This research addresses the application of lean manufacturing concepts to the discrete production sector of a metal fabrication company in Malaysia. The goal of this research was to investigate the application of lean manufacturing tools to reduce production lead time for a dedicated product family. This study is applied to a small metal-based manufacturing company (referred to as ABC).
Root-cause analysis based on behavioral and informational factors was developed for seven waste indicators to identify the waste in managerial-level stage. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is prescribed as part of the lean production portfolio of tools and has been applied in a variety of industries to identify lean tools to try to eliminate the waste. VSM was used to first map the current state in order to realize the current production lead time and to identify sources of wastes at the worker-level stage. Then a future state map was developed using lean tools and techniques and answering the eight questions stated by Rother and Shook (1999). The future state map identifies the reduced production lead time based on lean concept. Two detailed simulation models using system modeling corporation's Arena 7 package was developed. The current state simulation verifies the current production lead time from current state map and the future state simulation which was developed based on the future state map quantifies reduction of production lead time.
It is concluded that using Value Stream Mapping (VSM), the production lead time of 200 units of 'back plate indoor' reduced from less than 15 days in current state map to less than 9 days in future state map. Also, the simulation shows that production lead time reduction to eight days could be accomplished at ABC if lean tools are utilized. Comparing the production lead time of eight days in simulated model and less than nine days in Value Stream Mapping (VSM) showed that VSM is a reliable tool for production schedule and estimating production lead time in lean production system.


Results of an 18 GHz line-of-sight multipath experiment are presented. Airborne and ground based measurements of the meteorology during one event have revealed strong vertical and horizontal refractivity gradients due to ground based layering. Ray tracing has shown this event to be a non-minimum phase fade with sub-nanosecond separation of the rays and an angle-of-arrival spread of 0.4° Signal level statistics are also given; these show strong diurnal variations.


A new parasitic disease affecting cultured sole Solea senegalensis (Kaup, 1858) is characterised by the presence of external protuberances in the skin of the affected fish. These lesions correspond to nodules in the muscular tissue showing an abscess-like aspect. Similar lesions were found in the kidney, heart, liver and digestive tract. Histological sections of these nodules revealed the presence of a large core formed mainly of necrotic tissue surrounded with fibroblasts and macrophages. Round-shaped plasmodial organisms were found in the external layer of the nodules and usually inside macrophages or fibroblasts. These organisms were also observed in the intestinal mucosa inside phagocytic cells or parasitophorous vacuoles within the enterocytes. The morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of these organisms are similar to the morphology of some groups of parasites described as fish pathogens. The main features suggest that these organisms could be amoebae or parasites with an amoeboid or plasmodial form in their developmental cycle.


Cannabis oil is a resinous substance extracted from Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica. Obtained by separating the resins from cannabis flowers using isopropyl alcohol, cannabis oil is increasingly being sought after for its purported anticancer activity. PREPARATIONS: Cannabis oil can be taken orally, inhaled by vaporisation, applied topically or formulated into suppositories. High quality oil has a high percentage of active constituents, and is dependent on the cannabis species, quality of raw plant material, and the extraction procedure. COMMON NAMES: Marijuana oil, hash oil, pot oil, CBD oil, Rick Simpson Oil (RSO). LATIN NAME: Cannabis sativa and C. indica belong to the Cannabaceae family. ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS: The cannabis plant contains over 500 compounds including flavonoids, terpenoids and cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are the active compounds, of which delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound, and cannabidiol (CBD), which counteracts the psychoactive effect of THC, are produced in the highest concentration. MEDICAL CLAIMS: There is a growing interest, as well as numerous unsubstantiated claims, that cannabis and cannabinoids (especially in the high doses found in oil extraction) may kill cancer cells. It is claimed that this is through action on cannabinoid (CB1 and CB2) receptors and results in direct induction of apoptosis, direct inhibition of tumour growth, and inhibition of tumour angiogenesis and metastasis. EVIDENCE: An early clinical trial whose primary end point was to determine the safety of highly purified THC administered intracranially in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, showed possible antiproliferative actions on tumour cells. However, owing to obvious legal reasons, virtually all research has been in vitro or in animal models. Thus far, the best laboratory results have come from using a combination of highly purified THC and CBD, which have shown to exert anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-migratory and anti-invasive actions in a variety of cancers. Conversely, evidence suggests that cannabinoids may encourage cancer cell growth, or have different effects depending on the receptors present on the cancer cell. Resistance to cannabinoids is also likely. More human trials are needed to understand exact mechanisms and signalling by which cannabinoids function. ADVERSE EFFECTS: Cannabinoids are considered to have a favourable safety profile. The lethal dose in animal studies is estimated to be several grams per kilogram. Most reported adverse effects in trials were fatigue and dizziness. Tachycardia, hypotension, decreased gastrointestinal motility, and muscle relaxation may occur as well as CNS effects (stimulation and depressing); however tolerance to unwanted effects develops quickly. Synthetic cannabinoids are advised not to be used in patients with a history of cardiovascular or psychotic disorder, children under 18 years, women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding, and women and men who are planning a family. DRUG INTERACTIONS: Drug-drug and drug-disease interactions are largely unknown due to few human trials available. There may be an additive effect when used concomitantly with medication that affects heart rate (eg anticholinergics and tricyclic antidepressants) and alertness (benzodiazepines, opiates, alcohol). Studies show cannabinoids may induce CYP1A2, CYP2C and CYP3A, and CBD can inactivate CYP3A4, however it is unknown whether this is clinically significant. A known interaction with dronabinol is ritonavir. Language: en


This research explores the working conditions of social workers around the globe, using a mixed-methods approach. A survey of working conditions and wellbeing was distributed to social workers via email and social media. Results subsequently informed the interview schedule for individual semi-structured interviews with social work leaders from across the world. Results confirm that social workers have among the most difficult working conditions of all equivalent professions, with detrimental effects on services for individuals and communities due to burnout and retention. Suggested solutions include legal recognition of the social work profession, improved management support and better pay and conditions.


The use of stem cells derived from adipose tissue as an autologous and self-replenishing source for a variety of differentiated cell phenotypes, provides a great deal of promise for reconstructive surgery. The secret of the human body, stem cells are reserved. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells found in the human body placed in any body tissue characteristics that differentiate and win ever known to cross the tissue instead of more than 200 diseases and thus improve and, rejuvenates the tissues. So far, the cord blood of newborn babies are used as a source of stem cells, bone marrow, and twenty years after tooth stem cells in human adipose tissue, scientists studied more than other sources of stem cells in adipose tissue and discovered that. Increase in number of in vitro studies on adult stem cells, depending on many variables is that the stem cells directly to the desired soybean optimization can be performed.. We will conclude by assessing potential avenues for developing this incredibly promising field. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature on applications of harvest, purification, characterization and cryopreservation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs).


As a matter of principle, suppliers and goods originating in the European Economic Area, in parties to the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement, or to a bilateral agreement concluded with the EU, are protected against any forms of discrimination based on the grounds of nationality, similar to those coming from the EU. Suppliers originating in other countries, falling outside the scope of Article 25 of Directive 2014/24, cannot, however, be guaranteed the same form of protection. The access of the latter to procurement procedures in the EU may hence be blocked, but this essentially is a prerogative of each national government and of each contracting authority. On the other hand, confronted with an assault by Chinese companies which have managed to capture a dangerously big share of the EU public procurement market, the Commission started an active campaign on several fronts. More recently, the Commission decided to make a substantial effort in convincing Member States to come forward with concrete measures by which to restrict in an effective manner the access of third-country and, in particular, Chinese, suppliers to the EU procurement market. In response, the Romanian Government adopted in April 2021 a new set of laws providing for the automatic exclusion from the award procedures of all suppliers residing in one of the countries listed therein. Beyond its immediate economic effect, this measure could create some serious blockages in the market with unimaginable consequences, especially in times of crisis such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Keywords: China;third-country bidders;Romania


BACKGROUND
Underlying conditions in dogs admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) can cause hemostatic dysfunction. Thrombelastography (TEG) may be useful in detecting hemostatic alterations as compared with standard coagulation tests.

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to compare TEG results and those of standard coagulation tests in identifying hemostatic dysfunction in dogs admitted to an ICU and to investigate associations among the variables measured.

METHODS
Tissue factor-activated TEG analysis, d-dimer and fibrinogen concentrations, antithrombin (AT) activity, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and platelet count were measured using standard techniques on 27 dogs admitted to ICU with a disease known to be associated with hemostatic dysfunction and in 31 clinically healthy control dogs. Results were compared between groups using nonparametric tests and kappa analysis; principal component analysis (PCA) and Spearman rank correlation were used to measure associations among variables.

RESULTS
Fourteen of 27 ICU dogs had abnormal TEG tracings, which were used to classify the dogs as hypercoagulable (n=11), hypocoagulable (n=3), or normocoagulable (n=13). Hypercoagulable dogs had significantly increased d-dimer (P=.03) and fibrinogen (P=.01) concentrations compared with normocoagulable dogs. In ICU dogs, positive associations were identified between maximum amplitude (MA), alpha-angle, fibrinogen concentration, and platelet count, and between PT, aPTT, and reaction time (R). Significant correlations were found between MA and fibrinogen (r(s)=.76, P<.001) and between reaction time (R) and PT (r(s)=.51, P=.003).

CONCLUSIONS
TEG was useful in detecting hemostatic dysfunction in dogs in an ICU. Positive associations among variables may provide insight as to how overall coagulation status reflects alterations in clot strength and coagulation time. Dogs with TEG tracings indicative of hypercoagulability are likely in procoagulant states. Future studies of the incidence of thrombotic complications in dogs with hypercoagulable TEG tracings are warranted.


