The insectivore fauna of Lemoyne Quarry is the most diverse and most cosmopolitan of any recorded from Hemphillian deposits of the Great Plains; four genera and six species of shrews and five genera and five species of moles are known. The soricinines Sorex edwardsi n. sp., Sorex yatkolai n. sp., and Sorex sp. most closely resemble Sorex hagermanensis and S. rexroadensis from the Hagerman and Rexroad local faunas of Idaho and Kansas, respectively. Lemoyne Alluvisorex (Soricini) is indistinguishable fromA. arcadentes from Barstovian rocks of Oregon, and Lemoyne cf. Limnoecus (Limnoecinae) has larger teeth than Barstovian L. tricuspis (including L. niobrarensis). Lemoyne Anouroneomys magnus n. gen. and n. sp. (Neomyini) is larger than A. minimus sp. nov. from Clarendonian rocks of Oregon; Anouroneo mys is closely related to the Anourosorex-Amblycoptus of neomyine shrews and may be a Late Miocene immigrant from Eurasia. Achlyoscapter sp., and Talpinae undetermined genus and species 2 and 3 have close morphologic counterparts from Barstovian rocks of Oregon. Talpine, undetermined genus and species 1 is closest to Scalopus (Hesperoscalops) from the Rexroad Formation but is similar in some respects to Scapanulus and Scalopoides. Lemoynea biradicu· laris n. gen. and n. sp. (Desmaninae) is the first record of the water moles from the Western Hemisphere. Lemoynea is closest morphologi cally to "Vindobonian" Mygalea and "Pontian" Mygalinia, from France and Hungary, respectively. The desmanines are aquatic moles and the closest-living relatives of Anouroneomys are aquatic (Neomys) or forest-dwelling (A nourosorex) , and support earlier suggestions that Late Miocene Holarctic mammal exchange involved principally forest and aquatic forms.


The productivity of passion fruit is low compared to its productive potential which in organic system is due to rainfed cultivation and low input levels. The aim of this work was to evaluate the profitability of yellow passion fruit production in organic system under different input levels and irrigation. The experiment was carried out in Rio Branco - AC, at the Serido Ecological Site, conducted from November 2016 to August 2018. Randomized block design was used, arranged in a factorial scheme (3x2) with four replicates. The factors evaluated were: three input levels of inputs (fertilizers and alternative pesticides) and presence or absence of irrigation. Fertilization was carried out based on the nutrient content of the soil analysis and according to the yield estimate 5 t ha-1, 10 t ha-1 and 15 t ha-1. The irrigation used was with a micro sprinkler per plant. The production cost, profitability, simplified economic analysis, production for total and operating coverage were calculated based on capital depreciation, input level and labor during two cultivation years. The highest input level and irrigation increase productivity, total revenue and production requirements to cover total and operating costs. Fixed cost is higher when using combination of irrigation and input level 1; however, it provided positive economic yields.


Water dispersible silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) were synthesized by in situ growth under microwave irradiation. The prepared SiQDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, FT-IR, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Under neutral conditions, a weak chemiluminescence (CL) signal was obtained in luminol/K2S2O8 and SiQDs/K2S2O8 mixed solutions, while a strong CL signal was obtained in the presence of luminol, K2S2O8, and SiQDs. The CL spectra revealed that two luminophores were involved in the present CL system, and the possible CL mechanism was proposed. Dopamine (DA) exhibited a significantly inhibiting effect on the CL signal of the luminol/K2S2O8/SiQD system, and the inhibited CL intensities were proportional to the logarithm of DA concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10−9 to 5.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 8.6 × 10−10 mol L−1. The proposed CL system can be successfully applied in the sensitive detection of trace levels of DA in real samples.


The present paper is an attempt to highlight a new technique FTIR-ATR along with its referenced validated method, UV spectrophotometric analysis. Different concentrations of etoricoxib were used as samples to draw standard plot. From different samples, a transmission spectrum was recorded according to the prominence of peaks. The present study has chosen the three most prominent peaks for analytical purpose in case of samples of etoricoxib and marketed formulations. All the experimental data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis, using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression analysis to obtain quantitative information. ANOVA one-way was applied to FTIR-ATR data of pure drug etoricoxib to build calibration of data (standard plot), which enabled prediction of etoricoxib amount in pharmaceutical formulations A and B, p < 0.001. The results obtained by FTIR-ATR method were validated by using reference UV spectrophotometric method by t-test paired (α = 0.5%) and Scheffe test (homogenous subsets). The finding of the study inferred that FTIR-ATR provides a high-performance approach for etoricoxib quantitative determination in order to check the label-claimed content in different pharmaceutical formulations within the stipulated analytical limits of 90 mg ± 10%. From the above analysis, we can say that the amount of drug present in different formulations obtained from FTIR-ATR method is same as that of UV-spectrophotometric analysis (validation method). Also, the concentration transmittance value (log I O /I T ) changes linearly and follows Lambert-Beer law. The analytical procedure is simple, rapid, non-destructive and easy to use as it requires no sample pretreatment and reagent-free measurement. Great precision is needed because of quality control in pharmaceutical industry as it constitutes a powerful alternative to separative method for quality control analysis of pharmaceuticals. Further, it adds an advantage in analyzing formulations containing rapid-absorption drug. Keywords:  UV spectrophotometric analysis, transmission spectrum, linearity of data, quality control analysis, formulations, quantitative determination Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE


What do algorithmic systems and viral pandemics have in common? They both expose and amplify structural social inequalities. They both appear neutral (think about the frequent use of the phrase 'the virus doesn't discriminate'), but they both result in outcomes that are worse for those with less power and privilege.


During last two and half decades there has been a paradigm shift in Indian capital market. The applications of technology in the payment and settlement systems have made the Indian capital market comparable with the international capital markets. Now, the market features a developed regulatory mechanism and a modern market infrastructure with growing market capitalization, market liquidity, and mobilisation of resources. However, the market has witnessed its worst time with the recent global financial crisis that originated from the US sub-prime mortgage market and spread over to the entire world as a contagion. The capital market of India registered a sluggish performance. In this context, it is imperative to conduct empirical analysis to study the performance of Indian capital market. It is with this backdrop, this paper attempts to analyse the key market parameters such as market size, market liquidity, market turnover ratio, market volatility, and market efficiency of Indian capital market over a period from 2002 to 2009 so as to assess its performance. The application of time series econometric model provides the evidence of greater volatility and weak form inefficiency of the market. However, the market shows strong potential for greater market size, more liquidity and reasonable market turnover ratio.


Considering that the motions of the particles take place on continuous but non-differentiable curves, i.e. on fractals with constant fractal dimension, an extended scale relativity model in its hydrodynamic version is built. In this approach, static (particle in a box and harmonic oscillator) and timedependent (free particle etc.) systems are analyzed. The static systems can be associated with a coherent fractal fluid (of superconductor or of super-fluid types behavior), whose particles are moving on stationary trajectories. The complex speed field of the fractal fluid proves to be essential: the zero value of the real (differentiable) part specifies the coherence of the fractal fluid, while the non-zero value of the imaginary (non-differentiable or fractal) part selects, through some "quantization" relations, the "stationary" trajectories (that may correspond to the observables from quantum mechanics) of the fractal fluid particles. Moreover, the momentum transfer in the fractal fluid is achieved only through the fractal component of the complex speed field. The free time-dependent systems can be associated with an incoherent fractal fluid, and both the differentiable and fractal components of complex speed field are inhomogeneous in fractal coordinates due to the action of a fractal potential. It exist momentum transfer on both speed components and the "observable" in the form of an uniform motion is generated through a specific mechanism of "vacuum" polarization induced by the same fractal potential. The analysis on the fractal fluid specifies conductive properties in the case of movements synchronization both on differentiable and fractal scales, and convective properties in the absence of synchronization. PACS. 05.45.Df Fractals – 05.45.-a Nonlinear dynamics and chaos – 47.53.+n Fractals in fluid dynamics – 03.65.-w Quantum mechanics


In SA Crime Quarterly No 8 2004, the argument was made for better use of bylaws by city governments in an effort to prevent crime. Another equally effective tool available to municipalities lies in the area of urban planning. Crime is closely tied to the places in which it occurs. That is why many residents and businesses have opted for enclosed neighbourhoods and security villages. But there are alternatives that avoid the problems of access and exclusion that come with erecting barriers. A model recently piloted by the CSIR shows the benefits of directly involving residents in the planning of integrated safety strategies for their area.


This paper is the first in a projected series of publications treating the Chenopodiaceae in South America. We present here a taxonomic revision of subfamilies Betoideae, Camphorosmoideae, and Salsoloideae in South America, where all representatives of these subfamilies are introduced. Our research is based on the study of herbarium material, type specimens, digital images, original publications, and field observations. The South American Chenopodiaceae flora includes only Beta vulgaris L. from Betoideae, Bassia hyssopifolia (Pall.) Kuntze, Bassia scoparia (L.) A. J. Scott, and Maireana brevifolia (R. Br.) P. G. Wilson from Camphorosmoideae, and Salsola kali L., Salsola tragus L., and Soda inermis Fourr. from Salsoloideae. Lectotypes for Echinopsilon reuterianus Boiss., Kochia alata Bates, K. parodii Aellen, K. parodii var. elongata Aellen, K. parodii var. densa Aellen, K. parodii var. glabrescens Aellen, and Suaeda sieversiana Pall. are designated here, as well as a second-step lectotype for K. brevifolia R. Br. The distribution of all species is updated based on the revision and proper identification of many herbarium specimens and field observations. The distribution of M. brevifolia in Chile is here expanded. New synonyms for Bassia scoparia are proposed. A preliminary key to the genera of Chenopodiaceae in South America is also presented.


