Introduction Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, is a highly invasive pathogen that interacts with a diverse repertoire of host cells during infection. The pathogen invades immunologically privileged sites and crosses the placental, blood-brain, endothelial and blood-retina barriers to establish widespread infection. Treponema pallidum disseminates via the circulatory and lymphatic systems, avoiding the prevalent inflammatory reactions raised against other blood-borne pathogens. In this study we investigate if T. pallidum uses an interaction with human platelets, key mediators of homeostasis and immune surveillance, to facilitate host persistence. We demonstrate that T. pallidum adheres to human platelets enabling survival for an extended period, and we discuss how this interaction may aid T. pallidum pathogenesis. Methods Platelet rich plasma prepared from donor blood was incubated under host-mimicking microaerophilic conditions with viable T. pallidum, followed by examination for T. pallidum-platelet interactions via darkfield microscopy and flow cytometry analyses. Viability was confirmed using microscopic and fluorescent staining methodologies. Results Treponema pallidum binds both the rounded and spread morphologies of activated platelets via a polar tip structure, maintaining a firm tether under fluidic conditions. A lack of interaction between heat-killed T. pallidum and platelets confirmed specificity and identified heat-labile T. pallidum surface components as mediators of this interaction. Viability assays illustrated T. pallidum retained viability in platelet rich plasma for >3 days under these conditions. Conclusion The demonstration in this study of (1) prolonged T. pallidum survival within human platelet rich plasma and (2) T. pallidum-platelet interactions indicates that platelets do not exhibit a direct antimicrobial effect on T. pallidum and that T. pallidum mediates a strong and specific interaction with human platelets. These findings may reveal a novel mechanism of host survival employed by this elusive pathogen.


Octreotide has an important role in the medical management of acromegaly. Its place in the management of acromegaly as an adjuvant therapy after neurosurgery is well established with a well-demonstrated efficacy. It can also be used in certain clinical conditions as a neoadjuvant treatment. Clinicians and patients should be aware of the possible side effects of octreotide treatment.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic autoimmune disease with multiple etiological factors. The SLE susceptibility locus on chromosome 16p13 encodes a novel gene CLEC16A and its functional relationship with SLE is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the expression correlation of the two major CLEC16A spliced transcripts with SLE development. Expressions of the long (V1) and short (V2) CLEC16A isoforms in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were assayed by quantitative real time PCR and compared between healthy individuals and SLE patients. Correlation of CLEC16A isoform expression levels with SLE susceptibility, disease severity and twelve clinical parameters were also evaluated. Full length transcripts of CLEC16A V1 and V2 isoforms were readily amplified from PBMCs of healthy controls and patients at varying abundance. Compared with healthy controls (n = 86), expression levels of V1 and V2 were significantly reduced by ~two- and four-fold respectively in SLE patients (n = 181). The relative V2/V1 ratio was also significantly reduced by approximately two-fold. With regard to SLE disease parameters, only a weak positive correlation was found between CLEC16A V1 expression levels and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score. Taken together, CLEC16A was found to be a susceptibility factor for SLE, with possible contribution to the development of the disease.


Analysis of literary data and the author's findings have shown that the transplacental action of most of the compounds tested in experiments on rats manifested itself by a neurotropic carcinogenic effect. A marked neurotropism in transplacental carcinogenesis in rats is characteristic even for such drugs (e.g. dimethylbenzathracene) that have never induced neurogenic neoplasms in adult animals. To elucidate the relationship between teratogenesis and carcinogenesis the peculiarities of tumor development in brain against the background of malformations induced by combined transplacental treatment by methylnitrosourea (MNU) and ethylnitrosourea (ENU) in rats have been studied. Tumorigenesis was sharply inhibited by administration of ENU (on the 13th day) prior to MNU treatment (on the 15th day). There is reason to believe that the cytotoxic effect of MNU for microephaly results in the death of a considerable part of the cell population already transformed by ENU. In a special series of experiments characteristics of the permeability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through the placenta in rats have been specified.


Observatories on the sea floor are about to permit long term observations of physical and chemical processes. Most of these observatories will deliver their measurements ashore in real time or near real time and many will derive power from a cable that connects them to shore. The cable is both empowering and limiting insofar as it permits long deployments and real time data return but restricts observations to regions where the cable has been laid. There remains a need for observatory type arrays of sensors where cables have not been emplaced. The expendable benthic lander is an instrument that can be deployed in such an array. The requirements for such an instrument are that it be inexpensive so that large numbers can be deployed in an array, easily deployed so that costs of laying the array are modest, capable so that physical and chemical properties can be resolved at the speed and sensitivity required to understand processes of importance, and recoverable so that the data may be analyzed in detail. Physical instrument recovery is a desirable attribute but not as important as data recovery. Since data may be recovered even if the instrument is lost, the term expendable is applied to this benthic lander although this is not the primary mode of use.


Fabrication of functionalized 3D architected materials is achieved by a facile method using functionalized acrylates synthesized via thiol-Michael addition, which are then polymerized using two-photon lithography. A wide variety of functional groups can be attached, from Boc-protected amines to fluoroalkanes. Modification of surface wetting properties and conjugation with fluorescent tags are demonstrated to highlight the potential applications of this technique.


Dental maturity was studied with 9577 dental panoramic tomograms of healthy subjects from 8 countries, aged between 2 and 25 years of age. Demirjian's method based on 7 teeth was used for determining dental maturity scores, establishing gender-specific tables of maturity scores and development graphs. The aim of this study was to give dental maturity standards when the ethnic origin is unknown and to compare the efficiency and applicability of this method to forensic sciences and dental clinicians. The second aim was to compare the dental maturity of these different populations. We noted an high efficiency for International Demirjian's method at 99% CI (0.85% of misclassified and a mean accuracy between 2 to 18 years +/- 2.15 years), which makes it useful for forensic purposes. Nevertheless, this international method is less accurate than Demirjian's method developed for a specific country, because of the inter-ethnic variability obtained by the addition of 8 countries in the dental database. There are inter-ethnic differences classified in three major groups. Australians have the fastest dental maturation and Koreans have the slowest.


Gene duplication plays an important role in genetic diversification, adaptive evolution, and speciation. Understanding the mechanisms and effects of postzygotic isolation genes is important for further studies of speciation and crop breeding. The duplicate recessive genes hwe1 and hwe2 cause hybrid breakdown, characterized by poor vegetative growth and reproductive dysgenesis in intersubspecific crosses between Oryza sativa ssp. indica and japonica. Using a map-based cloning strategy, we found that HWE1 and HWE2 encode the Esa1-associated factor 6 (EAF6) protein, a component of histone acetyltransferase complexes. The indica hwe1 and japonica hwe2 alleles lacked functional EAF6, demonstrating that the double recessive homozygote causes hybrid breakdown. Morphological and physiological observations showed that weak plants with double recessive homozygotes had serious morphological defects with a wide range of effects on development and organs, leading to leaves with reduced chlorophyll content, flower and pistil malformation, and anomalies of gametogenesis. These findings suggest that EAF6 plays a pivotal role in the transcriptional regulation of essential genes during the vegetative and reproductive development of rice.


This paper examines changes in marriage practices and patterns of the Baganda, the largest ethnic group in Uganda.  Primary data that included Focus Group Discussions in the rural districts of Mpigi, Kisoro, Sironko and Arua as well as Kampala city that is 100% urban is complimented with secondary data. The results show that with 18% of Uganda's population being urban and 5.1% urban growth rate, marriage practices and patterns have not been spared. It is showed that some relevant marriage practices such as: "pulling"; parent involvement in choosing marriage partners; abstinence before marriage; using traditional items in payment of bride price and rare divorce rates are changing partly because of urbanization. The authors recommend that good Baganda marriage practices and patterns should continue and be strengthened, while polygamy, secret marriages and cohabitation should be discouraged.


The combination of low-cost sensors, low-cost commodity computing, and the Internet is enabling a new era of data-intensive science. The dramatic increase in this data availability has created a new challenge for scientists: how to process the data. Scientists today are envisioning scientific computations on large scale data but are having difficulty designing software architectures to accommodate the large volume of the often heterogeneous and inconsistent data. In this paper, we introduce a particular instance of this challenge, and present our design and implementation of a MODIS satellite data reprojection and reduction pipeline in the Windows Azure cloud computing platform. This cloud-based pipeline is designed with a goal of hiding data complexities and subsequent data processing and transformation from end users. This pipeline is highly flexible and extensible to accommodate different science data processing tasks, and can be dynamically scaled to fulfill scientists' various computational requirements in a cost-efficient way. Experiments show that by running a practical large-scale science data processing job in the pipeline using 150 moderately-sized Azure virtual machine instances, we were able to produce analytical results in nearly 90× less time than was possible with a high-end desktop machine. To our knowledge, this is one of the first eScience applications to use the Windows Azure platform.


