Objective: To study the site of the ischemic lesion, the underlying cause, and the prognosis of acute stroke with distal arm paresis. Method: The authors investigated 14 consecutive patients with acute distal arm paresis with a diagnostic stroke protocol and early MRI, including T2-weighted images, diffusion-weighted images (DWI), and perfusion-weighted images (PWI). Acute DWI lesions were shown on coregistered T2-weighted images for analysis of the exact anatomic lesion location. Results: Patients showed a uniform (7/14), radial (3/14), or ulnar (4/14) distribution of hand paresis. In all cases, DWI identified small lesions located in the motor cortex. Topographic lesion analysis, which was correlated with the clinical deficit, showed lesions centered in the hand knob area (2/14), involving the lateral (6/14), medial (4/14), or both (2/14) borders of the hand knob. PWI (calculated time-to-peak maps) did not show a mismatch between the DWI lesion and the PWI lesion. In six patients, DWI and PWI lesions were identical in size and location; no definite perfusion deficit was seen in eight patients. In agreement with PWI, no patient showed clinical worsening, and six patients recovered completely within a week. Further investigations showed a potential source of embolus in 11 cases. Conclusions: Acute ischemic distal arm paresis is usually caused by a small cortical lesion in the motor hand cortex attributable to distal Rolandic artery obstruction without additional tissue at risk. These findings confirm the observed benign clinical course and its apparent main cause (artery-to-artery or cardiac embolism).


This article aims to look at the development of The Contingency Theory of Leadership which had developed in the 1970s, but declined in the 1990s, and has begun to be considered relevant again in handling major crises in recent years, including Covid-19. The study used a descriptive qualitative method to review the related literature. The Contingency Theory of Leadership with the main approach to leadership appropriate depending on the environmental situation that arises in the context of a particular action or behavior. Discovered in 1964 by Fiedler, then expanded in 1970, slowly declining until the 2010s. The number of catastrophes and major disasters in the world proves that the response of a leader to a crisis that is considered successful is one that can adapt to the context and circumstances. Some of the leader's characters that are relevant in crises are Achieving Situational Awareness, Adaptive Decision Making, Communication, Energy Management, and Learning. A crisis is a situation that requires high leadership sensitivity. It takes a certain character that can help with proper handling both before, during and after a crisis.


While global quantum quench has been extensively used in the literature to understand the localization-delocalization transition for the one-dimensional quantum spin chain, the effect of geometric quench (which corresponds to a sudden change of the geometry of the chain) in the context of such transitions is yet to be well understood. In this work, we investigate the effect of geometric quench in the Aubry-Andre model, which supports localization-delocalization transition even in one dimension. We study the spreading of the entanglement and the site-occupation with time and find many interesting features that can be used to characterize localization-delocalization transition. We observe that geometric quench causes a power-law type growth of the entanglement entropy in the delocalized phase in contrast to the linear growth which is found in the global quench studies. Remarkably, we also find that the saturation values in the Many-body localized (MBL) phase obey Area law in contrast to the usual volume law which is a signature feature of the MBL phase in the context of global quench.


Background Evidence suggests that obesity (body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2) adversely affects several outcomes in Crohn's disease (CD). CD-associated perianal fistula (CDPF) represents a debilitating phenotype with a clinical course that may be affected by obesity. We hypothesized that obese CD patients would be more likely to have poor outcomes following CDPF surgery. Methods We designed a case-control study of CD patients who underwent surgery for CDPF between 2000 and 2013 with documented pre-operative BMI and post-operative outcome. Cases and controls were defined based on the outcome of CDPF surgery. Poor outcomes were designated as cases. Results Of the 317 patients diagnosed with CDPF, 73 patients underwent 120 surgeries for CDPF. Eighty-nine (74%) of the surgeries comprised fistulotomy with or without Seton placement, whereas 31 (26%) were mucosal flap procedures. Twenty-five (21%) cases and 95 (79%) controls were identified. Unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for the association between obesity and outcome demonstrated a trend towards a poor surgical outcome among obese patients that did not reach statistical significance (OR: 1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58 - 5.98; P = 0.295). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated an even stronger trend towards a poor outcome among obese CD patients, albeit without reaching statistical significance (OR: 2.83; 95% CI: 0.64 - 12.49; P = 0.169). Conclusion In patients undergoing Seton placement, fistulotomy or mucosal flap procedure for CDPF, there is a trend towards poor outcomes in the obese; however, as this trend did not reach statistical significance, this association should be examined further.


Synthetic environments provide new possibilities for learning and training. Added benefits can be achieved by the use of networks. This requires the distribution of applications and their interoperability. In the case of distributed simulation, a new standard called High-Level-Architecture (HLA) exists. HLA was defined by the DMSO/DOD of the United States of America. Together with its partners in a European-funded project, Fraunhofer IFF is developing a prototype of a VR-based distributed training system for maintenance technicians. This paper shows different specific aspects of the development, e.g., the technical and methodological basis, the layer architecture of the information management of the application, and the use of HLA for the multi-site and multi-user aspects.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate longitudinal growth, pubertal development and final height in patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by a neonatal screening programme, and to identify factors potentially affecting growth outcome.

PATIENTS
Fifty-five patients (41 females) detected by neonatal screening and followed longitudinally from the time of diagnosis and treatment (25+/-5 days) up to the age of 17+/-0.5 years were evaluated retrospectively.

RESULTS
Pubertal development began and progressed normally in both males and females. In boys, a testicular volume of 4 ml was reached at 11.3+/-1.0 years. In girls breast enlargement (B2) occurred at a mean age of 10.3+/-1.2 years and the mean age of menarche was 12.5+/-1.2 years. The onset and the progression of puberty were independent of the aetiology, the severity of CH and the timing of the beginning of treatment. Girls treated with an initial amount of L-thyroxine (L-T4) greater than 8 microg/kg per day showed an earlier onset of puberty (B2 9.4+/-0.9 years; menarche 11.5+/-0.8 years) compared with girls treated with a lower initial dose of L-T4 (B2 10.5+/-1.2 years; menarche 12.6+/-1.2 years; P<0.02). However, both groups attained a similar final height (-0.1+/-1.0 SDS and 0.4+/-1.0 SDS, respectively), which in both cases was above the target height (P=0.03). All the patients in the study attained a mean final height (0.1+/-1.1 SDS) within the normal range for the reference population and above the target height (-0.9+/-0.9 SDS, P<0.0001). No significant relationship was found between final height and severity of CH at diagnosis, initial L-T4 dosage or aetiology of the defect. Patients with ectopic gland, thyroid aplasia or in situ gland attained a similar mean final height (0.1+/-1.1 SDS, 0.5+/-1.0 SDS and -0.5+/-1.0 SDS, respectively), which was in all cases greater than target height (-1.0+/-0.9, -0.6+/-0.8, -0.9+/-0.8 respectively; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that conventional management of children with CH detected by neonatal screening leads to normal sexual development and normal adult height, and that the major factor determining height in these children is familial genetic growth potential.


Background Older migrant cancer patients face many language- and culture-related barriers to patient participation during medical consultations. To bridge these barriers, the Health Communicator , an eHealth tool with a multilingual history and video patient education system, was developed which includes specific illness-related modules, such as a diabetes module. However, it did not include an oncological module yet, despite the fact that the prevalence of Dutch migrant cancer patients will triple in the coming years. Objective The aim of this study was to systematically develop, implement and conduct a pilot-evaluation of an oncological module for the Health Communicator in order to stimulate patient participation in the medical encounter among older Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch cancer patients. Methods The Spiral Technology Action Research model was used as framework in developing the oncological module, which incorporates five cycles that engage all relevant stakeholders in intervention development. The listen phase consisted of a needs assessment. The plan phase consisted of developing Question Prompt Lists (QPLs) and scripts for patient education videos. Based on pre-test results, the oncological module was created in the do phase, containing six audiovisual QPLs on patient rights, treatment information, psychosocial support, lifestyle and access to healthcare services, patients' preferences, and clinical trials. Five patient education videos were created about patient rights, psychosocial support, clinical trials, and patient-professional communication. In the study phase, the oncological module was pilot-evaluated among 27 older Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch cancer patients visiting their healthcare professional, who received training prior to the pilot-evaluation. In the act phase, the oncological model was disseminated to practice.


Introduction The purposes of this study were to (1) compare learning outcomes between students who participated in mannequin-based simulation activities and students who participated in virtual simulation activities and (2) describe a cost-utility analysis comparing the two types of simulation activities in terms of costs and multiple measures of effectiveness. Methods Nursing student participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups to complete either a mannequin-based or virtual simulation activity. The simulation scenario was the same for both groups and involved the care of a hospitalized patient experiencing a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. Participants completed presimulation and postsimulation assessments reflecting qualitative and quantitative measures of learning. A random sample of participants from each group completed a postsimulation performance assessment during which they interacted one on one with a standardized patient. Results Eighty-four nursing students were enrolled in the study and completed the simulation activities. There were no significant differences in quantitative measures of learning or performance between participants in the mannequin-based and virtual simulation groups. Participants' qualitative responses to postintervention written reflections and questions yielded additional data for describing learning from the two interventions. In the cost-utility analysis, the virtual simulation activity had a more favorable cost-utility ratio of US $1.08 versus the mannequin-based simulation activity's US $3.62. Conclusions Healthcare educators striving to make evidence-based decisions about how to best employ simulation pedagogy may consider these findings about the cost utility of various simulation modalities. However, additional research is needed.


