CT screening for lung cancer is a complex undertaking requiring specifications of all of its components. This includes questions as to who should be screened, how frequently screening should be performed, and an optimal regimen of screening. The regimen of screened defines who requires further workup during the year the screening is performed in addition to the specification of the CT acquisition parameters, how the readings are performed, and the results communicated to the participants being screened. In addition to looking for suspicious pulmonary nodules, the CT scan also shows the heart, mediastinum thyroid, and the organs in the upper abdomen. The recommendations for abnormal findings in all these organs and the workup also need to be interpreted in light of the fact that they are found in asymptomatic people at risk of lung cancer and not that they presented for clinical care because of symptoms. This report provides the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) protocol for screening and also provides the references that provide the basis for the protocol. This protocol has been continually updated in light of advancing CT and diagnostic technology and knowledge that has emerged as a result of screening, particularly large databases that have been developed.


In this study, a new experimental approach in which the deformation, the damage kinetic, and the temperature are measured simultaneously during a high strain rate on adhesively bonded composite joints. Especially, our goal is to quantify the amount heat dissipation during impact and to identify the mechanisms that induce this dissipation. Out of plane dynamic compression tests were conducted on assembled specimens over a range of strain rate from 372 s−1 to 1030 s−1 using the Split hopkinson Pressure Bars technique. The specimen surface temperatures were monitored using an infrared camera. The increase in the strain rate has a dramatic effect on the stress–strain behavior producing a significant heat dissipation in the material. The infrared monitoring provides the spatial distribution of temperature that increase near the adhesive/adherent interfaces of the specimen. The observed temperature increase profiles clearly show that the stress concentration appears in the adhesive area and provide valuable information regarding the damage mechanisms and their role in the heat dissipation during dynamic loading conditions. The dependence of these results on strain rate indicates that there exists a correlation between the thermo-mechanical behavior and the strain rate effect, which might be useful when developping damage models taking into account the energy balance for adhesively bonded joints under impact loading conditions.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
To influence host and disease phenotype, compositional microbiome changes, which have been demonstrated in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), must be accompanied by functional changes. We therefore aimed to characterize the genetic potential of the gut microbiome in PSC compared to healthy controls (HCs) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

METHODS
Fecal DNA from two cohorts (one Norwegian and one German), in total comprising 136 patients with PSC (58% with IBD), 158 HCs and 93 IBD patients without PSC were subjected to metagenomic shotgun sequencing, generating 17 billion paired end sequences, which were processed using HUMAnN2 and MetaPhlAn2, and analyzed using generalized linear models and random effects meta-analyses.

RESULTS
PSC patients had fewer microbial genes compared to HC (P<.0001). Compared to HC, PSC patients showed enrichment and increased prevalence of Clostridium species, and a depletion of e.g., Eubacterium spp. and Ruminococcus obeum. Patients with PSC showed marked differences in the abundance of genes related to vitamin B6 synthesis and branched chain amino acid (BCAA) synthesis (Qfdr<.05). Targeted metabolomics of plasma from an independent set of PSC patients and controls found reduced concentrations of vitamin B6 and BCAAs in PSC (P<.0001), which strongly associated with reduced liver transplantation-free survival (log-rank P<.001). No taxonomic or functional differences were detected between PSC patients with and without IBD.

CONCLUSION
The gut microbiome of PSC patients exhibits large functional differences compared to HC, including microbial metabolism of essential nutrients. Alterations in related circulating metabolites associated with disease course, suggesting that microbial functions may be relevant for the disease process in PSC.


For the thermomechanical analysis of multilayer substrates, detailed FE is not feasible. To capture all features, the number of elements necessary would lead to extreme computational loads. To overcome this, an elementwise homogenization method utilizing multiple representative volume elements is presented. Employing a global-local step it is still possible to obtain accurate values for local quantities of interest. The approach is demonstrated for thermal and mechanical problems. For the mechanical case the procedure is validated by a confrontation with experimental results showing the ability of the technique to indicate potential problem areas using the global/homogenized step and predict failure sites using the local step.


A comprehensive set of 4He(,n) absolute cross-section measurements was performed at MAX-lab in Lund, Sweden. Tagged photons from 23<E<70 MeV were directed toward a liquid 4He target, and neutrons were identified using pulse-shape discrimination and the time-of-flight technique in two liquid-scintillator detector arrays. Seven-point angular distributions have been measured for 14 photon energies. The results have been subjected to complementary transition-coefficient and Legendre-coefficient analyses. The results are also compared to experimental data measured at comparable photon energies as well as recoil-corrected continuum shell-model, resonating group method, and effective interaction hyperspherical-harmonic expansion calculations. For photon energies below 29 MeV, the angle-integrated data are significantly larger than the values recommended by Calarco, Berman, and Donnelly in 1983. (Less)


Emerging technologies of high speed telecommunications create a perfect environment for incorporating MCDM based analytical support tools into the distributed group decision support environment. What fundamental features of new communication technologies must a systems analyst consider, in order to properly link the capabilities of MCDM techniques to distributed group decision support? We address this issue by introducing multidimensional space of distributed group decision support functionality and indicate the links between different collaborative solutions and MCDM implementation problems.


An interacting bilayer electron system provides an extended platform to study electron-electron interaction beyond single layers. We report here experiments demonstrating that the layer densities of an asymmetric bilayer electron system oscillate as a function of perpendicular magnetic field that quantizes the energy levels. At intermediate fields, this interlayer charge transfer can be well explained by the alignment of the Landau levels in the two layers. At the highest fields where both layers reach the extreme quantum limit, however, there is an anomalous, enhanced charge transfer to the majority layer. Surprisingly, when the minority layer becomes extremely dilute, this charge transfer slows down as the electrons in the minority layer condense into a Wigner crystal. Furthermore, by examining the quantum capacitance of the dilute layer at high fields, the screening induced by the composite fermions in an adjacent layer is unveiled. The results highlight the influence of strong interaction in interlayer charge transfer in the regime of very high fields and low Landau level filling factors.


We present the results of an experimental investigation of the merger of a soap bubble with a planar soap film. When gently deposited onto a horizontal film, a bubble may interact with the underlying film in such a way as to decrease in size, leaving behind a smaller daughter bubble with approximately half the radius of its progenitor. The process repeats up to three times, with each partial coalescence event occurring over a time scale comparable to the inertial-capillary time. Our results are compared to the recent numerical simulations of Martin and Blanchette ["Simulations of surfactant effects on the dynamics of coalescing drops and bubbles," Phys. Fluids 27, 012103 (2015)] and to the coalescence cascade of droplets on a fluid bath.


The eggs of birds and reptiles contain detectable levels of several steroid hormones, and experimental application of such steroids can reverse genetically determined sex of the offspring. However, any causal influence of maternally derived yolk steroids on sex determination in birds and reptiles remains controversial. We measured yolk hormones (dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, and 17 β‐estradiol) in newly laid eggs of the montane scincid lizard Bassiana duperreyi. This species is well suited to such an analysis because (1) offspring sex is influenced by incubation temperatures and egg size as well as by sex chromosomes, suggesting that yolk hormones might somehow be involved in the complex pathways of sex determination, and (2) experimental application of either estradiol or fadrozole to such eggs strongly influences offspring sex. We obtained yolk by biopsy, before incubating the eggs at a temperature that produces a 50:50 sex ratio. Yolk steroid levels varied over a threefold range between eggs from different clutches, but there were no significant differences in yolk steroids, or in relative composition of steroids, between eggs destined to become male versus female. Further, yolk steroid concentrations were not significantly related to egg size. Thus, yolk steroid hormones do not appear to play a critical role in sex determination for B. duperreyi.


Wind tunnels are designed for a certain range of test velocities and model sizes. The Oran W. Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT) at Texas A&M, was designed to reach 200 mph (M=0.26) with its original 1250 hp motor and 7 x 10 ft test section. In 2012 the motor and main bearing were replaced with a new 3000 hp motor. With the increased power and motor efficiencies, the tunnel could potentially reach M=0.42 flow. However, the current structure still limits the testing speed to M=0.26. This thesis outlines modifications that may allow the LSWT to reach M=0.5 for testing and potentially M=0.8 for an empty test section. The flow throughout the circuit and concomitant losses will be investigated. Methods for improving the efficiency will be presented, along with their estimated reduction in power loss. In order to reach this higher velocity, a 6 x 5 ft reduced test section with higher structural strength is required. This reduction in test section size requires subsequent diffuser and contraction alterations. The method for designing the diffuser will be presented, along with the design chosen. With these modifications to the tunnel, as well as using estimations of the motor efficiency, and results from measured and estimated losses in the circuit, the testing speed of M=0.5 in an empty test section could be reached with 1,200 to 1,800 hp supplied to the motor.


