Background and aims Respiratory failure is common in immunocompromised patients. Intubation and mechanical ventilation (MV) is the mainstay of treatment but is associated with increased risk of pneumonia and other complications. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is an alternative to MV in a select group of patients and aims to avoid the complications of MV. In these patients, we performed a meta-analysis on the effect of early NIV versus conventional oxygen therapy in reducing intubation rates and other important clinical outcomes. Methods We performed an extensive online and unpublished data search for relevant studies that met the inclusion criteria. We included randomised controlled trials that used early NIV versus conventional oxygen therapy in immunocompromised patients with respiratory failure. Risk of bias and acceptability assessment were independently performed by the authors. The primary outcome of interest was intubation and MV rate.The secondary outcomes were ICU and all-cause mortality, ICU length of stay and duration of mechanical ventilation. Results Four studies with a total of 553 patients met the criteria for inclusion and were included in the analysis. Patients given NIV were 38% less likely to be intubated vs. those given oxygen, RR 0.62 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.93); however, this result is significantly heterogenous. After sensitivity analysis, results showed 48% less likelihood of intubation and mechanical ventilation in the group treated with NIV, RR 0.52 (95% CI: 0.35, 0.77). Patients on NIV had 1.18days less stay in the ICU vs. oxygen group (95% CI: −1.84, −0.5 days). There was no statistically significant decrease in all-cause mortality between the two groups, RR 0.84 (95% CI: 0.63, 1.13), but this effect is heterogenous. After another sensitivity analysis performed specifically for this outcome, results showed a 25% significant reduction in all cause mortality in patients given NIV vs. oxygen therapy, RR 0.75 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.96). There is no difference in the duration of mechanical ventilation between groups. Conclusions In immunocompromised patients with respiratory failure, early NIV reduced intubation rates and decreased all-cause mortality and length of ICU stay compared to standard oxygen therapy. Abstract P193 Figure 1


This thesis examines policy and policy-making in the area of alcohol abuse and drink-driving in Australia. It aims to challenge dominant ideologies about alcohol abuse and to show how these ideologies inform and constrain social action. The thesis develops a specific theoretical analysis to account for approaches to policy-making by the state and to show, in particular, how these have become manifest in the development of a policy on drinking and driving in the state of Victoria. The most general and distinguishing feature of policy development in the alcohol area, it is contended, is the influence of medical ideology which sees social problems as arising from within the individual and also, most recently, in a philosophy which defines problems as the outcome of faulty life-styles. The major part of the thesis is concerned with showing how the focus on alcohol abuse is bound-up with 'individualization', and especially 'medicalization', of the problem of road traffic accidents and how this process has served to divert attention from an examination of the structural changes needed to overcome this problem. In conclusion, the thesis maps an alternative plan of action on alcohol-related problems. This plan will assist policy-makers. social workers and others working with the victims of alcohol abuse to exploit the 'contradictions' emerging within the late capitalist state.


For a given function f on a multivariate domain, the level sets, given by {x:f(x)=c} for different values of c, provide important geometrical insights about the underlying function of interest. The distance on level sets of two functions may be measured by the Hausdorff metric or a metric based on the Lebesgue measure of a discrepancy, both of which can be linked with the L∞-distance on the underlying functions. In a Bayesian framework, we derive posterior contraction rates and optimal sized credible sets with assured frequentist coverage for level sets in some nonparametric settings by extending some univariate L∞-posterior contraction rates to the corresponding multivariate settings. For the multivariate Gaussian white noise model, adaptive Hausdorff and Lebesgue contraction rates for levels sets of the signal function and its mixed order partial derivatives are derived using a wavelet series prior on the function. Assuming a known smoothness level of the signal function, an optimal sized credible region for a level set with assured frequentist coverage is derived based on a multidimensional trigonometric series prior. For the nonparametric regression problem, adaptive rates for level sets of the function and its mixed partial derivatives are obtained using a multidimensional wavelet series prior. When the smoothness level is given, optimal sized credible regions with assured frequentist coverage are obtained using a finite random series prior based on tensor products of B-splines. We also derive Hausdorff and Lebesgue contraction rates of a multivariate density function under a known smoothness setting.


Oceanic wave power has drawn wide attention in the field of oceanic energy utilization around the world due to its giant reserves and clean renewable energy. The utilization technologies of wave power have tended to be mature, and are running into or near commercial exploitation level. This paper fully summarizes the basic principle of wave power utilization technologies, especially its multiple energy conversion system. The status of oceanic wave energy conversion technologies and main oceanic wave generating devices around the world are presented. Furthermore, the research and application progress of oceanic wave power generating technologies are illustrated in detail. After all, from the trends and broad prospects, the utilization of wave power is of great importance for the exploitation of oceanic resources in the littorals. It is also vital for the development of islands far away from continents, as well as essential for the combination wave energy and other marine energy resources.


This Master's Thesis investigates the problem of porting existing computationally and data intensive engineering applications to the Cloud. Cloud computing technologies can offer a lot of advanced possibilities, such as ubiquity, scalability and fault tolerance to engineering applications. However, existing applications do not take advantage of Cloud computing technologies. Successful porting necessitates the knowledge of a wide spectrum of technologies as well as development time for adaptation of existing applications. For this reason many engineering applications that would be of interest to the general public, are used by a limited number of people within research and development departments.

In the context of this work, we developed an effective and general purpose programming code that can be used by engineers to port their applications to the Cloud with minimal changes of their existing applications. Our experiments focused on applications developed in MathWorks' Matlab and the open source mOSAIC Platform as a Service (PaaS). The mOSAIC PaaS can be installed on top of an arbitrary Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider and thus eliminates the vendor lock-in problem.

The developed procedure was implemented and extended with a compiler, which facilitates data exchange between the end users and the resulting Web service in the Matlab programming language. The performance of the overall solution was tested against two applications: a benchmarking application for the estimation of the Matlab performance and a civil engineering application for analysis of structures under static loading, for which we used two different Cloud providers - Amazon EC2 and Eucalyptus. The results indicate that the developed programming code facilitates successful porting of both applications to the Cloud. At the same time numerical stability and adequate performance are achieved. The developed programming code is useful also in the case of parallel usage of the Cloud enabled applications by an increasing number of users as both applications exhibit linear scale-up.

Finally, we considered the possibility for parallel implementation of the application for analysis of structures under static loading. The aim was to exploit the possibilities offered by distributed computing environments, such as the Cloud. The application was rearranged and the testing results show that approximately double speed-up can be achieved by a four times increase in the consumption of Cloud resources. The low speed-up may be attributed to the nature of the employed algorithm and to the low throughput of the input/output system, which is caused by the mOSAIC platform computing stack. Some other engineering applications would certainly gain more with parallelization.


Environmental changes resulting from industrial activity have been occurring for many years, and with the increasing production of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, these changes have played a critical role in global warming. Nowadays, all countries have become aware of the great importance of attention to the environment alongside economic growth. Therefore, they are all after solutions that would allow maximum economic growth with minimum harm to the environment. In the present study, the environmental efficiency of a given system is evaluated using data envelopment analysis (DEA). For this purpose, the economic and environmental dimensions are taken into consideration for each decision-making unit (DMU), with the condition of having undesirable outputs in the environmental dimension. Then, using the concept of "order of efficiency", an enhanced DEA method is proposed based on weak and strong disposability axioms, which can be used to compare and rank units with undesirable outputs. Next, the capabilities of the proposed approach are demonstrated through an example involving various industries in Iran. Enhanced DEA not only takes more comprehensive input and output sets into account but also monitors the units based on the principles of sustainability.


It is often disregarded that the euro is first of all a public good based on common institutions such the European Central Bank, the Governing Council and a network for executing transactions etc. Establishing a public good is fundamentally different from trade in private goods. A public good needs a coordinated action. All participants have to join their efforts towards the same goal. The more one individual contributes to the public good, the less has to be contributed by the other individuals which is an invitation to free riding. This is an inherent weakness of a public good as compared to private goods. If the partners are badly chosen in the beginning or if they shirk on their contribution, the public good is not produced or it is badly produced and ends in a crisis. No repair is possible. The venture has to be started anew.


Eco-homes have only been researched in fragmented and partial ways, which fail to adequately examine their complexities and possibilities. Numerous myths about eco-homes persist in the public imagination and policy support has been mixed with, in practice, little change to the construction of contemporary homes. The ecological and social potential of eco-homes are being undermined by a technocratic focus, the capacity and behaviour of occupants, and a weakening of design as developments are scaled up. This intervention identifies five ways in which eco-homes need to be more robustly interrogated to strengthen their potential, through their breadth and diversity, dynamic nature, socio-material interdependencies, place, and understanding of their political economies. Crucially these interrogations need to be researched simultaneously to ensure that the full diversity of eco-homes is understood through their multiple interdependencies, multi-scalar practices and materialities.