Background:Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) has largely replaced screen-film mammography (SFM) for breast cancer screening, but how this affects downstream breast-related use and costs is unknown. Objectives:To compare breast-related health care use and costs among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing SFM versus FFDM from 1999 to 2005. Design:Retrospective cohort study. Subjects:Medicare-enrolled women aged 66 and older with mammograms in Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium registries. Measures:Subsequent follow-up with additional imaging or breast biopsy within 12 months was ascertained through Medicare claims. Associated mean costs were estimated by screening modality and year, adjusting for confounding factors, and clustering within mammography facilities using Generalized Estimating Equations. Results:Among 138,199 women, 332,324 SFM and 22,407 FFDM mammograms were analyzed. Approximately 6.5% of SFM and 9.0% of FFDM had positive findings. In 2001, subsequent imaging was higher among FFDM versus SFM (127.5 vs. 97.4 follow-up mammography claims per 1000 index mammograms), whereas subsequent biopsy was lower among FFDM versus SFM (19.2 vs. 24.9 per 1000 index mammograms) with differences decreasing over time. From 2001 to 2004, mammography subsequent to FFDM had higher mean costs than SFM ($82.60 vs. $64.31 in 2001). The only cost differences between SFM and FFDM for ultrasound or biopsy were in 2001. Conclusions:Subsequent breast-related health care use differed early in FFDM introduction, but diminished over time with differences attributable to higher recall rates for additional imaging and lower rates of biopsy in those undergoing FFDM versus SFM. Remaining cost differences are because of higher reimbursement rates for FFDM versus SFM.


Image captioning and visual language grounding are two important tasks for image understanding, but are seldom considered together. In this paper, we propose a Progressive Attention-Guided Network (PAGNet), which simultaneously generates image captions and predicts bounding boxes for caption words. PAGNet mainly has two distinctive properties: i) It can progressively refine the predictive results of image captioning, by updating the attention map with the predicted bounding boxes. ii) It learns bounding boxes of the words using a weakly supervised strategy, which combines the frameworks of Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) and Markov Decision Process (MDP). By using the attention map generated in the captioning process, PAGNet significantly reduces the search space of the MDP. We conduct experiments on benchmark datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of PAGNet and results show that PAGNet achieves the best performance.


OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review to examine the hypothesized mechanism through which homocysteine could lead to preeclampsia. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, SciSearch, and bibliographies of primary and review articles, and we contacted experts. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: Of the 25 relevant primary articles, 8 studies measured total serum homocysteine concentrations before the clinical onset of preeclampsia (1,876 women), whereas 17 measured it afterward (1,773 women). Meta-analytic techniques were used to examine consistency, strength, temporality, dose-response, and plausibility of the disease mechanisms implicating folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, genetic polymorphisms, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction in the pathway linking hyperhomocysteinemia to preeclampsia. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Overall, there were higher serum homocysteine concentrations among pregnant women with preeclampsia than among those with uncomplicated pregnancies, but the results were heterogeneous (P = .12; I2 = 38.8%). Among studies with temporality, the size of association was smaller than that among those without (weighted mean difference 0.68 &mgr;mol/L versus 3.36 &mgr;mol/L; P < .006). There was no dose-response relationship between homocysteine concentration and severity of preeclampsia. The mechanisms underlying hyperhomocysteinemia (folate and vitamin B12 deficiency and genetic polymorphisms) were not found to be plausible, but markers of oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction were higher in hyperhomocysteinemia. CONCLUSION: Homocysteine concentrations are slightly increased in normotensive pregnancies that later develop preeclampsia and are considerably increased once preeclampsia is established. However, because of a lack of consistency in data, dose-response relationship, and biologic plausibility, the observed association cannot be considered causal from the current literature.


Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) encodes several regulatory proteins, including two essential trans-activators for viral replication, Rev and Tat. Both Rev and Tat have a nucleolar targeting signal and are actually located predominantly in the nucleoli. Within the nucleoli, Rev is localized to the combined regions of the dense fibrillar (DFC) and the granular (GC) components. Tat does not colocalize precisely with any nucleolar component tested, but partly overlaps regions of the DFC and the GC. Regions of both Rev and Tat are overlapped by the distribution of the major nucleolar protein B23. Overexpression of Rev causes nucleolar ballooning and general structural deformity with aberrant accumulation of rRNAs, whereas Tat does not have that effect. B23 is markedly accumulated in those nucleoli deformed by Rev. Components of the nucleolar DFC, GC, and fibrillar center domains are not accumulated but dispersed in few small spots or larger patches within the enlarged nucleoli. Cytophotometric DNA determinations revealed that transient expression of Rev results in accumulation of G2, prophase, and mitotic cells which have failed cytokinesis, suggesting that Rev is capable of preventing or slowing the progression through mitosis. Tat, in contrast, does not affect the cell cycle. We speculate, based on these results, that Rev represses cell growth by inhibiting the transport of ribosomal proteins and preribosomal particles across the nuclear envelope and affecting the cell cycle, both of which may be related to proposed functions of B23.


Dysregulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling has been found in many human cancers, particularly those with loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN. However, mTORC1 inhibitors such as temsirolimus have only modest activity when used alone and may induce acquired resistance by activating upstream mTORC2 and Akt. Other tumors that do not depend upon PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling for survival are primarily resistant. This study tested the hypothesis that the limited clinical efficacy of temsirolimus is due to a compensatory increase in survival signaling pathways downstream of Akt as well as an incomplete block of 4E-BP1-controlled proliferative processes downstream of mTOR. We explored the addition of a PI3K inhibitor to temsirolimus and identified the mechanism of combinatorial synergy. Proliferation assays revealed that BEZ235 (dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor) or ZSTK474 (pan PI3K inhibitor) combined with temsirolimus synergistically inhibited cell growth compared to cells treated with any of the agents alone. Co-treatment resulted in G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and up-regulation of p27. Cell death occurred through massive autophagy and subsequent apoptosis. While molecular profiling revealed that, in most cases, sensitivity to temsirolimus alone was most marked in cells with high basal phospho-Akt resulting from PTEN inactivation, combining a PI3K inhibitor with temsirolimus prevented compensatory Akt phosphorylation and synergistically enhanced cell death regardless of PTEN status. Another molecular correlate of synergy was the finding that temsirolimus treatment alone blocks downstream S6 kinase signaling, but not 4E-BP1. Adding BEZ235 completely abrogated 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. We conclude that the addition of a PI3K inhibitor overcomes cellular resistance to mTORC1 inhibitors regardless of PTEN status, and thus substantially expands the molecular phenotype of tumors likely to respond.


In this paper we discuss the mathematical representation of hybrid systems, i.e. systems comprising of continuous and discrete elements. Starting from first principles of physics, we set out a number of requirements to be met by a hybrid formalism. We then propose hybrid transition systems as a formalism satisfying these requirements. The paper is concluded by discussing the option of representing hybrid systems by means of discrete formalisms. A siphon pump machine is used as an illustratory example throughout the paper.


An exploration of Peter Bobby's artwork that consists of various combinations of still photography, digital video and sound recordings that collectively examine the particular experience of contemporary High-Rise architecture, in both its exterior facade and its interior environments. The seemly straightforward observational approach by Bobby belies a consistent and concerted exploration of the ideological assumptions of a de-centred, fast and fluid global capitalism. His work artfully exposes the influences of a modern, corporate capitalism that underpins the architectural structures Bobby has chosen.


Cu/Si composites may become novel high-performance electronic packaging materials owing to combining the advantages of copper and silicon components. Here, we prepared Cu/Si composites by being sintered below and above eutectic temperature 802 °C, respectively, and found that sintering temperature notably affects their composition, microstructure and thermal diffusivity. The composites sintered at 780 °C are composed of copper and silicon, exhibiting dispersed silicon particles and continuous copper matrix, but those sintered at 820 °C primarily contain Cu3Si compounds, and a porous microstructure is observed. The thermal diffusivity of the former is over 21 times higher than that of the latter.


Many courts and state and local governments have turned to "fair share" plans to determine the equita-ble distribution of housing in a region according to such criteria as broadening the socioeconomic mix of communities and protecting the environment. This monograph examines the emerging fair share strategy, discusses its theoretical impact, and ana-lyzes its track record to date. Specific examples and legislative alternatives are examined in detail.


ABSTRACT A prevalent view among both scholars and policymakers is that economic sanctions stigmatize and isolate their targets. According to this perspective, the stigma associated with economic sanctions should signal to foreign aid donors that they should be more cautious and restrained in providing assistance to sanctioned states. We test this signaling-based theory via a large-n analysis of the impact that sanctions imposed by the United States and those supported by the United Nations (UN) had on the aid flows of 133 recipient states from 1960–2000. Contrary to expectations, our results indicate that being subject to sanctions supported by the UN does not have a negative effect on target states' aid flows, and being sanctioned by the United States actually has a positive effect on them. We explore two potential explanations for our puzzling findings based upon donor self-interest and donor altruism via a scoping analysis of eight sanctions cases in which target states received greater than expected aid flows. Our findings suggest that theories based upon donor self-interest represent the most promising explanation for why individual donors may increase their aid to sanctioned states.