Background Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provides protection to sexually active persons at risk of acquiring HIV. Eligible female sex workers (FSWs) are a key population in which oral PrEP is indicated. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge levels of oral PrEP and the likelihood of its use among FSWs. Methods A cross-sectional study in HIV uninfected FSWs was conducted. Interviews assessing awareness and intention to use PrEP were conducted initially. A description of PrEP as an HIV prevention strategy would be given after assessing awareness. Relative importance index was used to assess levels of knowledge, likelihood and barriers to PrEP use. A bivariate logistic regression model was utilized to identify predictors of PrEP use. Results One hundred and thirty-one FSWs with a median age of 25 years (IQR: 21 – 31) participated. Most participants were single (78%), 10% being married, and 11% being either divorced or widowed. FSWs reported a median 5 (IQR: 3 - 6) daily sexual partners. Fifty-three (40%) participants reported having at least one encounter of unprotected casual sexual intercourse within the preceding three months. Only 71 (54%) participants had ever heard about PrEP. Of the FSWs that had heard about PrEP, 46 (35%) had adequate knowledge on its use. A total of 102 (78%) of the participants revealed that they would be willing to always use oral PrEP if it was provided to them for free. Likelihood of PrEP use increased among participants who had unprotected sex in the last 3 months (r = 0.0448, p = 0.026). Participants that were more knowledge about PrEP had an increased likelihood for PrEP use (r = 0.21, p = 0.0153). Conclusion Knowledge of PrEP among FSWs in Zimbabwe was low. To increase uptake of PrEP as an HIV prevention strategy there will be need to further sensitize FSWs on this intervention. Disclosure No significant relationships.


Peters et al 1 report the results of the novel use of a number of datasets from the UK. By pooling data from five UK studies between 1980 and 2008, the authors used an overall sample of 22 843 white European children who had resting pulse rate assessed at around 10 years of age. Although the sample at each time-point varied (from n=12 164 in the 1980 study to as little as n=774 in 1984/1985 study) and each time-point typically represented a cross-section of a different geographic area, similar methodologies to measure resting pulse rate were used in each study at each time-point. The authors reported that the mean resting pulse rate in assumed prepubertal children (mean age 10.3 years) had increased by 2 beats/min in boys and 1 beat/min in girls over the 28 years. These increases would seem to be independent of concurrent secular changes in height and, interestingly, body mass index (BMI). The authors postulated that persistence of these increases into adulthood could elevate later cardiovascular disease risk, especially in men. If resting pulse rate is regarded as an adequate marker of physical fitness in children, the results align with other cross-sectional results from the Chelmsford Fitness and …


The bone marrow failure syndromes include a group of disorders than can be either inherited or acquired. These diseases are disorders of the hematopoietic stem cell that can involve either one cell line or all of the cell lines (erythroid for red cells, myeloid for white blood cells, megakaryocytic for platelets). The lymphocytes, which are involved in lymphoproliferative disorders, are usually spared. The inherited bone marrow failure syndromes include Fanconi anemia, dyskeratosis congenital, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, and other genetic disorders. The most common cause of acquired bone marrow failure is aplastic anemia. Expert authors present current diagnosis, treatment, and management strategies for these syndromes. The articles in this issue are divided into 3 classifications: global marrow failure, lineage-restricted marrow failure, and marrow failure and evolution of neoplastic clones.


This paper presents the work on the development of ceramic coating processing. Nano-structured zirconia coating has been developed with functions; substrate temperature and oxygen gas change in chamber by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). The microstructure of the coating layer has been characterized with FE-SEM, and SEM. The crystalline phase of the coating layer has been also characterized with XRD. The zirconia coating by EB-PVD had not monoclinic zirconia phase as shown in XRD pattern and Raman spectra and the thickness of coating were quite homogeneous. The fracture microstructure of the coating layer for a thickness of ~15 μm showed columnar or non-columnar structure and had nano-structure with nano scaled grain as shown in micrograph by FE-SEM.


In situ reaction of unsaturated metal methacrylate (UMM) has captured scientists' attention due to its importance in reinforcing low-temperature-grade hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (LTG-HNBR). In this article, LTG-HNBR composites with in situ polymerized sodium (Na+), magnesium (Mg2+) and aluminum (Al3+) methacrylates were successfully fabricated for the purpose of investigating the roles of their salt cations on the reinforcement of the rubber. When the cation valence rose, UMM self-polymerized to produce poly(UMM) and then converted to hybrid structures including poly(UMM) and grafting components to the rubber chains; even unreacted aggregations of UMM during the vulcanization of the matrix. Low solubility of UMM with trivalent cation (Al3+) complicated the composite system, decreasing its conversion of poly(UMM) and growing polymethylacrylic acid. Once UMM was fully dissolved, the poly(UMM) developed into fine, dispersed nanoparticles. Monovalent cation (Na+) drove these dispersed particles to arrange as band-like nano-topographies. Reinforcement of the rubber matrix was greatly affected by the generation of poly(UMM) where a tiny amount of aluminum polymethacrylate (i.e. poly(AlMMA)) gave rise to poor reinforcements. So the morphology and chemical structure of poly(UMM) and the solubility of UMM induced by its cations have a remarkable impact on reinforcement of rubber matrices. We believe that choosing the cation species of UMM may be a simple method to control the reinforcement of rubber composites.


Capacitation of macaque sperm in vitro has been achieved efficiently only with the addition of both cyclic nucleotides and methylxanthines. The use of these exogenous sperm activators clouds an understanding of the normal mechanisms underlying capacitation and may slow early embryo development following in vitro fertilization (IVF). We demonstrate that culture medium which simulates periovulatory oviductal fluid with respect to bicarbonate (HCO3−) and glucose concentration induces capacitation in a high percentage of macaque sperm as determined by the ability of sperm to undergo both the release of coating protein DEFB126 and the zona pellucida‐induced acrosome reaction (AR). Few sperm were able to undergo the AR following 6 hr incubation in medium containing either 35 mM HCO3− (∼7.2 pH) or 90 mM HCO3− (∼pH 7.8) with 5 mM glucose. When glucose concentration was lowered to 0.5 mM to match levels reported for women at midcycle, the AR rate increased significantly in sperm incubated in both levels of HCO3−, indicating that glucose interferes with sperm responsiveness to increasing HCO3− concentration observed in the primate oviduct during ovulation. Even greater synchronization of capacitation could be achieved with nonphysiologic extremes of alkalinity or energy substrate deprivation. In the latter case, sperm achieved high rates of IVF. A shift in pH from 7.2 to 7.8 in a HEPES‐buffered medium was sufficient to remove DEFB126 from the surface of most sperm after only 3 hr. The loss of DEFB126 from sperm under periovulaory fluid conditions has implications for the timing of release of sperm from the oviductal reservoir. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 431–443, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Vector borne diseases are spreading very rapidly in the populations all over the World. Thus, there is need to mobilize people about transmission of the disease in order to eradicate it. In this paper we propose a deterministic mathematical model through non-linear ordinary differential equations in order to gain an insight into dynamics of yellow fever between primates, human beings and Aedes mosquito for the purpose of controlling the disease. In the analysis of the model we investigate the basic reproduction number, $R_{0}$, between primates, vectors and human host. The disease threshold parameter is obtained using next generation matrix approach and is of the form $R_{0}^{2}=R_{h}+R_{m}$, where $R_{h}$ and $R_{m}$ are the reproduction number of human-vector and vector-primate compartments respectively. It is proved that the global transmission dynamics of the disease are completely determined by the basic reproduction number. In order to study the effect of model parameters to $R_{0}$, the sensitivity analysis of basic reproductive number, $R_{0}$, with respect to epidemiological and parameters is performed. Results call attention to parameters regarding to daily bitting rate of mosquitoes, birth rate of vectors, probability of transmission from infectious vector to susceptible human and vice versa, recruitment of human host which includes unvaccinated immigrants as well as the incubation period for both vector and humans. Thus, quick and focused interventions, like personal protection and destruction of breeding sites, may be effective for controlling the disease transmission.


OBJECTIVE
Researchers have turned to dimensional models of psychopathology as a means of explaining robust patterns of comorbidity. A hierarchical model consisting of internalizing and externalizing dimensions has been a useful approach to understanding comorbidity among some mental disorders, although a limited number of disorders have been examined within this framework. The objective of the present study is to determine how borderline personality disorder fits into this framework.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Dimensional measures of nine psychiatric disorders were used in a confirmatory factors analysis to compare five models of comorbidity in 1,197 members (N=541 women) of a population-based sample. Symptom composites were derived from the Michigan Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the International Personality Disorders Examination Questionnaire.

RESULTS
Five models were fit to dimensional indicators of nine disorders. A model in which borderline personality disorder served as a multidimensional indicator of the externalizing factor and the anxious-misery subfactor of internalizing disorders provided the best fit to the data in the whole sample and in men. For women, this model also fit well but an alternative model in which borderline personality disorder served only as an indicator of the anxious-misery subfactor of internalizing disorders fit equally well.

CONCLUSIONS
The present study demonstrates the utility of the internalizing/externalizing framework for characterizing personality disorders as well as Axis I disorders. Future work should explore how other personality disorders fit into this framework.