Wood processing industry (WPI) is a sector based on renewable natural resources of wood raw material. It can, therefore, provide sustainable growth and be competitive on the international markets. The interest of the European Union is to build economy based on renewable natural resources, meaning that it is necessary to pay increased attention to the development and support of the WPI. The aim of the article is to evaluate and compare the level and development of competitiveness of WPI in the Czech and Slovak Republics for a ten year period through the establishment of indicators based on foreign trade data of industry using mathematical and statistical methods. To reach the goal, a system of indicators measuring sectoral competitiveness was set up under the hypothesis: in the WPI the potential of competitiveness is used defi ciently. The resulting indicators have confi rmed the hypothesis and shown that, despite the fact that the WPI creates active foreign trade balance and contributes to surplus balance of the country, it achieves low values of indicators implying comparative advantage with a negative, decreasing trend, consequently meaning that industry gradually loses its competitive ability. The analysis also showed that the reason for low competitive ability of WPI is low specialization of the country in the commodity group, which was confi rmed by statistical method of correlation analysis.


In 1950, a tree holding nursery was planted at the Southern Michigan Prison near Jackson, Michigan. Since that time approximately 5000 trees have been harvested for planting on the City of Jackson streets. Trees were planted in the nursery as 6-8' whips, raised to 1 Vi-1%" caliper stock, then transplanted to a street location. With the onslaught of the energy crisis in 1973, phasing out of the prison nursery which was six miles from the center of the City was initiated. During the Spring of 1975 the Neighborhood Nursery concept was developed. The initial objective of a neighborhood nursery was to limit the distance a tree had to be transported from the nursery to its street location. The nurseries were plotted on spacing which would allow harvest with a tree spade. The ultimate goal was to develop three inch caliper trees for planting to the street. The first nursery was located in a densely populated area. The 66' X 132' lot was City owned property which contained a sewer easement. The soil consisted primarily of muck with relatively good drainage. This nursery contained five varieties totaling sixty-five shade trees. Other nursery sites have been established on City Cemetery, City Water Department, City Sewage Treatment property and rights-of-way in which a street was not expected to be constructed. A total of nine neighborhood nurseries are currently in operation. Species and varieties of trees were selected considering the soil and drainage characteristics of the nursery. A mix of species and varieties of trees was provided to minimize the spread of insects and disease and to allow for a good selection of planting material in each area. Nursery site selection has been of utmost importance. Many sites were not adequate to grow trees because of rocks and debris, lack of drainage, and the possibility of vandalism to the trees. This program has stressed the use of previously unused, unsightly vacant lots or undeveloped street rights-of-way. Adjacent residents were contacted prior to planting and in many cases have assisted in mowing of the nurseries. Each nursery was seeded or left in sod and the trees were planted into augered holes. The nurseries were mowed every week or two depending on grass growth rate. One year after planting, Amizine was applied to control all vegetative growth in an area 2 feet around each tree and sewage sludge was applied as a mulch and fertilizer. Plastic rabbit protectors were placed around all trees at the time of planting. The neighborhood nursery concept provides many advantages for the community contemplating the establishment of a tree nursery. A superior growth rate can be obtained by proper selection of trees for the nursery, by killing competitive weeds and grass around each tree, and by fertilization. Because these nurseries are generally located along the roadside, inspection and detection of insect and disease^ problems is simplified. Trees undergo less dessication and other stress because of less transport time to the planting site. Because the neighborhood nursery is characteristically small, trees are more accessible and easier to maintain. Mowing can be scheduled during slow periods or as a low priority work item. The establishment of a Neighborhood Nursery improves the appearance of a community and creates public support for a tree program. In a time when the cost of labor and equipment is skyrocketing, the neighborhood nursery is a concept worthy of consideration.


This PhD thesis examines the evolution of the REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) initiative and its transformational potential to tackle drivers of tropical deforestation and forest degradation, from a networked governance perspective. It answers two overarching research questions: first, whether and how evolving conceptualisations of REDD+ have effectively tackled both direct and indirect drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, operating at different levels; and second, the extent to which REDD+ is becoming integrated across diverse policy domains, and how such integration (or lack thereof) impacts upon its ability to deliver transformational change. The research identifies evolving conceptualisations of REDD+ at local, landscape and international levels, which are able to address some local, direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation but are less able to target indirect drivers operating at national and international levels. In particular, the weak point of the emerging REDD+ networked governance system lies at national level. Furthermore, analysis of the policy debate around the novel concept of 'embodied deforestation' within the European Union indicates that newly emerging policy initiatives at the international level are bringing together new configurations of stakeholders in informal decision-making structures, as a way to 'leapfrog' over REDD+ political inertia at national level. It remains to be seen, however, whether consuming countries will take the steps needed to move beyond political rhetoric and formally adopt such innovative policies. This thesis also shows that the positioning of REDD+ at the environmental and sustainable development policy nexus is becoming increasingly complex, with further integration now occurring with sustainable consumption and production policies. The thesis finds that REDD+ is becoming more strongly integrated with other policies within the environmental governance domain, but also (more weakly) with policy domains beyond the environmental realm. Although a more integrated approach to REDD+ has the potential to increase its effectiveness in addressing drivers and effecting transformational change, it also risks becoming overloaded by different and competing expectations, and/or being superseded and ultimately replaced by alternative policy mechanisms.


This paper analyses tax morale in several Asian countries. The descriptive analysis indicates that tax morale is very low in the Philippines and relatively high in Japan, China, and Bangladesh. In general Asia has a higher tax morale than OECD countries, which might indicate cultural differences. The paper also analyses tax morale as a dependent variable and thus gives answers to what shapes tax morale. Pooling the Asian countries we find, e.g., that trust in the government and the legal system have a positive effect on tax morale. These results remain robust for India and Japan in a time series analysis. JEL classification: H260, K420


We investigate the Terahertz (THz) plasma waves in a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in a nanometer field effect transistor (FET) with quantum effects, the electron scattering, the thermal motion of electrons and electron exchange-correlation. We find that, while the electron scattering, the wave number along y direction and the electron exchange-correlation suppress the radiation power, but the thermal motion of electrons and the quantum effects can amplify the radiation power. The radiation frequency decreases with electron exchange-correlation contributions, but increases with quantum effects, the wave number along y direction and thermal motion of electrons. It is worth mentioning that the electron scattering has scarce influence on the radiation frequency. These properties could be of great help to the realization of practical THz plasma oscillations in nanometer FET.


In this work, the use of a platinum gate gas-sensitive SiC Field Effect Transistor (SiC-FET) was studied for the detection of low concentrations of hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). For this purpose, a new gas mixing system was built providing VOCs down to sub-ppb levels by permeation ovens and gas pre-dilution. Measurements have shown that benzene, naphthalene and formaldehyde can be detected in the ppb range and indicate a detection limit of 1-2 ppb for benzene and naphthalene. The sensitivity is high with a response of 5.5 mV for 10 ppb naphthalene in a humid atmosphere (at 20% relative humidity) and with additional 2 ppm ethanol the response to naphthalene was still 1.3 mV. Formaldehyde can be detected down to approximately 100 ppb under humid conditions. This is the first time that a metal gated SiC-FET was used to detect hazardous VOCs in the low ppb range making SiC-FETs suitable candidates for indoor air quality applications.


To the authors' knowledge this is the first study to describe the strength and conditioning (S&C) practices and perspectives of volleyball coaches and players. In total, 30 volleyball coaches (mean age 34.47 ± 7.83 years and coaching experience 19.57 ± 8.28 years), and 30 volleyball players (mean age 22.03 ± 4.43 years and playing experience 10.43 ± 8.98 years) completed an online survey with six sections: (a) informed consent; (b) background information; (c) education, qualifications, and prescription; (d) views on S&C; (e) exercise selection and preferences; and (f) issues and improvements. Frequency analysis was used to report responses to fixed-response questions and thematic-analysis for open-ended questions. While only one participant possessed an S&C certification, S&C was deemed 'important' to 'very important' for volleyball skills, physical fitness, and injury parameters. However, due to a reported lack of expertise, there appeared to be a theoretical understanding to practice gap. Furthermore, the implementation of S&C was considerably hindered by a lack of time, facilities, and equipment. National sports associations, coaches, and players can use the information within this study to provide an understanding of the current practices and perspectives of S&C in volleyball. While also promoting future developments in volleyball related S&C research and practice.


A central problem in the area of Process Mining is to obtain a formal model that represents the processes that are conducted in a system. If realized, this simple motivation allows for powerful techniques that can be used to formally analyze and optimize a system, without the need to resort to its semiformal and sometimes inaccurate specification. The problem addressed in this paper is known as Process Discovery: to obtain a formal model from a set of system executions. The theory of regions is a valuable tool in process discovery: it aims at learning a formal model (Petri nets) from a set of traces. On its genuine form, the theory is applied on an automaton and therefore one should convert the traces into an acyclic automaton in order to apply these techniques. Given that the complexity of the region-based techniques depends on the size of the input automata, revealing the underlying cycles and folding the initial automaton can incur in a significant complexity alleviation of the region-based techniques. In this paper, we follow this idea by incorporating region information in the cycle detection algorithm, enabling the identification of complex cycles that cannot be obtained efficiently with state-of-the-art techniques. The experimental results obtained by the devised tool suggest that the techniques presented in this paper are a big step into widening the application of the theory of regions in Process Mining for industrial scenarios.