Purpose: To develop an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) - photodiode array (PDA) method to compare the chemical composition of two different medicinal components of Pterocephalus hookeri . Methods: Samples were chromatographically separated in succession using Waters Acquity UPLCR BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) and gradient elution (0.2 % phosphoric acid aqueous -acetonitrile). Using partial least squares discriminant analysis and one-way analysis of variance, attempts were made to distinguish different medicinal parts of P. hookeri . Results: Regression equation for 10 compounds showed good linear regression (R 2 > 0.9994). The relative standard deviations of precision, stability, repeatability and recovery were under 5 %. Compared with the aerial plant part, the root had significantly higher levels of sylvestroside I ( p < 0.01), cantleyoside ( p < 0.001), dipsanosides B (p < 0.01) and dipsanosides A ( p < 0.01), but significantly lower levels of loganic acid (p < 0.001), chlorogenic acid ( p < 0.01), and isochlorogenic acid ( p < 0.01). There were no significant differences between loganin, sweroside and isochlorogenic acid C. Conclusion: The described method is simple, accurate and reproducible, and can be used for the simultaneous determination of 10 major compounds of P. hookeri . The results demonstrate that there is variation in the chemical composition of the aerialpart and root of P. hookeri and that loganic acid and cantleyoside are the primary chemical biomarkers. Keywords: Tibetan medicine, Pterocephalus hookeri , Medicinal parts, Loganic acid and Cantleyoside, UPLC-PDA


This study focuses on gender differences in the extent to which students take real-world considerations into account when working with word problems in mathematics. Previous studies have found that students have a tendency to neglect an appropriate use of real-world knowledge in their word-problem solving, which leads to solutions that are inconsistent with the 'real' situations described in the tasks. Research has also shown that the authenticity of the word problems can influence students' activation of their knowledge of the 'real' situations described in the tasks, as well as their use of this real-world knowledge in order to provide 'realistic' solutions. The study reported here investigates whether there are gender differences in the students' activation and use of real-world knowledge when working with word problems in mathematics. In addition, it investigates whether task authenticity influences boys and girls differently with respect to these real-world considerations. The results show that even though some of the tasks used in the study affected boys and girls differently, across all tasks and students no evidence of gender differences with respect to real-world considerations were found.


To determine the importance of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity in the development of arterial proliferative lesions in a primate model, the response to vascular injury was studied in five baboons treated with oral ciiazapril (20 mg/kg/day) and in five untreated control animals. Each animal underwent three procedures: 1) carotid artery endarterectomy, 2) balloon catheter deendothelialization of the superficial femoral artery, and 3) surgical placement of bilateral aorto-iliac expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (Gore-Tex) vascular grafts. Ciiazapril therapy was initiated 1 week preoperatively and continued throughout the study interval. At 1 and 3 weeks postoperatively, plasma ACE activity was inhibited by more than 96% versus control values. After animals were killed at 3 months, injured vessel and graft segments were evaluated morphometrically. Although the response between animals was variable, average cross-sectional areas of neointima did not differ between the cilazapril-treated and control groups at sites of carotid endarterectomy (0.26it0.12 versus 034±0.17 mm2, respectively; p<0.5), femoral artery ballooning (0.15±0.08 versus 0.11±0.01 mm2; p< 0.5) or at graft anastomoses (1.86±0.50 versus 1.72±0.50 min2;p<0.5). Thus, ciiazapril did not reduce intimal thickening over 3 months in these primate arterial injury models. However, a possible beneficial effect of ciiazapril, which might be apparent at earlier time points or with larger animal groups, cannot be excluded.


Our objective was to illustrate the potential of metabolomics to identify novel biomarkers of illness severity in a child with fatal necrotizing pneumonia caused by methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We present a case report with two control groups and a metabolomics analysis: an infant with fatal MRSA pneumonia, four children with influenza pneumonia (pneumonia control group), and seven healthy children with no known infections (healthy control group). Urine samples were collected from all children. Metabolites were identified and quantified using 1H‐nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Normalized metabolite concentration data from children with influenza pneumonia and healthy controls were compared by using an unpaired Student t test. To identify differentiating metabolites of MRSA pneumonia, the fold change of each metabolite was calculated by dividing each urine metabolite concentration of the patient with fatal MRSA pneumonia by the median urine concentration values of the same metabolite of the patients with influenza pneumonia and healthy controls, respectively. MetScape (http://metscape.ncibi.org/), a bioinformatics tool, was used for data visualization and interpretation. Urine metabolite concentrations previously identified as associated with sepsis in children (e.g., 3‐hydroxybutyrate, carnitine, and creatinine) were higher in the patient with fatal MRSA pneumonia compared with those of patients with influenza pneumonia and healthy controls. The concentrations of additional metabolites—acetone, acetoacetate, choline, fumarate, glucose, and 3‐aminoisobutyrate—were more than 25‐fold higher in the patient with MRSA pneumonia than those of patients with influenza pneumonia and healthy controls. These metabolic changes in the urine preceded the clinical severe sepsis phenotype, suggesting that detection of the extent of metabolic disruption can aid in the early identification of a sepsis phenotype in advance of the clinical diagnosis. These data also support the utility of metabolomics for the development of clinical assays to identify patients with pediatric pneumonia at high risk for deterioration.


Info-metrics is a framework for modeling, reasoning, and drawing inferences under conditions of noisy and insufficient information. It is an interdisciplinary framework situated at the intersection of information theory, statistical inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. In a recent book on the Foundations of Info-Metrics, Golan (OUP, 2018) provides the theoretical underpinning of info-metrics and the necessary tools and building blocks for using that framework. This volume complements Golan's book and expands on the series of studies on the classical maximum entropy and Bayesian methods published in the different proceedings started with the seminal collection of Levine and Tribus (1979) and continuing annually. The objective of this volume is to expand the study of info-metrics, and information processing, across the sciences and to further explore the basis of information-theoretic inference and its mathematical and philosophical foundations. This volume is inherently interdisciplinary and applications oriented. It contains some of the recent developments in the field, as well as many new cross-disciplinary case studies and examples. The emphasis here is on the interrelationship between information and inference where we view the word 'inference' in its most general meaning – capturing all types of problem solving. That includes model building, theory creation, estimation, prediction, and decision making. The volume contains nineteen chapters in seven parts. Although chapters in each part are related, each chapter is self-contained; it provides the necessary tools for using the info-metrics framework for solving the problem confronted in that chapter. This volume is designed to be accessible for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners across the disciplines, requiring only some basic quantitative skills. The multidisciplinary nature and applications provide a hands-on experience for the reader.


Political selection is important to authoritarian regime survival. Although selection outcomes are often observed, it is difficult to decipher elites' logic of decision-making due to their multidimensional preference and the opaque process. Employing a conjoint experiment conducted among over 300 government officials in China, this paper unpacks multidimensional elite preference in entry-level political selection. It finds that while elites comply with institutional norms by selecting candidates based on competence and loyalty, they also take into account personal preference by favoring those with political connections. Kinship ties to government increase a candidate's chance by over 20 percentage points, even though the candidate is not deemed more competent or loyal. These findings demonstrate that authoritarian elites do not always follow the logic of regime survival; there exists an agency problem in political selection that could undermine the effectiveness of the ruling class over time.


A semantic parser maps natural language commands (NLs) from the users to executable meaning representations (MRs), which are later executed in certain environment to obtain user-desired results. The fully-supervised training of such parser requires NL/MR pairs, annotated by domain experts, which makes them expensive to collect. However, weakly-supervised semantic parsers are learnt only from pairs of NL and expected execution results, leaving the MRs latent. While weak supervision is cheaper to acquire, learning from this input poses difficulties. It demands that parsers search a large space with a very weak learning signal and it is hard to avoid spurious MRs that achieve the correct answer in the wrong way. These factors lead to a performance gap between parsers trained in weakly- and fully-supervised setting. To bridge this gap, we examine the intersection between weak supervision and active learning, which allows the learner to actively select examples and query for manual annotations as extra supervision to improve the model trained under weak supervision. We study different active learning heuristics for selecting examples to query, and various forms of extra supervision for such queries. We evaluate the effectiveness of our method on two different datasets. Experiments on the WikiSQL show that by annotating only 1.8% of examples, we improve over a state-of-the-art weakly-supervised baseline by 6.4%, achieving an accuracy of 79.0%, which is only 1.3% away from the model trained with full supervision. Experiments on WikiTableQuestions with human annotators show that our method can improve the performance with only 100 active queries, especially for weakly-supervised parsers learnt from a cold start. 1


Potassium (K) is an essential element, which is often supplied to horticultural crops via foliar spraying. Some studies have investigated the effect of different foliar-applied K compounds; however, most studies have focussed on crop quality and yield parameters, or were performed with isolated leaf cuticles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rates of the foliar ion penetration and leaf surface deposition of 130 mM K sprays of compounds with markedly different point of deliquescence (POD) and efflorescence (POE) values, the rates having been previously estimated in climate chamber trials. Shoots of field-grown, commercial olive trees were sprayed with K-nitrate (KNO3), K-sulphate (K2SO4), K-chloride (KCl), K-phosphate (K3PO4), K-carbonate (K2CO3) and K-bicarbonate (KHCO3), and leaf samples were collected after 3 and 24 h. Cation and anion concentrations were determined in the leaf tissues, and in a preliminary leaf water wash for estimating surface-deposited ion concentrations. No significant leaf tissue K increments were recorded between the K sprays. Olive tissue anion concentrations showed different patterns, and a chloride (Cl−) increase was detected 3 h after the foliar KCl supply. On the other hand, the foliar K applications led to leaf nitrate changes regardless of the K source supplied. High amounts of K and accompanying ions were recovered in the washing liquid of the foliar K-supplied leaves. Some foliar K treatments increased the leaf surface concentration of sulphate and chloride, suggesting a potential effect on leaf cell anion extrusion. Hence, despite no evidence of foliar K uptake, an effect of leaf anion concentrations was observed, indicating that foliar nutrient sprays may influence leaf and leaf surface anion balance.


