In spite of the extensive clinical work reported in the area of electrical wound healing, electrical stimulation to augment chronic wound repair is still far from being widely accepted in clinical practice. Problems in designing clinical studies (size of the sample observed, control group, ethics of the procedure), evaluating treatment efficacy, rationales for use of the treatment, and unknown underlying mechanisms contribute to the aforementioned fact. In the present study, the authors evaluated low frequency electrical current for its beneficial effects in pressure ulcer management. Seventy-three spinal cord injured patients with 109 pressure ulcers participated in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to a control group receiving conventional treatment of their ulcers, or to a stimulation group, in which the ulcers were additionally treated with low frequency pulsed current. A comparison of the two groups showed significantly higher average healing rate for the stimulated group. Patients from the control group had the opportunity of crossing over to the stimulation group after the required control period of four weeks. This group (the crossover group) was analyzed separately. In all but one ulcer out of 20, an improvement in the healing process was observed after electrical stimulation was initiated. >


This article examines Human Rights Education vis-a-vis the challenges of the emerging human rights of the 21st century. It discusses the difficult situation of HRE in the uncertain and insecure times of globalization and permanent violence particularly after the September 11 attacks. In spite of these unfavorable circumstances, it can be concluded that HRE has gained ground in the agenda of NGO ́s to become a demand formulated hand in hand with the fight for democracy and peace. Due to the fact that human rights are the result of an unfinished process under permanent transformation, the article underlines emerging human rights as a dimension of human rights (education) and one of the challenges in the 21st century.


The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of the life history of weedy seadragons, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. Weedy seadragon development was described based on morphological characters and cate- gorised into four periods: incubation, larval, juvenile and sub-adult. Hatching occurred 35-42 days post-fertilisation, most hatchlings exhibited juvenile characteristics upon hatching or shortly thereafter. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters generated from weedy seadragon length-at-age data were L∞ = 285 ± 3 mm standard length (SL; mean ± s.e.) and k = 2.20 ± 0.05 year −1 . Females possessed a higher gonosomatic index (GSI; 1.25 ± 1.18%; mean ± s.d.) than males (0.34 ± 0.20%), which increased substantially for females over 230 mm in length. Mature female weedy seadragons (290 ± 32 mm SL) ovulated 110 ± 27 eggs per female per spawning. Additionally, three females produced more than one clutch per season. Male weedy seadragons (319 ± 9 mm SL) successfully incu- bated 91 ± 40 eggs per spawning event. In addition to improving our understanding of the life history of weedy seadragons, this information can be used to estimate population demography and develop management strategies.


—Recent guidelines for conservation of species subject to hybridization strongly urge long-term studies to determine the extent and the direction of hybridization and introgression, especially in relation to human-induced habitat alterations. This study extends previous work on hybridization between the Arizona Toad (Bufo microscaphus) and Woodhouse's Toad (B. woodhousii) along Beaver Dam Wash by evaluating morphological and genetic status of four populations. Populations occur at sites from the high elevation headwaters to the hybrid zone at the confluence with the Virgin River in extreme southwestern Utah and extreme northwestern Arizona. Hybrid indices for individuals at the confluence shifted from predominantly microscaphus-like in 1949–1953 samples, to predominantly woodhousii-like in 1991-1992 samples, and back to microscaphus-like in 2001 samples. Nuclear and mitochondrial markers identified 49 individuals from the confluence site as "parental" types, "F1" hybrids, or reciprocal backcrossed hybrids. Although observed and expected frequencies of individuals in each of six cytonuclear categories were similar, numbers of hybrids with the woodhousii cytotype were significantly greater than those with the microscaphus cytotype. By contrast, hybrid indices of toads upstream (45–97 km) from the confluence were predominantly microscaphus-like in the 2001 samples, similar to earlier reports. Nonetheless, individuals with woodhousii mtDNA and microscaphus nuclear markers were found at sites 45.0 and 64.4 km, but not 96 km, upstream from the confluence of Beaver Dam Wash and the Virgin River. These results indicate that the confluence site is a hybrid swarm, and that introgression of woodhousii mtDNA into putatively "pure" microscaphus populations occurs for a considerable distance upstream along Beaver Dam Wash.


Condition monitoring of bearings faults which have vital importance in machines and detection of faults earlier have very big importance in terms of disruption of process. In this study, certain sizes artificial faults are generated by the laser beam on inner rings of bearing and vibration signals are obtained from these bearings in a shaft-bearing setup. It is aimed to diagnose the size of the defects occurring in the bearings by using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model in the study. After extracting the real-time features of obtained vibration data, they are multiplied by the specific weight and they are given as input to the generated classification model. It has been observed difference of features extracted from of 0.15 cm, 0.5 cm, 0.9 cm diameter inner ring faulty bearings created by the laser depending on size of faults. ANFIS classification model is developed by using these features and the size of the faults occurring in these bearings were calculated with an actual error 2.40 %. Then a error band are created with 0.1mm threshold value and it is observed that all the predicted values are inside this error band.


Background: Neuropsychiatric impairments play a significant role throughout the course of cognitive decline. Many psychological and behavioral symptoms are present in patients of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) similar to that seen in individuals with dementia. Aims and Objectives: To study the relevance of neuropsychiatric symptoms of MCI and the impact it has on caregivers of these patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 90 patients (30 MCI, 30 dementia and 30 controls) above the age of 50 years. The scales used were Hindi–Mental Status Examination, Global deterioration scale and Neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16 software. Results: 73.33% (22) of the subjects in MCI group, 90% (27) of subjects in dementia group and 53.33% (16) of subjects having normal cognition had neuropsychiatric complaints. 73.33% (22) relatives of subjects in the MCI group, 90% (27) relatives of subjects in dementia group and 46.67% (14) relatives of subjects in the normal group (i.e. control group) experienced some distress. The differences in the mean NPI severity, frequency, distress and total scores of the three groups were statistically significant. Severity and frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms significantly predicted the caregiver's distress. Conclusions: Neuropsychiatric symptoms increase both in frequency and severity with increasing cognitive decline, and they cause distress both to the patient as well as the caregiver; and hence their early recognition is a must. The NPI appears to be a useful tool in that regard.


The spectre of declining international competitiveness has haunted Britain since the latter half of the nineteenth century; but the need to improve the market performance of Britain's manufacturing industry in the light of the chronic decline in world market share, the rising penetration of manufactured imports in the domestic market, and a growing increase in the deficit on the balance of UK trade in manufactures, has been particularly stridently stated throughout the post‐war period. Numerous reports and academic studies have been generated that have tended to concentrate for the most part on the reasons for the poor economic performance. A pot pourri of explanations have been offered, ranging from an emphasis on traditional "empire" and hence captive markets, an inadequate educational system, and an over concentration of scarce R&D resources on defence sectors, through to a lack of a sufficiently inspired marketing orientation, a failure to invest in the longer term (because of inter alia the myopia of the UK financial community) and insufficient effort directed towards being technologically innovative. Within these it might be discerned lie the seeds of a range of policy prescriptions and strategies. The problem is that many of these tend to reside in the province of Government or are too general to have any effective relevance for management. What is needed is a more "on the ground" approach founded on a deeper understanding of how individual businesses establish a competitive position in their particular market, and the means that their managers employ to preserve competitiveness. It is also clear that one needs to explore the notion of competitiveness, which has received a glib notoriety, and possibly a variety of confused and probably in some cases meaningless interpretations. We have therefore established a research programme at UMIST aimed at exploring the nature of new technology sectors, the implications for, in particular, strategic management of businesses operating in them, and the competitive strategies such businesses employ. In this way we aimed to draw out some lessons on competitiveness.


The need to implement an ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is enshrined in numerous regulations and strategies, at both global and European level. In practice, it is challenging to implement EBFM because it requires a complex evaluation of interlinked management effects and environmental and climate forcing on multi-species interactions, habitat status and human activities. Ecosystem models are one of the most critical research tools to inform EBFM, because they can integrate a wide variety of data, examine multiple and complex ecosystem interactions, and can make forecasts based on specific management scenarios. However, despite clear progress in marine ecosystem modelling, many models do not address policy goals and targets, which hinders uptake in policy. In this paper, we review the global and European policies and implementing bodies which directly or indirectly have a repercussion on the implementation of EBFM. Moreover, we highlight specific stakeholder needs related to the implementation of EBFM in European waters, which ecosystem models could help address. We review the policy commitments that drive these needs and the concerns raised by stakeholders during a survey and dedicated workshop. Key topics of concern were effects of climate change; bycatch; protected areas/fisheries restricted areas; and reducing the impacts of trawling. Stakeholders also provided specific questions related to these topics which ecosystem models could help address. Scenario and data results visualizations, as well as specific barriers in using the results of ecosystem models for decision-making are also discussed. A close involvement of stakeholders in scenario development and in designing graphical outputs is important, and can help overcome some of the main barriers that can hinder uptake of models and scenarios, including a lack of understanding of the benefits and limits of ecosystem models; insufficient involvement and interaction with stakeholders; and inadequate characterization of uncertainties.