Although human coronavirus OC43-OC43 (HCoV-OC43) is the coronavirus most commonly associated with human infections, little is known about its molecular epidemiology and evolution. We conducted a molecular epidemiology study to investigate different genotypes and potential recombination in HCoV-OC43. Twenty-nine HCoV-OC43 strains from nasopharyngeal aspirates, collected from 2004 to 2011, were subjected to RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), spike, and nucleocapsid gene analysis. Phylogenetic analysis showed at least three distinct clusters of HCoV-OC43, although 10 unusual strains displayed incongruent phylogenetic positions between RdRp and spike genes. This suggested the presence of four HCoV-OC43 genotypes (A to D), with genotype D most likely arising from recombination. The complete genome sequencing of two genotype C and D strains and bootscan analysis showed recombination events between genotypes B and C in the generation of genotype D. Of the 29 strains, none belonged to the more ancient genotype A, 5 from 2004 belonged to genotype B, 15 from 2004 to 2006 belonged to genotype C, and 1 from 2004 and all 8 from 2008 to 2011 belonged to the recombinant genotype D. Molecular clock analysis using spike and nucleocapsid genes dated the most recent common ancestor of all genotypes to the 1950s, genotype B and C to the 1980s, genotype B to the 1990s, and genotype C to the late 1990s to early 2000s, while the recombinant genotype D strains were detected as early as 2004. This represents the first study to describe natural recombination in HCoV-OC43 and the evolution of different genotypes over time, leading to the emergence of novel genotype D, is associated with pneumonia in our elderly population.


In the United States, the automobile purchase decision is consequential for both households and car producers. In households, adults typically own their own vehicles for personal use such as commuting to work or college. The need for multiple, safe cars per household represent a significant allocation of household income on an ongoing basis as old vehicles are replaced. Customer needs are represented by groups of demand utility functions which specify the demand for increasingly expensive safety features and styling changes. Auto manufacturers respond to the need for a variety of styles and safety features by producing vehicles in as many as 16 different product-market segments. They offer multiple financing options such as leases, late models, and stretching out payments to accommodate capital rationing by their customers. The quantity sold in each segment provides the profit per segment which adds across segments to provide the overall profit for the firm. This is a monopolistically competitive environment in which brand loyalty drives sales per segment, with each segment being considerably different from others in vehicle characteristics and customer income. This paper theoretically develops the demand utility functions within each segment, develops the producer's profit function and then equates the supply and demand functions to obtain the optimal quantity per segment. Practical implications are discussed. One such implication is that the quantity of sales may not be realized in any one market, so that sales may have to be realized across markets for auto firms to achieve consistent, long-term profits. Thus, our quantity specification may provide a justification for the globalization of the auto industry.


From the material science point of view, saturated frozen soil is a natural particulate composite, composed of solid grains, ice and unfrozen water. The mechanical behaviour of such a material is strongly affected by the amount of ice. The amount of ice depends on the temperature and the applied mechanical stresses. The influence of ice content and temperature on the mechanical behaviour and the coupling effects on the reverse direction can be mentioned as the main difference between frozen and unfrozen soils. On the other hand, considering the highly rate-dependent behaviour of ice, rate-sensitive behaviour of frozen soils is expected. This rate dependency is also affected by the amount of ice existed in the composite. In the light of these differences, an elastic-viscoplastic constitutive model for describing the mechanical behaviour of saturated frozen soils is proposed. By dividing the total stress into fluid pressure and solid phase stress, in addition to consideration of the cryogenic suction, the model is formulated within the framework of two stress-state variables. The rate-dependent behaviour is considered using the so-called over-stress method. In unfrozen state, the model becomes a conventional elastic-viscoplastic critical state model. Model predictions are compared with the available test results and reasonable agreement is achieved.


This article proposes a nuclear family groupkarmic theoreticalscheme based on an ego defensive mechanism psychological concept,the projection. The article initially introducts the theme context, definesthe objective and clarifies its relevance. The methodology is described,consisting on the author s extensive life experience on the subject suchas, readings, conscientiological courses, conscienciotherapy, conventional therapy, family and group observations, planed experiments, writings and publications. Then, the article presents the literature review pertinent to the discussion and elaborates the arguments explaining andsupporting the proposed nuclear family groupkarmic theoretical scheme.Finally, it concludes suggesting the intermissivist to give the proper importance to the nuclear family not only as a proexis starting point, butalso as an environment to identify the recycling priorities, the megalocks. Thereby, he or she could take an evolutionary leap, increase theself-wellbeing and gain moral authority to assist the family and beyond.Aiming at helping the intermissivist on this journey, there is an illustrative schematic indicating the traps to be avoided along the way.


Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) has become widely used radiotherapy treatment modality for many indications ranging from early stage disease to an oligometastatic setting. All this combines the use of virtually all technological advances that characterise modern radiotherapy from small conformal fields to intensity modulation and explicit accounting for motion. However, given its novelty, clinical evidence for SABR is still emerging and many clinical trails include SABR as the intervention to define (eg in dose or fractionation defining studies) or to test against other treatment modalities. In any case, physical quality assurance (QA) must be an essential aspect of the trial to ensure that SABR is delivered accurately and in a comparable fashion in radiotherapy centres participating in the trial. The present paper tries to explore the balance between the QA cost and benefit for trial conduct in terms of patient numbers and timely completion of the trial.


In a restaurant recommender system the main focus is on the user rating or perhaps the customer satisfaction that is significant of all. The contextual features are closely studied which aids as the precipitate for the study. In order to identify relevant contextual information for the study, only those cardinal features that are significant for the decision criteria are considered. Subsequently these features which are identified are used for the analysis. However, insignificant features may not scale up well for the study. This reduces dimensionality issues. Previously this kind of an approach using contextual feature has been utilized for various studies in restaurant recommender system. This is of prime importance in order to build the relevant contextual user profile. The customer rating or the level of satisfaction stated by the customer is used to study the perception of the restaurant by the customer. Also to extract those customers who visit a particular restaurant moderately than in comparison with those who visits very often or visits less than moderate. These customers are extracted to be focused upon for increase of sale by sending them text messages or emails regarding the offers and other discounts which is more economical rather than sending those offers to every customer visiting the restaurant.


Recognizing the need for improvements in the way professional architectural and design services are procured, the U.S. Congress in 1972 established as federal law the requirement that architects and engineers be selected on the basis of their professional qualifications, subject to negotiation of a fair and reasonable compensation for such services. The law (commonly referred to as the Brooks Act) was adopted by many states (a total of 41 as of the end of 2001) and local jurisdictions. One of the states that adopted qualifications-based selection (QBS) of architectural/engineering (A/E) services is New York state. The New York state law, however, does not cover local jurisdictions, and New York City continues to use competitive pricing as its primary method of selecting A/E consultants. This report outlines the findings of a recent study performed on QBS in an attempt to evaluate some of the claims put forward by proponents and opponents of QBS. The study was based on past literature as well as recently procured projects in New York City and relevant project data from these projects. The study is based primarily on information provided by the New York City mayor's Office of Contracts during a public hearing on QBS (December 1999) and additional information on A/E firms from a representative data sample from the original data. Among the findings of the study was that presumed cost savings in design services for existing price-dominant practices were actually insignificant and most definitely offset by escalating costs in the construction phase.


Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.


The terminal airways from embryonic lung in situ or as explants exhibit rhythmic spontaneous contractions. Our objective was to see whether nar- rowing responses of the airways occurred throughout the bronchial tree in the first trimester foetus and, if so, to characterize them. The bronchial tree was freed of vasculature and parenchyma from the lungs of 20-35 g pig foetuses (44-48 days gestation). The airway lumen was visualized direct- ly with transmitted light, and narrowing was recorded in real time by video-imag- ing microscopy. From the main stem bronchi to the terminal regions of late generation branches (20-35 µm i.d.) strong bronchoconstrictor responses to micromolar concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh), histamine, substance P and K+ depolarizing solution were seen, whilst inhibition of narrowing with β-adrenoceptor agonists was evidence of β-receptors on the smooth muscle. Moreover, strong narrowing responses to elec- trical field stimulation, which were blocked by atropine, indicated that functional cholinergic nerves were present. A remarkable display of spontaneous narrowing in the airways of many of the bronchial tree preparations caused the movement of lung liquid to and fro. We speculate that the bronchomotor tone and associated spontaneous activity, which move the lung fluid along the airways, serve to maintain an even positive pressure in localized areas of the bronchial tree which is essential to provide the stimulus for continued growth of the lung.


