A material with perovskite structure, lanthanum strontium cobaltite ferrite, La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3- (LSCF6428) has gained attention as a cathode component for intermediate to low temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-LTSOFCs). In this study, LSCF6428 films were developed via the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique with the use of an aqueous solvent. 1 wt% of LSCF6428 was suspended in deionised water for the preparation of the EPD suspensions. The EPD process at applied voltages of between 3 to 7 V and deposition times of 3 to 10 minutes has been found to be able to deposit LSCF6428 films. Additionally, the use of additives such as starch and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was found to effectively improve the quality of the deposited films. It is concluded that the applied voltage, deposition time and the addition of additives play important roles that affect the morphology and weight of the deposited films.


Abstract:This contribution attempts to approach informal transnational authority through the lens of critical private international law. It subscribes to the underlying idea within this volume, according to which the workings of the highly complex dynamic between the public and the private are cardinal to understanding contemporary global shifts in transnational authority, placing the rise of informal transnational authority at its epicenter. Expressions of private authority in the global arena take place outside formal legal discourse. Capital expanding beyond state boundaries has organized its own forms of authority, which arbitrate, enforce and legitimize new processes and structures beyond the state. To understand the ways in which this has taken place, the methodological dimensions of private international law, which have been central to these processes, require closer scrutiny.


Most often situated multi-agent simulations, of which platform-games are an example, uses reactive agents. This approach has limitations as soon as complex behaviours are desired. For these reasons we propose an approach using cognitive agents. They have knowledge, objectives and are able to build plans in order to achieve their goals and then execute them. In this paper we particularly address the problem of teams of cognitive agents. We chose to build teams directed by a leader. One major problem is the building of the team plan and in particular one difficulty is to find the means in order to let autonomy to the team members. This can be done if the leader builds abstract plans. We present in this article a solution to this problem.


Objective To examine the role of cue utilization in the management of interruptions during a high workload, rail control simulation. Background High-risk, high-consequence environments are characterized by cognitively demanding, time-critical activities, in which operators are required to manage frequent interruptions under conditions of high workload. Interruptions are deleterious to performance as they impose excessive cognitive demand on limited working memory resources, thereby depleting residual resources for the primary task. Cue utilization may enable superior performance in managing interruptions through efficiencies gained by the application of implicit patterns stored in long-term memory. Method Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, 46 university students undertook an assessment of cue utilization and subsequently engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptive tasks. Experiment 2 replicated and extended Experiment 1, wherein 52 university students completed a measure of cue utilization and engaged in a high workload, simulated rail control task while managing multiple interruptions and breaks. Results The analyses revealed that participants who demonstrated a greater capacity for cue utilization also demonstrated a reduced loss of performance following interruptions. Conclusion The outcomes suggest a relationship between a greater capacity for cue utilization and superior performance in the management of interruptions in high workload conditions. Application Assessments of cue utilization may assist in the selection and training of operators in high-consequence, high-risk environments, to ensure efficient and accurate performance during the management of interruptions.


Earnings are the flow of value created by corporations. I concentrate on the concept called EBITDA earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This measure captures the results of the substantive non-financial activities of corporations and corresponds to the rental price of capital multiplied by the quantity of capital. I measure earnings per dollar of capital for all U.S. corporations and in 5 selected industries. I develop a competitive benchmark for the level of earnings, which takes account of adjustment costs, taxes, depreciation, and the financial opportunity cost of funds. I find that aggregate corporate earnings track the benchmark reasonably closely, leaving a relatively small unexplained component. Thus evidence of the flow of value gives little help in explaining the large discrepancies found in earlier work in the level of the market value of claims on corporations relative to the replacement cost of the capital stock. At the industry level, I find more volatility of both actual and benchmark earnings, with a high correlation between the two in 3 of the 5 industries.


Cannabinoids suppress fertility via reducing hypothalamic GnRH output. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor (GABAA-R)-mediated transmission is a major input to GnRH cells that can be excitatory. We hypothesized that cannabinoids act via inhibiting GABAergic input. We performed loose-patch electrophysiological studies of acute slices from adult male GnRH-green fluorescent protein transgenic mice. Bath application of type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) agonist WIN55,212 decreased GnRH neuron firing rate. This action was detectable in presence of the glutamate receptor antagonist kynurenic acid but disappeared when bicuculline was also present, indicating GABAA-R involvement. In immunocytochemical experiments, CB1-immunoreactive axons formed contacts with GnRH neurons and a subset established symmetric synapses characteristic of GABAergic neurotransmission. Functional studies were continued with whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology in presence of tetrodotoxin. WIN55,212 decreased the frequency of GABAA-R-mediated miniature postsynaptic currents (mPSCs) (reflecting spontaneous vesicle fusion), which was prevented with the CB1 antagonist AM251, indicating collectively that activation of presynaptic CB1 inhibits GABA release. AM251 alone increased mPSC frequency, providing evidence that endocannabinoids tonically inhibit GABAA-R drive onto GnRH neurons. Increased mPSC frequency was absent when diacylglycerol lipase was blocked intracellularly with tetrahydrolipstatin, showing that tonic inhibition is caused by 2-arachidonoylglycerol production of GnRH neurons. CdCl2 in extracellular solution can maintain both action potentials and spontaneous vesicle fusion. Under these conditions, when endocannabinoid-mediated blockade of spontaneous vesicle fusion was blocked with AM251, GnRH neuron firing increased, revealing an endogenous endocannabinoid brake on GnRH neuron firing. Retrograde endocannabinoid signaling may represent an important mechanism under physiological and pathological conditions whereby GnRH neurons regulate their excitatory GABAergic inputs.


This research sets out to explore the interface between the new politics of localisation and the political process in India. Governments and donors have increasingly emphasised the locality as the primary unit of development and politics. This new trajectory has been manifest in the increase of community-based organisations and mechanisms of participatory governance at the local level. From the late 1990s, the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh emerged as one of the most important examples of this new developmental politics and this research sets out to explore how local dynamics changed as a result.

Political economy approaches tend to focus on state-periphery relations in terms of interest groups or vote banks. By contrast, this research found the village to be an enduring unit in the political system through which political identity manifests itself through three features. First, participation in local elections is driven by common forces of politics of parties, caste and corruption but its outcome is dependent on the specific context at the village level. Second, new participatory institutions created through state policy were found to merge with informal practices at the local level and produce a complex interplay between the new local and state identities. Third, analysis of leadership found evidence of a well-defined system of organisation within party groups at the village level, which were shaped not by party institutions but by the inner workings of village politics.

These findings give cause to reassess the way in which we understand policy and political change. I do so by expanding on Skocpol's polity approach, which focused attention on the dynamic interplay of policy and social structure. Drawing on elements of the 'political development' theory, the concept of a 'developing polity' approach is elaborated on, to better explain the complex interplay between local and higher level politics. These findings have implications for understanding both political change in India and development strategy. The macro-perspective on the decay of political institutions is contrasted with a local perspective that finds evidence of the vitality of party politics at the village level. This has a number of important implications for development, both in terms of the way in which we analyse participation and the way in which participatory development can be translated into political change


Landing gear weight calculations can be carried out using statistical or analytical methods. Statistical methods were used in the past and offered quick group weights. However, they are not capable of computing accurately the weight of landing gears, which have special geometries and performance. In this work, landing gear weight is computed using analytical methods based on parametric 3D models. The procedure established by Kraus and Wille is applied as a baseline so as to create a procedure capable of dealing with landing gear weight calculations. This method is designed to be as flexible as possible, giving the user the freedom to modify many options and parameters and integrate landing gear design into Robust Aircraft Parametric Interactive Design.


The unstable rock slope of Aknes, Western Norway, has been recently identified as a potential threat for people and infrastructure in the inner Storfjord system. The unstable part has an estimated total volume of 30 to 40 million m3 based on recent geological and geophysical mapping. It is moving with a mean rate of about 4 cm/year, but with a rate as high as 15 cm/year in some parts. Such rock slide, when hitting the water in the fjord, could generate a flood wave (tsunami) with severe consequences, as experienced in the past by the local population. During the 2005 field campaign, three seismic measurements/installations were made: 1) a refraction seismic experiment in the center of the slope to map a potential sliding plane, 2) a temporary installation of 10 seismic mini-arrays of 9 channels each for passive monitoring of seismic events and noise measurements, and 3) a permanent installation of a smaller-scale seismic network for long-time monitoring of the site with real-time data access.


A monolithic integrated dual-detector for photon correlation analysis has been designed and tested. The basic element is a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) with intrinsic low noise- and high time-resolution. Wafer type and fabrication processes, compatible with the planar technology of silicon-integrated circuits, ensure low fabrication cost and high yield in the fabrication of dual-detectors suitable for miniaturized, versatile, and fast photon-correlation instruments for the visible and the near-infrared spectral range. Dynamic range of four decades and time resolution better than 70-ps FWHM are routinely attained in measurements of correlation functions.


Single Point Incremental Forming is a new process, which has been developed to make both Rapid Prototyped products and low volume product batches from Sheet Metal. This paper presents a case study of the manufacture of a solar cooker cavity for developing country applications. In the first instance the request was for a rapid prototype, which quickly evolved into a request for low volume production of solar cookers for the developing country market. The paper describes the manufacture of the solar cooker cavity, and shows how the possibility of manufacturing part of the solar cooker, by Single Point Incremental Forming, gives rise to the possibility of manufacturing other parts for the solar cooker less expensively.