PURPOSE
Selection of an appropriate animal model is crucial for the investigation of the pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. To this end, it has been reported that fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled Acanthamoeba castellanii bind to human, pig, and hamster corneas, but not to rabbit corneas in organ culture. However, 35S-labeled A. polyphaga and A. culbertsoni have been found to bind to rabbit corneal epithelium grown in tissue culture. The purpose of the current study was to establish whether A. castellanii bind to rabbit corneal epithelium in organ culture.

METHODS
Two different adhesion assays were used to determine whether 35S-labeled and FITC-labeled A. castellanii bind to epithelium of corneal buttons in vitro and, if so, whether the binding is temperature-dependent, enhanced by injury, and inhibited by specific saccharides. Ameba binding to rabbit corneal epithelium was also evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The binding of A. castellanii to corneal epithelium of three different species (human, pig, and rabbit) was compared.

RESULTS
Both 35S-labeled as well as FITC-labeled parasites were found to bind to epithelium of rabbit corneal buttons in vitro. Although the parasites bound avidly to the corneas at 25 degrees C and 35 degrees C, little binding was observed at 4 degrees C. Injury enhanced the binding. Methyl alpha-D-mannopyranoside, but not other saccharides (alpha-L-fucose and beta-galactose), inhibited binding of the parasites to the epithelium of rabbit corneas. By scanning EM, A. castellanii were found to adhere, invade, and penetrate the epithelium of rabbit corneas. Compared with rabbit corneas, ameba binding to pig, and human corneas was only 1.2 and 1.4 times higher, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Rabbit animal model may prove useful for investigation of the molecular mechanisms that mediate adhesion of Acanthamoeba to corneal epithelium.


Preimplantation embryo manipulations during standard assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have significant repercussions on offspring. However, few studies to date have investigated the potential long-term outcomes associated with the vitrification procedure. Here, we performed an experiment to unravel the particular effects related to stress induced by embryo transfer and vitrification techniques on offspring phenotype from the foetal period through to prepuberal age, using a rabbit model. In addition, the focus was extended to the liver function at prepuberal age. We showed that, compared to naturally conceived animals (NC), offspring derived after embryo exposure to the transfer procedure (FT) or cryopreservation-transfer procedure (VT) exhibited variation in growth and body weight from foetal life to prepuberal age. Strikingly, we found a nonlinear relationship between FT and VT stressors, most of which were already present in the FT animals. Furthermore, we displayed evidence of variation in liver function at prepuberal age, most of which occurred in both FT and VT animals. The present major novel finding includes a significant alteration of the steroid biosynthesis profile. In summary, here we provide that embryonic manipulation during the vitrification process is linked with embryo phenotypic adaptation detected from foetal life to prepuberal age and suggests that this phenotypic variation may be associated, to a great extent, with the effect of embryo transfer.


Many clinicians are concerned that competitive work may cause excessive stress for people with severe mental health problems. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is acknowledged as the most effective model of supported employment for this population. The manner in which IPS clients define and experience employment-related stress is poorly understood. This qualitative study aims to explore how people with mental health problems receiving IPS services define and experience employment-related stress. We purposively sampled and interviewed 16 clients of an IPS programme, who had been competitively employed for more than 1 month. Data were collected between September 2014 and July 2015 in Montreal, Canada. Transcripts of semi-structured interviews were analysed using grounded theory methodology. IPS clients often defined stress similar to its common understanding: the result of experiencing prolonged or/and cumulative strains, or of an incongruence between efforts and rewards, hopes and reality. Stress experienced in this way could exacerbate psychiatric symptoms, especially depression or psychotic symptoms. However, when maintained at a more manageable level, stress stimulated learning and improved planning of tasks. Participants described different coping mechanisms, such as sharing their experiences and difficulties with others, focusing on problem resolution and avoidance. The first two of these helped IPS clients remain at work and bolstered their confidence. Work-related stress has potentially positive as well as negative consequences for IPS clients. In order to maximise the potential beneficial effects of stress, employment specialists can help clients anticipate potential stressors and plan how they might cope with them. Further research on the most effective ways of helping clients cope with stress is needed.


Nowadays, in a Hospital Information System (HIS) huge amounts of data are stored about the care processes as they unfold. This data can be used for process mining. This way we can analyse the operational processes within a hospital based on facts rather than fiction. In order to enhance the uptake of process mining within the healthcare domain we present a healthcare reference model which exhaustively lists the typical types of data that exists within a HIS and that can be used for process mining. Based on this reference model, we elaborate on the most interesting kinds of process mining analyses that can be performed in order to illustrate the potential of process mining. As such, a basis is provided for governing and improving the processes within a hospital. Keywords: healthcare, process mining, reference model


The detectors under study are precursors to those that will be used at the focal plane of the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) telescope currently being developed at the National Space Science and Technology Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. We discuss energy resolution across two 16x16 pixel arrays for 1-mm and 2-mm thick detectors that have a pixel pitch of 300 /spl mu/m and inter-pixel gap of 50 /spl mu/m. Additionally, we discuss 3D depth sensing, via the cathode to anode ratio, in a 2-mm thick 4x4 pixel array with pixel pitch of 750 /spl mu/m and inter-pixel gap of 100 /spl mu/m. In order to improve our simulations, we discuss electric field modeling for this detector geometry and the role this mapping will play in terms of charge sharing and charge loss in the detector.


Sheep from two flocks showed scab lesions around nostrils, eyes and on the face with facial alopecia and thickening of the skin. The case was confirmed as ear mite (Psorcopt ovis) by microscopic examination of skin scrapings. Percent incidence in flock I and Flock II recorded was 12.5, 11.4 respectively. Affected sheep were divided into two groups each containing nine animals. Group I was treated with preparation containing 50ml Azadirachta indica oil, 50ml Pogamia pinnata oil, 25gm Camphor, 50gm Sulphur powder and 500ml coconut oil applied on an affected skin twice a day for 15 days and Group II treated with preparation having 50gm of Curcuma longa rhizome and 25gm of Azadirachta indica oil applied once a day for 15 days. The first preparation was found highly effective against ear mange in sheep. It was found to be very convenient for use in field conditions, did not cause any adverse reaction locally as well as systemically.


Shaw relays her experience of designing a hands-on library instruction activity for students in music history topics courses at DePauw University—an endeavor that was spurred by a request from music history professor Matthew Balensuela. The activity enables them to learn how to use—and when to use—specialized music tools and resources, including thematic catalogs and composer works lists. Searching for sound recording reviews and scholarly digital archives helps them to hone their evaluative skills in a relaxed environment with a librarian's guidance.  A detailed description of the activity is included.


With the popular usage of Google Maps and smart phones, more and more people are using smart phones to surf and inquire about travel information. As a result, every major city plans to push the existing online public transportation trip planning system beyond traditional computer users to mobile phone users. The trip planning system is based on the starting and ending points that a user inputs, and guides the user to take a bus or metro through an electronic map interface. The system usually provides different kind of alternative travel routes with the estimated time of arrival. However, people who use the public transport system may encounter some uncertainties, such as long waiting times, long routes, long walking distances, etc. In each big city, the taxi is a universal transport vehicle which is available at almost anytime, anywhere. Taxis can save passengers' walking distance and travel time with a deficit of high cost. Therefore, we design a trip planning system to unify the Taipei public transportation system with taxis. The users can inquire of a travel route through the mobile phones. This system uses Google Maps as a base map. The users assign an upper limit of fare which they are willing to pay. The system will balance between travel time and travel cost to obtain a route which may combine usage of the bus and taxi. Because of the high density of bus stations in Taipei city, the route search may consume a lot of system resources. We propose an improvement method to eliminate some intermediate bus stations in route search processing.


More than half a century ago, Frantz Fanon made two pivotal observations about cataclysmic convulsions that would engulf Central and Eastern Africa. The first referred to his prescient observation that the African continent resembles a revolver, and Zaire is the trigger (Fanon, 1966 [2005]). His clairvoyant statement eerily prefigures what political commentators have, since the 1990s, characterized as the potential starting point of Africa's First World War (Williams, 2013). After the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) became the site where warring armies from more than four neighboring countries came to battle one another, presumably to defend the legitimate existence of a proxy group in the country. Zimbabwean and Angolan forces were aligned with the regime of Laurent Kabila, while Rwanda and Uganda - the original patrons of Laurent Kabila and his putsch - were now his sworn enemies. Fanon's second observation warned against the ramifications and implications of a Somali-Ethiopian war whose foundation was nationalistic (Fanon, 1969). This warning came with devastating consequences. The resulting political, social, and economic landscape of Somalia compels us to examine the contours of both the centripetal and centrifugal forces that still animate social upheavals. This requires a bold reexamination of analytic categories, and the ability to envision new ones to cope with the new reality. In this essay, I confine myself to the new reality in the Horn of Africa. I will engage in a comparative analysis by telescoping a panoramic view of regional history. This new telescoping and reality must be understood, not from the vantage point of national disintegration by way of political conflict, but through the perspective that social transformation and migration work as the ultimate engine of social change (Richerson and Boyd, 2008).


Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease that results from the expansion of a trinucleotide (CAG) repeat on chromosome 4. Progressive degeneration of the striatum is the pathologic hallmark of the disease. Little is known about the regional selectivity of the neurodegeneration and its relationship to the genetic expansion. Methods: The authors used high-resolution MRI to determine the relationship between the genetic expansion and the degree of striatal degeneration. Morphometric analyses of the striatum from high-resolution MR images from 27 subjects with HD were compared with those of 24 healthy control subjects. Results and conclusions: Striatal volumes were reduced in subjects with HD as compared with control subjects, in agreement with previously published reports. Left-sided volumes were smaller than right-sided volumes in subjects with HD; in healthy subjects, right-sided volumes were smaller. Finally, volume loss was significantly correlated with CAG repeat number. These results have potential implications for the design and assessment of therapeutic agents in the future.


Performance appraisal is a key human resource management function which is viewed as a subset of performance management. It is significant for organizational growth and development and is instrumental for an organization to remain competitive. Performance appraisal schemes at National bank of Kenya have not yielded the desired results; hence this study sought to assess the factors affecting implementation of performance appraisal in National bank of Kenya. The study employed the descriptive survey study design.The target population for this study was 156 employees of National Bank of Kenya, head office across key departments in the bank; Human Resource Management, Finance, Planning and Technical Departments. This study used primary data which collected through the use of questionnaires. SPSS was used to produce frequencies, descriptive and inferential statistics which were used to derive conclusions and generalizations regarding the study. Results indicated that evaluation process, reward system, attitude of employees and training of appraisers have a significant relationship with the implementation of performance appraisal in National bank of Kenya.The study concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between training of appraisers, reward system and evaluation process and implementation of performance appraisal. The study also concluded that there is a negative and insignificant relationship between attitude of employees and implementation of performance appraisal. The study recommended that a National bank of Kenya and any other company implementing performance appraisal should take note of the evaluation process, reward system and training of appraisers as they impact positively on the success rate of the process.


In this study, the establish on laboratory experiments for computing the depth of local scour (ds) around group bridge pier. For this purpose, fifteen models of bridge piers were constructed and tested, divided into five groups, of each group containing three bridge piers with the same specifications. The diameter of upstream bridge piers (D1) was varied to 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm, and diameter of downstream bridge piers (D2) 10 cm for all. The spacing (S) between the bridge piers was varied three times 20, 30, and 50 cm for all groups. Considering the effectiveness study of upstream flow conditions, the size of diameters of bridge piers, the spacing between bridge piers and medium size of bed material on the maximum scour depth and scour pattern around bridge piers. The study was conductedby employing a physical hydraulic model for bridge piers operated below subcritical flow, clear-water condition and exploitation uniform cohesionless sand as bed material. The experimental results showed the scour depth (ds) increasing whenever increasing the upstream diameter (D1) of bridge pier and decreasing whenever decreasing the spacing (S) between bridge piers. The dimensional analysis techniques and statistical program were used for locating a new empirical formula with the facilitate of the experimental information; this formula is for calculating the maximum scour depth at bridge piers.


A laboratory is a large investment of time and money for departments of chemistry yet discussions continue about its purpose in the educational process. Helping students navigate the three levels of representation; macroscopic, particulate and symbolic is a potential use of this time. This study looked at two different types of visualization for an electrochemistry laboratory in second semester general chemistry and the impact that the visualization type had on the student discourse. Macroscopic visualization (MV) was accomplished through a traditional hands-on laboratory and particulate visualization (PV) was achieved using a computer simulation featuring animated electrons and ions. The type of visualization impacted how much the students talked, who they talked to, and what they talked about. The MV students engaged in less peer-to-peer discussion than the PV students. The MV students expressed more excitement about their observations and were more focused on getting the data quickly. The MV spent most of their time physically doing the laboratory work while spending little time discussing the concepts. The PV students spent more time talking about concepts with their peers especially at the particulate level even answering macroscopic questions with particulate explanations. The type of visualization influenced all aspects of the student discourse.


This paper outlines a system for searching and browsing 1.14 million images from the World Wide Web (WWW) based on their visual content. At the heart of the system lies an automatically constructed network of images that can be navigated quickly by following its edges. The browsing experience is enhanced in a number of ways including multidimensional scaling of the graph neighbourhood for display purposes, Markov clustering of the image network to provide summaries of its content, and automated annotation of the images to allow users to access the network through text queries.


Sequence analysis of 35 putative MscL homologues was used to develop an optimal alignment for Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis MscL and to place these homologues into sequence subfamilies. By using this alignment, previously identified E. coli MscL mutants that displayed severe and very severe gain of function phenotypes were mapped onto the M. tuberculosis MscL sequence. Not all of the resulting M. tuberculosis mutants displayed a gain of function phenotype; for instance, normal phenotypes were noted for mutations at Ala(20), the analogue of the highly sensitive Gly(22) site in E. coli. A previously unnoticed intersubunit hydrogen bond in the extracellular loop region of the M. tuberculosis MscL crystal structure has been analyzed. Cross-linkable residues were substituted for the residues involved in the hydrogen bond, and cross-linking studies indicated that these sites are spatially close under physiological conditions. In general, mutation at these positions results in a gain of function phenotype, which provides strong evidence for the importance of the loop region in MscL channel function. No analogue to this interesting interaction could be found in E. coli MscL by sequence alignment. Taken together, these results indicate that caution should be exercised in using the M. tuberculosis MscL crystal structure to analyze previous functional studies of E. coli MscL.


DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/40-2-4449 Rigid sigmoidoscopy is a common outpatient procedure to diagnose many rectosigmoid pathologies. As better investigative tools replace it, we decided to consider its validity at our outpatient settings. A retrospective study of the data at our sigmoidoscopy center demonstrated its efficacy as an inexpensive and effective method to screen and diagnose numerous pathologies in a setup such as ours. Objectives : To determine the diagnostic yield of rigid sigmoidoscopy as an investigative tool with special emphasis on neoplastic lesions. To determine yearly trends in various pathologies. Design : Retrospective study of data from the records of a sigmoidoscopy center at SMHS Hospital, Kashmir, India, from April 2002 to April 2006. Main outcome measures : Number of sigmoidoscopy procedures performed, various pathologies picked up, sex distribution of pathologies, emphasis on rectosigmoid carcinoma cases and hemorrhoids. Results : During the study period, 6125 examinations were done on 5244 patients. A total of 3522 abnormalities were picked up, giving a diagnostic yield of 67.2%. The most common lesion found was hemorrhoids (2418 cases, 46.1%). Other pathologies included neoplasms (660 cases, 12.6%), anal fissures (227 cases, 4.3%), fistula in ano (91 cases, 1.7%), and others (126 cases, 2.4%). Certain temporal trends in various pathologies also were observed. Conclusions : Rigid sigmoidoscopy is a feasible diagnostic tool for diagnosing various rectosigmoid pathologies. The incidence of rectosigmoid carcinoma is increasing.


Four contrasting descriptions of the gas-particle partitioning of SOCs are currently used: the Junge-Pankow adsorption model, the empirical Finizio organic matter (OM) absorption relationship, the Harner-Bidleman OM absorption model, and a dual black carbon (BC) adsorption and OM absorption model. Use of these four descriptions in a box model resulted in very different global fates, particularly for PAHs such as chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene. By reviewing published gas-particle distributions of PAHs, we found evidence for both absorptive and adsorptive contributions. Based on results from laboratory and controlled field studies we suggest that on average, octanolair partitioning (Koa) is a good approximation for the OM absorption of PAHs. However, higher concentrations in particles than could be explained by OM absorption were found in selected gas-particle partitioning field studies, which were corrected for gaseous adsorption to the filter. We argue that adsorption onto BC is responsible for most of the additional sorption. Apparent adsorption coefficients to BC, KBC-air, were derived from field studies and showed good agreement with those predicted by adsorption onto diesel soot. For atmospheric long-range transport models we suggest the use of a dual OM absorption and BC adsorption model, with BC properties being approximated by diesel soot: Kp ) 10-12 (fom 1/Foct Koa + fBC 1/FBC Ksoot-air aatm-BC/asoot). We hypothesize that kinetic constraints related to shell-like particle structures might lead to deviations from sorption equilibrium and higher particle-borne fractions of PAHs in particular at remote sites.


This paper reviews a range of simplified and approximate techniques developed and implemented by the authors in the context of elastic-plastic, elastic-creep and elastic-plastic-creep, monotonic loading of both simple components and complex structures. The primary motivation for the work is to provide more rapid methods for estimating failure variables for damage assessment of structures. The context of the work has included both aerospace structures and tubular frameworks, such as offshore jacket-type structures, both of which belong to a class of structures, which contain repeated units where localised plastic damage may be concentrated.