Water is very essential for all living beings. It covers nearly 70% of earth's surface. Even though the major portion of earth is covered by water, there is severe shortage of drinking water in most of the countries across the world. Safe drinking water is vital for all forms of life though it does not provide any calories. Desalination of sea water appears as a solution for this problem. Advanced desalination technologies that are applied to seawater and brackish water prove to be effective alternatives in a variety of situations. This study mainly focuses on upcoming trends in modern desalination technologies and emphasiz- ing the options offered by them. Desalination is a technique where the excess salts are removed from sea water or brackish water converting it into safe potable or usable water. Desalination methods are categorized into thermal processes and membrane processes. In this chapter we discuss about different thermal processes like multistage flash distilla - tion, multiple effect distillation, vapour compression evaporation, cogeneration and solar water desalination. We also discuss about various categories of membrane processes like reverse osmosis, electro dialysis and membrane distillation methods. This chapter also concentrates on advantages and disadvantages and economical parameters involved in each of these methods. of a NaCl solution. This reversed by regenerat ing the cation exchanger with an anion exchanger a


War is a poison. It is a poison that nations and groups must at times ingest to ensure their survival. But, like any poison, it can kill you just as surely as the disease it is meant to eradicate. The poison of war courses unchecked through the body politic of the United States. We believe that because we have the capacity to wage war we have the right to wage war. We embrace the dangerous self-delusion that we are on a providential mission to save the rest of the world from itself, to implant our virtues—which we see as superior to all other virtues—on others, and that we have a right to do this by force.


Diatoms usually dominate microphytobenthic biofilms in coastal and estuarine intertidal environments. Yet, functional studies on biofilms often skip species analysis because benthic diatoms are notoriously difficult to extract from sediments and challenging to identify at that taxonomic level. Valid, less time-consuming alternatives would surely be welcomed and increase the inclusion of community structure information in microphytobenthos (MPB) ecophysiological studies. Starting with an original 181-species abundances matrix (OSM), obtained during a 2-year spatial–temporal survey in a Tagus Estuary intertidal flat with contrasting sediment textures, the current study assessed the effectiveness of several approaches to species abundances analysis. The effect of excluding abundance data or rare species, the influence of taxonomic resolution, or the use of size-based metrics on biotic multivariate patterns was examined by an objective comparison that replicated these different approaches on three different levels: (1) inter-matrix correlations, (2) performance in several non-parametric multivariate analyses (ANOSIM, MDS), and (3) correlations with the environmental dataset. When compared with the OSM, all matrices had strong or very strong positive correlations. All discriminated successfully spatial patterns, separating well assemblages from sandy and muddy sediments, and all had significant correlations with the environmental dataset. Apart from the relative biovolume species matrix (BSM), only the species matrices were able to discriminate significantly temporal patterns. The exclusion of the rarest species (48% of total) had a negligible effect, with the common and original species abundances matrices having a ρ > 0.99 correlation. Of the alternative approaches to species abundances, species presence/absence and the genera abundances matrices yielded the best results overall. Genera presence/absence and the size-class matrices had intermediate performances, with the former performing comparatively poorly with regard to seasonal patterns. BSM had the lowest correlation with the environmental variable dataset (ρ = 0.598) and the worst overall performance in the other multivariate routines. This means that either a high-taxonomic resolution qualitative analysis (i.e. species presence/absence) or, in alternatively, a genus-level analysis retaining abundance data may be sufficient to describe basic spatial differences in estuarine intertidal flats. However, if seasonal variations in mudflat diatom assemblage structure are to be detected, species-level abundance data are still necessary.


Professional competencies are explicitly identified in the primary learning outcomes for science and engineering degrees at many tertiary institutions. Fulfillment of the requirements to equip our students with these skills, while formally acknowledged as important by all stakeholders, can be hard to demonstrate in practice. Most degree awarding institutions would have difficulties if asked to document where in degree programs such competencies are developed.The work in this thesis addresses the issue of professional competencies from several angles. The Open-Ended Group Project (OEGP) concept is introduced and proposed as an approach to constructing learning environments in which students' development of professional competencies can be stimulated and assessed. Scholarly, research-based development of the IT in Society course unit (ITiS) is described and analyzed in order to present ideas for tailoring OEGP-based course units towards meeting learning objectives related to professional competence. Work in this thesis includes an examination of both the meanings attributed to the term professional competencies, and methods which can be used to assess the competencies once they are agreed on.The empirical work on developing ITiS is based on a framework for educational research, which has been both refined and extended as an integral part of my research. The action research methodology is presented and concrete examples of implementations of different pedagogical interventions, based on the methodology, are given. The framework provides support for relating a theoretical foundation to studies, or development, of learning environments. The particular theoretical foundation for the examples in this thesis includes, apart from the action research methodology, constructivism, conceptual change, threshold concepts, communities of practice, ill-structured problem solving, the reflective practicum, and problem based learning.The key finding in this thesis is that development and assessment of professional competencies is not a pipe dream. Assessment can be accomplished, and the OEGP concept provides a flexible base for creating an appropriate learning environment for this purpose.


We describe sensing of chemical vapors from the atmosphere using critically buckled polycrystalline silicon doubly clamped mechanical resonators coated on one side with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Our method of sensing is based on stress-induced resonance frequency shifts through volumetric swelling of the 60 nm thick PMMA layer resulting in altered tension in the beams. The stress change produces shifts in the resonance frequency as large as 150% of the baseline frequency. In order to maximize the sensitivity, we tailor residual stress of the polycrystalline silicon resonators to slightly exceed the critical buckling stress. We incorporate a relatively large gap between the bridge and a substrate to provide optical readout and minimize squeezed film effects. We show that the larger gap results in substantial improvements of the quality factor and frequency stability of our resonators under ambient pressure and temperature conditions compared to previous implementations. These lead to resonance freque...


The use of synthetic auxin as a stimulator of rooting in cuttings of Allamanda cathartica can provide increased of roots to development of marketable seedlings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three concentrations of indolbuthyric acid (IBA) on the development of callus tissue, rooting and sprouting in different stem cuttings from Allamanda cathartica . October 2008, cuttings were collected, immersed in fungicide Captan, treated with IBA and then planted in 45 days in randomized blocks. Every two weeks, we evaluated the percentage of occurrence of calluses, roots and shoots. Independent of IBA concentration, the woody and semi-woody showed the highest percentages of callus, root and sprout. It was found that, in the vegetative propagation of cuttings herbaceous, the application of IBA at 2000 ppm has great influence on development. For semi-woody, is not necessary for the application of IBA. The application of IBA at 250 ppm is sufficient to provide satisfactory development of callus tissue, rooting and shoots in cuttings woody, grown for a minimum period of 30 or 45 days.


Very short response time is a critical requirement for automatic discrete utterance recognition. The real-time vocabulary size of most of today's commercially available recognizers is limited to several hundreds of utterances, primarily due to the fact that detailed acoustic matching involves considerable computation. The method presented here offers an economical solution to the real-time large-vocabulary recognition problem by carrying out recognition in two stages. In the initial stage, the incoming utterance is linearly matched against the entire vocabulary using only two features-utterance duration and either two or three average spectra for each utterance. While the number of prototypes matched is large, the time required per match is substantially reduced. During this initial stage, a preset number of best-match prototypes is determined for each unknown input. In the second stage, matching is performed for the best-match list based upon more detailed features (e.g., 10-ms log-power spectra), using more elaborate matching methodology, e.g., dynamic programming. Evaluation experiments were conducted using the 2000 most frequent words in an office-correspondence corpus and three normal adult-male talkers. It was observed that first-stage best-match lists of 30-50 items included the "correct" words between 99.0 and 99.5 percent of the time. Using DP on 10-ms spectral samples for the second stage, recognition accuracy ranged from 86.5 to 94.5 percent. A match-limiter, when used with a 50-64-word, commercially available recognizer for the second stage, makes near-real-time large-vocabulary recognition feasible.


: Anemia is a common symptom associated with a variety of diseases, disorders, and dietary deficiencies. A review of hemoglobin and hematocrit levels may not be sufficient to determine the severity of the underlying problem. This article gives the reader an enhanced understanding of red cell morphology and reviews some of the common problems associated with anemia.


This paper studies the construction of observers for nonlinear time-varying discrete-time systems in a general context, where a certain function of the states must be estimated. Appropriate notions of robust complete observability are proposed, under which a constructive proof of existence of an observer is developed. Moreover, a "transitive observer property" is proven, according to which a state observer can be generated as the series connection of two observers. The analysis and the results are developed in general normed linear spaces, to cover both finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional systems


Introduction: Moscow has one of the lowest tuberculosis (TB) epidemiological rate in Russia. At the same time, the impacts of significant migration from CIS countries and Russian regions (MG), homeless (HML) and HIV are the major challenges of TB control in the megapolis. Differentiation of treatment outcomes evaluation for these groups of patients in depend on history of previous treatment are needed for targeted measures. Methods: Treatment outcomes for 2013 cohort (2803 not-MDR TB patients) were analyzed in the Moscow in the beginning of 2015. Cohorts of HIV-negative (HIVn) and HIV-positive (HIVp) residents (RS), as well as HML and MG were evaluated separately for new TB cases (NC), TB relapses (RLC) and retreatment TB cases (RTC). Results: Treatment success rate (TSR) of NC was highest in 1398 HIVn RS: 84.6% (95% CI: 82.6-86.5) in comparison with201 HIVp RS patients (54.7%, 47.6-61.7), 623 MG: (56.0%, 52.0-60.0) and 97 HML (48.5%, 38.2-58.8), p NC from HIVp RS had predictably the highest level of death rate: 27.9% (21.8-34.6) vs. 3.9%, 8.2% and 2.7% for NC from RS, HML and MG, accordingly (p TSR for 194 RLC from RS (69.1%, 59.7-73.1) was higher (p Both MG cohorts: 623 NC and 48 RLC, showed high level of "not evaluated" outcomes: 37.1% (33.3-41.0) and 50.0% (35.2-64.8), defined particularities of the moving population, in contrast of RS cohorts (1.5% -1.6%). 74 RTC patients from RS showed TSR: 39.2% (28.0-51.2). Conclusions: Evaluations of treatment effectiveness for patients from different strata of population allows define directions of purposeful activities to improvement of TB control in Moscow.