The federal Constitution is ambiguous about federative power, Locke's description of the power over war and foreign relations. On the one hand, the Constitution is plainly un-Lockean, dividing federative power between Congress and the President. Yet there is a rich constitutional and political history in America suggesting that the constitutional scheme is more Lockean than at first blush, even if obscured by complexity. This paper responds to two lines of argument that seek to limit especially the executive's Lockean tendencies: first, that courts should be more involved in reviewing executive exercises of federative power; and second, that the current administration has asserted an unprecedented view of executive authority that compels judicial review as a crucial constitutional check. This paper offers a brief history of judicial review relevant to federative power, recognizing three distinct eras of decisions that have culminated in a prudently circumscribed approach to challenges regarding the constitutional allocation of federative power that enforces the doctrines of non-justiciability to avoid judicial intervention and permit play in the joints of the Constitution's formal federative power machinery. Still, the war on terror cases foreshadow the possible coming of a new era in which political decisions regarding war and foreign affairs will be subject to much more rigorous judicial scrutiny. This judicialization of federative power, the paper contends, is an unwarranted and dangerous step. Judicializing federative power would be consistent with the current Supreme Court's omnipotent posture toward judicial review generally, but would further marginalize efforts at practical governance by political institutions and undermine the formal constitutional arrangements that characterize their roles in war and foreign affairs. Judicialization would also damage both the un-Lockean balance, which contemplates the exercise of political tools by both Congress and the President when they are competing in matters of war and foreign affairs, and the Lockean executive, who, Article II contemplates, will act with energy to grapple with necessity and to affirmatively defend the Constitution and the Republic.


In this article, we address Jarzabkowski et al.'s strategy-as-practice criticism of Bromiley and Rau's practice-based view as ignoring the "who" and "how" of practice implementation. Bromiley and Rau explicitly note that any statistical model under the practice-based view should consider mediating and moderating variables that depend on the specific practice and context but that the article would not attempt to identify such variables. Strategy-as-practice's focus on the "who" and "how" of a practice are two of many such potential mediating or moderating variables. More fundamentally, strategy-as-practice scholars' discomfort with the practice-based view may arise both from their different definitions of practice and their different approaches to strategy research. Without diminishing the strategy-as-practice's contribution to strategy research, we argue for the additional value in the practice-based view's call for systematic, large-scale, quantitative studies that establish the performance impact of specific practices across populations of organizations.


The finding in primary IgA nephropathy of increased levels of IgA to food antigens and particularly to gliadin prompted the hypothesis that a subgroup of these patients may have latent coeliac disease. The observation that gliadin may experimentally induce IgA mesangial deposits supported this hypothesis. We evaluated specific immunological markers of coeliac disease (antiendomysium antibodies) which parallel histological changes of gluten sensitive enteropathy, and an IgA immunofluorescent test for antigliadin antibodies in 18 patients with IgA nephropathy, in 56 untreated coeliac disease patients, in 254 controls (58 healthy and 196 disease controls). Antiendomysium antibodies were positive in 89.28% of coeliac patients, but negative in all IgA nephropathies and controls. IgA immunofluorescent test for antigliadin antibodies, negative in all IgA nephropathy patients, was positive in 76.78% of coeliac patients and in 4.91% of controls. ELISA IgA antigliadin antibodies were negative in controls, but positive in 22.22% of IgA nephropathy patients and in 60.71% of coeliac patients. Our data would suggest that in most patients with IgA nephropathy there is no evidence of latent coeliac disease.


College students have experienced unique life disruptions and losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted this study to gain an understanding of how the pandemic has affected the lifestyle of college students. Findings included: major changes in perceived well-being related to living at home with families, balancing online classes and work, stress and boredom related to isolation from peers, and coping strategies, including substance abuse and physical activity. Research and practice implications are related to increasing opportunities and activities to promote a sense of belonging for students, and also for increased accessible student support services on college campuses.


This contribution presents control methods for the regulation of the voltage and the frequency on AC minigrids, fed by voltage source inverters (VSI). In order to avoid a complex communication network for the synchronization of the various VSI on a minigrid, a conventional method called "Droop Control" consists in the emulation of rotating alternators for each VSI. Then the VSIs generate AC voltages with an active power dependent frequency, and a reactive power dependent voltage. Such a method is presented and simulated on a given minigrid. A second less-conventional method is introduced, where the characteristics on the minigrid line impedances are taken into account. This is obtained the projection of the active and the reactive power in a new referential depending on the line characteristics. By maintaining a "Droop Voltage" control on the new parameters, it is shown that the global stability is increased.


Influenza A and viruses encode minimalistic proton-selective ion channels known as A/M2 and BM2, respectively. The A/M2 channel is the target of the antiviral drug, amantadine. The structural and mechanistic aspects of proton conductance of the viral ion channels are described and the review makes a case for the development of more effective antivirals.


Recent functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging studies have revealed that subchronic medication with escitalopram leads to significant reduction in both amygdala and medial frontal gyrus reactivity during processing of emotional faces, suggesting that escitalopram may have a distinguishable modulatory effect on neural activation as compared with other serotonin-selective antidepressants. In this fMRI study we aimed to explore whether short-term medication with escitalopram in healthy volunteers is associated with reduced neural response to emotional processing, and whether this effect is predicted by drug plasma concentration. The neural response to fearful and happy faces was measured before and on day 7 of treatment with escitalopram (10mg) in 15 healthy volunteers and compared with those in a control unmedicated group (n=14). Significantly reduced activation to fearful, but not to happy facial expressions was observed in the bilateral amygdala, cingulate and right medial frontal gyrus following escitalopram medication. This effect was not correlated with plasma drug concentration. In accordance with previous data, we showed that escitalopram exerts its rapid direct effect on emotional processing via attenuation of neural activation in pathways involving medial frontal gyrus and amygdala, an effect that seems to be distinguishable from that of other SSRIs.


We present a system to allow blind people to stand in line in public spaces by using an off-the-shelf smartphone only. The technologies to navigate blind pedestrians in public spaces are rapidly improving, but tasks which require to understand surrounding people's behavior are still difficult to assist. Standing in line at shops, stations, and other crowded places is one of such tasks. Therefore, we developed a system to detect and notify the distance to a person in front continuously by using a smartphone with a RGB camera and an infrared depth sensor. The system alerts three levels of distance via vibration patterns to allow users to start/stop moving forward to the right position at the right timing. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system, we performed a study with six blind people. We observed that the system enables blind participants to stand in line successfully, while also gaining more confidence.


Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) induced by the absence of seed dormancy causes a severe reduction in crop yield and flour quality. In this study, we isolated and characterized TaABI4, an ABA-responsive transcription factor that participates in regulating seed germination in wheat. Sequence analysis revealed that TaABI4 has three homologues, located on chromosomes 1A/1B/1D. TaABI4 contains a conserved AP2 domain, and AP2-associated, LRP and potential PEST motifs. Putative cis-acting regulatory elements (CE1-like box, W-box, ABRE elements and RY elements) were identified in the TaABI4 promoter region that showed high conservation in 17 wheat cultivars and wheat-related species. Expression profiling of TaABI4 indicated that it is a seed-specific gene accumulating during the middle stages of seed development. Transcript accumulation of TaABI4 in wheat cultivar Chuanmai 32 (CM32, PHS susceptible) was 5.07-fold and 1.39-fold higher than that in synthetic hexaploidy wheat SHW-L1 (PHS resistant) at 15 and 20 DPA, respectively. Six expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) of TaABI4 on chromosomes 2A, 2D, 3B and 4A were characterized based on the accumulated transcripts of TaABI4 in SHW-L1 and CM32-derived recombinant inbred lines. These QTLs explained 10.7 to 46.1% of the trait variation with 4.53–10.59 of LOD scores, which contain genes that may affect the expression of TaABI4.


We report a case of Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome type I (TRPS1) in a 16-year-old boy who was referred due to painless finger deformities over the last year. Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LGP) had been diagnosed at age 7 and required surgical treatment at age 12. Parents were healthy and non consanguineous; there was family history of pectus carinatum of maternal lineage. On examination the patient presented a bulbous nose, thin and sparse scalp hair; pectus carinatum; clinodactyly of the first and fifth fingers and hard painless swelling of all of the proximal interphalangeal joints; brachydactyly of the toes. Laboratory tests were unremarkable and radiographic studies revealed distinctive abnormalities of the hands (e.g., epiphyseal coning). This diagnosis was confirmed by gene sequencing, which identified in heterozygosity a pathogenic variant c.124G>T (p.Glu42Ter) in the exon 3 of the TRPS1 gene. The diagnosis of TRPS1 may be suspected upon identification of characteristic physical features, a compatible clinical history and imaging findings.


: 46 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome permit the authors to detail the particular aspects of the oral and facial lesions in AIDS. In patients at risk, a lymphadenopathic syndrome is thought to represent a prodromic phase of the illness. The authors insist upon the differences between the classic Kaposi's sarcoma and that associated with the AIDS (mean age and initial sites of tumor). One third of these sarcomas is completed by a digestive candidiasis. The review of the literature reveals squamous cell carcinoma and Burkitt's lymphoma with the AIDS. We must be aware of early diagnosis and transmission factors in the individuals at risk with tumors and opportunistic infection.