In depth image-based 3-D video transmission, the compressed video stream is very likely to be corrupted by channel errors. Due to the high compression ratio of H.264/AVC, it is often common that an entire coded picture is packetized into one packet. Thus the loss of a packet may result in the loss of the whole video frame. Currently, most of the frame concealment methods are mainly for 2-D video transmission. In this paper, we have proposed an efficient frame concealment algorithm for depth image-based 3-D video transmission, which is able to provide accurate estimation for the motion vectors of the lost frame with the help of the depth information. Simulation results show that it is highly effective and significantly outperforms other existing frame recovery methods by up to 2.91 dB.


The current study explores the lived experiences of female psychologists who provide psychological treatment to women survivors of sexual assault. These practitioners are a population of special interest due to the frequency of their exposure to narratives and graphic images of sexual trauma. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 female South African psychologists. The data, which were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological approach, revealed experiences characteristic of vicarious traumatization. Participants reported having an enhanced sense of personal vulnerability to sexual assault and heightened awareness of the betrayals of trust that women experience from male figures, which has led to increased mistrust of men and hypervigilance regarding the safety of their daughters. Internalization of feelings of helplessness experienced by the victim evoked self-blame for practitioners and appraisals of being complicit in abuse. Practitioners also experienced survivor guilt about being spared from harm. Symptoms of intrusive re-experiencing of client trauma and cognitive and behavioral disengagement were evident. These findings have important implications for clinical practice and underscore the necessity for clinicians to cultivate an awareness of the impact of treating sexual trauma and working in ways that are self-protective.


Aerosols serve as a source of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) as well as ice nuclei (IN) and influence microphysical properties of clouds. Results from statistical analyses of rain gauge data in the US, Israel and China suggest that increases in the aerosol number concentrations retard the precipitation formation by cloud drop coalescence in warm-phase orographic clouds leading to a suppression of orographic precipitation. In mixed-phase orographic clouds observational studies indicate that an increase in the aerosol load inhibits the precipitation development by riming leading to less snowfall. It is hypothesized that aerosol-cloud interactions reduce the amount of orographic precipitation on the upslope side of the mountain and enhance the precipitation on the downslope side when the number of aerosols is increased. The net effect may lead to a shift of the precipitation distribution towards the leeward side of mountain ranges thereby affecting the hydrological cycle in mountainous regions. In this thesis aerosol-cloud interactions in warm-phase and mixed-phase clouds are investigated with numerical simulations. Model simulations of moist orographic flow over topography are conducted to understand the potential influence of anthropogenic and natural aerosols on the precipitation formation in mountainous terrain and on the orographic precipitation distribution. The simulations are performed with the mesoscale nonhydrostatic limited-area weather prediction model COSMO and a horizontal grid spacing of 2 km. In order to treat aerosol-cloud interactions realistically an aerosol microphysics scheme is implemented in COSMO and is coupled to a sophisticated two-moment bulk-microphysics parameterization. In this framework novel parameterizations of cloud droplet nucleation and heterogeneous ice nucleation are introduced to account for aerosol size distributions and chemical compositions. For the microphysical initialization of model simulations observations from a field campaign are employed. Different aerosol size distribution and aerosol compositions are used to represent the range of typical conditions in central Switzerland. In warm-phase orographic clouds it is found that an increase in the aerosol number concentrations leads to a downstream shift of the orographic precipitation distribution and to an increase in the spillover factor (i.e. the leeward precipitation fraction). A reduction of warm-phase orographic precipitation is observed on the upslope side of the mountain. The downslope precipitation enhancement critically depends on the width of the mountain and on the flow dynamics. In the case of orographic precipitation induced by stably stratified unblocked flow conditions, the loss in upslope precipitation is not compensated by leeward precipitation enhancement. In contrast, flow blocking may lead to leeward precipitation enhancement and eventually to a compensation of the upslope precipitation loss. However, the loss in upslope precipitation also depends on the geometry of the mountain, such as the half-width, and is most severe for narrow mountains where the orographic spillover factor is high. The simulations indicate that latent heat effects induced by aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions may considerably affect the orographic flow dynamics and consequently feed back on the orographic precipitation development. In mixed-phase orographic clouds dust aerosols serve as efficient ice nuclei in the contact mode and lead to an early initiation of the ice-phase. As a consequence, the riming rates in the cloud are increased leading to an increased precipitation efficiency and to an enhancement of orographic precipitation. The simulations suggest that for anthropogenic aerosols the mixing state of the aerosols plays a crucial role since coating and mixing may deactivate potential ice nuclei in the contact mode. If parts of the aerosol spectrum are considered as externally mixed black carbon, riming in orographic clouds is increased and orographic precipitation is greatly enhanced. In contrast, if the aerosol spectrum is considered as internally mixed the riming rates are decreased leading to a decrease in orographic precipitation.


We consider the online sparse linear regression problem, which is the problem of sequentially making predictions observing only a limited number of features in each round, to minimize regret with respect to the best sparse linear regressor, where prediction accuracy is measured by square loss. We give an inefficient algorithm that obtains regret bounded by $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{T})$ after $T$ prediction rounds. We complement this result by showing that no algorithm running in polynomial time per iteration can achieve regret bounded by $O(T^{1-\delta})$ for any constant $\delta > 0$ unless $\text{NP} \subseteq \text{BPP}$. This computational hardness result resolves an open problem presented in COLT 2014 (Kale, 2014) and also posed by Zolghadr et al. (2013). This hardness result holds even if the algorithm is allowed to access more features than the best sparse linear regressor up to a logarithmic factor in the dimension.


Low-cost airlines (LCAs) represent a new category of airlines that provides low-fare flights. The rise and growth of LCAs has intensified the price competition among airlines, and LCAs require continuous efforts to reduce their operating costs to lower flight prices; however, LCA passengers still demand high-quality services. A common measure of airline service quality is on-time departure performance. Because LCAs apply efficient aircraft utilization and the time between flights is likely to be small, additional effort is required to avoid flight delays and improve their service quality. In this paper, we apply state-of-the-art predictive modeling approaches to real airline datasets and investigate the feasibility of machine learning methods for cost reduction and service quality improvement in LCAs. We address two prediction problems: fuel consumption prediction and flight delay prediction. We train predictive models using flight and passenger information, and our experiment results show that our regression model predicts the amount of fuel consumption more accurately than flight dispatchers, and our binary classifier achieves an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.75 for predicting a delay of a specific flight route.


In higher education and elsewhere, divisive polarizations between ethnically and culturally different people persist despite the efforts in academia to expand discourse in order to achieve true plurality and inclusiveness. For example, cultural and artistic expression in Haiti is commonly regarded as a strictly African-European nexus, disregarding the contributions of indigenous Americans. Not much has changed since Jack D. Forbes wrote his book, Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and Evolution of Red-Black Peoples, over ten years ago. Forbes articulated what had become obvious, yet incredible: that writers, scientists, historians and artists have largely dismissed the multiple mixture of cultures and races that characterizes the Americas.1 He encouraged further study of the confluences between African and Native people in all disciplines. Little has been done to study this subject from the discipline of the visual arts, even while art is widely celebrated as one of Haiti's most significant achievements and exports. The visual arts mirror the past, present, and future of a society. The negation of the contributions, real and potential, of those who are simply (albeit vastly) outnumbered prevents us from knowing the whole truth about ourselves and about others. Time has shown us again and again that the human spirit persists, adapts, and survives, even through its bleakest moments and across generations, even if only in the subtlest of visible forms. In Haiti, this spirit not only survived, but its rich African heritage flourished. Sometimes art can help to uncover more truth, or at least provide a starting point from which to extend what artist Newton Harrison has called the "conversational drift" of our time. The Native American legacy in Haitian art was largely ignored until the mid-1990s when an art exhibition-marking 500 years since the first European contact with Haiti-was presented at the Chicago Cultural Center.2 That exhibit seems to have spurred other artists in Haiti and the Diaspora to make this forgotten aspect of Haiti's history visible, though within the prevailing notion that all native people-and their cultural influence-in Haiti were "wiped out" in the 16th century, soon after the arrival of the Spaniards. The earliest evidence of people in the Caribbean around 4,000 BCE comes from Taino sites in Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.3 Thus, much of the scholarship in this area concerns the Taino people, but little of that work has addressed their presence in Haiti proper. This paper will also look to common elements in the history, culture, and art of the Dominican Republic and Cuba. In addition, Haiti at one time included the eastern portion of the island of Hispaniola that it now shares with the Dominican Republic, and the eastern portion of Cuba is home to many Haitian descendants. While other nations of the Greater Antilles have also studied Taino culture, Cuba and the Dominican Republic seem most relevant to the aim of discovering the far-reaching contributions of the relationship between African and Taino people to Haiti and to her art.4 Historical Background Island Arawakan people, including the Taino and Caribs, who inhabited the Caribbean at the time of European arrival in 1492, constitute part of the triad of Christian, African and Amerindian sources that provide a common basis for most Caribbean religious systems, including Haitian Vodou and the Santeria of the Spanish-speaking islands. Each is widely acknowledged as a creolization of West African religions originating in the lands of Dahomey, Yoruba, and Kongo (among others) and crafted to coexist covertly alongside Christianity under the noses of the particular colonizing culture. Questions of national identity can become all-consuming when a nation is struggling for survival. The Negritude movement generated pride in both individual and national identity; in the process, perhaps it also blotted out some of Haiti's reality. …


© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, London. In previous work a linear model of driver steering control was developed which takes account of human sensory dynamics and limitations. In this paper various approaches to modelling a driver's control of a nonlinear vehicle are compared. In contrast to research focussed on modelling the optimal driver, the aim of this work is to develop a realistic model of driver steering behaviour. Simulations were run to compare various nonlinear state estimators and controllers. In general a trade-off was found between simulation time, which could also represent mental load, and controller performance. Experiments are planned to compare the results of these simulations against measured steering behaviour from human drivers.