A parallel direct current (DC) to DC converter is presented for medium power applications. The studied converter includes three half-bridge circuits with sharing two power switches at high-voltage side to reduce switch counts. Three half-bridge circuits are connected by primary-parallel and secondary-parallel to reduce the current stress of power devices at low-voltage side. Each half-bridge circuit supplies one-third of the total power to the output load. Asymmetric pulse-width modulation is employed to generate the gated signals of the switches and regulate the output voltage. Based on the resonant behaviour of the output capacitance of power switches and the leakage inductance of the transformer, the zero-voltage switching turn-on of power switches can be achieved. Current doubler rectifier topology is adopted at the low-voltage side to have the advantage of low ripple current at output capacitor. A laboratory prototype with 1440 W power is built to verify theory analysis and effectiveness of the studied converter.


Quality education is one of Malaysia's six KRAs (Key Result Areas) which has been accorded priority in the 2010 Budget, and in the planning of the 10'" Malaysia Plan 2011-2015. 0/ interest is the RMlOO million allocations under the 2010 budget to the Permata Negara programme which focuses on early childcare education. Despite this huge allocation, there currently appears to be a lot of emphasis on just the non-physical aspects of preschools. In more developed countries, the qualities of both the physical and non-physical aspects of preschool classrooms are given equal emphasis in providing quality education. Earlier research has established that the physical environment impacts children's behaviour and their progressive developments. Has the physical environment 0/ Malaysian pre-schools attained a standard of quality on par with developed nations? Based on an ongoing research project which investigated the relationship between the physical environment of public pre-schools and children's play behaviour, this paper focused on the influence of the spatial definitions of the classrooms upon the children's play behaviour. Three types of spatial definitions in existing pre-school classrooms and the children's five types of play behaviours were investigated. The research design strategised on surveys, while the methodology involved a pilot study, the use of questionnaire surveys, natural unobtrusive observations with video recordings, structured interviews and Moore's (2008) Children's Physical Environment Rating Scale (CPERS). Overall, the data collected involved observations upon 494 children in 20 classroom settings from the 10 public pre-schools located at both urban and non-urban locations within the Klang Valley in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the SPSS statistical analysis. The findings revealed that spatial definition of the classrooms had a significant effect on the children's behaviours. Implications in the design of future pre-school classrooms were discussed.
© 2016 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia.
Keywords: Pre-school classrooms, children's play behaviour, post-occupancy evaluation.


In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the GDPs of the US and the eurozone have grown astonishing slowly and have not yet recovered their pre-crisis rates, as of 2016. Here, we argue that, in order to escape further sluggish growth, we need to diagnose the present ailments as rooted in the characteristics of growth regimes prior to the crisis. To do so, we use key stylized facts to develop a simple stock-flow-consistent (SFC) macroeconomic model that incorporates a financial and a real economic circuit, household credit and distributive dynamics. As such, it is able to trace stylized growth patterns over the last decades, taking non-linear dynamics into account. The model leads to three main findings. First, positive feedback between financialization and rising income inequality leads, over time, to credit-burdened growth (the Perpetual Money Machine regime). Second, households either consume or speculate with the newly created money giving rise to a bubble, which endogenously bursts in a financial crisis. The GDP collapses, asset prices fall, and the private sector deleverages. Third, in the after-crisis period, the government has room to stabilize GDP temporarily by acting as a borrower of last resort. In so doing, we find that recovering a solid growth requires the government to observe the golden wage rule, namely to re-couple wages and output.


Income-expenditure surveys typically provide incomes on the household level. As households can differ in size and needs, a reliable assessment of inequality in living standards, therefore, necessitates the conversion of the original heterogeneous into an artificial quasi-homogeneous population. Ebert and Moyes (2003) and Shorrocks (2004) theoretically explore the properties of two alternative conversion strategies: a weighting of household equivalent incomes by size and by needs. We use data from the Luxembourg Income Study for examining the sensitivity of the Gini and the Theil index to the chosen conversion strategy, and explain our results by means of an inequality decomposition by population subgroups.


The rational treatment of allergic skin diseases is one of the most actual questions in the modern dermatology. The end of this article is to familiarize dermatologists and other physicians with medicinal plants that are used in the therapy for allergic dermatosis. The treatment of these patients must have a complex character and include etiotropic, pathogenetic and symptomatic means. The further study of medicinal plants for the treatment of allergic skin diseases and making extracts of effective drugs from them is a matter of great importance for pharmacologists and dermatologists.


Today, group collaboration is becoming more and more vital in the workplace. Hence, undergraduate curriculums must be updated to include group project courses that help to prepare students for their postgraduation work. This research focuses on how the theoretical foundation of transactive memory systems (TMS), or the collective awareness of the group's specialization, coordination, and credibility, influences a group's overall performance. These influences were analyzed through the use of focus groups, a TMS survey, and follow-up interviews with student groups in an undergraduate Information Systems project course (67-373) at Carnegie Mellon University. It was found that although determining the strength of a student group's TMS provides a small window into how that group is working together, TMS does not provide the whole picture of group collaboration. In order to be successful as a group, students must recognize the importance of the group formation process and understand that a group is a living organism that needs constant management over time. Therefore, if student groups focus on developing a structure that fits their initial needs and continually update this structure based on changes that occur over time, they will be more prepared to effectively collaborate on their project.


Dedifferentiation signifies the capacity of somatic cells to acquire stem cell-like properties. This process can be induced during normal development and as a response to various stimuli, such as pathogen infection and wounding. Dedifferentiation also characterizes the transition of differentiated leaf cells into protoplasts (plant cells devoid of cell walls), a transition accompanied by widespread chromatin decondensation. Transcriptome profiling of dedifferentiating protoplast cells revealed striking similarities with senescing cells; both display a large increase in the expression of genes of specific transcription factor (TF) families, including ANAC, WRKY, bZIP, and C2H2. Further analysis showed that leaves induced to senesce by exposure to dark display characteristic features of dedifferentiating cells, including chromatin decondensation, disruption of the nucleolus, and condensation of rRNA genes. Considering that premature senescence can be induced by various stress conditions both in plant and animal cells, our results suggest that the response of plant and also animal cells to certain stresses converges on cellular dedifferentiation whereby cells first acquire stem cell-like state prior to acquisition of a new cell fate (e.g., reentry into the cell cycle or death).


Many children and young people will experience bereavement, through the loss of a parent, sibling, grandparent, friend or pet. The term 'bereavement' refers to the process of grieving and mourning, and is associated with a deep sense of loss and sadness. It is a natural process; however its effects can be overwhelming. During bereavement, children and young people can experience a great number of emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, guilt, fear, denial, disbelief and confusion. With the right help and support, most children and young people will not require professional help. According to the Child Bereavement Charity, what they do need is people who care and the understanding of familiar and trusted adults. Schools are well placed to provide such support. A working group has been established with representation from GCC Education Services, Educational Psychology, NHS GG&C Health Improvement and Glasgow Hospice staff. The purpose of the group is to promote a planned and progressive approach to teacher training around supporting children and young people experiencing bereavement, loss and change in line with a Curriculum for Excellence, across educational settings to ensure consistency in relation to Bereavement & Loss. To support and equip staff to take forward learning around bereavement, loss and change with access to high quality resources and training. and to develop an online resource that can be updated as new information becomes available. To date two study days have been facilitated each with 30 delegates from a range of early years, primary secondary and special needs schools. The evaluations were extremely positive. Future study days are in the planning process with the aim that these days will be ran twice yearly for the foreseeable future. The online resource is complete with a launch date planned for Summer 2013.


One hundred years since the Russian Revolution, Communist parties have undergone great changes, in an evolution that has affected the entire Left and the social movements. Given that the impact of Communist parties and their evolution in the Middle East is a topic that has not been widely researched, Communist parties in the Middle East. 100 years of history aims to cover a century in the lives of these parties, from the moment the Communist ideology first reached the region in the early 20th century (brought by activists from minority groups) and the creation of the first parties and trades unions after the 1917 revolution, right up to the upheaval caused by the dissolution of the USSR and, more recently, the Arab Spring. The book has been designed to offer a unique, updated and comprehensive study of Communist parties in the Middle East, based on both a theoretical framework of analysis and substantial empirical research and archive documentation.
Several issues are examined in this work. When the Russian Revolution took place, the Middle Eastern region as a whole was under colonial control. This meant taking decisions related to the relationship between the class struggle and the national struggle. The composition of the communist parties in the Middle East is also analysed as is their role as the vanguard –understood in the broad sense of the word– in relation to the objectives of liberation, emancipation, revolution and system change or reform, and their connection to mass or popular movements. Furthermore, the volume looks back at the dependency or autonomy of communist parties during the Cold War and the tensions that this generated in them, as well as the search for individual constructions of communism that took into account cultural characteristics and the local context of the struggle. In this respect, one of the recurring themes in the work is the relationship between communist activism and the sectors that mobilized in the name of nationalism or political Islam. Finally, the chapters trace the history of the parties, including –for the first time in the literature– the post-Cold War period and continuing to the current situation, in which communist parties occupy a residual position in the political field, sharing space with other small groups from the real Left, new programmes adapted to neoliberal advancement in the region and the new mobilizations symbolized by the uprisings of 2010-2011.
The first section of the book presents the evolution of the CPs in Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel, Egypt, South Yemen, Sudan, Algeria and Morocco. The second section explores some cross-cutting issues that have affected relations between the communist parties and other political sectors: political Islam and the New Left. Through the testimony of some leading figures, it presents the arguments around the question of gender in the Arab world and in leftist circles as well as an example of the evolution of a female leftist activist, some contradictions and the prominent debates from the most convulsive years to the present.