In this study, to identify genomic signatures of divergent selection, we genotyped 10 cattle breeds/populations (n = 275), representing eight Ethiopian cattle populations (n = 229) and two zebu populations (n = 46) adapted to tropical and sub-tropical environments, using the high-density single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived mainly from Bos indicus breeds, and using five reference taurine breeds (n = 212). Population genetic differentiation (FST ) values across sliding windows were estimated between zebu and reference combined taurine breeds. The most differentiated regions (FST  ≥ 0.53), representing the top 1% smoothed FST values, were considered to represent regions under diversifying selection. In total, 285 and 317 genes were identified in the comparisons of Ethiopian cattle with taurine and Asian zebu with taurine respectively. Some of these genes are involved in stress responses/thermo-tolerance and DNA damage repair (HSPA4, HSF1, CMPK1 and EIF2AK4), pigmentation (ERBB3 and MYO1A), reproduction/fertility (UBE2D3, ID3 and PSPC1), immune response (PIK3CD and AKIRIN2) and body stature and size (MBP2, LYN and NPM1). Additionally, the candidate genes were associated with functional terms (e.g. cellular response to stress, DNA repair, inflammatory response) important for physiological adaptation to environmental stresses. The results of our study may shed light on the influence of artificial and natural selection in shaping the genomic diversity of modern cattle breeds and also may serve as a basis for further genetic investigation of traits of tropical adaptation in cattle.


Traveller's Diarrhea (TD, turista) is the most common health disturbance in travellers, affecting 2050% of two-week travellers depending on their origin, destination and eating habits. The etiologi cal agents most frequently isolated from the stools are enterotoxinogenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., but the rate of isolation of Campylobacter spp. and non cholera vibrios is also high in Asia. Preventive measures in eating habits should in principle be able to curb the incidence of TD but compliance of travellers is usually poor. Antibiotic chemoprophylaxis has proved effective, but economic, safety and microbiological (drug resistance) considerations discou rage its widespread use. Any treatment strategy should consider that TD is usually a self-limiting, benign illness in most travellers, even though infants, elderly people or persons with severe baseli ne diseases (heart diseases, diabetes, immunocompromised hosts, etc…) may sometimes suffer severe consequences. Adequate rehydration is the cornerstone of treatment and intestinal motility inhibitors may be used in adults (not in children) with severe diarrhea during the first 24 hours if the suspicion of invasive pathogen has been ruled out. Routine antibiotic treatment of TD is controver sial, due to the benign nature of the syndrome and to the impossibility to ascertain its causative agent. It should be limited to severe and disabling cases. Among the many antibiotics tested, qui nolones are now considered first-choice treatment worldwide, even though disturbing reports of the increasing prevalence of quinolone-resistant Campylobacter spp. from Asia have been recently published. Cotrimoxazole is efficient in Central America. The role of non absorbed antibiotics and probiotics is still to be fully elucidated. Resume : La diarrhee du voyageur (turista) est le trouble sanitaire le plus frequent chez les voyageurs, et com


OBJECTIVES
The study objective was to summarize and critically assess the evidence available from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of qigong exercise for patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

METHODS
Thirteen (13) databases were searched up to February 2011. RCTs testing the effects of qigong exercise among patients with FM were included. For each included study, data were extracted and study quality was evaluated using the Jadad Scale.

RESULTS
Four (4) RCTs met the inclusion criteria. One (1) RCT demonstrated beneficial effects of qigong exercise for FM. Two (2) RCTs testing the effectiveness of qigong as a part of a treatment package compared with group education or daily activities failed to show favorable effects of qigong exercise for adult patients with FM. Another RCT comparing qigong with aerobic exercise among children with FM showed effects in favor of aerobic exercise.

CONCLUSIONS
Given methodological flaws in the included studies, it is still too early to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of qigong exercise for FM. Further rigorously designed RCTs are warranted.


Background: The incidence of Diabetes Mellitus has increased dramatically in recent decades. Di Peptidyl Peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4) have their role in glycemic control. An impaired 'incretin effect', occurs in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in response to glucose intake.
Objectives: The main objective of the study is to compare therapeutic outcomes and adverse drug reactions among commonly prescribed anti diabetic drug combinations in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methodology: A retrospective and prospective study experimental study was carried out for a period of one year at care diabetes centre, Warangal, Telangana.
Results: FBS and PLBS were found to be significantly lower in DPP group when compared with SU and TZ. Adverse events such as itching, abdominal pain, constipation and weight loss are more in DPP when compared with other groups. Data from this study indicated thatDPP-4 inhibitors are superior to sulfonylureas (SU) and thiazolidinediones (TZ) when used in combination with metformin (B) in glycemic control.
Conclusion: DPP inhibitors provide an effective therapeutic option for individuals with Type 2 Diabetes along with obesity.


Objective - Evidence based librarianship (EBL) springs from medical and academic origins. As librarians are tertiary educated (only occasionally with supplementary qualifications covering research and statistics) EBL has had an academic focus. The EBL literature has significant content from school and university perspectives, but has had little, if any, vocational content. This paper suggests a possible Evidence Based Librarianship context for vocational libraries.

Methods - A multidisciplinary scan of evidence based literature was undertaken, covering medicine and allied health, librarianship, law, science and education. National and international vocational education developments were examined. The concept and use of evidence in vocational libraries was considered.

Results - Library practice can generally benefit from generic empirical science methodologies used elsewhere. Different areas, however, may have different concepts of what constitutes evidence and appropriate methodologies. Libraries also need to reflect the evidence used in their host organisations. The Australian vocational librarian has been functioning in an evidence based educational sector: national, transportable, prescriptive, competency based and outcome driven Training Packages. These require a qualitatively different concept of evidence compared to other educational sectors as they reflect pragmatic, economic, employability outcomes.

Conclusions - Vocational and other librarians have been doing research but need to be more systematic about design and analysis. Librarians need to develop 'evidence literacy' as one of their professional evaluation skills. Libraries will need to utilise evidence relevant to their host organisations to establish and maintain credibility, and in the vocational sector this is set in a competency based framework. Competency based measures are becoming increasingly relevant in school and university (including medical) education.


The immune cells within the tumor microenvironment are considered key determinants of response to cancer immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has transformed the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), although the role of specific immune cell states remains unclear. To characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) of ccRCC, we applied single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) along with paired T cell receptor sequencing to map the transcriptomic heterogeneity of 24,904 individual CD45+ lymphoid and myeloid cells in matched tumor and blood from patients with ccRCC. We identified multiple distinct immune cell phenotypes for B and T (CD4 and CD8) lymphocytes, natural kill (NK) cells, and myeloid cells. Evaluation of T cell receptor (TCR) sequences revealed limited shared clonotypes between patients, whereas tumor-infiltrating T cell clonotypes were frequently found in peripheral blood, albeit in lower abundance. We further show that the circulating CD4+ T cell clonality is far less diverse than peripheral CD8+. Evaluation of myeloid subsets revealed unique gene programs defining monocytes, dendritic cells and tumor-associated macrophages. In summary, here we have leveraged scRNA-seq to refine our understanding of the relative abundance, diversity and complexity of the immune landscape of ccRCC. This report represents the first characterization of ccRCC immune landscape using scRNA-seq. With further characterization and functional validation, these findings may identify novel sub-populations of immune cells amenable to therapeutic intervention. One Sentence Summary Single-cell RNA-sequencing reveals unique lymphoid and myeloid gene programs with putative functions in clear cell renal cancer patients


HTLV-1 is the virus that causes T cell lymphoma/leukemia in adults and a neurological disorder known as HTLV-associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis. One of the transmission means is through contaminated blood and its byproducts. Because of the risk of HTLV-associated infections, screening for HTLV was introduced for Brazilian blood donors in 1993. Most of the diagnostic kits used in the national blood banks are bought from foreign companies. Brazil does not have the technology to produce this material and there is a need to produce diagnostic systems with national technology. In this study, we show the expression of gp21/HTLV-1 in Escherichia coli and its reactivity towards monoclonal antibodies and the antibodies of infected patients. Expressing these proteins is the first step towards obtaining diagnostic kits with Brazilian biotechnology.


Lichens were screened to know their antifungal potentials against phytopathogenic fungi Macrophomina phaseolina. Lichen samples like Heterodermia leucomela, Pseudocyphelaria aurata, Flavoparmelia caperata, Parmotrema tinctorum and Parmotrema austrosinensis were collected from Mysore and Madikeri districts and identified using available standard keys. The extracts of these lichen were obtained with 3 different solvents Methanol, Ethyl acetate and acetone. The antifungal assay was carried out by Agar well diffusion method, Minimum inhibitory concentration and Bioautography technique. The ethyl acetate fraction of all the samples was found to be more effective against the tested fungi. Ethyl acetate extract of Flavoparmelia caperata showed maximum inhibition of 18.6±0.5 mm and the least was 10.3±0.5 mm zone of inhibition. The MIC with the lowest concentration of 0.390 mg/ml was in the ethyl acetate extract of Flavoparmelia caperata. The TLC bioautographic method showed zone of inhibition in 3 sample extracts. The acetone fraction did not show any results. These lichen extracts tested demonstrated antimicrobial effect which suggests a possibility of their use in the treatment of various diseases caused by these and similar microorganisms.