The key design challenges in the construction of a SAT-based relational engine are described, and novel techniques are proposed to address them. An efficient engine must have a mechanism for specifying partial solutions, an effective symmetry detection and breaking scheme, and an economical translation from relational to boolean logic. These desiderata are addressed with three new techniques: a symmetry detection algorithm that works in the presence of partial solutions, a sparse-matrix representation of relations, and a compact representation of boolean formulas inspired by boolean expression diagrams and reduced boolean circuits. The presented techniques have been implemented and evaluated, with promising results.


OBJECTIVE
There has been growing interest in the role that implicit processing of drug cues can play in motivating drug use behavior. However, the extent to which drug cue processing biases relate to the processing biases exhibited to other types of evocative stimuli is largely unknown. The goal of the present study was to determine how the implicit cognitive processing of smoking cues relates to the processing of affective cues using a novel paradigm.

METHOD
Smokers (n = 50) and nonsmokers (n = 38) completed a picture-viewing task, in which participants were presented with a series of smoking, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images while engaging in a distractor task designed to direct controlled resources away from conscious processing of image content. Electroencephalogram recordings were obtained throughout the task for extraction of event-related potentials (ERPs).

RESULTS
Smokers exhibited differential processing of smoking cues across 3 different ERP indices compared with nonsmokers. Comparable effects were found for pleasant cues on 2 of these indices. Late cognitive processing of smoking and pleasant cues was associated with nicotine dependence and cigarette use.

CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that cognitive biases may extend across classes of stimuli among smokers. This raises important questions about the fundamental meaning of cognitive biases, and suggests the need to consider generalized cognitive biases in theories of drug use behavior and interventions based on cognitive bias modification. (PsycINFO Database Record


In this working paper I draw attention to the varying ways underlying forces of economic globalization and global environmental change have been threatening the livelihood security of farmers throughout the Caribbean. The paper also sheds light on some of the local-scale implications of these wider changes, and highlights the fact that the impacts are likely to produce uneven vulnerability outcomes mediated largely around differences in the social and economic landscapes in which individual farmers operate. While the paper draws strongly on the growing body of regional analyses of vulnerability and resilience, I also seek to move the discourse beyond the usual binary and mutually exclusive representations of these two concepts. Instead, I argue that farmers in the Caribbean are neither fully vulnerable nor fully resilient to these global forces. And in fact, their resilience may at times create the very conditions that engender new forms of vulnerability. The paper therefore calls for a critical rethinking (and even decentering) of these two dominant frameworks, if we are to arrive at a better understanding of the root causes and overarching forces shaping regional farmers' insecurities to global change.


Modern ecology often emphasizes the distinction between traditional theories of stable, environmentally structured communities and a new paradigm of disturbance-driven, nonequilibrium dynamics. However, multiple hypotheses for observed vegetation patterns have seldom been explicitly tested. We used multivariate statistics and variation partitioning methods to assess the relative influences of environmental factors and disturbance history on riparian and hillslope forests. Our study area was the Cummins Creek Wilderness, located in the Oregon Coast Range. Most of the wilderness burned at least once between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, creating a mosaic of younger forests with a few old-growth patches. Species composition on hillslopes varied primarily along a climatic gradient from moist maritime environments to drier inland climates but was relatively insensitive to forest age structure. The abundance of Tsuga heterophylla, a fire-sensitive, late-successional tree species, decreased with distance from old-growth patches, suggesting possible seed-source limitations following the historical fires. In contrast to species composition, hillslope forest structure was primarily related to fire history but was largely independent of environmental gradients. Old-growth structure characteristics such as large dominant trees, large snags, high down-wood volumes, and high tree size diversity increased with stand age and with the presence of remnant trees that survived the fires. Riparian forests had high shrub cover, abundant hardwoods, and high down-wood volumes, while the conifer-dominated hillslopes had high overstory density and basal area. Maritime climates and their associated plant species extended further inland in riparian areas than on hillslopes. Advance regeneration densities were higher in riparian forests within 5 km of the coast than in any other portion of the study area. Riparian forest structure and composition were related to both environmental and disturbance variables, with stream gradient and size integrating much of the fine-scale variability in disturbance regimes. No single theoretical framework was sufficient to explain the vegetation patterns observed in these forested watersheds. Our findings suggest a conceptual model of forest landscapes in which the relative influences of environment and disturbance on vegetation patterns are contingent on the facet of vegetation considered (composition vs. structure) and the portion of the landscape examined (hillslope vs. riparian).


It so happens that rocks of Vendian age are extensive and are well exposed in Svalbard. This applies especially to early Vendian, i.e. Varanger, with two distinctive glacial horizons as are treated in the Chapter 13. The Early Varanger (Smalfjord) episode can be correlated in most sections and so provides a reference horizon which serves approximately to identify pre-Varanger rocks. The pre-Vendian rocks have yet to show such good correlation characters. Therefore in Svalbard it is convenient to consider pre-Vendian successions together. Their distribution is shown in the map (Fig. 12.1). Some pre-Vendian sequences are punctuated by unconformities. Moreover, the sequences contain both high-grade metamorphosed and highly deformed rocks as well as undeformed fossiliferous strata. Therefore it is of interest to determine any Preeambrian diastroph-ism and even tectonothermal events. The term proto-basement was introduced (Harland 1997) to distinguish a Preeambrian basement, that formed in (say) Proterozoic time, from the ubiquitous basement formed by Early to mid Paleozoic tectogenesis, but made largely of Preeambrian rocks. It is to distinguish proto-basement within the basement underlying Devonian and Carboniferous strata. Proto-basement from such a study (structural, stratigraphic, isotopic) is shown in darker ornament in Fig. 12.1 and discussed in Section 12.3. Were the spatial relationships between these localities originally as now, intense tectonism, metamorphism and magmatism would suggest a division of Preeambrian history in Svalbard by such events. But Svalbard, small though it is on a global scale, comprises three or more distinct provinces which in Preeambrian and early Paleozoic times may have


Hospital waiting lists and times have become the public measure of government success or failure. This research examined existing hospital outpatient capacity and considered the age-old problem of patients who fail to attend their appointment. A reduction in did-not-attend (DNA) rates would maximize utilization of capacity, ensure early diagnosis and drive down waiting times. The research was designed to determine whether the introduction of outpatient letters, which included the need for positive confirmation of attendance, decreased the incidence of patient non-attendance. Utilizing an experimental design, data gathered at two Plastic Surgery clinics were compared over two three-month periods, pre- and post-implementation. Total attendance and non-attendance were examined in terms of new and review patients, gender and age profile. The research concludes that the intervention tested in this form can now be discounted thus allowing the exploration of subtler solutions.


SAVCHOVSKA, M., A. TOSHEVA and I. TRAYKOV, 2013. Macrophytes mapping and spatial heterogeneity of some physicochemical parameters in Ognyanovo reservoir. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Supplement 2, 19: 267–270 Longitudinal differences in physical and chemical parameters lead to a trophic gradient in the reservoirs. Marked differences in abiotic parameters and trophic response were observed between the riverine and the lacustrine part of Ognyanovo reservoir in relation to nutrients loading. Abundance and species composition of aquatic macrophytes were studied between 2009 and 2012. The observations at each sampling station are based on transect monitoring data. Strong infl uence of water level fl uctuations and seasonal dynamics were observed, which emphasizes the problem of what the proper time is for macrophytes sampling in reservoirs to provide an adequate defi nition of the ecological state in the future. The gathered data are used to produce a map of the macrophytes distribution in the reservoir. Rapid spread of the invasive species Elodea nuttallii is described after it appeared in the reservoir. A multiple point of spreading of E. nuttallii is observed in relation to fi shermen and recreational activities. The E. nuttallii range expansion is assessed by its maximum linear rate of spread.


The international textiles and apparel trade has been one of the most contentious trade issues between the developed and developing countries. Restrictions have been imposed in terms of quota and tariffs on imports since the 1950s. In January 2005, after the phasing out of the multi fire arrangement, the quantitative restrictions will be removed, allowing for free competition between countries for market access. The biggest share of the market will be occupied by countries having a competitive advantage in terms of cost, product quality, responsiveness to market requirements and manufacturing flexibility. Developing economies in the African region which will have to adapt to new market conditions for sustained competitiveness; failing to do so will force them out of the market. This paper provides a review of the international apparel trade policies and focuses on the challenges that African economies involved in apparel exports will face in the wake of world apparel trade liberalisation.