Background: Mutations in KCNJ2 , the gene encoding the inward-rectifying K+ channel Kir2.1, cause the cardiac, skeletal muscle, and developmental phenotypes of Andersen–Tawil syndrome (ATS; also known as Andersen syndrome). Although pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed for select mutations, a common mechanism has not been identified. Methods: Seventeen probands presenting with symptoms characteristic of ATS were evaluated clinically and screened for mutations in KCNJ2 . The results of mutation analysis were combined with those from previously studied subjects to assess the frequency with which KCNJ2 mutations cause ATS. Results: Mutations in KCNJ2 were discovered in nine probands. These included six novel mutations (D71N, T75R, G146D, R189I, G300D, and R312C) as well as previously reported mutations R67W and R218W. Six probands possessed mutations of residues implicated in binding membrane-associated phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). In total, mutations in PIP2-related residues accounted for disease in 18 of 29 (62%) reported KCNJ2 -based probands with ATS. Also reported is that mutation R67W causes the full clinical triad in two unrelated males. Conclusions: The novel mutations corresponding to residues involved in Kir2.1 channel–PIP2 interactions presented here as well as the overall frequency of mutations occurring in these residues indicate that defects in PIP2 binding constitute a major pathogenic mechanism of ATS. Furthermore, screening KCNJ2 in patients with the complex phenotypes of ATS was found to be invaluable in establishing or confirming a disease diagnosis as mutations in this gene can be identified in the majority of patients.


As part of the effort to contain the size and frequency of medical malpractice claims, many states have adopted apology laws. These laws make apologies from physicians to patients inadmissible in any subsequent court proceedings. The basic rationale behind apology laws is that meritless malpractice claims are less likely to be filed when a physician can apologize to his or her patient without risking those statements being used in court. Through the use of a unique dataset, this article corrects several misunderstandings concerning this new generation of tort reform.
First, it shows that while apology laws may reduce the frequency and size of malpractice claims as intended, they may also have a perverse effect on patients' propensity to litigate. If a physician knows more about whether a patient's injury was caused by malpractice than the patient, an apology could alert the patient to that malpractice and encourage the filing of a claim.
Second, the article provides the first empirical analysis of the effect of apology laws on clinical outcomes, investigating their ability to reduce the practice of defensive medicine. Examining over 1.6 million hospital stays for heart attack patients, the article finds no evidence that apology laws reduce defensive medicine. Apology laws do not decrease the intensity of treatment received by patients. In fact, they increase the medical resources used to treat heart attack patients, consistent with an increase in defensive medicine. Based on these empirical findings, the article concludes that apology laws are not effective tort reforms and that states should look to other policies if they wish to achieve the goals of apology laws.


High-speed rail (HRS) and its impact on local/regional development belong to frequent topic of political debate in middle-European post-totalitarian states. A decision to built HSR network has different roots: while large states were primarily motivated by need of fast internal interconnectedness, middle-sized countries must consider international use as well as a benefit to a limited number of national centres. Funding the HSR construction from the EU sources requires an evidence of investment efficiency which is rationally bound to a volume of passenger transported. As this volume is multiply higher in domestic transport than in the cross-border contact, politics are pushed to stress a national/internal importance of HSR. However, this view goes against the EU transport policy of TEN-T corridors. The contribution widely discuses this opinion imbalance and tries to bring an evidence of HSR impacts at both – national and international – regional levels. At first, examples of HSR issues from Czechia, Poland, Hungary and Austria are presented. Then, an empirical assessment for Czechia is done with help of potential and cumulative accessibility concept using population and economic data. The contribution finishes by transport policy recommendation.


High accuracy radio-frequency (RF) measurements typically require a calibration to remove the undesired effects of the measurement apparatus. The calibration consists of measuring some combination of known standards such as short, open, load, through, and delay. When measurements are performed on-wafer for silicon RF integrated circuits (RFICs), a two-step calibration/de-embedding technique is typically used. First, the measurement system is calibrated to a reference plane located at the probe tips through measurement of calibration standards fabricated on an impedance-standard substrate. Second, on-wafer de-embedding standards are measured in an attempt to shift the reference plane to the terminals of the device under test (DUT). While significant effort has gone into the development of improved on-wafer de-embedding schemes, discrepancies between actual and de-embedded data still exist. In this article, we first discuss a specific case (a spiral inductor on silicon) for which there was a significant discrepancy between measurement and analysis. The problem is found to be with the measurement. This problem is detailed, and a technique we call "synthetic calibration" is described that can be used with any electromagnetic (EM) analysis to quantify calibration error for any proposed set of calibration standards. Due to the high expense and time required for wafer fabrication, it is important to successfully complete such a calibration validation prior to tape-out.


A new class of frequency-selective surface filters (FSS) for terahertz (THz) applications is proposed and investigated both numerically and experimentally. A periodic FSS array of cross-shaped apertures is patterned on aluminum, deposited on thin foils of the low-loss cyclo-olefin polymer Zeonor. Apart from the fundamental filtering response of the FSS elements, we also observe very narrow-linewidth peaks with high transmittance, associated with guided-mode resonances in the dielectric substrate. The effect of the filter's geometrical parameters on its performance is systematically studied via finite-element method simulation and confirmed by time-domain spectroscopy characterization of the fabricated samples. Finally, thanks to the flexibility of the employed substrates, THz-FSS filters are also characterized in bent configuration, revealing a robust response in terms of the fundamental FSS passband filter and a high sensitivity of the GMR peaks. These features can be exploited in the design of novel THz filters or sensors.


Abstract Research was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to investigate the potential for 2,4-D and multiple herbicide resistance in a waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) J. D. Sauer] population from Missouri (designated MO-Ren). In the field, visual control of the MO-Ren population with 0.56 to 4.48 kg 2,4-D ha-1 ranged from 26% to 77% in 2015 and from 15% to 55% in 2016. The MO-Ren population was highly resistant to chlorimuron, with visual control never exceeding 7% either year. Estimates of the 2,4-D dose required to provide 50% visual control (I50) of the MO-Ren population were 1.44 kg ha-1 compared with only 0.47 kg 2,4-D ha-1 for the susceptible population. Based on comparisons to a susceptible population in dose–response experiments, the MO-Ren population was approximately 3-fold resistant to 2,4-D, and 7-, 7-, 22-, and 14-fold resistant to atrazine, fomesafen, glyphosate, and mesotrione, respectively. Dicamba and glufosinate were the only two herbicides that provided effective control of the MO-Ren population in these experiments. Examinations of multiple herbicide resistance at the individual plant level revealed that 16% of the plants of the MO-Ren population contained genes stacked for six-way herbicide resistance, and only 1% of plants were classified as resistant to a single herbicide (glyphosate). Results from these experiments confirm that the MO-Ren A. tuberculatus population is resistant to 2,4-D, atrazine, chlorimuron, fomesafen, glyphosate, and mesotrione, making this population the third 2,4-D-resistant A. tuberculatus population identified in the United States, and the first population resistant to six different herbicidal modes of action.


The danger protein HMGB1 induces a distinct form of cell death in cancer cells which is different from classical necrosis, apoptosis, autophagy, or senescence. Interestingly, colon carcinoma cells are less sensitive for the cytotoxic activity of HMGB1 than other types of cancer cells. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular and metabolic pathways regulating the susceptibility to HMGB1 in colorectal carcinoma. Stable ectopic over-expression of HMGB1 inhibited significantly the proliferation of colon carcinoma cells. Treatment of cells with recombinant human (rh) HMGB1 induced significant cytotoxicity in a concentration range of 80 – 200 nM. Cancer cells depleted of mitochondrial DNA were less susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of rhHMGB1. In ATP luciferase assays, after 72 h of incubation with rhHMGB1 a significant depletion of intracellular ATP was observed, paralleled by the formation of giant mitochondria. RhHMGB1 modulated the specific activity of the mitochondrial respiratory enzymes and the electron flux in the electron transport chain in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, addition of NAD+, L-pyruvate, or ATP did not protect the cells from rhHMGB1-induced cell death. RhHMGB1-induced mitochondrial and metabolic events were further characterized by tracking radioactive glucose and pyruvate isotopes. In summary, the HMGB1 protein induces a novel form of cell death in diverse types of cancer cells. In colon cancer cells, HMGB1 modulates the activity of the mitochondrial respiratory enzymes leading to a change in glycolytic flux and a strong depletion of intracellular ATP. These observations implicate a new functional link between the HMGB1 protein and mitochondrial respiratory regulation as well as glycolysis activity in cancer cells. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2144. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2144


Injury remains the leading cause of childhood and adolescent death and disability. Appropriate counseling by pediatricians can alert parents and children to many risky behaviors or environments. Appropriate behavior or environmental change by parents and children will be needed to decrease the number of children with significant injury.


Introduction—Single-institution series have suggested that men receiving orthotopic heart transplantation from female donors have decreased survival. No multi-institutional series has comprehensively addressed the issue of donor and recipient sex matching for both male and female orthotopic heart transplantation recipients. Methods and Results—We used data from the multi-institutional prospectively collected United Network for Organ Sharing open transplantation cohort to review 18 240 adult patients who received orthotopic heart transplantation from 1999 to 2007. Four donor recipient strata were identified (male donor/male recipient, N=10 750; female donor/female recipient, N=2201; male donor/female recipient, N=2121; and female donor/male recipient, N=3168). The primary end point of all cause posttransplant mortality was compared among groups using a Cox proportional hazard regression model with additional propensity adjustment. Female recipients, irrespective of donor sex, had 3.6% lower overall survival at 5 years posttransplant (P=0.003). Men who received organs from male donors had the highest cumulative survival at 5 years (74.5%). Men receiving female hearts had a 15% increase in the risk of adjusted cumulative mortality (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.30; P=0.02). No significant increase in the relative hazard for death occurred for women receiving opposite sex donor organs (1.24; 0.92 to 1.35; P=0.31). Conclusions—The United Network for Organ Sharing data set has provided a large sample examining donor recipient sex pairing in orthotopic heart transplantation. Men receiving organs for same sex donors have significantly improved short- and long-term survival. No survival advantage was seen for women with same sex donors.