Introduction and Rationale The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2017 publication The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research provided a significant contribution by synthesizing the existing evidence base for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids. With the tremendous interest and early data surrounding cannabinoid therapeutics, what remains is a strong need for systematic guidance regarding research priorities and future directions within this space. This document focuses on priority areas for medicinal cannabis-related research. The authors, an international group of cannabis experts, have compiled this list, based on their extensive cannabinoid research experience. For clinicians to have confidence in recommending medicinal cannabis, anecdotal reports, however extensive and/or remarkable, are not sufficient. Evidence-based research is required. This white paper provides an overview of current research gaps, while offering recommendations for studies that may serve to advance existing science within each area. In compiling this list of research recommendations, extensive reviews of the existing evidence (both basic and clinical) were conducted for the following conditions: Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism spectrum disorder, cancer, depression/anxiety/posttraumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, glaucoma, hepatitis and other liver disorders, HIV/AIDS, Huntington's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, nausea, pain, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and other psychoses, and sickle cell disease. This list was compiled based on the legislative actions of various U.S. jurisdictions in enacting medicinal cannabis laws. In the review of the above-noted conditions, a number of common themes emerged that both highlighted existing gaps in the literature and pointed to important future directions. Rather than focus on each disease/ disorder, we chose to focus this review on the overarching themes that were observed across the literature. Each section that follows was authored primarily by one or two of the authors who have particular expertise in the pertinent space.


The Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo (PNB) seeks to promote English proficiency in Colombian society in order to position Colombia within world communication processes, a global economy, and an increasingly multicultural world. Using documentary and statistical data within a case study approach, we characterize the PNB as a case of acquisition planning and argue that some of the social conditions that bolster bilingualism are not sufficiently developed in the Colombian context. Specifically, we maintain that the number of jobs requiring bilingual workers in Colombia's labor market and the patterns of international mobility of Colombians provide little opportunity and incentive for developing bilingualism to the extent envisioned


In the past 20 years of research regarding effects of mobile phone-derived electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on human cognition, attention has been one of the first and most extensively investigated functions. Different domains investigated covered selective, sustained, and divided attention. Here, the most relevant studies on this topic have been reviewed and discussed. A total of 43 studies are reported and summarized: of these, 31 indicated a total absence of statistically significant difference between real and sham signal, 9 showed a partial improvement of attentional performance (mainly increase in speed of performance and/or improvement of accuracy) as a function of real exposure, while the remaining 3 showed inconsistent results (i.e., increased speed in some tasks and slowing in others) or even a worsening in performance (reduced speed and/or deteriorated accuracy). These results are independent of the specific attentional domain investigated. This scenario allows to conclude that there is a substantial lack of evidence about a negative influence of non-ionizing radiations on attention functioning. Nonetheless, published literature is very heterogeneous under the point of view of methodology (type of signal, exposure time, blinding), dosimetry (accurate evaluation of specific absorption rate-SAR or emitted power), and statistical analyses, making arduous a conclusive generalization to everyday life. Some remarks and suggestions regarding future research are proposed.


Research aimed at development and introduction of effective forms of organization and methods of health improvement, compensation, and rehabilitation of patients with chronic diseases acquire special significance today. However, the actual economic and social conditions in the Russian Federation dictate the development and introduction of the least expensive and at the same time sufficiently effective methods for treatment and rehabilitation. Topical training of chronic patients is such a method. One more aspect necessitating such research is essential increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and disability among children. Special attention is paid to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, asthma, and chronic gastrointestinal diseases, often leading to stable (sometimes for life) disability; treatment, rehabilitation, and follow-up of such patients are very expensive, which makes the problem a pressing one.


Modem biological technology has greatly affected human values and moral issues. Biological science, for instance, provides man with a scientific understanding of sex selection-otherwise known as sex control, sex determination, sex predetermination, and sex preselection. This refers to the means whereby the sex of an offspring can be chosen. The effort to select the sex of offspring can be traced back to the Egyptian culture (1350 B.C.). The Hebrew Talmud, for example, suggested that placing the marriage bed in a north south direction favored the conception of boys. In many of the Slavic countries, if a couple preferred a boy, the wife was advised to pinch her husband's right testicle during the conjugal act. German folkways held that if the father wanted a boy, he was to take an ax to bed with him. Among some Filipinos, the husband should wear a hat during the conjugal act, if the preferred off spring is a boy.


Short text is a popular avenue of sharing feedback, opinions and reviews on social media, e-commerce platforms, etc. Many companies need to extract meaningful information (which may include thematic content as well as semantic polarity) out of such short texts to understand users' behaviour. However, obtaining high quality sentiment-associated and human interpretable themes still remains a challenge for short texts. In this paper we develop ELJST, an embedding enhanced generative joint sentiment-topic model that can discover more coherent and diverse topics from short texts. It uses Markov Random Field Regularizer that can be seen as generalisation of skip-gram based models. Further, it can leverage higher order semantic information appearing in word embedding, such as self-attention weights in graphical models. Our results show an average improvement of 10% in topic coherence and 5% in topic diversification over baselines. Finally, ELJST helps understand users' behaviour at more granular levels which can be explained. All these can bring significant values to service and healthcare industries often dealing with customers.


The growth of communicating accounting policies, estimates and underlying uncertainties has increased continuously over the last years. Since 2001, U.S.-firms are encouraged to disclose their highly uncertain accounting policies with a material impact on the presentation of the financial condition of the firm ('critical accounting policies', CAP). In comparison, there exist no similar regulation within the IFRS. Moreover, many outsiders criticize that current disclosures about accounting policies and estimation uncertainties within the IFRS are too unspecific. Due to this lack of disclosure, the aim of the study is to analyze whether and how CAP disclosures could serve as a basis for future discussion by standard setters to improve current disclosure requirements. Based on my findings, I conclude that CAP disclosures would be fruitful and help investors to assess information about accounting policies and estimation uncertainties in the measurement process. JEL Classifications: M40, M41, M49


This thesis is based on work done at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in the field of serious gaming. The motivation for the work is to create a serious game with the purpose of recruiting high school students that undertake studies at NTNU within engineering and science. After considerations of several available tools, Blender was chosen as the best development tool for this kind of game, and used to create "Student Quest - A First Person Student Game". The game analysis shows that the game's Primary Learning Principle is Marketing, the Primary Educational Content is Knowledge Gain through Exploration, the Target Age Group is Middle and High School, and it is developed for a Computer Platform. By extracting the fun factors, we conclude that the game passes the Playability threshold and reaches the Enjoyability threshold. By implementing the potential features suggested, the game may reach the Super Fun threshold and thus has the potential of becoming an extremely entertaining serious game.


Background While bathing styles vary among countries, most Japanese people prefer tub bathing to showers and saunas. However, few studies have examined the relationship between tub bathing and health outcomes. Accordingly, in this prospective cohort study, we investigated the association between tub bathing frequency and the onset of functional disability among older people in Japan. Methods We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). The baseline survey was conducted from August 2010 through January 2012 and enrolled 13,786 community-dwelling older people (6,482 men and 7,304 women) independent in activities of daily living. During a 3-year observation period, the onset of functional disability, identified by new certification for need of Long-Term Care Insurance, was recorded. Tub bathing frequencies in summer and winter at baseline were divided into three groups: low frequency (0–2 times/week), moderate frequency (3–6 times/week), and high frequency (≥7 times/week). We estimated the risks of functional disability in each group using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Results Functional disability was observed in a total of 1,203 cases (8.7%). Compared with the low-frequency group and after adjustment for 14 potential confounders, the hazard ratios of the moderate- and high-frequency groups were 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75–1.10) and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.60–0.85) for summer and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.76–1.07) and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.60–0.84) for winter. Conclusion High tub bathing frequency is associated with lower onset of functional disability. Therefore, tub bathing might be beneficial for older people's health.


Background Healthcare experiences associated with perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among patients are poorly understood. Objective Identify domains of patient dissatisfaction associated with perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among patients with pain. Design Semi-structured telephone surveys completed in 2013–2015. Participants White, African American, and Latino participants who reported receiving pain management from 25 Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. Main measures Surveys included open-ended questions about healthcare satisfaction/dissatisfaction and a measure of perceived racial/ethnic-based discrimination while seeking VA healthcare. Binary indicators for ten qualitative domains of dissatisfaction were derived from open-ended questions. We used multilevel models to identify dissatisfaction domains associated with perceived discrimination, adjusting for patient characteristics and site. Within domains associated with discrimination, we identified the most frequent codes and examined whether patients primarily referenced clinical or non-clinical staff in their experiences. Key results Overall, 622 participants (30.4% White, 37.8% African American, 31.8% Latino; 57.4% female; mean age = 53.4) reported a median discrimination score of 1.0 (IQR: 1.0–1.3) on a scale of 1 to 5; 233 (37.5%) perceived any racial/ethnic discrimination in healthcare. Individually, 7 of 10 qualitative domains were significantly associated with perceived discrimination: dissatisfaction with care quality, facilities, continuity of care, interactions with staff, staff demeanor, unresolved pain, and pharmacy services (ps<0.005). In combined models stratified by racial/ethnic group, 3 domains remained statistically significant: poor interactions for Latinos (adjOR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.28–12.06), negative demeanor for African Americans (adjOR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.45–5.50), and unresolved pain for Whites (adjOR = 6.23, 95% CI = 2.39–16.28). Clinical staff were referenced more often than non-clinical staff for all domains (interactions: 51% vs. 30%; demeanor: 46% vs. 15%; unresolved pain: 18% vs. 1%, respectively). Conclusion Negative interpersonal experiences and unresolved pain are strong correlates of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among patients with pain. Future studies should test whether interventions targeting these domains reduce patient perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination in healthcare.