Use of local/regional anesthesia in burn patients is limited by many factors. It is considered as marginal in the multimodal treatment of nociceptive pain. We conducted a retrospective study on regional anesthesia used for analgesia over a period of three years. Given the lack of available literature on this subject, the results obtained from this study will enable suggestions to be made for possible uses of this technique. We identified 634 uses of regional anesthesia of which 96% were in adults. Most cases involved the lower limbs (76%). Spinal anesthesia was performed on 32 patients, including four children. Incidents were infrequent (3%) and had no morbid consequence. Regional anesthesia may be a useful option in a multimodal strategy of analgesia, allowing early passive rehabilitation and recovery after surgical skin grafts. It should be assessed in outpatients, since 95% of burns patients are not hospitalized. Use of regional anesthesia in burn patients should generate more interest to allow the establishment of protocols in multidisciplinary reflection.


This paper presents a new Petri net structure, namely, an interval inhibitor arc, and its application to the optimal supervisory control of Petri nets. An interval inhibitor arc is an arc from a place to a transition labeled with an integer interval. The transition is disabled by the place if the number of tokens in the place is between the labeled interval. The formal definition and the firing rules of Petri nets with interval inhibitor arcs are developed. Then, an optimal Petri net supervisor based on the interval inhibitor arcs is designed to prevent a system from reaching illegal markings. Two techniques are developed to simplify the supervisory structure by compressing the number of control places. The proposed approaches are general since they can be applied to any bounded Petri net models. A marking reduction approach is also introduced if they are applied to Petri net models of flexible manufacturing systems. Finally, a number of examples are provided to demonstrate the proposed approaches and the experimental results show that they can obtain optimal Petri net supervisors for some net models that cannot be optimally controlled by pure net supervisors. Furthermore, the obtained supervisor is structurally simple.


Nearly all signal acquisition techniques follow the much celebrated Shannon's sampling theorem which specifies that the sampling rate of the signal must be at least two times the highest frequency present in the signal. The sampled data is then compressed to make it efficient for storage and transmission. Conventional approach to sampling is expensive in terms of data storage and transmission due to the large number of samples generated. Some cases increasing sampling rate is also very expensive like high speed ADCs, imaging systems, etc. It is also inefficient since lot of the data produced is redundant in nature since most naturally occurring signals are sparse in nature. Compressive sensing addresses these inefficiencies by directly acquiring a compressed signal representation without going through the intermediate stage of acquiring all samples. The sampled data can be reconstructed using computationally intensive algorithm. CS is also superior to conventional approaches in the following regard that the CS performs the time consuming processes at the recovery end rather than the sensing end. Reconstruction algorithms are complex and implementation of these algorithms in software is extremely slow and power consuming due to the reason that it is based on several layer of abstraction and shared resources between multiple processes. On the other hand hardware implementation takes advantage of hardware parallelism, custom datapath creation ability and dedicated hardware for each task. The hardware implementation in the project will be utilizing the OMP algorithm due to its less complexity and faster solution time. The algorithm will be implemented using VHDL. The objective of the project will be to implement the OMP algorithm using optimal resources so as to reduce the reconstruction time without compromising with accuracy intended.


Living Standards in Southeast Asia: Changes over the Long Twentieth Century, 1900-2015 examines changes in living standards across the ten countries of Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) from the early years of the 20th century to the early 21st century. It covers both the last decades of the colonial period, the transition to independence and the decades from 1960 to the 2010s. The study uses a range of monetary and non-monetary indicators to assess how living standards have changed over time. It examines the outcomes in the context of debates about economic growth, inequality and poverty alleviation which began in the 1960s and 1970s, and continue to the present.


The accurate modeling of an on-chip inductor is required to achieve high speed, low power, and low noise in radio-frequency integrated circuits. However, the conventional inductor model has a measurable discrepancy in practice since the current flowing in a substrate is not correctly considered. In this paper, an accurate subcircuit model is proposed for an on-chip inductor with a new substrate network to consider losses generated in both vertical and horizontal directions. The proposed model gives an intelligent explanation of the reduction in equivalent resistance between terminals with increasing frequency. The simulation results show good agreement with the measurement over self-resonance frequency using the proposed inductor model.


The statutory requirement that to obtain a patent an invention must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art helps maintain a balance between the incentives provided by the grant of patents and harm resulting from too many patent grants. In 2007 the Supreme Court in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. increased what would in the future constitute obvious (and thus unpatentable) inventions by: (1) expanding the types of prior art a court must consider in determining obviousness; (2) recognizing steps that are obvious to try might result in inventions that are obvious; and (3) acknowledging that persons having ordinary skill in the art are creative and exercise common sense. However, the Federal Circuit had developed its obviousness test for new pharmaceutical compounds before KSR and has not substantially modified its test since KSR. That test is inconsistent not only with KSR, but also with the obviousness statute itself (§103) and the Federal Circuit's treatment of obviousness for other fields. This article argues that the Federal Circuit or, if the appropriate case reaches it, the Supreme Court should reject the Federal Circuit's obviousness test for new pharmaceutical compounds and follow instead KSR and §103 to appropriately serve the gatekeeping function of patent law's obviousness requirement.


Aiming at overcoming the shortcomings of existing wavelet denoising methods, we propose an image denoising algorithm based on wavelets on invariant sets. These wavelets, in comparison with classical wavelets, have the following features: they have vanishing moments of a high order and at the same time a short filter length. Moreover, boundary extension normally required for classical wavelets in wavelet transformations is not needed for wavelets on invariant sets. We identify a class of discrete orthogonal transforms, such as the discrete cosine transform of the second type, the Hadamard transform, the Slant transform and the Hartley transform with the filters of wavelets on invariant sets. This viewpoint gives us an insightful understanding of these transforms in the framework of the multiscale analysis. In turn, it leads to more efficient algorithms to image denoising. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithm on images with varying noise levels. The numerical results show that our proposed algorithm offers effective noise removal in noisy images.


The present study investigates the development (i.e., rise or decline) in African agricultural efficiency level and what drives the efficiency over the years. A total of 379 frontier studies resulting in 534 farm level efficiency estimates were considered using meta-regression analysis (MRA) for the empirical analysis. The results show that mean efficiency estimates from the selected case studies decrease significantly as year of survey in the primary study increases. Apparently, this implies that over the years, negative efficiency change characterized the growth of African agriculture and food production. The effect of other study attributes considered in the MRA show that studies published in Journals, with parametric and primal technology specification produced significantly higher efficiency estimates, while those published in top ranking journals and with Cobb-Douglass and Translog functional forms produced significantly lower efficiency estimates. Other results show that education, followed by experience; extension and credit are the major drivers of agricultural efficiency levels in Africa over the years. Given these findings; we suggest policies that encourage investment in human capital development associated with education and extension should be prioritized to enhance the growth of agriculture and food production in the region.


In the early 19th century, the Dutch colonial power started to build irrigation works. A main problem for Dutch irrigation engineers on Java was how to ensure that the structures they built remained intact. The peak discharge regime of a river was an issue closely related to dam safety. Modifying the approach of Swiss engineer Lauterburg (1877), Dutch irrigation engineer Melchior developed a methodology to determine design peak flows of Javanese rivers. The Melchior methodology has been the standard method throughout the colonial period, despite sometimes severe criticisms on its appropriateness. In independent Indonesia, the approach developed by Melchior continues to be applied. This paper discusses and explains the endurance of the method developed by Melchior. The focus is on the scientific interaction between different participants. The paper shows how participants from these circles debated and which arguments they exchanged.


James Watts uses rhetorical analysis for this detailed exposition of Leviticus 1-10. In dialogue with a wide variety of contemporary scholarship on Leviticus, this commentary also engages the history of the book's interpretation and the history of Jewish and Christian ritual practices. Leviticus's rhetoric aimed to persuade ancient Israelites to make offerings to God. It legitimized the monopoly of Aaronide priests over Israel's offerings and over determining correct ritual practice. The priests in turn established the Torah containing Leviticus as the authoritative text of Israel's religion. Rhetorical analysis of Leviticus thus leads to new insights into the role of priests in raising the Pentateuch to the status of scripture and in shaping the biblical canon. It also calls attention to the role of ritual rhetoric in the polities of later Jewish and Christian groups, despite the fact that neither religion makes animal offerings as Leviticus 1-10 mandates.


Container-grown Seyval blanc grapevines were subjected to varying crop and leaf levels. In adjusting leaf number, approximately 8 to 10 cm2 leaf area per gram of fruit weight gave maximum total fruit weight, average berry weight, and °Brix. Leaf, stem, and root dry weights increased through 15 cm2/g, the maximum leaf area/ fruit weight measured. Titratable acidity (TA) and pH were not consistently changed. A reduction in leaf area affected vegetative growth first, °Brix next, and fruit weight last. In modifying leaf position in relation to a basal cluster, total fruit weight, °Brix, TA, pH, and vegetative growth were highest on plants with leaves distal to the clusters. These results were likely due to good exposure and greater area of leaves on these distal nodes. Regrowth from an apical node advanced fruit maturity and increased vegetative growth rather than compete with it. Shading lower leaves and the cluster (versus removing lower leaves) did not affect total fruit and average berry weights. Root dry weight was greater where leaves were shaded.