The influence of potassium deficiency on myocardial 3H-digoxin concentration in the mouse was studied. Tritiated digoxin, 400 μg/kg, was injected intraperitoneally into mice, which were killed at varying time intervals, and the 3H-digoxin was extracted. One-half of the mice were made potassium deficient by a diet free of potassium. In control animals, myocardial 3H-digoxin was maximal by 30 min and declined through 24 hours. There was no significant difference between the myocardial 3H-digoxin of the control and potassium-depleted groups at ½ 1, 2, 6, or 16 hours, but at 24 hours a significantly higher concentration of digoxin was present in the potassium-deficient mouse hearts (23.6 ± 5.2 mμg/g) than in the control group (3.1 ± 1.5 mμg/g). Potassium-depleted mice with total renal failure, produced by bilateral ligation of the renal pedicle, showed increased myocardial 3H-digoxin levels at 20 hours as compared with mice with renal failure but without potassium deficiency. It is concluded that potassium deficiency may lead to increased concentrations of cardiac digoxin. The findings in the anuric animals suggest that diminished renal function produced by potassium depletion is not the sole mechanism of this retention of cardiac 3H-digoxin.


and many persons (especially men) do not know the difference between the terms colour and shade, while others (mostly women) are so hypercritical they cannot perform the rough and ready sorting of Holmgren's wools which is required of them. Some men think that all shades are different colours, which are not identical with the test colour, while some women are troubled to classify the lightest and darkest shades which necessarily verge on the adjoining colours of the spectrum, a fastidiousness which may be easily mistaken for a faulty colour sense. Moreover, many persons are so little accustomed to sort colour objects, that a large bundle of wools confuses or "bothers" them, and they make all sorts of blunders, which are due to inexperience, but which may be attributed to a faulty colour sense. On the other hand, there are subtle ways by which colour blind-persons acquire a knowledge of colours which are quite independent of the colour sense, and which enable them to evade (unconsciously not intentionally) the inexperienced examiner. Holmgren's method, which is undoubtedly the best, is practically an effort to teach persons, by an object lesson, an elementary knowledge of colours and the terms employed in connection with them, and we declare those persons colour blind who seem incapable of learning the lesson. The result will depend quite as much on the knowledge of the teacher as the capacity of the pupil, hence the difference of opinion on methods of examination, and the absurdity of the proposals to test the colour sense of railway officials by a few coloured signal lamps, and the exceedinigly inadequate method (a few coloured cards or lamps) adopted for sailors by the Marine Department of the Board of Trade. To simplify the examination, especially when large numbers were to be dealt with, I adopted a method-for the Anthropometric Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science-which is the opposite of, but at the same time is in conformity with, Holmgren's method. I arranged patterns of coloured wools, in rows, on a card in the order in which colour-blind persons would arrange them, with Holmgren's test colours worked m among them, adding some rows of colours in different shades for comparison. All that is required by this method is to ask the person under examination which of the rows are of one colour in different shades, and which are of different colours. The card contains ten rows (ninety patterns), comprising the light green test colour and its confusion colours-showing defection of colour sense; the purple test colour and its confusion colours-distinguishing green, red, and violet blindness; and the red test colour and its confusion colours-distinguishing the darker or lighter shades of confusion colours of green and red blindness. The application of this method, which is the only one of the kind published in this country, does not require a knowledge in the examined of the theory of colour blindness, but it is a key to it, and to Holmgren's method. I may add that Messrs. Churchill, who publish these tests, have, at my suggestion, revised the diagram known as the " army test dots," 8o that the dots are now at a uniform distance of one diameter from each other, thus providing a test of eyesight at a range of from fifty to sixty feet, specially adapted for examining railway officials and sailors.-I am, etc., Curzon Street, W. C. ROBEBRTS, F.R.C.S.


Despite breakthrough performance, modern learning models are known to be highly vulnerable to small adversarial perturbations in their inputs. While a wide variety of recent \emph{adversarial training} methods have been effective at improving robustness to perturbed inputs (robust accuracy), often this benefit is accompanied by a decrease in accuracy on benign inputs (standard accuracy), leading to a tradeoff between often competing objectives. Complicating matters further, recent empirical evidence suggest that a variety of other factors (size and quality of training data, model size, etc.) affect this tradeoff in somewhat surprising ways. In this paper we provide a precise and comprehensive understanding of the role of adversarial training in the context of linear regression with Gaussian features. In particular, we characterize the fundamental tradeoff between the accuracies achievable by any algorithm regardless of computational power or size of the training data. Furthermore, we precisely characterize the standard/robust accuracy and the corresponding tradeoff achieved by a contemporary mini-max adversarial training approach in a high-dimensional regime where the number of data points and the parameters of the model grow in proportion to each other. Our theory for adversarial training algorithms also facilitates the rigorous study of how a variety of factors (size and quality of training data, model overparametrization etc.) affect the tradeoff between these two competing accuracies.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate operative effects of a new method to reconstruct anterior crucial ligament (ACL) and posterior crucial ligament (PCL) simultaneously by using patellar tendon under arthroscopy.

METHODS
From November 1999 to November 2003, the injured ACL and PCL of 11 patients were fixated with compressed screws and reconstructed under arthroscopy with the bone-patellar tendon-bone treated with deep hypothermia andgamma radiation. At the same time, 2 patients were treated with medial collateral ligament (MCL) reconstruction, 3 with lateral collateral ligament (LCL) reconstruction, 1 with meniscus suture and 4 with whole or partial resection.

RESULTS
All patients were followed up for 12-26 months (average 16.5 months). The Lysholm score method was employed to evaluate the knee function. The average preoperative score was 45.3 and the postoperative score was 86.4. Anterior drawer test (ADT) was positive in 11 knees preoperatively and feeble positive in one knee postoperatively. Lachman test was positive in 11 knees preoperatively and in one postoperatively, and feebly positive in two postoperatively. Posterior drawer test was positive in 11 knees preoperatively and feebly positive in 2 postoperatively. There were 2 knees with tolerable pain and 2 with knee flexion of 5-20.

CONCLUSIONS
As for simultaneous reconstruction of ACL and PCL under arthroscopy, allogeneic bone-patellar tendon-bone can not only avoid injury and complication caused by autografting, but also help rehabilitation of the knee function.


1 Overview This document is intended as a technical guide for developers and system administrators that want to understand the precise details of how Oracle ® Solaris and Oracle's Sun x86 systems using Intel ® Xeon ® processor 5600 and 7500 series can improve your enterprise application solution environment. It includes brief technical descriptions of specific features and capabilities that can be implemented in Oracle Solaris to optimize the specific functionality of Intel's new processor family in the areas of scalable performance, advanced reliability, security, power efficiency, and cost-effective virtualization. An appendix provides additional technical information on optimizing Oracle Solaris for the Intel Xeon processor 5600 and 7500 series.


Aim: Osteoporotic patients require particular attention during implant placement, and bone density has been established as a simple method to assess local bone quality and primary implant stability. This study aimed to examine and significantly correlate the r elationship of local bone density volumetric analysis as assessed by the CBCT in a group of osteopenic and osteoporotic patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 patients were in cluded in the study. The mandibular Second premolar region was choosen as the site of investigation to prevent Variability in surgical implant placement technique in different locations affecting bone mineral density. Partially edentulous female patients b etween 51 years and 60 years of age who were scheduled to receive implant placement were recruited for the study. Ultrasound bone densitometer was used in the study to divide the three groups (Group I - Normal patients), (Group II - Osteopenic patients), (Grou p III - Osteoporotic patients). CBCT (Master Series 3D Dental Imaging) was used for preoperative evaluation of the jaws for each patient. Materialise's Interactive Medical Image Control System (MIMICS) was used to process stacks of 2D images from CBCT. 3 - mati c software was used to combine CAD tools with pre - processing (meshing) capabilities like the anatomical data coming from the segmentation of medical images (from Mimics). All data were collected and analyzed using SPSS 16.0 for windows version. Student T T est and One way ANOVA were calculated between groups to determine the difference in bone mineral densities. Results: A total of 30 females participated in the the study. The mean bone density for group I, group II, group III was 60364.36 mm 3 , 51789.65 mm 3 , 40468.62 mm 3 respectively (Table 1,2,3). The difference in mean bone density in all three groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). ( Table 4) . Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that bone density values (as measured in mm 3 ) obtained fro m preoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) examination may be an objective technique for preoperative evaluation of bone density. This tool when combined with MIMICS software can serve as diagnostic tool for predicting implant success, thus provid ing the implant surgeon with an objective assessment of bone density, especially were poor bone quality is suspected.


The study aims to evalue the quality of hand hygiene of professionals who worked in Basic Healthcare Units in ten cities in the south of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The research was conducted in 2008. It was a cross-sectional epidemiological study that observed 369 health professionals. A chi-square test was carried out to verify the association of socio-demographic variables and training with the performance of the professionals. During the surgical procedures only 30.7% of the professionals performed a correct hand hygiene, while in clinical procedures 31.7% did. During surgical procedure, graduated professionals did a better hand hygiene than professionals who only had high-school or equivalent training (p < 0.05), while professionals over 35 years old presented a better hygiene in the clinical procedures than younger ones (p < 0.05). The conclusion is that less than a third of the professionals were performing a proper hand hygiene.


Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been widely investigated in a wide range of applications in health, in the pharmaceutical industry and in the material of biotechnology industries. This material can be considered as a group of promising materials in the development of new health applications. The combination of phosphonic acid with LDHs material create a new hybrid material with new properties.In this work the synthesis of Zn/Al double lay-ered hydroxides by chemical co-precipitation method (molar ration 2) and grafted with Diamino Dodecyl Phosphonic Acid (DDPA) via anion-exchange mechanism. The samples were characterized and confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the presence of diamino dodecyl phosphonic acid (DDPA ) was verified by Elemental analysis, BET analysis, and infrared spec-troscopy. Both of the samples were found to be showing antibacterial activ-ity. The zone diameters of Zn-Al- LDH were 40 mm and 25 mm for Esche-richia coli(ATCC 25922) and Streptococcus (ATCC 25922)and 20 mm for bacillus (ATCC 25922) whereas the same for hybrid LDH (Zn-Al-DDPA)were43 mm , 32 mm and 25 mm for the same bacteria showing stronger antibacterial activity of the grafted material over the material itself. The experimental results confirm the application of Zn-Al-DDPA in the field of antibacterial activities and may offer a promising antibacterial elucidation to the society.


The introduction of statistical 'legal tech' raises questions about the future of law and legal practice. While technologies have always mediated the concept, practice, and texture of law, a qualitative and quantitative shift is taking place: statistical legal tech is being integrated into mainstream legal practice, and particularly that of litigators. These applications – particularly in search and document generation – mediate how practicing lawyers interact with the legal system. By shaping how law is 'done', the applications ultimately come to shape what law is. Where such applications impact on the creative elements of the litigator's practice, for example via automation bias, they affect their professional and ethical duty to respond appropriately to the unique circumstances of their client's case – a duty that is central to the Rule of Law. The statistical mediation of legal resources by machine learning applications must therefore be introduced with great care, if we are to avoid the subtle, inadvertent, but ultimately fundamental undermining of the Rule of Law. In this contribution we describe the normative effects of legal tech application design, how they are potentially (in)compatible with law and the Rule of Law as normative orders, particularly with respect to legal texts which we frame as the proper source of 'lossless law', uncompressed by statistical framing. We conclude that reliance on the vigilance of individual lawyers is insufficient to guard against the potentially harmful effects of such systems, given their inscrutability, and suggest that the onus is on the providers of legal technologies to demonstrate the legitimacy of their systems according to the normative standards inherent in the legal system.


Aim: The aim if the paper is to investigate Mobile Learning (M Learning) and the correlations that may exist between this pedagogy's ability to facilitate differentiated learning and differentiated assessment. The purpose of this review is to establish if M Learning has been used to facilitate differentiated learning and differentiated assessment within education. The review addressed the key aspects of the effectiveness of M Learning by considering if M Learning can lead to greater improvements in learning when compared with traditional learning and assessment?

Methods: A systematic search strategy was conducted during July 2016 in three databases i.e. The Science Direct database, British Education Index (BEI) database and the Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) database. Studies were deemed eligible if mobile learning was identified as a key term and formed part of an experimental or quasi-experimental design that incorporated a control group in the study. And, the study used quantitative methods to assess the relationship between m learning and improvements in learning. Use of the AMSTAR guidelines were adhered to in order to improve the systematic methodology processes established within this paper.

Conclusion: 17 of the 20 papers that met the eligibility criteria demonstrated a positive impact in relation to improving learning effectiveness. All the studies investigated afforded differentiated learning however the assessments of learning were conducted using methods that were standardised and uniform in nature and therefore not differentiated.


BACKGROUND
After the introduction of any new pandemic influenza, population-level surveillance and rapid assessment of the effectiveness of a new vaccination will be required to ensure that it is targeted to those at increased risk of serious illness or death from influenza.

OBJECTIVE
We aimed to build a pandemic influenza reporting platform that will determine, once a new pandemic is under way: the uptake and effectiveness of any new pandemic vaccine or any protective effect conferred by antiviral drugs once available; the clinical attack rate of pandemic influenza; and the existence of protection provided by previous exposure to, and vaccination from, A/H1N1 pandemic or seasonal influenza/identification of susceptible groups.

DESIGN
An observational cohort and test-negative study design will be used (post pandemic).

SETTING
A national linkage of patient-level general practice data from 41 Practice Team Information general practices, hospitalisation and death certification, virological swab and serology-linked data.

PARTICIPANTS
We will study a nationally representative sample of the Scottish population comprising 300,000 patients. Confirmation of influenza using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and, in a subset of the population, serology.

INTERVENTIONS
Future available pandemic influenza vaccination and antivirals will be evaluated.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
To build a reporting platform tailored towards the evaluation of pandemic influenza vaccination. This system will rapidly measure vaccine effectiveness (VE), adjusting for confounders, estimated by determining laboratory-confirmed influenza; influenza-related morbidity and mortality, including general practice influenza-like illnesses (ILIs); and hospitalisation and death from influenza and pneumonia. Once a validated haemagglutination inhibition assay has been developed (and prior to the introduction of any vaccination), cross-reactivity with previous exposure to A/H1N1 or A/H1N1 vaccination, other pandemic influenza or other seasonal influenza vaccination or exposure will be measured.

CONCLUSIONS
A new sentinel system, capable of rapidly determining the estimated incidence of pandemic influenza, and pandemic influenza vaccine and antiviral uptake and effectiveness in preventing influenza and influenza-related clinical outcomes, has been created. We have all of the required regulatory approvals to allow rapid activation of the sentinel systems in the event of a pandemic. Of the 41 practices expressing an interest in participating, 40 have completed all of the necessary paperwork to take part in the reporting platform. The data extraction tool has been installed in these practices. Data extraction and deterministic linkage systems have been tested. Four biochemistry laboratories have been recruited, and systems for serology collection and linkage of samples to general practice data have been put in place.

FUTURE WORK
The reporting platform has been set up and is ready to be activated in the event of any pandemic of influenza. Building on this infrastructure, there is now the opportunity to extend the network of general practices to allow important subgroup analyses of VE (e.g. for patients with comorbidities, at risk of serious ILI) and to link to other data sources, in particular to test for maternal outcomes in pregnant patients.

STUDY REGISTRATION
This study is registered as ISRCTN55398410.

FUNDING
The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.


The American railroad capital structure is being remodeled to such an extent by the reorganizations now under way that the greatest care and discernment should be exercised as to possible consequences to the industry as a whole. It is erroneous to assume that the problem concerns the bankrupt lines only, even though these represent approximately 30% of the mileage owned and (based on 1936 results) between a fifth and a quarter of the gross revenues. The potential consequences of policies adopted ramify to the presently solvent lines in a degree which it would appear is inadequately recognized. The diversity of character between the individual situations, in part inherent and in part the consequence of a variety of factors, makes it impracticable to formulate hard and fast rules of capitalization which would operate effectively and equitably. Fortunately, the difficulties of legislating along this line seem better appreciated and legislation heretofore proposed now appears in abeyance. The purpose of this discussion, therefore, is not a futile attempt to prescribe rigid rules for the formulation of capital structures, but to point out some of the larger aspects of the problem which seem to merit especial attention lest, by oversight, irreparable damage be done to both the industry and the holders of its securities. Space limitations have confined this article to a discussion of the more outstanding features only.


Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has drawn much attention as a predominant ultrafiltration (UF) membrane material due to its outstanding mechanical and physicochemical properties. However, current applications suffer from the low fouling resistance of the PVDF membrane due to the intrinsic hydrophobic property of the membrane. The present study demonstrates a novel approach for the fabrication of a highly hydrophilic PVDF UF membrane via postfabrication tethering of superhydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) to the membrane surface. The pristine PVDF membrane was grafted with poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) by plasma induced graft copolymerization, providing sufficient carboxyl groups as anchor sites for the binding of silica NPs, which were surface-tailored with amine-terminated cationic ligands. The NP binding was achieved through a remarkably simple and effective dip-coating technique in the presence or absence of the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) cross-linking process. The properties of the membrane prepared from the modification without EDC/NHS cross-linking were comparable to those for the membrane prepared with the EDC/NHS cross-linking. Both modifications almost doubled the surface energy of the functionalized membranes, which significantly improved the wettability of the membrane and converted the membrane surface from hydrophobic to highly hydrophilic. The irreversibly bound layer of superhydrophilic silica NPs endowed the membranes with strong antifouling performance as demonstrated by three sequential fouling filtration runs using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model organic foulant. The results suggest promising applications of the postfabrication surface modification technique in various membrane separation areas.


We propose an e-business model, the holonic enterprise (HE) which integrates several paradigms (holonics, MAS, virtual enterprise, Web-centric enterprise and co-opetition) that have emerged as a result of the tremendous shift in the business dynamics on the global market enabled by the Internet and communication network technologies. The fundamental differences between holons and agents are addressed and the main challenges of the HE model implementation briefly stated, as they are commonly addressed by several collaborative research consortia. An innovative solution to automatic clustering of MAS (multi-agent systems) into holarchies by fuzzy entropy minimization and our efforts to integrate it with an evolutionary search for the best partners concludes the paper.