This paper presents the modeling foundations to study the capabilities of hydrogen electrolyzers (HEs) to provide frequency control ancillary services (FCAS), including virtual inertia and primary and secondary frequency response. To do so, we propose a general, unified HE dynamic model for the electrolyzer stack circuit, power-electronics interface (PEI), and relevant converter-level control loops. The equivalent circuit of the stack is derived from its current transfer function, with poles and zero obtained from its step response characteristics (e.g., rise/settling time). The stack model also considers relevant physical nonlinearities and downstream hydrogen buffer/process operational constraints. The PEI control loops account for stack model parameters, hydrogen production operational constraints, stack temperature dynamics, and active power reference generation strategy for contingency and regulation frequency support services. Further, we propose a virtual synchronous machine (VSM) control approach to study the VSM HE capabilities to also provide virtual inertia response. We apply the modeling to both alkaline and proton exchange membrane (PEM) technologies, including design of appropriate control schemes. Finally, we assess the FCAS performance of alkaline and PEM HEs via dynamic simulation of the Australian south-east interconnection in a 50%-renewable scenario, also discussing comparison and cooperation with battery energy storage systems.


Objectives: In the radiation therapy of cancer that occurs in hepatobiliary system, we want to compare and study the usefulness of the method to minimize movement of tumor by using artificially respiratory control device (Abdominal Compressor: AC) and the inducing respiratory control equipment (Abches System: AS). Methods/Statistical Analysis: For the purpose of the present study, analysis is conducted by acquiring images of free breathing(FB), artificially AC and inducing AS respectively of 30 patients. Findings:Results of the analysis to the subjects in 3 specific groups Analysis results of 3 patients groups according to the movement of tumor controlled by three methods is the following. Average ITV and PTV are reduced in AC and AS group by 42.0% and 32.6% respectively. In reproducibility, the variation values are lateral (RL) direction (X) -0.28 ± 0.65mm, vertical (SI) direction (Y) 0.02 ± 1.22mm, and (AP) direction (Z) 0.29 ± 1.55mm. Among the three-target-groups of patients, the maximum error occurs in FS which are side (RL) direction (X) -0.77 ± 1.65mm, vertical (SI) direction (Y) 0.05 ± 3.4mm, and (AP) direction (Z) 5.7 ± 2.86mm so that AC and AS group have less error and better reproducibility. Statistical analysis on tumor volume (ITV,PTV) of 3 specific group shows reduction of volume in respiratory control group. The most reduction is in AC apply from 1468.3±446.8 cc in FB to 757.7±210.3 cc in AC((p<0.00). Application/Improvements: In conclusion, radiation therapy is to protect normal tissues, with the aim of suppressing tumors so the motion associated with respiration during radiation therapy is minimized. Fractionated radiation therapy and high dose 1 fraction radiation therapy demands great reproducibility and appropriate respiratory control for site- specific tumor needs to be considered.


The strength of fixation of Dwyer screws in seven or eight vertebral bodies in each of six fresh osteoporotic cadavera was measured under the following conditions: with fixation with only the screw; with the staple-screw combination; with each of these modes of fixation combined with polymethylmethacrylate placed in the hole prior to insertion of the screw; and with the screw reinserted after failure and filling the hole with methacrylate. The strength of fixation of the screw-staple combination was increased almost twofold by the methacrylate, and after failure followed by reinsertion of the screw embedding it in methacrylate, strong fixation was restored.


Immune defences and the maintenance of immunological homeostasis in the face of pathogenic and commensal microbial exposures are channelled by innate antimicrobial pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as toll‐like receptors (TLRs). Whilst PRR‐mediated response programmes are the result of long‐term host‐pathogen or host–commensal co‐evolutionary dynamics involving microbes, an additional possibility is that macroparasitic co‐infections may be a significant modifier of such interactions. We demonstrate experimentally that macroparasites (the model gastrointestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides) at peripheral sites of infection cause substantial alteration of the expression and function of TLRs at a systemic level (in cultured splenocytes), predominantly up‐regulating TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9‐mediated cytokine responses at times of high standing worm burdens. We consistently observed such effects in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice under single‐pulse and trickle exposures to Heligmosomoides larvae and in SWR and CBA mice under single‐pulse exposures. A complementary long‐term survey of TLR2‐mediated tumour necrosis factor‐alpha responses in wild wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) was consistent with substantial effects of macroparasites under some environmental conditions. A general pattern, though, was for the associations of macroparasites with TLR function to be temporally dynamic and context‐dependent: varying with different conditions of infection exposure in the field and laboratory and with host genetic strain in the laboratory. These results are compelling evidence that macroparasites are a major and dynamic modifier of systemic innate antimicrobial responsiveness in naturally occurring mammals and thus likely to be an important influence on the interaction between microbial exposures and the immune system.


Stress relaxation of entangled polystyrene solution after constant-rate, uniaxial elongation For an entangled solution of linear polystyrene (PS 545k; M = 545k) in dibutyl phthalate (DBP), the stress relaxation after constant-rate uniaxial elongation was examined with an extensional viscosity fixture mounted on ARES (TA Instruments). The PS concentration, c = 52 wt%, was chosen in a way that the entanglement density M/Me of the solution coincided with that of PS 290k melt (M = 290k). After the elongation at the Rouse-based Weissenberg number Wi(R) ~ 3 up to the Hencky strain of 3, the short time stress relaxation of the solution was accelerated by a factor of ~4, which was less significant compared to the acceleration (by a factor of ~ 10) noted for PS melt under a similar condition. This result, being in harmony with the mild acceleration found for a 52 wt% blend of PS 545k with an oligomeric styrene (M = 1k), suggested that the segmental friction is reduced when the chain is highly stretched and oriented but this reduction weakens on an increase of the concentration of un-stretchable solvent molecules. This change of the stretch/orientation reduction of the friction with the solvent concentration appears to be consistent with the monotonic thinning of the steady-state elongational viscosity seen for melts and the lack of monotonic thinning observed for the semidilute solutions. Results for less concentrated solutions will be also presented on site.


This paper describes the implementation of an innovative approach to work-integrated learning using interdisciplinary projects within a university Faculty of Business. Further, it discusses the implementation of integrated and authentic assessments involving academic units in the marketing, urban planning and business communication disciplines. The authors reflect on issues involved with the introduction of interdisciplinary teaching and learning strategies, representing a shift from traditional silo approaches in tertiary education. The paper considers how a student-centered learning approach can support innovation in higher education. It highlights the importance of providing students with an integrated, in situ approach to learning within the context of their own learning institution. The paper concludes by asserting that universities can provide business students with authentic and relevant business problems, the opportunity to access the resources of the university and engage with staff and students across a range of disciplines to facilitate a project-based learning environment on-campus. (Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2014, 15(4), 359368)


ABSTRACT Objectives: Pharyngeal high-resolution impedance manometry (HRIM) studies can be analysed by automated impedance manometry (AIM)-analysis to objectively asses swallowing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a recently developed online AIM analysis portal. Methods: A database of 24 pharyngeal HRIM and videofluoroscopy studies (n = 18 oropharyngeal dysphagia patients and n = 6 controls; mean age 66, range 58–71 years) was established. Five observers of varying expertise analysed the database twice using AIMplot-online. Two experienced observers also performed the analysis using original AIMplot. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was determined by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results from AIMplot and AIMplot-online and their relation to penetration aspiration scale (PAS) scores were compared. Results: The expert analysis confirmed that both analysis platforms differentiated patients from controls and, amongst patients, significant swallowing dysfunction. Intra- and inter-rater reliability were substantial to excellent; however, expertise and the inclusion of highly aberrant cases influenced the reliability of some measures. Conclusion: In conclusion, swallow function variables can be reliably derived using online software-based analysis and are altered in relation to increasing levels of swallowing dysfunction. By making the AIM analysis widely available via the Internet, the diagnostic potential of pharyngeal HRIM recordings can be fully and independently assessed.