Global climate change leads to the frequent occurrence of Extreme climatic hazards such as flooding, high temperature and storm surges. High-density coastal cities have high disaster vulnerability due to the geographical location and agglomeration of social and economic resources. Therefore, it is urgent to improve resilience to ensure sustainable urban development. Ecosystems can significantly improve the resilience of cities due to their functions of carbon sinks, flood regulation, improving UHI and optimizing air quality. Therefore, this paper takes Macao, a typical high-density coastal city, as an example. Firstly, InVEST is used to construct an ecosystem services evaluation model including habitat quality, carbon storage and water supply. Secondly, the ecosystem services of Macao in 2010, 2015 and 2020 were evaluated to identify the spatial and temporal variation characteristics. Finally, core ecological protection zones, general ecological protection zones and ecological restoration zones were defined to provide a basis for improving the ecosystem service value and climate resilience of Macao.


INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare a clearing technique with conventional radiography in studying certain features of the root canal system in single root premolars. A secondary aim was to assess inter examiner agreement for these features using radiographs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight recently extracted single rooted premolars were included in this study. Two standard periapical radiographs were taken from buccolingual and 20° direction. The specimens were then decoronated, demineralized in 10% hydrochloric acid for 24 hours and then were cleared using methylsalicylate. The cleared teeth were examined using a magnifier (x10) and data relating to number of roots, canals, apical foramina and their positions were collected. The radiographs were examined by two independent trained endodontists using an X-ray viewer and the magnifying lens for same studied features using the clearing technique. RESULTS: The kappa values for the agreement between the clearing technique and two examiners for the number of canals in standard radiographs were κ = 0.07, κ = 0.26 and in angulated radiographs were κ = 0.84, κ = 0.39 and κ = 0.31; for number of apical foramen were κ = 0.66, κ = 0.50, and κ = 0.19 and for detection the number of roots were %84 and %92 for examiner 1 and %92 and %88 for examiner 2. CONCLUSION: In general, the kappa values were low to moderate for all comparisons. It is concluded that agreement between either radiographic examiners and clearing technique were poor to moderate indicating the limited value of radiographs alone at the time of studying certain aspects of the root canal system.


Abstract Since the creation of transactional analysis (TA) in the 1950s, almost 50,000 handbooks, theoretical articles, and personal perspectives have been published about it. However, the application of TA has not been systematically studied. The research described in this article involved an online survey titled the Transactional Analysis Review Survey (TARS), which consisted of ten open and 45 closed questions. Items were derived from the most frequently cited TA publications and focused on the psychotherapist's perspective on metalevel reflection, a central clinical phenomenon, etiology of psychological problems, therapeutic mechanisms, and therapist competencies. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis, principal component analysis, and latent class analysis. The survey was filled out by 238 TA therapists, and most reported seeing TA as a therapeutic approach, a general attitude and view of the world, and their preferred model in their practice. According to their reports, TA focused on the client's ego states and transactions, social functioning, and self-efficacy, which helped improve their psychological health, self-realization, and general and behavioral well-being. Clients' most frequently reported problems were seen as caused by negative messages early in life (scripts), lack of development of mature coping mechanisms, transgenerational messages, life events, denial of existential givens, and genetics/temperament. Individuals were understood to have some choice in accepting or rejecting the negative impact of these messages and life events via behavior, emotions, and cognitive styles. TA was viewed as helping clients via the therapeutic work with their ego states, social functioning, and self-efficacy. The changes were facilitated by the therapist competencies of positive client-practitioner relationship, working at experiential depth in the here and now, etiological analysis, and providing treatment structure. Thus, TA seems to offer a coherent conceptual framework for psychotherapeutic practice. Further empirical validation of this framework is required.


Objectives & Background The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) recent campaign, focusing on Emergency Department (ED) performance against the 4 hour standard, has highlighted exit block as a fundamental inhibitor of compliance with the standard. This leads to overcrowding, inefficiency processing patients, poor departmental flow and subsequent increased clinical risk. The study took place in the ED at St George's Hospital, London which is a major trauma centre seeing around 400 patients per day with the aim of quantifying the effect of exit block on the 4 hour standard. Methods Data was extracted from our patient tracking system (Cerner iCLIP) on a daily basis for a period of 9 months commencing September 2014. Exit block was defined as patients occupying cubicles whilst awaiting a bed allocation for 6 hours or more. We only included adult patients in this study. The data for a given day was extracted the following morning. The cumulative duration of stay of all the included patients was divided by 24 to calculate the number of cubicles "lost" to exit block in that 24 hour period. A scatter plot was then constructed of cubicles "lost" vs number of breeches of the 4 hour standard that day A correlation co-efficient was then derived. We also produce a similar graph for the same time frame correlating attendance number per day with number of breeches. Results The data produced a correlation of 0.886 between cubicle loss and number of breeches per day. The correlation between attendance numbers and breeches was 0.208. Conclusion From this data we have been able to quantify the effect of exit block on departmental performance. The correlation is 0.883. This supports the previous published work on the subject of exit block and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's "STEP" campaign; specifically the "E" for exit block as something that needs urgent attention to improve 4 hour standard compliance. This data could be used to derive a performance prediction model based not only exit block as we have defined it but other variables., at play in the ED such as ambulance arrivals, age profile of patients, absolute number of patients etc. Figure 1 Figure 2


Marketing has long had a place in the planning and management of public sector recreation. In particular, the use of market segmentation has allowed leisure providers to better understand their clients' needs and to tailor their services to the diversity of those needs. However, the use of marketing approaches is not without controversy and is sometimes perceived to be at odds with the public service or stewardship mandates often associated with recreation management. We suggest that wholesale adoption of basic marketing principles (such as the notion of giving people exactly what they want at a great price) may be inappropriate. An alternative form, relational marketing, may be better suited to public purpose organizations. Relational marketing focuses on the development or fostering of a relationship between the public and the public agency. Thus, relational marketing focuses on building confidence in the agency's ability to guard the short- and long-term interests of the public. For example, for land management agencies, these objectives are embedded in legislative and policy mandates to provide outstanding opportunities for recreation, while at the same time protecting and enhancing the environment. Relational marketing seems better suited to these objectives compared with transactional marketing, which is more dominant in private sector businesses. Whereas transactional marketing focuses on fostering current and continuing purchases of goods and services, relational marketing extends beyond the direct economic exchange. In the public recreation settings, the public is considered more than a current or potential customer, they are also considered an owner or shareholder of the agency. Thus, repeat purchases or customer satisfaction are not sufficient measures of success for organizations with a public service mandate. Instead, relational marketing considers the perceptions that the many different groups of the public (e.g. participants and non-participants, supporters and non-supporters) have of the agency and its actions. The research reported here conceptualizes the relationship between the public and the agency into three dimensions: social trust (the degree to which individuals perceive the agency to share their views, goals, and values); commitment (the investment, attachment, and longevity of the relationship to the agency); and social responsibility (which includes attitudes towards the goals or public purposes of the agency). A market? segmentation based on these dimensions yielded distinct subpopulations of the general public. The challenge for public agencies, such as the Forest Service, is to be responsive to the different relationships the public has with the agency. Collaborative planning efforts must acknowledge and incorporate knowledge of these differences in social trust, commitment, and social responsibility. Any public action or policy change should consider how it potentially affects the varying public's relationship with the agency and the services it provides. Managers must demonstrate stewardship, care, responsiveness, and continuing service to today's public and future generations. Any interaction with the public (e.g., marketing) should focus on the intended public purpose which guides the agency.


We consider fully connected feed-forward deep neural networks (NNs) where weights and biases are independent and identically distributed as symmetric centered stable distributions. Then, we show that the infinite wide limit of the NN, under suitable scaling on the weights, is a stochastic process whose finite-dimensional distributions are multivariate stable distributions. The limiting process is referred to as the stable process, and it generalizes the class of Gaussian processes recently obtained as infinite wide limits of NNs (Matthews at al., 2018b). Parameters of the stable process can be computed via an explicit recursion over the layers of the network. Our result contributes to the theory of fully connected feed-forward deep NNs, and it paves the way to expand recent lines of research that rely on Gaussian infinite wide limits.


We propose a new approach for synchronizing a population of synthetic genetic oscillators, which consists in the entrainment of a colony of repressilators by external modulation. We present a model where the repressilator dynamics is affected by periodic changes in temperature. We introduce an additional plasmid in the bacteria in order to correlate the temperature variations with the enhancement of the transcription rate of a certain gene. This can be done by introducing a promoter that is related to the heat shock response. This way, the expression of that gene results in a protein that enhances the overall oscillations. Numerical results show coherent oscillations of the population for a certain range of the external frequency, which is in turn related to the natural oscillation frequency of the modified repressilator. Finally we study the transient times related with the loss of synchronization and we discuss possible applications in biotechnology of large-scale production coupled to synchronization events induced by heat shock.