The large and growing literature on accountability highlights a variety of mechanisms by which bureaucrats may be held accountable as regards their role in the policy-making process. This paper looks at accountability mechanisms from the bureaucrat's perspective using material gathered for a study of bureaucratic roles in rulemaking in Sweden, Germany, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union. It asks to which of the mechanisms for securing public accountability for executive decisions do bureaucrats pay particular attention when helping develop policy: where are the minefields they feel they have to negotiate? The most important of the minefields is political executive approval. It shapes the way the other mechanisms (group opinion, the legislative and judicial branches of government) are negotiated. Thus 'ministerial responsibility' and its equivalents in the other countries remain crucial features of systems of administrative accountability.


In complex-valued signal processing, estimation algorithms require complete knowledge (or accurate estimation) of the second order statistics, this makes Gaussian processes (GP) well suited for modelling complex signals, as they are designed in terms of covariance functions. Dealing with bivariate signals using GPs require four covariance matrices, or equivalently, two complex matrices. We propose a GP-based approach for modelling complex signals, whereby the second-order statistics are learnt through maximum likelihood; in particular, the complex GP approach allows for circularity coefficient estimation in a robust manner when the observed signal is corrupted by (circular) white noise. The proposed model is validated using climate signals, for both circular and noncircular cases. The results obtained open new possibilities for collaboration between the complex signal processing and Gaussian processes communities towards an appealing representation and statistical description of bivariate signals.


In this paper, we put forth the notion of "Crisis Utility" as a way of estimating the tail risk of an asset or investment strategy. We believe that Crisis Utility is more functional than traditional, narrowly defined definitions of tail risk since it incorporates the concept of "resiliency," or recovery rate, as well as the traditional concept of maximum loss potential. Our argument for the inclusion of resiliency comes from our observations of the recent credit crisis. During the depths of the crisis we observed (1) that allocations, particularly institutional allocations, were "sticky," which is to say that investors either had trouble adjusting asset allocations or were not inclined to do so, and (2) high water marks, or the arrangement that allows investors to recoup losses before a manager can charge additional performance fees, proved to be a significant benefit for resilient strategies. In an environment of sticky allocations and high water marks, we feel that the resiliency of a strategy becomes an important allocation point, particularly for institutions seeking to make long-term, strategic allocations as opposed to short-term, tactical allocations. Our study shows that lower volatility, low correlation strategies have a demonstrably higher Crisis Utility Rating than higher volatility, high correlation strategies. Specifically, using the HFR dataset, we found the strategies with the highest Crisis Utility Ranking were Short Bias, Equity Market Neutral, our bond proxy, Relative Value (Total), Systematic Diversified, Merger Arbitrage, Convertible Arbitrage and Fund of Funds: Defensive. We anticipate that these strategies will receive a relative increase in allocations as investors adjust their allocation models to account for tail risk, all else being equal and free of constraint. We also analyze the VIX Index within our Crisis Utility framework and find that it handily outscores all other strategies in our study. Although it is currently difficult to find active long volatility managers, we conclude that this is an important area for growth.


Ecological niche modeling is an important tool to evaluate the spatial distribution of terrestrial species, however, its applicability has been little explored in the aquatic environment. Microcystis sp., a species of cyanobacteria, is widely recognized for its ability to produce a group of toxins known as microcystins, which can cause death of animals as fish, birds and mammals depending on the amount of toxin absorbed. Like any taxonomic group, cyanobacteria has environmental thresholds, therefore, a suitable ecological niche will define their distribution. This study was conducted in Aguamilpa Hydroelectric Reservoir, an artificial ecosystem that started operations in 1994. In this system we evaluated the potential distribution of Microcystis sp., by generating a prediction model based on the concept of ecological niche MAXENT, using a Digital Elevation Model in cells of 100 m x 100 m (1 ha) spatial resolution and monitoring eleven physicochemical and biological variables and nutrients in water. The distribution maps were developed using ArcMap 9.2 ® . The results indicated that Microcystis sp., is distributed mainly in the upper tributary basin (Huaynamota basin) during the dry season. There was less chance to find cyanobacteria in the entire system during the cold dry season, while during the warm dry season cyanobacteria was recognized at the confluence of two rivers. During the rainfall season there were no reports of cyanobacteria presence. This species is often associated with arising trophic processes of anthropogenic origin; therefore, attention is required in specific areas that have been identified in this work to improve Aguamilpa's watershed management and restoration. It was also recognized the importance of phosphorus and nitrogen interaction, which determines the distribution of Microcystis sp., in the Aguamilpa Reservoir. The results of this study demonstrated that ecological niche modeling was a suitable tool to assess the spatial distribution of microalgae in freshwater environments.


The changing political landscape in the Arab world has created opportunities for economic transformation by tackling long-standing economic issues. Nevertheless, three years after the onset of political transition, implementing necessary economic policies has proven to be challenging. This paper lays out key elements of economic policy reform for Arab countries in transition.


We introduce and analyse linear systems of hyperbolic partial differential equations that model the replacement and hoarding of currency. The goal is to deduce the hoarding behavior from observations of circulating bills. The large time asymptotics of the models is identified in all cases. The mathematical analysis is novel, partly because of nonstandard boundary conditions. To identify parameters we suggest the measurement of the age histogram of notes, the rate of growth, and the retard in wear of notes due to hoarding. In our models that suffices to identify all but one quantity.


This paper discusses the basic paradigm of how image information mining methods work in the field of remote sensing. To this end, we compare our approaches to the approaches being used in the world of multimedia; then we discuss the annotation specifics of remote sensing data and describe the different types of remote sensing data that we are faced with today. We conclude with a description of algorithmic alternatives and compare several competing systems that are currently in use. Finally, we provide an outlook of what we expect in the near future.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. It is characterized by progressive impairment in multiple cognitive domains, in particular memory, leading to severe impairment in daily living followed by progressive physical deterioration and death. The neuropathological hallmark of AD is the presence of cortical intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques, which leads to synapse dysfunction, neuronal cell loss, and subsequent brain atrophy. In the past few decades the knowledge of the key pathogenic mechanisms of the disease has improved, but it remains far from being fully understood. Traditionally, the diagnosis of AD has been based on clinical symptoms, and accuracy studies of the current clinical criteria conducted in referral have shown high sensitivity for AD. However, identification of the disease, in particular in the early stages, remains difficult as pathological alterations may be apparent several years before the clear-cut clinical picture. There is growing evidence that the use of biomarkers will increase our ability to identify AD earlier in the disease process and with higher accuracy. In addition, biomarkers will help elucidate the underlying biological and molecular changes, improve the detection of patients suitable for specific treatments, research studies or drug trials, and will contribute to a better management of the disease in the clinical practice. In this special issue on early clinical and molecular detection of AD, we have invited manuscripts that specifically address issues related to early and improved diagnosis of AD. The first two articles address the usefulness of current biological and neuroimaging markers for the diagnosis of AD, including genetic variation, plasma, serum and CSF biomarkers, brain atrophy measures, functional MRI measures, and amyloid burden evaluated by PiB compound. The third paper reevaluates the usefulness of common clinical rating scales for AD, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia using factor analysis. In the fourth paper, the sociocultural impacts of novel molecular technologies for the early diagnosis of AD are addressed. The paper outlines three steps to assess sociocultural impacts. First, conceptual analysis of the ideas underlying technological developments shows how these technologies redraw the boundary between AD and normal ageing and between biological and social approaches of ageing. Second, scenarios are designed depicting different possible futures of AD diagnosis and societal ways to deal with ageing. Finally, the paper reviews the possibilities for deliberation on the potential sociocultural impacts. Manuscripts five and six are original research studies assessing the effect of specific genetic variations on AD and AD endophenotypes. While the study by Swaminathan et al. explores the effect of copy number variation (CNV) derived by genome-wide screening in the ADNI cohort on AD and MCI, the study by Tedde et al. explores the effect of genetic variation in CDKN2A and CDKN2B on AD. Finally, the last paper assesses the effect of siRNAs silencing on gene expression. While commonly studies use RNA interference (RNAi) to investigate the effect of silencing of specific genes on their expression and effect on cell metabolism, the current paper takes this technology further by assessing the effect of allele-specific silencing of a particular mutant allele, in this case mutation L392V in PSEN1.


At the end of the Middle Ages in Lombardy it was common for a rural lord and his subjects to be defined as friends. By comparing Lombardy to other areas of central and northern Italy, the essay underlines the exceptional nature of this situation, and questions its causes. Such a phenomenon had two main underlying reasons: on the one hand, the peculiar political relationship between city and countryside that distinguished Lombardy since the late thirteenth century; on the other hand, the strong consensual character of the Lombard lordship in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.


In the past decade, the application of Artificial Intel- ligence (AI) techniques to autonomously generate creative content or to support human creativity has gained interest from the scientific community. The generative models that have been proposed in the literature are changing the agency and dynamics of our art practices. A less explored area in the intersection of AI and cre- ativity includes the indirect impact of AI on our creativity through content moderation algorithms on social media. Such algorithms tend to censor artistic pieces that display nudity, acting as inhibitors of human cre- ativity. In this paper, we present a research agenda to tackle this challenge from a cultural and gender per- spective, and we propose that a human and humanities-centered approach is necessary to develop AI systems that positively impact artistic practices.


This paper examines a model of duopoly firms selling to an exogenously formed buyer group consisting of members with heterogeneous preferences. Two research questions are addressed: (1) when is it optimal for a buyer group to commit to exclusive purchase from a single seller, and (2) how does the presence of group buying and the exclusive purchase commitment associated with it affect firms' incentives to invest in quality improvement? We find that, even though exclusive purchase commitment benefits buyers when the competing products provide similar quality, it may lower buyer surplus if one product is significantly advantaged and/or the competing products are not highly differentiated horizontally. This result is robust even if the buyer group is formed endogenously. In addition, contingent on the similarity between the competing sellers' investment costs, the sellers' incentives to improve quality may be positively or negatively affected by the presence of group buying.