Extracted from text ... TAX RESIDENCE
Expat workers encouraged to
stay longer in South Africa
By JACKIE CAMERON
AMENDMENTS to South
Africa's income tax law in terms
of the definition of a 'resident' -
expected to be promulgated by the
end of the year - have been
designed to encourage skilled
expatriate workers to remain
longer in South Africa.
Until now, they have been
reluctant to stay for more than a
three-year contract, or they run
the risk of having worldwide
assets taxed in South Africa and
possibly being hit by tax in the
host country and that of origin.
Boris Pelegrin, tax ..


SUMMARY Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is caused by functional alterations in cardiac ion channels and is associated with prolonged cardiac repolarization time and increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias. Inherited type 2 LQTS (LQT2) and drug-induced LQTS both result from altered function of the hERG channel. We investigated whether the electrophysiological characteristics of LQT2 can be recapitulated in vitro using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. Spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes were differentiated from two iPSC lines derived from an individual with LQT2 carrying the R176W mutation in the KCNH2 (HERG) gene. The individual had been asymptomatic except for occasional palpitations, but his sister and father had died suddenly at an early age. Electrophysiological properties of LQT2-specific cardiomyocytes were studied using microelectrode array and patch-clamp, and were compared with those of cardiomyocytes derived from control cells. The action potential duration of LQT2-specific cardiomyocytes was significantly longer than that of control cardiomyocytes, and the rapid delayed potassium channel (IKr) density of the LQT2 cardiomyocytes was significantly reduced. Additionally, LQT2-derived cardiac cells were more sensitive than controls to potentially arrhythmogenic drugs, including sotalol, and demonstrated arrhythmogenic electrical activity. Consistent with clinical observations, the LQT2 cardiomyocytes demonstrated a more pronounced inverse correlation between the beating rate and repolarization time compared with control cells. Prolonged action potential is present in LQT2-specific cardiomyocytes derived from a mutation carrier and arrhythmias can be triggered by a commonly used drug. Thus, the iPSC-derived, disease-specific cardiomyocytes could serve as an important platform to study pathophysiological mechanisms and drug sensitivity in LQT2.


ABSTRACT The present study focused on the motivational predictors of coping with academic examination through the test of the contribution of self-determination for academic studies and achievement goals. Coping strategies, academic motivation and achievement goals were assessed among 199 undergraduate students. Regression analysis revealed that problem-focused coping is positively predicted by identified regulation and negatively by amotivation, whereas emotion-focused coping is positively predicted by introjected regulation and amotivation. Mastery approach goals contributed positively to problem-focused coping. Identified regulation and mastery approach goals made a unique positive contribution to problem-focused coping, and amotivation was negatively related. Students' coping actions may vary according to both the reasons why they engage in academic studies and the goals they pursue in this setting.


The most common mutation in Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is an expanded GAA trinucleotide repeat in the first intron of the FXN (Frataxin) gene. A clear correlation between the size of the expanded alleles and phenotype severity was found as the major determining factor. The objective of this study was to report clinical and molecular data of 10 patients homozygous for pathological FXN GAA expansions. Clinical evaluation was preformed for all the patients. GAA expansions were detected by Tripled Primed PCR (TP-PCR) and GAA allele size was estimated by Long Range PCR (XL-PCR). Clinical features were variable within the same family with no correlation between age at onset, worsening score or tendon reflexes status. All patients were homozygous for the pathological GAA expansions. No obvious relationship was found between the different clinical features and size of GAA repeats. In conclusion, factor controlling phenotypic expression in FA may be related to other factors than FXN GAA expansions


University agricultural programs' struggle to attract students is leading to a disparity in the number of available jobs in agriculture and the number of qualified applicants to fill these positions. This study sought to garner a unique students' perspective of ways that universities and specifically agricultural programs can support and encourage them to commit to agricultural degree programs by understanding potential pre-university experiences that influence their decision to commit to agriculture long-term. We reported our findings based on 22 responses from students in two different U.S. universities who filled out the open-ended questionnaire. From the responses, we found that before entering university, students' farming-related activities and participation in school-based agriculture-related and research programs impacted their future commitment to agricultural degree programs. Moreover, scholarships, practical experience opportunities, and course-related actions at the university level also impacted students' commitment to agricultural degree programs. We recommend continued research into students' commitment to a career in agriculture. Additionally, expanding primary and secondary school agricultural education programs and K-12 students' participation in 4-H and FFA programs may increase their exposure to agricultural experiences. Providing greater financial assistance and university support to students in agriculture programs may also positively impact students' commitment to agriculture long-term.


Commitment to change is considered to be one of most important factors for the successful implementation of change initiatives. Many organizations fail to achieve the results they pursue and want to know more about to what extent variables influence commitment to change. This study investigated the interplay of all these variables together and their unique contribution to commitment to organizational change. The purpose of the present research is to measure if work-relationships have a contribution to the demographic variables, change related variables, individual variables, communication variables mentioned in literature that have effect on employees' commitment to organizational change. The theoretical framework was designed based on the literature. Commitment to change was divided into three forms: affective, continuance, and normative commitment to change. The variables discussed in this study were organizational tenure, change frequency, prior experience with organizational change, change related self-efficacy, personal job impact, participation, information, work-relationships with the manager and employees and employees' perceptions of managers' and colleagues' opinion about change. Integrating research from the change literature, leader-member exchange (LMX) literature, and relationship literature, this study proposes eleven hypotheses about the variables which contribute to employees' commitment to change in a positive and negative way. The results were measured with the use of an online questionnaire where the 161 respondents were employees who have had a significant change experience in an organization. The results indicated that the communication variables (participation and information) were the best predictors of employees' commitment to change. Furthermore, the influence of the entirety of work-relationships on commitment to change showed no exclusive results. The work-relationship with the manager was significant to employees' affective and normative commitment and the work-relationship with colleagues was only significant to employees' normative commitment. The present study is important for commitment literature because it represents an attempt towards the identification of variables which may have an impact on employees' attitude towards commitment to change.


This paper describes the distribution and ecology of the genus Megacyclops in the Netherlands. Three species of this genus are present in the Netherlands: Megacyclops gigas (Claus, 1857), Megacyclops latipes (Lowndes, 1927), and Megacyclops viridis (Jurine, 1820). M. latipes is new to the Dutch fauna. The taxonomic position and status of Megacyclops viridis var. pelagica (De Lint, 1922) is clarified.


OBJECTIVES
To determine whether associations exist between human-directed aggression and sex, neutering status, age of weaning, the presence of other pet pigs, or the presence of environmental enrichment objects in miniature pet pigs.

DESIGN
Internet survey.

STUDY POPULATION
Responses from 222 owners of miniature pet pigs.

PROCEDURES
Pet pig owners were requested to complete a 48-item multiple-choice and short-answer Internet survey for each pig that they presently owned.

RESULTS
Among 222 surveys that met enrollment criteria, human-directed aggression that occurred on at least 1 occasion was reported in 64% (n = 142) and aggression that occurred once or more per month was reported in 31% (69). No significant differences were found in the prevalence of human-directed aggression among castrated males, sexually intact females, and spayed females. Ages of weaning and neutering and the presence of objects intended to serve as environmental enrichment were not associated with frequency of aggression. A significant inverse association was detected between presence of other pigs in the same household and human-directed aggression, such that 21% (20/95) of pigs that lived with at least 1 conspecific were aggressive on a frequent basis, compared with 39% (49/126) of pigs that lived with no conspecific. A similar inverse association was evident regarding aggression that occurred on at least 1 occasion.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggested that human-directed aggression is a common problem in miniature pet pigs. The presence of a conspecific can be expected to reduce the likelihood of human-directed aggression.


In the article the results of a large multi-disciplinary study of 521 murders in Lithuania is presented. The aim of this study is to investigate the suitability of the most important modern criminological theories for the interpretation of homicides and their committers in this country. The paper presents a part of this study dealing with the development of the future murderer's personality during his life before the commitment of the crime: childhood, adolescence, youth, and the period just before the commitment of the crime. A questionnaire of 206 questions was designed and distributed to 521 persons convicted for a homicide. In the present article the authors present the results of the analysis of the answers of the murderers' to 109 questions, focused on different kinds of criminal activities and different manifestations of their social, psychological, economical disadaptation at the main stages of their personal development. For each stage, the correlations between different manifestations of one's disadaptation and delinquent/criminal activities are examined, a multidimensional component analysis (with Direct Oblimin rotation applying Kaizer normalization) is carried out.


Within the proposed method, a set of experimental data points are fitted using a multi-channel S-matrix. Then the resonance parameters are located as its poles on an appropriate sheet of the Riemann surface of the energy. The main advantage of the method is that the S-matrix is constructed in such a way that it has proper analytic structure, i.e. for any number of two-body channels, the branching at all the channel thresholds is represented via exact analytic expressions in terms of the channel momenta. The way the S-matrix is constructed makes it possible not only to locate multi-channel resonances but also to extract their partial widths as well as to obtain the scattering cross-section in the channels for which no data are available. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated by two model examples of a single-channel and a two-channel problems, where known resonance parameters are rather accurately reproduced by fitting the pseudo-data artificially generated using the corresponding potentials.


A British perspective

The European working time directive (EWTD) is a directive of the European Union within the umbrella of health and safety legislation. The directive was enacted in UK law, from 1 October 1998.1 The main features of the legislation relate to the average maximum numbers of hours that could in law be worked in a week, the duration and timing of rest periods, days off, and paid leave.