In spite of Australia's enviable record in controlling immigration in all of its incidents, the number of migrants working in contravention of their visa conditions or otherwise in contravention of the law has continued to rise in recent years. This article explores the extent to which migrants working 'outside' the law enjoy legal protections when they are injured in the course of their employment or where they suffer injustice at the hands of employers or task masters. The authors begin by outlining the ways in which immigration laws can operate to create 'precarious' spaces for migrants at work. Research suggests that non-citizens working without authorisation (in any country) are more likely to be exploited, abused and injured. This article ultimately seeks to demonstrate that a person's status as an undocumented or 'irregular' migrant should not make exploitation, abuse and injury inevitable. Such outcomes flow from the failure of other cognate areas of law to protect the worker. These are: labour law, occupational health and safety law, workers' compensation law, contract and tort law. It is here that lawyers, jurists and policy makers can help to shape the law so as to afford migrant workers the respect and protection demanded by fundamental human rights norms.


The antigenicity and composition of chromatins differ markedly in chromatin preparations obtained by different procedures. Rat Novikoff hepatoma chromatin (NC) obtained by the "salt precipitation" and the micrococcal nuclease digestion procedures using significant levels of EDTA and NaCl each shows a common complement fixation (CF) capacity, exceeding chromatin preparations obtained from normal rat liver when tested with rabbit antisera raised to dehistonized NC. In contrast, "structured" NC preparations, which have been postulated to retain a native physical conformation, show minimal CF capacity when tested with the same antiserum but show high CF following elution of histones. While further progressive elution of non-histone proteins (NHPs) did not alter the CF capacity per unit DNA, the completely separated DNA and NHP fractions each showed minimal CF. The data suggest that the antigens detected in the CF assay predominantly represent an artifactual but specific complex of DNA and NHP arising from a denaturation of the native chromatin following elution of metal ions or histones. A qualitatively similar profile of NHPs in salt-precipitated NCs shows a range of total protein/DNA ratios, suggesting that the NHPs found in chromatin preparations may not be intrinsic to the native chromatin structure.


The study is the offshoot of a Japanese woman's perception of a discrepancy that exists between a perceived high status of women in the Philippines and their portrayal in the arts as nothing more than just victims of oppression. An anthropologist, not a trained art critic, and one who is guided by the idea that art is mimesis, she uses her discipline's concept of distance created by ethnicity and gender. To prove her point that distance breeds distortion, she subjected to her own gaze the works of art producers who because of differing subject construction as a consequence of gender and ethnicity, have differing representations of women's bodies. In general, the male artists tend to show women as victims without hope. On the other hand, the women, especially the feminists among them, represent women not just as victims but survivors with dreams of a better form of life.


Basu and Bundick (2017) show a second moment intertemporal preference shock creates meaningful declines in output in a sticky price model with Epstein and Zin (1991) preferences. The result, however, rests on the way they model the shock. If a preference shock is included in Epstein-Zin preferences, the distributional weights on current and future utility must sum to 1, otherwise it creates an asymptote in the response to the shock with unit intertemporal elasticity of substitution. When we change the preferences so the weights sum to 1, the asymptote disappears as well as their main results—uncertainty shocks generate small increases in output and comovement with consumption and investment that is at odds with the data. We examine three changes to the model—recalibration, a risk-premium shock, and a disaster risk-type shock—to try and restore their results, but in all three cases the model is unable to match VAR evidence.


Abstract
 In recent years, increasing numbers of businesses worldwide have standardized their governance practices in an attempt to improve control over their corporate assets. The term "IT Governance (ITG)" indicates businesses' growing need to find a balance between the conformance (or conformity to regulatory standards) and performance goals mandated by their boards. Many leading organizations have turned to ITG to pursue gains in efficiency, accountability, and compliance; they have not, however, succeeded in implementing coherent information technology (IT) schemes on account of a number of challenging issues. Korean companies in particular face an urgent need to formulate workable modes of ITG, as the disproportion between Korea's extremely high IT capability and poor ITG practices is especially marked. Despite academics and practitioners' growing interest in ITG, few studies to date have characterized the practical inhibitors frustrating the implementation of effective ITG. This paper, therefore, aims to examine empirically how inhibiting features associated with ITG affect the maturity level of IT activities. A survey of 96 leading enterprises in Korea, who generally saw ITG as an innovative enabler but lacked a good ITG structure themselves, showed a strong relationship at a causal level between an enterprise's "lack of IT principles and policies" and its ITG success.


BACKGROUND: Despite the recent, widespread use around the world of computed tomography (CT)-guided spinal biopsy for presurgical evaluation, its use has remained uncommon in Taiwan. Using 9 patients, we attempted to evaluate the safety of its use for the thoracic spine biopsy. METHODS: In the past 3 years (May 1996 to May 1999), 9 patients with known thoracic or multiple spinal lesions underwent CT-guided biopsy. The patients comprised 4 men and 5 women; with ages ranging between 28 and 85 years. For the transpedicular approach, patients were laid prone on the CT table. A trephine bone biopsy needle set was used after local anaesthesia. The specimens obtained had tissue pathology and/or bacterial/tuberculosis (TB) culture. RESULTS: Excellent results were achieved in 8 of the 9 patients, with no significant procedure-related complications. Among them, 2 were diagnosed as metastatic carcinomas; 3 as osteoporotic compression fractures; 2 were proved to be bacterial or tuberculosis spondylitis and the last one was a healing fracture. CONCLUSION: CT-guided transpedicular trephine biopsy of the thoracic spine is a safe and effective method for preoperative evaluation of various thoracic spinal disorders. Based on the biopsy results, more effective treatment regimens were prescribed and, in turn, better outcomes were expected.


The IL-6 system is key in the development of chronic low-grade inflammation. It
is known to be upregulated in response to acute exercise and lowered at rest
after exercise training. IL-6 has both anti- and pro-inflammatory properties and
moderation of this cytokine could alleviate chronic low-grade inflammation
which is associated with obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This
thesis investigated the interplay between inflammation, glycaemic control and
high intensity intermittent training (HIIT) - an exercise regimen that has been
shown to yield many health benefits.
There was a greater increase in IL-6 after an acute bout of HIIT than continuous
moderate intensity exercise, where external work was matched (Chapter 4).
Although sIL-6R and the IL-6/sIL-6R complex were both significantly increased
after acute exercise there were no differences between HIIT and moderate
intensity exercise. In response to 2 weeks HIIT there was a significant reduction
in IL-6 and increase in IL-6R in adipose tissue in overweight and obese males
(Chapter 5). It was also determined that IL-6R present in adipose tissue is at
least partly composed of the membrane-bound IL-6R isoform (Chapter 6).
Reductions in circulating sIL-6R, the IL-6/sIL-6R complex, MCP-1 and
adiponectin, as well as a decrease in waist circumference and increase in peak
oxygen uptake during exercise were also induced after 2 weeks HIIT (Chapter
5). Young adults with T2DM (< 40 y) displayed elevated levels of inflammatory
proteins in comparison to lean controls, however there were no significant
differences in comparison to obese controls (Chapter 7).
In conclusion, the findings of this thesis demonstrate that acute and repeated
bouts of HIIT have positive effects on the inflammatory profile in the circulation
and adipose tissue, particularly in relation to the IL-6 system. It should be
determined if HIIT is an achievable mode of exercise for patient populations,
including T2DM patients, in order to downregulate the inflammatory profile


The aim of this pot experiment was to determine the effect of increasing rates of meat and bone meal (MBM), applied alone or in combination with a microbial preparation containing Bacillus subtilis (FITOdoctor), on the growth of Sinapis alba L.. Dry matter (DM) yield, the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content of white mustard were determined, together with the mineral N (Nmin) and available P content of soil. The application of FITOdoctor to the soil improved white mustard yield only during the second growing season. Second-harvest white mustard biomass had a significantly lower content of N and P than first-harvest biomass. The highest MBM rate significantly increased the Nmin content of soil. Nitrogen uptake by plants and N concentration in biomass were highest in the treatments with the highest mineral N content of soil. Similar relationships were observed for P whose uptake by plants was also affected by B. subtilis in two treatments (NPK, 0.8% MBM). MBM is a valuable N and P fertilizer, whereas B. subtilis has varied effects.


In this study, the electromagnetic characteristics of a flat-type two-dimensional proportional solenoid were analyzed by the magnetic reluctance method. The equivalent magnetic circuit equation for the solenoid was derived by modeling the reluctance of air gaps and magnetic structural components such as pole core, armature and yoke. It was solved iteratively because of the nonlinear magnetization properties of the iron parts. The solutions showed good agreement with experimental data. Based on the equivalent magnetic circuit equation, the influence of design parameters on the force-to-armature displacement curves was mathematically derived and experimentally verified. In this way, dominant design parameters could be analytically determined.


Systems of pay have, appropriately, been the result of the demands of organisational structure. The complex hierarchical organisations of yesteryear were supported by the equally complex "factor analysis" system of pay administration. As organisational structures evolved into flatter, simpler designs, so pay systems became less complex. But now organisations are changing in a very fundamental way. They may appear to have little structure at all. They may just grow to meet the current needs; their structure has become organic. Likewise, pay systems will have to adapt. The author discusses traditional methods of pay for the job, pay for skills and incentives as well as team pay in light of the demands of the organic organisation. Ultimately it appears that pay, as a separate system within HR may disappear altogether. Organisations will move toward attracting, rewarding and retaining their employees through the design of a highly individualised "HR Environment".