Multiple Tensor-Times-Matrix (Multi-TTM) is a key computation in algorithms for computing and operating with the Tucker tensor decomposition, which is frequently used in multidimensional data analysis. We establish communication lower bounds that determine how much data movement is required to perform the Multi-TTM computation in parallel. The crux of the proof relies on analytically solving a constrained, nonlinear optimization problem. We also present a parallel algorithm to perform this computation that organizes the processors into a logical grid with twice as many modes as the input tensor. We show that with correct choices of grid dimensions, the communication cost of the algorithm attains the lower bounds and is therefore communication optimal. Finally, we show that our algorithm can significantly reduce communication compared to the straightforward approach of expressing the computation as a sequence of tensor-times-matrix operations.


Mechanical force underlies fundamental cell functions such as division, migration and differentiation. While physical probes and devices revealed cellular mechano-responses, how force is translated inside cells to exert output functions remains largely unknown, due to the limited techniques to manipulate force intracellularly. By engineering an ActA protein, an actin nucleation promoting factor derived from Listeria monocytogenes, and implementing this in protein dimerization paradigms, we developed a molecular tool termed ActuAtor, with which actin polymerization can be triggered at intended subcellular locations to generate constrictive force in a rapidly inducible manner. The ActuAtor operation led to striking deformation of target intracellular structures including mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, nucleus, and non-membrane-bound RNA granules. Based on functional analysis before and after organelle deformation, we found the form-function relationship of mitochondria to be generally marginal. The modular design and genetically-encoded nature enable wide applications of ActuAtor for studies of intracellular mechanobiology processes.


Abstract A randomized, double-blind study was conducted to determine whether continued feeding of premature infant formula after hospital discharge improve biochemical measures of bone mineral or protein status and anthropometrics during the first 8 and 12 weeks, respectively, after initial hospital discharge. Forty-three subjects were randomized to receive either a 20 kcal/ounce standard cow's milk-based formula with iron or a 20 kcal/ounce premature infant formula with iron for 8 weeks after hospital discharge. Sixteen exclusively breast-fed infants (mother's own milk) who received a multivitamin supplement with iron were compared with infants in both formula groups. There were no differences among the three groups in gender, birth weight, gestational age, or weight and age at the time of study entry. Alkaline phosphatase values were lower in infants receiving premature infant formula than in those receiving standard formula 8 weeks after discharge. Phosphorus values were lower and alkaline phosphatase values higher in the human milk-fed group than in both formula groups 8 weeks after discharge despite supplementation with calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D before and during the study. At 8 weeks after discharge, human milk-fed infants also had lower transferrin levels than infants fed formulas. Infants in both formula groups grew similarly in weight, whereas the infants fed human milk weighed less throughout the study. The group fed premature infant formula had greater mean length and head circumference than the standard formula or human milk-fed groups. These data indicate that premature infants weighing < 1800 gm at birth may benefit from the continuation of premature infant formula during the first 8 weeks after initial hospital discharge.


Background: Cigarette smoke is a major source of free radicals and oxidative stress. With a significant proportion of women still smoking during pregnancy, this common and avoidable exposure has the potential to influence infant oxidative status, which is implicated in the increased propensity for airway inflammation and asthma. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of maternal smoking on markers of infant oxidative stress. Methods: The level of oxidative stress (using urinary F2-isoprostanes as a marker of lipid peroxidation) was compared in infants of smokers (n = 33) and non-smokers (n = 54) at 3 months of age. These groups were balanced for maternal atopy and socioeconomic status. Infant urinary cotinine levels were also measured as an indicator of early postnatal cigarette smoke exposure. Results: Maternal smoking was associated with significantly higher infant cotinine levels, despite the fact that most smoking mothers (83.8%) claimed not to smoke near their baby. Maternal smoking was associated with significantly higher markers of oxidative stress (F2-isoprostane) at 3 months of age. There was also a positive correlation between urinary F2-isoprostanes and infant urinary cotinine levels. Conclusions: Although this study does not separate the prenatal and postnatal effects of smoking, these findings indicate that environmental tobacco smoke in the early postnatal period adversely affects pro-oxidative/antioxidative status within weeks of life in very early infancy.


A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Rural Development,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of
Master of Philosophy in Geography and Rural Development,November,2012


CmBGI is the enzymatic genes encoding β-glucosidase that involved in Abscisic Acid (ABA) metabolism of Cucumis melo L. β-glucosidase promotes the accumulation of glucose, fructose, and sucrose, and it might act as a regulator that mediates melon fruit ripening both climacteric and nonclimacteric. ABA mediates adaptive responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Agricultural Balitbang in 1997 showed that there were approximately 158.600 ha of degraded land scattered in three zones of agroecosystems in Yogyakarta (DIY). One of them is Dlingo Bantul area which has a karst type critical land area. Karst provides stress to the certain plant growth. One way to conserve critical land is making this area for agriculture. Cultivar TACAPA and TA were superior melons that have been developed by Genetic Laboratory of Biology Faculty UGM. This preliminary research was conducted to examine molecular characterization of CmBGI gene expression in cultivar TACAPA and TA which are planted in normal condition medium and in critical land medium treatment. Total RNA was extracted from leaf tissue then Reversed Transcriptase (RT-PCR) to collect cDNA library. cDNA was amplified using specific primer. Spectrophotometry was conducted in λ260 nm and electrophoresis run in 1.5% agarose gel. Control of band chosen was Cm-Actin. CmBGI gene concentration of TACAPA and TA in normal condition medium are in succession 578.5 and 579.4 μg/ml then for critical land medium treatment 743.4 and 773.5 μg/ml. CmBGI band was showed both of TACAPA and TA as ± 1258 bp. Cm-actin was showed band of DNA as ± 445 bp. CmBGI gene concentration in critical land medium treatment which is given greater stress on melons are higher than normal condition. This suggests that the CmBGI gene is expressed more in cultivar TACAPA and TA melons when they are grown under stress condition.


The Immigrant Access to Health and Human Services project maps and describes the legal and policy contexts that govern and affect immigrant access to health and human services. Through a synthesis of existing information, supplemented by in-depth visits to purposively selected sites, the study aims to identify and describe federal, state, and local program eligibility provisions related to immigrants, major barriers (such as language and family structure) to immigrants' access to health and human services for which they are legally eligible, and innovative or promising practices that can help states manage their programs.


The authors investigated whether participation in school-based extracurricular activities would predict social and behavioral outcomes (school membership, peer prosocial orientation, and prosocial behavior) associated with school social capital in a group of Hispanic middle school students from the United States of America. Results of hierarchical linear regressions based on longitudinal data indicated that participation in sports-related activities was associated with increased feelings of school membership and peer prosocial orientation. Results are especially significant as Hispanic youth are at an increased risk for school failure and are less likely to have access to social capital in the home and community settings.


Many African governments responded to the dramatic increases in international and domestic grain prices of 2008 and 2009 through a mixture of trade policy changes and input/output market subsidies. In the case of Mali, the Government put in place a rice promotion program at the beginning of the 2008/09 production season. The program, called Initiative Riz (IR or Rice Initiative), made subsidized fertilizer available to rice producers nationwide with a particular focus on farmers in the Office du Niger, where roughly 50% of Mali's rice is produced. The goal of the program was to increase domestic rice production by 50% over the 2007/08 level, thereby increasing marketable surpluses and putting downward pressure on cereal prices.


As the cost of embedded devices, sensors, and wireless networking decreases, the economic viability of intelligent services that sense conditions in the physical world and trigger responses to them becomes increasingly attractive. Sensor networks for environmental monitoring and an urban area's population of trucks and automobiles are examples of existing physical infrastructures that can be supported by such services. We have developed a services-oriented, specification-based, ubiquitous computing platform called TOPAZ that abstracts common ubiquitous computing functions and makes them accessible to any application provider through Web-service-based, metered interfaces. In this paper, we describe a scalable architecture of telemetry service that acquires, processes, and distributes telemetry data and analyze its performance results. Our results demonstrate that through intelligent aggregation of event streams and controlled object allocation schemes, it is possible to support high event rates using off-the-shelf Web application- server software and hardware.


This dissertation investigates strategies of native Mandarin Chinese speakers in disagreement management at business negotiation settings by examining linguistic and non-linguistic resources recurrently utilized by the participants in this study. A principal concern is how cultural and contextual factors contribute to the formation and interpretation of the strategies. The present study is intended to provide Western audiences with practical information about Chinese tactics in their disagreement management particularly at business settings. The ultimate goal of this study is to enhance intercultural communication and understanding. Under the guidance of the theoretical and methodological principles of interactional sociolinguistic approaches, I observed and filmed seven live Chinese business negotiation meetings and conducted three post-interviews with key participants at three Chinese cities. The treatment of the data includes transcribing the set of the data, identifying the instances containing the strategies, and analyzing patterned strategies with the qualitative method. In this study, I argue that the preference for agreement is situational specific. The findings indicate Chinese people are conscious of their opponent's face, but business interest outweighs face politeness. The study shows that business interest and power/personal relationships are major factors in the participant's choice of disagreement management strategies.