The EWTD applied to all medical staff, except doctors in training—that is, the house officer and specialist registrar grades. It is not widely appreciated that all other grades of medical staff are bound by this legislation unless they specifically, and individually "opt out."

An amending directive was issued in 2000,2 removing the exemption of doctors in training from the EWTD, to take initial effect in August 2004, when the average weekly working time had to be reduced to 58 hours. Thereafter, in August 2007, this should be reduced to 56 hours per week, and in 2009 to 48 hours. This was not optional, but was a legal requirement and breaches of this legislation are subject to significant financial penalties, to be imposed on the employing trusts. Compliance is checked by continual monitoring.

Not surprisingly, there was a flurry of activity, and a plethora of documents, guiding and advising trusts on how to deal with this issue, both from the Department of Health, and the royal colleges. Crucial to determining how trusts would respond to this was the definition of work, when the resident was on call—that is, was asleep, doing on-call work, or resting. Luckily for us all, help was at hand in the shape of a specific challenge to the directive, known as the "Simapp" case. This ruled that "resident on-call" was work, whether engaged in clinical …


SlideWiki.org is a Web-based OpenCourseWare (OCW) authoring system that enables educators and learners to collaborate on creating, sharing, re-using and re-purposing multi-lingual open educational content. The SlideWiki platform allows people to author FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) educational content. SlideWiki supports many features to semantically-enrich educational content to support FAIR authoring. In this paper we will present those features of the platform such as Linked Data interface, manual and automatic content annotation as well as content linking and metadata.


The efficacy of trigger-point injection therapy In treatment of low-back strain was evaluated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. The patient population consisted of 63 individuals with low-back strain. Patients with this diagnosis had nonradiating low-back pain, normal neurologic examination, absence of tension signs, and lumbosacral roentgenograms interpreted as being within normal limits. They were treated conservatively for 4 weeks before entering the study. Injection therapy was of four different types: lldocaine, lldocaine combined with a steroid, acupuncture, and vapocoolant spray with acupressure. Results indicated that therapy without injected medication (63% improvement rate) was at least as effective as therapy with drug injection (42% improvement rate), at a P value of 0.09. Trigger-point therapy seems to be a useful adjunct In treatment of low-back strain. The injected substance apparently is not the critical factor, since direct mechanical stimulus to the trigger-point seems to give symptomatic relief equal to that of treatment with various types of injected medication


This paper reports a full-scale laboratory test carried out for the evaluation of the effect of braking torque on bogie dynamics. Precision instruments have been used as the limited length of the track restricted the operating speed to less than 4m/s. It is shown that by judiciously controlling the brake pressure and its application time, the skid of the braked wheelset could be achieved. The instrumented bogie is shown to possess excellent potential for being used as an onboard system for monitoring the dynamics of cash trains during brake application without the need for a wayside magnetic encoder system.


Introduce the construction of wireless sensor networks on oil-drilling site. Build the framework of the system, configure the software and hardware, and analysis the process based on Zigbee technology. Realize the transplantation of TinyOS Operating system on the CC2430 Platform, data collecting, program debugging, and performance testing of wireless sensor networks. The data collected by the monitoring system coincides with the actual situation. So this monitoring system could be used to monitor the process of oil drilling.


The term 'Big Data' has spread rapidly in the framework of Data Mining and Business Intelligence. This new scenario can be defined by means of those problems that cannot be effectively or efficiently addressed using the standard computing resources that we currently have. We must emphasize that Big Data does not just imply large volumes of data but also the necessity for scalability, i.e., to ensure a response in an acceptable elapsed time. When the scalability term is considered, usually traditional parallel‐type solutions are contemplated, such as the Message Passing Interface or high performance and distributed Database Management Systems. Nowadays there is a new paradigm that has gained popularity over the latter due to the number of benefits it offers. This model is Cloud Computing, and among its main features we has to stress its elasticity in the use of computing resources and space, less management effort, and flexible costs. In this article, we provide an overview on the topic of Big Data, and how the current problem can be addressed from the perspective of Cloud Computing and its programming frameworks. In particular, we focus on those systems for large‐scale analytics based on the MapReduce scheme and Hadoop, its open‐source implementation. We identify several libraries and software projects that have been developed for aiding practitioners to address this new programming model. We also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of MapReduce, in contrast to the classical solutions in this field. Finally, we present a number of programming frameworks that have been proposed as an alternative to MapReduce, developed under the premise of solving the shortcomings of this model in certain scenarios and platforms. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2014, 4:380–409. doi: 10.1002/widm.1134


New products making their debut at the recent National Association of Chain Drugs Stores Pharmacy & Technology Conference ranged from the big picture of enterprisewide applications to the size of a CD-ROM, featuring information on how to comply with another of Uncle Sam's mandates.


This paper explored the color and mechanical properties of CeO2 and Er2O3 shaded zirconia ceramics for dental application. Twelve kinds of colored dental ZrO2 powders were prepared. Experimental results showed that the hue of the materials shift from yellow-green to yellow-red with the increasing concentration of the CeO2 and Er2O3, while reducing of the brightness( L* ) value was little. Three-point bending strength decreased form 1209MPa to 845MPa after coloring, which was lower than the uncolored materials (1301MPa). The fracture toughness decrease slightly. SEM observation revealed more porous microstructure in specimen containing both two additives. Cerium oxide and erbium oxide are candidates of color additives for shading dental zirconia ceramics.


Employee performance, in general, is an embodiment of work carried out by employees who are usually used as a basis or reference for evaluating employees in an organization. Good performance is a step towards achieving organizational goals, therefore, performance is also a deciding tool in achieving organizational goals so it needs to be strived to improve employee performance. This study aims to study the Placement and Career Development of employee performance at PT. Jakarta Prima Cranes in Jakarta. The method used is explanatory research with a sample of 53 respondents. The analysis technique uses statistical analysis with regression testing, evaluation, determination, and hypothesis testing. The results of this study indicate the significance of the company's performance of 48.2%, the hypothesis test obtained significance of 0,000 <0.05. Career Development has a significant effect on employee performance by 59.6%, hypothesis testing obtained significance of 0,000 <0.05. Career Placement and Development simultaneously have a significant effect on employee performance by 56.3%, hypothesis testing obtained significance of 0,000 <0.05.


The kingpin structure of the American scheme to construct a ship canal across Panama in 1907-14 was an earthen dam of unprecedented scale and scope at Gatun, to retain the aggregate flow of the Chagres River and its principal tributaries. Upon this structure alone, the entire plan rested because it created the man-made lake rising 85 ft (25.9 m) above sea level, which allowed ships to cross the 550 ft (167.6 m) continental divide between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Everything about Gatun Dam was enormous. Its dimensions were without precedent: a crest length of 8,200 ft (2500 m) and a maximum width of 2,300 ft (701 m). With a height of 105 ft (32 m) above sea level, it stored sufficient water to maintain an operating pool covering 164 mi2 (425 km2). At its center was the most critical structure; a mass concrete spillway capable of passing flood flows of the unpredictable Chagres River. The biggest problem with the site was the underlying geology, which included two deepley incised paleochannels. The massive embankments were placed over these paleochannels, which were up to 258 ft (78.6 m) deep. The channel infill of the upper 50 ft (15.2 m) were of relatively low permeability, mostly sandy silts and clay. There were more pervious sands and gravel lying beneath these, which allowed the preclusion of deep seepage cutoffs.


BACKGROUND
Acute coronary syndromes can substantially disrupt the lives of our patients. However, patients' view of their illness is usually scarcely considered in routine medical practice. We aimed to investigate the psycho-emotional impact of acute coronary syndromes.

METHODS
We studied 30 patients with acute coronary syndrome, aged <70 years. Before discharge, each patient was interviewed by a psychologist using a semi-structured interview; data were collected in the form of verbal reports.

RESULTS
After learning that they had had a heart attack, 16 patients (53%) reported a feeling of fear linked to the idea of death, sometimes real despair; 7 patients (23%) showed a weak emotional response, 4 (13%) reacted with denial, and 3 responded evasively. During the interview, 17 patients (57%) reported events relating to family life and 9 (30%) to work; all these events were negative and related to suffering, conflict, and stress. When compared to pre-admission status, 30% of patients experienced negative psychological changes, such as a sense of fragility, uncertainty and a redefinition of self-image, while 50% reported no change. Surprisingly, 6 patients (20%) referred positive psychological changes. This positive restructuring was related to the patients' ability/need to change their lifestyle. This process entails a different vision of the past and the future, and is associated with a feeling of rebirth and physical wellbeing.

CONCLUSIONS
The psycho-emotional effects of acute coronary syndromes may be immense, and may radically change the way the patient relates to himself and to the world. We often remain detached from these changes, and are sometimes even unaware of them.