Based on an inverse size relationship between nuclear crystal and nucleolus in different cells it has been postulated by several authors that the crystal develops from nucleolar materials. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the validity of this argument. Intranuclear proteinaceous crystals appear in differentiating midgut cells of Gyrinus marinus and Tenebrio molitor. In an autoradiographic study we have previously demonstrated in these two species that the crystals do not develop from nucleolar materials. However, an inverse relationship with regard to size is observed between these 2 structures during the cell differentiation: the cross-sectional area of the nucleolus decreases when the cross-sectional area of the crystal increases. But a decrease in size of the nucleolus is also observed during the differentiation of the midgut cells of Gyrinus natator where the crystals are not present. Consequently an inverse size relationship cannot be a sufficient argument to postulate that intranuclear crystals and nucleoli are interconvertible structures; decrease in size of the nucleolus is not related to development of the intranuclear crystal.


Life quality is various among patients. In this article, it is shown that several progresses of both physical and psychological care for those patients during resent 15 years which we have had Japanese National Project for the quality of life in intractable diseases. Of course total cure of the disease is the best for the patients, but the second best is continuous better patient care. Total respiratory care of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis including non-invasive positive pressure ventilation and systematic approach of respiratory rehabilitation are good examples of better physical care. The approach with SEIQoL-DW is another good trial to evaluate and maintain their psychological condition. These should be also useful to another intractable diseases such as multi-system atrophy, spino-cerebellar atrophy or Parkinson disease. Long term contribution of multi-disciplinary care team of individual patient has to be needed to make the better effort for the patient support now. We should have more options of treatment, rehabilitation or social life support those with which the patients could decide to have their favorable life with intractable disease.


The authors report the successful total excision of an intracranial teratoma in a neonate. The pathology of this rare tumor and its prognosis in relation to the maturity of individual cell lines is discussed. A review of the previous operation experience in the neonatal age group shows that radical surgical excision of the tumor has seldom been attempted. There are no reported survivors with normal neurological development. The clinical presentation, preoperative evaluation, and operative management are discussed. Emphasis is laid on intensive supportive care in the perioperative period. The difficulty in predicting a benign or malignant course in these tumors justifies extreme caution in making a prognosis and demands careful follow-up supervision. Reoperation is indicated for recurrent benign tumors; malignant germ-cell tumors may respond to combined irradiation and chemotherapy.


The implementation of packet-fair queuing (PFQ) schedulers, which aim at approximating the generalized processor sharing (GPS) policy, is a central issue for providing multimedia services with various quality-of-service (QoS) requirements in packet-switching networks. In the PFQ scheduler, packets are usually time stamped with a value based on some algorithm and are transmitted with an increasing order of the time-stamp values. One of the most challenging issues is to search for the smallest time-stamp value among hundreds of thousands of sessions. In this paper, we propose a novel RAM-based searching engine (RSE) to speed up the searching process by using the concept of hierarchical searching with a tree data structure. The time for searching the smallest time stamp is independent of the number of sessions in the system and is only bounded by the memory accesses needed. The RSE can be implemented with commercial memory and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips in a cost-effective manner. With the extension of the RSE, we propose a two-dimensional (2-D) RSE architecture to implement a general shaper-scheduler. Other challenging issues, such as time-stamp overflow and aging, are also addressed in the paper.


We discuss a multimedia routing server for in-home services. First, we give an overview of electronic home appliances in a typical home networking environment Then we analyze four use-case scenarios to understand how multimedia content is used at home. Based on these scenarios, we present the requirements for a multimedia routing server. Finally, we propose a referential architecture for the multimedia routing server.


Book synopsis: This volume contributes to the debates about the social aspects of bilingualism, focusing on the various opportunities and challenges bilingualism presents to today's society. The contributions in this volume are of a prospective stance, delineating directions for future research on bilingualism and/or identifying important issues which have been under-researched or which are still of a controversial nature. All the contributions are from leading international scholars who have researched and published extensively in the field of bilingualism. To facilitate further discussions of the issues raised in the volume, there are study questions and suggested reading attached to each of the main chapters.


Structures resembling nuclei may be released by gently lysing human cells in solutions containing non-ionic detergents and high concentrations of salt. These structures, which we call nucleoids, sediment in sucrose gradients containing the intercalating agent, actinomycin D, in the manner characteristic of superhelical DNA. We have determined the concentration of actinomycin that minimises the rate of sedimentation of nucleoids. At this concentration, we have determined the amount of drug bound per base pair of DNA by means of a double-labelling procedure. Assuming that each molecule of actinomycin bound to nucleoid DNA unwinds the double helix by 26 degrees, we calculate that there is one supercoil every 90-180 base pairs in nucleoid DNA. These values lie within the range found for the circular DNA molecules of plasmids and viruses.


This article explores the complexity of the notion of energy transition, based on the example of Tunisia and of the city of Sfax, and connecting up two original dimensions. The first consists in joining the study of natural gas networks, which the Tunisian government is promoting, to the development of renewable energies. The second consists in observing at the local level the interplay of several coexisting energy systems: natural gas, GPL (bottled gas) and SWH (solar water heaters). This local-level analysis takes into consideration the characteristics of the urban fabric and household practices related to energy. The study follows several tracks. National-level logics, pertaining to choices regarding energy supply and tariffs, prove to be major determinants in the centralised context of Tunisia. The analysis of user practices around connection to natural gas networks and the use of alternative energy sources (SWH and GPL) highlights the competition effects between distinct solutions and the contradictions in the energy supply system. The paper shows that both the public authorities and utilities do not think about the territorial dimensions of energy transitions, even though there are important specificities at the local level.


We determined near complete and complete monkeypox virus genomes in a shrew (Crocidura littoralis), two squirrels (Funisciurus anerythrus, Funisciurus bayonii), and produced shorter sequences from two rats (Stochomys longicaudatus, Cricetomys sp. 2) originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This suggests that a number of rodents besides squirrels (families Muridae and Nesomyidae) and shrews (order Eulipotyphla) are potential monkeypox virus reservoirs.


Recent survey in lower 1,110 km stretch of River Ganga regarding 'hook and line' fishery revealed that fishers apply their inherited indigenous knowledge for selection of bait to harvest finfish and shellfish from river water. A total number of 26 different types of baits under 07 categories were recorded. Six varieties of fish species and four types of insects are found to be prevalent for catching carnivorous fishes. Five specially modified indigenous types of bait moulded with fish attractants were also documented. Bait-fish species association in hook and line fishery of river Ganga is discussed. Feeding habits of the target fishes was compared with the type of baits employed. Conservation issues associated with hook and line fishery is highlighted along with possible remedial measures. Different varieties of hook & line fishery which are in operation in river Ganga are briefly described. Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) associated with hook & line fishery needs to be properly documented and preserved for developing and encouraging 'sport fishery' in River Ganga.


The zero‐inflated negative binomial regression model (ZINB) is often employed in diverse fields such as dentistry, health care utilization, highway safety, and medicine to examine relationships between exposures of interest and overdispersed count outcomes exhibiting many zeros. The regression coefficients of ZINB have latent class interpretations for a susceptible subpopulation at risk for the disease/condition under study with counts generated from a negative binomial distribution and for a non‐susceptible subpopulation that provides only zero counts. The ZINB parameters, however, are not well‐suited for estimating overall exposure effects, specifically, in quantifying the effect of an explanatory variable in the overall mixture population. In this paper, a marginalized zero‐inflated negative binomial regression (MZINB) model for independent responses is proposed to model the population marginal mean count directly, providing straightforward inference for overall exposure effects based on maximum likelihood estimation. Through simulation studies, the finite sample performance of MZINB is compared with marginalized zero‐inflated Poisson, Poisson, and negative binomial regression. The MZINB model is applied in the evaluation of a school‐based fluoride mouthrinse program on dental caries in 677 children. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract The European Union's flagship Cohesion Policy faces evidence of dubious economic effectiveness and growing political and philosophical critiques of the very ideals of furthering European integration. This article examines ambitions for territorial cohesion as they have been operationalized through regional development in Wales. We argue that a potential alternative to the failed realization of territorial cohesion lies in the principles of spatial justice. While territorial cohesion has typically emphasized the redistribution of funds to ?lagging? regions, spatial justice, as we define it, is premised upon enabling regions to assert their own capacity to act and pursue positive visions of regional futures, consider the implications of space and scale for the achievement of justice, and define well-being, development and the ?good life? in ways that reflect regional priorities. We examine three ways in which recent political discourses and policy mechanisms in Wales resonate with these ideals. We focus on attempts to envision a progressive Welsh future, develop alternative spaces and scales of governance, and redefine and pluralize understandings of progress and well-being. The article concludes by reflecting on the practical and conceptual implications of rescaling spatial justice to regional contexts.


A novel procedure for the preparation of α-hydrazinoacetyl peptides is reported on the basis of the solid-phase coupling of partially or fully Boc-protected hydrazino acetic acid derivatives. The degree of unwanted polymerization of the activated ester during both activation and coupling was found to be significant for the monoprotected derivative BocNHNHCH2CO2H but could be minimized with the diprotected derivative BocNHNH(Boc)CH2CO2H and suppressed with the fully protected acid. Despite the instability of the imidocarbonate group toward acids and bases, a low-cost and effective route was sought for the preparation of the tris(Boc)-protected derivative. The N,N,N'-tris(Boc)hydrazinoacetic acid could be introduced on the solid phase after or before peptide elongation using Fmoc/tert-butyl chemistry. In this latter case, HR MAS NMR analysis of model solid supports demonstrated the partial loss of one Boc group during the repetitive piperidine treatments. Despite this slight instability, N,N,N'-tris(Boc)hyd...