Background: This study seeks to understand how the attributes of smart technology (SMT) can be leveraged to enable personalized services and optimize unique user experiences to attract and retain customers. Based on Kang et al.'s (2020) study of SMT attributes and quality effects and Liang et al.'s (2006) study on personalized recommendation and user satisfaction, we constructed a SMT personalization model to analyze how the SMT attributes of smart functionality and smart content enable personalization in different ways and create unique customer experiences throughout the user journey. Method: Two representative payment systems were selected to depict how they integrated the strengths of personalized smart functionalities and contents to innovate their business models, optimize user experiences, and sustain business growth. Results: Based on the comparative analysis of the two payment cases, the functionality and content attributes of smart chips and omni-channel platforms were explored, and the tailored advisory and responsive support for customers both offline and online were validated. Conclusion: The life-enriching service innovations provide valuable insights for leveraging SMT for personalization. It is hoped that the SMT personalization model can be extended to other types of SMT applications and can be used as a framework for designing innovative services. Recommended Citation Shang, Shari S.C. and Chiu, Lynn S. L. (2022) "Leveraging Smart Technology for User Experience Personalization – A Comparative Case Study of Innovative Payment Systems," Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 6. DOI: 10.17705/1pais.14106 Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol14/iss1/6


'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las), the prevalent bacterial pathogen associated with citrus huanglongbing (HLB), harbors at least two prophages, named FP1 and FP2. Due to the fastidious nature of Las, little is known about the prophage's response to stress conditions. In this study, we used real time PCR to investigate the potential conversion of the FP1 and FP2 prophages under stress conditions by comparing the 16S rDNA copy number in HLB-affected periwinkle and citrus. When HLB-affected periwinkle was exposed to heat stress for 4.0 hours, more FP1 and FP2 phage particles were released at 42℃ and 45℃ than at 37℃. A temperature increase from 23℃ to 37℃ caused the relative copy numbers of FP1 and FP2 to increase six folds, while a shift from 23℃ to 42℃ or 45℃ caused the relative copy numbers of FP1 and FP2 to increase between 7.5 and 15-folds compared to the initial samples. Meanwhile, similar results were found when HLB-affected citrus scions were treated with tetracycline at concentrations of 500 ppm to 2000 ppm by soaking for three days. When treated with tetracycline for 7 to 9 hours, the relative copy numbers of FP1 and FP2 reached their highest levels with an increase of 6 to 11.1-folds compared to the initial samples. The results indicate that stress causes the prophages in Las to convert from the lysogenic to lytic cycle. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provided direct evidence that an upward temperature shift is accompanied by the lysogenic to lytic conversion. This conversion from the lysogenic to lytic cycle may have applications in terms of modulating HLB populations in naturally occurring infections. The study gives new insight into the interaction of prophages and HLB, which may play a potentially important role in the control of HLB.


Objective: To understand the sociodemographic, geographical, and clinical characteristics of rural veterans utilizing home modification (HM) healthcare services under the Home Improvement Structural Alterations (HISA) program, to compare these characteristics between rural and urban veteran users, to estimate the costs of HMs performed, and to present distance that users traveled to HISA-prescribing medical facilities within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Background: Accessible housing is in short supply. HMs allow veterans with disabilities (VWDs) to remain living at home rather than enter institutional-type settings. HISA is associated with decreased inpatient hospitalization rates and increased use of preventative healthcare via outpatient clinic visits. Home accessibility provides psychological benefits improving social interactions and interaction with the physical environment. Methods: This retrospective database study analyzes data from the National Prosthetics Patient Database and other medical datasets within the VHA. Results: Results provide a profile of and comparison between rural and urban veteran users. HISA users are substantially older compared to younger VWDs. The frequency of bathroom, railing, and wooden ramp HMs differed significantly between rural and urban users (p values < .001). Rural users traveled more miles than urban users to reach a prescribing facility. Conclusions: Older adults and individuals with disabilities have unmet housing needs since accessible housing is in short supply. This HM healthcare service is helping to meet the housing accessibility needs of older veterans, VWDs, older adults, and people with disabilities, in general.


In an advanced imaging technique Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) plays a major role in medical setting to create high standard images contained in the human brain .MRI imaging is often used when treating brain, prostate cancers, ankle and foot. The MRI images captured are usually liable to suffer from Gaussian noise, salt and pepper noise, speckle noise etc., Therefore obtaining of brain image with accuracy is very difficult task. An accurate brain image is very indispensable for further diagnosis process.Image processing algorithms are applied to the captured MRI data and detach the noise, thus preserves the integrity of fine medical image structure. In this paper, various filtering algorithms are discussed and compared.


With growing awareness of environmental deterioration, atmospheric pollution and resource depletion, the last several decades have brought increased attention and scrutiny to global consumption levels. However, there are significant and well documented limitations associated with current efforts to encourage more sustainable consumption patterns, ranging from informational and time constraints to the highly individualizing effect of market-based participation.

This volume, featuring essays solicited from experts engaged in sustainable consumption research from around the world, presents empirical and theoretical illustrations of the various means through which politics and power influence (un)sustainable consumption practices, policies and perspectives. With chapters on compelling topics including collective action, behaviour-change and the transition movement, the authors discuss why current efforts have largely failed to meet environmental targets and explore promising directions for research, policy and practice.

Featuring contributions that will help the reader open up politics and power in ways that are accessible and productive and bridge the gaps with current approaches to sustainable consumption, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable consumption and the politics of sustainability.


The PATU™ Aotearoa Hinu Wero (Fat Challenge) is a group exercise initiative that promotes physical activity and focuses on fat loss in order to reduce obesity in Māori. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the pilot nine-week Hinu Wero (August–October 2014) involving 66 participants (males n = 26, females n = 40, ages 17–63 years) using a mixed-methods approach. Pre-and post-Hinu Wero anthropometric data revealed whether changes in body fat percentage, body mass index, and weight occurred. Mean reductions in all these measurements were observed. An online focus group with 13 of the participants, and a trainer interview (n = 1, male, 28 years) was undertaken in June 2015 to obtain various perspectives of the Hinu Wero. The online focus group participants were very enthusiastic about the PATU™ Hinu Wero and the results being achieved. It was acknowledged that the Māori practice of whanaungatanga (connectedness, support) was of paramount importance. The PATU™ Hinu Wero functioned as an effective health intervention for reducing obesity in local Māori and working towards reducing health inequities in New Zealand.


ABSTRACT We have developed a method of animal localisation that detects the angle from a sensor towards the direction of an animal call. The method is as simple to use as deploying a conventional static sound recorder, but provides tracking information as well as sound recordings. The principal of operation is to detect the phase difference between microphones positioned closely together. The phase is detected by converting the signals to their analytic form with a Hilbert transform. The angle is then calculated from the phase difference, frequency and microphone separation. Angular measurements provide an indication of flight paths above the sensor, and can give details of activity and behaviour that are not possible with a single channel static recorder. We recorded flight paths for 5 bat species at a site in Denmark (Pipistrellus nathusii, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Eptesicus serotinus, Myotis daubentonii and Nyctalus noctula). The median error in angular measurement for the species was between 3 and 7 degrees. Calls at high angles from normal, corresponding with a poor sensor sensitivity, had larger errors compared to calls recorded in the centre of the field of view. Locations in space could be estimated by combining angular measurements from two or more sensors.


A 75-year-old man attended the emergency department complaining of upper abdominal colic accompanied by nausea and cold sweating for 24 hours. Physical examination found that there was mild tenderness and tension in the upper region of his abdomen. Several of his liver function test and blood chemistry values were abnormal: neutrophil count 7710/μL (reference 2000–7000/μL), total bilirubin 2.1mg/dL, direct bilirubin 1.3mg/dL, pancreatic lipase 2085 IU/L. In addition, acute inflammatory markers, including procalcitonin (0.63ng/mL), IL-6 (287pg/mL), and C-reactive protein (59.1mg/mL), were all elevated. A nonenhanced abdominal computed tomography scan indicated the presence of an 8-mm stone in the distal common bile duct (▶Fig. 1). Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed on the second day after admission. The duodenoscope reached the descending duodenum smoothly. However, as the angle between the bile duct and cannulation was almost a right angle, possibly caused by a diverticulum, an experienced endoscopist failed to complete biliary cannulation after several attempts (▶Fig. 2). Several days later, a second try was made, this time using magnets to help to tackle the difficult papilla (▶Video 1). A magnetic bead was fixed next to the papilla and a powerful magnet placed externally (▶Fig. 3 a, b). Through the attraction between the magnets, the angle was changed and the biliary cannulation was then successfully performed (▶Fig. 3 c, d). Following cannulation, the sphincter was cut about 5mm using blended current. Finally, the stone was extracted using a stone basket, and the filling defect disappeared (▶Fig. 3 e, f). There were no complications. Reports exist of magnets playing an important role in endoscopic surgery [1, 2]. In the present case, biliary cannulation that was difficult using the conventional E-Videos


Title: IoT Tracking System Effectiveness in Enhancing Library Services Author: Khulud Alawaji Thesis Advisor: Marius C. Silaghi, Ph.D. The advantages that the Internet of Things (IoT) provides lead to an increase in the number of IoT solutions that integrate different fields. One of the important IoT contributions is in location-based IoT applications, which leverage the Indoor Positioning System (IPS) technology. IPS uses numerous technologies; one is the Beacon technology, which is based on a small wireless sensor device used to send signals. IPS based Beacon technology used in college libraries to increase the productivity, accuracy, safety, and efficiency of daily processes. This research proposed an IoT Beacon-based tracking system concept to be applied at Evans Library at Florida Tech to replace the manual approach that is currently used by the library staff. However, applying IoT solutions to public places could cause some significant concerns to the users in terms of acceptability, usability, and effectiveness. Thus, the study also used interviews and surveys to collect student and staff insights into the proposed IoT solution. According to the results of the study, the proposed solution was useful, applicable, and acceptable for the students and staff. Furthermore, the study predicted the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed solution for the library staff.