Abstract Most coaches would say that coaching is a facilitative process – the coach listens, asks questions, and contributes observations. But what do coaches really do? Based on careful study of actual coach-client conversations, it becomes clear that coaches actually have a wide variety of hats that they can choose to wear in the course of a coach-client conversation. Which hat the coach puts on at any point of the conversation is mostly made instinctively, rather than by conscious choice, because up until now there has not been a good vocabulary to name each hat. To name the hats, and show how each is used in conversation, this study uses the concept of conversational identity. The premise is that each sentence or phrase that a coach uses in conversation with a client can be associated with putting on a particular hat, or adopting a temporary 'conversational' identity. Qualitative analysis of coaching conversations led to the development of a framework consisting of sixteen categorized conversational identities. The Typology of Conversational Identities for Professional Coaches described in this article can be a tool for coaches to be more self-reflective about what they say, how that relates to what hat they are choosing to wear, and ultimately to be able to make observations of their own style and what works best with clients.


Multi-label learning aims to automatically assign to an instance (e.g., an image or a document) the most relevant subset of labels from a large set of possible labels. The main challenge is to maintain accurate predictions while scaling efficiently on data sets with extremely large label sets and many training data points. We propose a simple but effective neural net approach, the Semantic Embedding Model (SEM), that models the labels for an instance as draws from a multinomial distribution parametrized by nonlinear functions of the instance features. A Gauss-Siedel mini-batch adaptive gradient descent algorithm is used to fit the model. To handle extremely large label sets, we propose and experimentally validate the efficacy of fitting randomly chosen marginal label distributions. Experimental results on eight real-world data sets show that SEM garners significant performance gains over existing methods. In particular, we compare SEM to four recent state-of-the-art algorithms (NNML, BMLPL, REmbed, and SLEEC) and find that SEM uniformly outperforms these algorithms in several widely used evaluation metrics while requiring significantly less training time.


Introduction: observation units are dedicated areas in a hospital that provide medical evaluation and management for patients with illnesses that are potentially managed within 24 hours, allowing for prompt discharge. In June 2016, MSF started supporting the emergency department of Kabala government hospital, a district hospital in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, which includes a 12-bedded observation unit (OU). The aim of this analysis is to determine the impact of the implementation of an OU on overall paediatric inpatient admissions and management. Methods: admission and discharge criteria for the OU was put into practice in March 2017 with the agreement and collaboration of the managers of all departments involved. Data on the number of patients attending the OU and number of inpatient admissions was collected for the months of January and May 2017, before and after the intervention. These months were chosen due to the comparable numbers of patients attending through the general hospital triage. Results: after the introduction of the OU, there was a decrease in the paediatric ward admissions of 45.4% (220 in January compared with 120 in May), and an almost 10-fold increase in the number of patients managed in the OU (24 in January while 233 in May). Conclusion: as a result of the introduction of the OU, unnecessary paediatric inpatient admissions decreased. There was also a much higher proportion of patients who were managed in OU. These patients would otherwise have been reviewed in the outpatient department, revealing the need for more comprehensive assessment and allowing for a period of observation for patients who did not require inpatient admission. In addition, it highlights the need to strengthen the capacity of triage and outpatient departments, in terms of equipment, staff and training.


In recent debates known as "the culture wars", Sokal and Bricmont have challenged what they call "intellectual fraud" perpetrated by social scientists/philosophers/cultural critics who mention science (or make use of scientific argument) in order to support relativistic stances. A paradigmatic example of "intellectual fraud" would be the statement that the number p is "socially constructed". Through a discussion of this example, the author proposes an alternative point of view based on what he calls a moderate version of relativism. This version relies on the notion that it is always possible to translate between distinct ontologies, thus guaranteeing intersubjectivity and, consequently, objectivity. Finally, he argues against Sokal and Bricmont's intent of imposing rules for the good usage of metaphors in the human sciences.


Smart contracts, which are widely recognized as key components of blockchain technology, enable automatic execution of agreements. Since each smart contract is a computer program that autonomously runs on a blockchain platform, their development requires much effort and care compared with the development of more common programs. In this paper, we propose a technique to automatically generate a smart contract from a human-understandable contract document that is created using a document template and a controlled natural language (CNL). The automation is based on a mapping from the document template and the CNL to a formal model that can define the terms and conditions in a contract including temporal constraints and procedures. The formal model is then translated into an executable smart contract. We implemented a toolchain that generates smart contracts of Hyperledger Fabric from template-based contract documents via a formal model. We then evaluated the feasibility of our approach through case studies of two types of real-world contracts in different domains.


The respiration of Cancer pagurus under normoxic conditions and its respiratory responses to hypoxia are described. Respiration of quiescent crabs is characterized by a rhythmic pattern of ventilation and cardiac activity in which periods of apnoea and bradycardia of approximately 5 min duration alternate with longer periods of active ventilation and cardiac activity. The significance of this rhythmic ventilatory behaviour is discussed and evidence is presented to account for this behaviour in terms of allowing energy savings to be made during periods of inactivity. During a ventilatory pause the P O 2 of the post-branchial blood falls from its normal level of 94 ± 5 torr to only 24 ± 3 torr. The blood of Cancer provides a store of oxygen which is used during pausing to maintain aerobic metabolism. Anaerobic metabolism does not appear to contribute significantly to energy production during these periods since no increase in the blood lactate concentration was recorded. Cancer haemocyanin has a high oxygen affinity (P 50 = 5–10 torr) and exhibits a large, positive Bohr shift (Δ log P 50 /pH = −1.18). However, under normal conditions the pigment has only a minor role in supplying oxygen to the tissues, since over 91% is carried in solution. Cancer pagurus exhibits quite a high degree of respiratory independence and is able to maintain its rate of oxygen consumption approximately constant over a wide range of ambient oxygen tension, down to a P O 2 of 60–80 torr, below which it declines. Similarly there was little change in heart rate during hypoxia until a P O 2 of 20–40 torr was reached below which it also declined sharply. Oxygen consumption during hypoxia was maintained primarily as a result of an increase in ventilation volume and oxygen extraction. During hypoxia the P O 2 of both the pre- and post-branchial blood declined and resulted in a reduction in the P O 2 gradient across the respiratory surface (Δ P O 2 ). Oxygen uptake during hypoxia was facilitated, however, by an increase in the transfer factor ( T O 2 ).


Renal function, sodium balance, and ascites formation were observed during induction in rats of experimental cirrhosis. The same variables were studied after partial removal of the ascites in rats with experimental cirrhosis. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (RPF) did not change during hepatic cirrhosis development. Positive sodium balance significantly higher than that observed in controls preceded the appearance of ascites for a period of about 2 wk. When the ascites was removed, GFR, RPF and positive Na balance did not change if Na intake remained constant. Ascites reformation rate was largely dependent on sodium balance. These data strongly support the "overflow" theory of ascites formation and are difficult to reconcile with the classical "underfilling" theory.


The phenomenon of unconventional medicine is an important feature of any contemporary society. Considering the increasing popularity of various forms of non-biomedical methods of healing among various groups of people, the necessity of an in-depth investigation of traditional, complementary and alternative therapies continues to grow. Existing terminology along with prevalence rates, legal status and historical development, vary greatly in European countries. The main reason behind the compilation of this publication was, therefore, to provide an overview of the field of unconventional medicine in Slovakia, where social science research into medicine has largely been neglected and only limited data exist in relation to medical practices and products, not associated with standard healthcare. Despite various concerns and controversies that have been raised regarding alternative medicine, the intent of the book is not to provoke criticism, the representatives of which are sufficiently represented in the public debate. Likewise, it does not try to reinforce the idealized and non-critical image of unconventional therapies, adopted by a number of alternative healthcare practitioners and providers. Rather than contribute to the polarization of the topic, the purpose of this monography is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the historical background of unconventional therapies, the main trends in this area, the patterns and reasons for the use of alternative medicine and the factors determining the efficacy of alternative therapies. The first section briefly introduces the historical development of the most notable forms of unconventional medicine in Slovakia, while highlighting various institutionalization and professionalization strategies, that have dominated over the last few decades. The second section mainly concerns a representative survey, investigating the patterns and trends of unconventional medicine use and concentrates on the execution of data on prevalence and types of non-conventional medicine, examining attitudes towards different topics related to alternative healthcare. Lastly, the book briefly enters the ongoing discussion as to how unconventional medicine might work and how efficacy is negotiated between the different actors involved in the healing process.


Little is known about the transition between hospital dismissal and onset of hospice services from the patient/family perspective. The specific aim of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of patients and families transitioning from hospital to home hospice care. Nineteen patient and family units transitioning from hospital to home hospice care participated in this study. They photographed objects, people, and events during the hours or day(s) of this transition. Semistructured interviews occurred as soon as possible following the first home hospice visit. Data collection and analysis were concurrent, using validated transcripts and field notes. Patients and families experienced unexpected disruption during this transition, because of lack of clarity regarding hospice, their scramble to get ready, and a sense of open house once they arrived home. In this study, the transition experience extended beyond initiation of hospice care, with uncertainty about what hospice care would mean and disruptions in the preconceived expectations about hospice. Health professionals define the transition period as an "event," and the patients/families experience it as a "process." Implications for practice, education, and research are provided.