This is a summary of my lectures during the 2011 IAC Winter School in Puerto de la Cruz. I give an introduction to the field of stellar populations in galaxies, and highlight some new results. Since the title of the Winter School was Secular Evolution in Galaxies I mostly concentrate on nearby galaxies, which are best suited to study this theme. Of course, the understanding of stellar populations is intimately connected to understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies, one of the great outstanding problems of astronomy. We are currently in a situation where very large observational advances have been made in recent years. Galaxies have been detected up to a redshift of 10. A huge effort has to be made so that stellar population theory can catch up with observations. Since most galaxies are far away, information about them has to come from stellar population synthesis of integrated light. Here I will discuss how stellar evolution theory, together with observations in our Milky Way and Local Group, are used as building blocks to analyze these integrated stellar populations.


Evidence demonstrates that capital markets reward companies that divest non-core operations and unprofitable segments, particularly if the transaction improves the performance of the company's remaining operations. Much like an unprofitable business segment, defined benefit pension plans divert resources from the core business, constrain cash flows, and limit performance. Since decisions to divest and decisions to de-risk a pension obligation are driven by the same factors, pension risk transfer should be looked at through a divestment lens.


In this chapter, some EMC basics are explained - in particular, how interferences couple from their sources along wires or via fields to the victims (sinks), where and how they are generated, how victims are influenced by electromagnetic interference (EMI) and how countermeasures generally work; special countermeasures are discussed in later chapters. For a deeper understanding, textbooks dedicated to the fundamentals of EMC or even electrodynamics are recommended, e.g. [64] from a theoretical perspective, [10,19,203] from a mathematical/numerical perspective and [174,188] from a practical perspective. Together with EMC, signal integrity and power integrity (SIPI) are also considered. It is important to consider EMC early in the development process. We will pick up the design flow with EMC management, EMC analysis and EMC control in subsequent chapters - in particular, Chapters 6 and 7. We lay foundations for simulation in


Long-term changes in important weather variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation are expected as a response to climate change. These changes may require adjustments to current strategies of planning and management of water resources. The objective of this work was to conduct a spatiotemporal characterization of evapotranspiration in the State of Parana, Brazil, including in this approach a temporal trend analysis. A similar analysis was also conducted for precipitation. Thus, the historical data (1980-2010) from 33 weather stations were analyzed. The spatial distribution of the data was carried out by geostatistical techniques (ordinary kriging) and the trend analysis by the tests Mann-Kendall and Sen. According to the results, evapotranspiration increases from the coast to the interior of the state, with the highest values in the northeast and northwest regions, reaching levels of about 1200 mm yr -1 . The temporal variability of the ET presented a significant upward trend in 12% of the locations, with increases from 2.5 to 7.0 mm yr -1 . Precipitation was higher in the coastal and south-central regions and the lowest amounts were identified in the northeast and northwest regions. The precipitation trend analysis indicated a significant downward trend in precipitation volume of five locations. The evapotranspiration and precipitation showed, in general, no statistically significant trends in most of the stations analyzed; however, the upward trends for ET and downward trends for precipitation indicate local changes in the State of Parana.


What is Tradition? We usually (and wrongly) think it coincides with History. It would be better to think of Traditions, that is various experiences that co-exist in history and can be picked up to build on one's system of values to be passed on to future generations. Our knowledge is actually based on traditions, and literature makes no exception. In this paper the author shows how one tradition, i.e. the comic-humoristic one, has marked European culture and literature. Its extraordinary genealogy has been written down by Gerard de Nerval: from Apuleius through Petronius, Swift, Diderot, Voltaire, up to Lawrence Sterne. Nevertheless, in the course of time, the comic-humoristic tradition has been able to attract many other novelists, poets and artists who have brilliantly enriched our cultural experience. It is possible to go back to the nineteenth century and track down many lines of the comic-humoristic tradition acting in European cultures, in order to show their dynamics, their interactions and their influence even at the outset of children's literature.


The jurisdictions of Shariah Court, except with regard to
Shariah Court in the Federal Territories which only the Parliament has the power to pass law relating to it,are specifically provided in the respective States' Enactments of the Administration of lslamic Law.The power of the
States to pass and make laws relating to Administration
of lslamic Law,is originally conferred by Article 74(2) of the Federal Constitution (FC)and further this position
has been entrenched in List II under the Ninth Schedule to
the Federal Constitution (FC). However, based on the decisions of several case-law in Malaysia it is found that
though the jurisdiction of the Shariah Court is clear on
and over the said matters as conferred by the statutory
provisions, yet there are certain enumerated matters which are still could not be decided freely and independently
by the Shariah Court.These matters instead, have fallen into
the realm of the Ordinary Civil Courts.It is contended
that,this uncertainty would result in 'chaos' on the Shariah
Court's jurisdiction and power to freely determine over its
own matters.This phenomenon could shroud in uncertainty over and fetter the exclusiveness and entrenched jurisdictions and powers of the Shariah Court itself, which could even, arguably, reach the pinnacle of neglecting the
significant of Article 121(1A)of the FC, in which, this
provision has specifically ousted the Ordinary Civil Courts
from interfering with the jurisdictions of the Shariah
Court over certain exclusive matters.This paper will highlight the issues and will suggest certain measures in
order to promote and upgrade the status and due functions of the Shariah Court in Malaysia.


During the last 15 years, the chilean researchers on databases have built a strong and cohesive group with wide international visiblity. In the present article, we briefly survey the history of the group and describe the research done by the team in 5 big areas: Semantic web databases, graph databases, data exchange, access control policies, and spatial databases. We also describe the international collaboration networks of the group and the participation of the group members in the organization of AMW, the most important regional event in data management. We finish the article by explaining what are the next steps for the group and what are the plans to achieve them.


State Class Graph is a very useful tool to analyse Time Petri nets properties. It generates however a states explosion problem in large Petri nets. This can be overcome by using unfolding technique, which still imposes restrictions on time analysis. This paper proposes a relaxation in the unfolding process, which generates a new occurrence net, in which all temporal sequences are preserved.


Abstract This paper positions Aesthetics, specifically the politics of Aesthetics, as a frame for approaching traditionally conservative subfields of education, such as science education. Drawing primarily from Jacques Rancière's work on Aesthetics and Politics, and Donna Haraway's work with String Figures (SF), we outline the political stakes of engaging, transforming, and 'playing-with' the aesthetic dimensions of what science education (and education more broadly) might look like. In the first part of the article, we highlight the political potentiality of a turn toward aesthetics in (science) education, which includes a discussion of theory that supports this shift. We aim to, in part, disrupt the current distribution of the sensible to more deeply, and visibly, entangle science education with multi-species justice and a politics of equality writ large. In the second part of this article, we present our own string figure, an example of what we mean by a radical aesthetic shift in terms of what it allows students to see as visible, possible, and sensible in the world through science and education. We weave a string figure/SF story about our bee companions, who are/have been deeply affected by the Anthropocene, while simultaneously world-making in the Chthulucene. In concluding, we revisit our primary goal which is to open up new forms of political engagement in science education toward the goal of multi-species justice.


Abstract: Waterfowl infected with avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed infectious virus into aquatic environments, providing a mechanism for transmission among waterfowl, while also exposing the entire aquatic ecosystem to the virus. Aquatic invertebrates such as freshwater snails are likely exposed to IAVs in the water column and sediment. Freshwater snails comprise a significant portion of some waterfowl species' diets, so this trophic interaction may serve as a novel route of IAV transmission. In these experiments, tadpole snails (Physa spp.) were exposed to a low-pathogenicity IAV (H3N8) to determine whether snails can accumulate the virus and, if so, how long virus persists in snail tissues. Snail tissues were destructively sampled and tested by reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR. Our experiments demonstrated that tadpole snails do accumulate IAV RNA in their tissues, although at low titers, for at least 96 h. These results indicate that it may be possible for IAV transmission to occur between waterfowl via ingestion of a natural invertebrate prey item; however, the time frame for transmission may be limited.


Hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is a characteristic feature of neurodegenerative tauopathies including Alzheimer disease. Over-activation of proline-directed kinases, such as cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), has been implicated in the aberrant phosphorylation of tau at proline-directed sites. In this study we tested the roles of Cdk5 and GSK3 in tau hyperphosphorylation in vivo using transgenic mice with p25-induced Cdk5 over-activation. We found that over-activation of Cdk5 in young transgenic animals does not induce tau hyperphosphorylation at sites recognized by the antibodies AT8, AT100, PHF-1, and TG3. In fact, we observed that Cdk5 over-activation leads to inhibition of GSK3. However, in old transgenic animals the inhibition of GSK3 is lost and results in increased GSK3 activity, which coincides with tau hyperphosphorylation at the AT8 and PHF-1 sites. Pharmacological inhibition of GSK3 in old transgenic mice by chronic treatment with lithium leads to a reduction of the age-dependent increase in tau hyperphosphorylation. Furthermore, we found that Cdk5, GSK3, and PP2A co-immunoprecipitate, suggesting a functional association of these molecules. Together, these results reveal the role of GSK3 as a key mediator of tau hyperphosphorylation, whereas Cdk5 acts as a modulator of tau hyperphosphorylation via the inhibitory regulation of GSK3. Furthermore, these findings suggest that disruption of regulation of GSK3 activity underlies tau hyperphosphorylation in neurodegenerative tauopathies. Hence, GSK3 may be a prime target for therapeutic intervention in tauopathies including Alzheimer disease.