OBJECT
The objective of this retrospective study was to analyze the results of stereotactic radiosurgery performed using a gamma knife in the treatment of 44 consecutive patients with brain metastases from lung carcinoma.

METHODS
Forty-four patients with lung carcinoma were treated for metastatic brain tumors by performing radiosurgery with a Leksell Gamma Knife. Twenty-one patients (47.7%) were women and 23 were men. The mean age of the patients was 56 years (range 35-77 years). Twenty-two patients (50%) had solitary tumors and the rest had multiple tumors (two-six lesions). Eighteen patients (40.9%) presented with a recurrent and/or progressive brain disease that previously had been treated with other modalities (surgery, external-beam radiotherapy, or both). Fifteen patients had controlled lung disease and 19 patients had systemic metastases (in lymph nodes, liver, and/or bones) at the time of radiosurgery. The median follow-up period was 18.25 months. All patients were followed up for three different end points: 1) death caused by the disease; 2) clinical and/or radiological evidence of progression of the tumor that had been treated with radiosurgery; and 3) appearance of new lesions. At the last follow-up review, 17 patients (38.6%) were alive and 27 (61.4%) had died. Ten patients (22.7%) died as a result of brain disease (failure of local control or new metastases). Controlled primary disease at the time of detection of metastases and the ability to achieve local tumor control after radiosurgery significantly improved the patient survival (p < 0.01). Control of the treated tumor(s) was achieved in 32 of 44 patients (72 tumors) and 10 patients experienced treatment failure. In addition to the 44 patients comprising the study population, two other patients were treated, but died of lung disease too early in the follow-up period to have been assessed. As of the last follow-up review, no new brain metastasis had occurred in 36 patients (81.8% [includes surviving and nonsurviving patients]). The median duration of overall survival was 7 months, the median period of controlled brain disease was 21 months, and the median period of freedom from new brain metastases was 17 months (95% confidence interval 13-19 months).

CONCLUSIONS
Gamma knife surgery has significantly reduced the incidence of mortality from brain disease by effectively accomplishing local tumor control in patients with metastatic lung cancer. Local control and freedom from new brain metastases is not influenced by prior external-beam radiotherapy.


Teaching is a complex activity that requires making ongoing multiple decisions and sporadic, responsive actions all while performing preplanned prescribed tasks. Evidence of certain aspects of teaching can be best assessed with a well-designed observation instrument. This instrument was designed to assess the enactment of the essential elements of implementing a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) activity in classrooms. The steps leading up to the instrument development and follow-up suggestions are offered to those who are engaging in STEM professional development including districts, schools, academies, service centers, and university partners.


At its core, this is a project about the contemporary crisis of authenticity. Using minimalism discourse as a site to explore this crisis, my research into the minimalist lifestyle and its critique of consumerism is guided by two questions. First, how is the concept of authenticity mobilized within minimalism discourse? And second, how does the notion of authenticity contribute to governing the minimalist lifestyle and shaping the minimalist subject? To explore these questions a selection of self-help texts, or pedagogical lifestyle resources, are used. The discursive sites explored herein include guru books, Reddit forums, a documentary, Instagram posts, TED talks, and media coverage on the minimalist lifestyle. These diverse data sites are analyzed using mixed- methods including discourse analysis, frame analysis, and elements of grounded theory, and are shaped by a governmentality approach to theory and methodology.
The notion of authenticity is used to help naturalize governmentality and consumer culture. Minimalism, while offering a critique of consumerism, mobilizes authenticity in much the same way. The use of the rhetoric of authenticity within minimalism discourse takes the form of critique in three primary ways: (1) minimalists often express nostalgia for a pre-consumerism past, (2) minimalists tend to prioritize experiences over objects and (3), minimalists tend to distinguish between needs and consumer culture-created artificial wants in such a way that wants are deemed superfluous to living a fulfilling and meaningful life. What can be seen in minimalism discourse is a complex lifestyle oriented around highly intentional consumption practices and critical of individual participation in mass-consumption. Within this discourse, the rhetoric of authenticity is used as both a critique of consumerism and a justification for a highly regimented and responsibilized way of life that is, I argue, an example of governmentality in action at the level of the individual. It is my contention that through the incorporation of the rhetoric of authenticity, contemporary minimalism embodies neoliberal ways of thinking about the self as a project requiring continuous work.


This paper provides structural estimates of heterogeneous returns to work experience for Japanese married women. A dynamic model of labor force participation is used to account for dynamic self-selection into employment. Heterogeneity is incorporated into the model in a way that allows for the multidimensional skill heterogeneity in employment and home production and for the individual-speci(cid:2)c slope and curvature of experience effect on earnings. The structural estimates and their comparison to the reduced-form estimates highlight the importance of dynamic self-selection into employment and heterogeneity in returns to work experience.


Background Emergency department (ED) visits after elective surgical procedures are a potential target for interventions to reduce healthcare costs. More than 1 million total joint arthroplasties (TJAs) are performed each year with postsurgical ED utilization estimated in the range of 10%. Questions/purposes We asked whether (1) outpatient orthopaedic care was associated with reduced ED utilization and (2) whether there were identifiable factors associated with ED utilization within the first 30 and 90 days after TJA. Methods An analysis of adult TRICARE beneficiaries who underwent TJA (2006-2014) was performed. TRICARE is the insurance program of the Department of Defense, covering > 9 million beneficiaries. ED use within 90 days of surgery was the primary outcome and postoperative outpatient orthopaedic care the primary explanatory variable. Patient demographics (age, sex, race, beneficiary category), clinical characteristics (length of hospital stay, prior comorbidities, complications), and environment of care were used as covariates. Logistic regression adjusted for all covariates was performed to determine factors associated with ED use. Results We found that orthopaedic outpatient care (odds ratio [OR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.77) was associated with lower odds of ED use within 90 days. We also found that index hospital length of stay (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.10), medical comorbidities (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08-1.24), and complications (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 2.24-2.72) were associated with higher odds of ED use. Conclusions When considering that at 90 days, only 3928 patients sustained a complication, a substantial number of ED visits (11,486 of 15,414 [75%]) after TJA may be avoidable. Enhancing access to appropriate outpatient care with improved discharge planning may reduce ED use after TJA. Further research should be directed toward unpacking the situations, outside of complications, that drive patients to access the ED and devise interventions that could mitigate such behavior. Level of Evidence Level III, therapeutic study.


ABSTRACT —We describe new specimens of the Miocene moschid Hispanomeryx, from the early Vallesian sites of Castell de Barberà (CB) and Ecoparc de Can Mata (ECM), Vallès-Penedès Basin, representing the first Iberian record of Hispanomeryx outside the inner Miocene basins. Fossils from ECM constitute Hispanomeryx lacetanus, sp. nov., the first Hispanomeryx to be described with a 'Palaeomeryx fold (external postprotocristid).' Fossils from CB constitute the first unambiguous record of Hispanomeryx aragonensis outside its type locality (La Ciesma-1B, Ebro Basin, Spain) and allow us to describe for the first time the upper molars of this species. Our phylogenetic analysis of Hispanomeryx places H. andrewsi from China as the sister group of a clade containing two European lineages. One of the latter places H. daamsi in a clade with the sister species H. duriensis and H. lacetanus, sp. nov., and the other groups together the two forms of H. aragonensis (type series from La Ciesma-1B plus the new material from CB). Emended diagnoses for the genus Hispanomeryx and all previously described species are presented. The new Hispanomeryx material from the Vallès-Penedès Basin constitutes the first unambiguous forest-dwelling Hispanomeryx ever recorded in Iberia, demonstrating that the previous lack of Hispanomeryx fossils in the Vallès-Penedès Basin was due to insufficient sampling rather than to paleoecological absence. It is therefore apparent that Hispanomeryx was as environmentally plastic as its relative Micromeryx, inhabiting similar habitats that varied from dry and open to humid and forested.