Introduction Vedolizumab (VDZ) is an α4β7 anti-integrin licensed to treat UC and CD. We aimed to assess clinical outcomes and safety of VDZ in IBD patients treated in several hospitals across northern England. Method We retrospectively collected data of patients treated with VDZ at 8 UK centres since 2014. We evaluated clinical response at 12 and 52 weeks using the Physician Global Assessment (PGA), Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) or Mayo score. We collected C reactive protein (CRP) and faecal calprotectin (FC) at baseline and follow-up. Fisher exact test and student's t-test were used to determine statistical significance. Results Of 183 patients (mean 41 years, F/M ratio 1.4:1) 120 (65.6%) had CD, 61 (33.3%) UC, and 2 (1.1%) IBD-U. 18 patients were active smokers. 57 (31%) received immunomodulators, 68 (37%) steroid bridging therapy and 27 (15%) patients were anti-TNF naïve. PGA remission was observed in 33 (31%) CD, 26 (44.8%) UC and 2 (100%) IBD-U patients at 12 weeks and in 6/48 (12.5%) CD and 16/36 (44.4%) UC patients at 52 weeks. A partial response was observed in 51 (48%) CD and 25 (43.1%) UC patients at 12 weeks and in 8/48 (16.6%) CD and 10/36 (27.7%) UC patients at 52 weeks. At 52 weeks, VDZ was more effective in maintaining remission in UC than CD (p<0.05). In CD patients, mean CRP, FC and HBI significantly improved at 12 weeks, with a further improvement of HBI at 52 weeks. In UC, mean FC and Mayo score significantly decreased at 12 weeks, whereas CRP did not improve. Non-smoking status was associated with better response (p<0.05). 43 patients (23.5%) discontinued VDZ (average exposure 4.5 months). Reported side effects occurred in 21 cases (11%): 3 urticarial rashes, 6 pneumonias, 3 nasopharyngitis, 2 skin infections, 2 sepsis, 1 viral meningitis, 1 EBV infection, 1 urinary tract infection, and 2 abnormal liver function tests. Overall incidence of infection was 12 per 100 person-years of VDZ exposure. Conclusion VDZ is a safe and effective therapy even in this cohort of predominantly anti-TNF exposed patients. Induction data are similar for CD and UC, but VDZ seems to be more successful in maintaining remission for UC. The incidence of infectious complications was comparable to that seen with anti-TNF therapies (average 14 per 100 person-years). Disclosure of Interest M. Lenti: None Declared, S. Levison: None Declared, E. Eliadou: None Declared, R. Robert Willert: None Declared, K. Kemp: None Declared, C. Stansfield: None Declared, A. Assadsangabi: None Declared, S. Singh: None Declared, B. Crooks: None Declared, S. Tattersall: None Declared, C. Kenneth: None Declared, S. Subramanian: None Declared, C. Probert: None Declared, D. Storey: None Declared, B. Gregg: None Declared, P. Smith: None Declared, E. Liu: None Declared, J. Limdi: None Declared, A. Johnston: None Declared, PJ Hamlin: None Declared, C. Selinger Conflict with: Warner Chilcott, and Abbvie, Conflict with: Warner Chilcott, Dr Falk, Abbvie, Janssen and Takeda


We show that coherent multiple light scattering, or diffuse light propagation, in a disordered atomic media prepared at ultralow temperatures can be effectively delayed in the presence of a strong control field initiating a stimulated Raman process. On a relatively short time scale, when the atomic system can preserve its configuration and effects of atomic motion can be ignored, the scattered signal pulse, diffusely propagating via multiple coherent scattering through the media, can be stored in the spin subsystem through its stimulated Raman-type conversion into spin coherence. We demonstrate how this mechanism, potentially interesting for developing quantum memories, would work for the example of a coherent light pulse propagating through an alkali-metal atomic vapor under typical conditions attainable in experiments with ultracold atoms.


A case is presented of a 70-year-old white male who underwent a bilateral cosmetic lower lid blepharoplasty with fat removal. He subsequently developed a right orbital haemorrhage which resulted in the occlusion of the central retinal artery. The patient had no light perception with his right eye for approximately 1 hour, but vision was eventually restored to 20/20 after emergency therapeutic measures. There are many possible causes of visual loss following blepharoplasty, with orbital haemorrhage being the most common. Visual loss secondary to blepharoplasty can be prevented in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of surgery. Blindness as a complication of cosmetic blepharoplasty can be reversible if recognised early and treated appropriately. These facts must be kept in mind by all surgeons who perform blepharoplasties.


The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among information technology, organizational structure, cross-functional team interaction, and the performance of new product development (NPD). Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 102 NPD cases. The findings suggest that the degree of investment and training on information technology is positively related to cross-functional team interaction; that when the organizational structure is more decentralized and less formalized, cross-functional team interaction is more favorable; and that cross-functional team interaction is positively related the performance of NPD. This study contributes to the theoretical development of a conceptual model in examining the mediating role of cross-functional team interaction between contextual variables and the outcome of NPD. The empirical evidences support the process-oriented view, and indicate that information technology and organizational structure can deliver a better performance of NPD but do so primarily through improving cross-functional team interaction. This study provides the theory building, explanatory variance, missing in the literature that did not look at the black box of relationships between information technology, organizational structure, and outcome of NPD. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.


Despite some advantages over traditional (offline) labor markets – such as lower search costs, better matching and improved monitoring – online labor markets (OLMs) have not taken off as initially expected. In this paper, we study the factors that limit perceived project success on OLMs. Using psychological contract theory, we theorize how common OLM features including contracts with virtual monitoring, multi-freelancer projects, and simultaneous projects by a client trigger the perception of psychological contract breach among OLM participants and reduce perceived project success for both participants. We test these hypotheses using an extensive dataset with more than 143,000 transactions on the world's largest freelancing platform, Upwork, and find that – contrary to predictions from agency theory – projects equipped with strict freelancer monitoring (hourly-pay contracts) and projects enabling peer comparison (multi-freelancer projects or multiple simultaneous projects), lead to lower perceived project success both from the freelancer's and the client's perspective. Our work implies that transactions on online labor markets should not be viewed solely as agency relations, and that some features that supposedly reduce agency costs and improve efficiency on OLMs come at the cost of triggering the perception of psychological contract breach.


As the existing radio-frequency (RF) networks cannot meet the ever-increasing data rate demand, the optical wireless communication (OWC), which uses a wide untapped unregulated spectrum, has been proposed as a promising technology to overcome the RF spectrum limitations. On the other hand, with the increasing demand for high data rate and the prevalence of the broadcast-nature networks, researchers have recently come up with new mechanisms to improve secure communication using physical layer techniques. Compared to RF networks, the OWC networks are more secure and less susceptible to the interception because of the small coverage provided by LEDs, and because they work properly only in the presence of the line-of-sight (LoS) components. However, the security in OWC networks is still an issue, especially in visible light communication (VLC) when the transmitted information can be accessed by multiple users as in public areas, meeting rooms, laboratories, and libraries. That means potential eavesdroppers may be existing to gather confidential messages. This paper reviews all the conducted work on physical layer security (PLS) in two types of OWC networks, which are the VLC and free space optical (FSO) networks. Furthermore, the paper proposes several open problems in these networks to optimize and enhance the security performance.


This paper develops a view of exchange rate policy as a trade-off between the desire to smooth fluctuations in real exchange rates so as to reduce distortions in consumption allocations, and the need to allow flexibility in the nominal exchange rate so as to facilitate terms of trade adjustment. We show that optimal nominal exchange rate volatility will reflect these competing objectives. The key determinants of how much the exchange rate should respond to shocks will depend on the extent and source of price stickiness, the elasticity of substitution between home and foreign goods, and the amount of home bias in production. Quantitatively, we find the optimal exchange rate volatility should be significantly less than would be inferred based solely on terms of trade considerations. Moreover, we find that the relationship between price stickiness and optimal exchange rate volatility may be non-monotonic.


This final section considers what can be done to cope with stigma. Kunreuther and Slovic identify four strategies for coping with stigma. Walker, in a response to Kunreuther and Slovic, questions the assumption that society ought to adopt the nor-mative values of reducing stigma through a variety of strategies or techniques. Fischhoff proposes a definition of stigma and draws a number of inferences including that " stigma reflects a moral statement of what constitutes unacceptable behavior. " When this is the case, Fischhoff says that attempts to change or adjust perceptions, evaluations, or behaviors that stigma produces , presume a moral superiority on the part of those applying strategies to cope with stigma. In a final comment, he notes that this " may not be a comfortable, or appropriate, role for social scientists. " 21


Vitrification solutions containing both permeating and non-permeating cryoprotectants provide better productions of oocytes during freezing and thus contribute to the survival of oocytes. We have investigated the efficency of sucrose in combination with propylene glycol (PROH) on the cryopreservation of the oocytes at the meoisis II (MII) stage. The vitrification of sheep oocytes was performed using 5 M PROH, PROH in combination with sucrose at varying concentrations (5 M PROH + 0.5 M sucrose/1 M sucrose/1.5 M sucrose/2 M sucrose) and 1.0 M sucrose. It was concluded that sucrose in combination with propylene gylcol is most efficient at concentration between 1.0 to 1.5 M. Sucrose was found to aid in the maintainance of the morphological structure of the oocytes vitrified but at high concentrations sucrose has adverse effect on cleavage. Hence sucrose is best used as an additive cryoprotectant when supporting a permeating cryoprotectant, which maintains the integirty of the internal structures through its permeability.