Large-scale EE programs would modestly increase tariffs but reduce consumers' electricity bills significantly. However, the primary benefit of EE programs is a significant reduction in power shortages, which might make these programs politically acceptable even if tariffs increase. To increase political support, utilities could pursue programs that would result in minimal tariff increases. This can be achieved in four ways: (a) focus only on low-cost programs (such as replacing electric water heaters with gas water heaters); (b) sell power conserved through the EE program to the market at a price higher than the cost of peak power purchase; (c) focus on programs where a partial utility subsidy of incremental capital cost might work and (d) increase the number of participant consumers by offering a basket of EE programs to fit all consumer subcategories and tariff tiers. Large scale EE programs can result in consistently negative cash flows and significantly erode the utility's overall profitability. In case the utility is facing shortages, the cash flow is very sensitive to the marginal tariff of the unmet demand. This will have an important bearing on the choice of EE programs in Indian states where low-paying rural and agricultural consumers form the majority of the unmet demand. These findings clearly call for a flexible, sustainable solution to the cash-flow management issue. One option is to include a mechanism like FAC in the utility incentive mechanism. Another sustainable solution might be to have the net program cost and revenue loss built into utility's revenue requirement and thus into consumer tariffs up front. However, the latter approach requires institutionalization of EE as a resource. The utility incentive mechanisms would be able to address the utility disincentive of forgone long-run return but have a minor impact on consumer benefits. Fundamentally, providing incentives for EE programs to make them comparable to supply-side investments is a way of moving the electricity sector toward a model focused on providing energy services rather than providing electricity.


This paper addresses the problems and threats associated with verification of integrity, proof of authenticity, tamper detection, and copyright protection for digital-text content. Such issues were largely addressed in the literature for images, audio, and video, with only a few papers addressing the challenge of sensitive plain-text media under known constraints. Specifically, with text as the predominant online communication medium, it becomes crucial that techniques are deployed to protect such information. A number of digital-signature, hashing, and watermarking schemes have been proposed that essentially bind source data or embed invisible data in a cover media to achieve its goal. While many such complex schemes with resource redundancies are sufficient in offline and less-sensitive texts, this paper proposes a hybrid approach based on zero-watermarking and digital-signature-like manipulations for sensitive text documents in order to achieve content originality and integrity verification without physically modifying the cover text in anyway. The proposed algorithm was implemented and shown to be robust against undetected content modifications and is capable of confirming proof of originality whilst detecting and locating deliberate/nondeliberate tampering. Additionally, enhancements in resource utilisation and reduced redundancies were achieved in comparison to traditional encryption-based approaches. Finally, analysis and remarks are made about the current state of the art, and future research issues are discussed under the given constraints.


Musical fit, the congruence between music and product leading to improved response, is presented as an explanation of differences in recall of food items from two cultures. Musical fit predicts that, in this case, more Indian food items would be recalled when Indian music was playing, and more Malay food items would be recalled when Malay music was played. The underlining premise of this prediction is priming (the music primes memories of associated food items, facilitating recall). The testing was performed using three ethnic groups of participants, Indian, Malay, and Chinese. The priming effects were only identified among the Chinese group. A reanalysis of the data presented here indicates that the overall recall of food items is best facilitated by Indian music, regardless of whether the food item is Indian or Malay, and further, each ethnicity reported more items in the Indian music condition. The Mozart effect was also based on the premise of priming activation and was later debunked in favor of an arousal-mood hypothesis. This commentary discusses whether arousal-mood, a more generalized activation leading to improved performance than priming, might better explain the results. While priming and congruence more plausibly explains musical fit than the Mozart effect, the possibility of testing other hypotheses are considered worthwhile. Submitted 2010 March 8; accepted 2010 March 12.


Networks with a modular structure are expected to have a lower risk of global failure. However, this theoretical result has remained untested until now. We used an experimental microarthropod metapopulation to test the effect of modularity on the response to perturbation. We perturbed one local population and measured the spread of the impact of this perturbation, both within and between modules. Our results show the buffering capacity of modular networks. To assess the generality of our findings, we then analyzed a dynamical model of our system. We show that in the absence of perturbations, modularity is negatively correlated with metapopulation size. However, even when a small local perturbation occurs, this negative effect is offset by a buffering effect that protects the majority of the nodes from the perturbation.


HLA 'matched' unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is associated with an increased incidence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in comparison with HLA-identical sibling transplants. Using a limiting dilution analysis system for quantitating frequencies of alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors (CTL-p), we previously demonstrated a correlation between CTL-p frequency and HLA disparity between responder and stimulator, and between CTL-p frequency and the incidence of acute GVHD following HLA A, B, DR matched unrelated donor BMT. In this study we assayed CTL-p frequencies in two HLA 'matched' unrelated donor/patient pairs, with single HLA antigenic mismatches detected by allogenotyping or isoelectric focusing but not by HLA serology, and demonstrated that the CTL-ps were specifically directed at the mismatched antigen. Both class I and class II antigens were detected. These data, and our previous work, suggest that high CTL-p frequencies in HLA 'matched' unrelated pairs are indicative of HLA antigenic variants undetected by serology but recognized by molecular typing, and that these are responsible for the value of the assay in predicting acute GVHD after BMT. We propose that this assay system be used in aiding final donor selection before unrelated or mismatched related donor BMT.


In Wood, A.; Dixon, A.; McCartney, Matthew. (Eds.). Wetland management and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan


We address the multidimensional characterization of difficult instances of the Bin Packing Problem, well known in the combinatorial optimization realm. In search for efficient procedures to solve hard combinatorial optimization problems previous investigations have attempted to identify the instances' characteristics with the greatest impact in their difficulty. In the same vein and focusing on the Bin Packing Problem, we used clustering techniques to determine not only one but a set of characteristics that altogether could be considered as the main source of the instances' difficulty. To this aim we selected 1,615 available instances of the Bin Packing Problem, and then we solved each instance with six well-known heuristic algorithms. From our experiment we identified relevant characteristics that correspond to 22 instances whose optimal solution was not obtained by any of the six heuristics. Finally, to validate our findings an adhoc heuristic based on these characteristics was developed. Our heuristic found two optimal solutions not previously reported, showing thus that this characterization can help to find improved solution algorithms. Keywords— bin packing, combinatorial optimization, heuristics, NP-hard, clustering.


The word2vec word vector representations are one of the most well-known new semantic resources to appear in recent years. While large sets of pre-trained vectors are available, these focus on frequent words and multi-word expressions but lack sufficient coverage of named entities. Moreover, Google only released pre-trained vectors for English. In this paper, we explore an automatic expansion of Google's pre-trained vectors using Wikipedia, adding millions of concepts and named entities in over 270 languages. Our method enables all of these to reside in the same vector space, thus flexibly facilitating cross-lingual semantic applications.


This paper studies the performance of the concatenation of an outer channel code with an orthogonal space-time block code (STBC), where the outer code can be a convolutional code (CC) or a trellis-coded modulation (TCM) code. In particular, upper bounds on the bit error rate (BER) for this concatenation scheme with receive antenna selection are derived. In the analysis, the authors assume that 1) the receiver uses only L out of the available M receive antennas, where, typically, LlesM; 2) the selected antennas are those that maximize the instantaneous received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); 3) the channel state information is perfectly known at the receiver; 4) the underlying channel is fully interleaved; and 5) the underlying orthogonal STBC is full rate. An explicit upper bound on the BER for the above concatenation scheme for any N, M, and L is derived, where N denotes the number of transmit antennas. It has been shown that the diversity order with antenna selection is the same as that of the full-complexity system, whereas the deterioration in SNR is upper bounded by 10log10(M/L) dB. The authors also derive a tighter upper bound on the BER for the Alamouti scheme when the receiver uses the best antenna, i.e., L=1. These upper bounds can be extended in a straightforward manner to other types of outer codes and fading channels, including fast, block, and slow fading channels. Finally, simulation results that validate the analysis are derived


The effect of oral administration of glucosyltransferase (GTF) from Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 on levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody to GTF in parotid saliva and on the number of indigenous Streptococcus mutans in the whole saliva was studied in young adult males. GTF combined with aluminum phosphate (AP) was administered in capsules to 14 subjects, while sodium phosphate buffer combined with AP was administered in the same way to 11 control subjects. Thirteen administrations were given during the first immunization regimen, and five administrations, approximately 3 months later, constituted the second immunization regimen. All subjects were given professional dental prophylaxis immediately prior to each immunization. Each subject served as his own control by using antibody and bacterial data collected prior to antigen administration for comparison. After the first immunization regimen, the GTF vaccine group exhibited a significantly higher distribution (P less than 0.05) of normalized parotid saliva IgA antibody elevations than observed in the placebo group. Between the first and second immunization regimens a significant increase (P less than 0.05) in parotid salivary anti-GTF activity also occurred in the GTF vaccine but not the placebo group. No significant differences between these two groups were observed on any occasion when serum IgG or IgA antibody to GTF was analyzed. Comparison of the group mean log ratios (post- to prevaccine administration) of S. mutans to total streptococci in whole saliva revealed that the GTF vaccine group values were always lower than those of the placebo group. These differences reached significance (P less than 0.01) on three of the last four sampling occasions (days 21, 35, and 42) following initiation of the first immunization regimen. The mean log ratios of the GTF vaccine group were also lower than those of the placebo group after the second immunization regimen but did not reach significance. These data indicate that oral administration of GTF from the mutans streptococci has the potential to elicit a salivary IgA antibody response when combined with an aluminum-based adjuvant and that this response can interfere with the reaccumulation of indigenous S. mutans following dental prophylaxis.