The aim of this study is to investigate which communication strategies and channels the mu- nicipal company Falu Energi & Vatten should use in order to become more efficient in com- municating with citizens between 18 to 29 years old. The company is owned by the munici- pality of Falun and manages community services in electricity, district heating, fresh water, sewerage, metropolitan area network and waste disposal. The following theories have been used in the study: convergence culture, digital natives, information overload, communication strategies and uses & gratifications theory. The methods used in the study are 4 focus group interviews and one informant interview. The members of the focus groups where within the age range 18-29 years and lived in the city of Falun. Each focus group included four partici- pants and the groups were divided based on four different forms of housing; student homes, rental apartments, owned apartments and own villas. The informant interview was conducted with the director of communication at Falu Energi & Vatten. The empirical material was col- lected during the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th of November 2014. The results of the study shows that media habits among young adults have changed which has led to a non-correspondence in relation to how Falu Energi & Vatten communicates. Due to this Falu Energi & Vatten needs to make changes in their communication strategy, add new channels to their media mix and in some cases reduce the use of others. Falu Energi & Vatten must actively work to both dis- seminate information and make information available in order to reach this age group. The result also shows that the significantly increased media output has led to a desire for personal- ized communication, which means that Falu Energi & Vatten should review the possibility to offer more targeted information. Last but not least, a clear result is that the company should use Facebook for communication with young adults as the majority of the participants wish to communicate with the company through this particular channel. Facebook can be used both to disseminate information but also to facilitate information retrieval and dialogue.


This paper studied the application of mobile phones in the marketing of banana in Ondo State, Nigeria. Banana is a major tropical fruit, consumed widely for its taste, texture, energy, digestibility and cost-effectiveness across major towns and rural communities in Ondo State, Nigeria. Given the high perishability of the crop, mostly when ripe, banana marketers who are mostly women employ mobile phones in banana marketing. The data collected from one hundred and eighty (180) banana marketers across three (3) Local Government Areas (LGAs) were analysed using descriptive statistics, marketing margin and multiple regression model. The study revealed high use of mobile phones among banana marketers with majority using more than one GSM service providers. Retailer and wholesaler marketing margins were high with retailer margin (64%) greater than wholesaler margin (36%). The regression results indicated that only education and amount of banana sales positively influenced the marketers' use of mobile phones.


Purpose: To apply a measurement‐driven source model using the Monte Carlo Dose Planning Method (DPM) dose calculation engine to a Varian 10 MV photon beam. Method and Materials: A measurement‐driven model using the DPM dose calculation algorithm is being extended from a Varian 6 MV photon beam to include Varian 10 MV, Elekta 6 MV and 10 MV, and Siemens 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams. The present work details the model commissioning for the Varian 10 MV photon beam. The multi‐source model consists of a primary photon point source, an extra‐focal exponential disk source, and an electron contamination uniform disk source. The model accounts for fluence and off‐axis energy effects due to the flattening filter. The photon energy spectra for the primary and extra‐focal sources are modeled by the statistical fatigue‐failure function combined with a Fermi‐cutoff function. The energy spectrum of the electron contamination source is modeled as an exponential distribution. Model parameters are determined by an optimization process that minimizes the differences between measurement and calculation. The set of standard measurements used for optimizing consists of the percent depth dose (PDD) and dose profiles in water for 10×10 cm2 and 40×40 cm2field sizes.Results: Comparisons between calculation and measurement of the PDD and dose profiles for the 10×10 cm2field size show agreement within ±2%/2 mm except for the off‐axis low dose regions where calculations underestimate the dose by up to 3% of dmax. Conclusion: This work demonstrates that the model, previously shown to be accurate for the Varian 6 MV beam, can be successfully extended to the Varian 10 MV photon beam. Work is ongoing to further refine and validate the model to include Elekta and Siemens linear accelerators.Conflict of Interest: Work supported by PHS CA010953, CA081647, and R01 CA85181 awarded by NCI, DHHS.


The opening of the twenty-first century has seen a flurry of death penalty repeals. This development is encouraging, but only partly so. Amidst the cheers for abolition, there is an unfairness of the highest order: the maintenance of the death penalty for some, but not others, for no other reason than the date of their crimes. State legislatures are repealing the death penalty prospectively only, and these states' executive branches are leaving their prisoners on death row. In New Mexico and Connecticut, a total of thirteen prisoners remain on death row after those states abolished the death penalty.Some states, however, are "going retro." In 2012, California's Proposition 34 would have applied retroactively, reducing over 700 death row prisoners' sentences to life without parole ("LWOP"). More states should attempt to pass retroactive death penalty repeals, but they are not doing so, for two reasons. The first is political: legislators are not pursuing retroactive legislation because they do not have the votes. The second reason is legal: legislators are not pursuing retroactive legislation because they believe that the separation of powers and state constitutional prohibitions on retroactive laws forbid it. These arguments are reasonable ones, and they reach far beyond the death penalty sphere - to retroactive crack sentencing laws and retroactive juvenile LWOP sentencing laws, among others.This Article argues that neither the separation of powers nor state constitutional prohibitions on retroactive laws prohibits states from retroactively repealing their death penalties. While politics may prevent legislatures from pursuing retroactive repeal of the death penalty, the law should not. As California's 2012 repeal bill makes clear, "fairness, equality, and uniformity" demand retroactivity. They demand abolition for all.


BACKGROUND
We previously demonstrated that peak microtubule bundle formation (MBF) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) occurs at the end of drug infusion and correlates with drug pharmacokinetics (PK). In the current study, a new expanded evaluation of drug target effect was undertaken.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with advanced solid malignancies were treated with ixabepilone 40 mg/m2 administered as a 1-h i.v. infusion every 3 weeks. Blood, plasma, and tumor tissue sampling was carried out to characterize pharmacodynamics and PK.

RESULTS
Forty-seven patients were treated with 141 cycles of ixabepilone. In both PBMCs (n=27) and tumor cells (n=9), peak MBF occurred at the end of infusion; however, at 24-72 h after drug infusion, the number of cells with MBF was significantly greater in tumor cells, relative to PBMCs. A Hill model (EC50=109.65 ng/ml; r2=0.94) was fitted, which demonstrated a relationship between percentage of PBMCs with MBF and plasma ixabepilone concentration. The percentage of PBMCs with MBF at the end of infusion also correlated with severity of neutropenia (P=0.050).

CONCLUSIONS
Plasma ixabepilone concentration and severity of neutropenia correlate with the level of MBF in PBMCs. Therefore, this technically straightforward assay should be considered as a complement to the clinical development of novel microtubule-binding agents.


In this paper, an attempt is made to get clearer on what, exactly, the notorious generality problem for reliabilism is all about. On a charitable reconstruction, one major issue is empirical, concerning as it does the frequency with which people converge in their assessments of reliability. Conee and Feldman's pessimistic view on this matter is contrasted with a more optimistic outlook that is taken to be supported by influential work in cognitive psychology. It is concluded that although much speaks in favor of the latter position, the dispute cannot be resolved by philosophical debating alone. Additional experimental work is also needed.


In this paper, I argue that the natural environment in the base game of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is devoid of agency and power in the face of the player's colonialist endeavours to explore, conquer and master that environment. Weaving together insights about spatiality in digital games from (ecocritical and postcolonial) game studies, as well as performance studies, the paper problematizes some of the most basic elements of digital games in general: navigation and movement. It then moves to a discussion of the "Frostfall" mod as one possible option to counteract the destructive and oppositional relationship between the player and nature in Skyrim. "Frostfall" is a mod that adds weather survival elements to the game, by which the player can freeze and die from hypothermia if they do not take the appropriate measures to cope with Skyrim's harsh climate. In this way, the 'power fantasy' set up in the base game becomes somewhat limited, as the player's agency encounters nature's newfound agency and must find ways to negotiate the gameworld while taking seriously the environment as an agent in/of that gameworld.


The distinction between emerging and developed markets is of first-order importance for investors. In this article, the authors use hierarchical clustering to objectively identify the countries or regions that cluster from an investment viewpoint. They go beyond classifications based on economic fundamentals and group countries based on returns in equity and bond markets. The authors find an important geographical footprint that differs significantly from the groupings that are used by most practitioners. This analysis has practical implications for both active and index investors. TOPICS: Statistical methods, simulations, big data/machine learning, emerging markets, developed markets Key Findings • Unsupervised learning can help index investors and allocators develop more precise exposures to emerging stock and bond markets. • There are also alpha applications from studying clusters of countries that exhibit distance from one another. • We find a surprisingly strong geographic footprint, together with a grouping into resource rich and resource poor countries.


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Wood frogs have a rather unconventional approach to surviving winter: they simply freeze solid. Flooding their bodies with glucose – which protects delicate cell structures from being shattered by ice – the frogs emerge in spring unscathed by a process that would prove


The renowned institutionalist Geoffrey Hodgson has claimed inter alia that heterodox economics has failed to define its nature and scope, does not take pluralism seriously, and lacks expertise concentration to ensure quality which means it has made limited progress and is held in variable esteem. To address these alleged problems, Hodgson proposes four alternative strategies: the creation of heterodox economics academic departments; for heterodox economists to enter non-economics academic departments; for heterodox economists to 'organise' around a successful approach with future potential; or, to encourage the study of economic institutions by other social science disciplines or by using prominent mainstream techniques and approaches. A response to these criticisms and proposed strategies is warranted for several reasons. These criticisms are not trivial and, as an assemblage the import is much greater than a singular criticism. Hodgson is very influential within the economics discipline and he reiterates, in part, past criticisms from the mainstream as well as presenting his criticisms to a wide range of audiences. These criticisms intersect with longstanding debates within heterodox economics about the role of pluralism, the definition and project of heterodox economics, its relationship to the changing form of mainstream, and the merit of synthesis or convergence of different heterodox schools of economic thought. The suitability of mainstream measures to judge heterodox economics, and the relationship of ideology and economic theory, are also raised by these criticisms as well as the feasibility of proposed strategies to support heterodox economics within the academy. It is argued that several fallacious claims lead Hodgson to misconstrue the nature and evolution of heterodox economics, and inherent flaws in each of his proposed alternative strategies will further marginalise – not advance – the project of heterodox economics.