Background: The primary clinical endpoint in many phase II studies in cancer is a time-to-event outcome subject to potential censoring. The decision in favor of abandoning or continuing investigation of the protocol regimen is typically based on the amount of statistical evidence suggesting an improvement compared to a given historical control. The primary statistical endpoint would typically be the median of the time-to-event distribution of the clinical endpoint. For the purpose of sample size or power calculations, software implementing parametric and nonparametric median tests, is freely available. The main assumptions are those of Exponential survival and a Uniform right-censoring mechanism. Purpose: The performance of the parametric and nonparametric methods is compared to that of using a binomial endpoint based on dichotomizing the event time at a clinically relevant landmark. As sufficient details on the various methods and related designs for phase II clinical design with survival endpoints are provided, this article should also serve as a comparative reference on these three methods for designing phase II studies in cancer with time-to-event endpoints. Methods: The statistical performance, by virtue of considering the type I and II error rates, of the three methods is compared by carrying out a comprehensive simulation study. Results: The parametric method may fail to control the type I error rate if the underlying survival distribution is not Exponential, while the nonparametric method may fail to control the type I error rate as the sample sizes for phase II studies are typically small. Both of these methods may be sensitive to the distribution of the censoring variable. Limitations: The results provided in this article are mostly discussed in the framework of specific examples and by using specific implementations of the tests. As such the results may not be universally generalizable. The recommended method has some drawbacks if patients are censored before the landmark of interest. Conclusion: A method that should be considered for the purpose of the statistical design and decision rule for phase II studies in cancer is the employment of a binomial endpoint based on dichotomizing the event time at a clinically relevant landmark. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 209—221. http://ctj.sagepub.com


Given a Markov decision process (MDP) and a linear-time ($\omega$-regular or LTL) specification, the controller synthesis problem aims to compute the optimal policy that satisfies the specification. More recently, problems that reason over the asymptotic behavior of systems have been proposed through the lens of steady-state planning. This entails finding a control policy for an MDP such that the Markov chain induced by the solution policy satisfies a given set of constraints on its steady-state distribution. This paper studies a generalization of the controller synthesis problem for a linear-time specification under steady-state constraints on the asymptotic behavior. We present an algorithm to find a deterministic policy satisfying $\omega$-regular and steady-state constraints by characterizing the solutions as an integer linear program, and experimentally evaluate our approach.


Palmar plates are being used as a source of graft in radial or ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, pulley reconstruction, and volar plate arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to determine morphometric and major histological differences of palmar plates in metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints among fingers, and supply sufficient data which would be useful in reconstruction procedures. Ninety‐six MCP and 96 PIP palmar plates of 12 well‐preserved formalin‐fixed cadavers were measured focusing on their length, width, central thickness, and lateral thickness and statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Randomized three male and three female cadavers' specimens were examined histologically after staining with Masson's trichrome. For central thickness of the PIP joint level, there was significant difference among fingers, caused by the middle and little fingers. For lateral thickness of the PIP joint level, there was significant difference which was originated from little fingers. MCP palmar plates were significantly thicker than PIP joint levels for most of the fingers. There were thicker and denser collagen bands in MCP than PIP palmar plates. The relation of size‐related parameters was not close with the thickness parameters. The predicted sizes and thicknesses of palmar plates vary according to fingers. The data collected for each finger in this study should be used as a guide in reconstructive procedures that use palmar plates as source of graft. Clin. Anat. 21:433–438, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The identification of plant constituents and their biological applications is the aim of several scientific studies. To discover novel alternatives for biological control, alcoholic extracts of Thymus vulgaris L., obtained by cold extraction, were evaluated according to their inhibitory activities at different concentrations (5, 50 and 500 μg x mL) on the mycelial growth of Bipolaris sorokiniana, Alternaria alternata and Colletotrichum gloesporioides using the in vitro bioanalytical method. During the incubation period at 21 ± 2°C with a photoperiod of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, the growth of the colonies was obtained from the average of the orthogonal measurements of the colony diameter. The results were shown by the MGI (Mycelial Growth and/or Inhibition Index) and statistically analyzed (p < 5), the best results being observed with 500 μg x mL. The ethanol extract presented the highest activity at this concentration, with growth reductions of 47.76%, 15.21% and 34.01%, relative to the control, for Bipolaris sorokiniana, Alternaria alternata and Colletotrichum gloesporioides, respectively. The reductions observed were 46.87%, 9.57% and 23.53% using a methanol extract.


Diagnosable systems composed of interconnected units which are capable of testing each other have been studied primarily from the point of view of permanent faults. Along such lines, designs have been proposed, and necessary and sufficient conditions for the diagnosis of such faults have been established. In this paper, we study the intermittent fault diagnosis capabilities of such systems. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived and bounds are established for some well-known systems. It is seen that in contrast to permanent fault diagnosable systems, there exists only a single type of intermittent fault diagnosable system. A procedure is given to determine the intermittent fault diagnosability of any given system.


Historically, mutual funds and hedge funds have differed not only as to the risk and return opportunities that they have offered but also in regard to their investment structure. In recent years, regulatory changes have increased the ability of mutual funds to offer investment strategies that are "hedge fund-like" and include short-selling as well as the introduction of the limited use of leverage. In brief, today there exist an increasing number of mutual funds that offer investment strategies not provided by long only focused stock or bond mutual funds. Since the investment vehicles that these mutual funds employ are not pure traditional mutual funds and yet are restricted from being pure hedge fund in form, they have been classified by some mutual fund data firms (e.g., Morningstar) as hybrid mutual funds. These funds in many cases offer risk and return opportunities closer to that provided by some well-known hedge fund strategies. In this article the performance of various hybrid mutual funds is reported relative to traditional mutual funds as well as their relative performance compared to paired hedge fund investment strategies. The results of the author's analyses show that hybrid mutual funds provide affordable hedge fund-like mutual funds to small investors. In addition, as part of a larger portfolio, hybrid mutual funds can offer efficient diversification. They give investors exposure to benefits of derivatives instruments which most traditional mutual funds fail to offer.


The maturity of heterogeneous and hybrid public Cloud environments enables service providers to deploy there their complex IT services trusting these large and complex infrastructures. At the same time, evaluating the impact of changes at service configuration before and at the runtime is still a very challenging and difficult task. Moreover, a comprehensive performance evaluation of IT service configurations should not be limited just to costs for IT resource acquisition, but also include risk related elements such as Service Level Agreement (SLA) violation penalties and other intangibles. To support IT service providers in this difficult task, we developed Business-Driven Management as a Service Plus (BDMaaS+), a novel decision support tool that can evaluate IT service configuration through simulation with realistic service and network models. By allowing service providers to define expanded operational parameters, BDMaaS+ also enables what-if scenario analysis, thereby opening interesting possibilities at the planning level. Experimental results, collected from our thorough evaluations, demonstrate how a service provider can leverage BDMaaS+ to explore the potential of high-level business SLA changes and data center additions.


Sphagnum farming aims to produce peat moss fibres for horticultural growing media or founder material for bog restoration. The objective of this study was to examine the establishment of Sphagnum on cut-over bog with shallow layers (average 78 cm) of highly decomposed "black peat" under different hydrological starting conditions. One of the two study sites in northwestern Germany was established directly after peat extraction, while the other one has been rewetted 7 years prior to its installation. Irrigation ditches were installed on these sites for water management. Sphagnum fragments were introduced and covered with straw mulch or geotextile for protection. The establishment of Sphagnum and the site conditions, including vascular plant growth, were evaluated to determine the supporting and limiting factors for Sphagnum farming under the difficult hydrological conditions of shallow highly decomposed peat (low porosity, low hydraulic conductivity). The cultivation of Sphagnum mosses is possible on shallow layers of highly decomposed peat. Sphagnum growth in cover and carpet thickness was significantly higher at the site that had previously been rewetted and had a thicker layer of residual peat. The areas covered with a geotextile showed significantly lower percentages of Sphagnum cover compared to those covered with straw mulch. While sufficient water quantity and quality are known to be prerequisites for Sphagnum farming, a sufficient peat layer thickness seems to be an additional factor for successful Sphagnum establishment and growth. Maintaining an optimal water table proved to be a challenge for these shallow layers of highly decomposed peat, as the low hydraulic conductivity of the peat has impeded a complete irrigation of the sites. Furthermore, the irrigation effort might need to be increased to compensate for additional water loss into the subsoil. On such sites with difficult hydrological and soil conditions, a favourable microclimate provided by vascular plants and a rewetted surrounding area can promote successful establishment of Sphagnum and can even partially counterbalance effects of a low water table.


Creativity is a subject that has been relatively neglected in psychological research until recently. The difficulty in defining and measuring creativity has been a contributing factor to the small amount of research in this area to date. Recent interest in creativity is the link to psychopathology, which has sparked new methods of investigation into the nature of this syndrome, including MRI, PET, EEG, and neuroanatomical studies. Cognitive and Behavioral tasks are used in conjunction with these testing methods, which have allowed the possibility of molecular genetic research to probe the question of the heritability of creativity. These advancements in the methods in which we now define and measure creativity have brought us to an exciting time of learning about the true nature of creativity and its relationship to forms of psychopathology.