3Y-TZP/TiNiCo composites have been successfully fabricated by three step heating (dehydrogenation, hydrogen reduction, hot-pressing) of 3Y-TZP /NiO/TiH2/CoO powder mixtures. XRD analysis revealed that TiNi-base intermetallic compounds such as Ni4Ti3, NiTi, Ni3Ti had formed. The bending strength of 3Y-TZP/TiNiCo composites (~650 MPa) were much higher than those of 3Y-TZP monolith (350 MPa) sintered at the same condition. The electrical resistivity characteristics indicated that 3Y-TZP/30 vol%TiNiCo composites were good electrical conductors. Cobalt addition to TiNi phase influenced on electrical properties of final composites, while their fracture strength was unchanged by the Co addition.


Glass fiber (GF)/epoxy (EP) composites added by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated to investigate the effects of CNTs on the friction and wear properties of GF/EP composites. The surface of the CNTs was treated with acid mixtures to improve their dispersion in the GF/EP composites. The changes of surface properties of CNTs were investigated by using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ring-on-block type wear tests were performed to evaluate the frictional properties of composites. Results show that CNTs after acid treatments can improve the wear resistance and reduce the friction coefficient of GF/EP composites more remarkably than CNTs. The surface fracture of the composite was observed by scanning electron microscope.


In photomultipliers the focusing voltage which gives the most peaked distribution is also the one which results in the largest count rate. For low focusing voltage there is a significant loss in single-photon events. The results of this experiment are consistent with the idea that the pulse distribution depends upon variations in the effective secondary emission ratio.


Interaction between Escherichia coli glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) and its substrates have been studied by fluorescence quenching. In the absence of other substrates, glutamine, tRNA(Gln) and ATP bind with dissociation constants of 460, 0.22 and 180 microM, respectively. The presence of other substrates has either no effect or, at best a weak effect, on binding of ligands. Attempts to isolate enzyme-bound aminoacyl adenylate did not succeed. Binding of the phosphodiester, 5'-(methyl)adenosine monophosphate (MeAMP), to GlnRS was studied by fluorescence quenching and radioactive-ligand binding. tRNA also only has a weak effect on phosphodiester binding. Selectively pyrene-labeled GlnRS was used to obtain shape and size information for free GlnRS. A comparison with the GlnRS shape in the GlnRS/tRNA(Gln) crystal structure indicates that no major change in shape and size occurs upon tRNA(Gln) binding to GlnRS. 5,5'-Bis(8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate) (bis-ANS), a non-covalent fluorescent probe, was also used to probe for conformational changes in GlnRS. This probe also indicated that no major conformational change occurs upon tRNA(Gln) binding. We conclude that lack of tRNA-independent pyrophosphate-exchange activity in this enzyme is not a result of either lack of glutamine or ATP binding in the absence of tRNA, or formation of aminoacyl adenylate and slow release of pyrophosphate. A conformational change is implied upon tRNA binding, which promotes pyrophosphate exchange. Fluorescence studies indicate that this conformational change must be limited and local in nature.


Management of high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) requires an understanding of the pathophysiology of PE, options for rapid clot reduction, critical care interventions, and advanced cardiopulmonary support. PE can lead to rapid respiratory and hemodynamic collapse via a complex sequence of events leading to acute right ventricular failure. Importantly, reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance must be accomplished either by systemic thrombolytics, catheter directed thrombolytics, endovascular clot extraction, or surgical embolectomy. There are important advances in these techniques all of which have a niche role in the cardiopulmonary stabilization of critically ill patient with PE. Critical care support surrounding the above interventions is necessary. Maintenance of systemic perfusion and cardiac output may require careful titration of vasopressors, inotropes, and preload. Extreme caution should be taken with approach to intubation and positive pressure ventilation. A hemodynamically neutral induction with preparations for circulatory collapse should be the goal. Once intubated, the effect of positive pressure on pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricular hemodynamics is necessary. Veno-arterial extra corporeal membrane oxygenation plays an increasingly important role in the stabilization of the hemodynamically collapsed patient who either has a contraindication to systemic lytics, failed systemic lytics, or requires a bridge to surgical or catheter embolectomy. Veno-arterial extra corporeal membrane oxygenation has also been used alone to stabilize the circulation until hemodynamics normalize on anticoagulation and has also been used in tenuous patient as a safety net for endovascular procedures.


SUMMARY American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae larvae), is a major concern of the beekeeping industry in Taiwan. However, disease signs have never been encountered during hive inspections of local colonies of the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana. To study the susceptibility of A. cerana larvae to AFB, various doses of P. I. larvae spores were added to larval food and disease development was monitored. Results showed that 1-day-old larvae were most susceptible, next were 2-day-old larvae, while 3-day-old larvae showed no signs of disease even when fed a large dose (4.5 × 104 spores/larva). The negative correlation between susceptibility and larval age was similar to that found for A. mellifera. Further, at the susceptible age, A. cerana larvae showed higher resistance than A. mellifera larvae when fed the same dose of spores. The dose of spores that would cause 95% mortality of A. mellifera larvae only led to 47.1 % mortality of A. cerana larvae of the same age. This resistance by A. cerana larvae apparently was not totally related to their innate immune capability. An important aspect contributing to the resistance of A. cerana was the fact that up to 82.2% of inoculated larvae were removed by adult workers before the capped stage. This adult hygienic behaviour effectively decreased the level of spore contamination inside the hive. In contrast, results showed that A. cerana pupae were more susceptible when vegetative cells of P. I. larvae were injected into the pupal haemocoel of both species of bees.


The texts of instructional materials used in the Fiji Fertility Survey conducted in 1974 as a pilot exercise for the World Fertility Survey are listed in a series of appendices that are in turn part of a critical study of administration and methodology of the survey. Through the administering of a questionnaire to a cross-section of 5000 households in Fiji the basic goals were to provide detailed information on fertility and to compare fertility rates and factors which influenced them among different countries and parts of the world. Documentation used in the survey is presented in 9 appendices the first 2 of which are the Fiji Fertility Survey Questionnaire and the Manual of Instructions for Enumerators. In addition to sections on respondents background the major sections of the survey questionnaire included series of questions on maternity history contraceptive use fertility planning work history current husbands background and marriage history. The text of the manual of instructions for enumerators contained lengthy sections on proper interviewing techniques and how to handle certain problems connected with the questions in each part of the survey. Other somewhat shorter appendices included: Supervisors addendum to the instruction manual 2) Instructions for listers and listing supervisors 3) Instructions for editors 4) Illustrative sections from the coding manual 5) Program for enumerator training and 6) Illustrative pages from the deployment plan for supervisors and enumerators.


Eye tracking provides information about a user's eye gaze movements. For many years, eye tracking has been used in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research. Similarly, research on computerised educational systems also relies heavily on students' interactions with systems, and therefore eye tracking has been used to study and improve learning. We have recently conducted several studies on using worked examples in addition to scaffolded problem solving. The goal of the project reported in this paper was to investigate how novices and advanced students learn from examples. The study was performed in the context of SQL-Tutor, a mature Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) that teaches SQL. We propose a new technique to analyse eye-gaze patterns named EGPA. In order to comprehend an SQL example, students require the information about tables' names and their attributes which are available in a database schema. Thus, if students paid attention to the database schema, they would understand SQL examples more easily. We analysed students' eye movement data from different perspectives, and found that advanced students paid more attention to database schema than novices. In future work, we will use the findings from this study to provide proactive feedback or individualised amounts of information.


Abstract Cratonic sedimentary basins are underlain by thick lithosphere and subside over hundreds of millions of years. The driving mechanism for these basins remains enigmatic due to the paucity of crustal-scale constraints. To address this shortcoming, an integrative study of the Parnaíba cratonic basin of NE Brazil is underway. We summarize field observations, well-log information, seismic reflection profiles and subsidence analyses with the objective of shedding light on possible basin-forming mechanisms. Lithological descriptions and borehole logs reveal a stratigraphic succession that consists of interbedded shallow marine and continental deposits. On seismic reflection profiles, this succession is divided into packages of relatively undisturbed reflections bounded by basin-wide disconformities. These disconformities are manifest as bright, rugose reflections that probably represent buried palaeo-landscapes. Backstripped and water-loaded subsidence curves calculated from boreholes distributed throughout the basin show that tectonic subsidence decreases exponentially over c. 350 Ma. A simple model suggests that this subsidence pattern agrees with a thermal time constant of 70–100 Ma, placing a significant constraint on the likely basin-forming mechanism. This background trend is punctuated by minor increases in subsidence that follow basin-wide erosional disconformities. These departures could be indicative of transient epeirogenic uplift events caused by changing patterns of dynamic topography.


This article examines the processes of technical mediation within familial care networks based on a study of home telecare targeted at older people. Supported by contributions from the actor—network theory as part of the social psychology of science and technology, these processes of technical mediation are analyzed using a qualitative approach. The data were gathered through six focus groups and four in-depth interviews; the participants in the study included users, relatives and formal carers. Thematic analysis techniques encompassing the information were used, revealing the effects on the patterns of caring relationships. The results show the interplay between presence-absence made possible by the devices; the two-way direction of care between the older people and the artifacts; and the process of sustaining care using the technology. We conclude that care should be seen as a socio-technical network where technology plays an active role in sustaining family relationships.