The Syrian civil war started in 2011, with dramatic social, political, economic, and environmental consequences over the whole area of Syria and nearby countries. Agriculture, in particular, suffered massively. Several studies used satellite-retrieved data and imagery to examine the spatio-temporal changes in the region, due to the civil war. For instance, open-source satellite imagery could show the damage in urban areas, and provide an estimate of the number of people affected by the crisis.

In this study, we investigate the impacts of the Syrian civil war on atmospheric ammonia (NH3) emitted from industrial and agricultural activities during the 2008-2019 period. Our analyses are based on the NH3 measurements from the IASI instruments onboard the Metop satellites. Firstly, land-use changes and a decrease in agricultural emissions are explored over the country. We also investigate the changes in atmospheric NH3 over an ammonia plant, which activities have been suspended due to several conflict-related events. We show that the NH3 columns retrieved from IASI are directly affected by the war, and those periods of intense conflict and siege are reflected in lower NH3 concentrations, which are not driven by meteorology. The interpretation of the identified changes in atmospheric NH3 is supported by the analyses of NO2 columns from GOME-2 as well as satellite imagery and land cover data. The latter is used to highlight the change in croplands’ area over the years, and the satellite images are used to show the activity of the ammonia plant.


For the improvement of the ability in detecting small calcifications using Ultrasonography (US) we propose a novel indicator of calcifications in an ultrasound B-mode image without decrease in frame rate. Since the waveform of an ultrasound pulse changes at a calcification position, the decorrelation of adjacent scan lines occurs behind a calcification. Therefore, we employ the decorrelation of adjacent scan lines as an indicator of a calcification. The proposed indicator depicted wires 0.05 mm in diameter at 2 cm depth with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 100%, which were hardly detected in ultrasound B-mode images. This study shows the potential of the proposed indicator to approximate the detectable calcification size using an US device to that of an X-ray imager, implying the possibility that an US device will become a convenient, safe, and principal clinical tool for the screening of breast cancer. Keywords—Ultrasonography, Calcification, Decorrelation, Forward scattered wave we reported that the waveform change of the echo caused by a calcification results in the decorrelation between the echoes received at adjacent scan lines (7), (8). These reports indicate that the existence of a small calcification is predictable from the waveform difference between adjacent scan lines by calculating cross-correlation coefficients. In this paper, we propose a novel indicator of calcifications and evaluate the method experimentally using a commercial US device.


Covered by arid and semi-arid desert, 70 percent of Australia mainland has known for years for it's social and cultural phenomenon of Aborigin people, the indigenous Australian tribes. Several comunities of Aboriginal tribes, such as Martu people, has developed methods according to genders, to meet their daily needs of food during the cool-dry season from May to August. Men focus on gun hunting, while the women focus on hunting wooden or iron digging sticks and burning small fires on a regular basis to support their foraging activities. Many researchers suggested that moderate and repeated burning has several positive impacts to the surrounding biotic web and terrestrial biodiversity, while preventing habitat loss at the local scale. Remote Sensing method, such as aerial photography and satellite imagery, are suitable technology that developed to acquire certain data or information in large-scale measurement especially in quantify past and present fire activity at spatial scales useful for a range of fire and vegetation management applications. In this research, an ununiformed illumination of Australian Panchromatic 1953 aerial image repository were reconstructed to widen the known information obtained using Landsat satellite mission data sets from 1970's. The geometric reconstruction of the imagery was done using GCP acquired from Panchromatic Landsat 8 data using still land objects. The radiometric reconstruction was done using Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization method, to the non-uniform illumination on each flight path, and stitched into mosaic. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of methods in Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) feature extraction by using GLCM in very limited spectral information by comparing advance segmentation technique, the Multiresolution Segmentation and Segmentation.


Évelyne Trouillot's novels, short stories, poetry, children's stories, and play—not to mention her interviews, op. ed. pieces, and academic articles—introduce us to chapters of Haiti's history spanning roughly two hundred and fifty years. From a plantation in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue during the 1750s to present-day, postearthquake Haiti, the experiences, trials, and tragically haunting memories of her characters serve to bring into focus countless rifts in the country's complex and often conflicted past. Despite the turbulent time periods in which we discover these protagonists, and the resulting adversity to which they are prone, their struggles are not waged on battlefields; nor do they lead to conspicuous positions of power befitting heroines or, alternately, to the imprisonment or execution of would-be martyrs. For as quintessential as the Vodou ceremony of the Bois Caïman, the decisive Battle of Vertières, or the notorious Fort Dimanche are to understanding Haiti's past, Trouillot's characters have not (yet, at least) appeared at the forefront of these or other similarly iconic places and events in the country's history. Instead, they emerge in what might be considered the chambres interdites of Haiti's past—places that have remained closed, hidden, or merely overlooked within and by the country's dominant historical narratives. Akin to the eponymous "forbidden room" in the author's first published collection of short stories, the far corner of which, concealed by curtains, "invaded [the young narrator's] dreams, covering them with a clammy fear which flowed over [her], redolent and warm,"1 the settings of Trouillot's works provide opportunity for confronting what has been described as the institutionalized


Predicting the sales amount as close as to the actual sales amount can provide many benefits to companies. Since the fashion industry is not easily predictable, it is not straightforward to make an accurate prediction of sales.  In this study, we applied not only regression methods in machine learning, but also time series analysis techniques to forecast the sales amount based on several features. We applied our models on Walmart sales data in Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio platform. The following regression techniques were applied: Linear Regression, Bayesian Regression, Neural Network Regression, Decision Forest Regression and Boosted Decision Tree Regression. In addition to these regression techniques, the following time series analysis methods were implemented: Seasonal ARIMA, Non-Seasonal ARIMA, Seasonal ETS, Non -Seasonal ETS, Naive Method, Average Method and Drift Method. It was shown that Boosted Decision Tree Regression provides the best performance on this sales data. This project is a part of the development of a new decision support system for the retail industry.


Muscle strength is one of the key components in almost every
sports performance. There are methods which can objectively
quantify the actual status of athletes. A considerable amount
of research papers has been published. They are focused on
torque, position and time parameters with using isokinetic
strength testing but often without any practical usage in real
conditions. These studies often only describe and compare the
sports disciplines or they try to evaluate concentric peak
torque changes in time after selected interventions. On the
other hand, too little attention is paid to eccentric strength
and strength ratio between plantar and dorsiflexion of ankle
joint. Strength ratio is well discussed especially for
concentric flexion with concentric extension knee muscle
strength within the same leg or combination of eccentric
flexion and concentric extension. However, questions have been
raised about using strength ratio in regards to predicting
muscle regeneration or injury´s prevention as well. The
objective of presented research is to purpose the effect of
different pressure levels of compression calf sleeves used
during uphill running on selected isokinetic parameters. The
study was designed as a double-blind controlled laboratory
study because of the elimination of researcher bias. Ten
endurance-trained male athletes (age 24.8 ± 3.45 years; body
weight 74.11 ± 8.63 kg; body height 1.81 ± 0.08 m; weekly
running distance 43.0 ± 5.4 km; 10 km best time 38.0 ± 1.5 min)
performed three 8 km treadmill runs at 75% VO2max with 6%
incline while wearing compression calf sleeves (two types of
graduated compression calf sleeves and one type inversely
graduated compression). Maximal voluntary isokinetic concentric
contraction and maximal voluntary isokinetic eccentric
contraction of plantar flexors and dorsiflexors were recorded
at 60 degrees/s, 120 degrees/s over 6 contractions with a Humac
Norm dynamometer. No significant differences were found between
graduated compression calf sleeves in peak torque of plantar
flexors and dorsiflexors during isokinetic concentric and
eccentric contraction (60 degrees/s, 120 degrees/s) in
pre-test, 24 and 48 hours after the running protocol.
Interestingly, analyses showed the significant difference in
increasing peak torque of plantar flexors and dorsiflexors (60
degrees/s, 120 degrees/s) for inversely graduated compression
calf sleeves during the isokinetic eccentric contraction. A
difference between pre-test and 48 hours post run (p = 0.04123)
was found. The obtained data indicate that inversely graduated
compression calf sleeves (a higher pressure over the calf than
over the ankle) may be much more practical during running
especially in hilly mountainous terrain not only for running
performance but also for reducing delayed onset muscle
soreness.


This paper examines the effectiveness of technology using jet grouting. This technology is commonly used to strengthening the weak soil bases of buildings in dense urban areas. The paper presents the calculation research methodology and results of the effectiveness of this method on the example of shopping malls in St. Petersburg. Frame type buildings, having numerous cracks in the floor slabs, are considered. Bearing elements of these buildings are the columns, based on the individual pile foundations. Concrete floor slabs are supported by soil base. In the calculations, the soil base was modeled by volumetric finite elements and concrete floor slabs – by plate finite elements. Cement-soil elements (pillars) were modeled also by volumetric finite elements with different deformation modulus. It can be concluded from the calculation results that the above technique is effective in the presence of the weak soil layers and the increase in the modulus of cement-soil elements more than 400 MPa is impractical.