Ninety-six undergraduate Greek students (60% sorority, 40% fraternity members) from Bucknell University voluntarily completed an extensive confidential questionnaire which included an assessment of their ranking of 19 life goals. Goals ranked the highest by these respondents were "being happy," "being in love," "having close friends," "having a life partner/spouse," and "having relatives." Significant fraternity-sorority differences emerged on several goals. In spite of the public image of the Greek system as fostering and socializing their members for public life and political office, these respondents emphasized emotional, personal, relationship goals over a life of public service. Implications for students, faculty, and administrators are suggested. ********** At the beginning of the millennium, about 350,000 college students were members of a fraternity. This membership was down from a peak of 400,000 in the early 1900s (Reisberg, 2000). While Greek membership (both fraternity and sorority) has declined nationwide, 60 percent of the 3350 undergraduates at Bucknell University (where the data for this study were collected) were members among the 12 active fraternities and 7 active sororities. Indeed, "Bucknell students have affiliated with fraternities and sororities in larger numbers than at other institutions of comparable size ... average fraternity chapter membership is 60 members and an average sorority chapter numbers 85 ..." (University Office, 2002, p. 24). While some attention has been paid recently to the positive role of fraternity or sorority membership in reducing social alienation among students on campus (Lane and Daugherty, 1999) and in providing support for general education in the liberal arts (McNamara and Cover, 1999), fraternities and sororities have most often received visibility for general alcohol use (Cashin, Presley & Meilman, 1998), binge drinking (Dowdall, Crawford & Wechsler, 1998), and for fostering gender inequality (Stombler and Martin, 1994), permissive sexual socialization (Lottes and Kurlioff, 1994) and a campus rape culture (Boswell and Spade, 1996). But little attention has been given to the life goals of their members. This study reflects the life goals of 96 members immersed in the Greek system at Bucknell University, a private eastern university in Lewisburg, Pa. Our intent was to provide new foci and more depth to the common view of Greek students than the traditional negative image. Data Ninety-six undergraduate sophomore to senior students attending Bucknell University in April 2001 provided the data for this study. Among the respondents, 60% were sorority women; 40% were fraternity men. Respondents were primarily white, with only 6% of either sorority women or fraternity men self-identifying as non-white (African American, Latino, Asian, Asian-American, or biracial). Sixty-four percent of those surveyed were sophomores; 36% were juniors or seniors. No first-year students were included in this sample; first-year students are not allowed to affiliate with or join fraternities or sororities at this institution. These students were from predominantly urban areas (64%) living in intact families (84%). Forty percent of the respondents identified themselves as Catholic; 40% Protestant; 9% Jewish; 3% Muslim or "other"; only 6% responded that they had "no religion." Twenty-two percent of the respondents regarded their family as upper class; 57% as upper middle class; 18% as middle class; only 3% identified their family as working class. The confidential 56 page survey questionnaires were completed by students at prearranged times on campus under the supervision of the first author and her research assistants. This purposive sample of fraternity and sorority members was generated by working with chapter presidents to contact members and to solicit participation. Their incentive for participation in the survey was the opportunity to participate in a lottery and individually win one of several gift certificates to the campus bookstore. …


In an increasingly digital world, identifying signs of online extremism sits at the top of the priority list for counter-extremist agencies.1 Researchers and governments are investing in the creation of advanced information technologies to identify and counter extremism through intelligent large-scale analysis of online data. However, to the best of our knowledge, these technologies are neither based on, nor do they take advantage of, the existing theories and studies of radicalisation. In this paper we propose a computational approach for detecting and predicting the radicalisation influence a user is exposed to, grounded on the notion of 'roots of radicalisation' from social science models. This approach has been applied to analyse and compare the radicalisation level of 112 pro-ISIS vs.112 "general" Twitter users. Our results show the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in detecting and predicting radicalisation influence, obtaining up to 0.9 F-1 measure for detection and between 0.7 and 0.8 precision for prediction. While this is an initial attempt towards the effective combination of social and computational perspectives, more work is needed to bridge these disciplines, and to build on their strengths to target the problem of online radicalisation.


Well under 15% of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is diagnosed at < or =18 years of age. The population is heterogenous and the differences between prepubertal children and pubertals and adolescents are to be considered. Although very little has been reported on children with sporadic DTC under the age of 10 years, juvenile DTC has at least some undeniable differences with adult DTC: (1) larger primary tumor at diagnosis; (2) metastatic pattern and features, namely: (a) greater prevalence of neck lymph node and distant metastases at diagnosis, (b) lungs almost the sole distant metastatic site, (c) pulmonary metastases nearly always functional; (3) closer-to-normal and more frequent sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) expression; and (4) higher recurrence rate but longer overall survival. These differences are especially distinct in prepubertal children. The goals of primary treatment of juvenile DTC are to eradicate disease and extend not only overall, but recurrence-free survival (RFS). Extending RFS is itself a desirable goal in children because it improves quality-of-life, alleviates anxiety during psychologically formative years, reduces medical resource consumption, and may increase overall survival. Primary treatment of DTC generally comprises a combination of surgery, radioiodine ((131)I) ablation, and thyroid hormone therapy applied at varying levels of intensity. Therapeutic decision-making must rely on retrospective adult and/or pediatric outcome studies and on treatment guidelines formulated mostly for adults. Differences between juvenile and adult DTC and physiology dictate distinct treatment strategies for children. We, and many others, advocate a routine intensive approach because of the more advanced disease at diagnosis, propensity for recurrence, and greater radioiodine responsiveness in children, as well as published evidence of significant survival benefits, especially regarding RFS. This intensive approach consists of total thyroidectomy and central lymphadenectomy in all cases, completed by modified lateral lymphadenectomy when necessary and followed by radioiodine administration. However, absence of prospective studies and of universal proof of overall cause-specific survival benefits of this approach have led some to propose more conservative strategies. Most European centers give radioiodine ablation to the vast majority of juvenile DTC patients. Ablation seeks to destroy any residual cancer, including microfoci, as well as healthy thyroid remnant. Large studies have documented the procedure to decrease cause-specific death rates and, in children, to significantly lessen locoregional recurrence rates (by factors of 2-11) independent of the extent of surgery. There is universal agreement on treating inoperable functional metastases with large radioiodine activities. Treatment is especially effective in small tumor foci up to 1 cm in diameter, and should be administered every 6-12 months until complete response, loss of functionality, or attainment of cumulative activities between 18.5-37 GBq (500-1000 mCi). Radioiodine therapy is generally safe. Short-term side effects include nausea and vomiting (more frequent in children than in adults), transient neck pain and edema, sialadenitis (<5% incidence), mild myelosuppression (approximately 25%), transient impairment of gonadal function both in females and males (sperm quality in boys), or nasolacrimal obstruction (approximately 3%), with most cases generally being asymptomatic-moderate, self-limiting, or easily prevented or treated. If pregnancy is ruled out before each (131)I administration, and conception avoided in the year afterward, radioiodine therapy appears not to impair fertility. However, therapeutic (131)I carries a small but definite increase in cancer risk, particularly in the salivary glands, colon, rectum, soft tissue and bone. To better guide primary treatment, different therapeutic combinations should be prospectively compared using RFS as the primary endpoint. Efforts also should be made to identify molecular signatures predicting recurrence, metastasis and mortality.


Synopsis The Symptom Check List (SCL-90R) is a self-report questionnaire which is designed to be suitable for use as a psychiatric case-finding instrument, as a measure of symptom severity, and as a descriptive measure of psychopathology. Scores obtained using the instrument were compared with those obtained from the investigator-based interview, the Present State Examination, in two samples of patients: a sample of patients with chronic physical disease (diabetes mellitus) and a sample of patients with bulimia nervosa. There was good agreement between the two methods of measurement in both samples, suggesting that the SCL-90R performs well in the assessment of neurotic symptoms.


1. Schistocerca gregaria Forsk. possesses about 250 Malpighian tubules arranged in twelve groups, situated dorso-laterally, laterally, ventro-laterally, and in the six intervening positions around the posterior end of the mid-gut. The gut forms an expanded ampulla at the point of entry of each group. 2. Each tubule is composed of five rows of cells, spirally arranged. Upper and lower segments are present, as in Rhodnius (Wigglesworth, 1931), the former very short. There is also a spiral trachea. 3. Tubules arise in seven generations, two in the embryo and one in each of the five nymphal instars. The first embryonal generation is composed of six primary tubules, the second of twelve embryonal secondaries. In the other five a variable number of nymphal secondaries is added, with means of 25, 51, 88, 63, and 6 respectively. The six primary tubules are attached distally to the rectum, the embryonal and first and second instar secondaries pass forwards, the fourth and fifth instar secondaries pass backwards, and the third in both directions. 4. The development of any one tubule comprises a period of initiation, a period of mitosis and elongation, and a period of differentiation. The first is restricted to the first few days of the particular stadium, the second takes place throughout the stadium, and the last throughout the life of the tubule. 5. The secondary tubules are arranged in an arc round the periphery of the ampulla. These arcs are perfectly symmetrical, the tubules arising alternately left and right of the mid-line during all the nymphal stages. 6. Tubule buds formed late in the period of initiation may cease to develop until the corresponding phase of the succeeding instar is reached. 7. The origin of tubules from a posterior interstitial ring and its relation to the interpretation of insect gastrulation and the nature of nymphal developmental cycles is discussed.