Abstract To date, literature on HRM system strength has been largely universalistic, that is, it has not considered the implications of context. This is problematic as it overlooks a more detailed exploration of the outcomes of HRM system strength in different situational settings. Adopting a contingency approach, we develop a multilevel conceptual framework and propositions for future research that incorporate context at a societal level, focusing on national culture values. By adopting a cross-cultural lens, we are able to explore the effects of cultural values on the relationship between employee perceived HRM system strength and employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Furthermore, we apply the notion of cultural tightness/looseness, questioning the degree of national cultural value effects in all settings. Our work contributes to the HRM process field in general and HRM system strength in particular by questioning the assumption of universality, and highlights implications for practice and future research.


Cell-cell fusion has been a great technology to generate valuable hybrid cells and organisms such as hybridomas. In this study, skeletal muscle myoblasts were utilized to establish a novel method for autonomous xenogenic cell fusion. Myoblasts are mononuclear myogenic precursor cells and fuse mutually to form multinuclear myotubes. We generated murine myoblasts (mMBs) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) termed mMB-GFP, and the chick myoblasts (chMBs) expressing Discosoma red fluorescent protein (DsRed) termed chMB-DsRed. mMB-GFP and chMB-DsRed were cocultured and induced to differentiate. After 24 h, the multinuclear myotubes expressing both GFP and DsRed were observed, indicating that mMBs and chMBs interspecifically fuse. These GFP+ /DsRed+ hybrid myotubes were able to survive and grew to hyper-multinucleated mature form. We also found that undifferentiated mMB-GFP efficiently fuse to the chMB-DsRed-derived myotubes. This is the first evidence for the autonomous xenogenic fusion of mammalian and avian cells. Myoblast-based fusogenic technique will open up an alternative direction to create novel hybrid products.


This working paper is one of the outcomes of a two years research (2008-2010) undertaken by the researcher which form part of his PhD degree in Education Management at Business School University of Huddersfield. It examines the government higher education policy and Libyan higher education reform in the globalisation eras; it provides a thorough review of the research literature on the impact of globalisation on new Libyan higher education policy reformNHEPR2008-2012. This working paper also is an attempt to provide a basis for understanding clearly the key elements and requirement for the adoption of new technologies. It has reviewed the Rogers' (2003) theory Diffusion of Innovations "DOI" provides the theoretical framework in this working paper.

There are seven main sections to this working paper. The first section seeks to offer a comprehensive review on main reform in current Libyan higher education by focusing on a new higher education policy reform and offers an analysis of how the Libyan government is reforming higher education. The second section reviews how globalisation may affect new higher educational policy Libya. The third section discuses policy, and Libyan education policy how educational policies are formulated and implemented in Libya The fourth section discuss the issues of technology acceptance, and theoretical overview of adoption and usage of new information and communication technology in Libyan higher education of this working paper therefore provide some concluding remarks.


This paper describes a parallel algorithm for the Euclidean distance transform on a special-purpose architecture based on a reconfigurable mesh interconnection network. The proposed architecture, which supports the Euclidean distance transform algorithm as well as other low-level image processing algorithms, is particularly interesting because it can be effectively implemented in hardware and it can be programmed at a high level. The Euclidean distance transform algorithm described in this paper exploits the specific features of the reconfigurable interconnection network of the proposed dedicated architecture and takes advantage of the natural matching both between the data structure of the problem (a mesh of pixels) and that of the dedicated architecture (a mesh of processing elements) and between the nature of the computation (distance computation) and the capability of the interconnection network to let information flow from one node to a set of nodes by means of reconfigurable buses. The proposed algorithm has been implemented and has been validated through simulation, its computational complexity is O(N) (worst case) for pictures of N/spl times/N pixels on an architecture with N/spl times/N processing elements.


Darwin and Malthus ended the complacency of all thoughtful men when they showed that the earth is too tiny to give food and room to all living creatures. Philosophers since their day have realized that living implies eating, and in a pecking order with certain sinister aspects. Eat until eaten rather than eat or be eaten. There is naturally no guarantee that shrinking the world's population would change the law of the jungle, but there would be jungle enough to go around. In short, while Malthus' remedy, population restriction, would not bring us to Utopia, the opposite process, unlimited expansion of the population, insures trouble and invites disaster. And disaster will prove fatal to our way of life, if not to life itself. "Has man a future?" This question can be answered favorably only if there is an affirmative answer to the question, "Has the intellect a function?"


Performance of efficient and precise movement requires the proper planning of motor parameters as well as the integration of sensory feedback. This study tests the hypothesis that the frontal components of the median nerve somatosensory-evoked potentials are differentially modulated, depending on (i) the stage of motor preparation and (ii) the moving limb. Participants were instructed to make intermittent voluntary contractions with either their right or left hands while receiving median nerve stimulation to the right wrist only. The results indicate that the frontal N30 demonstrated a significant increase in amplitude during the execution, but not the preparation, of a movement contralateral to median nerve stimulation. These data have implications for interhemispheric control of sensory information within the primary and premotor cortices.


Neutrophil apoptosis occurs both in the bloodstream and in the tissue and is considered essential for the resolution of an inflammatory process. Here, we show that p38–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) associates to caspase-8 and caspase-3 during neutrophil apoptosis and that p38-MAPK activity, previously shown to be a survival signal in these primary cells, correlates with the levels of caspase-8 and caspase-3 phosphorylation. In in vitro experiments, immunoprecipitated active p38-MAPK phosphorylated and inhibited the activity of the active p20 subunits of caspase-8 and caspase-3. Phosphopeptide mapping revealed that these phosphorylations occurred on serine-364 and serine-150, respectively. Introduction of mutated (S150A), but not wild-type, TAT-tagged caspase-3 into primary neutrophils made the Fas-induced apoptotic response insensitive to p38-MAPK inhibition. Consequently, p38-MAPK can directly phosphorylate and inhibit the activities of caspase-8 and caspase-3 and thereby hinder neutrophil apoptosis, and, in so doing, regulate the inflammatory response.


The way in which infants attempt to instigate communication based on shared events has been the object of less intense investigation than the study of infants' abilities, for example, for gaze following, possibly because of the specific challenges presented by production studies with pre-verbal participants. However, there are uniquely interesting aspects in the study of infant pointing. If gaze following may be considered the displacement of one's attention onto the target selected by someone else for either communication or action purposes, pointing is not simply its production twin. When a baby follows the gaze of an adult, usually contingent with a head-turn, we assume that this indicates the baby's acknowledgment that there must be something worthwhile to look at 'over there'. From a behavioural point of view, all is required of the baby is to mirror the adult's visual action, in the first instance. When a baby points, s/he takes the initiative to select a target and uses a gesture with symbolic status and cultural variants in order to instigate someone else's displacement of attention onto the selected target. Not only the action is more complex than gaze following, but it may fail to achieve its goal if care is not taken to produce the crucial gesture in good coordination with the ongoing interaction with the addressee – namely, with the addressee's own attention. In this chapter, I will analyze the kind of knowledge that infants develop about sharing attention with other social agents using evidence from my own experiments on declarative pointing by infants and toddlers.
It is argued that attention, in comparison with other mental states, presents at least some, however minimal, behavioral correlates (hence higher imageability): for example, body and head orientation, eyes open, temporal synchrony between these behaviours and the topical events, postural adjustments etc. Also, attention can be shared by acting it out: infant pointing may be considered as embodied imagery allowing the alignment of cognitive states between social partners. In this respect, communicative experiences arising from pointing would provide the infant with an insight into the mental domain, supported by the comparison and integration of one's own and the addressee's perceptual experiences. The special relationship that has for long been suggested between pointing and language may stem from the extension of communication beyond the here-&-now, for instance pointing to something that the addressee has not witnessed. This could instigate a new type of multi-modal shared communication acts (e.g., see McNeill et al., 2008; Quek, Rose & McNeill, 2005), thus facilitating the development of symbolic communication.


BACKGROUND: Several studies have failed to discover a beneficial effect of medical thromboprophylaxis on mortality.

AIMS: To examine the relative influence of acute fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) and fatal major haemorrhage on overall mortality in medical patients treated with low molecular weight heparin (LMWP) for prophylaxis.

METHODS: The author compared deaths from the above factors using data from a recent Cochrane Collaboration meta-analysis. Data from trials satisfying the criteria of the Cochrane analysis plus additional exclusions to avoid bias were pooled to produce point estimates of mortality from PE and major bleeds to estimate net mortality benefit. Estimates were then subject to limited sensitivity analysis based on reported epidemiological data.

RESULTS: Reported PE and major bleeds were 0.44 per cent and 0.27 per cent, respectively. The corresponding case-specific mortality rates were 30.8 per cent and 12.8 per cent and the relative risk reduction (RRR) for PE was 23.2 per cent. Estimated deaths from major bleeds exceeded PE deaths avoided by a small margin (3/100,000 patients given prophylaxis). This excess increased to 30/100,000 when more plausible literature values for PE case fatality rates were applied.

CONCLUSION: Medical thromboprophylaxis has a finely balanced effect on mortality but may increase it. Such an effect would explain the failure to discover a mortality benefit from medical thromboprophylaxis. Further work, including a formal meta-analysis and additional clinical studies, is required to confirm this picture.