Objectives: Atmospheric aerosol climate manipulation has been undertaken since at least the beginning of the 21 century, with increasing frequency and duration, without public discussion, and without disclosure of the particulate matter composition being placed into the air we breathe. Nor have the effects of this activity on biota including humans been discussed. Forensic evidence published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is consistent with coal fly ash (CFA), the toxic waste-product of coal-burning, being the main undisclosed geoengineering-particulate. The objective of this paper is to provide additional evidence that the particulate matter aerosolized in the atmosphere during geoengineering activities is coal fly ash and to consider the concomitant potential consequences of contaminating the biosphere with mercury. Methods: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used to investigate evidence bearing on the composition of geoengineering material. Short Communication Herndon and Whiteside; JGEESI, 13(1): 1-11, 2017; Article no.JGEESI.37308 2 Results: Analyses of rainwater and snow provide further evidence that coal fly ash is the primary component dispersed in the atmosphere for geoengineering purposes. Consequently, this neardaily, near-global climate manipulation activity poses a previously unrecognized risk for environmental mercury contamination by deliberately aerosolized CFA that contains mercury in variable amounts (Table 1) ranging as high as 2 μg/g. Conclusion: Despite strengthened mercury emission regulations, mercury measured in rainwater is increasing. Since it is known that the upper troposphere contains oxidized, particle-bound mercury, it is likely that covert aerosolized coal fly ash sprayed into this region is a major source of mercury pollution. Mercury affects multiple systems in the body, potentially causing neurological, cardiovascular, genitourinary, reproductive, immunological, and even genetic disease. Because atmospheric climate manipulation using coal-fly-ash-based aerosols represents a potential globally pervasive environmental-source of this toxic element, it must be recognized and appropriate steps taken to halt climate geoengineering.


Dominant approaches to designing morally capable robots have been mainly based on rulebased ethical frameworks such as deontology and consequentialism. These approaches have encountered both philosophical and computational limitations. They often struggle to accommodate remarkably diverse, unstable, and complex contexts of human-robot interaction. Roboticists and philosophers have recently been exploring underrepresented ethical traditions such as virtuous, role-based, and relational ethical frameworks for designing morally capable robots. This paper employs the lens of ethical pluralism to examine the notion of role-based morality in the global context and discuss how such cross-cultural analysis of role ethics can inform the design of morally competent robots. In doing so, it first provides a concise introduction to ethical pluralism and how it has been employed as a method to interpret issues in computer and information ethics. Second, it reviews specific schools of thought in Western ethics that derive morality from role-based obligations. Third, it presents a more recent effort in Confucianism to reconceptualize Confucian ethics as a role-based ethic. This paper then compares the shared norms and irreducible differences between Western and Eastern approaches to role ethics. Finally, it discusses how such examination of pluralist views of role ethics across cultures can be conducive to the design of morally capable robots sensitive to diverse value systems in the global context.


Raised levels of blood pressure result from the complex interplay of environmental and genetic factors. The complexity of blood pressure control mechanisms has major implications for individual responsiveness to antihypertensive drugs. The underlying haemodynamic disorder in the majority of cases is a rise in peripheral vascular resistance. This observation led to the discovery and development of increasingly sophisticated and targeted vasodilators, although many of the earlier antihypertensive drugs, by virtue of their actions blocking the sympathetic nervous system, had a vasodilator component to their mode of action. A recent meta-analysis of placebo controlled trials of monotherapy in unselected hypertensives, reports average (placebo-corrected) blood pressure responses to single agents of 9.1 mmHg systolic and 5.5 mmHg diastolic pressure. These average values disguise the extremely wide ranging responses in individuals across a fall of 20-30 mmHg systolic at one extreme, to no effect at all, or even a small rise in blood pressure at the other. The second factor determining individual responses to monotherapy is the extent to which initial falls in pressure are opposed by reflex responses in counter regulatory mechanisms that are activated following the blood pressure reduction. Thus, a satisfactory blood pressure response is rarely reached with monotherapy alone. What then is the next step if blood pressure is not a goal after the patient has been treated with monotherapy for a few weeks? Should you uptitrate, substitute or combine?


We provide a broad overview of the ISPCTN's importance in enhancing clinical trial infrastructure and capabilities for pediatrician scientists while implementing clinical trials that inform health care for children. BrightcoveDefaultPlayer10.1542/6176779602001PEDS-VA_2020-0290 Video Abstract The National Institutes of Health's Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program aims to study high-priority and high-impact pediatric conditions. This broad-based health initiative is unique in the National Institutes of Health research portfolio and involves 2 research components: (1) a large group of established centers with pediatric cohorts combining data to support longitudinal studies (ECHO cohorts) and (2) pediatric trials program for institutions within Institutional Development Awards states, known as the ECHO Institutional Development Awards States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN). In the current presentation, we provide a broad overview of the ISPCTN and, particularly, its importance in enhancing clinical trials capabilities of pediatrician scientists through the support of research infrastructure, while at the same time implementing clinical trials that inform future health care for children. The ISPCTN research mission is aligned with the health priority conditions emphasized in the ECHO program, with a commitment to bringing state-of-the-science trials to children residing in underserved and rural communities. ISPCTN site infrastructure is critical to successful trial implementation and includes research training for pediatric faculty and coordinators. Network sites exist in settings that have historically had limited National Institutes of Health funding success and lacked pediatric research infrastructure, with the initial funding directed to considerable efforts in professional development, implementation of regulatory procedures, and engagement of communities and families. The Network has made considerable headway with these objectives, opening two large research studies during its initial 18 months as well as producing findings that serve as markers of success that will optimize sustainability.


RGB-infrared person re-identification is a challenging task due to the intra-class variations and cross-modality discrepancy. Existing works mainly focus on learning modality-shared global representations by aligning image styles or feature distributions across modalities, while local feature from body part and relationships between person images are largely neglected. In this paper, we propose a Dual-level (i.e., local and global) Feature Fusion (DF^2) module by learning attention for discriminative feature from local to global manner. In particular, the attention for a local feature is determined locally, i.e., applying a learned transformation function on itself. Meanwhile, to further mining the relationships between global features from person images, we propose an Affinities Modeling (AM) module to obtain the optimal intra- and inter-modality image matching. Specifically, AM employes intra-class compactness and inter-class separability in the sample similarities as supervised information to model the affinities between intra- and inter-modality samples. Experimental results show that our proposed method outperforms state-of-the-arts by large margins on two widely used cross-modality re-ID datasets SYSU-MM01 and RegDB, respectively.


Chernobyl is a
very special case among the dark tourism destinations due to the combined
technogenic and historical issues, drastic damages to the local nature and
remaining elements of the potential danger to visitors in the exclusion
zone. Because of this complexity,
motivations to visit this destination deserve a thorough investigation from
academic and managerial perspectives, as after the HBO miniseries launch in
2019 the interest of travellers keep on increasing. This study concentrates on
analysis of internal (push) motivations of young travellers who were born after
the event, but live in the distance of 500-700 km from Chernobyl and therefore
are aware about it from their families and from public sources. Data is
collected in Lithuania, where the additional awareness of Chernobyl was
generated by HBO, filming most of the miniseries scenes
in there. The analysis
includes four types of motivations that appear to have very different influence
on visiting intentions among male and female respondents. Female respondents seem to be driven by
novelty-seeking and escape motivations; male by ego-enhancement and prestige.
This adds to the academic knowledge on the dark tourism motivations and
continues discussion regarding the gender-linked differences in tourist
motivations. Having this explored, the study raises additional questions and
outlines directions for future research.


Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, utilization, and storage is the best option for mitigating atmospheric emissions of CO2 and thereby controlling the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Despite the benefits, there have been a limited number of projects solely for CO2 sequestration being implemented. The industry is well-versed in gas injection in reservoir formation for pressure maintenance and improving oil recovery. However, there are striking differences between the injection of CO2 into depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and the engineered storage of CO2. The differences and challenges are compounded when the storage site is karstified carbonate in offshore and bulk storage volume.
 It is paramount to know upfront that CO2 can be stored at a potential storage site and demonstrate that the site can meet required storage performance safety criteria. Comprehensive screening for site selection has been carried out for suitable CO2 storage sites in offshore Sarawak, Malaysia using geographical, geological, geophysical, geomechanical and reservoir engineering data and techniques for evaluating storage volume, container architecture, pressure, and temperature conditions. The site-specific input data are integrated into static and dynamic models for characterization and generating performance scenarios of the site. In addition, the geochemical interaction of CO2 with reservoir rock has been studied to understand possible changes that may occur during/after injection and their impact on injection processes/mechanisms. Novel 3-way coupled modelling of dynamic-geochemistry-geomechanics processes were carried out to study long-term dynamic behaviour and fate of CO2 in the formation.
 The 3-way coupled modelling helped to understand the likely state of injectant in future and the storage mechanism, i.e., structural, solubility, residual, and mineralized trapping. It also provided realistic storage capacity estimation, incorporating reservoir compaction and porosity/permeability changes. The study indicates deficient localized plastic shear strain in overburden flank fault whilst all the other flaws remained stable. The potential threat of leakage is minimal as target injection pressure is set at initial reservoir pressure, which is much lower than caprock breaching pressure during injection. Furthermore, it was found that the geochemical reaction impact is shallow and localized at the top of the reservoir, making the storage safe in the long term. The integrity of existing wells was evaluated for potential leakage and planned for a proper mitigation plan. Comprehensive measurement, monitoring, and verification (MMV) were also designed using state-of-art tools and dynamic simulation results. The understanding gaps are closed with additional technical work to improve technologies application and decrease the uncertainties.
 A comprehensive study for offshore CO2 storage projects identifying critical impacting elements is crucial for estimation, injection, containment, and monitoring CO2 plume. The information and workflow may be adopted to evaluate other CO2 projects in both carbonate and clastic reservoirs for long-term problem-free storage of greenhouse gas worldwide.