Cervical epithelia have numerous functions that include proliferation, differentiation, maintenance of fluid balance, protection from environmental hazards, and paracellular transport of solutes via tight junctions (TJs). Epithelial functions must be tightly regulated during pregnancy and parturition as the cervix undergoes extensive growth and remodeling. This study evaluated TJ proteins, as well as markers of epithelial cell differentiation in normal and cervical ripening defective mice to gain insights into how the permeability barrier is regulated during pregnancy and parturition. Although numerous TJ proteins are expressed in the nonpregnant cervix, claudins 1 and 2 are temporally regulated in pregnancy. Claudin 1 mRNA expression is increased, whereas claudin 2 expression declines. The cellular localization of claudin 1 shifts at the end of pregnancy (gestation d 18.75) to the plasma membrane in a lattice pattern, consistent with TJs in the apical cells. The timing of claudin 1-enriched TJs coincides with initiation of terminal differentiation of cervical squamous epithelia as evidenced by the increased expression of genes by differentiated epithelia late on gestation d 18. The cervical ripening defective steroid 5alpha-reductase type 1 deficient mouse, which has an elevated local progesterone concentration, also has aberrant claudin 1 and 2 expressions, fails to form claudin 1-enriched TJs, and lacks normal expression of genes involved in epithelial terminal differentiation. These data suggest that changes in permeability barrier properties during cervical ripening are, in part, negatively regulated by progesterone, and that dynamic changes in barrier properties of the cervix occur during pregnancy and parturition.


This paper describes the fabrication process and characteristics of ceramic thin-film pressure sensors based on Ta-N strain gauges for harsh environment applications. The Ta-N thin-film strain gauges are sputter-deposited on a thermally oxidized micromachined Si diaphragm with buried cavities for overpressure tolerance. The proposed device takes advantage of the good mechanical properties of single-crystalline Si as a diaphragm fabricated by SDB and electrochemical etch-stop technology, and in order to extend the temperature range, it has relatively higher resistance, stability and gauge factor of Ta-N thin-films more than other gauges. The fabricated pressure sensor presents a low temperature coefficient of resistance, high-sensitivity, low nonlinearity and excellent temperature stability. The sensitivity is 1.21-1.097 mV/V/spl middot/kgf/cm/sup 2/ in temperature ranges of 25-200/spl deg/C and a maximum non-linearity is 0.43 %FS.


SUMMARY Kuala Lumpur was honored to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the second largest game after the Olympics. Inline with this event, the Malaysian Government decided to upgrade the public transportation in the city to be accessible to all, mentioned by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. The rate and level of new investment will ensure that improvements in the accessibility of public transport are brought forward more rapidly. Building in accessibility for disabled persons in all new investment is a condition of public money being well spent. Local authorities and transport operators should ensure that the transport needs of disabled persons are factored into their plans and that the full benefits of improved public transport are accessible to all. In order to improve the public transportation facilities, the government had planned a new system of transportation in the city by using Light Rail Transportation (LRT), which was officially launched by former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Bukit Jalil station on 11 July 1998. An initial study was carried out by the Accessibility and Safety Research Centre (ACCESS) in the Faculty of Built Environment, University Malaya to investigate and identify the issue of accessible design on selected Light Rail Transits (LRT) stations in the city of Kuala Lumpur, mainly focusing for the wheelchair users. The objectives are to ensure that the design of accessibility is comply with the law, regulations, standard requirements and guidelines; to understand the recent condition and their needs in LRT stations and to allow their secure equal rights and opportunities as others. The research began by obtaining reliable information from literature review. A checklist of building audit was prepared to ensure the design of accessibility. A building access survey was carried out on selected stations which covered three main stages to indicate the pattern of passengers' path in using the system. Stage 1: From the road curb to the ticket counter. Stage 2: From the ticket counter to the platform. Stage 3: From the platform until reaching the LRT train. A series of questionnaire was also constructed to examine selected target of users in relation to accessible design. Result of findings in this study had been analyzed to assist the LRT management and the station concerned in upgrading their station facilities to a comfortable, accessible, friendly and safe environment in order to encourage more users, including disabled persons to benefit from it.


Background The most common movements that occur during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in soccer are "pressing" movements. There are currently no accurate kinematic descriptions of joint kinematics in pressing movements in defensive situations. Objective To describe the knee and hip joint kinematics during pressing actions in soccer in order to identify kinematic patterns in high-risk situations for ACL injuries. Design Case study Setting Competitive level, division-1 amateur female soccer league in Japan. Participants Five video sequences involving 4 collegiate soccer players. Assessment of Risk Factors The high-risk pressing situations were determined by the large distance between trunk and foot placements in the sagittal plane. Main Outcome Measurements The knee and hip joint kinematics using model-based image-matching technique. Results The mean knee flexion angle at initial contact (IC) was 13°; it had increased by 11° (95% CI: 3°–14°) 40 ms after IC. As for knee adduction and rotation angles, the knee positions were close to neutral at IC, and only minor knee angular changes occurred later in the sequences. The mean hip flexion was 25° at IC, and had increased by 22° (95% CI: 11°–32°) 100 ms later. The hip was also externally rotated 7° at IC, and gradually rotated internally, reaching 10° of internal rotation 100 ms after IC. Conclusions In contrast with previously reported injury-causing situations, the present knee did not experience rapid knee valgus and increased internal rotation. The hip displayed a smooth transition after IC, which contrasted with previously reported hip kinematics of substantial internal rotation and static hip flexion in injury situations. This study suggests that the observed sudden changes in knee valgus and rotation, as well as the static hip flexion seen in ACL injury situations are unique to such situations, supporting the view that these characteristics likely contribute to the injury mechanism.


With an ever increasing number of international agreements addressing a wide range of issues, clashes between such agreements and international courts have become more likely if not avoidable. Whether it concerns the relation of labour law and competitiveness, climate change mitigation and tariffs on environmental goods and services, the protection of the sea and maritime transportation, or biodiversity conservation and the green economy - trade law and with it the WTO touches upon a myriad of areas regulated by international agreements other than the WTO. Professor Pieter Jan Kuijper from Amsterdam University explores this relation in his recent study "Conflicting Rules and Clashing Courts: The Case of Environmental Agreements, Free Trade Agreements and the WTO" published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). In this paper, the tool kit available under international law to solve such disputes is discussed through a large number of references to exiting or potential cases. Professor Kuijper concludes his paper with a list of concrete recommendations to negotiators, litigators, courts and countries. Amongst others, he proposes increased attention on the principle of mutual supportiveness - an wording found in an increasing number of environmental agreements. Moreover, he makes some concrete observations on so called "fork-in-the-road provisions" in free trade agreements and develops recommendations for the inter-regime coordination of international tribunals and the application of comity or litispendence in international courts: "The application of WTO law may require that the interpretative principle of mutual supportiveness is applied to the relevant WTO rules, which does not imply non-application of WTO law, but application in a restrained way that would not harm the object and purpose of the WTO Agreements." "In the interest of the stability of international rule making and governance, international courts and tribunals in neighboring fields, like trade, investment, the environment etc. need to develop a doctrine of "forum non conveniens" between themselves, or at the very least use their inherent powers to abstain from exercising jurisdiction or rule on admissibility if there are serious reasons to do so."


In particular, this volume should prove of interest to the public health administrator, for the question of virus diagnostic laboratories poses problems which are being actively debated in Australia at present. Two papers are concerned with the administrative and organizational problems of a diagnostic laboratory service: the first by a British group, on the develop. ment of a national virological diagnostic service; and the second by Dr. Charles Cockburn, on the programme of the World Health Organization in medical virology. Knight's paper on the use of volunteers in medical virology discusses various aspects of the complex problems involved-problems which are of particular importance to the public health administrator. Influenza is a perennial public health problem, and Robinson reviews the history of the disease since the Asian strain appeared in 1957. Owing to developments in virological technique, this has been much more closely studied than any other major variation in the influenza viruses.


Preliminary communications are presented about a serial study of biorheological and metabolic dysfunctions of density-fractionated erythrocytes (RBC) in diabetics with vaso-occlusive disorders. The study aimed at evaluating the influence of metabolic disorder due to diabetes mellitus on RBC substrates, deformability and glycohaemoglobin (HbA1) levels. The peak HbA1 level served to confirm the duration of serum metabolic disorder due to diabetic crisis. The rheological and metabolic changes of RBC were compared with serial estimations repeated on the same patients when asymptomatic concerning diabetes after insulin therapy. RBC deformability was measured optoelectronically by microcomputer-assisted polymicroviscometry (filtrometry) following separation of RBC into old (dense) and young (buoyant) fractions by means of density-layer centrifugation. 15 adult patients with diabetes mellitus typ II associated with macroangiopathy Fontaine II underwent RBC investigations before and after diabetic therapy. Those RBC fractions containing older cells disclosed an impaired metabolism, increased HbA1 levels and markedly altered deformability which significantly differed from values obtained from young RBC. But after insulin-therapy old RBC fractions only revealed persistently an increase of HbA1 levels and metabolic disorder associated with a still altered deformability, in contrast to young RBC which in again showed normal values. The preliminary results suggest an adaptable alteration of RBC metabolism and function in diabetes, predominantly existing in old RBC, but after insulin-therapy still persisting only in old (dense) fractions. Thus, a prolonged pathologic effect of older RBC occurred in diabetes probably resulting in a further persistent maintenance of diabetic vascular disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Mobile wireless sensor networks (mwsns) have as of late propelled a developing well known class of wsn in which portability assumes a key part in the execution of the application. As of late, portability has turned into an imperative zone of research for the wsn group. The expanding abilities and the diminishing expenses of portable sensors make versatile sensor systems conceivable and viable. In spite of the fact that wsn organizations were never imagined to be completely static, portability was at first viewed as having a few difficulties that should have been defeat, including availability, scope, and vitality utilization, among others. be that as it may, late studies have been indicating versatility in a more ideal light. In this article, an outline of proposition that assess portable correspondence in wsns is exhibited. Accordingly ,an assortment of versatility were proposed by analysts throughout the years where every portability display has its own particular properties that may influence the execution of the system in a way that varies from different models entitled with various properties. In this paper we give a study of versatility models that can be utilized as a part of remote sensor systems since it is imperative to give an arrangement of the accessible models along these lines a few portability models were looked into in the proposed work.