Developing more efficient automated methods for interpretable machine learning (ML) is an important and longterm machine-learning goal. Recent studies show that unintelligible "black" box models, such as Deep Learning Neural Networks, often outperform more interpretable "grey" or "white" box models such as Decision Trees, Bayesian networks, Logic Relational models and others. Being forced to choose between accuracy and interpretability, however, is a major obstacle in the wider adoption of ML in healthcare and other domains where decisions requires both facets. Due to human perceptual limitations in analyzing complex multidimensional relations in ML, complex ML must be "degraded" to the level of human understanding, thereby also degrading model accuracy. To address this challenge, this paper presents the Dominance Classifier and Predictor (DCP) algorithm, capable of automating the process of discovering human-understandable machine learning models that are simple and visualizable. The success of DCP is shown on the benchmark Wisconsin Breast Cancer dataset with the higher accuracy than the accuracy known for other interpretable methods on these data. Furthermore, the DCP algorithm shortens the accuracy gap between interpretable and non-interpretable models on these data. The DCP explanation includes both interpretable mathematical and visual forms. Such an approach opens a new opportunity for producing more accurate and domain-explainable ML models.


Abstract:Does using knowledge politically to explain or justify predetermined policy positions make a difference? Most theory suggests no. This article traces how developing country negotiators used knowledge to further their interests in loss and damage (L&D) negotiations from 2003 to 2013. The analysis shows an institutional effect, whereby knowledge was used to establish L&D as a theme under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the same time, an indirect effect emerges at the individual level as knowledge provides actors with a sense of clarity and legitimacy that strengthens their resolve in defending political positions, leaving surprising traces during moments of bargaining. These insights invite critical reflections on the normative dimensions of political knowledge use.


Recently, the computer vision and machine learning community has been in favor of feature extraction pipelines that rely on a coding step followed by a linear classifier, due to their overall simplicity, well understood properties of linear classifiers, and their computational efficiency. In this paper we propose a novel view of this pipeline based on kernel methods and Nystrom sampling. In particular, we focus on the coding of a data point with a local representation based on a dictionary with fewer elements than the number of data points, and view it as an approximation to the actual function that would compute pair-wise similarity to all data points (often too many to compute in practice), followed by a Nystrom sampling step to select a subset of all data points.
Furthermore, since bounds are known on the approximation power of Nystrom sampling as a function of how many samples (i.e. dictionary size) we consider, we can derive bounds on the approximation of the exact (but expensive to compute) kernel matrix, and use it as a proxy to predict accuracy as a function of the dictionary size, which has been observed to increase but also to saturate as we increase its size. This model may help explaining the positive effect of the codebook size and justifying the need to stack more layers (often referred to as deep learning), as flat models empirically saturate as we add more complexity.


A finite state Markov random field is observed in Gaussian noise. Changes of measures are defined under which all random variables of the signal are independent and uniformly distributed over the finite state space and all random variables of the observation are independent and N(0,1). The problem of estimating the most likely signal given the observations is treated in a related form by introducing probabilities over the possible signals. >


Several inorganic ion exchangers were tested for 89Sr and 137Cs removal from simulated DOE aqueous defense wastes (NCAW and 101SY-Cs5) and a Hanford groundwater solution (N-springs). The materials used in this scoping study consisted of the three-dimensional tunnel-structured pharmacosiderites [M3H(AO)4(BO4)3'4-6H2O (M ) H, K; A ) Ti, Ge; B ) Si, Ge)]; the layered sodium nonatitanate, Na4Ti9O20'xH2O; and two commercially available exchangers, AW-500 and clinoptilolite. 89Sr and 137Cs distribution coefficient (Kd) measurements showed that all of the synthetic exchangers removed at least 97% of the 89Sr from the N-springs groundwater simulant in a single static equilibration. This simulant also contained parts per million levels of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Na+. Similarly, many of the same materials also efficiently removed 137Cs (>98%) from the same solution, except for sodium titanate, which exhibited the lowest Kd of 1210 mL/g for Cs+. These preliminary Kd values provide an indication that these exchangers may act as dual Cs+ and Sr2+ sorbers for groundwater remediation applications. The different phases were also tested as potential exchangers for 137Cs and 89Sr in different nuclear waste simulants. While the materials showed little preference for 137Cs in highly basic solutions containing large concentrations of NaNO3, a potassium titanosilicate and the sodium titanate yielded 89Sr Kd values of 20 180 mL/g (DF ) 91) and 235 120 mL/g (DF ) 1177), respectively.


This study examined the connection between subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) among a group of Chinese pre-service mathematics teachers teaching three-term ratio. Both video-based interview and task-based interview approaches were employed to investigate six pre-service teachers' (PSTs) conceptual understanding of ratio and their PCK on teaching the topic. The results suggest that the PSTs had an unstable and inconsistent understanding of the concept of ratio, which influenced their presentation of the concept of three- term ratio. Those who possessed multiple understandings of this concept tended to be more flexible when choosing different representations. Some implications for future studies on investigating the relationship between SMK and PCK and for teacher education were discussed.


Throughout the developing world, many countries have created special economic zones to attract investment and spur industrial growth. In some cases, these zones are designed to promote development in poorer regions with limited market access and lower quality infrastructure, an example of a "big push" development strategy. In this paper, we study the effects of Indonesia's Integrated Economic Development Zone (KAPET) program. This program provided substantial tax-breaks for firms that locate in certain districts in the Outer Islands of Indonesia, a country with large regional differences in per-capita income and a history of policies to promote inclusive growth. We find that along many dimensions, KAPET districts experienced no better development outcomes, and in some cases fared even worse, than their non-treated counterparts. If anything, the strongest finding is that firms in KAPET districts paid lower taxes, but these tax reductions neither encouraged greater firm entry, increased migration, nor raised local measures of output or welfare. Overall, the KAPET program does not appear to have achieved the intended outcome of promoting growth in lagging regions. While there are many possible reasons that the KAPET program failed, our findings suggest caution in spending scarce resources to subsidize development in lagging regions.


As one who has led inspection teams in North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and other nations, Olli Heinonen says he cannot discount the possibility that a nuclear weapon will be used in the next 10 years. He asserts that the verification regime of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty may need an overhaul to contend with current developments such as the nuclear ambitions of non-state actors. He offers perspective on North Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons, Israel's bombing of a suspected nuclear facility in Syria, Iran's ambition to enrich uranium, the challenges of stopping proliferation, and the need for closer international cooperation and firmer action against proliferators.


Summary The elucidation of lipid metabolism in microalgae has attracted broad interest, as their storage lipid, triacylglycerol (TAG), can be readily converted into biofuel via transesterification. TAG accumulates in the form of oil droplets, especially when cells undergo nutrient deprivation, such as for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), or sulfur (S). TAG biosynthesis under N‐deprivation has been comprehensively studied in the model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, during which TAG accumulates dramatically. However, the resulting rapid breakdown of chlorophyll restricts overall oil yield productivity and causes cessation of cell growth. In contrast, P‐deprivation results in oil accumulation without disrupting chloroplast integrity. We used a reverse genetics approach based on co‐expression analysis to identify a transcription factor (TF) that is upregulated under P‐depleted conditions. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the mutants showed repression of genes typically associated with lipid remodeling under P‐depleted conditions, such as sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol 2 (SQD2), diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGTT1), and major lipid droplet protein (MLDP). As accumulation of sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol and TAG were suppressed in P‐depleted mutants, we designated the protein as lipid remodeling regulator 1 (LRL1). LRL1 mutants showed slower growth under P‐depletion. Moreover, cell size in the mutant was significantly reduced, and TAG and starch accumulation per cell were decreased. Transcriptomic analysis also suggested the repression of several genes typically upregulated in adaptation to P‐depletion that are associated with the cell cycle and P and lipid metabolism. Thus, our analysis of LRL1 provides insights into P‐allocation and lipid remodeling under P‐depleted conditions in C. reinhardtii. Open Research Badges This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally‐shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The sequencing data were made publicly available under the BioProject Accession number PRJDB6733 and an accession number LC488724 at the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ). The data is available at https://trace.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/BPSearch/bioproject?acc=PRJDB6733; http://getentry.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/getentry/na/LC488724. The metabolome data were made publicly available and can be accessed at http://metabolonote.kazusa.or.jp/SE195:/; http://webs2.kazusa.or.jp/data/nur/.


Gene mutation has an important role in disease pathogenesis; therefore, genetic screening is a useful tool for diagnosis. The present study screened pathogenic genes, ectodysplasin A (EDA) and lamin A/C (LMNA), in a patient with suspected syndromic hearing impairment and various other symptoms including tooth and skin abnormalities. Large-scale sequencing of 438 deafness-associated genes and whole-genome sequencing was also performed. The present findings did not identify copy number variation and mutations in EDA; therefore, excluding the possibility of EDA-initiated ectodermal dysplasia syndrome. A synonymous mutation in LMNA, possibly due to a splicing abnormality, did not elucidate the pathogenesis of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Whole-genome sequencing revealed copy number variations or mutations in various candidate genes which may elucidate part of the symptoms observed. The copy number variations and mutations were also used to identify single nucleotide variations (SNVs) in crystallin mu (CRYM), RAB3 GTPase activating protein catalytic subunit 1 (RAB3GAP1) and Wnt family member 10A (WNT10A), implicated in deafness, hypogonadism and tooth/skin abnormalities, respectively. The importance of an existing SNV in CRYM and a novel SNV in RAB3GAP1 in pathogenesis remains to be further elucidated. The WNT10A p.G213S mutation was confirmed to be the etiological cause of tooth agenesis and ectodermal dysplasia as previously described. It was concluded that a mutation in WNT10A may be the reason for some of the symptoms observed in the patient; however, other genes may also be involved for other symptoms. The findings of the present study provide putative gene mutations that require further investigation in order to determine their roles in pathogenesis.


