupational injury data from ILO member States are regularly collected while data is mainly received from developed countries or member States that have reasonably well developed systems. A large number of countries do not report their data to the ILO at all, or report only very limited data. Straightforward extrapolation of this data to the non-reporting countries would provide biassed results. Therefore, one or more proxy countries for representative regions were identified. Furthermore, the economic structure of each region and country have been used for adjusting the data. The baseline for the estimates was fatal injuries, which are better reported. These results were then used to estimate non-fatal accidents. Work-related diseases have been estimated using the attributable fraction, AF-method. While such fractions are missing for most countries of the world, data from existing sources, mainly from developed countries, were adjusted for regions and countries lacking local data. Mortality data were taken from the World Health Organisation for each region. All known work-related risk factors and causes of death were taken into account. These included selected communicable diseases, carcinogens based on IARC 1 and 2A groups, cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases and disorders. Results Based on 2010 and 2011 data 2.3 million deaths occurred annually for reasons attributed to work. Of these work related diseases counted close to 2 million deaths and the rest were fatal occupational injuries (accidents). The distribution of diseases in each WHO region varied considerably. Conclusion The numbers are high and unlikely to be under-estimates for neither injuries nor most diseases.


The paper outlines the previously unknown smooth muscle insufficiency in terms of its etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. It has been shown that drug administration leads to smooth muscle insufficiency which is eliminated by serotonin both in vitro and in vivo. The clinical manifestations of smooth muscle (SM) insufficiency are eliminated by serotonin, irrespective of whether it has been caused by the use of drugs or impaired smooth muscle innervation. The mechanism of vascular rhythmic oscillations in the microcirculatory bed, the so-called endogenous vasomotility (EV) has been decoded. The mechanism of EV regulation is due to the fact that platelets constantly (continuously) adsorb serotonin from the enterochromaffin cells of the gastrointestinal tract and constantly (continuously) release it into the microcirculatory bed, thereby providing the continuum of entry of the stimulant to the SM fibers which are able to contract at this time. The summation of these contractions of smooth muscle contractions in the microcirculatory bed maintains their vascular tone and yields the pattern of EV. The paper also describes the earlier unknown properties of hemoglobin and myoglobin to cause smooth muscle spasm and to accelerate platelet destruction. A correlation between the EV and vascular platelet hemostasis is described in terms of these properties. The continuous mechanism of EV is impaired and it transforms to intermittent (final) vascular platelet hemostasis.