Our previous results indicated that 3-d-old dark-grown chilling-sensitive maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings did not survive 7 d of 4[deg]C chilling stress, but 69% of them survived similar stress when the seedlings were either preexposed to 14[deg]C for 3 d or pretreated with 0.1 mM H2O2 for 4 h at 27[deg]C (T.K. Prasad, M.D. Anderson, B.A. Martin, C.R. Stewart [1994] Plant Cell 6: 65–74) or 1 mM abscisic acid (ABA) for 24 h at 27[deg]C (M.D. Anderson, T.K. Prasad, B.A. Martin, C.R. Stewart [1994] Plant Physiol 105: 331–339). We discovered that chilling imposed oxidative stress on the seedlings. Since H2O2 accumulated during the periods of both acclimation and nonacclimation, we concluded that H2O2 had dual effects at low temperature: (a) During acclimation, its early transient accumulation signals the induction of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase 3 and peroxidase to scavenge H2O2; and (b) at 4[deg]C in nonacclimated seedlings, it accumulates to damaging levels in the tissues because of low levels of these and perhaps other antioxidant enzymes. Three-day-old seedlings pretreated with H2O2 (a mild oxidative stress) or ABA showed induced chilling tolerance. In the present study, we investigated whether mitochondria are a target for chilling-induced oxidative stress and, if so, what differences do acclimation, H2O2, or ABA make to protect mitochondria from irreversible chilling injury. The results indicated that chilling, in general, impairs respiratory activity, the cytochrome pathway of electron transport, and ATPase activity regardless of the treatment. In pretreated seedlings, the activities of catalase 3 and peroxidase in the mitochondria increased severalfold compared with control and nonacclimated seedlings. The increases in these antioxidant enzymes imply that mitochondria are under oxidative stress and such increases could initiate a protective mechanism in the mitochondria. Mitochondrial respiration is partially cyanide resistant during chilling stress and also after the 1st d of recovery. Upon further recovery over 3 d, in contrast to nonacclimated seedlings, the mitochondria of acclimation-, H2O2-, and ABA-treated seedlings showed the following recovery features. (a) The mitochondrial respiration changed from a cyanide-resistant to a cyanide-sensitive cytochrome pathway, (b) cytochrome oxidase activity recovered to control levels, (c) the ability of mitochondria to generate ATP was regained, and (d) the antioxidant enzyme activities remained at or above control levels. Based on these results, we conclude that chilling impairs mitochondrial function and that chilling-induced oxidative stress seems to be a factor, at least in part, for causing possible irreversible damage to the mitochondrial membrance components. Acclimation, H2O2, and ABA provide a protective mechanism by inducing antioxidant enzymes to protect mitochondria from irreversible oxidative damage that is absent in nonacclimated seedlings. Therefore, we conclude that the ability of the seedlings to recover from chilling injury is, at least in part, due to the ability of the mitochondria to resume normal function.


This study analyzes the profiles of pesticide intoxication, here distinguished by agricultural pesticides, household pesticides, veterinary products, and rodenticides, according to data obtained from the National Poisoning Information System (SINITOX) database, from 1999 to 2003. The findings indicate different profiles for poisonings caused by these four products. While poisoning by agricultural pesticides and veterinary products is more frequent among adults and males, poisoning by household pesticides and rodenticides is more frequent among children and females. The lethality for each kind also varies greatly, from 0.44% for household pesticides to 2.80% for agricultural pesticides. The integrated analyses of poisonings by pesticides, without distinguishing the type of pesticide may be an error, distorting the findings, even hiding risk factors. It is therefore necessary to disseminate information on each kind of poisoning.


Science, technology and innovation (STI) play an important role in solving social problems, contributing to economic growth, creating prosperity and sustainable development of the nation. In Vietnam, STI is prioritized to develop through the Party and State guidelines and policies, many STI achievements have been applied in Vietnam's economic sectors, bringing practical benefits for the society. Vietnam's global innovation index is improved, scientific and technological potential is raised. However, the results are not as expected, the rate of technological innovation in economic sectors is not high; the market of science and technology is not really developed,....This paper will analyze the current situation of STI in Vietnam, thereby proposing policy solutions to promote STI development in accordance with Vietnam's conditions and globalization trend of STI.


Aim The aim was to explore the extent to which a Danish prevention centre catered to marginalised groups within the catchment area. We determined whether the district's socio-economic vulnerability status and distance from the citizens' residential sector to the centre influenced referrals of citizens to the centre, their attendance at initial appointment, and completion of planned activities at the centre. Background Disparities in access to health care services is one among many aspects of inequality in health. There are multiple determinants within populations (socio-economic status, ethnicity, and education) as well as the health care systems (resource availability and cultural acceptability). Methods A total of 347 participants referred to the centre during a 10-month period were included. For each of 44 districts within the catchment area, the degree of socio-economic vulnerability was estimated based on the citizens' educational level, ethnicity, income, and unemployment rate. A socio-economic vulnerability score (SE-score) was calculated. Logistic regression was used to calculate the probability that a person was referred to the centre, attended the initial appointment, and completed the planned activities, depending on sex, age, SE-score of district of residence, and distance to the centre. Findings Citizens from locations with a high socio-economic vulnerability had increased probability of being referred by general practitioners, hospitals, and job centres. Citizens living further away from the prevention centre had a reduced probability of being referred by their general practitioners. After referral, there was no difference in probability of attendance or completion as a function of SE-score or distance between the citizens' district and the centre. In conclusion, the centre is capable of attracting referrals from districts where the need is likely to be relatively high in terms of socio-economic vulnerability, whereas distance reduced the probability of referral. No differences were found in attendance or completion.


In Iceland's Relationship with Norway c.870 – c.1100: Memory, History and Identity, Ann-Marie Long reassesses the development of early Icelandic society and how it was memorialised, with particular attention given to the place of Norway in Icelandic cultural memory.


BACKGROUND
Necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) are rare, rapidly spreading infections that occur in the soft tissue compartments. The mortality rate is high and has been found to decrease if patients are treated early and aggressively with surgical debridement and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Unfortunately these infections present similarly to other types of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) making diagnosis difficult.

AIMS
This paper reviews the evidence surrounding the early diagnosis of NSTIs. This was used to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for implementation in the emergency department (ED) setting to assist the provider in distinguishing NSTIs from SSTIs to potentially decrease the time from presentation to diagnosis.

METHODS
A review of the literature was performed. Studies were identified and critiqued by two reviewers independently for clinical relevance, study design, and statistical analysis.

RESULTS
Signs and symptoms, or "hard signs," associated with NSTIs include: pain out of proportion to the exam, rapidly spreading infection, presence of bullae, skin ecchymosis or sloughing, gas in the tissues, skin anesthesia, edema extending beyond the erythema, and symptoms of sepsis. Unfortunately only 43% of the patients with an NSTI will present with these signs. Studies have found an association between laboratory values and NSTIs with the most commonly associated findings being leukocytosis, azotemia, and hyponatremia. Using these complimentary clinical and laboratory values, the Laboratory Risk Indicator for NECrotizing fasciitis (LRINEC) score is an emerging tool that providers can use to determine the risk of an NSTI. A clinical pathway was developed and implemented in the ED for all patients presenting with an SSTI to assist providers in confirming or negating the presence of an NSTI.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE
Educating ED providers about the signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings associated with NSTIs will lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment and decreased morbidity and mortality.


Face recognition is a specialized case of object recognition, and has broad applications in security, surveillance, identity management, law enforcement, human-computer interaction, and automatic photo and video indexing. Because human faces occupy a narrow portion of the total image space, specialized methods are required to identify faces based on subtle differences. One such method is the Eigenfaces classifier, a holistic statistical method which significantly reduces the dimensionality of the search space. Despite the dimensionality reduction, the k-nearest neighbor (kNN) search remains a bottleneck in this application as well as most others that use it. The kNN search is both computationally complex and highly data-parallel, making it a candidate for acceleration on graphics hardware. I present an implementation of an Eigenfaces classifier with a portion of the kNN search accelerated on an Nvidia Tesla K20X GPU with 2688 cores. Index words: Face recognition, Eigenfaces, k-nearest neighbor search, General-purpose GPU programming GPU Acceleration of k-Nearest Neighbor Search in Face Classifier based on Eigenfaces


Tiny increases in the transmittance of optical materials within a CPV module can have an important impact on the economy of a plant. This is certainly true in systems comprising multi-junction solar cells, whose high performance, based on a balanced photocurrent generation among the series-connected junctions, is very sensitive to spectrum variations. Every efficiency point gained causes not only an increase in the kilowatts hour produced, but a higher benefit on it, since the difference between electricity tariff and Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) rises. This work studies the impact on the LCOE of a plant based on modules comprising PMMA lenses of two different types, standard UV blocking grade which is normally used for outdoor applications at high DNI climate and a specialty stabilized UV-enhanced transmittance acrylic (see Figure 1). Energy production will be compared for these two systems throughout the year at different sites to analyze when (season, time of the day) and where the usage of the enhanced PMMA is justified.