Ultrastructural analysis was conducted on samples of articular cartilage taken from both load-bearing and non-load-bearing areas with the aim of evaluating the morphologic adaptation of the articular cartilage to mechanical stimulation and identifying the mechanisms of interaction of the chondrocyte and the matrix. Through this analysis we were able to better define the adaptation process of the cartilage as well as the modalities of mechanical stress transmission. We believe that the complex formed by the chondrocyte, the pericellular matrix, and the pericellular capsule constitutes the biomechanical unit of the articular cartilage which serves as the sensor and transducer of mechanical stress. The arrangement of the collagen fibers and the proteoglycans which make up the pericellular capsule and membrane around the chondrocyte can be compared, from a mechanical standpoint, to a dynamic structure constructed in order to absorb the load stresses and protect the internal environment. From a biological standpoint, these are comparable to an extracellular-scaffold constructed with the aim of mediating the interaction between the chondrocyte and the territorial and inter-territorial compartments.


This article presents a perspective on the behavior of the local food grower during the market-related decision-making process. The relevant behavior is manifested during the planning, growing, and harvesting and selling phases of the agricultural business cycle. The local food grower faces a set of market alternatives from which, if applying a rational approach, he or she selects one option or a combination of options that allows for profit maximization. Decisions about timing of planting and harvesting are important and are dictated by market conditions and the biological nature of the grower's product. This article contains a number of suggestions for researchers and Extension specialists to consider relative to assisting local food growers.


The object of the study presented here was to test whether measurement of blood or urine IL-6 or TNF-alpha could discriminate between the most common causes of renal allograft dysfunction, thus avoiding a biopsy. We present data here in which serum and urine IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels were measured at the same time as a diagnostic renal biopsy was performed. TNF-alpha and IL-6 were measured by sandwich ELISA. Thirty patients had acute cellular rejection, 18 had acute tubular necrosis/CsA toxicity, and 9 had chronic vascular rejection. There was no difference in the levels of IL-6 measured in serum and urine among the three categories of graft dysfunction (t < 1.31; P > 0.20). A similar result with considerable overlap between the groups was seen with TNF-alpha (t < 0.78; P > 0.44). Stratifying the results according to the precise immunosuppressive therapy, CsA dose, body weight, CsA level, body temperature, serum creatinine, the number of previous rejection episodes, original cause of renal failure, or the time elapsed since the transplant did not alter the results. The ratio of serum IL-6 divided by trough CsA level was compared among the three groups and there was no significant difference among them (t < 1.79; P > 0.09). In the light of our results, we therefore suggest that previously published reports of the clinical value of serum and or urine IL-6 and or TNF-alpha in relatively small numbers of patients, not all of whom had been biopsied and in whom rigorous clinical and statistical criteria had not been met, should be viewed with caution.


The present study was conducted to assess whether exogenous applied salicylic acid (SA) as a foliar spray could ameliorate the adverse effects of virus infection in two maize cultivars (maize cv. sabaini and maize cv. Nab El-gamal). The plants were grown under normal field conditions for two weeks in sand clay soil, and then sprayed with either 2 or 4 mM SA. Two weeks later, plants were subjected to infection with two different concentrations of virus (TMV1 and TMV2), and were harvested 10 days later. Fresh and dry matter, shoot and root lengths, proline, soluble protein, soluble sugars as well as nitrate reductase activity were measured. Both fresh and dry matter were decreased under virus infection however, SA enhanced the fresh and dry matter production in both cultivars regardless the type of virus or SA concentration used. In roots, both fresh and dry matters were not affected. The shoot length was enhanced by salicylic acid than root length regardless the concentration used or virus treatment. The water content was much higher in shoots than roots especially in maize cultivar sabaini. Proline was accumulated in SA virus infected plants than reference control especially in cv sabaini. Soluble proteins and soluble sugars were accumulated in SA virus infected plants and in cv sabaini more than Nab El-gamal as compared with reference control. NRA was reduced in virus infected cultivars and cv sabaini was dramatically affected than Nab El-gamal. Treatment of plants with SA had a positive effect on preserving the activity of NR but was still less than the reference control regardless the cultivar used. Keywords: Nitrate reductase, proline, protein, salicylic acid, sugars, viruses. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol 13(23) 2330-2335


ABSTRACT Radiotherapy is crucial in the management of cancer patients in both the curative and palliative settings. However, patients often report pain both during positioning for, and execution of, radiotherapy and this may be a reason for interrupting the radiotherapy session. This observation is common even if the patient is undergoing baseline drug therapy for cancer pain. Recent data suggest that orally administrated immediate-release morphine (MIR) is able to reduce pain in patients with predictable pain. The authors tested a rescue dose of MIR 10 or 20 mg, 20 to 60 minutes before radiotherapy, to verify the effectiveness of MIR in this setting and also to assess the patient's ability to receive the full course of radiotherapy. One hundred forty consecutive patients were evaluated during radiotherapy treatment and visual analogue scale (VAS) and positioning VAS scores were assessed. All patients completed the course of scheduled radiotherapy and pain was well controlled, despite the fact that previous pharmacological treatment had not been able to completely control chronic cancer pain. These data strongly suggest a role for MIR pretreatment in patients with pain due to positioning during radiotherapy.


Purpose: To develop a rapid and cost effective spectrofluorimetric method for the assay of chloroquine phosphate tablets.
Methods: Spectrofluorimetric assays of chloroquine phosphate tablets were done in dilute acids and following extraction in chloroform. Results obtained were compared statistically with the official UV/VIS spectrophotometric method. Method A comprises direct spectrofluorimetric assay of chloroquine tablets in 0.05 M H2S04 and method B involves prior extraction of chloroquine base in chloroform.
Results: The accuracy of determination of chloroquine phosphate tablets in 0.05M H2SO4 was similar to the official USP XXII spectrophotometric method (P>0.05). Other solvents of comparison were water and 0.1NHCl. There was no obvious advantage in extracting chloroquine into chloroform prior to analysis (P> 0.05) as recommended in the USP. Judging from the stoke's shift, true fluorescence was also found with 0.05M H2SO4. The assays were linear over the concentration range of 1-10 μg/ml in 0.05M H2SO4 with a limit of detection of 0.77μg/ml. The percent recoveries of 100.76 ± 1.60 and 101.24 ±0.77% were obtained following assay of chloroquine without extraction and after extraction with chloroform, respectively. Dilute sulphuric acid (0.05M) was found to give the best correlation between fluorescence intensity and concentration of chloroquine phosphate.
Conclusion: the spectrofluorimetric method developed is rapid and simple and could find application as a cost-effective technique for the assay of chloroquine phosphate tablets.


Seismic techniques provide facilities for tracing reflections from high-velocity anhydritic-carbonate sets sandwiched by low-velocity salts within the Zechstein deposits of Poland. Especially important for Zechstein deposits and most of all for the Main Dolomite (Ca2) is the slope of the Werra platform extending along the basin margin. During the Main Dolomite (Ca2) sedimentation, the slope of platform had separated the lagoon from the interior being then the starved basin. The barrier reef was coincident with the slope, and with rapid thickening of the overlying Stassfurt Salts. The carbonate buildups referred to as "the pinnacle reefs" and "the atoll reefs" were deposited in this very starved basin. The best hydrocarbon prospects are believed to be the pinnacle and atoll zones extending around the entire basin.


Res_eng:The European post-Cold War order assumed monist forms. Instead of the geopolitical and ideological diversity sought by Mikhail Gorbachev as he brought the Cold War to an end in the late 1980s, a type of monist cold peace was imposed in which Atlantic security institutions and ideas were consolidated. The monism was both institutional and ideational,
and the two reinforced each other in a hermetic order that sought to insulate itself from
critique and transformation. Russia was excluded as anything but subaltern. The post-Cold
War European peace order was thus built on weak foundations, provoking a cycle of mimetic
rivalry. In Russia the fateful dialectic of external challenge and domestic stultification
once again operated, heightening the Kremlin's threat perceptions. Russia's relations
with the European Union (EU) and Washington veered between the cooperative and the
confrontational, until settling into a conflictual mode in 2014, as it is argued in the article.


Twenty-three patients with acute inflammation of the gallbladder with free perforation into the peritoneal cavity were admitted to the Beilinson Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel, during the years 1960 to 1968. Gallbladder perforation was rare in our area prior to 1960, so that during the period that complication played no role in the indication for immediate operation. From 1960 on, however, a significant unexplained increase in the number of cases has occurred. Twenty of the 23 patients were over 50 years of age. More than half had no stones, and the majority were men. Twenty-one were operated upon without mortality. We therefore recommend early cholecystectomy in all older patients with acute cholecystitis.


Abstract This article presents an overview of work conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry over the past 30 years on childhood depression. The work began with the basic question of definition and measurement. Epidemiological studies showed that depressive symptoms were quite common in children and were a good, if nonspecific, indicator of psychological disturbance. Further work in both epidemiological and clinical samples provided some evidence for the validity of a depressive syndrome. However, this work also showed that these depressive syndromes represented a heterogeneous group of phenomena. The validity of major depressive disorder in children was therefore tested further in longitudinal and family-genetic studies. These studies supported the validity of the concept but confirmed that there was heterogeneity in respect to both developmental stage at the time of onset and comorbidity with conduct disorder. We concluded that there are probably several different kinds of depressive syndromes in children. Some are strongly linked with depressive disorders in adulthood, but others are probably better conceptualized as part of another psychopathological problem altogether.