Abstract Background The COVID-19 global pandemic has been associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Rapid adaptation of approaches to clinical management as well as policy decisions in relation to implementation of vaccination programs for persons living with IBD has been required throughout the pandemic. To meet the sudden demand of large scale public health-mandated COVID-19 vaccine education for patients living with IBD in Nova Scotia a novel, evidence-based, virtual COVID-19 vaccine educational intervention was developed, implemented, and evaluated. Methods This was a prospective, observational, cross sectional, implementation-effectiveness study conducted at the NSCIBD program between April-July, 2021. The educational intervention consisted of a standardized email outlining evidence relating to risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccinations. The intervention was offered to all patients contacting the NSCIBD program with questions or concerns about the vaccine. During one-on-one virtual visits, standardized and evidence-based information was provided by a gastroenterologist or IBD nurse practitioner. Following the session, an anonymous questionnaire (NoviSurvey) evaluated key implementation metrics including satisfaction, appropriateness, usefulness, perceived impact on knowledge and vaccine hesitancy, willingness to participate in future sessions, and recommendations for improvement. Descriptive analyses were conducted, with group means expressed as proportions for categorical variables and means for numerical variables. Results A total of, 265 patients were invited to participate in the online survey, with a response rate of, 49% (131/265). Before the session, 48.9% (64/131) expressed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and, 26% (35/131) expressed concerns relating to risks versus benefits of COVID-19 vaccines. Ninety-one percent (119/131) of respondents found the education program to be helpful and, 92% (121/131) indicated there was no information perceived to be lacking from the session. Following the intervention, the proportion of those willing to get vaccinated rose from, 61% to, 86.3%. Only, 1.5% (2/131) indicated that they would likely not get vaccinated. Most participants (77%, 101/131) found the written and virtually administered educational content to be satisfactory and, 88% (115/131) were willing to participate in similar virtual education offerings in the future. Conclusion Implementation of an evidence-based, multidisciplinary COVID-19 vaccination education intervention delivered using a virtual platform was perceived to be feasible, acceptable, and effective by IBD patients. Further research on innovative, evidence-based, multidisciplinary educational interventions and the impact of these interventions on IBD clinical outcomes are needed.


One binuclear mono-cyclopentadinyl titanocene, CpTiCl3(CH2)4CpTiCl3, has been synthesized by a new ways and characterized by 1H-NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Its aqueous medium polymerization properties of methyl methacrylate (MMA) have been pursued with an anionic surfactant, sodiumn dodecylsulfate(SDS) in water. The obtained polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography(GPC). GPC results showed that the dinuclear titanium complex might provide PMMA with broad PDI(PDI=10.82). Influences of reaction parameters, such as temperature, time, MMA/Cat(molar ratio) and water amount were studied in detail. Under the conditions of the temperature was 55 °C, the reaction lasted l5h, the molar ratio of Cat to MMA was l:200, and the volume of water consumed was 40 ml, the conversion of MMA was as high as 70%.


The storage of fruit at minimum oxygen condition is crucial for optimal fruit quality maintenance. However, the optimal oxygen partial pressure of fruit varies according to several factors such as species, cultivar, harvest maturity, temperature, growing season and storage period. Based on these factors, storage technologies were developed that allow for the detection of the lower oxygen limit (LOL) and the storage of fruit under the lowest optimal oxygen partial pressure. One emerging technology is known as dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA). Commercially, there are four DCA systems used: [1] DCA based on ethanol production and accumulation (DCA-Eth); [2] DCA based on chlorophyll fluorescence (DCA-CF); DCA based on the respiratory quotient (DCA-RQ) and [4] DCA based solely on CO2 production (DCA-CD). This reviews the recent developments of these DCA systems and their effect on fruit quality. Generally, the storage of fruit under DCA has a positive effect on the overall fruit quality, with regards to reduced physiological disorders and higher flesh firmness maintenance, when compared to controlled atmosphere (CA). Evidence also shows that storing fruit under DCA-RQ and DCA-CD allowed higher volatile compound emission and concentration, which can contribute positively to fruit flavor. The DCA systems are "green storage technologies" because the system enables the increase of storage temperature and thereby saving electrical energy. Storage of apples under DCA maintains an overall fruit quality similar to CA combined with the ripening inhibitor 1-Methylcyclopropen (1-MCP), which is an interesting option for organic fruit storage. Dynamic controlled atmosphere is a recently developed storage technique and is in constant improvement. The latest developed DCA techniques (DCA-RQ and DCA-CD), in contrast to DCA-CF, allow the use of extremely low oxygen levels. In the future, new and multi-sensor DCA systems are under development, which might not just control O2 partial pressure but also temperature and other parameters to allow for more energy efficient but high quality fruit storage systems.


Many classification systems rely on clustering techniques in which a collection of training examples is provided as an input, and a number of clusters c1,...cm modelling some concept C results as an output, such that every cluster ci is labelled as positive or negative. Given a new, unlabelled instance enew, the above classification is used to determine to which particular cluster ci this new instance belongs. In such a setting clusters can overlap, and a new unlabelled instance can be assigned to more than one cluster with conflicting labels. In the literature, such a case is usually solved non-deterministically by making a random choice. This paper presents a novel, hybrid approach to solve this situation by combining a neural network for classification along with a defeasible argumentation framework which models preference criteria for performing clustering.


Unknown knowns—or "public secrets"—may play an integral part in publicly funded medical science. In one large transnational field research site in Africa, such unknowing pertains to vital material inequalities across the relations of scientific production. These inequalities are open to experience but remain often unacknowledged in public speech and scientific texts. This silence is not usually achieved by suppressing knowledge but through linguistic convention and differentiation between places and moments of knowing and ignorance. Switching between known and unknown according to situation and interlocutor is an important, largely implicit skill that maintains relations necessary to conduct clinical research—linking bodies, lives, institutions, and technologies across differentials of resources, expertise, and power. Unknowing, then, facilitates research; and it shapes the resulting work and perpetuates the political and economic contradictions that pervade the context and the research endeavor itself. Unknowing thus poses a challenge for conventional anthropological modes of critique and engagement.


Glomerulonephritis network in Korea is based on the constitution of collaborative study group in which 23 general hospitals affiliated with universities throughout South Korea are participating. This program, which is funded by Korean Society of Nephrology, started Oct. 2003 and will continue till Sep. 2008. A large sample size of adequately matched patients and control subjects is essential for genetic studies of glomerulonephritides in which multiple, low-penetrance genes having small and addictive effect(s) interact with various environmental factors in initiation and progression of disease with a few exception having a dominant gene with Mendelian mode of transmission. The objective of this program is to constitute web-based (www.gn.or.kr) database including demographic, clinical, laboratory and histological findings of biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis patients and to store genomic DNA material of patients, making sufficient numbers of genomic materials of patients with well characterized glomerulonephritis available for genetic studies. From Oct. 2003 to Jan. 2007, a total of 3,956 patients with biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis were enrolled in web-based database and a total of 2,643 patients, DNA sample was stored. Of a total of 3,297 adult patients (age 318), 49.1% (n = 1618) was patients with IgA nephropathy followed by membranous nephropathy (8.1%, n = 267), focal segmental glomeruloscrelosis (6.9%, n = 229), minimal change disease (4.7%, n = 155), lupus nephritis (4.4%, n = 146), and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (3.2%, n = 105) in sequence of decreasing frequency. In old patients (age 360), the most frequent glomerulonephritis was IgA nephropathy (22.3%) followed by membranous nephropathy (19.9%), focal segmental glomeruloscrelosis (11.4%,), minimal change disease (6.9%), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (4.7%), crescentic glomerulonephritis (3.0%) and lupus nephritis (0.5%). TNFA2 allele in biallelic polymorphism at nucleotide location -308 in promoter region of the TNFa is known to be stronger activator of transcription than TNFA1 and reported to be related to increased susceptibility to IgA nephropathy and some clinical findings such as the episode of gross hematuria in IgA nephropathy. On the contrary to previous reports, there was no difference in allele frequency between patients with IgA nephropathy (n = 862) and control (n = 671) who had normal blood pressure, normal urinalysis and eGFR more than 60ml/min. (A1:A2 = 93.4%:6.6% in control and 94.5%:5.5% in patients IgA nephropathy) Compared with IgA patients having genotype A1/A1, IgA patients with genotype A1/A2 have lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, higher serum LDL level, higher serum uric acid level, and fasting blood sugar level at the time of renal biopsies. But there was no difference in the amount of proteinura, serum creatinine level, eGFR and rate of GFR decrement according to these genotypes. In conclusion, IgA nephropathy was the most frequent glomerulonephritis even in aged patients in Korea. Biallelic polymorphism in -308 nucleotide of promoter region of TNFa gene did not confer the susceptibility to IgA nephropathy in Korea. Lastly Glomerulonephritis Network in Korea sponsored by Korean Society of Nephrology has a great potential to provide valuable materials for genetic studies of glomerulonephritis in Korea.


The phase probability density function (PDF) of the channel coefficients is analyzed for general Clarke channel model, and the close-form expressions are obtained under the von Mises/Tikhonov distribution. Then the simplified expressions for Rayleigh and Rice channels are derived. In addition, these expressions are applied to analyze the bias of a Doppler shift estimator based on phase difference proposed firstly by Sheng. The theoretic and simulation results show the good performance and consistency of this estimator.


In order to begin to compensate for a lack of data on the effects of athletic participation in the development of adolescent mental health patterns, as well as to assess general health of the adolescent population, the Juvenile Wellness and Health Inventory (JWIHIS-76) was administered to 1,769 high school students. Our results indicate that sports participation is associated with self-reported lower total risk scores, mental and physical health benefits, and an increased risk of injury. This suggests a positive role for organized sports participation in youth populations. Prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of different sports, mounting performance pressure, and transition into collegiate levels of participation.