Sample preparation methods based on combustion for further element determination in carbon-based samples are normally performed using an excess of O2 in order to ensure the complete oxidation of the organic matrix. However, experimental conditions such as O2 pressure and sample mass are commonly selected based on empirical knowledge. In the present work, in order to provide a guide for planning combustion reactions using microwave-induced combustion, a mathematical model was proposed based on the sample composition to calculate the amount of O2 required for each matrix. A critical study was performed using selected matrices such as graphite (C), anthracene (C14H10), polypropylene (C3H6)n, microcrystalline cellulose (C6H10O5)n, saccharose (C12H22O11), dibenzothiophene (C12H8S), carbazole (C12H9N), carbamazepine (C15H12N2O), and methionine (C5H11NO2S) in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed model. The obtained results showed that our prediction model allowed for more efficient digestion of graphite, hydrocarbons, and methionine (compounds presenting O, N, and S) using only 10 ± 2% of O2 excess. For samples more difficult to burn, such as dibenzothiophene and carbazole, a relatively higher excess of O2 was required (30%). Digestion efficiency was evaluated by determining the residual carbon content (RCC) in the final solutions, which was always lower than 0.15%, even for sample masses as high as about 1500 mg digested in relatively small vessels (78 ± 1 mL). The proposed model allowed faster development of combustion methods for digesting the greatest possible sample mass, resulting in improvements in the limits of quantification in a robust and safe way. The costs related to such analyses could be reduced and improvements in analytical operations could be highlighted as important features by using the prediction model for combustion processes assisted by microwave radiation.


Description: A novel method is developed for non-rigid registration of transrectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance prostate images based on a non-linear regularized framework of point correspondences obtained from a statistical measure of shape-contexts. The segmented prostate shapes are represented by shape-contexts and the Bhattacharyya distance between the shape contexts is used to find the point correspondences between the 2D fixed and moving images. The registration method involves parametric estimation of the non-linear diffeomorphism between the multimodal images and has its basis in solving a set of non-linear equations of thin-plate splines. The solution is obtained from the minimization of image difference between the fixed and the transformed image, where the latter is represented by a set of non-linear thin-plate spline equations defined over the moving image. Image difference minimization leads to the maximum overlap of the fixed and the transformed moving images but, the gray-level transformation of the moving image does not produce clinically acceptable transformations of the anatomical targets. Therefore, the regularized bending energy of the thin-plate splines along with the localization error of established correspondences is jointly minimized with the fixed and transformed image difference. The registration accuracies of the proposed method are evaluated in 20 pairs of prostate mid-gland ultrasound and magnetic resonance images. The results obtained in terms of Dice similarity coefficient show an average of 0.980 ± 0.004, average 95% Hausdorff distance of 1.63 ± 0.48 mm and mean target registration and target localization errors of 1.60 ± 1.17 mm and 0.15 ± 0.12 mm respectively.


The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of chronic illness during and beyond diagnosis within the context of relationships between patients, family carers and service providers. Findings focus on the ways in which people with chronic illness and their family carers became aware of the prognostic limits of medical information, and the psycho-social processes involved in managing the uncertainty inherent in the illness trajectory within a context of creating and maintaining relationships with favourite members of staff. This has implications for the current policy imperative for self-care and challenges the assumption that biographical support and self-care are mutually exclusive concepts. Findings suggest that it is necessary to combine the promotion of independence with recognition of the importance of continuity of carer across the illness trajectory. This has implications for the introduction of case managers for people with complex chronic illness.
Humanism was adopted as an organisational framework that called for primacy to be given to the voices of patients, children and family carers. Symbolic interactionism informed the interpretive premise that this study is only one representation of multiple realities, and grounded theory was used to guide the iterative process of data collection and analysis. Data were collected in two phases; phase one in a general hospital setting with stroke patients, phase two in a special school for physically disabled children with a variety of chronic illnesses. In phase one, observation and interviews were held with stroke patients (n = 9) and their family carers (n = 10) during the hospital stay and following discharge from hospital. Emerging themes influenced the design of a qualitative questionnaire used with service providers (n = 31) to explore contributions to care and interpretations of progress. In phase two the study was extended to explore perceptions held by physically disabled children (n =
12) in a special school setting and their informal carers (n = 16) about the lived experience of chronic illness. Observation and interviews were used with children, based on photographs they had taken. Data from service providers (n = 42) working within special education were collected using questionnaires.
Data taken from different diagnostic and age groups were compared to explore commonalities and differences in representations of chronic illness. Common themes emerged that cut across diagnostic groups and service responses to those groups. The themes are presented in this thesis as three interdependent psycho-social processes intended to manage the uncertainty inherent within the illness trajectory. The processes of understanding, accepting and adapting to uncertainty emerged as central categories. Chronic uncertainty was managed via processes of information management, making comparisons with others, making biographical comparisons with one's self, and maintaining continuity of carer. Findings contribute to increased understanding of the processes of care available to people coping with chronic illness within a multiprofessional context. The innovative nature of this study informs knowledge on several aspects of research into the chronic illness experience, namely, methods of data collection with vulnerable people, practitioner-research, managing multiple pathology, the `expert patient', chronicity, and specialist care outcomes.


Background & Aims: Hospital has an important role during unexpected and disastrous situation. Nurses as the largest group of health care providers can play important role in this field through increasing their knowledge and awareness level. This study was conducted to determine the effect of education on nurse's awareness about disaster management. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study conducted on all nurses employed at the Oil Great Hospital of Ahwaz in 2013. The subjects were selected through systematic random sampling. The reliability of questionnaire was confirmed by obtaining Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.88. The data were analyzed statistically in the SPSS software. Results: The results of this study showed that the level of nurses' awareness about disaster management and their approach to this issue had significantly differed after the educational intervention (P=0.002). Also, the disaster management education was effective on nurses' awareness to manage disastrous situation (P=0.002). In addition, there was a significant relation between attending educational sessions (P=0.002) and some other variables with nurses' awareness level. Conclusion: Based on the findings of research and the need for nurses' awareness about disastrous situation, establishment of preparation maneuvers, educational programs, and appropriate coordination and connections with the relative organizations are recommended.


The availability of exome sequence data for thousands of cancer samples has enabled the investigation of the sequence-level mutations that contribute to cancer. There is a need for strategies to analyse sequence data to gain new biological and clinical insights. This thesis investigates the use of machine learning and network-based methods to identify the mutated genes associated with important clinical features and cancer types, and to aid candidate gene prioritisation in colorectal cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. Firstly, tumour / normal exome sequence data was analysed to identify the mutated genes associated with cancer grade and cancer stage across and within three adenocarcinomas. Tumour grading is an important prognostic indicator which is based upon subjective assessment by pathologists, and is not standardised across cancer types. Despite this, this study found that protein coding mutations within TP53 were indicative of high grade status across three adenocarcinomas once adjusted for age, gender, stage, and tumour type. Secondly, Random Forest models were used to identify the mutations that discriminate each of five high-order cancer types. Based on this work a Random Forest approach was used to investigate whether exome sequence data could be used to assign cancers to their tissue of origin without prior knowledge, for future use as a classifier for cancers of unknown primary origin. Finally, a network-based method to perform candidate disease gene prioritisation called 'k-pseudo cliques analysis' was developed. The method identifies sets of highly interacting proteins that are enriched for low gene-level p-values. In tests, the identified gene sets outperformed a univariate test for general cancer gene enrichment. As part of the final chapter a network-based method called 'Region Growing Analysis' was used to perform candidate disease gene prioritisation of rheumatoid arthritis genome-wide association study data. The findings and methods developed in this thesis can provide insights to the genetic correlates of cancer phenotypes and suggest new candidate disease genes. 4


Email is a born-digital form of communication, which can be studied in a number of ways using a variety of methods, as with any other socially and culturally mediated phenomenon. However, despite a great number of studies, the methodologies of the studies have attracted only little attention. In this paper, we wish to extend our knowledge regarding methodological challenges in studying emails. In particular, we will consider the methodological challenges, which any scholar will encounter when email in its digital form is transformed to and preserved as an object of study. Based on a review of existing studies' archiving strategies as well as our own study on email consultations in a healthcare setting, we will examine and discuss analytical and methodological consequences of different approaches to archiving and data management of emails. We demonstrate that the archived record is shaped by its context of creation. Since collection methods and archiving tools are not neutral, we call for a greater attentiveness to this part of the research process. We conclude by outlining implications for systematic empirical research into emails as a form of communication.