A regional long-offset 2D seismic reflection program undertaken along the Labrador margin of the Labrador Sea, Canada, and complemented by the acquisition of coincident gravity data, has provided an extensive data set with which to image and model the sparsely investigated outer shelf, slope, and deepwater regions. Previous interpretation of the seismic data revealed the extent of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins and resulted in the remapping of the basin configuration for the entire margin. To map the synrift package and improve understanding of the geometry and extent of these basins, we have undertaken joint seismic interpretation and gravity forward modeling to reduce uncertainty in the identification of the prerift basement, which varies between Paleozoic shelfal deposits and Precambrian crystalline rocks, with similar density characteristics. With this iterative approach, we have obtained new depth to basement constraints and have deduced further constraints on crustal thickness variations along the Labrador margin. At the crustal scale, extreme localized crustal thinning has been revealed along the southern and central portions of the Labrador margin, whereas a broad, margin-parallel zone of thicker crust has been detected outboard of the continental shelf along the northern Labrador margin. Our final gravity models suggest that Late Cretaceous rift packages from further south extend along the entire Labrador margin and open the possibility of a Late Cretaceous source rock fairway extending into the Labrador basins.


The purpose of the work is to enable design and manufacture of cement with emphasis on the quality and the properties of cement. Data used in the design and manufacture were collected from predictions of properties and characteristics of cement. The properties of cement were predicted from its characteristics and from the production conditions in cement kiln and mill. The cement characteristics were in some investigations predicted from the production conditions. The design was based on sensitivity analysis focusing the influence of the characteristics and production variables, x, on the properties, y. The influence was analyzed by predictions of y from the simulated variation in x. In cases there were correlation within observation matrix X, the simulations were constrained by the latent structure of X. The simulations were in the form of optimization of the function for prediction of y. The optimal solutions of the production variables were then implemented in the manufacture of cement. The prediction models were evaluated by multivariate data analysis by using partial least square regression (PLS). PLS is a member of the bilinear class of methods. The method compresses the observation matrix X to its most relevant factors and using these compressed variables as regressors for y. In the thesis the compressed variables were sometimes called PLS-components and sometimes latent variables. Two types of sensitivity analysis for the examination of influences of the x-variables on y were applied. The first is based on comparison of the size and certainty of the regression coefficient from PLS on scaled and weighted x. The second was based on predictions of y from simulated variation in x. The influence of a single x-variable or a latent variable was valued or ranged from the variation of predicted y relative to the confidence intervals of y. The development of a program for optimization was an important part of work presented in the thesis. The optimization was in the form of linear programming where the regression function of y was optimized but constrained by the latent variables and upper and lower limits of at least one of the x-variables. The purpose was not to focus only on the methods but also to apply the methods on real data from production and characterization of cement for prediction of the quality and the properties of cement. Two investigations were performed on pure observations of X and Y. In the first investigation three PLS-models were evaluated for prediction of the three properties; amount of water required to achieve standard consistency, setting time and compressive strength at 1 day from production conditions in a cement mill. In the second investigation, a PLS-model was evaluated for predictions of compressive strength up to 28 days from characteristics of the cement. The observation X was made up by four submatrices representing three different types of characteristics, the first one representing the mineralogy of the clinker part of the cement, the second the particle size distribution and the third and fourth superficial microstructure of cement. The mineralogy characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis could be related to the production conditions in the cement kiln. The particle size distribution and superficial microstructure, the latter characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, could be related to the production conditions in a cement mill. From the observation X matrix an artificial observation matrix was made for predicting potential compressive strength of clinker from the mineralogy. The original variation in the mineralogy in the new artificial matrix was maintained, while the other variables were kept constant and equal to their mean values. The mineralogy was represented by XRDcurves, which are characterized as spectral data, in two selected 2 _ ranges. Further, the spectral data were optimized to min and max potential compressive strength. In addition, they were interpreted qualitatively with respect to the variation in the mineralogy. The spectral data from thermogravimetric analysis included in PLS, were the differential form of a mass loss curve recorded during the analysis. In addition to examining the influence of submatrices or blocks to on the properties by sensitivity analysis, multi-block regression methods were applied. By application of multi-block methods, the part of the characteristics or the microstructure that influences the properties could be found directly from the regression analysis. Finally, the production conditions in a cement mill and a cement kiln were optimized to achieve optimal cement properties. Amount of water required to achieve standard consistency and setting time were predicted from production conditions in a cement mill, and potential compressive strength of clinker up to 28 days were predicted from production conditions in a cement kiln. The production conditions were optimized to achieve min and max values of the properties. The microstructure or the characteristics were predicted from the optimal production conditions to explain the influence of the production conditions on the properties mechanistically and chemically. The main contributions in the form of papers in this thesis are (the roman numerals refer to the list of papers at the end to this chapter): 1. Developing methods for model-based optimization based on PLS, sensitivity analysis, prediction and linear programming. A case of demonstration was optimizing compressive strength of cement from variation of particle size distribution of cement [I-III] 2. Modelling compressive strength up to 28 days of cement on the characteristics of cement, predicting and optimizing potential compressive strength from the mineralogy of clinker [IV-V] 3. Presenting the principles and application of multi-block methods in cement production [VI-VII] 4. Optimizing production conditions to achieve optimal cement properties [VIII-IX] The use of multivariate data analysis, sensitivity analysis and model-based optimization is very useful in the design and manufacture of cement. The methods enabled tailoring of cement aiming at target values of properties like compressive strength, setting time and initial flow properties. The tailoring can be based on the variables representing the characteristics of cement as well as the variables representing the production conditions in the cement kiln and the cement mill. The max values of the compressive strength at 1 and 28 days were achieved by optimizing the production conditions in the kiln giving the optimal mineralogy for achieving max strengths. Optimal values of cement properties at early ages were achieved by optimizing the production conditions in the cement mill giving the optimal superficial microstructure.


Introduction: Acne vulgaris as a skin disease does not only affect young people. It is extremely acute and more common problem among adults, that appears around the age of 25 or lasts continuously from the time of maturity. Unaesthetic appearance especially for women may be a reason of discomfort, depression and in serious cases it may lead to suicide attempts. Purpose: the study aims at presenting the change in the number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory exanthema, before and after a series of treatments with the use of Ferulic acid applied manually and d'Arsonowal currents on adult women suffering from acne vulgaris continuously from puberty and after the age of 25. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 60 women over the age of 25. The criterion of inclusion was existing number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory exanthema. They were randomly divided into two groups. The probands were asked to fill in the survey and were informed about the possible contraindications for conducted treatments. The first group probands were applied manually with Ferulic acid on cleansed skin over the period of 10 minutes. The second group probands were applied with d'Arsonowal currents' emission on dry and cleansed skin for a period of 10 minutes. The procedure in both groups was applied in a series of 5 treatments with one week break. The number of exanthema was documented photographically for each proband before the first and after the last procedure. Results: The results of research show statistically essential decrease in the number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory exanthema in both groupstreated with Ferulic acid and treated with d'Arsonowal currents. No differences concerning the number and kind of exanthema between tested groups before a series of treatments and after a series of treatments were noted. Researching the correlation of number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory exanthema to the moment of illness emergence and applied procedure does not show statistically essential differences either. Conclusion: Regardless, the progress of an illness among the probands and what kind of exanthema was dominating, the support of treatments working externally on skin such as emission of d'Arsonowal currents and application of Ferulic acid effectively and successfully improve the condition of acne affected skin. Especially in situations when a patient cannot use pharmacological treatment for any reason, the external treatments might work as an alternative or a supplement.


Exposure to abiotic stresses triggers global changes in the expression of thousands of eukaryotic genes at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Small RNA (smRNA) pathways and splicing both function as crucial mechanisms regulating stress-responsive gene expression. However, examples of smRNAs regulating gene expression remain largely limited to effects on mRNA stability, translation, and epigenetic regulation. Also, our understanding of the networks controlling plant gene expression in response to environmental changes, and examples of these regulatory pathways intersecting, remains limited. Here, to investigate the role of smRNAs in stress responses we examined smRNA transcriptomes of Brachypodium distachyon plants subjected to various abiotic stresses. We found that exposure to different abiotic stresses specifically induced a group of novel, endogenous small interfering RNAs (stress-induced, UTR-derived siRNAs, or sutr-siRNAs) that originate from the 3′ UTRs of a subset of coding genes. Our bioinformatics analyses predicted that sutr-siRNAs have potential regulatory functions and that over 90% of sutr-siRNAs target intronic regions of many mRNAs in trans. Importantly, a subgroup of these sutrsiRNAs target the important intron regulatory regions, such as branch point sequences, that could affect splicing. Our study indicates that in Brachypodium, sutr-siRNAs may affect splicing by masking or changing accessibility of specific cis-elements through base-pairing interactions to mediate gene expression in response to stresses. We hypothesize that this mode of regulation of gene expression may also serve as a general mechanism for regulation of gene expression in plants and potentially in other eukaryotes.