How can we develop usable and work process-oriented ICT systems for shared homecare?Shared homecare involves different professionals, consists of mobile work and requires immediate and ubiquitous access to patient-oriented information, supporting an integrated view on the care process.This thesis presents a new collaborative design method for user needs analysis and requirements specification in the context of health information systems development; the Multi-disciplinary Thematic Seminar (MdTS) method. The thesis also describes the MdTS method's application and two different usability evaluations of the developed system.The MdTS addresses a significant problem with health information technologies; they tend to support collaborative work of healthcare professionals poorly, sometimes leading to a fragmentation of workflow and disruption of healthcare processes. Based on human-computer interaction methods, MdTS implies a multiple-user needs analysis by thorough investigation of the entire interdisciplinary cooperative work and its transformation into technical specifications in order to develop appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for the users' differing work situations.Application of the MdTS resulted in a prototype, the OLD@HOME Virtual Health Record (VHR), adapted to the specific demands in shared homecare. Through mobile devices each care professional accessed patient information in profession-specific views from an integrated platform.This thesis provides an interesting case, illustrating how mobile ICT can support shared homecare, thereby bridging health and social care activities and improving knowledge about joint work processes.Results from the usability evaluations were overall positive. Information needed at point of care was available on mobile devices and presented in an understandable manner. However, the evaluations also indicated that it is difficult to transfer results from one homecare setting to another due to differences in operational routines.In conclusion, application of the MdTS method, in this study, succeeded in elicitation of correct user needs and in transferring correct requirements specifications to system developers for implementation.


Abstract: This U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) report summarizes a field demonstration of pneumatic backfiling technologies conducted at the abandoned Hillside Coal and Iron Slope in Vandling, PA. Researchers demonstrated tro pneumatic backfilling technologies recently developed under the USBM's Abandoned Mine Reclamation Research Program, the Pneumatic Pipefeeder and the High-Efficiency Ejector. Both systems had previously been evaluated at the USBM's subsidence abatement investigation
laboratory near Fairchance, PA. The objective of the demonstration was to fill 100% of the abandoned tunnel with backfill stone to
prevent further subsidence. The Pneumatic Pipefeeder was used for 21 days, at a rate of 63 to 124 t/d (69 to 136 st/d), to fill 88% of the tunnel. The High-Efficiency Ejector was used for 2 days, at a rate of 125 to 132 t/d (138 to 146 st/d) to fill the remaining 12% of the tunnel. The backfill placed by both systems was tightly compacted. The major problem encountered was wear on the polyethylene pipeline from the abrasion of the high-velocity backfill. The use of heavier steel pipe minimized the problem. A cost analysis for the entire project is given.


Large earthquakes on strike-slip faults often rupture multiple fault segments by jumping over stepovers. Previous studies, based on field observations or numerical modeling with a homogeneous initial stress field, have suggested that stepovers more than ∼5  km wide would stop the propagation of rupture, but many exceptions have been observed in recent years. Here, we integrate a dynamic rupture model with a long-term fault stress model to explore the effects of background stress perturbation on rupture propagation across stepovers along strike-slip faults. Our long-term fault models simulate steady-state stress perturbation around stepovers. Considering such stress perturbation in dynamic rupture models leads to prediction of larger distance a dynamic rupture can jump over stepovers: over 15 km for a releasing stepover or 7 km for a restraining stepover, comparing with the 5 km limit in models with the same fault geometry and frictional property but assuming a homogeneous initial stress. The effect of steady-state stress perturbations is stronger in an overlapping stepover than in an underlapping stepover. The maximum jumping distance can reach 20 km in an overlapping releasing stepover with low-static frictional coefficients. These results are useful for estimating the maximum length of potential fault ruptures and assessing seismic hazard.


Why have governments found reciprocal trade agreements such as GATT to be a more effective means of facilitating trade liberalization than unilateral initiatives? We provide in this paper an analytic framework for the study of reciprocal trade agreements. We use this framework to establish three main results. First, we argue that political-economy factors are important for explaining the range of trade policies observed, but that these factors cannot explain why governments seek reciprocal trade agreements as an institutional form for implementing their preferred policies. Rather, whether or not governments are politically motivated, Johnson (1953-54) was right: The central purpose of a reciprocal trade agreement is to eliminate the terms-of-trade driven policies that arise in the absence of such an agreement. Second, we establish an economic interpretation of the principles of reciprocity and nondiscrimination that represent the foundation of postwar reciprocal trade agreements. Finally, we offer new insights regarding the treatment of export subsidies in reciprocal trade agreements.


Recent increasing evidences have linked Omi to neuroprotection and the cellular protein quality control system. However, it is very difficult to produce functionally active Omi to study the role of Omi in vitro. Here, we report a method for mass production of functionally active high quality Omi through heterologous Escherichia coli expression. The heterologously expressed Omi was present mostly in soluble cell fraction rather than insoluble cell fraction as inclusion bodies, but the protein in soluble cell fraction had very poor activity. In this method, low concentration of denaturing agents was added to the lysate for complete solubilization and monodispersion of Omi after lysising Escherichia coli. The solubilized and monodisperesed protein sample was purified by Ni-NTA agarose affinity chromatography at denatured condition. The purified denatured Omi was then refolded by a rapid-dilution in an optimized protein refolding buffer that was designed by systematic variation of parameters favoring the refolding, preventing aggregate formation and influencing the stability of the folding intermediates. Around 20 mg of properly folded Omi was obtained from 1 liter of bacterial culture by this method which is the highest production reported so far. The biological activity was confirmed by its ability to degrade β-casein. This method is a straightforward and efficient purification procedure to obtain a higher yield of proper biologically active Omi and that Omi can be used for the investigation of Omi's association with neuroprotection in various neurodegenerative diseases.


Pro-Europeans have organised three concerted propaganda campaigns to date: in 1962-63 to secure public support following Britain's first application to join the European Union, in 1970-1 to prepare the public for accession, and in 1974-5 to ensure continued EU membership in the 1975 referendum. This article looks at New Labour's preparations and strategy for what is likely to be Britain's fourth concerted pro-European propaganda campaign to ensure a 'Yes' vote in a referendum on British membership of the European single currency. The central arguments of this paper are six fold. Firstly, that the state of public opinion on euro membership currently represents an obstacle to the government's policy of staging and winning a referendum , and joining the single currency. Second, that New Labour's actual policy on the euro is one of 'prepare and persuade' rather than 'wait and see'. Third, that the central components of the government's euro referendum strategy can already be identified. Fourth, that – in contrast to the situation before the 1975 referendum – the press is divided on the issue of the euro, supporting both the 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns. Fifth, that there is an imbalance of forces between the 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns in favour of the former, but to a lesser extent than during the 1975 referendum. Sixth, that, given the current balance of forces, the government's success in any euro referendum is by no means assured. The article is divided into seven parts. The first outlines the government's policy on euro membership. The second considers the first contention – that public opinion on euro membership is currently an obstacle to the government policy – by looking at the state of public opinion polls on the issue. The third presents evidence to support the second contention – that New Labour's actual policy is one of 'prepare and persuade' – by revealing the institutional and legislative preparations for entry that have been made, the two 'low intensity' pro-euro propaganda campaigns, and the intervention by external actors to augment those campaigns. The fourth looks at the emerging components of the government's euro strategy and the possible problems of winning a referendum. The fifth discusses the likely role of the media in a euro referendum propaganda campaign. The sixth looks at the present balance of forces on euro membership. The seventh part concludes.


A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in relieving the symptoms of panic disorder. One hundred three patients were randomly assigned to receive double-blind treatment with either gabapentin (dosed flexibly between 600 and 3,600 mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. No overall drug/placebo difference was observed in scores on the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS) (p = 0.606). A post hoc analysis was used to evaluate the more severely ill patients as defined by the primary outcome measure (PAS score > or = 20). In this population, the gabapentin-treated patients showed significant improvement in the PAS change score (p = 0.04). In patients with a PAS score of 20 or greater, women showed a greater response than men regardless of treatment. Adverse events were consistent with the known side effect profile of gabapentin and included somnolence, headache, and dizziness. One patient experienced a serious adverse event during the study. No deaths were reported. The results of this study suggest that gabapentin may have anxiolytic effects in more severely ill patients with panic disorder.