Abstract Effects of seasonal dynamics and silvicultural practice on ammonification of arginine, one of the proteinogenic amino acids, were assessed in surface organic H-horizon of three Norway spruce pure stands in medium altitudes (600 - 660 m a.s.l.). Contents of ammonium ions NH4+ measured monthly in the field and contents of NH4+ after laboratory incubation of these samples with arginine were taken as dependent variables in ANOVA and in linear regression model using generalised linear model. The aim of the analyses was to determine the significance of decomposition of this amino acid in H-horizon of forest soils and to determine categorical and continuous predictors which influence intensity of the ammonification. Laboratory experiments confirmed its close link to seasonal dynamics, as well as to forest management; however the last mentioned was firstly found as less significant when compared within whole season. As regards to seasonal dynamics in forest soils, the highest amount of ammonium ion was released in May and the lowest in July. As regards to the silvicultural practice applied, more ammonium ion was released under mature spruce monoculture, especially in August and May; in the young stands, the method of thinning had no effect on the ammonium ion release. However, the arginine ammonification was found to be influenced by ammonium nitrogen content (slight, less significant negative correlation) and by soil water content (stronger positive significance), especially in the stand with thinning from below. This was concluded to be caused by changes in stand microclimate in function of the silvicultural practice.


ABSTRACT Background Altered expression of several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been described in numerous malignancies, including breast cancer, and some may have a role in carcinogenesis. We hypothesised differences in the expression of lncRNA MCM3AP-AS1 in breast cancer tissues compared to nearby healthy tissues and potential links with clinical features. Methods We tested our hypothesis in 102 pairs of breast cancer tumours and adjacent non-tumour tissues from female patients. After RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis was performed for all specimens. The differential gene expression was assessed using Quantitative Real-Time PCR Technique. Results There was a significant overexpression of the lncRNAs in tumour tissues as compared with their adjacent non-tumour tissues (P < 0.001). Expression was significantly linked with the tumour oestrogen receptor expression (P = 0.023) and tumour progesterone receptor expression (P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.67 (95% CI 0.60–0.75) (P < 0.001) with sensitivity and specificity of 58% and 76%, respectively Conclusion The lncRNA MCM3AP-AS1 may be a novel breast cancer lncRNA with high expression levels in breast cancer patients' tissue. Further investigations are needed to confirm its uses as a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target.


The research argues for the need to correctly identify and strengthen the core competencies of a firm, especially relevant in the service-oriented firm context where value creation requires resourceful and efficient provision of service. This study of 17 airlines from Asia, Europe, and Oceania reveals a picture of inconsistencies in the core competence strategy of airlines. It brings out the situation in which firms believe and project that they are service oriented, but fail to have the core competence strategies of a service firm or the business model innovations that lead to service orientation, thus leading to performance heterogeneity among intra-industry firms having similar business models. This paper proposes that seemingly similar business models differ in performance due to their service orientation and identification of the core competence serves as both the primary requirement for business model innovation and a measuring indicator of service orientation. The research on the airline industry advances the understanding of how core competence strategy and business model innovation constructs behave in the service firms' effort to gain sustainable competitive advantage.


This study examined the various options for maximizing internal revenue generation in the Nigerian local governments. It took critical and hard look on the various sources of internal revenue in the local governments, problems of exploiting the various sources for revenue generation, and the reason why most of the sources remain untapped or under-tapped by the local government in Nigeria. The study suggested feasible and pragmatic ways to maximize internal revenue generation in the local governments. It observed that prior to 1976 Local Government Reform; most local governments were able to maximize their internal revenue generation and discharged their primary responsibilities with little or no financial assistance from the higher tier governments. However, with the introduction of statutory allocations to the local governments following the 1976 Reform, most of the local governments abandoned the hitherto viable internal revenue sources in preference to the revenue from statutory allocation. This unwholesome attitude of most local governments, among others, was identified as the bane of internal revenue generation at this level of government. The paper concludes, by stating that unless the local governments look inwards to maximize their internal revenue sources it cannot be financially self-reliant. The implication of this is that it cannot enjoy reasonable degree of autonomy as a third tier of government if it continues to be heavily dependent on the financial assistance from both the federal and the state governments, to be able to function effectively. The reason is because as the saying goes, "he who pays the piper dictates the tune."


Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been an interesting topic for most enthusiasts and hence people all over the United States report such findings online at the National UFO Report Center (NUFORC). Some of these reports are a hoax and among those that seem legitimate, our task is not to establish that these events confirm that they indeed are events related to flying objects from aliens in outer space. Rather, we intend to identify if the report was a hoax as was identified by the UFO database team with their existing curation criterion. However, the database provides a wealth of information that can be exploited to provide various analyses and insights such as social reporting, identifying real-time spatial events and much more. We perform analysis to localize these time-series geospatial events and correlate with known real-time events. This paper does not confirm any legitimacy of alien activity, but rather attempts to gather information from likely legitimate reports of UFOs by studying the online reports. These events happen in geospatial clusters and also are time-based. We look at cluster density and data visualization to search the space of various cluster realizations to decide best probable clusters that provide us information about the proximity of such activity. A random forest classifier is also presented that is used to identify true events and hoax events, using the best possible features available such as region, week, time-period and duration. Lastly, we show the performance of the scheme on various days and correlate with real-time events where one of the UFO reports strongly correlates to a missile test conducted in the United States. Keywords—Time-series clustering, feature extraction, hoax prediction, geospatial events.


A transient analysis for the thermo elastic contact problem of the disk brakes with heat generation is performed using the finite element analysis. To analyze the thermo elastic phenomenon occurring in the disk brakes, the occupied heat conduction and elastic equations are solved with contact problems. The numerical simulation for the thermo elastic behavior of disk brake is obtained in the repeated brake condition. The computational results are presented for the distribution of heat flux and temperature on each friction surface between the contacting bodies. Also, thermo elastic instability (TIE) phenomenon (the unstable growth of contact pressure and temperature) is investigated in the present study, and the influence of the material properties on the thermo elastic behaviors (the maximum temperature on the friction surfaces) is investigated to facilitate the conceptual design of the disk brake system. Based on these numerical results, the thermo elastic behaviors of the carbon-carbon composites with excellent mechanical properties are also discussed.


Major depressive disorder is expected to become the second leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020. A large proportion of this disability can be attributed to the large number ofpatients (>70%) who do not achieve sustained remission following initial treatment. Presently the evidence available to guide management for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is quite limited. The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study has been designed to evaluate treatment options to improve clinical outcomes for depressed outpatients who do not achieve a satisfactory outcome after one or more treatment attempts. STAR*D helps to define the best "next-step" treatments for patients with TRD, and it will provide descriptive information on the longer-term benefits of successful treatments, as well as the side-effect burden and economic costs associated with different treatments. The study has enrolled over 4,000 patients recruited from primary care and psychiatric settings in the public and private sectors. Preliminary baseline findings are currently being reported. Final results regarding preferred treatment options are expected by May 2006.


Background General practitioners (GPs) provide most out-of-hours medical care, but overall see few palliative patients. Keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date is challenging. UK national policy has highlighted the importance of improving training for out-of-hours clinicians in order to reduce unnecessary admissions and support patients to die at home. However, little is known about the educational preferences of GPs working in this setting. Aims To explore the confidence of out-of-hours GPs in symptom control, and to identify their educational needs and preferences in order to inform recommendations for future educational programmes. Methods A structured postal survey was designed and sent to 1005 GPs employed by an independent provider of out-of-hours services across England. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Results 203 (20.3%) GPs responded to the survey questionnaire. 13.3% (n=27) worked exclusively out-of-hours; they were typically older and more experienced. Confidence in assessing palliative care emergencies (42.8%, n=87: 'not so confident' or 'not at all confident'), managing symptoms in non-cancer patients (39.4%, n=80) and prescribing a new syringe driver (39.0%, n=79) was lowest. Low confidence was associated with infrequent exposure (p<0.05) and lack of training (p<0.05). 12.8% (n=26) had never received formal palliative care training. Educational preferences were closely associated with confidence (p<0.0005); the above topics were most requested. E-learning was the preferred method (67.5%, n=137). GPs were more likely to prefer education with other GPs than with other professionals (p=0.001). 82.1% (n=165) felt training focused on out-of-hours work would be beneficial. Conclusions Confidence in key palliative care competences is lacking. Educational strategies must be targeted at GPs needs, both in terms of content and delivery, with regular updates. E-learning is favoured, but should be combined with other approaches such as out-of-hours themed workshops. Specialist palliative care services should engage with out-of-hours providers to support education.


The viscoelastic and viscoplastic behaviors of high density polyethylene (HDPE) under uniaxial monotonic and cyclic loading are modeled using the modified viscoplasticity theory based on overstress (VBO). The viscoelastic modeling capabilities of the modified VBO are investigated by simulating the behavior of semicrystalline HDPE under uniaxial compression tests at different strain rates. In addition, the effects of the modification (introducing the variable "C" into an elastic strain rate equation) on VBO that has been made to construct the change in the elastic stiffness while loading and unloading are investigated. During first loading and unloading, the modification in the elastic strain rate equation improves the unloading behavior. To investigate how the variable "C" that is introduced in the elastic strain rate equation evolves during reloading, the cyclic behavior of HDPE is modeled. For a complete viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior, the relaxation and creep behaviors of HDPE are simulated as well in addition to stress and strain rate dependency. The influences of the strain (stress) levels where the relaxation (creep) experiments are performed are investigated. The simulation results are compared with the experimental data obtained by Zhang and Moore (1997, Polym. Eng. Sci., 37, pp. 404-413). A good match between experimental and simulation results are observed.