Nucleocytoplasmic transport is mediated by the interplay between soluble transport factors and nucleoporins resident within the nuclear pore complex (NPC). Understanding this process demands knowledge of components of both the soluble and stationary phases and the interface between them. Here, we provide evidence that Nup2p, previously considered to be a typical yeast nucleoporin that binds importand exportbound karyopherins, dynamically associates with the NPC in a Ran-facilitated manner. When bound to the NPC, Nup2p associates with regions corresponding to the nuclear basket and cytoplasmic fibrils. On the nucleoplasmic face, where the Ran–GTP levels are predicted to be high, Nup2p binds to Nup60p. Deletion of NUP60 renders Nup2p nucleoplasmic and compromises Nup2p-mediated recycling of Kap60p/Srp1p. Depletion of Ran–GTP by metabolic poisoning, disruption of the Ran cycle, or in vitro by cell lysis, results in a shift of Nup2p from the nucleoplasm to the cytoplasmic face of the NPC. This mobility of Nup2p was also detected using heterokaryons where, unlike nucleoporins, Nup2p was observed to move from one nucleus to the other. Together, our data support a model in which Nup2p movement facilitates the transition between the import and export phases of nucleocytoplasmic transport.


p62/SQSTM1 is an essential protein adaptor that fine-tunes numerous biological processes by autophagy or related cell signaling pathway. Previous studies have proved that p62 loss lead to mature-onset metabolic disorders including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver in adult mice; and in younger human being those metabolic diseases are close to reproductive dysfunctions, such as PCOS. Here, the metabolism and reproductive function of younger (8 weeks) p62 deficient female mice was observed, and hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis was evaluated to explore the possible upstream mechanisms. We found that although p62 deficiency rarely exposes obvious metabolic influences during younger stage of female mice, the deteriorative reproductive function has exhibited, such as attenuated breeding success rate and number of pups per litter. In particular, genetic deletion of p62 causes impaired estrous cycle, thread-like atrophied uteri and low-weight ovary with the lack of corpus luteum, failure of folliculogenesis and ovulation. Next, the low levels of plasma sex steroid hormone estradiol and gonadotropic luteinizing hormone (LH) have also been detected. Furthermore, defected steroidogenesis signaling including decreased StAR and P450scc in p62 KO ovary reveals reduced cholesterol-to-pregnenolone transition, meanwhile, increased Lhcgr mRNA expression in ovarian suggests a compensatory reaction. Consistent with lower serum LH level, significantly decreased mRNA expression of Lhb as well as slightly reduced Fshb also were found in the pituitary of p62 KO female mice. In addition, the elevated expression of Kiss1 mRNA in hypothalamus might discover the compensatory for pituitary function loss. Our findings support the vital role p62 of pituitary on reproductive function in younger individuals, and this effect might be the direct consequence rather than by metabolic disorders induced by p62 deficiency. Disclosure M. Long: None. H. Zheng: None. X. Li: None.


This paper presents a novel method for atlas-based segmentation of medical images. The method uses semi-supervised learning of a graph describing a manifold of anatomical variations of whole-body images, where unlabelled data are used to find a path with small deformations from the labelled atlas to the target image. The method is evaluated on 36 whole-body magnetic resonance images with manually segmented livers as ground truth. Significant improvement (p < 0.001) was obtained compared to direct atlas-based registration.


Introduction: Pseudoaneurysms are false aneurysm where disruption in the arterial wall forms a localized pulsatile hematoma connecting the artery. The common causes are intravenous drug abuse (IVDA), iatrogenic (vascular interventions and surgery), trauma, and infections. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the etiology, management, and outcome of patients with pseudoaneurysms of peripheral arteries. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained database of 32 patients with peripheral artery pseudoaneurysms over 45 months at a community-based hospital of Eastern Nepal. Results: The most common site involved was femoral artery (56.3%) followed by brachial (15.6%), radial (6.3%), anterior tibial (6.3%), and others (15.5%). The common etiologies were iatrogenic (46.9%), IVDA (31.3%), trauma (18.7%), and infection (3.1%). Operative intervention was performed in 29 (90.6%) patients as follows: ligation of artery and debridement (46.9%), primary repair (28.1%), and venous graft bypass (15.6%). Three patients (9.4%) with noninfected iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms of <3 cm were managed conservatively. Infected pseudoaneurysms were seen in 14 (43.7%) patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common isolate in the culture. There was no reoperation, amputation, or any in-hospital mortality. At follow-up, one patient developed leg claudication pain following a femoral artery ligation and one of the five patients developed a graft thrombosis after an autologous reversed saphenous vein bypass graft without any sequelae. Conclusion: Although repair with distal revascularization is an ideal approach, debridement and simple ligation of pseudoaneurysms is a safer alternative especially in IV drug abusers.


The A. presents a reflections on family photographs as a source in the research of different ethnological themes. If we manage to properly read the message contained in these photographs, we can establish that they witness to the way of living of people in the widest sense, that is to the role and place of a family's members within the family, to labour and the division of labour, fashion and costumes, values, individual elements of material culture, life stories, changes through time, etc. In order to treat a photograph as a source it is necessary to document all the data connected with it already upon its acquisition, as well as to understand the context in which it was taken. The photographic collection of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum has a considerable number of (mainly reproduced) family photographs which were mostly acquired in the course of researches into costumes and crafts. In the section dealing with the crafts the photographs related to individual families remained together and are linked with the other simultaneously acquired documentation and objects. This makes them an equally valid source for a variety of further researches. It has to be noted, however, that in spite of their specific way of accurately presenting reality, photographs, including family photographs, are not given the same treatment as other sources in ethnological research.


The thesis gives an answer to the question of why different countries ended up with different rates of homeowners and tenants in the 20th-century. The literature identifies Germanspeaking countries of low homeownership rates around 40% and English-speaking countries of high homeownership rates of more than 60%, with France falling in between the two groups. Moreover, most of these differences have persisted through the second half of the 20th-century and can be shown to reach back to different urban homeownership rates around 1900. The homeownership-question is of importance beyond the mere question of tenure as studies have associated homeownership questions with stability in financial crises, with embourgeoisement of the working-class in life-style, attitudes and voting behavior or with different unemployment rates. Existing explanations have used post-1980 international, regional or individual data to explain homeownership differences through socio-demographic, economic or urbanization differences, through a public-welfare/homeownership trade-off or else through cultural preferences. These explanations fail to account, however, for the persistent country differences that existed already prior to the 1980s and prior to government intervention in housing. The thesis, by contrast, goes back to 19th-century differences of urban organization, housing finance and the construction sector to claim that countries were historically set on different housing trajectories establishing differences hard to reverse in later periods. The US and Germany are chosen for historic case studies of the often opposed country groups. France is included to use the variables found for explaining why a country of similar welfare type as Germany kept a persistently higher urban homeownership rate. The thesis claims that different complementary institutions in city organization, the housing finance and construction industry locked countries into inert physical and institutional structures of either the compact tenement city-form in Germany or the suburbanized form of a city of homes like in the United States. More concretely, functional complementarities of public welfare cities, housing cooperatives, mortgage banks and a raftsmanship production of solid single-unit homes led to the German tenant-dominance, whereas private cities, savings and loans (SLAs) and a Fordist mass production of single-family homes created the American production regime in favor of more accessible homeownership. Though the thesis establishes the argument for Germany and the US in historic case studies, it tries to make plausible that it can be extended to other German- and English-speaking countries. The innovation of the thesis concerning the particular explanatory puzzle lies in its reference to relevant historical prior causes, its inclusion of the urban level of analysis and the combination of three institutional factors – urban organization, housing finance, construction – that even singly have not been put forward yet in comparative explanations. The thesis contributes to the literature on path dependencies that identifies distant occurrences as longterm causes for hard-to-reverse historical trajectories. On a theoretical level, the study contributes to research in a yet little noticed type of market, i.e. markets for durable goods whose use stretches over time, and which therefore requires history-directed explanations.


Nonradioactive amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) marker detection, a PCR-based, DNA-fingerprinting technique, was achieved by blotting AFLP products after electrophoresis onto a nylon membrane and subsequently hybridizing the blot with an alkaline phosphatase-labeled AFLP probe. Similar AFLP profiles were obtained by both a nonradioactive, chemiluminescent detection technique and by conventional AFLP marker detection using 32P-labeled AFLP primers. The suitability of the method using different gel systems combined with subsequent chemiluminescent detection of AFLP markers is validated by similar dendrograms that were generated using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA). Moreover, chemiluminescent detection of AFLP markers using a universal AFLP nonradioactive probe has been successfully applied on prokaryotes such as Agrobacterium and eukaryotic genomes such as soybean and fungi.


Abstract The impact of pollution incidents on rivers and streams may be predicted using mathematical models of solute transport. Practical applications require an analytical or numerical solution to a governing solute mass balance equation together with appropriate values of relevant transport coefficients under the flow conditions of interest. This paper considers two such models, namely those proposed by Fischer and by Singh and Beck, and compares their performances using tracer data from a small stream in Edinburgh, UK. In calibrating the models, information on the magnitudes and the flow rate dependencies of the velocity and the dispersion coefficients was generated. The dispersion coefficient in the stream ranged between 0.1 and 0.9 m2/s for a flow rate range of 13–437 L/s. During calibration it was found that the Singh and Beck model fitted the tracer data a little better than the Fischer model in the majority of cases. In a validation exercise, however, both models gave similarly good predictions of solute transport at three different flow rates.


We present an end-to-end Neural Human Renderer (NHR) for dynamic human captures under the multi-view setting. NHR adopts PointNet++ for feature extraction (FE) to enable robust 3D correspondence matching on low quality, dynamic 3D reconstructions. To render new views, we map 3D features onto the target camera as a 2D feature map and employ an anti-aliased CNN to handle holes and noises. Newly synthesized views from NHR can be further used to construct visual hulls to handle textureless and/or dark regions such as black clothing. Comprehensive experiments show NHR significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art neural and image-based rendering techniques, especially on hands, hair, nose, foot, etc.