The spastic (spa) and oscillator (ot) mouse have naturally occurring mutations in the inhibitory glycine receptor (GlyR) and exhibit severe motor disturbances when exposed to unexpected sensory stimuli. We examined the effects of the spa and ot mutations on GlyR‐ and GABAAR‐mediated synaptic transmission in the superficial dorsal horn (SFDH), a spinal cord region where inhibition is important for nociceptive processing. Spontaneous mIPSCs were recorded from visually identified neurones in parasagittal spinal cord slices. Neurones received exclusively GABAAR‐mediated mIPSCs, exclusively GlyR‐mediated mIPSCs or both types of mIPSCs. In control mice (wild‐type and spa/+) over 40 % of neurones received both types of mIPSCs, over 30 % received solely GABAAR‐mediated mIPSCs and the remainder received solely GlyR‐mediated mIPSCs. In spa/spa animals, 97 % of the neurones received exclusively GABAAergic or both types of mIPSCs. In ot/ot animals, over 80 % of the neurones received exclusively GABAAR‐mediated mIPSCs. GlyR‐mediated mIPSC amplitude and charge were reduced in spa/spa and ot/ot animals. GABAAR‐mediated mIPSC amplitude and charge were elevated in spa/spa but unaltered in ot/ot animals. GlyR‐ and GABAAR‐mediated mIPSC decay times were similar for all genotypes, consistent with the mutations altering receptor numbers but not kinetics. These findings suggest the spastic and oscillator mutations, traditionally considered motor disturbances, also disrupt inhibition in a sensory region associated with nociceptive transmission. Furthermore, the spastic mutation results in a compensatory increase in GABAAergic transmission in SFDH neurones, a form of inhibitory synaptic plasticity absent in the oscillator mouse.


Examination of functional brain anatomy is a crucial step in the process of surgical removal of many brain tumors. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a promising technology capable of mapping brain function non-invasively. To be successfully applied to presurgical mapping, there are questions of diagnostic accuracy that remain to be addressed.One of the greatest difficulties in implementing fMRI is the need to define an activation threshold for producing functional maps. There is as of yet no consensus on the best approach to this problem, and a priori statistical approaches are generally considered insufficient because they are not specific to individual patient data. Additionally, low signal to noise and sensitivity to magnetic susceptibility effects combine to make the production of activation maps technically demanding. This contributes to a wide range of estimates of reproducibility and validity for fMRI, as the results are sensitive to changes in acquisition and processing strategies.Test-retest fMRI imaging at the individual level, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis of the results can address both of these concerns simultaneously. In this work, it is shown that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) can be used as an indicator of reproducibility, and that this is dependent on the image thresholds used. Production of AUC profiles can thus be used to optimize the selection of individual thresholds on the basis of detecting stable activation patterns, rather than a priori significance levels.The ROC analysis framework developed provides a powerful tool for simultaneous control of protocol reproducibility and data driven threshold selection, at the individual level. This tool can be used to guide optimal acquisition and processing strategies, and as part of a quality assurance program for implementing presurgical fMRI.


The article outlines some drawbacks of research training for social workers in Ukraine. To improve it, one should consider the main characteristics of such training in West European countries, given that they are exemplary in terms of social security. With the help of differential and comparative-typological analysis, the article singles out methodical aspects which social work training in Ukraine lacks and, therefore, suggests relevant recommendations for enhancing research activities of future social workers. Besides, it proves that the reforming of research training implies diversifying forms of research activities, as well as bringing them together with industrial placements and educational autonomy of students. At the same time, research activities should be a cross-cutting component in the context of applying interactive, information and project-based methods of teaching and learning. The international relevance of the article lies in identifying areas of research and related activities in the leading European countries. This can be a starting point for improving education systems in the post-Soviet countries in which there is a pronounced divergence between instructional, theoretical and research activities within social work training.


The sound velocity measurements provide valuable information about the physical properties and molecular interactions of the liquids.The apparent molar isentropic compressibility of homologous dicarboxylic acids(oxalic,malonic,succinic, glutraric and adipic acids)have been determined in water +acetone,water + methanol mixtures.The sound velocity increases as the acetone and methanol contents in water increase and passes through a minimum.In other words, the isentropic compressibility decreases and passes through a minimum in the same region. The decrease in isentropic compressibility may be due to the fact that the organic solvent leads to a particular break down of water rendering it less structured than in pure water.Conductance data in different temperature and concentration ranges are of great importance in order to understand the ionic transport processes in aqueous and mixed solvents.


The need for improved thermal efficiency of jet engines has led to changes in the design of combustor turbine blades. Modern turbine stage inlet temperatures now exceed the melting point temperatures of turbine blade materials. Super alloys, based on nickel, have been developed for use as blades, guide vanes, afterburners etc. To combat and avert blade failure caused by excessive operating temperatures, film cooling has been incorporated into blade design. In film cooling, cool air is bled from the compressor stage, ducted into internal chambers of the turbine blades, and discharged through small holes in the blade walls. This provides a thin, cool, insulating blanket along the external surface of the turbine blade. Large numbers of shaped holes have allowed designers to maximize the cooling effect.This paper explores a new design for inspecting turbine blade cooling holes. In the paper, we examine the inspection techniques currently in use and present a novel optical technique as an alternative. Our design consists of two stages of inspection, each optically based. The first stage uses a camera positioned axially in line with a laser beam. A sample is mounted on an XY micro-positioning stage, and a vision system captures an image of the sample and displays the size and shape of each entrance hole. To measure the presence of a bottom, a second XYZ inspection stage is used. Using a small collimating tube, a micro-beam illuminates a drilled hole in a pre-programmed fashion. Depending on the level of reflected intensity and where it occurs, the presence of a hole bottom is determined. The optical inspection system consists of a laser, motorized micro-positioning stages, collimating tubes, vision system, data acquisition software and a customized fixture for manipulating the samples.The need for improved thermal efficiency of jet engines has led to changes in the design of combustor turbine blades. Modern turbine stage inlet temperatures now exceed the melting point temperatures of turbine blade materials. Super alloys, based on nickel, have been developed for use as blades, guide vanes, afterburners etc. To combat and avert blade failure caused by excessive operating temperatures, film cooling has been incorporated into blade design. In film cooling, cool air is bled from the compressor stage, ducted into internal chambers of the turbine blades, and discharged through small holes in the blade walls. This provides a thin, cool, insulating blanket along the external surface of the turbine blade. Large numbers of shaped holes have allowed designers to maximize the cooling effect.This paper explores a new design for inspecting turbine blade cooling holes. In the paper, we examine the inspection techniques currently in use and present a novel optical technique as an alternative. Our desi...


Effective information communication and public participation in the planning process are important elements for facilitating successful environmental decision-making. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of these factors for delivering benefits to a wide range of stakeholders in the planning system by increasing the transparency and efficiency of the planning process. Planning information relating to the potential visual impacts of proposed developments is particularly important in the case of wind farm planning, given the high levels of concern amongst members of the public regarding the perceived negative visual impacts of wind turbines on the landscape. However, shortcomings associated with traditional visualisation techniques used to assess such impacts have been highlighted in previous research, along with drawbacks related to the dissemination of such information to the public during the planning stages of wind farm development. This research is concerned with evaluating the potential of innovative digital landscape visualisation and Web-based approaches for addressing some of the shortcomings in these areas. This paper describes the implementation of a Web-based survey study designed to evaluate the potential of online GIS-based approaches for improving the effectiveness and dissemination of wind farm visualisations and enhancing public participation in wind farm planning. Results from the survey study add to the research literature by demonstrating how innovative visualisation and Web-based approaches have real potential for augmenting existing methods of information provision and public participation in the wind farm planning process. The findings of this study are also transferrable to other landscape planning scenarios.


Migration has been a central factor in African history. It is likely that the human species started spreading on the planet within and outside of Africa between 2 and 2.5 million years ago. Although the earliest stages of human migrations are the subject of intense debate, most hypotheses concentrate on movements that occurred in the African continent. In historical times, African migrations can be divided into two broad sub-fields looking at, respectively: people moving because they were forced to and people choosing to move on their own free will. Africa has been the source of the largest forced migrations in history. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the largest long-distance forced migration of people, even though it happened over a shorter period than the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trades. Within Africa, trade across complementary ecological zones and the seasonality of production propelled free migrations of traders and workers involved in long distance trade. Following the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, free labor migrations rose in importance. European colonialism introduced the need for cash that was often only accessible in cities and areas of cash crop production. It was also responsible for the introduction of new forms of forced labor required for the building and maintenance of colonial infrastructure. The rise of development as a rationale for the government of African societies influenced migrations in multiple ways through national and international policies aimed at channeling people's mobility. In the last two centuries, African migrants have been unfolding projects of self-development by traveling to places where they hoped to find better opportunities. Yet contemporary trafficking and displacements caused by wars, intolerance, and natural catastrophes attest to the continuing relevance of violence as a key aspect of the experience of African migrants.