Over the past decade, research has documented the positive consequences individuals attribute to the experience of traumatic, lifethreatening events, including enhanced life appreciation, improved social relationships, and a deepened sense of self and meaning. Despite evidence that individuals with cancer frequently perceive growth as a result of their experience, personal growth in the context of advanced cancer has received markedly less attention. In light of the unique challenges accompanying the experience of advanced cancer, the phenomenon of perceiving positive consequences and making meaning of the cancer experience (i.e., personal growth) may be distinct in patients with life-limiting disease as compared with more commonly studied early-stage cancer survivor samples. The purpose of this article was to review studies examining personal growth in adults diagnosed with advanced cancer to encourage medical professionals to consider and respond to their concerns around meaning within palliative care. We conducted a systematic review of the PubMed and PsycINFO electronic databases for studies examining personal growth in patients with advanced cancer published between January 1960 and January 2013. Of the 197 studies reviewed, 12 quantitative studies and 10 qualitative studies met criteria for inclusion. The review revealed that many patients with advanced cancer both cite finding meaning at the end of life as important and perceive positive consequences as a result of their experience. In comparison to early-stage cancer or benign disease, advanced cancer may serve to prompt higher levels of personal growth. However, these findings are mixed and may indicate a complex, nonlinear relationship between cancer prognosis and personal growth. The most promising candidates for promoting personal growth during advanced disease include younger adult age, spirituality, and psychosocial resources (optimism, marriage, and social support from close others and health care providers). Importantly, a co-occurrence of personal growth with both distress and well-being in advanced cancer suggests that personal growth in this unique context is characterized by perceived positive consequences in the face of considerable demands, which may be reflected by greater negative and positive markers of adjustment. Understanding and awareness of personal growth in individuals with advanced cancer may facilitate health care providers' ability to consider and respond to concerns around meaning and personal growth within palliative care, given the growing literature on psychosocial interventions for patients with advanced cancer. Integration of the existing research base with intervention development is an opportunity for future research.


: Human biomonitoring (HBM) studies are carried out to examine the effects of environmental pollutants on human health and to identify risks to public health, with the increasing awareness of environmental pollution around the world. The aim of our study is to determine the level of trace elements and to perform preliminary human biomonitoring of a healthy urban population in Türkiye. For this purpose, healthy individuals living in the same region and not known to have occupational or any other exposures were included in the study. Element levels from serum/blood of volunteers were determined. In this study, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze in order to determine the multi elements in a more precise way with an improved analytical quality of results. According to our study's results, Mn and As (p<0.05) were found statistically significant with age. Smoking had an effect on Cd levels (p<0.01) and there were significant differences between males and females for only Zn (p<0.05). The results of our study provided more information on the reference values of Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd and As elements of the Turkish population and reported the influences of age, gender and smoking habits on trace element profiles.


The judicial and administrative division of a sanjak (province) is an important source of careful consideration that needs to be given to the overall situation in it. Qadiluks (jurisdictional districts of qadis), as well as qadis (judges) as immediate executors of important legal disputes, were a major factor in the stabilization of the Ottoman rule, primarily because of their independence from local authorities. The history of the Zvornik Sanjak in the 17th century was generally a subject of scanty studies, and consequently the study of its qadiluks and identification of individual qadis. Therefore this paper contains synthesized data on the aforementioned subject, which could be found in written literature thus far, but also, based on the archival material, it discloses a significant number of details from the Zvornik Sanjak in the 17th century. As the available data on the 17th century became scarce, it was necessary to provide the data from the 16th century for a more complete reconstruction of the matter.


During the past 20 years, a series of 175 patients with medically intractable complex partial epilepsy has been treated surgically or evaluated with depth electrodes at the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences. Lately, emphasis has been placed on the value of performing the operation on only those patients who have undergone independent evaluations to determine a focal cerebral dysfunction which would confirm electroencephalographic localization. Depth-electrode implantation and telemetric recording of seizures remain an important part of the UCLA evaluation protocol for many of these patients; however, recent experiences have shown that other tests may supersede depth recordings for selected persons.


Jim Lowe's mission was crystal clear: automate drug distribution, get drugs bar-coded, and move to bedside scanning of medications as soon as possible. Lowe, the director of pharmacy at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., told Drug Topics that the driving force behind automating the drug management system is patient safety and reducing medication errors.


In recent years, the United States has struggled to develop a comprehensive policy for climate change and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions that addresses the current scientific thinking on the topic. The absence of any clear legislative or executive approach dominated national discussions and the court system was used to litigate a variety of issues associated with global warming. This paper synthesizes actions taken in the three branches of government prior to and immediately following the Obama election. In the Judicial branch, several branches of law have been used to force government and private parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the historic greenhouse gas lawsuit, Massachusetts et al. v. the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and under the direction of the Obama administration, the U.S. EPA has taken significant action to regulate greenhouse gases. In the legislative branch, a comprehensive energy and climate bill passed the House of Representatives and comparable and alternate energy and climate bills were debated in the Senate indicating hope for legislation in the 111th Congress. However, these bills proved to be unsuccessful, therefore leaving the U.S. EPA and the courts the only options for national climate policy in the near future.


Of the seven thousand diseases that are described as rare, 80% of them have an identified genetic cause. With this in the mind, the development of technologies, such as gene therapy, to address the genetic factors involved in these pathologies, might be a game-changing therapeutic approach. Viral delivery of transgenes for RNA interference, DNA editing, or protein overexpression may offer opportunities for novel treatments. In this thesis, we developed adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector systems to tackle two rare diseases: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by gain-of-function mutations in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene and inherited hearing loss disorder caused by mutation in the transmembrane channel-like 1 (TMC1) gene. ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the progressive degeneration of motoneurons (MN). Glial cells have been shown to importantly contribute to the disease. Silencing of the human pathogenic mutated SOD1 protein (SOD1G93A) in MN and/or astrocytes by AAV-mediated expression of microRNA targeting SOD1 has been shown to provide therapeutic benefits in a mouse model which is overexpressing SOD1G93A. However, in order to have an effective treatment, it is important to understand the influence of the therapy on several relevant ALS cell types. In this work, we determined the effects of lowering SOD1G93A expression in astrocytes using an AAV serotype 9, in combination with an astrocyte-specific promoter, in order to express a microRNA targeting SOD1. In the treated mice, we observed a significant improvement of the neuromuscular function and a partial protection of the vulnerable fast-fatigable MN. SOD1 silencing also induced a significant re-innervation of the neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) in the gastrocnemius muscle, observed after the initial phase of denervation, occurring around the age of 60 days. Re-innervation was associated with a grouping of the muscle fibers from the same type, consistent with enhanced axonal plasticity in the treated SOD1G93A mice. Overall, we demonstrated that silencing of SOD1 in astrocytes has an impact on MN plasticity at the level of NMJ, which translates into improved neuromuscular function towards the end stage of the disease. Mutations in the TMC1 gene lead to either complete deafness at birth, or to progressive hearing loss beginning in childhood, depending on the mode of inheritance (autosomal recessive or dominant, respectively). TMC1 is likely a component of the mechanotransduction channel, which is responsible for the transformation of mechanical sound-induced stimuli into electrical signals. This protein has been found to be expressed in the stereociliae of hair cells. In the second part of the thesis, we report on the development of viral tools to deliver a functional copy of the TMC1 gene, or its related paralog TMC2, into hair cells. We engineered several AAV vectors, in combination with different promoters, to identify a suitable combination able to restore TMC expression in the mouse cochlear hair cells, both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated, in collaboration with the lab of J. Holt, that when injected in TMC-null mice at birth, these vectors could partially restore loss of auditory function in this mouse model otherwise completely deaf. Overall we showed that AAV-based gene therapy is a promising approach to treat rare genetic disease.


Runtime reconfigurable architectures accelerate the operation of a standard processor core by hardware accelerators implemented in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Partial runtime reconfiguration allows the hardware accelerators to efficiently adapt to different computational tasks dynamically. Nowadays, the FPGAs from major vendors, such as Xilinx and Altera, support this feature, including the Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA family which is the implementation platform of this work.
Manufactured at 28 nm scaled technological node or lower, concerns rise about the impact of aging-related failure mechanisms on the modern generations of FPGAs. To detect degradation in the reconfigurable gate arrays, dedicated on- and offline test methods must be employed in the field. Design for dependability requires that the degradation is detected and localized, so that the degraded logic elements will not be used as a first choice in the reconfiguration.
This thesis presents the development and the evaluation of a delay characterization method for FPGA CLBs which comprise most of the FPGA logic elements. The purpose of FPGA delay characterization method in this work is to detect and localize the delay variance. This delay variance information may be used for achieving a speed optimized reconfiguration for a FPGA-based runtime system. Different delay characterization methods have been studied in this thesis for determining a suitable method to be implemented in the partial reconfigurable system. The delay characterization is performed in a part of area in the FPGA before a module is placed in this area to avoid the degraded portion. This thesis uses low level hardware description language to generate the fine-grained measurement units which can cover the target area. VHDL is used to generate the test wrapper, control circuit, and the circuit for communicating between the FPGA and the workstation. Several measurement techniques are used to evaluate the accuracy of the delay characterization method. Additionally, this thesis evaluates the temperature influence on the delay characterization.
The results show that this delay characterization method can compare the speed of logic elements in the partial runtime reconfiguration area with high accuracy. The degradation can be detected and localized. The results also show that this method can be adapted to different size and location, fitting in the partial runtime reconfigurable design. Twelve configurations are required to have a full coverage of all the CLBs in the area under test.