Description psychological condition in adolescents who watch the phenomenon is a description, explanation or depiction in words so clear about the circumstances or forms of behavior and mental life (psychic), which covers aspects of cognitive, affective, and konasi in an individual
watching phenomenon on Trans TV. Data were collected with a span of approximately one-half months, starting from March 1, 2006 to 16 April 2006. Sampling was done by purposive sampling. Sources of data are as follows: 1) primary informant is the subject of research, amounting to 5 respondents who routinely likes to watch or follow on TRANS TV show phenomenon from the beginning to the end of the event, 2) additional informants in this study were close friends and girlfriend of the subject research (key informants) as much as 6 respondents, of which 4 people-sex respondents male and 2 female respondents. Techniques of data collection using the interview method with the method of observation as a means of support in this study. In this research using descriptive analysis. From the research that has been done by the researcher can conclude as follows: a psychological condition in adolescents who watch the phenomenon, as experienced by the subjects of research tends to point towards the negative. As in the cognitive aspects of the phenomenon of teenagers who watched the show, thinking that money can buy everything including buying a woman, pingin tries like the one in the phenomena of impressions, impressions phenomenon is too hot so pingin close to her boyfriend, and think if there was a woman like the one ditayangan phenomenon. This would impact on the affective aspects of research subjects, the emotions they feel, such as curiosity, remembering, remember, imagine-shadows, shock, and obsessed over what they see on display at TRANS TV phenomenon. From the cognitive and affective impact of this, eventually leading to the conative or behavioral effects in each subject of study, which found that research subjects said they had tried or imitate what they see in the show phenomenon, namely sexual intercourse before marriage. Only one subject that states do not have the impression due to the phenomenon keterpengaruhan.


This paper discusses the algorithm of polygon automatic generalization under digital environment and takes into account the orthogonal characteristics of urban building. Two kinds of spatial relations which are topological neighbor relation and visual neighbor relation are distinguished, and the corresponding aggregation methods are presented on the basis of vector and raster data structure. A method of clipping and extending are links is used to aggregate polygons with shared arcs. In contrast to traditional aggregation approach, this method need not to organize arc link sequence and not to detect polygon islands using other steps. For disjoint Polygons, the paper presents an aggregation method including six steps: finding MBR(minimum bounding rectangle), rasterizing, scanning and filling line grid based on distance tolerance, scanning and filling column grid, vectorizing and simplifing edges, and rotating to original direction. The process is based on raster conversion and grid extending performance. Two perpendicular directions related to MBR serve as extending directions and this strategy conserves rectangle geometric properties of right angle. The presented method fills the gap area between buildings with consideration of gap distance and this tolerance could be adjusted. As for the simplification of building shape, the paper proposes the approach of rectangle differential model according to building inner component structure. Algorithm ideas come from the suppose that building polygon was composed of rectangles. Through separation, the building polygon can be represented by a series of rectangles with different hierarchical levels. This kind of divide-and-conquer analysis is popular in computation geometry and shape analysis. Without strict theory testifying, but it is useful in realistic application of building simplification. The shape simplification procedure based on hierarchical rectangle differential method builds the relation between rectangle component state and generalization result with some resolutions. On the basis of bounding rectangle, the building polygon is separated as a rectangle extracting several concave part polygons that locate in the corner or on the edge. The author developes an experiment system to generalize urban buildings and the test result is illustrated in the paper. In the algorithm experiment, the building candidates to be merged are decided by manual interactive operation. But how to aggregate is conducted by program automatically. So the above method resolves the how question but not when, where question in urban building generalization. As for the generalization constraints, the method mainly takes into account the shape structure conservation.


ABSTRACT Kelpšaitė-Rimkienė, L.; Soomere, T.; Bagdanavičiūtė, I.; Nesteckitė, L., and Žalys, M., 2018. Measurements of long waves in Port of Klaipėda, Lithuania. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 761–765. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Port of Klaipėda is in Klaipėda Strait that connects the Curonian Lagoon with the south-eastern Baltic Sea. Its quays are well sheltered from open sea waves but the port area still hosts dangerous water level oscillations that are apparently generated in the system consisting of the Curonian Lagoon and a strait that connects the lagoon with the Baltic Sea proper. The analysis of spectral composition of these oscillations is based on continuous pressure recordings with a frequency of 4 Hz in Port of Klaipėda during the stormy season December 2016–January 2017. The majority of the energy of oscillations is concentrated in three frequencies bands. Considerable water level changes occurred owing to infragravity motions with periods >30 s (<0.03 Hz) and disturbances with the typical periods of wind waves at the Lithuanian coast with periods of 3–10 s (0.1–0.3 Hz). The highest peak in the wind wave frequency band corresponds to typical storm conditions in the Baltic Sea with periods 9–5 s. While the typical amplitudes of oscillations in this range were modest, particularly hazardous changes in the water level, with amplitudes >0.5 m, were created at lower frequencies. The recording reveals the presence of harbor oscillations with periods 30–200 s (0.005–0.03 Hz) and seiches of the Curonian Lagoon with periods >1200 s (<0.0008 Hz).


Room-temperature volume measurements of the complete set of calcite-structure carbonates in the pressure range 0-8.1 GPa revealed systematic differences in compressibilities that depend on cation type, resulting in significant deviations from empirical relations of an inverse linear correlation between K o and V o . The bulk modulus for MgCO 3 lies approximately 18 GPa below the trend for the 3d transition metal carbonates, which show an expected inverse linear correlation of bulk modulus with ambient cell volume (and M-O bond length). The bulk modulus of CdCO 3 , whose M-O bond length and cell volume are only slightly smaller than those of CaCO 3 , lies up to 10 GPa above the trend of the 3d transition metal carbonates and about 30 GPa above that of calcite. These deviations in compressibility trends as a function of cell volume (or M-O bond length) are expressed as differences in a axis compressibility but not in c axis compressibility, which shows a nearly linear increase with M-O distance. Hence, systematic behavior is apparently limited to subsets of carbonates in which metal ions share the same valence electron character (i.e., s vs. 3d vs. 4d) and is primarily attributed to unexpected compressibility differences along the a axis. Crystal-field effects, beyond those reflected in the M-O distances, cannot account for the observed compressibilities. Nonbonded interactions also fail to explain the deviations from predicted trends. Variations of electronegativity and vibrational frequency with ionic radius for the relevant metal ions show differences that are qualitatively similar to the observed trends of bulk modulus, suggesting that differences in bonding character may contribute to the different behaviors among the subsets of calcite-structure carbonates. However, it is most likely that a combination of factors is necessary to account fully for the observed behavior.


A modification of the McBride bunionectomy utilizing the adductor tendon transfer is described. It includes transposition of the adductor hallucis tendon into the medial capsular flap via a pulley suture, and derotation of the sesamoidal apparatus. This is accomplished by torque placed on the medial capsular flap. It is transferred to the medial sesamoid through the tibial sesamoid ligament and then to the fibular sesamoid by the intersesamoidal ligament. The contracted fibular sesamoid ligament is sacrificed. The procedure helps to maintain reduction of an increased intermetatarsal angle, with hypermobile first ray. Another advantage is the ability to perform a concomitant metatarsal neck osteotomy, when necessary. This was not possible in the original McBride bunionectomy in which the adductor tendon was transposed to the head of the first metatarsal through a drill hole. Short-term results have been encouraging.


The Bcl-2 family of genes plays important roles in the regulation of apoptosis. The present study was designed to assess the clinicopathologic significance of apoptosis and the expression of the apoptosis-inhibitory Bcl-2 protein (pBcl-2) and the apoptosis-promoting Bax protein (pBax) in human invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of the pancreas. The present study included 66 IDCs that were resected between 1982 and 1998. Apoptosis was assessed by the in situ nick end labeling method and pBcl-2 and pBax were stained immunohistochemically. Apoptosis was quantified as the apoptotic index (AI, the percentage of apoptotic cells of the total tumor cells), and a high AI (>10%) was observed in 26 of the 66 (39%) IDCs. The AI correlated significantly with the extent of nodal involvement. pBax immunoreactivity was detected in 42 of 66 IDCs (64%), and pBax expression was significantly correlated with female gender and showed a significant negative correlation with the extent of nodal involvement. pBcl-2 was expressed in 16 IDCs (24%) but did not show any correlation with the clinicopathologic factors. The AI did not correlate with the expression of pBcl-2 or pBax, but there was a significant correlation between the expression of pBcl-2 and that of pBax; 15 of the 16 pBcl-2(+)IDCs were also pBax(+), and only one pBcl-2(+)IDC was pBax(−). Univariate analysis demonstrated that the degree of apoptosis had no significant influence on the patients' prognosis. pBax or pBcl-2 expression was significantly associated with a better prognosis, and in particular, the pBax(+)pBcl-2(+) group had a significantly higher survival than the other groups. On the other hand, the survival curve of the adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) group was also higher than that of the surgery alone (SA) group, with borderline statistical signfiicance. The ACT group showed a significantly better survival rate than the SA group for the pBax(+)IDC patients, but the AI and pBcl-2 expression were not correlated with an improved survival rate in the ACT group. Multivariate analysis showed that the AI, pBcl-2 expression, and pBax expression by themselves did not represent significant variables for death owing to IDC, but pBax expression was significantly associated with the efficacy of ACT. In conclusion, pBax expression may be essential for pBcl-2 expression. pBcl-2 and pBax expressions are not significant prognostic factors for patients with IDC, but pBax expression may be beneficial in predicting the effects of ACT on patients with IDC.