When assessing the reliability parameters, the traditional method is to deal with a large quantity of data obtained through test and to get the result with high confidence. But small sample size and the lack of test data of mechanical items make the traditional method have weakness. If the Bayesian method can be used properly, accurate assessment will be derived even if it is lack of data. What is discussed in this paper are: 1) determination of prior distribution, 2) reliability assessment based on pass/fail data with Beta distribution, Gamma distribution and cut-tail normal distribution as prior distribution, and 3) reliability assessment based on time-to-failure with Weibull distribution and normal distribution as prior distribution.


Volume transition of an inflating cylindrical balloon made of rubber under external force $F$ is studied based on the non-linear elastic theory for rubber. The pressure difference $\Delta P$ between inside and outside of the balloon is calculated as a function of the volume $V$ of the fluid inside the balloon. It is shown that if $F$ is smaller than a critical value $F_c$, the inflation of the balloon takes place with coexistence of strongly inflated region and weakly inflated region, while if $F$ is larger than $F_c$, the inflation takes place uniformly. It is shown that the critical force $F_c$ depends on the material parameter of the rubber, and that the discontinuous transition for finite stretching force can take place only when the rubber has enough stretchability


This study examines the dynamic relationship between the volatility of stock market and macroeconomics' volatility in Malaysia during the period of February 1991 to February 2013. For this purpose, monthly data on the KLcI stock index and a set of macroeconomic variables are used. Firstly, in order to estimate the volatility of each series, the well-known GARcH family models are employed. The empirical stylized facts in the stock indices and the macroeconomic variables are presented. Secondly, in order to investigate the causation between variables, the Toda and Yamamoto causality test through a VAR method is conducted using the volatility of stock market and macroeconomic variables. In addition, from the VAR, we generate Impulse Response Function and Variance Decomposition to track the evolution of economic shocks through the system. The result of this study shows that exchange rate volatility affects Malaysian stock market volatility considerably. Furthermore, trade openness is able to affect stock market volatility in Malaysia. These results will provide more precise information for investors, hedgers, managers and policy makers.


As many-to-one traffic patterns prevail in data center networks, TCP flows often suffer from severe unfairness in sharing bottleneck bandwidth, which is known as the TCP outcast problem. The cause of the TCP outcast problem is the bursty packet losses by a drop-tail queue that triggers TCP timeouts and leads to decreasing the congestion window. This paper proposes TCPRand, a transport layer solution to TCP outcast. The main idea of TCPRand is the randomization of TCP payload size, which breaks synchronized packet arrivals between flows from different input ports. We investigate how TCPRand reduces consecutive packet drops and demonstrate various benefits of TCPRand with extensive experiments and ns-3 simulation. Our evaluation results show that TCPRand guarantees the superior enhancement of TCP fairness with negligible overheads in all of our test cases.


The role of spatial variability in water inputs on runoff dynamics has generally not received as much research attention as topography and soils; however, the influence of topography and forest cover on snow surface energy ex- changes can result in asynchronous snowmelt throughout a catchment, complicating the space-time patterns of runoff generation. This study investigates temporal variation in the relative importance of spatial controls on the occurrence, du- ration, and timing of shallow groundwater response, utiliz- ing a highly distributed monitoring network in a snowmelt- dominated montane catchment in western Canada. The study findings indicate that deep-soil hydraulic conductivity is a first-order control on the spatial distribution of sites that generate shallow groundwater response versus sites that ex- perience only deep percolation. Upslope contributing area and slope gradient are first-order controls on the duration of groundwater response during peak-flow, recession-flow, and low-flow periods. Shallow runoff response areas ex- pand and contract throughout these periods and follow the general spatial patterns of topographic convergence. How- ever, spatial controls on the timing, intensity, and quan- tity of snowmelt and controls on vertical versus lateral flux partitioning in the soil overwhelm the influence of topo- graphic convergence on runoff patterns during early spring freshet periods. The study findings suggest that various topo- graphic indices and topography-based rainfall runoff mod- els would not likely be good predictors of runoff patterns in snowmelt-dominated montane catchments during early phases of the spring freshet, but would increase in impor- tance as the freshet and post-freshet periods proceed.


Presentation of disease "criteria" affirms our ignorance of the essence of a disease. If we understand a disease we can describe the elements that are necessary and sufficient for its diagnosis. One can so define gouty arthritis, in which joint fluid crystals serve as a "gold standard" against which to measure the usefulness of other observations. No other major rheumatic disease, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), has such a standard. Thus, criteria must be constructed in a circular manner, by testing variables against a diagnosis established by intuition. The "best" criteria therefore only describe the current conventional wisdom in an efficient manner. See also p 281. Why then make the effort? Rheumatic disease criteria are designed to (1) enable physicians to use the same language, (2) provide a focal definition for criticism, (3) teach the cardinal features, and (4) raise the diagnostic acuity of the inexperienced toward that of the


OBJECTIVE Fetal ventriculomegaly (FV), or enlarged cerebral ventricles in utero, is defined in fetal studies as an atrial diameter (AD) greater than 10 mm. In postnatal studies, the frontooccipital horn ratio (FOHR) is commonly used as a proxy for ventricle size (VS); however, its role in FV has not been assessed. Using image analysis techniques to quantify VS on fetal MR images, authors of the present study examined correlations between linear measures (AD and FOHR) and VS in patients with FV. METHODS The authors performed a cross-sectional study using fetal MR images to measure AD in the axial plane at the level of the atria of the lateral ventricles and to calculate FOHR as the average of the frontal and occipital horn diameters divided by the biparietal distance. Computer software was used to separately segment and measure the area of the ventricle and the ventricle plus the subarachnoid space in 2 dimensions. Segmentation was performed on axial slices 3 above and 3 below the slice used to measure AD, and measurements for each slice were combined to yield a volume, or 3D VS. The VS was expressed as the absolute number of voxels (non-normalized) and as the number of voxels divided by intracranial size (normalized). A Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of the relationships between the linear measures and the size of segmented regions in 2 and 3 dimensions and over various gestational ages (GAs). Differences between correlations were compared using Steiger's z-test. RESULTS Fifty FV patients who had undergone fetal MRI between 2008 and 2014 were included in the study. The mean GA was 26.3 ± 5.4 weeks. The mean AD was 18.1 ± 8.3 mm, and the mean FOHR was 0.49 ± 0.11. When using absolute VS, the correlation between AD and 3D VS (r = 0.844, p < 0.0001) was significantly higher than that between FOHR and 3D VS (r = 0.668, p < 0.0001; p = 0.0004, Steiger's z-test). However, when VS was normalized, correlations were not significantly different between AD and 3D VS (r = 0.830, p < 0.0001) or FOHR and 3D VS (r = 0.842, p < 0.0001; p = 0.8, Steiger's z-test). For GAs of 24 weeks or earlier, AD correlated more strongly with normalized 3D VS (r = 0.902, p < 0.0001) than with FOHR (r = 0.674, p < 0.0001; p < 0.0001, Steiger's z-test). After 24 weeks, there was no difference in correlations between linear measures (AD or FOHR) and 3D VS (r > 0.9). Correlations of linear measures with VS in 2 and 3 dimensions were similar, and inclusion of the subarachnoid space did not significantly alter results. CONCLUSIONS Findings in the study support the use of AD as a measure of VS in fetal studies as it correlates highly with both absolute and relative VS, especially at early GAs, and captures the preferential dilation of the occipital horns in patients with FV. Compared with AD, FOHR similarly correlates with normalized VS and, after a GA of 24 weeks, can be reported in fetal studies to provide continuity with postnatal monitoring.


This study investigates how phonotactics and sentential positioning affect the realization of Taiwan Mandarin Tone 2. 10 Taipei speakers read sentences containing target syllables of different syllable types in isolation and in various sentential positions. Results showed that comparing across five different phonotactic types, N-initial syllables were relatively high at the onset, the turning point, and the offset while G-initial syllables were low at all three points. V-initial syllables were high at the turning point and the offset while obstruent-initial syllables ended with relatively low pitch. In general, the offset is higher than the onset point when the syllable was read in isolation or sentence-finally. However, in sentence-initial and -medial positions, the onset tended to be higher in pitch than the offset, especially in female speech. V-initial syllables tended to have higher offsets than onsets regardless of positions. In terms of duration, the falling ratio is the highest sentence-medially. With L-initial and N-initial syllables, the falling ratio was over 50% of the total syllable sentencemedially and -finally. There was no difference in the degree of steepness between the falling and the rising portions of the tone, but female speakers in general showed steeper slopes than male, especially in sentence-final positions.


In this paper, we introduce the hardware implementation of video acquisition in a sensor node of wireless sensor network with the help of USB 2.0 interface. The USB 2.0 video acquisition is based on the CY7C67300 controller and the DCC1545M image sensor. In this paper, we detail the hardware architecture and the application program design in a sensor node using field-programmable gate array (FPGA) board and USB 2.0 interface. The CY7C67300 controller is the suitable choice for FPGA Virtex 4 and 5 based USB peripherals. A simple interface module capable of transferring data rates above 400 Mbits/s is implemented to communicate with the CY7C67300 controller. In order to use the developed module, in Xilinx embedded design, we provide a custom peripheral which includes the CY767300 interface as its core and additional logic for the connection to the external peripheral controller (EPC) and then the processor local bus (PLB).