Back-scattered electron microscopy has been used to examine the microstructure of nonmarine-shale-hosted siderite concretions. The concretions are composed of 50-100 micrometer, zoned crystallites, which exhibit no noticeable center-to-edge variation within any individual concretion. This indicates that siderite crystallites nucleated at virtually the same time across the entire concretion and that the concretions did not grow by radial addition of siderite layers around a central nucleus. Further siderite precipitation took place by crystal growth onto the nuclei. The total proportion of siderite in any part of the concretion bears no simple relationship to the porosity of the enclosing shale at the time of precipitation, and growth by passive precipitation in pore space is unlikely. Integration of microprobe data with bulk mineral-chemical and stable-isotope data suggests that the siderite crystallites are composed of an Fe-Mn-rich end member with a delta 13 C value of approximately +10 per mil and a Mg-Ca-rich end member with a delta 13 C value of approximately 0 per mil to -5 per mil. The mineral-chemical and stable-isotope compositions of these concretions resulted from microbially mediated processes operating close (<10 m) to the sediment-water interface, during methanogenesis. Methanogenesis can generate low-delta 13 C as well as high-delta 13 C carbonate cements, hence deep-burial diagenetic reactions, such as decarboxylation of organic matter, need not be invoked to generate solutes for siderite precipitation.


Background: Few studies have examined parental perceptions of their child ' s screen-viewing (SV) within the context of parental SV time. This study qualitatively examined parents ' perceptions of their 5 – 6-year-old child ' s SV within the context of their own quantitatively measured SV. Methods: A mixed-methods design employed semi-structured telephone interviews, demographic and SV questionnaires, objectively-measured physical activity and sedentary time. Deductive content analysis was used to explore parents ' perceptions of, and concerns about, their child ' s SV, and management of their child ' s SV. Comparisons were made between parent-child dyads reporting low (<2-h per day) versus high SV time. Results: Fifty-three parents were interviewed (94.3% mothers), with 52 interviews analysed. Fifteen parent-child dyads (28.8%) exceeded the 2-h SV threshold on both weekdays and weekend days; 5 parent-child dyads (9.6%) did not exceed this threshold. The remaining 32 dyads reported a combination of parent or child exceeding/not exceeding the SV threshold on either weekdays or weekend days. Three main themes distinguished the 15 parent-child dyads exceeding the SV threshold from the 5 dyads that did not: 1) parents ' personal SV-related views and behaviours; 2) the family SV environment; and 3) setting SV rules and limits. Parents in the dyads not exceeding the SV threshold prioritized and engaged with their children in non-SV behaviours for relaxation, set limits around their own and their child ' s SV-related behaviours, and described an environment supportive of physical activity. Parents in the dyads exceeding the SV threshold were more likely to prioritise SV as a shared family activity, and described a less structured SV environment with minimal rule setting, influenced their child ' s need for relaxation time. Conclusions: The majority of parents in this study who exceeded the SV threshold expressed minimal concern and a relaxed approach to managing SV for themselves and their child(ren), suggesting a need to raise awareness amongst these parents about the time they spend engaging in SV. Parents may understand their SV-related parenting practices more clearly if they are encouraged to examine their own SV behaviours. Designing interventions aimed to create environments that are less supportive of SV, with more structured approaches to SV parenting strategies are warranted. resulting in 53 parents from separate families (19.3% of the purposively selected sub-sample) being interviewed. Participants received a £10 voucher as a token of appreciation for


This paper investigates how various Muslim-identity groups are represented in the British press. The study adopted an intersectional critical discourse analysis as an analytical framework (see Baker and Levon 2016) of a corpus of a medium size. The method adopted used drew on corpus methods by identifying strong collocations associated with each identified identity followed by qualitative analysis. The findings highlight the living experiences of British Muslims which might be gendered, classed and racialized with certain Muslim identity-groups. The present study demonstrates through an intersectional approach that media representations of Muslims are constituted through race, gender and class and that Muslims are perceived to be othered in contemporary British public discourses.


From a digital culture perspective, this article has as main objective to assess two contemporary qualitative research methods in the field of education with distinct theoretical orientations: the cartographic method as a way of tracing trajectories in research-intervention with a theoretical basis in the biology of knowledge, enactive cognition and inventive cognition; and the cartographic method as a means of identifying and mapping the controversies linked to the different associations between human and non-human actors with a theoretical basis in actor-network theory (ANT). With their own specificities, both methods have been fruitful in the development of qualitative research in the field of education, in the context of digital culture, and more recently, in the hybrid culture of atopic habitation, mainly because they also relate to equally consistent theories and aspects of human cognition, making it possible to detect traces and clues in the fluid associations between actors enhanced by different digital technologies (DT), including data mining and learning analytics. From the Brazilian perspective on the topic, this article approaches the experience of the cartographic method of research intervention as well as the cartography of controversies as tools for developing qualitative research in education. These different forms of the cartographic method have inspired the construction of didactic-pedagogical experiences based on theoretical approaches linked to cognition, producing inventive methodologies and interventionist pedagogical practices. These methodologies and practices, which will be discussed at length in this article, have been developed and validated by the Research Group in Digital Education at Unisinos University at different levels and in varied educational settings.


Onsite radar shows what lies beneath In more active periods of the Moon's history, volcanic eruptions created lava plains that formed layers of dark basalt. Without subsurface probing, we can only examine the most recent flows. After the soft landing of the Chang'E-3 spacecraft, Xiao et al. made penetrating radar measurements of the lunar crust with the Yutu rover. Several subsurface layers suggest multiple geologic processes at play throughout the crustal history, including multiple lava flows and the weathering-induced creation of dust and rocky debris. Science, this issue p. 1226 In situ ground-penetrating radar measurements of the lunar crust reveal multiple layers of regolith and lava flows. China's Chang'E-3 (CE-3) spacecraft touched down on the northern Mare Imbrium of the lunar nearside (340.49°E, 44.12°N), a region not directly sampled before. We report preliminary results with data from the CE-3 lander descent camera and from the Yutu rover's camera and penetrating radar. After the landing at a young 450-meter crater rim, the Yutu rover drove 114 meters on the ejecta blanket and photographed the rough surface and the excavated boulders. The boulder contains a substantial amount of crystals, which are most likely plagioclase and/or other mafic silicate mineral aggregates similar to terrestrial dolerite. The Lunar Penetrating Radar detection and integrated geological interpretation have identified more than nine subsurface layers, suggesting that this region has experienced complex geological processes since the Imbrian and is compositionally distinct from the Apollo and Luna landing sites.


We apply a relatively novel leading–lagging (LL) method to four leading and one lagging indexes for industrial production (IP) in Germany. We obtain three sets of results. First, we show that the sentiment-based ifo index performs best in predicting the general changes in IP (−0.596, range −1.0 to 1.0, −1.0 being best). The ZEW index is very close (−0.583). In third place comes, somewhat unexpectedly, the behavioral-based unemployment index (−0.564), and last comes order flow, OF (−0.186). Second, we applied the LL method to predefined recession and recovery time windows. The recessions were best predicted (−0.70), the recoveries worst (−0.32), and the overall prediction was intermediate (−0.48). Third, the method identifies time windows automatically, even for short time windows, where the leading indexes fail. All indexes scored low during time windows around 1997 and 2005. Both periods correspond to anomalous periods in the German economy. The 1997 period coincides with "the great moderation" in the US at the end of a minor depression in Germany. Around 2005, oil prices increased from $10 to $60 a barrel. There were few orders, and monetary supply was low. Our policy implications suggest that the ZEW index performs best (including recessions and recoveries), but unemployment and monetary supply should probably be given more weight in sentiment forecasting.


ABSTRACT Background: The Brief Cognitive Status Exam (BCSE) is a new, optional subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV (WMS-IV) developed for rapid detection of cognitive deficits. We examined the clinical validation of the Dutch version of the BCSE in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, comparing it to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Method: BCSE and MMSE were administered in 39 older adults with MCI, 51 with dementia and 96 matched healthy controls. Results: Our results show that the BCSE is a valid screening instrument, with psychometric properties similar to the widely used MMSE. High correlations were found between the BCSE and MMSE (r = 0.79, n = 183, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a BCSE cut-off score ≤ 42 revealed a sensitivity of 96% a specificity of 92%, a positive predictive value of 86% and a negative predictive value of 97%, whereas the MMSE cut-off score of ≤ 24 showed values of 84%, 96%, 91%, and 92%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values to detect MCI compared to controls was 81%, 80%, 61%, and 92%, respectively, on the BCSE, with a cut-off score of ≤ 46, and 84%, 76%, 57%, and 92%, respectively, on the MMSE, with a cut-off score of ≤ 27. Conclusions: The Dutch version of the BCSE is a clinically valid screening instrument for the detection of cognitive impairment in patients with dementia. Nevertheless, for distinguishing older adults with MCI from healthy controls both the BCSE and MMSE have limitations.


Based on the analyses of texts and pictures in the top six outbound travel magazines in Mainland China, this article presents an evaluation of the destination images of Hong Kong and Macau as portrayed in 88 travel articles over a three-year period. The results showed that the projected destination images of Hong Kong and Macau were dominated by attributes related to culture, history, and art and leisure and recreation. Hong Kong was often described by image attributes such as places and attractions, shopping, cuisine and food, hotels, and the creative industries. For Macau, history and heritage, places and attractions, gambling, cuisine and food, and hotels were the most often reported. During the study period, Hong Kong and Macau witnessed several significant changes in the image attributes featured in both texts and pictures. These changes were partly influenced by news and events over the period. In this article, implications for destination marketing organizations and directions for future research were suggested.