▪ Abstract Goodpasture's, or anti-glomerular basement membrane, disease is an uncommon, usually severe disease caused by autoimmunity to a component of certain basement membranes. Alport's syndrome is an inherited, degenerative disorder that affects specific basement membranes. The two are linked by the involvement of type-IV collagen (basement membrane collagen) in their pathogenesis.


Two cationic phthalocyanines (Pc), a tetravalent Alcian Blue pyridine variant (ABpy4+) and a monovalent iron(III) phthalocyanine (FePc+), were intercalated into two layered titanates derived from Na2Ti3O7 and CsxTi2 − x/4□x/4O4
(□
= vacancy, x
= 0.7) by using the corresponding propylammonium titanates as the intermediates for guest displacement reactions. When Na2Ti3O7 was used as a host, segregation occurred in the products, since it has a relatively higher layer charge density; some interlayer spaces accommodated Pc, but the others contained propylammonium cations. On the other hand, Pc cations were homogeneously intercalated into the interlayer spaces of Ti2 − x/4□x/4O4 layers. ABpy4+ formed agglomerates in the gallery between Ti2 − x/4□x/4O4 layers, whereas FePc+ was distributed molecularly. In the ABpy–Ti2 − x/4□x/4O4 system, further ABpy4+ was added or any remaining propylammonium cations were removed by thermal treatment under reduced pressure in order to vary the microstructure, which resulted in the formation of higher aggregated states of ABpy4+. Electron transfer from FePc+ to Ti2 − x/4□x/4O4 induced by visible light irradiation was observed for FePc–Ti2 − x/4□x/4O4 by fluorescence measurements.


Latinos will soon become the largest minority group in the United States. African-Americans may therefore be about to give up political clout to Latinos. This prospect has generated tension between African-Americans and Latinos. Given this background, it is important for Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Theory to consider the matter of the African-American/Latino relationship. With this in mind, the author discusses two important questions posed by the organizers of this panel: (1) How is the relationship between African-Americans and Latinos affected by the construction of race? and (2) Can Critical Race Theory benefit by a consideration of the race or racialization of Latinos? In light of these questions, in Part II, the author argues that the construction of race impacts the relationship between African-Americans and Latinos. Specifically, the legal construction of Mexican-Americans as white has generated tensions that form a barrier to coalition-building between African-Americans and Latinos. He contends that Mexican-Americans should embrace a non-white identity to facilitate coalition-building with African- Americans. In Part III, the author argues that Critical Race Theory can benefit from considering the racialization of Latinos. He contends that the racialization of African-Americans cannot be fully understood without considering the racialization of Latinos. As a result, he calls for an epistemic coalition comprised of all minority groups so that each group achieves knowledge about themselves and their place in the world.


Applications of digital imaging with extreme zoom are traditionally found in astronomy and wild life monitoring. More recently, the need for such capabilities has extended to long range surveillance and wide area monitoring such as forest fires, harbors, and waterways. In this paper, we present a number of sensor arrangements for such applications, focusing on optical setups, auto-focusing mechanisms, and image deblurring techniques. Considering both the speed of convergence and robustness to image degradations induced by high system magnifications and long observation distances, we introduce an auto-focusing algorithm based on sequential search with a variable step size. We derive the transition criteria following maximum likelihood (ML) estimation for the selection of suitable step sizes. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is illustrated in real-time auto-focusing and tracking of faces from distances of 50m~300m. We also develop an image restoration algorithm for high magnification imaging systems, where an adaptive sharpness measure is employed as a cost function to guide the fine search for an optimal point spread function (PSF) for image deblurring. Experimental results demonstrate a considerably enhanced robustness to image noise and artifacts and ability to select the optimum PSF, producing superior restored images.


Recently, analog control is replaced by digital control in cycloconverter-fed adjustable speed drives. However, cycloconverter has many thyristors and control signals. Multi-CPU has to be adopted for its complexity. In this paper, main circuit is redesigned due to multi-phase. An interstar winding method is used in insulating transformers to supply 12-phase power. A 12-phase cycloconverter based on DSP with CPLD is proposed. The inner structure of CPLD is designed especially to generate heavy firing pulses composed of control signal distributor, counting time delay and pulses widening, and pulses distribution parts. Simulation and experiment results denote that a digital cycloconverter based on DSP with CPLD has the convenience of design and debugging, and has preferable control performance and high reliability


Extrusion-based additive manufacturing systems usually use three degrees of freedom extrusion tools to perform the deposition operation. This requires the use of support structures to deposit structures with overhang features. The use of support structures can be avoided by adding degrees of freedom to the build platform. The elimination of build structures can offer benefits in terms of reduction of build time and elimination of postprocessing costs. This paper demonstrates that the use of three degrees of freedom build platform enables printing of complex shapes without support structures. We present computational foundations for generating paths and trajectories for synchronizing the motion of three degrees of freedom build platforms and three degrees of freedom extrusion tools. We report results on six different test parts in terms of reduction in build time, accuracy, and surface roughness.


Source transcription of pitched polyphonic music entails providing the pitch (F0) values corresponding to each source in a separate channel. This problem is an important step towards many important problems in music and speech processing. It involves 1) estimating the multiple F0 values in each short time frame, and 2) clustering the F0 values into streams corresponding to different sources. We address the problem in an unsupervised way, with only the total number of sources given beforehand. The framework of probabilistic latent component analysis (PLCA) is used to decompose the polyphonic short-time magnitude spectra for multiple F0 estimation and source-specific feature extraction. It is further embedded into the structure of hidden Markov random fields (HMRF) for clustering the F0s into different sources. This clustering is constrained by the cognitive grouping of continuous F0 contours as well as segregation of simultaneous F0s into different source streams. Such constraints are effectively and elegantly modeled by the HMRF's. Simulated annealing varies the degree of constraints for better clustering. The paper also proposes a novel strategy using the trade-off between precision and recall of multiple F0 estimation for better clustering. Evaluations over a variety of datasets show the efficacy of the proposed algorithm and its robustness to the presence of spurious F0s while clustering. It also outperforms a state-of-the-art unsupervised source streaming algorithm in a set of comparative experiments.


Abstract. We present the Wageningen Lowland Runoff Simulator (WALRUS), a novel rainfall–runoff model to fill the gap between complex, spatially distributed models which are often used in lowland catchments and simple, parametric (conceptual) models which have mostly been developed for sloping catchments. WALRUS explicitly accounts for processes that are important in lowland areas, notably (1) groundwater–unsaturated zone coupling, (2) wetness-dependent flow routes, (3) groundwater–surface water feedbacks and (4) seepage and surface water supply. WALRUS consists of a coupled groundwater–vadose zone reservoir, a quickflow reservoir and a surface water reservoir. WALRUS is suitable for operational use because it is computationally efficient and numerically stable (achieved with a flexible time step approach). In the open source model code default relations have been implemented, leaving only four parameters which require calibration. For research purposes, these defaults can easily be changed. Numerical experiments show that the implemented feedbacks have the desired effect on the system variables.


: Anamnestic data and gynaecological findings of 1036 incontinent women without previous incontinence surgery were examined with the aim in mind to safely establish a diagnosis of stress incontinence. The information given by 234 women (initial group), whose answers were recorded on two different questionnaires, were compared with those of 802 women (control group). By one single information, namely, that urine can be retained for more than three hours, it is possible to predict stress incontinence with an accuracy of 85% in 46% of all incontinent women of the starting group. In a sub-group defined by three data (40% of all women) stress incontinence can be assumed with an accuracy of 90%. As a result, the indication for incontinence surgery in 40% of all examined women could be made with an error rate of 10% only, compared with 26% in the starting group.


The "birth control pill," more commonly known as "the pill," is a form of contraception [4] taken daily in pill form and consisting of synthetic hormones [5] formulated to prevent ovulation [6], fertilization [7], and implantation [8] of a fertilized egg [9]. The US Food and Drug Administration [10] (FDA) approved the first birth control [11] pill, Enovid [12], in June 1960. It was the first contraceptive pill marketed worldwide. Since then a number of different pills have been developed, which differ in hormone [13] type and dosage, and whether they contain one hormone [13] (the minipill) or two (the combination pill). The development of an effective oral contraceptive was an enormous step in the reproductive rights [14] movement, as contraceptives provided women and couples a means of planning families and limiting the number of children they had.


[ 1 ] Changes in the level of ancient Lake Cahuilla over the last 1500 years in the Salton Trough alter the state of stress by bending the lithosphere in response to the applied lake load and by varying the pore pressure magnitude within the crust. The recurrence interval of the lake is similar to the recurrence interval of rupture on the southern San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, both of which are partially covered by the lake at its highstand. Furthermore, four of the last five ruptures on the southern San Andreas fault have occurred near a time of substantial lake level change. We investigate the effect of Coulomb stress perturbations on local faults due to changing level of Lake Cahuilla to determine a possible role for the lake in affecting the timing of fault rupture. Coulomb stress is calculated with a three-dimensional model of an elastic plate overlying a viscoelastic half-space. Plate thickness and half-space relaxation time are adjusted to match observed vertical deformation since the last lake highstand. The lake cycle causes positive and negative Coulomb stress perturbations of 0.2–0.6 MPa on the southern San Andreas within the lake and 0.1–0.2 MPa on the southern San Andreas outside the lake. These Coulomb stress perturbations are comparable to stress magnitudes known to have triggered events at other faults along the North America-Pacific plate boundary.