By devoting the 2015 Socialist Register to investigating class formation and class strategies on a global scale, as we also did the 2014 volume marking the Register's fiftieth anniversary, we were going against fashion in quite deliberately emphasizing the fundamental importance of class analysis, class discourse and class politics for the twenty-first century. It has unfortunately been the case that even in left circles over the past several decades any talk of class, let alone class struggle, became decidedly unfashionable. Of course, this was in many ways a very old story. When the Register was founded in 1964, the irrelevance of class had already been proclaimed in mainstream intellectual circles, and this was increasingly echoed by the leaders of social democratic parties. Twenty years later, as the political compass of even the more radical left began to swing to a proliferation of 'other' identities, Ralph Miliband faced this head-on in the 1983 Register: 'Socialist work means intervention in all the many different areas of life in which class struggle occurs: for class struggle must be taken to mean not only the permanent struggle between capital and labour, crucial though that remains, but the struggle against racial and sex discrimination, the struggle against arbitrary state and police power, the struggle against the ideological hegemony of the conservative forces, and the struggle for new and radically different defence and foreign policies'. Yet, amidst an endless stream of images across the new communication technologies, the left's attention became more and more focused on those very spaces of 'civil society' and the 'global economy' in which class relations and class struggles seemed all too little visible.

The current volume, Transforming Classes, takes as its departure point class relations in this latter sense – the way working classes are being made and remade in the struggles against neoliberalism, austerity and authoritarian governments. Indeed, the purpose here is to take an account of the balance of class forces, the old and emerging forms of workplace and political organization, and the strategies being debated and adapted in different zones of the world. The volume begins with an essay that cuts new ground in theorizing the working-class experience from the prism of social reproduction, wherein race, gender, ethnicity and migration are all constitutive of class and necessarily define key features of the terrain of class struggle. As much in the advanced capitalist countries as in the most imperialized zones of the Global South – in fact, through their mutual imbrication in global labour markets – workers' livelihoods, particularly those of migrants, are directly connected to household formation across borders. Taking up this concern to develop a truly global awareness of the transformations of social classes and class politics, the essays that follow – as authoritative in their appraisals as in their range – focus not only on such key developing capitalist countries as India, South Africa, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil and Chile, but also on the momentous political and discursive dimensions of the capitalist transformation of class relations in China under the auspices of the ruling Communist Party. And no less indispensable to the overall assessment of global capitalism are the essays here that attend to the advanced capitalist world. In both trying to understand the transformations which the so-called new middle classes have been going through as well as the state of trade unionism in Europe and North America, these essays focus on the need to develop an adequate class theory and class politics for today. In this respect, the four essays that compose the symposium on 'Labour and the Left in the USA', with which this volume concludes, provide not only sober readings but also shed light on promising campaigns for new working-class organizations in and beyond the workplace even in the imperial centre of world capitalism.


In the era of communication, the participation in internet-communities has grown to become a motor for innovation in software and community platforms. The paper describes the hypothesis that, by creating a virtual city (or a second city) a new type of social, economic and scientific network is established, which is supported through visual communication technologies. The various users bring, per se, their own intrinsic motivation and requirements to the system. Nonetheless, a personal identification with a city/neighbourhood/house/ apartment can be used to awake awareness and to foster participation. This is especially important when dealing with the city inhabitants. City modelling itself has been carried out for over a decade. Projects such as the city model of Graz have shown how city models can be established so as to be scalable for new information (Dokonal et al 2000). Furthermore, these city models have been used in the education of future architects and urban planners. The project described here moves in the opposite direction: the model moves out of the classroom to an interdisciplinary city-model-platform. The work described here is the conceptual model for a multi-dimensional data set that models the city. This has spawned a host of other projects using the model as a foundation for further interactivity development and the extension of the model itself. The paper describes the structure of the conceptual model and the first experience of incorporating diverse projects such those mentioned above. The model also is structured so as to be compatible with the XML standards being developed for city information (CityGML). The goal of the project is to create a data set describing the city that not only describes the geometry, but also the history (including planned histories) and nature of the city. In contrast to virtual realities, which attempt to create a separate world (e.g. Second Life), the Second City is intended as an interdisciplinary repository for the geometrical, historical and cultural information of the city.


DNA translocation across bacterial membranes occurs during the biological processes of infection by bacteriophages, conjugative DNA transfer of plasmids, T-DNA transfer, and genetic transformation. The mechanism of DNA translocation in these systems is not fully understood, but during the last few years extensive data about genes and gene products involved in the translocation processes have accumulated. One reason for the increasing interest in this topic is the discussion about horizontal gene transfer and transkingdom sex. Analyses of genes and gene products involved in DNA transfer suggest that DNA is transferred through a protein channel spanning the bacterial envelope. No common model exists for DNA translocation during phage infection. Perhaps various mechanisms are necessary as a result of the different morphologies of bacteriophages. The DNA translocation processes during conjugation, T-DNA transfer, and transformation are more consistent and may even be compared to the excretion of some proteins. On the basis of analogies and homologies between the proteins involved in DNA translocation and protein secretion, a common basic model for these processes is presented.


: The lay public's exposure to information on the purposes and value of the autopsy is sparse. When approached for consent to perform an autopsy, they are often indifferent and uncooperative. If the autopsy is worthy of revitalization as the ultimate medical consultation, pathologists must know what the general public is exposed to, what they think, and what their perceptions about autopsy are. There have been mass media and some specialized media contributions during the years 1977 through 1982. I studied the public's areas of concern regarding the topic and detailed the perceptions and unspoken thoughts of laymen. There are steps that can be taken to join the lay community and pathologists together in renewed efforts to revitalize the role of the autopsy while simultaneously educating the public about the advantages and needs of medical education.


The application of N-fertilizers mixed with a surface irrigation stream (surface N-fertigation) is widely practiced in the Yume Mesa. Guidelines for the efficient management of surface N-fertigation systems are needed. The purpose of the work reported herein is to evaluate the relative effectiveness of existing surface N-fertigation management practices in the Yuma Mesa. This has been accomplished through the following steps: (1) a complete set of performance indices that can be used to assess the relative merit of alternative management scenarios are identified and defined and Equations as well as solutions for quantifying the performance indices are proposed; (2) surface fertigation field experiments (using Br as a tracer) were performed in two irrigation basins at the Yuma Mesa research farm of the University of Arizona during the fall season of 2000; (3) the spatial distribution as well as the application efficiency and adequacy of Br applied with irrigation water was determined using the performance functions proposed herein; and (4) the results were analyzed to assess the merits and limitations of existing practices.


The mechanical properties and fracture mechanics of a series of short glass fibre reinforced and rubber toughened polypropylene composite grades has been studied. The microstructural characteristics of composite grades were examined and, through appropriate models, related to the observed mechanical properties. The moulded material was modelled as being composed of fibre reinforced plies of varying average fibre orientation. The rubber was distributed uniformly throughout the specimens. The main effect of the rubber was to reduce the stiffness of the matrix and hence also the efficiency of the load transfer at the fibre/matrix interface while at the same time improving the fracture toughness and critical strain energy release rate of the matrix. Automated image analysis has been used to characterise the rubber particles' size, shape and distribution, and glass fibres' length and orientation distributions. The fibre/matrix interface has been studied using a novel single fibre fragmentation technique. Iterative computer simulations have been developed to accurately predict the stress-strain response of the various grades. The fracture mechanics properties of this series of materials are highly strain rate sensitive. At low strain rates the addition of glass fibres reduces the toughness of the material because the fibres act as discontinuities within the matrix, aiding initiation and propagation of a crack. At higher strain rates the fibres toughen the material by increasing the energy dissipation associated with fibre pull-out. These effects result in changes in the fracture surface morphology. Fibres pulled-out at low strain rates had clean surfaces. At higher strain rates the surfaces of pulled-out fibres were coated in an adherent sheath of matrix material. These effects are considered to be a consequence of the viscoelastic nature of the matrix. At low strain rates the matrix deforms plastically. At impact speeds the matrix responds in a predomoninantly brittle manner.


With the growing availability and popularity of sentiment-rich resources like blogs and online reviews, new opportunities and challenges have emerged regarding the identification, extraction, and organization of sentiments from user-generated documents or sentences. Recently, many studies have exploited lexicon-based methods or supervised learning algorithms to conduct sentiment analysis tasks separately; however, the former approaches ignore contextual information of sentences and the latter ones do not take sentiment information embedded in sentiment words into consideration. To tackle these limitations, we propose a new model named Sentiment Convolutional Neural Network (SentiCNN) to analyze the sentiments of sentences with both contextual and sentiment information of sentiment words, in which, contextual information is captured from word embeddings and sentiment information is identified using existing lexicons. We incorporate a Highway Network into our model to adaptively combine sentiment and contextual information from sentences by strengthening the connection between features of both sentences and their sentiment words. Furthermore, we propose three lexicon-based attention mechanisms (LBAMs) for our SentiCNN model to find the most important indicators of sentiments and make predictions more effectively. Experiments over two well-known datasets indicate that sentiment words, the Highway Network, and LBAMs contribute to sentiment analysis.